of antiquity, and especially the Hebrews. In Joshua's time, we find but four sorts of public officers; zakonim, senators or elders; rashim, chiefs; shophetim, judges; and soterim, inferior officers.* When the kingdom was more flourishing, in David's time, the following officers are mentioned; six thousand Levites, officers and judges; the heads of tribes; heads of families t which are rather names of quality than employment; the heads of twelve corps, of twenty-four thousand men each; the heads of one thousand, and of a hundred men; the heads over those that tenanted the king's demesnes, that is, his lands and cattle. I call those heads here whom the Hebrew calls sirim, and the Latin principes. But I must observe, once for all, that it is impossible to express the titles of offices and dignities in another language. Thus, neither the Greek nor Latin versions give us a just idea of the Chaldean employments, taken notice of in Daniel, Ezekiel,§ and others. Besides, among David's officers they reckon his eunuchs, or domestic servants; for throughout the Scripture, the word eunuch is often taken for what we call a valet-de-chambre, or footman, or, in general, for any servant employed about the king's person, without signifying any personal imperfection. Captains over fifty men are likewise mentioned in other places: but we find nothing of captains over tens, except in the Law. Most of these posts are military: and the rest are but a trifle, if one considers the multitude of people, and the extent of David's kingdom. *Josh. xxiv. 1. + 1 Chron. xxiii. 4. Dan. iii. 3. § Ezek. xxiii. 23, CHAP. AFTER CHAP. XXIII. Their Wars. the administration of justice, we must speak of war. There was not an Israelite that did not carry arms, the Priests and Levites not excepted. Benaiah the priest, son of Jehoiada, was one of the most renowned for bravery in David's army,* and was general of Solomon's troops in the room of Joab. All were reckoned soldiers that were of age for service; and that was at twenty years old and upwards. They were like the militia in some countries, always ready to assemble at the first notice. The difference is, that with us all ecclesiastics are forbidden the use of arms, and that we have moreover an infinite number of people unfit for war; lawyers, receivers of the king's revenues, citizens, merchants, and tradesmen :‡ whereas, they were all husbandmen and shepherds, inured from their childhood to labour and fatigue. Nor is it improbable that they used them to handle arms, at least from the time of David and Solomon. Thus, at Rome, all the citizens of such an age were obliged to serve a certain number of campaigns, when they were commanded: from whence it comes that they did not use the expression of levying troops, but called it choosing§ ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 20. 1 Kings ii. 35. † Numb. i. 3. 22. 2 Chron. viii. 9. them, them, because they had always a great many more than they wanted. It was no difficult thing for the Israelites to support their armies; the country was so small, and the enemy so near, that they often came back to lodge at home, or had but one or two days march. Their arms were nearly the same with those of the Greeks and Romans: swords, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, that is to say, half pikes; for we must not imagine the antients had hand-spears, such as our antient cavalry used. Their swords were broad, and hung upon their thigh. They made use of slings, as we may see in the men of Gibeah in Benjamin, who could have slung to a hair's breadth; and the same Gibeonites fought alike with both hands. Saul commonly held a javelin in his hand:§ Homer represents his heroes, and the Romans Quirinus, and their other gods, in the same manner. But they did not wear any arms, except upon duty, not so much as a sword. When David ordered his men to march against Nabal, he first bids them gird on their swords, though they lived in a state of continual alarm. The custom of always wearing a sword by the side was peculiar to the Gauls and Germans. + And this is what our Lord refers to in the Gospel, when he so often says, Many are called, but few chosen. The great mass of the people was called together, and a choice was made of those who were most fit for service. A saying which, by the way, has no reference to the doctrine of unconditional Election and Reprobation, into the service of which it has been injudiciously pressed. Psal. xlv. 3. Cant. iii. 8. Judg. xx. 16. § 1 Sam. xviii. 10. and xix. 9.~ || 1 Sam. xxv. 13. ̧ For defensive arms, they carried shields, bucklers, head-pieces, armour for the back and breast, and sometimes greaves to cover the legs. We see an instance of a complete suit of armour in that of Goliah, which was all brass, like that of the Greeks in Homer. But it looks as if these arms were scarce, among the Israelites, at that time, since king Saul offered to lend David his. They became common afterwards, and Uzziah had sufficient to furnish all his troops, which were more than three hundred thousand men.t The same king erected machines upon the towers on the walls of Jerusalem to throw great stones and arrows, and fortified several cities as most other kingsdid. Thus war was carried on so early, almost in the same manner as it was in later times, before the invention of fire-arms. The Israelites had only infantry at first, and that was also the chief strength of the Greeks and Romans. Cavalry is not so necessary in 1 Sam. xvii. 5, 6. Ibid. 38. +2 Chron. xxvi. 14, 15. The neglect of cavalry among the Israelites has afforded, to an excellent writer of this age, a strong internal proof of that people's being under the immediate guidance of a supernatural power. The prohibition is express, Deut. xvii. He (that is, whoever shall be king of Israel,), shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt. Áccordingly they prospered or were defeated as they obeyed er transgressed this divine command which, as he observes, it is impossible to justify by the measures of human prudence, See Bishop Sherlock's fourth Dissertat, Dr. Warburton, pursuing the same argument, observes, with our author, that even upon political reasons the Jews might be justified in the disuse of cavalry in defence of their country, but not in conquering it from a warlike people who abounded in horses. Here at least the exertion of an extraordinary Providence was wonderfully conspicuous. See Div, Leg. Vol. II, Book iv. § 5. hot hot countries, where they can always travel dryshod: neither can, they be of much use in mountains; but they are of great advantage in cold climates where the roads are dirty, and to make long marches over plains that are either barren. or thinly inhabited, as in Poland and Tartary... But they had cavalry under their kings; and the, first sign of Absalom's revolt was raising horses and chariots; and yet, when he had lost the battle, he got upon a mule to make his es cape. Solomon, who could bear any expence, sent for a vast number of horses out of Egypt, and kept forty thousand of them, with twelve thousand chariots. Their chariots of war were probably, like those of the Greeks, small, with two wheels, that would carry one or two men standing upright or leaning upon the fore-part. The succeeding kings, who could not support the great expence that Solomon did, sent from time to time for succours to Egypt, and upon these occasions there is always mention made of horses. The Jews must have had no cavalry in Hezekiah's time, by Rabshakeh's insolence in saying to them, Come into my master's service, the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee.two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.‡ The Scripture informs us of no particulars relating to their military motions, the form of their battalions, or general order of battle, though it often speaks of troops in battle array: but for the art of encamping and marching in good order, * 2 Sam. xviii. 9. 1 Kings iv. 26. 2 Chron. ix. 25. X 2 the |