ay, he shall not prevail!"*

* Isa. xv. 1-9; xvi. 1-12. This prophecy, which had been
pronounced against Moab "in the old days," and which is
appropriated by Isaiah (xvi. 13, 14), has been attributed to
Jonah, son of Amittai, of Gath-Hepher, who actually lived in
the time of Jeroboam II. (2 Kings xiv. 25). It is now
generally recognised as the production of an anonymous
Judsean prophet, and the earliest authentic fragment of
prophetic literature which has come down to us.

This revival, like the former greatness of David and Solomon, was due
not so much to any inherent energy on the part of Israel, as to the
weakness of the nations on its frontiers. Egypt was not in the habit of
intervening in the quarrels of Asia, and Assyria was suffering from
a temporary eclipse. Damascus had suddenly collapsed, and Hadrach or
Mansuati, the cities which sought to take its place, found themselves
fully employed in repelling the intermittent attacks of the Assyrian;
the Hebrews, for a quarter of a century, therefore, had the stage to
themselves, there being no other actors to dispute their possession of
it. During the three hundred years of their existence as a monarchy they
had adopted nearly all the laws and customs of the races over whom they
held sway, and by whom they were completely surrounded. The bulk of the
people devoted themselves to the pasturing and rearing of cattle, and,
during the better part of the year, preferred to live in tents, unless
war rendered such a practice impossible.* They had few industries save
those of the potter** and the smith,*** and their trade was almost
entirely in the hands of foreigners.

* Cf. the passage in 2 Kings xiii. 5, "And the children of
Israel dwelt in their tents as beforetime." Although the
word _ohel_ had by that time acquired the more general
meaning of _habitation_, the context here seems to require
us to translate it by its original meaning tent.

** Pottery is mentioned in 2 Sam. xvii. 28; numerous
fragments dating from the monarchical period have been found
at Jerusalem and Lachish.

*** The story of Tubal-Cain (Gen. iv. 22) shows the
antiquity of the ironworker's art among the Israelites; the
smith is practically the only artisan to be found amongst
nomadic tribes.

We find, however, Hebrew merchants in Egypt,* at Tyre, and in
Coele-Syria, and they were so numerous at Dam