quently turned in bitter hatred. Gradually, as we shall see, the external characteristics which allied the Hebrew prophets with those of other ancient religions were outgrown and fell away. The spirit of God, which they at first believed had manifested itself in them in such strange and even grotesque ways, came to be represented in these greater men by clear political insight, lofty ethical ideals, and a passionate zeal for the perfection of Israel as a state, believing that if it could fulfill the conditions of a fit dwelling-place for Jehovah, he would one day come to earth, and establish his sovereignty over all the world. In our consideration of the messages of a chosen few of these men we shall as frequently as possible study their own words.

Stories of the heroism which produces great deeds, the love of country which leads to great service, regard for the rights of one's fellow-man, high ideals of morality, and noble conceptions of God and the universe are never so old as to lose their power to produce like deeds and character. For this reason as well as for their historical interest it is worth while to spend time and thought in becoming familiar with these great characters of Old Testament times.

CHAPTER II

THE PROPHETS FOUNDING A KINGDOM

The Spirit of the Conquest.-It will be desirable to get before us a picture of conditions in Palestine at the time when the Hebrews appeared as invaders. The land was not a land of savages as America was before the coming of its conquerors, but already a garden spot on the edge of the desert. Its inhabitants were civilized. They cultivated the land, lived in cities, shared the civilization of both Egypt and Phoenicia, were in constant intercourse with both, through trade and commerce, and were vassals of Egypt for long periods. To wrest such a land from its citizens by force seems like a wild dream indeed for a group of tribes without organization, or experience in the arts of war. Yet such was the purpose and the ideal of the invading Hebrews, trusting implicitly in the co-operation of Jehovah.

Century by century the process of expulsion went on, the Hebrews pushing their way, first in one direction, then in another, frequently defeated and despondent, then victorious, and intrenched in new territory. Each victory served to draw the weaker tribes' toward the stronger in a union of faith in Jehovah, and to add to the roll of heroes another leader whose faith in ultimate victory was even greater than that of his fellows. Meanwhile from her more civilized foes Israel was acquiring more than the arts of war-she was learning to cultivate the land, to engage in trade, to build altars and homes, to make herself no longer a barbarous foe. Giving by

I There was a tradition among the Hebrews that the number of their tribes was twelve, and that these tribes became associated with special sections of the land. The Book of Joshua contains an account of an allotment of the tribes to special territory upon their entrance to the land, but the circumstances of the conquest seem to indicate that the location of only a few of the best-known tribes is at all certain, the accounts which we have being of late origin. Upon the map for this period will be found indicated as much as we can find basis for. The period of the conquest is generally supposed to have extended over some two hundred years or more, perhaps hastened at the end by the more vigorous campaigns of Saul against the Philistines. The death of Saul is placed approximately at 1000 B.C.

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her prowess promise of defense against the marauding tribes of the desert,' she was gradually absorbing large numbers of those Canaanites with whom her people were living in daily intercourse.

We shall begin our study in the centuries when the conquest of the land was drawing to a close, and the scattered tribes were welding themselves together in the beginnings of a nation. The seemingly unconquerable Philistines, occupying the southwest coast of Palestine, a portion of the land most desirable, because of its fertility, and because it was the gateway to Egypt, were scourging the country. Peaceful occupation of any portion of it was impossible while these insatiable foes held fortified cities and commanded well-equipped armies. Among the Hebrews themselves there was yet much of anarchy and confusion. As the writer of the Book of Judges tells us, "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

But a new day was dawning for the Hebrews, a day when Jehovah should no longer be interpreted to his people in terms of war and conquest alone. At Shiloh, the chief of the sanctuaries, where the mystic ark of Jehovah was guarded by priests, and where at stated seasons the people of the surrounding country came to offer

I See stories of Gideon and his conquest of the Midianites in Judg., chaps. 6–9. The great Arabian desert, situated on the east and southeast of Palestine, was the home of wandering tribes. Upon its borders in close proximity to Palestine were strong tribes which in the days of the conquest found great profit in reaping by stealth the crops upon the fertile but unprotected plains of Palestine, and in carrying off from the flocks and herds of the Hebrew people and their Canaanitish neighbors sufficient booty to enable them to live as nomads, without the labor of agriculture or settled business.

2 Note on the map the location of the chief Philistine cities, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Ashdod. Note also the level plain affording great opportunities for crops and pasturage, and easy access to Egypt on the southwest; also the caravan route along which merchants constantly passed bringing facilities for commercial life and the latest accouterments of war. The Philistines were a people comparatively civilized and wealthy, skilful in architecture, sculpture, and work in iron and precious metals. Their boundaries reached to Egypt, and they controlled about 2,000 square miles of territory, much of it exceedingly fertile, upon the southwestern border of which they seem chiefly to have lived. Four periods of Philistine oppression of Israel seem to be recorded in the Old Testament: (1) Judg. 3:31; the deliverer being Shamgar; (2) Judg., chaps. 13-16, when Samson was the Israelitish hero; (3) that of Eli's times, when the ark was captured and Shiloh destroyed; and (4) in Saul's reign ending only with their complete subjection under his successor David.