12 Samaria, and made it the capital of his domi nions. Nearly six hundred miles east and north-east of Palestine, were two powevful kingdoms. The more northerly kingdom was called Assyria, and was governed at that time by Tiglath Pileser, or, as he is called in some histories, Arbaces. The southern kingdom was named Babylonia, and was then, governed by Belesis, called by some writers Baladin, and by others Nabonassar. At length the people of Israel and Judah had become so idolatrous and sinful, that God deter mined to punish them, but especially the Israelites, who had most deserved it. And the way it was done was this. Pekah, king of Israel, united himself to Rezin, king of Syria, and made war gint Ahaz, king of Judah. They came with a great army to take Jerusalem, intending to kill make another person kiņg. Ahaz was a bad man, but for the sake of his ancestor David, Goါ determined that he should, being thus for - e g the present divinely warned, continue still for a
