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bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed* him.†

Having left Horeb Elijah met with Elisha, who was plough ing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle up him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again, for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.‡

Benhadad, king of Syria, whose covetousness had probabi been excited by the treasures he had received from Asa, king of Judah,§ and the success of whose joint expedition|| agains Baasha, king of Israel, might lead him to expect that Abah and his kingdom would become an easy prey to him; DO gathered all his host together, and with thirty-two kings under his command, went up and laid siege to Samaria, and sent messengers into the city to Ahab, saying, Thus saiti Benhadad, thy silver and thy gold is mine, thy wives als and thy children, even the goodliest are mine. To this ins lent message the intimidated king of Israel replied, My lord

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* Given a kiss to him, either by applying the mouth to the ido the image itself, or by kissing the hand to it, as said by Pliny, adorando dextram ad osculum referimus, totum corpus circumagimas. when we worship we kiss our right hand and turn about our wh body.-Bp. Patrick apud Anselm Bayley in loco. Cicero mentions statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn. by the frequent kissing of his worshippers. In Verrem.

+1 Kings, xix. 4-18.

1 Kings, xix. 19-21.
§1 Kings, xv. 18. 2 Chron. xvi. 2. See p. 185.
|| 1 Kings, xv. 21. 1 Kings, xvi. 5.

O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have; meaning, most probably, that he was willing to become tributary to him.

The king of Syria disappointed at this submissive answer, which did not afford him any pretext for acts of violence, sent the messengers again, saying; Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; yet I will send my servants unto thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.†

With this demand, absolutely to surrender up all his property and subjects, Ahab was not disposed to comply; and having consulted his elders, they encouraged him to resist the tyrannical requirement. He couched, however, his refusal in temperate language; but when the Syrian monarch sent a third message, saying, The gods do so unto me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me; Ahab firmly replied, Tell him, let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

Incensed alike at the refusal and the message, Benhadad pressed forward the siege; when God, although Ahab had neglected to solicit his aid, in mercy to his people, and to punish the unhallowed boasting of the Syrian, sent a prophet to Ahab with this encouraging declaration. Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces.

1 Kings, xx. 2, 3, 4. +1 Kings, xx. 5, 6.

Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answere Thou.*

Ahab having, in this instance, followed the commands God, issued from the city with two hundred and thirtyyoung men of the princes of the provinces, and a body seven thousand men to support them. When Benhadad apprised of this sally, he ordered them to be taken al whether they came peaceably or hostilely; but each of young men having seized upon and slain one of the ene the Syrian host took to flight, and the army of Israel purs them and Benhadad, the king of Syria, escaped on an b with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians wi* great slaughter.†

The key stone of idolatry and false religion, in all € has been the idea of partially presiding deities; and upon occasion the courtiers of Benhadad having persuaded that the Israelitish army had been preserved by some tr gods, whose influence was confined to the hills, but who no power in the plains, induced him to prepare another of equal magnitude, and place it under more experie commanders.+

God, however, had by a prophet warned Ahab that Syrian would resume the attack;§ and, therefore, Benhadad at the return of the year assembled at Aphe found the army of Israel prepared to receive him, althoug compared with the hosts of Syria, they were but like two flocks of kids.||

God, however, was with them, and intended to mag his sovereignty, as well as to punish the presumption

* 1 Kings, xx. 3—14.

1 Kings, xx. 23-25.

+1 Kings, xx. 15–21. § 1 Kings, xx. 22.

|| 1 Kings, xx. 26, 27.

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defiance of Benhadad; for there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore, will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the batle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians in hundred thousand footmen in one day. But the rest fled Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner hamber.*

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Alarmed at their situation, and probably with their retreat › Syria cut off, the servants of Benhadad said, Behold now, e have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are erciful kings; and, therefore, with sackcloth girded on their ins, and ropes on their heads, they went to Ahab and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live.”† Without ascribing his late victories to the miraculous terference of Jehovah, or making any attempt to glorify Am to these idolatrous heathens, or inquiring of God what as his will respecting Benhadad, he readily received their

inbassy; and asking if he was yet alive, declared him to be his brother.+

The ambassadors were glad enough to re-echo the expreson, and repeat, Thy brother, Benhadad! upon which Ahab sired them to fetch him; and, upon his arrival, received

* 1 Kings, xx. 28–30.

+ In the same manner did Eustace de St. Pierre and his five brave mpanions present themselves before Edward III. at the siege of Jais, in the year 1346-FROISSART. And see similar occurrences

the East, collected by Burder, O. C. 400.

1 Kings, xx. 31, 32.

him into his chariot; and they made a covenant together that Benhadad should restore all the cities which his father had taken from the father of A hab; and that Ahab should be at liberty to make streets in Damascus, the same as Benhadad's father had made in Samaria; and having made this covenant, Ahab sent him away.*

To shew Ahab his sins, and to express the divine displea sure, another prophet was sent to Ahab, who, having disguise himself, said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold a man turned aside, and brought a ma unto me, and said, Keep this man; if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou sha pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy ber

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and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said un him, so shall thy judgment be, thyself hast decided it. And he hasted, and took the ashes from his face; and the king Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Because thou hast let g out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for people. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria,† not exhibiting the leas symptom of contrition.

It is, however, to be observed, that to much of his wicked ness Ahab was stimulated by his idolatrous queen, whos heart seems to have been thoroughly vicious; and thus as t the fraud, perjury, and murder, which was perpetrated res pecting Naboth's vineyard, the next transaction recorded this reign, Jezebel was the active and instrumental, although Ahab was the passive agent.

Naboth, the Jezreelite, possessed a vineyard near to the palace of Ahab, which the monarch was desirous of having

* 1 Kings, xx. 34.

† 1 Kings, xx. 35—13.

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