days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. (16) And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. (17) And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. (18) And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died, (19) for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. (20) Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his

Building of Samaria.

(16) Made Omri king. This exaltation of Omri, as a matter of course, shows how entirely the kingdom of Israel had become the prize of the sword. By a curious coincidence (see chap. xv. 27) the dynasty of Baasha had been founded in the camp before the same city of Gibbethon. Zimri's conspiracy appears to have been hastily planned, with no provision of adequate means of support; for Tirzah is taken at once.

(18) The palace of the king's house. - The same phrase is found in 2 Kings xv. 25. The word here rendered "palace" evidently means (as is clear from its derivation) "the high place," or "citadel," of the building. Some render it the "harem," with which the curious rendering (avrpov) of the LXX.signifying properly a cave or "lurking-place "-may perhaps, agree. But this is not suggested by the word itself. This desperate act of Zimri, which has many parallels in Eastern history, seems to indicate that there was held to be something especially treasonable, and therefore unpardonable, in his assassination of Elah. (See verse 20, and 2 Kings ix. 31.)

(19) In walking in the way of Jeroboam.The use here of this constantly-recurring phrase probably indicates only the historian's sense of the curse lying on the whole kingdom from its idolatry, which Zimri did not attempt to repudiate; unless, perhaps, his conspiracy had clothed itself under pretence of a righteous zeal for the fulfilment of the prophecy of Jehu (verses 3, 4), and had thrown off the religious pretence after the deed was done. For except in this way, he had no time for "walking in the way of Jeroboam.'

(21) Tibni.-Of him we know nothing. No doubt he also was a military chief-possibly Zimri's colleague, under the supreme command of Omri-and the LXX. speaks of a brother, Joram, who fought and fell with him. There is an ominous significance in the terse description of the alternatives of fortune in this internecine struggle, "so Tibni died, and Omri reigned." By comparison of verse 23 with verse 15, it appears that the struggle had lasted four years.

(23) Began Omri to reign over Israel.-The accession of Omri after this long civil war opened a new epoch of more settled government and prosperity

(23) In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. (24) And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, 1Samaria. (25) But Omri

for about forty-eight years. Omri had (as appears from chap. xx. 34) to purchase peace with Syria by some acknowledgment of sovereignty and cession of cities. He then allied himself with the royal house of Tyre, probably both for strength against Syria, and for revival of the commercial prosperity of the days of Solomon, and proceeded to found a new capital in a strong position. That he was a warrior is indicated by the phrase, "the might that he shewed." Probably, like Jeroboam and Baasha, he also had his opportunity of restoring the spiritual strength of his people by returning to the pure worship of God, and threw it away, doing "worse than all who were before him.'

(24) Built on the hill.-Omri only followed the usual practice of a new dynasty in the East, of which Jeroboam had set an example at Shechem, and probably Baasha at Tirzah. Possibly the seeds of disaffection may have still lurked in Tirzah, the place of Zimri's conspiracy, and (as has been conjectured) of Tibni's rival power. But the site of Samaria must have been chosen by a soldier's eye. Its Hebrew name (Shomerôn) means a "watch-tower," and may well have had a double derivation, from its natural position, as well as from its owner's name. Its position was one of great beauty, and, in the warfare of those days, of singular strength, as is shown by the long sieges which it withstood (1 Kings xx. 1; 2 Kings vi. 24, xvii. 5, xviii. 9, 10). It lay north-west of Shechem, on an isolated hill with precipitous sides, rising in the middle of a basin of the hills of Ephraim, not far from the edge of the maritime plain, and commanding a view of the sea. Its history vindicated the sagacity of its founder. Even after its destruction and depopulation by the Assyrians, it seems to have revived, for Alexander took it on his invasion of Palestine, and placed a Greek colony there. Again destroyed by John Hyrcanus, it was rebuilt by Herod, and called Sebaste, in honour of Augustus. In the Assyrian inscriptions it is known as Beth-Khumri ("the house of Omri ").

(25) Did worse than all that were before him. This phrase, used of Jeroboam in chap. xiv. 9, may indicate, in addition to the acceptance and development of the old idolatry, some anticipation of the

wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before (26) For he walked in all the way

him.

wicked Reign.

worse idolatry of Baal, formally introduced by Ahab. The "statutes of Omri" are referred to by Micah (chap. vi. 16) in parallelism with the "works of the house of Ahab," as the symbol of hardened and hopeless apostasy.

(31) Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians.-The mention of Ethbaal, clearly the Eithobalus of Menander (see Jos. against Apion i. 18), affords another comparison of Israelite with Tyrian history. He is said to have assassinated Pheles, king of Tyre, within fifty years after the death of Hiram, and to have founded a new dynasty. He was a priest of Astarte, and it is notable that he is called, not, like Hiram, "king of Tyre," but "king of the Sidonians," thus reviving the older name of "the great Zidon," which had been superseded by Tyre. His priestly origin, and possibly also this revival of the old ideas and spirit of the Phoenician race, may account for the fanatic devotion to Baal visible in Jezebel and Athaliah, which stands in marked contrast with the religious attitude of Hiram (1 Kings v. 7; 2 Chron. ii. 12). The marriage of Ahab with Jezebel was evidently the fatal turning-point in the life of a man physically brave, and possibly able as a ruler, but morally weak, impressible in turn both by good and by evil. The history shows again and again the contrast of character (which it is obvious to compare with the contrast between Shakespeare's Macbeth and Lady Macbeth), and the almost complete supremacy of the strong relentless nature of Jezebel.

2. The Baal here referred to is, of course, the Zidonian god, worshipped as the productive principle in nature, in conjunction with Astarte, the female or receptive principle. The name itself only signifies "Lord" (in which sense, indeed, it is applied, in Hosea ii. 16, to Jehovah Himself), and is marked as being a mere title, by the almost invariable prefix of the article. Being, therefore, in no sense distinctive, it may be, and is, applied to the supreme god of various mythologies. Thus we find that in Scripture the plural Baalim is first used, of "the gods many and lords many" of Canaanitish worship (see Judges ii. 11, iii. 7, x. 6;

1 Sam. vii. 4); and we have traces of the same vague use in the Baal-peor of Numbers xxv., the Baal-berith of Judges viii. 33, ix. 4, the Baal-zebub of 2 Kings i. 2, 3, and in the various geographical names having the prefix Baal. The worship of the Phoenician Baalvariously represented, sometimes as the Sun, sometimes as the planet Jupiter, sometimes half-humanised as the "Tyrian Hercules "- -was now, however, introduced on a great scale, with profuse magnificence of worship, connected with the Asherah ("grove "), which in this case, no doubt, represented the Phoenician Astarte, and enforced by Jezebel with a high hand, not without persecution of the prophets of the Lord. The conflict between it and the spiritual worship of Jehovah became now a conflict of life and death.

(34) Did Hiel . . . build Jericho.-This marks both the growth of prosperity and power, and the neglect of the old curse of Joshua (Josh, vi. 26). The place had not, it would appear, been entirely deserted. (See Judges iii. 13; 2 Sam. x. 5.) But it was now made -what it continued to be even down to the time of Herod-an important place. Its natural advantages were great. It stood in a position well watered, and accordingly of great beauty and fruitfulness ("the city of palm trees"), and was, moreover, a city of military consequence, as commanding the pass from the valley of the Jordan to the high ground of Ai and Bethel. Having been assigned to Benjamin (Josh. xviii. 21), it should have properly belonged to the kingdom of Judah. Its being rebuilt by a Bethelite, evidently under the patronage of Ahab, is one of the indications of a half-dependent condition of the Southern kingdom at this time.

XVII.

With this chapter begins the third section of the book, marked by a complete change in the character of the history. Drawn evidently not from official annals, but from records of the lives of the last of the elder line of prophets, Elijah and Elisha-probably preserved in the prophetic schools-it becomes detailed and graphic, full of a spiritual beauty and instructiveness,

Elijah fed

by Ravens.

God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. (6) And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the

and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. (4) And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

(5) So he went and did according

of days.

which have stamped it on the imagination of all succeeding ages. The two great prophets themselves stand out as two distinct types of the servants of God. Elijah's mission, one of narrow and striking intensity, is embodied in his name—“ My God is Jehovah.' Appearing at the great crisis of the conflict against the sensual and degrading Baal-worship, he is not a teacher or a law-giver, or a herald of the Messiah, but simply a warrior of God, bearing witness for Him by word and by deed, living a recluse ascetic life, and suddenly emerging from it again and again to strike some special blow. The "spirit of Elias," well expressing itself in the indignant expostulation at Mount Carmel, has become proverbial for its stern and fiery impatience of evil, wielding the sword of vengeance in the slaughter at the Kishon, and calling down fire from heaven to repel the attack of earthly force. It is high and noble, but not the highest spirit of all. It breathes the imperfection of the ancient covenant, adapted to the "hardness of men's hearts," leading to alternations of impetuosity and despondency, but doing the special work as, perhaps, no calm and well-balanced character could have done. Elisha builds on the ground which Elijah had cleared, filling a place hardly equalled since the days of Samuel, as a teacher and guide both of king and people. His very miracles, with one exception, are miracles of kindliness and mercy, helping the common life from which Elijah held aloof. It is impossible not to see in him a true, though imperfect type, of the greater than Elias, who was to come.

Chapter xvii. contains the one scene of domestic affection and rest in the stormy career of Elijah. Its abrupt beginning--though it suits well the suddenness of the appearances of Elijah-is probably due to quotation of some original document.

(1) Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead. The most probable rendering of this disputed passage is that of the LXX., and virtually of Josephus, "Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead," the last words being added to distinguish the place from a Tishbe (or Thisbe) in Naphtali, referred to, though the reading is rather doubtful, in Tobit i. 2. The word here rendered "inhabitants" (properly "sojourners") is evidently of the same derivation as the word rendered "Tishbite." The only alternative would be to render "the stranger of the strangers of Gilead," which has been adopted by some, as suggesting a startling and impressive origin of the great prophet. But it is doubtful whether the Hebrew will bear it.

Gilead-properly "the rocky region" that lay on the east of Jordan, between the Hieromax and the valley of Heshbon (although the name is often more widely used). Open to the desert on the east, and

(7) And it came to pass 1after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

(8) And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, (9) Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and

itself comparatively wild, with but few cities scattered through it, it suited well the recluse dweller in the wilderness.

The Lord God of Israel before whom I stand. This adjuration (repeated in xviii. 15, and with some alteration by Elisha in 2 Kings iii. 14; v. 16) is characteristic. Elijah is the servant of God, standing to be sent whither He wills.

This is evidently not the first appearance of Elijah. In James v. 17, the withholding of rain, foretold again and again as a penalty on apostasy (see Lev. xxvi. 19, Deut. xi. 17; and comp. 1 Kings viii. 35), is noted as an answer to the prophet's prayer, calling down judg. ment on the land. Evidently there had been a struggle against the Baal-worship of the time, and, no doubt, previous warnings from Elijah or from some one of the murdered prophets. This chapter introduces us suddenly to the catastrophe.

(3) The brook Cherith-properly "the torrent (or valley) Cherith, facing the Jordan; " evidently one of the ravines running into the Jordan valley; probably on the east from the prophet's own land of Gilead.

mer

(4) The ravens. Of the accuracy of this rendering, which is that of almost all the ancient versions and of Josephus, there can be little doubt. The singularly prosaic interpretations, substituted for this striking and significant record of miracle by some ancient and modern writers (adopting slight variations of the Hebrew vowel points) such as "Arabs," 66 chants," "inhabitants of a city Orbi or the rock Oreb”— seem to have arisen simply from a desire to get rid of what seemed a strange miracle, at the cost (be it observed) of substituting for it a gross improbability; for how can it be supposed that such regular sustenance by human hands of the persecuted prophet could have gone on in the face of the jealous vigilance of the king? But it is idle to seek to explain away one wonder in a life and an epoch teeming with miracles. It is notable, indeed, that the critical period of the great Baal apostasy, and of the struggle of Elijah and Elisha against it, is the second great epoch of recorded miracle in the Old Testament-the still more critical epoch of Moses and Joshua being the first. It is hardly less idle to determine that this or that miracle is so improbable, as to introduce any difficulty of acceptance which does not apply to miracles in general.

(9) Zarephath-the Sarepta of the LXX. and of the New Testament (Luke iv. 26). It is said by Josephus to have lain between Tyre and Sidon, and by St. Jerome to have been on the great coast-road. Hence it has been identified with a modern village, Surafend, in that position. The words, "which belongeth to Zidon," appear to be emphatic, marking the striking providence of God, which, when the land of Israel was

Elijah meets

Obadiah

the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

CHAPTER XVIII.-(1) And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. (2) And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.

(3) And Ahab called 1Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: (4) for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by

fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. (6) So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

(7) And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? (8) And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. (9) And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? (10) As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to

up is made distinctly conditional on prayer, "the Lord heard the voice of Elijah."

(24) Now by this I know .-In these words we trace the final victory of faith, brought out by the crowning mercy of the restoration of her son. First, the widow had spoken of Jehovah from without, as "the Lord thy God" (verse 14); next, had come to recognise Him as God (verse 18); now she not only believes, as she had never believed before, that His servant is "a man of God"; but, in accepting the 'word of Jehovah" in his mouth as "the truth,' seems undoubtedly to express conversion to Him. (Compare the stages of faith in the nobleman at Capernaum, John iv. 47, 50, 53.)

66

XVIII.

In this and the succeeding chapter we pass from the domestic and peaceful simplicity of the quiet refuge at Zarephath to a grand description, first, of the struggle and victory of the great warrior of God, then of his momentary failure and rebukebrought out to our generation with fresh dramatic beauty by the glorious music in which it has been clothed by the genius of Mendelssohn. The narrative of this chapter, full of picturesque vividness and graphic touches of detail, shows in every line the record of an eye-witness of facts; yet, like all great historical scenes, it is symbolical, typifying the victorious conflict of unaided simple spiritual power against the pomp and material force of the world, of the one man who knows and feels his mission from God against the many, only half persuaded of their superstitions, and of the religion of the God of righteousness and truth against the base and sensual worship of physical power. The latter chapter, perhaps even more sublime, is in a graver and more solemn strain. It marks the reaction after triumph in a character of impulsive and vehement earnestness, looking for visible and immediate victory, and, while it foretells the continuance of his struggle through other hands, teaches the higher lesson of the subtler power of the “still small voice" of spiritual influence.

there; he took an oath of the kingdom

(1) The third year.-By the accurate tradition, preserved in Luke iv. 25, James v. 17, it would seem that the drought lasted "three years and six months." If, therefore, the expression in the text is to be taken literally, it must be reckoned from the beginning of the visit to Zarephath.

(3) Obadiah.—The name (" servant of Jehovah ") here corresponds to the character of the man. It is curiously significant of the hesitating and temporising attitude of Ahab, that, while Jezebel is suffered to persecute, a high officer in the court is able to profess openly the service of Jehovah, and secretly to thwart the cruelty of the queen. In his heart Ahab always seems to acknowledge the true God, but is overborne by the commanding and ruthless nature of Jezebel.

(4) Jezebel cut off the prophets.-The persecution here referred to, in which for the first time the royal power was placed in distinct antagonism to the prophetic order, is only known by this allusion. It may probably have followed on the denunciation of judg ment; and Elijah's retirement to Cherith and Zarephath may have been a means of escape from it. If Elijah's oft-repeated phrase, "I, even I, alone remain," is to be taken literally, Obadiah's merciful interposition must have availed only for a time, or have simply given opportunity of escape.

(7) Art thou that

..-The sense is either (as the LXX. has it) "Is it thy very self, my lord Elijah?" or (perhaps more suitably to the context), "Thou here, my lord Elijah," when all seek thy life? The prophet's answer is still simpler in its original brevity, "Behold, Elijah!" standing in dignified contrast with the humble and almost servile address of Obadiah, which is clearly the offspring not only of reverence, but of fear.

(10) There is no nation.-This unremitting search -implying perhaps some supremacy or authority over neighbouring kingdoms-suits ill with the half-hearted enmity of Ahab. No doubt it was the work of Jezebel, in Ahab's name, connived at (as in the murder of Naboth) by his timidity.