entered the room and left it without appearing to have been observed. This was certainly the case in the former instance, and would scarcely have been practicable had the room been other than over the gate, with such a separate entrance as we have described.-The room to which David withdrew would seem, from its being sought for

privacy, to have been rather a 'summer parlour' than a state-room. We need not remind the reader that rooms -sometimes large and elaborately finished state-roomsfrequently occur over the gateways of our old towns and castles.

CHAPTER XIX.

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1 Joab causeth the king to cease his mourning. 9 The Israelites are earnest to bring the king back. David sendeth to the priests to incite them of Judah. 18 Shimei is pardoned. 24 Mephibosheth excused. 32 Barzillai dismissed, Chimham his son is taken into the king's family. 41 The Israelites expostulate with Judah for bringing home the king without them. AND it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.

2 And the 'victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.

3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!

5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;

6 In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.

7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak *comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.

8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.

9 And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of

the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.

10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why 'speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?

11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.

12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?

13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.

15 So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.

16 ¶ And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David.

17 And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and 'Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.

18 And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's houshold, and to do "what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan ;

19 And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.

20 For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first

€ 1 Kings 2. 8.

3 Heb. that princes or servants are not to thee. 7 Chap. 16. 1. 8 Heb. the good in his eyes.

this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD's anointed?

22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.

24 ¶ And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.

25 And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?

26 And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame.

27 And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.

28 For all of my father's house were but "dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king?

29 And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.

30 And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.

31 ¶ And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.

32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.

33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.

34 And Barzillai said unto the king, "How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?

35 I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king

36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?

37 Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham'; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee.

38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.

39 And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place.

40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel.

41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his houshold, and all David's men with him, over Jordan?

42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king's cost? or hath he given us any gift?

43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye "despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

Verse 4. Covered his face.'-This act is obviously the same, or of equivalent signification to the covering the head, mentioned in ch. xv. 30, and explained in the

note.

10. Why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back.' -It might seem the obvious consequence of his victory that David should repass the Jordan at the head of his conquering army, and re-ascend his throne at Jerusalem. But the mass of the people had chosen another for their king, and by that act had virtually, to the extent of their power, deposed himself; and in such a case it would appear that the civil principles of the constitution required that he should, in a certain sense, be re-elected to the crown by the people before he was entitled to regard himself as king over any but such as had continued to recognize him in that character; he therefore remained beyond the Jordan until the tribes should decide to recall him. It seems there was a general disposition among the people to do this; they blamed one another for their rebellion against the king, and for their remissness in recalling him, but all seemed to shrink from taking the first step in the matter. Judah, from its more intimate relations with David, might be expected to give the example; but Judah had been the head-quarters of the rebellion; and it appears that Jerusalem was in the occupation of Amasa, who, from the extent to which he had committed himself in Absalom's rebellion, might judge his case desperate, and hence use all his influence to prevent the king's return.

14. And he bowed the heart,' etc.-The Jewish interpreters refer this, with great probability, to Amasa, not to David: that is, that David having won over Amasa, the latter employed his great influence in bringing the men of Judah back to their allegiance.

18. And there went over a ferry boat.'-This translation is very doubtful, and the text on which it is founded is not free from suspicion of being corrupted. It is probable that the reading now exhibited in the Septuagint is that of the original Hebrew, and is followed by good modern authorities. According to that, the words of the clause refer to the men mentioned in the preceding verse; and would be rendered, And these went over Jordan before the king, and were serviceable in bringing over the king's household: that is, as some of the rabbins understand, by carrying over, on their backs, the women and children who could not conveniently ford the river. Josephus and some of the ancient translators understood that they threw a bridge (of boats?) over the river; while Jerome supposes that they forded the river before the king's people, pointing out the proper places. An open interpretation, applicable to all these explanations, such as that we have indicated, would be the best and safest. As the text now stands, however, a ferry boat or raft might have been used. Nor is the thing itself unlikely: for, although the Jordan is not a great river, it is wide enough and deep enough to render such a mode of passing over aged people, women, children, and baggage, convenient. The ancients had also shallow flat-bottomed boats suited to such rivers; and at this day (according to the author of Eothen) rafts are employed for such purposes on the Jordan.

23.

Thou shalt not die.'-Considering the circumstance which Shimei urged, that he was the first in all Israel (Judah excepted) to come forward with a strong party to promote the restoration of the king; and considering-what was a still greater merit and a more important benefit to the royal cause--that his party was from the tribe of Benjamin, it would have been a most ungracious act had the king been inexorable. He therefore pardoned him freely, although some of the officers were for putting him to death. It was for the like reason probably-that is, for fear of disgusting the valuable party to which he belonged, and in which he had much influence-the king dared not entirely recal from Ziba the grant of Mephibosheth's lands which he had hastily made to him. Under the circumstances, the king could only say, Thou and Ziba divide the land;' to which the reply of Mephibosheth was worthy the son of the generous Jonathan-Yea, let

6

him take all, since my lord the king is come again to his own house in peace.'

24. had neither dressed his feet.'-His feet, which were lame, and required attention; or perhaps it means that he had omitted that general attention to the feet which is required in the East.

Nor trimmed his beard.' - After the explanation given in the note to ch. x. 4, concerning the estimation in which the beard is held in Western Asia, we scarcely need add that very considerable care is taken of it, the neglect of which is understood to express very forcibly the forgetfulness of grief. The manner in which it is attended to, however, differs in various nations. It is clipped by some to give it a favourite shape, and by others only trimmed slightly to improve its appearance. The example of Mohammed, who is alleged to have diminished the length and thickness of his beard, has had more weight with some of his followers than with others. Almost every Moslem carries a comb with him for the sole purpose of combing his beard. This is often done, particularly after prayers, at the conclusion of which the devotee usually remains sitting on his heels and combing his beard. The hairs which fall are carefully collected and preserved, to be buried with the person to whose beard they belonged; and sometimes when he has collected a certain quantity, he deposits them himself in his destined sepulchre. It seems that in the time of Mohammed the Jews did not dye their beards, but the Arabs did; for the traditions mention it as a point of difference between Moslems and Jews. This, however, is not conclusive evidence that the latter never did so. The dyes usually employed for the beard are black or fiery red. The latter is obtained by the application of a paste of henna leaves, and the black by a further application of indigo. The process is painful and tiresome, and must be repeated every fortnight; but men cheerfully submit to it for the honour of their beards. The Persians dye their beards more generally than any other people, and prefer the black colour. The Turks almost never dye theirs, and the Arabs but seldom. When the last named people use a dye, they are commonly content with the red colour. In this they follow the instruction of their prophet, who recommended dyeing the beard, but hated the black dye, preferring the red, and recommending in this the nearest approach to yellow that could be obtained by art. Beards are also anointed, perfumed, and incensed in the East by the upper classes. All this care of the beard will illustrate the entire abandonment to sorrow which the neglect of that important appendage implies.

35. Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women?'-As Barzillai mentions this among the attractions of the court, of which age rendered him incapable of enjoying, it would seem that David had made music to form one of the enjoyments of his regal state, and had probably trained or collected a body of vocal and instrumental performers, as part of his royal establishment. This we might expect from so accomplished a musician as David. The performances of his singing men and singing women' would seem, from what Barzillai says, to have been so much admired, that the subject formed one of those prominent wonders of the court, of which people living in distant parts of the country were accustomed to speak. This is still a royal custom of the East. Of professed singing women, who are also musicians and dancers, we have written under 1 Sam. xviii. 7. Of the corresponding vocation among men, we may mention that it is confined to music and singing, as men do not dance professionally. Much that illustrates the various scriptural intimations with regard to such persons might be drawn from the existing usages of the East. Jonas Hanway relates that Nadir Shah had in his army no less than nine hundred' chioux or chanters.' They wore a distinctive dress, which Jonas describes, and they frequently chanted moral sentences and encomiums on the Shah, occasionally also proclaiming his victories as he passed along' (Travels, i. 170). Forbes, in his Oriental Memoirs, more than once mentions a description of bards, whose services are much in request in the courts of India. 'No Hindoo rajah is with

out them. Hyder Ali, though not a Hindoo, delighted to be constantly preceded by them. They have a wonderful facility in speaking improvisatore upon any subject proposed to them, in a kind of declamation, which may be considered as a kind of medium between blank verse and modulated prose [similar to the Hebrew poetry]; but their proper profession is that of chanting the exploits of former days in front of the troops, while marshalling to battle, and inciting them to emulate the glory of their ancestors.' In Syria there are men singers, who perform in concert, each accompanying his voice by the musical instrument in which he has most skill. A representation of

such a concert, drawn from the life, is given by Russel, in his Natural History of Aleppo, and a copy of it is here introduced. The existence of such persons appears to arise from the fact, that, although the Orientals take great pleasure in hearing music and singing, no man of any rank likes to sing or to handle a musical instrument; nor are the youth of either sex taught music as an accomplishment; and the persons whose skill in vocal and instrumental music delights them are not regarded with much respect. This could not have been the case among the Hebrews, with whom persons of the highest rank and respectability were skilled in music.

CHAPTER XX.

1 By occasion of the quarrel, Sheba maketh a party in Israel. 3 David's ten concubines are shut up in perpetual prison. 4 Amasa, made captain over Judah, is slain by Joab. 14 Joab pursueth Sheba unto Abel. 16 A wise woman saveth the city by Sheba's head. 23 David's officers.

AND there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.

2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

3¶ And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his 'concubines, whom he had left to keep the

1 Chap. 16. 22.

house, and put them in 'ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were "shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.

5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and 'escape us.

7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

4 Heb. in widowhood of life. 7 Chap. 8. 18.

5 Heb. Call.

8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.

9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.

10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

11 And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.

12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.

13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.

15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.

Heb. doubled not his stroke.

19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?

20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.

22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

13

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23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites :

24 And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was "recorder:

25 And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

10 Heb. marred to throw down. 12 Heb. by his name. 16 Or, a prince.

Verse 1. We have no part in David,' etc.-From the result we may see ground to doubt the wisdom of the separate appeal which David had made to his own tribe of Judah, inasmuch as his more intimate connection with that tribe, by birth and by having reigned over it separately for seven years, required the most cautious policy on his side, to prevent his appearing to the other tribes as the king of a party. Now, when he had crossed the Jordan, people from all the tribes flocked to him to join in the act of recall and restoration. But when they came to consider of it, the other tribes were not willing to forgive Judah for having been beforehand with them; and they felt great displeasure that, instead of inviting them to join in the act of recall, the elders of Judah, by acting independently, had enabled themselves to exhibit the appearance of more alacrity and zeal in the king's behalf, putting the

other tribes in an unfavourable position by comparison. They alleged also their claim to be considered, on the ground that the ten tribes had tenfold the interest in the kingdom to that which the single tribe of Judah could claim. The answer of that tribe was the most impolitic and provoking that could be made. They alleged that seeing the king was of their own tribe, their bone and their flesh,' they had a right to take a peculiar and exclusive interest in his recall. This quarrel grew so hot, as to strengthen the natural disposition of the tribes to regard David as the king of the Judahites; and but a slight impulse was wanting to induce them to leave him to his own party. This impulse was supplied by one Sheba, of the discontented tribe of Benjamin, who, perceiving the state of feeling, blew the trumpet, and gave forth the Hebrew watchword of revolt, To your tents, O

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