ln Iasachar. [He had consequently the justified in translating io~ ::l'~? "he was the plain of Esdraelon, with the exception men- first (i.e., superior), officer" (set over those tioned e.bove, ver. 12.] mentioned above, vers. 13, 14), as Schulze. Ver.18.-Sh1me1 the son of Elah [by some ir:,i:, is used e.s e.n ordinal number, but it is identified with the Shimei of chapter i. 8. ·only in connexion with days and years But see note there], 1n Benja.m1n. [It is (Gesen. e. v.) Some, following the LXX. noteworthy that Shimei we.a a Benjamite (,,,; iv YV 'Iovoa) would detach Judah from name, 2 Sam. xvi. 5, 11.] ver. 20, where it must be allowed it occurs Ver.19.-G?ber the son of Urt wa.s ln the with a suspicious abruptness, and where the country of Gilead [i.e., he presided over the absence of the copula, so usual in the parts not e.lready assigned to Bengeber Hebrew, suggests a corruption of the text, (perhaps his son) e.nd Ahinadab. Gilead is and would connect it with th.is verse, which often used (see Deut. xxxiv. 1; Judg. xx. 1) would then yield the sense, " and he was," (or to designate all the country ee.st of the "there was") " one officer which purveyed Jordan. And so e.pparently here, for] the in the land of Judah." It is to be obsen-ed, country of Slhon king o:f, the Amorttee, and however, that though no mention has as yet of Og king of Ba.shan] embraced the whole been made of Judah in any of the districts, trans-Jordanic region, Deut. iii. 8 ; Num. xxi. yet the prefecture of Ben Hesed (ver. 10) 24--35 : cf. Pse.. cxx.xv. 11; cxxxvi. 19, 20]; appears to have extended over this tribe, and he was the only officer which was ln the and the remark consequently seems super- land. [Thie cannot mean " the only officer fiuous. (Can it be the object of the writer in Gilead," notwithste.nding the great extent to show that the royal tribe was not of territory-the usue.l interpretation-for favoured or exempted from contributing its that would contra.diet vers. 13, 14. Nor can share?) On the whole, the difficulty would can it mee.n the only officer in his district, seem still to await a solution. We can or portion, of Gilead, for the.t is self-evident, hardly, in the teeth of ver. 7, suppose with and the remark would apply eque.lly to e.11 Ewe.Id, al. that e. thirteenth officer is here the other prefects. And we are hardly intended.
HOMILETICS.
Vers. 2 eqq.-The Servants of Solomon. "These were the princes which he bad." "All Scripture is . . . . , pro:6.te.ble for instruction," &c. A ho.re list of names may teach some lessons. We shall :find in this list, :first, some proofs of Solomon's wisdom, and secondly, some principles to guide our own conduct. First, however, let us remember that to select faithful o.nd efficient servnnts is one of the most cliflicult tasks of rulers. The welfare of the whole Ste.te depends very l:ugely on the choice. (Cf. Ps. ci. 6-7.) Now observe that here- I. THE FIRST PLACE IS FILLED BY GOD'S PRIEST (ver. 2). The minister of religion takes precedence of the ministers of ste.te. The universal tendency is to put mo.n :first o.nd God second. Solomon-if this list preserves the order of his nn-nngements -put God :first, in the person of His high priest. Under the theocracy the king was a sort of summus episcopus. It was meet that next to the anointed Prince should stand the anointed Pontiff. II. PRIORITY IS GIVEN TO THE OFFICERS OF PEACE (vers. 3, 4). Scribes come before wn.rriors. In David's day it was otherwise. But there has been an 11,dmnce, and here is the proof of it. Wa;r is essentially barbarous. Among savage tribes wnr- fare is chronic. As men become wiser and more civilized, the appeal to brnte force is less frequent. Wiser, for war means unwisdom somewhere. More civilized, for the history of civilization tells how the wager of battle, which is now confined to nations, was once employed by tribes, provinces, and private persons. So that, in this pa;rticular, the wise son was groe.ter than the pious father. For this reason Solomon may build the temple which his fe.ther's blood-red hand may not touch. For this reason the son, not the father, is the favourite typo of the Prince of Peace. One of the world's greatest generals (Napoleon) said there were but two great powers, the sword and the pen, and that, in the long run, the former was sure to be overcome by the latter. Solomon would seem to ha.ve been of the sltme opinion. The " acribes '' and the "1·ecorder" precede the " captain of the host.'' THE FIRST BOOR OF KING8. [oa. Iv. 1-19.