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invariably regarded as the bearers of tribute. Israel, then, being in subjection to Eglon, their "present" was doubtless a customary tribute. It seems to have been introduced with great state, being carried by several persons. It is quite Oriental, to make the utmost parade of such offerings. The king, to magnify his power, and the offerer, to enhance the apparent value of his gift, concur in this desire for parade-a great number of men, horses, and camels, being employed to convey what a very few, if not one, might carry with case. The principle of this matter seems to us to be well illustrated by the existing practice in Persia. At the great annual festival of Nouroze, at the vernal equinox, the king sits in state, and receives with great solemnity the presents which are at that season sent to him from all parts of his empire. The tributary and dependent chiefs and princes who acknowledge him as paramount lord then send their tributes and dues in the form of presents; the governors of provinces thus also send their annual offerings; and even the ministers of state, and all those invested with high office, are expected to contribute their present on the occasion. And all this, although in the first instance it has the appearance of a voluntary offering, is in fact a rigidly exacted tribute, which no one can with safety hope to evade. It is an Oriental feeling to prefer receiving in this form and with this state and parade, what might be conveniently and certainly obtained in another form. Two-fifths, if not onehalf of the revenue of Persia, is received in this manner and on this occasion. These offerings usually consist of the best specimens of the produce and manufactures of the countries from which they come. Even money is often offered, and is sure to be favourably received. Mr. Morier's account of the affair is an instructive illustration of the many passages of Scripture hich allude to the custom:-"The first ceremony was the introduction of the presents from different provinces. That from Prince Hossein Ali Mirza, governor of Shiraz, came first. The master of the ceremonies walked up, having with him the conductor of the present" (this was Ehud's office on the present occasion), "and an attendant who, when the name and titles of the donor had been proclaimed, read aloud from a paper a list of the articles. The present from Prince Hossein Ali Mirza consisted of a very long train of large trays placed on men's heads, on which were shawls, stuffs of all sorts, pearls, &c.; then many trays filled with sugar, and sweetmeats; after that many mules laden with fruits, &c. The next present was from Mohammed Ali Khan, Prince of Hamadan, the eldest born of the king's sons. His present accorded with the character which is assigned him; it consisted of pistols and spears, a string of one hundred camels, and as many mules. After this came the present from the Prince of Yezd, another of the king's sons, which consisted of shawls and silken stuffs, the manufacture of his own town. Then followed that of the Prince of Mesched; and last of all, and most valuable, was that from Hajee Mohamed Hossein Khan, Ameen-ed-Doulah" (prime minister). "It consisted of fifty mules, each covered with a fine Cashmere shawl, and each carrying a load of one thousand tomauns." A tomaun is a gold coin worth about twelve shillings; and one or two camels would have carried the whole, which fifty were employed to carry for the purpose of parade.

19. "The quarries that were by Gilgal."-It does not appear what sort of quarries there might be at Gilgal in the plain of Jericho. The word unquestionably means graven images in other places (see Deut. vii. 25; Jer. viii. 19; li. 52); and is so understood by the Septuagint and Vulgate in the present text. The idols might, as Dr. Boothroyd conjectures, have been erected at Gilgal by Eglon, and the sight of them there might inspire Ehud with new ardour to execute his purpose.

24. "He covereth his feet in his summer chamber.”-It is customary for people in the East to take a nap in the afternoon during the heat of the day; and the servants of Eglon appear to have supposed that their lord had locked himself up in the summer parlour to enjoy his customary sleep. As to the summer parlour, which Eglon "had for himself alone"-see the note on 2 Kings iv. 10-we need only here observe that it appears to have been an apartment detached from the main building, but having a communication with it, and also with the exterior. It also probably enjoyed a free circulation of the air, which rendered it particularly agreeable in the heat of summer, especially in so very warm a district as the plain of Jericho.

28. "Took the fords of Jordan."-This must have been to prevent the Moabites, who remained in their own country east of the Dead Sea, from passing over the Jordan, to assist their countrymen who had established themselves on the west of that river, as well as to prevent the escape of the latter. The river Jordan has several fordable places, which are of course more numerous in summer than in winter or spring, when the stream is swollen with rains or melted snows. It is now seldom forded except on horseback; and the few places otherwise fordable, were, as we see, well known to the ancient inhabitants, who on this and other occasions guarded them, to prevent the passage across the river. The points where the river may, in different parts of the year be forded, are still well known to the inhabitants of the land, although the communication across the river is now very infrequent.

31. "Slew...sx hundred men with an ox goad."-We are to suppose that the Philistines made an attempt to subdue the southern tribes, but were repulsed with the loss of six hundred men by Shamgar, who was probably a husbandman, and other men, who fought the invaders with the ox-goads which they were employing in their labour. It is not necessary to suppose this the single-handed exploit of Shamgar; but as, even so, the deed was not equal to some afterwards performed by Samson, this point must be allowed to remain uncertain. The ox-goads, which are still used in Syria, are well calculated for offensive weapons on occasion, as will be seen by the following description from Buckingham. On the journey from Soor (Tyre) to Acre he observed the people ploughing the ground for corn:"Oxen were yoked in pairs for this purpose, and the plough was small and of simple construction, so that it seemed necessary for two to follow each other in the same furrow, as they invariably did. The husbandman holding the plough with one hand, by a handle like that of a walking crutch, bore in the other a goad of seven or eight feet in length, armed with a sharp point of iron at one end, and at the other with a plate of the same metal shaped like a calkingchisel. One attendant only was necessary for each plough, as he who guided it with one hand spurred the oxen with the point of the goad, and cleaned the earth from the ploughshare by its spaded heel with the other." (Palestine,' vol. i. p. 91. 860.) Maundrell, who gives nearly the same description, says," May we not conjecture that it was with such a goad as one of these that Shamgar made that prodigious slaughter related of him? I am confident that whoever should see one of these instruments would judge it to be a weapon not less fit, perhaps fitter, than a sword for such execution."

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CHAPTER IV.

MOUNT TABOR.-FROM CASSAS.

1 Deborah and Barak deliver them from Jabin and Sisera. 18 Jael killeth Sisera.

AND the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and

1 Psal 83. 9, 10.

said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7 And I will draw unto thee to the 'river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9 And she said, I will surely go with thee. notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak te Kedesh.

10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of 'Hobab the father in law of

2 Num. 10. 29.

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Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, | edge of the sword before Barak; so that and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

13 And Sisera 'gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the Heb. gathered by cry, or proclamation.

Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not 'a man left.

17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a 'mantle.

Psal. 83. 9, 10.

19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray

Heb, unto one.

Or, rug, or blanket.

thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened 'a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. 21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

men.

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22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Heb. going went and was hard

Verse 10. "Ten thousand men at his feet.”—Patrick and others think that this means that the soldiers were all footThis is very probable; but it does not necessarily follow from the expression, which is merely an Oriental mode of reference to the persons who are subject to the control of a particular person. It may be taken from the action of a slave being prostrate at the feet of his master, denoting submission or obedience. We continually meet with the expression in Oriental books. Mr. Roberts says that when the Hindoos speak of the British king, they often allude to the millions that are at his feet. The governors, generals, or judges in the East, are said to have the people of such countries, armies, or districts, at their feet. Nay, it is common for masters, and people of small possessions, to speak of their domestics as being at their feet.

11. "Pitched his tent."-This is an interesting indication that this family retained in a settled country like Palestine the habits of a pastoral people. At the present time, a very large proportion of the existing population of Persia consists of pastoral tribes, of foreign (Tartar) origin, who pitch their tents and feed their flocks in the pasture lands and (except by themselves) unappropriated plains of that extensive region.

12. "Barak...was gone up to mount Tabor."-This mountain, the supposed scene of our Lord's transfiguration, rises in the east of the great plain of Esdraelon, about two leagues S. E. from Nazareth, and nearly the same distance from the Jordan. It is a calcareous mountain, resembling in its figure a cone with the upper part struck off; and stands in the plain completely insulated from any of the neighbouring mountains, none of which equal it in elevation. This elevation has been very variously stated. Some of the elder writers stated it at four miles! but it has since been, by other accounts, gradually reduced to three miles-two miles-one mile-1000 feet. Part of this discrepancy may have arisen from the want of a distinct intimation whether the statement given, referred to the perpendicular altitude, or to the extent of the winding ascent up the mountain. The lowest statement, as above, of 1000 feet, is given by Buckingham, and is, probably, not over the mark, however much it may be below. That this estimate is not too high is probable from the fact mentioned by Burckhardt, that thick clouds rest upon its summit in the mornings of summer; and also from the time occupied in the ascent, which is seldom much less than an hour, although, by forced exertion, Buckingham was enabled to reach the summit in half an hour. At the top is an oval plain, of about a quarter of a mile in its greatest length, covered with a bed of fertile soil on the west, and having at its eastern end a mass of ruins, seemingly the vestiges of churches, grottoes, strong walls, and fortifications, ali decidedly of some antiquity, and a few appearing to be the works of a very remote age. Three of these grottoes are, absurdly enough, pointed out by the local guides as the remains of the three tabernacles which Peter proposed to erect for Jesus, Moses, and Elias. No particular history is assigned to any other of the remains, which seem, however, to have been mostly extensive religious buildings. The whole appears to have been once enclosed within a strong wall, a large portion of which still remains entire on the south side, having its firm foundations on the solid rocks; and this appears to be the most ancient part. Perhaps we might attribute to these a very high antiquity; for the mountain seems to have been from the earliest times employed as a military post, for which it is admirably adapted. We seem to have the first instance of this in the text. The "hill of a globular form," on which Polybius describes the town of Atabyrium as situated, was doubtless Mount Tabor. It was so strong, that Antiochus only succeeded in taking it by a stratagem, similar to that by which Joshua took Ai; and when taken, he secured it by leaving a garrison in it before he proceeded against the cities on the east of Jordan. (Polybius,' l. v., c. vi.) In the fatal war with the Romans, it was resorted to as a place of security, and the military historian Josephus encompassed the summit with a wall, which was completed in forty days, and is perhaps the same of which some ruins still appear. The Romans were only able to get possession of this strong hold by enticing the occupants down into the plain, by promises of security and friendship, which were shamefully violated. After this Mount Tabor seems to have become the seat of religious establishments, the remains of which are now mixed with those of the military fortifications.

From the summit of this mountain there is one of the most extensive and interesting prospects which the country affords. To the south is discovered a series of valleys and mountains, extending as far as Jerusalem, fifty miles distant; to the east, the valley of the Jordan, with the lake of Tiberias, appear as beneath the feet, the lake itself seeming as if enclosed in the crater of a volcano ; to the north are the plains of Galilee, backed by mountains, beyond which is visible, to the north-east, the high snow-capped range of Djebel-el-Telj, or the Snow Mountain' (a part of Anti-Libanus). To the west, the horizon line of the Mediterranean is visible over the range of land near the coast, and portions of its blue surface are seen through the openings left by the downward bends in the outline of the western hills.

The mountain itself, as viewed from below, presents a very fine appearance. "It is," says Pococke, "one of the finest hills I ever beheld, being a rich soil that produces excellent herbage, and is most beautifully adorned with groves and clumps of trees." These are chiefly, according to Burckhardt, composed of the oak and wild pistachio; but there are also (says Hasselquist) the carob-tree, the terebinth, the holly, and the myrtle, not to mention a large variety of other plants and flowers which cover the surface. The verdure is less abundant on the south than on the other sides of the mountian. There are ounces and wild boars in the wooded parts (Burckhardt); and Hasselquist saw the rock

goat and fallow-deer. Red partridges, also, are in great numbers. Besides the travellers cited in the course of the note, see Maundrell's Journey;' Jolliffe's Letters from Palestine,' vol. i. p. 40; Rae Wilson's Travels,' p. 367; Carne's Letters from the East,' p. 253. William Biddulph, who was there early in the seventeenth century, gives a much fairer account of the mountain than some subsequent travellers. "We beheld," he says, "the prospect of the mountain to be very pleasant, somewhat steepie, but not very high nor very large, but a comely round mountaine, beset with trees and thicke bushes, which at that time of the yeere flourished greene." See the rest in Purchas.

15. Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.”—This seems rather strange conduct; but it is evident that the chariots being so hotly pursued, particularly perhaps his own chariot, which may have been distinguished by its greater splendour-he saw that his only chance for safety was to escape on foot, when he had an opportunity to do this unnoticed, calculating that Barak would continue the pursuit of the chariots, as actually happened.

18. "Into the tent."-We must consider these Kenites as Arabs, and estimate their proceedings accordingly. Sisera's claim on Jael, in the absence of Heber, was perfectly proper. When a stranger comes to an Arab camp where he has no acquaintance, he proceeds to the first tent, and if the proprietor is himself absent, his wife or daughters are not only authorised, but required to perform the duties of hospitality to him. As a character for liberal hospitality is an actual distinction of an Arab, no one can with honour repel from the tent a stranger who claims hospitality, nor, in ordinary circumstances, does any one desire to do so: on the contrary, there is rather a disposition to contend who shall enjoy the privilege of granting him entertainment. In the present instance Sisera's application to the tent of the sheikh, whose privilege it more especially was to entertain strangers, was in the common course of things. As belonging to a friendly people, Sisera's claim for protection was as valid as a common claim for hospitality, and could not be refused. Having once promised protection to a person, and admitted him to his tent, the Arab is bound not only to conceal his guest, but to defend him even with his life, from his pursuers; and if his tent should be forced and his guest slain there, it is his duty to become the avenger of his blood. On these sentiments of honour Sisera seems to have relied; particularly after Jael had supplied him with refreshments, which, in the highest sense, are regarded as a seal to the covenant of peace and safety: and, in fact, after all this, an Arab would be bound to protect with his own life even his bitterest enemy, to whom he may have inadvertently granted his protection. It is probable that Jael introduced Sisera for safety into the inner or woman's part of the tent. This she might do without impropriety, although it would be the most grievous insult for any man to intrude there without permission. There he was safe, as a pursued man.

19. "She....gave him drink.”—It is very likely that Sisera not only desired to have some refreshment, because he really wanted it, but as a seal to the pledge of protection which he had received in the words "Fear not," which Jael had addressed to him. At least his mind seems to have beens atisfied; for he had then no hesitation to recruit his weary frame with sleep. A person who needs protection, always feels quite at rest on the subject when he has once obtained meat or drink. This is the case even with a captive enemy, and much more so with a guest, as Sisera was. We have illustrated part of this subject in the note to Num. xviii. 19; and we now limit our attention to the single point to which we have adverted. The usage was not peculiar to the Orientals. We find it in Homer. Lycaon had been a captive to Achilles, who sent him to Lemnos to be sold: but he escaped from thence, and was again found by Achilles on the field of battle. He thus commences his plea for life:

"I clasp thy knees, Achilles! Ah, respect

And pity me. Behold! I am as one

Who hath sought refuge even at thy hearth;
For the first Grecian bread I ever ate,

I ate with thee."

A very striking instance of the force of this feeling, as connected with the simple act of receiving drink from a captor, is cited by Dr. Hales from Bohadin's 'Life of Saladin :'-" During a truce between the Crusaders and the Saracens, in the Holy Land, Arnold, lord of Cracha, cruelly pillaged and imprisoned the (pilgrim) caravan returning from Mecca to Egypt; adding insult to breach of faith-Let your Mahomet deliver you! Fired with indignation thereat, Saladin the sultan vowed to dispatch him with his own hand, if he could ever make him prisoner. The fatal battle of Hittyn, in which the Crusaders were defeated, and their principal commanders taken, gave him that opportunity. He then ordered the captives into his presence-Guy, the king of Jerusalem, his brother Geoffry, and Prince Arnold. Saladin presented Guy, who was nearly expiring for thirst, with a delicious cup cooled with snow, out of which the king drank, and then gave it to Arnold.Observe,' said Saladin, it is thou, king, and not I, who hast given the cup to this man.' After which he said to Arnold,—See me now act the part of Mahomet's avenger.' He then offered Arnold his life, on condition of embracing the Mahometan faith, which he refusing, the sultan first struck him with his drawn scimitar, which breaking at the hilt, the rest of his attendants joined and dispatched him." Here we see that Saladin felt and intended that the cup which he gave Guy should be received as a pledge of protection. So it was probably understood by the king, whose good-natured attempt to include Arnold in the concession, obliged the sultan to call his attention to the fact that the force of the pledge depended on its being received immediately from the person with whom the power to grant protection rested.

20. "Thou shalt say, No.”—Sisera seems to have felt quite certain that the pursuers would not dare search the haram, after the woman had denied that any man was there. Indeed, it is almost certain that they would not have done so : for the Hebrews had too long and too recently been themselves a nomade people, not to have known that a more heinous and inexpiable insult could not be offered to the neutral Kenite Emir, than to disturb the sanctity of his haram, or even to enter, unpermitted, the outer part of his tent. We very much doubt whether they would have ventured, even if they had been certain that Sisera was there, to have entered to kill him, or take him thence, while under Heber's protection, although they might, possibly, have tried means of withdrawing him from that protection. This is an answer to Bishop Patrick, who would have recommended Jael not to have been so hasty to act herself, but to have waited till the pursuers came and took him. They could not take him, or even search for him, without inflicting on Heber a dishonour worse than death; neither could Jael have given him up to them, without bringing everlasting infamy upon her family and tribe.

21. "Nail of the tent."-This was probably one of the large pins which are driven into the ground, and to which are attached the ropes which, at the other extremity, are fastened to the poles of the tent in order to keep them erect. These pins are generally of wood, and are driven into the ground by a mallet, which is apparently the "hammer" of the text. It would seem that Jael could find no instrument more suited to the purpose.

The conduct of this woman is so decidedly and pointedly opposed to all the principles of honour by which Orientals are actuated, that it is absolutely impossible to account for it on any other supposition than that she was influenced by

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