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FROM DAN
TO MEGIDDO
VOLUME I
A n Outline of
Jewish Military History Throughout the Ages
Presented Biographically.
BY
RABBI BENJAM IN FLEISCHER

o f The Leading Orthodox Congregation of New York
BETH HAMEDRASH HAGODOL
Author of the Famous Philosophical Classic

“R EV A LU A TIO N ”
‫ לאיג»רגט‬ouim pn3nn
wwww-hobrewboute.org
‫״ד‬9‫ש‬1‫״ >״♦ חיים ו‬
N E W YORK, N . Y.
5701 — 1941
Copyright 1941 by
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233 East Broadway, N. Y. C.
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FR O M D A N T O M E G ID D O
C O N T E N T S
Preface . . . 9
General Introduction ,. . .. 12
Abraham — Patriarch Victorious 39
Joshua — Conquering Disciple . 59
Barak — Hero Victorious of Mount T a b o r ......... 75
Gideon — Hero Deliverer of the Trembling Spring 95

Samuel — Prophet Emancipator ..................... 110
Saul and David — Kings Liberators .. 129
Decline and Fall of the Jewish Monarchy ._ 147
Josiah — Hero Martyr of Megiddo ■ 160

PREFACE
I was deeply impressed by a saying in a

famous philosophical book of the middle ages
which contends that the tender mercy, pity,
humanity, justice, and love of peace of which
our race is so proud and by virtue of which
it occupies such an exalted position in the
domain of moral and ethical culture is due to
our helpless situation and not spontaneously
did we select our moral course in life.
In modern life an entire philosophy has
been reared on this hypothesis which strives
to undermine the sublime teaching of the
prophets of Israel, as emanating from a source
of weakness which they call morals of the
slaves. In my philosophical work revaluation,
I have striven to enlighten the world on the
true im port of our culture, religious creed,
ethics, and morality.
I reiterate here that leadership according
to Judaism could be attained through su
premacy in spiritual values and mastery of
moral attainments. Brutal physical force
even if augmented by atheistic science could
drive the world, but not lead it. Spencer
[ 9]
PREFACE
remarked very deeply that the Assyrian ty

rant who chained people in slavery was just
as well himself a slave to these very chains.
In this work, I intend to prove by irre
futable historical illustrations that our people
were invincible in war, and not by weakness
did they create a philosophy of peace, justice,
mercy, and love. O n the contrary, as our
sages say, not a soft Israel created a mild
religion and philosophy, b ut the Divine grace
of our faith and moral culture forged a mild,
benevolent, merciful nation out of stern, in
vincible pugnacious heroes, and our first hero
Abraham, demonstrated in his immortal fight
the philosophy of later ages. In Israel a hero
is one who fights to deliver and protect, not
to destroy and enslave.
This is the moving spirit and perpetual
driving force of our imperishable race. If
my memory serves me well it was Bayard
Taylor who said, "H e who fights for greed
and gain or fame, is a murderer and robber,
for fanatical imposition of his opinion on
others by violence is a tyrant and bigot. But
he who fights for justice, right and freedom,
is a hero.”
Iniquity has engulfed mankind and our
[ 10 ]
PREFACE
nation temporarily, but let us not despair

is the lesson we derive from the history of
our heroic people. Montgomery pertinently
said that right and might rule the world— at
present might, until right gets ready. This
sublime idea is expressed in the Zohar, light
of Divine truth.
A scholar of the gentiles inquired of a
Jewish sage, " It is w ritten in the Bible that
the voice of tru th will live forever, why then
is iniquity supreme and trium phant?” The
Jewish sage replied that the prophet does not
claim that tru th has already been established,
he merely says that the trium ph of evil is
temporary, but finally tru th and justice will
prevail forever.
[ 11 ]
GENERAL IN T R O D U C T IO N
The subject of my work which I am

presenting to the w orthy reading public is
unique in its nature and gigantic in its scope
and range. To my knowledge, a book of
that caliber and type has not appeared in the
realm of Judaic scholarship for two millen-
iums, since Josephus Flavius composed his fa
mous Antiquities and Wars of the Jews.
There is a remarkable saying in the Tal
mud of Jerusalem T ractat Megillah. "Four
languages, the Talmud says, are fit for the
general application of human needs. Greek
for music, Latin for command, Syriac for
elegy and lamentation, and Flebraic for
Divine revelation of prophecy and peaceful
human intercourse.” The idea conveyed in
the statement consists in this:
As language is the reflection of the cul
ture and intellect of a people the Greek lang
uage portrays the intellectual and cultural
characteristic of the Greek national genius,
which is designated by the sages by the term
Music, including art, sculpture, painting, and
[ 12 ]
GEN3ERAL INTRODUCTION
general beauty, whether in picture, sound,

or literary expression of poetry. The Roman
national genius was expressed in military
achievements of conquest on the battlefield,
which is reflected in their commanding lang
uage, that is imperative and dominating in
its expression. The Syrian national genius
was deeply emotional and sentimental, which
is portrayed in their language, sounding like
lamentation in a dirge or elegy. Hebrew is
reflective of the Hebraic national genius,
which is imbued and swayed by lofty, sub
lime, inspirations of the soul, and Divine rev
elations through prophecy and celestial mes
sages received by inspired bards, as well as
in the mildness and tenderness of disposition
of a peace loving and benevolent merciful
people.
W ith that conception of the character
of the Hebrew people, it is indeed a strange
paradox if we follow the history of the H e
brew race and observe the tremendous battles
they waged against the mightiest empires and
warlike races of mankind.The glorious vie-
tories they gained on many an immortal bat
tlefield, the great captains and military
geniuses they produced, is really a unique,
[ 13 ]
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
and awe-inspiring phenomenon. To search

for an interpretation and an enlightened ex
planation for which the main goal of my
work strives, we will follow successively the
great captains and military geniuses of our
race, we will explain the strategy and tactics
of their campaigns, we will define the fxmda•
mental principles of their m ilitary exploits,
and we will compare them w ith all the great
military heroes and captains of history, for
notwithstanding the fact that the Romans,
Persians, and Greeks, established the greatest
military hegemonies of history, it is the Sem
itic race in my opinion, that produced the
greatest military geniuses of all ages, as A bra
ham the Patriarch, Moses and Joshua, Barak
and Gideon, the immortal Kings Saul, David,
H am ilcar Barcas, Hannibal of the Phenecians,
a Semitic branch, and Judas Maccabeus of
Kings and heroes who are peerless in all
the annals of mankind.
It is a conventional notion not only
among the iminformed masses but even among
educated cultured people, to suppose that the
originators and outstanding exponents of the
art and science of war were the Greeks and
Romans. We intend to demonstrate that this
[ 14 ]
is an absolute misconception. It is really an

incredible paradox that the true exponents
of the basic fundamental principles of strategy
and tactics are the Jews, and not by their
own creative military genius or inventive m ar
tial spirit, but just as well as they excel in the
realm of Divine revelation and religious ethi
cal precepts it is by the same influence of
prophetic revelation and Divine guidance that
the cardinal tenets of military science was
revealed to them by the Divine Mosaic Code,
to insure and provide the nation w ith temporal
and worldly-security, welfare, and independ
ence, just as the same code has striven to up
lift and consecrate in perpetual holiness and
sanctity the spiritual welfare and perfection
of the nation.
Just as in the domain of jurisprudence
the Romans were not the original creators
of that great sphere of law and government,
for which they are so celebrated, but as there
are very strong evidences and authority in
various writings of the ancients that the law
of the twelve tablets was borrowed indirectly
from the Mosaic Code, even so in military
science, the invincible organizaion of the
Roman military machine and formation was
[ IS ‫נ‬
GENERAL IN T R O D U C T IO N
based upon the system of the Mosaic Code

as exemplified in the description of the mili
tary organization and formation outlined in
Numbers.
A mighty army consisted of twelve
army corps divided into four principal armies,
each one consisting of three army corps, each
army provided w ith one general insignia or
flag representing the entire army, and two
supplementary banners w ith a process of sig-
nailing by means of trumpets, w ith various
signals for assembly, concentration, marching
order, advance and attack. The army formed
whether in moving order or situated in a sta
tionary camp formation, a perfect square
with the ark, the Tabernacle, the principal
leaders and commanders of the nation placed
in the center. A mighty array of three corps
served as the vanguard, one major army of
three corps serving as the rear guard, pro
tected on both flanks by two major armies,
by an impenetrable forest of spearmen and
swordsmen. It took centuries for the Romans
and Greeks before they mastered the secret
of this remarkable martial array, as it is
demonstrated in the writings of Titus Livy
and Sallustvide Josephus Wars of the Jews,
[ 16 ‫נ‬
vol. 4 chapter 5, the footnote of D r. Whiston,

the great English scholar. His last sentence is
w orth while to be quoted literally.
"This description of the exact symmetry
and regularity of the Roman arm y and of
the Roman encampments w ith the sounding
their trum pets and order of war described
in this and the next chapter; it is so very like
to the symmetry and regularity of the people
of Israel in the wilderness that one cannot
well avoid the supposal that the one was the
ultimate pattern of the other, and that the
tactics of the ancient Romans were taken
from the rules given by the Eternal One to
Moses.
The same opinion is expressed by the
greatest Jewish m ilitary scholar since Josephus
Flavius, the great physician and Talmudical
master, the celebrated D octor Abraham of
M antua, in his world famous classic "Shiltey
Hagiborim,” a book which is the outstanding
exposition of Jewish m ilitary art and science,
w ritten during the Diaspora by a Jewish
scholar.
The basic principle of Jewish military
strategy consisted in always fighting a de
fensive battle; under no circumstances to
[ 17 ‫נ‬
GENERAL rNTOODUCTION
Start an offensive war, unless by implicit

command, like the conquest of Palestine by
Divine order, which campaign was called a
holy, ordained campaign.
There was also a possibility of waging
a war of prevention, to guard against an at
tack on the Jewish homeland by aggressors.
Such a campaign is called an obligatory cam
paign, a war of duty. The Jewish strategy
required the taking of the initiative by an
offensive attack to transfer the theater of
war on the enemy’s territory; otherwise, ac
cording to our religion it is wrong to attack
and wage any offensive campaign.
In the spirit of this religious rule we
could appreciate and thoroughly understand
the entire organization, armament, and mUi-
tary conduct of a Jewish army. It is a unique
and a queer, outstanding fact that the Jewish
army was always deprived of and never util
ized the branch of cavalry. Its main reliance
was infantry. Even chariots were not applied
by the Jews, as we find in the bible that the
Lord commanded Joshua to destroy the chari
ots and the horses of the Amorites.
Superficially, one may think that it was
due to mechanical inferiority and ineffi-
- [ 18 ]
ciency, but in a deeper sense there was a great

moral principle involved. Cavalry and chari
ots were the main implements of aggression
in ancient times, as we witness in the cam-
^aigns of conquest of the Egyptians, Assyrians
and Chaldeans. There is another sublime
ethical motive for the non-employment of
cavalry in Jewish :military organization. It
was strictly forbidden for a Jewish general
to encircle and surround the enemy’s army
even in an operation of a siege, as it is ex
pressly w ritten in the Sifrey commenting on
Numbers 31-7, "A nd they warred against the
Midianites as the Lord commanded Moses.”
O ur sages explain in the Sifrey that the com
mand consisted in this:
T hat they attack in the shape of a cres
cent, a semi-circle, so as to leave an avenue of
escape, and this law is codified in Maimonides,
Military Law chapter 6, also in the "Smag,”
the great compiler, one scholar adds that be
sides the moral motives there is also expediency
attached to this, not to provoke the enemy to
desperation. Such a high moral and humane
law could best be realized and adhered to by
an army of infantry, which even in the great-
[ 19 ]
GENIERAL INTRODUCTION
est victory could not prevent the escape of

the enemy.
In m y opinion, the same moral and ethi
cal motives account for the deficiency and
lack of instruments of siege, like battering
rams, and so on, which we rarely find in Jew
ish military campaigns. The highest attain
m ent that the Bible records, are the skillful
catapults which were contrived by Uziahu
King of Judea, but their function, it seems,
was to repel a besieging army. Nevertheless,
the disadvantages sustained by the lack o f d l
these implements through the adherence to
the high moral and ethical standards of our
religion, were amply rewarded by the Provi
dential choice of ground in the high inac
cessible mountains of Judea and Galilee, which
were impregnable even by the mightiest hosts
equipped w ith chariots and with cavalry.
The lion hearted Jewish infantry whose
main reliance was on archery, javelins, spears,
swords, shields, and hide shields anointed by
oil, helmets, double edged swords, and mighty
rocks and slings, were invincible when prop
erly disposed and entrenched on their inac
cessible mountainous cliffs. By the choice of
p»osition they always neutralized the highest
[ 20 ‫נ‬
GENER7VL INTRODUCTION
mechanical and technical superiority of arma

ments possessed by the enemy. It is also re
markable w ith w hat masterly skill the Jewish
commanders always chose their position so
as to take advantage of sunshine, hail, wind,
and rain as was demonstrated in the great
victory of Barak over Sisro.
It occurs to me that this is the hidden
meaning of the Talmud where it is related
that Jewish generals and kings consulted the
Sanhedrin before departing on an expedition,
for that august body possessed the greatest
knowledge of astronomy and metereology.
among the Jewish people due to their require
m ent of adjusting the calendar according to
the movement of the moon in comparison to
the movement of the sun, in order to arrange
all the feast days of Israel, as it is expressly
said in the Mechilto in Exodus, and in Maim•
onides in Laws of Sanhedrin page 11, and
Rosh Hashono page 24.
W ith the aid of the eternal I am going
now to discuss the equipment of a Jewish
army in the field and armament of fortifica
tions, siege and defense. The first glimpses
of Jewish equipment we find in the Bible by
[ 21 ]
GENJERAL INTRODUCTION
the first Jewish general in history our holy

Patriarch father Abraham.
W hen he marched against the allied kings
spears were the main arms of his army. I
base m y authority on the verb "vayorek”
Genesis 14-14, generally translated he armed,
which is seldom used in a general way for
arming. The sages therefore give various in
terpretations in the Talmud Tractate Ned-
arim page 32. In m y humble opinion, the
real meaning could be derived from the pas
sage in the Psalms X XXIV 3. "D raw ye a
spear against m y persecutors.” We see the
application of the verb to spear, so the mean
ing of the genesis verb applies to the act of
drawing out the spears, the chief weapon they
wielded in battle, which fits in with the gen
eral method and plan of campaign which the
Patriarch applied in this expedition, taking
the enemy by surprise and attacking at close
range; in a hand to hand battle in a night
attack the spear was most fitting for such
combat.
Jacob our father, the last of the Patri
archs relates and refers in his farewell sermon,
to battles he waged w ith sword and bow.
Here we have a new element, the bow and
[ 22 ‫נ‬
sword, but as a m atter of fact the natural

inclination of Jewish character preferred the
spear over the bow in hand to hand combat,
and we find David in his immortal elegy says
that we will have to learn against our wish
the art of handling the cross bow. Accord
ing to the sages in Mechillto and elaborated
in Talmud of Jerusalem in Tractate Sabbath
the Hebrews were equipped w ith five types
of weapons at their departure from Egypt:
A sword, a spear, a bow, a shield, tri
angular and round, and a mace, a mighty
Iron fighting club with round heavy iron or
lead heads reinforced by sharp iron nails
which could be used w ith terrible effect in
close combat, vide besides Jerusalmy Bartnura
Sabbath Perek Bamo Isah and Keylim perek
16 and also the same interpretation as Jeru-
salami and Bartnura in Keylim is given by the
great military scientist the supreme authority
over Jewish military science, the celebrated
Rabbi and D octor Abraham of Mantua, Italy,
author of the masterwork Shiltey Hagiborim.
Military Organization o f the Hebrews
The tactical unit started w ith ten, like
the Roman. Five groups composed a company
squad. Two companies formed a command
[ 23 ‫נ‬
of one hundred. Each group was led by a

petty officer, a corporal. F ifty were led by
a top sergeant. A conunand was led by a
captain, corresponding to the centurion in the
Romany army. Ten commands composed an
army regiment commanded by a Colonel, who
had tw o lieutenant colonels under him. Ten
regiments composed an army corps com
manded by a General, "Sar Hazovo or
Mefaked.” Six army corps composed a fully
mobilized battle army commanded by a Com
mander-in-Chief, a Field Marshal "Sar Zvoei
Hazovoasor Mefaked Rashi.”
The ideal army of Hebrew strategy and
tactics is one of six army corps commanded
by six main generals and with the field com
mand left to colonels and brigadier generals.
Over sixty (60) thousand is hard to handle.
I t is remarkable how Hebrew strategy agrees
with the maxim of Napoleon who said that
his master strokes of strategy were achieved
by him w ith such forces. O rder of Battle
March, Formation, Evolution and movement.
Let us assume a Jewish general in com
m and of one hundred thousand engages w ith
twelve thousand as a vanguard. His forma
tion would be four columns of four battle
[ 24 ]
lines, w ith a thousand in each column, but

while the first tw o lines and the rear last
tw o lines consisted of a thousand each, his
main body would consist of eight thousand,
double the amount of all 4 lines p u t together
serving as a reserve to reinforce each column,
and as final strategic fighting force for coun
ter attack for advance or to cover retreat.
Very clever tactics equivalent to the concep
tion of the Mosaic formation we discussed in
the beginning of the introduction.
N otw ithstanding the fact that Hebrews
despised cavalry on religious grounds and the
mainstay of their strength was infantry,
nevertheless they employed trum pets usually
used only by cavalry. Here is their form a
tion. The fighting line was tw enty abreast.
The colonel and lieutenant colonel marched
in heavy armor flanked by three platoons of
heavy armored infantry at the head of the
column. They were followed by lines and
files of 20 each, tw o sergeants leading each
file, one right, and one left. A t each fifth
file were 2 top sergeants w ith tw o centurions
also there were situated lieutenants and ser
geants between the files to supervise and di
rect coherence. Each column of a thousand
[ 25 ]
had a regimental flag. Protected on all sides,

the main army central column of 8,000 had
eight banners and was led by the general and
brigade commanders, but the commander-in
chief and general staff unUke the field com
manders were placed in secure headquarters.
I will continue w ith the aid of the Eternal
to describe in detail the equipment, arma
ment, organization, formation and mobiliza
tion of a Jewish army, system of command,
religious conduct and so on.
There are three general terms in Hebrew
signifying various stages and grades of armed
forces. Choyil, a general term for diligence
and creative ability even in civil life, desig
nated in a military sense an organized body
of men under a unified system of leadership,
and directed by a central authority of com
mand. Zovo refers to an army concentrated in
the field on a military campaign. Maarocho
shel milchomo, martial array, an army in bat-
tie formation, in the ancient tribal days a levy
that was either made by the chief of the clan,
or tribe for the cause of a specific tribe or clan,
or a chief raised a levy to promote the general
cause or welfare. Typical of this kind of
levy and its ancient custom we see in the
[ 26 ]
campaign of the Patriarch Abraham, the

chief, who as General orders a levy of his
hereditary retainers, and a loyal, trusted
army mobilized w ith lightning speed followed
by faithful confederate chiefs to do battle
against the mighty host of Eastern kings.
This system continues for generations
until the period of desert wandering, and
even the conquest of Palestine was accomp
lished mostly in that manner. A fter final
subjugation of the land, an irregular militia
was established. The nucleus of this unit was
the gdud, a regiment of no fixed static num
ber, but fluctuated according to circumstan
ces. It seems probable that some of the
Judges led irregulars into battle, like Samson
and Jephtah, who commanded semi-profes
sional free lances, who by their personal in
fluence and skill, valor and patriotic zeal
transferred them into people’s armies of de
livery and liberation. It seems that in more
settled times the military chiefs were the great
land holders who were named Gibbor-Hayyil,
designating their distinguished civil position
as well as their military distinction. Typical
of this order is the description of the sifting
of the army by Gideon which illustrated how
[ 27 ]
his army consisted of irregulars, a casual, ir

responsible body of recruits who were not im
bibed w ith the pious spirits of revived faith
in the unity of G-d, by which the pious hero
was animated. They were merely fixed by
secular zeal of patriotism and hope of revenge
and booty. There were also irregular guerril
las of identical type and brand. One minor
part merely, was of select families of freemen
of the household and were animated by lofty
ideals of the noble general who retained the
dignity of the nation of Israel as well as the
purity of their faith and soul.
Concluding m y introduction, before I
win discuss the section of M artial Law in
Jewish military institutions I wish to
quote a remarkable chapter on this topic, by
the greatest Hebrew authority on this subject
in modern times; I am referring to the cele
brated Rabbi, sage, and physician. D octor
Abraham of Mantua, author of the "Shiltey
Hagiborim” a masterwork on the Temple,
musical instruments. Music, various incense,
libations, precious stones, and everything per
taining to the cult of Immolation. H e also
discusses strategy, implements of war and
every thing pertaining to Hebrew conduct of
[ 28 ]
war. There may be found some religious

scholars who will inquire of me as to how
they could waste valuable time in reading
matters of such nature; in what manner could
they profit morally and intellectually? My
answer is this; It certainly should be prefer
able to be guided by Divine Providence and
the destiny of our race should not depend
upon natural elements and factors, but alas,
our iniquity and misconduct deprived us of
supernatural revelations and manifestations
displayed to our ancestors at the Exodus from
Egypt and the miracle of the Red Sea; due
to our misappreciation direct guidance was re
voked and we were sujected to follow the
path of natural laws with occasional interfer
ence of miracles and celestial rescue.
The holy Bible teaches us how a
great leader contrived by his military
skill and martial ingenuity to rescue all
the captives and prisoners, regain all
the booty, deliver all Palestine and her in
habitants from the oppression of mighty
despots and their invincible hordes, how he
led a small expedition of faithful retainers
and servants and disciples w ith a small auxUi-
ary army of confederate chiefs and allies, and
[ 29 ]
by one masterstroke of clever generalship van

quished a host of the mightiest potentates
of W estern Asia and managed to gain such a
signal victory with negligible loss to his own
as well as the army of his confederates. I am
referring to the first Hebrew General, the
Patriarch Abraham. The Bible further teaches
us how the weak and few contrived to over
come the many and m ighty who attacked
the innocence of their sister and honor of their
race and tribe, how by clever stratagem they
overcame a mighty city with hosts of war
riors, and redeemed the honor of their House,
how the tribes by a masterstroke of strategy
vanquished a tribe of invincible fighters who
condoned immorality and rape, and so vindi
cated the moral dignity of Israel, how a great
king punished barbarians who abused an am
bassador of peace and condolence. The Bible
teaches how one great hero delivered from
slavery the entire nation by his military zeal
and skill in Judges 4,
All these mastermoves are derived from
Joshua, the chief exponent of Hebrew strategy
and tactics who was guided by Divine instruc
tion in his masterly campaign against Ei. The
immortal Gideon demonstrated how by ap-
[ 30 ]
plication of the tactics of the patriarch, sup

plementing it by his own military skill he de
feated overwhelmingly the m ultitude of bar
barians and delivered Israel from slavery and
bondage. The Bible teaches also by example
how to beware against ambush, foul play,
and treason, as demonstrated by Nehemiah
in his defense of Jerusalem against schemes
and treachery of the enemy of our people.
The prophet Ezekiel was instructed by the
Lord in the method and science of siege. The
great Law Giver occupied three chapters in
Deuteronomy concerning military affairs,
and the sages in the Talmud gave the space
of almost a Tractate in reference to military
law and conduct of war. In the "Sifri” too,
they teach methods of siege which goes to
prove the importance of science of conduct
of war if fortified not for aggression but in
self defense. The great philosopher Joseph
Albo very pertinently says the Psalmist teaches
that cavalry shall be ready and victory is in
the hands of Providence and w ithout the aid
of G-d in vain guard the sentinel. If it is
ordained by Providence, no human effort will
prevail. Nevertheless, all natural measures
should be applied in order to realize the Divine
[ 31 ‫נ‬
decree. I am going to describe now Hebrew

military law.
N o war shall be waged against anybody
unless peace is offered. It is a cardinal crime
to break a treaty or betray any agreement.
It is strictly prohibited to slay women or
children. Three proclamations were issued by
General Joshua before crossing the Jordan.
(1) Peace on condition that inhabitants of
Palestine assume the observance of the seven
rules of conduct of the natural law known
as the Neochides Laws, (2) As an alternative
they accept exile. (3) The last alternative
was war. Talmud of Jerusalem Tractate
Sheviyit chapter six. Midrash Rabbah shoftim.
Maimonides, Law of W ar and King, chapter
six, vide my classical book "Revaluation”
where I quote Gibbons Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire, where he brings a quota
tion from Procopius the Greek historian and
General who discovered in Africa an inscrip
tion of the descendants of the people who
emigrated under the pressure of Joshua from
Palestine to N o rth Africa, thus corroborating
the statement of our Sages.
In laying siege to a fortress the crescent
formation should be applied; one side shall not
[ 32 ]
be obstructed, neither chased or blocked not

to cut oflf all avenues of escape and not to
shut off the gates of mercy. Is there any
such mericiful law in the annals of mankind?
Woods shall not be destroyed nor springs of
water cut off. Wherever camp is established
it is subject to martial law. The spot where
soldiers fall is consecrated as burial grounds.
Soldiers enjoy four exemptions. Tithe is not
imposed on them strictly as in peace time.
They are exempt from the ritual of washing
their hands before meals, although cleanliness
as a precaution is required, only the ritual is
not imposed. Wood may be gathered any
where unpaid. TTiey may carry everything
in camp w ithout the ritual calley "Eyruv.”
A military priest was appointed to ex
hort the army before joining battle. The
Battle Priest addressed them in Hebrew and
bade the army keep cheer and courage and
assistants repeated his address. He also said
th at anybody betrothed to m arry and engaged
in wedlock shall be exempt as well as one
who planted an orchard or built a new house.
The chief of military police adds also that
anyone by nature afraid and soft hearted
shall return. A fter the exhortation, battle
[ 33 ]
iines are formed and military police are placed

between the lines w ith battle axes ready to
imite anyone who wavers. A fter joining bat-
tie a Jewish army should rely on the redeemer
and cliff of Israel. They should feel for the
unity of the Eternal as opposed to the pagan
ism which they contend. They m ust stake
life and everything, neither fear nor waver,
drop all thought of wife, child, and kin and
obliterate each from memory, only think of
tasks at hand, and if one is lax in his duty
the blood of all Israel is on him. If he fights
earnestly and is m indful only of sanctifica
tion of the name of Eternal One, Providence
will shield him and he will emerge intact. He
will establish his house and name and fame
in Israel and will attain bliss transient and
perpetual in eternal life. His m erit will re
fleet for posterity. (Maimonides).
There is one cardinal law in Hebrew mil
itary jurisprudence, namely the prohibition
of mutilation. This is considered a capital
crime, vide Talm ud of Jerusalem, tractate
Yebamot, also Midrash Raba in two places as
well as in m any other Midrashim. This proves
the great moral attainm ent of our people
and is a refutation of later accusations by
[ 34 ]
GENERAL INIRODUCTION
G r e ^ and Roman authors who invented tales

of m utilation against otur people contrary to
Qur la:w and inherent national character. I
am closing m y introduction w ith an outline
o f the division of m y topic. I intend with
the akl of the A lm ighty to divide my history
into three vdlumes. Volume one will treat
of all Hebrew m ilitary campaigns of scien
tific aspect, th a t is in the sense of military
science, of battles well planned and con
ducted w ith calculations and tactical skill
based on the grand conception of strategy.
My criterion is not the number of forces en
gaged, for the classical campaign of our na
tion, that of Abraham the Patriarch against
the allied kings was waged by a small army
stiU it was so pregnant w ith masterstrokes
c f genius and such brilliant strategy and tac
tics it served as a model for al future gen-
eradons of generals and became the basic
principle of Jew sh military science, whereas
the campaigns where immense forces were en
gaged may be passed entirely as being devoid
of any science, for great generals are rare
among us Jews as among other nations. From
Abraham to Moses we had great Hebrew
fighters, no t a single great general, Jacob the
[ 35 ]
Patriarch and Judah his son excluded. Moses,

Joshua, Gideon and Barak are the constella
tion, Jephta, the m inor star. The general
who led the tribes against the Benjaminites
was great as strategist although not original.
Saul and Jonathan were great fighters. David
was a peerless fighter and matchless general
of equal rank w ith Abraham, M o ^ and
Joshua also Jehosaphat after Ahija. Jorabam
Umri, and Ahab and Jehu were great among
the ten tribes. Hezekiah was great as general
and divine as saint and bard. The greatest hero
and general Josiahu w ith whom the sun of
our people set at Megidah and Jochanan the
hero of the siege of Jerusalem, the last general
of independent Judah, complete the first vol
ume.
Second Volume. Nehemiah — the siege
of Jerusalem by the allies, his defence and
restoration of the capital. Long period of
peace— rise of Judas Maccabeus the greatest
m ilitary genius of the Hebrew race besides
Abraham, Joshua, and David. The great
struggle against Rome culminating in the
campaign of independence. The great gen
erals Eliezer, Jochanan, Simon, and Josephus.
Termination of Hebrew independence and
[ 36 ]
GENERAI. INTRODUCTION
close of the %C(md period al«> of the second

volume. The third volume — war of inde
pendence against Trajan Lukus and Andreas
campaign in Cyranic and Libya on island of
Cyprus under the Jewish general Artimines
campaign of the Egyptian Sudan—rise of Bar
Kochba and Simeon last great Hebrew gen
eral, who waged a campaign of world mag
nitude and almost overthrew Rome, of the
rank of Hannibal, as great in tactics but not
strategy. In Persia and Babylonia the two
great brothers the heroes and Generals Nahilei
and Asyno shall not be ignored, we will dis
cuss them fully. The tw o great generals and
heroes Mar Zutro the second who led the
war against Cabbad the usurper and com
munist, and the noble Exilarch H una the great
general and ally of K uzro parvus in the war
against the Romans, the last Hebrew con
queror of Jerusalem will be discussed. The
outstanding pseudo — messiah David al Rey
al Mu&sor will be discussed. The war in
Arabia against Mohammed in Yemin under
King Joseph de Nuash, the wars in Africa and
Ethiopia. The kingdom of the Chazares in
medieval times during the Black Pest, Gen
eral Michael in Alsace Lorraine and Jural
[ 37 ‫נ‬
mountains. The great fight of the Jews in

the Ukraine against the Cossacks, Berek
Yoselowitz the great Jewish general under
Kosciusko w ith a Jewish army in fight for the
liberation of Poland, finally the Jewish Zion
corps imder Colonel Paterson and Colonel
Trum peldor at the siege of Gallipoli, and the
climax in the Jewish army of liberation known
as the Jewish legion, organized and raised by
Vladimir Jabotinsky under Colonel Margolias,
Colonel Paterson, Colonel Joseph Trumpeldor
the hero of Port A rthur, Tel Chai, and Marshal
Lord Allenby at Armageddon and his entry
into Jerusalem.
[ 38 ]
ABRAHAM —
PA TR IA R C H V ICTORIOUS
O f Abraham our Patriarch, it might well

be said as of George Washington, first in war,
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his
offspring the Hebrew people, as I have said
in my essay on the philosophy of Jewish his
tory. It is the tendency of modern Bible
critics and writers in general to disparage the
historic value of great individuals; to m in
imize their significance, and even cast a doubt
on their existence, and even if they admit
their historic reality they belittle the domi
nant traits of their personality and abiding
merit of their achievement. As a great
thinker has said, by analyzing the chemical
composition of the stars they destroy the ma
jestic awe and magnificent phenomenon of
the Panorama of the cosmic orbit and grand
eur of the heavenly constellation, reducing
it to chemical star dust.
W e do not have to go to extreme hero
worship with Carlyle to state that history
is only the biography of great men, ignoring
[ 39 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
myriads of lives and individuals, but on the

other hand let us not be misled by cynics
and iconoclastic materialists, and we have to
acknowledge as has been aptly said, that the
fire of genius burns not on the altar of the
many, and no combination of mediocrity will
produce a Homer. If we accept as realistic
history the records of the Egyptian pyramids
and papyrus dictated by tyrants through flat
tery of sycophants, why discredit annals com
posed by august prophets Inspired by the sac
red flame of faith and love of truth, who fear
lessly opposed despots and tyrants especially
when we discuss a character of universal di
mensions and cosmopolitan fame and celebra
tion, perpetuated by authors of various na
tions, and races, as was Abraham.
Gathering information from various an
cient sources, Abraham was a native of U r
of the Chaldeans, a city of the Armenian
mountains celebrated for its wealth as well
as a centre of ancient culture and civilization,
especially in astronomy which was affiliated
w ith astrology. His family was of great wealth
and influence; according to ancient Hebrew
sources his father was chief general as well
as high priest of the king. It seems that
[ 40 ]
ABRAHAM--- PATRIARCH VICTORIOUS
Abraham from youth was opposed to the pop

ular conception of idolatry, having discerned
by reasoning, the Supreme Cause, which al
though at first was mechanical and differed
only in quantity from polytheism ultimately
culminated in grand moral and ethical con
ceptions of spiritual monotheism by revela
tion and Divine instruction and intuition.
Having gained a following he was compelled
by persecution to emigrate to Choran or
H aran in the Bible, in Mesipotamia, which
earned him the name of "Ivri” the one who
came acrc»s the river, also signifying in H e
brew a great Protestant non-Conformist.
W hen Abraham settled down in H aran he was
seventy years of age according to ancient
Hebrew sources. The conduct of the people
displeased him because he observed their sens
uality and vulgar way of life and he felt that
this soil was not fertile for disseminating
the seeds of the new light which dawned
upon him.
A vision entered the orbit of his life. By
intuition and inspiration a Divine call and
revelation revealed itself to him to embark
on a new enterprise and directed him to a
land where his teaching would find a re-
[ 41 ]
lETlOM DAN TO MEGIDDO
sponse; it seems that Palestine was inhabited

by slightly civilized people at this stage. In
deed, there is strange evidence that some trace
of monotheism was left in this land as is visible
by the noble prince, Malchizedek, who it
seems was umpire and referee over all tribes,
administering as chief arbitrator in a temple
dedicated to peace, and he seemed to have been
imbued w ith the spirit of the faith of
Abraham.
The cardinal tenet of Abraham’s teach
ing was the unity of G-d. H e preached of
G-d the sustainer of the cosmos who created
and controls the universe, is master over na
ture, self sufficient, and one from whom em
anates and flows the power of existence. He
surpassed all his age by the magnitude of his
conception of divinity and became a univer
sal figure and a cosmopolitan guide and
teacher of mankind.
H e was treated w ith reverential awe by
all kings and chiefs, designated as divine chief
and leader. H e attracted multitudes to his
course by his generosity, nobility, and superior
learning. Nobody would have ever dreamt
that this divine prophet, saint, and sage, would
ever leave his peaceful idyll and by a supreme
[ 42 ]
m aster stroke deliver ■Palestine and the people

of the N ear East. Nicholas of Damascus pic
tures Abraham as a king of Damascus and as
a great ruler who came w ith a m ighty army
into Syria and Palestine. There is a faint
reflection in the name of his faithful disciple
and chief lieutenant who served as. his Major
Domo or C ourt Marshall, Eliezer of Damas
cus, but we must understand this description
as figurative, for in ancient times, spiritual
influence was capable of giving recognition,
and qualified one to rule and lead.
Nevertheless^ the tale of the holy w rit is
true that Abraham practiced only moral and
ethical persuasion and leadership. In order
to appreciate the status of Abraham in Pal
estine and the significance of his military ex
ploit which immortalized him as one of the
greatest captains and military geniuses of his
tory and left an indelible mark on national
character through the ages, we will describe
the general condition of W estern Asia in the
light of modern discoveries. From times im
memorial, the people inhabitiug the moun
tains of Eastern Asia also N orthern, and the
wandering tribes of the Central plateau and
deserts surged like mighty streams in the low
[ 43 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
land and the fertile valley of the Euphrates

attracted inroads of conquerors. Egypt on
the other hand considered W estern Asia as her
sphere of influence. So far the tide of con
quest was fluctuating between these two
m ighty currents. In the eighteenth century
a new tide of conquest appeared, unique in
its nature which overflowed W estern Asia to
the shores of the Mediterranean and the Red
Sea and penetrated even in the delta of the
Nile in lower Egypt.
This was known as the Hyksos invasion
in Egypt, which means in Egyptian, strange
shepherd kings. In Syria, Mesopotamia and
Palestine, they were known as Churnae and
Chiti composed of elements of Indo Iranian
Caucausans and Semites from the deserts as
well as tribes from Asia Minor and Anatolia.
This wandering of nations caused radical
transformations in W estern Asia, for as they
innovated and revolutionized military science
and organization by their cavalry chariot, in
vincible archery, as well as by impregnable
fortresses they built m ilitary cities which
served as bases for concentration for defense
and further expansion. They changed the
entire political system of the land and civil
[ 44 ]
ABRAHAM----PATRLARCH VICTORIOUS
Structure of society. G reat impetus and stim-

Illation was given to eastrn trade and a cara
van road was establish^ by the Red Sea, In
dian Ocean, through roads from Arabia, Trans
Jordania, Gilead, Damascus, Mesopotamia,
Babylonia, Assyria, Peisia, and Afghanistan,
to India.
Fortified cities on highroad or byroad
thrived w ith opulence and immense wealtL
Among them, the confederacy of Eastern Pal
estine known as the five cities existed. W ealth
and abundance induced corruption and de
generation, as sang a poet in modern times,
"111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey.
Where wealth accumulates and men decay.”
As it is always the rule in history, pros
perity brings decadence, loose authority, lack
of discipline, demoralization, loss of manhood
and virility, envy by lower classes, disloyalty,
envy of foreign nations in a more natural
state of life who by simplicity maintain vir
ility, discipline and loyalty to central au
thority, gaining advantages in military enter
prises. Having made this survey over gen
eral afiairs, let us retu rn to our hero.
W hen Abraham by divine inspiration
emigrated into Palestine from the Southwest
[ ]
FROM DAN• TO MEGIDDO
by the eastern highroad of the Jordan, he

moved into central Palestine preaching and
proclaiming his divine call. Then he settled
in Hebron, the new center established by the
masters of the land on the road to Egypt just
as they in 1720 built Zoian Mizraim as central
capital of the Hyksos Empire in Egypt. In
this environment Abraham settled down to
the peaceful pursuit of his life, living the
regal life of a feudal lord surrounded by many
disciples who considered him besides lord and
tribal chief also as prophet, teacher, and divine
ambassador to mankind, but it seems too that
besides his host of spiritual adherents who were
devoted to him for spiritual enlightenment,
he also had w ith him the young guard, an
organized body of youths who served in the
dual capacity of disciples in spirit and teach
ing but also in the secular capacity of a body
guard as well as a trained militia, well trained
and drilled, also well equipped, for it seems
that Abraham had a well provided armory
w ith an abundance of weapons for training
as well as for actual combat, for in an emer
gency we see that the speed and swiftness of
his mobilization and arming his army was
marvelous.
[ 46 ]
Besides his m ilitary preparedness Abra

ham also formed a military alliance with
three powerful Amrite chieftians who it
seems had a very efficient well trained army
at their disposal. To return to our narrative,
great events were passing in Eastern Palestine
at this period. As it occurred in subsequent
ages, the kings of the East led by the king
of Assyria and Babylonia joined by the vassals
from remote Persia known as Elom then, and
by a m ultitude of fighting tribes imder a
sovereign king crossed the Euphrates and ad
vanced through the desert of Syria and Trans-
Jordania, Gilead, the valley of the Dead Sea,
and overthrew various states and tribes. Their
armies extended far into Arabia and all lands
bordering on Syria and Palestine. History re
peats itself, and it is reasonable to assume that
this campaign by the kings of the old empire
of Assyria which in later ages dominated all
W estern Asia occurred, bu t it is unreasonable
and fantastic to invent a fictitious land and
kings just to disparage old traditions, as it is
customary in the literature of Bible critics.
The Hebrew commentators of the Bible
have penetrated more deeply than the secular
scholars in the inner meaning of this immortal
[ 47 ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGTODO
achievement of Abraham. According to Jew

ish sources of the Talmud and Midrash also
medieval commentators, a great moral is con
tained in this martial tale, consisting in this
according to the Hebrew conception: A
treaty is sacred and shall be kept whether
favorable or not, and Providence will visit
retribution on any violation of the treaty
w ith severe punishment. In this case, the
Assyrian king embarked on an expedition in
the W est and after some skirmishes assembled
for a general peace conference in the valley
of the slimepits in the great plain of the Jor
dan. A general settlement was arranged under
the terms of which the W estern kings of
the valley of the Jordan acknowledged su
premacy of the Assyrian kings and pledged
tribute annually. For twelve years they ad
hered faithftJly to the treaty and lived in
harmony w ith the eastern confederacy, ex
changed m utual letters of good will and paid
annual contributions. Then they broke the
treaty, and furtherm ore instigated all tribes
and nations of their afElliation to rise and re
volt as a united confederacy against the East
ern kings, as is familiar in later ages the same
methods and policy of the same people. The
[ 48 ]
Eastern kings marched against the rebels and

in a long campaign of thirteen years subdued
them. The federation of five kings induced
by temptation of the opportunity to catch
their overlord at a disadvantage aggravated
their breach of faith by openly challenging
the Eastern kings and marched with united
forces to attack them in circumstances where
they could overcome them while they were
exhausted by the long campaign.
The plan of campaign of the Allies seems
to have consisted in this: They concentrated
their forces in the valley of the Jordan flanked
by a mountain and long stretches of slimepits
situated in plain and dale called Sidim. Their
idea was based on the assumption the Eastern
kings should be deprived of the use of superior
numbers of cavalry and chariots while they
relied on their infantry intrenched and well
acquainted with the nature of the terrain. In
case of an encircling flanking attack they
hoped to lure the enemy in the slime pits.
Providence condemned them to failure and
ignoble defeat as we shall see. The confed■
erated Eastern kings after crushing all the
m ighty tribes, overcoming all opposition
which spread dismay in all lands around, ad-
[ 49 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
vanced w ith overwhelming forces against the

allied kings. According to Talmudical sources
their number was stupendous, numbering mil
lions. W e may assume in a rational m anner
w ithout impairing our piety and faith that
this is Oriental exaggeration, for although we
find in later ages Xerxes who mobilized mil
lions, this was a different situation where he
did so after sustaining defeat after defeat
with the lesson of his father Darius Histospus:
in mind, but here the kings embarked orig
inally on a punitive expedition not in a direct
campaign against the m ighty kings of Eastern
Palestine, although their relation during th ir
teen years were strained and the nations whom
they encountered were mighty and powerful.
They also had to guard against a contingency
of an Egyptian army challenging their con
tention of supremacy in W estern Asia, also
to protect their line of communication against
all tribes and desert Bedouins of the Syrian
and Arabian deserts. So I presume a fair
guess that their army consisted of a minimum
of two hundred fifty thousand, one hun
dred thousand combat troops, one hundred
thousand reserves, fifty thousand mostly
cavalry to guard their communications.
[ SO ]
It seems that after the defeat of the al

lied kings the confederates having pillaged
Sodom, the capital of the Allies and most
opulent of all considered their W estern cam
paign closed, for no opponent of any real
importance was visible on the horizon, for
even Egypt was afraid to intervene, and all
Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia were over
awed by the m ight of the victorious kings.
Both their pride and exultation over vie-
tory turned out to be premature. An op
ponent entered the combat from a quarter
least expected and like a thunder bolt from
the clear skies by one master stroke changed
the entire situation, nullified ail their victories
and from the zenith of glory dragged them
down to the abyss of humiliation and sent
their invincible host rolling in disgraceful
flight and retreat from their path of con
quest to shame and disappointment. A similar
parallel is not to be found in the entire range
o f ancient history w ith the exception of the
memorable feat of the Bedouin chieftian
Adenatus Septimus ruler of Palmyra, who
in 260 after the defeat of the Roman Emperor
Valerianus Silenius Publius at Edessa by the
Persian king Shapure, after the rebuke of
[ ‫] ״‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
Shapure, instigated all the tribes against him

and restored Roman supremacy in Asia cul
minating in the joint rule of himself and
Rome over Asia until his widow Queen Zen-
obia was deposed by the Romans.
There is however a marked distinction,
for in the case of Adenatus he had great
military resources at his disposal and was sup
ported by Rome, whereas in the case of A bra
ham he had only on his scant means to draw.
To return to our narrative. Among the booty
the confederates captured they took captive
a nephew of Abraham. Some Hebrew au
thorities think there was a motive in his cap
ture for they looked for a pretext to embroil
Abraham in war in order to abolish his moral
influence in Palestine which they feared
should not ultimately spread in the East and
undermine their despotic sway based on poly
theism and glorification of secular rulers into
demigods. There is logic in this assumption.
A fter the debacle of the allied kings at the
battle of the valley of the slime pits, a refugee
of the combatants, who according to Hebrew
tradition was Og, a giant who was ancestor
of the king of the giants who fought cen
turies later Moses on the exodus from Egypt
[ 52 ]
ABRAHAM — PATRIARCH VICTORIOUS
scaled mountains and by swift running

reached Hebron, the abode of Abraham, and
suddenly appeared before the tent of A bra
ham and notified him of the battle and the
capture of his nephew. Abraham acted with
great resolution and determination. Originally
according to ancient Hebrew tradition he in
tended to ransom him and took an immense
sum of money to pay as ransom, for he was
rich and had fabulous wealth. Nevertheless,
a divine vision overtook him and by an in
spiration as if by celestial mandate, he decided
to make a supreme sacrifice and stake every*
thing on an expedition for release and delivery
of his kinsman. According to ancient Jewish
sources he also felt compassion for his neigh
bors the confederate nations as we find him
later pleading their cause w ith the Eternal
to avert their doom.
H e immediately mobilized his army con
sisting of his young guard and his personally
trained disciples and adherents. They were
mustered out for battle by his lieutenant the
disciple Eliezer of Damascus. As we already
said his army was amply provided with wea
pons. He also summoned his confederates
the three chieftains, Umier, Eskol, and Mam-
f '3 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
rey, lords of H ebron and the vicinity who had

a well equipped army at their command. The
Bible relates this his young body guard num
bered 318. H e certainly had many more
armed retainers and servants but he had to
leave them as a garrison to guard his family
and wealth. His allies also mobilized their
combined forces certainly numbering about
at least a thousand men. I t is reasonable to
suppose that he marched at least w ith a com
bined army of between 1300 and 3000 in
eluding camp followers, sentinels, scouts, a
rear guard and a little tactical reserve. He
started his m arch from H ebron south east
of Salem and marched to Dan a tributary
of Jordan, Eastern Palestine, a five day march.
A ncient Hebrew tradition describes this march
as a remarkable feat of speed and celerity
and determination that left an indelible im
pression on posterity. Arriving at the valley
of the Jordan he exhorted his army in an
eloquent oration appealing to them to fight
w ith courage and faith, and he distributed
royal gifts among his troops and invoked
divine aid on them. Perceiving the magni
tude of the task and immensity of the power
of the enemy he decided to deliver a night
[ H ]
ABRAHAM ■ ■PATRIARCH VICTORIOUS
attack, so he divided his army into minor

groups under the leadership of his lieutenant
Eliezer and his alHed chiefs. H e also con
trived a stratagem by providing white robes
to his army as a means of identification in the
darkness of the night, and as surprise is the
deciding factor in military enterprises, the
enemy, not suspecting that anybody should
dare attack them after their subduing the
mightiest kings of the land, were caught off
their guard as by one fierce terrific onslaught
from various direction. Their entire camp
was overwhelmed and defeated w ith terrible
slaughter as this was their central position and
main line of communication. They retreated
in consternation, on the main body of theirs
extending in the direction of Damascus which
served as the main base of their invading army.
The dismay at their defeat overtook the entire
army which became panic-stricken and re
treated in consternation before onrushing vie-
torious heroes of Abraham who struck new
terrible blows in a concentrated column under
the direct leadership of the divine hero, their
victorious commander-in-chief. In their flight
they abandoned all booty and captives which
[ H ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
fell as trophies and spoil of war into the hand

of the victorious conquering hero.
Beruso the Chaldean historian relates that
this victory was acknowledged and acclaimed
throughout W estern Asia as the first achieve*
ment of its kind; that a small army should
conquer a mighty host only by skill and
superior generalship. According to ancient
Hebrew traditions all kings and chiefs of Syria
and Palestine assembled at the dale and
meadow of the kings in the valley of Jordan.
They ordered a cedar to be cut in Lebanon
and erected an arch of trium ph with a rost
rum, a kind of trium phal throne, and offered
the hero the kingship over all the kings and
chiefs assembled. They even attributed divine
power to him, but the pious, and humble, and
modest hero replied, "Let not the true King of
the universe be deprived of His kingship, "and
modestly declined any homage in any form. In
great magnanimity he returned to the defeated
king all the trophies of war and lifted up his
hand in a solemn oath not to accept even a shoe
lace out of a holy cause, and piously rewarded
the saintly King of Salem for his blessing and
hospitality. This immortal victory placed
Abraham at the head of all great generals of
[ 56 ]
ancient times, surpassing even Hannibal and

Alexander, for military genius is measured
not by size and numbers, and his methods re
mained a model for all future generations.
All great Hebrew captains imitated his
basic tactics w ith all the success and glory
which crowned his great feat. H e inspired
later ages by his greatness of soul and it be
came the supreme motive in Israel to fight
only for justice and liberty, not for selfish
ness. According to our sages, this victory
and campaign symbolized the struggle of
his posterity and mankind in general against
the hegemonies that dominated the race dur
ing the ages, Egyptian, Babylonian, Medes and
Persian, Greek and Roman, and his victory
is the token of the ultimate victory of his
offspring against them and the final establish
ment of the celestial divine hegemony, the
so called kingdom of G-d signifying the reign
of tru th , justice and liberty of a cosmopolitan
fraternity under divine inspiration and moral
guidance. Truly, in this light we may com
prehend the stupendous significance of the
trium ph of the first general of the Hebrew
race in a cause of delivery and redemption,
and whensoever Israel took up arms in such
[ 57 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
a holy spirit, it emerged victorious, for he

demonstrated for all ages hum ility in success
and trium ph and glory for the sake of the
ideal of justice and liberty, not selfishness
and egoism, and the hero victor over the
mightiest potentates of Asia stood humbly
pleading the cause of the wicked neighbors
delivered by his sword, and modestly said,
" I am but dust and earth.”
Like a cynosure he shines through the
ages, a flaming torch, a beacon light of hope
and faith for all true souls who believe in
G -d’s love, justice and liberty, and are willing
to strive for it, naye, even die for its attain
ment.
The knights may be dust, their good
swords may rust, the spirit of this invincible
hero lives forever in all who by his ideal abide
and in the Eternal fountain of justice and
freedom believe and trust.
[ 58 ]
JO SH U A — C O N Q U E R IN G DISCIPLE
Abiding by the program I have outlined

in my introduction, I will follow the m ditary
history of our people in discussing only de
cisive battles and great captains and leaders
of salient events in the life of our people.
My criterion is quality, not quantity. I will
omit great campaigns where immense hosts
were engaged and great victories won if they
bear no strategic im port and were not gained
by scientific plan and calculation. On the
contrary, small engagements wiU be given u t
most consideration and exploration, if fought
by a great general w ith a preconceived plan
and prearranged program based not on chance,
haphazard audacity, blind reckless courage,
nay even a miracle, for affairs like the cam
paign of Abraham left an indelible m ark on
posterity, but by skill, generalship, and dis
play of genius.
The Bible is m ute for many centuries
after Abraham about the military history of
the race. This blank epoch and silence gave
rise to many false and groundless conjectures
[ ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
and theories by bible critics and detractors of

our history and people, as a great humorist
said, "H igher criticism is higher anti-semi
tism.” They therefore invented a fantastic
theory that the tribes of Simon and Levi were
exterminated by the natives after the affair
of Shechem, and on this false premise they
built an edifice of baseless fabrication, mis
interpreting basic events in Jewish history.
We will therefore in retrospect glance back
at the events leading to the rise and fall of
the first great general and military genius
in Israel of national significance after Abra
ham, Joshua.
According to ancient Hebrew traditions
and sources after the destruction of Shechem
by the sons of Jacob the various tribes and
petty states of Palestine formed an alliance
and opened hostilities against the Hebrews
w ith superior forces but the Hebrews led by
the indomitable hero Judah the son of Jacob
at the head of a small army of his family, his
father’s retainer shepherds and servants as
sisted by auxiliary forces sent to Jacob by
his father Isaac, m et them in many combats
and battles. A fter performing superhuman
deeds of valor he vanquished the chiefs of
[ 60 ]
JOSHUA--- CONQUERING DISCIPLE
Palestine, who acknowledged the invincibility

of the Hebrews and so they were left alone
to pursue their peaceful way of life and thrive
in opulence and prosperity until the voluntary
emigration of the Hebrews into Egypt in the
adjacent land of Goshen known as Waad al
Erish in modern times.
There is reason to assume that the con
nection of the Hebrews with Palestine was
not entirely severed and some branches of
the tribe frequently visited the home of their
ancestors. An echo and trace of this senti
m ent we find in the Jewish tradition that long
before the exodus from Egypt a hero by the
name of Yognen of the tribe of Ephraim of
royal descent mobilized a large army and ad
vanced into Palestine through the land of the
Philistines, but as it was not sanctioned by
Divine authority, the Philistines jointly with
the Egyptian army stationed as a garrison
in fortresses on the boundary, overcame them
and destroyed their expedition. We may in
fer from this even that the martial spirit was
not extinguished among some of the tribes,
especially the roj^al lineage of Joseph. A fter
the sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt, their
martial ardor was broken and their national
[ 61 ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
spirit faded in the dire distress of bondage and

slavery, nevertheless at the advent of Moses,
the nation was rekindled w ith the regen-
crated spirit, and we discover in their obedi
ence at the Red Sea and docile submission to
Moses command to place themselves between
the onrushing host of Egypt and the Red
Sea, a great heroic spirit of undaunted courage
and bravery, notwithstanding their terror and
confusion at the approach of the m ighty army
of Egypt.
A fter the miracle of the Red Sea, Moses
had ample opportunity to reveal his great
genius and skill and by Divine mandate and
guidance organized the most perfect army
ever seen in ancient times. A t the first en
counter the Hebrews m et and engaged with
hostile tribes of the desert instigated by
Amalek, a warlike and brutal tribe of Petra, a
m ixture of native Bedouins of Arabic stock
and descendants of Edom, Esau brother of
Jacob. Moses instructed his faithful disciple
and page Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim to
select a contingent of braves and give battle
to the assailants in order to initiate him in
war and establish his m ihtary reputation.
N ow , this Joshua according to ancient H e-
[ 62 ]
brew tradition was the son of a captain of

the king’s bodyguard and himself brought
up from childhood in Egyptian military train
ing and education by his father. Modern
scholars discovered authority for this Hebrew
tradition in Egyptian sources and records. W e
may not wonder at this for we have to under
stand that not all Hebrews were treated like
slaves for we see that Korah was the secretary
of finance in Egypt and so were many assimi
lated Jews. The delivery of the nation
awakened a religious impulse and all talented
people in Israel devoted their life to religion.
This is the real reason we hear no more of
Joshua in secular affairs until the insurrection
at the report of the expedition which slan
dered Palestine and instigated the people to
revolt against Moses, when we hear the voice
of Joshua.
We usually see him as the companion of
his master in intellectual and meditative re
treat, nevertheless, in this secluded, reticent
disciple and scholar was dorm ant a super
military genius who blazes as a perpetual star
on the orbit of Jewish national history and
undoubtedly ranks among the foremost
military geniuses of all ages.
[ <53 ]
]FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
The tendency of secular historians espe-

daily Bible critics, incline to disparage the
value of great leaders and in general to dis
integrate great events and disparage them. As
far as Hebrew history is concerned, they
went to extremes, joining malice w ith cyni
cism. The biblical picture of Exodus and the
subsequent grand drama of the conquest of
Palestine dwindled and was degraded into a
minor insignificant struggle of a semi-bar
barian chief against a locality in an Asiatic
territory depriving the nation of its glory at
the very appearance on the stage and arena of
human destiny marring and depriving a great
hero of his true place in the galaxy of the
world’s great captains and leaders, nay, they
also distorted the celestial vision and panorama
of a great Divine mission translated into a
realistic realization as a moving force in stim
ulating and promoting the elevation of the
race of mankind to a higher spiritual and
moral plane.
I deem it my duty to enlighten all fair-
minded people Hebrew and Christian alike, to
the ethical vindication of the Jews for the
conquest of Palestine, and as I explained in
my essay on the spirit of Hebrew Jurispru-
[ 64 ]
dence those atheistic and anti-semitic scholars

who take the dry text of the bible as final
criteria of Hebrew culture and base all their
interpretations of Judaism on the brief life
less text are deceiving others as well as them
selves.
Let us consider in relation to Palestine
even excluding the oral Jewish law and infin
ite Divine and sublime tradition, the Bible
expressly says that the sin and degeneration of
the Amerites is not full yet, its moral degen
eration did not reach its climax yet, therefore
the Jews would not be justified in replacing
them and in Deuteronomy Moses says that not
only do they worship profane idols and deny
the true creators, furtherm ore they are debased
morally and ethically, for they consume the
life of their offspring in this degenerate im
moral, and inhuman cult.
Does not this sublime castigation and
remonstrance confirm the elevated die-
turn and noble statement of the sages of Israel
that Joshua promulgated and delivered a proc
lamation and ultim atum to the inhabitants
of the country before he crossed the Jordan,
granting three alternatives to the natives:
O ne — acceptance of the seven natural
[ 65 ]
FROM DAN TO MECffiDO
moral laws and remain peaceful neigh-

hors of the Hebrews as cohabitators of
the land, two, — if unwilling to yield
and conform, let them safely emigrate
and establish colonies as did the tribes of the
Girgashi who emigrated into the N orth A fri
can section and confirmed this fact by a mon
um ent erected in Mauretania saying “We are
descendants of the tribe expelled from Pales
tine by Joshua” as related by the general and
historian Procopius whom Moses of Chorane
quotes. The last alternative, if they re*
jected the first two was to venture forth
in battle.
W e may further refute their desecrating
theory. If Joshua was not the leader and gen
eralissimo of a united nation how could he
impose his will on the m ighty Transjordanian
tribes to mobilize their entire manpower and
follow him. In his supplication before the
A rk he prayed “W hat will Thou do to Thy
great name,” words suitable to a spokesman
of a great cause, not a chief of a barbarian
tribe. I further wish to refute the false
theories they build on the fact of great wars
after the death of Joshua, drawing the con-
elusion that never was there any grand con-
C 66 ]
JO SH U A ----CONQUERING DISCIPLE
quest and glorious achievement as portrayed

in sacred literature. I will not enter into
parched and withered book discussion w ith
these cyincs and bookworms but will
rather illustrate by analogy from recorded and
unimpeachable vivid facts of general history.
In 711, Tarik, the Moorish general invaded
Spain through the Straits of Gibraltar, Gabel
al Tarik, in Arabic augmented by dissident
nobles and discontented people of minorities.
He encamped near the Guadalupe River with
his mighty host near Xeres de La Frontera.
Roderic, the last king of the Visigoths
marched out and engaged him in a decsive
battle July 26, 711. A fter six days of fierce
fighting he was utterly defeated and lost his
life and kingdom and the Moors became the
masters of Spain. A foolish person will inquire
how did there for many centuries exist Chris
tian states, kingdoms and kings, who waged
unrem itted war against the Moors, and will
in his blind ignorance dare to deny the ex
istence of Tarik and the battle of Guadalupe.
I think that this illustration will enlighten all
fair minded people and silence skeptics, cynics
and malicious critics of our noble patrimony,
our glorious history.
[ 67 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
I will now return to m y narrative of

Joshua and give a graphic description of his
classical battle where he displayed the most
tonsummate generalship and earned a place
among the greatest military geniuses of all
ages. A fter the fall of Jericho, the key
fortress of Palestine on the Jordan, he dis
patched scouts to reconnoiter in the vicinity
of Ai, a fortress situated in wild entanglement
of hills and valleys at the head of the ravine
running up from the valley of Jordan. His
scouts underestimated the strength of the
enemy and the power of his position, besides
they abused their commission, for Joshua in
tended them to invest the place and wait for
the approach of the main army. The van
guard of Israel advanced through the valley
on the north to storm the fortress and were
attacked by the garrison in a fierce counter
attack. While ascending a steep hill they were
overpowered and defeated retreating from the
pursuing enemy. Joshua, after purging the
iniquity of desecration in the army, was
ordered by Divine command to resort to
strategy. We wish to remark that the am
bush he resorted to was of a deep scientific
nature. I will illustrate this by a clever re-
[ 68 ]
to rt of a famous Roman hero, Marius to Sylla

the dictator who challenged him, " If you are
as great a general as the world assumes you
to be, why do you decline to accept battle?”
If you are a truly great general, compel me
to accept battle. This is what Joshua did.
He maneuvered so skillfully that he induced
the army of the enemy to leave their secure
position in fortified mountains and descend
in his chosen ground to its own doom.
For he distributed his army in such a
skillful manner that they thought a great
opening had presented itself for gaining a de
cisive victory, for which they must take a
risk and assume the initiative. His first
move was the placing of an army corps
of 30,000 chosen trusted warriors on the
western side of the fortress. He marched in
an enveloping circling movement. H e moved
them into concealed ravines on the south
western angle of the fortress w ith a dual object
in mind to block reinforcements from the
western cities and the fortress Beth El and
Beth Haven from joining forces w ith the
army of Ai in case his great strategical scheme
should not succeed and in case he adhered
to the original plan he placed them in a skill-
[ 69 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
fill position in the southwestern side

leaving free passage in the western roads of
communication so to leave free passage for
their allies in order that the arm y of ambush
should take the united hosts in the rear and
surround them after capturing and destroying
the fortress of Ai from the western side.
N ow having depleted the army of 30,000
of its selected fighters and in order to en
courage his army, at the same time keep in
touch w ith his western wing to aid them in
case of a surprise attack by the neighboring
armies and to prevent the city garrison from
threatening them also in order to encourage
the army of the King of Ai to the tem ptation
of an attack he moved a force of 5,000 of his
select troops in daylight from the main body
on the north side of the city to the north
western angle around the edge of a deep ravine
in front of the fortress.
This maneuver was intended to entice
the King of Ai to take advantage of the di
vision of the army to strike through the valley
at the main center of Joshua if they shall
advance on the city, but at the same time
encourage his arm y w ith the prospect that the
northwestern wing will establish contact with
[ 70 ]
the army in ambush. N ow he induced by

this movement the combined kings to sup
pose that he was guarding himself against a
flank attack and that his army is divided w ith
a deep valley intercepting. Therefore, when
he started the movement into the valley they
were tempted and allured by the hope that
they would crush his main army in the valley
just as they did his army of vanguard. They
struck with all the forces in the valley di
rectly north, avoiding contact with the north
western wing, so as not to expose their flank,
but thought to destroy the northern main
centre before this wing would succeed by de
tour to join central main army. Joshua skill
fully turned and allured them into pursuit
northeastward to the desert. Being elated by
their initial success they failed to observe the
movement of the southwestern army who,
notified by prearranged signal of the shaking
of the spear by Joshua also, we may surmise
by scouts of northwestern wing, ran swiftly
from ambush, entered the deserted fortress,
burned it, and attacked the attacker from the
rear. Joshua turned and faced his pursuers
who discovered themselves encircled and sur
rounded on all sides, even on the east by the
[ 71 ]
FROM DAN TO MECmDO
army of occupation of Jericho and the

foritified camp of Gilgal, so they were over
whelmed and annihilated.
I will close my lectures on Joshua w ith
an exposition of the classical battle of Ai,
which I consider the masterpiece of his career
like a great piece of art, a symphony by a
great master. His other campaigns may have
involved greater multitudes, heavier arma
ments, but we derive no lesson in the science
and art of war in Israel, and I prefer not to
discuss them in this lecture. In conclusion,
I wish to give a brief exposition of the great
generalissimo of Israel, the conqueror. One
may be tempted to judge him by his military
exploits. If we scrutinize him more closely,
out of the stern hero of the battlefield
emerges before our view a gentle noble
character of sublime benevolence, generosity,
merciful, and superhumanly loyal. His hu
mility and modesty surpasses all description,
excelling in some aspects distinctive traits of
his immortal master. We learned his true
nobility by his magnanimous treatm ent of
people who by deception enticed him into a
treaty of alliance which was confirmed by a
solemn oath. A fter discovery of the fraud,
[ 72 ‫נ‬
the people clamored to break the covenant,

but the noble hero stood firm as an immovable
cliff and abided by his agreement. We rarely
find such fidelity in history. Centuries later,
a king of Judah desecrated a sacred oath w ith
out due cause, and in modern ages an emperor
publicly violated his sacred pledge on the ex
cuse of religion, but the noble hero left an
imperishable example of faith and loyalty to
a treaty which will live as an immortal monu
m ent to his greatness of character and nobility
of spirit. His treatm ent of Rahab, the hostess
of his emissaries was generous and benevolent,
furthermore, he espoused her as his mate in
matrimony, evaluating her inner virtue and
serene nobility of her character as above ex
ternal impediment and obstacles. See how
tenderly he treated the traitor Achon and how
compassionately he extorted him to confess.
His farewell address to the people is an ever
lasting m onument of piety, fidelity, and de
votion to an ideal. His definition of the holi
ness of the Eternal is sublime in its majestic
simplicity and sincerity.
Indeed, very pertinently did the Jewish
people p u t a picture of a radiant sun over
his grave, for his glorious achievements out-
[ 73 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
shone the grandetir of the sun and moon, for

from homeless wanderers in the desert he
elevated them to an exalted position of masters
of the coveted land situated on a dominant
crest where continents converge and he ac
quired for them not mundane kingship, but
nay, even more a greater conquest of perpetual
glory did he gain for them, for he conquered
their souls and hearts to abide by the eternal
tru th revealed to his master by Divine revela
tion that they should consecrate their national
vocation to serve as exponents and shine as
the spiritual cynosure of the serene sacred
light of the true God.
[ 74 ]
B A R A K — H E R O V IC T O R IO U S
OF M O U N T T A B O R
As the key to understanding the true

situation of Israel during the period of the
Judges and to perceive the true significance
of historic battles which occurred throughout
this epoch, we will analyze the basic and card*
inal tenets on which the commonwealth of
Israel was established, their culture, religion,
and ethical morals as well as secular civiliza
tion.
A t this stage, just as in Egypt the H e
brews were inferior in temporal culture, but
superior in moral and ethical virtue and con
ception of the true G-d over the Egyptians,
so were the natives of Palestine judging by a
material standard, of a higher civilization con
cerning commerce, architecture, industry,
fortresses, military organization, armament,
and equipment, discipline, tactical skill and
strategy, nevertheless, the Hebrew race was
animated by a pure higher ideal, the compre
hension and conception of true divine pre
cepts, a more elevated view of the destiny of
life and the vocation of men.
[ 75 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
We observe a rare phenomenon. W hen

ever the Hebrews forsook their faith and
higher moral life, they fell a prey to the native
power, but by each revival of national spirit
and faith, heroes emerged who inspired the
nation to super-human deeds of valor and
great master feats of strategy which surpassed
the trained art of the natives, and notw ith
standing superior arms and armies they were
always overwhelmingly defeated. Joshua, the
immortal hero and conqueror stated a deep
thought in his farewell address. " It is hard
to serve God, for H e is holy” meaning that
purity and sanctity of life which monotheism
implied as prerequisite to Divine communion
is a great strain on the m ultitude who
swayed by physical emotions and inclinations
are unable to comprehend the abstract and
invisible, whereas polytheism appealed to the
senses and pointed out visible physical phe
nomena as attraction and imitation. N ow in
harmony w ith the exalted Hebrew religion a
theocracy was most suitable to harmonize
w ith the pure refined tenets of faith, and
the democratic genius of the race, but alas,
the great lofty ideal of Moses was misunder
stood by later generations. We see therefore,
[ 76 ]
BARAK HERO VICTORIOUS
how degraded the nation became and w hat

chaos and anarchy the worthless representa-
fives of theocracy brought upon the nation.
Prophecy became extinguished in Israel, w ith
no academies of learning or schools of law.
The ritual tabernacle descended to so degraded
a state that it almost fell to the level of a
heathen sanctuary w ith their vulgarity and
sensuality. The priests no longer animated
by a sacred zeal of high Divine principle be
came selfish and faithless to the cause of the
people. They prevented the organization of
a centralized government under the pretense
that this was a usurpation of the Invisible
King, but in truth, the original conception of
the founders of the Hebrew nation was not
anarchy or chaos. They intended a well or
dered state w ith adequate leadership, civil and
military. They only meant to preserve indi
vidual liberty and the link between the nation
and their Divine Father who, as source of the
law should be the supreme authority from
whom all leadership is derived for the benefit
of the entire people, and maintainer of their
welfare in secular as well as in celestial m at
ters.
The period extending from the Exodus
[ 77 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
to the establishment of the monarchy had

produced two redeeming features, the judges,
and the true prophets. The judge was the
creation of circumstances. The distress of a
great emergency overcame selfish opposition
and brought to the limelight great heroic in
dividuals who incarnated the virtue of na
tional genius and by supreme self-sacrifice
and sublime genius rescued the nation from
bondage, and its spirit from extinction and
annihilation. The prophet was the supple
m ent of the hero judge in the spiritual
domain who liberated the soul of the nation
from the fetters of moral thralldom and pre
served the purity of the national soul from
assimilation as well as its dignity from de
gradation and humiliation. N o t hampered
by selfish ties of any affiliation w ith clan,
clique, order, sect, or organization, he put
the national interest and welfare above every
thing, and so became the true spokesman and
exponent of the national conscience, reflect
ing the sublime ideal of the supreme law of
Israel, a free republic of free men consecrated
to the service of the moral and ethical Father
of life and existence.
A fter the death of Joshua, two charac-
[ 78 ]
BARAK — HERO VICTORIOUS
ters appear on the horizon of Israel who left

an impression on the memory of the nation.
Othniel, the younger brother of Caleb, a
scholar and great warrior who delivered the
people from the oppression of the king of
Mesapotamia and Ehud, the hero who de
livered the nation from the yoke of Moab,
b u t these two heroes were great individuals
w ith great m erit personally, but not repre
sentative of the national spirit. They did not
im part their feelings into the hearts of the
people and no awakening of the national con
sciousness occurred. Just like meteors they
blazed forth and after their departure the
people fell again into a state of indolence,
sluggishness and oblivion.
The natives, taking advantage of the de
graded state of Israel, gradually contrived to
regain supremacy over the land. W e must
understand that a dominant position was
maintained by the natives retaining control
over chains of fortresses and valleys of prime
importance which served as the connecting
link of the sea coast and the interior highroads
of international commerce between Egypt,
Syria, Mesapotamia, and the far east as far
as India. Especially did they attach supreme
[ 7 9 } ..
FROM DAN TO MECmDO
significance to the valley of Israel, or Isdrael

or Jezreel, which from antiquity was consid
ered the dominant key of Palestine and was
the bone of contention of variotxs conquerors
and hegemonies from remote ancient times
and even in the contemporary period it still
retains its dominant position as the key to the
land.
The natives always strove to achieve a
double purpose by regaining the valley, to
block the ocean path to Israel and push them
into barren hills away from the life arteries
of industry and international wealth and Com
modifies, and last but not least to divide and
tear apart the Galilean tribes and separate
them from the tribes of the mountains of
Ephraim, so as to destroy the unity and soh-
darity of the united nation and gradually to
subdue the disconnected tribes living in pov
erty and servility, to enslave them and abuse
them by assimilation and degradation.
Having all this in mind, we may appre
ciate the grandeur of the call of Deborah and
her protege the great national hero Barak.
We will grasp the stupendous nature of the
titanic conflict and we will comprehend that
this event was the turning point in Jewish
[ 80 ]
BARAK — H]ERO VICTORIOUS
ancient history, that not any hegemony of

Palestine was at stake, but the very existence
of national life as well as its faith was in
volved: The chief character of this epic was
the prophetess Deborah, a beautiful, inspired
lady who inherited immense wealth from her
parents and due to her great learning in the
law and religion as well as in the history of
the nation also by her devout piety and poet
ical strain gained a great hold over the
esteem of the people and they selected her
as umpire and arbitrator in private as well
as popular controversies. H er wealth and in
dependence, also her individual position, not
being restrained or checked by the bureau
cratic hierarchy of the sacerdotal clique of
the decadent theocracy, led to her being out‫״‬
spoken in her opinions and she denounced
treachery, disloyalty, and wavering cowardice
in vehement language. She also was fearless
in opposing oppression of her people and
wielded an unbounded influence over the bulk
of the nation. Against her the corrupt forces
were powerless and Providence managed such
a great soul should find a great secular char
acter, a genius in strategy and fearless hero,
whom she induced and inspired to become
[ 81 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
the champion of Israel, in this gigantic strife

and national crisis.
There lived in Kadesh N aftali, city of
shrines and relique of sacred national memory
which served as a sanctuary of patriotism, a
very pious and patriotic chief of the tribe
whom Deborah learned to know and became
acquainted at a pilgrimage to the tabernacle
of Shiloh which the chief frequented for wor
ship and served as trustee and treasurer over
the funds of lights and oil. She was impressed
by his loyalty to the faith and religious de
votion to pure Hebrew traditions and wor
ship. The hero seems to have become her ad
mirer, some traditions even have it that this
admiration was consummated in nuptial love.
The proper name of the hero was Michael,
the humble one before G-d, but the people
surnamed him Barak, the lightning one, also
Lapides, the flaming torch. It turned out
that the plain people grasped and conceived
of the inner greatness of the man as if by
intuition. By his memorable victory and the
remarkable display of genitzs in strategy and
tactics, he revealed in his conduct of battle,
he really stands out conspicuously among the
greatest generals of all ages and may rightly
[ 82 ]
BARAK ■ HERO VICTORIOUS
be considered as the prototype of the cele

brated general of Carthage, father of the great
Hannibal, Hamilcar Barca, hero of the first
Punic war, and it is remarkable how the
strategy of Hamilcar in Sicily corresponds to
the method of his great Hebrew predecessor.
Especially is his classical defence of Mount
Pellegrino near Palmyra in Northwestern
Sicily a true copy of the historical battle of
M ount Tabor. W e will resume the thread
of our narrative.
As we said in the lecture on Joshua, his
conquest was general, not particular, as we
illustrated by the Moorish conquest of Spain.
The confederacy of Palestine was presided over
by a great king called Jabin. In Phenecian,
it meant the wise one, the understanding one,
and it has the same meaning in Hebrew. I
would venture to draw an analogy; Thomas
Carlyle explains the meaning of Kings as one
who can, that is the Nordics stressed concrete
action, he can, whilst in the O rient they laid
emphasis on knowledge, to understand. This
title was hereditary like Pharoh, Abimelech,
or Agag, and the capital was called Chatzer,
or royal court. I t seems that under the in
fluence of a restored monarchy, the confeder-
[ 83 ]
FROM DAN TO M£GO>DO
acy erected a central fortress which also served

as an arsenal where factories for construction
of chariots and all implements of war were
maintained and it also served as a general
armory and a main garrison centre for trusted
contingents of all confederate kings and
chiefs. The commander-in-chief over the
forces of this m ighty confederacy was field
marshal Sisro, a very able and skillful general
who was celebrated in m any lands as one of
the greatest generals of the age. H e was of
royal descent and conducted a regal court
himself.
It seems that the agitation of Deborah
aroused the suspicion of King Jabin and he
ordered his marshal to mobilize for a final
battle to crush the last vestige of independ
ence in Israel. Josephus relates that the great
king assembled a host of 300,000 infantry,
10,000 cavalry and 3,000 iron chariots. Jona
than ben Uziel, the great sage and foremost
disciple of the immortal sage Hillel the elder,
who as translator and commentator of the
Bible had a remarkable store of most precious
Hebrew lore and tradition enumerates in his
description of the historic battle similiarly and
agrees w ith Josephus his correligionist who
[ 84 ‫נ‬
BARAK--- h e r o v ic t o r io u s
may have derived his sources also from him

for he preceded the age of Josephus by nearly
a century, but Jonathan gives a graphic ac
count of the composition of the confederates
and their hosts which Sisro marshalled on the
memorable field of Jezreel 50,000 Swords
men, 60,000 Lancers, 70,000 Shield bearers
and heavy armed helmet covered knights
equipped w ith miscellaneous weapons, and
80,000 Archers and Slingers besides 900 arm
ored iron chariots.
This overwhelming host was the total
sum of the combined forces of Palestinian
paganism augmented and supplemented by
auxiliary reinforcements of contingents from
the kings of Syria, Mesapotamia, Lebanon,
and Arabia, as well as volunteers from Amon
Moab and adjoining lands. Such an imposing
host in martial array so well equipped and
led and gathered w ith so much skill on a
selected favorable battle field never appeared
in Palestine before. The issue at stake was
of paramount significance for the future of
Israel and mankind. Materialistic polytheism
degraded in base carnal and vulgar sensuality
and debauchery of heathen paganism, chal
lenged in defiance ethical and spiritual re-
[ 85 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
fined monotheism for the sway over Western

Asia, and ultimately the human race. Against
the innumerable inexhaustible myriads of
pagandom, monotheistic Judaism opposed an
insignificant arm y of infantry w ithout cav-
airy, w ithout chariots or any substantial im
plements of war, but great was its moral
force, sustained by inspiration, eloquence and
the inextinguishable flame of Divine faith
and confidence and superhiunan enthusiasm
of the sublime prophetess who imparted her
celestial fire of patriotism into the soul of
Israel and this Divine influence was rein
forced by the leadership of their general's
supreme military genius who ranks among the
small galaxy of superior geniuses in the his
tory of m ilitary annals of mankind.
H e blazed the way by his immortal vie-
tory for all subsequent deliverers from Mara
thon to the Marne. Sisro selected the valley
of Esdraelon for concentration because he
had suitable ground to maneuver his cavalry
and for the evolution of his chariots. There
was another inducement, for the natives re
mained on a prom ontory in the valley an ex
tension from the hills of Menasseh; at the
south western angle of the promontory the
[ 86 ‫נ‬
BARAK■ ■HERO VICTORIOUS
valley formed a bay; by the projecting curve

of the prom ontory stood the fortress of Taan-
ach and the first range of M ount Carmel.
O n the summit of this curve there stood the
m ighty fortress of Megiddo formed by two
ranges, encircled by a chain of small rivulets
descending from the mountains and falling
into the broad river of Kishon.
Sisro formed his host in the valley, his
wings flanked by columns of heavy cavalry,
his infantry, archers and slingers extending
across Taanach up the bay parallel to the
curve enveloping the fortress and mountains
of Megiddo. H e intended to encircle from
both sides and wings by crossing w ith the
cavalry over the river Kishon and enveloping
by the army of Megiddo the other wing of
Israelites, to crush them between two pincers
and overwhelm them in the centre by an in
vincible armada of chariots. Barak antici
pated him and advanced by swift forced
marches w ith 10,000 picked heroes the in
vincible lion hearted old reliable infantry of
Israel. They were recruited by the most heroic
loyal and faithful tribes of Zebulun and his
own tribe of N aftali. Through the influence
of Deborah many tribes hailed devoted con-
[ 87 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
tingents of patriots especially intellectuals,

scholars, aristocracy and all refined elements
in Israel, except transjordanian tribes and
venal corrupt mercenary tribes of maritime
occupation.
As I have explained in m y general intro
duction Jewish armies usually took advantage
o f their position, topography, also meteorolog
ical elements played a great part in their cal
culations. Barak was favored Providentially in
having in his staff all the scholars of the tribe
o f Issacher who were famous in Israel as the
most learned astronomers who excelled in this
science the entire nation.
As we shall see this factor played a de
cisive role in the immortal victory over Sisro.
There is situated in the valley of Jezreel a
m ountain called Tabor, thirteen miles distant
from the fortress of Taanach dominating the
banks of Kishon also the high road passing
in the valley to Damascus from the sea coast
and from Egypt. This is its value on the west
ern side, and on the eastern part it dominated
the roads leading to Bethsan, the fortress of
the natives on the eastern side of the valley,
of great strategic value in ancient and modern
times. This m ountain is celebrated beside its
[ 88 ]
BAJRAK--- HERO VICTORIOUS
great role in the memorable ancient battle.

In modern times Napoleon vanquished the
Turks in decisive battle on the same spot.
There is on the eastern side of M ount
Tabor a level plain and extended meadow
known in modern time as Sahl al Uchma.
This plain is covered by trees on M ount Tabor
and shaded by the mountains which makes
it invisible from the W estern valley.
Deborah in her prophetic message spe
cified to Barak the Divine mandate that he
should assemble and concentrate on M ount
Tabor. I t fitted remarkably into the great
strategic scheme of the chief general for w ith
out cavalry or chariots, w ithout fortification,
and w ith an army inferior in numbers the
only natural ground for his army was to oc
cupy an elevated position overlooking the
entire valley opposite the fortress of the
enemy entrenched in a secure position tern-
porarily secure from encirclement and pro
tected against cavalry and chariots by the
inaccessible nature of the terrain covered with
hedges of thick woods and trees, also by rocks
and cliffs. The superiority of the enemy
was thereby neutralized and he could bide
his time and wait for an opening as favorable
[ 89 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
weather, disagreement among the allies, gen

eral rising of the nation, and relief by a great
army from Transjordanian tribes. H e there
fore w ith lightning speed anticipated the con
centration of the m ighty army of Sisro and
advanced by forced marches into the valley
establishing himself firmly on the mountain.
As a precaution he placed all the auxiliary
column of the allied tribes who were not so
well efficient as his main army of 10,000, con
sisting of tw o tribes specified in the Divine
mandate, but nevertheless utilized as strategi
cal reserve, to cover his flanks and rear, to
prevent encirclement by the enemy, also to
serve as a means of surprise in the counter
attack by himself, so he placed them in hiding
in the plain of Sahl al Uchma, a remarkable
position favorable for various potentialities.
I t seems that when Sisro developed his scheme
of attack as we described, maneuvering on
both wings w ith the intention of surounding
the Jewish army Barak noticed through scouts
the great extension of his lines and how his
centre was weakened by wide enveloping tac
tics on his wings. Sisro judged that Barak
would have to divide his small army to guard
his rear and wings and so be deprived of any
[ 90 ]
BARAK--- HERO VICTORIOUS
means of action in his center, being unaware

of the army Braak marshalled in the valley
of Sahl al Uchma. H e was therefore enabled
to keep his entire army intact and compact
on the top of the wooded mountain and from
the summit watched by keen survey and alert
observation moves of Sisro in the centre.
Grasping a great opportunity which offered
itself, as to invincible Hannibal at Cannae,
he decided to strike a master stroke at the
enemy’s centre, tear it, destroy his chariots
and then strike at his flanks at Megiddo, while
the army of Sahl al Uchma would attack in
their rear and so annihilate them before the
wing of the river Kishon could concentrate
the divided forces separated by the river and
!ally to their aid.
H e further hoped to destroy their morale
by taking the initiative to show th at he is still
master of the situation and considers them
inferiors. There is a strong likelihood that
General Barak was informed by the sages of
Issachar who joined him on his expedition
that a great hail storm and deluge of rain was
moving from east to west and as his army
was situated from east to west, they would
not be exposed to face the onrushing storm,
[ 91 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
whereas the enemy, marching ahead, w ith their

fro n t eastward would be severely exposed.
There was also the contingency that the rain
and storm would flood the valley and cause
the rivulets to overflow and Kishon to rise
and overflow the valley so crippling the
chariots and calvary. General Barak had all
these potentialities in mind when he was urged
by the prophetess who escorted the arm y to
the battlefield and by her presence inspired
and animated the souls of the army w ith fear
less bravery and courage who might otherwise
have been overawed by the view of the in
numerable host as to be tempted to m arch
off and retreat.
"Arise, Barak she exclaimed to the chief
commander of Israel this is the day th at the
Lord of Hosts has decreed to hand over Sisro
in your power.” This celestial message con
firmed the general in all his martial calcula
tions, so he gave the command and the entire
army followed him as he descended the m oun
tain followed and surrounded by all chiefs
and leaders of Israel. There was a distance
of thirteen miles between M ount Tabor and
the fortress of Tannach. As Barak advanced
to the attack Sisro advanced eastward w ith
[ 92 ‫נ‬
BARAK — HERO VICTORIOUS
the entire army leaning on the fortress and

flanked by the Kishon and the small rivulet
in the formation I have described, bent on
enveloping and destroying the Jewish army.
It must have been midday about noon time
as the two armies were moving for mortal
combat, when suddenly as if by Providential
order a tremendous storm burst forth in the
vaUey surging from the East. There were
terrible thunderstorms and Hghtning joined
by destructive hailstorms followed by a down
pour of torrents of rain which swelled the
small rivulets into m ighty rivers w ith such
m ighty currents they overflowed the valley
and changed it into a swamp and quagmire.
The river Kishon so overflowed that it
poured in irresistible waves over the entire val
ley. All this stunned the pagans whose chariots
became stalled in the swamp mud. Horses
were overthrown and archers and slingers
were unable to apply their weapons, and due
to the freezing cold the swordsmen became
numbed and could not wield their swords,
neither lancers their lances in this cataclysm.
Barak and his army having wind and hail and
rain at their back were not hampered by it
and as they were light armed footmen, not
[ 93 ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
encumbered as their army, they moved w ith

speed and celerity and by an irresistible charge
broke the centre, shattered it, and disorgan
ized the entire martial formation of the
enemy. Joined by the reserve army of Sahl
al Uchma they inflicted terrible carnage on
the enemy who ran in all directions abandon
ing everything and running headlong pursued
and slaughtered by Barak and his invincible
army. This victory outranks the greatest de
cisive battles of all times, for the destiny of
mankind was by it decided and religion and
enlightened civilization were preserved on
this memorable field. As a fitting m onu
m ent posterity inherited the immortal epic
of Deborah and General Barak which ranks
jointly w ith the song and epic of the Red
Sea as an imperishable monument of the
eternal people who perpetuated in their strife
the great m otto that evil shall perish and the
lovers of G ‫־‬d and tru th shall shine as mightily
as the sun.
[ 94 ]
G ID EO N —
H ER O OF TREM BLING SPRING
W e now come upon the career of the

most remarkable character in the entire epoch
and era of Judges, a hero who combined in
his person the deliverer, the Judge, the semi
prophet, restorer, of the true faith, redeemer
of monotheism in Israel, champion of his na
tion and its liberty, and at the same time the
preserver of its basic democracy, a unique
individual, simple and uncultured, neverthe
less sublime in his majestic simplicity, sin
cerity, awe inspiring bravery, indomitable
will, and generous modesty and humility in
success. N ot in vain have the sages of Israel
placed him on a level w ith Moses and Samuel
as deliverer, champion, and liberator. As a
general he ranks beside Joshua and Barak, not
of such exalted type, neither of so grand
a calibre as the celebrated geniuses afore
said, who rank among the outstanding masters
of strategy and military genius in the annals
of mankind. Still his feat and achievement,
raising men as if from the realms of death
transforming them as if by magic, suddenly,
[ ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
in a super-natural manner into heroes and

fearless fighters, revived by a spirit of celestial
fire and zeal, w ith an awakening of higher
national consciousness of their pure and
Divine faith, mobilizing and marshalling w ith
superhuman speed an army of 32,000 vol
unteers, by sheer influence of his sublime per
sonality, revived in an incredible manner
the spirit of tactic stratagem and to some
extent the strategy of his grandsire, the great
patriarch, pioneer and greatest exponent of
military art and science in Hebrew history.
A fter the elapse of so many centuries it
is really marvelous, and though not original,
judging by all elements combined, he de
serves a place in the pantheon of the greatest
captains and military geniuses of Israel, and
to some extent of all mankind. It seems
that after the defeat of the Allies, by Barak
in the immortal battle of Tabor, and the weak
ening of the kingdoms of Moab and Amon
by the unsuccessful campaign against Israel,
the Jews, maintained no standing army, and
had no strategical fortress in a successive
chain to guard the passages of the Jordan
on the eastern approach to Palestine. This
provoked the desert tribes of Arabia and the
[ 96 ]
GIDEON ■ ■HERO OF TREMBLING SPRING
Bedouins of the Red Sea on the south eastern

side of the bay of Akaba and the Arabian
desert who were know n by name of the
"Midyanites” also the Amalakite tribes
who contended against the wandering nation
in the desert and bore a grudge for the defeats
infllicted upon them and were also prompted
by an impulse for booty and the cravings
for the fruits of civilized agriculture and in
dustry, to start inroads into Palestine on a large
scale and moving swiftly on quick Arabian
horses, camels and swift dromedaries they de
scended like locusts upon the country, pil-
!aging and despoihng the inhabitants of their
wealth as well as of the fruits of the land.
The people, disorganized and disunited,
having again degraded into idolatry which
quenched martial ardor and destroyed con
sciousness of national unity and led the people
into selfish sensuality and immorality were
so effeminated that they lost all spirit of
manhood and self dignity, and like cowards
escaped into caves in deep gorges of chflfs
and mountains, leaving steady w atch on the
summit of the mountains to inform the peo-
pie of the approach of the enemy. In order
that they should escape they utilized torch-
[ 97 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
lights for this disgraceful practice of coward

ice and base slavery.
There lived in the tow n of Ophra in the
fastness of the mountains of Menassah over
hanging the famous valley of Jezreel a chief
of the clan of Abiezer by the name of Joash,
a very brave loyal patriotic Jew of an inde
pendent dignihed nature who was respected
by the entire population. H e had a very
brave family for it seems th at his sons were
contemplating organizing resistance to the op
pressors b u t were ambushed and they were
slain at a meeting they held on the M ount of
Tabor. From the description of the kings
of Midian it seems th at the sons of Joash
were heroic and imposing in their bearing as
of royal descent. N o t inferior to them was
the hero who was youngest, Gideon. His
name may be construed in tw o ways, either
the fortunate one or the hewer, both signify
ing and presaging a glorious career. H e seems
to have been famous for bravery and courage
as well as for independence of character, and
although not very learned seems to have been
well acquainted w ith the cardinal tenets as
well as a rudim entary conception of the
theology of the creed and of a deep reflective
[ 98 ]
GIDEON HERO OF TREMBLING SPRING
pious disposition. As he was once threshing

wheat in a wine presing cave, having sub
stituted his old father in this hazardous task,
while brooding over the misery of his family
and people a messenger appeared before him
and said, "G -d w ith you mighty hero.” Some
commentators held th at it was a revelation
of a celestial angel, which is a high stage
o f prophecy. Still, others explain that it was
a prophet who in Hebrew is also called
"M alach” which means both messenger or
angel. The hero replied to the greeting of
the angel, " If the Lord is w ith us why has
H e forsaken and abandoned us to our fate?”
Go thou forth and deliver the people in virtue
of your devotion and solicitude you displayed
of their welfare. The hero offered a gift
to the spokesman of the Lord, but he ordered
him to place it on a rock, and by touching
it w ith a wand it was consumed by fire.
The hero consternated by the phenomenon
was reassured by the Divine voice, and con
structed an altar to commemorate the revela
tion, naming it G -d’s peace. I will do well
to enlighten briefly the general reader on
the inner meaning of this revelation.
Modern critics in their customary way
[ 99 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
of disparaging, dissecting, and misconstruing

our history sacred or temporal, distort the
facts of the narrative in order to deprive us
of the credit of producing such sublime types
of a national hero. They disguised their
baseless theories under the cloak of critical
science but in tru th were animated by
antagonism to our people and by a sen
tim ent of atheism and material scepticism,
as I quoted a saying in m y philosophical book
“Revaluation” that H igher criticism is higher
anti-semitism. So here they grasp as a pre
text the change in attributes of the Eternal
in the narrative and build castles in the air
of speculation, that the narrative was com
posed by thre authors, class Y. class E, class
D , representing three different conceptions
of religion. I t is below critique and such ig
norance should not deserve the dignified name
of science. I t is an established rule in Jewish
theology that sacrifice was not prompted by
terror and fear as paganism conceived, there
fore in Leviticus, the attribute designating
mercy, not cosmic manifestation based on
natural law which invoked fear and awe, but
the inner craving of the soul for communion
w ith the supreme source of grace and tru th
[ 100 ]
GIDEON HERO OF TREMBLING SPRING
was the incentive for ofFering immolation,

joined w ith prayer and confession. Another
moral element of Judaism is that no sacrifice
shall be offered to angels or any force, ter
restrial or celestial as well as no prayers, only
to G-d Almighty. In Exodus the injunction
expressly states that any sacrifice offered to
angels or any force of idolatry shall be banned,
so we have here the solution for the change in
attributes.
W hen the angel revealed himself he spoke
in the name of Eternal but when he offered
sacrifice he explained his status and authority
and instructed him in whose name and whither
he should direct his adoration and veneration.
Every honest, pure hearted and refined in
telligent person will appreciate how instead
of their degrading the dignity and purity of
Judaism and the serene divinity and spiritu-
allty of the sacred narrative, it emerges ele
vated and sublime in its exalted conception
of the Eternal and His pure attributes.
Inspired by the revelation and Divine
mandate the hero in his zeal for the true and
pure faith of Israel took ten servants and de
stroyed the altar of Baal the sun idol. W hen
the townspeople assembled and threatened to
[ 101 ‫נ‬
mOM D A N T O M E C roD O
do him violence his father pacified them by

this wise admonition, " If Baal possesses power
let him fight his own battles.” In order
to verify and convince himself of his Divine
commission the hero requested a sign as a
token that he was not laboring under a hal
lucination of self illusion by auto suggestion.
A great thinker has well said that the Hebrew
craves for a sign whereas the Greek looks for
reason for argument. The sign of the fleece’s
remaining dry while all around it was damp
and the reverse, its dampness in the moisture
of dew while the atmosphere all around was
dry, is pregnant w ith various hints and
references indicative of the character and a
reflection of the inner state of mind of the
hero, cool and composed while all around was
ablaze w ith the unholy fire of pagan ecstasy
and fascination, dry and self reliant while the
environment was damp w ith fear and in
timidation, as John Brown exclaimed, *T keep
m y divine fire aflame being engulfed in an
A rctic Ocean of cold apathy and indifference
around me.”
Some Hebrew commentators think that
the sign represented the supremacy o f in
dividual genius and the high souled champion
[ 102 ]
GIDEON--- HERO OF TREMBLING SPRING
over the degraded environment, demonstrat

ing that the dew of revival of freedom eman
ates from the exalted character of the high
souled patriot even in adverse circumstances
of slavery and degeneration.
W e now reach the pure military stage
of the career of our hero. The oppressors
it seems, scented a commotion of an upheaval
and fomenting insurrection among the down
trodden people, so in order to prevent mobili
zation and concentration they invaded the
country by crossing w ith an immense host
of 150,000 cavalry assembled all through
Arabia and the deserts of Syria and Mesa-
potamia under tw o overlords, great kings and
two great generals. Grave and Zev, Raven and
W olf. They selected for a rendezvous the
yalley of Jezreel. Their host was as nu
merous as the sand by the ocean relates
the sacred historian, w ith countless horses,
camels, mules and swift dromedaries. Unlike
Sisro they pitched tents and established en
campments between Gilboa the famous m oun
tain immortalized by David in the sublime
elegy on Saul and Jonathan, and the hill of
little Hermon. The hero, being reassured in
his Divine mission and call and vocation em-
[ 103 ]
barked on his grand enterprise supported by

no organized body or any governmental ma
chinery only by unbounded faith, self re
liance and the priceless inherent traits of his
noble lofty character, indomitable resolution,
immovable moderation, circumspection, and
unbounded nobility of soul and magnanimity
of heart. His polluted but devoted clan of
Abiezer instinctively joined him as well as the
entire tribe of Menassah as well as the old
reliable heroes of M ount Tabor, Zebulun
and Naphtaly. H e pitched his camp on the
slope of M ount Gilboa by the spring of Jezreel
surnamed the trembling spring denoting hesi
tation and the fear of his army. W e said
at the beginning that our hero took for his
model the strategy and tactics of the first
Jewish General Abraham and we shall see
gradually how this plan of battle worked, but
since his army was collected indiscriminately
and many paganistic and degraded godless
elements were joined to it which prevented
the campaign from assuming the character
of true national and spiritual emancipation
and revival, he was instructed by Divine
command to purge and eliminate all the un
desirable elements and rely on the little select
[ 104 ‫נ‬
GIDEON--- HERO OF TREMBLING SPRING
group, as the small exalted high souled army

of the patriarch. Nevertheless, the appear
ance of an army in external numbers of
nearly 40,000 warriors restrained the host
of pagans and induced them to act w ith pre
caution and checked them from taking the
initiative in advancing and storming his camp
on the mountain. While the armies were
wavering and the formations were being
shifted this gave him the opportunity for ex
ecuting his master scheme of strategy based
on the stratagem of surprise, an unexpected
night attack w ith an incredibly small force
scouts, and in a unique manner. The Divine
voice urged him to reconnoiter personally
the camp of the enemy, so he w ent in the
tranquil silence of the night escorted by his
trusted page, unmolested by the sentinels who
may have mistaken him for one of the chiefs
going for inspection.
H e overheard a tale in a ten t by a soldier
how he dreamt that a loaf o f barley corn
m oved through the cam p and overthrew the
royal tent in the m idst o f the camp. V erily,
this signifies the sword o f Gideon the son o f
Joash the m igh ty hero o f Israel. This augur
and token o f victory, by interpretation o f
[ loj ]
dreams considered in the O rient as a m inor

aspect o f prophecy coincident w ith the fa ct
that it was Passover Eve rem iniscent o f de
livery and a reminder o f the ancient glory o f
Israel, inspired the hero w ith great self-reli
ance and supreme confidence. H e accord
ingly resolved to im itate the tactics o f his
grand sire the great Patriarch and first gen
eral o f the H ebrews, Abraham, and decided
not to w ait for daylight w hen he w ould be
outnum bered 100 to 1 being deprived o f a
chance to utilize his great arm y due to D ivine
prohibition. He th ought it best to avail
him self of the opportunity o f the tern-
porary security of his position pitched
on a lo fty m oim tain by the trem bling
spring, for the im m ensity o f his arm y im
pressed the enem y so that they hesitated to
attack him im m ediately on their arrival for
they could n ot surround him easily, neither
could they advance w ith their cavalry on
the m ountain unless they should dism ount
and so lose their superiority, for they were
w ell aware o f the position and m igh t o f Jew
ish infantry w hen intrenched on an elevated
position and ably led, for then they are in
vincible. This w ill explain to us the cause o f
[ 106 ‫נ‬
GIDEON ■ HERO OF TREMBLING SPRING
the passive conduct of the enemy and we will

understand the deep wisdom of the Divine
order that he should not employ the bulk of
his army in the battle, for to descend into
the valley against the immense host of 150,000
fierce cavalry required a higher type and dif
ferent caliber than a pusillanimous mob of
half bred semi-idolators who assembled under
his banner. Still they were sufl&cient for a
display to keep the enemy jin check, and for
the great master stroke of genius just the
little brave band of heroes were amply suf
ficient.
H e accordingly returned quietly to his
fortified hill and mobilized silently his select
band of 300, giving them jars and torches
hidden inside w ith horns, and descended in the
mist of the camp at midnight after the
changing of the second w atch when sentinels
are not so vigilant and alert, and diligence
is relaxed. Taking into consideration the fact
that the barbarian army was an heterogeneous
amalgamation of various races and nations
with no unified command and no uniform ity
of discipline program or military conduct,
neither were they acquainted w ith the lang
uage customs and general composition of each
[ 107 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
contingent tribe or division which constituted

the army, nor did they surmise the situation
of the army of Israel, for only general Gideon
was know n among them, when they were
awakened by the blowing of hundreds of
horns which certainly is a token of defiance
and challenge which only a m ighty attacking
army could afford to display, whereas a small
force should hide its presence, and also the
sudden flaring up of blazing light of hundreds
of torches from various directions radiating
in the sky w ith a pillar of flamming light and
crackling voices, it was no wonder, that the
entire host was overwhelmed by fear and terri
fied into consternation for they surely tliought
that the entire army of Israel descended
into the valley to attack them and certainly
had overpowered the outposts and defeated
parts of the army if it succeeded breaking into
the center of the camp, and general panic re
suited. All m ilitary order and system vanished
and they were like a terrified mob panic
stricken and looking for escape, so a terrible
carnage and slaughter resulted w ith thousands
trampled down by their own men and they
scattered in all directions, leaving the camp
w ith innumerable booty. A small arm y o f a
[ 108 ]
GTOEON--- HERO OF TREMBLING SPRING
score thousand between 15 and 20,000 with

two kings succeeded reaching the mountains
and escaping over the Jordan. Many were
overtaken while fording the Jordan and slain;
the two princes Raven and W olf among
them were pursued and captured by Gideon
who vowed that he wotild have paroled them
had they not slain his brethren at M ount
Tabor. So was finished the glorious campaign
of the last great hero of the immortal trio,
Joshua, Barak, and Gideon.
The crow n was offered to the hero, but
he refused as did Abraham at the valley o f
the kings. A nobler hero never adorned the
annals o f human history, a true prototype
o f C incinatus and W ashington, a perpetual
star o f the light o f freedom , true patriotism,
self reliance, and the unextinguishable noble
fire o f freedom and dignified in the defence
and national loyalty to his people, to be cher
ished as an example and eternal fountain o f
encouragem ent in Israel and all liberty
loving people.
[ 109 ]
SAM UEL — P R O P H E T E M A N C IP A T O R
T he term ination o f the era o f Judges

brought forth a unique character w ho reflects
in his versatile spirit the highest moral traits
and aspirations o f the nation. B y his re
markable genius he revived the dorm ant soul
o f Israel. H e stimulated the youth o f Israel
to a deeper consciousness o f the national spirit
and initiated them into closer com m union
w ith D ivin e truths and precepts. It is true
that the external situation o f the people ex
erted great influence in the spiritual revival,
still he directed the turbulent sentim ent o f
the people into a pure and noble course, and
diverted them from erring in debased super
stition and degraded paganism. In order to
appreciate his true significance let us look
back in retrospect upon the career o f the
people. Since the great hero and deliverer
Gideon, the greatest hero w ho appeared on the
arena o f the people’s history was Jephtah.
H e delivered part o f the nation from
slavery and displayed great qualities o f re
markable generalship w hich raised and ele
vated him from a plain chief o f freebooters
[ lift ]
SAMUEL--- PROPHET EMANCIPATOR
to the high pedestal o f a great general, and

by his negotiations w ith the king o f A m m on
and subsequent victory he revealed unex
pected education in the history o f his people,
unusual tact and statesmanship, also profound
generalship by his m asterly m ove against the
enem y, outflanking him and cu ttin g off his
com m unications w ith the home bases, also
his sw ift victory against the revolting tribe
in the civil war. Still he was rude and unen
lightened in the higher spheres o f Jewish faith
and ethical culture, notw ithstanding the
fervent impulse of faith w hich impelled
him in his vulgar and tragical vow , and rightly
do our sages blame the chiefs of the theocracy
for neglecting the religious education o f Israel
and allow ing even such people as represented
by the noble national hero to live in ignorance
and m isinterpretation o f the higher and nobler
verities and truths of our pure D ivine
faith. Such a hero emerged like a meteor
and disappeared w ith ou t a trace o f abiding
impression and influence, neither had the
unique knight and hero Samson le ft any im
print on the national spirit for they remained
slavish and degenerated as before. The Judge
and H igh Priest Ely, possesses some redeeming
[ ‫ ״‬1]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
benevolent featvires o f virtues and m erit, but

his influence was nil even in his ow n circle
and household as the career o f his corrupt
sons proved. T hen a new enem y appeared
in the person o f the Philistines, Greeks w ho
emigrated from the isle o f Crete and Cyprus
and established a confederacy o f small k in g
doms on the pattern o f the Greek p etty states.
These people seem to have attained an ad
vanced state o f civilization superior to the
natives o f Palestines. T hey also reached an ad
vanced stage o f political freedom and by
superior weapons and m ilitary organization
they surpassed the H ebrews and threatened to
snatch from them supremacy over the entire
land. This struggle continued for centuries,
and long after the Jews vanquished them it
turned out that th ey were heralds o f the ad
ven t o f their co-nationals the Greeks w ho en
slaved the Jewish people during the second
Tem ple and against w hom Judas Maccabeus
waged his historic war.
T he clim ax o f the first period o f conflict
came, betw een the H ebrews and Philistines for
suprem acy, w hen the theocracy attem pted to
revive the broken spirit o f the nation and
awaken its martial strain by bringing in cam p
[ 112 ‫נ‬
SAMUEL — PROPHET EMANCIPATOR
the sacred A rk o f the Covenant, from its

sanctuary in Shiloh to rouse the soul o f the
tim id and decayed national army. Alas, this
tragedy is o f a deep and perpetual nature.
T he covenant is m igh ty and invincible if en
graved on the hearts and souls o f the people,
if the abiding truths it contained are trans
lated and realized in actual experience o f life,
but o f w hat avail could it be if a debased and
degraded race w hich desecrates all the sacred
teachings o f the law should look for salva
tion and delivery at the appearance o f in
animate stone and w ood, the token o f a vital
burning truth w hich should burn on the
heart’s sacred altar. N o wonder that at the
decisive battle o f A pheck at the western en
trance o f the fam ous pass o f Beth H oran,
Israel was utterly defeated, the leader o f the
theocracy slain, and the A rk o f the Covenant
taken. This calam ity was a blessing in dis
guise as w e shall see. The vanishing regime
o f the theocracy paved the road for the estab
lishment o f a regime o f a purer and nobler
type. Samuel the apprentice became the Judge
and prophet, the Covenant was regrafted not
in stone and w ood, but in the revived en
lightened and purified conscience of the peo-
[ n3 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
pie, and it came to pass that w hen the enem y

appeared w ith a great army on the memorable
field o f A pheck the spot o f hum iliation turned
into a field o f elevation where a great tri
um ph was gained for Jewish arms and the
victorious prophets commemorated the vie-
tory by a m onum ent raised w ith the inscrip
tion, Eben H aezer, stone o f rescue and de
livery. The Philistines were broken for a
long period and dared not lif t their hand.
Samuel as a true patriot devoted to the
w elfare o f his nation recognized that a great
transform ation took place in the inner politi
cal and social structure o f the nation as well
as the external environm ent w hich had
changed immensely. O riginally a nomadic
people not attached to the soil, composed of
pastoral tribes and wandering shepherds, the
m ilitary spirit was aflame in the heart of the
people and a proud national consciousness
stirred them to great feats o f heroism; the
tremendous task o f conquest inspired them to
great martial deeds and induced them to sub
m it to a stable command and a unified lead
ership. A lthough they became lax and in
dolent, and fell into a state o f inertia, still
their martial ardor was not crushed, neither
[ 114 ]
SAMUEL PROPHET EMANCIPATOR
their brave spirit broken whatsoever. W hen

ever a great em ergency arose a great leader
always found a dormant spirit w aiting to be
aroused and brave fighters flocked wherever
the banner unfurled for national strife,
whereas after the great period of transition
nomadic life was substituted by agriculture
and a settled form o f society extinguished
martial ardor as the Patriarch Jacob inscribed
in his im m ortal song.
"H e beheld that rest is good and rural
life sweet, he bended his shoulder to suffer
oppression and became a slave paying tribute.”
Here w e have the key to the degraded
state o f the people and the base slavery they
endured gladly; the structure o f the society
changed and the chiefs o f the tribes and clans
w ho always kindled a fighting spirit and na
tional pride in the heart o f the masses gave
w ay and place to great selfish land holders
and landlords concerned only w ith retaining
private property and the bond between them
and the laborers was strange, rather econom ic
antagonism than fraternity. The antagonist
against w hom the people had to contend, as
I remarked in the com m encem ent o f the lec
ture was of an entirely different nature. T hen,
[ 115 ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
the natives, after repeated defeats and de

struction o f their great armies on various
battlefields, in their first psychological .reac
tion relinquished all claims to supremacy in the
m ilitary sense, whereas the Greeks w ho came
from the Aegean Islands o f Crete and Cyprus
were a m ost warlike race o f fighters and like
all Greeks had a great reputation in E gypt
and Asia; from ancient times they came as
conquerors w ho considered themselves superior
not only o f the inhabitants o f Palestine but
even above the m ighty empire o f E gypt and
not only in chariots and heavy cavalry did
they surpass the H ebrews, equipm ents w hich
due to religious injunctions our people were
prohibited from applying, but even their
heavy infantry was equipped w ith terrible
weapons o f offense and defense. Picture their
terrible spears, javelins and m ighty bronze
and copper helmets, impenetrable iron and
steel shields, terrible broadswords w ith their
irresistible phalaxes o f m ighty archers and
slingers w ho excelled not only the natives but
even the H ebrews archery by the m ighty bows
and terrible markmanship. N o t only were
they invincible on the plains and valleys where
they could maneuver easily w ith their chariots
[ ‫ ״‬6 ]
and cavalry but even on mountains they were

formidable by the m ighty form ation o f thick
phalanxes w hich advanced in m igh ty mass
waves covered by protective armor like m ov
ing fortresses and naturally the light Jewish
infantry was no m atch for them.
This w ill enlighten us to understand how
they crushed the H ebrew nation bringing
them dow n almost to a state of slavery and
there was real danger they should establish a
permanent hegem ony over the entire land and
subject the Hebrews to a state of inferior
race of slaves and vassals. W e w ill recount
the gradual sequence of events. From their
fortified settlem ents on the sea in the low
fertile plain w hich skirts the m ountains of
Judah on the w est they advanced and pressed
northward into the plain of Sharon and be
yond it into the plain of Israelon or Jezreel
to the point where it joins the plain of Sharon
by the upland valley of Datham . H ere they
encountered the united army of Israel con
sisting chiefly of the tribes o f Ephraim and
Benjamin and contingents from southern
tribes. The Jewish army was arrayed by
A pheck, the western pass of Beth Haran. D e
feated in the first skirmish the H ebrew gen-
[ 117 ]
FROM DAN TO MECmDO
erals invited the H igh Priest to dispatch the

H o ly A rk o f the Covenant from the Tem ple
w ith his sons to encourage the army. As I
said the external stim ulation was not sufficient
to overcom e the immense superiority o f the
enem y and after a fu tile effort by the aroused
Jewish army it was defeated at the cost o f
myriads o f brave patriots by the m ighty Phil
istines w ho counted thousands of chariots
w ith an immense concentration o f cavalry
and a tremendous host o f Infantry. In the
debacle, the A rk was captured by the enemy.
This terrible calam ity sealed the fate o f the
house of Eli, doomed the theocracy and gave
im petus to the m ovem ent for a monarchy.
T he calam ity w hich befell the nation
stirred the utm ost depths o f the national soul
and as in the case w ith almost all people espe-
d a lly a genuinely religious people like the
Jews a great religious revival took place.
Sam uel as a true prophet and spiritual guide
directed this m ovem ent into pure channels
and established schools o f prophecy to instruct
the youth o f Israel in the higher ethical and
moral concepts o f the faith and cultivated
am ong them pure enthusiasm w ithout ecstacy,
m usical appreciation and com m union w ith
[ 118 ]
SAMUEL ■PROPHET EMANCIPATOR
the D ivine spheres by means o f souls and this

served as a means o f creating a power in Israel
to restrain corrupt influences from the priest
hood or arbitrary tyranny o f the m onarchy.
W e see how Samuel preached the basic truth
of obedience and moral ethical com pliance
being superior to external sacrifice w hich in
directly implies the supremacy of moral law
over ceremonial.
The danger w hich threatened the nation
was o f such a serious nature that tem porary
relief could not relieve the apprehension o f
the nation for unlike the enem y o f form er
ages w ho were ephemeral and transient and a
victory by an individual hero was sufficient
to expel and obliterate the source o f danger,
the new enem y was of such formidable nature
and his m ilitary and political ascendancy o f
such potent caliber and such overawing na
ture that they jeopardized the very existence
o f the nation as an independent free people
and exposed them to a fate o f literal slavery
on their ow n land. The only remedy to cou n t
eract such a grave potentiality was to unite
the entire nation in a sofid state w ith a per
m anent governm ent binding under its au
thority and sway all the tribes on the eastern
[ 119 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
and western Jordan, north and south. Such

a governm ent was to be maintained by an
organized standing army o f trained soldiers
ever ready for action.
T he tribe o f Benjamin was the last refuge
on the western side o f the Jordan w hich re
tained some vestige o f independence, except
the tribes on the eastern side o f the Jorda!‫־‬
There was a hero among them by the name of
Saul. A ccording to a ancient tradition trans
m itted in legendary lore and deposited in T al
m udic sources this hero had as a young boy
fou ght in the contingent o f Benjamin at the
battle o f Apheck. W hen the A rk was cap
tured he snatched the tablets from the giant
Philistines and ran in a single day 120 miles
to carry tiding to the H igh Priest. This hero
was attached to the new order, o f pious dis
position, acquainted w ith the m ovem ent o f the
prophetic order and afl&liated w ith its spirit.
This hero was destined to initiate, by Provi
dence, a new era in Israel and com ing in con
tact w ith the prophet be appointed by D ivine
com m and, by him tmoflficially, and be handed
the D ivin e mandate and celestial commission,
but in his m odesty and naive sim plicity the
hero remained retired reticient and aloof until
[ 120 ]
the great em ergency aroused him and he

proved equal to the gigantic task. T he king of
A m m on, Transjordania, a pow erful kingdom
at that tim e, w ith a w ell organized pow erful
army, took advantage o f the weakening o f
the Jewish state and its enslavem ent by the
Philistines, as it is custom ary even in modern
days that if a state is on the verge o f dis
integration old obsolete claims are provoked
in order to participate in its dismemberment,
so that the potentate renewed the pretext and
claims w hich the m igh ty sword o f General
Jephtha, had silenced a century before.
Said king advanced w ith a m igh ty host
and laid siege to the capital of Trans-
Jordania, the fortress o f Javesh Gilead, the
key city o f Eastern Palestine, in order to
m utilate the entire population and maim
them in a manner as to disable them for
m ilitary service to perpetuate the state of
slavery. T he chiefs o f the city wisely played
upon his vanity and arrogance, arguing that
since he intended to inflict a crushing blow
o f hum iliation upon the entire nation his
m otive and goal w ould be more fu lly attained
if messengers be forwarded to the W estern
tribes and if they should fear to come and
[ 121 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
rescue their besieged brethren it would prove

the greatness o f his m ilitary fam e and the
teror invoked by his name.
This argum ent induced the tyrant to
grant their request and he gave them seven
days respite for the sending o f an embassy.
As is usual in such circumstances m ighty little
prospect for delivery and actual aid was
offered. T hey listened to the tale o f horror and
expressed sym pathy but w ould not dare to
expose themselves and involve their security
in a struggle against such an overwhelm ing
foe. Finally the messenger reached Geba,
fortress tow n and key c ity o f Benjamin, an
cestral residence o f Saul. The same result
was enacted. The people hearing w ept and
lamented the fate o f their correligionists and
relatives affiliated w ith their tribe, but they
gave no concrete pledge o f aid. The mes
sengers were in despair for this was their last
hope. Saul pursuing his occupation o f hus
bandry and agriculture returning from the
field w ith his ow n oxen heard the lam entation
o f his tow n folk. Inqiring w hat was the cause
o f the trouble, the hero on being told was
aroused by a m ighty spirit o f indignation over
the fate o f his brethren and by resentment
[ 122 ]
over the cruel brutality o f the enem y and the

cowardice o f the people, and although modest
and humble in private life, the ire o f patriot
ism invoked royal d ign ity in his noble soul.
H e took tw o oxen o f his herd, hewed them
in parts and dispatched them by sw ift mes
sengers all through Israel threatening the same
fate to all w ho failed to follow him in the
sacred expedition. H e told the messengers to
return and inform the chiefs that in a few
days, before sunrise he w ould deliver them,
and he detained some o f the messengers to act
as guides.
His swift determination and indomitable
resolution heartened and inspired the people,
who understood the deep metaphor of the
torn limbs of the oxen symbolizing the split
disunited spirit of the people who only in
unity could find salvation and emancipation.
They assembled in great haste on the banks
of the Jordan a mighty host of 300,000 in
eluding general militia and armed farmers,
police and all able bodied men of the nation.
Saul, faithful to his pledge to deliver them
before sunrise crossed w ith his army at night
and marched the entire host by forced marches
a long distance and at the break of dawn ap-
[ 123 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
proached the fortress. D ivid in g his army in

three separate colum ns he encircled and at
tacked the enem y from various directions,
defeated them overw helm ingly, stormed their
camp, slew their king and dispersed entirely
their hosts, like chaflf, entering the besieged
fortress at sunrise in jubilant trium ph.
This signal trium ph o f Saul endeared him
to the entire nation. A w ave o f enthusiasm
swept the nation and all acclaimed the ap
pearance o f a new deliverer, a cham pion of
ancient caliber. T he prophet utilized the oc
casion for the official inauguration and in
stallation o f the elected king. A general as
sem bly was summoned to G ilgal the ancient
headquarters o f Joshua as a sym bol o f the re
storation o f the power o f Israel in the land
o f their fathers, vindicating his innocent lead
ership and exalting the ideal o f true theocracy
w hich could have been synonym ous w ith true
dem ocracy, exhorting the king and admonish
ing him and the people against the abuse of
despotism on one hand and desecration o f
principles in betraying the creed and spiritual
patrim ony on the other hand.
H e conjured them to remain faith fu l
to the true king o f Israel, and obedient to H is
[ 124 ]
Divine law, which alone could perpetuate

their success and welfare as a free people. The
Philistines aroused by the turn of events and
aware that by establishing a monarchy the re
vival of the national spirit would ensue which
would result in uniting all tribes in a genuine
national consciousness and restore their fight
ing spirit and eventally cause their over
throwing the Phihstines, decided to strike a
stunning blow before the new king succeeded
in organizing a royal army and mobilizing
the resources of the united people. They in
vaded the land w ith an imposing host of
300,000 infantry consisting of the flower of
their five states and auxiliary forces of mer
cenaries from various states and tribes, in
eluding ten of thousands of Jewish conscripts
whom they forcibly conscripted and drafted
or mercenaries they induced to join their army
by promises of reward and assurance that
the independence of Israel is inevitably lost
so that they would benefit their people by
playing a role in the army of the new masters.
T hey concentrated their army at M ich-
mas and establishing camp they advanced in
three directions in a three pronged form o f
attack w ith selected contingents o f com bat
[ 125 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
and shock troops. One pow erful colum n ad

vanced north toward Uprah the key tow n to
the valley and the centre o f the highroads
leading to the valley o f the Jordan. The
central pow erful colum n they moved towards
the passes o f Beth H oran to cu t oflf any avenue
o f escape for Saul to intrench him self in that
impregnable position, maybe they also intend
ed to establish contact w ith their kinsmen
from Jerusalem, fortress o f the Jebushi and
surround the forces of Benjamin should they
attem pt to reinforce and join Saul at Giva.
A third colum n they dispatched towards the
eastern desert o f Jericho and Zebaim ostens
ibly w ith the object to block the army forces
w ho m ay dare to cross the Jordan at Jericho
and m ove to assist Saul. W e m ust admit that
the strategy o f the high command o f the
Philistines was very deep but in Saul they
found their m atch. He was superior in
strategy and tactics, besides the D ivine aid
w hich helped him in a super natural way. W e
shall explain w h y the Philistines resorted to
such far flung flanking m ovem ents. T hey
were afraid to attack Saul in the centre by
a frontal attack for his position in Giva was
impregnable by its dom inant position on in-
r 126 ]
surmountable m ountain and impregnable fo rt

ress on its top, and although his army was
small they were the invincible heroes of Ben
jamin and the entire population was devoted
to the king who would fight to the last ditch.
Chariots and cavalry were useless and infantry
would be exposed to a terrible slaughter if
attem pting to capture by storm. A siege
would enable the nation to m obilize and a
great army m ight arirve from Transjordania
bound in gratitude to the king for the delivery
from N echas and serve his cause w ith zeal and
energy, as later events proved, so they decided
on the policy of encirclem ent. Jonathan,
the indomitable hero that he was did not relish
the stalemate and reckless of the rules of
strategy embarked on a surprise expedition
escorted by his armor bearers and aided by the
token o f the propitious augur o f the challenge
o f the enem y to ascend an inaccessible cliff.
Skillful mountaineer as he was and a fearless
hero he climbed at dawn over a pathless track
and reaching the sum m it of the rock surprised
the unsuspecting post slaying tw en ty at the
first onslaught. The garrison being unpre
pared and composed of heterogeneous ele
m ents m any unreliable, as the Jewish groups
[ 127 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
w ho w ent over to him placing themselves u n

der his com m and, and the superior branches
o f the army being absent, they fell into panic
and fled. Saul, observing their flight from
his observation tower descended and attacked
the main cam p at Michmas. Joined by thou
sands w ho emerged from hiding in caves w ith
an army o f 10,000 he overw helm ingly de
feated the entire army at Michmas, and ignor
ing the eastern and northern columns like the
great general and mastermind o f strategy that
he was, he concentrated his effort on the
western colum n and pressing by forced
marches his victorious army, he overtook them
after a march o f 60 kilometers, and pursued
them to the valley o f A zelon ancient c ity of
glory o f Joshua, blocking their retreat to the
sea coast through Geza gaining a com
plete victory, slaying 60,000 Philistines, and
capturing immense booty. The m ight o f the
Philistines was crushed for a long period and
com plete independence regained for Saul
king over a sovereign, independent nation.
[ 128 ]
SA U L A N D D A V ID —
K IN G S LIBER ATO R S
There is a great controversy among

thinkers on the philosophy o f history. W hat
if any is the exact status and position o f the
genius, the superhuman, in the drama o f hu
m anity called history? Some attribute the
entire credit to the hero, the specific individ
ual; go so far as to say that history is mere
biography. W ith deference to propriety in
a m atter o f so profound an issue I w ould call
this theory not biography but his story, I
mean that the story o f the leader is w hat
counts in their opinion. Others ignore en
tirely the significance o f the individual and
lay stress on various causes, econom ic, biologi
cal, psychological, and religious according to
the tendency o f the mode o f thinking.
The m ost outspoken against hero worship
are T olstoy and Pascal. The first compares
the hero to a pendulum in a sundial w hich
m erely points the m ovem ent but does not
cause it. Pascal uttered the fam ous saying
w hich asked, "If Cleopatra w ould have had
a longer nose w ould the face o f hum an history
[ 129 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
been changed?” Judging in an unbiased spirit

w e have to acknowledge the great im portance
o f m any factors and specifically the element
o f mass psychology as the underlying causes
o f all great historical phenomena. W ithout
a fertile soil prepared by ages o f accum ulated
developm ent no genius could create or pro
duce anything, still w e m ust not eliminate
the influence o f genius com pletely, for al
though he does not create exnihilo, still he
gives direction, im petus, shape and form and
im prints his inner self on achievements at
tained by participation o f countless myriads.
In the ligh t o f this philosophical observation
w e m ay comprehend the developm ent o f the
Jewish history and its transform ation from
a loose democratic federation directed by a
priesthood in the name o f a theocratic con
stitution, into a m igh ty m onarchy w ith a
stable central governm ent, and from a neg
ligible m ihtia ill equipped and ill organized
into a m igh ty standing army o f the highest
efficiency.
W e have already described the career o f
the great hero and King Saul w ho by his great
m ilitary genius delivered the nation from dire
bondage and a w retched state o f slavery, how
[ 130 ]
SAUL AND DAVID--- KINGS LIBERATORS
he saved the Transjordanians by his trium ph

over A m m on, how he vanquished the in
vincible host of the Philistines in a decisive
battle and secured perm anently the liberty of
the H ebrew race. The great hero initiated the
establishment of an organized standing army
and succeeded in uniting and cem enting the
disunited clans and tribes into a com pact na
tion w ith a national consciousness, but alas,
as is always the fate o f pioneers, the great
hero did not realize all his great enterprises
in his life tim e. H e form ed the nucleus and
substratum on w hich a m agnificent edifice
was reared by his successor. T he underlying
cause w hich stim ulated the nation to substi
tute a m onarchy for the old form o f govern
m ent was the conviction that a m onarchy
would weld the tribes more closely together
and create a homogeneous nation, to resist the
encroachm ents o f aggressive neighbors.
Saul at first displayed deep sentim ent in
this direction by rescuing Transjordania but
unfortunately circum stances chilled this gen-
iai current o f all embracing patriotism. The
king was incited by a m elancholy disposition
w hich reacted from his environm ent of pub-
lie display, for actually a hero o f this type
[ 131 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
is more fitted for the battlefield in a grave

emergency, rather than statesmanship where
caution, moderation, prudence and tact have
more weight and sigificance than indomit
able resolution and superb individualistic self
reliance. This may be the key to his inability
to harmonize w ith the prophet on various oc
casions, and in religious matters, although he
was a most pious man w ith sparks of saintli
ness, his independent individualistic inclina
tions brought him in conflict w ith popular
traditions and aggravated the chasm of aliena
tion between him and the people and in his
native simplicity and iimocence he acted as
chief of a small clan not as monarch of a
m ighty nation.
It is remarkable how the noble prohpet
gave this estimation of the hero in a single
sentence. "Thou mayst be insignificant in
thy own valuation, verily thou art chief ex
ecutive of a united Israel.” This is the cri
terion we shall apply to judge all his actions,
relations, and attitudes in his career and it
will vindicate him to a large extent.
Providence ordained in advance of the
decline of the star of Saul a hero who was
of an entirely different pattern, reared in na-
[ 132 ]
SAUL AND DAVID■ KINGS LIBERATORS
tural simplicity as a shepherd in intimate re

lation w ith nature, from childhood gifted
with an innate poetical spirit of sublime
beauty, deep and inspired sentiments, a lofty
soul animated by Divine incentive and crav
ing of the purest and highest susceptibility
approaching in their elevation almost pro
phetic magnitude.
Besides these remarkable qualities, spiritu
ally he was endowed with unusual bravery
and superb courage as well as sterling facul
ties of mental acuteness, keen perception, deep
apprehension, penetrating insight into human
nature, prudent farsightedness, refined tact,
sociality and civility, that fascinated and cap
tivated everybody who came in contact with
him. Originally he came as a musician to allay
by his muscial strain and soothing melody
the sad melancholia of the sick king who was
brooding over the split with the prophet to
whom he was inwardly attached with a deep
undying friendship, and the alienation caused
him unconsolable grief and anguish. The
young innocent naive poet and hero was un
aware of the internal tragedy of the king and
served him loyally and faithfully as well as
[ 133 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
his son Jonathan to whom he became attached

in ties of perpetual friendship.
It is unfortunate that this trio who could
have established an invincible Hebrew state
of permanent abiding duration were separated
by evil influences and the noble hero was com
pelled to wander as an outlaw in constant
danger and associate w ith the scum of society
and w ith pagans in whose environment he
felt solitary isolation and the king was de
prived of his inestimable services, until under•
mined by mental and spiritual decline the
great noble pious hero fell together w ith his
immortal son Prince Jonathan at the memor
able battle of Gilboah, an event immortalized
by David in his imperishable Immortal elegy.
David was elected king over the tribe
of Judah and established his capital at H ebron
the burial place of the Patriarchs. It seems
that the Philistines acquiesced in his election
looking upon him as an ally and vassal.
They intended to use him as a puppet
king in order to obstruct the restoration of
a united Hebrew state and monarchy. They
however underestimated the great heroic qual
ity of David and the vitality of the Hebrew
people who, once aroused and conscious of
[ 134 ]
their strength declined to be kept in an abject

state of slavery anymore. Abner, the great
est general of the nation and mainstay of
the house of Saul decided to unite the nation
and offered David as son-in-law of the slain
king to restore the united nation under his
leadership. Though he was treacherously
slain by the fierce warrior Joab, nephew of
David, under the pretext of revenge for the
death of a brother but really out of envy, his
effort was nevertheless not in vain and David
was elected king over the entire nation.
He initiated his reign by the bold master
stroke of besieging and capturing the im
pregnable fortress of Jerusalem, the last
mighty stronghold in Palestine held by the
natives. He established his capital in it, and
situated in a strategical position it gave him
command of the north and south and placed
him in a favorable position to challenge and
defy the Philistines. Supported by the im
pregnable fortress he was more than a match
for them. The events that followed proved
the sagacity of David. Immediately as the
Philistines heard about the elevation of David
to the crown of a united Israel they invaded
the country w ith an immense host and pitched
[ 135 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGTODO
camp in the valley of the giants intending

to encircle and besiege David in his new capi
tal. Encouraged by an oracle David leaving
the main body of his army in the fortress
soared like a swift eagle w ith his trained and
experienced army and by quick skillful m an
euver he moved around their flanks and
struck their rear endangering their line of
communication. H e gained a great victory
and expelled the enemy definitely from his
boundaries. Judging by his generous and lib
eral conduct towards the kings of the sea coast
and taking into consideration his affiliation
from youth w ith the neighboring lands, some
of whom gave him shelter and hospitality
and in view of his tender and merciful dis
position we will understand that David, the
great hero and peerless general that he was,
was not looking for wars of conquest, and
military glory was not his ambition. Medi
tation, reflection, and poetical outpouring
of his noble soul was his supreme vocation
in life. Very pertinently has one commen
tator said, when he exclaimed: "W ould that
I could drink water from the well of Beth
Lechem,” the rude soldiers took it vulgarly
whereas his references was spiritual not physi-
[ 136 ]
cal. He expressed his longing and craving

for the idyllic stage of his simplicity and the
naivete of his early youth before he engaged
reluctantly in the harsh affairs of political
military life, and aptly did the noble hero pic
ture his inner soul in the sweet psalm where
he says, "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor
my eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in
great matters, or in things too high for me,
surely I have behaved and quitted myself as
a child that is weaned of his mother, my soul
even, is as a weaned child.
The Sages of Israel very aptly remark
on the passage "My heart was not arrogant
at my anointment by Samuel, nor were my
eyes lifted proudly when I conquered Goliath”
that we may surmise that such a sublime char
acter was not searching for vain glory,
neither was he animated by race hatred or re
ligious bigotry, for if we penetrated deeply
into that exalted character he was a cosmo
politan type w ith a versatile spirit and all
embracing mind and soul, in contrast to Saul
who was a characteristic Hebrew type
solitary, isolated, magnanimous in the treat
ment of foreign people as demonstrated in his
lenient conduct towards the arch enemies of
[ 137 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
Israel, the Amakelites. Still he considered

pagans inferior people, judging by his attitude
towards the Philistines, whereas David was
cosmopolitan and intimately related with
various nations and their leaders.
This will enlighten our understanding of
why Saul is unknow n in non-Jewish literature
whereas David is mentioned by Nicolaus of
Damascus and the Greek historian Apdllan-
aris, and the Bible well relates his great fame
among gentile people. There is an ancient
Hebrew tradition that David waged 13 major
campaigns while the record of Israel trans
m itted orally to posterity gives 5 major battles
besides the war of rebellion. It is remarkable
how the hum anity and merciful disposition
of the Jewish national character is reflected
in their national military annals. As we have
explained in the essay on Abraham, the motto
of Abraham was not to wage an aggressive
w ar; not to glorify power for its own sake
b ut only as a means for the redress of wrong,
and the succor and emancipation of the op
pressed shall military skill be applied and
esteemed. This sacred tradition remained a
perpetual guide in the life of Israel. While
all the great military feats of the democratic
[ 138 ]
SAUL AND DAVID — KINGS LIBERATORS
Judges who acted only as deliverers from ty

rants and despots were commemorated vividly
by posterity, and every detail was related
vividly and enthusiastically, it was not the
vindictive sentiment of revenge which ani
mated the heart of the people and its literary
spokesmen. Just the opposite, for we find
a remarkable tale in religious Jewish literature
of how the Supreme Being rebuked the angelic
chorus who intended to chant in the celestial
symphony while the host of Egypt was strug
gling in agony at the Red Sea. "M y creation
is perishing and ye wish to sing.” This noble
sentiment is an abiding factor in the national
genius of Israel. W hen Jewish history relates
of great battles and recounts each move it is
the moral and ethical element it praises it is
the trium ph of mind over m atter, spirit over
flesh, human genius, nobility, and skill over
metal weapons and the brute force of superior
numbers. They celebrate the victory of right
over might, intelligence over ignorance, de
mocracy and liberty over despotism and
tyranny.
In this light we will appreciate the
nobility and beauty of Jewish military history
and the sublime magnificence of its epic. The
[ 139 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
campaign of David, while fought on wider

fields than previous national campaigns, still
differed in their character highly from them,
and the people were not thrilled so deeply
by the victories because they lacked the ele
ments we have described, therefore only the
general effect and accomplishments are re
corded, not the strategic moves in detail which
were left for professional historians and were
not preserved in the eternal treasure of the
nation’s history. In m y introduction, Saul
was put as inferior to David as a strategist
and military genius. We feel morally bound
to modify this estimation, for considering the
degraded condition of the people and the help
less situation Saul found and in view of the
great overwhelming preponderance of the
arch enemies of Israel, the Philistines, and after
considering in deep meditation the great
achievements of Saul, I revoke my previous
judgm ent and conscientiously proclaim Saul
the greater military genius both in strategy
and tactics. Nevertheless, supplementing
David’s great statesmanship and remarkable
power of organization, we may fairly con
cede him equal rank w ith Saul, as two out
standing military geniuses and generals of the
[ 140 ]
SAUL AND DAVID KINGS LIBERATORS
highest efl&ciency and consummate skill. The

central campaign of David besides the strug
gle against the Philistines revolves about his
war w ith the Ammonites. H e had sent them
an embassy of condolence over the death of
his friend their king, but they, unaccustomed
to civilized intercourse among nations abused
his ambassadors and no alternative was left
according to the ancient code of national
honor but war.
David declared war and despatched an
expedition under Joab his chief general who
crossed the Jordan, laid siege to Rabbath their
capital, a very strong fortress. The Ammon
ites being immensely rich and cunning felt
they were no match for Israel. Remember
ing well the lesson of Saul and Jephtah they
turned for aid to the kings of Syria and hired
a m ighty mercenary army mobilized by vari
ous kings and chiefs between O ranto Lebanon
and the Jordan. This combined mercenary
arm y advanced into Transjordania, besieged
Medba, a fortified city, and they also moved
further leaving a covering screen at the be
sieged fortress and appeared before Rabbath
Ammon the capital besieged by the main Jew
ish army under Joab. Their plan consisted
[ HI ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
in diverting Jewish attention by the siege of

Medbah and surprise the main army by a
rear attack, so as to squeeze it and overwhelm
them by a double attack, fro n t and rear. This
move was cleverly planned but Joab, fierce
and relentless as he was, traits that had a re
deeming feature in that the prime cause and
motive of his actions were stimulated by in
flexible love and loyalty to his illustrious uncle
whom he adored and was willing to sacrifice
for him not only life but honor and reputation
as well, was also animated by an unim
peachable love for his country and people,
and besides these moral traits he was a re-
!markable general, swift as an eagle, great
fighter and m ighty warrior and masterly
strategist, as we learn from various campaigns,
grasped the critical situation, moved swiftly
and determinedly. H e divided his forces into
two separate armies. The major forces he
took for himself, and the minor portion w ith
all the siege implements and artillery he left
under the command of his younger brother,
the moderate, refined and noble hero Avishai,
whom he encouraged by a brief speech to for
tify his heart w ith courage and determination
for the sake of his nation and the holy land
[ 142 ]
SAUl, AND DAVID--- KINGS LIBERATORS
of G-d who is the true king over Israel. He

also arranged that if one of them is sorely
pressed the other shall come to his aid w ith
out exposing himself to encirclement. This
plan of battle was very sharp and skillful, for
the combined Syrian forces were stronger
than the Ammonites whose main strength con
sisted in the might of their fortress, whereas
on the open field they would be no match
even for the small Jewish army, while the
Syrian army consisted of an immense concen
tration of cavalry, archers, and chariots strong
even on an open field of battle. Joab took
the initiative and attacked them unexpectedly.
Unprepared for single combat, for they ex
pected to take them in the rear by surprise,
and unable to resist the terrible charge of the
valiant Jewish army they broke and dispersed
in panic, leaving booty and a big portion of
the army in the retreat and unrelenting p u r
suit, being panic stricken and overcome by
fear and terror. The Ammonites learning of
their defeat retreated in dismay into their
capital and were besieged by Avishai and his
army. The defeated kings enraged by de
feat and provoked and instigated by emis
saries from the king of Ammon who lavishly
[ 143 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
distributed immense bribes among all the

kings and chiefs of Mesopotamia and chiefs of
the tribes across the Euphrates, organized a
great league and confederacy including all
armed forces of Syria, Mesapotamia, Arabia,
and the Philistines. N o doubt the ancient
enemy of Israel, Egypt, also aided this league.
They assembled a tremendous host supported
by a vast array of chariots and cavalry, be
sides uncountable numbers of infantry,
100,000 being furnished by the king of Meso
potamia alone, besides all the other confed
erates including the mighty king of Damascus.
David, learning of the great danger and threat,
mobilized all forces of Israel and marched
into Syria and Mesopotamia to meet them be
fore they invaded Palestine. His army was
great, including the veteran army of Joab,
but following strictly the religious injunction
he applied no cavalry and no chariots, merely
archers, slingers, lancers, and swordsmen, his
entire army consisting of infantry.
The decisive engagement was fought at
Chalem, a fortress by the Euphrates, some say
by the Orantes. David gained a glorious vie-
tory, destroying and overwhelmingly defeat
ing the main forces of the enemy. He
[ 144 ]
SAUL AND DAVID — KINGS LIBERATORS
captured the main portion of the war chariots

which he destroyed, and slew the horses of
the cavalry and destroyed their idols and
images, taking tens of thousands of prison
ers and entered Damascus in trium ph taking
the gold shields and various gems and precious
stones. By this master stroke he became the
lord of Syria and Mesopotamia and the fore
most monarch of W estern Asia. A fter this
Rabbath capitulated and all her immense
wealth was confiscated. While this took place,
the Idumeans instigated by Egypt made in
cursions in Southern Palestine w ith a big army.
They were defeated in the valley of the Dead
Sea by Avishai and their land and capital
Petrah were captured and they became vas
sals of Israel. I feel morally bound to refer
here to a remarkable statement in the litera
ture of the Sages of Israel. They relate that
David hesitated to wage war against the kings
of Mesopotamia because of the ancient treaty
of the Patriarch Jacob w ith the chiefs of that
land, pledging their descendants should not
wage war and live in peace. The learned
scholars of the law reassured him by explana
tion that by violating the treaty and com
mencing hostilities the treaty was not binding
[ 145 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
2 ny more on Israel either. This statement

proves the high morale of Israel in ancient
times, and the integrity of the sages of our
people who place honesty and loyalty above
any hum an advantages and considerations.
[ 146 ]
DECLINE A N D FALL
OF T H E JEW ISH M ON A R C H Y
The unique history of the rise and fall

of the Jewish monarchy is an imusual phe
nomenon in the history of mankind, which
deserves philosophical analysis and explana
tion. Many times has it occurred that great
conquerors have appeared, establishing em
pires and kingdoms which have disappeared
together w ith them, yet the Hebrew mon
archy was not the creation of an individual,
but was the result of consummate development
and the gradual accumulation of various fac
tors discussed in m y previous lectures. I have
come to the conclusion, after deep reflection,
that the Hebrew monarchy was alien to the
Jewish spirit which loves simplicity and de
mocracy, abhores being oppressed, and still
more hates and despises to oppress others.
The real cause of the union of the vari
ous tribes into a central government was the
pressure of warlike neighborly nations and
as soon as this pressure was removed and the
nation felt a certain measure of security the
ties were weakened and the natural inclina-
[ 147 :
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
tion of each tribe to independence was awak

ened. The tragedy of this consisted in the
narrow-mindedness of the people who had a
limited vision of the political horizon around
them and failed to perceive the fomenting of
the birth of the great and mighty empires on
the continent of W estern Asia. Unlike the
Philistines, these enemies had the resources of
unbounded wealth and manpower as well as
natural resources at their command. The an
cient enemy Egypt, crippled for many cen
turies by internal dissent and foreign invasion
and the calamity of the Jewish exodus and
the disaster at the Red Sea, gradually recov
ered and was menacingly preparing expedi
tions into Asia, and their power and influence
spread over foreign lands especially since they
acquired a mighty support in the mercenary
Greeks from the Ionian Island whom they
started to employ.
The Jewish land, especially its northern
part, stood at the cross roads of the empires.
If the people would have been far-sighted
they should have retained the unity of the
nation under all circumstances, and even after
the secession of the northern tribes they should
have lived in amity and accord and mutually
[.148]
DECLINE OF THE JEWISH MONARCHY
support each other against the foreign enemies.

Alas, this fratricide of continuous civil war
caused their common ruin and downfall. In
general, Solomon inaugurated a reign of ex
ternal splendor but interna, decay. The spirit
of ancient piety, purity of life, simplicity,
and national enthusiasm all dissappeared. Ex
travagance, luxury, impiety, and foreign cults
fostering assimilation and intermarriage de
veloped a corrupt influence initiated by the
royal court. The sudden change of an agri
cultural people into commerce spoiled hon
esty and innocence, and also the integrity of
the people. Affluence and abundance under
mined virility and bravery and effeminated
and dissipated the people. It also aroused
jealous and envious nations to scheme the
overthrow of the Hebrew state and while the
king initiated an era of peace and neglected
all military diligence the sword was being
forged by the enemies, of the subjugation of
Israel. The Temple erected by Solomon
failed to promote and create a spirit of unity
in Israel. The people were discontented by
the extortive burden of taxation. It is no
wonder that as soon as Solomon died the
northern tribes, instigated by Egypt plotting
[ H9 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGmDO
the disruption of the united Jewish state

which blocked her designs in Asia, utilized
w ith Jeroboam as a tool in his ambitious
demagogy and aided by the foolish tactless
ness of Rehavam the successor to Solomon,
were the cause of a schism dividing Israel
into two states, ultimately causing the down
fall of both. A prophet aided the northern
tribe while a prophet prevented civil war
restraining Rehabam. Alas, the good prophets
m eant well, that the people should revive the
ancient democracy and purity of life and m u
tually aid each other as federated independent
members of common stock an origin, but
events turned out differently.
The demagogue of the north who spoke
of ancient virtue introduced genuine pagan
ism in Israel to secure his dynasty, and
irredeemably corrupted the people, while
Judea retaining some vestige of virtue and
purity of faith was invaded by the ty ran t
Oraxes of Egypt, (Sysak in H ebrew ), who
after plotting against Judea, instigating a
revolution and aiding enemies of the unfor-
tim ate states brutally invaded the land with
400,000 infantry, 60,000 cavalry and 12,
000 chariots, a host which the disrupted king-
[ 150 ]
dom was helpless to resist. H e captured Jeru

Salem w ithout opposition. Pillaging every
thing, he departed nominally dragging down
the land to a state of vassalage. Very cleverly
did the sages of Israel say "H e came to collect
the dower of his harlot daughter who intro
duced paganism in Judea and was a spy, a
provocator of misfortune of Israel. The son
and successor of Rehabam, Ahija, was a hero
and virtuous king restoring the independence
of the land.
H e engaged the usurper in genuine battle
and gained a signal victory destroying his en
tire army. His successor, the pious and vir
tuous hero Assa extended his domain, and
gained a glorious victory against King Zerach
the emperor of Ethiopia King of Egypt who
induced by the weakened state of Israel, due
to civil war invaded Judea from the south
w ith 1,000,000 men and a mighty array o f
war chariots. Assa advanced w ith 580,000
infantry and uttering the great war slogan
of Israel’s faith “Lord, Thou canst help even
small numbers” vanquished Zench. and the
Egyptian host.
This victory restored Judea to complete
freedom and independence. I am passing by
[ 151 ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
m inor events in the history o f Israel, for un

fortunately, in m y estimation Israel ceased to
exist long before the deportation o f the
northern tribes by Assyria, for paganism
coupled w ith debased, moral degeneration
corrupted the people entirely. A ll virtue de
parted and it is hard to distinguish between
them and other pagans.
I reject the attitude o f the atheistic his
torians w ho claim that only external dogm atic
ritual distinguished the northern tribes from
Judea. We observe the com plete disappearance
o f the tribes and assimilation w ith other peo-
pie, whereas Judea emerged refined, ennobled
and purified after its dow nfall. We beheld
during the entire period o f history o f the
northern tribes slavery, despotism, and regi
cide, becom ing barbarians o f a low breed. T he
fe w noble prophets among them contended
in vain to restore them to the pure faith o f
m onotheism and like a pillar o f fire they blaze
forth among them w ith out illum inating their
environm ent. I have noticed three redeem
ing features among these renegades. Their
despotic kings were fam ous as being m erci
fu l among the pagan neighbors, proving
that a spark o f Jewish nobility remained
[ 152 ]
smouldering among them. Also w hen they

brought a m ultitude o f captives from Judea
they were released by a few noble leaders w ho
retaining H ebrew sentiments were m oved to
generosity. Lastly, a great moral lesson re
mained from their midst. W hen the disciple
o f the prophet Elijah, Elisha brought an army
o f gentiles captured in a miraculous manner
the king inqxxiring "Shall I smite them father”
was answered by the prophet, "D id you cap
ture them in fair com bat, they are m y cap
tives and guests, treat them accordingly. T hey
were released after a great banquet, and this
act o f m agnanim ity induced the enem y not to
wage war. Pertinently do our sages say that
the m agnanim ity o f the prophet is greater
than victory on a battleefild. In general w e
see the N o rth occupying a minor position in
relation to foreign lands, whereas Judea played
a decisive role in all international events. I
am going to select three heroes among the
kings o f Judea o f international significance,
one w hom I have discussed and tw o w hom
w e w ill discuss in the course o f our lecture.
A fter the defeat o f E gypt at Morasha
at the hand o f the pious hero Asa, Israel
enjoyed com plete independence for a long
[ in ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
duration o f tim e. M any virtuous kings reigned

and the people enjoyed prosperity. T he great
revolution o f the nation against the pagan
regent queen m other at H olia revived a m ighty
current o f national consciousness and an
em ancipation from the corrupt influence o f
assimilation. T he Tem ple was restored and
religious life enhanced. Alas, the seeds o f
disintegration were already visible and an
event occurred w hich heralded the final ruin
o f the nation, the slaying o f the pious prophet
Zecharia, brother-in-law o f the king and scion
o f the patriotic H ig h Priest, restorer of the
dynasty o f D avid.
T he successor o f Joash, a valiant king
was not redeemed o f the evil influence o f the
house o f U m ri to w hom the dynasty was
affiliated by nuptial ties. H is brutality in
cruelly slaying ten thousand captives was con
demned by the prophets and the entire nation,
culm inating in his pursuit o f idolatry and
ultim ate defeat and capture by the king o f
the northern tribes. T he successor o f A m atziah
was one o f the greatest kings since D avid.
H e extended his kingdom and fortified the
capital in a m anner so scientifically that it
became impregnable as a fortress, famous all
[ ]
over Asia. Jatom , his successor was a most

noble king and he continued to fo r tify and
strengthen the kingdom , and he also atoned
for the effo rt of his father to usurp the office
o f H igh-Priest by force in im itation o f E gypt.
H is son, pressed by the confederate kings to
join an alliance against Assyria, declining the
coalition turned to the King o f Assyria and
pillaged the Tem ple and also in a slavish spirit
im itated the idolatry o f Assyria and attem pted
to turn Judea into a pagan state. The great
prophet Isaiah checked this brutal pagan
despot and by his great moral influence in
spired the prince successor to initiate an era o f
religious revival w hich le ft an indelible mark
on the nation effective to the present day.
This revival improved the morale o f the
nation and instilled self confidence in them
so that the noble king was able to d efy the
cosm ocratic despot Sennacherib, the A ttila
o f Assyria w ho after being opposed by the
great fighter Tyrhoka Emperor of Ethiopia
and E gypt tried by intim idation and terror
to induce H ezkiah to surrender the capital
w hich was fortified and by skillful channels
diverted the water leading into the inner city
so that he should have no supply for his army.
[ ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
A fter the blasphemous oration o f the cup

bearer of Asyria his entire host perished in
a miraculous manner as predicted by the pro
phet, and the fam e of H ezkiah spread all over
Asia. H e liberated all the captives in the
Assyrian camp and took immense booty and
the prestige of Israel was restored as in the
epoch of D avid. There was a general revival
of religion, literature, prophecy, culture,
poetry, and the nation regained a place for it■
self among the forem ost of Asia. Meanwhile,
the northern kingdom vanished after an heroic
resistance o f three years of siege. T hey were
deported in captivity and only Judea survived
of the race of Israel. Alas, this golden era
was marred by a reaction in the reign of
Menasseh, a despot and idolator w ho under
the influence of E gypt converted Judea into
a desert o f isolation, slaying all pious and
holy people and introducing pagonism into
the very Tem ple. It seems that after his cap
tiv ity by the Assyrians and release he repented
and atoned for his evil. H e seems to have
introduced cavalry as a strong branch in
the army from E gypt. A fter a brief
regin his successor O m m on was assassinated
and succeeded by the greatest prince of the
[ 1^6 ]
D avidic dynasty since D avid, the most noble,

most pious, and most m agnificent immortal
hero restorer o f the faith, the pride of Judea,
anointed o f the Lord, last hero o f Zion, King
Josiah. A ll the em pty talk o f the Bible
critics and the writers who strive to de
prive the holy and pious hero from due
credit as restorer of the true faith and try
to insinuate that a new religion was initiated
w hich they call the D euteronom y faith, is
false.
I challenge them peremptorily, by the
passage Children shall not be punished for
the offence o f the parents, w hich was quoted
by King Am atziah almost a century before
Josiah. I further defy them to refute their
vindication o f the pagan kings that they
abused only the ritual. N a y , justice, truth,
m ercy and hum anity were desecrated by the
brutal cults and desecration and immorality,
adultery and the torrents o f blood they shed.
W e see clearly how humane, m erciful, kind
and pure hearted the pious kings were and
the same benign spirit was reflected by the
people, whereas the pagan kings were indecent,
impure, cruel hearted and despotic and spoiled
even the martial zeal and manhood o f the
[ 157 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
nation. W e m ay say in the words o f the

philosopher. H o w could an imposter sing such
a super hum an epic pouring out his soid in a
celestial beauty to an im position, the w ay the
song of Moses was sung at the conclusion o f
Deuteronom y? Each fair minded person
w ill admit that after persecution a copy of
the ancient scroll o f Moses was hidden in the
Tem ple, but its contents were know n for cen
turies in Israel. Priests w ould be interested
in Leviticus, not in D euteronom y w hich is
a personal outpouring o f the soul o f Moses.
As Josiah is the last hero o f Israel w ho fou ght
as the last independent sovereign against the
m ightiest potentate o f the then know n world
and his historic battle is recorded by H ero
dotus father o f ancient history and the epoch
was a transition period betw een world
hegemonies and a clash among the greatest
empires o f the then know n w orld was con
nected w ith this im m ortal battle, w e w ill
discuss it in fu ll from the historical signifi
cance for the survival o f Judaism as w ell as
the m ilitary aspect w ith a retrospect o f five
centtiries w hen the glorious victory o f Barak
was gained on the same memorable field.
W ith the setting sun o f him the last gleaming
[ 158 ]
DECXINE OF THE JEWISH MONARCHY
Star of the magnificent light of Israel, we will

close the first volume of the military history
of Israel.
[ 1‫נ יצז‬
JO SIA H — H E R O OF M E G ID D O
W e have traveled a long distance dear

reader, from Abraham, the first m ilitary hero
o f the Hebrews to the noble K ing Josiah,
the martyr hero, and last cham pion o f the
glory o f Israel in its first chapter on its itiner
ary o f its historical march through the ages.
In order that w e shall fu lly appreciate the
career o f the last royal hero o f the house
o f D avid w ho appeared like a blazing star on
the orbit o f the dim m ing Israel’s glory and
w rote such a m agnificent chapter in the an
nals o f our nation’s history, fortifyin g its in
ternal strength by a revival o f pure faith and
prom oting moral and ethical national rehab
ilitation which enabled the race to survive the
terrible shock o f the loss o f its political in
dependence, destruction o f the sanctuary and
captivity on foreign soil, let us pursue the
m atter in all its ramifications. A lthough it
is undeniably true that the prophets contrib
uted m uch especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel,
nevertheless, w ith a pagan people devoid o f
all inner consciousness o f the eternal mission
[ 160 ]
JOSIAH--- HERO OF MEGIDDO
o f Israel, prophets w ould have accomplished

very little.
W e have already discussed to some extent
the remarkable achievement o f the noble king
w ho ascended the throne after the assassina
tion o f his father, as a young child. As soon
as he reached m aturity he asstimed the reins of
leadership after the long decline in the cor
rupt regime o f his grandfather Menasseh who
abolished all great institutions o f his august
father the sublime poet sage and m agnificent
king and general H ezekiah, and also wiped
out all great spiritual influences acquired by
the nation through the zeal and teaching of
the great prophet Isaiah, his grandfather on
the m other’s side according to Jewish tradi
tion: verily the very Tem ple was turned into
a pagan sanctuary and all traces o f the sacred
Mosaic law and dispensation disappeared from
the horizon o f Jewish life. It was really
necessary to begin to open a new page in the
Jewish hfe.
This great task was accomplished by the
young hero w ho razed and demolished all
pagan tokens o f indency and im piety, abol
ished all immoral practice, and destroyed all
their shrines w hich were a disguise for im -
[ 161 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
m orality and indeceny. H e restored pure

service in the Tem ple, established academies
for teaching Mosaic law and promoted H e
braic culture. A tradition in Israel remained
to prove the m agnanim ity o f the great re
storer, as I w ould call him in antithesis to the
appellation o f reformer applied by the bible
critics. H e generously paid o ff out o f his
royal treasury, not from public funds, any
suit in a court o f regency during his m inority
where he suspected on review that Justice
had not been upheld. H e provided the entire
nation w ith means to celebrate Passover in
a genuine national spirit.
As the im m inent fall of Assyria
described further on weakened her grip on
the conquered land, he restored almost all
Palestine including Samaria and Galilee to
affiliation w ith Judea and ruled after the lapse
o f centuries again as sovereign and independent
king over a U nited K ingdom . H e exerted
him self in the w ork o f restoration even in
the N o rth and tried to eradicate pagan in
fluences and restore the pure faith o f Israel
in its serene light and purity. Alas, not
w ithstanding the titan effort o f the great re
deemer, the seeds o f decline and degeneration
[ 162 ]
JOSIAH--- HERO OF MEGTODO
Struck too deep a root especially among the

nobility and aristocracy so that only super
ficially they seemed to sympathize w ith the
noble king, but inwardly the evil tendency
was dormant, lurking for its chance, for
Mosaic law means true liberty, equality,
justice, and democracy in political as well as
social economic spheres of life. This is the real
key to the situation as to why the upper classes
always inclined toward assimilation and
paganism. N o t only lust and dissolute im
moral ways of life lured them, but still more
oppression, tyranny, and social inequality
practised by pagan society was their main
motive in imitating it.
Assyria w hich for centuries dom inated
W estern Asia gradually became exhausted by
internal decay due to the draining o f her
resources in manpower, losing the flower o f
her youth on continuous battlefields and
w asting her strength in endless strife. There
follow ed also decline and dissipation inherent
in the destiny o f all despotic people w ho lose
their virility and manhood by abandoning
the path o f virttie and embarking upon im
moral luxury and extravagance w hich Inev
Itably leads to degeneration, ultim ately losing
[ 163 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGTODO
their martial spirit as was demonstrated in

the fate o f Rome. In the seventh century
Assyria entered the stage o f disintegration
w hen various vassals lifted their heads and
great as was her power and prestige as well
as the terror o f her name still her doom was
visible to keen observers. W e m ay discern
a token o f her approaching doom in the em
bassy sent by the vassal King Meradach to
K ing H ezkiah on the destruction o f Sen
nacherib.
M odern scholars discovered the unique
fa ct that the last period o f the maintenance
o f Assyria was by the support o f E gypt w ho
w anted to preserve the equilibrium and bal
ance o f power in W estern Asia. T he course
o f history directed by a H igher Providence
seems to have engulfed the cruel civilization
o f Assyria based as it was on a scientific fou n
dation but moral depravity, cruelty and bar
baric inhum anity. It seems that the ancient
culture of Assyria to subject the individual
to the state and sacrifice all human happiness
and right to glory o f the state was the main
factor and m oving spirit of the entire political
structure they reared. U ltim ately eastern
nations of more refined ethical character al-
[ 164 ]
JOSIAH — HERO OF MEGIDDO
though yet in rude primeval state bear

ing potentially elements o f higher and nobler
civilizations, were m oving to the foreground
to take over the leadership o f the destiny o f
mankind.
This m ovem ent culm inated in the advent
of Cyrus the Great and the benevolent
hegem ony he established over western Asia
at the head o f a civilized nation o f pure faith
and high ethical culture and humane moral
character.
The Medes and the Persians combined
w ith Babylonia to overthrow Assyria, but
they were checked by the interference o f
E gypt and the incursion o f the Scythian bar
barians. A fter a short interval Assyria was
conquered by the grandfather of Cyrus
C> axoras the Mede and Nabupellasar the king
o f Babylonia who originally was general of
Assyria but forsook her to lead his people
as an independent king. This memorable
event occurred in the beginning o f the sixth
century.
It seems that the new masters o f Asia
divided spheres o f influence, the Medes took
over the east and Babylonia the west. E gypt
was Ignored, and as w e have already said
[ 165 ]
FROM DAN TO MECmDO
Assyria abandoned aU her provinces on the

western Euphrates including northern Pales
tine w hich the noble K ing Josiah occupied
as king o f a united Israel over Judea
and the remnant residing yet in the ancient
territory. The new master o f western Asia,
the K ing o f Babylonia it seems, looked favor
ably toward the action o f the K ing of Judea,
w ith perhaps the recollection o f the ancient
am ity between the races and old friendship
w ith H ezkiah, also w ith a desire by Babylonia
to check the Egyptian aspirations for expan
sion and conquest in W estern Asia by placing
as a buffer state a m igh ty Judean kingdom
in control o f the highw ay leading through the
valley o f Jezreel into Syria and Mesopotamia.
E gypt aware o f the inner situation, besides ap
plying pressure to m aintain the sovereignty
o f Assyria in order to uphold the status quo
and balance of power, still diligently prepared
for the eventuality o f the fall o f Assyria.
There was the dynasty o f great kings over
united E gyp t beginning w ith Setto, and his
son Psematticus, a really great king w ho reno
vated the ancient empire and brought new
life into her commerce and industry, reorgan
izin g the entire political system o f the land
[ 166 ]
and restoring the kingdom to its ancient glory.

H e also built up a m agnificent m ilitary or
ganization, introducing a m igh ty auxiliary
army o f mercenary Greeks from the Ionian
islands and the various Greeks states. H e also
constructed a m ighty fleet on the M editer
ranean and paved the w ay for the great enter
prise o f his warlike son N ech o the first, the
king w ho played such a decisive part in the
great drama o f the life and career o f the
im m ortal Jewish hero, the noble high souled
Joshiah o f Megiddo.
A fter the fall o f N in veh , Nabupallessar
was engaged in organizing his new empire on
the eastern Euphrates and postponed asserting
supremacy over western Euphrates leaving
Mesopotamia and Syria to their fate. This
interval was utilized by N ech o to embark
on a great expedition to reestablish the hege
m ony o f E gypt in Asia and revive the glory
o f Rameses and the other great conquerors.
H e m obilized immense forces o f the entire
kingdom , all auxiliaries from A frica, a tre
mendous concentration o f cavalry w ith an im
posing array o f war chariots supported by a
formidable army o f Greek mercenaries, and
joined by an immense war fleet w ith a great
[ 167 ]
armada o f war transports he marched to Asia

to challenge the sway and supremacy o f Baby-
Ionia as the successor of Assyria in western
Asia. K now ing the great m erit of the heroic
king of Israel, his independent nature and
great dignified character he understood that
he m ust appease him and not antagonize such
a m ighty hero and his valiant nation.
U nder such conditions he thought it ex
pedient to gain the good w ill o f the H ebrew
king and get his consent for his martial enter
prises. It is hard to disclose and determine any
definite opinion from the scant and meager in
form ation we possess from BibUcal records as
w ell as from the brief report o f H erodotus,
whether the ambassadors w hich emperor
N ech o sent to King Josiah were previous to
his march into Palestine or subsequent. Judg
ing from the statem ent in the Bible, after he
landed in H aifa near M ount Carmel and be
came aware that the H ebrew king was march
ing w ith a m ighty army he dispatched a pleni
potentiary extraordinary w ith gestures o f
friendship and assurance o f peaceful inten
tions. M y thesis consists in this. H e originally
ignored Josiah and denied his sovereign right
over new ly acquired territory in N orthern
[ 168 ]
Palestine and arrogantly laid claim to substi

tute Assyrian suzerainty in all W estern Asia,
as successor to the fallen monarchy.
Great historians, Maspero among them,
are puzzled at the conduct o f the martyr
hero king, as to w hy he embarked on his
expedition in a campaign against N echo.
"W ould it not have been, they argue, more
beneficial and o f higher advantage for the
H ebrew king to have remained neutral and
just by a form al protest have demonstrated his
resentment o f the invasion into the valley o f
Jezreel and instead o f m eeting N ech o on a
field where he could utilize his superiority in
chariots and cavalry better have established his
line o f defense in the m ountains o f Judea
where he would have been invincible and as
sume a policy o f w atch fu l w aiting?” . T hey
point out how reversed the situation would
have been after a few years when Pharoh
N ech o w ould have retreated in disgraceful
flight from Karkemish, then Josiah after long
preparations and fresh vigor could have deliv
ered a crushing blow to the despot o f the N ile.
Superficially this reasoning is logical, but
besides the fact that there is Providential
guidance and D ivine urging in the affairs of
[ 169 ]
FROM DAN TO MECmDO
m ankind above our comprehension, w e also

know the great generals are not always great
statesmen. H annibal is the best illustration,
as Maharval cleverly said, "Thou hast been
gifted by the talent o f gaining victory, not
w ith the ability o f how to utilize it.” We
m ust not overlook the fa c t that the great
statesmen in Israel anticipated the policy o f
the historians as is visible from the Jewish
traditions that the prophets of the age, notably
Jeremiah disapproved of the cam paign.
We m ay im ply that the great states
m en o f the nation outstanding am ong them
A chicham , a great chancellor and diplom at
w ell versed in Oriental languages and diplo
m acy, son o f the great recorder and state
secretary Saphon and father o f the viceroy
Gedalyah were not enthusiastic over the king’s
warlike m ove, but w e m ay also vindicate
the noble hero and penetrate into his inner
state o f m ind and place ourselves in his situa
tion.
First let us remember the harm and
suffering that the despots o f the N ile inflicted
on Judea, extending the ancient persecution.
T hey plotted and instigated the dismember
m ent o f the m onarchy. Syshack in a treach-
[ 170 ]
erous manner attacked Jerusalem, pillaged the

capital and humiliated the nation. A ll evil
Influences o f paganism and degenerating in
fluences to corrupt and degenerate Israel came
from Egypt. N ech o was schem ing to re
vive the ancient hegem ony o f E gypt over
Asia, worse slavery than Assyria, for while the
latter was cruel and brutal, Egyptian du
plicity, treachery and hypocrisy was more
dangerous and detrimental for the independ
ence and integrity o f Israel. Josiah calculated
w ith good reason the chances that N ech o
m ight succeed in his expedition and in
trench him self in the territory between
the Lebanon and Euphrates w ith such inex
haustible resources that he w ould become the
autocrat and despot over all W estern Asia
and subdue Israel com pletely and deprive her
o f her independence. Such an arrogant ty
rant would not tolerate a kingdom o f a pure
enlightened, free democratic people to exist
as a wedge in his pagan despotic empire, so
the noble hero decided that if he had to
fight now was the tim e; w hile the tyrant
was not yet firm ly established it was better to
nip the despot and his menace in the bud.
W e m ust also grasp the m eaning o f the
[ 171 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
great restoration o f pure faith in Israel by

Josiah, that it was not m erely a revival of
form ality, as the bible critics w ant us to
judge, for verily if there was ever a genuine
religious revival, this was the one in its true
reliction. The prophets before this era de
spaired o f ever realizing the great D ivine
order in the temporal and secular life of
Israel, so they retired from the concrete ex
perience o f life into a U topia. T hey erected
a celestial state, a kingdom o f heaven not on
earth, but in a higher sphere, or they re
treated in eternity at the end o f days in a
remote era removed from historical reality.
T hey detached themselves from realistic Zion
and secular Israel. In this they diflFered from
the prophets from the N o rth w ho were men
o f action and concrete reality, trying to ele
vate the present, not retire in the boundless
future, although they also were disappointed
in the goal the first prophet A cio set for him
self in prom oting the separation o f the north
ern tribes from the central m onarchy. The
ancient prophets o f Israel from Moses on were
o f the type similar to the northern prophets,
m en of action.
W hile craving for justice and trying to
[ 172 3
disseminate D ivine truth universally, they

abided by the thesis that Israel is first selected
and entrusted by her conduct under D ivine
law set to a living example for all m ankind.
This is the secret o f the patriotism of the
ancient prophets. T hey believed through the
glory and m agnificence of Israel to dem on
strate the power and strength o f moral law.
This is the m eaning of their extolling
the trium ph of Israel as D ivine victory as
expressed by Moses and afterwards by D e
borah and Barak. In latter ages the univers
ality o f the prophets submerged the greatness
o f Israel and an unfathom able gu lf separated
them from the popular national consciousness.
T hey became dreamers and visionaries in Zion,
n ot for Zion, w ith the exception o f a few
supermen Hke Isaiah and Jeremiah, and very
pertinently say H ebrew sages, some prophets
took the part of the father and neglected
the son, m eaning Israel, some neglected the
father and espoused the cause o f the son; the
select joined both equally.
Josiah was a child of ancient generations.
In him was rekindled the spirit o f D avid,
Saul, Barak, and Deborah. H e strove for the
resoration of the kingdom o f G -d in Israel
[ 173 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
and over the w orld through entire mankind.

The fall o f the m ightiest pagan empire in
Asia thrilled his soul to a high p itch o f re
ligious ecstasy and fervent enthusiasm.
H e saw the hand o f Providence and re
tribution, and he sincerely believed that just
as the eastern nations were utilized by Provi
dence for attaining that D ivine goal, w h y not
apply the secular power o f the Lord’s chosen
race for overthrow ing in western Asia and
A frica the overlordship o f the greatest ex
ponent o f idolatry and paganism, and establish
the kingdom o f the Lord, H is celestial law
and majesty, not on ly figuratively and spirit
ually, but in a realistic concrete manner in a
purified, redeemed, em ancipated, trium phant,
victorious Jerusalem under the scepter o f a
true son o f D avid, servant o f the true uni
versal king, the supreme Lord o f Eternal
truth?
This m ay be a small key to appreciating
the grand m otive o f the m ost saintly and
pious hero o f Judea w hich induced him to
leave his holy abode in impregnable Jeru
Salem and m obilize an army for war against
the m ightiest potentate o f his age. H e was
n ot m oved by his flattering offers w hich were
[ 174 ]
sufficiently favorable to have prevailed over

any w ordly considerations had the hero been
stim ulated by such considerations, for w hat
was the real meaning o f the autocrat. “W hat
have I w ith thee, O thou king o f Judea?”
Deciphered and unmasked it m eant, every
body has his price, w hat is your price, your
quid pro quo, O thou king o f Judea, as i f
to say I am ready to give ample security for
your integrity and independence and acknow l
edge your title to northern Palestine, I only
request free passage. If thou acceptest this
basic agenda as ground for negotiations let us
make a deal for division o f spoil and arrange
m ent o f a new order, but he hinted that
paganism must survive, for E gypt can only
thrive in paganism and despotism and if
Assyria fell E gypt w ill take her place and the
spirit o f Judea shall not gain ascendancy over
the destiny o f mankind.
T he statesmen were delighted but the
anointed o f G -d cham pion o f the D avidic
tradition resented secular advantages if he had
to bow and recognize for their attainm ent
the very opposite o f the honor and glory of
D ivin e majesty and faith. In modern ages
w e observe a parallel case w hen A lbert, king
[ 175 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
o f Belgium was presented w ith the same al

ternative by a modern despot.
The noble hero m obilized an immense
army, although neither sacred nor secular lit
erature relates the size o f it, it stands to rea
son that he mustered a m inim um o f 225,000
infantry supported by a pow erful force of
light and heavy armored cavalry besides a
formidable fleet o f war chariots. I w ill ex
plain on w hat ground I base m y assumption.
In view o f the immense arm y Assa marshalled
against Zerach the Ethiopian, it is logical to
conclude that a century later w hen the nation
had increased in population and especially the
increase o f almost the entire territory o f north
Palestine w ith all its population, I am inclined
to think that it w ould be no exaggeration to
assume that he m obilized 500,000 infantry,
cavalry, and chariots. N ech o certainly em
barked for the conquest o f Asia w ith not less
than a m illion m en and m any thousands o f
chariots, and since Josiah m et him in a general
engagem ent in a decisive battle royal on equal
terms in the historical valley where N ech o
had favorable ground for a chosen battlefield.
Josiah m ust have felt his equal in everything,
besides D ivin e assistance. D o not wonder
[ 176 ‫נ‬
dear reader, at the appearance o f cavalry and

chariots in the army o f the most pious king o f
Israel, for D avid initiated chariots after the
battle o f Chalem and cavalry was introduced
in later ages. There is no prohibition for ap
plying cavalry and chariots if not utilized for
aggressive purposes.
A ll Jewish sources, religious and secular,
are puzzled by the phenom enon o f the setback
Israel sustained after such a great spiritual
revival which had always brought m ilitary
success to Jewish arms. I acknowledge as very
deep and true the explanation o f the Sages
that the revival did not a ffect the entire na
tion and was only superficial. U ndoubtedly
the aristocracy and nobility remained attached
to paganism w ith its corollary o f im purity and
injustice and social inequality and despotism.
I also am convinced as I have given
an enlightened interpretation in the previous
essay the people were near-sighted and nar
row-m inded. T hey would rise en masse against
an invader who threatened their integrity and
independence in a direct brutal manner, but as
to a shrewd despot w ho used cunning and du
plicity combined w ith false propaganda, they
could n ot penetrate into his designs w hich were
[ 177 ‫נ‬
]F‫־‬ROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
transparent only to the inspired statesman as

the hero king was. This, I think, was the
natural cause for the dow nfall o f the great
task and glorious cam paign o f the hero.
The king, it seems, marched into the
valley o f Jezreel, established a battlefront in
the valley supported on the rear and the flanks
by m igh ty fortresses o f w hich Megiddo was
the pivot. A fter six centuries had elapsed
since the imm ortal victory o f general Barak
over Sisro, once again a Jewish army appeared
on the historical field, and once more Jewish
banners unfurled w aving trium phantly in de
fiance o f the ancient tyrant and enemy. But,
alas, as I have explained, the virility and hero
ism o f the nation evaporated. Gone was the
invincible spirit, the supreme self reliance of
the ancient heroes. Alas, the hero was resur
rected in the person o f the im m ortal hero
king, Barak was again on his post, but the
prophet was not there. It seems that Josiah
took the initiative and attacked in his center
w ith his chariots and cavalry, holding N ech o
checked on both w ings by his valiant infantry.
It further appears that the hero was not well
protected by his mailed coat o f arms, as it is
always the habit o f great heroes not to impede
[ 178 ]
JOSLA.H — HERO OF MEGIDDO
their freedom o f m ovem ents by heavy armor.

D avid was an example as was the great Julian
against the Persians, later Gustavus Adolphus
displayed the same reluctance. I disagree w ith
Josephus that the hero was struck by a chance
arrow while driving in his chariot and mar
shalling the army and arraying them from
w ing to w ing for battle. I am convinced
that the battle was long joined and the noble
hero had the upper hand checking both flanks
o f E gypt and in flictin g great punishm ent on
them.
The decisive m om ent came in the center.
The hero king o f Israel concentrated his main
force o f chariots cavalry and archery and was
charging in a supreme effo rt to break the
Egyptian center and destroy the royal guard
and capture N ech o alive. For this reason he
withheld the discharge o f his archery and
was m aneuvering to come to close grip for a
final bayonet charge in hand to hand con flict
to annihilate the royal guard and make a
prisoner o f the Emperor N ech o o f E gypt. It
seems that they had his picture made by spies,
agents or H ebrew traitors o f the nobility who
had betrayed their king, so N ech o directed
his archers o f the royal guard to aim at the
t 1 7 9 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
hero king w ho led personally the charge

o f his royal body guard. In the fren zy of the
battle unprotected by his heavy armor and
mailed coat o f shield or steel helm et and his
m ind and the m ind of his heroes detracted
and diverted by the prospect of the approach
ing victory the beloved hero became the
target of a shower of javelins and steel
arrows w hich struck his august person
and disabling him the m oving spirit o f the
arm y turned the tide against Israel. I base
m y conception on a single word in the Bible,
"As N echos noticed Josiah,” w hich is irrefu t
able evidence confirm ing m y entire descrip
tion.
Josephus relates that when the king was
hurt he sounded the signal by the royal trum
pet for a general retreat w ithdraw ing his
army from the battlefield. The fa ct that
they were not pursued, also the fact that his
pages and aides de camp w ith his adjutants
were able to transfer him unmolested from the
fr o n t chariot to the reserve royal carriage
w ith royal dignity and solicitude proves that
the battle was not lost for him and proves that
Judea was master of the situation; if not for
the tragedy o f the king’s mishap he surely
[ 180 3
would have crushed N ech o for he was David

and Saul combined and m ay have turned out
a royal Barak. If the nation would have been
regenerated com pletely they m ay have w on
the day as the Swedes at L itzen under Marshal
Oxenster after the fall o f the great Gustavus
Adolphus, but the m artyr hero king knew his
people and felt he was the soul o f the expedi
tion and cam paign; w ith him everything to
gain, w ithout him all lost. H e deserved credit
for the order to retreat for it proves his great
ness o f soul and love o f his people. Like a
father he guided them till the last breath.
Great was the calam ity for Israel, but
great also was the glory gained as is illustrated
by the famous reply to Spartacus o f the lady
seer and sooth-sayer w ho predicted great glory
for him in his youth, w hen he was surrounded
by Pom pey and all the R om an forces,
"W here” he inquired, "is the glory you pre
dieted?” "O, Spartacus,” the remarkable
w om an replied, "I still adhere to m y predic
tion.” Is it small glory if all Rome w ith her
world power is compelled to exert its utm ost
strength to subdue poor wretched Spartacus?
I f the sun o f Israel was destined to set let her
go dow n in blazing radiance, banners w aving
[ 181 ]
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
in m agnificent martial array, the invincible

free army w ith a defiant m agnificent lord
challenged the m ightiest empire o f the world
and by a slight margin failed to grasp a vie-
tory that m ay have elevated Israel to sublime
em inence over the destinies of mankind.
E verything was w orth for such a stake, such
a wager.
Asia appreciated the service o f the hero
o f Judea, and the conqueror o f Karkemash
supreme lord o f W estern Asia the Babylonian
Eero Prince N ebuchadnezer, the prince who
preserved the crow n, in Chaldean, generously
in honest m agnanim ity acknowledged the con
tribution of Josiah the hero of Israel w ho at
M egiddo paved his road to the victory at
Karkamesh by crippling N ech o and shaking
his prestige all over Asia. Nebuchadnezer
really attem pted to reward the descendant of
the hero but they abused his good w ill by
conspiracies and intrigue w ith false E gypt.
H ad they heeded Jeremiah and the great states
m an A chicom chancellor and chief counsellor
o f Josiah, Zedekiah, youngest son o f the
m artyr hero king Josiah could have realized
the dream o f his great father, for the hero
o f Babylonia extolled him and elevated him
[ 182 ]
over all the rulers o f the p etty states bordering

on Palestine. Under his protection he could
have reigned in peace and security over a
united Palestine and defied E gypt in safety.
B ut, alas, the treachery and duplicity o f the
nobility and the unconstancy o f the hesitating
prince brought ruin and destruction to the
house of D avid and the entire nation. Sum
m ing up our task, I wish to conclude, n otw ith
standing the tragical epilogue o f the great
drama o f our people there are redeeming fea
tures. The life w ork o f the great hero was
not in vain. N ech o and his empire crumbled
in the dust, but the spiritual empire and king
dom o f Josiah survived; out o f captivity a
revived resurrected nation arose w ith a faith
w hich ultim ately gained abiding recognition
not only in Israel but over all civilized m an
kind. A great m igh ty nation arose w hich
crossed swords w ith world powers and w on
on m any a memorable field. H is descendants if
not actually regaining the crow n yet rebuilt
the sanctuary o f the king w hom he so ardently
loved for his grandchild Prince Zerubabel
erected the second Tem ple, and I am con
vinced that the favor extended to him was due
to the grace o f grandsire w ho checked N ech o
[ 183 ‫נ‬
FROM DAN TO MEGIDDO
in his design against Eastern Asia including

Persia and Medes.
H is other grandchildren wielded a d iffer
ent crow n in the realm of spiritual m onarchy
culm inating in the ethical prince, H illel the
Elder. Friend H ebrew , whether thou be a
pioneer, settler, farmer, or armed Jewish sen
tinel keeping w atch over the valley o f Jezreel
like a Greek gazing at Therm opylae remember
w ith a sigh and grateful sentim ent our noble
hero w ho contested against a world empire
our right to our valley. If thou shouldst
become discouraged, by his sad fate be not
dismayed by the gloom y shadow of Megiddo,
neither by the sad lonesome tale of the hero
of m ournful Gilboah, turn your gaze further
yonder, still stands majestic M ount Tabor, the
spirit of Barak still hovers. I f you have a sus
ceptible soul hearken to the m elody o f the
sublime prophetess Deborah still reverberating
her epic of victory.
Evil shall perish and so w ill all w ho hate
the source of eternal jtistice and truth, and H is
lovers even in defeat submerged, w ill reemerge
and reappear like the radiant sun blazing her
light w hich enkindles the spirit o f right w hich
makes for spreading her cheerful beams of
Justice, liberty and truth so sweet and bright.

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FROM DAN

RABBI BENJAM IN FLEISCHER

Author of the Famous Philosophical Classic

Abraham — Patriarch Victorious 39

Joshua — Conquering Disciple . 59

Barak — Hero Victorious of Mount T a b o r ......... 75

Gideon — Hero Deliverer of the Trembling Spring 95

Saul and David — Kings Liberators .. 129

Decline and Fall of the Jewish Monarchy ._ 147

Josiah — Hero Martyr of Megiddo ■ 160

I was deeply impressed by a saying in a

remarked very deeply that the Assyrian ty ­

nation temporarily, but let us not despair

The subject of my work which I am

general beauty, whether in picture, sound,

and awe-inspiring phenomenon. To search

is an absolute misconception. It is really an

based upon the system of the Mosaic Code

vol. 4 chapter 5, the footnote of D r. Whiston,

Start an offensive war, unless by implicit

ciency, but in a deeper sense there was a great

est victory could not prevent the escape of

mechanical and technical superiority of arma­

the first Jewish general in history our holy

sword, but as a m atter of fact the natural

of one hundred. Each group was led by a

lines, w ith a thousand in each column, but

had a regimental flag. Protected on all sides,

campaign of the Patriarch Abraham, the

his army consisted of irregulars, a casual, ir­

war. There may be found some religious

by one masterstroke of clever generalship van­

plication of the tactics of the patriarch, sup­

decree. I am going to describe now Hebrew

be obstructed, neither chased or blocked not

iines are formed and military police are placed

G r e ^ and Roman authors who invented tales

Patriarch and Judah his son excluded. Moses,

close of the %C(md period al«> of the second

mountains. The great fight of the Jews in

O f Abraham our Patriarch, it might well

myriads of lives and individuals, but on the

Abraham from youth was opposed to the pop­

sponse; it seems that Palestine was inhabited

m aster stroke deliver ■Palestine and the people

land and the fertile valley of the Euphrates

Structure of society. G reat impetus and stim-

by the eastern highroad of the Jordan, he

Besides his m ilitary preparedness Abra­

achievement of Abraham. According to Jew ­

Eastern kings marched against the rebels and

vanced w ith overwhelming forces against the

It seems that after the defeat of the al­

Shapure, instigated all the tribes against him

scaled mountains and by swift running

rey, lords of H ebron and the vicinity who had

attack, so he divided his army into minor

fell as trophies and spoil of war into the hand

ancient times, surpassing even Hannibal and

a holy spirit, it emerged victorious, for he

Abiding by the program I have outlined

and theories by bible critics and detractors of

Palestine, who acknowledged the invincibility

remarked very deeply that the Assyrian ty

mechanical and technical superiority of arma

his army consisted of irregulars, a casual, ir

by one masterstroke of clever generalship van

plication of the tactics of the patriarch, sup

Abraham from youth was opposed to the pop

Besides his m ilitary preparedness Abra

achievement of Abraham. According to Jew

It seems that after the defeat of the al

We observe a rare phenomenon. W hen

be considered as the prototype of the cele

weather, disagreement among the allies, gen

lights for this disgraceful practice of coward

over the degraded environment, demonstrat

their brave spirit broken whatsoever. W hen

the natives, after repeated defeats and de

and shock troops. One pow erful colum n ad

surmountable m ountain and impregnable fo rt

w ho w ent over to him placing themselves u n