earth. Then there set forth from thence, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war. And they went up and encamped in Kirjath-jearim in Judah; wherefore it is called MahanehDan to this day. And they passed thence to the hill-country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. And the five men that had explored the land said unto their brethren: Do ye know that in these houses is an ephod and Teraphim? Now consider what ye will do. And the six hundred armed men came to Micah's house and took the ephod and the Teraphim; and when the priest said unto them: What do ye? they said unto him: Hold thy peace; lay thy hand upon thy mouth and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for thee to be a priest unto the household of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? And the priest's heart was glad; and he took the ephod and the Teraphim, and went in the midst of the people. So they turned and departed and put the little ones and the cattle and the goods before them.

When they were a good way from Micah's house, the men that were in the houses near Micah's house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. And they shouted to the Danites; and they turned their faces, and said unto Micah: What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? And he said: Ye have taken the gods that I made and the priest and have gone away; and what have I more? How then say ye unto me: What aileth thee? And the Danites said unto him: Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you and thou lose thy life and the lives of thy household. And the Danites went their way; and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned and went back to his house. But they took that which Micah had made and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, upon a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and they burnt the city with fire. And there was no one to save it, for it was far from Zidon and they had no dealings with any other. And they rebuilt the city and dwelt therein. And they called it Dan; and the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons, were priests to the tribe of Dan.

(And the Children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Midianites seven years, until the Israelites cried for help unto Yahweh.) And the Messenger of Yahweh came and sat under the terebinth which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abi-ezrite; and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine-press to hide it from the Midianites. And the Messenger of Yahweh appeared unto him and said unto him: Yahweh is with thee, thou mighty man of valor! And Gideon answered him: 0, my lord, if Yahweh be with us, why then is all this befalling us, and where are all His wondrous works of which our fathers told us, saying: Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt? But now, Yahweh hath cast us off and given us into the hands of Midian. Then Yahweh turned towards him, and said: Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. But he answered: 0, my lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And He answered: Surely, I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto Him: If now I have found favor in Thy sight, depart not hence, I pray Thee, until I come again and bring forth my offering and lay it before Thee. And He said: I will tarry until thou come back. And Gideon went in and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes

of an ephah of meal; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it to the man under the terebinth. And the Messenger of Yahweh reached out the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there went up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. When Gideon perceived that it was the Messenger of Yahweh, he said: Alas, O God Yahweh! I have seen the Messenger of Yahweh, face to face. And Yahweh said unto him: Peace be unto thee; fear not! thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it Yahweh-shalom (Yahweh is peace); it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

And the spirit of Yahweh possessed Gideon; and he sounded the alarm and the men of Abiezer were gathered together to follow him. And Jerubbael (that is, Gideon) and all the people that were with him rose up early and encamped beside En-harod; and the camp of Midian was north of Gibeath-moreh. And it came to pass the same night, that Yahweh said unto him: Arise, get thee down upon the camp, for I have delivered it into thy hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Purah thy servant into the camp and hear what they shall say; afterwards shall thy hand be strengthened to descend upon the camp. Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men that were in the camp. Now the Midianites were lying in the plain like the sand upon the seashore for multitude. And as Gideon came near, a man was telling a dream unto his fellow, and saying: Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a great cake of barley-bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; and it came to the tent and struck it that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat. And his companion said: this is nothing else than the men of Israel; into their hand hath Yahweh delivered all the host. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshiped; and he returned into the camp of Israel and said: Arise, for Yahweh hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. And Gideon had three hundred men, and he divided them into three companies, and put into the hand of all of them empty pitchers and lamps in their pitchers. And he said: Look at me, and when I blow the horn do as I do. And he blew his horn and the three companies shattered their pitchers, grasping the torches, and shouted: For Yahweh and Gideon! And they stood where they were about the camp; and all the camp awoke and sent up a wild cry and fled to Zeredah, to the border of AbelMeholah near Tabbath.

And Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men with him, faint yet pursuing. And he said to the inhabitants of Succoth: Give loaves of bread, I pray you, unto the people that follow me; for they are faint. I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. But the rulers of Succoth said: Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy power, that we should give thy soldiers bread? And Gideon said: When Yahweh hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, then will I tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had done. And he spake also unto the men of Penuel: When I come back in peace, I will break down this tower.

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men; and Gideon went up by the way east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the host, for the host felt secure; and Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And he pursued after them; and he

took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host. And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from the ascent of Heres. And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and the elders thereof, seventy and seven men. And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said: Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom ye did taunt me, saying: Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy power, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary? And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. And he brake down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna: Who, then, were the men whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered: As thou art, so were they; in stature like king's sons, every one. And he said: They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not kill you. And he said unto Jether, his first-born: Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, for he was yet a youth. Then said Zebah and Zalmunna: Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels. And Gideon said to his men: I will make a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his spoils. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered: We will give them willingly. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his spoil. And the weight of the golden rings was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold. And Gideon made thereof an ephod, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah. And all Israel went astray after it there; and it became a snare unto Gideon and to his family. Thus the Midianites were subdued by the Israelites, and litfed not their heads again. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

SECTION IV.-The Last of the Warrior-Judges. The story of Samson: his birth; his provocation of the Philistines; his death. The outrage at Gibeah, and the punishment and reduction in power of Benjamin. The First Recorded Aggressions of the Philistines; their capture of the Ark of the Covenant; their punishment by Yahweh; the Return of the Ark. (Judges, xiii-xviii; xix, 1-6a, 8b-10a, 11, 12, 14, 15b-16a, 17-23, 25-30; xx, 1a, c, 3-8, 14, 19, 29, 36b-37a, 38-41, 44a, 47; xxi, 1, 15, 16-19a, 21-25. 1 Samuel, iv, 2a, c, 3a, 4a, 5a, c, 6b, 7b, 9a, c, 10b; v, 1-11a; vi, 2-4, 6-14, 16, 19-21; vii, 1.)

Materials: As before, traditions and folk-songs; probably, also, priestly records from the temple at Shiloh.

Now there was a certain man of Zorah of the tribe of the Danites whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare no child. And the messenger of Yahweh appeared unto the woman and said unto her: Behold now, thou art barren and hast borne no child; but thou shalt conceive and bear a son. Now, therefore, I pray thee, drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing. For lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son; and no razor must come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazarite from his mother's womb, and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.

Then the woman came to her husband and told him, saying: A

man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of a messenger of God, very terrible; and I asked him not whence he came, neither told he me his name. But he said: Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son; and now, drink no wine nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazarite from the womb to the day of his death.

Then Manoah entreated Yahweh, and said: O Yahweh, I pray Thee, let the man of God whom Thou didst send come again unto me and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the messenger of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran and told her husband, and said unto him: Behold, the man hath appeared unto me that came unto me that day. And Manoah rose and went after his wife, and came upon the man and said: Art thou the man that spake unto the woman? And he said: I am. And Manoah said: Now, when thy word cometh to pass, what shall be the rules for the child, and what shall be done with him? And the messenger of Yahweh said unto Manoah: Of all that I said unto the woman let her be mindful. She may not eat of any product of the vine, nor let her drink any strong drink nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe. And Manoah said unto the messenger of Yahweh I pray thee, let us detain thee, that we may make ready a kid for thee. And the messenger of Yahweh said unto Manoah: Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt make a burnt-offering, thou must offer it to Yahweh. For Manoah knew not that he was the messenger of Yahweh. And Manoah said unto him: What is thy name, that when thy words come to pass we may do thee honor? And the messenger of Yahweh said unto him: Wherefore askest thou after my name, seeing it is hidden? So Manoah took the kid and offered it upon the rock unto Yahweh. And the man did wondrously; for it came to pass when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the messenger of Yahweh ascended in the flame of the altar; and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. Then Manoah knew that he was the messenger of Yahweh; but the messenger of Yahweh did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. And Manoah said unto his wife: We shall certainly die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him: If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, He would not have received the burnt-offering at our hand, neither would He have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have announced to us such a thing.

And the woman bare a son and called his name Samson; and the boy grew up, and Yahweh blessed him. And the spirit of Yahweh began to move him.

And Samson went down to Timrath and saw a woman of the daughters of the Philistines there. And he came back and told his father and his mother: I have seen at Timnath a daughter of the Philistines; now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father said unto him: Is there never a woman of the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father: Get her for me, for she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of Yahweh, that He sought an occasion against the Philistines. So Samson went down to Timnath and came to the vineyards of Timnath; and behold, a young lion roared against him. And the spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon him, and he rent him as one would rend a kid; he

had nothing in his hand. Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. And after a while, he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion and honey. And he scraped out the honey into his hands, and went on eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother and gave unto them, and they did eat; but he told them not he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion. And Samson went down to the woman, and he made there a feast; for so used the bridegrooms to do. And it came to pass that thirty companions were with him. And Samson said unto them: Let me now put forth a riddle to you; if ye can declare it me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment; but if ye cannot declare it unto me, then shall ye give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment. And they said: Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. And he said:

Out of the eater came forth food,

And out of the strong came forth sweetness.

And they could not solve the riddle. And it came to pass on the seventh day that they said unto Samson's wife: Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire; have ye called us hither to impoverish us? And Samson's wife wept before him, and said: Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not; thou hast put forth a riddle to my people, and wilt thou not tell it me? And he said unto her: I have not told even my father and mother, and shall I tell it thee? But she wept before him the seven days that they held the feast; and it came to pass on the seventh day that he told her, because she pressed him sore; and she told the riddle to the children of her people. And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day, before the sun went down:

What is sweeter than honey?

And what is stronger than a lion?

And he said unto them:

If with my heifer ye had not ploughed,
Ye had not found out my riddle.

And the spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon him; and he went down to Ashkelon and smote thirty men of them and took their spoil, and gave the changes of raiment unto them that declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. But Samson's bride was given to his companion whom he had had for his groomsman.

But it came to pass after a while, in the time of wheat-harvest, that Samson went to visit his wife with a kid; and he said: I will go in to my wife in her chamber. But her father said: I verily thought that thou didst hate her utterly, therefore I gave her to thy friend. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead. And Samson said: This time shall I be quits with the Philistines when I do them a mischief. And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned the foxes tail to tail and put a torch between every two tails. And when he had set the torches a-fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain. Then the Philistines said: Who hath done this? and they said: Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnathite; because he hath taken Samson's wife and given her to his