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2. About the same time
the Moabites and Ammonites made an expedition against Jehoshaphat, ,and took
with them a great body of Arabians, and pitched their camp at Engedi, a city
that is situate at the lake Asphaltiris, and distant three hundred furlongs
from Jerusalem. In that place grows the best kind of palm trees, and the
opobalsamum. (2) Now Jehoshaphat heard
that the enemies had passed over the lake, and had made an irruption into that
country which belonged to his kingdom; at which news he was affrighted, and
called the people of Jerusalem to a congregation in the temple, and standing
over against the temple itself, he called upon God to afford him power and
strength, so as to inflict punishment on those that made this expedition
against them (for that those who built this his temple had prayed, that he
would protect that city, and take vengeance on those that were so bold as to
come against it); for they are come to take from us that land which thou hast
given us for a possession.
When he had prayed thus, he
fell into tears; and the whole multitude, together with their wives and
children, made their supplications also: upon which a certain prophet, Jahaziel
by name, came into the midst of the assembly, and cried out, and spake both to
the multitude and to the king, that God heard their prayers, and promised to
fight against their enemies. He also gave order that the king should draw his
forces out the next day, for that he should find them between Jerusalem and the
ascent of Engedi, at a place called The Eminence, and that he should not fight
against them, but only stand still, and see how God would fight against them.
When the prophet had said this, both the king and the multitude fell upon their
faces, and gave thanks to God, and worshipped him; and the Levites continued
singing hymns to God with their instruments of music.
3. As soon as it was day, and the king was come
into that wilderness which is under the city of Tekoa, he said to the
multitude,
"that they ought to
give credit to what the prophet had said, and not to set themselves in array
for fighting; but to set the priests with their trumpets, and the Levites with
the singers of hymns, to give thanks to God, as having already delivered our
country from our enemies."
This opinion of the king
pleased [the people], and they did what he advised them to do. So God caused a
terror and a commotion to arise among the Ammonites, who thought one another to
be enemies, and slew one another, insomuch that not one man out of so great an
army escaped; and when Jehoshaphat looked upon that valley wherein their
enemies had been encamped, and saw it full of dead men, he rejoiced at so
surprising an event, as was this assistance of God, while he himself by his own
power, and without their labor, had given them the victory. He also gave his
army leave to take the prey of the enemy's camp, and to spoil their dead
bodies; and indeed so they did for three days together, till they were weary,
so great was the number of the slain; and on the fourth day, all the people
were gathered together unto a certain hollow place or valley, and blessed God
for his power and assistance, from which the place had this name given it, the
Valley of [Berachah, or] Blessing.
4. And when the king
had brought his army back to Jerusalem, he betook himself to celebrate
festivals, and offer sacrifices, and this for many days. And indeed, after this
destruction of their enemies, and when it came to the ears of the foreign
nations, they were all greatly affrighted, as supposing that God would openly
fight for him hereafter. So Jehoshaphat from that time lived in great glory and
splendor, on account of his righteousness and his piety towards God. He was
also in friendship with Ahab's son, who was king of Israel; and he joined with
him in the building of ships that were to sail to Pontus, and the traffic
cities of Thrace (3) but he failed of
his gains, for the ships were destroyed by being so great [and unwieldy]; on
which account he was no longer concerned about shipping. And this is the
history of Jehoshaphat, the king of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
(1) These judges constituted by Jehoshaphat were a kind of
Jerusalem Sanhedrim, out of the priests, the Levites, and the principal of the
people, both here and 2 Chronicles 19:8; much like the old Christian
judicatures of the bishop, the presbyters, the deacons, and the people.
(2) Concerning this precious balsam, see the note on
Atiq. B. VIII. Ch. 6. Sect. 6.
(3) What are here Pontus and Thrace, as the places whither
Jehoshaphat's fleet sailed, are in our other copies Ophir and Tarshish, and the
place whence it sailed is in them Eziongeber, which lay on the Red Sea, whence
it was impossible for any ships to sail to Pontus or Thrace; so that Josephus's
copy differed from our other copies, as is further plain from his own words,
which render what we read, that
"the ships were
broken at Eziongeber, from their unwieldy greatness."
But so far we may conclude,
that Josephus thought one Ophir to be some where in the Mediterranean, and not
in the South Sea, though perhaps there might be another Ophir in that South Sea
also, and that fleets might then sail both from Phoenicia and from the Red Sea
to fetch the gold of Ophir.
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