their ground against the onset of a much more numerous body of troops.  The caves afford, as we know, almost impregnable refuges:  David had often hidden himself in them in the days when he fled before Saul, and now his soldiers profited by the knowledge he possessed of them to elude the attacks of the Philistines.  He began a sort of guerilla warfare, in the conduct of which he seems to have been without a rival, and harassed in endless skirmishes his more heavily equipped adversaries.  He did not spare himself, and freely risked his own life; but he was of small stature and not very powerful, so that his spirit often outran his strength.  On one occasion, when he had advanced too far into the fray and was weary with striking, he ran great peril of being killed by a gigantic Philistine:  with difficulty Abishai succeeded in rescuing him unharmed from the dangerous position into which he had ventured, and for the future he was not allowed to run such risks on the field of battle.  On another occasion, when lying in the cave of Adullam, he began to feel a longing for the cool waters of Bethlehem, and asked who would go down and fetch him a draught from the well by the gates of the town.  Three of his mighty men, Joshebbasshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah, broke through the host of the Philistines and succeeded in bringing it; but he refused to drink the few drops they had brought, and poured them out as a libation to Jehovah, saying, “Shall I drink the blood of men that went in jeopardy of their lives?"* Duels between the bravest and stoutest champions of the two hosts were of frequent occurrence.  It was in an encounter of this kind that Elhanan the Bethlehemite [or David] slew the giant Goliath at Gob.  At length David succeeded in breaking his way through the enemies’ lines in the valley of Kephaim, thus forcing open the road to the north.  Here he probably fell in with the Israelitish contingent, and, thus reinforced, was at last in a position to give battle in the open:  he was again successful, and, routing his foes, pursued them from Gibeon to Gezer.** None of his victories, however, was of a sufficiently decisive character to bring the struggle to an end:  it dragged on year after year, and when at last it did terminate, there was no question on either side of submission or of tribute:*** the Hebrews completely regained their independence, but the Philistines do not seem to have lost any portion of their domain, and apparently retained possession of all that they had previously held.

* 2 Sam. xxiii. 13-17; cf. 1 Ghron. xi. 15-19.  Popular tradition furnishes many incidents of a similar type; cf.  Alexander in the desert of Gedrosia, Godfrey de Bouillon in Asia Minor, etc.

** The Hebrew text gives “from Geba [or Gibeah] to Gezer” (2 Sam. v. 25); the Septuagint, “from Gibeon to Gezer.”  This latter reading [which is that of 1 Chron. xiv. 16.—­Tr.] is more in accordance with the geographical facts, and I have therefore