kindness of the pri'.ncr:s, . The above-nRmcd (vcr. 12), with other famous and distinguished leaders, to w_horu a s1ruile.r designation we.s customarily applied (1 Chron. xii. 31; xvi. 41; eh. xxx1. 19), rose up fr~m their seats of honour in the midst of the assembly, stood forth as the representatives of the people and received at the hands of the sol- diers the crowd of ?e.ptives; out of the spoil, which, as usual, consisted in garments, flocks, and herds, with other articles of value (eh.xv. 14, 15; xx. 26), clothed and shod all amongst them who were naked, giving them to eat and drink (2 Kings vi. 22 23) • anointed wit_h oil such of them as had wounds (Luke x. 34); set the feeble upon 'asses: of which am.me.ls there was e. plentiful supply (1 Chron. xxvii. 30 • Ezra ii. 67)-e. lively picture of the pity and compassion which should ever be sh~wn towards the unfortunate, suffering, and miserable, especie.lly by the people of God (lse.. lviii. 6, 7; Job xxx. 25; Luke x. 37; xiv. 12; 1 Tim. v. 10; 1 John iii. 17). 2. The return of the captives. Thus generously treated by the princes, they were sent be.ck, those able ~o travel b;y: themselves, those requiring to ride accompanied by conductors, who Journeyed with them as far as Jericho, the city of palm trees (Judg. iii. 13), distant from Jerusalem about five and a half hours' walk, situated in the tribe of Benjamin, and belonging to the kingdom of Judah. Arrived thither, they were handed over to their brethren, after which their conductors returned to Se.maria.. LESSONS. l. The sin of slavery. 2. The function of prophecy. 3. The beauty of cbarity.-W. Vers. 16, 20, 21.-An unfortunate embassy. I. THE PERSON APPROAOIIED. 'l'iglath- Pilneser (ver. 20), Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings xvi. 7); in Assyrian, Takul-'U-(Tukeal)- habal+sar-ra, meaning "He who puts his trust in Adar," or," Adar is my confidence;" in the LXX. 0a>..-ya.8-<P•71.<&crcr&p; the same person as Pul King of .Assyria (Schrader, 'Die Keilinschriften,' pp. 223-240), to whom Mena.hem of Israel gave a thousand talents of silver as e. bribe for aid to keep the throne he had usurped (2 Kings xv. 17). Odgin- ally a gardener (according to Greek tradition), Pu! rose to eminence as a soldier, and eventuaUy seized the crown of Assyria in B.O. 745, as Tiglath-Pileser II. II. THE IKVITATION GIVEN. To assist Ahaz against Rezin of Damascus and Pekah of lsraeL Already the power of Tiglath-Pileser II. had been felt in numerous expe- ditions towards the West. Syria, Palestine, and Phcenicie. had each resounded at the tread of his conquering legions. In particular, Rezin (' Records,' etc., v. 48), and Menahem, one of Pekah's predecessors on the throne of Israel, had acknowledged his supremacy by paying him tribute (2 Kings xv. 29; 'Records,' etc., v, 48). Accordingly, .Ahaz had no doubt that the mighty Assyrian could by a word call off the two royal bandits that, like terriers, had sprung at his throat. Despatching ambassadors to Tiglatb-Pileser, he requested aid against his foes from the north and east. To render his application successful, he sent with his plenipotentiaries a heavy largess, in the shape of presents of gold and silver taken from the temple, the palace, and the princes' mansions (2 Kings xvi 7, 8). An inscription, composed in the last or year before last year of Tiglath-Pileser s reign, speaks of the Assyrian monarch as having received tribute from Mitinti of Askalon, Joachaz of Juda, and Kosmalak of Edom (Schrader, 'Die Keilinschriften,' p. 263). Though this tribute was probably that which Ahaz paid on visitin" Tigle.th-Pileser at Damascus (2 Kings xvi. 10), it will serve to illustrate and confirm th~ fact here mentioned, that Ahaz sent a present with his plenipotentiaries when they went to solicit Tiglath-Pileser's assistance. III. THE .ANSWER RETURNED. Tiglath-Pileser came unto him. 1. He marched against Bezin. (2 Kings xvi 9-) The King of Syria was defeated in a pitc~ed battle, and retreated to his capital. "He, to save his life, fled away alone and like a deer, and into the great gate of his citr he entered. His g:nerals ~li~e in ha~d I cap~ured, and on crosses I raised them_ His country I subdued (Inscnpt1on of T1glath-P1leser, No. 10). "Damascus was close]~ invested; the trees in its neighbourhood were ~ut down• the districts dependent on 1t were ravaged, and forces were despatched to pumsh the Is~aelites Ammonites, Moe.bites, and Philistines, who had been the allies of Reson. . . . .At last,' in B.c. 732, after a siege of two years, Damascus was forced by famine to l!urrender. Reson was slain, Damascus given over to plunder and ruin, and its inhabi- tants transported to Kir" (Sayce, 'Assyria, its Princes,' etc., pp. 36, 37; cf. Smith, • .A.s~yrian Discoveries,' p. 282; Schrader, 'Die Keilinschriften,' pp. 258, 269). 2, H6 01t. xux.1-36.J THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 845
lurned upon Israel. (2 Kings xv. 29.) As a.hove ste.ted, this occurred while the siege 1Jf Dflme.scus we.a being pressed forward. '£he towns of Ijo □, Abel-beth-maachab, Janoah, Kedesh, Ha::.or, with the districts of Gilea.d, Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali, were captured, and their populations carried away to Syria, while Pekah, their sovereign, perished at the hands of a conspirator, Hoshea, who forthwith seized upon the throne. These details likewise receive confirmation from the monuments. Fragment No. 2 of Tiglath-Pileser's inscription, narrating his war in Palestine, men- tions" the city Ga.al . . . [probably Gilead] and Abil [Abel-beth-maa.chah] . , . with the land of Humri throughout its whole extent as having been joined to the borders of Assyria; the entire population of the district as having been sent to Assyria., and their king, Pa.kn.ha, as having been slain" (Smith, 'Assyrian Discoveries,' pp. 284, 285; 'Records,' etc., v. 61, 62; Schrader, 'Die Keilinschriften,' pp. 255, 256). 3. He subjected Judah. This the obvious meaning of the Chronicler's statement, that 'l'iglath-Pileser "distressed Aha.z,:but strengthened him not." Instead of helping him to become an independent sovereign, Tigla.th-Pileser made him a tributary to the Assyrian crown; and exactly in harmony with this, Joa.cha.z of Juda. appears, along with Mitinti of Aska.lon, Kosmalak of Edom, and Hanno of Gasa, among the tributary princes ._who, in the seventeenth or eighteenth year of his reign, did homage to the great king (see above).-W.