The whole history leads to the belief that the people left Egypt unarmed. They were slaves, and it is not at all likely that Pharaoh would have suffered 600,000 slaves to carry swords. It is very true that our English version says “the children of Israel went up _harnessed_ out of the land of Egypt” [Exod. xiii., 18.], but the marginal reading is “by five in a rank,” which seems the more probable. No time was given for preparation, for the people were “urgent to send them away in haste,” they had not even time to prepare food before they left, but “took their dough before it was leavened” [Exod. xii., 34]. Having crossed the Red Sea, they would have no opportunity of procuring swords, so that this battle must remain a mystery. 1 Sam. xvii., 54. Here we are told that David, having cut off the head of Goliath, “carried it to Jerusalem.” How could this be, seeing that Jerusalem at the time was in the hand of the Jebusites, and did not fall into the hand of the Israelites till several years afterwards? When David slew the giant he was a mere stripling, say 15 or 16 years of age, but when he took Jerusalem from the Jebusites he was above 30. [2 Sam. v., 6.] 2 Sam. vii., 12, 13, 16. The prophet Nathan is commanded by God to say that the Lord “will set up his seed after him, and establish the kingdom of David for ever;” and again “thine house and thy kingdom,” says Nathan, “shall be established for ever, thy throne shall be established for ever.” What is the fact? Solomon reigned 40 years, but towards the close of his reign, sat on a very tottering throne; no sooner did Rehoboam succeed than 10 parts out of 12 revolted; and in 380 years more the kingdom of Judah had ceased to exist; so that the repeated promise of Nathan that the kingdom should endure for ever proved altogether a failure. Jeremiah, xxxv., 18, 19. Precisely the same promise was made to the Rechabites, with precisely the same results: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father [to drink no wine], Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.” Great efforts have been made to show that the Rechabites still exist; but I apprehend that few scholars will place any reliance on the conflicting accounts. Brett professes they are in Hungary; Niebuhr says they are in Medina; the “Bible Cyclopædia” asserts that they live in Mecca; the missionary Wolff maintains that they live near Jerusalem; Signor Pierotti affirms that he found them in the vicinity of the Dead Sea. 1 Kings, xxii., 19–23; 2 Chron. xviii., 22.