,the ,expositor's ,bible ,edited by ,w4 ,robertson ,nicoll1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,illustration ,,the ,,expositors' ,,bible ,edited by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,printed from original plates ,complete in every detail4 ,uniform with this volume ,price #ej cents per volume4 7,if by mail add #aj cents postage7 ,,old ,,testament ,,volumes ,,genesis4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,marcus ,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh4 ,,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,,numbers4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,deuteronomy4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,andrew ,harper1 ,b4,d4 ,,joshua4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,judges ,,and ,,ruth4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,first ,,samuel4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,second ,,samuel4 ,by same author4 ,,first ,,kings4 ,by ,f4 ,w4 ,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,,second ,,kings4 ,by same author4 ,,first ,,and ,,second ,,chronicles4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,bennett4 ,,ezra1 ,,nehemiah1 ,,and ,,esther4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,adeney4 ,,job4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,psalms4 ,in #c vols4 ,vol4 ,i41 ,chapters ,i4-,,xxxviii42 ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,chapters ,,xxxix4-,,lxxxix42 ,vol4 ,,iii41 ,chapters ,,xc4-,,cl4 ,by ,rev4 ,alexander ,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,horton1 ,d4,d4 ,,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,samuel ,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,,song ,,of ,,solomon and ,,lamentations4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,adeney4 ,,isaiah4 ,in #b vols4 ,vol4 ,i41 ,chapters ,i4-,,xxxix42 ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,chapters ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by ,prof4 ,george ,adam ,smith1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,jeremiah4 ,chapters ,i4-,,xx4 ,with a ,sketch of his ,life and ,times4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,ball4 ,,jeremiah4 ,chapters ,,xxi4-,,lii4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,bennett4 ,,ezekiel4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,john ,skinner4 ,,daniel4 ,by ,f4 ,w4 ,,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,,the ,,twelve 7,minor7 ,,prophets4 ,in #b vols4 ,by ,rev4 ,george ,adam ,smith1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,new ,,testament ,,volumes ,,st4 ,,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,monro ,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,,st4 ,,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,armagh4 ,,st4 ,,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,henry ,burton4 ,,gospel ,,of ,,st4 ,,john4 ,in #b vols4 ,vol4 ,i41 ,chapters ,i4-,,xi42 ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,chapters ,,xii4-,,xxi4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,marcus ,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,the ,,apostles4 ,in #b vols4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,,romans4 ,by ,rev4 ,handley ,c4 ,g4 ,moule1 ,d4,d4 ,,first ,,corinthians4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,marcus ,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,corinthians4 ,by ,rev4 ,james ,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,,galatians4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,findlay1 ,d4,d4 ,,ephesians4 ,by same author4 ,,philippians4 ,by ,rev4 ,principal ,robert ,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,,colossians and ,,philemon4 ,by ,rev4 ,alexander ,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,,thessalonians4 ,by ,rev4 ,james ,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,,pastoral ,,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,,hebrews4 ,by ,rev4 ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,st4 ,,james and ,,st4 ,,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,,st4 ,,peter4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,rawson ,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,epistles ,,of ,,st4 ,,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,alexander1 ,lord ,bishop of ,derry4 ,,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,milligan1 ,d4,d4 ,,index ,,volume ,,to ,,entire ,,series4 ,new ,york3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 ,publishers ,,the ,,second ,,book ,,of ,,kings ,,by ,f4 ,w4 ,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,late ,,fellow ,,of ,,trinity ,,college1 ,,cambridge2 ,,archdeacon ,,of ,,westminster ,,hodder ,,stoughton ,,new ,,york ,,george ,h4 ,,doran ,,company ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,page ,,ahaziah ,,ben-,,ahab ,,of ,,israel 7,b4,c4 #hee-hed7 #c ,a weak1 shadowy1 and faithless king--#a4 ,relations between ,judah and ,israel--#b4 ,alliance with ,jehoshaphat--#c4 ,revolt of ,moab--,mesha and the ,moabite ,stone--#d4 ,the fall from the lattice--,baal-,zebub--,elijah calling down fire from heaven--,how are we to judge respecting the ,elijah-spirit8--,variations of moral standard4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,ascension ,,of ,,elijah #ai ,uncertain date--,the journey to ,gilgal2 to ,bethel2 to ,jericho2 to the ,jordan--,the double portion--,chariot and horses of fire--,elisha recrosses the ,jordan--,the young prophets and their search--,grandeur of ,elijah4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,elisha #be ,cycle of supernatural stories--,elisha and ,elijah--,the cure of the unwholesome fountain--,go up1 thou bald-head--,the children and the bears4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,invasion ,,of ,,moab #bi ,death of ,ahaziah--,jehoram ,ben-,ahab of ,israel--,good beginnings--,attempts to recover ,moab--,alliance with ,judah and ,edom--,the invasion--,an army perishing of thirst--,elisha--,music--,trenches in the wdy--,error of the ,moabites--,their disastrous rout--,devastation of the country--,mesha propitiates ,chemosh--,great wrath against ,israel--,the invading army retreats4 ,,chapter ,v ,,elisha',s ,,miracles #dj ,their chronological vagueness--,difference between ,elisha and ,elijah--,contrasts and resemblances--,social life in ,israel--#a4 ,the widow and the oil--#b4 ,the lady of ,shunem--,her hospitality--,her reward--#c4 ,the boy's death--,her distress--,the resuscitation--#d4 ,death in the pot--#e4 ,the multiplied first-fruits4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,naaman #ej ,the little maid--,the leper--,letter of ,benhadad to ,jehoram--,his indignation--,elisha's message--,naaman's disappointment and anger--,his servants--,his healing--,his gratitude--,bowing in the house of ,rimmon--,mean cupidity of ,gehazi--,stricken with leprosy--,the axe-head4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,elisha ,,and ,,the ,,syrians #ff ,syrian marauders--,they are baffled--,anger of ,benhadad--,the vision at ,dothan--,meaning of the promises--,how fulfilled to ,god's saints on earth--,some are delivered1 some are not--,elisha misleads the ,syrians--,his generosity to them--,its effects--,a fresh ,syrian invasion4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,famine ,,and ,,the ,,siege #gf ,horrible straits of the besieged ,samaritans--,stress of famine--,the ,king of ,israel--,the miserable women--,sackcloth under the purple--,the king's fury and despair--,he threatens ,elisha--,the messenger--,the king upbraids him--,prophecy of sudden plenty--,the disbelieving lord--,the extramural lepers--,the ,syrian camp--,the king's misgivings--,the lord killed in the rush of the people4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,shunammite ,,and ,,hazael #hg ,the lady of ,shunem leaves her estate--,her return--,gehazi talks with the king--,entrance of the ,shunammite--,her estates restored--,elisha visits ,damascus--,a royal present--,benhadad's illness--,hazael--,the dark prophecy--,unexplained death of ,benhadad--,hazael's usurpation--,real meaning of ,elisha's words to ,hazael4 ,,chapter ,x ,,two ,,sons ,,of ,,jehoshaphat #ii ,jehoram 7,b4,c4 #hea-hdc7--;,ahaziah 7,b4,c4 #hdc-hdb7--;,jehoram ben-,jehoshaphat of ,judah--,perplexing uncertainty of minute chronological details--,the blight of the ,jezebel-alliance--,the husband of ,athaliah--,his apostasies--,revolt of ,edom--,narrow escape of ,jehoram--,revolt of ,libnah--,jehoram's murder by his brethren--,philistine invasion--,incurable disease--,ahaziah ben-,jehoram--,joins his uncle 7,jehoram ben-,ahab7 in the campaign against ,ramoth-,gilead--,visits him at ,jezreel--,shot down by ,jehu4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,revolt ,,of ,,jehu 7,b4,c4 #hdb7 #ajf ,misery of ,jehoram's reign--,thwarted invasion of ,moab--,aggression of ,benhadad--,at ,ramoth-,gilead--,the young prophet--,the two kings absent from the camp--,the dangerous commission--,the assembled captains--,jehu secretly anointed--,his accession enthusiastically welcomed by the army--,his sudden enthronement--,his swift resolution--,the watchman at ,jezreel--,the two horsemen--,the two kings--,their murder--,ferocity of ,jehu--,elijah's prophecy--,jezebel--,she is hurled down--,jehu drives over her body--,the curse fulfilled4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,jehu ,,established ,,on ,,the ,,throne 7,b4,c4 #hdb-had7 #abe ,his politic subtlety--,the murder of the seventy princes--,the ghastly heaps--,hypocritic ferocity4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,fresh ,,murders--,,the ,,extirpation ,,of ,,baal-,,worship 7,b4,c4 #hdb7 #aca ,wading through blood to a throne--,the ride to ,samaria--,the brethren of ,ahaziah of ,judah--,the corpse-choked tank of the shepherds--,the ,bedawy ascetic--,the scene of slaughter in the temple of ,baal--,did ,elisha approve of these atrocities8--,prophetic judgment on ,jehu--,ravages of ,hazael--,jehu's anguish--,he pays tribute to ,assyria4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,athaliah 7,b4,c4 #hdb-hcf7--;,,joash ,,of ,,judah 7,b4,c4 #hcf-gif7 #adf ,the murderess-daughter of ,jezebel--,fierce ambition--,jehosheba--,the rescued child--,reared in the ,temple--,the high priest's plot--,the coronation of the boy-king--,athaliah enters the ,temple--,her murder--,the fate of ,baal's high priest--,proposed restoration of the ,temple--,joash calls to task the defaulting priests--,death of ,jehoiada--,defection of ,joash--,murder of ,zechariah--,bad record of the line of ,jewish priests--,hazael attacks ,judah--,defeat of ,joash and plunder of ,jerusalem--,murder of ,joash--,names of the murderers4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,amaziah ,,of ,,judah 7,b4,c4 #gif-ghc87 #afg ,the ,house of ,david--,amaziah brings to justice the murderers of his father1 but spares their children--,grounds for this--,different views taken of him by the historian and the chronicler--,splendid victory of ,amaziah in the ,valley of ,salt--,expansion of the story in the ,chronicles--,his defiance of ,joash--,his defeat and murder4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,the ,,dynasty ,,of ,,jehu--,,jehoahaz 7,b4,c4 #had-gig7--;,,joash 7,b4,c4 #gig-gha7 #age ,israel at its nadir--,calf-worship--,oppression of ,hazael--,disappearance of ,elisha--,repentance of ,jehoahaz--,joash of ,israel visits the death-bed of ,elisha--,the arrow of the ,lord's deliverance--,three victories over the ,syrians--,death of ,elisha1 and posthumous marvels--,joash and ,amaziah--,contemptuous answer to the ,king of ,judah--,crushing defeat of ,judah4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,the ,,dynasty ,,of ,,jehu 7,,continued7--,,jeroboam ,,ii4 7,b4,c4 #gha-gdj7 #ahg ,jeroboam ,,ii4 the greatest of the kings of ,israel--,his conquests and wide dominion--,a dying gleam of prosperity--,cause of his success--,relations with ,assyria--,dawn of written prophecy--,jonah4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,amos ,,and ,,hosea--,,zachariah ,,ben-,,jeroboam 7,b4,c4 #gdj7 #aic ,amos describes the condition of ,israel--,growth of usury and vice--,humble origin of ,amos--,his burdens--,degenerations of the calf-worship--,uncompromising denunciation--,collision of ,amos with ,amaziah the high priest at ,bethel--,his expulsion from ,bethel--,the curse denounced--,his justification of his mission--,hosea the saddest of the prophets--,his pictures of ,ephraim--,jeroboam ,,ii4--,his death--,his son ,zachariah--,his desertion and shameful end4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,uzziah ,,of ,,judah 7,b4,c4 #ghc8-gcg7--;,,jotham 7,b4,c4 #gcg-gce7 #bji ,wane of ,assyria--,uzziah a wise and good king--,his other name ,azariah--,expansion of the story of his conquests in the ,chronicles--,training of his army--,defeated by the ,assyrians 787--,stricken with leprosy--,the story--,jotham acts as his public representative--,diminished power of ,judah under ,jotham--,beginning of ,isaiah's prophecies--,death of ,jotham4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,the ,,agony ,,of ,,the ,,northern ,,kingdom--,,shallum1 ,,menahem1 ,,pekahiah1 ,,pekah 7,b4,c4 #gdj-gcd7 #bag ,shallum1 an usurping murderer--,rapid disappearance of kings--,distracted epoch--,the prophet ,zechariah and the three shepherds--,zechariah's prophecies--,the cruel shepherd1 ,menahem--,his savage deeds--,portentous appearance of the ,assyrians in ,israel--,menahem pays tribute--,tiglath-,pileser--,fulfilment of ,hosea's prophecy--,pekahiah--,his murder--,pekah--,his alliance with ,rezin against ,judah--,ahaz appeals to ,assyria--,defeat and death of ,rezin--,fulfilment of prophecy of ,amos--,beginning of the captivity of the ,ten ,tribes--,tiglath-,pileser's successors--,murder of ,pekah by ,hoshea--,horrible state of ,israel as described by ,isaiah4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,king ,,hoshea ,,and ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,the ,,northern ,,kingdom 7,b4,c4 #gcd-gbe7 #bce ,the name ,hoshea--,the king and the prophet--,occasional gleams of hope and promise--,a humiliating reign--,death of ,tiglath-,pileser--,hoshea revolts to ,sabaco of ,egypt--,seized by ,shalmaneser--,samaria besieged--,terrible state of the city--,sabaco renders no help--,usurpation of ,sargon--,capture of the city--,greatness of ,sargon--,fall of the ,northern ,kingdom--,blighted destiny--,god's mercy--,god1 and not man--,despoliation of the tribes--,moral of the story--,assyria and ,egypt--,the strength and weakness of a nation--,machiavelli--,mixture of alien emigrants--,their worship--,the lions--,strange syncretism--,the ,jews and the ,samaritans4 ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,the ,,reign ,,of ,,ahaz 7,b4,c4 #gce-gae7 #bfj ,the chronology--,a distracted kingdom--,dark pictures from ,isaiah--,no sign of repentance--,grapes and wild grapes4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,isaiah ,,and ,,ahaz #bfe ,isaiah--,rezin and ,pekah--,ahaz meets ,isaiah--,he receives a promise of deliverance--,he refuses a sign--,the sign given him--,immanuel--,birth of ,messianic prophecy--,maher-shalal-hash-baz--,the promised ,deliverer4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,the ,,apostasies ,,of ,,ahaz #bgc ,moloch-worship--,sacrifice of children--,ahaz appeals to ,assyria for help--,ruin of ,damascus and death of ,rezin--,ahaz does homage to ,tiglath-,pileser at ,damascus--,records of ,tiglath-,pileser--,the new altar--,complaisance of the priest ,urijah--,unpopularity of ,ahaz--,further misgivings--,his death4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,hezekiah 7,b4,c4 #gae-fhf7 #bhg ,dates--,importance of the reign--,hezekiah's age--,his character--,his reformation--,partial suppression of the bamoth--,removal of the matstseboth and ,asherim--,destruction of the brazen serpent--,trust in ,jehovah--,psalm xlvi4--,chastisement of the ,philistines--,three parties in ,jerusalem--#a4 ,the ,assyrian party--#b4 ,the ,egyptian party--#c4 ,the national party--,its attitude to the others--,micah--,mockery of ,egypt--,anger and insults of the priests against ,isaiah--,confidence of ,isaiah--,waverings of ,hezekiah4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,hezekiah',s ,,sickness--,,the ,,babylonian ,,embassy #cje ,the story of ,hezekiah's illness misplaced--,at the point of death--,isaiah's message--,the king's agony of mind--,the prayer--,the reprieve--,the sun-dial of ,ahaz--,the king's gratitude and thanksgiving--,merodach-,baladan--,risin g power of ,babylon--,object of the embassy--,the king's action--,the prophet's reproof--,the king's humble submission4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,,hezekiah ,,and ,,assyria 7,b4,c4 #gja7 #cai ,greatness of ,sargon--,his campaigns--,defeat of ,egypt at the battle of ,raphia--,ashdod--,defeat of ,merodach-,baladan--,grandeur of ,sennacherib--,his invasion of ,juda--,earlier collisions--,his campaigns--#a4 ,against ,babylon--#b4 ,against ,elam--#c4 ,against the ,hittites and ,philistines--,defeat of the ,ethiopian ,tirhakah at ,altaqu--,heavy mulct imposed on ,hezekiah--,siege of ,lachish--,sennacherib breaks his compact--,distress of ,jerusalem4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii ,,the ,,great ,,deliverance 7,b4,c4 #gja7 #cca ,embassy of the ,turtan1 the ,rabsaris1 and the ,rabshakeh--,misery and licence in the city--,the conference--,oration of the ,rabshakeh--,its effect on the king's ministers and on the people--,taunting insults of the ,rabshakeh--,faithfulness and self-control of the people--,heroic faith of ,isaiah--,failure of the embassy--,sennacherib's threatening letter--,hezekiah's prayer--,isaiah promises deliverance in the name of ,jehovah--,the sign--,the angel of death--,scene of the catastrophe--,the ,egyptian tradition of ,sethos and the mice--,death and burial of ,hezekiah--,the campaign as recorded on the ,assyrian monuments--,the triumph of indomitable faith--,grandeur of ,isaiah--,wane of ,assyria--,beautiful tolerance of ,isaiah4 ,,chapter ,,xxix ,,manasseh 7,b4,c4 #fhf-fda7 #cea ,the name ,manasseh--,his tender age--,influence of evil counsellors--,heathenising party--,their dislike of ,hezekiah's reformation and of the exclusive worship of ,jehovah--,tendency to trust in sacrifices and asceticism--,sanctification of licence--,arguments of the heathenisers--,disparagement of the work of ,isaiah--,doubts and disbelief--,influence of the bamoth-priests--,reliance on ,assyria--,the immoral and idolatrous reaction--#a4 ,restoration of the bamoth1 and arguments in their favour--#b4 ,adoption of ,phnician nature-worship--#c4 ,assyrian ,sabaism and star-worship--,connivance of the priests--#d4 ,canaanite ,moloch-worship--#e4 ,mesopotamian ,shamanism--#f4 ,the ,asherah--,denunciation of the prophets--,persecution and the shedding of innocent blood--,asserted captivity1 repentance1 and reforming energy of ,manasseh--,difficulties of the story--,reign of ,amon 7,b4,c4 #fda-fci7--,wretchedness of his reign--,zephaniah and ,jeremiah--,murder of ,amon4 ,,chapter ,,xxx ,,josiah 7,b4,c4 #fci-fjh7 #cgd ,three vast movements--,jeremiah's earlier prophecies--,the state of society--,the ,scythians--,prophecies of ,ezekiel--,herodotus--,the fate of ,nineveh--,rise of the ,chaldans--,habakkuk4 ,,chapter ,,xxxi ,,josiah',s ,,reformation #che ,growth of ,josiah's character--,repairs of the ,temple--,hilkiah finds the ,book of the ,law--,intense effect produced on mind of the king--,his message to the prophetess ,huldah--,great assembly--,renewal of a solemn league and covenant with ,jehovah--,the bamoth-priests degraded--,defiling of ,tophet--,he carries the reformation into ,samaria--,its stringency and severity--,the ,passover--,suppression of heathen corruptions--,jeremiah's share in the reformation--,its dangers and disappointing results--,jeremiah's warnings against all trust in externals--,the prophecy of a new covenant--,,note ,,to ,,chapter ,,xxxi43 ,the ,book found in the ,temple4 ,,chapter ,,xxxii ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,josiah 7,b4,c4 #fjh7 #djb ,prosperity and happiness of ,josiah--,accession of the great ,pharaoh ,necho ,,ii4--,his excursion against ,carchemish--,josiah determines to bar his path--,warnings of ,pharaoh ,necho--,disaster at ,megiddo and death of ,josiah--,mistaken hopes--,god's dealings with men and nations--,distress among ,josiah's subjects--,the king's burial--,misgivings respecting the future--,sorrow of ,jeremiah--,ultimate fulfilments4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii ,,jehoahaz 7,b4,c4 #fjh7 #daa ,four sons of ,josiah--,shallum chosen by the people of the land--,elegy of ,ezekiel--,change of name from ,shallum to ,jehoahaz--,conquests of ,pharaoh ,necho ,,ii4--,jehoahaz summoned to ,riblah--,carried captive by ,pharaoh to ,egypt--,tribute imposed on ,juda4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiv ,,jehoiakim 7,b4,c4 #fjh-eig7 #daf ,eliakim--,his change of name--,ignored by ,ezekiel--,evil influences--sthetic selfishness and oppressive greed--,denunciation by ,habakkuk--,denunciation by ,jeremiah--,murder of ,urijah--,threatened murder of ,jeremiah averted by ,ahikam--,fall of ,nineveh--,utterances of the prophets--,rise of the ,chaldans--,nabopolassar--,defeat of ,pharaoh ,necho by ,nebuchadrezzar--,his return to ,babylon--,his invasion of ,juda--,beginning of the ,babylonian captivity--,jehoiakim revolts to ,egypt in spite of ,jeremiah's warnings--,imprisonment of ,jeremiah--,baruch--,the menacing roll--,alarm of the princes--,rage of the king--,he cuts the scroll to pieces and burns it--,wretchedness of the times--,a great drought--,captives of ,jerusalem--,miserable death of ,jehoiakim--,that which was found in him4 ,,chapter ,,xxxv ,,jehoiachin 7,b4,c4 #eig7 #dca ,bad influence over him--,his brief reign--,allusions to him by ,jeremiah at ,jerusalem--,second captivity--,regret felt for ,jehoiachin--,did he die childless8 ,,chapter ,,xxxvi ,,zedekiah1 ,,the ,,last ,,king ,,of ,,judah 7,b4,c4 #eig-ehf7 #dcg ,his oath to the ,king of ,assyria--,ezekiel's prophecies--,the exiles and the remnant--,weakness of ,zedekiah--,continuance of idolatry as described by ,ezekiel--,the king breaks his oath with ,assyria--,indignation and warnings of ,jeremiah--,the false prophet ,hananiah--,the wooden and iron yokes--,death of ,hananiah--,false prophets--,the broken covenant--,advance of ,nebuchadrezzar--,belomancy and ,babylonian divinations--,siege of ,jerusalem--,gloom of ,jeremiah's prophecies4 ,,chapter ,,xxxvii ,,jeremiah ,,and ,,his ,,prophecies #ddi ,pathos of ,jeremiah's lot--,the sad epoch in which he lived--,religious changes--,arrest of ,jeremiah--,progress of the siege--,zedekiah sends for the prophet--,his hardships alleviated--,horrors of famine--,wicked defiance--,a sudden death--,anger of the priests and nobles against ,jeremiah--,he is thrust into a miry pit--,compassion of ,ebed-,melech--,purchase of a field at ,anathoth--,secret interview with ,zedekiah--,it becomes known--,distress of ,zedekiah4 ,,chapter ,,xxxviii ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,jerusalem 7,b4,c4 #ehf7 #deg ,nebuzaradan and the ,babylonians--,the final captivity--,dreadful fate of ,zedekiah--,prophecies of ,ezekiel and ,jeremiah--,sack of the city--,massacre of the chief inhabitants--,burning of the city and ,temple--,desolation--,respect shown by the ,babylonian general to ,jeremiah--,he decides to remain with the remnant in ,juda4 ,,chapter ,,xxxix ,,gedaliah 7,b4,c4 #ehf7 #dfe ,sad parting from the exiles--,the wail at ,ramah--,gedaliah's appointment as satrap perhaps due to ,jeremiah--,desolation of ,jerusalem--,the seat of government removed to ,mizpah--,a respite and a gleam of hope--,guerilla bands--,johanan warns ,gedaliah against ,ishmael--,unsuspecting generosity of the governor--,he receives ,ishmael and his confederates with hospitality--,he is brutally murdered--,massacre of the pilgrims from ,shiloh--,the horrible well--,johanan pursues ,ishmael--,his escape--,proposal to migrate to ,egypt--,jeremiah consulted--,his advice refused--,prophecy of ,jeremiah at the khan of ,chimham--,kindness shown by ,evil-,merodach to ,jehoiachin4 ,,epilogue #dgg ,the interest of the preceding history and the great moral lessons which it involves--,the central conceptions of ,hebrew prophecy--,the end of the whole matter4 ,,appendix ,i ,,the ,,kings ,,of ,,assyria1 ,,and ,,some ,,of ,,their ,,inscriptions #dhg ,,appendix ,,ii ,,inscription ,,in ,,the ,,tunnel ,,of ,,the ,,pool ,,of ,,siloam #dic ,,appendix ,,iii ,,was ,,there ,a ,,golden ,,calf ,,at ,,dan8 #did ,,appendix ,,iv ,,dates ,,of ,,the ,,kings ,,of ,,israel ,,and ,,judah1 ,,as ,,given ,,by ,,kittel ,,and ,,other ,,modern ,,critics #die ,,the ,,second ,,book ,,of ,,kings ,theories of inspiration which impaginate the ,everlasting ,spirit1 and make each verse a cluster of objectless and mechanical miracles1 are not seriously believed by any one3 the ,bible itself abides in its endless power and unexhausted truth4 ,all that is not of asbestos is being burned away by the restless fires of thought and criticism4 ,that which remains is enough1 and it is indestructible4--,,bishop ,,of ,,derry4 ,,chapter ,i ,,ahaziah ,,ben-,,ahab ,,of ,,israel ,b4,c4 #hee-hed #b ,,kings i4 #a-ah ,ye know not of what spirit are ye4--,,luke ix4 #ee4 ,he is the mediator of a better covenant1 which hath been enacted upon better promises4--,,heb4 viii4 #f4 ,ahaziah1 the eldest son and successor of ,ahab1 has been called the most shadowy of the ,israelitish kings4#a ,he seems to have been in all respects one of the most weak1 faithless1 and deplorably miserable4 ,he did but reign two years--perhaps in reality little more than one2 but this brief space was crowded with intolerable disasters4 ,everything that he touched seemed to be marked out for ruin or failure1 and in character he showed himself a true son of ,jezebel and ,ahab4 ,what results followed the defeat of ,ahab and ,jehoshaphat at ,ramoth-,gilead we are not told4 ,the war must have ended in terms of peace of some kind--perhaps in the cession of ,ramoth-,gilead2 for ,ahaziah does not seem to have been disturbed during his brief reign by any ,syrian invasion4 ,nor were there any troubles on the side of ,judah4 ,ahaziah's sister was the wife of ,jehoshaphat's heir1 and the good understanding between the two kingdoms was so closely cemented1 that in both royal houses there was an identity of names--two ,ahaziahs and two ,jehorams4 ,but even the ,judan alliance was marked with misfortune4 ,jehoshaphat's prosperity and ambition1 together with his firm dominance over ,edom--in which country he had appointed a vassal1 who was sometimes allowed the courtesy title of king#b--led him to emulate ,solomon by an attempt to revive the old maritime enterprise which had astonished ,jerusalem with ivory1 and apes1 and peacocks imported from ,india4 ,he therefore built ships of ,tarshish at ,ezion-,geber to sail to ,ophir4 ,they were called ,tarshish-ships1 because they were of the same build as those which sailed to ,tartessus1 in ,spain1 from ,joppa4 ,ahaziah was to some extent associated with him in the enterprise4 ,but it turned out even more disastrously than it had done in former times4 ,so unskilled was the seamanship of those days among all nations except the ,phnicians1 that the whole fleet was wrecked and shattered to pieces in the very harbour of ,ezion-,geber before it had set sail4 ,ahaziah1 whose affinity with the ,king of ,tyre and possession of some of the western ports had given his subjects more knowledge of ships and voyages1 then proposed to ,jehoshaphat that the vessels should be manned with sailors from ,israel as well as ,judah4 ,but ,jehoshaphat was tired of a futile and expensive effort4 ,he refused a partnership which might easily lead to complications1 and on which the prophets of ,jehovah frowned4 ,it was the last attempt made by the ,israelites to become merchants by sea as well as by land4 ,ahaziah's brief reign was marked by one immense humiliation4 ,david1 who extended the dominion of the ,hebrews in all directions1 had smitten the ,moabites1 and inflicted on them one of the horrible atrocities against which the ill-instructed conscience of men in those days of ignorance did not revolt4#c ,he had made the male warriors lie on the ground1 and then1 measuring them by lines1 he put every two lines to death and kept one alive4 ,after this the ,moabites had continued to be tributaries4 ,they had fallen to the share of the ,northern ,kingdom1 and yearly acknowledged the suzerainty of ,israel by paying a heavy tribute of the fleeces of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams4 ,but now that the warrior ,ahab was dead1 and ,israel had been crushed by the catastrophe at ,ramoth-,gilead1 ,mesha1 the energetic viceroy of ,moab1 seized his opportunity to revolt and to break from the neck of his people the odious yoke4 ,the revolt was entirely successful4 ,the sacred historian gives us no details1 but one of the most priceless of modern archological discoveries has confirmed the ,scriptural reference by securing and translating a fragment of ,mesha's own account of the annals of his reign4 ,we have1 in what is called ,the ,moabite ,stone1 the memorial written in glorification of himself and of his god ,chemosh1 the abomination of the children of ,ammon1 by a contemporary of ,ahab and ,jehoshaphat4#d ,it is the oldest specimen which we possess of ,hebrew writing2 perhaps the only specimen1 except the ,siloam inscription1 which has come down to us from before the date of the ,exile4 ,it was discovered in #ahgh by the ,german missionary ,klein1 amid the ruins of the royal city of ,daibon 7,dibon1 ,num4 xxi4 #cj71 and was purchased for the ,berlin ,museum in #ahgi4 ,owing to all kinds of errors and intrigues1 it did not remain in the hands of its purchaser1 but was broken into fragments by the nomad tribe of ,beni ,hamide1 from whom it was in some way obtained by ,m4 ,clermont-,ganneau4 ,there is no ground for questioning its perfect genuineness1 though the discovery of its value led to the forgery of a number of spurious and often indecent inscriptions4 ,there can be no reasonable doubt that when we look at it we see before us the identical memorial of triumph which the ,moabite emr erected in the days of ,ahaziah on the bamah of ,chemosh at ,dibon1 one of his chief towns4 ,this document is supremely interesting1 not only for its historical allusions1 but also as an illustration of customs and modes of thought which have left their traces in the records of the people of ,jehovah1 as well as in those of the people of ,chemosh4#e ,mesha tells us that his father reigned in ,dibon for thirty years1 and that he succeeded4 ,he reared this stone to ,chemosh in the town of ,karcha1 as a memorial of gratitude for the assistance which had resulted in the overthrow of all his enemies4 ,omri1 ,king of ,israel1 had oppressed ,moab many days1 because ,chemosh was wroth with his people4 ,ahaziah wished to oppress ,moab as his father had done4 ,but ,chemosh enabled ,mesha to recover ,medeba1 and afterwards ,baal-,meon1 ,kirjatan1 ,ataroth1 ,nebo1 and ,jahaz1 which he reoccupied and rebuilt4 ,perhaps they had been practically abandoned by all effective ,israelite garrisons4 ,in some of these towns he put the inhabitants under a ban1 and sacrificed them to ,moloch in a great slaughter4 ,in ,nebo alone he slew seven thousand men4 ,having turned many towns into fortresses1 he was enabled to defy ,israel altogether1 to refuse the old burdensome tribute1 and to re-establish a strong ,moabite kingdom east of the ,dead ,sea2 for ,israel was wholly unable to meet his forces in the open field4 ,month after month of the reign of the miserable son of ,ahab must have been marked by tidings of shame1 defeat1 and massacre4 ,added to these public calamities1 there came to ,ahaziah a terrible personal misfortune4 ,as he was coming down from the roof of his palace1 he seems to have stopped to lean against the lattice of some window or balcony in his upper chamber in ,samaria4#f ,it gave way under his weight1 and he was hurled down into the courtyard or street below4 ,he was so seriously hurt that he spent the rest of his reign on a sick-bed in pain and weakness1 and ultimately died of the injuries he had received4 ,a succession of woes so grievous might well have awakened the wretched king to serious thought4 ,but he had been trained under the idolatrous influences of his mother4 ,as though it were not enough for him to walk in the steps of ,ahab1 of ,jezebel1 and of ,jeroboam1 he had the fatuity to go out of his way to patronise another and yet more odious superstition4 ,ekron was the nearest town to him of the ,philistine ,pentapolis1 and at ,ekron was established the local cult of a particular ,baal known as ,baal-,zebub 7the lord of flies74#g ,flies1 which in temperate countries are sometimes an intense annoyance1 become in tropical climates an intolerable plague4 ,even the ,greeks had their ,zeus ,apomuios 7,zeus the averter of flies71 and some ,greek tribes worshipped ,zeus ,ipuktonos 7,zeus the slayer of vermin71 and ,zeus ,muiagros and ,apomuios1 and ,apollo ,smintheus 7the destroyer of mice74#h ,the ,romans1 too1 among the numberless quaint heroes of their ,pantheon1 had a certain ,myiagrus and ,myiodes1 whose function it was to keep flies at a distance4#i ,this fly-god1 ,baal-,zebub of ,ekron1 had an oracle1 to whose lying responses the young and superstitious prince attached implicit credence4 ,that a king of ,israel professing any sort of allegiance to ,jehovah1 and having hundreds of prophets in his own kingdom1 should send an embassy to the shrine of an abominable local divinity in a town of the ,philistines--whose chief object of worship was ,that twice-battered god of ,palestine1 ,who mourned in earnest when the captive ark ,maimed his brute image on the grunsel edge ,where he fell flat1 and shamed his worshippers-- was1 it must be admitted1 an act of apostasy more outrageously insulting than had ever yet been perpetrated by any ,hebrew king4 ,nothing can more clearly illustrate the callous indifference shown by the race of ,jezebel to the lessons which ,god had so decisively taught them by ,elijah and by ,micaiah4 ,but ,quem vult ,deus perire1 dementat prius2 and in this dementation preceding doom ,ahaziah sent to ask the fly-god's oracle whether he should recover of his injury4 ,his infatuated perversity became known to ,elijah1 who was bidden by the angel1 or messenger1 of the ,lord--which may only be the recognised phrase in the prophetic schools1 putting in a concrete and vivid form the voice of inward inspiration--to go up1 apparently on the road towards ,samaria1 and meet the messengers of ,ahaziah on their way to ,ekron4 ,where ,elijah was at the time we do not know4 ,ten years had elapsed since the calling of ,elisha1 and four since ,elijah had confronted ,ahab at the door of ,naboth's vineyard4 ,in the interval he has not once been mentioned1 nor can we conjecture with the least certainty whether he had been living in congenial solitude or had been helping to train the ,sons of the ,prophets in the high duties of their calling4 ,why he had not appeared to support ,micaiah we cannot tell4 ,now1 at any rate1 the son of ,ahab was drawing upon himself an ancient curse by going a-whoring after wizards and familiar spirits1 and it was high time for ,elijah to interfere4#aj ,the messengers had not proceeded far on their way when the prophet met them1 and sternly bade them go back to their king1 with the denunciation1 ,is it because there is no ,god in ,israel that ye go to inquire of ,baal-,zebub1 the god of ,ekron8 ,now1 therefore1 thus saith ,jehovah1 ',thou shalt not descend from that bed on which thou art gone up1 but dying thou shalt die4' ,he spoke1 and after his manner vanished with no less suddenness4 ,the messengers1 overawed by that startling apparition1 did not dream of daring to disobey4 ,they at once went back to the king1 who1 astonished at their reappearance before they could possibly have reached the oracle1 asked them why they had returned4 ,they told him of the apparition by which they had been confronted4 ,that it was a prophet who had spoken to them they knew2 but the appearances of ,elijah had been so few1 and at such long intervals1 that they knew not who he was4 ,what sort of man was he that spoke to you8 asked the king4 ,he was1 they answered1 a lord of hair1#aa and girded about his loins with a girdle of skin4#ab ,too well did ,ahaziah recognise from this description the enemy of his guilty race6 ,if he had not been present on ,carmel1 or at ,jezreel1 on the occasions when that swart and shaggy figure of the awful ,wanderer had confronted his father1 he must have often heard descriptions of this strange ,bedawy ascetic who feared man so little because he feared ,god so much4 ,it is ,elijah the ,tishbite6 he exclaimed1 with a bitterness which was succeeded by fierce wrath2 and with something of his mother's indomitable rage he sent a captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him4 ,the captain found ,elijah sitting at the top of the hill1 perhaps of ,carmel2 and what followed is thus described3-- ,thou man of ,god1 he cried1 the king hath said1 ,come down4 ,there was something strangely incongruous in this rude address4 ,the title man of ,god seems first to have been currently given to ,elijah1 and it recognises his inspired mission as well as the supernatural power which he was believed to wield4 ,how preposterous1 then1 was it to bid a man of ,god to obey a king's order and to give himself up to imprisonment or death6 ,if ,i be a man of ,god1 said ,elijah1 then let fire come down from heaven1 to consume thee and thy fifty4#ac ,the fire fell and reduced them all to ashes4#ad ,undeterred by so tremendous a consummation1 the king sent another captain with his fifty1 who repeated the order in terms yet more imperative4#ae ,again ,elijah called down the fire from heaven1 and the second captain with his fifty soldiers was reduced to ashes4 ,for the third time the obstinate king1 whose infatuation must indeed have been transcendent1 despatched a captain with his fifty4 ,but he1 warned by the fate of his predecessors1 went up to ,elijah and fell on his knees1 and implored him to spare the life of himself and his fifty innocent soldiers4 ,then the angel of the ,lord bade ,elijah go down to the king with him and not be afraid4 ,what are we to think of this narrative8 ,of course1 if we are to judge it on such moral grounds as we learn from the spirit of the ,gospel1 ,christ ,himself has taught us to condemn it4 ,there have been men who so hideously misunderstood the true lessons of revelation as to applaud such deeds1 and hold them up for modern imitation4 ,the dark persecutors of the ,spanish ,inquisition1 nay1 even men like ,calvin and ,beza1 argued from this scene that fire is the proper instrument for the punishment of heretics4 ,to all who have been thus misled by a false and superstitious theory of inspiration1 ,christ ,himself says1 with unmistakable plainness1 as ,he said to the ,sons of ,thunder at ,engannim1 ,ye know not what spirit ye are of4 ,i am not come to destroy men's lives1 but to save4#af ,in the abstract1 and judged by ,christian standards1 the calling down of lightning to consume more than a hundred soldiers1 who were but obeying the orders of a king--the protection of personal safety by the miraculous destruction of a king's messengers--could only be regarded as a deed of horror4 ,there are few tracks of ,elijah that are ordinary and fit for common feet1 says ,bishop ,hall2 and he adds1 ,not in his own defence would the prophet have been the death of so many1 if ,god had not1 by a peculiar instinct1 made him an instrument of ,his just vengeance4#ag ,for myself1 ,i more than doubt whether we have any right to appeal to these peculiar instincts and unrecorded inspirations2 and it is so important that we should not form utterly false views of what ,scripture does and does not teach1 that we must once more deal with this narrative quite plainly1 and not beat about the bush with the untenable devices and effeminate euphemisms of commentators1 who give us the to-and-fro-conflicting apologies of a priori theory instead of the clear judgments of inflexible morality4 ,it is impossible not to feel1 says ,professor ,milligan1#ah that the events thus presented to us are of a very startling kind1 and that it is not easy to reconcile them either with the conception that we form of an honoured servant of ,god1 or with our ideas of eternal justice4 ,elijah rather appears to us at first sight as a proud1 arrogant1 and merciless wielder of the power committed to him3 we wonder that an answer should have been given to his prayer2 we are shocked at the destruction of so many men1 who listened only to the command of their captain and their king2 and we cannot help contrasting ,elijah's conduct1 as a whole1 with the beneficent and loving tenderness of the ,new ,testament dispensation4 ,professor ,milligan proceeds rightly to set aside the attempts which have been made to represent the first two captains and their fifties as especially guilty--which is a most flimsy hypothesis1 and would not in any case touch the heart of the matter4 ,he says that the event stands on exactly the same footing as the slaughter of the #dej prophets of ,baal at ,kishon1 and of the #cjjj idolaters by order of ,moses at ,sinai2 the swallowing up of ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abiram2 the ban of total extirpation on ,jericho and on ,canaan2 the sweeping massacre of the ,amalekites by ,saul2 and many similar instances of recorded savagery4 ,but the reference to analogous acts furnishes no justification for those acts4 ,what1 then1 is their justification1 if any can be found8 ,some would defend them on the grounds that the potter may do what he likes with the clay4 ,that analogy1 though perfectly admissible when used for the purpose to which it is applied by ,st4 ,paul1 is grossly inapplicable to such cases as this4 ,st4 ,paul uses it simply to prove that we cannot judge or understand the purposes of ,god1 in which1 as he shows1 mercy often lies behind apparent severity4 ,but1 when urged to maintain the rectitude of sweeping judgments in which a man arms his own feebleness with the omnipotence of ,heaven1 they amount to no more than the tyrant's plea that might makes right4 ,man is a reed1 said ,pascal1 but he is a thinking reed4 ,he may not therefore be indiscriminately crushed4 ,he was made by ,god in ,his image1 after ,his likeness1 and therefore his rights have a ,divine and indefeasible sanction4 ,all that can be said is that these deeds of wholesale severity were not in disaccord with the conscience even of many of the best ,old ,testament saints4 ,they did not feel the least compunction in inflicting judgments on whole populations in a way which would argue in us an infamous callousness4 ,nay1 their consciences approved of those deeds2 they were but acting up to the standard of their times1 and they regarded themselves as righteous instruments of divinely directed vengeance4#ai ,take1 for instance1 the frightful ,eastern law which among the ,jews no less than among ,babylonians and ,persians thought nothing of overwhelming the innocent with the guilty in the same catastrophe2 which required the stoning1 not only of ,achan1 but of all ,achan's innocent family1 as an expiation for his theft2 and the stoning1 not only of ,naboth1 but also of ,naboth's sons1 in requital for his asserted blasphemy4 ,two reasons may be assigned for the chasm between their moral sense and ours on such subjects--one was their amazing indifference to the sacredness of human life1 and the other their invariable habit of regarding men in their corporate relations rather than in their individual capacity4 ,our conscience teaches us that to slay the innocent with the guilty is an action of monstrous injustice2#bj but they1 regarding each person as indissolubly mixed up with all his family and tribe1 magnified the conception of corporate responsibility1 and merged the individual in the mass4 ,it is clear that1 if we take the narrative literally1 ,elijah would not have felt the least remorse in calling fire from heaven to consume these scores of soldiers1 because the prophetic narrator who recorded the story1 perhaps two centuries later1 must have understood the spirit of those days1 and certainly felt no shame for the prophet's act of vengeance4 ,on the contrary1 he relates it with entire approval for the glorification of his hero4 ,we cannot blame him for not rising above the moral standard of his age4 ,he held that the natural manifestation of an angry ,jehovah was1 literally or metaphorically1 in consuming fire4 ,considering the slow education of mankind in the most elementary principles of mercy and righteousness1 we must not judge the views of prophets who lived so many ages before ,christ by those of religious teachers who enjoy the inherited experience of two millenniums of ,christianity4 ,thus much is plainly taught us by ,christ ,himself1 and there perhaps we might be content to leave the question4 ,but we are compelled to ask1 ,do we not too much form all our judgments of the ,scripture narratives on a priori traditions and unreasoned prejudices8 ,can we with adequate knowledge and honest conviction declare our certainty that this scene of destruction ever occurred as a literal fact8 ,if we turn to any of the great students and critics of ,germany1 to whom we are indebted for the floods of light which their researches have thrown on the sacred page1 they with almost consentient voice regard these details of this story as legendary4 ,there is indeed every reason to believe the account of ,ahaziah's accident1 of his sending to consult the oracle of ,baal-,zebub1 of the turning back of his messengers by ,elijah1 and of the menace which he heard from the prophet's lips4 ,but the calling down of lightning to consume his captains and soldiers to ashes belongs to the cycle of ,elijah-traditions preserved in the schools of the prophets2 and in the case of miracles so startling and to our moral sense so repellent--miracles which assume the most insensate folly on the part of the king1 and the most callous ruthlessness on the part of the prophet--the question may be fairly asked1 ,is there any proof1 is there anything beyond dogmatic assertion to convince us1 that we were intended to accept them au pied de la lettre8 ,may they not be the formal vehicle chosen for the illustration of the undoubted powers and righteous mission of ,elijah as the upholder of the worship of ,jehovah8 ,in a literature which abounds1 as all ,eastern literature abounds1 in vivid and concrete methods of indicating abstract truths1 have we any cogent proof that the supernatural details1 of which some may have been introduced into these narratives by the scribes in the schools of the prophets1 were not1 in some instances1 meant to be regarded as imaginative apologues8 ,the most orthodox divines1 both ,jewish and ,christian1 have not hesitated to treat the ,book of ,jonah as an instance of the use of fiction for purposes of moral and spiritual edification4 ,were any critic to maintain that the story of the destruction of ,ahaziah's emissaries belongs to the same class of narratives1 ,i do not know how he could be refuted1 however much he might be denounced by stereotyped prejudice and ignorance4 ,i do not1 however1 myself regard the story as a mere parable composed to show how awful was the power of the prophets1 and how fearfully it might be exercised4 ,i look upon it rather as possibly the narrative of some event which has been imaginatively embellished1 and intermingled with details which we call supernatural4#ba ,circumstances which we consider natural would be regarded as directly miraculous by an ,eastern enthusiast1 who saw in every event the immediate act of ,jehovah to the exclusion of all secondary causes1 and who attributed every occurrence of life to the intervention of those millions of spiritual creatures1 who walk the earth ,unseen both when we wake and when we sleep4 ,if such a supposition be correct and admissible--and assuredly it is based on all that we increasingly learn of the methods of ,eastern literature1 and of the forms in which religious ideas were inculcated in early ages--then all difficulties are removed4 ,we are not dealing with the mercilessness of a prophet1 or the wielding of ,divine powers in a manner which higher revelation condemns1 but only with the well-known fact that the ,elijah-spirit was not the ,christ-spirit1 and that the scribes of ,ramah or ,gilgal1 and the men of the tradition and the men of letters who lived at ,jabez1 when they used the methods of ,targum and ,haggadah in handing down the stories of the prophets1 had not received that full measure of enlightenment which came only when the ,light of the ,world had shone4#bb ,,footnotes3 #a ,rawlinson1 ,kings of ,israel and ,judah1 p4 #hf4 ,the name of ,ahaziah 7'the ,lord taketh hold'71 like that of all ,ahab's sons1 testifies to the fact that the husband of ,jezebel still worshipped ,jehovah4 ,among the names of the judges and kings before ,ahab in ,israel1 and ,asa in ,judah1 scarcely a single instance occurs of names compounded with ,jehovah2 thenceforward they became the rule 7,wellhausen1 ,israel and ,judah1 ,es4 #a1 p4 #ff74 #b #a ,kings xxii4 #dg2 #b ,kings iii4 #i3 comp4 viii4 #bj4 #c #b ,sam4 viii4 #b4 ,on the ethics of these wars of extermination1 such as are commanded in the ,pentateuch1 and were practised by ,joshua1 ,samuel1 ,saul1 ,david1 and others1 see ,josh4 vi4 #ag2 #a ,sam4 xv4 #c1 #cc2 #b ,sam4 viii4 #b1 etc41 and ,mozley's ,lectures on the ,old ,testament1 pp4 #hc-ajc4 #d ,see ,stade1 i4 #hf4 ,he gives a photograph and translation of it at p4 #ecd4 #e ,see ,records of the ,past1 xi4 #aff1 #afg4 #f #b ,kings i4 #b2 ,heb41 be'ad hass'bakh2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 per cancellos 7comp4 #a ,kings vii4 #ah2 #b ,chron4 iv4 #ab74 #g ,,lxx41 4 ,so1 too1 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 ii4 #a4 ,it is possible that the god was represented holding a fly as the type of pestilence1 just as the statue of ,pthah held in its hands a mouse 7,herod41 ii4 #ada74 ,flies convey all kinds of contagion 7,plin41 ,h4 ,n41 x4 #bh74 #h ,pausan41 v4 #ad1 #b4 #i ,the name1 or a derisive modification of it1 was given by the ,jews in the days of ,christ to the prince of the devils4 ,in ,matt4 xii4 #bd the true reading is 1 which perhaps means 7in contempt7 the lord of dung2 but might mean the lord of the celestial habitation 774 ,comp4 ,matt4 x4 #be2 ,eph4 ii4 #b2 ,baal ,shamaim1 the ,belsamen of ,augustine 7,gesen41 ,monum4 ,phnic41 #chg2 ,movers1 ,phnizier1 i4 #agf74 ,for opprobrious puns applied to idols1 see ,lightfoot1 ,exercitationes ad ,matt41 xii4 #bd4 ,the common word for idols1 gilloolim1 is perhaps connected with galal1 dung4 ,hitzig thinks that the god was represented under the symbol of the ,scarabus pillularius1 or dung-beetle4 #aj ,lev4 xx4 #f4 #aa 7,,lxx41 71 whether in reference to his long shaggy locks1 or his sheepskin addereth1 7,zech4 xiii4 #d2 ,heb4 xii4 #cg74 #ab 7,matt iii4 #d74 #ac ,there is perhaps an intentional play of words between man 77 of ,god and fire 77 of ,god 7,klostermann74 #ad ,hebrew4 #ae ,come down quickly 7#b ,kings i4 #i74 #af ,luke ix4 #ea-ef4 ,this is a more than sufficient answer to the censure of ,theodoret1 that they who condemn the prophet are wagging their tongues against ,god4 ,the remark is based on utter misapprehension2 and if we are to form no judgment on the morality of ,scripture examples1 they would be of no help for us4 ,compare the striking remark of the minister to ,balfour of ,burleigh in ,scott's ,old ,mortality4 #ag ,quoted by ,rev4 ,professor ,lumby1 ad loc4 #ah ,elijah1 p4 #adf4 #ai ,this is practically the sum-total of the answer given again and again by ,canon ,mozley in his ,lectures on the ,old ,testament1 #bnd edition1 #ahgh4 ,for instance1 he says that the ,jewish idea of justice gives us the reason why the ,divine commands 7of exterminating wars1 etc47 were then adapted to man as the agent for executing them1 and are not adapted now 7p4 #ajb74 #bj ,comp4 ,ezek4 xviii4 #b-cj4 #ba ,for the idea involved see ,num4 xi4 #a2 ,deut4 iv4 #bd2 ,psalm xxi4 #i2 ,isa4 xxvi4 #aa2 ,heb4 x4 #bg1 etc4 #bb #a ,chron4 ii4 #ee1 where ,shimeathites means men of the tradition1 and scribes1 men of letters4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,ascension ,,of ,,elijah #b ,,kings ii4 #a-ah 1 4--,,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 ii4 #b4 1 4--,,st4 ,,ephr,m ,,syrus4 ,the date of the assumption of ,elijah is wholly uncertain1 and it becomes still more so because of the confusion of chronological order which results from the composite character of the records here collected4 ,it appears from various scattered notices that ,elijah lived on till the reign of ,jehoram of ,judah1 whereas the narrative in this chapter is placed before the death of ,jehoshaphat4 ,when the time came that ,jehovah would take up ,elijah by a whirlwind into heaven1 the prophet had a prevision of his approaching end1 and determined for the last time to visit the hills of his native ,gilead4 ,the story of his end1 though not written in rhythm1 is told in a style of the loftiest poetry1 resembling other ancient poems in its simple and solemn repetitions4 ,on his way to ,gilead1 ,elijah desires to visit ancient sanctuaries where schools of the prophets were now established1 and accompanied by ,elisha1 whose faithful ministrations he had enjoyed for ten almost silent years1 he went to ,gilgal4 ,this was not the ,gilgal in the ,jordan valley so famous in the days of ,joshua1#bc but ,jiljilia in the hills of ,ephraim1#bd where many young prophets were in course of training4#be ,knowing that he was on his way to death1 ,elijah felt the imperious instinct which leads the soul to seek solitude at the supreme crises of life4 ,he would have preferred that even ,elisha should leave him1 and he bade him stop at ,gilgal1 because the ,lord had sent him as far as ,bethel4 ,but ,elisha was determined to see the end1 and exclaimed with strong asseveration1 ,as ,jehovah liveth1 and as thy soul liveth1 ,i will not leave thee4 ,so they went on to ,bethel1 where there was another school of prophets1 under the immediate shadow of ,jeroboam's golden calf1 though we are not told whether they continued the protest of the old nameless seer from ,judah1 or not4#bf ,here the youths of the college came respectfully to ,elisha--for they were prevented by a sense of awe from addressing ,elijah--and asked him whether he knew that that day ,god would take away his master4 ,yes1 ,i know it1 he answers2 but--for this is no subject for idle talk--hold ye your peace4 ,once more ,elijah tries to shake off the attendance of his friend and disciple4 ,he bids him stay at ,bethel1 since ,jehovah has sent him on to ,jericho4 ,once more ,elisha repeats his oath that he will not leave him1 and once more the sons of the prophets at ,jericho1 who warn him of what is coming1 are told to say no more4 ,but little of the journey now remains4 ,in vain ,elijah urges ,elisha to stay at ,jericho2 they proceed to ,jordan4 ,conscious that some great event is impending1 and that ,elijah is leaving these scenes for ever1 fifty of the sons of the prophets watch the two as they descend the valley to the river4 ,here they saw ,elijah take off his mantle of hair1 roll it up1 and smite the waters with it4 ,the waters part asunder1 and the prophets pass over dry-shod4#bg ,as they crossed over ,elijah asks ,elisha what he should do for him1 and ,elisha entreats that a double portion of ,elijah's spirit may rest upon him4 ,by this he does not mean to ask for twice ,elijah's power and inspiration1 but only for an elder son's portion1 which was twice what was inherited by the younger sons4#bh ,thou hast asked a hard thing1 said ,elijah2 but if thou seest me when ,i am taken hence1 it shall be so4 ,the sequel can be only told in the words of the text3 ,and it came to pass1 as they still went on1 and talked1 that1 behold1 there appeared a chariot of fire1 and horses of fire1#bi and parted them both asunder2 and ,elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven4 ,and ,elisha saw it1 and he cried1 ',my father1 my father1 the chariots of ,israel1 and the horsemen thereof6'#cj ,and he saw him no more4 ,respecting the manner in which ,elijah ended his earthly career1 we know nothing beyond what is conveyed by this splendid narrative4 ,his death1 like that of ,moses1 was surrounded by mystery and miracles1 and we can say nothing further about it4 ,the question must still remain unanswered for many minds whether it was intended by the prophetic annalists for literal history1 for spiritual allegory1 or for actual events bathed in the colourings of an imagination to which the providential assumed the aspect of the supernatural4#ca ,we are twice told that ,elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven1#cb and in that storm--which would have seemed a fit scene for the close of a career of storm--,god1 in the high poetry of the ,psalmist1 may have made the winds ,his angels1 and the flames of fire ,his ministers4 ,for us it must suffice to say of ,elijah1 as the ,book of ,genesis says of ,enoch1 that he was not1 for ,god took him4 ,elisha signalised the removal of his master by a burst of natural grief4 ,he seized his garments and rent them in twain4 ,elijah had dropped his mantle of skin1 and his grieving disciple took it with him as a priceless relic4#cc ,the legendary ,st4 ,antony bequeathed to ,st4 ,athanasius the only thing which he had1 his sheepskin mantle2 and in the mantle of ,elijah his successor inherited his most characteristic and almost his sole possession4 ,he returned to ,jordan1 and with this mantle he smote the waters as ,elijah had done4 ,at first they did not divide2#cd but when he exclaimed1 ,where is the ,lord1 the ,god of ,elijah1 even ,he8 they parted hither and thither4 ,seeing the portent1 the sons of the prophets came with humble prostrations1 and acknowledged him as their new leader4 ,they were not1 however1 satisfied with what they had seen1 or had heard from ,elisha1 of the departure of the great prophet1 and begged leave to send fifty strong men to search whether the wind of the ,lord had not swept him away to some mountain or valley4 ,elisha at first refused1 but afterwards yielded to their persistent importunity4 ,they searched for three days among the hills of ,gilead1 but found him not1 either living or dead1 as ,elisha had warned them would be the case4 ,from that time forward ,elijah has taken his place in all ,jewish and ,mohammedan legends as the mysterious and deathless wanderer4 ,malachi spoke of him as destined to appear again to herald the coming of the ,messiah1#ce and ,christ taught ,his disciples that ,john the ,baptist had come in the spirit and power of ,elijah4 ,in ,jewish legend he often appears and disappears4 ,a chair is set for him at the circumcision of every ,jewish child4 ,at the ,paschal feast the door is set open for him to enter4 ,all doubtful questions are left for decision until he comes again4 ,to the ,mohammedans he is known as the wonder-working and awful ,el ,khudr4#cf ,elisha is mentioned but once in all the later books of ,scripture2 but ,elijah is mentioned many times1 and the son of ,sirach sums up his greatness when he says3 ,then stood up ,elias as fire1 and his word burned like a torch4 ,o ,elias1 how wast thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds6 and who may glory like unto thee--who anointed kings to take revenge1 and prophets to succeed after him--who wast ordained for reproof in their times1 to pacify the wrath of the ,lord's judgment before it broke forth into fury1 and to turn the heart of the father unto the son1 and to restore the tribes of ,jacob6 ,blessed are they that saw thee and slept in love2 for we shall surely live6 ,,footnotes3 #bc ,josh4 iv4 #ai2 v4 #i1 #aj4 #bd ,deut4 xi4 #cj4 ,it is on a hill south-west of ,shiloh 7,seilun71 near the road to ,jericho 7,hos4 iv4 #ae2 ,amos iv4 #d74 ,the name means a circle1 and there may have been an ancient circle of sacred stones there4 #be #b ,kings iv4 #ch4 #bf #a ,kings xiii4 #bg ,as there are fords at ,jericho1 the object of this miracle1 as of the one subsequently ascribed to ,elisha1 is not self-evident4 ,nothing is more certain than that there is a ,divine economy in the exercise of supernatural powers4 ,the pomp and prodigality of superfluous portents belong1 not to ,scripture1 but to the ,acta sanctorum1 and the saint-stories of ,arabia and ,india4 #bh ,deut4 xxi4 #ag4 ,the ,hebrew is 1 a mouthful1 or ration of two4 ,comp4 ,gen4 xliii4 #cd4 ,even ,ewald's ,nur ,zweidrittel und auch diese kaum is too strong 7,gesch41 iii4 #eag74 ,in no sense was ,elisha greater than ,elijah3 he wrought more wonders1 but he left little of his teaching1 and produced on the mind of his nation a far less strong impression4 #bi ,in #b ,kings vi4 #ag the stormblast 7s'rh7 and chariots and horses of fire are part of a vision of the ,divine protection4 ,comp4 ,isa4 lxvi4 #ae2 ,job xxxviii1 #a2 ,nah4 i4 #c2 ,psalms xviii4 #f-ae1 civ4 #c4 #cj ,that is1 the protection and defence of ,israel by thy prayers4 #ca ,even the ,church-father ,st4 ,ephrm ,syrus evidently felt some misgivings4 ,he says3 ,suddenly there came from the height a storm of fire1 and in the midst of the flame the form of a chariot and horses1 and parted them both asunder2 the one of them it left on the earth1 the other it carried to the height2 but whether the wind carried him1 or in what place it left him1 the ,scripture has not informed us1 but it says that after some years1 a terrifying letter from him full of menaces1 was delivered to ,king ,jehoram of ,judah 7quoted by ,keil ad loc474 ,see #b ,chron4 xxi4 #ab4 ,the letter is called a writing 7miktb74 #cb #b ,kings ii4 #aa2 ,ecclus4 xlviii4 #ab4 ,the ,,lxx4 curiously says 4 ,so too the ,rabbis1 ,sucah1 f4 #e4 #cc ,the circumstance has left its trace in the proverbs of nations1 and in the ,german word ,mantelkind for a spiritual successor4 #cd #b ,kings ii4 #ad4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ,percussit aquas1 et non sunt divis4 #ce ,mal4 iv4 #d-f4 #cf ,bava-,metzia1 f4 #cg1 #b1 etc4 ,his name is used for incantations in the ,kabbala4 ,kitsur ,sh'lh1 f4 #ga1 #a 7,hershon1 ,talmudic ,miscellany1 p4 #cdj74 ,the chair set for him is called the throne of ,elijah4 ,for many ,rabbinic legends see ,hershon1 ,treasures of the ,talmud1 pp4 #agb-agh4 ,the ,persians regard him as the teacher of ,zoroaster4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,elisha #b ,,kings ii4 #a-be ,he did wonders in his life1 and at death even his works were marvellous4 ,for all this the people repented not4--,,ecclus4 xlviii4 #ad1 #ae4 ,at this point we enter into the cycle of supernatural stories1 which gathered round the name of ,elisha in the prophetic communities4 ,some of them are full of charm and tenderness2 but in some cases it is difficult to point out their intrinsic superiority over the ecclesiastical miracles with which monkish historians have embellished the lives of the saints4 ,we can but narrate them as they stand1 for we possess none of the means for critical or historical analysis which might enable us to discriminate between essential facts and accidental elements4 ,we see at once that the figure of ,elisha#cg is far less impressive than that of ,elijah4 ,he inspires less of awe and terror4 ,he lives far more in cities and amid the ordinary surroundings of civilised life4 ,the honour with which he was treated was the honour of respect and admiration for his kindliness4 ,he plays his part in no stupendous scenes like those at ,carmel and at ,horeb1 and nearly all his miracles were miracles of mercy4 ,other remarkable differences are observable in the records of ,elijah and ,elisha4 ,in the case of the former his main work was the opposition to ,baal-worship2 but although ,baal-worship still prevailed 7#b ,kings x4 #ah-bg7 we read of no protests raised by ,elisha against it4 ,with him--perhaps it should be more accurately said1 in the narrative which tells us of him--the miracles are everything1 the prophetic work nothing4 ,the conception of a prophet's mission in these stories of him differs widely from that which dominates the splendid midrash of ,elijah4 ,his separate career began with an act of beneficence4 ,he had stopped for a time at ,jericho4 ,the curse of the rebuilding of the town upon a site which ,joshua had devoted to the ban had expended itself on ,hiel1 its builder4 ,it was now a flourishing city1 and the home of a large school of prophets4 ,but though the situation was pleasant as a garden of the ,lord1#ch the water was bad1 and the land miscarried4 ,in other words1 the deleterious spring caused diseases among the inhabitants1 and caused the trees to cast their fruit4 ,so the men of the city came to ,elisha1 and humbly addressing him as my lord1 implored his help4 ,he told them to bring him a new cruse full of salt1 and going with it to the fountain cast it into the springs1 proclaiming in ,jehovah's name that they were healed1 and that there should be no more death or miscarrying land4 ,the gushing waters of the ,ain-es-,sultn1 fed by the spring of ,quarantania1 are to this day pointed out as the ,fountains of ,elisha1 as they have been since the days of ,josephus4#ci ,the anecdote of this beautiful interposition to help a troubled city is followed by one of the stories which naturally repel us more than any other in the ,old ,testament4 ,elisha1 on leaving ,jericho1 returned to ,bethel1 and as he climbed through the forest up the ascent leading to the town through what is now called the ,wady ,suweint1 a number of young lads--with the rudeness which in boys is often a venial characteristic of their gay spirits or want of proper training1 and which to this day is common among boys in the ,east--laughed at him1 and mocked him with the cry ,go up1 round-head6 go up1 round-head6#dj ,what struck these ill-bred and irreverent youngsters was the contrast between the rough hair-skin garb and unkempt shaggy locks of ,elijah1 the lord of hair1 and the smooth civilised aspect and shorter hair of his disciple4 ,if the word quereach means bald#da we see an additional reason for their ill-mannered jeers1 since baldness was a cause of reproach and suspicion in the ,east1 where it is comparatively rare4 ,no doubt1 too1 the conduct of these young scoffers was the more offensive1 and even the more wicked1 because of the deeper reverence for age which prevails in ,eastern countries1 and above all because ,elisha was known as a prophet4 ,perhaps1 too1 if some other reading lies behind the of one ,,ms4 of the ,septuagint1 they pelted him with stones4#db ,that ,elisha should have rebuked them1 and that seriously--that he should even have inflicted some punishment upon them to reform their manners--would have been natural2 but we cannot repress the shudder with which we read the verse1 ,and he turned back and looked on them1 and cursed them in the name of the ,lord4 ,and there came forth two she-bears out of the wood1 and tare forty-and-two children of them4 ,surely the punishment was disproportionate to the offence6 ,who could doom so much as a single rude boy1 not to speak of forty-two1 to a horrible and agonising death for shouting after any one8 ,it is the chief exception to the general course of ,elisha's compassionate interpositions4 ,here1 too1 we must leave the narrative where it is2 but we hold it quite admissible to conjecture that the incident1 in some form or other1 really occurred--that the boys were insolent1 and that some of them may have been killed by the wild beasts which at that time abounded in ,palestine--and yet that the nuances of the story which cause deepest offence to us may have suffered from some corruption of the tradition in the original records1 and may admit of being represented in a slightly different form4 ,after this ,elisha went for a time to the ancient haunts of his master on ,mount ,carmel1 and thence returned to ,samaria1 the capital of his country1 which he seems to have chosen for his most permanent dwelling-place4 ,,footnotes3 #cg ,the name ,elisha means ,my ,god is salvation4 #ch ,gen4 xiii4 #aj4 ,the city of palms 7,deut4 xxxiv4 #c74 #ci ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,iv4 viii4 #c2 ,robinson1 ,bibl4 ,researches1 i4 #eed4 #dj ,abarbanel's notion that they meant ,ascend to heaven as ,elijah did is absurd4 #da 4 ,this means bald at the back of the head1 as 7gibbeach71 means forehead-bald 7,ewald1 iii4 #eab74 ,elisha could not have been bald from old age1 since he lived on for nearly sixty years1 and must have been a young man4 ,baldness involved a suspicion of leprosy1 and was disliked by ,easterns 7,lev4 xxi4 #e1 xiii4 #dc2 ,isa4 iii4 #ag1 #bd1 xv4 #b71 as much as by the ,romans 7,suet41 ,jul4 ,cs41 #de2 ,domit41 #ah74 ,elisha's prophetic activity lasted through the reigns of ,joram1 ,jehu1 ,jehoahaz1 and ,joash 7i4e41 #ab #bh #ag #b years74 #db ,the of the ,vat4 ,,lxx4 implies persistent and vehement insult4 ,the ,post-,mishnic ,rabbis1 however1 say that ,elisha was punished with sickness for this deed 7,bava-,metzia1 f4 #hg1 #a74 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,invasion ,,of ,,moab #b ,,kings iii4 #d-bg ,what reinforcement we may gain from hope1 ,if not1 what resolution from despair4 ,,milton1 ,paradise ,lost1 i4 #aij4 ,ahaziah1 as ,elijah had warned him1 never recovered from the injuries received in his fall through the lattice1 and after his brief and luckless reign died without a child4 ,he was succeeded by his brother ,jehoram 7,jehovah is exalted71 who reigned for twelve years4#dc ,jehoram began well4 ,though it is said that he did that which was evil in the sight of the ,lord1 we are told that he was not so guilty as his father or his mother4 ,he did not1 of course1 abolish the worship of ,jehovah under the cherubic symbol of the calves2 no king of ,israel thought of doing that1 and so far as we know neither ,elijah1 nor ,elisha1 nor ,jonah1 nor ,micaiah1 nor any genuine prophet of ,israel before ,hosea1 ever protested against that worship1 which was chiefly disparaged by prophets of ,judah like ,amos and the nameless seer4#dd ,but ,jehoram at least removed the ,matstsebah or stone obelisk which had been reared in ,baal's honour in front of his temple by ,ahab1 or by ,jezebel in his name4#de ,in this direction1 however1 his reformation must have been exceedingly partial1 for until the sweeping measures taken by ,jehu the temple and images of ,baal still continued to exist in ,samaria under his very eyes1 and must have been connived at if not approved4 ,the first great measure which occupied the thoughts of ,jehoram was to subdue the kingdom of ,moab1 which had been restored to independence by the bravery of the great pastoral-king ,mesha2#df or at any rate to avenge the series of humiliating defeats which ,mesha had inflicted on his brother ,ahaziah4 ,a war of forty years' duration#dg had ended in the complete success of ,moab4 ,the loss of a tribute of the fleeces of one hundred thousand lambs and one hundred thousand rams was too serious to be lightly faced4#dh ,jehoram laid his plans well4 ,first he ordered a muster of all the men of war throughout his kingdom1 and then appealed for the co-operation of ,jehoshaphat and his vassal-king of ,edom4 ,both kings consented to join him4 ,jehoshaphat had already been the victim of a powerful and wanton aggression on the part of ,king ,mesha1#di from which he had been delivered by the panic of his foes in the ,valley of ,salt4 ,though the king of ,edom had1 on that occasion1 been an ally of ,mesha1 the forces of ,edom had fallen the first victims of that internecine panic4 ,both ,judah and ,edom1 therefore1 had grave wrongs to avenge1 and eagerly seized the opportunity to humble the growing pride of the people of ,chemosh4 ,the attack was wisely arranged4 ,it was determined to advance against ,moab from the south1 through the territory of ,edom1 by a rough and mountainous track1 and1 as far as possible1 to take the nation by surprise4 ,the combined host took a seven days' circuit round the south of the ,dead ,sea1 hoping to find an abundant supply of water in the stream which flows through the ,wady-el-,ahsa1 which separates ,edom from ,moab4#ej ,but owing to recent droughts the ,wady was waterless1 and the armies1 with their horses1 suffered all the agonies of thirst4 ,jehoram gave way to despair1 bewailing that ,jehovah should have brought together these three kings to deliver them a helpless prey into the hands of ,moab4 ,but the pious ,jehoshaphat at once thinks of inquiring of the ,lord by some true prophet1 and one of ,jehoram's courtiers informs him that no less a person than ,elisha1 the son of ,shaphat1 who had been the attendant of ,elijah1 is with the host4#ea ,we are surprised to find that his presence in the camp had excited so little attention as to be unknown to the king2#eb but ,jehoshaphat1 on hearing his name1 instantly acknowledged his prophetic inspiration4 ,so urgent was the need1 and so deep the sense of ,elisha's greatness1 that the three kings in person went on an embassy to the servant of him who ran before the chariot of ,ahab4 ,their humble appeal to him produced so little elation in his mind that1 addressing ,jehoram1 who was the most powerful1 he exclaimed1 with rough indignation3 ,what have ,i to do with thee8 ,get thee to the prophets of thy father1--nominal prophets of ,jehovah1 who will say to thee smooth things and prophesy deceits1 as four hundred of them did to ,ahab--and to the ,baal-prophets of thy mother4 ,instead of resenting this scant respect ,jehoram1 in utmost distress1 deprecated the prophet's anger1 and appealed to his pity for the peril of the three armies4 ,but ,elisha is not mollified4 ,he tells ,jehoram that but for the presence of ,jehoshaphat he would not so much as look at him3 so completely was the destiny of the people mixed up with the character of their kings6 ,out of respect for ,jehoshaphat ,elisha will do what he can4 ,but all his soul is in a tumult of emotion4 ,for the moment he can do nothing4 ,he needs to be calmed from his agitation by the spell of music1 and bids them send a minstrel to him4 ,the harper came1 and as ,elisha listened his soul was composed1 and the hand of the ,lord came upon him to illuminate and inspire his thoughts4#ec ,the result was that he bade them dig trenches in the dry wady1 and promised that1 though they should see neither wind nor rain1 the valley should be filled with water to quench the thirst of the fainting armies1 their horses and their cattle4 ,after this ,god would also deliver the ,moabites into their hand2 and they were bidden to smite the cities1 fell the trees1 stop the wells1 and mar the smiling pasture-lands1 which constituted the wealth of ,moab1 with stones4 ,that the hosts of ,judah and ,israel and jealous ,edom should be prone to afflict this awfully devastating vengeance on a power by which they had been so severely defeated on past occasions1 and on which they had so many wrongs and blood-feuds to avenge1 was natural2 but it is surprising to find a prophet of the ,lord giving the commission to ruin the gifts of ,god and spoil the innocent labours of man1 and thus to inflict misery on generations yet unborn4 ,the behest is directly contrary to rules of international war which have prevailed even between non-,christian nations1 among whom the stopping or poisoning of wells and the cutting down of fruit trees has been expressly forbidden4 ,it is also against the rules of war laid down in ,deuteronomy4#ed ,such1 however1 was the command attributed to ,elisha2 and1 as we shall see1 it was fulfilled1 and seems to have led to disastrous consequences4 ,cheered by the promise of ,divine aid which the prophet had given them1 the host retired to rest4 ,the next morning at day-dawn1 when the minchah of fine flour1 oil1 and frankincense was offered1#ee water1 which1 according to the tradition of ,josephus1 had fallen at three days' distance on the hills of ,edom1 came flowing from the south and filled the wady with its refreshing streams4 ,the incident itself is highly instructive4 ,it throws light both upon the general accuracy of the ancient narrative1 and on the fact that events to which a directly supernatural colouring is given are1 in many instances1 not so much supernatural as providential4 ,the deliverance of ,israel was due1 not to a portent wrought by ,elisha1 but to the pure wisdom which he derived from the inspiration of ,god4 ,when the counsels of princes were of none effect1 and for lack of the spirit of counsel the people were perishing1 his mind alone1 illuminated by a wisdom from on high1 saw what was the right step to take4 ,he bade the soldiers dig trenches in the dry torrent bed1--which was the very step most likely to ensure their deliverance from the torment of thirst1 and which would be done under similar circumstances to this day4 ,they saw neither wind nor rain2 but there had been a storm among the farther hills1 and the swollen watercourses discharged their overflow into the trenches of the wady which were ready prepared for them1 and offered the path of least resistance4 ,moab1 meanwhile1 had heard of the advance of the three kings through the territories of ,edom4 ,the whole military population had mustered in arms1 and stood on the frontier1 on the other side of the dry wady1 to oppose the invasion4 ,for they knew this would be a struggle of life and death1 and that if defeated they would have no mercy to expect4 ,when the sun rose1 and its first rays burned on the wady1 which had been dry on the previous evening1 the water which1 unknown to the ,moabites1 had filled the trenches in the night1 looked red as blood4 ,doubtless it may have been stained1 as ,ewald says1 by the red soil which gave its name to the red land of the red king1 ,edom2 but as it gleamed under the dawn the ,moabites thought that those seemingly crimson pools had been filled with the blood of their enemies1 who had fallen by each other's swords4 ,their own recent experience when ,jehoshaphat met them in the ,valley of ,salt showed them how easy it was for temporary allies to be seized by panic1 and to fight among themselves4#ef ,the army of their invaders was composed of heterogeneous and mutually conflicting elements4 ,between ,israel and ,judah there had been nearly a century of war1#eg and only a brief reunion2 and ,edom1 recently the willing and natural ally of ,moab1 was not likely to fight very zealously for ,judah1 which had reduced her to vassalage4 ,so the ,moabites said to one another1 as they pointed to the unexpected apparition of those red pools3 ,this is blood4 ,the kings are surely destroyed1 and they have smitten each man his fellow4 ,moab to the spoil6 ,they rushed down tumultuously on the camp of ,israel1 and found the soldiers of ,jehoram ready to receive them4 ,taken by surprise1 for they had expected no resistance1 they were hurled back in utter confusion and with immense slaughter4 ,the three kings pushed their advantage to the utmost4 ,they went forward into the land1 driving and smiting the ,moabites before them1 and ruthlessly carrying out the command attributed to ,elisha4 ,they beat down the cities--most of which in a land of flocks and herds were little more than pastoral villages2 they rendered the green fields useless with stones2 they filled up all the wells with earth2 they felled every fruit-bearing tree of any value4 ,at last only one stronghold1 ,kir-haraseth1 the chief fenced town of ,moab1 held out against them4#eh ,even this fortress was sore bested4 ,the slingers1 for which ,israel1 and specially the tribe of ,benjamin1 was so famous1 advanced to drive its defenders from the battlements4 ,king ,mesha fought with undaunted heroism4 ,he decided to take the seven hundred warriors who were left to him1 and cut his way through the besieging host to the king of ,edom4 ,he thought that even now he might persuade the ,edomites to abandon this new and unnatural alliance1 and turn the battle against their common enemies4 ,but the numbers against him were too strong1 and he found the plan impossible4 ,then he formed a dreadful resolution1 dictated to him by the extremity of his despair4 ,his inscription at ,karcha shows that he was a profound and even fanatical believer in ,chemosh1 his god4 ,chemosh could still deliver him4 ,if ,chemosh was1 as ,mesha says in his inscription1 angry with his land--if1 even for a time1 he allowed his faithful people and his devoted king to be afflicted--it could not be for any lack of power on his part1 but only because they had in some way offended him1 so that he was wroth1 or because he had gone on a journey1 or was asleep1 or deaf4#ei ,how could he be appeased8 ,only by the offering of the most precious of all the king's possessions2 only by the self-devotion of the crown-prince1 on whom were centred all the nation's hopes4 ,mesha would force ,chemosh to help him for very shame4 ,he would offer to ,chemosh a human sacrifice1 the sacrifice of his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead4 ,doubtless the young prince gave himself up as a willing offering1 for that was essential to the holocaust being valid and acceptable4#fj ,so upon the wall of ,kir-haraseth1 in the sight of all the ,moabites1 and of the three invading armies1 the brave and desperate hero of a hundred fights1 who had inflicted so many reverses upon these enemies1 and received so many at their hands1 but who1 having liberated his country1 now saw all the efforts of his life ruined at one blow--took his eldest son1 kindled the sacrificial fire1 and then and there solemnly offered that horrible burnt-offering4#fa ,and it proved effectual1 though far otherwise than ,mesha had expected4 ,he was delivered2 and1 doubtless1 if ever he reared1 at ,kirharaseth or elsewhere1 another memorial stone1 he would have attributed his deliverance to his national god4 ,but here1 in the annals of ,elisha1 the result is hurried over1 and a veil is1 so to speak1 dropped upon the dreadful scene with the one ambiguous expression1 ,and there was great wrath against ,israel3 and they departed from him1 and returned to their own land4 ,the phrase awakens but does not satisfy our curiosity4 ,we are not certain of the translation1 or of the meaning4 ,it may be1 as in the margin of the ,revised ,version1 there came great wrath upon ,israel4#fb ,but wrath from whom8 and on what account8 ,the word wrath all but invariably denotes divine wrath2 but we cannot imagine 7as some critics do7 that any ,israelite of the schools of the prophets would sanction the notion that the chosen people were allowed to suffer from the kindled wrath of ,chemosh4 ,can we then suppose that the desperate act of ,king ,mesha was a proof that ,israel1 who was no doubt the most interested and the most remorseless of the invaders1 had pressed the ,moabites too hard1 and carried his vengeance much too far8 ,that is by no means impossible4 ,the prophet ,amos denounces upon ,moab in after years the doom that fire should devour the palaces of ,kirioth1 and that ,moab should perish with shoutings1 and all his royal line be cut off1 for the far less offence of having burned into lime the bones of the king of ,edom4#fc ,the command of ,elisha did not exempt the ,israelites from their share of moral responsibility4 ,jehu was commissioned to be an executioner of vengeance upon the house of ,ahab4 ,yet ,jehu is expressly condemned by the prophet ,hosea for the tiger-like ferocity and horrible thoroughness with which he had carried out his destined work4#fd ,only one other explanation is possible4 ,if wrath here has the unusual sense of human indignation1 the clause can only imply that the armies of ,judah and ,edom were roused to anger by the unpitying spirit which ,israel had displayed4 ,the horrible tragedy enacted upon the wall of ,kirharaseth awoke their consciences to the sense of human compassion4 ,these1 after all1 were fellow-men--fellow-men of kindred blood to their own--whom they had driven to straits so frightful as to cause a king to burn his own heir alive as a mute appeal to his god in the hour of overwhelming ruin4 ,they had done enough3 ,sunt lacrim rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt4 ,they hastily broke up the league1 dissolved the alliance1 returned horror-stricken to their own land4 ,they left ,moab indeed in possession of his last fortress1 but they had reduced his territory to a wilderness before they retired and called it peace4 ,,footnotes3 #dc ,there are great difficulties in the statement 7#b ,kings iii4 #a7 that he began to reign in the eighteenth year of ,jehoshaphat4 ,i have not entered1 nor shall ,i enter1 into the minute and precarious conjectures necessitated by the uncertainties and contradictions of this synchronism introduced into the narrative by some editor4 ,suffice it that with the aid of the ,assyrian records we have certain points de repre2 from which we can1 with the assistance of the historian1 conjecturally restore the main data4 ,in the dates given at the head of the chapters ,i follow ,kittel1 as a careful inquirer4 ,some of the approximately fixed dates are 7see ,appendix ,i473-- #hed4 ,battle of ,karkar 7,ahab and ,benhadad against ,shalmaneser ,,ii47 #gch4 ,tribute of ,menahem to ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 #gcb4 ,fall of ,damascus4 #gbb4 ,capture of ,samaria by ,sargon4 #gbj4 ,defeat of ,sabaco by ,sargon in battle of ,raphia4 #gje4 ,accession of ,sennacherib4 #gja4 ,campaign against ,hezekiah4 #fjh4 ,death of ,josiah4 #dd ,but neither the man of ,god from ,judah nor ,amos directly denounce the calf-worship1 so much as its concomitant sins and irregularities4 #de ,perhaps the true reading is pillars 7,,lxx41 ,vulg41 ,arab474 #df ,he is called a sheep-master1 noked2 ,,lxx41 4 ,elsewhere the word occurs only in ,amos i4 #a4 ,the ,alex4 ,,lxx4 has 4 #dg ,according to the ,moabite ,stone4 #dh ,it is not clear whether the lambs and rams were sent with the fleeces4 ,the ,a4,v4 says lambs and rams with their wool1 in accordance with ,josephus-- 4 ,the ,,lxx4 has the vague 1 and implies that this was a special fine after a defeat in the revolt 7 73 but comp4 ,isa4 xvi4 #a4 #di #b ,chron4 xx4 #a-cj4 #ej ,robinson 7,bibl4 ,res41 ii4 #aeg7 identifies it with the brook ,zered4 ,deut4 ii4 #ac2 ,num4 xxi4 #ab4 ,the name means valley of water-pits4 ,w4 ,r4 ,smith quotes ,doughty1 ,travels1 i4 #bf4 #ea ,comp4 #a ,kings xxii4 #g4 ,the phrase who poured water on the hands of ,elijah is a touch of ,oriental custom which the traveller in remote parts of ,palestine may still often see4 ,once1 when driven by a storm into the house of the ,sheykh of a tribe which had a rather bad reputation for brigandage1 ,i was most hospitably entertained2 and the old white-haired ,sheykh1 his son1 and ourselves were waited on by the grandson1 a magnificent youth1 who immediately after the meal brought out an old richly chased ewer and basin1 and poured water over our hands1 soiled by eating out of the common dish1 of course without spoons or forks4 #eb ,this seems to have struck ,josephus 7,antt41 ,,ix4 iii4 #a71 who says that he chanced to be in a tent 7 7 outside the host4 #ec ,comp4 #a ,sam4 x4 #e2 #a ,chron4 xxv4 #a2 ,ezek4 i4 #c1 xxxiii4 #bb4 ,menaggn is one who plays on a stringed instrument1 n'gnh4 ,the ,pythagoreans used music in the same way 7,cic41 ,tusc4 ,disp41 iv4 #b74 #ed ,deut4 xx4 #ai1 #bj4 #ee ,lev4 ii4 #a4 ,comp4 #a ,kings xviii4 #cf4 #ef ,this dreadful result crippled the revolt of ,vindex against ,nero4 #eg ,jeroboam ,i41 ,b4,c4 #icg2 ,joram1 #hed4 #eh ,isa4 xv4 #a1 ,kir of ,moab2 ,jer4 xlviii4 #ca1 ,kir-heres4 ,it is built on a steep calcareous rock1 surrounded by a deep1 narrow glen1 which thence descends westward to the ,dead ,sea1 under the name of the ,wady ,kerak4 ,we know that the armies of ,nineveh habitually practised these brutal modes of devastation in the districts which they conquered4 ,see ,layard1 passim2 ,rawlinson1 ,ancient ,monarchies ii4 #hd4 #ei #a ,kings xviii4 #bg4 ,comp4 ,psalm xxxv4 #bc1 xliv4 #bc1 lxxxiii4 #a1 etc4 #fj ,comp4 ,micah vi4 #g4 ,this is an entirely different incident from that alluded to in ,amos ii4 #a4 #fa ,eusebius 7,prp4 ,evang41 iv4 #af7 quotes from ,philo's ,phnician history a reference to human sacrifices 7 7 at moments of desperation4 #fb ,the rendering is doubtful4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 indignatio in ,israel2 ,luther1 ,da ward ,israel sehr zornig4 #fc ,amos ii4 #a-c4 #fd ,hos4 i4 #d3 ,i will avenge the blood of ,jezreel upon the house of ,jehu4 ,,chapter ,v ,,elisha',s ,,miracles #b ,,kings iv4 #a-dd ,we are now in the full tide of ,elisha's miracles1 and as regards many of them we can do little more than illustrate the text as it stands4 ,the record of them clearly comes from some account prevalent in the schools of the prophets1 which is however only fragmentary1 and has been unchronologically pieced into the annals of the kings of ,israel4 ,the story of ,elisha abounds far more in the supernatural than that of ,elijah1 and is believed by most critics to be of earlier date4 ,yet the scenes and portents of his life are almost wholly lacking in the element of grandeur which belong to those of the elder seer4 ,his personality1 if on the whole softer and more beneficent1 inspires less of awe1 and the whole tone of the biography which recorded these isolated incidents is lacking in the poetic and impassioned elevation which marks the episodes of ,elijah's history4 ,we see in the records of ,elisha1 as in the biographies--so rich in prodigies--of fourth-century hermits and medival saints1 how little impressive in itself is the exercise of abnormal powers2 how it derives its sole grandeur from the accompaniment of great moral lessons and spiritual revelations4 ,john the ,baptist did no miracle1 yet our ,lord placed him not only far above ,elisha1 but even above ,moses and ,samuel and ,elijah1 when ,he said of him1 ,verily ,i say unto you1 of them that have been born of women there hath not risen a greater than ,john the ,baptist4 ,it is impossible not to be struck with the singular parallelism between the powers exercised by ,elisha and those which are attributed to his predecessor4 ,how true an heir is ,elisha of his master1 says ,bishop ,hall1 not in his graces only1 but in his actions6 ,both of them divided the waters of ,jordan1 the one as his last act1 the other as his first4 ,elijah's curse was the death of the captains and their troops2 ,elisha's curse was the death of the children4 ,elijah rebuked ,ahab to his face2 ,elisha1 ,jehoram4 ,elijah supplied the drought of ,israel by rain from heaven2 ,elisha supplied the drought of the three kings by waters gushing out of the earth2 ,elijah increased the oil of the ,sareptan1 ,elisha increased the oil of the prophet's widow2 ,elijah raised from death the ,sareptan's son1 ,elisha the ,shunammite's2 both of them had one mantle1 one spirit2 both of them climbed up one ,carmel1 one heaven4 ,the resemblance1 however1 is not at all in character1 but only in external and miraculous circumstances4 ,in all other respects ,elisha furnishes a contrast to ,elijah which startles us quite as much as any superficial resemblances4 ,elijah was a free1 wild ,bedawy prophet1 hating and shunning as his ordinary residence the abodes of men1 making his home in the rocky wady or in the mountain glades1 appearing and disappearing suddenly as the wind4 ,he asserted his power most often in ministries of retribution4 ,clad in the sheepskin of a ,gadite shepherd or mountaineer1 he was not one of those who wear soft clothing or are found in kings' houses4 ,he usually met monarchs as their enemy and their reprover1 but for the most part avoided them4 ,he never intervened for years together even in national events of the utmost importance1 whether military or religious1 unless he received the direct call of ,god1 or there appeared to him to be a dignus ,vindice nodus4 ,elisha1 on the other hand1 makes his home in cities1 and chiefly in ,samaria4 ,he is familiar with kings and moves about with armies1 and has no long retirements into unknown solitudes2 and though he could speak roughly to ,jehoram1 he is often on the friendliest terms with him and with other sovereigns4 ,the stories of ,elisha give us many interesting glimpses into the social life of ,israel in his day4 ,as to their literal historic accuracy1 those must make positive affirmation who feel that they can do so in accordance alike with adequate authority and with the sacredness of truth4 ,many will be unable to escape the opinion that they bear some resemblance to other ,jewish haggadoth1 written for edification1 with every innocent intention1 in the schools of the ,prophets1 but no more intended for perfectly literal acceptance in all their details than the ,life of ,st4 ,paul the ,hermit1 by ,st4 ,jerome2 or that of ,st4 ,antony1 attributed erroneously to ,st4 ,athanasius2 or that of ,st4 ,francis in the ,fioretti2 or the lives of humble saints of the people called ,kisar-el-anbiah1 which are so popular among poor ,mohammedans4 ,into that question there is no need to enter further4 ,abundet quisque in sensu suo4 ,i4 ,on one occasion a widow of one of the ,sons of the ,prophets--for these communities1 though cnobitic1 were not celibate--came to him in deep distress4 ,her husband--the ,jews1 with their usual guesswork1 most improbably identify him with ,obadiah1 the chamberlain of ,ahab#fe--;had died insolvent4 ,as she had nothing to pay1 her creditor under the grim provision of the law was about to exercise his right of selling her two sons into slavery to recoup himself for the debt4#ff ,would ,elisha help her8 ,prophets were never men of wealth1 so that he could not pay her debt4 ,he asked her what she possessed to satisfy the demand4 ,nothing1 she said1 but a pot of the common oil1 used for anointing the body after a bath4 ,elisha bade her go and borrow from her neighbours all the empty vessels she could1 then to return home1 shut the door1 and pour the oil into the vessels4 ,she did so4 ,they were all filled1 and she asked her son to bring yet another4 ,but there was not another to be had1 so she went out and told the ,man of ,god4 ,he bade her sell the miraculously multiplied oil to pay the debt1 and live with her sons on the proceeds of what was over4 ,,ii4 ,we next find ,elisha at ,shunem1 famous as the abode of the fair maiden--probably ,abishag1 the nurse of ,david's decrepitude--who is the heroine of the ,song of ,songs4 ,it is a village1 now called ,solam1 on the slopes of ,little ,hermon 7,jebel-el-,duhy71 three miles north of ,jezreel4 ,at this place there lived a lady of wealth and influence1 whose husband owned the surrounding land4 ,there were but few khans in ,palestine1 and even where they now exist the traveller has in most cases to supply his own food4 ,elisha1 in his journeys to and fro among the schools of the ,prophets1 had often enjoyed the welcome hospitality eagerly pressed upon him by the lady of ,shunem4 ,struck with his sacred character1 she persuaded her husband to take a step unusual even to the boundless hospitality of the ,east4 ,she begged him to do honour to this holy ,man of ,god by building for him a little chamber 7alyah7 on the flat roof of the house1 to which he might have easy and private access by the outside staircase4#fg ,the chamber was built1 and furnished1 like any other simple ,eastern room1 with a bed1 a divan to sit on1 a table1 and a lamp2 and there the weary prophet on his journeys often found a peaceful1 simple1 and delightful resting-place4 ,grateful for the reverence with which she treated him1 and the kind care with which she had supplied his needs1 ,elisha was anxious to recompense her in whatever way might be possible4 ,the thought of money payment was of course out of the question3 merely to hint at it would have been a breach of manners4 ,but perhaps he might be of use to her in some other way4 ,at this time1 and for years afterwards during his long ministry of perhaps fifty-six years1 he was attended by a servant named ,gehazi1 who stood to him in the same sort of relation which he had held to ,elijah4 ,he told ,gehazi to summon the ,shunammite lady4 ,in the deep humility of ,eastern womanhood she came and stood in his presence4 ,even then he did not address her4 ,so downtrodden was the position of women in the ,east that any dignified person1 much more a great prophet1 could not converse with a woman without compromising his dignity4 ,the more scrupulous ,pharisees in the days of ,christ always carefully gathered up their garments in the streets1 lest they should so much as touch a woman with their skirts in passing by1 as the modern ,chakams in ,jerusalem do to this day4#fh ,the disciples themselves1 sophisticated by familiarity with such teachers1 were astonished that ,jesus at the well of ,shechem should talk with a woman4#fi ,so1 though the lady stood there1 ,elisha1 instead of speaking to her directly1 told ,gehazi to thank her for all the devout respect and care1 all 'the modesty of fearful duty1'#gj which she had displayed towards them1 and to ask her if he should say a good word for her to the ,king or the ,captain of the ,host4 ,this is just the sort of favour which an ,eastern would be likely to value most4#ga ,the ,shunammite1 however1 was well provided for2 she had nothing to complain of1 and nothing to request4 ,she thanked ,elisha for his kindly proposal1 but declined it1 and went away4 ,is there1 then1 nothing which we can do for her8 asked ,elisha of ,gehazi4#gb ,there was4 ,gehazi had learnt that the sorrow of her life--a sorrow and a source of reproach to any ,eastern household1 but most of all to that of a wealthy householder--was her childlessness4 ,call her1 he said4 ,she came back1 and stood reverently in the doorway4 ,when the time comes round1 he said to her1 you shall embrace a son4 ,the promise raised in her heart a thrill of joy4 ,it was too precious to be believed4 ,nay1 she said my lord1 thou ,man of ,god1 do not lie unto thine handmaid4 ,but the promise was fulfilled1 and the lady of ,shunem became the happy mother of a son4 ,,iii4 ,the charming episode then passes over some years4 ,the child had grown into a little boy1 old enough now to go out alone to see his father in the harvest fields and to run about among the reapers4 ,but as he played about in the heat he had a sunstroke1 and cried to his father1 ,o my head1 my head6 ,not knowing how serious the matter was1 his father simply ordered one of his lads to carry the child home to his mother4 ,the fond mother nursed him tenderly upon her knees1 but at noon he died4 ,then the lady of ,shunem showed all the faith and strength and wisdom of her character4 ,the good ,shunammite1 says ,bishop ,hall1 had lost her son2 her faith she lost not4 ,overwhelming as was this calamity--the loss of an only child--she suppressed all her emotions1 and1 instead of bursting into the wild helpless wail of ,eastern mourners1 or rushing to her husband with the agonising news1 she took the little boy's body in her arms1 carried it up to the chamber which had been built for ,elisha1 and laid it upon his bed4 ,then1 shutting the door1 she called to her husband to send to her one of his reapers and one of the asses1 for she was going quickly to the ,man of ,god and would return in the cool of the evening4 ,why should you go to-day particularly8 he asked4 ,it is neither new moon1 nor sabbath4 ,it is all right1 she said2#gc and with perfect confidence in the rectitude of all her purposes1 he sent her the she-ass1 and a servant to drive it and to run beside it for her protection on the journey of sixteen miles4 ,drive on the ass1 she said4 ,slacken me not the riding unless ,i tell you4 ,so with all possible speed she made her way--a journey of several hours--from ,shunem to ,mount ,carmel4 ,elisha1 from his retreat on the hill1 marked her coming from a distance1 and it rendered him anxious4 ,here comes the ,shunammite1 he said to ,gehazi4 ,run to meet her1 and ask ,is it well with thee8 is it well with thy husband8 is it well with the child8 ,all well1 she answered1 for her message was not to ,gehazi1 and she could not trust her voice to speak2 but pressing on up-hillwards1 she flung herself before ,elisha and grasped his feet4 ,displeased at the familiarity which dared thus to clasp the feet of his master1 ,gehazi ran up to thrust her away by force1 but ,elisha interfered4 ,let her alone1 he cried2 she is in deep affliction1 and ,jehovah has not revealed to me the cause4 ,then her long pent-up emotion burst forth4 ,did ,i desire a son of my lord8 she cried4 ,did ,i not say do not deceive me8 ,it was enough--though she seemed unable to bring out the dreadful words that her boy was dead4 ,catching her meaning1 ,elisha said to ,gehazi1 ,gird up thy loins1 take my staff1 and without so much as stopping to salute any one1 or to return a salutation1#gd lay my staff on the dead child's face4 ,but the broken-hearted mother refused to leave ,elisha4 ,she imagined that the servant1 the staff1 might be severed from ,elisha2 but she knew that wherever the prophet was1 there was power4 ,so ,elisha arose and followed her1 and on the way ,gehazi met them with the news that the child lay still and dead1 with the fruitless staff upon his face4 ,then ,elisha in deep anguish went up to the chamber and shut the door1 and saw the boy's body lying pale upon his bed4 ,after earnest prayer he outstretched himself over the little corpse1 as ,elijah had done at ,zarephath4 ,soon it began to grow warm with returning life1 and ,elisha1 after pacing up and down the room1 once more stretched himself over him4 ,then the child opened his eyes and sneezed seven times1 and ,elisha called to ,gehazi to summon the mother4 ,take up thy son1 he said4 ,she prostrated herself at his feet in speechless gratitude1 and took up her recovered child1 and went4 ,,iv4 ,we next find ,elisha at ,gilgal1 in the time of the famine of which we read his prediction in a later chapter4#ge ,the sons of the prophets were seated round him1 listening to his instructions2 the hour came for their simple meal1 and he ordered the great pot to be put on the fire for the vegetable soup1 on which1 with bread1 they chiefly lived4 ,one of them went out for herbs1 and carelessly brought his outer garment 7the abeyah7#gf full of wild poisonous coloquinths1#gg which1 by ignorance or inadvertence1 were shred into the pottage4 ,but when it was cooked and poured out they perceived the poisonous taste1 and cried out1 ,o ,man of ,god1 death in the pot6 ,bring meal1 he said1 for he seems always to have been a man of the fewest words4 ,they cast in some meal1 and were all able to eat of the now harmless pottage4 ,it has been noticed that in this1 as in other incidents of the story1 there is no invocation of the name of ,jehovah4 ,v4 ,not far from ,gilgal was the little village of ,baalshalisha1#gh at which lived a farmer who wished to bring an offering of firstfruits and karmel 7bruised grain7 in his wallet to ,elisha as a ,man of ,god4#gi ,it was a poor gift enough--only twenty of the coarse barley loaves which were eaten by the common people1 and a sack#hj full of fresh ears of corn4#ha ,elisha told his servitor#hb--perhaps ,gehazi--to set them before the people present4 ,what8 he asked1 this trifle of food before a hundred men6 ,but ,elisha told him in the ,lord's name that it should more than suffice2 and so it did4 ,,footnotes3 #fe ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 iv4 #b4 ,this perhaps is only suggested by the reminiscences of #a ,kings xviii4 #b1 #c1 #ab4 #ff ,lev4 xxv4 #ci-da2 ,matt4 xviii4 #be4 #fg #b ,kings iv4 #aj4 ,not a little chamber on the wall 7,a4,v471 but an alyah with walls 7margin1 ,r4,v474 #fh ,frankl41 ,jews in the ,east4 #fi ,john iv4 #bg3 ,then came ,his disciples1 and marvelled that ,he was talking 7 7 with a woman4 #gj #b ,kings iv4 #ac3 ,behold1 thou hast been careful for us with all this care 7,,lxx41 74 #ga ,the ,sheykh with whom ,i stayed at ,bint es ,jebeil could think of no return which ,i could offer for his hospitality so acceptable as if ,i would say a good word for him to the authorities at ,beyrout4 #gb ,gehazi is usually called the na'ar or lad of ,elisha--a term implying lower service than ,elisha's ministry to ,elijah4 #gc #b ,kings iv4 #bc4 ,hebrew ,peace2 ,a4,v41 ,it shall be well4 #gd ,salutations occupy some time in the formally courteous ,east4 ,comp4 ,luke x4 #d4 #ge #b ,kings viii4 #a4 #gf ,not lap1 as in ,a4 ,v4 7,heb41 beged72 ,,lxx4 2 ,vulg41 implevit vestem suam 7both correctly74 #gg ,heb41 paquoth2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg2 colocynthidas agri4 ,hence the name cucumis prophetarum4 #gh ,lord of the ,chain and ,three lands4 ,three wadies meet at this spot1 a little west of ,bethel4 #gi #b ,kings iv4 #db4 ,karmel1 ,lev4 ii4 #ad4 ,perhaps a sort of frumenty4 #hj ,the word for wallet 7tsiqlon2 ,vulg41 pera7 occurs here only4 ,peshito1 garment4 ,the ,vatican ,,lxx4 omits it4 ,the ,greek version has 4 #ha ,see ,lev4 ii4 #ad1 xxiii4 #ad4 #hb #b ,kings iv4 #dc4 ,the word for his servitor 7m'chartho7 is used also of ,joshua4 ,it does not mean a mere ordinary attendant4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 minister4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,naaman #b ,,kings v4 #a-bg ,,matt4 viii4 #c3 1 ,after these shorter anecdotes we have the longer episode of ,naaman4#hc ,a part of the misery inflicted by the ,syrians on ,israel was caused by the forays in which their light-armed bands1 very much like the borderers on the marches of ,wales or ,scotland1 descended upon the country and carried off plunder and captives before they could be pursued4 ,in one of these raids they had seized a little ,israelitish girl and sold her to be a slave4 ,she had been purchased for the household of ,naaman1 the captain of the ,syrian host1 who had helped his king and nation to win important victories either against ,israel or against ,assyria4 ,ancient ,jewish tradition identified him with the man who had drawn his bow at a venture and slain ,king ,ahab4 ,but all ,naaman's valour and rank and fame1 and the honour felt for him by his king1 were valueless to him1 for he was suffering from the horrible affliction of leprosy4 ,lepers do not seem to have been segregated in other countries so strictly as they were in ,israel1 or at any rate ,naaman's leprosy was not of so severe a form as to incapacitate him from his public functions4 ,but it was evident that he was a man who had won the affection of all who knew him2 and the little slave girl who waited on his wife breathed to her a passionate wish that ,naaman could visit the ,man of ,god in ,samaria1 for he would recover him from his leprosy4 ,the saying was repeated1 and one of ,naaman's friends mentioned it to the king of ,syria4 ,benhadad was so much struck by it that he instantly determined to send a letter1 with a truly royal gift to the king of ,israel1 who could1 he supposed1 as a matter of course1 command the services of the prophet4 ,the letter came to ,jehoram with a stupendous present of ingots of silver to the value of ten talents1 and six thousand pieces of gold1 and ten changes of raiment4#hd ,after the ordinary salutations1 and a mention of the gifts1 the letter continued ,and now1 when this letter is come to thee1 behold ,i have sent ,naaman my servant1 that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy4 ,jehoram lived in perpetual terror of his powerful and encroaching neighbour4 ,nothing was said in the letter about the ,man of ,god2 and the king rent his clothes1 exclaiming that he was not ,god to kill and to make alive1 and that this must be a base pretext for a quarrel4 ,it never so much as occurred to him1 as it certainly would have done to ,jehoshaphat1 that the prophet1 who was so widely known and honoured1 and whose mission had been so clearly attested in the invasion of ,moab1 might at least help him to face this problem4 ,otherwise the difficulty might indeed seem insuperable1 for leprosy was universally regarded as an incurable disease4 ,but ,elisha was not afraid3 he boldly told ,jehoram to send the ,syrian captain to him4 ,naaman1 with his horses and his chariots1 in all the splendour of a royal ambassador1 drove up to the humble house of the prophet4 ,being so great a man1 he expected a deferential reception1 and looked for the performance of his cure in some striking and dramatic manner4 ,the prophet1 so he said to himself1 will come out1 and solemnly invoke the name of his ,god ,jehovah1 and wave his hand over the leprous limbs1 and so work the miracle4#he ,but the servant of the ,king of kings was not exultantly impressed1 as false prophets so often are1 by earthly greatness4 ,elisha did not even pay him the compliment of coming out of the house to meet him4 ,he wished to efface himself completely1 and to fix the leper's thoughts on the one truth that if healing was granted to him1 it was due to the gift of ,god1 not to the thaumaturgy or arts of man4 ,he simply sent out his servant to the ,syrian commander-in-chief with the brief message1 ,go and wash in ,jordan seven times1 and be thou clean4 ,naaman1 accustomed to the extreme deference of many dependants1 was not only offended1 but enraged1 by what he regarded as the scant courtesy and procrastinated boon of the prophet4 ,why was he not received as a man of the highest distinction8 ,what necessity could there be for sending him all the way to the ,jordan8 ,and why was he bidden to wash in that wretched1 useless1 tortuous stream1 rather than in the pure and flowing waters of his own native ,abanah and ,pharpar8#hf ,how was he to tell that this ,man of ,god did not design to mock him by sending him on a fool's errand1 so that he would come back as a laughing-stock both to the ,israelites and to his own people8 ,perhaps he had not felt any great faith in the prophet1 to begin with2 but whatever he once felt had now vanished4 ,he turned and went away in a rage4 ,but in this crisis the affection of his friends and servants stood him in good stead4 ,addressing him1 in their love and pity1 by the unusual term of honour my father1 they urged upon him that1 as he certainly would not have refused some great test1 there was no reason why he should refuse this simple and humble one4 ,he was won over by their reasonings1 and descending the hot steep valley of the ,jordan1 bathed himself in the river seven times4 ,god healed him1 and1 as ,elisha had promised1 his flesh1 corroded by leprosy1 came again like the flesh of a little child1 and he was clean4 ,this healing of ,naaman is alluded to by our ,lord to illustrate the truth that the love of ,god extended farther than the limits of the chosen race2 that ,his ,fatherhood is co-extensive with the whole family of man4 ,it is difficult to conceive the transport of a man cured of this most loathsome and humiliating of all earthly afflictions4 ,naaman1 who seems to have possessed a mind naturally ,christian1 was filled with gratitude4 ,unlike the thankless ,jewish lepers whom ,christ cured as ,he left ,engannim1 this alien returned to give glory to ,god4 ,once more the whole imposing cavalcade rode through the streets of ,samaria1 and stopped at ,elisha's door4 ,this time ,naaman was admitted into his presence4 ,he saw1 and no doubt ,elisha had strongly impressed on him the truth1 that his healing was the work not of man but of ,god2 and as he had found no help in the deities of ,syria1 he confessed that the ,god of ,israel was the only true ,god among those of the nations4 ,in token of his thankfulness he presses ,elisha1 as ,god's instrument in the unspeakable mercy which has been granted to him1 to accept a blessing 7i4e41 a present7 from him--from thy servant1 as he humbly styled himself4 ,elisha was no greedy ,balaam4 ,it was essential that ,naaman and the ,syrians should not look on him as on some vulgar sorcerer who wrought wonders for the rewards of divination4 ,his wants were so simple that he stood above temptation4 ,his desires and treasures were not on earth4 ,to put an end to all importunity1 he appealed to ,jehovah with his usual solemn formula--,as the ,lord liveth before whom ,i stand1 ,i will receive no present4#hg ,still more deeply impressed by the prophet's incorruptible superiority to so much as a suspicion of low motives1 ,naaman asked that he might receive two mules' burden of earth wherewith to build an altar to the ,god of ,israel of ,his own sacred soil4#hh ,the very soil ruled by such a ,god must1 he thought1 be holier than other soil2 and he wished to take it back to ,syria1 just as the people of ,pisa rejoiced to fill their ,campo ,santo with mould from the ,holy ,land1 and just as mothers like to baptize their children in water brought home from the ,jordan4 ,henceforth1 said ,naaman1 ,i will offer burnt-offering and sacrifice to no ,god but unto ,jehovah4 ,yet there was one difficulty in the way4 ,when the ,king of ,syria went to worship in the temple of his god ,rimmon it was the duty of ,naaman to accompany him4#hi ,the king leaned on his hand1 and when he bowed before the idol it was ,naaman's duty to bow also4 ,he begged that for this concession ,god would pardon him4 ,elisha's answer was perhaps different from what ,elijah might have given4 ,he practically allowed ,naaman to give this sign of outward compliance with idolatry1 by saying to him1 ,go in peace4 ,it is from this circumstance that the phrase to bow in the house of ,rimmon has become proverbial to indicate a dangerous and dishonest compromise4 ,but ,elisha's permission must not be misunderstood4 ,he did but hand over this semi-heathen convert to the grace of ,god4 ,it must be remembered that he lived in days long preceding the conviction that proselytism is a part of true religion2 in days when the thought of missions to heathen lands was utterly unknown4 ,the position of ,naaman was wholly different from that of any ,israelite4 ,he was only the convert1 or the half-convert of a day1 and though he acknowledged the supremacy of ,jehovah as alone worthy of his worship1 he probably shared in the belief--common even in ,israel--that there were other gods1 local gods1 gods of the nations1 to whom ,jehovah might have divided the limits of their power4#ij ,to demand of one who1 like ,naaman1 had been an idolater all his days1 the sudden abandonment of every custom and tradition of his life1 would have been to demand from him an unreasonable1 and1 in his circumstances1 useless and all but impossible self-sacrifice4 ,the best way was to let him feel and see for himself the futility of ,rimmon-worship4 ,if he were not frightened back from his sudden faith in ,jehovah1 the scruple of conscience which he already felt in making his request might naturally grow within him and lead him to all that was best and highest4 ,the temporary condonation of an imperfection might be a wise step towards the ultimate realisation of a truth4 ,we cannot at all blame ,elisha1 if1 with such knowledge as he then possessed1 he took a mercifully tolerant view of the exigencies of ,naaman's position4 ,the bowing in the house of ,rimmon under such conditions probably seemed to him no more than an act of outward respect to the king and to the national religion in a case where no evil results could follow from ,naaman's example4#ia ,but the general principle that we must not bow in the house of ,rimmon remains unchanged4 ,the light and knowledge vouchsafed to us far transcend those which existed in times when men had not seen the days of the ,son of ,man4 ,the only rule which sincere ,christians can follow is to have no truce with ,canaan1 no halting between two opinions1 no tampering1 no compliance1 no connivance1 no complicity with evil1--even no tolerance of evil as far as their own conduct is concerned4 ,no good man1 in the light of the ,gospel dispensation1 could condone himself in seeming to sanction--still less in doing--anything which in his opinion ought not to be done1 or in saying anything which implied his own acquiescence in things which he knows to be evil4 ,sir1 said a parishioner to one of the non-juring clergy3 there is many a man who has made a great gash in his conscience2 cannot you make a little nick in yours8 ,no6 a little nick is1 in one sense1 as fatal as a great gash4 ,it is an abandonment of the principle2 it is a violation of the ,law4 ,the wrong of it consists in this--that all evil begins1 not in the commission of great crimes1 but in the slight divergence from right rules4 ,the angle made by two lines may be infinitesimally small1 but produce the lines and it may require infinitude to span the separation between the lines which inclose so tiny an angle4 ,the wise man gave the only true rule about wrong-doing1 when he said1 ,enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men4 ,avoid it1 pass not by it1 turn from it and pass away4#ib ,and the reason for his rule is that the beginning of sin--like the beginning of strife--is as when one letteth out water4#ic ,the proper answer to all abuses of any supposed concession to the lawfulness of bowing in the house of ,rimmon--if that be interpreted to mean the doing of anything which our consciences cannot wholly approve--is ,obsta principiis--avoid the beginnings of evil4 ,we are not worst at once2 the course of evil ,begins so slowly1 and from such slight source1 ,an infant's hand might stem the breach with clay2 ,but let the stream grow wider1 and philosophy1 ,age1 and religion too1 may strive in vain ,to stem the headstrong current4 ,the mean cupidity of ,gehazi1 the servant of ,elisha1 gives a deplorable sequel to the story of the prophet's magnanimity4 ,this man's wretched greed did its utmost to nullify the good influence of his master's example4 ,there may be more wicked acts recorded in ,scripture than that of ,gehazi1 but there is scarcely one which shows so paltry a disposition4 ,he had heard the conversation between his master and the ,syrian marshal1 and his cunning heart despised as a futile sentimentality the magnanimity which had refused an eagerly proffered reward4 ,naaman was rich3 he had received a priceless boon2 it would be rather a pleasure to him than otherwise to return for it some acknowledgment which he would not miss4 ,had he not even seemed a little hurt by ,elisha's refusal to receive it8 ,what possible harm could there be in taking what he was anxious to give8 ,and how useful those magnificent presents would be1 and to what excellent uses could they be put6 ,he could not approve of the fantastic and unpractical scrupulosity which had led ,elisha to refuse the blessing which he had so richly earned4 ,such attitudes of unworldliness seemed entirely foolish to ,gehazi4 ,so pleaded the ,judas-spirit within the man4 ,by such specious delusions he inflamed his own covetousness1 and fostered the evil temptation which had taken sudden and powerful hold upon his heart1 until it took shape in a wicked resolve4 ,the mischief of ,elisha's quixotic refusal was done1 but it could be speedily undone1 and no one would be the worse4 ,the evil spirit was whispering to ,gehazi3-- ,be mine and ,sin's for one short hour2 and then ,be all thy life the happiest man of men4 ,behold1 he said1 with some contempt both for ,elisha and for ,naaman1 my master hath let off this ,naaman the ,syrian2 but as the ,lord liveth ,i will run after him1 and take somewhat of him4 ,as the ,lord liveth6 ,it had been a favourite appeal of ,elijah and ,elisha1 and the use of it by ,gehazi shows how utterly meaningless and how very dangerous such solemn words become when they are degraded into formul4#id ,it is thus that the habit of swearing begins4 ,the light use of holy words very soon leads to their utter degradation4 ,how keen is the satire in ,cowper's little story3-- ,a ,persian1 humble servant of the sun1 ,who1 though devout1 yet bigotry had none1 ,hearing a lawyer1 grave in his address1 ,with adjurations every word impress1-- ,supposed the man a bishop1 or1 at least1 ,god's ,name so often on his lips--a priest4 ,bowed at the close with all his gracious airs1 ,and begged an interest in his frequent prayers6 ,had ,gehazi felt their true meaning--had he realised that on ,elisha's lips they meant something infinitely more real than on his own1 he would not have forgotten that in ,elisha's answer to ,naaman they had all the validity of an oath1 and that he was inflicting on his master a shameful wrong1 when he led ,naaman to believe that1 after so sacred an adjuration1 the prophet had frivolously changed his mind4 ,gehazi had not very far to run1#ie for in a country full of hills1 and of which the roads are rough1 horses and chariots advance but slowly4 ,naaman1 chancing to glance backwards1 saw the prophet's attendant running after him4 ,anticipating that he must be the bearer of some message from ,elisha1 he not only halted the cavalcade1 but sprang down from his chariot1#if and went to meet him with the anxious question1 ,is all well8 ,well1 answered ,gehazi2 and then had ready his cunning lie4 ,two youths1 he said1 of the prophetic schools had just unexpectedly come to his master from the hill country of ,ephraim2 and though he would accept nothing for himself1 ,elisha would be glad if ,naaman would spare him two changes of garments1 and one talent of silver for these poor members of a sacred calling4#ig ,naaman must have been a little more or a little less than human if he did not feel a touch of disappointment on hearing this message4 ,the gift was nothing to him4 ,it was a delight to him to give it1 if only to lighten a little the burden of gratitude which he felt towards his benefactor4 ,but if he had felt elevated by the magnanimous example of ,elisha's disinterestedness1 he must have thought that this hasty request pointed to a little regret on the prophet's part for his noble self-denial4 ,after all1 then1 even prophets were but men1 and gold after all was gold6 ,the change of mind about the gift brought ,elisha a little nearer the ordinary level of humanity1 and1 so far1 it acted as a sort of disenchantment from the high ideal exhibited by his former refusal4 ,and so ,naaman said1 with alacrity1 ,be content3 take two talents4 ,the fact that ,gehazi's conduct thus inevitably compromised his master1 and undid the effects of his example1 is part of the measure of the man's apostacy4 ,it showed how false and hypocritical was his position1 how unworthy he was to be the ministering servant of a prophet4 ,elisha was evidently deceived in the man altogether4 ,the heinousness of his guilt lies in the words ,corruptio optimi pessima4 ,when religion is used for a cloak of covetousness1 of usurping ambition1 of secret immorality1 it becomes deadlier than infidelity4 ,men raze the sanctuary1 and build their idol temples on the hallowed ground4 ,they cover their base encroachments and impure designs with the cloke of profession1 doubly lined with the fox-fur of hypocrisy1 and hide the leprosy which is breaking out upon their foreheads with the golden petalon on which is inscribed the title of holiness to the ,lord4 ,at first ,gehazi did not like to take so large a sum as two talents2 but the crime was already committed1 and there was not much more harm done in taking two talents than in taking one4 ,naaman urged him1 and it is very improbable that1 unless the chances of detection weighed with him1 he needed much urging4 ,so the ,syrian weighed out silver ingots to the amount of two talents1 and putting them in two satchels laid them on two of his servants and told them to carry the money before ,gehazi to ,elisha's house4 ,but ,gehazi had to keep a look-out lest his nefarious dealings should be observed1 and when they came to ,ophel--the word means the foot of the hill of ,samaria1 or some part of the fortifications#ih--;he took the bags from the two ,syrians1 dismissed them1 and carried the money to some place where he could conceal it in the house4 ,then1 as though nothing had happened1 with his usual smooth face of sanctimonious integrity1 the pious ,jesuit went and stood before his master4 ,he had not been unnoticed6 ,his heart must have sunk within him when there smote upon his ear ,elisha's question1-- ,whence comest thou1 ,gehazi8 ,but one lie is as easy as another1 and ,gehazi was doubtless an adept at lying4 ,thy servant went no whither1 he replied1 with an air of innocent surprise4 ,went not my beloved one8#ii said ,elisha--and he must have said it with a groan1 as he thought how utterly unworthy the youth1 whom he thus called my loving heart or my dear friend1--when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee8 ,it may be that from the hill of ,samaria ,elisha had seen it all1 or that he had been told by one who had seen it4 ,if not1 he had been rightly led to read the secret of his servant's guilt4 ,is it a time1 he asked1 to act thus8 ,did not my example show thee that there was a high object in refusing this ,syrian's gifts1 and in leading him to feel that the servants of ,jehovah do ,his bidding with no afterthought of sordid considerations8 ,are there not enough troubles about us actual and impending1 to show that this is no time for the accumulation of earthly treasures8 ,is it a time to receive money--and all that money will procure8 to receive garments1 and olive-yards and vineyards1 and oxen1 and men-servants and maid-servants8 ,has a prophet no higher aim than the accumulation of earthly goods1 and are his needs such as earthly goods can supply8 ,and hast thou1 the daily friend and attendant of a prophet1 learnt so little from his precepts and his example8 ,then followed the tremendous penalty for so grievous a transgression--a transgression made up of meanness1 irreverence1 greed1 cheating1 treachery1 and lies4 ,the leprosy therefore of ,naaman shall cleave unto thee1 and unto thy seed for ever6 ,oh heavy talents of ,gehazi6 exclaims ,bishop ,hall3 ,oh the horror of the one unchangeable suit6 ,how much better had been a light purse and a homely coat1 with a sound body and a clean soul6 ,and he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow4#ajj ,it is the characteristic of the leprous taint in the system to be thus suddenly developed1 and apparently in crises of sudden and overpowering emotion it might affect the whole blood4 ,and one of the many morals which lie in ,gehazi's story is again that moral to which the world's whole experience sets its seal--that though the guilty soul may sell itself for a desired price1 the sum-total of that price is nought4 ,it is ,achan's ingots buried under the sod on which stood his tent4 ,it is ,naboth's vineyard made abhorrent to ,ahab on the day he entered it4 ,it is the thirty pieces of silver which ,judas dashed with a shriek upon the ,temple floor4 ,it is ,gehazi's leprosy for which no silver talents or changes of raiment could atone4 ,the story of ,gehazi--of the son of the prophets who would naturally have succeeded ,elisha as ,elisha had succeeded ,elijah--must have had a tremendous significance to warn the members of the prophetic schools from the peril of covetousness4 ,that peril1 as all history proves to us1 is one from which popes and priests1 monks1 and even nominally ascetic and nominally pauper communities1 have never been exempt2--to which1 it may even be said1 that they have been peculiarly liable4 ,mercenariness and falsity1 displayed under the pretence of religion1 were never more overwhelmingly rebuked4 ,yet1 as the ,rabbis said1 it would have been better if ,elisha1 in repelling with the left hand1 had also drawn with the right4#aja 99 99 99 99 99 ,the fine story of ,elisha and ,naaman1 and the fall and punishment of ,gehazi1 is followed by one of the anecdotes of the prophet's life which appears to our unsophisticated1 perhaps to our imperfectly enlightened judgment1 to rise but little above the ecclesiastical portents related in medival hagiologies4 ,at some unnamed place--perhaps ,jericho--the house of the ,sons of the ,prophets had become too small for their numbers and requirements1 and they asked ,elisha's leave to go down to the ,jordan and cut beams to make a new residence4 ,elisha gave them leave1 and at their request consented to go with them4 ,while they were hewing1 the axe-head of one of them fell into the water1 and he cried out1 ,alas6 master1 it was borrowed6 ,elisha ascertained where it had fallen4 ,he then cut down a stick1#ajb and cast it on the spot1 and the iron swam and the man recovered it4 ,the story is perhaps an imaginative reproduction of some unwonted incident4 ,at any rate1 we have no sufficient evidence to prove that it may not be so4 ,it is wholly unlike the economy invariably shown in the ,scripture narratives which tell us of the exercise of supernatural power4 ,all the eternal laws of nature are here superseded at a word1 as though it were an every-day matter1 without even any recorded invocation of ,jehovah1 to restore an axe-head1 which could obviously have been recovered or resupplied in some much less stupendous way than by making iron swim on the surface of a swift-flowing river4 ,it is easy to invent conventional and priori apologies to show that religion demands the unquestioning acceptance of this prodigy1 and that a man must be shockingly wicked who does not feel certain that it happened exactly in the literal sense2 but whether the doubt or the defence be morally worthier1 is a thing which ,god alone can judge4#ajc ,,footnotes3 #hc ,it is curiously omitted by ,josephus1 though he mentions him 77 as the slayer of ,ahab 7,antt41 ,,viii4 xv4 #e74 ,the name is an old ,hebrew name 7,num4 xxvi4 #dj74 #hd ,the word l'boosh means a gala dress4 ,comp4 v4 #e2 ,gen4 xlv4 #bb4 7,hom41 ,od41 xiv4 #ead74 ,comp4 viii4 #bdi4 #he ,elisha would not be likely to touch the place4 #hf ,now the ,burda 7cold7 and the ,nahr-el-,awj4 #hg ,compare the answer of ,abraham to the ,king of ,sodom 7,gen4 xiv4 #bc74 #hh ,the feeling which influenced ,naaman is the same which led the ,jews to build ,nahardea in ,persia of stones from ,jerusalem4 ,altars were to be of earth 7,exod4 xx4 #bd71 but no altar is mentioned in #b ,kings v4 #ag1 and the ,,lxx4 does not even specify earth 7 74 #hi ,this is the only place in ,scripture where ,rimmon is mentioned1 though we have the name ,tab-,rimmon 7,rimmon is good71 #a ,kings xv4 #ah1 and ,hadad-,rimmon 7,zech4 xii4 #aa74 ,he was the god of the thunder4 ,the word means pomegranate1 and some have fancied that this was one of his symbols4 ,but the resemblance may be accidental1 and the name was properly ,ramman4 #ij ,see ,deut4 xxxii4 #h1 where the ,,lxx4 has 4 #ia ,the moral difficulty must have been early felt1 for the ,alexandrian ,,lxx4 reads 4 ,but he would still be bowing in the ,house of ,rimmon1 though he might in his heart worship ,god4 ,elisha1 like ,elijah 7says ,dean ,stanley71 made no effort to set right what had gone so wrong4 ,their mission was to make the best of what they found2 not to bring back a rule of religion which had passed away1 but to dwell on the ,moral ,law which could be fulfilled everywhere1 not on the ,ceremonial ,law which circumstances seemed to have put out of their reach3 'not sending the ,shunammite to ,jerusalem' 7says ,cardinal ,newman71 'not eager for a proselyte in ,naaman1 yet making the heathen fear the ,name of ,god1 and proving to them that there was a prophet in ,israel' 7,stanley1 ,lectures1 ii4 #cgg2 ,newman1 ,sermons1 viii4 #dae74 #ib ,prov4 iv4 #ad1 #ae4 #ic ,prov4 xvii4 #ad4 #id ,on ,gehazi's lips it meant no more than the incessant ,wallah1 by ,god1 of ,mohammedans4 #ie #b ,kings v4 #ai4 ,heb41 kib'rath aretz1 a little way--literally1 a space of country4 7,the ,vatican ,,lxx4 follows another reading1 2 ,vulg41 electo terr tempore847 #if ,,lxx41 4 #ig ,a talent of silver was worth about #djj--;an enormous sum for two half-naked youths4 #ih #b ,kings v4 #bd4 ,the ,,lxx4 7 7 seems to have read 7ophel72 darkness1 a treasury or secret place1 for 1 and so the ,vulgate jam vesperi4 #ii #b ,kings v4 #bf4 ,the verse is so interpreted by some critics1 especially ,ewald1 followed by ,stanley4 ,margin1 ,r4,v43 ,mine heart went not from me1 when etc4 #ajj ,exod4 iv4 #f2 ,num4 xii4 #aj4 #aja ,the later ,rabbis thought that ,elisha was too severe with ,gehazi1 and was punished with sickness because he repelled him with both his hands 7,bava-,metsia1 f4 #hg1 #a1 and ,yalkut ,jeremiah74 #ajb ,the ,hebrew word for cut off 7qatsab7 is very rare4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 prcidit lignum4 #ajc ,it must be further borne in mind that the iron did swim 7,a4,v47 is less accurate than made the iron to swim 7,r4,v474 ,the ,,lxx4 has 1 brought to the surface4 ,von ,gerlach says1 ,he thrust the stick into the water1 and raised the iron to the surface4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,elisha ,,and ,,the ,,syrians #b ,,kings vi4 #a-bc ,now there was found in the city a poor wise man1 and he by his wisdom delivered the city4--,,eccles4 ix4 #ae4 ,elisha1 unlike his master ,elijah1 was1 during a great part of his long career1 intimately mixed up with the political and military fortunes of his country4 ,the king of ,israel who occurs in the following narratives is left nameless--always the sign of later and more vague tradition2 but he has usually been identified with ,jehoram ben-,ahab1 and1 though not without some misgivings1 we shall assume that the identification is correct4 ,his dealings with ,elisha never seem to have been very cordial1 though on one occasion he calls him my father4 ,the relations between them at times became strained and even stormy4 ,his reign was rendered miserable by the incessant infestation of ,syrian marauders4 ,in these difficulties he was greatly helped by ,elisha4 ,the prophet repeatedly frustrated the designs of the ,syrian king by revealing to ,jehoram the places of ,benhadad's ambuscades1 so that ,jehoram could change the destination of his hunting parties or other movements1 and escape the plots laid to seize his person4 ,benhadad1 finding himself thus frustrated1 and suspecting that it was due to treachery1 called his servants together in grief and indignation1 and asked who was the traitor among them4 ,his officers assured him that they were all faithful1 but that the secrets whispered in his bed-chamber were revealed to ,jehoram by ,elisha the prophet in ,israel1 whose fame had spread into ,syria1 perhaps because of the cure of ,naaman4 ,the king1 unable to take any step while his counsels were thus published to his enemies1 thought--not very consistently--that he could surprise and seize ,elisha himself1 and sent to find out where he was4 ,at that time he was living in ,dothan1 about twelve miles north-east of ,samaria1#ajd and ,benhadad sent a contingent with horses and chariots by night to surround the city1 and prevent any escape from its gates4 ,that he could thus besiege a town so near the capital shows the helplessness to which ,israel had been now reduced4 ,when ,elisha's servitor rose in the morning he was terrified to see the ,syrians encamped round the city1 and cried to ,elisha1 ,alas6 my master1 what shall we do8 ,fear not1 said the prophet3 they that be with us are more than they that be with them4 ,he prayed ,god to grant the youth the same open eyes1 the same spiritual vision which he himself enjoyed2 and the youth saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire round about ,elisha4 ,this incident has been full of comfort to millions1 as a beautiful illustration of the truth that-- ,the hosts of ,god encamp around ,the dwellings of the just2 ,deliverance ,he affords to all ,who on ,his promise trust4 ,oh1 make but trial of ,his love1 ,experience will decide1 ,how blest are they1 and only they1 ,who in ,his truth confide4 ,the youth's affectionate alarm had not been shared by his master4 ,he knew that to every true servant of ,god the promise will be fulfilled1 ,he shall defend thee under ,his wings2 thou shalt be safe under ,his feathers2 ,his righteousness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler4#aje ,were our eyes similarly opened1 we too should see the reality of the ,divine protection and providence1 whether under the visible form of angelic ministrants or not4 ,scripture in general1 and the ,psalms in particular1 are full of the serenity inspired by this conviction4 ,the story of ,elisha is a picture-commentary on the ,psalmist's words3 ,the angel of the ,lord encampeth round them that fear ,him1 and delivereth them4#ajf ,he shall give ,his angels charge over thee1 to keep thee in all thy ways4#ajg ,and ,i will encamp about ,mine house because of the army1 because of him that passeth by1 and because of him that returneth3 and no oppressor shall pass through them any more3 for now have ,i seen with ,mine eyes4#ajh ,the angel of ,his presence saved them3 in ,his love and in ,his pity ,he redeemed them2 and ,he bare them1 and carried them all the days of old4#aji ,but what is the exact meaning of all these lovely promises8 ,they do not mean that ,god's children and saints will always be shielded from anguish or defeat1 from the triumph of their enemies1 or even from apparently hopeless and final failure1 or miserable death4 ,the lesson is not that their persons shall be inviolable1 or that the enemies who advance against them to eat up their flesh shall always stumble and fall4 ,the experiences of tens of thousands of troubled lives and martyred ends instantly prove the futility of any such reading of these assurances4 ,the saints of ,god1 the prophets of ,god1 have died in exile and in prison1 have been tortured on the rack and broken on the wheel1 and burnt to ashes at innumerable stakes2 they have been destitute1 afflicted1 tormented1 in their lives--stoned1 beheaded1 sawn asunder1 in every form of hideous death2 they have rotted in miry dungeons1 have starved on desolate shores1 have sighed out their souls into the agonising flame4 ,the ,cross of ,christ stands as the emblem and the explanation of their lives1 which fools count to be madness1 and their end without honour4 ,on earth they have1 far more often than not1 been crushed by the hatred and been delivered over to the will of their enemies4 ,where1 then1 have been those horses and chariots of fire8 ,they have been there no less than around ,elisha at ,dothan4 ,the eyes spiritually opened have seen them1 even when the sword flashed1 or the flames wrapped them in indescribable torment4 ,the sense of ,god's protection has least deserted ,his saints when to the world's eyes they seemed to have been most utterly abandoned4 ,there has been a joy in prisons and at stakes1 it has been said1 far exceeding the joy of harvest4 ,pray for me1 said a poor boy of fifteen1 who was being burned at ,smithfield in the fierce days of ,mary ,tudor4 ,i would as soon pray for a dog as for a heretic like thee1 answered one of the spectators4 ,then1 ,son of ,god1 shine ,thou upon me6 cried the boy-martyr2 and instantly1 upon a dull and cloudy day1 the sun shone out1 and bathed his young face in glory2 whereat1 says the martyrologist1 men greatly marvelled4 ,but is there one death-bed of a saint on which that glory has not shone8 ,the presence of those horses and chariots of fire1 unseen by the carnal eye--the promises which1 if they be taken literally1 all experience seems to frustrate--mean two things1 which they who are the heirs of such promises1 and who would without them be of all men most miserable1 have clearly understood4 ,they mean1 first1 that as long as a child of ,god is on the path of duty1 and until that duty has been fulfilled1 he is inviolable and invulnerable4 ,he shall tread upon the lion and the adder2 the young lion and the dragon shall he trample under his feet4 ,he shall take up the serpent in his hands2 and if he drink any deadly thing1 it shall not hurt him4 ,he shall not be afraid of the terror by night1 nor of the arrow that flieth by day2 of the pestilence that walketh in darkness1 nor of the demon that destroyeth in the noonday4 ,a thousand shall fall at his right hand1 and ten thousand beside him2 but it shall not come nigh him4 ,the histories and the legends of numberless marvellous deliverances all confirm the truth that1 when a man fears the ,lord1 ,he will keep him in all his ways1 and give ,his angels charge over him1 lest at any time he dash his foot against a stone4 ,god will not permit any mortal force1 or any combination of forces1 to hinder the accomplishment of the task entrusted to ,his servant4 ,it is the sense of this truth which1 under circumstances however menacing1 should enable us to bate no jot ,of heart or hope1 but still bear up1 and steer ,uphillward ,it is this conviction which has nerved men to face insuperable difficulties1 and achieve impossible and unhoped-for ends4 ,it works in the spirit of the cry1 ,who art thou1 ,o great mountain8 ,before ,zerubbabel be thou changed into a plain6 ,it inspires the faith as a grain of mustard seed which is able to say to this mountain1 ,be thou removed1 and be thou cast into the sea1--and it shall obey4 ,it stands unmoved upon the pinnacle of the ,temple whereon it has been placed1 while the enemy and the tempter1 smitten by amazement1 falls4 ,in the hour of difficulty it can cry1-- ,rescue me1 ,o ,lord1 in this mine evil hour1 ,as of old so many by ,thy mighty power1-- ,enoch and ,elias from the common doom2 ,noe from the waters in a saving home2 ,abraham from the abounding guilt of heathenesse2 ,job from all his multiform and fell distress2 ,isaac when his faither's knife was raised to slay2 ,lot from burning ,sodom on the judgment day2 ,moses from the land of bondage and despair2 ,daniel from the hungry lions in their lair2 ,and the children three amid the furnace flame2 ,chaste ,susanna from the slander and the shame2 ,david from ,golia1 and the wrath of ,saul2 ,and the two ,apostles from their prison-thrall4 ,the strangeness1 the unexpectedness1 the apparently inadequate source of the deliverance1 have deepened the trust that it has not been due to accident4 ,once1 when ,felix of ,nola was flying from his enemies1 he took refuge in a cave1 and he had scarcely entered it before a spider began to spin its web over the fissure4 ,the pursuer1 passing by1 saw the spider's web1 and did not look into the cave2 and the saint1 as he came out into safety1 remarked3 ,ubi ,deus est1 ibi aranea murus1 ubi non est ibi murus aranea 7,where ,god is1 a spider's web is as a wall2 where ,he is not1 a wall is but as a spider's web74 ,this is one lesson conveyed in the words of ,christ when the ,pharisees told ,him that ,herod desired to kill ,him4 ,he knew that ,herod could not kill ,him till ,he had done ,his ,father's will and finished ,his work4 ,go ye1 ,he said1 and tell this fox1 ,behold1 ,i cast out devils1 and ,i do cures to-day and to-morrow1 and the third day ,i shall be perfected4 ,nevertheless1 ,i must walk to-day1 and to-morrow1 and the day following4 ,but had all this been otherwise--had ,felix been seized by his pursuers and perished1 as has been the common lot of ,god's prophets and heroes--he would not therefore have felt himself mocked by these exceeding great and precious promises4 ,the chariots and horses of fire are still there1 and are there to work a deliverance yet greater and more eternal4 ,their office is not to deliver the perishing body1 but to carry into ,god's glory the immortal soul4 ,this is indicated in the death-scene of ,elijah4 ,this was the vision of the dying ,stephen4 ,this was what ,christian legend meant when it embellished with beautiful incidents such scenes as the death of ,polycarp4 ,this was what led ,bunyan to write1 when he describes the death of ,christian1 that all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side4 ,when poor ,captain ,allan ,gardiner lay starving to death in that ,antarctic isle with his wretched companions1 he yet painted on the entrance of the cave which had sheltered them1 and near to which his remains were found1 a hand pointing downward at the words1 ,though ,he slay me1 yet will ,i put my trust in ,him4 ,there was a touch of almost joyful humour in the way in which ,elisha proceeded to use1 in the present emergency1 the power of ,divine deliverance4 ,he seems to have gone out of the town and down the hill to the ,syrian captains1#aaj and prayed ,god to send them illusion 771 so that they might be misled4#aaa ,then he boldly said to them1 ,you are being deceived3 you have come the wrong way1 and to the wrong city4 ,i will take you to the man whom ye seek4 ,the incident reminds us of the story of ,athanasius1 who1 when he was being pursued on the ,nile1 took the opportunity of a bend of the river boldly to turn back his boat towards ,alexandria4 ,do you know where ,athanasius is8 shouted the pursuers4 ,he is not far off6 answered the disguised ,archbishop2 and the emissaries of ,constantius went on in the opposite direction from that in which he made his escape4 ,elisha led the ,syrians in their delusion straight into the city of ,samaria1 where they suddenly found themselves at the mercy of the king and his troops4 ,delighted at so great a chance of vengeance1 ,jehoram eagerly exclaimed1 ,my father1 shall ,i smite1 shall ,i smite8 ,certainly the request cannot be regarded as unnatural1 when we remember that in the ,book of ,deuteronomy1 which did not come to light till after this period1 we read the rule that1 when the ,israelites had taken a besieged city1 thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword2#aab and that when ,israel defeated the ,midianites#aac they slew all the males1 and ,moses was wroth with the officers of the host because they had not also slain all the women4 ,he then 7as we are told7 ordered them to slay all except the virgins1 and also--horrible to relate--every male among the little ones4 ,the spirit of ,elisha on this occasion was larger and more merciful4 ,it almost rose to the spirit of ,him who said1 ,it was said to them of old time1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy2 but ,i say unto you1 ,love your enemies2 forgive them that hate you2 do good unto them that despitefully use you and persecute you4 ,he asked ,jehoram reproachfully whether he would even have smitten those whom he had taken captive with sword and bow4#aad ,he not only bade the king to spare them1 but to set food before them1 and send them home4 ,jehoram did so at great expense1 and the narrative ends by telling us that the example of such merciful generosity produced so favourable an impression that the bands of ,syria came no more into the land of ,israel4 ,it is difficult1 however1 to see where this statement can be chronologically fitted in4 ,the very next chapter--so loosely is the compilation put together1 so completely is the sequence of events here neglected--begins with telling us that ,benhadad with all his host went up and besieged ,samaria4 ,any peace or respite gained by ,elisha's compassionate magnanimity must1 in any case1 have been exceedingly short-lived4 ,josephus tries to get over the difficulty by drawing a sufficiently futile distinction between marauding bands and a direct invasion1#aae and he says that ,king ,benhadad gave up his frays through fear of ,elisha4 ,but1 in the first place1 the encompassing of ,dothan had been carried out by a great host with horses and chariots1 which is hardly consistent with the notion of a foray1 though it creates new difficulties as to the numbers whom ,elisha led to ,samaria2 secondly1 the substitution of a direct invasion for predatory incursions would have been no gain to ,israel1 but a more deadly peril2 and1 thirdly1 if it was fear of ,elisha which stopped the king's raids1 it is strange that it had no effect in preventing his invasions4 ,we have1 however1 no data for any final solution of these problems1 and it is useless to meet them with a network of idle conjectures4 ,such difficulties naturally occur in narratives so vague and unchronological as those presented to us in the documents from the story of ,elisha which the compiler wove into his history of ,israel and ,judah4#aaf ,,footnotes3 #ajd ,gen4 xxxvii4 #ag1 ,dothain1 two wells 7874 #aje ,psalm xci4 #d4 #ajf ,psalm xxxiv4 #g4 #ajg ,psalm xci4 #aa4 #ajh ,zech4 ix4 #h4 #aji ,isa4 lxiii4 #i4 #aaj ,adopting the reading of the ,syriac version3 ,and when they ,elisha and his servant came down to them the ,syrians4 ,the ordinary reading is to him1 which makes the narrative less clear4 #aaa #b ,kings vi4 #ai4 1 1 only found in ,gen4 xix4 #aa4 #aab ,deut4 xx4 #ac4 #aac ,num4 xxxi4 #g4 #aad ,vulg41 ,non percuties2 neque enim cepisti eos 444 ut percutias4 #aae ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 iv4 #d1 444 4 #aaf ,kittel1 following ,kuenen1 surmises that this story has got misplaced2 that it does not belong to the days of ,jehoram ben-,ahab and ,benhadad ,,ii41 but to the days of ,jehoahaz ben-,jehu and ,benhadad ,,iii41 the son of ,hazael 7,gesch4 der ,hebr41 #bdi74 ,in a very uncertain question ,i have followed the conclusion arrived at by the majority of scholars1 ancient and modern4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,famine ,,and ,,the ,,siege #b ,,kings vi4 #bd-vii4 #bj ',tis truly no good plan when princes play ,the vulture among carrion2 but when ,they play the carrion among vultures--that ,is ten times worse4 ,,lessing1 ,nathan the ,wise1 ,act ,i41 ,sc4 #c4 ,if the ,benhadad1 ,king of ,syria1 who reduced ,samaria to the horrible straits recorded in this chapter1 7#b ,kings vi47 was the same ,benhadad whom ,ahab had treated with such impolitic confidence1 his hatred against ,israel must indeed have burned hotly4 ,besides the affair at ,dothan1 he had already been twice routed with enormous slaughter1 and against those disasters he could only set the death of ,ahab at ,ramoth-,gilead4 ,it is obvious from the preceding narrative that he could advance at any time at his will and pleasure into the heart of his enemy's country1 and shut him up in his capital almost without resistance4 ,the siege-trains of ancient days were very inefficient1 and any strong fortress could hold out for years1 if only it was well provisioned4 ,such was not the case with ,samaria1 and it was reduced to a condition of sore famine4 ,food so loathsome as an ass's head1 which at other times the poorest would have spurned1 was now sold for eighty shekels' weight of silver 7about #h72 and the fourth part of a xestes or kab--which was itself the smallest dry-measure1 the sixth part of a seah--of the coarse1 common pulse1 or roasted chick-peas1 vulgarly known as dove's dung1 fetched five shekels 7about #abs4 #f;d474#aag ,while things were at this awful pass1 the ,king of ,israel1 as he is vaguely called throughout this story1 went his rounds upon the wall to visit the sentries and encourage the soldiers in their defence4 ,as he passed1 a woman cried1 ,help1 my lord1 ,o king6 ,in ,eastern monarchies the king is a judge of the humblest2 a suppliant1 however mean1 may cry to him4 ,jehoram thought that this was but one of the appeals which sprang from the clamorous mendicity of famine with which he had grown so painfully familiar4 ,the ,lord curse you6 he exclaimed impatiently4#aah ,how can ,i help you8 ,every barn-floor is bare1 every wine-press drained4 ,and he passed on4 ,but the woman continued her wild clamour1 and turning round at her importunity1 he asked1 ,what aileth thee8 ,he heard in reply a narrative as appalling as ever smote the ear of a king in a besieged city4 ,among the curses denounced upon apostate ,israel in the ,pentateuch1 we read1 ,ye shall eat the flesh of your sons1 and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat2#aai or1 as it is expressed more fully in the ,book of ,deuteronomy1 ,he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land4444 ,and thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body1 the flesh of thy sons and thy daughters1 which the ,lord thy ,god hath given thee1 in the siege1 and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee3 so that the man that is tender among you1 and very delicate1 his eye shall be evil towards his brother1 and towards the wife of his bosom1 and towards the remnant of his children which he shall leave2 so that he shall not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat1 because he hath nothing left him in the siege4444 ,the tender and delicate woman1 which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness1 her eye shall be evil towards the husband of her bosom1 and towards her son1 and towards her daughter1 and towards her children3 for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and the straitness1 if thou wilt not observe to do all the words of the law1 444 that thou mayest fear the glorious and fearful name1 ,the ,lord thy ,god4#abj ,we find almost the same words in the prophet ,jeremiah2#aba and in ,lamentations we read3 ,the hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children3 they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of ,my people4#abb ,isaiah asks1 ,can a woman forget her sucking child1 that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb8 ,alas6 it has always been so in those awful scenes of famine1 whether after shipwreck or in beleaguered cities1 when man becomes degraded to an animal1 with all an animal's primitive instincts1 and when the wild beast appears under the thin veneer of civilisation4 ,so it was at the siege of ,jerusalem1 and at the siege of ,magdeburg1 and at the wreck of the ,medusa1 and on many another occasion when the pangs of hunger have corroded away every vestige of the tender affections and of the moral sense4 ,and this had occurred at ,samaria3 her women had become cannibals and devoured their own little ones4 ,this woman1 screamed the suppliant1 pointing her lean finger at a wretch like herself--this woman said unto me1 ',give thy son1 that we may eat him to-day1 and we will afterwards eat my son4' ,i yielded to her suggestion4 ,we killed my little son1 and ate his flesh when we had sodden it4 ,next day ,i said to her1 ',now give thy son1 that we may eat him'2 and she hath hid her son6 ,how could the king answer such a horrible appeal8 ,injustice had been done2 but was he to order and to sanction by way of redress fresh cannibalism1 and the murder by its mother of another babe8 ,in that foul obliteration of every natural instinct1 what could he do1 what could any man do8 ,can there be equity among raging wild beasts1 when they roar for their prey and are unfed8 ,all that the miserable king could do was to rend his clothes in horror and to pass on1 and as his starving subjects passed by him on the wall they saw that he wore sackcloth beneath his purple1 in sign1 if not of repentance1 yet of anguish1 if not of prayer1 yet of uttermost humiliation4#abc ,but if indeed he had1 in his misery1 donned that sackcloth in order that at least the semblance of self-mortification might move ,jehovah to pity1 as it had done in the case of his father ,ahab1 the external sign of his humility had done nothing to change his heart4 ,the gruesome appeal to which he had just been forced to listen only kindled him to a burst of fury#abd4,the man who had warned1 who had prophesied1 who so far during this siege had not raised his finger to help--the man who was believed to be able to wield the powers of heaven1 and had wrought no deliverance for his people1 but suffered them to sink unaided into these depths of abjectness--should he be permitted to live8 ,if ,jehovah would not help1 of what use was ,elisha8 ,god do so to me1 and more also1 exclaimed ,jehoram--using his mother's oath to ,elijah#abe--;if the head of ,elisha1 the son of ,shaphat1 shall stand on him this day4 ,was this the king who had come to ,elisha with such humble entreaty1 when three armies were perishing of thirst before the eyes of ,moab8 ,was this the king who had called ,elisha my father1 when the prophet had led the deluded host of ,syrians into ,samaria1 and bidden ,jehoram to set large provision before them8 ,it was the same king1 but now transported with fury and reduced to despair4 ,his threat against ,god's prophet was in reality a defiance of ,god1 as when our unhappy ,plantagenet1 ,henry ,,ii41 maddened by the loss of ,le ,mans1 exclaimed that1 since ,god had robbed him of the town he loved1 he would pay ,god out by robbing ,him of that which ,he most loved in him--his soul4 ,jehoram's threat was meant in grim earnest1 and he sent an executioner to carry it out4 ,elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of the city1 who had come to him for counsel at this hour of supreme need4 ,he knew what was intended for him1 and it had also been revealed to him that the king would follow his messenger to cancel his sanguinary threat4 ,see ye1 he said to the elders1 how this son of a murderer--for again he indicates his contempt and indignation for the son of ,ahab and ,jezebel--hath sent to behead me6 ,when he comes1 shut the door1 and hold it fast against him4 ,his master is following hard at his heels4 ,the messenger came1 and was refused admittance4 ,the king followed him1#abf and entering the room where the prophet and elders sat1 he gave up his wicked design of slaying ,elisha with the sword1 but he overwhelmed him with reproaches1 and in despair renounced all further trust in ,jehovah4 ,elisha1 as the king's words imply1 must have refused all permission to capitulate3 he must have held out from the first a promise that ,god would send deliverance4 ,but no deliverance had come4 ,the people were starving4 ,women were devouring their babes4 ,nothing worse could happen if they flung open their gates to the ,syrian host4 ,behold1 the king said1 this evil is ,jehovah's doing4 ,you have deceived us4 ,jehovah does not intend to deliver us4 ,why should ,i wait for ,him any longer8 ,perhaps the king meant to imply that his mother's ,baal was better worth serving1 and would never have left his votaries to sink into these straits4 ,and now man's extremity had come1 and it was ,god's opportunity4 ,elisha at last was permitted to announce that the worst was over1 that the next day plenty should smile on the besieged city4 ,thus saith the ,lord1 he exclaimed to the exhausted and despondent king1 ,to-morrow about this time1 instead of an ass's head being sold for eighty shekels1 and a thimbleful of pulse for five shekels1 a peck of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel1 and two pecks of barley for a shekel1 in the gate of ,samaria4 ,the king was leaning on the hand of his chief officer1 and to this soldier the promise seemed not only incredible1 but silly3 for at the best he could only suppose that the ,syrian host would raise the siege2 and though to hope for that looked an absurdity1 yet even that would not in the least fulfil the immense prediction4 ,he answered1 therefore1 in utter scorn3 ,yes6 ,jehovah is making windows in heaven6 ,but even thus could this be8 ,it is much as if he should have answered some solemn pledge with a derisive proverb such as1 ,yes6 if the sky should fall1 we should catch larks6 ,such contemptuous repudiation of a ,divine promise was a blasphemy2 and answering scorn with scorn1 and riddle with riddling1 ,elisha answers the mocker1 ,yes6 and you shall see this1 but shall not enjoy it4 ,the word of the ,lord was the word of a true prophet1 and the miracle was wrought4 ,not only was the siege raised1 but the wholly unforeseen spoil of the entire ,syrian camp1 with all its accumulated rapine1 brought about the predicted plenty4 ,there were four lepers#abg outside the gate of ,samaria1 like the leprous mendicants who gather there to this day4 ,they were cut off from all human society1 except their own4 ,leprosy was treated as contagious1 and if houses of the unfortunate 7,biut-el-,maskin7 were provided for them1 as seems to have been the case at ,jerusalem1 they were built outside the city walls4#abh ,they could only live by beggary1 and this was an aggravation of their miserable condition4 ,and how could any one fling food to these beggars over the walls1 when food of any kind was barely to be had within them8 ,so taking counsel of their despair1 they decided that they would desert to the ,syrians3 among them they would at least find food1 if their lives were spared2 and if not1 death would be a happy release from their present misery4 ,so in the evening twilight1 when they could not be seen or shot at from the city wall as deserters1 they stole down to the ,syrian camp4 ,when they reached its outermost circle1 to their amazement all was silence4 ,they crept into one of the tents in fear and astonishment4 ,there was food and drink there1 and they satisfied the cravings of their hunger4 ,it was also stored with booty from the plundered cities and villages of ,israel4 ,to this they helped themselves1 and took it away and hid it4 ,having spoiled this tent1 they entered a second4 ,it was likewise deserted1 and they carried a fresh store of treasures to their hiding-place4 ,and then they began to feel uneasy at not divulging to their starving fellow-citizens the strange and golden tidings of a deserted camp4 ,the night was wearing on2 day would reveal the secret4 ,if they carried the good news1 they would doubtless earn a rich guerdon4 ,if they waited till morning1 they might be put to death for their selfish reticence and theft4 ,it was safest to return to the city1 and rouse the warder1 and send a message to the palace4 ,so the lepers hurried back through the night1 and shouted to the sentinel at the gate1 ,we went to the ,syrian camp1 and it was deserted6 ,not a man was there1 not a sound was to be heard4 ,the horses were tethered there1 and the asses1 and the tents were left just as they were4 ,the sentinel called the other watchmen to hear the wonderful news1 and instantly ran with it to the palace4 ,the slumbering house was roused2 and though it was still night1 the king himself arose4 ,but he could not shake off his despondency1 and made no reference to ,elisha's prediction4 ,news sometimes sounds too good to be true4 ,it is only a decoy1 he said4 ,they can only have left their camp to lure us into an ambuscade1 that they may return1 and slaughter us1 and capture our city4 ,send to see1 answered one of his courtiers4 ,send five horsemen to test the truth1 and to look out4 ,if they perish1 their fate is but the fate of us all4 ,so two chariots with horses were despatched1 with instructions not only to visit the camp1 but track the movements of the host4 ,they went1 and found that it was as the lepers had said4 ,the camp was deserted1 and lay there as an immense booty2 and for some reason the ,syrians had fled towards the ,jordan to make good their escape to ,damascus by the eastern bank4 ,the whole road was strewn with the traces of their headlong flight2 it was full of scattered garments and vessels4 ,probably1 too1 the messengers came across some disabled fugitive1 and learnt the secret of this amazing stampede4 ,it was the result of one of those sudden unaccountable panics to which the huge1 unwieldy1 heterogeneous ,eastern armies1 which have no organised system of sentries1 and no trained discipline1 are constantly liable4 ,we have already met with several instances in the history of ,israel4 ,such was the panic which seized the ,midianites when ,gideon's three hundred blew their trumpets2 and the panic of the ,syrians before ,ahab's pages of the provinces2 and of the combined armies in the ,valley of ,salt2 and of the ,moabites at ,wady-el-,ahsy2 and afterwards of the ,assyrians before the walls of ,jerusalem4 ,fear is physically contagious1 and1 when once it has set in1 it swells with such unaccountable violence1 that the ,greeks called these terrors panic1 because they believed them to be directly inspired by the god ,pan4 ,well-disciplined as was the army of the ,ten ,thousand ,greeks in their famous retreat1 they nearly fell victims to a sudden panic1 had not ,clearchus1 with prompt resource1 published by the herald the proclamation of a reward for the arrest of the man who had let the ass loose4 ,such an unaccountable terror--caused by a noise as of chariots and of horses which reverberated among the hills--had seized the ,syrian host4 ,they thought that ,jehoram had secretly hired an army of the princes of the ,khetas#abi and of the ,egyptians to march suddenly upon them4 ,in wild confusion1 not stopping to reason or to inquire1 they took to flight1 increasing their panic by the noise and rush of their own precipitance4 ,no sooner had the messengers delivered their glad tidings1 than the people of ,samaria began to pour tumultuously out of the gates1 to fling themselves on the food and on the spoil4 ,it was like the rush of the dirty1 starving1 emaciated wretches which horrified the keepers of the reserved stores at ,smolensk in ,napoleon's retreat from ,moscow1 and forced them to shut the gates1 and fling food and grain to the struggling soldiers out of the windows of the granaries4 ,to secure order and prevent disaster1 the king appointed his attendant lord to keep the gate4 ,but the torrent of people flung him down1 and they trampled on his body in their eagerness for relief4 ,he died after having seen that the promise of ,elisha was fulfilled1 and that the cheapness and abundance had been granted1 the prophecy of which he thought only fit for his sceptical derision4 ,the sudden panic which delivered the city1 says ,dean ,stanley1 is the one marked intervention on behalf of the northern capital4 ,no other incident could be found in the sacred annals so appropriately to express1 in the ,church of ,gouda1 the pious gratitude of the citizens of ,leyden1 for their deliverance from the ,spanish army1 as the miraculous raising of the siege of ,samaria4#acj ,,footnotes3 #aag ,so asaftida is called devil's dung in ,germany2 and the ,herba alcali1 sparrow's dung by ,arabs4 ,the ,q'ri1 however1 supports the literal meaning2 and compare #b ,kings xviii4 #bg2 ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,v4 xiii4 #g4 ,analogies for these prices are quoted from classic authors4 ,plutarch 7,artax41 xxiv47 mentions a siege in which an ass's head could hardly be got for sixty drachmas 7#b #ajs471 though usually the whole animal only cost #a4 ,pliny 7,h4 ,n41 viii4 #eg7 says that during ,hannibal's siege of ,casilinum a mouse sold for #f #es4 #aah ,so ,clericus4 ,comp4 ,jos4 4 #aai ,lev4 xxvi4 #bi4 #abj ,deut4 xxviii4 #eb-eh4 #aba ,jer4 xix4 #i4 #abb ,lam4 iv4 #aj3 comp4 ii4 #bj2 ,ezek4 v4 #aj2 ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,vi4 iii4 #d4 #abc #a ,kings xxi4 #bg2 ,isa4 xx4 #b1 #c4 #abd ,compare the wrath of ,pashur the priest in consequence of the denunciation of ,jeremiah 7,jer4 xx4 #b74 #abe #a ,kings xix4 #b4 #abf ,in #b ,kings vi4 #cc we should read melek 7king7 for maleak 7messenger74 ,jehoram repented of his hasty order4 #abg ,the ,jews say ,gehazi1 and his three sons 7,jarchi74 #abh ,lev4 xiii4 #df2 ,num4 v4 #b1 #c4 #abi ,the capitals of the ancient ,hittites--a nation whose fame had been almost entirely obliterated till a few years ago--were ,karchemish1 ,kadesh1 ,hamath1 and ,helbon 7,aleppo74 #acj ,lectures1 ii4 #cde4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,shunammite ,,and ,,hazael #b ,,kings viii4 #a-f1 #g-ae4 7,circ4 ,b4,c4 #hhf47 ,our acts still follow with us from afar1 ,and what we have been makes us what we are4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,the next anecdote of ,elisha brings us once more into contact with the ,lady of ,shunem4 ,famines1 or dearths1 were unhappily of very frequent occurrence in a country which is so wholly dependent1 as ,palestine is1 upon the early and latter rain4 ,on some former occasion ,elisha had foreseen that ,jehovah had called for a famine2 for the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence are represented as ministers who wait ,his bidding4#aca ,he had also foreseen that it would be of long duration1 and in kindness to the ,shunammite had warned her that she had better remove for a time into a land in which there was greater plenty4 ,it was under similar circumstances that ,elimelech and ,naomi1 ancestors of ,david's line1 had taken their sons ,mahlon and ,chilion1 and gone to live in the land of ,moab2 and1 indeed1 the famine which decided the migration of ,jacob and his children into ,egypt had been a turning-point in the history of the ,chosen ,people4 ,the ,lady of ,shunem had learnt by experience the weight of ,elisha's words4 ,her husband is not mentioned1 and was probably dead2 so she arose with her household1 and went for seven years to live in the plain of ,philistia4 ,at the end of that time the dearth had ceased1 and she returned to ,shunem1 but only to find that during her absence her house and land were in possession of other owners1 and had probably escheated to the ,crown4 ,the king was the ultimate1 and to a great extent the only1 source of justice in his little kingdom1 and she went to lay her claim before him and demand the restitution of her property4 ,by a providential circumstance she came exactly at the most favourable moment4 ,the king--it must have been ,jehoram--was at the very time talking to ,gehazi about the great works of ,elisha4 ,as it is unlikely that he would converse long with a leper1 and as ,gehazi is still called the servant of the man of ,god1 the incident may here be narrated out of order4 ,it is pleasant to find ,jehoram taking so deep an interest in the prophet's story4 ,already on many occasions during his wars with ,moab and ,syria1 as well as on the occasion of ,naaman's visit1 if that had already occurred1 he had received the completest proof of the reality of ,elisha's mission1 but he might be naturally unaware of the many private incidents in which he had exhibited a supernatural power4 ,among other stories ,gehazi was telling him that of the ,shunammite1 and how ,elisha had given life to her dead son4 ,at that juncture she came before the king1 and ,gehazi said1 ,my lord1 ,o king1 this is the very woman1 and this is her son whom ,elisha recalled to life4 ,in answer to ,jehoram's questions she confirmed the story1 and he was so much impressed by the narrative that he not only ordered the immediate restitution of her land1 but also of the value of its products during the seven years of her exile4 ,we now come to the fulfilment of the second of the commands which ,elijah had received so long before at ,horeb4 ,to complete the retribution which was yet to fall on ,israel1 he had been bidden to anoint ,hazael to be king of ,syria in the room of ,benhadad4 ,hitherto the mandate had remained unfulfilled1 because no opportunity had occurred2 but the appointed time had now arrived4 ,elisha1 for some purpose1 and during an interval of peace1 visited ,damascus1 where the visit of ,naaman and the events of the ,syrian wars had made his name very famous4 ,benhadad ,,ii41 grandson or great-grandson of ,rezin1 after a stormy reign of some thirty years1 marked by some successes1 but also by the terrible reverses already recorded1 lay dangerously ill4 ,hearing the news that the wonder-working prophet of ,israel was in his capital1 he sent to ask of him the question1 ,shall ,i recover8 ,it had been the custom from the earliest days to propitiate the favour of prophets by presents1 without which even the humblest suppliant hardly ventured to approach them4#acb ,the gift sent by ,benhadad was truly royal1 for he thought perhaps that he could purchase the intercession or the miraculous intervention of this mighty thaumaturge4 ,he sent ,hazael with a selection of every good thing of ,damascus1 and1 like an ,eastern1 he endeavoured to make his offering seem more magnificent#acc by distributing it on the backs of forty camels4 ,at the head of this imposing procession of camels walked ,hazael1 the commander of the forces1 and stood in ,elisha's presence with the humble appeal1 ,thy son ,benhadad1 ,king of ,syria1 hath sent me to thee1 saying1 ,shall ,i recover of this disease8 ,about the king's munificence we are told no more1 but we cannot doubt that it was refused4 ,if ,naaman's still costlier blessing had been rejected1 though he was about to receive through ,elisha's ministration an inestimable boon1 it is unlikely that ,elisha would accept a gift for which he could offer no return1 and which1 in fact1 directly or indirectly1 involved the death of the sender4 ,but the historian does not think it necessary to pause and tell us that ,elisha sent back the forty camels unladen of their treasures4 ,it was not worth while to narrate what was a matter of course4 ,if it had been no time1 a few years earlier1 to receive money and garments1 and olive-yards and vineyards1 and men-servants and maid-servants1 still less was it a time to do so now4 ,the days were darker now than they had been1 and ,elisha himself stood near the ,great ,white ,throne4 ,the protection of these fearless prophets lay in their utter simplicity of soul4 ,they rose above human fears because they stood above human desires4 ,what ,elisha possessed was more than sufficient for the needs of the plain and humble life of one whose communing was with ,god4 ,it was not wonderful that prophets should rise to an elevation whence they could look down with indifference upon the superfluities of the lust of the eyes and the pride of life1 when even sages of the heathen have attained to a similar independence of earthly luxuries4 ,one who can climb such mountain-heights can look with silent contempt on gold4 ,but there is a serious difficulty about ,elisha's answer to the embassage4 ,go1 say unto him--so it is rendered in our ,authorised ,version--,thou mayest certainly recover3 howbeit the ,lord hath showed me that he shall surely die4 ,it is evident that the translators of #afaa meant the emphasis to be laid on the mayest1 and understood the answer of ,elisha to mean1 ,thy recovery is quite possible2 and yet--he adds to ,hazael1 and not as part of his answer to the king--,jehovah has shown me that dying he shall die1--not indeed of this disease1 but by other means before he has recovered from it4 ,unfortunately1 however1 the ,hebrew will not bear this meaning4 ,elisha bids ,hazael to go back with the distinct message1 ,thou shalt surely recover1 as it is rightly rendered in the ,revised ,version4 ,this1 however1 is the rendering1 not of the written text as it stands1 but of the margin4 ,every one knows that in the ,masoretic original the text itself is called the ,k'thb1 or what is written1 whereas the margin is called ,q'r1 read4 ,now1 our translators1 both those of #afaa and those of the ,revision ,committee1 all but invariably follow the ,kethb as the most authentic reading4 ,in this instance1 however1 they abandon the rule and translate the marginal reading4 ,what1 then1 is the written text8 ,it is the reverse of the marginal reading1 for it has3 ,go1 say1 ,thou shalt not recover4 ,the reader may naturally ask the cause of this startling discrepancy4 ,it seems to be twofold4 7,i47 ,both the ,hebrew word lo1 not 771 and the word lo1 to him 771 have precisely the same pronunciation4 ,hence this text might mean either ,go1 say to him1 ,thou shalt certainly recover1 or ,go1 say1 ,thou shalt not recover4 ,the same identity of the negative and the dative of the preposition has made nonsense of another passage of the ,authorised ,version1 where ,thou hast multiplied the nation1 and not increased the joy3 they joy before ,thee according to the joy of harvest1 should be ,thou hast multiplied the nation1 and increased its joy4 ,so1 too1 the verse ,it is ,he that hath made us1 and not we ourselves1 may mean ,it is ,he that hath made us1 and to ,him we belong4 ,in the present case the adoption of the negative 7which would have conveyed to ,benhadad the exact truth7 is not possible2 for it makes the next clause and its introduction by the word ,howbeit entirely meaningless4 ,but 7,,ii47 this confusion in the text might not have arisen in the present instance but for the difficulty of ,elisha's appearing to send a deliberately false message to ,benhadad1 and a message which he tells ,hazael at the time is false4 ,can this be deemed impossible8 ,with the views prevalent in those times of ignorance1 ,i think not4 ,abraham and ,isaac1 saints and patriarchs as they were1 both told practical falsehoods about their wives4 ,they1 indeed1 were reproved for this1 though not severely2 but1 on the other hand1 ,jael is not reproved for her treachery to ,sisera2 and ,samuel1 under the semblance of a ,divine permission1 used a diplomatic ruse when he visited the household of ,jesse2 and in the apologue of ,micaiah a lying spirit is represented as sent forth to do service to ,jehovah2 and ,elisha himself tells a deliberate falsehood to the ,syrians at ,dothan4 ,the sensitiveness to the duty of always speaking the exact truth is not felt in the ,east with anything like the intensity that it is in ,christian lands2 and reluctant as we should be to find in the message of ,elisha another instance of that falsitas dispensativa which has been so fatally patronised by some of the ,fathers and by many ,romish theologians1 the love of truth itself would compel us to accept this view of the case1 if there were no other possible interpretation4 ,i think1 however1 that another view is possible4 ,i think that ,elisha may have said to ,hazael1 ,go1 say unto him1 ,thou shalt surely recover1 with the same accent of irony in which ,micaiah said at first to the two kings1 ,go up to ,ramoth-,gilead1 and prosper2 for the ,lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king4 ,i think that his whole manner and the tone of his voice may have shown to ,hazael1 and may have been meant to show him1 that this was not ,elisha's real message to ,benhadad4 ,or1 to adopt the same line of explanation with an unimportant difference1 ,elisha may have meant to imply1 ,go1 follow the bent which ,i know you will follow2 go1 carry back to your master the lying message that ,i said he would recover4 ,but that is not my message4 ,my message1 whether it suits your courtier instincts or not1 is that ,jehovah has warned me that he shall surely die4 ,that some such meaning as this attaches to the verse seems to be shown by the context4 ,for not only was some reproof involved in ,elisha's words1 but he showed his grief still more by his manner4 ,it was as though he had said1 ,take back what message you choose1 but ,benhadad will certainly die2 and then he fastened his steady gaze on the soldier's countenance1 till ,hazael blushed and became uneasy4 ,only when he noted that ,hazael's conscience was troubled by the glittering eyes which seemed to read the inmost secrets of his heart did ,elisha drop his glance1 and burst into tears4 ,why weepeth1 my lord8 asked ,hazael1 in still deeper uneasiness4 ,whereupon ,elisha revealed to him the future4 ,i weep1 he said1 because ,i see in thee the curse and the avenger of the sins of my native land4 ,thou wilt become to them a sword of ,god2 thou wilt set their fortresses on fire2 thou wilt slaughter their youths2 thou wilt dash their little ones to pieces against the stones2 thou wilt rip up their women with child4 ,that he actually inflicted these savageries of warfare on the miserable ,israelites we are not told1 but we are told that he smote them in all their coasts2 that ,jehovah delivered them into his hands2 that he oppressed ,israel all the days of ,jehoahaz4#acd ,that being so1 there can be no question that he carried out the same laws of atrocious warfare which belonged to those times and continued long afterwards4 ,such atrocities were not only inflicted on the ,israelites again and again by the ,assyrians and others1#ace but they themselves had often inflicted them1 and inflicted them with what they believed to be ,divine approval1 on their own enemies4#acf ,centuries after1 one of their own poets accounted it a beatitude to him who should dash the children of the ,babylonians against the stones4#acg ,as the answer of ,hazael is usually read and interpreted1 we are taught to regard it as an indignant declaration that he could never be guilty of such vile deeds4 ,it is regarded as though it were an abhorrent repudiation of his future self4 ,the lesson often drawn from it in sermons is that a man may live to do1 and to delight in1 crimes which he once hated and deemed it impossible that he should ever commit4 ,the lesson is a most true one1 and is capable of a thousand illustrations4 ,it conveys the deeply needed warning that those who1 even in thought1 dabble with wrong courses1 which they only regard as venial peccadilloes1 may live to commit1 without any sense of horror1 the most enormous offences4 ,it is the explanation of the terrible fact that youths who once seemed innocent and holy-minded may grow up1 step by step1 into colossal criminals4 ,men1 says ,scherer1 advance unconsciously from errors to faults1 and from faults to crimes1 till sensibility is destroyed by the habitual spectacle of guilt1 and the most savage atrocities come to be dignified by the name of ,state policy4 ,lui-mme son portrait forc de rendre hommage1 ,il frmira d'horreur devant sa propre image4 ,but true and needful as these lessons are1 they are entirely beside the mark as deduced from the story of ,hazael4 ,what he said was not1 as in our ,authorised ,version1 ,but what1 is thy servant a dog1 that he should do this great thing8 nor by great thing does he mean so deadly a crime4 ,his words1 more accurately rendered in our ,revision1 are1 ,but what is thy servant1 which is but a dog1 that he should do this great thing8 or1 ,but what is the dog1 thy servant8 ,it was a hypocritic deprecation of the future importance and eminence which ,elisha had prophesied for him4 ,there is not the least sense of horror either in his words or in his thoughts4 ,he merely means ,a mere dog1 such as ,i am1 can never accomplish such great designs4 ,a dog in the ,east is utterly despised2#ach and ,hazael1 with ,oriental irony1 calls himself a dog1 though he was the ,syrian ,commander-in-chief--just as a ,chinaman1 in speaking of himself1 adopts the periphrasis this little thief4 ,elisha did not notice his sham humility1 but told him1 ,the ,lord hath showed me that thou shalt be ,king over ,syria4 ,the date of the event was ,b4,c4 #hhf4 ,the scene has sometimes been misrepresented to ,elisha's discredit1 as though he suggested to the general the crimes of murder and rebellion4 ,the accusation is entirely untenable4 ,elisha was1 indeed1 in one sense1 commissioned to anoint ,hazael ,king of ,syria1 because the cruel soldier had been predestined by ,god to that position2 but1 in another sense1 he had no power whatever to give to ,hazael the mighty kingdom of ,aram1 nor to wrest it from the dynasty which had now held it for many generations4 ,all this was brought about by the ,divine purpose1 in a course of events entirely out of the sphere of the humble man of ,god4 ,in the transferring of this crown he was in no sense the agent or the suggester4 ,the thought of usurpation must1 without doubt1 have been already in ,hazael's mind4 ,benhadad1 as far as we know1 was childless4 ,at any rate he had no natural heirs1 and seems to have been a drunken king1 whose reckless undertakings and immense failures had so completely alienated the affections of his subjects from himself and his dynasty1 that he died undesired and unlamented1 and no hand was uplifted to strike a blow in his defence4 ,it hardly needed a prophet to foresee that the sceptre would be snatched by so strong a hand as that of ,hazael from a grasp so feeble as that of ,benhadad ,,ii4 ,the utmost that ,elisha had done was1 under ,divine guidance1 to read his character and his designs1 and to tell him that the accomplishment of these designs was near at hand4 ,so ,hazael went back to ,benhadad1 and in answer to the eager inquiry1 ,what said ,elisha to thee8 he gave the answer which ,elisha had foreseen that he meant to give1 and which was in any case a falsehood1 for it suppressed half of what ,elisha had really said4 ,he told me1 said ,hazael1 that thou shouldest surely recover4 ,was the sequel of the interview the murder of ,benhadad by ,hazael8 ,the story has usually been so read1 but ,elisha had neither prophesied this nor suggested it4 ,the sequel is thus described4 ,and it came to pass on the morrow1 that he took the coverlet1#aci and dipped it in water1 and spread it on his face1 so that he died3 and ,hazael reigned in his stead4 ,the repetition of the name ,hazael in the last clause is superfluous if he was the subject of the previous clause1 and it has been consequently conjectured that he took is merely the impersonal idiom one took4 ,some suppose that1 as ,benhadad was in the bath1 his servant took the bath-cloth1 wetted it1 and laid its thick folds over the mouth of the helpless king2 others1 that he soaked the thick quilt1 which the king was too weak to lift away4#adj ,in either case it is hardly likely that a great officer like ,hazael would have been in the bath-room or the bed-room of the dying king4 ,yet we must remember that the ,prtorian ,prfect ,macro is said to have suffocated ,tiberius with his bed-clothes4 ,josephus says that ,hazael strangled his master with a net2 and1 indeed1 he has generally been held guilty of the perpetration of the murder4 ,but it is fair to give him the benefit of the doubt4 ,be that as it may1 he seems to have reigned for some forty-six years 7,b4,c4 #hhf-hdj71 and to have bequeathed the sceptre to a son on whom he had bestowed the old dynastic name of ,benhadad4 ,,footnotes3 #aca ,jer4 xxv4 #bi2 ,ezek4 xxxviii4 #ba4 #acb ,see the cases of ,samuel 7#a ,sam4 ix4 #g71 of ,ahijah 7#a ,kings xiv4 #c71 and of ,elisha himself 7#b ,kings iv4 #db74 #acc ,as ,jacob did in sending forward his present to ,esau4 ,comp4 ,chardin1 ,voyages1 iii4 #bag4 #acd #b ,kings x4 #cb1 xiii4 #c1 #bb4 #ace ,isa4 xiii4 #ae1 #af2 ,hos4 x4 #ad1 xiii4 #af2 ,nah4 iii4 #aj4 #acf ,see ,josh4 vi4 #ag1 #ba2 #a ,sam4 xv4 #c2 ,lev4 xxvii4 #bh1 #bi4 #acg ,psalm cxxxvii4 #i4 #ach #a ,sam4 xxiv4 #ad2 #b ,sam4 ix4 #h4 #aci ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 iv4 #f1 4 ,aquila1 ,symmachus1 4 ,michaelis supposed it to be the mosquito-net 774 ,comp4 #a ,sam4 xix4 #ac4 ,ewald suggested bath-mattress 7iii4 #ebc74 ,sir ,g4 ,grove 7s4v4 ,elisha1 ,bibl4 ,dict41 ii4 #ibc7 mentions that ,abbas ,pasha is said to have been murdered in the same manner4 ,some1 however1 think that the measure was taken by way of cure 7,bruce1 ,travels1 iii4 #cc4 ,klostermann1 ad loc41 alters the text at his pleasure74 #adj #b ,kings viii4 #ae2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 stragulum2 lit41 woven cloth4 ,,chapter ,x 7#a7 ,,jehoram ,,ben-,,jehoshaphat ,,of ,,judah ,b4,c4 #hea-hdc 7#b7 ,,ahaziah ,,ben-,,jehoram ,,of ,,judah ,b4,c4 #hdc-hdb #b ,,kings viii4 #af-bd1 #be-bi ,bear like the ,turk1 no brother near the throne4--,,pope4 ,the narrative now reverts to the kingdom of ,judah1 of which the historian1 mainly occupied with the great deeds of the prophet in ,israel1 takes at this period but little notice4 ,he tells us that in the fifth year of ,jehoram of ,israel1 son of ,ahab1 his namesake and brother-in-law1 ,jehoram of ,judah1 began to reign in ,judah1 though his father1 ,jehoshaphat1 was then king4#ada ,the statement is full of difficulties1 especially as we have been already told 7i4 #ag7 that ,jehoram ben-,ahab of ,israel began to reign in the second year of ,jehoram ben-,jehoshaphat of ,judah1 and 7iii4 #a7 in the eighteenth year of ,jehoshaphat4 ,it is hardly worth while to pause here to disentangle these complexities in a writer who1 like most ,eastern historians1 is content with loose chronological references4 ,by the current mode of reckoning1 the twenty-five years of ,jehoshaphat's reign may merely mean twenty-three and a month or two of two other years2 and some suppose that1 when ,jehoram of ,judah was about sixteen1 his father went on the expedition against ,moab1 and associated his son with him in the throne4 ,this is only conjecture4 ,jehoshaphat1 of all kings1 least needed a coadjutor1 particularly so weak and worthless a one as his son2 and though the association of colleagues with themselves has been common in some realms1 there is not a single instance of it in the history of ,israel and ,judah--the case of ,uzziah1 who was a leper1 not being to the point4#adb ,the kings both of ,israel and of ,judah at this period1 with the single exception of the brave and good ,jehoshaphat1 were unworthy and miserable4 ,the blight of the ,jezebel-marriage and the curse of ,baal-worship lay upon both kingdoms4 ,it is scarcely possible to find such wretched monarchs as the two sons of ,jezebel--,ahaziah and ,jehoram in ,israel1 and the son-in-law and grandson of ,jezebel1 ,jehoram and ,ahaziah1 in ,judah4 ,their respective reigns are annals of shameful apostasy1 and almost unbroken disaster4 ,jehoram ben-,jehoshaphat of ,judah was thirty-two years old when he began his independent reign1 and reigned for eight deplorable years4 ,the fact that his mother's name is 7exceptionally7 omitted seems to imply that his father ,jehoshaphat set the good example of monogamy4#adc ,jehoram was wholly under the influence of ,athaliah1 his wife1 and of ,jezebel1 his mother-in-law1 and he introduced into ,judah their alien abominations4 ,he walked in their way1 and did evil in the sight of the ,lord4 ,the ,chronicler fills up the general remark by saying that he did his utmost to foster idolatry by erecting bamoth in the mountains of ,judah1 and compelled his people to worship there1 in order to decentralise the religious services of the kingdom1 and so to diminish the glory of the ,temple4 ,he introduced ,baal-worship into ,judah1 and either he or his son was the guilty builder of a temple to ,baalim1 not only on the opprobrious mount on which stood the idolatrous chapels of ,solomon1 but on the ,hill of the ,house itself4 ,this temple had its own high priest1 and was actually adorned with treasures torn from the ,temple of ,jehovah4#add ,so bad was ,jehoram's conduct that the historian can only attribute his non-destruction to the covenant of salt which ,god had made with ,david1 to give him a lamp for his children always4 ,but if actual destruction did not come upon him and his race1 he came very near such a fate1 and he certainly experienced that the path of transgressors is hard4 ,there is nothing to record about him but crime and catastrophe4 ,first ,edom revolted4 ,jehoshaphat had subdued the ,edomites1 and only allowed them to be governed by a vassal2 now they threw off the yoke4 ,the ,jewish ,king advanced against them to ,zair--by which must be meant apparently either ,zoar 7through which the road to ,edom lay71 or their capital1 ,mount ,seir4#ade ,there he was surrounded by the ,edomite hosts2 and though by a desperate act of valour he cut his way through them at night in spite of their reserve of chariots1 yet his army left him in the lurch4#adf ,edom succeeded in establishing its final independence1 to which we see an allusion in the one hope held out to ,esau by ,isaac in that blessing which was practically a curse4 ,the loss of so powerful a subject-territory1 which now constituted a source of danger on the eastern frontier of ,judah1 was succeeded by another disaster on the south-west1 in the ,shephelah or lowland plain4 ,here ,libnah revolted1#adg and by gaining its autonomy contracted yet farther the narrow limits of the southern kingdom4 ,the ,book of ,kings tells us no more about the ,jewish ,jehoram1 only adding that he died and was buried with his fathers1 and was succeeded by his son ,ahaziah4 ,but the ,book of ,chronicles1 which adds far darker touches to his character1 also heightens to an extraordinary degree the intensity of his punishment4 ,it tells us that he began his reign by the atrocious murder of his six younger brothers1 for whom1 following the old precedent of ,rehoboam1 ,jehoshaphat had provided by establishing them as governors of various cities4 ,as his throne was secure1 we cannot imagine any motive for this brutal massacre except the greed of gain1 and we can only suppose that1 as ,jehoram ben-,jehoshaphat became little more than a friendly vassal of his kinsmen in ,israel1 so he fell under the deadly influence of his wife ,athaliah1 as completely as his father-in-law had done under the spell of her mother ,jezebel4 ,with his brothers he also swept away a number of the chief nobles1 who perhaps embraced the cause of his murdered kinsmen4 ,such conduct breathes the known spirit of ,jezebel and of ,athaliah4 ,to rebuke him for this wickedness1 he received the menace of a tremendous judgment upon his home and people in a writing from ,elijah1 whom we should certainly have assumed to be dead long before that time4 ,the judgment itself followed4 ,the ,philistines and ,arabians invaded ,judah1 captured ,jerusalem1 and murdered all ,jehoram's own children1 except ,ahaziah1 who was the youngest4 ,then ,jehoram1 at the age of thirty-eight1 was smitten with an incurable disease of the bowels1 of which he died two years later1 and not only died unlamented1 but was refused burial in the sepulchres of the kings4 ,in any case his reign and that of his son and successor were the most miserable in the annals of ,judah1 as the reigns of their namesakes and kinsmen1 ,ahaziah ben-,ahab and ,jehoram ben-,ahab1 were also the most miserable in the annals of ,israel4 ,jehoram was succeeded on the throne of ,judah by his son ,ahaziah4 ,if the chronology and the facts be correct1 ,ahaziah ben-,jehoram of ,judah must have been born when his father was only eighteen1 though he was the youngest of the king's sons1 and so escaped from being massacred in the ,philistine invasion4 ,he succeeded at the age of twenty-two1 and only reigned a single year4 ,during this year his mother1 the ,gebrah ,athaliah1 the daughter of ,ahab and ,jezebel1 and granddaughter of the ,tyrian ,ethbaal1 was all-supreme4 ,she bent the weak nature of her son to still further apostasies4 ,she was his counsellor to do wickedly1 and her ,baal-priest ,mattan was more important than the ,aaronic high priest of the despised and desecrated ,temple4 ,never did ,judah sink to so low a level1 and it was well that the days of ,ahaziah of ,judah were cut short4 ,the only event in his reign was the share he took with his uncle ,jehoram of ,israel in his campaign to protect ,ramoth-,gilead from ,hazael4 ,the expedition seems to have been successful in its main purpose4 ,ramoth-,gilead1 the key to the districts of ,argob and ,bashan1 was of immense importance for commanding the country beyond ,jordan4 ,it seems to be the same as ,ramath-,mizpeh 7,josh4 xiii4 #bf72 and if so1 it was the spot where ,jacob made his covenant with ,laban4 ,ahab1 or his successors1 in spite of the disastrous end of the expedition to ,ahab personally1 had evidently recovered the frontier fortress from the ,syrian king4#adh ,its position upon a hill made its possession vital to the interests of ,gilead2 for the master of ,ramah was the master of that ,trans-,jordanic district4 ,but ,hazael had succeeded his murdered master1 and was already beginning to fulfil the ruthless mission which ,elisha had foreseen with tears4 ,jehoram ben-,ahab seems to have held his own against ,hazael for a time2 but in the course of the campaign at ,ramoth he was so severely wounded that he was compelled to leave his army under the command of ,jehu1 and to return to ,jezreel1 to be healed of his wounds4 ,thither his nephew ,ahaziah of ,judah went to visit him2 and there1 as we shall hear1 he too met his doom4 ,that fate1 the ,chronicler tells us1 was the penalty of his iniquities4 ,the destruction of ,ahaziah was of ,god by coming to ,joram4 ,we have no ground for accusing either king of any want of courage2 yet it was obviously impolitic of ,jehoram to linger unnecessarily in his luxurious capital1 while the army of ,israel was engaged in service on a dangerous frontier4 ,the wounds inflicted by the ,syrian archers may have been originally severe4 ,their arrows at this time played as momentous a part in history as the cloth-yard shafts of our ,english bowmen which sewed the ,french ranks together at ,poictiers1 ,crey1 and ,azincour4 ,but ,jehoram had at any rate so far recovered that he could ride in his chariot2 and if he had been wise and bravely vigorous1 he would not have left his army under a subordinate at so perilous an epoch1 and menaced by so resolute a foe4 ,or if he were indeed compelled to consult the better physicians at ,jezreel1 he should have persuaded his nephew ,ahaziah of ,judah--who seems to have been more or less of a vassal as well as a kinsman--to keep an eye on the beleaguered fort4 ,both kings1 however1 deserted their post1--,jehoram to recover perfect health2 and ,ahaziah1 who had been his comrade--as their father and grandfather had gone together to the same war--to pay a state visit of condolence to the royal invalid4 ,the army was left under a popular1 resolute1 and wholly unscrupulous commander1 and the results powerfully affected the immediate and the ultimate destiny of both kingdoms4 ,,footnotes3 #ada ,the following genealogy may help to elucidate the troublesome identity of names3-- ,,omri ,,jehoshaphat ,ahab ,jezebel ,ahaziah ,jehoram ,athaliah ,jehoram 7of ,israel74 7of ,israel74 7of ,judah74 ,ahaziah 7of ,judah74 #adb ,jotham ben-,uzziah was not the colleague of his father1 but his public representative4 #adc ,the only other king of ,judah whose mother's name is not mentioned 7perhaps because his father ,jotham had but one wife7 is ,ahaz4 #add #b ,kings xi4 #ah2 #b ,chron4 xxi4 #aa1 xxiv4 #g4 #ade ,vulg41 ,seira2 ,arab41 ,sa'ir 7but the historian never uses the name ,mount ,seir72 ,,lxx41 4 ,there is perhaps some corruption in the text1 and the reading of the ,chronicler with his princes shows that it may have once been 4 #adf #b ,kings viii4 #ba4 ,the people 7i4e41 the army of ,judah7 fled to their tents4 ,apparently this means that they slunk away home4 ,the word tents is a reminiscence of their nomad days1 like the treasonable cry1 ,to your tents1 ,o ,israel4 #adg ,josh4 x4 #bi-ci4 #adh ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 vi4 #a4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,revolt ,,of ,,jehu ,b4,c4 #hdb #b ,,kings ix4 #a-cg ,te semper anteit sva ,necessitas ,clavos trabales et cuneos manu1 ,gestans ahen4 ,,horat41 ,od41 ,i4 xxxv4 #ag4 ,a long period had elapsed since ,elijah had received the triple commission which was to mark the close of his career4 ,two of those ,divine behests had now been accomplished4 ,he had anointed ,elisha1 son of ,shaphat1 of ,abel-,meholah1 to be prophet in his room2#adi and ,elisha had anointed ,hazael to be king over ,syria2#aej the third and more dangerous commission1 involving nothing less than the overthrow of the mighty dynasty of ,omri1 remained still unaccomplished4 ,if the name of ,jehu 7,jehovah is ,he7#aea had been actually mentioned to ,elijah1 the dreadful secret must have remained buried in the breast of the prophet and in that of his successor for many years4 ,further1 ,jehu was yet a very young man1 and to have marked him out as the founder of a dynasty would have been to doom him to certain destruction4 ,an ,eastern king1 whose family has once securely seated itself on the throne1 is hedged round with an awful divinity1 and demands an unquestioning obedience4 ,elijah had been removed from earth before this task had been fulfilled1 and ,elisha had to wait for his opportunity4 ,but the doom was passed1 though the judgment was belated4 ,the sons of ,ahab were left a space to repent1 or to fill to the brim the cup of their father's iniquities4 ,the sword of ,heaven is not in haste to smite1 ,nor yet doth linger4 ,ahaziah1 ,ahab's eldest son1 after a reign of one year1 marked only by crimes and misfortunes1 had ended in overwhelming disaster his deplorable career4 ,his brother ,jehoram had succeeded him1 and had now been on the throne for at least twelve years1 which had been chiefly signalised by that unsuccessful attempt to recover the territory of revolted ,moab1 to which we owe the celebrated ,stone of ,mesha4 ,we have already narrated the result of the campaign which had so many vicissitudes4 ,the combined armies of ,israel1 ,judah1 and ,edom had been delivered by the interposition of ,elisha from perishing of thirst beside the scorched-up bed of the ,wady-el-,ahsy2 and availing themselves of the rash assault of the ,moabites1 had swept everything before them4 ,but ,moab stood at bay at ,kir-,haraseth 7,kerak71 his strongest fortress1 six miles from ,ar or ,rabbah1 and ten miles east of the southern end of the ,dead ,sea4 ,it stood three thousand feet above the level of the sea1 and is defended by a network of steep valleys4 ,nevertheless1 ,israel would have subdued it1 but for the act of horrible despair to which the ,king of ,moab resorted in his extremity1 by offering up his eldest son as a burnt-offering to ,chemosh upon the wall of the city4 ,horror-stricken by the catastrophe1 and terrified with the dread that the vengeance of ,chemosh could not but be aroused by so tremendous a sacrifice1 the besieging host had retired4 ,from that moment ,moab had not only been free1 but assumed the rle of an aggressor1 and sent her marauding bands to harry and carry the farms and homesteads of her former conqueror4#aeb ,then followed the aggressions of ,benhadad which had been frustrated by the insight of ,elisha1 and which owed their temporary cessation to his generosity4#aec ,the reappearance of the ,syrians in the field had reduced ,samaria to the lowest depths of ghastly famine4 ,but the day of the guilty city had not yet come1 and a sudden panic1 caused among the invaders by a rumoured assault of ,hittites and ,egyptians1 had saved her from destruction4#aed ,taking advantage of the respite caused by the change of the ,syrian dynasty1 and pressing on his advantage1 ,jehoram1 with the aid of his ,judan nephew1 had once more got possession of ,ramoth-,gilead before ,hazael was secure on the throne which he had usurped4 ,this then was the situation3--,the allied and kindred kings of ,israel and ,judah were idling in the pomp of hospitality at ,jezreel2 their armies were encamped about ,ramoth-,gilead2 and at the head of the host of ,israel was the crafty and vehement grandson of ,nimshi4 ,elisha saw and seized his opportunity4 ,the day of vengeance from the ,lord had dawned4 ,things had not materially altered since the days of ,ahab4 ,if ,jehovah was nominally worshipped1 if the very names of the kings of ,israel bore witness to ,his supremacy1#aee ,baal was worshipped too4 ,the curse which ,elijah had pronounced against ,ahab and his house remained unfulfilled4 ,the credit of prophecy was at stake4 ,the blood of ,naboth and his slaughtered sons cried to the ,lord from the ground2 and hitherto it seemed to have cried in vain4 ,if the ,nebim 7the prophetic class7 were to have their due weight in ,israel1 the hour had come1 and the man was ready4 ,the light which falls on ,elisha is dim and intermittent4 ,his name is surrounded by a halo of nebulous wonders1 of which many are of a private and personal character4 ,but he was a known enemy of ,ahab and his house4 ,he had1 indeed1 more than once interposed to snatch them from ruin1 as in the expedition against ,moab1 and in the awful straits of the siege of ,samaria by the ,syrians4 ,but his person had none the less been hateful to the sons of ,jezebel1 and his life had been endangered by their bursts of sudden fury4 ,he could hardly again have a chance so favourable as that which now offered itself1 when the armed host was at one place and the king at another4 ,perhaps1 too1 he may have been made aware that the soldiers were not well pleased to find at their head a king who was so far a fainant as to leave them exposed to a powerful enemy1 and show no eagerness to return4 ,his urgent private affairs were not so urgent as to entitle him to take his ease at luxurious ,jezreel4 ,where ,elisha was at the time we do not know--perhaps at ,dothan1 perhaps at ,samaria4 ,suddenly he called to him a youth--one of the ,sons of the ,prophets1 on whose speed and courage he could rely--placed in his hands a vial of the consecrated anointing oil1#aef told him to gird up his loins1#aeg and to speed across the ,jordan to ,ramoth-,gilead4 ,when he arrived1 he was to bid ,jehu rise up from the company of his fellow-captains to hurry him into a chamber within a chamber1#aeh to shut the door for secrecy1 to pour the consecrating oil upon his head1 to anoint him ,king of ,israel in the name of ,jehovah1 and then to fly without a moment's delay4#aei ,the messenger--the ,rabbis guess that he was ,jonah1 the son of ,amittai#afj--knew well that his was a service of immense peril1 in which his life might easily pay the forfeit of his temerity4 ,how was he to guess that at once1 without striking a blow1 the host of ,israel would fling to the winds its sworn allegiance to the son of the warrior ,ahab1 the fourth monarch of the powerful dynasty of ,omri8 ,might not any one of a thousand possible accidents thwart a conspiracy of which the success depended on the unflinching courage and promptitude of his single hand8 ,he was but a youth1 but he was the trained pupil of a master who had1 again and again1 stood before kings1 and not been afraid4 ,he sprang from a community which inherited the splendid traditions of the ,prophet of ,flame4 ,he did not hesitate a moment4 ,he tightened the camel's hide round his naked limbs1 flung back the long dark locks of the ,nazarite1 and sped upon his way4 ,a true son of the schools of ,jehovah's prophets has1 and can have1 no fear of man4 ,the armies of ,israel and ,judah saw the wild1 flying figure of a young man1 with his hairy garment and streaming locks1 rush through the camp4 ,whatever might be their surmisings1 he brooked no questions4 ,availing himself of the awe with which the shadow of ,elijah had covered the sacrosanct person of a prophetic messenger1 he made his way straight to the war-council of the captains2 and brushing aside every attempt to impede his progress with the plea that he was the bearer of ,jehovah's message1 he burst into the council of the astonished warriors1 who were assembled in the private courtyard of a house in the fortress-town4#afa ,he knew the fame of ,jehu1 but did not know his person1 and dared not waste time4 ,i have an errand to thee1 ,o captain1 he said to the assembly generally4 ,the message had been addressed to no one in particular1 and ,jehu naturally asked1 ,unto which of all of us8 ,with the same swift intuition which has often enabled men in similar circumstances to recognise a leader--as ,josephus recognised ,vespasian1 and ,st4 ,severinus recognised ,odoacer1 and ,joan of ,arc recognised ,charles ,,vi4 of ,france--he at once replied1 ,to thee1 ,o captain4 ,jehu did not hesitate a moment4 ,prophets had shown1 many a time1 that their messages might not be neglected or despised4 ,he rose1 and followed the youth1 who led him into the most secret recess of the house1 and there1 emptying on his head the fragrant oil of consecration1 said1 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,god of ,israel1 ,i have anointed thee king over the people of ,jehovah1 even over ,israel4#afb ,he was to smite the house of his master ,ahab in vengeance for the blood of ,jehovah's prophets and servants whom ,jezebel had murdered4 ,ahab's house1 every male of it1 young and old1 bond and free1#afc is doomed to perish1 as the houses of ,jeroboam and of ,baasha had perished before them1 by a bloody end4 ,further1 the dogs should eat ,jezebel by the rampart of ,jezreel1#afd and there should be none to bury her4 ,one moment sufficed for his daring deed1 for his burning message2 the next he had flung open the door and fled4 ,the soldiers of the camp must have whispered still more anxiously together as they saw the same agitated youth rushing through their lines with the same impetuosity which had marked his entrance4 ,in those dark days the sudden appearance of a prophet was usually the herald of some terrific storm4#afe ,jehu was utterly taken by surprise2 but according to the reading preserved by ,ephraem ,syrus in #b ,kings ix4 #bf1 he had on the previous night seen in a dream the blood of ,naboth and his sons4 ,if the thought of revolt had ever passed for a moment through his mind1 it had never assumed a definite shape4 ,true1 he had been a warrior from his youth4 ,true1 he had been one of ,ahab's bodyguard1 and had ridden before him in a chariot at least twenty years earlier1 and had now risen by valour and capacity to the high station of captain of the host4 ,true1 also1 that he had heard the great curse which ,elijah had pronounced on ,ahab at the door of ,naboth's vineyard2 but he heard it while he was yet an obscure youth1 and he had little dreamed that his was the hand which should carry it into execution4 ,who was he8 ,and had not the house of ,omri been1 in some sense1 sanctioned by ,heaven8 ,and were not the words of the prophet wild and wandering cries1 of which the issues might be averted by such a repentance as that of ,ahab8 ,and he felt another misgiving4 ,might not this scene be the plot of some secret enemy8 ,might it not at any rate be a reckless jest palmed upon him by his comrades8 ,if any jealous member of the confederacy of captains betrayed the fact that ,jehu had tampered with their allegiance1 would his head be safe for a single hour8 ,he would act warily4 ,he came back to his fellow-captains and said nothing4 ,but they were burning with curiosity4 ,something must be impending4 ,prophets did not rush in thus tumultuously for no purpose4 ,must not the youth's mantle of hair be some standard of war8 ,is all right8 they shouted4 ,why did this frantic fellow come to thee8#aff ,you know all about it1 answered ,jehu1 with wary coolness4 ,you know more about it than ,i do4 ,you know the man1 and what his talk was4 ,lies6 bluntly answered the rough soldiers4#afg ,tell us now4 ,then ,jehu's eye took measure of them and their feelings4 ,a judge of men and of men's countenances1 he saw conspiracy flashing in their faces4 ,he saw that they suspected the true state of things1 and were on fire to carry it out4 ,perhaps they had caught sight of the vial of oil under the youth's scant dress4 ,could any quickened observation at least fail to notice that the soldier's dark locks were shining and fragrant1 as they had not been a moment ago1 with consecrated oil8 ,then ,jehu frankly told them the perilous secret4 ,thus and thus had the young prophet spoken1 and had said1 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,i have anointed thee king over ,israel4 ,the message was met with a shout of answering approbation4 ,that shout was the death-knell of the house of ,omri4 ,it showed that the reigning dynasty had utterly forfeited its popularity4 ,no luck had followed the sons of ,naboth's murderer4 ,israel was weary of their mother ,jezebel4 ,why was this king ,jehoram1 this king of evil auspices1 who had been repudiated by ,moab and harried by ,syria--why1 in the first gleam of possible prosperity1 was he being detained at ,jezreel by wounds which rumour said were already sufficiently healed to allow him to return to his post8 ,down with the seed of the murderer and the sorceress6 ,let brave ,jehu be king1 as ,jehovah has said6 ,so the captains sprang to their feet1 and then and there seized ,jehu1 and carried him in triumph to the top of the stairs which ran round the inside of the courtyard1 and stripped off their mantles to extemporise for him the semblance of a cushioned throne4#afh ,then in the presence of such soldiers as they could trust they blew a sudden blast of the ram's horn1 and shouted1 ,jehu is king6 ,jehu was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet4 ,nothing tries a man's vigour and nerve so surely as a sudden crisis4 ,it is this swift resolution which has raised many a man to the throne1 as it raised ,otho1 and ,napoleon ,i4 and ,napoleon ,,iii4 ,the history of ,israel is specially full of coups d'tat1 but no one of them is half so decisive or overwhelming as this4 ,jehu instantly accepted the office of ,jehovah's avenger on the house of ,ahab4#afi ,everything1 as ,jehu saw1 depended on the suddenness and fury with which the blow was delivered4 ,if you want me to be your king1#agj he said1 keep the lines secure1 and guard the fortress walls4 ,i will be my own messenger to ,jehoram4 ,let no deserter go forth to give him warning4#aga ,it was agreed2 and ,jehu1 only taking with him ,bidkar1 his fellow-officer1 and a small band of followers1 set forth at full speed from ,ramoth-,gilead4 ,the fortress of ,ramoth1 now the important town of ,es-,salt1 a place which must always have been the key of ,gilead1 was built on the summit of a rocky headland1 fortified by nature as well as by art4 ,it is south of the river ,jabbok1 and lies at the head of the only easy road which runs down westward to the ,jordan and eastward to the rich plateau of the interior4#agb ,crossing the fords of the ,jordan1 ,jehu would soon be able to join the main road1 which1 passing ,tirzah1 ,zaretan1 and ,beth-shean1 and sweeping eastward of ,mount ,gilboa1 gives ready access to ,jezreel4 ,the watchman on the lofty watchtower of the summer palace caught sight of a storm of dust careering along from the eastward up the valley towards the city4#agc ,the times were wild and troublous4 ,what could it be8 ,he shouted his alarm1 ,i see a troop6 ,the tidings were startling1 and the king was instantly informed that chariots and horsemen were approaching the royal city4 ,send a horseman to meet them1 he said1 with the message1 ',is all well8' ,forth flew the rider1 and cried to the rushing escort1 ,the king asks1 ',is all well8 ,is it peace8' ,for probably the anxious city hoped that there might have been some victory of the army against ,hazael1 which would fill them with joy4 ,what hast thou to do with peace8 ,turn thee behind me1 answered ,jehu2 and perforce the horseman1 whatever may have been his conjectures1 had to follow in the rear4 ,he reached them1 cried the sentry on the watchtower1 but he does not return4 ,the news was enigmatical and alarming2 and the troubled king sent another horseman4 ,again the same colloquy occurred1 and again the watchman gave the ominous message1 adding to it the yet more perplexing news that1 in the mad and headlong driving#agd of the charioteer1 he recognises the driving of ,jehu1 the son of ,nimshi4#age ,what had happened to his army8 ,why should the captain of the host be driving thus furiously to ,jezreel8 ,matters were evidently very critical1 whatever the swift approach of chariots and horsemen might portend4 ,yoke my chariot1 said ,jehoram2 and his nephew ,ahaziah1 who had shared his campaign1 and was no less consumed with anxiety to learn tidings which could not but be pressing1 rode by him in another chariot to meet ,jehu4 ,they took with them no escort worth mentioning4 ,the rebellion was not only sudden1 but wholly unexpected4 ,the two kings met ,jehu in a spot of the darkest omen4 ,it was the plot of ground which had once been the vineyard of ,naboth1 at the door of which ,ahab had heard from ,elijah the awful message of his doom4 ,as the ,new ,forest was ominous to our early ,norman kings as the witness of their cruelties and encroachments1 so was this spot to the house of ,omri1 though it was adjacent to their ivory palace1 and had been transformed from a vineyard into a garden or pleasance4 ,is it peace1 ,jehu8 shouted the agitated king2 by which probably he only meant to ask1 ,is all going well in the army at ,ramoth8 ,the fierce answer which burst from the lips of his general fatally undeceived him4 ,what peace1 brutally answered the rebel1 so long as the whoredoms of thy mother ,jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many8 ,she1 after all1 was the fons et origo mali to the house of ,jehoram4 ,hers was the dark spirit of murder and idolatry which had walked in that house4 ,she was the instigator and the executer of the crime against ,naboth4 ,she had been the foundress of ,baal- and ,asherah-worship2 she was the murderess of the prophets2 she had been specially marked out for vengeance in the doom pronounced both by ,elijah and ,elisha4 ,the answer was unmistakable4 ,this was a revolt1 a revolution4 ,treachery1 ,ahaziah6 shouted the terrified king1 and instantly wheeled round his chariot to flee4#agf ,but not so swiftly as to escape the ,nemesis which had been stealing upon him with leaden feet1 but now smote him irretrievably with iron hand4 ,without an instant's hesitation1 ,jehu snatched his bow from his attendant charioteer1 filled his hands with it1 and from its full stretch and resonant string sped the arrow1 which smote ,jehoram in the back with fatal force1 and passed through his heart4#agg ,without a word the unhappy king sank down upon his knees#agh in his chariot1 and fell face forward1 dead4 ,take him up1 cried ,jehu to ,bidkar1#agi and fling him down where he is1--here in this portion of the field of ,naboth the ,jezreelite4 ,here1 years ago1 you and ,i1 as we rode behind ,ahab1#ahj heard ,elijah utter his oracle on this man's father1 that vengeance should meet him here4 ,where the dogs licked the blood of ,naboth and his sons1 let dogs lick the blood of the son of ,ahab4#aha ,but ,jehu was not the man to let the king's murder stay his chariot-wheels when more work had yet to be done4 ,ahaziah of ,judah1 too1 belonged to ,ahab's house1 for he was ,ahab's grandson1 and ,jehoram's nephew and ally4 ,without stopping to mourn or avenge the tragedy of his uncle's murder1 ,ahaziah fled towards ,bethgan or ,engannim1#ahb the fountain of gardens1 south of ,jezreel1 on the road to ,samaria and ,jerusalem4 ,jehu gave the laconic order1 ,smite him also2#ahc but fright added wings to the speed of the hapless ,king of ,judah4 ,his chariot-steeds were royal steeds1 and were fresh2 those of ,jehu were spent with the long1 fierce drive from ,ramoth4 ,he got as far as the ascent of ,gur before he was overtaken4#ahd ,there1 not far from ,ibleam1 the rocky hill impeded his flight1 and he was wounded by the pursuers4 ,but he managed to struggle onwards to ,megiddo1 on the south of the plain of ,jezreel1 and there he hid himself4#ahe ,he was discovered1 dragged out1 and slain4 ,even ,jehu's fierce emissaries did not make war on dead bodies1 any more than ,hannibal did1 or ,charles ,v4 ,they left such meanness to ,jehu himself1 and to our ,charles ,,ii4 ,they did not interfere with the dead king's remains4 ,his servants carried them to ,jerusalem1 and there he was buried with his fathers in the sepulchre of the kings1 in the city of ,david4 ,as there was nothing more to tell about him1 the historian omits the usual formula about the rest of the acts of ,ahaziah1 and all that he did4 ,his death illustrates the proverb ,mitgegangen mitgefangen3 he was the comrade of evil men1 and he perished with them4 ,jehu speedily reached ,jezreel1 but the interposition of ,jehoram and the orders for the pursuit of ,ahaziah had caused a brief delay1 and ,jezebel had already been made aware that her doom was imminent4 ,not even the sudden and dreadful death of her son1 and the nearness of her own fate1 daunted the steely heart of the ,tyrian sorceress4 ,if she was to die1 she would meet death like a queen4 ,as though for some ,court banquet1 she painted her eyelashes and eyebrows with antimony1 to make her eyes look large and lustrous1#ahf and put on her jewelled head-dress4#ahg ,then she mounted the palace tower1 and1 looking down through the lattice above the city gate1 watched the thundering advance of ,jehu's chariot1 and hailed the triumphant usurper with the bitterest insult she could devise4 ,she knew that ,omri1 her husband's father1 had taken swift vengeance on the guilt of the usurper ,zimri1 who had been forced to burn himself in the harem at ,tirzah after one month's troubled reign4 ,her shrill voice was heard above the roar of the chariot-wheels in the ominous taunt1-- ,is it peace1 thou ,zimri1 thou murderer of thy master8#ahh ,no6--,she meant1 ,there is no peace for thee nor thine1 any more than for me or mine6 ,thou mayest murder us2 but thee too1 thy doom awaiteth6 ,stung by the ill-omened words1 ,jehu looked up at her and shouted1-- ,who is on my side8 ,who8 ,the palace was apparently rife with traitors4 ,ahab had been the first polygamist among the kings of ,israel1 and therefore the first also to introduce the odious atrocity of eunuchs4 ,those hapless wretches1 the portents of ,eastern seraglios1 the disgrace of humanity1 are almost always the retributive enemies of the societies of which they are the helpless victims4 ,fidelity or gratitude are rarely to be looked for from natures warped into malignity by the ruthless misdoing of men4 ,nor was the nature of ,jezebel one to inspire affection4 ,one or two eunuchs#ahi immediately thrust out of the windows their bloated and beardless faces4 ,fling her down6 ,jehu shouted4 ,down they flung the wretched queen 7has any queen ever died a death so shamelessly ignominious871 and her blood spirted upon the wall1 and on the horses4 ,jehu1 who had only stopped for an instant in his headlong rush1 drove his horses over her corpse1#aij and entered the gate of her capital with his wheels crimson with her blood4 ,history records scarcely another instance of such a scene1 except when ,tullia1 a century later1 drove her chariot over the dead body of her father ,servius ,tullius in the ,vicus ,sceleratus of ancient ,rome4#aia ,but what cared ,jehu8 ,many a conqueror ere now has sat down to the dinner prepared for his enemy2 and the obsequious household of the dead tyrants1 ready to do the bidding of their new lord1 ushered the hungry man to the banquet provided for the kings whom he had slain4 ,no man dreamt of uttering a wail2 no man thought of raising a finger for dead ,jehoram or for dead ,jezebel1 though they had all been under her sway for at least five-and-thirty years4 ,the wicked perish1 and no man regardeth4 ,when the wicked perish1 there is shouting4#aib ,we may be startled at a revolution so sudden and so complete2 yet it is true to history4 ,a tyrant or a cabal may oppress a nation for long years4 ,their word may be thought absolute1 their power irresistible4 ,tyranny seems to paralyse the courage of resistance1 like the fabled head of ,medusa4 ,remove its fascination of corruption1 and men become men1 and not machines1 once more4 ,jehu's daring woke ,israel from the lethargy which had made her tolerate the murders and enchantments of this ,baal-worshipping alien4 ,in the same way in one week ,robespierre seemed to be an invincible autocrat2 the next week his power had crumbled into dust and ashes at a touch4 ,it was not until ,jehu had sated his thirst and hunger after that wild drive1 which had ended in the murder of two kings and a queen and in his sudden elevation to a throne1 that it even occurred to this new tiger-king to ask what had become of ,jezebel4 ,but when he had eaten and drunk1 he said1 ,go1 see now to this cursed woman1 and bury her3 for she is a king's daughter4 ,that she had been first ,princess1 then ,queen1 then ,gebrah in ,israel for nearly a full lifetime was nothing3 it was nothing to ,jehu that she was a wife1 and mother1 and grandmother of kings and queens both of ,israel and ,judah2--but she was also the daughter of ,ethbaal1 the priest-king of ,tyre and ,sidon1 and therefore any shameful treatment of her remains might kindle trouble from the region of ,phnicia4#aic ,but no one had taken the trouble so much as to look after the corpse of ,jezebel4 ,the populace of ,jezreel were occupied with their new king4 ,where ,jezebel fell1 there she had been suffered to lie2 and no one1 apparently1 cared even to despoil her of the royal robes1 now saturated with bloodshed4 ,flung from the palace-tower1 her body had fallen in the open space just outside the walls--what is called the mounds of an ,eastern city4 ,in the strange carelessness of sanitation which describes as fate even the visitation of an avoidable pestilence1 all sorts of offal are shot into this vacant space to fester in the tropic heat4 ,i myself have seen the pariah dogs and the vultures feeding on a ghastly dead horse in a ruined space within the street of ,beit-,dejun2 and the dogs and the vultures--those national undertakers--had done their work unbidden on the corpse of the ,tyrian queen4 ,when men went to bury her1 they only found a few dog-mumbled bones--the skull1 and the feet1 and the palms of the hands4#aid ,they brought the news to ,jehu as he rested after his feast4 ,it did not by any means discompose him4 ,he at once recognised that another levin-bolt had fallen from the thunder-crash of ,elijah's prophecy1 and he troubled himself about the matter no further4 ,her carcase1 as the man of ,god had prophesied1 had become as dung upon the face of the field1 so that none could say1 ,this is ,jezebel4#aie ,,footnotes3 #adi #a ,kings xix4 #ae1 #af4 #aej #b ,kings viii4 #ab1 #ac4 #aea ,the name was not uncommon1 #a ,chron4 ii4 #ch1 iv4 #ce1 xii4 #c4 #aeb #b ,kings xiii4 #bj1 xxiv4 #b2 ,jer4 xlviii4 #aec #b ,kings vi4 #h-bc4 #aed #b ,kings vii4 #f4 #aee ,jehoram ,jehovah is exalted4 ,ahaziah ,jehovah holds4 #aef ,vial 7pak7 only here and in #a ,sam4 x4 #a4 ,the oil 7,,lxx41 74 #aeg ,his habit fit for speed succinct 7,milton74 #aeh ,inner chamber1 #a ,kings xx4 #cj4 #aei ,perhaps1 if ,elisha had gone in person1 suspicion might have been aroused4 ,he was not more than fifty at this time1 and lived forty-three years more4 #afj ,seder ,olam1 c4 #ah4 #afa ,it seems as though they were inside the town to defend it1 not a beleaguring host outside4 #afb ,the expression is remarkable1 as showing how completely the prerogative of the ,chosen ,people was supposed to rest with the ,ten ,tribes1 as the most important representatives of the seed of ,abraham4 #afc ,him that is shut up1 and him that is left at large in ,israel 7#b ,kings ix4 #h2 #a ,kings xiv4 #aj1 xvi4 #c1 #d74 #afd ,the ,a4,v4 has1 less accurately1 in the portion of ,jezreel4 ,see #a ,kings xxi4 #bc4 ,heb41 4 ,the of an ,eastern town is the ditch and empty space--a sort of external pomrium around it4 ,it is the place of offal1 and the haunt of vultures and pariah dogs4 #afe #a ,sam4 xvi4 #d3 ,comest thou peaceably8 #aff #b ,kings ix4 #aa1 ,,lxx41 4 ,comp4 ver4 #bj1 he driveth furiously 774 #afg ,ver4 #ab1 a lie6 774 #afh ,what is meant by the gerem of the staircase is uncertain4 ,the word means a bone 7,aquila1 71 and is1 in this connection1 an 4 ,the ,targum explains it as the top vane of a stair-dial4 ,the margin of the ,r4,v4 renders it on the bare steps4 ,the ,vulgate renders it in similitudinem tribunalis1 as though gerem meant tselem4 ,the ,,lxx4 conceal their perplexity by simply translating the word 4 ,grotius and ,clericus1 in fastigio graduum4 ,symmachus1 4 #afi #b ,kings ix4 #ad3 ,so ,jehu conspired against ,joram4 ,the same word is used in #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #be1 #bf4 #agj #b ,kings ix4 #ae1 ,r4,v43 ,if this be your mind4 #aga ,so far as we know1 he never returned to ,ramoth-,gilead1 of which indeed we hear no more4 #agb ,tristram1 ,land of ,moab4 #agc ,heb41 ,shiph'hath1 a dust-storm 7,,lxx41 1 4 2 ,vulg41 globum71 not as in ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v41 a company4 ,comp4 ,isa4 lx4 #f2 ,ezek4 xxvi4 #aj4 #agd ,clearly the rendering he driveth furiously is right4 ,the word furiously is beshigga'n 7,vulg41 prceps71 and is connected with mad1 ver4 #aa4 ,,lxx41 4 ,arab4 ,chald41 quietly4 ,josephus1 leisurely1 and in good order4 ,such an approach would not1 however1 have been at all in accordance with the perilous urgency of his intent4 #age ,jehu1 the son of ,jehoshaphat1 is named from his grandfather ,nimshi1 who seems to have been the founder of the greatness of his house4 #agf #b ,kings ix4 #bc3 ,turned his hands4 ,comp4 #a ,kings xxii4 #cd4 #agg ,ver4 #bd4 ,vulg41 inter scapulas4 #agh ,,lxx41 reading 4 #agi ,bidkar1 perhaps ,bar-dekar1 ,son of stabbing4 ,comp4 #a ,kings iv4 #i4 #ahj ,heb41 ts'madim1 in pairs2 ,,lxx41 4 ,it is uncertain whether ,jehu and ,bidkar were in the same chariot as ,ahab1 as ,josephus says 7 71 or in a separate chariot4 #aha #b ,kings ix4 #bf3 ,saith the ,lord4 ,ephraem ,syrus omits these words4 ,he says that the night before ,jehu had seen the blood of ,naboth and his sons in a dream4 ,comp4 ,hom41 ,od41 iii4 #beh3 '' 4 #ahb ,a4,v41 ,by the way of the garden-house4 ,,lxx41 4 #ahc ,the text is a little uncertain4 #ahd ,thenius supposes ,gur to mean a caravanserai4 ,comp4 #b ,chron4 xxvi4 #g1 ,gur-,baal2 ,vulg41 ,hospitium ,baalis4 #ahe ,the account of the ,chronicler 7#b ,chron4 xxii4 #i7 differs from that of the earlier historian4 ,it may1 however1 be 7uncertainly7 reconciled with it as in the text1 if we suppose the words he was hid in ,samaria to mean in ,megiddo1 in the territory of ,samaria4 ,obviously1 however1 the traditions varied4 ,there are difficulties about the story1 for ,ibleam is on the west towards ,megiddo1 and not between ,jezreel and ,samaria4 #ahf 1 ,lead-glance4 ,a mixture of pulverised antimony 7stibium7 and zinc is still used by women in the ,east for this purpose4 ,in calliblepharis dilatat oculos 7,plin41 ,h4 ,n41 xxxiii474 ,keren-,happuk1 the name given by ,job to one of his daughters1 means horn of stibium4 ,the object could hardly have been to attract ,jehu 7as ,ephraem ,syrus thinks71 for ,jezebel had already a grandson twenty-three years old 7viii4 #bf74 #ahg ,a4,v41 ,tired her head4 ,comp4 tiara4 ,lit41 made good2 ,,lxx41 4 #ahh ,josephus gives the sense very well3 7,antt41 ,,ix4 vi4 #d74 ,the same question might have been addressed to ,baasha1 ,shallum1 ,menahem1 ,pekah1 and ,hoshea2 but at least ,jehu might plead a prophet's call4 #ahi ,two or three4 ,lit41 two three1 like the old ,english two three for several4 #aij ,ver4 #cc4 ,heb41 ,he trod her underfoot4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ,conculcaverunt eam4 #aia ,liv41 i4 #df-dh4 #aib ,prov4 xi4 #aj4 ,compare the remark of ,voltaire1 who saw le peuple ivr de vin et de joie de la mort de ,louis ,,xiv4 #aic #a ,kings xvi4 #ca4 ,at this time ,ethbaal was dead4 ,he reigned probably from ,b4,c4 #idj-ijh1 and died at the age of sixty-eight 7,jos41 ,antt41 ,,viii4 xiii4 #a1 ,,ix4 vi4 #f2 c4 ,ap41 i4 #ah74 #aid #a ,kings xxi4 #bc4 #aie ,comp4 ,psalm lxxxiii4 #aj4 ,her name remained a by-word till the latest days 7,rev4 ii4 #bj71 and the ,spanish ,jews called their persecutress ,isabella the ,catholic ,jezebel4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,jehu ,,established ,,on ,,the ,,throne ,b4,c4 #hdb-had #b ,,kings x4 #a-ag ,the devil can quote ,scripture for his purpose4 ,,shakespeare4 ,but the work of ,jehu was not yet over4 ,he was established at ,jezreel2 he was lord of the palace and seraglio of his master2 the army of ,israel was with him4 ,but who could be sure that no civil war would arise1 as between the partisans of ,zimri and ,omri1 as between ,omri and ,tibni8 ,ahab1 first of the kings of ,israel1 had left many sons4 ,there were no less than seventy of these princes at ,samaria4 ,might there not be among them some youth of greater courage and capacity than the murdered ,jehoram8 ,and could it be anticipated that the late dynasty was so utterly unfortunate and execrated as to have none left to do them reverence1 or to strike one blow on their behalf1 after more than half a century of undisputed sway8#aif ,jehu's coup de main had been brilliantly successful4 ,in one day he had leapt into the throne4 ,but ,samaria was strong upon its watch-tower hill4 ,it was full of ,ahab's sons1 and had not yet declared on ,jehu's side4 ,it might be expected to feel some gratitude to the dynasty which ,jehu had supplanted1 seeing that it owed to the grandfather of the king whom he had just slain its very existence as the capital of ,israel4 ,he would put a bold face on his usurpation1 and strike while the iron was hot4 ,he would not rouse opposition by seeming to assume that ,samaria would accept his rebellion4 ,he therefore wrote a letter to the rulers of ,samaria#aig--which was but a journey of nine hours' distance from ,jezreel--and to the guardians of the young princes1 reminding them that they were masters in a strong city1 protected with its own contingent of chariots and horses1 and well supplied with armour4 ,he suggested that they should select the most promising of ,ahab's sons1 make him king1 and begin a civil war on his behalf4 ,the event showed how prudent was this line of conduct4 ,as yet ,jehu had not transferred the army from ,ramoth-,gilead4 ,he had doubtless taken good care to prevent intelligence of his plans from reaching the adherents of ,jehoram in ,samaria4 ,to them the unknown was the terrible4 ,all they knew was that ,behold1 two kings stood not before him6 ,the army must have sanctioned his revolt3 what chance had they8 ,as for loyalty and affection1 if ever they had existed towards this hapless dynasty1 they had vanished like a dream4 ,the people of ,samaria and ,jezreel had once been obedient as sheep to the iron dominance of ,jezebel4 ,they had tolerated her idol-abominations1 and the insolence of her army of dark-browed priests4 ,they had not risen to defend the prophets of ,jehovah1 and had suffered even ,elijah1 twice over1 to be forced to flee for his life4 ,they had borne1 hitherto without a murmur1 the tragedies1 the sieges1 the famines1 the humiliations1 with which during these reigns they had been familiar4 ,and was not ,jehovah against the waning fortunes of the ,beni-,omri8 ,elijah had undoubtedly cursed them1 and now the curse was falling4 ,jehu must doubtless have let it be known that he was only carrying out the behest of their own citizen the great ,elisha1 who had sent to him the anointing oil4 ,they could find abundant excuses to justify their defection from the old house1 and they sent to the terrible man a message of almost abject submission3--,let him do as he would2 they would make no king3 they were his servants1 and would do his bidding4 ,jehu was not likely to be content with verbal or even written promises4 ,he determined1 with cynical subtlety1 to make them put a very bloody sign-manual to their treaty1 by implicating them irrevocably in his rebellion4 ,he wrote them a second mandate4 ,if1 he said1 ye accept my rule1 prove it by your obedience4 ,cut off the heads of your master's sons1 and see that they are brought to me here to-morrow by yourselves before the evening4 ,the ruthless order was fulfilled to the letter by the terrified traitors4 ,the king's sons were with their tutors1 the lords of the city4 ,on the very morning that ,jehu's second missive arrived1 every one of these poor guiltless youths was unceremoniously beheaded4 ,the hideous1 bleeding trophies were packed in fig-baskets and sent to ,jezreel4#aih ,when ,jehu was informed of this revolting present it was evening1 and he was sitting at a meal with his friends4#aii ,he did not trouble himself to rise from his feast or to look at death made proud by pure and princely beauty4 ,he knew that those seventy heads could only be the heads of the royal youths4 ,he issued a cool and brutal order that they should be piled in two heaps#bjj until the morning on either side the entrance of the city gates4 ,were they watched8 or were the dogs and vultures and hynas again left to do their work upon them8 ,we do not know4 ,in any case it was a scene of brutal barbarism such as might have been witnessed in living memory in ,khiva or ,bokhara2#bja nor must we forget that even in the last century the heads of the brave and the noble rotted on ,westminster ,hall and ,temple ,bar1 and over the ,gate of ,york1 and over the ,tolbooth at ,edinburgh1 and on ,wexford ,bridge4 ,the day dawned1 and all the people were gathered at the gate1 which was the scene of justice4 ,with the calmest air imaginable the warrior came out to them1 and stood between the mangled heads of those who but yesterday had been the pampered minions of fortune and luxury4 ,his speech was short and politic in its brutality4 ,be yourselves the judges1 he said4 ,ye are righteous4 ,jezebel called me a ,zimri4 ,yes6 ,i conspired against my master and slew him3 but--and here he casually pointed to the horrible1 bleeding heaps--who smote all these8 ,the people of ,jezreel and the lords of ,samaria were not only passive witnesses of his rebellion2 they were active sharers in it4 ,they had dabbled their hands in the same blood4 ,now they could not choose but accept his dynasty3 for who was there besides himself8 ,and then1 changing his tone1 he does not offer the tyrant's devilish plea1 necessity1 to cloak his atrocities1 but--like a ,romish inquisitor of ,seville or ,granada--claims ,divine sanction for his sanguinary violence4 ,this was not his doing4 ,he was but an instrument in the hands of fate4 ,jehovah is alone responsible4 ,he is doing what ,he spake by ,his servant ,elijah4 ,yes6 and there was yet more to do2 for no word of ,jehovah's shall fall to the ground4 ,with the same cynical ruthlessness1 and cold indifference to smearing his robes in the blood of the slain1 he carried out to the bitter end his task of policy which he gilded with the name of ,divine justice4 ,not content with slaying ,ahab's sons1 he set himself to extirpate his race1 and slew all who remained to him in ,jezreel1 not only his kith and kin1 but every lord and every ,baal-priest who favoured his house1 until he left him none remaining4 ,but what a frightful picture do these scenes furnish us of the state of religion and even of civilisation in ,jezreel6 ,there was this man-eating tiger of a king wallowing in the blood of princes1 and enacting scenes which remind us of ,dahomey and ,ashantee1 or of some ,tartary khanate where human hands are told out in the market-place after some avenging raid4 ,and amid all this savagery1 squalor1 and ,turkish atrocity1 the man pleads the sanction of ,jehovah1 and claims1 unrebuked1 that he is only carrying out the behests of ,jehovah's prophets6 ,it is not until long afterwards that the voice of a prophet is heard repudiating his plea and denouncing his bloodthirstiness4 ,an evil soul producing holy witness ,is like a villain with a smiling cheek-- ,a goodly apple rotten at the core4 ,,footnotes3 #aif ,omri1 #ab years2 ,ahab1 #bb2 ,ahaziah1 #ah2 ,jehoram1 #ab4 #aig ,the reading of #b ,kings x4 #a1 ,unto the rulers of ,jezreel1 is clearly wrong4 ,the ,,lxx4 reads1 ,unto the rulers of ,samaria4 ,unless ,jezreel be a clerical error for ,israel1 we must read1 ,he sent letters from ,jezreel unto the rulers of ,samaria4 #aih ,fig-baskets1 ,jer4 xxiv4 #b4 ,the word dudim is rendered pots in #a ,sam4 ii4 #ad4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 in cophinis4 ,in ,psalm lxxxi4 #f the ,,lxx4 has 4 #aii ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 vi4 #e4 #bjj ,heb41 ,tsibourm2 ,,lxx41 4 #bja ,comp4 #a ,sam4 xvii4 #ed2 #b ,macc4 xv4 #cj4 #bjb ,hos4 i4 #d4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,fresh ,,murders--,,the ,,extirpation ,,of ,,baal-,,worship 7,b4,c4 #hdb7 #b ,,kings x4 #ab-bh ,jhu1 sur les hauts lieux1 enfin osant offrir ,un tmraire encens que ,dieu ne peut souffrir1 ,n'a pour servir sa cause et venger ses injures ,ni le cur assez droit1 ni les mains assez pures4 ,,racine4 ,after such abject subservience had been shown him by the lords of ,samaria and ,jezreel1 ,jehu evidently had no further shadow of apprehension4 ,he seems to have loved blood for its own sake--to have been seized by a vertigo of blood-poisoning4 ,having waded through slaughter to a throne1 he loved to wash his footsteps in the blood of the slain1 and to stretch to the very uttermost--to stretch until it cracked all its ravelled threads--the ,divine sanction claimed by his fanaticism or his hypocrisy4 ,when he had finished his massacres at ,jezreel1 he went to ,samaria4 ,it was only a journey of a few hours4 ,on the high road he met a company of travellers1 whose escort and rich apparel showed that they were persons of importance4 ,they were about to halt1 perhaps for refreshment1 at the shearing-house of the shepherds--the place in which the sheep were gathered before they were shorn4#bjc ,who are ye8 he asked4 ,they answered that they were princes of the house of ,judah1 the brethren of ,ahaziah1#bjd on their way to see the two kings at ,jezreel1 and to salute their cousins1 the children of ,jehoram1 and their kinsfolk the children of ,jezebel the ,gebrah4#bje ,the answer sealed their fate4 ,jehu ordered his followers to take them alive4 ,at first he had not decided what he would do with them4 ,but half measures had now become impossible4 ,this cavalcade of princes little knew that they were on their way to greet the dead children of a dead king and a dead queen4 ,jehu felt that the possibilities of an endless vendetta must be quenched in blood4 ,he gave orders to slay them1 and there in one hour forty-two more scions of the royal houses of ,judah and ,israel were done to death4#bjf ,with the usual reckless insouciance of the ,east1 where any tank or well is made the natural receptacle for corpses regardless of ultimate consequences1 their bodies were flung into the cistern of the shearing-house1 in which the sheep were washed before shearing1 just as the bodies of ,gedaliah's followers were flung by ,ishmael into the well at ,mizpah1 and the bodies of our own murdered countrymen were flung into the well of ,cawnpore4 ,he did not leave one of them alive4 ,thus ,jehu murdered two kings1 and one hundred and twelve princes1 and gave ,queen ,jezebel to dogs to eat2 and if priests had but noticed how even ,hosea condemns and denounces his savagery1 they would have abstained from some of their glorifications of assassins and butchers1 nor would they have appealed to this man's hideous example1 as they have done1 to excuse some of their own revolting atrocities4#bjg ,but ,crime was ne'er so black ,as ghostly cheer and pious thanks to lack4 ,satan is modest4 ,at heaven's door he lays ,his evil offspring1 and in ,scriptural phrase ,and saintly posture gives to ,god the praise ,and honour of his monstrous progeny4#bjh ,one cruel deed more or less was nothing to ,jehu4 ,leaving this tank choked with death and incarnadined with royal blood1 he went on his way as if nothing particular had happened4 ,he had not proceeded far when he saw a man well known to him1 and of a spirit kindred to his own4 ,it was the ,arab ascetic and ,nazarite ,jehonadab1 the son of ,rechab 7or ,the ,rider71 the chief of the tribe of ,kenites who had flung in their lot with the children of ,israel since the days of ,moses4#bji ,it was the tribe which had produced a ,jael2 and ,jehonadab had something of the fierce1 fanatical spirit of the ancient chieftainess1 who1 in her own tent1 had dashed out with the tent-peg the brains of ,sisera4 ,his very name1 ,the ,lord is noble1 indicated that he was a worshipper of ,jehovah1 and his fierce zeal showed him to be a genuine ,kenite4 ,disgusted with the wickedness of cities1 disgusted above all with the loathly vice of drunkenness1 which1 as we see from the contemporary prophets1 had begun in this age to acquire fresh prominence in luxurious and wealthy communities1 he exacted of his sons a solemn oath that neither they nor their successors would drink wine nor strong drink1 and that1 shunning the squalor and corruption of cities1 they would live in tents1 as their nomad ancestors had done in the days when ,jethro and ,hobab were princes of pastoral ,midian4 ,we learn from ,jeremiah1 nearly two and a half centuries later1 how faithfully that oath had been observed2 and how1 in spite of all temptation1 the vow of abstinence was maintained1 even when the strain of foreign invasion had driven the ,rechabites into ,jerusalem from their desolated pastures4#baj ,jehu knew that the stern fanaticism of the ,kenite ,emr would rejoice in his exterminating zeal1 and he recognised that the friendship and countenance of this good man and just1 as ,josephus calls him1 would add strength to his cause1 and enable him to carry out his dark design4 ,he therefore blessed him4#baa ,is thine heart right with my heart1 as my heart is with thy heart8 he asked1 after he had returned the greeting of ,jehonadab4 ,it is1 it is6 answered the vehement ,rechabite4#bab ,then give me thy hand1 he said2 and grasping the ,arab by the hand1#bac he pulled him up into his chariot--the highest distinction he could bestow upon him--and bade him come and witness his zeal for ,jehovah4 ,his first task on arriving at ,samaria was to tear up the last fibres of ,ahab's kith and destroy all his partisans4 ,this was indeed to push to a self-interested extreme the denunciation which had been pronounced upon ,ahab2 but the crime helped to secure his fiercely founded throne4 ,one deep-seated plot was yet unaccomplished4 ,it was the total extermination of ,baal-worship4 ,to drive out for ever this orgiastic1 corrupt1 and alien idolatry was right2 but there is nothing to show that ,jehu would have been unable to effect this purpose by one stern decree1 together with the destruction of ,baal's images and temple4 ,a method so simply righteous did not suit this ,nero-,torquemada1 who seemed to be never happy unless he united ,jesuitical cunning with the pouring out of rivers of massacre4 ,he summoned the people together2 and as though he now threw off all pretence of zeal for orthodoxy1 he proclaimed that ,ahab had served ,baal a little1 but ,jehu would serve him much4 ,the ,samaritans must have been endowed with infinite gullibility if they could suppose that the king who had ridden into the city side by side with such a man as ,jehonadab--the warrior in his coat of mail1 the ascetic in his shirt of hair--who had already exhibited an unfathomable cunning1 and had swept away the ,baal-priests of ,jezreel1 was indeed sincere in this new conversion4#bad ,perhaps they felt it dangerous to question the sincerity of kings4 ,the ,baal-worshippers of former days were known1 and ,jehu proclaimed that if any one of them was missing at the great sacrifice which he intended to offer to ,baal he should be put to death4 ,a solemn assembly to ,baal was proclaimed1 and every apostate from ,god to nature-worship from all ,israel was present1 till the idol's temple was thronged from end to end4#bae ,to add splendour to the solemnity1 ,jehu bade the wardrobe-keeper to bring out all the rich vestments of ,tyrian dye and ,sidonian broidery1 and clothe the worshippers4#baf ,solemnly advancing to the altar with the ,rechabite by his side1 he warned the assembly to see that their gathering was not polluted by the presence of a single known worshipper of ,jehovah4 ,then1 apparently1 he still further disarmed suspicion by taking a personal part in offering the burnt-offering4 ,meanwhile1 he had surrounded the temple and blocked every exit with eighty armed warriors1 and had threatened that any one of them should be put to death if he let a single ,baal-worshipper escape4 ,when he had finished the offering1#bag he went forth1 and bade his soldiers enter1 and slay1 and slay1 and slay till none were left4 ,then flinging the corpses in a heap1 they made their way to the fortress of the ,temple1 where some of the priests may have taken refuge4 ,they dragged out and burnt the matstseboth of ,baal1#bah broke down the great central idol1 and utterly dismantled the whole building4 ,to complete the pollution of the dishallowed shrine1 he made it a common midden for ,samaria1 which it continued to be for centuries afterwards4#bai ,it was his last voluntary massacre4 ,the ,house of ,ahab was no more4 ,baal-worship in ,israel never survived that exterminating blow4 ,happily for the human race1 such atrocities committed in the name of religion have not been common4 ,in ,pagan history we have but few instances1 except the slaughter of the ,magians at the beginning of the reign of ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes4 ,alas that other parallels should be furnished by the abominable tyranny of a false ,christianity1 blessed and incited by popes and priests6 ,the persecutions and massacres of the ,albigenses1 preached by ,arnold of ,citeaux1 and instigated by ,pope ,innocent ,,iii42 the expulsion of the ,jews from ,spain2 the deadly work of ,torquemada2 the murderous furies of ,alva among the hapless ,netherlanders1 urged and approved by ,pope ,pius ,v42 the massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew1 for which ,pope ,gregory and his cardinals sang their horrible ,te ,deum in their desecrated shrines1--these are the parallels to the deeds of ,jehu4 ,he has found his chief imitators among the votaries of a blood-stained and usurping sacerdotalism1 which has committed so many crimes and inflicted so many horrors on mankind4 ,and did ,god approve all this detestable mixture of zealous enthusiasm with lying deceit and the insatiate thirst of blood8 ,if right be right1 and wrong be wrong1 the answer must not be an elaborate subterfuge1 but an uncompromising ,no6 ,we need be under no doubt on that subject4 ,christ ,himself reproved ,his ,apostles for savage zealotry1 and taught them that the ,elijah-spirit was not the ,christ-spirit4 ,nor is the ,elisha-spirit the ,christian spirit any the more if these deeds of hypocrisy and blood were in any sense approved by him who is sometimes regarded as the mild and gentle ,elisha4 ,where was he8 ,why was he silent8 ,could he possibly approve of this murderer's fury8 ,we do not1 indeed1 know how far ,elisha lent his sanction to anything more than the general end4 ,ahab's house had been doomed to vengeance by the voice which gave utterance to the verdict of the national conscience4 ,the doom was just2 ,jehu was ordained to be the executioner4 ,in no other way could the judgment be carried out4 ,the times were not sentimental4 ,the murder of ,jehoram was not regarded as an act of tyrannicide1 but of divinely commissioned justice4 ,elisha may have shrunk from the unreined furies of the man whom he had sent his emissary to anoint4 ,on the other hand1 we have not the least proof that he did so4 ,he partook1 probably1 of the wild spirit of the times1 when such deeds were regarded with feelings very different from the abhorrence with which we1 better taught by the spirit of love1 and more enlightened by the widening dawn of history1 now justly regard them4 ,no remonstrance of contemporary prophecy1 however faint1 is recorded as having been uttered against the doings of ,jehu4 ,the fact that1 several centuries later1 they could be recorded by the historian without a syllable of reprobation shows that the education of nations in the lessons of righteousness is slow1 and that we are still amid the annals of the deep night of moral imperfection4 ,but the nation was on the eve of purer teaching1 and in the prophets ,amos and ,hosea we read the clear condemnation of deeds of cruelty in general1 and specially of the king who felt no pity4 ,amos condemns even the idolatrous ,king of ,edom1 because he did pursue his brother with the sword1 and did cast off all pity1 and his anger did tear perpetually1 and he kept his wrath for ever4#bbj ,he condemns no less severely the ,chemosh-worshipping ,king of ,moab even for an insult done to the dead3 ,because he burned the bones of the ,king of ,edom into lime4#bba ,jehu had warred pitilessly upon the living1 and had shamelessly insulted the dead4 ,he had flung the heads of seventy princes in two bleeding heaps on the common road for all eyes to stare upon1 and he had polluted the cistern of ,beth-equed-haroim with the dead bodies of forty-two youths of the royal house of ,judah4 ,he might plead that he was but carrying out to the full the commission of ,jehovah1 imposed upon him by ,elisha2 but ,hosea1 a century later1 gives ,god's message against his house3 ,yet a little while1 and ,i will avenge the blood of ,jezreel upon the house of ,jehu1 and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of ,israel4#bbb ,nay1 more6 ,if1 as is possible1 the ghastly story of the siege of ,samaria1 narrated in the memoirs of ,elisha1 is displaced1 and if it really belongs to the reign of ,jehoahaz ben-,jehu1 then ,elisha himself brands the cruelty of the rushing thunderbolt of vengeance which his own hand had launched4 ,for he calls the unnamed ,king of ,israel the son of a murderer4 ,men who are swords of ,god1 and human executioners of ,divine justice1 may easily deceive themselves4 ,god works the ends of ,his own providence1 and ,he uses their ministry4 ,the fierceness of man shall turn to ,thy praise1 and the fierceness of them shalt ,thou refrain4#bbc ,but they can never make their plea of prophetic sanction a cloak of maliciousness4 ,cromwell had stern work to do4 ,rightly or wrongly1 he deemed it inevitable1 and did not shrink from it4 ,but he hated it4 ,over and over again1 he tells us1 he had prayed to ,god that ,he would not put him to this work4 ,to the best of his power he avoided1 he minimised1 every act of vengeance1 even when the sternness of his ,puritan sense of righteousness made him look on it as duty4 ,far different was the case of ,jehu4 ,he loved murder and cunning for their own sakes1 and1 like ,joab1 he dyed the garments of peace with the blood of war4 ,how little was his gain6 ,it had been happier for him if he had never mounted higher than the captaincy of the host1 or even so high4 ,he reigned for twenty-eight years 7#hdb-had7--longer than any king except his great-grandson ,jeroboam ,,ii42 and in recognition of any element of righteousness which had actuated his revolt1 his children1 even to the fourth generation1 were suffered to sit upon the throne4 ,his dynasty lasted for one hundred and thirteen years4#bbd ,but his own reign was only memorable for defeat1 trouble1 and irreparable disaster4 ,for ,hazael1 who had seized the throne of his murdered lord ,benhadad1 was a fierce and able warrior4 ,he held his own against the overweening might of his northern neighbour ,assyria2 and whenever he obtained a respite from this desperate warfare1 he indemnified himself for all losses by enlarging his dominion out of the territories of the ,ten ,tribes4 ,in those days the ,lord began to cut ,israel short1 and ,hazael smote them in all the borders of ,israel4 ,jehu had the mortification of seeing the fairest and most fruitful regions of his dominion1 those which had belonged to ,israel from the most ancient times1 wrenched out of his grasp4 ,from this time forwards ,israel lost half the fair ,promised ,land which ,god had given to their fathers4 ,it was the beginning of the end4 ,henceforth the tribal inheritance of ,reuben1 ,gad1 and the half tribe of ,manasseh was an oppressed dependency of ,aram4 ,hazael overran and annexed the land of ,bashan from the spurs of ,mount ,hermon to the ,lake of ,gennezareth2 ,gaulan1 and volcanic ,argob1 and ,hauran the entire ancient kingdom of ,og1 ,king of ,bashan1 with all the herds and pasture-lands4 ,southward of this he seized the whole forest-clad plateau of ,gilead1 with its lovely ravines1 north of the ,jabbok1 the territory of ,gad2 and pushing still southward1 established his sway over the district1 of the ,ammonites and the tribe of ,reuben1 as far as the city of ,aroer1 on the other side of the great chasm of ,arnon 7,wady ,mojib74 ,all the fatness of ,bashan and ,rabbah with her watery plain of the ,beni-,ammon1 and the grass-covered uplands which fed the enormous flocks of ,mesha1 the great ,emr and sheep-master of ,moab1 passed from ,israel to ,syria1 never to be recovered4 ,what made the humiliation more terrible was that the invasion and conquest were accompanied with acts of unwonted cruelty4 ,elisha had wept to think what evil ,hazael would do the children of ,israel#bbe--;how he would set their strongholds on fire1 and slay their young men with the sword1 and dash in pieces their little ones1 and rip up their women with child4 ,these atrocities were in those horrible days the ordinary incidents of warfare2#bbf but ,hazael seems to have been pre-eminent in brutal fierceness4 ,it was this which called down on him and his people the burdens of ,amos4 ,thus saith the ,lord2 ,for three transgressions of ,damascus1 and for four1 ,i will not turn away the punishment thereof2 because they have threshed ,gilead with threshing instruments of iron3 but ,i will send a fire into the house of ,hazael1 which shall devour the palaces of ,benhadad4#bbg ,we can imagine rather than describe the anguish of ,jehu when he was compelled to look impotently on1 while his powerful ,syrian neighbour laid waste his dominion with fire and sword1 and the cry of his despoiled and slaughtered subjects was uplifted to him in vain4 ,nor was this all4 ,emboldened by these reverses1 a host of other enemies1 once subjugated and despised1 began to wreak their revenge and insolence on humbled ,israel4 ,the ,philistines eagerly undertook the sale of the wretched captives who were brought to them in gangs from the burnt ,trans-,jordanic towns4#bbh ,the old brotherly covenant with the ,tyrian1 which had once been formed by ,solomon1 and had been cemented by the marriage of ,jezebel with ,ahab1 was cancelled by ,jehu's insults1 and the ,tyrians emulously outbad the ,philistines in the purchase of ,israelitish slaves4 ,the ,edomites and the ,ammonites also helped ,hazael in his marauding raids1 and enlarged their own domains at the expense of ,samaria4 ,such insults and humiliations might well go far to break the heart of an impetuous and warrior-king4 ,of ,jehu the ,books of ,kings and ,chronicles have no more to tell us1 but we gain fresh insight into his degradation from the ,black ,obelisk of ,shalmaneser ,,ii4 7#hfj-hbd71 now in the ,british ,museum4 ,from the inscription we find that1 in #hdb1 ,jehu--the son of ,omri1 as he is erroneously called--was one of the vassal kings who subjected themselves to the ,assyrian conqueror1#bbi and sent him tribute1 which may have euphemistically passed under the name of presents4 ,the despot of ,nineveh twice speaks of it as a tribute4 ,on this obelisk we see a picture of ,jehu's ambassadors--perhaps of ,jehu himself4 ,on the left stands the ,assyrian ,king with the winged circle over his head4 ,he holds a beaker of wine in his hand1 and two eunuchs stand behind him1 one of whom covers him with a sunshade4 ,before him kneels and grovels in adoration the ,jewish ,king1 with his beard sweeping the ground4 ,in long array behind him come his servants--first two eunuchs1 then a number of bearded figures1 who carry the tribute4 ,they are dressed in long richly fringed robes1 exactly resembling those of the ,assyrians themselves1 and they wear shoes which turn up at the toes4 ,they are carrying figures of gold and silver1 goblets1 golden vessels1 ingots of precious metals1 spear-shafts1 a kingly sceptre1 baskets1 bags1 and trays of treasure1 the contribution of which must have fallen with crushing weight on the impoverished kingdom4#bcj ,this tribute must have been sent in #hdb1 the eighteenth year of ,shalmaneser ,,ii4's reign4 ,doubtless ,jehu thought he might be delivered from his furious neighbour ,hazael by propitiating the ,northern tyrant1 who at the same time received the submission of the ,tyrians and ,sidonians4 ,but if so1 ,jehu's hopes were dashed to the ground4 ,shalmaneser was the enemy of ,hazael 7,ha-sa-ilu71 who had gone out to meet him at ,antilibanus1 and there had fought a desperate battle4 ,the ,syrian ,king was routed1 and driven back1 and ,shalmaneser had besieged ,damascus4 ,but he had failed to take it1 and indeed had not troubled ,syria again till #hcb1 when he made an excursion of minor importance4 ,his troubles on the north and east of ,assyria had diverted his attention from ,damascus2 and this1 together with the inferiority of his son ,samsiniras 7d4 #haa71 had given ,hazael a free hand to avenge himself on ,israel as the ally of ,assyria4 ,of ,jehu we hear no more4 ,after his long reign of twenty-eight years he slept with his fathers1 and was buried in ,samaria1 and ,jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead4 ,savage as had been his measures1 his victory over alien idolatries was by no means complete4 ,what ,micah calls the statutes of ,omri1 and the works of the ,house of ,ahab1#bca were still kept2 and men1 both in ,israel and ,judah1 walked in their old sins4 ,even in the reign of ,jehu's own son ,jehoahaz there still remained in ,samaria the ,asherah1 or tree consecrated to the nature-goddess1 which ,jehu seems to have put away1 but not to have destroyed4#bcb ,as he grovelled in the dust before ,shalmaneser1 did no memory of his own ferocities darken his humiliated soul8 ,must not he1 like our ,henry ,,ii41 have been inclined to utter the wailing cry1 ,shame1 shame on a conquered king6 ,,footnotes3 #bjc #b ,kings x4 #ab4 ,the shepherds ,house of ,meeting 7,beth-equed-haroim74 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ad cameram pastorum2 ,aquila1 4 ,it has been conjectured by ,klostermann that it belonged to the ,rechabites1 that they had been persecuted by ,jezebel1 and that they were glad to help in taking vengeance on her descendants4 #bjd ,the ,chronicler 7#b ,chron4 xxii4 #h7 says sons of the brethren of ,ahaziah4 #bje ,,lxx41 4 #bjf #b ,kings x4 #ad1 ,a4,v41 at the pit4 ,lit41 in or into the cistern4 #bjg ,see ,martin1 ,hist4 de ,france1 ix4 #aad4 #bjh ,whittier4 #bji ,jer4 xxxv4 #a-ai4 ,josephus 7,antt41 ,,ix4 vi4 #f7 calls him a good man and a just1 who had long been a friend of ,jehu4 ,he was1 says ,ewald 7,gesch41 iii4 #edc71 of a society of those who despaired of being able to observe true religion undisturbedly in the midst of the nation with the stringency with which they understood it1 and therefore withdrew into the desert4 #baj ,jer4 xxxv4 7written about ,b4,c4 #fjd74 ,communities of ,nazarites seem to have sprung up at this epoch1 perhaps as a protest against the prevailing luxury 7,amos ii4 #aa74 #baa ,in ,josephus it is ,jehonadab who blesses the king4 #bab ,heb41 4 #bac ,striking hands was a sign of good faith 7,job xvii4 #c2 ,prov4 xxii4 #bf74 #bad ,he did it in subtilty 774 ,this substantive occurs nowhere else1 but is connected with the name ,jacob4 ,,lxx41 1 in taking by the heel1 with reference to the name ,jacob1 supplanter4 #bae ,lit41 mouth to mouth4 ,,lxx41 4 #baf ,ver4 #bb1 1 ,vestiarum1 occurs here only4 ,the ,,lxx4 omits it or puts it in ,greek letters4 ,targum1 1 chests ,sil4 ,italicus 7iii4 #bc7 describes the robes of the priests of the ,gaditanian ,hercules1-- ,nec discolor ulli1 ,ante aras cultus2 velantur corpora lino ,et ,pelusiaco prfulget stamine vertex4 ,,keil1 ad loc4 ,it was a mixture of the rich dye of ,tyre and the rich web of ,nile4 #bag ,the phrase may be impersonal1 when one i4e41 they had finished the sacrifice2 but the narrative seems to imply that ,jehu offered it himself 7,,lxx41 ,vulg41 cum completum esset holocaustum74 #bah ,a4,v41 images2 ,r4,v41 pillars4 #bai ,comp4 ,ezra vi4 #aa2 ,dan4 ii4 #e4 #bbj ,amos i4 #aa4 #bba ,amos ii4 #a4 #bbb ,hos4 i4 #d4 #bbc ,psalm lxxvi4 #aj4 #bbd ,jehu #hdb-had4 ,jehoahaz #had-gig4 ,joash #gig-gha4 ,jeroboam ,,ii4 #gha-gdj4 ,zechariah #gdj4 #bbe #b ,kings viii4 #ab4 #bbf ,isa4 xiii4 #aa-af2 ,hos4 x4 #ad1 xiii4 #af2 ,nah4 iii4 #aj4 #bbg ,amos i4 #c1 #d4 #bbh ,amos i4 #f-ae4 #bbi ,see ,appendix ,i41 ,schrader1 ,keilinschriften u4 das ,alte ,test41 #bjh ff42 ,sayce1 ,records of the ,past1 v4 #da2 ,layard1 ,nineveh1 p4 #fac2 ,rawlinson1 ,herodotus1 i4 #dfi4 ,he is twice mentioned in inscriptions of ,shalmaneser ,,ii4 7#hfa-hbe74 ,he is called ,ja-hu-a1 son of ,omri4 ,the name of ,omri was familiar in ,nineveh2 for ,ahab had fought as a vassal of ,assyria at the battle of ,karkar1 and ,samaria was called ,beth-,khumri4 ,shalmaneser would not trouble himself with the fact that ,jehu had extirpated the old dynasty4 ,his black stl was found by ,layard1 and is figured in ,monuments of ,nineveh1 i41 pl4 #ec4 ,the name of ,jehu was first deciphered by ,dr4 ,hincks in #ahea4 #bcj ,schrader 7,e4 ,t471 ii4 #aii4 #bca ,mic4 vi4 #af4 #bcb #b ,kings xiii4 #f4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,athaliah 7,b4,c4 #hdb-hcf7--;,,joash ,,ben-,,ahaziah ,,of ,,judah 7,b4,c4 #hcf-gif7 #b ,,kings xi4 #a-xii4 #ba ,par cette fin terrible1 et due ses forfaits1 ,apprenez1 ,roi des ,juifs1 et n'oubliez jamais1 ,que les rois dans le ciel ont un juge sevre1 ,l'innocence un vengeur1 et les orphelins un pre6 ,,racine1 ,athalie4 ,regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway1 ,that1 hushed in grim repose1 expects its evening prey4 ,,gray4 ,before we follow the destinies of the ,house of ,jehu we must revert to ,judah1 and watch the final consequences of ruin which came in the train of ,ahab's ,tyrian marriage1 and brought murder and idolatry into ,judah1 as well as into ,israel4 ,athaliah1 who1 as queen-mother1 was more powerful than the queen-consort 7malekkah71 was the true daughter of ,jezebel4 ,she exhibits the same undaunted fierceness1 the same idolatrous fanaticism1 the same swift resolution1 the same cruel and unscrupulous wickedness4 ,it might have been supposed that the miserable disease of her husband ,jehoram1 followed so speedily by the murder1 after one year's reign1 of her son ,ahaziah1 might have exercised over her character the softening influence of misfortune4 ,on the contrary1 she only saw in these events a short path to the consummation of her ambition4 ,under ,jehoram she had been queen3 under ,ahaziah she had exercised still more powerful influence as ,gebrah1 and had asserted her sway alike over her husband and over her son1 whose counsellor she was to do wickedly4 ,it was far from her intention tamely to sink from her commanding position into the abject nullity of an aged and despised dowager in a dull provincial seraglio4 ,she even thought that ,to reign is worth ambition1 though in hell2 ,better to reign in hell than serve in heaven4 ,the royal family of the ,house of ,david1 numerous and flourishing as it once was1 had recently been decimated by cruel catastrophes4 ,jehoram1 instigated probably by his heathen wife1 had killed his six younger brothers4#bcc ,later on1 the ,arabs and ,philistines1 in their insulting invasion1 had not only plundered his palace1 but had carried away his sons2 so that1 according to the ,chronicler1 there was never a son left him1 save ,jehoahaz i4e41 ,ahaziah1 the youngest of his sons4#bcd ,he may have had other sons after that invasion2 and ,ahaziah had left children1 who must all1 however1 have been very young1 since he was only twenty-two or twenty-three when ,jehu's servants murdered him4 ,athaliah might naturally have hoped for the regency2 but this did not content her4 ,when she saw that her son ,ahaziah was dead1 she arose and destroyed all the seed royal4 ,in those days the life of a child was but little thought of2 and it weighed less than nothing with ,athaliah that these innocents were her grandchildren4 ,she killed all of whose existence she was aware1 and boldly seized the crown4 ,no queen had ever reigned alone either in ,israel or in ,judah4 ,judah must have sunk very low1 and the talents of ,athaliah must have been commanding1 or she could never have established a precedent hitherto undreamed of1 by imposing on the people of ,david for six years the yoke of a woman1 and that woman a half-,phnician idolatress4 ,yet so it was6 ,athaliah1 like her cousin ,dido1 felt herself strong enough to rule4 ,but a woman's ruthlessness was outwitted by a woman's cunning4 ,ahaziah had a half-sister on the father's side1#bce the princess ,jehosheba1 or ,jehoshabeath1 who was then or afterwards 7we are told7 married to ,jehoiada1 the high priest4#bcf ,the secrets of harems are hidden deep1 and ,athaliah may have been purposely kept in ignorance of the birth to ,ahaziah of a little babe whose mother was ,zibiah of ,beersheba1 and who had received the name of ,joash4 ,if she knew of his existence1 some ruse must have been palmed off upon her1 and she must have been led to believe that he too had been killed4 ,but he had not been killed4 ,jehosheba stole him from among the king's sons that were slain1 and1 with the connivance of his nurse1 hid him from the murderers sent by ,athaliah in the palace store-room in which beds and couches were kept4#bcg ,thence1 at the first favourable moment1 she transferred the child and nurse to one of the chambers in the three storeys of chambers which ran round the ,temple1 and were variously used as wardrobes or as dwelling-rooms4 ,the hiding-place was safe2 for under ,athaliah the ,temple of ,jehovah fell into neglect and disrepute1 and its resident ministers would not be numerous4 ,it would not have been difficult1 in the seclusion of ,eastern life1 for ,jehosheba to pass off the babe as her own child to all but the handful who knew the secret4 ,six years passed away1 and the iron hand of ,athaliah still kept the people in subjection4 ,she had boldly set up in ,judah her mother's ,baal-worship4 ,baal had his temple not far from that of ,jehovah2 and though ,athaliah did not imitate ,jezebel in persecuting the worshippers of ,jehovah1 she made her own high priest1 ,mattan1 a much more important person than ,jehoiada for all who desired to propitiate the favours of the ,court4 ,joash had now reached his seventh year1 and a ,jewish prince in his seventh year is regarded as something more than a mere child4 ,jehoiada thought that it was time to strike a blow in his favour1 and to deliver him from the dreadful confinement which made it impossible for him to leave the ,temple precincts4 ,he began secretly to tamper with the guards both of the ,temple and of the palace4 ,upon the ,levitic guards1 indignant at the intrusion of ,baal-worship1 he might securely count1 and the ,carites and queen's runners were not likely to be very much devoted to the rule of the manlike and idolatrous alien-queen4 ,taking an oath of them in secrecy1 he bound them to allegiance to the little boy whom he produced from the ,temple chamber as their lawful lord1 and the son of their late king4 ,the plot was well laid4 ,there were five captains of the five hundred royal body-guards1 and the priest secretly enlisted them all in the service4#bch ,the ,chronicler says that he also sent round to all the chief ,levites1 and collected them in ,jerusalem for the emergency4 ,the arrangements of the ,sabbath gave special facility to his plans2 for on that day only one of the five divisions of guards mounted watch at the palace1 and the others were set free for the service of the ,temple4#bci ,it had evidently been announced that some great ceremony would be held in the shrine of ,jehovah2 for all the people1 we are told1 were assembled in the courts of the house of the ,lord4 ,jehoiada ordered one of the companies to guard the palace2 another to be at the gate ,sur1 or the gate of the ,foundation2#bdj another at the gate behind the barracks787 of the palace-runners1 to be a barrier#bda against any incursion from the palace4 ,two more were to ensure the safety of the little king by watching the precincts of the ,temple4 ,the ,levitic officers were to protect the king's person with serried ranks4 ,jehoiada armed them with spears and shields1 which ,david had placed as trophies in the porch2 and if any one tried to force his way within their lines he was to be slain4 ,the only danger to be apprehended was from any ,carite mercenaries1 or palace-servants of the queen3 among all others ,jehoiada found a widespread defection4 ,the people1 the ,levites1 even the soldiers1 all hated the ,baal-worshipping usurper4#bdb ,at the fateful moment the guards were arranged in two dense lines1 beginning from either side of the porch1 till their ranks met beyond the altar1 so as to form a hedge round the royal boy4 ,into this triangular space the young prince was led by the high priest1 and placed beside the ,matstsebah--some prominent pillar in the ,temple court1 either one of ,solomon's pillars ,jachin and ,boaz1 or some special erection of later days4#bdc ,round him stood the princes of ,judah1 and there1 in the midst of them1 ,jehoiada placed the crown upon his head1 and in significant symbol also laid lightly upon it for a moment ,the ,testimony--perhaps the ,ten ,commandments and the ,book of the ,covenant--the most ancient fragment of the ,pentateuch#bdd--which was treasured up with the pot of manna inside or in front of the ,ark4 ,then he poured on the child's head the consecrated oil1 and said1 ,let the king live6 ,the completion of the ceremony was marked by the blare of the rams' horns1 the softer blast of the silver trumpets1 and the answering shouts of the soldiers and the people4 ,the tumult1 or the news of it1 reached the ears of ,athaliah in the neighbouring palace1 and1 with all the undaunted courage of her mother1 she instantly summoned her escort1 and went into the ,temple to see for herself what was taking place4#bde ,she probably mounted the ascent which ,solomon had made from the palace to the ,temple court1 though it had long been robbed of its precious metals and scented woods4 ,she led the way1 and thought to overawe by her personal ascendency any irregularity which might be going on2 for in the deathful hush to which she had reduced her subjects she does not seem to have dreamt of rebellion4 ,no sooner had she entered than the guards closed behind her1 excluding and menacing her escort4#bdf ,a glance was sufficient to reveal to her the significance of the whole scene4 ,there1 in royal robes1 and crowned with the royal crown1 stood her little unknown grandson beside the ,matstsebah1#bdg while round him were the leaders of the people and the trumpeters1 and the multitudes were still rolling their tumult of acclamation from the court below4 ,in that sight she read her doom4 ,rending her clothes1 she turned to fly1 shrieking1 ,treason6 treason6 ,then the commands of the priest rang out3 ,keep her between the ranks1#bdh till you have got her outside the area of the ,temple2 and if any of her guards follow or try to rescue her1 kill him with the sword4 ,but let not the sacred courts be polluted with her blood4 ,so they made way for her1#bdi and as she could not escape she passed between the rows of ,levites and soldiers till she had reached the private chariot-road by which the kings drove to the precincts4#bej ,there the sword of vengeance fell4 ,athaliah disappears from history1 and with her the dark race of ,jezebel4 ,but her story lives in the music of ,handel and the verse of ,racine4 ,this is the only recorded revolution in the history of ,judah4 ,in two later cases a king of ,judah was murdered1 but in both instances the people of the land restored the ,davidic heir4 ,life in ,judah was less dramatic and exciting than in ,israel1 but far more stable2#bea and this1 together with comparative immunity from foreign invasions1 constituted an immense advantage4 ,jehoiada1 of course1 became regent for the young king1 and continued to be his guide for many years1 so that even the king's two wives were selected by his advice4 ,as the nation had been distracted with idolatries1 he made the covenant between the king and the people that they should be loyal to each other1 and between ,jehoiada and the king and the people that they should be ,jehovah's people4 ,such covenants were not infrequent in ,jewish history4 ,such a covenant had been made by ,asa#beb after ,abijam's apostasy1 as it was afterwards made by ,hezekiah#bec and by ,josiah4#bed ,the new covenant1 and the sense of awakenment from the dream of guilty apostasy1 evoked an outburst of spontaneous enthusiasm in the hearts of the populace4 ,of their own impulse they rushed to the temple of ,baal which ,athaliah had reared1 dismantled it1 and smashed to pieces his altars and images4 ,the riot was only stained by a single murder4 ,they slew ,mattan1 ,athaliah's ,baal-priest1 before the altars of his god4#bee ,with ,jehoiada begins the title of high priest4 ,hitherto no higher name than the priest had been given even to ,aaron1 or ,eli1 or ,zadok2 but thenceforth the title of chief priest is given to his successors1 among whom he inaugurated a new epoch4#bef ,it was now ,jehoiada's object to restore such splendour and solemnity as he could to the neglected worship of the ,temple1 which had suffered in every way from ,baal's encroachments4 ,he did this before the king's second solemn inauguration4 ,even the porters had been done away with1 so that the ,temple could at any time be polluted by the presence of the unclean1 and the whole service of priests and ,levites had fallen into desuetude4 ,then he took the captains1 and the ,carians1 and the princes1 and conducted the boy-king1 amid throngs of his shouting and rejoicing people1 from the ,temple to his own palace4 ,there he seated him on the lion-throne of ,solomon his father1 in the great hall of justice1 and the city was quiet and the land had rest4 ,according to the historian1 ,joash did right all his days1 because ,jehoiada the priest instructed him4#beg ,the stock addition that howbeit the bamoth were not removed1 and the people still sacrificed and offered incense there1 is no derogation from the merits of ,joash1 and perhaps not even of ,jehoiada1 since if the law against the bamoth then existed1 it had become absolutely unknown1 and these local sanctuaries were held to be conducive to true religion4#beh ,it was natural that the child of the ,temple should have at heart the interests of the ,temple in which he had spent his early days1 and to the shelter of which he owed his life and throne4 ,the sacred house had been insulted and plundered by persons whom the ,chronicler calls the sons of ,athaliah1 that wicked woman1#bei meaning1 probably1 her adherents4 ,not only had its treasures been robbed to enrich the house of ,baal1 but it had been suffered to fall into complete disrepair4 ,breaches gaped in the outer walls1 and the very foundations were insecure4 ,the necessity for restoring it occurred1 not1 as we should have expected1 to the priests who lived at its altar1 but to the boy-king4 ,he issued an order to the priests that they should take charge of all the money presented to the ,temple for the hallowed things1 all the money paid in current coin1 and all the assessments for various fines and vows1#bfj together with every freewill contribution4 ,they were to have this revenue entirely at their disposal1 and to make themselves responsible for the necessary repairs4 ,according to the ,chronicler1 they were further to raise a subscription throughout the country from all their personal friends4 ,the king's command had been urgent4 ,money had at first come in1 but nothing was done4 ,joash had reached the twenty-third year of his reign1 and was thirty years old2 but the ,temple remained in its old sordid condition4 ,the matter is passed over by the king as lightly1 courteously1 and considerately as he could2 but if he does not charge the priests with downright embezzlement1 he does reproach them for most reprehensible neglect4 ,they were the appointed guardians of the house3 why did they suffer its dilapidations to remain untouched year after year1 while they continued to receive the golden stream which poured--but now1 owing to the disgust of the people1 in diminished volume--into their coffers8 ,take no more money1 therefore1 he said1 from your acquaintances1 but deliver it for the breaches of the house4 ,for what they had already received he does not call them to account1 but henceforth takes the whole matter into his own hands4 ,the neglectful priests were to receive no more contributions1 and not to be responsible for the repairs4 ,joash1 however1 ordered ,jehoiada to take a chest and put it beside the altar on the right4#bfa ,all contributions were to be dropped into this chest4 ,when it was full1 it was carried by the ,levites unopened into the palace1#bfb and there the king's chancellor and the high priest had the ingots weighed and the money counted2 its value was added up1 and it was handed over immediately to the architects1 who paid it to the carpenters and masons4 ,the priests were left in possession of the money for the guilt-offerings#bfc and for the sin-offerings1 but with the rest of the funds they had nothing to do4 ,in this way was restored the confidence which the management of the hierarchy had evidently forfeited1 and with renewed confidence in the administration fresh gifts poured in4 ,even in the cautious narrative of the ,chronicler it is clear that the priests hardly came out of these transactions with flying colours4 ,if their honesty is not formally impugned1 at least their torpor is obvious1 as is the fact that they had wholly failed to inspire the zeal of the people till the young king took the affair into his own hands4#bfd ,the long reign of ,joash ended in eclipse and murder4 ,if the later tradition be correct1 it was also darkened with atrocious ingratitude and crime4 ,for1 according to the ,chronicler1 ,jehoiada died at the advanced age of one hundred and thirty1 and was buried1 as an unwonted honour1 in the sepulchres of the kings4#bfe ,when he was dead1 the princes of ,judah came to ,joash1 who had now been king for many years1 and with a strange suddenness tempted the zealous repairer of the ,temple of ,jehovah into idolatrous apostasy4 ,with soft speech they seduced him into the worship of ,asherim4 ,it was marvellous indeed if the child of the ,temple became its foe1 and he who had made a covenant with ,jehovah fell away to ,baalim4 ,but worse followed4 ,prophets reproved him1 and he paid them no heed1 in spite of the greatness of the burdens--i4e41 the multitude of the menaces--laid upon him4#bff ,the stern1 denunciative harangues were despised4 ,at last ,zechariah1 the son of his benefactor ,jehoiada1 rebuked king and people4 ,he cried aloud from some eminence in the court of the ,temple1 that since they had transgressed the commandments of ,jehovah they could not prosper3 they had forsaken ,him1 and ,he would forsake them4 ,infuriated by this prophecy of woe1 the guilty people1 at the command of their guiltier king1 stoned him to death4#bfg ,as he lay dying1 he exclaimed1 ,the ,lord look upon it1 and require it6#bfh ,the entire silence of the elder and better authority might lead us to hope that there may be room for doubt as to the accuracy of the much later tradition4 ,yet there certainly was a persistent belief that ,zechariah had been thus martyred4 ,a wild legend1 related in the ,talmud1#bfi tells us that when ,nebuzaradan conquered ,jerusalem and entered the ,temple he saw blood bubbling up from the floor of the court1 and slaughtered ninety-four myriads1 so that the blood flowed till it touched the blood of ,zechariah1 that it might be fulfilled which is said 7,hos4 iv4 #b71 ,blood toucheth blood4 ,when he saw the blood of ,zechariah1 and noticed that it was boiling and agitated1 he asked1 ,what is this8 and was told that it was the spilled blood of the sacrifices4 ,finding this to be false1 he threatened to comb the flesh of the priests with iron curry-combs if they did not tell the truth4 ,then they confessed that it was the blood of the murdered ,zechariah4 ,well1 he said1 ,i will pacify him4 ,first he slaughtered the greater and lesser ,sanhedrin3 but the blood did not rest4 ,then he sacrificed young men and maidens3 but the blood still bubbled4 ,at last he cried1 ,zechariah1 ,zechariah1 must ,i then slay them all8 ,then the blood was still1 and ,nebuzaradan1 thinking how much blood he had shed1 fled1 repented1 and became a ,jewish proselyte6 ,perhaps the worst feature of the story against ,joash might have been susceptible of a less shocking colouring4 ,he had naturally all his life been under the influence of priestly domination4 ,the ascendency which ,jehoiada had acquired as priest-regent had been maintained till long after the young king had arrived at full manhood4 ,at last1 however1 he had come into collision with the priestly body4 ,he was in the right2 they were transparently in the wrong4 ,the ,chronicler1 and even the older historian1 soften the story against the priests as much as they can2 but in both their narratives it is plain that ,jehoiada and the whole hierarchy had been more careful of their own interests than of those of the ,temple1 of which they were the appointed guardians4 ,even if they can be acquitted of potential malfeasance1 they had been guilty of reprehensible carelessness4 ,it is clear that in this matter they did not command the confidence of the people2 for so long as they had the management of affairs the sources of munificence were either dried up or only flowed in scanty streams1 whereas they were poured forth with glad abundance when the administration of the funds was placed mainly in the hands of laymen under the king's chancellor4 ,it is probable that when ,jehoiada was dead ,joash thought it right to assert his royal authority in greater independence of the priestly party2 and that party was headed by ,zechariah1 the son of ,jehoiada4 ,the ,chronicler says that he prophesied3 that1 however1 would not necessarily constitute him a prophet1 any more than it constituted ,caiaphas4 ,if he was a prophet1 and was yet at the head of the priests1 he furnishes an all-but solitary instance of such a position4 ,the position of a prophet1 occupied in the great work of moral reformation1 was so essentially antithetic to that of priests1 absorbed in ritual ceremonies1 that there is no body of men in ,scripture of whom1 as a whole1 we have a more pitiful record than of the ,jewish priests4 ,from ,aaron1 who made the golden calf1 to ,urijah1 who sanctioned the idolatrous altar of ,ahaz1 and so down to ,annas and ,caiaphas1 who crucified the ,lord of glory1 they rendered few signal services to true religion4 ,they opposed ,uzziah when he invaded their functions1 but they acquiesced in all the idolatries and abominations of ,rehoboam1 ,abijah1 ,ahaziah1 ,ahaz1 and many other kings1 without a syllable of recorded protest4 ,when a prophet did spring from their ranks1 they set their faces with one consent1 and were confederate against him4 ,they mocked and ridiculed ,isaiah4 ,when ,jeremiah rose among them1 the priest ,pashur smote him on the cheek1 and the whole body persecuted him to death1 leaving him to be protected only by the pity of eunuchs and courtiers4 ,ezekiel was the priestliest of the prophets1 and yet he was forced to denounce the apostasies which they permitted in the very ,temple4 ,the pages of the prophets ring with denunciations of their priestly contemporaries4#bgj ,we do not know enough of ,zechariah to say much about his character2 but priests in every age have shown themselves the most unscrupulous and the most implacable of enemies4 ,joash probably stood to him in the same relation that ,henry ,,ii4 stood to ,thomas ,becket4 ,the priest's murder may have been due to an outburst of passion on the part of the king's friends1 or of the king himself--gentle as his character seems to have been--without being the act of black ingratitude which late traditions represented it to be4 ,the legend about ,zechariah's blood represents the priest's spirit as so ruthlessly unforgiving as to awaken the astonishment and even the rebukes of the ,babylonian idolater4 ,such a legend could hardly have arisen in the case of a man who was other than a most formidable opponent4 ,the murder of ,joash may have been1 in its turn1 a final outcome of the revenge of the priestly party4 ,the details of the story must be left to inference and conjecture1 especially as they are not even mentioned in the earlier and more impartial annalists4 ,it is at least singular that while ,joash1 the king1 is blamed for continuing the worship at the bamoth1 ,jehoiada1 the high priest1 is not blamed1 though they continued throughout his long and powerful regency4 ,further1 we have an instance of the priest-regent's autocracy which can hardly be regarded as redounding to his credit4 ,it is preserved in an accidental allusion on the page of ,jeremiah4 ,in ,jer4 xxix4 #bf we read his reproof and doom of the lying prophecy of the priest ,shemaiah the ,nehelamite1 because as a priest he had sent a letter to the chief priest ,zephaniah and all the priests1 urging them as the successors of ,jehoiada to follow the ruling of ,jehoiada1 which was to put ,jeremiah in a collar4 ,for ,jehoiada1 he said1 had ordered the priests1 as officers pakidim in the house of ,jehovah1 to put in the stocks every one that is mad and maketh himself a prophet4#bga ,if1 then1 the ,jehoiada referred to is the priest-regent1 as seems undoubtedly to be the case1 we see that he hated all interference of ,jehovah's prophets with his rule4 ,that the prophets were usually regarded by the world and by priests as mad1 we see from the fact that the title is given by ,jehu's captains to ,elisha's emissary2#bgb and that this continued to be the case we see from the fact that the priests and ,pharisees of ,jerusalem said of ,john the ,baptist that he had a devil1 and of ,christ that ,he was a ,samaritan1 and that ,he1 too1 had a devil4 ,if ,joash was in opposition to the priestly party1 he was in the same position as all ,god's greatest saints and reformers have ever been from the days of ,moses to the days of ,john ,wesley4 ,the dominance of priestcraft is the invariable and inevitable death of true1 as apart from functional1 religion4 ,priests are always apt to concentrate their attention upon their temples1 altars1 religious practices and rites--in a word1 upon the externals of religion4 ,if they gain a complete ascendency over their fellow-believers1 the faithful become their absolute slaves1 religion degenerates into formalism1 and the life of the soul is choked by the observance of the ceremonial law4 ,it was a misfortune for the ,chosen ,people that1 except among the prophets and the wise men1 the external worship was thought much more of than the moral law4 ,to the ordinary man1 says ,wellhausen1 it was not moral but liturgical acts which seemed to be religious4 ,this accounts for the monotonous iteration of judgments on the character of kings1 based primarily1 not upon their essential character1 but on their relation to the bamoth and the calves4 ,although the historian of the ,kings gives no hint of this dark story of ,zechariah's murder1 or of the apostasy of ,joash1 and indeed narrates no other event of the long reign of forty years1 he tells us of the deplorable close4 ,hazael's ambition had been fatal to ,israel2 and now1 in the cessation of ,assyrian inroads upon ,aram1 he extended his arms towards ,judah4 ,he went up against ,gath and took it1 and cherished designs against ,jerusalem4 ,apparently he did not head the expedition in person1 and the historian implies that ,joash bought off the attack of his general4 ,but the ,chronicler makes things far worse4 ,he says that the ,syrian host marched to ,jerusalem1 destroyed all the princes of the people1 plundered the city1 and sent the spoil to ,hazael1 who was at ,damascus4 ,judah1 he says1 had assembled a vast army to resist the small force of the ,syrian raid2 but ,joash was ignominiously defeated1 and was driven to pay blackmail to the invader4 ,as to this defeat in battle the historian is silent2 but he mentions what the ,chronicler omits--namely1 that the only way in which ,joash could raise the requisite bribe was by once more stripping the ,temple and the palace1 and sending to ,damascus all the treasures which his three predecessors had consecrated1--though we are surprised to learn that after so many strippings and plunderings any of them could still be left4 ,the anguish and mortification of mind caused by these disasters1 and perhaps the wounds he had received in the defeat of his army1 threw ,joash into great diseases4 ,but he was not suffered to die of these4#bgc ,his servants--perhaps1 if that story be authentic1 to avenge the slain son of ,jehoiada1 but doubtless also in disgust at the national humiliation--rose in conspiracy against him1 and smote him at ,beth-,millo1#bgd where he was lying sick4 ,the ,septuagint1 in #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #bg1 adds the dark fact that all his sons joined in the conspiracy4#bge ,this cannot be true of ,amaziah1 who put the murderer to death4 ,such1 however1 was the deplorable end of the king who had stood by the ,temple pillar in his fair childhood1 amid the shouts and trumpet-blasts of a rejoicing people4 ,at that time all things seemed full of promise and of hope4 ,who could have anticipated that the boy whose head had been touched with the sacred oil and over-shadowed with the ,testimony--the young king who had made a covenant with ,jehovah1 and had initiated the task of restoring the ruined ,temple to its pristine beauty--would end his reign in earthquake and eclipse8 ,if indeed he had been guilty of the black ingratitude and murderous apostasy which tradition laid to his charge1 we see in his end the ,nemesis of his ill-doing2 yet we cannot but pity one who1 after so long a reign1 perished amid the spoliation of his people1 and was not even allowed to end his days by the sore sickness into which he had fallen1 but was hurried into the next world by the assassin's knife4 ,it is impossible not to hope that his deeds were less black than the ,chronicler painted4 ,he had made the priests feel his power and resentment1 and their ,levitic recorder was not likely to take a lenient view of his offences4 ,he says that though ,joash was buried in the ,city of ,david1 he was not buried in the sepulchres of his fathers4 ,the historian of the ,kings1 however1 expressly says that they buried him with his fathers in the ,city of ,david1 and he was peaceably succeeded by ,amaziah his son4 ,there is a curious1 though it may be an accidental1 circumstance about the name of the two conspirators who slew him4 ,they are called ,jozacar1 the son of ,shimeath1 and ,jehozabad1 the son of ,shomer1 his servants4 ,the names mean ,jehovah remembers1 the son of ,hearer1 and ,jehovah awards1 the son of ,watcher2 and this strangely recalls the last words attributed in the ,book of ,chronicles to the martyred ,zechariah4 ,jehovah look upon it1 and require it6 ,the ,chronicler turns the names into ,zabad1 the son of ,shimeath1 an ,ammonitess1 and ,jehozabad1 the son of ,shimrith1 a ,moabitess4 ,does he record this to account for their murderous deed by the blood of hated nations which ran in their veins8 ,,footnotes3 #bcc #b ,chron4 xxi4 #b-d4 #bcd #b ,chron4 xxi4 #ag4 #bce 7,jos474 #bcf #b ,chron4 xxii4 #aa4 ,there are undoubted difficulties about the statement 7see infra74 ,there is no other instance of the marriage of a princess with a priest4 #bcg ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 vii4 #a3 4 ,the chamber of beds was a sort of unoccupied wardrobe-room4 #bch #b ,kings xi4 #d3 ,the centurions of the ,carians and of the runners4 #bci ,this is the second time that the word ,sabbath occurs1 or that the institution is alluded to1 in the history of either monarchy4 #bdj ,nothing is known of 1 ,sur1 or y'sd1 the ,foundation 7#b ,chron4 xxiii4 #e74 ,they are not mentioned elsewhere4 ,,lxx41 1 and 7in ,chronicles7 4 #bda ,not as in ,a4,v41 that it be not broken down4 #bdb ,in reading side by side the narratives in the ,books of ,kings and ,chronicles 7#b ,chron4 xxiii471 it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the main anxiety of the ,chronicler is to leave the impression that the work in the ,temple was chiefly done by the ,levites1 and that the sacred precincts were not polluted by the presence of alien troops4 ,he evidently stumbled at the notion1 conveyed by the older narrative1 that ,carians and suchlike semi-heathen mercenaries should have stood by the altar at a high priest's command2 so he substitutes ,levites for guardsmen1 and the profane laymen are relegated outside4 ,in details the two accounts are only reconcilable by a special pleading which would reconcile any discrepancy4 #bdc #a ,kings vii4 #ba4 ,comp41 however1 #b ,kings xxiii4 #c4 #bdd ,see ,exod4 xxv4 #af1 #ba1 xvi4 #cd4 7see #b ,chron4 xxiii4 #aa74 ,kimchi takes it to mean a royal robe1 and other ,rabbis a phylactery on the coronet 7,deut4 vi4 #h74 ,in the ,targum to ,chronicles it is explained to mean the costly jewel 7#b ,sam4 xii4 #cj71 of which none but a descendant of ,david could bear the weight4 ,for ha'edth ,klostermann therefore suggests hats'adth1 the royal bracelets4 #bde ,so says ,josephus 7 71 and it is certain that she would hardly go unattended4 #bdf ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 vii4 #c3 4 #bdg ,the meaning of al-ha'amd is uncertain 7,a4,v41 by a pillar2 ,vulg41 on the tribunal74 ,comp4 #b ,kings xxiii4 #c2 #b ,chron4 xxiii4 #ac2 #a ,kings viii4 #bb2 #b ,chron4 vi4 #ac4 #bdh #b ,kings xi4 #ae4 ,not as in ,a4,v41 without the ranges4 ,heb41 lash'drth2 ,,lxx41 4 #bdi ,a4,v41 ,and they laid hands on her2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 imposuerunt ci manus4 ,but ,r4,v4 as in the text1 following the ,targum1 and the ,jewish commentators1 ,they made for her two sides4 #bej ,this is usually understood to be the horse gate of the city 7,neh4 iii4 #bh71 and so ,josephus seems to have taken it1 for he says that ,athaliah was killed in the ,kedron ,valley4 ,canon ,rawlinson says that it was more probably in the ,tyropon ,valley4 ,but there could have been no object in dragging the wretched queen all this way4 ,jehoiada was only anxious that she should not stain the ,temple with her blood1 and the way by which the horses came into the king's house seems to be some private palace-gate4 ,we are expressly told 7ver4 #af7 that ,athaliah was slain at the king's house1 probably in the king's garden 7#b ,kings xxv4 #d74 #bea ,wellhausen1 ,isr4 and ,jud41 p4 #if4 #beb #b ,chron4 xv4 #i-ae4 #bec #b ,chron4 xxix4 #aj4 #bed #b ,chron4 xxxiv4 #ca4 #bee ,the name is perhaps an abbreviation from ,mattan-,baal1 gift of ,baal4 ,comp4 ,methumballes 7,plaut474 ,the names of ,tyrian kings1 ,mitinna1 ,mattun1 occur in inscriptions of ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 ,see ,herod41 vii4 #ih 7,bahr1 ad loc474 ,methumbaal of ,arvad is mentioned on a monument of ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 7,schrader1 ii4 #bdi74 #bef #b ,kings xii4 #aj2 ,jer4 xxix4 #bf2 #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #f4 ,stanley1 ,lectures1 ii4 #cii4 #beg #b ,kings xii4 #b4 ,after all his days1 the ,r4,v4 and ,a4,v4 add wherein ,jehoiada instructed him4 ,this1 however1 is not accurate4 ,there is a stop at days1 and wherein should be because4 ,there seems1 however1 from the ,,lxx41 to be some variation in the text1 and according to the ,chronicler ,joash became an apostate4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ,cunctis diebus quibus docuit eum ,jojadas sacerdos4 #beh ,the ,chronicler 7#b ,chron4 xxiv4 #a1 #b7 more suo copies #b ,kings xii4 #a1 #b1 but omits #c1 because he dislikes the fact that not even his hero ,jehoiada had anything to say against the bamoth4 ,but it appears from #b ,kings xxiii4 #i that the bamoth had regular priests of their own1 who eat the priestly portions 7according to an old ,,ms47 among their brethren4 #bei #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #g4 #bfj #b ,kings xii4 #d3 ,the money that every man is set at4 ,lit41 ,each the money of the souls of his valuation4 ,comp4 ,numb4 xviii4 #af2 ,lev4 xxvii4 #b4 #bfa ,the ,chronicler says at the gate4 #bfb #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #aa4 #bfc ,lev4 v4 #a-f1 xiv4 #ac4 ,trespass-money is here first mentioned4 #bfd #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #h-aj4 ,there is a difference between the historian and the ,chronicler respecting the vessels of the house4 #bfe #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #ae1 #af4 ,the statement of the ,chronicler is 7as so often7 surrounded by difficulties and improbabilities4 ,if ,jehoiada was one hundred and thirty years old when he died1 he must have been ninety when ,ahaziah was murdered1 at the age of twenty-three4 ,but as ,ahaziah was 7apparently7 born when his father ,jehoram was eighteen1 ,jehosheba must have been under eighteen1 and must have been married to a man seventy years older than herself6 ,see ,lord ,arthur ,hervey1 ,on the ,genealogies1 p4 #aac4 #bff #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #bg4 #bfg ,stanley charitably thinks that ,joash may have only burst into hasty words like those of ,henry ,,ii4 against ,becket4 #bfh ,the ,chronicler says that the sons of ,jehoiada had helped to crown him1 and that he put the sons of ,jehoiada to death 7#b ,chron4 xxiii4 #aa1 xxiv4 #be74 #bfi ,gittin1 f4 #eg1 #b2 ,sanhedrin1 f4 #if1 #b2 ,hershon1 ,treasures of the ,talmud1 p4 #bgf2 ,lightfoot on ,matt4 xxiii4 #ce4 ,there can be little doubt that the reading ,berechiah is a later correction of some one who remembered the murder narrated in ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,iv4 v4 #d1 and that the true reading is son of ,jehoiada4 ,this is the last murder of a prophet mentioned in the ,old ,testament1 and we learn from the ,gospel the fact that he was slain between the ,temple and the altar4 #bgj ,isa4 xxiv4 #b2 ,jer4 v4 #ca1 xxiii4 #aa2 ,ezek4 vii4 #bf1 xxii4 #bf2 ,hos4 iv4 #i2 ,mic4 iii4 #aa1 etc4 #bga ,jer4 xxix4 #bd-cb4 #bgb #b ,kings ix4 #aa4 #bgc ,but from the ,book of ,kings we should not infer that there had been any fighting at all4 ,the ,syrian commander had been bribed to retire4 #bgd ,we cannot understand the addition on the way that goeth down to ,silla4 ,silla is nowhere else referred to4 #bge ,,lxx41 #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #bg1 4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,amaziah ,,of ,,judah ,b4,c4 #gif-ghc 787 #b ,,kings xiv4 #a-bb ,all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword4--,,matt4 xxvi4 #eb4 ,the fate of ,amaziah 7,jehovah is strong71 son of ,joash of ,judah1 resembles in some respects that of his father4 ,both began to reign prosperously3 the happiness of both ended in disaster4 ,amaziah at his accession was twenty-five years old4 ,he was the son of a lady of ,jerusalem named ,jehoaddin4 ,he reigned twenty-nine years1 of which the later ones were passed in misery1 peril1 and degradation1 and1 like the unhappy ,joash1 and at about the same age1 he fell the victim of domestic conspiracy4 ,the hereditary principle was too strongly established to enable the murderers of ,joash to set it aside1 but ,amaziah was not at first strong enough to make any head against them4 ,in time he became established in his kingdom1 and then his earliest act was to bring the head conspirators1 ,jozacar and ,jehozabad1 to justice4 ,it was noted as a most remarkable circumstance that he did not put to death their children1 and extirpate their houses4 ,in acting thus1 if he were influenced by a spirit of mercy1 he showed himself before his time2 but such mercy was completely contrary to the universal custom1 and was also regarded as most impolitic4 ,even the comparatively merciful ,greeks had the proverb1 ,fool1 who has murdered the sire1 and left his sons to avenge him6#bgf ,in epochs of the wild justice of revenge1 when blood-feuds are an established and approved institution1 the policy of letting vengeance only fall on the actual offender was regarded as fatal4 ,perhaps ,amaziah felt it beyond his power to do more than bring the actual murderers to justice1 and it is possible that their children may have been among the conspirators who1 in his hour of shame1 intimately destroyed him4 ,the historian1 it is true1 attributes his conduct to magnanimity1 or rather to his obedience to the law1 ,the fathers shall not be put to death for the children1 nor the children for the fathers2 but every man shall die for his own sin4 ,this is a reference to ,deut4 xxiv4 #af1 and is probably the independent comment of the writer who recorded the event two centuries later4 ,in the gradual growth of a milder civilisation1 and the more common dominance of legal justice1 such a law may have come into force1 as expressive of that voice of conscience which is to sincere nations the voice of ,god4 ,that the book of ,deuteronomy1 as a book1 was not in existence in its present form till four reigns later we shall hereafter see strong reasons to believe4 ,but even if any part of that book was in existence1 it is not easy to understand how ,amaziah would have been able to decide that the law which forbade the punishment of the children with the offending parents was the law which he was bound to follow1 when ,moses and ,joshua and other heroes of his race had acted on the olden principle4 ,the innocent families of ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abiram were represented as having been swallowed up with the ambitious heads of their houses4 ,joshua and all ,israel had not only stoned ,achan1 but with him all his unoffending house4 ,what1 too1 was the meaning of the law which established the five ,cities of ,refuge as the best way to protect the accidental homicide from the recognised and unrebuked actions of the ,goel--the avenger of blood8 ,the vengeance of a ,goel was regarded1 as it is in the ,east and ,south to this day1 not as an implacable fierceness1 but as a sacred duty1 the neglect of which would cover him with infamy4 ,judging of our documents by the impartial light of honest criticism1 it seems impossible to deny that the law of ,deuteronomy was the law of an advancing civilisation1 which became more mild as justice became firmer and more available4 ,if ,deuteronomy represents the legislation of ,moses1 we can only say that in this respect ,amaziah was the first person who paid the slightest attention to it4 ,such exceptional obedience may well excite the notice of the historian1 in whose pages we see that prophets like ,ahijah1 ,elijah1 and ,elisha had1 again and again1 in accordance with the spirit of their times1 contemplated the total excision1 not only of erring kings1 but even of their little children and their most distant kinsfolk4 ,further3--,we are told that ,amaziah did that which was right in the sight of ,jehovah3 he did according to all things as ,joash his father did4 ,the ,chronicler also bestows his eulogy on ,amaziah2 but having told such dark stories of the apostasy of ,joash to ,asherah-worship and his murder of the prophets1 he could hardly add as ,joash his father did2 so he omits those words4 ,the reservation that ,amaziah did right1 yet not like ,david his father 7#b ,kings xiv4 #c71 but not with a perfect heart 7#b ,chron4 xxv4 #b71 is followed by the stock abatement about the bamoth1 and the sacrifices and incense burnt in them4 ,this was a crime in the eyes of writers in ,b4,c4 #edj1 but certainly not in the eyes of any king before the discovery of the ,book of the ,law in the reign of ,josiah1 ,b4,c4 #fba4 ,we are compelled1 therefore1 by simple truth1 to ask1 ,how came it that ,amaziah should be so scrupulous as to observe the ,deuteronomic law by not slaying the sons of his father's murderers1 while he does not seem to be aware1 any more than the best of his predecessors1 that while he obeyed one precept he was violating the essence and spirit of the entire code in which the precept occurs8 ,the one main object1 the constantly repeated law of ,deuteronomy1 is the centralisation of all worship1 and the rigid prohibition of every local place of sacrifice4 ,strange that ,amaziah should have selected for attention a single precept1 while he is profoundly unconscious of1 or indifferent to1 the fact that he is setting aside the regulation with which the law1 as ,deuteronomy represents it1 begins and ends1 and on which it incessantly insists6 ,joash had been something of a weakling1 as though the gloom of his early concealment in the ,temple and the shadow of priestly dominance had paralysed his independence4 ,amaziah1 on the other hand1 born in the purple1 was vigorous and restless4 ,when he was secure upon the throne1 and had done his duty to his father's memory1 he bent his efforts to recover ,edom4 ,the ,edomites had revolted in the days of his great-grandfather ,jehoram1#bgg and since then did tear perpetually1#bgh harassing with incessant raids the miserable fellahn of ,southern ,judah4 ,they reaped the crops of the settled inhabitants1 cut down their fruit-trees1 burnt their farmsteads1 and carried their children into cruel and hopeless slavery4 ,one verse tells us all that the historian knew1 or cared to relate1 of ,amaziah's campaign4 ,he only says that it was eminently successful4 ,amaziah confronted the ,edomites in the ,valley of ,salt1#bgi on the border of ,edom1 to the south of the ,dead ,sea1 and inflicted upon them a signal defeat4 ,he not only slaughtered ten thousand of them1 but1 advancing southwards1 he stormed and captured ,selah or ,petra1 their rocky capital1 two days' journey north of ,ezion-,geber1 on the gulf of ,akabah4#bhj ,considering the natural strength of ,petra1 amid its mountain-fastnesses1 this was a victory of which he might well be proud1 and he marked his prowess by changing the name of the city to ,joktheel1 subdued by ,god4 ,the historian1 copying the ancient record before him1 says that ,selah continued to be so called to this day4#bha ,this is a curious instance of close transcription1 for it is certain that ,selah can only have retained the name of ,joktheel for a very short period1 and had lost it long before the days of the ,exile4 ,even in the reign of ,ahaz 7,b4,c4 #gce-gae7 the ,edomites had so completely recovered lost ground that they were able to make predatory excursions into ,judah1 and to threaten ,hebron1 which would have been obviously impossible if they were not masters of their own chief capital4#bhb ,the district which ,amaziah seems to have conquered was mainly west of the ,arabah4 ,he wished to restore ,elath1 and perhaps to carry out the old commerce with the ,red ,sea which ,solomon began1 and which had fired the ambition of ,jehoshaphat4 ,the conquest of ,selah secured the road for his commercial caravans4 ,so far the older and better authorities4 ,the ,chronicler expands the story in his usual fashion1 in which historical and critical verity is so often compelled1 if not to suspect the disease of exaggeration and the bias of ,levitism1 at least to feel uncertainty as to the details4 ,he says that ,amaziah collected an army of three hundred thousand men of ,judah1 trained them to a high state of discipline1 and armed them with spear and shield4 ,he hired in addition one hundred thousand ,israelitish mercenaries1 mighty men of valour1 at the heavy cost of one hundred talents of silver4 ,he was rebuked by a prophet for employing ,israelites1 because the ,lord was not with them1 so that if he used their aid he would certainly be defeated4 ,amaziah asked what he was to do for the hundred talents1 and the prophet told him that ,jehovah could give him much more than this4#bhc ,so he dismissed his ,ephraimites who1 returning home in great fury1 fell upon the cities of ,judah1 from ,samaria even unto ,beth-horon1 killed three thousand of their inhabitants1 and took much spoil4 ,amaziah1 however1 defeated the ,edomites without their aid1 and not only slew ten thousand1 but took captive ten thousand more1 all of whom he dashed to pieces by hurling them from the top of the rock of ,petra4#bhd ,then1 by an apostasy much more astounding than even that of his father ,joash1 he took home with him the idols of ,mount ,seir1 worshipped them1 and burnt incense before them4 ,jehovah sends a prophet to rebuke him for his senseless infatuation in worshipping the gods of the ,edomites whom he had just so utterly defeated2 but ,amaziah returns him the insolent answer1 ,who made thee of the king's council8 ,be silent1 or ,i will put thee to death4 ,the prophet met his ironical sneer with words of deeper meaning3 ,if ,i am not on your council1 ,i am on ,god's4 ,because thou hast not hearkened to my counsel1 ,i know that ,god has counselled to destroy thee4 ,the later writer thus accounts for the folly and overthrow of this valorous and hitherto eminently pious king4 ,certain it is1 as we shall narrate in the next chapter1 that1 in spite of warning1 he had the temerity to challenge to battle the warlike ,joash ben-,jehoahaz of ,israel1 grandson of ,jehu4 ,the kings met at ,beth-,shemesh1 and ,amaziah was utterly routed1 with consequences so shameful to himself and to ,jerusalem that he was never able to hold up his head again4 ,he could but eat away his own heart in despair1 a ruined man4 ,after this he lived rather than reigned fifteen years longer4#bhe ,the wall of ,jerusalem1 broken down near the ,damascus ,gate1 on the side towards ,israel1 for a space of four hundred cubits1 was a standing witness of the king's infatuated folly4 ,his people were ashamed of him1 and weary of him2 and at last1 seeing that nothing more could be expected of one whose spirit had evidently been broken from impetuosity into abjectness1 they formed a conspiracy against him4 ,to save his life he fled to the strong fort of ,lachish1 a royal ,canaanite city1 in the hills to the south-west of ,judah4#bhf ,but they pursued him thither1 and even ,lachish would not protect him4 ,he was murdered4 ,they threw the corpse upon a chariot1 conveyed it to ,jerusalem1 and buried it in the sepulchres of his fathers4 ,the people quietly elevated to the throne his son ,azariah1 then sixteen years old1 who had been born the year before his father's crowning disgrace4 ,what became of the conspirators we do not know4 ,they were probably too strong to be brought to justice1 and we are not told that ,azariah even attempted to visit their crime upon their heads4 ,,footnotes3 #bgf 4 ,comp4 ,q4 ,curtius1 vi4 #aa3 ,lege cautum erat ut propinqui eorum qui regi insidiati cum ipsis necarentur4 ,cic41 ,ad ,brut41 #ae4 #bgg #b ,kings viii4 #bj-bb4 #bgh ,amos i4 #aa4 #bgi ,the ,valley 7,g7 of ,salt is the plain of the ,sabkah1 about two miles broad1 between the southern end of the ,dead ,sea and the hills which separate the ,ghr from the ,arabah 7,seetzen1 ,reisen1 ii4 #cef2 ,robinson1 ,researches1 ii4 #dej1 #dhh74 ,david had won a great victory there 7#b ,sam4 viii4 #ac2 ,psalm lx41 title74 #bhj ,selah1 a rock 774 ,eusebius calls it ,rekem4 #bha ,it is the name also of a city of ,judah 7,josh4 xv4 #ch74 #bhb #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #ag2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xii4 viii4 #f4 #bhc #b ,chron4 xxv4 #e-aj1 #ac4 #bhd 4 ,this mode of execution prevailed till quite recent times in the little republic of ,andorra4 #bhe #b ,kings xiv4 #ag4 ,the phrase that he lived fifteen years is unusual1 and seems to imply that the historian saw1-- ,in more of life true life no more4 #bhf ,josh4 x4 #f1 #ca1 xv4 #ci2 #b ,kings xviii4 #ag2 #b ,chron4 xi4 #i4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,the ,,dynasty ,,of ,,jehu ,b4,c4 ,jehoahaz #had-gig #b ,kings xiii4 #a-i ,joash #gig-gha xiii4 #aj-ba1 xiv4 #h-af ,jeroboam ,,ii4 #gha-gdj xiv4 #bc-bi ,zechariah #gdj xv4 #h-ab ,them that honour ,me ,i will honour1 and they that despise ,me shall be lightly esteemed4--#a ,,sam4 ii4 #cj4 ,israel had scarcely ever sunk to so low a nadir of degradation as she did in the reign of the son of ,jehu4 ,we have already mentioned that some assign to his reign the ghastly story which we have narrated in our sketch of the work of ,elisha4 ,it is told in the sixth chapter of the ,second ,book of ,kings1 and seems to belong to the reign of ,jehoram ben-,ahab2 but it may have got displaced from this epoch of yet deeper wretchedness4 ,the accounts of ,jehoahaz in #b ,kings xiii4 are evidently fragmentary and abrupt4 ,jehoahaz reigned seventeen years4#bhg ,naturally1 he did not disturb the calf-worship1 which1 like all his predecessors and successors1 he regarded as a perfectly innocent symbolic adoration of ,jehovah1 whose name he bore and whose service he professed4 ,why should he do so8 ,it had been established now for more than two centuries4 ,his father1 in spite of his passionate and ruthless zeal for ,jehovah1 had never attempted to disturb it4 ,no prophet--not even ,elijah nor ,elisha1 the practical establishers of his dynasty--had said one word to condemn it4 ,it in no way rested on his conscience as an offence2 and the formal condemnation of it by the historian only reflects the more enlightened judgment of the ,southern ,kingdom and of a later age4 ,but according to the parenthesis which breaks the thread of this king's story 7#b ,kings xiii4 #e1 #f71 he was guilty of a far more culpable defection from orthodox worship2 for in his reign1 the ,asherah--the tree or pillar of the ,tyrian nature-goddess--still remained in ,samaria1 and therefore must have had its worshippers4 ,how it came there we cannot tell4 ,jezebel had set it up 7#a ,kings xvi4 #cc71 with the connivance of ,ahab4 ,jehu apparently had put it away with the great stl of ,baal 7#b ,kings iii4 #b71 but1 for some reason or other1 he had not destroyed it4 ,it now apparently occupied some public place1 a symbol of decadence1 and provocative of the wrath of ,heaven4 ,jehoahaz sank very low4 ,hazael's savage sword1 not content with the devastation of ,bashan and ,gilead1 wasted the west of ,israel also in all its borders4 ,the king became a mere vassal of his brutal neighbour at ,damascus4 ,so little of the barest semblance of power was left him1 that whereas1 in the reign of ,david1 ,israel could muster an army of eight hundred thousand1 and in the reign of ,joash1 the son and successor of ,jehoahaz1 ,amaziah could hire from ,israel one hundred thousand mighty men of valour as mercenaries1 ,jehoahaz was only allowed to maintain an army of ten chariots1 fifty horsemen1 and ten thousand infantry6 ,in the picturesque phrase of the historian1 the ,king of ,syria had threshed down ,israel to the dust1 in spite of all that ,jehoahaz did1 or tried to do1 and all his might4 ,how completely helpless the ,israelites were is shown by the fact that their armies could offer no opposition to the free passage of the ,syrian troops through their land4 ,hazael did not regard them as threatening his rear2 for1 in the reign of ,jehoahaz1 he marched southwards1 took the ,philistine city of ,gath1 and threatened ,jerusalem4 ,joash of ,judah could only buy them off with the bribe of all his treasures1 and according to the ,chronicler they destroyed all the princes of the people1 and took great spoil to ,damascus4#bhh ,where was ,elisha8 ,after the anointing of ,jehu he vanishes from the scene4 ,unless the narrative of the siege of ,samaria has been displaced1 we do not so much as once hear of him for nearly half a century4 ,the fearful depth of humiliation to which the king was reduced drove him to repentance4 ,wearied to death of the ,syrian oppression of which he was the daily witness1 and of the utter misery caused by prowling bands of ,ammonites and ,moabites--jackals who waited on the ,syrian lion--,jehoahaz besought the ,lord1#bhi and the ,lord hearkened unto him1 and gave ,israel a saviour1 so that they went out from under the hand of the ,syrians3 and the children of ,israel dwelt in their tents1 as beforetime4 ,if this indeed refers to events which come out of place in the memoirs of ,elisha2 and if ,jehoahaz ben-,jehu1 not ,jehoram ben-,ahab1 was the king in whose reign the siege of ,samaria was so marvellously raised1 then ,elisha may possibly be the temporary deliverer who is here alluded to4#bij ,on this supposition we may see a sign of the repentance of ,jehoahaz in the shirt of sackcloth which he wore under his robes1 as it became visible to his starving people when he rent his clothes on hearing the cannibal instincts which had driven mothers to devour their own children4 ,but the respite must have been brief1 since ,hazael 7ver4 #bb7 oppressed ,israel all the days of ,jehoahaz4 ,if this rearrangement of events be untenable1 we must suppose that the repentance of ,jehoahaz was only so far accepted1 and his prayer so far heard1 that the deliverance1 which did not come in his own days1 came in those of his son and of his grandson4 ,of him and of his wretched reign we hear no more2 but a very different epoch dawned with the accession of his son ,joash1 named after the contemporary ,king of ,judah1 ,joash ben-,ahaziah4 ,in the ,books of ,kings and ,chronicles ,joash of ,israel is condemned with the usual refrains about the sins of ,jeroboam4 ,no other sin is laid to his charge2 and breaking the monotony of reprobation which tells us of every king of ,israel without exception that he did that which was evil in the sight of the ,lord1 ,josephus boldly ventures to call him a good man1 and the antithesis to his father4 ,he reigned sixteen years4 ,at the beginning of his reign he found his country the despised prey1 not only of ,syria1 but of the paltry neighbouring bandit-sheykhs who infested the east of the ,jordan2 he left it comparatively strong1 prosperous1 and independent4 ,in his reign we hear again of ,elisha1 now a very old man of past eighty years4 ,nearly half a century had elapsed since the grandfather of ,joash had destroyed the house of ,ahab at the prophet's command4 ,news came to the king that ,elisha was sick of a mortal sickness1 and he naturally went to visit the death-bed of one who had called his dynasty to the throne1 and had in earlier years played so memorable a part in the history of his country4 ,he found the old man dying1 and he wept over him1 crying1 ,my father1 my father6 the chariot of ,israel1 and the horsemen thereof4#bia ,the address strikes us with some surprise4 ,elisha had indeed delivered ,samaria more than once when the city had been reduced to direst extremity2 but in spite of his prayers and of his presence1 the sins of ,israel and her kings had rendered this chariot of ,israel of very small avail4 ,the names of ,ahab1 ,jehu1 ,jehoahaz1 call up memories of a series of miseries and humiliations which had reduced ,israel to the very verge of extinction4 ,for sixty-three years ,elisha had been the prophet of ,israel2 and though his public interpositions had been signal on several occasions1 they had not been availing to prevent ,ahab from becoming the vassal of ,assyria1 nor ,israel from becoming the appanage of the dominion of that ,hazael whom ,elisha himself had anointed ,king of ,syria1 and who had become of all the enemies of his country the most persistent and the most implacable4 ,the narrative which follows is very singular4 ,we must give it as it occurs1 with but little apprehension of its exact significance4 ,elisha1 though ,joash did that which was evil in the sight of the ,lord1 seems to have regarded him with affection4 ,he bade the youth take his bow1#bib and laid his feeble1 trembling hands on the strong hands of the king4 ,then he ordered an attendant to fling open the lattice1 and told the king to shoot eastward towards ,gilead1 the region whence the bands of ,syria made their way over the ,jordan4 ,the king shot1 and the fire came back into the old prophet's eye as he heard the arrow whistle eastward4 ,he cried1 ,the arrow of ,jehovah's deliverance1 even the arrow of victory over ,syria3 for thou shalt smite the ,syrians in ,aphek1 till thou have consumed them4#bic ,then he bade the young king to take the sheaf of arrows1 and smite towards the ground1 as if he was striking down an enemy4 ,not understanding the significance of the act1 the king made the sign of thrice striking the arrows downwards1 and then naturally stopped4#bid ,but ,elisha was angry--or at any rate grieved4#bie ,you should have smitten five or six times1 he said1 and then you would have smitten ,syria to destruction4 ,now you shall only smite ,syria thrice4 ,the king's fault seems to have been lack of energy and faith4 ,there are in this story some peculiar elements which it is impossible to explain1 but it has one beautiful and striking feature4 ,it tells us of the death-bed of a prophet4 ,most of ,god's greatest prophets have perished amid the hatred of priests and worldlings4 ,the progress of the truth they taught has been from scaffold to scaffold1 and from stake to stake4 ,careless seems the ,great ,avenger4 ,history's pages but record ,one death-grapple in the darkness 'twixt old systems and the ,word-- ,truth for ever on the scaffold1 wrong for ever on the throne2 ,yet that scaffold sways the ,future1 and behind the dim unknown ,standeth ,god within the shadow1 keeping watch above ,his own6 ,now and then1 however1 as an exception1 a great prophetic teacher or reformer escapes the hatred of the priests and of the world1 and dies in peace4 ,savonarola is burnt1 ,huss is burnt1 but ,wiclif dies in his bed at ,lutterworth1 and ,luther died in peace at ,eisleben4 ,elijah passed away in storm1 and was seen no more4 ,a king comes to weep by the death-bed of the aged ,elisha4 ,for us1 it has been said1 the scene at his bedside contains a lesson of comfort and even encouragement4 ,let us try to realise it4 ,a man with no material power is dying in the capital of ,israel4 ,he is not rich3 he holds no office which gives him any immediate control over the actions of men2 he has but one weapon--the power of his word4 ,yet ,israel's king stands weeping at his bedside--weeping because this inspired messenger of ,jehovah is to be taken from him4 ,in him both king and people will lose a mighty support1 for this man is a greater strength to ,israel than chariots and horsemen are4 ,joash does well to mourn for him1 for he has had courage to wake the nation's conscience2 the might of his personality has sufficed to turn them in the true direction1 and rouse their moral and religious life4 ,such men as ,elisha everywhere and always give a strength to their people above the strength of armies1 for the true blessings of a nation are reared on the foundations of its moral force4 ,the annals are here interrupted to introduce a posthumous miracle--unlike any other in the whole ,bible--wrought by the bones of ,elisha4 ,he died1 and they buried him1 giving him1 as ,josephus says1 a magnificent burial4 ,as usual1 the spring brought with it the marauding bands of ,moabites4 ,some ,israelites who were burying a man caught sight of them1 and1 anxious to escape1 thrust the man into the sepulchre of ,elisha1 which happened to be nearest at hand4 ,but when he was placed in the rocky tomb1 and touched the bones of ,elisha1 he revived1 and stood up on his feet4 ,doubtless the story rests on some real circumstance4 ,there is1 however1 something singular in the turn of the original1 which says 7literally7 that the man went and touched the bones of ,elisha2#bif and there is proof that the story was told in varying forms1 for ,josephus says that it was the ,moabite plunderers who had killed the man1 and that he was thrown by them into ,elisha's tomb4#big ,it is easy to invent moral and spiritual lessons out of this incident1 but not so easy to see what lesson is intended by it4 ,certainly there is not throughout ,scripture any other passage which even seems to sanction any suspicions of magic potency in the relics of the dead4#bih ,but ,elisha's symbolic prophecy of deliverance from ,syria was amply fulfilled4 ,about this time ,hazael had died1 and had left his power in the feebler hands of his son ,benhadad ,,iii4 ,jehoahaz had not been able to make any way against him 7#b ,kings xiii4 #c71 but ,joash his son thrice met and thrice defeated him at ,aphek4 ,as a consequence of these victories1 he won back all the cities which ,hazael had taken from his father on the west of ,jordan4 ,the east of ,jordan was never recovered4 ,it fell under the shadow of ,assyria1 and was practically lost for ever to the tribes of ,israel4 ,whether ,assyria lent her help to ,joash under certain conditions we do not know4 ,certain it is that from this time the terror of ,syria vanishes4 ,the ,assyrian king ,rammnirri ,,iii4 about this time subjugated all ,syria and its king1 whom the tablets call ,mari1 perhaps the same as ,benhadad ,,iii4 ,in the next reign ,damascus itself fell into the power of ,jeroboam ,,ii41 the son of ,joash4 ,one more event1 to which we have already alluded1 is narrated in the reign of this prosperous and valiant king4 ,amity had reigned for a century between ,judah and ,israel1 the result of the politic-impolitic alliance which ,jehoshaphat had sanctioned between his son ,jehoram and the daughter of ,jezebel4 ,it was obviously most desirable that the two small kingdoms should be united as closely as possible by an offensive and defensive alliance4 ,but the bond between them was broken by the overweening vanity of ,amaziah ben-,joash of ,judah4 ,his victory over the ,edomites1 and his conquest of ,petra1 had puffed him up with the mistaken notion that he was a very great man and an invincible warrior4 ,he had the wicked infatuation to kindle an unprovoked war against the ,northern ,tribes4 ,it was the most wanton of the many instances in which1 if ,ephraim did not envy ,judah1 at least ,judah vexed ,ephraim1 ,amaziah challenged ,joash to come out to battle1 that they might look one another in the face4 ,he had not recognised the difference between fighting with and without the sanction of the ,god of battles4 ,joash had on his hands enough of necessary and internecine war to make him more than indifferent to that bloody game4 ,moreover1 as the superior of ,amaziah in every way1 he saw through his inflated emptiness4 ,he knew that it was the worst possible policy for ,judah and ,israel to weaken each other in fratricidal war1 while ,syria threatened their northern and eastern frontiers1 and while the tread of the mighty march of ,assyria was echoing ominously in the ears of the nations from afar4 ,better and kinder feelings may have mingled with these wise convictions4 ,he had no wish to destroy the poor fool who so vaingloriously provoked his superior might4 ,his answer was one of the most crushingly contemptuous pieces of irony which history records1 and yet it was eminently kindly and good-humoured4 ,it was meant to save the ,king of ,judah from advancing any further on the path of certain ruin4 ,the thistle that was in ,lebanon 7such was the apologue which he addressed to his would-be rival7 sent to the cedar that was in ,lebanon1 saying3 ,give thy daughter to my son to wife4#bii ,the cedar took no sort of notice of the thistle's ludicrous presumption1 but a wild beast that was in ,lebanon passed by1 and trod down the thistle4 ,it was the answer of a giant to a dwarf2#cjj and to make it quite clear to the humblest comprehension1 ,joash good-naturedly added3 ,you are puffed up with your victory over ,edom3 glory in this1 and stay at home4 ,why by your vain meddling should you ruin yourself and ,judah with you8 ,keep quiet3 ,i have something else to do than to attend to you4 ,happy had it been for ,amaziah if he had taken warning6 ,but vanity is a bad counsellor1 and folly and self-deception--ill-matched pair--were whirling him to his doom4 ,seeing that he was bent on his own perdition1 ,joash took the initiative and marched to ,beth-,shemesh1 in the territory of ,judah4#cja ,there the kings met1 and there ,amaziah was hopelessly defeated4 ,his troops fled to their scattered homes1 and he fell into the hands of his conqueror4 ,joash did not care to take any sanguinary revenge2 but much as he despised his enemy1 he thought it necessary to teach him and ,judah the permanent lesson of not again meddling to their own hurt4 ,he took the captive king with him to ,jerusalem1 which opened its gates without a blow4#cjb ,we do not know whether1 like a ,roman conqueror1 he entered it through the breach of four hundred cubits which he ordered them to make in the walls1#cjc but otherwise he contented himself with spoil which would swell his treasure1 and amply compensate for the expenses of the expedition which had been forced upon him4 ,he ransacked ,jerusalem for silver and gold2 he made ,obed-,edom1 the treasurer1 give up to him all the sacred vessels of the ,temple1 and all that was worth taking from the palace4 ,he also took hostages--probably from among the number of the king's sons--to secure immunity from further intrusions4 ,it is the first time in ,scripture that hostages are mentioned4 ,it is to his credit that he shed no blood1 and was even content to leave his defeated challenger with the disgraced phantom of his kingly power1 till1 fifteen years later1 he followed his father to the grave through the red path of murder at the hand of his own subjects4#cjd ,after this we hear no further records of this vigorous and able king1 in whom the characteristics of his grandfather ,jehu are reflected in softer outline4 ,he left his son ,jeroboam ,,ii4 to continue his career of prosperity1 and to advance ,israel to a pitch of greatness which she had never yet attained1 in which she rivalled the grandeur of the united kingdom in the earlier days of ,solomon's dominion4 ,,footnotes3 #bhg ,i have not thought it worth while to unravel by a series of uncertain conjectures the careless1 and often self-contradictory1 synchronism of the reigns of the kings in the two kingdoms4 ,the compiler of these books evidently attached little or no importance to accurate chronology4 ,for instance1 the data of #b ,kings xiii4 #a1 #aj1 do not coincide2 and instead of entering into tedious1 doubtful1 and confusing guesses1 ,i have contented myself throughout with giving for the reigns of the kings such dates1 or approximate dates1 as seem to result from the several notices compared with the contemporary annals of ,assyria4 #bhh #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #bc4 #bhi #b ,kings xiii4 #d2 besought1 literally stroked the face of 7#a ,sam4 xiii4 #ab2 #a ,kings xiii4 #f74 #bij ,the reference is usually explained of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 #bia ,comp4 #b ,kings ii4 #ab4 #bib ,lit41 ,make thine hand to ride upon thy bow4 ,there is not the slightest taint of belomancy in the story 7comp4 ,ezek4 xxi4 #ba71 nor does it allude to shooting an arrow into an enemy's country as a declaration of war 7,virg41 n41 ix4 #eg74 #bic ,aphek1 a name of good omen 7#a ,kings xx4 #bf-cj74 #bid ,thrice4 ,comp4 ,num4 xxii4 #bh2 ,exod4 xxiii4 #ag1 etc4 #bie ,,lxx41 4 #bif ,see ,r4,v41 margin4 #big ,antt41 ,,ix4 viii4 #f4 #bih ,see ,ecclus4 xlviii4 #ac3 ,when he was dead1 he prophesied in the tomb4 7,but the clause may be spurious47 #bii ,possibly some matrimonial proposal may have lain behind the interchange of messages4 #cjj ,stade4 ,for similar parables see ,judg4 ix4 #h2 ,herod41 i4 #ada2 ,rawlinson1 ,anc4 ,mon41 iii4 #bbf4 #cja ,beth-,shemesh1 the house of the sun4 ,it is mentioned in #a ,sam4 vi4 #i1 #ab1 and was a priestly city1 and one of ,solomon's store-cities 7#a ,kings iv4 #i74 ,it ultimately fell into the hands of the ,philistines 7#b ,chron4 xxviii4 #ah74 ,it is not the ,beth-,shemesh of ,josh4 xix4 #bb4 #cjb ,josephus says that this was the fault of ,amaziah1 whom ,joash of ,israel threatened with death if ,jerusalem resisted4 #cjc ,this implies that at least half the northern wall was dismantled--the wall towards ,ephraim4 #cjd ,some have conjectured that ,amaziah of ,judah became more or less the vassal of ,joash of ,israel1 and that the vassalage continued till after the death of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 7#a7 ,for ,jeroboam ,,ii4 held ,elath till his death1 when ,uzziah recovered it 7#b ,kings xiv4 #bb71 and he certainly could not have held this southern ,judan port if ,judah was entirely independent2 and 7#b7 we read that ,uzziah did not become king at all till the twenty-seventh year of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 ,but if ,amaziah only survived ,joash of ,israel fifteen years 7#b ,kings xiv4 #ag71 ,uzziah must have succeeded in the fifteenth year of ,jeroboam4 ,is the explanation to be found in the fact that up to that time--for twelve years--,jeroboam did not allow the ,judans to elect a king8 or are these among the hopeless confusion of synchronism which cannot be reconciled at all with our present data8 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,the ,,dynasty ,,of ,,jehu 7continued7--,,jeroboam ,,ii ,b4,c4 #gha-gdj #b ,,kings xiv4 #bc-bi ,if we had only the history of the kings to depend upon1 we should scarcely form an adequate conception either of the greatness of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 or of the condition of society which prevailed in ,israel during his long and most prosperous reign of forty-one years 7,b4,c4 #gha-gdj74 ,in the ,books of ,chronicles he is merely mentioned accidentally in a genealogy4 ,the ,second ,book of ,kings only devotes one verse to him 7xiv4 #be7 beyond the stock formul of connection so often repeated4 ,that verse1 however1 gives us at least a glimpse of his great importance1 for it tells us that he restored the coast of ,israel from the entering of ,hamath unto the sea of the plain4 ,those two lines sufficiently prove to us that he was by far the greatest and most powerful of all the kings of ,israel1 as he was also the longest-lived and had the longest reign4 ,his victories flung a broad gleam of sunset over the afflicted kingdom1 and1 for a time1 they might have beguiled the ,israelites into lofty hopes for the future2 but with the death of ,jeroboam the light instantly faded away1 and there was no after-glow4 ,and this sudden brightness1 if it deceived others1 did not deceive the prophets of the ,lord4 ,it happened in accordance with the promise of ,jehovah given by ,jonah1 the son of ,amittai1 of ,gath-,hepher2#cje but ,amos and ,hosea saw that the glory of the reign was hollow and delusive1 and that the outward prosperity did but skin and film the ulcerous place below4 ,in truth1 the possibility of this sudden outburst of success was due to the very enemy who1 within a few years1 was to grind ,israel to powder4 ,god pitied the deplorable overthrow of ,his chosen people3 ,he saw that there was neither slave nor freeman--neither any shut up1 nor any left at large1 nor any helper for ,israel2 and in ,jeroboam ,he gave them the saviour who had been granted to the penitence of ,jehoahaz4#cjf ,it was1 so to speak1 a last pledge to them of the love and mercy of ,jehovah1 which gave them a respite1 and would fain have saved them altogether1 if they had turned with their whole heart to ,him4 ,and1 personally1 ,jeroboam ,,ii4 seems to have been one of the better kings4 ,not a single crime is laid to his charge2 for under the circumstances of its deep-rooted continuance through the reigns of all his predecessors1 it cannot be deemed a heinous crime that he did not put down the symbolic cult of ,jehovah by the cherubic emblems at ,dan and ,bethel4 ,the fact that he had been named after the founder of the kingdom of ,israel shows that the kingdom was proud of the valiant and ,heaven-commissioned rebel who had thrown off the yoke of the house of ,solomon4 ,the house of ,jehu admired his policy and his institutions4 ,the son of ,nebat did not by any means appear in the eyes of his people as only worthy of the monotonous epitaph1 who made ,israel to sin4 ,it is true that now the voice of prophecy in ,israel itself began to denounce the concomitants of the calf-worship2 but the voices of the ,jewish herdsman of ,tekoa and of the ,israelite ,hosea probably raised but faint murmurs in the ears of the warrior-king1 with whom they do not seem to have come into personal contact4 ,in no case would he rank them as equal in importance with the fiery ,elijah or the king-making ,elisha1 who had been for four generations the counsellor of his race4 ,neither of those great prophets had insisted on the ,deuteronomic law of a centralised worship1 nor had they denounced the revered local sanctuaries with which ,israel had been so long familiar4 ,jonah1 indeed--who1 if legend be correct1 had been the boy of ,zarephath1 and the personal attendant of ,elijah--had predicted the king's unbroken success1 and had neither made it conditional on a religious revolution1 nor1 so far as we know1 had in any way censured the existing institutions4 ,what rendered ,jeroboam's glory possible was the immediate paralysis and imminent ruin of the power of ,syria4 ,the ,israelitish king was probably on good terms with ,assyria1 and1 during this epoch1 three ,assyrian monarchs had struck blow after blow against the house of ,hazael4 ,damascus and its dependencies had received shattering defeats at the hands of ,rammnirri ,,iii41 ,shalmaneser ,,iii4 7#ghb-ggb71 and ,assurdan ,,iii4 7#ggb-ged74 ,rammnirri had made expeditions against ,damascus 7#ggc7 and ,hazael 7#ggb71 and ,assurdan had invaded the ,syrian domains in #gfg1 #gee1 and #ged4 ,syria had more than enough to do to hold her own in a struggle for life and death against her atrocious neighbour4 ,with ,uzziah in ,judah1 ,jeroboam ,,ii4 seems to have been on the friendliest terms2 and probably ,uzziah acted as a half-independent vassal1 united with him by common interests4 ,the day for ,assyria to threaten ,israel had not yet come4 ,syria lay in the path2 and ,assurdan ,,iii4 had been succeeded by ,assurnirari1 who gave the world the unusual spectacle of a peaceful ,assyrian king4 ,jeroboam ,,ii41 therefore1 was free to enlarge his domains2 and unless there be a little patriotic exaggeration in the extent and reality of his prowess1 he exercised at least a nominal suzerainty over a realm nearly as extensive as that of ,david4 ,he first advanced against ,damascus1 and so far recovered it as to make it acknowledge his rule4#cjg ,his father ,joash had won back all the ,israelite cities which ,benhadad ,,iii4 had taken from ,jehoahaz2 and ,jeroboam1 if he did not absolutely reconquer the district east of ,jordan1 yet kept it in check and repressed the predatory incursions of the ,emrs of ,moab and ,ammon4#cjh ,he thus extended the border of ,israel to the sea of the ,arabah and the brook of willows which divides ,edom from ,moab4#cji ,but this was not all4 ,he pushed his conquests two hundred miles northwards of ,samaria1 and became lord of ,hamath the ,great4 ,ascending the gorge of the ,litny between the chains of ,libanus and ,antilibanus1 which formed the northern limit of ,israel1 and following the river to its source near ,baalbek1 he then descended the ,valley of the ,orontes1 which constitutes the pass or entering in of ,hamath4 ,hamath was a town of the ,hittites1 the most powerful race of ancient ,canaan4 ,they were not of ,semitic origin1 but spoke a separate language4 ,they were the last great branch of the once famous and dominant ,khetas1 whose former importance has only recently been revealed by their deciphered inscriptions4 ,a century and a half earlier the ,hamathites had thrown off the yoke of ,solomon1 and they governed nearly a hundred dependent cities4 ,in alliance with the ,phnicians and ,syrians1 they had been valuable members of a league1 which1 though defeated1 had long formed a barrier against the southward movement of the ,assyrians4 ,how striking was the conquest of this city by ,jeroboam is shown by the title of ,hamath the ,great1 bestowed upon it by the contemporary prophets1#caj with whom literary prophecy begins4 ,the result of these conquests was unwonted peace4 ,agriculture once more became possible1 when the farmers of ,israel were secure that their crops would not be reaped by plundering ,bedoun4 ,intercourse with neighbouring nations was revived1 as in the golden days of ,solomon1 though it was regarded with suspicion4#caa ,civilisation softened something of the old brutality4 ,prophecy assumed a different type1 and literature began to dawn4 ,but to this state of things there was1 as we learn from the contemporary prophets ,amos and ,hosea1 a darker side4 ,of ,jonah we know nothing more2 for it is impossible to see in the ,book of ,jonah much more than a beautiful and edifying story1 which may or may not rest on some surviving legends4 ,it differs from every other prophetic book by beginning with the word ,and1 and its late origin and legendary character cannot any longer be reasonably disputed4#cab ,we may hope1 therefore1 that the ,northern prophet1 whose home was not far from ,nazareth1 was not quite the morose and ruthless grumbler so strikingly portrayed in the book which bears his name4 ,of any historical intervention of his in the affairs of ,jeroboam we know nothing further than the recorded promise of the king's prosperity4 ,,footnotes3 #cje #b ,kings xiv4 #be-bg4 ,there are other allusions to the historic events in #b ,kings x4 #cb1 #cc1 xiii4 #c-g1 #bb-be4 ,hitzig conjectures that ,isa4 xv41 xvi41 are a burden of ,moab quoted from ,jonah4 #cjf #b ,kings xiii4 #e1 ,the ,lord gave ,israel a saviour2 xiv4 #bg1 ,and ,he saved them by the hand of ,jeroboam1 the son of ,joash4 ,some suppose the saviour to be the ,assyrian ,king4 #cjg ,it had owned the feudal supremacy of ,david 7#b ,sam4 viii4 #f71 and ,ahab had extorted the privilege of having bazaars there 7#a ,kings xx4 #cd74 ,considering how immense had been the resources of ,damascus 7#b ,kings vi4 #ad71 which had once been able to send to battle twelve thousand war-chariots 7,eponym ,canon1 p4 #ajh7 under ,benhadad1 we see how fearfully the ,syrian capital must have been weakened4 #cjh ,if ,isa4 xv4 #a1 #b1 refers to this invasion of ,jeroboam ,,ii41 as ,hitzig first conjectured1 we infer that he had taken both ,ar of ,moab 7,rabbath7 and ,kir of ,moab1 a strong fortress on a hill1 by night assaults2 and that he had also captured ,dibon1 ,nebo1 and ,medeba1 and inflicted on them summary chastisement4 ,it appears that the ,moabites had advanced northwards from the ,arnon1 while ,hazael occupied ,ramoth-,gilead1 and had seized part of the tribe of ,reuben4 ,jeroboam ,,ii4 first expelled them1 and then invaded their own proper country4 ,hitzig conjectures that ,isa4 xv41 xvi41 are really an old prophecy--perhaps by ,jonah1 son of ,amittai--which ,isaiah quotes1 and to which he adds two verses 7,isa4 xvi4 #ab1 #ac74 ,in such overthrow ,moab must have learnt to be ashamed of ,chemosh 7,jer4 xlviii4 #ac74 #cji ,isa4 xv4 #g2 ,amos vi4 #ad4 #caj ,amos vi4 #b4 #caa ,merchandise had hitherto been considered discreditable for a pure ,jew1 so that a trader is called a ,canaanite 7,hos4 xii4 #g1 #h74 #cab ,see the writer's ,minor ,prophets 7,men of the ,bible ,series71 pp4 #bca-bdc4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,amos1 ,,hosea1 ,,and ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,israel #b ,,kings xiv4 #bc-bi2 xv4 #h-ab ,in them is plainest taught and easiest learnt ,what makes a nation happy and keeps it so1 ,what ruins kingdoms and lays cities flat4 ,,milton1 ,paradise ,regained4 ,we see dimly in the ,present what is small and what is great1 ,slow of faith how weak an arm may turn the iron helm of ,fate3 ,but the soul is still oracular3 amid the market's din ,list the ominous stern whisper from the ,delphic cave within1 ',they enslave their children's children who make compromise with sin4' ,,lowell4 ,amos and ,hosea are the two earliest prophets whose burdens have come down to us4 ,from them we gain a near insight into the internal condition of ,israel in this day of her prosperity4 ,we see1 first1 that the prosperity was not unbroken4 ,though peace reigned1 the people were not left to lapse unwarned into sloth and godlessness4 ,the land had suffered from the horrible scourge of locusts1 until every carmel--every garden of ,god on hill and plain--withered before them4#cac ,there had been widespread conflagrations2#cad there had been a visitation of pestilence2 and1 finally1 there had been an earthquake so violent that it constituted an epoch from which dates were reckoned4#cae ,there were also two eclipses of the sun1 which darkened with fear the minds of the superstitious4#caf ,nor was this the worst4 ,civilisation and commerce had brought luxury in their train1 and all the bonds of morality had been relaxed4 ,the country began to be comparatively depleted1 and the innocent regularity of agricultural pursuits palled upon the young1 who were seduced by the glittering excitement of the growing towns4 ,all zeal for religion was looked on as archaic1 and the splendour of formal services was regarded as a sufficient recognition of such gods as there were4 ,as a natural consequence1 the nobles and the wealthy classes were more and more infected with a gross materialism1 which displayed itself in ostentatious furniture1 and sumptuous palaces of precious marbles inlaid with ivory4 ,the desire for such vanities increased the thirst for gold1 and avarice replenished its exhausted coffers by grinding the faces of the poor1 by defrauding the hireling of his wages1 by selling the righteous for silver1 the needy for handfuls of barley1 and the poor for a pair of shoes4 ,the degrading vice of intoxication acquired fresh vogue1 and the gorgeous gluttonies of the rich were further disgraced by the shameful spectacle of drunkards1 who lolled for hours over the revelries which were inflamed by voluptuous music4 ,worst of all1 the purity of family life was invaded and broken down4 ,throwing aside the old veiled seclusion of women in ,oriental life1 the ladies of ,israel showed themselves in the streets in all the bravery of their tinkling ornaments of gold1 and sank into the adulterous courses stimulated by their pampered effrontery4 ,such is the picture which we draw from the burning denunciations of the peasant-prophet of ,tekoa4 ,he was no prophet nor prophet's son1 but a humble gatherer of sycomore-fruit1 a toil which only fell to the humblest of the people4#cag ,who is not afraid1 he asks1 when a lion roars8 and how can a prophet be silent when the ,lord ,god has spoken8 ,indignation had transformed and dilated him from a labourer into a seer1 and had summoned him from the pastoral shades of his native village--whether in ,judah or in ,israel is uncertain--to denounce the more flagrant iniquities of the ,northern capital4#cah ,first he proclaims the vengeance of ,jehovah upon the transgressions of the ,philistines1 of ,tyre1 of ,edom1 of ,ammon1 of ,moab1 and even of ,judah2 and then he turns with a crash upon apostatising ,israel4#cai ,he speaks with unsparing plainness of their pitiless greed1 their shameless debauchery1 their exacting usury1 their attempts to pervert even the abstinent ,nazarites into intemperance1 and to silence the prophets by opposition and obloquy4 ,jehovah was crushed under their violence4#cbj ,and did they think to go unscathed after such black ingratitude8 ,nay6 their mightiest should flee away naked in the day of defeat4 ,robbery was in their houses of ivory1 and the few of them who should escape the spoiler should only be as when a shepherd tears out of the mouth of a lion two legs and a piece of an ear8#cba ,as for ,bethel1 their shrine--which he calls ,bethaven1 ,house of ,vanity1 not ,bethel1 ,house of ,god--the horns of its altars should be cut off4 ,should oppression and licentiousness flourish8 ,jehovah would take them with hooks1 and their children with fish-hooks1 and their sacrifices at ,bethel and ,gilgal should be utterly unavailing4 ,drought1 and blasting1 and mildew1 and wasting plague1 and earth-convulsions like those which had swallowed ,sodom and ,gomorrha1 from which they should only be plucked as a firebrand out of the burning1 should warn them that they must prepare to meet their ,god4#cbb ,it was lamentable2 but lamentation was vain1 unless they would return to ,jehovah1 ,lord of hosts1#cbc and abandon the false worship of ,bethel1 ,beersheba1 and ,gilgal1 and listen to the voice of the righteous1 whom they now abhorred for his rebukes4 ,they talked hypocritically about the day of the ,lord1 but to them it should be blackness4 ,they relied on feast days1 and services1 and sacrifices2 but since they would not give the sacrifice of judgment and righteousness1 for which alone ,god cared1 they should be carried into captivity beyond ,damascus3 yes6 even to that terrible ,assyria with whose king they now were on friendly terms4 ,they lay at ease on their carved couches at their delicate feasts1 draining the wine-bowls1 and glistering with fragrant oils1 heedless of the impending doom which would smite the great house with breaches and the little house with clefts1 and which should bring upon them an avenger who should afflict them from their conquered ,hamath southwards even to the wady of the wilderness4#cbd ,the threatened judgments of locusts and fire had been mitigated at the prophet's prayer1 but nothing could avert the plumb-line of destruction which ,jehovah held over them1 and ,he would rise against the ,house of ,jeroboam with ,his sword4#cbe ,we infer from all that ,amos and ,hosea say that the calf-worship at ,bethel 7for ,dan is not mentioned in this connexion#cbf7 had degenerated into an idolatry far more abject than it originally was4 ,the familiarity of such multitudes of the people with ,baal-worship and ,asherah-worship had tended to obliterate the sense that the calves were cherubic emblems of ,jehovah2 and were it not for some confusions of this kind1 it is inconceivable that ,jehoram ben-,jehu should have restored the ,asherah which his father had removed4 ,be that as it may1 ,bethel and ,gilgal seem to have become centres of corruption4 ,dan is scarcely once alluded to as a scene of the calf-worship4 ,others1 then1 might be deceived by the surface-glitter of extended empire in the days of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 ,not so the true prophets4 ,it has often happened--as to ,persia1 when1 in ,b4,c4 #chh1 she dictated the ,peace of ,antalcidas1 and to ,papal ,rome in the days of the ,jubilee of #acjj1 and to ,philip ,,ii4 of ,spain in the year of the ,armada1 and to ,louis ,,xiv4 in #affg--that a nation has seemed to be at its zenith of pomp and power on the very eve of some tremendous catastrophe4 ,amos and ,hosea saw that such a catastrophe was at hand for ,israel1 because they knew that ,divine punishment inevitably dogs the heels of insolence and crime4 ,the loftiness of ,israel's privilege involved the utterness of her ruin4 ,you only have ,i known of all the families of the earth3 therefore ,i will visit upon you all your iniquities4#cbg ,such prophecies1 so eloquent1 so uncompromising1 so varied1 and so constantly disseminated among the people1 first by public harangues1 then in writing1 could no longer be neglected4 ,amos1 with his natural culture1 his rhythmic utterances1 and his inextinguishable fire1 was far different from the wild fanatics1 with their hairy garments1 and sudden movements1 and long locks1 and cries1 and self-inflicted wounds1 with whom ,israel had been familiar since the days of ,elijah whom they all imitated4 ,so long as this inspired peasant confined himself to moral denunciations the aristocracy and priesthood of ,samaria could afford comfortably to despise him4 ,what were moral denunciations to them8 ,what harm was there in ivory palaces and refined feasts8 ,this man was a mere red socialist who tried to undermine the customs of society4 ,the hold of the upper classes on the people1 whom their exactions had burdened with hopeless debt1 and whom they could with impunity crush into slavery1 was too strong to be shaken by the hysteric gush of a philanthropic faddist and temperance fanatic like this4 ,but when he had the enormous presumption to mention publicly the name of their victorious king1 and to say that ,jehovah would rise against him with the sword1 it was time for the clergy to interfere1 and to send the intruder back to his native obscurity4 ,so ,amaziah1 the priest of ,bethel1#cbh invoked the king's authority4 ,amos1 he said to the king1 hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of ,israel4 ,the charge was grossly false1 but it did well enough to serve the priest's purpose4 ,the land is not able to bear all his words4 ,that was true2 for when nations have chosen to abide by their own vicious courses1 and refuse to listen to the voice of warning1 they are impatient of rebuke4 ,they refuse to hear when ,god calls to them4 ,for when we in our viciousness grow hard1 ,oh misery on it6 the wise gods seal our eyes2 ,in our own filth drop our clear judgments2 make us ,adore our errors2 laugh at us while we strut ,to our confusion4 ,the priest tried further to inflame the king's anger by telling him two more of ,amos's supposed predictions4 ,he had prophesied 7which was a false inference7 that ,israel should be led away captive out of their own land1#cbi and had also prophesied 7which was a perversion of the fact7 that ,jeroboam should die by the sword4 ,at the first prophecy ,jeroboam probably smiled4 ,it might indeed come true in the long-run4 ,if he was a man of prescience as well as of prowess1 he probably foresaw that the elements of ruin lurked in his transient success1 and that though1 for the present1 ,assyria was occupied in other directions1 it was unlikely that the weaker ,israel would escape the fate of the far more powerful ,syria4 ,as for the personal prophecy1 he was strong1 and was honoured1 and had his army and his guards4 ,he would take his chance4 ,nor does it seem to have troubled any one that ,amos looked for the ultimate union of ,israel with ,judah4 ,since the time of ,joash the inheritance of ,david had been but as a ruined booth 7ix4 #aa72 but ,amos prophesied its restoration4 ,this touch may have been added later1 when he wrote and published his burdens2 but he did not hesitate to speak as if the two kingdoms were really and properly one4#ccj ,we are not told that ,jeroboam ,,ii4 interfered with the prophet in any way4#cca ,had he done so1 he would have been rebuked and denounced for it4 ,he probably went no further than to allow the priest and the prophet to settle the matter between themselves4 ,perhaps he gave a contemptuous permission that1 if ,amaziah thought it worth while to send the prophet back into ,judah1 he might do so4 ,armed with this nonchalant mandate1 ,amaziah1 with more mildness and good-humour than might have been expected from one of his class1 said to ,amos1 ,o ,seer1#ccb go home1 and eat thy bread1 and prophesy to thy heart's content at home2 but do not prophesy any more at ,bethel1 for it is the king's sanctuary and the king's court4 ,amos obeyed perforce1 but stopped to say that he had not prophesied out of his own mouth1 but by ,jehovah's bidding4 ,he then hurled at the priest a message of doom as frightful as that which ,jeremiah pronounced upon ,pashur1 when that priest smote him on the face4 ,his wife should be a harlot in the city2 his sons and daughters should be slain2 his inheritance should be divided2 he should die in a polluted land2 and ,israel should go into captivity4 ,and as for his mission1 he justified it by the fact that he was not one of an hereditary or a professional community2 he was no prophet or prophet's son4 ,such men might--like ,zedekiah1 the son of ,chenaanah1 and his four hundred abettors--be led into mere function and professionalism1 into manufactured enthusiasm and simulated inspiration4 ,from such communities freshness1 unconventionality1 courage1 were hardly to be expected4 ,they would philippise at times2 they would get to love their order and their privileges better than their message1 and themselves best of all4 ,it is the tendency of organised bodies to be tempted into conventionality1 and to sink into banded unions chiefly concerned in the protection of their own prestige4 ,not such was ,amos4 ,he was a peasant herdsman in whose heart had burned the inspiration of ,jehovah and the wrath against moral misdoing till they had burst into flame4 ,it was indignation against iniquity which had called ,amos from the flocks and the sycomores to launch against an apostatising people the menace of doom4 ,in that grief and indignation he heard the voice and received the mandate of the ,lord of hosts4 ,he heads the long line of literary prophets whose priceless utterances are preserved in the ,old ,testament4 ,the inestimable value of their teaching lies most of all in the fact that they were--like ,moses--preachers of the moral law2 and that1 like the ,book of the ,covenant1 which is the most ancient and the most valuable part of the ,laws of the ,pentateuch1 they count external service as no better than the small dust of the balance in comparison with righteousness and true holiness4 ,the rest of the predictions of ,amos were added at a later date4 ,they dwelt on the certainty and the awful details of the coming overthrow2 the doom of the idolaters of ,gilgal and ,beersheba2 the inevitable swiftness of the catastrophe in which ,samaria should be sifted like corn in a sieve in spite of her incorrigible security4#ccc ,yet the ruin should not be absolute4 ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,as the shepherd teareth out of the mouth of the lion two legs and the piece of an ear1 so shall the children of ,israel be rescued1 that sit in ,samaria on the corner of a couch1 and on the damask of a bed4 ,the ,hebrew ,prophets almost invariably weave together the triple strands of warning1 exhortation1 and hope4 ,hitherto ,amos has not had a word of hope to utter4 ,at last1 however1 he lets a glimpse of the rainbow irradiate the gloom4 ,the overthrow of ,israel should be accompanied by the restoration of the fallen booth of ,david1 and1 under the rule of a scion of that house1 ,israel should return from captivity to enjoy days of peaceful happiness1 and to be rooted up no more4#ccd 99 99 99 99 99 ,hosea1 the son of ,beeri1 was of a somewhat later date than ,amos4 ,he1 too1 became electric1 to flash into meaner and corrupted minds the conviction that formalism is nothing1 and that moral sincerity is all in all4 ,that which ,god requires is not ritual service1 but truth in the inward parts4 ,he is one of the saddest of the prophets2 but though he mingles prophecies of mercy with his menaces of wrath1 the general tenor of his oracles is the same4 ,he pictures the crimes of ,ephraim by the image of domestic unfaithfulness1 and bids ,judah to take warning from the curse involved in her apostasy4#cce ,many of his allusions touch upon the days of that deluge of anarchy which followed the death of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 7iv4-vi4 #c74 ,that he was a ,northerner appears from the fact that he speaks of the ,king of ,israel as our king 7vii4 #e74 ,yet he seems to blame the revolt of ,jeroboam ,i4 7i4 #aa1 viii4 #d71 although a prophet had originated it1 and he openly aspires after the reunion of the ,twelve ,tribes under a king of the ,house of ,david 7iii4 #e74 ,he points more distinctly to ,assyria1 which he frequently names as the scourge of the ,divine vengeance1 and indicates how vain is the hope of the party which relied on the alliance of ,egypt4#ccf ,he speaks with far more distinct contempt of the cherub at ,bethel and the shrine at ,gilgal1 and says scornfully1 ,thy calf1 ,o ,samaria1 has cast thee off4#ccg ,shalmaneser had taken ,beth-,arbel1 and dashed to pieces mother and children4 ,such would be the fate of the cities of ,israel4#cch ,yet ,hosea1 like ,amos1 cannot conclude with words of wrath and woe1 and he ends with a lovely song of the days when ,ephraim should be restored1 after her true repentance1 by the loving tenderness of ,god4 ,jeroboam ,,ii4 must have been aware of some at least of these prophecies4 ,those of ,hosea must have impressed him all the more because ,hosea was a prophet of his own kingdom1 and all of his allusions were to such ancient and famous shrines of ,ephraim as ,mizpeh1 ,tabor1 ,bethel1 ,gilgal1 ,shechem1#cci ,jezreel1 and ,lebanon4 ,he was the ,jeremiah of the ,north1 and a passionate patriotism breathes through his melancholy strains4 ,yet in the powerful rule of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 he can only see a godless militarism founded upon massacre 7i4 #d71 and he felt himself to be the prophet of decadence4 ,page after page rings with wailing1 and with denunciations of drunkenness1 robbery1 and whoredom--swearing1 lying1 killing1 stealing1 and adultery 7iv4 #b74 ,if ,jeroboam was as wise and great as he seemed to have been1 he must have seen with his own eyes the ominous clouds on the far horizon1 and the deep-seated corruption which was eating like a cancer into the heart of his people4 ,probably1 like many another great sovereign--like ,marcus ,aurelius when he noted the worthlessness of his son ,commodus1 like ,charlemagne when he burst into tears at the sight of the ships of the ,vikings--his thoughts were like those of the ancient and modern proverbs--,when ,i am dead1 let earth be mixed with fire4 ,we have no trace that ,jeroboam treated ,hosea as did those guilty priests to whom he was a rebuke1 and who called him a fool and mad 7ix4 #g1 #h1 iv4 #f-h1 v4 #b74 ,yet the aged king--he must have reached the unusual age of seventy-three at least1 before he ended the longest and most successful reign in the annals of ,israel--could hardly have anticipated that within half a year of his death his secure throne would be shaken to its foundation1 his dynasty be hurled into oblivion1 and that ,israel1 to whom1 as long as he lived1 mighty kingdoms had curtsied1 should1 ,like a forlorn and desperate castaway1 ,do shameful execution on herself4 ,yet so it was4 ,jeroboam ,,ii4 was succeeded by no less than six other kings1 but he was the last who died a natural death4 ,every one of his successors fell a victim to the assassin or the conqueror4 ,his son ,zachariah 7,remembered by ,jehovah7 succeeded him 7,b4,c4 #gdj71 the fourth in descent from ,jehu4 ,considering the long reign of his father1 he must have ascended the throne at a mature age4 ,but he was the child of evil times4 ,that he should not interrupt the calf-worship was a matter of course2 but if he be the king of whom we catch a glimpse in ,hos4 vii4 #b-g1 we see that he partook deeply of the depravity of his day4 ,we are there presented with a deplorable picture4 ,there was thievishness at home1 and bands of marauding bandits began to appear from abroad4 ,the king was surrounded by a desperate knot of wicked counsellors1 who fooled him to the top of his bent1 and corrupted him to the utmost of his capacity4 ,they were all scorners and adulterers1 whose furious passions the prophet compares to the glowing heat of an oven heated by the baker4 ,they made the king glad with their wickedness1 and the princes with lying flatteries4 ,on the royal birthday1 apparently at some public feast1 this band of infamous revellers1 who were the boon companions of ,zachariah1 first made him sick with bottles of wine1 and then having set an ambush in waiting1 murdered the effeminate and self-indulgent debauchee before all the people4#cdj ,the scene reads like the assassination of a ,commodus or an ,elagabalus4 ,no one was likely to raise a hand in his favour4 ,like our ,edward ,,ii41 he was a weakling who followed a great and warlike father4 ,it was evident that troublous times were near at hand1 and nothing but the worst disasters could ensue if there was no one better than such a drunkard as ,zachariah to stand at the helm of state4 ,so did the dynasty of the mighty ,jehu expire like a torch blown out in stench and smoke4 ,its close is memorable most of all because it evoked the magnificent moral and spiritual teaching of ,hebrew prophecy4 ,the ideal prophet and the ordinary priest are as necessarily opposed to each other as the saint and the formalist4 ,the glory of prophecy lies in its recognition that right is always right1 and wrong always wrong1 apart from all expediency and all casuistry1 apart from all prejudices1 private interests1 and partial affections4 ,what ,jehovah demands1 they taught1 is righteousness--neither more nor less2 what ,he hates is injustice4 ,sin or offence to the ,deity is a thing of purely moral character4 ,morality is that for the sake of which all other things exist2 it is the most essential element of all sincere religion4 ,it is no postulate1 no idea1 but a necessity and a fact2 the most intensely living of human powers--,jehovah1 the ,god of hosts4 ,in wrath1 in ruin1 this holy reality makes its existence known2 it annihilates all that is hollow and false4#cda ,,footnotes3 #cac ,amos vii4 #a4 ,famine 7iv4 #f72 drought 7iv4 #g1 #h72 yellow blight and locusts 7iv4 #i72 pestilence 7iv4 #aj72 earthquake and burning 7iv4 #aa74 #cad ,amos vii4 #d4 #cae ,amos i4 #a1 iii4 #ad1 iv4 #aa1 viii #h2 ,zech4 xiv4 #e3 ,ye shall flee like as ye fled before the earthquake in the days of ,uzziah4 ,josephus says that in an earthquake a little before the birth of ,christ ten thousand were buried under the ruined houses 7,antt41 ,,xv4 v4 #b71 and he has many ,rabbinic haggadoth to tell us about the earthquake1 which1 he says1 happened at the moment when ,uzziah burnt incense in the ,temple 7,antt41 ,,ix4 x4 #d74 #caf ,according to ,hind1 they took place on ,june #aeth1 ,b4,c4 #gfc1 and ,february #ith1 ,b4,c4 #ghd4 ,amos alludes to the capture of ,gath by ,uzziah1 of ,calneh 7,ktesiphon71 and of ,hamath 7vi4 #b2 #b ,chron4 xxvi4 #f74 ,gath henceforth disappears from the ,philistian ,pentapolis 7,amos i4 #g1 #h2 ,zeph4 ii4 #d2 ,zech4 ix4 #e74 #cag ,or dresser of sycomore-trees 7,r4,v474 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 vellicans sycomoros4 ,the sycomore-fruit 7fruit of the ,ficus sycomorus1 or wild fig7 is ripened by puncturing it 7,theoph41 ,h4 ,plant41 iv4 #b2 ,pliny1 ,h4 ,n41 xiii4 #ad74 #cah ,the well-known town of ,tekoa had been ,solomon's horse-fair1 and had been fortified by ,rehoboam 7#b ,chron4 xi4 #f74 ,it lay in a wild country six miles south of ,bethlehem 7#b ,chron4 xx4 #bj2 #a ,macc4 ix4 #cc2 ,robinson1 ,bibl4 ,res41 i4 #dhf74 ,for a fuller account of these prophets1 ,i must refer to my book on ,the ,minor ,prophets in the ,men of the ,bible ,series4 ,it has always been assumed that ,amos belonged to the well-known ,tekoa1 and was therefore a subject of the ,southern ,kingdom4 ,in recent days this has become uncertain4 ,no sycomores grow or can grow on the bleak uplands of ,tekoa 7,tristram1 ,nat4 ,hist4 of the ,bible1 p4 #cig72 so that ,jerome1 in his preface to ,amos1 thinks that brambles are intended4 ,even ,kimchi conjectured that ,tekoa was an unknown town in the tribe of ,asher4 ,amos's allusions to scenery are all applicable to the ,northern landscape4 #cai ,amos i4 #a-;ii4 #e4 #cbj ,amos ii4 #f-ac4 #cba ,amos iii4 #i-ae4 #cbb ,amos iv4 #a-ac4 #cbc ,this title1 ,jehovah-,tsebaoth1 now begins to occur4 ,it is not found in the ,hexateuch4 ,it probably means ,lord of the starry hosts4 ,contact with ,assyria first made the ,israelites acquainted with star-worship4 ,amos alludes to the ,pleiades and ,orion 7v4 #h3 comp4 ,job ix4 #i1 xxxviii4 #ca74 ,star-worship is forbidden in ,deuteronomy4 ,in ,amos v4 #bf the true meaning is that the ,israelites would take with them1 on their road to exile1 ,sakkuth 7,moloch87 and ,kewan 7the god-star ,saturn74 #cbd ,amos vi4 #a-ad4 #cbe ,amos vii4 #a-i4 #cbf ,strange as it may seem1 the early authority for the existence of any calf at ,dan is very slight1 and the extreme uncertainty of the reading and interpretation in one main passage 7#a ,kings xii4 #cb7 makes it at least possible that there were two calves at ,bethel1 and that at ,dan there was no calf1 but only the old idolatrous ephod of ,micah1 still served by the servant of ,moses4 ,see additional note at the end of the volume4 #cbg ,amos iii4 #b4 #cbh ,that the chief priest of ,bethel bore the name ,jehovah is strong shows once more that calf-worship was in no sense a substitute for the worship of ,jehovah4 #cbi ,this was not quite accurate2 he had rather prophesied the devastation of the high places 7vii4 #i74 ,in fact1 his words had often been very vague4 ,thus will ,i do unto thee 7iv4 #ab74 #ccj ,amos ix4 #aa-ae4 ,comp4 ,hos4 iii4 #e4 #cca ,the exaggerated haggadoth of later days say that ,amaziah had ,amos beaten with leaded thongs1 and that he was carried home in a dying state 7,epiphan41 ,opp41 ii4 #ade71 to which there is a supposed allusion in ,heb4 xi4 #ce3 4 #ccb ,we cannot be sure that the term ,seer was meant to be contemptuous1 although from #a ,sam4 ix4 #i we should infer that the title had become somewhat obsolete4 ,further1 we must bear in mind that it may not have been always easy for worldlings to distinguish between true prophets and the unprincipled pretenders who1 about this time1 succeeded in making the name and aspect of a prophet so complete a disgrace that men had carefully to disclaim it 7,zech4 xiii4 #b-f74 ,it is true that the heading of ,amos 7i4 #a71 which may not1 however1 be by the prophet himself1 tells us of the words which he saw 7i4e41 spoke as a seer71 and he also disclaims the name of prophet 7vii4 #ad74 #ccc ,amos viii4 #a-;ix4 #i1 #aj4 #ccd ,amos ix4 #aa-ae4 #cce ,hos4 iv4 #ae-ai4 #ccf ,hos4 v4 #ac1 vii4 #aa1 viii4 #i1 ix4 #c-f1 xi4 #e1 xii4 #a1 xiv4 #c4 ,it must be borne in mind that the cuneiform inscriptions prove that ,assyria had burst into sight like a lurid comet on the horizon far earlier than we had supposed4 ,jehu had paid tribute to ,shalmaneser as far back as ,b4,c4 #hdb1 more than a century before ,menahem's tribute in #gch4 ,the destruction which ,hosea prophesied took place within thirty-one years of his prophecies--probably in ,b4,c4 #gbb1 when ,sargon finished the siege of ,samaria begun by ,shalmaneser4 ,the king ,hoshea was perhaps taken captive before the siege4 #ccg ,hos4 viii4 #e1 ix4 #ae4 #cch ,hos4 x4 #ac1 #ad4 #cci ,hos4 vi4 #i3 for by consent read towards ,shechem4 #cdj ,hos4 vii4 #c-g4 ,the allusions are vague1 but we see a drunken king among his drunken princes1 surrounded by wicked plotters who have flattered his vices4 ,he is ignorant of his peril4 ,the subjects aid the rulers in these abominations4 ,all are blazing1 like an oven1 with passion and infamy1 and only rest 7as the baker does7 to acquire new strength for inflaming their burning desires4 ,at the dawn their treachery blazes into the crime of murder1 and in the wine-sick fever-heat of the banquet the king is murdered by his corrupt intimates 7see my ,minor ,prophets1 p4 #gh74 #cda ,wellhausen1 ,isr4 and ,jud41 #he4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,azariah-,,uzziah 7,b4,c4 #ghc787-gcg7 ,,jotham 7,b4,c4 #gcg-gce7 #b ,,kings xv4 #a-g1 #cb-ch ,this is vanity1 and it is a sore sickness4--,,eccles4 vi4 #b4 ,before we watch the last glimmerings and decays of the ,northern ,kingdom1 we must once more revert to the fortunes of the ,house of ,david4 ,judah partook of the better fortunes of ,israel4 ,she1 too1 enjoyed the respite caused by the crippling of the power of ,syria1 and the cessation from aggression of the ,assyrian kings1 who1 for a century1 were either unambitious monarchs like ,assurdan1 or were engaged in fighting on their own northern and eastern frontiers4 ,judah1 too1 like ,israel1 was happy in the long and wise governance of a faithful king4 ,this king was ,azariah 7,my strength is ,jehovah71 the son of ,amaziah4 ,he is called ,uzziah by the ,chronicler1 and in some verses of the brief references to his long reign in the ,book of ,kings4 ,it is not certain that he was the eldest son of ,amaziah2#cdb but he was so distinctly the ablest1 that1 at the age of sixteen1 he was chosen king by all the people4 ,his official title to the world must have been ,azariah1 for in that form his name occurs in the ,assyrian records4 ,uzziah seems to have been the more familiar title which he bore among his people4#cdc ,there seems to be an allusion to both names--,jehovah-his-helper1 and ,jehovah-his-strength--in the ,chronicles3 ,god helped him1 and made him to prosper2 and his name spread far abroad1 and he was marvellously helped1 till he was strong4 ,the ,book of ,kings only devotes a few verses to him2 but from the ,chronicler we learn much more about his prosperous activity4 ,his first achievement was to recover and fortify the port of ,elath1 on the ,red ,sea1#cdd and to reduce the ,edomites to the position they had held in the earlier days of his father's reign4 ,this gave security to his commerce1 and at once his name spread far abroad1 even to the entering in of ,egypt4 ,he next subdued the ,philistines2 took ,gath1 ,jabneh1 and ,ashdod2 dismantled their fortifications1 filled them with ,hebrew colonists1 and smote all ,palestine with a rod4#cde ,he then chastised the roving ,arabs of the ,negeb or south country in ,gur-,baal and ,maon1 and suppressed their plundering incursions4 ,his next achievement was to reduce the ,ammonite ,emrs to the position of tributaries1 and to enforce from them rights of pasturage for his large flocks1 not only in the low country 7shephelah71 but in the southern wilderness 7midbar71 and in the carmels or fertile grounds among the ,trans-,jordanic hills4 ,having thus subdued his enemies on all sides1 he turned his attention to home affairs--built towers1 strengthened the walls of ,jerusalem at its most assailable points1 provided catapults and other instruments of war1 and rendered a permanent benefit to ,jerusalem by irrigation and the storing of rain-water in tanks4 ,all these improvements so greatly increased his wealth and importance that he was able to renew ,david's old force of heroes 7,gibborim71 and to increase their number from six hundred to two thousand six hundred1 whom he carefully enrolled1 equipped with armour1 and trained in the use of engines of war4 ,and he not only extended his boundaries southwards and eastwards1 but appears to have been strong enough1 after the death of ,jeroboam ,,ii41 to make an expedition northwards1 and to have headed a ,syrian coalition against ,tiglath-,pileser ,,iii41 in ,b4,c4 #gch4 ,he is mentioned in two notable fragments of the annals of the eighth year of this ,assyrian king4 ,he is there called ,azrijahu1 and both his forces and those of ,hamath seem to have suffered a defeat4#cdf ,it is distressing to find that a king so good and so great ended his days in overwhelming and irretrievable misfortune4 ,the glorious reign had a ghastly conclusion4 ,all that the historian tells us is that the ,lord smote the king1 so that he was a leper1 and dwelt in a several i4e41 a separate house4 ,the word rendered a several house may perhaps mean 7as in the margin of the ,a4,v47 a lazar house1 like the ,beit el ,massakn or house of the unfortunate1 the hospital or abode of lepers1 outside the walls of ,jerusalem4#cdg ,the rendering is uncertain1 but it is by no means impossible that the prevalence of the affliction had1 even in those early days1 created a retreat for those thus smitten1 especially as they formed a numerous class4 ,obviously the king could no more fulfil his royal duties4 ,a leper becomes a horrible object1 and no one would have been more anxious than the unhappy ,azariah himself to conceal his aspect from the eyes of his people4#cdh ,his son ,jotham was set over the household2 and though he is not called a regent or joint-king--for this institution does not seem to have existed among the ancient ,hebrews--he acted as judge over the people of the land4 ,we are told that ,isaiah wrote the annals of this king's reign1 but we do not know whether it was from ,isaiah's biography that the ,chronicler took the story of the manner in which ,uzziah was smitten with leprosy4 ,the ,chronicler says that his heart was puffed up with his successes and his prosperity1 and that he was consequently led to thrust himself into the priest's office by burning incense in the ,temple4#cdi ,solomon appears to have done the same without the least question of opposition2 but now the times were changed1 and ,azariah1 the high priest1#cej and eighty of his colleagues went in a body to prevent ,uzziah1 to rebuke him1 and to order him out of the ,holy ,place4#cea ,the opposition kindled him into the fiercest anger1 and at this moment of hot altercation the red spot of leprosy suddenly rose and burned upon his forehead4 ,the priests looked with horror on the fatal sign2 and the stricken king1 himself horrified at this awful visitation of ,god1 ceased to resist the priests1 and rushed forth to relieve the ,temple of his unclean presence1 and to linger out the sad remnant of his days in the living death of that most dishonouring disease4 ,surely no man was ever smitten down from the summits of splendour to a lower abyss of unspeakable calamity6 ,we can but trust that the misery only laid waste the few last years of his reign2 for ,jotham was twenty-five when he began to reign1 and he must have been more than a mere boy when he was set to perform his father's duties4 ,so the glory of ,uzziah faded into dust and darkness4 ,at the age of sixty-eight death came as the welcome release from his miseries1 and they buried him with his fathers in the ,city of ,david4 ,the ,levitically scrupulous ,chronicler adds that he was not laid in the actual sepulchre of his fathers1 but in a field of burial which belonged to them--for they said1 ,he is a leper4 ,the general outline of his reign resembled that of his father's4 ,it began well2 it fell by pride2 it closed in misery4 ,the annals of his son ,jotham were not eventful1 and he died at the age of forty-one or earlier4 ,he is said to have reigned sixteen years1 but there are insuperable difficulties about the chronology of his reign1 which can only be solved by hazardous conjectures4#ceb ,he was a good king1 howbeit the high places were not removed4 ,the ,chronicler speaks of him chiefly as a builder4 ,he built or restored the northern gate of the ,temple1 and defended ,judah with fortresses and towns4 ,but the glory and strength of his father's reign faded away under his rule4 ,he did indeed suppress a revolt of the ,ammonites1 and exacted from them a heavy indemnity2 but shortly afterwards the inaction of ,assyria led to an alliance between ,pekah1 ,king of ,israel1 and ,rezin1 ,king of ,damascus2 and these kings harassed ,jotham--perhaps because he refused to become a member of their coalition4 ,the good king must also have been pained by the signs of moral degeneracy all around him in the customs of his own people4 ,it was in the year that ,king ,uzziah died that ,isaiah saw his first vision1 and he gives us a deplorable picture of contemporary laxity4 ,whatever the king may have been1 the princes were no better than rulers of ,sodom1 and the people were people of ,gomorrha4 ,there was abundance of lip-worship1 but little sincerity2 plentiful religionism1 but no godliness4 ,superstition went hand in hand with formalism1 and the scrupulosity of outward service was made a substitute for righteousness and true holiness4 ,this was the deadliest characteristic of this epoch1 as we find it portrayed in the first chapter of ,isaiah4 ,the faithful city had become a harlot--but not in outward semblance4 ,she reflected heaven on her surface1 and hid ,gomorrha in her heart4 ,righteousness had dwelt in her--but now murderers2 but the murderers wore phylacteries1 and for a pretence made long prayers4 ,it was this deep-seated hypocrisy1 this pretence of religion without the reality1 which called forth the loudest crashes of ,isaiah's thunder4 ,there is more hope for a country avowedly guilty and irreligious than for one which makes its scrupulous ceremonialism a cloak of maliciousness4 ,and thus there lay at the heart of ,isaiah's message that protest for bare morality1 as constituting the end and the essence of religion1 which we find in all the earliest and greatest prophets3-- ,hear the word of the ,lord1 ye rulers of ,sodom2 ,give ear unto the ,law of our ,god1 ye people of ,gomorrha6 ,to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me8 saith the ,lord4 ,i am full of the burnt-offerings of rams1 and the fat of fed beasts2 ,and ,i delight not in the blood of bullocks1 or of lambs1 or of he-goats4 ,when ye come to see ,my face1 who hath required this at your hands1 to trample ,my courts8 ,bring no more vain oblations6 ,incense is an abomination unto ,me3 ,new moon and sabbath1 the calling of assemblies-- ,i cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting444 ,wash you6 make you clean6#cec ,of ,jotham we hear nothing more4 ,he died a natural death at an early age4 ,if the years of his reign are counted from the time when his father's affliction devolved on him the responsibilities of office1 it is probable that he did not long survive the illustrious leper1 but was buried soon after him in the ,city of ,david his father4 ,,footnotes3 #cdb ,hence1 perhaps1 the expression that the people took him4 ,if ,amaziah died at fifty-nine1 he probably had other sons4 #cdc ,compare the interchange of the names ,azariel and ,uzziel 7,exod4 vi4 #ah7 in #a ,chron4 vi4 #b1 #ah4 ,azariah means ,jehovah hath helped1 and ,uzziah ,strength of ,jehovah4 ,it is just possible that his name was changed at his accession1 as the chief priest also was named ,azariah1 and confusion might otherwise have arisen4 #cdd #b ,chron4 xxvi4 #b-ae4 #cde ,isa4 xiv4 #bi4 ,a mixed language arose in this district in consequence 7,neh4 xiii4 #bd2 ,zech4 ix4 #f74 ,the word ,palestine only applies strictly to the district of ,philistia4 ,milton uses it1 with his usual accuracy1 in the description of ,dagon as ,that twice-battered god of ,palestine4 #cdf ,uzziah's opposition to ,assyria--of which there seems to be no doubt1 for he must be the ,azrijahu of the ,eponym ,canon--took place about #gch1 and was a coalition movement4 ,but it gives rise to great chronological and other difficulties4 ,as the solution of these is at present only conjectural1 ,i refer to ,schrader 7,e4 ,tr471 ii4 #baa-bai4 ,he is called ,azrijahu ,jahudai4 #cdg #b ,kings xv4 #e 7#b ,chron4 xxvi4 #ba1 a house of sickness74 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 in domo libera seorsim4 ,comp ,lev4 xiii4 #df4 ,theodoret understands it that he was shut up privately in his own palace3 ' 4 ,symmachus1 4 #cdh ,his misfortune must have made a deep impression1 and is possibly alluded to in ,hos4 iv4 #d3 ,for thy people are as they that strive with the priest4 #cdi ,the ,chronicler attributes the good part of his reign to the influence of an unknown ,zechariah1 who had understanding in the visions of ,god2 and says that when ,zechariah died ,uzziah altered for the worse4 #cej ,this high priest1 ,azariah1 is only mentioned elsewhere in #b ,chron4 xxvi4 #ag1 #bj4 #cea ,josephus says that he had put on a priestly robe1 and that a great feast was going on1 and that the earthquake 7,amos i4 #a2 ,zech4 xiv4 #e7 happened at the moment1 which broke the ,temple roof1 so that a sunbeam smote his head and produced the leprosy4 ,we here see the growth of the ,haggadah4 #ceb ,for instance1 two verses earlier 7#b ,kings xv4 #cj7 we read of the twentieth year of ,jotham4 #cec ,isa4 i4 #aj-ag4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,the ,,agony ,,of ,,the ,,northern ,,kingdom4 ,b4,c4 ,shallum #gdj ,menahem #gdj-gcg ,pekahiah #gcg-gce ,pekah #gce-gcd #b ,,kings xv4 #h-ca ,blood toucheth blood4--,,hos4 iv4 #b4 ,the revolters are profuse in murders4--,,hos4 v4 #b4 ,they have set up kings1 but not by ,me3 they have made princes1 and ,i knew it not4--,,hos4 viii4 #d4 ,non tam reges fuere quam fures1 latrones1 et tyranni4--,,witsius1 ,decaph41 #cbf4 ,with the death of ,zachariah begins the acute agony of ,israel's dissolution4 ,four kings were murdered in forty years4 ,indeed1 within two centuries1 at least nine kings--,nadab1 ,elah1 ,zimri1 ,tibni1 ,jehoram1 ,zachariah1 ,shallum1 ,pekahiah1 ,pekah--had made the steps of the throne slippery with blood4 ,except in the house of ,omri1 all the kings of ,israel either left no sons or left them to be slain4 ,amos1 by his vision of the basket of summer fruit1 had intimated that the sins of ,israel were ripe for punishment1 and the lesson had been emphasised by the paronomasia of quts1 summer1 and queets1 end4#ced ,the prophet had singled four out of many crimes as the cause of her ruin4 ,they were 7#a7 greedy oppression of the poor2 7#b7 land-grabbing2 7#c7 licentious and idolatrous revelries2 7#d7 cruelty to poor debtors1 and rioting on the proceeds of unjust gains4 ,in their drunkenness they even tempted ,god's ,nazarites to break their vows4 ,behold1 saith ,jehovah1 ,i am pressed under you1 as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves4 ,even women shared in the common intoxication1 and showed themselves utterly shameless1 so that ,amos contemptuously calls them fat cows of ,bashan upon the mountain of ,samaria1 whom in punishment the brutal conqueror should drag by the hair out of their ivory palaces1 as a fisherman drags his prey out of the water by hooks4#cee ,shallum1 son of ,jabesh1 the unknown murderer of ,zachariah and the usurper of his throne1 suffered the fate of ,zimri1 and only reigned for one month4 ,if his conspiracy was marked by the odious circumstances of treachery and corruption1 which we infer from the allusions of ,hosea1 ,shallum richly deserved the swift retribution which fell upon him4 ,he seems to have destroyed ,zachariah by means of his best affections--under the guise of friendship1 in the midst of boon companionship4 ,but the slayer of his master had no peace1 and from the moment of his fruitless crime the unhappy country seems to have been plunged in the horrors of civil war4 ,some dim glimpses of the evils of the day are gained from the earlier ,zechariah1#cef just as some dim glimpses of the horrors of ,rome in the days of the later ,csars may be seen in the ,apocalypse4 ,the prophet speaks of three shepherds cut off in one month1 who abhorred ,god1 and ,his soul was impatient at them4#ceg ,just as ,galba1 ,otho1 and ,vitellius flit across the stage of the ,empire amid war and assassinations1 so ,zachariah and ,shallum are swept away by dagger-thrusts through the purple4 ,was there a third8 ,ewald and others think that they detect a shadowy outline of him and of his name in #b ,kings xv4 #aj4 ,if so1 his name was ,kobolam1 but we know no more of him beyond the fact that he was1 and is not4 ,for the sacred annals are but little concerned with this bloody phantasmagoria of feeble kings1 who ruled amid usurpation1 anarchy1 hostile attacks from without1 and civil war within4 ,israel1 said ,hosea1 hath cast off the thing that is good3 the enemy shall pursue him4 ,they have set up kings1 but not by ,me3 they have made princes1 and ,i knew it not4 ,they are all as hot as an oven1 and have devoured their judges2 all their kings have fallen2 there is none among them that calleth upon ,me4#ceh ,it was perhaps during this distracted epoch that for one moment there was an attempt to place the ruling authority of the nation in the hands of the prophet himself4 ,so it would appear from ,zech4 xi4 #g-ad4 ,of course these chapters may be allegorical throughout1 as1 in any case1 they are in great part4 ,but if so1 it becomes more difficult to understand the meaning4 ,what the prophet says is as follows3-- ,first1 as though he saw the terrible conflagration of the ,assyrian tyranny rolling southwards1 and felt it to be irresistible1 he bids ,lebanon open her doors1 that the fire may devour her cedars4 ,there is perhaps an allusion to the death of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 in the words1 ,howl fir tree1 for the cedar is fallen4 ,he sees in vision the forces of devastation raging among the oaks of ,bashan1 the forest and the vintage1 while the shepherds cry1 and the ousted lions roar in vain4 ,then ,jehovah bids him feed the flock of the slaughter--the flock sold remorselessly by its rich possessors1 and slain1 and left unpitied1 as the people were despoiled by its nobles and its kings4 ,the prophet undertakes the charge of the miserable flock1 and takes two staves1 one of which he calls ,prosperity1 and the other ,union4 ,while he was thus engaged three shepherds were cut off in one month1#cei whom he loathed1 and who abhorred him4 ,but he finds his task hopeless1 and flings it up2 and in sign that his covenant with the people is broken1 he breaks his staff ,prosperity4 ,the nation refused to pay him anything for his services1 except a paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver1 and these he disdainfully flung into the sacred treasury4#cfj ,then seeing that all hope of union between ,israel and ,judah was at an end1 he broke his staff ,union4 ,lastly1 ,jehovah says ,he will raise up a foolish1 neglectful1 cruel shepherd who would care for nothing but to eat the flesh of the fat and break the hoofs of the flock4 ,and as for this worthless shepherd1 the sword should be upon his arm and in his right eye2 his arm shall be dried up1 and his right eye utterly darkened4 ,by this cruel and self-seeking shepherd is probably meant ,menahem4 ,he had been1 according to ,josephus1 the captain of the guard1 and was living at ,tirzah1 the old beautiful capital of the land4 ,from ,tirzah1 where he occupied the position of the captain of the chariots1 he marched on the ill-supported ,shallum4 ,samaria apparently offered no protection to the usurper4 ,menahem defeated him and put him to death4 ,then he proceeded to enforce the allegiance of the rest of the country4 ,an otherwise unknown town of the name of ,tiphsach#cfa ventured to resist him4 ,menahem conquered it1 and perhaps thinking1 as ,machiavelli thought1 that princes had better exhibit their utmost cruelty at first1 to deter any further opposition1 he let loose his ferocity on the town in a way which created a shuddering remembrance4 ,as though he had been one of the ferocious heathen1 who had never been restrained by the knowledge of ,god1 he exhibited the extreme of callous brutality by ripping up all the women that were with child4#cfb ,in this he followed the remorseless example of ,hazael4 ,hosea had prophesied that this should be the fate of ,samaria2#cfc ,amos had denounced the ,ammonites for acting thus in the cities of ,gilead2#cfd ,shalmaneser ,,iii4 had1 in ,b4,c4 #gcb1 thus avenged himself on the resistance of ,beth-,arbel1#cfe and ,assyria was ultimately to meet an analogous retribution1#cff as also was ,babylon4#cfg ,but that a king of ,ephraim1 of ,god's chosen people1 should act thus to his own brethren was a horrible portent1 ominous of swift destruction4 ,and the vengeance came4 ,menahem reigned1 at least in name1 for ten years2 for the sword which had slain mothers with their unborn infants reduced the stricken people to terrified silence4 ,but at this epoch ,assyria woke once more from her lethargy1 and became the scourge of ,god to the guilty people and their guiltier kings4 ,for a whole century the ,assyrians had either been governed by kings who had abjured the lust of blood and conquest1 or had been too seriously occupied on their own eastern and northern frontiers to intermeddle with the southern kingdoms1 or break down the barriers erected by the confederacy of ,hamath and ,damascus between ,nineveh and the weaker principalities of ,palestine4 ,but now 7,b4,c4 #gde7 there came to the throne a king who1 in ,chalda1 was known by the name of ,pul1 and in ,assyria by the name of ,tiglath-,pileser2#cfh and being too formidable for any power to stay his path1 he marched against ,menahem4 ,already he was lord of the world from the ,caspian to the ,gulf of ,persia2 already he had subdued ,babylonia1 ,elam1 ,media1 ,armenia1 eastward--,mesopotamia and ,syria westward4 ,who was ,menahem1 the petty usurper of a tenth-rate kingdom1 that he should withstand his power or even retard his advance8 ,the cruel usurper was in no condition to resist him4 ,the brand of ,cain was on him and his kingdom4 ,how could the weak1 impoverished1 harassed troops of ,israel stand up in battle against those numberless serried ranks1 or withstand their tremendous discipline8 ,if the very name of ,persia once struck terror into the brave ,greeks before the spell of ,persian ascendency was broken at ,marathon1 ,thermopyl1 and ,salamis1 much more did the name of ,assyria make the hearts of the wretched ,israelites melt like water4 ,they now for the first time saw those bearded warriors with their broad swords1 their tremendous bows1 their fierce1 sensual faces1 their thickset figures4 ,in the language of the prophets we still hear the echo of the fears which they excited by their swift1 unfaltering marches1 their sleepless vigilance1 their girded loins1 stout sandals1 and barbed arrows4#cfi ,their horses' hoofs1 says ,isaiah1 shall be like flint1 and their wheels like a whirlwind3 their roaring shall be like a lion1 they shall roar like young lions2 yea1 they shall roar1 and lay hold of the prey1 and carry it away safe1 and there shall be none to deliver4 ,and they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea2 and if one look unto the land1 behold darkness and distress1 and the light is darkened in the clouds thereof4 ,ancient ,assyria lay beneath the ,snowy ,mountains of ,kurdistan2 and its capital1 ,nineveh--near ,mosul1 ,kouyunjik1 and ,neby-,junus--lay six hundred miles from the ,gulf of ,persia4 ,the people spoke1 as their descendants still speak1 a dialect of ,syriac1 akin both grammatically and structurally to ,hebrew4 ,assyria was constantly at war with ,babylonia2 but for the most part the kings of ,assyria held ,babylon in subjection1 and ,tiglath-,pileser was a king of the ,chaldans under the name ,pul1 as well as a king of ,nineveh4 ,menahem was warrior enough to know how hopeless it was to struggle against these trained forces4 ,he was not even secure on his own throne4 ,he thought it best to offer himself without resistance as a feudatory1 if the ,assyrian ,king would confirm his sovereignty4 ,tiglath-,pileser did not think ,menahem worth more trouble1 and was graciously pleased to accept by way of bribe a tribute of a thousand talents of silver1 or about #abe1jjj4 ,this1 however1 as we learn from the ,eponym ,canon1 was not all4 ,menahem had to pay a further tribute year by year4 ,later on1 in #gch1 ,shalmaneser mentions ,minik-himmi 7,menahem71 as well as ,rasunnu 7,rezin71 among his tributaries4 ,the ,assyrian withdrew1 and ,menahem had to exact this vast sum of money from his miserable subjects4 ,to tax the poor was hopeless4 ,he found that there were some sixty thousand persons who might be reckoned among the wealthier farmers and proprietors1#cgj and from them he at once exacted fifty shekels of silver 7more than #c7 apiece4 ,probably they thought that to pay the sum demanded was not too heavy a price for the retirement of these frightful ,assyrians1 whose forces ,tiglath-,pileser did not withdraw until he had the money in hand4 ,the event took place in #gch1 and ,tiglath-,pileser continued to reign till #gbg4 ,how bitterly the burden of foreign tribute was felt appears from ,hos4 viii4 #i1 #aj1 which should perhaps be rendered1 ,they are gone up to ,assyria like a wild ass alone by himself4 ,ephraim hath hired lovers4 ,and they begin to be minished by reason of the burden of the king of princes4 ,the king of princes was the haughty title usurped by ,tiglath-,pileser1 who said1 ,are not my princes all of them kings8 7,isa4 x4 #h74 ,all this was a fulfilment of what ,hosea had foreseen3-- ,ephraim is oppressed1 he is crushed in judgment1 because he was content to walk after vanity4 ,therefore am ,i unto ,ephraim as a moth1 and to the house of ,judah as rottenness4 ,when ,ephraim saw his sickness1 and the house of ,judah his wound1 then went ,ephraim to ,assyria1 and sent unto an avenging king3#cga yet could he not heal you1 nor cure you of your wound4 ,for ,i will be unto ,ephraim as a lion1 and as a young lion to the ,house of ,judah3 ,i1 even ,i1 will tear and go away2 ,i will take away1 and none shall rescue him4 ,the ,assyrian was irresistible1 because he was the destined instrument of the wrath of ,god4 ,the mixing with the heathens was a sin1 and ,israel in cooing to ,assyria was like a foolish dove2 but the day sometimes comes to doomed nations when no course can save them from the fate which they have provoked4#cgb ,not long afterwards ,menahem died1 and he had sufficiently established his rule to be succeeded as a matter of course by his son ,pekahiah4 ,but ,revenge and wrong bring forth their kind2 ,the foul cubs like their parents are4 ,samaria had fearful object-lessons in the apparently immediate success of murder and rebellion4 ,the prize looked near and splendid3 the vengeance might be belated or might not come4 ,of ,pekahiah we are told absolutely nothing but that he reigned two years1 with this stereotyped addition1 that he did that which was evil in the sight of ,jehovah by continuing the calf-worship4#cgc ,after this brief and uneventful reign1 his captain ,pekah got together fifty fierce ,gileadites1 and with the aid of two otherwise unknown friends1 ,argob and ,arieh1 murdered ,pekahiah in his own harem4#cgd ,argob was probably so named from the district in ,bashan1 and ,arieh was a fit name for a lion-faced ,gadite 7#a ,chron4 xii4 #h74 ,the sacred historian troubles himself but little about these kings4 ,his annals of them are brief to extreme meagreness4 ,like the prophet1 he viewed them as ,god-abandoned phantoms of guilty royalty4 ,they that cry unto me1 ,my ,god1 we1 ,israel1 know thee4 ,israel hath cast off that which is good3 ,the enemy shall pursue him4 ,they have set up kings1 but not by ,me2 ,they have removed them1 and ,i knew it not3 ,of their silver and their gold have they made them idols1 ,that they may be cut off4 ,he hath cast on thy calf1 ,o ,samaria4 ,probably ,pekahiah was1 as so often happens1 the weak son of a vigorous father4 ,the times could not tolerate incapable sovereigns2 and the fact that ,pekah not only maintained himself on the throne for twenty years1#cge but was able to take active steps of aggression against ,jerusalem1 seems to show that he was a man of some administrative capacity4 ,if he had not achieved political and military importance1 it would hardly have been worth while for a fierce and powerful king like ,rezin1 the last king of ,syria1 to form so close an alliance with him4 ,probably ,rezin saw that his throne and his very existence were in danger1 and ,pekah wished with ,rezin's aid to resist to the uttermost the encroachments of ,assyria1 and escape the burdensome tribute which ,menahem had paid4 ,indeed1 it may well be that ,pekahiah's passive continuance of this tribute may have been distasteful to the people of the land1 and that they condoned or even tacitly aided ,pekah's rebellion in order to get rid of it1 and to find protection in an abler monarch4 ,it was the last1 perhaps the only1 chance for the kings of ,syria and of ,israel4 ,as we hear no more of ,hamath as a member of the alliance1 we must suppose that it had now been reduced to impotence and vassalage by the all-powerful ,assyrian4 ,if1 however1 there was to be any overbalance to the colossal menace of ,nineveh1 it could only be by a large confederacy2 and it may have been the refusal of ,jotham to join that confederacy1 on the death of his father ,uzziah1 which caused the joint invasion of ,rezin and ,pekah to force him to accept their alliance or to suppress him altogether4 ,in that case they might have formed a close alliance with ,egypt1 and the forces of the united ,south might1 they fancied1 prove to be a match for the forces of the ,north4#cgf ,whatever designs they may have formed against ,jotham1 or to whatever extent they may have annoyed him1 it was not till the reign of his son ,ahaz that they became formidable and ruinous4 ,of this we shall say more in recounting the reign of ,ahaz4 ,all that we need now remark is that their bold aggression on ,judah became the cause of utter destruction to them both4 ,they advanced against ,ahaz1 and overran his helpless country4 ,it was their object to depose the descendant of ,david1 and to crown in his place a certain unnamed son of ,tabeal1 whom ,ewald supposed to have been a ,syrian1 but whose name may possibly furnish a specimen of the later ,jewish device of ,gematria4#cgg ,it is not impossible that behind these events we may find the efforts and yearnings of a party which cared more for ,israel's unity than for ,david's throne4 ,such a party may easily have sprung up during the splendid1 prosperous reign of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 ,it has been conjectured by some that the election of ,uzziah by the people--delayed1 according to one reckoning1 for twelve years--was in reality the triumph of the party which felt an unquenchable allegiance to ,david's house4 ,in ,deut4 xxxiii4 ,reuben is put before ,judah2 ,jeshurun 7i4e41 ,israel7 is magnified far more than ,judah2 and some ,northern shrine in ,zebulon1 as well as the ,temple1 is celebrated as a sanctuary4#cgh ,that there were men in ,jerusalem who preferred ,rezin and ,pekahiah to their own king is clearly stated in ,isaiah4 ,he compares them to those who prefer a turbid torrent to a soft1 sweet stream4 ,because1 he says1 this people despise the waters of ,shiloah that flow softly1 and take delight in ,rezin and ,remaliah's son2 now1 therefore1 the ,lord bringeth upon them the waters of the river1 strong and many1 even the ,king of ,assyria1 and all his glory4#cgi ,isaiah seems to have had a contempt for the whole attack4 ,he told ,ahaz not to fear for the stumps of those two smoking firebrands ,rezin1 ,king of ,syria1 and the ,israelitish usurper1 whom he only condescends to call ,remaliah's son4 ,he promises the trembling ,ahaz that1 since he had faithlessly refused a sign1 ,god would give him a sign4 ,the sign was that the young woman who accompanied ,isaiah--perhaps his youthful wife--should bear a son1 whose name should be called ,immanuel2 and that before the child ,immanuel--whose designation1 ,god with us1 was an omen of the loftiest hope--should be of an age to distinguish evil from good1 the ,northern land1 which ,ahaz abhorred1 should be forsaken of both her kings4 ,the prophecy came true in every particular4 ,rezin and ,pekah swept all before them1 and besieged ,jerusalem2 but they wasted their time in vain before the fortifications which ,jotham had strengthened and repaired4 ,obliged to raise the siege1 ,rezin carried his army southward1 and indemnified himself by seizing ,elath1 by driving out the ,judan garrison1 and replacing them with ,syrians4#chj ,it was the last gleam of ,syrian success1 before the final overthrow of ,damascus which prophecy had often and emphatically foretold4 ,pekah also withdrew his forces--no doubt compelled to do so by the step which ,ahaz took in his desperation4 ,for now the ,king of ,judah invoked the protection and invited the active interference of ,tiglath-,pileser against his enemies--to save him out of the hand of the ,king of ,syria1 and out of the hand of the ,king of ,israel1 who were risen up against him4 ,rezin and ,damascus first felt the might of the ,assyrian's conquering arm4 ,the account of his decisive conquest is preserved in the ,eponym ,canon1 and the passages which refer to the defeat of the ,syrians will be found in the ,first ,appendix at the end of the volume4 ,it appears from the monuments that ,rezin 7,rasannu7 lost not only his kingdom1 but his life4 ,it is the death-knell of ,araman greatness1 as ,amos had foretold4 ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,for three transgressions of ,damascus1 and for four1 ,i will not turn away the punishment thereof2 ,because they have threshed ,gilead with threshing instruments of iron3 ,but ,i will send a fire into the house of ,hazael1 ,which shall devour the palaces of ,benhadad4 ,and ,i will break the bar of ,damascus1#cha ,and cut off him that sitteth on the throne in the ,valley of ,aven1#chb ,and him that holdeth the sceptre from ,beth-,eden3#chc ,and the people of ,syria shall go into captivity unto ,kir1#chd ,saith ,jehovah4 ,rezin was slain--how we know not2 very probably by one of the horrible methods of torture--by being flayed alive1 or decapitated1 or having his lips and nose cut off--which were practised by these demon-kings of ,nineveh4 ,nor did ,pekah escape4 ,tiglath-,pileser advanced against the northern part of his dominions1 and afflicted the land of ,zebulon and ,naphtali4 ,ijon2 ,abel-beth-,maachah1 the city of ,elisha2 ,zanoah1 the ancient sanctuary of ,kedesh-,naphtali1 the home of the hero ,barak2 ,hazor1 the former capital of the ,canaanitish king ,jabin2 ,gilead2 ,galilee1--all submitted to him1 apparently without striking a serious blow4 ,he dealt with the miserable inhabitants in the way familiar to kings of ,assyria4 ,he deported them en masse into a strange country of which they did not understand the language1 and in which they were reduced to hopeless subjection1 while he supplied their places by aliens from various parts of his own dominions4 ,there could be no securer method of reducing to paralysis all their national aspirations4 ,strangers in a strange land1 they forgot their nationality1 forgot their religion1 forgot their language1 forgot their traditions4 ,their sole resource was to plunge into material pursuits1 and to melt away into indistinguishable obliteration among the neighbouring heathen4 ,it was the beginning of the ,northern ,captivity--of the loss of the ,ten ,tribes4 ,as ,tiglath-,pileser thus permanently subdued and depopulated the land of the ,northern ,tribes1 it is a ,jewish tradition that at this time he carried away the golden calf from ,dan among his spoils4#che ,scripture does not record the fact1 though in ,hosea 7viii4 #e7 there may be an allusion to the fate of that at ,bethel1 whether the right version be ,he hath cast off thy calf1 ,o ,samaria1 or ,thy calf1 ,o ,samaria1 hath cast thee off4#chf ,the workman made it1 he continues2 therefore it is not ,god3 for the calf of ,samaria shall be broken in pieces4 ,and again 7x4 #e73 ,the people of ,samaria shall fear because of the heifer of the ,house of ,vanity3 for the people thereof shall mourn over it1 and the chemarim i4e41 the black-robed false priests thereof shall tremble for it1 for the glory thereof1 because it is departed4 ,it the idol shall also be carried to ,assyria for a present to ,king ,combat4 ,for a time ,pekah escaped2 but unsuccess is fatal to a murderous usurper1 weakened by the loss and plunder of dominions which he is unable to defend4 ,instead of wasting time in the siege of a strong city like ,samaria1 ,tiglath-,pileser in all probability stirred up ,hoshea1 the son of ,elah1 to rise in conspiracy against his master and slay him4 ,for ,pekah and ,israel seem to have made light of the ,northern raid4 ,they said in their pride and stoutness of heart1 ,the bricks are fallen down1 but we will build with new stones3 the sycomores are cut down1 but we will change them into cedars4 ,such pretence of security was ill-timed and senseless1 and ,isaiah denounced it4 ,therefore1 he said1 ,jehovah hath set up against ,israel the adversaries of ,rezin i4e41 the ,assyrians1 and hath stirred up his enemies2 the ,syrians on the east1 and the ,philistines on the west2 and they have devoured ,israel with open mouth4 ,for all this ,his anger is not turned away1 but ,his hand is stretched out still4 ,yet the people have not turned unto ,him that smote them1 neither have they sought the ,lord of hosts4 ,therefore ,jehovah hath cut off from ,israel palm-branch and rush in one day4 ,the elder and the honourable man1 he is the head2 and the prophet that speaketh lies1 he is the tail4 ,for they that lead this people cause them to err1 and they that are led of them are swallowed up4#chg ,the following verses furnish one of the numerous pictures of the anarchy and abounding misery of these evil days4 ,for wickedness burneth as the fire3 it devoureth the briers and thorns2 yea1 it kindleth in the thickets of the forest1 and they roll upwards in thick clouds of smoke4 ,through the wrath of the ,lord of hosts is the land burnt up2 the people also are the fuel of fire3 no man spareth his brother4 ,and one shall snatch on the right1 and be hungry2 and he shall eat on the left hand1 and they shall not be satisfied3 they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm3 ,manasseh1 ,ephraim2 and ,ephraim1 ,manasseh3 and they together shall be against ,judah4 ,for all this ,his anger is not turned away1 but ,his hand is stretched out still4 ,we are told in the ,book of ,kings that ,pekah reigned for twenty years2 but some of these later reigns must be shortened to suit the exigencies of known chronological data4 ,it seems probable that he occupied the throne for a much shorter time4#chh ,such was the weakened1 harassed1 vassal kingdom--the gaunt spectre of itself--to the throne of which1 after a period of anarchy and chaos1 ,hoshea1 by conspiracy and murder1 succeeded as the miserable feudatory of ,assyria4 ,,footnotes3 #ced ,amos viii4 #b4 #cee ,amos iv4 #a-c4 #cef ,it is probable that our present ,book of ,zechariah is composed of the works of three prophets of different dates1 each of whom may have borne that name4 ,see my ,minor ,prophets 7,men of the ,bible ,series74 #ceg ,zech4 xi4 #h4 ,in #b ,kings xv4 #aj the ,,lxx4 read 2 and ,ewald thinks that before the people 77 is really a proper name of the third king in one month--and ,kobolam slew him4 ,there is insufficient ground for this2 though a similar name is found in ,assyrian records4 #ceh ,hos4 viii4 #c1 vii4 #g4 #cei ,zachariah1 ,shallum1 ,kobolam 7874 #cfj ,zech4 xi4 #a-ag 7,heb4 #ac74 #cfa ,that this was ,thapsacus on the ,euphrates 7#a ,kings iv4 #bd71 and that ,menahem was in a position to march northward three hundred miles1 and offer so deadly and wanton an insult to the might of ,assyria1 is out of the question4 ,the name means a ford1 and might apply to any town on a river4 ,thenius thinks the name is a clerical error for ,tappuach1 between ,ephraim and ,manasseh 7,josh4 xvii4 #g1 #h74 #cfb ,josephus says1 4 ,it is said that the same crime was committed in #ahfa by a ,mexican bandit4 ,machiavelli says1 ,he who violently and without just right usurps a crown must use cruelty1 if cruelty becomes necessary1 once for all 7,de princ41 #h74 #cfc #b ,kings viii4 #ab2 ,hos4 xiii4 #af4 #cfd ,amos i4 #ac4 #cfe ,hos4 x4 #ad4 ,this allusion is1 however1 uncertain4 ,shalmaneser ,,iii4 is not elsewhere found abbreviated into ,shalman4 ,some suppose him to be a ,moabitish king1 ,salamannu1 who was a vassal of ,tiglath-,pileser4 ,the ,,lxx41 ,vulg41 etc41 identify him with the ,zalmunna of ,judg4 viii4 #ah4 ,psalm lxxxiii4 #aa renders the word ex domo ejus qui judicavit ,baal 7i4e41 ,gideon74 ,beth-,arbel is either ,arbela in ,galilee1 or ,irbid1 north-east of ,pella4 #cff ,nah4 iii4 #aj4 #cfg ,isa4 xiii4 #af4 #cfh ,the two predecessors of ,tiglath-,pileser 7,tuklat-abal-isarra7 were ,assurdayan and ,assurnirari4 #cfi ,isa4 v4 #bf-bi4 #cgj ,comp4 ,job xx4 #ae2 ,ruth ii4 #a4 #cga ,hos4 v4 #aa-ac4 ,comp4 x4 #f3 ,it ,samaria shall be carried to ,assyria for a present unto ,king ,jareb4 ,sayce 7,bab4 and ,orient4 ,records1 ,december #ahhg7 thinks that ,jareb may have been the original name of ,sargon1 and so too ,neubauer1 ,zeitschr4 fr ,assyr41 #ahhf4 ,the ,vulg4 renders ,king ,jareb ad regem ultorem1 and so too ,symmachus4 ,aquila and ,theodotion have 4 ,it may be the name of an unknown king of ,assyria1 or of ,pul1 or of ,sargon--,r4,v41 margin1 a king that should contend4 #cgb ,hos4 vii4 #h-ab4 #cgc ,josephus says1 4 #cgd #b ,kings xv4 #be1 ,a4,v41 in the palace of the king's house 7armon71 rather fortress4 ,for the character of the ,gileadites see #a ,chron4 xii4 #h1 xxvi4 #ca4 #cge ,the length of ,pekah's reign is most doubtful4 ,if the periods assigned to the reigns in the ,northern and ,southern ,kingdoms be added together up to the ,fall of ,samaria in the sixth year of ,hezekiah 7#b ,kings xviii4 #i1 #aj71 it will be found that the ,southern chronology is twenty years longer than the ,northern4 ,g4 ,smith would alter the text1 and make ,jeroboam ,,ii4 reign fifty-one years and ,pekah thirty years2 others invent an interregnum of eleven years between ,jeroboam ,,ii4 and ,zachariah1 and an anarchy of nine years before ,hoshea's accession2 others shorten ,pekah's reign to one year4 #cgf #b ,kings xv4 #cg4 #cgg ,vide infra4 #cgh ,deut4 xxxiii4 #ai3 ,they ,zebulon shall call the peoples unto the mountain3 there shall they offer the sacrifices of righteousness4 #cgi ,isa4 viii4 #f1 #g4 #chj ,perhaps we should read ,edomites 7#b ,kings xvi4 #f74 #cha ,the bar of its city gate4 #chb ,bikath-,aven--,the cleft of ,aven--,cle ,syria1 or ,hollow ,syria1 still called by the ,arabs ,el-,buka4 ,comp4 ,josh4 xi4 #ag1 xii4 #g4 ,aven--or ,vanity--is perhaps ,heliopolis or ,baalbek4 ,comp4 ,ezek4 xxx4 #ag4 #chc ,perhaps ,beit el ,jame1 ,house of ,paradise--about eight hours from ,damascus 7,porter1 ,five ,years in ,syria1 i4 #cac74 #chd ,kir1 in ,armenia--the land of their origin 7,amos ix4 #g74 #che ,but1 after all1 was there a golden calf at ,dan8 ,it is scarcely ever alluded to1 and the notion that there was one may have arisen 7#a7 from a corruption or mistaken rendering of the text in #a ,kings xii4 #bi1 and 7#b7 from the existence there of the idolatrous ephod4 ,see ,klostermann1 ad loc42 ,isa4 ix4 #h-ag4 #chf ,,lxx41 1 2 ,vulg41 ,projectus est vitulus tuus1 ,samaria4 ,orelli renders it1 ,abscheulich ist dein ,kalb1 ,o ,samaria4 ,in ,jer4 xlvi4 #ae we read 7of ,egypt71 ,why is thy strong one swept away8 where the true reading may be1 ,hath ,khaph i4e41 ,apis1 thy chosen one1 fled8 ,,lxx41 1 4 ,so ,amos had prophesied that the god of ,dan and the way of ,beersheba should fall for evermore 7,amos viii4 #ad74 #chg ,isa4 ix4 #aa-af4 ,with this passage comp4 #b ,kings xxiii4 #e2 ,zeph4 i4 #d2 ,hos4 vii4 #i1 #aj4 #chh ,tiglath-,pileser says3 ,pakaha1 their king1 ,i killed3 ,ausi ,hoshea ,i placed over them4 ,the distant land of ,bit-,khumri the house of ,omri--the whole of its inhabitants1 with their goods--,i carried away to ,asshur 7,b4,c4 #gcd74 ,in this year he mentions ,ahaz among his tributaries4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,hoshea1 ,,and ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,the ,,northern ,,kingdom ,b4,c4 #gcd-gbe #b ,,kings xvii4 #a-da ,as for ,samaria1 her king is cut off as the foam upon the water4--,,hos4 x4 #g4 ,as a matter of convenience1 we follow our ,english ,bible in calling the prophet by the name ,hosea1 and the nineteenth1 last1 and best king of ,israel ,hoshea4 ,the names1 however1 are identical 771 and mean ,salvation--the name borne by ,joshua also in his earlier days4 ,in the irony of history the name of the last king of ,ephraim was thus identical with that of her earliest and greatest hero1 just as the last of ,roman emperors bore the double name of the ,founder of ,rome and the ,founder of the ,empire--,romulus ,augustulus4 ,by a yet deeper irony of events the king in whose reign came the final precipitation of ruin wore the name which signified deliverance from it4 ,and more and more1 as time went on1 the prophet ,hosea felt that he had no word of present hope or comfort for the king his namesake4 ,it was the more brilliant lot of ,isaiah1 in the ,southern ,kingdom1 to kindle the ardour of a generous courage4 ,like ,tyrtus1 who roused the ,spartans to feel their own greatness--like ,demosthenes1 who hurled the might of ,athens against ,philip of ,macedon--like ,chatham1 bidding ,england be of good cheer1 and hurl defiance at her foes--like ,pitt1 pouring forth1 in the days of the ,napoleonic terror1 the indomitable language of courage and of hope1--,isaiah was missioned to encourage ,judah to despise first the mighty ,syrian1 and then the mightier ,assyrian4 ,far different was the lot of ,hosea1 who could only be the denouncer of an inevitable doom4 ,his sad function was like that of ,phocion after ,chroneia1 of ,hannibal after ,zama1 of ,thiers after ,sedan3 he had to utter the ,cassandra-voices of prophecy1 which his besotted and demented contemporaries--among whom the priests were the worst of all#chi--;despised and flouted until the time for repentance had gone by for ever4 ,true it is that ,hosea could not be content--what true heart could8--to breathe nothing but the language of reprobation and despair4 ,israel had been yoked to his two transgressions1#cij but ,jehovah could not give up ,his love for ,his chosen people3-- ,how shall ,i give thee up1 ,ephraim8 ,how shall ,i surrender thee1 ,israel8 ,how shall ,i make thee as ,admah8 ,how shall ,i treat thee as ,zeboim8 ,mine heart is turned within ,me2 ,i am wholly filled with compassion6 ,i will not execute the fierceness of ,mine anger2 ,i will not again destroy ,ephraim3 ,for ,i am ,god1 and not man4 ,the ,holy ,one in the midst of thee6 ,i will not come to exterminate6 ,they shall come after ,jehovah as after a lion that roars6 ,for he shall roar1 and his sons shall come hurrying from the west1 ,they shall come hurrying as a bird out of ,egypt1 ,and as a dove out of the land of ,assyria2 ,and ,i will cause them to dwell in their houses1 ,saith ,jehovah4#cia ,alas6 the gleam of alleviation was imaginary rather than actual4 ,the prophet's wish was father to his thought4 ,he had prophesied that ,israel should be scattered in all lands 7ix4 #c1 #ab1 #ag1 xiii4 #c-af74 ,this was true2 and it did not prove true1 except in some higher ideal sense1 that ,israel shall again dwell in his own land 7xiv4 #d-g7 in prosperity and joy4 ,the date of ,hoshea's accession is uncertain1 and we cannot tell in what sense we are to understand his reign as having lasted nine years4#cib ,we have no grounds for accepting the statement of ,josephus 7,antt41 ,,ix4 xiii4 #a71 that ,hoshea had been a friend of ,pekah and plotted against him4 ,tiglath-,pileser expressly says that he himself slew ,pekah and appointed ,hoshea4#cic ,his must have been1 at the best1 a pitiful and humiliating reign4 ,he owed his purely vassal sovereignty to ,assyrian patronage4 ,he probably did as well for ,israel as was in his power4 ,singular to relate1 he is the only one of all the kings of ,israel of whom the historian has a word of commendation2 for while we are told that he did that which was evil in the sight of the ,lord1 it is added that it was not as the kings of ,israel that were before him4 ,but we do not know wherein either his evil-doing or his superiority consisted4 ,the ,rabbis guess that he did not replace the golden calf at ,dan which ,tiglath-,pileser had taken away 7,hos4 x4 #f72 or that he did not prevent his subjects from going to ,hezekiah's passover4#cid ,it seems like a harsh jest1 says ,ewald1 that this ,hoshea1 who was better than all his predecessors1 was to be the last king4 ,but so it has often been in history4 ,the vengeance of the ,french ,revolution smote the innocent and harmless ,louis ,,xvi4 and ,marie ,antoinette--not ,louis ,,xiv41 or ,louis ,,xv4 and ,madame du ,pompadour4 ,his patron ,tiglath-,pileser ended his magnificent reign of conquest in #gbg1 soon after he had seated ,hoshea on the throne4 ,the removal of his strong grasp on the helm caused immediate revolt4 ,phnicia especially asserted her independence against ,shalmaneser ,,iv4 ,he seems to have spent five years in an unavailing attempt to capture ,island-,tyre4 ,meanwhile1 the internal troubles which had harassed and weakened ,egypt ceased1 and a strong ,ethiopian king named ,sabaco established his rule over the whole country4#cie ,it was perhaps the hope that ,phnicia might hold out against the ,assyrian1 and that the ,egyptian might protect ,samaria1 which kindled in the mind of ,hoshea the delusive plan of freeing himself and his impoverished land from the grinding tribute imposed by ,nineveh4 ,while ,shalmaneser#cif was trying to quell ,tyre1 ,hoshea1 having received promises of assistance from ,sabaco1 withheld the presents--the minchah1 as the tribute is euphemistically called--which he had hitherto paid4 ,seeing the danger of a powerful coalition1 ,shalmaneser swept down on ,samaria in #gbd4 ,possibly he defeated the army of ,israel in the plain of ,jezreel 7,hos4 i4 #e71 and got hold of the person of ,hoshea4 ,josephus says that he besieged him2 but the sacred historian only tells us that he shut him up1 and bound him in prison4 ,whether ,hoshea was taken in battle1 or betrayed by the ,assyrian party in ,samaria1 or whether he went in person to see if he could pacify the ruthless conqueror1 he henceforth disappears from history like foam--or like a chip or a bubble--upon the water4 ,we do not know whether he was put to death1 but we infer from an allusion in ,micah that he was subjected to the cruel indignities in which the ,assyrians delighted2 for the prophet says1 ,they shall smite the ,judge of ,israel with a rod upon the cheek4#cig ,perhaps in the title ,judge 7,shophet1 suffes7 we may see a sign that ,hoshea's royalty was little more than the shadow of a name4 ,having thus got rid of the king1 ,shalmaneser proceeded to invest the capital4 ,but ,samaria was strongly fortified upon its hill1 and the ,jewish race has again and again shown--as it showed so conspicuously in the final crisis of its destiny1 when ,jerusalem defied the terrible armies of ,rome--that with walls to protect them they could pluck up a terrible courage and endurance from despair4 ,strong as ,assyria was1 the capital of ,ephraim for three years resisted her beleaguering host and her crashing battering-rams4 ,about all the anguish which prevailed within the city1 and the wild vicissitudes of orgy and starvation1 history is silent4 ,but prophecy tells us that the sorrows of a travailing woman came upon the now kingless city4 ,they drank to the dregs the cup of fury4#cih ,the saddest ,northern prophet1 the ,jeremiah of ,israel1 sings the dirge of ,israel's saddest king4#cii ,i am become to them as a lion2 ,as a leopard will ,i watch by the way2 ,i will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps1 ,and rend the caul of their heart1 ,and there will ,i devour them like a lioness3 ,the beast of the field shall tear them4444 ,where now is thy king1 that he may save thee in all thy cities ,and thy judges1 of whom thou saidst1 ',give me a king and prince'8 ,i give thee a king in ,mine anger1 ,and take him away in ,my wrath4 ,for three years ,samaria held out4 ,during the siege ,shalmaneser died1 and was succeeded by ,sargon1 who--though he vaguely talks of the kings his ancestors1 and says that he had been preceded by three hundred and thirty ,assyrian dynasts--never names his father1 and seems to have been a usurping general4#djj ,sabaco remained inactive1 and basely deserted the miserable people which had relied on his protection4 ,in this conduct ,egypt was true to its historic character of untrustworthiness and inertness4 ,both in ,israel and in ,judah there were two political parties4 ,one relied on the strength of ,egypt2 the other counselled submission to ,assyria1 or--in the hour when it became necessary to defy ,assyria--confidence in ,god4 ,egypt was as frail a support as one of her own paper-reeds1 which bent under the weight1 and broke and ran into the hand of every one who leaned on it4 ,sargon did not raze the city1 and we see from the ,eponym ,canon that its inhabitants were still strong enough some years later to take part in a futile revolt4 ,but we have one dreadful glimpse of the horrors which he inflicted upon it4 ,they were the inevitable punishment of every conquered city which had dared to resist the ,assyrian arm4 ,samaria shall bear her guilt1 ,for she hath rebelled against her ,god4 ,they shall fall by the sword3 ,their infants shall be dashed in pieces1 ,and their women in child shall be ripped up4#dja ,sargon's own record of the matter on the tablets at ,khorsabad is3 ,i besieged1 took1 and occupied the city of ,samaria1 and carried into captivity twenty-seven thousand two hundred and eighty of its inhabitants4 ,i changed the former government of this country1 and placed over it lieutenants of my own4 ,and ,sebeh1 ,sultan of ,egypt1 came to ,raphia to fight against me4 ,they met me1 and ,i routed them4 ,sebeh fled4#djb ,the ,assyrians were occupied in the unsuccessful siege of ,tyre between #gbj-gae1 during which years ,sargon put down ,yahubid of ,hamath1 whose revolt had been aided by ,damascus and ,samaria4 ,in #gaj he marched against ,ashdod 7,isa4 xx4 #a74 ,in #gji he defeated ,merodach-,baladan at ,dur-,yakin1 and reconquered ,chalda1 deporting some of the population into ,samaria4 ,in #gjd1 in the fifteenth year of his reign1 he was assassinated1 after a career of victory4 ,he inscribes on his palace at ,khorsabad a prayer to his god ,assur1 that1 after his toils and conquests1 ,i may be preserved for the long years of a long life1 for the happiness of my body1 for the satisfaction of my heart4 ,may ,i accumulate in this palace immense treasures1 the booties of all countries1 the products of mountains and valleys4 ,assur and the gods of ,chalda were invoked in vain2 the prayer was scattered to the winds1 and the murderer's dagger was the comment on ,sargon's happy anticipations of peace and splendour4 ,israel fell unpitied by her southern neighbour1 for ,judah was still smarting under memories of the old contempt and injury of ,joash ben-,jehoahaz1 and the more recent wrongs inflicted by ,pekah and ,rezin4 ,isaiah exults over the fate of ,samaria1 while he points the moral of her fall to the drunken priests and prophets of ,jerusalem4 ,woe1 he says1 to the crown of pride of the drunkards of ,ephraim1 and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty1 which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are smitten down with wine6 ,behold1 the ,lord hath a mighty and strong one i4e41 the ,assyrian2 as a tempest of hail1 a destroying storm1 as a tempest of mighty water overflowing1 shall he cast down to the earth with violence4 ,the crown of pride1 the drunkards of ,ephraim1 shall be trodden underfoot3 and the fading flower of his glorious beauty1 which is on the head of the fat valley1 shall be as the first ripe fig before the summer2 which when he that looketh upon it seeth1 while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up4#djc ,israel had begun in hostility to ,judah1 and perished by it at last4 ,such1 then1 was the end of the once brilliant kingdom of ,israel--the kingdom which1 even so late as the reign of ,jeroboam ,,ii41 seemed to have a great future before it4 ,no one could have foreseen beforehand that1 when1 with the prophetic encouragement of ,ahijah1 ,jeroboam ,i4 established his sovereignty over the greater1 richer1 and more flourishing part of the land assigned to the sons of ,jacob1 the new kingdom should fall into utter ruin and destruction after only two and a half centuries of existence1 and its tribes melt away amid the surrounding nations1 and sink into a mixed and semi-heathen race without any further nationality or distinctive history4 ,it seemed far less probable that the mere fragment of the ,southern ,kingdom1 after retaining its separate existence for more than one hundred and sixty years longer than its more powerful brother1 should continue to endure as a nation till the end of time4 ,such was the design of ,god's providence1 and we know no more4 ,the ,northern ,kingdom had1 up to this time1 produced the greatest and most numerous prophets--,ahijah1 ,elijah1 ,elisha1 ,micaiah1 ,jonah1 ,amos1 ,hosea1 ,nahum1 and many more4#djd ,it had also produced the loveliest and most enduring poetry in the ,song of ,songs1 the ,song of ,deborah1 and other contributions to the ,books of ,jashar1 and of the ,wars of ,jehovah4 ,it had also brought into vigour the earliest and best historic literature1 the narratives of the ,elohist and the ,jehovist4 ,these immortal legacies of the religious spirit of the ,northern ,kingdom were incomparably superior in moral and enduring value to the ,levitic jejuneness of the ,priestly ,code1 with its hierarchic interests and ineffectual rules1 which1 in the exaggerated supremacy attached to rites1 proved to be the final blight of an unspiritual ,judaism4 ,israel had also been superior in prowess and in deeds of war1 and in the days of ,joash ben-,jehoahaz ben-,jehu had barely conceded to ,judah a right to separate existence4 ,more than all this1 the apostasies of ,judah1 from the days of ,solomon downwards1 were quite as heinous as ,jezebel's ,baal-worship1 and far more deadly than the irregular but not at first idolatrous cultus of ,bethel4 ,the prophets are careful to teach ,judah that if she was spared it was not because of any good deservings4#dje ,yet now the cedar was scathed and smitten down1 and its boughs were rent and scattered2 and the thistle had escaped the wild beast's tread6 ,in the former volume we glanced at some of the causes of this1 and the blessings which resulted from it4 ,the central and chiefest blessing was1 first1 the preservation of a purer form of monotheism1 and a loftier ideal of religion--though only realised by a few in ,judah--than had ever prevailed in the ,northern ,tribes2 secondly1 and above all1 the development of that inspiring ,messianic prophecy which was to be fulfilled seven centuries later1 when ,he who was ,david's ,son and ,david's ,lord came to our lost race from the bosom of the ,father1 and brought life and immortality to light4 ,and it was the work purely of ,god's unseen providence1 by men nicknamed ',chance1' which1 dealing with nations as the potter with his clay1 chooses some to honour and some to dishonour4 ,for1 as all the prophets are anxious to remind the ,judan ,kingdom1 their success1 the procrastination of their downfall1 their restoration from captivity1 were not due to any merits of their own4 ,the ,jews were and ever had been a stiff-necked nation2 and though some of their kings had been faithful servants of ,jehovah1 yet many of them--like ,rehoboam1 and ,ahaz1 and ,manasseh--exceeded in wickedness and inexcusable apostasy the least faithful of the worshippers at ,gilgal and ,bethel4 ,they were plainly reminded of their nothingness3 ,and thou shalt speak and say before the ,lord thy ,god1 ,a ,syrian ready to perish was my father1 and he went down into ,egypt1 and sojourned there with a few1 and became there a nation4#djf ,fear not1 thou worm ,jacob3 ,i will help thee4#djg ,but this was the end of the ,ten ,tribes4 ,nor must we say that ,hosea's prediction of mercy was laughed to scorn by the irony of events1 when he had given it as ,god's promise that-- ,i will not execute the fierceness of ,mine anger1 ,i will not again destroy ,israel2 ,for ,i am ,god1 and not man4#djh ,the words mean that mercy is ,god's chiefest and most essential attribute2 and1 after all1 a nation is composed of families and individuals1 and in political extinction there may have been many families and individuals in ,israel1 like that of ,tobias1 and like that of ,anna1 the prophetess of the tribe of ,asher1 who found1 either in their far exile1 or among the scattered ,jews who still peopled the old territories1 a peace which was impossible during the distracted anarchy and deepening corruption of the whole period which had elapsed since the founding of the house of ,omri4 ,in any case ,god knows and loves ,his own4 ,the words1 ,i will not execute the fierceness of ,mine anger2 ,for ,i am ,god1 and not man1 might stand for an epitome of much that is most precious in ,holy ,writ4 ,god's orthodoxy is the truth2 and the truth remaineth1 though man's orthodoxy exercises all its fury and all its baseness to overwhelm it4 ,what hope has any man1 even a ,st4 ,paul--what hope had even the ,lord ,himself--before the harsh1 self-interested tribunals of human judgment1 or of that purely external religionism which has always shown itself more brutal and more blundering than secular cruelty8 ,what chance has there been1 humanly speaking1 for ,god's best saints1 prophets1 and reformers1 when priests1 popes1 or inquisitors have been their judges8 ,if ,god resembled those generations of unresisted ecclesiastics1 whose chief resort has been the syllogism of violence1 and whose main arguments have been the torture-chamber and the stake1 what hope could there possibly be for the vast majority of mankind but those endless torments by the terrors of which corrupt ,churches have forced their tyranny upon the crushed liberties and the paralysed conscience of mankind8 ,the ,indian sage was right who said that ,god can only be truly described by the words ,no6 ,no6--that is1 by repudiating multitudes of the ignoble and cruel basenesses which religious teachers have imagined or invented respecting ,him4 ,because ,god is ,god1 and not man--,god1 not a tyrant or an inquisitor--,god1 with the great compassionate heart of unfathomable tenderness1--therefore1 in all who truly love ,him1 perfect love casteth out fear1 because fear hath torment4 ,sin means ruin2 yet ,god is love4#dji 99 99 99 99 99 ,the historian of the ,kings here digresses1 in a manner unusual to the ,old ,testament1 to give us a most interesting glimpse of the fate of the conquered people1 and the origin of the race which was known to after-ages by the name ,samaritan4 ,sargon1 when he had sacked the capital1 carried out the policy of deportation which had now been established by the ,assyrian kings4 ,he achieved the double purpose of populating the capital and province of ,nineveh1 while he reduced subject nations to inanition1 by sweeping away all the chief of the inhabitants from conquered states1 and settling them in his own more immediate dominions4 ,there they would be reduced to impotence1 and mingle with the races among whom their lot would henceforth be cast4 ,he therefore carried ,israel away into ,assyria1 and placed them in ,halah1 north of ,thapsacus1 on the ,euphrates1 and in ,habor1 the river of ,gozan#daj--;i4e41 on the river in ,northern ,assyria which still bears the name of ,khabour1 and flows into the ,euphrates--and in the cities of the ,medes4#daa ,he replaced the old population by ,dinaites1 ,tarplites1 ,apharsathchites1 ,susanchites1 ,elamites1 ,dehavites1 and ,babylonians1 after carrying away the great bulk of the better-class population4#dab ,after this the historian pauses to sum up and emphasise once more the main lesson of his narrative4 ,it is that righteousness exalteth a nation1 and sin is the reproach of any people4 ,god had called ,his son ,israel out of ,egypt1 delivered ,his chosen from ,pharaoh1 given them a pleasant land2 but ,israel had sinned against ,jehovah their ,god1 and had feared other gods1 and walked in the statutes of the heathen4 ,they had failed therefore in fulfilling the very purpose for which they had been set apart4 ,they had been intended to uplift among the nations the banner of righteousness and the banner of the ,one ,true ,god4 ,instead of this1 they were seduced by the heathen ritual of ,gay religions full of pomp and gold4 ,they decked out alien institutions1#dac and alike in frequented and populous places--from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city--set up matstseboth 7,a4,v41 pillars7 and ,asherim on every high hill4 ,the green trees became obumbratrices scelerum1 the secret bowers of their iniquities4 ,they burnt incense on the bamoth1 and served idols1 and wrought wickedness4 ,useless had been the voices of all the prophets and the seers4 ,they went after vain things1 and became vain4 ,beginning with the two calves1 they proceeded to lewd and orgiastic idolatries4 ,ahab and ,jezebel seduced them into ,tyrian ,baal-worship4 ,from the ,assyrians they learnt and practised the adoration of the host of heaven4#dad ,from ,moab and ,ammon they borrowed the abominable rites of ,moloch1 and used divination and enchantments by means of belomancy 7,ezek4 xxi4 #ba1 #bb7 and necromancy1 and sold themselves to do wickedness4 ,nor was this all4 ,these idolatries1 with their guilty ritualism1 were not confined to ,israel1 but also ,infected ,zion's daughters with like heat1 ,whose wanton passions in the sacred porch ,ezekiel saw1 when1 by the vision led1 ,his eye surveyed the dark idolatries ,of alienated ,judah4 ,and thus1 when ,jehovah afflicted the seed of ,israel and cast them out of ,his sight1 ,judah also had to feel the stroke of retribution4#dae ,and it is idle to object that even if ,israel had been faithful she must have inevitably perished before the superior might of ,damascus1 or ,nineveh1 or ,babylon4 ,how can we tell8 ,it is not possible for us thus to write unwritten history1 and there is absolutely nothing to show that the surmise is correct4 ,in the days of ,david1 of ,uzziah1 of ,jeroboam ,,ii41 ,judah and ,israel had shown what they could achieve4 ,had they been strong in faithfulness to ,jehovah1 and in the righteousness which that faith required1 they would have shown an invincible strength amid the moral enervation of the surrounding people4 ,they might have held their own by welding into one strong kingdom the whole of ,palestine1 including ,philistia1 ,phnicia1 the ,negeb1 and the ,trans-,jordanic region4 ,they might have consolidated the sway which they at various times attained southwards1 as far as the ,red ,sea port of ,elath2 northwards over ,aram and ,damascus1 as far as the ,hamath on the ,orontes2 eastwards to ,thapsacus on the ,euphrates2 westward to the ,isles of the ,gentiles4 ,there is nothing improbable1 still less impossible1 in the view that1 if the ,israelites had truly served ,jehovah and obeyed ,his laws1 they might then have permanently established the monarchy which was ideally regarded as their inheritance1 and which for brief and fitful periods they partially maintained4 ,and such a monarchy1 held together by warrior statesmen1 strong and righteous1 and above all secure in the blessing of ,god1 would have been a thoroughly adequate counterpoise1 not only to dilatory and distracted ,egypt1 which had long ceased to be aggressive1 but even to brutal ,assyria1 which prevailed in no small measure because of the isolation and mutual dissension of these southern principalities4 ,but1 as it was1 ,assyria and ,egypt--the two world-powers in the dawn of history1 the two chief sources of ancient civilisation1 the twin giant-empires which bounded the ,israelite people on the right hand and on the left--were cruel neighbours1 between whom the ill-fated nation was tossed to and fro in wanton sport like a shuttlecock4 ,they were cruel friends before whom it must cringe in turns1 praying sometimes for help1 suing sometimes for very life--alternate scourges in the hand of the ,divine wrath4 ,now it is the fly of ,egypt1 and now it is the bee of ,assyria1 whose ruthless swarms issue forth at the word of ,jehovah1 settling in the holes of the rocks1 and upon all thorns1 and upon all bushes1 with deadly sting1 fatal to man and beast1 devastating the land far and wide4 ,holding the poor ,israelite in their relentless embrace1 they threatened ever and again to crush him by their grip4 ,like the fabled rocks which frowned over the narrow straits of the ,bosporus1 they would crash together and annihilate the helpless craft which the storms of destiny had placed at their mercy4 ,israel reeled under their successive blows4 ,as was the beginning1 so was the end4 ,as the captivity of ,egypt had been the cradle of the nation1 so was the captivity of ,assyria to be its tomb4#daf ,in any case the principle of the historian remains unshaken4 ,sin is weakness2 idolatry is folly and rebellion2 uncleanness is decrepitude4 ,st4 ,paul was not thinking of this ancient ,philosophy of ,history when he wrote his ,epistle to the ,romans2 yet the intense and masterly sketch which he gives of that moral corruption which brought about the long1 slow1 agonising dissolution of the beauty that was ,greece1 and the grandeur that was ,rome1 is one of its strongest justifications4 ,his view only differs from the summary before us in the power of its eloquence and the profoundness of its psychologic insight4 ,he says the same thing as the historian of the ,kings1 only in words of greater power and wider reach1 when he writes3 ,for the wrath of ,god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men1 who hold down the truth in unrighteousness4 ,knowing ,god1 they glorified ,him not as ,god1 neither gave thanks2 but became vain in their reasonings 71 the very word used in the ,,lxx4 in #b ,kings xvii4 #ae71 and their senseless heart was darkened4 ,professing themselves to be wise1 they became fools 7words which might describe the expediency-policy of ,jeroboam ,i41 and its fatal consequences71 and changed the glory of the incorruptible ,god for the likeness of an image of corruptible man1 and of birds1 and four-footed beasts1 and creeping things4 ,for this cause ,god gave them up to passions of dishonour1 and unto a reprobate mind1 to do those things which are not fitting1 being filled with all unrighteousness1 wickedness1 covetousness1 maliciousness1 full of envy1 murder1 strife1 deceit1 malignity1--and so on1 through a long catalogue of iniquities which are identical with those which we find so burningly denounced on the pages of the prophets of ,israel and ,judah4 ,even a ,machiavelli1 cool and cynical and audacious as was his scepticism1 could see and admit that faithfulness to religion is the secret of the happiness and prosperity of states4#dag ,an irreligious society tends inevitably and always to be a dissolute society2 and a dissolute society is the most tragic spectacle which history has ever to present--a nest of disease1 of jealousy1 of dissensions1 of ruin1 and despair1 whose last hope is to be washed off the world and disappear4 ,such societies must die sooner or later of their own gangrene1 of their own corruption1 because the infection of evil1 spreading into unbounded selfishness1 ever intensifying and reproducing passions which defeat their own aim1 can never end in anything but moral dissolution4 ,we need not look further than the collapse of ,france after the battle of ,sedan1 and the cause to which that collapse was attributed1 not only by ,christians1 but by her own most worldly and sceptical writers1 to see that the same causes ever issue and will issue in the same ruinous effects4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in order to complete the history of the ,northern ,kingdom1 the historian here anticipates the order of time by telling us what happened to the mongrel population whom ,sargon transplanted into central ,ephraim in place of the old inhabitants4 ,the king1 we are told1 brought them from ,babylon--which was at this time under the rule of ,assyria2 from ,cuthah--by which seems to be meant some part of ,mesopotamia near ,babylon2#dah from ,avva1 or ,ivah--probably the same as ,ahavah or ,hit1 on the ,euphrates1 north-west of ,babylon2 from ,sepharvaim1 or ,sippara1 also on the ,euphrates2#dai and from ,hamath1 on the ,orontes1 which had not long remained under ,jeroboam ,,ii4#dbj ,it must not be supposed that the whole population of ,ephraim was deported2 that was a physical impossibility4 ,although we are told in ,assyrian annals that ,sargon carried away with him so vast a number of captives1 it is1 of course1 clear that the lowest and poorest part of the population was left4#dba ,we can imagine the wild confusion which arose when they found themselves compelled to share the dismantled palaces and abandoned estates of the wealthy with the horde of new colonists1 whose language1 in all probability1 they but imperfectly understood4 ,there must have been many a tumult1 many a scene of horror1 such as took place in the long antagonism of ,normans and ,saxons in ,england1 before the immigrants and the relics of the former populace settled down to amalgamation and mutual tolerance4 ,sargon is said to have carried away with him the golden calf or calves of ,bethel1 as ,tiglath-,pileser is said by the ,rabbis to have carried away that of ,dan4#dbb ,he also took away with him all the educated classes1 and all the teachers of religion4#dbc ,no one was left to instruct the ignorant inhabitants2 and1 as ,hosea had prophesied1 there was neither a sacrifice1 nor a pillar1 nor an ephod1 and not even teraphim to which they could resort4#dbd ,naturally enough1 the disunited dregs of an old and of a new population had no clear knowledge of religion4 ,they feared not ,jehovah4 ,the sparseness of inhabitants1 with its consequent neglect of agriculture1 caused the increase of wild beasts among them4 ,there had always been lions and bears in the swellings of ,jordan1#dbe and in all the lonelier parts of the land2 and to this day there are leopards in the woods of ,carmel1 and hynas and jackals in many regions4 ,conscious of their miserable and godless condition1 and afflicted by the lions1 which they regarded as a sign of ,jehovah's anger1 the ,ephraimites sent a message to the ,king of ,assyria4 ,they only claimed ,jehovah as their local god1 and complained that the new colonists had provoked the wrath of the ,god of the land by not knowing ,his manner--that is1 the way in which ,he should be worshipped4 ,the consequence was that they were in danger of being exterminated by lions4 ,the kings of ,assyria were devoted worshippers of ,assur and ,merodach1 but they held the common belief of ancient polytheists that each country had its own potent divinities4 ,sargon1 therefore1 gave orders that one of the priests of his captivity should be sent back to ,samaria1 to teach them the manner of the god of the land4 ,the priest selected for the purpose returned1 took up his residence at the old shrine of ,bethel1 and taught them how they should fear ,jehovah4 ,his success was1 however1 extremely limited1 except among the former followers of ,jeroboam's dishonoured cult4 ,the old religious shrines still continued1 and the immigrants used them for the glorification of their former deities4 ,samaria1 therefore1 witnessed the establishment of a singularly hybrid form of religionism4 ,the ,babylonians worshipped ,succoth-,benoth1#dbf perhaps ,zirbanit1 wife of ,merodach or ,bel2 the ,cuthites worshipped ,nergal1 the ,assyrian war-god1 the lion-god2#dbg the ,hittites1 from ,hamath1 worshipped ,ashima or ,esmn1 the god of air and thunder1 under the form of a goat2#dbh the ,avites preferred ,nibhaz and ,tartak1 perhaps ,saturn--unless these names be ,jewish jeers1 implying that one of these deities had the head of a dog1 and the other of an ass4#dbi ,more dreadful1 if less ridiculous1 was the worship of the ,sepharvites1 who adored ,adrammelech and ,anammelech1 the sun-god under male and female forms1 to whom1 as to ,moloch1 they burnt their children in the fire4 ,as for ministers1 they made unto them priests from among themselves1#dcj who offered sacrifices for them in the shrines of the bamoth4 ,thus the whole mongrel population feared the ,lord1 and served their own gods1 as they continued to do in the days of the annalist whose record the historian quotes4 ,he ends his interesting sketch with the words1 that1 in spite of the ,divine teaching1 these nations--so he calls them1 and so completely does he refuse to them the dignity of being ,israel's children--feared the ,lord1 and served their graven images1 their children likewise1 and their children's children1--as did their fathers1 so do they unto this day4#dca ,the unto this day refers1 no doubt1 to the document from which the historian of the ,kings was quoting--perhaps about ,b4,c4 #efj1 in the third generation after the fall of ,samaria4 ,a very brief glance will suffice to indicate the future history of the ,samaritans4 ,we hear but little of them between the present reference and the days of ,ezra and ,nehemiah4 ,by that time they had purged themselves of these grosser idolatries1 and held themselves fit in all respects to co-operate with the returned exiles in the work of building the ,temple4 ,such was not the opinion of the ,jews4 ,ezra regarded them as the adversaries of ,judah and ,israel4#dcb ,the exiles rejected their overtures4 ,in ,b4,c4 #dji ,manasseh1 a grandson of the high priest expelled by ,nehemiah for an unlawful marriage with a daughter of ,sanballat1 of the ,samaritan city of ,beth-horon1 built the schismatic temple on ,mount ,gerizim4#dcc ,the relations of the ,samaritans to the ,jews became thenceforth deadly4 ,in ,b4,c4 #age they seconded the profane attempt of ,antiochus ,epiphanes to paganise the ,jews1 and in ,b4,c4 #acj ,john ,hyrcanus1 the ,maccabee1 destroyed their temple4 ,they were accused of waylaying ,jews on their way to the ,feasts1 and of polluting the ,temple with dead bones4#dcd ,they claimed ,jewish descent 7,john iv4 #ab71 but our ,lord called them aliens 71 ,luke xvii4 #ah71 and ,josephus describes them as residents from other nations 71 74 ,they are now a rapidly dwindling community of fewer than a hundred souls--the oldest and smallest sect in the world--equally despised by ,jews and ,mohammedans4 ,the ,jews1 as in the days of ,christ1 have no dealings with them4 ,when ,dr4 ,frankl1 on his philanthropic visit to the ,jews of the ,east1 went to see their celebrated ,pentateuch1 and mentioned the fact to a ,jewish lady--,what6 she exclaimed3 have you been among the worshippers of the pigeon8 ,take a purifying bath6 ,regarding ,gerizim as the place which ,god had chosen 7,john iv4 #bj71 they alone can keep up the old tradition of the sacrificial passover4 ,for long centuries1 since the ,fall of ,jerusalem1 it is only on ,gerizim that the ,paschal lambs and kids have been actually slain and eaten1 as they are to this day1 and will be1 till1 not long hence1 the whole tribe disappears4 ,,footnotes3 #chi ,hos4 iv4 #d2 v4 #a1 ,hear ye this1 ,o priests 444 ye have been a snare on ,mizpah1 etc42 vi4 #i1 ,the company of the priests murder by the way to ,shechem4 #cij ,hos4 x4 #aj 7so ,r4,v41 and in the main the versions after the ,hebrew margin74 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 cum corripientur propter duas iniquitates suas2 ,a4,v41 ,when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows4 ,i believe that the two iniquities may mean two cherubs at ,bethel4 ,see x4 #ae3 ,so shall ,bethel do unto you because of the evil of your evil4 #cia ,hos4 xi4 #h-aa4 #cib #b ,kings xvii4 #a is inconsistent with xv4 #cj1 #cc1 and it is wholly useless for our purpose to enter into complicated chronological hypotheses1 every one of which may be erroneous4 #cic ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 p4 #bee4 #cid ,seder ,olam1 xxii4 #b2 #b ,chron4 xxx4 #f-aa4 #cie ,see ,herod41 ii4 #acg2 called ,so 7,heb41 ,s or ,seve7 in #b ,kings xvii4 #d4 ,perhaps ,shebek1 the founder of the twenty-fifth dynasty4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ,sua2 ,manetho1 ,sabachon4 ,in the ,eponym ,canon he is called an ,egyptian general1 ,sibakhi1 who helped ,gaza against ,assyria1 and was defeated4 ,the ka appended at the end of his name 7,egyptian ,shaba-ka7 is thought by some to be the ,cushite article4 ,the race of the priest ,hirhor died out with ,piankhi1 and the ,ethiopians elected a noble named ,kashta4 ,shabak was his son4 ,he conquered ,sais1 and burnt his rival ,bek-en-raut alive 7,b4,c4 #gbd74 ,his dynasty ruled for fifty years2 he was succeeded by ,sevechus 7,shabatok71 and he by ,tehrak 7,tirhakah74 #cif ,his name means ,salmn1 pardon4 ,we have no monuments or inscriptions of this king2 only an imperial weight4 #cig ,mic4 v4 #a4 #cih ,hos4 xiii4 #ac4 #cii ,hos4 xiii4 #g-aa4 ,the prophecy is rhythmic1 though not written in actual poetry4 #djj ,till the discovery of the ,assyrian records1 ,sargon 7,sharru-knu1 'the faithful king'7 was but a name4 ,the ,jews knew but little of him4 ,he is but once mentioned in ,scripture 7,isa4 xx4 #a71 and was probably confused by some ,jews with other kings4 ,yet he reigned sixteen years 7#gbb-gje71 and his records give the annals of fifteen campaigns4 ,in #gbj he crushed a confederacy headed by ,yahubid of ,hamath1 and reduced that city to a heap of ruins4 ,he then advanced against ,hanno1 ,king of ,gaza1 who was in alliance with ,sabaco1 and defeated the combined forces of the ,philistines and ,egyptians at ,raphia1 half-way between ,gaza and the ,wady-el-,arsh1 the torrent nachal of ,egypt4 ,sargon was at the time too much occupied with other enemies to pursue his advantage over ,egypt2 for ,armenia1 ,media1 and other countries needed his attention4 ,this encouraged ,ashdod to rebel1 and its king1 ,azuri1 refused his tribute 7see ,isa4 xx4 #a74 ,sargon deposed him1 and put his brother ,ahimit in his place4 ,relying on ,egyptian promises1 ,philistia joined ,judah1 ,edom1 and ,moab in defying ,assyria4 ,they deposed ,ahimit as an ,assyrian nominee1 and put ,yaman in his place4 ,egypt1 as usual1 failed to help1 and in #gaa the ,assyrian ,turtan1 or ,commander-in-chief1 took ,ashdod after three years' resistance1 and carried its people into captivity4 ,the punishment of ,egypt was reserved for the subsequent reigns of ,esarhaddon 7#fha-ffh7 and ,assurbanipal4 ,see ,driver's ,isaiah xlv4 7,isa4 xx474 ,isa4 xiv4 #bi-cb is an ode of triumph for the ,fall of ,philistia4 #dja ,hos4 xiii4 #af4 #djb ,see ,de ,hincks in ,journ4 of ,sacr4 ,lit41 ,october #aheh2 ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 i4 #adh4 #djc ,isa4 xxviii4 #a-d4 #djd #b ,kings xvii4 #ac1 by all the prophets1 and all the seers1 7chseh74 ,hvernick thinks that the nebi'm were such officially4 #dje ,see ,amos ii4 #d1 #e2 ,isa4 xxviii4 #ae2 ,jer4 xvi4 #ai1 #bj2 ,ezek4 xx4 #ac-cj1 etc4 #djf ,deut4 xxvi4 #e4 #djg ,isa4 xli4 #ad4 #djh ,hos4 xi4 #i4 #dji ,see my ,minor ,prophets1 #f-ig4 #daj ,not as in ,a4,v41 ,habor1 by the river of ,gozan4 #daa #b ,kings xvii4 #f4 ,the ,,lxx4 has rivers and mountains3 4 ,the river is not ,ezekiel's ,chebar4 ,these deportations en masse of a whole population1 with their women and children1 their waggons and flocks1 are depicted on ,sargon's series of tablets in his splendid palace at ,khorsabad4 #dab ,ezra iv4 #aj4 ,the great and noble ,asnapper of the passage is either some ,assyrian general1 or a confusion of the name ,assurbanipal4 #dac #b ,kings xvii4 #i4 ,heb41 covered2 ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v41 did secretly1 rather perfidiously2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ,et offenderunt verbis non rectis dominum suum4 #dad ,star-worship is not mentioned in the ,book of the ,covenant 7,exod4 xx4-xxiii47 or the oldest sections of the ,mosaic ,law4 ,it is first forbidden in ,deut4 iv4 #ai1 xvii4 #c1 when contact with ,syrians and ,assyrians made it known 7comp4 ,job xxxi4 #bf-bh2 ,jer4 viii4 #b1 xix4 #ac2 ,zeph4 i4 #e74 ,the language of #b ,kings vii4-xxiii4 frequently reflects the prohibitions of ,deuteronomy 7see ,deut4 xii4 #b1 #cj1 #ca1 iv4 #ai1 v4 #g1 #h1 xvi4 #ba1 xviii4 #aj1 xxxi4 #af1 etc47 #dae ,in #b ,kings xvii4 #aa1 for they did wicked things1 the ,,lxx4 has 7i4e41 qedeshm7 7qedeshth72 i4e41 they had depraved hieroduli of both sexes4 ,comp4 ,hos4 iv4 #ad2 ,gen4 xxxviii4 #ba 7where the allusion is to one of the votaries of ,asherah74 #daf ,bishop ,lightfoot1 ,sermons1 p4 #bfg4 #dag ,la quale ,religione se ne ,principi della ,republica ,christiana si fusse mantenuta1 secondo che dal dottore d'essa ne fu ordinato1 sarebbero gli ,state e le ,republiche ,christiane pi unite e pi felici assai ch' elle non sono 7,discorsi1 i4 #ab74 #dah #b ,kings xvii4 #bd4 ,comp4 xviii4 #cd4 ,hence the later ,jews comprehensively called the ,samaritans ,cuthites4 ,comp4 #b ,kings xix4 #ac2 ,isa4 xxxvii4 #ac4 #dai ,heliopolis1 ,ptolemy1 v4 #ah1 #g2 ,isa4 xxxvi4 #ai4 ,here1 according to the ,chaldan legends1 ,xisuthrus buried his tablets about the ,creation1 etc4 #dbj ,from ,ezra iv4 #b some infer that the main immigrants were introduced by ,esarhaddon1 who did not succeed till ,b4,c4 #fha4 ,he claims to have colonised ,syria4 #dba ,so we see from #b ,kings xix4 #ac1 which applies to the reign of ,hezekiah4 #dbb ,see ,appendix1 ,the ,golden ,calves4 #dbc ,he uses the agency of the great and noble ,asnapper 7,ezra iv4 #aj7 for the deportation 7see ,botta1 #ade2 ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 i4 #adh2 ,dr4 ,hincks1 ,jour4 of ,sacr4 ,lit41 ,october #aheh71 unless ,asnapper be a confusion for ,assurbanipal 7,sardanapalus74 #dbd ,hos4 iii4 #d4 #dbe ,see ,jer4 xlix4 #ai1 l4 #dd2 ,prov4 xxii4 #ac1 etc4 #dbf ,lit41 ,daughter-huts 7,selden1 ,de ,dis ,syr41 ii4 #g71 but probably a transliteration4 ,zarpanit--,she who gives seed--was ,aphrodite ,pandemos 7,mylitta--,herod41 i4 #aii74 ,the ,rabbis--who only guess--say she represented the ,clucking ,hen--i4e41 the ,pleiades4 ,there does not seem to be any connection between ,succoth and ,sakkuth1 the various reading in ,amos v4 #bf1 which seems to be the ,assyrian ,moloch4 #dbg ,said to be worshipped under the form of a cock4 #dbh ,,lxx41 4 ,jarchi says these deities were worshipped under base animal forms--but it is more than doubtful4 #dbi ,the ,rabbis1 from ,exod4 xxiii4 #ac2 ,josh4 xxiii4 #g1 thought they were bound to give scornful nicknames to heathen deities4 ,hence such changes as ,kir-,heres for ,kir-,cheres1 ,beelzebub for ,beelzebul1 ,bethaven for ,bethel1 ,bosheth for ,baal1 etc4 #dcj ,not as in ,a4,v41 of the lowest of them1 but of all classes4 ,comp4 #a ,kings xii4 #ca4 #dca ,in #b ,kings xvii4 #ca-ch we again find repeated references to ,deuteronomy 7iv4 #bc1 v4 #cb1 x4 #bj1 etc474 #dcb ,ezra iv4 #a4 ,the actual word ,samaritans occurs only once in the ,old ,testament1 in #b ,kings xvii4 #bi4 #dcc ,see ,neh4 xiii4 #d-i1 #bh1 #bi2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xi4 vii4 #b4 ,josephus makes ,manasseh a brother of the high priest ,jaddua 7,b4,c4 #ccc74 #dcd ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 xiv4 #c1 ,,xii4 v4 #e1 ,,xiii4 ix4 #a1 ,,xx4 vi41 ,,xviii4 ii4 #b4 ,the bitterly hostile relations between ,jews and ,samaritans in the time of ,christ are illustrated by ,luke ix4 #eb-ed4 ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,the ,,reign ,,of ,,ahaz ,b4,c4 #gce-gae #b ,,kings xvi4 #a-bj ,rimmon1 whose delightful seat ,was fair ,damascus1 on the fertile banks ,of ,abbana and ,pharphar1 lucid streams4 ,he also against the ,house of ,god was bold3 ,a leper once he lost1 and gained a king-- ,ahaz1 his sottish conqueror1 whom he drew ,god's altar to disparage and displace ,for one of ,syrian mode1 whereon to burn ,his odious offerings1 and adore the gods ,whom he had vanquished4 ,paradise ,lost1 i4 #dfg-dgf4 ,according to our authorities1 ,ahaz 7,possessor7#dce began his reign of sixteen years at the age of twenty4 ,of the exactitude of these references we cannot be certain1 because they also state 7#b ,kings xviii4 #b7 that ,hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign1 and this reduces us to the absurdity of supposing that ,hezekiah was born when his father was only eleven years old4#dcf ,we might infer from ,isa4 iii4 #d that ,ahaz was not so old as twenty when he succeeded ,jotham2 for there--in a terrible prophecy which can only refer to the beginning of this reign--we read1 ,and ,i will give children to be their princes1 and babes shall rule over them2 or1 as it should be perhaps rendered1 ,and with childishness1 or wilfulness1 shall they rule over them4 ,whatever may have been the king's age1 surely never king succeeded to a more distracted kingdom1 or reigned over a more terrified people6 ,if he could have had any choice in the matter1 he might well have declined the fearful burden4 ,describing the state of things1 the great prophet ,isaiah1 who now began his career1 exclaims1-- ,for1 behold1 the ,lord1 the ,lord of hosts1 doth take away from ,jerusalem and from ,judah stay and staff1 the whole stay of bread1 and the whole stay of water2 the mighty man1 and the man of war1 the judge1 and the prophet1 and the diviner1 and the elder2 the captain of fifty1 and the honourable man1 and the counsellor1 and the cunning charmer1 and the skilful enchanter4 ,and the people shall be oppressed every one by another1 and every one by his neighbour3 the child shall behave himself proudly against the elder1 and the base against the honourable4 ,then a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father1 saying1 ',thou hast clothing1 be thou our judge1 and let this ruin be under thy hand'3 in that day shall he lift his voice1 saying1 ',i will not be a builder-up2 for in my house is neither bread nor clothing3 ye shall not make me a ruler of the people4' ,for ,jerusalem is ruined and ,judah is fallen4 ,the show of their countenance is against them2 and they declare their sin as ,sodom1 and hide it not4 ,as for ,my people1 children are their oppressors1 and women rule over them4#dcg ,this is a frightful picture of famine--the dearth of intellect1 the dearth of statesmen1 of all genius1 of all insight4 ,it describes the prevalence of oppression and of ghastly destitution1 accompanied by such utter despair that no one cared to exert himself for the arrest of the ruin which seemed imminent over that which was already no better than itself a ruin4 ,the ,book of ,isaiah is arranged in a most confused and unchronological manner1 and it is probable that the first five chapters should be placed after the sixth1 which describes the prophet's call in the year that ,king ,uzziah died4 ,they paint a picture of moral collapse4 ,his first chapter is called by ,ewald the great arraignment1 and by its references describes the awful period of alarm during the war of ,syria and ,ephraim against ,judah4 ,it might seem as if the combined host was even then in the country1 or had only just retired from it2 for we read1-- ,your country is desolate1 your cities are burned with fire3 your land1 strangers devour it in your presence1 and it is desolate1 as overthrown by strangers4 ,and the daughter of ,zion is left as a booth in a wilderness1 as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers1 as a besieged city4 ,but even in the midst of this afflictive dispensation there were no signs of repentance4 ,the children of ,israel were rebels who despised the ,holy ,one of ,israel1--,ah1 sinful nation1 a people laden with iniquity1 a seed of evil-doers1 children that deal corruptly6 7i4 #g-i74 ,they had all the externals of religion3 they offered vain sacrifices1 and kept a multitude of idle feasts1 and offered many formal prayers2 but all this was but a cumbrance to ,him who desired clean hands and a pure heart as conditions of forgiveness 7#aj-bj74 ,what hope could there be for a city of murderers1 who loved bribes and perverted judgment 7#ba-bd78 ,the land was full of pride1 full of idols1 full of the luxury of the rich amid the starvation of the poor 7ii4 #a-bb74dch ,women partook of the general corruption4 ,they walked mincingly with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes1#dci thinking of nothing but their anklets1 and crescents1 and bracelets1 and mufflers1 ear-drops1 head-tires1 perfumes1 mirrors1 armlets1 and nose-jewels3 therefore they should have sackcloth for stomachers1 ropes for girdles1 and burning instead of beauty1 and only a remnant should escape 7iii4 #af-;iv4 #a74 ,judah was like a vineyard1--rich in advantages1 blessed with fondest care2 but when ,god looked for grapes1 it only brought forth wild grapes--a semblance1 but only a poisoned semblance1 of the true vintage3 therefore it should be left neglected and rainless4 ,woe to the greedy land-grabbing1 and drunkenness1 and revelry of the rich6 ,woe to their mockery of ,god and their devotion to vanity6 ,woe to their insane pride and wanton injustice6 ,could they escape vengeance8 ,no6 ,jehovah had looked for judgment 7mishpat71 but behold oppression 7mishpach72 for righteousness 7tse'dakah71 but behold a cry 7tse'akah7 7v4 #a-bd74ddj ,they might escape--they would escape--the ,syrian and the ,ephraimite2 but behind these lay a more terrible and a more portentous foe1 even the ,assyrian1 the scourge of ,god's wrath 7#be-cj74 ,it was told the house of ,david1 saying1 ,syria is confederate with ,ephraim4 ,is it strange that in such a condition of things the heart of ,ahaz and of his people was moved as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind8 ,such was the terrible crisis at which ,isaiah began his ministry4 ,he was the son of ,amoz1#dda who has been 7much too precariously7 identified with a brother of ,amaziah4 ,it is probable that he was a man of distinguished1 if not princely1 birth1 and he exercised a more powerful influence over the politics of his country than any other prophet--not even excepting ,jeremiah4 ,,footnotes3 #dce ,probably a shortened form for ,jehoahaz 7,the ,lord taketh hold74 ,he is called ,jahuhazi in ,tiglath-,pileser's inscription 7,schrader1 ,keilinschr41 p4 #afc74 #dcf ,for twenty-five it is not improbable that we should read fifteen4 #dcg ,isa4 iii4 #a-ab4 #dch ,in ,isa4 ii4 #b-d we find1 as so often in the prophetic books in their present too-often-haphazard arrangement1 a glowing promise of universal peace placed before unsparing denunciations4 ,the verses are also found in ,micah 7iv4 #a1 #b71 and it has been conjectured that in both prophets they are a quotation from some older source--perhaps from ,jonah1 son of ,amittai4 #dci ,heb41 deceiving with their eyes4 #ddj ,isa4 v4 #g4 ,the paronomasia of the original is striking4 ,van ,oort renders it1 ,he looked for reason1 but behold treason2 and for right1 but behold affright4 #dda ,his name means ,jehovah saves1 and is perhaps alluded to in ,isa4 viii4 #ah4 ,amos 7,one who bears a burden71 needless to say1 is a totally different name from that of ,amoz 7,vigorous71 the father of ,isaiah4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,isaiah ,,and ,,ahaz #b ,,kings xvi ,expediency is man's wisdom2 doing right is ,god's4 ,,george ,,meredith4 ,isaiah was one of those men whom ,god provides for the need of kingdoms4 ,he was not only a prophet1 but a statesman1 a reformer1 a poet1 a man of invincible faith and unequalled insight4 ,if ,ahaz had accepted his counsels and followed his moral guidance1 the whole history of ,judah might have been different4 ,but the position of things was indeed disastrous4 ,judah was attacked from every side4 ,on the south-east the ,edomites renewed their devastating raids1 and swept off multitudes of captives1 who were sold as slaves in the ,western slave-markets4 ,on the south-west the ,philistines once more rose in revolt1 and acquired permanent repossession of many parts of the ,shephelah1 mastering ,beth-,shemesh1 ,ajalon1 ,gederoth1 ,shocho1 ,timnath1 ,gimzo1 and all the adjacent districts4 ,but this was nothing compared with the humiliation and destruction inflicted by ,rezin and ,pekah4 ,they shut up ,ahaz in ,jerusalem2 and though they could not storm its almost impregnable defences1 which had recently been fortified by ,uzziah and ,jotham1 they were undisputed masters of the rest of the land1 so that ,judah was brought low and made naked4#ddb ,rezin1 indeed1 weary of a tedious siege1 swept southwards to ,elath1 on the gulf of ,akabah1 seized it1 and peopled it with an ,edomite garrison1 thereby destroying the commerce in which ,solomon and ,jehoshaphat had taken pride1 and which ,uzziah had recently re-established4 ,having thus left an effectual annoyance to ,judah in his rear1 he gave up the design of dethroning ,ahaz and substituting in his place the son of ,tabeal1 who would have been a tool in the hands of the confederate kings4 ,he seized1 however1 a multitude of captives1 and with them and with much booty he returned to ,damascus4 ,the son of ,tabeal--a name which occurs nowhere else--has been found very puzzling4#ddc ,i believe it to be simply an instance of the ,rabbinic process of transposition1 called ,themourah4 ,some identify it with ,itibi'alu of an inscription of ,tiglath-,pileser4 ,others suppose that he was a ,syrian1 and that ,tabeal stands for ,tabrimnon4 ,but by the application of ,themourah 7called the ,albam7 ,tabeal simply gives us ,remaliah1 and is either a scornful variation of the name of ,pekah's father1 or has arisen from the watchword of a secret conspiracy4 ,since in the text of ,jeremiah 7li4 #da1 xxv4 #bf7 7by ,atbash1 another form of the secret transposition of letters of which the generic name was ,gematria7 we read ,sheshach for ,babel1 the name ,tabeal may have been dealt with in a similar method4#ddd ,pekah1 according to the ,chronicler1 inflicted far deadlier injuries than ,rezin4 ,in one day he slew one hundred and twenty thousand sons of valour1 because they had forsaken ,jehovah1 ,god of their fathers4 ,his general ,zichri1 a mighty ,ephraimite1 slew ,maaseiah1 the king's son2#dde and ,azrikam1 the chancellor2 and ,elkanah1 the second to the king4 ,the army carried away two hundred thousand captives and much spoil to ,samaria4 ,but on their arrival1 a prophet named ,oded#ddf reproved the ,israelites for having massacred the ,judans in a rage that reacheth to heaven4 ,aided by various princes1 he succeeded in inducing the people to refuse to harbour the captives1 and clothed1 fed1 and sent them back unharmed to ,jericho1 mounting the feeble on horses and asses4 ,the story bears on the face of it the signs of enormous exaggeration4 ,in the crisis of their miseries1 but just before the siege1 ,ahaz had gone outside the city walls at the end of the conduit of the upper pool1 in the causeway of the fuller's field1 probably to look after the water-supply1 which had always been a difficulty for ,jerusalem1 and on which depended her capacity to withstand a siege4 ,here he was met by the prophet ,isaiah1 who was leading by the hand the little son to whom he had given the name of ,shear-jashub 7,a remnant shall return71#ddg as a witness to the truth of the prophecy which he had heard on the occasion of his call1-- ,and if there should yet be a tenth in it1 this shall be again consumed2 yet as the terebinth and the oak1 though cut down1 have their stock remaining1 even so a sacred seed shall be the stock thereof4#ddh ,the object of the prophet was to cheer up the fainting heart of the king1 and to say to him first1-- ,take heed1 and be quiet4 ,this mandate probably refers to rumours--which ,isaiah must have heard--of the king's intention to follow the counsels of the party which urged him to seek foreign assistance4 ,one of these parties advised him to throw himself into the arms of ,egypt1 and rely on her protection2 the other gave the more perilous counsel of invoking the aid of ,assyria4 ,isaiah's mandate to the king and to the nation was to take neither step1 but to trust in the ,lord1 and to repent of individual and national misdoing4 ,he summed up his message in the rule1-- ,in returning and rest shall ye be saved2 in quietness and confidence shall be your strength4 ,the advice was emphasised by a promise of the most decisive and encouraging kind4 ,when all looked so helpless1 the prophet was bidden to say1-- ,fear not1 neither be faint-hearted1 for these two stumps of smoking torches1 for the fierce anger of ,rezin with ,syria1 and of ,remaliah's son4 ,they have taken evil counsel against thee4 ,but thus saith the ,lord ,god1 ',it shall not stand1 neither shall it come to pass4 ,for the head of ,syria is only ,rezin1 and the head of ,samaria is a mere ,remaliah's son4'#ddi ,and then1 to confirm the lesson of confidence in ,god1 the brief assurance1-- ,if ye will not confide1 ,surely ye shall not abide4 ,convinced of the certainty of this immediate deliverance1 ,isaiah bade the king to ask for a sign from ,jehovah1 either in the height above1 or in the depth beneath4 ,but the timid and hypocritical king was not so to be influenced4 ,he had on his side the scornful men1 who ruled ,judah2 the mocking priests1 who sneered and jeered at ,isaiah's teaching as repetitive and commonplace1 and only fit for children2 and the princes and nobles1 who formed the ,court party1 headed by ,shebna the scribe4 ,he probably looked on ,isaiah as a mere unpractical faddist1 an excited fanatic--all very well as a prophet1 but not a man who ought to thrust himself into the plans of politicians4 ,ahaz had his own plans1 and he had not the smallest intention of altering them in consequence of anything which ,isaiah might say4 ,he was far too timid and unfaithful to rely on anything so vague as ,divine assurance4 ,he was convinced that his only chance lay in the horses of ,egypt or the fierce infantry of ,assyria4 ,so he said with sham piety1 merely intended to put the prophet off1 ,i will not ask1 neither will ,i tempt ,jehovah4 ,that moment marks what may be called the birth-throe of ,messianic prophecy in its most specific character4 ,for then the prophet1 after reproving the king for wearying ,jehovah as well as ,his servants1 adds1 in words of far wider and deeper significance than their immediate bearing1 that ,jehovah ,himself should give a sign2 for the maiden should conceive and bear a ,son1 and call ,his name ,immanuel 7,god with us74 ,the child should grow up in a time of scarcity2 for owing to the devastation of the land1 he would only be able to be nurtured on curdled milk and honey4 ,but before he had reached years of discretion--before he had arrived at the power of moral choice--the land whose two kings ,ahaz abhorred should be a desert4 ,yet let not ,ahaz exult too much in the immediate deliverance6 ,days of unexampled misery were at hand4 ,jehovah should hiss for the fly from the farthest canals of ,egypt1 and for the bee of ,assyria1 and they should settle in swarms in the valleys and pastures4 ,ahaz--he had not alluded to the design1 but ,isaiah knew it well--was about to hire a razor from beyond the ,euphrates1 but that razor should sweep away the hair and beard of ,judah4 ,agriculture should languish1 and the people should only be able to live in privation on whey and honey2 and the vineyards should be full of briers and thorns1 and should be mere places for hunting4#dej ,this event1 therefore1 as ,caspari says1 stands at the turning-point of ,old ,testament ,history4 ,it marks the beginning of that second period of the ,history of the ,chosen ,people in which their hopes were granted as a counterpoise to their anguish and their humiliation4 ,it stood1 therefore1 at the point where a prospect offered itself to the eye of the prophet which reached out over the whole development of the people of ,god4 ,to all such prophecies ,ahaz was utterly deaf3 they did not for a moment induce him to swerve from his purpose4 ,but to call still further attention to his promise as the ,syrian ,ephraimitish host pressed forward1 ,isaiah took a great piece of vellum1 and inscribed on it1 in the ordinary characters1-- ,,speed-,,plunder-,,haste-,,spoil4 ,he put it up in some conspicuous place1 before his own house or in the ,temple1 and took the priest ,urijah and ,zechariah1 the son of ,jeberechiah1 into his confidence as faithful witnesses4 ,he told them the explanation of his sign1 and they would satisfy the curiosity of the people on the subject4 ,it meant that in nine months' time his wife should bear a son1 and that he and his wife1 the prophetess1 would call the boy's name ,speed-plunder-haste-spoil1 as a sign that before the child was able to say ,father or ,mother ,rezin and ,pekah should be extinguished4 ,for the ,assyrian should speed to the plunder and haste to the spoil1 and the riches of ,damascus and the spoil of ,samaria should be carried away by the ,king of ,assyria4 ,since ,judah despised the soft flowing waters of ,shiloah1#dea and preferred ,rezin and ,pekah1#deb they should be deluged by the ,euphrates of ,assyria1 and ,assyria's outspread wings should overshadow thy land1 ,o ,immanuel 7viii4 #a-h74 ,how vain1 then1 of the people to try and meet the confederacy of ,syria and ,ephraim by new confederacy of ,judah with ,assyria6 ,this1 after all1 is ,immanuel's land4 ,god is with us4 ,we have but to fear ,god1 we have but to be faithful to duty1 and ,jehovah shall be our sanctuary1 though ,he be a stumbling-block to many in ,israel1 and a snare to many in ,jerusalem4#dec ,this is ,god's teaching and ,god's testimony1 and ,isaiah and his children are signs of it4 ,for does not ,isaiah mean ,salvation of ,jehovah2 and ,shear-jashub1 ,a remnant shall return2 and ,maher-shalal-hash-baz1 ,swift-spoil-speedy-prey2 and ,immanuel1 ,god is with us8 ,what need1 then1 to seek wizards and necromancers8 ,seek ,god2 confide1 abide6#ded ,trouble and darkness there should be2 but all was not utterly hopeless4 ,northern ,israel had been bedimmed and afflicted2 but soon they should be exalted1 and see light1 and their yoke be broken as in the day of ,midian1 and the trampling boot and blood-stained mantle of the warrior shall be burned in the fire3 for a ,child is born1 a ,son is given unto us of ,david's line1 who shall be a ,mighty ,deliverer1 a ,prince of ,peace1--and ,israel shall perish4 ,,footnotes3 #ddb #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #ai4 #ddc ,it may mean ,god is good 7,tabeel74 #ddd ,for further explanations ,i must refer to my paper on ,rabbinic ,exegesis 7,expositor1 ,first ,series1 v4 #cgc74 #dde #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #g4 #ddf ,of ,oded nothing else is known4 #ddg ,some1 however1 interpret the name ,a remnant repents 7,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ,qui derelictus est ,jaseb74 #ddh ,isa4 vi4 #ac4 #ddi ,the words ,and within threescore and five years shall ,ephraim be broken1 that it be not a people 7,isa4 vii4 #h71 are almost certainly an interpolation3 for 7#a7 the overthrow came within far less than sixty years2 7#b7 the clause awkwardly breaks the context2 7#c7 the sixty years is inconsistent with the promise 7vii4 #af7 that it should be within very few years4 #dej ,isa4 vii4 #a-be4 #dea ,not improbably the water which afterwards flowed through ,hezekiah's new tunnel between the ,virgin's ,tomb and the ,pool of ,siloam4 ,it is referred to in #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #c1 #cj 7,isa4 xxii4 #i-aa74 ,see ,appendix ,,ii4 #deb ,this1 if it be correct1 can only mean that the son of ,tabeal had a party in ,jerusalem2 but ,hitzig renders it dreadeth1 not rejoiceth in4 #dec ,the meaning is by no means clear4 #ded ,see ,driver1 ,isaiah1 p4 #cd4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,the ,,apostasies ,,of ,,ahaz #b ,,kings xvi4 #a-ah ,for when we in our wickedness grow hard1 ,oh misery on't6 the wise gods seal our eyes2 ,in our own filth drop our clear judgments2 make us ,adore our errors2 laugh at us while we strut ,to our confusion4 ,ahaz was indifferent to these prophecies because his heart was otherwhere4 ,it is clear from our authorities that this king had excited an unusually deep antipathy in the hearts of those later writers who judged religion not only from the earlier standpoint1 but from the stern and inexorable requirements of the ,deuteronomic and the ,priestly ,codes4 ,the historian1 adopting an unusual phrase1 says that he did not that which was right in the sight of the ,lord1 but he walked in the ways of the kings of ,israel4 ,he not only continued the high places1 as the best of his predecessors had done1 but he increased their popularity and importance by personally offering sacrifices and burning incense on the hills and under every green tree4 ,it is probable1 too1 that he introduced into ,judah horses and chariots dedicated to the sun4#dee ,he made molten images for the ,baalim1 says the ,chronicler1 and burnt incense in the valley of the son of ,himmon4 ,this last was his crowning atrocity3 he actually sanctioned the revolting worship of the abomination of the children of ,ammon1 which ,solomon had tolerated on the mount of offence4 ,he made his son to pass through the fire4 ,the ,chronicler expresses it still more dreadfully by saying that he burnt his children in the fire4#def ,in the ,valley of ,ben-,hinnom1 or of the ,ben-,hinnom1 of which the name is perpetuated in ,gehenna1 the place of torture for lost souls1 there stood a frightful image of the king--,moloch1 ,melek1 ,malcham4 ,it represented the sun-god1 worshipped1 not only as ,baal under the emblems of prolific nature1 but1 like the ,egyptian ,typhon1 as the emblem of the sun's scorching and blighting force4 ,it was perhaps a human figure with the head of an ox4 ,the arms of the brazen image sloped downwards over a cistern1 which was filled with fuel2 and when a human sacrifice was to be offered to him1 the child was probably first killed1 and then placed on these brazen arms as a gift to the idol4 ,it rolled down into the flaming tank1 and was consumed amid the strains of music4 ,recourse was only had to the most frightful form of human sacrifice--the burning of grown-up victims--in extremities of disaster1 as when ,mesha of ,moab offered up his eldest son to ,chemosh on the wall of ,kir-,hareseth in the sight of his people and of the three invading armies4 ,but the sacrifice of children was public1 and perhaps annual4 ,hence ,milton1 following the learned researches of ,selden in his ,syntagma ,de ,dis ,syriis1 writes3-- ,first1 ,moloch1 horrid king1 besmeared with blood ,of human sacrifice1 and parents' tears2 ,though1 for the noise of drums and timbrels loud1 ,their children's cries unheard that pass'd through fire ,to his grim idol4 ,him the ,ammonite ,worshipp'd in ,rabba and her watery plain1 ,in ,argob and in ,basan1 to the stream ,of utmost ,arnon4 ,nor content with such ,audacious neighbourhood1 the wisest heart ,of ,solomon he led by fraud to build ,his temple right against the ,temple of ,god ,on that opprobrious hill1 and made his grove ,the pleasant ,valley of ,hinnom1 ,tophet thence ,and black ,gehenna call'd1 the type of hell4#deg ,but it may be doubted whether ,ahaz1 in spite of his frightful position1 or1 in later days1 the less excusable ,manasseh1 really destroyed the lives of their young sons4#deh ,the ancients had a notion that they could easily cheat their devil-deities4 ,if a white ox of ,clitumnus became unfitted for a victim to ,jupiter of the ,capitol by having on its body a few black spots1 it was quite sufficient to make it pass with the ,d faciles by chalking the black spots over it4#dei ,if human victims had to be thrown into the ,tiber to ,hercules1 ,numa taught the people that little wickerwork images 7scirpea7 would suit the purpose just as well4#dfj ,figures of dough were sometimes offered instead of human beings on the altar of ,artemis of ,tauris4 ,thus it became the custom1 it is believed1 merely to throw or to pass children through or over the flames1 and conventionally to regard them as having been sacrificed1 though they might escape the ordeal with little or no hurt4 ,this was called februatio1 or lustration by fire4#dfa ,we may hope that this device was adopted by the two ,judan kings1 and1 if so1 they did not add to their horrible apostasy the crime of infanticide4 ,if1 however1 ,ahaz was even to the smallest extent implicated in such foul idolatries1 it is not surprising that he was in no mood to listen to ,isaiah4 ,what is profoundly surprising1 and is indeed a circumstance for which we cannot account1 is that no word of fierce indignation was addressed to him on this account by ,urijah1 the high priest1 whom ,isaiah seems to describe as faithful1 or by ,zechariah1 the son of ,jeberechiah1 or by ,micah1 or by ,isaiah1 who feared man so little and ,god so much4 ,the ,assyrian party at the ,court of ,ahaz prevailed over the ,egyptian4 ,until the accession of the ,ethiopian ,sabaco#dfb in #gbe1 ,egypt was indeed in so weak1 harassed1 and divided a condition under feeble native ,pharaohs1 that her help was obviously unavailable4 ,the ,king of ,judah1 seeing no extrication from his calamities except in the way of worldly expediency1 appealed to ,tiglath-,pileser4 ,in this he followed the precedent of his ancestor ,asa1 who had diverted the attack of ,baasha by invoking the assistance of ,syria4 ,ahaz sent to the ,assyrian potentate the humble message1 ,i am thy servant and thy son3 come up and save me from the ,kings of ,syria and ,israel4 ,if he had not faith to accept ,isaiah's promises1 what else could he do1 when ,syria1 ,israel1 the ,philistines1 ,edom1 and ,moab were all arrayed against him8 ,the ambassadors probably made their way1 not without peril1 along the east of ,jordan1 or else by sea from ,joppa1 and so inland4 ,whether they took with them the enormous bribe without which the appeal of the helpless king might have been in vain1 or whether this was sent subsequently under ,assyrian escort1 we do not know4 ,it was euphemistically described as a present or a blessing1 but must be regarded either as a tribute or a bribe4 ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 saw his opportunity1 and at once invaded ,damascus4 ,in ,b4,c4 #gcc he failed1 but the next year he entirely subjugated the kingdom1 and put an end to the dynasty4 ,rezin was probably put to death with the horrible barbarities which were normal among the brutal ,ninevites2 and as the ,assyrians had no conception of colonisation or the wise government of dependencies1 the ,syrian population was deported en masse to ,elam and an unknown ,kir4#dfc ,for a time ,damascus was made a ruinous heap1 and the cities of ,aroer were the desolated lairs of pasturing flocks4 ,israel1 as we have seen1 was next overwhelmed by the same irremediable catastrophe1 none of her people being left except such as might be compared to the mere gleanings of a vintage1 and the few berries on the topmost boughs of the olive tree4#dfd ,tiglath-,pileser meant to make ,ahaz feel his yoke4 ,he summoned him to do homage at ,damascus1 and there ,ahaz once more displayed his cosmopolitan stheticism at the expense of every pure tradition of the religion of his fathers4 ,his visit to ,damascus was no doubt compulsory4 ,his worldly policy1 which looked so expedient1 and which--apart from the defiance which it involved to the voice of ,god by ,his prophets--seemed to be so pardonable1 had for the time succeeded4 ,isaiah's promises had been fulfilled to the letter4 ,there was nothing more to fear either from ,rezin or from ,remaliah's son4 ,their kingdoms were a desolation4 ,in his own annals ,tiglath-,pileser#dfe does not exaggerate his achievements4#dff ,he wrote as follows3-- ,rezin's warriors ,i captured1 and with the sword ,i destroyed4 ,of his charioteers and his horsemen the arms ,i broke3 ,their bow-bearing warriors1 their footmen armed with spear and shield1 ,with my hand ,i captured them1 and those that fought in their battle-line4 ,he to save his life fled away alone2 ,like a deer he ran1 and entered into the great gate of his city4 ,his generals1 whom ,i had taken alive1 on crosses ,i hung2 ,his country ,i subdued2 ,damascus1 his city1 ,i subdued1 and like a caged bird ,i shut him in4 ,i cut down the unnumbered trees of his forest2 ,i left not one4 ,hadara1 the palace of the father of ,rezin of ,syria1 ,i burnt4 ,the city of ,samaria ,i besieged1 ,i captured2 eight hundred of its people and children ,i took2 ,their oxen and their sheep ,i carried away4 ,i took five hundred and ninety-one cities2 ,over sixteen districts of ,syria like a flood ,i swept4 ,but the more complete destruction of ,israel was due to ,shalmaneser ,,iv41 who says1-- ,the city of ,samaria ,i besieged1 ,i took1 ,i carried away twenty-seven thousand two hundred of its inhabitants2 ,i seized fifty of their chariots4 ,i gave up to plunder the rest of their possessions4 ,i appointed officers over them2 ,i laid on them the tribute of the former king4 ,in their place ,i settled the men of conquered countries4 ,the immediate service to ,judah looked immense4 ,the ,assyrian might safely claim1 and ,ahaz might truthfully confess1 that the intervention of ,tiglath-,pileser had rescued him from the apparent imminence of destruction4 ,but the ,assyrian kings served no one for nothing4 ,the price which had to be paid for ,tiglath-,pileser's intervention was vassalage and tribute4 ,ahaz1 or1 as the ,assyrians call him1 ,jehoahaz1#dfg had styled himself ,tiglath-,pileser's servant and his son1 and the ,assyrian chose to have substantial proof of this parental suzerainty4 ,the great king therefore summoned the poor subject-potentate to ,damascus1 where he was holding his victorious court4 ,so far ,ahaz had no reason to complain of his dreadful patron2 and if he had returned when he paid his homage1 no immediate harm would have happened4 ,but during his visit he saw the altar 7,heb47 at the conquered city4 ,was it the altar of the defeated ,syrian god ,rimmon8 or did the ,assyrian persuade his willing vassal to sacrifice at the portable altar of his god ,assur8 ,we may1 perhaps1 infer the former from #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #bc1 where ,ahaz says3 ,because the gods of the kings of ,syria help them1 therefore will ,i sacrifice to them1 that they may help me4 ,there is room to suspect some error here1 because ,rezin had fallen1 and ,damascus was in ruins1 and ,rimmon had conspicuously failed to help or to avenge his votaries4#dfh ,ahaz admired the altar1 to whatever god it had been erected2 and unmindful1 or perhaps unconscious1 that the altar of the ,temple of ,jerusalem was declared in the ,pentateuch to have been divinely ordained--a fact to which the historian does not himself refer--he sent to the head priest ,urijah a pattern of the altar which had struck his fancy at ,damascus4 ,the subservient priest1 without a murmur or a remonstrance1 undertook to have a similar altar ready for ,ahaz in the ,temple by the time of his return--a crime1 if crime it were1 which the ,chronicler conceals4 ,never any prince was so foully idolatrous1 says ,bishop ,hall1 as that he wanted a priest to second him4 ,a ,urijah is fit to humour an ,ahaz4#dfi ,greatness could never command anything which some servile wits were not ready both to applaud and justify4 ,certainly we should have hoped for more fidelity to ancient tradition from a man who earned the approving word of ,isaiah2 but it is only fair and just to admit that ,urijah1 in the universal ignorance which prevailed about the codes which were afterwards collected and published as the total legislation of the wilderness1 may have viewed his obedience to the king's commands with very different eyes from those by which it was regarded in the sixth and fifth centuries before ,christ4 ,he may have been frankly unaware that he was guilty of an act which would afterwards be denounced as an apostatising enormity4#dgj ,when ,ahaz returned1 he was so much pleased with his new plaything that he at once acted as priest at his own new altar4 ,without the least opposition from the priests--who had so sternly resisted ,uzziah--he offered burnt-offerings and meat-offerings and drink-offerings1 and sprinkled the blood of peace-offerings on his altar4#dga ,not content with this1 he did not hesitate to order the removal of the huge brazen altar from the position1 in front of the ,temple porch1 which it had held since the days of ,solomon4 ,he did this in order that his own favourite altar might be in the line of vision from the court1 and not be overshadowed by the old one1 which he shifted from the place of honour to the north side4 ,he proceeded to call his own altar the great altar1 and ordered that the morning burnt-offering1 and the evening minchah1 and all the principal sacrifices should henceforth be offered upon it4#dgb ,he did not wholly supersede the old brazen altar1 which1 he said1 shall be for me to inquire by1 or1 as the ,hebrew may perhaps mean1 it should await--i4e41 ,i will hereafter consider what to do with it4 ,ahaz is charged with the additional crime of removing the ornamental festoons of bronze pomegranates from the lavers1 and the brazen oxen from under the molten sea1 which henceforth lay dishonoured1 without its proper and splendid supports1 on the pavement of the court4#dgc ,he also took away the balustrade of the royal ascent from the palace to the ,temple1 and made a new entrance of a less gorgeous character than that which1 in the days of ,solomon1 the ,queen of ,sheba had admired4#dgd ,no doubt these proceedings helped to heighten the unpopularity of ,ahaz4 ,but what could he do8 ,he could1 indeed1 if he had had sufficient faith1 have trusted in ,jehovah1 as ,isaiah bade him do4 ,but he was under the terrific pressure of hostile circumstances1 and1 being a weak and timid man1 felt himself unable to resist the influence of the haughty politicians and worldly priests by whom he was surrounded--men who openly made ,isaiah their scoff4 ,when he invited the interposition of ,tiglath-,pileser1#dge all the other consequences of humiliation would naturally follow4 ,he probably disliked as much as any one to see the great molten laver taken off the backs of the oxen which showed the skill of the ancient ,hiram1 and did not admire the despoiled aspect of the shrine of his capital4 ,but if the ,king of ,assyria or his emissaries had 7as the historian implies7 cast greedy eyes on these splendid objects of antiquity1 the poor vassal could not refuse them4 ,better1 he may have thought1 that these material ornaments should go to ,nineveh than that he should be forced to exact yet heavier burdens from an impoverished people4 ,his expedient is mentioned among his crimes1 yet no one blamed the pious ,hezekiah when1 under similar circumstances1 he acted in precisely the same manner4#dgf ,the ,chronicler gives a darker aspect to his misdoings by saying that he cut to pieces the vessels of the house of ,god1 and made him altars in every corner of ,jerusalem1 and bamoth to burn incense unto other gods in every several city of ,judah4 ,he says1 further1 that he closed the great gates of the ,temple2 put an end to the kindling of the lamps1 the burning of incense1 and the daily offerings2 and left the whole ,temple to fall into ruin and neglect4#dgg ,we know no more of him4 ,he lived through an epoch marked by the final crisis in the existence of the kingdom of ,israel4 ,dark omens of every kind were around him1 and he seems to have been too frivolous to see them4 ,if he plumed himself on the removal of the two relentless invaders ,rezin and ,pekah1 he must have lived to feel that the terror of ,assyria had come appreciably nearer4 ,tiglath-,pileser had only helped ,judah in furtherance of his own designs1 and his exactions came like a chronic distress after the acuter crisis4 ,nor was there any improvement when he died in #gbg4 ,he was succeeded by ,shalmaneser ,,iv41 and ,shalmaneser ,,iv4 by ,sargon in #gbb1 the year of the fall of ,samaria4 ,we know no more of ,ahaz4 ,the historian says that he was buried with his fathers1 and the ,chronicler adds1 as in the case of ,uzziah and other kings1 that he was not permitted to rest in the sepulchres of the kings4#dgh ,he had sown the wind2 his son ,hezekiah had to reap the whirlwind4#dgi ,,footnotes3 #dee ,see #b ,kings xxiii4 #aa1 which shows that this was not an innovation of ,manasseh's4 ,they were common in ,persia4 ,see ,q4 ,curtius1 iii4 #c4 #def #b ,kings xvii4 #ca2 ,ezek4 xvi4 #ba1 xxiii4 #cg1 xxxiii4 #f2 ,deut4 xii4 #ca2 ,jer4 xix4 #e4 ,see #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #c2 for his son1 1 it uses his sons1 but perhaps generically4 ,moloch-worship may have been stimulated by accounts of the ,assyrian fire-god ,adrammelech 7,movers1 ,phniz41 ii4 #aja74 ,on this sacrifice of children to ,moloch1 which the ,phnicians referred back to the god ,el or ,il1 once ,king of ,byblos1 who in a crisis of danger sacrificed his eldest son ,icond1 see ,plut41 ,de ,superst41 #ac2 ,diod4 ,sic41 xx4 #ab-ad2 #b ,kings iii4 #bg1 xvi4 #c1 xxi4 #f2 ,mic4 vi4 #g2 ,dllinger1 ,judenthum u4 ,heidenthum 7,e4 ,t471 i4 #dbg-dbi4 #deg ,this worship was to be punished by stoning 7,lev4 xviii4 #ba1 xx4 #b-e2 ,deut4 xviii4 #aj74 ,on the whole subject see ,movers1 ,phniz41 #fd2 ,jarchi on ,jer4 vii4 #ca2 ,euseb41 ,prp4 ,ev41 iv4 #af4 #deh ,josephus says that ,ahaz made a whole burnt-offering of his son2 but his authority is very small 7 74 ,comp4 ,psalm cvi4 #cg4 #dei ,ignorant ,romanists have often cherished the same notions about the saints4 ,for centuries in ,spain the people bought the old gowns and cowls of the monks1 and buried their dead in them1 to deceive ,st4 ,peter into the notion that they were ,dominicans or ,franciscans6 #dfj ,see ,ovid1 ,fasti1 v4 #fei3 ,scripea pro domino ,tiberi jactatur imago4 ,they were also called ,argei1 id4 #fba2 ,varro1 ,l4 ,l41 vi4 #c4 #dfa ,varro1 ,l4 ,l41 v4 #c4 #dfb ,herod41 ii4 #acg4 ,egypt41 ,sebek2 ,heb41 ,so 7#b ,kings xvii4 #d71 or perhaps ,seve2 ,arab41 ,shab'i4 ,rawlinson1 ,hist4 of ,anct4 ,egypt1 ii4 #dcc-dej4 #dfc ,kir 7see ,amos ix4 #g7 is omitted in the ,,lxx4 ,elam is added in ,isa4 xxii4 #f4 ,tiglath-,pileser calls the king ,rasunnu ,sarimirisu--i4e41 of ,aram4 ,see ,smith1 ,assyr4 ,discoveries1 p4 #bgd2 ,eponym ,canon1 #fh2 ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 #aeb ff4 #dfd ,isa4 xvii4 #a-aa4 #dfe ,the name seems to be ,tuklat-abal-isarra1--according to ,oppert worshipper of the son of the ,zodiac--i4e41 of ,nin or ,hercules4 ,according to ,polyhistor1 he was a usurper who had been a vine-dresser in the royal gardens4 ,he never mentions his ancestry4 ,but see ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 #bag ff41 #bdj ff41 and in ,riehm4 #dff ,eponym ,canon1 p4 #aba1 lines #a-ae4 ,on this fall of ,damascus and ,samaria1 see ,isa4 xvii4 #dfg ,jahuhazi 7,schrader1 ,keilinschr41 p4 #bfc74 ,he probably bore both names2 but1 as in the case of ,jeconiah1 who is called ,coniah1 the omission of the element ,jehovah from his name may have been intended as a mark of reprobation4 #dfh ,the remark may refer to some earlier period in the reign of ,ahaz1 before the capture of ,damascus4 ,it is more probable that the altar was used for some ,assyrian deity1 and the adoption of it may have flattered ,tiglath-,pileser4 #dfi #b ,kings xvi4 #aa1 which records the zealous subservience of ,urijah1 is wanting in some ,,mss4 of the ,,lxx4 ,but that the altar was made1 and without his opposition1 is clear from the narrative4 ,asa 7#b ,chron4 xv4 #h7 had repaired ,solomon's great altar2 ,hezekiah subsequently cleansed it 7id4 xxix4 #ah72 ,manasseh rebuilt it 7,q'ri74 ,the brass of it ultimately went to ,babylon 7,jer4 lii4 #ag-bj74 #dgj ,bhr says3 ,it seems that ,urijah1 like his companion1 was only anxious for his revenues4 ,at any rate1 his conduct is a sign of the character and standing of the priests of that time4 ,they were 'dumb dogs who could not bark4' ,they all followed their own ways1 every one for his own gain 7,isa4 lvi4 #aj1 #aa74 ,we have in this high priest1 says the ,wrtemberg ,summary1 a specimen of those hypocrites and belly-servants who say1 ',whose bread ,i eat1 his song ,i sing'2 who veer about with the wind1 and seek to be pleasant to all men2 who wish to hurt no one's feelings1 but teach just what any one wants to hear4 #dga #a ,kings viii4 #fd2 #b ,chron4 iv4 #a4 ,in this and similar instances commentators1 biassed by a priori considerations1 have imagined that ,ahaz did not in person offer sacrifices4 ,but this is what the text says1 and it was the custom of kings to regard themselves as invested with ,divine attributes4 ,ahaz may have had this lesson impressed on his mind by his visit to ,tiglath-,pileser4 ,see ,grtz1 ,gesch4 der ,juden41 ii4 #aej4 ,layard1 ,nin4 and ,bab41 #dgb ff41 gives us pictures of ,assyrian kings ministering at their altars1 which are of various shapes4 #dgb #b ,kings xvi4 #ae4 ,vulg41 paratum erit ad voluntatem meam4 ,the ,,lxx4 followed another reading3 4 ,grtz 7ii4 #aej71 for 1 to inquire1 reads to draw near to4 #dgc #a ,kings vii4 #bc-ci4 #dgd #b ,kings xvi4 #ah4 ,the allusions are obscure4 ,r4,v41 the covered way2 ,a4,v41 the covert for the ,sabbath4 ,see #b ,chron4 ix4 #d4 ,here the ,hebr4 ,q'ri has ,msak1 and the ,vulg4 ,musach ,sabbati4 ,the ,,lxx4 evidently did not understand it 7 74 ,for covert for the ,sabbath1 ,geiger suggests molten images for the ,shame 7,bosheth-,baal1 by transposition of ,shabbath74 ,comp4 #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #b4 #dge #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #bj3 ,tiglath-,pileser came unto him1 and distressed him1 but helped him not4 #dgf #b ,kings xviii4 #ae1 #af4 #dgg ,in justice to ,ahaz1 we should observe that 7#a7 in every instance the later account multiplies and magnifies and gives a darker colouring to his offences2 7#b7 that neither ,isaiah1 ,micah1 nor any other prophet has a word of reproach for such enormities in ,ahaz4 #dgh ,it is a ,jewish tradition that ,hezekiah would not bury his father ,ahaz in a sarcophagus1 but on a bier 7,pesachin1 f4 #ef1 #a2 ,sanhedrin1 f4 #dg1 #a2 ,grtz1 ,gesch4 d4 ,juden41 ii1 #bbd74 #dgi ,his name1 ,chizquyyah1 is shortened from ,yechizquyyahoo 7,isa4 i4 #a2 #b ,kings xx4 #aj2 ,hos4 i4 #a74 ,it means ,jehovah's strength 7,gesen471 or ,yah is might 7,frst74 ,,probable ,,dates4 ,b4,c4 #gde4 ,accession of ,tiglath-,pileser4 #gdf4 ,death of ,uzziah4 ,accession of ,jotham4 ,first vision of ,isaiah 7,isa4 vi474 #gce4 ,accession of ,ahaz4 ,syro-,ephraimitish war4 #gcd-gcb4 ,siege and capture of ,damascus1 and ravage of ,northern ,israel by ,tiglath-,pileser4 ,visit of ,ahaz to ,damascus4 #gbg4 ,accession of ,shalmaneser ,,iv4 #gbb4 ,accession of ,sargon4 ,capture of ,samaria1 and captivity of the ,ten ,tribes4 #gbj4 ,defeat of ,sabaco by ,sargon at ,raphia4 #gae7874 ,accession of ,hezekiah4 #gaa4 ,sargon captures ,ashdod4 #gjg4 ,sargon defeats ,merodach-,baladan1 and captures ,babylon4 #gje4 ,murder of ,sargon4 ,accession of ,sennacherib4 #gja4 ,sennacherib besieges ,ekron4 ,defeats ,egypt at ,altaqu4 ,invades ,judah1 and spares ,hezekiah4 ,invades ,egypt1 and sends the ,rabshakeh to ,jerusalem4 ,disaster of ,assyrians at ,pelusium1 and disappearance from before ,jerusalem4 #fig4 ,death of ,hezekiah4 ,accession of ,manasseh4 #fha4 ,death of ,sennacherib4 #fjh4 ,battle of ,megiddo4 ,death of ,josiah4 #fjg4 ,fall of ,nineveh and ,assyria4 ,triumph of ,babylon4 #fje4 ,battle of ,carchemish4 ,defeat of ,pharaoh ,necho by ,nebuchadrezzar4 #eii4 ,first deportation of ,jews to ,babylon by ,nebuchadrezzar4 #ehh4 ,destruction of ,jerusalem4 ,second deportation4 #ech4 ,cyrus captures ,babylon4 #ecf4 ,decree of ,cyrus4 ,return of ,zerubbabel and the first ,jewish exiles4 #deh4 ,return of ,ezra4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,hezekiah ,b4,c4 #gae-fhfdhj #b ,,kings xviii ,for ,ezekias had done the thing that pleased the ,lord1 and was strong in the ways of ,david his father1 as ,esay the prophet1 who was great and faithful in his vision1 had commanded him1--,,ecclus4 xlviii4 #bb4 ,the reign of ,hezekiah was epoch-making in many respects1 but especially for its religious reformation1 and the relations of ,judah with ,assyria and with ,babylon4 ,it is also most closely interwoven with the annals of ,hebrew prophecy1 and acquires unwonted lustre from the magnificent activity and impassioned eloquence of the great prophet ,isaiah1 who merits in many ways the title of the ,evangelical ,prophet1 and who was the greatest of the prophets of the ,old ,dispensation4 ,according to the notice in #b ,kings xviii4 #b1 ,hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign in the third year of ,hoshea of ,israel4 ,this1 however1 is practically impossible consistently with the dates that ,ahaz reigned sixteen years and became king at the age of twenty1 for it would then follow that ,hezekiah was born when his father was a mere boy--and this1 although ,hezekiah does not seem to have been the eldest son2 for ,ahaz had burnt his son1 and1 according to the ,chronicler1 more than one son1 to propitiate ,moloch4 ,probably ,hezekiah was a boy of fifteen when he began to reign4 ,the chronology of his reign of twenty-nine years is1 unhappily1 much confused4 ,the historian of the ,kings agrees with the ,chronicler1 and the son of ,sirach1 in pronouncing upon him a high eulogy1 and making him equal even to ,david in faithfulness4 ,there is1 however1 much difference in the method of their descriptions of his doings4 ,the historian devotes but one verse to his reformation--which probably began early in his reign1 though it occupied many years4 ,the ,chronicler1 on the other hand1 in his three chapters manages to overlook1 if not to suppress1 the one incident of the reformation which is of the deepest interest4 ,it is exactly one of those suppressions which help to create the deep misgiving as to the historic exactness of this biassed and late historian4 ,it must be regarded as doubtful whether many of the ,levitic details in which he revels are or are not intended to be literally historic4 ,imaginative additions to literal history became common among the ,jews after the ,exile1 and leaders of that day instinctively drew the line between moral homiletics and literal history4 ,it may be perfectly historical that1 as the ,chronicler says1 ,hezekiah opened and repaired the ,temple2 gathered the priests and the ,levites together1 and made them cleanse themselves2 offered a solemn sacrifice2 reappointed the musical services2 and--though this can hardly have been till after the ,fall of ,samaria in #gbb--;invited all the ,israelites to a solemn1 but in some respects irregular1 passover of fourteen days4 ,it may be true also that he broke up the idolatrous altars in ,jerusalem1 and tossed their dbris into the ,kidron2 and 7again after the deportation of ,israel7 destroyed some of the bamoth in ,israel as well as in ,judah4 ,if he reinstituted the courses of the priests1 the collection of tithes1 and all else that he is said to have done1#dha he accomplished quite as much as was effected in the reign of his great-grandson ,josiah4 ,but while the ,chronicler dwells on all this at such length1 what induces him to omit the most significant fact of all--the destruction of the brazen serpent8 ,the historian tells us that ,hezekiah removed the bamoth--the chapels on the high places1 with their ephods and teraphim--whether dedicated to the worship of ,jehovah or profaned by alien idolatry4 ,that he did1 or attempted1 something of this kind seems certain2 for the ,rabshakeh1 if we regard his speech as historical in its details1 actually taunted him with impiety1 and threatened him with the wrath of ,jehovah on this very account4 ,yet here we are at once met with the many difficulties with which the history of ,israel abounds1 and which remind us at every turn that we know much less about the inner life and religious conditions of the ,hebrews than we might infer from a superficial study of the historians who wrote so many centuries after the events which they describe4 ,over and over again their incidental notices reveal a condition of society and worship which violently collides with what seems to be their general estimate4 ,who1 for instance1 would not infer from this notice that in ,judah1 at any rate1 the king's suppression of the high places1 and above all of those which were idolatrous1 had been tolerably thorough8 ,how much1 then1 are we amazed to find that ,hezekiah had not effectually desecrated even the old shrines which ,solomon had erected to ,ashtoreth1 ,chemosh1 and ,milcom#dhb at the right hand of the mount of corruption--in other words1 on one of the peaks of the ,mount of ,olives1 in full view of the walls of ,jerusalem and of the ,temple ,hill6 ,and he brake the images1 or1 as the ,r4,v4 more correctly renders it1 the pillars1 the matstseboth4 ,originally--that is1 before the appearance of the ,deuteronomic and the ,priestly ,codes--no objection seems to have been felt to the erection of a matstsebah4 ,jacob erected one of these baitulia or anointed stones at ,bethel1 with every sign of ,divine approval4#dhc ,moses erected twelve round his altar at ,sinai4#dhd ,joshua erected them in ,shechem and on ,mount ,ebal4 ,hosea1 in one passage 7iii4 #d71 seems to mention pillars1 ephods1 and teraphim as legitimate objects of desire4 ,whether they have any relation to obelisks1 and what is their exact significance1 is uncertain2 but they had become objects of just suspicion in the universal tendency to idolatry1 and in the deepening conviction that the second commandment required a far more rigid adherence than it had hitherto received4 ,and cut down the groves--or rather the ,asherim1 the wooden1 and probably in some instances phallic1 emblems of the nature-goddess ,asherah1 the goddess of fertility4#dhe ,she is sometimes identified with ,astarte1 the goddess of the moon and of love2 but there is no sufficient ground for the identification4 ,some1 indeed1 doubt whether ,asherah is the name of a goddess at all4 ,they suppose that the word only means a consecrated pole or pillar1 emblematic of the sacred tree4#dhf ,then comes the startling addition1 ,and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that ,moses had made3 for unto those days the children of ,israel did burn incense to it4 ,this addition is all the more singular because the ,hebrew tense implies habitual worship4 ,the story of the brazen serpent of the wilderness is told in ,num4 xxi4 #i2 but not an allusion to it occurs anywhere1 till now--some eight centuries later--we are told that up to this time the children of ,israel had been in the habit of burning incense to it6 ,comparing ,num4 xxi4 #d1 with xxxiii4 #db1 we find that the scene of the serpent-plague of the ,exodus was either ,zalmonah 7the place of the image7 or ,punon1 which ,bochart connects with ,phainoi1 a place mentioned as famous for copper-mines4#dhg ,moses1 for unknown reasons1 chose it as an innocent and potent symbol2 but obviously in later days it subserved1 or was mingled with1 the tendency to ophiolatry1 which has been fatally common in all ages in many heathen lands4 ,it is indeed most difficult to understand a state of things in which the children of ,israel habitually burned incense to this venerable relic1 nor can we imagine that this was done without the cognisance and connivance of the priests4 ,ewald makes the conjecture that the brazen ,saraph had been left at ,zalmonah1 and was an occasional object of ,israelite adoration in pilgrimage for the purpose4 ,there is1 however1 nothing more extraordinary in the prevalence of serpent-worship among the ,jews than in the fact that1 in the cities of ,judah and the streets of ,jerusalem1 we 7the ,jews71 and our fathers1 our kings1 and our princes1 burnt incense unto the ,queen of ,heaven4#dhh ,if this were the case1 the serpent may have been brought to ,jerusalem in the idolatrous reign of ,ahaz4 ,it shows an intensity of reforming zeal1 and an inspired insight into the reality of things1 that ,hezekiah should not have hesitated to smash to pieces so interesting a relic of the oldest history of his people1 rather than see it abused to idolatrous purposes4#dhi ,certainly1 in conduct so heroic1 and hatred of idolatry so strong1 the ,puritans might well find sufficient authority for removing from ,westminster ,abbey the images of the ,virgin1 which1 in their opinion1 had been worshipped1 and before which lamps had been perpetually burned4 ,if we can imagine an ,english king breaking to pieces the shrine of the ,confessor in the ,abbey1 or a ,french king destroying the sacred ampulla of ,rheims or the goupillon of ,st4 ,eligius1 on the ground that many regarded them with superstitious reverence1 we may measure the effect produced by this startling act of ,puritan zeal on the part of ,hezekiah4 ,and he called it ,nehushtan4 ,if this rendering--in which our ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v4 follow the ,,lxx4 and the ,vulgate--be correct1 ,hezekiah justified the iconoclasm by a brilliant play of words4#dij ,the ,hebrew words for a serpent 7nachash7 and for brass 7nechosheth7 are closely akin to each other2 and the king showed his just estimate of the relic which had been so shamefully abused by contemptuously designating it--as it was in itself and apart from its sacred historic associations--nehushtan1 a thing of brass4 ,the rendering1 however1 is uncertain1 for the phrase may be impersonal--one or they called it ,nehushtan#dia--;in which case the assonance had lost any ironic connotation4#dib ,for this act of purity of worship1 and for other reasons1 the historian calls ,hezekiah the best of all the kings of ,judah1 superior alike to all his predecessors and all his successors4 ,he regarded him as coming up to the ,deuteronomic ideal1 and says that therefore the ,lord was with him1 and he prospered whithersoever he went forth4 ,the date of this great reformation is rendered uncertain by the impossibility of ascertaining the exact order of ,isaiah's prophecies4 ,the most probable view is that it was gradual1 and some of the king's most effective measures may not have been carried out till after the deliverance from ,assyria4 ,it is clear1 however1 that the wisdom of ,hezekiah and his counsellors began from the first to uplift ,judah from the degradation and decrepitude to which it had sunk under the reign of ,ahaz4 ,the boy-king found a wretched state of affairs at his accession4 ,his father had bequeathed to him an empty treasury1 a ruined peasantry1 an unprotected frontier1 and a shattered army2#dic but although he was still the vassal of ,assyria1 he reverted to the ideas of his great-grandfather ,uzziah4 ,he strengthened the city1 and enabled it to stand a siege by improving the water-supply4 ,of these labours we have1 in all probability1 a most interesting confirmation in the inscription by ,hezekiah's engineers1 discovered in #ahhj1 on the rocky walls of the subterranean tunnel 7siloh7 between the spring of ,gihon and the ,pool of ,siloam4#did ,he encouraged agriculture1 the storage of produce1 and the proper tendance of flocks and herds1 so that he acquired wealth which dimly reminded men of the days of ,solomon4 ,there is little doubt that he early meditated revolt from ,assyria2 for renewed faithfulness to ,jehovah had elevated the moral tone1 and therefore the courage and hopefulness1 of the whole people4 ,the ,forty-,sixth ,psalm1 whatever may be its date1 expresses the invincible spirit of a nation which in its penitence and self-purification began to feel itself irresistible1 and could sing3-- ,god is our hope and strength1 ,a very present help in trouble4 ,therefore will we not fear1 though the earth be moved1 ,though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea4 ,there is a river1 the streams whereof make glad the city of ,god1 ,the ,holy ,city where dwells the ,most ,high4 ,god is in the midst of her2 therefore shall she not be shaken3 ,god shall help her1 and that right early4 ,heathens raged and kingdoms trembled3 ,he lifted ,his voice--the earth melted away4 ,jehovah of ,hosts is with us2 ,elohim of ,jacob is our refuge4#die ,it was no doubt the spirit of renewed confidence which led ,hezekiah to undertake his one military enterprise--the chastisement of the long-troublesome ,philistines4 ,he was entirely successful4 ,he not only won back the cities which his father had lost1#dif but he also dispossessed them of their own cities1 even unto ,gaza1 which was their southernmost possession--from the tower of the watchman to the fenced city4#dig ,there can be no doubt that this act involved an almost open defiance of the ,assyrian ,king2 but if ,hezekiah dreamed of independence1 it was essential for him to be free from the raids and the menace of a neighbour so dangerous as ,philistia1 and so inveterately hostile4 ,it is not improbable that he may have devoted to this war the money which would otherwise have gone to pay the tribute to ,shalmaneser or ,sargon1 which had been continued since the date of the appeal of ,ahaz to ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 ,when ,sargon applied for the tribute ,hezekiah refused it1 and even omitted to send the customary present4 ,it is clear that in this line of conduct the king was following the exhortations of ,isaiah4 ,it showed no small firmness of character that he was able to choose a decided course amid the chaos of contending counsels4 ,nothing but a most heroic courage could have enabled him1 at any period of his reign1 to defy that dark cloud of ,assyrian war which ever loomed on the horizon1 and from which but little sufficed to elicit the destructive lightning-flash4 ,there were three permanent parties in the ,court of ,hezekiah1 each incessantly trying to sway the king to its own counsels1 and each representing those counsels as indispensable to the happiness1 and even to the existence1 of the ,state4 ,i4 ,there was the ,assyrian party1 urging with natural vehemence that the fierce northern king was as irresistible in power as he was terrible in vengeance4 ,the fearful cruelties which had been committed at ,beth-,arbel1 the devastation and misery of the ,trans-,jordanic tribes1 the obliteration and deportation of the heavily afflicted districts of ,zebulon1 ,naphtali1 and the way of the sea in ,galilee of the nations1 the already inevitable and imminent destruction of ,samaria and her king and the whole ,northern ,kingdom1 together with that certain deportation of its inhabitants of which the fatal policy had been established by ,tiglath-,pileser1 would constitute weighty arguments against resistance4 ,such considerations would appeal powerfully to the panic of the despondent section of the community1 which was only actuated1 as most men are1 by considerations of ordinary political expediency4 ,the foul apparition of the ,ninevites1 which for five centuries afflicted the nations1 is now only visible to us in the bas-reliefs and inscriptions unearthed from their burnt palaces4 ,there they live before us in their own sculptures1 with their thickset1 sensual figures1 and the expression of calm and settled ferocity on their faces1 exhibiting a frightful nonchalance as they look on at the infliction of diabolical atrocities upon their vanquished enemies4 ,but in the eighth century before ,christ they were visible to all the eastern world in the exuberance of the most brutal parts of the nature of man4 ,men had heard how1 a century earlier1 ,assurnazipal boasted that he had dyed the mountains of the ,nairi with blood like wool2 how he had flayed captive kings alive1 and dressed pillars with their skins2 how he had walled up others alive1 or impaled them on stakes2 how he had burnt boys and girls alive1 put out eyes1 cut off hands1 feet1 ears1 and noses1 pulled out the tongues of his enemies1 and at the command of ,assur his god had flung their limbs to vultures and eagles1 to dogs and bears4 ,the ,jews1 too1 must have realised with a vividness which is to us impossible the cruel nature of the usurper ,sargon4 ,he is represented on his monuments as putting out with his own hands the eyes of his miserable captives2 while1 to prevent them from flinching when the spear which he holds in his hand is plunged into their eye-sockets1 a hook is inserted through their nose and lips and held fast with a bridle4 ,can we not imagine the pathos with which this party would depict such horrors to the tremblers of ,judah8 ,would they not bewail the fanaticism which led the prophets to seduce their king into the suicidal policy of defying such a power8 ,to these men the sole path of national safety lay in continuing to be quiet vassals and faithful tributaries of these destroyers of cities and treaders-down of foes4 ,,ii4 ,then there was the ,egyptian party1 headed probably by the powerful ,shebna1 the chancellor4#dih ,his foreign name1 the fact that his father is not mentioned1 and the question of ,isaiah--,what hast thou here8 and whom hast thou here1 that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here8--seem to indicate that he was by birth a foreigner1 perhaps a ,syrian4#dii ,the prophet1 indignant at his powerful interference with domestic politics1 threatens him1 in words of tremendous energy1 with exile and degradation4#ejj ,he lost his place of chancellor1 and we next find him in the inferior1 though still honourable1 office of secretary 7sopher1 #b ,kings xviii4 #ah71 while ,eliakim had been promoted to his vacant place 7,isa4 xxii4 #ba74 ,perhaps he may have afterwards repented1 and the doom have been lightened4#eja ,circumstances at any rate reduced him from the scornful spirit which seems to have marked his earlier opposition to the prophetic counsels1 and perhaps the powerful warning and menace of ,isaiah may have exercised an influence on his mind4 ,,iii4 ,the third party1 if it could even be called a party1 was that of ,isaiah and a few of the faithful1 aided no doubt by the influence of the prophecies of ,micah4 ,their attitude to both the other parties was antagonistic4 i4 ,as regards the ,assyrian1 they did not attempt to minimise the danger4 ,they represented the peril from the kingdom of ,nineveh as ,god's appointed scourge for the transgressions of ,judah1 as it had been for the transgressions of ,israel4 ,thus ,micah sees in imagination the terrible march of the invader by ,gath1 ,akko1 ,beth-le-,aphrah1 ,maroth1 ,lachish1 and ,adullam4 ,he plays with bitter anguish on the name of each town as an omen of humiliation and ruin1 and calls on ,zion to make herself bald for the children of her delight1 and to enlarge her baldness as the vultures1 because they are gone into captivity4#ejb ,he turns fiercely on the greedy grandees1 the false prophets1 the blood-stained princes1 the hireling priests1 the bribe-taking soothsayers1 who were responsible for the guilt which should draw down the vengeance4 ,he ends with the fearful prophecy--which struck a chill into men's hearts a century later1 and had an important influence on ,jewish history--,therefore1 because of you shall ,zion be ploughed as a field1 and ,jerusalem become ruins1 and the hill of the ,temple as heights in the wood2--though there should be an ultimate deliverance from ,migdal-,eder1 and a remnant should be saved4#ejc ,similar to ,micah's1 and possibly not uninfluenced by it1 is ,isaiah's imaginary picture of the march of ,assyria1 which must have been full of terror to the poor inhabitants of ,jerusalem4#ejd ,he is come to ,aiath6 ,he is passed through ,migron6 ,at ,michmash he layeth up his baggage3 ,they are gone over the pass3 ',geba1' they cry1 'is our lodging4' ,ramah trembleth3 ,gibeah of ,saul is fled6 ,raise thy shrill cries1 ,o daughter of ,gallim6 ,hearken1 ,o ,laishah6 ,answer her1 ,o ,anathoth6 ,madmenah is in wild flight 7874 ,the inhabitants of ,gebim gather their stuff to flee4 ,this very day shall he halt at ,nob4 ,he shaketh his hand at the mount of the daughter of ,zion1 ,the hill of ,jerusalem4 ,yet ,isaiah1 and the little band of prophets1 in spite of their perils1 did not share the views of the ,assyrian party or counsel submission4 ,on the contrary1 even as they contemplate in imagination this terrific march of ,sargon1 they threaten ,assyria4 ,the ,assyrian might smite ,judah1 but ,god should smite the ,assyrians4 ,he boasts that he will rifle the riches of the people as one robs the eggs of a trembling bird1 which does not dare to cheep or move the wing4#eje ,but ,isaiah tells him that he is but the axe boasting against the hewer1 and the wooden staff lifting itself up against its wielder4 ,burning should be scattered over his glory4 ,the ,lord of hosts should lop his boughs with terror1 and a mighty one should hew down the crashing forest of his haughty ,lebanon4 ii4 ,still more indignant were the true prophets against those who trusted in an alliance with ,egypt4 ,from first to last ,isaiah warned ,ahaz1 and warned ,hezekiah1 that no reliance was to be placed on ,egyptian promises--that ,egypt was but like the reed of his own ,nile4 ,he mocked the hopes placed on ,egyptian intervention as being no less sure of disannulment than a covenant with death and an agreement with ,sheol4 ,this rebellious reliance on the shadow of ,egypt was but the weaving of an unrighteous web1 and the adding of sin to sin4 ,it should lead to nothing but shame and confusion1 and the ,jewish ambassadors to ,zoan and ,egypt should only have to blush for a people that could neither help nor profit4 ,and then branding ,egypt with the old insulting name of ,rahab1 or ,blusterer1 he says1-- ,egypt helpeth in vain1 and to no purpose4 ,therefore have ,i called her ',rahab1 that sitteth still4' ,indolent braggart--that was the only designation which she deserved6 ,intrigue and braggadocio--smoke and lukewarm water1--this was all which could be expected from her6#ejf ,such teaching was eminently distasteful to the worldly politicians1 who regarded faith in ,jehovah's intervention as no better than ridiculous fanaticism1 and forgot ,god's wisdom in the inflated self-satisfaction of their own4 ,the priests--luxurious1 drunken1 scornful--were naturally with them4 ,men were fine and stylish1 and in their religious criticisms could not express too lofty a contempt for any one who1 like ,isaiah1 was too sincere to care for the mere polishing of phrases1 and too much in earnest to shrink from reiteration4 ,in their self-indulgent banquets these sleek1 smug euphemists made themselves very merry over ,isaiah's simplicity1 reiteration1 and directness of expression4 ,with hiccoughing insolence they asked whether they were to be treated like weaned babes2 and then wagging their heads1 as their successors did at ,christ upon the cross1 they indulged themselves in a mimicry1 which they regarded as witty1 of ,isaiah's style and manner4 ,with him they said it is all1-- ,tsav-la-tsav1 tsav-la-tsav1 ,quav-la-quav1 quav-la-quav1 ,z'eir sham1 ,z'eir sham6-- which may be imitated thus3--,with him it is always ,bit and bit1 bid and bid1 for-bid and for-bid1 forbid and forbid1 a lit-tle bit here1 a lit-tle bit there4#ejg ,monosyllable is heaped on monosyllable2 and no doubt the speakers tipsily adopted the tones of fond mothers addressing their babes and weanlings4 ,using the ,hebrew words1 one of these shameless roysterers would say1 ,tsav-la-tsav1 tsav-la-tsav1 quav-la-quav1 quav-la-quav1 ,z'eir sham1 ,z'eir sham1--that is how that simpleton ,isaiah speaks4 ,and then doubtless a drunken laugh would go round the table1 and half a dozen of them would be saying thus1 ,tsav-la-tsav1 tsav-la-tsav1 at once4 ,they derided ,isaiah just as the philosophers of ,athens derided ,st4 ,paul--as a mere spermologos1 a seed-pecker6#ejh or picker-up of learning's crumbs4 ,is all this petty monosyllabism fit teaching for persons like us8 ,are we to be taught by copybooks8 ,do we need the censorship of this ,old ,morality8 ,on whom1 full of the fire of ,god1 ,isaiah turned1 and told these scornful tipsters1 who lorded it over ,god's heritage in ,jerusalem1 that1 since they disdained his stammerings1 ,god would teach them by men of strange lips and alien tongue4 ,they might mimic the style of the ,assyrians also if they liked2 but they should fall backward1 and be broken1 and snared1 and taken4#eji ,it must not be forgotten that the struggle of the prophets against these parties was far more severe than we might suppose4 ,the politicians of expediency had supporters among the leading princes4 ,the priests--whom the prophets so constantly and sternly denounce--adhered to them2 and1 as usual1 the women were all of the priestly party 7comp4 ,isa4 xxxii4 #i-bj74 ,the king1 indeed1 was inclined to side with his prophet1 but the king was terribly overshadowed by a powerful and worldly aristocracy1 of which the influence was almost always on the side of luxury1 idolatry1 and oppression4 iii4 ,but what had ,isaiah to offer in the place of the policy of these worldly and sacerdotal advisers of the king8 ,it was the simple command ,trust in the ,lord4 ,it was the threefold message ,god is high2 ,god is near2 ,god is ,love4#eaj ,had he not told ,ahaz not to fear the stumps of two smouldering torches1 when ,rezin and ,pekah seemed awfully dangerous to ,judah8 ,so he tells them now that1 though their sins had necessitated the rushing stroke of ,assyrian judgment1 ,zion should not be utterly destroyed4 ,in ,isaiah the calmness requisite for sagacity rose from faith4 ,mr4 ,bagehot might have appealed to ,isaiah's whole policy in illustration of what he has so well described as the military and political benefits of religion4 ,monotheism is of advantage to men not only by reason of the high concentration of steady feeling which it produces1 but also for the mental calmness and sagacity which surely springs from a pure and vivid conviction that the ,lord reigneth4#eaa ,isaiah's whole conviction might have been summed up in the name of the king himself3 ,jehovah maketh strong4 ,king ,hezekiah1 apparently not a man of much personal force1 though of sincere piety1 was naturally distracted by the counsels of these three parties3 and who can judge him severely if1 beset with such terrific dangers1 he occasionally wavered1 now to one side1 now to the other8 ,on the whole1 it is clear that he was wise and faithful1 and deserves the high eulogy that his faith failed not4 ,naturally he had not within his soul that burning light of inspiration which made ,isaiah so sure that1 even though clouds and darkness might lower on every side1 ,god was an eternal ,sun1 which flamed for ever in the zenith1 even when not visible to any eye save that of ,faith4 ,,footnotes3 #dhj ,the first of these dates is highly uncertain1 as is the entire chronology of this reign4 ,i follow ,kittel4 #dha #b ,chron4 xxxi4 #b-ba4 #dhb ,josiah did this many years later 7#b ,kings xxiii4 #ac74 #dhc ,gen4 xxxv4 #ad4 ,see ,spencer1 ,de legg4 ,hebr41 i4 #ddd2 ,bochart1 ,canaan1 ii4 #b4 #dhd ,exod4 xxiv4 #d4 ,comp4 ,deut4 vii4 #e1 xii4 #c1 xvi4 #bb2 ,lev4 xxvi4 #a2 #b ,chron4 xiv4 #c1 xxxi4 #a2 ,jer4 xliii4 #ac2 ,hos4 x4 #b2 ,mic4 v4 #ac 7where the ,a4,v4 often has statue or image74 ,comp4 ,clem4 ,alex41 ,strom41 i4 #bd2 ,arnob41 c4 ,gent41 i4 #ci4 #dhe ,the rendering grove in the ,a4,v4 is borrowed from the of the ,,lxx41 and the lucus of the ,vulgate4 ,on the connection of the ,asherah with the sacred tree of the ,assyrian1 see my article on ,grove in ,smith's ,dict4 of the ,bible2 and ,fergusson1 ,nineveh and ,persepolis ,restored1 #bii-cjd4 ,on the worship of ,asherah1 see #a ,kings xv4 #ac2 #b ,kings xxi4 #c-g1 xxiii4 #d2 #b ,chron4 xv4 #af2 ,judg4 iii4 #e-g1 vi4 #be1 xviii4 #ah4 ,baudissin in ,herzog ,realencykl41 s4v4 ,we may well be startled by the prevalence of idolatry in ,jerusalem revealed in ,isa4 x4 #aa1 xxvii4 #i1 xxix4 #aa1 xxx4 #i1 #bb1 etc4 #dhf ,see ,wellhausen1 ,hist41 #bce2 ,stade1 ,gesch4 d4 ,v4 ,i41 #dfj2 ,w4 ,r4 ,smith1 ,religion of the ,semites1 #aga2 ,cheyne1 ,isaiah1 ii4 #cjc2 ,renan1 ,hist4 du ,peuple d',israel1 i4 #bcj 7,prof4 ,driver1 ,bibl4 ,dict41 i4 #beh1 #bnd edition74 #dhg ,hierozoicon1 ii4 #c1 #ac4 #dhh ,jer4 xliv4 #ag4 ,in the collection of antiquities of ,baron ,ustinoff at ,jaffa are five or six dragon-headed serpents1 with ears of copper and hollow inside4 ,they are ancient1 and were perhaps used as talismanic copies of ,nehushtan4 #dhi ,if this was a genuine relic1 it must have been nearly eight hundred years old4 ,it is never mentioned elsewhere4 #dij 1 a brazen thing4 ,the king certainly showed a horror of sacerdotal imposture and religious materialism4 ,yet ,renan argues1 from ,isa4 x4 #aa1 xxvii4 #i1 xxx4 #i1 #bb1 that he must have had a certain amount of tolerance4 ,see ,hist4 du ,peuple d',israel1 iii4 #cj4 #dia #b ,kings xviii4 #d4 ,vayyikra is like the ,english indefinite plural4 ,the impersonal rendering 7as in other passages7 is adopted in the ,targum of ,jonathan1 the ,peshito1 etc41 and by ,luther1 ,bunsen1 ,ewald1 and most moderns4 #dib ,this relic is still shown in the ,church of ,st4 ,ambrose at ,milan4 ,it used to be the popular notion that it would hiss at the end of the world4 ,the history of the ,milan relic is that a ,milanese envoy to the court of the ,emperor ,john ,zimisces at ,constantinople chose it from the imperial treasures1 being assured that it was made of the same metal that ,hezekiah had broken up 7,sigonius1 ,hist4 ,regn4 ,ital41 vii474 ,it is probably a symbol used by some ophite sect4 ,see ,dean ,plumptre1 ,dict4 of ,bibl41 s4v4 ,serpent4 #dic #b ,kings xvi4 #h2 ,driver1 ,isaiah1 #fh4 #did ,the diverting of the water-courses enabled him to bring the water into the city by a subterranean tunnel4 ,the ,saracens took a similar precaution 7,gul4 ,tyr41 viii4 #g74 ,see ,appendix ,,ii41 where the inscription is given2 and compare #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #cj4 ,apparently it carried the water of ,gihon to the south-east gate1 where were the king's gardens4 ,ecclus4 xlviii4 #ag3 ,ezekias fortified his city1 and brought in water into the midst thereof3 he digged the hard rock with iron1 and made wells for water4 ,for water the ,,mss4 read ,gog1 a corruption probably for 1 a conduit 7,geiger7 or ,gihon 7,fritzsche74 #die ,psalm xlvi4 #a-aa4 #dif #b ,chron4 xxviii4 #ah4 #dig #b ,kings xviii4 #h3 comp4 xvii4 #i4 ,josephus says that he failed to take ,gath 7,antt41 ,,ix4 xiii4 #c74 #dih ,a4,v41 treasurer 7soken2 lit41 deputy or associate3 ,isa4 xxii4 #ae74 ,he was over the household4 ,the ,egyptian alliance had for ,judah1 as ,renan points out1 some of the fascination that a ,russian alliance has often had for troubled spirits in ,france 7,hist4 du ,peuple d',israel1 iii4 #ab74 #dii ,renan says that he may have been a ,sebennyite1 and his name ,sebent4 #ejj ,isa4 xxii4 #ag1 #ah3 ,behold1 the ,lord shall sling and sling1 and pack and pack1 and toss and toss thee away like a ball into a distant land2 and there thou shalt die 7,stanley74 ,the versions vary considerably4 #eja ,isa4 xxxvii4 #b4 ,there can be little doubt that there were not two ,shebnas4 #ejb ,mic4 i4 #aj-af4 ,see the writer's ,minor ,prophets 7,men of the ,bible ,series71 pp4 #acj-acc1 for an explanation of this enigmatic prophecy4 #ejc ,jer4 xxvi4 #h-bd4 ,he tells us that the prophecy was delivered in the reign of ,hezekiah4 ,see my ,minor ,prophets1 pp4 #abc-adj4 #ejd ,isa4 x4 #bh-cb4 ,it would involve a cross-country route over several deep ravines--e4g41 the ,wady ,suweinit1 near ,michmash4 ,in #a ,sam4 xiv4 #b1 ,thenius1 for ,migron1 reads the ,precipice4 ,some take ,aiath for ,ai1 three miles south of ,bethel4 ,renan says 7,hist4 du ,peuple d',israel1 iii473 ,nom d',anathoth1 arrang symboliquement4 #eje ,isa4 x4 #ad4 ,the metaphor of a bird's nest occurs more than once in the boastful ,assyrian records4 #ejf ,isa4 xxx4 #a-g4 ,rahab means fierceness1 insolence4 ,for the various uses of the word1 see ,job xxvi4 #ab2 ,isa4 li4 #i1 #aj1 #ae2 ,psalm lxxxix4 #i1 #aj1 lxxxvii4 #d1 #e4 #ejg ,see ,dr4 ,s4 ,cox 7,expositor1 i4 #ih-ajd7 on ,isa4 xxviii4 #g-ac4 #ejh ,acts xvii4 #ah4 #eji ,isa4 xxviii4 #g-bb4 #eaj ,professor ,smith1 ,isaiah1 i4 #ab4 #eaa ,bagehot1 ,physics and ,politics1 p4 #gc2 ,smith1 ,isaiah1 #aji4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,hezekiah',s ,,sickness1 ,,and ,,the ,,embassy ,,from ,,babylon #b ,,kings xx4 #a-ai ,thou hast loved me out of the pit of nothingness4--,,isa4 xxxviii4 #ag 7,a4,v41 margin74 ,see the shadow of the dial ,in the lot of every one ,marks the passing of the trial1 ,proves the presence of the ,sun4 ,e4 ,b4 ,,browning4 ,in the chaos of uncertainties which surrounds the chronology of ,king ,hezekiah's reign1 it is impossible to fix a precise date to the sickness which almost brought him to the grave4 ,it has1 however1 been conjectured by some ,assyriologists that the story of this episode has been displaced1 because it seemed to break the continuity of the narrative of the ,assyrian invasion2 and that1 though it is placed in the ,book of ,kings after the deliverance from ,sennacherib1 it really followed the earlier incursion of ,sargon4 ,this is rendered more probable by ,isaiah's promise 7#b ,kings xx4 #f71 ,i will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the ,king of ,assyria1 and by the fact that ,hezekiah still possessed such numerous and splendid treasures to display to the ambassadors of ,merodach-,baladan4 ,this could hardly have been the case after he had been forced to pay a fine to the ,king of ,assyria of all the silver that was found in the house of the ,lord1 and in the treasures of the king's house1 to cut off the gold from the doors and pillars of the ,temple1 and even to send as captives to ,nineveh some of his wives1 and of the eunuchs of his palace4#eab ,the date in those days 7#b ,kings xx4 #a7 is vague and elastic1 and may apply to any time before or after the great invasion4 ,he was sick unto death4 ,the only indication which we have of the nature of his illness is that it took the form of a carbuncle or imposthume1#eac which could be locally treated1 but which1 in days of very imperfect therapeutic knowledge1 might easily end in death1 especially if it were on the back of the neck4 ,the conjecture of ,witsius and others that it was a form of the plague which they suppose to have caused the disaster to the ,assyrian army has nothing whatever to recommend it4 ,seeing the fatal character of his illness1 ,isaiah came to the king with the dark message1 ,set thine house in order2 for thou shalt die1 and not live4 ,the message is interesting as furnishing yet another proof that even the most positive announcements of the prophets were1 and were always meant to be1 to some extent hypothetical and dependent on unexpressed conditions4 ,this was the case with the famous prophecy of ,micah that ,zion should be ploughed down into a heap of ruins4 ,it was never fulfilled2 yet the prophet lost none of his authority1 for it was well understood that the doom which would otherwise have been carried out had been averted by timely penitence4 ,but the message of ,isaiah fell with terrible anguish on the heart of the suffering king4 ,he had hoped for a better fate4 ,he had begun a great religious reformation4 ,he had uplifted his people1 at least in part1 out of the moral slough into which they had fallen in the days of his predecessor4 ,he had inspired into his threatened capital something of his own faith and courage4 ,surely he1 if any man1 might claim the old promises which ,jehovah in ,his loving-kindness and truth had sworn to his father ,david and his father ,abraham1 that he being delivered out of the hand of his enemies should serve ,god without fear1 walking in holiness and righteousness before ,him all the days of his life4 ,he was but a young man still--perhaps not yet thirty years old2 further1 not only would he leave behind him an unfinished work1 but he was childless1#ead and therefore it seemed as if with him would end the direct line of the house of ,david1 heir to so many precious promises4 ,he has left us--it is preserved in the ,book of ,isaiah--the poem which he wrote on his recovery1 but which enshrines the emotion of his agonising anticipations#eae3-- ,i said1 ,in the noontide of my days ,i shall go into the gates of ,sheol4 ,i am deprived of the residue of my years4 ,i said1 ,i shall not see ,yah1 ,yah1 in the land of the living1 ,i shall behold no man more1 when ,i am among them that cease to be4 ,mine habitation is removed1 and is carried away from me like a shepherd's tent4 ,like a weaver ,i have rolled up my life2 he will cut me from the thrum4 99 99 99 99 99 ,like a swallow or a crane1 so did ,i chatter2 ,i did mourn as a dove2 mine eyes fail with looking upward4 ,o ,lord1 ,i am oppressed2 be ,thou my surety4 ,we must remember1 as we contemplate his utter prostration of soul1 that he was not blessed1 as we are1 with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life4 ,all was dim and dark1 to him in the shadowy world of eidola beyond the grave1 and many a century was to elapse before ,christ brought life and immortality to light4 ,to enter ,sheol meant to ,hezekiah to pass beyond the cheerful sunshine of earth and the felt presence of ,god4 ,no more worship1 no more gladness there6 ,for ,sheol cannot praise ,thee1 ,death cannot celebrate ,thee2 ,they that go down into the pit cannot hope for ,thy truth4 ,on every ground1 therefore1 the feelings of ,hezekiah1 had he not been a worshipper of ,god1 might have been like those of ,mycerinus1 and1 like that legendary ,egyptian king1 he might have cursed ,god before he died4 ,my father loved injustice1 and lived long2 ,i loved the good he scorned and hated wrong-- ,the gods declare my recompense to-day4 ,i looked for life more lasting1 rule more high2 ,and when six years are measured1 lo1 ,i die6 ,yet surely1 ,o my people1 did ,i ween ,man's justice from the all-just gods was given1 ,a light that from some upper point did beam1 ,some better archetype whose seat was heaven3 ,a light that1 shining from the blest abodes1 ,did shadow somewhat of the life of gods4 ,the indignation of ,mycerinus often finds an echo on ,pagan tombstones1 as in the famous epitaph on the grave of the girl ,procope3-- ,i1 ,procope1 lift up my hands against the gods1 ,who took me hence undeserving1 ,aged nineteen years4 ,it was far otherwise with ,hezekiah4 ,there was anguish in his heart1 but no rebellion or defiance4 ,he wept sore2 he turned his face to the wall and wept2#eaf but as he wept he also prayed1 and said1-- ,o ,lord1 remember now how ,i have walked before ,thee in truth1 and with a perfect heart1 and have done that which is good in ,thy sight4 ,isaiah1 after delivering his dark message1 and doubtless adding to it such words of human consolation as were possible--if under such circumstances any were possible--had left the king's chamber4 ,on every ground his feelings must have been almost as overwhelmed with sorrow as those of the king4 ,hezekiah was personally his friend1 and the hope of his nation4 ,doubtless the prophet's prayers rose as fervently and as effectually as those of ,luther1 which snatched his friend ,melanchthon back from the very gates of death4 ,by the time that he had reached the middle of the court1#eag he felt borne in upon him1 by that ,divine intuition which constituted his prophetic call1 the certainty that ,god would withdraw the immediate doom which he had been commissioned to announce4 ,it has been conjectured by some that the conviction was deepened in his mind by observing on the steps of ,ahaz one of those remarkable but rare effects of refraction--or1 as some have conjectured1 of a solar eclipse1 involving an obscuration of the upper limb of the sun--which had seemed to take the advancing shadow ten steps backwards2 and that this was to him a sign from heaven of the promise of ,god and the prolongation of the king's life4 ,awestruck and glad1 he hastened back into the presence of the dying king with the life-giving message that ,god had heard his prayer1 and seen his tears1 and would add fifteen years to his life1 and would defend him1 and deliver him and ,jerusalem out of the hand of the ,king of ,assyria4 ,and this should be the sign to him from ,jehovah--,jehovah would bring again the shadow ten steps up the stairs of ,ahaz4 ,to this sign--if it was visible from the chamber-window--he called the attention of the astonished king4#eah ,we here naturally follow the narrative of ,isaiah himself1 as more authoritative than that of the historian of the ,kings as to details in which they differ4#eai ,not only is it quite in accordance with all that we know of history that slight variations should occur in the traditions of long-past times1 but the text of the ,book of ,kings suggests some difficulty4 ,there we read that ,hezekiah asked ,isaiah what should be the sign of the promise--not mentioned in ,isaiah--that he should go up to the ,house of the ,lord the third day4 ,isaiah then asked him whether the sign should be that the shadow should advance ten steps1 or recede ten steps4 ,but there is no interrogation in the ,hebrew1 which rather means1 ,the shadow hath advanced ten steps 444 if it shall recede ten steps8 or if we insert the interrogation in the first clause1 ,hath the shadow advanced ten steps8#ebj ,the king's natural answer to so strange an alternative would be that for the shadow to advance ten steps was nothing2 whereas its retrogression would be a sign indeed4 ,then ,isaiah cried unto ,jehovah1 and the shadow went backward4 ,in the obvious divergence of details we naturally follow ,isaiah himself2 and if it be a true and understood rule of all theology1 ,miracula non sunt multiplicanda prter necessitatem1 the miracle in this case--in the opportuneness of its occurrence1 and the issues which it inspired--was none the less a miracle because it was carried out in direct accordance with ,god's unseen1 perpetual1 miraculous ,providence1 which none but unbelievers will nickname ,chance4 ,that we are here dealing with an historic incident is certain2 and they who see and acknowledge ,god in all history find no difficulty at all in seeing ,his dealings with men in striking interpositions4 ,but these1 by the analogy of ,his whole ,divine economy1 would naturally be out in accordance with natural laws4 ,the words rendered the sun-dial of ,ahaz mean no more than the steps ma'aloth of ,ahaz4 ,ahaz evidently was a king of sthetic tastes1 who was fond of introducing foreign novelties and curiosities into ,jerusalem4#eba ,steps1 with a staff on the top of them as a gnomon1 to serve as sun-dials had been invented at ,babylon1 and ,ahaz may probably have become acquainted with their form and use when he paid his visit to ,tiglath-,pileser at ,damascus4 ,no one could blame him--it was indeed a meritorious act--to introduce to his people so useful an invention4 ,the word hour first occurs in ,dan4 iii4 #f1 and it was doubtless from ,babylon that the ,hebrews borrowed the division of days into hours4 ,this is the earliest instance in the ,bible of the mention of any instrument to measure time4 ,that the recession of the shadow could be caused by refraction is certain1 for it has been observed in modern days4 ,thus1 as is mentioned by ,rosenmller1 on ,march #bgth1 #agjc1 ,pre ,romauld1 prior of the monastery at ,metz1 noticed that the shadow on his dial deviated an hour and a half1 owing to refraction in the higher regions of the atmosphere4#ebb ,or again1 according to ,mr4 ,bosanquet1 the same effect might have been produced by the darkening shadow of an eclipse4 ,but while he appealed to ,divine indications the great prophet did not neglect natural remedies4 ,he ordered that a cake of figs should be laid on the imposthume4 ,it was a recognised and an efficient remedy1 still recommended1 centuries later1 by ,dioscorides1 by ,pliny1 and by ,st4 ,jerome4 ,by ,god's blessing on man's therapeutic care1 the king was speedily rescued from the gates of death4 ,constantly in ,scripture what we call the miraculous and what we call the providential are mingled together4 ,to those who regard the providential as a constant miracle1 the question of the miraculous becomes subordinate4#ebc ,with intense joy and gratitude the king hailed the respite which ,god had granted him4 ,in fifteen years much might be done1 much might be hoped for4 ,all this he acknowledged with deep feeling in the song which he wrote on his recovery4 ,i shall go as in solemn procession#ebd all my years because of the bitterness of my soul4 ,o ,lord1 by these things men live1 ,and wholly therein is the life of my spirit4 ,behold1 it was for my peace that ,i had great bitterness2 ,but ,thou hast loved my soul from the pit of nothingness3 ,for ,thou hast cast all my sins behind ,thy back4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,lord is ready to save me2 ,therefore will we sing my songs to the stringed instruments ,all the days of our life in the house of the ,lord4#ebe ,the wonder done in the land was1 according to the ,chronicler1 one of the grounds for the embassy which1 after his recovery1 ,hezekiah received from ,merodach-,baladan1 the patriot prince of ,babylon4 ,the other ostensible object of the embassy was to send letters and a present in congratulation for the king's restoration to health4 ,but the real object lay deeper1 out of sight4 ,it was to secure a southern alliance for ,babylon against the incessant tyranny of ,nineveh4 ,merodach-,baladan is mentioned in the inscriptions of ,sargon4#ebf ,he is described as ,merodach-,baladan1 son of ,baladan1 ,king of ,sumr and ,accad1 king of the four countries1 and conqueror of all his enemies4 ,there had been long struggles1 lasting indeed for centuries1 between the city on the ,euphrates and the city on the ,tigris4 ,sometimes one1 sometimes the other1 had been victorious4 ,babylon--on the monuments ,kur-,dunyash--had its original ,accadian name of ,ca-dinirra1 which1 like its ,semitic equivalent ,bal-el1 means ,gate of ,god4 ,kalah 7,larissa and ,birs ,nimroud7 had been built by ,shalmaneser ,i4 before ,b4,c4 #acjj4 ,his son conquered ,babylon1 but not permanently2 for in some later raid the ,babylonians got possession of his signet-ring1 with its proud inscription1 ,conqueror of ,kur-,dunyash1 and it was not recovered by the ,assyrians till six centuries later1 when it fell into the hands of ,sennacherib4 ,about #aaej ,nebuchadrezzar ,i4 of ,babylon thrice invaded ,assyria1 but there was again peace and alliance in #aajj4 ,merodach-,baladan ,i4 reigned before #ijj4 ,the king who now sought the friendship of ,hezekiah was the second of the name4 ,he seized or recovered the throne of ,babylon in #gba1 after the death of ,shalmaneser1 perhaps because ,sargon was a usurper of dubious descent4 ,he helped the ,elamites against ,assyria4 ,sargon was compelled to retreat to ,assyria1 but returned in #gab1 and drove ,merodach-,baladan to flight4 ,he was captured and taken to ,assyria4 ,but on the murder of ,sargon in #gje1 he again managed to seize the throne of ,babylon1 killed the viceroy who had been set up1 and became king for six months4 ,after this1 ,sennacherib invaded his country1 defeated him1 and drove him once more to flight4 ,he was perhaps killed by his successor4 ,whether his overtures to ,hezekiah took place before his defeat by ,sargon1 or after his escape1 is uncertain4 ,in either case he doubtless sent a splendid embassy1 for ,babylon was far-famed for its golden magnificence as the glory of kingdoms and the beauty of the ,chaldees' excellency4#ebg ,at that time the ,jews knew but little of the far-off city which was destined to be so closely interwoven with their future fortunes1 as it was mingled with their oldest and dimmest traditions4#ebh ,apart from the magnificence of the presents brought to him1 it was not unnatural that ,hezekiah should regard this embassy with intense satisfaction4 ,it was flattering to the power of his little kingdom that its alliance should be sought by the far-off and powerful capital on the great river2#ebi it was still more encouraging to know that the frightful ,nineveh had a strong enemy not far from her own frontier4 ,merodach-,baladan's ambassadors would be sure to inform ,hezekiah that their lord had flung off the authority of ,sargon1 had kept him at bay for many years1 and was still the undisputed king of the dominions snatched from the common enemy4 ,it might have seemed reasonable that ,hezekiah1 for his part1 should desire to leave the most favourable impression of his wealth and power on the mind of his distant and magnificent ally4 ,he hearkened unto the ambassadors1 or1 more properly1 he was glad of them 7,r4,v471#ecj and showed them all the house of his spicery and other treasures1 his precious unguents1 his armoury1 his bullion1 plate1 and the whole resources of his kingdom4 ,the ,chronicler regards this as ingratitude to ,god4 ,he says that ,hezekiah rendered not again according unto the benefits done unto him2 for his heart was lifted up3 therefore there was wrath upon him1 and upon ,judah and ,jerusalem4 ,it is a severe judgment of later times1 and the historian of the ,kings pronounces no such censure4 ,nevertheless1 he records the stern sentence pronounced by ,isaiah4 ,the prophet had seen through the secret diplomacy of the ,babylonian ambassadors1 and knew that the real object of their mission was to induce his king to revolt against ,assyria in reliance on an arm of flesh4 ,he came to ask ,hezekiah whose these men were1 whence they came1 and what they had said4 ,the king told him who they were1 and how he had received them2 but he did not think it wise to reveal their secret proposals4 ,if ,isaiah had so vehemently reproved all negotiations with ,egypt1 there was little probability that he would sanction the overtures of ,babylon4 ,he saw in ,hezekiah's conduct a vein of ostentatious elation1 a swerving from theocratic faith2 and with remarkable prophetic insight convinced the king of the error and impolicy of his proceedings1 by announcing that the final and1 in fact1 irrevocable captivity of ,judah would ultimately come1 not from ,nineveh1 the fierce enemy1 whose cloud of war was lurid on the horizon1 but from ,babylon1 the apparently weaker friend1 who was now making overtures of amity4 ,with what heartrending grief must the king have heard the doom that the display of his treasures would prove to be in the future an incentive to the cupidity of the kings of ,babylon1 and that they would sweep away all those precious things to the banks of the ,euphrates with such final overthrow that even the descendants of ,david should be sunk to the infinite degradation of being eunuchs in the palace of the ,king of ,babylon4#eca ,the doom seems to have been fulfilled in part in the reign of ,hezekiah's son1 and more fearfully in the days of his great-grandchildren4#ecb ,the king's pride was humbled to the dust4 ,in the spirit of ,job--,the ,lord gave1 and the ,lord hath taken away2 blessed be the name of the ,lord#ecc--;he resigned himself without a murmur to the will of ,heaven1 and exclaimed that all which ,god did must be well done4 ,at least ,god granted him a respite4 ,peace and truth would be in his own days2 for that let him be thankful4 ,they were words of humble resignation1 uttered by one who had learnt to believe that whatever ,god decreed was just and right4 ,it would be unjust to measure the feelings of those far centuries by those of our own day1 and there was none of the gross selfishness in the words of ,hezekiah which led ,nero to quote the line-- ,when ,i am dead1 let earth be mixed with fire2 or which led ,louis ,,xiv4 to say-- ,aprs moi le dluge4 ,we may perhaps trace in his exclamation something of the fatalism which gives a touch of apathy to the submissiveness of the ,oriental4 ,some1 too1 have imagined that his distress was tinged by a gleam of happiness at the implicit promise that he should have a son4 ,his wife's name was ,hephzibah 7,my delight is in her71 and within two years she brought forth the firstborn son1 whose career1 indeed1 was dark and evil1 but who became in due time an ancestor of the promised ,messiah4 ,the name ,manasseh given him by his parents recalled the child born to ,joseph in the land of his exile who had caused him to forget his sorrows4#ecd ,hezekiah had the spirit which says1-- ,that which ,thou blessest is most good1 ,and unblest good is ill2 ,and all is right which seems most wrong1 ,so it be ,thy sweet will4 ,,footnotes3 #eab ,one of the first to point out the necessary rearrangement of the events of ,hezekiah's reign was ,dr4 ,hincks1 in his paper on ,a ,rectification of ,chronology which the newly discovered ,apis-stls render necessary 7,journ4 of ,sacred ,lit41 ,october #aheh74 ,see my article on ,hezekiah1 ,smith1 ,dict4 of the ,bible1 #bnd ed41 ii4 #abea4 #eac ,heb41 sh'chn2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 ulcus4 #ead ,the ,rabbis even make his sickness the punishment for his having neglected to secure an heir4 ,he pleads that he foresaw the wickedness of his son4 ,isaiah tells him not to try to forestall ,god 7,berachoth1 f4 #aj1 #a74 #eae ,isa4 xxxviii4 #aj-bj4 #eaf ,comp4 #a ,kings xxi4 #d 7,ahab74 #eag #b ,kings xx4 #d4 ,the ,q'r or read text is1 as here rendered1 chatsee 7comp4 #a ,kings vii4 #h71 and is followed by the ,,lxx4 7 71 by the ,vulgate 7mediam partem atrii71 and by the ,a4,v4 ,the ,r4,v41 which adopts the ,kethb or written text1 ha'r1 renders it the middle part of the city4 ,if this be the true reading1 it would mean that ,isaiah had gone some distance from the palace1 and was now perhaps in the ,valley between the ,upper and the ,lower ,city4 ,but it seems not improbable that 7#a7 the steps of ,ahaz would be in the royal court1 and 7#b7 the answer of ,god1 like the mercy of ,christ to the suffering1 may have come promptly as an echo to the appealing cry4 #eah ,the ,,lxx4 calls the stairs 1 and so1 too1 ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 ii4 #a74 ,the ,targum calls them an hour-stone4 ,symmachus has1 4 #eai ,it should1 however1 be observed that on the question of priority critics are divided4 ,grotius1 ,vitringa1 ,paulus1 ,drechsler1 etc41 thought that the account in the ,book of ,isaiah is the original2 ,de ,wette1 ,maurer1 ,koster1 ,winer1 ,driver1 etc41 regard that account as a later abbreviation1 perhaps from a common source4 #ebj ,see ,professor ,lumby1 ad loc4 #eba ,there is an exactly similar sun-dial not far from ,delhi4 #ebb ,journ4 of ,asiatic ,soc41 xv4 #bhf-bic4 #ebc ,figs have a recognised use for imposthumes4 ,see ,dioscorides and ,pliny quoted in ,celsius1 ,hierobot41 ii4 #cgc4 ,in the passage of ,berachoth quoted above1 ,hezekiah in his sickness asks ,isaiah to give him his daughter in marriage1 that he may have an heir4 ,isaiah replies that the decree of his death is irrevocable4 ,the king bids ,isaiah depart1 and says 7quoting ,job xiii4 #ae7 that a man must not despair1 even if a sword is laid on his neck4 #ebd ,comp4 ,psalm xlii4 #d4 #ebe ,isa4 xxxviii4 #aj-bj4 #ebf ,the ,babylonian form of his name is ,marduk-habal-iddi-na--i4e41 ,merodach gave a son4 ,he is the ,mardokempados of the ,ptolemaic ,canon1 and the second fragment of his reign 7six months7 is mentioned by ,polyhistor 7ap4 ,euseb474 ,josephus calls him ,baladan 7,antt41 ,x4 ii4 #b74 ,he was originally the prince of the ,chaldan ,bit ,yakm4 ,sargon calls him ,merodach-,baladan1 the foe1 the perverse1 who1 contrary to the will of the great gods1 ruled as king at ,babylon4 ,he displaced him for a time by ,belibus1 the son of a wise man1 whom one had reared like a little dog 7as we might say like a tame cat7 in my palace 7,schrader1 ii4 #cb74 ,in the ,assyrian records he is often called 7by mistake87 the son of ,yakim4 ,for the adventures of the ,babylonian hero1 see ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 #bac ff41 #bbd ff41 #bbg1 and in ,riehm1 ,handwrterbuch1 ii4 #ihb4 #ebg ,isa4 xiv4 #d1 xiii4 #ai4 #ebh ,gen4 x4 #aj1 #aa1 xi4 #a-i4 #ebi ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 ii4 #b3 4 #ecj #b ,kings xx4 #ac4 ,,lxx41 4 #eca ,see ,dan4 i4 #f4 #ecb #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #aa4 #ecc ,job i4 #ba4 #ecd ,manasseh seems to mean one who forgets4 ,see ,gen4 xli4 #ea4 ,it was the name of the husband of ,judith 7,judith viii4 #b71 and is found in ,ezra x4 #cj1 #cc4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,,hezekiah ,,and ,,assyria ,b4,c4 #gja #b ,,kings xviii4 #ac--xix4 #cg4 ' 1 4--,,theodoret4 ,when1 sudden--how think ye the end8 ,did ,i say 'without friend'8 ,say rather from marge to blue marge ,the whole sky grew his targe1 ,with the sun's self for visible boss1 ,while an ,arm ran across ,which the earth heaved beneath like a breast1 ,where the wretch was safe pressed4 ,,browning4 ,although during a few memorable scenes the relations of ,judah with ,assyria in the reign of ,hezekiah leap into fierce light1 many previous details are unfortunately left in the deepest obscurity--an obscurity all the more impenetrable from the lack of certain dates4 ,it will perhaps help to simplify our conceptions if we first sketch what is known of ,assyria from the cuneiform inscriptions1 and then fill up the sketch of those scenes which are more minutely delineated in the ,book of ,kings and in the prophecies of ,isaiah4 ,sargon--perhaps a successful general of royal blood1 though he never calls himself the son of any one#ece--seems to have usurped the throne on the death of ,shalmaneser ,,iv41 during the siege of ,samaria in ,b4,c4 #gbb4 ,he took ,samaria1 deported its inhabitants1 and repeopled it from the ,assyrian dominions4 ,in their place1 he says1 in his tablets in the halls of his palace at ,khorsabad1 ,i settled the men of countries conquered by my hand4#ecf ,in #gbj he suppressed a futile attempt at revolt1 headed by a pretender named ,yahubid1 in ,hamath1 which he reduced to a heap of ruins4 ,for some years after this he was occupied mainly on his northern frontiers1 but he tells us that until #gaa tribute continued to come in from ,judah and ,philistia4 ,meanwhile1 these terrified and oppressed feudatories1 writhing under the remorseless dominion of ,nineveh1 naturally began to listen to the intrigues of ,egypt1 whose interest it was to create a bulwark between herself and the invasion of the armies which were the abhorrence of the world4 ,under the influence of ,sabaco1 which gave new strength and unity to ,egypt1 she succeeded in seducing ,ashdod from its allegiance to ,sargon4 ,sargon at once deposed ,azuri1 ,king of ,ashdod1 and put his brother ,ahimit in his place4 ,the ,ashdodites soon after deposed ,ahimit1 and elected in his place ,jaman1 who was in alliance with ,sabaco4#ecg ,this revolt was evidently favoured by ,judah1 ,edom1 and ,moab2 for ,sargon says that they1 as well as the people of ,philistia1 were speaking treason4 ,the rebellion was crushed by ,sargon's promptitude4#ech ,he tells his own tale thus3-- ,in the wrath of my heart ,i did not divide my army1 and ,i did not diminish the ranks1 but ,i marched against ,ashdod with my warriors1 who did not separate themselves from the traces of my sandals4 ,i besieged1 ,i took ,ashdod and ,gunt-,asdodim4 ,i then re-established these towns4 ,i placed in them the people whom my arms had conquered1 ,i put over them my lieutenant as governor4 ,i regarded them as ,assyrians1 and they practised obedience4#eci ,sargon does not1 however1 seem to have conducted this campaign in person2 for we read in ,isa4 xx4 #a that he sent his ,turtan--i4e41 his commander-in-chief1#edj whose name seems to have been ,zir-bni--to ,ashdod1 who fought against it and took it4 ,the wretched ,philistines had put their trust in ,sabaco4 ,the people1 says ,sargon1 and their evil chiefs sent their presents to ,pharaoh1 ,king of ,egypt1 a prince who could not save them1 and besought his alliance4 ,isaiah had for three years been indicating how vain this policy was by one of those acted parables which so powerfully affect the ,eastern mind4 ,he had1 by the word of the ,lord1 stripped the shoes from on his feet and the upper robe of sackcloth from his loins1 and walked1 naked and barefoot1 for a sign and portent against ,egypt and ,ethiopia1 to indicate that even thus should the people of ,egypt and ,ethiopia be carried away as captives1 naked and barefoot1 by the kings of ,assyria4 ,egypt was the boast of one party at ,jerusalem1 and ,ethiopia1 which had now become master of ,egypt under ,sabaco1 was their expectation2 but ,isaiah's public self-humiliation showed how utterly their hopes should come to nought4#eda ,before the outbreak at ,ashdod1 ,sargon had suppressed a revolt of ,hanun1 or ,hanno1 ,king of ,gaza1 and ,egypt and ,assyria first met face to face at ,raphia 7about ,b4,c4 #gbj71 where ,sabaco fought in person with an ,egyptian contingent1 at a spot half-way between ,gaza and the river of ,egypt4#edb ,sabaco1 whom ,sargon calls the ,sultan of ,egypt 7,siltannu ,muzri71 had been defeated1 and fled precipitately1 but ,sargon was not then sufficiently free from other complications to advance to the ,nile4 ,the hoarded vengeance of ,assyria was inflicted upon ,egypt nearly a century later by ,esarhaddon and ,assurbanipal4 ,in the two suppressions of revolt at ,ashdod1 ,sargon or his ,turtan must have come perilously near ,jerusalem1 and perhaps he may have inflicted sufficient damage to admit of the boast that he had conquered ,juda4 ,if so1 his military vanity made him guilty of an exaggeration4 ,far more serious to ,sargon was the revolt of ,merodach-,baladan1 ,king of ,chalda4 ,babylon had always been a rival of ,nineveh in the competition for world-wide dominion1 and for twelve years1 as ,sargon says1 ,merodach-,baladan had been sending ambassadors#edc--to ,hezekiah among others--in the patient effort to consolidate a formidable league4 ,elam and ,media were with him2 and at a solemn banquet1 for which they had spread the carpets1#edd and eaten and drank1 the cry had risen1 ,arise1 ye princes6 anoint the shield4 ,standing in ideal vision on his watch-tower1 ,isaiah saw the sweeping rush of the ,assyrian troops on their horses and camels on their way to ,babylon4 ,what should come of it8 ,the answer is in the words1 ,fallen1 fallen is ,babylon1 and all the images of her gods he ,sargon hath broken to the ground4 ,alas6 there is no hope from ,babylon or its embassy6 ,would that ,isaiah could have held out a hope6 ,but no1 ,o my threshed one1 son of my threshing-floor1 that which ,i have heard from the ,lord of hosts1 the ,god of ,israel1 that have ,i declared unto you4#ede ,and so it came to pass4 ,the brave ,babylonian was defeated4 ,in #gji ,sargon occupied his palace1 took ,dur-yakin1 to which he had fled for refuge1 and made himself ,lord ,paramount as far as the ,persian ,gulf4 ,it was his last great enterprise4 ,he built and adorned his palaces1 and looked forward to long years of peace and splendour2 but in #gje the dagger-thrust of an assassin--a malcontent of the town of ,kullum--found its way to his heart2 and ,sennacherib reigned in his stead4 ,sennacherib--,sin-ahi-irba 7,sin1 the moon-god1 has multiplied brothers7#edf--was one of the haughtiest1 most splendid1 and most powerful of all the kings of ,assyria1 though the petty state of ,judah1 relying on her ,god1 defied and flouted him4 ,the son of a mighty conqueror1 at the head of a magnificent army1 he regarded himself as the undisputed lord of the world4#edg ,born in the purple1 and bred up as crown prince1 his primary characteristic was an overweening pride and arrogance1 which shows itself in all his inscriptions4 ,he calls himself the ,great ,king1 the ,powerful ,king1 the ,king of the ,assyrians1 of the nations of the four regions1 the diligent ruler1 the favourite of the ,great ,gods1 the observer of sworn faith1 the guardian of law1 the establisher of monuments1 the noble hero1 the strong warrior1 the first of kings1 the punisher of unbelievers1 the destroyer of wicked men4#edh ,he was mighty both in war and peace4 ,his warlike glories are attested by ,herodotus1 by ,polyhistor1 by ,abydenus1 by ,demetrius1 and by his own annals4 ,his peaceful triumphs are attested by the great palace which he erected at ,nineveh1 and the magnificent series of sculptured slabs with which he adorned it2 by his canals and aqueducts1 his gateways and embankments1 his ,bavian sculpture1 and his stl at the ,nahr-el-,kelb4 ,he was a worthy successor of his father ,sargon1 and of the second ,tiglath-,pileser--active in his military enterprises1 indefatigable1 persevering1 full of resource4#edi ,on one of his bas-reliefs we see this magnificent potentate seated on his throne1 holding two arrows in his right hand1 while his left grasps the bow4 ,a rich bracelet clasps each of his brawny arms4 ,on his head is the jewelled pyramidal crown of ,assyria1 with its embroidered lappets4 ,his dark locks stream down over his shoulders1 and the long1 curled beard flows over his breast4 ,his strongly marked1 sensual features wear an aspect of unearthly haughtiness4 ,he is clad in superbly broidered robes1 and his throne is covered with rich tapestries1 and bas-reliefs of ,assyrians or captives1 who1 like the ,greek caryatides1 uphold its divisions with their heads and arms4 ,yet all this glory faded into darkness1 and all this colossal pride crumbled into dust4 ,sennacherib not only died1 like his father1 by murder1 but by the murderous hands of his own sons1 and after the shattering of all his immense pretensions--a defeated and dishonoured man4 ,one of his invasions of ,juda occupies a large part of the ,scripture narrative4#eej ,it was the fourth time of that terrible contact between the great world-power which symbolised all that was tyrannic and idolatrous1 and the insignificant tribe which ,god had chosen for ,his own inheritance4 ,in the reign of ,ahaz1 about ,b4,c4 #gcb1 ,judah had come into collision with ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 ,under ,shalmaneser ,,iv4 and ,sargon1 the ,northern ,kingdom had ceased to exist in #gbb4 ,under ,sargon1 ,judah had been harassed and humbled1 and had witnessed the suppression of the ,philistian revolt1 and of the defeat of the powerful ,sabaco at ,raphia about #gbj4 ,now came the fourth and most overwhelming calamity4 ,if the patriots of ,jerusalem had placed any hopes in the disappearance of the ferocious ,sargon1 they must speedily have recognised that he had left behind him a no less terrible successor4 ,sennacherib reigned apparently twenty-four years 7,b4,c4 #gje-fha74 ,on his accession he placed a brother1 whose name is unknown1 on the vice-regal throne of ,babylon1 and contented himself with the title of ,king of the ,assyrians4 ,this brother was speedily dethroned by a usurper named ,hagisa1 who only reigned thirty days1 and was then slain by the indefatigable ,merodach-,baladan1 who held the throne for six months4 ,he was driven out by ,belibus1 who had been trained like a little dog in the palace of ,nineveh1#eea but was now made ,king of ,sumr and ,accad--i4e41 of ,babylonia4 ,sennacherib entered the palace of ,babylon and carried off the wife of ,merodach and endless spoil in triumph1 while ,merodach fled into the land of ,guzumman1 and 7like the ,duke of ,monmouth7 hid himself among the marshes and reeds1 where the ,assyrians searched for him for five days1 but found no trace of him4 ,after three years 7#gjb-fii7 ,belibus proved faithless1 and ,sennacherib made his son ,assur-nadin-sum viceroy of ,babylon4 ,his second campaign was against the ,medes in ,northern ,elam4 ,his third 7#gja7 was against the ,khatti 7the ,hittites7--i4e41 against ,phnicia and ,palestine4#eeb ,he drove ,king ,luli from ,sidon by the mere terror of the splendour of my sovereignty1 and placed ,tubalu 7i4e41 ,ithbaal7 in his place1 and subdued into tributary districts ,arpad1 ,byblos1 ,ashdod1 ,ammon1 ,moab1 and ,edom1 suppressing at the same time a very abortive rising in ,samaria4 ,all these brought rich presents and kissed my feet4 ,he also subdued ,zidka1 ,king of ,askelon1 from whom he took ,beth-,dagon1 ,joppa1 and other towns4 ,pad1 the ,king of ,ekron1 was a faithful vassal of ,assyria2 he was therefore deposed by the revolting ,ekronites1 and sent in chains into the safe custody of ,hezekiah1 who imprisoned him in darkness4 ,the rebel states all relied on the ,egyptians and ,ethiopians4 ,sennacherib fought against ,egyptians and ,ethiopians1 in reliance upon ,assur my ,god1 at ,altaqu 7,b4,c4 #gja71 and claims to have defeated them1 and carried off the sons and charioteers of the ,king of ,egypt1 and the charioteers of the kings of ,ethiopia4#eec ,he then tells us that he punished ,altaqu and ,timnath4#eed ,he impaled the rebels of ,ekron on stakes all round the city4 ,he restored ,pad1 and made him a vassal4 ,hezekiah ,chazaqiahu of ,judah1 who had not submitted to my yoke1 the terror of the splendour of my sovereignty overwhelmed4 ,himself as a bird in a cage1 in the midst of ,jerusalem1 his royal city1 ,i shut up4 ,the ,arabians and his dependants1 whom he had introduced for the defence of ,jerusalem1 his royal city1 together with thirty talents of gold1 eight hundred of silver1 bullion1 precious stones1 ivory couches and thrones1 an abundant treasure1 with his daughters1 his harem1 and his attendants1 ,i caused to be brought after me to ,nineveh4 ,he sent his envoy to pay tribute and render homage4 ,at the same time1 he overran ,juda1 took forty-six fenced cities and many smaller towns1 with laying down of walls1 hewing about1 and trampling down1 and carried off more than two hundred thousand captives with their spoil4 ,part of ,hezekiah's domains was divided among three ,philistine vassals who had remained faithful to ,assyria4 ,it was in the midst of this terrible crisis that ,hezekiah had sent to ,sennacherib at ,lachish his offer of submission1 saying1 ,i have offended2 return from me2 that which thou puttest upon me ,i will bear4#eee ,the spoiling of the palace and ,temple was rendered necessary to raise the vast mulct which the ,assyrian ,king required4#eef ,it is at ,lachish--now ,um-,lakis1 a fortified hill in the ,shephelah1 south of ,jerusalem1 between ,gaza and ,eleutheropolis--that we catch another personal glimpse of the mighty oppressor4 ,we see him depicted1 on his triumphal tablets1 in the palace-chambers of ,kouyunjik1 engaged in the siege2 for the town offered a determined resistance1#eeg and required all the energies and all the trained heroism of his forces4 ,we see him next1 carefully painted1 seated on his royal throne in magnificent apparel1 with his tiara and bracelets1 receiving the spoils and captives of the city4 ,the inscription says3 ,sennacherib1 the mighty king1 the king of the country of ,assyria1 sitting on the throne of judgment at the entrance of the city of ,lakisha4 ,i give permission for its slaughter4 ,he certainly implied that he took the city1 but a doubt is thrown on this by #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #a1 which only says that he thought to win these cities2 and the historian says 7#b ,kings xix4 #h7 that he departed from ,lachish4 ,lachish was evidently a very strong city1 and it is so depicted in the palace-tablets at ,kouyunjik4 ,it had been fortified by ,rehoboam1 and had furnished a refuge to the wretched ,amaziah4#eeh ,if ,judah and ,jerusalem had listened to the messages of ,isaiah1#eei they might have been saved the humiliating affliction which seemed to have plunged the brief sun of their prosperity into seas of blood4 ,he had warned them incessantly and in vain4 ,he had foretold their present desolation1 in which ,zion should be like a woman seated on the ground1 wailing in her despair4 ,he had taught them that formalism was no religion1 and that external rites did not win ,jehovah's approval4 ,he had told them how foolish it was to put trust in the shadow of ,egypt1 and had not shrunk from revealing the fearful consequences which should follow the setting up of their own false wisdom against the wisdom of ,jehovah4 ,yet1 intermingled with pictures of suffering1 and threats of a harvestless year1 designed to punish the vanity and display of their women1 and the intimation--never actually fulfilled--that even the palace and ,temple should become the joy of wild asses1 a pasture of flocks1 he constantly implies that the disaster would be followed by a mysterious1 divine1 complete deliverance1 and ultimately by a ,messianic reign of joy and peace4 ,night is at hand1 he said1 and darkness2 but after the darkness will come a brighter dawn4 ,,footnotes3 #ece ,one legend of his birth resembles the finding of ,moses in the bulrushes4 #ecf ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 pp4 #bgb-bgd2 ,records of the ,past1 vii4 #bh4 #ecg ,smith1 ,eponym ,canon1 p4 #acj4 #ech ,see ,prof4 ,smith1 ,isaiah1 p4 #aih4 #eci ,records of the ,past1 vii4 #dj4 ,sargon's words are1 ,the people of ,philistia1 ,judah1 ,edom1 and ,moab were speaking treason4 ,the people and their evil chiefs1 to fight against me1 unto ,pharaoh1 the ,king of ,egypt1 a monarch who could not save them1 their presents carried1 and besought his alliance 7,g4 ,smith1 ,assyrian ,discoveries1 #bij74 #edj ,on the monuments called ,turtanu1 ,holder of power4 ,see ,schrader in ,riehm1 s4v4 #eda ,raphia1 or ,ropeh1 is on the borders of the desert4 ,asia beat ,africa in every encounter--at ,raphia1 at ,altaqu1 at ,carchemish4 ,the impression of the seal of ,shabak1 attached to his capitulations with ,sargon1 was found at ,nineveh by ,sir ,a4 ,h4 ,layard1 and is now in the ,british ,museum4 ,shabak died in #gab4 ,his son ,shabatoh succeeded him in ,egypt1 and his nephew787 ,tirhakah in ,ethiopia4 ,sabaco's name assumes many forms 7,,lxx41 2 ,herod41 ii4 #acg2 2 ,vulg41 ,sua74 ,the ,egyptians called him ,shaba7ka74 #edb ,isa4 xx4 #a-f4 #edc ,lenormant1 ,les ,premires ,civilisations1 ii4 #bjc2 ,records of the ,past1 vii4 #da-df4 #edd ,isa4 xxi4 #f1 ,a4,v41 ,watch in the watch-tower4 ,hitzig1 ,cheyne1 ,they spread the carpets4 ,much in this short oracle 7xxi4 #a-aj7 is obscure4 ,isaiah seems1 in denouncing the fate of ,babylon1 to mourn for the ruin of the smaller states of which it was the prelude 7,g4 ,smith1 ,soc4 of ,bibl4 ,arch41 ii4 #cbj ,kleinert1 ,stud4 u4 ,krit41 #ahgg ,w4 ,r4 ,smith in ,enc4 ,brit41 s4v4 ,isaiah74 #ede ,isa4 xxi4 #aj--;i4e41 ,my people threshed and trodden2 ,,lxx41 ,records of the ,past1 vii4 #dg4 #edf ,herod41 2 ,jos41 4 ,see ,appendix ,i4 ,sin was the moon-god2 ,merodach1 the planet ,jupiter2 ,adar1 ,saturn2 ,ishtai1 ,venus2 ,nebo1 ,mercury2 ,nergal1 ,mars 7,schrader1 ii4 #aag74 #edg ,sargon seems to have been murdered in the palace of unparalleled splendour which he built at ,dur-,sharrukin 7,the ,city of ,sargon74 ,it took him five years to build it with armies of workmen4 ,its halls1 opened by ,botta1 were the first ,assyrian halls ever entered by a modern's foot4 ,it is strange that this greatest of ,assyrian kings is only mentioned once in the ,bible 7,isa4 xx4 #a74 ,we owe to ,assyriology his restoration to his proper place in the annals of mankind4 ,see ,ragozin1 ,assyria1 #bdg-bed4 #edh ,rawlinson1 ,ancient ,monarchies1 ii4 #agh4 #edi ,canon ,rawlinson1 ,kings of ,israel and ,judah1 #ahg4 #eej ,on his own monuments this campaign1 except its final catastrophe1 is narrated in four sections3 7#a7 ,the subjugation of ,phnicia1 and of ,philistine towns2 7#b7 the conquest of ,king ,zidka of ,askelon2 7#c7 the defeat of ,ekron1 the restoration of their vassal king ,pad to his throne1 and the defeat of ,egypt at ,altaqu2 7#d7 the expedition against ,jerusalem 7,schrader1 ,e4 ,tr41 i4 #bih74 ,see ,appendix ,i4 #eea ,this allusion is said to be the only instance of humour--grim humour1 or it would not be ,assyrian--which occurs in the ,assyrian annals4 #eeb ,schrader1 pp4 #bcd-bgi4 ,the account of the memorable campaign is narrated in duplicate on the ,taylor ,cylinder in the ,british ,museum1 and on the ,bull ,inscription at ,kouyunjik4 #eec ,sennacherib calls ,tirhakah's army a host that no man could number2 but it was defeated by the better discipline1 the heavier armour1 and the superior physical strength of the ,assyrians4 #eed ,see ,josh4 xix4 #dc4 #eee ,this very phrase ,i imposed on them is found on ,sennacherib's monument 7,schrader1 ii4 #a74 ,the references1 when not otherwise specified1 are to ,whitehouse's ,english translation4 #eef ,in #b ,kings xviii4 #af the word pillars or doorposts is uncertain4 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 laminas auri4 #eeg #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #i4 ,he had to besiege it with all his power4 ,he seems to have thought it even more important than ,jerusalem1 for he superintended the siege in person 7,layard1 ,nineveh and ,babylon1 #aej2 ,monuments of ,nineveh1 #bnd series1 pl4 #ba74 ,the ruined ,tel of ,umm-el-,laks lies between the ,wady ,simsim and the ,wady-el-,ahsy 7,riehm74 #eeh ,see #b ,chron4 xi4 #i1 xxv4 #bg2 ,jer4 xxxiv4 #g4 ,the allusion to this city in ,micah 7i4 #ac7 is obscure3 ,o thou inhabitant of ,lachish swift steed1 bind the chariot to the swift steed3 she is the beginning of sin to the daughter of ,zion3 for the transgressions of ,israel were found in thee4 ,this seems to imply that some form of idolatry had come from ,israel to ,lachish1 and from ,lachish to ,jerusalem4 ,in ,sennacherib's picture of the city1 foreign worship is represented as going on in it 7,layard1 ,monuments of ,nineveh1 ,pls4 #ba and #bd2 ,rawlinson1 ,herodotus1 i4 #dgg74 #eei ,isa4 xxix41 xxx41 xxxi4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii ,,the ,,great ,,deliverance ,b4,c4 #gja #b ,kings xix4 #a-cg ,there brake ,he the lightnings of the bow1 the shield1 the sword1 and the battle4--,,psalm lxxvi4 #c4 4--,,lxx4 ,and the might of the ,gentile1 unsmote by the sword1 ,hath melted like snow at the glance of the ,lord4 ,,byron4 ,vuolsi cosi col dove si puote ,cio che si vuole3 e pi non dimandare4 ,,dante4 ,through love1 through hope1 through faith's transcendent dower1 ,we feel that we are greater than we know4 ,,wordsworth4 ,god shall help her1 and that when the morning dawns4--,,psalm xlvi4 #e4 ,in spite of the humble submission of ,hezekiah1 it is a surprise to learn from ,isaiah that ,sennacherib--after he had accepted the huge fine and fixed the tribute1 and departed to subdue ,lachish--broke his covenant4#efj ,he sent his three chief officers--the ,turtan1 or commander-in-chief1 whose name seems to have been ,belemurani2#efa the ,rabsaris1 or chief eunuch2#efb and the ,rabshakeh1 or chief captain#efc--;from ,lachish to ,hezekiah1 with a command of absolute1 unconditional surrender1 to be followed by deportation4 ,by this conduct ,sennacherib violated his own boast that he was a keeper of treaties4 ,yet it is not difficult to conjecture the reason for his change of plan4 ,he had found it no easy matter to subdue even the very minor fortress of ,lachish2 how unwise1 then1 would it be for him to leave in his rear an uncaptured city so well fortified as ,jerusalem6 ,he was advancing towards ,egypt4 ,it was obviously a strategic error to spare on his route a hostile and almost impregnable stronghold as a nucleus for the plans of his enemies4 ,moreover1 he had heard rumours that ,tirhakah1 the third and last ,ethiopian king of ,egypt1 was advancing against him1 and it was most important to prevent any junction between his forces and those of ,hezekiah4#efd ,he could not come in person to ,jerusalem1 for the siege of ,lachish was on his hands2 but he detached from his army a large contingent under his ,turtan1 to win the ,jews by seductive promises1 or to subdue ,jerusalem by force4 ,once more1 therefore1 the ,holy ,city saw beneath her often-captured walls the vast beleaguering host1 and governors and rulers clothed most gorgeously1 horsemen riding upon horses1 all of them desirable young men4 ,isaiah describes to us how the people crowded to the house-tops1 half dead with fear1 weeping and despairing1 and crying to the hills to cover them1 and bereft of their rulers1 who had been bound by the archers of the enemy in their attempt to escape4 ,they gazed on the quiver-bearing warriors of ,elam in their chariots1 and the serried ranks of the shields of ,kir1 and the cavalry round the gates4 ,and he tells us how1 as so often occurs at moments of mad hopelessness1 many who ought to have been crying to ,god in sackcloth and ashes1 gave themselves up1 on the contrary1 to riot and revelry1 eating flesh1 and drinking wine1 and saying3 ,let us eat and drink2 for to-morrow we die4#efe ,the king alone had shown patience1 calmness1 and active foresight2 and he alone1 by his energy and faith1 had restored some confidence to the spirits of his fainting people4 ,although the city had been refortified by the king1 and supplied with water1 the hearts of the inhabitants must have sunk within them when they saw the ,assyrian army investing the walls1 and when the three commissioners--taking their station by the conduit of the upper pool which is in the highway of the fuller's field--summoned the king to hear the ultimatum of ,sennacherib4 ,the king did not in person obey the summons2 but he1 too1 sent out his three chief officers4 ,they were ,eliakim1 the son of ,hilkiah1 who1 as the chamberlain 7al-hab-bath71 was a great prince 7nagd72 ,shebna1 who had been degraded1 perhaps at the instance of ,isaiah1 from the higher post1 and was now secretary 7sopher72 and ,joah1 son of ,asaph1 the chronicler 7mazkr71 to whom we probably owe the minute report of the memorable scene4 ,no doubt they went forth in the pomp of office--,eliakim with his robe1 and girdle1 and key4#eff ,the ,rabshakeh proved himself1 indeed1 an affluent orator1 and evinced such familiarity with the religious politics of ,judah and ,jerusalem1 that this1 in conjunction with his perfect mastery of ,hebrew1 gives colour to the belief that he was an apostate ,jew4 ,he began by challenging the idle confidence of ,hezekiah1 and his vain words#efg that he had counsel and strength for the war4 ,upon what did he rely8 ,on the broken and dangerous bulrush of ,egypt8#efh ,it would but pierce his hand6 ,on ,jehovah8 ,but ,hezekiah had forfeited his protection by sweeping away ,his bamoth and ,his altars6 ,why1 let ,hezekiah make a wager2#efi and if ,sennacherib furnished him with two thousand horses1 he would be unable to find riders for them6 ,how1 then1 could he drive back even the lowest of the ,assyrian captains8 ,and was not ,jehovah on their side8 ,it was ,he who had bidden them destroy ,jerusalem6 ,that last bold assertion1 appealing as it did to all that was erroneous and abject in the minds of the superstitious1 and backed1 as it was1 by the undeniable force of the envoy's argument1 smote so bitterly on the ear of ,hezekiah's courtiers1 that they feared it would render negotiation impossible4 ,they humbly entreated the orator to speak to his servants in the ,aramaic language of ,assyria1 which they understood1#egj and not in ,hebrew1 which was the language of all the ,jews who stood in crowds on the walls4 ,surely this was a diplomatic embassy to their king1 not an incitement to popular sedition8 ,the answer of the ,rabshakeh was truly ,assyrian in its utterly brutal and ruthless coarseness4 ,taking up his position directly in front of the wall1#ega and ostentatiously addressing the multitude1 he ignored the representatives of ,hezekiah4 ,who were they8 asked he4 ,his master had not sent him to speak to them1 or to their poor little puppet of a king1 but to the people on the wall1 the foul garbage of whose sufferings of thirst and famine they should share4#egb ,and to all the multitude the great king's#egc message was3--,do not be deceived4 ,hezekiah cannot save you4 ,jehovah will not save you4 ,come to terms with me1 and give me hostages and pledges and a present1 and then live in happy peace and plenty until ,i come and deport you to a land as fair and fruitful as this4 ,how should ,jehovah deliver them8 ,had any of the gods of the nations delivered them out of the hands of the ,king of ,assyria8 ,where are the gods of ,hamath1 and of ,arpad8 ,where are the gods of ,sepharvaim1 ,hena1 and ,ivvah8 ,have the gods of ,samaria delivered ,samaria out of my hand1 that ,jehovah should deliver ,jerusalem out of my hand8#egd ,it was a very powerful oration1 but the orator must have been a little disconcerted to find that it was listened to in absolute silence4 ,he had disgracefully violated the comity of international intercourse by appealing to subjects against their lawful king2 yet from the starving people there came not a murmur of reply4 ,faithful to the behest of their king in the midst of their misery and terror1 they answered not a word4 ,agamemnon is silent before the coarse jeers of ,thersites4 ,the sulphurous flash dies in its own smoke1 only leaving a hateful stench behind it6 ,and in this attitude of the people there was something very sublime and very instructive4 ,dumb1 stricken1 starving1 the wretched ,jews did not answer the envoy's taunts or menaces1 because they would not4 ,they were not even in those extremities to be seduced from their allegiance to the king whom they honoured1 though the speaker had contemptuously ignored his existence4 ,and though the ,rabshakeh had cut them to the heart with his specious appeals and braggart vaunts1 yet this clever1 self-confident1 persuasive personage1 with two languages on his tongue1 and an army at his back1 could not shake the confidence in ,god1 which1 however unreasonable it might seem1 had been elevated into a conviction by their king and their prophet4 ,the ,rabsak had tried to seduce the people into rebellion1 but he had failed4#ege ,they were ready to die for ,hezekiah with the fidelity of despair4 ,the mirage of sensual comfort in exiled servitude should not tempt them from the scorched wilderness from which they could still cry out for the living ,god4 ,yet the ,assyrian's words had struck home into the hearts of his greatest hearers1 and therefore how much more into those of the ignorant multitudes6 ,eliakim and ,shebna and ,joah came to ,hezekiah with their clothes rent1 and told him the words of the ,rabshakeh4 ,and when the king heard it1 when he found that even his submission had been utterly in vain1 he too rent his clothes1 and put on sackcloth1#egf and went into the only place where he could hope to find comfort1 even into the house of the ,lord1 which he had cleansed and restored to beauty1 although afterwards he had been driven to despoil it4 ,needing an earthly counsellor1 he sent ,eliakim and ,shebna and the elders of the priests to ,isaiah4 ,they were to tell him the outcome of this day of trouble1 rebuke1 and contumely2 and since the ,rabshakeh had insulted and despised ,jehovah1 they were to urge the prophet to make his appeal to ,him1 and to pray for the remnant which the ,assyrians had left4#egg ,the answer of ,isaiah was a dauntless defiance4 ,if others were in despair1 he was not in the least dismayed4 ,be not afraid--such was his message--of the mere words with which the boastful boys of the ,king of ,assyria have blasphemed ,me4#egh ,behold1 ,i will put a spirit in him1 and he shall hear a rumour1#egi and shall return to his own land2 and ,i will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land4 ,much crestfallen at the total and unexpected failure of the embassy1 and of his own heart-shaking appeals1 the ,rabshakeh returned4 ,but meanwhile ,sennacherib had taken ,lachish1 and marched to ,libnah 7,tel-es-,safa71 which he was now besieging4#ehj ,there it was that he heard the rumour of which ,isaiah had spoken--the report1 namely1 that ,tirhakah1 the third king of the ,ethiopian dynasty of ,pharaohs1#eha was advancing in person to meet him4 ,this was ,b4,c4 #gja1 and it is perhaps only by anticipation that ,tirhakah is called ,king of ,ethiopia4 ,he was only the general and representative of his father ,shabatok1 if 7as some think7 he did not succeed to the throne till #fih4 ,it was impossible for ,sennacherib under these circumstances to return northwards to ,jerusalem1 of which the siege would inevitably occupy some time4 ,but he sent a menacing letter1#ehb reminding ,hezekiah that neither king nor god had ever yet saved any city from the hands of the ,assyrian destroyers4 ,where were the kings1 he asked again1 of ,hamath1 ,arpad1 ,sepharvaim1 ,hena1 ,ivvah8 ,what had the gods of ,gozan1 ,haran1 ,rezeph1 and the children of ,eden in ,telassar done to save their countries from ,sennacherib's ancestors1 when they had laid them under the ban8#ehc ,again the pious king found comfort in ,god's ,temple4 ,taking with him the scornful and blasphemous letter1 he spread it out before ,jehovah in the ,temple with childlike simplicity1 that ,jehovah might read its insults and be moved by this dumb appeal4#ehd ,then both he and ,isaiah cried mightily to ,god1 who sitteth above the cherubim1 admitting the truth of what ,sennacherib had said1 and that the kings of ,assyria had destroyed the nations1 and burnt their vain gods in the fire4 ,but of what significance was that8 ,those were but gods of wood and stone1 the works of men's hands4#ehe ,but ,jehovah was the ,one1 the ,true1 the ,living ,god4 ,would ,he not manifest among the nations ,his eternal supremacy8 ,and as the king prayed the word of ,jehovah came to ,isaiah1 and he sent to ,hezekiah this glorious message about ,sennacherib3-- ,the virgin1 the daughter of ,zion1 hath despised thee1 and laughed thee to scorn4 ,the daughter of ,jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee4#ehf ,the blasphemies1 the vaunts1 the menacing self-confidence of ,sennacherib1 were his surest condemnation4 ,did he count ,god a cypher8 ,it was to ,god alone that he owed the fearful power which had made the nations like grass upon the housetops1 like blasted corn1 before him4 ,and because ,god knew his rage and tumult1 ,god would treat him as ,sargon his father had treated conquered kings3-- ,i will put ,my hook in thy nose1 and ,my bridle in thy lips4#ehg ,and ,i will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest4 ,he had thought to conquer ,egypt3#ehh instead of that he should be driven back in confusion to ,assyria4 ,it was but a plainer enunciation of the truths which ,isaiah had again and again intimated in enigma and parable4 ,it was the fearless security of ,judah's lion2 the safety of the rock amid the deluge2 the safety of the poor brood under the wings of the ,divine protection from the great ,birds'-nester of the world2 the crashing downfall of the lopped ,lebanonian cedar1 while the green shoot and tender branch out of the withered stump of ,jesse should take root downward and bear fruit upward4#ehi ,and the sign was given to ,hezekiah that this should be so4#eij ,this year there should be no harvest1 except such as was spontaneous2 for in the stress of ,assyrian invasion sowing and reaping had been impossible4 ,the next year the harvest should only be from this accidental produce4 ,but in the third year1 secure at last1 they should sow and reap1 and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof4#eia ,and though but a remnant of the people was left out of the recent captivity1 they should grow and flourish1 and ,jerusalem should see the besieging host of ,assyria no more for ever2 for ,jehovah would defend the city for ,his own sake1 and for ,his servant ,david's sake4 ,thereafter occurred the great deliverance4#eib ,in some way--we know not and never shall know how--by a blast of the simoom1 or sudden outburst of plague1 or furious panic1 or sudden assault1 or by some other calamity1#eic the host of ,assyria was smitten in the camp1 and one hundred and eighty-five thousand1 including their chief leaders1 perished4 ,the historian1 in a manner habitual to pious ,semitic writers1 attributes the devastation to the direct action of the angel of the ,lord2#eid but as ,dr4 ,johnson said long ago1 ,we are certainly not to suppose that the angel went about with a sword in his hand1 striking them one by one1 but that some powerful natural agent was employed4#eie ,the ,forty-,sixth ,psalm is generally regarded as the ,te ,deum sung in the ,temple over this deliverance1 and its opening words1 ,god is our refuge and strength1 are inscribed over the cathedral of ,st4 ,sophia at ,constantinople4 ,it is usually supposed that this overwhelming disaster happened to the host of ,assyria before ,jerusalem4 ,this1 however1 is not stated2 and as the capture of ,lachish was an urgent necessity1 it is probable that the ,turtan led back the forces which had accompanied him1 and took them afterwards to ,libnah4#eif ,yet1 since ,libnah was but ten miles from ,jerusalem1 the ,jews could not feel safe for a day until the mighty news came that the ,angel of ,god spread his wings on the blast1 ,and breathed in the face of the foe as he passed1 ,and the eyes of the sleepers waxed heavy and chill1 ,and their breasts but once heaved1 and for ever grew still4 ,when the catastrophe which had happened to the main army and the flight of ,sennacherib became known1 the scattered forces would melt away4 ,all the ,assyrians who escaped were now hurrying back#eig to ,nineveh with their foiled king4 ,sennacherib seems to have occupied himself in the north1 except so far as he was forced to fight fiercely against his own rebel subjects4 ,he never recovered this complete humiliation4 ,he never again came southwards4 ,he survived the catastrophe for seventeen or twenty years1#eih and fought five or six campaigns2 but at the end of that period1 while he was worshipping in the house of ,nisroch or ,assarac 7,assur71 his god1#eii he was murdered by his two sons ,adrammelech 7,adar-malik--,adar is king7 and ,sharezer 7,nergal-sarussar--,nergal protect the king71#fjj who envied him his throne4 ,they escaped into the land of ,ararat1 but were defeated and killed by their younger brother ,esarhaddon 7,assur-kh-iddin--,assur bestowed a 'brother'7 at the battle of ,hani-,rabbat1 on the ,upper ,euphrates4 ,he succeeded ,sennacherib1 and ultimately avenged on ,egypt his father's overwhelming disaster4 ,he is perhaps the cruel lord of ,isa4 xix4 #d1 and it is not unnatural that he should have prevailed against his parricidal brothers1 for we are told that in a previous battle at ,melitene he had shown such prowess that the troops then and there proclaimed him ,king of ,assyria with shouts of ,this is our king4#fja ,he reigned from ,b4,c4 #fha-ffh1 and in his reign ,assyria culminated before her last decline4#fjb ,he was the builder of the temple at ,nimrd1 and erected thirty other temples4 ,babylon and ,nineveh were both his capitals1#fjc and he had previously been viceroy of the former4 ,the glorious deliverance in which the faith and courage of the ,king of ,judah had had their share naturally increased the prosperity and prestige of ,hezekiah1 and lifted the authority of ,isaiah to an unprecedented height4 ,hezekiah probably did not long survive the uplifting of this dark cloud1 but during the remainder of his life he was magnified in the sight of all nations4#fjd ,when he died1 all ,judah and ,jerusalem did him honour1 and gave him a splendid burial4 ,apparently the old tombs of the kings--the catacomb constructed by ,david and ,solomon--had in the course of two and a half centuries become full1 so that he had to be buried in the ascent of the sepulchres1 perhaps some niche higher than the other graves of the catacomb1 which was henceforth disused for the burial of the kings of ,judah4 ,we have had occasion to observe the many particulars in which his reign was memorable1 and to his other services must be added the literary activity to which we owe the collection and editing1 by his scribes1 of the ,proverbs of ,solomon4 ,his reign had practically witnessed the institution of the faithful ,jewish ,church under the influence of his great prophetic guide4#fje ,the question whether the portent of the destruction of the ,assyrian was identical with that related by ,herodotus has never been finally answered4 ,herodotus places the scene of the disaster at ,pelusium1#fjf and tells this story3--,sennacherib1 ,king of the ,arabs and ,assyrians1 invaded ,egypt4 ,its king1 ,sethos1 of the ,tanite dynasty1 in despair entered the temple of his god ,pthah 7or ,vulcan71 and wept4#fjg ,the god appeared to him with promises of deliverance1 and ,sethos marched to meet ,sennacherib with an army of poor artisans1 since he was a priest1 and the caste of warriors was ill-affected to him4 ,in the night the god ,pthah sent hosts of field-mice1 which gnawed the quivers1 bow-strings1 and shield-straps of the ,assyrians1 who consequently fled1 and were massacred4 ,an image of the priest-king with a mouse in his hand stood in the temple of ,pthah1 and on its pedestal the inscription1 which might also point the moral of the ,biblical narrative1 7,let him who looks on me be pious74 ,josephus seems so far to accept this version that he refers to ,herodotus1 and says that ,sennacherib's failure was the result of a frustration in ,egypt4#fjh ,the mouse in the hand of the statue probably originated the details of the legend2 but according to ,horapollion it was the hieroglyphic sign of destruction by plague4#fji ,bhr says that it was also the symbol of ,mars4 ,readers of ,homer will remember the title ,apollo ,smintheus 7the destroyer of mice71 and the story that mice were worshipped in the ,troas because they gnawed the bow-strings of the enemy4 ,but whatever may have been the mode of the retribution1 or the scene in which it took place1 it is certainly historical4 ,the outlines of the narrative in the sacred historian are identical with those in the ,assyrian records4 ,the annals of ,sennacherib tell us the four initial stages of the great campaign in the conquest of ,phnicia1 of ,askelon1 and of ,ekron1 the defeat of the ,egyptians at ,altaqu1 and the earlier hostilities against ,hezekiah4 ,the ,book of ,kings concentrates our attention on the details of the close of the invasion4 ,on this point1 whether from accident1 or because ,sennacherib did not choose to register his own calamity1 and the frustration of the gods of whose protection he boasted1 the ,assyrian records are silent4 ,baffled conquerors rarely dwell on their own disasters4 ,it is not in the despatches of ,napoleon that we shall find the true story of his abandonment of ,syria1 of the defeats of his forces in ,spain1 or of his retreat from ,moscow4#faj ,the great lesson of the whole story is the reward and the triumph of indomitable faith4 ,faith may still burn with a steady flame when the difficulties around it seem insuperable1 when all refutation of the attacks of its enemies seems to be impossible1 when ,hope itself has sunk into white ashes in which scarcely a gleam of heat remains4 ,isaiah had nothing to rely upon2 he had no argument wherewith to furnish ,hezekiah beyond the bare and apparently unmeaning promise1 ,jehovah is our ,judge2 ,jehovah is our ,lawgiver2 ,jehovah is our ,king4 ,he will save us4 ,it was a magnificent vindication of his inspired conviction1 when all turned out--not indeed in minute details1 but in every essential fact--exactly as he had prophesied from the first4 ,even in ,b4,c4 #gdj he had declared that the sins of ,judah deserved and would receive condign punishment1 though a remnant should be saved4#faa ,that the retribution would come from some foreign enemy--,assyria or ,egypt1 or both--he felt sure4 ,jehovah would hiss for the fly in the uttermost canals of ,egypt1 and for the bee that is in the land of ,assyria1 and both should swarm in the crevices of the rocks1 and over the pastures4#fab ,later on in #gcb1 in the reign of ,ahaz1 he pointed to ,assyria1#fac as the destined scourge1 and he realised this still more clearly in #gbe and #gba1 when ,shalmaneser and ,sargon were tearing ,samaria to pieces4#fad ,contrary1 indeed1 to his expectation1 the ,assyrians did not then destroy ,jerusalem1 or even formally besiege it4 ,the revolt from ,assyria1 the reliance on ,egypt1 did not for a moment blind his judgment or alter his conviction2 and in #gja it came true when ,sennacherib was on the march for ,palestine4#fae ,yet he never wavered in the apparently impossible conclusion1 that1 in spite of all1 in spite even of his own darker prophecies 7xxxii4 #ad71 ,jerusalem shall in some ,divine manner be saved4#faf ,the deliverance would be1 as he declared from first to last1 the work of ,jehovah1 not the work of man1#fag and because of it ,sennacherib would return to his own land and perish there4#fah ,the details might be dim and wavering2 the result was certain4 ,isaiah was no thaumaturge1 no peeping wizard1 no muttering necromancer1 no monthly prognosticator4#fai ,he was a prophet--that is1 an inspired moral and spiritual teacher who was able to foresee and to foretell1 not in their details1 but in their broad outlines1 the events yet future1 because he was enabled to read them by the eye of faith ere they had yet occurred4 ,his faith convinced him that predictions founded on eternal principles have all the certainty of a law1 and that ,god's dealings with men and nations in the future can be seen in the light of experience derived from the history of the past4 ,courage1 zeal1 unquenchable hope1 indomitable resolution1 spring from that perfect confidence in ,god which is the natural reward of innocence and faithfulness4 ,isaiah trusted in ,god1 and he knew that they who put their trust in ,him can never be confounded4 ,no event produced a deeper impression on the minds of the ,jews1 though that impression was soon afterwards1 for a time1 obliterated4 ,naturally1 it elevated the authority of ,isaiah into unquestioned pre-eminence during the reign of ,hezekiah4 ,it has left its echo1 not only in his own triumphant pans1 but also in the ,forty-,sixth ,psalm1 which the ,septuagint calls ,an ode to the ,assyrian1 and perhaps also in the ,seventy-,fifth and ,seventy-,sixth ,psalms4 ,in the minds of all faithful ,israelites it established for ever the conviction that ,god had chosen ,judah for ,himself1 and ,israel for ,his own possession2 that ,god was in the midst of ,zion1 and she should not be confounded3 ,god shall help her1 and that right early4 ,and it contains a noble and inspiring lesson for all time4 ,it is not without reason1 says ,dean ,stanley1 that in the ,churches of ,moscow the exultation over the fall of ,sennacherib is still read on the anniversary of the retreat of the ,french from ,russia1 or that ,arnold1 in his lectures on ,modern ,history1 in the impressive passage in which he dwells on that great catastrophe1 declared that for the memorable night of the frost in which twenty thousand horses perished1 and the strength of the ,french army was utterly broken1 he knew of no language so well fitted to describe it as the words in which ,isaiah described the advance and destruction of the hosts of ,sennacherib4#fbj ,they had been brought face to face1 the two kings--,sennacherib and ,hezekiah4 ,one was the impious boaster who relied on his own strength1 and on the mighty host which dried up rivers with their trampling march--the worldling who thought to lord it over the affrighted globe2 the other was the poor kinglet of the ,chosen ,people1 with his one city and his enfeebled people1 and his dominion not so large as one of the smallest ,english counties4 ,but one with ,god is irresistible1 one with ,god is always in a majority4 ,the poor1 weak prince triumphs over the terrific conqueror1 because he trusts in ,him to whom world-desolating tyrants are but as the small dust of the balance1 and who taketh up the isles as a very little thing4#fba ,as ,assyria now vanishes almost entirely from the history of the ,chosen ,people1 we may here recall with delight one large and loving prophecy1 to show that the ,hebrews were sometimes uplifted by the power of inspiration above the narrowness of a bigoted and exclusive spirit4 ,desperately as ,israel had suffered1 both from ,egypt and ,assyria1 ,isaiah could still utter the glowing ,messianic ,prophecy which included the ,gentiles in the privileges of the ,golden ,age to come4 ,he foretold that-- ,in that day shall ,israel be the third with ,egypt and ,assyria1 as a blessing in the midst of the land3 whom the ,lord of hosts shall bless1 saying1 ,blessed be ,egypt ,my people1 and ,assyria the work of ,my hands1 and ,israel ,mine inheritance4#fbb ,that strain ,i heard was of a higher mood6 99 99 99 99 99 ,king ,hezekiah can have no finer panegyric than that of the son of ,sirach3 ,even the kings of ,judah failed1 for they forsook the law of the ,most ,high3 all except ,david1 and ,ezekias1 and ,josias failed4#fbc ,,footnotes3 #efj ,isa4 xxxiii4 #h4 #efa ,isa4 xx4 #a4 #efb ,jer4 xxxix4 #c4 ,the meaning of the name is not certain4 ,sars1 in ,hebrew1 is eunuch2 but the word is not known in ,assyrian records1 and we should expect ,rabsarsm1 as in ,dan4 i4 #c4 #efc ,rabsak perhaps means chief officer or vizier1 and is ,hebraised into ,rabshakeh4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,smith 7,isaiah1 p4 #cde7 calls him ,sennacherib's ,bismarck4 ,rabshakeh1 usually rendered chief cupbearer1 is an ,aramaised form of ,rabsak 7great chief72 but we know of no chief cupbearer at the ,assyrian court 7,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 #aii f474 #efd ,from an ,apis-stl he seems to have reigned twenty-six years 7,b4,c4 #fid-ffh874 #efe ,isa4 xxii4 #a-ac4 #eff ,eliakim4 ,see ,isa4 xxii4 #ba1 #bb4 #efg ,vain words2 lit41 a word of the lips4 ,,lxx41 4 #efh ,comp4 ,isa4 xxx4 #a-g2 ,ezek4 xxix4 #f4 ,it seems to be an over-refinement to suppose that ,sennacherib refers to the divisions between ,egypt and ,ethiopia4 #efi #b ,kings xviii4 #bc1 ,a4,v43 ,let ,hezekiah give pledges4 #egj ,heb41 ,armth4 #ega #b ,kings xviii4 #bh1 where stood should be rendered came forward4 #egb ,the coarse expression is softened down by the ,chronicler 7#b ,chron4 xxxii4 #ah74 #egc ,the kings of ,assyria usually called themselves great king1 mighty king1 king of the multitude1 king of the land ,assur4 #egd ,every one must notice the glaring inconsistency between this defiance of ,jehovah and the previous claim to the possession of ,his sanction4 ,on ,hamath1 ,arpad1 etc41 see ,schrader1 ii4 #g-aj4 #ege ,isa4 xxxiii4 #h3 ,he hath broken the covenant1 he hath despised the cities1 he regardeth no man4 #egf #a ,kings xx4 #cb2 #b ,kings vi4 #cj4 #egg ,sennacherib had already carried off vast numbers4 ,see ,isa4 xxiv4 #a-ab2 ,demetrius ap4 ,clem4 ,alex41 ,strom41 i4 #djc4 #egh ,isaiah's phrase1 na'ar melek1 lads of the king1 is contemptuous4 ,,lxx41 4 #egi ,heb41 ruach2 ,,lxx41 4 ,theodoret calls this spirit cowardice 7 74 #ehj ,libnah means whiteness4 ,dean ,stanley 7,s4 and ,p41 #bjg1 #beh7 identifies it with a white-faced hill1 the ,blanchegarde of the ,crusaders4 #eha ,the dates usually given are ,sabaco1 ,b4,c4 #gbe-gab2 ,shabatok1 #gab-fih2 ,tirhakah1 #fih-fgb4 ,manetho1 2 ,strabo1 1 4 ,he was third king of the twenty-fifth dynasty1 and the greatest of the ,egyptian sovereigns who came from ,ethiopia4 ,he reigned gloriously for many years4 ,we see his figure at ,medinet ,abou1 smiting ten captive princes with an iron mace2 but he was finally defeated by ,esarhaddon1 and in #ffh by ,assurbanipal at ,karbanit 7,canopus74 ,he is called by his conqueror ,tar-ku-u1 ,king of ,egypt and ,cush 7,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 #ccf ff474 #ehb ,heb41 ,sepharm2 ,vulg41 litter2 #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #ag4 ,the more ordinary term for a letter is iggereth4 #ehc #b ,kings xix4 #ab 7,heb472 ,ezek4 xxvii4 #bc4 ,on these places see ,schrader1 ii4 #aa1 #ab4 ,it had been indeed ,sennacherib's work to reduce fenced cities to ruinous heaps4 ,he boasts on the ,bellino ,cylinder1 ,their smaller towns without number ,i overthrew1 and reduced them to heaps of rubbish 7,records of the ,past1 i4 #bg74 #ehd ,it is a prayer without words1 a prayer in action1 which then passes into a spoken prayer 7,delitzsch74 #ehe ,the ,assyrians are sometimes represented in their monuments as hewing idols to pieces in honour of their god ,assur 7,botta1 ,monum41 pl4 #adj74 #ehf ,,lxx41 1 a gesture of scorn 7,psalm xxii4 #g1 cix4 #be2 ,lam4 ii4 #ae74 ,with the vaunts of ,sennacherib compare ,claudian1 ,de bell4 ,geth41 #ebf-ecb4 ,cum cesserit omnis ,obsequiis natura meis8 ,subsidere nostris ,sub pedibus montes1 arescere vidimus amnes 444 ,fregi ,alpes1 galeis ,padum victricibus hausi4 ,,keil1 ad loc4 #ehg ,comp4 #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #aa 7,heb472 ,psalm xxxix4 #a2 ,isa4 xxx4 #bh2 ,ezek4 xxxviii4 #d1 xxix4 #d4 ,the ,assyrians drove a ring through the lower lip1 the ,babylonians through the nose4 ,see ,rawlinson1 ,ancient ,monarchies1 ii4 #cad1 iii4 #dcf4 #ehh #b ,kings xix4 #cc4 ,the river of ,egypt 7,nachal-ha-,mizraim7 is the ,wady-el-,arish4 #ehi ,isa4 x4 #cc1 #cd1 xi4 #a1 xiv4 #h2 ,stanley1 ,lectures1 ii4 #daj4 #eij 4 ,a sign is a thing1 an event1 or an action intended as a pledge of the ,divine certainty of another4 ,sometimes it is a miracle 7,gen4 iv4 #ae1 ,heb471 or a permanent symbol 7,isa4 viii4 #ah1 xx4 #c1 xxxvii4 #cj2 ,jer4 xliv4 #bi7 7,delitzsch74 #eia ,the first year they should eat saphach 7,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 qu repereris72 the second year1 sachsh 7,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 qu sponte nascuntur74 #eib #b ,kings xix4 #ce3 ,it came to pass that night4 ,isaiah only has then2 ,josephus1 4 ,menochius understands it in celebri illa nocte4 ,the ,,lxx4 omits that1 and simply says in the night 774 ,comp4 ,psalm xlvi4 #e 7,heb472 ,isa4 xvii4 #ad4 #eic ,josephus1 followed by many moderns1 and even by ,keil1 suggests a plague4 ,the malaria of the ,pelusiotic marshes easily breeds pestilence4 ,the maleak ,jehovah is the destroyer 7mashchith7 7,exod4 xii4 #bc2 #b ,sam4 xxiv4 #af47 ,comp4 ,justin41 xix4 #aa2 ,diod4 ,sic41 xix4 #dcd4 #eid ,comp4 #b ,sam4 xxiv4 #ae1 #af4 #eie ,the ,babyl4 ,talmud and some ,targums1 followed by ,vitringa1 etc41 attribute to it storms of lightning2 ,prideaux1 ,heine1 and ,faber1 to the simoom2 ,r4 ,jos1 ,ussher1 etc41 to a nocturnal attack of ,tirhakah4 #eif ,it is1 however1 perfectly possible that a contingent was left on guard4 ,where is the past terror8 ,where is he that rated the tribute8 ,where is he that received it8 7,isa4 xxxiii4 #ah74 ,at the noise of the tumult the people flee 7,isa4 xxxiii4 #c72 ,at ,thy rebuke1 ,o ,god of ,jacob1 both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep 7,psalm lxxvi4 #f74 ,comp4 ,psalm xlviii4 #d-f4 #eig ,this is the meaning of he departed1 and went1 and returned4 #eih ,not1 only fifty-five days1 as we read in ,tobit i4 #ba4 #eii ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 i4 #e3 ,in his own temple to ,arask2 ,,lxx41 2 ,isa4 xxxvii4 #ch4 ,one guess connects the word with ,nesher1 the eagle-god1 often seen on the ,assyrian bas-reliefs4 ,lenormant calls him the god of human destiny4 #fjj ,alex4 ,polyhistor ap4 ,euseb41 i4 #bg2 ,kimchi ad #b ,kings xix4 #cg4 ,buxtorf 7,bibl4 ,rabbinic47 says that ,sennacherib entered the temple to ask his counsellors why ,jehovah favoured ,israel4 ,being told that it was because of ,abraham's willingness to offer ,isaac1 he said1 ,then ,i will offer my two sons4 ,rashi adds that they slew him to save their own lives4 7,see ,schenkel and ,riehm1 s4v4 ,sanherib--both articles by ,schrader74 #fja ,see ,schrader in ,riehm's ,handwrterbuch1 s4vv4 ,sanherib1 ,asarhaddon4 ,esarhaddon1 judging from what is called ,sennacherib's will1 in which the king leaves him splendid presents1 seems to have been a favourite of his father 7,records of the ,past1 i4 #acf74 ,he says that on hearing of his father's murder1 ,i was wrathful as a lion1 and my soul raged within me1 and ,i lifted my hands to the great gods to assume the sovereignty of my father's house4 ,see ,appendix ,i4 #fjb ,the ,book of ,tobit 7i4 #ba7 calls him ,sarchedonas4 #fjc #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #aa4 #fjd #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #bc4 #fje ,wellhausen1 p4 #aaf4 #fjf ,herod41 ii4 #ad4 ,sin 7,tanis871 ,ezek4 xxx4 #ae4 ,it lay in the midst of morasses1 and some attribute the catastrophe to the malaria4 #fjg ,the deliverance is really connected with ,tirhakah1 whose deeds are recorded in a temple at ,medinet ,habou1 but the jealousy of the ,memphites attributed it to the piety of ,sethos4 ,see ,g4 ,w4 ,wilkinson1 ,ancient ,egyptians1 i4 #ada2 ,rawlinson1 ,herodotus1 i4 #cid4 #fjh ,antt41 ,x4 i4 #a-e4 #fji ,comp4 #a ,sam4 v41 vi41 where1 after a plague1 the ,philistines sent an expiation of five golden mice4 #faj ,we may add that even the ,chronicler drops a veil over ,sennacherib's actual capture of fortresses in ,judah 7he thought to win them for himself1 #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #a3 comp4 #b ,kings xviii4 #ac2 ,isa4 xxxvi4 #a74 #faa ,isa4 vi4 #aa-ac4 #fab ,isa4 v4 #bf-cj4 #fac ,isa4 vii4 #ah4 #fad ,isa4 viii41 xxviii4 #a-ae1 x4 #bh-cd4 #fae ,isa4 xiv4 #bi-cb1 xxix41 xxx4 #faf ,isa4 i4 #ai1 #bj4 #fag ,isa4 x4 #cc1 xxix4 #e-h1 xxx4 #bj-bf1 #cj-cc4 #fah ,isa4 xxxviii4 #f4 ,see for this paragraph an admirable chapter in ,prof4 ,smith's ,isaiah1 pp4 #cfh-cgd4 #fai ,isa4 xlvii4 #ac4 #fbj ,stanley1 ,lectures1 ii4 #eca4 #fba ,isa4 xl4 #ae4 #fbb ,isa4 xix4 #bd1 #be4 #fbc ,ecclus4 xlix4 #d4 ,,chapter ,,xxix ,,manasseh ,b4,c4 #fhf-fda #b ,,kings xxi4 #a-af ,shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with ,thee1 ,that frameth mischief by statute8 ,they gather themselves in troops against the soul of the righteous1 ,and condemn the innocent blood4--,,psalm xciv4 #bj1 #ba4 ,though the mills of ,god grind slowly1 yet they grind exceeding small2 ,though with patience long ,he waiteth1 with exactness grinds ,he all4 ,manasseh was born after ,hezekiah's recovery from his terrible illness4 ,he was but twelve years old when he began to reign4 ,of his mother ,hephzibah we know nothing1 nor of the ,zechariah who was her father2 but perhaps ,isaiah in one passage 7lxii4 #d7 may refer to her name1 ,my delight is in her4#fbd ,the son of ,hezekiah and ,hephzibah was the worst of all the kings of ,judah1 and had the longest reign4 ,the tender age of ,manasseh when he came to the throne may perhaps account for the fact that the forgetfulness which his name implied#fbe was not a forgetting of other sorrows1 but of all that was noble and righteous in the attempted reformation which had been the main religious work of his father's life4 ,in ,judah1 as in ,england1 a king was not supposed to be of age until he was eighteen4#fbf ,for six years ,manasseh must have been to a great extent under the influence of his regents and counsellors4 ,there always existed in ,jerusalem1 even in the best times1 a heathenising party1 and it was1 unfortunately1 composed of princes and aristocrats who could bring strong influence to bear upon the king4#fbg ,they did not deny ,jehovah1 but they did not recognise ,him as the sole or the supreme ,god of heaven and earth4 ,to them ,he was the local deity of ,israel and ,judah4 ,but there were other gods1 the gods of the nations1 and their aim always was to recognise the existence of these deities and to pay homage to their power4 ,if their favour could not be purchased except by their immediate votaries1 at least their anger might be averted4 ,these politicians advocated a fatal and incongruous syncretism1 or at least an unlimited tolerance for heathen idols1 for which they could1 unhappily1 quote the precepts and example of the ,wise ,king1 ,solomon4 ,if any one questioned their views as a dangerous idolatry1 and an insult to ,jehovah thundering out of ,zion1 throned ,between the cherubim1 they had but to point from the walls of ,jerusalem to the confronting summit of ,olivet1 where still remained the shrines which the son of ,david had erected three centuries earlier to ,chemosh1 and ,milcom1 and ,ashtoreth1 who1 since his day1 had always found1 even in ,jerusalem1 some worshippers1 open or secret1 to acknowledge their divinity4 ,and these worldlings1 in their tolerance for the intolerable1 could always appeal to two powerful instincts of man's fallen nature--sensuality and fear--lust hard by hate4 ,there was something in the worship of ,baal-,peor and of ,moloch which appealed to the undying ape and tiger in the unregenerate human heart4 ,the true worship of ,jehovah is exactly that form of religion which man finds it least easy to render to ,him--the religion of pure morality4 ,services1 rites1 functions1 look like religious diligence1 and readily secure a reverent outward devotion4 ,even self-maceration1 fasts1 and flagellation are a cheap way of escaping the endless torments which always loom so hugely in terrifying superstition4 ,such superstitions are children of the fear and faithlessness which hath torment4 ,they are the corruptions with which every form of false religion1 and with which also a corrupt and perverted ,christianity1 are always tainted4 ,and they demand the easy expiation of physical ritual4 ,but all the best and most spiritual teachers of ,scripture--alike the ,hebrew ,prophets and the ,christian ,apostles--are at one with the ,lord ,christ in perpetual insistence on the truth that mercy is better than sacrifice1 and that true religion consists in that good mind and good life which are the sole proof of genuine sincerity4 ,if ,jehovah would but be contented with gifts1 men would gladly offer ,him thousands of rams and tens of thousands of rivers of oil4 ,but the prophets taught that ,he was above all mean bribes1 and that such offerings never could be anything to ,one whose were all the beasts of the forests and the cattle upon a thousand hills4 ,it was not easy1 then1 to bribe such a ,god1 or to make ,him a respecter of persons4 ,how easy1 again1 would it be1 if ,he would even accept human sacrifices6 ,a child was but a child4 ,how easy to kill a child1 and place it in the brazen arms which sloped over the fiery cistern6 ,moloch and ,chemosh were supremely to be won by such holocausts2 and surely ,moloch and ,chemosh must be lords of power6 ,but here again the prophets of ,jehovah stepped in1 and said that it was of no avail with the ,high1 the ,holy1 the ,merciful1 to give even our firstborn for our transgressions1 or the fruit of the body for the sin of the soul4 ,asceticism1 then--occasional fasting1 severe self-deprivations--surely the gods would accept these8 ,and they were as nothing compared to the burden of sin and the agony of conscience6 ,baal and ,asherah could command agonised devotees1 and could approve of them4 ,by ,jehovah and ,his prophets such bodily service is discouraged and forbidden4 ,pleasure1 then8--the consecration of the natural impulses1 the devotion in religious cultus of the passions and appetites of the flesh--why should that be so abhorrent to ,jehovah8 ,other deities exulted in licentiousness4 ,was not the temple of ,astarte full of her women-worshippers and of her eunuchs8 ,was there no fascination in the voluptuous allurements1 the orgiastic dances1 the stolen waters1 the bread eaten in secret1 when not only was the conscience lulled by the removal therefrom of all sense of guilt and degradation1 but such orgies were even crowned with merit1 as part of an acceptable worship8 ,after all1 there was a fascination of corruption in these idols of gold and jewels1 of lust and blood6 ,how stern1 how cold1 how bare1 by comparison1 was the moral law which only said1 ,thou shalt not1 and emphasised its prohibition with the unalterable sanctions1 ,this do1 and thou shalt live2 ,do it not1 and thou shalt die6 ,what could they make of a religion which was so eloquently silent as to the meritoriousness of ritual8 ,and how chill and simple and dreary was that which--according to ,micah--,jehovah had shown to be good1 and which ,he required of every man1--which was nothing more than to do justly1 and to love mercy1 and to walk humbly with ,god6 ,and what right had the prophets--so asked these apostates--to lord it over ,god's heritage in this way8 ,solomon was the greatest king of ,israel and ,judah2 and ,solomon had never been so exclusive in his religionism1 though he had built the ,temple of the ,lord2 nor ,rehoboam2 nor the great ,phnician ,queen ,athaliah2 nor the cultivated and sthetic ,ahaz2 nor1 in the kingdom of ,israel1 the lordly warrior ,ahab2 nor the splendid and long-lived victor ,jeroboam ,,ii4 ,had not ,manasseh plenty of examples of religious syncretism1 to which he might appeal in the joy of his youthful age8 ,not impossibly there lay in the background another reason why the young king might be inclined to listen to these evil counsellors4 ,micah may still have been living2 but of ,isaiah we hear no more4 ,probably he was dead4 ,it is not recorded that he delivered any prophecy during the reign of ,manasseh1 nor is it certain that he outlived the former king4 ,tradition1 indeed1 in later days1 asserted that he had confronted ,manasseh1 and been doomed to death2 that he had taken refuge in a cedar tree1 and in that cedar had been sawn asunder2 but the tradition is wholly without a vestige of authority4 ,one of ,micah's sternest oracles was perhaps uttered in the days of ,manasseh4#fbh ,but ,micah was only a provincial prophet of ,moresheth-,gath4 ,he never moved in the midst of princes as ,isaiah had done1 or possessed a tithe of the authority which had rested for so many years on the shoulders of his mighty contemporary4 ,moreover--so the heathen party might suggest--had not ,isaiah's prophecies been falsified by the result8 ,had he not distinctly promised and pledged his credit to two things8 and had not both turned out to be unworthy of reliance8 i4 ,surely he had prophesied the utter downfall of the ,assyrians4 ,and it was true that after his disaster on the confines of ,egypt1 ,sennacherib had fled in haste to ,nineveh1 and his occupations with rebels on his own frontiers had left ,judah unmolested1 and he had been murdered by his sons4 ,but1 on the other hand1 in no sense of the word had ,assyria fallen4 ,on the contrary1 she had never been more powerful4 ,not one of his predecessors had seemed more irresistible than ,esarhaddon4 ,he was undisputed king of ,babylon and of ,nineveh4 ,there would be no more embassies from ,merodach-,baladan1 or any revolted viceroy6 ,and rumour would early begin to narrate that ,esarhaddon had not forgotten the catastrophe at ,pelusium1 but intended to avenge it1 and to teach ,egypt the forgotten lessons of ,raphia 7,b4,c4 #gbj7 and ,altaqu 7,b4,c4 #gja74 ii4 ,and as for ,judah1 where was the golden ,messianic age which ,isaiah had promised8 ,where did they see the ,divine ,prince whom he had foretold1 or the lion lying down with the lamb1 and the child laying his hand on the cockatrice's den8 ,all this1 they would argue1 had greatly shaken ,isaiah's prophetic authority4 ,judah was a mere vassal--safe only in so far as she remained a vassal1 and did not join ,tyre or any other rebellious power1 but abode safe under the shadow of ,assyria's mighty wings4 ,was it not1 then1 as well to look facts in the face8 to accept things as they were8 ,and--so they would argue1 with false plausibility--since the triumph1 after all1 had remained with the gods of the nations1 might it not be as well to dethrone ,jehovah from ,his exclusive dominion1 and at least to propitiate the potent and less-exacting deities1 the charming ,d faciles who smiled at lewd aberrations1 and even flung over them the glamour of devotion8 ,with these bolder renegades would be the whole body of the priests of the bamoth4 ,those old sanctuaries had been repressed by ,hezekiah without any compensation2 for in those days life-interests were little1 or not at all1 regarded4 ,multitudes of priests and ,levites must have been flung out of employment and reduced to poverty by the recent religious revolution4 ,it is not likely that they bore without a murmur the obliteration of forms of worship sanctioned by immemorial custom1 or that they made no efforts to procure the re-establishment of what the people loved4 ,thus a vast weight of evil influence was brought to bear upon the boy-king2 and it was also the more powerful because repeated indications exist that1 while the king was nominally a despot1 and was surrounded with external observance1 the real control of affairs was1 to a large extent1 in the hands of an aristocracy of priests and princes1 except when the king was a man of great personal force4 ,manasseh went over to these retrogressionists heart and soul1 and he contentedly remained a tributary of ,assyria4 ,even when ,esarhaddon's forces marched to the chastisement of ,egypt1 he felt secure in his allegiance to the dominant tyrant of ,babylon and ,nineveh1 whose interest it would be not to disturb a faithful subject4 ,there followed a reaction1 an absolute rebound from the old monotheistic strictness and righteousness4 ,the nation emancipated itself from the moral law as with a shout of relief1 and plunged into superstition and licentiousness4 ,the reign of ,manasseh resembled at once the recrudescence of ,popery in the reign of ,mary ,tudor1 with its rekindling of the fires of ,smithfield1 and the foul orgies of debauchery at the ,restoration of #affj1 when human nature1 loving degraded licence better than strenuous liberty1 flung away the noble freedom of ,puritanism for the loathly mysteries of ,cotytto4 ,the age of ,manasseh resembled that of ,charles ,,ii41 in the famous description of ,lord ,macaulay4 ,then came days never to be recalled without a blush1 the days of servitude without loyalty1 and sensuality without love1 of dwarfish talents and gigantic vices1 the paradise of cold hearts and narrow minds1 the golden age of the coward1 the bigot1 and the slave4 ,in every high place worship was paid to ,belial and ,moloch1 and ,england propitiated these obscene and cruel idols with the blood of her best and bravest children4 ,sensuous intoxication is in all cases closely connected with fiendish cruelty1 and the introducer of voluptuous idolatries naturally became the first persecutor of the true religion4 #a4 ,the first step of the king1 and probably the one which the people welcomed most1 was the restoration of the chapelries under the trees and on the hills1 which1 more strenuously than any of his predecessors1 ,hezekiah had at least attempted to put down4 ,for this step ,manasseh might have pleaded the sanction of ages to which the ,book of ,deuteronomy had either been wholly unknown1 or during which its laws had become as utterly forgotten as though they had never existed4 ,to many worshippers these old shrines had become extremely precious4 ,they felt it to be either an actual impossibility1 or at the best intolerably burdensome1 to make their way by long1 dreary1 and difficult journeys to ,jerusalem1 when they desired to pay the most ordinary rites of worship4 ,they knew no reason1 and had never known of any reason1 why ,jehovah should be worshipped in one ,temple only4 ,all their religious instincts led them the other way4 ,they could point to the example of all the highly honoured saints who had worshipped ,god at ,gilgal1 ,shechem1 ,bethel1 ,hebron1 ,beersheba1 ,kedesh1 ,gibeah1 and many another shrine2 and of all the saintly kings who had not dreamt of interfering with such free worship4 ,why should ,jerusalem monopolise all sanctity8 ,it might be a politic view for kings to maintain1 and highly profitable for priests to establish2 but none of their great prophets1 not even the princely ,isaiah1 had said one syllable against the innocent high places of ,jehovah4 ,in those days there were no synagogues4 ,the extinction of the high places doubtless seemed to many of the people an extinction of religion in daily life1 and they were more than half disposed to agree with the ,rabshakeh that ,jehovah was offended by what they regarded as a burdensome1 unwise1 and sweeping innovation4--,if it be necessary to answer arguments which might have seemed natural1 against a custom which might have seemed innocent1 it must suffice to say that it was the chief mission of ,israel to keep alive among the nations of the world the knowledge of the ,one ,true ,god1 and that1 amid the constant temptations to accept the gods of the heathen as they were adored in groves and on high places1 the faith of ,israel could no longer be kept pure except by the ,deuteronomic institution of one central and exclusive shrine4 #b4 ,but ,manasseh did far worse than rehabilitate the worship at the high places which his father had discouraged4 ,he reared up altars for ,baal1#fbi and made an ,asherah1 as did ,ahab1 ,king of ,israel4 ,this was the first bad element of the new cosmopolitan eclecticism4 ,it involved the acceptance of the ,phnician nature-worship with its manifold abominations4 ,the people had grown familiar with it under ,athaliah 7#b ,kings xi4 #ah71 and under ,ahaz 7#b ,chron4 xxviii4 #b72 but ,manasseh1 as we infer from the account given of ,josiah's reformation1 had gone further than either4 ,he had actually ventured to introduce the image of ,baal into the ,temple1 and to set up the ,asherah-pillar in front of it 7#b ,kings xxiii4 #d74 ,worse even than this1 he had erected in the very ,temple 7id4 #g7 houses devoted to the execrable ,qedeshim 7,vulg41 effeminati71 in which also the women wove broidered hangings to adorn the shrines of the idol image1 as in the worship of the ,assyrian ,mylitta4#fcj ,he1 at the same time1 displaced the altar and removed the ,ark4 ,to the latter circumstances is perhaps due the ,rabbinic legend that ,hezekiah hid the ,ark till the coming of the ,messiah4 #c4 ,to this ,phnician worship he added ,sabaism1 the worship of the stars1 all the host of heaven1 whom he served4 ,this was an entirely new phase of idolatry1 unknown to the ,hebrews till they came in contact with ,assyria4#fca ,it came rapidly into vogue1 and exercised over their imaginations the spell of a seductive novelty1 as we see from the strong testimony of the prophet ,jeremiah4#fcb ,this is why it is so emphatically forbidden in the ,book of ,deuteronomy4#fcc ,the king built altars to the stars of the ,zodiac 7,mazzaroth71 both in the outer court of the ,temple1 and in the court of the priests1 and on these altars incense or victims were continually burned4 ,he also introduced or encouraged the introduction into the ,temple precincts of the horses and chariots dedicated to the sun4#fcd ,when we read of the actual invasion of the ,temple-precincts in this as in preceding and subsequent reigns1 we cannot but ask1 ,were these atrocities committed with the sanction or with the connivance of the priests8 ,we are not told4 ,yet how can it have been otherwise8 ,if the high priest ,azariah could muster eighty priests to oppose ,king ,uzziah1 when he merely wished to burn incense in the ,temple1 as ,solomon had done before him1 and as ,ahaz did after him--if ,jehoiada could1 according to the ,chronicler1 muster a perfect army of priests and ,levites to dethrone ,athaliah1 and could so stir up the people that they rose en masse to tear down the temple of ,baal1 and slay ,mattan1 his high priest1--how was it possible for ,manasseh to perpetrate these flagrant acts of idolatrous apostasy1 if the priests were all ranged in opposition to his power8 ,was their authority suddenly paralysed8 ,did their influence with the people shrivel into nothing when ,hezekiah had been carried to his tomb8 ,or did these priests follow the easy and profitable course which they seem to have followed throughout the whole history of the kings without an exception8--did they simply answer the kings according to their idols8 #d4 ,another1 and the most hideous1 element of the new mixture of cults was the reintroduction of the ancient ,canaanite worship of ,moloch with its human sacrifices4 ,manasseh1 like ,ahaz1 made his son or1 according to the ,chronicler and the ,septuagint1 his sons--pass through the fire to this grim ,ammonite idol in ,tophet of the ,valley of ,hinnom1 so as to leave no chance untried4 ,and herein he was far more inexcusable than his grandfather2 for ,ahaz had at least been driven by desperate extremity to this last expedient1 but ,manasseh was living1 if not in prosperity1 at least in unbroken peace4 ,moreover1 he not only did this himself1 but did his utmost to make a popular institution of children-sacrifice1 so that many practised it in the dreadful valley and amid the rocks outside ,jerusalem4#fce #e4 ,even this did not suffice him4 ,to these ,assyrian1 ,phnician1 and ,canaanite elements of idolatry he added ,babylonian novelties4 ,he practised augury1 and used enchantments1 and he dealt with familiar spirits and wizards1 as though without ,egyptian necromancy and ,mesopotamian shamanism his eclectic worship would be incomplete4#fcf #f4 ,thus he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the ,lord to provoke ,him to anger4 ,he placed a graven image of his ,asherah inside the ,temple1 and utterly profaned the sacred house1 and seduced his people to do more evil than did the nations whom the ,lord destroyed before the children of ,israel4 ,whatever was the conduct of the priests1 the prophets were not silent4 ,they denounced ,manasseh for having done worse than even the ancient ,amorites1 and declared that1 in consequence of his crimes1 ,god would bring upon ,jerusalem such evil as would cause both the ears of him that heard it to tingle2#fcg that he would stretch over ,jerusalem for ruin the line and the level of ,ahab2#fch that ,he would cast off even the remnant1 and deliver them to their enemies2 that ,he would wipe out ,jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish1 wiping and turning it upside down4#fci ,the finest oracles of ,micah 7vi4 #a-vii4 #g7 were probably uttered in the reign of ,manasseh1 and give the simplest and purest expression to the supremacy of morality as the one true end and test of religion4 ,micah is as indifferent as the ,decalogue to all claims of rites1 ceremonies1 and outward worship4 ,jehovah demands nothing for ,himself2 all that ,he asks is for man3 this is the fundamental law of the theocracy4 ,the apostasies of the king and the denunciation of the prophets thus came into fierce collision1 and led naturally to persecution and bloodshed4 ,perhaps in ,mic4 vii4 #a-g we catch the echoes of the ,reign of ,terror4 ,the king resorted to violence1 using1 no doubt1 the tyrant's devilish plea of necessity4 ,he made blood run like water in the streets of ,jerusalem from end to end1#fdj and in the exaggerated phrase of ,josephus1 was daily slaying the prophets4#fda ,it was during this persecution1 according to ,rabbinic tradition1 that ,isaiah received the martyr's crown4#fdb ,and no miracles were wrought to save the martyrs4 ,elijah and ,elisha had been surrounded with a blaze of miracles1 but in ,judah no prophet arose who could so wield the power of ,heaven4 ,at this point the narrative of the historian about ,manasseh ends4 ,if he shared the current opinion of his day1 which connected individual and national prosperity with well-doing1 and regarded length of days as a sign of the favour of ,heaven1 while1 on the other hand1 misfortune and misery invariably resulted from the wrath of ,jehovah1 he could not have been otherwise than surprised1 and perhaps even pained1 to have to relate that ,manasseh reigned fifty-five years4 ,not only was his reign longer than that of any other king of ,israel or ,judah2 not only did he attain a greater age than any of them2 but1 further1 no calamity seems to have marked his rule4 ,a contented and protected vassal of ,esarhaddon1 secure from his attacks1 and also unmolested by the weakened and subjugated nations around him1 he would seem1 in the story of the ,kings1 to have enjoyed an enviable external lot1 and to have presided over a people who were happy1 in that1 during his rule1 they had no history4 ,but whatever the writer may have felt1 he tells us no more1 and lets us see ,manasseh sink peacefully into his grave in the garden of his own house1 in the garden of ,uzza1 and leave to his son ,amon a peaceful realm and an undisputed crown4 ,such a career would undoubtedly perplex and confound all the preconceived opinions of ,jewish orthodoxy4 ,the prosperity of ,manasseh would have presented as great a problem to them as the miseries of ,job4 ,they looked to temporal prosperity as the reward of righteousness1 and to acute misery as the retribution of apostasy and sin4 ,they had little or no conception of a future which should redress the balance of apparent earthly inequalities4 ,alike the sight of ,manasseh's long reign and ,josiah's undeserved death in battle would give a powerful shock to their fixed convictions4 ,far different is the end of the story in the ,book of ,chronicles4 ,the records of ,esarhaddon tell us that in #fhj he made an expedition into ,palestine to restore the shaken influence of his father1#fdc and about #fdg he mentions among his submissive tributaries the kings of ,tyre1 ,edom1 ,moab1 ,gaza1 ,ekron1 ,askelon1 ,gebal1 ,ammon1 ,ashdod1 and ,manasseh1 ,king of ,judah 7,minasi-sar-,yahudi71 as well as ten princes of ,cyprus4 ,whether the ,king of ,judah rebelled later on1 and intrigued with ,tirhakah1 we do not know2 but in #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #aa we read that ,esarhaddon sent his generals to ,jerusalem1 took ,manasseh by stratagem1 drove rings through his lips1 bound him in chains1 and brought him to ,babylon1 where ,esarhaddon was holding his court4#fdd ,we find from the ,eponym ,canon that ,tyre revolted from ,assyria in the tenth year of ,esarhaddon1 and ,manasseh may have been drawn away to join in the revolt2 or he may have joined ,shamash-shum-ukn1 the ,viceroy of ,babylon1 in his revolt against his brother ,assurbanipal4 ,as a rule1 the lot of a conquered vassal at the ,assyrian ,court was horrible1 and in his utter misery ,manasseh repented1 humbled himself1 and prayed4#fde ,his prayer was heard4 ,the despots of ,nineveh were capricious alike in their insults and in their favours1 and ,esarhaddon not only pardoned ,manasseh1 but sent him back to ,jerusalem1#fdf thinking that he would be more useful to him there than in a ,babylonian dungeon4 ,after this reprieve he lived like a penitent and a patriot4 ,esarhaddon was preparing for his expedition against ,tirhakah1 and would not attack a king who was now bound to him by gratitude as well as fear4 ,but the times were very troublous4 ,manasseh prepared for eventualities by building an outer wall on the west of the city of ,david1 unto ,gihon in the ,valley1 by surrounding ,ophel with a high wall1 and by garrisoning the fenced cities4#fdg ,all this was necessary and patriotic work1 considering that ,judah might be attacked by other enemies as well as the ,assyrians4 ,she was like a grain of corn amid the grinding mills of the nations4 ,media and ,lydia were rising into strong kingdoms4 ,babylon was becoming daily more formidable4 ,dim rumours reached the ,east of movements among vast hosts of ,cimmerian and ,scythian barbarians4 ,jerusalem had no human strength for war4 ,she could only rely upon her battlements1 on the natural strength of her position1 and on the protection of her ,god4 ,almost in the last year of ,manasseh1 the powerful ,psammetichus ,i41 king of a now united ,egypt1 made an assault on ,ashdod2 but he did not venture on the difficult task of besieging ,jerusalem4 ,the religious reformation of ,manasseh attested the sincerity of his amendment4 ,he flung out the ,asherah from the ,temple1 put away the strange gods1 destroyed the altars1 burnt sacrifices to ,god1 and used all his power to restore the worship of ,jehovah4 ,he did not1 however1 destroy the high places4 ,for this story the ,chronicler refers to the words of ,chozai1#fdh according to the present text1 which some suppose to have meant the story of the ,seers4 ,he also refers to a prayer of ,manasseh1 which cannot of course be the ,greek forgery of the second or third century which goes by that name in the ,apocrypha4#fdi ,his repentance doubtless secured his own salvation4 ,whoso saith ',manasseh hath no part in the world to come1' said ,rabbi ,johanan1 discourageth the penitent2--but the partial reformation was too late to save his land4 ,is this a literal history1 or an edifying ,haggadah8 ,the non-historical character of the story is maintained by ,de ,wette1 ,graf1 ,nldeke1 and many others4 ,both views have been taken4 ,this we can1 at any rate1 assert--that there seems to be nothing in the story which is inconsistent with probability4 ,the ,chronicler may have derived it from genuine documents or traditions1 though it is difficult to account for the silence of the elder and more trustworthy historian4 ,nor is it only his silence for which we have to account2 it is the continuance of his positive statements4 ,it would be1 in any case1 a strange conception of history which1 after narrating a man's crimes1 omitted alike the retribution which befell him on account of them1 the heartfelt penitence for the sake of which they were forgiven1 and the seriously earnest endeavour to undo at least something of the evil which he had done4 ,not only does the historian make these omissions1 but in no subsequent allusion to ,manasseh does he so much as indicate that he is aware of his amendment4#fej ,he says that ,amon did evil in the sight of the ,lord1 as his father ,manasseh did4#fea ,he speaks of the altars to the hosts of heaven which ,manasseh had made in the two courts of the ,temple as still standing in the reign of ,josiah1 though the ,chronicler tells us that ,manasseh had cast them all out of the city4#feb ,he says that1 notwithstanding all that ,josiah did1 the ,lord turned not from the fierceness of ,his great wrath1 because of all the provocations that ,manasseh had provoked ,him withal1#fec and that on this account ,god cast off ,jerusalem4 ,never1 even by the most distant allusions1 does he refer to ,manasseh's captivity1 his prayer1 his penitence1 or his counter-efforts4 ,had he been aware of these1 his silence would have been neither generous nor just4 ,nay1 he even leaves apparent facts at conflict with the ,chronicler's story1 for he makes ,josiah do all that the ,chronicler tells us that ,manasseh himself had done in the removal of his worst abominations4 ,even now we have not exhausted the historic difficulties which surround the repentance of ,manasseh4 ,during his reign ,jeremiah received his call1 and while still a young boy began his work4 ,neither he1 nor ,zephaniah1 nor ,habakkuk drop the slightest hint that the wicked1 idolatrous king had ever turned over a new leaf4 ,jeremiah's silence is specially difficult to account for4 ,he1 too1 records ,jehovah's final and irrevocable decree1 that ,he would give up ,judah to death1 to exile1 and to famine1 to the sword to slay1 to the dogs to tear1 to the fowls of the heaven and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy4#fed ,and the cause of the pitiless doom pronounced by a ,judge weary of repenting is because of ,manasseh1 the son of ,hezekiah1 ,king of ,judah1 for that which he did in ,jerusalem4#fee ,the judgment was not long delayed4 ,it was the vast movement of the ,scythians in ,media and ,western ,asia1 and the rumours of it1 which gave to ,manasseh and ,amon such respite as they had2 and even this respite was full of misery and fear4#fef ,,footnotes3 #fbd ,one legend says that ,hephzibah was a daughter of ,isaiah4 ,not so ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 iii4 #a74 #fbe ,see ,gen4 xli4 #ea4 ,his name may have referred to the new union between the ,northern and ,southern ,kingdoms4 ,comp4 #b ,chron4 xxx4 #f1 xxxi4 #a4 #fbf ,chron4 xxxiv4 #a-c4 #fbg ,see ,zeph4 i4 #h4 ,comp4 #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #ag2 ,isa4 xxviii4 #ad2 ,jer4 v4 #e1 etc4 #fbh ,mic4 vii4 #a-bj4 #fbi ,,lxx41 4 ,the feminine1 however1 does not imply that ,baal was here worshipped as a female deity1 but is probably due to the fact that later ,jews always avoided using the names of idols 7from a misapprehension or too literal view of ,exod4 xxiii4 #ac71 and therefore called ,baal ,bosheth 7shame71 which is feminine4 ,hence the names ,mephibosheth1 ,jerubbesheth1 ,ishbosheth4 ,in ,suidas 7s4v4 7 he is charged with having set up in the ,temple a four-faced image of ,zeus4 #fcj ,for 1 in #b ,kings xxiii4 #g1 the ,,lxx4 read 7874 ,grtz1 7,gesch4 d4 ,juden41 ii4 #bgg7 suggests 1 broidered robes4 ,ezek4 xvi4 #af4 ,see ,herod41 i4 #aii2 ,strabo1 xvi4 #ajeh2 ,luc41 ,de ,de4 ,syr41 #f2 ,libanius1 ,opp41 xi4 #def1 #eeg2 ,ep4 of ,jeremy1 #dc2 ,dllinger1 ,judenthum u4 ,heidenthum1 i4 #dca2 ,rawlinson1 ,phnicia1 #dca4 #fca ,chron4 xxxiii4 #c2 #b ,kings xxiii4 #e4 ,movers1 ,rel4 d4 ,phniz41 i4 #fe ,in all the books of the ,old ,testament written before the ,assyrian period no trace of star-worship is to be to found4 #b ,kings xvii4 #af4 #fcb ,jer4 vii4 #ah1 viii4 #b1 xix4 #ac2 ,zeph4 i1 #e4 #fcc ,see ,deut4 iv4 #ai1 xvii4 #c4 #fcd #b ,kings xxiii4 #aa1 #ab4 #fce ,see ,jer4 vii1 #ca1 #cb1 xix4 #b-f1 xxxii4 #ce2 ,psalm cvi4 #cg1 #ch4 #fcf ,ewald infers from ,isa4 lvii4 #e-i2 ,jer4 ii4 #e-ac1 that he actually sought for all foreign kinds of worship1 in order to introduce them4 #fcg #a ,sam4 iii4 #aa2 ,jer4 xix4 #c4 #fch ,comp4 ,isa4 xxxiv4 #aa2 ,lam4 ii4 #h4 #fci #b ,kings xxi4 #ac4 ,,lxx41 1 al4 4 ,the ,vulgate also takes it to mean the obliteration of writing on a tablet3 ,delebo ,jerusalem sicut deleri solent tabul2 et ducam crebrius stylum super faciem ejus4 #fdj #b ,kings xxi4 #af2 ,heb41 from mouth to mouth2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 donec impleret ,jerusalem usque ad os4 ,comp4 #b ,kings x4 #ba4 #fda ,antt41 ,x4 iii1 #a3 ,he butchered alike all the just among the ,hebrews4 ,to this reign of terror some refer ,psalm xii4 #a2 ,isa4 lvii4 #a-d4 #fdb ,this 7as ,i have said7 cannot be regarded as certain4 ,isaiah began to prophesy in the year that ,king ,uzziah died1 sixty years before ,manasseh4 ,it is a ,jewish ,haggadah4 ,see ,gesen on ,isa4 i41 p4 #i1 and the ,apocryphal ,ascension of ,isaiah4 #fdc ,esarhaddon reigned only eight years1 till #ffh1 and then resigned in favour of his son ,assurbanipal4 ,in his reign ,psammetichus recovered ,egypt1 and put an end to the ,dodecarchy4 ,in the reign of his successor1 ,assuredililani1 ,assyria began to decline 7#fdg-fbe74 #fdd ,comp4 ,isa4 xxxix4 #f2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 iii4 #b4 ,the phrase among the thorns means with rings 7comp4 ,isa4 xxx4 #bh1 xxxvii4 #bi2 ,ezek4 xxxviii4 #d2 ,amos iv4 #b74 ,assurbanipal says similarly that he seized ,necho1 bound him with bonds and iron chains1 hands and feet1 but afterwards allowed him to return to ,egypt 7,schrader1 ii4 #ei74 #fde ,late and worthless ,haggadoth1 echoed by still later writers 7,suidas and ,syncellus71 say he was kept in a brazen cage1 fed on bran bread dipped in vinegar1 etc4 ,see ,apost4 ,constt41 ii4 #bb3 ,and the ,lord hearkened to his voice1 and there became about him a flame of fire1 and all the irons about him melted4 ,john ,damasc41 ,parall41 ii4 #ae1 quotes from ,julius ,africanus1 that while ,manasseh was saying a psalm his iron bonds burst1 and he escaped4 ,see ,speakers ,commentary1 on ,apocrypha1 ii4 #cfc4 #fdf ,such pardon from a king of ,assyria was rare1 but not unparalleled4 ,pharaoh ,necho ,i4 was taken in chains to ,nineveh1 and afterwards set free 7,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 p4 #cga74 #fdg ,see #b ,chron4 xxvii4 #c4 ,the fish gate was1 perhaps1 a weak point 7,zeph4 i4 #aj74 #fdh #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #ai4 ,heb41 dibhr ,chozai2 ,a4,v41 the story of the ,seers2 ,r4,v41 in the history of ,hozai2 ,,lxx41 2 ,vulg41 in sermonibus ,hozai4 ,the elements of doubt suggested by the name ,babylon1 and by the liberation of ,manasseh1 have been removed by further knowledge4 ,see ,budge1 ,hist4 of ,esarhaddon1 p4 #gh2 ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 #cfi ff4 #fdi ,since the ,council of ,trent this prayer has been relegated to the end of the ,vulgate with #c1 #d1 ,esdras4 ,verse #h 7the supposed sinlessness of the ,patriarchs7 at once shows it to be a mere composition4 #fej #b ,kings xxiii4 #ab4 #fea #b ,kings xxi4 #bj4 #feb #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #ae4 #fec #b ,kings xxiii4 #bf4 #fed ,jer4 xv4 #a-i4 #fee ,the later ,jews certainly took no account of his repentance4 ,his name was execrated 7see the substitution of ,manasseh for ,moses in ,judg4 xviii4 #cj71 and he was denied all part in the world to come4 ,the ,apocryphal ,prayer of ,manasses has no authority1 though it is interesting 7,butler1 ,analogy1 pt4 ii41 ch4 v474 #fef ,in estimating the ,chronicler's story1 we cannot wholly forget the fact that a number of ,haggadic legends clustered thickly round the name of ,manasseh in the literature of the later ,jews4 ,he is charged with incest1 with the murder of ,isaiah1 the distortion of ,scripture1 etc41 and is represented as having got to heaven1 not by real repentance1 but by challenging ,god on ,his superiority to idols4 ,the ,targum1 after #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #aa1 adds1 ,and the ,chaldees made a copper mule1 and pierced it all over with little holes1 and put him therein4 ,and when he was in straits1 he cried in vain to all his idols4 ,then he prayed to ,jehovah and humbled himself2 but the angels shut every window and lattice of heaven1 that his prayer might not enter4 ,but forthwith the pity of the ,lord of the world rolled forth1 and ,he made an aperture in heaven1 and the mule burst asunder1 and the ,spirit breathed on him1 and he forsook all his idols4 ,no books1 says ,dr4 ,neubauer1 are more subject to additions and various adaptations than popular histories4 ,see ,mr4 ,ball's commentary 7,speaker's ,commentary1 ii4 #cji1 and ,sanhedrin1 f4 #ii1 #b2 #aja1 #a2 #ajc1 #b74 ,,amon#feg ,b4,c4 #fda-fci #b ,,kings xxi4 #ai-bf ,the brief reign of ,amon is only a sort of unimportant and miserable annex to that of his father4 ,as he was twenty-two years old when he began to reign1 he must have witnessed the repentance and reforming zeal of his father1 if1 in spite of all difficulties1 we assume that narrative to be historical4 ,in that case1 however1 the young man was wholly untouched by the latter phase of ,manasseh's life1 and flung himself headlong into the career of the king's earlier idolatries4 ,he walked in all the way that his father walked in1 and served the idols that his father served1 and worshipped them--which was the more extraordinary if ,manasseh's last acts had been to dethrone and destroy these strange gods4 ,he even multiplied trespass1 so that in his son's reign we find every form of abomination as triumphant as though ,manasseh had never attempted to check the tide of evil4 ,we know nothing more of ,amon4 ,apparently he only reigned two years4#feh ,he is the only ,jewish king who bears the name of a foreign--an ,egyptian--deity4 ,for pictures of the state of things in this reign we may look to the prophets ,zephaniah and ,jeremiah1 and they are forced to use the darkest colours4 ,this is ,zephaniah's picture3-- ,woe to her that is rebellious and polluted1 to the oppressing city6 ,she obeyed not the voice2 she received not instruction2 ,she trusted not in the ,lord2 she drew not near to her ,god4 ,her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions2 ,her judges are evening wolves2 they gnaw not the bones on the morrow4 ,her prophets are light and treacherous persons3 ,her priests have profaned the sanctuary1 they have done violence to the law4#fei ,he tells us that ,baal and his black-robed chemarim#ffj are still prevalent--that men worshipped on their house-tops the host of heaven1 and swore by ,moloch their king4 ,therefore would ,god search ,jerusalem with candles1 and would visit the men who had sunk1 like thick wine on the lees1 and who said in their infidel hearts1 ,jehovah will not do good1 neither will ,he do evil4 ,he is an ,epicurean ,god1 a cypher1 a fainant4 ,men make all kinds of fine calculations1 says ,luther1 but the ,lord ,god says to them1 ',for whom1 then1 do you hold ,me8 ,for a cypher8 ,do ,i sit here in vain1 and to no purpose8 ,you shall know that ,i will turn their accounts about finely1 and make them all false reckonings4' ,not less dark is the view of ,jeremiah4#ffa ,like ,diogenes in ,athens1 ,jeremiah in vain searches ,jerusalem for a faithful man4 ,among the poor he finds brutish obstinacy1 among the rich insolent defiance4 ,they were like fed horses in the morning--lecherous and unruly4 ,they are slanderers1 adulterers1 corrupters1 murderers4 ,they worship ,baal and strange gods4 ,they set a trap1 they catch men4 ,as a cage is full of birds1 so are their houses full of deceit4 ,they are waxen fat1 they shine2 yea1 they overpass in deeds of wickedness4#ffb ,an astonishment and horror is done in the land2 the prophets prophesy falsely1 and the priests bear rule by their means2 and ,my people love to have it so3 and what will ye do in the end thereof8#ffc ,from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness2 and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely4 ,they have treated also the hurt of ,my people lightly1 saying1 ',peace1 peace1' when there is no peace4 ,were they ashamed when they had committed abominations8 ,nay1 they were not at all ashamed1 neither could they blush3 therefore shall they fall among them that fall4#ffd ,the wretched reign ended wretchedly4 ,amon met the fate of ,amaziah and of ,joash4 ,he was murdered by conspirators--by some of his own courtiers--in his own palace4 ,he was not the victim of any general rebellion4 ,the people of the land were apparently content with the existent idolatry1 which left them free for lives of lust and luxury1 of greed and gain4 ,they resented the disorder introduced by an intrigue of eunuchs or court officials4 ,they rose and slew the whole band of conspirators4 ,amon was buried with his father in the new burial-place of the ,kings in the garden of ,uzza1 and the people placed his son ,josiah--a child of eight years old--upon the throne4 ,,footnotes3 #feg ,the name ,amon is unusual4 ,some identify it with the name of the ,egyptian sun-god 7,nah4 iii4 #h74 ,if so1 we see yet another element of ,manasseh's syncretism1 and 7as some fancy7 an attempt to open relations with ,psammetichus of ,egypt4 ,but perhaps the name may be ,hebrew for ,architect 7#a ,kings xxii4 #bf2 ,neh4 vii4 #ei74 #feh #b ,kings xxi4 #ai4 ,the ,,lxx4 reads twelve years1 but not so ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 iv4 #a71 or #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #ba4 #fei ,zeph4 iii4 #a-aa4 ,comp4 i4 #d4 #ffj ,chemarim1 #b ,kings xxiii4 #e2 ,hos4 x4 #e4 ,the root in ,syriac means to be sad1 but ,kimchi derives it from a root to be black4 ,the ,vulgate renders it ditui and aruspices4 #ffa ,we are told in the titles of their books that both these prophets prophesied in the days of ,josiah2 but such pictures can only apply to the earliest years of his reign4 #ffb ,see ,jer4 v41 vi41 vii41 passim4 #ffc ,jer4 vi4 #ac-ae4 #ffd ,jer4 v4 #cj1 #ca4 ,,chapter ,,xxx ,,josiah ,b4,c4 #fci-fjhffe #b ,,kings xii41 xxiii 4--,jos41 ,antt41 iv4 #a4 ,in outline dim and vast ,their fearful shadows cast ,the giant forms of ,empires1 on their way ,to ruin3 one by one ,they tower1 and they are gone4 ,,keble4 ,if we are to understand the reign of ,josiah as a whole1 we must preface it by some allusion to the great epoch-marking circumstances of his age1 which explain the references of contemporary prophets1 and which1 in great measure1 determined the foreign policy of the pious king4 ,the three memorable events of this brief epoch were1 7,i47 the movement of the ,scythians1 7,,ii47 the rise of ,babylon1 and 7,,iii47 the humiliation of ,nineveh1 followed by her total destruction4 ,i4 ,many of ,jeremiah's earlier prophecies belong to this period1 and we see that both he and ,zephaniah--who was probably a great-great-grandson of ,king ,hezekiah himself1#fff and prophesied in this reign#ffg--;are greatly occupied with a danger from the ,north which seems to threaten universal ruin4 ,so overwhelming is the peril that ,zephaniah begins with the tremendously sweeping menace1 ,i will utterly consume all things off the earth1 saith the ,lord4 ,then the curse rushes down specifically upon ,judah and ,jerusalem2 and the state of things which the prophet describes shows that1 if ,josiah began himself to seek the ,lord at eight years old1 he did not take--and was1 perhaps1 unable to take--any active steps towards the extinction of idolatry till he was old enough to hold in his own hand the reins of power4 ,for ,zephaniah denounces the wrath of ,jehovah on three classes of idolaters--viz41 7#a7 the remnant of ,baal-worshippers with their chemarim1 or unlawful priests1 and the syncretising priests 7kohanim7 of ,jehovah1 who combine ,his worship with that of the stars1 to whom they burn incense upon the housetops2 7#b7 the waverers1 who swear at once by ,jehovah and by ,malcham1 their king2 and 7#c7 the open despisers and apostates4 ,for all these the day of ,jehovah is near2 ,he has prepared them for sacrifice1 and the sacrificers are at hand4#ffh ,gaza1 ,ashdod1 ,askelon1 ,ekron1 the ,cherethites1 ,canaan1 ,philistia1 are all threatened by the same impending ruin1 as well as ,moab and ,ammon1 who shall lose their lands4 ,ethiopia1 too1 and ,assyria shall be smitten1 and ,nineveh shall become so complete a desolation that pelicans and hedgehogs shall bivouac upon her chapiters1 the owl shall hoot in her windows1 and the crow croak upon the threshold1 ',crushed6 desolated6' and all that pass by shall hiss and wag their hands4#ffi ,the pictures of the state of society drawn by ,jeremiah do not1 as we have seen1 differ from those drawn by his contemporary4#fgj ,jeremiah1 too1 writing perhaps before ,josiah's reformation1 complains that ,god's people have forsaken the fountains of living water1 to hew out for themselves broken cisterns4 ,he complains of empty formalism in the place of true righteousness1 and even goes so far as to say that backsliding ,israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous ,judah 7iii4 #a-aa74 ,he1 too1 prophesies speedy and terrific chastisement4 ,let ,judah gather herself into fenced cities1 and save her goods by flight1 for ,god is bringing evil from the ,north1 and a great destruction4#fga ,the lion is come up from his thicket1 and the destroyer of the nations is on his way2 he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate2 and thy cities shall be laid waste1 without an inhabitant4 ,behold1 he cometh as clouds1 and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind4 ,besiegers come from a far country1 and give out their voice against the cities of ,judah4 ,the heart of the kings shall perish1 and the heart of the princes2 and the priests shall be astonished1 and the prophets shall wonder4 ,for thus hath the ,lord said1 ,the whole land shall be desolate2 yet will ,i not make a full end--and1 ,o ,jerusalem1 wash thine heart from wickedness1 that thou mayest be saved6#fgb ,i will bring a nation upon you from far1 ,o ,house of ,israel1 saith the ,lord3 it is a mighty nation1 it is an ancient nation1 a nation whose language--unlike that of the ,assyrians--thou knowest not1 neither understandest what they say4 ,their quiver is an open sepulchre1 they are all mighty men4 ,they shall batter thy fenced cities1 in which thou trustest with weapons of war4#fgc ,o ye children of ,benjamin1 save your goods by flight3 for evil is imminent from the ,north1 and a great destruction4 ,behold1 a people cometh from the ,north ,country1 and a great nation shall be raised from the farthest part of the earth4 ,they lay hold on bow and spear2 they are cruel1 and have no mercy2 their voice roareth like the sea2 and they ride upon horses1 set in array as men for war against thee1 ,o daughter of ,zion4 ,we have heard the fame thereof3 our hands wax feeble4#fgd ,and the judgment is close at hand4 ,the early blossoming bud of the almond tree is the type of its imminence4 ,the seething caldron1 with its front turned from the ,north1 typifies an invasion which shall soon boil over and flood the land4#fge ,what was the fierce people thus vaguely indicated as coming from the ,north8 ,the foes indicated in these passages are not the long-familiar ,assyrians1 but the ,scythians and ,cimmerians4#fgf ,as yet the ,hebrews had only heard of them by dim and distant rumour4 ,when ,ezekiel prophesied they were still an object of terror1 but he foresees their defeat and annihilation4 ,they should be gathered into the confines of ,israel1 but only for their destruction4#fgg ,the prophet is bidden to set his face towards ,gog1 of the land of ,magog1 the ,prince of ,rosh1#fgh ,meshech1 and ,tubal1 and prophesy against him that ,god would turn him about1 and put hooks in his jaws1 and drive forth all his army of bucklered and sworded horsemen1 the hordes of the uttermost part of the ,north4 ,they should come like a storm upon the mountains of ,israel1 and spoil the defenceless villages2 but they should come simply for their own destruction by blood and by pestilence4 ,god should smite their bows out of their left hands1 and their arrows out of the right1 and the ravenous birds of ,israel should feed upon the carcases of their warriors4 ,there should be endless bonfires of all the instruments of war1 and the place of their burial should be called the valley of the multitude of ,gog4 ,much of this is doubtless an ideal picture1 and ,ezekiel may be thinking of the fall of the ,chaldans4 ,but the terms he uses remind us of the dim ,northern nomads1 and the names ,rosh and ,meshech in juxtaposition involuntarily recall those of ,russia and ,moscow4#fgi ,our chief historical authority respecting this influx of ,northern barbarians is ,herodotus4#fhj ,he tells us that the nomad ,scythians1 apparently a ,turanian race1 who may have been subjected to the pressure of population1 swarmed over the ,caucasus1 dispossessed the ,cimmerians 7,gomer71 and settled themselves in ,saccasene1 a province of ,northern ,armenia4 ,from this province the ,scythians gained the name of the ,saqu4 ,the name of ,gog seems to be taken from ,gugu1 a ,scythian prince1 who was taken captive by ,assurbanipal from the land of the ,saqu4#fha ,magog is perhaps ,mat-gugu1 land of ,gog4 ,these rude1 coarse warriors1 like the hordes of ,attila1 or ,zenghis ,khan1 or ,tamerlane--who were descended from them--magnetised the imagination of civilised people1 as the ,huns did in the fourth century4#fhb ,they overthrew the kingdom of ,urartis 7,armenia71 and drove the all-but exterminated remnant of the ,moschi and ,tabali to the mountain-fortresses by the ,black ,sea1 turning them1 as it were1 into a nation of ghosts in ,sheol4#fhc ,then they burst like a thunder-cloud on ,mesopotamia1 desolating the villages with their arrow-flights1 but too unskilled to take fenced towns4 ,they swept down the ,shephelah of ,palestine1 and plundered the rich temple of ,aphrodite 7,astarte ,ourania7 at ,askelon1 thereby incurring the curse of the goddess in the form of a strange disease4 ,but on the borders of ,egypt they were diplomatically met by ,psammetichus 7d4 #faa7 with gifts and prayers4 ,judah seems only to have suffered indirectly from this invasion4 ,the main army of ,scyths poured down the maritime plain1 and there was no sufficient booty to tempt any but their straggling bands to the barren hills of ,judah4#fhd ,it was the report of this over-flooding from the ,north which probably evoked the alarming prophecies of ,zephaniah and ,jeremiah1 though they found their clearer fulfilment in the invasion of the ,chaldees4 ,,ii4 ,this rush of wild nomads averted for a time the fate of ,nineveh4 ,the ,medes1 an ,aryan people1 had settled south of the ,caspian1 ,b4,c4 #gij2 and in the same century one of these tribes--the ,persians--had settled south-east of ,elam the northern coast of the ,persian ,gulf4 ,cyaxares founded the ,median ,empire1 and attacked ,nineveh4 ,the ,scythian invasion forced him to abandon the siege1 and the ,scythians burnt the ,assyrian palace and plundered the ruins4 ,but ,cyaxares succeeded in intoxicating and murdering the ,scythian leaders at a banquet1 and bribed the army to withdraw4 ,then ,cyaxares1 with the aid of the ,babylonians under ,nabopolassar their rebel viceroy1 besieged and took ,nineveh--probably about ,b4,c4 #fjh--while its last king and his captains were revelling at a banquet4#fhe ,the fall of ,nineveh was not astonishing4 ,the empire had long been slowly bleeding to death in consequence of its incessant wars4 ,the city deemed itself impregnable behind walls a hundred feet high1 on which three chariots could drive abreast1 and mantled with twelve hundred towers2 but she perished1 and all the nations--whom she had known how to crush1 but had with her stupid and cruel tyranny never known how to govern--shouted for joy4 ,that joy finds its triumphant expression in more than one of the prophets1 but specially in the vivid pan of ,nahum4 ,his date is approximately fixed at about ,b4,c4 #ffj1 by his reference to the atrocities inflicted by ,assurbanipal on the ,egyptian city of ,no-,amon4 ,art thou ,nineveh better1 he asks1 than ,no-,amon1 that was situate among the canals1 that had the water round about her1 whose rampart was the ,nile1 and her wall was the waters8 ,yet she went into captivity6 ,her young children were dashed to pieces at the head of all the streets3 they cast lots for her honourable men1 and all her great men were bound in chains4 ,thou also shalt be drunken3 thou shalt faint away1 thou shalt seek a stronghold because of the enemy4#fhf ,all the details of her fall are dim2 but ,nineveh was1 in the language of the prophets1 swept with the besom of destruction4 ,her ruins became stones of emptiness1 and the line of confusion was stretched over her4 ,nahum ends with the cry1-- ,there is no assuaging of thy hurt2 thy wound is grievous3 ,all that hear the bruit of this1 clap the hands over thee3 ,for upon whom hath thy wickedness not passed continually8 ,in truth1 ,assyria1 the ferocious foe of ,israel1 of ,judah1 and all the world1 vanished suddenly1 like a dream when one awaketh2#fhg and those who passed over its ruins1 like ,xenophon and his ,ten ,thousand in ,b4,c4 #dja1 knew not what they were4#fhh ,her very name had become forgotten in two centuries4 ,etiam periere ruin6 ,the burnt relics and cracked tablets of her former splendour began to be revealed to the world once more in #ahdb1 and it is only during the last quarter of a century that the fragments of her history have been laboriously deciphered4 ,,iii4 ,such were the events witnessed in their germs or in their completion by the contemporaries of ,josiah and the prophets who adorned his reign4 ,it was during this period1 also1 that the power to whom the ultimate ruin and captivity of ,jerusalem was due sprang into formidable proportions4 ,the ultimate scourge of ,god to the guilty people and the guilty city was not to be the ,assyrian1 nor the ,scythian1 nor the ,egyptian1 nor any of the old ,canaanite or ,semitic foes of ,israel1 nor the ,phnician1 nor the ,philistine4 ,with all these she had long contended1 and held her own4 ,it was before the ,chaldee that she was doomed to fall1 and the ,chaldee was a new phenomenon of which the existence had hardly been recognised as a danger till the warning prophecy of ,isaiah to ,hezekiah after the embassy of the rebel viceroy ,merodach-,baladan4#fhi ,it is to ,habakkuk1 in prophecies written very shortly after the death of ,josiah1 that we must look for the impression of terror caused by the ,chaldees4 ,nabopolassar1#fij sent by the successor of ,assurbanipal to quell a ,chaldan revolt1 seized the viceroyalty of ,babylon1 and joined ,cyaxares in the overthrow of ,nineveh4 ,from that time ,babylon became greater and more terrible than ,nineveh1 whose power it inherited4 ,habakkuk 7ii4 #a-ai7 paints the rapacity1 the selfishness1 the inflated ambition1 the cruelty1 the drunkenness1 the idolatry of the ,chaldans4 ,he calls them 7i4 #e-aa7 a rough and restless nation1 frightful and terrible1 whose horsemen were swifter than leopards1 fiercer than evening wolves1 flying to gorge on prey like the vultures1 mocking at kings and princes1 and flinging dust over strongholds4 ,nor has he the least comfort in looking on their resistless fury1 except the deeply significant oracle--an oracle which contains the secret of their ultimate doom-- ,behold1 his soul is puffed up2 it is not upright in him3 ,but the righteous man shall live by his fidelity4 ,the prophet places absolute reliance on the general principle that pride and violence dig their own grave4#fia ,,footnotes3 #ffe ,kamphausen 7,die ,chronologie der hebrischer ,knige7 makes ,josiah succeed to the throne in #fch4 #fff ,otherwise his genealogy would not be mentioned for four generations 7,hitzig74 #ffg ,zeph4 i4 #a4 ,jeremiah also was highly connected4 ,he was a priest and his father ,hilkiah may be the high priest who found the book2 for his uncle ,shallum1 father of his cousin ,hanameel1 was the husband of ,huldah the prophetess 7#b ,kings xxii4 #ad2 ,jer4 xxxii4 #g74 ,the fact that ,jeremiah's property was at ,anathoth1 where lived the descendants of ,ithamar 7#a ,kings ii4 #bf71 whereas ,hilkiah was of the family of ,eleazar 7#a ,chron4 vi4 #d-ac71 does not seem fatal to the view that his father was the high priest4 #ffh ,zeph4 ii4 #d-g4 #ffi ,zeph4 ii4 #ab-ae4 #fgj ,jer4 ii4 #a-ce4 ,considering the very great part played by ,jeremiah for nearly half a century of the last history of ,judah1 the non-mention of his name in the ,book of ,kings is a circumstance far from easy to explain4 #fga ,jer4 iv4 #f1 ,a4 ,v41 retire1 stay not4 ,comp4 ,isa4 x4 #bd-ca4 #fgb ,jer4 iv4 #g-bg4 #fgc ,jer4 v4 #ae-ag4 #fgd ,jer4 vi4 #a1 #bb1 #bc1 #bd4 #fge ,the almond tree 7shqd7 seems to be awake 7shqd71 whatsoever trees are still sleeping in the torpor of winter 7,tristram ,nat4 ,hist4 of the ,bible1 #ccb2 ,jer4 i4 #aa-ad74 #fgf ,the name ,kimmerii 7on the ,assyrian inscriptions ,gimirrai7 is connected with ,gomer4 ,the ,persians call them ,sakai or ,scyths4 ,the nomad ,scyths had driven the ,kimmerii from the ,dniester while ,psammetichus was ,king of ,egypt4 ,for allusions to this see ,jer4 vi4 #bb seq41 viii4 #af1 ix4 #aj4 ,the first notice of them is in an inscription of ,esarhaddon1 ,b4,c4 #fgg1 who says that he defeated ,tiushpa1 the ,gimirrai1 a roving warrior1 whose own country was remote4 ,zephaniah and ,jeremiah were certainly thinking of the ,scythians 7,eichhorn1 ,hitzig1 ,ewald2 and more recently ,kuenen1 ,onderzoek1 ii4 #abc2 ,wellhausen1 ,skizzen1 #aej74 ,in ,b4,c4 #fbf they could not have consciously had the ,chaldans in view1 though1 twenty-three years later1 ,jeremiah may have had4 #fgg ,see ,ezek4 xxxviii41 xxxix4 #fgh ,ezek4 xxxviii4 #b4 ,so ,gesenius1 ,hvernick1 etc41 and ,r4,v4 #fgi ,the form in the ,vulgate and the ,alexandrian ,,ms4 of the ,,lxx4 is ,mosech2 in the ,assyrian inscription1 ,muski4 ,as far back as #aabj ,tiglath-,pileser ,i4 had overrun ,tubal 7the ,tublai1 ,tabareni7 and ,moschi1 between the ,black ,sea and the ,taurus4 ,they were neither ,aryans nor ,semites4 ,in ,gen4 x4 #b2 #a ,chron4 i4 #e1 ,gog1 ,magog1 ,meshech1 and ,gomer are sons of ,japheth4 ,they are referred to in ,rev4 xx4 #h4 #fhj ,herod41 i4 #gd1 #ajc-ajf1 iv4 #a-bb1 vii4 #fd2 ,pliny1 ,h4 ,n41 v4 #af2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,i4 vi4 #a2 ,syncellus1 ,chronogl41 i4 #dje4 #fha ,sayce1 ,ethnology of the ,bible2 ,records of the ,past1 ix4 #dj2 ,schrader1 ,k4 ,a4 ,t41 #aei4 ,some identify ,gog with ,gyges1 ,king of ,lydia1 who was killed in battle against the ,scythians1 but whose name stood for a geographical symbol of ,asia ,minor1 sometimes called ,lud4 ,it is said that in #ffe ,gyges 7,gugu7 sent two ,scythian chiefs as a present to ,nineveh4 #fhb ,hence1 in #b ,macc4 iv4 #dg1 #c ,macc4 vii4 #e1 ,scythian is used with the modern connotation of ,barbarian4 #fhc ,ezek4 xxxii4 #bf1 #bg2 ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah 7,men of the ,bible7 p4 #ca4 #fhd ,expositor1 #bnd series1 iv4 #bfc2 ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah1 #ca4 ,hitzig and ,ewald 7erroneously87 refer ,psalms lv41 lix41 to these events1 and it seems also to be an error to suppose that the later name of ,bethshan--,scythopolis--has anything to do with this incursion4 ,like the names of ,pella1 ,philadelphia1 etc41 it is later than the age of ,alexander the ,great4 ,see #b ,macc4 xii4 #cj2 ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,ii4 xviii41 ,vit4 vi4 ,perhaps ,scythopolis is a corruption of ,sikytopolis1 the city of ,sikkuth2 or ,scythian may merely stand for ,barbarian1 as in #c ,macc4 vii4 #e2 ,col4 iii4 #aa 7,cheyne1 l4c474 #fhe ,nah4 i4 #aj1 ii4 #e1 iii4 #ab2 ,diod4 ,sic41 ii4 #bf4 #fhf ,nah4 iii4 #h-aa4 #fhg ,strabo1 xvi4 #a1 #c3 4 #fhh ,xen41 ,anab41 ,,iii4 iv4 #g4 #fhi ,chaldees1 ,kardim1 ,kasdim1 ,kurds4 #fij ,nabu-pal-ussur1 ,nebo protect the son ,b4,c4 #fbe-g4 ,jos41 ,antt4 ,x4 xi4 #a3 comp4 ,ap41 i4 #ai4 #fia ,newman1 ,hebrew ,monarchy1 p4 #cae4 ,,chapter ,,xxxi ,,josiah',s ,,reformation #b ,,kings xxii4 #h-bj1 xxiii4 #a-be ,and the works of ,josias were upright before his ,lord with a heart full of godliness4--#a ,,esdras i4 #bc4 ,from ,zion shall go forth the ,law1 and the ,word of the ,lord from ,jerusalem4--,,isa4 ii4 #c4 ,it is from the ,prophets--,zephaniah1 ,jeremiah1 ,nahum1 ,habakkuk1 ,ezekiel--that we catch almost our sole glimpses of the vast world-movements of the nations which must have loomed large on the minds of the ,king of ,judah and of all earnest politicians in that day4 ,as they did not directly affect the destiny of ,judah till the end of the reign1 they do not interest the historian of the ,kings or the later ,chronicler4 ,the things which rendered the reign memorable in their eyes were chiefly two--the finding of the ,book of the ,law in the ,house of the ,lord1 and the consequent religious reformation4 ,it is with the first of these two events that we must deal in the present chapter4 ,josiah began to reign as a child of eight1 and it may be that the emphatic and honourable mention of his mother--,jedidah 7,beloved71 daughter of ,adaiah of ,boscath--may be due to the fact that he owed to her training that early proclivity to faithfulness which earns for him the unique testimony1 that he not only walked in the way of ,david his father1 but that he turned not aside to the right hand or to the left4 ,at first1 of course1 as a mere child1 he could take no very active steps4 ,the ,chronicler says that at sixteen he began to show his devotion1 and at twenty set himself the task of purging ,judah and ,jerusalem from the taint of idols4 ,things were in a bad condition1 as we see from the bitter complaints and denunciations of ,zephaniah and ,jeremiah4 ,idolatry of the worst description was still openly tolerated4 ,but ,josiah was supported by a band of able and faithful advisers4 ,shaphan1 grandfather of the unhappy ,gedaliah--afterwards the ,chaldan viceroy over conquered ,judah--was scribe2 ,hilkiah1 the son of ,shallum and the ancestor of ,ezra1 was the high priest4#fib ,by them the king was assisted1 fist in the obliteration of the prevalent emblems of idolatry1 and then in the purification of the ,temple4 ,two centuries and a half had elapsed since it had been last repaired by ,joash1 and it must have needed serious restoration during long years of neglect in the reigns of ,ahaz1 of ,manasseh1 and of ,amon4 ,subscriptions were collected from the people by the keepers of the door1 and were freely entrusted to the workmen and their overseers1 who employed them faithfully in the objects for which they were designed4#fic ,the repairs led to an event of momentous influence on all future time4 ,during the cleansing of the ,temple ,hilkiah came to ,shaphan1 and said1 ,i have found the ,book of the ,law in the ,house of the ,lord4 ,perhaps the copy of the book had been placed by some priest's hand beside the ,ark1 and had been discovered during the removal of the rubbish which neglect had there accumulated4 ,shaphan read the book2 and when next he had to see the king to tell him about the progress of the repairs1 he said to him1 ,hilkiah the priest hath handed me a book4 ,josiah bade him read some of it aloud4 ,it is evident that he read the curses contained in ,deut4 xxviii4 ,they horrified the pious monarch2 for all that they contained1 and the laws to which they were appended1 were wholly new to him4 ,he might well be amazed that a code so solemn1 and purporting to have emanated from ,moses1 should1 in spite of maledictions so fearful1 have become an absolute dead letter4 ,in deep alarm he sent the priest1 the scribe ,shaphan1 with his son ,ahikam1 and ,abdon1 the son of ,micaiah1 and ,asahiah1 a court official1 to inquire of ,jehovah1 whose great anger could not but be kindled against king and people by the obliteration and nullity of ,his law4 ,they consulted ,huldah1 the only prophetess mentioned in the ,old ,testament1 except ,miriam and ,deborah4#fid ,she was the wife of ,shallum and keeper of the priests' robes1#fie and she lived in the suburbs of the city4#fif ,her answer was an uncompromising menace4 ,all the curses which the king had heard against the place and people should be pitilessly fulfilled1--only1 as the king had showed a tender heart1 and had humbled himself before ,jehovah1 he should go to his own grave in peace4#fig ,thereupon the king summoned to the ,temple a great assembly of priests1 prophets1 and all the people1 and1 standing by the pillar 7or on the platform7#fih in the entrance of the inner court1 read all the words of the ,book of the ,covenant which had been found in the ,house of the ,lord in their ears1 and joined with them in the covenant to obey the hitherto unknown or totally forgotten laws which were inculcated in the newly discovered volume4 ,immediate action followed4 ,the priests were ordered to bring out of the ,temple all the vessels made for ,baal1 for the ,asherah1 and for the host of heaven2 they were burnt outside ,jerusalem in the ,valley of ,kedron1 and their ashes taken to ,bethel4#fii ,the chemarim of the high places were suppressed1 as well as all other idolatrous priests who burnt incense to the signs of the ,zodiac1 the ,hyades1 and the heavenly bodies4#gjj ,the ,asherah itself was taken out of the ,temple1 and it is truly amazing that we should find it there so late in ,josiah's reign4 ,he burnt it in the ,kedron1 stamped it to powder1 and scattered the powder on the graves of the common people4 ,the ,chronicler says on the graves of them that had sacrificed to the idols#gja2--;but this is an inexplicable statement1 since it is 7as ,professor ,lumby says7 very improbable that idolaters had a separate burial-place4 ,it is equally shocking1 and to us incomprehensible1 to read that the houses of the degraded ,qedeshim still stood1 not by the ,temple 7,a4,v471 but in the ,temple1#gjb and that in these houses1 or chambers1 the women still wove embroideries#gjc for the ,asherah4 ,what was ,hilkiah doing8 ,if the priests of the high places were so guilty from ,geba to ,beersheba1 did no responsibility attach to the high priest and other priests of the ,temple who permitted the existence of these enormities1 not only in the bamoth at the city gates1#gjd but in the very courts of the mountain of the ,lord's ,house8 ,if the priests of the immemorial shrines were degraded from their prerogatives1 and were not allowed to come up to the altar of ,jehovah in ,jerusalem1 by what law of justice were they to be regarded as so immeasurably inferior to the highest members of their own order1 who1 for years together1 had permitted the worship of a wooden phallic emblem1 and the existence of the worst heathen abominations within the very ,temple of the ,lord8 ,every honest reader must admit that there are inexplicable difficulties and uncertainties in these ancient histories1 and that our knowledge of the exact circumstances--especially in all that regards the priests and ,levites1 who1 in the ,chronicles1 are their own ecclesiastical historians--must remain extremely imperfect4 ,and what can be meant by the clause that the degraded priests of the old high places1 though they were not allowed to serve at the great altar1 yet did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren8 ,unleavened bread was only eaten at the ,passover2 and when there was a ,passover1 was eaten by all alike4 ,perhaps the reading for unleavened bread should be 7priestly7 portions--a reading found by ,geiger in an old manuscript4 ,continuing his work1 ,josiah defiled ,tophet2#gje took away the horses given by the kings of ,judah to the sun1 which were stabled beside the chamber of the eunuch ,nathan-,melech in the precincts2#gjf and burnt the sun-chariots in the fire4 ,he removed the altars to the stars on the roof of the upper chamber of ,ahaz1#gjg and ground them to powder4 ,he also destroyed those of his grandfather ,manasseh in the two ,temple courts--which we supposed to have been removed by ,manasseh in his repentance--and threw the dust into the ,kedron4 ,he defiled the idolatrous shrines reared by ,solomon to the deities of ,sidon1 ,ammon1 and ,moloch1 broke the pillars1 cut down the ,asherim1 and filled their places with dead men's bones4#gjh ,travelling northwards1 he burnt1 destroyed1 and stamped to powder the altars and the ,asherim at ,bethel1 and burnt upon the altars the remains found in the sepulchres1#gji only leaving undisturbed the remains of the old prophet from ,judah1 and of the prophet of ,samaria4#gaj ,he then destroyed the other ,samaritan shrines1 exercising an undisputed authority over the ,northern ,kingdom4 ,the mixed inhabitants did not interfere with his proceedings2 and in the declining fortunes of ,nineveh1 the ,assyrian viceroy--if there was one--did not dispute his authority4 ,lastly1 in accordance with the fierce injunction of ,deut4 xvii4 #b-e1 he slew all the priests of the high places on their own altars1 burnt men's bones upon them1 and returned to ,jerusalem4 ,it is very difficult1 with the milder notions which we have learnt from the spirit of the ,gospel1 to look with approval on the recrudescence of the ,elijah-spirit displayed by the last proceeding4 ,but many centuries were to elapse1 even under the ,gospel ,dispensation1 before men learnt the sacred principle of the early ,christians that violence is hateful to ,god4 ,josiah must be judged by a more lenient judgment1 and he was obeying a mandate found in the new ,book of the ,law4 ,but the question arises whether the fierce commands of ,deuteronomy were ever intended to be taken au pied de la lettre4 ,may not ,deut4 xiii4 #f-ah have been intended to express in a concrete but ideal form the spirit of execration to be entertained towards idolatry8 ,perhaps in thinking so we are only guilty of an anachronism1 and are applying to the seventh century before ,christ the feelings of the nineteenth century after ,christ4 ,after this ,josiah ordered the people to keep a ,deuteronomic ,passover1 such as we are told--and as all the circumstances prove--had not been kept from the days of the ,judges4 ,the ,chronicler revels in the details of this ,passover1 and tells us that ,josiah gave the people thirty thousand lambs and kids1 and three thousand bullocks2 and his priests gave two thousand six hundred small cattle1 and three hundred oxen2 and the chief of the ,levites gave the ,levites five thousand small cattle1 and five hundred oxen4 ,he goes on to describe the slaying1 sprinkling of blood1 flaying1 roasting1 boiling in pots1 pans1 and caldrons1 and attention paid to the burnt-offerings and the fat2#gaa but neither the historians nor the chroniclers1 either here or anywhere else1 say one word about the ,day of ,atonement1 or seem aware of its existence4 ,it belongs to the ,post-,exilic ,priestly ,code1 and is not alluded to in the ,book of ,deuteronomy4 ,continuing his task1 he put away them that had familiar spirits 7oboth71 and the wizards1 and the teraphim1 with a zeal shown by no king before or after him2 but ,jehovah turned not from the fierceness of ,his anger1 because of all the provocations which ,manasseh had provoked ,him withal4 ,evil1 alas6 is more diffusive1 and in some senses more permanent1 than good1 because of the perverted bias of human nature4 ,judah and ,jerusalem had been radically corrupted by the apostate son of ,hezekiah1 and it may be that the sudden and high-handed reformation enforced by his grandson depended too exclusively on the external impulse given to it by the king to produce deep effects in the hearts of the people4 ,certain it is that even ,jeremiah--though he was closely connected with the finders of the book1 had perhaps been present when the solemn league and covenant was taken in the ,temple1 and lived through the reformation in which he probably took a considerable part--was profoundly dissatisfied with the results4 ,it is sad and singular that such should have been the case2 for in the first flush of the new enthusiasm he had written1 ,cursed be the man that heareth not the words of this covenant1 which ,i commanded your fathers in the day that ,i brought them forth out of the land of ,egypt1 saying1 ',obey ,my voice4'#gab ,nay1 it has been inferred that he was even an itinerant preacher of the newly found law2 for he writes3 ,and the ,lord said unto me1 ',proclaim all these words in the cities of ,judah1 and in the streets of ,jerusalem1 saying1 ,hear ye the words of this covenant1 and do them4'#gac ,the style of ,deuteronomy1 as is well known1 shows remarkable affinities with the style of ,jeremiah4 ,yet it is clear that after the death of ,josiah the prophet became utterly disillusioned with the outcome of the whole movement4 ,it proved itself to be at once evanescent and unreal4 ,the people would not give up their beloved local shrines4#gad ,the law1 as ,habakkuk says 7i4 #d71 became torpid2 judgment went not forth to victory2 the wicked compassed about the righteous1 and judgment was perverted4 ,it was easy to obey the external regulations of ,deuteronomy2 it was far more difficult to be true to its noble moral precepts4 ,the reformation of ,josiah1 so violent and radical1 proved to be only skin-deep2 and ,jeremiah1 with bitter disappointment1 found it to be so4 ,external decency might be improved1 but rites and forms are nothing to ,him who searcheth the heart4#gae ,there was1 in fact1 an inherent danger in the place assumed by the newly discovered book4 ,since it was regarded as a ,state authority1 there early arose a kind of book-science1 with its pedantic pride and erroneous learned endeavours to interpret and apply the ,scriptures4 ,at the same time there arose also a new kind of hypocrisy and idolatry of the letter1 through the new protection which the ,state gave to the religion of the book acknowledged by the law4 ,thus scholastic wisdom came into conflict with genuine prophecy4#gaf ,how entirely the improvement of outward worship failed to improve men's hearts the prophet testifies4#gag ,the sin of ,judah1 he says1 is written with a pen of iron1 and with the point of a diamond3 it is graven upon the tablets of their hearts1 and upon the horns of their altars1 and their ,asherim by the green trees#gah upon the high hills4 ,o ,my mountain in the field1 ,i will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land thou knowest not3 for ye have kindled a fire in ,mine eyes1 which shall burn for ever4 ,while ,josiah lived this apostasy was secret2 but as soon as he died the people turned again to folly1#gai and committed all the old idolatries except the worship of ,moloch4 ,there arose a danger lest even the moderate ritualism of ,deuteronomy should be perverted and exaggerated into mere formality4 ,in the energy of his indignation against this abuse1 ,jeremiah has to uplift his voice against any trust even in the most decided injunctions of this newly discovered law4 ,he was a second ,amos upon a higher platform4 ,the ,deuteronomic ,law did not as yet exhibit the concentrated sacerdotalism and ritualism which mark the ,priestly ,code1 to which it is far superior in every way4 ,it is still prophetic in its tone4 ,it places social interests above rubrics of worship4 ,it expresses the fundamental religious thought that ,jehovah is in no sense inaccessible2 that ,he can be approached immediately by all1 and without sacerdotal intervention2 that ,he asks nothing for ,himself1 but asks it as a religious duty that man should render unto man what is right2 that ,his ,will lies not in any known height1 but in the moral sphere which is known and understood by all4#gbj ,the book ordained certain sacrifices2 yet ,jeremiah says with startling emphasis1 ,to what purpose cometh there to ,me frankincense from ,sheba1 and the sweet calamus from a far country8 ,your burnt-offerings are not acceptable1 nor your sacrifices pleasant unto ,me4#gba ,therefore ,he bids them1 ,put your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices1 and eat them as flesh--i4e41 ,throw all your offerings into a mass1 and eat them at your pleasure 7regardless of sacerdotal rules73 they have neither any inherent sanctity nor any secondary importance from the characters of the offerers4#gbb ,and in a still more remarkable passage1 ,for ,i spake not unto your fathers1 nor commanded them in the day that ,i brought them out of the land of ,egypt1 concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices3 but this thing ,i commanded them1 saying1 ',obey ,my voice4'#gbc ,nay1 in the most emphatic ordinances of ,deuteronomy he found that the people had created a new peril4 ,they were putting a particularistic trust in ,jehovah1 as though ,he were a respecter of persons1 and they ,his favourites4 ,they fancied1 as in the days of ,micah1 that it was enough for them to claim ,his name1 and bribe ,him with sacrifices4#gbd ,above all1 they boasted of and relied upon the possession of ,his ,temple1 and placed their trust on the punctual observance of external ceremonies4 ,all these sources of vain confidence it was the duty of ,jeremiah rudely to shatter to pieces4 ,standing at the gates of the ,lord's ,house1 he cried3 ,trust ye not in lying words1 saying1 ',the ,temple of the ,lord6 the ,temple of the ,lord6 the ,temple of the ,lord1 are these6' ,behold1 ye trust in lying words1 that cannot profit4 ,will ye steal1 murder1 commit adultery1 swear falsely1 burn incense unto ,baal1 and walk after other gods2 and come and stand before ,me in this house1 whereupon ,my name is called1 and say1 ',we are delivered1' that ye may do all these abominations8 ,is this house become a den of robbers in your eyes8 ,but go ye now to ,my place which was in ,shiloh1 where ,i caused ,my name to dwell at the first1 and see what ,i did to it for the wickedness of ,my people4 ,i will do unto this house as ,i have done to ,shiloh2 and ,i will cast you out of ,my sight1 as ,i have cast out the whole house of ,ephraim4#gbe--,yet all hope was not extinguished for ever4 ,the ,scythian might disappear2 the ,babylonian might come in his place2 but one day there should be a new covenant of pardon and restitution2 and as had been promised in ,deuteronomy1 all should know ,jehovah1 from the least to the greatest4 ,at last he even prophesies the entire future annulment of the solemn covenant made on the basis of ,deuteronomy1 and says that ,jehovah will make a new covenant with ,his people1 not according to the covenant which ,he made with their fathers4#gbf ,and in his final estimate of ,king ,josiah after his death1 he does not so much as mention his reformation1 his iconoclasm1 his sweeping zeal1 or his enforcement of the ,deuteronomic ,law1 but only says to ,jehoiakim3-- ',did not thy father eat and drink1 and do judgment and justice8--then it was well with him4 ,he judged the cause of the poor and needy2 then it was well4 ,was not this to know ,me8' saith the ,lord4#gbg ,whether because its methods were too violent1 or because it only affected the surface of men's lives1 or because the people were not really ripe for it1 or because no reformation can ever succeed which is enforced by autocracy1 not spread by persuasion and conviction1 it is certain that the first glamour of ,josiah's movement ended in disillusionment4 ,a religion violently imposed from without as a state-religion naturally tends to hypocrisy and externalism4 ,what ,jehovah required was1 not a changed method of worship1 but a changed heart2 and this the reformation of ,josiah did not produce4 ,it has often been so in human history4 ,failure seems to be written on many of the most laudable human efforts4 ,nevertheless1 truth ultimately prevails4 ,isaiah was murdered1 and ,urijah1 and ,jeremiah4 ,savonarola was burnt1 and ,huss1 and many a martyr more2 but the might of priestcraft was at last crippled1 to be revived1 we hope1 no more1 either by open violence or secret apostasy4 ,then to side with ,truth is noble1 when we share her wretched crust1 ,ere her cause bring fame and profit1 and 'tis prosperous to be just2 ,then it is the brave man chooses1 while the coward stands aside1 ,doubting in his abject spirit till his ,lord is crucified1 ,and the multitude make virtue of the faith they have denied4 ,,footnotes3 #fib #b ,kings xxiii4 #d4 ,we have here the first mention of the second priest 7if1 with ,grtz1 we read ,cohen mishneh1 as in #b ,kings xxv4 #ah2 ,jer4 lii4 #bd74 ,in later days he was called the ,sagan4 ,at this time he probably acted as ,captain of the ,temple 7,grtz1 ii4 #cai74 #fic ,comp4 #b ,kings xii4 #ae1 where we find the same remark4 #fid ,exod4 xv4 #bj2 ,judg4 iv4 #d2 ,isa4 viii4 #c4 ,the prophetess seems to mean prophet's wife4 ,noadiah was a false prophetess4 #fie ,exod4 xxviii4 #b1 etc4 #fif #b ,kings xxii4 #ad4 ,heb41 mishneh1 lit4 second2 ,a4,v41 the college2 ,r4,v41 the second quarter4 ,perhaps it means the lower city 7,neh4 xi4 #i2 ,zeph4 i4 #aj74 ,it puzzled the ,,lxx43 4 ,vulg41 in secunda4 ,jerome says1 ,haud dubium quin urbis partem significet qu interiori muro vallabatur4 ,comp4 ,zeph4 i4 #aj1 an howling from the second 7i4e41 quarter of the city72 ,neh4 xi4 #i1 where1 for second over the city 7,a4 and ,r4,v471 read over the second part of the city4 #fig ,another reading is in ,jerusalem1 which gets over an historic difficulty4 #fih ,comp4 #b ,kings xi4 #ad2 ,,lxx41 2 ,heb41 al-ha-ammud2 ,vulg41 super gradum4 #fii #b ,kings xxiii4 #d2 for in the fields of ,kedron one version has 1 in the burning-place of the wady1--perhaps reading bemisrephoth for bishedamoth1 and alluding to lime-kilns in the wady4 ,it is surprising that they should carry the ashes to ,bethel4 ,thenius suggests the reading 1 place of execution 7lit41 house of nothingness74 #gjj ,hos4 x4 #e2 ,zeph4 i4 #d 7the only other places where the word occurs74 ,the delevit of the ,vulgate 7#b ,kings xxiii4 #e7 only means that he put them down1 and the of the ,,lxx4 should be 4 #gja ,comp4 ,jer4 ii4 #bc1 where the ,,lxx4 has 4 ,in #b ,chron4 xxxiv4 #d1 perhaps the true reading is1 not ,ben-ha-'m1 but ,ben-hinnom--which would mean that he scattered the dust in the gehenna of ,jerusalem4 ,comp4 #a ,kings xv4 #ac4 #gjb ,for these ,galli1 see ,seneca1 ,de ,vit4 ,beat41 #bg2 ,pliny1 ,h4 ,n41 xi4 #di4 #gjc ,heb41 bathm1 lit4 tents or houses2 ,vulg41 quasi domunculas4 #gjd ,in #b ,kings xxiii4 #h1 ,geiger would read the high places of the satyrs 774 #gje ,usually derived 7as by ,selden and ,milton7 from toph1 drum1 but perhaps from tuph 7to spit in sign of abhorrence74 #gjf ,parvar--perhaps open portico4 ,renan connects the word with the ,greek 4 ,on horses dedicated to the sun1 see ,xen4 ,cyrop41 viii4 #c1 #e1 #ab2 ,anab41 iv4 #e4 #gjg ,see ,zeph4 i4 #e2 ,jer4 xix4 #ac1 xxxii4 #bi4 #gjh #b ,kings xxiii4 #ac3 ,the ,mount of ,corruption2 ,vulg41 ,mons offensionis2 ,,lxx41 4 ,some conjecture that ,maschith may be a derisive change for some word which meant anointing 7from being the ,oil ,mountain1 ,har ham-mischchah74 #gji ,in burning the bones of the dead1 he violated all ,jewish feeling4 ,amos 7ii4 #a7 had severely rebuked this form of revenge and insult even in the case of the heathen ,king of ,moab4 ,bones defiled the touch 7,num4 xix4 #af2 ,herod41 iv4 #gc74 ,josiah's question at ,bethel was1 ,what pillar is that8 7tsiyun74 ,,lxx41 4 ,comp4 ,gen4 xxxv4 #bj4 #gaj #a ,kings xiii4 #bi-ca4 #gaa #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #a-ai4 #gab ,jer4 xi4 #c1 #d4 ,since1 in this part of my subject1 ,i make frequent reference to the prophecies of ,jeremiah which are indispensable to the right understanding of the history1 ,i may here say that modern critics 7,cheyne and others7 arrange them as follows3-- ,in the reign of ,josiah1 ,jer4 ii4 #a-;iii4 #e1 iii4 #f-vi4 #cj1 vii4 #a-;ix4 #be1 xi4 #a-ag4 ,in the reign of ,jehoiakim1 xxvi4 #b-f1 xlvi4 #b-ab1 xxv41 xxxv41 and possibly xvi4 #a1 xviii4 #ai-bg1 xiv41 xv41 xviii41 xi4 #ah-xii4 #ag4 ,in the reign of ,jehoiachin1 x4 #ag-bc1 xiii4 ,in the reign of ,zedekiah1 xxii4-xxiv41 xxvii4-xxix4 #a-aa 7871 lii4 ,in the ,exile1 xxxix4-xliv4 #gac ,see ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah1 p4 #ef1 id4 #f4 #gad ,canon ,cheyne shows that even ,mohammed could not persuade the ,qurashites wholly to give up their black stone at the ,kaaba1 and their dolmens and sacred trees 7id4 #ajc74 ,he left the auab1 or sacrificial stones 7matstseboth71 though he warns his followers against them 7,quran1 v4 #ib74 #gae ,jer4 xvii4 #i-aa4 #gaf ,ewald1 ,the ,prophets1 iii4 #fc1 #fd4 #gag ,jer4 xvii4 #a-d4 #gah ,the ,qurashites and other heathen ,arabs accounted holy a large green tree1 and every year had a sacrifice in its honour4 ,on the way to ,hunain we called to ,god's ,messenger 7,mohammed7 that he should appoint for us such trees4 ,but he was terrified1 and said1 ',lord ,god1 ,lord ,god6 ,ye speak even as the ,israelites 444 ye are still in ignorance1--thus are heathen enslaved' 7,vakdi1 ,book of the ,campaigns of ,god's ,messenger1 quoted by ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah1 p4 #ajc1 from ,wellhausen74 #gai ,psalm lxxxv4 #h4 #gbj ,deut4 xxx4 #aa-ad4 ,see ,wellhausen1 p4 #afe4 #gba ,jer4 vi4 #bj4 ,the passages of ,jeremiah which seem of a different spirit may have been added by later hands--e4g41 xxxiii4 #ah1 which is not in the ,,lxx4 #gbb ,jer4 vii4 #ba2 ,ewald2 and ,cheyne1 l4c4 #abj4 ,so the ,jews seem to have understood it1 for they appoint this passage to be read on the ,haphtara after the ,parashah about sacrifices from ,leviticus4 #gbc ,jer1 vii4 #bb1 #bc4 ,this alone would show that ,jeremiah did not 7as earlier critics thought7 write ,deuteronomy1 in spite of the numerous close resemblances in phraseology4 ,thus1 ,jeremiah often denounces the priests 7i4 #ah1 ii4 #h-bf1 iv4 #i1 v4 #ca1 viii4 #a1 xiii4 #ac1 xxxii4 #cb74 ,cheyne1 p4 #hb4 #gbd ,mic4 iii4 #aa4 #gbe ,jer4 vii4 #d1 #h-ae4 #gbf ,jer4 xxxi4 #ca1 #cb4 #gbg ,jer4 xxii4 #ae1 #af4 ,,note ,,to ,,chapter ,,xxxi4 ,jehovah is our ,lawgiver4--,,isa4 xxxiii4 #bb4 ,what was the ,book of the ,law which ,hilkiah found in the ,temple8 ,the great majority of eminent modern critics have now come to the conclusion that it was the kernel of the ,book of ,deuteronomy4 ,nor is this in any sense a mere modern notion4 ,it occurs as far back as ,st4 ,jerome 7,adv4 ,jovin41 i4 #e7 and ,st4 ,chrysostom 7,hom4 in ,matt41 ix41 p4 #ace1 ,b4 ,see ,w4 ,rob4 ,smith1 p4 #beh74 ,it is no part of my immediate duty to argue this question1 but ,i may state that the arguments for this conclusion are partly historical1 partly literary1 and partly depend on internal evidence4 ,i4 ,as regards the literary argument1 it is maintained that-- #a4 ,the full1 rounded1 rhetorical style of ,deuteronomy1 so widely different from the extreme dryness of other parts of the ,torah1 could not have been as yet developed in the days of ,moses1 and required the slow training of centuries for its perfection4 ,it is a new phenomenon1 and differs widely from earlier prophetic writings1 such as those of ,amos and ,hosea4 #b4 ,the style and language of the ,deuteronomist are so marked1 that they can scarcely escape an intelligent reader of the ,english ,version4 ,riehm enumerates sixty-four characteristic words or phrases4 ,their significance lies in the fact that they express obvious ideas1 and are not names for special objects1 which force a writer to use peculiar words4 ,the style closely resembles in many phrases and particulars the style of ,jeremiah1 and of him alone among the prophets4 ,even supposing that no historic text1 it has been said1 taught us that the articles of ,smalkald were the work of ,luther1 we should still have the right to affirm that these articles closely resemble the ideas of ,luther1 and could hardly have been published without his cognisance4 ,,ii4 ,as regards historical evidence1 we observe that-- #a4 ,no author earlier than ,josiah shows any acquaintance with ,deuteronomy3 after that date1 proofs of such knowledge abound4 #b4 ,the ,book of ,deuteronomy insisted with reiterated emphasis on the centralisation of worship4 ,all its ordinances are framed with a view to promote this end4 ,but we have seen that there is not a trace of any belief that local shrines were prohibited earlier than the reign of ,hezekiah1 who certainly would have defended his boldness by appeal to a written law if he had known of such as existing4 ,,iii4 ,as regards internal evidence1 we see that-- #a4 ,many passages and injunctions of the ,book of ,deuteronomy differ entirely from those found in the old ,book of the ,covenant which forms the most ancient nucleus of ,exodus 7,exod4 xx4 #bb-xxiii4 #cc74 #b4 ,even the most conservative ,english critics--even those who1 with any pretence to competent knowledge1 argue against the more advanced conclusions of the ,higher ,criticism--cannot help admitting that at least three codes1 which in many1 and in some fundamental1 respects differ widely from each other1 and which make no reference to each other1 are found in our present ,pentateuch--viz41 that of the ,book of the ,covenant1 that of the ,deuteronomist 7,d471 and that of the ,priestly writer 7,p474 ,all three may contain elements as old as the days of ,moses2 but most critics 7with scarcely an exception in ,germany7 now believe that the ,deuteronomic ,code1 in its present form1 is not earlier than the date of ,josiah's reformation 7circ4 ,b4,c4 #fba72 and the ,priestly ,codex 7whatever older documents may exist in it7 not older1 in its present form1 than about the time of ,ezra 7,b4,c4 #ddd74 ,dillmann1 ,kittel1 and in his later days ,delitzsch1 have been of necessity compelled to give up the views that1 in their present form1 ,d4 and ,p4 are as ancient as the days of ,moses4 ,the last ,german critic who held that ,moses wrote our present ,pentateuch was ,keil 7d4 #ahhh74 ,canon ,cheyne argues for the late date of this misnamed ,deuteronomy1 on the grounds that the authors 7#a7 used documents manifestly later than ,moses2 7#b7 alluded to events which only occurred long after ,moses2 and 7#c7 expressed ideas which1 in the age of ,moses1 are not psychologically possible4 ,the ,book of ,deuteronomy consists mainly of an historical introduction1 probably added later 7i4 #a-e72 ,moses' first discourse 7i4 #f-;iv4 #dj72 ,moses' second discourse 7iv4 #dd-xxvi472 a section marked specially by blessings and curses 7xxvii4-xxix472 a third discourse of ,moses 7xxix4 #b-xxx4 #bj72 his farewell 7xxxi4 #a-ac72 his song 7xxxi4 #ad-xxxii4 #dg72 conclusion1 narrating his blessing and death 7xxxii4 #dh-xxxiv4 #ab74 ,i have no space here to enter fully into the arguments which seem decisive as to the date of the main part of ,deuteronomy4 ,those who desire to see them must study ,colenso1 ,the ,pentateuch1 pt4 iii42 ,reuss1 ,hist4 ,sainte et la ,loi1 i4 #aed-baa2 ,w4 ,robertson ,smith1 ,old ,test4 in the ,jewish ,church1 lect4 xvi42 ,kuenen1 ,the ,hexateuch1 ,e4 ,t41 #ahhf2 ,kittel1 ,gesch4 d4 ,hebrer1 pp4 #dc-ei2 ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah1 pp4 #dh-hf2 ,s4 ,r4 ,driver1 s4v4 ,deuteronomy 7,smith's ,dict4 of the ,bible1 new ed472 ,w4 ,aldis ,wright1 ,the ,documents of the ,hexateuch1 pp4 lvii4-lxxix4 ,the name ,deuteronomy 7or second law7 arises from the mistaken rendering of the ,,lxx4 and ,vulgate in ,deut4 xvii4 #ah4 ,,chapter ,,xxxii ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,josiah ,b4,c4 #fjh #b ,,kings xxiii4 #bi1 #cj ,howl1 ,o fir tree2 for the cedar is fallen4--,,zech4 xi4 #b4 ,josiah survived by thirteen years the reformation and covenant which are the chief events of his reign4 ,he lived in prosperity and peace4 ,he did justice and judgment2 the poor and needy flourished under his royal protection2 and it was well with him4 ,it seemed as if the ,deuteronomic blessings on faithfulness to its law were about to be abundantly fulfilled1 when the azure calm of heaven was suddenly shattered1 and down came the thunderbolt4 ,the great and victorious ,assurbanipal of ,assyria had died1 and left his power to weaker successors4 ,meanwhile1 ,egypt was growing in power and splendour under ,pharaoh ,necho ,,ii4 7,b4,c4 #fab-eif71 the sixth king of the twenty-fifth or ,saitic dynasty4 ,he nearly anticipated ,m4 de ,lesseps in making the ,suez ,canal1#gbh and perhaps actually anticipated ,vasco de ,gama in rounding the ,cabo ,tormentoso1 or ,cape of ,good ,hope1 in a three years' voyage4 ,he was fired by the ambitious dream of succeeding the ,assyrians as the chief power in the world1 or at any rate of seizing part of the dominions which they had conquered4#gbi ,accordingly1 in ,b4,c4 #fjh1 he went up against the ,king of ,assyria to the river ,euphrates4 ,the ,chronicler says that his destination was ,carchemish1 on the ,euphrates1 and some have conjectured that the vague phrase against the ,king of ,assyria is incorrect1 and that1 as ,josephus states1 he was really marching against the ,medes and ,babylonians after the fall of ,nineveh4#gcj ,with this expedition ,josiah was not greatly concerned4 ,he may have begun his reign as the vassal of ,assurbanipal2 but if so1 it is probable that he had long since ceased to pay tribute to a power which was tottering to its fall under the attacks of ,scythians and ,babylonians4 ,he had availed himself of the disorganisation of the ,assyrian power to re-establish some1 at least1 of the old authority of the ,house of ,david over the ,northern ,kingdom1 and perhaps he only undertook the desperate expedient of withstanding the northward march of the ,egyptian host under the notion that either on the march or on his return the ,pharaoh intended to subjugate ,palestine to ,egypt4 ,pharaoh ,necho ,,ii41 among his other achievements1 had created a powerful fleet1#gca and it is nearly certain that he did not advance along the coast of ,palestine1 but made his way by sea to ,acco or ,dor4#gcb ,here he received the news that ,josiah meant to block his path at ,megiddo1 on the plain of ,jezreel4 ,that plain has been the great and only possible battle-field of ,palestine1 from the revolt in which ,barak destroyed the host of ,jabin1#gcc to that in which ,tryphon met ,jonathan the ,maccabee1#gcd and ,kleber in #agii defeated twenty-five thousand ,turks with three thousand ,french4 ,the ,chronicler here adds a very remarkable incident4#gce ,necho1 like ,joash of ,israel in former days1 did not care to fight with the poor little ,king of ,judah--or at any rate did not wish to do so at present1 when he was on his way to the greater encounter4 ,he therefore sent an embassy to ,josiah1 saying1 ,what have ,i to do with thee1 ,king of ,judah8 ,i come not against thee this day1 but against the house wherewith ,i have war4#gcf ,for ,god ,elohim commanded me in a dream to make haste4#gcg ,forbear1 then1 from meddling with ,god1 who is with me1 that ,he destroy thee not4 ,the conjecture in a dream is not unlikely1 nor is it in disaccord with other events in the annals of the ,pharaohs and the ,sargonid of ,assyria4#gch ,we may indeed be surprised that an ,egyptian ,pharaoh should profess to deliver to a ,jewish king the messages of ,elohim1 though we have seen something like this in the case of the ,rabshakeh4#gci ,the variation in #a ,esdras i4 #bf-bh is curious and interesting4 ,we are there told that the message was sent to ,josiah1 not only by ,pharaoh ,necho1 who had sent to say ,the ,lord is with me hastening me forward3 depart from me1 and be not against the ,lord1 but also by the prophet ,jeremy4 ,josephus frankly ascribes the error of ,josiah to destiny1 as though he had been infatuated by the dementation which the ,greeks attributed to ,at4#gdj ,this1 however1 is not likely2 for it is clear that ,jeremiah1 though not mentioned in the ,book of ,kings1 must have had a strong influence over the mind of ,josiah1 whom he loved1 whose views he shared1 in whose religious revolution he had taken part4 ,further1 we do not read of any warning recorded by the prophet himself2 and had he uttered one1 it would certainly have been mentioned1 when he committed his prophecies to writing twenty-three years after their commencement4 ,a warning of which the neglect had led to fatal issues would have been so decisive a confirmation of ,jeremiah's prophetic insight that it could not have been passed over in silence4 ,indeed1 ,jeremiah may have shared the conviction which1 founded on imperfect generalisation1 perhaps dazzled the unfortunate king to his ruin4 ,josiah had accepted the ,book of ,deuteronomy with the whole strength of his belief1 and the ,book of ,deuteronomy had proclaimed to ,israel as the reward of faithfulness this promise3 ,and it shall come to pass that ,jehovah1 thy ,god1 shall set thee on high above all the nations of the earth4444 ,jehovah shall cause thine enemies which rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face3 they shall come out against thee one way1 and flee before thee seven ways4#gda ,in the strength of that promise1 ,josiah was perhaps saying to himself1 in the language of the ,psalms1 that ,jehovah could not fail to save ,his anointed1 and dash ,his enemies to pieces under ,his feet2#gdb in the language1 perhaps1 of later days1 that the sound of a shaken leaf should chase them1 and they should flee when none pursued4#gdc ,alas6 such passages do not apply invariably to our worldly fortunes6 ,god's promises are general4 ,the individual must be considered apart from the universal in the region of spiritual and eternal blessings4 ,in the affairs of earth the wicked often seem to be in prosperity1 while the righteous are overwhelmed by all ,god's waves and storms4 ,further1 ,josiah evidently received a warning--a warning which professed to come1 and really came1 from ,god#gdd--whether uttered by ,pharaoh or by ,jeremiah4 ,and in this instance ,josiah had sought war2 he had not been forced into it4 ,it was not for him to go out of his way to champion the cause either of cruel ,assyria or vaunting ,babylon4 ,the result was entire disenchantment4 ,no more disheartening and disastrous calamity could have happened to the kingdom1 which had just begun to struggle out of the slough of idolatry and humiliation4 ,heedless of the message he had received1 strong in mistaken hopes1 ,josiah opposed his poor1 weak forces to the powerful host of renovated ,egypt4 ,the result was instantaneous ruin4#gde ,judah was defeated and scattered without a blow1--,necho came1 saw1 conquered4 ,josiah1 according to the present record of the ,chronicles1 like ,ahab1 disguised himself#gdf and went into the battle2 and as he drove from rank to rank an ,egyptian archer drew a bow at a venture1 and smote him while he was putting his forces in array4 ,the arrow-point brought conviction too late4 ,josiah saw his error2 he knew that his own death involved the rout of his army4 ,he sounded a retreat1 and said to his servants1 ,bear me away to my travelling chariot1 for ,i am sore wounded4#gdg ,he died at ,megiddo1 where his ancestor ,ahaziah had died before him from the arrow-wounds of ,jehu's pursuers4 ,his servants carried him in a chariot dead from ,megiddo4 ,the famous plain of ,esdraelon had already witnessed two great victories--that of ,barak over ,sisera1 and that of ,gideon over the ,midianites2 and one deplorable defeat--that of ,saul by the ,philistines4 ,it was now darkened by a catastrophe even more sad4#gdh ,when that chariot1 accompanied by its wailing escort1 entered the gates of ,jerusalem1 with the routed army of ,judah behind it1 the feeling of the people must have resembled that of the ,athenians when the news reached them that ,lysander had destroyed their whole fleet at gospotami1 and the long wail went thrilling up through that sleepless night from the ,peirus all along the ,makra ,teich to the ,parthenon and the ,acropolis4 ,and there followed such a mourning as the land had never known before4 ,it had begun at ,megiddo and ,hadadrimmon1 leaving the sad memory of its hopeless intensity4 ,it was renewed at ,jerusalem when they buried the king in his own sepulchre4 ,the land mourned1 every family apart2 the family of the ,house of ,david apart1 and their wives apart2 the family of the ,house of ,nathan apart1 and their wives apart2 the family of the ,house of ,levi apart1 and their wives apart2 the family of ,shimei apart1 and their wives apart2 all the families that remained1 every family apart1 and their wives apart4#gdi ,and all ,judah and ,jerusalem mourned for ,josiah4 ,and ,jeremiah lamented for ,josiah3 and all the singing men and the singing women spake of ,josiah in their lamentations unto this day1 and they were made an institution in ,israel3 and1 behold1 they are written in the ,lamentations4#gej ,not even for heroic ,david1 or royal ,solomon1 or pious ,asa1 or prosperous ,jehoshaphat had there been so loud a dirge4 ,but1 alas6 there was cause for far deeper sorrow than the loss of a prince1 however able1 however beloved4 ,the dead was dead4 ,natural sorrow for the bereavement of the people would soon be healed by time1 but behind the passing affliction lay a great fear and a great reaction4 ,a great fear1--for now a southern foe was added to the northern4 ,jeremiah and other prophets had warned ,israel of the peril from the ,north4 ,when the ,scythian wave rolled shoreward1 struck and was dissipated1 when the source of ,assyrian terror seemed to be drying up1 worldlings may have felt inclined to laugh at ,jeremiah4 ,but now it was evident that1 sooner or later1 the ,chaldans would be as formidable as their predecessors1 and out of the serpent's egg was breaking forth a cockatrice4 ,the uncalled-for attempt of ,josiah to bar the path of the new and mighty ,pharaoh had also added ,egypt to the list of formidable enemies4 ,for the present the ,pharaoh had passed on to the ,euphrates2 but whether he returned victorious or defeated1 his troops could not but be a source of danger to the little kingdom1 which would henceforth be helpless between the overwhelming forces of its foes4 ,if such were the fears of the timid and the pessimistic1 still deeper was the disheartenment of the faithful4 ,josiah had been the most obedient1 the most religious1 of all the kings of ,judah from childhood upwards4 ,where1 then1 were ,jehovah's old loving-kindnesses which ,he sware unto ,david in ,his truth8 ,had ,god forgotten to be gracious8 ,had ,he hidden away ,his mercy in displeasure8 ,where were the blessings of the newly discovered ,book of the ,law1 if the curse fell on its most earnest votary8 ,where was ,huldah's promise that he should be gathered to his fathers in peace1 if he was carried back dead from the field of fruitless battle8 ,there can be little doubt that the apparent blight which had fallen on unavailing righteousness hastened the reaction of the subsequent reigns4 ,many might be inclined to cry out with even ,jeremiah in his moments of overwhelming despondency1 ,ah1 ,lord ,god6 surely ,thou hast greatly deceived this people and ,jerusalem1 saying1 ',ye shall have peace'2 whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul4#gea ,o ,lord1 ,thou has deceived me1 and ,i was deceived3 ,thou art stronger than ,i1 and hast prevailed3 ,i am a derision daily1 every one mocketh me4 ,whenever ,i speak1 ,i must shout1 ,i must cry violence and spoil2 for the word of the ,lord is made a reproach unto me1 and a derision1 daily4#geb ,but man judges partially and judges amiss4 ,god's ways are not as man's ways4 ,god sees the whole2 ,he sees the future2 ,he sees things as they are4 ,through defeat1 through captivity1 through multiform affliction1 lay the path to the final deliverance of the nation from the grosser forms of idolatry4 ,when they wept as they remembered ,zion1 when they took down their harps from the willows by the water-courses of ,babylon to sing the ,lord's song in a strange land1 they turned again--and at last with their whole heart--to ,god their ,saviour1 who had done so great things for them2--until the grey secret lingering in the ,east was brightened by the ,morning ,star1 and there was revealed to the world a ,true ,israel1 and a ,new ,jerusalem1 wherein the ,lord should be ,king for evermore4 ,,footnotes3 #gbh ,he was forced to desist by a fearful mortality among the labourers4 #gbi ,circ4 ,b4,c4 #faa-fje4 ,herod41 ii4 #aeh1 #aei1 iv4 #db4 ,psamatik1 the father of ,necho1 was perhaps a ,lybian4 ,he established his sway over all ,egypt displacing the ,assyrians4 #gcj ,antt41 ,x4 v4 #a4 #gca ,herod41 ii4 #aeh4 ,his father ,psamatik had left him an adequate army of natives and mercenaries4 #gcb ,herodotus says of his ships3 4 #gcc ,judg4 iv4 #bc2 #a ,sam4 xxix4 #a-aa2 #a ,kings xx4 #bf2 #b ,kings xxiii4 #bi2 #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bb2 ,rev4 xvi4 #af 7,armageddon74 ,herodotus confuses it with ,migdol 774 #gcd #a ,macc4 xii4 #di2 ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,xiii4 vi4 #b4 #gce #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bj-bb4 #gcf ,according to #a ,esdras i4 #be-cb1 for upon ,euphrates is my war4 #gcg ,klostermann1 in #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #ba1 reads bachalm1 in a dream1 instead of to make haste4 #gch ,gen4 xli4 #a2 ,herod41 ii4 #ahh2 ,records of the ,past1 ix4 #eb4 #gci #b ,kings xviii4 #be4 #gdj ,antt41 ,x4 v4 #a3 ' 4 #gda ,deut4 xxviii4 #a-h4 #gdb ,psalm xx4 #f1 xviii4 #bi-ej4 #gdc ,lev4 xxvi4 #cf4 #gdd #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bb3 hearkened not to the words of ,necho from the mouth of ,god4 #gde ,when he had seen him4 ,comp4 #b ,kings xiv4 #h4 #gdf #a ,esdras i4 #be2 and ,,lxx41 firmly resolved1 strengthened himself1 as in #b ,chron4 xxv4 #aa4 #gdg ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 v4 #a2 and #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bc2 #a ,esdras i4 #cj4 #gdh ,the fortunes of the ,jews again prevailed in this plain in the days of ,holofernes 7,judith vii4 #c72 but they were defeated there by ,placidus 7,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,iv4 i4 #h74 #gdi ,zech4 xii4 #aa-ac 7comp4 ,jer4 xxii4 #aj1 #ah74 ,no such place as ,hadadrimmon is known1 though there is a ,rummne not far from ,megiddo4 ,jerome 7,comm4 in ,zach47 identifies it with a place which he calls ,maximianopolis4 ,wellhausen 7,skizzen1 #aib7 thinks that the mourning is compared to some wail over the god ,hadadrimmon1 like the wailing for ,tammuz4 ,jonathan and ,jarchi say that ,hadadrimmon was the son of ,tabrimmon1 who opposed ,ahab at ,ramoth-,gilead4 #gej #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bd1 #be4 ,jeremiah's elegy has probably perished4 ,it would have been most interesting had it been preserved4 ,lam4 iv4 is too vague to have been this lost poem4 #gea ,jer4 iv4 #aj4 #geb ,jer4 xx4 #g1 #h4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii ,,jehoahaz ,b4,c4 #fjh #b ,,kings xxiii4 #ca-cc ,i went by1 and1 lo6 he was gone3 ,i sought him1 but his place could nowhere be found4--,,psalm xxxvii4 #cf4 ,it was under the disastrous circumstances which attended his father's death at ,megiddo that ,jehoahaz began to reign4 ,there is some confusion about the four sons of ,josiah1 whom the ,chronicler calls ,johanan1 ,jehoiakim1 ,zedekiah1 and ,shallum4#gec ,from ,jer4 xxii4 #aa1 it appears that ,jehoahaz was the royal name taken on his anointing by ,shallum1 the third son4#ged ,if so1 he cannot be identified with ,johanan1 the firstborn1 as in the margin of our version4 ,further1 it appears from our historians that ,jehoahaz was twenty-three at his succession1 and was therefore younger than ,jehoiakim who 7three months later7 succeeded him at the age of twenty-five4 ,jehoahaz was the own brother of ,zedekiah1 ,jehoiakim being his half-brother by another mother 7,zebudah74 ,we do not know for what reason he was preferred by the people of the land to his elder brother ,eliakim or ,jehoiakim4 ,it was probably because they regarded him as a prince of eminent courage and ability4 ,the high hopes which the nation conceived of him may be seen in the pathetic elegy of ,ezek4 xix43-- ,moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of ,israel1 and say1-- ,what was thy mother8 ,a lioness6 ,amidst lions she couched1 ,in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps4 ,she brought up one of her whelps3 he became a young lion2 ,he learned to catch the prey2 he devoured men4 ,the nations heard of him2 ,in their pit was he taken1#gee ,and they brought him with hooks into the land of ,egypt4#gef ,we see1 too1 that he was to an eminent degree the darling of the nation in the still more plaintive wail of ,jeremiah which will be quoted later4 ,the fact that ,shallum solemnly changed his name to ,jehoahaz 7,jehovah taketh hold71#geg and that the people of the land not only made him king in his father's stead1 but also anointed him1 points to a disputed succession4#geh ,high hopes were conceived of him2 but he hardly had a chance of fulfilling them1 for he was only permitted to reign three months4 ,what were the events of those months we do not know4 ,jehoahaz must have disappointed any hopes which may have been formed of him by the religious party2 for dear as he was to them1 the historians record of him that he did that which was evil in the sight of the ,lord1 according to all that his fathers had done1 although they specify no particular offence4 ,the same sad verdict is passed on all his four successors2 but ,josephus says even more emphatically of ,jehoahaz that he was impious and impure4#gei ,he must have shown some activity in other respects1 or else ,ezekiel would hardly have said that the nations heard of him1 and that he learned to catch the prey2 he devoured men4 ,over all his deeds1 whatever they may have been1 the iniquity of oblivion has blindly scattered her poppy1 and he fell a victim to the great world-movements of those troublous times4 ,for ,pharaoh1 after his defeat of ,josiah at ,megiddo1 proceeded to make himself master of ,syria and ,palestine4 ,he took ,cadytis1 which ,herodotus calls a large city of ,syria1#gfj and which--since it cannot here mean ,gaza1 as in ,herod41 iii4 #e--;has been identified by some with ,kadesh4 ,thence he marched to ,carchemish1 on the right bank of the ,euphrates1#gfa none venturing to check him1 till once more1 after the lapse of nine centuries1 ,egyptian garrisons looked down on that historic stream4#gfb ,on his return he stopped at ,riblah1 on the ,orontes1#gfc to consolidate his ,syrian conquests2 and there he learnt that1 without consulting him1 the people of ,jerusalem had made ,jehoahaz their king4 ,perhaps he heard enough of the warlike prowess of ,jehoahaz to make him resent this act of independence4 ,after his three months' campaign he sent for ,jehoahaz to ,riblah1 and the unhappy prince had no choice but to obey4 ,possibly the ,egyptian party in ,jerusalem1 headed by his disappointed elder brother ,eliakim1 may have intrigued against him with ,pharaoh ,necho4 ,when he reached ,riblah1 he was unceremoniously deposed2 and though we may hope that the expression of ,ezekiel1 that they brought him with hooks into the land of ,egypt1 belongs to the metaphor of the captured lion's whelp1 it is certain that he was taken to the banks of the ,nile as a fettered captive1 never to return4 ,how long his miserable life was protracted1 or how he was treated in ,egypt1 we do not know4 ,the sun of the young prince went down in darkness while it was yet day4 ,no king of ,judah before him had died in prison and in exile1 and the calamity smote heavily the heart of his people4 ,egypt was not to escape--shortly thereafter--the doom of violence and pride2 but whether the young ,jewish king had died meanwhile of a broken heart1 or whether he dragged on to hoar hairs his maimed life1 or whether he was murdered in his dungeon1 no man knew4 ,one thing only was clear to the sad prophet--that he would never return4 ,weep ye not for the dead1 neither bemoan him3 but weep ye sore for him that is gone away3 for he shall return no more1 nor see his native country4 ,for thus saith ,jehovah concerning ,shallum1 the son of ,josiah1 ,king of ,judah1 which reigned instead of ,josiah his father1 which went forth out of this place3 ',he shall not return thither any more3 but in the place whither they have led him captive there shall he die1 and he shall see this land no more4'#gfd ,to show his absolute power over ,judah and ,jerusalem1 ,pharaoh ,necho not only deposed and fettered their king1 but put the whole land under a yearly tribute of one hundred talents of silver 7about #dj1jjj7 and a talent of gold 7about #d1jjj74gfe ,even this comparatively small sum was a heavy burden for so greatly afflicted and impoverished a country1 and ,pharaoh further imposed on them a vassal to see that it was duly extorted4 ,this was ,eliakim1 the eldest living son of ,josiah4 ,there was nothing left to plunder in the ,temple or the palace1 and therefore the exaction had to be borne by the taxed and suffering people4 ,,footnotes3 #gec ,chron4 iii4 #ae4 #ged ,he is named fourth1 but he was older than his brothers ,jehoiakim and ,zedekiah 7#b ,kings xxiii4 #ca1 xxiv4 #ah74 ,the genealogy is as follows3-- ,zebudah ,,josiah ,hamutal4 ----- ------------------- ,nehushta ,,eliakim ,,zedekiah ,,jehoahaz or ,jehoiakim4 or ,mattaniah4 or ,shallum4 ,,jehoiachin4 #gee ,an allusion to the ,syrian mode of hunting the lion by driving it with cries into a concealed pit 7,tristram1 ,nat4 ,hist4 of the ,bible1 #aah2 ,cheyne1 #adj74 #gef ,ezek4 xix4 #a-d4 #geg ,the name ,shallum means recompense4 ,it may have been regarded as ill-omened1 since the ,king of ,israel who bore this rare name had only reigned a month4 #geh ,the ,talmud says that kings were only anointed in special cases 7,keritoth1 f4 #e1 #b2 ,grtz1 ii4 #cbh74 #gei ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 v4 #b3 4 #gfj ,herod41 ii4 #aei4 #gfa ,mr4 ,g4 ,smith identifies ,carchemish with ,jerabls4 #gfb ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah1 p4 #abg4 #gfc ,comp4 #b ,kings xxv4 #bj1 #ba4 ,the old ,hittite capital of ,riblah was a convenient halting-place on the road between ,babylon and ,jerusalem4 ,it was on the northernmost boundary of ,palestine towards ,damascus 7,amos vi4 #ad74 #gfd ,jer4 xxii4 #aj-ab4 #gfe #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #c2 #a ,esdras i4 #cf4 ,the smallness of the tribute proves the impoverishment of the land4 ,sennacherib demanded from ,hezekiah three hundred talents of silver1 and thirty of gold2 and ,menahem paid one thousand talents of silver to ,tiglath-,pileser4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiv ,,jehoiakim ,b4,c4 #fjh-eig #b ,,kings xxiii4 #cf-xxiv4 #g ,but those things that are recorded of him1 and of his uncleanness and impiety1 are written in the ,chronicles of the ,kings4--#a ,,esdras i4 #db4 ,when ,jehoiakim succeeded to the throne1 he said1 ',my predecessors knew not how to provoke ,god4'--,sanhedrin1 f4 #ajc1 #b4 ,there is no strange handwriting on the wall1 ,through all the midnight hum no threatening call1 ,nor on the marble floor the stealthy fall ,of fatal footsteps4 ,all is safe4--,thou fool1 ,the avenging deities are shod with wool6 ,w4 ,,allen ,,butler4 ,eliakim succeeded to the throne at the age of twenty-five under very unenviable circumstances--as a nominal king1 a helpless nominee and tributary of the ,pharaoh4 ,he seems to have been thoroughly distasteful to the people2 and if we may judge from the fact that ,ezekiel frankly ignores him and passes from ,jehoahaz to ,jehoachin1 he was regarded as a tax-gathering usurper nominated by an alien tyrant4 ,for after speaking of ,jehoahaz1 ,ezekiel says1-- ,now when she ,judah saw that she had waited for the restoration of ,jehoahaz1 and her hope was lost1 ,then she took another of her whelps2#gff ,a young lion she made him4 ,he went up and down among the lions2 ,he became a young lion4#gfg ,the historian says that ,necho turned the name of ,eliakim 7,god will establish7 to ,jehoiakim 7,jehovah will establish72 but by this can hardly be meant more than that he sanctioned the change of ,el into ,jehovah on ,eliakim's installation upon the throne4 ,jehoiakim is condemned in the same terms as all the other sons of ,josiah4 ,his misdoings are far more definitely recorded in the ,prophets1 who furnish us with details which are passed over by the historians4 ,some of his sins may have been due to the influence of his wife ,nehushta1 who was a daughter of ,elnathan of ,achbor1 one of the princes of the heathen party4 ,it was this ,elnathan whom the king chose as a fitting ambassador to demand the extradition of the prophet ,urijah from ,egypt4 ,one of the crimes with which ,jehoiakim is charged is the building for himself of a sumptuous palace1 and thus vainly trying to emulate the splendours of ,assyrian1 ,babylonian1 and ,egyptian kings4 ,in itself the act would not have been more wicked than it was in ,solomon1 whose architectural parade is dwelt upon with enthusiasm4 ,but the circumstances were now wholly different4 ,solomon was at that time in all his glory1 the possessor of boundless wealth1 the ruler of an immense and united territory1 the head of a powerful and prosperous people1 the successor of an unconquered hero who had gone to his grave in peace2 ,jehoiakim1 on the other hand1 had succeeded a father who had died in defeat on the field of battle1 and a brother who was hopelessly pining in an ,egyptian prison4 ,the ,tribes had been carried into captivity by ,assyria2 the nation was beaten1 oppressed1 and poor2 the king himself possessed but a shadow of royalty4 ,in such a condition of things it would have been his glory to maintain a watchful and strenuous activity1 and to devote himself in simplicity and self-denial to the good of his people4 ,it showed a perverted and sensuous mind to insult the misery of his subjects at such a time by feeble attempts to rival heathen potentates in costly stheticism4 ,but this was not all2 he carried out his ignoble selfishness at the cost of oppression and wrong4#gfh ,it is possible that the prophet ,habakkuk alludes to him in the words3-- ,woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house1 that he may set his nest on high1 that he may be delivered from the hand of evil6#gfi ,thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many peoples1 and hast sinned against thy soul4 ,for the stone shall cry out of the wall1 and the beam out of the timber shall answer it4#ggj ,the thought of the ,jewish king's selfish expensiveness may have crossed the mind of ,habakkuk1 though the taunt is addressed directly to the ,chaldans1 and especially to ,nebuchadrezzar1 who was at that time revelling in the beautifying of ,babylon1 and especially of his own royal palace4 ,on the other hand1 the rebuke1 or rather the denunciation1 uttered by ,jeremiah against the king for this line of conduct1 and for the forced labour which it required1 is terribly direct4 ',woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness1 ,and his chambers by wrong2 ,that useth his neighbour's service without wages1 ,and giveth him not his hire2 ,that saith1 ,i will build me a wide house and spacious chambers1 ,and cutteth out windows2 ,and it is ceiled with cedar1 and painted with vermilion4 ,shalt thou reign because thou viest with the cedar8#gga ,did not thy father eat and drink1 and do judgment and justice8 ,then it was well with him6 ,was not this to know ,me8' saith the ,lord4 ',but thine heart is not but for thy dishonest gain1 ,and for to shed innocent blood1 ,and for oppression and for violence to do it4'#ggb ,then follows the stern message of doom which we shall quote hereafter4 ,the king's bad example stimulated or perhaps emulated similar folly and want of patriotism on the part of his nobles4 ,they were shepherds who destroyed and scattered the sheep of ,jehovah's pastures4 ,but vain was their imagined security1 and their ostentation4 ,the judgment was imminent4#ggc ,o inhabitress of ,lebanon1 that makest thy nest in the cedars1 exclaims the prophet in bitter mockery1 how greatly wilt thou groan when pangs come upon thee1 the pain as of a woman in travail6#ggd ,but ,jehoiakim's offences were deadlier than this4 ,the ,chronicler speaks of the abominations which he did2 and some have therefore supposed that the evil state of things described by ,jeremiah 7xix47 refers to this reign4 ,if so1 he plunged into the idolatry which caused ,judah to be shivered like a potter's vessel4 ,certainly he sinned grievously against ,god in the person of ,his prophets4 ,jeremiah was not the only prophet who disdained the easy and traitorous popularity which was to be won by prophesying peace1 peace1 when there was no peace4 ,he had for his contemporary another messenger of ,god1 no less boldly explicit than himself--,urijah1 the son of ,shemaiah of ,kirjath-,jearim4 ,jeremiah had as yet only prophesied in his humble native village of ,anathoth2 he had not been called upon to face the swellings or the pride of ,jordan4#gge ,urijah had been in the fuller glare of publicity in the capital1 and his bold declaration that ,jerusalem should fall before ,nebuchadrezzar and the ,chaldans had excited such a fury of indignation that he escaped into ,egypt for his life4 ,surely this should have appeased the rulers1 even if they chose to pay no attention to the ,divine menace4 ,for the prophets were recognised deliverers of the messages of ,jehovah2 and with scarcely an exception1 even in the most wicked reigns1 their persons had been regarded as sacrosanct4 ,but ,jehoiakim would not let ,urijah escape4 ,he sent an embassy to ,necho1 headed by his father-in-law ,elnathan1 son of ,achbor1 requesting his extradition4 ,urijah had been dragged back from ,egypt1 and1 to the horror of the people1 the king had slain him with the sword1 and flung his body into the graves of the common people4#ggf ,what made this conduct more monstrous was the precedent of ,micah the ,morasthite4 ,he1 in the days of ,hezekiah1 had prophesied1-- ,zion shall be ploughed as a field1 ,and ,jerusalem shall become heaps1 ,and the ,mountain of the ,house as the wooded heights4#ggg ,yet so far from putting him to death1 or even stirring a finger against him1 the pious king had only been moved to repentance by the ,divine threatenings4 ,thus the blood of the first martyr-prophet1 if we except the case of ,zechariah1 had been shed by the son of ,judah's most pious king4 ,jeremiah himself only narrowly escaped martyrdom4 ,the precedent of ,micah helped to save him1 though it had not saved ,urijah4 ,he was far more powerfully protected by the patronage of the princes and the people4 ,standing in the ,temple court1 he had declared that1 unless the nation repented1 that house should be like ,shiloh1 and the city a curse to all the nations of the earth4 ,maddened by such words of bold rebuke1 the priests and the prophets and the people had threatened him with death4 ,but the princes took his part1 and some of the people came over to them4 ,his most powerful protector was ,ahikam1 the son of ,shaphan1 a member of a family of the utmost distinction4 ,meanwhile1 we must follow for a time the outward fortunes of the king and of the world4 ,necho1 after his successful advance1 had retired to ,egypt1 and ,jehoiakim continued to be for three years his obsequious servant4 ,an event of tremendous importance for the world changed the entire fortunes of ,egypt and of ,judah4 ,nineveh fell with a crash which terrified the nations4 ,we might apply to her the language which ,isaiah applies to her successor1 ,babylon3-- ,sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming3 it stirreth up the shades for thee1 even the ,rephaim of the earth2 it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations4 ,all they shall answer and say unto thee1 ',art thou also become weak as we8 art thou become like unto us8' 444 ,all the kings of the nations1 all of them1 sleep in glory1 every one in his own house4 ,but thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch1 as the raiment of those that are slain1 that are thrust through with the sword1 that go down to the stones of the pit4444 ,they that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee 444 and say1 ',is this the man that made the earth to tremble8 that did shake kingdoms8 that made the world as a wilderness1 and overthrew the cities thereof8 that let not loose his prisoners to their home8'#ggh ,yes1 ,assyria had fallen like some mighty cedar in ,libanus1 and the nations gazed without pity and with exultation on his torn and scattered branches4 ,and coincident with the fate of ,nineveh had been the rise of the ,chaldan power4 ,nabupalussur#ggi had been a general of one of the last ,assyrian kings1 and had been sent by him with an army to quell a ,babylonian revolt4 ,instead of this1 he seized the city and made himself king4 ,when the final overthrow and obliteration of ,nineveh had secured his power1 he sent his brave and brilliant son ,nebuchadrezzar#ghj 7,b4,c4 #fje7 to secure the provinces which he had wrested from ,assyria1 and especially to regain possession of ,carchemish1 which commanded the river4 ,necho marched to protect his conquests1 and at ,carchemish the hostile forces encountered each other in a tremendous battle1--immemorial ,egypt under the representative of its age-long ,pharaohs2 ,babylon1 with her independence of yesterday1 under a prince hitherto unknown1 whose name was to become one of the most famous in the world4 ,the result is described by ,jeremiah 7xlvi4 #a-ab74 ,egypt was hopelessly defeated4 ,her splendidly arrayed warriors were panic-stricken and routed2 her chief heroes were dashed to pieces by the heavy maces of the ,babylonians1 or fled without so much as looking back4 ,the scene was one of ,magor-missabib--terror on every side4#gha ,pharaoh's host came up like the ,nile in flood with its ,ethiopian hoplites and ,asiatic archers2 but they were driven back4 ,the daughter of ,egypt received a wound which no balm of ,gilead could cure4 ,the nations heard of her shame1 and the prophet pronounced her further chastisement by the hands of ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,then1 in the fourth year of ,jehoiakim1 the young ,babylonian conqueror swept down upon ,syria and ,palestine like a bounding leopard1 like an avenging eagle 7,hab4 i4 #g1 #h74 ,jehoiakim had no choice but to change his vassalhood to ,necho for a vassalage to ,nebuchadrezzar4#ghb ,he might have suffered severe consequences1 but tidings came to the young ,chaldan that his father had ended his reign of twenty-one years and was dead4 ,for fear lest disturbances might arise in his capital1 he at once dashed home across the desert with some light troops by way of ,tadmor1 while he told his general to follow him home through ,syria by the longer route4 ,he seems1 however1 to have carried away with him some captives1 among whom were ,daniel1 ,ananias1 ,azarias1 and ,misael1#ghc destined hereafter for such memorable fortunes4 ,jehoiakim himself was thrown into fetters to be carried into ,babylon2 but the conqueror changed his mind1 and probably thought that it would be safer for the present to accept his pledges and assurances1 and leave him as his viceroy4 ,he took an oath of him1 says ,ezekiel 7xvii4 #ac72 he took also the mighty of the land4#ghd ,for three years this frivolous egotist who occupied the throne of ,judah remained faithful to his covenant with the ,king of ,babylon1 but at the end of that time he rebelled4 ,in this rebellion he was again deluded by the glamour of ,egypt1 and reliance on the empty promise of horses and much people4 ,ezekiel openly disapproved of this policy1#ghe and reproached the king for his faithlessness to his oath4 ,jeremiah went further1 and declared in the plainest language that ,nebuchadrezzar would certainly come up and destroy this land1 and cause to cease from thence both man and beast4#ghf ,nearer and nearer the danger came4 ,at first the ,king of ,babylon was too busy to do more than send against the ,jewish rebel marauding bands of ,chaldans1 who acted in concert with the hereditary depredators of ,judah--,syrians1 ,moabites1 and ,ammonites4 ,but the prophet knew that the danger would not end there1 believing that ,god would yet remove ,judah out of ,his sight for the unforgiven sins of ,manasseh and the innocent blood with which he had filled ,jerusalem4#ghg ,at last ,nebuchadrezzar had time to turn closer attention to the affairs of ,judah1 and this became necessary because of the revolt of ,tyre under its ,king ,ithobalus4 ,in the stress of the peril ,jehoiakim proclaimed a fast and a day of humiliation in the ,temple4 ,jeremiah was at this time shut up--either in hiding1 or in some sort of custody4 ,as he could not go and preach in person1 he dictated his prophecy to ,baruch1 who wrote it on a scroll1 and went in the prophet's place to read it in the ,lord's ,house to the people there assembled from ,jerusalem and all ,judah in the chamber of ,gemariah1 the son of ,shaphan1 in the inner court1 by the new gate4#ghh ,gemariah was the brother of ,ahikam1 the protector of the prophet4 ,no one was more painfully alarmed by ,jeremiah's prophecy than ,micaiah1 the son of ,gemariah1 and he thought it his duty to go and tell his father and the other princes what he had heard4 ,they were assembled in the scribe's chamber1 and sent a courtier of ,ethiopian race--,jehudi1 the son of ,cushi--bidding him to bring the scroll with him1 and to come to them4#ghi ,baruch was a person of distinction4 ,he was the brother of ,seraiah1 who is called in our ,a4,v4 a quiet prince1 and in the margin prince of ,menucha or chief chamberlain1 literally master of the resting-place2 and he was the grandson of ,maaseiah1 the governor of the city4#gij ,the office imposed on him by ,jeremiah was so perilous and painful that it nearly broke his heart4 ,he exclaimed to ,jeremiah1 ,woe is me now6 the ,lord hath added grief to my sorrow4 ,i am weary with my sighing1 and ,i find no rest4 ,the answer which the prophet was commissioned to give him was very remarkable4 ,it confirmed the terrible doom on his native land1 but added1 ',and seekest thou great things for thyself8 ,seek them not4 ,for1 behold1 ,i will bring evil upon all flesh1' saith the ,lord3 'but thy life will ,i give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest4'#gia ,baruch obeyed the summons of the princes1 and at their request sat down with them and read the scroll in their ears4 ,when they had heard the portentous prophecy1 they turned shuddering to one another1 and said1 ,we must tell the king of all these words4 ,they asked ,baruch how he had written them1 and he said he had taken them down at the prophet's dictation4 ,then1 knowing the storm which would burst over the bold offenders1 they said1 ,go1 hide thee1 thou and ,jeremiah1 and let no man know where ye be4 ,not daring to imperil the awful document1 they laid it up in the chamber of ,elishama1 the scribe1 but went to the king and told him its contents4 ,he sent ,jehudi to fetch it1 and to read it in their hearing4 ,jehoiakim and the illustrious company were seated in the winter-chamber2 for it was ,october1 and a fire was burning in the brazier1 where ,jehoiakim sat warming himself in the chilly weather4 ,as he listened1 he was filled not only with fury1 but with contempt4 ,such a message might well have caused him and his worst counsellors to rend their clothes2 but instead of this they adopted a tone of defiance4 ,by the time that ,jehudi had read three or four columns1 ,jehoiakim snatched the scribe's knife which hung at his girdle1 and began to cut up the scroll1 with the intention of burning it4 ,seeing his purpose1 ,gemariah1 ,elnathan1 and ,seraiah entreated him not to destroy it4 ,but he would not listen4 ,he flung the fragments into the brazier1 and they were consumed4 ,he ordered his son ,jerahmeel1#gib with ,seraiah and ,shelemiah1 to seize both ,baruch and ,jeremiah1 and bring them before him for punishment4 ,doubtless they would have suffered the fate of ,urijah1 but the ,lord hid them4 ,there were enough persons of power on their side to render their hiding-place secure4 ,but the king's impious indifference1 so far from making any difference in the things that were1 only brought down upon his guilt a fearful doom4 ,truth cannot be cut to pieces1 or burnt1 or mechanically suppressed4 ,truth1 crushed to earth1 shall rise again2 ,the eternal years of ,god are hers3 ,but error1 vanquished1 writhes in pain1 ,and dies amid her worshippers4 ,all the former denunciations1 and new ones added to them1 were rewritten by ,jeremiah and his faithful friend in their hiding-place1 and among them these words#gic3-- ,thus saith the ,lord of ,jehoiakim1 ,king of ,judah1 ',he shall have none to sit upon the throne of ,david2 and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat1 and in the night to the frost4' ,a frightful drought added to the misery of this reign1 but failed to bring the wretched king to his senses4 ,jeremiah describes it#gid3-- ,judah mourneth1 and the gates thereof languish2 they bow down mourning unto the ground2 and the cry of ,jerusalem is gone up4 ,and the nobles send their menials to the waters3 they come to the pits1 and find no water2 they return with their vessels empty2 they are ashamed and confounded1 and cover their heads1 because of the ground which is chapped1 for that no rain hath been in the land4444 ,yea1 the hind also in the field calveth1 and forsaketh her young1 because there is no grass4 ,and the wild asses stand on the bare heights1 they pant for air like jackals2 their eyes fail1 because there is no herbage4 ,even this affliction1 so vividly and pathetically described1 failed to waken any repentance4 ,and then the doom fell4 ,nebuchadrezzar advanced in person against ,jerusalem4#gie ,even the hardy nomad ,rechabites had to fly before the ,chaldans1 and to take refuge in the cities which they hated4 ,the sacred historian tells us nothing as to the manner of the death of ,jehoiakim1 only saying that he slept with his fathers3 his narrative of this period is exceedingly meagre4 ,josephus says that ,nebuchadrezzar slew him and the flower of the citizens1 and sent three thousand captives to ,babylon4#gif ,some imagine that he was killed by the ,babylonians in a raid outside the walls of ,jerusalem1 or murdered by his own people1 and his body thrown for a time outside the walls4 ,if so1 the ,babylonians did not war with the dead4 ,his remains1 after this burial of an ass1#gig may have been finally suffered to rest in a tomb4 ,the ,septuagint says 7#b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #h7 that he was buried in ,ganosan1 by which may be meant the sepulchre of ,manasseh in the garden of ,uzza4#gih ,not for him was the wailing cry ,ho1 adon6 ,ho1 hodo6 7,ah1 ,lord6 ,ah1 his glory674 ,the memory of the wicked shall rot4 ,certainly this was the case with ,jehoiakim4 ,the ,chronicler mysteriously alludes to his abominations which he did1 and that which was found in him4#gii ,the ,rabbis1 interpreting this after their manner1 say that the thing found was the name of the demon ,codonazor1 to whom he had sold himself1 which after his death was discovered legibly written in ,hebrew letters on his skin4 ,rabbi ,johanan and ,rabbi ,eleazar debated what was meant by 'that which was found on him4' ,one said that he tattooed the name of an idol upon his body 771 and the other said that he had tattooed the name of the god ,recreon4#hjj ,,footnotes3 #gff ,not ,jehoiakim1 but ,jehoiachin1 as the sequel shows4 #gfg ,ezek4 xix4 #e-i4 ,the allusions to ,jehoiakim by ,jeremiah are numerous1 and all unfavourable 7xxii4 #ac-ai1 xxvi4 #bj-bc1 xxxvi4 #bj-ca1 etc47 #gfh ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 v4 #b7 is very severe on this king4 ,he says that he was unjust in disposition1 an evil-doer1 neither pious towards ,god nor just towards men4 #gfi ,perhaps an allusion to a sort of fortified palace on ,ophel4 #ggj ,hab4 ii4 #i-aa4 #gga ,the text is perhaps corrupt4 ,two ,,mss4 of the ,,lxx4 read because thou viest with ,ahab1 and the ,vatican ,,mss4 has with ,ahaz4 ,cheyne adopts the former reading4 #ggb ,jer4 xxii4 #ac-ag4 #ggc ,jer4 xxiii4 #a4 #ggd ,jer4 xxii4 #bc4 #gge ,jer4 xii4 #e4 #ggf ,jer4 xxvi4 #bj-bc4 ,so far as ,i am aware1 ,bunsen stands alone in identifying ,urijah with the ,zechariah who wrote ,zech4 xii4-xiv4 ,others refer ,zech4 xii4 #aj to the murder of ,urijah4 #ggg ,jer4 xxvi4 #ah4 #ggh ,isa4 xiv41 passim4 #ggi ,nabu-pal-ussur1 ,nebo protect the son4 #ghj ,nabu-kudur-ussur1 ,nebo protect the crown 7,schrader1 ii4 #dh71 or the youth 7,oppert74 ,the portrait of ,nebuchadrezzar--this is the proper spelling1 as generally in ,jeremiah--is preserved for us on a black cameo which he presented to the god ,merodach4 ,it is now in the ,berlin ,museum1 and shows strong but not cruel or ignoble characteristics4 ,it is copied in ,riehm's ,handwrterbuch1 ii4 #ajfg4 ,the ,jews1 as they were fond of doing to their enemies1 made insulting puns on his name4 ,thus in the ,vayyikra ,rabba 7,wnsche1 ,bibl4 ,rabb47 the ,three ,children are represented as saying to him1 ,you are ,neboo-cad-netser3 bark nabach like a dog2 swell like a water-jar kad1 and chirp like a cricket tsertser1--in allusion to his madness4 #gha ,jer4 xlvi4 #e 7vi4 #be74 #ghb ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 xi42 ,berosus1 p4 #aa4 ,the ,chronicler and ,josephus show some confusion1 caused by the similarity of the names ,jehoiakim and ,jehoiachin4 #ghc ,dan4 i4 #f4 #ghd ,we might infer from ,ezek4 xvii4 #ab that ,nebuchadrezzar actually took ,jehoiakim with him to ,babylon4 #ghe ,ezek4 xvii4 #ae4 #ghf ,jer4 xxxvi4 #bi1 xxv4 #i1 xxvi4 #f4 #ghg #b ,kings xxiv4 #b-d4 #ghh ,grtz thinks that ,jeremiah's roll was substantially ,jer4 xxv4 #ghi ,jos41 ,antt41 ,,ix4 ix4 #a4 #gij ,jer4 li4 #ei4 ,ewald1 ,hitzig1 and others take the title to mean quartermaster 7#b ,chron4 xxxiv4 #h74 #gia ,jer4 xlv4 #a-e4 #gib ,zeph4 i4 #h2 #a ,kings xxii4 #bf2 ,jer4 xxxvi4 #bf1 ,a4,v41 ,the son of ,hammelech4 ,comp4 xxxviii4 #f4 ,hammelech may be a proper name1 or a prince of the blood-royal may be intended4 #gic ,the ',book1' now as afterwards1 was to be the death-blow of the old regal1 aristocratic1 sacerdotal exclusiveness4 ,the ',scribe1' now first rising into importance in the person of ,baruch to supply the defects of the living ,prophet1 was1 as the printing-press in later ages1 handing on the words of truth1 which else might have irretrievably perished 7,stanley74 #gid ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah1 p4 #adi2 ,jer4 xiv4 #a-xv4 #i4 #gie ,nebuchadrezzar occupies a larger space in the ,bible than any heathen king1 being spoken of in #b ,kings1 #b ,chronicles1 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 and ,daniel4 #gif ,for further details of ,jehoiakim see #a ,esdras i4 #ch3 ,he bound ,joakim and the nobles2 but ,zaraces his brother he apprehended1 and brought him out of ,egypt4 ,the allusion is entirely obscure1 and probably arises from some corruption of the text4 ,the literal rendering is3 ,and ,joakim bound the nobles2 but ,zaraces his brother he apprehended1 and brought him out of ,egypt4 ,zaraces might be a corruption for ,zedekiah1 who was ,jehoiakim's half-brother4 ,some think that ,zaraces is a corruption for ,urijah1 and his brother a clerical error4 #gig ,jer4 xxxvi4 #cj1 xxii4 #ai4 #gih ,,lxx41 4 #gii #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #h4 #hjj ,sanhedrin1 f4 #ajd1 #b4 ,for another allusion see id4 #di1 #a2 ,hershon1 ,treasures of the ,talmud1 p4 #bcb4 ,,chapter ,,xxxv ,,jehoiachin ,b4,c4 #eig #b ,,kings xxiv4 #h-af ,there are times when ancient truths become modern falsehoods1 when the signs of ,god's dispensations are made so clear by the course of natural events as to supersede the revelations of even their most sacred past4--,,stanley1 ,lectures1 ii4 #eba4 ,jehoiachin--,jehovah maketh steadfast--who is also called ,jeconiah1 and--perhaps with intentional slight--,coniah1 succeeded1 at the age of eighteen1 to the miserable and distracted heritage of the throne of ,judah4 ,the eight years old of the ,chronicler must be a clerical error1 for he had a harem4 ,he only reigned for three months2 and the historian pronounces over him1 as over all the four kings of the ,house of ,josiah1 the stereotyped condemnation of evil-doing4 ,was there anything in the manner in which ,josiah had trained his family which could account for their unsatisfactoriness8 ,in ,jehoiachin's case we do not know what his transgressions were1 but perhaps his mother's influence rendered him as little favourable to the prophetic party as his brother ,jehoiakim had been4 ,for the ,gebrah was ,nehushta1 the daughter of ,elnathan of ,jerusalem4 ,her name means apparently ,brass1 and nothing can be deduced from it2 but her father ,elnathan was 7as we have seen7 the envoy who1 by order of ,jehoiakim1 had dragged back from ,egypt the martyr-prophet ,urijah4#hja ,brief as was his reign of three months and ten days#hjb--;a hundred days1 like that of his unhappy uncle ,jehoahaz--he is largely alluded to by the contemporary prophets4 ,indignant at the sins and apostasies of ,judah1 and convinced that her retribution was nigh at hand1 ,jeremiah took with him an earthen pot to the ,valley of ,hinnom1 and there shivered it to pieces at ,tophet in the presence of certain elders of the people and of the priests1 explaining that his symbolic action indicated the destruction of ,jerusalem4 ,on hearing the tenor of these prophecies1 the priest ,pashur1 who was officer of the ,temple1 smote ,jeremiah in the face1 and put him in the stocks in a prominent place by the ,temple gate4#hjc ,jeremiah in return prophesied that ,pashur and all his family should be carried into captivity1 so that his name should be changed from ,pashur to ,magor-,missabib1 ,terror on every side4 ,against the king himself he pronounced the doom3 ',as ,i live1' saith the ,lord1 'though ,coniah1 the son of ,jehoiakim1 ,king of ,judah1 were the signet on ,my right hand1 yet will ,i pluck thee thence2 and ,i will give thee into the hands of them that seek thy life1 444 even into the hand of ,nebuchadrezzar4444 ,and ,i will hurl thee1 and thy mother that bare thee1 into another country2#hjd 444 and there shall ye die4' 444 ,is this man ,coniah a despised broken piece of work8 is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure8 wherefore are they hurled1 he and his seed1 and cast into a land which they know not8 ,o land1 land1 land6 hear the word of the ,lord4 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ',write ye this man childless1 a man that shall not prosper in his days3 for no man of his seed shall prosper1 sitting upon the throne of ,david1 or ruling any more in ,judah4' ,yet there must have been something in ,jeconiah which impressed favourably the minds of men4 ,brief as was his reign1 his memory was never forgotten4 ,we learn from the ,mishna that one of the gates of ,jerusalem--probably that by which he left the city--for ever bore his name4#hje ,josephus says that his captivity was annually commemorated4 ,jeremiah writes in the ,lamentations3-- ,our pursuers are swifter than the eagles of heaven3 they have pursued us upon the mountains1 they have laid wait for us in the wilderness4 ,the breath of our nostrils1 the anointed of the ,lord1 was taken in their pits1 of whom we said1 ',under his shadow we shall live among the heathen4' ,ezekiel compares him to a young lion3-- ,he went up and down among the lions1 he became a young lion1 and learned to catch the prey4 ,and he knew their palaces1 and laid waste their cities2 and the land was desolate1 and the fulness thereof1 by the noise of his roaring4 ,then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces1 and spread their net over him3 he was taken in their pit4 ,and they put him in ward in hooks1 and brought him to the ,king of ,babylon3 they brought him into holds1 that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of ,israel4#hjf ,a prince of whom a contemporary prophet could thus write was obviously no fainant4 ,indeed1 the energetic measures which ,nebuchadrezzar adopted against him may have been due to the fact that he had endeavoured to rouse his discouraged people4 ,but what could he do against such a power as that of the ,chaldans8 ,nebuchadrezzar sent his generals against ,jerusalem2 and when it was ripe for capture1 advanced in person to take possession of it4 ,resistance had become hopeless2 there lay no chance in anything but that complete submission which might possibly avert the worst effects of the destruction of the city4 ,accordingly1 ,jeconiah1 accompanied by his mother1 his court1 his princes1 and his officers1 went out in procession1 and threw themselves on the mercy of the ,king of ,babylon4 ,nebuchadrezzar was far less brutal than the ,sargons and ,assurbanipals of ,assyria2 but ,judah had twice revolted1 and the defection of ,tyre showed him that the affairs of ,palestine could no longer be neglected4 ,he thoroughly despoiled the ,temple and the palace1 and carried the spoils to ,babylon1 as ,isaiah had forewarned ,hezekiah should be the case4#hjg ,that he might further weaken and humiliate the city1 he stripped it of its king1 its royal house1 its court1 its nobles1 its soldiers1 even its craftsmen and smiths1 and carried ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-two captives to ,babylon 7,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 vii4 #a71 among whom was the prophet ,ezekiel4 ,he naturally spared ,jeremiah1 who regarded him as the sword of ,jehovah 7,jer4 xlvii4 #f71 and as ,jehovah's servant1 to do ,his pleasure 7,jer4 xxv4 #i1 xxvii4 #f1 xliii4 #aj74 ,on the whole1 ,nebuchadrezzar is not treated with abhorrence by the ,jews4 ,there was something in his character which inspired respect2 and the ,jews deal with him leniently1 both in their records and generally in their traditions4 ,nebuchadnezzar1 we read in the ,talmud 7,taanith f4 #ah1 #b71 was a worthy king1 and deserved that a miracle should be performed through him4 ,from the allusion of ,ezekiel we might infer that ,jehoiachin was violent and self-willed2 but ,josephus speaks of his kindness and gentleness4#hjh ,was he1 as ,jeremiah had prophesied1 literally childless8#hji ,it is true that in #a ,chron4 iii4 #ag1 #ah1 eight sons are ascribed to him1 and among them ,shealtiel1 in whom the royal line was continued4 ,but it is far from certain that these sons were not the sons of his brother ,neri1 of the ,house of ,nathan1#haj and it seems that they were only adopted by the unhappy captive4 ,the ,book of ,baruch describes him weeping by the ,euphrates4#haa ,but if we may trust the story of ,susannah1 his outward fortunes were peaceful1 and he was allowed to live in his own house and gardens in peace1 and in a certain degree of splendour4#hab ,,footnotes3 #hja ,jer4 xxvi4 #bb4 #hjb #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #i4 #hjc ,jer4 xx4 #b4 ,there seem to have been special stocks and collars in the ,temple1 reserved1 by order of the priest ,jehoiada1 for those whom the priests regarded as unruly prophets 7,jer4 xxix4 #bf74 #hjd ,jer4 xxii4 #bd-cj4 ,the captivity of the queen-mother struck men's imaginations 7,jer4 xxix4 #b74 #hje ,middoth1 ii4 #f1 quoted by ,cheyne1 p4 #afc2 ,jos41 ,b4 ,j41 ,,vi4 ii4 #a4 ,comp4 ,ezek4 i4 #b4 #hjf ,ezek4 xix4 #f-i4 ,the special allusions are no longer certain4 #hjg #b ,kings xx4 #ag4 ,the expression he cut to pieces all the vessels of gold which ,solomon had made is hardly consistent with ,ezra i4 #g-aa1 unless we understand the word in a loose sense4 #hjh ,he says that he nobly gave himself up to save the city 7,antt41 ,x4 vii4 #a74 ,his captivity was made an era from which to date ,ezek4 i4 #b1 viii4 #a1 xxiv4 #a1 xxvi4 #a1 etc4 ,comp4 ,susannah #a-d4 #hji ,jer4 xxii4 #cj1 'arr4 ,his son ,assir 7#a ,chron4 iii4 #ag7 may have been made an eunuch 7,isa4 xxxix4 #g74 #haj ,luke iii4 #bg1 #ca2 ,matt4 i4 #ab4 #haa ,baruch i4 #c1 #d4 #hab ,the favourable notice of ,nebuchadrezzar in ,taanith 7quoted above7 is not found in ,berachoth1 f4 #eg1 #b1 where he is called the wicked4 ,there are many wild legends about him4 ,in ,nedarim 7f4 #fe1 #b71 ,r4 ,yitzchak says3 ,may melted gold be poured into the mouth of the wicked ,nebuchadrezzar6 ,had not an angel struck him on the mouth1 he would have outshone all ,david's songs and praises4 ,with reference to ,isa4 xxii4 #a1 #b1 the ,rabbis say that ,jeconiah went to the ,temple roof1 and flung up the keys into the air1 when ,nebuchadrezzar required them3 a hand took them1 and they were seen no more 7,shekalim1 vi4 #e74 ,in ,nedarim 7f4 #fe1 #b7 we are told that ,zedekiah's rebellion consisted in divulging1 contrary to his oath1 that he had seen ,nebuchadrezzar eating a live hare 7,hershon1 ,treasures of the ,talmud74 ,,chapter ,,xxxvi ,,zedekiah1 ,,the ,,last ,,king ,,of ,,judah ,b4,c4 #eig-ehf #b ,,kings xxiv4 #ah-xxv4 #g ,quand ce grand ,dieu a choisi quelqu'un pour tre l'instrument de ses desseins rien n'arrte le cours1 o il enchaine1 o il aveugle1 o il dompte tout ce qui est capable de rsistance4 ,,bossuet1 ,oraison funbre de ,henriette ,marie4 ,when ,jehoiachin was carried captive to ,babylon1 never to return1 his uncle ,mattaniah 7,jehovah's gift71 the third son of ,josiah1 was put by ,nebuchadrezzar in his place4 ,in solemn ratification of the new king's authority1 the ,babylonian conqueror sanctioned the change of his name to ,zedekiah 7,jehovah's righteousness74#hac ,he was twenty-one at his accession1 and he reigned eleven years4 ,behold1 writes ,ezekiel1 the ,king of ,babylon came to ,jerusalem1 and took the king thereof1 and the princes thereof1 and brought them to him to ,babylon2 and he took of the seed royal 7i4e41 ,zedekiah71 and made a covenant with him2 he also brought him under an oath3 and took away the mighty of the land1 that the kingdom might be base1 that it might not lift itself up1 but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand4#had ,perhaps by this covenant ,zechariah meant to emphasise the meaning of his name1 and to show that he would reign in righteousness4 ,the prophet at the beginning of the chapter describes ,nebuchadrezzar and ,jehoiachin in a riddle4 ,a great eagle1 he says1 with great wings and long pinions1 full of feathers1 which had divers colours1 came unto ,lebanon1 and took the top of the cedar 7,jehoiachin73 he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof1 and carried it into a land of traffic2 he set it in a city of merchants4 ,he took also of the seed of the land 7,zedekiah71 and planted it in a fruitful soil2 he placed it beside great waters1 he set it as a willow tree4 ,and it grew1 and became a spreading vine of low stature1 whose branches turned towards him1 and the roots thereof were under him3 so it became a vine1 and brought forth branches1 and shot forth sprigs4#hae ,the words refer to the first three years of ,zedekiah's reign1 and they imply1 consistently with the views of the prophets1 that1 if the weak king had been content with the lowly eminence to which ,god had called him1 and if he had kept his oath and covenant with ,babylon1 all might yet have been well with him and his land4 ,at first it seemed likely to be so2 for ,zedekiah wished to be faithful to ,jehovah4 ,he made a covenant with all the people to set free their ,hebrew slaves4 ,alas6 it was very shortlived4 ,self-sacrifice cost something1 and the princes soon took back the discarded bondservants4#haf ,what made this conduct the more shocking was that their covenant to obey the law had been made in the most solemn manner by cutting a calf in twain1 and passing between the severed halves4#hag ,but the weak king was perfectly powerless in the hands of his tyrannous aristocracy4#hah ,the exiles in ,babylon were now the best and most important section of the nation4 ,jeremiah compares them to good figs2 while the remnant at ,jerusalem were bad and withered4 ,he and ,ezekiel raised their voices1 as in strophe and antistrophe1 for the teaching alike of the exiles and of the remnant left at ,jerusalem1 for whom the exiles were bidden to entreat ,god in prayer4 ,zedekiah himself made at least one journey northward1 either voluntarily or under summons1 to renew his oath and reassure ,nebuchadrezzar of his fidelity4#hai ,he was accompanied by ,seraiah1 the brother of ,baruch1 who was privately entrusted by ,jeremiah with a prophecy of the fall of ,babylon1 which he was to fling into the midst of the ,euphrates4#hbj ,the last ,king of ,judah seems to have been weak rather than wicked4 ,he was a reed shaken by the wind4 ,he yielded to the influence of the last person who argued with him2 and he seems to have dreaded above all things the personal ridicule1 danger1 and opposition which it was his duty to have defied4 ,yet we cannot withhold from him our deep sympathy2 for he was born in terrible times--to witness the death-throes of his country's agony1 and to share in them4 ,it was no longer a question of independence1 but only of the choice of servitudes4 ,judah was like a silly and trembling sheep between two huge beasts of prey4#hba ,only thus can we account for the strange apostasies--the abominations of the heathen--with which he permitted the ,temple to be polluted2 and for the ill-treatment which he allowed to be inflicted on ,jeremiah and other prophets1 to whom in his heart he felt inclined to listen4 ,what these abominations were we read with amazement in the eighth chapter of ,ezekiel4 ,the prophet is carried in vision to ,jerusalem1 and there he sees the ,asherah--the image which provoketh to jealousy--which had so often been erected and destroyed and re-erected4 ,then through a secret door he sees creeping things1 and abominable beasts1 and the idol-blocks of the ,house of ,israel portrayed upon the wall1 while several elders of ,israel stood before them and adored1 with censers in their hands--among whom he must specially have grieved to see ,jaazaneiah1 the son of ,shaphan1#hbb flattering himself1 as did his followers1 that in that dark chamber ,jehovah saw them not4 ,next at the northern gate he sees ,zion's daughters weeping for ,tammuz1 or ,adonis4 ,once more1 in the inner court of the ,temple1 between the porch and the altar1 he sees about twenty-five men with their backs to the altar1 and their faces to the east2 and they worshipped the sun towards the east2 and1 lo6 they put the vine branch to their nose4#hbc ,were not these crimes sufficient to evoke the wrath of ,jehovah1 and to alienate ,his ear from prayers offered by such polluted worshippers8 ,egypt1 ,assyria1 ,syria1 ,chalda1 all contributed their idolatrous elements to the detestable syncretism2 and the king and the priests ignored1 permitted1 or connived at it4#hbd ,this must surely be answered for4 ,how could it have been otherwise8 ,the king and the priests were the official guardians of the ,temple1 and these aberrations could not have gone on without their cognisance4 ,there was another party of sheer formalists1 headed by men like the priest ,pashur1 who thought to make talismans of rites and shibboleths1 but had no sincerity of heart-religion4#hbe ,to these1 too1 ,jeremiah was utterly opposed4 ,in his opinion ,josiah's reformation had failed4 ,neither ,ark1 nor ,temple1 nor sacrifice were anything in the world to him in comparison with true religion4 ,all the prophets with scarcely one exception are anti-ritualists2 but none more decidedly so than the prophet-priest4 ,his name is associated in tradition with the hiding of the ,ark1 and a belief in its ultimate restoration2 yet to ,jeremiah1 apart from the moral and spiritual truths of which it was the material symbol1 the ,ark was no better than a wooden chest4 ,his message from ,jehovah is1 ,i will give you pastors according to ,my heart1 444 and they shall say no more1 ',the ,ark of the ,covenant of the ,lord'3 neither shall it come to mind2 neither shall they remember it2 neither shall they miss it2 neither shall it be made any more4#hbf ,doom followed the guilt and folly of king1 priests1 and people4 ,if political wisdom were insufficient to show ,zedekiah that the necessities of the case were an indication of ,god's will1 he had the warnings of the prophets constantly ringing in his ears1 and the assurance that he must remain faithful to ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,but he was in fear of his own princes and courtiers4 ,a combined embassy reached him from the kings of ,edom1 ,ammon1 ,moab1 ,tyre and ,sidon1 urging him to join in a league against ,babylon4#hbg ,this embassy was supported by a powerful party in ,jerusalem4 ,their solicitations were rendered more plausible by the recent accession 7,b4,c4 #eij7 of the young and vigorous ,pharaoh ,hophrah--the ,apries of ,herodotus#hbh--to the throne of ,egypt1 and by the recrudescence of that incurable disease of ,hebrew politics1 a confidence in the idle promises of ,egypt to supply the confederacy with men and horses4#hbi ,in vain did ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel uplift their warning voices4 ,the blind confidence of the king and of the nobles was sustained by the flattering visions and promises of false prophets1 prominent among whom was a certain ,hananiah1 the son of ,azur1 of ,gibeon1 the prophet4#hcj ,to indicate the futility of the contemplated rebellion1 ,jeremiah had made throngs and poles with yokes1 and had sent them to the kings1 whose embassy had reached ,jerusalem1 with a message of the most emphatic distinctness1 that ,nebuchadrezzar was ,god's appointed servant1 and that they must serve him till ,god's own appointed time4 ,if they obeyed this intimation1 they would be left undisturbed in their own lands2 if they disobeyed it1 they would be scourged into absolute submission by the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence4 ,jeremiah delivered the same oracle to his own king4#hca ,the warning was rendered unavailing by the conduct of ,hananiah4 ,he prophesied that within two full years ,god would break the yoke of the ,king of ,babylon2 and that the captive ,jeconiah1 and the nobles1 and the vessels of the ,house of the ,lord would be brought back4 ,jeremiah1 by way of an acted parable1 had worn round his neck one of his own yokes4 ,hananiah1 in the ,temple1 snatched it off1 broke it to pieces1 and said1 ,so will ,i break the yoke of ,nebuchadrezzar from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years4#hcb ,we can imagine the delight1 the applause1 the enthusiasm with which the assembled people listened to these bold predictions4 ,hananiah argued with them1 to speak1 in shorthand1 for he appealed to their desires and to their prejudices4 ,it is always the tendency of nations to say to their prophets1 ,say not unto us hard things3 speak smooth things2 prophesy deceits4 ,against ,hananiah personally there seems to have been no charge1 except that in listening to the lying spirit of his own desires he could not hear the true message of ,god4 ,but he did not stand alone4#hcc ,among the children of the captivity1 his promises were echoed by two downright false prophets1 ,ahab and ,zedekiah1 the son of ,maaseiah1 who prophesied lies in ,god's name4 ,they were men of evil life1 and a fearful fate overtook them4 ,their words against ,babylon came to the ears of ,nebuchadrezzar1 and they were roasted in the fire1 so that the horror of their end passed into a proverb and a curse4#hcd ,truly ,god fed these false prophets with wormwood1 and gave them poisonous water to drink4#hce ,after the action of ,hananiah1 ,jeremiah went home stricken and ashamed3 apparently he never again uttered a public discourse in the ,temple4 ,it took him by surprise2 and he was for the moment1 perhaps1 daunted by the plausive echo of the multitude to the lying prophet4 ,but when he got home the answer of ,jehovah came3 ,go and tell ,hananiah1 ,thou hast broken the yokes of wood2 but thou hast made for them yokes of iron4 ,i have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations1 that they may serve ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,hear now1 ,hananiah1 ,the ,lord hath not sent thee3 thou makest this people to trust in a lie4 ,behold1 this year thou shalt die1 because thou hast spoken revolt against the ,lord4 ,what hath the chaff to do with the wheat8 saith the ,lord4#hcf ,two months after ,hananiah lay dead1 and men's minds were filled with fear4 ,they saw that ,god's word was indeed as a fire to burn1 and as a hammer to dash in pieces4#hcg ,but meanwhile ,zedekiah had been over-persuaded to take the course which the true prophets had forbidden4 ,misled by the false prophets and mincing prophetesses whom ,ezekiel denounced1#hch who daubed men's walls with whitened plaster1 he had sent an embassy to ,pharaoh ,hophrah1 asking for an army of infantry and cavalry to support his rebellion from ,assyria4#hci ,in the eyes of ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel the crime did not only consist in defying the exhortations of those whom ,zedekiah knew to be ,jehovah's accredited messengers4 ,in mitigation of this offence he might have pleaded the extreme difficulty of discriminating the truth amid the ceaseless babble of false pretenders4#hdj ,but1 on the other hand1 he had broken the solemn oath which he had taken to ,nebuchadrezzar in the name of ,god1 and the sacred covenant which he seems to have twice ratified with him4#hda ,this it was which raised the indignation of the faithful1 and led ,ezekiel to prophesy3-- ,shall he prosper8 ,shall he escape that doeth such things8 ,or shall he break the covenant and be believed8 ',as ,i live1' saith the ,lord ,god1 'surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king1 ,whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke1 ,even with him in the midst of ,babylon1 shall he die4'#hdb ,sad close for a dynasty which had now lasted for nearly five centuries6 ,as for ,pharaoh1 he too was an eagle1 as ,nebuchadrezzar was--a great eagle with great wings and many feathers1 but not so great4 ,the trailing vine of ,judah bent her roots towards him1 but it should wither in the furrows when the east wind touched it4#hdc ,the result of ,zedekiah's alliance with ,egypt was the intermission of his yearly tribute to ,assyria2 and at last1 in the ninth year of ,zedekiah1 ,nebuchadrezzar was aroused to put down this ,palestinian revolt1 supported as it was by the vague magnificence of ,egypt4 ,jeremiah had said1 ,pharaoh1 the ,king of ,egypt1 is but a noise or desolation3 he hath passed the time appointed4#hdd ,this was about the year #ehi4 ,in #eih ,nebuchadrezzar had carried ,jehoachin into captivity1 and ever since then some of his forces had been engaged in the vain effort to capture ,tyre1 which still1 after a ten years' siege1 drew its supplies from the sea1 and remained impregnable on her island rock4 ,he did not choose to raise this long-continued siege by diverting the troops to beleaguer so strong a fortress as ,jerusalem1 and therefore he came in person from ,babylon4 ,in ,ezek4 xxi4 #bj-bd we have a singular and vivid glimpse of his march4 ,on his way he came to a spot where two roads branched off before him4 ,one led to ,rabbath1 the capital of ,ammon1 on the east of ,jordan2 the other to ,jerusalem1 on the west4 ,which road should he take8 ,personally1 it was a matter of indifference2 so he threw the burden of responsibility upon his gods by leaving the decision to the result of belomancy4#hde ,taking in his hand a sheaf of brightened arrows1 he held them upright1 and decided to take the route indicated by the fall of the greater number of arrows4 ,he confirmed his uncertainty by consulting teraphim1 and by hepatoscopy--i4e41 by examining the liver of slain victims4 ,rabbath and the ,ammonites were not to be spared1 but it was upon the covenant-breaking king and city that the first vengeance was to fall4#hdf ,and this is what the prophet has to say to ,zedekiah3-- ,and thou1 ,o deadly-wounded wicked one1 the prince of ,israel1 whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end2 thus saith the ,lord ,god1 ',remove the mitre1 and take off the crown4 ,this shall be not thus4 ,exalt the low1 and abase that which is high4 ,an overthrow1 overthrow1 overthrow1 will ,i make it3 this also shall be no more1 until ,he come whose right it is3 and ,i will give it ,him4#hdg ,so 7,b4,c4 #ehg7 ,jerusalem was delivered over to siege1 even as ,ezekiel had sketched upon a tile4#hdh ,it was to be assailed in the old ,assyrian manner--as we see it represented in the ,british ,museum bas-relief1 where ,sennacherib is portrayed in the act of besieging ,lachish--with forts1 mounds1 and battering-rams2 and ,ezekiel had also been bidden to put up an iron plate between him and his pictured city1 to represent the mantelet from behind which the archers shot4 ,in this dread crisis ,zedekiah sent ,zephaniah1 the son of ,maaseiah1 the priest1 and ,jehucal1 to ,jeremiah1 entreating his prayers for the city1#hdi for he had not yet been put in prison4 ,doubtless he prayed1 and at first it looked as if deliverance would come4 ,pharaoh ,hophrah put in motion the ,egyptian army with its ,carian mercenaries and ,soudanese negroes1 and ,nebuchadrezzar was sufficiently alarmed to raise the siege and go to meet the ,egyptians4 ,the hopes of the people probably rose high1 though multitudes seized the opportunity to fly to the mountains4#hej ,the circumstances closely resembled those under which ,sennacherib had raised the siege of ,jerusalem to go to meet ,tirhakah the ,ethiopian2 and perhaps there were some1 and the king among them1 who looked that such a wonder might be vouchsafed to him through the prayers of ,jeremiah as had been vouchsafed to ,hezekiah through the prayers of ,isaiah4 ,not for a moment did ,jeremiah encourage these vain hopes4 ,to ,zephaniah1 as to an earlier deputation from the king1 when he sent ,pashur with him to inquire of the prophet1 ,jeremiah returned a remorseless answer4 ,it is too late4 ,pharaoh shall be defeated2 even if the ,chaldan army were smitten1 its wounded soldiers would suffice to besiege and burn ,jerusalem1 and take into captivity the miserable inhabitants after they had suffered the worst horrors of a besieged city4#hea ,,footnotes3 #hac ,comp4 ,jer4 xxiii4 #f3 ,jehovah-,tsidkenu4 #had ,ezek4 xvii4 #ab-ad4 #hae ,ezek4 xvii4 #a-f4 #haf ,jer4 xxxiv4 #h-aa4 #hag ,jer4 xxxiv4 #ai4 ,comp4 ,gen4 xv4 #ag4 #hah ,this is strikingly shown by his piteous remark to them in ,jer4 xxxviii4 #e4 #hai ,he first sent two of ,jeremiah's friends1 ,elasah and ,gemariah1 the son of ,shaphan4 #hbj ,some critics have doubted the authenticity of ,jer4 li41 lii4 #hba #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #ad-ba2 ,stanley1 ii4 #ebh2 ,milman1 i4 #cid4 #hbb ,shaphan's other sons1 ,gemariah1 ,ahikam1 ,elasah1 and his grandson ,gedaliah1 were friends of ,jeremiah4 #hbc ,ezek4 viii4 #ag4 ,the allusion seems to be to a custom like that of the ,parsees1 who hold a branch of tamarisk or pomegranate twigs 7called barsom7 before their mouths when they adore the sacred fire4 ,strabo1 xv4 #gcb2 ,spiegel1 ,zendavesta1 ii41 p4 lxviii2 ,eran4 ,alterthumsk41 iii4 #ega 7,orelli1 ad loc474 ,lightfoot explains it1 add fuel to their wrath4 #hbd ,ezek4 xvi4 #ae-cd4 #hbe ,jer4 vii4 #d1 #ba-bh1 viii4 #h1 xxiii4 #ca-cc1 xxxi4 #cc1 #cd4 #hbf ,jer4 iii4 #ae1 #af4 #hbg ,jer4 xxvii4 #c4 #hbh ,herod41 ii4 #afa4 #hbi ,psammis1 the son of ,necho1 only reigned six years2 ,hophrah 7,b4,c4 #eid7 was his son4 #hcj ,the ,,lxx4 calls him the false prophet4 #hca ,jer4 xxvii4 #a-h1 #ab-ah4 ,on vv4 #af-bb see the ,,lxx4 #hcb ,here 7,jer4 xxviii4 #aa1 and in xxxiv4 #a1 xxxix4 #e7 the name is written ,nebuchadnezzar2 everywhere else in ,jeremiah it is ,nebuchadrezzar4 #hcc ,part of his dispute with ,jeremiah turned on the recovery or non-recovery of the ,temple vessels4 ,zedekiah is said to have given a set of silver vessels to replace the old ones 7,baruch i4 #h74 #hcd ,jer4 xxix4 #ba-bc4 #hce ,jer4 xxiii4 #i-cb4 #hcf ,jer4 xxviii4 #ac-af1 xxiii4 #bh4 #hcg ,jer4 xxiii4 #bi4 #hch ,ezek4 xiii4 #a-bc4 #hci ,ezek4 xvii4 #be4 #hdj ,josephus rightly attributes the unfortunate career of ,zedekiah to the weakness with which he listened to evil counsellors1 and to the insolent multitude4 #hda #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #ac2 ,jer4 lii4 #c4 #hdb ,ezek4 xvii4 #ae1 #af1 #ah1 #ai4 #hdc ,ezek4 xvii4 #g-aj4 #hdd ,jer4 xlvi4 #ag4 #hde ,another form of belomancy is still commonly practised among the ,arabs4 ,three arrows are placed in a vessel3 on one of them is written1 ,my ,god permits me2 on another1 ,my ,god forbids me2 the third is blank4 ,they are then shaken1 and the decision is guided by the one which falls out first4 ,comp4 ,homer1 ,iliad1 iii4 #caf2 ,speaker's ,commentary1 ad loc4 #hdf ,ezek4 xxi4 #bh-cb4 #hdg ,an allusion to the restoration of ,jeconiah or his descendants1 and to the far-off ,messiah1 meek and lowly4 #hdh ,ezek4 iv4 #a-c4 #hdi ,jer4 xxxvii4 #c4 #hej ,ezek4 vii4 #af4 #hea ,jer4 xxi4 #a-aj1 xxxvii4 #a-ag4 ,josephus says that ,pharaoh was defeated 7,antt41 ,x4 vii4 #c74 ,jeremiah merely says that he and his army returned to their own land4 ,,chapter ,,xxxvii ,,jeremiah ,,and ,,his ,,prophecies ,,jer4 i4 #a-v4 #ca ,count me o'er earth's chosen heroes--they were souls that stood alone1 ,while the men they agonised for hurled the contumelious stone2 ,stood serene1 and down the future saw the golden beam incline ,to the side of perfect justice1 mastered by their faith divine1 ,by one man's plain truth to manhood and to ,god's supreme design4 ,,lowell4 ,truly ,jeremiah was a prophet of evil4 ,the king might have addressed him in the words with which ,agamemnon reproaches ,kalchas4#heb ,augur accursed6 denouncing mischief still3 ,prophet of plagues1 for ever boding ill6 ,still must that tongue some wounding message bring1 ,and still thy priestly pride provoke thy king4 ,never was there a sadder man4#hec ,like ,phocion1 he believed in the enemies of his country more than he believed in his own people4 ,he saw ,too late written upon everything4 ,he saw himself all but universally execrated as a coward1 as a traitor1 as one who weakened the nerves and damped the courage of those who were fighting against fearful odds for their wives and children1 the ashes of their fathers1 their altars1 and their hearths4 ,it had become his fixed conviction that any prophets--and there were a multitude of them--who prophesied peace were false prophets1 and ipso facto proved themselves conspirators against the true well-being of the land4#hed ,in point of fact1 ,jeremiah lived to witness the death-struggle of the idea of religion in its predominantly national character 7vii4 #h-af1 vi4 #h74 ,the continuity of the national faith refused to be bound up with the continuance of the nation4 ,when the nation is dissolved into individual elements1 the continuity and ultimate victory of the true faith depends on the relations of ,jehovah to individual souls out of which the nation shall be bound up4#hee ,and now a sad misfortune happened to ,jeremiah4 ,his home was not at ,jerusalem1 but at ,anathoth1 though he had long been driven from his native village by the murderous plots of his own kindred1 and of those who had been infuriated by his incessant prophecies of doom4 ,when the ,chaldans retired from ,jerusalem to encounter ,pharaoh1 he left the distressed city for the land of ,benjamin1 to receive his portion from thence in the midst of the people--apparently1 for the sense is doubtful1 to claim his dues of maintenance as a priest4 ,but at the city gate he was arrested by ,irijah1 the son of ,shelemiah1 the captain of the watch1 who charged him with the intention of deserting to the ,chaldans4 ,jeremiah pronounced the charge to be a lie2 but ,irijah took him before the princes1 who hated him1 and consigned him to dreary and dangerous imprisonment in the house of ,jonathan the scribe4 ,in the vaults of this house of the pit he continued many days4#hef ,the king sympathised with him3 he would gladly have delivered him1 if he could1 from the rage of the princes2 but he did not dare4#heg ,meanwhile1 the siege went on1 and the people never forgot the anguish of despair with which they waited the reinvestiture of the city4 ,ever since that day it has been kept as a fast--the fast of ,tebeth4 ,zedekiah1 yearning for some advice1 or comfort--if comfort were to be had--from the only man whom he really trusted1 sent for ,jeremiah to the palace1 and asked him in despicable secrecy1 ,is there any word from the ,lord8 ,the answer was the old one3 ,yes6 ,thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the ,king of ,babylon4 ,jeremiah gave it without quailing1 but seized the opportunity to ask on what plea he was imprisoned4 ,was he not a prophet8 ,had he not prophesied the return of the ,chaldan host8 ,where now were all the prophets who had prophesied peace8 ,would not the king at least save him from the detestable prison in which he was dying by inches8 ,the king heard his petition1 and he was removed to a better prison in the court of the watch1 where he received his daily piece of bread out of the bakers' street until all the bread in the city was spent4 ,for now utter famine came upon the wretched ,jews1 to add to the horrors and accidents of the siege4 ,if we would know what that famine was in its appalling intensity1 we must turn to the ,book of ,lamentations4 ,those elegies1 so unutterably plaintive1 may not be by the prophet himself1 but only by his school2 but they show us what was the frightful condition of the people of ,jerusalem before and during the last six months of the siege4 ,the sword of the wilderness--the roving and plundering ,bedouin--made it impossible to get out of the city in any direction4 ,things were as dreadfully hopeless as they had been in ,samaria when it was besieged by ,benhadad4#heh ,hunger and thirst reduce human nature to its most animal conditions4 ,they obliterate the merest elements of morality4 ,they make men like beasts1 and reveal the ferocity which is never quite dead in any but the purest and loftiest souls4 ,they arouse the least human instincts of the aboriginal animal4 ,the day came when there was no more bread left in ,jerusalem4#hei ,the fair and ruddy ,nazarites1 who had been purer than snow1 whiter than milk1 more ruddy than corals1 lovely as sapphires1 became like withered boughs1#hfj and even their friends did not recognise them in those ghastly and emaciated figures which crept about the streets4 ,the daughters of ,zion1 more cruel in their hunger than the very jackals1 lost the instincts of pity and motherhood4 ,mothers and fathers devoured their own little unweaned children4#hfa ,there was parricide as well as infanticide in the horrible houses4 ,they seemed to plead that none could blame them1 since the lives of many had become an intolerable anguish1 and no man had bread for his little ones1 and their tongues cleaved to the roof of their mouth4 ,all that happened six centuries later1 during the siege of ,jerusalem by ,titus1 happened now4 ,then ,martha the daughter of ,nicodemus ben-,gorion1 once a lady of enormous wealth1 was seen picking the grains of corn from the offal of the streets2 now the women who had fed delicately and been brought up in scarlet were seen sitting desolate on heaps of dung4#hfb ,and ,jehovah did not raise ,his hand to save ,his guilty and dying people4 ,it was too late6 ,and as is always the case in such extremities1 there were men who stood defiant and selfish amid the universal misery4 ,murder1 oppression1 and luxury continued to prevail4 ,the godless nobles did not intermit the building of their luxurious houses1 asserting to themselves and others that1 after all1 the final catastrophe was not near at hand4 ,the sudden death of one of them--,pelatiah1 the son of ,benaiah--while ,ezekiel was prophesying1 terrified the prophet so much that he flung himself on his face and cried with a loud voice1 ,ah1 ,lord ,god6 wilt ,thou make a full end of the remnant of ,israel8 ,but on the others this death by the visitation of ,god seems to have produced no effect2 and the glory of ,god left the city1 borne away upon its cherubim-chariot4#hfc ,even under the stress of these dreadful circumstances the ,jews held out with that desperate tenacity which has often been shown by nations fighting behind strong walls for their very existence1 but by no nation more decidedly than by the ,jews4 ,and if the rebel-party1 and the lying prophets who had brought the city to this pass1 still entertained any hopes either of a diversion caused by ,pharaoh ,hophrah1 or of some miraculous deliverance such as that which had saved the city from ,sennacherib years earlier1 it is not unnatural that they should have regarded ,jeremiah with positive fury4 ,for he still continued to prophesy the captivity4 ,what specially angered them was his message to the people that all who remained in ,jerusalem should die by the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence1 but that those who deserted to the ,chaldans should live4 ,it was on the ground of his having said this that they had imprisoned him as a deserter2 and when ,pashur and his son ,gedaliah heard that he was still saying this1 they and the other princes entreated ,zedekiah to put him to death as a pernicious traitor1 who weakened the hands of the patriot soldiers4 ,jeremiah was not guilty of the lack of patriotism with which they charged him4 ,the day of independence had passed for ever1 and ,babylon1 not ,egypt1 was the appointed suzerain4 ,the counselling of submission--as many a victorious chieftain has been forced at last to counsel it1 from the days of ,hannibal to those of ,thiers--is often the true and the only possible patriotism in doomed and decadent nations4 ,zedekiah timidly abandoned the prophet to the rage of his enemies2 but being afraid to murder him openly as ,urijah had been murdered1 they flung him into a well in the dungeon of ,malchiah1 the king's son4 ,into the mire of this pit he sank up to the arms1 and there they purposely left him to starve and rot4#hfd ,but if no ,israelite pitied him1 his condition moved the compassion of ,ebed-,melech1 an ,ethiopian1 one of the king's eunuch-chamberlains4 ,he hurried to the king in a storm of pity and indignation4 ,he found him sitting1 as a king should do1 at the post of danger in the gate of ,benjamin2 for ,zedekiah was not a physical1 though he was a moral1 coward4 ,ebed-,melech told the king that ,jeremiah was dying of starvation1 and ,zedekiah bade him take three#hfe men with him and rescue the dying man4 ,the faithful ,ethiopian hurried to a cellar under the treasury1 took with him some old1 worn fragments of robes1 and1 letting them down by cords1 called to ,jeremiah to put them under his arm-pits4 ,he did so1 and they drew him up into the light of day1 though he still remained in prison4 ,it seems to have been at this time that1 in spite of his grim vaticination of immediate retribution1 ,jeremiah showed his serene confidence in the ultimate future by accepting the proposal of his cousin ,hanameel to buy some of the paternal fields at ,anathoth1 though at that very moment they were in the hands of the ,chaldans4 ,such an act publicly performed must have caused some consolation to the besieged1 just as did the courage of the ,roman senator who gave a good price for the estate outside the walls of ,rome on which ,hannibal was actually encamped4 ,then ,zedekiah once more secretly sent for him1 and implored him to tell the unvarnished truth4 ,if ,i do1 said the prophet1 will you not kill me8 and will you in any case hearken to me8 ,zedekiah swore not to betray him to his enemies2 and ,jeremiah told him that1 even at that eleventh hour1 if he would go out and make submission to the ,babylonians1 the city should not be burnt1 and he should save the lives of himself and of his family4 ,zedekiah believed him1 but pleaded that he was afraid of the mockery of the deserters to whom he might be delivered4 ,jeremiah assured him that he should not be so delivered1 and that1 if he refused to obey1 nothing remained for the city1 and for him and his wives and children1 but final ruin4 ,the king was too weak to follow what he must now have felt to be the last chance which ,god had opened out for him4 ,he could only attain to half-believe4 ,he entrusted the result to chance1 with miserable vacillation of purpose2 and the door of hope was closed upon him4 ,his one desire was to conceal the interview2 and if it came to the ears of the princes--of whom he was shamefully afraid--he begged ,jeremiah to say that he had only entreated the king not to send him back to die in ,jonathan's prison4 ,as he had suspected1 it became known that ,jeremiah had been summoned to an interview with the king4 ,they questioned the prophet in prison4 ,he told them the story which the king had suggested to him1 and the truth remained undiscovered4 ,for this deflection from exact truth it is tolerably certain that1 in the state of men's consciences upon the subject of veracity in those days1 the prophet's moral sense did not for a moment reproach him4 ,he remained in his prison1 guarded probably by the faithful ,ebed-,melech1 until ,jerusalem was taken4 ,let us pity the dreadful plight of ,zedekiah1 aggravated as it was by his weak temperament4 ,he stands at the head of a people determined to defend itself1 but is himself without either hope or courage4#hff ,,footnotes3 #heb ,homer1 ,iliad1 i4 #ajf-aji4 #hec ,but it must not be forgotten that ,jer4 xxxi4 #a-cd is so hopeful that it has been called the ,gospel before ,christ4 #hed ,jer4 vi4 #ad1 viii4 #aa2 ,ezek4 xiii4 #aj4 #hee ,w4 ,r4 ,smith1 ,prophets 7,enc4 ,brit474 #hef ,jer4 xxxvii1 #aa-ae4 #heg ,jer xxxviii4 #e4 ,the ,jewish aristocracy consisted1 says ,grtz1 of three classes3 the ben hammelech1 or king's sons--i4e41 princes of the blood-royal2 the rosh aboth1 heads of the fathers1 or zekenm1 elders2 and the abhod hammelech1 king's servants1 or courtiers 7ii4 #ddf74 #heh ,lam4 v4 #d4 #hei ,jer4 xxxvii4 #ba1 xxxviii4 #i1 lii4 #f4 #hfj ,lam4 iv4 #g1 #h4 #hfa ,lam4 iv4 #aj1 ii4 #bj2 ,ezek4 v4 #aj2 ,baruch ii4 #c4 #hfb ,lam4 iv4 #e4 ,see ,stanley1 ,lectures1 ii4 #dgj4 #hfc ,ezek4 xi4 #bb4 #hfd ,this may possibly be alluded to in ,psalm lxix4 #b4 #hfe ,jer4 xxxviii4 #aj1 ,a4,v41 thirty4 #hff ,van ,oort1 iv4 #eb4 ,,chapter ,,xxxviii ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,jerusalem ,b4,c4 #ehf #b ,,kings xxv4 #a-ba ,in that day will ,i make ,jerusalem a burdensome stone for all nations4--,,zech4 xii4 #c4 ,an end is come1 the end is come2 it awaketh against thee3 behold the end is come4--,,ezek4 vii4 #f4 ,behold yon sterile spot ,where now the wandering ,arab's tent ,flaps in the desert blast2 ,there once old ,salem's haughty fane ,reared high to heaven its thousand golden domes1 ,and in the blushing face of day ,exposed its shameful glory4 ,,shelley4 ,after the siege had lasted for a year and a half1 all but one day1 at midnight the besiegers made a breach in the northern city wall4#hfg ,it was a day of terrible remembrance1 and throughout the exile it was observed as a solemn fast4#hfh ,nebuchadrezzar was no longer in person before the walls4 ,he had other war-like operations and other sieges on hand--the sieges of ,tyre1 ,asekah1 and ,lachish--as well as ,jerusalem4 ,he had therefore established his headquarters at ,lachish1 and did not superintend the final operations against the city4#hfi ,but now that all had become practically hopeless1 and the capture of the rest of ,jerusalem was only a matter of a few days more1 ,zedekiah and his few best surviving princes and soldiers fled by night through the opposite quarter of the city4 ,there was a little unwatched postern between two walls near the king's garden1 and through this he and his escort fled1 hoping to reach the ,arabah1 and make good his escape1 perhaps to the ,wady-el-,arish1 which he could reach in five hours1 through the wilds beyond the ,jordan4#hgj ,the heads of the king and his followers were muffled1 and they carried on their shoulders their choicest possessions4#hga ,but he was betrayed by some of the mean deserters1#hgb and pursued by the ,chaldans4 ,his movements were doubtless impeded by the presence of his harem and his children4 ,his little band of warriors could offer no resistance1 and fled in all directions4 ,zedekiah1 his family1 and attendants were taken prisoners1 and carried to ,riblah to appear before the mighty conqueror4#hgc ,nebuchadrezzar showed no pity towards one whom he had elevated to the throne1 and who had violated his most solemn assurances by intriguing with his enemies4 ,he brought him to trial1 and doomed him to witness with his own eyes the massacre of his two sons and of his attendants4 ,after he had endured this anguish1 worse than death1 his eyes were put out1 and1 bound in double fetters1#hgd he was sent to ,babylon1 where he ended his miserable days4 ,to blind a king deprived him of all hope of recovering the throne1 and was therefore in ancient days a common punishment4#hge ,the ,,lxx4 adds that he was sent by the ,babylonians to grind a mill-- 4 ,this is probably a reminiscence of the blinded ,samson4 ,but thus were fulfilled with startling literalness two prophecies which might well have seemed to be contradictory4#hgf ,for ,jeremiah had said 7xxxiv4 #c71-- ,thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the ,king of ,babylon1 and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth1 and thou shalt go to ,babylon4 ,whereas ,ezekiel had said 7xii4 #ac71-- ,i will bring him to ,babylon1 the land of the ,chaldans2 yet shall he not see it1 though he shall die there4 ,henceforth ,zedekiah was forgotten1 and his place knew him no more4 ,we can only hope that in his blindness and solitude he was happier than he had been on the throne of ,judah1 and that before death came to end his miseries he found peace with ,god4 ,the conqueror did not come to spoil the city4 ,he left that task to three great officers1--,nebuzaradan1 the captain of the guard1 or chief executioner2#hgg ,nebushasban1 the ,rabsaris1 or chief of the eunuchs2 and ,nergalshareser1 the ,rabmag1 or chief of the magicians4 ,they took their station by the ,middle ,gate1 and first gave up the city to pillage and massacre4 ,no horror was spared4#hgh ,the sepulchres were rifled for treasure2 the young ,levites were slain in the house of their ,sanctuary2 women were violated2 maidens and hoary-headed men were slain4 ,princes were hanged up by the hand1 and the faces of elders were dishonoured2 priest and prophet were slain in the ,sanctuary of the ,lord1#hgi till the blood flowed like red wine from the winepress over the desecrated floor4#hhj ,the guilty city drank at the hand of ,god the dregs of the cup of ,his fury4#hha ,it was the final vengeance4 ,the punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished1 ,o daughter of ,zion4 ,he will no more carry thee away into captivity4#hhb ,and1 meanwhile1 the little ,bedouin principalities were full of savage exultation at the fate of their hereditary foe4#hhc ,this was felt by the ,jews as a culmination of their misery1 that they became a derision to their enemies4 ,the callous insults hurled at them by the neighbouring tribes in their hour of shame awoke that implacable wrath against ,gebal and ,ammon and ,amalek which finds its echo in the ,prophets and in the ,psalms4#hhd ,after this the devoted capital was given up to destruction4 ,the ,temple was plundered4 ,all that remained of its often-rifled splendours was carried away1 such as the ancient pillars ,jachin and ,boaz1 the masterpieces of ,hiram's art1 the caldron1 the brazen sea1 and all the vessels of gold1 of silver1 and of brass4 ,then the walls of the city were dismantled and broken down4 ,the ,temple1 and the palace1 and all the houses of the princes were committed to the flames4 ,as for the principal remaining inhabitants1 ,seraiah the chief priest1 perhaps the grandson of ,hilkiah and the grandfather of ,ezra1 ,zephaniah the second priest1 the three ,levitic doorkeepers1 the secretary of war1 five of the greatest nobles who saw the king's face1#hhe and sixty of the common people who had been marked out for special punishment1 were taken to ,riblah1 and there massacred by order of ,nebuchadrezzar4#hhf ,with these ,nebuchadrezzar took away as his prisoners a multitude of the wealthier inhabitants1 leaving behind him but the humblest artisans4 ,as the craftsmen and smiths had been deported1#hhg these poor people busied themselves in agriculture1 as vine-dressers and husbandmen4 ,the existing estates were divided among them2 and being few in number1 they found the amplest sustenance in treasures of wheat and barley1 and oil and honey1 and summer fruits1 which they kept concealed for safety1 as the fellaheen of ,palestine do to this day4#hhh ,according to the historic chapters added to the prophecies of ,jeremiah1 the whole number of captives carried away from ,jerusalem by ,nebuchadrezzar in the seventh1 the eighteenth1 and the twenty-third years of his reign were #d1fjj4hhi ,the completeness of the desolation might well have caused the heart-rending outcry of ,psalm lxxix43 ,o ,god1 the heathen are come into ,thine inheritance2 ,thy holy ,temple have they defiled2 they have made ,jerusalem a heap of stones4 ,the dead bodies of ,thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of heaven1 and the flesh of ,thy saints unto the beasts of the land4 ,their blood have they shed like water round about ,jerusalem2 and there was no man to bury them4 ,among the remnant of the people was ,jeremiah4 ,nebuzaradan had received from his king the strictest injunctions to treat him honourably2 for he had heard from the deserters that he had always opposed the rebellion1 and had prophesied the issue of the siege4 ,he was indeed sent in manacles to ,ramah2#hij but there ,nebuchadrezzar gave him free choice to do exactly as he liked--either to accompany him to ,babylon1 where he should be well treated and cared for1 or to return to ,jerusalem1 and live where he liked4 ,this was his desire4 ,nebuchadrezzar therefore dismissed him with food and a present2#hia and he returned4 ,the ,,lxx4 and ,vulgate represent him as sitting weeping over the ruins of ,jerusalem1 and tradition says that he sought for his lamentations a cave still existing near the ,damascus ,gate4 ,of this ,scripture knows nothing4 ,but the melancholy prophet was only reserved for further tragedies4 ,he had lived one of the most afflicted of human lives4 ,a man of tender heart and shrinking disposition1 he had been called to set his face like a flint against kings1 and nobles1 and mobs4 ,worse than this1 being himself a prophet and priest1 naturally led to sympathise with both1 he was the doomed antagonist of both--victim of one of the strongest of human passions1 the hatred of priests against a priest who attacks his own order1 the hatred of prophets against a prophet who ventures to have a voice and a will of his own4 ,even his own family had plotted against his life at humble ,anathoth2#hib and when he retreated to ,jerusalem1 he found himself at the centre of the storm4 ,now perhaps he hoped for a gleam of sunset peace4 ,but his hopes were disappointed4 ,he had to tread the path of anguish and hatred to the bitter end1 as he had trodden it for nearly fifty years of the troubled life which had followed his call in early boyhood4 ,but1 in the case of ,jerusalem1 says ,dean ,stanley1 both its first and second destruction have the peculiar interest of involving the dissolution of a religious dispensation1 combined with the agony of an expiring nation1 such as no other people has survived1 and1 by surviving1 carried on the living recollection1 first of one1 and then of the other1 for centuries after the first shock was over4#hic ,,footnotes3 #hfg ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 viii4 #b2 #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #e1 xxxiii4 #ad4 ,first and last1 the siege seems to have lasted one year1 five months1 and twenty-seven days4 #hfh ,zech4 viii4 #ai4 #hfi ,the inscriptions of ,nebuchadrezzar which have been as yet deciphered speak of his sumptuous buildings and of his worship of the gods rather than of his conquests4 ,see ,records of the ,past1 vii4 #fi-gh4 #hgj ,robinson1 ,bibl4 ,res41 ii4 #ecf4 ,some suppose that the king's garden was near the mouth of the ,tyropon ,valley4 #hga ,ezek4 xii4 #ab4 ,perhaps the gate alluded to is the fountain gate of ,neh4 iii4 #ae4 ,ezekiel seems to speak of digging through the wall4 ,robinson says that a trace of the outermost wall still exists in the rude pathway which crosses the mouth of the ,tyropon on a mound hard by the old mulberry tree which marks the traditional site of ,isaiah's martyrdom4 #hgb ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 viii4 #b4 #hgc ,traces of his presence are found in inscriptions in the ,wady of the ,dog near ,beyrout1 and in ,wady ,brissa4 ,see ,sayce1 ,proceedings of the ,bibl4 ,arch4 ,soc41 ,november #ahha4 #hgd #b ,kings xxv4 #g4 ,see ,layard1 ,nineveh1 ii4 #cgf4 #hge ,the blinding was sometimes done by passing a red-hot rod of silver or brass over the open eyes2 sometimes by plucking out the eyes 7,jer4 lii4 #aa1 ,vulg4 oculos eruit2 #b ,kings xxv4 #g1 effodit74 ,see a hideous illustration of a yet more brutal process in ,botta 7,monum4 de ,ninve1 ,pl4 cxviii471 where ,sargon with his own hand is thrusting a lance into the eyes of a captive prince1 whose head is kept steady by a bridle fastened to a hook through his lips4 ,see also ,judg4 xvi4 #ba2 ,xen41 ,anab41 i4 #i1 #ac2 ,procopius1 ,bel4 ,pers41 i4 #a2 ,ammianus1 xxvii4 #ab2 ,rawlinson1 ,ancient ,monarchies1 i4 #cjg4 #hgf ,jos41 ,antt41 ,x4 viii4 #b1 #c4 #hgg ,nebur-zir-iddina1 ,nebo bestowed seed4 ,jer4 xxxix4 #i1 #ac1 is in some way corrupt4 ,ezekiel 7ix4 #b71 however1 and ,josephus 7,antt41 ,x4 viii4 #b7 mention six officers4 ,nebuzaradan was chief of the executioners 7,gen4 xxxvii4 #cf2 #a ,kings ii4 #be1 #ce1 #df74 #hgh ,psalm lxxix4 #b1 #c4 #hgi #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #ag2 ,lam4 ii4 #ba1 v4 #aa1 #ab4 #hhj ,to the reminiscences of these scenes are partly due the ,talmudic legend about the blood of ,zechariah1 the son of ,jehoiada1 bubbling up to demand vengeance4 ,nebudchadrezzar slew a holocaust of human victims to appease the shade of the wrathful prophet1 until the king himself was terrified1 and asked if he wished his whole people to be slaughtered4 ,then the blood ceased to bubble4 #hha ,see ,rawlinson1 ,kings of ,israel and ,judah1 p4 #bcf4 #hhb ,lam4 iv4 #bb4 #hhc ,psalm lxxix1 #a4 #hhd ,obad4 #ad-af2 ,psalm cxxxvii4 #g2 #a ,esdras iv4 #de4 #hhe ,comp4 ,esther i4 #ad4 #hhf ,on these personages see #a ,chron4 vi4 #ac1 #ad2 #b ,kings xxii4 #d2 ,ezra vii4 #a2 ,jer4 xxi4 #a1 xxxvii4 #c1 etc4 #hhg ,nebuchadrezzar had no doubt needed them for his great buildings at ,babylon1 and their deportation would render more difficult any attempt to refortify ,jerusalem4 #hhh ,jer4 xli4 #h1 xl4 #ab4 #hhi ,jer4 lii4 #bh-cj4 ,in his seventh year1 #c1jbc2 in his eighteenth1 #hcb in his thirty-third1 #gde #d1fjj4 #hij ,ramah was but five miles from ,jerusalem1 and at first ,jeremiah may not have been identified 7,jer4 xl4 #a-f74 #hia ,the present1 if accepted1 could only be regarded1 under the circumstances1 as part of the necessity of life4 ,it does not fall under the head of the presents often offered to prophets 7#a ,sam4 ix4 #g2 #b ,kings iv4 #db2 ,mic4 iii4 #e1 #aa2 ,amos vii4 #ab74 #hib ,jer4 xi4 #ai-ba1 xii4 #f4 #hic ,stanley1 ,lectures1 ii4 #eae4 ,,chapter ,,xxxix ,,gedaliah ,b4,c4 #ehf #b ,,kings xxv4 #bb-cj ,vedi che son un che piango4--,,dante1 ,inferno4 ,no1 rather steel thy melting heart ,to act the martyr's sternest part1 ,to watch with firm1 unshrinking eye ,thy darling visions as they die1 ,till all bright hopes and hues of day ,have faded into twilight grey4 ,,keble4 ,in deciding that he would not accompany ,nebuchadrezzar to ,babylon1 ,jeremiah made the choice of duty4 ,in ,chalda he would have lived at ease1 in plenty1 in security1 amid universal respect4 ,he might have helped his younger contemporary ,ezekiel in his struggle to keep the exiles in ,babylon faithful to their duty and their ,god4 ,he regarded the exiles as representing all that was best and noblest in the nation2 and he would have been safe and honoured in the midst of them1 under the immediate protection of the great ,babylonian king4 ,on the other hand1 to return to ,juda was to return to a defenceless and a distracted people1 the mere dregs of the true nation1 the mere phantom of what they once had been4 ,surely his life had earned the blessing of repose8 ,but no6 ,the hopes of the ,chosen ,people1 the seed of ,abraham1 ,god's servant1 could not be dissevered from the ,holy ,land4 ,rest was not for him on this side of the grave4 ,his only prayer must be1 like that which ,senancour had inscribed over his grave1 ternit1 deviens mon asile6 ,the decision cost him a terrible struggle2 but duty called him1 and he obeyed4 ,it has been supposed by some critics#hid that the wild cry of ,jer4 xv4 #aj-ba expresses his anguish at the necessity of casting in his lot with the remnant2 the sense that they needed his protecting influence and prophetic guidance2 and the promise of ,god that his sacrifice should not be ineffectual for good to the miserable fragment of his nation1 even though they should continue to struggle against him4 ,so with breaking heart he saw ,nebuzaradan at ,ramah marshalling the throng of captives for their long journey to the waters of ,babylon4 ,before them1 and before the little band which returned with him to the burnt ,temple1 the dismantled city1 the desolate house1 there lay an unknown future2 but in spite of the exiles' doom it looked brighter for them than for him1 as with tears and sobs they parted from each other4 ,then it was that-- ,a voice was heard in ,ramah1 lamentation1 and bitter weeping2 ,rachel weeping for her children refuseth to be comforted1 because they are not4 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ',refrain thy voice from weeping1 and thine eyes from tears3 for thy work shall be rewarded1' saith the ,lord2 'and they shall come again from the land of the enemy4 ,and there is hope for thy time to come1' saith the ,lord1 'that thy children shall come again to their own border4'#hie ,disappointed in the fidelity of the royal house of ,judah1 ,nebuchadrezzar had not attempted to place another of them on the throne4 ,he appointed ,gedaliah1 the son of ,ahikam1 the son of ,shaphan1 his satrap 7pakd7 over the poor remnant who were left in the land4 ,in this appointment we probably trace the influence of ,jeremiah4 ,there is no one whom ,nebuchadrezzar would have been so likely to consult4 ,gedaliah was the son of the prophet's old protector1#hif and his grandfather ,shaphan had been a trusted minister of ,josiah4 ,he thoroughly justified the confidence reposed in him1 and under his wise and prosperous rule there seemed to be every prospect that there would be at least some pale gleam of returning prosperity4 ,the ,jews1 who during the period of the siege had fled into all the neighbouring countries1 no sooner heard of his viceroyalty than they came flocking back from ,moab1 and ,ammon1 and ,edom4 ,they found themselves1 perhaps for the first time in their lives1 in possession of large estates1 from which the exiles of ,babylon had been dispossessed2 and favoured by an abundant harvest1 they gathered wine and summer fruits very much4#hig ,jerusalem--dismantled1 defenceless1 burnt--was no longer habitable4 ,it was all but deserted1 so that jackals and hynas prowled even over the mountain of the ,lord's ,house4 ,all attempt to refortify it would have been regarded as rebellion1 and such a mere lodge in a garden of cucumbers would have been useless to repress the marauding incursions of the envious ,moabites and ,edomites1 who had looked on with shouts at the destruction of the city1 and exulted when her carved work was broken down with axes and hammers4 ,gedaliah therefore fixed his headquarters at ,mizpah1 about six miles north of ,jerusalem1 of which the lofty eminence could be easily secured4#hih ,it was the watchtower from which ,titus caught his first glimpses of the ,holy ,city1 as many a traveller does to this day1 and the point at which ,richard ,i4 averted his eyes with tears1 saying that he was unworthy to look upon the city which he was unable to save4 ,here1 then1 ,gedaliah lived1 urging upon his subjects the policy which his friend and adviser ,jeremiah had always supported1 and promising them quietness and peace if they would but accept the logic of circumstances--if they would bow to the inevitable1 and frankly acknowledge the suzerainty of ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,it was perhaps as a pledge of more independence in better days to come that ,nebuzaradan had left ,gedaliah in charge of the young daughters of ,king ,zedekiah1 who had with them some of their eunuch-attendants4 ,as that unfortunate monarch was only thirty-two years old when he was blinded and carried away1 the princesses were probably young girls2 and it has been conjectured that it was part of the ,chaldan king's plan for the future that in time ,gedaliah should be permitted to marry one of them1 and re-establish at least a collateral branch of the old royal house of ,david4 ,how long this respite continued we do not know4 ,the language of ,jeremiah xxxix #b1 xli4 #a1 compared with #b ,kings xxv4 #h1 might seem to imply that it only lasted two months4 ,but since ,jeremiah does not mention the year in xli4 #a1 and as there seems to have been yet another deportation of ,jews by ,nebuchadrezzar five years latter 7,jer4 lii4 #cj71 which may have been in revenge for the murder of his satrap1 some have supposed that ,gedaliah's rule lasted four years4 ,all is uncertain1 and the latter passage is of doubtful authenticity2 but it is at least possible that the vengeful atrocity committed by ,ishmael followed almost immediately after the ,chaldan forces were well out of sight4 ,respecting these last days of ,jewish independence1 ,history1 leaning semisomnous on her pyramid1 muttereth something1 but we know not what it is4 ,however this may be1 there seem to have been guerilla bands wandering through the country1 partly to get what they could1 and partly to watch against ,bedouin marauders4 ,johanan1 the son of ,kareah1 who was one of the chief captains among them1#hii came with others to ,gedaliah1 and warned him that ,baalis1 ,king of ,ammon1 was intriguing against him1 and trying to induce a certain ,ishmael1 the son of ,nethaniah1 the son of ,elishama--who1 in some way unknown to us1 represented1 perhaps on the female side1 the seed royal#ijj--to come and murder him4 ,gedaliah was of a fine1 unsuspicious temperament1 and with rash generosity he refused to believe in the existence of a plot so ruinous and so useless4 ,astonished at his noble incredulity1 ,johanan then had a secret interview with him1 and offered to murder ,ishmael so secretly that no one should know of it4 ,why1 he asked1 should this man be suffered to ruin everything1 and cause the final scattering of even the struggling handful of colonists at ,mizpah and in ,judah8 ,gedaliah forbad his intervention4 ,thou shalt not do this1 he said3 thou speakest falsely of ,ishmael4 ,but ,johanan's story was only too true4 ,shortly afterwards1 ,ishmael1 with ten confederates1#ija came to visit ,gedaliah at ,mizpah1 perhaps on the pretext of seeing his kinswomen1 the daughters of ,zedekiah4 ,gedaliah welcomed this ambitious villain and his murderous accomplices with open-handed hospitality4 ,he invited them all to a banquet in the fort of ,mizpah2 and after eating salt with him1 ,ishmael and his bravoes first murdered him1 and then put promiscuously to the sword his soldiers1 and the ,chaldans who had been left to look after him4#ijb ,the gates of the fort were closed1 and the bodies were flung into a deep well or tank1#ijc which had been constructed by ,asa in the middle of the courtyard1 when he was fortifying ,mizpah against the attacks of ,baasha1 ,king of ,israel4 ,for two days there was an unbroken silence1 and the peasants at ,mizpah remained unaware of the dreadful tragedy4 ,on the third day a sad procession was seen wending its way up the heights4 ,there were scattered ,jews in ,shiloh and ,samaria who still remembered ,zion2 and eighty pilgrims1 weeping as they went1 came with shaven beards and rent garments to bring a minchah and incense to the ruined shrine at ,jerusalem4 ,in the depth of their woe they had even violated a law 7,lev4 xix4 #bh1 xxi4 #e71 of which they were perhaps unaware1 by cutting themselves in sign of their misery4 ,mizpah would be their last halting-place on the way to ,jerusalem2 and the hypocrite ,ishmael came out to them with an invitation to share the hospitality of the murdered satrap4 ,no sooner had the gate of the charnel-house closed upon them1#ijd than ,ishmael and his ten ruffians began to murder this unoffending company4 ,crimes more aimless and more brutal than those committed by this infinitely degenerate scion of the royal house it is impossible to conceive4 ,the place swam with blood4 ,the story reads almost like a page from the annals of the ,indian ,mutiny4 ,seventy of the wretched pilgrims had been butchered and flung into the tank1 which must have been choked with corpses1 like the fatal well at ,cawnpore1#ije when the ten survivors pleaded for their lives by telling ,ishmael that they had large treasures of country produce stored in hidden places1 which should be at his disposal if he would spare them4#ijf ,as it was useless to make any further attempt to conceal his atrocities1 ,ishmael now took the young princesses and the inhabitants of ,mizpah with him1 and tried to make good his escape to his patron the ,king of ,ammon4 ,but the watchful eye of ,johanan1 the son of ,kareah1 had been upon him1 and assembling his band he went in swift pursuit4 ,ishmael had got no farther than the ,pool of ,gibeon1 when ,johanan overtook him1 to the intense joy of the prisoners4 ,a scuffle ensued2 but ,ishmael and eight of his blood-stained desperadoes unhappily managed to make good their escape to the ,ammonites4 ,the wretch vanishes into the darkness1 and we hear of him no more4 ,even now the circumstances were desperate4 ,nebuchadrezzar could not in honour overlook the frustration of all his plans1 and the murder1 not only of his viceroy1 but even of his ,chaldan commissioners4 ,he would not be likely to accept any excuses4 ,no course seemed open but that of flight4 ,there was no temptation to return to ,mizpah with its frightful memories and its corpse-choked tank4 ,from ,gibeon the survivors made their way to ,bethlehem1 which lay on the road to ,egypt1 and where they could be sheltered in the caravanserai of ,chimham4 ,many ,jews had already taken refuge in ,egypt4 ,colonies of them were living in ,pathros1 and at ,migdol and ,noph1 under the kindly protection of ,pharaoh ,hophrah4 ,would it not be well to join them8 ,in utter perplexity ,johanan and the other captains and all the people came to ,jeremiah4 ,how he had escaped the massacre at ,mizpah we do not know2 but now he seemed to be the only man left in whose prophetic guidance they could confide4 ,they entreated him with pathetic earnestness to show them the will of ,jehovah2 and he promised to pray for insight1 while they pledged themselves to obey implicitly his directions4 ,the anguish and vacillation of the prophet's mind is shown by the fact that for ten whole days no light came to him4 ,it seemed as if ,judah was under an irrevocable curse4 ,whither could they return8 ,what temptation was there to return8 ,did not return mean fresh intolerable miseries8 ,would they not be torn to pieces by the robber bands from across the ,jordan8 ,and what could be the end of it but another deportation to ,babylon1 with perhaps further massacre and starvation8 ,all the arguments seemed against this course2 and he could see very clearly that it would be against all the wishes of the down-trodden fugitives who longed for ,egypt1 where we shall see no war1 nor hear the sound of the trumpet1 nor have hunger of bread4 ,yet ,jeremiah could only give them the message which he believed to represent the will of ,god4 ,he bade them return4 ,he assured them that they need have no fear of the ,king of ,babylon1 and that ,god would bless them2 whereas if they went to ,egypt1 they would die by the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence4 ,at the same time--doomed always to thwart the hopes of the multitude--he reproved the hypocrisy which had sent them to ask ,god's will when they never intended to do anything but follow their own4 ,then their anger broke out against him4 ,he was1 as always1 the prophet of evil1 and they held him more than half responsible for being the cause of the ruin which he invariably predicted4 ,johanan and all the proud men 7zdim7 gave him the lie4 ,they told him that the source of his prophesy was not ,jehovah1 but the meddling and pernicious ,baruch4 ,perhaps some of them may have remembered the words of ,isaiah1 that a day should come when five cities1 of which one should be called ,kir-,cheres 7the ,city of ,destruction7--a play on the name ,kir-,heres1 the ,city of the ,sun1 ,on or ,heliopolis should--speak the language of ,canaan and swear by the ,lord of hosts1 and there should be an altar in the land of ,egypt and a matstsebah at its border in witness to ,jehovah1 and that though ,egypt should be smitten she should also be healed4#ijg ,so they settled to go to ,egypt2 and taking with them ,jeremiah1 and ,baruch1 and the king's daughters1 and all the remnant1 they made their way to ,tahpanhes or ,daphne1#ijh an advanced post to guard the road to ,syria4 ,mr4 ,flinders ,petrie in #ahhf discovered the site of the city at ,tel ,defenneh1 and the ruins of the very palace which ,pharaoh ,hophrah placed at the disposal of the daughters of his ally ,zedekiah4 ,it is still known by the name of ,the ,castle of the ,jew's ,daughters--,el ,kasr el ,bint el ,jehudi4#iji ,in front of this palace was an elevated platform 7mastaba7 of brick1 which still remains4 ,in this brickwork ,jeremiah was bidden by the word of ,jehovah to place great stones1 and to declare that on that very platform1 over those very stones1 ,nebuchadrezzar should pitch his royal tent1 when he came to wrap himself in the land of ,egypt1 as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment1 and to burn the pillars of ,heliopolis with fire4#iaj ,jeremiah still had to face stormy times4 ,at some great festival assembly at ,tahpanhes he bitterly reproached the exiled ,jews for their idolatries4 ,he was extremely indignant with the women who burned incense to the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,the multitude1 and especially the women1 openly defied him4 ,we will not hearken to thee1 they said4 ,we will continue to burn incense1 and offer offerings to the ,queen of ,heaven1 as we have done1 we1 and our fathers1 our kings1 and our princes1 in the cities of ,judah1 and in the streets of ,jerusalem2 for then had we plenty of victuals1 and were well1 and saw no evil4 ,it is only since we have left off making cakes for her and honouring her that we have suffered hunger and desolation2 and our husbands were always well aware of our proceedings4 ,never was there a more defiantly ostentatious revolt against ,god and against ,his prophet6 ,remonstrance seemed hopeless4 ,what could ,jeremiah do but menace them with the wrath of ,heaven1 and tell them that in sign of the truth of his words the fate of ,pharaoh ,hophrah should be the same as the fate of ,zedekiah1 ,king of ,judah1 and should be inflicted by the hand of ,nebuchadrezzar4#iaa ,so on the colony of fugitives the curtain of revelation rushes down in storm4 ,the prophet went on the troubled path which1 if tradition be true1 led him at last to martyrdom4 ,he is said to have been stoned by his infuriated fellow-exiles4 ,but his name lived in the memory of his people4 ,it was he 7they believed7 who had hidden from the ,chaldans the ,ark and the sacred fire1 and some day he should return to reveal the place of their concealment4#iab ,when ,christ asked ,his disciples six hundred years later1 ,whom say the people that ,i am8 one of the answers was1 ,some say ,jeremiah or one of the prophets4 ,he became1 so to speak1 the guardian saint of the land in which he had suffered such cruel persecutions4 ,but the historian of the ,kings does not like to leave the close of his story in unbroken gloom4 ,he wrote during the ,exile4 ,he has narrated with tears the sad fate of ,jehoiachin2 and though he does not care to dwell on the ,exile itself1 he is glad to narrate one touch of kindness on the part of the ,king of ,babylon1 which he doubtless regarded as a pledge of mercies yet to come4 ,twenty-six years had elapsed since the capture of ,jerusalem1 and thirty-seven since the captivity of the exiled king1 when ,evil-,merodach1 the son and successor of ,nebuchadrezzar1 took pity on the imprisoned heir of the ,house of ,david4#iac ,he took ,jehoiachin from his dungeon1 changed his garments1 spoke words of encouragement to him1 gave him a place at his own table1#iad assigned to him a regular allowance from his own banquet1#iae and set his throne above the throne of all the other captive kings who were with him in ,babylon4 ,it might seem a trivial act of mercy1 yet the ,jews remembered in their records the very day of the month on which it had taken place1 because they regarded it as a break in the clouds which overshadowed them--as the first gleam of heaven's amber in the ,eastern grey4 ,,footnotes3 #hid ,so ,grtz and ,cheyne4 #hie ,jer4 xxxi4 #ae-ag4 #hif ,jer4 xxvi4 #bd4 #hig ,jer4 xl4 #ab4 #hih ,some identify it with ,shaphat1 a mile from ,jerusalem4 #hii ,they are called sar 7princes74 #ijj ,there is no ,elishama in the royal genealogy1 except a son of ,david4 ,ishmael may have been the son or grandson of some ,ammonite princess4 ,an ,elishama was scribe of ,jehoiakim 7,jer4 xxxvi4 #ab74 #ija ,the ,hebrew text calls these ten ruffians rabb hammelech1 chief officers of the king of ,ammon4 #ijb ,josephus records or conjectures that the governor was overpowered by wine1 and had sunk into slumber 7,antt41 ,x4 ix4 #b74 #ijc ,in ,jer4 xli4 #i1 for because of ,gedaliah1 the better reading is was a great pit 7,,lxx41 74 #ijd ,ishmael--a marvel of craft and villainy--put into practice the same stratagem which on a larger scale was employed by ,mohammed ,ali in his massacre of the ,mamelukes at ,cairo in #ahjf 7,grove1 s4v4 ,bibl4 ,dict474 ,for the midst of the city 7,jer4 xli4 #g71 we ought to read courtyard1 as in ,josephus4 #ije ,comp4 ,jehu's treatment of the family of ,ahaziah 7#b ,kings x4 #ad74 #ijf ,the dark deed is still commemorated by a ,jewish fast1 as in the days of ,zechariah 7,zech4 vii4 #c-e1 viii4 #ai74 #ijg ,isa4 xix4 #ah-bb4 #ijh ,jer4 ii4 #af1 xliv4 #a2 ,ezek4 xxx4 #ah2 ,jer4 xliii4 #g1 xlvi4 #ad2 ,herod41 ii4 #cj4 #iji ,fl4 ,petrie1 ,memoir on ,tanis 7,egypt4 ,explor4 ,fund1 #dth memoir71 #ahhh4 #iaj ,jer4 xliii4 #ac1 ,beth-shemesh4 ,only one pillar of the ,temple of the ,sun is now standing4 ,it is said to be four thousand years old4 ,it is certain that ,nebuchadrezzar invaded ,egypt and defeated ,amasis1 the son of ,hophrah1 ,b4,c4 #efe1 reducing ,egypt to the basest of kingdoms 7,ezek4 xxix4 #ad1 #ae74 ,three of ,nebuchadrezzar's terra-cotta cylinders have been found at ,tahpanhes4 #iaa ,how far the prophecy was fulfilled we do not know4 ,assyrian and ,egyptian fragments of record show that in the thirty-seventh year of his reign ,nebuchadrezzar invaded ,egypt and advanced to ,syene 7,ezek4 xxix4 #aj74 #iab #b ,macc4 ii4 #a-h2 comp4 xv4 #ac-af4 ,the tradition is singular when we recall the small store which ,jeremiah set by the ,ark 7,jer4 iii4 #af74 #iac ,evil-,merodach 7,avil-,marduk1 ,man of ,merodach7 only reigned two years1 and was then murdered by his brother-in-law ,neriglissar 7,berosus ap4 ,jos43 comp4 ,ap41 i4 #bj74 ,the ,rabbis have a story--perhaps founded on that of ,gaius and ,agrippa ,i4--that ,evil-,merodach had been imprisoned by his father for wishing his death1 and in prison formed a friendship for ,jehoiachin4 #iad ,lifted up his head4 ,comp4 ,gen4 xl4 #ac1 #bj4 #iae ,to be thus 1 or 1 of the king was a high honour 7,herod41 iii4 #ac1 v4 #bd4 ,comp4 ,judg4 i4 #g2 #b ,sam4 ix4 #ac1 etc474 ,,epilogue ,on ,jordan's banks the ,arab's camels stray1 ,on ,zion's hills the ,false ,one's votaries pray1 ,the ,baal-adorer bows on ,sinai's steep2 ,yet there--e'en there--,o ,god1 ,thy thunders sleep4 ,,byron4 ,god1 ,thou art ,love3 ,i build my faith on that4 ,,browning4 ,before concluding ,i should like to add a few words 7#a7 on what some may regard as the too favourable attitude towards what is called the ,higher ,criticism adopted in this book2 and 7#b7 on the deep1 essential1 eternal lessons which we have found in chapter after chapter of it4 #a4 ,as regards the first1 ,i need only say that the one thing ,i seek1 the sole thing ,i care for1 is ,truth1--truth1 not tradition4 ,even ,st4 ,cyprian1 devoted as he was to custom and tradition1 warns us that ,custom without ,truth is only antiquated error1 and that what we believe must be established by reason1 not prescribed by tradition4 ,and it cannot be laid down too clearly that the old view of ,inspiration--which defined it as consisting in verbal dictation1 which made the sacred writers not only the penmen but the pens of the ,holy ,spirit1 and which spoke of every sentence1 word1 syllable1 and every letter of ,scripture as ,divine and infallible--was a dangerous and absolute falsity1 and that any attempt in these days to enforce it as binding on the intellect and conscience of mankind could only lead to the utter shipwreck of all sincere and reasonable religion4 ,not needlessly1 says the learned author of ,italy and her ,invaders--himself an able opponent of many modern conclusions on the subject--should ,i wish to shake even that faith which practically believes that the whole ,bible1 exactly in its present shape1 yes1 almost the ,english ,bible just as we have it1 came straight down from heaven4 ,but we do want to get away from all mere theories as to the way in which ,god might have revealed ,himself1 and to learn as much as we can of the way in which ,he has revealed ,himself in actual fact1 and in real human lives4#iaf ,to do this has been one of my objects in this volume1 and in the preceding volume on the ,first ,book of ,kings4 #b4 ,we have now only to cast one last glance on this book1 and on the lessons which it is meant to teach4 ,consider1 first1 its deep and varied interest4 ,it has the combined value of ,history and of ,biography2 and1 in dealing with both1 its aim is to pass over all minor and earthly details1 and to show the method of ,god's dealings both with nations and with the individual soul4 ,if we look at the book only as a ,history1 it shows us in the briefest possible compass a series of national events of the greatest importance in the annals of mankind4 ,we become witnesses of the fierce occasional struggles between ,israel and ,judah1 and of the constant warfare of both with those wild surrounding nations--the people of ,moab1 and of ,edom1 ,gebal1 and ,ammon1 and ,amalek1 the ,philistines also1 and them that dwell at ,tyre4 ,we watch the indomitable resistance of ,tyre to ,assyria and ,babylon4 ,we see the ,northern ,kingdom of ,israel rise into wealth1 power1 and luxury1 only to sink into deep moral corruption1 until1 at last1 the patience of ,god is exhausted1 and ,he obliterates its very existence in an apparently final and irremediable overthrow4 ,we witness the rise1 culmination1 and fall of ,syria2 the culmination and the crashing overthrow of ,nineveh2 the rise and the splendour of ,babylon4 ,we see the surging tide of the nomad ,scythians and ,cimmerians rise into flood and ebb away with spent and shallow waves4 ,we see the petty fortress of ,zion triumph in its defiance of the mighty hosts of ,sennacherib because it is strong in reliance upon ,god1 and we see it grow faithless to ,god until it succumbs to the captains of ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,again and again we observe that the ,almighty stills the raging of the sea1 the noise of his waves1 and the madness of the people4 ,the conviction is borne upon our soul with overwhelming power1 as we read the pages of ,amos1 of ,isaiah1 and of ,jeremiah1 that1 in spite of all their rage and tumult1 and apparently irresistible dominance1 ,god still sitteth above the water-floods1 and ,god remaineth a ,king for ever4 ,side by side with this spectacle of the dealing of ,god with nations1 in which we see written in large letters1 in characters of blood and of fire1 ,his dealing with guilty nations1 we have abundantly in these chapters the narrower yet more intense interest which arises from the contemplation of human nature--one and the same in its general elements1 but infinitely varied in its conditions--in the lives of individual men4 ,it is revealed to us as in a picture--it is brought home to us1 not by didactic inferences1 but with the silent conviction which springs from the evidence of facts--that wealth is nothing1 and rank nothing1 and power nothing1 but that the only thing of essential importance in human lives is whether a man does that which is good or that which is evil in the sight of the ,lord4 ,good and bad kings pass before us2 and though the best kings1 like ,hezekiah and ,josiah1 were no more free from earthly misfortune than are any of the saints of ,god--though ,hezekiah had to suffer anguish and humiliation1 and ,josiah died in defeat on the battle-field1--yet we are irresistibly led to the belief3 ,say ye of the righteous that it shall be well with him2 for they shall eat the fruit of their doings4 ,woe unto the wicked6 ,it shall be ill with him2 for the work of his hands shall be done to him4 ,we all have a guide in life4 ,we are not left to steer our course even by the stars1 which the clouds of earth may dim4 ,the ship has something on board which points towards the spiritual pole of the universe4 ,i will not venture to call it an infallible guide4 ,it wavers with tremulous sensitiveness2 it may be deflected by disturbing influences2 but still in the main it points with mysterious fidelity towards the pole of our spirits1 even ,god4 ,and what is this compass which we have for our guidance8 ,some would call it ,conscience2 but we call it by a holier name1 and say that even as the needle is acted on by the magnetic current1 so our spiritual compass is the spirit of man acted on by the ,spirit of the living and infinite ,god4 ,the lesson of this book--of every book of biography or of history--is that men are noble and useful in proportion as they are true to that law of an enlightened conscience which represents to them the will and the voice of ,god4 ,ahaziah and ,jehoram of ,judah1 tainted with the blood of ,jezebel1 and perverted by the example of ,ahab1 live wretchedly1 reign contemptibly1 and perish miserably2 while good ,jehoshaphat and pious ,josiah are richly blessed4 ,in the vaunting elation of ,amaziah1 in the blood-stained ferocity of ,jehu1 in the ruthless examples of usurpation and murder set by king after king in ,israel1 and in the consequences which befell them1 we see that fruit is seed4 ,shallum1 ,menahem1 ,pekah1 ,athaliah1 have to pay a terrible price for brief spells of troubled royalty2 and the slow corruption and disintegration of the people reflects the vile example of their rulers4 ,like king1 like people2 like people1 like priest4 ,we look on at a succession of thrilling scenes--the horrors of beleaguered cities1 the raptures of unexpected deliverance1 the insulting vanities of triumph2 we hear the wail that rises from long lines of fettered captives as they turn their backs weeping upon their native land4 ,and we are told strange stories of the deaths of kings4 ,we see the ,king of ,moab sacrificing his eldest son to ,chemosh upon the wall of ,kir-,haraseth in the sight of three invading hosts4 ,we shudder to think of ,ahaz and ,manasseh passing their children through the fire before the grim bull-headed monster in the valley of the children of ,hinnom4 ,we see the two ghastly piles of the heads of young princes on either side the gates of ,jezreel4 ,we see ,jehu driving his fierce chariot over the body of the painted ,tyrian ,queen4 ,we catch a glimpse of the sackcloth under the purple of the ,king of ,israel as he rends his clothes at the horrible cry of mothers who have devoured their babes4 ,we see the child ,joash standing with the high priest in the ,temple amid the blast of trumpets1 while the alien murderess is pushed out and hewn to the ground4 ,we see ,manasseh dragged with hooks to ,babylon4 ,we watch the haggard face of the miserable ,zedekiah as his sons are slaughtered before the eyes which thenceforth are blinded for evermore4 ,we burn with indignation to see the villain ,ishmael close with corpses the well of ,mizpah4 ,but even when the phantasmagoria seems most appalling and most bloody1 we watch the ,day-star from on high begin to shed its glory over the grey east4 ,in due time that ,day-star was to rise in men's hearts and on the world1 with healing in ,his wings2 and we feel that somehow1 beyond the smoke and stir of earth's anguish1 ,god's in ,his heaven1 ,all's right with the world4 ,and like a ,greek chorus amid the agonies of destiny stand the prophets1 those clearest and greatest of moral teachers4 ,they1 in spite of their holiness and faithfulness1 are not exempt from the calamities of life4 ,amos was insulted and expelled by the high priest of ,bethel2 ,urijah was martyred2 ,hosea's prophecy is one long and almost unbroken wail2 ,isaiah was mocked and slandered by the priests of ,jerusalem1 and1 if the tradition be true1 sawn asunder2 ,micah1 though spared1 prophesied under imminent peril2 ,jeremiah1 saddest of mankind1 type of the suffering servant of ,jehovah1 was smitten in the face by the priest ,pashur1 thrust into the stocks for the general derision1 flung into a deathful prison1 let down into a miry well1 hurried into exile1 defied1 denounced1 insulted1 at last in all probability martyred4 ,prophets in general were hated and disbelieved4 ,they were the eternal antagonists of priests and mobs4 ,with priests they had so little affinity1 that when a prophet was born a priest1 like ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel1 he might count on the undying hatred and antagonism of his order4 ,priests1 with scarcely an exception1 under every erring or apostatising king1 from ,rehoboam to ,ahaz1 from ,ahaz to ,zedekiah1 with a monotony of meanness1 did nothing but acquiesce1 careful mainly for their own rights and revenues2 prophets did little but raise1 against them and their party1 an unavailing protest4 ,when1 in the days of the priest-regent ,jehoiada1 the priests had power1 he had made a special ordinance that there should be overseers in the ,temple whose function it should be to put in the stocks and the collar every man that is mad1 and that maketh himself a prophet2#iag and ,shemaiah was quite indignant that there should be any delay in putting this convenient ordinance into force4 ,priests were chiefly absorbed in functions and futilities in the exact spirit of their guilty successors in the days of ,christ4 ,there could be little sympathy between them and the inspired messengers who spoke of such reliance on observances with almost passionate scorn1 and to whom religion meant righteousness towards men and faith in the ,living ,god4 ,this high lesson of ,prophecy came into greater prominence with each succeeding generation4 ,it had been taught by ,amos1 the first of the literary prophets1 with emphatic distinctness4 ,it was summarised by ,hosea in words which our ,saviour loved to quote3 ,go ye and learn what that meaneth1 ,i will have mercy1 and not sacrifice4 ,it had been uttered by ,micah in an outburst of splendid poetry which summed up all that ,god requires4 ,it was reiterated in many forms by ,isaiah and by ,jeremiah in words of richer moral value than all that came from the teaching of the priestly functionaries from the days when ,aaron seduced ,israel with his golden calf till the days when ,caiaphas and ,annas goaded the multitude to prefer ,barabbas to ,jesus1 and to shout of their ,messiah1 ,let ,him be crucified4 ,it was the richest fruit which sprang from the long ,divine discipline of the nation1--the knowledge that outward things are of no avail to save any man2 that ,god requires righteousness1 that ,god looketh at the heart4 ,and the prophets themselves had to learn by the irony of events that no suppression of local sanctuaries under ,hezekiah1 no multiplication of ceremonies and acceptance of ,deuteronomic ,codes under ,josiah1 were deep enough to change men's hearts4 ,isaiah1 like ,amos1 dwells with anger on the reliance upon vain ritual1 which is so cheap a substitute for genuine holiness2 and ,jeremiah1 despairing utterly of that reformation under ,josiah of which he had once felt hopeful1 had to denounce the new reliance on the ,temple and its sacrifices4 ,he ultimately felt no confidence in anything except in a new covenant in which ,god ,himself would write ,his law upon men's hearts1 and all should know ,him from the least even to the greatest4 ,but the ,history of ,prophecy also in this epoch is marked by events of world-wide importance4 ,in the days of ,isaiah we see the change of ,israel from a nation into a church of the faithful1 for which alone he has any permanent hope4 ,in him1 too1 we hear the first distinct utterances of the final form in which should be fulfilled the ,messianic hope4 ,under ,jeremiah there was still further advance4 ,he points1 as ,joel does1 to the epoch of the gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 and shows that ,god does not only deal with men as nations1 or as churches1 or even as families1 but as beings with individual souls4 ,this and much besides we have seen in the foregoing pages1 in which we have endeavoured to point the lessons of the ,books of ,kings4 ,the one main lesson which the narrative is meant to teach is absolute faith and trust in ,god1 as an anchor which holds amid the wildest storms of ruin1 and of apparently final failure4 ,not until we have realised that truth can we hear the words of ,god1 or see the vision of the ,almighty4 ,when we have learnt it1 we shall not fear1 though the hills be moved and carried into the midst of the sea4 ,it is the lesson which gets behind the meaning of failure1 and raises us to a height from which we can look down on prosperity as a thing which--except in fatally delusive semblance--cannot exist apart from righteousness and faith4 ,this is the lesson of life1 the lesson of lessons4 ,if it does not solve all problems on their intellectual side1 it scatters all perplexities in the spiritual sphere4 ,it shows us that duty is the reward of duty1 and that there can be no happiness save for those who have learnt that duty and blessedness are one4 ,and thus even by this book of annals--annals of wild deeds and troubled times--we may be taught the truths which find their perfect illustration and proof in the life and teaching of the ,son of ,god4 ,when those truths are our real possession1 the work of life is done4 ,then ,vigour may fail the towering fantasy1 ,but yet the ,will rolls onward1 like a wheel ,in even motion by the love impelled ,that moves the sun in heaven and all the stars4 ,,footnotes3 #iaf ,t4 ,hodgkin1 ,friends' ,quarterly1 ,september #ahic1 p4 #dja4 #iag ,jer4 xxix4 #be-bg4 ,,appendix ,i ,,the ,,kings ,,of ,,assyria1 ,,and ,,some ,,of ,,their ,,inscriptions4 ,dates from the ,eponym ,canon and the ,assyrian ,monuments2 ,schrader1 ,cuneiform ,inscriptions1 and the ,old ,testament1 ,e4 ,tr41 #ahhh1 pp4 #afg-ahg4 ,b4,c4 #hfj4--,shalmaneser ,,ii4 #hed4--;,battle of ,karkar4 ,war with ,ahab and ,benhadad4 #hdb4--,war with ,hazael4 ,tribute of ,jehu4 #hbe4--,samsi-,ramman4#iah #hab4--,ramman-,nirari4 #ghc4--,shalmaneser ,,iii4 #ggc4--;,assur-dan ,,iii4 #gfc4--;,june #aeth4 ,eclipse of the sun4 #gee4--;,assur-,nirari4 #gde4--,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 #gdb4--;,azariah 7,uzziah7 heads a league of nineteen ,hamathite districts against ,assyria 7874 #gdj4--;,death of ,uzziah 7874 #gch4--,tribute of ,menahem1 ,rezin1 and ,hiram4 #gcd4--;,expedition to ,palestine against ,pekah4 ,tribute of ,ahaz4 #gcb4--;,capture of ,damascus4 ,death of ,rezin4 ,first actual collision between ,israel and ,assyria4 #gbh4--;,hoshea refuses tribute4 #gbg4--,shalmaneser ,,iv4 #gbd4--,siege of ,samaria begun4 #gbb4--,sargon4 ,fall of ,samaria4 #gba4--;,defeat of ,merodach-,baladan4 #gbj4--;,battle of ,raphia4 ,defeat of ,sabaco1 ,king of ,egypt4 #gae4--,subjugated people deported to ,samaria4 ,accession of ,hezekiah4 #gaa4--;,capture of ,ashdod4 #gjg4--;,building of great palace of ,dur-,sarrukin4 #gji4--,sargon expels ,merodach-,baladan1 and becomes ,king of ,babylon4 #gje4--;,assassination 787 of ,sargon4 #gje4--,sennacherib4 #gjd4--;,embassy of ,merodach-,baladan to ,hezekiah4 #gjc4--;,belibus made ,king of ,babylon4 #gjb4--;,construction of the ,bellino ,cylinder4 #gba4--,siege of ,ekron4 ,defeat of ,egypt at ,altaqu4 ,siege of ,jerusalem4 ,campaign against ,hezekiah and ,tirhakah disastrously concluded at ,pelusium and ,jerusalem4 #fha4--,murder of ,sennacherib4 #fha4--;,esar-haddon4 #fgf4--,manasseh pays tribute4 #ffh4--;,assur-bani-pal 7,sardanapalus74 #fjh4--;,death of ,josiah in the battle of ,megiddo against ,pharaoh ,necho4 ,the dates and names of ,assyrian kings as given in ,records of the ,past 7ii4 #bjg1 #bjh7 do not exactly accord with these in all cases4 ,b4,c4 ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii4 #iej ,assur-dan ,,ii4 #icj ,rimmon-,nirari ,,ii4 #iaa ,tiglath-,uras ,,ii4 #hhi ,assur-natzu-pal #hhc ,shalmaneser ,,ii4 #heh ,assur-dain-pal 7a rebel7 #hbe ,samsi-,rimmon ,,ii4 #hbc ,rimmon-,nirari ,,iii4 #haj ,shalmaneser ,,iii4 #gha ,assur-dan ,,iii4 #gga ,assur-,nirari #gec ,tiglath-,pileser ,,iii4 7,pul7 #gde ,shalmaneser ,,iv4 7an usurper7 #gbg ,sargon 7,jareb87 7usurper7 #gbb ,sennacherib #gje ,esar-haddon ,i4 #fha ,assur-bani-pal #ffh 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,destruction of ,nineveh under ,esar-haddon ,,ii41 or ,sarakos #fjf ,,inscription ,,of ,,shalmaneser ,,ii4 ,,on ,,the ,,black ,,obelisk ,,in ,,the ,,british ,,museum#iai ,it begins with an invocation to the gods ,rimmon1 ,adar1 ,merodach1 ,nergal1 ,beltis1 ,istar1 and proceeds3-- ,i am ,shalmaneser1 the strong king1 king of all the four ,zones of the ,sun1 the marcher over the whole world1 444 who has laid his yoke upon all lands hostile to him1 and has swept them like a whirlwind4 ,it tells of his campaigns against the ,hittites etc41 etc4 ,the allusion to ,jehu runs as follows3-- ,the tribute of ,yahua1 son of ,khumri1 silver1 gold1 bowls of gold1 vessels of gold1 goblets of gold1 pitchers of gold1 lead1 sceptres for the king's hand1 staves1 ,i received4 ,this inscription is supplemented by another on a monolith found at ,karkh1 twenty miles from ,diarbekr 7,records1 iii #ha-ajj71 which mentions the battle of ,karkar1 with its slaughter of fourteen thousand of the enemy1 among whom was ,sirlai--i4e41 ,ahab of ,israel4 ,,ii ,,tiglath-,,pileser ,,ii4 7,,circ4 ,b4,c4 #gci7 ,in his ,records he mentions no less than five ,hebrew kings--,azariah1 ,jehoahaz 7,ahaz71 ,menahem1 ,pekah1 ,hoshea--as well as ,rezin of ,damascus1 ,hiram of ,tyre1 etc4 ,his name perhaps means ,he who puts his trust in ,adar4 ,see ,records of the ,past1 v4 #de-eb2 ,schrader1 ,keilinschr41 pp4 #adi-aea2 ,g4 ,smith1 ,assyrian ,discoveries1 pp4 #bed-bhg4 ,unfortunately the inscriptions are very mutilated and fragmentary4 ,,iii ,our chief knowledge of ,,sargon is from the great inscription in the ,palace of ,khorsabad4 ,it is translated by ,prof4 ,dr4 ,jules ,oppert1 ,records of the ,past1 ix4 #a-ba4 ,the king's inscription at ,bavian1 north-east of ,mosul1 is in the same volume1 pp4 #ba-bh1 translated by ,dr4 ,t4 ,g4 ,pinches4 ,see1 too1 id41 vii4 #ba-ef1 xi4 #ae-dj4 ,the ,khorsabad inscription has these passages3-- ,the great gods have made me happy by the constancy of their affection2 they have granted me the exercise of my sovereignty over all kings4 ,he says3-- ,i besieged and occupied the town of ,samaria2 ,i took twenty-seven thousand two hundred and eighty of its inhabitants captive4 ,i took from them fifty chariots1 but left them the rest of their belongings4 ,i placed my lieutenants over them2 ,i renewed the obligations imposed upon them by one of the kings who preceded me4 ,tiglath-,pileser1 whom ,sargon does not choose to name4 ,hanun1 ,king of ,gaza1 and ,sabaco1 ,sultan of ,egypt1 allied themselves at ,raphia to oppose me4 ,i put them to flight4 ,sabaco fled1 and no one has seen any trace of him since4 ,i imposed a tribute on ,pharaoh1 ,king of ,egypt4 ,he tells us that he defeated the usurper ,ilubid of ,hamath1 who had been a smith2 burnt ,karkar2 and flayed ,ilubid alive4 ,he defeated ,azuri and ,jaman of ,ashdod1 and his most persistent enemy1 ,merodach-,baladan1 son of ,jakin1 ,king of ,chalda4 ,he ends with a prayer that ,assur may bless him4 ,,iv ,bellino's ,cylinder comprises the first two years of ,,sennacherib4 ,it is translated by ,mr4 ,h4 ,f4 ,talbot1 ,records of the ,past1 i4 #bb-cb4 ,it was published by ,layard in the first volume of ,british ,museum ,inscriptions1 pl4 #fc4 ,the facsimile of it was made by ,bellino4 ,it begins3-- ,,sennacherib1 the great king1 the powerful king1 the king of ,assyria1 the king unrivalled1 the pious monarch1 the worshipper of the great gods1 444 the noble warrior1 the valiant hero1 the first of all kings1 the great punisher of unbelievers who are breakers of the holy festivals4 ,assur1 my lord1 has given me an unrivalled monarchy4 ,over all princes he has raised triumphantly my arms4 ,in the beginning of my reign ,i defeated ,marduk-,baladan1 ,king of ,babylon1 and his allies the ,elamites1 in the plains near the city of ,kish4 ,he fled alone2 he got into the marshes full of reeds and rushes1 and so saved his life4 7,he proceeds to narrate the spoiling of ,marduk's camp1 and his palace in ,babylon1 and how he carried off his wife1 his harem1 his nobles47 ,we see here an illustration of the vaunting tones of this king which are so faithfully reproduced in #b ,kings xviii4 ,his ,bull ,inscription1 chiefly relating to his defeats of ,merodach-,baladan1 is translated by ,rev4 ,j4 ,m4 ,rodwell 7,records of the ,past1 vii4 #eg-fd74 ,v ,the ,taylor ,cylinder1 so called from its former possessor1 is a hexagonal clay prism found at ,nineveh in #ahcj1 and now in the ,british ,museum 7translated by ,mr4 ,h4 ,f4 ,talbot1 ,records of the ,past1 i4 #cc-ec74 ,the first two campaigns of ,sennacherib are related as on the ,bellino ,cylinder4 ,the ,taylor ,cylinder narrates campaigns of his first eight years4 ,the story of the third campaign narrates the defeat of ,elulus1 ,king of ,sidon2 the tribute of ,menahem1 ,king of ,samaria2 the defeat of ,zidka1 ,king of ,askelon2 the revolt of ,ekron1 which deposed the ,assyrian vassal ,padi1 and sent him in iron chains to ,hezekiah2 the battle of ,egypt and ,ethiopia at ,altaqu 7,eltekon1 ,josh4 xv4 #ei71 and the capture of ,timnath4 ,of ,hezekiah the king says3-- ,and ,hezekiah1 ,king of ,judah1 who had not bowed down at my feet1 forty-six of his strong cities1 castles1 and smaller towns1 with warlike engines1 ,i captured2 #bjj1ejj people1 small and great1 male and female1 horses1 sheep1 etc41 without number1 ,i carried off4 ,himself ,i shut up like a bird in a cage inside ,jerusalem4 ,siege-towers against him ,i constructed4 ,i gave his plundered cities to the kings of ,ashdod1 ,ekron1 and ,gaza4 ,i diminished his kingdom2 ,i augmented his tribute4 ,the fearful splendour of my majesty had overwhelmed him4 ,the horsemen1 soldiers1 etc41 which he had collected for the fortification of ,jerusalem his royal city1 now carried tribute1 thirty talents of gold1 eight hundred of silver1 scarlet1 embroidered woven cloth1 large precious stones1 ivory couches and thrones1 skins1 precious woods2 his daughters1 his harem1 his male and female slaves1 unto ,nineveh1 my royal city1 after me he sent2 and to pay tribute he sent his envoy4 ,he then narrates his fourth1 fifth1 sixth1 and seventh campaigns against ,elam1 etc4 ,his eighth was against the children of ,babylon1 wicked devils1 etc4 ,he ends by describing the splendour of the palace which he built4 ,,vi ,an inscription of ,,esar-,,haddon1 found at ,kouyunjik1 now in the ,british ,museum1 mentions his receipt of the intelligence of his father's murder by his unnatural brothers1 while he was commanding his fathers army on the northern confines4 ,from my heart ,i made a vow4 ,my liver was inflamed with rage4 ,immediately ,i wrote letters1 saying ,i assumed the sovereignty of my ,father's ,house4 ,he prayed to the gods and goddesses2 they encouraged him1 and in spite of a great snowstorm he reached ,nineveh1 and defeated his brother1 because ,istar stood by his side and said to their army1 ,an unsparing deity am ,i 7,records of the ,past1 iii1 #ajj-ajh74 ,,vii ,a terra-cotta cylinder of ,,assur-,,bani-,,pal 7the ,sardanapalus of the ,greeks7 is now in the ,british ,museum4 ,it is translated by ,mr4 ,g4 ,smith1 ,records of the ,past1 i4 #ee-ajf1 ix4 #cg-fd2 ,oppert1 ,mmoire sur les ,rapports de l',egypte et l',assyrie2 and ,g4 ,smith1 ,annals of ,assur-bani-pal4 ,its most interesting parts relate to the campaign of his father ,esar-haddon against ,egypt1 and how ,tirhakah1 ,king of ,egypt and ,ethiopia1 reoccupied ,memphis4 ,he defeated the army of ,tirhakah1 who1 to save his life1 fled from ,memphis to ,thebes4 ,the ,assyrians then took ,thebes1 and restored ,necho's father1 ,psamatik ,i41 to ,memphis and ,sais1 and other ,egyptian kings1 friends of ,assyria1 who had fled before ,tirhakah4 ,the kings1 however1 proved ungrateful1 and made a league against him4 ,he therefore threw them into fetters1 and had them brought to ,nineveh1 but subsequently released ,necho with splendid presents4 ,tirhakah fled to ,ethiopia1 where he went to his place of night--i4e41 died4 ,,footnotes3 #iah ,up to the time of ,tiglath-,pileser ,,ii41 the ,eponym ,year 7which is not here given7 marks the second complete year of each king's reign4 #iai ,this ,shalmaneser died about ,b4,c4 #hbe1 after a reign of thirty-five years 7,sayce in ,records of the ,past1 v4 #bg-db2 ,oppert1 ,hist4 des ,empires de ,chalde et d',assyrie2 ,mnant1 ,annales des ,rois d',assyrie1 #ahgd74 ,,appendix ,,ii ,,inscription ,,in ,,the ,,tunnel ,,of ,,siloam ,the inscription of ,siloam is the oldest known ,hebrew inscription4 ,it is engraved on the rocky wall of the subterranean channel which conveys the water of the ,virgin's ,spring at ,jerusalem into the ,pool of ,siloam4 ,in the summer of #ahhj one of the native pupils of ,dr4 ,schick1 a ,german architect1 was playing with other lads in the ,pool1 and while wading up the subterranean channel slipped and fell into the water4 ,on rising to the surface he noticed1 in spite of the darkness1 what looked like letters on the rock which formed the southern wall of the channel4 ,dr4 ,schick visited the spot1 and found that an ancient inscription1 concealed for the most part by the water1 actually existed there4 ,the level of the water was lowered1 but the inscription had been partly filled up with a deposit of lime1 and the first intelligible copy was made by ,professor ,sayce in ,february #ahha1 and six weeks later by ,dr4 ,guthe4 ,professor ,sayce had to sit for hours in the mud and water1 working under masonry or earth4 ,there can be little doubt that this work is alluded to in #b ,kings xx4 #bj2 #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #cj2 ,isa4 viii4 #f 7the waters of ,shiloah the tunnel8 which flow softly74 ,the alphabet is that used by the prophets before the exile1 somewhat like that on the ,moabite ,stone1 and on early ,israelitish and ,jewish seals4 ,the language is pure ,hebrew1 with only one unknown word--zadah1 in line three3 perhaps excess or obstacle4 ,professor ,sayce thinks that it proves that the ,city of ,david 7,zion7 must have been on the southern hill1 the so-called ,ophel4 ,if so1 the ,valley of the ,sons of ,hinnom must be the rubbish-choked ,tyropon1 under which must be the tombs of the kings1 and the relics of the ,temple and ,palace destroyed by ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,the inscription is3-- ,the excavation6 ,now this is the history of the excavation4 ,while the excavators were lifting up the pick each towards his neighbour1 and while there were yet three cubits to excavate1 there was heard the voice of one man calling to his neighbour1 for there was an excess in the rock on the right hand and on the left84 ,and after that on the day of excavating1 the excavators had struck pick against pick1 one against another1 the water flowed from the spring mts1 exit1 #b ,chron4 xxxii4 #cj to the ,pool 7that of ,siloam1 which therefore was the only one which then existed7 for twelve hundred cubits4 ,and part of a cubit was the height of the rock over the head of the excavators 7,sayce1 ,records of the ,past1 i4 #afi-age74 ,the letters are on an artificial tablet cut in the wall of rock1 nineteen feet from where the subterranean conduit opens on the ,pool of ,siloam1 and on the right-hand side4 ,the conduit is at first sixteen feet high1 but lessens in one place to no more than two feet4 ,it is1 according to ,captain ,conder1 seventeen hundred and eight yards long1 but not in a straight line1 as there are two culs-de-sac1 caused by faulty engineering4 ,the engineers1 beginning1 as at ,mount ,cenis1 from opposite ends1 intended to meet in the middle1 but failed4 ,the floor has been rounded to allow the water to flow more easily4 ,it is a splendid piece of engineering for that age4 ,the ,pool of ,siloam is at the south-east end of a hill which lies to the south of the ,temple hill3 the ,virgin's ,fountain is on the opposite side of the hill1 more to the north1 and is the only natural spring or ,gihon near ,jerusalem1 so that its water was of supreme importance4 ,being outside the city wall1 a conduit was necessary4 ,hezekiah stopped all the fountains 7#b ,chron4 xxxii4 #d7--;i4e41 concealed them4 ,by providing a subterranean channel for them1 he saved them from the enemy and secured the water-supply of the besieged city4 ,,appendix ,,iii ,,was ,,there ,a ,,golden ,,calf ,,at ,,dan8 ,the question might seem absurd1 but for its solution ,i must refer to my paper on the subject in the ,expositor for ,october #ahic4 ,the sole authorities for a calf at ,dan are #a ,kings xii4 #bh-cj2 #b ,kings x4 #bi4 ,if in the former passage we alter one letter1 and read 7the ephod7 for 7the one7--as ,klostermann suggests--we throw light on an obscure and perhaps corrupt passage4 ,the allusion then would be to ,micah's old idolatrous image 7which may have been a calf7 at ,dan4 ,the two words and in ,dan in #b ,kings x4 #bi may easily have been 7as ,klostermann thinks7 an exegetical gloss added from the error of one letter in #a ,kings xii4 #cj4 ,dan was a most unlikely place to select3 for 7#a7 ,it was a remote frontier town2 and 7#b7 there was no room1 and no necessity there1 for a new cultus beside the ancient one established some centuries earlier1 and still served by priests who were direct lineal descendants of ,moses 7,judg4 xviii4 #cj1 #ca74 ,this would further account for the absolute silence of prophets and historians about any golden calf at ,dan2 and it adds to the inherent probability1 also supported by some evidence1 that there were two cherubic calves at ,bethel4 ,for further arguments ,i must refer to my paper4 ,,appendix ,,iv ,,dates ,,of ,,the ,,kings ,,of ,,israel ,,and ,,judah1 ,,as ,,given ,,by ,,kittel ,,and ,,other ,,modern ,,critics#ibj ,,israel ,b4,c4 ,ahaziah #hee-hed ,jehoram #hed-hdb ,jehu #hdb-had ,jehoahaz #had-gig ,joash #gig-gha ,jeroboam ,,ii4 #gha-gdj ,zachariah #gdj ,shallum #gdj ,menahem #gdj-gcg ,pekahiah #gcg-gce ,pekah #gce-gcd ,hoshea #gcd-gbe ,,judah ,b4,c4 ,jehoram ben-,jehoshaphat #hea-hdc ,ahaziah ben-,jehoram #hdc-hdb ,athaliah #hdb-hcf ,joash ben-,ahaziah #hcf-gif ,amaziah #gif-ghc ,amaziah-,uzziah #ghc-gcg ,jotham #gcg-gce ,ahaz #gce-gae ,hezekiah #gae-fhf ,manasseh #fhf-fda ,amon #fda-fci ,josiah #fci-fjh ,jehoahaz #fjh ,jehoiakim #fjh-eig ,jehoiachin #eig ,zedekiah #eig-ehf ,,footnote3 #ibj ,many of these dates can only be regarded as uncertain and approximate4 ,kamphausen dates the commencement of all the latter kings a year later 7,die ,chronologie der hebrischen ,knige1 ,bonn1 #ahhc74 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout4 ,inconsistent hyphenation left as in the original text4 ,missing footnote anchors have been placed1 when possible to determine placement4 ,footnote #aih3 ,greek has been corrected to add accents4 ,footnote #bae3 ,greek has been corrected4