30 they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him : for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man 35 of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. We made an invasion upon the south country of the 1 Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south country of 2 Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to 40 him, Canst thou bring me down to this company ? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and 45 drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, 50 and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away and David rescued his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. And David took all the 55 flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people 60 that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and 65 his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. Then 1 The Cherethites appear to have been a tribe of Philistines. Men of this tribe formed part of David's bodyguard in later years. See Lesson LIII (2 Sam. 8.18). 2 The south country of Caleb is the territory of Hebron. See page 118. said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the 70 stuff: they shall part alike. And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah ; 75 to them which were in 3 Beth-el, and to them which were in Ramoth of the south country, and to them which were in Jattir, and to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, and to them which were in Racal, and to them which were in the cities of 80 the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, and to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach, and to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt. 85 2 Sam. 1.1. Now it came to pass when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; it came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head and so it was, when he came to David, 90 that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of 95 the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his 100 spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called 3 All the towns in this list whose sites are known were in the territory of the tribe of Judah (which included that of Simeon). Siphmoth, Racal, Chor-ashan, and Athach are unknown. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, unto me. Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He 105 said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his 110 arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord. Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel; because 115 they were fallen by the sword. And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy Jehovah's anointed? And David called one of the 120 young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head: for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain Jehovah's anointed. And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: and 125 he bade them teach the children of Judah 4 The Bow: behold, it is written in the book of 5 Jasher. 130 135 The gazelle, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! 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, Let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings: For there the shield of the mighty is defiled, The shield of Saul, anointed not with oil. 4 "The Bow" is the title of this lamentation. 5 Jasher means "The Upright.' The book of the Upright, which is also quoted in Joshua 10.13 (p. 115), seems to have been a collection of Hebrew ballads describing the deeds of the national heroes. 6i.e. "It is no longer kept polished and bright, but rusts." From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan turned not back, And the sword of Saul returned not empty. 140 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, 145 Who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights. Who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Upon thine high places Jonathan was slain. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan : 150 Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love to me was wonderful, Passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished! LESSON LII DAVID AND ISH-BOSHETH 2 SAMUEL 2.1. to 5.3 2.1. And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up ? And he said, Unto Hebron. So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, 5 and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite. And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. 155 ΙΟ 2.8. But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; and made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ish-bosheth Saul's son was forty 15 20 years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. 2.12. And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the 25 other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And they caught every one 30 his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called 1 Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David. And there were three 35 sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. 40 And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him. And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the 45 ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the belly, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place and it came to pass, that as many as 50 came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, 1 This means "Field of the sharp knives." |