But the king of the city of Jerusalem was angry that the Gibeonites had gone over to Joshua. So he called upon the kings of the neighboring nations to join together and make war upon them. Then the Gibeonites sent in great distress to Joshua to come and help them. And Joshua made haste with his whole army to assist them, and, marching day and night, he fell upon the enemy as they were going up to the siege, and defeated them, and pursued them down the descent of the hills. And God lengthened the day, that the night might not come on too soon and hinder the Israelites in pursuing their enemies. And Joshua captured the king of Jerusalem and the four other kings who assisted him, as they were hiding in a cave, and he put them all to death.

And now there went a great fame abroad of the courage of the Israelites, and those that heard how they had defeated all their enemies were affrighted. So a number of the Canaanite kings gathered together all their people into one great army. The number of this army was three hundred thousand armed footmen and ten thousand horsemen and twenty thousand chariots, so that because of the multitude of their enemies joshua and the Israelites were greatly afrighted and lost all their hope of success. But God reproved them for their cowardice and bade them put their trust in Him, for He would help them. So Joshua regained his courage, and he went out against the enemy, and after five days' march he came upon them and gave battle. There was a terrible fight, in which great numbers of the Canaanites were slain. When they fled Joshua pursued them and cut them down. Their kings also were all slain. And the Israelites passed over all their country without opposition, no one daring to meet them in battle, and they besieged their cities and took them and slew all the inhabitants. But there were still a number of cities left belonging to other Canaanite kings, and these were situated in places where they were difficult to be besieged, and were surrounded with strong walls.

Joshua had now grown old, and he felt he could no longer lead the armies of the Israelites as he used to do. So he brought all the people to the city of Shiloh, and there he placed the tabernacle, for that seemed a fit place for it, because of the beauty of its situation. Then he went on to the city of Shechem, where Moses had told him he was to build an altar for all the tribes of Israel, that they might sacrifice there. And he built the altar in the way Moses had instructed him, and when they had sacrificed, and pronounced the blessings and the curses that Moses had taught, and had left them engraved on the side of the altar, they returned to Shiloh.

Then Joshua spoke to all the people, and he asked them to choose men from their tribes who were skilful at examining and measuring land. Each tribe accordingly chose a man, and the men so chosen were sent out over the land of Canaan, to measure it and to estimate the fertility of the different parts, and they wrote the description of all the land in a book which they carried with them, and after they had been gone seven months they returned to Joshua in the city of Shiloh. Joshua made an equal division of the land according to the description they made of it, and cast lots among the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh who had not yet had any land portioned out to them, so that the Lord might show what part of the land each tribe should have. And after the Lord had shown them this, Joshua told the men of Israel to go and take possession of their shares, and each tribe was to drive out any heathen nation that was found on their land. But as the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had already been peacefully settled in the land of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, Joshua called to him the fifty thousand men from those tribes who had followed him during all his wars, and told them he would no longer need their services, and that they might go home to their wives and children. But first he enjoined upon them to respect the laws which Moses had given them, and to love and serve the Lord their God, and to remember their kinship to the other tribes of Israel.

Then the men of these tribes bade farewell to their brethren of the other tribes, and shed many tears. When they had passed over the river Jordan, they built an altar on the banks, as a monument to future generations, and a sign of their relation to those that lived in the lands on the other side. But when those on the other side heard of the building of this altar, and knew not with what intention it was built, they thought is was done because these tribes wished to leave off the worship of the true God and to introduce strange gods. And they cried out in anger, and armed themselves to go out in war against them and punish them for their disobedience to the laws of their country. But Joshua, and Eleazar the high-priest, and the senate restrained them, and persuaded them first to send messengers to their brethren to question them concerning their intentions in raising strange altars, and if they found their intentions were evil they might then go to war with them. Accordingly, Phineas, the son of the high-priest, and ten more men who were held in high esteem among the Israelites, were sent across the river to question the other tribes and to learn why they had built another altar.

"For," said the ambassadors, "we do not like to believe that you intend to forget God, and leave the ark and the altar that is common to all of us, in order to introduce strange gods and the wicked practices of the Canaanites. But if it be true that you intend to do this, we will esteem you as no better than the Canaanites, and will collect our armies and come over the Jordan and destroy you in like manner as we have destroyed them."

Then the cief men of the other tribes rose and explained that they had not abandoned their God, that they still intended to come to the altar of the tabernacle to offer their sacrifices with the rest of the Israelites, and that the new altar had not been built for worship, but to serve as a memorial to their children forever, and to remind them of their relationship to the other tribes who dwelt across the Jordan.

This answer pleased Phineas and the other ambassadors, who accordingly returned to Joshua and reported before an assembly of the people what answer they had received. Joshua also was pleased to find that he was under no necessity for leading a part of the Israelites against the rest and making them shed one another's blood. So he offered up sacrifices of thanksgiving to God, and dismissed the assembly.

In the twentieth year after this, when he was very old, he sent for those of the greatest dignity in the several cities, and for the rulers, and for as many of the common people as could be present; and when they were come, he put them in mind of all the benefits God had bestowed on them; how from a low estate He had raised them to so great a degree of glory and plenty. And he exhorted them to take notice of the intentions of God, which had been so gracious towards them; and told them that the Deity would only continue their friend in case they persevered in their piety; and that it was proper for him, now he was about to depart out of this life, to leave such an admonition to them, and he desired that they would keep in memory this his advice to them.

Joshua, after he had thus discoursed to them, died, in the hundred and tenth year of his age. About the same time died Eleazar the high-priest, leaving the high-priesthood to his son Phineas.

Now there was a king in Canaan called Adonibezek, who, believing that when Joshua was dead he could easily defeat the men of Israel, called together his armies to fight them. The Israelites came out and gave them battle, and slew above ten thousand of them, and put the rest to flight. And in the pursuit they took Adonibezek, whose fingers and toes they cut off. And Adonibezek acknowledged that this was a just judgment of God, for he had not been ashamed to do the like to seventy-two kings whom he had conquered. He was then taken to Jerusalem and put to death.

The Israelites went on conquering the heathen nations as God had commanded, and took most of their cities. Yet they did not persevere until they had driven them all out of the land, but permitted many of them to live in peace, on condition that they would pay them a tribute. And being tired of fighting, the Israelites applied themselves to the cultivation of the land, which produced them great plenty and riches. Whereupon God was provoked to anger, and told them that as, contrary to His directions, they had spared some of the Canaanites, those Canaanites would in time to come tempt them to sin and cause them great trouble. And though the Israelites were distressed at what God told them, yet were they still unwilling to go to war, preferring to live in peace and luxury. And God was not pleased with them, and withdrew His protection from them for a time, so that their government did not prosper, and at last they fell to fighting among themselves. And the way of it was this.

A certain man of the tribe of Ephraim was travelling with his wife through the land which belonged to the Benjamites. Having stopped to rest in a city of that land called Gibeah, his wife was there cruelly slain. On reaching home he sent word to all the other tribes what had happened to him. And the people were greatly angered, and they gathered together in large number at Shiloh, and determined to take up arms against the citizens of Gibeah unless the murderers were given up to them. Ambassadors were therefore sent to the Benjamites, demanding that these men should be delivered up for punishment. But the Benjamites refused, and said they would go to war first.

When the ambassadors returned with this answer, the people of the other tribes were still more angry. They took an oath that no one of them would ever give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite, and that they would make war with greater fury against that tribe than their forefathers made war against the Canaanites. So they sent out against the city of Gibeah an army of four hundred thousand men. Now the army of the Benjamites was only twenty-five thousand and six hundred, but they had among them five hundred men who excelled in slinging stones, and with their help the Benjamites beat the Israelites when they first joined battle. Of the Israelites there fell two thousand men; and probably more would have been destroyed had not the night come on, and broken off the fight. So the Benjamites returned to the city with joy, and the Israelites returned to their camp in a great fright at what had happened. On the next day, when they fought again, the Benjamites beat them again, and eighteen thousand of the Israelites were slain, and the rest deserted their camp out of fear of a great slaughter. And coming to Bethel, a city that was near their camp, they fasted on the next day, and besought God through Phineas the high-priest, that His wrath against them might cease, and that He would be satisfied with these two defeats, and give them the victory and power over their enemies. Accordingly, God promised that He would do so.

The Israelites then divided the army into two parts. One half of them hid in ambush about the city of Gibeah by night. The other half attacked the Benjamites next morning, and then slowly retired before them, being very anxious to draw all the men out of the city. And indeed even the old men and young men that were left in the city, as too weak to fight, came running out now to join in the pursuit. However, when they were a great way from the city the Israelites ran away no longer, but turned back to fight them. And lifting up the signal they had agreed on, those that lay in ambush rose up, and with a great noise fell upon the enemy. Now when the Benjamites saw they had been deceived, they knew not what to do, and when they were driven into a certain hollow place which was in a valley, they were shot at by those that encompassed them, till they were all destroyed, except six hundred, who, forming themselves into a close body of men, forced their passage through the midst of their enemies, and fled to the neighboring mountains, and remained there. Then the Israelites burned Gibeah, and slew the women, and the males that were under age; and did the same also to the other cities of the Benjamites. And indeed they were so enraged that they sent twelve thousand men out of the army and gave them orders to destroy the city of Jabesh-Gilead, because it did not join with them in fighting against the Benjamites. Accordingly, those that were sent slew the men of war, with the children and wives, except four hundred virgins. To such a degree had they proceeded in their anger, because they not only had the suffering of the Levite's wife to avenge, but the slaughter of their own soldiers.

However, they afterward were sorry for the calamity they had brought upon the Benjamites, although still believing those men had suffered justly for their offence against the laws, and they appointed a fast on that account, and recalled by their ambassadors those six hundred who had escaped.

The ambassadors found these men on a rock called Rimmon, which was in the wilderness. They told them the Israelites lamented the disaster that had befallen the Benjamites, and had determined they would not let the whole race perish, but would allow these few survivors to return to their home.

"We give you leave," said the Israelites, "to take the whole land of Benjamin to yourselves, and as much cattle and gold and silver as you are able to carry away with you."

And the Israelites also gave them the four hundred virgins of Jabesh-Gilead for wives. But there were still two hundred of the Benjamites that had no wives, and the Israelites deliberated how they might get wives for them. For they had sworn before the war began that no one would give his daughter to wife to any of that tribe, and the oath could not be broken. Then, while they were debating, a man rose out of the assembly and said he could show them a way whereby they might procure the Benjamites wives enough and yet keep their oaths. And when they asked how that could be, he answered,—

"Three times a year, when we meet in Shiloh, having our wives and our children with us, let the Benjamites be allowed to steal away and to marry such maidens as they can, while we neither encourage nor forbid them. And if any of the parents take it ill, we will tell them that they ought to have better guarded their daughters."

The Israelites were pleased with this advice, and determined to follow it. So, when the festival was going on, these two hundred Benjamites scattered themselves along the roads near the city of Shiloh, and hid by twos and threes in the vineyards and other places, and waited for the coming of the virgins. And as the virgins walked along in an unguarded manner, the men rushed out upon them, and carried them off and married them.

In this way all the Benjamites got themselves wives. And they flourished, and soon increased to be a multitude, and recovered their former happy state.

But after the death of Othniel the affairs of the Israelites again fell into disorder. They neither paid to God the honor that was due to Him nor obeyed the laws, and they were therefore conquered again by Eglon, the king of the Moabites. He built himself a royal palace at Jericho, and did all he could to oppress the people, so that for eighteen years they were reduced to poverty. And again the Israelites repented of their sins and returned to God, and God forgave them.

There was a young man of the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Ehud, and God appointed him to be the liberator of his race. This man became familiar with the king of the Moabites, and was beloved not only by hiim but by all his attendants. One day Ehud took a dagger and hid it under his garments. He went to the house of the king, carrying presents to him, as he had often done before. Being admitted into the provate chamber of Eglon, the king bade his servants that attended him to leave them, because he had a mind to talk with Ehud. He was sitting on is throne, and fear seized upon Ehud lest he should miss his stroke and not give him a deadly wound. So he raised himself up and said he had a dream to impart to the king by the command of God. And when the king leaped off his throne to hear the dream, Ehud smote him to the heart. Then, leaving his dagger in the body, he went out and shut the door after him. Now the attendants of Eglon, hearing no sound in his room, thought he was sleeping, and durst not disturb him. But towards evening, fearing some uncommon accident had happened, they entered the room. When they found the king dead, they were in great disorder and knew not what to do. Before the guards could be got together, an army of Israelites, whom Ehud had collected, attacked the palace and slew a great number of the Moabites, and the rest made their escape across the Jordan. So the Israelites were freed from their persecutors, and they appointed Ehud their judge. And when he died, a man named Shamgar was made judge in his place, but he ruled only a short time.

Again the Israelites sinned, and the Lord punished them. Jabin, the king of the Canaanites, came against them with an army of three hundred thousand men, and he had with him a great captain, named Sisera. The Israelites were sorely beaten and condemned to slavery. For twenty years they endured great hardships. And when at length they had become penitent and were so wise as to learn that their misfortunes arose from their contempt of the laws, they went to a prophetess named Deborah and besought her to pray to God that He would take pity on them. And God listened to the prayers of Deborah, and told her that the people of Israel were to take for their general a man named Barak, who was of the tribe of Naphthali.

So Deborah sent for Barak, and bade him choose out ten thousand young men to go against the enemy, for God had said that that number was sufficient, and He would give them the victory. But Barak was afraid, and said he would not go as a general unless Deborah would also go as a general with him. Then she was angry, and replied,—

"Thou, Barak, dost meanly deliver up that authority which God hath given thee into the hands of a woman; and I do not reject it. But thou shalt lose all the glory thou mightest have won, for a woman also shall kill Sisera."

And Barak and Deborah collected together ten thousand men and went out against Sisera. But when Sisera came to meet them, the number of his army affrighted the Israelites, and Barak with them, so that they were ready to flee before them. But Deborah withheld them, and commanded them to fight that very day, for God had assured them the victory.

So the battle began. And when they had come to a close fight there arose a great storm of rain and hail. And the wind blew the rain in the face of the Canaanites, and so blinded them that their arrows and slings were of no advantage, and they found it difficult even to use their swords. But the storm incommoded the Israelites very little, for it blew on their backs. Moreover, they took courage, believing that God was assisting them, and fought the more bravely. And, after a great number of the Canaanites had been slain, the rest, seeing they were beaten, began to flee. And Sisera fled also, and came to the tent of a wooman called Jael, who was a friend to the children of Israel. He asked her to conceal him, and she let him come into her tent. And when he asked for something to drink she gave him sour milk, of which he drank so immoderately that he fell asleep. When he was asleep Jael took an iron nail, and drove it through his temples, with a hammer, into the floor. And when Barak came a little while afterwards she showed him Sisera, nailed to the floor. And thus was Sisera killed by the hand of a woman, as Deborah had foretold. Barak was made judge, and ruled over Israel for forty years.

Then the Israelites cried to the Lord for assistance. There was a man among them named Gideon. One day he was secretly threshing some wheat in his wine-press, for he was too fearful of the enemy to thresh it openly on the threshing-floor. And God appeared to him in the form of an angel, and said to him that he was a happy man and beloved of God.

To this Gideon answered, laughing scornfully, "Is this an indication of God's favor to me, that I am forced to use this wine-press instead of a threshing-floor?" But the angel exhorted him to be of good courage, and told him that he should make an attempt to recover liberty for his people.

"Nay," said Gideon, "it is impossible for me to do that, for the tribe to which I belong is a small one, and I myself am young and not fit for great actions."

But the angel answered that God would supply what he was deficient in, and would afford the Israelites victory under his guidance.

Gideon told this story to other young men, and they believed him, and immediately there was an army of ten thousand young men got ready for fighting. And Gideon was chosen their captain.

At night, as Gideon slept, God appeared to him in a dream, and said that He wished the Israelites to acknowledge that victory came from Him and not from the greatness of their army, and therefore all this number of men would not be necessary. So He told him to bring his army, about noon, in the violence of the heat, to the river, and those men that bent down on their knees and drank calmly he should look upon as brave men, while those who hurriedly scooped up the water with their hands were cowardly and in dread of their enemies.

And when Gideon had done as God commanded, there were found to be three hundred who drank water hurriedly from their hands. God told him to choose out this number, for with only three hundred cowardly men under him He would give him the victory. But, as Gideon himself was in great fear, God wished to reassure him, and He told him to take one of his soldiers and go near to the tents of the Midianites at night-time, for that he should have his courage raised by what he saw and heard. So he obeyed, and went, taking his servant Phurah with him; and as he came near to one of the tents he discovered that those who were in it were awake, and that one of them was telling his fellow-soldier a dream of his own. And Gideon could hear every word he said. The dream was this: He thought he saw a barley-cake, such a one as could hardly be eaten by men, it was so vile, rolling through the camp, and overthrowing the royal tent, and the tents of all the soldiers. Now the other soldier explained this vision to mean the destruction of the army.

"For," said he, "the seed called barley is allowed to be the vilest sort of seed, and the Israelites are known to be the vilest of all the people of Asia, and since thou sayest thou didst see the cake overturning our tents, I am afraid God hath granted the victory over us to Gideon."

When Gideon had heard this, hope and courage came upon him. Commanding his soldiers to arm themselves, he told them of this vision of their enemies. They also took courage, and were ready to perform what he should enjoin them. So Gideon divided his army into three parts, each part containing a hundred men: they all bore empty pitchers and lighted lamps in their hands. Each of them also had a ram's horn in his right hand, which he used instead of a trumpet. And at dead of night they stealthily crept into the enemy's camp, and on the signal given sounded with the rams' horns, and broke their pitchers, and lit their lamps, and shouted, and cried, "Victory to Gideon, by God's assistance." Whereupon a disorder and a fright seized upon the Midianites while they were half asleep, so that a few of them were slain by their enemies, but the greatest part by their own soldiers, on account of the diversity of their language, and when they were once put into disorder, they killed all that they met with, thinking them to be enemies also. As the report of Gideon's victory came to the other Israelites, they took their weapons and pursued their enemies, and overtook them in a certain valley, and slew them all, with their kings. And Gideon was made judge over Israel, and ruled forty years.

After Abimelech had governed for three years, the people grew tired of him, for he was harsh and tyrannical, and the Shechemites drove him away both from their city and their tribe. But he gathered an army and fought with the Shechemites, and defeated them, and took their city and razed it to the ground. He put to death the inhabitants, and only a small number escaped out of the city. These fled to a strong rock not far from the city, where they settled and prepared to build a wall for their protection. When Abimelech learned their intentions, he came upon them with his forces. He laid fagots of dry wood around the rock until it was entirely surrounded, and then he set them on fire and threw in whatsoever burned most easily, so that a mighty flame was raised, and nobody could fly away from the rock, but every man perished.

After Abimelech had destroyed Shechem, he marched against a rebellious city named Thebes, and fought against it and took it. There was a great tower in the middle of the city, whither all the inhabitants fled. Then Abimelech came near the tower to besiege it. But a woman who was on the tower threw down a piece of millstone, which struck him on the head and felled him to the ground. He knew that he was dying, but he did not want it to be said that he had been killed by a woman, so he told one of his attendants to draw his sword and put him to death, and the attendant did so.

Abimelech was succeeded in the government of the country of the Israelites first by Tola, who ruled for twenty-three years, and then by Jair, who ruled twenty-two years. They were wise rulers, and the people prospered under them.

After the death of Jair, however, the people began to sin again, and to despise God and their laws. Then the Ammonites and the Philistines laid waste their country with a great army. And the people called out again to the Lord, confessing their sins, and He had mercy on them and resolved to assist them. But by this time the enemy held the greater part of the country in slavery, and had penetrated to the land beyond the Jordan where the two and a half tribes lived. The inhabitants of the country went out to meet them, but they wanted a commander. Now there was a man amond them named Jephthah, who was a great captain. Yet his fellow-citizens had been unkind to him, and had allowed him to be despoiled of his rightful inheritance by his brethren. So he was angry and would not at first yield to their entreaties. But when the Israelites entreated him further and promised that if he would lead them out to battle they would grant him the government over them all his life, he at last consented. He encamped his army at a place called Mizpah. Here he prayed for victory, and vowed, if he came home in safety, to offer in sacrifice the first living creature that met him on his return. Then he joined battle with the enemy and defeated them with great slaughter. And he pursued them to their own land, and overthrew many of their cities, and took a great quantity of cattle and gold and silver. But, as he came back, a great sorrow overtook him. For the first living thing he met on his return was his daughter. She was his only child, and when he saw her he lamented and rent his clothes, and told her of his vow. But she told him that he might do with her as he had vowed, that she was glad to die on the occasion of her father's victory and the liberty of her fellow-citizens. She only desired Jephthah to give her leave for two months to bewail her youth with her companions, and she would then give herself up to him. Accordingly, when that time was up he sacrificed his daughter as he had promised,—offering such an oblation as was not conformable to the laws or acceptable to God.

After Jephthah had ruled for six years he died. And three other judges, named Ibzan, Helon, and Abdon, ruled after him in succession, but nothing remarkable happened in all the years that they ruled.

There was at that time among the Israelites a man named Manoah, who was held in great honor on account of his many virtues. He had a wife who also feared the Lord, but the couple were not blessed with any children, though they continually prayed to God for them. One day an angel of God appeared to the wife as she was alone and brought her the good news that she should have a son, who should be of great strength, and by whom, when he was grown up to man's estate, the Philistines should be afflicted. And the angel told her that he was never to drink wine, and that his hair should never be cut. Then the angel departed.

The woman told her husband, when he returned, of the angel's visit, and of his message to them. But he would not believe it was an angel, so the wife entreated God to send the angel again, that he might be seen by her husband. The angel appeared to her again when she was alone. She asked the angel to stay until she could go and call her husband, and that request being granted, she went for Manoah. But though he saw the angel he was still doubtful. He asked him who he was, so that when the child was born they might return him thanks and make him a present. The angel replied that he wanted no present. But at the earnest request of Manoah he agreed to stay long enough to let them prepare him a meal. So Manoah slew a kid and bade his wife boil it. When all was ready, the angel told them to set the bread and meat upon a rock. Touching them with a rod he held in his hand, a bright flame sprang up and consumed them. And as they looked the angel ascended up to heaven by means of the smoke, as by a vehicle. Now Manoah was afraid that some danger would come to them from this sight of God, but his wife bade him be of good courage, for that God had appeared to them for their benefit.

In due time the child was born, and was called Samson, which means a strong man. And as he grew up his parents were careful to follow the commands of the angel, letting his hair grow long and giving him no wine to drink.

When Samson was a young man, he went with his parents to Timnath, a city of the Philistines, where there was a great festival. Here he met a maid of that country, with whom he was so much pleased that he asked his parents to let him marry her. But they would not consent at first, because she was a daughter of the Philistines, who were the enemies of the Israelites. At last, however, finding that Samson had made up his mind and could not be persuaded to forget her, they withdrew their objection.

Once as Samson was going to Timnath to visit the maiden a lion met him, and though the youth was without sword or spear he was not afraid, but waited for the lion to spring on him, and then strangled it with his hands.

Soon after he passed along the same road, on his way to the maiden, and turning aside to see the carcass of the lion, he found that a swarm of bees had gone into it and made honey there. He took some of the honey, and gave it, with other presents, to the maiden.

At last the day appointed for the marriage arrived. A great wedding-feast was held in Timnath. And among those that came to it were thirty young men of the Philistines, who had been given to Samson under pretence of being his companions, but in reality to watch over him and see that he attempted no disturbance. The feast lasted seven days, and on the first day Samson said to his companions,—

"Come, now, if I propose you a riddle, and you can guess it within these seven days, I will give every one of you a linen shirt and a garment as a reward of your wisdom."

The young men were very anxious to try if they could guess the riddle, and they asked him to tell it. Then Samson said,—

"A great devourer produced sweet food out of itself, though itself were very disagreeable."

For three days his companions thought over this riddle and could not guess it. Then they came to Samson's wife, and asked her to find out the answer from her husband and to let them know it, threatening to burn her if she could not find out.

So she asked Samson to tell her, and when he refused she wept, saying that he did not love her, until at last he could refuse no longer. He told her, therefore, how he had killed a lion and found bees afterwards in its breast, and how he had brought honey away from it. And next morning she told this to the Philistine young men. And on the seventh day they came to Samson and said,—

"Nothing is more disagreeable than a lion to those that meet one, and nothing is sweeter than honey to those that eat it."

Then Samson knew that his wife had betrayed him, and he answered,—

"Nothing is so deceitful as a woman, for such was the person who told you this secret."

Then Samson went out, and meeting with some Philistines who dwelt in a town named Askelon, he slew thirty of them, and took their clothing, which he gave to his companions, as he had promised. But he was angry with his wife, and divorced her, and she, despising his anger, soon after married one of the Philistine youth. At this Samson became still angrier, and he resolved to punish all the Philistines as well as her. It was then summer-time, and the crops were almost ripe for reaping. Samson caught three hundred foxes, and tying pieces of blazing wood to their tails, he let them loose in the fields of the Philistines, so that the wheat and other grain was burned up and destroyed. When the Philistines knew this was Samson's doing, and learned the reason, they sent their rulers to Timnath, and burned his wife and her relations as the cause of their misfortunes.

Samson fought with all the Philistines whom he met anywhere, and slew a great many of them. Afterwards he went to live on the top of a rock named Elam. And the Philistines gathered up a number of men to capture him and to punish those who harbored him. The Israelites were afraid, and some of them came to Elam and told Samson that the Philistines would treat them cruelly so long as they him to remain in their country. Then Samson asked them what they wished with him. They answered that they wished to bind him and give him over to the Philistines. He only made them swear they would not kill him, but would deliver him over alive to the Philistines. And when they had sworn he came down from the rock, and they bound him with two cords and took him to the camp of the Philistines. The Philistines shouted with joy when they saw him, thinking they would now be revenged. But when they had surrounded him, Samson burst his bonds, and, catching up the jawbone of an ass that happened to lie at his feet, he fell upon his enemies and slew a thousand of them, and put the rest to flight.

Samson was very proud of this victory, and he rejoiced greatly, saying that it did not come from the assistance of God, but from his own strength and courage. But a great thirst came upon him, and he grew so weak that he was glad to cry to God for help. And God was moved with his entreaties, and opened a spring in that place, and when he had drunk of its waters his strength came to him again.

Samson had so little fear of the Philistines after this victory that he went in broad daylight to one of their chief cities, named Gaza, and took up his lodging in an inn. When the rulers of Gaza heard that he had come, they set guards at all the gates to prevent his going out again. But Samson got up in the middle of the night and came to the gates, and when he found them shut, he pulled the doors off their hinges and carried them on his shoulders to the top of a hill. There was a woman among the Philistines named Delilah, to whose house Samson often went. When the rulers of the Philistines knew this, they came to her and promised her a great deal of gold and silver if she would find out from Samson what made him so strong. So the next time he came to the house, she first pretended to praise him for all his great actions, and at last she asked him how it was he was so much stronger than all other men. Samson guessed why she asked him this, and in order to deceive her he said, —

"If I am bound with seven green withes I shall be as weak as other men."

Withes were ropes made out of twigs or green branches of trees, and were very tough.

Delilah believed him, and told the lords of the Philistines. So one day when Samson was asleep, a number of soldiers came and bound him in the way he had told her. Then Delilah awoke him, saying that some people had come to attach him. And Samson, starting up, broke the withes as easily as if they had been thread. Then Delilah said that she was only trying him, to see if he had told the truth, and she wept a good deal and pretended to be very sad because he would not trust in her. And again she asked him to tell her about his strength.

Samson again deceived her, and said,—

"If you bind me with seven new ropes I will lose my strength."

But when Delilah had bound him with the ropes, he broke them as easily as he had broken the withes. Then he told her that if she could weave or plait his long hair in a way which he showed her, he would become weak. But when Delilah did this, he rose as strong as ever. At last Samson allowed himself to be moved by her tears and reproaches, and he told her the truth.

"My hair," he said, "has never been cut since I was born, God having ordered me to let it grow long. If you cut off my hair I shall be as weak as other men."

One day, as Samson was sleeping, the wicked Delilah cut off all his hair, and then called to the Philistines to come and take him. And he was no longer able to resist them. So they bound him and put out both his eyes and threw him into prison.

Not long afterwards there was a festival in Gaza, among the Philistines, and all the chief people had gathered in a great hall, whither they ordered Samson to be brought, that they might make sport of him. Now Samson's hair had grown long again while he was in prison, and his strength had returned to him. But the Philistines did not know this, and Samson, to deceive them, pretended to be very weak, and asked the youth who guided his steps to let him rest on the pillars that supported the house. When the boy had done this, Samson took hold of the pillars and shook them so fiercely that he overthrew them. And the house fell down upon the Philistine, crushing to death more than three thousand of them, and Samson himself died with them.

Naomi, full of grief, resolved to return to her own country, for she had learned that the famine was over there. Her daughters-in-law wished to go with her, but Naomi told them they had better remain and marry men of their own nation, and she prayed God that they would be happier in a second marriage than they had been in their first. And one of her daughters-in-law, whose name is Orpah, did as Naomi desired, and remained behind, but the other, whose name was Ruth, would not leave her.

They came into Canaan, to the city of Bethlehem, where Naomi used to live. To all those who called Naomi by name she would answer, "Do not call me Naomi, for that means pleasant; call me rather Marah, which means bitter."

At Bethlehem there was a man named Boaz, a near relation of Naomi's husband Elimelech. He was a rich man, and owned a great deal of land. It was the harvest-time, and Ruth went out into the fields to glean, that is, to pick up the ears of corn that had been left by the reapers. She strayed into the fields that were owned by Boaz, and Boaz, seeing her, asked his chief servant, "What woman is this?" And the servant told him who she was.

When Boaz learned that this was the woman who had accompanied Naomi from the land of Moab, he praised her greatly for her goodness and her kindness to her mother-in-law, and he told his servants that she might not only glean, but might reap the grain and carry away all she was able. And he also said that the servants were to give her to eat and to drink when they served out the meals.

So Ruth gleaned in the fields all day. And when she had come home, she told Naomi of what had happened to her. Naomi informed her who Boaz was, that he was a kinsman of Elimelech, her former husband, and that according to the law of Moses he ought to marry Ruth, because she was the widow of one of his nearest relations.

"Wash thyself, therefore," said she, "and anoint thee, and put on thy best garments, and go down to the place where he is threshing his barley, but let the man not see thee till after he has done eating and drinking. Lay thyself down at his feet when he sleeps, and when he wakes he will tell thee what he will do."

So Ruth did as she was told. And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and had fallen asleep, she placed herself at his feet. When he woke, he asked her who she was and what she wanted. And she answered, "I am Ruth, thy servant; suffer me to remain here."

Then Boaz knew who she was, and remembered also that she was the widow of his kinsman. So he bade her gather up all the barley she could and take it to Naomi. And he said to her,—

"If the man whho is nearest of kin to thy dead husband wishes to marry thee, thou shalt follow him. But if he refuse, I will marry thee according to law."

Ruth returned to Naomi, and they rejoiced together at these words of Boaz, for now they knew he would not desert them in their poverty. And Boaz went down to the city at noon, and made Ruth come before an assembly of all the rulers. He also summoned the nearest kinsman of her dead husband, to whom he said,—

"Do you not possess the property of Elimelech and his sons?"

"Yes," answered the other, "I possess it, for the law gives it to me as their nearest kinsman."

"Nay," returned Boaz, "it is not sufficient to perform only a part of the law, for the wife of Mahlon is come hither, whom thou must marry, according to the laws, if thou wouldst retain the fields which belonged to her husband."

Then the man answered that, as he was already married and had children, he would forego his right, and give up the widow and the inheritance to Boaz.

Boaz accepted the offer, and took Ruth for his wife. And within a year they had a son, whose name was Obed. Obed was the grandfather of David, who was the greatest king that ever ruled over Israel.

As she was praying and weeping, Eli the high-priest thought she had drunk too much wine, and he reproached her for it.

"Nay," said Hannah, "I have not drunk wine, but I am in great sorrow because I have no child, and I pray God to give me one."

Then Eli spoke kindly to her, and said that God would surely hear her prayer and give her a son.

And indeed not long after a son was born to her, and she called his name Samuel, which means, Asked of God. She did not forget her promise, for when he was old enough she brought him to the tabernacle to serve the Lord there. And God afterwards gave her other children, sons and daughters.

Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who were priests, but were very wicked men. All the people cried out against them, and Eli also mourned over their wickedness, and feared greatly that some punishment would be inflicted on them by the Lord.

One night Samuel, who was then twelve years of age, heard the voice of God calling him by name as he slept. And he woke up and ran to Eli, thinking it was he who had called him. But Eli said,—

"I did not call; lie down again."

Twice more did the voice call to Samuel, and each time the boy rose and went to Eli. The third time Eli said to him,—

"Indeed, my son, I was silent now as before; it is God who is calling to thee. Go, therefore, lie down, and if He call thee again, say, Speak, Lord, Thy servant heareth."

And the voice did call him again, and Samuel answered as Eli had bidden. Then the Lord spoke, and said that a great misfortune would happen to the Israelites, that they would be defeated by their enemies, and that the two sons of Eli would be killed, because they were wicked and their father had not punished them as they had deserved.

Samuel was very sad when he heard this, and he would not have told it to Eli, but that Eli obliged him to do so. Then the father knew that his sons must die, and that the Lord was displeased with him also; and he was much grieved.

Shortly afterwards the Philistines made war upon the Israelites, and defeated them in a great battle. Four thousand were slain, and the rest retreated to the camp in disorder. The Israelites thought that if they sent for the ark, and took it with them the next time they fought, they would be victorious. So the ark was sent to the camp, and Hophni and Phinehas accompanied it, because their father was too old to come. Before they set out, Eli told them that if the ark was taken, and they came back without it, he would not receive them. The arrival of the ark gave great joy to the Israelites, and the Philistines were afraid when they heard of it. But both sides found they were mistaken, one in its joy and the other in its fear. For in the next battle the conquered again. They slew thirty thousand of the Israelites, among whom were the sons of Eli, and the ark itself fell into their hands.

A man of the tribe of Benjamin, who had escaped with difficulty from the field of battle, brought to Shiloh the news of this great defeat, and of the loss of the ark. The whole city was full of lamentations. Eli the high-priest, who was sitting on a high throne at one of the gates, heard these cries and knew that some great calamity had happened. He send for the messenger to come to him. And when he learned of the defeat of the Israelites he was not surprised, though he grieved greatly, because the Lord had prepared him to expect these things. But when he was told of the loss of the ark, he fell off from his seat to the ground and died, for his grief was greater than he could bear. He was ninety-eight years of age, and had ruled forty years.

Every one approved of this advice, and it was determined that the plan should be carried out.

The cows chose the road that led straight on to the Isrraelites, and the Philistines followed at a distance, to see what would happen. When the cows had come to a village called Bethshemesh, they stopped, although there was a grassy plain in front of them. The people were reaping their wheat when they saw it come, and their delight was very great. But in the midst of their joy they forgot the reverence due to God, and they dared to open and look into the ark. Now the ark, as we have seen, was kept in the Holy of Holies, where only the priests might enter. Even a Levite might not touch the ark, under pain of death. Therefore God showed His displeasure at the sin of these men, and seventy of them died on the spot. Then the others knew they were not worthy to have the ark in their midst, and they sent to the senate of the Israelites, informing them that the ark had been restored by the Philistines.

Then the ark was taken to the city of Kirjath-jearim, where it was placed in the house of a good man, named Abinadab, who was a Levite. Here it remained for twenty years. During all this time the Israelites lived very piously, and God blessed them in many ways. And Samuel, who after Eli's death had become judge over the people, seeing that their hearts were softened, thought this would be a good time to exhort them to recover their liberty from the Philistines.

So he called together the multitude and made a speech to them. He showed them the wickedness of their past conduct, and spoke of the evils that had followed from it, praised them for their repentance, and told them that if they continued in the right path God would certainly look down upon them with favor and deliver them from their enemies.

The Israelites were pleased with his words, and replied that they were willing to do whatever the Lord commanded, Samuel ordered them to come together again in the city of Mizpah, which means a watch-tower. There they sacrificed and fasted and offered up public prayers. The Philistines, learning of this gathering, came against them with a large army. And they rushed upon the city while the people were sacrificing, thinking they would surprise them and easily defeat them. But suddenly the earth began to tremble and shake under their feet, then it opened with a loud roar as of thunder, and swellowed up a great number of the Philistines. The rest threw away their arms and fled in the greatest confusion. The Israelites pursued and gained a complete victory. After that they gained other victories, and recovered all the towns they had lost, and they drove the Philistines out of the land of Canaan.

When Samuel was grown old and could no longer attend to all the affairs of the government, he gave a portion of his authority to his two sons; but the sons had no share of their father's virtues. For they took bribes from those who came before them to have their disputes settled, and decided not according to the justice of the case, but according to which side gave them the most money. Besides this, they disobeyed many other of the commands of God. So the Israelites came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him that as he was now too old to govern them, and as his sons behaved so wickedly, they would like to be like the other nations around them, and have a king to rule them. Samuel was very sad when he heard this, and, thinking their desire for a change of government rose from some dislike against himself, he made his complaint to God.

And God said to Samuel,—

"It is not with thee, but with me that they are dissatisfied. For they do not want me to rule any onger over them. They will repent when it is too late, and will be sorry for their ingratitude to me and to you. But I command you to give them as their king the man whom I will point out to you, though first you must point out to them the rights and great power of a king and all the evils that may follow from having one."

So Samuel got the people together, and told them that the king they wished for would often be a cruel master to them, and they would have to give him much of their money and their goods to keep up his grandeur, and he would take their children, whether they liked it or not, to be his soldiers and servants. But the multitude still said, "We want a king like the other nations, to rule over us and to go out to battle at the head of our armies."

Then Samuel dismissed the assembly, telling them that when the time was come he would announce to them who had been chosen for their king.

Early next morning Samuel woke Saul from his sleep, and accompanied him part of the way home. When they were out of the city, he asked Saul to send his servant before him, as he had something he wished to say to him only. Samuel then took out a small vial of oil, and pouring it upon the head of Saul, he saluted him, and said,—

"God hath appointed you king over His people, to avenge them against the Philistines. And as a sign that what I say is true, you will meet at a short distance from here three men, who will salute you and speak kindly to you, and offer you bread and wine. And a little farther on you will meet two men, who will inform you that the asses are found. And afterwards you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the hill, and the Spirit of the Lord shall seize you, and you will begin to prophesy with them and be changed into another man."

And everything happened as Samuel had said.

Then Samuel called all the tribes together at Mizpeh, and informed them that since they had rejected God, and chosen to have a king instead, they must throw lots to find out who the person was. The lot first fell upon the tribe of Benjamin, then upon the family of Metri, and lastly upon the person of Saul himself.

But Saul was not in the assembly, for he knew beforehand that the lot would fall upon him, and he did not want to seem anxious to be king. Messengers were sent to fetch him, and when he arrived Samuel presented him to the people. And when they saw how tall and strong and handsome he was they were well pleased, and cried out, "God save the king!" But there were some who murmured and did not like this new king.