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On the third day of David's return to Ziklag a man arrived in haste, with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head, and laid at the feet of David the crown and armlet (1) which Saul had worn. He told, truly, that Israel had fled before the Philistines, and that Saul and his sons were slain; but thinking to win royal rewards from the son of Jesse, he boasted that he had slain Saul with his own hand. The truth was probably that he had found the body of Saul in the night after the battle, and had taken from it the royal insignia which he brought to David. His expectations were grievously disappointed; for David, believing his statement, caused him to be put to death, as one who had not feared to slay the Lord's anointed. The man was an Amalekite. David mourned and fasted for the desolation of Israel, and he lamented the death of his beloved Jonathan, and even of Saul, in a most affecting and beautiful elegy, which we may here introduce as a specimen of the poetical compositions of one whose rank among the poets of the Hebrews is fully equal to that which he occupies among their kings:-*

The version now given is that of Boothroyd, altered in some of the lines.

"O, antelope of Israel! pierced on thy high place!
How are the mighty fallen!

Tell it not in Gath;

Publish it not in the streets of Askelon;

Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,

Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, on you be no dew,
Nor rain, nor fields of first-fruits;
Since there hath been vilely cast away,
The shield of the mighty, the shield of Saul,
The armour of him anointed with oil.

From the blood of the slain,

From the fat of the mighty,

The bow of Jonathan was not held back,

Nor did the sword of Saul return in vain.
Saul and Jonathan !

In mutual love were they in life united,
And in their death they were not separated.
Swifter than eagles, stronger than lions were they!
Ye daughters of Israel weep over Saul,
Who clothed you pleasantly in scarlet,
And put golden ornaments upon your robes.
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of battle!

O Jonathan, slain on thy own mountains!

I am grieved for thee, O Jonathan, my brother!

Very dear to me wast thou:

Wonderful was thy love to me,

Surpassing the love of women.

How are the mighty fallen!

And the weapons of war perished!"

That he mourned even for Saul, will only be attributed to hypocrisy by those who are themselves incapable of such magnanimity, and are determined to forget that David, during the life of his persecutor, always respected him as a king appointed by God, and twice spared him when he had his life completely in his power.

With the approbation of the Lord, whom he consulted, David now removed, with his family and friends, to Hebron, where the rulers of the tribe of Judah, with views altogether theocratical, awarded the sceptre to him, as one whom God had already designated as king. David was at this time thirty years of age.

But no other tribe concurred with Judah in this important step. On the contrary, all the other tribes elected Saul's only surviving son, Eshbaal, as he was originally named, but nicknamed Ishbosheth (a man of shame), from his weakness and incapacity, which, it would appear, saved his life, by precluding him from being present at the battle in which his brothers perished. This measure was probably promoted by that radical jealousy between the tribes of Judah and Ephraim, which prevented the latter (which took the lead among the other tribes) from concurring in the appointing a king of the rival tribe, or indeed from heartily sympathising in any measure which that tribe originated. But the prime agent in this schism was Abner, the commander of the army, who had drawn off the remnant of the defeated army to the other side the Jordan, and there, at Mahanaim, proclaimed Ishbosheth king. Abner was a bold and able, but unprincipled man; and doubtless expected to govern in the name of his feeble nephew. And he did so.

For two years no hostile acts between the two kingdoms took place. But war was at length provoked by Abner, who crossed the Jordan with the intention to subdue the tribe of Judah to the authority of Ishbosheth. David sent Joab to meet him; and the opposing forces met near the pool of Gibeon. But the men on each side felt that they were all Israelites, and were reluctant to fight against each other. The two generals, therefore, thought of a device which has often been employed in the East, and elsewhere, to excite tribes or nations to battle, when relationship or other causes made them reluctant or wanting in zeal. Twelve men on each side were matched to fight against each other between the two armies; and so well were they matched that they no sooner came within reach of one another, than each man seized his antagonist by the head and sheathed his sword in his body, so that they were all killed

⚫ 1 Chron. xiii. 33, ix. 39.

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upon the spot. This kindled the opposing forces, and a desperate and most sanguinary battle followed. It ended in the defeat of Abner, who was himself obliged to flee for his life. As he fled he was singled out by Joab's brother Asahel," who was as swift of foot as any antelope of the field;" and he pursued him, without allowing himself to be drawn aside by other objects. He was close at the heels of Abner, when the latter looked back, and finding who it was, he became most anxious to avoid such a bloodfeud as would arise between him and Joab, in case he slew his brother, even in his own defence. He therefore entreated Asahel to turn back that he might not be compelled to smite him to the ground. But finding that he was still pursued, and that it was impossible to outstrip his pursuer, he struck at him with the hinder point of his spear, and with such force, that the weapon passed through him and came out behind. The pursuit of Abner and the other fugitives was continued by Joab and his other brother Abishai until sunset, by which time they were got as far as the hill of Ammah. Here the Benjamites (always valiant, and jealously attached to the house of Saul) rallied again under Abner, and posting themselves on the rising of the hill, stood prepared to make a stout defence;

[The Pursuer Slain.]

The spear is armed at the lower end with a pointed iron, whereby it is stuck into the ground when the owner is in repose.

VOL. 1.

but their general, who was weary of fighting, called to Joab, and begged him to put a stop to the slaughter of his brethren, whose destruction could not but cause bitterness in the end. Although Joab had determined to continue the pursuit all night, he had the sense to hearken to his advice, and caused the trumpet to sound a retreat. After this, Abner and his men took the way to Mahanaim, and Joab returned to Hebron. Abner lost three hundred and sixty men in this action, while on David's side only nineteen were killed. The war having thus commenced, was continued for several years; but it appears to have been a small irritating warfare, which never came to any important or decisive engagement between the opposing parties. It was, however, attended with this result, that the cause of David was gathering strength every day, while the house of Saul daily became weaker and weaker. Indeed it seems to have required all the great talents of Abner to keep the kingdom of Ishbosheth together.

Meanwhile David reigned prosperously in Hebron. He increased the number of his wives to six. by all of whom sons were born to him in that place.* In this small kingdom his good and prosperous government, together with the knowledge that he had been divinely appointed to reign over all Israel, appears insensibly to have inclined the other tribes towards him, by which, more even than by war, his cause gathered that strength which that of Ishbosheth lost. Abner was fully sensible that without himself the kingdom of his nephew would fall to pieces, or rather pass quietly into the hands of David. He rated his services at their full value; and although we do not ourselves see cause to suspect, as some have done, that he contemplated taking the crown to himself, it is certain that he was not disposed to consider himself responsible to the king for his conduct, or to allow any of his proceedings to be questioned by him. Now Ishbosheth had heard that Abner carried on a criminal intercourse with one of Saul's concubines, named Rizpah: and as, according to the usages of the East, the concubines of a deceased sovereign became the property of the successor in so strong and peculiar a sense, that such an act as that imputed to Abner might be interpreted into a design upon the erown,† or at least was an insulting encroachment upon the peculiar rights of royalty, even the timid Ishbosheth was roused to question Abner on the subject. It is not very clear whether the charge was true or false; but it is clear that this overbearing personage was astonished and disgusted that the king should dare to question any part of his conduct. He rose into a towering passion :-" Am I, who, against Judah, have to this day shown kindness to the house of Saul, thy father, and to his brethren and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hands of David, such a dog's head that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman? God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as Jehovah hath sworn to David, I do not so to him, by transferring the dominion of the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba." From this it seems that even Abner knew that he had acted against a higher duty, in setting up Ishbosheth in opposition to David; but this cannot justify the grounds on which he now declared his intention to act against him. What he had said was no vain threat, although he was probably willing afterwards that the son of Saul should take it for an unmeaning outbreak of passion. He sent messengers to David to enter into a treaty with him, under which he would engage to use his great influence in bringing all Israel to acknowledge him as king; and after this he found a pretence for going himself unsuspectedly to Hebron to complete the agreement and arrange the steps to be taken. David had sent to Ishbosheth to desire him to restore to him his wife Michal, whom Saul had given to another. He had a perfect right to make this demand, if so inclined,—the rather as she had thus been disposed of against her own wish; but we may suppose that he was particularly induced to reclaim her at this juncture, in considera

For the purposes of the sequel it may be useful to note the names of these wives, and of the sons which they bore to David. 1. Ahinoam, of Jezreel, bore Amnon. 2. Abigail, the widow of Nabal, bore Chileab, otherwise Daniel. 3. Maachah, the danghter of Talmai, king of Geshur, bore Absalom and a daughter named Tamar. 4. Haggith bore Adonijah. 5. Abital bore Shephatiah. 6. Eglah bore Ithream. But as this enumeration is only for genealogical uses, it appears likely that the first-born son only of these several wives is named. It is improbable that they all had one son and none more. Some probably had daughters also; but Tamar only is named, as her history ultimately became of historical importance.

See instances of this in the case of Absalom (2 Sam. xx. 23) and Adonijah, 1 Kings, ii. 13—25.

tion of the satisfaction the measure was likely to give to those attached to the family of Saul. As this claim was doubtless supported by Abner, it was granted; and having obtained an order to demand her from her present husband, that personage himself undertook to escort her to David. From this transaction it would seem that the war had latterly been allowed to die away, although without any concession or treaty having been made on either side. That he was escorting the daughter of Saul to David, proved to Abner a favourable opportunity, on his way, of explaining his present sentiments to the elders of the tribes through which he passed; especially to those of Benjamin, which was naturally the most attached to the house of Saul, while his own influence in it was the greatest. He dwelt strongly on the public benefits which might be expected from the government of one who had been expressly nominated by Jehovah to the kingdom; and such a representation, coming from such a quarter, coupled with the favourable dispositions towards David which had grown up during his reign in Hebron, was attended with such effect, that Abner was authorised to make overtures to him in behalf of the tribes which had hitherto adhered to the house of Saul.

Abner was received with great distinction and royally feasted by David; and after the business on which he really came had been settled to his satisfaction, he departed with the intention of inducing the tribes to concur in giving David a public invitation to take the crown of Israel.

Joab had been absent from Hebron during this visit of Abner; but he returned immediately after Abner had departed, and was deeply displeased when he learned what had occurred. Through the energy of his character, his abilities and experience in the affairs of peace and war, his influence and popularity with the army, which was under his command, and his unquestioned devotion to the interests of David, this man had great authority with the king. His standing, indeed, in the kingdom of Judah, had much resemblance to that of Abner in the other kingdom; nor were their characters altogether unlike. In the points of difference the advantage was on the side of Abner; for his experience in military and public affairs was larger, from which, together with his near relationship to Saul and his son, and the high stations he had occupied under them, his influence with the people was far greater than that which Joab or any other man in Israel could pretend to; and hence his greater power at this time of rendering essential services to the king of Judah. Abner and Joab also served very different masters; and thus it happened that while Abner was, in the public eye, the greatest man in the kingdom of Israel, Joab was in that of Judah only the greatest man next to David. Upon the whole, Abner was the only man in the country of whom Joab had cause to be afraid, and by whom it was likely that his own influence would be superseded in case the two kingdoms were united through his instrumentality. It was probably more from such considerations than any other that his displeasure at the intercourse between David and Abner He went instantly to the king, and reproached him for allowing himself to be imposed upon by the able uncle of Ishbosheth, declaring his belief that the true object of his visit was to obtain such information concerning his state and resources as he might afterwards employ against him. He then went out and sent a messenger after Abner to call him back in the name of the king. As he returned, Joab took care to meet him near the gate, and drew him aside as if to speak to him privately, and while he was entirely unguarded and unsuspicious, gave him a treacherous stab, of which he instantly died. The history describes this as an act of blood-revenge for the death of his brother Asahel by the hand of Abner; and while allowing him the full benefit of this motive, it is hard to believe that envy and jealousy sharpened not the dagger of the avenger. It must be conceded, nevertheless, that the existence of a blood-feud between them extenuated if it did not justify the act of Joab in the eyes of all Israel. It was, in fact, according to the strict ideas of that barbarous institution, the imperative duty of Joab to shed the blood of Abner who had slain his brother; and that Abner himself knew that the death of Asahel would be attended with this result, is evinced by his anxiety to avoid the fatal necessity of slaying his pursuer; for if the man-slayer is known, the avenger is not bound to make any distinction as to the circumstances under which his relative is slain: and at the present day, the one who slays another in battle is

arose.

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