Antiquities of the Jews — Book 7, Chapter 12

1. After this, when the country was greatly afflicted with a famine,
David besought God to have mercy on the people, and to discover to him
what was the cause of it, and how a remedy might be found for that
distemper. And when the prophets answered, that God would have the
Gibeonites avenged whom Saul the king was so wicked as to betray to
slaughter, and had not observed the oath which Joshua the general and
the senate had sworn to them: If, therefore, said God, the king would
permit such vengeance to be taken for those that were slain as the
Gibeonites should desire, he promised that he would be reconciled to
them, and free the multitude from their miseries. As soon therefore as
the king understood that this it was which God sought, he sent for the
Gibeonites, and asked them what it was they should have; and when they
desired to have seven sons of Saul delivered to them to be punished, he
delivered them up, but spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan. So when
the Gibeonites had received the men, they punished them as they pleased;
upon which God began to send rain, and to recover the earth to bring
forth its fruits as usual, and to free it from the foregoing drought, so
that the country of the Hebrews flourished again. A little afterward the
king made war against the Philistines; and when he had joined battle
with them, and put them to flight, he was left alone, as he was in
pursuit of them; and when he was quite tired down, he was seen by one of
the enemy, his name was Achmon, the son of Araph, he was one of the sons
of the giants. He had a spear, the handle of which weighed three hundred
shekels, and a breastplate of chain-work, and a sword. He turned back,
and ran violently to slay [David] their enemy's king, for he was quite
tired out with labor; but Abishai, Joab's brother, appeared on the
sudden, and protected the king with his shield, as he lay down, and slew
the enemy. Now the multitude were very uneasy at these dangers of the
king, and that he was very near to be slain; and the rulers made him
swear that he would no more go out with them to battle, lest he should
come to some great misfortune by his courage and boldness, and thereby
deprive the people of the benefits they now enjoyed by his means, and of
those that they might hereafter enjoy by his living a long time among
them.

2. When the king heard that the Philistines were gathered together at
the city Gazara, he sent an army against them, when Sibbechai the
Hittite, one of David's most courageous men, behaved himself so as to
deserve great commendation, for he slew many of those that bragged they
were the posterity of the giants, and vaunted themselves highly on that
account, and thereby was the occasion of victory to the Hebrews. After
which defeat, the Philistines made war again; and when David had sent an
army against them, Nephan his kinsman fought in a single combat with the
stoutest of all the Philistines, and slew him, and put the rest to
flight. Many of them also were slain in the fight. Now a little while
after this, the Philistines pitched their camp at a city which lay not
far off the bounds of the country of the Hebrews. They had a man who was
six cubits tall, and had on each of his feet and hands one more toe and
finger than men naturally have. Now the person who was sent against them
by David out of his army was Jonathan, the son of Shimea, who fought
this man in a single combat, and slew him; and as he was the person who
gave the turn to the battle, he gained the greatest reputation for
courage therein. This man also vaunted himself to be of the sons of the
giants. But after this fight the Philistines made war no more against
the Israelites.

3. And now David being freed from wars and dangers, and enjoying for the
future a profound peace, 22 composed songs and hymns to God of several
sorts of metre; some of those which he made were trimeters, and some
were pentameters. He also made instruments of music, and taught the
Levites to sing hymns to God, both on that called the sabbath day, and
on other festivals. Now the construction of the instruments was thus:
The viol was an instrument of ten strings, it was played upon with a
bow; the psaltery had twelve musical notes, and was played upon by the
fingers; the cymbals were broad and large instruments, and were made of
brass. And so much shall suffice to be spoken by us about these
instruments, that the readers may not be wholly unacquainted with their
nature.

4. Now all the men that were about David were men of courage. Those that
were most illustrious and famous of them for their actions were thirty-
eight; of five of whom I will only relate the performances, for these
will suffice to make manifest the virtues of the others also; for these
were powerful enough to subdue countries, and conquer great nations.
First, therefore, was Jessai, the son of Achimaas, who frequently leaped
upon the troops of the enemy, and did not leave off fighting till he
overthrew nine hundred of them. After him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo,
who was with the king at Arasam. This man, when once the Israelites were
under a consternation at the multitude of the Philistines, and were
running away, stood alone, and fell upon the enemy, and slew many of
them, till his sword clung to his hand by the blood he had shed, and
till the Israelites, seeing the Philistines retire by his means, came
down from the mountains and pursued them, and at that time won a
surprising and a famous victory, while Eleazar slew the men, and the
multitude followed and spoiled their dead bodies. The third was Sheba,
the son of Ilus. Now this man, when, in the wars against the
Philistines, they pitched their camp at a place called Lehi, and when
the Hebrews were again afraid of their army, and did not stay, he stood
still alone, as an army and a body of men; and some of them he
overthrew, and some who were not able to abide his strength and force he
pursued. These are the works of the hands, and of fighting, which these
three performed. Now at the time when the king was once at Jerusalem,
and the army of the Philistines came upon him to fight him, David went
up to the top of the citadel, as we have already said, to inquire of God
concerning the battle, while the enemy's camp lay in the valley that
extends to the city Bethlehem, which is twenty furlongs distant from
Jerusalem. Now David said to his companions, "We have excellent water in
my own city, especially that which is in the pit near the gate,"
wondering if any one would bring him some of it to drink; but he said
that he would rather have it than a great deal of money. When these
three men heard what he said, they ran away immediately, and burst
through the midst of their enemy's camp, and came to Bethlehem; and when
they had drawn the water, they returned again through the enemy's camp
to the king, insomuch that the Philistines were so surprised at their
boldness and alacrity, that they were quiet, and did nothing against
them, as if they despised their small number. But when the water was
brought to the king, he would not drink it, saying, that it was brought
by the danger and the blood of men, and that it was not proper on that
account to drink it. But he poured it out to God, and gave him thanks
for the salvation of the men. Next to these was Abishai, Joab's brother;
for he in one day slew six hundred. The fifth of these was Benaiah, by
lineage a priest; for being challenged by [two] eminent men in the
country of Moab, he overcame them by his valor, Moreover, there was a
man, by nation an Egyptian, who was of a vast bulk, and challenged him,
yet did he, when he was unarmed, kill him with his own spear, which he
threw at him; for he caught him by force, and took away his weapons
while he was alive and fighting, and slew him with his own weapons. One
may also add this to the forementioned actions of the same man, either
as the principal of them in alacrity, or as resembling the rest. When
God sent a snow, there was a lion who slipped and fell into a certain
pit, and because the pit's mouth was narrow it was evident he would
perish, being enclosed with the snow; so when he saw no way to get out
and save himself, he roared. When Benaiah heard the wild beast, he went
towards him, and coming at the noise he made, he went down into the
mouth of the pit and smote him, as he struggled, with a stake that lay
there, and immediately slew him. The other thirty-three were like these
in valor also.