i. to the end These great and glorious actions, in defence of his country's liberty, raised Gideon's From Judges name to such a height, that the people came, and voluntarily offered to settle the go- of Ruth. vernment upon him and his family; which he modestly and generously rejecting, anddesiring only (as an acknowledgment of his services) to have the pendants or ear-rings taken in the plunder of the Midianites given him; the people readily consented, and over and above these, threw in the costly ornaments, and the robes of the kings, together with the golden † chains which were about the camels necks. The whole amounted to a prodigious value; and of these rich materials he made an ephod, and placed it in the city of Ophrah, as a monument only of his victory, though in after-times it came to be perverted to a bad use, gave occasion to a fresh apostacy, and proved the ruin of Gideon's family. Gideon, while he lived, had several wives, by whom (in all) he had seventy sons, besides one by a concubine, † whom she named Abimelech. As soon as his father was dead, this Abimelech, who was a bold aspiring youth, tampered with the people of Shechem, the place of his nativity, and where his mother's family had no small interest, to make him their king. They, by his persuasions, were inclinable to do it; and (that he might not want money to carry on his design) furnished him with some out of the treasury of their god Baal-berith, wherewith he hired a company of profligate fellows to attend him. With these he repaired to his father's house at Ophrah, and having seized all his brethren (except Jotham, the youngest, who made his escape), he slew them all + upon one stone; and when he returned to Shechem, instead of meeting with detesta waited on him kill the priests; and Doeg, one of his chief officers, did it, 1 Sam. xxii. 17, 18. But the reason why Gideon would have had his son do this execution, was, that he might be early animated a gainst the enemies of Israel, even as Hannibal is reported, when he was a boy, to have been incensed against the Romans. Patrick's Commentary. The word which we render chains, is in the original little moons, which the Midianites might wear strung together about their camels necks, either by way of ornament or superstition, because they, as well as all other people of Arabia, were very zealous worshippers of the moon. Le Clerc's Commentary. + What the names of his other sons, except Jotham the youngest, were, we have no mention made in Sacred Writ; but the name of this one is particularly set down, because the following story depends upon it: And not only so, but his mother perhaps might give him this name (which signifies my father a king) out of pride and arrogance, that she might be looked upon as the wife of one who was thought to deserve a kingdom, though he did not accept it: And it is not improbable that the very sense of this might be one means to inflame the mind of her son afterwards to affect the royal dignity. Patrick's Comment. +3 The learned Bochart is of opinion, that the Baal here mentioned was the same with Beroë, the daughter of Venus and Adonis, desired in marriage by Neptune, but given to Bacchus; and that she gave her name to Berith in Phoenicia, where she was much worshipped, and thence translated a goddess into other parts. But though the word Baal (as he mainsains) be frequently used in a feminine sense, yet it can hardly be imagined but that the sacred historian, he had been minded to express a goddess, might have found out some way of distinguishing her; might have VOL. II if called her (for instance) Bahalah-berith, the Lady, This stone some will have to be an altar which A. M. 2561, tion for this unnatural murder, was, in a general assembly of the people, elected their king. &c. or 4045. Ant. Chris. 1443, &c. or 1366. When young Jotham heard of this, he went upon Mount Gerizim, which overlooks the city of Shechem, and from thence, in a parabolical speech, represented to † the peo ple his father's modesty and self-denial, in refusing to have the government settled on him and his family, which they had now conferred on one as much inferior in virtue and honour to Gideon, and his lawfui sons, as the bramble is to the olive-tree, the figtree, or the vine; and then expostulating the injury done his family, and upbraiding them with their ingratitude, he appeals to their consciences, whether they had done right or not, and denounces a curse against them for their siding with Abimelech in all his wicked deeds. Having thus delivered himself to the Shechemites, Jotham made his +2. escape to Beer, where he lived secure from Abimelech's rage; and it was not long before his curse began to operate. For the people of Shechem growing jealous and distrust + This is the first fable that we find anywhere up. on record; and from hence it appears, that such fictions as these, wherein the most serious truths are represented, were in use among the Jews (as they are still in the eastern countries) long before the time of Æsop, or any other author that we know of. Various are the reasons that may be assigned for the first invention of them; but these two seem to be the principal: 1. Because men would suffer themselves to be reprehended in this guise, when they would not endure plain words; and, 2dly, Because they heard them with delight and pleasure, and remembered them better than any grave or rational discourses. "The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them," (so that anointing was in use two hundred years before the first kings of Israel)" and they said unto the olive tree, reign over us. But the olive tree said, should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man," (because oil was offered in sacrifice to God, and fed the lamps of his house, besides all the other uses wherein it was serviceable to man)" and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, come thou and reign over us. But the fig-tree said unto them, should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit," (an apt representation of that content and fulness of pleasure which may be enjoyed in a private life, and cannot, without folly, be exchanged for the troubles and cares that men meet with in the managery of public af fairs) "and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, come thou and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man," (a form of speech imitated by heathen authors, especially by Virgil, (Georg. lib. ii.) where, speaking of some generous wine, he terms it- Mensis, et Diis accepta secundis, since wine as well as oil was used both in Jewish and Heathen sacrifices)" and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, (the meanest of all trees, good for nothing but to be burnt, and therefore fitly representing Abimelech, from whom the Shechemites could expect no manner of benefit, but a great deal of trouble and vexation)" come thou and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, if, in truth, ye anoint me king, then come and put your trust in my shadow;" (an apt emblem of Abimelech's ridiculous vanity, to imagine that he should be able to maintain the authority of a king, any more than the bramble could afford a shadow or shelter)" and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon." (Words that carry a lively image of Abimelech's ostentatious spirit, and menaces to take severe vengeance on the nobles of Shechem, such as the house of Millo, who had been chiefly instrumental in his promotion, in case they should desert him.) This is the parable; and in some measure its interpretation. The only difficulty is, to know whom these trees are set to signify. And here, some have thought, that by the olive tree, we are to understand Othniel; by the fig-tree, Deborah; and by the vine, Gideon; for, to the two former, they suppose that the offer of the kingdom was made for the services done their country, and by them rejected as well as by the last. But for this there is no authority; neither is there any necessity, in the explication of such fables, to assign a particular reason for every image that is drawn in them. It is sufficient, if we can but hit off their main intendment, which, in this of Jotham, was to convince the Shechemites of their folly in choosing a man for their king, who was no more able to protect them than a bramble was to cover other trees, that should resort to it, under the shadow of its branches. Saurin's Dissertations, and Patrick's Commentary. This was city that stood on the northern frontiers of the tribe of Judah, which did not acknowledge Abimelech for king, and therefore Jotham knew that he might have sure refuge and protection there. * In the text, the expression is," Then God sent an evil spirit, or spirit of discord, between Abimelech and the men of Shechem," Judg. ix. 23. which, in Scripture, is an usual form of speech, and denotes not any positive action, but a permission only, or, at most, a direction from God. It is observed, however, that this manner of expression may possibly have given rise to some notions in the theology of the heathens, when they suppose that the furies are appointed by the gods to sow the seeds of discord among men. Luctificam Alecto dirarum ab sede sororum, of Ruth. ful of their new king, were for apprehending and killing him, which made him leave From Judges the place, and escape for his life. As soon as he was gone, they set up another vile i to the end wretch, Gaal, the son of Ebed, to be their governor. Under his protection the peopleventured out to reap the fruits of the earth, and having, upon this occasion, made themselves merry, they expressed their detestation of Abimelech, and none was more forward than Gaal to speak contemptibly of him, and to make his boasts what he would do with him if he could but once catch him. Zebul, whom Abimelech entrusted with his concerns in his absence, gave him intelligence of all that passed, and advised him to come with some forces before it was too late. Accordingly he marches all night, divides his army into four parts, and early in the morning had beset the city. Gaal, though a very coward, seeing matters reduced to this extremity, marched out with what forces he had, but was soon defeated and slain.. Abimelech, next day, stormed the place, and killed all the inhabitants that came in his way; but some having betaken themselves to a fort belonging to the temple of their god Berith, he set fire to it, and destroyed them all together. During these times of confusion, the town of Thelez, not far distant from Shechem, revolted; and Abimelech being now flushed with victory Besieged and took it; but the inhabitants flying to a strong tower, he endeavoured to burn that, as he had done the other, but not with the same success; for while he was encouraging his men, and helping to set the gate on fire, * a woman threw down a piece of millstone upon him, which fractured his skull; so that finding himself mortally wounded, he called to his armour-bearer to put an end to his life, that it might not be said he died by the hand of a woman. Thus God, in his abundant righteousness, punished both Abimelech and the men of Shechem according to their deserts; and, within the space of three years after their crimes were committed, made them the instruments of each others destruction. After the death of Abimelech, Tola, the son of Puah, an eminent man of the tribe of Issachar, undertook the government, and continued it for three and twenty years. He dwelt on Mount Ephraim, near the centre of the country, that the people might with more conveniency resort to him for judgment; and though there is not much recorded of him, yet he seems to have been a prudent and peaceable man; raised up to reform abuses, to put down idolatry, to appease tumults, and heal the wounds which were given to church and state during Abimelech's usurpation. ...He was succeeded by Jair, a Gileadite, of the tribe of Manasseh, the first governor that was raised up out of any of the tribes beyond Jordan, and who, in the main, seems to have been more solicitous to † aggrandize his own family, than to mind the concerns Infernisque ciet tenebris; cui tristia bella, Disjice compositam pacem, sere crimina belli : Thus Plutarch relates, that Pyrrhus, at the siege of Thebes, was killed by a woman's throwing a tile upon his head; but there is something more remarkable in Abimelech's death by a stone, because, as he slew all his brethren upon one stone, for him to die by no other instrument, carried some stamp of his sin upon it. The manner of his death, however, puts me in mind of what the same author records of the Spar tan general Lysander, who fell ingloriously under the walls of Haliartus. "Thus he died, says he, but not like Cleombrutus, who was slain while he was gloriously making head against an impetuous enemy at Leuc tra, not like Cyrus, or Epaminondas, who received a + The reasons which the Scripture gives us to Ant. Chris. or 1253. A. M. 2561, of religion. For during his administration, the people not only worshipped Baalim and &c. or 4158. Ashtaroth, as they had frequently done before, but adopted the gods likewise of every 1443, &c. neighbouring nation, of the Syrians, the Zidonians, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Philistines; so that God, being incensed against them, incited the Philistines and the Ammonites to invade them on all quarters in one and the same year. Nor did these people make their incursions only upon the tribes that were on the east side of Jordan; but, passing the river, gave the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, no small molestation, and, by their sundry defeats, made them feel the weight of their power.. The Israelites, finding themselves not able to cope with such powerful enemies, grew sensible of their folly; and, to recover the protection of God, renounced all their idols, and betook themselves to his service in good earnest; whereupon, † his mercy returning with their repentance, he soon found out means to effect their deliverance. There was at that time in the half tribe of Manasseh, which settled on the east side of Jordan, a man of note among his people, whose name was Gilead, of the family of that Gilead, the son of Machar, to whom Moses gave the (a) city of Gilead, from whence the family took their name. This man had by his wife several sons, and one †2 by a concubine whom he named Jephthah; but when his sons grew up, and their father was dead, they expelled Jephthah, as having no right of inheritance with them, so that he was sent to seek his fortune, and at length settled in the †3 land of Tob; where, being the Israelites had but few chariots, and were not al- mentary. + This is the most remarkable repentance and reformation that we meet with in the history of the Judges; and it seems to be so serious, that, in the times of those three governors who succeeded Jephthah, we read nothing of their relapsing into idolatry. And as their repentance was sincere, so the expression of the Divine compassion towards them, viz. "that his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel," Judges x. 16. is the strongest that we meet with; though every one knows, that the Divine Nature is not capable of grief, properly so called, but the meaning is, that he quite altered his former intention, and in much mercy resolved, upon their repentance, to deliver them. (a) Numb. xxxii. 29. +Several Jewish doctors are of opinion, that the word Zonah may signify either one of another tribe or one of another nation; and so Josephus calls Jephthah, gives wigi Tu μariga, a stranger by the mother's side. It is to be observed, however, that among the Jews, if such persons as were deemed strangers embraced the law, their children were capable to inherit among the rest of their brethren. Jephthah, indeed, complains of the hard usage he met with, but it was upon this occasion, when his country he found stood in need of him; for had he been unjustly dispossessed of his right of inheritance before, we can hardly suppose, that a man of his courage and martial spirit would have sat down contented with his exclusion. It is not to be doubted, therefore, but that he "was the son of an harlot," properly so called: But then the question is, Why God should make choice of a person of his character for so great an instrument of his glory? To which it may be replied, 1st, That God has prescribed laws to men but none to himself; and can therefore alter his dispensations as he pleases, according to the circumstances and exigencies of things. 2dly, That as he chooses to act by second causes, he always makes use of such instruments as (all things considered) are properest for his purpose, without regard to any blemishes for which they themselves are not accountable; And, 3dly, That he might purposely dispense with the law in this case, to shew, that those who are basely born ought not to despond, but, by a virtuous and good life, expect a share of God's blessings. Howell's History, lib. iv. in the notes. [This reasoning of Howell's is not conclusive in support of the opinion that Jephthah was the son of a harlot properly so called. The son of such a woman was certainly excluded from the congregation of the Lord; and though it may be true that God has prescribed no laws to himself, it is surely inconceivable, that he should have encouraged a people backsliding of themselves, to despise his laws, by capriciously setting over them, as chief ruler, a man whom he had enjoined them to exclude from their society.] See Pool's Synops. Deut. xxiii. 2. +3 We read nowhere else of this country, which very probably was not far from Gilead, upon the bor ders of the Ammonites, in the entrance of Arabia Deserta; or perhaps it is the same with what is called Ish-tob, (2 Sam. viii. 6. 8.) which was in Syria, and so near the Ammonites, that they hired forces from a man of great courage and bravery, he was soon made the captain of a small army, From Judges with whom he used to make incursions into the enemy's country, and sometimes bring the off rich spoils. The Ammonites had now raised a large army, with a design to invade the country of Gilead, and, as it is supposed, to lay a siege to Gilead itself. The Gileadites, on the other hand, were resolved to defend their country, and to that purpose had got together what forces they could; but then they were at a loss for a general. Jephthah, they knew, was a man of courage and conduct, who had signalised himself on frequent occasions against the enemy; and therefore, in a full assembly of their chiefs, it was resolved to send him an offer of the command of their army. Surprised at this sudden change, and remonstrating a little their former unkindness to him, he consented at last to accept of the command; but it was on this condition, that, if he happened to be successful in the war, they should establish him their governor for life, which they readily consented to, and solemnly ratified. Being invested with this power and authority, Jephthah sent ambassadors to the king of Ammon, to demand the reason of his invading the Gileadites; to whom that prince replied, that their land was his, and that the Israelites, in their passage from Egypt, had taken it from his ancestors, which he now intended to recover. Jephthah returned him, by other ambassadors, in answer, that if either conquest or prescription conferred a title, they had a just right to the country they possessed, since they took it, not from them, but from the Ammorites, and had for three hundred years been in quiet possession of it; but all would not do. The Ammonites were resolved upon a war, and Jephthah made all things ready to receive them : But before he took the field, he made a vow, that, if he returned with victory, the first thing that came out of his house to meet him, he would certainly offer unto the Lord, which many think was the occasion of the sacrificing his own daughter. However this be, it is certain, that when he returned out of the country of Ammon, where his battles were fought with success, he met with some disturbance at home; for the tribe of Ephraim not long after passed the river Jordan on purpose to pick a quarrel with him, because (as they pretended) he had not sent for them to join the army, and share in the victory. + At other times they had been noisy and clamorous enough, but now they proceeded so far as to threaten to burn his house over his head. Jephthah endeavoured what he could to pacify them with good words; but when he found that reasoning would not do, he fell upon them with his army, and put them to flight: And being resolved to hinder them from giving him the like molestation any more, he sent and secured all the passes over Jordan in their way home; so that, as fast as they came thither, if upon examination they owned themselves Ephraimites, they were immediately put to the sword; if they denied it, they had † the test-word SHIB thence, as well as from other nations, to fight against David. Patrick's Commentary. * To make a vow was an act of religious worship, and in itself no way culpable; nay, not only the Jews, but other nations looked upon it in this view: And therefore we find Livy so frequently telling us, that the Roman generals were wont to vow to Jupiter, or Apollo, or some other god, that if by his help they should prove successful, they would devote some part of the spoil they should take in the war, to his use, or build temples and dedicate them to his honour. Patrick's Commentary. + Though Gideon had called the Ephraimites to assist in the pursuit of the Midianites, and had given them the advantage of plunder, and the honour of taking Oreb and Zeeb, two princes of Midian, prisoners; yet, because they were not called at first to the battle, they took upon them to reprehend him very Nothing is more notorious, than that the people i, to the end |