The Tribes in the North. The tribe of Issachar, profiting most by the results of the great battle beside the Kishon, in which it had played a central rôle, entered into possession of the fertile territory lying south of the Sea of Galilee, probably spreading across the Plain of Esdraelon to Mount Gilboa and the boundaries of northern Samaria. Zebulun occupied the territory extending up into the hills of lower Galilee. Upper Galilee was divided between the tribe of Napthali on the east and Asshur, whose territory extended to that of the Phœnicians on the west. In the upper Jordan valley, at the foot of the southern slope of Mount Hermon, the warlike energetic tribe of Dan was strongly intrenched.
Effect of the Settlement Upon the Hebrews. Apparently the Hebrew settlement of Canaan occupied fully a century. With the exception of two or three important engagements, the process was one of peaceful settlement rather than of conquest. It was a process to which there are many analogies, especially in the history of Babylonia and Syria. A stronger, more virile race pressed in from the desert and gradually conquered and absorbed the more highly civilized but less energetic peoples resident in the land. It was only in exceptional cases that the earlier Canaanite population was completely destroyed. Shechem, and later Jerusalem, are familiar examples of the way in which the conquerors and the conquered lived side by side, freely intermarrying and in time completely fusing with each other. This process was especially natural and easy in Palestine, because the older population simply represented earlier waves of invasion from the desert. The conquerors and the conquered shared in common many traditions and institutions. Inevitably the invaders gave up their nomadic habits and adopted the agricultural pursuits, the civil institutions, the sacred places, and many of the religious rites of the Canaanites. The marvel is that during this transitional period of settlement they preserved their loyalty to Jehovah, the God who had guided their fathers in their wilderness wanderings.
XV
THE FORCES THAT LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HEBREW KINGDOM
The Lack of Unity Among the Hebrew Tribes. The powerful influence of the peculiar physical contour of Palestine on its inhabitants was clearly illustrated during the latter part of the period of settlement. Although masters of Canaan, there was apparently no political unity between the different Hebrew tribes. Like the petty Canaanite kingdoms, which they had conquered, they were all intent upon their own problems and fought their battles independently. The story of Jephthah reveals the same conditions in the east-Jordan country. The result was that the Hebrews soon fell an easy prey to the invaders who pressed them on every side. The Ammonites on the east were ever eager to push their borders to the Jordan. It was only the energetic leadership of Jephthah, a local champion of the tribe of Manasseh, that delivered the Hebrews for a time from these invaders. The land of Tob, where Jephthah took refuge, was probably in northern Gilead. The name may be represented by that of the village and wady of Taiyibeh, across the Jordan east of Bethshean. Jephthah's success only aroused the enmity of the powerful tribe of Ephraim, west of the Jordan, and the story in Judges 12 reveals a state of inter-tribal warfare rather than of united action against their common foes.
The Scenes of Gideon's Exploits. As the event demonstrated, the only influence sufficient to overcome the physical forces working for disunion was a strong and prolonged attack from without. The attacks of the Midianites, recorded in the Gideon stories, were too intermittent to bring about a permanent organization of all the Hebrew tribes. Gideon's victory, however, possesses a large significance, for it led to the establishment of the first Hebrew kingdom. Ophrah, Gideon's home, is not to be confused with the town farther south in the territory of Benjamin. It was designated by the biblical historians as Ophrah of the Abiezrites, being named from the clan to which Gideon belonged. It has been identified with Ferata, six miles southwest of Shechem; but this site is more probably the Pirathon of the book of Joshua. The Ophrah of Gideon is best identified with 'Ain el-Farah, about ten miles northeast of Shechem, at the head of the Wady Farah, which flows southeast into the Jordan. Gideon's march, therefore, with his three hundred brave followers, would be directly down this valley and across the Jordan, either at the present Damieh ford or farther north, opposite the point where the Jabbok breaks through the hills of Gilead. The common identification of Succoth with Tell Deir Alla, suggested by the Talmud, would point to the northernmost of these two fords. The present ruin of Deir Alla is a high mound on the eastern side of the Jordan, about a mile northwest of the Jabbok. It commanded the great highway along the east side of the Jordan and also the road inland that followed the course of the River Jabbok. It was therefore an important strategic point. If this identification of Succoth is correct, the site of Penuel must be farther to the east along the valley of the Jabbok. The mounds known as Tulûl ed-Dahab, that rise abruptly to the height of about two hundred and fifty feet in the middle of the valley four or five miles east of Deir Alla, fully satisfy the biblical references to this important stronghold that was later rebuilt by Jeroboam I (I Kings 12:25). Ancient ruins and the remains of a great wall and platform built of massive stones crown the eastern hill. Close to its northern side runs the road from the Jordan to the desert. The mention of Jogbehah, as an index of the route along which Gideon pursued the fleeing Midianites, indicates that the way of retreat lay to the southeast in the direction of Rabbath-Ammon. Jogbehah may without reasonable doubt be identified with the ruins of Jubeihat, which lie north of the present road from the Damieh Ford through Es-Salt on to Amman. This route would have been the more natural line of retreat, for from Jogbehah it was easy for the Midianites to escape directly eastward into the desert. Anywhere east of the Jordan the retreating Arab host would have felt secure from the attack.
Gideon's Kingdom. The significance of Gideon's victory lies not so much in the courage with which he responded to the relentless law of blood revenge, nor the greatness of his victory, but in the fact that when he returned his followers and certain of the cities near Ophrah asked him to rule over them and to transmit his authority to his sons. Thus a local chieftain was transformed into a king. The kingdom thus established would probably have survived had it not been for the cruelty and folly of the son who succeeded him. In its widest bounds, Gideon's kingdom was apparently very small. In addition to Ophrah, Shechem, which was at this time the chief city in central Samaria, Thebez, a town three miles north of 'Ain el-Farah, and doubtless the conquered cities of Succoth and Penuel, across the Jordan to the east, acknowledged his authority. Probably the villages and territory included within these bounds also enjoyed his protection. In its broadest bounds his kingdom probably did not extend more than twenty-five miles from north to south and the same distance from east to west.
Reasons for the Superiority of the Philistines. The foes whose aggressions compelled the Hebrew tribes to unite in common defence and thus gave rise to the Hebrew kingdom were the Philistines. These hardy immigrants from the islands and shores of the northeastern Mediterranean had entered western Palestine during the reign of Ramses III, at about the time when the Hebrews were intrenching themselves in the east-Jordan land, preparatory to their advance upon the uplands of Canaan (cf. p. 122). It was inevitable that these strong peoples should ultimately clash. The Hebrews succeeded in capturing the central plateau, but the Philistines soon surpassed them in military strength and organization. This difference was largely due to the characteristics of the territory in which the two peoples settled. In striking contrast to the home of the Hebrews, Philistia was divided by no natural barriers. All its territory was a gently rolling plain. Its people were united by similar occupations and interests. The result was that, while the Hebrew tribes were fighting their battles independently or were even engaged in civil strife, the kings or tyrants who ruled over the four or five leading Philistine cities had already formed a close confederacy and were fighting as a united people. The rich fertility of the land which they occupied also accelerated their development. Their territory lay on the great commercial highways of the eastern Mediterranean, so that they received the culture and the products of Egypt on the one hand and of Phœnicia and Babylonia on the other. Their exposed position and lack of natural defences also hastened the development of their military organization and equipment. Their cities were surrounded by strong walls and in battle they employed chariots and horsemen as well as infantry. It is easy, therefore, to understand why the Hebrews were beaten in the early engagements.