or AMBUSH, in the Military Art, properly denotes a place where soldiers may lie concealed till they find an opportunity to surprise the enemy.

In the language of Scripture, these terms are not always taken in their proper signification, for laying ambuscades for any one, attacking him in secret, laying snare for him. They sometimes signify no more than Ambuscade attacking a man who has no distrust of such a thing; attacking one behind, concealing one's self in some particular place in order to surprise any one. See the book of Judges, ch. ix. 25, 32, 34, 35. Abimelech, who lay lurking with his people in the heights of Sichem, fo, however, as to rob and treat those who passed that way very ill, came and attacked the city of Sichem with his troops divided into three bodies: Titentit infidias juxta Sichimam in quatuor locis. Literally, according to the Hebrew, "They prepared ambuscades against Sichem in four heads or companies." And a little farther, verse 43. "Abimelech, being informed that the Sichemites had marched, took his army and divided it into three bodies, and laid wait for them in the field." It seems certain, that in these passages ambuscades, properly so called, were not the things in question. In the first book of Samuel Saul complains that David laid ambuscades for him: Infidelitatis usque hostis permanens. Now nothing could be worse grounded than this accusation, if we understand the word infidelit in its proper signification; but he might say, though unjustly, that David was his secret enemy. And in the Chronicles it is said, that God turned the ambuscades laid by the enemies of Israel upon themselves; that is to say, their endeavours, their malice, their arms, he turned against themselves; for the enemies there mentioned came not in private or by stratagem; they marched openly in arms against Israel.