Underneath this show of outward P«*P^' *L cankers, incident to the royal state which D»»»^ assumed, had first made themselves appam^*^
bron, and affected all the rest of his caxeer-
Hiefi*
was the formation of a harem, according ** *• ^ of Oriental kings. To the two wives of to ^ ing life he had now added four, and indoding »'°7 five (2 Sam. ii, 2; iii, 2-6, 16). The ^^ increasing power of his kinsmen and <**°J^ which the king strove to restrain within tw "^
DAVm
691
DAVED
'ight ; and thus, of all the incidents of this part of career, tbe most plaintive and characteristic is his lentation over his powerleesness to prevent the mur- of Abner (2 Sam. iii, 31-86). II.) Reign over all Itraely 88 years (2 Sam. v, 6, to 1 i^ ii, 11).— The reign of David is the great critical
in the history of the Hebrews. It decided that y were to have for nearly five centuries a national narchy, a fixed line of priesthood, and a solemn ^oiis w^orship by music and psalms of exquisite iuty ^ it finally separated Israel from the surronnd- ; heathen, and gave room for producing those noble ntunents of sacred writ, to the influence of which sr the whole world no end can be seen. His prede- sofT, Saul, had many successes ilgainst the Philis- es, but it is clear that he made little impression on dr real power; for he died fighting against them, t on their own border, but at the opposite side of his igdom, in Mount Gilboa. As for all the other '* en- ies on every side" — Moabites, Ammonites, Edom- s, and the kings of Zobah— however much he may ve ** vexed them" (1 Sam. ziv, 47), they, as well as 9 Amalekites, remained unsubdued, UT weakened, ic real work of establishing Israel as lord over the lole soil of Canaan was left for David. 1. Tite Foundation ofJeruaalem. — It must have been th no ordinary interest that the surrounding nations itched for the prey on which the Lion of Judah, now •ont to issue from his native lair, and establish him- If in a new home, would make his first spring. One stness alone in the centre of the land had hitherto ified the arms of Israel. On this, with a singular esdence, perceiving that so southerly a position as ebron was no longer suitable, David fixed as his fu> tre capital. By one sudden assault Jebus was taken, id became henceforth known by the names (whether nue by it before or not we cannot tell) of Jerusalem id Zion. B.C. 1044. See Jebusalbm. Of all the ties of Palestine great in former ages, Jerusalem one has vindicated by its long permanence the choice f its founder. The importance of the capture was larked at the time. The reward bestowed on the iccessful scaler of the precipice was the highest place 1 tbe army. Joab henceforward became captain of le host (1 Chron. zi, 6). The ro3ral residence was istantly fixed there, fortifications were added by the ing and by Joab, and it was known by the special ame of the " dty of David" (1 Chron. xi, 7 ; 2 Sam. ,9).
In the account of this siege, some have imagined be Chronicles to contradict the book of Samuel, but here is no real incompatibility in the two narratives, oab was, it is true, abread!/ David's chief captain; lut David was heartily disgusted with him, and may lave sought a pretence for superseding him by ofifer- Dg the post to the man who should first sc»le the rail. Joab would be animated by the desire to retain lis office, at least as keenly as others by the desire to ^ it ; and it is credible that he may actually have )een the successful hero of that siege also. If this ^as the case, it will Anther explain why David, even u the fulness of power, made no further efiTort to ex- pel him until he had slaughtered Absalom.
The neighboring nations were partly enraged and partly awestruck. The Philistines had already made two ineffectual attacks on the new king (2 Sam. v, 17- 20), both near the valley of Rephaim ; and these were probably the first battles fought by David after be- coming king of all IsraeL A retribution on their for- mer victories now took place by the capture and con- flagration of their own idols (1 Chron. xiv, 12). Tyre, now for the first time appearing in the sacred history, allied herself with Israel ; and Hiram sent cedarwood for the bnildhigs of the new caj^tal (2 Sam. v, 11), es- P^cially for the palace of David himself (2 Sam. vii, 2). That the mechanical arts should have been in a very low state among the Israelites was to be expect-