Chapter 76 of 76
VI. — Section 76
Twelve Studies on the Making of a Nation: The Beginnings of Israel's History · Charles Foster Kent, Jeremiah Whipple Jenks
THE FINAL STAGE IN THE MAKING OP THE HEBREW NATION.
The final stage in the evolution of Israel is recorded in the opening chapters of I Samuel and is best studied in detail in connection with the history of the nation at its zenith. We have studied the forces which made the nation. A brief summary will indicate the transition to the next period, that of the kingdom. The victory over the Canaanites gave the Hebrews possession of the land and left them free to coalesce into a united nation; but the centrifugal tribe spirit for a time proved the stronger. Under Gideon a beginning was made in kingdom making, but owing to the cruelty and inefficiency of his son Abimelech, the first Hebrew state lasted little more than a generation.