King James Version · The united kingdom
2 Samuel 2
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And it came to pass after this, that enquired of , saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And said unto him, Go up. And said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto . So went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and ’s wife the . And his men that were with him did bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of . And the men of Judah came, and there they king over the house of Judah. And they told , saying, That the men of were they that buried . And sent unto the men of , and said unto them, be ye of , that ye have shewed this kindness unto your , even unto , and have . And now shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master is , and also the house of Judah have me king over them. But the son of , captain of ’s host, took the son of , and brought him over to ; And made him king over , and over the Ashurites, and over , and over , and over , and over all Israel. 10 ’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed . And the time that was king in over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. And the son of , and the servants of the son of , went out from to . And the son of , and the servants of , went out, and met together by the pool of : and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. And said to , Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And said, Let them arise. 15Then there arose and went over by number twelve of , which pertained to the son of , and twelve of the servants of . 16And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath–hazzurim, which is in . And there was a very sore battle that day; and was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of . And there were three sons of there, , and , and : and was as of foot as a wild roe. And pursued after ; and in going he turned not to nor to the left from following . 20Then looked behind him, and said, Art thou ? And he answered, I am. And said to him, Turn thee aside to thy or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But would not turn aside from following of him. And said again to , Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up to thy brother? Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where fell down and stood still. 24 also and pursued after : and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by of of . 25And the children of gathered themselves together after , and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. Then called to , and said, Shall devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? And said, As liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. 28So blew a , and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more. And and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to . 30And returned from following : and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of ’s servants nineteen men and . But the servants of had smitten of , and of ’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men . And they took up , and in the of his , which was in Beth–lehem. And and his men went all night, and they came to at break of day.
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.