place, but of such gates of heaven there were several; and after all, the ruling idea was that which finds its most distinct expression in 2Kings v.17,—­that Palestine as a whole was Jehovah’s house, His ground and territory.  Not outside of Jerusalem, but outside of Canaan had one to sojourn far from His presence, under the dominion and (cujus regio ejus religio) in the service of strange gods.  The sanctity of the land did not depend on that of the temple; the reverse was the case. 1

*********************************** 1.  Gen. iv.14, 16:  when Cain is driven out of the land (Canaan), he is driven from the presence of Jehovah (Jonah i.3, 10).  Gen. xlvi.4:  Jacob is not to hesitate about going down into Egypt, for Jehovah will, by a special act of grace, change His dwelling-place along with him.  Exodus xv.17:  “Thou broughtest thy people to the mountain of thine inheritance, to the place which thou hadst prepared for thyself to dwell in,” the explanation which follows, “to the sanctuary which thy hand had established,” is out of place, for the mountain of the inheritance can only be the mountainous land of Palestine. 1Samuel xxvi.19:  David, driven by Saul into foreign parts, is thereby violently sundered from his family share in the inheritance of Jehovah, and compelled to serve other gods.  Hos. viii.1:  one like an eagle comes against the house of Jehovah, i.e., the Assyrian comes against Jehovah’s land.  Hos. ix.15:  “I will drive them out of mine house,” i.e., the Israelites out of their land.  Most distinct is the language of Hos. ix.3-5:  “They shall not continue to dwell in Jehovah’s land; Ephraim must back to Egypt, and must eat that which is unclean in Assyria.  They shall not any more offer wine-offerings to Jehovah, or set forth offerings [read with Kuenen Y(RKW for Y(RBW ] before Him; their bread is as the bread of mourners; whosoever eats of it is polluted, for their bread shall be only for the staying of hunger, and shall not be brought into the house of Jehovah.  What indeed will ye do in the time of the solemn assembly and in the day of the feast of Jehovah?  “Compare Jer. xvi.13; Ezek. iv.13; Mal. ii.11; 2Kings xvii.25 seq.  It is also possible that the “great indignation” of 2Kings iii.27 is regarded less as Jehovah’s than as that of Chemosh, in whose land the army of Israel is at the time. *******************************************

I.I.2.  A change in this respect first begins to be prepared at that important epoch of the religious history of Israel which is marked by the fall of Samaria and the rise of the prophets connected therewith.  Amos and Hosea presuppose a condition of matters just such as has been described:  everywhere—­in the towns, on the mountains, under green trees—­a multitude of sanctuaries and altars, at which Jehovah is served in good faith, not with the purpose of provoking Him, but in order to gain His favour.  The language held by these men was one hitherto unheard of when