Biblical Geography and History Part 8

These active oppressors of Israel soon came streaming up over the pa.s.s of Beth-horon^{(84)} to crush the rebellion. At their approach most of Saul's followers vanished and he was left with only a handful of men.

For the moment the Hebrew kingdom seemed but a wild dream. Again it was simply the courage of Jonathan that at this crisis turned the tide of war and gave Saul a secure throne. The Philistines had advanced to the fortress of Michmash and, finding no opposition, had dispersed in search of plunder. One band turned back toward Beth-horon in the west, another went north to the southern Ophrah, otherwise known as Ephraim.

The third band had gone eastward, along the road which led across the barren wilderness to the Valley of Achor and the Jordan.

=The Pa.s.s of Michmash.= The only remnant of the Philistine army left to guard the Hebrews under Saul was the garrison at Michmash. In early times one important branch of the main highway apparently led from Gibeah to the northeast, past Geba and the pa.s.s below Michmash to Ai and Bethel. The highway which led up from the Jordan valley and Gilead in the east ran directly past Michmash, connecting through the pa.s.s of Beth-horon with the main highways of the coast. Michmash was therefore the key to central Canaan. The Wady es-Suweinit is broad and shallow in its upper course below the village of Michmash, but to the southeast of the town there is a terraced crag or plateau overhanging the valley, which here has steep cliffs on both sides^{(85)}. This point was probably the scene of Jonathan's brave exploit. Accompanied only by his armor-bearer, he descended the cliff in front of Geba, crossed the deep valley, and climbed up the almost sheer cliff on the other side. The temerity of his act at first only aroused the curiosity and scorn of the Philistines, so that they allowed him to scale the heights unmolested. Their scorn was turned to terror when, like a divine warrior, he attacked and slew twenty of their number.

The biblical narrative implies that an earthquake added to the panic, which quickly spread to the ranks of the plundering Philistines.

=The Great Victory Over the Philistines.= Saul and his warriors on the heights to the south looked across the ravine and saw the tumult among the Philistines. With his characteristic impetuosity the king, without even waiting to consult the divine oracle, rushed in pursuit of the Philistines and was soon joined by the Hebrews who had fled for refuge to the rocky hills and valleys of Ephraim. The territory was well adapted to the fierce guerilla warfare in which the Hebrews were skilled, and the Philistines, accustomed to manuvring upon the open plain, were caught at a disadvantage. The pursuit swept down through the valleys to the west, through the pa.s.s of Beth-horon, and thence southward to Ajalon, which was the chief western gateway of the hill country.

=Saul's Wars.= The victory was so complete that for several years the Philistines appear to have left Saul undisturbed. This opportunity he improved to develop his army and to organize his kingdom, which probably did not extend far beyond the Plain of Esdraelon to the north. His capital, Gibeah, was really a military camp, for he was exposed to constant attack on every side. In the south he made a campaign against the Bedouin Amalekites. From the southeast came the attacks of the Edomites, and from the east the Ammonites were seeking to push their bounds farther westward. In this stern school, under the leadership of a bold, warlike king, the Israelites learned not only to fight bravely, but unitedly and therefore effectively.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HEBREW EMPIRE UNDER DAVID]

XVI

THE SCENES OF DAVID'S EXPLOITS

=David's Home at Bethlehem.= The history of the united Hebrew empire gathers about the personality of its founder, David. The life of no other Old Testament character is recorded with greater detail and picturesqueness than that of the shepherd boy from Bethlehem. His native town was beautifully situated on a spur that ran eastward from the watershed of central Judah.^{(86)} It is surrounded on three sides by deep valleys and looks eastward down upon the wilderness of Judea.

About it are fields of wheat and barley and on the hillsides are vineyards and groves of olive and almond trees, for it is one of the two most fertile spots in the entire territory of Judah.^{(23)} There are no springs in the village itself, the nearest being about eight hundred yards to the southeast. The inhabitants are dependent upon rock-cut wells or cisterns, of which there are many, or upon the water conducted by an aqueduct from the Pools of Solomon to the southwest.

The territory about Bethlehem is pre-eminently the land of the shepherd.^{(87)} The traveller to-day sees almost no cattle or large animals. Their absence is probably due to the limited supply of water and to the frequent outcrops of gray limestone, which make travelling dangerous for cattle and horses. The landscape is dotted with flocks of sheep and goats. The rocky pastures run up to the outskirts of Bethlehem, which appears to have been in ancient times simply a shepherd's village.

=The Contest in the Valley of Elah.= Bethlehem lies only ten miles south in a straight line from Saul's capital at Gibeah. Hence the journey of the messenger who summoned David to the service of his king was not long. The event which brought the youthful shepherd to the attention of the nation took place in the Valley of Elah,^{(88)} but twelve miles in a straight line west of Bethlehem. Its geographical setting throws much light upon this dramatic event in Israel's early history. The Philistine army was drawn up between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammin, the Valley of Dark-red Lands, doubtless so named from the patches of dark-red ploughed land which in the spring still impart a rich glow to the landscape. Socoh was on the south side of the Valley of Elah and Azekah was across the wady to the northwest.

The Philistine position was, therefore, on the southwestern side of the valley, which is here about one-quarter of a mile wide and well adapted to the manuvring of their chariots. The Hebrew position was evidently across the valley on the steep bluff to the northeast, with its left flank at the entrance of the wady and highway which led to Bethlehem and Gibeah. Through the middle of the fertile valley the mountain torrent has cut a deep ravine, with steep banks on either side and a bed strewn with white stones. The strength of the strategic position occupied by each of the two armies and the danger involved in advancing through the deep ravine, clearly explain their delay in making an attack. The situation also reveals the courage of the youth who dared cross the deep ravine and advance single-handed across the plain against the Philistine champion. It is not strange that the moment David slew Goliath, the Bethlehem shepherd became the idol of the people. It was equally natural that the impulsive Saul should feel a growing jealousy toward the one who seemed to have stolen from him the heart of the people.

=Situation of n.o.b.= n.o.b, where David deposited with the priest the sword of Goliath, thereby consecrating it to Jehovah, was situated somewhere on the heights a short distance north of Jerusalem. Beside the main road, which runs northward, about midway between Jerusalem and Gibeah, is a level plateau, now known as Ras el-Masherif.^{(89)} It is about eight hundred yards from east to west and about three hundred from north to south, and is probably to be identified not only with the Hebrew n.o.b, but also with the Scopus of Josephus. It commands a clear view of Jerusalem. On one side are ancient rock tombs and cisterns, indicating the presence in earlier times of a small village. While the identification is not certain, the ancient n.o.b was undoubtedly situated not far from this point. Here David stopped as he fled southward to escape Saul's murderous jealousy. It was here that he committed one of the great sins of his life, in deceiving the priests of n.o.b, thereby sacrificing them to Saul's fury. From n.o.b David evidently turned to the southwest to find refuge among the Canaanite cities in the lowland between Judah and Philistia.

=The Stronghold of Adullam.= Adullam, the stronghold to which he escaped, is without much doubt to be identified with Id-el-ma, in the valley of the Wady es-Sur, two or three miles south of the scene of his victory over Goliath. It is a steep hill, standing out in the valley, with a well at the foot and caves of moderate size near the top. It commands the two roads which lead up from Beit-Jibrin, in the west, and Hebron, to the southeast. From this point it was also possible to watch the paths that came down from the north and the northeast. At the same time it was on the border of the Philistine land, which offered an open asylum to all refugees from the court of Saul. From Adullam a rough, rocky trail, the difficulties of which were no barrier to the clansmen and outlaws who gathered about David, led to Bethlehem, twelve miles away.

=Keilah.= Between three and four miles south of Adullam, in the Wady es-Sur, lay the important Judean town of Keilah. It is mentioned several times in the Tell el-Amarna letters and was evidently at this time the most important southwestern outpost of Judah. Its terraced slopes are still covered with grain, even as in David's time. These same fields supplied the grain for the threshing-floors which the Philistine marauders came to rob. By delivering Keilah, David was able to proclaim in clearest terms his loyalty to his kinsmen and to win the devotion of the southern clans.

=Scenes of David's Outlaw Life in Southeastern Judah.= In a walled city David was in great danger of being captured by Saul. He therefore fled to the borders of southern Judah. Here pursuit was more difficult and escape into the rocky wilderness, which extended eastward to the Dead Sea, was easy. David kept close, however, to the settled territory. To the south of Hebron lay the second most fertile spot in all Judah. It was a level plateau, about nine miles long and three wide, covered with fertile though rocky fields and studded with prosperous villages. The town of Ziph, which evidently gave its name to the wilderness to the east where David took refuge, is in the heart of this plateau. The name of the hill, Hachilah, where, according to the oldest tradition, David spared the life of the sleeping Saul, is perhaps still echoed in the name Dhahret el-Kolah, which is given to the range of hills which runs far out into the wilderness east of Ziph.^{(90)} South of Ziph are the towns of Carmel and Maon. They are encircled by fruitful fields and pasture lands. On the borders of these the Bedouin still encamp and exact their toll of the villagers, even as David demanded a gift from Nabal in return for the protection given to his flocks.^{(26)} David's marriage with Abigail, which followed the death of Nabal, strengthened the loyalty of the southern tribes and gave him wealth and a settled place of abode; but, as at Keilah, it exposed him to great danger of capture by Saul.

=David at Gath.= The necessity of providing occupation for the restless warriors who followed him was probably another reason why David at last sought refuge among Saul's foes, the Philistines. Gath, which is probably to be identified with Tell el-Safi, commanded the point where the Valley of Elah opens into the Philistine Plain. It was the Philistine city nearest to the scene of David's first great victory, as well as to Adullam, whither he had first fled. Throughout the reigns of David and Solomon, Gath figures as the gateway to the land of the Philistines. Its king, or tyrant, received David readily and showed him the hospitality that is eagerly accorded in the East to a fugitive from the court of a rival king. David's rare personal charm also won this Philistine chieftain, even as it did all with whom he came in contact. The region about Gath, however, was thickly settled and presented no field of activity for David's followers.

Hence he was a.s.signed a frontier town and thereby made the guardian of the Philistine border.

=At Ziklag.= The identification of Ziklag is uncertain. That which would place it at Zuheilika, nineteen miles southwest from Beit-Jibrin and eleven southeast from Gaza, is on the whole the most probable. The ruin lies on three low hills, and it appears to have been a characteristic border town. From this town David, with his warriors, was able not only to repel all Bedouin attacks, but also to make forays upon the desert tribes that wandered in the wilderness far to the south. It gave Israel's future king and his followers experience in hard, dangerous warfare and yet allowed him, without arousing the suspicions of the Philistines, to show his loyalty to his race and especially to the Hebrew tribes of the south who were most exposed to these Bedouin robbers.

=Reasons Why the Philistines Invaded Israel in the North.= The presence of David in their midst, as well as their knowledge of the growing weakness of Saul's rule, impelled the Philistines to gather their united forces in another attempt to crush the Hebrew kingdom.

This time they wisely avoided the narrow and easily defended pa.s.ses that led into the heart of southern Israel. Instead, they followed the coast road up across the Plain of Sharon and then cut across possibly past Megiddo to the eastern side of the Plain of Esdraelon. This method of approach enabled the Philistines to advance over broad plains, where opposition was not easy and where their chariots could pa.s.s without difficulty. In this way they separated the Hebrews of the north from those of the south at the point where the connection between the different parts of the land of Israel was naturally weakest. Doubtless their aim was also to keep open to commerce the great highway that led from Philistia across the Plain of Esdraelon to Damascus and Babylonia. They apparently took up their position near Shunem, at the foot of Little Hermon, on the northern side of the Valley of Jezreel,^{(10)} while the Hebrew army occupied a strong position on the northern end of the sloping heights of Mount Gilboa.

=Saul's Journey to Endor.= Saul's night journey to consult the medium of Endor took him across the Plain of Jezreel and up through the wide valley which leads east of Shunem and Little Hermon to the south of Mount Tabor. The small village of Endor lay on the northern slopes of Little Hermon, facing Mount Tabor across the valley.^{(9)} To-day the crest of the hill is pierced by deep caves, in which the squalid natives reside.^{(91)} These caves with their dark pa.s.sages were well-adapted to the occult arts which still survived, even though Saul himself had earlier tried to banish them from his kingdom.

=The Battle on Gilboa.= Saul's courage was well ill.u.s.trated in the final battle on Gilboa. His position was evidently chosen because the northern end of Gilboa commanded the valley of Esdraelon as well as that of Jezreel.^{(11)} To gain control of the highways which led across these valleys, the Philistines were therefore compelled to dislodge the Hebrew army and in so doing to fight against great odds.

To make the attack directly on the north from the direction of Shunem was practically impossible, for at this point the Brook Jalud is so deep that it is impa.s.sable for an army. The rocky hills of Gilboa also rise very abruptly.^{(10)} The probabilities are that in making the attack the Philistines marched down the eastern side of the Plain of Esdraelon and then advanced toward the heights of Gilboa from the southwest by the sloping terraces that lead gradually to the top. Here they could also utilize their chariots and preserve their battle array. By this formidable army the scattered and disheartened forces that rallied about Saul were quickly defeated. The disaster was overwhelming; the valiant king and his sons fought desperately, with no thought of retreat. Thus fell on the heights of Gilboa the man who laid the foundations of the Hebrew empire, leaving the Philistines in possession of Northern Israel. The half-Canaanite town of Bethshean^{(12)} on the Plain of Jezreel appears to have surrendered at once to the Philistines, for the body of Saul was hung in derision on its walls soon after the battle. From the heights of Gilead in a midnight march across the Jordan came the men of Jabesh-Gilead to capture the body of the fallen king and to bury it within their own territory, that they might thus repay the large debt which they owed to their deliverer.

=The Remnant of Saul's Kingdom.= Throughout this earlier period the east-Jordan tribes were especially loyal to the house of Saul, probably because of his early act of deliverance as well as his later wars against their foes in the east. It was natural, therefore, that the capital of the remnant of his kingdom should be established at Mahanaim in Gilead. The exact site of this important city of the east-Jordan has not yet been determined. Probably it was at the ruins of Mahneh, north of the present city of Ajlun. Others would identify it with the important later city of Gerasa, the modern Jerash, on a brook which runs north from the Jabbok. A few biblical references suggest, however, that it was nearer the Jordan, but among the highlands to the north of the Jabbok. In any case it was not far from the modern Mahneh. Here Saul's son, Ishbaal, who succeeded him, was out of the direct line of Philistine attack and beyond the reach of the southern Israelite tribes, that had a.s.serted their independence immediately after the battle of Gilboa.

=Hebron, David's First Capital.= David, their beloved champion, was naturally the choice of these southern tribes. The way in which he disposed of the spoils captured from the Amalekites indicates that beyond doubt, even before the fall of Saul, he was bidding for their loyalty. Accordingly he was made king at Hebron, then the chief city of Judah and the South Country. The ancient city lay on the hill to the northwest of the present town.^{(76)} Its importance depended not upon its military strength, but upon its central position and the presence of perennial springs. Two of the ancient pools are still in use. The one in the northern part of the town is eighty-five feet long and fifty-five feet wide. The other, lower down the valley, is still larger, being one hundred and thirty feet square and twenty-eight feet deep. It is by this largest pool^{(92)} that tradition pictures the hanging of the murderers of Saul's son, Ishbaal. About a mile north of the town, a little west of the old highway, is a spring and pool, called to-day the 'Ain Sarah, which is to be identified without much doubt with the Well of Sirah, where Joab treacherously slew his rival, Abner. Through Hebron runs the great highway from central Canaan to Egypt. From here many less important roads radiate (_cf._ p. 76), making it the great centre and trading place between Palestine, the desert, and the countries beyond. About the city are rocky, fertile fields, and olive and vineyard clad hills. It was, therefore, well chosen as the capital of the small kingdom of which David was here made king.

=Fortunes of the Two Hebrew Kingdoms.= David's authority evidently extended to a point about five miles north of Jerusalem. The city of Gibeon^{(93)} was on its northern border. This important town was situated on a height two thousand five hundred and thirty-five feet above the ocean, a little west of the main northern highway and on the southern side of the two main roads that led up from the Valley of Ajalon across the central plateau to the Jordan. Part way down the regularly rounded hill on which the village stood was a spring, forming a large pool. Here, in this border town, the warriors of Joab, David's general and those of Abner fought the fatal duel which was characteristic of the border warfare of this period. The Bithron, the ravine through which Abner and his men retired to Mahanaim, was probably the Wady Ajlun east of the Jordan. The result of the battle was indicative of the waning power of the house of Saul and of the growing strength of David. It is also probable that during this period he was still a va.s.sal of the Philistines and so enjoyed immunity from their attacks. He was thus able to develop and organize the resources of his kingdom. On the other hand, the divided northern kingdom was constantly exposed to attack from the warlike Philistines on the west and from the Ammonites on the east.

=The Final Struggle with the Philistines.= The a.s.sa.s.sination of Ishbaal by his own followers left the northern tribes no deliverer but David. All his previous training had prepared him for this great task.

His acceptance of the fealty of the northern tribes was equivalent to a declaration of war against the Philistines. Regarding this important period, the biblical records are unfortunately incomplete; but from incidental references it is clear that the Philistines did not yield their claim to central Palestine without a severe and prolonged struggle. At one time they were in possession of David's own city, Bethlehem, and he was obliged again to take refuge in the border fortress of Adullam. As at the beginning of the war, they appear to have seized the series of strong fortresses on the northern border of Judah and thus to have cut off the Hebrews of the north from those of the south. The Canaanite cities from Gezer to Jebus, which doubtless acknowledged the Philistine suzerainty, completed the wall of separation.

=David's Victories.= Strong in the possession of these central cities, the Philistines evidently invaded Judah directly through its two main western portals, the valleys of Sorek and of Elah. David was thus forced to depend for support chiefly upon the tribes of Judah and of the South Country. The territory in which this guerilla warfare was fought, and David's experience and skill, gave him in the end a great advantage. The Philistines were obliged to retire each year to plant and to reap their fields, and in so doing necessarily lost many of the advantages which they had gained. Repeated battles were fought and each time David gained in strength. The two decisive battles were waged in the Valley of Rephaim,^{(94)} a broad, shallow valley to the southwest of Jerusalem, from which connecting valleys ran down to Bethlehem and the south, while the main valley runs westward into the great Valley of Sorek. On this plain, with its broad, cultivated fields, the Philistines were able to ma.s.s their forces and at the same time to maintain on the west their connection with the home land. Here also David was able to rally his followers from the south and in case of defeat to have a way of escape into the neighboring wilderness of Judah. On this battle-field the final decisive engagement in Israel's war of independence was fought, and the Hebrews won a sweeping victory. As the biblical narrative states, the Philistines were compelled to abandon their northern garrisons "from Gibeon as far as Gezer." David at last was free to develop and organize that larger kingdom which was destined soon to grow into a small empire.

XVII

PALESTINE UNDER THE RULE OF DAVID AND SOLOMON

=Establishment of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital.= David's first act as king of all Israel was to break down the barrier of Canaanite cities which separated the north from the south, and then to establish a capital that would be free from local a.s.sociations and more central than his former capital at Hebron. The Jebusite city of Jerusalem fully satisfied these conditions and was at the same time by nature much stronger and better fortified than Hebron. The original city of David apparently included the old Jebusite city on the hill of Ophel^{(55)} with certain additions, known as Millo, probably running down into one of the adjacent valleys.^{(95)} Possibly, during the reigns of David and Solomon, the dwelling-places of the Hebrews began to climb across the Tyropon Valley (_cf._ p. 65) and up the western hill, but there is no evidence that at this early date the western town was surrounded by a wall and thus incorporated in the City of David.

=Israel's Natural Boundaries.= With the establishment of the new capital at Jerusalem and the transference thither of the ark from Kirjath-jearim, the various Hebrew tribes were brought into a close political and religious union. The prestige and tactful, conciliatory policy of David were important factors in bringing about this union.

The process was also hastened by the pressure of outside foes and by the aggressive policy toward them which David at once initiated. On the west and north the territory of Israel had reached its natural bounds. Never again did the Philistines make a determined endeavor to override the barrier of the western hills and conquer the land of the Hebrews. The Phnicians were, by virtue of their position, a commercial people with no ambitions for military conquest. On the east and south, however, Israel's natural bounds were the desert. As long as there were strong nations like the Ammonites and Moabites on the east, separated from the Hebrews only by artificial bounds, there was no guarantee of permanent peace. The past history of Palestine had fully demonstrated this truth and David was not slow in acting in accordance with it.

=Campaigns Against the Moabites and Ammonites.= The Moabites, who, during the period of settlement, had pushed forward to the fords of the Jordan, were apparently the first to be attacked and to become subject to David. The Ammonites, recognizing the significance of the new west-Jordan power, a.s.sumed the initiative and insulted David's messengers. To aid them in the conflict they called in certain of the Aramean princes in the north. After the downfall of the old Hitt.i.te kingdom these Aramean peoples had pressed in from the northeast and taken possession of the greater part of central and eastern Syria. The desert highway that ran through the Ammonite capital led northward through these Aramean states and thus established a close commercial and political bond between the two peoples. The Arameans, living on the plains and in close touch with the most advanced civilization of the Semitic world, were possessed of chariots and all the equipment of ancient warfare. In these allied forces, therefore, the armies of David met no mean foes; but in the school of constant and strenuous warfare he had developed a strong fighting force, and in Joab he possessed one of the best generals of the age.

=Situation of Rabbath-Ammon.= The decisive battles of this campaign were fought near or in Rabbath-Ammon. The city was surrounded by rolling plains, especially on the west, which offered ample opportunity for the manuvring of armies. The strength of the city itself consisted in its huge acropolis, surrounded, like Jerusalem, by deep valleys. On the north it was connected with the surrounding hills by a low, narrow neck of rock. At this point were built great protecting walls and towers. The hill itself consisted of three terraces rising from east to west, with a main gateway on the south side. Each of the succeeding terraces was defended by a wall. The highest area, which included several acres, rose nearly three hundred feet above the surrounding valleys, and it was, therefore, the largest and in many ways the strongest natural fortress in all Palestine.

=The Water City.= The Water City,^{(96)} which was first captured by Joab, was probably in the valley of the Jabbok, which runs along the southern side of the acropolis. This valley, and that which comes in from the north along the western side of the acropolis, is the site of the modern city of Amman. The great Roman city was also built for the most part in the Valley of the Jabbok, or, as it is now called, the Wady Amman. Here the waters of the brook, which were carried by aqueducts along different levels and which were supplemented by gushing springs, fully justify the name of Water City. Situated in the valley, it was most exposed to the attack of the Hebrews. When it was captured, the supply of water and food would be cut off from the citadel above, so that, as indicated by the biblical narrative, the fall of the entire city would be the inevitable result of a long siege.

=Extent of David's Empire.= The conquest of the Ammonites and the Moabites and the defeat of the Arameans enabled David to extend the bounds of his empire to the desert. In the northeast it probably never extended beyond Mount Hermon, which was its natural boundary in that direction. In the south he fought a decisive battle with the Edomites in the Valley of Salt, which was probably at the southwestern end of the Dead Sea near the border line between southern Judah and Edom.

This Arab race, in its difficult mountain fastnesses, was held in control by means of Hebrew garrisons established throughout the land.

By this means David's southern boundary was extended to the eastern arm of the Red Sea and the Sinaitic Peninsula, thus attaining in every direction its natural barriers. In less than one generation, as a result of the energy, tact, and broad statesmanship of David, the physical limitations of Palestine were overcome and a strong empire was established along the southeastern Mediterranean.

=Absalom's Rebellion.= As later events quickly proved, however, the unity of the Hebrew Empire was chiefly dependent upon the personal charm and ability of the man who built it up. The discordant elements were still present and only required an opportunity to break forth into a flame of civil war. Absalom, inspired by a treasonable ambition, succeeded in winning away the affections of the southern tribes and in stirring up the rivalry between the north and the south.

This rivalry was traceable not only to racial differences, but to the fundamental variations between the physical environment and contour of Northern and Southern Israel. It was natural that Absalom's rebellion should be launched in Hebron, the old capital of David's kingdom. In fleeing from the rebels David aimed to put between himself and them that great natural barrier, the Jordan valley, which separates Palestine into its two great divisions. Among the hills and deep wadies of the land of Gilead he felt most secure. Here he was in the midst of a prosperous people, intensely loyal to a ruler whose wars and victories had at last given them immunity from the attack of their strong foes. This part of Palestine was least swayed by the pa.s.sions of the hour and most loyal to its deliverer. Here also David could rally his followers, without identifying himself with the tribes of the north, as opposed to those of the south.

=David East of the Jordan.= In fleeing from Jerusalem, David did not follow the line of the modern carriage-road down to the Jordan, but went farther north, over the Mount of Olives, avoiding the barren wilderness of Judea, which lay immediately to the east. According to the Targums, Bahurim, the home of the Benjamite Shimei, is to be identified with Almon, the present Almit, one mile beyond Anathoth. By continuing a little farther north it was possible to reach the direct highway from Michmash to the Jordan by way of Jericho. David probably crossed the Jordan at the upper of the two southern fords. From this point many roads led northeastward into Gilead (_cf._ p. 81). At Ishbaal's capital, Mahanaim, somewhere north of the Jabbok, he made his head-quarters. The forest of Ephraim was doubtless either immediately north or south of the Jabbok, not far from the Jordan, among the wild hills and deep ravines still clad with great groves of oaks,^{(97)} whose spreading branches often reach down to only a few feet from the ground. The traveller through that region to-day has little difficulty in picking out in imagination the great oak whose extended branches he can picture catching and holding the head of the fleeing Absalom.

=Rebellion of the Northern Tribes.= The wild and sudden rebellion which sprang up among the northern tribes because David in his hour of triumph had shown favor to the tribes of the south spread far up the Jordan valley. Its leader was a certain Sheba, of the hill country of Ephraim. The rebellion was quickly put down in central Israel, but the rebels took their final stand far in the north, in the city of Abel-beth-maacah, at the northwestern end of the Jordan valley. It is to-day an imposing mound, standing out in the midst of the valley, overlooking miles of verdant meadow land, with a lofty and easily defended acropolis. Ruins on the southeast are indicative of its strength and importance. Through the intercession of a brave woman, the people of the city turned over the rebel to Joab, and thus the rebellion was put down. The contrast, however, between the level, unbroken fields about Abel-beth-maacah and the gray limestone hills that encircled Hebron is significant of the wide breach between the north and the south, which the tact of a David could only temporarily heal.

=Scene of Adonijah's Conspiracy and Solomon's Accession.= The closing scene in the tragedy of David's family life was in Jerusalem.

Overwhelmed by the crimes of his sons and the burden of his own great sin, the king in his later days retired more and more from public life. The question of who should succeed him was still open. The conspiracy of his oldest son, Adonijah, by which this ambitious prince sought to make his succession sure, culminated in a great feast "by the Serpent's Stone, which is beside En-rogel or the Fuller's Spring."

By many the Fuller's Spring is identified with the Virgin's Fount in the Kidron valley^{(54)} southeast of Jerusalem. But this identification is impossible, for it was at Gihon, which is clearly the ancient name of the Virgin's Fount, that Solomon a little later was proclaimed king at the command of David. Thus in II Chronicles 32:30 it is stated that "Hezekiah stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon and brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David," that is, to the present Pool of Siloam on the western side of Ophel (_cf._ also II Chron. 33:14). This accords perfectly with the statement in I Kings, that when Solomon was proclaimed king at Gihon, he and his followers went up again to the city which lay on the heights. The scene of Adonijah's feast,^{(98)} therefore, must have been below the royal gardens to the south of the city where the Valley of Hinnom joins the Kidron. It was also probably a little north of the Well of Job, which is apparently here called the Fuller's Spring (_cf._ Josh. 15:7). Either it received water from the Virgin's Fount, or else from a more direct source, so that it was called a spring. In the days of Isaiah the open s.p.a.ce about was known as the Fuller's Field, which according to Isaiah 7:3, was near the end of the conduit of the upper pool, by the highway which probably ran past the southeastern end of the city. From this point it was not difficult to hear the sound of the trumpets at the Gihon Spring, higher up but obscured by a ridge of Ophel.

=Capture of Gezer.= The policy of David's successor, Solomon, was one of organization rather than of expansion. Through alliances, sealed in the usual oriental fashion by marriages, he sought to insure the peace of his empire. His alliance with Egypt brought for a brief moment an Egyptian army to the border of Palestine. The aim of this expedition was to aid Solomon in capturing Gezer, the last stronghold left in the hands of the Canaanites. This important strategic point Solomon further fortified, making it one of the seven great fortresses upon which he depended for the defence of his land.

=Solomon's Fortresses.= Solomon also fortified Lower Beth-horon, which was situated on the flat, fertile hill which commanded a wide view over the western plains. This stronghold guarded the important highway that led up from the coast, past Gibeon to Jerusalem, with an eastern branch running directly to the Jordan. In the same way the old Canaanite city of Megiddo, on the southwestern side of the Plain of Esdraelon, was fortified, thus enabling Solomon to control the great trade route from Damascus and Phnicia to Philistia and Egypt. In the north the city of Hazor, a little east of Lake Huleh, on the road which ran north from the Sea of Galilee, was made the chief stronghold. It was a city often mentioned in the Tell el-Amarna letters, as well as in the story of an Egyptian traveller of the fourteenth century B.C. In the south, Jerusalem was the great military centre. Tamar, which is probably to be identified with the Thamara of Eusebius and Jerome, southwest of the Dead Sea, a day's journey from Hebron, guarded the road which ran to Ezion-geber and Elath on the eastern arm of the Red Sea. Baalath, the seventh stronghold, has not yet been identified. From its position in the list, it would seem to be one of the southern fortresses, though it may be identical with Kirjath-jearaim, which guarded the western approaches to Jerusalem through the Valley of Sorek.

=Solomon's Strategic and Commercial Policy.= It is significant that Solomon apparently did not deem it necessary to guard his eastern frontiers. The conquests of David had delivered Israel from all danger of attack from this quarter. Solomon's chief defences were ma.s.sed on the west and north, indicating that the foes whom he feared were the Philistines and the more distant invaders that might come from Egypt or northern Syria. The southern fortress of Tamar was evidently intended to guard the trade route to the port of Ezion-geber, from which the united fleets of Solomon and Hiram of Tyre made their long journeys past the coast of Arabia and out into the Indian Ocean. The situation of the land of Ophir is not certain, but the character and names of the products brought back by the Phnician and Hebrew traders point strongly to India. The so-called "Land of Ophir" was probably either Abhira at the mouth of the Indus, or else a seaport of eastern Arabia, through which the products of India reached the Western world.