with the lofs of three hundred and threescore men on his fide, and but nineteen on the fide of Joab, befides his brother Asabel. A lofs to him irreparable, and unspeakable ! He was a gallant man, and one of David's twelve captains; remarkably valiant, but more remarkably swift, light of foot (faith the text) as a roe in the field. Afahel unfortunately fingled out Abner in his flight, and pursued him perfonally; but his ambition to take his fpoils, puthed him upon his fate. Abner did all he could to diffuade him from his defign; preffed him more than once, to turn afide from him; Turn thee afide to the right hand, or to the left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take his armour; but Afabel would not. He preffed him again by the friendship he had for his brother, to turn from him; and, when that would not do, he stabbed him with the hinder part of his spear, and slew him upon the place. CICERO finely observes of civil wars, that all things are miferable in them, but victory most of all. JOAB and Abishai continued the pursuit, probably without knowing the fate of their brother brother Afahel, as we may conjecture from their subsequent moderation. WHEN Joab came up with Abner, who had by this time drawn up his forces on the top of a hill, Abner immediately began a parley with him; caution'd him from carrying things to an extremity; and put him in mind, that they were his brethren, whom he thus pursued to death. The force and beauty of the original is inimitable: Shall the fword devour for ever? knowest thou not, that it will be bitterness in the latter end? &c. These questions carried conviction with them; Joab felt it, and immediately defifted, and called back his forces; upbraiding Abner at the fame time, that if it had not been for his rafh challenge, the armies had parted in peace, and without any act of hoftility in the morning (which plainly fhews that Joab's inftructions were, not to begin hoftilities). For fo fome (and I think) rightly understand those words——As the Lord liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, furely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. Tho' others understand them very differently, in the sense mentioned in the next paragraph. WHOEVER WHOEVER attends to this parly, as it is laid down in the Bible, will, I believe, find fomething in it, not unlike that between Hector and Ajax, in the 7th book of the Iliad. Hector had given the challenge; and when night came on, and the heralds thought it time to give over the combat, Ajax infifts that Hector fhould firft make the motion. The challenge here comes from Abner, and he begins the parly of ceffation, and Joab (for fo fome underftand the text) fwears folemnly, that if he had not done fo, he would have purfued him the whole night. As God liveth, unless thou hadst fpoken, furely then in the morning the people had gone away every one from following his brother. So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people flood Still, and purfued after Ifrael no more. THEY NOW took their different routs. Joab marched all night, until he came to Hebron; as Abner, on the other hand, made the best of his way to Jordan; croffed it, and refted no-where, until he reached Mabanaim, fcab in all probability haftening home, not only to give an account of his conduct to David, but also to do the last VOL. II. offices C offices to the remains of his brother; and Abner to get out of the reach of David's forces. CHAP. III. Children born to DAVID in Hebron. ABNER revolts to him, and is flain by JOAB. HE battle of Gibeon is the only one TH we hear of, throughout the course of this war between David and Iskbosheth, which lafted about five Years: during which time, the text tells us, David waxed ftronger and Atronger, and the houfe of Saul weaker and weaker. One circumftance that added ftrength to David's caufe, was the number of children born to him, in this interval; viz. Six fons. Children are the natural ftrength of all families, but more especially thofe of Kings. Sons (faith Euripides) are the pillars of regal houfes: and Tacitus tells us, they are firmer fences of empire, than fleets and legions: but David, in a nobler ftrain than either of them, agreeably to the fupe fuperiority of his genius, expreffeth the fame fentiment, (but without any limitation) with furprising dignity: Like as the arrows in the hand of the giant, even fo are the young children. ISHBOSHETH stood fingle; but David's right would remain with his pofterity: and adherents naturally multiply with the fupports of right. BUT here I must beg leave to observe, (little to the honour of polygamy) that David had but fix fons, by fix wives, during the space of seven years. THEIR names, their number, and their mothers, are to be found 2 Sam. iii. One of these wives feems indeed to have been taken out of policy; Maacah the daughter of Talmai, king of Gefbur. For it appears, both from the book of Deuteronomy * and Joshua, that Gefbur bordered upon the half tribe of Manaffeh, beyond Jordan; and the alliance of a prince fo fituated, must have been of great confequence to David, in his contests with Ibofbeth, whofe chief strength feems to have lain in that tribe. * Chap. iii. 14. THE C 2 |