Meanwhile, although the desire existed in both kingdoms to free themselves from foreign influences, and to remain true to themselves, internal differences had already taken such deep root that it was impossible for them to pursue the same road. After the return of Amaziah from his conquest of the Edomites, he conceived the bold idea of proceeding with his army against the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, in order to re-conquer it. As a pretext, he appears to have demanded the daughter of the king of Israel as a bride for his son, intending to regard a refusal as a justification for war. Jehoash satirically replied, "The thorn-bush once said to the cedar of Lebanon, 'Give thy daughter as a wife to my son'; thereupon the wild beasts of the Lebanon came forth, and trod down the thorn-bush. Because thou hast conquered Edom, thy heart grows proud. Guard thine honour, and remain at home. Why wilt thou plunge thyself into misfortune, that Judah may fall with thee?" But Amaziah refused to yield, and sent his army to the borders of the kingdom of Israel. Jehoash, encouraged by the victory he had just obtained over the Aramæans, went forth to meet him. A battle was fought on the frontier at Beth-Shemesh, where the men of Judah sustained a considerable defeat, and fled. Amaziah himself was taken prisoner by the king of Israel. One must consider it an unusual act of leniency that Jehoash did not abuse his brilliant victory, and that he did not even actively follow it up. Could he not dethrone the captive Amaziah, declare the house of David to be extinct, and merge the kingdom of Judah into his own realm? This, however, he did not do, but contented himself with destroying the walls of Jerusalem, and ransacking the town, the palace, and the Temple. Jerusalem, which since then has been the scene of repeated devastations, was, for the first time since its foundation, captured and partly destroyed by a king of Israel. Jehoash magnanimously set the captured monarch at liberty, but demanded hostages. The moderation displayed by Jehoash was no doubt due to the influence of the prophet Elisha or his disciples. After the death of Jehoash (830), Amaziah reigned for fifteen years, but was not very successful in his undertakings. The power and extent of the Ephraimite kingdom, on the other hand, increased so rapidly that it seemed as though the times of David were about to return. Jeroboam II. possessed greater military abilities than any of those who had preceded him since the division of the kingdom, and fortune befriended him. He enjoyed a very long reign (830-769), during which he was enabled to fight many battles, and achieve various conquests. He appears first of all to have turned his arms against the Aramæans. They were the worst enemies of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and had kept up continuous attacks against it since the time of Ahab. The boundary of the kingdom of Israel extended from the road which led to Hamath, as far as the south-east river, which