tom of the daughters of Israel, in "lamenting" the daughter of Jephthah four days in the year.

It should be remarked, however, that the term lament means to celebrate and not lament. It is by no means certain that the daughters of Israel, at that time, regarded the sacrifice of the daughter of Jephthah as something to be lamented. Her willingness to carry out the pledges of her father, at the sacrifice of her innocent life, was something to be celebrated. She was deserving of great praise; and they devoted four days in a year, to praising her noble conduct. It is a mistaken idea that human sacrifices, among the heathen, are regarded as something to be lamented. The rendering "lament ".was suggested to our translators by their own views of the subject, and not by those of the devotees that practiced this rite.

Stackhouse gives a full and impartial statement of the arguments pro and con, touching the vow of Jephthah, and on estimating their comparative force, he concludes that the vow implied the taking of the life of his daughter, and that it was executed according to this view. The instance of the princes of Israel and the Gibeonites (Jos. ix.) shows that a vow was considered binding, though it conflicted with an express command of God. That of Saul, which required the death of a dutiful son, was evidence that a vow was not to be broken because it involved the taking of life. The case of Abraham, offering up his son Isaac, shows that the "father of the faithful" did not consider that human sacrifices were in all cases wrong; for evidently he would have proceeded to take the life of Isaac, had not the divine mandate prevented.

In Poole's Annotations the view is taken that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter. The objection to this, that she bewailed her virginity and not her death, Poole answers by saying, "She could not with honor bewail her death, which she had so generously and cheerfully accepted of, because it was attended with and occasioned by the public good and her father's honor and happiness."

Again that the vow was not to perpctual virginity is proved by the fact that there is no instance of any such vow in the Bible; and those persons, there mentioned as devoted to the Lord by a vow, such as Samson, Samuel, etc., were allowed to marry. The priests and even high priests married.

That Jephthah sacrificed his daughter was the opinion of Josephus, of the Chaldee Paraphrast, and diverse of the Jewish doctors; and indeed all the early expounders Jewish and Christian, for more than a thousand years, held this opinion.

It is an interesting coincidence that Iphigenia, offered up by her father, Agamemnon, should be so like Jephthahgenia; (born of Jephthah;) and it can be explained only by the supposition, that the story, among the Greeks, had its origin in our Bible. It is common for Infidels to charge upon the Bible, that it has borrowed many of its stories from the Greek mythology, not considering that the Bible dates back, many hundred years, beyond the oldest books among the Greeks, whether historical or mythological.

SECTION V.-IBZAN, ELON, ABDON.

JUD. XII.

8. And after him Ibzan of Beth- died, and was buried in Aijalon in lehem jndged Israel. the country of Zebulon.

9. And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons: and he judged Israel seven years.

13. And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.

14. And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on three10. Then died Ibzan, and was score and ten ass colts: and he buried at Beth-lehem. judged Israel eight years.

11. And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel and he judged Israel ten years.

12. And Elon the Zebulonite

15. And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

Ibzan was of Bethlehem. This probably means Bethlehem of Judah; as that was a more important place

than the Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulun. But of this we cannot be certain.

He sent abroad his daughters, and took the daughters of others for his sons. This was a matter that belonged in those days to the parents and not to the children. The large family is mentioned as something to his credit. It was so understood at that time. Probably there were as usual several mothers.

The circumstances of one's burial were looked upon with more than common interest by the Hebrews.

Elon, of the tribe of Zebulun, was buried in Aijalon. That was no doubt the place of his residence. This is not the Aijalon that lay near the borders of Judah, Dan, Benjamin and Ephraim, and was claimed by them all, but another at a distance and probably in the tribe of Zebulun.

Abdon is called the son of Hillel, either because Hillel was an important person, or to distinguish him from some other Abdon. His family was worthy of notice. The sons and nephews were all distinguished men, as riding upon ass colts signifies. His burial place shows to what tribe he belonged.

The mount of the Amalekites is so named probably, because some portion of that tribe once held and occupi ed that region. It was anciently a large and powerful

tribe.

CHAPTER XIL

THE ISRAELITES UNDER THE JUDGES.

SAMSON.

CONTENTS: Samson a Nazarite from his Birth; Samson's Marriage; His Exploits with the Philistines; He is Betrayed by Delilah; His Death and Burial.

SECTION I. SAMSON, A NAZARITE FROM HIS BIRTH.

JUD. XIII.

1. And the children of Israel did, evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

2. And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold, now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

4. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine, nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

5. For lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

6. Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name.

7. But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

8. Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

9. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.

10. And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

11. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

12. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?

13. And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman, let her beware.

14. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

15. And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

16. And the angel of the Lord | il, and fell on their faces to the said unto Manoah, Though thou ground. detain me, I will not eat of thy bread and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, though must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord.

17. And Manoah said uuto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honor?

21. But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Maroah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.

22. And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we. have seen God.

23. But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt 18. And the angel of the Lord offering and a meat-offering at our said unto him, Why askest thou hands, neither would he have thus after my name, seeing it is a shewed us all these things, nor secret? would as at this time have told us such things as these.

19. So Manoah took a kid, with a meat-offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on.

20. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife looked on

24. And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Manoah, the father of Samson, was of Zorah, and was of the family of the Danites. Zorah is mentioned among the towns of Dan. Jos. xix. 41.

Samson was to be a Nazarite, not only from his birth, but before his birth. Hence the abstinence that would be practiced by Samson, is enjoined on his mother. Concerning the law of the Nazarite, see Bib. Review, Vol. III. page 181.

The wife reports to her husband that the child should be a Nazarite from his birth to his death. The angel had not said to his death. But that was a fair inference, and was understood accordingly.

It was not often that a man was a Nazarite for life. Samson was one; Samuel was another; John the Baptist is thought to have been another. But this last is not certain. The vow of the Nazarite was often taken

for a limited period.

To be a Nazarite implies a specific and important ob