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time have been at Nob, although we do not elsewhere find the least intimation of such a circumstance; and the connected account which we have of the successive removals of the ark, after having been restored by the Philistines from Beth-shemesh to Kirjath-jearim, and from thence to the house of Obed-edom, and afterwards to Jerusalem by David, without any mention of Nob, might incline us to suppose that, if the tabernacle was at Nob, the ark was not in it. There is no question that the customary services and sacrifices still took place at the tabernacle, even when the ark was absent.

4. There is hallowed bread.'-This was the old shewbread, which, after lying a week on the table in the holy place, was taken away and might only be eaten by the priests.

5. The vessels of the young men are holy,' etc.-We subjoin the older version of Queen Elizabeth's translators: 'The vessels of the young men were holy though the way were profane; and how much more then shall every one be sanctified this day in the vessel;' meaning, as the annotator explains-'shall be more careful to keep his vessel holy, when he shall have eaten of this holy food.' The word vessels' seems, as in 1 Thess. iv. 4, and elsewhere, to denote the persons of the young men and David appears to mean that they were ceremonially clean when they had set out, and that if they had since contracted any pollution they could now be purified.

7. Doeg an Edomite.'-He was of course a proselyte to the Hebrew religion. Some of the Rabbins think that he was of the seed of Israel, but is called an Edomite from having lived in Edom; but this has a very suspicious look, and may be traced to their desire to intimate that no alien by birth was admitted to offices of trust and importance; whence also they affirm that Uriah was a true Israelite, but is called the Hittite,' because he had dwelt among the Hittites.

The

The chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.'— Saul had by this time probably made large additions to his paternal property in flocks and herds, which constituted a very considerable part of the wealth of the ancient monarchs. As large possessions of this kind required to be divided into several parts and fed in different places, the person who had the general superintendence of the whole held an office of very considerable. importance. office of governor of the royal flocks is often mentioned by the ancient writers, as existing in most countries of which they had knowledge. David, however, who was practically well acquainted with the management of cattle, seems to have abolished the office of general overseer of the pastoral concerns of the king, and appointed a particular overseer for the several species of cattle, which were divided into separate flocks. Thus there was an Arab (Ishmaelite) over the camels, and another Arab (Hagarene) over the flocks; there was also an overseer of the asses; and the herds had two overseers, one, a native of the district, for those that fed in Sharon, and another for those that fed in the valleys (1 Chron. xxvii. 29). This excellent distribution was not, however, peculiar to him, as we find something of the same in Ulysses's little kingdom of Ithaca, where Eumæus is the chief swineherd, and seems to have nothing to do with any other cattle; while Melantheus is the chief goatherd. These two act quite independently of each other, and have many servants under them. They sit at meat with princes and nobles in their master's house. Eumæus, the son of a king, but sold for a slave, when young, to the father of Ulysses, is treated as the friend of the family, and Homer denotes his superior dignity to the subordinate swineherds, by calling him, 'the swineherd, prince of men.' Yet with all his superiority, he was not above the practical duties of his office; while at the same time he was skilled in the use of arms, and rendered his master powerful aid in his great combat with the suitors. The character and situation of this remarkable person serve exceedingly well to illustrate the condition which a chief herdsman, even only of a particular species of cattle, occupied in those early times. On the great sheep-walks of Spain they have, at this day, over each flock a chief shep

herd. Ten thousand compose a flock, which is divided into ten tribes. One man has the conduct of all. He must be the owner of four or five hundred sheep, strong, active, vigilant, intelligent in pasture, in the weather, and in the diseases of sheep. He has absolute dominion over fifty shepherds and fifty dogs, five of each to a tribe. He chooses them, he chastises them, or discharges them at will. He is the præpositus, or the chief shepherd of the whole flock.

9. The sword of Goliath....is here wrapped in a cloth.'-Josephus says that David had dedicated the sword to the Lord. It was a custom among the ancients to dedicate to the gods some conspicuous part of the enemy's spoils; a relic of which is preserved in the European custom of depositing in churches standards captured in war. As the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, deposited in the tabernacle, had established the idea of laying up things as memorials of the Lord's deliverances, it is very likely that Goliath's sword was deposited there with the same intention. As to the cloth in which it was wrapped up, we are not thence to infer that it was thrust away in a corner. The cloth was probably a rich piece, embroidered or otherwise ornamented, in which the sword was wrapped up. In India, at this day, all things which are valuable or sacred, or which have been acquired at great expense or trouble, are always folded in a cloth.

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10. Gath. This was one of the five principalities of the Philistines. No trace of it now remains, and even its site has been matter of controversy. Calmet, and others after him, conjecture that Ekron and Gath were at the opposite extremities of the land of the Philistines-the former to the north, and the latter to the south. This conclusion is chiefly founded on a construction of the texts 1 Sam. v. 8, 10, and xvii. 52, to which we see no occasion to subscribe; and it is thought to be supported by the mention which Jerome makes of a Gath betwen Eleutheropolis and Gaza. But even this would not make Gath the southernmost city of the Philistines. Besides, Jerome says that there were different Gaths in this neighbourhood; for, speaking of Jonah's birth-place, he says it was called GathOpher, to distinguish it from other places of the same name near Eleutheropolis and Diospolis; and which of these he understood as the Philistine city is clear from his conjecture in his comment on Jer. xxv. 20, that as Gath is not mentioned with the other Philistine states, it was probably at that time incorporated with Ashdod, He thus understood Gath to be nearer to Ashdod than to any other of the Philistine cities; and therefore he points to the same place as Eusebius, who says that Gaza was four miles from Eleutheropolis, on the road to Lydda. This places the city within the allotted territory of Dan; and Josephus distinctly says that Gath was in the tribe of Dan. This is the position usually given in maps, and we apprehend that none could be found more in unison with the general bearing of the Scriptures. Let us take the instance of the migrations of the ark while in the hands of the Philistines. It was first taken to Ashdod, and was from thence carried to Gath, which this account makes the nearest to Ashdod of all the Philistine towns; and its removal to the nearest town is certainly more probable than that it was taken to the most distant town of all, which Calmet's account supposes Gath to have been, without touching at the intermediate towns of Askelon and Gaza on its way. Then, again, the ark was removed from Gath to Ekron, which the common account makes to have been the nearest town, except Ashdod, to Gath; whereas the other account absolutely makes the ark in this removal traverse the whole length of the Philistines' country, from Gath, the most southern town, to Ekron, the most northern, with the same silence as before concerning the intermediate towns. For these and other reasons, we subscribe to the opinion which places Gath at no great distance from Ashdod.

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convince Achish that he was really mad. He could scarcely suppose that a man in his senses would do this indignity to his own beard. For one person to spit on the beard of another, or to say that he will do so, is the greatest possible act or expression of contempt; and the fall of a man's own saliva upon it is considered a sort of self-insult, of which no sane man could, unless from natural infirmity, be guilty. When the late Sir John Macdonald, the East India Company's envoy in Persia, had his first audience of the Shah, in 1826, the Shah said that he had anxiously been expecting the envoy for some time, and that his place had long been empty (see the note on ch. xx. 18): the latter replied, that after leaving Shiraz the sickness which prevailed in the camp prevented his making such rapid progress as he wished, but that after quitting Ispahan he had hastened to the royal stirrup. His majesty said it was fortunate he had not arrived sooner, or he would have been involved in disputes with the Russians; adding, 'Poof reksha pur,' 'I spit on their beards' (Captain Alexander's Travels, p. 208).

15. Have I need of mad men?'-The Rabbins say that the king's wife and daughter were mad, and hence they assign the stronger emphasis to the question, 'Have I need of mad men?'

CHAPTER XXII.

1 Companies resort unto David at Adullam. 3 At Mizpeh he commendeth his parents unto the king of Moab. 5 Admonished by Gad, he cometh to Hareth. 6 Saul going to pursue him, complaineth of his servants' unfaithfulness. 9 Doeg accuseth Ahimelech. 11 Saul commandeth to kill the priests. 17 The footmen refusing, Doeg executeth it. 20 Abiathar escaping, bringeth David the news.

DAVID therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.

2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred

men.

3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.

4 And he brought them before the king of Moab and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.

5¶ And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.

6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a "tree in

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Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him ;)

stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; 7 Then Saul said unto his servants that will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;

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8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

9¶ Then answered. Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

10 And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.

12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, 'Here I am, my lord.

13 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

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14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?

15 Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, 'less or more.

16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.

17¶ And the king said unto the 7 footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.

18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the

Heb. little or great.

Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.

19 And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.

21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD's priests.

22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Docg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.

23 Abide thou with me, fear not for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

7 Or, guard.

Verse 1. The cave Adullam.'—Of the city called Adullam, see the note on Josh. xii. 15, where it is intimated that this cave does not seem to have been near, or in any way connected with that city, which is in a plain where no such caves as would afford shelter to four hundred men are found. It is therefore far more probable that the cave of Adullam was in the mountainous wilderness in the east of Judah towards the Dead Sea, where such caves occur, and where the western names (as Carmel) are sometimes repeated. This conjecture is favoured by the fact that the usual haunts of David were in this quarter; whence he moved into the land of Moab, which was quite contiguous, whereas he must have crossed the whole breadth of the land, if the cave of Adullam had been near the city of that name. Other reasons occur which would take too much room to state but the result is, that there appear at length good grounds for the local tradition which fixes the cave on the borders of the Dead Sea, although there is no certainty with regard to the particular cave usually pointed out. The cave so designated is at a point to which David was far more likely to summon his parents, whom he intended to take from Bethlehem into Moab, than to any place in the western plains. It is about six miles south-east of Bethlehem, in the side of a deep ravine (Wady Khureitun) which passes below the Frank mountain on the south. It is an immense natural cavern, the mouth of which can be approached only on foot along the side of the cliff. Irby and Mangles, who visited it without being aware that it was the reputed cave of Adullam, state that it runs in by a long winding, narrow passage, with small chambers or cavities on either side. We soon came to a large chamber with natural arches of great height; from this last there were numerous passages, leading in all directions, occasionally joined by others at right angles, and forming a perfect labyrinth, which our guides assured us had never been perfectly explored, the people being afraid of losing themselves. The passages are generally four feet high by three feet wide, and were all on a level with each other. There were a few petrifactions where we were nevertheless the grotto was perfectly clean, and the air pure and good' (Travels, pp. 340, 341). It seems probable that David, as a native of Bethlehem, must have been well acquainted with this remarkable spot, and had

B Heb. runners.

probably often availed himself of its shelter when out with his father's flocks. It would therefore naturally occur to him as a place of refuge when he fled from Gath; and his purpose of forming a band of followers was much more likely to be realized here, in the neighbourhood of his native place, than in the westward of it, where the city of Adullam stands. These circumstances have considerable weight when taken in connection with what has already been adduced; but the question is one which there is no means of deciding with certainty.

2. Every one that was in distress, etc.-See the note on Judges xi. 3.

3. Let my father and my mother... be with you!This is the last we hear of David's parents. The Jews think that his brethren were included; but that the king of Moab destroyed the whole family, except one brother who was preserved by Nahash, king of the Ammonites, and this was the kind act of that king for which David afterwards (2 Sam. x. 2) expresses his gratitude.

5. Forest of Hareth.--Jerome says that there was in his time a village called Arath, which had been the abode of David. It was west of Jerusalem; by which, with the usual latitude, we may understand south-west, or southwest by west, which was probably the true direction, as David's present refuge does not seem to have been far from Keilah. This place is only mentioned here.

6. In Gibeah under a tree in Ramah.'-This is not intelligible. Ramah means a high place, or hill, and should not here be rendered as a proper name. Better, in Gibeah under a tree upon a hill.' Probably there was no house large enough in Gibeah for him to hold his court within doors; and if there had been such, he might still probably have preferred the situation in which he now appears, with the height for his throne, the tree for his canopy, and the spear for his sceptre. The assembly is described in such a manner as to suggest the idea that this was the regular form in which Saul sat in state to administer public affairs, and not merely an accidental occurrence. It is, in fact, such a position as a modern Oriental prince or chief would select, when any emergency required him to hold his court or transact his affairs in the open air; and which those who do so habitually regularly prefer, both for the sake of state and convenience. It will

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be observed that Saul is almost never mentioned without a spear in his hand. Spears seem to have been the earliest sceptres, to illustrate which Bishop Patrick cites a passage from Justin (lib. xliii. cap. 3), who, speaking of the early times of the Romans, says, 'In those days kings hitherto had spears as signs of royal authority, which the Greeks called sceptres: for in the beginning of things, the ancients worshipped spears for immortal gods; in memory of which religion, spears are still added to the images of the gods. And as some of the Greeks called spears 'sceptres,' so others, who had called a spear by its common name, even when regarded as a sceptre, continued long So Pausanias tells after to call their sceptres spears.' us that sceptres were called spears by the kings of Argos.

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18. He fell upon the priests, and slew....fourscore and

[B.C. 1062-1061.

five persons.'-Thus the unrighteous command of Saul accomplished to the letter the Lord's threatenings against the house of Eli :- Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin I will also make an end' (iii. 11, 12; see also ii. 2736). Abiathar indeed escaped, and was afterwards exalted to the high-priesthood; but it was one of the first acts of Solomon's reign to thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord, that he might fulfil the word of the Lord which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh' (1 Kings ii. 27). The prediction does not, however, extenuate the atrocity of Saul's conduct in sacrificing so many innocent and venerable persons to his blind

rage.

CHAPTER XXIII.

1 David, enquiring of the Lord by Abiathar, rescueth Keilah. 7 God shewing him the coming of Saul, and the treachery of the Keilites, he escapeth from Keilah. 14 In Ziph Jonathan cometh and comforteth him. 19 The Ziphites discover him to Saul. 25 At Maon he is rescued from Saul by the invasion of the Philistines. 29 He dwelleth at En-gedi.

THEN they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors.

2 Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.

3 And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?

4 Then David enquired of the LORD yet. again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

5 So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech 'fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and

bars.

8 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

9 And David knew that Saul secretly

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practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.

10 Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.

12 Then said David, Will the men of Keilah 'deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.

13 ¶ Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.

14 And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.

15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

16 And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.

17 And he said unto him, Fear not for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.

18 And they two made covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

19¶Then came up the Ziphites to Saul

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to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of *Jeshimon?

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20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come. down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand.

21 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me.

22 Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his 'haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly.

23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.

24 And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the

3 Heb. on the right hand.

4 Or, the wilderness.

wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

25 Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.

27 But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have 'invaded the land.

28 Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place 'Sela-hammahlekoth.

29 ¶ And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi.

5 Heb. foot shall be. 7 That is, the rock of divisions.

• Heb. spread themselves upon, &c.

Verse 2.

Keilah.'-This place is mentioned in Josh. xv. 44, among the western towns of Judah. Jerome says that it existed in the fourth century as a small village, eight miles from Eleutheropolis, on the road to Hebron, where the tomb of the prophet Habakkuk was shewn.

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15. Ziph.-This occurs elsewhere as the name of a city in the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 55; 2 Chron. xi. 8). It is mentioned by Jerome, but was not subsequently noticed till Dr. Robinson discovered the name in the Tell Zif (Hill of Zif), which occurs about four and a half miles south by east from Hebron, and which is a round eminence, about a hundred feet high, situated in a plain. On the top is a level plot, apparently once enclosed by a wall. A site, also called Zif, lies about ten minutes east of this hill, upon a low hill or ridge between two small wadys, which commence here, and run towards the Dead Sea. There is now little to be seen besides broken walls and foundations, mostly of unhewn stones, but indicative of solidity, and covering a considerable tract of ground. In the middle is a low massive square building, constructed of small squared stones, and vaulted within with pointed arches; shewing that the place must have been inhabited long after the Mohammedan conquest. Cisterns are found here as well as on the hill. Here then we have the Ziph which gave its name to the surrounding wilderness.

Wilderness of Ziph.'-A hilly region was often called a wilderness, as at present by the Arabs; and it usually took its name from some principal town within its limits.

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17. Thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee.'-There is really nothing in all history finer than this love of Jonathan to David; it was, as the latter himself found occasion to describe it,' Wonderful, passing the love of women!' It was a noble spirit with which the son of the king held close to his heart, and admitted the superior claims of, the man destined to supersede him and his in the most splendid object of human ambition, which, on ordinary principles, he might have considered his just inheritance. But his were not ordinary principles, such as swayed the mind and determined the conduct of his father. His were the true principles of

the theocracy, whereby he knew that Jehovah was the true king of Israel, and cheerfully submitted to his undoubted right to appoint whom he would as his regent, even to his own exclusion; and, with generous humility, was the first to recognize and admire the superior qualities of the man on whom it was known that his forfeited destinies had fallen. Yet lest, in our admiration of Jonathan's conduct, human virtue should seem too highly exalted, it may be well to remember, that the hereditary principle in civil government was as yet without precedent among the Hebrews, with whom sons had not yet learned to look to succeed their fathers in their public offices. None of the judges had transmitted their authority to their sons or relatives; and the only instance in which an attempt had been made (by Abimelech) to establish this hereditary principle, had most miserably failed. But the friendship of Jonathan and David is a passage in the history of the Hebrew kingdom from which the mind reluctantly withdraws. If it had occurred in a fiction, it would be pointed out as an example of most refined and consummate art, that the writer represents to us in such colours of beauty and truth the person he intends to set aside, and allows him so largely to share our sympathies and admiration with the hero of his tale.

19. In the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon.'-This hill Hachilah must be the same as the mountain in the wilderness of Ziph,' mentioned in v. 14. It could not be the Tell Zif mentioned in the note on v. 15, and which is by no means calculated for a retreat to David and his men. It was probably the general name of the whole ridge of mountains upon which the town of Ziph stood, and which bounded the wilderness of Ziph on the south. This is rendered the more clear if we take the marginal reading, on the south of the wilderness,' instead of Jeshimon as a proper name. This is also the sense given by the Vulgate and the best modern Hebraists. The rocky wilderness stretching eastward from Ziph towards the Dead Sea, afforded among their recesses very suitable retreats for fugitives.

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23. Throughout all the thousands of Judah.'-That is throughout all the districts or cantons; which were pro

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