am. ix. 9 is a gloss which identifies the _seer_ of
former times with the prophet of the times of the monarchy.

Their prophetic utterances were accompanied by music and singing, and
the exaltation of spirit which followed their exercises would at
times spread to the bystanders,--as is the case in the "zikr" of the
Mahomedans of to-day.*

* 1 Sam. x. 5-13, where we see Saul seized with the
prophetic spirit on meeting with a band of prophets
descending from the high place; cf. 2 Sam. vi. 13-16, 20-23,
for David dancing before the ark.

The early kings, Saul and David, used to have recourse to individuals
belonging to all these three classes, but the prophets, owing to the
intermittent character of their inspiration and their ministry, could
not fill a regular office attached to the court. One of this class was
raised up by God from time to time to warn or guide His servants, and
then sank again into obscurity; the priests, on the contrary, were
always at hand, and their duties brought them into contact with the
sovereign all the year round. The god who was worshipped in the capital
of the country and his priesthood promptly acquired a predominant
position in all Oriental monarchies, and most of the other temples,
together with the sacerdotal bodies attached to them, usually fell into
disrepute, leaving them supreme. If Amon of Thebes became almost the
sole god, and his priests the possessors of all Egypt, it was because
the accession of the XVIIIth dynasty had made his pontiffs the almoners
of the Pharaoh. Something of the same sort took place in Israel; the
priesthood at Jerusalem attached to the temple built by the sovereign,
being constantly about his person, soon surpassed their brethren in
other parts of the country both in influence and possessions. Under
David's reign their head had been Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, a
descendant of Eli, but on Solomon's accession the primacy had been
transferred to the line of Zadok. In this alliance of the throne and
the altar, it was natural at first that the throne should reap the
advantage. The king appears to have continued to be a sort of high
priest, and to have officiated at certain times and occasions.* The
priests kept the temple in order, and watched over the cleanliness of
its chambers and its vessels; they interrogated the Divine will for the
king according to the prescribed ceremonies, and offered sacrifices on
behalf of the monarch and his