A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4391. A. C. 1020. 1 KINGS viii. TO THE END OF 2 CHRON. Ahijah, who was then at Shiloh; and to inquire concerning the fate of the child. The prophet, at that time was blind; and therefore they thought that they might very easily impose upon him: but before the queen came, God had discovered the whole matter to him; and therefore as soon as she entered the door, he called her by her name, and then delivered the message which God had directed him to do. Therein he upbraided Jeroboam young prophet believed him, went with him, sat down to | in the dress of an ordinary woman; to go to the prophet meat, and refreshed himself; but in his return, he paid dear for his disobedience; " for a lion met him and slew him, but when it had so done, it neither tore his body, nor meddled with his ass; which, when the old prophet understood, he took, and buried him in his own sepulchre, and gave his children in charge, that whenever he died, they should lay him in a place contiguous to this prophet; because he was confident, that whatever he foretold concerning the altar of Bethel, and that form of idolatry, which Jeroboam had set up, would most certainly come to pass. Not long after this, Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, a young prince of promising hopes, fell sick whereupon Jeroboam prevailed with his queen to disguise herself pronounced by God, and not by the false prophet, we are assured in verse 26. • The Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him.' Josephus expressly asserts that the sentence was declared by God to the true prophet. The Arabic asserts the same.-ED. a 1 Kings xiii. 26. Disobedience in special cases has commonly been punished by those in authority. The Athenians put their ambassadors to death, whom they had sent into Arcadia, though they had faithfully performed their business, because they came another way than that which had been prescribed to them.-Elian. Var. Hist. b. vi. c. 5.—Ed. Not far from Bethel there was a wood, out of which the two she-bears came that destroyed two and forty children, for mocking the prophet Elisha, (2 Kings ii. 24.) And it is not unlikely that out of the same wood came the lion which slew this prophet. -Patrick's Commentary. c There is something particular in the expressions of the text: The saying, which he cried by the word of God against the altar of the Lord, against the altar of Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places, which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass,' (1 Kings xiii. 32.) But how can they be called the cities of Samaria, when Samaria itself was not now built, nor had the separate kingdom of Jeroboam as yet obtained that name ? But this only shows that the author or compiler of these books of Kings, whether it was Ezra or Jeremiah, lived long after the time of Jeroboam, and writes of things and places as they were in his own days. He knew full well, that Samaria was built by Omri, fifty years after Jeroboam, since himself had given the account of its foundation; but he was minded to speak in the phrase then current, and to make himself intelligible to those that read him; and for this reason no doubt it is, that in 2 Kings xxiii. 18, the false prophet of Bethel is said to have come from Samaria, though at that time there was no city of that name.Calmet's Commentary. d In 1 Kings xiv. 13, it is said, that in him there was found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel;' from whence the Jewish doctors have devised the story, that he broke down an hedge (it had better been a wall, I should think) which his father had made, to keep people from going up to Jerusalem at the three great feasts. But however this be, we may be permitted fairly to infer thus much from the words:-That he was the only person in the family who expressed a dislike of the worshipping of calves, an inclination and intention to abolish it, whenever he should come into power, and to permit, if not oblige his subjects to go up to Jerusalem, to worship according as the law prescribed.-Poole's Annotations. e Jeroboam might be for having his wife go to consult the prophet at Shiloh, because this was a secret not to be intrusted with any body else; a secret which had it been divulged, might have endangered his whole government: because, if once his subjects came to understand, that he himself had no confidence in the calves which he had set up, but in any matter of importance had recourse to the true worshippers of God, it is not to be imagined what an inducement this would have been for them to forsake these senseless idols, and to return to the worship of the God of Israel, whom they imprudently had forsaken. The queen then was the only person he could have confidence in. As a mother, he knew, that she would be diligent in her inquiry; and, as a wife, faithful in her report; but there were sundry reasons why he might desire her to disguise herself. For though Shiloh, lay within the confines of Ephraim, yet there is sufficient ground to think, that it was subject to the house of David, and belonged to the kingdom of Judah. It was certainly nearer Jerusalem than Shechem, which Rehoboam had lately fortified, and made his place of residence: and therefore Jeroboam thought it not safe to venture his queen, in a place that was under his rival's government, without her putting on some disguise. He knew too, that the prophet Ahijah was greatly offended at him, for the gross idolatry he had introduced; and therefore he thought, as justly he might, that, if the prophet perceived her to be his wife, he would either tell her nothing, or make things much worse than they were. The only way, therefore, to come at the truth, was (as he thought) to do what he did: but herein appears his infatuation, that he should not think the person, whom he held capable of resolving him in the fate of his son, able to see through this guile and disguise.-Calmet's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations. If It is mentioned in the text, that Jeroboam's wife carried with her a present to the prophet, and we learn from several pas sages of Scripture, that it was customary on consulting a prophet, to present him with a gift generally consisting of some kind of provisions, which the condition of that class of persons might render more acceptable than any money or other kind of present. What the wife of Jeroboam carried was certainly unsuitable to the dignity and resources of a queen, and had she gone openly in that character, her present would in all probability have been rejected. Instances of presents not being accepted, when they are considered inferior to what the rank and ability of the offerer could have produced, are mentioned by many travellers. An ambassador at the court of Persia, once abruptly took leave, on the ground that he had been insulted by the trifling presents the Schah had given him; in consequence of which the royal presents were ordered to be set down in a catalogue, alongside of those of the ambassador; each article was rated at an extravagant value, and the whole was made to be worth double the money of the ambassador; but he, conscious of the imposition, refused to accept it, as unworthy of the rank of a king. Lander, too, mentions an African from whom he had expected to obtain im portant service to the cause of his mission, but was unexpectedly and grievously disappointed, to find that the sable monarch gave him a very cold reception. The reason was, that the king had been persuaded by some of his attendants, that the present of Lander was far inferior to what Captain Clapperton had made him a few years before, and, therefore, sending notice to the traveller that he considered his gift below the character of one who was in the service of the king of Britain, refused to see him. Had the wife of Jeroboam then gone to the prophet with the present she had selected, there is every reason to conclude, that its trifling nature would have led to its rejection; but it must be remembered that she went to Ahijah personating a country we man, and that nothing could be more suitable to such a character than the articles of which her present consisted. Few and simple as they appear to be, they were very nearly the same as those which D'Arvieux received from the mother and sister of an Arab Emir, whom he visited, and from whom he received, early in the morning after his arrival in their camp, a present of pastry, honey, fresh butter, with a basin of sweet meats of Damascus. Whatever the origin of the custom which authorized that the presents made to prophets should consist always of provisions for their table, it is evident, from the experience of D'Arvieux, that the present made to Ahijah by the wife of Jeroboam, was quite in unison with the character she had assumed, and, although presents have frequently been refused in the east, on account of their value being disproportionate to the ability of the donor, ne objection could have been found on this account to the present of Jeroboam's queen, had not her real condition been supernaturally A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4391. A. C. 1020. 1 KINGS viii. TO THE END OF 2 CHRON. with ingratitude to God, who had made him king; charg- | very numerous army; and, having ravaged the country, ed him with impiety and apostasy, in setting up images taken most of the fortified places, and entered Jerufor the objects of religious worship; foretold the expir- salem without opposition, plundered the temple and ation of his race, a and the death of the child then sick; | palace of their rich furniture and moveables, he took threatened sore judgments to the people of Israel, for away all the money that was found in the king's treasure, their conforming to the idolatry which had begun, and, and the treasure of the sanctuary, and, at the same time, with this doleful message, he sent her away, who as soon carried off the golden shields which Solomon had made; as she entered the palace door, according to the pro- in the room of which, Rehoboam, by this depredation, phet's prediction, found the child dying. But all these was reduced so low, that he d was forced to make brazen judgments and miraculous events wrought no reformation ones, for the use and ornament of his guards. in wicked Jeroboam. Nor was his rival Rehoboam king of Judah, much better. He, for three years indeed, kept up the true worship of God at Jerusalem, but it was more out of a principle of state policy than of true religion. For, when the time of Jeroboam's subjects coming over to him upon that account was at an end, he threw off the mask, and discovered his inclination to idolatry. And as his example was followed by his subjects, they soon exceeded all that went before them. For they not only set up images and groves upon every hill, and under every green tree, but to add to their gross impiety, introduced the detestable sin of Sodom, and all the other wickednesses that the ancient Canaanites were expelled for. b Under these provocations it was not long before God sent against them Shishak, king of Egypt, who, in the fifth year of Rehoboam, c invaded his dominions with a We have little or nothing more recorded of Rehoboam, but that he reigned twelve years after this conquest and devastation by Shishak; that he had eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and by them eight and twenty sons, and threescore daughters; that most of these sons who were grown to maturity in his lifetime, he made governors in the chief of the fenced cities in his kingdom; that he appointed Abijah, who was the eldest by his favourite wife Maachah, to succeed him in his throne, and, ƒ after a continued war with his rival Jeroboam, died in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and in the take his royal city: but Rehoboam, we must remember, was not the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and therefore no relation to Shishak. But, even had he been never so nearly related, as kingdoms, we long in Egypt, stirred him up to invade his rival, that thereby know, never marry, so it is likely that Jeroboam, who had lived he might establish himself in this new kingdom: and for this reason it was, that, when the armies of Egypt had taken the fenced cities of Judah, they returned, without giving Jeroboam or his dominions any the least disturbance.-Patrick's Com revealed to the mind of the prophet.-Jamieson's Eastern Man-mentary. ners.-ED. " d This shows to what low condition the kingdom of Judah a 1 Kings xiv. 10. Sometimes, when a successful prince has was reduced. These shields were a matter of state and granendeavoured to extirpate the preceding royal family, some of deur; and therefore it concerned them, if they were able, to have them have escaped the slaughter, and secured themselves in a them of the same value that they were before. And, as they fortress, or place of secrecy, while others have sought an asylum were carried before the king to the house of the Lord, it seemed in foreign countries, from whence they have occasioned great likewise to be a matter of religion, that their value should not be anxiety to the usurper. The word, shut up, strictly speaking, diminished. Now in making these three hundred shields we are refers to the first of these cases; as in the preservation of Joash told, that three pounds of gold went to one shield, (1 Kings x. from Athaliah, in a private apartment of the temple, (2 Kings 17.) This, at four pounds per ounce, or forty-eight pounds sterxi.) Such appears also to have been the case in more modern ling to the pound, amounts to no more than £432,000, and theretimes. Though more than thirty years had elapsed since the fore it was a miserable case, that they were reduced from so much death of Sultan Achmet, father of the new emperor, he had not wealth to so much poverty, that neither reasons of state, nor rein that interval, acquired any great information or improvement.ligion, could raise so small a sum on so great an occasion.Shut up, during this long interval, in the apartments assigned him, Bedford's Scripture Chronology, b. 6. c. 2. with some eunuchs to wait on him, and women to amuse him, the equality of his age with that of the princes who had a right to precede, allowed him but little hope of reigning in his turn; and he had besides, well grounded reasons for a more serious uneasiness." (Baron Du Tott, vol. i. p. 115.) But when David was in danger, he kept himself close, (1 Chron. xii. 1.) in Ziklag, but not so as to prevent him from making frequent excursions. In later times, in the east, persons of royal descent have been left, when the rest of a family have been cut off, if no danger was apprehended from them, on account of some mental or bodily disqualification. Blindness saved the life of Mohammed Khodabendeh, a Persian prince of the sixteenth century, when his brother Ismael put all the rest of his brethren to death. (D'Herbelot, p. 613.) This explanation will enable us more clearly to understand 2 Kings xiv. 26; Deut. xxxii. 36.—Harmer, vol. iv. p. 211.-ED. | e 1 Kings xv. 2. It has been conjectured by Mr Taylor, that the phrase "and his mother's name was," &c., when expressed on a king's accession to the throne, at the beginning of his history, does not always refer to his natural mother, but that it is a title of honour and dignity, enjoyed by one of the royal family, denoting her to be the first in rank. This idea appears well founded from the following extracts. "The oloo kani is not governess of the Crimea. This title, the literal translation of which is, great queen, simply denotes a dignity in the harem, which the khan usually confers on one of his sisters; or if he has none, on one of his daughters, or relations. To this dignity are attached the revenues arising from several villages, and other rights." (Baron Du Tott, vol. ii. p. 64.) "On this occasion the king crowned his mother Malacotawit, conferring upon her the dignity and title of iteghe, that is, as king's mother, regent and governess of the king when under age."-Bruce's Travels, vol. ii. p. 581. Fragments to Calmet.-ED. There are several passages in Scripture, such as 1 Kings xv. 12. 2 Kings xxii. 7. Rom. i. 26, 27, &c., from whence it appears that this kind of wickedness did frequently attend idola- ƒ But how does this agree with what we read in 1 Kings xii. try. Among the heathen, the most filthy things were commit- 23, &c., namely, that God commanded Rehoboam, and his ted in their groves, those places of darkness and obscurity, by the people, not to fight against the Israelites, and they obeyed? Very worshippers of Venus, Bacchus, and Priapus; and when the Is-well, if we will but observe, that though the Jews were comraelites fell into the same religion, they must, of course, have fallen into the same practices; because, whatever they did of this kind was done in devotion, and honour to their gods, who, as they imagined, were highly delighted with such obscenities. Patrick's Commentary. c It may seem something strange, that Shishak, who was so nearly allied to Rehoboam, should come up against him, and manded not to make war upon the Israelites, yet they were not commanded not to defend themselves, in case the Israelites should make war upon them; and, considering that they were now become two rival nations, they might, upon the borders, be continually endeavouring to gain ground upon each other, and so run into frequent acts of hostility, without ever once engaging in a pitched battle.-Patrick's Commentary. A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4421. A. C. 990. 1 KINGS viii. TO THE END OF 2 CHRON. seventeenth year of his reign, and was buried in the city of David. This victory Abijah took care to improve by pursuing Jeroboam, and taking from him so many strong cities, among which Bethel, where one of the golden calves had lately been set up, was one, that he was never thenceforward able to make head against his adversary, who by this, and some other successful achievements, grew great and powerful. But his reign was but short: he reigned not quite three years, before he died, and was buried in the city of David; and the reason that a Abijah, who succeeded his father in the kingdom of Judah, in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam king of 1srael, was a prince of an active and martial spirit; and therefore resolving to put an end to the long dispute between the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, he raised an army of four hundred thousand men, while Jeroboam, whose territories were of larger extent, had got together one of eight hundred thousand. This notwithstand-some have assigned for God's thus shortening of bis ing, Abijah determined to give him battle; but, before they came to the onset, he thought it not improper to get upon an eminence, and to expostulate with the Israelitish army the injustice of their cause in revolting from his father Rehoboam; the right he claimed on his side, since God had given the whole kingdom to David, and his sons for ever; and the reasonable expectance he had of the divine assistance in what he was going about, since the religion of Jeroboam was false and idolatrous, whereas he, and the men of Judah, had the pure worship of the living God, his temple, and his ordinances, among them. Jeroboam was no wise solicitous to answer him in those points; but while he continued speaking, ordered a detachment to march round, and intercept his retreat: which when the men of Judah perceived, they addressed themselves to God in prayer for success, and, while the priests blew the trumpets, the soldiers gave a great shout, and charged the Israelites so vigorously, that they soon gave way, and as the enemy gave no quarter lost, in the whole action, no less than five hundred thousand men, the greatest slaughter that ever was heard of. c a Dr Kennicott observes that the name of this king of Judah is expressed three ways; in 1 Kings xiv. and four other places it is Abijam or Abiua; in two others it is Abihu; but in eleven other places it is Abiah, as it is expressed by St Matthew (i. 7.) Popoau de sysvines Toy Aßia; and this is the reading of thirteen of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and of thirteen respectable editions of the Hebrew bible. The Syriac is the same. The Septuagint in the London Polyglot has Aßiou, Abihu, but in the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglot it is A6.a, Abiah. Though the common printed Vulgate has Abiam, yet the Editio Princeps of the Vulgate, some MSS., and the text in the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglot, have Abia; which without doubt is the reading that should in all cases be followed.-ED. 6 None of the great captains and commanders, whose speeches are recorded in heathen authors, ever expressed themselves more movingly than this king of Judah did. But some have found fault with him for speaking not so honourably of his father's military skill and courage, which he might as well have omitted, because, allowing it to be true, he seems to have served no purpose in mentioning it. But this notwithstanding, the speech is very lively, and excellently well calculated to cause a revolt in Jeroboam's army.-Patrick's Commentary. See the speech at large in 2 Chron, xiii. 4, &c. с days, was his not destroying of idolatry, when, by taking of Bethel, he had it in his power. For, however he might plead his possession of the temple and priesthood, to make his argument good against Jeroboam; yet the character which the sacred historian gives him, is that he walked in all the sins of his father; nor was his heart perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of his great grandfather David.' Asa, however, who in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, succeeded his father in the throne of Judah, 11 Kings xv.3. 1592, thirty-one contain the less number. And out of fifty-one MSS., twenty-three in the Bodleian library, four in that of Dean Aldrich, and two in that of Exeter College, contain the less number, or else are corrupted irregularly, varying only in one or two numbers." This examination was made by Dr Kennicott before he had finished his collation of Hebrew MSS., and before De Rossi had published his Varia Lectiones Veteris Testamenti; but from these works we find little help, as far as the Hebrew MSS. are concerned. One Hebrew MS. instead of new man yans, arba meoth eleph, 400,000, reads by 8, arba eser eleph, 14,000, In all printed copies of the Hebrew, the numbers are as in the common text, 400,000, 800,000, and 500,000. The versions are as follows:-The Targum or Chaldee, the same in each place as in the Hebrew. The Syriac in verse third has 400,000 young men for the army of Abijah, and 800,000 stout youths for that of Jeroboam. For the slain Israelites, in verse 17th it has 500,000, falsely translated in the Latin text quinque mika, 5000, both in the Paris and London polyglots: another proof among many that little dependance is to be placed on the Latin translation of this version in either of the above polyglots. The Arabic is the same in all these cases with the Syriac, from which it has been translated. The Septuagint, both as it is published in all the polyglots, and as far as I have seen in MSS., is the same with the Hebrew text. So also is Josephus. The Vulgate or Latin version is that alone that exhibits any important variations; we have had considerable proof of this in the above mentioned collations of Calmet and Kennicott. I shall beg liberty to add others from my own collection. In the Editio Princeps of the Latin bible, though without date or place, yet evidently printed long before that of Fust, in 1462, the places stand thus: ver. 3. With him Abia entered into battle; and he had of the most warlike and choice men 40,000; and Jeroboam raised an army against him of 80,000 men.' And in ver. 17: and there fell down wounded 50,000 stout men of Israel.' In the Glossa Ordinaria, by Strabo Fuldensis, we have 40,000 and 80,000 in the two first instances, and 500,000 in the last.-Bib. Sacr. vol. ii. Antv. 1634. In six ancient MSS. of my own, marked c The numbers here given from 2 Chron. xiii. 3, 17, seem A, B, C, D, E, F, the text stands thus. In A we have 40,000 almost incredible. It is very possible that there is a cipher too for the army of Abijah, and 80,000 for that of Jeroboam, and much in all these numbers, and that they should stand thus: 50,000 for the slain of the latter. B, 40,000, 80,000, 50,000. Abijah's army, 40,000; Jeroboam's 80,000; slain 50,000. The numbers being here expressed in words at full length, there Calmet, who defends the common reading, allows that the Venice can be no suspicion of mistake. C, 400,000, 800,000, 500,000. edition of the Vulgate, in 1478; another in 1489; that of Nu-This is the same as the Hebrew text very distinctly expressed. remberg in 1521; that of Basil, by Froben, in 1538; that of Robert Stevens, in 1546; and many others, have the smaller numbers. Dr Kennicott says: "On a particular collation of the Vulgate version, it appears that the number of chosen men here slain, which Pope Clement's edition in 1592, determined to be 500,000, the edition of Pope Sixtus, printed two years before, determined to be only 50,000; and the two preceding numbers in the edition of Sixtus, are 40,000, and 80,000. As to diferent printed editions, out of fifty-two from the year 1462 to D, This in the first two numbers is the same as the others above; A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4421. A. C. 990, 1 KINGS viii, TO THE END OF 2 CHRON. a was a prince of a different temper. As he enjoyed the felicity of a settled peace for the ten first years of his reign, he wisely made use of it in reforming many abuses that had been tolerated in former reigns. He expelled the Sodomites, broke down the idols, and demolished their altars in all the cities of Judah ; a but he had not yet power and authority enough to destroy the high places. The vessels of silver and gold which 6 both he and his father had consecrated to the service of the temple, he presented to the priests; and by all the enforcements of regal authority, compelled his subjects to be religious. This time of peace he likewise made use of, to fortify several cities on the frontier parts of his kingdom, and to train up his subjects in the art of war; insomuch that, in a short time, he had an army of three hundred thousand men of Judah armed with shields and pikes, and two hundred and fourscore thousand men of Benjamin, armed with shields and arrows, all persons of courage, and resolved to defend their country. In this situation of affairs, Zerah, the king of Arabia a This seems to be contradicted by a passage in 2 Chron. xiv. 3, where we are told, that Asa took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places:' but, for the right understanding and reconciling of this, we may observe, that there were two kinds of high places, the one tolerated for religious purposes, the other abominable from their first institution; the one frequented by devout worshippers, the other made the receptacle of the wicked and idolatrous only. Now these were the altars and high places which Asa took away, even where the people sacrificed to strange gods; but those where God alone was worshipped had obtained so long, and were looked upon with so sacred a veneration, that, for fear of giving a general offence, though he knew they were contrary to a divine injunction, he durst not adventure to abolish them. The truth is, these high places were famous either for the apparition of angels, or some other miraculous event; had either been places of abode for the ark of the Lord, or such as some prophet or patriarch of old had been accustomed to pray and sacrifice in; and therefore they were looked upon as consecrated to the service of God; nor was there strength enough in the government to overcome this inveterate prejudice, till Hezekiah arose, who, to prevent the calamities that were coming upon the nation, had the courage to effect a thorough reformation.-Patrick on 1 Kings xv. 14; and Calmet on chap. xiv. 23. 6 According to the piety of ancient times, his father had devoted some part of the spoils he had taken in the war against Jeroboam to the service of the temple, but had not time to make good his vow, or, upon some account or other, had neglected it, so that his son took care to supply that defect. And forasmuch as himself had taken large booty in his war with the Arabians, of this he likewise bestowed a considerable part upon holy uses. -Patrick's Commentary. e The Scripture takes no notice of what was the cause of this war between Zerah and Asa, nor are interpreters well agreed what the country was from whence this enemy came. The country, in the original, is called Cush, though we translate it Ethiopia. Now, there are three countries, different from one another, all called by the name of Cush; 1. the land of Cush upon the river Gihon; 2. Cush upon the eastern shore of the Red Sea; and, 3. Cush, situated above Thebais, and in the Upper Egypt. It is very probable, then, that the country here spoken of must not be Ethiopia, properly so called, because we can hardly imagine, how an army of a million of men should be permitted to march through Egypt, as they must have done to invade Judea, without some opposition: and therefore the country must be the land of Cush, which lay in Arabia Petræa, upon the east shore of the Red Sea, and, at the extremity to the point of that sea, inclining towards Egypt and Judea. And whereas some have made a doubt, how so small a country could have produced so large an army, it is no hard matter to suppose, that a great part of the army might perhaps have been mercenaries.Calmet's Commentary on 2 Chron. xiv. 9; and Dictionary, under invaded Judea with an almost innumerable army, but was vanquished by Asa with a much inferior force. For, as soon as the battle began, God struck the Arabians with such a panic fear, that they began to flee; and Asa and his army pursued them, took the spoil of their camp, carried away their cattle, smote the cities that were in league with them, and so returned in triumph to Jerusalem. After so signal a victory, Asa continued in peace for the space of five years more; in which time he thought himself obliged, both in gratitude to God, and in compliance to the encouragement' which his prophet Azariah had given him, to set himself about a thorough reformation in religion. To this purpose he executed all that could be convicted of sodomy: he destroyed all the idols that were to be found, not only in Judah and Benjamin, but in any of the conquered countries likewise: he repaired the altar of burnt-offerings, and summoned, not only the natives, but strangers likewise, to the worship of the true God. On a solemn festival, which he had appointed, he ordered seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand sheep, part of the spoil which he had taken from the Arabians, to be sacrificed; and, at the same time, engaged in a covenant with his subjects, which was confirmed by oath, that whoever should forsake the true worship of God should have the sentence of the law executed upon him, and be infallibly put to death. His own mother had been a patroness of idolatry; and therefore, to show his impartiality, he removed her from court, and forbade her coming near the queen, for fear of infecting her; and understanding that she had set up an idol in a grove consecrated to an obscene deity, he the word Cush; and Wells' Geography of the Old Testament, vol. i. c. 4. [Dr Hales, however, is of opinion that Zerah was king of the African Ethiopia, now long known by the name of Abyssinia, and that his immense army, amounting to a million of men, and three hundred chariots, but which Josephus reduces, more probably, to 90,000 infantry, and 100,000 cavalry, (Ant. viii. 12.) consisted of Abyssinians and Lybians, called in Scripture Lubim.-Analysis, vol. ii. p. 380, second edition.]-ED. d The words in the text, both in 1 Kings xv. 13, and 2 Chron. xv. 16, according to our translation, are to this effect.— That Asa removed his mother Maachah from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove, both of which he cut down and burnt.' The word which we render idol is in the original Mipheletseth; but then the whole difficulty turns upon this,-what the proper signification of this word is. The Vulgate translation has cleared this matter pretty well, by rendering the passage, that this queen-mother was the high priestess in the sacrifices of Priapus;' and when the Septuagint, according to the Vatican copy, informs us, that she held an assembly in this grove, and that her son Asa cut down all the close arbours or places of retreat, as the word Zúvados, which we render assembly, may have a more carnal meaning, and the other Karaðvovs, properly signifies hiding places, or places of retirement for wicked and obscene purposes: we may from hence infer, that both the Latin and Greek translators took the Mipheletseth of Maachah to be some lewd and lascivious deity, which loved to be worshipped in filthy and abominable actions; and that this could be no other than the Roman Priapus, whose worshippers were chiefly women, seems to be implied in the very etymology of the word, which properly signifies terriculamentum, or, a device to frighten other things away; for this was exactly the office of Priapus in all gardens. "Let Priapus be placed as a guardian in the fruitful gardens, that with his keen pruninghook he may frighten the birds.” (Tibul, Eleg. 1.) But then the question is, who the patriarch was, for most idols were made for some patriarch or other, that the Roman Priapus is thought to represent? And the learned A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4421. A. C. 990. I KINGS viii. TO THE END OF 2 CHRON. 1 burned the idol, and the grove both, and threw their ashes | temple, as well as what was found in his own exchequer, into the brook Kidron, as Moses did before by the molten calf. and sent it as a present to Benhadad king of Syria, re- The fame of this reformation, and the blessings wherewith God had hitherto distinguished Asa's reign, made the subjects of Baasha, who was now king of Israel, come over in great numbers to Jerusalem; which Baasha perceiving, was resolved, if possible, to put a stop to it; and therefore he fortified Raamah, a town in the tribe of Benjamin so conveniently situated, that, by keeping a good garrison there, he might hinder all passing to and fro without leave, and so cut off all communication between his people and the people of Judah. Asa hearing of this, and knowing the intent and pur-was, in Asa, a thing inexcusable. It implied a distrust pose of the stratagem, was resolved to give him a diversion, if he possibly could, on the other side. To this end he took all the silver and gold that was in the 1 Exod. xxxii. 20. author, from whom I have compiled this note, is of opinion, that it might properly enough denote Lot, who lay with his two daughters when he was drunk, and of the former begat Moab, the primogenitor of that nation, who were the greatest worshippers of this obscene deity; though, for several reasons that he there enumerates, upon presumption that Priapus was the same with Baal-Peor, which signifies a naked or uncovered god, he is more inclinable to think it was Noah, of whom it was said, that he was an husbandman, and planted a vineyard, and that he drank of the wine, and was drunken, and uncovered within his tent,' (Gen. ix. 20, 21.; Jurieu's History of Doctrines and Worship, part 4. c. 2. and 3.) Most of the ancients are of opinion, that Astoreth, which all allow to be the same with Astarte, was the Greek Kórs, and the Roman Venus. Tully, in his third book On the Nature of the Gods, tells us expressly, that Astarte, among the Tyrians, was the fourth Venus, who was married to Adonis, and upon his, and some other authorities, many moderns have gone into the same sentiment; but, as it is certain, that the Tyrians had their theology from the Phoenicians, the testimony of St Austin cannot but have some weight in this case, since he aflirms, with the greatest assurance, that Juno without all doubt, was, by the Carthaginians, called Astarte; (Quæst. 26, indices.) That Juno was the great deity and patroness of Carthage, is the received opinion of the Gentile world. "Which Juno is said to have preferred to all other regions of the earth, with the exception of Samos." (Virg. Æn. 1.)And therefore, since we find Baal, who is the same with Jupiter, so frequently in Scripture joined with Ashtaroth, which is the same with Astarte, we can hardly refrain thinking, that she must be the Roman Juno; and they, consequently, husband and wife; how extravagant soever, therefore, the frolic of Heliogabalus, mentioned by Herodotus, was, in sending for the goddess of the Carthaginians to be married to his god, who was the Jupiter of the Phoenicians; yet, from this piece of history, we may inform ourselves, that the goddess of the Carthaginians was no other than Juno, the supposed wife of Baal, or Jupiter; and therefore we find her, by the Phoenician historian Sanchoniatho called Baaltis, which is a feminine substantive, formed from the word Baal, and by the sacred writers, 'the queen of heaven,' (Jer. vii. 18. and xliv. 18.) We have sufficient grounds therefore to suppose, that this Astarte was Juno; but then what particular woman this Juno was, before she came to be deified, we are at a loss to know: only the conjecture of the learned author, from whom I have extracted this note, seems to be preferable to any other I have yet me with, viz. that as both Baal and Jupiter are generally allowed to be the patriarch Ham, so this Juno or Astarte, in all probability, was one of his wives, from whom the Canaanites and Phoenicians were descended. But in this we have the less certainty, because the sacred history says nothing of the adventures of the postdiluvian matrons, whereby we might be enabled to form a comparison between them and these fabulous goddesses.—Jurieu, ibid. p. 4. c. 5. of God's power or goodness to help him, of which he had so lately so large an experience; and therefore the prophet Hanani was sent to reprove him for it: but instead of receiving his reproofs with temper and thankfulness, he was so exasperated with them, that he put the prophet in chains, and gave orders, at the same time, for the execution of several of his subjects. The truth is, towards the close of his reign, he grew very peevish and passionate, and uneasy with those that were about him; which, charity would be apt to think, proceeded from his distemper, a severe gout, in all probability, whose humour rising upwards, killed him in the one and fortieth year of his reign. He was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat: but instead of being interred, as the manner of the Jews was, he ordered his body to be than Baasha was. Nay, he had promised him his protection at all times, and success in all his undertakings, if he would but adhere to his service; and yet, forgetting all this, he strips the temple of its treasure, and bribes a heathen prince to come to his assistance, and break his league with another to whom he stood engaged: so that here were three offences in this one act of Asa's. For, 1st, he alienated things consecrated to God without necessity. 2dly, he did this out of a carnal fear and distrust of that God whose power and goodness he had lately experienced. And, 3dly, he did it with an intent even to hire Benhadad to a breach of his league and covenant with Baasha.-Poole's Anno tations. b It is not said that he gave orders for the execution of his subjects, but that he oppressed them, or became a tyrant.Bp. Gleig. e The words in the text are these, They laid him on the bed, which was filled with sweet odours, and divers kinds of spices, prepared by the apothecaries' art; and they made a great burning for him,' (2 Chron. xvi. 14.) But then the question is, whether the body itself was burned, or only some spices and odoriferous drugs, to prevent any bad smell that might attend the corpse. The Greeks and Romans indeed, when they burned any dead bodies, threw frankincense, myrrh, cassia, and other fragrant things into the fire, and this in such abundance, that Pliny (Nat. Hist. c. 18.) represents it as a piece of profaneness, to be stow such heaps of frankincense upon a dead body, when they offered it so sparingly to their gods. The Jews, however, say the maintainers of this side of the question, were accustomed to inter, and not to burn their dead, though they might possibly learn from the Egyptians the usage of burning many spices at their funerals, as we find they did at the funeral of Zedekiah king of Judah, (Jer. xxxiv. 5.) but notwithstanding this, some very able commentators are of opinion, that all these spices and perfumes were burned along with Asa's body; and they remark, that among his other offences, the sacred history takes notice of this vanity of his, in ordering his body to be disposed of according to the manner of the Gentiles, and not of his own people. Though therefore they suppose that Asa was the first who ina In cases of extreme danger, it was always held lawful to troduced this custom; yet, in after ages, it became very frequent, employ sacred things in the defence of one's country: but there and was thought the more honourable ceremony of the two, (2 was no such necessity in this case. God had appeared wonder- Chron. xxi. 19, Ibid. xvi. 14. Amos vi. 10.)-Patrick's and fully in Asa's defence, against an enemy much more powerful | Calmet's Commentaries on 2 Chron, xvi, 14. |