=The Philistine Advance.= The scene of Israel's history was suddenly transferred farther south. The choice of Saul as king was equivalent to declaring war against the Philistines, and Saul's intrepid son, Jonathan, assumed the offensive by attacking their garrison at Gibeah. These active oppressors of Israel soon came streaming up over the pass of Beth-horon^{(84)} to crush the rebellion. At their approach most of Saul's followers vanished and he was left with only a handful of men. For the moment the Hebrew kingdom seemed but a wild dream. Again it was simply the courage of Jonathan that at this crisis turned the tide of war and gave Saul a secure throne. The Philistines had advanced to the fortress of Michmash and, finding no opposition, had dispersed in search of plunder. One band turned back toward Beth-horon in the west, another went north to the southern Ophrah, otherwise known as Ephraim. The third band had gone eastward, along the road which led across the barren wilderness to the Valley of Achor and the Jordan. =The Pass of Michmash.= The only remnant of the Philistine army left to guard the Hebrews under Saul was the garrison at Michmash. In early times one important branch of the main highway apparently led from Gibeah to the northeast, past Geba and the pass below Michmash to Ai and Bethel. The highway which led up from the Jordan valley and Gilead in the east ran directly past Michmash, connecting through the pass of Beth-horon with the main highways of the coast. Michmash was therefore the key to central Canaan. The Wady es-Suweinit is broad and shallow in its upper course below the village of Michmash, but to the southeast of the town there is a terraced crag or plateau overhanging the valley, which here has steep cliffs on both sides^{(85)}. This point was probably the scene of Jonathan's brave exploit. Accompanied only by his armor-bearer, he descended the cliff in front of Geba, crossed the deep valley, and climbed up the almost sheer cliff on the other side. The temerity of his act at first only aroused the curiosity and scorn of the Philistines, so that they allowed him to scale the heights unmolested. Their scorn was turned to terror when, like a divine warrior, he attacked and slew twenty of their number. The biblical narrative implies that an earthquake added to the panic, which quickly spread to the ranks of the plundering Philistines.