Yer. 17.--0ellloth (see eh. xv. 7). of his aBSl\BSine.tion (2 Kings XXV. 23-25 ; Ver. 23.-Avtm. Moet probably Ai (eee Jer. xl. 10-13; xii.). note on eh. vii. 2). Ver. 28.-Glbeath. Almost certe.inly the Yer. 24.-0phra.h. Not the OphrBh of same as " Gibeab of Saul" (1 Sam. xi. 4). Gideon, who (Judg. vi. 11; viii. 2, 32) was It was Saul's home (1 Sam. x. 26 ; xiii. 2, B l\fanassite. Ga.ba. Some (Be Knobel) 15, 16). It was near Saul's home, at the think this the same as Gibeah of Saul. time his temporary refuge, the.t the Philis- But see below, ver. 28. Also Isa. x. 29. tines encamped when Jonathan (1 SBm. xiv.) Gibeah Bnd GabJL, howe-.er, must have been made his de.ring attack on them. It we.e near together, for Ra.mah is near both of the scene of the terrible outrage recorded in them (see Ezra ii. 26). Judg. xix. Lieut. Conder has identified it Ver. 26.-Ra.ma.h. Now er-Ram. This with Jeba, not far from llfichmasb, situe.ted ·,rnuld seem, from Jer. xxxi. 15, and from on one of the branches of the precipitous a comparison of Jer. i. 1 Bud xl. l, to Wady Suwaynit. The situation explains the have been the Ramah of later history, otherwise unintelligible narrative in l Sam. famous BS the dwelling-place of Samuel xiii., xiv. Thie Is the Inheritance of the (1 Sam. i. 1, &c., for Mount Ephraim is chlldren of Benja.min. Dean Stanley (' Sine.i applied to territory in Benjamin. Cf. Judg. and Palestine,' eh. iv.) reminds us bow the iv. 5; 2 Sam. n. 1, 21). It was near very names suggest the "remarkable Gibeab (Judg. xix. 13; Isa.. x. 29), and heights" which constitute the " table land" not far from Bethel (Judg. iv. 5), It was of which the inherite.nce of Benje.min rebuilt by Be.asha (1 Kings xv. 17, 21). consists. Thus Gibeon, Gibeab, Geba, or Mizpeh. This is the Mizpeh, or Mizpeh, of Gaba, aJl signify hill. R&meh signifies BenjBmin, whither the tribes were wont to high place, and Mizpeb, watch tower, which gather together, and where the tabernacle of necessity must be sitne.ted on an emi- a.ppea.rs to have been removed (see Judg. nence. Only by narrow passes along deep n. l, 3; xxi. 1-8). If, as Lieut. Conder torrent beds could access be obtained to supposes, Nob and Mizpeh were identica.l, this mounte.inous region. Thus it was that and were near J emsaJem, this would the otherwise inexplicable resistance to all explain the presence of the tribes within Israel in arms, recorded in Judg. xx., xxi., the border of Benjamin on this occasion. wa.s mainte.ined. In a country like this The, were near the border. and the Ben- the skill of the Benjamites with the sling jamites ba.d retired to their mountain (Jndg. xx. 16) and the bow (2 Sam. i. 22) fastnesses. This seems e.lmost implied in could be used with terrible effect upon Judg. xx. 3. Similar gatherings are recorded foes powerless to come to a hand-to-band in the Book of Samuel (1 S&m. vii. 5-7, 11, conflict. To Dean Stanley's vivid description 12, lG; x. 17). Mizpeb was the seat of of the pbysice.l geography of the country the Gedalia.b •s administra.tion,and of the tragedy student is referred for a detailed account.
HOMILETICS. Vers. I-28.-Progress in the great work. The tribes gathered together at Shiloh, set up the common ta.bemacle for worship, and then proceeded, at Joshua's instance, to complete the division of the land. Several detached considerations may be derived from this chapter. I. THE DUTY OF A PUBLIC RECOGNITION OF GoD. The duty of public worship has been universally recognised in all religions, a.nd is founded in a. nature.I tendency of mankind. Philosophical sects, in which religious observances are neglected or proscribed, show by that very fact their excl~eness. Religions, how~ver per- verted, exist for mankind as a whole ; philosophies, for the cultivated few. Chris- tianity has provided fewer forms than perhaps any other religion for the gratification of thls instinct, but the principle is clearly acknowledged. At first, the disciples met together weekly to "brea.k bread." At the Reformation, the a.buses th~t had crept into the doctrine a.nd practice of the Lord's Supper led to its more infrequent reception. Yet still the precept, "not forgetting the assembling of yourselves together," has continued to be recognised, and the man who habitually neglects public worship is scarcely regarded as a Christian at all. The duty of a public r.ational recognition is a matter of more difficulty in the midst of our present religious divisioru. Yet. it is practically not neglected. The fa.et that the nation as such recognises Christianity is proved by the spectacle presented by our country every Oil. XVIII, 1-28.] THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 273