The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-19
FIGHTERS OF ISRAEL.
MILITARY LIFE AS WITNESSED IN
THE PLAINS OF JUDEA.

King David as an Observation-Disclosures
Men Who Served az His Captains.
Military Strategy which Repeated
Itself i'm Grants Time-Size of the
Armies.
From the Army and Navy Journal.
Two English gentlemen of the name
of Smith--Prof. George Adam Smith
and Mr.. Goodwin Smith-have become
involved in a dispute as to whether
or not the books of the Old Testament
ring with the clash of conquest" MIR.
Goodwin Smith, who holds the negative
of this proposition against the Eng
fish professor, presents his views in the
Independent for Aug. %. He admits
that if we listen to certain books of the
Old Testament we may hear not only
the clash of conflict, but the shrieks of
men, women and children of captured
town Unfortunately butchered, and
the groans of the whole population of
conquered cities tortured under har-
rows of iron or passed through the
brick kiln" In spite of this Mr. Smith
holds that the ideal Hebrew polty is
not militarist. 1t is very much the re-
verse. There is no exultation of war
above the other callings or of the mil
itary characters above all other charac-
tiers, such as we find in Greece, at
Rome, and in the other ancient nations.
There are no provisions for triumphs
or other military ambition; no rules for
military education. Not only So" says
Mr.. Smith, but wars of conquest are
made almost impossible by the law
forbidding forced service. the means by
which the great armies of the East are
raised"
Zeal for War.
What Mr.. Goodwin Smith says on
this subject simply means that the
nations Of Greece and Rome being fur
Their advanced in civilization than the
Hebrews, had different method OF
expressing their zeal for war. That
wars of conquest were not impossible
| to the Israelites is shown by the his
tory of their great King. David. The
very site OF his caitapl at Jerusalem
was territory wrested from the Jebus-
ties, and that rewards for military
service were not unknown to his peo-
pie is shown by the fact that he to
whom had been given the hand OF
King Sauls daughter, and who had
himself become king by virtue of his
military prowess bestowed upon Joa b
the chief command of his army as a
reward for being the first to mount the
battlements of the Jebusites' citadel at
Salem, henceforth Jeru- Salem.
Mr.. Smiths ideas as to the inca
pacity of the Hebrews for aggressive
war would find no support in the ex-
periences of the Moabite the Kings
of Zobah and Damascus, the Edomites
and te Ammonites, or of the Syrian
monarchs who formed an alliance
against the dreaded Israelites Did not
David subjugate every tribe or nation
bordering upon his kingdom?
Size of David's Kingdom.
The kingdom of Israel in the time
of David embraced a territory about
equal to the state of Massachusetts
and had population nearly The same
as that OF New York, six millions or
! more. That it was able to dominate
the territory between the Mediter-
ranean and the Euphrates, and from
Damascus to the Gulf of Arabia, With
powerful neighbors pressing upon it
| from all sides, was due to the military
genius Of David, and the admirable
military system established by him.
Nowhere could we look for more ex.
| cellent MODEL of our own military or.
| ganizaIion. In ii is found, not only
| The modern system of universal mil
| tary service, as applied in Germany
| and France. Its fundamental principle
was that recognized by our great mol
crn states, that every able bodied man
owes military service to the state,
which he must actually pay for GER
| tain period in peace and in war.
Big Army Orga nized.
David transformed the irregular
| fighting forces of Israel into an organ
| lied and effective army. This included
what we should now call a landwehr
| of 2SS, 600 men, divided into twelve
corps of $4,000 men, each corps being
| in time of peace called into active SER
| vice for one month in the year. so that
there were always $4,000 men in camp.
In war acquisitions were made on this
force as needed. and the troops were
placed under the command of a gen.
| eral of tried courage and ability. be-
| longing to a specially trained military
body peculiar to the Kingdom of Is
rael. A bodyguard for the Kings per-
| son known as "Gibborim," or heroes.
was organized from thoroughly In
| structed men of war, corresponding to
the Swiss Guards" of France, and,
| Ike them, largely recruited from for
eigners. This bodyguard was formed
into brigade, composed Of three reg
| lmentS, edCn 0dNlHB d IOiOHcl, VI wi
responding officer; Northumberland,
| and ten companies commanded by cap
tains. From this guard, mainly from
it's captains, twelve generals were Sc
lected to command the army corps
when called out for war. This gave the
trained captains of the bodyguard as
signed TO the command of a corps rank
equivalent to that of a major general.
Even the Aaronites and the Levites
were made use of for purposes of war,
and are enumerated among the military
as well as among the civil officers
Character of the Captains.
The character Of the men who COM
manded the armies of Israel is indicat-
| ed by the enumeration in ii. Samuel.
| chapter xii. OF the mighty men that
| David led TO war against the Philis-
tines. THE Tachmonite that sat in the
seat, chief among the captains; the
same was Adlno the Ezuite; he lifted
40 his spear against eight hundred
| whom he slew at one time. And after
| him was Eleazor, the son Of Dodo the
! Ahohite. one Of the three mighty men
\ with David when they defied the Phil
ietines that were there gathered to-
| Oether IN battle, and the men Of Israel