VIII

OF ABIMELECH KING IN SHECHEM, AND JOTHAM HIS BROTHER (Judg. ix, 1-21, 22c, 23, 25, 42-56a.)

Abimelech ben Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren and spake with them and with all the family of his mother's father, saying: Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, saying: Which is better for you, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are threescore and ten persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said: He is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired worthless fellows who followed him. And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren, the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, on one stone; but Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, was left; for he hid himself. And all the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all Beth-Millo, and went and made Abimelech king by the terebinth of the pillar that was in Shechem.

And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice and cried unto them:

Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken to you! The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree: Reign thou over us! But the olive tree said unto them: Shall I leave my fatness seeing that through me gods and men are honored, and come to hold sway over the trees? And the trees said to the fig-tree: Come thou, and reign over us! But the fig-tree said unto them: Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruitage, and go to reign over the trees? And the trees said unto the vine: Come thou, and reign over us! And the vine said unto them: Shall I leave my wine, which gladdens gods and men, and go to hold sway over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble: Come thou, and reign over us! And the bramble said unto the trees: If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge under my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and uprightly in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to his deserts-for my father fought for you and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; and ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten men on one stone; and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem because he is your kinsman-if ye then have dealt truly and uprightly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from Beth-Millo and consume Abimelech. And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech, his brother.

After Abimelech had ruled three years, God sent a spirit of discord between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech. And the men of Shechem set liers-in-wait on the hilltops, and they robbed all that came along that way; and it was told Abimelech.

And on the following day, the people went out into the field, and it was told Abimelech. And he took the people and divided them into three companies and lay in wait in the field; and he looked and behold, the men were coming forth out of the city; and he rose against them and smote them. And Abimelech and the companies that were with him rushed forward and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and the two other companies rushed upon all that were in the field and smote them. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and took the city and slew all the people that were therein; and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.

And when the men of the tower of Shechem heard thereof, they went into the crypt of the temple of El-berith; and it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered there. And Abimelech gat him up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees and took it up and laid it on his shoulder; and he said to the men who were with him: Make haste, and do what ye have seen me do. And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech and put them to the crypt, and set fire to the crypt upon the men in it; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez and took it. But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women of the city and shut themselves in, and gat them up to the roof of the tower. And Abimelech came unto the tower and went close under the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull. Then he called hastily to his armor-bearer who attended him, and said unto him: Draw thy sword and kill me; that men may not say of me: A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place.

(Thus God requited the wickedness of Abimelech which he committed against his father in slaying his seventy brethren; and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did God requite upon their heads; and thus the curse of Jotham ben Jerubbaal came upon them all.)1

IX

OF JEPHTHAH THE GILEADITE WHO DELIVERED GILEAD FROM THE AMMONITES

Judg. x, 6a, c, 7; xi, 1a, 3-11, 30-40; xii, 1-6.)

(Preface by D.-And the Israelites again offended Yahweh and served the Baalim and the Ashtoreth, and forsook Yahweh and did not serve Him. And Yahweh was incensed against Israel, and sold them into the power of the Philistines and into the power of the Ammonites.)2

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a great warrior, and he was the son of a harlot. And Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in

1 Comment of a pre-exilic editor: possibly also the interpolator of the prefaces to these tales of the "Judges".

2 The mention of the Philistines seems to indicate that E, too, recounted some exploits of Samson's; but those that have been embodied in "Judges" are by J, and belong to his "History".

the land of Tob, and there gathered about him worthless fellows who went out with him. And it came to pass after a while that the Ammonites made war upon Israel. And the elders came to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob; and they said unto him: Come and be our chief, that we may fight against the Ammonites. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead: Did not ye hate me, and drive me out of my father's house? Why are ye come unto me now, when ye are in distress? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah: Therefore are we now returned to thee, that thou mayest go with us and fight with the Ammonites; and thou shalt be our chief over all the inhabitants of Gilead. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead: If ye bring me back home to fight against the Ammonites, and Yahweh deliver them over to me, then I will be your chief. And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah: Yahweh shall be witness between us; surely, according to thy word, so will we do. Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him chief and commander over them; and Jephthah spake all his words before Yahweh at Mizpah.

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto Yahweh, and said: If Thou wilt indeed deliver the Ammonites into my hand, then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the Ammonites, it shall be Yahweh's, and I will offer it up as a burnt-offering. Then Jephthah passed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and Yahweh delivered them into his hand. And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minneth, and even to Abel-cheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Children of Israel.

And Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house; and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes and cried: Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, thou art become my ruin; for I have vowed a vow unto Yahweh, and I cannot go back from it! And she said unto him: My father, thou hast vowed a vow unto Yahweh; do unto me according to that which thou hast vowed; forasmuch as Yahweh hath wrought vengeance for thee on thy foes, even on the children of Ammon. And she said unto her father: Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months that I may depart and go to the mountains and bewail my virginity, I and my companions. And he said: Go. And he sent her away for two months; and she went, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And at the end of two months she returned to her father; and he did with her according to the vow which he had vowed; and she had not known man. Thus it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Now the men of Ephraim were gathered together and passed over to Zaphon. And they said to Jephthah: wherefore didst thou pass over to fight with the Ammonites and didst not summon us to go with thee? We will burn thy house over thee with fire. And Jephthah said unto them: I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand. And when I saw that ye were not going to help me, I took my life in my hand and passed over against the Ammonites, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand. Wherefore, then, have ye come up unto me this day to fight against me? Then Jephthah gathered together

all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said: Ye are fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh.

And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites; and it was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said: Let me go over, the men of Gilead said unto them: Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said: Nay, then said they unto him: Say now Shibboleth; and he said: Sibboleth, for he could not pronounce it aright. Then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell of Ephraim that time forty and two thousand.

X

OF ELI THE PRIEST AND THE CHILD SAMUEL

(1 Sam'l, i, 1-28; ii, 11-36; iii, 1-21; iv, 1b, 2a, c, 3b, 4a, c, 6a, 7a, 8, 9b, c, 11-22.)

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-sophim, of the hillcountry of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to offer sacrifices unto Yahweh Sabaoath in Shiloh. (Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were priests there unto Yahweh.) And when a day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah. But Yahweh had shut up her womb; and her rival vexed her sore so as to make her fret, because Yahweh had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year when she went up to the house of Yahweh, so she vexed her; therefore she wept and would not eat. And her husband Elkanah said unto her: Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? Am I not better unto thee than ten sons?

Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by the door-post of the temple of Yahweh. And Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk, and she was in bitterness of soul. And she prayed unto Yahweh and wept sore; and she vowed a vow, and said: O Yahweh Sabaoth, if Thou wilt look upon the afflictions of Thine handmaid, and remember me and not forget Thine handmaid, but wilt give me a manchild, then I will give him unto Yahweh all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

Now it came to pass, as she prayed long before Yahweh, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard; therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her: How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said: Nay, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before Yahweh. Count not thine handmaid for a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation have I spoken hitherto.

Then Eli answered and said: Go in peace; and may the God of Israel

grant thy petition that thou hast asked of Him. And she said: Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early and worshipped before Yahweh, and returned and came to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. And it came to pass when the time was come about, that Hannah conceived and bare a son; and she called his name Samuel: Because I have asked him of Yahweh.

And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer the yearly sacrifice to Yahweh and his vow; but Hannah went not up, for she said unto her husband: Not until the child be weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh, and abide there for ever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her: Do what seemeth unto thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only may Yahwah establish His word. So the woman tarried and gave her son suck until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks and one ephah of meal and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of Yahweh in Shiloh; and the child was young. And when the bullock was slain, they brought the child unto Eli. And she said: O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto Yahweh. For this child I prayed, and Yahweh hath granted my petition which I asked of Him; therefore I also have lent him to Yahweh; as long as he liveth he is lent to Yahweh. And he worshipped Yahweh there. And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto Yahweh before Eli the priest.' Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not Yahweh. And the custom of the priests with the people was that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand and struck it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took. So they did unto all the Israelites that came thither in Shiloh. Yea, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came and said to the man that sacrificed: Give flesh to roast for the priest; for I will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. And if the man said unto him: Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as thy soul desireth; then he would say: Nay, but thou shalt give it me now; and if not, I will take it by force. And the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh; for the men dealt contemptuously with the offering of Yahweh.

But Samuel ministered before Yahweh, being a child girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little robe and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say: May Yahweh give thee seed of this woman for the loan which was lent to Yahweh. And they would go to their own house. So Yahweh remembered Hannah, and she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before Yahweh.

Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how they lay with the women that did service at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And he said unto them: Why do ye such things? for I hear evil reports concerning you from all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report which I hear the people of Yahweh do spread abroad. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sin against Yahweh, who shall entreat for him? But 1 The "Prayer of Hannah" (ch. ii, 1-10) is a late triumphal ode, recording the success of a king. See verses 4 and 10b.