tions see Vol. II. p. 42. The Judges frequently acted by a divine suggestion, and were endowed with preternatural strength and fortitude (compare ii. 18. vi. 14. 34. xi. 29. and xiv. 6. 19.): it is necessary to bear this in mind when perusing the relation of some of their achievements, which were justifiable only on the supposition of their being performed under the sanction of a divine warrant, which supersedes all general rules of conduct. Besides, "in some cases (such as that of Samson's suicide) they may have abused their endowments, since the preternatural gifts of God are equally liable to abuse with those which he bestows in the ordinary course of nature." II. From the expression recorded in Judg. xviii. 30. some have imagined that this book was not written till after the Babylonish captivity, but this conjecture is evidently erroneous; for, on comparing Psal. lxxviii. 60, 61. and I Sam. iv. 11. with that passage, we find that the captivity intended by the historian was a particular captivity of the inhabitants of Dan, which took place about the time the ark was taken by the Philistines. Besides, the total absence of Chaldee words sufficiently proves the date of the book of Judges to have been many centuries anterior to the great Babylonish captivity. This book, however, was certainly written before the second book of Samuel (compare 2 Sam. xi. 21. with Judg. ix. 53.), and before the capture of Jerusalem by David. (Compare 2 Sam. v. 6. with Judg. i. 21.) There is a considerable diversity of opinion as to the person by whom this book of Judges was written; it being, by some writers, ascribed to Phinehas, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or Ezra, who compiled it from the memoirs of his own time which were left by each Judge; while others think that it was compiled by some prophet out of the public registers or records that were kept by the priests and Levites. But the best founded opinion seems to be, that it was written by the prophet Samuel, the last of the Judges; and in this opinion the Jews themselves coincide. (iv.) The thanksgiving song of Deborah and Barak.2 (v.) SECT. 4. The Eastern and Northern Israelites, being for their SECT. 6. The birth of Samson.--Servitude of the Israelites to PART III. An Account of the Introduction of Idolatry among the Israelites, and the consequent Corruption of Religion and Manners among them; for which God gave them up into the hands of their enemies. (xvii.—xxi.) SECT. 1. Account of the idol of Micah and its worship, at first privately in his family (xvii.) and afterwards publicly in the tribe of Dan. (xviii.) B. c. 1413. SECT. 2. Account of a very singular violence and detestable murder, committed by the Benjamites of Gibeah (xiv.); the war of the other tribes with them, and the almost total extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. (xx. xxi.) в. c. 1413. IV. The book of Judges forms an important link in the history of the Israelites, and is very properly inserted between the books of Joshua and Samuel, as the Judges were the intermediate governors between Joshua and the kings of Israel. It furnishes us with a lively description of a fluctuating and unsettled nation; a striking picture of the disorders and dangers which prevailed in a republic without magistracy; when the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through by-ways (v. 6.); when few prophets were appointed III. The book of Judges comprises the history of about in his own eyes. (xvii. 6.) It exhibits the contest of true to control the people, and every one did that which was right three hundred years: it consists of three parts; the first embraces the history of the Elders, who ruled the Israelites after religion with superstition; displays the beneficial effects that the death of Joshua, and the subsequent transactions, to the flow from the former, and represents the miseries and evil commencement of their troubles. (ch. i.-iii. 4.) The second consequences of impiety; it is a most remarkable history of part contains the history of the Judges from Othniel to Eli the long-suffering of God towards the Israelites, in which we (ch. iii. 5.-xvi.); and the third, which narrates several see the most signal instances of his justice and mercy altermemorable actions performed not long after the death of nately displayed. The people sinned and were punished; Joshua (ch. xvii. 21.), is thrown to the end of the book, that they repented and found mercy. Something of this kind we it might not interrupt the thread of the narrative. "This his- find in every page: and these things are written for our warntory," observes Dr. Priestley, "abundantly verifies the fre- ing. None should presume, for God is JUST; none need quent warnings and predictions of Moses; according to despair, for God is MERCIFUL. From the scenes of civil diswhich, the people, being under the immediate government of cord and violence which darken this history, St. Paul has God, were in the most exemplary manner to be rewarded for presented us with some illustrious examples of faith, in the their obedience, and punished for their disobedience, and characters of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. Indeespecially for their conformity to the religions of their neigh-pendently of the internal evidences of its authenticity which bours, whom God had devoted to destruction on account of records are not only cited or alluded to by other sacred are to be found in the style of this book, the transactions it their polytheism and idolatry." There is considerable diffi-writers besides St. Paul, but are further confirmed by the culty in settling the chronology of this book, several of the traditions current among the heathen writers. Thus, we find facts related in it being reckoned from different æras, which the memorial of Gideon's actions preserved by Sanchoniatho, cannot now be exactly ascertained; many of the Judges also are generally supposed to have been successive who in all a Tyrian writer who lived soon after him, and whose antiprobability were contemporaries, and ruled over different dis-quity is attested by Porphyry, who was perhaps the most tricts at the same time. In the following synopsis it is attempted to reduce the chronology to something like order, and also to present a correct analysis of the book. PART I. The State of the Israelites after the death of Joshua, until they began to turn aside from serving the Lord. (i.—iii. 4.) B. c. 1443-1413. veterate enemy to Christianity that ever lived. The Vulpinaria, or feast of the foxes, celebrated by the Romans in the month of April (the time of the Jewish harvest, in which they let loose foxes with torches fastened to their tails), was derived from the story of Samson, which was conveyed into Sinai, are described in very poetical language, and compared with the Divine interposition in behalf of Israel. The presence of God had thrown all nature, as it were, into convulsions, the thunders and lightnings were at tion that it seemed to be melted from before the Lord. (Scott. in loc.) The transaction at Mount Sinai, which furnished this magnificent and sublitne passage, took place B. c. 1491; the deliverance of the Israelites, under De borah and Barak, B. c. 1255, or according to some chronologers, E. c. 1296, that is, nearly two hundred years before. Yet, misled by the neologian interpretation of the late Professor Eichhorn, Professor Jahn has gravely ascribed the victory of Barak over Sisera, to his taking advantage of a rag almost a servile transcript of Eichhorn. Prof. Turner and Mr. Whittinging tempest. (Introd. in Libros Vet. Fed. part ii. § 37.) This section is PART II. The History of the Oppressions of the Israclites, and tended by impetuous showers of rain; and Mount Sinai was in such agita their Deliverances by the Judges. (iii. 5.-xvi.) SECT. 1. The subjection of the Eastern Israelites to the king of Mesopotamia, and their deliverance by Othniel. (iii. 5-11.) B. C. 1413-1405. SECT. 2. The subjection of the Eastern Israelites to the king of Moab, and their deliverance by Ehud. The Western Israelites delivered by Shamgar. (iii. 12-31.) B. c. 1343-ham have exposed the fallacy of these mischievous interpretations in the notes to their translation of Jahn. (pp. 243-245.) Dr. Ackermann in his prizing the reader of such omission. expurgated edition of Jahn has altogether omitted this section, without ap 3Bp. Gray's Key, p. 157. Dr. A. Clarke's Pref. to Judges, p. vi. Compare Psal. lxxviii. 56-66. lxxxiii. 11, 12. cvi. 34-46. 1 Sain. xii. 9-11. 2 Sam. xi. 21. Isa. ix. 4. and x. 26. He expressly affirmus Sanchoniatho to have derived many of the facts related in his history, x Tv μVYμATO SPUμ, from the memoirs of Jerumbalus, or Jerubaal, another name for Gideon. Bocharti l'haleg. lib. ii. c.7. • Ovid, Fasti, lib. iv. 684. et seq. : Italy by the Phoenicians and to mention no more, in the | Boaz is represented as the great grandfather of the royal history of Samson and Delilah, we find the original of Nisus Psalmist, it is evident that the date of the history of Ruth and his daughters, who cut off those fatal hairs, upon which cannot be so low as the time of Eli assigned by Josephus, the victory depended.' nor so high as the time of Shangar: the most probable period, therefore, is that stated by Bishop Patrick, viz. during the judicature of Gideon, or about the year of the world 2759, B. C. 1241. SECTION IV. ON THE BOOK OF RUTH. III. Like the book of Judges, Ruth has been ascribed to Hezekiah, and also to Ezra; but the most probable, and, in deed, generally received opinion, is that of the Jews, who state it to have been written by the prophet Samuel. From I. Title and argument. II. Date and chronology.-III. Au- the genealogy recorded in iv. 17-22. it is evident that this thor. IV. Scope.-V. Synopsis of its contents. I. THE book of Ruth is generally considered as an appendix to that of Judges, and an introduction to that of Samuel; it is therefore placed, and with great propriety, between the books of Judges and Samuel. In the ancient Jewish canon of the Old Testament, Judges and Ruth formed but one book, because the transactions which it contained happened in the time of the Judges; although the modern Jews separate it from both, and make it the second of the five Megilloth or volumes which they place together towards the end of the Old Testament. It is publicly read by them in the synagogues on the feast of weeks or of Pentecost, on account of the harvest being mentioned in it, the first-fruits of which were offered to God on that festival. This book derives its name from Ruth the Moabitess, whose history it relates, and whom the Chaldee paraphrast supposes to have been the daughter of Eglon king of Moab; but this conjecture is utterly unsupported by Scripture; nor is it at all likely that a king's daughter would abandon her native country, to seek bread in another land, and marry a stranger. 66 II. Augustine3 refers the time of this history to the regal government of the Israelites; Josephus the Jewish historian, and some others of later date, to the time of Eli; Moldenhawer, after some Jewish writers, assigns it to the time of Ehud; Rabbi Kimchi and other Jewish authors conceive Boaz, who married Ruth, to have been the same person as Ibzan, who judged Israel immediately after Jephthah; Junius, comparing the book of Ruth with Matt. i., is of opinion, that the events recorded in this history took place in the days of Deborah; and the learned Archbishop Usher, that they happened in the time of Shamgar. As the famine which caused Elimelech to leave his country, came to pass in the days when the Judges ruled" (Ruth i. 1.), Bishop Patrick has referred the beginning of this history to the judicature of Gideon, about the year of the world 2759, at which time a famine is related to have happened. (Judg. vi. 3-6.) Considerable difficulty has arisen in settling the chronology of this book, in consequence of its being mentioned by Saint Matthew (i. 5, 6.),-that Salmon the father of Boaz (who married Ruth) was married to Rahab (by whom is generally understood Rahab the harlot, who protected the spies when Joshua invaded the land of Canaan): and yet that Boaz was the grandfather of David, who was born about three hundred and sixty years after the siege of Jericho,-a length of time, during which it is difficult to conceive that only three persons, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse, should have intervened between Rahab and David. But this difficulty may readily be solved, either by supposing that some intermediate names of little consequence were omitted in the public genealogies copied by the evangelist (as we know to have been the case in some other instances); or by concluding, with Archbishop Usher, that the ancestors of David, being men of extraordinary piety, or designed to be conspicuous because the Messiah was to descend from them, were blessed with longer life and greater strength than ordinarily fell to the lot of men in that age. It is certain that Jesse was accounted an old man when his son David was but a youth (see 1 Sam. xvii. 12.); and, since Ovid, Metam. lib. viii. fab. 1. M. de Lavaur in his Conference de la Fable avec l'Histoire Sainte, tom. ii. pp. 1-13., has shown that Samson, the judge of the Israelites, is the original and essential Hercules of pagan mythology; thus furnishing an additional proof how much the heathens have been indebted to the Bible. As his treatise is by no means of comcited in Dr. A. Clarke's commentary on Judg. xvi. mon occurrence, the reader will find an abridged translation of the pages history could not have been reduced into its present form before the time of Samuel. alogy of king David through the line of Ruth, a heathen IV. The SCOPE of this book is partly to deliver the geneproselyte to the Jewish religion, and the wife of Boaz, whose adoption into the line of Christ has generally been considered Christian church. It had been foretold to the Jews that the as a pre-intimation of the admission of the Gentiles into the Messiah should be of the tribe of Judah, and it was afterwards further revealed that he should be of the family of David: and, therefore, it was necessary, for the full understanding of these prophecies, that the history of the family, in that tribe, should be written before these prophecies were revealed, to prevent the least suspicion of fraud or design. And thus this book, these prophecies, and their accomplishment, serve to illustrate each other. A further design of this book is to evidence the care of Divine Providence over those who sincerely fear God, in raising the pious Ruth from a state of the deepest adversity to that of the highest prosperity. V. The book of Ruth, which consists of four chapters, may be conveniently divided into three sections; containing, SECT. 1. An account of Naomi, from her departure from Canaan into Moab, with her husband Elimelech, to her return thence into the land of Israel with her daughter-in-law Ruth. (ch. i.) B. c. 1241–1231. SECT. 2. The interview of Boaz with Ruth, and their marriage. (ii. iii. v. 1.—12.) SECT. 3. The birth of Obed, the son of Boaz by Ruth, from whom David was descended. (iv. 13-18.) and the interviews between Boaz and Ruth display the most The whole narrative is written with peculiar simplicity; unaffected piety, liberality, and modesty; and their reverent observance of the Mosaic law, as well as of ancient customs, is portrayed in very lively and animated colours. I. SECTION V. ON THE TWO BOOKS OF SAMUEL. Title.-II. Authors.-III. Argument, scope, and analysis of the first book of Samuel.-IV. Argument, scope, ana analysis of the second book of Samuel.-V. General observations on these two books. I. In the Jewish canon of Scripture these two books form but one, termed in Hebrew the Book of Samuel, probably because the greater part of the first book was written by that prophet, whose history and transactions it relates. The books of Samuel appear to have derived their appellation from 1 Chron xxix. 29.: where the transactions of David's reign are said to be written in the book (Heb. words) of Samuel the seer. In the Septuagint version they are called the first and second books of Kings, or of the Kingdoms; in the Vulgate they are designated as the first and second books of Kings, and, by Jerome, they are termed the books of the Kingdoms; kings of Israel and Judah is related. as being two of the four books in which the history of the II. Jahn is of opinion, that the books of Samuel and the two books of Kings were written by one and the same pernish captivity: and he has endeavoured to support his conson, and published about the forty-fourth year of the Babylo2 Jerome expressly states that this was the case in his time.-Deindejecture with much ingenuity, though unsuccessfully, by the subtexunt Sophetim, id est Judicum librum, et in eundem compingunt; uniformity of plan and style which he thinks are discernible quia in diebus Judicum facta ejus narratur historia. (Prologus Galeatus.) Eusebius, when giving Origen's catalogue of the sacred books, confirms in these books. The more prevalent, as well as more probaJerome's account. Eccl. Hist. lib. vi. c. 25. ble opinion, is that of the Talmudists, which was adopted by the most learned fathers of the Christian church (who unquestionably had better means of ascertaining this point than we have): viz. that the first twenty-four chapters of the • Bedford's Scripture Chronology, book v. c. 5. a De Doct. Christ. lib. ii. c. 8. Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. v. c. 9. § 1. Seder Olam, c. 12. Moldenhawer, Introd. ad Libros Canonicos Vet. et Nov. Test. p. 43. Kimchi on Ruth, c. i. Junius, Annotat. in Ruth i. Bishop Patrick on Ruth i. 1. Leusden, Philol. Heb. pp. 18. 86. Chronologia Sacra, part i. c. 12. pp. 69, 70. ed. Geneve, 1722, folio. first book of Samuel were written by the prophet whose name they bear; and that the remainder of that book, together with the whole of the second book, was committed to writing by the prophets Gad and Nathan, agreeably to the practice of the prophets who wrote memoirs of the transactions of their respective times. That all these three persons were writers is evident from 1 Chron. xxix. 29.; where it is said: Now the acts of David, first and last, behold they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and of Gad the seer: the memoirs of these prophets are here referred to as distinct books: but it would be natural for Ezra, by whom the canon of Jewish Scripture was completed, to throw all their contents into the two books of Samuel. It is certain that the first book of Samuel was written before the first book of Kings; a circumstance related in the former book being referred to in the latter. (1 Sam. ii. 31. with 1 Kings ii. 27.) The first acts of David declared in 1 Chron. xxix. 29. to have been recorded by Samuel, were such as happened before the death of Samuel; and these end with the twenty-fourth chapter of the first book of Samuel. What parts of the remaining history of David were written by Nathan, and what by Gad, is at present very difficult to distinguish with exactness. Mr. Reeves has conjectured, with great probability, that as it appears from 1 Sam. xxii. 5. that Gad was then with David in the hold or place where he kept himself secret from Saul; and since it is thought that Gad, being bred under Samuel, was privy to his having anointed David king, and had, therefore, resolved to accompany him during his troubles; it has, from these circumstances, been supposed that the history of what happened to David, from the death of Samuel to his being made king at Hebron over all Israel, was penned by the prophet Gad. He seems the most proper person for that undertaking, having been an eye-witness to most of the transactions. The first mention of the prophet Nathan occurs in 2 Sam. vii. 2. a short time after David was settled at Jerusalem. Nathan is frequently mentioned in the subsequent part of David's reign; and he was one of those who were appointed by David to assist at the anointing of Solomon. (1 Kings 1.32.) As this event took place not long before David's death, it is probable Nathan might survive the royal Psalmist; and, as he knew all the transactions of his reign from his settlement at Jerusalem to his death, it is most likely that he wrote the history of the latter part of David's reign; especially as there is no mention of Gad, after the pestilence sent for David's numbering the people, which was about two years before his death, during which interval Gad might have died. Gad must have been advanced in years, and might leave the continuation of the national memoirs to Nathan. For these reasons, it is probably thought that Nathan wrote all the remaining chapters of the second book of Samuel, after the first five.' III. The FIRST BOOK of Samuel contains the history of the Jewish church and polity, from the birth of Samuel, during the judicature of Eli, to the death of Saul, the first king of Israel; a period of nearly eighty years, viz. from the year of the world 2869 to 2949. Its SCOPE is, first, to continue the history of the Israelites under the two last Judges, Eli and Samuel, and their first monarch Saul, and the reason why their form of government was changed from an aristocracy to a monarchy; thus affording a strong confirmation of the authenticity of the Pentateuch, in which we find that this change had been foretold by Moses, in his prophetic declaration to the assembled nation, a short time before his death, and upwards of four hundred years before the actual institution of the regal government. This book also exhibits the preservation of the church of God amidst all the vicissitudes of the Israelitish polity; together with signal instances of the divine mercy towards those who feared Jehovah, and of judgments inflicted upon his enemies. It consists of three parts: viz. PART I. The Transactions under the Judicature of Eli. (ch. i.-iv.) exalting the poor in spirit or the humble-minded, and abasing the rich and arrogant; rewarding the righteous, and punishing the wicked." 2 SECT. 2. The call of Samuel, his denunciations against Eli by the command of God, and his establishment in the prophetic office. (iii.) SECT. 3. The death of Eli, and the capture of the ark of God by the Philistines. (iv.) PART II. The History of the Israelites during the Judicature of Samuel. SECT. 1. The destruction of the Philistines' idol Dagon (v.); SECT. 2. The reformation of divine worship, and the repent- SECT. 3. The Israelites' request for a regal government; the SECT. 1. The prosperous part of Saul's reign, comprising his war with the Philistines, and offering of sacrifice (xiii.), with his victory over them. (xiv.) SECT. 2. The rejection of Saul from the kingdom in conse- SECT. 3. The inauguration of David, and the events that took Sii. The persecutions of David by Saul;-his exile and covenant with § iii. The liberation of Keilah from the Philistines by David (xxiii. 1— ii. The encampment of the Philistines at Aphek, who send back $ iii. David's pursuit and defeat of the Amalekites who had plundered Ziklag, and from whom he recovers the spoil. (xxx ) § iv. The suicide of Saul, and total discoinfiture of the Israelites. (xxxi.) IV. The SECOND BOOK of Samuel contains the history of David, the second king of Israel, during a period of nearly forty years, viz. from the year of the world 2948 to 2988; and, by recording the translation of the kingdom from the tribe of Benjamin to that of Judah, it relates the partial accomplishment of the prediction delivered in Gen. xlix. 10. The victories of David, his wise administration of civil government, his efforts to promote true religion, his grievous sins, and deep repentance, together with the various troubles and judgments 2 Dr. Hales's Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. book i. p. 332. Few passages of Scripture have been discussed with more warmth than the relation contained in this 28th chapter of the first book of Samuel: some commentators have conjectured that the whole was a juggle of the Pythoness whom Saul consulted; others, that it was a mere visionary scene; Augustine and others, that it was Satan himself who assumed the appearance of Samuel; and others, that it was the ghost of Samuel, raised by infernal power, or by force of magical incantation. All these hypotheses, however, contradict the historical fact as related by the author of this book: for it is evident from the Hebrew original of 1 Sam. xxviii. 14. more closely translated, and compared throughout with itself, that it was "Samuel himself" whom Saul beheld, and who (or his spirit) was actually raised immediately, and before the witch had any time to utter any incantations, by the power of God, in a glorified form, and wearing the appearSECT. 1. The birth of Samuel (ch. i.), with the thanksgiving ance of the ominous mantle in which was the rent that signified the rendand prophetical hymn of his mother Hannah. (ii.) The ing of the kingdom from Saul's family. The reality of Samuel's appearance tenth verse of this chapter is a prediction of the Messiah. Ecclus. xlvi. 20.), and was also thus understood by Josephus, who has not on this occasion was a doctrine of the primitive Jewish church (compare "This admirable hymn excels in simplicity of composition, only translated the original passage correctly, but likewise expressly states closeness of connection, and uniformity of sentiment; breath-that the soul of Samuel inquired why it was raised. Antiq. Jud. lib. vi. 14. $2. Dr. Hales's Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. book i. pp. 355-360., where ing the pious effusions of a devout mind, deeply impressed the subject is fully discussed and proved. See also Calmet's Dissertation with a conviction of God's mercies to herself in particular, sur l'Apparition de Samuel, Commentaire Littéral. tom. ii. pp. 331-336. and of his providential government of the world in general; 1 Mr. Reeves, Preface to 1 Sam. That it was Samuel himself is further evident from the clearness and truth of the prediction (which could only come from God); for "on the morrow," that is, very shortly after, Saul and his sons were slain. inflicted upon him and his people by God, are all fully de- | his faithful adherence to truth. The books of Samuel connect scribed. This book consists of three principal divisions, re- the chain of sacred history by detailing the circumstances of 'ating the triumphs and the troubles of David, and his trans- an interesting period. They describe the reformation and imactions subsequent to his recovery of the throne, whence he provements of the Jewish church established by David : and was driven for a short time by the rebellion of his son as they delineate minutely the life of that monarch, they point Absalom. out his typical relation to Christ. Many heathen authors have borrowed from the books of Samuel, or have collected he gives." In the falls of David we behold the strength and from other sources, many particulars of those accounts which prevalence of human corruption: and in his repentance and recovery, the extent and efficacy of divine grace. PART 1. The Triumphs of David. (ch. i.—x.) SECT. 1. His elegant, tender, and pathetic elegy over Saul SECT. 2. His triumph over the house of Saul, and confirma- PART II. The Troubles of David, and their Cause, together with SECT. 1. The cause of David's troubles, his first great offence against God,-his sin in the matter of Uriah, and the divine judgments denounced against him on that account. (xi. xii.) SECT. 2. The punishments in consequence of that sin, first, from domestic troubles in the sin of Amnon (xiii.); and, secondly, public troubles, in the rebellion of Absalom, which, for a short time, exiled David from the throne (xiv.—xvii.) ; the death of Absalom (xviii.) and David's mourning on his account. (xix.) The two books of Samuel are of very considerable importance for illustrating the book of Psalms, to which they may be considered as a key. Thus, Psalm iii. will derive much light from 2 Sam. xv. 14. et seq.;-Psal. iv. from 1 Sam. xxii. xxiii. xxvi. ;-Psal. vii. from 2 Sam. xvi. 2. 11. ;-Psal xxiv. from 2 Sam. vi. 12. et seq. ;-Psal. xxx. from 1 Sam. v. 11. ;-Psal. xxxii. and li. from 2 Sam. xii. ;-Psal. xxxiv. from 2 Sam. xxi. 10-15.;-Psal. xxxv. from 2 Sam. xv.xvii.;-Psal. xlii. and xliii. from 2 Sam. xvii. 22—24.; Psal. lii. from 1 Sam. xxii. 9. ;-Psal. liv. from 1 Sam. xxiii. 19. and xxvi. 1.;-Psal. lv. from 2 Sam. xvii. 21, 22. ;Psal. lvi. from 1 Sam. xxi. 11-15.;-Psal. Ivii. from 1 Sam. xxii. 1, and xxiv. 3. ;-Psal. lix. from 1 Sam. xix. 11.;— lxiii. from 1 Sam. xxii. 5. and xxiii. 14—16.;—Psal. lxviii. Psal. lx. from 2 Sam. viii. 3-13. and x. 15-19.;-Psal. from 2 Sam. vi. 3-12.;-Psal. lxxxix. from 2 Sam. vii. 12. et seq.; and Psal. cxlii. from 1 Sam. xxii. 1. and xxiv. 1. et seq. SECTION VI. ON THE TWO BOOKS OF KINGS. PART III. David's Restoration to his Throne, and subsequent I. Order and title of these books.—II. Author.—III. ArguTransactions. (ch. xx.—xxiv.) SECT. 1. David's return to Jerusalem, and the insurrection of ment and synopsis of the first book of Kings.--IV. Argument and synopsis of the second book of Kings.-V. General observations on these books. SECT. 2. His punishment of the sons of Saul, and successful I. THE two books of Kings are closely connected with battles with the Philistines. (xxi.) those of Samuel. The origin and gradual increase of the SECT. 3. His psalm of praise, on a general review of the mer-united kingdom of Israel under Saul and his successor David, cies of his life, and the many and wonderful deliverances having been described in the latter, the books now under conwhich he had experienced. (xxii.) This divine ode, sideration relate its height of glory under Solomon, its diviwhich contains the noblest images, perhaps, that were eversion into two kingdoms under his son and successor Rehoexpressed in words, also occurs in the book of Psalms boam, the causes of that division, and the consequent decline (Psal. xviii.), with a few variations. We have it here, as of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, until their final suboriginally composed for his own closet and his own harp; version; the ten tribes being carried captive into Assyria by but there we have it as delivered to the chief musician for Shalmaneser, and Judah and Benjamin to Babylon by Nebuthe service of the church, with some amendments. For, chadnezzar. In the most correct and ancient editions of the though primarily calculated for the royal prophet's immedi- Hebrew Bible, the two books of Kings constitute but one, ate use, yet it might indifferently assist the devotion of with a short space or break sometimes between them. Some others, when giving thanks for their deliverances: or, it was of the early fathers of the Christian church seem to have intended that his people should thus join with him in his begun the first book of Kings at the death of David. (ii. 12.) thanksgivings; because, being a public person, his deliver- The more modern copies of the Hebrew Bible have the same ances were to be accounted public blessings, and called for division with our authorized version: though in the time of public acknowledgments, the Masoretes, they certainly formed only one book; as both (like the books of Samuel) are included under one enumeration of sections, versions, &c. in the Masora. They have evidently been divided, at some unknown period, into two parts, for the convenience of reading. SECT. 4. The last words of David, forming a supplement or conclusion to the preceding sublime hymn (xxiii. 1-7.), which are followed by an enumeration of his mighty men. (xxiii. 8-39.) SECT. 5. David's second great offence against God, in numbering the people; its punishment; David's penitential intercession and sacrifice. (xxiv.)1 V. This second book of Samuel bears an exact relation to the preceding, and is likewise connected with that which succeeds. We see throughout the effects of that enmity against other nations, which had been implanted in the minds of the Israelites by the Mosaic law, and which gradually tended to the extirpation of idolatry. "This book, likewise, as well as the former, contains other intrinsic proofs of its verity, By describing without disguise the misconduct of those characters, who were highly reverenced among the people, the sacred writer demonstrates his impartial sincerity: and, by appealing to monuments that attested the veracity of his relations when he wrote, he furnished every possible evidence of 1 The offence of David seems to have chiefly consisted in his persisting to require a muster of all his subjects able to bear arms, without the divine command, without necessity, in a time of profound peace, to indulge an idle vanity and presumption, as if he put his trust more in the number of his subjects than in the divine protection; and the offence of his people might also have been similar, always elated as they were, and provoking the anger of the Lord in prosperity by their forgetfulness of him. Deut. vi. 10 12. Dr. Hales's Analysis, vol. ii. p. 383, The titles to these books have been various, though it appears from Origen that they derived their name from the initial words 1, va-MеLеCH David, Now king David; in the the Septuagint Greek version, it is simply termed BAZIAEION same manner as (we have seen) the book of Genesis does. In of reigns or kingdoms, of which it calls Samuel the first and second, and these two the third and fourth. The Vulgate Latin version entitles it, Liber Regum tertius; secundum Hebræos, Liber Malachim, that is, the third book of Kings; according to the Hebrews, the first book of Malachim. The old Syriac version has: Here follows the book of the Kings who flourished among the ancient people; and in this are also exhibited the history of the prophets, who flourished in their times. In the Arabic it is thus entitled :-In the name of the most merciful and compassionate God; the book of Solomon, the son of David the prophet, whose benedictions be upon us.—Amen.3 II. Concerning the author or authors of these books, the sentiments of learned men are extremely divided. Some have been of opinion that David, Solomon, and Hezekiah wrote the history of their own reigns; others, that Nathan, Gad, 2Bp. Gray's Key, p. 181. Dr. A. Clarke's Pref. to 1 Kings, p. 1. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets who flourished in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, undertook the office of histoographers. We know that several of the prophets wrote the lives of those kings who reigned in their times; for the names and writings of these prophets are mentioned in several places in the books of Kings and Chronicles; which also cite or refer to the original annals of the kings of Israel and Judah, of which those books have transmitted to us abridgments or summaries. Thus, in 1 Kings xi. 41. we read of the acts of Solomon, which acts were recorded in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer (2 Chron. ix. 29); which Iddo was employed, in conjunction with Shemaiah the prophet, in writing the acts of Rehoboam. (2 Chron. xii. 15.) We also read of the book of Jehu the prophet, relating the transactions of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. xx. 34. 1 Kings xvi. 1.); and Isaiah the prophet wrote the acts of king Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 22.), and also of Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxxii. 32.); and it is highly probable that he wrote the history of the two intermediate kings Jotham and Ahaz, in whose reigns he lived. (Isa. i. 1.)` to reconcile them. This clearly demonstrates his fidelity, exactness, and integrity. In other places some reflections or illustrations are inserted, which naturally arise from his subject; this shows him to have been fully master of the matter he was discussing, and that, being divinely inspired, he was not afraid of intermixing his own words with those of the prophets, whose writings lay before him. The divine authority of these books is attested by the many predictions they contain: they are cited as authentic and canonical by Jesus Christ (Luke iv. 25-27.), and by his apostles (Acts vii. 47. Rom. xi. 2-4. James v. 17, 18.), and they have constantly been received into the sacred canon by the Jewish and Christian churches in every age. Their truth and authenticity also derive additional confirmation from the corresponding testimonies of ancient profane writers.2 III. The FIRST BOOK OF KINGS embraces a period of one hundred and twenty-six years, from the anointing of Solomon and his admission as a partner in the throne with David, A. M. 2989, to the death of Jehoshaphat, A. M. 3115. It relates the latter part of David's life; his death, and the accession of Solomon, whose reign comprehended the most prosperous and glorious period of the Israelitish history; and prefigured the peaceful reign of the Messiah; Solomon's erection and consecration of the temple at Jerusalem (the beauty and perfection of which was a type of the beauty and perfection of the church of God); his awful defection from the true teligion; the sudden decay of the Jewish nation after his death, when it was divided into two kingdoms,-under Rehoboam, who reigned over the kingdom of Judah, comprising the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and under Jeroboam, who was sovereign of the other ten tribes that revolted from the house of David, and which in the Sacred Writings are designated as the kingdom of Israel; the reigns of Rehoboam's successors, Abijam, Asa, and Jehoshaphat; and those of Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Tibni, the wicked Ahab, and Ahaziah (in part), who succeeded Jeroboam in the throne of Israel. For the particular order of succession of these monarchs, and of the prophets who flourished during their respective reigns, the reader is referred to the chronological table inserted in Appendix II. to this volume. The first 2. The author evidently lived after the captivity of Ba-book of Kings may be divided into two principal parts; bylon: for, at the end of the second book of Kings, he containing, 1. The history of the undivided kingdom under speaks of the return from the captivity. (2 Kings xxv. Solomon; and, 2. The history of the divided kingdom un22, &c.) der Rehoboam and his successors, and Jeroboam and his successors. It is evident, therefore, that two descriptions of writers were concerned in the composition of the books of Kings:first, those original, primitive, and contemporary authors, who wrote the annals, journals, and memoirs of their own times, from which the authors of our sacred history subsequently derived their materials. These ancient memoirs have not descended to us; but they unquestionably were in the hands of those sacred penmen, whose writings are in our possession, since they cite them and refer to them. The second class of writers consists of those, by whom the books of Kings were actually composed in the form in which we now have them. The Jews ascribe them to Jeremiah; and their opinion has been adopted by Grotius and other eminent commentators: others again assign them to the prophet Isaiah. But the most probable opinion is, that these books were digested into their present order by Ezra. The following are the grounds on which this opinion is founded and supported :1. The general uniformity of style and manner indicates that these books were written by one person. 3. He says that in his time the ten tribes were still captive in Assyria, whither they had been carried as a punishment for their sins. (2 Kings xvii. 23.) 4. In the seventeenth chapter of the second book of Kings, he introduces some reflections on the calamities of Judah and Israel, which demonstrate that he wrote after those calamities had taken place. Compare 2 Kings xvii. 6-24. 5. He almost every where refers to the ancient memoirs which he had before him, and abridged. 6. There is also every reason to believe, that the author was a PRIEST or a prophet. He studies less to describe acts of heroism, successful battles, conquests, political address, &c. than what regards the temple, religious ceremonies, festivals, the worship of God, the piety of princes, the fidelity of the prophets, the punishment of crimes, the manifestation of God's anger against the wicked, and his regard for the righteous. He every where appears greatly attached to the house of David. He treats on the kings of Israel only incidentally; his principal object being the kingdom of Judah, and its particular affairs. PART I. The History of Solomon's Reign (ch. i.-xi.) contains a narrative of, SECT. 1. The latter days of David; the inauguration of Solomon as his associate in the kingdom, and his designation to be his successor. (i. ii. 1-11.) SECT. 2. The reign of Solomon from the death of David to SECT. 3. The preparations for building the temple. (v.) SECT. 5. The dedication of the temple, and the sublime prayer SECT. 6. Transactions during the remainder of Solomon's PART II. The History of the two Kingdoms of Judah and SECT. 1. The accession of Rehoboam, and division of the two SECT. 2. The reigns of Rehoboam king of Judah, and of Jeroboam I. king of Israel. (xiii. xiv.) SECT. 3. The reigns of Abijam and Asa kings of Judah, and Now, all these marks correspond with Ezra, a learned priest, who lived both during and subsequently to the captivity, and might have collected numerous documents, which, from the lapse of time and the persecutions of the Jews, are now lost to us. Such are the reasons on which Calmet has ascribed the books of Kings to Ezra, and his opinion is generally received. There are, however, a few circumstances that seem to militate against this hypothesis, which should be noticed, as not agreeing with the time of Ezra. Thus, in 1 Kings viii. 8. the ark of the covenant is represented as being in the temple "to this day:" and in 1 Kings xii. 19. the kingdoms of Israel are mentioned as still subsisting. In 1 Kings vi. 1. 37, 38. the author mentions the months of Zif and Bul, names which were not in use after the captivity. Lastly, the writer expresses himself throughout as a contem-of Josiah, when that pious sovereign began the reformation of which so porary, and as an author who had been an eye-witness of what he wrote. But these apparent contradictions admit of an easy solution. Ezra generally transcribes verbatim the memoirs which he had in his possession without attempting 1 The consideration that these books were digested from memoirs, writ ten by different persons who lived in the respective times of which they wrote, will help to reconcile what is said of Hezekiah in 2 Kings xviii. 5. that, after him none was like him of all the kings of Judah, with what is said of Josiah in chap. xxiii. 25. that, like unto him was there no king be fore him; for, what is said of Hezekiah was true, till the eighteenth year much is said in the sacred history. Mr. Reeves, Pref. to Books of Kings. |