164 



€inity of the enem\-. from whence it was brought by David, 

 to be finally placed in Jerusalem. 



There is one text that might seem to militate with this con- 

 struction, (c. 14. 3.) in which it is said, that among those with 

 Saul at Gibeah, when he was pursued by the Philistines, pre- 

 vious to his victory, was "Ahiah,the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's 

 brother, the son of Phinchas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest 

 in Shiloh, wearing an ephod." Since it might be said that, 

 as Ichabod was born at the commencement oi the jurisdiction 

 of Samuel, his brother Ahitub, could scarcely have had a son 

 at this period of an age to minister in the priest's office ; but 

 we are to remember that Eli did not conunence his juris- 

 diction until he was 58 years of age, and of course his son, 

 Phinehas, the father of Ahitub and Ichabod, might soon 

 afterwards have attained man's estate and married ; and as 

 Eli held the office of high priest and died in the government 

 in his ninety-eighth year, it is by no means improbable that 

 the eldest son of Pliinehas was then the father of Ahiah, who 

 consequently could, at the period we are considering, have 

 attained the requisite age to undertake the duties of the Le- 

 gates; the early marriages usual in the east, and the privileges 

 of polygani}-, render such inequalities in the comparative 

 births of the same family by no means unusual or unpre- 

 cedented. The histories of the Asiatic sovereigns, were it 

 necessary, would present innumerable instances to parallel 

 and confirm this; and, in the family of David himself, 



we 



