judged too fevere to be put in pradtice when that religion came to
be diffidently eftabliffied, and paft the danger of being fubverted by
its enemies '. The fame fentence was pronounced not only againft the
feven Canaanitifh nations | whole poffeffions were given to the If.
raeiites, and without whofe deftruâion, in a manner, they could not
have fettled themfelves in the country defigned them, but againft
the Amalekites | and Midianites *, who had done their utmoft to cut
them off in their paffage thither. When the Mohammedans declare
war againft people of a different faith, they give them their choice
of three offers, v iz. either to embrace Mohammedifm, in which cafe
they become not only fecure in their perfons, families, and fortunes,
but entitled to' all the privileges of other Mojlems -, or to fubmit and
pay tribute s, by doing which they are allowed to profefs their own
religion, provided it be not grofs idolatry, or againft the moral law;
or elfe to decide the quarrel by the fword, in which laft cafe, if the
Mojlems prevail, the women and children which are made captives
become abfolute flaves, and the men taken in the battle may either
be fiain, unlefs they turn Mohammedans, or otherwife difpofed of at
the pleafure of the prince 6. Herewith agree the laws o f war given
to the Jews, which relate to the nations not devoted to deftruâion
and Jofhua is faid to have fent even to the inhabitants of Canaan,
before he entered the land, three fchedules, in one of which was
written, Let him fly, who will-, in the fécond, Let him furrender,
who will-, and in the third, Let him fight, who will *-, though none
of thofe nations made peace with the Ifraelites (except only the Gi-
beonites, who obtained terms of fecurity by ftratagem, after they had
refufed thofe offered by Jofhua) it being of the L ord to harden
their hearts, that he might dejlroy them utterly 9.
On the firft confiderable fuccefs of Mohammed in war, the difpute
which happened among his followers in relation to the dividing of
1 See Kor. chap. 47. p. 409, 410. and the notes there; and.chap. 4. p. 72. chap. 5. p. 87^
2 Deut. xx. 16. — 18. 3 lb. chap. xxv. 17.— 19; 4 Numb. xxxi. ly. 1 See chap. 9'
p. 152, and the notes there. 6 See the notes to chap. 47. p. 410. Deut. xx. 10— 15
8 Talmud Hierofol. apud Maimonid, Halach. Melachim,. c. 6. §. 5. R. Bêchai, ex lib. Siphre.’
V. Selden. de Jure nat. & gent. fee. Hebr. L 6. c* 13, & 14, & Schickardi Jus Regium Hebr. c. 5.
Theor. 16. 9 JoJb. xi. 20. The Jews, however, fay that thé Gi'rgajhites, believing they
could not efcape the deftruâion with which they were threatned by G o d , if they perfifted to defend
themfelves, fled into Africa in great numbers ; (V. Talm. Hierof. ubi fup.) And this is affigned
as the reafon why the Girgajbites are not mentioned among the other Canaanitifh nations who af-
fembled to fight againft Jofbua, (Jolh. ix. 1.) and who were doomed to utter extirpation (Deut-
xx. 17.) But it is obfervable, that the Girgajbites are not omitted by the Septuagint in either of
thofe texts, and that their name appears in the latter of them in the Samaritan Pentateuch-: they
are alfo joined with the other Canaanites as having fought againft Ifrael, in JoJh. xxiy. 1 j.
the fpoil, rendered it neceffary for him to make fome regulation
therein: he therefore pretended to have received the divine commif-
fion to diftribute the fpoil among his foldiers at his own diferetion re-
ferving thereout, in the firft place, one fifth part * for the ufes after
mentioned; and in confequence hereof, he took himfelf to be authorized
on extraordinary occafions to diftribute it as he thought fir,
without obferving an. equality. Thus he did, for example, with the
fpoil of the tribe of Hawazen taken at the battle of Honein, which
he beftowed by way of prefents on the Meccans only, paffing by thofe
of Medina, and highly diftinguilhing the principal Korajhites, that
he might ingratiate himfelf with them, after he had become matter
of their city s. He was alfo allowed in the expedition againft thofe
of al Nadir to take the whole booty to himfelf, and to difpofe thereof
as he pleafed, becaufe no horfes or camels were made ufe of in that
expedition +, but the whole army went on fo ot; and this became
thenceforward a law 1 2 * 5: the reafon of which feems to be, that the
fpoil taken by a party confifting of infantry only, fhould be confi-
dered as the more immediate gift of G o d 6, and therefore properly
left to the difpofition of his apoftle. According to the Jews, the
fpoil ought to be divided into two equal parts, one to be (hared
among the captors, and the other to be taken by the prince 1, and by
him employed for his own fupport and the ufe of the public. Mofes,
it is true, divided one half of the plunder of the Midianites among
thofe who went to battle, and the other half among all the congregation
8: but this, they fay, being a peculiar cafe, and done by the ex-
prefs order of G o d himfelf, mull not be looked on as a precedent9.
It Ihould feem, however, from the words of Jofhua to the two tribes
and half, when he fent them home into Gilead after the conqueft and
divifion of the land of Canaan, that they were to divide the J'poil o f
their enemies with their brethren, after their return 10: and the half
which was in fucceeding times taken by the king, was in all probability
taken by him as head of the community, and reprefenting the
whole body. It is remarkable that the difpute among Mohammed"s men
about (haring the booty at Bedr ” , arofe on the fame occafion as did
that among David’s foldiers in relation to the fpoils recovered from the
1 Kor. chap. 8. p. 139. 2 lb. p. 144. 3 Abulfed: in vit. Moh. p. 118, &c. V. Kor. c.
9 p. 156. and the notes there. + Kor. chap. 59. p. 444. See the notes there. ' V Abulfed.
ubi fup. p. 91. 6 V. Kor. chap. 59. ubi iupra. 7 Gemar. Babyl. ad tit. Sanhedr. c.
2. V. Selden. de Jure nat. & gent. fee. Hebr. lib. 6. c. 16. | 8 Numb. xxxi. 27. 9 V. Maim.
Halach. Melach. c. 4. 10 JoJh. xxii. 8. 11 See Kor. c. 8. p. 139. and the notes thene.
u Ama1