Read Ebook: Bible history and brief outline of church history by Vogt Volrath Brun Nils Christian Nilsen Translator

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Once, when the other sons were feeding the flocks in Shechem, Jacob said to Joseph: Go now, see whether it is well with thy brothers and the flock. And Joseph went. When they saw him afar off, they said: Behold, this dreamer cometh, let us slay him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams. But Reuben, who wished to deliver him, said: Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit. And Joseph came to his brothers, and they stripped him of his coat and cast him into the pit, which was empty. And they sat down to eat; and some merchants came with their camels bearing spices and balsam to Egypt. Judah said: Let us sell him to these merchants, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother. And they sold him for 20 pieces of silver. Reuben had meanwhile been away. When he returned to the pit, and Joseph was not there, he went to his brothers and said: The child is not there, and I, whither shall I go? They then killed a he-goat and dipped the coat in the blood, and sent it to their father and said: This have we found; know now whether it is thy son's coat? And he knew it and said: It is my son's coat; an evil beast has devoured him. And he mourned for his son many days, wept and would not be comforted.

The merchants brought Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, the captain of the life-guard of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. God was with Joseph and made him to prosper, and Potiphar made him overseer over his house. Potiphar's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph to seduce him; but Joseph answered: How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? She then accused him to her husband, saying: This stranger tried to seduce me. Potiphar believed his wife, and cast Joseph into prison.

God was with Joseph and gave him favor with the keeper of the prison, and he set him over the other prisoners.

Pharaoh became offended at his chief butler and his chief baker, and cast them into the prison where Joseph was. When Joseph came to them one morning, he saw that they were sad. The butler said: I dreamed that I saw a vine with three branches, and on the branches were grapes. I took them and pressed the juice into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. Joseph said: Within three days Pharaoh will restore thee unto thine office; but have me in remembrance who am innocent in this prison.--The baker told his dream and said: I had three baskets of white bread on my head, and in the uppermost basket there was baked food for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat it out of the basket. Joseph said: In three days Pharaoh shall take thy head. And it came to pass, as Joseph had interpreted; but the butler forgot him.

Two years afterward Pharaoh dreamed that he stood by the river Nile. Then there came up out of the river seven fat cows and grazed on the bank. After them came seven lean cows, and devoured the former, but they were still lean. Afterwards he dreamed that seven full and good ears of grain grew on one stalk, and after them seven thin ears that swallowed the former. None of the wise men of Egypt could interpret the dream. Then the butler remembered Joseph, and Pharaoh sent and called Joseph out of the prison, and said: I have heard say of thee that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it. Joseph answered: It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. When he had heard the dreams, he interpreted them thus: There shall come seven years of great plenty, and after them seven years of famine that shall consume all that remains from the seven years of plenty. When Pharaoh heard the interpretation he set Joseph over the whole land of Egypt, and Joseph went through the land, and stored up grain during the seven years of plenty.

The famine was sore in all lands, but in Egypt there was grain. And Jacob sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buy grain; but he would not let Benjamin go. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down themselves to him. They knew not him, but he knew them, and remembered his dreams. They said: We are twelve brothers; the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. But Joseph said: Ye are spies. And he kept them in prison for three days. On the third day he said to them: One of you shall remain in prison; but the others may go home with the grain, and ye shall bring your youngest brother to me, that I may see whether ye speak the truth. They said one to another: We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear him. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; but he turned himself about from them and wept. Simeon was kept, and the others went home.

Jacob would not let Benjamin go with them, but said: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and Benjamin ye will also take! But the famine was sore in the land, so he must needs send Benjamin. The brothers went to Egypt and stood before Joseph. When he saw Benjamin he said: God be gracious to thee, my son. And he went out and wept. And he washed his face, and he went in and refrained himself, and said to his servants: Set on bread.--And he commanded the steward of his house: Fill the men's sacks with grain and put my silver cup in Benjamin's sack. When they were not yet gone far off he sent his steward after them, the sacks were searched, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Joseph would retain Benjamin as his slave; but Judah stood forth and said: Let me remain in his stead, for if we have not him with us, we will bring our father's gray hairs with sorrow into the grave.

Then Joseph could not refrain himself any longer, but said: I am Joseph. Doth my father yet live? His brothers could not answer him for fear; but Joseph spoke kindly to them, kissed them all, and wept on Benjamin's neck. Afterwards he said: Make haste, and go home and tell my father that I am lord of all Egypt, and bring him hither. They went home and told all this; but Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. But when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent, he said: It is enough; Joseph, my son, is yet alive; I will go down and see him before I die.

The Lord spoke to Jacob in a vision, saying: Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will be with thee and bring thee up again, and Joseph shall close thine eyes. So Jacob moved down to Egypt with his whole family, 70 souls, and all that he had. When Joseph heard of his coming he made ready his chariot, and went up to meet him in Goshen. And he fell on his father's neck and wept a good while. Jacob said: Now let me die, since I have seen that thou art yet alive.--On Pharaoh's command Joseph gave unto his father Goshen to dwell in, for in Goshen were good pastures, and Jacob and his sons were shepherds.--Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, and became 147 years old. A short time before his death he blessed Joseph's two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and added: They shall be my sons, even as Reuben and Simeon. After that he gathered all his sons about him, blessed them and told them what should befall them in the latter days, and foretold of the Savior, whom he called the Prince of Peace.--Joseph brought his body up to Canaan and buried it in the sepulchre of Abraham and Isaac.

Joseph's brothers feared that he would now revenge himself on them. When he heard this, Joseph wept and said: Am I in the place of God? Ye meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save much people alive.--Joseph died, being 110 years old, and they embalmed his body and put it in a coffin in Egypt to take it with them up to Canaan, when God should visit them.

The children of Israel dwelt in Goshen for 430 years and became a numerous people. There arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph, and he said: The Israelites are more and mightier than we, and have become a menace to us. Therefore he afflicted them with hard labor; but the more he afflicted them, the more they multiplied, and the more they spread abroad. Then he charged his people, saying: Every son that is born to the Israelites ye shall cast into the Nile, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

At this time a woman of the tribe of Levi bore a son, and when she saw he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and she put the child in it, and laid it in the flags by the river's bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and she had the ark fetched, and opened it, and saw the child, and behold, the babe wept; and she had compassion on him. Then his sister came and asked: Shall I go and call a nurse? Pharaoh's daughter said to her: Go. And the maiden went and called the child's mother. And he grew, and the mother brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she called him Moses, that is, one that is drawn out of the water.

When Moses was forty years old he went out to look on the burdens of his brethren, and he saw an Egyptian smiting an Israelite. Moses looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When Pharaoh heard this thing he sought to slay Moses, but he fled to Midian, and came to a priest by the name of Jethro, who had seven daughters, of whom he gave Moses one, Zipporah, for wife. And Moses dwelt in Midian forty years.

Once, when he kept Jethro's flocks at Mount Horeb, he saw a bush which burned and was not consumed. When he drew near to see, the Lord spoke to him from the bush: I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob; I have seen the affliction of my people and have heard their cry; now I will send thee to Pharaoh, and thou shalt bring my people out of Egypt. Moses answered: My brethren will not believe that Thou hast sent me. The Lord said: Cast thy rod on the ground. Moses did so, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. At the Lord's command Moses took it by the tail, and it became a rod again. The Lord gave him power to work other wonders; but Moses continued to excuse himself and said: I am slow of speech. The Lord answered: I will send thy brother Aaron to thee, and thou shalt put the words in his mouth, and he shall speak for thee. Then Moses returned to Egypt. He met Aaron on the road, and he went with him to the Israelites and told them the words of the Lord, and they rejoiced and bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord.

Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh: Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Let my people go. Pharaoh answered: Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know Him not, and moreover I will not let Israel go.

Moses now performed the wonders that God had given him, but Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go. Then God said unto Moses: Take thy rod and smite the waters in the Nile. Moses did so, and the waters became blood. When this did not help, God sent nine other plagues upon Egypt. The eighth plague was numberless locusts that covered all the land, and ate every green thing, and the ninth was a thick darkness that lasted for three days; but in Goshen there were no locusts, and there it was light.

The Lord now bade Moses speak to the children of Israel and say: Tonight ye shall kill a lamb in every house, and ye shall take the blood and put it on the two door posts; ye shall roast the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; and ye shall stand with your staff in hand, ready to go out.--Thus the Lord instituted the Passover.

At midnight the Lord passed through Egypt and slew all the first-born, from the first-born of Pharaoh to the first-born of the slave. But He saw the blood on the dwellings of Israel and passed over. And there was a great cry in Egypt, and Pharaoh urged Israel to go. So the Israelites went out of Egypt, 600,000 men who could go out to battle, and Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. And the Lord went before them in a pillar of fire by night and in a pillar of cloud by day, and he led them toward the Red Sea. But Pharaoh regretted that he had let Israel depart, and he pursued them with all his chariots and overtook them at the Red Sea. Then the Israelites murmured against Moses and said: Were there not graves enough in Egypt, that thou must take us out in the wilderness to die? Moses answered: Today you shall see the salvation of the Lord. And he stretched forth his hand, and the waters were divided, and the children of Israel walked over on dry ground, while the water stood as a wall on the right hand and on the left. The Egyptians pursued them, but when they were in the midst of the Red Sea, and the Israelites had passed over, Moses again stretched out his hand, and the waters returned and buried all the host of Pharaoh.

The children of Israel were now come into the wilderness of Arabia. Here they lacked both water and food, murmured against Moses, and wished they were back to the flesh-pots in Egypt. Moses smote the rock with his rod, and there flowed water; and the Lord sent them manna for food. This lay every morning like hoar-frost on the ground, and melted when the sun rose.

In the third month after they had gone out of Egypt, the Israelites encamped at Mount Sinai. On the third day a thick cloud covered the mountain, and there was heard a sound as of a loud trumpet. The mountain shook and smoked as a furnace, for the Lord descended in fire on the mountain. The Lord then spoke thus to the people:

At the command of the Lord, Moses afterwards gave laws concerning worship. He made Aaron high priest, and after him his oldest son, and thus successively from son to son. The other sons of Aaron became priests, and the other descendants of Levi, or the Levites, became their assistants.--A Tabernacle, or large tent, was raised and divided into two parts: The Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. In the Holy of Holies was a chest, called the Ark of the Covenant, and a pot filled with manna. The ark was overlaid with gold, the cover was of pure gold, and was called the Mercy Seat. Only the high priest might enter the Holy of Holies, and even he only once a year. The Holy Place was for the priests. Round about the Tabernacle was the Court, which was without a roof, here the people should assemble.--The seventh day of the week was the day of rest, or the Sabbath.--There were three great feasts: The Passover, in memory of the passing out of Egypt; The Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost; and The Feast of Tabernacles, in memory of Israel's living in tents.--There were many kinds of sacrifices. The most important sacrifice was brought on the great Feast of Atonement, when the high priest went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of an ox and of a he-goat on the Mercy Seat for the sins of himself and of the people.

The Lord said to Moses: Come up to me on the mountain, and I will give thee the Tables of the Law. Moses was with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. And the Lord gave him the two Tables of the Law. They were written on both sides; the writing was the writing of God; it was written by God's own finger.--While Moses was on the mountain the people said to Aaron: Make us a god which shall go before us; for Moses does not return. Aaron made a golden calf, and the people danced around it. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger was kindled, and he cast the tables against the mountain so they broke; and he took the golden calf and ground it to powder and strewed it on the brook that runs down the mountain. Then he bade the Levites go with drawn swords through the camp, and 3,000 were killed on the same day.--Moses went again on the mountain, and was there for 40 days and 40 nights, and he ate no bread and drank no water, and the Lord wrote the ten commandments on two new tables of stone. These were afterward kept in the Ark of the Covenant.

The Israelites went from Sinai toward Canaan, and Moses sent twelve spies into the country. These returned, saying: The land is very good; but we are as grasshoppers compared to the inhabitants, of such stature are they. But Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, replied: We can subdue the land, for the Lord is with us. But it availed not. The people would not go against the Canaanites, but wished to choose a new leader and return to Egypt. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the Tabernacle, and the Lord spoke thus by Moses: For forty years shall ye wander about in this wilderness, until all those are dead who were 20 years old or over when ye went out of Egypt; none who hath seen my wonders in Egypt shall come into Canaan, except Joshua and Caleb.

Thus they must for 40 years wander about in the terrible wilderness among serpents and in dry places. But the Lord sustained them, so their clothes were not worn out, and their feet swelled not. Nevertheless they murmured against the Lord and many times tried His patience. Thus they once complained that they had neither food nor drink. The Lord then sent fiery serpents among them, and many died from their sting. The people humbled themselves, and Moses interceded for them. The Lord said: Make a serpent of brass and set it upon a standard. When any one had been bitten by a serpent, and he looked up to the serpent of brass, he lived.

When the 40 years were ended, the Israelites had come so near to Canaan that only the river Jordan lay between. Moses now went up into Mount Nebo, and the Lord showed him all the land and said: This is the land which I have promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob; but thou shalt not enter it. There Moses, the servant of the Lord, died, 120 years old, and the Lord buried him. There never arose a prophet in Israel with whom the Lord spoke thus face to face.

The Lord chose Joshua for leader in the place of Moses, and said to him: As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee. When the Israelites had mourned for Moses 30 days, they made themselves ready to go over Jordan. The priests went before with the Ark of the Covenant, and when their feet touched the waters of Jordan, the water flowed away below and stood still above, and the Israelites went over on dry ground. The manna now ceased, and they ate of the fruit of the land.

Jericho was a city surrounded with strong walls; but the Israelites took it without sword and bow. For six days the priests with the ark and all the armed men walked around the city, once every day; but on the seventh day they went around it seven times, and the seventh time the priests blew the trumpets and the people shouted, and the walls fell, and the town was taken.--After seven years Joshua had subdued 31 kings, and divided the land among the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi received no separate portion of land, but 48 cities were given them among the other tribes.

After many years Joshua gathered the tribes of Israel together and said to them: Choose ye this day whom ye will serve, the Lord or the gods of the heathens; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. The people said: We will serve the Lord and hearken to His voice.--Joshua died 110 years old.

The Israelites served the Lord while Joshua lived; but when he was dead they forgot the Lord, married the daughters of the Canaanites and served strange gods. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and He gave them into the hands of the heathens. They then cried unto the Lord, and he raised up men to save them. Such men were called Judges.

One of these judges was Gideon. The hand of the Midianites rested heavily on Israel. Then the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, as he was threshing wheat, and bade him deliver Israel. Gideon sent messengers to the tribes, and 32,000 men responded. But the Lord said: There are too many people. Israel might boast and say: My own hand hath saved me. Proclaim therefore that whoever is afraid may go home. Then 22,000 went home, and 10,000 remained. The Lord said: The people are yet too many. Choose thee 300 men. Gideon chose 300 men and divided them into three companies, and gave each man a trumpet and an empty pitcher with a torch in it. At midnight he went with them to the camp of the Midianites; they blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers and held up their torches. The Midianites cried and fled, and the Lord turned every man's sword against his neighbor, and Gideon pursued them.

Another judge was Jephthah. When he went out against the enemy he made a vow to sacrifice to the Lord whatever first came to meet him from his house, when he returned with victory. He came home victorious, and his daughter, his only child, came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances. Jephthah rent his garments, but did with her according to his vow. And the maidens of Israel lamented Jephthah's daughter for four days every year.

When the Philistines oppressed the children of Israel, the Lord sent them a deliverer in Samson. He smote the Philistines again and again, for the Lord had given him such strength that he with his hands tore asunder a young lion which came roaring against him. But he was deluded by a woman called Delilah. She succeeded in coaxing out of him the secret that his strength was in his seven locks of hair. These she shaved off and delivered him to the lords of the Philistines, who put out his eyes and set him to grinding corn. Once when they were assembled for a great feast in the temple of Dagon, their god, they brought out Samson to make sport for them. His hair had now grown, and his strength had returned. The temple rested on pillars. Samson prayed to the Lord, laid hold on the two middle pillars, and bowed himself with might. The temple fell and buried both Samson and his enemies.

At the time the judges ruled in Israel there was a famine in the land, and a man went from Bethlehem to the land of the Moabites with his wife Naomi and his two sons. The man died, and the sons married women of Moab, Orpah and Ruth. After ten years both the sons were dead, and Naomi made ready to return to the land of her fathers. Orpah and Ruth went with her. On the way Naomi said: Go back, my daughters! The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead and with me. Orpah went back; but Ruth said: Thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God; only death shall part us. So they went together and came to Bethlehem. It was at the time of the barley harvest, and Ruth went out to glean heads of grain and came on a field of a rich man by the name of Boaz. When Boaz learned that it was Ruth, who had come with Naomi, he said to the reapers: Let grain fall on the ground that she may glean so much more. And to Ruth he said: If thou thirst come hither and drink, and if thou hunger come hither and eat of my bread. Ruth said: How have I, a stranger, found favor in thine eyes? Boaz answered: I have heard what thou hast done for thy mother-in-law: Thou hast left father and mother and art come to a people thou didst not know. A full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge. When the harvest was over Boaz took Ruth to wife, and she bore a son who was called Obed. He was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David the king.

Eli was high priest and judge. He had two sons who were exceedingly wicked; but he did not restrain them.

The boy Samuel, a son of Elkanah and Hannah, was brought up by Eli and slept in the Tabernacle of the Lord. One night the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel, who did not yet know the Lord, ran to Eli; but Eli answered: I did not call thee, lie down again. The Lord called yet two times to Samuel, and he ran each time to Eli. The high priest now perceived that it was the Lord who called Samuel, and said to him: If he call thee again, answer: Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. Samuel lay down again, and the Lord called the fourth time to Samuel, and he answered according to Eli's words. And the voice of the Lord said: Because Eli saw that his sons were wicked, and yet he did not restrain them, therefore I will send destruction upon him and upon his house. In the morning when Eli learned what the Lord had said, he replied: It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

There was war with the Philistines, and the Israelites were defeated. So they brought the Ark of the Covenant to the camp; but they were again routed, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. Eli was at that time 98 years old. He was seated in a chair by the wayside watching; for he was anxious for the Ark of God. One who had fled from the battle came and said: Israel is defeated, thy sons are fallen, and God's Ark is taken. When he heard about the Ark of God, he fell backwards, and his neck was broken, and he died.--The Philistines took the Ark and put it in the temple of the idol Dagon. But as a disease broke out in the land, they brought the Ark back and sent presents with it.

Samuel was the last of the judges. He journeyed through the land and judged, and he was honored by the people. When he was old he made his two sons judges; but they walked not in the way of their father, but sold judgment for money. Then the elders of the people came to Samuel and said: Now make us a king to judge us and go before us in our wars. This thing displeased Samuel, but the Lord said to him: Hearken unto the voice of the people, for they have not rejected thee, but me have they rejected, that I should no longer be king over them. And the Lord spoke again to Samuel and said: Tomorrow I will send thee a man from the tribe of Benjamin; him shalt thou anoint to be king over my people. On the morrow Samuel saw a man of the tribe of Benjamin; his name was Saul, the son of Kish. There was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. The Lord said to Samuel: Behold the man of whom I spoke to thee! And Samuel brought him into his house, took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head and said: Now has the Lord anointed thee to be king over His people. On that day the spirit of God came upon Saul, and the Lord gave him another heart. Then Samuel ceased to be judge.

Saul was brave and overcame the enemy; but he would also follow his own will and proved disobedient to the law of the Lord. Samuel therefore said to him: Thy kingdom shall not continue, for the Lord has chosen a man after his own heart to be ruler over his people. And the Lord said to Samuel: Fill thy horn with oil and go to Bethlehem, and anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse, to be king after Saul. And Samuel went and anointed David, and the spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day. But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. His servants brought David, because he was skilful in playing the harp. When the evil spirit came upon Saul, David played the harp before him, and it went well with Saul, and the evil spirit departed from him.

There was again war with the Philistines. Among them was a mighty champion by name Goliath, who for 40 days came before the camp and mocked the Israelites, because no one dared to meet him in combat. The king promised to give his daughter to him who could slay the champion. When David came to the camp and learned this, he offered to go against him. But Saul objected: Thou art young, and he is a warrior from his youth. David answered: Once while I kept my father's sheep there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb; but I went against them, killed them and saved the lamb. The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from this Philistine. Then Saul said: Go, and the Lord be with thee. David took his staff and his sling and five smooth stones from the brook, and went against Goliath. When the champion saw him he cried: Am I a dog that thou comest against me with staves? David answered: Thou comest against me with sword and with spear; but I come against thee in the name of the Lord, the God of hosts. Then he put a stone in his sling and threw it, and struck the champion in the forehead, so he fell to the earth. David ran and drew the Philistine's sword out of the sheath, and cut off his head. David was placed over the army, and later he got Saul's daughter to wife. And Jonathan, the son of Saul, loved David as his own soul.

When David returned after his victory over Goliath, the women sang: Saul slew a thousand, but David slew ten thousand. For this, Saul became suspicious of David and was his enemy all his life. Twice he threw his javelin at David to spear him to the wall, while he stood playing before him. David was compelled to flee, and wandered about from place to place, for Saul was after him. When David once had hidden in a cave, Saul came into the same cave. David would not put forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, but went and cut off a piece of his garment. When Saul had left the cave, David went out also and showed him the piece. Saul wept and said: Thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast rewarded evil with good. And Saul went to his house.--Nevertheless he again went in pursuit of David. While he and his people slept, David came to his bed and took away his spear and his cruse of water. When Saul saw that David again had spared his life, he cried: Return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm! But David went and dwelt in the land of the Philistines until Saul's death.

There was a great battle with the Philistines. Saul was wounded, and Jonathan had fallen. Saul then said to his armor-bearer: Thrust thy sword through me. But when he dared not lay his hand on the Lord's anointed, he placed the sword against his own breast and fell upon it and died. David lamented in a beautiful song the death of Saul and Jonathan.

After Saul was dead, David was made king, and he reigned for 40 years. He captured Jerusalem and made this city the capital, and then he and the whole house of Israel brought the Ark of the Covenant thither with shouts of joy and sound of trumpets. He executed judgment and justice to the whole people, and he remembered Jonathan and said to his son: I restore to thee all the lands of Saul, and thou shalt eat at my table. He was the light and the sweetest singer of Israel, and composed many beautiful psalms, which are found in the Book of Psalms in the Bible, and speaks in many of these of the Messiah, or the Savior who was to come. He subdued the nations round about and was very powerful.

David intended to build a house for the Lord. But the Lord spoke to him through Nathan the prophet and said: When thy days be fulfilled, I will set up thy seed after thee. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever.

While Joab was warring against the Ammonites, David one evening saw from the roof of his house a woman bathing. She was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. He sent for her and committed adultery with her, and sent a letter to Joab that he should set Uriah where the battle was fiercest, that he might fall by the hand of the Ammonites. Joab obeyed his lord, and Uriah was killed. When David got Joab's message about this he said: The sword devoureth one as well as another. When the time of mourning had passed for Bathsheba, he took her to wife. But the deed that David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

The Lord sent the prophet Nathan unto David, and he said: There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing save one little lamb, which did eat of his morsel and drink of his cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, but took the poor man's only lamb, and dressed it for the wayfaring man. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man and he said: The man that did this is a son of death, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold. Nathan answered: Thou art the man! Uriah hast thou smitten with the sword of the Ammonites, and his wife hast thou taken to be thy wife. David humbled himself before the Lord and said: O God, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it; Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. And the Lord forgave him. But the son that Bathsheba bore him soon died; and much sorrow came upon David in his old age.

Absalom, a son of David, was the comeliest man in Israel. There was no blemish on him from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Although his father loved him greatly, he conspired to be king in his father's stead. He would stand beside the road, and when any one came and would bow down before him, he embraced him and kissed him, and thus stole the hearts of the men of Israel from his father. He conspired with Ahithophel, David's counsellor, and came with an army against Jerusalem, and David was forced to flee from his son. Ahithophel's counsel was to pursue David immediately; but Hushai, David's friend, advised Absalom to wait until he could raise a larger army. The Lord, wishing to bring destruction upon Absalom, caused Ahithophel's good advice to be rejected, and Ahithophel went and hanged himself. David thus gained time to raise an army. He set Joab over it, and commanded him saying: Deal gently with the young man! There was a great battle in a forest. Absalom was compelled to flee, and riding under an oak, his head was caught in its boughs. The mule on which he rode ran away, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth. Joab ran and thrust three javelins through his heart. When David heard of this he wept and lamented: O Absalom, my son, would I had died for thee! O Absalom, my son, my son!--Some years later David died and Solomon, the son of Bathsheba, became king.

God appeared unto Solomon in a dream and said: Ask what I shall give thee. Solomon asked for wisdom. Shortly after two women came to him. They dwelt together, and each had given birth to a child. As one of them had in the night overlaid her child so that it died, she arose and took the child of the other, and laid her own in its place. Both now asserted: I am mother of the living child. Solomon said: Fetch me a sword! When the sword was brought, he said: Divide the child in two, and give half to one and half to the other. Then the one cried: Give her the child, and do not divide it. The other said: Divide it, so it shall be neither mine nor thine. Then Solomon said: Give the child to her who wills that it shall live, for she is the mother. All Israel heard the judgment and feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him.--Solomon was wiser than all other men, and the fame of his wisdom spread abroad, and the queen of Sheba came to hear him. He spoke 3000 proverbs, and his songs were 1005; he wrote of trees, from the cedar that grows on Lebanon to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he wrote of beasts of the field, of birds, of creeping things and of fishes. He had peace round about and all Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and fig tree. He traded with distant lands and gathered gold and silver and precious stones in great abundance. On Mount Moriah in Jerusalem he built a magnificent temple instead of the Tabernacle, and put the Ark in the Holy of Holies. When the temple was finished, Solomon knelt down and prayed: O Lord, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded! Yet hear Thou in heaven, Thy dwelling place, every humble prayer that shall be sent up to Thee from this house! And when a stranger that is not of Israel shall come and pray towards this house, then hear Thou his prayers also!

Solomon did not continue faithful to the end. He had taken many heathen women to be his wives, and when he was old they turned his heart, so that he built altars to the abominable idols of the heathens. And the people murmured because of heavy taxes and burdens.

When Solomon was dead, all Israel came together and said to his son Rehoboam: Thy father made our yoke heavy, make thou it lighter, and we will make thee king. Rehoboam first took counsel from the old men, who had been the counsellors of his father. They said: If thou wilt hearken to the people this day they will serve thee all thy days. Then he consulted the young men who had grown up with him, and he answered according to their counsel: My father's yoke was heavy, mine shall be heavier still; my father chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions. At this answer the people were provoked, and ten tribes chose Jeroboam for king, and only Judah and Benjamin clung to Rehoboam for David's sake.--Samaria became the capital of the ten tribes, or the kingdom of Israel, and Jerusalem the capital for the two tribes, or the kingdom of Judah.

Jeroboam thought thus: If the people go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, their hearts will again turn to the house of David. He therefore set up two golden calves, and the people went and sacrificed to them. The Lord warned him, saying: Thou hast made thyself strange gods, therefore I will cut off thy house. His son became king, but was killed, and the whole family destroyed. There came kings of other families; but all were wicked and worshiped strange gods.

The worst of all kings in Israel was Ahab. He married the wicked Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, and built a temple for the idol Baal. The prophet Elijah foretold as a punishment a drought which lasted for three years, and the land thirsted for rain. Meanwhile Elijah dwelt with a poor widow in the city of Zarephath, and the meal in her jar was not consumed, and the cruse of oil failed not, and when her son died, Elijah prayed to the Lord, and the soul of the child came into him again.

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