enticed him to disclose wherein his great strength lay; and though her first attempts were eluded, she finally succeeded, and having cut off his hair, while he slept in her lap, he became weak as another man. The Philistines seized him, put out his eyes, and condemned him to grind corn in a prison. After a year's imprisonment, his hair grew again, and his strength returned, and being brought out to make sport to the Lords of the Philistines assembled at a sacrifice to their god Da'gon, he laid hold of the pillars of the temple, and bowed himself with all his might, so that the house fell, and himself and 3000 of his enemies perished in the ruins. Samson was about thirtyeight years old when he died, having defended Israel about twenty years. B.C. 1112. Judges, xiii.-xvi. Hoph'ni and Phin'ehas, sons of E'li the high priest, were sons of Be ́lial—that is, wicked and dissolute persons; and Eli, whose great fault was his negligence and over indulgence of his children, instead of punishing and removing them from the ministry, was content with gently reprimanding them. The Israelites having gone to battle with the Philistines, took the ark of the Lord from Shiloh, and carried it with them to ensure success, thus showing that they placed their trust in the outward symbol. They were defeated with the loss of 30,000 men, the ark taken, and Hophni and Phinehas both slain. When this signal disaster was reported to the aged Eli, he fell backwards and died. The Philistines carried the ark of God to Ashdod, and set it in. the house of their god Dagon, but " on the morrow Dagon was found fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark." They replaced the image, but next morning he was found prostrate again, and his head and hands cut off. The men of Ashdod were also smitten with emerods (supposed to be a kind of ulcers), and finding the hand of God heavy upon them, they sent the ark to Gath; "but the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction," and the men of Gath sent the ark to Ek'ron; which suffering in like manner, the ark was put into a new cart drawn by two milch cows, and these of their own accord carried it to Beth'shemesh, after it had remained in the land of the Philistines seven months. The men of Beth'shemesh boked into the ark; therefore the Lord smote of them 50,070 persons. It was then removed to Kir'jath-je'arim, where it remained for twenty years. Samuel, iv.-vii. Samuel, the son of El'kanah, and of the devout Hannah, of the tribe of Le'vi, "was sanctified from the womb," and had been devoted from his infancy to the service of the tabernacle at Shiloh, whilst E'li was high priest. Whilst yet a child, he was commissioned by God to denounce his anger against E'li for his culpable remissness with regard to his sons; and on the death of Eli, twentyseven years afterwards, Samuel succeeded him as Judge of Israel. He convened an assembly of the people at Miz'peh for the purpose of publicly renouncing their sins, and returning to God by fasting, sacrifice, and prayer. The Philistines came upon them during their devotions, but were panic-struck by a tremendous thunder storm, and completely discomfited by the Israelites. Of this victory Samuel erected a memorial which he called "E'bene'zer," or the "Stone of Help." Sam. i., ii., iii., vii. Samuel, virtuous as a judge, and holy as a prophet, conducted the administration with great zeal, fortitude, integrity, and piety; but in his old age he consigned the duties of his office to his two sons, Jo'el and Abi'ah, whose injustice induced the elders of Israel to demand of Samuel a king, that they might have a form of government similar to that of the other nations. Samuel, after consulting the Lord, complied with their request, and anointed Saul the son of Kish privately at Ramah. The ark having been conducted to Mizpeh, and the people assembled there, Saul, whose majestic appearance went far to second the recommendation of the prophet, was chosen by lot for their future king, and the election afterwards confirmed by a general convocation at Gilgal; Saul having in the interval signalized himself by delivering the inhabitants of Ja'besh-Gil'ead, besieged by the Ammonites. Samuel now formally resigned the government into the hands of Saul, the first king of the Israelites, and in a solemn oration to the people, challenged them to produce a single instance of any man having suffered wrong at his hand, during his long administration; when the people with one voice bore testimony to his faithfulness and integrity. Sam. viii.-xii. B IV.-Reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. 120 years. A.M. 2909-3029. THE first years of Saul's reign were prosperous and happy. When mustering his forces at Gilgal to encounter the Philistines, he presumed to offer a sacrifice before the arrival of Samuel; for which he was sharply rebuked by the prophet, who told him that his kingdom should not continue. Jonʼathan the son of Saul was a prince of great valour and piety. He had already smitten a garrison of the Philistines at Ge'ba, and now having with his armourbearer attacked their camp at Mich'mash, produced so great a panic that they fled, and being pursued by Saul, were defeated with much slaughter. Saul had adjured the people, saying, "Cursed be the man that eateth any food until the evening, that I may be avenged of mine enemies." So the people having tasted no food, waxed faint, and were unable to continue the pursuit; but Jonathan not having heard his father's foolish oath, tasted a little honey, and for this would have paid the forfeit of his life, but for the firmness of the people. Saul being triumphant over his enemies in every direction, was sent by Samuel utterly to destroy the Am'alekites; but having saved A'gag their king, and the best of the cattle alive, Samuel told him that for this disobedience the kingdom should pass from his family to another more worthy of it. Having said this, the prophet left the king never to see him more. By the command of God he went to Bethlehem, and secretly anointed David, the son of Jes'se, then only fifteen years old, as the future king of Israel. 1st Sam. xiii.-xvi. David continued to feed his father's flocks; but some years after, whilst the army of Israel and that of the Philistines were encamped at the valley of Elah, Goli'ath the giant proudly defying the hosts of Israel, the young shepherd, trusting in God, accepted the challenge, and with a stone and a sling, slew the champion of the Philistines, which gallant action at once procured him a high reputation among his countrymen. The women sang, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." David 66 soon fell under the jealousy of Saul, who, to ensnare him, offered him his daughter Mi'chal in marriage, if he would bring proofs that he had slain one hundred Philistines. David slew two hundred instead of one, and brought tokens thereof to the king, and thereupon became the king's son-in-law. "But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." He appears to have been seized with a melancholy or frenzy; and when David played before him on the harp to soothe his distemper, the king repeatedly attempted to kill him with his spear. David went to Samuel at Ramah, and was accompanied by the prophet to Na'ioth. A firm and ardent friendship subsisted between David and Jonathan; and the latter having informed his friend of his father's determined hatred, David obtained from the high priest, Abimelech, the sword of Goli'ath, and proceeded to A'chish, king of Gath, where, being discovered, he saved himself by counterfeiting madness. 1st Sam. xvii.-xxi. Outlawed and hunted from place to place, David hid himself in a cave at Adul'lam; and his friends resorting to him there, he soon found himself at the head of four hundred men, who, by an accession from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, were augmented to six hundred. From Adullam he removed to the forest of Ha'reth, and during his stay in that retreat, composed the 63d Psalm. Saul having learned that Abim'elech had entertained David, and given him Goliath's sword, sent Doeg the E'domite, who put to the sword fourscore and five priests, and massacred all the women and children, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, of the whole city of Nob-Abi'athar, one of Abimelech's sons, alone escaping the carnage. On this savage butchery, David wrote the 52d Psalm. Having hid himself in the wilderness of Ma'on, Saul pursued him with 3000 men; and it was here in a cave at En'gedi that David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe. At Hach'ilah David entered Saul's tent, took his spear and cruise of water, and departed without being discovered. From Achish king of Gath, he obtained Ziklag for a habitation, and was successful in several incursions against the Am'alekites; but when Achish wished to carry him to war against Saul, the princes of the Philistines procured his dismissal. It was on this occasion he composed the 34th Psalm. 1st Sam. xxii.-xxix. Whilst David was in Ziklag, the Philistines pitched their camp at Shu'nem, and Saul, who had taken up a position at Mount Gil'boa, alarmed at their formidable array, and finding that the Lord had refused to answer him by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets, had recourse to the witch of Endor to raise Samuel, who had died and been buried at Ramah about two years before. The old man, appearing at the witch's incantations, declared that Israel would be delivered into the hands of the Philistines; and that Saul and his sons should die on the morrow. Accordingly, on the next day, the Hebrews were defeated by the Philistines on Mount Gil'boa, and Saul, with Jonathan and two of his other sons, fell on the field. 1st Sam. xxx. xxxi. DAVID now removed to Hebron, where the tribe of Judah acknowledged him as their king, while Saul's son Ish'bosheth reigned at Mahana'im beyond Jordan, over the other tribes. At the end of seven years and six months, Ish'bosheth was assassinated; and David punished the murderers, although the event made him king over all Israel. He took Jerusalem from the Jeb'usites, fixed his residence there, and removed the ark from Kirjath-jearim to his own palace. On finishing his palace at Jerusalem, he composed the 30th Psalm. David now defeated the Philistines, the Moabites, the Syrians, and the Edomites, and extended his conquests as far as the Euphrates. During the siege of Rab'bah, he fell into the dreadful crimes of adultery and murder, for which he was rebuked by Na'than the prophet, who foretold that his house should be filled with blood. This prediction was not long in receiving its accomplishment. His son Amnon was slain by Ab'salom, who fled, but was brought back by Jo'ab's intercession, though the king refused to see him for two years. Absalom afterwards aspired to the throne, and was acknowledged king by his own party at Hebron. David fled from Jerusalem, and was pursued by his rebellious son as far as Mahana'im, where a battle was fought, in which Absalom was defeated, and slain by Joab as he hung by the hair of his head on a tree. 2d Sam. i.-xviii. |