sixth year of the reign of David at Hebron: and consequently, as thirty-five in the first—or the year of the death of Saul. It is a probable conjecture that, after the death of Jonathan, Abinadab, and Melchi-shua", Ishbosheth was the oldest surviving son of Saul; and the conjecture appears to be confirmed by 2 Sam. xxi. 8. which seems to imply that, after the death of Ishbosheth, 2 Sam. iv. 7. Saul had no sons left except Armoni and Mephibosheth, his children by Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. It is an equally probable conjecture that these were all his sons by his queen as such, Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz"; for Rizpah is described as his concubine merely: and this conjecture also is confirmed by 1 Chron. viii. 33. ix. 39. which mentions these four, as the sons of Saul, only.

If, then, it could be proved that Saul was not yet married when he was appointed king, the age of Ishbosheth at the time of his death would be a demonstrative proof that he could not have reigned less than thirty-five years at least. But Ishbosheth was not the oldest of the sons of Saul: Jonathan was certainly older than he; if not Melchishua or Abinadab: and if Ishbosheth was thirty-five years old at the time of his father's death, Jonathan could not be less than thirtysix or thirty-seven, and might be thirty-eight or thirtynine. It is a strong corroboration of this conclusion, that 1 Chron. viii. 34. ix. 40, confirmed by 2 Sam. ix. 1-13, Jonathan had only one son; and this son x was but five years old at the time of his father's death. Jonathan then had been at least five years married at the time of his death; but probably not much more. And if he was married at thirty, or not much later, this would accordingly be the case.

Now, from the whole of the narrative, beginning w Ibid. xiv. 49; 50. x 2 Sam. iv. 4.

v 1 Sam. xxxi. 2. 6. 8. 12.

1 Sam. ix. 1, and ending 1 Sam. xii. 25, relating to the appointment of Saul, there can be but one conclusion; that Saul was a young man, in the literal sense of the word, and still unmarried, at the time when he was fixed upon as king. What then must be said to the testimony of 1 Sam. xiii. 1. 2, which speaks of Saul's having reigned two years, and of something consequently done in his third, when Jonathan his son was not only born, but from the nature of the exploit itself could not have been less than twenty years of age? How this text may be understood in reality will appear by and by; what the consequences would be of understanding it literally shall be stated at present.

I. If Jonathan was twenty years old in the third year of Saul; his father, who could not be less than twenty at the time of his birth, could not be much less than forty when he began to reign. But would a person of the age of forty be described and set forth as a young man, so repeatedly as is the case with Saul, at the time when he was appointed king?

II. If Saul was about forty when he began to reign, he was about eighty at the time of his death. Now he died in battle and is it to be supposed that a man of eighty would still be able to go forth to battle as a matter of course*? The age of man had already been diminished to its ultimate standard of seventy years; and David himself, who is said to have died in a good old ages, did not live beyond that term of years: yet to what

* The age of sixty was fixed by law at Athens, as the limit of military service. Hence Pollux, Onomasticon, lib. ii. cap. 2. §. 6. ὑπὲρ τὸν κατάλογον, ὑπὲρ τὰ ἑξήκοντα γεγονὼς ἔτη. Among the Romans it was even earlier, at fortytwo, forty-nine, or fifty: see Ma

crobius, in Somnium Scipionis, i. 6. Aulus Gellius, x. 28. A senator's term of service at Rome, too, cannot be placed later than sixty-five : See Seneca, Controversiarum i. viii: and, according to other authorities, it is to be placed still earlier, at sixty.

1 Chron. xxix. 28.

bodily infirmity he was reduced a year or two before his death is well known to the readers of his history. It is incredible that Saul should be a stronger man at eighty than David was at seventy; and it is still more incredible that Saul, whose life was judicially abbreviated as it was, should yet exceed by ten years the utmost length of days, conceded to a king, whose piety and virtue rendered him the especial object of the Divine favour, and caused his reign to be crowned by so much of temporal prosperity*.

III. It is a just inference from 1 Sam. xiii. 13, 14. that, though David had not yet been formally appointed to the future kingdom in the stead of Saul, yet he was certainly alive at the time of that offence of Saul, and would be so appointed ere long. And this inference is still more confirmed by xv. 28; the time of which could not be many years later. If so, David was already born in the third year of Saul; and consequently David was thirty-eight years old in the fortieth. But this is directly contradictory to 2 Sam. v. 4, 5. which shews that when he began to reign, even in Hebron, he was still only thirty.

I think there is sufficient in these reasons to make it be acknowledged that very great difficulties would ensue, if we understood the first and second years in question of the two first years of Saul, as dated from

* 2 Sam. xix. 32. Barzillai is called a very aged man; and yet he was but eighty. Not that I would be understood to maintain, that no instances are on record of persons, who were able to go out to war at sixty, seventy, or eighty. On the contrary, there are many. See Plutarch, Agesilaus, 36, or Xenophon, Agesilaus, cap. ii. §. 28: Plutarch, Demetrius, 19: Emi

lius Paulus, 10: Marcellus, 28: Justin, xvii. 1: Lucian, Macrobii, passim. Alexander's veterans, called the Argyraspides, at the time of the last battle between Eumenes and Antigonus, B. C. 316, were none of them less than sixty, and some of them seventy years old and upwards. See Diodorus Sic. xix. 41 Plutarch, Eumenes, 16.

B. C. 1094. How then are we to avoid these consequences, and yet to retain the integrity of the text? I think it is possible to do both.

For first, insomuch as the length of Saul's reign in any sense is not asserted in the Old Testament at forty years, like that of David or Solomon, it will be entirely consistent with its testimony should it appear that the length of his reign must be stated in one sense, at forty years in reality, and in another, at only twenty-two.

Secondly, it is asserted by Josephus, that Samuel survived the appointment of Saul eighteen years, and Saul the death of Samuel twenty-two. The falsehood of this assertion, if it be understood of the actual death of Samuel, may be shewn so plainly, as to render it matter of surprise that any writer upon sacred chronology should ever have taken it for granted. If Samuel is supposed to have died in the eighteenth year of Saul, then the following absurdity is the consequence; David, whom no one will pretend to deny that Samuel anointed before he died, was anointed almost before he was born. For as David was thirty in the fortieth of Saul, it is manifest he was born in the eleventh, and was in his eighth year in the eighteenth. Now Samuel could not anoint David after the eighteenth of Saul, if he died in that year; though he might have anointed him in it. If so, he could not have anointed David after the eighth year of his age, though he might have anointed him in it. Yet when Samuel anointed Davida, it is an indisputable fact that he was old enough to be trusted with the care of his father's sheep-and either before this time, or soon after it ", old enough to contend with, and to master, a lion and a bear in defence of his charge. z Ant. Jud. vi. xiii. 5. xiv. 9. a 1 Sam xvi. 11, 12. Cf. Ps. lxxviii. 70, 71. b Ibid. xvii. 34-37.

But will this be considered credible of a child only eight years old? And if such is the consequence of supposing David to have been anointed by Samuel only in the very year of his death, what must be the absurdity of supposing that he actually anointed him several years before his death! which yet is much more consistent with the truth. For the anointing of David is recorded xvi. 12, 13, and the death of Samuel xxv. 1, at a time, which it may be collected from xxvii. 7. xxix. 11. was probably not more than two years before the death of Saul: and this was the opinion of Clemens Alexandrinus also b.

The absurdity then of supposing that Samuel died in the eighteenth year of Saul, as dated from his original appointment, must be evident without further proof. It is very possible, however, that, dated from the original appointment of Saul, the preexisting administration of Samuel, which had been going on exclusively until then, might continue to go on conjointly with his for eighteen years afterwards. It is asserted, chapter vii. 15, that Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life; an assertion which surely requires to be understood of something more than an administration of twenty years merely, and much less of twelve; which is all that Josephus assigns him.

It is my opinion that Samuel was born about the tenth year of the administration of Eli; and that he was about thirty years old when he succeeded him in the office of judge. I attach no weight to the assertion of Josephus, that he began to prophesy, teñλnpwκὼς ἔτος ἤδη δωδέκατον because it is a purely conjectural date, the ground of which has been pointed out Diss. xii. vol. i. 398: and the name of child, according to the Hebrew idiom, would still be applied to him

b Stromatum i. xxi. 386. l. 1, 2.

c Ant. v. x. 4.