Antiquities of the Jews - Book 5

 

BOOK V

Containing the Interval of Four Hundred and Seventy-Six Years

From the Death of Moses to the Death of Eli

CHAPTER 1

How Joshua, Commander of the Hebrews, Made War Against the Canaanites, Defeated and Destroyed Them, and Divided Their Land by Lot Among the Tribes of Israel

After Moses had been taken from among the living, as I have already described, the people completed the rites of mourning and put aside their grief. Joshua then ordered them to prepare for a campaign. He sent spies to Jericho to learn the strength and intentions of its people, while he arranged the camp in preparation for crossing the Jordan at the proper time.

Joshua called before him the leaders of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Half of Manasseh had been allowed to settle in the Amorite country, which made up one-seventh of Canaan. He reminded them of the promise they had made to Moses, and urged them to keep it, both in memory of Moses' care for them, which had continued even until his death, and for the good of the whole nation. Joshua took fifty thousand of them with him and marched from Abila to the Jordan, a distance of sixty furlongs.

Joshua had just set up camp when the spies returned, having learned all about the Canaanites. Before anyone discovered them, they had inspected Jericho without hindrance. They saw which parts of the walls were strong and which were weak, and they examined the gates to find where the army might enter.

The people who saw the spies took no notice of them. They thought they were ordinary travelers, the sort who liked to look closely at everything in the city, and did not suspect they were enemies. At evening, the spies went to an inn near the wall to eat. After supper, as they were considering how to leave, someone told the king that men from the Hebrew camp had come to spy on the city. They were staying at Rahab's inn and were trying to avoid discovery.

The king immediately sent men to seize them and bring them in for questioning under torture. When Rahab learned that the king's messengers were coming, she hid the spies beneath stalks of flax laid out to dry on her roof. She told the messengers that some strangers had eaten with her shortly before sunset and had already left. If the men were dangerous to the city or the king, she said, they could still be caught. The king's men believed her and left without searching the inn. They pursued the spies along the roads they thought the men would take, especially the roads leading to the river, but found no trace of them. At last, they gave up.

When the danger had passed, Rahab brought the spies down and asked them to remember what she had risked for their sake when they took Canaan and had the power to repay her. If she had been caught hiding them, she said, she and her whole family would have faced terrible destruction. She asked them to swear that they would spare her and her family when they captured the city and destroyed its inhabitants, as they had resolved to do. The divine miracles she had heard about had convinced her that this would happen.

The spies agreed that they owed her their thanks and swore to repay her kindness in deed as well as in word. They advised her to gather her belongings and all her family inside the inn when she saw that the city was about to be captured. She was also to hang scarlet threads outside her door, or window, so the Hebrew commander would recognize her house and keep it safe. They promised to tell him what she had done for them. But they warned her not to blame them if anyone in her family died in the battle, and asked God, by whom they had sworn, not to count it as a broken oath.

After making this agreement, the spies let themselves down from the wall by a rope and escaped. They returned to their people and reported everything that had happened in the city. Joshua also told Eleazar the high priest and the elders about the oath the spies had made to Rahab, and he upheld it.

Joshua was worried about crossing the Jordan. The river ran swiftly, and no bridge had ever been built over it. He feared that if he tried to build one, the enemy would not give him time to finish it. The Hebrews had no boats to ferry them across. God promised, however, to hold back most of the river's water so they could cross.

Two days later, Joshua led the army and the people across in this order: the priests went first, carrying the ark; then came the Levites, carrying the tabernacle and the vessels used for sacrifice. The people followed by tribe, with their wives and children in their midst, fearing they might be swept away by the current.

As soon as the priests entered the river, the water became shallow enough to cross. The current slowed, and the sandy bottom appeared, since the water no longer flowed with enough force to carry it away. Everyone crossed safely, just as God had promised. The priests stood in the middle of the river until all the people had reached the opposite bank. Then the priests came out, and the water flowed freely again. As soon as the Hebrews had crossed, the river quickly returned to its former depth and size.

The Hebrews marched another fifty furlongs and made camp ten furlongs from Jericho. There Joshua built an altar with stones that the leaders of the tribes had taken from the depths of the river at the prophets' command. The stones were to remind them that the river had been divided. Joshua offered sacrifices to God there, and the people celebrated Passover.

They now had plenty of the food they had lacked before. They gathered the Canaanites' grain, which was ripe, and took other supplies as well. Their former food, the manna they had eaten for forty years, had now ceased.

The Israelites did all this while the Canaanites stayed behind their walls and made no attack. Joshua decided to besiege Jericho. On the first day of the Passover feast, the priests carried the ark around the city, guarded by some of the armed men. The priests walked ahead, blowing their seven trumpets and urging the army to be courageous. The elders followed them. The priests did nothing but sound the trumpets, and when they had circled the city, they returned to camp.

They repeated this for six days. On the seventh day, Joshua gathered the armed men and the people. He told them that the city would be theirs that day, because God would bring its walls down without any effort on their part. He ordered them to kill everyone they captured and not to spare their enemies out of weariness or pity. They were not to stop for plunder, but were to pursue the fleeing enemy and destroy every animal. They must take nothing for their own use. All the silver and gold were to be gathered and set apart for God as the first fruits of their victory, since Jericho was the first city they had captured. Only Rahab and her family were to be spared, because of the oath the spies had made to her.

After giving these orders and arranging his army, Joshua led the people toward the city. They circled it again, with the ark going before them and the priests urging them to carry out the plan with courage. After they had gone around the city seven times, they stopped. Then the wall fell, though the Hebrews had used no weapons or other force against it.

The Hebrews entered Jericho and killed everyone in the city. The sudden collapse of the walls had terrified the inhabitants, and they could no longer defend themselves. Some were killed in the streets, others were caught in their homes. Nothing could save them. Men, women, and children all died, and no one escaped. The Hebrews burned the city and the surrounding country, but they spared Rahab and her family, who had gathered in her inn.

When Rahab was brought before Joshua, he told her that the people owed her for saving the spies. He said he would repay her kindness, and at once gave her some land. From then on, he held her in great esteem.

Any part of the city that the fire had spared, Joshua pulled down to its foundations. He also pronounced a curse on anyone who tried to rebuild it. The man who laid the city's foundation would lose his eldest son, and the man who finished it would lose his youngest son. I will tell later what came of this curse.

A great quantity of silver and gold, as well as bronze, was collected from the city. No one broke Joshua's order or kept any of the spoil for himself. Joshua gave it all to the priests to place among the temple treasures. In this way, Jericho was destroyed.

One man, Achar, the son of Charmi, the son of Zebedias, from the tribe of Judah, found a royal garment woven entirely of gold and a piece of gold weighing two hundred shekels. He thought it unfair that he should have to give away to God the spoil he had risked his life to find, especially when God had no need of it and he himself did. So he dug a deep hole inside his tent and hid the items there, believing he could keep them secret from both his fellow soldiers and God.

The place where Joshua camped was called Gilgal, a name that means "liberty." The Hebrews had crossed the Jordan and now considered themselves free from the suffering they had endured in Egypt and in the wilderness.

A few days after the fall of Jericho, Joshua sent three thousand armed men to capture Ai, a city above Jericho. When they saw the people of Ai, the Hebrews were driven back, and thirty-six of their men were killed.

The news made the Israelites very sad and discouraged. They grieved not only for the men who had died, all of whom were good men worthy of their respect, but also for the despair the defeat brought. They had believed they were already in possession of the land and would return from battle without losing anyone, as God had promised. Now their enemies had unexpectedly gained courage from their victory. The Israelites put on sackcloth and spent the day weeping and lamenting. They could not bring themselves to eat, so deeply did they feel the loss.

Seeing how distressed the army was, and how fearful they had become about the whole campaign, Joshua spoke openly to God. He said, "We did not come this far on our own impulse, as if we believed we could conquer this land by our own strength. We came because Moses, your servant, urged us to do so, and because you promised us by many signs that you would give us this land to possess and make our army stronger than our enemies in every battle. We have already had some success, just as you promised. But now we have been unexpectedly defeated and have lost some of our men. We grieve because we fear that we cannot trust what you promised us and what Moses foretold. Our fear for the future is even greater because this disaster came in our first battle. Lord, free us from these doubts. You can set things right by giving us victory. That will ease our present grief and keep us from fearing what lies ahead."

Joshua prayed to God while lying facedown. God answered that he should rise and cleanse the camp of the pollution among the people. "Someone has shamelessly stolen what was consecrated to me," God said, "and this is why you were defeated. When you find and punish the offender, I will make sure you defeat your enemies."

Joshua told the people what God had said. Then he summoned Eleazar the high priest and the leaders, and cast lots, tribe by tribe. The lot showed that the crime had been committed by someone from the tribe of Judah. Joshua cast lots again among its families, and the lot fell on the family of Zachar. When they questioned each man in turn, they found Achar. Pressed by the terrible circumstances God had brought upon him, he could not deny what he had done. He confessed and produced the stolen items in front of everyone. They put him to death at once. He received no more than a shameful burial in the night, fit for a condemned criminal.

After cleansing the camp, Joshua led the army against Ai. During the night, he placed an ambush around the city, then attacked the enemy at daybreak. The people of Ai came out boldly against the Israelites because of their earlier victory. Joshua pretended to retreat, drawing them far from the city. They believed they were chasing their enemies and looked down on them, thinking this battle would be like the last one.

Then Joshua ordered his soldiers to turn and face the enemy. He gave the agreed signal to the men in ambush, who rushed into the city. The people of Ai were confused. Some were still on the walls, while others had come to see what was happening outside the gates. The ambush took the city and killed everyone they found there.

Meanwhile, Joshua forced the enemy to fight at close quarters, defeated them, and drove them back toward the city. They thought the city was untouched, but when they saw that it had been captured and burned, with their wives and children inside, they scattered across the fields. They could no longer defend themselves, since no one was left to support them.

A great number of children, women, and servants were taken, along with a vast quantity of goods. The Hebrews also captured herds of cattle and a large amount of money, for the country was rich. When Joshua returned to Gilgal, he divided all the spoil among his soldiers.

The Gibeonites lived close to Jerusalem. When they saw what had happened to the people of Jericho and Ai, they feared the same disaster would soon reach them. They did not ask Joshua for mercy, because they believed he would show them little compassion. He had come to make war and destroy the Canaanite nations. Instead, they asked the people of Cephirah and Kiriath-jearim, their neighbors, to join an alliance with them. They said that none of them could escape danger if the Israelites came against them and seized their cities. Once their neighbors agreed, they resolved to find a way to evade the Israelite army.

The allies sent ambassadors to Joshua to ask for a treaty of friendship. They chose men respected by their people and capable of acting in the community's best interests. The ambassadors feared that if they admitted they were Canaanites, Joshua would refuse them. So they planned to claim that they had no connection to the Canaanites and lived far away. They said they had traveled a great distance because they had heard of Joshua's virtue. As proof, they showed him their worn clothing, explaining that their garments had been new when they set out but had grown ragged during the long journey. In truth, they had taken torn clothes with them to make their story believable.

The ambassadors stood before the people and said they had been sent by the Gibeonites and the nearby cities, which they claimed were far from Canaan. They asked for a treaty of friendship on the same terms their ancestors had made with other nations. They said they had heard that, by God's favor and gift, the Israelites would take possession of Canaan, and they were glad of it. They asked to be accepted among the Israelites. After showing the signs of their supposed journey, they begged the Hebrews to make peace with them.

Joshua believed that they were not Canaanites and agreed to the treaty. Eleazar the high priest and the senate swore that they would treat the ambassadors as friends and allies and would do them no wrong. The people also approved the oaths. Having gained what they wanted through deception, the ambassadors returned home.

Later, when Joshua led his army into the land below the mountains of Canaan, he learned that the Gibeonites lived near Jerusalem and were Canaanites. He summoned their leaders and accused them of deceiving him. They answered that they had acted out of necessity, since it was the only way they could save themselves. Joshua then consulted Eleazar and the senate. They decided to make the Gibeonites public servants rather than break the oath they had sworn. That was how the Gibeonites found safety from the disaster that had threatened them.

The king of Jerusalem was angry that the Gibeonites had joined Joshua. He called on the kings of the neighboring nations to unite and make war against them. When the Gibeonites saw that four kings, along with the king of Jerusalem, had camped near a spring outside their city and were preparing to besiege it, they called on Joshua for help. They expected the Canaanites to destroy them, but trusted that the Israelites, who had come to destroy the Canaanites, would save them because of their treaty.

Joshua hurried to their aid with his whole army. After marching day and night, he attacked the enemy at dawn, as they were advancing to besiege the city. He defeated them, then pursued them down the hills. The place was called Beth-horon. There, Joshua saw that God was helping him through thunder and lightning, and by sending hailstones larger than usual. The day was also lengthened so night would not come too soon and hinder the Hebrews from pursuing their enemies. Joshua captured the kings, who had hidden in a cave at Makkedah, and put them to death. The books kept in the temple record that the day was lengthened and lasted longer than usual.

After defeating the kings who had made war against the Gibeonites, Joshua returned to the mountains of Canaan. He slaughtered many of the people there, took their goods, and returned to the camp at Gilgal. News of the Hebrews' courage spread among the neighboring peoples. Those who heard how many men had been killed were terrified.

The kings who lived near Mount Libanus, along with the Canaanites of the plains and allies from the land of the Philistines, gathered at Beroth, a city in Upper Galilee near Cadesh, which is also in Galilee. Their army numbered three hundred thousand foot soldiers, ten thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand chariots. The great size of the army frightened Joshua and the Israelites. Instead of expecting victory, they were overcome by fear.

God rebuked them for their terror and asked whether they wanted help greater than the help he could give them. He promised that they would defeat their enemies and ordered them to cripple the horses and burn the chariots. Encouraged by God's promise, Joshua set out against the enemy without delay. After marching for five days, he attacked them. The battle was fierce, and the number of the slain was so great that those who heard of it could hardly believe it. Joshua pursued the enemy a long way and destroyed nearly the entire army. All the kings fell in battle. When there were no more men to kill, Joshua had the horses disabled and the chariots burned. He traveled throughout the enemy's country without opposition, since no one dared to face him in battle. He continued to take their cities by siege and kill those he captured.

The fifth year had passed, and none of the Canaanites remained except for those who had withdrawn to strongly fortified places. Joshua moved his camp into the hill country and set up the tabernacle at Shiloh, a place he considered well suited to it because of its beautiful setting. The tabernacle remained there until circumstances allowed the people to build a temple.

From Shiloh, Joshua went with all the people to Shechem. There they built an altar, as Moses had directed. Joshua divided the army, placing half on Mount Gerizim and the other half on Mount Ebal, where the altar stood. He also stationed the tribe of Levi and the priests there. After they had offered sacrifices and pronounced the blessings and curses, which they had also engraved on the altar, they returned to Shiloh.

Joshua was now old. He saw that the Canaanite cities would be difficult to capture, both because of their strong positions and because of their massive walls. Their defenses seemed able to keep enemies from laying siege and to make any attempt to take them seem hopeless. When the Canaanites learned that the Israelites had come out of Egypt to destroy them, they had spent that time strengthening their cities.

Joshua called the people together at Shiloh. When they arrived with great eagerness, he reminded them of the victories they had won and the great deeds God had enabled them to perform. These deeds were worthy both of God and of the laws they followed. He pointed out that thirty-one kings had been defeated, along with every army that had trusted in its own strength and gone to war against them. Not one of those armies had survived.

Some cities had already been captured, while others would require long sieges because of their walls and the confidence those walls gave their inhabitants. Joshua therefore thought it right to dismiss the tribes who had come from across the Jordan. They were their own kinsmen and had shared the dangers of the campaign, so they deserved to return home with thanks for their service. He also proposed that each tribe send one man, chosen for his exceptional character, to survey the land. These men would measure it honestly and report its true size.

The people approved Joshua's proposal. He sent out ten men to survey the land, along with skilled surveyors who could measure it accurately. He instructed them to assess both the most fertile parts and the less productive areas. The land of Canaan had wide plains that were very good for growing crops. Yet compared with other parts of the country, some of these plains could seem extraordinarily fertile; compared with the fields around Jericho and Jerusalem, they might seem poor.

Although the people received only a small amount of this kind of land and most of their territory was mountainous, its goodness and beauty made it equal to other regions. For this reason, Joshua believed that the tribes should receive land according to its quality rather than its size. In some places, one acre could be worth as much as a thousand acres elsewhere. The ten men traveled through the country, assessed the land, and returned to Joshua in the seventh month at Shiloh, where the tabernacle had been set up.

Joshua then gathered Eleazar, the senate, and the tribal leaders, and divided the land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He assigned each tribe an area suited to its size.

Judah received the upper part of Judea, extending as far as Jerusalem, with its breadth reaching to the Lake of Sodom. Its territory included the cities of Askelon and Gaza. Simeon, whose lot was drawn second, received the part of Idumea bordering Egypt and Arabia.

The lot of Benjamin extended from the Jordan River to the sea, with Jerusalem and Bethel as its borders. It was the smallest territory, because of the quality of its land, and included Jericho and Jerusalem.

Ephraim received land stretching from the Jordan River to Gezer, and from Bethel to the Great Plain. The half-tribe of Manasseh received the land from the Jordan to the city of Dora, with Bethsham, now called Scythopolis, as its boundary in breadth.

Issachar's territory extended to Mount Carmel and the river, with Mount Tabor as its other boundary. Zebulon received the land reaching to the Lake of Genesareth, as well as the region belonging to Carmel and the sea. Asher received the Valley and all the land opposite Sidon. The city of Arce, also called Actipus, fell within its share.

Naphtali received the eastern region, extending to the city of Damascus and Upper Galilee, as far as Mount Libanus and the springs of the Jordan River, which rise from that mountain. This included the part of the mountain whose boundaries belonged to the neighboring city of Arce.

Dan's territory included the western part of the valley, bounded by Azotus and Dora. The tribe also received Jamnia and Gath, and the land from Ekron to the mountain where Judah's territory began.

In this way Joshua divided the land of the six nations descended from Canaan among the nine and a half tribes. Moses had already assigned the land of the Amorites, also named after one of Canaan's sons, to the two and a half tribes, as we have explained. The regions around Sidon, along with the lands of the Arkites, Amathites, and Aradians, had not yet been formally assigned.

Joshua's age kept him from carrying out all that he had planned. Those who governed after him also gave little thought to the public good. So Joshua charged each tribe to leave no Canaanites in the territory assigned to it by lot. Moses had already warned them that their safety and their obedience to their own laws depended entirely on carrying out this command.

Joshua also ordered them to give thirty-eight cities to the Levites, since they had already received ten in the land of the Amorites. Three of these cities were to be places of refuge for people who had killed someone unintentionally. Joshua was careful to fulfill every command Moses had given. The three cities were Hebron in Judah, Shechem in Ephraim, and Cadesh in Naphtali, in Upper Galilee.

Joshua also divided the remaining spoils, which were still abundant. The people and each person in particular received great wealth, including gold, clothing, other goods, and countless animals.

When all this was done, Joshua called the army together. He spoke to the tribes who had settled in the land of the Amorites beyond the Jordan. Fifty thousand of their men had armed themselves and gone to war with the others.

"God, the Father and Lord of the Hebrew nation, has given us this land to possess and promised to preserve it for us forever. You willingly came to our aid whenever we needed you, as he commanded. Now that our troubles are over, it is only right that you be allowed to rest. We should not keep asking for your help, so that we do not weary you and make you less ready to assist us if another need arises.

"We thank you for the dangers you faced with us, and we will always be grateful. Remember us as friends, and remember the help we have received from you. You gave up your own comfort for our sake and worked with us to gain what God has now granted us. You chose not to enjoy your own prosperity until you had first helped us. By joining your labor to ours, you have also gained great wealth. You will return home with much spoil, including gold and silver. More valuable still is our goodwill and our willingness to repay your kindness whenever you ask.

"You have followed everything Moses commanded you to do. You did not disregard him after his death, so nothing lessens our gratitude to you. We now send you back to your own lands with joy. Do not think there is any limit to the close bond between us. The river that lies between us does not make you a different people or separate you from the Hebrews. We are all descendants of Abraham, both those who live here and those who live there. We worship the same God, and we must all care for the form of government he established and obey his laws. As long as you keep those laws, God will show you mercy and help you. But if you follow the other nations and abandon them, he will reject your people."

After speaking, Joshua greeted the leaders one by one and the people as a whole. He remained where he was, while the people accompanied the tribes on their journey. Many wept, and they found it hard to part from one another.

When the tribes of Reuben and Gad, along with those of Manasseh who had joined them, crossed the Jordan, they built an altar on its banks. They intended it as a memorial for future generations and as a sign of their kinship with those who lived on the other side.

When the people across the river heard that the departing tribes had built an altar, they did not know why it had been built. They assumed it was an act of rebellion and an attempt to introduce foreign gods. They believed the report that the altar had been made for worship and armed themselves, ready to cross the river and punish those who had broken the laws of their people. They did not think kinship or the rank of those involved mattered. They believed they had to follow God's will and worship him as he had commanded.

Joshua, Eleazar the high priest, and the senate held them back. They persuaded the people to question the other tribes first and to go to war only if they learned that the tribes had acted wrongly. So they sent Phineas, son of Eleazar, with ten respected Hebrews to find out why the altar had been built on the riverbank.

When the messengers crossed the river and arrived, the people gathered. Phineas stood and spoke:

"You have committed a grave offense, one that words alone may not be enough to punish or prevent from happening again. Yet we have not judged the seriousness of your act by taking up arms against you at once. Because you are our kin, and because you may still be turned back to what is right, we sent an embassy to you. We want to learn the true reason you built this altar. If you had a just reason, we would have been wrong to attack you. If the accusation is true, then we will have good cause to punish you.

"We can hardly believe that you, who know God's will and have heard the laws he gave us, would now forget him because you are separated from us and have gone to the land you received by lot through God's grace and care. We can hardly believe you would abandon the ark and the altar that belong to us all, introduce foreign gods, and follow the evil practices of the Canaanites.

"If you repent now and go no further in this folly, this offense may yet be forgiven. Show proper respect for the laws of our people and keep them in mind. But if you continue in your wrongdoing, we will spare no effort to defend our laws. We will cross the Jordan to defend them and to defend God. We will treat you as we treated the Canaanites and destroy you in the same way. Do not imagine that crossing the river has taken you beyond God's power. You live in his land, and no one can escape his power or the punishment he brings.

"If you think living here will keep you from doing what is right, we can divide the land again and leave this territory as pasture for sheep. But you should return to your duty and abandon these new offenses. For the sake of your children and wives, do not force us to punish you. Decide what to do with your own safety and the safety of those you love in mind. It is better to be persuaded by words than to persist and face war."

After Phineas finished speaking, the leaders and the people began to defend themselves against the accusation. They said they had no intention of breaking their bond with the other tribes, and that they had built the altar for no new religious practice. They worshiped the same God as all the Hebrews and would offer sacrifices only at the bronze altar before the tabernacle.

"As for the altar that has caused you to suspect us," they said, "we did not build it for worship. We built it as a lasting sign of our kinship with you, and as a reminder that we must act wisely and obey our laws. It is not meant to give us a reason to break those laws, as you fear. Let God himself be our witness that this was why we built it. We ask you to think better of us and not accuse any descendants of Abraham of an act that would deserve destruction, such as introducing new rites and customs unlike those we have always followed."

Phineas approved their answer and returned to Joshua to report what they had said. Joshua was glad he did not have to draw up his forces or lead them into battle against their own kin. He offered sacrifices of thanks to God. Then he dismissed the great assembly and sent the people back to their homes. Joshua himself remained at Shechem.

Twenty years later, when he was very old, Joshua summoned the most respected men from the cities, the officials, the senate, and as many of the common people as could come. When they gathered, he reminded them of all the good things God had done for them. They had risen from a lowly condition to great honor and prosperity. Joshua urged them to remember how favorably God had treated them and told them that God would remain their friend only if they remained faithful to him. Since he was about to die, he said, it was right for him to leave them this warning. He asked them to keep his words in mind.

After speaking to them, Joshua died at the age of 110. He had spent forty years with Moses, learning what would help him later. After Moses' death, he led the people for twenty-five years. Joshua had great wisdom and spoke clearly to the people. He was brave and steadfast in action and in danger, wise in securing peace for the people, and virtuous in every fitting circumstance. He was buried at Timnah, in the territory of Ephraim.

Around the same time, Eleazar the high priest died. His son Phineas succeeded him as high priest. Eleazar's monument and tomb were in the city of Gabatha.

CHAPTER 2

After Joshua's Death, the Israelites Break Their Laws and Suffer Great Afflictions. A Civil War Follows, and the Tribe of Benjamin Is Nearly Destroyed

After Joshua and Eleazar died, Phinehas prophesied that, by God's will, the tribe of Judah should take charge of the government and destroy the Canaanites. At that time, the people were eager to learn God's will. They joined with the tribe of Simeon, on the condition that Simeon would help Judah destroy its enemies, and Judah would do the same for Simeon.

The Canaanites were then prosperous and gathered a large army at the city of Bezek. They had placed Adonibezek in command. His name means "Lord of Bezek," since "Adoni" means "lord" in Hebrew. The Canaanites expected to defeat the Israelites now that Joshua was dead. But when the two Israelite tribes joined battle with them, they fought bravely, killed more than ten thousand, and drove the rest into flight.

As the Israelites pursued them, they captured Adonibezek. They cut off his fingers and toes, and he said, "I see now that I could not hide from God forever. I once did the same to seventy-two kings, and now I suffer for it." They took him alive to Jerusalem. When he died, they buried him and continued capturing the cities.

After taking most of them, they laid siege to Jerusalem. They captured the lower city, which had resisted for a long time, and killed all its inhabitants. But the upper city was difficult to take because of its strong walls and its position.

The Israelites then moved their camp to Hebron. When they captured the city, they killed all its inhabitants. Some of the giants still lived there. Their bodies were enormous, and their appearance was so unlike that of other men that they amazed the eye and terrified anyone who heard them. Their bones are still shown to this day, and they are unlike those of any other men known to us.

The Israelites gave the city and the surrounding land to the Levites as a special reward, along with the suburbs of two thousand cities. They gave the rest of the land to Caleb as a free gift, as Moses had commanded. Caleb had been one of the spies Moses sent into Canaan.

They also gave land to the descendants of Jethro, the Midianite and Moses' father-in-law. Jethro's people had left their own country, followed the Israelites, and traveled with them in the wilderness.

The tribes of Judah and Simeon captured the cities in the hill country of Canaan, as well as Ashkelon and Ashdod, which lay near the sea. But they failed to take Gaza and Ekron. Those cities stood on flat ground and had many chariots, which inflicted heavy losses on their attackers.

After growing rich from the war, the two tribes returned to their own cities and put aside their weapons.

The Benjamites, whose territory included Jerusalem, allowed its inhabitants to pay tribute. Both sides then stopped fighting: the Israelites no longer killed the Canaanites, and the Canaanites no longer risked battle. They had time to work the land.

The other tribes followed Benjamin's example. Content with the tribute they received, they let the Canaanites live in peace.

The tribe of Ephraim besieged Bethel, but made no progress despite all the time and effort they spent there. Still, they kept up the siege, though it caused them great hardship.

After some time, they captured one of the city's inhabitants who had come out to buy supplies. They promised to spare him and his family if he handed the city over to them. He agreed, and the Israelites took Bethel. They spared the man and his family, killed the rest of the inhabitants, and kept the city for themselves.

After this, the Israelites grew unwilling to fight their enemies. Instead, they devoted themselves to farming, which brought them plenty and wealth. They neglected the proper arrangement of their settlements and gave themselves over to luxury and pleasure. They also stopped paying attention to the laws that governed their nation.

God became angry with them. First, he reminded them that they had spared the Canaanites against his command. Then he warned them that, whenever the chance arose, the Canaanites would treat them cruelly. The Israelites grieved at God's warnings, but remained unwilling to go to war. They received large tributes from the Canaanites and, weakened by their comfortable lives, had no desire to work or fight.

Their political order also fell into decay. They appointed neither a senate nor the other magistrates required by their laws. Instead, they devoted themselves to farming so they could grow wealthy. Their idleness led to a terrible civil conflict, and they eventually fought one another. It began in this way:

A Levite of humble family, from the tribe of Ephraim, lived in that territory. He married a woman from Bethlehem, a town in the territory of Judah. He was deeply attached to her and captivated by her beauty, but she did not return his affection. Her coldness only increased his passion, and they quarreled constantly.

At last, the woman grew so tired of their disputes that she left him and returned to her parents in the fourth month. Her husband was distressed by her departure. Because he loved her, he went to his parents-in-law, settled their dispute, and reconciled with her. Her parents treated him kindly, and he stayed with them for four days.

On the fifth day, he decided to go home. He left in the evening, since his wife's parents were reluctant to part with their daughter and had delayed him until the day was nearly over. A servant went with them, and the woman rode on a donkey.

When they had traveled about thirty furlongs and were near Jerusalem, the servant advised them to stop and spend the night somewhere. He feared that traveling after dark might bring trouble, especially since they were near enemies. Even among friends, he said, the night could give cause for suspicion and danger.

The husband rejected his advice. He did not want to stay among strangers in a city inhabited by Canaanites. He preferred to travel another twenty furlongs and lodge in an Israelite city. He got his way, and they reached Gibeah, a town in the territory of Benjamin, just as night fell.

No one in the marketplace invited them to stay. But an old man came in from the fields. Though he belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, he lived in Gibeah. He met the travelers and asked who they were, why they had arrived so late, and why they were looking for food after dark.

The Levite replied that he was taking his wife home from her parents' house and that he lived in Ephraim. The old man took him in, both because they belonged to the same tribe and because they had met by chance.

Some young men of Gibeah had seen the woman in the marketplace and admired her beauty. When they learned that she was staying at the old man's house, they came to the door, thinking the old man's household was too small and weak to resist them. The old man told them to leave and not to commit any violence or abuse there.

They demanded that he hand over the stranger, promising to do him no harm. The old man reminded them that the Levite was his relative and that they would commit a terrible sin if they gave in to their desires and broke the law. They scorned his warning and threatened to kill him if he stood in their way.

The old man was in great distress. He did not want to abandon his guests or let them suffer abuse, so he offered the young men his own daughter. He argued that violating her would be a lesser breach of the law than abusing his guests, and hoped this would keep them from harming the Levite and his wife.

But the young men would not give up their demand for the woman. They insisted on having her and then seized her by force. They took her to their house and abused her through the night. At daybreak, they let her go.

The woman returned to the place where she had been staying, overwhelmed by what had happened. She was so ashamed and sorrowful that she could not bring herself to face her husband. She fell down and died.

Her husband thought she had fallen asleep. Believing that nothing worse had happened, he tried to wake her, intending to comfort her. He knew she had not willingly given herself to the men, but had been dragged away by force. When he saw that she was dead, he did what he could in the midst of his grief. He placed her body on the donkey and carried it home. There he cut it into twelve pieces and sent one piece to each tribe. He told those who carried the pieces to explain that the men of Gibeah had caused his wife's death and had committed violence against her.

The people were horrified by what they saw and heard. Nothing like it had happened before. In great and just anger, they gathered at Shiloh before the tabernacle and resolved to take up arms against the people of Gibeah.

But the senate stopped them. They persuaded the people not to rush into war against their own nation before first questioning the accused. Their law required them to send a message even to foreigners accused of wrongdoing, to learn whether they would repent before bringing an army against them.

The senate urged the people to obey the law. They should ask the inhabitants of Gibeah to hand over the offenders. If they did so, the people should be satisfied with punishing the guilty men. If they refused, the Israelites could take up arms against them.

The Israelites sent a message to Gibeah, accused the young men of the crimes committed against the Levite's wife, and demanded that the offenders be handed over for punishment. The inhabitants of Gibeah refused. They thought it would be shameful to give in to another tribe's demand out of fear of war. They boasted that they were equal to any people in numbers and courage.

The rest of the tribe of Benjamin also prepared for war. In their arrogance, they decided to meet force with force.

When the Israelites heard what Gibeah's inhabitants had decided, they swore that none of them would give a daughter in marriage to a Benjamite. They vowed to wage war against Benjamin with greater fury than their ancestors had shown against the Canaanites.

They quickly sent an army of four hundred thousand men against Benjamin. The Benjamite army numbered twenty-five thousand six hundred, including five hundred skilled left-handed slingers who could hit their targets with stones.

When the armies met at Gibeah, the Benjamites defeated the Israelites. Two thousand Israelites were killed, and more might have died if nightfall had not stopped the battle. The Benjamites returned to the city in triumph, while the Israelites went back to their camp in fear.

The next day, the armies fought again, and the Benjamites won another victory. Eighteen thousand Israelites were killed, and the rest fled their camp, fearing an even greater slaughter.

The Israelites went to nearby Bethel and fasted the next day. Through Phinehas the high priest, they begged God to end his anger against them, accept the two defeats as enough, and grant them victory over their enemies. God promised through Phinehas that he would do so.

The Israelites divided their army into two groups. During the night, they placed one group in ambush near Gibeah. The other group attacked the Benjamites. When the Benjamites came out to meet them, the Israelites began to retreat slowly, hoping to draw the enemy far from the city.

The Benjamites pursued them. The old men and young men left in the city, too weak to fight, also rushed out with the others, eager to help defeat their enemies.

When the Benjamites were far from the city, the Israelites stopped retreating and turned to fight. They raised the agreed signal to those lying in ambush. The hidden troops rose with a great shout and fell upon the Benjamites.

The Benjamites realized they had been tricked, but they did not know what to do. The Israelites drove them into a hollow in the valley and surrounded them, shooting at them until all but six hundred had been killed. Those six hundred formed a tight group, forced their way through the enemy ranks, and fled to the nearby mountains, where they took refuge. About twenty-five thousand of the Benjamites were killed.

The Israelites burned Gibeah and killed its women and underage males. They did the same in the other Benjamite cities. Their anger was so great that they sent twelve thousand soldiers to destroy Jabesh-gilead because it had not joined them in the war against Benjamin. The soldiers killed its fighting men, women, and children, sparing only four hundred young women. The Israelites were enraged not only because of the Levite's wife's suffering, but also because their own soldiers had been killed.

Later, the Israelites regretted the disaster they had brought upon Benjamin. They held a fast, though they believed the Benjamites had deserved punishment for breaking the law. They recalled the six hundred survivors through messengers. The men had taken refuge on a rock called Rimmon, in the wilderness.

The messengers mourned both the destruction of Benjamin and the loss of their own relatives. They urged the survivors to accept what had happened and return to their people. They said, "We give you the whole land of Benjamin, and as much plunder as you can carry."

The survivors sorrowfully admitted that the disaster had come by God's decree and that their own wickedness had brought it upon them. They agreed to return to their tribe.

The Israelites gave them the four hundred young women from Jabesh-gilead as wives. But two hundred men still needed wives, and the Israelites discussed how they could provide them with wives and allow them to have children. Before the war, the Israelites had sworn that none of them would give a daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.

Some advised them to disregard the oath. They said it had been sworn in anger, without careful thought, and that saving an entire tribe from extinction would not be an offense against God. They argued that breaking an oath was dangerous when done with evil intent, but not when necessity required it.

The senate feared even the mention of breaking an oath. Then one man said he knew how to find wives for the Benjamites while keeping the oath. When they asked him to explain, he said, "Three times a year, when we gather at Shiloh, our wives and daughters come with us. Let the Benjamites hide nearby and carry off any women they can catch, while we neither encourage them nor stop them. If the women's parents complain and ask us to punish the Benjamites, we will tell them that they failed to guard their daughters and brought this upon themselves. They should not be too angry with the Benjamites, since their anger has already gone too far."

The Israelites accepted this plan and decreed that the Benjamites could take wives in this way. When the festival approached, the two hundred Benjamites hid in groups of two or three near the city, in vineyards and other places where they could stay out of sight. The young women came along, dancing and unaware of what was about to happen. The hidden men sprang out and seized them as they passed.

In this way, the Benjamites found wives. They returned to farming and worked to recover their former prosperity. The tribe had nearly been destroyed, but the Israelites' plan saved it. Benjamin soon grew in numbers and regained its share of happiness. This was the end of the war.

CHAPTER 3

How the Israelites Became Wicked After This Misfortune and Served the Assyrians, and How God Delivered Them Through Othniel, Who Ruled for Forty Years

The tribe of Dan suffered as the tribe of Benjamin had suffered. This came about after the Israelites had laid down their weapons and turned their attention to farming. The Canaanites despised them and gathered an army. They did not expect the Israelites to threaten them. Rather, they wanted to be ready to mistreat the Hebrews whenever they pleased and to live more securely in their cities in the years ahead. So they prepared their chariots and gathered their soldiers. Their cities joined together, and they won over Ashkelon and Ekron, which lay within the territory of Judah, along with many other cities in the plain. They forced the Danites into the hills and left them no land in the plain where they could settle.

The Danites could not defeat the Canaanites, and they did not have enough land to support themselves. So they sent five men into the central region to find a place where their tribe could settle. The men traveled as far as the area near Mount Lebanon and the springs of the Lesser Jordan, on the great plain of Sidon, a day's journey from the city. They surveyed the land and found it good and very fertile. When they told their tribe about it, the Danites set out with an army and built a city there. They named it Dan, after Jacob's son and their own tribe.

The Israelites became so idle and unwilling to work that misfortune fell heavily upon them. Their troubles also came in part because they had turned away from the worship of God. Once they had abandoned the order of their government, they began to live as they pleased, until they were filled with the evil practices common among the Canaanites. God was angry with them, and their comfort, won through countless hardships, was lost through their indulgence.

When Chushan, king of the Assyrians, made war against them, the Israelites lost many soldiers in battle. The enemy laid siege to them and took them by force. Some, overcome by fear, surrendered willingly. The tribute imposed on them was more than they could bear, yet they paid it and endured every kind of oppression for eight years. After that, they were freed in this way:

A man named Othniel, son of Kenaz, belonged to the tribe of Judah. He was active and very brave. God instructed him not to abandon the Israelites in their distress, but to act boldly and win their freedom. Othniel found a few people willing to help him in this dangerous task. Some were moved by shame over their condition, while others hoped to change it.

First, Othniel destroyed the garrison Chushan had placed over the Israelites. When the people saw that he had succeeded, more joined him. Together they fought the Assyrians, drove them out, and forced them across the Euphrates. Because Othniel had proved his courage, the people gave him authority to judge them. He ruled for forty years, then died.

CHAPTER 4

How the Israelites Served the Moabites for Eighteen Years, and How Ehud Delivered Them from Slavery and Ruled for Eighty Years

After Othniel died, the Israelites fell into disorder again. They failed to give God the honor due to him and refused to obey his laws. Their troubles grew until Eglon, king of the Moabites, despised them for the disorder in their government. He made war against them, defeated them in several battles, forced their bravest men to surrender, and subdued their army. Then he ordered them to pay tribute.

Eglon built a royal residence for himself at Jericho, and did everything he could to oppress the Israelites. For eighteen years, he kept them in poverty. At last, God took pity on them because of their suffering and heard their prayers. He freed them from Moabite rule in the following way:

A young man named Ehud, son of Gera, belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. He was bold, courageous, and strong, and could endure hard labor. He was especially skilled with his left hand, where his strength lay. He also lived at Jericho.

Ehud won Eglon's favor by bringing him gifts, and he gained the king's trust. The people around Eglon also came to like him. One day, Ehud went to bring gifts to the king with two servants. He secretly strapped a dagger to his right thigh and went in to see him.

It was summer, and the visit took place in the middle of the day. Because of the heat and the meal, the guards weren't keeping close watch. After presenting his gifts, Ehud spoke with the king in a small, cool room. They were alone because Eglon had sent away his attendants, wanting to talk with Ehud.

The king sat on his throne. Ehud feared he might miss his chance or fail to strike a fatal blow. So he stood and told Eglon that he had a message from God. The king rose eagerly to hear it. Then Ehud struck him in the heart, left the dagger in his body, and went out, closing the door behind him. The king's servants stayed outside, thinking Eglon had settled down to sleep.

Ehud secretly told the people of Jericho what he had done and urged them to win back their freedom. They gladly followed him and took up their weapons. They sent messengers throughout the land to sound ram's horns, which the Israelites used to gather the people.

For a long time, Eglon's attendants didn't know what had happened to him. Toward evening, they feared something unusual had occurred and entered the room. When they found the king dead, they were thrown into confusion and didn't know what to do. Before the guards could assemble, the Israelites attacked. Some Moabites were killed at once, while others fled toward their own land.

More than ten thousand Moabites were there. The Israelites seized the fords of the Jordan and pursued them, killing many at the river crossing. Not one escaped. In this way, the Hebrews freed themselves from Moabite rule.

For this deed, Ehud was appointed ruler over all the people. He governed for eighty years, then died. He was worthy of praise for more than this act alone. After him, Shamgar, son of Anath, was chosen as ruler, but he died in the first year of his rule.

CHAPTER 5

How the Canaanites Enslaved the Israelites for Twenty Years, and How Barak and Deborah Delivered Them and Ruled for Forty Years

The Israelites had learned nothing from their former troubles. They did not change their ways, worship God, or obey the laws. Before they had enjoyed even a brief respite from their slavery under the Moabites, Jabin, king of the Canaanites, brought them under his power. Jabin ruled from Hazor, a city above Semechonitis. He kept three hundred foot soldiers, ten thousand horsemen, and fewer than three thousand chariots. Sisera commanded his army and held the king's favor. Sisera defeated the Israelites so badly that he forced them to pay tribute.

The Israelites endured this hardship for twenty years, still refusing to learn from their misfortunes. God used their suffering to humble them and show them the cost of their stubbornness and ingratitude. At last, they repented and understood that their troubles came from their contempt for the laws. They begged Deborah, a prophetess among them, to ask God to take pity on them and not abandon them in their ruin at the hands of the Canaanites. In Hebrew, Deborah's name means "bee." God granted them deliverance and chose Barak, of the tribe of Naphtali, to lead them. In Hebrew, Barak means "lightning."

Deborah sent for Barak and told him to gather ten thousand young men to fight the enemy. God had said that this number would be enough, and promised them victory. Barak replied that he would lead the army only if Deborah went with him. She rebuked him: "Barak, you surrender the authority God gave you to a woman, and I will not refuse it!" They gathered ten thousand men and set up camp on Mount Tabor. At the king's command, Sisera met them and camped nearby. The Israelites, including Barak, were so frightened by the size of the enemy's army that they were ready to retreat. Deborah held them back and ordered them to fight that very day. She told them they would win, and that God would help them.

The battle began, and as the armies came to close quarters, a great storm swept down from heaven. Heavy rain and hail fell, and the wind drove the rain into the Canaanites' faces, blinding them. Their arrows and slings were useless, and the cold kept them from using their swords. The storm did not trouble the Israelites as much, since it blew at their backs. Believing that God was helping them, they took courage and charged into the enemy's ranks, killing many. Some Canaanites fell to the Israelites, while others were killed by their own frightened horses and chariots. When Sisera saw that he had been defeated, he fled to the tent of Jael, a Kenite woman, and asked her to hide him. He asked for a drink, and she gave him sour milk. He drank too much and fell asleep. While he slept, Jael drove an iron tent peg through his temples and into the ground with a hammer. When Barak arrived soon afterward, she showed him Sisera, pinned to the ground. As Deborah had foretold, a woman won the victory. Barak then fought Jabin at Hazor and killed him. With the king dead, Barak destroyed the city to its foundations. He led the Israelites for forty years.

CHAPTER 6

How the Midianites and Other Nations Defeated the Israelites and Oppressed Their Land for Seven Years, and How Gideon Delivered Them and Ruled for Forty Years

After Barak and Deborah died, around the same time, the Midianites called on the Amalekites and Arabians for help. Together they made war on Israel and overcame those who fought against them. They burned the crops and carried off whatever they could take. After this had gone on for three years, the Israelites left the plains and took refuge in the mountains. They dug hollows and caves where they could hide whatever had escaped their enemies. The Midianites raided at harvest time, but let the Israelites plow in winter. Then, after the Israelites had done the work, the Midianites came and took the crops. Famine and hunger followed, and the Israelites prayed to God, begging him to save them.

Gideon, son of Joash, was one of the leading men of the tribe of Manasseh. He secretly brought in his sheaves of grain and threshed them at a winepress, because he was afraid to thresh them out in the open. At that time, a figure in the form of a young man appeared to him and called him blessed and beloved by God. Gideon replied, "What a sign of God's favor this is, that I have to use a winepress instead of a threshing floor!" The figure urged him to take heart and try to win back Israel's freedom. Gideon answered that he could not do it. His tribe was small, and he was young and of little importance. But the figure promised that God would make up for what Gideon lacked and give Israel victory under his leadership.

When Gideon told some young men what had happened, they believed him, and an army of ten thousand men soon gathered for battle. But God came to Gideon in a dream and told him that people were too proud of themselves and resented those who were more virtuous. God wanted Israel to know that the victory came from him, not from the size or strength of its army. He told Gideon to bring his men to the river at noon, in the heat of the day. Those who knelt and drank from the river were to be counted as brave; those who drank hurriedly were to be counted as afraid of the enemy. Gideon did as God directed. Three hundred men drank hurriedly, scooping up water with their hands. God told him to take these men and attack the enemy. They camped by the Jordan, ready to cross the next day.

Gideon was still afraid, for God had told him that the attack would take place at night. To give him courage, God told him to take one of his soldiers and go near the Midianite camp. There, God said, Gideon would find new courage. Gideon obeyed and took his servant Phurah with him. As they approached one of the tents, they heard two soldiers awake inside. One was telling the other a dream clearly enough for Gideon to hear. He said he had seen a barley cake, so poor that it could hardly be eaten, rolling through the camp and knocking down the king's tent and all the soldiers' tents. The other soldier explained that the dream meant their army would be destroyed. Barley was the lowliest kind of grain, he said, and the Israelites were the lowliest people in Asia. The barley cake must be Gideon and his army. "Since you saw the cake overturn our tents," he said, "I fear God has given Gideon victory over us."

When Gideon heard the dream, he took heart. He told his soldiers what the enemy had dreamed, and they too gained courage and stood ready to obey him. Gideon divided them into three companies of one hundred men each. He led them out during the fourth watch of the night. Each man carried an empty jar and a lit lamp, so the enemy would not see them coming. Each also held a ram's horn in his right hand, which they used instead of trumpets.

The enemy's camp covered a wide area, partly because they had so many camels. People from many nations were gathered there, but they camped together in one great circle. Gideon's men followed his orders. As they drew near, they sounded their ram's horns, smashed their jars, raised their lamps, and shouted, "Victory to Gideon, with God's help!" The Midianites were caught off guard and terrified while they were half asleep in the dark. A few were killed by the Israelites, but most were killed by their own men, who mistook them for enemies because they spoke different languages. In the confusion, the soldiers attacked everyone they saw, believing them all to be foes.

A great slaughter followed. When the Israelites heard of Gideon's victory, they took up their weapons and pursued the enemy. They caught up with them in a valley cut off by rushing streams, which the Midianites could not cross. The Israelites surrounded them and killed them all, including their kings, Oreb and Zeeb. The remaining captains gathered about eighteen thousand soldiers and camped far from the Israelites. Gideon kept up the pursuit with his whole army. He fought them, destroyed the rest of their forces, and captured their leaders, Zeba and Zalmuna. About 120,000 Midianites and their Arab allies were killed in the battle. The Israelites took a great deal of plunder, including gold, silver, clothing, camels, and donkeys. When Gideon returned to his home in Ophrah, he put the Midianite kings to death.

The tribe of Ephraim was angry about Gideon's success and planned to make war against him. They blamed him for not calling them to join the campaign against their enemies. Gideon answered calmly. He said he had not attacked the enemy on his own authority or by his own judgment, but by God's command. He also reminded them that the victory belonged to them as much as it did to the men who had fought in his army. By calming their anger, Gideon did more for the Israelites than he had by defeating their enemies, for he prevented a revolt from breaking out among them. Still, the tribe later suffered for the way it had wronged Gideon, as we will relate in due time.

Gideon wanted to give up the government, but the people persuaded him to remain in charge. He ruled for forty years and settled the people's disputes, and all accepted his judgments. When he died, he was buried in his own land, at Ophrah.

CHAPTER 7

The Judges Who Followed Gideon Waged War Against the Neighboring Nations for Many Years

Gideon had seventy legitimate sons, since he had many wives. He also had an illegitimate son by his concubine, Drumah, named Abimelech. After Gideon's death, Abimelech went to Shechem, where his mother's family lived. He got money from some of his relatives, men known for their many acts of injustice. Then he went to his father's house and killed all his brothers except Jotham, who managed to escape. Abimelech made himself ruler and governed as a tyrant, doing as he pleased instead of obeying the laws. He treated those who upheld justice with great severity.

Some time later, during a public festival at Shechem, the people gathered together. Jotham, whose escape we have already described, climbed Mount Gerizim, which overlooks the city, and called out so the crowd could hear him. He asked them to listen to what he had to say. When they fell silent, he told them that once, when trees could speak, they gathered to choose a king. First, they asked the fig tree to rule them. But the fig tree refused, saying it was content with the honor that came from its fruit and did not want to seek another kind of honor. The trees then offered the kingship to the vine, but it refused as well, using the same reasoning as the fig tree. The olive tree also declined. At last, the trees asked the thornbush, a kind of wood useful for fuel, to rule over them. The thornbush agreed to govern with zeal, but told the trees to take shelter beneath its shade. If they plotted to destroy it, it warned, the fire within it would consume them.

Jotham said his story was no joke. The people had received many blessings from Gideon, yet they had turned away from him and joined Abimelech in killing Gideon's sons. Abimelech, he said, was like a fire himself. After speaking, Jotham left and lived in the mountains for three years, afraid of Abimelech.

Soon after the festival, the people of Shechem regretted killing Gideon's sons and drove Abimelech out of their city and tribe. Abimelech then looked for a way to punish them. During the grape harvest, the people were afraid to leave the city and gather their crops, fearing he would attack them. At that time, a powerful man named Gaal came to live among them with his armed men and relatives. The Shechemites asked him to protect them during the harvest. He agreed, and the people went out to gather their grapes with Gaal and his soldiers leading them. They were able to harvest in safety. Later, as they ate supper in separate groups, they openly cursed Abimelech. The city officials set ambushes around the area, seized many of Abimelech's followers, and killed them.

Zebul, one of Shechem's officials who had welcomed Abimelech, sent messengers to tell him how Gaal had turned the people against him. He urged Abimelech to set an ambush outside the city. Zebul said he would persuade Gaal to come out and fight, leaving Abimelech free to take revenge. Afterward, Zebul would arrange for Gaal to make peace with the city. Abimelech set the ambush and hid with his men.

Gaal was staying in the suburbs and paid little attention to his safety. Zebul was with him. When Gaal saw armed men approaching, he said so to Zebul. Zebul replied that they were only shadows cast by the great stones. But as the men drew closer, Gaal realized they were real and said they were soldiers lying in ambush. Zebul answered, "Didn't you mock Abimelech for being a coward? Show how brave you are, then. Go and fight him." Confused, Gaal went out to battle Abimelech. Some of his men were killed, and he fled back into the city with the rest.

Zebul then turned the people against Gaal, accusing him of cowardice in the fight with Abimelech's soldiers. He persuaded them to drive Gaal out of the city. When Abimelech learned that the Shechemites were again going out to gather grapes, he placed men in ambush near the city. As the people left, one third of his army took control of the gates to keep them from getting back inside. The rest pursued those scattered in the countryside, and people were killed everywhere.

Abimelech destroyed the city down to its foundations, since it could not withstand a siege, and sowed salt over its ruins. Then he led his army on, killing all the people of Shechem. Those who had escaped and scattered through the countryside gathered at a stronghold on a rock and began building a wall around it. When Abimelech learned what they were doing, he hurried there with his army. He and his soldiers piled dry branches around the stronghold. Abimelech carried some himself, urging his men to do the same. Once they had surrounded the rock with branches, they set them on fire and threw in anything else that would burn easily. The flames grew so fierce that no one could escape. Every person inside perished, including the women and children. About fifteen hundred people died, along with many others. This was the disaster that befell the people of Shechem. Their suffering would have seemed even greater if they had not brought such harm upon a man who had served them well, and if they had not regarded their own fate as punishment for what they had done.

Abimelech's destruction of Shechem frightened the Israelites. He began to claim still greater authority and seemed ready to stop at nothing short of complete destruction. He marched against Thebes and took the city by surprise. A great tower stood there, and all the people fled inside. Abimelech prepared to lay siege to it. As he rushed toward the gate, a woman threw a piece of a millstone down on his head, and he fell. He asked his armor-bearer to kill him, so no one would say a woman had killed him. The armor-bearer did as he asked. Abimelech died as punishment for the wickedness he had committed against his brothers and his cruel treatment of the people of Shechem. Jotham's prediction about the people of Shechem had come true. After Abimelech fell, his army scattered, and the soldiers returned to their homes.

Jair the Gileadite, of the tribe of Manasseh, then became ruler. He was fortunate in many ways, especially in his children, who were good men. He had thirty sons, all skilled horsemen, and he entrusted them with the rule of the cities of Gilead. Jair governed for twenty-two years. He died in old age and was buried at Camon, a city of Gilead.

The affairs of the Hebrews now fell into disorder. They showed contempt for God and the laws, and the Ammonites and Philistines despised them. These nations invaded the land with a great army and laid waste the countryside. After taking all of Perea, they grew bold enough to try to seize the rest of the land. The Hebrews, chastened by the hardships they had suffered, prayed to God and offered sacrifices. They begged him not to punish them too severely, but to hear their prayers and turn away his anger. God showed them mercy and was ready to help them.

When the Ammonites invaded Gilead, the people of the region gathered at a mountain, but they had no commander. A man named Jephtha was powerful, both because his father had been a man of standing and because he maintained an army at his own expense. The Israelites sent for him and asked him to lead them. They promised to make him ruler over them for life. Jephtha refused at first. He accused them of abandoning him when his brothers had treated him unjustly and driven him away because he had a different mother. She had been brought into the household through his father's love for her, and his brothers had scorned Jephtha because they thought he could not defend himself. He settled in the land of Gilead and paid wages to all who came to him, no matter where they came from. But when the Israelites kept urging him to accept the leadership and swore they would make him ruler for life, he led them to war.

Jephtha quickly took charge of their affairs and stationed his army at Mizpeh. He sent a message to the king of the Ammonites, accusing him of wrongfully taking their land. The king replied with a claim of his own. He complained that the Israelites had left Egypt and demanded that they give up the land of the Amorites, which he said belonged to his ancestors. Jephtha answered that the king had no right to accuse the Israelites over the land of the Amorites. He should be grateful, Jephtha said, that they had left the land of the Ammonites to its people, even though Moses could have taken that land too. Jephtha would not give up the territory God had granted the Israelites, which they had inhabited for more than three hundred years. He would fight to keep it.

After sending the ambassadors away, Jephtha prayed for victory and vowed to perform sacred rites. If he returned safely, he promised to offer as a sacrifice whichever living creature first came out to meet him. Then he went into battle, won a great victory, and pursued the enemy all the way to the city of Minnith, killing them along the route. He crossed into the land of the Ammonites, defeated many of their cities, took their goods, and freed his people from the oppression they had endured for eighteen years.

On his return, he met with a disaster that seemed out of keeping with his great victory. His daughter, his only child and a virgin, came out to meet him. Jephtha grieved bitterly and blamed her for coming out so eagerly, since he had vowed to sacrifice her to God. His daughter accepted what was to happen. She said she would die because of her father's victory and the freedom of her fellow citizens. She asked only that he let her spend two months mourning her youth with her companions. Jephtha agreed, and when the two months had passed, he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. This sacrifice did not agree with the law or please God. Jephtha failed to consider how people would judge such an act.

The tribe of Ephraim fought against Jephtha because he had not taken them with him on the expedition against the Ammonites. They accused him of keeping the spoils and the glory for himself. Jephtha answered that they knew his own relatives had fought against him, and that the Ephraimites had refused to help when he called on them. They should have come at once, even before he asked. He also accused them of acting unjustly. They had lacked the courage to fight their enemies, yet they were quick to attack their own people. With God's help, he warned, he would punish them unless they changed their minds.

They refused to listen, so Jephtha called out forces from Gilead and fought them. He inflicted a great slaughter. After defeating them, he pursued them and sent part of his army ahead to seize the crossing places of the Jordan. About forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed.

Jephtha ruled for six years. He died and was buried in his homeland, Sebee, in the land of Gilead.

After Jephtha's death, Ibzan became ruler. He belonged to the tribe of Judah and came from Bethlehem. He had sixty children, thirty sons and thirty daughters. He arranged marriages for all his daughters and found wives for his sons. During his seven years in office, he did nothing worth recording or remembering. He died in old age and was buried in his homeland.

After Ibzan died, Helon succeeded him and ruled for ten years. He belonged to the tribe of Zebulun and did nothing remarkable.

Abdon, the son of Hilel, of the tribe of Ephraim, was born in the city of Pyrathon and became ruler after Helon. He is remembered mainly for his children. The country was peaceful and secure at that time, so he performed no great deeds. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, all of whom he left alive. He rode in state with all seventy, who were skilled horsemen. Abdon died in old age and received a splendid burial at Pyrathon.

CHAPTER 8

Samson's Strength and the Harm He Brought upon the Philistines

After Abdon died, the Philistines defeated the Israelites and forced them to pay tribute for forty years. The Israelites were freed from this oppression in the following way.

There was a man named Manoah, a man of such great virtue that few could equal him. He was without question the leading man in his country. His wife was known for her beauty and surpassed the other women of her time. They had no children, and Manoah grieved that he had no heirs. He prayed to God to give them a child of their own to carry on their family. With this hope, he and his wife often went to the suburbs, which lay in the Great Plain.

Manoah loved his wife so much that his affection became excessive, and he was fiercely jealous of her. One day, while she was alone, an angel of God appeared to her. The angel looked like a handsome, tall young man. He told her that, by God's will, she would have a son, a strong and fine child who would bring suffering upon the Philistines when he grew to manhood. The angel also told her not to cut the boy's hair and to avoid every kind of drink other than water, as God had commanded. After delivering this message, the angel left, having come by God's will.

When Manoah came home, his wife told him what the angel had said. She spoke so warmly of the young man's beauty and height that Manoah was overcome with jealousy and suspicion. His wife wanted to calm his unreasonable distress, so she prayed that God would send the angel again, this time where her husband could see him.

God granted her prayer. The angel appeared again in the suburbs while she was alone. She asked him to wait while she fetched Manoah, and he agreed. She went to call her husband. When Manoah saw the angel, he was still troubled by suspicion. He asked the angel to repeat what he had told his wife. The angel replied that it was enough for her to know. Manoah then asked who he was, so that they might thank him and give him a gift when the child was born.

The angel answered that he wanted no gift. He had not brought them news of a son because he lacked anything. Manoah urged him to stay and share their hospitality, but the angel refused. At Manoah's repeated request, however, he agreed to wait while Manoah prepared an offering. Manoah killed a young goat and told his wife to cook it. When the food was ready, the angel instructed him to place the bread and meat on the rock without any dishes. Manoah did so. The angel touched the food with the rod in his hand, and a flame burst out and consumed both the meat and the bread. Then the angel rose into heaven before their eyes, carried upward in the smoke.

Manoah feared that they would die because they had seen God. His wife told him to be calm, since God had appeared to them for their good.

The woman became pregnant and carefully followed the angel's instructions. When her son was born, they named him Samson, a name that means "strong." The child grew quickly, and it soon became clear that he would be a prophet, both because he ate in moderation and because his hair was allowed to grow.

Once, when Samson went with his parents to Timhath, a Philistine city, during a great festival, he fell in love with a young woman from that country. He asked his parents to arrange the marriage, but they refused because she was not an Israelite. Yet God intended to use this marriage for the good of the Hebrews, so Samson persuaded them to arrange it.

As Samson continued to visit the young woman's parents, he came upon a lion. Though he was unarmed, he met the lion's attack, seized it with his hands, and strangled it. Then he threw the animal into a wooded place beside the road.

On another visit to the young woman, Samson found a swarm of bees in the lion's body, where they had made their combs. He took three honeycombs and gave them to her along with his other gifts.

The people of Timhath feared Samson's strength. During the wedding feast, which he hosted for them, they chose thirty of their strongest young men to serve as his companions. They pretended to honor him, but in truth they wanted to keep watch over him so he could not cause trouble.

As they ate, drank, and played, Samson proposed a riddle, as people often did at such gatherings. "If you can solve my riddle within these seven days," he said, "I will give each of you a linen shirt and a garment as a reward for your wisdom."

They were eager to win both the honor and the prize, so they asked him to give the riddle. He said, "A devourer produced sweet food from within itself, though it was unpleasant."

For three days, they couldn't solve it. At last, they pressured the young woman to get the answer from her husband and tell them. They threatened to burn her if she refused. She begged Samson to tell her the answer. At first he refused, but she kept pressing him, wept, and accused him of being unkind because he would not tell her. At last, he told her how he had killed the lion, found the bees in its body, taken three honeycombs, and given them to her.

Samson suspected no deception and revealed everything. She then passed the answer on to the men. On the seventh day, before sunset, they gathered and said, "Nothing is more unpleasant than meeting a lion, and nothing is sweeter than eating honey."

Samson answered, "Nothing is more deceitful than a woman, for she is the one who revealed my answer to you."

He kept his promise and gave them the garments, taking them from Philistines he met on the road at Ashkelon. He then divorced his wife. She paid no heed to his anger and married the companion who had arranged the match.

Samson was so angered by this treatment that he decided to punish the Philistines, as well as his former wife. It was summer, and the crops were nearly ready for harvest. He caught three hundred foxes, tied lit torches to their tails, and released them into the Philistine fields. The crops were destroyed.

When the Philistines learned that Samson had done this, and understood why, they sent their rulers to Timhath. There they burned his former wife and her relatives, whom they blamed for bringing this trouble upon them.

After killing many Philistines in the countryside, Samson went to live at Etam, a strong rock in the territory of Judah. At that time, the Philistines marched against Judah. The people of Judah complained that it was unfair for the Philistines to punish them when they had paid their tribute, all because of Samson's actions.

The Philistines replied that the people of Judah must hand Samson over if they did not want to be blamed. To avoid bringing the Philistines' anger upon themselves, three thousand armed men of Judah went to the rock. They accused Samson of insulting the Philistines, a people powerful enough to bring disaster upon the whole Hebrew nation. They told him they had come to capture him and hand him over, and asked him to submit willingly.

Samson made them swear that they would not harm him, but would only deliver him to his enemies. Once they had sworn this, he came down from the rock and gave himself up to his countrymen. They bound him with two ropes and led him away to hand him over to the Philistines.

When they reached a place now called the Jawbone, named for the great deed Samson performed there, the Philistines, who had camped nearby, came out to meet them with cheers. They thought they had won the victory they wanted. But Samson broke his bonds, picked up the jawbone of a donkey lying at his feet, and attacked them. He killed a thousand men with it and drove the rest into confusion and flight.

After this victory, Samson grew proud and claimed that he had succeeded by his own courage, not with God's help. He boasted that his enemies had fallen or fled because they feared him and his jawbone.

Then he became terribly thirsty. He understood that human strength was nothing on its own, and admitted that everything came from God. He prayed that God would not be angry with him for his boast, or hand him over to his enemies. He asked God to help him in his distress and save him from the danger he faced.

God heard his plea and brought forth a plentiful spring of fresh water from a rock. Samson named the place Jawbone, and it is still called that today.

After this battle, Samson despised the Philistines and went to Gaza, where he stayed at an inn. When the rulers of Gaza heard he was there, they seized the city gates and set men in ambush, hoping to make sure he could not escape unnoticed.

Samson knew of their plan. Around midnight, he went to the gates, pulled them out by force along with their posts, beams, and other wooden parts, and carried them on his shoulders to the mountain above Hebron. There he set them down.

At last, Samson broke the laws of his people and abandoned the way of life he had followed. He took up the customs of foreigners, and this was the beginning of his troubles. He fell in love with Delilah, a Philistine woman who was a prostitute, and lived with her.

The Philistine rulers came to Delilah and, with promises of reward, persuaded her to discover what gave Samson his great strength. While they were drinking and talking, she pretended to admire his deeds and tried to draw the secret from him.

Samson, who had not yet lost his judgment, meant to deceive her. He said that if he were bound with seven fresh bowstrings that could still be bent, he would become as weak as any other man. Delilah said nothing more to him, but told the Philistine rulers and hid some of their soldiers inside the house. When Samson was drunk and asleep, she bound him tightly with the bowstrings. Then she woke him and said that men were coming for him. He broke the bowstrings and tried to defend himself, as if his enemies were already upon him.

During their time together, Delilah kept telling Samson that she was hurt by his refusal to trust her and tell her what she wanted to know. She claimed that he must not care for her if he would not share his secret, even though she would surely keep it for his own good. But Samson fooled her again, telling her that he would lose his strength if he were bound with seven ropes.

When this trick also failed, he told her a third time that his hair would have to be woven into a web. But even after she tried that, she still had not learned the truth.

At last, after Delilah kept pleading with him, Samson wanted to please her. He told her that God watched over him, and that he had been born by God's will. "That is why I let my hair grow," he said. "God commanded me never to cut it, and my strength depends on how long it remains uncut."

Once Delilah learned the secret, she cut his hair and handed him over to his enemies. He no longer had the strength to defend himself. The Philistines put out his eyes, bound him, and led him around among them.

In time, Samson's hair began to grow again. The Philistines held a public festival, and their rulers and leading men gathered to feast. The room where they met had a roof supported by two pillars. They sent for Samson and brought him to the feast so they could mock him as they drank.

Samson considered it a terrible shame to be insulted without being able to take revenge. He persuaded the boy who led him by the hand that he was tired and needed to rest. He asked the boy to take him near the pillars. When he reached them, Samson threw his weight against them and brought the house down. The pillars fell, killing the three thousand people inside, and Samson died with them.

That was the end of Samson, who had ruled Israel for twenty years. He deserves praise for his courage, strength, and greatness of spirit in his final moments. His anger toward his enemies was so great that he was willing to die with them. As for his being trapped by a woman, that came from human nature, which is too weak to resist the temptation of sin. In every other way, he was a man of extraordinary virtue.

His relatives carried away his body and buried him at Sarasat, his home, with the rest of his family.

CHAPTER 9

How, During Eli's Rule Over the Israelites, Booz Married Ruth, Whose Son Obed Became David's Grandfather

After Samson's death, Eli the high priest governed the Israelites. During his rule, a famine struck the land. Elimelech, who lived in Bethlehem, a city in the tribe of Judah, could no longer provide for his family amid such hardship. He took his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Chillon and Mahlon, and moved to Moab.

After his affairs prospered there, Elimelech found Moabite wives for his sons. Chillon married Orpah, and Mahlon married Ruth. But within ten years, Elimelech died, and soon after, both of his sons died as well. Naomi grieved over these losses. The people for whose sake she had left her own country were gone, and she could not bear to remain alone. When she heard that conditions in Judah had improved, she decided to return.

Her daughters-in-law could not bring themselves to leave her. When they said they would go with her, Naomi tried to persuade them to stay. She wished them happier marriages than they had found with her sons, and prosperity in all other things. Since her own prospects were poor, she urged them not to leave their homeland and share in the uncertainty of her return. Orpah stayed behind, but Ruth would not be persuaded. She went with Naomi, prepared to accept whatever fortune awaited her.

When Ruth arrived in Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Booz, a kinsman of Elimelech, welcomed her. When the women of the city called Naomi by her own name, she said, "You would be more right to call me Mara." In Hebrew, Naomi means "happiness," while Mara means "sorrow."

It was harvest time, and Ruth asked Naomi's permission to go gleaning so they could gather grain for food. She happened to enter Booz's field. Some time later, Booz came there and saw her. He asked the servant in charge of the reapers who she was. The servant had already learned about Ruth and told his master her story.

Booz treated her kindly, both because of her devotion to her mother-in-law and because she had been married to his kinsman Mahlon. He wished her well and told her not to glean elsewhere, but to gather as much as she could in his field and take it home. He also instructed the servant in charge of the reapers not to stop her from carrying the grain away. He told him to give her food and drink, just as he did for the reapers.

Ruth saved the grain she received for Naomi. That evening she brought home the ears of grain, while Naomi gave her some of the food their neighbors had generously provided. Ruth told her what Booz had said. When Naomi explained that Booz was their kinsman, and perhaps a devout man who would provide for them, Ruth returned in the following days to glean with Booz's maidservants.

A few days later, after the barley had been winnowed, Booz slept on the threshing floor. When Naomi heard this, she arranged for Ruth to lie down beside him, hoping he would speak with her about their future. Ruth followed her mother-in-law's instructions, for she did not think it right to disobey her. She lay down at Booz's feet while he was fast asleep.

Around midnight, Booz awoke and realized that a woman was lying there. He asked who she was. Ruth told him her name and asked him, as the man who had the right to claim her, to protect her. Booz said no more then. Before the servants began their work in the morning, he woke her and told her to take as much barley as she could carry and return to her mother-in-law before anyone saw that she had lain beside him. He wanted to prevent any accusation, though nothing wrong had taken place.

As for the matter Ruth had raised, Booz told her, "A kinsman closer to you than I am must first be asked whether he will marry you. If he agrees, you must go with him. If he refuses, I will marry you, according to the law."

Ruth told Naomi what Booz had said, and they were glad, hoping he would provide for them. Around noon, Booz went into the city and called the elders together. He sent for Ruth and for the kinsman who was closer to her. When the man arrived, Booz asked him, "Do you hold the inheritance of Elimelech and his sons?" The man admitted that he did and said he had done so lawfully, since he was their nearest kinsman.

Booz replied, "You must follow the law in full. Mahlon's wife has come here, and you must marry her if you wish to keep their fields." The man gave up both the field and the right to marry Ruth. He said that he already had a wife and children, so he could not take on this duty. Booz called the elders to witness the agreement. Then he told the man to remove his shoe and spit in his face, as the law required.

After this was done, Booz married Ruth, and within a year they had a son. Naomi cared for the child as his nurse. At the women's advice, they named him Obed, because he would care for Naomi in her old age. In Hebrew, Obed means "servant." Obed's son was Jesse, and Jesse's son was David, who became king and passed his kingdom on to his descendants for twenty-one generations.

I have included Ruth's story to show the power of God, who can raise people of humble birth to great honor and splendor. David was born to parents of low standing, yet God raised him to the throne.

CHAPTER 10

The Birth of Samuel and His Prophecy of the Disaster That Would Befall Eli's Sons

The Hebrews were in a troubled state, and they went to war against the Philistines once more. The cause was this: Eli, the high priest, had two sons, Hophni and Phineas. They wronged other people, showed no reverence for God, and committed every kind of wickedness. They took some of the offerings given to them because of their honored office, and seized others by force. They also behaved immorally toward the women who came to worship God at the tabernacle. Some they forced to submit to their desires, and others they persuaded with bribes. Their whole way of life was tyrannical. Their father was angry with them for their crimes, and expected God to punish them without delay. The people were also outraged by their conduct. God foretold the disaster that would come upon Eli's sons, both to Eli himself and to Samuel, who was still a child. Eli openly grieved when he learned that his sons were doomed.

I will first tell what happened to the prophet Samuel, then I will speak of Eli's sons and the suffering they brought upon the Hebrew people. Elcanah was a Levite of modest means who lived in Ramathaim, a city in the tribe of Ephraim. He had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Elcanah loved Hannah more, though she was barren. Elcanah went with his wives to Shiloh to offer sacrifice, for the tabernacle of God was there, as I have said before. After the sacrifice, he distributed portions of the meat to his wives and children for the festival. Hannah saw Peninnah's children gathered around their mother and began to weep. She grieved because she had no children and felt alone. Her sorrow overcame her husband's efforts to comfort her, so she went to the tabernacle and prayed that God would give her a child and make her a mother. She also vowed to dedicate the first son she bore to God's service, so that he would not live as other men did. She prayed for a long time. Eli, the high priest, was seated near the tabernacle and told her to leave, thinking she was drunk. But she answered that she had drunk only water and was grieving because she had no children. She had come to ask God for them. Eli then told her to take heart, for God would give her children.

Hannah returned to her husband full of hope and ate with joy. When they went back home, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. They named him Samuel, a name that may be understood to mean "asked of God." They later went to the tabernacle to offer a sacrifice for the child's birth and brought their tithes. Hannah remembered her vow and gave Samuel to Eli, dedicating him to God so that he might become a prophet. Samuel's hair was allowed to grow long, and he drank only water. He lived and was raised at the temple. Hannah later had three daughters and other sons by Elcanah.

When Samuel was twelve years old, he began to prophesy. One night, while he was asleep, God called his name. Samuel thought the high priest had called him, so he went to Eli. Eli said he had not called him. This happened three times. Then Eli understood that God was calling the boy. He said, "Samuel, I was silent before, and I did not call you this time either. It is God who is calling you. Tell him, 'I am here, ready to listen.'" When Samuel heard God's voice again, he asked him to speak and reveal whatever message he wished. Samuel said he would carry out any service God required of him. God answered, "Since you are ready, learn what misery is coming upon the Israelites. It is beyond words to describe and beyond belief. Eli's sons will both die on the same day, and the priesthood will pass to the family of Eleazar. Eli loved his sons more than he loved my worship, and this has brought harm upon them." Eli made Samuel swear to tell him this message, though Samuel had been reluctant to distress him with it. Eli was now certain that his sons would be destroyed. Samuel's fame continued to grow, for everything he prophesied came to pass.

CHAPTER 11

The Defeat of Eli's Sons, the Capture of the Ark, and Eli's Miserable Death

Around this time, the Philistines went to war against the Israelites and camped near the city of Aphek. After waiting there for a short time, they joined battle the next day. The Philistines won, killing more than four thousand Hebrews and driving the rest back to their camp.

Fearing an even greater defeat, the Hebrews sent word to the elders and the high priest. They asked them to bring the Ark of God, believing that its presence would make them stronger than their enemies. They failed to consider that the one who had condemned them to suffer these troubles was greater than the Ark, which they honored for his sake.

The Ark was brought to the camp with the high priest's sons. Their father had warned them that if they survived the Ark's capture, they must never come before him again. Because Eli was so old, he had already given the office of high priest to Phineas.

The Hebrews took heart when the Ark arrived, believing they could now defeat their enemies. The Philistines, too, were alarmed and afraid when they learned that the Ark had come to the Israelite camp. But neither side got the outcome it expected. When the armies met, the Philistines won the victory the Hebrews had hoped for, while the Israelites suffered the defeat the Philistines had feared. The Hebrews soon learned that trusting in the Ark had not saved them. As soon as the fighting began, they were beaten, and about thirty thousand men died, including the high priest's sons. The Philistines also captured the Ark.

News of the defeat and the Ark's capture reached Shiloh by way of a young Benjamite who had fought in the battle. The whole city filled with cries of grief. Eli, the high priest, sat on a high seat beside one of the gates. When he heard the people's mournful cries, he feared that something had happened to his family. He sent for the young man and asked what had taken place.

Eli was not greatly troubled by the news about his sons or the army, since God had already revealed these events to him, and Eli himself had foretold them. Sorrow that comes without warning is the hardest to bear. But when he heard that the Ark had been captured by the enemy, he was overcome with grief, for this was not what he had expected. He fell from his seat and died. He had lived ninety-eight years and had governed Israel for forty years.

Phineas's wife also died that same day, unable to bear the loss of her husband. She was in labor when she heard that he had died. She gave birth to a son after seven months, and the child lived. They named him Icabod, a name meaning "disgrace," because the army had suffered disgrace that day.

Eli was the first from the family of Ithamar, Aaron's other son, to hold the office of high priest. At first, the high priesthood belonged to the family of Eleazar. Eleazar passed it on to his son Phineas, who later gave it to his son Abiezer. Abiezer passed it to his son Bukki, and Bukki to his son Ozi. After Ozi, Eli held the priesthood, and his descendants kept it until the reign of Solomon. Then the descendants of Eleazar took it back.