Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

15 T And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set

Verse 4. Shaved off the one half of their beards.'-The shame of the men, and the indignation of David, clearly demonstrate that scarcely any indignity could exceed that with which the king of Israel's ambassadors were treated by Hanun. So it would now be considered, in those nations of the East by which the beard is cherished. It is not our purpose to inquire into the source of that tenderness and respect with which this appendage of the human face is regarded among nations which have scarcely any other feeling in common; but we shall merely state a few facts which seem to illustrate the force of the present narrative.

All the feelings concerning the beard which the Scriptures indicate, are no where more strongly manifested than among the Arabs. D'Arvieux, who has devoted a chapter to the exposition of their sentiments on this subject, correctly states, that the Arabs have such a respect for the beard, that they look upon it as a sacred ornament, which God has given to men to distinguish them from women. They never shave it, but let it grow from their very youth. There is no greater mark of infamy among them than that of shaving it off. They regard it indeed as an essential part of their religion, under the belief that Mohammed was never shaven. It is also the badge of a free man, and a shaven face is the brand of a slave. In this impression the Turks concurred when D'Arvieux wrote; but since his time great alterations have in this respect taken place among them. It was well if they thought nothing worse of a shaven European, than that he was a runaway slave, of whom his own country was ashamed. Under this view, well might the ambassadors of David be overwhelmed with shame at the insult and degradation they had received. The Arabs, in short, regard the beard as the perfection and completion of man's countenance, which they believe to be infinitely less disfigured by the loss of the nose than by that of the beard. It is,' adds the accurate observer, to whose remarks we are indebted, it is a greater mark of infamy in Arabia to cut a man's beard off than it is with us to whip a fellow at the cart's tail, or to burn him in the hand. Many people in that country would rather die than incur that punishment. I saw an Arab who had received a

themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.

19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

musket shot in the jaw, and who determined rather to perish than allow the surgeon to cut his beard off to dress, his wound. His resolution was at length overcome; but not until the wound was beginning to gangrene. He never allowed himself to be seen while his beard was off; and when at last he got abroad, he went always with his face covered with a black veil, that he might not be seen without a beard; and this he did till his beard had again grown to a respectable length.'

More lately, the Wahabee chief, Saoud, acted upon this respect for the beard, in his punishment of grave offences, committed by persons of consideration. The loss of the beard was the severest punishment he ever inflicted; and it was considered far less tolerable than death itself, by those who had to endure it. Burckhardt, in his Materials for a History of the Wahabys, relates an anecdote which strongly illustrates the force of Arabian feeling on this point: Saoud had long been desirous to purchase the mare of a sheikh belonging to the tribe of Beni-Shammar, but the owner refused to sell her for any sum of money. At this time, a sheikh of the Kahtan Arabs had been sentenced to lose his beard for some offence. When the barber produced his razor in the presence of Saoud, the sheikh exclaimed, "O Saoud, take the mare of the Shammary as a ransom for my beard!" The punishment was remitted; the sheikh was allowed to go and bargain for the mare, which cost him 2500 dollars, the owner declaring that no consideration could have induced him to part with her, had it not been to save the beard of a noble Kahtany. The same traveller observes, that the Arabs who had the misfortune to incur this disgrace, invariably concealed themselves from view until their beards had grown again. Numerous other examples of respect for the beard and the disgrace of losing it, might be adduced; but the above will perhaps be considered to convey an adequate illustration of the present text.

6. Sent and hired the Syrians.'-The events of this war being more precisely stated in 1 Chron. xix., we reserve for that chapter such remarks as the narrative seems to require.

CHAPTER XI.

1 While Joab besieged Rabbah, David committeth adultery with Bath-sheba. 6 Uriah, sent for by

David to cover the adultery, would not go home neither sober nor drunken. 14 He carrieth to Joab the letter for his death. 18 Joab sendeth the news thereof to David. 26 David taketh Bath-sheba to wife.

AND it came to pass 'after the year was ex

1 Heb. at the return of the year,

pired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the| children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing

21 Chron. 20. 1.

herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was 'purified from her uncleanness and she returned unto her

house.

5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.

7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.

8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there "followed him a mess of meat from the king.

9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?

11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.

13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

and retire ye "from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men

were.

17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;

19 And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,

20 And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

21 Who smote 'Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

22

So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.

23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them, even unto the entering of the gate.

24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

10

25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth "one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it and encourage thou him.

26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done "displeased the LORD.

+ Levit. 15. 19, and 18. 19. 9 Judges 9. 53. 12 Heb. was evil in the eyes of.

5 Heb. of the peace of, &c. 10 Heb. be evil in thine eyes.

VOL. II.

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209

Verse 1. At the time when kings go forth to battle.'-See the notes on 1 Chron. xx., where the narrative of the war, as given at the beginning of this and the end of the next chapter, is repeated, without any notice being taken of the unhappy transactions in which David was meanwhile involved at Jerusalem. There is much point in the observation, which we find there as here, that although it was the time when kings went forth to battle, David the king of Israel did not go forth, but remained still at Jerusalem.' Whether it was indisposition or self-indulgence that prevented him, does not appear; but the latter is commonly supposed.

2. David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof. There have been many grave remarks and sermons upon the consequences of idleness, as exemplified in this instance, and so forth. Now there is no idleness in the case, or anything to blame David for, but the sin into which he fell. It is quite true that if he had not been at Jerusalem, and if he had not walked on the roof of his palace after sleep, this thing would not have happened to him; but this is no more than the obvious truth that if a man were doing one thing, another thing would not have been done, which is as applicable to every human act as to that of David. We are told that he ought not to have been at Jerusalem, but at the head of his army. Now this is more than we know. It is, perhaps, rather creditable to David that he knew that a king had more importaut duties than to lead forth his armies in person on every occasion. He was doubtless ready, if there had been adequate occasion; but the result proved that Joab was fully equal to the service on which he was engaged: and the king could probably more easily find one to command the army than to conduct the civil government in his own absence, according to his own plans and designs. Those must have singular notions of an oriental monarchy who suppose that David had grown indolent because he remained in his metropolis; for there are few men whose ordinary home duties are more arduous and laborious than those of most eastern kings; and we know, from a subsequent event, that David actually undertook in his own person, when at Jerusalem, more labour than he was able adequately to sustain. Then, as to his afternoon sleep and subsequent walk,-the idleness of this has seemed unquestionable. But this is the ignorant inference of people who sleep at night for eight or nine hours through, and then marvel to see others sleepful while they are wakeful, without considering that these others have slept but five hours at night, have risen at daybreak, and have discharged half the duties of the day before they commence their own. In warm climates the cool morning hours are highly favourable to exertion, and therefore the orientals rise early

to employ them; and to compensate for this, as well as to obtain the total quantity of sleep which nature requires, they lie down again during the heat of the day, when, if they remained awake, the relaxing warmth would make exertion difficult. Taken in all, the orientals do not sleep more, if as much, as we do; but they find it convenient and suitable to have two short sleeps instead of a single long one; and for this they do not deserve to be considered indolent. Joab doubtless slept as soundly in his camp this afternoon as David in his palace.

Walked upon the roof of the king's house.'-It is usual, towards evening, to resort to the house-top to enjoy the cool air. But the orientals do not properly walk there; they have no idea of walking for enjoyment or exercise; and they regard it as one of the peculiar and inscrutable madnesses of the Europeans to walk to and fro without any present and apparent motive. They may saunter or lounge about a little, which was perhaps what David did; but more generally they sit or recline on mats or carpets. The roofs being flat, a house in an elevated spot overlooks many other roofs and interior courts: but ¦ prudent persons are cautious of inspecting the proceedings of their neighbours, as, in many places, a man would be thought perfectly justified in shooting a too inquisitive person through the head-a thing which does sometimes happen. Feeling, in our country also, would be very strong against it, as we see from the following anecdote, which we transcribed long ago from Brook, without a reference to the particular work (probably the Mute Christian): 'I have read of one Sir William Champney, once living in Tower Street, London, in the reign of King Henry III., who was the first man in England who ever built a turret on the top of his house, that he might the better overlook all his neighbours; but so it fell out, that not long after he was struck blind.'

8. Go down to thy house.'-Detection would have been death to Bathsheba; and David's object was to screen the effects of his own and her criminality, by getting Uriah to go home. It is possible that the latter may have suspected or heard something of the truth. The repeated urgency of the king on this particular point was alone well calculated to rouse his suspicions; but the text seems to assign an adequate reason for his refusal, in that high and honourable sense of military duty and propriety which he so forcibly expresses in v. 11.

11. The ark.'--It would seem probable from this, that the ark was with the army; and if so, this will make the second recorded instance of the kind, the first being when the ark was taken by the Philistines. As, however, the place of the ark was a tent even in Jerusalem, this point remains uncertain.

CHAPTER XII.

1 Nathan's parable of the ewe lamb causeth David to be his own judge. 7 David, reproved by Nathan, confesseth his sin, and is pardoned. 15 David mourneth and prayeth for the child, while it lived. 24 Solomon is born, and named Jedidiah. 26 David taketh Rabbah, and tortureth the people thereof. AND the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds :

3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and

1 Heb. morsel.

nourished up and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own 'meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing 'shall surely die:

2 Or, is worthy to die.

6 And he shall restore the lamb 'fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this

sun.

12 For thou didst it secretly but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the

sun.

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, "The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David 'fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then

8 Exod. 22. 1. Heb. do hurt.

"vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

24 And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her : and 'she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.

25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name "Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

26 ¶ And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.

29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

13

41 Sam. 16. 13. 5 Deut. 28. 30. 9 Matth. 1. 6. 10 1 Chron. 22.9. 13 1 Chron. 20. 2.

7 Heb. fasted a fast. 12 Heb. my name be called upon it.

Verse 1. There were two men in one city,' etc.--See the observations on parables under Judges ix. The leading idea in the present exquisite parable, which belongs to a higher order of fable than that of Jotham, is strikingly applicable; and in such things a detailed and sustained analogy seldom occurs, and is not to be expected. David's crime was greater, even with reference to the comparison only, than as here stated; for not only had he taken the pet-lamb from its master's bosom, but had produced the death of the faithful and devoted owner. But probably a more exact resemblance between the parable and the transaction against which it was levelled, would have defeated the purpose of the prophet, by enabling the king to discover too soon the drift of his apologue.

In

4. He spared to take of his own flock,' etc.-In the notes to Gen. xviii., Judges iv., xix., and elsewhere, we have touched on the Oriental feeling concerning the duty and honour of entertaining strangers. This obligation is the most imperatively felt in camps and in small towns. large towns the frequent concourse of strangers and the more elaborate organization of society, together with the facilities which visitors possess of providing for their own wants, necessarily operate, with other circumstances, in diminishing their claim upon the hospitality of the inhabitants; though even there such claims are not entirely neglected. We have little doubt that the same difference prevailed anciently in the same countries. Now, it is clear, from the mention of flocks quite at hand, that the scene of the present fable is laid in a country town or village, where, as at this day, the principal persons were bound in point of honour and duty to provide for the wants of travellers. The ancient usage and feeling on this subject, and which still survive in many small towns and villages, we conceive to be strikingly illustrated by what Burckhardt states concerning Kerak, a town of 550 families, about nine miles east from the Dead Sea towards its southern extremity, and the site of which formed part of David's dominion. The place has eight menzels or medhafes (lodging-places) for strangers. Their expenses are not defrayed from a common purse; but whenever a stranger takes up his lodging at one of the medhafes, one of the people present declares that he intends to furnish that day's entertainment; and it is then his duty to provide a dinner or supper, which he sends to the medhafe, and which is always in sufficient quantity for a large number. A gout or lamb is generally killed on the occasion, and barley for the guest's horse is also furnished. There are Turks who every other day kill a goat for this hospitable purpose.... Their love of entertaining strangers is carried to such a length, that not long ago, when a Christian silversmith, who came from Jerusalem to work for the ladies, and who, being an industrious man, seldom stirred from his shop, was on the point of departure after a two months' residence, each of the principal families of the town sent him a lamb, saying that it was not just that he should lose his due, though he did not choose to come and dine with them. The more a man expends upon his guests, the greater is his reputation and influence; and the few families who pursue an opposite conduct are despised by all the others.' Travels in Syria, p. 384.

8. I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom.'-See ch. xvi. 22, where Absalom, rebelling against David, takes public possession of his concubines. From these facts we may learn that the haram of the preceding king was regarded as a sort of regalia, appertaining to the crown, and so essentially the property of his successor, that the possession of it gave much strength to a claim which might in itself be disputable. The spirit of such a custom will be better seen by parallel illustration than by conjectural deductions. Bosman tells us that in Guinea the choosing or confirming a new king seldom continues long in dispute; for the eldest son no sooner hears of the king's death than he immediately makes his interest among his friends, to take possession of the late king's court and wives. If he succeed in this, he has little further ground of apprehension, as the people will not readily consent, after this, to see him driven from the

throne. A similar feeling appears to exist on the opposite, or eastern coast of Africa, in the country bordering on the river Sofala. The lord of that country (according to Dios Santos) maintains a number of wives, the chief of whom are his near relations, and are called his queens, the rest being regarded merely as concubines. As soon as the Quiteva, or prince, dies, a successor is chosen, capable of governing with wisdom and prudence. Whether he be qualified or deficient in these respects, it is enough to secure his position that a majority of the king's women declare in his favour, as on them the possession of the throne really depends. He therefore repairs to the palace, where he meets the ladies, and with their consent, seats himself on a throne prepared for him in the midst of a large hall. A curtain is then drawn before him and them; and the king, from behind it, issues orders for his proclamation. On this the people rush in to tender their homage and swear obedience, which is done while the curtain still conceals the new monarch from their view. Here we see that the consent and presence of the late king's women give the indispensable sanction to the act of succession; and it is on account of their presence that the curtain is on this occasion introduced, for without that contrivance their presence could not be secured.

13. I have sinned against the Lord.'-The excellent remarks of Hales, in his Analysis of Chronology, ii. 341343, may here be read with advantage. The fall of David is one of the most instructive and alarming recorded in that most faithful and impartial of all histories, the Holy Bible. And the transgression of one idle and unguarded moment pierced him through with many sorrows and embittered the remainder of his life, and gave occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme on account of this crying offence of "the man after God's own heart." When he only cut off the skirt of Saul's robe, his heart smote him for the indignity thus offered to his master; but when be treacherouly cut off a faithful and gallant soldier, who was fighting his battles, after having defiled his bed, his heart smote him not, at least we read not of any com. punction or remorse of conscience till Nathan was sent to reprove him. Then, indeed, his sorrow was extreme; and his Psalms, composed on this occasion, express in the most pathetic strains the anguish of a wounded spirit, and the bitterness of his penitence (Ps. xxxii.; li.; ciii.). . . . Still the rising again of David holds forth no encouragement to sinners who may wish to shelter themselves under his example, or flatter themselves with the hope of obtaining his forgiveness; for though his life was spared, yet God inflicted upon him those temporal punishments which the prophet had denounced. The remainder of his days were as disastrous as the beginning had been prosperous.'

re

28. Take it lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.'-This was most magnanimous conduct in Joab, who, with all his crimes, appears to have been a faithful servant of David and jealous for his prosperity and honour. Among the later Romans, the victories of the military commanders were ascribed to the absent emperor, whe appropriated the glory and the triumph. This was finement to which the kings of Israel never attained. They could not obtain the immediate honour, without gaining, or, at least completing, the victory in person. History affords many analogous instances of military com manders conceding to their kings or superiors in command, the privilege of reaping the glory they had sown. Q. Curtius mentions such a case in the history of Alexander's expedition. Craterus besieged Artacoana, and, after having prepared everything for the king's arrival, waited for his coming, to resign to him the honour of taking the town (1. vi. c. 6).

The circumstance of giving a name to a city on any particular occasion, or of changing the name in some extraordinary event, frequently occurs in ancient history, as we find at Alexandria, Constantinople, and many other places, In India it is equally prevalent: Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Aurungabad derive their name from their founder or

conqueror.