the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies;" intimating hereby the incapacity of Ishbosheth, and that it was both their interest and duty to transfer the kingdom and government to David; would be happy for themselves, and an instance of obedience to their God. He went also and applied himself particularly to the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul's family belonged, and persuaded them, by the same kind of arguments, to fall in with the general sense of all the other tribes, and concur with them in advancing David to the throne.-CHANDLER.

Ver. 21. And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

Having settled this important point to his mind, he took Michal, and waited with her on David at Hebron, attended with twenty persons of rank in his retinue, whom David favourably received, and for whom he made a royal entertainment; and having fixed the terms of accommodation between them, Abner took his leave, and at parting told the king, "I will go and assemble all Israel together to my lord, whom I now acknowledge for my sovereign and king, that they may all of them submit to thine authority and government, upon such terms as shall be judged honourable on both sides, and that, according to the utmost wishes of thy heart, thou mayest reign over us all, and the kingdom may be established in thy house and family." Abner then took his leave, and went away pleased and happy, to bring about the revolution he had projected and promised. Here Mr. Bayle is out of all patience, and after having told us that Abner, being discontented with the king his master, resolved to dispossess him of his dominions, and deliver them up to David, adds: "David gives ear to the traitor, and is willing to gain a kingdom by intrigues of this nature. Can it be said that these are the actions of a saint? I own there is nothing in all this, but what is agreeable to the precepts of policy, and the methods of human prudence; but I shall never be persuaded, that the strict laws of equity, and the severe morals of a good servant of God, can approve such conduct." There are some persons whom it is extremely difficult to please. In a former note Mr. Bayle heavily censures David, that he had made incessant war on Ishbosheth, like a very ambitious and even infidel prince; and now, he ceases even to be a saint, and shows he is destitute of the severe morals of a good servant of God, because he took the first opportunity, and the only means that were in his power, to put a stop to the war, and prevent the further effusion of blood, by a general and solid peace. What, I wonder, would Mr. Bayle have had David to have done, when Abner sent his first proposals for an accommodation? Ought he to have immediately rejected them, reproached Abner as a traitor to his prince, told him he would enter into no terms of peace with him, nor his master, but reduce them both, with all the eleven tribes that adhered to them, by force of arms? Had David done this, would not all the world have reproached him for folly, thus to hazard, by continuing the war, what he could so certainly and easily obtain by the voluntary offer of Abner? Would he not have been justly censured for delighting in blood, for pursuing by the sword, what he could secure by treaty and accommodation? Or, would Mr. Bayle have had David sent to Ishbosheth, and informed him of Abner's treachery, and advised him to the proper methods of preventing it? This, perhaps, Mr. Bayle might have commended as an act of exceeding great generosity, and Ishbosheth might have thought himself greatly obliged to David for such an instance of friendship. But how would the tribe of Judah have stood affected to him? Would they not have concluded him unworthy to be their prince, who no better understood his own interest or theirs, by his rejecting a measure, which every prudential consideration, which humanity, and the love that he owed to his people, obliged him immediately and thankfully to embrace? David had no other choice left him, but either to fall in with Abner's offer, or prolong the calamities of the civil war; except Mr. Bayle thought he was obliged, upon discovering Abner's treachery, do have in

formed Ishbosheth of it, and sent him at the same time an offer of resigning the crown of Judah to him, and all his pretensions to be king over all Israel. It is plain David was not of this sentiment, but thought his own right was better than Ishbosheth's, and therefore made use of that method to secure it, which he was persuaded that the strict laws of equity, and the severe morals of a good servant of God, did not in the least prohibit and condemn. And I confess, I do not see any just reason for this censure of Mr. Bayle's, or in what David acted, by accepting Abner's proposals, contrary to the strictest laws of equity, or the severe morals of a good servant of God. To David belonged the throne by the appointment of God; and Abner, by advancing Ishbosheth, and beginning a civil war in the kingdom, acted contrary to his duty to God, the allegiance he owed David, the laws of hereditary succession, and the peace and happiness of his country. Here Abner was extremely criminal, and every moment he continued to support Ishbosheth, he supported an unnatural rebellion, and acted contrary to his own conviction, by keeping David out of the possession of the kingdom, which he knew and confessed God had sworn to give him. Through a regard to Saul's family, and more to his own ambition, he determined to defer David's possession as long as he could; till at length, finding that Ishbosheth was unworthy of the throne, and incapable of government; that David would finally prevail, probably tired out with the calamities of the civil war, and, I doubt not, willing to make some good terms for himself, he took hold of the first opportunity to break with Ishbosheth, and reconcile himself, and the whole nation, to David. In this Abner certainly acted as right a part, as he, who having supported a usurpation and real rebellion, at length returns to his duty, deserts the pretender, and submits himself to his lawful prince. Though the motives to such an alteration of conduct may not be altogether quite honourable, the conduct itself is certainly right; and the only possible means, by which such a person can atone for his past guilt, is to lay down his arms, and put an end to the usurpation, and thereby restore the public peace. Mr. Bayle, with great indignation, calls Abner the traitor But did ever any one imagine, that the deserting a usurper, and submitting to a man's lawful prince, really constituted him a traitor to his lawful prince? Rather, doth he not cease to be a traitor to him, when he declares for his rightful sovereign? Ishbosheth was Abner's king, as Mr. Bayle tells us; but it was a king he had treasonably made, and whom he had supported by violence, in opposition to the order of God, and without any pretence of right and justice. If therefore the making him king was wrong, the deserting him, and bringing over the tribes to David, was right. And the easy method by which Abner effected this revolution, and the cordial manner in which the whole nation submitted to David, is a demonstration that they approved Abner's change, and were glad to accept David for their king. For no sooner had Abner a conference with the elders of Israel, and put them in mind that they had formerly desired David for their king, and that the Lord had resolved to deliver them from the Philistines, and the hand of their enemies, by the hand of David; but instantly all the tribes came to Hebron, all the men of war, with a perfect heart, and all Israel with one heart, to make him king, and accordingly anointed him king over Israel. In this whole affair, David's conduct, to me, seems perfectly honourable. He received a rebel general to his favour upon his submission, agrees with him that he should bring in all the tribes to do what they desired to do, and were bound by the order of God to do, even to make him king over them, that hereby he might have the peaceable possession of the whole kingdom. Abner had openly told Ishbosheth of his design. Abner sent messengers to David, and not David to Abner, on the affair. It was Abner who conferred with the princes of Israel, and came openly to David at Hebron to agree upon proper measures. David carried on no secret intrigues to bring over Abner and the eleven tribes to his party. He only consented to a just proposal that was made him of recovering his own right, without invading the real right of a single person; and indeed it was the only method he could take, and he would not have acted like a saint, or a wise and just prince, had he not hereby put an end to the civil war, secured his own rights, and restored and established the peace and prosperity of his people.-CHANDLER.

the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin.

Ver. 31. And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And King David himself followed the bier.

The word here translated the bier is in the original the bed: on these, persons of quality used to be carried forth to their graves, as common people were upon a bier. Kings were sometimes carried out upon beds very richly adorned; as Josephus tells us that Herod was; he says the bed was all gilded, set with precious stones, and that it had a purple cover curiously wrought.-PATRICK.

Ver. 33. And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth? 34. Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters; as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him.

See on Rev. 2. 17.

The feet as well as the hands of criminals are wont to be secured, some how or other, by the people of the East, when they are brought out to be punished, to which there seems to be a plain allusion in the Old Testament. Thus when Irwin was among the Arabs of Upper Egypt, where he was very ill used, but his wrongs afterward redressed by the great sheik there, who had been absent, and who, it seems, was a man of exemplary probity and virtue; he tells us, that upon that sheik's holding a great court of justice, about Irwin's affairs and those of his companions, the bastinado was given to one of those who had injured them, which he thus describes in a note, page 271: "The prisoner is placed upright on the ground, with his hands and feet bound together, while the executioner stands before him, and, with a short stick, strikes him with a smart motion on the outside of his knees. The pain which arises from these strokes is exquisitely severe, and which no constitution can support for any continuance." As the Arabs are extremely remarkable for their retaining old customs, we have just grounds of believing, that when malefactors in the East were punished, by beating, and perhaps with death by the sword, their hands were bound together, and also their feet. How impertinent, according to this, is the interpretation that Victorinus Strigelius gives of 2 Sam. iii. 31! as he is cited by Bishop Patrick in his Commentary on those words: "The king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters; as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him." "Strigelius," says the Bishop, thinks that David, in these words, distinguishes him from those criminals, whose hands being tied behind them, are carried to execution; and from those idle soldiers, who being taken captive in war, have fetters clapped upon their legs, to keep them from running away. He was none of these; neither a notorious offender, nor a coward." Patrick adds, "The plain meaning seems to be, that if his enemy had set upon him openly, he had been able to make his part good with him." How impertinent the latter part of what Strigelius says! how foreign from the thought of David, not to say inconsistent with itself, the explanation of the English prelate! What is meant appears to be simply this: Died Abner as a fool, that is, as a bad man, as that word frequently signifies in the scriptures? Died he as one found on judgment to be criminal, dieth? No! Thy hands, O Abner! were not bound as being found such, nor thy feet confined; on the contrary, thou wert treated with honour by him whose business it was to judge thee, and thy attachment to the house of Saul esteemed rather generous than culpable; as the best of men may fall, so fellest thou, by the sword of treachery, not of justice!-HARMER.

CHAPTER IV.

"

Ver. 2. And Saul's son had two men that were captains of bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab,

This is added to show us that these two regicides were not only officers in the king's army, but of the same tribe with Saul, and therefore had more ties than one upon them, to be honest and faithful to his family. For there is reason to believe that Saul, who lived in the borders of Benjamin, conferred more favours upon that tribe than any other, and might therefore justly expect, both to him and his, a greater esteem and fidelity from those of his own tribe than from others. This patronymic is therefore very properly prefixed to the names of Rechab and Baanah, to show what vile ungrateful villains they were, and how justly they deserved the severe and exemplary punishment which David inflicted on them.-STACKHOUSE.

Ver. 5. And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. 6. And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

The females engaged in this operation, endeavoured to beguile the lingering hours of toilsome exertion with a song. We learn from an expression of Aristophanes, preserved by Athenæus, that the Grecian maidens accompanied the sound of the millstones with their voices. This circumstance imparts an additional beauty and force to the description of the prophet: (Isa. xlvii. 1.) The light of a candle was no more to be seen in the evening; the sound of the millstones, the indication of plenty; and the song of the grinders, the natural expression of joy and happiness, were no more to be heard at the dawn. The grinding of corn at so early an hour, throws light on a passage of considerable obscurity: "And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon; and they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat, and they smote him under the fifth rib; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped." It is still a custom in the East, according to Dr. Perry, to allow their soldiers a certain quantity of corn, with other articles of provisions, together with some pay: and as it was the custom also to carry their corn to the mill at break of day, these two captains very naturally went to the palace the day before, to fetch wheat, in order to distribute it to the soldiers, that it might be sent to the mill at the accustomed hour in the morning. The princes of the East, in those days, as the history of David shows, lounged in their divan, or reposed on their couch, till the cool of the evening began to advance. Rechab and Baanah, therefore, came in the heat of the day, when they knew that Ishbosheth their master would be resting on his bed; and as it was necessary, for the reason just given, to have the corn the day before it was needed, their coming at that time, though it might be a little earlier than usual, created no suspicion, and attracted no notice.-PAXTON.

It is exceedingly common for people to recline on their couches in the heat of the day. Hence, often, when you call on a person at that time, the answer is, "The master is asleep." Captain Basil Hall speaks of the inhabitants of South America having the same custom. The old Romish missionaries in China used to take their siesta with a metal ball in the hand, which was allowed to project over the couch; beneath was a brass dish, so that as soon as the individual was asleep the fingers naturally relaxed their grasp, and let the ball fall, and the noise made awoke him from his slumbers.-ROBERTS.

Ver. 12. And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.

In times of tumult and disorder, they frequently cut off the hands and feet of people, and afterward exposed them, as well as the head. Lady M. W. Montague speaking of the Turkish ministers of state says, "if a minister displease the people, in three hours' time he is dragged even from his master's arms; they cut off his hands, head, and feet, and throw them before the palace gate, with all the respect in the world, while the sultan (to whom they all profess an unlimited adoration) sits trembling in his apartment." Thus were the sons of Rimmon served for slaying Ishbosheth.-HARMER.

CHAPTER V.

Ver. 3. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel. 4. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

In the foregoing history we have seen the various steps, by which providence brought David to the quiet possession of the throne of Israel; an event that, to all human probability, seemed the most unlikely, as the family of Saul, his predecessor, was very numerous, all the forces of the kingdom under his command, and large bodies of them frequently employed by him to accomplish David's destruction. But God's purposes must stand, and he will do all his pleasure. He had assured Saul, by the mouth of Samuel his prophet, that he had sought him, A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART, and commanded him to be captain over his people. This character has been thought, by some writers, to denote the highest degree of moral purity, and that therefore it could not, with truth or justice, be ascribed to David, who was certainly guilty of some very great of fences, and hath been plentifully loaded with others, which he was entirely free from the guilt of. Every one knows, that in a literal translation of words from one language to another, the original and the literal version may convey very different ideas; and should any one assert, that what the version properly imports is the genuine meaning of the original, he would betray his ignorance and want of learning, and all his reasonings from such an assertion would be inconclusive and false. A good man, upon the exchange of London, means, a responsible and wealthy man, who is able to answer his pecuniary obligations, and whose credit is every way unexceptionable, though his character for morals may be extremely bad. But this is not the meaning of the Greek word ayatos, and but seldom, or ever, of the Latin word bonus; and should any one argue, that such a man was ayos or bonus, according to the common acceptation of those words in Greek and Latin, because in the English phrase he is called a good man, he would expose himself for his ignorance and simplicity. A man afier God's own heart, in English, if we interpret the expression in the strictest and highest sense, undoubtedly denotes a character irreproachable and pure, without spot or blemish. But doth it follow that this is the meaning of the Hebrew expression, and that David, because he is so called, was intended to be represented as a man of the highest purity? This is presuming on a meaning, that the expression by no means necessarily conveys, and taking for granted what ought to be proved, and what every man, who understands the original language, knows to be mistaken. The immediate occasion of these words of Samuel to Saul was, Saul's disobedience in sacrificing, contrary to the express orders he had received from God by this great prophet, not to offer sacrifices till he should come, and give him the proper directions for his behaviour. The pretence was piety, but the real cause was impatience, pride, and contempt of the prophet; who not coming just at the time Saul expected, he thought it beneath him to wait any longer for him; and imagined, that as king, all the rites of religion, and the ministers of it, were to be subjected to his direction and pleasure. But when Samuel came, notwithstanding his plea of devotion, and the force he put upon himself, Samuel plainly tells him: Thou hast done foolishly, thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee; for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy

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kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him, , a man after his own heart; he shall be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord hath commanded thee. It is evident here, that the man after God's own heart stands in opposition to the character of Saul, who is described as acting foolishly, by breaking the commandment of God by his prophet, and rejected by him, i. e. deprived of the succession to the crown in his family, on account of his folly, presumption, and disobedience. And it therefore means one who should act prudently, and obey the commandments of God delivered him by his prophets, and whom therefore God would thus far approve and continue to favour. Thus the expression is actually interpreted by the Chaldee paraphrase: The man who doth my will; and by St. Paul to the Jews at Antioch, who says, that when God hath removed Saul, he raised them up David to be their king; to whom he gave testimony, and said: I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall execute my will. There are therefore two senses, which are evidently implied in this character of the man after God's own heart; a man, who should faithfully execute the will of God according as he was commanded, and who on that account, and so far, should be the object of his approbation. And in one or other, or both these senses, we find the expression always used. Thus David, recounting the singular favours of God towards himself, says; For thy word's sake, according to thy heart, i. e. thy will and pleasure, hast thou done all these great things. In another place God saith to the Jews: I will give you pastors, 22, according to my heart: pastors who shall answer the purposes for which I sent them, and act agreeable to their office, as the words immediately following explain it: Who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Thus also the Psalmist: The Lord grant thee according to thy heart, i. e. as the next words explain it: Fulfil all thy counsel; give thee thy wishes, and by his favour prosper all thy designs. In like manner, when Jonathan said to his armour-bearer: "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised," his armour-bearer said to him: Do all that is in thy heart. Do whatever thou desirest and approvest. Turn thee. Behold, I am with thee according to thy heart; in every thing in which thou canst desire, or command my concurrence. These remarks may be confirmed by some other forms of expression of the like nature. Thus God tells Eli: "I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to what is in my heart and my soul,” i. e. what I command, and what I approve. When Jehu, king of Israel, had cut off the whole house and family of Ahab, whom God for his numerous crimes had doomed to destruction, God said to him: "Thou hast done well, in executing that which is right in my eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab, according to all that was in my heart," i. e. every thing I proposed, and commanded thee to do. And yet in the very next verse, Jehu is described as a very bad prince; for he took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart, nor departed from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin. So Moses tells the people: "By this ye shall know, that the Lord hath said to me to do all these things, and that they are not from my own heart ;" i. e. that I have not acted by my own suggestions, and according to my own pleasure; and he commands them: "Ye shall remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and not seek after your own heart, and your own eyes," what is agreeable to your passions, and pleasing to your vanity. Many more places might be mentioned to the same purpose; but from those already alleged, the reader will see, that David is characterized as a man after God's men heart, not to denote the utmost height of purity in his moral character, as a private man, which by no means enters into the meaning of the expression, and which in no one single instance is intended by it; but to represent him as one, who in his public character, as king of Israel, was fit for the purposes to which God advanced him, and who knew he would faithfully execute the commands he should give him by his prophets; and who on this account should be favoured and approved of God, and established, himself and family, on the throne of Israel. He was, I doubt not, upon the whole, a really virtuous and religious man, according to the dispensation he was under; and he certainly was a wise, a just, a munificent and prosperous prince; but yet he had his faults, and those great ones, in his private character; and

these faults were not inconsistent with his character of being a man according to God's heart; for if he was such a prince as God intended him to be, faithfully executing his orders, and bringing to pass those great events, which he was raised up by God to be the instrument of accomplishing; he thus far acted according to the heart, i. e. the purpose and will of God, and thereby, in this respect, rendered himself well pleasing and acceptable to him. The particular purposes for which God advanced him to the throne were, that by his steady adherence to the one true God, and the religion which he was pleased to establish by Moses, he might be an illustrious example to all his posterity that should reign after him and here he was absolutely without blemish, and a man, in the strictest sense of the expression, after God's own heart; as he never departed from his God, by introducing the deities of other nations, or permitting and encouraging the impious rites which they performed in honour of them. On this account his heart is said to be perfect with the Lord his God, because his heart was never turned away after other gods; and it is spoken to the honour of the good princes of his house, who reigned after him, that they did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David their father; and of the idolatrous princes, it is mentioned as the greatest reproach to them, that their hearts were not perfect with the Lord their God, as the heart of David their father. During the reign of Saul, little regard was shown by him to the institutions of religion, and he acted as though he was independent of the God of Israel, and therefore seldom or never inquired of him, how he was to act in the affairs of government, at the ark, from whence God, as peculiarly present in it, had promised to give the proper answers to those who rightly consulted him. As the ark itself had no fixed residence, and some of the principal services of religion could not, for that reason, be regularly and statedly performed, David was raised up to be king over God's people, that he might provide a rest for his ark, where it should perpetually continue, to which all the people might resort, where all the solemn festivals might be celebrated, and the whole worship of God might be constantly performed, according to the prescriptions of the law of Moses. David fully answer. ed this purpose by fixing the ark at Jerusalem, settling all the necessary ceremonies and forms of worship for perpetual observance, and composing sacred hymns and psalms, that should be sung in honour of the true God, providing the expenses, and many of the costly materials, that were necessary to build and adorn the house of God, which he himself had proposed to erect, but which God reserved for his son and successor to raise up; and regulating the order, that was to be observed among all the various persons, that were to be employed in the daily services of the ark and temple; a full and ample account of which is transmitted to us in the first book of Chronicles. It must not be omitted also, that there was yet another end of providence, in David's appointment, to be king over Israel; that, according to God's promise concerning him, he might save his people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies; and further, that by him he might accomplish the more ancient promises which God had made to Abraham, in their full extent, of giving to his seed the whole country, from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Here also David answered the intentions of providence in his advancement, as he subdued the Philistines, and made them tributary to his crown; as he cleared his kingdom of all the remains of the nations, that had formerly possessed it, or reduced them into entire subjection, or made them proselytes to his religion; and as the consequence of just and necessary wars, conquered all the neighbouring nations, garrisoned them by his victorious troops, and put it out of their power to disturb his people for many years, and left to his son and successor a forty years' peace, and dominion over all the kingdoms, from the river Euphrates, unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt, who brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life. And finally, God raised him up to exalt the glory of his people Israel, and render them a flourishing and happy people, by the wisdom and justice of his government. He chose David his servant, to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands, i. e. he governed them with integrity, prudence and courage; for he reigned over

all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people. See here, reader, the true portrait of the man after God's own heart, who fulfilled all his pleasure, who amid all the idolatries of the nations around him, never wickedly apostatized from the worship of his God, and was an amiable example of a steady adherence to those forms of religion, which God had prescribed to all the princes his successors; who, though king, subjected himself to God the supreme king of Israel, and faithfully executed the commands he received from him; who made his people triumph in the numerous victories he obtained, by the directions, and under the conduct of God himself; who enlarged their dominions, and put them into possession of all the territories God had promised to their forefathers; and who amid all the successes that were granted him, the immense riches he had gathered from the spoils of his conquered enemies, and the sovereign power with which he was invested, never degenerated into despotism and tyranny, never oppressed his people; but governed them with integrity, ruled over them with moderation and prudence, impartially distributed justice, left an established durable peace, and fixed the whole administration, both civil and religious, upon the most substantial and durable foundation. In these instances he was the true vicegerent of God, on whose throne he sat, and all whose pleasure, in these great instances, he faithfully performed. If therefore David's private moral character was worse than it will be ever proved to be, he might be still a man after God's own heart, in the proper original sense of the expression; and the attempt to prove that he was not possessed of the height of moral purity, is an impertinent attempt to prove David not to be, what the sacred history never asserted him to be.-CHANDLER.

Ver. 6. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land; which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither thinking, David cannot come in hither. 7. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion; the same is the city of David. 8. And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

1 CHRONICLES, CHAPTER XI. Ver. 5. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. 6. And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.

The words inhabitants of Jebus, which are not in the original of Samuel, are not in the Vat. copy of the LXX. in Chronicles; but the Alexandrian translates regularly according to the present Hebrew text. In Samuel there is a clause or two in the speech of the Jebusites, which is omitted in Chronicles for brevity; as the history in Chronicles is regular, and the sense complete without it. But though the history be regular and very intelligible in Chronicles, yet the additional clauses in Samuel make the history there remarkably perplexed; and (as Dr. Delany observes) encumber it with more difficulties than are ordinarily to be met with. In full proportion to the difficulties has been the number of different interpretations; and yet there seems to be very sufficient room for offering another interpretation, in some material points differing from them all. The words in Samuel, so far as the text in Chronicles coincides, are clear and determinate in their meaning, "And the inhab itants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither." But the succeeding words in Samuel are very difficult; or,