A single stroke had annihilated all that had been obtained in long and toilsome struggles. The Philistines were again masters on this side of Jordan as in the unhappy times before Saul. But in spite of the fall of the hero who had been the defence of Israel and the terror of the enemies, the monarchy remained, so firmly had Saul established it. Ishbosheth, the youngest son of Saul, had escaped the battle; with Abner, the general, he had found safety beyond the Jordan. Here he took up his abode at Machanaim, and the tribes on the other side of the Jordan recognised him as their king. Abner's sword was a strong support for Ishbosheth, and the adherence of the Israelites to Saul's family soon permitted him to force his way from Machanaim over the Jordan. Here, also, amid the arms of the Philistines, Ishbosheth was recognised as king. Thus Abner's courage and bravery succeeded in wresting the fruits of the victory at Gilboa from the Philistines, and liberating from their yoke first Ephraim and Benjamin, and then the whole region of the northern tribes.[273]
While Abner was engaged in preserving the remnants of Saul's dominion for his son, and in driving the Philistines out of the land, David looked after his own interests. The fresh terror of the overthrow at Gilboa had driven many Israelites to Ziklag. David's name stood high among the warriors of Israel, and protection against the Philistines was certain to be found with their vassal. The places in the tribe of Judah which had formerly joined David now again resorted to him, and the tribe of Judah had previously been subject to the Philistines longer than any other, and was more accustomed to their dominion. As the tradition tells us, David inquired of Jehovah whether he should go from Ziklag into one of the cities of Judah, and Jehovah answered: Go to Hebron. This was done. "And the men of Judah there anointed David king of the house of Judah, for only the house of Judah adhered to David."[274] Thus David, after Saul's death, succeeded in the attempt which had failed in Saul's lifetime; he established an independent monarchy in the tribe of Judah. Here he ruled at Hebron at first quietly, under the protection of the Philistines.[275] But when Abner had again wrested the north and centre of the land from the hands of the Philistines, when Ishbosheth's rule again united the whole land as far as the tribe of Judah, he turned his arms not more against the Philistines than against their vassal at Hebron in order to complete the liberation of Israel.
"The strife was long between the house of Saul and the house of David,"—so runs the older account.[276] Of the events of this war between Judah and the rest of the tribes, we only know that on a certain day Joab at the head of David's men, and Abner at the head of the men of Ishbosheth, strove fiercely at the pool of Gibeon, and Joab's brother Asahel was slain by Abner. For several years the war continued without any decisive result, till a division arose between Ishbosheth and Abner which gave David the advantage, and finally placed him on the throne of Saul. Ishbosheth appears to have become distrustful of Abner, to whom he owed everything. When Abner took Rizpah, the concubine of Saul, to himself, Ishbosheth thought that he intended in this way to establish a right to the throne, in order to wrest the dominion from himself, and did not conceal his anger.[277] Then Abner turned from the man he had exalted and entered into a secret negotiation with David. This was received with joy by David. Crafty as he was, he first demanded that his wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, whom Saul after David's rebellion had married to Phalti, should be sent back to him. David had found out the attachment of the Israelites to the house of Saul, and was no doubt of opinion that nothing would sooner help him to the throne than the renewed connection with Saul's family; if none of the descendants of Saul survived but this daughter he would be his legitimate heir. Abner sent Michal, and went himself to Hebron in order to arrange about the transfer of the kingdom. They were agreed; Abner had done his service. He was already on his way home to Machanaim, when Joab, the captain of David, called him back. He came, and Joab took him aside under the gate of Hebron, as though he had something to tell him in secret; instead, he thrust his sword through his body. David asserted his innocence and lamented Abner's death. Abner's body was buried solemnly at Hebron. David followed the bier in sackcloth, but Joab remained unpunished.[278] He slew Abner because the latter had previously slain his brother Asahel at Gibeon; but this was done in honourable fight, not by assassination.
When the announcement of Abner's death came to Machanaim "Ishbosheth's hands were numbed, and all Israel was troubled." The Israelites lamented Abner's death. "Must Abner die as a godless man dieth?" they sang. "Thy hands were never bound, thy feet never fettered; thou hast fallen as a man falls before the children of iniquity."[279] The pillar of the kingdom was broken. Then two captains of the army of Ishbosheth, brothers of the tribe of Benjamin, hoped to gain favour with David. While Ishbosheth was resting at midday in his chamber on his bed, they entered unobserved into his house, cut off his head, and brought it hastily to Hebron to David. This murder carried David quickly to his goal, but he would not praise those who committed it; he caused them both to be executed.
The throne of Saul was empty. David, the husband of his daughter, was at the head of a not inconsiderable power; whom could the tribes who had obeyed Ishbosheth raise to the throne except him, if an end was to be put to the pernicious division, and the people were again to be united under one government? The elders of the tribes were intelligent enough to value rightly this position of affairs. Hence the people met together at Hebron; in full assembly David was raised to be king of Israel, and anointed by the elders.[280] Eight years had passed since Saul and his three elder sons fell on Gilboa. All was full of joy, union, and hope that better times would come again after the end of the long strife (1025 B.C.).[281]
At length David stood at the goal which he had pursued steadfastly under many changes of fortune. But there were still some male descendants of Saul in existence. The Hivites of Gibeon cherished a deadly hatred to the race of Saul, because Saul's hand had been heavy upon them "in his zeal for the sons of Israel." David offered to "avenge the wrong which Saul had done to them."[282] They demanded, that as their land had borne no fruit for three years, seven men of the race of Saul should be given to them, that they might "hang them up before Jehovah at Gibeah," the dwelling-place of Saul. There were just seven male descendants of Saul remaining: two sons by Rizpah, his concubine, and five grandchildren, whom Merab, the eldest daughter of Saul, had borne to Adriel. These David took and "gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them up on the hill before Jehovah." There was still another descendant of Saul's remaining, Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan; but he was only 10 or 12 years of age, and was, moreover, lame of both feet, from the fall which he had suffered in the hands of his nurse. David also thought of the close friendship which he had contracted in earlier days with Jonathan; he gave to Mephibosheth Saul's land at Gibeah, and arranged that Saul and Jonathan's bones should be brought from Jabesh to Zelah, near Gibeah, and buried where Kish, Saul's father, lay. In the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul belonged, and among those connected with his house, the acts of David to the house of Saul were not forgotten; they hated David, the "man of blood."
FOOTNOTES:
[235] 1 Sam. vii. 15.
[236] 1 Sam. x. 8; xiii. 8-15.
[237] 1 Sam. xv.