Jerusalem was the capital of the kingdom of Israel before the great disruption, and remained the capital of the kingdom of Judah until the Captivity. It was strongly fortified by Solomon (ix. 15), and contained the Temple and the Royal Palace. During the history of the kingdom of Judah it suffered much at the hands of invaders and was many times sacked and plundered. In the reign of Rehoboam, Shishak, King of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, and the city opened its gates to the invaders. Shishak did not withdraw his army until he had plundered the Temple and the Royal Palace, taking away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. It was the burial-place of David, Solomon, Rehoboam and Asa.

Jezreel was a town beautifully situated on the borders of the Plain of Jezreel.

(1) It appears to have been a summer residence of Ahab, and thither he repaired after the slaughter of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (xviii. 45, 46).

66

(2) It was the scene of the barbarous murder of Naboth (see page 117). Joppa was a seaport on the Mediterranean coast, the nearest seaport to Jerusalem, being about forty miles distant from that city. From 2 Chron. ii. 16, we learn that the timber which Hiram had supplied for the building of the Temple was brought down by sea in flotes" to Joppa, and from thence conveyed to Jerusalem (v. 9). Kidron (ii. 37) was a brook running through the valley which lies between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. Solomon, knowing that Shimei was a man not to be trusted, ordered him to leave Bahurim and build himself a house in Jerusalem. On no pretext whatever was he to leave the City and pass over the brook Kidron. The brook Kidron is mentioned because Shimei would have to pass over this brook if he returned to Bahurim, his native place. Kishon (xviii. 40) was a river flowing at the foot of Mount Carmel into the Bay of Acre. Here Elijah put to death, i.e. caused to be put to death, all the prophets of Baal. Why they were slain " by the sword" and not stoned," according to the law (Deut. xvii. 5), we are not told.

Some have thought that Elijah chose this place for the massacre of the false prophets in order that the dead bodies might be swept away to sea by the rising waters of the Kishon, just as the dead bodies of Sisera's army were swept away by the river after Barak's great victory (Judges iv. 7).

Lebanon. The name given to the range of mountains in the north of Palestine. From these mountains Solomon obtained the timber and stones for the building of the Temple.

Mahanaim, a strongly fortified town on the east of Jordan. Here David remained after his flight from Absalom.

Magiddo. See Note on ix. 15.

Millo, rather "the Millo," from its being generally mentioned in connection with the fortifications of Jerusalem, appears to have been part of the walls of that city. In ix. 15, we read that Solomon built it, i.e. fortified it.

Moriah Mt. was that part of Jerusalem on which the Temple stood.

Ophir. See Note, page 77.

Philistines, the. Under Solomon, the Philistines, the old enemies were finally subdued, and the whole of their country incorporated in his kingdom (iv. 21, 24).

He

Ramoth-Gilead (xxii. 4), a very important town on the east of Jordan. It appears that one of the conditions in the treaty which Benhadad II. made with Ahab to regain his liberty, was that he would restore all the cities which his father had taken (xx. 34). had, however, neglected to do this, and still retained possession of Ramoth-gilead. Tired of waiting for the peaceful restoration of the city, Ahab was determined to take it by force of arms. But he was conscious how powerful Syria was, and so he persuaded Jehoshaphat to assist him in his enterprise. Jehoshaphat consented, and in the battle which followed Israel was defeated and Ahab slain.

Samaria was founded by Omri, King of Israel, who bought the hill on which the city stood of Shemer and called it Samaria (xvi. 24). He made it the capital of his kingdom, and it retained that dignity until the Captivity by Salmaneser. As a capital it occupied a more suitable position than either Shechem or Tirzah, being almost in the centre of the kingdom. Here Ahab, after his marriage with Jezebel, erected a temple for the worship of Baal and Astarte (xvi. 32, 33). The city seems to have been strongly fortified, since it sustained two memorable sieges under Benhadad (xx.). Lastly, we read that after Ahab had received his death-wound at Ramoth-gilead he was brought to Samaria, and buried in that city. "And one washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood" (xxii. 37, 38).

Shechem, originally called Sichem, was a very ancient city situated in the hill country of Ephraim. Here all Israel assembled at the death of Solomon to make Rehoboam king, and here took place the great secession, which divided the kingdom of Solomon into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

After Jeroboam was elected king he fortified Shechem, and made it his capital (xii. 25), but on the removal of the capital to Tirzah, Shechem lost all its importance.

Syria was an extensive kingdom lying to the north-east of the mountains of Lebanon, and stretching to the river Euphrates. It embraced the kingdoms of Zobah, Hamath, and Damascus. For many years it was the most determined enemy of Israel.

1. Its connection with Judah.

Under Asa. When Baasha built the stronghold of Ramah to check the increasing emigration of his subjects into Judah, Asa was alarmed and purchased the aid of Benhadad I. of Syria, who overran the whole of the northern part of Israel and took many cities. Baasha was compelled to withdraw his troops from Ramah to protect his own dominions, and thus Asa was relieved.

2. Its connection with Israel.

(1) Under Baasha, see above, Asa.

66

(2) Under Ahab. Benhadad II., assisted by thirty vassal kings▸ besieged Samaria, but his army was routed by a small ban d of men consisting of the 232 attendants" or 66 squires "' of the princes of the provinces, and he himself had a narrow escape of his life.

The following year Benhadad again invaded the land, but was defeated with terrible slaughter, 100,000 of the Syrian infantry having been slain in one day. At Aphek, whither the remaining Syrians had fled for safety," a wall fell upon 27,000 men and killed them."

Broken by these disasters, Benhadad followed the advice of his counsellors and surrendered himself to Ahab, who made a contract with him and allowed him to depart.

Tadmor. See Note on ix. 18.

Tharshish. See Note on x. 22.

Tiphsah (iv. 24), also called Thapsacus, a city on the river Euphrates. It marked the extreme limit of Solomon's dominions on the northeast.

Tirzah. This city has not been identified, but was in all probability
in the vicinity of Shechem. Jeroboam removed his capital from
Shechem to Tirzah, and it continued to be capital of the kingdom of
Israel until Omri built Samaria.

Here Zimri, when he was besieged by Omri, went into the royal palace, and having set fire to it, perished in the flames (xvi. 17).

Zarephath, a sea-port town of the Zidonians, about midway between
Sidon and Tyre. Hither Elijah went after the waters of the brook
Cherith were dried up, and was sustained by the poor widow (xvii. 9).
(See Elijah, p. 108).

Zarethan, or Zarthan, was a town on the west side of the Jordan,
nearly opposite Succoth. It was in the neighbourhood of this town
that Hiram's two famous pillars, Jachin and Boaz, and his other
works of brass were cast.

131

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

ALLIANCES AND WARS BETWEEN THE TWO KINGDOMS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL.

1. Alliances.

(1) Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab in his attempt to recover Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians.

NOTE. This alliance was strengthened by the marriage of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, and Athaliah, daughter of Ahab.

(2) In conjunction with Ahaziah, Jehoshaphat attempted to revive the commerce which had existed in the days of Solomon.

(3) Jehoshaphat joined in an alliance with Jehoram to subdue Mesha, the rebel king of Moab.

(4) Ahaziah joined Jehoram in his attempt on Ramoth-gilead.

2. Wars.

(1) Between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Rehoboam assembled an army of 180,000 men to compel the Ten Tribes to return to their allegiance, but was forbidden to fight by the prophet Shemaiah (xii. 24).

(2) Between Abijam and Jeroboam. Abijam attempted to subdue the Ten Tribes, and in a battle fought near Mount Zemaraim Jeroboam was defeated, and 500,000 men of Israel slain.

(3) Between Asa and Baasha (see under Asa, page 106).

(4) Between Amaziah and Joash. A battle was fought at Bethshemesh, in which Amaziah was defeated and taken prisoner. (5) Between Ahaz and Pekah. Ahaz was defeated, and 120,000 valiant men of Judah slain. Ahaz sought the aid of Tiglath-pileser, who overran Israel, and thus the king of Judah was relieved.

NOTE.-Among the advantages which Judah possessed over Israel may be mentioned:-lt contained the political capital (Jerusalem), the Temple, the Levitical priesthood, and the accumulated treasures of Solomon.

The advantages which Israel possessed over Judah were:-(1) Its larger population and territory. In size the kingdom of Israel was nearly three times that of Judah. (2) It retained the name of "Israel," which was the name of the kingdom before the disruption took place.

M

Allusions to the Mosaic Law and the Former History of the Jews.