Chapter Iii--the Hebrews and the Philistines--Damascus

THE ISRAELITES IN THE LAND OF CANAAN: THE JUDGES--THE PHILISTINES AND THE HEBREW KINGDOM--SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON, THE DEFECTION OF THE TEN TRIBES--THE XXIst EGYPTIAN DYNASTY--SHESHONQ OR SHISHAK DAMASCUS.

The Hebrews in the desert: their families, clans, and tribes--The Amorites and the Hebrews on the left bank of the Jordan--The conquest of Canaan and the native reaction against the Hebrews--The judges, Ehud, Deborah, Jerubbaal or Gideon and the Manassite supremacy; Abimelech, Jephihdh.

The Philistines, their political organisation, their army and fleet--Judah, Dan, and the story of Samson--Benjamin on the Philistine frontier--Eli and the ark of the covenant--The Philistine dominion over Israel; Samuel, Saul, the Benjamite monarchy--David, his retreat to the desert of Judah and his sojourn at Zilclag--The battle of Gilboa and the death of Saul--The struggle between Ish-bosheth and David--David sole king, and the final defeat of the Philistines--Jerusalem becomes the capital; the removal of the ark--Wars with the peoples of the East--Absalom’s rebellion; the coronation of Solomon.

Solomon’s government and his buildings--Phoenician colonisation in Spain: Hiram I. and the enlargement of Tyre--The voyages to Ophir and Tarshish--The palace at Jerusalem, the temple and its dedication: the priesthood and prophets--The death of Solomon; the schism of the ten tribes and the division of the Hebrew kingdom.

The XXIst Egyptian dynasty: the Theban high priests and the Tanite Pharaohs--The Libyan mercenaries and their predominance in the state: the origin of the XXIInd (Bubastite) dynasty--Sheshonq I. as king and his son Aûpûti as high priest of Amon; the hiding-place at Deîr el-Baharî--Sheshonq’s expedition against Jerusalem.

The two Hebrew “kingdoms”; the fidelity of Judah to the descendants of Solomon, and the repeated changes of dynasty in Israel--Asa and Baasha--The kingdom of Damascus and its origin--Bezon, Tabrimmon, Benhadad I.--Omri and the foundation of Samaria: Ahab and the Tyrian alliance--The successors of Hiram I. at Tyre: Ithobaal I.--The prophets, their struggle against Phonician idolatry, the story of Elijah--The wars between Israel and Damascus up to the time of the Assyrian invasion.