Captives Disabled
Judg. 1:6, 76But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. 7And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. (Judges 1:6‑7).—But Adoni-bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and great toes. And Adoni-bezek said, Three-score and ten kings, having their thumbs and great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table; as I have done, so God hath requited me.
PROF. H. B. HACKETT, D. D., LL. D.—This form of mutilation was not arbitrary, but chosen in order to render those who suffered it unfit for warlike service; henceforth they could neither wield the bow, nor stand firm in battle, nor escape by flight.—Smith's Dict. of the Bible, p. 32.
ÆLIAN.—The Athenians, at the instigation of Cleon, son of Cleænetus, made a decree that all the inhabitants of the island of Egina should have the thumb cut off from the right hand, so that ever after, they might be disabled from holding a spear, yet might handle an oar.—Var. Hist., 1. ii., c. 9.
SUETONIUS.-A Roman nobleman, who had cut off the thumbs of his two sons, to prevent them from being called to a military life, was, by order of Augustus, publicly sold, both he and his property.—Vita August., c. 24.
ATHENÆUS.—It is said of some of the Parthian kings that at table they threw food to their famished vassals, who would catch it up like dogs, and like dogs were beaten till blood flowed from them.— Deipnosophistœ, lib. iv., p. 152.
Ashtaroth
Judg. 2:1212And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. (Judges 2:12).—And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—The worship of Ashtoreth by the Canaanitish nations generally (Judg. 2:11-1311And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: 12And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. 13And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. (Judges 2:11‑13),) accords with a hieroglyphic inscription of Rameses II., which mentions Asterte as a Hittite divinity.—Hist. of O. T., p. 101.
Ox-Goad
HOMER. —Lycurgus put to flight Bacchus and his votaries, driving them from the sacred grove of Nyssa with an ox-goad. Iliad, l. vi., v. 135.
REV. JOHN KITTO, D. D., F. S. A.—"The husbandman," says Mr. Buckingham (in his Travels), "was holding the plow with one hand, by a handle like that of a walking crutch, while he bore in the other a goad of seven or eight feet in length, armed with a sharp point of iron at one end, and at the other with a plate of the same metal, shaped like a caulking-chisel, for cleaning the earth from the plowshare." And Maundrel, who gives nearly 'the same description, says, "May we not conjecture that it was with such a goad as one of these that Shamgar made that prodigious slaughter related of him? I am confident that whoever should see one of these instruments would judge it to be a weapon no less fit, perhaps fitter, than a sword for such execution."—Pictorial Bible, note In loco.
Barak's Victory over Sisera
Judg. 4:13-1513And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. 14And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. (Judges 4:13‑15).—And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
PROF. H. B. HACKETT, D. D., LL. D.—The 'means we have at present for illustrating the local scene of Barak's victory over Sisera impart a new interest to the narrative, and furnish a remarkable testimony to its accuracy. Though the song of Deborah and Barak was written thousands of years ago, so many of the places mentioned in it have survived to our time and been identified, that this battle-field lies now mapped out before us on the face of the country almost as distinctly as if we were reading the account of a contemporary event. Dr. Thomson, who has had his home for a quarter of a century almost in sight of Tabor, at the foot of which the battle was fought, has given a living picture of the movements of the hostile armies, and of the localities referred to, showing that nearly all these still exist and bear their ancient names, and occur precisely in the order that the events of the narrative presuppose. The passage is too long for citation (Land and the Book, Vol. II., 141-144), but will be found to illustrate strikingly the topographical accuracy of Scripture. Stanley has given a similar description (Sin. and Pal., p. 331).—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 245.
White Asses
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—White asses were an especial mark of rank and dignity. Thus Deborah addresses the Judges as “ye that ride on white asses; " and white asses are still in high esteem. Bagdad is celebrated for its breed of white asses, which are considered more fleet than others; and they are to be seen also in Damascus, where they command fancy prices, but are tender, and do not flourish near the coast.—Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 39.
DR. JOHN KITTO, F. S. A.—The higher estimation in which white asses are held is indicated by the superior style of their furniture and decorations; and in passing through the streets, the traveler will not fail to notice the conspicuous appearance which they make in the line of asses which stand waiting to be hired.—Pictorial Bible, In loco.
River Kishon
MR. GEORGE GROVE, Cryst. Pal.—The modern name of Kishion is Nahr Mukutta, and drains the waters of the plain of Esdraelon. Its course is in a direction nearly due northwest along the lower part of the plain nearest the foot of the Samarian hills, and close beneath the very cliffs of Carmel, breaking through the hills which separate the plain of Esdraelon from the maritime plain of Acre, by a very narrow pass beneath the eminence of Horothieh, which is believed still to retain a trace of the name "Harosheth of the Gentiles." Of the identity of the Kishion with the present Nahr Mukutta, there can be no question. The existence of the sites of Taanach and Megiddo along its course, and the complete agreement of the circumstances noticed with the requirements of the story of Elijah, are sufficient to satisfy us that the two are one and the same.—Smith's Dict.,
Embroidered Garments
REV. THOMAS S. MILLINGTON.—Garments embroidered with the needle were worn, not by females only, but by men, for whom they were often wrought by the hands of their wives.—Testimony of the Heathen, p. 157.
ÆSCHYLUS.—
This tissue, view it;
The texture is thine own, the rich embroidery;
Thine are these figures, by thy curious hand
Imaged in gold.
—Choeph., V., 229.
THEOCRITUS.—
Hercules... arrayed
In no rich vest, whose floating folds displayed
The needle's art,—in plain unprincely robe,
He ranged the wide inhospitable globe.
—Idyl, XXIV.
The Midianites
REV. JOHN KITTO, D. D., F. S. A.—When Baldwin I. presented himself with some troops before Askelon, the citizens were afraid to come out to give him battle. On this, finding it would be no advantage to remain there, he ranged about the plains between the mountains and the sea, and found villages whose inhabitants, having left their houses, had retired with their wives and children, their flocks and herds into subterraneous caves.—Pictorial Bible, In loco.
Judg. 6:3, 43And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; 4And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. (Judges 6:3‑4).—And so it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them: and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
REV. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP, D. D.—In the days of the Hebrew Judges, B. C. 1256, the Midianites, and the Children of the East, came up and destroyed the increase of the earth. The same is now done every year by the Bedawy Arabs, under the impotent government of Constantinople; and the remnants of the people are compelled, as of old, to live in dens which are in the mountains, and in caves, and in strongholds.—Bible Lands, p. 239.
DR. JOHN Kam, F. S. A.—The Bedouin Arabs come up from their deserts in the spring, and perhaps remain through the summer in the territories of those cultivators, who are so unfortunate as to lie at their mercy. If there is not an established understanding between the nomads and the cultivators, as to the proportion which the latter are to pay for exemption, the Bedouins encamp and pasture their cattle in the cultivated grounds, after securing such corn and other vegetable products as they may happen to require for their own use during the remainder of the year. The Bedouins also, when thus oppressing the cultivator, seize all the cattle that are brought abroad, and add them to their own flocks ' and herds; and as it is impossible and useless to keep them continually in confinement, the inhabitants soon become deprived of all their cattle, like the Israelites.—Pictorial Bible, p. 34.
REV. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP, D. D.—The present inhabitants of the same regions appear to value the camel quite as highly as their ancestors, for its numbers are not diminished. To give one illustration out of many. Thevenot speaks of a man by the name of Ali Bey, who, when he died, owned no less than "fourscore thousand camels, and about as many asses."—Bible Lands, p. 240.
Men Lapping
REV. J. KITTO, D. D., F. S. A.—These men, instead of kneeling down to take a long draft, or successive drafts, from the water, employed their hand as the dog employs its tongue-that is, forming it into a hollow spoon, and dipping water with it from the stream. We have often seen it done, and the comparison to the lapping of a dog spontaneously occurred to our mind. When traveling with small caravans, we have had opportunities of seeing both processes. On coming to water a person who wishes to drink cannot stop the whole party to wait for him; and therefore, if on foot, any delay would oblige him to unusual exertion in order to overtake his party; therefore he drinks in the manner we have described.—Pictorial Bible, In loco.
The Spy
Judg. 7:9, 109And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. 10But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: (Judges 7:9‑10).—And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thy hand, But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host.
HOMER.—
Is there, said he, a chief so greatly brave,
His life to hazard and his country save?
Lives there a man who singly dares to go
To yonder camp, or seize some straggling foe?
Or, favored by the night, approach so near
Their speech, their counsels, and designs to hear?
I, Nestor, feel such courage; and myself
Will enter Ilium's host, encamped so nigh:
But shall adventure with a livelier hope,
And be embolden'd much, some valiant friend
Advent ‘ring with me; for a friend may spy
Advantage ere myself, and may advise
Its happiest uses overseen by me.—
He ceased, and willing to partake his toils
Arose no few.
—Iliad, lib. x.
The Pass-Word
XENOPHON.—Cyrus, before engaging the army of the Assyrians, gave out the word, which was this—Jove our helper and leader.—Cyropœdia, lib. iii., c. 3.
IDEM.—Having addressed the soldiers, the word was then given—Jupiter the preserver, and Hercules the conductor.—Anabasis, lib. vi., c. 5.
Heads of the Conquered
Jud: 7:25.—And they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.
DR. JOHN KITTO, F. S. A.—It was almost an universal custom to take off the heads of opposing chiefs and bring them to the victorious general. Such was the custom among the Romans: thus Pompey's head was brought to Caesar, and that of Cicero to Mark Anthony, not to mention other instances. Barbarous oriental conquerors have built monuments with the heads of their conquered enemies; and at present, the heads of conquered chiefs and commanders are transmitted to Constantinople from the most distant parts of the Turkish empire, to be laid at the feet of the Sultan, and then to decorate his palace gates.—Pictorial Bible, In loco.
Camel Ornaments
REV. HENRY J. VAN—LENNEP, D. D.—In the antique sculptures camels are often represented with bells. Collars and bands of dyed wool, adorned with tassels and embroidered with shells and beads, often hang about the neck and head of favorite animals, while a showy ornament, with a looking-glass for a center-piece, covers the entire forehead. They are also decked with long strings of little brass bells suspended from the saddle, or fastened to the head, legs, and even the tail. This is their holiday attire, and thus are they represented on the slabs of the palaces of Nineveh, when brought as articles of tribute to the Assyrian kings. The favorite camels of Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian, who were slain by the hand of Gideon, were ornamented in a similar but much more costly manner.—Bible Lands, p. 241.
Personal Ornaments
XENOPHON.—Cyrus commanded some of the most considerable Persians to assist in hastening on the carriages. Throwing off their purple robes, they ran, as if it had been for a prize, down a very steep hill in their costly vests and embroidered drawers; some even with chains about their necks, and bracelets round their wrists, and, leaping into the dirt with these, they lifted up the carriages and brought them out.—Anabasis. l. i., c. 5.
STRABO.—The Gauls wear golden collars round` their necks, and bracelets on their arms and wrists, and those who are of any dignity have garments dyed and worked with gold. —Strab, 1. iv., c. 4.
Death by the Hand of a Woman
Judg. 9:53, 5453And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull. 54Then he called hastily unto the young man his armorbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. (Judges 9:53‑54).—And a certain woman cast a piece of a mill-stone upon Abimelech's head, and all to break his skull. Then he called hastily unto the young man his armor-bearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
SENECA. —O dishonorable fate! A woman is reported to have caused the death of Hercules.—Herc. Œtaeus., V., 1177.
SOPHOCLES.—
At last I fall,
Like a poor coward, by a woman's hand,
Unarmed and unassisted.
—Trachin., V., 1064.
STRABO.—The Argives did not admit Pyrrhus within the city; he fell before the walls, an old woman having let a tile drop from a house upon his head.—Strab, 1. viii., c. 6.
Ashtaroth, or Astarte
Judg. 10:66And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him. (Judges 10:6).—And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, etc.
LUCIAN.—In Phœnicia there is an ancient temple, now in the possession of the Sidonians. By their report it belonged to Astarte, which Astarte, I believe, was the same as with the Greeks is Silene, or the Moon.—.De Dea Syr., C. 4.
CICERO.—The fourth Venus was a Syrian, born of Tyro, who is called Astarte.—De Nat. Deor., 1. iii., c. 23.
Jephtha's Vow
Judg. 11:30, 3130And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. (Judges 11:30‑31).—And Jephtha vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.
DR. JOHN KITTO.—It was usual amongst most ancient nations, at the commencement of a war or battle, to vow to some particular god that, if the undertaking were successful, large sacrifices should burn upon his altar, or temples be erected in his honor. We have instances of this as well in the histories of Greece and Rome, as in those of oriental nations.—Pictorial Bible, In loco.
PLUTARCH. —Hecale vowed, when Theseus went to battle, to offer sacrifices to Jupiter if he returned safe. Thes., c. 14.
LIVY.—O Pythian Apollo, under thy guidance, and inspired by thy divinity, I am now proceeding to destroy the city of Veii, and I devote to thee a tenth part of the spoils thereof.—Liv., 1. v., C. 21.
Jud. 11:13-35.—Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. And Jephtha came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: For I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go hack.
CICERO.—Agamemnon, when he had vowed to Diana the loveliest thing that should be born that year in his kingdom, sacrificed Iphegenia, than whom, indeed, nothing lovelier was born that year. Better that the promise should not be performed than that a horrible crime should be committed.—Cic. de c. off.,
l. iii., c. 25.
The Kid Prepared
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—Whenever, in the wilder parts of Palestine, the traveler halts at an Arab camp, or pays his visit to a village sheikh, he is pressed to stay until the kid can be killed and made ready, and he has an opportunity of seeing in front of the tent the kid caught and prepared for the cooking, which is carried on by the women out of sight in the inner compartment.—.Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 91.
Samson's Exploits
Judg. 14:5, 65Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 6And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. (Judges 14:5‑6).—Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand.
REV. W. M. THOMSON, D. D.—Timnath still exists on the plain, and to reach it from Zorah you must descend through wild rocky gorges, just where one would expect to find a lion in those days, when wild beasts were far more common than at present. Nor is it more remarkable that lions should be met with in such places than that fierce leopards should now maintain their position in the thickly-settled parts of Lebanon, and even in these very mountains, within a few hundred rods of large villages. Yet such I know is the fact.—There were then vineyards belonging to Timnath, as there now are in all these hamlets along the base of the hills and upon the mountain sides. These vineyards are very often far out from the villages, climbing up rough wadies and wild cliffs, in one of which Samson encountered the young lion.—The Land and the Book, Vol. II., 361.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—We must not suppose that the carcass was a putrid and corrupt mass, for in the dry season the heat will speedily render a carcass in that climate a mere mummy, without any offensive smell until it is moistened, and the ants speedily clear away all the softer parts of the body, if any are left by the vultures, so that merely the skeleton and hide would remain. Even in this country (England), wrens and sparrows have been known to make their nest in the body of an exposed crow or hawk.—Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 324.
REV. W. M. THOMSON, D. D.—The word fork bees is the Arabic for hornets, and these we know are very fond of flesh, and devour it with the greatest avidity. I have myself seen a swarm of hornets build their Tomb in the skull of a dead camel.—The Land and the Rook, Vol. II., p. 362.
HERODOTUS.—The Amathusians took the head of Onesilus, and carrying it back in triumph, fixed it over their gates. Some time afterward, when the inside of the head was decayed, a swarm of bees settling in it, filled it with honey.—Herod., 1. v., c.
REV. FREDERIC W. FARRAR, D. D., F. R. S.—We know that all ancient nations, and especially Orientals, have been fond of riddles. We find traces of the custom among the Arabs, and indeed several Arabic books of riddles exist. Riddles were generally proposed in verse, like the celebrated riddle of Samson. Other ancient riddles in verse are that of the Sphinx, and that which is said to have caused the death of Homer by his mortification at being unable to solve it.—Smith's Dict. of the Bible, 2732.
DAMÆTAS.—
Say, where the round of Heav'n, which all contains,
To three short ells on earth our sight restrains?
Tell that, and rise a Phoebus for thy pains:
MENALCAS.—
Nay, tell me first, in what new region springs
A flower that bears inscribed the names of kings?
And thou shalt gain a present as divine
As Phoebus' self; for Phyllis shall be thine.
—Virg., Ec. iii. V. 104.
Judg. 15:4,54And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. (Judges 15:4‑5).—And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
OVID.—I must teach the reason why the she-foxes were let loose, having their tails burning with firebrands fastened to them. A boy having once caught a fox, wrapped her in stubble and hay, and set fire to her: she escaped from his hands as he was applying the fire; wherever she flew she set the fields in a blaze, at that time covered with the harvests: the breeze gave strength to the all-consuming flames. The occurrence has long passed away, but the recollection of it remains. —Fasti, 1. iv., v. 681.
REV. W. M. THOMSON, D. D.—It is probable that (in the sacred history) by " foxes "jackals are intended, and these are even now extremely numerous. I have had more than one race after them, and over the very theater of Samson's exploit. When encamped out on the plain, with a part of Ibrahim Pasha's army, in 1834, we were serenaded all night long by troops of these hideous howlers. But if we must limit Samson to the ordinary meaning of fox, even these are to be found here. I started up and chased one when I passed over that part of the plain where Timnah is believed to have been situated. It must be admitted, however, that the number seems not only large in view of the difficulty of capturing them, but also far too great for the purpose intended. The object was to set fire to the dry corn which covered the plains of the Philistines. Now a spark would seem sufficient to accomplish this. During the summer months the whole country is one sea of dead-ripe grain, dry as tinder. There is neither break, nor hedge, nor fence, nor any cause of interruption. Once in a blaze, it would create a wind for itself, even if it were calm to begin with; and it would seem that a less number could have answered all the purposes of Samson; but to this it is obvious to remark that he meditated no limited revenge.—As to the difficulty of capturing so many foxes, we must remember that Samson was judge or governor of Israel at that time. He no more caught these creatures himself than Solomon built the Temple with his own hands; and if we take two or three other facts into account, it will not appear incredible that the governor of a nation could gather such a number of foxes when he had occasion for them. The first is, that in those days this country was infested with all sorts of wild animals to an extent which seems to us almost incredible. This is evident from almost numberless incidental allusions in the Bible. The second fact is, that, not having firearms, the ancients were much more skilful than the moderns in the use of snares, nets, and pits for capturing wild animals. —The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 340, 341.
PROF. J. LESLIE PORTER, M. A.—We had around us at Beth-shemesh the native country of Samson, and from its ruins we could see the scenes of some of the leading events of his strange life.—We lingered long amid the ruins of Beth-shemesh, reading and pondering these and other incidents of sacred history, which the places round us naturally suggested. The sun went down into the waters of the Mediterranean in a halo of glory. The purple shadows of the wild glens gradually waxed deeper and darker; and the jagged outlines of hills and mountains were drawn in bold relief upon the blue sky. The bright stars came out one by one. Still we lingered, reluctant to turn away forever from a spot so strangely interesting. A long, low, plaintive wail suddenly broke the deep silence of the mountains over us. Another, like an echo, answered it from the valley. Then another, and another, louder, and clearer, and nearer, until mountain, glen, and distant plain resounded with a ceaseless bowl of jackals. They seem to be as numerous yet as they were in Samson's days.—Giant Cities of Bashan, p. 220, 221.
Judg. 16:1, 31Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. (Judges 16:1)
3And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. (Judges 16:3).—Then went Samson to Gaza: And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.
REV. JOHN KITTO, D. D., F. S. A.—Gaza was the capital of the most southern of the Philistine principalities, and is situated about thirteen miles west southwest of Ascalon forty-five miles southwest by west from Jerusalem, and between two and three miles from the sea. It is always mentioned as an important place in the Old Testament. Alexander the Great, after destroying Tyre, laid siege to Gaza, which was at that time occupied by a Persian garrison, and took it after a siege of two months. It was afterward destroyed (B. c. 98) by Alexander Jannæus, the king of the Jews. Jerome says, that the town existing in his day was nearer to the sea than the old town.—Pictorial Bible, In loco.
REV. W. M. THOMSON, D. D.—The city of Gaza is built partly on an oblong hill, partly in the valleys north and south of it. There are now neither walls nor forts, but the places of certain gates belonging to ancient walls are pointed out. The only one that interests me is that which bears the name of Samson, from the tradition that it was from that place he carried off the gate, bars and all. It is on the east side of the hill-part of the city, looking toward Hebron; and near it is a mazar, or willy, to his honor.—The Land and the Book, Vol. II., P 334.
MR. WILLIAM HUTTON.—Thomas Topham, a man whose feats of strength might have figured beside those of Homer's heroes, was born in London, about A. D. 1710. Though his stature was not remarkable, being a trifle under six feet in height, yet he was endowed by nature with muscular powers so extraordinary as to exceed anything of the kind on record. On the 28th of May, 1741, in Bath Street, London, he lifted a weight of 1,836 pounds, in the presence of thousands of spectators assembled to witness his feats. Coming up to a toll gate, on a journey, he alighted from his horse, and heaved the animal over the gate, and set him down on the other side. On another occasion, he broke a rope fastened to the floor, that would sustain twenty hundred weight. He took Mr. Chambers, Vicar of All-Saints, who weighed twenty-seven stone, and raised him with one hand. One night, perceiving a watchman asleep in his box, he raised them both from the ground, and carrying the load with the greatest ease, at length dropped the wooden tenement with its inhabitant over the wall of Tindall's burying-ground: the consternation of the watchman, on awaking from his nap, may be more easily conceived than described. On board of a West Indiaman, lying in the river, he was presented with a cocoanut, which, to the no small astonishment of the crew, he cracked between his fingers and thumb close to the ear of one of the sailors, with the same ease as an ordinary person would crush an egg-shell. Topham, however, was not endued with fortitude of mind equal to his strength of body. A faithless woman embittered the concluding portion of his life, as it did that of his prototype of old. Unable to endure the reflections occasioned by his wife's inconstancy, Topham at length embraced the desperate resolution of putting an end to his life, in the flower of his age.—Biographical Sketches of Eccentric Characters, p. 344-352.
TERENCE. —
I'll have you beat to mummy, and then thrown
In prison, Sirrah! upon this condition,
That when I take you out again, I swear
To grind there in your stead.
—Andria, Act I., sc. 2.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—I saw the operation of grinding at the mill going on in several places during our ramble about Gaza, and we heard its ringing sound until a late hour last night. This city has no mill-stream near it; there are no wind nor steam mills, and hence the primitive apparatus is found in every house. Nor can it be mere fancy that these modern Philistines bear a close resemblance to their proud, vindictive and licentious ancestors.—The Land and the Book, Vol. IL, 338, 339.
BEROSUS.—Dagon, the fish-god, rose from the waters of the Red Sea, as one of the great benefactors of men.—Cory's Fragments, p. 22, 23.
DIODORUS SICULUS.—Dagon had the head of a woman, but all the rest of the body resembled a fish.—Syncel. Chron., 28; and Euseb. Chron., 58.
JOSEPH BONOMI, F. R. S. L.—Among a great variety of marine animals (on the walls of Khorsabad) the Assyrian combination of the man, bull, and eagle, is seen walking with stately gait; and on the same slab the divinity of the Philistines, half man, half fish, the Dagon of Scripture, is accompanying the expedition and encouraging the men in their arduous task.—Nineveh and its Palaces, p. 149.
Judg. 16:29, 3029And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 30And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. (Judges 16:29‑30).—And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines; and he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein.
PLUTARCH.—Cleomenes, a man of gigantic strength and size, entered a school-room at Rome, where he struck the pillar that supported the roof with his fist, and broke it asunder, so that the roof fell in, and destroyed the children. Phil. Rom., C. 38.
TACITUS.—One Atilius had undertaken to erect an amphitheater at Fidenæ, there to exhibit a combat of gladiators. It fell, and the spectators were crushed and buried under the ruins. Fifty thousand persons were destroyed or maimed by the fall of this building.—Tac. Ann., 1. iv., c. 62.
Slingers
20:16.—Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling stones at a hair breadth, and not miss.
REV. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP, D. D.—The invention of fire-arms has not superseded the old weapons of antiquity, and it is almost as common now to see a shepherd armed with a sling as it was in David's time. This is particularly true of the Bedawin or Arabs of the desert. Young lads wile away their time by throwing pebbles with their slings at marks which they set up, and we can, from personal observation, testify to the extreme accuracy of their aim.—Bible Lands. p. 188.
Rimmon
MR. GEORGE GROVE, Cryst. Pal.—Rimmon is described as in the “wilderness," that is, the uncultivated country which lies on the east of the central highlands of Benjamin, on which Gibeah was situated-between them and the Jordan valley. Here the name is still found attached to a village perched on the summit of a conical chalky hill, visible in all directions, and commanding the whole country. The hill is steep and naked, the white limestone everywhere protruding, and the houses clinging to its sides, and forming as it were huge steps. On the south side it rises to a height of several hundred feet from the great ravine of the Wady Mutyah; while on the west side it is almost equally isolated by a cross valley of great depth. In position it is three miles east of Bethel, and seven northeast of Gibeah. Thus in every particular of name, character, and situation it agrees with the requirements of the Rock Rimmon.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, 2733.