mon, and the rest hereafter named, and that only seventy-three Psalms were composed by David himself, namely, those which are entitled ipsius David. For the fiftieth and the seventy-second, with the ten that follow, are bestowed on Asaph the son of Bara- ́ chia; eleven others to the sons of Korah; and eleven are ascribed to Moses, to wit, the eighty-ninth and the ten following; and so they are entitled in the old Hebrew copies, though the Vulgar and Septuagint, (three excepted,) style them otherwise. The supposed nine authors of these Psalms which David wrote not, Sixtus Senensis nameth as followeth ": Solomon, Moses, (whom Aben-Ezra, contrary to Jerome, maketh one of David's singers,) Asaph, EthanEziachi, Eman-Eziaira, Idithum, and the three sons of Korah. But St. Chrysostome makes David the sole author of all the Psalms, and so doth St. Augustine, reasoning in this manner: Although, (saith he,) some there are that ascribe those Psalms only unto David, which are over-written ipsius David, and the rest entitled ipsi David, to others, this opinion, (saith he,) Voce evangelica Salvatoris ipsius refutatur, ubi ait quod ipse David in spiritu • Christum dixerit esse suum Dominum, quoniam • Psalmus 109 sic incipit ;---Dixit Dominus Domino meo, sede a dextris meis,' &c. The voice of the gospel refutes this opinion, where it saith, that David himself in the spirit called Christ his Lord, because the cixth Psalm begins thus, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand,' &c. Lastly, his testimonies are used both by Christ and the apostles, and he was as a pattern to all the kings and princes that succeeded him.

His story, and all his particular actions, were written by the prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, as it is in 1 Chron. xxix. 19. For the several parts

11 Vid. Sixt. Senen. Bib. Sanct. 1. i. fol. x. and xi. Dei. 1. xiii. c. xiv.

12 Aug, de Civitate

of the books of Samuel which entreat chiefly of David, were, as it seems, written by these three holy

men.

Constantine Manasses hath an opinion 13, that the Trojans, during the time of the siege, sought for succour from David, and that he staid neuter in that war. But it seemeth that Manasses did miscast the time betwixt David and the Trojan war. it is generally received, that Troy fell between the times of Abdon and Samson, judges of Israel, about the world's year 2848, and David died in the year 2991.

SECT. IX.

Of the treasures of David and Solomon.

For

His treasures were exceeding great. For it is written in the 1st of Chronicles, chap. xxii. verse 14. that he left Solomon for the building of the temple, a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron passing all weight, which is more than any king of the world possessed, besides himself, and his son to whom he left it. For, it amounteth to three thousand three hundred and thirty-three cart-loads, and a third of a cart-load of silver, allowing two thousand weight of silver, or six thousand pound sterling to every cart-load, besides three score and seventeen millions of French crowns, or, of our money, twenty three millions and one thousand pounds; a matter, but for the testimoney of the scriptures, exceeding all belief. For that any riches were left him, it doth not appear, seeing that the judges had not any treasure, nor any sovereign powers to make levies; but, when they went to the wars, they were followed by such volunteers as the several tribes by turns gave them; seeing also that Saul, who was

13 Cap. xvii. §. vi. vii. In his annals translated out of Greek into Latin, by Joannes Leanclaius.

of a mean parentage, and perpetually vexed and invaded by the Philistines, could not, in all likelihood, gather great riches, (if any at all,) his territories being exceeding narrow, and thereof the better part possessed by his enemies.

Therefore, it were not amiss to consider how David, within the space of not very many years, might amass up such mighty treasures. For, though parsimony be itself a great revenue, yet needs there must have been some other great means. It seems that he made the uttermost profit of all that he had, that was profitable. Eusebius, in his 9th book and last chapter De præparatione Evangelica, citeth the words of Eupolemus, who reporteth that David, among other preparations for the temple, built a navy in Melanis, (or, as Villapandus corrects it, Achanis,) a city of Arabia, and from thence sent men to dig for gold in the island Urphe; which, Ortellus thinks, was Ophir, though Eupolemus in this place of Eusebius, (erring perhaps in this circumstance,) saith that this island is in the Red sea; from whence, saith this Eupolemus they brought gold into Judea. Pineda, 1. 4. de rebus Salomonis, c. 1. thinks that David did this way also enrich himself, and eiteth this testimony of Eupolemus; and yet certainly David had many other ways to gather riches. Much land, doubtless, he gained by conquest, from the Canaanites and Philistines, besides those fruitful vallies near Jordan, in Traconitis and Basan, and the best of Syria, and other countries bordering the Israelites. These demesnes belike he kept in his own hands, and with his infinite number of captives, which he took in his wars, which were not able to redeem themselves, husbanded those grounds for his greatest advantage. For it is written, 1 Chron. xxvii. that Azmaveth was over his treasures in the field, in the villages, in the cities, in the towns; that Ezri was over the labourers that tilled his ground; Shimei over the vineyards; and Zabdi over the store of the

wine; Baal Hanan over the olive trees, and Joash over the store of the oil; also that he had herdsmen that had charge over his cattle, both in the high lands, and in the plains, over his sheep, camels, and asses. And this custom of enriching themselves by husbandry and cattle the ancient kings everywhere held, both before and after David's time. For we read of Pharaoh 14, that he spoke to Joseph to appoint some of his brethren, or of their servants, to be rulers over his cattle. We read of Uzziah's, that he loved husbandry, had much cattle, and plough men, and dressers of vines: likewise we read it in all Greek poets, that the wealth of the ancient kings did especially consist in their herds and flocks, whereof it were needless to cite Augeas and Adme tus, or any other, for examples, the rule holding true in all. Now, concerning David, it is not un likely, but that those captives which were not employed in husbandry, were many of them used by him in all sorts of gainful professions, as the ancient Romans in like manner used their slaves.

To these profits, (besides the tributes and impositions, which doubtless were great, and besides the innumerable presents which yearly were brought him, or extraordinarily sent him, by Tohu, and others,) we may add the great spoils which he found in the cities and countries which he conquered; also the headmoney, which was gathered per legem capitationis, by the law of capitation or head-money, every man, rich or poor, paying half a shekel of the sanctuary, which is about as much as fourteen-pence, and so in all it amounted to a wonderous sum in that kingdom; wherein one million five hundred and seventy thousand fighting men were numbered by Joab 18. Now, although this law of capitation be thought by some very learned not to have been perpetual, (which opinion of theirs nevertheless they confess is against the Hebrew expositions,) yet David upon

24 Gen. xlvii.

15 2 Chron. xxvi.

16 1 Chron. xxvi.

this occasion is not unlikely to have put it in practice; and by these means might he be able to leave those huge treasures to Solomon. Yet it may seem that of this great mass of gold and silver left by David, the least part was his own in private, and so will it appear the less wonderful that he left so much. Of his own liberality, we find, that he gave to the building of the temple three thousand talents of gold, and seven thousand talents of silver; a great sum, but holding a very small proportion to the other. Wherefore we are to consider, that the treasures of the sanctuary itself were exceeding great, as needs they must have been, having received continual encrease, without any loss or diminution ever since the time of Moses and Joshua. The revenues of the sanctuary, (besides all manner of tithes and ablations, which defrayed the daily expenses, and maintained the priests and Levites,) were partly raised out of the head-money before-mentioned, partly out of the spoils gotten in war. For all the booty was divided into two parts", whereof the soldiers had one, and the people which remained at home had the other half; whereby all the country received benefit of the victory; yet so that the soldiers had a far greater proportion than the rest, as being fewer, and therefore receiving more for every single share.

Out of this purchase was deducted the Lord's tribute, which was one in fifty of that which the people received, and one in five hundred of that which was given to the soldiers; namely, one hundred and one thousandth part of the whole booty. So in the spoil of Midian, thirty-two thousand women being taken, the army had sixteen thousand of them for slaves 18, and the congregation the other sixteen thousand; but out of the sixteen thousand given to the army, were exempted thirty-two for the Lord's tribute. Out of the people's number were taken three hundred and twenty. By this means the lesser that the

17 Numb. xxxi, 27. 18 Numb xxxi, 40.