men of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote CHAP. I. them with emrods, even Ashdod, and the coasts SECT. I. thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our God. They sent therefore, and gathered all the Lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel thither. 1 Sam. v. 2-8.

9.

Gath lay still more north than Ashdod, and is memorable for being the birth-place of the giant of Gath, Goliath, slain by David, as also of several others of the same gigantic race, slain by David's worthies. It was dismantled by David, rebuilt afterward by Rehoboam his grandson; but again dismantled by Ozias King of Judah, and finally laid waste by Hazael King of Syria. However it recovered, and was in being, and retained its old name in the days of Eusebius and Jerom, and is placed by them about four miles from Eleutheropolis, towards Diospolis or Lydda.

After the ark was brought to Gath, the hand of 10. the Lord was against the city with a very great Of Ekron. destruction; and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emrods in their secret parts. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron, 1 Sam. v. 9, 10. This city was the most northern of all the five cities, which gave name to the five lordships of the Philistines, lying in the north border of Judah, as appears from Josh. xv. 11. It was called by the Greeks, Accaron, and was a place of great wealth and power, and held out a long while against the Israelites, It is much spoken of in the holy Scriptures, and particularly for the idolatrous worship of Beelzebub, i. e. the Lord of Flies, so called by the Jews, either in contempt of the idolatrous worship paid to him, or because of the great multitude of flies which did attend his sacrifices; from which, some say, the

PART III. temple of Jerusalem was wholly free. But whatsoever he was, or for whatever cause so named, certain it is, that he was here had in special honour, and is therefore called in Scripture, the God of Ekron. And hither it was, that Ahaziah, the King of Israel, sent his messenger to enquire of this idol concerning his health.

11. Of Bethshemesh.

12.

jearim.

The ark being brought to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us, and our people. So they sent and gathered together all the Lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go to its own place. Hereupon, by the advice of their priests and the diviners, the ark of God was laid on a new cart; and two milch-kine, on which there had been no yoke, were tied to the cart, their calves being brought home from them. Notwithstanding which, the said two kine took the straight way to Bethshemesh, a town belonging to the tribe of Judah; whereby the Philistines were taught that the evils that had befallen them came not by chance, but that the God of Israel had afflicted them therewith. 1 Sam. vi. 9. This Bethshemesh lay in the north border of Judah (as appears from Josh. xv. 10.) and not far westward from Kirjath-jearim, of which we are to speak next.

And

From Bethshemesh the ark was quickly removed Of Kirjath- to Kirjath-jearim, where it continued for twenty years; namely, till it was fetched from thence by King David, as we read 1 Chron. xiii. 5, 6. This Kirjath-jearim is expressly reckoned among the cities of the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. 60. ver. 9, 10. of that chapter, we find it lay in the north border of that tribe, not far from Bethshemesh, and that it was otherwise called Baalah, and thence sometimes Kirjath-baal (ver. 60.) as well as Kirjath-jearim; this last name being taken from mount Jearim, upon or near which it lay. It frequently occurs in Scripture.

13.

After the ark was settled at Kirjath-jearim, SaMizpeh muel took occasion to exhort the people to turn

away from their idolatry; and, for their encou- CHAP. 1. ragement hereto, promised them, that, upon their SECT. I. repentance, God would deliver them out of the

hand of the Philistines. The Israelites took the on the west Prophet's advice: whereupon Samuel summoned of Jordan. them together to Mizpeh, and there kept a solemn fast. The Mizpeh here mentioned must be (as appears from the circumstances of this story) different from that above mentioned in the history of Jephthah: accordingly we have another Mizpeh, mentioned among the cities of Judah, (Josh. xv. 38.) and a third mentioned among the cities of Benjamin, (Josh. xviii. 26.) Some are of opinion, that these two were really but one and the same city, lying in the confines of Judah and Benjamin. If they were not the same, then it seems most probable, that Mizpeh in the tribe of Benjamin was that which is here spoken of, as also Judg. xx. 1. 3. and 2 Kings xxv. 23. and also 1 Maccab. iii. 46; where it is called Maspha, and is said to be, not only over against Jerusalem, but also the place where they prayed aforetime in Israel; alluding to this passage in Samuel, and the other in Judges.

14.

ezer.

The Philistines, hearing that the Israelites were gathered together at Mizpeh, went up against Of Ebenthem; and joining battle, the Philistines were routed, the Israelites pursuing them unto Beth-c -car. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer (i. e. the stone of help,) saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. chap. vii. ver. 11, 12. Now this stone lay near Bethshemesh, as Eusebius and Jerom inform us; and it being plain from Scripture, that Bethshemesh lay in the north border of Judah, it will follow, that this Eben-ezer did so likewise; and therefore, that Mizpeh was situated also thereabout, as being not far from Eben-ezer: and the like inference is to be made, as to the situation of Beth-car and Shen; namely, that as Mizpeh was situated not far from Eben-ezer on one (probably the east or north-east) side; so Shen was situated

PART III. not far from it on the opposite side, or to the west or south-west; and that Beth-car was so likewise.

1.

SECTION II.

Of the Places mentioned in the first Book of Samuel, from Saul's being anointed King, to his Death.

AFTER this the Philistines came no more into the Of the land coast of Israel, all the days of Samuel. And the of Zuph. cities, which the Philistines had taken from Israel, were restored to Israel. chap. vii. ver. 13, 14. Notwithstanding which, Samuel being grown old, and his sons not walking in his ways, the elders of Israel wait on Samuel at Ramah, and desire him to make a King over them, like as all other nations had. Hereupon the sacred History takes notice, upon what account Saul happened to come to Samuel, and how he was anointed by Samuel King over Israel, chap. ix-x. ver. 1. As for the land of Shalisha and Shalim, mentioned chap. ix. ver. 4. it being no where else mentioned, nothing of certainty, or tolerable probability, can be said of them. As for the land of Zuph, ver. 5. it is evident, that thereby is denoted that part of mount Ephraim, where stood Ramah, the city of Samuel, which was thence called Ramathaim-Zophim.

2.

In chap. x. ver. 2. we have mention made of RaOf Rachel's chel's sepulchre, where it is expressly said to be in sepulchre. the border of Benjamin, and near a place then called Zelzah. Of this sepulchre, see my Geography of the New Testament, Part I.

3.

In the latter end of this chapter we read, that Of Gibeah. Saul was publicly made King at Mizpeh; after

which he went home to Gibeah, a city of Benja- CHAP. I. min, and which, as it was his native place, so it SECT. II. was afterwards made his royal seat; whence it is styled in Scripture, Gibeah of Saul, as well as Gibeah of Benjamin. It was here, that the concubine of the Levite was abused; which proved almost the entire ruin of this tribe of Benjamin. It lay to the north of Jerusalem, being between twenty and thirty furlongs from it. (Jos. Ant. v. chap. 2. and Jewish War vi. chap. 2.) It stood on an hill, as the name imports.

Not long after this, Jabesh-Gilead being besieged by the Ammonites, was timely relieved by Saul, and a great slaughter made of the enemy. The very name of this place imports, that it lay in Gilead, and so on the east of Jordan, and adjoining to the country of the Ammonites who besieged it. It was a town in Eusebius and Jerom's times, being six miles distant from Pella, and standing upon an hill, as one goes to Gerasa. It is sometimes simply called Jabesh in Scripture; and the inhabitants thereof are remarked in the sacred History, for their grateful remembrance of this benefit they received from Saul, when after his death, having heard that the Philistines had fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan, they went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there; and took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. chap. xxxi. ver. 10-13. For which their gratitude they were highly commended by King David, 2 Sam. ii. 5-7.

4.

Of Jabesh

Gilead.

5.

In chap. xiii. ver. 5. we read, that the Philistines came up, and pitched in Michmash. This place, Of Mich the text tells us, was eastward from Beth-aven. mash. And Eusebius and Jerom inform us, that in their time it was a great town, retaining its old name, and lying nine miles from Jerusalem, near to Ramah. But now these two accounts are irreconcileable; and the fault seems to be either in the present reading of the Hebrew Text, or our rendering