Now the king's servants were very still, as supposing that the king had composed himself to sleep.

Hereupon Ehud informed the people of Jericho privately what he had done; and exhorted them to recover their liberty. They heard him gladly, and went to their arms, and sent messengers all over the country, that should sound trumpets* of rams' horns; for it was the custom to call the people together by them. Now the attendants of Eglon were ignorant of what misfortune had befallen him for a great while. But towards evening, fearing some uncommon accident had happened, they entered into his parlour, and when they found him dead, they were in great disorder, and knew not what to do. And before the guards could be got together, the multitude of the Israelites eame upon them. So that some of them were slain immediately, and some were put to flight, and ran away toward the country of Moab, in order to save themselves. Their number was above ten thousand. The Israelites seized upon the ford of Jordan, and pursued them, and slew them; and many they killed at the ford; nor did one of them escape out of their hands. And by this means it was that the Hebrews freed themselves from slavery under the Moabites. Ehud also was on this account dignified with the government over all the multitude, and died after he had held the government† eighty years. He was a man worthy of commendation, even besides what he deserved for the aforementioned act of his. After bim Shamgar,‡ the son of Anath, was elected for their governor; but died in the first year of his government.

✦ These 80 years for the government of Ehud, are necessary to Josephus's usual large numbers, between the Exodus and the building of the temple, of 592 or 612 years; but not to the smaller number of 480 years, 1 Kings vi. 1. which lesser number Josephus seems sometimes to have followed. And since in the beginning of the next chapter it is said by Josephus, that here was hardly a breathing for the Israelites before Jabin came and enslaved them ; it is highly probable that some of the copies in his time had here only eight years, instead of SO; as had that of Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autoyle, L. III. and this most probably from his copy of Josephus.

Judg. iii, 31.

CHAP. V.

OF THE OPPRESSION OF THE HEBREWS BY THE CANAANITES DURING TWENTY YEARS; AND THEIR EMANCIPATION BY BARAK AND DEBORAH, WHO RULED OVER THEM FORTY YEARS.

AND now it was* that the Israelites, taking no warning by their former misfortunes to amend their manners, and neither worshipping God, nor submitting to the laws, were brought under slavery again by Jabin,† king of the Canaanites; and that before they had a short breathing after the slavery under the Moabites. For this Jabin came out of Hazor, a city that was situate over the lake Semechonitis; and had in pay three hundred thousand armed footmen, and ten thousand horsemen ; with no fewer than three thousand chariots. Sisera was the commander of all this army, and was the principal person in the king's favour. He so sorely beat the Israelites when they fought with him, that he compelled them to pay tribute.

So they continued to undergo that hardship for‡ twenty years, as not good enough of themselves to grow wise by their misfortunes. God was willing also hereby the more to subdue their obstinacy and ingratitude towards himself. So when, at length, they were become penitent, and were so wise as to learn that their calamities arose from their contempt of the laws, they besought Deborah, a certain prophetess, whose name, in the He

* An. 1375.

+ Judg. iv. 2.

From An. 1374 to 1354.

The words Prophet and Prophetess are of very ambiguous signification in both Testaments; sometimes they denote persons extraordinarily inspired by God, and endued with the power of working miracles and foretelling things to come; and sometimes they are used for persons endued with special, though not miraculous gifts or graces, for the better understanding and explaining the word of God; and, of this sort, were the sons of the prophets, or such as were brought up in the schools of the prophets. As, therefore, we read nothing of any miraculous action that Deborah did, she perhaps was only a woman of eminent holiness and prudence, and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, by which she was singularly qualified to judge the people, i. e. to determine causes and controversies among them according to the word of God. For though Jabin oppressed them sorely, yet it

brew tongue, signifies a Bee, to pray to God to take pity on them, and not to overlook them now they were ruined by the Canaanites. So God granted them deliverance, and chose for their general one Barak, who was of the tribe of Naphthali; and whose name in the Hebrew tongue signifies Lightning.

So Deborah sent for Barak, and bid him choose out ten thousand young men to go against the enemy; because God had said, that that number was sufficient, and promised them victory. But when Barak said, he would not be the general, unless she would go also as a general with him, she had indignation at what he said, and replied: "Thou, O Barak, deliverest up meanly that authority which God hath given thee, into the hand of a woman, and I do not reject it." So they collected ten thousand men, and pitched their camp at mount Tabor; where, at the king's command, Sisera met them, and pitched his camp not far from the enemy. Whereupon the Israelites, and Barak himself, were so affrighted at the multitude of those enemies, that they were resolved to march off, had not Deborah retained them, and commanded them to fight the enemy that very day; for that they should conquer them, and God would be their assistance.

So the battle began; and when they were come to a close fight, there came down from heaven a great storm, with a vast quantity of rain and hail; and the wind blew the rain in the face of the Canaanites, and so darkened their eyes, that their arrows and slings were of no advantage to them. Nor would the coldness of the air permit the soldiers to make use of their swords. This storm, however, did not so much incommode the Israelites, because it came on their back. They also took such courage upon the apprehension that God was assisting them, that they fell upon the very midst of their enemies, and slew a great number of them. So that some of them fell by the Israel

was rather by rigorous taxations, than infringing their laws, which he still suffered to be administered by their own officers. And of this he might take the less notice, because the supreme judicature was exercised by a woman, from whose power and authority, he thought there was no reason to apprehend any danger; though this certainly gave her an opportunity of endearing herself to the people, and made her, by this means, the fitter instrument to rescue them from oppres sion. Pool's Annot. B.

ites; some fell by their own horses, which were put into disorder; and not a few were killed by their own chariots. At last Sisera, as soon as he saw himself beaten, fled away, and came to a woman, whose name was Jael,* a Kenite; who received him, when he desired to be concealed, and when he asked for somewhat to drink, she gave him sour milk;† of which he drank so freely, that he fell asleep. But when he was asleep, Jael took an iron nail, and drove it through his temples with a hammer, into the floor. And when Barak came a little afterwards, she shewed Sisera nailed to the ground. And thus was the

* She was of the posterity of Hobab, the son of Jethro, father-in-law of Moses; and is here called a Kenite, because originally she descended from those people who dwelt westward of the Dead Sea, and extended themselves pretty far into Arabia Petræa. The word Ken, from which they took their name, signifies a nest, a hole, or a cave, and to this the prophet Balaam might allude, when he addressed himself to them in these words:-"Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy nest on a rock; nevertheless the Kenites shall be wasted, until Ashur shall carry thee away captive." Numb. xxiv. 21. These Kenites indeed were some of the people whose lands God had promised to the descendants of Abraham; nevertheless, in consideration of Jethro, all that submitted to the Israelites, were permitted to live in their own country. In Numb. x. 29. we find that Hobab was invited by Moses to accompany him into the land of Canaan; and, in all probability, he accepted the invitation. At their first coming, they settled themselves in the territories of Jericho; but having contracted a particular friendship with the tribe of Judah, they removed with them into the country that fell to their lot, Judg. i. 16. Every family of them, however, did not so; for this Heber, we find, for some reasons that are not mentioned, had settled his habitation in the tribe of Naphthali, Judg. i. 11. The Kenites, indeed, though they were proselytes and worshipped the true God, according to the Mosaic law, yet being strangers by birth, and so not pretending to any right or title to the land of Canaan, held it best policy, in these troublesome times, to observe a neutrality, and maintain peace, as well as they could, both with the Israelites and Canaanites; and upon this footing it was, that there was a peace between king Jabin and the house of Heber, and that Sisera, in his distress, fled to Heber's tent for protection, and put confidence in the feigned civilities of his wife. Howell's Hist. of the Bible

B.

Jael certainly shewed her regard for Israel by destroying Sisera; but it is as certain that she did not do it in the most honourable manner; there was treachery in it; perhaps, in the estimation of those people, the greatest treachery. Among the later Arabs, giving a person drink has been thought to be the strongest assurance of their receiving him under their protection. When Guy de Lusignan, king of Jerusalem, was taken prisoner, and was conducted before Saladin, he de manded drink, and they gave him fresh water, which he drank in Saladin's presence; but when one of his lords would have done the same, Saladin would not suffer it, because he did not intend to spare his life; on the contrary, advancing to him, after some expostulations, he cut off his head. D'Herbelot, p. 371; Harmer, vol. ii. p. 469.

Judg. iv. 22.

victory gained by a woman, as Deborah had foretold. Barak also fought with Jabin, at Hazor; and when he met with him, he slew him. And when the general was fallen, Barak overthrew the city to the foundation, and was the commander of the Israelites for forty years.

CHAP. VI.

OF THE OPPRESSION OF THE HEBREWS BY THE MIDIANITES AND OTHER NATIONS; AND OF THEIR DELIVERANCE BY GIDEON, WHO RULED OVER THE MULTITUDE FOR SEVEN YEARS.

NOW when Barak and Deborah were dead, whose deaths happened about the same time, the Midianites called the Amalekites and Arabians to their assistance, and made war against the Israelites, and were too hard for those that fought against them; and when they had burnt the fruits of the earth, they carried off the prey. Now when they had done this for three years, the multitude of the Israelites retired to the mountains, and forsook the plain country. They also made themselves hollows under ground, and caverns; and preserved therein whatsoever had escaped their enemies. For the Midianites made expeditions in harvest time, but permitted them to plough the land in winter; that so, when the others had taken the pains, they might have fruits for them to carry away. Indeed, there ensued a famine, and a scarcity of food; upon which they betook themselves to their supplications to God, and besought him to save them.*

Gideon also, the son of Joash, one of the principal persons of the tribe of Manasseh, brought his sheaves of corn privately, and threshed them at the wine-press; for he was too fearful of the enemies to thresh them openly in the threshing-floor. At

* Judg. vi. 6.

It is generally supposed that Gideon's father had been a worshipper, if not a priest of Baal; and therefore it is not unlikely, that he had by this time been convinced by his son, that God had given him a commission to recover his people, and to begin with this reformation, and this made him appear so boldly in his son's cause, because he knew it was the cause of God. Pool's Annot. and Patrick's Commentary. B.