Such was the news David now received at Ziklag from a young Amalekite, who had been present at the battle. Deeming himself sure of the reward that greeted the bearer of glad tidings, he had brought with him Saul’s crown and the bracelet that was on his arm, and pretended to have slain him at his own request (2 Sam. i. 1–12). But David’s wrath was kindled, and having sternly rebuked him for touching the Lord’s anointed, he bade one of his young men put him to death, and then burst into a strain of passionate lamentation over Saul and Jonathan. Forgetting all that had passed between him and the fallen king, he remembered only the better features of his character, while towards Jonathan his whole soul gushed forth in expressions of the tenderest affection (2 Sam. i. 17–27).
BOOK IX.
THE REIGNS OF DAVID AND SOLOMON.
CHAPTER I.
DAVID’S REIGN AT HEBRON.
2 Sam. ii.–iv. B.C. 1055–1048.
THE hour which the prophet of Ramah had long ago foretold was now come. The long period of trial and discipline was over. The brave shepherd, the conqueror of Goliath, the daring but prudent leader of attached followers was the only one left, to whom the Israelites could look for guidance in this great crisis of their national history.
But though the way was open, David did not enter upon it without seeking the Divine direction. Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? he enquired of the Lord; and the Lord bade him go up to Hebron, “the ancient sacred city of the tribe of Judah, the burial-place of the patriarch[274], and the inheritance of Caleb[275].” Accordingly, leaving Ziklag, he repaired thither with his two wives Ahinoam and Abigail, and his faithful band of six hundred; and there the chiefs of Judah, now after a long period of obscurity to become the ruling tribe, anointed him as their king. His first act after his accession was to thank the men of Jabesh-Gilead for their bravery in removing the corpses of Saul and his sons from the walls of Beth-shan (2 Sam. ii. 1–7).
Of the family of the late king there now remainedonly Ishbosheth his youngest son, and Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, a child but five years old. Ishbosheth, according to the law of Oriental succession, ascended the throne, and, under the protection of his kinsman, the powerful Abner, established his kingdom at the ancient sanctuary of Mahanaim[276] on the east of the Jordan, ruling over not only the eastern tribes, but the territory of Asher, the plain of Esdraelon, central Ephraim, his own tribe of Benjamin, and eventually over all Israel (2 Sam. ii. 9), excepting only Judah, which remained faithful to David.
The first of many skirmishes between the rival kings took place at Gibeon, to the heights of which, in their native Benjamin, Abner and his forces went out from Mahanaim (2 Sam. ii. 12). Thither also, as if to watch their movements, repaired the three nephews of David, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. On the east side of the hill of Gibeon, at the foot of a low cliff, was a large pool or tank, on either side of which the rival forces encamped, and, as if to try their respective strength, Abner proposed that a select body from both sides should engage in combat. Joab accepted the challenge, and twelve picked champions of the party of Ishbosheth met an equal number of the warriors of David[277]. The struggle was desperate; each combatant caught his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword into his side, and thus all fell dead together on a spot henceforth called Helkath-hazzurim, the Field of Heroes. This brought on a general engagement, in which the forces of Ishbosheth were defeated, and Abner himself was fain to fly hotly pursued by Asahel, the youngest of David’s nephews, and as light of foot as a wild roe (2 Sam. ii. 18). Abner recognised his fleet pursuer, and advised him to desistfrom the chase. But the youth, heeding not, pressed on, and Abner, turning back upon him, thrust him through with a spear.
The bleeding corpse lay in the middle of the road, and was quickly surrounded by the men of Judah, who as they came up stood still in mournful astonishment (2 Sam. ii. 23). But the sight of their brother’s body only roused Joab and Abishai to greater fury, and they pursued after Abner as far as the hill of Ammah, by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon, which they reached at sunset. There the men of his own tribe of Benjamin rallied round the general of Ishbosheth, and stood on the top of the hill, while he cried to the pursuing Joab, and implored him not to push matters further. On this Joab gave the signal for a cessation of the pursuit, and drew off his men, and conveying his brother’s corpse to Bethlehem, laid it in the ancestral tomb. Then at daybreak he rejoined David at Hebron, to whom he announced the loss of only 19 men in the late encounter. Meanwhile Abner returned to Mahanaim, whence he carried on a series of petty wars with the adherents of David, in which David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker (2 Sam. iii. 1).