p. 368.) they themselves have bread to the full, whilft their cattle browfe upon a richer herbage, and both of them are refreshed by Springs of excellent water, &c.

:

BESIDES this, Hebron had alfo other advantages; it was a Levitical, prieftly, and patriarchal city; venerable for the fepulchres of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob; and, as tradition adds, of Adam allo*; and upon all thefe accounts long reputed, as it is at this day, even by the Turks, holy t; and honoured with the title of the chofen, or beloved. GOD had before appointed it for the refidence of his favourite fervants and it was now peculiarly fitted for the reception of David; as being the metropolis of his tribe, and the poffeflion of those priestly families who favoured his intereft, as their duty to GOD required they fhould. His anointment to the regal office by Samuel had long fince ceased to be a fecret; and GoD's late more immediate defignation of him to it, declared by the mouth of the fame prophet at Endor, was doubtless by this time fufficiently known; and the determination of the metropolis in his fayour would naturally be of great weight to influence the whole tribe, Nor were other in

It was confeffedly one of the most antient cities in the world. Mofes tells us, (doubtless with a view of refuting the fabulous antiquity of the Egyptians) that it was built feven years before Zoan in Egypt (Numb. xiii. 22.) which was the capital of Pharaoh, at that time; for there Mofes wrought his miracles, Pfal. lxxviii. 12.

Helena, the mother of Conftantine the great, built here a goodly temple, over the cave of Machpelah, now converted to a mofque, and the cave continually lighted with lamps.

VOL. I.

U

ducements

ducements wanting, to engage them to concur in the fame refolution. It was natural for them to prefer one of their own family; Jacob had long fince predicted the establishment of the fovereignty in the tribe of Judah; David was of that tribe, beyond all difpure elected, and appointed to fucceed Saul; and what had they to do, but to concur with the predeterminations of Providence in his favour? And accordingly we find, that he was quickly elected to the fo vereignty of that tribe: and the men of Judah (faith the text) came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah, 2 Sam. Whether they did this with more dif patch, to influence the determinations of the other tribes in his favour, or whether it was delayed, until their difpofitions were founded upon the point, is no-where faid. This is certain, that one tribe's acting feparate, and independent of the reft, was of dangerous example; nor could any thing but the divine authority juftify it and therefore it is not probable, that this ftep was taken, until all other expedients for an unanimous election failed. And here began the divifion of the kingdom, fo lately predicted by Samuel.

ii. 4.

WHILST David continued at Hebron, there was a continual refort of people to him from all the tribes, who gradually fell off from the houfe of Saul, and owned him for their fovereign; amounting in the whole (but we may prefume not until the death of Ishbofheth, his competitor) to three huudred forty-eight

thoufand

At that

thousand cight hundred armed men. time (faith the text, 1 Chron. xii. 22, &c.) day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great hoft, like the hoft of God. And as the order in which they came is fet down, we find thofe of Judah, as it was natural, first ; thofe of Simeon next (for their inheritance, we are told, was within the inheritance of the children of Judah *); the Levites and Aaronites after them; then came a detachment from the house of Eenjamin, (which bordered immedi ately upon Judah) but in a smaller number (three thousand only); for as yet the multitude of them, faith the text, (that is, the greatest number) kept the ward of the boufe of Saul. However, fo confiderable a defertion from that tribe seems to have greatly encouraged all the reft; for those that followed, came in in vaftly greater numbers.

THE first account we hear of David after the election of his tribe, is his kind meffage to the men of Fabesh Gilead, for their heroic humanity, in refcuing and burying the bodies of Saul and his fons, which the Philistines had fastened to the walls of Beth han. The men of Jabest could not forget the great deliverance which Saul had wrought for them, in the beginning of his reign, when he rescued them from the crucity of Nahash the Ammonite (1 Sam.ii.); and therefore they now thought themfelves bound in gratitude to refcue him and his fons,

* Job, xix.

i

as far as in them lay, from the indignities they endured from the hands of the Philiftines. The valiant men arofe (faith the text, 1 Sam. xxxi. 12, 13) and went all night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his fons, from the wall of Beth-fhan, and came to Jabeth, and burnt them there; and they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fafted feven days. They travelled at least ten miles by night, through a rough country, in the poffeffion of their enemies, paffed the Jordan, and took thefe bodies from the walls (from within the town †) of a powerful and hoftile city; and returned the fame night, burnt and buried their remains, and mourned feven days for them, fafting every day until night.

THIS heroic inftance of gratitude and huma nity, David thought himfeif obliged to recog nize in a diftinguished manner; and therefore, as foon as he heard it, he fent meffengers to congratulate them upon it, with prayers for the divine bleffing in requital of their gratitude and affection to their fovereign; and an affurance, that he also would requite then notifying at the fame time his advancement to the throne, by Judah; and exhorting them to fhew themfelves fons of valour, although their mafter SAUL was dead; intimating that he, being now invefted with the regal office, was ready to protect them, as Saul had done; perhaps too infinu

As the custom was in cafe of a plague, Amos vi. 10. probably becaufe they were now in an infectious state,

† 2 Sum. xxi. 12, from the street of Beth-shan.

ating,

ating, that true fortitude required them to affert the cause of juftice, and leaving them to judge whofe that was.

WHAT effect this meffage had upon them, we know not; yet I think we may fairly conjecture it had a good deal; fince we find, that, upon this half tribe's joining with Reuben and Gad to come over to David, they made up together a body of an hundred and twenty thou fand men.

CHA P. II.

Abner asserts Hhbofheth's Claim to the
Crown. The Battle of Gibeon.

ONE of Saul's fons yet furvived, whofe
name was Ihbofheth, who, being in all
probability lefs martial than the reft, went not
to the war; though now advanced to the age
of ambition, and not paffed the ardour of youth,
having reached his fortieth year, at the time of
his father's death *. A man of this character
would in all probability have easily refigned his
elaim to the crown, and fubmitted to David,
had he not been afferted and supported by the
power of Abner, the fon of Ner, Saul's general,'
and near kinfman; whofe interelt and ambition
(and, it may be, his envy alfo) ftrongly fwayed
him against his duty. For it appears fufficiently

*This fhews him to have been born in the first year reign, who reigned forty years. As xiii. 21. U 3

of Saul's

from