KING
86
KING
kings of Israel were anointed, though this is not speci- liL'cl by the writers of Kings and Clironicles, who would deem such anointing invalid. The ceremony of anoint- ing, which was observed at least in the case of Saul, David, and Solomon (1 Sam. ix, 14; x, 1 ; xv, 1; xvi, 12; 2 Sam. ii, 4; v, 1 ; 1 Kings i,34; xxxix, 5), and in ^vliich the prophet or high-priest who perlbrmed the rite acted as the representative of the theocracy and the expounder of tlie will of heaven, must have given to the spiritual power very considerable influence ; and both this particidar and the very nature of the ob- servance direct the mind to Egypt, where the same custom prevailed, and where the power of the priestly caste was immense (Wilkinson's Anc. Er/ypt. v, 279j. Indeed, the ceremony seems to have been essential to constitute a legitimate monarch (2 Ivings xi, 12 ; xxiii, oO) ; and thus the authorities of the Jewish Church held in their hands, and had subject to their will, a most im- portant power, which they could use either for their own purposes or the common good. In consequence of the general observance of this ceremony, the term "anoint- ed," " the Lord's anointed" (1 Sam. ii, 10 ; xvi, G ; :^iv, C ; 2 Sam. xix, 21 ; Psa. ii, 2 ; Lam. iv, 20), came to be employed in rhetorical and poetical diction as equivalent in meaning to the designation " lung." See Axoixting. AVe have seen in the case of Saul that personal and even external quaUties had their influence in procuring ready obedience to a sovereign ; and further evidence to the same effect may be found in Psa. xlv, 3 ; Ezek. xxviii, 12 : such qualities would naturally excite the enthusiasm of the people, who appear to have manifest- ed their approval by acclamations (1 Sam. x,24; 1 Ivings i, 25 : 2 Kings ix, 13 ; xi, 13 ; 2 Chron. xxiii, 11 ; see also Josephus, War, i, 33, 9).
6. Court and Revenues. — The following is a list of some of the officers of the king: 1. The recorder or chronicler, who was perhaps analogous to the histori- ographer whom sir John Malcolm mentions as an officer of tlie Persian court, whose duty it is to write tlie an- nals of the king's reign {IJisf. of Persia, c. 23). Certain it is that there is no regular series of minute dates in Hebrew historj- until we read of this recorder, or remem- braiKier, as the word mazkir is translated in a marginal iK)te of the English version. It signifies one who keeps the memory of events alive, in accordance with a mo- tive assigned by Herodotus for writing his history, viz. that the acts of men might not become extinct by time (Herod, i, 1 ; 2 Sam. viii, 16; 1 Kings iv, 3; 2 Kings xviii, 18; Isa. xxxvi, 3, 22). See Ekcorder. 2. The scribe or secretarj', whose duty would be to answer let- ters or petitions in the name of the king, to write dis- patches, and to draw up edicts (2 Sam. viii, 17; xx, 25; 2 Kings xii, 10 ; xix, 2 ; xxii, 8). See Scribe. 3. The officer who was over the house (Isa. xxxii, 15; xxxvi, 3). His duties Avould be those of chief steward of the houseliold, and woidd embrace all the internal economi- cal arrangements of the palace, the superintendence of the king's servants, and the custody of his costly ves- sels of gold and silver. He seems to have worn a dis- tinctive robe of office and girdle. It was against Sheb- na, who held this office, that Isaiah uttered his personal jirophecy (xxii, 15-25), the only instance of the kind in his writings (see Gcsen../euS(/. i, G94). See Steward. 4. The king's friend (1 Kings iv, 5), called likewise the king's 0(jmpanion. It is evident from the name that this oniccr nnist have stood in confidential relation to the king, Init liis duties are nowhere specilied. 5. The keeper of the vestry or wardrobe (2 Kings x, 22). C. Tlic captain of. the body-guard (2 Sam. xx. 23). The inqiortance of this f)fficer retjuires no comment. It was lie who obeyed Solomon in putting to death Adonijah, Joal), Jind Shimei (1 Kings ii, 25, 34, 46). 7. Distinct officers over the king's treasures — liis storehouses, la- in irers, vineyards, olive-trees, and sycamore»-trces, herds, camels, and flocks (1 Chron. xxvii, 25-31). 8. The of- ficer over aU the host or army of Israel, the coiiimander- in-cliief of the army, who commanded it in person dur-
ing the king's absence (2 Sam. xx, 23 ; 1 Chron. xxvii, 34 ; 2 Sam. xi, 1). As an instance of the formidable power which a general might acquire in this office, see the narrative in 2 Sam. iii, 30-37, when David deemed himself obliged to tolerate the murder of Abner by Joab and Abishai. 9. The royal counsellor (1 Chron. xxvii. 32; Isa. iii, 3; xix, 11, 13). Ahithophel is a specimen of how much such an officer might effect for evil or for good; but whether there existed under Hebrew kings any body corresponding, even distantly, to the English Privy Council in former times, does not appear (2 Sam. xvi, 20-23 ; xvii, 1-14).