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Jeroboam follows the

I. KINGS, XII.

My little finger shall be thicker than my | Hcb., hardly.
father's loins. (11) And now whereas my
father did lade you with a heavy yoke,
I will add to your yoke: my father hath
chastised you with whips, but I will
chastise you with scorpions.

(12) So Jeroboam and all the people
came to Rehoboam the third day, as the a ch. 11. 11.
king had appointed, saying, Come to
me again the third day. (13) And the
king answered the people 1 roughly, and
forsook the old men's counsel that they
gave him; (1) and spake to them after
the counsel of the young men, saying,

1

Counsel of the Young Men. Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

(16) So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David ? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. (17) But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

(18) Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram,

My father made your yoke heavy, and I end him who was over the tribute; and all Israel

himself.

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authority proudly confident in itself; and trusting to cow by threats the classes long subject to despotic oppression, and despised accordingly by those who wield it. It can succeed only when the popular disaffection is superficial, or when a nation is wearied out with revolutionary fanaticism and failure.

(11) The scorpion is probably (like the Roman flagellum) a whip, the lash of which is loaded with weights and sharp points.

(15) For the cause was from the Lord.-The very idea of the Scriptural history, referring all things to God, necessarily brings us continually face to face with the great mystery of life-the reconcilement of God's all-foreseeing and all-ordaining Providence with the freedom, and, in consequence, with the folly and sin of man. As a rule, Holy Scripture-on this point confirming natural reason-simply recognises both powers as real, without any attempt, even by suggestion, to harmonise them together. It, of course, refers all to God's will, fulfilling or avenging itself in many ways, inspiring and guiding the good, and overruling the evil, in man. But it as invariably implies human freedom and responsibility. Rehoboam's folly and arrogance worked out the ordained judgment of God; but they were folly and arrogance still.

(16) To your tents.-This war-cry was not new. It had been heard once before, during the conflict between Judah and Israel after the rebellion of Absalom, when it was silenced instantly by the relentless promptitude of Joab (2 Sam. xx. 1). Only the last ironical line is added, See to thine own house, David" (which the LXX. explains as Feed, as a shepherd, thine own house, David "). There is perhaps a sarcastic allusion to God's promise to establish the house of David: "Be a king, but only in thine own house!

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(17) The children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah.-The expression is doubly significant. (a) Historically the tribe of Judah had its semidependent tribes-Simeon, already absorbed into Judah; Dan, in great part transferred to the extreme north; and Benjamin, closely united to Judah by the position of

stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. (19) So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. (20) And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that

Jerusalem. All these, it would seem, are here included -so that the territory of the southern kingdom would be really the Judea of later times. In addition to these, we find from 2 Chron. xi. 13-16, that, at any rate after the idolatry of Jeroboam, priests and Levites and other Israelites made their way into the cities of Judah. (b) But, besides this, there may be a significance in the phrase "children of Israel." Although the northern kingdom henceforth inherited the proud title of the kingdom of Israel, the phrase, as here used, is perhaps intended to remind the reader that in Judah also dwelt 'children of Israel "-true descendants of the "Prince of God," and inheritors of the promise.

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(18) Adoram, who was over the tribute (or levy). In 2 Sam. xx. 24, 1 Kings iv. 6, v. 14, we find Adoram (or Adoniram, which is a longer form of the same name) described as holding this office in the later days of David and the reign of Solomon. The Adoram here mentioned must be identical with the officer of Solomon; but, though it is possible, it is not likely that he could have held office in David's time. Probably the name and office were hereditary. The mission of Adoram shows that, too late, Rehoboam desired to deal through him with the grievance of forced labour. But the sight of the man, who had been the taskmaster of their oppression, naturally stirred the multitude to a fresh burst of fury, venting itself in his murder, and perhaps threatening his master also, had he not fled hastily at once to Jerusalem.

(19) Unto this day. The phrase argues the incorporation into the narrative of an older document.

(20) Jeroboam was come again.-The assembly at Shechem probably broke up in disorder, carrying everywhere the news of the rebellion. It would be quite in harmony with Jeroboam's astuteness, if, after setting the revolution on foot, he himself stood aloof from leadership, and waited till" the congregation," the duly summoned assembly, sent for him and offered him the crown. The title "king over all Israel" certainly indicates a claim on the part of the ten tribes to be the true Israel, relying perhaps on the prophetic choice and

Rehoboam Raises an Army, but

I. KINGS, XII.

they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

(21) And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. (22) But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, (23) Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, (24) Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your breth

a ch. 11. 13.

b2 Chron. 11. 2.

blessing of Jeroboam, and professing to have risen in the name of the Lord against the idolatry of Solomon and his house. Perhaps it also indicated a desire for the subjugation of Judah, which Jeroboam, with the aid of Shishak, certainly seems to have subsequently attempted.

(20, 21) In these two verses we have again the same curious juxtaposition of "the tribe of Judah only" and "the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin." The army gathered would be, no doubt, drawn from Solomon's established and disciplined forces, as well as from the levy of Judah and Benjamin generallyperhaps including (as in 2 Sam. xvii. 27) contingents from the tributary races-who would be attached with a strong personal allegiance to the house of Solomon, and prepared to stamp out the rebellion, before it could thoroughly organise itself for disciplined resistance.

(22) Shemaiah the man of God. - From the notices in 2 Chron. xii. 5-8, 15, it would seem that, while Ahijah belonged to Shiloh in Ephraim, and continued to dwell there, Shemaiah was rather attached to Judah, and hence, that his interference to protect the new kingdom was the more striking and unexpected. In this interposition, to which probably the very preservation of Jeroboam's half-formed kingdom was due, there is a fresh indication of the great opportunity given to that kingdom to maintain itself, under the blessing of God and in devotion to His service. The phrase "your brethren, the children of Israel," marks this with much emphasis.

(25) Jeroboam built Shechem.-Shechem had passed through many vicissitudes of fortune. It was already a city when Abraham entered the Promised Land (Gen. xii. 6), and is from time to time mentioned in the patriarchal history (Gen. xxxiii. 18, xxxiv., xxxv. 4, xxxvii. 12, 13). At the Conquest it became a city of refuge (Josh. xx. 7, xxi. 20, 21), and the scene of the solemn recital of the blessings and curses of the Law (Josh. viii. 33-35). From its proximity to Shiloh, and to the inheritance of Joshua, it assumed something of the character of a capital (Josh. xxiv. 1, 32). Then it became the seat of the usurpation of Abimelech, which

me.

is Forbidden by Shemaiah. ren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD. (25) Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. (26) And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: (27) if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. (28) Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem:

allied itself with the native inhabitants of the region; but rebelling afterwards against him, it was destroyed (Judges ix.). We then hear nothing more of it till this chapter, when the tribes assemble at Shechem, under the shadow of the famous hills of Ebal and Gerizim, to meet Rehoboam. Jeroboam is said to have "built it" anew. This may be taken literally, as indicating that it had never recovered from its destruction by Abimelech, or it may simply mean that he fortified and enlarged it as his capital. Subsequently it gave way to Tirzah and Samaria; but its almost unrivalled position preserved it in importance among the Samaritans after the Captivity, even down to our Lord's time, and under the name of Nablous (Neapolis) it has lasted to the present day, while many other cities once famous have passed away.

Penuel. See Gen. xxxii. 30, 31; Judges viii. 8, 17. It lay on or near the Jabbok, on the other side of Jordan, commanding the road from the east by Succoth to the fords of Jordan and Shechem. Jeroboam rebuilt itperhaps out of the ruin in which it had been left by Gideon-as an outpost to his new capital, and a royal stronghold among the tribes on the east of Jordan.

(27, 28) In these verses is recorded the adoption of the fatal policy which has caused Jeroboam to be handed down in the sacred record as 66 'the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." Hitherto his new royalty had been inaugurated under a Divine sanction, both as receiving distinct promise of permanence and blessing (chap. xi. 37, 38), and as protected by open prophetic interference, at the critical moment when its ill-consolidated force might have been crushed. Nor is it unlikely that it may have been supported by a wholesome reaction against the idolatry, as well as against the despotism, of Solomon. Now, unsatisfied with these securities of his kingdom, and desirous to strengthen it by a bold stroke of policy, he takes the step which mars the bright promise of his accession. Yet the policy was exceedingly natural. In Israel, beyond all other nations, civil and religious allegiance were indissolubly united; it was almost impossible to see how separate national existence could have been sustained without the creation, or (as it might seem)

Idolatry of

I. KINGS, XII. "behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought a Exod. 32. 8. thee up out of the land of Egypt. (29) And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other

put he in Dan. (30) And this thing or, went up to the
became a sin: for the people went to altar, &c.
worship before the one, even unto Dan.
(31) And he made an house of high places,
and made priests of the lowest of the 2 or, to sacrifice.

the revival, of local sanctuaries to rival the sacredness of Jerusalem. Nor was the breach of Divine law apparently a serious one. The worship at Dan and Bethel was not the bloody and sensual worship of false gods, but the worship of the Lord Jehovah under the form of a visible emblem, meant to be a substitute for the ark and the overshadowing cherubim. It might have been plausibly urged that, to wean Israel from all temptation to the abominations which Solomon had introduced, it was necessary to give their faith the visible support of these great local sanctuaries, and the lesser " high places" which would naturally follow. But the occasion was the critical moment of choice between a worldly policy-" doing evil that good might come"-and the higher and more arduous path of simple faith in God's promise, and obedience to the command designed to protect the purity and spirituality of His worship. The step, once taken, was never retraced. Eminently successful in its immediate object of making the separation irreparable, it purchased success at the price, first, of destruction of all religious unity in Israel, and next, of a natural corruption, opening the door at once to idolatry, and hereafter to the grosser apostasy, against which it professed to guard. It needed the faith of David-as shown, for example, in the patient acquiescence in the prohibition of the erection of a Temple to be the spiritual glory of his kingdom-to secure the promise of "a sure house, as for David." That promise was now forfeited for

ever.

(28) Calves of gold.-The choice of this symbol of the Divine Nature-turning, as the Psalmist says with indignant scorn, “ the glory of God into the similitude of a calf that eateth hay" (Ps. cvi. 20)—was probably due to a combination of causes. First, the very repetition of Aaron's words (Exod. xxxii. 8) indicates that it was a revival of that ancient idolatry in the wilderness. Probably, like it, it was suggested by the animal worship of Egypt, with which Jeroboam had been recently familiar, and which (as is well known) varied from mere symbolism to gross creature worship. Next, the bull, as the emblem of Ephraim, would naturally become a religious cognisance of the new kingdom. Lastly, there is some reason to believe that the figure of the cherubim was that of winged bulls, and the form of the ox was undoubtedly used in the Temple, as for example, under the brazen sea. It has been thought that the "calves" were reproductions of the sacred cherubim,-made, however, symbols, not of the natural powers obeying the Divine word, but of the Deity itself.

It is, of course, to be understood that this idolatry, against which the prohibition of many sanctuaries was meant to guard, was a breach, not of the First Commandment, but of the Second-that making of "a similitude" of the true God, so emphatically forbidden again and again in the Law. (See, for example, Deut. iv. 15-18.) Like all such veneration of images, it

Jeroboam.

people, which were not of the sons of Levi. (32) And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he 1offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el

probably degenerated. From looking on the image as a mere symbol it would come to attach to it a local presence of the Deity and an intrinsic sacredness; and so would lead on, perhaps to a veiled polytheism, certainly to a superstitious and carnal conception of the Godhead.

(29) Bethel and Dan, chosen as the frontier towns of the kingdom, had, however, associations of their own, which lent themselves naturally to Jeroboam's design. Bethel-preserving in its name the memory of Jacob's vision, and of his consecration of the place as a sanctuary (Gen. xxviii. 19; xxxv. 14, 15)— had been (see Judg. xx. 18, 26, 31; xxi. 2; 1 Sam. vii. 16) a place of religious assembly, and, possibly, of occasional sojourn of the Ark. At Dan, it is not unlikely that the use of the local sanctuary, set up at the conquest of the city by the Danites, still lingered; and from the notice in Judg. xviii. 30, that the posterity of Jonathan, the grandson of Moses, were priests till "the day of the captivity of the land," it seems as if these priests of this old worship became naturally the appointed ministers of the new.

(30) Even unto Dan.-It has been thought that there is here a corruption of the text, and that words referring to Bethel have fallen out. But there is no sign of such variation in the LXX. (which only adds, in some MSS., " and deserted the house of the Lord") or other versions. The reason of the mention of Dan only is probably that there the old sanctuary remained, and the priesthood was ready: hence, in this case, "the people went to worship" at once. The verses which follow describe the erection of a temple and the creation of a priesthood at Bethel, necessary before the inauguration of the new worship at what naturally became the more prominent and magnificent sanctuary. This temple is called a "house of high places," partly perhaps from its actual position, partly to connect it with the use of the high places" condemned in the Law. Indeed, as we have no notice of any time spent in building it, it is possible that some old "high place" was restored for the purpose.

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(31, 32) of the lowest of the people.-This is universally recognised as a mistranslation, though a natural one, of the original, "the ends of the people." The sense is from the whole mass of the people," without care for Levitical descent-the Levites having (see 2 Chron. xi. 13, 14) generally returned into the kingdom of Judah on the establishment of this idolatry. It is hardly likely that the king would have lacked persons of the higher orders for his new priesthood. It is said that this was done "at Bethel," probably because at Dan an unauthorised Levitical priesthood was (as has been said) forthcoming.

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(32) In the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month . . .-The feast that was in Judah," to which this is said to be like, is clearly the Feast of Tabernacles, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The fixing of Jeroboam's festival of dedication for the Temple at Bethel to this special day

The Prophecy against

I. KINGS, XIII.

the Altar at Bethel.

the priests of the high places which he 1 Or, went up to the said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD;

had made. (33) So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of

altar, &c.

and

Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, "Josiah by name; upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon

his own heart; and ordained a feast 2 Heb., to burn in thee, and men's bones shall be burnt

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is characteristic. It at once challenged likeness to the Feast of Tabernacles, which was (see chap. viii. 2) the occasion of Solomon's dedication at Jerusalem, and yet took liberty to alter the date, and fix it in the month" which he had devised of his own heart," thus assuming the right to set aside the letter of the old law, while professing still to observe the worship of Jehovah.

Offered-or (see margin) went up-upon the altar.-The expression seems to imply that he ventured on a still greater innovation by taking on himself both functions of the priestly office-to offer sacrifice and (see verse 33) to burn incense. This is not, indeed, necessarily implied; for (see chap. viii. 63) the sacrificer is often said to offer, when he evidently does so only through the priests. But Jeroboam had set aside the peculiar sanctity of the Levitical priesthood already; and so was very naturally prepared to crown this process by acting as head of the unauthorised priesthood which he had created. Perhaps he had witnessed the exclusive prominence of Solomon at the great dedication festival, and desired to imitate and outdo it.

(33) So he offered upon the altar.-The repetition of this verse is accounted for by its belonging properly in sense to the next chapter, opening the story of the mission of the "man of God from Judah." The idea of the verse would be best conveyed by rendering the verbs of this verse in the imperfect tense: "So Jeroboam was offering," &c.

XIII.

In this history, as in that of Elijah and Elisha, the compiler clearly draws from prophetic traditions or records. Here, accordingly, as there, the character of the narrative changes, and becomes full of graphic vividness and spiritual significance. In 2 Chron. ix. 29 we read of the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat." It is natural to conjecture that from these this record is drawn.

(1) A man of God out of Judah.-Josephus calls him Jadon (Iddo); but from 2 Chron. xiii. 22 it appears that Iddo was the chronicler of the reign of Abijah, and must, therefore, have lived till near the close of Jeroboam's reign. Probably the tradition came from a mistaken interpretation of the "visions of Iddo against Jeroboam."

By the word of the Lord.-A weak rendering of the original," in the word of the Lord." The constantly recurring prophetic phrases are, "the word of

upon thee. (3) And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

(4) And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold

the Lord came to me," and "the Spirit of the Lord was upon me," enabling, or forcing, to declare it. The original phrase here implies both. The prophet came clothed in the inspiration of the word put into his mouth.

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(2) Thus saith the Lord.-This is one of those rather unfrequent prophecies found in Holy Scripture, which, not content to foreshadow the future in general outline, descend to striking particularity of detail. It has been indeed suggested that the words "Josiah by name are a marginal gloss which has crept into the text, or the insertion of the chronicler writing after the event, and not a part of the original prophetic utterance. The latter supposition is in itself not unlikely. But the mention of the name in prediction is exemplified in the well-known reference to Cyrus in Isa. xliv. 28; and in this instance, as perhaps also in that, the name is significant (for Josiah means one healed" or "helped by Jehovah "), and is not, therefore, a mere artificial detail. The particularity of prediction, which is on all hands recognised as exceptional, will be credible or incredible to us, according to the view which we take of the nature of prophetic prediction. If we resolve it into the intuitive sagacity of an inspired mind forecasting the future, because it sees more clearly than ordinary minds the germs of that future in the present, the particularity must seem incredible. If, on the other hand, we believe it to be the supernatural gift of a power to enter, in some measure, into "the mind of God," in whose foreknowledge all the future is already seen and ordained, then it will be to us simply unusual, but in no sense incredible, that from time to time foreknowledge of details, as well as generalities, should be granted. It is beyond controversy that the latter view is the one put forward in Holy Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New. Prophecy is, indeed, something higher and greater than supernatural prediction; but it claims to include such prediction, both as a test of mission from God, and as a necessary part of its revelation of the dispensations of God. On the fulfilment of this prediction, see 2 Kings xxiii. 15—20.

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on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. (5) The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given. by the word of the LORD. (6) And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.

The Prophet is tempted.

no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. (10) So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.

(11) Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. (12) And

And the man of God besought the Heb, the face of their father said unto them, What way

LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. (7) And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. (8) And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place (9) for so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat

the Lord.

ing of the king's hand, stretched out in defiance of the prophet-an equally plain symbol of the miserable failure of his strength and policy, when opposed to the Law and the judgment of God. It should be noted that the withdrawal of this last sign of wrath, on the submission of the king and the prayer of the prophet, was apparently designed to give Jeroboam one more opportunity of repentance. The last verses of the chapter (verses 33, 34) seem to imply that, but for the interposition of the old prophet of Bethel, he might still have taken that opportunity.

(7) Come home with me.

-The invitation may have been in part the mark of some impression made on the king, and an impulse of gratitude for the restoration of his withered hand. Such was the request of Naaman to Elisha (2 Kings v. 15), though even this was emphatically refused. But it still savours of astute policy in Jeroboam for the acceptance of hospitality and reward would in the eyes of the people imply a condonation of the idolatrous worship, which might well destroy or extenuate the impression made by the prophet's prediction. It indicates also-what experience of such men as "the old prophet" would have produced a low idea of prophetic character and mission, not unlike that which is shown in Balak's treatment of Balaam. That such conceptions are perfectly compatible with a certain belief in the reality of a supernatural power in the prophet-although they, of course, derogate from its true sacredness-the monstrous request of Simon Magus (in Acts viii. 19) shows with the most startling clearness. It was evidently to provide against these things-as fatal to the effectiveness of the prophet's mission-that the prohibition of verse 9 was given; nor could its general purpose have been easily misunderstood, either by the king or by the prophet himself. It is a curious coincidence that in his refusal he uses words strangely like the reluctant refusal of Balak's offer by Balaam (Num. xxii. 18). The very strength of the language is suspicious.

went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. (13) And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, (14) and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. (15) Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. (16) And

(9) Nor turn again . -The significance of this command is less obvious. It may have meant that he should not suffer the way of his return (which would clearly not be the obvious way) to be known, but should vanish swiftly, like the messenger of Elisha to Jehu (2 Kings ix. 3, 10), when his work was done. If so, his neglect of the spirit of the command was the first step in the way of his destruction.

(11) An old prophet in Beth-el.-The narrative clearly implies-and, indeed, part of its most striking instructiveness depends on this-that this old prophet was not a mere pretender to prophetic inspiration, nor an apostate from the worship of Jehovah. Like Balaam, he united true prophetic gifts with a low worldliness of temper, capable on occasion of base subterfuge and deceit. Such union of elements, which should be utterly discordant, is only too characteristic of man's self-contradictory nature. He had thrown in his lot with Jeroboam's policy, which did not want plausible grounds of defence: in spite of this adhesion, he desired to continue still a prophet of the Lord, and to support the king's action by prophetic influence. It has been noticed that, after the maintenance of the idolatry of Beth-el, even the true prophets did not break off their ministry to the kingdom of Israel, and that, indeed, they never appeared in open hostility to that kingdom, till the introduction of Baal worship. But their case is altogether different from that of the old prophet. He deliberately supports the idolatry, and that by the worst of falsehoods-a falsehood in the name of God. They rebuke the sin (see chap. xiv. 9), but do not forsake their ministry to the sinner.

(14) An oak.-Properly, the oak, or terebinth; supposed to be known in that comparatively treeless country, like the oak at Shechem (Gen. xxxv. 4, 8; Josh. xxiv. 26; Judg. ix. 6), the oak at Ophrah (Judg. vi. 11), and the palm-tree of Deborah (Judg. iv. 5). This expression is an evident mark of the antiquity of the document from which the history is taken. It has been suggested that the narrative implies a needless

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