nce to the strong will of its
originator, and its increase or even its maintenance depended upon the
absence of any internal disturbance or court intrigue, to counteract
which might make too serious a drain upon his energy. David had survived
his last victory sufficiently long to witness around him the evolution
of plots, and the multiplication of the usual miseries which sadden, in
the East, the last years of a long reign. It was a matter of custom as
well as policy that an exaltation in the position of a ruler should be
accompanied by a proportional increase in the number of his retinue
and his wives. David was no exception to this custom: to the two wives,
Abigail and Ahinoam, which he had while he was in exile at Ziklag, he
now added Maacah the Aramaean, daughter of the King of Geshur, Haggith,
Abital, Bglah, and several others.* During the siege of Babbath-Ammon he
also committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite,
and, placing her husband in the forefront of the battle, brought about
his death. Rebuked by the prophet Nathan for this crime, he expressed
his penitence, but he continued at the same time to keep Bathsheba, by
whom he had several children.** There was considerable rivalry among
the progeny of these different unions, as the right of succession would
appear not to have been definitely settled. Of the family of Saul,
moreover, there were still several members in existence--the son which
he had by Eizpah, the children of his daughter Merab, Merib-baal, the
lame offspring of Jonathan,*** and Shimei****--all of whom had partisans
among the tribes, and whose pretensions might be pressed unexpectedly at
a critical moment.

* Ahinoam is mentioned in the following passages: 1 Sam.
xxv. 43, xxvii. 3, xxx. 5; 2 Sam. ii. 2, iii. 2; cf. also 1
Chron. iii. 1; Maacah in 2 Sam. iii. 3; 1 Chron. iii. 2;
Haggith in 2 Sam. iii. 4; 1 Kings i. 5, 11, ii. 13; 1 Chron.
iii. 2; Abital in 2 Sam. iii. 4; 1 Chron. iii. 3; Eglah in 2
Sam. iii. 5; 1 Chron. iii. 3. For the concubines, see 2 Sam.
v. 13, xv. 15, xvi. 21, 22; 1 Chron. iii. 9, xiv. 3.

** 2 Sam. xi., xii. 7-25.

*** 2 Sam. ix., xvi. 1-4, xix. 25-30, where the name is
changed into Mephibosheth; the original name is given in 1
Chron. viii. 34.

**** Sam. xvi. 5-14, xix. 16-23; 1 Kings ii. 8, 9, 36-46.

The eldest son of Ahinoam, Amnon, whose priority in age seemed likely
to secure for hi