sword of Goliath, thereby consecrating it to Jehovah, was situated
somewhere on the heights a short distance north of Jerusalem. Beside
the main road, which runs northward, about midway between Jerusalem
and Gibeah, is a level plateau, now known as Ras el-Masherif.^{(89)}
It is about eight hundred yards from east to west and about three
hundred from north to south, and is probably to be identified not
only with the Hebrew Nob, but also with the Scopus of Josephus. It
commands a clear view of Jerusalem. On one side are ancient rock tombs
and cisterns, indicating the presence in earlier times of a small
village. While the identification is not certain, the ancient Nob was
undoubtedly situated not far from this point. Here David stopped as he
fled southward to escape Saul's murderous jealousy. It was here that
he committed one of the great sins of his life, in deceiving the
priests of Nob, thereby sacrificing them to Saul's fury. From Nob
David evidently turned to the southwest to find refuge among the
Canaanite cities in the lowland between Judah and Philistia.
=The Stronghold of Adullam.= Adullam, the stronghold to which he
escaped, is without much doubt to be identified with Id-el-ma, in the
valley of the Wady es-Sur, two or three miles south of the scene of
his victory over Goliath. It is a steep hill, standing out in the
valley, with a well at the foot and caves of moderate size near the
top. It commands the two roads which lead up from Beit-Jibrin, in the
west, and Hebron, to the southeast. From this point it was also
possible to watch the paths that came down from the north and the
northeast. At the same time it was on the border of the Philistine
land, which offered an open asylum to all refugees from the court of
Saul. From Adullam a rough, rocky trail, the difficulties of which
were no barrier to the clansmen and outlaws who gathered about David,
led to Bethlehem, twelve miles away.
=Keilah.= Between three and four miles south of Adullam, in the Wady
es-Sur, lay the important Judean town of Keilah. It is mentioned
several times in the Tell el-Amarna letters and was evidently at this
time the most important southwestern outpost of Judah. Its terraced
slopes are still covered with grain, even as in David's time. These
same fields supplied the grain for the threshing-floors which the
Philistine marauders came to rob. By delivering Keilah, David was able
to proclaim in clearest terms his loyalty to his kinsmen and to win
the devotion of the southern clans.
=Scenes of David's Outlaw Life in Southeastern Judah.= In a walled
city David was in great danger of being captured by Saul. He therefore
fled to the borders of southern Judah. Here pursuit was more difficult
and escape into the rocky wilderness, which extended eastward to the
Dead Sea, was easy. David kept close, however, to the settled
territory. To the south of Hebron lay the second most fertile spot in
all Judah. It was a level plateau, about nine miles long and three
wide, covered with fertile though rocky fields and studded with
prosperous villages. The town of Ziph, which evidently gave its name
to the wilderness to the east where David took refuge, is in the heart
of this plateau. The name of the hill, Hachilah, where, according to
the oldest tradition, David spared the life of the sleeping Saul, is
perhaps still echoed in the name Dhahret el-Kolah, which is given to
the range of hills which runs far out into the wilderness east of
Ziph.^{(90)} South of Ziph are the towns of Carmel and Maon. They are
encircled by fruitful fields and pasture lands. On the borders of
these the Bedouin still encamp and exact their toll of the villagers,
even as David demanded a gift from Nabal in return for the protection
given to his flocks.^{(26)} David's marriage with Abigail, which
followed the death of Nabal, strengthened the loyalty of the southern
tribes and gave him wealth and a settled place of abode; but, as at
Keilah, it exposed him to great danger of capture by Saul.
=David at Gath.= The necessity of providing occupation for the
restless warriors who followed him was probably another reason why
David at last sought refuge among Saul's foes, the Philistines. Gath,
which is probably to be identified with Tell el-Safi, commanded the
point where the Valley of Elah opens into the Philistine Plain. It was
the Philistine city nearest to the scene of David's first great
victory, as well as to Adullam, whither he had first fled. Throughout
the reigns of David and Solomon, Gath figures as the gateway to the
land of the Philistines. Its king, or tyrant, received David readily
and showed him the hospitality that is eagerly accorded in the East to
a fugitive from the court of a rival king. David's rare personal
charm also won this Philistine chieftain, even as it did all with whom
he came in contact. The region about Gath, however, was thickly
settled and presented no field of activity for David's followers.
Hence he was assigned a frontier town and thereby made the guardian of
the Philistine border.
=At Ziklag.= The identification of Ziklag is uncertain. That which
would place it at Zuheilika, nineteen miles southwest from Beit-Jibrin
and eleven southeast from Gaza, is on the whole the most probable. The
ruin lies on three low hills, and it appears to have been a
characteristic border town. From this town David, with his warriors,
was able not only to repel all Bedouin attacks, but also to make
forays upon the desert tribes that wandered in the wilderness far to
the south. It gave Israel's future king and his followers experience
in hard, dangerous warfare and yet allowed him, without arousing the
suspicions of the Philistines, to show his loyalty to his race and
especially to the Hebrew tribes of the south who were most exposed to
these Bedouin robbers.
=Reasons Why the Philistines Invaded Israel in the North.= The
presence of David in their midst, as well as their knowledge of the
growing weakness of Saul's rule, impelled the Philistines to gather
their united forces in another attempt to crush the Hebrew kingdom.
This time they wisely avoided the narrow and easily defended passes
that led into the heart of southern Israel. Instead, they followed the
coast road up across the Plain of Sharon and then cut across possibly
past Megiddo to the eastern side of the Plain of Esdraelon. This
method of approach enabled the Philistines to advance over broad
plains, where opposition was not easy and where their chariots could
pass without difficulty. In this way they separated the Hebrews of the
north from those of the south at the point where the connection
between the different parts of the land of Israel was naturally
weakest. Doubtless their aim was also to keep open to commerce the
great highway that led from Philistia across the Plain of Esdraelon to
Damascus and Babylonia. They apparently took up their position near
Shunem, at the foot of Little Hermon, on the northern side of the
Valley of Jezreel,^{(10)} while the Hebrew army occupied a strong
position on the northern end of the sloping heights of Mount Gilboa.
=Saul's Journey to Endor.= Saul's night journey to consult the medium
of Endor took him across the Plain of Jezreel and up through the wide
valley which leads east of Shunem and Little Hermon to the south of
Mount Tabor. The small village of Endor lay on the northern slopes of
Little Hermon, facing Mount Tabor across the valley.^{(9)} To-day the
crest of the hill is pierced by deep caves, in which the squalid
natives reside.^{(91)} These caves with their dark passages were
well-adapted to the occult arts which still survived, even though Saul
himself had earlier tried to banish them from his kingdom.
=The Battle on Gilboa.= Saul's courage was well illustrated in the
final battle on Gilboa. His position was evidently chosen because the
northern end of Gilboa commanded the valley of Esdraelon as well as
that of Jezreel.^{(11)} To gain control of the highways which led
across these valleys, the Philistines were therefore compelled to
dislodge the Hebrew army and in so doing to fight against great odds.
To make the attack directly on the north from the direction of Shunem
was practically impossible, for at this point the Brook Jalud is so
deep that it is impassable for an army. The rocky hills of Gilboa also
rise very abruptly.^{(10)} The probabilities are that in making the
attack the Philistines marched down the eastern side of the Plain of
Esdraelon and then advanced toward the heights of Gilboa from the
southwest by the sloping terraces that lead gradually to the top. Here
they could also utilize their chariots and preserve their battle
array. By this formidable army the scattered and disheartened forces
that rallied about Saul were quickly defeated. The disaster was
overwhelming; the valiant king and his sons fought desperately, with
no thought of retreat. Thus fell on the heights of Gilboa the man who
laid the foundations of the Hebrew empire, leaving the Philistines in
possession of Northern Israel. The half-Canaanite town of
Bethshean^{(12)} on the Plain of Jezreel appears to have surrendered
at once to the Philistines, for the body of Saul was hung in derision
on its walls soon after the battle. From the heights of Gilead in a
midnight march across the Jordan came the men of Jabesh-Gilead to
capture the body of the fallen king and to bury it within their own
territory, that they might thus repay the large debt which they owed
to their deliverer.
=The Remnant of Saul's Kingdom.= Throughout this earlier period the
east-Jordan tribes were especially loyal to the house of Saul,
probably because of his early act of deliverance as well as his later
wars against their foes in the east. It was natural, therefore, that
the capital of the remnant of his kingdom should be established at
Mahanaim in Gilead. The exact site of this important city of the
east-Jordan has not yet been determined. Probably it was at the ruins
of Mahneh, north of the present city of Ajlun. Others would identify
it with the important later city of Gerasa, the modern Jerash, on a
brook which runs north from the Jabbok. A few biblical references
suggest, however, that it was nearer the Jordan, but among the
highlands to the north of the Jabbok. In any case it was not far from
the modern Mahneh. Here Saul's son, Ishbaal, who succeeded him, was
out of the direct line of Philistine attack and beyond the reach of
the southern Israelite tribes, that had asserted their independence
immediately after the battle of Gilboa.
=Hebron, David's First Capital.= David, their beloved champion, was
naturally the choice of these southern tribes. The way in which he
disposed of the spoils captured from the Amalekites indicates that
beyond doubt, even before the fall of Saul, he was bidding for their
loyalty. Accordingly he was made king at Hebron, then the chief city
of Judah and the South Country. The ancient city lay on the hill to
the northwest of the present town.^{(76)} Its importance depended not
upon its military strength, but upon its central position and the
presence of perennial springs. Two of the ancient pools are still in
use. The one in the northern part of the town is eighty-five feet long
and fifty-five feet wide. The other, lower down the valley, is still
larger, being one hundred and thirty feet square and twenty-eight feet
deep. It is by this largest pool^{(92)} that tradition pictures the
hanging of the murderers of Saul's son, Ishbaal. About a mile north of
the town, a little west of the old highway, is a spring and pool,
called to-day the 'Ain Sarah, which is to be identified without much
doubt with the Well of Sirah, where Joab treacherously slew his rival,
Abner. Through Hebron runs the great highway from central Canaan to
Egypt. From here many less important roads radiate (_cf._ p. 76),
making it the great centre and trading place between Palestine, the
desert, and the countries beyond. About the city are rocky, fertile
fields, and olive and vineyard clad hills. It was, therefore, well
chosen as the capital of the small kingdom of which David was here
made king.
=Fortunes of the Two Hebrew Kingdoms.= David's authority evidently
extended to a point about five miles north of Jerusalem. The city of
Gibeon^{(93)} was on its northern border. This important town was
situated on a height two thousand five hundred and thirty-five feet
above the ocean, a little west of the main northern highway and on the
southern side of the two main roads that led up from the Valley of
Ajalon across the central plateau to the Jordan. Part way down the
regularly rounded hill on which the village stood was a spring,
forming a large pool. Here, in this border town, the warriors of Joab,
David's general and those of Abner fought the fatal duel which was
characteristic of the border warfare of this period. The Bithron, the
ravine through which Abner and his men retired to Mahanaim, was
probably the Wady Ajlun east of the Jordan. The result of the battle
was indicative of the waning power of the house of Saul and of the
growing strength of David. It is also probable that during this period
he was still a vassal of the Philistines and so enjoyed immunity from
their attacks. He was thus able to develop and organize the resources
of his kingdom. On the other hand, the divided northern kingdom was
constantly exposed to attack from the warlike Philistines on the west
and from the Ammonites on the east.
=The Final Struggle with the Philistines.= The assassination of
Ishbaal by his own followers left the northern tribes no deliverer but
David. All his previous training had prepared him for this great task.
His acceptance of the fealty of the northern tribes was equivalent to
a declaration of war against the Philistines. Regarding this important
period, the biblical records are unfortunately incomplete; but from
incidental references it is clear that the Philistines did not yield
their claim to central Palestine without a severe and prolonged
struggle. At one time they were in possession of David's own city,
Bethlehem, and he was obliged again to take refuge in the border
fortress of Adullam. As at the beginning of the war, they appear to
have seized the series of strong fortresses on the northern border of
Judah and thus to have cut off the Hebrews of the north from those of
the south. The Canaanite cities from Gezer to Jebus, which doubtless
acknowledged the Philistine suzerainty, completed the wall of
separation.
=David's Victories.= Strong in the possession of these central cities,
the Philistines evidently invaded Judah directly through its two main
western portals, the valleys of Sorek and of Elah. David was thus
forced to depend for support chiefly upon the tribes of Judah and of
the South Country. The territory in which this guerilla warfare was
fought, and David's experience and skill, gave him in the end a great
advantage. The Philistines were obliged to retire each year to plant
and to reap their fields, and in so doing necessarily lost many of the
advantages which they had gained. Repeated battles were fought and
each time David gained in strength. The two decisive battles were
waged in the Valley of Rephaim,^{(94)} a broad, shallow valley to the
southwest of Jerusalem, from which connecting valleys ran down to
Bethlehem and the south, while the main valley runs westward into the
great Valley of Sorek. On this plain, with its broad, cultivated
fields, the Philistines were able to mass their forces and at the same
time to maintain on the west their connection with the home land. Here
also David was able to rally his followers from the south and in case
of defeat to have a way of escape into the neighboring wilderness of
Judah. On this battle-field the final decisive engagement in Israel's
war of independence was fought, and the Hebrews won a sweeping
victory. As the biblical narrative states, the Philistines were
compelled to abandon their northern garrisons "from Gibeon as far as
Gezer." David at last was free to develop and organize that larger
kingdom which was destined soon to grow into a small empire.
XVII
PALESTINE UNDER THE RULE OF DAVID AND SOLOMON
=Establishment of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital.= David's first act as
king of all Israel was to break down the barrier of Canaanite cities
which separated the north from the south, and then to establish a
capital that would be free from local associations and more central
than his former capital at Hebron. The Jebusite city of Jerusalem
fully satisfied these conditions and was at the same time by nature
much stronger and better fortified than Hebron. The original city of
David apparently included the old Jebusite city on the hill of
Ophel^{(55)} with certain additions, known as Millo, probably running
down into one of the adjacent valleys.^{(95)} Possibly, during the
reigns of David and Solomon, the dwelling-places of the Hebrews began
to climb across the Tyropœon Valley (_cf._ p. 65) and up the western
hill, but there is no evidence that at this early date the western
town was surrounded by a wall and thus incorporated in the City of
David.
=Israel's Natural Boundaries.= With the establishment of the new
capital at Jerusalem and the transference thither of the ark from
Kirjath-jearim, the various Hebrew tribes were brought into a close
political and religious union. The prestige and tactful, conciliatory
policy of David were important factors in bringing about this union.
The process was also hastened by the pressure of outside foes and by
the aggressive policy toward them which David at once initiated. On
the west and north the territory of Israel had reached its natural
bounds. Never again did the Philistines make a determined endeavor to
override the barrier of the western hills and conquer the land of the
Hebrews. The Phœnicians were, by virtue of their position, a
commercial people with no ambitions for military conquest. On the east
and south, however, Israel's natural bounds were the desert. As long
as there were strong nations like the Ammonites and Moabites on the
east, separated from the Hebrews only by artificial bounds, there was
no guarantee of permanent peace. The past history of Palestine had
fully demonstrated this truth and David was not slow in acting in
accordance with it.
=Campaigns Against the Moabites and Ammonites.= The Moabites, who,
during the period of settlement, had pushed forward to the fords of
the Jordan, were apparently the first to be attacked and to become
subject to David. The Ammonites, recognizing the significance of the
new west-Jordan power, assumed the initiative and insulted David's
messengers. To aid them in the conflict they called in certain of the
Aramean princes in the north. After the downfall of the old Hittite
kingdom these Aramean peoples had pressed in from the northeast and
taken possession of the greater part of central and eastern Syria. The
desert highway that ran through the Ammonite capital led northward
through these Aramean states and thus established a close commercial
and political bond between the two peoples. The Arameans, living on
the plains and in close touch with the most advanced civilization of
the Semitic world, were possessed of chariots and all the equipment of
ancient warfare. In these allied forces, therefore, the armies of
David met no mean foes; but in the school of constant and strenuous
warfare he had developed a strong fighting force, and in Joab he
possessed one of the best generals of the age.
=Situation of Rabbath-Ammon.= The decisive battles of this campaign
were fought near or in Rabbath-Ammon. The city was surrounded by
rolling plains, especially on the west, which offered ample
opportunity for the manœuvring of armies. The strength of the city
itself consisted in its huge acropolis, surrounded, like Jerusalem, by
deep valleys. On the north it was connected with the surrounding
hills by a low, narrow neck of rock. At this point were built great
protecting walls and towers. The hill itself consisted of three
terraces rising from east to west, with a main gateway on the south
side. Each of the succeeding terraces was defended by a wall. The
highest area, which included several acres, rose nearly three hundred
feet above the surrounding valleys, and it was, therefore, the largest
and in many ways the strongest natural fortress in all Palestine.
=The Water City.= The Water City,^{(96)} which was first captured by
Joab, was probably in the valley of the Jabbok, which runs along the
southern side of the acropolis. This valley, and that which comes in
from the north along the western side of the acropolis, is the site of
the modern city of Amman. The great Roman city was also built for the
most part in the Valley of the Jabbok, or, as it is now called, the
Wady Amman. Here the waters of the brook, which were carried by
aqueducts along different levels and which were supplemented by
gushing springs, fully justify the name of Water City. Situated in the
valley, it was most exposed to the attack of the Hebrews. When it was
captured, the supply of water and food would be cut off from the
citadel above, so that, as indicated by the biblical narrative, the
fall of the entire city would be the inevitable result of a long
siege.
=Extent of David's Empire.= The conquest of the Ammonites and the
Moabites and the defeat of the Arameans enabled David to extend the
bounds of his empire to the desert. In the northeast it probably never
extended beyond Mount Hermon, which was its natural boundary in that
direction. In the south he fought a decisive battle with the Edomites
in the Valley of Salt, which was probably at the southwestern end of
the Dead Sea near the border line between southern Judah and Edom.
This Arab race, in its difficult mountain fastnesses, was held in
control by means of Hebrew garrisons established throughout the land.
By this means David's southern boundary was extended to the eastern
arm of the Red Sea and the Sinaitic Peninsula, thus attaining in
every direction its natural barriers. In less than one generation, as
a result of the energy, tact, and broad statesmanship of David, the
physical limitations of Palestine were overcome and a strong empire
was established along the southeastern Mediterranean.
=Absalom's Rebellion.= As later events quickly proved, however, the
unity of the Hebrew Empire was chiefly dependent upon the personal
charm and ability of the man who built it up. The discordant elements
were still present and only required an opportunity to break forth
into a flame of civil war. Absalom, inspired by a treasonable
ambition, succeeded in winning away the affections of the southern
tribes and in stirring up the rivalry between the north and the south.
This rivalry was traceable not only to racial differences, but to the
fundamental variations between the physical environment and contour of
Northern and Southern Israel. It was natural that Absalom's rebellion
should be launched in Hebron, the old capital of David's kingdom. In
fleeing from the rebels David aimed to put between himself and them
that great natural barrier, the Jordan valley, which separates
Palestine into its two great divisions. Among the hills and deep
wadies of the land of Gilead he felt most secure. Here he was in the
midst of a prosperous people, intensely loyal to a ruler whose wars
and victories had at last given them immunity from the attack of their
strong foes. This part of Palestine was least swayed by the passions
of the hour and most loyal to its deliverer. Here also David could
rally his followers, without identifying himself with the tribes of
the north, as opposed to those of the south.