=Gideon's Kingdom.= The significance of Gideon's victory lies not so much in the courage with which he responded to the relentless law of blood revenge, nor the greatness of his victory, but in the fact that when he returned his followers and certain of the cities near Ophrah asked him to rule over them and to transmit his authority to his sons. Thus a local chieftain was transformed into a king. The kingdom thus established would probably have survived had it not been for the cruelty and folly of the son who succeeded him. In its widest bounds, Gideon's kingdom was apparently very small. In addition to Ophrah, Shechem, which was at this time the chief city in central Samaria, Thebez, a town three miles north of 'Ain el-Farah, and doubtless the conquered cities of Succoth and Penuel, across the Jordan to the east, acknowledged his authority. Probably the villages and territory included within these bounds also enjoyed his protection. In its broadest bounds his kingdom probably did not extend more than twenty-five miles from north to south and the same distance from east to west. =Reasons for the Superiority of the Philistines.= The foes whose aggressions compelled the Hebrew tribes to unite in common defence and thus gave rise to the Hebrew kingdom were the Philistines. These hardy immigrants from the islands and shores of the northeastern Mediterranean had entered western Palestine during the reign of Ramses III, at about the time when the Hebrews were intrenching themselves in the east-Jordan land, preparatory to their advance upon the uplands of Canaan (_cf._ p. 122). It was inevitable that these strong peoples should ultimately clash. The Hebrews succeeded in capturing the central plateau, but the Philistines soon surpassed them in military strength and organization. This difference was largely due to the characteristics of the territory in which the two peoples settled. In striking contrast to the home of the Hebrews, Philistia was divided by no natural barriers. All its territory was a gently rolling plain. Its people were united by similar occupations and interests. The result was that, while the Hebrew tribes were fighting their battles independently or were even engaged in civil strife, the kings or tyrants who ruled over the four or five leading Philistine cities had already formed a close confederacy and were fighting as a united people. The rich fertility of the land which they occupied also accelerated their development. Their territory lay on the great commercial highways of the eastern Mediterranean, so that they received the culture and the products of Egypt on the one hand and of Phœnicia and Babylonia on the other. Their exposed position and lack of natural defences also hastened the development of their military organization and equipment. Their cities were surrounded by strong walls and in battle they employed chariots and horsemen as well as infantry. It is easy, therefore, to understand why the Hebrews were