Names Significant
1 Chronicles 4:9.—Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
HOMER.—
The afflicted pair, their sorrows to proclaim,
From Cleopatra changed their daughter's name,
And call'd Alcyone; a name to show
The father's grief, the mourning mother's woe.
—Iliad, lib. lix., v. 557.
Pastoral Wealth
1 Chron. 5:21.—And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of men a hundred thousand.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—The powerful tribe of the Beni Sakk'r, who now inhabit that same region, boast of one hundred thousand camels.—Nor does the number of the sheep seem to have diminished at the present day on that east side of Jordan, in spite of the impoverishment of the land. No country could be conceived more adapted by nature for flocks than the rich plateaux whence the feeders of the Jabbok rise in the ancient Ammon. The land is almost treeless, well watered everywhere. Never did I see such a display of pastoral wealth as met our eyes in the neighborhood of desolate Rabbah. It was the early spring, when the grass was shooting forth in its freshness. The sheep of the great tribes of the Adwân and the Beni Sakk'r had gathered here from far and near; and mile after mile we rode through flocks countless as the sand, while winding up the gently sloping valley, at the head of which stand the magnificent but lonely ruins of the great city. To the open spaces among the temples the sheep and goats were driven at night, and there the bleating was almost deafening.—Nat. Hist. of Bib., p. 59, 135.
Death of Saul
1 Chron. 10:9.—They sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings to their idols and to the people.
REV. JOSEPH ROBERTS.—When the heathen of the present day gain a victory over their enemies, they always take the tidings to their idols. There is the king, and there are his general and troops, with the priests and people, all marching in triumph to the temple. Then they relate to the gods all their proceedings; how they conquered the foe, and have now come to them to give the glory.—Orient. Illust., p. 229.
1 Chron. 10:10.—And they put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.
ARRIANUS.—Alexander sent to Athens three hundred suits of Persian armor, to be hung up in the temple of Pallas there, by way of acknowledgment of his victories, and ordered an inscription to be fixed over them to this effect, "Alexander, the son of Philip, and all the Greeks, except the Lacedemonians, have devoted the spoils taken from the barbarians inhabiting Asia."—Eped. Alexand., 1. i., c. 16.
VIRGIL.—
Hung on the pillars, all around appears
A row of trophies, helmets, shields and spears,
And solid bars, and axes keenly bright,
And naval beaks, and chariots seiz'd in fight.
—Æneid, VII., 183.
See 1 Sam. 31:1-12.
Chron. 11:4-9.-And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, etc.
See 2 Sam. 5:6-9.
1 Chron. 11:22.—Benaiah... went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy clay.
See 2 Sam. 23:20.
1 Chron. 15:29.—Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing, etc.
See 2 Sam. 6:14.
1 Chron. 18:3-8.—And David smote Hadarezer, etc.
See 2 Sam. 8:3-6.
1 Chron. 19:4.—Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments, etc.
See 2 Sam. 10:4.
Chron. 20:2.—And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, etc.
See 2 Sam. 12:30.
1 Chron. 20:6.—And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty; six on each hand, and six on each foot.
See 2 Sam. 21:20.
Population of Palestine
Chron. 21:5.—And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew the sword: and Judah was four hundred three-score and ten thousand men that drew the sword.
DR. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP.—Some have doubted whether Palestine could support a population of three millions even in David's time, when its limit, were the broadest, and it had become the entrepot of the commerce of India. Computing the surface of the land at 11,200 geographical square miles, we have an average of 267 souls to the square mile; whereas prosperous Great Britain has but 246. It should, however, be remembered that England possesses large tracts of unproductive soil belonging to a favored class. German Bohemia, though hilly, supports a population of 254 to the square mile; while the fertile alluvial plains of Belgium feed no less than 438. Modern China supports 288. There are no data by which we can estimate the present population of Palestine, but we are safe in saying that every country of Western Asia has greatly deteriorated in fertility during the last twelve centuries. Egypt, according to Herodotus, anciently contained seven millions of inhabitants; yet its present population is but two and a half millions. Babylonia was once the most fertile spot upon the face of the earth. According to Strabo, barley produced three hundred fold; and Pliny states that there were two crops of wheat in the year But now this whole region is little more than a desert.—Bible Lands, p. 22.
1 Chron. 21:7.—And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. See 2 Sam. 24:15-17.
Bloodstained Hands
1 Chron. 22:8.—But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
HOMER.—
Let chiefs abstain, and spare the sacred juice
To sprinkle to the gods, its better use.
By me that holy office were profaned;
Ill fits it men with human gore distain'd,
To the pure skies their horrid hands to raise,
Or offer Heaven's great sire polluted praise.
—Iliad, 1. vi., v. 264.
VIRGIL.—
In me 'tis impious holy things to bear,
Red as I am with slaughter new from war,
Till in some living stream I cleanse the guilt
Of dire debate, and blood in battle spilt.
—Æneid ii., v. 718.
The Great Giver of All
Chron. 29:14.—All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
SENECA.—A man may be taught how to behave himself at sacrifices and in public worship, without any curious and troublesome superstition; but he will never be perfect in religious duty till he has conceived in his mind a right notion of God, as the possessor and giver of all things, and who freely and graciously bestows inestimable benefits upon us.—Epist., 95.
CICERO.—We must needs acknowledge that the benefits of this life, the light which we enjoy, and the spirit which we breathe, are imparted to us from him, i. e., Jupiter optimus maximus.—Orat. pro Sext. Rosc., c. 45.
EURIPIDES.—Men do not enjoy riches as their own; but having the property of the gods we cherish it; and when they choose they take them away again. —Phœn., v. 554.
EPICTETUS.—There is but one way to tranquility of mind and happiness—to account no external things thine own, but to refer all these to God and fortune.—Epict., 1. iv., c. 4.