chosen friend, Hushai the Archite, his garments rent and earth
upon his head. The king, however, bade him return into the city
and offer his services to Absalom, in order to defeat the counsel of
Ahithophel (2 Sam. xv. 16-37).
As David passed by Bahurim, Shimei, a member of the house of
Saul, came out of that village, and hurled stones at him and hi::
servants, cursing him as the bloody murderer of Saul's house,
The king let him curse on, as the messenger of the curse of God,
a submission which seems to express the voice of David's con-
science for the murder of Uriah. " It may be," he said, " that the
Lord will look upon my tears, and will requite me good for his
cursing this day." At the close of the day the king reached the
Jordan and rested at its fords, where he had appointed to wait for
the priests (2 Sam. xvi. 5-14).
The day had been a busy one at Jerusalem. Absalom had no
sooner entered the city than, by the advice of Ahithophel, h# perpe
trated the outrage which had been foretold by the prophet Nathan,
with the view of making the breach between himself and his father
an irreparable one. Ahithophel's next advice was that the king
should be pursued while weary and dispirited, and he undertook
to go after him and put him to death. His counsel was defeated
by the consummate art of Hushai, whose advice was approved of
by Absalom and all the men of Israel. "For the Lord had ap-
pointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel to the intent that
He might bring evil upon Absalom." Ahithophel was so mortified
at the rejection of his advice that he saddled his ass and went home
to his native city, where he hanged himself. At midnight David
received the warning of Absalom's intended pursuit, which the
priests in Jerusalem sent him by their sons ; and he crossed the
Jordan with all his people before the morning, and took up his
abode at Mahanaim (2 Sam. xvii.).
Absalom, having assumed the royal state, nnd having been sol.
emnly anointed as king, crossed the river in pursuit of his father,
and pitched his tent in- Mount Gilead. David prepared for the
attack by dividing his forces into threo bodies, which he placec
severally under the command of Joali, of Abishai, Joab's brother,
and of Ittai of Gath. Yielding to the entreaties of the people, the
king himself remained at Mahanaim, to hold out the city in case
of a defeat. But he was chiefly solicitous for the safety of his re-
bellious son. " Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even
with Absalom," was his charge to his captains. The armies met
in the forest of Ephrairn, in Mount Gilead, nnd the untrained hosts
r>f Absalom were overthrown with a slaughter of 20,000 men As
164 SCRIPTURE HISTORY. CHAP. XL
he fled from the enemy, the mule on which he rode carried him lie-
neath the spreading branches of a great oak, and left him hanging
by the luxuriant hair which formed his pride. The first soldier
who came up spared his life, because of the king's command, and
went to tell Joab. But the unscrupulous chief hurried to the spot
an-1 thrust three javelins into Absalom's heart while his ten nrmor-
bearers joined in dispatching him. Joab then took down tl; t body
*ind cast it into a prt, over which the people raised a grej* ><ap of
jtones as a mark of execration. David was sitting in the gateway
of Mahanaim waiting for tidings of the battle, when the watchman
on the tower above announced first one and then a second runner.
To each the king put the eager question, " Is the young man Absa-
lom safe?" From the second he received for answer, "The ene-
mies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee
hurt, be as that young man." Then the father's heart gave way.
"The king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the
gate and wept : and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom !
my son, my son Absalom ! would God I had died for thee, O Ab-
salom, my son, my son !" (2 Sam. xviii.).
The king's grief turned the victory into mourning, and the peo-
ple stole back into the city, like men who flee from battle. David
shut himself up, covering his face and repeating the same mournful
cry. Joab roused him from his grief, and upbraided him lament-
ing for his enemies instead of encouraging his friends, who would
soon be driven away by his neglect. Most of the Israelites had al-
ready dispersed to their tents, but they returned when David seat-
ed himself at the gate of the city. Confuskrn for a time prevailed
among the tribes ; but at length the tribe of Judah was gained over
to David's cause ; they invited him to return, and went to Gilgal
to meet him, to conduct him over Jordan. With the men of Ju-
dah carne a thousand Benjamites under Shimei. Next came Me-
phibosheth, whose supposed ingratitude was noticed only by a gen-
tle rebuke. The most affecting incident of the day was the fre-
well of Barzillai, the wealthy Gileadite, who had supplied David's
wants while he was at Mahanaim. He contented himself with es-
corting the king a little beyond the Jordan, and left his son Chim-
ham to receive the favors which he himself was too old to enjoy (2
8am. xix. 1-40).
The joy of the king's return was disturbed by the angry jealousy
of the rest of Israel against Judah for bringing him back without
first consulting them. A rebellion broke out in the tribe of Ben-
jamin, which was terminated by the capture and death of Sheba,
its head. Thus ended the second period of David's reign. The
work which was properly his own was now done. The third and
B.C. 1056-1015. THE GREAT PESTILENCE. 165
closing part of his reign was occupied in preparing for the glorjes
of the earthly kingdom of Israel under his successor. These three
periods were stamped each with a great external calamity : three
years of famine to avenge the cruelties of Saul ; three months of
flight before rebellious Absalom, and now three days of pestilence, an
appropriate punishment for the offense that called it down.
Exulting in the greatness of his kingdom, David was moved by
pride to number the people from Dan to Beersheba. The business
was intrusted to Joab and the captains of the host, who remon-
strated with the king, but in vain. At the end of nine months and
twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem, having gone through the
land and found that there were 800,000 men of war in Israel and
S00,000 in Judah. But immediately after the work was finished,
David's conscience smote him. Early the very next morning the
word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was directed to siiy
to him, " Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things : Shall sev-
en years of famine come unto thee in thy land ? Wilt thou flee
three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee ? or that
there be three days of pestilence in thy land ?" Of these modes of
reducing the number of his people, David chose the last, saying,
" Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great,
and let me not fall into the hand of man." The pestilence raged
for the appointed time, and 70,000 of the people died from Dan to
Beersheba. The angei that destroyed the people stayed his hand,
at the intercession of David, at the threshing-floor of ARACNAH, tho
Jebusite. There David built an altar to the Lord, and offered
burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and the plague ceased (2 Sam.
xxiv.).
This altar first distinctly marked the sacred spot which God had
long promised to choose for his abode. The hill received the name
of Moriah ("vision") from the appearance of God to David, first as
the destroying angel, and then by the sign of fire (2 Chron. iii. 1).
David now commenced his preparations for building the house of
the Lord. But the work itself was destined to another hand. To
his son SOLOMON, now designated as his successor, he gave the
charge to build a house for Jehovah, God of Israel. His eldest
surviving son, Adonijah, endeavored to usurp the sceptre, and gain-
ed over Joab and Abiathar, but his rebellion was soon suppressed.
David then gathered all the people to an assembly, in which he
gave a solemn charge to them and their new king, to whom also he
delivered patterns for the house of God and the materials he had
collected for the building. These were greatly increased by the
free-will offerings of the princes and of the people. After David
had offered thanksgiving and prayer for Solomon, all the people
166 SCRIPTURE HISTORY. CHAP. XL
feasted together, and Solomon was inaugurated into his kingdom
for the second time, while Zadok was publicly anointed as high-
priest (1 Chron. xxix.). The new king was established in pros-
perity and in favor with the people before his father's death.
David's last act was to send for Solomon, and renew the charge
to him to keep the statutes of the Lord his God, as written in the
law of Moses, that so he might prosper in all his deeds. After a
reign of forty years, seven in Hebron and thirty-three at Jerusalem,
' ; he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor ; and
Solomon his son reigned in his stead." He was baried "in tho
city of David." His tomb became the general sepulchre of the
kings of J'ndah, and was known in the latest times of the Jewish
people (1 Kings ii. 10, 11).
No character of the Old Testament can at all be compared with
that of David. In the incidents of his life he comes before us as
the shepherd, the soldier, the poet, the statesman, the priest, the
prophet, the king ; uniting together, in the romantic friend, the
chivalrous leader, the devoted father, the diverse elements of pas-
sion, tenderness, generosity, fierceness. His character represents
the Jewish people just as they were passing from the lofty virtues of
the older system on to the fuller civilization of the later. In a
sense more than figurative, he is the type and prophecy of Jesus
Christ. Christ is not called the son of Abraham or of Moses, hut
he was truly " the son of David."
To his own people his was the name most dearly cherished after
their first ancestor, Abraham. Too sacred to be appropriated, it
was never given to any one else in the Jewish history. His Psalms
have been the source of consolation and instruction beyond any
other part of the Hebrew Scriptures. No other part of the Old
Testament comes so near the spirit of the New. The difficulties
which attend on his character are valuable as proofs of the impar-
tiality of Scripture in recording them. Its dark features manifest
a union of natural power and human weakness. The inner se-
cret of his life the temptations, the remorse, the often-baffled, nev-
er-ending struggle is the truest emblem ever given us of man's
moral progress and spiritual warfare here below.
Meanwhile the highest eulogy passed on the best of his succes
sors is that they followed his example, or, as is once emphatically
said, "he walked in the first ways of his father David" (2 Chroa.
xvii. 3 ; xxix. 2 ; xxxiv. 2).
Tomb of Darius near Persepolis (showing the probable lorm of the upper story of the Temple.)
CHAPTER. XII.
THE KEIGN OF SOLOMON. B.C. 1015-975.
THE reign of Solomon marks nt once the climax of the Hehrew
state and an epoch in its chronology, which may be called the Mil-
lennium before the advent of " David's greater son." The accession
of Solomon as sole king is fixed on good grounds to the year B.C.
1015, when he was 18 years old. He reigned 40 years, or more pre-
cisely 39 years ; the sum of his own reign and his father's being
80 years. Though he had been already solemnly crowned, and the
people hnd sworn allegiance to him, the death of his father was the
signal for attempts to shake his throne. The request of Adonijah,
through the intercession of Bath-slicba, for the hand of David's wid-
ow, Ahishag, was justly viewed by Solomon as the first step in a
new conspiracy of the prince with Abiathar and Joab- So h sent
168 SCRIPTURE HISTORY. CHAP. XII.
Benaiah to put Adonijah to death, and deposed Abiathar from the
high-priesthood. Joab flew for sanctuary to the tabernacle, and
caught hold of the horns of the altar : but even there the hand of
Benaiah avenged upon him the blood of Abner and Amasa.
The king put Benaiah in his place as captain of the guard, and
Zadok in the room of Abiathar. Thus the high-priesthood return-
ed from the house of Ithamar to that of Eleazar, according to the
word of God to Eli. Shimei was ordered by Solomon to remain in
Jerusalem, and three years later his departure from the city was
punished with death, according to the king's express warning (1
Kings ii. 13-46). After this Solomon enjoyed, till the latter years
of his reign, the profound peace which was symbolized by hia
name.
His father's "onquests had carried his dominions to the borders
named in the promise to Abraham, " from the river of Egypt to the
great river, the river Euphrates." The subjection of Edom gave
him the ports of Eziongeber and Elath, on the eastern arm of the
Red Sea (Gulf of AkabaK); and his alliance with Tyre at once
gave him security in the north and a share in the commerce of
Phoenicia. Thus powerful by land and sea, the kingdom of Isrsiel
was in truth not only one of the great Eastern monarchies, but nt
this time the greatest of them all. 1 Egypt was glad to accept the
alliance which Solomon sought ; and the city of Gezer, which came
to him as the dowry of Pharaoh's daughter, gave him the command
of the Philistine plain, the ancient highway between Egypt and As-
syria (1 Kings iii. 1 ; ix. ]~>, 17 : comp. iv. 21). But this alliance
with Egypt, in violation of an old divine command, brought the
king's first temptation to idolatry.
Meanwhile, "Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of
David his father;" but the "high places " were still used for wor-
ship. The chief of these was the hill of Gibeon, where stood the
tabernacle and the altar of burnt-offering ; and it was after a great
acrifice there that God appeared to Solomon in a dream, and ask-
ed him what He should give him. The king, confessing himself to
be but a little child in comparison of the great work committed to
him in governing and judging the people, asked for the wisdom and
knowledge that might fit him for the office " an understanding
heart to judge thy people, to discern between good and had." His
aspirations, if not for the highest spiritual excellence, were for prac-
tical sagacity and usefulness to his subjects, not for long life, rich-
es, and victory for himself; and, because he had not selfishly asked
these things, they were freely granted to him, in addition to the
1 For the condition of Egypt and Assyria at this time, see the " Smaller
Ancient History of the East," chaos, xi. and xx.
B.C. 1015-975. BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 169
gift he had chosen. Their possession was soon proved by the fa-
mous " Judgment of Solomon " between the two mothers of a dead
and a living child (1 Kings iii.).
The Oriental magnificence of Solomon's court, where he sat on
his throne of ivory and gold, with the state officers whose functions
are described in the Book of Kings, was supported by levies through-
out the land, and by the tribute of the subject kingdoms, from
Tiphsah (Thapsacus), on the Euphrates, to Azzah (Gaza), on the
frontier towards Egypt. Judah and Israel vastly increased in
numbers, dwelt safely all his days, "every man under his vine and
under his fig-tree, eating and drinking and making merry." But
all this prosperity was transcended by the king's wisdom and
" largeness of heart," and knowledge in all the learning of his age.
He gave equal attention to the lessons of practical morals and to
the facts of natural science. " He spake 3000 proverbs," of which
the " Book of Proverbs " contains the choicest, " and his songs
were a thousand and five;" and in "The Song of Songs, which is
Solomon's," as well as in the 45th Psalm, we probably have some
pictures drawn from his personal beauty and gracious bearing. All
people and kings of the earth came to receive from his own lips the
wisdom of which they had heard (1 Kings iv. ; 2 Chron. i.). The
king was meanwhile occupied with three great works the building
of the house of God, of his own house, and of the wall of Jerusalem.
For the " house of God" (less properly known by the Roman name
of temple) David had collected superabundant materials from his
people, and had secured the aid of Hiram, king of Tyre. That
faithful ally sent an embassy to congratulate Solomon on his acces-
sion, and arrangements were made between them for the work.
Cedars and fir-trees from Lebanon, squared and fitted where they
were felled, were floated round to Joppa, and thence carried to Je-
rusalem. Solomon supplied provisions both for Hiram's servants
and his own ; and he enlisted laborers from the remnant of the sub-
ject nations living throughout the land, whom David had reduced
to a condition like that of the Gibeonites under Joshua. Besides
these, he raised a levy of 30,000 men out of all Israel, each relay of
10,000 working for a month at hewing timber in Lebanon, as well
as the huge stones for the foundations, some of which arc still seen
in their place. Such was the care taken in preparing arid fitting
the materials, that no sound of axe or hammer was heard in tho
house during the whole time that it was in building (1 Kings v., vi.
7 ; and 2 Chron. ii.).
Hiram supplied Solomon with a chief architect, a namesake of
his own ; for both names are spelled indifferently Hirdtfior Huram.
He was the son of a widow of Naphthali or Dan, and his fathez
170 SCRIPTURE HISTORY. CHAP. XII
had been a Tyrian artist ; and art was then hereditary. Besides
design in all its branches, he wrought specially in metal ; and the
masterpieces of his art were the two pillars of cast brass, called
Jachin and Boaz, 18 cubits high, with capitals of 5 cubits more, 1
adorned with lily-work and pomegranates, which stood on each
side of the porch, in front of the holy place. The site of the house
was that pointed out by God and prepared by David, on MOUNT
MORIAH, where the plague had stayed at the threshing-floor of
Araunah the Jebusite. The area inclosed by the outer walls
formed a square of about 600 feet ; but the sanctuary itself was
comparatively small, as it was intended only for the ministrations of
the priests, the congregation of the people assembling in the courts.
Chambers were built about the sanctuary for the abode of the priests
and attendants, and for the keeping of treasures and stores.
In other respects the temple followed the model of the taber-
nacle, of which it was the exact double in its chief dimensions, be-
ing 80 cubits in length, 40 in width, and 20 in height. The porch
wa ten cubits deep ; the holy place was 40 cubits long by 20 wide ,
the Holy of Holies was a cube of 20 feet internally. The places
of the two vails of the tabernacle were occupied by partitions, in
which were folding-doors. The chief sacred objects were the same.
Above the ark new cherubim were made ; but the ark itself was un-
altered, and contained nothing but the two Tables of the Law, the
old covenant of God with His people. The golden candlestick and
table of shew-bread were replaced by seven candlesticks and ten
tables. The richly carved linings of both chambers were overlaid
with gold. The court was doubtless also doubled in its dimensions,
so as to be 100 cubits from noi1;h to south, and 200 from east to
west. Part of it around the sanctuary was separately inclosed,
forming the court of the priests. In the outer court for the people
the altar of burnt-offering was wholly of brass, much larger and of
a more elaborate form than that of Moses ; and the brazen larer for
the ablutions of the priests was replaced by a molten sea, as it was
called from its vast size, also of brass, borne by twelve oxen, three
looking to each quarter of the heavens. The temple had upper
chambers. (See Vignette.)
Having completed his preparations, Solomon began to build the
temple in the fourth year of his reign, the 480th from the Exodus,
on the second day of the second month of the sacred year (neat
the end of April, B.C. 1012). It was completed in seven years and
a half, in the eighth month (October to November) of his eleventh
year (B.C. 1005). The time chosen for its dedication was the
Feast-of Tabernacles, in the seventh month of the sacred year;
% y The " sacred cubit " was either 20 or 24 inches.
B.C. 1015-975. DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. 171
when the people, having done the lahors of the field and gathered
in the vintage,, assembled at Jerusalem to keep the most joyous
feast of the year. At the moment when the priests, who had per-
formed the daily service, came out from within the vail, and the
Levites burst forth in chorus praising Jehovah, "For he is good :
for His mercy endureth forever," God gave the sign of His coming
to take possession of His house; a cloud filled the house, "so that
the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud ; for
che GI.ORY OF JEHOVAH HAD FILLED THE HOUSE OF JEHOVAH."
As that sacred cloud spread through the open doors over the sanc-
tuary, the voice of Solomon was heard, recognizing the presence of
God, who had said that He would dwell in the thick darkness, and
for whom he had now built a habitation forever. Then, from the
great platform of brass, which he had raised in the midst of the court,
the king followed up his blessing of the people with that sublime
Prayer of Dedication, which is the prophecy of their whole history,
and of God's chastisement of their sins, even to the captivity. An
answer was given by the fire which came down from heaven, as on
the first altar of burnt offering, and consumed the sacrifices, while
the Shekinah again filled the house. The king and people's sacri-
fices of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep were attended by a feast of
fourteen days, seven for the Feast of Tabernacles and seven for the
dedication ; and Solomon sent the people home "glad and merry
in heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had showed unto David,
and to Solomon, and to Israel his people "(I Kings vi.-viii. ; 2
Chron. iii.-vii.).
Four years more were occupied in the completion of the king's
"own house," and of his other great works at Jerusalem. His
palace contained, round the great court, the great hall of state,
called " the house of the Forest of Lehnnon," from its four rows of
cedar pillars; the "hall" or "porch of judgment;" and a "porch
of pillars," the usual place of audience, in front of the private pal-
ace. It stood below the platform of the temple, to which Solomon
constructed a subterranean passage, 2oO feet long by 42 feet wide,
the remains of which may still be traced. A separate palace was
built for his Egyptian queen, the daughter of Pharaoh. He had
ako a summer palace in Lebanon, and gardens at Etham, like the
" paradises " of the Eastern kings. To these works were added
aqueducts to supply the city, and the repair of the walls of Zion
and of the fort of Millo. These last works were under the super-
intendence of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat (1 Kings vii. 1-12; ix.
15, 24). On the completion of all these buildings, God appeared a
second time to Solomon in a vision of the night, and renewed the
covenant He had made with him at Gibcon, as if to warn him
172 SCRIPTURE HISTORY. CHAP. XIL
against his ensuing declension (1 Kings ix. 1-9; 2 Chron. viL
12-22).
These great works at Jerusalem, and the establishment of the tern-
pie service in the course prescribed by David, occupied the first half
of Solomon's reign (B.C. 1015-996) ; the second half was begun with
magnificent works in other parts of his dominions, and great enter-
prises of foreign commerce. Hiram's discontent at the reward of
his services by the gift of twenty cities on the coast of Galilee, which
he called Cabul, that is, " dirt," did not impair his alliance with
Solomon. The navies of the two kings were united in distant voy-
ages ; partly to the western parts of the Mediterranean, which were
vaguely described by the name of Turshish; and partly from the
two ports of the Red Sea to the shores of Arabia, and possibly of
India. The latter navy traded chiefly to Ophir. 3 The fleets re-
turned every three years, bringing gold, silver, ivory, and precious
stones, the rare wood of the almvy (or alyuni) trees, apes, and pea-
cocks. In a beautiful oasis of the Syrian desert, Solomon built
Tad/nor (afterwards famous as Palmyra), on a great commercial
route to the Euphrates. On the north, he made a new conquest,
the only one recorded in his reign, of Hamath-Zobah, in the valley
of the Orontes ; and here he built several of his " store-cities," or