feared Adoni, but they worshipped other gods, the gods of their native countries. And they appointed unto them priests "of the lowest of them," therefore not Adonites.

The Babylonians worshipped Succoth-benoth; the Cuthites, Nergal; the Hamathites, Ashima; the Avites, Nibhaz and Tartak; the Sepharvites, Adrammelech and Anammelech. They feared Adoni, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. Unto this day they do after the former manners; they fear not Adoni, neither do they after their statutes, nor after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which Adoni commanded the Bene Jacob, whom he named Israel. So these nations feared Adoni, and served their graven images, both their children and their children's children; as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

Thus, so long as the Assyrian was powerful enough to protect them, each of the various peoples of Samaria enjoyed their own worship. But, in the time of Josiah, the Assyrian empire had been broken to pieces. It was threatened by Chaldea; and Egypt was preparing to invade it. Samaria had lost the protection of its Ninevite sovereign, and was occupied by peoples of different races and worships without any bond of union.

In this condition it lay when the Adonites, mad with the success of their forgery in Judah, headed by their mad king, and followed by a crew of maniacs and plunderers, rushed in upon this defenceless country, to enforce the newly-framed statutes of Adoni, and to execute the exterminating ordinations of the Pseudo-Moses.

In their pious fury they destroyed the altar at Bethel, and the high places and altars in the cities of Samaria, they slew the priests of the high places, and, vampire like, they violated the graves, dug up the bones, and with them desecrated the altars-a sweet-savoured sacrifice to Adoni!

Scriptural Authorities.-2 Kings xvii. 24. The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the Bene Israel, and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

25. And so it was that, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Adoni; therefore Adoni sent lions among them, which slew some of them.

26. Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of

Samaria, know not the manner of the god of the land; therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the god of the land.

27. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence, and let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the god of the land.

28. Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear Adoni.

29. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places, which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.

30. The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth. The men of Cuth made Nergal.

The men of Hamath made Ashima.

31. The Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak.

The Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

32. So they feared Adoni, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.

33. They feared Adoni, and served their own gods after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

34. Unto this day they do after the former manners; they fear not Adoni, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which Adoni commanded the Bene Jacob, when he named them Israel;

35. With whom Adoni had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them; but Adoni, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretchedout arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.

37. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.

38. And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.

39. But Adoni your god ye shall fear, and he shall deliver you out of the hand of your enemies.

40. Howbeit, they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.

41. So these nations feared Adoni, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children; as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

But the time of persecution came-not from their own rulers, but from neighbouring savages rushing in upon the land.

2 Kings xxiii. 15. Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam Ben Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he (Josiah) brake down, and burned the high place and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. And as Josiah turned himself, he espied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it according to the word of Adoni. . . .

19. And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Adoni (Yahaveh) to anger, Josiah took away; and did to them according to all the acts that he did to Beth-el.

20. And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.

JUDAH. As to Judah it will be shown by similar extracts, that although the kings during the far greater portion of the period followed the worship of Adoni, almost the entire people retained their ancient worships.

It has been already shown that, in his latter years, Solomon, relieved perhaps from the ascendency of Zadok and his class, was in his heart turned away from Adoni towards other gods: and that at his death, in addition to the popular seats of worship, the high places, and the groves, there stood in Jerusalem temples to Adoni and several other gods. Even the kings of Judah who favoured the Adonian sect, except Joash, while under the domination of Jehoiada, and Hezekiah, and Josiah, had sufficient wisdom to allow the rest of their subjects to pursue their own religious rites. The temples erected by Solomon for the worshippers of other gods were not disturbed until Josiah's reign.

Rehoboam succeeded his father Solomon as king of Judah, and reigned 17 years.

1. Kings xiv. 22. And Judah did evil in the sight of Adoni, and

they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed above all that their fathers had done.

23. They also built them high places, and images, and groves on every high hill, and under every green tree, and there were also sodomites in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which Adoni cast out before the Bene Israel.

Abijam succeeded his father Asa, and reigned 3 years.

1 Kings xv. 3. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him.

Down to this time it is apparent that neither the popular worships in the groves, or high places, nor the temples which Solomon had erected for the foreign worships had been interfered with.

Maachah the wife of Rehoboam or of Abijam, which the text renders doubtful, had introduced some additional worship.

Asa the son or brother of Abijam, which the text renders equally doubtful, succeeded Abijam and reigned 41 years.

1 Kings xv. 11. And Asa did what was right in the eyes of Adoni, as did David his father. And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols which his fathers had made,— and destroyed his mother's idol.

14. But the high places were not removed.

Jehoshaphat succeeded Asa his father, and reigned 25 years.

1 Kings xxii. 43. And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father: he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Adoni.

Nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.

Jehoram succeeded to, or rather became associated in, the kingdom with Jehoshaphat his father, and reigned 8 years.

2 Kings viii. 18. He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for the daughter of Ahab was his wife, and he did evil in the sight of Adoni.

Ahaziah succeeded his father Jehoram, and reigned 1 year.

2 Kings viii. 27. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of Adoni.

Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah, succeeded to the throne on the death of her son and reigned 6 years, when she was murdered by a conspiracy headed by the Adonite priest Jehoiada.

It must be assumed that, according to the view of the compiler

of Kings, she did evil in the sight of Adoni, as she was a daughter of Ahab.

On the death of Athaliah, Jehoash (or Joash), a child of the age of 7 years, was put on the throne by the priest and his companions in the conspiracy. He nominally reigned 40 years. Or rather for the first 18 or 20 years Jehoiada ruled the kingdom in his name.

2 Kings xii. 2. And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of Adoni all the days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

3. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

Amaziah succeeded his father Joash, and reigned 29 years, and did what was right in the sight of Adoni.

2 Kings xiv. 4. Howbeit the high places were not taken away; as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.

Azariah (Uzziah) succeeded his father Amaziah, at the age of 16, and reigned 52 years, and did what was right in the sight of Adoni.

2 Kings xv. 4. Save that the high places were not removed, the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.

Jotham succeeded his father Uzziah, and reigned 16 years, and he did that which was right in the sight of Adoni.

2 Kings xv. 35. Howbeit the high places were not removed; the people sacrificed and burnt incense still in the high places. Ahaz succeeded his father Jotham.

2 Kings xvi. 2. Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign, and reigned 16 years in Jerusalem; and did not that which is right in the sight of Adoni.

3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom Adoni had cast out before the Bene Israel.

4. And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

10 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest, the fashion of the altar and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

11. And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus.