and they cried
to Jerubbaal: "Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is
his strength." From this victory rose the first monarchy among the
Israelites. The Midianites, owing to their marauding habits and the
amount of tribute which they were accustomed to secure for escorting
caravans, were possessed of a considerable quantity of gold, which they
lavished on the decoration of their persons: their chiefs were clad in
purple mantles, their warriors were loaded with necklaces, bracelets,
rings, and ear-rings, and their camels also were not behind their
masters in the brilliance of their caparison. The booty which Gideon
secured was, therefore, considerable, and, as we learn from the
narrative, excited the envy of the Ephraimites, who said: "Why hast thou
served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight
with Midian?"*

* Judges viii. 1-3.

The spoil from the golden ear-rings alone amounted to one thousand seven
hundred shekels, as we learn from the narrative, and this treasure in
the hands of Jerubbaal was not left unemployed, but was made, doubtless,
to contribute something to the prestige he had already acquired: the
men of Israel, whom he had just saved from their foes, expressed their
gratitude by offering the crown to him and his successors. The mode of
life of the Hebrews had been much changed after they had taken up their
abode in the mountains of Canaan. The tent had given place to the house,
and, like their Canaanite neighbours, they had given themselves up
to agricultural pursuits. This change of habits, in bringing about
a greater abundance of the necessaries of life than they had been
accustomed to, had begotten aspirations which threw into relief the
inadequacy of the social organisation, and of the form of government
with which they had previously been content. In the case of a horde
of nomads, defeat or exile would be of little moment. Should they be
obliged by a turn in their affairs to leave their usual haunts, a few
days or often a few hours would suffice to enable them to collect
their effects together, and set out without trouble, and almost
without regret, in search of a new and more favoured home. But with
a cultivator of the ground the case would be different: the farm,
clearings, and homestead upon which he had spent such arduous and
continued labour; the olive trees and vines which had supplied him
with oil and wine--everything, in fact, upon which he depended