Elisha forbade him to harm them, but caused them to be fed and sent back to their own prince in safety.

The king of Aram, notwithstanding these benefits, did again attempt Samaria, and brought the citizens to extreme famine. Joram imputeth the cause thereof to the prophet Elisha. Elisha, by prayer, caused a noise of chariots and armour to sound in the air, whereby the Aramites affrighted fled away and left the siege; an act of great admiration, as the same is written in 2 Kings vii. After this, when Azael obtained the kingdom of Syria by the death of his master, Joram, entering upon his frontier, took Ramoth Gilead; in which war he received divers wounds, and returned to Jezrael to be cured. But whilst he lay there, Jehu (who commanding the army of Joram in Gilead, was anointed king by one of the children of the prophets sent by Elisha) surprised and slew both him and all that belonged unto him, rooting out the whole posterity of Ahab.

Jehu, who reigned after Jehoram, destroyed not only the race of his foregoers, but also their religion; for which he received a promise from God, that his seed should occupy the throne unto the fourth generation. Yet he upheld the idolatry of Jeroboam, for which he was plagued with grievous war, wherein he was beaten by Hazael the Aramite, who spoiled all the countries to the east of Jordan; in which war he was slain, saith Cedrenus, whereof the scriptures are silent. Jehu reigned twenty-eight years.

Joachaz, or Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, succeeded his father, whom Azael and his son Benhadad often invaded, and in the end subjected, leaving him only fifty horse, twenty chariots, and 10,000 foot; and, as it is written in 4 the scriptures, he made them like dust beaten into powder. Joachaz reigned seventeen years.

After Joachaz, Joas his son governed Israel; who, when he repaired to Elisha the prophet as he lay in his deathbed, the prophet promised him three victories over the Aramites; and first commanded him to lay his hand on his bow; and Elisha covered the king's hands with his, and 1 2 Kings xiii.

bade him open the window westward, (which was towards Damascus,) and then shoot an arrow thence-out. He again willed him to beat the ground with his arrows, who smote it thrice, and ceased. The prophet then told him, that he should have smitten five or six times, and then he should have had so many victories over the Aramites as he gave strokes. And so it succeeded with Joas, who overthrew the Aramites in three battles, and recovered the cities and territory from Benhadad the son of Azael, which his father Joachaz had lost. He also overthrew Amazia king of Juda, who provoked him to make the war; whereupon he entered Jerusalem, and sacked it with the temple. This Joas reigned sixteen years, and died; in whose time also the prophet Elisha exchanged this life for a better.

Jeroboam, the third from Jehu, followed Joas his father, an idolater, as his predecessors; but he recovered all the rest of the lands belonging to Israel, from Hamath, which is near Libanus, to the Dead sea, and reigned forty-one years.

Zacharias, the fourth and last of the house of Jehu, slain by Shallum his vassal, who reigned in his stead, governed six months. Shallum held the kingdom but one month, being slaughtered by Menahem of the Gadites.

Menahem, who took revenge of Shallum, used great cruelty to those that did not acknowledge him, ripping the bellies of those that were with child. This Menahem being invaded by Phul, s bought his peace with 10,000 talents of silver, which he exacted by a tribute of fifty sheckles from every man of wealth in Israel. Menahem governed twenty years.

Pekahiah, or Phaceia, or, after Zonaras, Phacesia, succeeded; and after he had ruled two years, he was slain by Phaca, or Pekah, the commander of his army, who reigned in his place. In this Pekah's time, Phulassar, or TiglatPhylassar, invaded the kingdom of Israel, and won Ijon, Abel-Bethmaaca, Janoach, Kedesh, Hasor, and Gilead, with all the cities of Galilee, carrying them captives into Assy2 Kings xvi. 19. 2 Kings xv. 29.

* 2 Kings xiv.

t

ria: he was drawn in by Achas, king of Judæa, against Pekah, and Rezin the last of the Adades. For Achas, being wasted by Pekah of Israel and by Rezin of Damascus, did a third time borrow the church riches, and therewith engaged the Assyrian who first suppressed the monarchy of Syria and Damascus, and then of Israel; and this inviting of the great Assyrian was the utter ruin of both states, of Israel and of Judæa. Pekah reigned twenty years.

Then Hoshea, or Osea, who slew Pekah, became the vassal of Salmanassar; but hoping to shake off the Assyrian yoke, he sought aid from So, or Sua, or Sebicus, king of Egypt; which being known to the Assyrian, he cast him into prison, besieged Samaria, and mastered it; carried the ten idolatrous tribes into Nineveh in Assyria, and into Rages in Media, and into other eastern regions, and there dispersed them; and replanted Samaria with divers nations, and chiefly with the Cuthæ, (inhabiting about Cutha, a river in Persia, or rather in "Arabia Deserta,) and with the people Catanei bounding upon Syria, and with those of Sepharvajim; (a people of Sephar in Mesopotamia upon Euphrates, of whose conquest Sennacherib vaunteth;) also with those of Ava, which were of the ancient Avins, who inhabited the land of the Philistines in Abraham's time, dwelling near unto Gaza, whom the Caphtorims rooted out; and at this time they were of Arabia the Desert, called Havæi, willing to return to their ancient seats. To these he added those of Chamath, or Ituræa, the ancient enemies of the Israelites, and sometime the vassals of the Adads of Damascus, which so often afflicted them. And thus did this Assyrian advise himself better than the Romans did; for after Titus and Vespasian had wasted the cities of Judæa and Jerusalem, they carried the people away captive; but left no others in their places, but a very few simple labourers, besides their own thin garrisons, which soon decayed: and thereby they gave that dangerous entrance to the Arabians and Saracens, who never could be driven thence again to this day.

Ptol. 1. 5. Isa. xxxvii.

And this transmigration, plantation, and displantation, happened in the year of the world 3292, the 6th year of Ezekiah, king of Judah; and the 9th of Hosea the last king of Israel.

A catalogue of the kings of the ten tribes.

Of the memorable places of Dan, Simeon, Judah, Reuben, Gad, and the other half of Manasseh.

SECT. I.

Of Dan, whereof Joppe, Gath, Accaron, Azotus, and other

towns.

Now following the coast of the Mediterranean sea, that portion of land assigned to the tribe of Dan joineth to Ephraim, whereof I spake last; of which family there were numbered at mount Sinai 62,700 fighting men, all which leaving their bodies with the rest in the deserts, there entered the Holy Land of their sons 66,400 bearing arms. The first famous city in this tribe on the sea-coast was Joppe, or Japho, as in Joshua xix. 46. one of the most ancient of the world, and the most famous of others on that coast, because it was the port of Jerusalem. From hence Jonas embarked himself, when he fled from the service of God towards Thar

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sis in Cilicia. In the time of the Maccabees this city received many changes and while Judas Maccabæus governed the Jews, the Syrians that were garrisoned in Joppe, having their fleet in the port, invited 200 principal citizens aboard them, and cast them all into the sea; which Judas revenged by firing their fleet, and putting the companies which sought to escape to the sword.

It was twice taken by the Romans, and by Cestius the lieutenant utterly burnt and ruined. But in the year of Christ 1250, Lodowick the French king gave it new walls and towers: it is now the Turk's, and called Jaffa. There are certain rocks in that port, whereunto it is reported that Andromeda was fastened with chains, and from thence delivered from the sea-monster by Perseus. This fable (for so I take it) is confirmed by y Josephus, Solinus, and Pliny. Marcus Scaurus, during his office of ædileship, shewed the bones of this monster to the people of Rome. St. Jerome upon Jonas speaks of it indifferently.

The next unto Joppe was Jamnia, where Judas Maccabæus burnt the rest of the Syrian fleet; the fire and flame whereof was seen at Jerusalem, 240 furlongs off. It had sometime a bishop's seat, saith a Will. of Tyre; but there is no sign of it at this time that such a place there

was.

After Jamnia is the city of Geth, or Gath, sometime Anthedon, saith Volaterran. And so Montanus, fol. 244. seems to understand it. For he sets it next to Egypt, of all the Philistine cities, and in the place of Anthedon. But Volaterran gives neither reason nor authority for his opinion; for Ptolomy sets Anthedon far to the south of Joppe; and Geth was the first and not the last (beginning from the north) of all the great cities of the Philistines; and about sixteen miles from Joppe, where St. Jerome in his time found a great village of the same name. It was sometime the habitation and seminary of the Anakims; strong and