The prophet Náthan was sent to reprove his guilt; David humbly confessed his sin, and his remorse and repentance procured him pardon from his offended God. Domestic calamities interrupted the prosperity of David's reign; Amnon, his eldest son, was slain by his brother Ab'salom, in revenge for a gross insult offered to his sister, and the young prince was no sooner pardoned and taken into favor, than he began to plot the dethronement and probable death of his indulgent father. The standard of revolt was raised; but a numerous army headed by Jóab and his brothers marched against Ab'salom, and completely routed his forces in the forest of Ephraim. The unfortunate prince, attempting to escape, was entangled by his long hair in the branches of an oak; in this situation he was slain by Jóab, contrary to the express commands of David, who was fondly attached to his rebellious son. The northern tribes again revolted, under the command of Shéba, but they were soon subdued, and their leader punished with death.

David next turned his arms against the Philistines, whom he overthrew in four successive battles; but the joy inspired by these victories was soon changed into mourning, for David, having presumed "to number the people," was punished by a pestilence, which swept away seventy thousand of his subjects. Shortly afterward, David, being informed that his son Adonijah was tampering with some of the nobles, in order to obtain the throne, gave orders that Solomon, his son by Bath'sheba, should be proclaimed king. When this ceremony was performed, David tranquilly prepared to meet the approach of death. He died after a troubled but glorious reign of forty years.

Solomon commenced his reign by putting to death Adoníjah and Jóab. In order to strengthen himself against foreign enemies, he married the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh, receiving as her dowry a portion of Cánaan which had been subdued by that monarch. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and promised to grant him whatever he should ask; the young king chose wisdom, and not only was his request granted, but riches, honor, and length of days, were added, on condition of his persevering in obedience to the divine commandments. The proofs which Solomon gave of his wisdom and discernment were so celebrated throughout the east, that the most powerful monarchs entered into alliance with him; thus tranquillity was established, and leisure afforded for the erection of the temple. Seven years and a half were spent in the building of this magnificent edifice; the costliness of its materials could only be surpassed by the beauty of the workmanship; all the resources of wealth and ingenuity were exhausted on the wondrous structure. When completed it was dedicated to Jehovah in a solemn festival, and the Shekinah, or cloud of glory, which announced the visible presence of the Lord, overspread the entire edifice.

Opposite Mount Moríah, on which the temple stood, Solomon erected a magnificent palace, and furnished it with unrivalled splendor. He was the first who introduced the use of chariots and horses for warlike purposes in Israel; these he procured from Egypt, through his alliance with the Pharaoh; and as cavalry was then scarcely known in western Asia, his power appeared so formidable that his authority was recognised in all the countries between the Nile and the Euphrátes. Sol'o

mon was a distinguished patron of commerce; he opened a lucrative trade with Egypt, not only in chariot-horses but in linen-yarn and cotton manufactures; to facilitate the commercial intercourse between western and central Asia, he erected the city of Tad'mor, which, in a later age, became so celebrated under the name of Palmy'ra; finally, he built a navy at Ez'ion-géber, a convenient harbor on the gulf of Ak'aba, in the northern part of the Red sea, whence his subjects, aided by the experienced mariners of Tyre, carried on a lucrative traffic with the rich countries of southern Asia and Africa. The learning of Sol'omon was not less conspicuous than his wealth.

In his old age, Solomon, seduced by his numerous "strange wives," forsook the Lord, by whom he had been protected, and not only permitted, but practised the rites of an impious and licentious idolatry. Enemies were raised up against him on every side; a revolt was organized in E'dom. Damascus was seized by an independent adventurer, and Jeroboam, to whom the prophet Ahíjah had predicted his future greatness, began openly to aspire at the government of the northern tribes; but being unprepared for revolt he sought shelter in Egypt, where he was protected by King Shishak. It is generally believed that Solomon, before his death, repented of his guilt. He died, after a reign of forty years (B. C. 975), and was buried in the city of David his father,

SECTION VI.-The Revolt of the Ten Tribes.-The History of the Kingdom of Israel.

REHOBOAM Succeeded his father Sol'omon, and immediately after his accession went to Shéchem, in order to receive the homage of the northern tribes. They had suffered severely, in the close of the late reign, from the pressure of taxation, and from the loss of trade consequent on the revolt of the Syrians; they now deputed Jeroboam, and their elders, to demand a redress of grievances, promising implicit obedience if their burdens were removed. His father's aged and experienced ministers recommended compliance with the popular demands, but the king instigated by his rash associates, returned a haughty and threatening reply. Such an answer was the signal for rebellion. The northern tribes immediately chose Jeroboam for their king; and thenceforward Israel and Judah became separate kingdoms. Rehoboam levied a large army to subdue the insurgents, but the Lord sent the prophet Shemaíah to forbid his march, and he was forced thenceforth to rest contented with reigning over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Jeroboam, "the son of Nébat," immediately after his elevation, prepared to break off all connexion with the kingdom of Judah, and as the unity of the national worship, and the custom of going up three times a a year to Jerúsalem, greatly impeded his plan, he resolved to establish idolatrous sanctuaries in his own kingdom, and accordingly, in imitation of the Egyptians, with whom he had so long resided, erected two golden calves, one at Beth'el, and the other at Dan. The choice of these places was not the result of caprice; Beth'el had long been venerated as the place in which Jacob, the father of the Hebrew race, had his miraculous vision, and Dan had been the seat of idolatrous worship since the days of the Judges. The Levites refused to countenance

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this impious innovation, and sought shelter in the kingdom of Judah; Jeroboam supplied their place by selecting priests for his new deities from the lowest of the people. A desultory warfare was maintained between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel through the whole of Jerobóam's reign, which lasted twenty-two years; but in the nineteenth year Jeroboam received so severe a defeat that he never again displayed his former spirit of enterprise.

Nádab succeeded his father Jeroboam in his kingdom, and his idolatrous courses. His brief reign of two years produced no event of importance; he was assassinated by Báasha, one of his generals. Báasha put all that remained of Jeroboam's family to death.

Baasha adopted the wicked policy of Jeroboam, and though the prophets of the Lord forewarned him that similar vengeance would overtake his family, obstinately persevered in his guilt. But many of the Israelites were secretly attached to the pure worship of their fathers, and secretly went up annually to offer their devotions at Jerúsalem. Báasha built a fortress at Rámah to intercept the pilgrims, but this was destroyed by A'sa, king of Judah, who also bribed the Syrians to invade the territories of his rival. Báasha's reign of twentythree years was feeble and inglorious, and the warlike spirit of the Israelites seemed extinct.

E'lah, a weak and luxurious prince, succeeded Báasha; at the end of two years he was assassinated, while feasting in the house of his steward, by Zim'ri, the captain of his chariots. When the Israelite army, which was besieging Gib'bethon, heard of the murder, they elevated Om'ri, their leader, to the vacant throne, and marched against the usurping assassin. Zim'ri, hopeless of escape, fled into the palace, and setting it on fire, perished in the flames. Om'ri had still to contend against another rival, named Tib'ni, whom he easily subdued. The most important act of his reign was building the city of Samária, so named from Shémer, the proprietor of the hill on which it was erected. Samária became the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and long after the fall of that kingdom continued to be a place of great importance. "Om'ri wrought evil in the sight of the Lord, and did worse than all that went before him;" but even his iniquities were surpassed by those of his son and successor.

A'hab commenced his reign by marrying Jez'ebel, the daughter of the king of Si'don, and at her instigation introduced the worship of the Sidonian deities, which consisted in the offering of human sacrifices, and other ceremonies too abominable for description. Those who adhered to the religion of Jehovah were bitterly persecuted, the schools of the prophets were closed, and many of the teachers murdered. Elijah, undaunted by danger, denounced Divine vengeance against such iniquity, but he was forced to fly, and seek concealment in the fastnesses on the frontier. God punished the iniquity of the land by fearful drought and famine. A'hab, in his distress, sent for Elijah, who challenged the priests of Báal to appear in sight of all the people on Mount Carmel, and there determine which deity, Báal or Jehovah, was the most powerful protector of the nation. The challenge was accepted; the superiority of the Lord was proved by the most signal miracles, and the multitude, enraged at those by whom they had been duped, put to death

all the prophets of Báal, by command of Elijah, at the brook Kishon. The curse was then removed from the land, plenteous rain descended, and the famine ceased. Jez'ebel was greatly enraged at the defeat of her national deity, and Elijah once more fled into the wilderness. After having witnessed some wondrous manifestations of Divine power, he was commanded to announce to Haz'ael that he should be king of Syria, to Jéhu that he should be king of Israel, and to Elisha that he should be his successor in the office of prophet.

When A'hab had reigned eighteen years, Benhádad, king of Syria, at the head of thirty-two tributary princes, and a numerous army, laid siege to Samária. Encouraged by a prophet of the Lord, A'hab attacked this immense host with a mere handful of men, and gained a signal victory. Benhádad attempted to retrieve his losses in the following year, but was routed with terrible slaughter. A new crime provoked God's wrath against A'hab and his family; he was anxious to obtain a vineyard belonging to Náboth, a native of Jez'reel, in order to enlarge his garden. The wicked Jez'ebel contrived that the innocent man should be stoned to death, and A'hab took possession of the vineyard. In the moment of his triumph the prophet Elijah appeared, and denounced fearful vengeance for this crime, but A'hab, by timely repentance, obtained a gracious respite, so that the evils impending over his house did not happen until after his death, which took place in a battle against the Syrians, in which the allied forces of Aʼhab and of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah were defeated.

Ahaziah succeeded A'hab, and like him, was devoted to idolatry. A fall from a window, in the second year of his reign, so severely injured him, that fears were entertained for his life, and he sent his servants to consult the oracle of Baalzebub, in Ek'ron. On their road the messengers were met by Elijah, who predicted the approaching death of the king, as a punishment for having consulted false gods. Ahazíah sent two detachments, of fifty men each, to arrest the prophet, but both companies were consumed by fire from heaven. A third captain of fifty interceded with the prophet; Elijah accompanied him to the king's presence, where he repeated his denunciation, which was soon accomplished by Ahazíah's death.

Jehóram, another son of A'hab succeeded, but was less prone to idolatry than his father and brother, for he prohibited the worship of the Sidonian Báal, though he did not remove the golden calves which Jerobóam had set up at Dan and Bethel. It was about this time that Elijah was taken up into heaven, without enduring the pangs of death, and his successor, Elisha, began to prove his mission by a series of stupendous miracles. Benhádad, the Syrian monarch of Damascus, defeated in several attacks on the kingdom of Israel, attributed his ill success to the prophet, and sent a body of his soldiers to make him prisoner; but the Syrian troops were smitten with blindness, and in this helpless condition easily taken captive. The Syrian monarch was not daunted; he assembled a large army, advanced against Samária, blockaded the city, and reduced the inhabitants to the greatest extremities of famine. Jehóram menaced vengeance against Elisha, but the prophet assured him, that by the next day Samária would have abundance of provisions. On that night, under the influence of supernatural terror, they fled.

The rich plunder of the vacant tents soon restored plenty to the houses of the besieged; Benhádad, after his return, was murdered by his servant Haz'ael, who usurped the throne, and became a most formidable enemy of the kingdom of Israel. Jehóram entered into alliance with Ahazíah, king of Judah, in order to recover Rámoth-Gil'ead, but their joint forces were routed by the Syrians; the king of Israel was severely wounded, and retired to Jezreel to be healed. In the meantime, Elísha, by command of the Lord, sent a prophet to anoint Jéhu king of Israel; and the new sovereign who was a great favorite with the army, advanced toward Jez'reel. Hearing of his approach, Jehóram went out to meet him, accompanied by Ahazíah, king of Judah. Their conference was brief; Jéhu shot Jehóram through the heart, with an arrow, and ordered his body to be cast into the vineyard of Náboth, as the Lord had foretold. Ahazíah was overtaken and slain; but his servants conveyed his body to Jerúsalem, and buried it in the sepulchre of his fathers.

Jéhu advanced to Jez'reel without opposition; as he came near the palace, Jez'ebel looked out from the window, and reproached him with his treason; the servants, by Jéhu's direction, threw her headlong down on the pavement, and her mangled body was trampled under the feet of the horses. In the evening orders were given for her interment, but it was found that the greater part of the body had been devoured by dogs and beasts of prey, as the prophet Elijah had foretold. A'hab's family was very numerous; seventy of his sons were in Samária, but they were all beheaded by the citizens, who dreaded the power of Jéhu; and forty-two of the family of the king of Judah shared the same fate. Jéhu completely extirpated the worship of Báal, but he continued the idolatry which Jeroboam had established, and therefore the duration of his dynasty was limited to his descendants of the fourth generation.

The Syrians, under Haz'ael, grievously afflicted the Israelites during the reigns of Jéhu and his son Jehoáhaz; but these visitations failed to turn the princes or the people from their impious idolatries. In the reign of the latter Elísha died, but his miraculous powers did not cease with his life, for a dead body was restored to life by touching his bones in the tomb. The Israelites gained three victories over the Syrians, and thus recovered the ancient frontiers of their kingdom; they also conquered Amazíah, king of Judah, plundered Jerúsalem, and brought its rich spoils to Samária.

The kingdom of Israel continued to flourish during the long reign of Jeroboam II.; he enlarged his hereditary dominions by the conquest. of several cities belonging to the kings of Syria and Judah, and made his kingdom respected among surrounding nations. His death was followed by a period of great confusion; there was an interregnum of eleven years before Zacharíah, his son, succeeded him; and he, after a brief reign of six months, was murdered by Shal'lum, who was in his turn slain by Men'ahem. In the reign of this usurper the Israelites were attacked by a new enemy; the Assyrians under Pul, supposed by some to be the Sardanapálus of profane writers, came against the land, and Men ́ahem was forced to purchase his forbearance by the payment of a large tribute. The conqueror, however, in return, pro