King James Version · The united kingdom
2 Samuel 18
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And numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. And sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of , and a third part under the hand of the son of , ’s brother, and a third part under the hand of the . And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us , will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded and and , saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with . And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning . So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of ; Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of , and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men. For the battle was there scattered over the of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than devoured. And met the servants of . And rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. 10And a certain man saw it, and told , and said, Behold, I saw hanged in an oak. 11And said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten of silver, and a girdle. And the man said unto , Though I should receive a thousand of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and and , saying, Beware that none touch the young man . Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me. Then said , I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through of , while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. 15And ten young men that ’s armour compassed about and smote , and slew him. And blew the , and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for held back the people. And they took , and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent. Now in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called after his own name: and it is called unto this day, ’s place. Then said the son of , Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that hath him of his . And said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is . 21Then said to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto , and ran. Then said the son of yet again to , But howsoever, let me, I thee, also run after Cushi. And said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then ran by of the plain, and overran Cushi. And sat between the two : and the watchman went up to the roof over the unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. 25And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his . And he came apace, and drew near. 26And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings. And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of the son of . And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings. And called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon before the king, and said, be thy , which hath up the men that lifted up their hand against my the king. And the king said, Is the young man safe? And answered, When sent the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. 30And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still. And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my the king: for hath thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man safe? And Cushi answered, The of my the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the , and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son , my son, my son ! would I had for thee, O , my son, my son!
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.