However, the lower city, otherwise called the Royal City, or the City of Waters, was at length taken and the upper city, altho' in all probability much stronger, from the advantage of its fituation, on the top of a hill, could not hold out long, when its fupply of water was wholly cut off. Of this, Joab, in all the generofity of a brave soldier, and all the affection of a faithful subject, immediately informed his king; exhorting him, That he would come in perfon, and put the finishing hand to the fiege: Left I take the city, faith he, and it be called after

my name.

THERE is a gallantry, and a magnificence in this propofal, capable of creating admiration in the meaneft minds. The man that could transfer the glory of his own conqueft's upon his prince, needs no higher an elogy. And it is but juftice to the character of Joab, to declare, that he is, as far as I am informed, fupreme, if not unrivaled * in this fingular inftance of heroifm.

DAVID

*It is true, Curtius mentions a like conduct in Craterus, in relation to the fiege of Artacana (lib. vi. cap. 6.); but this conduct of Craterus was evidently the effect of fear, not generofity. He well knew, that his

mafter,

DAVID readily complied with his gene ral's monition; and immediately affembling his people, probably those troops of his militia, then on the duty of their monthly course, he marched them to Rabbah.

AND here I beg leave to obferve, that David had, from the inftitution of his militia, greater advantages for continuing fieges, and being fuccessful in them, than any other monarch we read of in history: inafmuch as he could fend a monthly recruit of twenty-four thousand men to his army, without departing from the established order of his militia, or putting his people to any new trouble or expence; which could not but be a vaft relief to the weary and wounded of the army, and raise the courage of the rest; and at the fame time, a vaft discouragement to the enemy, to have fo many fresh men to encounter with every month, whilst they themselves were every day in a more weary and wasting way. And

mafter, Alexander, was the vaineft and moft ambitious of all mortals; and, at that time, tyrannical to a high degree and therefore he did not dare to take the city before his arrival. Alexander now fet up for a God; and fo far aped that character, as not to give his glory to another.

thefe

these I take to have been the people which David took with him to Rabbah; and with which he now, as the text informs us, fought against it, and took it. For if it were not to relieve the foldiers who were on that fervice, there seems to have been no neceffity of carrying new men thither, when the difficulty of the fiege was over.

THE reader will naturally observe, that this was an expedition, and a conqueft, which came very feasonably to remove David's melancholy, to relieve his distress, to blot out the memory of his guilt in relation to Uriah, and to revive his glory in arms. And if Joab confidered it in this light, (as in all probability he did) the praise of his generofity is ftill more ennobled in this view.

RABBAH was a royal, a large, and a populous city; the metropolis of Arabia felix : watered, and, in fome measure, encompaffed, by the river fabbok. It had its name. from its grandeur, being derived from a Hebrew word, which fignifies to increase and grow great; and was now in the heighth of its glory.

VOL. III.

E

POLY

POLYBIUS defcribes this city*, as built upon several little eminencies, on the top of a hill. It was a confiderable city when Antiochus took it, yet it then only covered the top of the hill; whereas it now not only covered, but encompaffed it. And therefore it is natural to think, that the taking of this royal city brought David a great acceffion of glory, as the text affures us it did of wealth. For we are told, that he not only took a crown of gold (adorned with precious ftones) of a great value + from the king's head, but likewise, that he brought forth the Spoil of the city in great abundance.

THE king, David formally depofed; and Dr. Trapp thinks, that the form of his depofal was, by arraying him in his royal robes, (and probably placing him on his throne) with his crown upon his head, and then formally divefting him of all his enfigns of royalty, fomewhat in the fame manner, that the duke of Lancaster deposed Richard II. concerning whom Dr. Trapp adds this obfervation from his hiftorian, Never was prince fo gorgeous with less glory, or more grief.

* Hift. lib. v.

† A talent.

AND

AND it must be owned, that the text feems to countenance this opinion of Dr. Trapp's, in that expreffion, And he took their king's crown from off his head was fet on David's head.

and it

THE king now depofed was Hanun, the fon of Nahash: and inasmuch as we find Shobi of Rabbah, another fon of Nabah, fome time after this, in friendship with David, and fhewing him fignal kindness, at a season when nothing but friendship could exact it from him; there is all the reason in the world to believe, that David, upon depofing Hanun, made Shobi his viceroy at Rabbah; and treated him with fignal kindnefs upon that occafion.

We now come to that part of David's conduct, feemingly the most exceptionable, after the affair of Uriah; and most bitterly objected to, of all others: and that is, the tortures which, the text gives us to understand, he inflicted on the people taken in Rabbah : fawing fome of them afunder, tearing others to pieces by harrows of iron, and burning others in brick-kilns. Commentators alfo have been, in fome measure, tortured upon this point fome interpreting the text, fo as to E 2

clear