Jehoahaz no more than three.

He was not the

eldest son of Josiah. Wherefore it may seem that he was set up as the best affected unto the king of Babylon; the rest of his house being more inclined to the Egyptian, as appears by the sequel. An idolater he was, and thrived accordingly. For when Necho had dispatched his business in the north parts of Syria, then did he take order for the affairs of Judæa. This country was now so far from making any resistance, that the king himself came from Riblath, in the land of Hamath, where the matter went so ill on his side, that Necho did cast him into bonds, and carry him prisoner into Egypt, giving away his kingdom to Eliakim his elder brother, to whom of right it did belong. This city of Riblath, in aftertimes called Antiochia, was a place unhappy to the kings and princes of Judah, as may be observed in divers examples. Yet here Jehoiakim, together with his new name, got his kingdom; an ill gain, since he could no better use it. But however Jehoiakim thrived by the bargain, Pharaoh sped well, making that kingdom tributary, without any stroke stricken, which three months before was too stout to give him peace when he desired it. Certain it is, that in his march outward, Necho had a greater task lying upon his hands, than would permit him to waste his forces upon Judæa; but now the reputation of his good success at Megiddo and Carchemish, together with the dissension of the princes Josiah's sons, (of whom the eldest is probably thought to have stormed at the preferment of his younger brother,) gave him power to do even what should please himself. Yet he did forbear to make a conquest of the land; perhaps upon the same reason which had made him so earnest in seeking to hold peace with it. For the Jews had suffered much in the Egyptian's quarrel, and being left by these their friends, in time of need, unto all extremities, were driven to forsake that party, and join with the enemies; to whom if

they shewed themselves faithful, who could blame them? It was therefore enough to reclaim them, seeing they were such a people as would not upon every occasion shift side, but endure more than Pharaoh, in the pride of his victories, thought that any henceforth should lay upon them; so good a patron did he mean to be unto them. Nevertheless he laid upon them a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and one talent of gold; that so he might both reap at the present some fruit of his pains taken, and leave unto them some document, in the future, of greater punishment than verbal anger, due to them, if they should rebel. So he departed, carrying along with him into Egypt the unfortunate king Jehoahaz, who died in his captivity.

The reign of Jehoahaz was included in the end of his father's last year; otherwise it would hardly be found, that Jehoiakim his successor did reign ten whole years, whereas the scriptures give him eleven, that are current, and incomplete. If any man will rather cast the three months of this short reign into the first year of the brother, than into the father's last, the same arguments that shall maintain his opinion will also prove the matter to be unworthy of disputation; and so I leave it.

Jehoiakim, in impiety, was like his brother; in faction he was altogether Egyptian, as having received his crown at the hand of Pharaoh. The wickedness of these last kings, being expressed in scripture none otherwise than by general words, with reference to all the evil that their fathers had done, makes it apparent, that the poison, wherewith Ahaz and Manasseh had infected the land, was not so expelled by the zealous goodness of Josiah, but that it still cleaved unto the chief of the people, 'Yea unto the chief priests also*;' and therefore it was not strange that the kings had their part therein. The royal authority was much abased by the 4 Jer. xxii. 32,

dangers wherein the country stood, in this troublesome age; the princes did in a manner what they listed; neither would the kings forbear to profess, that they could deny them nothing. Yet the beginning of Jehoiakim had the countenance of the Egyptian to grace it, which made him insolent and cruel; as we find by that example of his dealing with Uriah the prophet; though herein also the princes do appear to have been instigators. This holy man denounced God's judgments against the city and temple, in like sort as other prophets had formerly done, and did in the same age. The king, with all the men of power, and all the princes, hearing of this, determined to put him to death. Hereupon the poor man fled into Egypt; but such regard was had unto Jehoiakim, that Uriah was delivered unto his ambassador, and sent back to the death; contrary to the custom used, both in those days and since among all civil nations, of giving refuge unto strangers that are not held guilty of such inhuman crimes, as, for the general good of mankind, should be exempted from all privilege.

It concerned Pharaoh to give all contentment possible to Jehoiakim; for the Assyrian lion, that had not stirred in many years, began about these times to roar so loud upon the banks of Euphrates, that his voice was heard unto Nilus, threatening to make himself lord of all the forest.

The causes that hitherto had withdrawn the house of Merodach from opposing the Egyptian in his conquests of Syria, require our consideration in this place; before we proceed to commit them together at Carchemish, where shortly after this the glory of Egypt is to fall.

SECT. III.

Of the kings of Babylon and Media. How it came to pass that the kings of Babylon could not give attendance on their business in Syria; which caused them to lose that province.

MERODACH the son of Baladan, who, taking the advantage that Sennacherib's misadventure and death, together with the dissention between his children, presented, made himself king of Babylon, was eleven years troubled with a powerful enemy, Esarhaddon the son of Sennacherib, reigning over the Assyrians in Nineveh; from whom, whilst he could not any other way divert his cares, he was fain to omit all business in Syria, and, (as hath been formerly shewed,) to make over unto Hezekiah some part of the kingdom of the ten tribes. From this molestation the death of Esarhaddon did not only set him free, but gave unto him some part of Assyria, if not, (as is commonly but less probably thought,) the whole kingdom. How greatly this was to the liking of the Assyrians, I will not here stand to enquire; his long reign following, and his little intermeddling with matters of Syria, make it plain, that he had work enough at home, either in defending or establishing that which he had gotten. Josephus gives him the honour of having won Nineveh itself; which we may believe; but surely he did not hold it long. For in the times soon following, that great city was free, and vanquished Phraortes the Median. Perhapsit yielded upon some capitulation, and refused afterwards to continue subject when the king, being of the Chaldæan race, preferred Babylon before it.

Some think that this was the Assyrian king whose captains took Manasseh prisoner; but I rather believe those that hold the contrary, for which I have

given my reasons in due place. To say truth, I find little cause why Merodach should have looked into those parts, as long as the Jews were his friends, and the Egyptians, that maligned the northern empire, held themselves quiet at home; which was until the time of Psammeticus, about the end of this king's reign, or the beginning of his son's.

Ben Merodach, the son and successor of this king, is not mentioned in the scriptures; yet is he named by good consent of authors, and that speak little of his doings. The length of his reign is gathered by inference to have been one and twenty years, for so much remaineth of the time that passed between the beginning of his father's and his nephew's reigns, (which is a known sum,) deducting the years of his father, and of his son Nabulassar. This, (as I take it,)was he that had Manasseh prisoner, and released him. He sped ill in Syria, where Psammeticus, by virtue of his mercenary Greeks, did much prevail. This may have been some cause that he released Manassel, and did put into his hands some part more of the kingdom of Samaria; which is made probable by circumstances alleged before.

Nabulassar, that reigned in Babylon after his father Ben Merodach, had greater business in his own kingdom than would permit him to look abroad; insomuch as it may be thought to have been a great negligence or oversight of Psammeticus and Necho, that they did not occupy some good part of his do minions beyond Euphrates. For it was in his time that Phraortes king of the Medes invaded Assyria, and besieged Nineveh; from whence he was not repelled by any force of Nabulassar, but constrained to remove by the coming ofthe Scythians, who in these ages did overflow those parts of the world, laying hold upon all that they could master by strong hand. Of these Scythians, and the lordship that they held in Asia, it is convenient that I speak in this place; shewing briefly aforehand, how the Medes, upon whom