conduct God declared that his whole house should be cut off. In a conflict with Abijah, the king of Judah, Jeroboam was totally defeated, with the loss of five hundred thousand men. disaster preyed on his mind, and he never after recovered his

Defeated in war by the king of Judah.

Several other

The

power or enterprise. He was succeeded by Nadab, his son, who had for his successors Baasha, Elah, and Zimri. The wickedness of these kings is the most remarkable circumstance in their reigns. Zimri enjoyed the crown only wicked kings suc- seven days. The beautiful city Tirzah, in which he was ceed; as Nadab, besieged by Omri, being taken, he burned himself to death Baasha, Elah, &c. in his palace. Omri then occupied the throne; he built Samaria, or transferred the royal residence to that place, which thenceforth became the capital of his kingdom, and was so long the hated rival of Jerusalem.

Ahab king of Israel.

Establishes

The apostacy of the ten tribes, and the wickedness of their kings, did not reach their height till the accession of Ahab, the son of Omri, B. c. 919. This prince married Jezebel, the fierce and cruel daughter of the king of Sidon. Under her influence, the Sidonian worship of Baal, the sun, was introduced; his temples were openly built and consecrated; and this cruel and persecuting idolatry threatened to exterminate the ancient idolatry. religion. The prophets were put to death, one hundred only having escaped by lying concealed in a cave; yet these intrepid defenders The prophets of the God of their fathers still arose to remonstrate against remonstrate these impious innovations; till, at length, Elijah, the against the wickedness of Ahab greatest of the whole, took up the contest, and defied and and Jezebel, his triumphed over the cruelty both of the king and his bloodthirsty consort. They each perished miserably; their death happening by God's avenging on them the blood of Naboth, whom they had killed, because he refused, as the law of Moses enjoined him, to sell them the fee of the inheritance of his father. Ahab was slain in battle by a random shot, as had been foretold by Micaiah the prophet; Jezebel perished at Jehu's command, by being precipitated from a window, according to the prophecies of Elijah.

wife.

racter.

Ahaziah, Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Jehoash, were the successors, in turn, of Ahab; but they heard and saw, unconcerned, the miracles of Ahab is suc- Elijah and Elisha, whom God made use of in endeavours to ceeded by Aha- bring the Israelites to repentance. It is unnecessary to ziah, Jehoram, notice each of these kings in the separate acts of his reign. Jehu, &c., kings of a similar cha- Of Jehu it may be observed, that he was a captain under Jehoram; was anointed king by the prophet Elisha; and, though a wicked man, was the instrument of executing the Lord's vengeance upon his impious contemporaries. He killed Jehoram and the seventy sons of Ahab; and after having slain all the priests of Baal, he destroyed the images and the house of their god. Concerning Jehoash it must be remarked that he was successful as a warrior. He defeated Benhadad, king of Syria, in three battles. In a war against Amaziah, king of Judah, he took him prisoner, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, plundered the temple and the king's palace, and carried away the spoil to Samaria.

C

Israel recovers

The kingdom of Israel now began to recover its strength, after having been brought low, under its latter kings, by the power of Syria. Jeroboam II., an able prince, had succeeded Jehoash, R. c. 822, and its strength un- pursuing his father's successes, re-established the whole der Jeroboam. frontier, from Hamath to the Dead Sea; even Damascus, the Syrian capital, surrendered to his forces. But the kingdom, which was to remain in the line of Jehu to the fourth generation, at the death of Jeroboam fell into a frightful state of anarchy. At length, A state of an- after eleven years of tumult, his son Zachariah obtained the archy follows. sceptre, but was speedily put to death by Shallum; Shallum, in his turn, by Menahem; Menahem, a sanguinary prince, reigned ten years, during which the fatal power of the great Assyrian empire was rapidly advancing to universal conquest. Pul, the monarch who ruled at Nineveh, was now pushing his victories over Syria, and began to threaten the independence of Israel. Menahem only delayed the final servitude by submission and tribute, which he wrung from his people by heavy exactions. This prince was succeeded by his son, Pekahiah, who, in ten years after, was put to death by a new usurper, Pekah, the son of Remaliah.

Zachariah and others succeed.

The dissensions between Israel and Judah, which had all along existed, Pekah, the last now arose to a great height. Pekah was the last able or able king of powerful king of the ten tribes. In conjunction with Rezin, Israel. king of Syria, he made war against Judah. In one of the engagements Judah lost one hundred and twenty thousand men, and many more were carried into captivity. These latter, however, were soon restored to their homes. The kingdom of Israel was now fast hastening to its end. Pekah was assassinated; another period of anarchy lasted for several years, till at length the sceptre fell into the feeble hands of Hoshea, who had instigated the murder of Pekah. A new and still more ambitious monarch, Shalmaneser, now wielded the power of Assyria. Hoshea attempted to avert the final subjugation of his kingdom by the payment of a tribute, but being detected in a secret correspondence The kingdom of Israel yields with the king of Egypt, called So, the Assyrian marched to the Assyrian into the kingdom, besieged Samaria, which, after an obstipower, and exists nate resistance of three years, surrendered,—and thus terminated for ever the independent kingdom of Israel.

no more.

Pul and Tiglath Pileser had already swept away a great part of the population from Syria, and the Transjordanic tribes: and Shalmaneser, after the capture of Samaria, carried off vast numbers of the remaining tribes to a mountainous region between Assyria and Media. From this period, history loses sight of the ten tribes as a distinct people. A few remained in their native country, and became intermixed with strangers. It is not known The descendants of these mingled races were afterwards what became of known by the name of Samaritans. What became of those the ten tribes, of who were carried away, is a matter of conjecture to this day. Some suppose that they were totally lost and absorbed in the nations among whom they settled. The learned Prideaux is of this opinion. Others find reason to believe that they still exist in some unknown and inaccessible regions, where they await the final restoration of the twelve tribes to their native land. Others even trace the

whom the most were carried

away.

Jewish features, language, and religion, in different tribes, such as the Afghans of India, or, with still more improbability, the aborigines of America.

To return to the period when the nation of Israel was separated into two great communities, we have to observe, that Rehoboam, whose sceptre Rehoboam, was confined to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, had king of Judah, scarce continued three years in the service of the true God, fell into idolatry. before he fell into the idolatry of the bordering nations. For this enormity, God stirred up a potent adversary against him, Shishak, king of Egypt, who took many of his fenced cities, and plundered the treasures of the temple and palace of Solomon.

Judah called

Jews.

Concerning the kings of Judah after this time, it may be remarked in general, that several of them were good and pious men, and adhered to The people of the worship of Jehovah. Others of them imitated the profligate kings of Israel. The people whom they governed, and who have survived to the present time, are called Jews, in distinction from Israelites, the name once applied to the whole twelve tribes. The successor of Rehoboam was Abijah, who assumed the government B. c. 958, and reigned three years. His reign was signalized by his Abijah the victory over Jeroboam, as already related. Asa, his son, successor of Re- next ascended the throne, who proved to be a prudent and religious prince. The first ten years of his reign were blessed with peace. At the expiration of that time, he saw his kingdom attacked by a prodigious number of Cushites, with Zerah, the Ethiopian, at their head. Asa, relying on the God of armies, repelled them Asa repelled with success. He pursued the wise policy of establishing the Cushites. the national religion in all its splendour and influence, and

hoboam.

he had the pleasure of seeing multitudes flock to him from several of the revolted tribes, whom his zeal drew away from the king of Israel.

After a reign of forty-one years, Asa was succeeded, B. c. 918, by his son, Jehoshaphat. This prince is honourably spoken of in Scripture, for his piety and justice. In the third year of his reign, he sent Jehoshaphat is some of the principal officers of his court, with a competent king. number of priests and Levites, with copies of the Pentateuch, to instruct his people, throughout his kingdom, in the true religion. At the same time, he fortified all the considerable places of the land, and put garrisons in them, as well as in those which his father had taken from the The nation is kings of Israel. His kingdom was in a high state of prosprospered. perity; both the Philistines and Arabs were reduced to the Jehoram and necessity of paying tribute. Jehoshaphat was succeeded by Ahaziah kings. his son Jehoram, and his grandson Ahaziah, who had for his successor the princess Athaliah, in whose reign the affairs of Judah altered for the worse. Jehoram having married Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, was seduced into the idolatry of that wicked family, which drew upon him the vengeance of heaven. Jehoram and Ahaziah, with the greater part of the royal family, were slain about the same time with those of Israel, by Jehu, who imagined them to be friends and allies of the house The kingdom of Ahab. Athaliah showed herself a worthy descendant of that wicked stock, and the most bloody scenes defiled the royal palace of Jerusalem. She seized the vacant throne,

suffers under Athaliah.

massacred all the seed-royal, excepting one child, Joash, who was secreted in the temple by his father's sister, the wife of the high-priest. Athaliah maintained her oppressive government for six years, during which the temple was plundered, and the worship of Baal established. She met with a deserved fate.

Joash succeeded Athaliah. He reigned with justice as long as Jehoiada the high-priest lived. After his death, having fallen into idolatry, Zechariah, the son of Jehoida, reproved him for this sin, and Joash succeeded was stoned by the king's order. God then raised against him the king of Syria, who plundered Jerusalem.

Athaliah.

Amaziah reigned at first with success.

Falls by a conspiracy.

Azariah his successor.

His own servants also conspired against him, and slew him in his bed, in the fortieth year of his reign. The first act of Amaziah, the son and successor of Joash, was to do justice on the murderers of his father; but with merciful conformity to the law, unusual in such times, he did not involve the children in the treason of their fathers. This prince was prospered in the early part of his reign, but his success in war filled his heart with pride and vanity. His subjects having become disaffected towards him, he fell a victim to a conspiracy within the walls of his palace: he fled to Lachish, but was slain there. His son Azariah, or Uzziah, assumed the royal power, 809 B. C., and commenced a long, religious, and, therefore, prosperous reign of fifty-one years. He made successful wars against the Philistines and Arabians. Intoxicated, however, with prosperity, he went into the temple to burn incense upon the altar, and the Lord struck him with leprosy for his presumption. Jotham took the reins of government, during the life-time of his Jotham king. father Uzziah, and proved to be a wise and pious prince. The son and successor of Jotham was Ahaz, whose impieties made his reign peculiarly unfortunate and inglorious. He was scarcely seated on his throne, when his kingdom was invaded by the joint forces of Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria. In his extremity he had recourse to the king of Assyria, whose assistance he purchased with all the gold and silver he could find in the temple and city, and with the promise of a yearly tribute. Delivered by the assistance of Tiglath-pileser from Ahaz established his enemies, he forgot his danger, and instead of adoring the Syrian wor- Jehovah, shut up his temple, whilst he reared others in ship. every corner of Jerusalem, and throughout the land offered sacrifices to the Syrian gods. In this manner he finished his impious reign, and was succeeded by his son Hezekiah. The first act formed the na- of the new king was to restore all the branches of the worship of God, which were entirely neglected in the former reign. While thus employed, he was blessed with success equal to his piety. Finding himself strong enough to assert his independence, he refused to pay the tribute which the Assyrians had exacted from his predecessor; and taking the field against the Philistines, his arms were attended with such success, that, in a short time, he regained all that had been lost during the unfortunate reign of Ahaz. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, upon the refusal of Hezekiah to comply with the stipulation of Ahaz, invaded his country with a large army. They had just returned from Ethiopia, flushed with victory, and breathing destruction against the

Hezekiah rc

tion.

erib.

whole kingdom; but Hezekiah trusted in God, and thus was released from Is delivered danger. Before Sennacherib had committed any act of from Sennach- hostility against Judah, the best part of his army was smitten by an angel in one night. This dreadful judgment alarmed the proud Assyrian monarch, and caused him to retire, with the utmost confusion, into his capital, where he was soon after assassinated by his two sons. Hezekiah died in peace, in the twenty-ninth year of his

reign.

Manasseh succeeds Hezekiah.

.

He was succeeded by his son Manasseh, a king to whose crimes and irreligion the Jews mainly attribute the dreadful evils which shortly after consigned them to ruin and slavery. Abandoned of God for a time, he was allowed to fall into the hands of Esar-haddon, the new sovereign of Assyria. In the dungeons of Babylon he learned wisdom and piety. Upon his sincere repentance, he was permitted to regain not only his liberty, but his kingdom. His son Amon, who succeeded, following the early career of his father, fell a victim to a conspiracy among his own officers. His successor, Josiah, After Amon, Josiah comes to proved to be one of the most pious of all the princes of the throne and Judah, and quite reformed the Jewish nation, a circumstance reforms the peo- which, for a time, suspended the judgments of heaven ple. against that people. He reigned thirty-one years in profound peace. He afterwards engaged in battle with the king of Egypt, in the valley of Megiddo, where he received a wound which occasioned his death, The Egyptian king, who was Pharaoh Necho, on his return to Egypt took Jehoahaz, a son of Josiah, prisoner, whom the people had elected king of Judah, and placing his elder brother on the throne, whose name he changed from Eliakim into Jehoiakim, compelled him to pay a hundred talents of silver, and one talent of gold, as an acknowledgking, and does ment of vassalage. Jehoiakim, although warned by the wickedly. writings of several prophets to conduct himself uprightly, added every wickedness which invention could suggest, to the horrible abominations of his ancestors. At last God gave him and his city into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, who was just returned from Nebuchadnezzar the conquest of Egypt. This event happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign. Jerusalem was pillaged, and all the most beautiful youths of the palace were sent captives to Babylon. Jehoiakim was at first put into bonds, and intended to be sent away also, but upon his submission and promise to pay a yearly tribute, the victor left him as a kind of viceroy over his kingdom. But, whilst Nebuchadnezzar was employed in other conquests, the king of Judah renounced his subjection, and refused to pay the tribute. The Assyrian monarch, exasperated at this conduct, sent an army into Judea, which laid waste the whole kingdom. This army carried away three thousand and twenty prisoners, took, and murdered the king, and dragged his carcass out of the city gates, where they left it unburied.

Jehoiakim

took Jerusalem.

His son Jehoiachin was made king; but, not gaining the approbation of the king of Babylon, was, after a reign of three months, with his wives, Jehoiachin is mother, and the chief officers of the realm, led captive to king, and carried Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, who placed on the throne the into Babylon. nineteenth and last king of Judah, Zedekiah, another son