to the people, Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city. . . . And the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city."

The king of A'i next became the victim of a stratagem devised by Joshua, and its citizens were utterly exterminated. Great fear spread over the land of Canaan in consequence of the destruction of Jer'ícho and A'i; the Gibeonites, anxious to escape from impending ruin, sought a treaty of peace from Joshua, and obtained it by pretending to be natives of a distant country.

Adonized'ec, king of Jerusalem, was greatly enraged when he heard that the Gibeonites had deserted the common cause; he sent ambassies to four of the neighboring princes to aid him in punishing their defection; they readily assented, and "went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it." Joshua immediately marched to their deliverance. The five kings were completely routed; at Joshua's command "the sun stood still and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel."

During the space of seven years, the Israelites were almost incessantly engaged in completing the conquest of Canaan, but they met with no very formidable resistance after the memorable battle against the five kings before Gibeon. They did not however wholly exterminate the idolatrous tribes, as the Lord had commanded; they became weary of the protracted warfare, and the warriors of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, were naturally anxious to return to their families beyond Jordan. This impolitic act of disobedience was subsequently productive of fatal consequences, for the surviving Canaanites eagerly sought and embraced every opportunity of taking revenge for the extermination of their brethren. Even in peace they were scarcely less dangerous to the prosperity of the chosen people than in war, for they frequently seduced the Israelites to join in the impure and impious rites of their licentious idolatry.

Soon after tranquillity had been established in Palestine, and the different tribes and families had taken possession of their allotted portions, Joshua died, at the advanced age of one hundred and ten, having ruled the country as wisely as he had conquered it bravely: "And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord that he had done for Israel."

SECTION IV. History of Israel under the Judges.

UNDER the theocracy, as established by Moses, the civil government of Israel was to be administered by Shophetim, or Judges, nominated by the divine oracle, the mysterious Urim and Thummím, which were in the custody of the high-priest; but after the death of Joshua the Israelites frequently apostatized to idolatry, the oracles of God were neglected, the appointment of chief magistrates omitted. The tribe of Judah at first actively engaged in completing the conquest which had

been left imperfect, but others entered into compact with the Canaanites, and were so insnared by the beauty of their women as to contract affinities with them. These intermarriages soon reconciled them to the worship of the false gods of the heathen, and provoked the Almighty to deliver them over to the hands of their enemies. God permitted the idolatrous Israelites to be subdued by the king of Mesopotámia, who held them in subjection for nearly eight years; but on their repentance, Oth'niel was raised up to be their deliverer, and under his administration "they had rest forty years." A second defection was punished by a servitude to the Moabites for eighteen years, at the end of which time E'hud slew the king of Moab, delivered Israel, and restored peace. Sham'gar, the third judge, repelled the incursions of the Philistines, and slew six hundred of them with an ox-goad. But "the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when E'hud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jábin, king of Cánaan." For twenty years the Israelites groaned under the yoke of this despot, but they were at length delivered by the prophetess Deb'orah, aided by Bárak, a leader of established reputation.

A new apostacy was punished by a more severe servitude; "the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds." The liberator chosen to deliver the Israelites from this miserable bondage was Gid'eon, who, with only three hundred men, made a night attack on the camp of the Midianites. Thrown into confusion by the unexpected assault, and deceived as to the number of their enemies, the Midianites turned their arms against each other, and finally fled in disorder. They were vigorously pursued, great numbers were slain, an immense quantity of valuable spoils taken, and the freedom of Israel restored.

Under Gideon's administration," the land had rest for forty years;" but after his death the people of Shéchem, at the instigation of Abim'elech, a natural son of Gid'eon, slew all the legitimate children of Gid'eon except the youngest, and proclaimed Abim'elech king. This dreadful crime produced a civil war, and the fratricide was himself afterward killed by a woman.

There was nothing remarkable in the administration of the judges Tóla and Jáir; but after the death of the latter, the idolatry of the Israelites became so gross, that God delivered them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites. In their distress, the children of Israel, probably by divine direction, applied to Jeph'thah, the natural son of Gil'ead, who, having been refused a share of his father's inheritance, had become the chief of a predatory band beyond Jordan.

Jeph'thah was succeeded by Ib'zan, E'lon, and Ab'don, of whom nothing remarkable is recorded. They were followed by E'li, who united in his person the office of high-priest and judge. Under his administration, the apostacy of the Israelites was punished by their being delivered over to the Philistines, who harassed them for nearly forty years. These oppressors deprived the Israelites of all their weapons of war, and of the means of procuring others. During this period appeared Sam'son, the most extraordinary of the

Jewish heroes, whose birth and prowess were miraculously foretold to both his parents. During his life he harassed the Philistines, slaughtering them with wonderful displays of strength; and by his last act, in pulling upon himself and upon his enemies the temple of their national god, in which a general assembly of the people were gathered, the dead which "he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life."

The Israelites were too disorganized to take advantage of this extraordinary slaughter of the Philistine lords; E'li, their judge, was nearly one hundred years old, and his two sons, Hoph'ni and Phin'ehas, who acted under him, took advantage of his weakness to commit the most profligate abominations. Samuel, whom God had called in his youth to become a prophet and the future judge of Israel, was commanded by the Lord to denounce divine vengeance against E'li ; after which he became generally known as an inspired person, divinely chosen to be E'li's successor.

Samuel, though still a youth, was chosen judge of Israel after the death of E'li. He assembled the people, and impressed upon them the criminality and folly of their idolatry; they were convinced by his reasoning, and put away their strange deities, promising to serve the Lord alone. They were rewarded by a signal victory over the Philistines; after which the land had rest during the remainder of Samuel's administration.

When Samuel had judged Israel twenty years, he appointed his two sons to assist him; but these young men, like the sons of E'li, perverted justice, and the elders of Israel unanimously demanded a king to rule over them like other nations. Samuel remonstrated with them for thus abandoning their peculiar distinction of having the Lord for their king; but when the demand was renewed more urgently, on a threatened invasion of the Ammonites, he was directed by the Lord to comply with the popular request. According to the divine instructions he selected Saul, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, to be the first monarch of the Israelites (B. C. 1095). He was presented to the tribes at Miz'peh, "and Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted and said, God save the king!"

SECTION V.-History of the United Kingdom of Israel.

MANY of the Israelites were discontented with the choice that had been made of a monarch. But these symptoms of discontent were soon checked by the signal proof which Saul gave of his military qualifications. Náhash, king of the Ammonites, invaded Israel, and laid siege to Jábesh-Gil'ead; the inhabitants proposed to capitulate, but Náhash sternly replied, "On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it as a reproach upon Israel." When this intelligence reached the general assembly of the Israelites, they burst into loud lamentations; but Saul commanded an instant levy of the people. A numerous body of soldiers obeyed the summons; Saul marched against the Ammonites, and defeated them so effectually, that not two of them were left together.

So delighted were the people with this victory, that they proposed to punish with death all who had resisted the elevation of their young monarch; but Saul said, "There shall not be a man put to death this day; for to-day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel." A solemn assembly of the tribes was then convoked at Gil'gal, in order that the people should renew their allegiance. Here Samuel resigned his office.

Saul was aided in his government by his son Jonathan, a young man of heroic valor and the most generous disposition. With a select band, he attacked and stormed the Philistine garrison at Géba, which necessarily led to war. The Israelites were badly prepared for hostilities, and when the tribes met at Gil'gal, they showed the greatest timidity and confusion. They were also disheartened by the absence of Samuel, whose duty it was to offer the solemn sacrifice, and began to disperse; Saul, alarmed lest he should be entirely deserted, offered the solemn sacrifice himself; but the ceremony was not concluded when Samuel appeared, and aunounced to the too hasty monarch, that for this wilful violation of the law, the kingdom should not be hereditary in his family. The Philistines, advancing with an immense army, blockaded Saul, who had only about six hundred men under his command in the mountains of Gib'eah, but he was unexpectedly liberated from his difficulties by the daring valor of his son Jonathan, who, accompanied only by his armor-bearer, attacked a Philistine outpost, and spread such a panic through the whole army that they were easily routed by Saul.

After this victory, Saul led his forces against the different nations that harassed the frontiers of his kingdom; when these had been restrained from their incursions, Samuel, by the direction of the Lord, commanded Saul to execute divine vengeance on the Amalekites, who nad been long the most bitter enemies of the chosen people. Saul smote the Amalekites with great slaughter; but, in direct violation of the Divine prohibitions, he spared the life of A'gag, their king, and brought away with him a vast booty of cattle. Samuel bitterly reproached the king for his ingratitude to God, and announced to Saul that his disobedience should be punished by the loss of his kingdom, which the Lord would transfer to a more worthy person.

Samuel departed from Saul, whom he never again visited directed by God, he went to the family of Jes'se, in Bethlehem of Judah, where he anointed David, Jes'se's youngest son, who thenceforth was gifted with supernatural endowments. In the meantime, Saul became subject to fits of phrensy and melancholy, which his servants supposed could be best dispelled by the influence of music: they therefore sent for David, whose skill on the harp was already celebrated, and his exquisite skill frequently enabled him to dispel the gloom that depressed the king's spirits. The Philistines, probably encouraged by secret information of Saul's unhappy condition, renewed the war against Israel, and Saul led out an army to protect the frontiers. While the hostile forces were encamped in sight of each other, the gigantic Golíath of Gath came forth as champion of the Philistines, and challenged any Israelite warrior to contend against him; all were daunted by the stature, strength, and ferocity of the giant. At length David presented himself to the combat, armed only with his staff and a sling: the vaunting Philistine treated the young hero with contempt, but a stone from

the sling, striking him full in the forehead, penetrated to the brain, and laid him prostrate on the earth. Disheartened by the loss of their champion, the Philistines fled in confusion, and were pursued with great slaughter beyond the frontiers of their own country.

David's distinguished valor led to a warm and sincere friendship between him and Jonathan, but it excited bitter jealousy in the mind of Saul. The marriage of David to Míchal, Saul's daughter, did not allay the king's jealous hatred; he openly declared his intention of putting his son-in-law to death, and took active measures for the purpose. Once David was saved by the stratagem of his wife, and again by the vigilant friendship of Jonathan; but he saw that he was no longer sure of his life, if he remained within the reach of Saul, and therefore sought safety in exile. After a brief residence among the Philistines, he returned to Palestine, and became the leader of a band of men of broken fortunes, compelled to endure all the vicissitudes of such a perilous life. He was closely pursued by his vindictive enemy, Saul, and twice had it in his power to destroy his persecutor. But he was too loyal "to lift his hand against the Lord's anointed;" he therefore only informed Saul of the danger to which he had been exposed, and thus proved his own innocence. These events led to a temporary reconciliation; but David, having reason to fear that Saul meditated treachery, withdrew to the court of A'chish, one of the kings of the Philistines.

The death of Samuel left Saul in a most wretched condition; the prophets fled from him, the priests were slaughtered, "and when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urím, nor by prophets." At this crisis, the Philistines invaded the country with a numerous army. Saul was encamped on Mount Gil'boa, with forces far inferior to the enemy. Eager to learn something of his fate, he resolved to consult one of those unlawful diviners who had been in better times severely proscribed; he was conducted by his servants to a woman residing near En'dor, "who had a familiar spirit," and he persuaded her to evoke Samuel from the tomb. The image of the prophet appeared, and predicted to the terrified monarch the fatal news of his approaching defeat and death (B, c. 1055). On the second morning after this vision, Saul entered the last of his fields; the Israelites had long neglected the use of the bow, and to their superiority in this weapon the Philistines chiefly owed their victory: "the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was sore wounded of the archers." Afraid of falling alive into the hands of his enemies, he fell upon his own sword; his gallant sons had previously fallen, and the overthrow of the Hebrew army was complete.

David had just returned to Zik'lag from pursuing the Amalekites, when he heard of the calamitous result of the battle on Mount Gilboa. Having consulted the Lord as to his future proceedings, he was directed to go to Heb'ron, where he was anointed king over the tribe of Judah, who regarded him as the champion of their race. In the meantime, Ab'ner, Saul's general, prevailed upon the northern tribes to elect Ish'bosheth, Saul's son, their monarch, and he removed him to Mahanáim, which was beyond Jordan, in order that he might have time to recruit his shattered army. One of David's earliest measures was to