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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

tected Men'ahem against all other enemies, and the remainder of his reign was passed in tranquillity. His son Pekahíah succeeded, but at the end of two years he was murdered by Pékah, one of his generals, who usurped the throne.

Though Pékah was a wicked and sanguinary prince, yet on account of the sins of A'haz, God permitted him to prevail over the rival kingdom of Judah. In conjunction with Rez'in, king of Damascus, he invaded southern Palestine, and brought away a vast number of captives, who were, however, restored to their country upon the injunction of a prophet of the Lord. But notwithstanding this single act of obedience, the sins of the Israelites continued to increase, and the threatened punishments began to be inflicted. The Assyrian hosts ravaged all the country beyond Jordan; the interior of the kingdom was convulsed by factions, and in the midst of these tumults Pékah was slain by Hoshéa, a general of some reputation.

After nine years of civil war, Hoshéa succeeded in establishing himself upon the throne, but during the interval, the Assyrians under Tiglath-piléser, and his son Shalmanéser, overran the kingdom, and rendered it tributary. As soon as his title was established, Hoshéa became anxious to regain independence, and for this purpose entered into alliance with So or Sab'aco, an Ethiopian prince who had subdued Egypt. Shalmanéser immediately invaded the country, and laid siege to Samária. After a brave resistance of three years, the city was taken by storm, and treated with the most ferocious cruelty by the barbarous conquerors (B. c. 719). Shalmanéser carried the Israelites captives into some distant region beyond the Euphrates, and divided their country among Assyrian colonies. In consequence of the signs by which the Lord's wrath against idolatry was manifested, the new settlers adopted a corrupted form of the true religion. From them, and a portion of the old inhabitants which remained in the land, the Samaritans descended, between whom and the Jews there was always the most bitter national enmity.

SECTION VIL-History of the Kingdom of Judah.

REHOBOAM's kingdom was not so much injured by the revolt of the ten tribes as might be supposed. When idolatry was established by Jeroboam, the priests, the Levites, and a multitude of persons who still adhered to the worship of the true God, emigrated to Judah, where they were received as brethren. Rehoboam introduced the worst abominations of Ammonite idolatry, and the great body of the people participated in his guilt. His guilt was punished by an invasion of the Egyptians: "in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shíshak king of Egypt came up against Jerúsalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, with twelve hundred chariots and threescore thousand horsemen and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lub'ims, the Sukk'iim, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerúsalem." The account here given of Shíshak's power, and of his ruling over the Libyans, the Ethiopians, and the Sukk'iim, or Trogʻlodytæ, is confirmed by the Egyptian monuments, for the sculptures ascribed to him on the walls of Carnak, exhibit him offering to the

deity a great number of captives belonging to different nations. Rehobóam purchased the forbearance of Shishak by the payment of a large ransom. "Shishak took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon made. Instead of which, King Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard that kept the entrance of the king's house."

Abíjah, the son of Rehoboam, soon after his succession, had to defend his kingdom against the usurper of Israel, whose army greatly outnumbered that of Judah. The Lord gave the victory to Judah. This victory greatly depressed the Israelites, and exalted the glory of Judah; but before the king could improve his advantages, he was prematurely cut off by disease.

A'sa, who succeeded his father, was a wise and pious prince. "He took away the altars of the strange gods. . . and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment." He expelled the Egyptians from their recent conquests, and secured his frontiers by a chain of fortresses judiciously placed and strongly garrisoned. His piety was rewarded by Divine protection in the hour of danger. A vast horde of invaders approached the southern boundary of Judea: in the original, these enemies are called Cushím, a word usually rendered Ethiopians. A'sa prayed to the God of his fathers for aid against this enormous host; his prayers were heard. "The Lord smote the Ethiopians before A'sa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled."

A'sa afforded every encouragement to the emigrants from Israel, who fled from the idolatry and wickedness which prevailed in that country. Báasha, who then reigned in Israel, erected a fortress at Rámah to check the emigration, and made such formidable preparations for war, that A'sa, with culpable distrust of the Divine favor, paid a large sum to the king of Syria for support and assistance. When reproved for his crime by the prophet Han'ani, he thrust his honest adviser into prison, and thenceforward became tyrannical and oppressive. Being subsequently attacked by a disease in the feet, "he sought not to the Lord but to the physicians," and died in the prime of manhood.

Jehosh'aphat succeeded his father A'sa, and in the commencement of his reign used the most vigorous exertions to root idolatry from the land. Under this wise administration the kingdom of Judah became so prosperous, that not only the Philistines, but the distant Arabians paid tribute. Unfortunately, he contracted affinity with the wicked A'hab, and gave his son in marriage to Athalíah, the daughter of that monarch, a princess whose character was scarcely less depraved than that of her mother Jez'ebel. In consequence of this unfortunate alliance, Jehosh'apha was present at the disastrous battle of Rámoth-Gil'ead, where A'hab was slain; he was surrounded by the enemy, and would have been killed, had he not " called upon the Lord," who rescued him from his imminent peril. Shortly after his return from the Assyrian campaign, Jehosh'aphat was attacked by the united forces of the Moabites, the Amorites, and the Edomites of Mount Seir. Jehosh'aphat threw himself on the protection of Jehovah, and the Lord sent a spirit of disunion among the invaders, which led them to destroy each other