*** In 2 Sam. viii. 1 we are told that David humiliated the Philistines, and took “the bridle of the mother city” out of their hands, or, in other words, destroyed the supremacy which they had exercised over Israel; he probably did no more than this, and failed to secure any part of their territory.  The passage in 1 Chron. xviii. 1, which attributes to him the conquest of Gath and its dependencies, is probably an amplification of the somewhat obscure wording employed in 2 Sam. viii. 1.

But though they suffered no loss of territory, their position was in reality much inferior to what it was before.  Their control of the plain of Jezreel was lost to them for ever, and with it the revenue which they had levied from passing caravans:  the Hebrews transferred to themselves this right of their former masters, and were so much the richer at their expense.  To the five cities this was a more damaging blow than twenty reverses would have been to Benjamin or Judah.  The military spirit had not died out among the Philistines, and they were still capable of any action which did not require sustained effort; but lack of resources prevented them from entering on a campaign of any length, and any chance they may at one time have had of exercising a dominant influence in the affairs of Southern Syria had passed away.  Under the restraining hand of Egypt they returned to the rank of a second-rate power, just strong enough to inspire its neighbours with respect, but too weak to extend its territory by annexing that of others.  Though they might still, at times, give David trouble by contesting at intervals the possession of some outlying citadel, or by making an occasional raid on one of the districts which lay close to the frontier, they were no longer a permanent menace to the continued existence of his kingdom.

But was Judah strong enough to take their place, and set up in Southern Syria a sovereign state, around which the whole fighting material of the country might range itself with confidence?  The incidents of the last war had clearly shown the disadvantages of its isolated position in regard to the bulk of the nation.  The gap between Ekron and the Jordan, which separated it from Ephraim and Manasseh, had, at all costs, to be filled up, if a repetition of the manouvre which so nearly cost David his throne at Adullam were to be avoided.  It is true that the Gibeonites and their allies acknowledged the sovereignty of Ephraim, and formed a sort of connecting link between the tribes, but it was impossible to rely on their fidelity so long as they were exposed to the attacks of the Jebusites in their rear:  as soon therefore as David found he had nothing more to fear from the Philistines, he turned his attention to Jerusalem.* This city stood on a dry and sterile limestone spur, separated on three sides from the surrounding hills by two valleys of unequal length.  That of the Kedron, on the east, begins as a simple depression, but gradually becomes deeper and narrower as it extends towards the south.  About a mile and a half from its commencement it is nothing more than a deep gorge, shut in by precipitous rocks, which for some days after the winter rains is turned into the bed of a torrent.**