o had been nearly ruined by the loss of the right to
demand toll of these merchants, assembled the contingents of their five
principalities, among them being the Hebrews of David, who formed
the personal guard of Achish. The four other princes objected to the
presence of these strangers in their midst, and forced Achish to dismiss
them. David returned to Ziklag, to find ruin and desolation everywhere.
The Amalekites had taken advantage of the departure of the Hebrews to
revenge themselves once for all for David's former raids on them, and
they had burnt the town, carrying off the women and flocks. David at
once set out on their track, overtook them just beyond the torrent of
Besor, and rescued from them, not only his own belongings, but all the
booty they had collected by the way in the southern provinces of Caleb,
in Judah, and in the Cherethite plain.

He distributed part of this spoil among those cities of Judah which
had shown hospitality to himself and his men, for instance, to Jattir,
Aroer, Eshtemoa, Hormah, and Hebron.* While he thus kept up friendly
relations with those who might otherwise have been tempted to forget
him, Saul was making his last supreme effort against the Philistines,
but only ito meet with failure. He had been successful in repulsing them
as long as he kept to the mountain districts, where the courage of his
troops made up for their lack of numbers and the inferiority of their
arms; but he was imprudent enough to take up a position on the hillsides
of Gilboa, whose gentle slopes offered no hindrances to the operations
of the heavy Philistine battalions. They attacked the Israelites from
the Shunem side, and swept all before them. Jonathan perished in the
conflict, together with his two brothers, Malchi-shua and Abinadab;
Saul, who was wounded by an arrow, begged his armour-bearer to take his
life, but, on his persistently refusing, the king killed himself with
his own sword. The victorious Philistines cut off his head and those of
his sons, and placed their armour in the temple of Ashtoreth,**
while their bodies, thus despoiled, were hung up outside the walls of
Bethshan, whose Canaanite inhabitants had made common cause with the
Philistines against Israel.

* 1 Sam. xxviii. 1, 2, xxix., xxx. The torrent of Besor is
the present Wady Esh-Sheriah, which runs to the south of
Gaza.

** The text of 1 Sam. xxxi. 10 says, in a vague manner, "in
the house of the Ashtaroth"