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as an extraordinary reward, with the suburbs of two thousand cubits. But the land thereto belonging they gave as a free gift to Caleb, according to the injunctions of Moses. This Caleb was one of the spies which Moses sent into the land of Canaan: they also gave land for habitation to the posterity of Jethro, the Midianite, who was the father-in-law to Moses. For they had left their own country and followed them, and accompanied them in the wilderness.

Hebrew tongue is called Lord. Now they hoped to have been too hard for the Israelites, because Joshua was dead: but when the Israelites had joined battle with them, I mean the two tribes before mentioned, they fought valiantly, and slew above ten thousand of them, and put the rest to flight; and in the pursuit they took Adonibezek ; who, when his fingers and toes were cut off by them, said, Nay, indeed, I was not always to lie concealed from God, as I find by what I now endure while I have not been ashamed to do the same to seventy-two kings." So they carried him alive as far as Jerusalem; and when he was dead they buried him in the earth, and went on still in taking the cities; and, when they had taken the greatest part of them, they besieged Jerusalem: and when they had taken the lower city, which was not under a considerable time, they slew all the inhabitants. But the upper city was not to be taken without great difficulty, through the strength of its walls, and the nature of therusalem, permitted its inhabitants to pay triplace.

*

For this reason they removed their camp to Hebron; and when they had taken it, they slew all the inhabitants. There were till then left the race of giants; who had bodies so large, and countenances so entirely different from other men, that they were surprising to the sight, and terrible to the hearing. The bones of these men are shewn to this very day, unlike to any credible relations of other men. Now they gave this city to the Levites,

* This great number of Reguli, or small kings, over whom Adonibezek had tyrannized, and for which he was punished according to the Lex Talionis; as well as the thirty-one kings of Canaan, subdued by Joshua, and named in one chapter, Josh. xii, and thirty-two kings, or royal auxiliaries, to Benhadad king of Syria, 1 Kings xx. 1. Antiq. VIII. 14. intimate to us what was the ancient form of government among several nations, before the monarchies began; viz. That every city or large town, with its neighboring villages, was a distinct government by itself. Which is the more remarkable, because this was certain. ly the form of ecclesiastical government that was settled by the apostles, and preserved throughout the Christian church, in the first ages of Christianity. Mr. Addison is of opinion, that it would be for the good of mankind, to have all the mighty empires and monarchies of the world cantoned out into petty states and principalities; that, like so many large families, might lie under the observation of their proper governors: so that the care of the prince might extend itself to every individual person un

Now the tribes of Judah and Simeon took the cities which were in the mountainous part of Canaan, as also Askelon and Ashdod, of those that lay near the sea. But Gaza and Ekron escaped them; for they, lying in a flat country, and having a great number of chariots, sorely galled those that attacked them. So these tribes, when they were grown very rich by this war, retired to their own cities, and laid aside their weapons of war.

But the Benjamites, to whom belonged Jebute: so they all left off, the one to kill, and the other to expose themselves to danger, and had time to cultivate the ground. The rest of the tribes imitated that of Benjamin, and did the same: and contenting themselves with the tributes that were paid them, permitted the Canaanites to live in peace.

However, the tribe of Ephraim, when they besieged Bethel, made no advance; nor performed any thing worthy of the time they spent, and of the pains they took about that

der his protection; though he despairs of such a scheme being brought about; and thinks that if it were, it would quickly be destroyed. Remarks on Italy, 4to. pag. 151. Nor is it unfit to be observed here, that the Armenian records, though they give us the history of thirty-nine of their ancientest heroes or governors, after the flood, before the days of Sardanapalus, had no proper king till the 40th, Parærus. See Moses Chorenensis, pag. 55, and the note there. And that Almighty God does not ap-. prove of such absolute or tyrannical monarchies, any one may learn that reads Deut. xvii. 14-20, and 1 Sam. viii. 1—22. xii. 1—26. Although if such kings are set up as own him for their suprenie king, and aim to govern according to his laws, he hath admitted of them, and protected them, and their subjects, in all generations.

+ Judg. i. 7.

Of the old giants, the several species, statures, and remaining bones, see Authent. Records, Part I. pag. 260 -293. and Part II. 872–938. at large,

Now

siege. Yet did they persist in it, still sitting || family, that belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, down before the city; though they endured and dwelt therein. This man married a wife great trouble thereby. But after some time, from Bethlehem, which is a place belonging they caught one of the citizens, that came to to the tribe of Judah. Now he was very fond them to get necessaries; and they gave him of his wife, and overcome with her beauty; some assurances, that if he would deliver up but he did not meet with a return of affection, the city they would preserve him and his kin- for she was averse to him; which did more dred. So he sware that upon those terms inflame his passion for her. So they quarhe would put the place into their hands. Ac- relled one with another perpetually: and at cordingly, he was preserved with his family, last the woman was so disgusted at these while the Israelites slew all the other inhabit- quarrels, that she left her husband, and went ants, and retained the city for themselves. to her parents, in the fourth month. The After this, the Israelites grew effeminate as husband, being very uneasy at her departure, to fighting any more against their enemies; went to his father and mother-in-law, made but applied themselves to the cultivation of up their quarrels, and lived with them there the land which producing great plenty and four days, as being kindly treated. On the riches, they neglected the regular disposition fifth day he resolved to go home, and went of their settlement, and indulged themselves away in the evening; for his wife's parents in luxury and pleasures. Nor were they any were loth to part with their daughter, and delonger careful to hear the laws that belonged layed the time till the day was gone. to their political government. Whereupon they had one servant that followed them, and God was provoked to anger, and put them in an ass on which the woman rode and when mind, first, how, contrary to his directions, they they were near Jerusalem, having gone alhad spared the Canaanites; and, after that, ready thirty furlongs, the servant advised how those Canaanites, as opportunity served, them to take up their lodgings somewhere, lest used them very barbarously. But the Israel- some misfortune should befall them, if they ites, though they were in heaviness at these travelled in the night, especially since they admonitions from God, yet were they still were not far off enemies that season often very unwilling to go to war. And since they giving reason for suspicion of dangers from got large tributes from the Canaanites, and even such as are friends. But the husband were indisposed for taking pains by their was not pleased with this advice, nor was he luxury, they suffered their aristocracy to be willing to take up his lodging among strancorrupted also, and did not ordain themselves gers; for the city belonged to the Canaanites; a senate, nor any such magistrates as their but desired rather to go twenty furlongs farlaws had formerly required. But they were ther, and so take their lodging in some Israelvery much given to cultivating their fields, ite city. Accordingly he came to Gibeah, a in order to get wealth: which great indo- city of the tribe of Benjamin, when it was lence of theirs brought a terrible sedition upon just dark; and while no one that lived in the them; and they proceeded so far as to fight market-place invited him to lodge with him, one against another, from the following occa- there came an old man out of the field; one that was indeed of the tribe of Ephraim, but resided in Gibeah; and asked him, who he

sion.

There was a Levite, † a man of a vulgar

Josephus's early date of this history, before the beginning of the judges, or when there was no king in Israel, Judges xix. 1. is strongly confirmed by the large number of Benjamites, both in the days of Asa and Jehoshaphat; 2 Chron, xiv. S. and xvi. 17. who yet were here reduced to 600 men. Nor can those numbers be at all supposed genuine, if they were reduced so late as the end of the judges, where our other copies place this reduction.

+ About An. 1460. B. C.

Reland in his Palestina, Tom. II. pag. 810. finds a contradiction in Josephus, as to the distance of Gibeah of Saul, in the tribe of Benjamin, from Jerusalem, 30 furlongs here; but Of the War. V. 2. 20 furlongs, and no more. Yet is there no necessity of making these two places to contradict each other. These 20 furlongs only they had now to go to Gibeah indeed; but it was not from Jerusa lem, but from the place where they now were; which might easily be eight or ten furlongs from Jerusalem in the way to Gibeah. So that here does not appear any real contradiction at all. was?

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was? for what reason he came thither so late? upon her, than to abuse his guests; supposing and why he was looking out for provisions for that he should by this means prevent an insupper when it was dark? To which he re- jury from being done to those guests. When plied that he was a Levite, and was bringing they no way abated of their earnestness for his wife from her parents, and was going the strange woman, but insisted absolutely on home; but he told him his habitation was in their desires to have her, he entreated them the tribe of Ephraim. So the old man, as not to perpetrate any such act of injustice: well because of their kindred, as because they but they proceeded to take her away by force: lived in the same tribe, and also because and indulging still more the violence of their they had thus accidentally met together, took inclinations, they took the woman away to him to lodge with him. Now certain young their house; and when they had abused her men, of the inhabitants of Gibeah, having the whole night, they let her go about dayseen the woman in the market-place, and ad- break. So she came to the place where she miring her beauty, when they understood that had been entertained, under great affliction at she lodged with the old man, came to the what had happened, and durst not look her doors; as contemning the weakness and few-husband in the face for shame; for she conness of the old man's family. And when the old man desired them to go away, and not to offer any violence or abuse there; they desired him to yield them up the strange woman, and then he should have no harm done to him. And when the old man alleged that the Levite was of his kindred; and that they would be guilty of horrid wickedness if they suffered themselves to be overcome by their pleasure, and so offend against their laws; they despised his righteous admonition, and laughed him to scorn: they also threatened to kill him, if he became an obstacle to their inclinations. Whereupon, when he found himself in great distress, and yet was not willing to overlook his guests, and see, them abused, he produced his own daughter to them; and told them, that it * was smaller breach of the law to satisfy their lust

See Gen. xix. 8.

a

Interpreters say but little concerning the real views of the Levite in this transaction: they merely intimate, that it was done to excite a general indignation against the authors of the injury he had sustained. His motives certainly were good and regular. He intended to unite the whole nation in vengeance against a crime in which it was interested: but as they might be checked in the extent of the punishment by the number, the credit, and the power of the offenders; by the natural commiseration which is felt by those who are of the same blood; or by an aversion to involve a city in destruction; he sought and seized a method which put them to the indispensable necessity of espousing his cause. The only part which he had to take was, to cut in pieces the body of his wife, which he did, or else that of an ox, or other like animal, which had been either devoted or offered in sacrifice, and to send a part of it to each tribe. In consequence of this every tribe entered into an indissoluble

cluded that he would never forgive her for what she had done. So she fell down, and gave up the ghost: but her husband supposed his wife was only fast asleep; and thinking nothing of a more melancholy nature had happened, endeavored to raise her up; resolving to speak comfortably to her, since she did not voluntarily expose herself to those men's lust, but was forced away to their house. But as soon as he perceived that she was dead, he acted as prudently as the greatness of the misfortune would admit; and laid his dead wife upon the beast, and carried her home. Then cutting her limb by limb into twelve pieces, he sent them to every tribe, and gave it in charge to those that carried them, to inform the tribes of those that were the causes of his wife's death, and of the violence they had offered her. †

engagement to see justice done him for the injury he had received. This is what the interpreters of scripture seem not to have known, and which it is necessary to explain.

The ancients had several ways of uniting themselves together by strict ties, which lasted for a stipulated time: amongst these may be noticed the sacrifice of Abraham, the circumstances of which are mentioned Gen. xvi. 9, &c. Another method was, to take a bullock offered or devoted in sacrifice, cut it into pieces, and distribute it. All who had a piece of this devoted bullock were thenceforward connected, and were to concur in carrying on the affair which had given occasion for the sacrifice. But as this devoting and dividing was variously practised, it also produced different engagements. If he who was at the expense of the sacrifice was a public person, or in high office, he sent of his own accord a piece of the victim to all who were subject to him; and by this act obliged them to enter into his views. If the sacrifice were of

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