least of two evils, the Levite gave up his wife to be treated by these men raging with lust, agreeably to their pleasure. The result was, that in the morning the woman was found dead at the door of the house where her lord was; and her hands were on the threshold. Her husband, not suspecting at first that she was dead, said, "Up, and let us be going;" but none answered. Finding that she was really dead, he put her upon an ass, and gat him unto his place. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife and divided her into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. And it was

so, that all that saw it, said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt, unto this day. Consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds." The method pursued by the Levite had the effect of arousing the people to indignation; so that they assembled at Mizpeh, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead. The host now convened amounted to the number of four hundred thousand men that drew the sword. And, although the messengers who passed through the land with the pieces of the murdered woman, had spread the report of the horrid transaction; yet before inflicting deserved punishment on the inhabitants of Gibeah, they called for the Levite, the husband of the woman, and demanded of him a full declaration of the affair, "saying, Tell us how was this wickedness?" And he related the matter distinctly before them; and concluded by saying, "they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel. Behold ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel." When they heard his narrative, all the people arose as one man, and determined on taking vengeance on the wicked city; but as so large an army did not seem to be needed for the enterprise, they selected by lot one tenth part of the whole number, and appointed others to supply them with provisions. Thus were the men of Israel knit together as one man, resolved to inflict condign punishment on this devoted city.

SECTION XXXII.

THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN REFUSE TO GIVE UP THE GUILTY PERPETRATORS OF THE ENORMOUS WICKEDNESS-THEY DEFEAT THE OTHER TRIBES WITH GREAT SLAUGHTER IN TWO SUCCESSIVE BATTLES ON THE THIRD DAY THE MEN OF ISRAEL PLACED AN AMBUSH, AND DREW THE MEN OF BENJAMIN FROM GIBEON, BY A PRETENDED FLIGHT-THE TRIBE NEARLY EXTINGUISHED THE ISRAELITES REPENT OF THEIR EXTERMINATING SEVERITY.

HERE we have a striking example of the strength of the spirit of party, or rather of tribe or clan. The great body of the Israelites being now prepared to punish the wicked inhabitants of Gibeah, did not wish to involve the residue of the tribe of

Benjamin in the guilt and punishment of this city. They therefore sent messengers through all the tribe of Benjamin, to expostulate with them, and to demand that the perpetrators of this wicked act should be delivered up to them, that they might be put to death, and thus evil be put away from Israel. "But the children of Benjamin would not hearken unto the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel," and immediately prepared for war, determined with their small force to go out against the assembled host of all Israel. Upon being numbered, it appeared that their whole available force was no more than twenty-six thousand men; but this number did not include the men of Gibeah, who amounted to seven hundred. But the Benjamites were skilled in war, and of desperate courage. In their army, at this time, they had a very remarkable corps of seven hundred men, who were all left-handed, every one of whom could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss. As was before stated, the men of war from the other tribes formed an army of four hundred thousand men; but it was not judged necessary that more than a part of these should actually go up against their brethren; and feeling the solemn crisis which had arrived, they wished to take no important step without asking counsel of God. They therefore assembled at the house of God, at Shiloh, particularly to inquire which of the tribes should first go up to the battle against the children of Benjamin. "And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first." "And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah, and went out to battle against Benjamin. And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day, twenty and two thousand men." This was a most unexpected and unaccountable disaster. No doubt there was something wrong in the conduct or in the spirit of the Israelites, which had provoked the Lord thus to give them into the hands of a small number of wicked men. This event appears

the more strange, as the people seemed to have been actuated by a spirit of piety in what they had undertaken, and had in a public manner sought counsel of the Lord. The sacred history does not unfold to us the reason of Israel's being forsaken of God, on this occasion. Their conduct, however, upon meeting with this unexpected defeat, seems to have been proper and pious. They did not abandon themselves to despair, but encouraged themselves to make another effort, hoping that in a second encounter they should be more successful than in the first: but again they deemed it right to ask counsel of the Lord; and in performing this act of worship, they were much affected, and wept before the Lord, saying, "Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?

And the Lord said, Go up against him." On the second day, battle was joined with the children of Benjamin, and the result was nearly as disastrous as on the former day; for, on this occasion, Benjamin went forth from Gibeah, "and destroyed down to the ground, of the children of Israel, eighteen thousand men." Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until the even, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord."

What was before stated, as to the time when these transactions occurred, is expressly confirmed, for it is said, "that Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before the Lord in those days." The same inquiry was made of the Lord, as on the former occasions of consulting him, "Shall I again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into thy hand." Israel had now, taught by experience and misfortune, become less confident in their own prowess, and more attentive to those stratagems of war by which success is often obtained; for they now placed men in ambush round about the city, and then drew off the men of Benjamin to a distance; who, flushed with their two recent and extraordinary victories, thought of nothing else but achieving a third victory, and "began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah." And they succeeded in slaying about thirty men of Israel. "And the children of Benjamin, said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways." And the liers-in-wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore, but they knew not that evil was near them. "And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day, twenty and two thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword." While the men of Benjamin were engaged in the battle, and by stratagem were drawn off to a distance from the city, the liersin-wait rushed into the city, and slew the inhabitants with the edge of the sword. As soon as they had gained complete possession of Gibeah, they signified the fact to their brethren, by kindling a great flame with smoke, which sign had been agreed upon beforehand. When the men of Benjamin looked back, and saw by the flame and pillar of smoke that the city was in the possession of their enemies, they found that they were indeed in an evil case. And when they turned and fled

our."

towards the way of the wilderness, still they could not escape, for "the battle overtook them; and the men of Israel inclosed the Benjamites round about, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sun-rising. And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men: all these were men of valThat is, this number was slain in the field of battle; but to these must be added five thousand who were taken and slain on the highways; and also two thousand who were pursued to a place called Gidom, and slain there; so that, omitting smaller numbers, there fell of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand valiant men. And the only remnant which escaped of their whole army, were six hundred men, who escaped to the rock Rimmon, where they abode four months. The children of Israel, not contented with the signal vengeance taken on Benjamin, by the destruction of all their men of war, carried desolation into their country, "and smote the people with the edge. of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand." It would seem that the whole army of Israel were now filled with such indignation against the whole tribe of Benjamin, for their wicked conduct in screening the men of Gibeah from deserved punishment, and were actuated by so strong a desire to revenge the death of the forty thousand men of Israel slain in the first two battles, that they proceeded to consign to utter destruction the whole of this tribe on whom they could lay their hands. But when the violence of their wrath began to cool, and they reflected on what they had done, and that one of the twelve tribes had perished from Israel, they were penetrated with grief, and went up to the house of God at Shiloh, "and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices and wept sore; and said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel? And on the morrow the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings."

SECTION XXXIII.

JABESH-GILEAD SEVERELY PUNISHED FOR REFUSING AID-THE YOUNG VIRGINS OF THIS PLACE ONLY PRESERVED, FOR WIVES TO THE SURVIVING BENJAMITES-THE DAUGHTERS OF SHILOH SEIZED AND CARRIED OFF FOR THE SAME PURPOSE.

THERE was another affair which now engaged their attention, and which eventually was made to have a connexion with the preservation of the tribe of Benjamin from becoming utterly extinct. When the people had first assembled from the tribes of Israel, on the unhappy occasion which has been mentioned, they were inspired with such a zeal against the Benjamites that

they entered into a solemn oath that none of them would give them their daughters for wives; and they moreover swore, that whatever city had neglected to come up with the congregation unto the Lord unto Mizpeh, the inhabitants thereof should surely be put to death. And when the people were numbered, it appeared that none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead were there; and in fulfilment of the great oath by which they had rashly bound themselves, they now despatched twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. They were, however, directed to save alive and bring back with them all the young virgins whom they might find, that they might serve for wives to the small remnant of the men of Benjamin, who were known to be concealed in the rock Rimmon. This expedition speedily and literally executed their orders upon the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead, and returned with four hundred virgins. The congregation of Israel now entered into a negotiation with the six hundred Benjamites in the rock Rimmon: and they entered into a treaty of peace with them, and gave them for wives the females who had been saved alive from Jabesh-gilead; but as their number was six hundred, and the women were only four hundred, there was still a deficiency of wives for the remnant of Benjamin. The human passions are prone to oscillate from one extreme to another. The indignation which had burned so hotly and destructively against this unhappy tribe, was now turned into the tenderest compassion, and with compunction for the severity which led them nearly to extirpate one of the tribes. of Israel. Therefore "the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped from Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel." The device which was now adopted to supply the deficiency of wives for these men, bears a strong resemblance to the rape of the Sabines by the Romans, at a later period. There was shortly to be a feast at Shiloh, on which occasion it was customary for companies of young damsels to amuse themselves by dancing in the vineyards, which were on the way between Bethel and Shechem. In this place the Benjamites were directed to lie in wait, and to catch every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and to bear them off to the land of Benjamin. And the elders of Israel promised that when the fathers or brethren of the daughters of Shiloh came to make complaint, we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes. And the men of Benjamin did so,