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Since you, she says, did not use the embassy according to the divine law; I teach you that the city has no warlike purpose, but longs for peace. Therefore, do not lay waste a city, not of another tribe, but of the same tribe, and serving under the same God and Lord. Having heard these words, the general said that he desired neither war nor a siege; but only wished to subdue the one who had used tyranny against the king. Therefore, the most wise woman, having learned the reason for the siege, persuaded the leaders of the city not to expose the city to the danger of war, but to recall the king's piety 80.652 and good government, and his valor in wars, and how through his labors they enjoy a firm peace. Using these words, she cast the tyrant's head into the camp and ended the siege. QUEST. 40. What is, "Upon the plinthion, and upon the mighty ones?" I think *plinthion* is the name for what is called *plaisíon* by foreign authors. This is a type of military formation having a square shape. Therefore, just as the one now called *magister* among the Romans is entrusted with the command of the infantrymen around the king, I mean the shield-bearers and spear-bearers; so Benaiah commanded the royal bodyguards, while the rest of the army was under the general Joab. QUEST. 41. How should one understand, "Zadok and Abiathar were priests, and Iodae the Jetherite was a priest to David?" Zadok and Abiathar held the high-priestly dignity; but this one, being a priest, lived inside the palace, attending to the divine ark and offering the royal sacrifices. QUEST. 42. Why was it that after Saul had killed the Gibeonites, the people were punished after his death? The whole people had made the treaties with the Gibeonites; and Eleazar the priest and Joshua the prophet also shared in the oaths. Therefore, it was necessary for the descendants of those who had sworn not to transgress the treaties that had been made, and to persuade even the lawless king to keep the oath. For this reason, even after his death, they endured the chastisement of the famine. And through these things He who wisely governs all things teaches us, that even if, being long-suffering, He does not immediately bring punishment for the laws that have been transgressed, yet later He exacts worthy penalties; just as indeed then, when forty years had already passed, He bound up the pangs of the clouds; and enveloped the earth with the affliction of barrenness; and punished its inhabitants with famine. But the king, not knowing the cause of the divinely-sent plague, asked the just judge. Having learned 80.653 therefore, that penalties were being exacted for the unjust slaughter of the Gibeonites, he used the wronged themselves as judges. "For David said, it says, to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you, and with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?" But the Jews do not hearken to these words, that the seed of Abraham needed the blessing of the Canaanites; but they are greatly proud of their forefathers, and are unwilling to understand that virtue is much more glorious than ancestral nobility; and, according to the divine Apostle, the uncircumcision which is by nature, fulfilling the law, will judge him who through the letter and circumcision is a transgressor of the law. Therefore, just as the Israelites who had sinned at that time needed the blessing of the Canaanites; so also those who crucified the Lord have fallen from the ancestral blessing, and are in need of the teaching of the believing nations. And in addition to these things, it must be noted that Saul, using zeal, killed the Gibeonites along with the other Canaanites. For the divine Scripture teaches this: "For the Gibeonites, it says, were not of the sons of Israel, but they were from the remnant of the Amorites; and the sons of Israel had sworn to them not to destroy them; and Saul sought to smite them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah." The word therefore teaches us not to transgress the treaties made with oaths before God, even if concerning others

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Ἐπειδὴ σὺ, φησὶ, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον νόμον οὐκ ἐχρήσω τῇ πρεσβείᾳ· ἐγώ σε διδάσκω, ὡς πολεμικὸν ἡ πόλις οὐκ ἔχει σκοπὸν, ἀλλ' εἰρήνης ὀρέγεται. Μὴ τοίνυν ἀνάστατον ἀπο φήνῃς πόλιν, οὐκ ἀλλόφυλον, ἀλλ' ὁμόφυλον, καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν αὐτὸν τελοῦσαν Θεὸν καὶ ∆εσπότην. Τούτων ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων ὁ στρατηγὸς ἔφη, μήτε πολέ μου, μήτε πολιορκίας ἐρᾷν· μόνον δὲ ἐθέλειν χει ρώσασθαι τὸν κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τυραννίδι χρησά μενον. Μαθοῦσα τοίνυν τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς πολιορκίας ἡ σοφωτάτη γυνὴ, τοὺς ἡγουμένους τῆς πόλεως ἔπεισε μὴ περιθεῖναι τῇ πόλει τοῦ πολέμου τὸν κίν δυνον, ἀλλ' ἀναμνησθῆναι τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως εὐσε 80.652 βείας καὶ εὐνομίας, καὶ τῆς ἐν πολέμοις ἀνδραγα θίας, καὶ ὡς διὰ τοὺς ἐκείνου πόνους εἰρήνης στεῤ ῥᾶς ἀπολαύουσι. Τούτοις χρησαμένη τοῖς λόγοις, τοῦ τυράννου τὴν κεφαλὴν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἔῤ ῥιψε, καὶ τὴν πολιορκίαν διέλυσεν. ΕΡΩΤ. Μʹ. Τί ἐστιν, "Ἐπὶ τοῦ πλινθίου, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς δυ νατούς;" Πλινθίον οἶμαι καλεῖσθαι, ὃ παρὰ τοῖς ἔξωθεν συγγραφεῦσι πλαίσιον ὀνομάζεται. Εἶδος τοῦτο στρατιωτικῆς παρατάξεως τετράγωνον ἐχούσης τὸ σχῆμα Ὥσπερ τοίνυν ὁ νῦν παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις μάγιστρος ὀνομαζόμενος τῶν περὶ τὸν βασιλέα πεζαι τέρων, ἀσπιδηφόρων φημὶ καὶ δορυφόρων, τὴν ἡγε μονίαν πεπίστευται· οὕτως ὁ Βανέας τῶν βασιλικῶν σωματοφυλάκων ἡγεῖτο, τῆς ἄλλης στρατιᾶς τελού σης ὑπὸ τὸν στρατηγὸν Ἰωάβ. ΕΡΩΤ. ΜΑʹ. Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, "Σαδὼκ καὶ Ἀβιάθαρ ἱερεῖς, καὶ Ἰωδαὲ ὁ Ἰεθὲρ ἦν ἱερεὺς τῷ ∆αβίδ;" Ὁ Σαδὼκ καὶ ὁ Ἀβιάθαρ τὴν ἀρχιερατικὴν εἶχον ἀξίαν· οὗτος δὲ ἱερεὺς ὢν ἔνδον ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις διῆγε, τῇ θείᾳ κιβωτῷ προσεδρεύων, καὶ τὰς βασι λικὰς ἱερεύων θυσίας. ΕΡΩΤ. ΜΒʹ. Τί δήποτε τοῦ Σαοὺλ τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας ἀνῃρη κότος, μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτὴν ὁ λαὸς ἐπαιδεύθη; Ἅπας ὁ λαὸς ἐπεποιήκει τὰς πρὸς τοὺς Γαβαω νίτας συνθήκας· ἐκοινώνησε δὲ τῶν ὅρκων καὶ Ἐλεάζαρ ὁ ἱερεὺς, καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ προφήτης. Ἔδειτοίνυν τῶν ὀμωμοκότων τοὺς ἀπογόνους τὰς γεγενη μένας μὴ παραβῆναι σπονδὰς, πεῖσαι δὲ καὶ τὸν παρανομοῦντα βασιλέα φυλάξαι τὸν ὅρκον. Τούτου χάριν καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτὴν, τοῦ λιμοῦ τὴν παιδείαν ὑπέμειναν. ∆ιδάσκει δὲ διὰ τούτων ἡμᾶς ὁ σοφῶς ἅπαντα πρυτανεύων, ὅτι κἂν παραυτίκα μακροθυμήσας μὴ ἐπενέγκῃ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν παρα βεβασμένων νόμων ποινὴν, ἀλλ' οὖν ὕστερον δίκας ἀξίας εἰσπράττεται· ὥσπερ ἀμέλει καὶ τότε, τεσ σαράκοντα ἤδη διεληλυθότων ἐτῶν, ἐπέδησε μὲν τῶν νεφῶν τὰς ὠδῖνας· τῷ δὲ τῆς ἀκαρπίας πάθει τὴν γῆν περιέβαλεν· ἐκόλασε δὲ λιμῷ τοὺς ταύτης οἰκήτορας. Ἀγνοῶν δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς θεηλάτου πληγῆς, τὸν δίκαιον ἤρετο δικαστήν. Γνοὺς 80.653 τοίνυν, ὡς τῆς ἀδίκου τῶν Γαβαωνιτῶν ἀναιρέσεως εὐθύνας εἰσπράττεται, αὐτοῖς ἐχρήσατο τοῖς ἠδικη μένοις κριταῖς. "Εἶπε γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ ∆αβὶδ πρὸς τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας, Τί ποιήσω ὑμῖν, καὶ ἐν τίνι ἐξιλάσομαι, καὶ εὐλογήσετε τὴν κληρονομίαν Κυ ρίου;" Ἀλλὰ τούτων οὐκ ἐπακούουσιν Ἰουδαῖοι τῶν λόγων, ὅτι τῆς Χαναναίων εὐλογίας τὸ σπέρμα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἐδεήθη· ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τοῖς προγόνοις μέγα φρονοῦσι, καὶ συνιδεῖν οὐκ ἐθέλουσιν, ὡς ἀρετὴ πολλῷ περιφανεστέρα προγονικῆς εὐγενείας· καὶ κρινεῖ, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον, ἡ ἐκ φύσεως ἀκρο βυστία, τὸν νόμον πληροῦσα, τὸν διὰ γράμματος καὶ περιτομῆς παραβάτην νόμου. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν οἱ τη νικάδε ἡμαρτηκότες Ἰσραηλῖται τῆς Χαναναίων ἐδεήθησαν εὐλογίας· οὕτω καὶ οἱ τὸν ∆εσπότην ἐσταυρωκότες τῆς προγονικῆς ἐξέπεσον εὐλογίας, καὶ τῆς τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐθνῶν διδασκαλίας προσ δέονται. Κἀκεῖνο δὲ πρὸς τούτοις ἐπισημήνασθαι δεῖ, ὡς ὁ Σαοὺλ ζήλῳ χρησάμενος μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων Χαναναίων τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας κατέκτεινε. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ θεία διδάσκει Γραφή· "Οὐκ ἦσαν γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ Γαβαωνῖται ἐκ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι ἀπὸ τῶν καταλοίπων Ἀμοῤῥαίων ἦσαν· καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ὤμοσαν αὐτοῖς μὴ ἀπολέσαι αὐτούς· καὶ ἐζή τησε Σαοὺλ τοῦ πατάξαι αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ζηλῶσαι αὐτὸν τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ καὶ Ἰούδα." ∆ιδάσκει τοίνυν ἡμᾶς ὁ λόγος, μὴ παραβαίνειν τὰς ἐπὶ Θεοῦ μεθ' ὅρκων γινομένας συνθήκας, κἂν εἰς ἄλλων