and a third in that of Afher. This last is fupposed to be that which is intended here.

4. This king does not seem to have had much more

power than those who are here called princes of the Philistines.

11. This was the place in which the Ifraelites were encamped.

XXX. 1. This advantage they had taken in the ab fence of David.

6. He had given the Amalekites great provocation by his cruelty to them, and he had left the place without a fufficient guard.

8. How clear and intelligable is this anfwer, compard ed with thofe of the heathen oracles.

14. The Cherethites were part of the Philistines. The Arabs, it is faid, now call their country Keritha, The land of Caleb was probably Hebron, where Caleb had his inheritance.

20. Besides recovering what he had loft, he got all their plunder of other places.

22. It is evident from this, that many of David's followers were men of very indifferent characters.

25. A certain part of the spoil was given to thofe who were not engaged in the war with the Midianites, Num. 31; but it was not equal to that of those who were engaged. For fixty thoufand who ftaid at home had no more than the twelve thoufand whe went to fight. But then they who ftayed at home were in no danger; whereas in this cafe had the four hundred been defeated, the two hundred must have been cut off, being una

ble

able to fly. Here too they were prevented from fighting by abfolute inability, occafioned by their exertions... in the fame expedition. Their cafe was, therefore, the fame with that of men wounded and difabled in the fervice.

26. The plunder of this camp must have been very confiderable; and the greater part of it appears to have been at the difpofal of David, By this means he could not fail to make many friends.

27. This feems to have been the fame place that is called Baalath, and Kerjath Baal, Joh. xv. 9.-60. South Rama was in the tribe of Simeon. Jattir was in that of Judah, Josh. xv. 48.

28. This was Aroer beyond Jordan; and as Davidonce fled for refuge to the land of Moab, he might be under fome obligation to the inhabitants of this Aroer, tho' there was another place of the fame name in the tribe of Judah,where alfo the Jerahmeelites lived Ch. xxxii. 10; and where Rachal, and the other places here mentioned, probably were.

Ch. XXXI. 1. The battle was fought in the valley of Jezrael, and the next mountains were those of Gil. boa.

2. Had Jonathan lived, all thofe who adhered to Ifhbofheth would, no doubt, have preferred him to David.

3. The Hebrew may be rendered he was terrified, not actually wounded. Un. Hist.

10. It was customary with the antients to place trophies of their victories in their temples; both as places

of

of fecurity, and by way of acknowledgment of the affiftance of their gods. It is alfo ufual in the Eaft to expose criminals upon hooks faftened in the walls of cities, where they expire in torture. The body of Saul was

probably expofed upon fuch hooks.

12. The inhabitants of this place had been refcued from the most cruel and ignominious treatment by the valour of Saul in the beginning of his reign. It was on the other fide of Jordan, and, therefore, they must have used great expedition in croffing the river. So far, however, they might have come in the day time, and have proceeded to Bethshean in the night.

13. Having burned the body, they buried the bones and afhes that remained,

NOTES

NOTES ON THE SECOND BOOK OF

SAMUEL.

CHAP.

AP. I. 2. This was customary in cafes of deep affliction. Sometimes they carried earth. Bruce fays that he faw fome vanquished rebels in Abyffinia carrying stones upon their heads by way of acknowledging their guilt.

8. Whether this man was really an Amalekite or not, we may infer from the story that it was no extraordina. ry thing for fome of that nation, as well of the feven devoted nations, to live with the Ifraelites, conforming, no doubt, to their religion. For had he known that he was at all obnoxious on that account, he would not have voluntarily confeffed it.

16. This man, no doubt, thought to give David pleasure by having contributed to the death of his adversary; and had the fact been as he reprefented it, he had done nothing that was justly reprehenfible. David makes his guilt to confift in his killing the Lord's anointed.

18. The word bow is not in the LXX.

The book of fasher feems to have been a collection of poetical compofitions, begun perhaps by fome perfon

of that name.

27. This fong abounds with natural and beautiful images, the most proper imaginable to the occafion.

Ch. II. 1. This was, no doubt, by means of Abia thar, who was then the high-priest. We cannot but again obferve the diftinctnefs of the anfwers to all the queftions that David propofed, when compared with the obfcuirity of the heathen oracles.

4. It does not appear that the rest of the tribes were confulted. Indeed, in all the time of the judges, they had generally acted independently of one another.

8. In 1 Ch. viii, 31, he is called Ethbaal. There are several other names which end indifferently in baal or bosheth. The latter fignifying shame or confusion, and the former being the name of an idol, they might perhaps be confidered by the pious Hebrews as equivalent. Mahanaim was in the tribe of Gad. It was the place in which Jacob had the vifion of angels.

10. He must have been born in the year in which Saul was made king. Paul fays, Acts xiii, 21, that Saul reigned forty years. ed were probably the time that elapfed before there was any war between David and him. Some fuppofe that he did not reign more than two years in all, and that five years paffed before the reft of the tribes acknowledged David, at least in a formal manner.

The two years here mention

12. This looks as if the hoftilities began with the partisans of Ifhbofheth. The eleven tribes might think to overpower that of Judah only.

16. The most probable meaning is, that each of the champions on the part of David killed his antago nift.

18. Zeruiah was David's fifter, fo that they were his nephews. The animal here alluded to is a fpecies