DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27910#0033
SAMSON’S GATE, GAZA.
EW will suppose that the remains seen in this view are of that gate from which Samson
carried off the doors; but the name of the Israelite hero is too inseparably connected with
gptepi that of Gaza to need a special record of this kind. As we have already had occasion to
notice the early history of the place, and the events that occurred there in the days of the
Crusaders, we may here speak of Samson’s life.
After the conquest of Palestine by Joshua some tribes remained unsubdued. The whole
Philistine territory was untouched; the five lords, ruling the people of Gaza, Aslidod, Askelon, Gath,
and Ekron, not having been conquered. (Josh. xiii. 3.) Soon after Joshua’s death the tribe of Judah
took Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron, with their coasts (Judges i. 18.), and seems, for a time, to have broken
the power of the Philistines; for it is long before we again hear of them as enemies of the Israelites. This
must be partly accounted for by the subjugation of the Philistines by the Egyptians, especially as the time
when they appear as a powerful nation, is that at which the Egyptian empire had come to an end.
The age of the Judges was one of lawlessness and disunion: it is said of it, “In those days there
was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges xvii. 6.)
The tribes were scattered among the remains of a hostile population, some leading a pastoral life, as Reuben and
Simeon; others, like Judah, more settled; all with no bond of union except that of the great religious festivals,
which they neglected. Around them were neighbours bitterly hostile, or anxious to spoil and enslave them :
to the east the jealous Moabites and Ammonites, and beyond them the warlike Midianites, and other desert
tribes; to the west, the Philistines; and to the north, the Canaanites. These enemies rarely combined, nor
did the tribes, under the Judges, often, if ever, combine to resist them. The Israelites held the hills, but
their enemies were too strong for them in the plains, especially when they had chariots. Often a neighbouring
tribe would assist its brother when distressed by enemies, or even join in an expedition ; but a combination
of more than two was very unusual: isolation and jealousy kept them from mutual action. In the great
conflict between the Israelites and Jabin, the ruler of the powerful northern Canaanites, although Zebulon
and Naphtali were aided by Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh beyond Jordan (Machir), and Issachar, yet
Reuben, Dan, Asher, and probably Gad, who seems here to be intended by Gilead, took no part in the contest,
and Judah and Simeon _are not even mentioned. (Chaps, iv., v.) Gideon combined Manasseh, Asher, Zebulon,
and Naphtali against the Midianites; but did not, at first, ask the aid of Ephraim, which roused the anger
of that powerful tribe. (Chaps, vi., vii., viii.) The later history shows the same want of organization, and
the same jealousy.
The small territory of Dan, though bounded on the north by that of Ephraim, and on the south-west
by that of Judah, had to the south-east the land of the Philistines, part of which, including Ekron, one of
the five cities, was included in the Danite lot. The Philistines, however, were not the only enemies with
whom the tribe of Dan had to contend: we read of their first settlement, “ And the Amorites forced the
children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: but the
Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed
(lit. “was heavy”), so that they became tributaries.” (Chap. i. 34, 35.) They were thus driven to the mountainous
eastern part of their land, while the Amorites and the Philistines retained the low western part, in which is the
EW will suppose that the remains seen in this view are of that gate from which Samson
carried off the doors; but the name of the Israelite hero is too inseparably connected with
gptepi that of Gaza to need a special record of this kind. As we have already had occasion to
notice the early history of the place, and the events that occurred there in the days of the
Crusaders, we may here speak of Samson’s life.
After the conquest of Palestine by Joshua some tribes remained unsubdued. The whole
Philistine territory was untouched; the five lords, ruling the people of Gaza, Aslidod, Askelon, Gath,
and Ekron, not having been conquered. (Josh. xiii. 3.) Soon after Joshua’s death the tribe of Judah
took Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron, with their coasts (Judges i. 18.), and seems, for a time, to have broken
the power of the Philistines; for it is long before we again hear of them as enemies of the Israelites. This
must be partly accounted for by the subjugation of the Philistines by the Egyptians, especially as the time
when they appear as a powerful nation, is that at which the Egyptian empire had come to an end.
The age of the Judges was one of lawlessness and disunion: it is said of it, “In those days there
was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges xvii. 6.)
The tribes were scattered among the remains of a hostile population, some leading a pastoral life, as Reuben and
Simeon; others, like Judah, more settled; all with no bond of union except that of the great religious festivals,
which they neglected. Around them were neighbours bitterly hostile, or anxious to spoil and enslave them :
to the east the jealous Moabites and Ammonites, and beyond them the warlike Midianites, and other desert
tribes; to the west, the Philistines; and to the north, the Canaanites. These enemies rarely combined, nor
did the tribes, under the Judges, often, if ever, combine to resist them. The Israelites held the hills, but
their enemies were too strong for them in the plains, especially when they had chariots. Often a neighbouring
tribe would assist its brother when distressed by enemies, or even join in an expedition ; but a combination
of more than two was very unusual: isolation and jealousy kept them from mutual action. In the great
conflict between the Israelites and Jabin, the ruler of the powerful northern Canaanites, although Zebulon
and Naphtali were aided by Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh beyond Jordan (Machir), and Issachar, yet
Reuben, Dan, Asher, and probably Gad, who seems here to be intended by Gilead, took no part in the contest,
and Judah and Simeon _are not even mentioned. (Chaps, iv., v.) Gideon combined Manasseh, Asher, Zebulon,
and Naphtali against the Midianites; but did not, at first, ask the aid of Ephraim, which roused the anger
of that powerful tribe. (Chaps, vi., vii., viii.) The later history shows the same want of organization, and
the same jealousy.
The small territory of Dan, though bounded on the north by that of Ephraim, and on the south-west
by that of Judah, had to the south-east the land of the Philistines, part of which, including Ekron, one of
the five cities, was included in the Danite lot. The Philistines, however, were not the only enemies with
whom the tribe of Dan had to contend: we read of their first settlement, “ And the Amorites forced the
children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: but the
Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed
(lit. “was heavy”), so that they became tributaries.” (Chap. i. 34, 35.) They were thus driven to the mountainous
eastern part of their land, while the Amorites and the Philistines retained the low western part, in which is the