9 From The Death Of Ahab To The Captivity Of The Ten Tribes

Flavius Josephus

ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS

From The Death Of Ahab To The Captivity Of The Ten Tribes.

Containing The Interval Of One Hundred And Fifty-Seven Years.

CHAPTER 1.

Concerning Jehoshaphat Again; How He Constituted Judges And, By God’s Assistance
Overcame His Enemies.

1. When Jehoshaphat the king was come to Jerusalem, from the assistance he had
afforded Ahab, the king of Israel, when he fought with Benhadad, king of Syria,
the prophet Jehu met him, and accused him for assisting Ahab, a man both impious
and wicked; and said to him, that God was displeased with him for so doing, but
that he delivered him from the enemy, notwithstanding he had sinned, because of
his own proper disposition, which was good. Whereupon the king betook himself to
thanksgivings and sacrifices to God; after which he presently went over all that
country which he ruled round about, and taught the people, as well the laws which
God gave them by Moses, as that religious worship that was due to him. He also constituted
judges in every one of the cities of his kingdom; and charged them to have regard
to nothing so much in judging the multitude as to do justice, and not to be moved
by bribes, nor by the dignity of men eminent for either their riches or their high
birth, but to distribute justice equally to all, as knowing that God is conscious
of every secret action of theirs. When he had himself instructed them thus, and
gone over every city of the two tribes, he returned to Jerusalem. He there also
constituted judges out of the priests and the Levites, and principal persons of
the multitude, and admonished them to pass all their sentences with care and justice
And that if any of the people of his country had differences of great consequence,
they should send them out of the other cities to these judges, who would be obliged
to give righteous sentences concerning such causes; and this with the greater care,
because it is proper that the sentences which are given in that city wherein the
temple of God is, and wherein the king dwells, be given with great care and the
utmost justice. Now he set over them Amariah the priest, and Zebadiah, [both] of
the tribe of Judah; and after this manner it was that the king ordered these affairs.

2. About the same time the Moabites and Ammonites made an expedition against
Jehoshaphat, ,and took with them a great body of Arabians, and pitched their camp
at Engedi, a city that is situate at the lake Asphaltiris, and distant three hundred
furlongs from Jerusalem. In that place grows the best kind of palm trees, and the
opobalsamum. Now Jehoshaphat heard that the enemies had passed over the lake, and
had made an irruption into that country which belonged to his kingdom; at which
news he was aftrighted, and called the people of Jerusalem to a congregation in
the temple, and standing over against the temple itself, he called upon God to afford
him power and strength, so as to inflict punishment on those that made this expedition
against them (for that those who built this his temple had prayed, that he would
protect that city, and take vengeance on those that were so bold as to come against
it); for they are come to take from us that land which thou hast given us for a
possession. When he had prayed thus, he fell into tears; and the whole multitude,
together with their wives and children, made their supplications also: upon which
a certain prophet, Jahaziel by name, came into the midst of the assembly, and cried
out, and spake both to the multitude and to the king, that God heard their prayers,
and promised to fight against their enemies. He also gave order that the king should
draw his forces out the next day, for that he should find them between Jerusalem
and the ascent of Engedi, at a place called The Eminence, and that he should not
fight against them, but only stand still, and see how God would fight against them.
When the prophet had said this, both the king and the multitude fell upon their
faces, and gave thanks to God, and worshipped him; and the Levites continued singing
hymns to God with their instruments of music.

3. As soon as it was day, and the king was come into that wilderness which is
under the city of Tekoa, he said to the multitude, “that they ought to give credit
to what the prophet had said, and not to set themselves in array for fighting; but
to set the priests with their trumpets, and the Levites with the singers of hymns,
to give thanks to God, as having already delivered our country from our enemies.”
This opinion of the king pleased [the people], and they did what he advised them
to do. So God caused a terror and a commotion to arise among the Ammonites, who
thought one another to be enemies, and slew one another, insomuch that not one man
out of so great an army escaped; and when Jehoshaphat looked upon that valley wherein
their enemies had been encamped, and saw it full of dead men, he rejoiced at so
surprising an event, as was this assistance of God, while he himself by his own
power, and without their labor, had given them the victory. He also gave his army
leave to take the prey of the enemy’s camp, and to spoil their dead bodies; and
indeed so they did for three days together, till they were weary, so great was the
number of the slain; and on the fourth day, all the people were gathered together
unto a certain hollow place or valley, and blessed God for his power and assistance,
from which the place had this name given it, the Valley of [Berachah, or] Blessing.

4. And when the king had brought his army back to Jerusalem, he betook himself
to celebrate festivals, and offer sacrifices, and this for many days. And indeed,
after this destruction of their enemies, and when it came to the ears of the foreign
nations, they were all greatly aftrighted, as supposing that God would openly fight
for him hereafter. So Jehoshaphat from that time lived in great glory and splendor,
on account of his righteousness and his piety towards God. He was also in friendship
with Ahab’s son, who was king of Israel; and he joined with him in the building
of ships that were to sail to Pontus, and the traffic cities of Thrace but he failed
of his gains, for the ships were destroyed by being so great [and unwieldy]; on
which account he was no longer concerned about shipping. And this is the history
of Jehoshaphat, the king of Jerusalem.

CHAPTER 2.

Concerning Ahaziah; The King Of Israel; And Again Concerning The Prophet Elijah.

1. And now Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, reigned over Israel, and made his abode
in Samaria. He was a wicked man, and in all respects like to both his parents and
to Jeroboam, who first of all transgressed, and began to deceive the people. In
the second year of his reign, the king of Moab fell off from his obedience, and
left off paying those tributes which he before paid to his father Ahab. Now it happened
that Ahaziah, as he was coming down from the top of his house, fell down from it,
and in his sickness sent to the Fly, which was the god of Ekron, for that was this
god’s name, to inquire about his recovery but the God of the Hebrews appeared to
Elijah the prophet, and commanded him to go and meet the messengers that were sent,
and to ask them, whether the people of Israel had pot a God of their own, that the
king sent to a foreign god to inquire about his recovery? and to bid them return
and tell the king that he would not escape this disease. And when Elijah had performed
what God had commanded him, and the messengers had heard what he said, they returned
to the king immediately; and when the king wondered how they could return so soon,
and asked them the reason of it, they said that a certain man met them, and forbade
them to go on any farther; but to return and tell thee, from the command of the
God of Israel, that this disease will have a bad end. And when the king bid them
describe the man that said this to them, they replied that he was a hairy man, and
was girt about with a girdle of leather. So the king understood by this that the
man who was described by the messengers was Elijah; whereupon he sent a captain
to him, with fifty soldiers, and commanded them to bring Elijah to him; and when
the captain that was sent found Elijah sitting upon the top of a hill, he commanded
him to come down, and to come to the king, for so had he enjoined; but that in case
he refused, they would carry him by force. Elijah said to him, “That you may have
a trial whether I be a true prophet, I will pray that fire may fall from heaven,
and destroy both the soldiers and yourself. So he prayed, and a whirlwind of fire
fell [from heaven], and destroyed the captain, and those that were with him. And
when the king was informed of the destruction of these men, he was very angry, and
sent another captain with the like number of armed men that were sent before. And
when this captain also threatened the prophet, that unless he came down of his own
accord, he would take him and carry him away, upon his prayer against him, the fire
[from heaven] slew this captain as well the other. And when, upon inquiry, the king
was informed of what happened to him, he sent out a third captain. But when this
captain, who was a wise man, and of a mild disposition, came to the place where
Elijah happened to be, and spake civilly to him; and said that he knew that it was
without his own consent, and only in submission to the king’s command that he came
to him; and that those that came before did not come willingly, but on the same
account; – he therefore desired him to have pity on those armed men that were with
him, and that he would come down and follow him to the king. So Elijah accepted
of his discreet words and courteous behavior, and came down and followed him. And
when he came to the king, he prophesied to him and told him that God said, “Since
thou hast despised him as not being God, and so unable to foretell the truth about
thy distemper, but hast sent to the god of Ekron to inquire of him what will be
the end of this thy distemper, know this, that thou shalt die.”

2. Accordingly the king in a very little time died, as Elijah had foretold; but
Jehoram his brother succeeded him in the kingdom, for he died without children:
but for this Jehoram, he was like his father Ahab in wickedness, and reigned twelve
years, indulging himself in all sorts of wickedness and impiety towards God, for,
leaving off his worship, he worshipped foreign gods; but in other respects he was
an active man. Now at this time it was that Elijah disappeared from among men, and
no one knows of his death to this very day; but he left behind him his disciple
Elisha, as we have formerly declared. And indeed, as to Elijah, and as to Enoch,
who was before the deluge, it is written in the sacred books that they disappeared,
but so that nobody knew that they died.

CHAPTER 3.

How Joram And Jehoshaphat Made An Expedition Against The Moabites; As Also Concerning
The Wonders Of Elisha; And The Death Of Jehoshaphat.

1. When Joram had taken upon him the kingdom, he determined to make an expedition
against the king of Moab, whose name was Mesha; for, as we told you before, he was
departed from his obedience to his brother [Ahaziah], while he paid to his father
Ahab two hundred thousand sheep, with their fleeces of wool. When therefore he had
gathered his own army together, he sent also to Jehoshaphat, and entreated him,
that since he had from the beginning been a friend to his father, he would assist
him in the war that he was entering into against the Moabites, who had departed
from their obedience, who not only himself promised to assist him, but would also
oblige the king of Edom, who was under his authority, to make the same expedition
also. When Joram had received these assurances of assistance from Jehoshaphat, he
took his army with him, and came to Jerusalem; and when he had been sumptuously
entertained by the king of Jerusalem, it was resolved upon by them to take their
march against their enemies through the wilderness of Edom. And when they had taken
a compass of seven days’ journey, they were in distress for want of water for the
cattle, and for the army, from the mistake of their roads by the guides that conducted
them, insomuch that they were all in an agony, especially Joram; and cried to God,
by reason of their sorrow, and [desired to know] what wickedness had been committed
by them that induced him to deliver three kings together, without fighting, unto
the king of Moab. But Jehoshaphat, who was a righteous man, encouraged him, and
bade him send to the camp, and know whether any prophet of God was come along with
them, that we might by him learn from God what we should do. And when one of the
servants of Joram said that he had seen there Elisha, the son of Shaphat, the disciple
of Elijah, the three kings went to him, at the entreaty of Jehoshaphat; and when
they were come at the prophet’s tent, which tent was pitched out of the camp, they
asked him what would become of the army? and Joram was particularly very pressing
with him about it. And when he replied to him, that he should not trouble him, but
go to his father’s and mother’s prophets, for they [to be sure] were true prophets,
he still desired him to prophesy, and to save them. So he swore by God that he would
not answer him, unless it were on account of Jehoshaphat, who was a holy and righteous
man; and when, at his desire, they brought him a man that could play on the psaltery,
the Divine Spirit came upon him as the music played, and he commanded them to dig
many trenches in the valley; for, said he, “though there appear neither cloud, nor
wind, nor storm of rain, ye shall see this river full of water, till the army and
the cattle be saved for you by drinking of it. Nor will this be all the favor that
you shall receive from God, but you shall also overcome your enemies, and take the
best and strongest cities of the Moabites, and you shall cut down their fruit trees,
(6) and lay waste their country, and stop up their fountains and rivers.”

2. When the prophet had said this, the next day, before the sun-rising, a great
torrent ran strongly; for God had caused it to rain very plentifully at the distance
of three days’ journey into Edom, so that the army and the cattle found water to
drink in abundance. But when the Moabites heard that the three kings were coming
upon them, and made their approach through the wilderness, the king of Moab gathered
his army together presently, and commanded them to pitch their camp upon the mountains,
that when the enemies should attempt to enter their country, they might not be concealed
from them. But when at the rising of the sun they saw the water in the torrent,
for it was not far from the land of Moab, and that it was of the color of blood,
for at such a time the water especially looks red, by the shining of the sun upon
it, they formed a false notion of the state of their enemies, as if they had slain
one another for thirst; and that the river ran with their blood. However, supposing
that this was the case, they desired their king would send them out to spoil their
enemies; whereupon they all went in haste, as to an advantage already gained, and
came to the enemy’s camp, as supposing them destroyed already. But their hope deceived
them; for as their enemies stood round about them, some of them were cut to pieces,
and others of them were dispersed, and fled to their own country. And when the kings
fell into the land of Moab, they overthrew the cities that were in it, and spoiled
their fields, and marred them, filling them with stones out of the brooks, and cut
down the best of their trees, and stopped up their fountains of water, and overthrew
their walls to their foundations. But the king of Moab, when he was pursued, endured
a siege; and seeing his city in danger of being overthrown by force, made a sally,
and went out with seven hundred men, in order to break through the enemy’s camp
with his horsemen, on that side where the watch seemed to be kept most negligently;
and when, upon trial, he could not get away, for he lighted upon a place that was
carefully watched, he returned into the city, and did a thing that showed despair
and the utmost distress; for he took his eldest son, who was to reign after him,
and lifting him up upon the wall, that he might be visible to all the enemies, he
offered him as a whole burnt-offering to God, whom, when the kings saw, they commiserated
the distress that was the occasion of it, and were so affected, in way of humanity
and pity, that they raised the siege, and every one returned to his own house. So
Jehoshaphat came to Jerusalem, and continued in peace there, and outlived this expedition
but a little time, and then died, having lived in all sixty years, and of them reigned
twenty-five. He was buried in a magnificent manner in Jerusalem, for he had imitated
the actions of David.

CHAPTER 4.

Jehoram Succeeds Jehoshaphat; How Joram, His Namesake, King Of Israel, Fought
With The Syrians;And What Wonders Were Done By The Prophet Elisha.

1. Jehoshapat had a good number of children; but he appointed his eldest son
Jehoram to be his successor, who had the same name with his mother’s brother, that
was king of Israel, and the son of Ahab. Now when the king of Israel was come out
of the land of Moab to Samaria, he had with him Elisha the prophet, whose acts I
have a mind to go over particularly, for they were illustrious, and worthy to be
related, as we have them set down in the sacred books.

2. For they say that the widow of Obadiah Ahab’s steward, came to him, and said,
that he was not ignorant how her husband had preserved the prophets that were to
be slain by Jezebel, the wife of Ahab; for she said that he hid a hundred of them,
and had borrowed money for their maintenance, and that, after her husband’s death,
she and her children were carried away to be made slaves by the creditors; and she
desired of him to have mercy upon her on account of what her husband did, and afford
her some assistance. And when he asked her what she had in the house, she said,
“Nothing but a very small quantity of oil in a cruse.” So the prophet bid her go
away, and borrow a great many empty vessels of her neighbors, and when she had shut
her chamber door, to pour the oil into them all; for that God would fill them full.
And when the woman had done what she was commanded to do, and bade her children
bring every one of the vessels, and all were filled, and not one left empty, she
came to the prophet, and told him that they were all full; upon which he advised
her to go away, and sell the oil, and pay the creditors what was owing them, for
that there would be some surplus of the price of the oil, which she might make use
of for the maintenance of her children. And thus did Elisha discharge the woman’s
debts, and free her from the vexation of her creditors.

3. Elisha also sent a hasty message to Joram, (8) and exhorted him to take care
of that place, for that therein were some Syrians lying in ambush to kill him. So
the king did as the prophet exhorted him, and avoided his going a hunting. And when
Benhadad missed of the success of his lying in ambush, he was wroth with his own
servants, as if they had betrayed his ambushment to Joram; and he sent for them,
and said they were the betrayers of his secret counsels; and he threatened that
he would put them to death, since such their practice was evident, because he had
intrusted this secret to none but them, and yet it was made known to his enemy.
And one that was present said that he should not mistake himself, nor suspect that
they had discovered to his enemy his sending men to kill him, but that he ought
to know that it was Elisha the prophet who discovered all to him, and laid open
all his counsels. So he gave order that they should send some to learn in what city
Elisha dwelt. Accordingly those that were sent brought word that he was in Dothan;
wherefore Benhadad sent to that city a great army, with horses and chariots, to
take Elisha: so they encompassed the city round about by night, and kept him therein
confined; but when the prophet’s servant in the morning perceived this, and that
his enemies sought to take Elisha, he came running, and crying out after a disordered
manner to him, and told him of it; but he encouraged him, and bid him not be afraid,
and to despise the enemy, and trust in the assistance of God, and was himself without
fear; and he besought God to make manifest to his servant his power and presence,
so far as was possible, in order to the inspiring him with hope and courage. Accordingly
God heard the prayer of the prophet, and made the servant see a multitude of chariots
and horses encompassing Elisha, till he laid aside his fear, and his courage revived
at the sight of what he supposed was come to their assistance. After this Elisha
did further entreat God, that he would dim the eyes of their enemies, and cast a
mist before them, whereby they might not discern him. When this was done, he went
into the midst of his enemies, and asked them who it was that they came to seek;
and when they replied, “The prophet Elisha,” he promised he would deliver him to
them, if they would follow him to the city where he was. So these men were so darkened
by God in their sight and in their mind, that they followed him very diligently;
and when Elisha had brought them to Samaria, he ordered Joram the king to shut the
gates, and to place his own army round about them; and prayed to God to clear the
eyes of these their enemies, and take the mist from before them. Accordingly, when
they were freed from the obscurity they had been in, they saw themselves in the
midst of their enemies; and as the Syrians were strangely amazed and distressed,
as was but reasonable, at an action so Divine and surprising, and as king Joram
asked the prophet if he would give him leave to shoot at them, Elisha forbade him
so to do; and said, that “it is just to kill those that are taken in battle, but
that these men had done the country no harm, but, without knowing it, were come
thither by the Divine Power:” – so that his counsel was to treat them in a hospitable
manner at his table, and then send them away without hurting them. Wherefore Joram
obeyed the prophet; and when he had feasted the Syrians in a splendid and magnificent
manner, he let them go to Benhadad their king.

4. Now when these men were come back, and had showed Benhadad how strange an
accident had befallen them, and what an appearance and power they had experienced
of the God of Israel, he wondered at it, as also at that prophet with whom God was
so evidently present; so he determined to make no more secret attempts upon the
king of Israel, out of fear of Elisha, but resolved to make open war with them,
as supposing he could be too hard for his enemies by the multitude of his army and
power. So he made an expedition with a great army against Joram, who, not thinking
himself a match for him, shut himself up in Samaria, and depended on the strength
of its walls; but Benhadad supposed he should take the city, if not by his engines
of war, yet that he should overcome the Samaritans by famine, and the want of necessaries,
and brought his army upon them, and besieged the city; and the plenty of necessaries
was brought so low with Joram, that from the extremity of want an ass’s head was
sold in Samaria for fourscore pieces of silver, and the Hebrews bought a sextary
of dore’s dung, instead of salt, for five pieces of silver. Now Joram was in fear
lest somebody should betray the city to the enemy, by reason of the famine, and
went every day round the walls and the guards to see whether any such were concealed
among them; and by being thus seen, and taking such care, he deprived them of the
opportunity of contriving any such thing; and if they had a mind to do it, he, by
this means, prevented them: but upon a certain woman’s crying out, “Have pity on
me, my lord,” while he thought that she was about to ask for somewhat to eat, he
imprecated God’s curse upon her, and said he had neither thrashing-floor nor wine-press,
whence he might give her any thing at her petition. Upon which she said she did
not desire his aid in any such thing, nor trouble him about food, but desired that
he would do her justice as to another woman. And when be bade her say on, and let
him know what she desired, she said she had made an agreement with the other woman
who was her neighbor and her friend, that because the famine and want was intolerable,
they should kill their children, each of them having a son of their own, and we
will live upon them ourselves for two days, the one day upon one son, and the other
day upon the other; and,” said she, I have killed my son the first day, and we lived
upon my son yesterday; but this other woman will not do the same thing, but hath
broken her agreement, and hath hid her son.” This story mightily grieved Joram when
he heard it; so he rent his garment, and cried out with a loud voice, and conceived
great wrath against Elisha the prophet, and set himself eagerly to have him slain,
because he did not pray to God to provide them some exit and way of escape out of
the miseries with which they were surrounded; and sent one away immediately to cut
off his head, who made haste to kill the prophet. But Elisha was not unacquainted
with the wrath of the king against him; for as he sat in his house by himself, with
none but his disciples about him, he told them that Joram, who was the son of a
murderer, had sent one to take away his head; “but,” said he, “when he that is commanded
to do this comes, take care that you do not let him come in, but press the door
against him, and hold him fast there, for the king himself will follow him, and
come to me, having altered his mind.” Accordingly, they did as they were bidden,
when he that was sent by the king to kill Elisha came. But Joram repented of his
wrath against the prophet; and for fear he that was commanded to kill him should
have done it before he came, he made haste to hinder his slaughter, and to save
the prophet: and when he came to him, he accused him that he did not pray to God
for their deliverance from the miseries they now lay under, but saw them so sadly
destroyed by them. Hereupon Elisha promised, that the very next day, at the very
same hour in which the king came to him, they should have great plenty of food,
and that two seahs of barley should be sold in the market for a shekel, and a seah
of fine flour should be sold for a shekel. This prediction made Joram, and those
that were present, very joyful, for they did not scruple believing what the prophet
said, on account of the experience they had of the truth of his former predictions;
and the expectation of plenty made the want they were in that day, with the uneasiness
that accompanied it, appear a light thing to them: but the captain of the third
band, who was a friend of the king, and on whose hand the king leaned, said, “Thou
talkest of incredible things, O prophet! for as it is impossible for God to pour
down torrents of barley, or fine flour, out of heaven, so is it impossible that
what thou sayest should come to pass.” To which the prophet made this reply,” Thou
shalt see these things come to pass, but thou shalt not be in the least a partaker
of them.”

5. Now what Elisha had thus foretold came to pass in the manner following: There
was a law at Samaria that those that had the leprosy, and whose bodies were not
cleansed from it, should abide without the city: and there were four men that on
this account abode before the gates, while nobody gave them any food, by reason
of the extremity of the famine; and as they were prohibited from entering into the
city by the law, and they considered that if they were permitted to enter, they
should miserably perish by the famine; as also, that if they staid where they were,
they should suffer in the same manner, – they resolved to deliver themselves up
to the enemy, that in case they should spare them, they should live; but if they
should be killed, that would be an easy death. So when they had confirmed this their
resolution, they came by night to the enemy’s camp. Now God had begun to affright
and disturb the Syrians, and to bring the noise of chariots and armor to their ears,
as though an army were coming upon them, and had made them suspect that it was coming
nearer and nearer to them In short, they were in such a dread of this army, that
they left their tents, and ran together to Benhadad, and said that Joram the king
of Israel had hired for auxiliaries both the king of Egypt and the king of the Islands,
and led them against them for they heard the noise of them as they were coming.
And Benhadad believed what they said (for there came the same noise to his ears
as well as it did to theirs); so they fell into a mighty disorder and tumult, and
left their horses and beasts in their camp, with immense riches also, and betook
themselves to flight. And those lepers who had departed from Samaria, and were gone
to the camp of the Syrians, of whom we made mention a little before, when they were
in the camp, saw nothing but great quietness and silence: accordingly they entered
into it, and went hastily into one of their tents; and when they saw nobody there,
they eat and drank, and carried garments, and a great quantity of gold, and hid
it out of the camp; after which they went into another tent, and carried off what
was in it, as they did at the former, and this did they for several times, without
the least interruption from any body. So they gathered thereby that the enemies
were departed; whereupon they reproached themselves that they did not inform Joram
and the citizens of it. So they came to the walls of Samaria, and called aloud to
the watchmen, and told them in what state the enemies were, as did these tell the
king’s guards, by whose means Joram came to know of it; who then sent for his friends,
and the captains of his host, and said to them, that he suspected that this departure
of the king of Syria was by way of ambush and treachery, and that out of despair
of ruining you by famine, when you imagine them to be fled away, you may come out
of the city to spoil their camp, and he may then fall upon you on a sudden, and
may both kill you, and take the city without fighting; whence it is that I exhort
you to guard the city carefully, and by no means to go out of it, or proudly to
despise your enemies, as though they were really gone away.” And when a certain
person said that he did very well and wisely to admit such a suspicion, but that
he still advised him to send a couple of horsemen to search all the country as far
as Jordan, that “if they were seized by an ambush of the enemy, they might be a
security to your army, that they may not go out as if they suspected nothing, nor
undergo the like misfortune; and,” said he, “those horsemen may be numbered among
those that have died by the famine, supposing they be caught and destroyed by the
enemy.” So the king was pleased with this opinion, and sent such as might search
out the truth, who performed their journey over a road that was without any enemies,
but found it full of provisions, and of weapons, that they had therefore thrown
away, and left behind them, in order to their being light and expeditious in their
flight. When the king heard this, he sent out the multitude to take the spoils of
the camp; which gains of theirs were not of things of small value, but they took
a great quantity of gold, and a great quantity of silver, and flocks of all kinds
of cattle. They also possessed themselves of [so many] ten thousand measures of
wheat and barley, as they never in the least dreamed of; and were not only freed
from their former miseries, but had such plenty, that two seahs of barley were bought
for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, according to the prophecy of
Elisha. Now a seah is equal to an Italian modius and a half. The captain of the
third band was the only man that received no benefit by this plenty; for as he was
appointed by the king to oversee the gate, that lm might prevent the too great crowd
of the multitude, and they might not endanger one another to perish, by treading
on one another in the press, he suffered himself in that very way, and died in that
very manner, as Elisha had foretold such his death, when he alone of them all disbelieved
what he said concerning that plenty of provisions which they should soon have.

6. Hereupon, when Benhadad, the king of Syria, had escaped to Damascus, and understood
that it was God himself that cast all his army into this fear and disorder, and
that it did not arise from the invasion of enemies, he was mightily cast down at
his having God so greatly for his enemy, and fell into a distemper. Now it happened
that Elisha the prophet, at that time, was gone out of his own country to Damascus,
of which Berthadad was informed: he sent Hazael, the most faithful of all his servants,
to meet him, and to carry him presents, and bade him inquire of him about his distemper,
and whether he should escape the danger that it threatened. So Hazael came to Elisha
with forty camels, that carried the best and most precious fruits that the country
of Damascus afforded, as well as those which the king’s palace supplied. He saluted
him kindly, and said that he was sent to him by king Berthadad, and brought presents
with him, in order to inquire concerning his distemper, whether he should recover
from it or not. Whereupon the prophet bid him tell the king no melancholy news;
but still he said he would die. So the king’s servant was troubled to hear it; and
Elisha wept also, and his tears ran down plenteously at his foresight of what miseries
his people would undergo after the death of Berthadad. And when Hazael asked him
what was the occasion of this confusion he was in, he said that he wept out of his
commiseration for the multitude of the Israelites, and what terrible miseries they
will suffer by thee; “for thou wilt slay the strongest of them, and wilt burn their
strongest cities, and wilt destroy their children, and dash them against the stones,
and wilt rip up their women with child.” And when Hazael said, “How can it be that
I should have power enough to do such things ?” the prophet replied, that God had
informed him that he should be king of Syria. So when Hazael was come to Benhadad,
he told him good news concerning his distemper but on the next day he spread a wet
cloth, in the nature of a net, over him, and strangled him, and took his dominion.
He was an active man, and had the good-will of the Syrians, and of the people of
Damascus, to a great degree; by whom both Benhadad himself, and Hazael, who ruled
after him, are honored to this day as gods, by reason of their benefactions, and
their building them temples by which they adorned the city of the Damascenes. They
also every day do with great pomp pay their worship to these kings, and value themselves
upon their antiquity; nor do they know that these kings are much later than they
imagine, and that they are not yet eleven hundred years old. Now when Joram, the
king of Israel, heard that Berthadad was dead, he recovered out of the terror and
dread he had been in on his account, and was very glad to live in peace.

CHAPTER 5.

Concerning The Wickedness Of Jehoram King O Jerusalem; His Defeat And Death.

1. Now Jehoram the king of Jerusalem, for we have said before that he had the
same name with the king of Israel, as soon as he had taken the government upon him,
betook himself to the slaughter of his brethren, and his father’s friends, who were
governors under him, and thence made a beginning and a demonstration of his wickedness;
nor was he at all better than those kings of Israel who at first transgressed against
the laws of their country, and of the Hebrews, and against God’s worship. And it
was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, whom he had married, who taught him to be a
bad man in other respects, and also to worship foreign gods. Now God would not quite
root out this family, because of the promise he had made to David. However, Jehoram
did not leave off the introduction of new sorts of customs to the propagation of
impiety, and to the ruin of the customs of his own country. And when the Edomites
about that time had revolted from him, and slain their former king, who was in subjection
to his father, and had set up one of their own choosing, Jehoram fell upon the land
of Edom, with the horsemen that were about him, and the chariots, by night, and
destroyed those that lay near to his own kingdom, but did not proceed further. However,
this expedition did him no service, for they all revolted from him, with those that
dwelt in the country of Libnah. He was indeed so mad as to compel the people to
go up to the high places of the mountains, and worship foreign gods.

2. As he was doing this, and had entirely cast his own country laws out of his
mind, there was brought him an epistle from Elijah the prophet which declared that
God would execute great judgments upon him, because he had not imitated his own
fathers, but had followed the wicked courses of the kings of Israel; and had compelled
the tribe of Judah, and the citizens of Jerusalem, to leave the holy worship of
their own God, and to worship idols, as Ahab had compelled the Israelites to do,
and because he had slain his brethren, and the men that were good and righteous.
And the prophet gave him notice in this epistle what punishment he should undergo
for these crimes, namely, the destruction of his people, with the corruption of
the king’s own wives and children; and that he should himself die of a distemper
in his bowels, with long torments, those his bowels falling out by the violence
of the inward rottenness of the parts, insomuch that, though he see his own misery,
he shall not be able at all to help himself, but shall die in that manner. This
it was which Elijah denounced to him in that epistle.

3. It was not long after this that an army of those Arabians that lived near
to Ethiopia, and of the Philistines, fell upon the kingdom of Jehoram, and spoiled
the country and the king’s house. Moreover, they slew his sons and his wives: one
only of his sons was left him, who escaped the enemy; his name was Ahaziah; after
which calamity, he himself fell into that disease which was foretold by the prophet,
and lasted a great while, (for God inflicted this punishment upon him in his belly,
out of his wrath against him,) and so he died miserably, and saw his own bowels
fall out. The people also abused his dead body; I suppose it was because they thought
that such his death came upon him by the wrath of God, and that therefore he was
not worthy to partake of such a funeral as became kings. Accordingly, they neither
buried him in the sepulchers of his fathers, nor vouchsafed him any honors, but
buried him like a private man, and this when he had lived forty years, and reigned
eight. And the people of Jerusalem delivered the government to his son Ahaziah.

CHAPTER 6.

How Jehu Was Anointed King, And Slew Both Joram And Ahaziah; As Also What He
Did For The Punishment Of The Wicked.

1. Now Joram, the king of Israel, after the death of Benhadad, hoped that he
might now take Ramoth, a city of Gilead, from the Syrians. Accordingly he made an
expedition against it, with a great army; but as he was besieging it, an arrow was
shot at him by one of the Syrians, but the wound was not mortal. So he returned
to have his wound healed in Jezreel, but left his whole army in Ramorb, and Jehu,
the son of Nimshi, for their general; for he had already taken the city by force;
and he proposed, after he was healed,: to make war with the Syrians; but Elisha
the prophet sent one of his disciples to Ramoth, and gave him holy oil to anoint
Jehu, and to tell him that God had chosen him to be their king. He also sent him
to say other things to him, and bid him to take his journey as if he fled, that
when he came away he might escape the knowledge of all men. So when he was come
to the city, he found Jehu sitting in the midst of the captains of the army, as
Elisha had foretold he should find him. So he came up to him, and said that he desired
to speak with him about certain matters; and when he was arisen, and had followed
him into an inward chamber, the young man took the oil, and poured it on his head,
and said that God ordained him to be king, in order to his destroying the house
of Ahab, and that he might revenge the blood of the prophets that were unjustly
slain by Jezebel, that so their house might utterly perish, as those of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, and of Baasha, had perished for their wickedness, and no seed
might remain of Ahab’s family. So when he had said this, he went away hastily out
of the chamber, and endeavored not to be seen by any of the army.

2. But Jehu came out, and went to the place where he before sat with the captains;
and when they asked him, and desired him to tell them, wherefore it was that this
young man came to him, and added withal that he was mad, he replied, – You guess
right, for the words he spake were the words of a madman;” and when they were eager
about the matter, and desired he would tell them, he answered, that God had said
he had chosen him to be king over the multitude. When he had said this, every one
of them put off his garment, and strewed it under him, and blew with trumpets, and
gave notice that Jehu was king. So when he had gotten the army together, he was
preparing to set out immediately against Joram, at the city Jezreel, in which city,
as we said before, he was healing of the wound which he had received in the siege
of Ramoth. It happened also that Ahaziah, king of Jerusalem, was now come to Joram,
for he was his sister’s son, as we have said already, to see how he did after his
wound, and this upon account of their kindred; but as Jehu was desirous to fall
upon Joram, and those with him, on the sudden, he desired that none of the soldiers
might run away and tell to Joram what had happened, for that this would be an evident
demonstration of their kindness to him, and would show that their real inclinations
were to make him king.

3. So they were pleased with what he did, and guarded the roads, lest somebody
should privately tell the thing to those that were at Jezreel. Now Jehu took his
choice horsemen, and sat upon his chariot, and went on for Jezreel; and when he
was come near, the watchman whom Joram had set there to spy out such as came to
the city, saw Jehu marching on, and told Joram that he saw a troop of horsemen marching
on. Upon which he immediately gave orders, that one of his horsemen should be sent
out to meet them, and to know who it was that was coming. So when the horseman came
up to Jehu, he asked him in what condition the army was, for that the king wanted
to know it; but Jehu bid him not at all to meddle with such matters, but to follow
him. When the watchman saw this, he told Joram that the horseman had mingled himself
among the company, and came along with them. And when the king had sent a second
messenger, Jehu commanded him to do as the former did; and as soon as the watchman
told this also to Joram, he at last got upon his chariot himself, together with
Ahaziah, the king of Jerusalem; for, as we said before, he was there to see how
Joram did, after he had been wounded, as being his relation. So he went out to meet
Jehu, who marched slowly, and in good order; and when Joram met him in the field
of Naboth, he asked him if all things were well in the camp; but Jehu reproached
him bitterly, and ventured to call his mother a witch and a harlot. Upon this the
king, fearing what he intended, and suspecting he had no good meaning, turned his
chariot about as soon as he could, and said to Ahaziah, “We are fought against by
deceit and treachery.” But Jehu drew his bow, and smote him, the arrow going through
his heart: so Joram fell down immediately on his knee, and gave up the ghost. Jehu
also gave orders to Bidkar, the captain of the third part of his army, to cast the
dead body of Joram into the field of Naboth, putting him in mind of the prophecy
which Elijah prophesied to Ahab his father, when he had slain Naboth, that both
he and his family should perish in that place; for that as they sat behind Ahab’s
chariot, they heard the prophet say so, and that it was now come to pass according
to his prophecy. Upon the fall of Joram, Ahaziah was afraid of his own life, and
turned his chariot into another road, supposing he should not be seen by Jehu; but
he followed after him, and overtook him at a certain acclivity, and drew his bow,
and wounded him; so he left his chariot, and got upon his horse, and fled from Jehu
to Megiddo; and though he was under cure, in a little time he died of that wound,
and was carried to Jerusalem, and buried there, after he had reigned one year, and
had proved a wicked man, and worse than his father.

4. Now when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel adorned herself and stood upon
a tower, and said, he was a fine servant that had killed his master! And when he
looked up to her, he asked who she was, and commanded her to come down to him. At
last he ordered the eunuchs to throw her down from the tower; and being thrown down,
she be-sprinkled the wall with her blood, and was trodden upon by the horses, and
so died. When this was done, Jehu came to the palace with his friends, and took
some refreshment after his journey, both with other things, and by eating a meal.
He also bid his servants to take up Jezebel and bury her, because of the nobility
of her blood, for she was descended from kings; but those that were appointed to
bury her found nothing else remaining but the extreme parts of her body, for all
the rest were eaten by dogs. When Jehu heard this, he admired the prophecy of Elijah,
for he foretold that she should perish in this manner at Jezreel.

5. Now Ahab had seventy sons brought up in Samaria. So Jehu sent two epistles,
the one to them that brought up the children, the other to the rulers of Samaria,
which said, that they should set up the most valiant of Ahab’s sons for king, for
that they had abundance of chariots, and horses, and armor, and a great army, and
fenced cities, and that by so doing they might avenge the murder of Ahab. This he
wrote to try the intentions of those of Samaria. Now when the rulers, and those
that had brought up the children, had read the letter, they were afraid; and considering
that they were not at all able to oppose him, who had already subdued two very great
kings, they returned him this answer: That they owned him for their lord, and would
do whatsoever he bade them. So he wrote back to them such a reply as enjoined them
to obey what he gave order for, and to cut off the heads of Ahab’s sons, and send
them to him. Accordingly the rulers sent for those that brought up the sons of Ahab,
and commanded them to slay them, to cut off their heads, and send them to Jehu.
So they did whatsoever they were commanded, without omitting any thing at all, and
put them up in wicker baskets, and sent them to Jezreel. And when Jehu, as he was
at supper with his friends, was informed that the heads of Ahab’s’ sons were brought,
he ordered them to make two heaps of them, one before each of the gates; and in
the morning he went out to take a view of them, and when he saw them, he began to
say to the people that were present, that he did himself make an expedition against
his master [Joram], and slew him, but that it was not he that slew all these; and
he desired them to take notice, that as to Ahab’s family, all things had come to
pass according to God’s prophecy, and his house was perished, according as Elijah
had foretold. And when he had further destroyed all the kindred of Ahab that were
found in Jezreel, he went to Samaria; and as he was upon the road, he met the relations
of Ahaziah king of Jerusalem, and asked them whither they were going? they replied,
that they came to salute Joram, and their own king Ahaziah, for they knew not that
he had slain them both. So Jehu gave orders that they should catch these, and kill
them, being in number forty-two persons.

6. After these, there met him a good and a righteous man, whose name was Jehonadab,
and who had been his friend of old. He saluted Jehu, and began to commend him, because
he had done every thing according to the will of God, in extirpating the house of
Ahab. So Jehu desired him to come up into his chariot, and make his entry with him
into Samaria; and told him that he would not spare one wicked man, but would punish
the false prophets, and false priests, and those that deceived the multitude, and
persuaded them to leave the worship of God Almighty, and to worship foreign gods;
and that it was a most excellent and most pleasing sight to a good and a righteous
man to see the wicked punished. So Jehonadab was persuaded by these arguments, and
came up into Jehu’s chariot, and came to Samaria. And Jehu sought out for all Ahab’s
kindred, and slew them. And being desirous that none of the false prophets, nor
the priests of Ahab’s god, might escape punishment, he caught them deceitfully by
this wile; for he gathered all the people together, and said that he would worship
twice as many gods as Ahab worshipped, and desired that his priests, and prophets,
and servants might be present, because he would offer costly and great sacrifices
to Ahab’s god; and that if any of his priests were wanting, they should be punished
with death. Now Ahab’s god was called Baal; and when he had appointed a day on which
he would offer those sacrifices, he sent messengers through all the country of the
Israelites, that they might bring the priests of Baal to him. So Jehu commanded
to give all the priests vestments; and when they had received them, he went into
the house [of Baal], with his friend Jehonadab, and gave orders to make search whether
there were not any foreigner or stranger among them, for he would have no one of
a different religion to mix among their sacred offices. And when they said that
there was no stranger there, and they were beginning their sacrifices, he set fourscore
men without, they being such of his soldiers as he knew to be most faithful to him,
and bid them slay the prophets, and now vindicate the laws of their country, which
had been a long time in disesteem. He also threatened, that if any one of them escaped,
their own lives should go for them. So they slew them all with the sword, and burnt
the house of Baal, and by that means purged Samaria of foreign customs [idolatrous
worship]. Now this Baal was the god of the Tyrians; and Ahab, in order to gratify
his father-in-law, Ethbaal, who was the king of Tyre and Sidon, built a temple for
him in Samaria, and appointed him prophets, and worshipped him with all sorts of
worship, although, when this god was demolished, Jehu permitted the Israelites to
worship the golden heifers. However, because he had done thus, and taken care to
punish the wicked, God foretold by his prophet that his .sons should reign over
Israel for four generations. And in this condition was Jehu at this time.

CHAPTER 7.

How Athaliah Reigned Over Jerusalem For Five [Six] Years When Jehoiada The High
Priest Slew Her And Made Jehoash, The Son Of Ahaziah, King.

1. Now when Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, heard of the death of her brother
Joram, and of her son Ahaziah, and of the royal family, she endeavored that none
of the house of David might be left alive, but that the whole family might be exterminated,
that no king might arise out of it afterward; and, as she thought, she had actually
done it; but one of Ahaziah’s sons was preserved, who escaped death after the manner
following: Ahaziah had a sister by the same father, whose name was Jehosheba, and
she was married to the high priest Jehoiada. She went into the king’s palace, and
found Jehoash, for that was the little child’s name, who was not above a year old,
among those that were slain, but concealed with his nurse; so she took him with
her into a secret bed-chamber, and shut him up there, and she and her husband Jehoiada
brought him up privately in the temple six years, during which time Athaliah reigned
over Jerusalem and the two tribes.

2. Now, on the Seventh year, Jehoiada communicated the matter to certain of the
captains of hundreds, five in number, and persuaded them to be assisting to what
attempts he was making against Athaliah, and to join with him in asserting the kingdom
to the child. He also received such oaths from them as are proper to secure those
that assist one another from the fear of discovery; and he was then of good hope
that they should depose Athaliah. Now those men whom Jehoiada the priest had taken
to be his partners went into all the country, and gathered together the priests
and the Levites, and the heads of the tribes out of it, and came and brought them
to Jerusalem to the high priest. So he demanded the security of an oath of them,
to keep private whatsoever he should discover to them, which required both their
silence and their assistance. So when they had taken the oath, and had thereby made
it safe for him to speak, he produced the child that he had brought up of the family
of David, and said to them, “This is your king, of that house which you know God
hath foretold should reign over you for all time to come. I exhort you therefore
that one-third part of you guard him in the temple, and that a fourth part keep
watch at all the gates of the temple, and that the next part of you keep guard at
the gate which opens and leads to the king’s palace, and let the rest of the multitude
be unarmed in the temple, and let no armed person go into the temple, but the priest
only.” He also gave them this order besides, “That a part of the priests and the
Levites should be about the king himself, and be a guard to him, with their drawn
swords, and to kill that man immediately, whoever he be, that should be so bold
as to enter armed into the temple; and bid them be afraid of nobody, but persevere
in guarding the king.” So these men obeyed what the high priest advised them to,
and declared the reality of their resolution by their actions. Jehoiada also opened
that armory which David had made in the temple, and distributed to the captains
of hundreds, as also to the priests and Levites, all the spears and quivers, and
what kind of weapons soever it contained, and set them armed in a circle round about
the temple, so as to touch one another’s hands, and by that means excluding those
from entering that ought not to enter. So they brought the child into the midst
of them, and put on him the royal crown, and Jehoiada anointed him with the oil,
and made him king; and the multitude rejoiced, and made a noise, and cried, “God
save the king!

3. When Athaliah unexpectedly heard the tumult and the acclamations, she was
greatly disturbed in her mind, and suddenly issued out of the royal palace with
her own army; and when she was come to the temple, the. priests received her; but
as for those that stood round about the temple, as they were ordered by the high
priest to do, they hindered the armed inert that followed her from going in. But
when Athaliah saw the child standing upon a pillar, with the royal crown upon his
head, she rent her clothes, and cried out vehemently, and commanded [her guards]
to kill him that had laid snares for her, and endeavored to deprive her of the government.
But Jehoiada called for the captains of hundreds, and commanded them to bring Athaliah
to the valley of Cedron, and slay her there, for he would not have the temple defiled
with the punishments of this pernicious woman; and he gave order, that if any one
came near to help her, he should be slain also; wherefore those that had the charge
of her slaughter took hold of her, and led her to the gate of the king’s mules,
arid slew her there.

4. Now as soon as what concerned Athaliah was by this stratagem, after this manner,
despatched, Jehoiada called together the people and the armed men into the temple,
and made them take an oath that they would be obedient to the king, and take care
of his safety, and of the safety of his government; after which he obliged the king
to give security [upon oath] that he would worship God, and not transgress the laws
of Moses. They then ran to the house of Baal, which Athaliah and her husband Jehoram
had built, to the dishonor of the God of their fathers, and to the honor of Ahab,
and demolished it, and slew Mattan, that had his priesthood. But Jehoiada intrusted
the care and custody of the temple to the priests and Levites, according to the
appointment of king David, and enjoined them to bring their regular burnt-offerings
twice a day, and to offer incense according to the law. He also ordained some of
the Levites, with the porters, to be a guard to the temple, that no one that was
defiled might come there.

5. And when Jehoiada had set these things in order, he, with the captains of
hundreds, and the rulers, and all the people, took Jehoash out of the temple into
the king’s palace; and when he had set him upon the king’s throne, the people shouted
for joy, and betook themselves to feasting, and kept a festival for many days; but
the city was quiet upon the death of Athaliah. Now Jehoash was seven years old when
he took the kingdom. His mother’s name was Zibiah, of the city Beersheba. And all
the time that Jehoiada lived Jehoash was careful that the laws should be kept, and
very zealous in the worship of God; and when he was of age, he married two wives,
who were given to him by the high priest, by whom were born to him both sons and
daughters. And thus much shall suffice to have related concerning king Jehoash,
how he escaped the treachery of Athaliah, and how he received the kingdom.

CHAPTER 8.

Hazael Makes An Expedition Against The People Of Israel And The Inhabitants Of
Jerusalem. Jehu Dies, And Jehoahaz Succeeds In The Government. Jehoash The King
Of Jerusalem At First Is Careful About The Worship Of God But Afterwards Becomes
Impious And Commands Zechariah To Be Stoned. When Jehoash [King Of Judah] Was Dead,
Amaziah Succeeds Him In The Kingdom.

1. Now Hazael, king of Syria, fought against the Israelites and their king Jehu,
and spoiled the eastern parts of the country beyond Jordan, which belonged to the
Reubenites and Gadites, and to [the half tribe of] Manassites; as also Gilead and
Bashan, burning, and spoiling, and offering violence to all that he laid his hands
on, and this without impeachment from Jehu, who made no haste to defend the country
when it was under this distress; nay, he was become a contemner of religion, and
a despiser of holiness, and of the laws, and died when he had reigned over the Israelites
twenty-seven years. He was buried in Samaria, and left Jehoahaz his son his successor
in the government.

2. Now Jehoash, king of Jerusalem, had an inclination to repair the temple of
God; so he called Jehoiada, and bid him send the Levites and priests through all
the country, to require half a shekel of silver for every head, towards the rebuilding
and repairing of the temple, which was brought to decay by Jehoram, and Athaliah
and her sons. But the high priest did not do this, as concluding that no one would
willingly pay that money; but in the twenty-third year of Jehoash’s reign, when
the king sent for him and the Levites, and complained that they had not obeyed what
he enjoined them, and still commanded them to take care of the rebuilding the temple,
he used this stratagem for collecting the money, with which the multitude was pleased.
He made a wooden chest, and closed it up fast on all sides, but opened one hole
in it; he then set it in the temple beside the altar, and desired every one to cast
into it, through the hole, what he pleased, for the repair of the temple. This contrivance
was acceptable to the people, and they strove one with another, and brought in jointly
large quantities of silver and gold; and when the scribe and the priest that were
over the treasuries had emptied the chest, and counted the money in the king’s presence,
they then set it in its former place, and thus did they every day. But when the
multitude appeared to have cast in as much as was wanted, the high priest Jehoiada,
and king Joash, sent to hire masons and carpenters, and to buy large pieces of timber,
and of the most curious sort; and when they had repaired the temple, they made use
of the remaining gold and silver, which was not a little, for bowls, and basons,
and cups, and other vessels, and they went on to make the altar every day fat with
sacrifices of great value. And these things were taken suitable care of as long
as Jehoiada lived.

3. But as soon as he was dead (which was when he had lived one hundred and thirty
years, having been a righteous, and in every respect a very good man, and was buried
in the king’s sepulchers at Jerusalem, because he had recovered the kingdom to the
family of David) king Jehoash betrayed his [want of] care about God. The principal
men of the people were corrupted also together with him, and offended against their
duty, and what their constitution determined to be most for their good. Hereupon
God was displeased with the change that was made on the king, and on the rest of
the people, and sent prophets to testify to them what their actions were, and to
bring them to leave off their wickedness; but they had gotten such a strong affection
and so violent an inclination to it, that neither could the examples of those that
had offered affronts to the laws, and had been so severely punished, they and their
entire families, nor could the fear of what the prophets now foretold, bring them
to repentance, and turn them back from their course of transgression to their former
duty. But the king commanded that Zechariah, the son of the high priest Jehoiada,
should be stoned to death in the temple, and forgot the kindnesses he had received
from his father; for when God had appointed him to prophesy, he stood in the midst
of the multitude, and gave this counsel to them and to the king: That they should
act righteously; and foretold to them, that if they would not hearken to his admonitions,
they should suffer a heavy punishment. But as Zechariah was ready to die, he appealed
to God as a witness of what he suffered for the good counsel he had given them,
and how he perished after a most severe and violent manner for the good deeds his
father had done to Jehoash.

4. However, it was not long before the king suffered punishment for his transgression;
for when Hazael, king of Syria, made an irruption into his country, and when he
had overthrown Gath, and spoiled it, he made an expedition against Jerusalem; upon
which Jehoash was afraid, and emptied all the treasures of God and of the kings
[before him], and took down the gifts that had been dedicated [in the temple], and
sent them to the king of Syria, and procured so much by them, that he was not besieged,
nor his kingdom quite endangered; but Hazael was induced by the greatness of the
sum of money not to bring his army against Jerusalem; yet Jehoash fell into a severe
distemper, and was set upon by his friends, in order to revenge the death of Zechariah,
the son of Jehoiada. These laid snares for the king, and slew him. He was indeed
buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal sepulchers of his forefathers, because
of his impiety. He lived forty-seven years, and Amaziah his son succeeded him in
the kingdom.

5. In the one and twentieth year of the reign of Jehoash, Jehoahaz, the son of
Jehu, took the government of the Israelites in Samaria, and held it seventeen years.
He did not [properly] imitate his father, but was guilty of as wicked practices
as hose that first had God in contempt: but the king of Syria brought him low, and
by an expedition against him did so greatly reduce his forces, that there remained
no more of so great an army than ten thousand armed men, and fifty horsemen. He
also took away from him his great cities, and many of them also, and destroyed his
army. And these were the things that the people of Israel suffered, according to
the prophecy of Elisha, when he foretold that Hazael should kill his master, and
reign over the Syrians and Damcenes. But when Jehoahaz was under such unavoidable
miseries, he had recourse to prayer and supplication to God, and besought him to
deliver him out of the hands of Hazael, and not overlook him, and give him up into
his hands. Accordingly God accepted of his repentance instead of virtue; and being
desirous rather to admonish those that might repent, and not to determine that they
should be utterly destroyed, he granted him deliverance from war and dangers. So
the country having obtained peace, returned again to its former condition, and flourished
as before.

6. Now after the death of Jehoahaz, his son Joash took the kingdom, in the thirty-seventh
year of Jehoash, the king of the tribe of Judah. This Joash then took the kingdom
of Israel in Samaria, for he had the same name with the king of Jerusalem, and he
retained the kingdom sixteen years. He was a good man, and in his disposition was
not at all like his father. Now at this time it was that when Elisha the prophet,
who was already very old, and was now fallen into a disease, the king of Israel
came to visit him; and when he found him very near death, he began to weep in his
sight, and lament, to call him his father, and his weapons, because it was by his
means that he never made use of his weapons against his enemies, but that he overcame
his own adversaries by his prophecies, without fighting; and that he was now departing
this life, and leaving him to the Syrians, that were already armed, and to other
enemies of his that were under their power; so he said it was not safe for him to
live any longer, but that it would be well for him to hasten to his end, and depart
out of this life with him. As the king was thus bemoaning himself, Elisha comforted
him, and bid the king bend a bow that was brought him; and when the king had fitted
the bow for shooting, Elisha took hold of his hands and bid him shoot; and when
he had shot three arrows, and then left off, Elisha said, “If thou hadst shot more
arrows, thou hadst cut the kingdom of Syria up by the roots; but since thou hast
been satisfied with shooting three times only, thou shalt fight and beat the Syrians
no more times than three, that thou mayst recover that country which they cut off
from thy kingdom in the reign of thy father.” So when the king had heard that, he
departed; and a little while after the prophet died. He was a man celebrated for
righteousness, and in eminent favor with God. He also performed wonderful and surprising
works by prophecy, and such as were gloriously preserved in memory by the Hebrews.
He also obtained a magnificent funeral, such a one indeed as it was fit a person
so beloved of God should have. It also happened, that at that time certain robbers
cast a man whom they had slain into Elisha’s grave, and upon his dead body coming
close to Elisha’s body, it revived again. And thus far have we enlarged about the
actions of Elisha the prophet, both such as he did while he was alive, and how he
had a Divine power after his death also.

7. Now, upon the death of Hazael, the king of Syria, that kingdom came to Adad
his son, with whom Joash, king of Israel, made war; and when he had beaten him in
three battles, he took from him all that country, and all those cities and villages,
which his father Hazael had taken from the kingdom of Israel, which came to pass,
however, according to the prophecy of Elisha. But when Joash happened to die, he
was buried in Samaria, and the government devolved on his son Jeroboam.

CHAPTER 9.

How Amaziah Made An Expedition Against The Edomites And Amalekites And Conquered
Them; But When He Afterwards Made War Against Joash, He Was Beaten And Not Long
After Was Slain, And Uzziah Succeeded In The Government.

1. Now, in the second year of the reign of Joash over Israel, Amaziah reigned
over the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan, who was born
at Jerusalem. He was exceeding careful of doing what was right, and this when he
was very young; but when he came to the management of affairs, and to the government,
he resolved that he ought first of all to avenge his father Je-hoash, and to punish
those his friends that had laid violent hands upon him: so he seized upon them all,
and put them to death; yet did he execute no severity on their children, but acted
therein according to the laws of Moses, who did not think it just to punish children
for the sins of their fathers. After this he chose him an army out of the tribe
of Judah and Benjamin, of such as were in the flower of their age, and about twenty
years old; and when he had collected about three hundred thousand of them together,
he set captains of hundreds over them. He also sent to the king of Israel, and hired
a hundred thousand of his soldiers for a hundred talents of silver, for he had resolved
to make an expedition against the nations of the Amatekites, and Edomites, and Gebalites:
but as he was preparing for his expedition, and ready to go out to the war, a prophet
gave him counsel to dismiss the army of the Israelites, because they were bad men,
and because God foretold that he should be beaten, if he made use of them as auxiliaries;
but that he should overcome his enemies, though he had but a few soldiers, when
it so pleased God. And when the king grudged at his having already paid the hire
of the Israelites, the prophet exhorted him to do what God would have him, because
he should thereby obtain much wealth from God. So he dismissed them, and said that
he still freely gave them their pay, and went himself with his own army, and made
war with the nations before mentioned; and when he had beaten them in battle, he
slew of them ten thousand, and took as many prisoners alive, whom he brought to
the great rock which is in Arabia, and threw them down from it headlong. He also
brought away a great deal of prey and vast riches from those nations. But while
Amaziah was engaged in this expedition, those Israelites whom he had hired, and
then dismissed, were very uneasy at it, and taking their dismission for an affront,
(as supposing that this would not have been done to them but out of contempt,) they
fell upon his kingdom, and proceeded to spoil the country as far as Beth-horon,
and took much cattle, and slew three thousand men.

2. Now upon the victory which Amaziah had gotten, and the great acts he had done,
he was puffed up, and began to overlook God, who had given him the victory, and
proceeded to worship the gods he had brought out of the country of the Amalekites.
So a prophet came to him, and said, that he wondered how he could esteem these to
be gods, who had been of no advantage to their own people who paid them honors,
nor had delivered them from his hands, but had overlooked the destruction of many
of them, and had suffered themselves to be carried captive, for that they had been
carried to Jerusalem in the same manner as any one might have taken some of the
enemy alive, and led them thither. This reproof provoked the king to anger, and
he commanded the prophet to hold his peace, and threatened to punish him if he meddled
with his conduct. So he replied, that he should indeed hold his peace; but foretold
withal, that God would not overlook his attempts for innovation. But Amaziah was
not able to contain himself under that prosperity which God had given him, although
he had affronted God thereupon; but in a vein of insolence he wrote to Joash, the
king of Israel, and commanded that he and all his people should be obedient to him,
as they had formerly been obedient to his progenitors, David and Solomon; and he
let him know, that if he would not be so wise as to do what he commanded him, he
must fight for his dominion. To which message Joash returned this answer in writing:
“King Joash to king Amaziah. There was a vastly tall cypress tree in Mount Lebanon,
as also a thistle; this thistle sent to the cypress tree to give the cypress tree’s
daughter in marriage to the thistle’s son; but as the thistle was saying this, there
came a wild beast, and trod down the thistle: and this may be a lesson to thee,
not to be so ambitious, and to have a care, lest upon thy good success in the fight
against the Amalekites thou growest so proud, as to bring dangers upon thyself and
upon thy kingdom.”

3. When Amaziah had read this letter, he was more eager upon this expedition,
which, I suppose, was by the impulse of God, that he might be punished for his offense
against him. But as soon as he led out his army against Joash, and they were going
to join battle with him, there came such a fear and consternation upon the army
of Amaziah, as God, when he is displeased, sends upon men, and discomfited them,
even before they came to a close fight. Now it happened, that as they were scattered
about by the terror that was upon them, Amaziah was left alone, and was taken prisoner
by the enemy; whereupon Joash threatened to kill him, unless he would persuade the
people of Jerusalem to open their gates to him, and receive him and his army into
the city. Accordingly Amaziah was so distressed, and in such fear of his life, that
he made his enemy to be received into the city. So Joash over threw a part of the
wall, of the length of four hundred cubits, and drove his chariot through the breach
into Jerusalem, and led Amaziah captive along with him; by which means he became
master of Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of God, and carried off all the
gold and silver that was in the king’s palace, and then freed the king from captivity,
and returned to Samaria. Now these things happened to the people of Jerusalem in
the fourteenth year of the reign of Amaziah, who after this had a conspiracy made
against him by his friends, and fled to the city Lachish, and was there slain by
the conspirators, who sent men thither to kill him. So they took up his dead body,
and carried it to Jerusalem, and made a royal funeral for him. This was the end
of the life of Amaziah, because of his innovations in religion, and his contempt
of God, when he had lived fifty-four years, and had reigned twenty-nine. He was
succeeded by his son, whose name was Uzziah.

CHAPTER 10.

Concerning Jeroboam King Of Israel And Jonah The Prophet; And How After The Death
Of Jeroboam His Son Zachariah Took The Government. How Uzziah, King Of Jerusalem,
Subdued The Nations That Were Round About Him; And What Befell Him When He Attempted
To Offer Incense To God.

1. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah, Jeroboam the son of Joash reigned
over Israel in Samaria forty years. This king was guilty of contumely against God,
and became very wicked in worshipping of idols, and in many undertakings that were
absurd and foreign. He was also the cause of ten thousand misfortunes to the people
of Israel. Now one Jonah, a prophet, foretold to him that he should make war with
the Syrians, and conquer their army, and enlarge the bounds of his kingdom on the
northern parts to the city Hamath, and on the southern to the lake Asphaltitis;
for the bounds of the Canaanites originally were these, as Joshua their general
had determined them. So Jeroboam made an expedition against the Syrians, and overran
all their country, as Jonah had foretold.

2. Now I cannot but think it necessary for me, who have promised to give an accurate
account of our affairs, to describe the actions of this prophet, so far as I have
found them written down in the Hebrew books. Jonah had been commanded by God to
go to the kingdom of Nineveh; and when he was there, to publish it in that city,
how it should lose the dominion it had over the nations. But he went not, out of
fear; nay, he ran away from God to the city of Joppa, and finding a ship there,
he went into it, and sailed to Tarsus, in Cilicia and upon the rise of a most terrible
storm, which was so great that the ship was in danger of sinking, the mariners,
the master, and the pilot himself, made prayers and vows, in case they escaped the
sea: but Jonah lay still and covered [in the ship,] without imitating any thing
that the others did; but as the waves grew greater, and the sea became more violent
by the winds, they suspected, as is usual in such cases, that some one of the persons
that sailed with them was the occasion of this storm, and agreed to discover by
lot which of them it was. When they had cast lots, the lot fell upon the prophet;
and when they asked him whence he came, and what he had done? he replied, that he
was a Hebrew by nation, and a prophet of Almighty God; and he persuaded them to
cast him into the sea, if they would escape the danger they were in, for that he
was the occasion of the storm which was upon them. Now at the first they durst not
do so, as esteeming it a wicked thing to cast a man who was a stranger, and who
had committed his life to them, into such manifest perdition; but at last, when
their misfortune overbore them, and the ship was just going to be drowned, and when
they were animated to do it by the prophet himself, and by the fear concerning their
own safety, they cast him into the sea; upon which the sea became calm. It is also
reported that Jonah was swallowed down by a whale, and that when he had been there
three days, and as many nights, he was vomited out upon the Euxine Sea, and this
alive, and without any hurt upon his body; and there, on his prayer to God, he obtained
pardon for his sins, and went to the city Nineveh, where he stood so as to be heard,
and preached, that in a very little time they should lose the dominion of Asia.
And when he had published this, he returned. Now I have given this account about
him as I found it written [in our books.]

3. When Jeroboam the king had passed his life in great happiness, and had ruled
forty years, he died, and was buried in Samaria, and his son Zachariah took the
kingdom. After the same manner did Uzziah, the son of Amaziah, begin to reign over
the two tribes in Jerusalem, in the fourteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam. He
was born of Jecoliah, his mother, who was a citizen of Jerusalem. He was a good
man, and by nature righteous and magnanimous, and very laborious in taking care
of the affairs of his kingdom. He made an expedition also against the Philistines,
and overcame them in battle, and took the cities of Gath and Jabneh, and brake down
their walls; after which expedition he assaulted those Arabs that adjoined to Egypt.
He also built a city upon the Red Sea, and put a garrison into it. He, after this,
overthrew the Ammonites, and appointed that they should pay tribute. He also overcame
all the countries as far as the bounds of Egypt, and then began to take care of
Jerusalem itself for the rest of his life; for he rebuilt and repaired all those
parts of the wall which had either fallen down by length of time, or by the carelessness
of the kings, his predecessors, as well as all that part which had been thrown down
by the king of Israel, when he took his father Amaziah prisoner, and entered with
him into the city. Moreover, he built a great many towers, of one hundred and fifty
cubits high, and built walled towns in desert places, and put garrisons into them,
and dug many channels for conveyance of water. He had also many beasts for labor,
and an immense number of cattle; for his country was fit for pasturage. He was also
given to husbandry, and took care to cultivate the ground, and planted it with all
sorts of plants, and sowed it with all sorts of seeds. He had also about him an
army composed of chosen men, in number three hundred and seventy thousand, who were
governed by general officers and captains of thousands, who were men of valor, and
of unconquerable strength, in number two thousand. He also divided his whole army
into bands, and armed them, giving every one a sword, with brazen bucklers and breastplates,
with bows and slings; and besides these, he made for them many engines of war for
besieging of cities, such as cast stones and darts, with grapplers, and other instruments
of that sort.

4. While Uzziah was in this state, and making preparation [for futurity], he
was corrupted in his mind by pride, and became insolent, and this on account of
that abundance which he had of things that will soon perish, and despised that power
which is of eternal duration (which consisted in piety towards God, and in the observation
of the laws); so he fell by occasion of the good success of his affairs, and was
carried headlong into those sins of his father, which the splendor of that prosperity
he enjoyed, and the glorious actions he had done, led him into, while he was not
able to govern himself well about them. Accordingly, when a remarkable day was come,
and a general festival was to be celebrated, he put on the holy garment, and went
into the temple to offer incense to God upon the golden altar, which he was prohibited
to do by Azariah the high priest, who had fourscore priests with him, and who told
him that it was not lawful for him to offer sacrifice, and that “none besides the
posterity of Aaron were permitted so to do.” And when they cried out that he must
go out of the temple, and not transgress against God, he was wroth at them, and
threatened to kill them, unless they would hold their peace. In the mean time a
great earthquake shook the ground and a rent was made in the temple, and the bright
rays of the sun shone through it, and fell upon the king’s face, insomuch that the
leprosy seized upon him immediately. And before the city, at a place called Eroge,
half the mountain broke off from the rest on the west, and rolled itself four furlongs,
and stood still at the east mountain, till the roads, as well as the king’s gardens,
were spoiled by the obstruction. Now, as soon as the priests saw that the king’s
face was infected with the leprosy, they told him of the calamity he was under,
and commanded that he should go out of the city as a polluted person. Hereupon he
was so confounded at the sad distemper, and sensible that he was not at liberty
to contradict, that he did as he was commanded, and underwent this miserable and
terrible punishment for an intention beyond what befitted a man to have, and for
that impiety against God which was implied therein. So he abode out of the city
for some time, and lived a private life, while his son Jotham took the government;
after which he died with grief and anxiety at what had happened to him, when he
had lived sixty-eight years, and reigned of them fifty-two; and was buried by himself
in his own gardens.

CHAPTER 11.

How Zachariah Shallum, Menahem Pekahiah And Pekah Took The Government Over The
Israelites ; And How Pul And Tiglath-Pileser Made An Expedition Against The Israelites.
How Jotham, The Son Of Uzziah Reigned Over The Tribe Of Judah; And What Things Nahum
Prophesied Against The Assyrians.

1. Now when Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, had reigned six months over Israel,
he was slain by the treachery of a certain friend of his, whose name was Shallum,
the son of Jabesh, who took the kingdom afterward, but kept it no longer than thirty
days; for Menahem, the general of his army, who was at that time in the city Tirzah,
and heard of what had befallen Zachariah, removed thereupon with all his forces
to Samaria, and joining battle with Shallum, slew him; and when he had made himself
king, he went thence, and came to the city Tiphsah; but the citizens that were in
it shut their gates, and barred them against the king, and would not admit him:
but in order to be avenged on them, he burnt the country round about it, and took
the city by force, upon a siege; and being very much displeased at what the inhabitants
of Tiphsah had done, he slew them all, and spared not so much as the infants, without
omitting the utmost instances of cruelty and barbarity; for he used such severity
upon his own countrymen, as would not be pardonable with regard to strangers who
had been conquered by him. And after this manner it was that this Menahem continued
to reign with cruelty and barbarity for ten years. But when Pul, king of Assyria,
had made an expedition against him, he did not think meet to fight or engage in
battle with the Assyrians, but he persuaded him to accept of a thousand talents
of silver, and to go away, and so put an end to the war. This sum the multitude
collected for Menahem, by exacting fifty drachme as poll-money for every head; after
which he died, and was buried in Samaria, and left his son Pekahiah his successor
in the kingdom, who followed the barbarity of his father, and so ruled but two years
only, after which he was slain with his friends at a feast, by the treachery of
one Pekah, the general of his horse, and the son of Remaliah, who laid snares for
him. Now this Pekah held the government twenty years, and proved a wicked man and
a transgressor. But the king of Assyria, whose name was Tiglath-Pileser, when he
had made an expedition against the Israelites, and had overrun all the land of Gilead,
and the region beyond Jordan, and the adjoining country, which is called Galilee,
and Kadesh, and Hazor, he made the inhabitants prisoners, and transplanted them
into his own kingdom. And so much shall suffice to have related here concerning
the king of Assyria.

2. Now Jotham the son of Uzziah reigned over the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem,
being a citizen thereof by his mother, whose name was Jerusha. This king was not
defective in any virtue, but was religious towards God, and righteous towards men,
and careful of the good of the city (for what part soever wanted to be repaired
or adorned he magnificently repaired and adorned them). He also took care of the
foundations of the cloisters in the temple, and repaired the walls that were fallen
down, and built very great towers, and such as were almost impregnable; and if any
thing else in his kingdom had been neglected, he took great care of it. He also
made an expedition against the Ammonites, and overcame them in battle, and ordered
them to pay tribute, a hundred talents, and ten thousand cori of wheat, and as many
of barley, every year, and so augmented his kingdom, that his enemies could not
despise it, and his own people lived happily.

3. Now there was at that time a prophet, whose name was Nahum, who spake after
this manner concerning the overthrow of the Assyrians and of Nineveh: “Nineveh shall
be a pool of water in motion so shall all her people be troubled, and tossed, and
go away by flight, while they say one to another, Stand, stand still, seize their
gold and silver, for there shall be no one to wish them well, for they will rather
save their lives than their money; for a terrible contention shall possess them
one with another, and lamentation, and loosing of the members, and their countenances
shall be perfectly black with fear. And there will be the den of the lions, and
the mother of the young lions! God says to thee, Nineveh, that they shall deface
thee, and the lion shall no longer go out from thee to give laws to the world.”
And indeed this prophet prophesied many other things besides these concerning Nineveh,
which I do not think necessary to repeat, and I here omit them, that I may not appear
troublesome to my readers; all which thing happened about Nineveh a hundred and
fifteen years afterward: so this may suffice to have spoken of these matters.

CHAPTER 12.

How Upon The Death Of Jotham, Ahaz Reigned In His Stead; Against Whom Rezin,
King Of Syria And Pekah King Of Israel, Made War; And How Tiglath-Pileser, King
Of Assyria Came To The Assistance Of Ahaz, And Laid Syria Waste And Removing The
Damascenes Into Media Placed Other Nations In Their Room.

1. Now Jotham died when he had lived forty-one years, and of them reigned sixteen,
and was buried in the sepulchers of the kings; and the kingdom came to his son Ahaz,
who proved most impious towards God, and a transgressor of the laws of his country.
He imitated the kings of Israel, and reared altars in Jerusalem, and offered sacrifices
upon them to idols; to which also he offered his own son as a burnt-offering, according
to the practices of the Canaanites. His other actions were also of the same sort.
Now as he was going on in this mad course, Rezin, the king of Syria and Damascus,
and Pekah, the king of Israel, who were now at amity one with another, made war
with him; and when they had driven him into Jerusalem, they besieged that city a
long while, making but a small progress, on account of the strength of its walls;
and when the king of Syria had taken the city Elath, upon the Red Sea, and had slain
the inhabitants, he peopled it with Syrians; and when he had slain those in the
[other] garrisons, and the Jews in their neighborhood, and had driven away much
prey, he returned with his army back to Damascus. Now when the king of Jerusalem
knew that the Syrians were returned home, he, supposing himself a match for the
king of Israel, drew out his army against him, and joining battle with him was beaten;
and this happened because God was angry with him, on account of his many and great
enormities. Accordingly there were slain by the Israelites one hundred and twenty
thousand of his men that day, whose general, Amaziah by name, slew Zechariah the
king’s son, in his conflict with Ahaz, as well as the governor of the kingdom, whose
name was Azricam. He also carried Elkanah, the general of the troops of the tribe
of Judah, into captivity. They also carried the women and children of the tribe
of Benjamin captives; and when they had gotten a great deal of prey, they returned
to Samaria.

2. Now there was one Obed, who was a prophet at that time in Samaria ;he met
the army before the city walls, and with a loud voice told them that they had gotten
the victory not by their own strength, but by reason of the anger God had against
king Ahaz. And he complained that they were not satisfied with the good success
they had had against him, but were so bold as to make captives out of their kinsmen
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He also gave them counsel to let them go home
without doing them any harm, for that if they did not obey God herein, they should
be punished. So the people of Israel came together to their assembly, and considered
of these matters, when a man whose name was Berechiah, and who was one of chief
reputation in the government, stood up, and the others with him, and said, “We will
not suffer the citizens to bring these prisoners into the city, lest we be all destroyed
by God; we have sins enough of our own that we have committed against him, as the
prophets assure us; nor ought we therefore to introduce the practice of new crimes.”
When the soldiers heard that, they permitted them to do what they thought best.
So the forenamed men took the captives, and let them go, and took care of them,
and gave them provisions, and sent them to their own country, without doing them
any harm. However, these four went along with them, and conducted them as far as
Jericho, which is not far from Jerusalem, and returned to Samaria.

3. Hereupon king Ahaz, having been so thoroughly beaten by the Israelites, sent
to Tiglath-Pileser, king of the Assyrians, and sued for assistance from him in his
war against the Israelites, and Syrians, and Damascenes, with a promise to send
him much money; he sent him also great presents at the same time. Now this king,
upon the reception of those ambassadors, came to assist Ahaz, and made war upon
the Syrians, and laid their country waste, and took Damascus by force, and slew
Rezin their king, and transplanted the people of Damascus into the Upper Media,
and brought a colony of Assyrians, and planted them in Damascus. He also afflicted
the land of Israel, and took many captives out of it. While he was doing thus with
the Syrians, king Ahaz took all the gold that was in the king’s treasures, and the
silver, and what was in the temple of God, and what precious gifts were there, and
he carried them with him, and came to Damascus, and gave it to the king of Assyria,
according to his agreement. So he confessed that he owed him thanks for all he had
done for him, and returned to Jerusalem. Now this king was so sottish and thoughtless
of what was for his own good, that he would not leave off worshipping the Syrian
gods when he was beaten by them, but he went on in worshipping them, as though they
would procure him the victory; and when he was beaten again, he began to honor the
gods of the Assyrians; and he seemed more desirous to honor any other gods than
his own paternal and true God, whose anger was the cause of his defeat; nay, he
proceeded to such a degree of despite and contempt [of God’s worship], that he shut
up the temple entirely, and forbade them to bring in the appointed sacrifices, and
took away the gifts that had been given to it. And when he had offered these indignities
to God, he died, having lived thirty-six years, and of them reigned sixteen; and
he left his son Hezekiah for his successor.

CHAPTER 13.

How Pekah Died By The Treachery Of Hoshea Who Was A Little After Subdued By Shalmaneser;
And How Hezekiah Reigned Instead Of Ahaz; And What Actions Of Piety And Justice
He Did.

1. About the same time Pekah, the king of Israel, died by the treachery of a
friend of his, whose name was Hoshea, who retained the kingdom nine years’ time,
but was a wicked man, and a despiser of the Divine worship; and Shalmaneser, the
king of Assyria, made an expedition against him, and overcame him, (which must have
been because he had not God favorable nor assistant to him,) and brought him to
submission, and ordered him to pay an appointed tribute. Now, in the fourth year
of the reign of Hoshea, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, began to reign in Jerusalem;
and his mother’s name was Abijah, a citizen of Jerusalem. His nature was good, and
righteous, and religious; for when he came to the kingdom, he thought that nothing
was prior, or more necessary, or more advantageous to himself, and to his subjects,
than to worship God. Accordingly, he called the people together, and the priests,
and the Levites, and made a speech to them, and said, “You are not ignorant how,
by the sins of my father, who transgressed that sacred honor which was due to God,
you have had experience of many and great miseries, while you were corrupted in
your mind by him, and were induced to worship those which he supposed to be gods;
I exhort you, therefore, who have learned by sad experience how dangerous a thing
impiety is, to put that immediately out of your memory, and to purify yourselves
from your former pollutions, and to open the temple to these priests and Levites
who are here convened, and to cleanse it with the accustomed sacrifices, and to
recover all to the ancient honor which our fathers paid to it; for by this means
we may render God favorable, and he will remit the anger he hath had to us.”

2. When the king had said this, the priests opened the temple; and when they
had set in order the vessels of God, and east out what was impure, they laid the
accustomed sacrifices upon the altar. The king also sent to the country that was
under him, and called the people to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of unleavened
bread, for it had been intermitted a long time, on account of the wickedness of
the forementioned kings. He also sent to the Israelites, and exhorted them to leave
off their present way of living, and return to their ancient practices, and to worship
God, for that he gave them leave to come to Jerusalem, and to celebrate, all in
one body, the feast of unleavened bread; and this he said was by way of invitation
only, and to be done of their own good-will, and for their own advantage, and not
out of obedience to him, because it would make them happy. But the Israelites, upon
the coming of the ambassadors, and upon their laying before them what they had in
charge from their own king, were so far from complying therewith, that they laughed
the ambassadors to scorn, and mocked them as fools: as also they affronted the prophets,
which gave them the same exhortations, and foretold what they would suffer if they
did not return to the worship of God, insomuch that at length they caught them,
and slew them; nor did this degree of transgressing suffice them, but they had more
wicked contrivances than what have been described: nor did they leave off, before
God, as a punishment for their impiety, brought them under their enemies: but of
that more hereafter. However, many there were of the tribe of Manasseh, and of Zebulon,
and of Issachar, who were obedient to what the prophets exhorted them to do, and
returned to the worship of God. Now all these came running to Jerusalem, to Hezekiah,
that they might worship God [there].

3. When these men were come, king Hezekiah went up into the temple, with the
rulers and all the people, and offered for himself seven bulls, and as many rams,
with seven lambs, and as many kids of the goats. The king also himself, and the
rulers, laid their hands on the heads of the sacrifices, and permitted the priests
to complete the sacred offices about them. So they both slew the sacrifices, and
burnt the burnt-offerings, while the Levites stood round about them, with their
musical instruments, and sang hymns to God, and played on their psalteries, as they
were instructed by David to do, and this while the rest of the priests returned
the music, and sounded the trumpets which they had in their hands; and when this
was done, the king and the multitude threw themselves down upon their face, and
worshipped God. He also sacrificed seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred
lambs. He also granted the multitude sacrifices to feast upon, six hundred oxen,
and three thousand other cattle; and the priests performed all things according
to the law. Now the king was so pleased herewith, that he feasted with the people,
and returned thanks to God; but as the feast of unleavened bread was now come, when
they had offered that sacrifice which is called the passover, they after that offered
other sacrifices for seven days. When the king had bestowed on the multitude, besides
what they sanctified of themselves, two thousand bulls, and seven thousand other
cattle, the same thing was done by the rulers; for they gave them a thousand bulls,
and a thousand and forty other cattle. Nor had this festival been so well observed
from the days of king Solomon, as it was now first observed with great splendor
and magnificence; and when the festival was ended, they went out into the country
and purged it, and cleansed the city of all the pollution of the idols. The king
also gave order that the daily sacrifices should be offered, at his own charges,
and according to the law; and appointed that the tithes and the first-fruits should
be given by the multitude to the priests and Levites, that they might constantly
attend upon Divine service, and never be taken off from the worship of God. Accordingly,
the multitude brought together all sorts of their fruits to the priests and the
Levites. The king also made garners and receptacles for these fruits, and distributed
them to every one of the priests and Levites, and to their children and wives; and
thus did they return to their old form of Divine worship. Now when the king had
settled these matters after the manner already described, he made war upon the Philistines,
and beat them, and possessed himself of all the enemy’s cities, from Gaza to Gath;
but the king of Assyria sent to him, and threatened to overturn all his dominions,
unless he would pay him the tribute which his father paid him formerly; but king
Hezekiah was not concerned at his threatenings, but depended on his piety towards
God, and upon Isaiah the prophet, by whom he inquired and accurately knew all future
events. And thus much shall suffice for the present concerning this king Hezekiah.

CHAPTER 14.

How Shalmaneser Took Samaria By Force And How He Transplanted The Ten Tribes
Into Media, And Brought The Nation Of The Cutheans Into Their Country [In Their
Room].

1. When Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, had it told him, that [Hoshea] the
king of Israel had sent privately to So, the king of Egypt, desiring his assistance
against him, he was very angry, and made an expedition against Samaria, in the seventh
year of the reign of Hoshea; but when he was not admitted [into the city] by the
king, he besieged Samaria three years, and took it by force in the ninth year of
the reign of Hoshea, and in the seventh year of Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, and
quite demolished the government of the Israelites, and transplanted all the people
into Media and Persia among whom he took king Hoshea alive; and when he had removed
these people out of this their land he transplanted other nations out of Cuthah,
a place so called, (for there is [still] a river of that name in Persia,) into Samaria,
and into the country of the Israelites. So the ten tribes of the Israelites were
removed out of Judea nine hundred and forty-seven years after their forefathers
were come out of the land of Egypt, and possessed themselves of the country, but
eight hundred years after Joshua had been their leader, and, as I have already observed,
two hundred and forty years, seven months, and seven days after they had revolted
from Rehoboam, the grandson of David, and had given the kingdom to Jeroboam. And
such a conclusion overtook the Israelites, when they had transgressed the laws,
and would not hearken to the prophets, who foretold that this calamity would come
upon them, if they would not leave off their evil doings. What gave birth to these
evil doings, was that sedition which they raised against Rehoboam, the grandson
of David, when they set up Jeroboam his servant to be their king, when, by sinning
against God, and bringing them to imitate his bad example, made God to be their
enemy, while Jeroboam underwent that punishment which he justly deserved.

2. And now the king of Assyria invaded all Syria and Phoenicia in a hostile manner.
The name of this king is also set down in the archives of Tyre, for he made an expedition
against Tyre in the reign of Eluleus; and Menander attests to it, who, when he wrote
his Chronology, and translated the archives of Tyre into the Greek language, gives
us the following history: One whose name was Eluleus reigned thirty-six years;
this king, upon the revolt of the Citteans, sailed to them, and reduced them again
to a submission. Against these did the king of Assyria send an army, and in a hostile
manner overrun all Phoenicia, but soon made peace with them all, and returned back;
but Sidon, and Ace, and Palsetyrus revolted; and many other cities there were which
delivered themselves up to the king of Assyria. Accordingly, when the Tyrians would
not submit to him, the king returned, and fell upon them again, while the Phoenicians
had furnished him with threescore ships, and eight hundred men to row them; and
when the Tyrians had come upon them in twelve ships, and the enemy’s ships were
dispersed, they took five hundred men prisoners, and the reputation of all the citizens
of Tyre was thereby increased; but the king of Assyria returned, and placed guards
at their rivers and aqueducts, who should hinder the Tyrians from drawing water.
This continued for five years; and still the Tyrians bore the siege, and drank of
the water they had out of the wells they dug.” And this is what is written in the
Tyrian archives concerning Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria.

3. But now the Cutheans, who removed into Samaria, (for that is the name they
have been called by to this time, because they were brought out of the country called
Cuthah, which is a country of Persia, and there is a river of the same name in it,)
each of them, according to their nations, which were in number five, brought their
own gods into Samaria, and by worshipping them, as was the custom of their own countries,
they provoked Almighty God to be angry and displeased at them, for a plague seized
upon them, by which they were destroyed; and when they found no cure for their miseries,
they learned by the oracle that they ought to worship Almighty God, as the method
for their deliverance. So they sent ambassadors to the king of Assyria, and desired
him to send them some of those priests of the Israelites whom he had taken captive.
And when he thereupon sent them, and the people were by them taught the laws, and
the holy worship of God, they worshipped him in a respectful manner, and the plague
ceased immediately; and indeed they continue to make use of the very same customs
to this very time, and are called in the Hebrew tongue Cutlans, but in the Greek
tongue Samaritans. And when they see the Jews in prosperity, they pretend that they
are changed, and allied to them, and call them kinsmen, as though they were derived
from Joseph, and had by that means an original alliance with them; but when they
see them falling into a low condition, they say they are no way related to them,
and that the Jews have no right to expect any kindness or marks of kindred from
them, but they declare that they are sojourners, that come from other countries.
But of these we shall have a more seasonable opportunity to discourse hereafter.