D. P. SEATON, D. D., M. D. 
 
THE LAND OF PROMISE; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE BIBLE LAND AND ITS REVELATION. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 WITH SEVERAL ENGRAVINGS OF SOME OF THE MOST 
 IMPORTANT PLACES IN PALESTINE AND SYRIA. 
 
 BY 
 
 D. P. SEATOX, D. D., M. D. 
 
 PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE A. M. E CHURCH, 
 631 Pine Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 1895. 
 
Copyrighted, 1895, 
 By D. p. SEATOX, D.D., M.D. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THERE is no name given to a place more familiarly known than 
 the title of this book. The Land of Promise is thought of, 
 spoken of, and sought by millions of beings, who are seeking rest for 
 their souls. The laud which discloses the greatest religious thought, 
 and furnishes the clearest information of the mercy and benevolence 
 of Jesus Christ is the " Land of Promise." jNIany volumes have been 
 written by learned authors on the great truths it reveals, but they 
 have failed to exhaust its boundless historical developments. Every 
 one who visits that country may find something of profound interest 
 to write, which will give the world more information on the facts 
 contained in the Holy Scriptures. The Land of Promise is the 
 country iu which the principal events revealed to man in the Bible 
 were developed, and where the Lord Jesus spent the most of His time 
 teaching the Way of Salvation. There have been critical examina- 
 tions made of many of the sacred places in all parts of the country, 
 and the majority of the localities of Bible reference, satisfactorily 
 settled upon. There are new investigations being made constantly 
 which furnish new historical matter for those who write books on the 
 Bible developments of the country. On this account, every honest 
 author can find something important for the enlightenment of his 
 fellows, and thus lend a helping hand in lifting up mankind generally. 
 This book is intended to interest the masses ; therefore the writer 
 has taken great caution to prepare it in a form so plain, no one will 
 fail to comprehend it. If we have succeeded in accomplishing the 
 end in view, a work of untold good has been done, which will be 
 gathering souls for the Kingdom of Heaven for many years to come. 
 The Land of Promise is so replete with Bible history, no one who will 
 take the time to visit it, can fail to see and learn more of its connec- 
 tion with God's Word in one day than he could in a whole year's 
 study away from it. For yeai-s before the author made his first visit 
 
 iii 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 to Palestine, he made a close study of the history and geography of 
 the country, and was under the impression he had become so familiar 
 with it, that he could point out some of the sacred localities without 
 the help of a guide ; but on entering Joppa, he soon found himself 
 incompetent to designate any of them. The history of the Bible was 
 presented in an entirely different light, and so distinctly clear, his 
 previous knowledge of the country seemed as but a simple speculation. 
 The author has endeavored to present in this volume, an unbiased 
 statement of men and things, as they appear now and were in ancient 
 times. His object is to more fully impress men with the importance 
 of accepting the Word of God upon the plain basis on which it is 
 founded, and permit the truth to have full force in our world. He aims 
 to produce several wonderful Bible characters as they were known 
 to men in the times they lived in Palestine, and call to mind how the 
 Lord dealt with them. We have presented the renowned Patriarch 
 with his tents and herds, the King with sceptre ruling the nation, 
 the bold Prophet proclaiming messages of terror to kings and subjects 
 because of their gross sins, and many of the wonderful works of the 
 Lord Jesus in the land. 
 
 The author had been repeatedly requested, for years before making 
 his last visit through Palestine, to give a book to the world ; but 
 feeling it necessary to make another trip there and spend more time 
 in taking observations, he deferred it until the last visit was finished. 
 Now that we have completed the long-desired task, we shall feel more 
 than repaid for the time and sacrifices made, if this work will accom- 
 plish half the good intended. We have taken pains to select texts 
 for some of the most important subjects, so that the Bible student 
 may easily turn to them and become more familiar with the Word of 
 God. It has been our aim to accord to each race its proper place in 
 history as nearly as possible ; especially the Hamite, whom we have 
 reasons to believe has been greatly slighted by many authors who 
 have attempted to write his history as relates to Palestine. We 
 dedicate this work, in the name of the Lord of Hosts, to the enlighten- 
 ment of men. 
 
 Washington, D. C, 1895. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PARTS PAGES 
 
 i.— HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 1-12 
 
 The Historical and Phy.^ical Outline and Geography of Palestine and Syria 
 —The Origin of Various Names— Boundary of Palestine Proper— As Compared 
 with Other Lands— How Impressed when Approaching Joppa— Physical For- 
 mation of the Country— Mountains and Valleys— Carmel, Sharon and Esdrae- 
 lon — Hills of Bashan— Coast Plains— Their Interception— Plain of Jericho — 
 Its immense Fall— Rivers in Palestine and Syria— The Political Status of Syria 
 and Palestine— Information Furnished by Books of Old Testament— The Law 
 Given in Time of Moses— Friendship Between David and Hiram — Solomon 
 and Hiram— The People Inclined to .Idolatry— Work of the Jews after Cap- 
 tivity—Climate of Palestine and Syria— Skillfulness of Phoenicians. 
 
 II.— LIFE IN PALESTINE— PECULIAR CUSTOMS OF THE 
 
 PEOPLE 13-19 
 
 Style of Dress— Costly Garments Owned by the Poor— Style of Dress of the 
 Women of Bethlehem and Nazareth — Dress of Mohammedan Women— Farm- 
 ing Implements— How Plows are Made and Used— Armed Merchants and 
 Shepherds— Long Standing Feuds— Land-Marks Respected— Historical Asso- 
 ciations—First Settlers— How Homes are Built— Variety of Climate— People 
 of Lebanon — Their Appearance— Their Manners — Their Relations as to 
 Religion. 
 
 III.— OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES 20-40 
 
 FROM THEIR ENTRANCE INTO THE LAND OF PROMISE TO THEIK DISPERSION. 
 
 General Character of Israelites— Their Criminal Waywardness — Allotments of 
 Twelve Tribes— Their Religious and Political Revolutions— Situation of Tribes 
 of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh— Deborah's Criticism— Situation of Tribes of 
 Judah, Ephraim, Simeon, Benjamin, and Dan — Situation of Tribes of Issa- 
 char, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali— Tribe of Le\a— Its Official Relations to the . 
 Others— Their Cherished Treasure- The Tabernacle Removed from Gilgal to 
 Shiloh — Great Feast Reunions — Shiloh, a Religious Court of P*riests and 
 Levites— Office of Levites— Office of Priests— Israel's Wayward Tendency the 
 Signal of Their Decline — Israel given to Idolatry — Israel's Oppression a 
 Di\-ine Rebuke— Their Inter- Marriage with the Canaanites— Official Judges 
 who Deliveied Israel— Ehud of Benjamin, His Cunning Scheme— Ehud's 
 Stratagem, His Escape— Philistines' Hostilities — Shamgar, a Deliverer of 
 Israel— Shamgar, Judge of Israel— Trouble out North— Jabin, King of Hazor- 
 Deborah the Prophetess— Engagement between Barak and Sisera— Triumph 
 of Israel— Jael, Sisera's Destroyer— Israelites Afflicted by Moabites— Gideon 
 and His Little Army— Position of the Midianites' Camp— Gideon's Attack — 
 Death of Gideon— Invasion of Gilead by the Ammonites— Jephthah, the 
 Victor— His Rash Vow— Trouble with the Philistines— Samson, the Mighty 
 Hero— Samuel, the Last Judge— His Counsel to Israel— Israel's Anxiety for a 
 King— Conduct of Joel and Abijah— Samuel Anoints Saul— The Turning Point 
 in the Affairs of the Government— Samuel's Last Ad^^ce to Israel— Saul as 
 King— David Chosen to Succeed Saul— Opposition to David— Its Final Result 
 — Transfer of the Kingdom— David King of Israel -Solomon on the Throne 
 —Revolt of Ten Tribes— Worshiping the Calves — Southern Kingdom — Pro- 
 phets in Israel— Israelites Carried into Captivity— Assyrians Inhabiting Their 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 PARTS PAGES 
 
 Land— Samaritans Rejected — The Jews Return from Captivity— Discord be- 
 tween Jews and Samaritans — Services on Mount Gerizim.— Nehemiah Rebuild- 
 ing the Walls of Jerusalem— Ancient Samaritans— Visit to Samaritan Temple 
 —Their Religious Devotions— The People, Their General Bearing —Tribes 
 under Rehoboam and Jeroboam— Northern and Southern Districts— Silent 
 Period— Condition of Jews when our Lord came oh Earth— Jews Subject to 
 Persia— Headquarters of Persian Monarch— A Strange Conquest— Rule of 
 Ptolemies— Sanctuary Robbed — The Maccabees' Rule. 
 
 IV.— FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM 41-61 
 
 Situation of Joppa — Landing at Joppa— House of Simon the Tanner— Streets 
 of Joppa— Orange Groves— American Colony at Joppa— Joppa Pilgrims —Pre- 
 paration for their Festival— Traders in the City— Plain of Sharon- Old High- 
 way— Lydda— Greek Church in Lydda— Ramleh— Tower of the Forty- View 
 from the Tower— Valley of Ajalon—Ai— Israel's First Defeat— Ai Captured by 
 Joshua -Joshua and Israelites go to Shechem — Gibeonites Visit Joshua- 
 Kings' Confederacy— Joshua Responds to Gibeonites— Fate of Confederacy- 
 Joshua's Prayer for Sun and Moon to Stand Still— Joshua's Victory— El-Jib or 
 Gibeon— Bible Associations— History of Gibeou— Naby-Samwill or Ancient 
 Mizpeh— Situation — View from the Mosque— Ancient Mizpeh— Present Vil- 
 lage — Approaching Jerusalem from Joppa— Northern Confederacy — Jabin 
 Forming a Confederacy— Jabin and His Allies— March to Lake Merom— 
 Situation of Battle-tield— The Great Battle— Joshua's Victory. 
 
 v.— ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM 62-100 
 
 Approaching Jerusalem— The Ancient and Modern Cities— Situation of Jeru- 
 salem— General Elevation of the City— Mountains Around the City— City 
 Walls— VV^alls of To-day— Towers Along the Walls— Gates of the City— Present 
 Jerusalem, the Modern City— Division of the City -Greek and Latin Churches 
 — Population of Jerusalem— lis Sanitary Condition— How the Nights are Spent 
 — Shining Light— The Jews' Wailing- place -Worship under the Church of 
 England — Witnessing the Mournful Service— What Jerome Says of This Place 
 —The Harem Area— Mosque of Omar— The Castle of Antonia—Mt Moriah — 
 Inscriptions on the Walls— Entering the Mosque of Omar— The Sacred Rock 
 — Mohammed and Gabriel - Cave below the Mosque— Caleph Omar — Mosque 
 of El-Aksa— Temple Courts and Foundations— Description of Temple— When 
 Built— Its Furnishings— Old Foundations— Ancient Quarries— Ancient Jeru- 
 salem— Jebns Captured -Jerusalem the Resting-place of the Ark of God- 
 Jerusalem During the Reign ot Solomon— Decline of Jerusalem— Inhabitants 
 Carried into Captivity— Prophecy of Isaiah Fultilled— How Alexander the 
 Great Met the People— Alexander and Antiochus— The Great Slaughter- 
 Armenians to the Rescue— The Great War for Liberty— King Herod's Reign — 
 Zion, the Centre Light — Ziou, on Approaching Jerusalem— How Situated — 
 Mt. Moriah, Oman's Threshing-floor- David's Sin— Sacrifice Offered- Inhabi- 
 tants of Mt. Moriah— Mt. Akra, Mt. Bezetha - Mt. Calvary— Extension of Walls 
 of Jerusalem — Existence of Tombs within the Present City Walls— Great 
 Questions Discussed -The Tomb of Christ— Church of Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 YL— EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM— ITS MEMORA- 
 BLE PLACES 101-143 
 
 Description of Mount of Olives— Appearance from a Distance-Fuel Used in Pal- 
 estine—A View of the Country from the Mountain— Disciples Taught how to 
 Pray— Lazarus Raised— Bethany— Tomb of Lazarus -Our Lord en route for Je- 
 rusalem-Ride to Jerusalem -Christ's Entry into Jerusalem — Our Lord Deeply 
 Moved with Compassion— The Garden of Gethsemane— Tomb of the Virgin 
 Mary— Description of Tomb— Valley of Jehoshaphat— How Situated— Strong 
 Faith of the People as to the Hi.storieal Places of Palestine— Absalom Proclaim- 
 ing Himself King— David and His Friends— The Lovelttai had for David— The 
 Returning of the Ark of God— David's Flight— David in Exile -Suicide of 
 .Ahithophel— David Numbers Those with Him and Forms Three Divisions- 
 Absalom Hanged in the Forest— Breaking the News of His Death to David- 
 David's Return— Absalom's Pillar— Valley of Hinnom— Valley of Giants— Hill 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 PAKTS PAGES 
 
 of Evil Counsel— Potter's Field -Idolatry of Israel— The Kingdom Embar- 
 rassed Solomon's Early Blunder -His Decline in Piety— Pools and Fountains 
 —The Great Cisterns— Pool of Siloam— Healing of the Blind Man— Pool of 
 Bethesda -Healing of the Lame Man— Siege of Titus— Troops Stationed at the 
 Foot of the Mount of olives— Titus Marches to the City— Famine Raging— War 
 Among the Inhabitants- Titus's Anxiety to Save the City— Prophecy Fulfilled 
 Concerning the Destruction— Burial of the Dead— Towers of Autcmia Captured 
 —The Second Edifice in Flames Titus Offers Terms of Peace— Final Demoli- 
 tion—The Triumphal Arch— David's Tomb— Attempts to Locate it Elsewhere 
 —How Impressed on Entering— Tlie Cnenaculum— Mosque of Neby Da'rid— 
 Description of Upper ('hamber— Tombs of St. James and Zacharias— Other 
 Tombs— Absalom's Shaft— Tomb of Jehoshaphat— Tombs of Prophets and 
 Judges— Tomb of Helena— Future of the Jews. 
 
 VII.— ANCIENT HEBRON 144-162 
 
 The Highway of Hebron and its Loneliness— General Description of the Coun- 
 try—Condition of the Laud of Hebron —Tombs at Beth-Zur— The Highway to 
 Hebron— Sad Reflections— Beth-Zur— Pleasanr Reflections— Antiquity of Heb- 
 ron— Inliabitants of Hebrou-DifferetU Names given to Hebron — Roads Lead- 
 ing to Hebron— Vineyards of Hebron— Watchtowers and Watchmen— Historic 
 Pools— The Event Concerning Rechab and Baanah— Places of Interest to 
 Touri.sts- Inhabitants of Hebron— Description of Streets— The Situation of 
 Hebron— Feeling of the Inhabitants to Visitors— Meaning of the Word Hebron 
 —The Author's Experience Concerning His Visit— Description of Ramah— 
 Oak of Mamre— Ancient Hebron— Accommodations for Christians— Facts Con- 
 nected with Hebron— Patriarchial Associations— Hebron as a Burial-Place— 
 Historical Associations of Hebron— Joseph's Mournful Return — Historical As- 
 sociations—Jacob's Burial— The Mosque Machpelah— The Love of the Mo- 
 hammedans for the Tomb -Treatment of Visitors who Visit Them— Descrip- 
 tion of the Mosque by the Prince of Wales— The Entrance to the Mosque- 
 Description of the Shrine of Abraham and Sarah— Shrines of Jacob and Leah 
 — Shrine of .loseph— Description of the Shrine of Joseph— Historical Associa- 
 tion of Hebron— Value of the Investigation Made by the Prince of Wales- 
 Desirable Situation and General Condition of the Land of Canaan— Ancient 
 Inhabitants of Hebron— A Great Refuge City— The Custom of Blood Revenge 
 —Cities of Refuge in which there were Judges— Names of Cities— Hebron the 
 First Capital During David's Reign— Installation of David as King— Hebron 
 as Headquarters of a Latin Bishopric— Possessed by the Moslems— Jews' Con- 
 nection with Hebron— Treatment of the Author by Inhabitants— The Domi- 
 nant Inhabitants of Hebron. 
 
 VIII.— FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM 163-224 
 
 Places of Interest Along the Road— Valley of Giants- Well of the Wise Men- 
 Tomb of Rachel— Well of David— Church of the "Holy Nativity "—Ancient 
 Inns— Description of the Holy Nativity— Altar of the Magi— Joseph and Mary 
 Journeying from Nazareth— The Advent of Jasus— Solomon's Porch— Solo- 
 mon's Gardens and Orchards— Mar Saba— Site of the Convent- Places of 
 Interest from Bethlehem to Jericho— The Well Bir Essuk— Character of the 
 Bedouins— Wilderness of Judea— Wilderness of Engedi— Dead Sea— Mountains 
 of Sodom— Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah -The Vale of Siddim— Location of 
 Zoar— Earthquakes as a Work of Destruction— The Amorite.s— The Hot Springs 
 — Judah and Israel Combined Against Moab —The Valley of the Jordan— Plain 
 of Jericho— City of the Palm Trees— The Jordan River— The Faithfulness of 
 the People of Palestine for their c;hurch Services— Nebo and Pisgah— The 
 View of Moses— Joshua Camped at Gilgal— The Three .Terichoes -Spring of 
 Elisha— The Second Jericho -The Brook Cherith— The Highway to Jericho- 
 Mount of Temptation. 
 
 IX.— FROM JERUSALEM TO SRECHEM 225-272 
 
 Preparation for the Journey— The Customs and Situation of the People in the 
 Interior— Places of Interest on the Damascus Highway— Mount Scopus— The 
 Last Sight of the Holy City— Scenes Along the Road— The Village of Sha'fat 
 —Ancient Nob, Its Memorable Events-Gibeah, the Birth-place of Saul-Riz- 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 PARTS PAGES 
 
 pah's Devotion— The Levite and Benjamite— Ramah of Benjamin— Situation 
 of Beeroth— Ramah and Its Population -The Character of the Mohammedans 
 —Bethel and Its Condition— The Altar of Abraham and Jacob -Bethel a Judi- 
 cial Station— Jeroboam's Idolatrous Worship -Dan and Bethel as Two Places 
 for Worship — Reign of Josiah— The Reign of Ahab— The Reign uf Solomou — 
 Rehoboam'.< Reign Over Israel— The Reign of Pious Asa— Victory of the Cush- 
 ite King— Niunber of Kings After Asa— Bethel, the Home of the Prophet — 
 Present Situation of Bethel— Ancient Shiloh— History of Shiloh— Important 
 Events at Shiloh— The Present Appearance of Shiloh -The Road from Shiloh 
 to Labonah— Ancient Tombs— The Plain of Mukhna -Mt. Uermon Seen From 
 Mukhua— Well of Jacob— History of the Samaritans— Conversation Between 
 Our Saviour and the Woman of Sychar— Temple fin Mt. Gerizim- Jacob's Well 
 and Its Surroundings— The Tomb of Joseph— Shechem and .'^ychar— Moses' 
 Relation to Mt. (4erizim and Ebal— Historical Association of Mt. Gerizim and 
 Ebal— View from Mt. Gerizim and Ebal— Backsheesh. 
 
 X.— SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN 273-339 
 
 The Road from Shechem to Samaria, or Sebastiyeh— The Pool of Samaria 
 —Kings of Israel— Change of Dynasties— Jehtt's Reign— Temple of Baal— 
 The Syrian Inva.sion— Jehu Anointed— Death of Joram -Death of Jezebel 
 —Reign of Jeroboam— Reign of Shallum— Pul. King of Assyria —Attack 
 Upon Israel— Shalmaneser Invades Samaria— Descripiion of Ancient Sites— 
 The Situation and Environment of Dothan— Plain of Esdraeloii — Mount 
 Gilboa— Cities of Philistia— The Site of Ancient Jezreel— Naboth's Vineyard 
 —Ancient Nain— Historical .\ssociations— Visit to Shunem. 
 
 XL— NAZARETH 340-356 
 
 Nazareth the Home of Our Lord -The Visit of Jesus to Galilee— Phoenician 
 Possessions in Galilee— Hamitic Possessions in Galilee— Christ's Removal 
 from Bethlehem— Childhood of Our Lord in Xazareth— Baptism of .Tesus- 
 First Miracle— Establishment of the Christian Church— Church of Annun- 
 ciation—Feeding the Five Thousand— Christ's Social Life— Why Jesus was 
 Rejected— Mount of Precipitation— The Ministry of Our Lord— Village of 
 Gath-hepper. 
 
 XII.— MOUNT CARMEL 357-387 
 
 Description of Mount Carmel— The Athlit— Simon Bar-Cochebas. or ''Son of 
 the Star "—Situation of the Carmelite Convent— Location of Acre- Pasha 
 of Acre- The Ladder of Tyre— Sidon the Mother of Tyre- Situation of Tyre 
 — Shalmaneser's Invasion of TjTe- Nebuchadnezzar's Invasion of Tyre. 
 
 XIII.— DAMASCUS AND ENVIRONMENTS 388-399 
 
 Situation of Damascus— River Barada— Saul Arrested while on His Mi.ssion 
 of Persecution— Its Buildings— Some of Her Rulers— First View of the City 
 —Present Inhabitants— Annual Pilgrimage to Mecca— Principal Places of 
 Amusement— The Great Cafe— Its Walls and Houses— Mohammedans' Hatred 
 Towards Christians— The City Seized by Tiraour— The Street Called 
 "Straight" and Others— The Great Mosque —House of Rimmon— Greek 
 Inscription on Wall. 
 
 XIV.— THE SEA OF TIBERIAS AND NOTED PLACES ROUND 
 
 ABOUT 400-440 
 
 Route from Nazareth to Tiberias— View of Mt. Tabor— Ascent of Mt. Tabor 
 —Journey from Tabor to Tiberias— Caravan Road from Jerusalem to Damas- 
 cus—Character of the Natives— The ''Mount of Beatitudes" or " Horns of 
 Hatten "—Time Spent in Galilee— The Environments of the Sea of Tiberia< 
 —Visit to Decapolis— Visit to Magdala— Visit to C;csarea Philippi— Mt. 
 Hermon— Sea ot Tiberias and Its Situation— Fish of the Sea of Galilee- 
 Custom of the Fishermen— Town of Tiberias— I'lain of tiennesaret- Spiings 
 of Lake Gennesaret— Old Testament Associations— Ancient Magdala -The 
 Latin Convent— Ruins of Chorazin— The Two Bethsaidas. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 EEV. D. P. SEATOX, D.D., M.D . . Frontispiece. 
 
 MAP OF PALESTINE Facing p.ge 1 
 
 VIEW OF JERUSALEM " 62 
 
 JEWS' W AILING-PLACE " 72 
 
 MOUNT ZION " 91 
 
 CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE " 99 
 
 MOUNT OF OLIVES " 102 
 
 GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE " 108 
 
 THE TOWER OF DAVID " 143 
 
 VIEW OF BETHLEHEM " 16.3 
 
 CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY (INTERIOR), BETHLE- 
 HEM •' 169 
 
 CONVENT OF S. SABA " 179 
 
 THE DEAD SEA " 186 
 
 VIEW OF THE JORDAN " 208 
 
 NABLOUS (SYCHAR OR SHECHEM) " 265 
 
 NAZARETH • 341 
 
 MOUNT TABOR " 400 
 
 THE SEA OF GALILEE " 432 
 
THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 PAET I. 
 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Historical and Physical Outline and Geography of Palestine and Syria — The 
 Origin of Various Names — Boundary of Palestine Proper — As Compared 
 witli Other Lands — How Impressed when Approaching Joppa — Physical 
 Formation of the Country — Mountains and Valleys — Carmel, Sharon and 
 Esdraelon — Hills of Bashan — -Coast Plains — Their Interception — Plain of 
 Jericho — Its Immense Fall — Rivers in Palestine and Syria — The Political 
 Status of Syria and Palestine — Information Furnished by Books of Old Testa- 
 ment — The Law Given in Time of Moses — Friendship Between David and 
 Hiram — Solomon and Hiram — The People Inclined to Idolatary — Work of 
 the Jews after Captivity — Climate of Palestine and Syria — Skillfulness of 
 Phoenicians. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF VARIOUS NAMES. 
 
 THE cause of the various names, by which this country is known, 
 originates from the people who composed its chief inhabitants ; 
 or some particular event which brought it into prominent notice. 
 
 It is called " The Land of Canaan ; " this name was given it after 
 the general name of the Sons of Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, 
 and grand-son of Noah, who settled in the country in great numbers, 
 divided the most inviting portions among themselves, greatly mul- 
 tiplied, and became a strong, warlike and thrifty people. 
 
 It is also called " The Promise Land ; " from the promise God 
 mad Abraham, concerning the place his posterity should inhabit. St. 
 Paul says of Abraham, that " By faith he became a sojourner in the 
 land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac 
 and Jacob, heirs with him to the same promise." 
 
 It was, after the Hebrews entered and settled in the country, gener- 
 ally known as the land of Israel, from the general name given to the 
 posterity of Jacob. After the revolt, the whole tract of country occupied 
 1 1 
 
2 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 by the chosen people was known by two general names : that portion 
 inhabited by the loyal tribes was called " The Land of Judah," and that 
 belonging to the revolters was called "The Land of Israel." It seems 
 the whole land was finally called Judea. (See Heb. xi : 9 ; Psa. Ixxvi : 1 ) 
 
 The whole tract of country inhabited by the Jews was, after their 
 return from captivity, called the Holy Land ; which seems to have 
 been given and designated as the land selected of God to be the chief 
 seat of His worship and the inheritance of those whom He had chosen ; 
 it was called " Holy Land," by Christians because Christ, the "Holy 
 One," was born there ; and the principles He came to teach and estab- 
 lish were first sent to the world from this country, by the Apostles, after 
 the tragic scene of the agony of our Lord on the memorable day of 
 His crucifixion. 
 
 This name is highly significant, and at once strikes the mind of 
 one that some particular history belongs to this country which makes 
 it peculiar and more noteworthy than any other land in the world. 
 
 Palestine is now generally adopted as the name of the " Promise 
 Land," which is derived from the Philistines, who settled and greatly 
 multiplied in the southern portion of the country along the coast ; this 
 name was at first (according to custom) confined to the territory occu- 
 pied by them, but of late the whole land which the Israelites inhabited, 
 both on the east and west of the Jordan, was known as Palestine. 
 When this name is mentioned in the Bible, it refers to Philistia, or the 
 territory occupied by the Philistines. 
 
 The boundary of " Palestine proper," is the Lebanon mountains on 
 the north, by the great d&sert of Arabia on the east, on the south by 
 Idumea and the Wilderness of Tih, and on the west by the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea ; it is about two hundred miles in length, an average of 
 sixty miles in width, with an area of twelve thousand square miles (see 
 Zach. ii: 12; Joel iii: 4; Exod. xv: 14; and Isa xiv: 29-31). 
 
 But Syria-Palestine is the name by which the " Promise Land was 
 familiarly known in the time of Herodotus, whose writings precede all 
 others known relative to the history of the Land of Promise." He is 
 the first to bring this name into prominent mention. Although Syria 
 and Palestine, connected under one sovereign, embrace less territory 
 than some of our largest States, such as New York or Pennsylvania, 
 there is no country in the world embracing so much history ; because 
 of which the whole civilized world have, from the earliest historic 
 times to the present, directed their attention toward it, and have written 
 thousands of valuable volumes from the contents of its exhaustless 
 treasury of superior historical greatness. 
 
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 Should we compare this small territory, which contains the most 
 important issues of our world, to other lands, we must conclude that it 
 was of all others the most secluded, as if hemmed in by God himself 
 expressly for the protection of His people. 
 
 The whole of Syria, connected with the " Land of Promise," adds 
 largely to the boundaries, as described above. It measures, according 
 to careful estimation, three hundred and sixty miles from Asia-Minor 
 on the north, to the Wilderness of Tih and ancient Edom on the 
 south, with an area of twenty-eight thousand square miles. The first 
 thing that forcibly struck my attention when approaching Joppa was 
 the high border laud along the coast, with a few intervening depressions 
 at wide distances, through which great rocks were spread into the shoal 
 water. I said, God has thrown up a mighty bulwark on the border 
 land for the protection of His chosen people. 
 
 THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The physical formation of the country is very mountainous. A 
 range of mountains runs through it from north to south. This moun- 
 tain chaiu is intersected at several points by valleys and plains, so as 
 to give us a physical and historical series of distinct ranges ; the most 
 lofty of them are on the north, and can be seen a long distance, 
 especially by those going northward. 
 
 Ebal, Gerizim, Tabor, Carmel, Nazareth, Hermon, Lebanon, and 
 Ante-Lebanon, are all approached, as the traveler proceeds northward, 
 from east and south. The two last named were known in Jewish 
 times as Lebanon, and the low land intercepting the double range as 
 the Valley of Lebanon ; and sometimes it is called by historians Coele- 
 Syria, which means the " Hollow Syria." Subsequently the name of 
 this double range was changed by the early writers, so that the range 
 on the west fronting the sea was called Lebanon, and the one sloping 
 on the east toward Damascus was called Ante-Lebanon. 
 
 But it should be remembered the Bible makes no such denomina- 
 tional distinction ; both ranges are known in it as Lebanon. The 
 highest point of Mount Lebanon, which runs southwest from a broad 
 opening between the sea and the eastern plain, caused by an abrupt 
 termination of the Nusaiviyeh range at the Castle of Husn, runs as 
 far south as the latitude of Tyre, at which point it is intersected by the 
 " ravine of the Latiny." South of the river the Lebanon range is 
 much wider and lower, and continues more and more so until it termi- 
 nates in the plain of Esdraelon. Carmel, the lofty, runs between this 
 plain and Sharon. On the coast and on the south of Esdraelon 
 
4 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 (see Josh. xi. 17) are the mountain ranges of Samaria and Judea, 
 running through the centre of the country, and finally sink away in 
 the desert a little to the north of Beersheba. 
 
 The neighboring range, or we may say the sister chain, is Ante- 
 Lebanon, running parallel with Lebanon, and takes its rise in the plain 
 of Hamah, about twenty miles east of the northern extremity of Leb- 
 anon, and gradually rises in elevation until it culminates at Mount 
 Hermon, nine thousand feet above the sea level. Thence the ridge 
 continues southward along the east land of the Jordan, through Gilead 
 and Moab, to the mountains of Edom, and is succeeded by a ridge 
 very much -lower, it being only from two to three thousand feet at its 
 greatest elevation. 
 
 "The hills of Bashan," to which considerable Bible distinction is 
 given, are about thirty miles east of the Sea of Galilee, and have an 
 elevation of about five thousand feet above the level of the Mediter- 
 ranean ; its modern name is Jehel ed-Druse. 
 
 PLAINS AND VALLEYS. 
 
 There are several plains and valleys in Palestine and Syria, which 
 are of great historical importance ; especially the plains of Esdraelou 
 and Sharon ; also, those of the Jordan and Jericho. 
 
 The coast plain is situated along the sea-border embracing Palestine 
 and Syria, between the mountains and the sea, and is intercepted at 
 three diflferent points by the mountain slopes which border on the 
 Mediterranean ; these mountain extensions form elevations of consider- 
 able height, so that the plain is entirely barred off. 
 
 These breaks in the plain are caused by the projections of Carmel, 
 the Casius, and the Ladder of Tyre. These elevations divide the 
 coast plain, so that each division has a dififerent name ; the northern 
 division is called the plain of Essus. The border land of Phoinicia 
 extends from Casius to the Ladder of Tyre ; from thence to ]\Iount 
 Carmel lies the beautiful expanse of the plain of Acre ; then the 
 Sharon plain extends south of Philistia ; but some writers call this 
 great plain Philistia, southw^ard from Joppa. 
 
 In those portions of the plains where extensive table-land is prom- 
 inent, the soil is rich and productive, especially in the eastern division ; 
 but near the sea the sand is very deep and diflicult to travel, especially 
 so between Kaibo and Beyrout, and to make three miles on a horse 
 would be doing well. The most important and fertile plains away from 
 the coast are the Hamah, the Damascus, the Hauran, and Moab. The 
 plain of Esdraelon, through which the river Kishon flows, abounds in 
 
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 pastures and cultivated fields. The soil is rich and highly productive. 
 This is the most historic plain in Palestine ; it intersects the central 
 range of mountains, running from Mount Lebanon southward. 
 
 The plain or valley of Lebanon, of which mention has been made, 
 is situated between Lebanon and Ante-Lebanon, known as Coele-Syria, 
 and is one of the richest tracts of land in Syria. It yields from year 
 to year very .rich crops, and is estimated to be about ninety miles long 
 and eleven broad. The inhabitants do not till the land extensively on 
 account of the extortionate tax rule prevalent in that region. The 
 valley of the Jordan is that depression running from north to south in 
 Palestine, and increasing in depth southward. The river Jordan flows 
 through it, and stimulates fertility on either side in all tillable land. 
 
 This valley, and that known as the plain of Jericho, is the same. 
 It is situated between the lake Gennesaret on the north, and the Dead 
 Sea on the south. It is not as wide as the plain along the coast, except 
 on the southern extremity. Here it is about tAvelve miles wide ; this is 
 its most expansive portion. 
 
 It has an immense fall between the sea of Galilee and the Dead 
 Sea. At this latter point, where it terminates, its depression is thirteen 
 hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean, which is the lowest 
 known spot of ground on the face of the globe. Much of the land 
 about Jericho, Gilgal, and along the Jordan, is desert ; which is partly 
 the result of lethargy, and partly from poverty. The whole plain, if 
 properly cultivated, would pi'oduce bountifully ; but the facilities for 
 conducting agriculture are poor and far behind the age. 
 
 THE RIVERS OF PALESTINE AND SYRIA. 
 
 The greater number of the rivers are very small ; no larger than 
 many of the ordinary branches in America. They are mostly winter 
 streams, that are produced by the rain coming down from the surround- 
 ing mountains ; they become dry during the summer and early fall. 
 
 The most important of these rivers is the Jordan, which if it con- 
 tinued its course to the Dead Sea in a direct line would only run about 
 ninety miles from its source ; but having such an extraordinary crooked 
 course, it is estimated to run at least two hundred miles. The Jordan, 
 although but a small stream at its source, is fed by several tributaries 
 along its course until it becomes wide and deep. 
 
 The Orontes ranks next in size to the Jordan ; its source is in the 
 plain of Baka'a at the foot of Ante-Lebanon, near the ruins of Lylon, 
 and runs northward to the sea. On this account it is called " El-Asy, 
 
6 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the Rebellious." It is also called El-Makluh, "the inverted." The 
 course of the river is one hundred and forty-nine miles. 
 
 The next in size is the Litany ; it takes its rise near Baalbek, and 
 flows down the Baka'a, then flows into a deep bed intersecting the 
 ridge of Mount Lebanon, and enters into the sea a little north of Tyre. 
 The whole length of the Litany is only about fifty -five miles. 
 
 The Barada, the " Golden Flowing," is the next in point of im- 
 portance ; this is the Abana, or Amana of the Bible ; one of the 
 rivers of which Naaman proudly boasted when ordered to wash in the 
 Jordan to be healed of his leprosy. It is the most celebrated river in 
 Syria, and one of the most useful ; its source is Ain Barada in the 
 plain of Zehedani, but has several tributaries along the Ante-Lebanon, 
 which more than double its volume. After running several miles 
 through a very wild and lonely district it flows into the plain of Da- 
 mascus, where many channels are made to receive their water for 
 irrigation ; and at length it enters into a lake about twenty miles east 
 of the city. 
 
 Without Abana there would be but little cultivation about Da- 
 mascus. It may be truthfully called the life of the great Syrian 
 metropolis. 
 
 The other river near Damascus is Pharper, now called "Away," 
 which pours its waters into the most southern of the three lakes east of 
 the city ; it enters and crosses the plain on the south of Damascus. 
 
 The Kishon is a river well worthy of mention, not so much for its 
 size, but because of the Biblical and historic interest which clusters 
 about it; when compared to rivers in general it has but little if any 
 merit ; it may be classed with the winter currents of Palestine, as it 
 is almost dry 'during the summer in its upper course, but it is replen- 
 ished in winter by Ihe repeated heavy rains and swells to the top of its 
 banks and often overflows. 
 
 Its sources are several periodical springs near Jezreel and Lejjun 
 and flows through the plain of Esdraelon to the northwest, between 
 Mount Carmel and the hills of lower Galilee, then enters into the Bay 
 of Acre, north of Haifa. The Belus river, called by the natives Nahr 
 Na'aman, also flows into the Bay of Acre ; it has no Bible mention, but 
 is historically mentioned as the site where the Phoenicians first dis- 
 covered glass ; it is one of the smallest streams in the land ; its entire 
 length is only about six miles. 
 
 There are several other smaller streams of which mention might be 
 made, but they are of no particular importance, except two or three ; 
 these are the brooks Elah, Cherith and the Kedron ; the history of 
 
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 these renowned streams are generally known to most lovers of sacred 
 history. The pools and lakes will be noticed in other chapters, 
 
 THE POLITICAL STATUS OF SYRIA AND PALESTINE. 
 
 To attempt to write an outline history of the political government 
 of Palestine would be certain failure, for it would involve an investi- 
 gation of the administration of each ruler of the several dynasties who 
 in succession occupied the throne from the first sovereigns known in 
 history to the present. It is well known to historians that those 
 countries were almost constantly changing rulers and often dynasties, 
 each of whom had his own selfish ideas of administering the affairs of 
 the government, and many of them ruled with an iron sceptre. 
 
 The Israelites under the leadership of Joshua crossed the Jordan 
 and entered upon their promised possession, having Jehovah as their 
 King and supreme dictator, about the year fourteen hundred and 
 fifty, B. c, with an ofiicial in the pei'son of the High Priest as minister 
 and expounder of his will. 
 
 The historical books of the Old Testament furnish all the informa- 
 tion necessary in relation to this subject. To establish its certainty, so 
 that an outline statement would be instructive to the careful Bible 
 reader, it is sufficient to state that from the time of Joshua to the 
 installment of Saul, the Benjamite King of Israel, the government 
 was in theory at least a Theocracy. 
 
 To what extent the Lord was recognized by the new nation as their 
 King cannot be fully understood, but if we may be allowed to draw 
 our conclusions from their conduct toward Him, it would seem they 
 regarded Him as holding a kind of local relation to them especially, 
 having nothing to do with the destiny of other nations and tribes 
 round about them. 
 
 They did not appear to regard Him as the High, Holy and Infinite 
 God, who made the heavens and the earth ; such conceptions of their 
 King were too lofty for them ; therefore, they looked upon the god.*; of 
 the idolaters in many respects to be worthy of their most sacred and 
 earnest devotion. 
 
 The combined eflR)rts of the prophets in connection with repeated 
 chastisement from God were not regarded as timely admonitions 
 to restrain the people fx-om confident trust in false gods. From 
 the time of Joshua to that of the kings judges were appointed as the 
 chief magistrates with limited authority ; and in connection with these 
 judicial superintendents each tribe was allowed to have an internal 
 
8 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 government for the regulation of domestic affairs, according to their 
 several necessities. 
 
 It is said each of the tribes were divided into " families," and these 
 again were divided into " households of fathers," and each section had 
 its head or chief, called an " Elder " (Kitto). All legislation needful 
 for the betterment of the domestic government could be enacted bv 
 any tribe according to its needs if it did not conflict with the general 
 legislation for the observance of the whole people ; but when a measure 
 was introduced which was general in its bearing, it could not become a 
 law without the sanction of all the tribes, which was usually done 
 through their representatives. 
 
 This was an old law given in the time of Moses ; it was in this way 
 the people proceeded when they elected Saul, the Benjamite, King 
 over them about the beginning of the eleventh century, B. c. The 
 whole people, through their representatives, went from under the gov- 
 ernment of Jehovah to that of Saul, notwithstanding the protest of 
 Samuel, whose keen foresight comprehended the dreadful dilemma in 
 which they were placing themselves. See Josh, xxiii. 2 and xxiv. 1 ; 
 Num. i. 16 ; Deut. xxix. 10. 
 
 King Saul was in power forty years, but proved himself unworthy 
 of his position of high trust, and the kingdom was changed to the 
 house of David, son of Jesse. Here the dynasty of Saul ended, for 
 not one of his descendants was permitted to occupy the throne. David, 
 who while a shepherd boy having been anointed to be successor to 
 Saul, was made king over all Israel, at Hebron, about the middle of 
 the eleventh century, b. c. 
 
 He may fittingly be called the war king, for just as soon as his 
 kingdom was firmly established, he turned his attention to those pow- 
 erful tribes and nations around him, and was bent on conquest. The 
 Philistines, who had given the Hebrews much trouble, were brought 
 under his control, and those powerful warlike people of the different 
 tribes, dwelling amongst the mountains of Sinai, Edom, Gilead, Bashan, 
 and the whole stretch of country from that bordering on Egypt to the 
 Euphrates, was made subordinate to this mighty Hebrew king, except 
 that known as Phoenicia on the north, Avho lived on amicable terms 
 with David, and rendered valuable service to him. 
 
 Indeed it can be plainly seen that much of the success of the Hebrew 
 kingdom was because of the efficient aid given them by the Phoenicians ; 
 these two nations composed of distinct social descendants lived side by 
 side and amongst each other on terms of friendship. 
 
 David, King of Israel, and Hiram, King of Tyre, were strong 
 
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 friends; as was Solomon, his successor, and there seems never to have 
 been any serious trouble between them. 
 
 The distinguished King of Tyre was deeply interested in the con- 
 struction and completion of the great temple at Jerusalem, and sent 
 skilled workmen who were celebrated because of their superior genius 
 in fine arts to assist the Hebrew workmen in fully completing the plan 
 designed of the Lord as to the model of His house of worship 
 
 Solomon was the last king who swayed the sceptre over all Israel ; 
 his successor was Rehoboara, in the beginning of whose reign ten of 
 the tribes revolted and called a convention at Shechem, and selected 
 Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, to be their king. With his reign the 
 growing inclination of the people to worship idols was greatly encour- 
 aged ; being anxious to draw the people from the temple worship at 
 Jerusalem, he established two places for religious assemblies to conduct 
 their festivals; one was Bethel, the other Dan. At each place King 
 Jeroboam set up a molten calf, which was devoutly worshiped by the 
 people as symbols of Jehovah, while he assumed the powers of the royal 
 priesthood as well as king. 
 
 The kingdom of Israel continued about two hundred and fifty years, 
 or until the year seven hundred and twenty-one, B.C., and was captured 
 by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. The kingdom of Judah continued 
 about five hundred years, and was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar, 
 King of Babylon. Thus came to an end one of the most prosperous and 
 historic nations of the world, which, from that day to the present, has 
 not been able to regain the country chosen for them as an independent 
 government. 
 
 They were permitted to return from captivity after the Kingdom 
 of Babylon fell into the hands of Gyrus about the year five hundred 
 and thirty-six, B.C. (See 1 Kings xii. 28, 29; 2 Kings xxv.). These 
 emancipated Jews began to rebuild their demolished city, a second 
 temple was built, and in process of time the whole city was surrounded 
 by walls, and the chosen people finally became settled for a time in 
 their own land; but it was not permanent, for they were again woefully 
 subdued by the Romans in the year seventy, A.D., and finally became 
 dispersed over the face of the whole earth, and their country, which was 
 cunningly and restlessly sought by many powerful nations, successfully 
 passed from one dominion to another, until at length it went under the 
 control of the Turks, in whose custody it is at present. 
 
 Palestine and Syria are now divided into three Pashale'ks or 
 Wilayets ; each having a governor appointed by the Sultan to oversee 
 the domestic affairs and guard the interest of Turkey. The Jews, who 
 
10 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 about eighteen hundred years ago were compelled to leave the cherished 
 land of their fathers, have ever held it in sacred memory ; thousands of 
 these scattered people are returning from their dispersions and are 
 settling in and about the Holy City. 
 
 Many of them have built comfortable homes in which to spend 
 their lives ; such w^as the rush for building sites by this people, an order 
 was issued by the Turkish authorities, that no more land should be 
 sold to them until further orders. The Jews of Palestine live mostly 
 in Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias and Safed; these are known as their 
 Holy Cities. Then thousands of pilgrims visit these places of sacred 
 memory every year, at each of which they shed a tear, impress a kiss, 
 and devoutly kneel in earnest supplications for the return of their 
 former joys. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 The variations of climate in Palestine and Syria are more numerous 
 than in any other country in the world, covering the same number of 
 square miles. Down in the extreme east and southeast it is unbeara- 
 bly warm in summer, and during the greater part of the winter, it is as 
 warm as in many portions of America in summer. 
 
 There can scarcely be a place in any of the plains of the East Indies 
 warmer than the valley of the Jordan, or the plain down about the 
 Dead Sea. But as the heights of Judah are ascended going towards 
 Jerusalem a perceptible and gratifying change is experienced in the 
 climate; the changes in the atmosphere depend largely upon the eleva- 
 tions and nature of the soil. Jerusalem is about three thousand feet 
 above the Dead Sea, and has the benefit of daily refreshing breezes, 
 yet the city in the summer is oppressingly warm ; this is caused by the 
 intense heat reflected from the white rocks which are in great numbers 
 round about the city. 
 
 Persons going from our country to Jerusalem in the hot season are 
 compelled to remain in-doors from early morn until near night-fall ; 
 therefore little or no satisfaction is given sight-seers. 
 
 The changes of the weather common to us throughout the year are 
 not known in Palestine and Syria ; the sky is almost cloudless from the 
 last of April to the first of October, during which time the most of the 
 springs and streams dry up and the whole face of the ground becomes 
 parched and vegetation looks as if it had been burned by fire, except 
 in a few spots where perennial streams flow. 
 
 During these seasons traveling is not only tedious, but dangerous ; 
 in February the rains are the most frequent; many times intermittent 
 showers of fine hail fall thick and fast, so that it is necessary to protect 
 
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. U 
 
 the face from the injury one would sustain if left exposed. Snows are 
 also common in the latter part of the winter ; it sometimes falls a foot 
 deep, but is of short duration, seldom lasting more than a day; the 
 coldest weather is not severe, and people go all the year without shoes ; 
 we have seen them about Bethany and Jerusalem, walking about in the 
 snow barefooted without hesitation. 
 
 There is but little ice seen in the coldest parts, except on the highest 
 mountain peaks, where snows continue almost the year round, as on the 
 highest peaks of Hermon and Lebanon. I call to mind my journey 
 from Beyroute to Damascus ; we had to cross the summit of Mt. Leba- 
 non and in many places the snow was so deep I could stretch out my 
 arm and gather it while sitting on my horse, sometimes reaching up 
 to get it. 
 
 But on the southern slope, where the altitude is lower than two 
 thousand feet, snows are seldom seen. The barley harvest begins as 
 early as the middle of April, in the Jordan valley, and the wheat harvest 
 about the first of May. In southern Palestine among the hills reaping 
 begins about the first of June ; and in Lebanon, where the altitude and 
 climate is cooler, the harvest generally begins about the middle of June. 
 
 When the Hebrews entered the land they found the whole sea coast 
 inhabited by a sti'ong and vigorous people, who were conducting a most 
 lucrative business in all parts of the inhabited world ; they were the 
 early settlers of the country and had made wonderful progress. 
 
 The Phoenicians, sometimes known as Sidonians and Tyrians, who 
 inhabited the coast of Syria from Jeliel on the north to Acre on the soutli, 
 were descendants of Canaan, and were of Hamitic stock or race ; tliis 
 powerful and energetic people were never expelled from their territory 
 by the Hebrews, as were several of the tribes belonging to their race, 
 but continued living on the most friendly terms with Israel during the 
 whole time they possessed the " Promise Land," and were of great ser- 
 vice to them in aiding them on the sea with their vessels, and in sending 
 them skilled laborers to perform intricate work at Jerusalem. 
 
 There was such friendship existing between them that several inter- 
 marriages took place amongst them, especially the higher classes, and 
 there are no reasonable grounds to doubt that such relation existed 
 amongst the poorer people. 
 
 Color was not a barrier as in America ; it was not this characteristic 
 which regulated social relations, but rank and fitness were the ties 
 which bound them. If the people of our country would copy their 
 example society would greatly profit by it. 
 
 The Phoenicians were regarded as one of the most skillful and Indus- 
 
12 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 trious people on the face of the earth ; the Philistines were also a power- 
 ful race, who, of late years, have been traced by some historians to 
 Japhetic origin. They were a people of warlike courage and greatly 
 troubled Israel ; it is thought they are identical with the Cherethites 
 or Cretans in the Bible, but were mixed with other tribes, as has always 
 been common in Palestine. (See 1 Sam. xxx. 14; Ezek. xxv. 16; 
 Zeph. ii. 5.) 
 
PART II. 
 
 LIFE IN PALESTINE— PECULIAR CUSTOMS OF THE 
 
 PEOPLE. 
 
 Style of Dress — Costly Garment Owned by the Poor — Style of Dress of the 
 Women of Bethlehem and Nazareth — ^Dress of Mohammedan Women- 
 Farming Implements — How Plows are Made and Used — Armed Merchants 
 and Shepherds — Long Standing Fends — Land-Marks Respected — Historical 
 Associations — First Settlers — How Homes are Bnilt — Variety of Climate — 
 People of Lebanon — Their Appearance — Their Manners — Their Relations 
 as to Religion. 
 
 STYLE OF DRESS. 
 
 THE same style of dress obtains (with but few exceptions), among 
 both sexes, as were known in the time of our Lord and the early 
 Church fathers. The most of them wear loose garments something like 
 those represented on ancient pictures as far back as patriarchal times. 
 In some instances the costumes of the men and women vary such a 
 little, it is hard to tell one from the other in the distance ; but on 
 approaching them they are easily distinguished. There seems to be 
 but little changing to suit the weather, except the head-dress. More 
 care is taken of it than of any other portion of the body ; which, in 
 cold weather, the natives carefully cover with a shawl, while their 
 lower limbs are left unprotected. This is done by the merchant, the 
 farmer, and the peasant. Men and women can be seen out when it is 
 very cold having their heads wrapped so carefully that nothing but 
 their eyes can be seen, and wearing short dresses, reaching just a 
 little below their knees, without shoes or stockings on. The style being 
 permanent, those who buy costly dresses are not put to the necessity 
 of having them altered to suit the fashion. Sometimes w^omen who 
 live in very humble homes appear in very rich dress ; so that persons 
 who are not conversant with the custom of inheritance would think 
 strange of the great outward display by some who are very poor. It 
 is the case, for the most part those rich and costly dresses worn by 
 poor women have been made for forty or fifty years, and passed to the 
 possession of several different families ; or some individual, who first 
 owned it, bequeathed it to some poor relative with the understanding 
 
14 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 it was to be kept in the family as long as it was wearable. By this 
 means one garment may continue in a family for fifty years, for they 
 take the most cautious care of them, only wearing them on special 
 occasions. The women of Bethlehem and Nazareth are exceptions to 
 the rule as to the general style of dress ; each has a fashion of her 
 own ; and no matter where they are seen, persons know them by the 
 style of their dress. One very noticeable feature of the female attire 
 is the way they dress their head. If we may be allowed to judge them 
 by what their dwellings contain and what their heads are dressed with, 
 we should conclude that many of them have about all they possess on 
 their heads. They take silver coins and string them, as we do beads, 
 and form a head-dress so arranged as to come down to their temples ; 
 many contain a hundred or more pieces. The coins , generally are 
 keep-sakes, given them by friends as birthday presents, and are 
 regarded as sacred. Therefore, they are not liable to.be stolen from 
 them. Those who have the fortune to own a number of such gifts, 
 pride them aa a very valuable treasure, and would almost part with 
 their life sooner than with one of them. The native women are seldom 
 seen with a hat on ; hence, when they appear in public, their head- 
 dress can be seen at a very good advantage. These ornaments are not 
 seen so conspicuously on Mohammedan women, because they are com- 
 pelled to wear a veil so as to cover their faces from the sight of men. 
 These veils are very ugly, and render the ladies very unpresentable to 
 those whose civilization has been progressive. The men, we learn from 
 ancient history, wore long garments of different colors, just as the 
 females did ; the white and purple being the favorite colors. Any one 
 who has been to Palestine will conclude very readily that but slight 
 changes have been made, if any, in the mode of dressing. The men 
 wear now, as in olden times, a turban on the head instead of a hat. 
 Many wear a red cap made of thick cloth, known as Turkish caps. It 
 is not an uncommon thing to see people going through the country 
 carrying their beds. This was an ordinary custom in the time of our 
 Lord, and has been continued through the ages. Therefore, it was not 
 a strange thing to see the man on his bed at the pool ; but to see him 
 restored without having been in the healing stream was wonderful, 
 
 FAEMING IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 It will also be observed there is but little improvement in the in- 
 struments used for cultivating the ground. The same style of plow, 
 hoe and other implements used in ancient times prevail now ; and 
 many of the fields under cultivation seem to be anything else but till- 
 
LIFE IN PALESTINE. 15 
 
 able land. It would appear to those who are not acquainted with 
 produce-growing in Palestine that nothing could grow in many of the 
 farming districts because they are so very mountainous and stony. 
 But the husbandmen are thoroughly acquainted with the land and 
 know just where and when to sow seed, and when it begins to grow it 
 looks in many places as though it was coming up out of the very 
 stones, such is the abundant growth. These farmers have lived so 
 greatly isolated from the modern people and so far behind the march 
 of civilization they would not know how to use the farming implements 
 used in modern times. Their 2)lows are the style of those used in the 
 earliest times, and so small and light a small lad could carry one with- 
 out being burdened. It simply consists of two poles which cross each 
 other at the ends, near the ground ; one of them is fastened to the 
 yoke for drawing, the other is used by the driver as a plow-share at 
 one end and the handle at the other ; no plow has two handles, as is 
 the case in modern countries. The plowman holds the handle in one 
 hand and the ox-goad in the other, which consists of a pole seven or 
 eight feet long, sharpened to a point at one end for the purpose of 
 touching up the oxen ; the other end is broadened to clean the soil 
 from the plow. One seeing these implements would naturally re- 
 member the teachings of our Lord, " No man having put his hand to 
 the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of Heaven ; " and of 
 His words to Saul of Tarsus, " It is hard for thee to kick against the 
 pricks." It was with such an instrument Shamgai*, the son of Anath, 
 slew six hundred Philistines and won a triumphant victory for Israel. 
 When the oxen are disposed to be unruly the driver sticks the sharp 
 point of the goad into his flank, or should he kick he holds it so as to 
 stick him. It is usual for several worls men to be in the same field, or 
 if going to either of the large cities with produce they go in small 
 companies. 
 
 ARMED MERCHANTS AND SHEPHERDS. 
 
 Sometimes a dozen or more shepherds are seen high up in the 
 mountain slope watching their flocks, a number of husbandmen in one 
 field plowing, or twenty or thirty merchants with camels and donkeys 
 traveling up to Jerusalem or down to Damascus, or to some of the 
 other cities with merchandise. Each man has either a sword or gun, 
 a large Damascus knife, or some other deadly instrument of defence. 
 It is a strange sight to those unaccustomed to such sights to meet those 
 half wild men out in the lonely country with these deadly weapons 
 exposed to view. Naturally the question is asked. Why do these men 
 
16 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 carry arms everywhere they go ? The long guns are so arranged over 
 their shoulders with a strap which can be adjusted in a moment. If 
 they have pistols or daggers they are placed in a sash around them. 
 
 LONG-STANDING FEUDS. 
 
 There are many reasons given as a cause for their having them. 
 It is said they take them for self-protection both against wild beasts 
 and enemies, who may be seeking to rob them ; then it is often the case 
 that many have had quarrels with some one that have not been settled, 
 or a family dispute that has been standing for two or three hundred 
 years, that has been handed down from one generation to another, 
 which is held against those who live now, just as strongly as if they 
 had been the authors of the offence ; and will be continued until some 
 one of the descendants is revenged. So it can be seen the avenger of 
 blood is still after them, and, therefore, they carry weapons to defend 
 themselves in case of an attack. Sometimes a very small offence costs 
 many lives. For if one is avenged the family and relatives of the one 
 punished will seek revenge from the avenger, or some of his people, 
 and will never be satisfied until some of his family share the fate of 
 death by the survivors, though it may be a hundred years to come. 
 Sometimes whole villages are thrown into strife and lasting enmity 
 about something that occurred in a family ; vengeance is sought, and 
 year after year the inhabitants of each of the villages go from day to 
 day armed in case of an attack. I was informed that it has been 
 known that several members of a long line of relatives have been 
 slain because of an outbreak that occurred three or four centuries 
 past. If one man was killed, his relatives felt bound to kill some of 
 the relatives of the man who killed him in return ; and so the matter 
 of outrage goes down from one generation to another. Just as small a 
 thing as the capture of a stray goat has caused tumults and led whole 
 neighborhoods into trouble and bloodshed. 
 
 LANDMARKS RESPECTED. 
 
 It is only those fields and orchards near the larger towns and cities 
 that are fenced in either with stones or cactus fences ; but the fields in 
 which grain is sown are generally fenceless. At times only a heajj of 
 stones mark the boundary of the farmer's jurisdiction. This custom 
 has existed from the early times, when the people, if they had a dispo- 
 sition, could extend their line by moving the stones. Yet they dare 
 not do so lest they bring upon themselves the curse pronounced upon 
 the man who moves his neighbor's landmark. 
 
LIFE IN PALESTINE. J 7 
 
 HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 There seems to be no difficulty about one farmer trespassing upon 
 another ; but the main evil is the liberty people take in riding over the 
 fields after the seed has been sown ; this is not done through ill-will, 
 but because of a long-standing custom coming down through hundreds 
 of ages. AVhen that pattern woman, Ruth, Avent out to glean after the 
 reapers she was not put to the embarrassment of climbing over fences 
 and crossing boundary ditches, but simply passed from one stone limit 
 to another, and her happiness was to light on a part of the field belonging 
 to Boaz. These instances are but an introduction to the many cus- 
 toms daily met with, which were curi'ent in olden times. If the 
 stranger should pass some of the vineyards at the season for trimming 
 the vines he will see the dresser cutting off' the dead branches and cast- 
 ing them in the fire to be burned. One is reminded of the teachings 
 of Jesus: "I am the vine, ye are the branches, and my father is the 
 husbandman ; every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh 
 away." Many of the old customs of the early Patriarchs are still fol- 
 lowed by some classes of the people. 
 
 FIEST SETTLERS. 
 
 We know those of the earlier times had no fixed home, but dwelt 
 in tents, as it was suitable to their occupation as keepers of flocks or 
 shepherds. This is a common custom with hundreds and perhaps thou- 
 sands of people in various parts of the country to-day. It is an ordi- 
 nary thing to see a tent village settled near a good pasture, convenient 
 to a spring or well. It is highly probable some of these nomads have 
 never lived in a house in their lives. The most of their tents are so 
 small one would be compelled to crawl into them. 
 
 HOW HOMES ARE BUILT. 
 
 When permanent homes began to be builded the people settled in 
 small communities. This seems to have been the custom of the vari- 
 ous Canaanitish tribes long before the Hebrews came in possession of 
 the land. After they began to come in great numbers they founded 
 towns and cities along the sea border and other favorable localities, 
 even from Jericho to Sidon. The husbandmen usually live miles away 
 from the land they cultivate. They believe it much safer and agreea- 
 ble to live in small communities than to be dispersed here and there on 
 their lonely farms, as they are not suited for permanent homes. They 
 are prepared also to protect themselves against the violence of the law- 
 2 
 
18 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 less, whom they feared would rob them even of their existence, were 
 they to live on separate farms miles apart, as is common in other 
 countries. The houses in the interior are generally made of hard clay 
 or mud, except in such places as Bethel or Samaria, where the people 
 have gathered material for the erection of their little homes from the 
 ruins of the original cities. This does not refer to the large inland 
 towns, such as Hebron, Bethlehem, Shechem, and others that have 
 always been business thoroughfares. These small huts are usually 
 very low, having but one apartment, and without windows or chim- 
 ney, and only a very low doorway. 
 
 VAEIETY OF CLIMATE. 
 
 It is written that no country in the world of the same extent of ter- 
 ritory has a greater variety of climate than Palestine and Syria, espe- 
 cially the latter. The lofty summit and high places along the Lebanon 
 range are very cool and balmy in the hottest days of summer, while the 
 valley of the Jordan and the shores of the Dead Sea are so very 
 warm, one accustomed to a milder climate would be at once over- 
 powered. Then during the winter, when the snow is impassable on the 
 higher portions of Lebanon, the valley about it is fresh and green. 
 January and February are the coldest months during the season, the 
 snows being most frequent and deepest. 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF LEBANON— THEIE APPEARANCE AND 
 MANNERS. 
 
 The inhabitants of Lebanon are robust and generally healthy, 
 presenting a much nobler appearance than the dwarfs of the low-lands. 
 The people throughout the country are polite to strangers, but caution 
 is given by those who know them best not to receive their salutations 
 as the true intent of their heart ; for they will many times give a bow 
 of friendship when their purpose is far from it. There is said to be a 
 meaning in every gesture. When they lay their right hand upon 
 their forehead, lips and breast in succession they indicate the follow- 
 ing : " In thought, word and deed I am your servant ; " and when they 
 kiss one hand it is a representation of a greater humility. But these 
 outward demonstrations of civility and friendship are only formal and 
 empty. The whole inhabitants are divided into religious sects. It is 
 that which has made the greatest distinction ; every other preference is 
 of a minor character. 
 
LIFE IN PALESTINE. 19 
 
 THEIR RELIGIOUS RELATIONS. 
 
 The religious sects are by no means friendly towards each other, and 
 it occurs that they sometimes become hostile. The Mohammedans are 
 the most powerful, and take advantage of the minor sects whenever an 
 opportunity is presented. They are taught to look with the most cruel 
 contempt upon all others whose religion differs from theirs, and they 
 know well how to practically observe their instructions. While the 
 Mohammedans are divided into several sects, they are united on the 
 question of opposing every other that is not inclined to their faith. 
 There are so many excellent books written on the various sects, we 
 deem it unnecessary to add anything in this volume. 
 
PAET III. 
 OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES, 
 
 FROM THEIR ENTRANCE INTO THE LAND OF PROMISE TO THEIR 
 
 DISPERSION. 
 
 General Character of Israelites — Their Criminal Waywardness — Allotments of 
 Twelve Tribes — Their Religious and Political Revolutions — Situation of 
 Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh — Deborah's Criticism — Situation of 
 Tribes of Judah, Ephraim, Simeon, Benjamin, and Dan — Situation of Tribes 
 of Issachar, Asher, Zebnlun, and Naphtali— Tribe of Levi — ^Its Official Rela- 
 tions to the Others — Their Cherished Treasure — The Tabernacle Removed 
 from Gilgal to Shiloh — Great Feast Reunions — Sliiloh, a Religious Court of 
 Priests and Levites — Office of Levites — Office of Priests — Israel's Wayward 
 Tendency the Signal of Their Decline — Israel given to Idolatry — Israel's 
 Oppression a Divine Rebuke — Their Inter-Marriage with the Canaanites — 
 Official Judges who Delivered Israel — Ehud of Benjamin, His Cunning 
 Scheme — Ehud's Stratagem, His Escape — Philistines' Hostilities — Shamgar 
 a Deliverer of Israel — Shamgar Judge of Israel — Trouble out North — Jabin, 
 King of Hazor — Deborah the Prophetess— Engagement between Barak and 
 Sisera— Triumph of Israel — Jael, Sisera's Destroyer — Israelites afflicted by 
 Moabites — Gideon and His Little Army — Position of the jMidianites' Camp- 
 Gideon's Attack — Death of Gideon— Invasion of Gilead by the Ammonites — 
 Jephthah, the Victor^ — His Rash Vow — Trouble with the Philistines — Sam- 
 son, the iNlighty Hero — Samuel, the last Judge — His Counsel to Israel — 
 Israel's Anxiety for a King — -Conduct of Joel and Abijah — Samuel Anoints 
 Saul — The Turning Point in the Affiiirs of the Government — Samuel's last 
 Advice to Israel — Saul as King — David Chosen to Succeed Saul — Opposition 
 to David — Its Final Result — Transfer of the Kingdom — David King of 
 Israel — Solomon on the Throne Revolt of Ten Tribes — Worshiping the 
 Calves — Southern Kingdom — Prophets in Israel — Israelites Carried into 
 Captivity — Assyrians Inhabiting Their Land — Samaritans Rejected — The 
 Jews Return from Captivity — Discord between Jews and Samaritans — Ser- 
 vices on Mount Gerizim — Nehemiah Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem — 
 Ancient Samaritans — Visit to Samaritan Temple — Their Religious Devo- 
 tions — The People, Their General Beaiing — Tiibts under Rehoboam and 
 Jeroboam — Northern and Southern Districts — Silent Period — Condition of 
 Jews when our Lord came on Earth — Jews Subject to Persia — Headquarters 
 of Persian Monarch — A Strange Conquest — Rule of Ptolemies — Sanctuary 
 Robbed — The Maccabees' Rule. 
 
 THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF ISRAELITES. 
 
 BEFORE entering into a detailed account of the most prominent 
 places that largely embrace the history of Palestine, it is of import- 
 ance to give an outline survey of the general character of the Israel- 
 ites, after entering upon their promised possessions, as a national 
 20 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 21 
 
 organization. When Moses, the celebrated commander and law-giver 
 of the Hebrews, died, Joshua, the brave and heroic leader, succeeded 
 him, and triumphantly led frhe people into the " Land of Promise ; " 
 where they would have been, even to-day, one of the most progressive, 
 prosperous, and wealthy nations on the face of the globe, if they had 
 allowed the Lord to continue with them. But their superstitions, 
 pride, idolatry, infidelity, and international strifes led them from the 
 God of their fathers into grave offences of shame and dissolution, 
 which broke down their government. They seemed not to know how 
 to appreciate their independence, until they had been put under the 
 sceptre of a foreign power. The Hebrews were the most unsettled and 
 contentious people in the world, as a nation. If we carefully consider 
 their history as detailed in the Holy Scriptures, and many other books 
 written by brilliant and worthy authors, who have exhausted much 
 time and energy in collecting facts touching the inner life of this 
 people, it will be seen they were constantly contending against them- 
 selves ; so that from the time of Joshua to that of our Lord, the 
 religious and political revolutions were so tremendous that the whole 
 nation had passed through an unenviable transition. They had lost 
 all the bearing of the happy and prosperous people who went forth 
 conquering throughout the land under the banner of the God of Hosts. 
 When Jesus came among them. He found the whole nation full of cor- 
 ruption, superstition, and intensely gross darkness. This people, whose 
 mighty arm of conquest had subdued nations and brought proud kings 
 under the power of its sceptre, and struck all with great alarm who 
 knew of their continued success, were themselves subject to the gall- 
 ing yoke of Roman domination. Their fame for conquest had vanished, 
 and their country had been the hunting-ground for the nations round 
 about them. 
 
 When the tribes had settled in the several districts allotted them 
 they could have gone from one state of pleasing progress to another, 
 for the condition and adaptations of each tribe were considered long 
 before the allotment was made. It is reasonable to suppose that God, 
 Himself, revealed to Jacob the territory each of the tribes should 
 occupy. The aged patriarch, when dying, indicated what should be 
 the possessions of each of his sons, although they had not been in 
 Egypt more than about seventeen years. A passing notice of the dis- 
 tricts, as allotted to the tribes, will show how well they were adapted 
 to the capacity of each. Reuben and Gad were divided from the others 
 by the river Jordan. This district Avas given them by their own choice. 
 It may seem strange that these two tribes and half of that of jNIanasseh 
 
22 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 would have contented themselves to settle down on the east side of the 
 Jordan, and beyond the bounds of Canaan proper, and become almost 
 a distinct people, if it had not been so ordained by the Lord. The 
 people living on the borderland were vicious, and entertained no 
 friendly feelings for them ; yet they were just as content to remain 
 there as though the whole army had reached their destination. These 
 tribes were keepers of flocks, and the country assigned them was splen- 
 didly adapted to their calling. It contained good pastures and a good 
 supply of water and other conveniences necessary to properly care for 
 their flocks. There was doubtless a stronger attachment between these 
 two tribes than with the others, because they were usually camped 
 together during their forty years' wanderings in the wilderness. They, 
 under these circumstances, must have known each other better, and 
 could dwell in peace. 
 
 One half of the tribe of Manasseh, having remained with them, 
 made in all two tribes and a half of the twelve who did not live in 
 Palestine. They located themselves, having Reuben on the south. Gad 
 in the center, and the half tribe of Manasseh on the north. These 
 people having been separated from their brethren, and living in almost 
 absolute isolation, constantly burdened with the cares of pastoral life, 
 lost much of their primitive devotion for their brethren on the west of 
 the Jordan, and took no particular interest in the affairs of the nation. 
 They were not conspicuous in the many wars fought by their brethren, 
 nor did they seem to interest themselves as to the general prosperity of 
 the other tribes. They were more stimulated with an ambition for 
 personal gains than by patriotism. This is clear from their conduct 
 towards the other tribes when they were wanted up north to assist in a 
 conflict with the Canaanites. They stubbornly refused to go up to 
 their help. Their attitude toward their fellows on the west caused 
 Deborah, the Prophetess, to criticise them keenly in song after the 
 victory had been Avon. " By the water-courses of Reuben there were 
 great searchings of heart ; why sittest thou among the sheep-folds to 
 hear pipings of the flock ?" Gilead abode beyond the Jordan. It is 
 evident they were content with their own situation, and had no dispo- 
 sition to help those beyond the Jordan. Judah and Ephraim occupied 
 the best portion of the southern and middle districts ; around them 
 clustered the most important history of the nation. Hebron, the head- 
 quarters of their historic development, was embraced in the allotment 
 of Judah, who afterwards shared a part of their possessions to Simeon 
 around Beersheba on the southwest. Ephraim had for his possession 
 the territory that embraces Shechem on the north. The portions of 
 
OUTLINE HISTOEY OF THE ISRAELITES. 23 
 
 Benjamin and Dan were situated between Judah and Ephraim ; the 
 former occupied that portion of the country extending from the Jor- 
 dan valley on the east, and southeast, northward to Ephraim, embrac- 
 ing Jericho, Gibeon and Bethel. Dan's portion extended northward 
 from the two Beth-harans to the Mediterranean Sea, taking in a por- 
 tion of the valley of Ajalon ; also embracing Ramleh and Lydda, 
 the Sharon, plain and Joppa, and several other places important in 
 Bible history. The half tribe of Manasseh, living west of the Jordan, 
 was allotted a small district on the north of Ephraim, in connection 
 with a number of towns in the districts of the adjoining tribes. The 
 whole of the district of Galilee was apportioned to the remaining four 
 tribes, Issachar, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. All the tribes received 
 a special allotment, except the tribe of Levi, which was priestly, and 
 was therefore dispersed amongst all the others in the forty-eight cities 
 given them. This latter tribe was scattered throughout the nation to 
 advise and check them from the commission of the various evils to 
 which they were so greatly inclined It is well known the Israelities 
 had a most preciously cherished treasure, which they cautiously and 
 sacredly guarded, and were careful as to its location, as it was highly 
 necessary a proper and safe place should be selected for its safe keep- 
 ing. We refer to the Tabernacle. Up to this time and onward for a 
 long period the new inhabitants of the country had not been formed 
 into a national brotherhood strictly ; for as yet they were divided into 
 tribes, each having a separate jurisdiction in the management of their 
 political aflairs, but sustaining a relation to each other peculiar to a 
 nation. It may be said they were a confederation of distinctly organ- 
 ized settlements or communities. They had no federal capital and no 
 human king. Under such circumstances it would seem that the Tab- 
 ernacle would be a bone of contention among the tribes, each endeav- 
 oring to hold it within the confines of their own dominion. But such 
 was not the case, for all the people were specially devoted to their 
 moveable sanctuary and sacredly guarded its safety. There was a con- 
 ference held by the most prominent of the jieople, and it was found 
 important to remove it to some place convenient as possible to the 
 people at large. Shiloh was, in their opinion, the most suitable place, 
 and to it the sacred tent was taken. This they did before the tribes 
 dispersed to their several allotments. The Tabernacle had remained 
 at Gilgal from the time it was placed there, after the people crossed 
 the Jordan. Any one having the map of Palestine can see the selec- 
 tion of Shiloh was wise, it being more central and convenient than 
 any other, and close to the great highway leading through the main 
 
24 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 cities and towns in the land. This seems to have been the chief reason 
 for making a selection of it for the permanent resting-place of their 
 sacred treasure. There were three festivals celebrated yearly, which 
 the able-bodied men were requested to attend. It can be seen, there- 
 fore, it was highly important the location of the sanctuary should be 
 conveniently situated. Shiloh is in the territory of Ephraim, not far 
 from the main thoroughfare leading to Damascus and Egypt, Jericho 
 and Joppa, and about half way between Shechem and Bethel. The 
 Tabernacle remained there the religious headquarters of the Israelites 
 moi'e than three hundred years. . But during the time of Eli it began 
 to lose much of its former prestige, especially after the Philistines cap- 
 tured the Ark of the Covenant. The Tabernacle was a binding instru- 
 ment ; it kept the people together in religious sentiment, in sympathy, 
 and in their fraternal relations, so that on meeting at their triennial 
 religious services at Shiloh they most friendly and happily greeted 
 each other, and devotedly renewed their ties of brotherhood. 
 
 When a people can meet upon a common level to pay their devo- 
 tions to the Most High God, a union of friendship is stimulated that 
 grows more and more from day to-day, until it becomes so strong it 
 will be hard to break its influence. Such was the case with the Israel- 
 ites. They were without national laws at that time to bind them a.s 
 such, nor had they a human sovereign to rule over them, nor a centre 
 from which the word of command was issued. But Shiloh served as a 
 kind of religious court of Levites and priests ; a capital to which the 
 multitudes were drawn three times a year, and renewed their vows to 
 the God of their fathers ; recognizing Him as their supreme ruler and 
 law-giver. Shiloh also served as a gathering place, where many things 
 would be settled that caused unjileasantness among the people, growing 
 out of local disputes, renewed former friendly relations, and prohibited 
 the encroachments and ill-feelings, which the dividing of themselves 
 into special territories would without doubt introduce and cherish. 
 The Levites were instrumental in doing much towards keeping the 
 people together fraternally. These officials were scattered through all 
 the tribes, constantly teaching the people their whole duty towards each 
 other, so that the tribes might be bound together in the strongest ties 
 of fraternal brotherhood, promoting virtue and true piety. They were 
 familiar with the laws and exercised the office of under-judges in the 
 ordinary courts ; they took charge of the Tabernacle and sacred vessels. 
 The priests, who were the higher officials, were indispensable factors in 
 aiding the people in the afl^airs of state as well as in their religious 
 duties. They did much toward keeping the tribes together and in 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 25 
 
 putting down many tendencies of bitter schisms that were brewing on 
 account of jealousy. They were the chief spiritual directors of the 
 tribes, and at times were called upon to be the judges of civil matters. 
 They were God's messengers. He would make known His will to 
 them, and they would teach the same to the people. 
 
 The unsatisfied appetite of the Israelites, stimulated by a passionate 
 desire for a king of their own selection, began to disclose itself more 
 decidedly at length, and continued to arouse the people until their 
 ambition was gratified. It is noteworthy that during the whole period 
 following Joshua, one trouble after another haunted the Israelites for 
 many years: enmity, contention, murder and many other severe aflflic- 
 tions followed, because of repeated efforts of hostile nations around to 
 destroy them. That the distressed Hebrews might have proper leaders 
 during their great struggles, God appointed judges to protect and 
 defend them at times of great distress and excitement. Their authority 
 was bordering on kingly prerogatives ; it extended to peace and war, 
 or they had power to declare war and make peace as the case seemed 
 to them expedient. They also had authority as chief magistrates to 
 decide all cases of law coming under their notice, from which there was 
 no appeal. The judges were not law-makers, but its executives. Soon 
 after the death of Joshua Israel began to depart from God, and turn 
 their minds towards idolatry, for which they were often rebuked ; this 
 would serve as a check for a time, but the same spirit would again 
 incline them to seek the favor of other gods. This disposition took 
 firm hold upon the hearts of the people and so controlled them that 
 they yielded to its allurements by degrees, until at length the whole 
 nation had to some extent devoted itself to idolatrous worship, and 
 embraced it just as freely and fondly as did the heathen nations about 
 them. For these glaring transgressions the Lord administered to them 
 a stern rebuke, and allowed them to be sorely grieved by the people of 
 Mesopotamia, the Moabitcs, the Canaanites, the Midianites, the Am- 
 monites and Philistines. These several states at different periods greatly 
 oppressed Israel and caused them to mourn on account of their trans- 
 gressions. The book of Judges furnishes many narratives of the oppres- 
 sions the people suffered as a stern rebuke from the Almighty for their 
 persistence in rebelling against Him. Inter-marriage with the Canaan- 
 ites was one of the influences that caused Israel to become entangled 
 with heathen worship ; and God permitted them to experience the 
 bitter results of their folly, by withdrawing His guarding hand from 
 them for a time, that they might see their extreme dependence upon 
 Him and return to the true worship. The king of Mesopotamia over- 
 
26 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 powered them and held them under his iron sceptre for eight years, 
 during which time Israel suffered greatly. 
 
 '• The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the 
 Lord and forgot the Lord their God, and served the gods Baalim and 
 Ashtaroth. Therefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled ai;ainst 
 Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim." The 
 lamentable experience of the Israelites under this deep oppression 
 caused them to turn their attention to God, whom they had forsaken, 
 and in tears of agony they appealed to Him for deliverance. The 
 Lord heard them and gave them helpers. Othniel, son of Kenaz, rose 
 up in the strength of God and delivered them from the iron arm of 
 the king of Mesopotamia. Othniel was the first of the judges of Israel, 
 and during the forty years he was in the official position the land 
 enjoyed great peace. The next king who rose up against Israel was 
 Eglon of ]Moab, who came into the country by the plain of Jericho in 
 the border of Benjamin ; he smote Israel and caused them to serve 
 him eighteen years, and so bitter were their afflictions, they were again 
 moved to seek refuge under the all-powerful hand of the Lord. He 
 heard their cries and raised up Ehud of Benjamin to deliver them. 
 This mighty man gathered the hosts of valiant men and came down 
 with them from the heights of Ephraim and attacked the Moabites in 
 their rear, and greatly discomfited them. There was great stratagem 
 devised in preparing for this battle. Ehud was sent by the childi-en of 
 Israel to take a present, perhaps in connection with their taxes, to the 
 king of Moab. Before starting he made a double-edged dagger, about 
 as long as his arm, and hid it under his garment on his right side. It 
 may be that he placed it there because he was left-handed. This 
 seems the more plausible to me because he was a Benjamite, and to be 
 left-handed was not unusual with them. But it is the opinion of some 
 authors the dagger was placed on his right side to escape observation. 
 I think, however, the opinion we have ventured is the correct one ; for 
 it is well known the men of Benjamin used to carry tlieir sling-bag on 
 their right side so as to get the stone in the hand from which they 
 would throw it. When Ehud came to the palace with the present he 
 sent those away who went with him, then he went back and said to the 
 king, " I have a secret errand for thee, O king ; " he was of the 
 opinion an important message was to be delivered. He therefore 
 commanded all to be silent, and sent his state servants away. Eglon 
 was in his beautiful room that had been arranged for his special com- 
 fort, known as his summer cooling-room. When all was quiet and 
 Eglon and Ehud were left to themselves, the Benjamite advanced to 
 
OUTLINE HISTOEY OF THE ISRAELITES. 27 
 
 the king and said to him, " I have a message from God to thee." The 
 king, in accordance with the custom of his day, rose to his feet to 
 receive it. Just then Ehud pierced him deeply with his double-edged 
 dagger, and the king fell heavily to the floor and died, without the 
 knowledge of his chief oflicials or any one else. Ehud then closed and 
 locked the doors and took the keys, quietly passed the guards, and 
 finally made his escape. After a while the servants of the king re- 
 turned to attend to him. Finding the doors locked, they supposed he 
 wa^s sleeping and said, " He covereth his feet." They returned to their 
 quarters and remained an unusually long time without any signs of 
 the king's presence. Becoming alarmed and suspicioning something 
 was wrong with him, they began to look for a key to unlock the door 
 and enter unbiddingly into his chamber ; on entering they saw, to their 
 great amazement and grief, their king lying dead on the earth. But 
 Ehud was gone ; and having escaped safely to his people, he blew the 
 trumpet on Mount Ephraim. In response to the trumpet call they 
 came to him. He said to them, " Follow after me, for the Lord hath 
 delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands." There were 
 about ten thousand of the picked men of Moab, and not one of the 
 men who oppressed Israel escaped the fury of the men of Ehud 
 
 PHILISTINES ROUTED. 
 
 After this successful engagement and triumphant victory, Israel 
 enjoyed peace for about eighty years. The Philistines were very per- 
 plexing to the children of Israel and did them much harm. These 
 enemies Avould watch favorable opportunities to intimidate the husband- 
 men just about the time their crops were ready to harvest. The 
 Philistines would suddenly come down upon them and drive them from 
 their fields in which they had labored so long and made great sacri- 
 fices to cultivate. It often occurred ; they would be compelled to leave 
 everything behind and flee for refuge among the rocks and caves. It 
 is stated in Judges, " that in the days of Shamgar the highways were 
 unoccupied." Such was the fear the people entertained of the Philis- 
 tine robbers, they had abandoned the highways and made their 
 journeys through the by-ways for safety. It occurred one day while 
 Shamgar, the son of Anath, was working in the field with his com- 
 panions, a company of Philistines came down with great fury upon 
 them. The heroic Shamgar took up his ox-goad, an instrument used to 
 urge the oxen and also to clean the plow, and single-handed slew six 
 hundred of the intruders. They became wild with amazement and fled 
 with great haste from the strong arms of the hero. Shamgar and 
 
28 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 those with him pursued the refugees and drove them to the confines of 
 
 their own territory. This wonderfully strange defense delivered Israel 
 
 from the terror of the Philistines, and they went once more to their 
 
 work without fear and traveled the highways in peace. Shamgar, 
 
 according to the most reliable sources, was the third judge of Israel 
 
 after Ehud. His services to Israel were of great benefit both as judge 
 
 and warrior 
 
 TROUBLE OUT NORTH. 
 
 The tribes living out north were greatly oppressed by Jabin, king 
 of Hazor, who was a man of great power, wealth and influence. He 
 was a formidable opponent of the Israelites, and greatly oppressed 
 them twenty years. His army was large and well, equipped with the 
 most deadly instruments of warfare known in history. He had nine 
 hundred chariots of iron. This great northern monarch treated the 
 poor Hebrews without mercy, and held them in a state of sore depres- 
 sion. The people cried unto the Lord to help them, and he summoned 
 Barak, son of Ahinoam of Kedesh, of the tribe of Naphtali, to deliver 
 them. There was a remarkable woman in Israel who was both pro- 
 phetess and judge, whose name was Deborah. She was a just and holy 
 woman, and the Spirit of the Lord moved her to arouse Barak to 
 strike an effectual blow for the deliverence of his people. Having 
 received the message and the assurance of a triumphant victory, Barak 
 gathered together ten thousand men from Zebulun and Naphtali, and 
 stationed them on Mt. Tabor, from whence they descended upon 
 Jabin's army (which was commanded by Sisera, his chief general, and 
 stationed at the foot of the mountain), and threw them into great con- 
 fusion. Sisera 's army fled, followed by Barak ; being greatly confused, 
 they ran unguardedly into the brook Kishon, and were carried head- 
 long into the Mediterranean Sea. It is said by Jewish writers that 
 Barak was much alarmed when he saw the hosts of Jabin's men of 
 war at the foot of Mt. Tabor, and would no doubt have become faint- 
 hearted, had not Deborah been by to encourage him and assure the 
 people the Lord would give them victory. The timely encourage- 
 ment of Deborah stimulated Barak to immediate action, and he 
 descended the mount followed by his ten thousand men of war. " The 
 Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots and his host with 
 the edge of the sword." Sisera, who was chief in command of Jabin's 
 forces, got down from his chariot and ran to elude the pressing host of 
 Barak, who were hard after him. But he was attracted by a female 
 whose name was Jael ; she invited Sisera, while fleeing, into her tent ; 
 he, supposing it to be a safe hiding-place, went in and hid himself. 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 29 
 
 Tlie woman covered him with a cloak, and he, feeling himself secure 
 from the ajjprehension of his pursuers, fell asleep ; Jael took a long 
 nail, that she used to fasten her tent, and, with powerful and effec- 
 tive blows, drove it through his temples, and fastened his head to 
 the ground. Soon afterwards Barak was seen coming towards her 
 tent, seeking the refugee ; Jael ran to meet him, and said she would 
 show him his enemy ; he went with her into the tent and there he saw 
 the man who had proudly stood at the head of Jabin's array pinned to 
 the ground dead. Then the Israelites I'esolved to subdue this terri- 
 ble foe by whom they had been troubled so long. " And the hand of 
 the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin, king of 
 Canaan." But the Israelites were soon found turning themselves from 
 the God of their fathers and indulging in gross sins. Then the Midi- 
 anites and Amalekites, children of the east, were induced to come over 
 on account of the very fine crops and rich pastures of the plains of 
 Sharon, Esdraelon and Philistia, s])read themselves through the country 
 as far as Gaza, and became masters of the beautiful and fertile country 
 for seven years. These intruders dealt severely with Israel, many of 
 them losing their homes and all their possessions. They were hunted 
 down like wild beasts, so that Israel had to flee for refuge ; some hid 
 in caves, in dens and among rocks. The Midianites also would rob 
 them of their produce, leaving nothing behind for man or beast. 
 These are a few of the afflictions which disturbed the people before a 
 deliverer was sent to them. At length God appointed or inspired 
 Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh, living in the country south of Esdrae- 
 lon, to drive out the Midianites, who were increasing their outrageous 
 impositions upon the Israelites. Then Gideon went forth in obedience 
 to the will of God to fight the hosts of enemies, having but three hun- 
 dred men upon whom he could depend when he had reached the place 
 where the foe was camped. These men had lapped water at the brook 
 as an evidence of their bravery and sincerity of purpose. But above 
 all, God w^as with the valiant-hearted commander, and assured him a 
 glorious victory. Gideon suddenly sprang upon the foe by night, 
 whilst they were quietly sleeping, and greatly alarmed them. The 
 Midianites had camped in the valley of Jezr.eel, just under the southern 
 shoulder of little Hermon, which was a splendid situation for defence 
 under ordinary circumstances. But the advantage of position, so neces- 
 sary in war, was not a consideration with the leader and commander of 
 the little army of three hundred men who went to battle without any 
 physical weapons whatever. Having made full arrangements for the 
 engagement, Gideon made a bold, determined and successful attack upon 
 
30 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the enemies of Israel, and caused them to flee before him with frantic 
 dismay. A. messenger was sent to the men of Ephraim to pursue them 
 with all possible haste, which they did, and slew Oreb and Zeeb, two 
 of the i^rinces of Midian. During this engagement the enemies of 
 Israel suffered great loss, for " the sword of the Lord and of Gideon " 
 was mighty in the destruction of the intruders. The people were so 
 animated over the victory, and so charmed with the bravery of Gideon, 
 they were ready to elect him their king ; but such an oflBce was far 
 from his wish, and he promptly refused it. It was the Lord's victory, 
 and he wanted Him to have the glory. This man of God died at a 
 good old age, full of honor and great peace, and was laid to rest in the 
 sepulchre with his fathers. This signal victory given the Israelites by 
 the Lord did not make a lasting beneficial impi-ession upon them ; for 
 they were so greatly inclined to idolatry, that, but a short while after 
 the death of Gideon, they were again following the examples of the 
 heathens and leaving the established worship of their fathers. They 
 had forgotten Gideon, and cared nothing for his seventy sons left with 
 them ; nor did they seem to fondly remember the forty years of peace 
 they had enjoyed, because of the services rendered them by the man 
 of God, whom they would have honored with the office of king. Then 
 there came another crisis ; this was the invasion of Gilead, the country 
 of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh by the Ammonites, who inhabited the 
 country a little to the east of these tribes. Then Jephthah became 
 their successful leader. He sent a messenger to the king of the Am- 
 monites, demanding to know why he had invaded their country. In 
 reply the king made an excuse for doing so on account of some quar- 
 rels that had occurred several hundred years prior, a matter the jDeople 
 then living had nothing to do Avith, and knew but little, if anything, 
 about. Jephthah saw from the answer of the king there was no foun- 
 dation to justify his procedure, and that there was evil intent in his 
 heart ; he therefore resolved to meet the Ammonites in the name of the 
 Lord. He also made a vow to sacrifice to the Lord whatsoever he 
 should first meet on approaching his house after the victory was won 
 by him. He soon defeated the Ammonites and returned to his home 
 crowned with glory. When he drew near his dwelling, filled with 
 gratitude on account of the double victory he had won, his spirit was 
 suddenly subdued, his only daughter came out to meet and embrace 
 him, for he remembered his vow, which he felt himself bound to per- 
 form. The triumph of her father over the invading foes was so glad- 
 dening to the child that she made no demur. The question as to the 
 manner Jephthah performed this vow has been obstinately and exhaus- 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 31 
 
 tively discussed by several of the most brilliant and sagacious minds of 
 our world ; but it has not been definitely settled. It is thought by 
 some that he really did sacrifice his daughter as a burnt-offering to the 
 Lord. But when it is called to mind that no such sacrifice as human 
 flesh was acceptable to God, and that it was the intention of the con- 
 queror to present a sacrifice with which the Lord would be well pleased 
 we are inclined to the opinion of those who discuss the question nega- 
 tively, which seems to be the more plausible. There was another 
 trouble broke out which was very serious to at least two of the tribes. 
 The Philistines on the southwest rose up in great nundjers and com- 
 mitted many depredations in Judah and Dan, and brought all 
 the country round about under their sway, causing the people to 
 endure great afflictions. But the Lord had at all times some one at 
 hand to stand in the defence of Israel when they fervently prayed to 
 Him. In this case Samson, the son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, 
 was their deliverer. The conflict between the Hebrews and Philis- 
 tines was strong and severe. At times the latter seemed to be increas- 
 ing in power, and Israel many times smarted under their afflictions ; 
 and the condition of things indicated that the Philistines would soon 
 become masters of the situation, who, with a relentless hand, were con- 
 tinually binding heavy burdens upon the disconsolate Israelites. But 
 Samson was found to be a strong deliverer and saved his people from 
 much distress. The people were still clamoring for a king, and noth- 
 ing else would satisfy them. Their ambition for a monarch had 
 thoroughly matured during the judgeship of Samuel, who Avas the last 
 of those oflScials in Israel. It is generally conceded that he was the ■ 
 most efficient and energetic of all the Hebrew judges. 
 
 The political and moral condition of the people was at a very dis- 
 couraging point when he began his administration ; but Samuel lifted 
 them from this deplorable state, freed them from the oppressions of 
 tyrant foes, and established the true religious worship among them. 
 His period was the closing of the judges and the dawning of the kingly 
 age. When the duties of the office became too heavy for Samuel in 
 his declining years, so that he felt himself physically incompetent to 
 make his annual circuit through the country to administer justice as 
 he had done, and feeling anxious as to the prosperity of the people, he 
 appointed his two sons, Joel and 'Abijah, judges over Israel. But, 
 instead of walking in the footsteps of their father, they were entirely 
 to the contrary, being avaricious, reckless and untrue, having no disposi- 
 tion to care for the prosperity of any one but themselves. Being greedy 
 for gain, they allowed themselves to take bribes, and would often 
 
32 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 punish the innocent and protect the guilty. Many times their decisions 
 were given in favor of the men who furnished the most money. "And 
 his sons (Samuel's) walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, 
 and took bribes and perverted judgment." The feeling among the 
 people to have a king to rule over them had been growing stronger for 
 a long time, and they became restlessly anxious for one during the 
 administration of the sons of Samuel, and based the necessity of such a 
 change upon the conduct of these unjust men. Samuel was much dis- 
 pleased with the growuig and unyielding disposition of Israel, and 
 endeavored to change their purpose, but could do nothing with them ; 
 a king they longed for, and a king they must have. Finding he could 
 not change them, the aged judge took the case to God in prayer, that 
 he might be properly directed what to do. Now the crisis is at hand ; 
 the Lord is about to grant the people their anxious wish, but informs 
 Samuel that they must bear the responsibility of their own folly. God 
 then directed him to anoint one, whom he would be directed by the 
 Spirit, to be their king. One day Kish, the father of Saul, missed 
 some of his donkeys and sent him to look for them. The young man 
 and his servant traveled a three days' journey without success. Saul 
 then concluded it would be better to return home, fearing his father 
 would be troubled about him. But the servant remembering they 
 were in the neighborhood of Ramah, the home of Samuel, he proposed 
 to pay a visit to the " man of God ; " and inasmuch as he was a prophet 
 he might be able to inform them where the donkeys could be found. 
 Saul agreed to the proposition ; and as they were going up the hill 
 towards Ramah, they met Samuel on his way to offer a sacrifice to the 
 Lord. He had been impressed by the Spirit that he should meet a 
 man that day whom he should anoint with oil, according to the honored 
 customs of nations, setting apart a man to be king. As soon as the 
 old sire saw Saul he knew he was the man ; and just at that moment 
 the Spirit impressed him to anoint the young man. After he was 
 anointed he was to go to Gilgal with Samuel to offer sacrifice to the 
 Lord ; and when the people saw Saul among the prophets they marveled. 
 When the time came for a king to be selected, Samuel called the 
 people together at Mizpeh, and recounted to them the wonderful things 
 the Lord had done for them from the time He led them forth from the 
 land of Egypt, and how ungrateful they had shown themselves. They 
 had at that time reached the most critical period of their history, for 
 they were changing from a theocratical to a monarchical government. 
 It was an auspicious moment, a turning point in the political affairs 
 freighted with momentous results. The peoj^le were about to withdraw 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 33 
 
 themselves from the superintendency of the Lord, and put their 
 affairs under the jurisdiction of a man. The final duty of Samuel was 
 to advise the jieople as to their duty to the king and the king's duty 
 toward the people. Then Saul was chosen and installed king of Israel. 
 Such were his many opportunities, he would have been the idol of the 
 nation, and a great blessing to his subjects, had he allowed himself to 
 be under the guidance of God. He began his administration with 
 manliness and bravery ; the victory he obtained over the Ammonites 
 was a signal of the presence of the Lord with him and his people, and 
 caused the new nation to rejoice in their king. But the flattering pros- 
 pect with which Saul began his reign was soon clouded by confusion 
 and trouble. King Saul had his headquarters in Gibeah, about four 
 miles from Jerusalem ; and although he was lifted to the highest and 
 most honorable position in the gift of the people, he would often be 
 engaged in domestic affairs. After the death of Saul, David of Beth- 
 lehem, succeeded him. He was anointed while a lad, long before the 
 death of Saul, to be the second king of Israel, by good old Samuel, 
 who was then in the evening of life. After the inauguration of David, 
 he began his reign in Hebron, the great historical city of the tribe of 
 Judah, to which he belonged. 
 
 The new king met with stubborn opposition from the tribes of the 
 north and east, who for seven years and a half refused to submit to his 
 authority, and clung with great zeal to the house of Saul. The per- 
 sistent opposition these tribes made to the rule of David was the 
 signal of a future trouble, and the corner-stone of the revolt under the 
 rule of Rehoboam. For, notwithstanding David had been chosen by 
 the Lord and was anointed by His direction to be the king of Israel, 
 Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was so eager to succeed his father, he encouraged 
 the rebellious spirit exhibited against the son of Jesse, and allowed 
 himself to be illegally installed king over the dissatisfied tribes. This 
 naturally introduced war, to force the rebels to loyalty. Ishbosheth 
 established his headquarters in Mahanaim, among the hills of Gilead 
 east of the Jordan, and the place in which David afterwards found 
 refuge when he fled from his son Absalom. The son of Saul, and his 
 party, did not hold out long ; there were so many adversities in their 
 way the hearts of the people failed, and by mutual consent they 
 accepted David as king of the whole nation. The king, feeling the 
 weight of his responsibility and himself too remote from the masses, 
 sought a place more convenient for his seat of power. Jerusalem 
 (Jebus) was fixed upon as a proper locality, it being twenty-six miles 
 further north. The strongly fortified Mount Jebus was much desired, 
 3 
 
34 THE LAND OF PROMISE, 
 
 because of its adaptation for an impregnable fortress. The desire of 
 the king was soon gratified, for Mount Jebus was ceded to him. David 
 soon became known as a great warrior, and was feared by the nations 
 round about him. Some of these nations formed alliances, and others 
 were tributaries and brought him a great revenue. David also estab- 
 lished the national worship at Jerusalem, making it the centre of the 
 great religious festivals, to which the people went to pay their devotions 
 to the Most High. When David drew near to the end of his life, he 
 gave his son Solomon a most solemn charge, " then gathered up his feet 
 and died." The Lord had given him the plan for building the Temple, 
 which was transferred to Solomon, who carefully carried out all the 
 requirements necessary to its completion. When finished, he solemnly 
 dedicated it to the worship of God, with most impressive services. The 
 youthful king displayed great wisdom and devout piety in the begin- 
 ning of his reign ; but as he grew older and more popular his conduct 
 changed and he fell into many disgraceful snares, which brought the 
 displeasure of God upon him, and introduced the final decline of 
 the nation. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam ascended the 
 throne. The dissatisfaction which began in the beginning of his 
 grandfather's reign, reached its height, and ten of the tribes revolted, 
 utterly refusing to allow the new king to rule over them. The revolt- 
 ing ten tribes sent representatives up to Shechem to arrange for the 
 election of another king, and the establishment of another kingdom. 
 When these representatives met, they did not disclose their intention, 
 but pretended they were going up there to harmonize the difficulty and 
 acknowledge Rehoboam their rightful king. But it was found, when 
 too late to remedy the matter, that it was the full and unyielding pur- 
 pose of the ten tribes to revolt. It was the last stroke upon the wedge 
 of discord, which rent the kingdom in twain, never again to be united. 
 They pi'oclaimed Jeroboam king of the ten tribes at Shechem ; and 
 fearing the people might be induced to abandon his kingdom if allowed 
 free to associate with those who remained loyal to Rehoboam, especially 
 if they continued their visits to Jerusalem as in former times to worship 
 at the Temple, he persuaded them that it was too far to go from their 
 distant homes up to the Holy City. He therefore made two molten 
 calves for the people to worship, and said to them, " Behold the gods 
 who brought you from the land of Egypt." To these idols he ordered 
 that the people should bow and pay their religious devotions, which 
 they did most fervently. The new kingdom, composed of the ten 
 tribes, was called Israel ; and the old kingdom, composed of the remain- 
 ing two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, was called Judah. The latter 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 35 
 
 partially maintained its original religious worship ; but the former 
 wholly departed from it. Jeroboam, for the accomplishment of his 
 purpose, established two places of worship within the bounds of his 
 kingdom ; one was at Bethel on the southern extremity, the other at 
 Dan out on the northern boundary. These twelve tribes were not only 
 divided in government and religion, but were also divided socially. 
 Their feelings of unfriendliness grew so strong, they Avere led to hate 
 each other. The northern kingdom continued two hundred and fifty 
 years, but its experiences were checkered and many times most bitter. 
 The seat of government was changed several times ; Shechem, Tirzah 
 and Samaria, each for a while had the distinction of being the chief 
 seat of power. The kingdom of Judah continued its capital at Jeru- 
 salem, and was not without its scourgings from time to time, because 
 of the growing inclination of the people to depart from the God of 
 their fathers and follow the example of the heathen. The kings of 
 Judah were succeeded in an unbroken line in the house of David ; but 
 Israel did not adhere to any particular line of succession, therefore 
 many radical changes were made, and many dynasties were in power 
 during the two and a half centuries of its existence, as we shall see in 
 another chapter. 
 
 We cannot fail to recognize the hand of God affectionately admin- 
 istering to Israel's protection and prosperity for a long while, notwith- 
 standing the nation had left him and sought other gods. The priest- 
 hood continued in Judah, where they were needed to officiate in the 
 religious ceremonies at the Temple, and do such other duties as was 
 usual to those officials. Israel had no real need of the legitimate 
 priests, therefore God sent the prophets to that people to arouse them 
 from their slumber in which idolatry had placed them. The prophets 
 often appeared and warned both king and people of the danger that 
 would follow their sinfulness, and the calamities they would encounter. 
 But their admonishments were mostly unheeded, and finally the cup 
 of Israel's transgressions was filled to overflowing. Among the 
 prophets sent to this people were Elijah, Elisha, and many others. 
 These men of God labored hard to cause Israel to turn to the God of 
 their fathers, but they could not so impress them. Finally the Lord 
 left them to themselves, and soon they were carried away into captivity 
 by the strong arm of the king of Assyria, and in that state drank the 
 bitter cup of indignation, administered by their own hands. Then a 
 strong people inhabited the land so suddenly relieved of its proud and 
 rebellious occupants. Multitudes of Assyrians were transported to the 
 land of Israel, who finally embraced (in part) the religion of their 
 
36 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 predecessors. These people were afterwards known as Samaritans. A 
 small remnant of their descendants are now living in Shechem. When 
 the inhabitants of Samaria and the adjacent country were carried 
 away captive by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, he sent colonies in their 
 place from Babylonia, Cuthah, Hamath, Sepharvaira, and other towns 
 in his dominion. AVhen they came over and settled down in the land 
 of Israel they found a remnant of them scattered here and there 
 through the country. It is generally believed that they soon became 
 socially drawn to the new colonists, and inter-marriages soon took place 
 among them, so that in the process of time the whole people were 
 amalgamated into one people. When the Jews returned from their 
 captivity and found this strange race-type in the land, they were dis- 
 posed to treat them with unfriendliness, not because they were a mix- 
 ture of Jews and heathens, but on account of their religion. They 
 were found to have embraced a portion of the Jewish worship, having 
 sent to Assyria for an Israelitish priest to come and teach them the 
 law of the Lord, but the greater number were but partially drawn 
 fi'om the heathen worship. When the walls of the Temple and the 
 City of Jerusalem were about to be rebuilt, these people wished to 
 assist, it is thought, on the ground of their being Jewish citizens. 
 Their request was not complied with, and from that time onward there 
 was a strong feeling of discord between the Jews and Samaritans. The 
 latter then finding that Moses commanded in the law a special service 
 should be held on Mt. Gerizim by Joshua and the people entering the 
 " Land of Promise," and believing that Gerizim was the place designed 
 for perpetual services, they set themselves at once about building a 
 Temple there, and when it was finished they sacrificed according to 
 the directions of the Mosaic law. They also rejected all sacred books 
 of the Jews, except the Pentateuch. Sanballat, who was governor of 
 Samaria, was very hostile to the Jews, and resorted to every stratagem 
 to impede their progress. When Nehemiah came from Shushan and 
 began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Sanballat sent to inquire by 
 what authority he did so, and offered many impediments to hinder his 
 success. He was so odious in Jewish estimation that his name was held 
 among them in great contempt, and all intercourse between the Jews 
 and Samaritans was carefully avoided. The great Temple, so sacredly 
 adored by this mixed race, was destroyed by Hyrcan us about one hun- 
 dred and twenty-nine years before Christ, and was never fully restored, 
 but the 'Samaritans continued to reverence the place as no other on 
 earth ; it was so esteemed in the time of our Lord they would ascend 
 its rugged heights then, as they do now, on the return of their great 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 37 
 
 festival season, and celebrate the passover with jubilating shouts. The 
 remnant of the Samaritans, who still linger about Sheehem, continue 
 these most peculiar services on the brow of Gerizira every year, and 
 draw ci'owds of people from the town to witness their celebration. 
 They are a people strongly attached to each other, and will not inter- 
 marry. It is said they are dying out, and from the rate of reduction 
 they have experienced during the last century, it is only a question of 
 a comparatively short time before all of them will have died, and the 
 race will be numbered with the past. They were a distinct race 
 socially, and remain so to this day. They still cling to their old relig- 
 ious rites, and annually celebrate their feast of the passover on Mt. 
 Gerizim. The site of their Ancient Temple is still located, but they 
 hold their meetings in a small building on the slope of the Mount, 
 known as the Samaritan Temple. They are very friendly to strangers, 
 and seemingly take pleasure in showing their relics, which have been 
 preserved from age to age, especially their old manuscripts. I had 
 the pleasure of visiting this little Temple on the morning we left 
 Sheehem, and was shown the articles they keep on exhibition. The 
 community is poor and fond of begging, which is not an uncommon 
 thing in Palestine. They claim to have come down from their ances- 
 tors unmixed with any other of the race representatives, and pride 
 themselves in being from the stock of genuine Samaritans. They have 
 a very light complexion, and may be compared with the octoroons or 
 very fair mulattoes. Their hair is long and straight, and features very 
 pleasant. They are thoroughly devoted to their religion, and separate 
 themselves from all other sects. These people became very numerous 
 after their transportation here, so that on the return of the Jews from 
 captivity they found this strange people occupying all the districts that 
 had been alloted to Ephraim, Manasseh and Issachar, and was known 
 as the middle districts of Palestine. Judah was on the south and 
 Galilee on the north, so that persons going either way had to pass 
 through Samaria. It embraced the modern districts of Aretas, Car- 
 mel, Sheehem, and the City of Samaria. With this description before 
 us it can be easily understood why Christ must needs go through 
 Samaria, when He was going over to Galilee with His disciples. The 
 Jews who returned from the caj)tivity did not show themselves so 
 deeply interested in the political affairs of the country as those who 
 lived at the time of the capture of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, 
 nor were they very particular about hunting up, and dividing in sep- 
 arate communities, the members of the respective tribes, as had been 
 done on the entrance of their fathers into the land. 
 
38 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 The people were looked upon as Jews, or a vast brotherhood of the 
 descendants of Abraham, constitutins: one of the two great divisions of 
 the human race. Thi;< term, Jew, seems to have been specially applied 
 to the two tribes who remained loyal to Rehoboam and his successors; 
 it distinguished them from the ten tribes who revolted and crowned 
 Jereboam king over the northern kingdom. The chief stimulant of 
 the Jews on their re-occupancy of Palestine was to rebuild the demol- 
 ished city and walls, and build again the saci'ed edifice to the Avorship 
 of the Most High. There were members of each of the twelve tribes 
 among those who returned, but they had at least a traditional knowl- 
 edge of the ills their fathers endured by holding so tenaciously to the 
 tribe to which they belonged rather than looking after the good of the 
 whole people. They therefore settled in Jerusalem in great numbers, 
 and from there planted themselves upon the environments, spreading 
 out more as their numbers increased, until finally they passed beyond 
 the territory of the central districts inhabited by the Samaritans and 
 settled in the most remote northern province, known in the Tsew Testa- 
 ment times as Galilee. This is the portion of the country in which 
 Our Lord did the most of His " mighty works " and spent the greater 
 part of His life. The people living in the south and southeast, some 
 time after they had settled down and began to enjoy a good degree of 
 prosperity, were inclined to ridicule and oppose their fellow-Jews who 
 lived in the far north, and foster the old prejudice against them almost 
 like that that divided the two kingdoms prior to the captivity. The 
 Galileans were considered the most morally depraved people in the 
 country, who belonged to the Jewish family, especially those living in 
 Kazareth ; even people in other portions of Galilee looked down upon 
 them derisively, as Avill be seen in another chapter. The whole history 
 of the Jews suddenly closed in the Old Testament Scriptures with the 
 writings of Malachi, he being the last of the prophetic writei^s under 
 the old dispensation. It is generally believed he was known as a 
 prophet about one hundred and twenty years after the return of the 
 Jews from their Babylonian captivity and four hundred years, b. c. 
 But some writers estimate the time at four years earlier, and others 
 thirty years later. The exact time is unsettled, but the general opinion 
 favors the former estimation. Thus it is seen there was a long silence 
 of nearly four and a quarter centuries from the time of Malachi 
 to that of John the Baptist. During this long period of Bible silence 
 the history of the Jews was written by uninspired men, known as 
 ancient historians. During the transition from the old to the new 
 dispensation the Jews lapsed into bold and gross wickedness, so that 
 
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. 39 
 
 when our Lord came He found them full of selfishness, pride, lust and 
 blindness. Josephus and other historians show in their writings that 
 the history of the Jews was much less important during this long period 
 of prophetic silence than in former times. They, having been subord- 
 inated by foreign powers, lost their national independence and became 
 tributary to Persia and other kingdoms, and less prominent in the 
 history of nations. The Persian monarch appointed a governor over 
 them, whose headquarters were at Damascus, and the High Priest at 
 Jerusalem was his deputy. The Jews highly favored this custom, be- 
 cause they were allowed to do just as though they were independent, ex- 
 cept the payment of taxes, which was a very great annoyance to them. 
 But the High Priest being a Jew, and one of those who was under 
 this burden, did much toward allaying any attempt at rebellion among 
 the people and encouraged them to be loyal. When Alexander the 
 Great had conquered Persia and was making a siege upon Tyre, he 
 sent up to Jerusalem, which was then a tributary to Persia, for troops, 
 but the High Priest refused to aid him. This is an evidence of the 
 strong attachment there was between Cyrus and his officials at Jeru- 
 salem. It is stated that he expressed his firm determination of adher- 
 ing to the Persians, notwithstanding Alexander was conquering the 
 world, and would, from his position at that time, soon be in Jerusalem. 
 But it will be seen in another chapter that this same High Priest, 
 against whom the great warrior had sworn vengeance, conquered him 
 without striking a blow, and humbled him to the extent that he did not 
 even attempt to lift up his arm against him or injure any of those 
 under him. It is thought the victory won by the High Priest over 
 Alexander on the day he was about to enter and destroy Jerusalem, 
 Avas one of the greatest conquests ever won by a man through humilia- 
 tion. The monarch's wrath was changed to tenderness, and the sceptre 
 of iron with which he intended to govern the Jews was changed into a 
 gentle and liberal one. The people were not burdened with taxes, nor 
 did they lose any of the privileges they enjoyed under the Persian 
 rule. After the death of Alexander the Ptolemies ruled Jerusalem. 
 The poor Jews were so depi-essed it seems they made but little attempt 
 towards their oAS'n defense for a long time. The Syrians, who lived on 
 the north of Palestine, rapidly grew into power and brought the Jews 
 under their sway. They were merciless and ruled their subjects with 
 an iron sceptre. 
 
 The situation of the people grew more severe, so that their blood 
 Avas so freely shed by their oppressors that it ran down the streets ; 
 their sanctuary was plundered and robbed of its rich and sacred trea- 
 
40 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 sures. At length the Maccabees rose up to defend the people, removed 
 their heavy burdens, destroyed all traces of heathen woi-ship that had 
 been established, restored the true worship, and re-established the inde- 
 pendence of the nation. The Jews experienced great peace under their 
 rule, especially under Simon, the second brother ; but this did not con- 
 tinue long ; the nation was doomed to distress as a reward of its hands. 
 When the Romans came into power in Palestine they held dominant 
 sway over it, and caused the people to smart under their rigid rule, 
 and they were found to be very much chagrined on account of Roman 
 exactions when the Lord Jesus came amongst them. Jerusalem 
 received its most deadly stroke during the great siege of Titus, from 
 which she never finally recovered. Afterwards Jerusalem became a 
 Christian city under Constantino the great, but has experienced many 
 religious and political changes since. 
 
PART IT. 
 FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 
 
 Situation of Joppa — Landing at Joppa — House of Simon the Tanner — Streets of 
 .Toppa — Orange Groves — Americ:in Colony at Joppa — Joppa Pilgrims — Pre- 
 paration for their Festival — Traders in the City — Plain of Sharon — Old 
 Highway — Lydda — Greek Church in Lydda — Ramleh— Tower of the Foity 
 — View from the Tower — Valley of Ajalon — Ai — Israel's First Defeat — Ai 
 Captured by Joshua— Joshua and Israelites go to Shechem — Gibeonites 
 Visit Joshua — Kings' Confederacy— Joshua Responds to Gibeonites — Fate of 
 Confederacy — Joshua's Prayer for Sun and Moon to Stand Still — Joshua's 
 Victory — El-Jib or Gibeon — Bible Associations — History of Gibeon — Naby- 
 Samwill or Ancient INIizpeh — Situation — View from the Mosque — Ancient 
 Mizpeh — Present Village — Approaching Jerusalem from Joppa — Northern 
 Confederacy — Jabin Forming a Confederacy — Jabin and His Allies — March 
 to Lake Merom — Situation of Battle-field — The Great Battle — Joshua's 
 Victory. 
 
 ANCIENT JOPPA. 
 
 JOPPA, some times called YaiFa, or Yafa, is one of the most impor- 
 tant and interesting cities along the Mediterranean coast ; it is 
 situated on a low eminence immediately on sea-border. One viewing 
 it from the deck of an approaching steamer, is favorably impressed 
 with its picturesque appearance, and at once begins to consider its 
 ancient history, which has made it memorable for thousands of years. 
 
 From the time of King David to the present, Joppa has been the 
 sea-port for Jerusalem, it being the nearest and most convenient land- 
 ing town on the sea from which merchandise could be transported to 
 the "Gfreat City." 
 
 Hiram, King of Tyre, shipped the cedar timber to this port, which 
 was transported to Jerusalem to be used in the temple. From Joppa 
 the Prophet Jonah started in his fruitless attempt to shirk the resiDon- 
 sibility involved in the commission God gave him when ordered to 
 Nineveh ; who, instead of shipping to that port, started for Tarsus, and 
 while in the midst of the sea, during the most eventful storm that ever 
 swept over it, he was compelled to take passage in the abdomen of " a 
 great fish " to Nineveh, and proclaim in its streets the message the 
 Lord commanded him to give the people of that city. 
 
 Joppa w^as the home of the prophetess Dorcas, whom the Apostle 
 Peter restored to life, and also of Simon ''the Tanner," with wdiom he 
 (Peter) lodged. It is not unlikely that the house on the margin of the 
 
 41 
 
42 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 sea, known as that of "Simon the Tanner," which is near the tanners' 
 row, may be identical with the site on which the house stood that St. 
 Peter lodged in, and on the top of which he sat while in that mysteri- 
 ous trance, when he saw the vision which convinced him that " God is 
 no respecter of persons," but extended His blessings to all alike of 
 whatever nation, race, tribe, condition, or complexion. 
 
 Ancient Joppa has been regarded as one of the oldest cities in the 
 world, Pliny says : " It existed before the flood ; " but Josephus traces 
 it to Phoenician origin. As in the antique times, so now, Joppa is the 
 landing-port for all travelers and merchandise going up to Jerusalem. 
 
 It has no harbor, therefore the landing of passengers at all times is 
 unpleasant and often very dangerous, and for this reason the greatest 
 caution is taken by sea-captains; they will not venture to stop at the 
 usual anchoring places, or anywhere at this port, if the weather is foul. 
 The steamships are generally anchored about one or two miles from 
 the shore in the shoal water, where numerous rocks are prominent 
 which have been ruinous to many vessels that were suddenly overtaken 
 by storms, which broke them from their moorings, and, before they 
 could be controlled, were broken to pieces among the rocks. 
 
 It has also happened several times that scores of human beings 
 have perished in their endeavor to reach the shore in row boats during 
 very rough weather ; so, to avoid peril, both to passengers and vessels, 
 many times no stop is made at Joppa, and persons having taken pas- 
 sage for that port are taken to Haifa or Beyroilt, and sent back in 
 another steamer to Joppa, or up to Jerusalem on horseback. 
 
 There is great competition amongst the Arab boatmen in their 
 endeavor to secure the greater number of passengers to land, especially 
 when a small number are booked for Joppa ; these men will do any- 
 thing to take advantage of each other ; they will even tell passengers 
 that the boat of the man whom they are arranging with is not safe, and 
 that he is not able to manage it, and urge them not to trust him. 
 
 The day we arrived at the mooring the sea was very rough, and 
 growing more so constantly. We were all deeply interested as to the 
 propriety of attempting to go to the landing in the small row-boats, 
 which were brought over to our steamer for us, managed by eight or 
 ten strong men, whose skillful management of the oars was convincing 
 that they were well adapted to the work, and could be trusted even 
 when the sea was much troubled. 
 
 As there was no other convenience to take passengers to the shore, 
 and to continue our journey to Haifa or Beyrout would cost fifty or 
 sixty dollars more, we concluded to venture to make the landing in the 
 small boat. 
 
FKOM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 43 
 
 Although thousands of people disembark at the port of Joppa 
 every year, no special provisions are made as to their safety. In nearly 
 all the ports in foreign lands steam launches are provided for the safe 
 conveyance of passengers to and from the steamers ; but Joppa is the 
 most unprotected and danjierous of all ports we visited during our 
 entire circuit around the world. 
 
 LANDING AT JOPPA. 
 
 Within three or four miles of the shore evident signs of shoal water 
 are prominent, which continues more and more until the anchorage is 
 reached. Ledges of low-peaked rocks extend far out into the sea, 
 which may be properly called the "gates of death," because of their 
 peculiar situation. 
 
 Many vessels have been broken to pieces against them, and thous- 
 ands of human beings have perished there. It is estimated that if the 
 number of ships and human beings who have perished in those shoals 
 could be laid over them, they would cover a space of many miles. 
 
 Only a few days prior to our arrival there were eighteen persons, 
 who had ventured to go ashore in one of those small boats, perished in 
 the sea, their boat capsizing during a heavy gale. Notwithstanding 
 the very rough weather which had greatly agitated the water and was 
 getting more intense every hour, on the day of our arrival, yet we 
 nerved up to the strongest point and ventured to reach land in a small 
 row-boat, placing all possible trust in the never-failing arm of the 
 Lord. 
 
 The boatmen worked faithfully and earnestly to take their human 
 cargo safely to the landing, and when they had gotten beyond the danger- 
 line, there was a demonstration of gratitude akin to enthusiasm, both 
 among the passengers and boatmen, which was not easily controlled. 
 On entering the historic town the beauties and charms of its external 
 appearance, which are so very attractive from the sea-view are entirely 
 lost ; and the stranger finds himself in a most repulsively filthy place, 
 with a wild looking people, of all complexions, among whom ignorance 
 is dominant, excepting those who have settled there from countries of 
 progressive civilization, and you can find but few natives who have 
 been taught to appreciate a higher state of manhood. There are no 
 supposed antique sights to be seen in the town, except the traditional 
 house of " Simon the Tanner." This house, which is evidently several 
 centuries old, is used both for a mosque and lighthouse. How signifi- 
 cant, if this is the site where St. Peter slept and was so illuminated 
 by a mysterious and ponderous revelation from God, that his prejudice 
 
44 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 against preaching to the Gentiles was immediately dispelled ; and the 
 same house should be used as a signal-lighthouse, to guide seamen 
 safely along a most dangerous coast. Within its walls the adoring 
 multitude assembles daily to worship according to the custom of the 
 Moslems. 
 
 Yet may we not feel assured that God, who showed the Apostle 
 Peter the right way on the house-top of " Simon," will change those 
 followers of Mohammed so that they will see and follow the " old 
 path?" It is a singular fact, that a single revelation from God 
 thoroughly convinced Peter that all people were alike according to His 
 mercies and grace, and that they should not be considered unworthy 
 of social and religious society because they belonged to another race. 
 
 Yet all the pointed revelations the Holy Bible contains cannot per- 
 suade many of those professing to be Christians, that the color of a 
 man does not form a part of his manhood nor render him inferior to 
 the whitest of the whites ; still they declare by their conduct that those 
 of the despised race are common and unclean, although God has 
 cleansed them. 
 
 Notwithstanding there is but one traditional place in Joppa of 
 Bible distinction, there is much to be seen that will greatly interest 
 visitors, especially those who have not been made acquainted with 
 oriental life. The streets, like those in all the cities of Palestine and 
 Syria, are crooked, narrow, and by no means inviting, neither in 
 appearance nor condition. Many of these passes are so narrow that a 
 person can stand in the centre and stretch his arms so as to touch the 
 houses on either side. These streets, with two or three exceptions, are 
 so narrow that no vehicle can pass through them. 
 
 There are a few carriages in Joppa, which are used almost exclu- 
 sively for conveying tourists up to Jerusalem and north as far as Haifa 
 and Shechem. Men, camels, and donkeys are the burden-bearers. 
 They can be seen from early morning until late in the evening, ladened 
 with merchandise. Many of the men carry enough on their backs to 
 break down two of our common laborers. Sometimes the poor, ha f- 
 starved camels are so greatly overloaded they fall, and refuse to move 
 until delivered from it. 
 
 There are several things connected with the history of Joppa, 
 which make it one of the most memorable places in the world. It 
 has a part of the territory allotted to the tribe of Dan. Its surround- 
 ing country is rich and highly productive. And hither came thousands 
 of brave, earnest, and devout defenders of the cross of Christ, in the 
 days of the prolonged conflict between the crusaders and bloodthirsty 
 infidels (see Josh. xix. 46 ; 1st Kings v. 2 ; 2d Chron. ii. 16). 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 45 
 
 One of the most inviting places to visit about Joppa is the " Orange 
 Ch'oves," which are close to the town ; they are several miles in circum- 
 ference ; the fruit is delicious and healthy. Strangers are recommended 
 to eat them when thirsty, instead of drinking the water, which is very 
 unhealthy. Many times the trees yield so abundantly, great caution 
 must be taken to keep them from breaking. Other fruit, such as 
 lemons, pomegranates, watermelons, and figs are very productive. The 
 orchards are generally enclosed by high cactus hedges, w^hich protect 
 the grove from public intrusion far more securely than our wooden or 
 stone fences in this country. It is estimated that not less than three 
 thousand orchards are located within the vicinity of Joj^pa. Oranges 
 are so plentiful^ in their season, they can be bought on the streets for 
 three cents a dozen. 
 
 It should be stated concerning the American Colony at Joppa they 
 are doing well, and have done much to change the habits of many of the 
 natives, who, at the time they landed, were not far above the average 
 heathen : they have built a commodious little village to themselves in 
 the most healthy section of the town, and have organized a church and 
 school, which has done an incalcuable amount of good. 
 
 They have found it, however, to be an up-hill journey from the 
 time they entered upon the work until the present ; they find the only 
 road to success is to teach and impress the children ; this they are doing 
 with much promise of good results. 
 
 Joppa is still the landing port of tourists and pilgrims who are 
 going up to Jerusalem ; the latter swarm there by thousands each year 
 to visit the Holy places through Palestine on the occasion of the great 
 Eastern festivals, and devoutly worship at their shrines; the devotees 
 are of all conditions, rich and poor, old and young. Old men and 
 women bending under the burden of three-quarters of a century are 
 seen wending their way from place to place leaning heavily upon their 
 staffs, while young men and maidens speed their way with nimble steps 
 and light hearts, because they have been permitted to worship on the 
 " Holy Hill of Zion." These singular people, both in dress and cus- 
 toms, impress one who is not acquainted with oriental habits, espe- 
 cially as to the attraction of their costume ; some of them are attired 
 in rich and costly dress, while others are almost bare, yet all go there 
 for the same purpose, that is to worship and follow the walks of our 
 Lord, to drop a tear where He shed drops of blood ; to weep where He 
 wept, and to kiss the shrine which, according to tradition, marks the 
 site where in deep and overpowering agony, " He gave up the ghost." 
 
 The pilgrims make a visit through Palestine, in compliance with a 
 
46 THE LAND OF PROxMISE. 
 
 rule taught aud impressed upon them in their church ; and not simply 
 to see the country aud walk ujdou the soil made hallowed by the feet 
 of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 The Greek Church rule enjoins the duty upon all its followers, even 
 at a great sacrifice, to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least once in 
 their life ; therefore parents are so anxious to conform to this rule ; 
 thousands take their children with them, so as to be sure the law has been 
 fulfilled, and will spend all they have to make the trip which is regarded 
 as a most sacred undertaking. 
 
 During my visit to Palestine and Syria, the pilgrims were coming 
 into Jerusalem to make ready for the great festivals, and hundreds had 
 gathered there as early as the last of January, which gave them time 
 to visit all the sacred places round and about the " Holy City," includ- 
 ing all those as far as Bethlehem and the Pools of Solomon, before the 
 time of the eastern feast. Many of the Pilgrims come from Egypt, 
 from all parts of Syria, Armenia, Asia Minor, from Roumelia, Stam- 
 boul, and from all parts of the East. The length of time the journey 
 requires and the great sacrifice of means necessary to the trip, are 
 but little concern to them in comparison to the unbounded happiness 
 they enjoy the remainder of their lives from the benefits the pilgrimage 
 gives them. 
 
 Many of them feel, when they have passed through the gates into 
 the great city, that they have entered tlie very ante-chamber of the 
 heavenly Jerusalem. In order that they may be able to sustain them- 
 selves the poorer classes usually take with them a number of very 
 choice articles which are anxiously sought by the merchants and ven- 
 dors ; these are readily sold at a reasonable price to defray the expenses 
 necessary to the completion of their pilgrimage. 
 
 The great masses come by sea to Joppa, and travel up to Jerusalem 
 as best they can ; those who can aflford it ride up to the gi'eat city on 
 donkeys or camels, or in vehicles or by I'ailway ; but thousands walk 
 for the sake of economy, especially when they arrive early, having 
 plenty of time before them to make the tour to the various traditional 
 sites between the two great historic cities, at all of which they devoutly 
 worship. 
 
 The vessels used to transport them are generally Greek brigs and 
 schooners ; tlie people are usually crowded in them almost to suflbca- 
 tion, so that their situation would be a striking reminder of the way 
 the slave-traders used to pack away the poor Africans during the 
 existence of American slavery; but with those pilgrims it is a matter 
 of choice, they travel so for the sake of cheapness. A number of fami- 
 
FEOM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 47 
 
 lies usually charter a boat and put as many in it as possible, each 
 taking their own provision, which is generally very poor and of the 
 most common kind. At times the voyage is very rough, causing much 
 suflering amongst them, and even death ; but in the face of peril they 
 go, willing to endure the customary hardships rather than abandon 
 their visit to Jerusalem that they may kiss the shrines so peculiar to 
 the memory of the civilized world. 
 
 When they first land at Joppa it is their custom to assemble on the 
 shore and sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God for conducting them 
 safely over the deep sea ; when this is done they arrange for their 
 journey to Jerusalem ; as soon as they get there they make their way 
 to the open space in front of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where 
 they display and sell their goods. The traders know about the time 
 they will be in the city, and are found waiting for them, so that they 
 may be the first to procure their goods. 
 
 The busy people buying and selling in the usual boisterous man- 
 ner, characteristic of oriental life, make the place more like a busy 
 market than the entrance to the church, which, tradition says, stands 
 upon the sacred hill of calvary and over the place where our Lord 
 lay. 
 
 The Jewish money-changer lurks about ready to make what he 
 can, and the vendors solicit all who pass them to examine the goods 
 they have for sale. 
 
 The antique sights being few in Joppa, it is not the custom for 
 travelers to remain there more than three or four hours before they 
 start up to the " Holy City." In a few moments after passing the 
 Orange Orchards, the plain of Sharon is entered ; it is both extensive 
 and picturesque, extending many miles ; the soil is rich and fruitful, 
 and would be much more so if the husbandmen knew how to improve 
 it properly. 
 
 There is only a comparatively small portion of the plain cultivated ; 
 the greater part is used for pasturage, in which thousands of cattle 
 feed every day. In the proper season a great profusion of flowers 
 appear throughout the whole region, shooting up amidst the green 
 grass. These flowers begin to bloom about the middle of January, 
 and continue until the whole plain appears like a vast garden of varie- 
 gated flowers. The lilies, because of their loveliness, produce the 
 greatest attraction, and are so very numerous they often interfere with 
 cultivation, and cause the crops to be very poor. 
 
 Those whose object is to obtain a more elaborate knowledge of 
 Bible History should not fail to read the scriptural references concern- 
 
48 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 iug it while passing through. No doubt that when he looks at the 
 beautiful rose and lily he will call to mind the words, " I am the Rose 
 of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley ; " also he will meditate upon the 
 words, " The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the 
 desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose. It shall blossom abundantly 
 and rejoice even with joy and singing ; the glory of Lebanon shall be 
 given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon." 
 
 The greatest profusion of flowers appear during April and May ; 
 at this season the whole plain looks like a vast district of beautiful 
 gardens, from which is emitted such delightful odor that the visitor is 
 loath to leave it ; we feel safe within the limits of truth in saying there 
 is no place in the world where nature is adorned with more beauty 
 than is seen in the plain of Sharon. 
 
 The original highway pi'ominently traveled in Solomon's time 
 passes directly through the plain, and it is particularly interesting to 
 be reminded, although natural changes have been made as to its con- 
 dition, yet it is the same ancient route that has been traveled for thou- 
 sands of years, and was traveled during the transportation of the 
 material from Lebanon to Jerusalem for the Temple, and was thronged 
 with thousands of busy Pha3nicians and Hebrews, who were employed 
 to carry on the Avork. 
 
 Of late a new road has been completed, much of which is made 
 over the old beaten pass, while other portions run close to it. It is 
 also highly interesting to the Christian traveler, going on his way to 
 Jerusalem, to know that he is traveling over the same ground over 
 which passed many of the ancient worthies, for it is this way prophets 
 and apostles used to travel when proceeding on their mission. 
 
 Doubtless the Prophet Jonah passed over this same " Old High- 
 way " when enroute to Joppa, to embark on the Tarsus-bound vessel ; 
 Peter came over it when he was called from Lydda to restore Tabitha 
 to life ; it is also the same route traveled by King Hiram of Tyre, 
 Hiram Abiff", and King Solomon. 
 
 These and thousands more passed along this way, and as they 
 crossed the flowery plain of Sharon, beholding its loveliness and drink- 
 ing copious draughts of its balmy odor, it is probable the Apostles 
 were reminded of the words of our Lord as their feet pressed the soil 
 of this plain, " Consider the lilies of the field how they grow." There 
 are several places of historic distinction well worthy of a visit between 
 Joppa and Jerusalem, and those who go up on horseback have an 
 opportunity to stop at each one of them ; it is only needful, however, 
 to pass in sight of the most of them, as many clouds of doubt cluster 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 49 
 
 about the majority. There are several places whose history is so clear 
 not a shadow of doubt hangs about them. Lydda, known in ancient 
 times as " Ludd," is positively identified. It is southeast of Joppa, 
 about eleven miles and a half, and is situated close to the eastern edge 
 of the plain of Sharon. During the time of Greek supremacy in 
 Palestine its name was changed to Diapolis, " City of Jupiter." But 
 the original name was again adopted, which has been retained through 
 all the painful ordeals of warfare and disaster through which it has 
 passed. 
 
 The most important event which transpired here, of which the Bible 
 makes mention, is the visit of the Apostle Peter ; he came to Lydda to 
 visit the saints, and found a certain man by the name of ^neas who 
 had kept his bed eight years, being seized with the palsy. When 
 Peter came to his couch he looked upon him and said to the poor sick 
 man, " ^neas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole, arise and make thy 
 bed," and he immediately arose. 
 
 The most important attraction in Lydda is the Greek Church, ded- 
 icated to St. George, who according to tradition, was born and buried 
 there. The church, which is handsomely embellished inside strictly 
 according to Greek taste, is visited annually by hundreds of pilgrims, 
 who pass up through that way enroute to Jerusalem. 
 
 In connection with the tomb of St. George, which is inside the 
 church, under the high altar, there are man)' other old relics sacredly 
 kept, all of which are carefully guarded by the officials. Lydda was 
 a prosperous city at the time of the occupancy of the Israelites, and 
 was inhabited by the Benjamites after the captivity. In the time of 
 Cassius, after the death of Julius Csesar, the whole inhabitants were 
 sold into slavery ; this caused great depression and suffering, as is nat- 
 ural in such cases. 
 
 The earliest calendar relates that St. George was born at Lydda • 
 that he suffered martyrdom in Nicomedeia, under Diocletian, near the 
 close of the third century, and that his body was conveyed to his native 
 town, where a church was erected to his honor. (Murray's Hand-book.) 
 It is said the building was very much injured by the Crusaders when 
 they entered Lydda, and the revengeful Moslems demolished it, but 
 because of the high veneration they entertained for St. George, they 
 did not interfere with his tomb. The church was rebuilt, but in less 
 than a century the whole town, with the church, was destroyed by Sa- 
 ladin ; but the ambitious people determined to rebuild it, and suc- 
 ceeded. (Ezra ii. 33.) It is one hundred and fifty feet long. 
 
 Fi'om Lydda to Ramleh is two miles and a half. At this place the 
 4 
 
50 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 main road to Jerusalem is joined. The English interpretation of Ram- 
 leh is sandy, and it will be at once conceded that the village is not 
 mis-named. Several writers have attempted to associate this place 
 with Arimatha?a, the home of Joseph, who took charge of the body of 
 our Lord after his crucifixion, and laid it in the tomb in which no one 
 had been placed. 
 
 But the evidences to the contrary make the truth of its having 
 such a connection very doubtful. There is a Franciscan convent not 
 far from the town which tradition locates on the site where the house 
 in which Nicodemus lived stood. But there is no historical foundation 
 to sustain it. The thing of greatest interest, and for Avhich Ramleh is 
 noted, is the great tower, now much dilapidated, situated a short dis- 
 tance from the main road ; it is one hundred and twenty feet high, and 
 is ascended by one hundred and twenty much-worn stone steps ; it is 
 called by the Arabs, " The Tower of the Forty," in honor of the forty 
 companions of the prophet, and is said to be the minaret of a ruined 
 mosque. A most delightful view may be had which will doubly pay 
 one for the fatigue of the ascent. All the plain of Sharon, from the 
 great mountains of Judea and Samaria, even to the Mediterranean, 
 and as far as the base of Mt. Carmel and the deserts of Philistia, is 
 spread out like a vast panoi'ama. Ashdod, Askelon, Gath, Gaza and 
 Csesarea are plainly seen. 
 
 I remember so well the day I ascended the tower ; I was the last 
 man up, but in reality the first man down. While standing on the 
 time-worn tower we saw, in connection with the places already named, 
 Mt. Hermon's snowy top, and the Lebanon range on the north ; the 
 Valley of the Jordan and the mountains of Moab on the east. The 
 view is transporting, and the objects are distinctly seen through good 
 field-glasses. There are but few visitors who will dare venture to the 
 top, because of its dangerous condition ; the whole structure is cracked 
 from top to bottom ; one portion of it has fallen, and it will be only a 
 short time before the whole tower must be considered among the things 
 of the past. 
 
 The junction of the ancient highways, from Joppa to Jerusalem, 
 and from Egypt to Damascus, which crosses near the old Tower of the 
 Forty, caused Ramleh to be a town of considerable importance ; there 
 is an old tradition which says Joseph took this route when, in obedi- 
 ence to the command given him by the angel, he fled from the wrath 
 of Herod, with " the young child and his mother," into Egypt. This 
 is not generally credited, as it is more than likely he took the road that 
 Joseph, the son of Jacob, traveled on his return to Hebron with the 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 51 
 
 remains of his father. This seems more likely, as it is a much shorter 
 route, and a person fleeing from danger would be apt to take the 
 shortest and most direct road to the place of refuge. 
 
 The valley of Ajalon is crossed a few miles from Ramleh ; the road 
 leads through the most important part, which has, from the time of 
 Joshua, been memorable because of the wonderful victory he achieved 
 there. (Josh. x. 12.) 
 
 In crossing the valley, going to Jerusalem, the two Beth-horons are 
 on the left, and the lofty hills down which Joshua's army pursued the 
 retreating enemy are plainly seen. Gibeon is to the east, behind a 
 high ridge of stones ; it has a historical connection with Beth-horon in 
 the victory so gloriously won by the Israelites ; for over the former 
 the sun, in answer to Joshua's prayer, stood still, and the moon also 
 over the Valley of Ajalon. 
 
 ISRAEL'S FIRST DEFEAT AT AI. 
 
 After the capture and destruction of Jericho, it became necessary 
 for Israel to go up against Ai and subdue it ; for until this royal city 
 of the Canaauites was taken, Joshua and his people must remain 
 hemmed up in the extreme eastern confines of Palestine, and in danger 
 of being destroyed by the combined forces of the several independent 
 governments prominently known in the land. 
 
 Just as the ladder of Tyre was the key to Palestine, so Ai was to 
 the passage of the Israelites to the northern country ; there were only 
 two convenient highways by which they could travel with their jjosses- 
 sions to Shechem, where, according to the command of Moses, they 
 were compelled to go and renew their covenant in recognition of the 
 blessing God had given them. One of these highways runs S(.uthwest 
 from Jericho by the way of Bethany and Jerusalem, now known as the 
 bloody pass ; the other leads to the northwest up to Bethel ; this was 
 the more direct and pleasant way for those going north, halting at 
 Jerusalem. But to take either road they would have come within a 
 short distance of Ai. The spies whom Joshua sent to investigate the 
 situation and condition of this fortified stronghold of the Canaanites, 
 returned full of confidence that it would be easy to conquer, and that 
 it was only necessary to send up two or three thousand men to take it ; 
 but they failed in their first attempt, for the men of Ai rose up against 
 Israel in their strength and put the three thousand chosen men to flight, 
 thirty-six of whom were slain. 
 
 This defeat astonished Israel and caused Joshua to weep bitterly ; 
 
52 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 be solemnly took the case to God and was informed that it was a 
 rebuke for a breach by one of his men, who had secretly hid some of 
 the spoils of Jericho. When Joshua Avas thus informed he caused an 
 investigation to be made, that the man guilty of the crime might be 
 detected, and it was found to be Achan ; he confessed his sin and was 
 stoned to death. 
 
 The confidence of the people having been restored, Joshua went up 
 again to smite Ai ; in this undertaking he worked cunningly and suc- 
 cessfully ; he caused a large body of men to lay in ambush, and sent 
 another number over in front of the city ; then withdrew, and halted 
 in the valley toward Jericho. The men of Ai, feeling confident that the 
 hosts of Israel had weakened, left the city in pursuit of them. At that 
 auspicious moment those in ambush sprang from their hiding, entered 
 the city, burned it, and then went with all possible haste after the men 
 who were pursuing Joshua. At the same time that portion of the flee- 
 ing army turned on their pursuers and hemmed them completely in. 
 Caught as the men of Ai were between the two forces, they were seized 
 with wild confusion, and were soon captured and cut to pieces. The 
 whole of the inhabitants — twelve thousand in number — perished, and 
 their city burned to the ground ; the king also was taken captive, put 
 to death with the sword, and his dead body hanged on a tree until eve- 
 ning, then taken down and buried at the gate under a heap of stones. 
 
 The main camping ground of the Israelites was at Gilgal, as usual, 
 after the destruction of Ai ; but they had obtained an unmolested 
 sway of the highway to the north (Josh., vii-viii chaps.). There was 
 a short period of rest given the Hebrews after they had captured Ai. 
 They returned to their camp at Gilgal, and offered their usual tribute 
 of thanks, and were jubilant over their triumphant conquest. 
 
 During their respite, Joshua and the Israelites went up to Shechem 
 as directed by Moses, where they were to be further impressed as to 
 the merits of the law of God. Joshua copied it on an altar of stones, 
 which was erected on Mount Ebal, and caused the whole people who 
 stood in the valley to repeat the blessings and cursings it contained. 
 
 Having returned to Gilgal to their camp after a long and fatigu- 
 ing travel from Shechem, they were visited by a company of strangers, 
 who practiced a cunning scheme upon them which was difficult to con- 
 ceive. The people of Gibeon, one of the most important towns between 
 Beth-horon and Jerusalem, and said to be the chief city of the several 
 towns laying between Jerusalem and Bethel, like all other chief cities, 
 had many foes who would, upon the least provocation, declare war 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 53 
 
 against it. The inhabitants were interesting, industrious, and cunning. 
 Any one who has read their history will at once concede that they were 
 a crafty and sagacious people. These Gibeonites outwitted Joshua, as 
 completely and successfully as he did the men of Ai, and at the same 
 time used no violence in doing so. 
 
 The most of our readers will call to mind how the people of Gibeon, 
 Beeroth, Kirjath-Jearim, and Chephirah planned a scheme which 
 formed a binding alliance between Joshua and them. Gibeon was 
 only three days' travel from Gilgal, going at a very slow rate ; for, as 
 we shall see, the whole journey was made afterwards in one day's rapid 
 march. The movements of Joshua were known to this people, the fall 
 of Jericho and Ai was fresh in their minds , and fearing they would 
 meet the same fate, they went down to the camp at Gilgal, taking with 
 them old mouldy bread and torn wine skins, and old clothes, and worn- 
 out shoes, representing to the Israelites that they had come from a 
 far country and desired to become servants of the God who pi-otected 
 Joshua and his people. 
 
 The thing seemed good in the eyes of Joshua and all Israel, so they 
 formed a league of friendship and mutual protection. It was but a 
 short time before the scheme was developed, but Joshua could not 
 severely punish them, having allied himself in lasting friendship with 
 them ; but, as a stern rebuke for their deception, they were reduced to 
 the humble rank of hewers of wood and drawers of water, which 
 occupation they followed under Israel for many years (Josh. ix. 1-27). 
 
 The dwellers in the land of Canaan, who were composed of many 
 tribes, had developed into several independent states, each having a 
 chief or capital city, in Avhich lived their chief, who was generally 
 acknowledged as king ; the territory over which the chief ruler pre- 
 sided, was but a small district ; many of them did not cover as many 
 miles as some of the large cities in our countiy. For the most part 
 these states were hostile to each other, and had bitter and bloody con- 
 tests, striving for supremacy, just as the people of Italy did before the 
 states consolidated. 
 
 Some of these governments were monarchies, and others republican 
 in form. The five cities or towns represented by the Gibeonites, who 
 made a visit to Joshua at Gilgal, were not far from each other ; the 
 remotest is not more than ten miles north of Jerusalem, and were 
 nearly surrounded by important tribes, whose war-like character had 
 won for them wide spread fame. Those people who lived in the chief 
 cities south-east and south of Gibeon were the most important. 
 
 When the new^s of the fall of Jericho and the capture of Ai spread 
 
54 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 abroad, great dread fell upon the people previously inhabiting the 
 land. They found it was necessary to form combinations of forces, 
 who had hitherto been independent of and hostile to each other, if 
 they would retain the rulership of the country. To accomplish this 
 end, the five kings of the Amorites living south of Gibeon combined 
 to capture it. 
 
 These kings ruled over the following districts : Jerusalem, Hebron, 
 Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. These kings having combined their 
 forces to overthrow Gibeon, caused great alarm amongst the Gibeonites, 
 for they felt themselves incompetent to withstand them. They, having 
 formed a league with Joshua, sent in haste to him to come up to their 
 rescue. The commander of the forces of Israel felt himself bound 
 to answer the summons, and started at once for the scene of trouble. 
 
 The kings forming the confederacy were greatly exercised over the 
 alliance of the Gibeonites with Joshua, and attempted to sternly rebuke 
 them. To accomplish their purpose the five kings, having armed 
 themselves, drew their forces up before Gibeon. The latter, finding 
 they were not able to cope with this formidable confederacy, became 
 greatly alarmed ; they at once dispatched a messenger to Gilgal, who 
 informed Joshua, and said to him, " Slack not thy hand from thy ser- 
 vants ; come up to us quickly and save us, for all the kings of the 
 Amorites that dwell in the mountain are gathered together against us." 
 
 Joshua responded immediately to the summons, and went up in 
 great haste to their help. The confederate kings had no expectation 
 of seeing the army of Israel on the scene so soon, and when they 
 beheld them in the early morning fearful alarm seized them, for they 
 trembled even at the name of the " Lord's Host," before whom the 
 nations of the earth fell like grass that is cut down. The whole con- 
 federacy soon became disorganized, and were ready to flee before 
 Joshua had struck a blow. When the attack was made the Amorites 
 made no vigorous defence, but fled in great confusion from Gibeon, 
 and endeavored to escape down the steep rocky pass leading fx*om Beth- 
 horon into the valley of Ajalon, but were pursued by the Lord's host 
 and slain in great, numbers. The dismayed confederacy was hotly 
 chased along the way leading to Beth-horon, and in this wild flight 
 they became insanely confused and suffered great loss, as the following 
 record will show : " And it came to pass as they fled before Israel and 
 were in the wiiy going toward Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down 
 great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died." 
 There were more who died of the hailstones than were slain with the 
 sword by Israel." 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 55 
 
 The Amorites in fleeing from the advancing Israelites were mak- 
 ing their way to the valley in front of them, and in doing so they nuist 
 descend about four hundred feet of a most diflicult and steep moun- 
 tain pass ; the refugees being panic-stricken, they rushed unguardedly 
 down the mountain without considering the danger into which they 
 were rushing. The gathering clouds which had spread over them were 
 charged with showers of God's indignation against them, which was 
 about to be discharged with intense fury. 
 
 This was evidently a miraculous demonstration of the displeasure 
 of the Almighty against the confederates, for the Israelites were not 
 injured by them. It is reasonable to suppose that the fugitive army must 
 have been far in advance of them, as they were dwellers of the moun- 
 tains and could much more readily speed their way down the rough 
 pass than the Hebrews, who were strangers and knew nothing of the 
 condition of the pass (Josh, x.), and could not descend with the speed 
 of the fugitives. As the day advanced, and the enemy was still 
 retreating, Joshua, the man of God, became anxious to finish the com- 
 bat and achieve the victory before night had settled upon them. He 
 and his people were in a strange part of the land, and having been 
 sent for to come up at once with all possible speed, he had not the 
 opportunity to follow their usual custom of sending spies to ascertain 
 the situation of the country, as had been done before they crossed the 
 Jordan, or went against Ai. 
 
 It would, therefore, have been impossible for the Israelites to have 
 pursued their enemy after nightfall, and even to go into camp would 
 have been a dangerous risk, as the fleeing enemy could have had great 
 advantage, which would have put them to much perplexity. The 
 occasion was so momentous and anxious Joshua was deeply moved 
 with interest for the safety of Israel and the triumph of the Lord, on 
 this account ; he uttered that wonderfully strange and sublime prayer, 
 which seemed to have the bearing of a command ; he wished the rap- 
 idly retiring sun to halt and the moon to stay its coming upward until 
 the army of the Lord had completed its victory. 
 
 The man of God came forth in the name and strength of his Lord, 
 as if commander of the solar system as vvell as the army of Israel, and 
 with uplifted hands, one doubtless pointing to the moon and the other 
 to the sun, he said, " Sun stand tliou still upon Gibeon and thou moon 
 in the valley of Ajalon," 
 
 In compliance with Joshua's prayer the Lord checked the passage 
 of the sun and moon, " and the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and 
 hastened not to go down, about a whole day." This illustrious answer 
 
56 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 to the commander's prayer must have filled all Israel with holy enthu- 
 siasm and gave them a fresh impetus for the combat. 
 
 The army continued a vigorous pursuit after the fleeing confederate 
 kings, who were making a rapid retreat. They were overtaken and 
 captured, in connection with two important towns, on the border of the 
 plain. The cave, Makkedah, where the capture of the five kings took 
 place, was on the eastern margin of the plain of Philistia, to the south 
 of the opening of the plain of Ajalon. The five kings were taken 
 from their hiding-place, and the chief officers of Joshua's command 
 put their feet on their necks, as was the usual custom in that country, 
 as a signal of triumph. 
 
 After putting them to death they were hanged upon trees, as was 
 also the King of Ai, until evening ; they were then taken down and 
 placed in the cave from which they were captured, for the law 
 demanded they should spare nothing. 
 
 Joshua having won the victory took advantage of the occasion and 
 continued his conquests from Gibeon to the desert on the south, cap- 
 turing the cities of Makkedah and Lebonah. 
 
 Joshua afterwards had another tremendous foe to face, for whom 
 he had to make special prayerful preparations, but the Lord was with 
 him and fought for Israel. 
 
 THE NORTHERN CONFEDERACY. 
 
 The battle of Beth-horon did not cause the inhabitants of Canaan 
 to immediately clo.-^e all hostile opposition to the Israelites, and acknowl- 
 edge them the rightful occupants of the laud, but other States formed 
 combinations with a firm purpose of exterminating the whole army of 
 Joshua at a single blow. There was great alarm among the people up 
 North caused by the sweeping victory Joshua had won over the com- 
 bined forces of the South. Therefore, Jabin, King of Hazor, one of 
 the most important cities in northern Canaan, sent messengers to the 
 several kings throughout the country to form a confederacy against 
 further encroachments of the great leader of the hosts of Israel. He 
 sent for them to prepare themselves to join him to confront Joshua and 
 crush his army at once. Jabin seems to have been a man of great 
 influence, and the most heroic of all the kings of the North in his day. 
 When this great man issued the call, the rulers united with him from 
 the Trans-Lebanon district on the north and those on the south. The 
 king in the Arabah, south of the Sea Tiberias, and in the low 'and and 
 on the heights about Dor, near the sea on the west, and from Shimron, 
 and from Achshaph, and those from the hills of the north. The Canaan- 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 57 
 
 ites living on the eiist of Hazor, and those on the west, the Amorites, 
 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, from the regions in and about 
 Jerusalem, the Hivites under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh, all came 
 up in response to the call of Jabin against the victorious army of Joshua. 
 They made the strongest and most guarded preparations for the 
 attack, having horses, animals greatly dreaded by the Israelites in war, 
 and heavy chariots with knives or short swords fixed to their wheels. 
 The captains were equal to the duties of their position, and the military 
 forces were well trained. This great confederacy when united seemed 
 to be a countless number, and in every way stronger and better pre- 
 pared for warfare than the host Joshua put to flight in the South. This 
 vast army of well-drilled and carefully-armed men of war had no other 
 expectation than they would mow down the Hebrews like grass. The 
 army of Joshua had neither horses nor war chariots. Jabin, having 
 collected his a' lies and their forces, marched them to "the waters of 
 Merom to fight against Israel." This lake is known as Huleh ; it is 
 about four miles and a half long, and three and a half wide, and eleven 
 feet deep in some portions. Lake Merom is about twelve or thirteen 
 miles north of the sea of Tiberias. It is called waters of Merom in 
 the Bible, and by Josephus Samo-chonitis. Swamps and hedges nearly 
 surrounded it, in which the water-fowls find safe retreat. No doubt 
 that the level country and the abundant supply of water induced King 
 Jabin to camp the vast confederate army there. It necessarily required 
 level ground to manage the horses and war chariots in an engagement, 
 for they were of no use in a mountainous region. The Israelites 
 had no heavy arms, for they had to walk from one battle-field to 
 another, whether far or near ; and it may be they feared to confront 
 the tremendous confederacy. But God, who had hitherto fought for 
 them, said to Joshua, " Be not afraid because of them ; for to-morrow 
 about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel." The 
 account given of this victory won by Joshua is short, but it may be 
 inferred the panic that seized the consternated confederacy was more 
 exciting than that encountered by the hosts of Amorites in the valley 
 of Ajalon. Joshua and his brave men, having been assured by the 
 Lord of conquest, used their previous method of attack. They came 
 down suddenly upon the confederates and completely put them to 
 flight, leaving their horses and chariots on the field, and according to 
 the word of the Lord, Joshua cut the ham-strings of their hoises and 
 bui'nt their chariots. For the Lord said " Thou shalt hough their 
 horses and burn their chariots." Notwithstanding there was no visible 
 appearance of a physical phenomenon, as was witnessed at Gibeon and 
 
58 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the Valley of Ajalon, this great victory was as miraculous as the one 
 first won when Joshua went up against the southern confederacy. The 
 all-powerful hand of God won the victory. We must concede the fact 
 that nothing short of the interposition of the Almighty's arm could 
 have won the battle against such a countless host of well-armed forces. 
 There seem to have been no other strong combinations formed against 
 the children of Israel during the life of Joshua. 
 
 EL-JIB OR GIBEON. 
 
 With Gibeon are connected many other important events, of which 
 mention is made in the Bible. This city, which was at one time one 
 of the most distinguished in all the country, stood on a hill about three 
 hundred feet above the valley, very pleasantly situated, ^nd com- 
 manded a delightful view from afar. The ancient buildings, of which 
 the present village is composed, are sparsely situated over the summit 
 on which stood the original city when robed in its fullest glory. 
 
 There is a large building yet standing in the midst of the others 
 appearing like a giant among dwarfs; this is supposed to have been 
 the citadel. Gibeon, according to the Old Testament, was one of the 
 great royal cities of Palestine, and was the capital of those towns whose 
 people formed an alliance with Joshua. When the land was divided 
 among the tribes Gibeon fell to the lot of Benjamin, and was made a 
 strong Levitical city, 
 
 The Tabernacle was brought here after the destruction of Nob, and 
 the great altar of burnt sacrifice was built, and continued until perma- 
 nently removed to the temple. The reservoir on the eastern side of 
 the hill is supposed to be the fountain at which Abner and Joab met 
 with the armies of Judah and Israel, and witnessed that most revolt- 
 ing combat between the twelve men on each side, all of whom fought 
 until they died. And on the other hill it is thought the battle 
 occurred in which Abner was defeated and Asahel put to death. (Josh. 
 X, 2 ; ix. 17 ; 2 Sam ii.) 
 
 At the "stone which is in Gibeon," Amasa, who was King David's 
 nephew, was drawn into a net by the treacherous pretension of Joab, 
 his cousin, whose heart was full of murderous intent. Joab said to his 
 cousin, "Art thou in health, my brother? " and, taking hold of his 
 beard with his "right hand," as though he intended "to kiss him,'' 
 he had a dart of death concealed with which he smote him (Amasa) 
 under the fifth rib, from which he died. There is a large stone on the 
 side of the pass leading over to Jerusalem, which is supposed to be the 
 scene of this most dastardly tragedy. 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 59 
 
 But the day of retribution came, and Joab was rewarded for both 
 of his murderous deeds ; when despair overshadowed him he ran into 
 the Tabernacle of the Lord for refuge, and even took " hold of the 
 horns of the altar," but was pursued by Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, 
 who fell upon him by order of Solomon " and slew him." 
 
 Here ended the life of one of the most treacherous men that lived. 
 It was at Gibeon that King Solomon offered up a thousand burnt 
 offerings, and had the vision given him from God, urging him to make 
 a choice of that which he desired most in life ; in compliance to which 
 he chose wisdom rather than honors, riches or longevity. 
 
 These various Bible associations which cluster about Gibeon have 
 made it memorable to all who know its history, so that travelers to 
 to Jerusalem are almost as anxious to see the site of this ancient royal 
 city as any other jilace in Palestine. (See 2 Sam. xx. 9-12 ; Kings ii. 
 28-34 ; 1 Kings iii. 4-15). 
 
 NEBY-SAMUEIL, OR THE ANCIENT "MIZPEH." 
 
 This place of ancient renown, where stood one of the most historic 
 cities in Palestine, is now a small village, and is called by the natives 
 Neby-Samueil. It is about four hundred feet above Gibeon, and nearly 
 three thousand above the level of the sea. Mizpeh was in the lot of 
 Benjamin, and is only about six miles from Jerusalem, the seat of the 
 national government. The lofty peak on which it stands is regarded 
 as the highest in southern Palestine, and gives a most delightful view 
 of the whole land from Dan to Beer-sheba, which is obtained if one 
 will take the pains to ascend to the top of the mosque or minaret. 
 
 On the north Carmel and Gerizim are distinctly seen ; on the west 
 Joppa, the plain of Sharon, Lydda and the Mediterranean Sea loom 
 up ; and the mountains of Moab, east of the Jordan, are plainly seen, 
 and the outstretched landscape of Gilead is in full view to the east and 
 southeast. Following the sea-coast along the southern shore a mound 
 is seen which marks the site of Ashdod, where Philip was conducted 
 by the Spirit ; and farther southward is Ekron, where the ark was 
 lodged for a time. 
 
 The city must have been a jilace of great importance from very 
 early times. After the occupany of the land by the HebrcAvs they used 
 to gather at Mizpeh on great national assemblies, when representi^tives 
 from all the tribes would meet to approve of some new rules for the 
 benefit of the whole people prior to the establishment of the monarchy 
 of Palestine. (Josh, xviii. 26). 
 
60 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 Mizpeh was the place where all the male population gathered, even 
 from Dan to Beer-Sheba, with the chief officers, and were filled with 
 indignation against the people of Gibeah because of the great sin they 
 had committed against the Levite, who went there to lodge over night ; 
 and they vowed never to return to their homes until they had avenged 
 the Benjamites for their outrageous conduct. 
 
 The Israelites after finding their idolatrous worship had turned the 
 blessings of God from them, met Samuel at Mizpeh and solemnly 
 promised to forsake the gods of Baalim and Ashtaroth, and henceforth 
 follow the God of their fathers. It was also at Mizpeh that the repre- 
 sentatives of Israel met and chose their fii-st king, notwithstanding the 
 protest of Samuel ; and when it was decided that Saul of Benjamin 
 should be the monarch, a shout of enthusiasm made the mountain echo, 
 saying, " God save the King." 
 
 When the chosen people were carried away into captivity, the 
 Chaldean governor lived at Mizpeh and was murdered there by hostile 
 Jews; and after the return of this people from Babylon, and Nehemiah 
 began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, the men of Mizpeh joined the 
 men of Gibeon in rebuilding one portion of them. 
 
 There are many other events of interest to the Bible student which 
 took j^lace at this old historic town and its environments; it was at 
 Mizpeh that Samuel took a stone and called the name of it Ebenezer, 
 saying, " Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." 
 
 The present village is modern and of no interest to travelers, and 
 would not be visited were it not for its ancient history. (Judges xx ; 
 1 Samuel vii. 6-12, and x. 17-24; 2 Kings xxv. 25.) 
 
 On approaching Jerusalem by the way of the main road from Joppa 
 the houses of the outskirts or near the community known as the New 
 Jerusalem began to appear. A vast improvement has been made 
 during the last fifteen years; hundreds of nice little dwellings have been 
 built west of the city, and inhabited by Jews, who have gone there to 
 spend their days. In the winter of seventy-seven, when I made my 
 first visit to Jerusalem, nearly the whole place upon which now stand 
 seven or eight hundred houses was vacant ; at that time there were but 
 few houses west and northwest of Zion : then the tendency was to build 
 on the north of the Joppa gate, but on my last visit I found the exten- 
 sion was on the west and northwest. 
 
 This New Jerusalem covers as much space, or nearly so, as the 
 old city ; on account of the zigzag survey of the highway and the hills 
 Jerusalem could not be seen until a near approach was reached, even 
 in those days when the hill round about on which stand hundreds of 
 
FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM. 61 
 
 houses was vacant; but at this time when so many buildings have been 
 erected, the city is entirely hid from view until one approaches within 
 a short distace of the Joppa Gate. 
 
 The long and crooked street through which we pass is seemingly 
 full of tumult, it being the only business thoroughfare outside the walls, 
 Avhich is by no means extensive; men and women are constantly going 
 to and fro, carrying great boxes on their heads, while the poor over- 
 loaded camels and donkeys seem to bend in agony under their burden ; 
 there is no society for the protection of animals against cruelties in 
 Palestine, therefore the poor beasts are treated without mercy. 
 
PAET Y. 
 
 ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 
 
 Approaching Jerusalem — The Ancient and Modern Cities — Situation of Jerusa- 
 lem — General Elevation of the City — Mountains Around the City — City 
 Walls — Walls of To-day — Towers Along the Walls — Gates of the City — 
 Present Jerusalem, the Modern City — Division of the City — Greek and Latin 
 Churches — Population of Jerusalem — Its Sanitary Condition — How the 
 Nights are Spent — Shining Light — The Jews' Wailing-place — Worship under 
 the Church of England — Witnessing the Mournful Service — What Jerome 
 Says of This Place — The Harem Area — Mosque of Omer — The Castle of An- 
 tonia — Mt. Moriah — Inscriptions on the Walls — Entering the Mosque of 
 Omar — The Sacred Rock — Mohammed and Gabriel — Cave below the 
 Mosque — Caleph Omar — Mosque of El-Aksa — Temple Courts and Foun- 
 dations—Description of Temple — When Built — Its Furnishings — Old Foun- 
 dations — Ancient Quarries — Ancient Jerusalem — Jebus Captured — Jeru- 
 salem the Resting-place of the Ark of God — Jerusalem During the Reign 
 of Solomon — Decline of Jerusalem — Inhabitants Carried into Captivity — 
 Prophecy of Isaiah Fulfilled — How Alexander the Great Met the People — 
 Alexander and Antiochus — ^The Great Slaughter — Armenians to the Rescue 
 — The Great AVar for Liberty — King Herod's Reign — Zion, the Centre Light 
 — Zion, on Approaching Jerusalem— How Situated — Mt. Moriah, Oman's 
 Threshing-floor — David's Sin — Sacrifice Offered — Approaching Jerusalem — 
 Inhabitants of Mt. Moriah — Mt. Akra, Mt. Bezetha — Mt. Calvary — Ex- 
 tension of Walls of Jerusalem — Existence of Tombs within the Present 
 City Walls — Great Questions Discussed — The Tomb of Christ — Church of 
 Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 APPROACHING JERUSALEM. 
 
 IT will be hard for me to tell how I was impressed at my first sight 
 of Jerusalem. Persous entering Jerusalem for the first time can- 
 not be other than deeply moved with solemnity when one remembers he 
 is about to enter the most sacred and historic city in the world, around 
 which cluster all the achievements triumphantly won by our Lord, 
 which purchased for man the right to enter through the gates into the 
 heavenly Jerusalem. When my eyes first beheld the holy city I was 
 most solemnly impressed ; the sufferings of my Lord came vividly to 
 my mind, and I exclaimed : " O Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! thou who 
 hath stoned the prophets and killed them that my Lord hath sent you, 
 62 
 
< 
 
 00 
 
 D 
 CC 
 
 O 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 63 
 
 how many times would He have gathered thy children together as a 
 hen gathers her brood under her wings, but ye would not." 
 
 Indeed there was no day during my stay in the holy city that I was 
 not moved with aw^e while visiting the many places of sacred memory. 
 I am told every visitor is more or less impressed on first entering Jeru- 
 salem with the sacred character of the place. Peculiar impressions 
 naturally seize one while visiting the ruins of ancient Rome, or Pom- 
 peii, or other places distinguished for passed greatness. 
 
 It matte I's not how strange or deep the impression may be in 
 viewing these ruins of Rome or Pompeii, it is not like the impressions 
 received when you take your first view of the holy city ; it is entirely 
 difierent, both in character and magnitude, from that which is felt 
 in any part of Palestine. The time may come when the thousands 
 who, from time to time, visit the great city on tlie banks of the Tilier 
 to view" her ruins, her chui'ches, her catacombs and her spacious founts 
 will cease ; but Jerusalem the venerable — the holy city where prophets, 
 priests and mighty kings lived, and which stands at the head of the 
 historic Avorld, will ever be visited by the multitudes of ardent admirers 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, because the proclamation of His love started 
 from there, and in and around about it are clustered the precious 
 emblems of Divine truth and salvation. 
 
 When the gate of Joppa is opened and the feet of the eager visitor 
 stands on Mount Zion, his mind is immediately crowded with many 
 events of its glorious past age. He rejoices that he is standing on the 
 holy hill of Zion, the mount on which patriarchs and prophets have 
 been known to walk, where the Lord Jesus once stood, and apostles 
 preached repentance toward God and faith in Christ. 
 
 He will call to mind that somewhere near by was the throne of 
 David, of Solomon, and others of the kings of Judah. He looks 
 toward the great mosque of Omar, on Moriah, and thinks of the spa- 
 cious temple which crowned its sacred brow, and the altars on wliich 
 sacrifices were burnt, morning and evening, for hundreds of years, and 
 its hallowed shrines, where thronged the adoring Israelites from all 
 parts of the land, gladly embracing the opportunity to celebrate the 
 annual feasts, perhaps using the words of the Psalmist, " Our feet 
 shall stand within thy gates, oh, Jerusalem." 
 
 A SURVEY OF JERUSALEM. 
 After the stranger has finished for a time his meditation of the 
 antique history in connection with the dawn of the Christian era, he 
 may turn and consider the present condition of the people thronging 
 
64 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the narrow streets of the Holy City. There is a general expression of 
 disappointment by all who visit Jerusalem from Europe or America, 
 both in the condition of the people and its internal regulations. The 
 authorities have no law in force regulating the sanitary condition of 
 the city ; therefore it is exceedingly disagreeable to visit some portions, 
 because of the accumulation of filth, from which a continuous odor is 
 emitted, and four-fifths of the inhabitants are sadly ignorant, dejected 
 and poor, many of whom have not sufiicient clothing to render them 
 presentable on the streets. The most of the people are very sinful and 
 seem to glory in it. We can plainly see while looking over the city 
 what moved our Lord to tears when he viewed it from the slope of 
 the Mount of Olives, for even now any one who has been awakened by 
 the spirit of Divine grace will find himself sorrow-stricken while passing 
 from street to street, taking a general view of the condition of a 
 people living immediately under the shadow of the Cross. 
 
 And were it not that we are assured in God's word that Jerusalem 
 will be restored, and that hopeful evidences of its fulfilment are already 
 appeai'ing, the Christian visitor would be constrained to continue the 
 lamentable strains of Jeremiah and say, "Oh, that my head were 
 waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and 
 night for the slain of the daughter of my people." (Jer. ix. 1.) 
 
 The information I have received from those who have visited 
 Palestine is that none have escaped the emotions that cannot be con- 
 trolled on entering the Holy City, and especially when they take a 
 general survey of the inhabitants. It seems to me impossible for any 
 to feel otherwise who visit there from a land of higher civilization. 
 
 SITUATION OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 It is the custom of the guides to take visitors around the walls on 
 the outside of the city ; this is the beginning of the tours in and about 
 the city of sacred historry ; it is imjiortant to make a circuit of it so 
 that it may be definitely seen. The whole of Jerusalem is built on 
 hills, which can only be seen to advantage from lowland on the out- 
 side, especially from the Valley of Jehoshaphat and the Valley of 
 Hinnom. 
 
 It is not a veiy long journey, but very tedious ; from one and a 
 half to two hours are required to complete the circuit ; this could be 
 do^e in one-half the time were the paths in good condition ; the visi- 
 tor has his choice of walking or riding ; the latter is generally pre- 
 ferred, although some portions of the way one must alight and walk 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 65 
 
 over tlie dangerously rough places, for should the beast stumble and 
 fall, the rider would sustain great injury, if he did not lose his life. 
 
 But there is no more speed made by riding than walking ; it is 
 believed by those who have tried it one can make quicker time walk- 
 ing than riding, but it is much more fatiguing to do so. Jerusalem is 
 situated on four hills, Zion, Moriah, Acre and Bezetha, formally sep- 
 arated by a deep valley which divided the city into four parts. The 
 general elevation of the city is estimated to be about twenty-six hun- 
 dred feet above the level of the Mediterranean Sea, and about twenty- 
 eight hundred feet above the level of the Dead Sea. It is worthy of 
 remark that persons going to Jerusalem from every direction go up 
 hill, therefore all say, " I am going up to Jerusalem." How signifi- 
 cant is the fact to the idea of ours about the New Jerusalem, the land 
 of " Precious Promise " ; all Afho travel hither express themselves as 
 going up. 
 
 Although the Holy City is prominently situated on high eleva- 
 tions, it does not seem to be so when compared to the mountains round 
 about it, but can be regarded so only when compared with the deep 
 ravines that nearly surround it. 
 
 There are mountains around the city much higher than those on 
 which it stands, therefore distant views cannot be had of it such as we 
 get of Tyre, Sidon, Nazareth, Safed, Beyrout, and several other cities 
 and towns in Palestine and Syria. The best distant view of Jerusalem 
 is obtained from Neby Samueil on the west, Mt. Scopus on the north, 
 and the Mount of Olives on the east ; neither of these places are far 
 from the city. 
 
 Many travelers seem to be impressed with the thought that the 
 city is so elevated it can be seen from any quarter when approaching 
 it, and are greatly disappointed when they find themselves within a 
 few hundred yards of it before it is seen, except by those who come 
 from the north. The peculiar situation of the city prevents it from 
 being seen at a distance, except from those mountainous points already 
 referred to. 
 
 The hills around Jerusalem are much higher than those on which 
 it stands, so that it must be approached on all sides from deep ravines 
 which lead up to the hills that are not far from the Holy City. 
 
 THE CITY WALLS. 
 
 The present city is after the manner of the old one, closed in by 
 high walls and gates. These walls are by no means square, and are 
 
66 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 broken in several places ; time's crushing hand is making telling 
 impressions upon them. 
 
 They are not to be compared neither in height nor thickness to the 
 walls around the Ancient City in the days of David, Solomon, Herod 
 and others ; in those days the chief object in building walls was to 
 secure the protection of the inhabitants against hostile foes ; the means 
 of defence were meagre, therefore great caution was taken in building 
 those fortress walls. 
 
 These walls which now inclose the city were built during the 
 early part of the sixteenth century by order of Sultan Suleiman, 
 who at that time ruled Jerusalem. As far as the various investiga- 
 tions have been made it is found that the present walls stand on some 
 of the ground upon Avhich the old walls of the middle ages stood, 
 especially on the east and south sides, and contain much of the material 
 of which they were composed, and even those of remoter times. 
 
 The measurement shows they are only fifteen feet thick at the bot- 
 tom and much thinner at the top ; they are from twenty-five to seventy 
 feet high, according to the elevations or depressions of the ground on 
 which they are built ; these walls were not built to protect the people 
 in the city, as those which were built in ancient times ; since the use 
 of modern improvements of warfare have been adopted, therefore they 
 would be of little or no use for safety within them. 
 
 The present wall would be of no more service as a protection 
 against the encroachments of an invading army, strong and well 
 equipped for battle, than a steam launch could guard a city bordering 
 on the sea coast against the approach of a man-of-war steamship, yet 
 these walls are not wholly useless as protectors, for while they close 
 the city in from the world without and clothe it with a garb of antiquity, 
 they also guard it from the thieving Bedouins, whose haunts are the 
 mountains, caves, and solitary places of Palestine, and who are gener- 
 ally looking about watching an opportunity to plunder, and would 
 gladly enter the city, commit depredations after night, were it not that 
 the wall prevents them. 
 
 All the gates are usually locked after sundown, except the Joppa 
 gate, which is often open until nine or ten o'clock, but always strongly 
 guarded by a detail of soldiers from the barracks. The walls are 
 estimated to have a measurement of a-half a mile on each side, and 
 the whole circuit of the city about two miles. 
 
 There are towers along the wall at irregular intervals which serve as 
 supports as well as watch towers ; it has been the custom of visitors 
 to ascend to the top of the wall, near the entrance door into the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 67 
 
 ancient quarry where one of the most superb views of the city is 
 had. 
 
 There is no danger of falling ; the walls are about six feet thick on 
 top and will allow two or three persons to walk al)reast without the fear 
 of falling ; the ancient walls were three, each covering different periods ; 
 these shut in and protect certain portions of the city ; the first enclosed 
 Mt. Zion, the second Mt. Acre and the third IMt. Bezetha ; those who 
 have attempted to identify the exact locality and direction of these 
 walls, have not been as yet satisfactorily successfol in their efforts, nor 
 have they agreed in their conclusions, but advanced several opinions 
 as to their probable directions, especially with regard to the second 
 wall. Much care has been taken and labor expended to find the pre- 
 cise location and direction of it, for if that could be discovered, the 
 long and perplexing dispute as to the site of Mt. Calvary would be for- 
 ever settled ; until that is known there will be continued controversies 
 as to the true site of our Lord's crucifixion. 
 
 Of late gratifying progress has been made which has stimulated a 
 hope of future success. 
 
 GATES OF THE CITY. 
 
 There are eight gates in the walls of the present city : of these the 
 Joppa gate, through which all who go up to Jerusalem from the west 
 or south pass, is without doubt the most important ; at least four-fifths 
 of those who enter into the city pass through this gate. The new gate, 
 which has only been placed in the walls lately, is on the northwest of 
 the former ; it has no historical importance attached to it, and was 
 opened simply as a convenience for those living in the west and 
 northwest. 
 
 The Damascus gate or gate of the Columns opens opposite the old 
 road to Shechem, Samaria, Nazareth, Tiberias and Damascus ; it is 
 sometimes called the ornamental gate, because it is more richly embel- 
 lished than any of the others. St. Stephen's gate, which the native 
 Christians call " The Gate of my Lady Mary," is located on the east 
 side of the city, and is the most convenient entrance and exit for those 
 who are passing to and from the Kedron Valley. The gate is very 
 plain, having but a single peculiar feature of distinction, that is, a sculp- 
 tured lion over it. The gate of the Moore is small and used but little. 
 It is situated on the south side of the city near the Tyropean Valley, 
 and is the nearest exit to the village of Siloam and several other places 
 in that locality. The Zion gate is on the ridge of Mt. Zion, and is 
 known by the natives as the gate of the Prophet David. 
 
68 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 There are two other gates, the gate of Herod aud the Golden gate ; 
 these two are closed continually ; the latter is watched zealously by the 
 Moslems who confidently believe that if that gate should be opened 
 their power in Palestine would be broken forever. This gate also 
 marks the site of the ancient gate through which our Lord made his 
 triumphant entry into Jerusalem headed and followed by a tumultuous 
 multitude shouting His praise. 
 
 If the Golden Gate were opened it would lead from the Valley of 
 Jehoshaphat to the area of the Mosque of Omar. It has a double arch 
 on the valley side and inside a very well designed vaulted chamber. 
 
 THE PRESENT JERUSALEM. 
 
 The gates of the ancient city were many more than those of the 
 present ; they are enumerated in the books of Nehemiah and Second 
 Kings. When we consider the minute description of these gates as 
 given by Josephus and other ancient writers who remembered the pur- 
 pose for which they served we cannot but conclude they were not only 
 massive, but also very beautiful. 
 
 Notwithstanding the traveler who visits Jerusalem for the first time 
 is seized with a feeling of disappointment when he passes through the 
 entrance gate, from the fact nothing upon which he looks fills the 
 measure of his expectation ; but when he considers he is in the most 
 famous city in the world, the one which is connected with the most 
 sacred and illustrious events known in history, he then commences to 
 realize that the ground upon which he stands is holy. Jerusalem has 
 passed through so many bitter ordeals it cannot be expected that many 
 of the ancient relics remain above the surface. 
 
 Jerusalem having been sacked at least seventeen times, the greater 
 part of it lies deeply buried beneath the present city. Much of the 
 old material, however, has been discovered by the various excavations 
 which have been in progress from time to time ; it is stated that when 
 the foundation for the English mission church, for the proper teaching 
 of the gospel among the Jews, was being dug on Mt. Zion, the work- 
 men had to dig down through fifty or more feet of ruins before they 
 came to a place solid enough to lay the foundation. (See Nehemiah, 
 iii. ; 2 Kings, xiv.) 
 
 There is a street, beginning at the Latin convent and passing 
 through the arch, " Ecce Homo," which leads to the gate of St. 
 Stephen, this is known as " Via Dolorosa," and is traditionally held 
 as the route through which our Lord passed while bearing His cross to 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 69 
 
 Golgotha's summit ; this has been memorable to pilgrims who still con- 
 tinue the custom that has existed for many years. 
 
 They do not fail to go down this pass, mournfully expressing their 
 sympathy for Jesus who bore the cross for them. Notwithstanding 
 there is not a shadow of foundation for locating the way of mourning 
 to be this narrow pass beyond questionable tradition, yet it is so confi- 
 dently believed by the great mass of pilgrims, they would not dare 
 leave the city without passing through it and shedding tears in sacred 
 commemoration of our Lord's agony. It is the prevailing opinion that 
 if the tears of the pilgrims of many generations which have fallen upon 
 the ground here remained, every spot of it from end to end would have 
 been wet; how fittingly the words of our Lord apply to them, with 
 which He addressed the mourning multitude who followed Him while 
 bending under His cross. Judging from sad demonstrations they 
 manifest, they are just as earnest in their sympathy as were those who 
 followed our Lord. 
 
 David and Zion streets run nearly at right angles, dividing the city 
 into four parts ; on the northwest is the Christian quarter, the Moslems 
 live in the northeast, on the southeast the Jews are clustered in their 
 ancient looking dwellings to themselves, and from the general condi- 
 tion of their quarters, we feel safe to say, no one, not even the native 
 Arabs, covet their situation. 
 
 On the southwest side the Armenians have their quarters, they 
 seem to be an industrious and prosperous people ; these four sects 
 represent the religious communities, though divided in four general 
 divisions, yet they embrace several different denominations ; it is im- 
 portant that these sects should live in sections to themselves in order 
 that peace be preserved among them. 
 
 There is an unabating hostile sentiment, fostered by them on ac- 
 count of their religious persecutions ; it is an evil which will, no doubt, 
 bring about results which will be sadly lamented ; there are many 
 demonstrations that indicate fearful results in time to come, unless 
 proper steps are taken to remedy the existing evils. Some of the reli- 
 gious denominations which live in the same section are bitterly opposed 
 to each other ; this feeling has existed for some time among the Greek 
 and Latin Christians, who have attempted on several occasions to take 
 each other's lives. This outrageously hostile feeling began when the 
 officials of the Greek and Latin churches, both in the Church of the 
 Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and that of the Holy Nativity in Beth- 
 lehem, were at swords' points against each other. It happens that 
 
70 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 their outbreaks of hostilities are many times the results of small mat- 
 ters, such as the decorations about the altars, or the right to enter one 
 of the doors claimed by another, and such other correspondingly light 
 matters. 
 
 It may seem to many, to be incredible but it is nevertheless true, 
 guards of soldiers are kept constantly within the walls of these sacred 
 and most distinguished buildings in the world, to prohibit an uprising 
 and bloodshed among those who ought to be peacemakers, the " salt of 
 the earth," "the light of the world ; " yet it is sadly true they are kept 
 imder close vigilance daily, lest they should renew their hostilities. 
 
 AVe know this to be true, for our own eyes have seen them; it had 
 been but a short time before I arrived in Jerusalem that a very disas- 
 trous outbreak occurred in Bethlehem, during which several of the 
 participants were severely injured ; the bitter feeling which was kindled 
 in the breasts of these influential religious bodies, many years ago, is 
 just as strongly encouraged now, as when it was first blown to a flame, 
 and is likely to continue for ages to come. The population of Jeru- 
 salem is estimated to be about sixty thousand, and it is constantly 
 increasing. Of this number, forty-three thousand are Jews, about eight 
 thousand Moslems, nine thousand Protestants, four thousand Orthodox 
 Greeks, three thousand and nine hundred Latin Catholics, two hundred 
 Greek Catholics, eight hundred Armenians, one hundred Syrians, one 
 hundred and fifty Copts, five hundred Abyssinians, and a few others ; 
 this large population living in such a small space are compelled to 
 occupy- but little house room for large families, therefore they are 
 necessarily pressed and put to many disadvantages, which the inhabit- 
 ants of our modern cities know nothing about ; their homes are poorly 
 ventilated, their cisterns and reservoirs often become stagnant. The 
 destitution of sewerage and the total neglect of sanitary regulations, 
 render the Holy City at times very unhealthy. 
 
 On this account, strangers are ordered to be specially cautious in 
 drinking the water unless it is first boiled and filtered ; otherwise it is 
 liable to produce some troublesome disease. The violation of this 
 advice has been woefully experienced by many. It is strange proper 
 steps are not taken by the Turkish authorities to place the city in a 
 more healthful condition, both for the benefit of inhabitants and those 
 from other lands, who are yearly visiting it. 
 
 It is authoritatively stated that the refuse of the city is largely 
 dumped into the pool of Bethesda, w hich is nearly adjoining the soldiers' 
 barracks ; it can be easily seen that such a state of things is antagonistic 
 to health. It is the opinion of medical men, if Jerusalem was put 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 71 
 
 under a rigid sanitaiy discipline it would be one of the most healthy 
 and purest places in the world. The many pleasures indulged and 
 patronized by the masses in countries known to be highly civilized and 
 progressive, many of which break down in health, and hurry thousands 
 to untituely graves, are not known in Jerusalem ; just as soon as the 
 sun dips its golden pinions into the Mediterranean Sea, the places of 
 business are closed, with few exceptions, and all the gates but the one 
 on the west are closed. This has been allowed to remain open longer 
 to permit those who have been detained on business to come in ; but 
 few if any care to be out after dark ; the streets are as dark as mid- 
 night, for there can scarcely be seen a ray of light anywhere, and a 
 death-like silence reigns in all the passes and lanes almost over the 
 whole city. 
 
 There are no church meetings at night, except at a small mission, 
 about a half a mile beyond the Joppa gate, where meetings are held 
 for a few persons about one hour on Sunday nights. 
 
 Jerusalem is free from all such amusements as concerts, theatres, 
 balls, and the variety of attractions common in other lands ; therefore 
 the people have nowhere to go to spend their time, and break down 
 their health, therefore almost all the people seem to go down w'ith the 
 sun and arise with it. 
 
 There are a few people seen lurking about the Cafes and drinking 
 saloons, until nine or ten o'clock, but they are generally quiet and 
 orderly ; the poverty of the masses will not permit them to indulge 
 very freely in spending their money for liquors ; the most drinking is 
 done by persons who visit there from countries of more advanced 
 civilization. 
 
 SHINING LIGHT. 
 
 If a person should necessarily be out at a late hour it is important 
 he should have a lantern, otherwise he is liable to be arrested. It hap- 
 pened during my stay in Jerusalem, the American Consul was com- 
 pelled to be out one night very late, visiting a number of Jews who 
 were under his supervision, and when he came back to the hotel some 
 one had to escort him with a light. It is commonly believed that no 
 one but thieves are out in the darkness, or some evil motive is the pre- 
 vailing incentive, that would stimulate a person to prowl through the 
 city without a light ; therefore all persons who are thus found are 
 promptly arrested, and put in the guard-house until morning, then an 
 investigation is made in their case. 
 
 This custom has come down through the distant ages unchanged ; 
 
72 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 this same rule applies to all the cities in Palestine and Syria except 
 Beyrout, in which there are street lamps lighted with gas. 
 
 Our Lord seems to have referred to this time-honored regulation in 
 his memorable "Sermon on the Mount," when He admonished the 
 anxious ones to "let their light shine before men." The illustration 
 is so very striking no one can fail to see how fittingly our Lord ap- 
 plied it to the indispensable spiritual light, which alone is convincing 
 to men, they are changed from nature to grace. (See Matt, v.) 
 
 THE WAILING PLACE (JERUSALEM.) 
 
 The Jews' Wailing Place is one of the great attractions in Jerusa- 
 lem. It is sought as eagerly as any of the ancient historical places of 
 distinction in Palestine. No visitor to the Holy City feels satisfied 
 with his observation, nor is he willing to leave without witnessing the 
 strikingly peculiar devotions of the Jews, which is one of the most im- 
 pressive exhibitions of deep lamentations, on account of Divine dis- 
 pleasure, to be seen anywhere in our world. The Jews gather in large 
 numbers along the walls of the celebrated Haram, to weep over their 
 present condition and pray for the favor of God to rest upon and 
 restore the city and country to them, that they may rule over it as 
 their fathers did in their day of prosperity. The narrow lanes and 
 passes leading to the Wailing Place are very difficult to pass through, 
 being rugged, crooked and filthy. 
 
 The moment the Jewish quarter is entered a sickening odor, that 
 fills the air, is prominent ; but the stranger will not regret the un- 
 pleasantness of the trip when the occasion of his visit is witnessed. 
 The Jews of both sexes assemble along the stupendous walls of the 
 time-stricken building each Friday afternoon, and weep aloud from 
 three o'clock until five. 
 
 These poor, dejected people, of all ages and conditions, from all 
 quarters of the world, are seen here every week, participating in the 
 most peculiar service, which, although strange and amusing to many, 
 is one of the most important character in the estimation of the Jews, 
 from the beginning to the end, and they are from all outward appear- 
 ances as earnest and sincere as if their last moments on earth had come. 
 
 These poor, unfortunate people, whose misleading faith has launched 
 them into a deep gulf of adversity, gather at their place of weekly 
 lamentations from Russia, Germany, Poland, Roumania, Spain, India, 
 Egypt, Africa, and other countries, wherever they are dispersed, to 
 mingle their pensive petitions with those who dwell in Jerusalem, for 
 the return of the blessings of the Almighty upon the people of their 
 
IjJ 
 
 o 
 < 
 
 6 
 
 m 
 
 •-3 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 73 
 
 race in Palestine. Some of them are seen bending under the weight 
 of four-score years, some in the meridian of life, others in the morning 
 of youth, all of whom have their faces turned towards the wall, pre- 
 senting a deeply touching scene ; their agonizing gestures and pene- 
 trating cries are almost bewildering. This method of expressing their 
 grief because their sanctuary has become dishonored and desolate, in 
 connection with their own destitute and humiliating condition, has 
 been continued for many centuries, and doubtless will be perpetuated 
 until they make a full and complete surrender of their cherished reli- 
 gion, and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, which, to my mind, is only 
 a comparatively short time. 
 
 For already hundreds cf them have espoused the Christian faith and 
 devoutly worship Christ on the hill of Zion, under the auspices of the 
 Church of England. This practiced weeping was no doubt introduced 
 during the Babylonian captivity, when the devout Jews remembering 
 the devastated condition of Jerusalem, their temple and altars, 
 mourned and hung their harps upon the willows on the river bank. 
 
 But the precedent became more prominent, about the year 362 of 
 our era, when the Jews were not permitted to enter the Holy City but 
 once a year, then special permission was given them to pass through 
 the gates to weep over the ruins of the Temple. In after years, when those 
 ostracised people were granted permission to return and dwell in their 
 ancient city, they went every week to their present place of wailing to 
 demonstrate their griefs, and continued to do so on each Friday. The 
 burden of their lamentations is based upon Psalm Ixxix., which they 
 read or repeat during their service. 
 
 It has been the opinion of some visitors who have witnessed these 
 strange gatherings, that the Jews conduct them specially to entertain 
 strangers and enlist their sympathy, and, aside from that, the whole 
 proceeding is a meaningless custom ; but this is far from being cor- 
 rect : these meetings are of the most sincere character and the Jews 
 expect as fully to obtain their desire, as the most fervent Christian, 
 who earnestly prays for something of special interest to the world. 
 
 I had a favorable opportunity to witness this mouNiful service 
 which so solemnly impressed me ; it will not soon be forgotten ; we saw 
 old men and old women bending under the hand of time, young men 
 and maidens just entering their majority, little boys and girls w^ho are 
 to be the future guides of their race, all bending in solemn devo- 
 tion, the magnitude of which could not be fully expressed even by the 
 flow of tears prominently falling from their cheeks.* 
 * Psalm cxxxvii. 1 : 2. 
 
74 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 The summit of Calvary on which the Lord Jesus died for their 
 redemption is only a few minutes' walk from the walls where Jewish 
 wailing is heard, yet these weeping ones have no faith in the story of 
 the cross and they despise the Saviour of men to this day, even as did 
 their fathers who slew Him. I felt like saying to them while behold- 
 ing their devotions. Turn and look to Calvary and accept the Christ 
 whom your forefathers crucified and all these blessings you seek will 
 be given you for His name's sake. The Jews have worn some of the 
 rough stones composing the Haram wall quite smooth with their heads 
 wliich have pressed them for so many centuries. 
 
 The stones of which the wall is built are white marble, composed 
 of very large blocks, some being fifteen feet long and three feet thick ; 
 as the wall became higher, in building, smaller stones were used for 
 it, yet all of them may be regarded as unusually lai-ge ; Jerome speaVs 
 of this place as the site of the Jews' Wailing Place, in the time w'hen 
 Jerusalem was in the custody of Rome. 
 
 He says such was the deep anxiety of the dispersed and sorrowing 
 Jews, to be allowed to go to the walls and weep, they would pay the 
 Roman soldiers for permission to do so. It is prayerfully hoped, as the 
 rapidly increasing Mission Church on Mt Zion grows in numbers, its 
 influence, in connection with others near the city, will be efiectually 
 illuminating, and instead of a promiscuous gathering of aimless people 
 seen each Friday at the Haram, they will be found in the house of the 
 Lord, bowing before their Redeemer. 
 
 THE HARAM AREA. 
 
 The Mosque of Omar occupies a portion of the venerable site on 
 which was erected the great Temple and its connecting buildings ; this 
 large tract, shut in by walls, is one of the most revered and sacred 
 places in Jerusalem ; the sacred enclosure covers about thirty-five 
 acres of space, and is known as " El Haram-ash-Sherif," or " The 
 noble Sanctuary ; " it is closed in by high massive walls in which are 
 set eleven gates, three of these are on the north, and eight on the west 
 side ; there are three other gateways, which are supposed to occupy the 
 sites of ancient gates ; those on the south are called double and triple 
 gates respectively, and that on the east, is the renowned Golden Gate. 
 
 These ancient gateways are carefully walled, so that no one can 
 pass through them ; the Haram is in the possession of the Moslems, 
 who keep a close watch over it day and night. For a long time 
 Christians were not permitted, under any circumstances, to pass the 
 portals of its sacred enclosure, and if one would dare venture beyond 
 
ANCIENT AND MODEKN JERUSALEM. 75 
 
 the prescribed bounds the chances of his returning were as slender as 
 a spider's web, for the alert Mohammedans would slay him without 
 mercy. 
 
 But it is pleasing to state the barriers have been removed, and all 
 visitors to Jerusalem are allowed to enter by paying a high fee, but 
 even now it is not safe to attempt a visit there without having a guard. 
 The functionary is called Kamass ; he is sent, on application, by the 
 consul of the country to which the applicant belongs. 
 
 Besides paying an admission fee of two dollars and fifty cents, each 
 person is expected to give fifty cents extra as Bakshish to the Moslem 
 Sheikhs, who superintend the various buildings within the enclosure. 
 Although there are eleven gates opened into the area of the Haram, 
 visitors generally pass in the entrance gate at the end of the street of 
 the cotton merchants ; it may be of interest to state that in all the 
 cities of Palestine the streets are named according to the character 
 of the business conducted in them, such as the street of the "tanners," 
 or of che shoemakers, or of the sheep market, cotton merchants and 
 the like. 
 
 There are streets having four or five different names, and are divided 
 into business sections On the morning of our visit to this most mem- 
 orable place there was a party of twelve of us, besides six or seven 
 guides and as many consular guards. 
 
 Our chief guide was a converted Jew, who was one of the oflicial 
 ministers of the mission church, located on the slope of Mt. Zion, 
 under the auspices of the established Church of England ; he was an 
 efficient guide, having had an opportunity to thoroughly explore Jeru- 
 salem and the country round about as far as possible. 
 
 He has acquired a voluminous amount of historical information 
 concerning some of the most eventful places in and al)out Jerusalem. 
 A moment after we passed the entrance gate he caused us to halt ; he 
 then pointed to a curious looking stone, which was in use when our 
 Lord frequented the temple, and is supposed to have composed a part 
 of the pavement leading to it. 
 
 MOSQUE OF OMAR. 
 
 Then said the guide, "This stone is in all probability one that com- 
 posed the portion of the walk when our Lord repeated His visits to 
 the Temple, and no doubt his feet often rested upon it when passing in 
 and out of this enclosure." The words of our guide filled us with 
 hopeful amazement, and when I placed ray foot upon it, and remem- 
 bered it was probably resting on the very spot upon which the feet of 
 
76 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 our Lord stood, a feeling of joy came over me which is impossible to 
 describe. 
 
 Although nearly every foot of ground within the enclosure and 
 almost every noticeable stone has been under continuous controversy, 
 yet there is no doubt as to the existence of this rocky surface during 
 the time of our Lord, and as it is close to one of the entrance gates it 
 is highly probable the Lord Jesus often passed in and out over it. 
 
 Therefore there is no tangible reason to the contrary that the holy 
 feet of Jesus many times rested upon it ; there are many important 
 traditional sites within the Haram inclosure, concerning many of 
 which we cannot speak owing to small space, and can only give a 
 passing notice of some of the most important places. 
 
 The castle of Antonia, built by Herod, on the site of a Macedonian 
 fort, as an outpost and defence of the Temple Court, was in what was 
 known as the " second circuit, or within the second wall inclosing the 
 lower city ; " it was here that St. Paul addressed the people so touch- 
 ingly after having been delivered from an angry mob, who sought his 
 life. (See Acts xxi : 34-40.) 
 
 Within the Haram enclosure is one of the most historic places in 
 the world ; it is the memorable Mt. Moriah, the site on which Oman 
 had his threshing floor ; here, it is currently believed, Abraham 
 brought his beloved Isaac to offer him up to the Lord ; here King 
 David came in haste, being divinely directed to intercede for his 
 plagued-stricken people ; and upon its lofty brow stood the beautiful 
 Temple, which King Solomon solemnly dedicated to the services of 
 the Lord, to which multitudes of enthusiastic worshipers came to pour 
 forth their devotions to the Most High. Moriah is now covered with 
 the Mosque of Omar, which is looked upon as the most beautiful and 
 interesting building in Jerusalem ; this building stands in the middle 
 of the platform, which has been skillfully elevated. It is octagonal in 
 construction, having a measurement of sixty-seven feet on each side, 
 rising forty-six feet from the ground, and supporting a circular wall, 
 which is twenty-five feet higher ; upon this the beautiful dome is 
 erected, which rises forty feet higher, making the building from the 
 surface to the highest point of the dome one hundred and ten feet. 
 
 There are inscriptions of beautiful designs in pure Mosaic in sev- 
 eral places on the walls, which must have been very handsome in 
 earlier times ; they are fast falling, and in a short time there will not 
 be one of these jirecious gems left to tell of the former glory of the 
 inner walls of the Mosque. 
 
 It would be difficult for any one possessed with reason to stand in 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 77 
 
 front of the wonderful and magnificent liuilding and view its many 
 colored marbles as they glisten in the sunlight, as did the stones of the 
 great Temple which once adorned this summit, without being touched 
 with the peculiar emotions that filled the hearts of the multitude on 
 their approach to the Temple, when the tribes came up to pay their 
 vow to the Lord God of Israel. About this cragged summit clustered 
 the religious, poetical and political life of the people favored by the 
 Lord. The aggravating controversies, which have caused much 
 uneasiness and perplexity among many leading explorers of Palestine, 
 do not linger around the brow of Moriah, as its identity is conceded 
 by most of the leading writers. Although there are many opinions 
 current as to the true sites of various places, concerning which the 
 Bible gives account, in and about Jerusalem, but few will attempt to 
 dispute that the Mosque of Omar stands upon the summit of Mt. 
 Moriah. The Jewish, Christian and Moslem traditions accord in the 
 statement that the Mosque of Omar occupies one of the most sacred 
 places in the Holy City. Those who are favored with an opportunity 
 of entering its adored precincts are commanded to take off their shoes 
 at the entrance door, or put a pair of slippers over them, for the Mos- 
 lems will not allow any one, under any circumstances, to enter with- 
 out first covering their shoes with soft-sole slippers, and this must be 
 observed by all who gain admission, whether potentate or peasant. 
 On first entering, the interior is very gloomy, and so dark at times that 
 one must wait a few moments until the pupil of the eye expands suffi- 
 ciently to take in enough of the dim light penetrating the crevices to 
 overcome the darkness of the chamber. 
 
 THE SACRED ROCK. 
 
 Then the beauties of the large room begin to appear more and 
 more until the beholder is almost amazed in wonder and filled with 
 admiration ; the gorgeous coloring of the beautifully painted woodwork, 
 the fine marble, the costly mosaics, the great dome over head hand- 
 somely decorated with choice inscriptions finely gilded. All this 
 splendor gleams out through the darkness, presenting a panorama of 
 rich and rare taste; there are many other important objects worthy 
 of admiration to be seen in the building, but all of them combined fail 
 before the Sacred Rock in the centre of the building just under the 
 dome, carefully protected by a wooden railing, and constantly w^atched 
 by the officials of the Mosque. 
 
 The rock is exposed to every one's view who enters the chamber ; its 
 surface is smooth and bare, and is estimated to measure about sixty 
 
78 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 feet in length and forty-five feet in width ; Captain Wilson says, " It 
 stands about four feet, nine inches and a-lialf above the marble pave- 
 ment at its highest point, and one foot at its lowest." 
 
 The surface of tlie rock bears prominent marks of bad treatment 
 and rough chiselling ; there are many stories of Moslem invention 
 told visitors by the guides, simply for the story's sake, but the Moham- 
 medans would have them believed, no matter how enormous they may 
 seem. 
 
 The Moslems cannot, it seems, see anything but certainty in every 
 legend transmitted to them from their ancestors ; they seem to believe 
 in them as confidently as they do in their Koran, and will brand 
 every one as a stupid infidel who differs with them in religious per- 
 suasion. 
 
 MOHAMMED AND GABRIEL. 
 
 There are many wild and groundless legends the fathers of Mos- 
 lemism have connected with the several places in and about the 
 Mosque of Omar, that interfere very much at times with the sacred 
 impressions made on the minds of pious visitors ; for example, at one 
 corner of the rock may be seen an indentation resembling a foot print. 
 Moslems try to impress strangers that it is tlie impression of Mohammed's 
 foot ; close to it is a poorly cut hand print ; this is said to be the mark 
 of the hand of the Angel Gabriel ; the current Moslem tradition is, 
 that when Mohammed started from this world to heaven, he was stand- 
 ing on this rock, and such was the holy impression he made upon the 
 rock, it lifted itself to go up with him, but Gabriel, being present, 
 placed his hand upon the rock to hold it down, which, when lifted, left 
 its ])rint there ; and likewise Mohammed's foot left its impression where 
 he stood. 
 
 These marks they say have remained there until the present, and 
 this is one of the wild statements Moslems have to relate to strangers. 
 
 THE CAVE BELOW THE MOSQUE. 
 
 Beneath the rock there is a cave, which is entered by descending a 
 flight of eleven steps ; the Mohammedans say this was the place fre- 
 quented by Abraham, David, Solomon and Jesus, when they Avished to 
 pray privately, and the four niches there are respectively shown where 
 each one used to pray. 
 
 There is also a small marble slab in the centre of the floor covering 
 a deep cavity, in which there is an incessant rumbling sound that can 
 be heard distinctly by applying the ear to the slab ; the cause of this 
 
ANCIENT AND MODEEN JERUSALEM. . 79 
 
 noise is not satisfactorily known, altliougli several stories have been 
 told concerning it. The opinion of Devogue Pieratte and Warren is; 
 that the opening is connected with cisterns and sewers through which 
 the blood and refuse ran from the Altars of Sacrifice, and passed into 
 the valley below ; this seems to be the most plausible definition of the 
 existence of the murmuring sound in the deep cavity under the rock, 
 which could easily be produced by the water passing through from 
 one basin to another as it runs in by a subterranean channel from one 
 of the pools about the city. 
 
 By tapping the sides of the cave a hollow sound is produced ; on 
 this account the Moslems insist that it is conclusive evidence the 
 cave is suspended ; but the deep hollow sound that is heard is said to 
 be caused from defects in the plastering. 
 
 The Mohammedans think the more causalities they can show the 
 better the visitor is pleased ; there are other sacred spots about the 
 Mosque to which are attached many legends ; this Mosque is the most 
 distinguished of all others under the jurisdiction of Mohammedans in 
 any part of the world. 
 
 CALIPH OMAR. 
 
 The great Mosque at Damascus, St. Sophia's at Constantinople, nor 
 the ones of proud boast in Delhi, India, can compete with the Mosque 
 of Omar, neither in grandeur nor historic attachments ; it stands on 
 the memorable and time-honored site upon which stood the Temple 
 which was built during the reign of King Solomon, and rebuilt by 
 Zerubbabel and Herod ; this sacred summit has been reverenced by 
 representatives of almost all nations who have visited Jerusalem. 
 Those who entered within her portals in triumph and those who 
 passed through in a state of humility, have alike been impressed while 
 beholding Moriah the Mount of God's Temple. 
 
 It is said when Caliph Omar captured the city he asked to be 
 conducted to the place where the Jewish Temple stood ; he was taken 
 to the place, which at that time was a huge mound of rubbish, that 
 had been lying there from the time the sacred building was destroyed 
 by the army of Titus; Omar caused the ruins, or much of them, to 
 be cleared, and then built the Mosque upon the same site which bears 
 his name. 
 
 But as there is so much of the so-called history of Palestine drawn 
 from legends or false traditions, it is not safe to accept everything we 
 read as genuine ; only those works which have been given to the world 
 after proper investigation has been made are worthy of acceptance. 
 
80 , THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 THK MOSQUE OF EL-AKSA. 
 
 The building of special attraction and importance in the Haram 
 enclosure is the Mosque El-Aksa, or the " Distant Mosque;" it is 
 given this name because of its position with reference to Mecca; there 
 are many opinions as to the origin of this building, and the matter 
 may never be entirely settled, but the most prominent opinion is, it 
 was built by the Emperor Justinian in the middle of the sixth century, 
 in honor of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 Our party stopped a few minutes in front of the grand portico, 
 which is divided into seven apartments, covering the whole length of 
 the building ; the great nave extends through the centre, and is a 
 beautiful sight to behold ; it is separated by massive columns on either 
 side and neatly painted arches. Each of these pillars bears the name 
 of one of the prophets, or a caliph, to whom it is especially dedicated. 
 
 The nave has three alleys on each side, one of which is walled up 
 and set off from the body of the other portion ; this is known as the 
 women's apartment ; it obstructs a view of the entire sweep of the 
 interior without passing from one side to the other. As it is, a fine 
 view can be had of the greater part of it. 
 
 When the crusadera captured Jerusalem this Mosque was used as a 
 Christian church. Baldwin II. occupied a part of it for a new mili- 
 tary order, who from their connection with the Temple site took the 
 name of Knights Templar ; they built a wall in front of the great 
 El-Aksa, which they used as a granary. 
 
 TEMPLE COUETS AND FOUNDATION. 
 
 The great Temple of Solomon, according to Josephus, stood upon 
 a rocky eminence in the eastern section of the city, on which at first 
 there was scarcely to be found a level space sufficient to bear an altar, 
 the sides being steep and precipitous. King Solomon first caused a 
 wall to be built around the summit, and one also on the east, filled in 
 on the inside with earth, on which he built a covei'ed colonnade, and 
 left the Temple exposed on three sides. But in process of time the 
 whole of the enclosure was built up and filled in to the level of the 
 hill, which in this way was enlarged ; a three-fold wall was built up 
 from the bottom, and thus the upper enclosure and the lower part of 
 the Temple were constructed ; it was a wonderful undertaking, even to 
 prepare the foundations of the Temple ; there was a vast amount of 
 filling up to do before the workmen could begin the foundation proper, 
 therefore it is worthy of remark that the foundations for the Temple 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 81 
 
 were built upon another foundation laid expressly for it, the whole 
 depth of which has never been discovered, because they filled in the 
 valleys, wishing to level the abrupt places in the city. 
 
 In proceeding with the work it was necessary to secure it against 
 future calamities that might arise from depressions or weakness of the 
 understructure, therefore they used massive stone, some of them being 
 forty cubits long and bound together with lead and iron into a com- 
 pact mass, so that the whole construction appeared almost as a huge 
 block formed by nature. 
 
 TEMPLE COURT. 
 
 The whole structure when completed was enclosed into a square, 
 measuring six hundred feet on each side, or twenty-four hundred feet 
 in circumference ; the interior of the enclosure was surrounded by 
 covered colonnades along the walls ; the portions which were uncov- 
 ered were paved with beautiful variegated stones. 
 
 It became in after days a great place of resort for the people in 
 Jerusalem ; also for strangers, and finally it was noted as a public 
 trading-place, especially on the approach of and during the annual 
 festivals. It was commonly known as the Court of the Gentiles. 
 
 Near the middle of the Court was an ornamental balustrade, com- 
 posed of large stones, six or eight feet high ; this formed a boundary 
 of a smaller enclosure, through which foreigners and the unclean were 
 not permitted to pass ; within this was another wall forty cubits high 
 from its foundation, which surrounded the inner Court, and was sur- 
 rounded on the outside by fourteen stone steps, which led up to an 
 open space about twenty-five feet wide, from five other steps which led 
 up to the interior. There were several gates through which this Court 
 could be entered, the pi'incipal of which was on the east ; there were 
 no gates on the west, strange to say, but originally there were three on 
 the north, and three on the south ; the latter three were added to these 
 three others for women, one on the east, north and south, respectively. 
 There was still another enclosure, which was regarded the most sacred 
 of all ; this was within the second Court, into which none but the 
 priests were allowed to enter ; here within this sacred enclosure stood 
 the great Temple. 
 
 THE TEMPLE. 
 
 The Temple was built during the reign of King Solomon, but 
 
 preparations were made for it long before he was installed king of the 
 
 Hebrew nation. The whole plan had been given to David in detail 
 
 by God Himself, and the warlike .king made great preparations for the 
 
 6 
 
82 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 building ; but lie was not permitted to build tbe sacred sanctuary 
 because he was a man of blood, and was engaged in directing wars 
 from the beginning to the close of his administration. 
 
 The duty of building rested on Solomon because there was uni- 
 versal peace when he took hold of the sceptre, the hostile enemies 
 having been subdued by the victorious arm of David. This stupen- 
 dous structure was the first house built and dedicated to God. Pre- 
 vious to this the people had for their sanctuar}' the ancient Tabernacle, 
 which was a movable tent. 
 
 The Temple superseded it, and was made a permanent dwelling- 
 place of the Most High, having some of its interior arrangments after 
 the pattern of the Tabernacle, but had a greater capacity ; the apart- 
 ments were double in size to those of the movable tent, but with this 
 additional enlargement it was very much smaller than many of our 
 church auditoriums of the present day. 
 
 If we consider this structure by our standard of measurement, this 
 fact will be readily ascertained. The whole length of the building was 
 only ninety feet, with a breadth of thirty feet ; it is therefore seen that 
 in point of size it would be classed with our smaller church buildings 
 of this age. The great chamber was divided into two parts, known as 
 the Hohj and the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. It had a 
 spacious porch in front, bordered by two pillars which had no little 
 distinction ; these were Jochin and Boaz. There were also two 
 chambers at the sides which w^ere exclusively for the use of the 
 officiating priests. 
 
 The small size of the Temple will not be considered as inadequate 
 to accommodate the great throng of worshipers who went up to Jeru- 
 salem for that express purpose, when we consider the fact that it was 
 not intended to hold a congregation for worship as our church edifices. 
 
 But one of the apartments (the Most Holy) was exclusively for the 
 High Priest to enter to attend to his official duties, and he was only to 
 enter once a year, officially. Its furnishings consisted of the old chest 
 that contained the two tables of stone on which the Lord God wrote 
 the law, which had been given to ]\Ioses while he stood upon the 
 quaking summit of Sinai. It also "contained the two colossal- winged 
 Cherubim," which were placed over them with wings so expanded 
 as to touch the wall on each side of them. 
 
 In the Holy Place were the tables on which was placed the Shew 
 Bread, the Altar of Burnt Offerings, and some of the furniture used 
 on great ceremonial occasions. The Temple, though small, was the 
 richest building in the world ; its fiporing and sides were lined with 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 83 
 
 pure gold, which made it so brilliant that persons standing afar off 
 were charmed with its beauty, and the fame of its splendor reached 
 far beyond the confines of the dominion of Constance to the Southern 
 Queen. 
 
 OLD FOUNDATIONS. 
 
 There are only a few scattered remnants of the foundations of the 
 temples of holy worship, that crowned the brow of Moriah ; several of 
 those massive stone blocks that compose a part of the foundation of the 
 pavement are of the Mosque of Omar, and many others are deeply 
 buried in the earth, from sixty to a hundred feet, which have not as 
 yet been excavated, that formed a part of the lower structures of the 
 ancient temple. 
 
 Explorers are clearing away the ruins as fast as they have oppor- 
 tunities, and it is anticipated that they will in some future period have 
 the privilege of carrying on their investigations without legal restraint. 
 It is the general opinion of those who have been engaged in the vari- 
 ous investigations of the material they have excavated from the deep 
 beds of debris, that much of it belongs to the age of Solomon. 
 
 ANCIENT QUARRIES. 
 
 Some of the blocks measure twenty-nine feet long and are broad in 
 proportion ; the quarries from which these huge blocks were cut, are 
 partly under the city and are known as Solomon's quarries ; the 
 entrance to them is through a small doorway, hewn through the rock 
 beneath the north wall of the city on the outside, about one hundred 
 yards east of the Damascus gate. 
 
 It connects with a long, steep incline passage, that leads to a number 
 of broader aisles, opening into many great caverns, which are con- 
 nected by wide hallways in all directions ; there are several of these 
 caverns, which have not yet been explored and may not be for a num- 
 ber of years. As far as the investigations of the quarries have pro- 
 ceeded, satisfactory developments have led the investigators to the con- 
 clusion, they must have been the ancient quarries from which much of 
 the material was gotton for the first temple. It is without doubt a 
 marvelous place, and bears prominent marks of those instruments used 
 for hewing stone in antique times. There are many niches to be seen 
 in these rocky chambers, out of which large blocks were cut, which 
 correspond exactly with the stones now seen in the walls of the Haram 
 and other places about its enclosure ; it is thought if they were taken 
 over to the quarries, some of them would fit in the niches as compactly 
 
84 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 as if they had only been removed from there a comparatively short 
 while. 
 
 These ancient quarries have become so noted they are generally 
 visited by tourists to Jerusalem, and the greedy Turks who are always 
 seeking to take advantage of sight-seers, keep the entrance door locked 
 and compel every one who is admitted to pay a fee of at least fifty 
 cents ; great caution must be observed by all who enter the quarries, 
 on account of the accidents to which they are liable ; many have 
 occurred, and some proved fatal. 
 
 In every case a guide is indispensable, and he must be a man thor- 
 oughly familiar with the complicated avenues which run in every 
 direction, or he will be incompetent for the task ; the whole place is as 
 dark as midnight (when thick clouds cover the heavens) and very 
 rough to walk through ; sometimes a step to the right or left, when 
 passing into some of the caverns, would precipitate one into a deep 
 dell from which he could not extricate himself. 
 
 It was a source of great dread to me, the day we visited those deep 
 underground chambers, fearing some calamity might be awaiting us 
 there But, having a careful and experienced guide, we were prop- 
 erly cared for and gratifyingly informed ; we provided ourselves with 
 candles and matches (without which the visit would be useless), and 
 started to view some of the under-ground wonders of Jerusalem ; there 
 may be seen man}'^ places where pillars and blocks have been nearly 
 cut out and abandoned before completed ; it is generally believed, that 
 the master inspector found a flaw in them and ordered the workmen 
 to leave them. Another opinion is that there was no more material 
 found such as that they were preparing or as was needed, hence they 
 left their work in a half-finished condition ; there are columns still 
 lying about the quarries, seemingly without a flaw, except a little time- 
 worn ; others are broken. 
 
 It came to my mind, there must have been a great noise down in 
 those dai'k caverns, while the hundreds of men were busilj'^ at work 
 preparing the stones for the great temple, the dwelling-place of the 
 Almighty ; hammer, chisel and the heavy sledge must have made the 
 whole place a scene of life and bustle. 
 
 But the tumult, however loud during those busy days, could not be 
 compared with the mournful noise which took place here, when our 
 Lord expired on the cross, and every rock throughout this ancient 
 quarry sent forth an expression of sympathy, when they were every- 
 where broken. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 85 
 
 JERUSALEM. 
 
 The best authors who have written on the history of ancient Jeru- 
 salem are inclined to the opinion, its name is the compound of two 
 words, which taken separately composed the names of the two towns, 
 which were afterwards blended into one ; these were Jebus and Salem, 
 the former was situated on Mt. Zion, and was the stronghold of the 
 Jebusites, who were a people noted for their ability in warfare and 
 belonged to the Hametic race. 
 
 The latter was situated in the lower land, between Zion and Moriah, 
 also inhabited by the Jebusites. Here Melchisedek, a priest of the " Most 
 High God lived," in the days " when Abraham returned from the 
 slaughter ; " others are of the opinion the territory of the Holy City 
 was formerly called Jebus, and afterwards called Jerusalem or " Salem 
 of Jebus." This name is said to have been given the city after the 
 Israelites had settled in the eastern portion of it. 
 
 JERUSALEM AND JEBUS CAPTURED. 
 
 This portion of the land was allotted to Benjamin ; yet that tribe 
 did not fully possess it for five hundred years after it w^as given them. 
 The Jebusites held it with unyielding grasp ; and it was not until King 
 David's time that they yielded to Israel. The mighty monarch of the 
 new nation was determined to take possession of the hill Jebus, or Mt. 
 Zion, as it has been known, since the conquest, and sent an army of two 
 hundred thousand against them. 
 
 The Jebusites, jilacing unbounded confidence in themselves, felt 
 absolutely secure against any attack the Israelites might make ; 
 they offered no resistance, but simply laughed at them, and to show 
 how little and insignificant the Army of David was in their estimation, 
 the Jebusites sent their halt and blind to defend them, and then made 
 light of Israel because of their ineflfectual attempt to stoim what they 
 supposed to be their impregnable stronghold. 
 
 But the persistent Joab felt confident of success and continued the 
 struggle with renewed determination, rallying and encouraging his 
 undaunted army constantly, until at length the ramparts of the Jebu- 
 sites were scaled and Jebus was in David's possession, who immediately 
 fortified it and built his palace there ; henceforth the name of the place 
 was changed to the City of David, and was made the chief city of the 
 Hebrew nation until the revolt of the ten tribes. 
 
 There seems to have been a sudden flood of glory poured upon 
 Jerusalem after it was made the permanent resting-place of the Ark 
 
86 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 of God, so that it became the pride of the nation and federal seat of 
 divine worship ; the king who had his seat of government at Hebron 
 caused it to be transferred to his own city and lived there himself for 
 thirty-three years in almost perpetual uninterrupted prosperity, not- 
 withstanding the wars he was engaged in. 
 
 During the reign of Solomon, David's son and successor, Jerusalem 
 reached its zenith in splendor and glory ; his father, not being permitted 
 to build the Temple, left an immense treasure of gold, silver and other 
 valubles to assist in the erection of the house of the Lord ; there was 
 no barrier in the way of Solomon that would interfere with him in 
 proceeding with the work, as the people who had so greatly troubled 
 Israel and were constantly warring against this new nation, had all 
 been subdued ; so that Solomon entered upon the duties of his office in 
 the time of peace, having the most powerful nations in alliance with 
 him, and his wife was a member of the royalty of Egypt. 
 
 The King of Tyre, who had subjects skilled in the work of fine 
 arts, was in close friendship with him and rendered great assistance to 
 the Hebrew nation, by building vessels for naval and commercial pur- 
 poses. But above all God blessed him with wisdom superior to all 
 others in his day and qualified him for the duties of his responsible 
 office ; for wisdom and peace properly observed will bring success to 
 any one. 
 
 Many bitter ages have passed into eternity since the glory of 
 Solomon first adorned Jerusalem ; the plowshare of devastation has 
 robbed it of its primitive physical splendor, yet there are still to be 
 seen a few scattered remnants of antiquity, which indicate her past 
 glory to those anxious travelers of to-day who are so often found 
 amongst these ancient ruins, seeking some new revelation of the Jerusa- 
 lem in the time of David, Solomon and others 
 
 Although the glory of Jerusalem has long since departed and noth- 
 ing remains of the splendor with which she was first adorned but a few 
 faint emblems worn by time and defaced by the heavy sieges of warfare 
 she has encountered, yet thousands of the most intellectual and pro- 
 gressive people of our world visit the Holy City to behold the faded 
 glories of Israel's most illustrious king as it dimly shines from the 
 granite pillars and blocks of stone in the dark halls and in the subter- 
 ranean chambers, where not a single ray of sunlight has ever entered, 
 and among the tombs or anywhere that an indication points to 
 antiquity ; can it be astonishing then, that if men of to-day travel so far 
 to see but the shadow of the sjilendor of Jerusalem, that the Queen 
 of the South should come from her distant home, to see the glory of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 87 
 
 Solomon and the splendors of the Temple, when it it was fresh and 
 dazzling ? 
 
 Then the whole city was aglow with its unclouded grandeur, the 
 glory of the illuminated Moriah, and all the other buildings within 
 and without the Temple enclosure ; Mt. Zion was crowned with the 
 stately palace of the king, whose style and beauty could not be ex- 
 celled ; then the great bridge that united Zion and Moriah added 
 greatly to ithe glory and grandeur of the city. 
 
 These and many other additional embellishments made Jerusalem 
 the most beautiful and inviting city in the world. But after the death 
 of Solomon the glory of the Holy City began to decline rapidly ; and 
 although it had been the chief seat of law and religious devotion of the 
 Hebrew nation for seventy-five years, it was compelled to yield to the 
 dominant sway of secession, and divide her political and religious 
 strength with the northern kingdom. 
 
 Ten of the twelve tribes had revolted against Rehoboam and 
 elected and installed Jeroboam to the Monarchy of Israel, who stimu- 
 lated the worship of idols throughout the kingdom; there seems to 
 have been no permanent rest for Jerusalem after her decline began 
 from the attacks of hostile foes ; it fell into the hands of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar three times, whose relentless hand seemed not to tire in adminis- 
 tering heavy strokes of intense hatred upon its people, whom he deeply 
 humiliated. It was also captured by the Chaldeans, who took King 
 Zedekiah into custody, slew his two sons in his presence, then led him 
 into captivity to Babylon, and there put out both his eyes and left him 
 blind and defenceless ; not long afterwards the Holy City, the place so 
 proudly beloved, was sacked and emptied of its immense treasures ; its 
 walls were razed to the ground and the inhabitants carried away into 
 captivity, in which state they continued seventy years. 
 
 It was written, " God brought upon them the King of the Chal- 
 deans, who slew their young with the sword in the house of their 
 sanctuary, and had no compassion on their young men nor maidens, 
 old men, or him that stood for ages. He gave them unto his hand, 
 and all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the 
 treasures of the kingdom, and his princes, all these he brought to 
 Babylon. And they burned the house of God, and broke down the 
 w^alls of Jerusalem, and burned the palaces thereof and destroyed all 
 the goodly vessels thereof, and those who escaped the sword carried he 
 away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons until 
 the reign of the King of Persia." 
 
 The INIost High bore long and patiently with the rebellious Israel- 
 
88 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 ites, whose ingratitude became more prominent as they increased in 
 prosperity, until they had thrown off almost all their obligations to 
 Him, and even worshiped gods after the order of the heathen round 
 about them ; therefore, when they would no longer be admonished by 
 prosperity nor adversity to honor and serve God, He allowed one 
 scourge after another in hasty succession to afflict and distress them ; 
 but this chastisement seemed not to be competent to cause them to 
 return to the God of their fathers and fully renounce the gods of the 
 heathen. In several instances they had kings to reign over them who 
 were filled with pride and selfishness, and had no fondness for the 
 observance of the true worshi}), and continually led the people into 
 deeper transgressions. For three hundred years these wicked kings 
 ruled the people, except a few, such as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, 
 Hezekiah and Josiah, under whom the city had a state of prosperity, 
 and the worship at the Temple was duly celebrated. 
 
 It is evident that the Hebrews laid the foundation of their own 
 destruction. In the first place, the nation gave itself a deadly blow 
 when the revolt of the ten tribes took place. " A house divided against 
 itself cannot stand." While the two kingdoms were contending against 
 each other, the enemy made it opportune to come up with triumphant 
 success against them. 
 
 Then there was not only a decline of material prosperity with the 
 people, but their liberty was checked, and they found themselves under 
 a sceptre of a foreign sovereignty ; thus the brilliant history of the 
 people of Israel, that had attracted all nations, suddenly changed and 
 became a story of horror and shame. It seems that for a time every 
 nation's arm was outstretched against them : the Egyptians, the 
 Assyrians, the Chaldeans, the Persians, the Romans, the Ethiopians, 
 the Syrians, the Philistines, the Arabians and Turks. 
 
 The religious sects known as Mohammedans, who are composed of 
 several different people, all in their turn at various periods have set 
 themselves in hostility against that once highly-favored, prosperous 
 people, all of whom have done something to assist in making the situ- 
 ation of the Hebrews more oj^pressive. As to the Holy City, it was 
 reduced to ruins, in which state it remained for seventy years. 
 
 But at length the period of the fulfillment of the Prophet Isaiah 
 came, Cyrus' permission to the Jews to return home, and also the priv- 
 ilege to rebuild their devastated city, its walls and temple, promising 
 to restore the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar carried 
 away when he captured the city, but this was not done until the reign 
 of Darius. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 89 
 
 It will be borne in mind Jerusalem remained under the Persian 
 Empire until the time of Alexander the Great, when this most dis- 
 tinguished warrior had conquered the Persian monarch, and brought 
 the government under his own jurisdiction ; he came up a;4ainst Phoe- 
 nicia, and all the countries round about that had not peaceably sub- 
 mitted to him ; feeling the need of more men, he sent to the High 
 Priest, who was also Governor of Jerusalem, for troops, and having 
 been refused he became very angry, and swore he w^ould visit Jeru- 
 salem with vengeance. 
 
 He proceeded with a large army to carry out his purpose, but a 
 marvelous event occurred which changed his intention. It is said, 
 Alexander had reached the heights overlooking the city, and as he 
 looked over the city he saw a glittering procession extending from the 
 mountain to the very gates of the city ; the people were clothed in 
 white garments, coming out to meet him, led by their High Priest, 
 himself clothed in his purple, and wearing on his bi'east a golden plate, 
 upon which was written the name of Jehovah. 
 
 They bowed to the conqueror, put their necks at his feet and prayed 
 for mercy ; the humility of the people struck Alexander with both awe 
 and compassion, so that he at once adored the name of Jehovah, saluted 
 the High Priest, and offered sacrifices in the Temple, and the people 
 were saved from the destructive calamity about to be administered 
 upon them. 
 
 ALEXANDER AND ANTIOCHUS. 
 
 But when Antiochus, King of Syria, plundered Jerusalem, he was 
 not so merciful as Alexander, but to satisfy his bloodthirsty appetite, 
 he caused thirty thousand men to be put to death, demolished their 
 walls, and abolished their religion. The hand of the Lord was promi- 
 nently seen defending the Hebrews and giving them wonderful success, 
 even for a long time after they had largely turned themselves from 
 Him. and placed their affections upon strange gods. 
 
 But when they had entirely forsaken Him, and would not be 
 admonished to return. He left them to be driven from home and dis- 
 persed throughout the whole world. 
 
 THE GREAT SLAUGHTER. 
 
 The monarchs who ruled the Hebrews after the death of Alexan- 
 der were the Ptolemies of Egypt ; these kings swayed the sceptre of 
 power over Jerusalem two hundred and fifty years ; they were kindly 
 disposed toward the people, and favored them in many ways, during 
 
90 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 which time they enjoyed a good degree of prosperity, but in the second 
 century before Christ, Autiochus Epijjhanes entered and captured 
 Jerusalem, who, after plundering it, defiled the Temple. 
 
 About two years later he sent his general, Apollonius, to complete 
 the barbarous work he had begun. The Israelites were a remarkably 
 superstitious jieople as to the observance of the Sabbath, and Avould 
 suffer the most cruel impositions rather than violate its sanctity. To 
 engage in a combat, even with their most inveterate foes, on that day, 
 was in their estimation an unpardonable sin ; Apollonius, having a 
 knowledge of this, took a most disgraceful advantage of their scruples, 
 and embraced the opportunity to administer wholesale destruction to 
 them ; he turned loose his army amongst the people on the Sabbath 
 day ; all the able-bodied men were put to death, and the poor defence- 
 less women and children were sold into slavery. Apollonius then 
 ordered a garrison to be placed on Mt. Zion, and would not allow 
 priest nor people, to enter the sacred domains of the Temple, so 
 that the sacrifice of oblation ceased, and the city, in which the 
 services of the Lord were chanted, became desolate ; and the Temple, 
 the sacred emblem of the presence of the God of Israel, was dedicated 
 to Jupiter Olympus ; and the altar, which had been devoted to those 
 sacrifices that the Lord commanded should be offered, was polluted 
 with idolatrous offerings. In the process of time, a priestly family 
 apj^eared, known as the Asmoneans : they rose up in their might to 
 expel these idolaters from their land, and vindicate the honor of their 
 God by doing all they could to re-establish His services. 
 
 This attempt introduced a terrible combat, which lasted twenty-six 
 years. Judas MaccabiBus and his brethren, carried on the war with 
 the Syrians until they had broken off the yoke which had galled the 
 people so long, and established their independence ; then a new and 
 joyful era dawned upon them. Israel being free once more from a dis- 
 tressing bondage, which had been a thorn in their flesh for many 
 years, again breathed the air of peace and liberty. 
 
 About the year thirty-four, before Christ, the last prince of the 
 Asmonean line was slain by the Roman General of Syria, and Herod 
 the Great was installed King of the Jews. He was born in Idumea, 
 and was by no means kindly disposed toward his subjects, but did 
 whatsoever he chose, without compunction ; such was his rigid rul- 
 ings, the poor Jews often smarted under his iron sceptre ; many times 
 their religious freedom was taken from them because of his fondness 
 for idolatrous worship ; notwithstanding all these things, Herod, it is 
 said, was not entirely wanting in a few pleasant characteristics which 
 
^■■■■■■1 v . ' '^"1 V *. ' / 
 
 W^m 
 
 ilHI 
 
 2^ ^ 
 
 m ^m 
 
 
 iffii 
 
 
 ui 
 
 fHHMHMf' 
 
 ^o 
 
 
 Pi Hr 
 
 ■K^^.^IH 
 
 H 91 
 
 Biiij 
 
 m^ 
 
 o 
 
 N 
 h 
 
 D 
 O 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 91 
 
 Avere commendable. He had a special regard for the prosperity of the 
 kingdom, and did much to advance it ; many large and prosperous 
 cities were built and beautified during his reign. The most important 
 work he did was rebuilding the Temple at Jerusalem ; it was begun in 
 the eighteenth year of his reign, and notwithstanding the principal 
 portion of it was completed in nine years, the whole building was not 
 completed until the end of the forty-sixth year, the beauty and gran- 
 deur of which were of the most lavish character. Now it is plain 
 to all, who have a knowledge of Jewish history, tljey had many sore 
 afflictions, mostly brought upon them by reason of their own mal con- 
 duct, and one disaster after another overshadowed them after they had 
 disregarded all the opportunities God gave them to adhere to his pre- 
 cepts. 
 
 But the end of their troubles had not been reached : a gushing 
 fountain of dire calamities was lurking in their path, which they 
 could not shun ; calamities, which the mountains and valleys round 
 about Jerusalem, could they speak, would unfold a scene that has never 
 been described by the pen of the most graphic writers our world has 
 produced. 
 
 And could the dead who have been sleeping so long in those ancient 
 sepulchres about the city, rise up from their silent homes and speak, 
 they would declare a history that our sensibilities could not endure. 
 Mt. Zion, which at times, has been the very centre of commotion, blood- 
 shed and slaughter, from whose summit the blood of thousands, ran in 
 streams into the valley below, would detail some of the most shocking 
 accounts of human sufferings known to the world. (John ii. 20 ; 
 Matt. XXV. 1, 2.) 
 
 ZION AGAIN THE CENTRE LIGHT. 
 
 But it is noteworthy to state, that upon the very mount which Avas 
 the scene of appalling calamities, is now the very centre of gospel 
 influence in Jerusalem. Zion has again lifted herself from the dust, 
 and put on her beautiful garments ; upon her brow stands a Christian 
 church, whose good work cannot be discounted by any who have availed 
 themselves of the opportunity of attending service there, especially on 
 the Sabbath, It is situated but a short distance from the traditional 
 Coenaculum, or the upper chamber in which our Lord took the pass- 
 over with his disciples, and where they had assembled on the day of 
 Pentecost, when suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon them, and gave 
 them courage to go forth "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of 
 heaven " and lifting up the people from sin to righteousuess. If it is 
 
92 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 really the true site of the Coenaculum, the identical spot on which 
 stood the house the disciples were in, when the Holy Spirit came upon 
 them, how significant that the same hill should be chosen for the 
 renewal of the work, begun near the same spot nearly two thousand 
 years ago ! 
 
 And how strikingly applicable are the words of the prophet, who 
 says : "Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beau- 
 tiful garments : O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall 
 no more come unto thee the uncircumcised and the unclean ; shake 
 thyself from the dust, arise, sit down, O Jerusalem, loose thyself from 
 the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion." 
 
 We earnestly trust the time is now at their door when the fulfill- 
 ment of this prophecy will be realized, and Jerusalem will be fully 
 redeemed. (Isa. liii. 2). 
 
 Then will be seen as never before, " how beautiful upon the moun- 
 tains are the feet of them that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth 
 peace, that saith unto Zion thy God reigneth." " Break forth into 
 joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord hath 
 comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem." 
 
 Zion seems to have been from the time it was taken by David until 
 now, the most distinguished and preferable portion of the Holy City. 
 Zion was chosen as the most fitting place for the king's palace ; 
 from it went forth the law ; on Zion was the site of the shrine of 
 the sanctuary, which had been for a long time in exile, and with 
 tumultuous shouts it was set up. Mt Zion became, henceforth, even 
 after the temple was built on INIt. Moriah, and the ark was trans- 
 ferred, the royal symbol of the kingdom of God in His church. Mt. 
 Zion seems to have been selected as the most appropriate place for 
 a residence of the High Priest ; on it tradition says the palace of 
 Caiaphas stood to which our Lord was taken on the morning of his 
 betrayal. On Zion, Kings David, Solomon, and others of the royal 
 line were laid to rest, and upon the rocky summit of Zion, the old 
 historic Tower of David, is still standing, the most important relic of 
 the once strongly fortified mountain. 
 
 Zion is the first of the city to be seen on approaching Jerusalem, 
 west or east, and the last to hide from view, when leaving it. It is the 
 first in height, importance and size. It occupies the southwestern 
 section of the city and extends much farther south than Moriah ; the 
 west and southwest rise up almost perpendicularly from the valley of 
 Hinnom to the astonishing height of from three to four hundred feet 
 above it, having a bold brow on the south ; while on the east, is a 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 93 
 
 gradual descent into the Tyropoean Valley toAvards the south ; on the 
 north side the descent is very much steeper until within a short dis- 
 tance of the Haram, where the incline is more gradual. 
 
 On the north Zion is bounded by David street It is stated, that 
 Mt. Zion was, before the many disasters that have so often dismantled, a 
 level tract, extending from the citadel of David to his tomb, embracing 
 about six hundred yards from the city wall, in length, and about two 
 hundred and fifty in width, from the city wall to the west side of the 
 Armenian Convent, and was the first part of Jerusalem on which 
 buildings were built. 
 
 Upon it, as has been stated, the Jebusites, whom the Israelites found 
 to be so hard to subdue, had their stronghold, from which the army of 
 David had much difficulty to rout them. The kings of Judah lived 
 on Mt. Zion, for more than five hundred years, and it is believed that 
 fourteen of them were buried there, David being the first. 
 
 Zion was the last portion of the city to surrender to the vicious and 
 inhuman attack of the Romans, under the generalship of Titus ; it 
 was some time after the other portions of the city had been burned to 
 ashes and the courts of the Temple had been garrisoned by the inva- 
 ders, that the remnant of the Jews, who were in the stronghold of 
 Zion, submitted to the Romans, and perished around the palace and 
 tombs of the kings. This is the most historic mountain in Jerusalem. 
 (See Num. xiii. 29 ; Josh. xv. 63 ; Judges i. 21 ; 2 Sam. v. 5-8.) 
 
 MT. MORIAH AND DAVID'S SIN. 
 
 The next mountain in importance as to size, elevation and c'on- 
 spicuousness, and the one that has the first place in religious distinc- 
 tion, is Mt. Moriah ; this is the identical hill on which Oman the 
 Jebusite and descendant of Canaan, the son of Ham, had his threshing 
 floor ; it is well worthy of special mention, that this man's threshing 
 floor was the onlj^ place in Jerusalem that our Lord seemed not to 
 frown upon, during His administration of an alarming and disastrous 
 rebuke to King David ,for his flagrant disobedience, in that he num- 
 bered the people of his kingdom, notwithstanding the Lord commanded 
 him not to do so. The Lord pungently rebuked David; by sending a 
 devouring plague throughout the kingdom, which was killing the peo- 
 ple at the astonishing rate of seventy thousand a day. Then was the 
 king greatly troubled and earnestly prayed to the Lord that He would 
 remove the plague ; there suddenly appeared an Angel of the Lord, 
 hovering over the threshing floor of Oman with his arms uplifted as if 
 he was about to destroy the city. David in a state of great humilia- 
 
94 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 tiou, confessed his siu ; and a prophet, under the direction of the Lord, 
 told the king to go to the spot where the angel had been seen and 
 build an altar there unto the Lord. 
 
 David gladly obeyed and lost no time in putting into effectual 
 operation the advice given him by the prophet. When he had gone 
 to the threshing floor, and made known the object of his mission to 
 Oman the Jebusite, and offered him a large sum for the needed pre- 
 paration, the Hamite refused to accept any amount the king oflered 
 him, but willingly and gladly oflered them to the king free of charge. 
 The offer he made the king was the timber, which was his threshing 
 instruments, and oxen for tlie sacrifice. 
 
 This generous ofler the king refused as a gift, stating, that he would 
 not offer to the Lord that which cost him nothing ; he, therefore, bought 
 the oxen for fifty shekels of silver, which amounted to about twenty- 
 two dollars and fifty cents ; he also paid for the whole place six hun- 
 dred shekels in gold, or about four thousand, five hundred and twenty- 
 four dollars. 
 
 Then he offered his sacrifice, which the Lord accepted, and stayed 
 the fury of the plague ; in after years the spot, which was the property 
 of a farmer who was of the Hamitic race, was chosen for the site on 
 which the Temple of the Lord should be built, and where multitudes 
 of Hebrews came with their numerous sacrifices to present to the Lord 
 of hosts. 
 
 INIoriah is the place also to which, most historians are of the opinion, 
 Abraham came with his son, the child of the promise, to offer him as 
 a sacrifice to the Lord. This Mount is separated from Zion by the 
 Tyropoean valley, and is bounded on the north by a small depression, 
 supposed to be the site of the Berket Israel. The portion of the I'idge 
 that extends southward from Moriah to the connection of the Tyropoean 
 and Kedron valleys, at the Pool of Siloam, was called Ophel. 
 
 Here lived the Nethimims ; these people were Gibeonites and were 
 set apart as sacred servants of the Lord's house ; they seemed to have 
 greatly multiplied in after years ; there were a few amongst the cap- 
 tive Jews in Babylon, and who it is thought settled near the Caspian 
 Sea. (2 Sam. xxiv. 24 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 25 ; 1 Kings ix. 20-21 ; 1 Chron. 
 ix. 2 ; Neh. iii. 26 and vii. 46, 60, 73.) 
 
 MT. AKRA. 
 
 There are two other mountains of which no mention is made in the 
 Bible, that are connected with the Holy City, and should not be passed 
 without being mentioned here. In the time of Josephus, Jerusalem 
 
ANCIENT AND MODEKN JERUSALEM. 95 
 
 was divided iuto two parts, known as the upper and lower city ; the 
 former was commonly known as the City of David, and was located 
 principally on Mt. Ziou. 
 
 The latter was situated on Mt. Akra, and from the present indica- 
 tions was an important business centre, where the various industries were 
 fully displayed; it was separated from Ziou by the Tyropwan valley, 
 or that portion of it that ran from west to east along the course of the 
 present David Street, it was on the north of Zion and embraced the 
 present Christian quarter, and the space which is occupied by the 
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 Josephus says Mt. Akra was at one time much higher than at 
 present, but was leveled in the time of the Asmoneans so that the 
 Temple might be seen above it to a better advantage than formerly. A 
 tradition of many centuries locates Mt. Calvary, on the summit of 
 Akra, just as Pisgah is on the top of Mt. Nebo ; and the relation the 
 present city sustains to it has caused many and uncompromising con- 
 troversies as to its being identical with the scene of the crucifixion of 
 our Lord. 
 
 Indeed, many persistently ignoi'e the idea of its having any connec- 
 tion with it whatever ; the matter has been under a process of investi- 
 gation for a long time, and may be permanently settled soon. 
 
 MOUNTS BEZETHA AND CALVARY. 
 
 The fourth mountain within the walls is Bezetha, which also has 
 been brought into prominent notice by Josephus, covers the space 
 extending from Berket-Israel to the road leading to Jericho near Jere- 
 miah's grotto. Josephus tells us it was identical with Coenapolis, 
 which means " Empty City," and was so named, it is supposed, because 
 the inhabitants were not as numerous as those in other portions of the 
 city. 
 
 In the time of our Lord the greater portion of Bezetha was out- 
 side the walls, and was not enclosed until the time of Agrippa, who 
 built the third wall, extending over a portion of it ; its breadth near 
 the Haram is four hundred and fifty feet, and extends north more and 
 more until it covers nearly one thousand feet. We have given a brief 
 outline of the four hills on which the foundation of Jerusalem stands, 
 but there is yet another, situated on the summit of one of these and 
 within the walls of the present city, of which special mention must be 
 made, because the glories which crown it are of the most important 
 interest to the world. This is Mt. Calvary, the hill on which our Lord 
 reconciled justice, and made it possible for fallen man to be at peace 
 
96 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 with God. There is no place in Jerusalem over which there has been, 
 and still is, so much controversy, and around which so many doubts 
 cluster as this Mount, which tradition says is Calvary. When the vis- 
 itor is taken first to one, then to another summit, both of which are 
 located as the true sites of the crucifixion, he is at loss to know which 
 of the two is the real Calvary. 
 
 It is generally understood that special attention was paid to beau- 
 tifying the walls, and great i^ains taken to have them as square as pos- 
 sible. And if the wall on INIt. Bezetha had been extended and not 
 that on Akra, Jerusalem would have presented a shape by no means 
 admired by the people ; it would have terminated in a semi-circle on 
 the north. 
 
 I am strongly inclined to the opinion, the whole wall from the 
 northwest to the northeastern terminus was extended ; this would form 
 a direct line, and add greatly to the beauty of both walls and city ; 
 taking these facts into consideration, there can be no doubt that the 
 traditional site of Golgotha, as located at present, was at a time past, 
 outside the walls. 
 
 For it is known the Jews were careful in not permitting the dead 
 to be buried within the city limits, and there are clear evidences that 
 such had been done within the enclosure of the present walls. In the 
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre, underneath the western galleries, just 
 behind the sepulchre, are to be seen two hewn tombs in the rock, 
 known as the burial place of Joseph and Nicodemus ; these tombs 
 are ancient, and as evidently Jewish sepulchres as any of those seen in 
 the Valley of Jehoshaphat, or Hinnom, or those of the tombs of the 
 kings and judges ; therefore to deny these of their Jewish origin would 
 be to deny that any of those ancient tombs round about Jerusalem or 
 elsewhere were Jewish. 
 
 It is therefore, conclusive, that tombs did and still exist within the 
 limits of the present walls, and that it is a fact, the Jews did not allow 
 any burying within the city. 
 
 In thinking of Calvary we are touched with a feeling which is rev- 
 erential and affectionate, for it is the most sacred of all the holy places 
 in Jerusalem, in comparison with which all others are but dim or 
 shadowy, and pale before it as the light of the moon would before 
 the sun at high meridian. 
 
 Therefore in attempting to write a chapter concerning this most 
 sacred hill, we do so with a knowledge of our great want of divine 
 guidance, that we may be so directed in every thought that it may 
 accomplish the good intended, and even more than we could antici- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 97 
 
 pate. It is known to many that the old traditional sight of Calvary is 
 being hotly contested, and another location is looked upon as the true 
 site. 
 
 But if the place so long reverenced as Mt. Calvary is not the gen- 
 uine site, the deep interest which for many centuries has clustered 
 about it, gives it an exalted dignity, such as no other place in the 
 world has attained ; men have for a long time endeavored to cast a 
 shadow of grave doubts as to the genuineness of the traditional Cal- 
 vary and sepulchre, and have attempted to locate this most hallowed 
 spot at another point on the north of the city and beyond the walls ; 
 this new site has been steadily gaining opinion in its favor, and many 
 of those are inclined to believe it to be Calvary rather than the one so 
 long regarded as such ; it is not our purpose to enter into the details of 
 argument presented by prominent men, who have participated in the 
 investigations from which they have drawn their conclusion. 
 
 Those who desire a full and exhaustive discussion on the subject, 
 we refer to the Biblical researches of Dr. Robinson, in which will be 
 found all that is necessary, " The Holy City," by Mr. Williams, and 
 the article by Prof. Willis on Architectural History. It will be seen 
 by a close examination of the above references, that the whole burden 
 of these alignments bear upon the development of two very important 
 and intricate questions, one of which is deductive, and the other may 
 be called scientific. 
 
 The deductive question is, the conclusion draAvn from an early tra- 
 dition, that the site on which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands, 
 was known to be identical with the event of our Lord's crucifixion and 
 burial, and was designated as such some time prior to the conquest of 
 Constantine, by the Emperor Hadrian, who caused to be built on the 
 spot a heathen temple to Venus, that the place which had been so 
 devoutly and sacredly commemorated by Christians might be polluted. 
 
 The question that must be developed by scientific investigation is. 
 Can it be positively proven that the present site of Golgotha, was, at 
 the time of our Lord's crucifixion, beyond the walls of the city ? The 
 Holy Scriptures inform us the bodies of beasts whose blood was" 
 brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, were burned 
 without the camp, and that the Lord Jesus " might sanctify the people 
 with his own blood, suflTered without the gate." The place to which 
 Jesus was taken was close to the city, and seems to have been beside or 
 close to a public road, for they that passed by reviled Him (Heb. xiii. 
 11-12 ; Matt, xxvii. 39). 
 
98 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 THE TOMB OF CHRIST. 
 
 Now as to the deductive or historical question, that is introduced 
 because of a statement made by Eusebius in the third century, saying 
 there had been a heathen temple erected to Venus over the sepulchre 
 of our Lord, it is the opinion of men whose writings seem to be with- 
 out even the tinge of bias, that those advocates favoring the present 
 site of the tomb of Christ as identical with the original, have never 
 met the difficulty fairly, and that it is hardly conceivable Hadrian 
 could have had any motive in such a purpose, when his whole object in 
 establishing his new city, vElia (which was the name he gave Jeru- 
 salem), was not to insult the Christians, but the Jews, from whom the 
 Christians in Palestine at that time were greatly divided. 
 
 As to the conclusion just cited, it cannot be regarded as wholly 
 true, especially as to the opinion of Hadrian's attitude towards the 
 Christians. It is commonly known by all who have a knowledge of 
 the general stand pagans take against Christians, that they are em- 
 phatically opposed to them ; that whenever and wherever they have 
 an opportunity, they show themselves uncompromisingly hostile to 
 them. Taking this undeniable fact into consideration, it cannot be 
 considered unreasonable to infer, that although the prime motive of 
 Hadrian was to punish and humiliate the Jews, and not the Christians, 
 the latter was his secondary motive, after he had vented his spite on 
 the former ; in fact, his purpose seems to have been to do whatever he 
 could to abase the people, whether Jews or Christians. 
 
 It does not seem reasonable to suppose he would show the Chris- 
 tians any favors whatever, being under no obligations to them ; but on 
 the contrary he would follow the common custom of the Roman 
 emperors. It is not likely Hadrian would be more compassionate 
 with the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem than with the straight-out 
 Jews whom he expelled from it, and refused permission to return. 
 
 Such a man would without compunction build a heathen temple to 
 Venus over the Tomb of Christ if he saw it would deeply wound his 
 followers ; the Jews would not have been moved at such a procedure, 
 for they had no faith in Christ nor reverence for the place in which he 
 was buried ; the question raised by some writers as to the probability 
 of the walls of Herod's time running so as to close the plat on which 
 the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built, in the opinion of others, 
 depends for its solution upon such excavations of the vast accumula- 
 tions under which they lay (and is just now impossible), but will in 
 some future time be so effectually conducted as to clear away the 
 mystery of the topography of ancient Jerusalem, as in the case of Rome 
 
X 
 o 
 J 
 
 D 
 
 Oh 
 
 UJ 
 CO 
 
 >^ 
 J 
 
 O 
 
 a: 
 
 o 
 
 :i: 
 u 
 a: 
 
 D 
 
 o 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. 99 
 
 and other places in the old world. It should be borne in mind, as has been 
 stated, the walls of Jerusalem were extended by order of Agrippa, who 
 enclosed that portion of Bezetha that was outside the city limits ; it 
 looks plausible that in extending the walls he would cautiously guard 
 against haviiig them to appear awkwardly. Therefore, in order to 
 make them as much as possible uniform and square, he would have 
 extended them also on Akra, the mount on which the Church of the 
 Holy Sepulchre stands, and as the Jews did not allow their dead to be 
 buried within the walls or limits of the city, therefore, the walls of to-day 
 must have been extended beyond the limits of those of ancient times, 
 and that they occupy a portion of the site of a place of burial that the 
 Jews used in ancient times ; it is, therefore, highly probable the 
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre is identical with or very near the spot 
 where Joseph's new tomb was, in which no one had been placed until 
 the body of our Lord had been laid in it. 
 
 The idea of those two tombs being those of Joseph and Nicodemus 
 is very doubtful and even ridiculed by many. As to the objection we 
 have no criticism to offer, having no direct evidence to sustain the tra- 
 dition ; indeed, we are inclined to the opinions of the objectors, as there 
 seem to be reasonable grounds upon which to build them ; but the 
 point is they are tombs, and as such could not be placed, under any 
 legal claim, within the bounds of the city walls. 
 
 And the plat on which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built 
 being inside the enclosure, and, as has been stated, these ancient tombs 
 being under its western galleries, are strong proofs that the whole space 
 occupied by the church was outside of the walls. 
 
 These facts, greatly strengthen the opinion that the rock-hewn tomb 
 represented to be the " Holy Place where the Lord lay," is without a 
 shadow of doubt of ancient date, and may be identical with the tomb 
 it represents ; in the conclusion we have reached, we feel confident it is 
 confined within the limits of probability, and it is our earnest hope and 
 prayer, this conclusion has at least added a faint light upon the matter 
 and will open up avenues for thoughts more matured and sacred ; it is 
 our opinion, as the excavations proceed, which for a long time have 
 been in progress, such positive evidence will be developed as will settle 
 this question forever. It is proper that a historical sketch of the Church 
 of the Holy Sepulchre should be given here ; we have stated elsewhere, 
 the site of the tomb of our Lord, had been, some time in the third cen- 
 tury, covered by Hadrian with a heathen temple which was dedicated 
 to Venus. 
 
 This statement is corroborated by some of the most distinguished 
 
100 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 and reliable early writers, among whom are Jerome, Socrates and 
 Solomon ; these men, whose writings have been of great historical 
 value, sustain Eusebius in the assertion that the Holy Sepulchre had 
 been covered with earth, and a temple to Venus had been built over it. 
 So that, as Eusebius put it, " That illustrious monument of immortality 
 had been lost in darkness and oblivion." 
 
 In this condition it remained a long time, but at length we are 
 informed by all the writers of the time of Constantine, The Great, that 
 Helena his mother, who was a very saintly woman, being divinely 
 directed to search for the true cross, and holy sepulchre, came to Jeru- 
 salem, and instituted inquiries among the inhabitants concerning the 
 location of Mt. Calvary, but none could tell her the exact place ; the 
 fact of the ignorance of the people concerning the matter gave Helena 
 much uneasiness and jDerplexity ; but being hopeful of satisfactory 
 results, she continued the anxious search, and after a time it was miracu- 
 lously discovered ; there is but little doubt, if any, existing as to the 
 fact, that three crosses were found, but there have been many opinions 
 existing as to the genuineness of them, and many seem to be inclined 
 to the opinion that some one made them, and placed them there. 
 
 There are many other unimportant objections based upon just such 
 frivolous foundations ; it may be the crosses were not buried by any 
 one to preserve them from destruction, as is believed by many; but 
 they more likely fell and were buried under the debris, when the city 
 was destroyed, and if they had been buried by the early Christians, it 
 is not reasonable to suppose that those who lived two hundred and 
 fifty or three hundred years afterwards, could find the exact place 
 where they were buried, for the reason there was no historical record 
 kept as to the place where they might be found. 
 
 And if those who buried them told any one of that locality, it was 
 enjoined upon the person to keep the matter a profound secret, lest the 
 enemies of our Lord would destroy it. It is thought by some, that if 
 any one had buried the cross of our Lord, those of the two thieves 
 would not have been buried with it. But that was very natural, as 
 each of them embraced a peculiar historical significance, that would 
 stimulate the Christians to preserve them. 
 
PAET TI. 
 
 EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALE:M— ITS MEMOR- 
 ABLE PLACES. 
 
 Description of Mount of Olives — Appearance from a Distance — Fuel Used in 
 Palestine — A View of the Country from the ]Mountain — Disciples Taught 
 how to Pray — Lazarus Raiseii — Bethany — Tomb of Lazarus — Our Lord en 
 route for Jerusalem — Ride to Jerusalem — Christ's Entry into Jerusalem — 
 Our Lord Deeply Moved with Compassion — The Garden of (iethsemane — 
 Tomb of the Virgin INIary — Description of Tomb — Valley of Jehoshaphat — 
 How Situated — Strong Faith of the People as to the Historical Places of 
 Palestine — Absalom Claiming Himself King — David and His Friends — 
 The Love Attai had for David — The Returning of the Ark of God — David's 
 Flight — David in Exile — Suicide of Ahithophel — David Numbere Those 
 with Him and Forms Three Divisions — Absalom Hanged in the Forest — 
 Breaking the News of His Death to David — David's Return — Absalom's 
 Pillar — Valley of Hinnom — Valley of Giants — Hill of Evil Counsel — 
 Potter's Field — Idolatry of Israel^The Kingdom Embarrassed— Solomon's 
 Early Blunder — His Decline in Piety — Pools and Fountains— The Great 
 Cisterns — Pool of Siloam — Healing of the Blind Man — Pool of Bethesda — 
 Healing of the Lame Man — Siege of Titus — Troops Stationed at the Foot of 
 the Mount of Olives — Titus Marches to the City — Famine Raging — War 
 Among the Inhabitants — Titus's Anxiety to Save the City— Prophecy Ful- 
 filled Concerning the Destruction — Burial of the Dead — Tower of Antonia 
 Captured — The Sacred Edifice in Flames — Titus Oflere Terms of Peace — 
 Final Demolition — The Triumphal Arch — David's Tomb — Attempts to 
 Locate it Elsewhere — How Impressed on Entering — The Ccenaculum — 
 Mosque of Neby Da'rid — Description of Upper Chamber — Tombs of St. 
 James and Zacharias — Other Tombs — Absalom's Shaft — Tomb of Jehoshaphat 
 — Tombs of Prophets and Judges— Tomb of Helena — Future of the Jews. 
 
 JERUSALEM'S MEMORABLE PLACES. 
 
 THERE are a number of places in and about the holy city that are 
 mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, and in the writings 
 of Josephus, that have been identified, notwithstanding many physical 
 changes have taken place ; the most prominent of these places are 
 Mounts Zion, Moriah, Akra, Bezetha, Olivet, Scopus and a few others- 
 The valleys of Kedron or Jehoshaphat, Hinnom and the Tyropa^on 
 or Cheese-mongers. The fountains and pools of Siloam, the virgin's 
 
 101 
 
102 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 pool, the two pools of Gihon, Hezekiah's pool, and the site of the pool of 
 Bethesda ; these places we will mention in detail as we proceed, except 
 those of which mention has been made. 
 
 MOUNT OF OLIVES. 
 
 The Mount of Olives is one of the most conspicuous and venerated 
 places about Jerusalem, and is generally regarded as hallowed ground, 
 because it was frequented by our Lord, at times when He sought a 
 quiet retreat, that He might pray without being disturbed by any one ; 
 here also He often came with his disciples to teach them lessons con- 
 cerning Himself, and their work as messengers of salvation, necessary 
 to make them competent to contend against the mighty forces that 
 should come up in battle to drive them from their post. 
 
 Upon the summit of Mt. Olivet, the hallowed feet of this " won- 
 derful councilor " and " mighty God " stood on the morning of His 
 triumphant departure to the house of " Many Mansions," in the pres- 
 ence of great numbers of anxious witnesses, who, after hearing His 
 last words to His disciples, saw Him borne heavenward to take His 
 station as our federal representative at the right hand of the Father. 
 
 The Mount of Olives is about a mile east of Jerusalem ; it is esti- 
 mated to be about four hundred and twenty feet high from the base of 
 Jehoshaphat, and two hundred feet above Mt. Moriah ; it runs parallel 
 with Moriah, and is divided into several peaks by intervening depres- 
 sions ; on the top of the central peak is a building with four towers, 
 belonging to the Russians ; from the top of either of the towers a 
 superb view is obtained of the country around, as far as the eye can 
 see with the aid of field glasses. 
 
 They are the first objects in the neighborhood of Jerusalem seen 
 by those going up from Jericho. It has a peculiar appearance from a 
 far distance, and would remind one very much of a tower suspended 
 in the air ; there are several other buildings belonging to the Russians, 
 Greeks and Latins, on the Mount, and a small Arab village near 
 Bethany. 
 
 These buildings greatly disfigure the mountain, and rob it of much 
 of its solemnity, and also obstructs much of its natural beauty and 
 loftiness. Some portions of it, especially the northern, is kept under 
 cultivation, and seems to be productive. The olive trees become fewer 
 each year, so that the number it contains now are not to be compared 
 with that of antique times. 
 
 Wood being scarce in Palestine, the old olive trees are cut down 
 for fire use, as soon as they begin to die ; even the roots are dug up 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 103 
 
 and burned, but the few hundred trees of the shady groves yet remain- 
 ing are memorable of those of long ages past, which gave this sacred 
 mountain its immortal name. 
 
 On the summit, a short distance from the traditional tombs of the 
 prophets, is a building belonging to the Mohammedans, that from the 
 early times of our era has been settled upon as the spot from which 
 our Lord ascended to heaven ; it has been so recognized since the third 
 century, when Helena and others made extensive investigations, and 
 concluded the rock over which the building stands, is that upon which 
 our Lord rested while giving His disciples their final commission to 
 preach the Gospel to every creature. In the meantime, the firmament 
 was thronged with a multitude of adoring angels, waiting to escort 
 '• Him Home and shout him welcome." 
 
 The building now standing over the rock, is the fourth one ; the 
 first chapel was built by order of Helena, the mother of Constantine, 
 the Great ; it was replaced by another small round church, under the 
 superintendence of Modestus ; this was again replaced, in the twelfth 
 century, by another, built by the Crusaders, but was destroyed by the 
 hands of violent enemies, after the expiration of nearly four hundred 
 years ; there seems to have been no attempt to replace it for two hun- 
 dred years. 
 
 Then the present one was erected ; the building is by no means 
 spacious in appearance ; it stands in the midst of an enclosure. In 
 the same area, is a small mosque, that is visited by all travelers who 
 ascend Mt. Olivet to witness the remarkable echo, that may be heard 
 from the mildest tone of the voice ; the echo has a delightful sound, 
 in some respects akin to that that may be heard in the Baptistry at 
 Pisa. 
 
 The view of the country round about, from the top of Mt. Olivet, is 
 very fine and impressive, especially so when the visitor contemplates 
 the historic associations connected with the sacred mount upon which 
 he is walking. He remembers the same ground he is traveling over, 
 was once marked by the sacred feet of the Saviour of the world, and 
 somewhere near here once stood a cluster of trees He frequented when 
 burdened in spirit, heavily oppressed with the sin of the world, to com- 
 mune with His Father, and drop tears of sorrow. Down the southern 
 slope, near the tomb of His devoted mother, is the traditional spot 
 where the disciples came to Him, and privately asked Him to teach 
 them to pray, even as John taught his disciples ; and in compliance 
 with their petition, that prayer of prayers, which is repeated in almost 
 every home in civilized lands, and every pious mother feels it her 
 
104 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 indispensable duty to teach the little ones of her household to say, " Our 
 Father, who art in heaven," was formulated. 
 
 There are three pathways leading over Mt. Olivet to Bethany, one 
 being the ancient Jericho road, and the identical one over which our 
 Lord passed with His disciples, when He came from the City of Palm 
 Trees and gave the blind man sight, and passed over it many times, to 
 and from Bethany and Jerusalem. Along this road He was walking 
 one morning, and being hungry went to a fig tree to refresh Himself 
 with the fruit, and found " nothing but leaves," and from that moment 
 it withered under His curse. 
 
 LAZARUS RAISED. 
 
 Jesus made His home with Lazarus and his two sisters at their 
 little home. They loved Him and always made Him as comfortable 
 as their means would allow. It is reasonable to suppose, the family 
 often wished to have Him come and see them on those occasions when 
 they needed His sympathy and soothing words ; to heal them in their 
 afflictions. It is certain the sisters did, when their brother died, — at the 
 time, our Lord was at Bethabara beyond the Jordan with His disciples. 
 They sent a messenger informing Him of the illness of Lazarus and 
 requesting Him to come and heal him. It was on the account of the 
 death of this good man, that the whole village seemed to be in a state 
 of deep lamentation. The event opened up an opportunity for the 
 Lord Jesus to perform one of the most stupendous miracles of His 
 ministry, one which evidently showed forth His divinity. 
 
 The multitudes shouted His praise, and the village, that for four 
 days had been a scene of lamentation and great weeping, instantly 
 leaped into enthusiastic joy ; for in obedience to the command of Jesus, 
 Lazarus the beloved, who had been four days confined within the cold 
 embrace of the grim monster, came from his silent abode full of life 
 and vigor, a living witness of the truth, that Jesus who would soon 
 yield to the sting of death, had power over it, and is indeed " the 
 resurrection and the life." 
 
 Simon, the leper, lived also in Bethany, at whose table our Lord 
 reclined, when Mary came in and anointed Him, and wiped His feet 
 with the hair of her head (Matt. xxvi. 6-9; John vi. 1-46). 
 
 Bethany, is on the southeast of the INIount of Olives, situated in a 
 hollow that hides it from Jerusalem ; this little village may be regarded 
 as one of the most important historical places outside of the Holy 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 105 
 
 City. Many authors give it only a passing notice, as though it had 
 not been dignified by the frequent yisits, and works of Christ. 
 
 This yillage is not in a very reputable standing with the masses 
 who visit it, because of the very low and disorderly class of people 
 who inhabit it. The Arabs call it Azariyeh, which means corruption 
 from Lazarus, after whom they have called it ; the word " Bethany " 
 in its primitive meaning is " House of Poverty," and any one who 
 visits there will conclude the name is specially adapted to the con- 
 dition of the people generally, for they are from all outward appear- 
 ances to be numbered with the poorest inhabitants of Palestine, and 
 were it not for the sacred history that clusters within its limits, no one 
 would care to visit the place or even view it while passing by en route 
 to Jericho. 
 
 Bethany is a dreary, desolate and miserable place, without a single 
 inviting natural feature; but all these physical objectionable aspects 
 are overcome, when the wonderful fame of nearly two thousand years' 
 standing is called to mind ; it is the little village hid away behind the 
 Mount of Olives, at a distance of a mile and three-quarters, from the 
 great city whose fame is known to the world, that our Lord used to 
 frequent when in the vicinity of Jerusalem. 
 
 There is a deep vault partly excavated in the rock near the centre 
 of the village known as the tomb of Lazarus, and sacredly venerated 
 alike by Christians and Moslems because of an old tradition, that the 
 body of pious Lazarus was raised from it after his burial. On the day 
 the author of this volume visited Bethany, he went down to the 
 bottom of this historic cave, and took a general survey of its interior. 
 It is deep and dark, having thirty-seven steps to descend before the 
 bottom is reached ; candles are furnished by the guard, who not only 
 demands half a franc admission, but an additional sum as a present. 
 
 The last time our Lord visited here, and performed the miracle of 
 the resurrection, was during the season of the Passover, when crowds 
 of people had gathered from all parts, so that as usual the Holy City 
 was crowded to its uttermost with admiring strangers, many of whom 
 joined the multitude in celebrating His praise and spreading His fame 
 abroad. 
 
 On the morning He started in triumph to Jerusalem ; on the way 
 to the city, just opposite the point where the first view of Mt. Zion is 
 obtained, is a ravine; near it are > remnants of an old village; this is 
 supposed to be the site of ancient Bethpage, the village to which Jesus 
 sent two of His disciples to bring the colt upon which He was to ride 
 into Jerusalem. 
 
106 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 It is an easy matter for the people of Bethany, as in all the villages 
 and small towns of Palestine, to be informed when a stranger is in their 
 midst, as there are only one or two entrances as a rule. This old rocky 
 highway is the very same that Jesus passed over on the morning He 
 entered Jerusalem in triumph ; it was a jubilant occasion with the 
 great multitude who had witnessed one of the most wonderful of all 
 the miracles that had been wrought by our Lord during His ministry; 
 there was no elaborate or costly preparations made for the event. 
 
 JESUS' RIDE TO JERUSALEM. 
 
 The Saviour requested two of His disciples to go over to the next 
 village and bring a colt to Him on which no man had ever sat ; the 
 request was promptly complied with, and the people, whose enthusiasm 
 over the recent resurrection of Lazarus had overflowed, were still 
 jubilant, and anxious to spread His fame in song and with shouts of 
 praise. 
 
 Having spread a few pieces of their scanty garments upon the colt 
 for a saddle, they sat Jesus on him, and He started for Jerusalem. On 
 leaving Bethany, the adoring multitudes immediately began to express 
 their extreme joy for their Lord, by taking off their garments and 
 strewing them upon the ground for their Divine Master to ride over, 
 which was an act that strongly demonstrated the exalted veneration 
 they had for Him. 
 
 The vast throng of admirers of Christ, sung with loud voices, 
 praises to Him that "cometh in the name of the Lord ; " a vast number 
 of people coming out from Jerusalem to meet Him, sped across the 
 Kedron and entered the highway, pulling off" palm boughs as they 
 passed the gardens along the way, to welcome " Him who cometh in the 
 name of the Lord." 
 
 This multitude continued on tow^ard Bethany, to join those whose 
 voices were making the very air vocal with their loud shouts of 
 Hosanna ; there was a vast crowd escorting the Saviour from the home 
 of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who had spent the night in their little 
 village, and had witnessed the miraculous resurrection, and it is likely, 
 some of them, were those who mournfully sympathized with the women 
 ■vrho piteously bewailed the loss of their brother ; these also spread 
 palm and olive branches on the ground, in honor of the Lord Jesus, 
 whose praises they were shouting. 
 
EVENTS IX AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 107 
 
 CHRIST'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. 
 
 As the two divisions approached each other, the enthusiasm became 
 intense, and about half way between Bethany and Jerusalem they met, 
 then those who went out from the city turned, forming a solid line; 
 marched toward Jerusalem, saying, " Blessed is He that conieth in the 
 name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest." As this long and enthu- 
 siastic procession proceeded, the little village behind them was soon 
 hidden from their view, and the southeastern portion of the great city 
 loomed up before them with all its glory. 
 
 This loud and triumphant shout of the multitude, was a surprise to 
 the jealous scribes. Pharisees and elders, who had spent so many days 
 in endeavoring to crush out the fame of Jesus, and had formed many 
 plots to kill Him, who was " going about doing good." Just as our 
 Lord was approaching the decline of the hill, where a view of a por- 
 tion of Jerusalem was obtained, the multitude seemed to have sung 
 with greater fervor than ever before, so much to the disconsolation of 
 the Pharisees who were standing by, that they complained of tlie noise, 
 and requested the Saviour to command them to be still ; but He looked 
 towards the ground and pointing his finger (see Luke xix. 30-40) to 
 the rough stones along the highway, said to them : " If these should 
 hold their peace these stones would immediately cry out." It is worthy 
 of remark, that the stones did cry out, when there was no one by Him 
 to speak a word in honor of his name ; while hanging on the cross 
 suffering great agony, for the sins of mankind ; when the procession 
 had moved to the depression, where the city is hid from view for a 
 short while, their songs dispersed all the gloom that lurked about the 
 valley, then in a few moments the steep hill is ascended, where in 
 almost an instant the whole city is spread out to full view. 
 
 It is the general opinion, that our Lord had reached this point when 
 his heart became so deeply moved with compassion that He wept over 
 the fact, the time was fast advancing when desolation and death should 
 overthrow the city. This high hill is settled upon as identical with the 
 place where our Lord wept ; because there is no other place on the road, 
 nor on the Mount of Olives, that affords such an unobstructed and 
 beautiful view of Jerusalem. 
 
 Just below the greatest depression of the Kedron Valley appeared, 
 where it connects with the Valley of Hinnom, is an elevation com- 
 posed of large rocks, which affords a beautiful view of the Holy City, 
 and any one familiar with the narrative of the triumphant entry into 
 Jerusalem of our Lord, and having an opportunity of passing along 
 
108 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 this ancient road from Bethany to Jerusalem, will be constrained to 
 agree with the thousands of others, in their belief, that this rocky ledge 
 is identical with the point where the Saviour was suddenly stricken 
 with over-powering sorrow which caused a gush of tears to flow from 
 his eyes. 
 
 While under the influence of this deep anguish, Jesus predicted 
 the woeful fate that should come upon the people, and said : " For the 
 days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about 
 thee, and compass thee about and shall keep thee in on every side ; 
 and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children with thee, 
 and they shall not leave thee one stone upon another, because thou 
 knowest not the time of thy visitation." 
 
 How alarming was this prediction, and how dreadful the future of 
 Jerusalem ; a most woeful calamity was in store that should come 
 upon the people like a devouring fire and consume them. It was only 
 about forty years from the time of the prediction, that the sad visita- 
 tion came upon the city, and the words of Christ were literally ful- 
 filled, in the great siege, capture, and overthrow of the city, and 
 slaughter of immense multitudes of people. The Garden of Geth- 
 semane is situated at the base of the Mount of Olives, just at the point 
 where the three roads up the side of the mountain diverge ; a very old 
 tradition, at least as far back as the» time of Constantine the Great, 
 locates the renowned garden here, and it has been generally believed 
 to be identical because of its close proximity with the Brook Kedron, 
 which accords with the narrative of the Scripture concerning it. The 
 garden is in the custody of the Franciscan Monks ; it is a square lot, 
 enclosed with a white stone wall, about five or six feet high, and an 
 inner fence standing three or four feet from it, on the inside. In the 
 midst of it are seven olive trees. At one time there were eight, but 
 the oldest one has yielded to the crumbling hand of time, notwith- 
 standing all pains were taken to preserve it ; the remaining seven are 
 well stricken with age, and must soon succumb to the same influence 
 their parent perished under ; their trunks are much decayed, and are 
 propped up by heaps of stone and earth ; they are supposed to be the 
 descendants of the original trees which stood here when our Lord was 
 on earth. The traditional sites where our Lord prayed while in great 
 agony, and where the disciples slept when they should have been 
 watching, are pointed out ; also the place where Judas Iscariot be- 
 trayed Him with a kiss. 
 
 It cannot be supposed, from the nature of things, that any one can 
 
GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 109 
 
 place confidence in the correctness of these localities pointed out in 
 the garden, yet they serve to refresh the mind concerning the scenes of 
 the events. Now as to the garden, we have it recorded in the Bible, 
 " Jesus went over the Brook Kedron with His disciples, where there 
 was a garden into which He entered." The following is from the pen 
 of one who regards this as the identical place of our Lord's agony and 
 betrayal, and his opinion has been endorsed by many travelers and 
 authors who have carefully examined the geography of the place, as to 
 its agreement with the Scripture narrative referring to it. We copy it 
 for the benefit of our readers because it is both pathetic and sublime : 
 " Over thei'e in Jerusalem His body was crucified, but here was the 
 scene of the crucifixion of His soul ; there the letter of the law was 
 executed, but here the awful weight of the spirit was borne ; there 
 He drank the dregs of sorrow, but here the full cup was wrung out to 
 Him ; here the enemy who had departed from Him for a time returned 
 with all the powers of hell (Matt. xxvi. 36; Mark xvi. 32) to over- 
 throw the Son of Man ; here His own familiar friends betrayed Him ; 
 here the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suflering, 
 and from this place, broken-hearted as He was with the cross before 
 Him, and a heavier cross upon Him, He rose up from the garden and 
 went forth to die." 
 
 THE TOMB OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 " Take thy shoes from oft' thy feet, for the ground whereon thou 
 standeth is holy." Not far from the Garden of Gethsemane is another 
 memorable place, that ranks in importance with most of the venerable 
 and holy places about Jerusalem. It is known as the Tomb of the 
 Virgin Mary. This ancient-looking tomb is situated amongst the 
 deeply-bedded rocks at the foot of Mt. Olivet, on the western side, and 
 according to some of the early writers, was erected by order of Helena, 
 the energetic mother of Constautine, whose untiring labors in Palestine 
 will ever be commended by the civilized world. 
 
 This tomb is now a place of worship, chiefly under the control of 
 the Greeks, although the Latins and Armenians have separate apart- 
 ments there, in which they hold services at stated times. The cham- 
 bers of this resting-place of the sainted dead, are deep and dark, 
 entered by descending sixty stone steps, divided almost midway by a 
 small platform, where three tombs are placed. The two on the right 
 are those of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin ; that on 
 the left is the resting-place of Joseph, her husband. 
 
110 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 Proceeding down the second flight, the main chamber is entered; it 
 is always very dark, for the sunlight never enters ; therefore it is con- 
 tinually illuminated by lamps. On the right side, near the extreme 
 end of the Greek chajiel is the high altar, and the tomb in which the 
 remains of the Mother of our blessed Lord were placed, is said to be 
 under it. 
 
 The Greeks claim this place to be the oldest church in the world ; 
 it is without doubt a reverential-looking place, and if appearance is to 
 be considered as a proof of its antiquity, we can see no reason why the 
 claims of the Greeks may not be conceded. On entering it, one feels 
 himself to be within the sacred walls of the last resting place of some 
 one, whose illustrious character won for him immortal fame and honor, 
 without being informed to whose memory the tomb is dedicated. 
 
 One noticeable thing concerning this place, that gives it prominence 
 in history, is the fact of it not being so critically disputed as most 
 places to which claims are laid for prominent events that occurred in 
 ancient times. 
 
 VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT. 
 
 There are in connection with the valleys already mentioned inside 
 the Holy City, others on the outside, round about, two of which are 
 famous in history because of the marvelous events which have trans- 
 pired in them. The valley of Jehoshaphat may be consistently classed 
 with the most renowned in all the land, in point of distinction ; it is a 
 a very deep ravine, lying between the city and the Mount of Olives, 
 running north and south ; the brook Kedron flows through it, and by 
 which name the valley is sometimes called ; it is very deep in some 
 parts and difiicult to descend, the water rises in it at times during the 
 heavy rains in the fall, to the height of ten or twelve feet, but during 
 the summer season is almost dry. 
 
 The Jews and Mohammedans believe this valley will be the scene of 
 the last judgment, and Christians have also adopted the Jewish faith, 
 with regard to the final day, and stubbornly insist the Judge of all the 
 earth will call the nations before Him in this valley ; it is thought, 
 they base their belief on the declaration of the Prophet Joel ; the Jews 
 have a tradition that all persons not buried in the valley of Jehoshaphat 
 will be compelled to come from every part of the world under ground, 
 to judgment ; therefore they are very anxious to be buried there and 
 have occupied every available space for their tombs almost to Bethany ; 
 the Jews build their tombs on the east side of the valley and the Mo- 
 hammedans on the west. 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. Ill 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF TOMBS. 
 
 These tombs are not dug as in other countries, but built up from the 
 surface with stones, by men who follow that work daily ; the dead are 
 not kept for three or four days, therefore, thousands have their tombs 
 built while they are alive, so that they will be sure of being buried 
 properly. Men can be seen every day on both sides of the valley busy 
 building tombs. (See Joel iii. 2-12.) 
 
 Some of these tombs are very ancient, and it is highly probable that 
 the dusty remains of a hundred generations rest in them, comprising a 
 number of the many races who in their turn controlled the country, viz. : 
 Jebusites, Hebrews, Syrians, Macedonians, Egyptians, Romans, Per- 
 sians, Franks and Turks ; some of those tombs such as are known as 
 Absalom, St. James, Jehoshaphat and Zechariah's, are supposed to be 
 amongst the oldest in the land. 
 
 They are drilled in the rock, and from their appearance much 
 time was expended in preparing them ; about these stately monu- 
 ments of the memorable dead lie the remains of almost innumer- 
 able hosts, whose names will remain unknown until the day of final 
 accounts. This valley was the scene of great tumult when David was 
 fleeing from the fury of Absalom, his rebellious son, who was in hot 
 pursuit after him with murderous intent- 
 
 Jehoshaphat properly begins at the head of a valley about one mile 
 and a quarter west of the Damascus Gate, at which point it is very 
 shallow, but continues to deepen gradually as it goes south ; the first 
 half mile runs in the direction of the city, then suddenly turns east- 
 ward ; in this course it runs for half a mile, then changes southward 
 and becomes much wider. 
 
 The road going to Anathoth and Michmash crosses it here ; the 
 valley is said to be a hundred feet deep opposite St. Stephen's Gate, 
 and about two hundred feet wide. It is the general opinion, the name 
 of this valley was adopted after King Jehoshaphat had won a great 
 victory there, one that strengthened the hearts of the Jews and made 
 both the king and the battle-field memorable to them throughout many 
 generations. (2 Chron, xx.) 
 
 The places of Bible mention in and about Jerusalem are now, as in 
 earlier times, eagerly sought by the thousands of tourists and pilgrims 
 who annually pay the Holy City a visit ; the routes of daily travel 
 from place to place are accurately arranged, so that all places visited 
 are classed according to their distance from each other, into daily 
 itineracies from one to eleven. 
 
112 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Many of the traditional places hitherto settled ujDon as identical 
 with prominent events mentioned in the Bible, have been for several 
 years rigidly investigated by men who have great ability for exploring ; 
 these investigations have in many instances been highly beneficial ; 
 several places that were not identified have been discovei-ed through 
 their efforts, and many that have been settled upon have proven to be 
 mis-located 
 
 These developments have given new avenues for thought to those who 
 travel to Palestine in search of historical information ; it is very unfortu- 
 nate, however, that several places that have been believed to be identical 
 with events narrated in the Scriptures have been disputed by some of 
 our modern investigators, without establishing proof to the contrary, 
 or discovering any other site that indicates their premises are properly 
 founded. 
 
 The people of Palestine who have charge of those historical and 
 sacred places cling with unyielding tenacity to the old traditions, 
 believing those who lived sixteen or seventeen hundred years ago had 
 a better opportunity to know the locality of these places than the 
 people of to-day, and they think the places as located are genuine, 
 notwithstanding the devastation to which the city has been subjected. 
 
 When Absalom, whose previous conduct had caused him for a time 
 to be exiled from the embraces of his father, had been kindly restored 
 and pardoned for his great sin, he began another cunning scheme that 
 was so agreeable to the masses, they became willing to abandon David 
 and took the young aspirant for their king. Absalom's ambition and 
 treacherous disposition was of the basest character ; he did not only 
 seek to obtain the sceptre before the death of his father, but such was 
 his ambition for it, he eagerly sought to murder him to obtain it. 
 Many young men follow this most sinful of all examples and bring 
 sorrow, lamentation and death hastily upon their parents, because they 
 wish to possess their fortune. 
 
 It was too long, in the estimation of Absalom, to wait until his 
 father died, to possess the throne, so he plotted and put into effect one 
 of the most barbarous schemes a son could conceive against the interest 
 of his father. 
 
 THE PATH DAVID TOOK THROUGH THE VALLEY. 
 
 Clothing himself in royal attire, Absalom appeared in the most con- 
 spicuous place and persuaded the people to rebel against the king, 
 because their rights were being imposed upon, and if they would 
 elevate him to power, equal justice should be the standard principle of 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 113 
 
 his administration ; and that his cunningly-devised plans might be 
 attained he went to his father and obtained permission to go to 
 Hebron, to pay a vow he had made ; David, having no suspicion 
 of treachery, granted his request ; then the nature of the oath was soon 
 developed. 
 
 Absalom, having arrived at Hebron, sent out messengers in great 
 haste throughout the nation, that at a given sign previously made 
 known to the people, they should unitedly proclaim him king in Hebron, 
 the previous seat of government. 
 
 This intelligence enthused the people, and many whose sympathies 
 were with David did not dare to express themselves in his favor ; for a 
 short time Absalom grew in popularity with the people, and his party 
 increased rapidly. When the news of his treason had come to the 
 ears of King David he was completely unnerved, so that his courage fell, 
 and the man whose fame as a mighty conqueror, had made nations 
 tremble, became so appalled that he was almost like a helpless child, 
 and may be looked upon as a conquered conqueror. 
 
 The king in wild dismay fled from the city of David, whilst his 
 son and usurjiers were advancing on the city from the south, which 
 was the most convenient way from Hebron. David having heard of 
 the route the would-be king was coming with his army of revolters, 
 ran down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat eastward, entered the path 
 leading over the Mount of Olives and continued his flight until he 
 found himself east of the Jordan in the land of Gilead. 
 
 Hence the Valley of Jehoshaphat has been memorable also, on 
 account of David, who passed through it in deep sorrow, when his 
 own son was seeking his throne and his life. The path the king took 
 through the valley with his court, is graphically described in the Bible : 
 " And all the country wejDt with a loud voice, and all the people 
 passed over." 
 
 DAVID AND HIS SYMPATHETIC FRIENDS. 
 
 " The king also himself passed over the Brook Kedron and all the 
 people passsed over it ; " the road leading over the Mount of Olives 
 was very steep and rugged ; to ascend, it is therefore clear to all, that 
 the king had a toilsome journey from the beginning ; the difficult road 
 to travel, and a rebellious and murderous son behind him with ven- 
 geance flashing from his eyes, must have made the journey expressly 
 solitary and bitter. 
 
 It seems to have been early in the morning when David was 
 apprised of the rebellion and fled from the city ; this we infer from the 
 
114 TPIE LAXD OF PROMISE. 
 
 time it required him to travel the distance at rapid speed and the 
 events which transpired during the flight, which, when taken into 
 account, seem to justify our opinion, that the king started from his 
 palace early ; Josephus contributes more space to this event than any 
 other ; he very minutely portrays the behavior of David under his deep 
 afiliction, showing he was patient, and fervent, in his religious devo- 
 tions; that in time of danger when fierce and bloodthirsty foes were per- 
 suing him, he took time to attend to his daily religious devotions. 
 
 He also speaks of his generosity, his simplicity, his forgiving dis- 
 position, but nothing of his courage, for it had left him, the weight of 
 grief had crushed it out of him, for the time being ; for a son whom 
 he loved so tenderly, had brought him shame and burdened his heart ; 
 notwithstanding Absalom had proved himself unworthy of his father's 
 love, yet he was dearly adored by him even when the offence was of 
 such a nature, any other person would have been hunted down by 
 David's strong arm and slain, but we find this " mighty man of valor " 
 escaping from a rebel son, with all the speed he could command, 
 having with him a multituie of grief-stricken friends who made the 
 very hills and valleys in the vicinity of their journey echo with their 
 doleful lamentations for miles around ; there were no cheering develop- 
 ments along the route. 
 
 But on the other hand one event after another attended the flight 
 of the king which served to increase his fears ; when David left the City 
 of Jerusalem a multitude of sympathizing friends left with him, includ- 
 ing his entire household except ten women of the harem (concubines), 
 whom he left behind to look after household effects ; the mules and 
 donkeys that were usually taken when the king started on a journey 
 with his court, were left and all the company started on foot, believing 
 it to be the most expedient method of traveling over the very rough 
 pass, down to the Jordan. It was a long and mournful procession com- 
 posed of the Philistine body-guard, the six hundred men from Gath, 
 the high officers of the king's court, all the servants and many women 
 and children (see 2 Samuel xv.). 
 
 THE STRONG LOVE OF ITTAI FOR DAVID. 
 
 There were none of those who clung to David in his state of deep 
 distress more worthy of mention than Ittai the Gittite ; although he 
 was a stranger and also an exile, yet he was so deeply in sympathy 
 with the king he was willing to go with him and to suffer with him, 
 whatever calamity there might be in store; to this end he nerved 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 115 
 
 himself to follow David and do all lie could for him iu life and in 
 death. 
 
 The attachment of Ittai to his lord was so strong no farther 
 objection to his purpose was made ; and he and those with him passed 
 down through the valley of Jehoshaphat, beyond the Kedron, to join 
 the mournful procession. The evidence of the king's purpose to flee 
 in pursuit of a place of refuge was prominent, for the whole multitude 
 instantly uttered a wail of grief that almost shook the surrounding 
 mountains. 
 
 Then Zadok came in company with Abiathar and the Levites. bear- 
 ing the Ark of God from its resting-place on Mt. Ziou, intending to 
 take it with them for the consolation of the king in his painful flight ; 
 but the treasure was so sacred and valuable, David regarded it too 
 risky to attempt to escape, and ordered the Priests Zadok and Abiathar 
 to return it, deeming it far better to perish himself and all those with 
 him, than for anything to happen to the sacred Ark. 
 
 It was, according to David's command, returned to Jerusalem ; the 
 king also requested the two priests to remain with the sacred instru- 
 ment and pay strict attention to the movements of Absalom, and send 
 him word what they proposed to do, by their two sons Ahimaoz and 
 Jonathan, who were waiting for tidings in the Valley of Johoshaphat 
 by En-rogel. These young men were fleet as runners, and could come 
 to the king in time to warn him of Absalom's plans. 
 
 DAVID'S FLIGHT. 
 
 The lamentations of David and those with him must have been 
 heart-rending to those who heard them, for the thoughts of his flight 
 and the cause that stimulated him are shocking to those living iu 
 this remote age. We are informed, David went up by the way of 3It. 
 Olivet, and wept as he went, with covered head and bare-footed, and 
 all those with him covered their heads, and wept with their fleeing 
 king as the/ went there ; when they had reached the summit of Mt. 
 Olivet, having aching hearts and bleeding feet ; the king stopped long 
 enough to worship, and then advised with Hushai, who like a friend in 
 the time of need, or sore afiliction, having heard of David's trouble 
 because of his heartless son, that he - was compelled to flee from his 
 palace and from Jerusalem, and seek a safe retreat elsewhere, rent his 
 clothes, and came out to meet him, with his head covered with earth, 
 and endeavored to persuade the king to go with him. 
 
 But the king did not want to burden his friend with his sorrows, 
 therefore, he continued his journey, but requested Hushai to remain as 
 
116 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 one of the advisers of Absalom, feeling lie could render liim valuable 
 service by doing so, as to the movements of the treacherous usurper, 
 whose iron heart and merciless hand were greedily seeking the blood 
 of a father whose love for his son knew no bounds ; the two had not 
 separated but a short time, before another man met David and his party- 
 
 But he was not a friend ; his expressions were indicative of an enemy, 
 in whose heart was concealed a deep-seated grudge and low cunning. 
 It was plain, the king had not only obstacles behind him, from which 
 he was fleeing, but gainsay and derision before him, these evils com- 
 bined their influence to intimidate and discourage him. 
 
 As he proceeded down the eastern slope of Mt. Olivet, Shimei, the 
 Benjamite, who was a relative of King Saul and unfriendly to David, 
 met him, and went along the mountain side, and cursed him, threw 
 stones and dust at him ; the enemy embraced the opportunity when 
 David was too much overcome with grief and fatigue to resent an 
 insult, to drive the wedge of agony deeper into his bleeding heart, and 
 drive him into insanity, or absolute madness, if possible. 
 
 DAVID IN EXILE. 
 
 This grave insult to the king so deeply incurred the displeasure of 
 the high ofiicials of David's stafi", and others of the company, they for 
 a time, lost sight of their perilous situation and were with no little 
 effort restrained from avenging the insolent Benjamite. Abishai, who 
 had lost control of himself, would have leaped acx'oss the ravine and 
 smote off" the head of Shimei, had David given his consent ; but the 
 king reminded them, that since his own son, whom he so dearly loved, 
 had abandoned him and caused him to go into exile, anything could 
 be tolerated that others could do to him. 
 
 This timely advice restrained his friends from dealing rashly with 
 the man who attempted to assault their lord, and they continued their 
 hasty flight until they had reached the valley of the Jordan, where 
 they camped amongst the thickets, and refreshed themselves after a 
 fiatiguing day's journey. Here, mark the change in David's sur- 
 roundings ; just a day previous he was in his stately palace on Mt. 
 Zion, in the city of Jerusalem, having at his command all that was 
 needful to make him happy ; now he is in exile among the weeds, and 
 bushes along the banks of the Jordan, without shelter or a pillow upon 
 which to lay his head. 
 
 Yet he seemed not to be so much disturbed about being deprived 
 of home comforts for the time being, as he was to know the plans of 
 Absalom, and what more was necessary to make good his escape from 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JEKUSALEM. 117 
 
 his son's rebellious hand. Then, suddenly, while the heavenly sentinels 
 were advancing up their silvery paths to their meridian, they heard 
 the sound of the two fleet-footed youths, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, coming 
 with great speed bringing the ardently desired tidings. 
 
 On the arrival of the young usurper, which occurred a few hours 
 after the flight of David and his company, he held a council as to the 
 best mode of procedure, seeing his father had fled from the palace and 
 city. The chief adviser was Ahithophel, a man of great influence, and 
 on whom David himself relied for advice in times of great perplexity. 
 This man had turned from the king and set his face toward the traitor 
 son, and advised him, among other things, to pursue his father even 
 to the banks of the Jordan and slay him, that the nation might have 
 peace. This advice pleased Absalom, for he knew that if David could 
 be captured and put to death, the kingdom would be safely in his 
 hands. 
 
 When the news reached Hushai he advised Absalom diflTerently, which 
 seemed to be better than that given by Ahithophel, but in truth it was in 
 David's favor. Having the full text of Absalom's immediate procedure, 
 Hushai informed Zadok and Abiathar, and requested them to dispatch 
 the young men to David at once, that he might cross the Jordan before 
 his pursuers overtook him. The messengers reached the king in time 
 to prepare him to escape. These young men, sons of the priest, were 
 being watched with all possible vigilance, as they were suspected of 
 being unfriendly to Absalom ; and had it not been for the well in 
 Bahurim, in which they concealed themselves, Absalom would have 
 had them put to death as enemies of his cause and emissaries of his 
 father, whose life he was anxiously seeking. (See 2 Samuel xvii.) 
 
 AHITHOPHEL COMMITTED SUICIDE. 
 
 Just at this time there was a break in the council. Absalom 
 offended Ahithophel because he followed the advice of Hushai. This 
 so troubled the aged counsellor, that he saddled the donkey on which 
 he generally rode when going a journey, went to his home and put his 
 house in order, then went out and deliberately hung himself. It was 
 thought he was apprehensive of the fate of Absalom, and having joined 
 the rebellious party, he would naturally come to shame, and perhaps 
 lose his life in the struggle. 
 
 When it was known that Ahithophel had committed suicide, he 
 was honored with an honorable burial in the sepulchre of his father, 
 which was not customary in those times ; it was the prevailing opinion 
 that men who committed self-murder were not worthy of being buried 
 
118 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 witli the honored dead. The death of Ahithophel was but the signal- 
 cloud of the pending storm that would turn the tide of indigna- 
 tion from David, and cause his rebellious son to reap the reward of his 
 hands. 
 
 Absalom was full of ambition, and restless anxiety to capture his 
 father and put him to death, and all who were in sympathy with him, 
 and to accomplish this he thought it proper to follow Hushai's instruc- 
 tions. Collecting a large army he appointed Amasa, his cousin, chief 
 commander over it, instead of Joab. This young rebel was the son of 
 Abigail, David's sister; his father was Ithra. It was thought he was 
 not very highly esteemed by David, and this led him to join in the 
 rebellion against him. The preparation being completed the army 
 started in pursuit of David, whose hidings were on the east of the 
 Jordan, with friends who were endeavoring to make him and his army 
 comfortable (see 2 Sam. xvii. 7-24). For when it became known to 
 the people that David had fled to them in Mahanaim for jirotection 
 from the wrath of his son, three powerful oflicials came to his help. 
 These were Shobi, son of Nahash, of Kabbah, supposed to have been 
 king of Ammon ; and Machir, the son of Ammiel, of Lo-debar ; and 
 Barzillai, the Gileadite, of Rogelim. 
 
 They brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, wheat and bar- 
 ley, and parched corn, and honey, and butter, sheep and cheese of all 
 kinds, for David and for those who were with him to eat, for they said 
 the people are hungry, weary and thirsty in the wilderness. The king, 
 finding himself in the midst of friends, was relieved of much of his 
 tenderness and his spirit was greatly revived. After he and his army 
 had refreshed themselves from the sumptuous supply of choice food 
 given them by the trans-Jordanic dwellers, David began to prepare for 
 the crisis before him. 
 
 He numbered those who were with him and divided them into 
 three divisions, and placed Joab in command of the first, which com- 
 i:)rised one-third of the whole army ; the second division was under 
 command of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother ; and the 
 third was in command of Ittai, the Gittite, who vowed to stand by 
 David, and even suflfer death, if the crisis demanded, before he would 
 leave him or suffer his rebel son to triumph over him. 
 
 The king had also concluded to go into the battle with the people 
 who had sacrificed their homes and put their lives on the altar of death 
 to protect him ; but the whole people demanded that he should remain 
 in his hidings, for his life was of more value to the nation than ten 
 thousand other men (see 2 Sam. xviii. 1-33). 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 119 
 
 David yielded to the earnest protest of his people, and remained at 
 the fortress, but charged Joab, Abishai and Ittai, the chiefs in com- 
 mand, and all the captains in the hearing of the army going out 
 against the rebels, to be kindly disposed toward his rebellious son, for 
 notwithstanding all the tenderness of heart a son should indulge for a 
 kind father, had been crushed in Absalom, by an avaricious ambition 
 to control the nation, David still most tenderly loved him and wished 
 his life preserved. 
 
 The great army of Israel, under the command of Amasa, in the 
 meantime had crossed the ford and was east of the Jordan. Absalom 
 seems not to have been advised to remain in the palace at Jerusalem, 
 and being bent on conquest, he came with the army, to assist in any- 
 thing he might do to capture and slay his father and slaughter the 
 veteran army, whose loyalty was as firm as the hills around them. 
 
 The army of King David went up against that of Absalom, and 
 they pitched their first battle in the forest of Ephraim, which resulted 
 in the loss of tw^enty thousand of the rebel army ; these men, the most 
 of whom were unskilled in warfare, fled before the veteran army of 
 David, and thousands of them, having lost their way to the fords, fled 
 to the interlacing thicket, where they were pursued by the men of 
 King David (who were far superior in skill and military strength) 
 and slain. 
 
 During this stage of great panic in Amasa's command, Absa- 
 lom ■ himself came riding in at full speed upon his mule, and 
 unguardedly met a squad of men of David's force ; these he attempted 
 to shun by darting through the forest in another direction and was 
 caught in the fork of an oak (perhaps by his neck) and held so tightly 
 he could not extricate himself, and the beast darted out, leaving him 
 hanging. (See 2 Sam. xviii. 5-11.) 
 
 ABSALOM'S TRAGIC DEATH. 
 
 There was great anxiety as to the termination of the success of the 
 great national conflict on both sides. But those men with Absalom 
 were full of confidence, and had expected to capture David and his whole 
 force that day ; but when the man whom they had illegally anointed 
 and installed king, had been caught by the limb of a tree, and had 
 been slain by Joab, they immediately abandoned their unfortunate 
 insurrection and were filled with wild dismay. 
 
 The man who saw Absalom hanging would have been glad to bave 
 driven his dart through him, but having heard David forbid that any 
 one should do him harm, he was restrained, but went to Joab, the chief 
 
120 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 officer of his divisiou, and related the story of Absalom's fate, where- 
 upon, in an unguarded moment, Joab disregarded the admonition of 
 his king, and took the responsibility upon himself, and slew the ill-fated 
 son of David. 
 
 He caused his staff to form a circle around the tree where Absalom 
 was suspended, and finished the work of death ; they extricated him 
 from the limb, and finding near them a ditch or "great pit," into 
 that they threw the remains of the dead rebel son of Israel's victorious 
 king, and covered it with a mound of stones. 
 
 Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, the priest, was present and asked to be 
 allowed to run and bring the tidings of the battle to the king ; but 
 Joab thought it would be better to break the news to David another 
 day, when he would be better prepared to receive it. In the meantime 
 a Cushite was dispatched to bear the news to the king of what he had 
 seen and heard. Then Ahimaaz insisted to be allowed to run, and was 
 permitted to go ; he outran the Cushite, for he was one of the fleetest 
 and most noted runners in the land, and was generally known afar off, 
 by his peculiar style of running, and while yet in the distance the 
 watchman in the lookout tower recognized him and told David, 
 who was sitting between the two gates of the camp, awaiting the news 
 of the battle. When Ahimaaz arrived his heart failed him, so that he 
 could not get courage enough to break the news of Absalom's fate. 
 
 DAVID'S LAMENTATION. 
 
 But when the Cushite, the regular messenger, came to the camp, he 
 delivered the message and told of the death of Absalom, and the 
 destruction and confusion of his army. When David heard it he 
 wept bitterly over the death of his rebellious son, whose hand had been 
 so long uplifted against him. 
 
 Such was his fervent love for Absalom, he would have died in his 
 stead ; the lamentations of the bereaved king awakened deep sympathy 
 for him among all his people ; his indignation was so greatly kindled 
 against Joab, he could no longer make him the trusty head of his 
 army. Amasa, who was one of the most expert commanders in Israel, 
 was appointed in Joab's place. 
 
 This action of David severed the intimate friendship between the 
 king and the slayer of his son forever ; Joab also entertained a deep- 
 seated dislike for Amasa, which in time was clearly develoi:)ed. David 
 made preparations to return to Jerusalem, and sent the two chief 
 priests to the city to allay any feeling amongst the people that might 
 exist against him ; this being done, the king came over the Jordan, 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 121 
 
 followed by a large procession (2 Samuel xviii. 15-33) and marched up 
 to Jerusalem, and was once more the victorious King David, whose 
 fame as a conqueror was known far and wide. The bloody struggle was 
 over, the rebellious Absalom had been slain, the remaining rebels had 
 been subdued, peace was restored, and David himself was on the throne. 
 But there was no lasting rest after his restoration to the throne ; many 
 things tending to perplex his soul, and reduce his pride, rushed upon 
 him one after the other until he neared the swellings of Jordan. 
 
 A FAMINE IN THE LAND. 
 
 About the time when the many difficuties seemed to have been 
 removed, that so greatly interrupted the prosperity of the nation, a 
 devastating famine, which lingered three years, threw a great check 
 upon the nation's prosperity, and the indefatigable Philistines, who 
 had been a thorn in the path of the nation for a long time and who 
 David thought were finally conquered, came up against them as thick 
 as locusts, and plunged the king into a new struggle. 
 
 But these issues, sad and perplexing as they were, did not compare 
 in magnitude to the calamitous internal conflict that was stimulated 
 by Sheba, the Benjaminite, whose bugle blast upon the mountains of 
 Ephraim called to his help men of war from the ten tribes, whose 
 loyalty to his cause seemed to be unshaken, even by the hitherto 
 powerful arm of David himself. 
 
 Now from the time Joab was dismissed by David as general-in- 
 chief of the army, and Amasa put in his place, he was revengefully 
 angry, and sought an opportunity to put his successor to death, but 
 made no demonstration of his intention ; David, fearing an uprising of 
 Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite, might result seriously to the 
 prosperity of his kingdom, sent Amasa to call the men of Judah to 
 battle against him. And when they halted at the great stone Avhich 
 is in Gibeon, Joab found it opportune to murder Amasa, under the 
 guise of friendship, then proceeded with the army, loyal to David, and 
 defeated Sheba's, forces and won another victory for the king (2 Sam. 
 XX. 1-22). 
 
 ABSALOM'S PILLAE. 
 
 Absalom, the ambitious aspirant to the throne of his father, during 
 his more quiet life caused to be erected a shaft; or monument to his 
 memory in the king's dale, which is in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, known 
 in earlier Scriptures as the Valley of Shaveh. The shaft was marble 
 according to Josephus and was built to perpetuate the memory of the 
 
122 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 young prince, because at tbat time lie had no son to keep his name in 
 remembrance. 
 
 ABSALOM'S TOMB. 
 
 It is stated in another chapter that Absalom had three sons, and one 
 daughter of very great beauty, named Tamer ; the general opinion is, 
 the pillar was erected some time prior to the time his children were 
 born. In the Valley of Jehoshaphat, on the east side of the City of 
 Jerusalem, an old tomb is known as Absalom's Pillar; it is about 
 twenty feet square and forty feet high from the foundation to the top 
 of the dome. 
 
 The origin of this monument is not positively settled ; some suppose 
 it has been substituted for the one built by Absalom, others are of the 
 opinion it is the original shaft itself; let these opinions be true or 
 otherwise, it is without doubt one of the most prominent monuments 
 of all those in the venerable valley. It is held expressly odious in 
 Jewish estimation ; they hate the very memory of Absalom's name, so 
 much so, that when passing his pillar they hurl stones of indignation 
 at it, on account of his rebellious conduct toward his father. 
 
 The whole of the shaft bears prominent indications of Jewish 
 violence, it being full of scars from top to bottom. 2 Sam. xviii. 18 ; 
 Gen. xiv. 17. The disgraceful fate of Absalom should serve as a last- 
 ingly impressive lesson of special admonition to the young, they 
 should remember, it is far more desirable to sleep in a tomb of the 
 blessed, than one that the living of an hundred generations will curse 
 when they pass it, as the incensed Jews do the shaft of the rebel son 
 of David, whose grave was a deep ditch, having a pile of stones to 
 cover his mortal remains, in the wild forests of Ephraim, instead of 
 being honorably buried in the rich sepulchre he prepared for himself 
 in the king's dale. 
 
 VALLEY OF HINNOM. 
 
 The Valley of Hinnom is one of the most notable of those in 
 Palestine and one of the most widely known in the world, because of 
 the peculiar history connected with it. This renowned valley is situated 
 on the west of Jerusalem, separating Mt. Zion on the north, from the 
 Hill of Evil Counsel and the Plain of Raphaim on the south. It is 
 first mentioned in history, in describing the boundary of the tribe of 
 Benjamin, which is so accurately drawn that modern visitors have, 
 with little difficulty, traced them. "The border line of Benjamin leav- 
 ing En-rogel went up by the valley of the Son of Hinnom unto the south- 
 west of the Jebusite ; the same is Jerusalem, and the border went up to the 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 123 
 
 top of the mountain that lieth before the Valley of Hinnom, westward, 
 which is at the end of the Valley of the Giants, northward." The 
 Valley of the Giants mentioned here is that also known as Raphaim, 
 where the Philistines were defeated by King David. At the point where 
 the Valley of Hinnom turns eastward it rapidly increases in depth, 
 and as it passes along the southern boundary of Mt. Zion, which rises 
 high above it, a beautiful observation can be obtained of the mountain- 
 ous situation of Jerusalem. 
 
 HILL OF EVIL COUNSEL. 
 
 The Hill of Evil Counsel is on the south, which is high, steep and 
 rugged ; it contains many tombs, hewn in the rocks ; the most of them 
 are empty, the remains of their illustrious dead have been removed to 
 other parts, and some of them, it is highly probable, have never been 
 occupied. This will not seem strange when we call to mind that it was 
 a common custom for people in olden times to have their tombs pre- 
 pared many years before they died. 
 
 It was one of their supreme thoughts, when they came into manhood, 
 how and where to prepare their sejiulchres. This was a common cus- 
 tom in Egypt long before Moses led the Hebrews from their bondage. 
 Many of those ancient tombs, that were built at a great cost, are yet 
 standing as evidences of the fact. 
 
 It is likely, the Hebrews brought the idea with them when they 
 entered the " Land of Promise." Absalom, who has been mentioned, 
 had a stately monument built in the king's dale, to perpetuate his 
 memory ; Joseph of Arimathea prepared his tomb, and laid the body 
 of the Lord Jesus in it after the crucifixion; but the intention of 
 Joseph, when he had the sepulchre hewn, was to have it ready for his 
 own body when death should come to him. 
 
 This Hill of Evil Counsel is the traditional summit on which Caia- 
 phas, the High Priest, counseled with the Sanhedrim Court, to put 
 Christ to death. Then is seen another place high up the hill, which is 
 of great importance to visitors, if the tradition as to its identity is 
 correctly drawn. It is called Aceldama, now known as Hok-el-Dum. 
 
 POTTEE'S FIELD. 
 
 It is directly opposite to the Pool of Siloam ; there are, as is natural 
 to suppose, doubts existing among some of those who have made inves- 
 tigations as to the identity of this as the " Field of Blood," nevertheless 
 it has great prominence as such because it has been for a long time 
 
124 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 greatly reverenced by Christians, and many pilgrims who died while 
 visiting the holy places about Jerusalem, have been buried there. 
 
 The soil is believed to be expressly efficient in promoting decomposi- 
 tion ; for this reason many ship-loads of it were taken, by special order, 
 to the Compo-Santo, at Pisa, Italy. AVe were conducted to this old 
 cemetery, while in Pisa, in which this soil was placed. It is regarded 
 as one of the most sacred and reverential places in the city. 
 
 Thei'e are several sepulchres in the neighborhood of the Potter's 
 Field, of Hebrew and Greek origin ; many of them are very ancient. 
 Here the betrayer of our Lord, after being seized with overpowering 
 condemnation as a result of his vicious and deliberate crime, went out 
 and hanged himself. This site is, therefore, looked upon as that with 
 which the money given Judas for delivering Christ into the hands of 
 his enemies was bought, and has continued until now to be a burying- 
 ground for strangers. 
 
 It is noteworthy that all strangers who die in Jerusalem are buried 
 in Aceldama. There are very many tombs here ; some of them are 
 those of hermits, who lived in Jerusalem in very early times ; others 
 are the silent homes of many crusaders who died here ; others are of 
 very recent date. Pains have been taken to have beautiful inscriptions 
 carved on the face of several tombs. 
 
 These places, so important in sacred history, being in some way 
 connected with the Valley of Hinnom, has caused it to be mentioned 
 many times in connection with them, but this valley became more 
 prominently noted after it was made the head of the idolatrous wor- 
 ship, for the people who had largely estranged themselves from the 
 God of their fathers. (See Matt, xxvii. 7-8 ; Acts i. 19; Matt, xxvii. 
 
 3-10.) 
 
 IDOLATEY OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Many of the Israelites brought their innocent children to be sacri- 
 ficed to Moloch ; this was practiced there and at the high places of 
 Tophet ; which, according to Jerome, were situated at the uojth of the 
 valley, near what is known at present as Bir-Eyuh. The procedure 
 was many times revolting to humanity ; the worshipers, or many of 
 them, would freely bring their children where these terrible sacrifices 
 were carried on, and would cause their sons and daughters to pass 
 through the fire. 
 
 There is a Jewish tradition stating that the statue of Moloch was 
 brass, having a body of a man and a head of a lion ; its interior was 
 hollow, and fitted up with a furnace, by which it was made red hot. 
 The children to be sacrificed were then placed in the red hot arms of 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 125 
 
 the devouring image to burn to deatli, and to drown their pensive 
 lamentations and heart-rending cries men would beat drums. 
 
 This abominable institution was first established by King Solomon : 
 " Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination 
 of Moab, in the hill which is before Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the 
 abomination of the children of Ammon " (see 1 Kings, xi. 7). 
 
 This wise king, who was specially endowed of God with extraor- 
 dinary wisdom, proved himself to be at length one of the most unwor- 
 thy of all the kings who had reigned on the throne at Jerusalem. 
 The reign of this yoxmg monarch began with copious indications of 
 being a great blessing to his people, a guide to lead them in the way 
 of righteousness. 
 
 But when his probation was ended he left a deep black cloud, pregnant 
 with many baneful issues, hanging over the nation, largely caused by 
 the polygamous character he so fondly nursed. Solomon was not con- 
 tent with the females of Hebrew origin, but took to himself wives of 
 several surrounding nations, and thereby brought into the capital many 
 whose religion was idolatrous, and whose gods were not the Lord. 
 This forbidden conduct introduced idolatry into the land, which con- 
 tinued increasing until it had nearly supplanted the worship ordained 
 of the Lord. 
 
 The Mount of Offence was almost covered with idol gods, before whom 
 the people reverentially bowed (2 Kings xxiii. 10-13 ; Isa. vii. 31). 
 
 THE KINGDOM EMBAREASSED. 
 
 The luxury and profligacy that became popular in connection with 
 the fatally numerous marriages of the king, and Jerusalem being situ- 
 ated away from the centre of the nation, where it could not be in 
 sympathy with the tribes of the far-away north, were instrumental in 
 breaking the ties that bound the nation, and the increasing lust of the 
 king for magnificence, greatly aided in the work of destruction ; for 
 it caused the country at large to become impoverished that the capital 
 might be made rich. 
 
 Then in the extreme moment, when foes sprang up from the south 
 and on the north, under Hadad, who dwelt among the mountains of 
 Edom, and Rezon from the plains of Syria, Solomon found his power 
 had departed. This young king had a most brilliant prospect before 
 him to become the most cautious, progressive, and powerful monarch 
 of those who preceded him, or any that should succeed him to the 
 throne of Isi'ael. 
 
 His mother, Bathsheba, who was formerly the wife of Uriah, 
 
126 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 an officer in David's army, paid special attention to her beloved son, 
 Solomon, from infancy, and trained him with all the tenderness an 
 affectionate mother of her day could command ; he was also put under 
 the care of pious Nathan, who w^as one of the chief advisers of David, 
 for mental training. 
 
 It may be seen very clearly that Solomon was specially reared in 
 the fear of God. He being very young, not having reached his 
 majority, when the responsible duties of the throne were accorded him, 
 he sought direction from God, and above all other honors he prayed 
 for wisdom. In answer to his prayer the Lord endowed him with such 
 gifts that he astonished his subjects, and impressed them that he was 
 the proper man to hold the sceptre of power. 
 
 The first demonstration of his superior judgment, was that most 
 masterly decision between the dispute of the two women over the child 
 that both claimed. The young king had a double opportuuity for 
 unlimited success ; the nations round about were at peace and ready 
 to form friendly alliance with him. 
 
 SOLOMON'S EAELY BLUNDEK. 
 
 The powerful Phoenicians, who were masters of the sea, were on 
 most intimate terms of friendship with him, and above all he had the 
 blessing of God with him, and His hand to guide him ; there was for a 
 time nothing but success in the path of the lad king, such as had never 
 visited Israel before. He built cities, where there had been naught but a 
 dreary wilderness ; he also built great palaces and splendid gardens, 
 and royal stables, that furnished room for forty thousand horses, and 
 one thousand four hundred chariots. 
 
 Solomon also caused spacious parks to be made, which were watered 
 by aqueducts leading from the great pools, nine miles from Jerusalem. 
 The glory and unequaled splendor with which Solomon was adorned 
 caused him to turn his mind from the right way, and to forget the 
 counsel of his dying father, to feel his superior importance and to 
 incline his heart toward idolatry. 
 
 It is proper to say for Solomon that for the first few years of his 
 kingship his administration was one that exhibited wisdom and great 
 caution, but when his fame reached beyond the confines of the imme- 
 diate surrounding nations to those remotely distant, so that potentates 
 and rulers from far away lands began to lavish praises of high commenda- 
 tion upon him, Solomon grew proud and sinful. One of his earliest 
 grave mistakes was his marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh, King of 
 Egypt. 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 127- 
 
 This woman fondly admired the idolatrous worship of Egypt, and 
 was not slow in her endeavors to persuade Solomon to introduce it 
 into the kingdom of Israel, and it seemed lier influence had some 
 weight with her husband, for he at length yielded to the toleration of 
 false gods, as has been related. There was a growing inclination rest- 
 ing in Solomon to polygamy, and, being bent on indulging this incli- 
 nation, he caused the harem to be enlarged, which was a significant 
 indication of a great increase in the king's household ; this fact was 
 soon developed, for Solomon burdened the nation with the additional 
 responsibility of caring for the surprising number of seven hundred 
 wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings iii. 15-28), whom he had 
 chosen for himself, selected from his own nation and those of others 
 round about. These ten hundred women were furnished with every- 
 thing necessary to make them royal in appearance ; they wore robes of 
 Phoenician purple, with gold gilt, and their table furnishings were the 
 best in the market. The great domestic expenses of Solomon, in con- 
 nection with his general and incidental obligations, were more than his 
 yearly income of six hundred and sixty-six talents in gold (which 
 amounts to about thirty-five millions of dollars in our money). He, 
 therefore, in order to discharge those obligations, exorbitantly taxed 
 the people, many of whom were distressed, so that the king, who in the 
 beginning of his reign, displayed so great wisdom, fell into a deep 
 gulf of degradations, and when the shades of death were upon him 
 he found himself far from the path in which he first began to walk. 
 
 POOLS AND FOUNTAINS. 
 
 One of the many embarrassments which every visitor to Jeru- 
 salem must encounter, is the liability of being made sick, and per- 
 haps seriously so, from the use of the water ; therefore, strangers are 
 admonished by the leading physicians to guard against the free use of 
 it, unless it has been boiled ; and even then it should be taken cautiously. 
 In many instances where this advice has been discarded t\w: results 
 have been deeply regretted. 
 
 I suppose no one, whose life was spared, has felt the impulse of dis- 
 obedience more than the writer, who at one time seemed to be near 
 death's door, which was the result of disobedience ; it is far better to 
 be painfully thirsty in that far-ofi" land than to be painfully in need of 
 a physician. Jerusalem is chiefly supplied with water from cisterns ; 
 the most of them are inadequate to hold enough water to supply the 
 people throughout the dry season ; then the public cisterns and pools 
 furnish water, until the rainy season comes on again, when the small 
 
128 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 ones are replenished. These reservoirs are either hewn in the rock or 
 
 built of stones, having arches over them, and a small opening at the top 
 
 to allow the water to run into them from the tops of the houses during 
 
 the winter rains. 
 
 THE GREAT CISTERNS. 
 
 Some of them are very ancient, reaching as far back as the time 
 of the Hebrews, if not those of the Jebusites. There are also a number of 
 cisterns under the Temple area that are very large ; the ancient writers, 
 both Jewnsh and Gentile, in connection with the united opinion of 
 the Jews, Christians and Moslems, affirm there is an inexhaustible 
 supply of water in them ; those who have investigated a portion of these 
 excavations say the greater part of the area is hollowed, containing 
 vast caves and tunnels. 
 
 The largest of these cisterns is called the great sea ; the attention of 
 our party was specially called to it while passing through the enclosure ; 
 these cisterns are said to be the reservoirs for the water supplies in the 
 time of Solomon, and were closely guarded by trusty men ; care was 
 also taken that the walls were kept covered so as to prevent anything 
 being put in them that would endanger life. It is estimated that the 
 largest of these cisterns will hold two million gallons ; there is another 
 highly important reservoir called " the wall of the leaf," having a tank, 
 forty-two feet deep, which Professor Warren places to the northwest 
 end of it, immediately under the Temple altar, and Prof. Candor locates 
 the man-hole just outside the water gate. 
 
 The water supply in these reservoirs was obtained from three 
 sources : from the pools of Solomon, the Great Cistern north of the 
 Damascus Gate, and the rain fall on the Temple Court. There are a 
 few pools of water in and close to the city. The renowned Pool of 
 Siloam is located at the foot of O'Phal, near the point where the 
 Tyrcepseon Valley opens into the Kedron on the south side of the city. 
 This pool has been carefully walled so as to form a small reservoir 
 about fifty feet long, eighteen feet wide and nineteen feet deep, and 
 supplies the people of Siloam with water. 
 
 The little maidens cheerfully go to this pool with their water-pots, 
 amusing themselves in song while bearing with a steady head a pot 
 full of water up the hill side. The pool is considered to be highly 
 medicinal by the people in its locality and they use it as such. 
 
 Somewhere in the vicinity of the pool once stood " the Tower of 
 Siloam, which fell and killed eighteen men." Our Lord referred to 
 the sad event to teach the superstitious, that calamities are not always 
 evidences of special guilt ; this pool became specially prominent after 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 129 
 
 the miracle our Lord performed when He caused the eyes of the 
 young man, who had been blind from his birth, to be healed. 
 
 This poor fellow was sitting by the wayside of the public thorough- 
 fare, begging, which is a custom still continued ; Jesus, coming along, 
 had comjDassion on him and healed him ; this occurred on the Sabbath- 
 day, and our Lord had just finished administering a stunning rebuke 
 to the Jews, which made them so deeply incensed, they had concluded 
 to stone Him, having already gathered stones for that purpose ; but 
 Jesus eluded them, and left the temple without their knowledge. As 
 Jesus was passing along He saw this blind young man ; He went to 
 him, spat on the ground, mixed a little clay, then anointed the man's 
 eyes, saying to him, " Go wash in the Pool of Siloam ; " he went, and 
 washed, receiving his sight ; then there was great excitement, the whole 
 city was stirred to almost wild fury. 
 
 The Pharisees, after examining the matter, charged that Christ was 
 not from God, nor did He do the works of the Lord, because He did 
 these things on the Sabbath-day. How unreasonable ! Well might the 
 Lord say, they " strain at gnats and swallow a camel," for they had 
 just attempted to do Him violence on the same day, in that they would 
 have stoned Him, had He not escaped from their murderous hands. 
 Now before their ire is cooled they charge that Christ is a bad man, 
 because He caused a poor blind man to enjoy the pleasure of seeing, 
 as they had. (John ix. 7-11.) 
 
 These would-be lights of the people, were so full of animosity against 
 Christ, they attempted to turn the man from Him who had just had 
 his sight restored and,who had, only a few moments jDrior, looked upon the 
 world, and the face of his mother for the first time in life ; but his 
 obligations to Jesus were too sacred and binding, and the friendly act 
 of Christ was such as none other had done or even attempted ; there- 
 fore he would not take sides with the Pharisees against his Benefactor. 
 
 POOL OF SILOAM. 
 
 The pool is supplied with an imperishable subterranean current. 
 Here the Jews came in olden times to celebrate the festival, when they 
 "would sing the twelfth chapter of Isaiah. The fountain issues from a 
 rock thirty feet below the surface, and is reached by descending a flight 
 of twenty steps 
 
 The traditional Pool of Bethesda,the " House of Mercy," was a place 
 of resort for the sick of all diseases ; at this pool they were constantly 
 waiting and watching for the moving of the water, that they might be 
 9 
 
130 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the first to enter and be healed. According to the best obtainable 
 information, the location of the ancient pool is along the north wall of 
 the temple area, and is at present a dry reservoir filled with debris 
 from the foundations of new buildings ; it is estimated to have been 
 four hundred and sixty feet long, over one hundred and thirty feet 
 wide and seventy-five feet deep. 
 
 To this mysterious pool an angel of the Lord came at certain 
 seasons, and troubled the water, at which time, the peculiar healing 
 properties would cure any kind of disease known to lodge in man ; for 
 this reason various invalids were there, the blind, the deaf, the leper, 
 the halt, and all, whatsoever might be the malady, were found waiting 
 for the Angel of the Lord to stir the quiet waters. 
 
 Some of the diseased would manage to get in without help ; others 
 were so greatly smitten they had to be helped in by some one who was 
 by, when the water was moved. One poor man had been there thirty 
 and eight years, lying on his couch waiting for some one to help him 
 in, but had not been blessed with a helping hand from any of those 
 who pretended to seek the good of the helpless ; some one would always 
 get in before him. 
 
 It would seem proper to infer from his continuance there, his 
 purpose was fixed to be healed or die on the porch, where he was 
 couching ; Jesus, passing that way going up to the feast, saw the man, 
 and, knowing his faith, had compassion on him. Christ was touched 
 with sympathy for the man. It was likely the poor man had been 
 there so long and been seen by so many like the impotent folks about 
 Jerusalem at the present, no one took notice of him ; there he lay 
 poor, friendless, and nearly worn out by the constant innovations of his 
 infirmity. 
 
 Jesus went to him and asked, " Wilt thou be made whole ? " The 
 man began relating his sad experience ; his hope of being healed had 
 been blasted so many times during the thirty-eight years of his stay 
 there. He had made the attempt to get in, but found himself unable, 
 having no strength, and no one ofiered to help ; at least thirty-eight had 
 been healed in his presence while he waited. He could only look 
 while they leaped for joy when such an one came up restored, and wish 
 that such would some day be his good fortune ; here he was compelled 
 to remain from year to year, hoping and trusting some one would come 
 and help him. Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up thy bed and walk ; " 
 the man obeyed and was instantly made whole. 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 131 
 
 THE SIEGE OF TITUS. 
 
 The siege of Titus, which caused the fatal fall of Jerusalem, 
 occurred in April a.d. 70, during the season of the " feast," when the 
 city was crowded with adoring worshipers ; who, according to custom, 
 had gone up from distant places to worship the God of their fathers, in 
 the courts of the temple, which was so fondly admired by every Jew 
 in the land. When Titus stationed a portion of his troojjs at the foot 
 of the Mount of Olives, east of the city, he was bent on its capture, at 
 whatever cost or sacrifice he would be compelled to make. The events 
 connected with this terrible conflict are regarded as the most touching, 
 lamentable, and barbarous on record, and may be catalogued among 
 those crimes commonly indulged by those whose ambition is only grat- 
 ified when their hands are stained with the blood of their fellows. 
 Josephus graj)hically discloses the shocking event that doomed to death, 
 by a most merciless massacre, a million human beings. The Jews had 
 for some time indicated in several ways their great dissatisfaction with 
 their subordinate relation to the Roman throne, and had embraced 
 several ineSective measures to free themselves The exhibition of dis- 
 contentment on the part of the Jews seemed to have aroused their 
 oppressors to be more rigid than before, and even to reduce them to a 
 more humiliating subordination. To this end Titus, the general-in- 
 chief of the Roman army, bent his energy ; having collected a very 
 strong and well-equipped force, composed of several legions and auxil- 
 iaries, marched to the city. When he arrived at ]\Iount Scopus, about 
 a mile and a half north of Jerusalem, he was joined by two more 
 legions from the west, and the other, which was the tenth, came up 
 from Jericho, their farthest eastern station in Palestine, and camped 
 on the Mount of Olives, but was afterwards ordered to the foot of the 
 mount and stationed between its western base and the Kedi'on, from 
 which point they were to begin the siege ; here they were reinforced 
 by several legions from the region of the Euphrates. The army was 
 then making cautious preparations for a deadly conflict. There was 
 great agitation and distress in Jerusalem, it being thronged with 
 strangers who were not prepared for war ; and in the meantime, there 
 was bitter discord existing between the factions, who w^ere uncompro- 
 misingly at variance with each other. Such was their blindness, they 
 could not see the danger lurking at the gates ; they were at that time 
 doing themselves jmore ,harm than the strong forces stationed on the 
 outside. The vast stores of provisions they had provided against the 
 day of want were destroyed by their own hands, and was the cause 
 
132 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 of many thousands being driven to starvation a sliort time after- 
 wards. 
 
 The army of Titus was besieging the city, and the outer wall, that 
 had been extended by Agrippa, and the suburbs soon fell into his 
 hands ; but the strongholds were so fortified that the general found it 
 required more than an ordinary struggle to capture them. He then 
 made further preparations for his success by cutting a deep trench 
 about the city, and compass it about with the army so as to keep the peo- 
 ple within the walls. The plan was a great success. In a short time the 
 stores became exhausted, and famine began to show j^rominent signs of 
 a terrible crisis ; for the people were dying from it in greater numbers 
 than by the vengeance of the Roman army ; and yet it is a surprising 
 fact, that even under these circumstances, the factions were so blind to 
 their interest, the spirit they entertained seemed to them of more im- 
 portance than the union for self-protection against an invading foe ; so 
 that when there was an interval of hostilities with the Romans, these 
 poor, foolish people, filled to overflowing with selfish ambition, and 
 blindness, were up to their necks in war among themselves. Finally 
 efforts were made to lay down their internal strife, and make arrange- 
 ments for self-protection against the hostile enemy without, and they 
 unitedly did good work, but it only lasted for a short while. The 
 Romans were soon convinced that stronger and more cautious prepara- 
 tions were necessary for the accomplishment of the siege ; and that the 
 needed arrangements might be made, they discontinued the engage- 
 ment of hostilities until they had completed them. The factions whose 
 efforts had been united against their common foe misunderstood the 
 situation ; they supposed their enemies had given up the struggle. 
 Feeling themselves secure from the death-dealing darts of the invaders, 
 they returned to their work of self-destruction. Assassins j^rowled 
 through the streets, and in every house the melancholy impress of death 
 was left. In the meanwhile, Titus turned his attention to the northern 
 wall ; he threw up embankments as close to it as possible, upon which 
 wooden towers were placed for the guards. The Mount of Olives, and 
 other places where trees were numerous, were robbed to assist in the 
 perparations. The Jews, seeing their true situation, resolved to unite 
 again for their self-defense and did well for a short time. Titus showed 
 repeated evidences of a desire to save the city from total destruction, 
 which again caused the Jews to be misled, who took them as indica- 
 tions of weakness ; he offered them liberal terms if they would peace- 
 ably surrender and submit themselves to the Roman power. But the 
 stubborn Jews would not accept any of his propositions, notwithstand- 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JEKUSALEM. 133 
 
 ing the people of the city were dying like sheep on account of the 
 raging famine ; thousands of the half-starved people, not being able to 
 obtain food in the city, ventured beyond the walls, seeking it in the 
 valley ; this procedure Avas fatal to many. The Romans, seeing them, 
 would capture and slay them by either hanging, or otherwise torturing 
 them to death in the presence of their friends who were on the walls. 
 It is said that those tortures were so numerous that the soldiers used 
 all the material of which the crosses were made, and were compelled 
 to use other methods of punishment. Titus, being persuaded that he 
 could not bring the Jews to his term=i, and they had no disposition what- 
 ever to surrender, made an effort to compel them to do so, or com- 
 pletely reduce them by starvation. He then caused a trench to be 
 made around the city, so as to hem the people in, and at the same 
 time preventing outsiders from carrying them supplies ; and thus 
 increased the intensity of the famine which was then sweeping the 
 people into eternity like a imaging epidemic. 
 
 The temple siege was a literal fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus 
 concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, declaring it should be 
 trenched about, and the people should be compassed by their enemies. 
 It seems very strange they did not call to mind this doleful jirediction 
 which had only been spoken about forty years prior. They had eyes, 
 but could not see, and hearts, but did not understand, and their enmity 
 was so strongly expressed against our Lord, they could not allow 
 themselves to confide in Him, although everything He had said was 
 glaringly manifested before them. Their blindness and obstinacy led 
 them to destruction. The plan of Titus worked well and served the 
 purpose designed. The famine increased so alarmingly, there could 
 scarcely be found a house in Jerusalem in which there was not some 
 dead as a result of it ; and the upper rooms of the houses throughout 
 the city were filled with corpses. The dead bodies strewn along the 
 streets were as thick as though they had been leveled by the army. 
 Josephus says that the people who survived the terrible plague were 
 unable to see to the burial of their dead relatives, and common consent 
 was given to throw the dead over the walls into the valley. It is said that 
 six hundred thousand were in this way removed from the city, and one 
 hundred and thirteen thousand were buried at public expense. It is 
 said that Titus, the lion-hearted general, wept when he beheld the work 
 of the famine, and the deep sorrow that had visited the people, and 
 called heaven to witness that it was not his enmity, but the madness of 
 the Jews themselves, was the cause of such an unprecedented calamity. 
 The crisis reached such a degree of distress, the people were final' y 
 
134 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 driven to despotism, to the extent that there was a total lack of 
 sympathy existing even for the nearest relatives and dearest friends. 
 The strong would hunt the weak, and if any food was found about them 
 they would forcibly take it, even if it was in their mouths. 
 
 The magnitude of the situation can be partially estimated, when 
 it is called to mind that a mother, bearing in her heart all the 
 maternal tenderness possible for her child, was so frantic from the 
 dreadful pressure of starvation, would break the ties of motherhood 
 that entwined the babe to her by tenderness and love, and kill and cook 
 the child, eating one portion of it one day, and the other the following. 
 
 With this, and many other insurmountable difficulties that were 
 crushing the life out of the people, the controlling element of the Jews 
 refused to surrender. Then Titus captured the tower of Antonia, 
 a stronghold on which the Jews greatly relied for safety. The Jews, 
 finding the tower in the hands of their enemies, went in wild haste to 
 the temple, hoping to be able to defend themselves within its sacred 
 precints. This hope soon proved fruitless ; the Romans having gained 
 control of the strong tower, there was nothing for the Jews to hope for 
 as to their safety ; yet, Titus was about to move upon them, notwith- 
 standing he held the destiny of the people in his own hand. He again 
 proposed terms of settlement, promising to spare them from further 
 distress if they Avould agree to accept them. But the blindness of the 
 poor suffering Jews would not permit them to agree to anything ; and 
 they determined to defend the sacred edifice inch by inch. Titus did 
 not wish to injure the beautiful Temple, so sacredly adored by the Jews, 
 and made memorable by religious associations for many hundred 
 years, but without the knowledge of the general, and contrary to his 
 wishes, a private soldier threw .a firebrand into some inflammable 
 material from a window, and set the sacred edifice ablaze, and in a 
 short while the whole structure was burning. Such was the brilliancy 
 of the flames, the whole country round about was illuminated. This 
 was done some time during the night while Titus was adeep in his tent; 
 he was suddenly awakened by the wild shrieks of horror from the 
 Jews, who were vainly endeavoring to save the building from destruc- 
 tion. This demonstration of sorrow was heart-rendmg, so that the 
 lion-hearted Titus could not look upon it without being touched with 
 sjanpathy for the panic-stricken Jews. The general rushed from his 
 quarters and beheld the appalling conflagration, which, with the com- 
 bined efforts of the Jews and Romans could not be controlled. The 
 crackling of falling timber, the roar of the flames, the mournful cries 
 of Jewish indignation, the thunder of the shouts of the victors, and the 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 185 
 
 priests, insane with madness, throwing gilded spikes down from the 
 building aimlessly at the enemy, Avhile under the influence of over- 
 whelming grief, all added to the great sound, that made the very hills 
 about Jerusalem shake and echo the tidings to the distant regions. 
 
 When the wild flames had finished their work of destruction, all that 
 was beautiful of the sanctuary was in ashes, and Mt. Moriah was robbed 
 of her precious monument, and the Jews of their renowned place ot 
 sacred worship. The precious Temple of religious devotion, towards 
 which the hearts of thousands were turned annually, was destroyed. 
 It would be supposed that the Jews would have accepted the situation, 
 and surrendered immediately to the Roman sceptre without further 
 resistance ; but, strange as it may seem, they would not yield, for they 
 were unshaken in their faith that the Messiah, whom they so prayer- 
 fully hoped for, would come even in those extreme moments of sufier- 
 ing and deliver them ; and when there was not a fragment of assur- 
 ance of sunshine left them, that prompted them to hope for victory, 
 they still clung to the vain belief that a deliverer would come. They 
 retired to Mt. Zion, the strong citadel, and made another attempt to 
 vanquish the foe ; here, again, Titus, still sympathizing with them in 
 their blind and fruitless attempt for victory, oSered them terms of 
 peace, but the blind, fanatic Jews would consent to nothing. With the 
 destruction of the Temple, Josephus informs us that six thousand 
 unarmed people, including women and children, perished, who had 
 been led into it by a false prophet, who made them confident their 
 expected deliverer would come to their help. From the fact of their 
 disappointment and false representation having reached the ears of the 
 leaders of the Jews, it would seem that they would have abandoned all 
 hope of deliverance at a time so j)regnant with .calamity and death. 
 But they stubbornly insisted on victory, and would yield to no terms 
 proposed ; then Titus renewed the siege with the intention of making 
 a final close of the piece-meal war he had been engaged in so long. 
 At length prominent evidences of weakness had seized the few remain- 
 ing JcAvs, and their defense was less than a breakfast spell to the 
 Romans, who soon became undisputed possessors of all that was left of 
 the once beautiful and renowned city of Jerusalem. Then the Roman 
 soldiers were like wild beasts just from the forest, who renewed their 
 barbarous work in every way that seemed pleasurable to them. Men, 
 women and children Avere slaughtered without mercy, and, according 
 to Josephus, about ninety-seven thousand were captured and made 
 slaves ; and the number of those who lost their lives during the siege 
 is estimated to be eleven hundred thousand. ThenTitus, to make a 
 
136 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 finish of the work of destruction, ordered the demolition of the whole city, 
 except three towers and the western wall. The Romans, having accom- 
 plished the complete destruction of Jerusalem, and returned to Rome, 
 were received with wild enthusiasm ; and Titus, the victorious general, 
 was honored with a triumphal arch, dedicated to the memory of the 
 great victory he had won. He was seated in a triumphal car, drawn 
 by eight white horses, and driven through the arch, having a number 
 of the captive slaves chained to his chariot, walking with bowed heads. 
 This time-worn structure is still standing in the city of Rome, known 
 as the " TriumjDhal Arch of Titus." While in the old historic city, I 
 visited this arch and passed under it. Judging from its present appear- 
 ance, it must have been a very gorgeous and costly structure. It is 
 situated between the Capitol buildings and the old, dilapidated Coli- 
 seum. Titus did not only return to Rome with a large number of cap- 
 tive Jews, but a vast treasure of rich and precious spoils, comprising 
 a number of the temple furnishings, such as the golden table, the golden 
 candlesticks, and many other costly jewels used in the sanctuary. 
 
 The golden table, and the golden candlesticks, having seven arms, 
 and the silver trumpets, were distinctly sculptured in the walls of the 
 Triumphial Arch at Rome, and are clearly seen up to the present time ; 
 also, many other trophies are represented upon it. 
 
 DAVID'S TOMB. 
 
 There are many antique tombs near Jerusalem. We have already 
 referred to those in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and in and about the Pot- 
 ter's Field, and other places ; we shall now briefly refer to a few others 
 of the vast number that nearly surround the city. Jerusalem is really 
 environed with tombs ; they are to be seen on every hill and in the 
 valley around it, so that it is computed that there are more tombs 
 about the city than there are houses in it for the living. On Mount 
 Zion is the resting place of King David and his successor, Solomon, 
 and several others ; also, some of the members of their families. The 
 tomb, generally believed to be David's, is outside the walls on the 
 southern slope of Mount Zion. It has been the united opinion of Jews, 
 Christians and Moslems, for nearly seven hundred years, that this is 
 none other than the burial place of King David, and a number of his 
 successors. The Jews manifest their special regard for the tomb ; when 
 they approach it, they present a sad and reverential expression of 
 countenance, indicative of their superior love and esteem for their 
 ancient dead. Josephus says, the tomb was opened by Hrycanus, from 
 which he took three thousand talents ; and that Herod the Great also 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 137 
 
 attempted to plunder the tomb, but found, to his discomfiture, it had 
 been previously opened and spoiled of its treasure. It is a solemnly 
 strange-looking place, and all who visit its curiously arranged interior, 
 naturally feel an unusual impression of graveness, that restrains them 
 from indulgence in mirth. There have been attempts made by some 
 investigators to locate the tomb of David, and those buried with him, 
 at another place than the " City of David," now known as Mount Zion, 
 but they have failed. This site has not only a long-standing tradition, 
 and the united opinion of the Jews, Christians and Moslems in its favor, 
 but the Bible also locates the area, at least, in which it is. It is 
 expressly stated in First Kings concerning some of the successors of 
 David to the throne of Judah, " They slept with their fathers, and 
 were buried in the city of David." Now, what plausible reason can 
 any one give why the locality known to the ancients, to the Apostles 
 and others, should be changed to some other place in the latter times ? 
 Surely no mischievous resurrectionist has gone there in the death- 
 stillness of the midnight and removed those dusty remains to one of 
 the adjacent hills, in order that they might baffle all attempts to 
 identify it. Men should learn the fact, that greatness does not come 
 to us by tearing down one man's work to build up another, but great- 
 ness is brought to us by an earnest endeavor to establish the truth. It 
 is hoped an opportunity will be given, in the near future, to make all 
 the needed investigations, which will be the means of ending the many 
 unpleasant disputes concerning the locality of many places now in 
 doubt. But the Holy Scriptures must have precedence, and in them 
 we are told in unmistakable words that kings David, Solomon, and 
 their successors, were laid to rest on Mount Zion ; and there can be 
 but little doubt as to the place above named being identical with the 
 tombs of the kings of Judah. The current opinion in Jerusalem among 
 the Jews and Mohammedans is, that this building, with a few others, 
 escaped interference when Titus pillaged and sacked the city ; and 
 they, say the earliest travelers there, found it identical with the " Last 
 Supper." We would be understood that no attempt is made by the 
 author to condemn the tradition as to the site, — it may be that upon 
 which the house stood where our Lord took the passover with His dis- 
 ciples ; but we are strongly inclined to doubt that the present building 
 is the same that stood there in the time of that immortal event. 
 
 We entered and passed through this building, and were deeply im- 
 pressed with its history; thinking that, if beneath the cenotaph in 
 these rocky excavations the remains of Kings David, Solomon, and 
 others were laid to rest, and if their dust has remained undisturbed 
 
138 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 until this day, how royal is the place upon which my feet stand, and 
 my eyes are beholding ! Although the illustrious dead, whom tradition 
 informs us sleep in this stupendous Sepulchre, were but mortal, filled 
 with all the defects of humanity, yet one feels like stepping lightly 
 while passing through the building dedicated to the memory of some 
 of the most illustrious kings of Judah, who, like the humble of the 
 Potter's field, and the j^oor outcasts around the city, upon the hills and 
 in the valleys, whose graves and names are not known, are awaiting 
 the voice of the archangel's trump to call them forth. Then 
 we passed into the adjoining room, where it is said the " passover " 
 was celebrated by our Lord and His disciples, and is also said to be 
 connected with the event of the " Day of Pentecost," when the Holy 
 Spirit came powerfully upon the messengers of Jesus. The Coenacu- 
 lum is connected with the tomb, both sites being enclosed by the same 
 building ; the latter is on account of the use made of it. The " Mosque 
 of Neby Da'ud" also stands on the southern slope of Mt. Zion, and has 
 a very presentable minaret. There is an ancient-looking room on the 
 left of the high steps, known traditionally, as the identical chamber in 
 which our Lord ate the passover with His disciples, on the night He 
 exposed the secret intention of Judas Iscariot. This place has pro- 
 voked much discussion ; and we think not without proper reasons, for 
 it would seem doubtful that this old building should be left undemol- 
 ished on the brow of Zion through the many bitter struggles this his- 
 toric hill has passed. It does not seem probable, that after the great 
 slaughters and demolitions, caused by the many foreign powers in 
 whose hands it fell from time to time, that this building would be left 
 as a souvenir of antiquity. The traditions identifying this place with 
 the scene of the " Last Supper " originated in the fourth century ; it 
 was then brought into prominent mention by Cyril, Bishop of Jerusa- 
 lem, Under the upjier chamber is a crypt or lower room; this is 
 divided into two apartments, one of these is said to be the room in 
 which our Lord washed His diciples' feet. This custom is still con- 
 tinued by the Monks of the Latin Church, who wash the feet of 
 pilgrims, Mondays and Thursdays, in commemoration of the example 
 of Jesus. The chamber is forty-five feet long, and twenty-nine feet 
 wide, having two aisles divided by columns. Over the western j)illar 
 of this department is seen the cenotaph ; over the one below this is 
 said to be the tomb of David. 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JEEUSALEM. 139 
 
 OTHER TOMBS. 
 
 The tombs compassing the city round about are only known as such ; 
 for the most part, those of the most illustrious dead, with few excep- 
 tions, are unidentified. Several that have been settled upon by a few 
 investigators are strongly doubted by others. Those that have been 
 generally settled upon as correctly identified arethetoml)s of St. James 
 and Zacharias. That known as Jehoshaphat, now nearly covered with 
 rubbish, the result of many years' accumulation, is not properly 
 identified. This tomb is a little to the northeast of Absalom's Shaft, 
 and from what has been agreed upon by repeated investigations, the 
 first chamber must have been used in former times as a Christian 
 church, a custom very common in crusade times. Those devotees of 
 the Christian religion made it a regular practice to convert tombs, cas- 
 tles and heathen temples into churches. Many of them bear strong 
 indications of their religious services. About the middle of this cen- 
 tury an odd old manuscript roll was found in the so-called tomb of 
 Jehoshaphat, containing the Pentateuch. It Avas discovered by one of 
 the members of the Armenian Church. This caused much excitement 
 among many of the Jews, for they concluded that the tomb was that 
 of one of the rabbis instead of Jehoshaphat — and have from that day 
 to this sternly protested against any one entering its interior — which 
 may be true, for the Bible says Jehoshaphat was buried on Mt. Zion. 
 The tombs of St. James and Zacharias are a little to the south of the 
 two last mentioned. As to the identity of these tombs there seems to 
 be but little doubt, even with those who have been critically doubtful 
 as to the true site of many places in Palestine, that others have settled 
 upon without a scruj^le. The tomb of St. James is opposite the 
 Mosque of Omar, or the Temple plateau, at an angle, where, it is said, 
 the apostle was thrown headlong into the Kedrou valley below, and 
 was killed. The best place to see the great depth of his fall is in the 
 area opposite the tomb. Here, it is thought, the wickedly insane mob 
 hurled the man of God into the jaws of death. The tomb of Zach- 
 arias is not really settled as to which of the two it belongs. The Jews 
 claim it is ^that of Zachariah, son of Jehoiada, who was stoned in the 
 reign of Joash, and the Christians maintain it is the tomb of Zach- 
 arias, the son of Barachias, who was slain between the sanctuary and 
 the altar. The opinions of these two religious sects being so materially 
 divided, leave the identity of these tombs in a state of uncertainty, but 
 it is the general opinion among Christians that they are correctly 
 located. Over on the west side of the Mount of Olives are the tradi- 
 
140 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 tional tombs of the prophets, and are different in style from any others 
 seen about the hills and valleys in the vicinity of Jerusalem. It is the 
 opinion of some, who have made examinations there, they are natural 
 caves, artificially extended and so arranged for tombs, but not wholly 
 finished. To descend, one must pass through a low ledge into a round 
 chamber, in which are remnants of Greek and Hebrew inscriptions. 
 These impress many that the tombs ai'e of Jewish origin. But, since 
 they have stopped burying there, these chambers have been used by 
 Christians, most likely by the crusaders, as they commonly made use of 
 ancient tombs to hold religious meetings in, and for other sacred 
 purposes. One of the strongest indications of their having been used 
 by Christians is the emblem of the cross over some of the niches on 
 the walls ; and as the cross is a sign of faith in Christ, it is evident 
 they were cut into the walls subsequent to the period the Jews had 
 them in charge, by those whose faith was fixed in Jesus Christ. It is, 
 however, doubted by many who have carefully examined these tombs, 
 that they are those of the prophets. There is another ancient burial 
 place north of Jerusalem, about a mile, and close to the old rugged 
 and difficult road leading to Mizpeh ; in this ancient rock-hewn cem- 
 etery are many sepulchres, all of which bear prominent marks of an- 
 tiquity. They are called "Tombs of the Judges " by Christians, but 
 the Jews say they are those of the members of the Sanhedrim. 
 
 There is much confidence placed in the knowledge the Jews have 
 of the correct location .of the places in which they are interested in 
 and about Jerusalem, inasmuch as their knowledge of them is likely 
 to be more extensive and reliable in cases where tradition is the only 
 source of information. These tombs are situated in a very rocky district, 
 and it is necessary to exercise great caution in traveling over the road ; 
 for if the horse or donkey should fall, the rider would doubtless sustain 
 fatal injuries. Those who intend entering the tombs must take candles 
 and matches, as it is very dark in them, and many are from two to 
 three stories deep, in each of which there are niches hewn out for 
 burial purposes. There are dangerous excavations or under-chambers 
 into which persons would fall, unless they could see their way from one 
 apartment to another. There are in all, over seventy of these recep- 
 tacles for the dead, in this lonely, rocky district. The entrance to these 
 tombs faces the west, with an open vestibule about thirteen feet by 
 nine, and a door opening into the main chamber is cut through the 
 back of this passage. The interior is arranged as follows, which is a 
 true description drawn from careful investigations : The main cham- 
 ber is twenty feet long, nineteen feet wide, and eight feet high. In the 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JERUSALEM. 141 
 
 middle of the southern wall of this room is a door by which entrance 
 is gained into another room eight feet square ; in the eastern wall of 
 the main chamber is another door, opening into a small room, dark 
 and lonely. Then, to the northeast of the largest chamber, is a stair- 
 way leading down into two vaults. It is only necessary to enter one 
 of the many tombs in this locality, as we were informed that the interior 
 arrangements were the same in each. But the most marvelous of these 
 tombs, in the vicinity of Jerusalem, are what are commonly known as 
 the " Tombs of the Kings." The Arabs call them Kabur es-Salatan, 
 "The Tombs of the Sultans." Late investigators have changed the 
 opinion of many with regard to them, and it is now believed, that they 
 are the resting place of Helena, queen of Adiabene. There is a broad flight 
 of well-worn steps leading down to two very large cisterns, which are 
 hewn out in the rock ; then a door oj^ens into a large court, also rock- 
 hewn, at the mouth of which is a rock-hewn passage leading to the 
 tombs. At the door of the tombs was a mammoth stone, which is 
 rolled aside. The opening is very small, and an adult must kneel and 
 crawl through. The interior is spacious, containing many chambers, 
 one above the other, and from two to three stories deep. 
 
 THE FUTURE OF THE JEWS. 
 
 The overwhelming power of Rome did not only conquer the Jews, 
 sack their city, cany away the Temple furnishings, and lead thousands 
 into captivity, but dispersed the people, broke up the nation, and 
 banished even the remnant from their land, and issued edicts expressly 
 forbidding them to return to their own country, especially to Jerusa- 
 lem. Therefore the Jews, a people for a time happy and prosperous, as 
 if nursed with the milk of divine love, and protected by an all-powerful 
 hand, became scattered among nations and tribes throughout the 
 world ; wandering like sheep having no shepherd. Their own hands 
 threw to the ground the sceptre of power (it may be said), and their 
 feet trampled it into the dust. But the hand that so triumphantly led 
 them from bondage and sorrows, is now turned against this wonder- 
 fully strange j^eople. It was their own hand that destroyed them, and 
 it is their hand that keeps their land subordinate to foreign powers. 
 But they have a hopeful future ; the time is coming when they will 
 fully accept Christ, whom their fathers nailed to the cross, and reverently 
 come before Him in devout worship, return to their own land, and 
 pay Him their tribute on the very summit where the pathetic 
 prayer was oSered by the Lord Jesus, in their behalf, while the 
 arrows of death were piercing His soul, " Father, forgive them, they 
 
142 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 know not what they do." They will return home from Syria and 
 Turkey, from Poland and Russia, from Germany and Holland, from 
 China and Japan, from Australia and America, and from all the coun- 
 tries of Europe, from Africa and the ends of the earth. Then Avill 
 the poor weeping Jews, who stand along the wall of the Haram every 
 Friday afternoon, mourning the loss of the pride of their love, turn 
 their wailings into shouts of praise to the God of their fathers, 
 whose Son, they had so greatly rejected, made it possible for them to 
 return and sing His praise and taste His love on the " Holy Hill of 
 Zion." The Jews seem to be preserved by an extraordinary providence, 
 such as allows them to mingle with the whole world and maintain their 
 distinct racial representation almost completely ; so that they are 
 looked upon, in whatever land they may be dispersed, as separate and 
 distinct from all others. There are cases of intermarriages among 
 them, but are very few when compared with other races; they are 
 scarcely noticeable. This special care the Jews take in preserving 
 their descendants unmixed, is unlike the tendency of all other races of 
 men. Observations show beyond all doubt, the tendency is, to unite 
 in marriage with the people in whatever land man's lot is cast ; that is 
 when people migrate from their own country to another. They 
 generally take to themselves a wife or husband from among the people 
 with Avhom they have settled. This will be found to be true of all 
 people, of all complexions, races and types. I do not believe there is 
 a country in our world, where different races are permanently settled, 
 that this rule does not obtain. Even in Africa, where Caucasians 
 settle permanently, they make no hesitancy in choosing one of the 
 native females for a life companion. But the Jews, wherever fovmd, are 
 clinging to each other in marriage relations, so that they may preserve 
 themselves unmixed with other race-types. The law, forbidding their 
 ancestors to intermarry, is still in full force. It seems as though the 
 Jews are being preserved as a distinct people for their restoration, and 
 the inheritance of their own land as a nation. If we have noticed the 
 predictions concerning the future of this people, we cannot be other- 
 wise than inclined to the opinion, that a restoration of the Jews will 
 take place ; and this seems to be the general belief throughout Chris- 
 tendom. Christians are loohing forward to the time, which to them 
 will be a glorious event, both to the Jews and Gentiles. The 
 time is now nearing the horizon, when the blindness of the 
 people shall pass away forever, and the true light shall shine upon 
 them. It is written, " Blindness is happened to Israel in part until the 
 fulness of the Gentiles be brought in ; then all Israel shall be saved." 
 
Q 
 
 > 
 < 
 Q 
 
 U. 
 O 
 
 (X 
 UJ 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 UJ 
 X 
 h 
 
EVENTS IN AND ABOUT JEEUSALEM. 143 
 
 It is also inferable from the Holy Scriptures, that the conversion of 
 the Jews is a matter in which the whole Christian world will be inter- 
 ested, and by which all people shall be blessed. There are visible 
 manifestations even now of the fulfillment of this blessed event ; for 
 many Jews have turned from their Judaism and embraced Christ in 
 this and other lands ; and as has been stated there is now a flourishing 
 church on Mt. Zion, in Jerusalem, that is doing much towards the con- 
 version of the Jews to Christianity. Therefore, when the time fully 
 comes for the return of this dispersed people, their relations will be 
 harmonious ; those who return from other lands, will have acknow- 
 ledged Christ before starting home, and those whom they greet on their 
 arrival, will not be strangers to Him ; so that there will be a union of 
 heads and hearts, and Jesus "will be all in all." What a glorious 
 time, what a blessed period when the people, once dispersed and 
 unsettled, shall again '' sing the Lord's song " in their own land ! Then 
 will the returning hosts set up a standard on Mt. Zion, with the motto 
 stamped thereon, " This God is our God forever and ever ; and will be 
 our guide even until death." 
 
PAET YII. 
 
 ANCIENT HEBRON. 
 
 The Highway of Hebron and its Loneliness — General Description of the 
 Country — Condition of the Land of Hebron — Tombs at Beth-Zur —The High- 
 way to Hebron — Sad Reflections — Beth-Zur — Pleasant Reflections — Antiquity 
 of Hebron — Inhabitants of Hebron — Different Names given to Hebron — Roads 
 Leading to Hebron — Vineyards of Hebron — Watchtowers and Watchmen — 
 Historic Pools — The Event Concerning Rechab and Baanah — Places of Inter- 
 est to Tourists — Inhabitants of Hebron — Description of Streets — The Situation 
 of Hebron — Feeling of the Inhabitants to Visitors — Meaning of the 
 Word Plebron — The Author's Experience Concerning His Visit — Descrip- 
 tion of Ramah — Oak of Mamre— Ancient Hebron — Accommodations for 
 Christians — Facts Connected with Hebron — Patriarchial Associations — 
 Hebron as a Burial Place — Historical Associations of Hebron — Joseph's 
 Mournful Return — Historical Association — Jacob's Burial — The Mosque 
 Machpelah — The Love of the Mohammedans for the Tomb — Treatment of 
 Visitors who visit them — Description of the Mosque by the Prince of Wales — 
 The Entrance to the Mosque — Description of the Shrine of Abraham and 
 Sarah — Shrines of Jacob and Leah — Shrine of Joseph — Description of the 
 Shrine of Joseph — Historical Association of Hebron — Value of the Investi- 
 gation made by the Prince of W'ales — Desirable Situation and General 
 Condition of the Land of Canaan — Ancient Inhabitants of Hebron — A great 
 Refuge City — The Custom of Blood Revenge — Cities of Refuge in which 
 there were Judges — Names of Cities — Hebron the first Capital during David's 
 Reign — Installation of David as King— Hebron as Headquarters of a Latin 
 Bishopric — Possessed by the Moslems — Jews' connection with Hebron — Treat- 
 ment of the Author by Inhabitants— The Dominant Inhabitants of Hebiou. 
 
 THE HIGHWAY TO HEBRON AND ITS LONELINESS. 
 
 THE road from Solomon's pools to Hebron is in s]Dlendicl condition, 
 and is regarded as the best and most carefidly kept road in Palestine. 
 Those who" have been traveling over those very rough and fatiguing 
 passes in different parts of the country, almost imagine themselves in 
 a country where the blessings of higher civilization and progress are 
 enjoyed ; for no one but those who have had the experience, can imagine 
 how rough and difficult the roads are throughout the land, with a very 
 few exceptions. There is but little of interest to be seen on the way 
 to Hebron, except a few ancient ruins. These would no doubt be of 
 144 
 
ANCIENT HEBRON. 145 
 
 much importance if they could be positively identified ; but all that 
 was known of them is buried in the silent past. The whole face of the 
 country for miles around is wild, barren, and very rocky ; so that one 
 must travel for about three weary houi-s without seeing anything of 
 importance to attract attention, unless, perchance, something should 
 occur woi'thy of note among the shepherds and merchants who are 
 daily on the road, with flocks and caravans. It so happens, at times, 
 that amusing incidents occur among them, which relieve travelers of 
 the quiet and loneliness of their journey. 
 
 The vast tract of country on either side of the highway, which, 
 from its present appearance, would impress one that it has always been 
 barren and worthless, produced abundantly in those early times, when 
 the children of Israel occupied the country. But now, those fields in 
 which sounded the busy hoe, the plow, and other implements of hus- 
 bandry, nothing is seen but desolation, except here and there a small 
 patch of vegetation is under cultivation. A few weather-beaten, shaggy 
 oaks are standing, to indicate the possibilities of the country if proper 
 care were taken of it. When the children of Israel received their 
 apportionments this tract composed a part of the allotment of Judah ; 
 it was under good cultivation and highly productive, but in latter times 
 nearly the whole region was untilled, and is naught but a dreary wilder- 
 ness. As Hebron is approached more signs of life become prominent, a few 
 dwellings stand along the way, and much of the land is under cultiva- 
 tion, with vineyards and fig orchards and other salable products ; the 
 ever-alert husbandman may be seen from early morn until nightfall 
 toiling hopefully. There are several rock-cut tombs exposed to view 
 along the roadside, especially at Beth-Zur. It is without doubt a sad 
 reflection to a Christian, traveling along this frequented road, so prom- 
 inent in the long gone-by days, because of its important events, to be 
 compelled to pass them without having the least inkling of the places 
 around which they centre. It is to be hoped the near future will bring 
 to light many places and things that are at present obscure, or in great 
 doubt. But it is a gratification to know, as we pass along the highway 
 towards the city and home of the " Father of the Faithful," several 
 places are seen that have been generally settled upon as identical with 
 the names they bear. These are Beth-Zur-Maarath, Halhul and 
 Kamah. It is noteworthy that Beth-Zur was at one time an important 
 place, and one of the towns of Judah in the time of the allotments to 
 the tribes ; its inhabitants came up to Jerusalem to assist Nehemiah 
 to rebuild the walls, and it became one of the frontier towns in the 
 time of the Maccabees. (Neh. iii. 16 ; Josh. xv. 58.) 
 10 
 
146 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 PLEASANT EEFLECTONS. 
 
 But notwithstanding the journey from Jerusalem to Hebron is 
 through a wild and monotonous district, where savage-looking Arabs, 
 with their sheep, goats, camels and donkeys are almost constantly trav- 
 eling, yet it is cheering to know we are en route to one of the sacred 
 cities of Palestine, and one of the most ancient and historical cities 
 known to the world. It is also a source of great pleasure to know we 
 are traveling the same route over which many patriarchs, priests and 
 Levites used to pass to and from Hebron on ofBcial business, and thou- 
 sands of the most pious Israelites pressed the soil on their way to the 
 Temple to celebrate the annual passover. This is the route Abraham 
 traveled when on his sacred mission, in obedience to the command of 
 the Lord to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son, on Mt. Moriah ; and when 
 King David, the victorious warrior, sent his brave army against the 
 Jebusites, who occupied the stronghold on Mt. Jebus, they came this 
 same way. It is also the same route little Joseph took when in com- 
 pliance with his father's request, he went to see how his brethren fared 
 at Dothan ; and when the multitudes of rejoicing Israelites had won 
 the victory over the Jebusites they passed up this Avay, shouting praises 
 to the king, whose conquering arm had won the day. It is also believed 
 that Joseph, when he, in obedience to the command of the angel, took 
 the infant Jesus and His mother into Egypt to escape the vengeance 
 of King Herod, came down this route. So that not Hebron only, but 
 almost every foot of the ground from Bethlehem to Hebron, is sacredly 
 memorable to the Bible student and to Christendom. 
 
 HEBRON— ITS ANTIQUITY. 
 
 Hebron is the oldest city in Palestine, and is considered to be one 
 of the oldest in the world, and is held in great esteem by the Moslems, 
 its principal inhabitants, because of its antiquity and voluminous his- 
 tory. It has a large population, many of whom are in a flourishing 
 condition. Damascus and Shechem are the only cities west of the 
 Euphrates that are claiming an equal share in its reverence because of 
 old age. The first name of Hebron was Kir-Jath-Arba, after Arba, 
 the father of Anak, the giant. The Bible speaks of it as one of the 
 earliest cities known in the world. Moses, the law-giver, spoke of it, 
 when describing the route the spies took, when sent to survey the 
 country, and said, " Hebron was built seven years before Zoan, in 
 Egypt." Zoan or Tanis was the old capital city of Egypt, and situ- 
 ated on the eastern side of the Tanitic arm of the Nile. When Abra- 
 
ANCIENT HEBRON. 147 
 
 ham settled in Hebron it was called Mamre ; this name is supposed to 
 have been given it from that of Mamre, the Amorite, who was a close, 
 strong friend of Abraham. It was a walled city at that tine, for we 
 are informed that when Abraham Avent up to the city, to buy the field 
 of Machpelah, it was in the presence of the children of Heth, " even of 
 all that went in at the gate of the city." The reference to a " gate " is 
 indicative of a " wall." When Josephus wrote concerning the city it 
 was twenty-three hundred years old. It may be seen from these facts, 
 in connection with the Bible references given below, that the claims of 
 antiquity attaching to Hebron are not without strong evidence in its 
 favor. Those who travel from Egypt to Jerusalem, through the 
 desert, commonly pass through Hebron if they travel by either of the 
 three principal routes. Should they prefer the short desert road, they 
 generally cross over to Hebron from Gaza ; if they come by the old 
 Sinai thoroughfare, they naturally come to the old city from Beersheba, 
 on the southwest, or from the rocky city of Petra, on the southeast. 
 (Gen. xxiii. 10 ; Joshua, xv. 13-14: xx. 1-11; Xum. xiii. 22; Gen. 
 XXX. 11-19 ; xl. 27.) 
 
 HEBRON AND ITS SITUATION. 
 
 This ancient city is built upon a mountain slope running up from 
 the Valley of Eshcol. There are a few buildings in the valley, but 
 the most of them are situated upon the hillside towards the summit. 
 Those approaching Hebron from Jerusalem, do not get an observation 
 of it until they ascend to the top of the high hill over which the main 
 road passes, at a point not more than two hundred yards from the site 
 of the old entrance gate. There are an almost endless number of 
 vineyards in the valley, which is now, as in olden times, celebrated for 
 its fine quality, and great quantity of grapes. In each of these vine- 
 yards the old-fashioned wine-press is seen, at which several men and 
 lads are busy, in the season, making wine. The number employed at 
 wine-making is usually regulated according to the size of the press. 
 There is also a watch-tower connected with them, in which watchmen 
 are placed to look after the safety of the vineyards ; this is a custom 
 that was instituted in the prime daj'S of the Israelites, and is as neces- 
 sary now as in their times. The city is not protected by walls as in 
 former days, although it has one or two needless gates and all persons 
 entering the city from the north pass through the gate, which is a mere 
 sham. There are two pools in the valley of very ancient date, encom- 
 passed by walls composed of massive stones. These pools still furnish 
 the water supply of the city. It is currently believed, that one of 
 
148 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 these is that at which the event narrated concerning Rechab and 
 Baanah, sons of Rimmon (an officer in the army of Ish-bosheth) took 
 place. These young men, in attempting to exalt themselves in the 
 estimation of David (who had been only a short while installed king), 
 did a work that brought a most severe penalty upon them. Ish-bosheth, 
 the son of Saul, was an indefatigable rival for the sceptre of the king- 
 dom, after the death of his father, and having a large following sent up 
 an army against David, but was ingloriously defeated ; then Rechab 
 and Baanah slew Ish-bosheth, and brought his head to Hebron, sup- 
 posing the young king would highly commend them, and appoint them 
 to some very honorable and exalted position. But when the matter 
 was made known to David, he said to them, "As the Lord liveth, who 
 hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, when one told me saying 
 Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of 
 him and slew him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his 
 tidings. How much more when wicked men have slain a righteous 
 person, in his own house, upon his bed, shall I not require his blood at 
 your hand, and take you away from the earth ? " Then David caused 
 his young men to slay them and cut off their hands and feet and hang 
 them up beside the pool in Hebron. Thus ended the existence of two 
 young men who were guilty of double dealing. They were captains 
 in the army of Ish-bosheth, pretending to be at war against David 
 and the tribe of Judah, whose loyalty to him held the original king- 
 dom intact, and at the same time sought a favorable opportunity to 
 assassinate the man for whom they expressed willingness to sacrifice 
 their lives. The coming of these captains to the palace at that hour 
 created no suspicion, for the reason it was in accordance with a long 
 standing custom, which is still observed in the East. Th^ir business 
 there was supposed to have been, to get wheat for the soldiers, to dis- 
 tribute among them, that it might be sent to the mill at the usual hour 
 next morning ; having a knowledge of the time Ish-bosheth would be 
 taking his accustomed nap, they made it opportune to murder him. 
 They took his head to David, the rightful king, and the man whom 
 the murdered usurper had been endeavoring to destroy. But he could 
 not commend their bloody deed ; it was too dastardly for a man of 
 honor to recognize ; and that a lesson might be taught others, who might 
 be inclined to follow their footsteps, he made an example of them 
 (2 Sam. ii. 8-11, and iv. 2, 5, 6). There is a general agreement among 
 the best authors of the land, that one of these two ancient pools in 
 Hebron is identical with the scene of the execution of Baanah and 
 Rechab, the sons of Rimmon, the Beerothite, of the tribe of Benjamin. 
 
ANCIENT HEBRON. 149 
 
 One of tlie most important places to which sight-seers are taken, aside 
 from the ]Mosque which marks the site of the resting-place of Abraham 
 and his family, is the pool where the punishment of these two men's 
 crimes was meted out to them. 
 
 FACTS OF INTEREST TO TOURISTS. 
 The population of Hebron is estimated to be about fifteen thous- 
 and five hundred ; of whom one thousand are Jews, and fourteen 
 thousand five hundred are Molems, of the iron -clad type, who seem 
 to care for no one but themselves. There are few strangers who care 
 to remain there longer than to visit the ancient sites, as the accom- 
 modations both indoors and out are extremely poor. The streets are 
 very dark generally, and especially so in cloudy weather. Many of 
 them are arched almost from one end to the other ; therefore, it is 
 necessary, many times, to illuminate them from the early morning 
 through the entire day. Several streets are above the others, which 
 makes it necessary to tunnel those below, hence the darkness. The city 
 is nearly a mile long, and extends across the valley on the south side, 
 and occupies a considerable portion of the western slope also. All the 
 houses are substantially built of stone, which abounds in that region, 
 as in the most of Palestine. It is indispensable for all Christian trav- 
 elers to Hebron to employ a native guide before venturing to enter the 
 city ; and he Avho ignores this admonition does it at his own peril, for 
 he is exposed to insults and even violence. The Mohammedans take 
 delight, we are informed, in imposing upon Christians, and will do so 
 when they can trump up the most frivolous pretext. They proudly boast 
 of the fact that no European has ever been permitted to build a house in 
 their ancient city. It is the current belief that such a step would not 
 be allowed ; and if the}^ could not keep a Christian out by threats, they 
 would kill him. The reputation of the inhabitants does not by any 
 means accord with the name of their city, which is highly significant. 
 Hebron means " Friend." It may apply to the friendship they enter- 
 tain for each other, but their feeling towards strangers, especially 
 Europeans, is most bitter, as a rule. Having been informed of the 
 hostile attitude of the people toward strangers, I felt very dubious 
 about making the visit, fearing they might do me an injury. But to 
 be so close to one of the oldest and most historic towns in the world, 
 and not see it, although the opportunity was favorable, was more than 
 I could consent to. I therefore became willing to attempt the journey 
 with the disadvantages and risks confronting me. To see the old city 
 in which Abraham, "the father of the faithful," dwelt, which many 
 years after was the home of Jacob and his family, was an incentive so 
 
150 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 overpowering, the peril was almost lost sight of entirely, until we had 
 come near the northern gate of the city. The morning we started 
 from Jerusalem for Hebron, was very unfavorable ; it was cold, rainy, 
 and otherwise disagreeable. But the guide had hired a close carriage 
 for us, to which w'ere hitched three good traveling horses, which the 
 driver urged almost every foot of the way, that the trip might be made 
 in five hours and a half The most of the way going is up-hill, Heb- 
 ron is five hundred feet above Jerusalem ; its altitude is estimated to 
 be the highest of any city in Palestine. Our party had a memorable 
 experience that day, and I am sure neither of us will soon forget it. 
 As we drew within a few miles of the city it became very much colder, 
 and on several occasions we got into snow-drifts, which our team refused 
 to pull through with the load. This compelled us to get out of the 
 vehicle and push both carriage and horses, until we had gotten through 
 the snow, or on good pulling ground ; this we had to do repeatedly. 
 
 The highest point on the way to Hebron is Ramah, which is con- 
 sidered the most elevated place in Palestine, and south of the Upper 
 Galilee, It is thirty-three hundred and forty-six feet above the level of 
 the Mediterranean sea, and is commonly known as Abraham's Hill. 
 On the east of the road, a short distance, is the traditional site of the 
 Oak of Mamre, and the solitary tree that stands there bearing the 
 marks of the devouring influence of time is called Abraham's Oak. It 
 is supposed to be on, or near the spot, where the tree stood, under which 
 Abraham sat many times to refresh himself in the cool of the day. 
 Continuing on the public highway a few moments, the stranger's eyes 
 behold ancient Hebron spread out before them in almost full view, 
 which is entered, after descending the hill, from wdiich the town is first 
 seen. Those going from the north enter Hebron on its extreme 
 northern side ; but if the company have tents, they remain outside on 
 the tenting-ground in the valley near by. But if no tents are taken, 
 travelers usually stop at a small Jewish inn, where moderately-good 
 accommodations are obtained. 
 
 ACCOMMODATIONS FOR CHRISTIANS. 
 
 Those going to Hebron should make up their minds to calmly 
 yield to the discomforts common to all strangers, as there is but little 
 preparation made for public comfort. I am confident there is no large 
 town in Palestine, that has such meagre accommodations for strangers 
 as ancient Hebron. The truth is, the natives don't want Europeans 
 there, and they make nothing inviting to induce them to come. It is 
 far the best to have a tent ; they are much more comfortable, even in cold 
 
ANCIENT HEBRON. 151 
 
 weather, tlian the best house furnished by the natives. The little inn 
 kept by the Jews, has the poorest sleeping comforts, and it would be 
 far more preferable to sit up all night, than to go to bed with the expec- 
 tation of getting rest. But one who takes delight in the volumes of 
 antique history that cluster about the town, will quietly submit to the 
 situation because of the great and lasting benefits that will redound to 
 him from the sacrifice of the few hours' comfort he has made. It is a 
 most gratifying pleasure to any one who delights in the searching of 
 Bible history, to be in the midst of a town associated with events promi- 
 nent in the lives of holy men, from the early period of our w )rld. As 
 the visitor looks over the town, and round about the hills and valleys 
 within the range of his observation, many events connected with the 
 patriarchs, prophets and other men conspicuously mentioned in the 
 Scriptures, are freshly presented to his mind with renewed and deep 
 impressions. Then when the narratives concerning them are read at 
 or near the place they occurred, the impressions become indelible, and 
 the traveler feels at times as though he were transported to some distant 
 world. The connections of Hebron with the Holy Scriptures are very 
 numerous. If we should turn our attention down the line of nearly four 
 thousand years, that have been launched into the deep of eternity, we 
 will call up many stupendous occurrences, that were brought into promi- 
 nence on these hills, famously renowned in sacred and secular history, 
 which will pass like a beautiful panorama before our vision. In the 
 first place we Avould see many things connected with the lives of 
 Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Leah and Joseph, whose lives seem to be 
 written upon the everlasting rocks round about the ancient town, whose 
 fame is known throughout the civilized world. Abraham, the oldest 
 patriarch and " father of the faithful," spent nearly the whole of his 
 life in the southern parts of Palestine, the most of which was associated 
 with Hebron and its vicinity. It was at times called Mamre, and at 
 other times known as Kirjath-Arba. 
 
 It was to this portion of the country he came, when he first jour- 
 neyed in Canaan, and on his return from Egypt, whither he had fled 
 from the distressing famine that was in the land. During the time he 
 was with his nephew, he spent a short while at Bethel, but returned 
 after the unpleasantness, that became so grievous, that a separation of 
 his herdsmen and those of Lot was made necessary, for the promotion 
 of peace and the maintenance of friendship. Lot then pitched his 
 tent towards Sodom, and "Abraham moved his, and came and dwelt by 
 the Oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar 
 unto the Lord." It was his custom, when he moved to a place to set- 
 
152 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 tie for a time, to build an altar, and dedicate it to God. This act of 
 the patriarch made the place memorable, from generation to genera- 
 tion, even to the present day. Several of those who made investiga- 
 tions of the districts in which Abraham built altars have attempted to 
 locate them, and, although the exact sites cannot be positively identi- 
 fied, it is a great satisfaction to the thousands who visit Hebron, Bethel 
 and Shechem to know they are at least near the spot, if not on it, 
 where the venerable patriarch erected his altars, to consecrate the place 
 to the Most High. Abraham, after he had separated from his nephew, 
 Lot, lived long enough in Hebron to form the acquaintance and win 
 the esteem of the officials, and people who lived there, to form a con- 
 federation with them, and pursue Chedorlaomer and the kings who 
 were w'ith him, when they were taking Lot and his possessions in cap- 
 tivity. Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, joined in friendly alliance with 
 Abraham, and went forth to rescue the captives with the patriarch, who 
 had a small army of three hundred and eighteen trained men of his 
 own, and pursued the captors of Lot as far as Dan, and on to Hobah, 
 which is on the left hand of Damascus. There he recaptured Lot, and 
 all his goods, and all his people, and returned in triumph to Hebron 
 and sent his nephew to his home in Sodom. Here, by the Oaks of 
 Mamre, the venerable patriarch sat in his tent door in the heat of the 
 day, when the angels paid him a visit, while on their way to destroy 
 Sodom, and, on hearing of the fearful pending calamity, pleaded for the 
 preservation of the righteous, whom he supposed were there, and the w^hole 
 city, for their sake. One, standing on this site of ancient renown, may 
 imagine he can see Abraham, at the dawn of the following morning 
 standing on the summit of the high hill (called after his name), stretch- 
 ing his vision down into the valley of Siddim, steadfastly gazing at the 
 smoke of the obliterated cities of the plain ascending heavenward, 
 " like the smoke of a furnace." Then he knew full well the number 
 of righteous persons, for whom he so earnestly and faithfully pleaded, 
 were not found, and the cup of the people's transgressions having been 
 filled to overflowing they were consumed. It is reasonable to suppose 
 his mind fell upon his nephew, and wondered how he and those with 
 him fared. Abraham made Mamre his permanent home. If he left 
 there it was but for a short while, for he was sure to return to the place 
 where the Lord came to him in human form, and told him not only of 
 the pending wrath hanging over the cities of the plain of Siddim, but 
 assured him that he should be blessed with a son in the advanced age of 
 himself and wife, whose descendants should be as innumerable as the 
 stars of the Heaven, or the sand grains upon the the sea-shore. It was 
 
AlfCIENT HEBEON. 153 
 
 at Hebron Abraham was living, when Sarah, his beloved wife, died ; 
 here he greatly lamented her loss to him ; here he bought for the first 
 time, a plat of ground, expressly for a burial-place, where he laid to 
 rest Sarah, his wife. Himself, Isaac and Rebecca, his wife, Jacob and 
 his first wife, Leah — all these ancient ashes are still quietly resting 
 within the cave Machpelah, guarded day and night by the vigilant 
 sons of Ishmael, with sleepless eyes and attentive ears, — even the ap- 
 proach to the sacred precincts of their illustrious dead. (Gen. xiv. 
 13-18 ; xviii. 1-16-32 ; xix. 27-28.) 
 
 There was an anxious wish existing among children of olden times 
 to be buried with their fathers, and often they would die far from 
 home ; but,' according to their request, surviving friends would have 
 them buried where they desired to rest. Thus it was with Jacob, who 
 died in Goshen, in Egypt, but was brought to Hebron to be buried 
 "with his father. Isaac spent most of his life away from the old home- 
 stead, but returned before his days were ended, and died, having a 
 desire to be buried with his father in Machpelah. Jacob, who in early 
 life, fled from the wrath of Esau, his brother, returned to Hebron 
 (after many storms of afiliction passed over him), and made it his per- 
 manent home. He was living there when his sons were attending the 
 flocks in the pastures in Shechem, and Dothan ; from Hebron, Joseph, 
 his beloved son, was sent to look after their welfare, who, when draw- 
 ing near the camp where they were, was filled with joy to know they 
 were well. But the moment his brothers saw him, vengeance was 
 plotted, and they cruelly treated him, bringing floods of sorrow to the 
 heart of their aged father, who with anxious desire, looked for Joseph 
 to return home with the tidings as to the welfare of his brethren ; but 
 the lad did not return to him, nor could he hear anything from him 
 until the plot of deception, formulated by his elder sons, was made 
 strong enough to look plausible in his eyes. Joseph did not come to 
 Hebron until that mournful day, when he led the heart-stricken pro- 
 cession from Egypt, with the mortal remains of Jacob his father, whose 
 dying request was, that his body should be buried with his father. 
 
 JOSEPH'S MOUENFUL EETUEN. 
 
 Although the occasion was sad and would naturally absorb all 
 other reflections, yet we doubt not, when Joseph drew near Hebron, 
 and he looked upon the home of his childhood, and upon the hills on 
 which he used to stand in the long gone-by days, refreshing himself in 
 the cool of the day, vmder the boughs of the great oaks ; and as he 
 thought of the other incidents connected with his life while at home, 
 
154 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 such as tlie field, in which the sheaves of wheat stood, that he saw in 
 his dream, and his dream of the sun, moon and eleven stars, that made 
 obeisance to him, and then of the memorable day he journeyed from 
 home to look after the welfare of his brethren ; all these incidents like 
 a flood rushed into his mind as he was approaching the margin of the 
 scenes of his youth. It is presumable that during these reflections, he 
 looked down the line of the past and saw himself a boy, seventeen 
 years old, standing before his father telling his wonderful dreams that 
 laid the foundation for the flame of unquenchable hatred his brethren 
 kindled in their hearts against him. He saw himself at Shechem, and 
 Dothan, and the execution of the malicious scheme, concocted by his 
 brethren to put him where his dreams could never be verified ; he saw 
 all the affairs concocted with the event that caused his father to weep 
 bitterly many long years, and which caused his return that day, to the 
 home of his infancy. These streams of reflection must have filled his 
 heart, which was already freighted with grief on account of the death 
 of his fond father, to overflowing and caused the suppressed tears to 
 flow copiously, and force him to give vent to the most pitiable lamenta- 
 tions ever heard by the inhabitants at Hebron. The long funeral pro- 
 cession that came from Goshen in Egypt, with the embalmed body of 
 Jacob, to Hebron, was in compliance with the patriarch's dying request. 
 When the sons of Jacob gathered around his bed, just a while before 
 he died, to receive his last benediction, he asked them to lay him to rest 
 with his fathers. "And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to 
 be gathered unto my people ; bury me with my fathers, in the cave 
 that is in the field of Ephron, the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field 
 of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which 
 Abraham bought with the field of Ephron, the Hittite, for the posses- 
 sion of a burying-place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his 
 wife, there they buried Isaac and RebekaK, his wife, and there I buried 
 Leah." Therefore, in accordance with this most fervent and pathetic 
 request of the father of the great Hebrew nation, Joseph and the other 
 members of the family, in connection with a great train of sympathiz- 
 ing friends, proceeded mournfully from Goshen to Hebron, that the 
 last dying favor Jacob asked, might be promptly and faithfully fulfilled. 
 It was the unfailing custom of the Hebrews to carry out the wish of 
 their dead, especially one who was the head of a family or one who 
 had been in authority. It will be called to mind also, that in the 
 event of the exit of the Israelites from Egypt, they gathered up the 
 bones of Joseph, who had been long dead, and brought them to the 
 " Land of Promise," and buried them near the well of Jacob in the 
 
ANCIENT HEBRON. 155 
 
 vale of Shechem, because Joseph charged them concerning his bones 
 
 when he was about to die, and the request was remembered and 
 
 fulfilled. 
 
 THE MOSQUE MACHPELAH. 
 
 The ancient mosque, formerly known as the Cave of Machpelah, 
 at Hebron, is called Abraham's Mosque. It is strictly guarded by the 
 Mohammedans, in whose absolute charge it is, as well as the whole city. 
 The great mosque is built over the entire space occupied by the cave, 
 and closes it in from the gaze of the outside world. The Arabs are 
 seen about this sacred resting-place of the immortal Abraham, and 
 others of his family, by the hundreds from day to day, fully prepared 
 for any emergency. Such is the love and veneration for his tomb, 
 they are willing to lay down their existence, that it may be protected 
 against the encroachments of those whom they regard as unbelievers. 
 With the conscientiousness with which these sons of Ishmael protect 
 the mosque, we do not believe it to be in the least degree beyond the 
 bounds of propriety, nor the slightest digression from the truth to say? 
 they are as vigilant, in guarding the tomb of their great ancestor, as 
 were the Roman guards who were placed at the sepulchre of our 
 Redeemer. Visitors are not permitted to advance farther than twenty- 
 five or thirty feet along the wall leading up to the entrance gate to the 
 mosque ; and, notwithstanding Hebron is one of the four sacred cities 
 of the Jews in Palestine, they are not permitted to enter within the 
 walls of the enclosure, nor approach nearer to it than visitors from 
 other lands, who are not of the Moslem sect. These poor, oppressed 
 Jews content themselves with coming to their lawful limit, at a point 
 in the exterior wall where a portion of the natural rock is seen. Here 
 the devout Jews assemble to pray, and impress the ancient rock with a 
 fervent kiss. There is no division of opinion as to the identity of the 
 cave of Machpelah, the resting-place of Abraham. Jews, Christians, and 
 Mohammedans are united in their unswerving faith as to the undoubted 
 genuineness of the site. Until the year one thousand eight hundred and 
 eighty-one, but little had been known with reference to the internal 
 bearing and arrangements of the Haram. At that time the Prince of 
 Wales secured permission to enter, and took with him a few friends. 
 They also made good their only favorable opportunity, and took a 
 careful and full measurement of its entire interior. They give the 
 following account as the result of their investigation. It is only possi- 
 ble for us to give a part of their statement. " The outer walls enclose 
 a quadrangle measuring one hundred and ninety-seven feet long, by 
 one hundred and eleven feet wide, externally. There are twenty-eight 
 
156 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 buttresses, each twenty-five feet high, standing on a base wall. The 
 masonry of the walls resembles the olden masonry of the Jerusalem 
 Haram, and thus proves their Jewish origin. The average height of the 
 courses is three feet seven inches long, and three feet eight and a half 
 inches high ; the thickness of the walls is the same as that at Jerusa- 
 lem, namely, eight feet and a half, and the average height at the ancient 
 wall is forty feet. On the top of this is a modern wall with battlements, 
 plastered and white-washed. On the north, south, and east, the enclosure 
 is surrounded by another of more modern masonry, forming passages 
 with two flights of steps. The four corners of the Haram point nearly 
 to the four quarters of the compass, so that the longer sides are south- 
 w^est and northeast, and the shorter sides northwest and southeast 
 respectively. The gates leading to the steps are situated at the west 
 and south ends of the southwest side, and both lead up by passages to 
 a doorway in the northeast side, which is the only opening into the 
 interior of the Haram. 
 
 " The church occupies the southeast portion of the enclosure, three 
 of its walls being formed by the ancient outer ramparts. It is divided 
 into a nave and two aisles of almost equal width, and its length is 
 again divided into three bays, measuring twenty-five, thirty and fifteen 
 feet respectively. The total length of the church is seventy feet, the 
 breadth ninety-three feet. There is a clear story with three windows 
 on each side above the nave, and a low-pitched gable at the northwest 
 end, having a large window, slightly arched above, which is a round win- 
 dow now outside the roof of the nave, which has a ridge lower than the 
 top of the gable. The interior of the roof is slightly pointed with flat-rib- 
 bed grain. The aisle-rafts are nearly flat, and the whole are covered with 
 lead. The naive is supported by four large piers with clustered columns, 
 the capitals being adorned with thick leaves and mediaeval volute. The 
 church is now a Moslem Mosque, and in the centre of the southeast 
 wall a mihrab, or prayer recess, has been carved out. It is flanked by 
 slender pillars having rich gothic capitals, and by two wax torches. 
 Above it is a window of stained glass, resembling those on the dome of 
 the rock at Jerusalem, and dating from about fifteen hundred and 
 twenty-eight. The mimbar, or pulpit, stands on the right of the 
 mihrab and resembles that in the Mosque Aksa. It was constructed 
 in the year ten hundred and ninety-one, and was given to the 
 Mosque by Saladin, in eleven hundred and eighty-seven, after the 
 capture of Askelon. The merhala, or reading-platform, is similar to 
 that of other INIosques. In the east corner of the northeast aisle is a 
 Greek inscription built into the wall, apparently of the time of 
 
ANCIENT HEBEON. 157 
 
 Justinian, containing an invocation to Abraham for a blessing on those 
 who erected it. 
 
 " The entrances to the cave below are closed with stone flags, 
 and are never opened. The caves could only be reached by breaking 
 up the flooring of the Mosque, which would be regarded by the 
 Moslems as an unpardonable act of sacrilege. The cave, however, is 
 said to be double, as the word ' Machpelah,' signifies, and in the 
 middle ages it was called ' Spelunca duplex,' in consequence. Two 
 entrances are supposed to lead into the southwest cave, and one into 
 the northeast. In these caves are said to be the graves of six 
 Patriarchs — Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and" 
 Leah. 
 
 " Over the supposed positions of these tombs are placed cenotaphs. 
 The shrines of Abraham and Sarah, stand within two octagonal 
 chapels in the porch, which is double ; the vaulted, grained roof, rest- 
 ing on heavy piers, and, according to an inscription, was restored in 
 seventeen hundred and fifty-five. The shrines are covered with green 
 and white silk, embroidered with green Arabic texts in gold thread. 
 The entrances are closed and opened by barred gates of iron, plated 
 silver, of the date twelve hundred and fifty-nine. The walls are 
 cased with marble, having Arabic inscriptions near the top. Silver 
 lamps and ostrich shells are hung before the cenotaphs, which are 
 each eight feet long, four feet broad, and eight feet high. Copies of the 
 Koran on low wooden seats surround the cenotaphs. The shrines are 
 lighted by stained glass windows. To the northwest of the porcb, is an 
 open court-yard, in which is a sun dial, and on the other side of the 
 court are the buildings enclosing the shrines of Jacob and Leah. 
 Behind them are two small chambers now used as lumber rooms. 
 
 "A long chamber is situated at the southwest end of the buildings, 
 and a door leads from it through the ancient rampart wall to another 
 chamber fifty feet long, by twenty feet broad, which apparently leads 
 to the shrine of Joseph, which is reached through a vaulted gallery, in 
 the corner of which is Adam's foot-print. This relic, brought from 
 Mecca six hundred years ago, is a slab of stone with a sunken portion 
 resembling the impression of a human foot. It is enclosed in a recess 
 at the back of the shrine of Abraham. A small lead dome stands 
 above the gallery close to this place. The shrine of Joseph consists of 
 two chambers, one over the other, in each of which there is a cenotaph, 
 as in the ' Tomb of David,' at Jerusalem. The whole is surmounted 
 by an octagonal lantern, with a dome covered with lead. Each ceno- 
 taph is covered with green silk. The lower chamber is entered by a 
 
158 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 passage just within the west gate of the Haram. The shrine of Joseph 
 is of Arabian workmanship, and is evidently much more modern than 
 the other slirines in the Haram. The mosque has two minarets. The 
 dates of the various portions of the Haram are probably as follows : 
 The outer walls, or ramparts, are Herodian ; the mosque or church is 
 crusading, and was built between the years eleven hundred and sixty, 
 and eleven hundred and eighty ; the shrine of Joseph, the outer pas- 
 sages, door-ways and steps are Arabic, and date from the fourteenth 
 century ; the stained-glass windows belong to the sixteenth century ; 
 whilst certain restorations in the court-yard, and additional adornments 
 of the shrines are of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The 
 pavement is comparatively modern (" Murray's hand-book of Palestine 
 and Syria "). We are indebted to the Prince of Wales for the above 
 description of the mosque surrounding the cave of Machpelah. Had it 
 not been that he was permitted to visit and investigate its interior by 
 a special dispensation, the outside world would have been ignorant 
 until the present, and perhaps forever, of the arrangements of this 
 most stupendous building, that closes the eye of man from the sight 
 of a renowned rock, in the cavern of which, the mortal remains of 
 the father of patriachs were rested, to await the awakening voice of 
 the arch-angel's trump. This ancient tomb makes Hebron more sacredly 
 remembered, because the grave of Abraham is there, than it was when 
 the sire was actively engaged in the natural pursuits of life, in and 
 about it. It is likely there will never be another visitor (who is not 
 a Moslem), periuitted to enter within the gates of the Haram enclosure 
 again ; especially while it is under the control of the Mohammedans. 
 Therefore, all Christendom should appreciate the information we have 
 concerning it, through the princely son of England. 
 
 There are many events of great interest to our world, which cluster 
 in and about Hebron, that are detailed in various scripture narratives, 
 and in the writings of ancient historians, that would compose a large 
 volume. Concerning these things we shall be able to give only a pass- 
 ing account. The first evidence of the abundant products, the rich- 
 ness and desirable situation, and general condition of the "Land of 
 Caanan," that stimulated the children of Israel to possess it, was the 
 fruits brought to the camp by the spies, who had been sent out to obtain 
 information as to its general condition. The men who continued their 
 survey from the border land east of the Jordan, even into the valley 
 of Eshcol, took back with them bunches of grapes, and reported, say- 
 ing, " The land is good, and we are fully able to go up and possess it." 
 Caleb and Joshua, who were the senior representatives of the tribe of 
 
ANCIENT HEBRON. 159 
 
 Judali. seem to have been so well pleased witli Hebron that tliey re- 
 quested to be allowed to make it their home, notwithstanding the 
 Anakim giants lived there. 
 
 A GREAT REFUGE CITY. 
 
 After the children of Israel entered upon th eir several allotments 
 throughout the land, Hebron was constituted one of the cities of refuge, 
 and within its gates, many poor, fleeing Hebrews, found security from 
 the wrath of the avenger. The law, demanding '• an eye for an eye 
 and a tooth for a tooth," was practically enforced in the early days of 
 the Israelitish occupancy of Palestine, and that a person might have a 
 chance for his life in cases of accidental injuries, six cities of refuge 
 were established in different localities, and corresponding distances, 
 known as Levitical cities. The custom of blood revenge was prom- 
 inent among the Hebrews, and many times they would commit grave 
 blunders, and frequently charge the wrong man with the crime for 
 which they sought revenge. These visitations of revenge became so 
 generally indulged in by the Israelites, even while they were yet in 
 the wilderness, that they were common occurrences, and the practice 
 would have grown more popular and tyrannical had not the Lord 
 checked or modified the custom by ordering Moses to appoint cities of 
 refuge, in which there should be judges to investigate the case (Deut. iv. 
 43 ; xix.1-10 ; Josh. xiii. 26 ; xx. 8 ; Deut. xix. 7-9 ; Josh. xx. 2-3-8 ; 1 
 Kings xxii. 29) of each person who fled to them from the wrath of his 
 pursuer, whether he should be a Hebrew or a stranger. And if the 
 crime be one for which the refugee should atone, the avenger had the 
 liberty to slay him ; but if after due examination, it should be found 
 the killing was not an act stimulated by deliberation and intent, he 
 was set free. At first there were six of these cites, three on the east 
 side of the Jordan, as follows : Galon, in the territory of the tribe of 
 Manasseh, on the northwestern border of the kingdom of Bashan ; 
 another was Ramoth Gilead, or Ramoth Mizpet, in the confines of the 
 tribe of Gad ; and the third was Bezer, situated within the territory of 
 Reuben. The three on the west of the Jordan were Kedesh of Xaphtali, 
 in northern Palestine, Shechem in the territory of Ephraim. Hebron 
 became the city of next importance for all the people living in southern 
 Palestine, not only because of its physical attractions, but it was the 
 great haven of security for many whose lives were unjustly sought by 
 the avenger of blood. Travelers who go over to Hebron by the different 
 ancient highways may think of the flight of many, who, in the early 
 days of the children of Israel, sped their way over thes ame road in 
 
160 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 pursuit of a safe retreat, while the sun -was pouring out its melting heat 
 upon them, yet they persevered to the end. 
 
 HEBRON— THE FIEST CAPITAL OF DAVID. 
 
 Hebron was the capital of the loyal portion of Israel during the 
 first seven and a half years of David's reign, and it was from there 
 his army was sent forth, under the command of Joab, to war with 
 Ish-bosheth, the son of King Saul. And to Hebron, the remains of 
 Abner were taken, after being cruelly slain, and honorably buried by 
 David, who piteously mourned his death. It was also the scene of 
 great jubilation on the memorable day, when David was installed king 
 over the whole nation. The chief men of all the tribes, east and west 
 of the Jordan, came in teaming multitudes to Hebron, with many 
 precious fruits of the land, such as " bread and meat, meal, cakes of 
 figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, oil, oxen and sheep abundantly." 
 They came on " donkeys, camels, mules and oxen." The rejoicing 
 multitude made the hills and valleys echo with their shouts of high 
 praises to their new king. 
 
 When the Jews returned from their captivity at Babylon, and 
 rebuilt Jerusalem, they also renewed the waste places of Hebron. But 
 it was not permanently held by them. The Edomites, who were deadly 
 enemies to the Jews, captured the ancient city and controlled it until 
 Judas jNIaccabseus rescued it from them. It fell into the hands of the 
 crusaders, and was made the headquarters of a Latin bishopric, in the 
 year eleven hundred and sixty-seven, and remained, partially under 
 their control, for nearly two hundred years, but the. formidable Mos- 
 lems finally gained possession of it, and have the absolute control of it 
 until the present. But alas, Hebron, the ancient city, in and around 
 which cluster so many important events connected with the history of 
 the world, the city whose fame is immortalized because of the distinc- 
 tion given it by Abraham, the father of the faithful, has greatly fallen 
 from the glory with which it was crowned, in the years those ancient 
 hills echoed songs of praise to the Lord of Hosts, chanted by the patri- 
 archs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The many events, recorded of old, 
 concerning Hebron are still fresh in the memory of Christendom, and 
 will lose none of their influence to the end of the world, so that, from 
 one generation to another, the historian, the tourist, the Jew and 
 Mohammedan will fondly turn their attention to Hebron, and seek to 
 know something of the early greatness of the once happy home of the 
 early fathers, from which evolved much of the primitive history of the 
 religious world. The descendants of those whose prominence and jjiety 
 
ANCIENT HEBKON. 161 
 
 so greatly distinguished the city, have lost their control of it, and are 
 now subordinate to the sons of Hagar, who, with relentless ostracism, 
 refuse them permission to look upon the site in which ai'e deposited the 
 dusty remains of their illustrious ancestor. These self-destroyed peo- 
 ple, who, in the morning of their glory, boasted in the fact that Abra- 
 ham was their father, may be seen every day standing by the wall 
 enclosing the rocky chamber, of which his sepulchre is composed, and 
 drop a tear, impi'ess a kiss, and then mournfully return to their homes, 
 having no real prospect of ever being permitted to gaze upon the sacred 
 tomb, or even enter the gates of the Haram leading to it. They prayer- 
 fully wait for the time, when those who oppose and cause many sorrows 
 to depress them, will be compelled to surrender the Machpelah cave to 
 them without a struggle, and yet they have not learned to trust in Him 
 whose arm alone can help them. I feel it to be my duty to mention a 
 word or two as to the treatment I received from the people of Hebron, 
 while in their ancient city. It will be remembered, I stated elsewhere, 
 how hostile the Arabs are said to be to European visitors and Chris- 
 tians generally, who go there sight-seeing, and how dubious I felt about 
 making the trip, when we started from Jerusalem under very unfavor- 
 able circumstances. But, to my great surprise and gratification, the 
 people who have been known to impose upon and even injure those 
 who have visited there, treated me with the utmost kindness. Their 
 expressions to me seemed to be full of the most cordial welcome and 
 good will. I am of the opinion these poor Ishmaelites have been often 
 driven to take harsh measures, with many strangers who have come 
 among them, because many advantages are taken of them in various 
 ways. 
 
 It is many times the case, that those who visit Palestine have first 
 made a tour through India or Egypt, where the natives allow all kinds 
 of impositions ; and these same people, who have been masters of the 
 situation in those countries mentioned, many times attempt the same 
 kind of bossism in Hebron ; but the people will not allow it. This 
 often brings about trouble, and the inoffensive and oflfensive are served 
 alike. These people are ever ready to stand in their own defence, and 
 when there is the least indication of imposition, they are ready to resent 
 it severely. It is also true, no doubt, that many of them, because they 
 hate strangers of Chi'istian bearing, who come among them, will seek a 
 chance to misuse them, and upon the least provocation will assault 
 them. When they see a white man coming into their town, he is at 
 once looked upon as an enemy ; therefore, they want nothing to do 
 with him, and feel relieved of a burden when he leaves their borders. 
 11 
 
162 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 I can say of them gladly, their treatment of me, as far as I observed, 
 was as good as any one could hope for, from a superstitious people 
 whose " hand is against every man." Indeed I fared as well in He- 
 bron as in any place in Palestine, so far as being kindly treated is con- 
 cerned. I was somewhat of a novelty to them, not because of my 
 complexion, for they are nearly all colored, as is common to their race ; 
 but because I was dressed in what is known as European style of dress? 
 and looked so different from them, whose scanty habits are such as are 
 commonly worn by the Orientals. When they saw me, they looked as 
 if struck with profound astonishment, and seemed to express the 
 wonder, if 1 had once been a Mohammedan and turned from their faith 
 to embrace the Christian religion. But as I could not speak Arabic 
 and they could not speak English, we were shut off from immediate 
 intercourse, and the only thing we did was to bow and smile at each 
 other. I was the only one in our company they seemed to express a 
 desire to have any communication with. Nevertheless, I was glad 
 when the time allotted for our stay was spent, and our faces were again 
 turned toward Jerusalem. There is no necessity to remain in Hebron 
 more than two or three hours, as all that is to be seen of interest to 
 travelers may be visited in that time. It is to be regretted, that of the 
 fifteen thousand inhabitants of the town, not one of these has 
 embraced Christianity, and we are persuaded it is next to an impossi- 
 bility, for a Christian to live there while it is under Moslem rule. The 
 one thousand Jews who are there, we understand, are not accorded the 
 freedoo; the Arabs have, and are but a small consideration in the 
 estimation of the dominant race. 
 
X 
 
 X 
 h 
 
 DQ 
 O 
 
 u 
 
PART YIII. 
 
 FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 
 
 Places of Interest Along the Road — Valley of Giants — AVell of the Wise Men — 
 Tomb of Rachel — Well of David— Church of the "Holy Nativity " — Ancient 
 Inns — Description of the Holy Nativity — Altar of the Magi — Joseph and 
 Mary Journeying from Nazareth — The Advent of Jesus — Solomon's Porch 
 — Solomon's Gardens and Orchards — Mar Saba — Site of the Convent — Places 
 of Interest from Bethlehem to Jericho — The Well Bir Essuk — Character of 
 the Beduoins — Wilderness of Judea — Wilderness of Engedi — Dead Sea — 
 Mountains of Sodom — Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah — The A''ale of Siddim 
 — Location of Zoar — Earthquakps as a Work of Destruction — The Amorites 
 — The Hot Springs — Judah and Israel Combined Against jSIoab — The Valley 
 of the Jordan — Plain of Jericho — City of Palm Trees — The Jordan River — 
 The Faithfulness of the People of Palestine for their Church Services — 
 Nebo and Pisgah — The View of Moses — Joshua Camped at Gilgal — The 
 Three Jerichoes — Spring of Elisha — The Second Jericho — The Brook 
 Cherith — The Highway to Jericho — Mount of Temptation. 
 
 BETHLEHEM, House of Bread, now called by the natives Beit 
 Lahm, is about five miles and a half from Jerusalem, a little 
 to the southwest, and eighteen miles from ancient Hebron. The road 
 is in splendid condition and speed can be kept up, after the Valley of 
 Hinnom is crossed, as far as Rachel's Tomb, which is a pleasure greatly 
 admired by travelers in that country, because it so seldom happens 
 that good roads are made. Starting from the Joppa gate for Bethle- 
 hem, or Hebron, or any of the country on the south and southwest of 
 Jerusalem, the descent into the valley is so very abrupt, that it is 
 necessary to ride very slowly and cautiously, for if the animal should 
 fall the result might be fatal to the rider. This highway is not only 
 made lively by the multitudes who are continually going and coming, 
 but the visitor is kept busy looking at the many places that make up 
 much of the history of Palestine ; prominent among them are as 
 follows : The Plain of Rephaim, also known as the Valley of the 
 Giants, which is mentioned in connection with the Philistines, who 
 spread themselves here when they sought David and were defeated. 
 It is a broad plain, and was in olden times very rich and productive, and 
 
 163 
 
164 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 extends several miles. The Germans have a colony settled in one por- 
 tion of it, not far from the main road leading to the south, and are 
 doing well. It will be largely occupied by Europeans no doubt in the 
 near future, as those who have settled in the " plain " are meeting with 
 great prosperity. The next place of interest is the " Well of the 
 Wise Men," situated on the roadside. Here, tradition says, " Those 
 men, who were guided by a star from their eastern home to Jerusalem, 
 stopped after being sent by Herod to search for Jesus. The star hav- 
 ing disappeared during their conference with the king, they came down 
 and stood by this ancient well, and looking down saw their guiding 
 star reflecting in the water, and they starting anew on their journeys 
 came to the place where the Saviour was born. The renowned well is 
 on the right of the road, near the convent of Mar-Elias of the Greek 
 
 Church. 
 
 EACHEL'S TOMB. 
 
 The next place of special historical importance is the " Tomb of 
 Rachel." The present building standing over the tomb is not ancient ; 
 it may be that a portion of its foundation is, but the structure is com- 
 paratively modern. The genuineness of the tomb, as being identical 
 with the burial-place of Rachel, is generally conceded by the most 
 stubborn critics, who have examined into the legality of the claims of 
 those who identified it. It is a small building with a dome or oval top, 
 very much the shape of an old-fashioned bake oven. The tomb is rever- 
 enced by Jews, Christians, and Moslems alike, all of whom look upon 
 it as a place of sacred memory. The following we copy for the 
 enlightenment of those who may be in search of more information as 
 to the tomb : " The original building was opened with four arcades 
 supporting the dome. The arcades, however, have been filled up 
 except at the east, where a second chamber has been added. The 
 square building measures twenty-three feet each side, the arches having 
 a span of ten feet. The height of the walls is twenty feet, and the 
 dome is ten feet higher. The east chamber is twenty-three feet 
 long by thirteen feet wide. A covered court with a window, and 
 Mihrab (praying niche) on the south, and a double window on 
 the east, and measuring twenty-three feet square, is situated at the east 
 end ; it is used as a praying place by the Moslems. The inner chambers 
 are locked and the key kept by the Jews ; here they pray every Friday. 
 A modern cenotaph stands immediately under the dome." (Murray's 
 Hand-Book.) The Jews have charge of this tomb, and they appre- 
 ciate it most dearly, as there are but few historical places in Palestine 
 they are permitted to control. Here they meet each Friday to pray. 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 165 
 
 The walls of the building are much defaced, caused by the pilgrims 
 and other devotees, who cling to the tradition that the spirit of Rachel 
 visits her tomb, and is active in granting the prayei-s of the faithful 
 who implore her agency. There are many who have but one oppor- 
 tunity in this life to visit this ancient resting-place of Jacob's second wife, 
 and believing she is busily engaged in answering petitions, they, there- 
 fore, scribble their prayers on the wall indulging the hope she may see 
 them. This is a custom of long standing in Palestine and all the 
 sacred places where it is allowed have almost numberless prayers 
 written upon their walls. Just a few steps south of the tomb, the road 
 forks, and the main road to Hebron is direct, and that to Bethlehem 
 is on the left. From this point to the little town so very unworthy of 
 historic mention, before the birth of our Lord, is only about one mile 
 
 to the southeast. 
 
 WELL OF DAVID. 
 
 The road is not in good condition, and the horses must go slow. 
 Just as the outskirts of the town are entered, the well of David can be 
 seen by any one who will take the pains to go to it. It is located on 
 the left of the road in a small open space, which is entered through a 
 narrow and difficult pass. This well is regarded, both by tradition 
 and the best evidence obtained by investigators, to be identical with 
 the well '■ at the gate," the water of which David so eagerly longed 
 for while he was in the cave of Adullam, and three of his valiant men 
 having heard his ardent wish put their life in peril that his desire 
 might be gratified. The well is rock-hewn and deep ; the water is 
 cold and very pleasant to drink, but care should be taken by strangers 
 not to 'drink more than two or three swallows, as the free use of it is 
 apt to make one sick ; my own experience of freely drinking from it has 
 admonished me to give the warning against its free use. I would 
 advise travelers who may visit the well to be strictly cautious, and 
 drink but little, no matter how thirsty they may be. If I did not give 
 this advice, I should feel that a grave duty had been neglected. Those 
 who live immediately adjoining the well are ever alert, and when a 
 traveler comes up, they will run with a glass or some other vessel for 
 him to have a drink. Of course they expect to be compensated for 
 their kindness, and are seldom disappointed. It is highly probable 
 that thousands of dollars have been given from time to time by the 
 many visitors, for the water from the well "at the gate." If before 
 entering the town the traveler will halt and take a survey of the land- 
 scape, and the country round about, he will call to mind much of the 
 history of the far distant past. He may think of Xaomi wending her 
 
166 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 way home in poverty and distress, bereaved of her affectionate husband 
 and two loving sous, in company with Ruth, her widowed daughter-in- 
 law, who would not forsake her in her distress. And should he look 
 upon the fields, on either side the way, in which the husbandman is 
 gathering the beautiful products of his labor, he will doubtless remem- 
 ber the womanly Ruth, who in meekness and great thankfulness 
 followed the reapers of Boaz gleaning in one of these fields. And such 
 was her loneliness and winning demeanor, she captured the heart of 
 Boaz, whose love and tenderness for her were inexpressible, and in a 
 short time afterwards became his wife, also the grandmother of David, 
 the ancestor of Christ. He may also see a shepherd coming along 
 having a flock of sheep behind him ; he will make some kind of noise 
 as if speaking to them; they follow close after him without turning to 
 the right or left. This scene is a forcible reminder of the saying of 
 our Lord, '' My sheep know my voice, and they follow me." Now if 
 one should take time to go to one of the fields in which several shep- 
 herds are attending their flocks, it might puzzle him to know how one 
 shepherd divides his sheep from another's. But the difficulty is soon 
 solved. It may be that one of the shepherds wishes to go to another 
 place or home, and he will make the sound or tone of voice usually 
 known to them, and immediately all his sheep gather together and 
 follow him. The sheep are so well trained to follow and come when 
 they are called, it is scarcely necessary to count them to see if any 
 remained behind. It is highly probable that David was minding his 
 father's flocks in one of these fields, when Samuel w^ent to Bethlehem 
 to anoint him the future king of Israel, and somewhere in these regions 
 round about, while the young shepherd was looking toward heaven 
 in deep meditation, he sang his nocturnal song, which has been prayer- 
 fully repeated by millions of the blood-washed army : " The heavens 
 declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth his handi- 
 work." 2 Saml. xxiii. 15-17; 1 Chron. ii. 15-19. The stranger 
 having meditated upon these events, is prepared to enter the heart 
 of the town where other scenes will further refresh his mind con- 
 cerning its historical importance. Before entering the shepherd 
 fields just east of Bethlehem, other important events may be profit- 
 ably contemplated. He will call to mind that somewhere here 
 within the limits of my immediate surroundings, David, the grandson 
 of Ruth, was born and reared, on some of those glens. On the out- 
 side he fought with a bear and a lion and slew them. From this town 
 he went in the strength of God and met Goliath, the Gathite, and won 
 a triumphant victory for Israel. Should the stranger take a few 
 moments' walk to the southeastern terminus of the town, he will see 
 
FEOM JEKUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 167 
 
 just beyond him the fields in which the shepherds were watching their 
 flocks on the early morning, the angels of the Lord descended and 
 informed them of the birth of the Redeemer. Having finished his medi- 
 tations and observations of the many places and events referred to, 
 the stranger may with great benefit turn to the scenes connected with 
 the advent of our Lord. But before we proceed to examine those 
 places, especially referring to the history of our Lord in His infancy, it 
 is proper that a historical sketch of this little town should be noted. 
 The ancient name of Bethlehem was Ephratah, Ephrath, which means 
 fruitful (1 Saml. xxvi. ; 1 Kings ii. ; Matt. i-v. ; Ruth ii.) ; it is 
 first mentioned in connection with Rachel's death, and spoken of 
 again in the narrative of Ruth and Boaz, in which it is called 
 Bethlehem Judah, to distinguish it from Bethlehem in the territory 
 of the tribe of Zebulon. ItAvas called the "City of David" in honor 
 of him after Samuel anointed him to be the second king of Israel. 
 It was not considered an important place until after the birth of our 
 Lord ; but since that auspicious event, it grew rapidly, both in size and 
 popularity, and became more prominent after the church of the Holy 
 Nativity was built, and thousands of adoring pilgrims visited there 
 every year. Bethlehem is a Christian town containing about seven 
 thousand inhabitants, of whom about thirty-five hundred are members 
 of the Latin Church, twenty-five hundred belong to the Greek Church, 
 about eight hundred are Armenians, and the remainder are Protestants. 
 As strange as it may seem, there is not a Mohammedan in the town ; 
 although Jerusalem, which is only six miles away, is one of the INIoslem 
 strongholds. It is noteworthy to state that there seem to have been 
 no special attractions in Bethlehem for our Lord after He left there in 
 His infancy. It may be to many when considering the natural influ- 
 ence the place of birth has over mankind, a wonder why He mani- 
 fested no disposition to visit the home of His childhood once, at least, 
 especially when He so often came up to Jerusalem and Bethany, and 
 other places not far away. Gen. ii. ; Gen. viii. 7. 
 
 It is not recorded that our Lord ever visited Bethlehem, and it is 
 presumable. He did not see it again after His parents took Him to 
 Nazareth. It may be there was nothing to do more than had been 
 done during His short sojourn. The message the angels brought, the 
 narrative of the shepherds, the visit of the wise men from the east, and 
 the mysterious flight of Joseph with Jesus and His mother, were evi- 
 dences strong enough to arouse the whole town to embrace their Saviour 
 and King. It should be remembered, Christ did not come to earth on 
 a visit, but on business ; and He never visited a place except upon such 
 matters of business as strictly accorded with His divine mission. Ever 
 
168 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 feeling deeply impressed with the burden of His responsibility, He 
 could spend no time except in those places where it was absolutely 
 needful He should go. His duration was short on earth, and must be 
 spent to the very best advantage to the world. On this account, Jesus 
 worked hard all the while, and found no opportunity to pay the friends 
 of Bethlehem a visit, simply to see the place of His birth. If our posi. 
 tion is properly taken, we have clearly shown the mission of Christ. 
 It demanded His untiring labor from the time He began to be active 
 until He returned home. But the influence He left in Bethlehem has 
 been working as leaven in the three measures of meal. 
 
 Bethlehem stands on a high hill, and is estimated to be at least three 
 hundred feet higher than Mount Zion. It is properly called "the 
 House of Bread," for the hills and valleys are clothed with olive 
 groves, vineyards, fig orchards, and other fruits, all of which yield 
 abundantly and fill the markets. The wheat, barley, and other pro- 
 ducts thrive richly. The people are generally employed, and are not 
 seen following travelers through the town by the dozens crying " back- 
 sheesh," every step they take, as in most of the places in Palestine. It 
 is noteworthy, that in every place where the Christian religion prevails, 
 beggars are fewer, and strangers sustain but little if any annoyance. 
 The Christian training of the Bethlehemites has given them a physical 
 and moral bearing, very different from their Moslem neighbors, in other 
 towns and cities round about them. The complexion of the females is 
 fair ; their dress, although Oriental in style, is neat and clean ; and 
 their head-dress differs from those in any other part of the country. 
 They are generally busy at something of benefit to themselves and the 
 community. When not employed with domestic duties, they manu- 
 facture fancy articles, and make relics out of pearls, olive-wood, cherry- 
 stones and sea-stones ; these they find ready sale for at the relic stores, 
 and to tourists. As soon as it is known that strangers are approaching 
 town, the young men who deal in souvenirs hasten to meet them, pre- 
 sent their business cards, and endeavor to secure their promise to give 
 them a call, and buy from them whatever goods they wish. It is of no 
 use to tell them you don't want anything, for unless you are really 
 without money, it will be next to an impossibility to leave Bethlehem 
 without purchasing a number of articles. They have an eye to busi- 
 ness, and know how to display their goods to make them inviting and 
 salable. But few, if any, leave the town without making a purchase. 
 But the great attraction in Bethlehem is the church of the " Holy 
 Nativity." It is regarded as one of the most sacred sites in Palestine. 
 It is said by Jerome, who lived in the town a short while after the 
 
X 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 H 
 UJ 
 CQ 
 
 S; 
 o 
 
 S 
 
 LiJ 
 
 h 
 
 > 
 Z 
 
 d: 
 
 h 
 
 o 
 
 X 
 o 
 cc 
 
 D 
 
 n: 
 
 u 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 169 
 
 erection of the cliurcli, " It was really built upon the site of the khan 
 or inn at Bethlehem." It is also known that these khans, situated on 
 great caravan highways, were always stationed (as is the case at the 
 present day) at certain distances as nearly as possible, and retained 
 their respective positions from one century to another ; therefore, the 
 ancient inn at Bethlehem, in the time of Jerome, was known to have 
 been located on the grounds upon which the church of the " Holy 
 Nativity " was built ; and on this same spot occurred the mysterious 
 birth of the Saviour of the world, on the night Joseph and the Virgin 
 lodged there. 
 
 Justin Martyr, who wrote concerning it in the second century, said : 
 " The stable of this inn was a rock-cut-cave." These ancient rock-cut 
 stables are by no means uncommon in Palestine ; several of them have 
 of late been found on Mount Carmel and in different parts of Galilee, 
 and will remain there to testify to travelers their ancient usefulness 
 for many ages to come. It is common even to this day to have stables 
 situated under the first floor of inns, both in Palestine and Syria. 
 Those who go up to Jerusalem from Joppa by the old highway, usually 
 halt at Babel-Wad for luncheou, in a small inn by the wayside. Here 
 the traveler will find a genuine old-time stable, just under the main 
 floor. There is a much stronger illustration of the Bethlehem stables 
 at Sidon ; when the upper portion of the house is full, the people 
 frequently spend the night in the stable below with the horses, and 
 many prefer lodging there -for the sake of cheapness. It may be seen 
 from these references, it was not an uncommon occurrence for people to 
 sleep in stables in Palestine and the circumjacent countries. This was 
 the cause why Joseph and his espoused lodged in the stable. " There 
 was no room in the inn." 
 
 CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY. 
 
 The church that has been substituted for the tavern, stands in front 
 of a large open space which is used for a " market place," and for a 
 camping-ground for the market-men and merchants coming in from 
 the country. Every day dozens of poorly-dressed, and half-savage- 
 looking " Bedouins," congregate there with tents and luggage and 
 remain sometimes through the day. The entrance to the church is 
 from the space in which these wild-looking men are lurking. On 
 approaching the door, travelers are followed by a number of men and 
 boys, who vie with each other for the right of holding the horses, hoping 
 thereby to earn a little backsheesh. They are so persistent in their 
 endeavors for the privilege, the dragoman is often compelled to 
 
170 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 abruptly dismiss them to restore peace. The entrance door to the 
 church is about four feet high ; it opens into a vestibule that is very- 
 gloomy ; this is the entrance to the spacious and beautifully-decorated 
 building. The church proper stands inside a monastery which belongs 
 to the Latins, Greeks and Armenians alike ; each having their 
 separate apartments, because the brethren do not by any means " dwell 
 together in unity," but entertain the most hostile feelings towards each 
 other. The church is free to all Christians to visit, and, if desired, 
 devotional services may be held without interference in the open 
 chambers, but no one, not officially constituted, would be allowed 
 to officiate at the altars. There are evidences at times of encroach- 
 ments, both in the interior and outside the church. Much of its 
 embellishments have faded and crumbled off, so that in several places 
 the walls are very much defaced. It was built in the year three hundred 
 and twenty-seven, and is supposed to be the oldest Christian church in 
 the world. There are different opinions as to who caused it to be built. 
 Some think Constantine the Great, founded it ; others say it was 
 erected by the order of his Christian mother, the Empress Helena, who 
 in the day of her energy and zeal for the progress of Christianity in 
 Palestine, built many churches, chapels and convents throughout the 
 country ; and from the weight of evidence, it seems highly probable, 
 she built this memorial basilica at Bethlehem over the rock-hewn 
 manger of " Him who was born King of the Jews." 
 
 The measurement of the church is estimated to be one hundred and 
 twenty feet long, one hundred and ten feet wide. It has five rows of 
 marble columns, some of which are said to have been used in the 
 Temple at Jerusalem, and were transported here for the use of this 
 memorial building. The chapel of the " Holy Nativity " (one of the 
 basement chambers) is a rocky cave, about twenty feet below the main 
 floor of the church, which is approached by two flights of stairs. It is 
 low and dark, so that lamps are kept burning day and night ; in addi- 
 tion to the lighted lamps, each visitor is furnished with a candle to 
 assist him through those dark places, where there are no lamps. The 
 chapel is thirty-eight feet long, and eleven feet wide. In the pavement, 
 may be seen a marble slab having a silver star in the centre ; this 
 is the ti'aditional spot where our Lord was born, having the following 
 inscription placed around it: "Hie de virgine Maria Jesus Christus 
 natus est " — Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. This 
 grotto is generally conceded, by those who have made exhaustive 
 investigations, to be identical with the site of the manger in which the 
 Lord Jesus was born. On this account, thousands of devoted Chris- 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 171 
 
 tians of all lands reverently bow at this holy shrine, and pour forth 
 floods of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord Most High, for the gift 
 of Jesus, His Son, who consented to be born of a woman, in a lowly 
 stable, and in a rock-hewn manger, for dying men. Never can the 
 writer forget the feeling of profound gratitude that pervaded his heart, 
 the day he knelt by the stone that marks the site of the place where 
 Christ first entered our world in flesh. There is a tradition, circulated 
 extensively among the people, stating that the manger was found and 
 taken to Rome, and placed in the church of St. Maria IMaggiore. Thia 
 is one of the many stories that have but little weight among the people 
 at large. There is also an altar dedicated to the memory of the wise 
 men, called the altar of the Magi. It designates the place where those 
 eastern seers stood, when they presented their gifts to their infant king. 
 There is another apartment called "The Chapel of Joseph," and is 
 supposed to be the place to which he retired when the Saviour was 
 born ; and where " the Angel of the Lord appeared, and commanded 
 him to take the young Child and His mother and flee into Egypt." 
 The Altar of Innocence is dedicated to the memory, it is said, of 
 twenty thousand male children who were murdered by the decree of 
 King Herod, when he vainly sought the life of Jesus. There are 
 several impressive paintings suspended over and about the altar, repre- 
 senting the inhuman massacre. There is not the least doubt in my 
 mind, that some of the chapels and altars are fictitious, and gotten up 
 upon mere conjecture, as many so-called sacred places in Palestine are, 
 by many who have been too ambitious in locating the places where 
 events took place of which the Bible gives account, or by some per- 
 sons who had no conscientious scruples as to veracity. It is a common 
 occurrence in Palestine, both with the Greeks and Latins, to fix upon 
 places as genuine sacred places, without real foundation. There are 
 many places purporting to be authentic, which cannot be satisfactorily 
 established. But it seems to be the general opinion, that the place 
 designated as the site of our Lord's birth is at least not far from the 
 place, if not identical with it. It was accepted as such, as early as the 
 time of Justin Martyr, and it must be conceded that at such an early 
 date accurate accounts could be given. But one thing about which 
 there cannot be a shadow of doubt, and naturally gives great comfort 
 to the visitor is, he is confident that while walking: from one recess to 
 another through this ancient grotto, it is the identical inn in which the 
 Son of God was born, and somewhere within its rocky confines is the 
 sacred spot where the blessed virgin brought Him into the world. 
 
 There is another marvelous place in this cave, or rock-hewn inn, 
 
172 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 and that is the Chapel of Jerome. It is a rough chamber hewn in 
 the solid rock, and is known beyond doubt, to be the room occupied by 
 that most eminent and self-sacrificing follower of the Saviour for thirty 
 years, who met the end of his life full of good deeds and works. Here 
 he prayed, examined and studied ; here he fasted, mourned and wrote, 
 that he might be instrumental in making the world better and rekindle 
 the sacred flame in Palestine, that it might burn from age to age, until 
 every heart should be opened to receive the Saviour's love, and every 
 knee should bow at His Holy Shrine, Here he gathered around him 
 his devoted followers in the small communities which afterwards formed 
 the beginning of Conventual life in Palestine, to instruct in the doc- 
 trines of the Word of God. Here he wrote letters and commentaries 
 and sent them forth to the world. These chapels or grottoes have been 
 sources of much contention and bitterness among the rival religious 
 sects, who have specific apartments under their custody, and had it not 
 been for the interposition of the civil authorities, there would have 
 been on several occasions very disastrous results. These people have 
 had dangerous outbreaks, it is said, simply on account of a few inches 
 of wall, or a fractional portion of one of the altars, which in some of 
 the rooms is so divided as to devote a portion of it to the express use 
 of each denomination : they are generally divided by a heavy curtain 
 which may be moved at will, so as to encroach upon the other officials, 
 and when this is supposed to be, or is really done, the act has always 
 been the harbinger of a row. Much trouble has occurred on several 
 occasions about opening and shutting the doors. It is currently cir- 
 culated that such inconsiderable matters have been so sternly rebuked 
 by the parties who were dissatisfied, or felt to have been imposed 
 upon, that they have nearly precipitated a war upon the people. It 
 is an appalling outrage that it has become necessary, in order to protect 
 life, and preserve nominal peace, that a guard of Turkish soldiers is 
 stationed inside the church of the " Holy Nativity," to prohibit the 
 Christian priests of the Latin and Greek religious sects, from doing 
 violence to each other. Several times shameful outbreaks have occurred 
 and much blood spilt, and lives have been lost within the precincts of 
 the venerable church that marks the site where "The Prince of Peace " 
 was born, by those who claim to be His followers, and the higher lights 
 whose life is consecrated to the work of illuminating this dark world, 
 that men may find their way to God. It is certain that if the Lord 
 Jesus should sit in their midst as with His disciples and the multitudes 
 on the mount. He would not say to them, " Ye are the light of the world." 
 A deep-seated unfriendly feeling exists between the Greek and Latin 
 
FKOM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 173 
 
 priests, which seems to be impossible to exterminate. Just about one 
 mile east of the church of the " Holy Nativity " is the shepherd's field, 
 enclosed by a stone fence having several Olive trees in it. The grotto 
 of the shepherds is also there ; it belongs to the Greeks and is some- 
 times called the chapel of the shepherds. It is evidently of compara- 
 tive modern date, and sometimes services have been conducted in it. 
 On entering the chapel the transition is so sudden and marked, it is 
 necessary to rest the eyes for a while so as to allow the pupil to 
 expand sufficiently to become adapted to the change, because of the 
 darkness that pervades the interior of the building. 
 
 This chapel marks the site w^here tradition locates the shepherds 
 watching their flocks, when they saw the company of angels, who in- 
 formed them of the advent of Jesus into our world. There is but 
 little if any confidence attached to the genuineness of the statement 
 with reference to the exact site of the shepherds' location on that 
 memorable morning, or that those men used to rest themselves there, 
 as some would have us believe. It is the general opinion of those 
 who have made investigations of the place, that it was built in the 
 time of the crusaders, who were distinguished for having occupied 
 every historical place they found, and built either a chapel or convent 
 to perpetuate its memory. But it is firmly believed that this dark 
 chapel is in the neighborhood of the site at least, where the heavenly 
 messengers came and for the first time proclaimed " peace on earth 
 and good will to man." The olive trees are generally sought by trav- 
 elers from Christian lands, from which they take a sprig or two of 
 leaves. Every one who has heard the story of the glorious advent of 
 Our Lord and Saviour, knows something of that stupendous event, 
 and notwithstanding it will be an incomprehensible mystery down to 
 the remotest ages, it is nevertheless the chiefest of the sources of con- 
 solation to mankind ; and when one avails himself of the opportunity 
 to visit the land in Avhich the Saviour was born, and many of the 
 places chiefly connected with His glorious mission, it is an unspeakable 
 gratification to him. 
 
 THE JOURNEY FROM NAZARETH. 
 
 "When Joseph laid aside his carpenter's tools, and closed the door of 
 his workshop in Nazareth, and left home with the virgin, his betrothed, 
 in obedience to the Emperor's mandate, to be enrolled for taxation in 
 their own district of Bethlehem Judea, they had not the slightest idea 
 that this wonder of wonders would occur before they returned to their 
 home in the far-away hills of Galilee. 
 
174 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 It was God's plan tliat, in accordance with the prophecy, our Lord 
 should be born in Bethlehem, and so ordered it in His mysterious 
 arrangements that Joseph should start with the virgin mother, so that 
 they might arrive in the town designated for the miraculous birth of 
 the Messiah, just at the time of the exj^iration of the period when she 
 should be delivered. Joseph fulfilled two decrees in going up to the 
 city of David to be registered. Csesar Augustus, who was the first of 
 the Roman emperors, demanded that a uniform taxation should be 
 levied upon all the subjects of his vast dominion, and that none might 
 escape, he decreed that each person should be enrolled in his own 
 district, and Joseph, being of the house and lineage of David, went 
 up to Bethlehem according to law to be registered, and thus, as a loyal 
 citizen, fulfilled the decree of Csesar Augustus, his earthly monarch, 
 and inasmuch as Mary, his betrothed, was of the house of David, he 
 took her with him, and while there the days were accomplished that 
 she should be delivered. This wonderful event fulfilled the decree of 
 the Lord, who by the mouth of the prophet declared that Christ should 
 be born in Bethlehem Judsea. 
 
 The multitude of people who went over to the city of David 
 in compliance with the decree of Csesar Augustus, were, it seems, 
 in advance of Joseph and Mary ; and having arrived at the humble 
 inn first, secured every available room and bed in it. Therefore, they were 
 compelled to submit to a resting-place in the stable, or have none at all. 
 Just a little longer and it would have been too late for the fulfillment 
 of the event at Bethlehem. But God, whose purpose cannot be over- 
 ruled, knew the day and hour to start Joseph to the place designated 
 for the entrance of Christ into our world. 
 
 THE ADVENT OF JESUS. 
 
 When Joseph arrived ]at the inn, with Mary, his espoused, no one 
 sympathized with her so as to arrange for her comfort. But if there 
 had been a prophet of the Most High, in whom the people confided at 
 the little inn, and if he had told them (Luke ii. 1-5 ; Matt: i. 25) 
 Mary was the vessel God had chosen to bring the Redeemer into the 
 world, and that her coming on to little Bethlehem would not only 
 dignify it with her own presence, but it would be sujiremely exalted 
 because she would be delivered of the Holy One, of whom Moses and 
 the prophets wrote, and it was important that suitable arrangements 
 at once be made for her comfort. I venture the assertion, 
 that every one who had procured a room would have been 
 ready to vacate for the accommodation and comfort of the 
 Virgin Mother. But the birth-place of Jesus was one of the 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 175 
 
 most humble that could be found ; yet He was willing to become meek 
 and lowly, that men might be exalted to the right hand of the Father. 
 It may be seen that God causes men to carry out His plans when they 
 have no intention or disposition to do so. It had been prophesied seven 
 hundred years prior, that Christ should be born in Bethlehem ; and 
 inasmuch as Joseph was a poor carpenter working at his trade over in 
 Galilee, it is not probable he would have laid aside his work to go 
 over the I'ugged highway up there unless urged by indispensable busi- 
 ness ; therefore, Csesar Augustus became the efficient instrument in 
 causing Joseph to go to Bethlehem, in company with Mary, just in 
 time to establish the fulfillment of the words of the prophet. It so 
 happens in many cases that men even attempt to thwart the purpose 
 of God's work and His wishes. It is a tremendous truth, although 
 carelessly observed, that " God moves in a mysterious way." To illus- 
 trate the thought, we call attention to the conduct of Joseph's brethren, 
 who resorted to extremely criminal measures that God's purpose, as 
 indicated by their brother's dreams, might not obtain ; but they were 
 the mediums through whom the ultimate purposes of God might be 
 effected. It is also further demonstrated in the dream of Pharaoh. 
 It was important that Joseph should suffer, that in the time when his 
 talents were expressly needed, he would come from his prison-home, to 
 vtake his exalted station as governor of Egypt. That he might attain 
 to the position, it was needful that the king should dream such a mys- 
 terious dream that none but Joseph could unfold, and that the lineage 
 through which Christ should come might be preserved, God caused 
 Ahasuerus to spend a sleepless night, and to wile away the night- 
 watches by listening to the reading of the book of record, in which 
 was found the disclosing by Mordecai of a vicious plot concocted by 
 two men to take the king's life. For this he had not been rewarded • 
 and the king there and then put Mordecai in a position that saved his 
 own life, and all the people who had been doomed to death by Haman, 
 The case of Belshazzar further illustrates the evolution of God's plans, 
 which were mysteriously hidden from human observation. When no 
 man amongst the most learned of his kingdom could be found to make 
 known his dream, Daniel was brought before the king ; he made known 
 his dream, and the interpretation of it. This act of Daniel promoted 
 him to a high official position, and revealed the supremacy of the God 
 of heaven and earth ; also, ultimately delivered the Jews from their 
 captivity. So it may be seen, that God used Caesar as an instrument, 
 in fulfilling His decree and establishing His truth ; for in serving his 
 own mission he also served the end of his Maker. If there had been 
 
176 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 general information given as to the exact time of the coming of the 
 Messiah, how He should come, and where He should first appear, the 
 plan of the Almighty, as to the place of His birth, would doubtless have 
 been carried out diflferently. Joseph and Mary would have gone up 
 to Bethlehem without being urged by the decree of Caesar ; and the 
 multitude, instead of going up to be registered, would have gone to the 
 city of David to be ready to shout an enthusiastic welcome to the King 
 of kings, who had come to redeem them. They would have been as 
 eager to worship Him, as were the wise men who came from their 
 eastern home to bow at His feet, and present their gifts as a token of 
 their admiration for Him. 
 
 But such a demonstration would not have been consistent with the 
 prophecy concerning Him ; also, it would have been an open door for 
 His enemies to find Him. But whatever the results may have been, 
 the wisdom and prudence of Mary, who w^as guided by the Holy 
 Spirit, kept the whole matter from public attention. She left the dis- 
 closing of the wonderful advent of Jesus Christ to the heavenly song- 
 sters, who thronged the firmament of the Bethlehem pasture, and to 
 the wise men of the East, who came over in search of Him. They 
 broke the^news and held the first jubilee over the matchless event. 
 From these shining messengers the jubilating song started to enthuse 
 the world ; and from the morning of their memorable visit to the 
 shepherds of Bethlehem (who were blessed above all other men on 
 earth, in that they heard with their own ears a chorus chanted by 
 angels, and saw them with their eyes while they rested in the firma- 
 ment upon expanded wings, and sang as if Heaven in its fulness had 
 come down to earth), it has cheered mankind. When the men had 
 regained their composure, how edifying muijt have been the occasion, 
 and how loth they must have been to have them leave ! 
 
 SOLOMON'S POOLS. 
 
 Three miles from Bethlehem, a little to the northwest, are situated 
 the renowned pools of King Solomon. These reservoirs are believed 
 to have been constructed when the man, whose name they bear, was 
 king over Israel, and remain until this time to assist in perpetuating 
 the memory, and genius, of those workmen w4io lived nearly three 
 thousand years ago. There are three of these pools, arranged in a line 
 along an elevation, one a little higher than the other, and supplied 
 from four springs. One of them has a vault built over it; this is the 
 principal one of the four, and from it the pools receive their main sup- 
 ply. It is the general conclusion of those who have made investiga. 
 
FKOxM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM. 177 
 
 tions, these pools were built especially to liave a larger and more 
 healthy supply of water furnished in Jerusalem. There are yet to be 
 seen remnants of the original aqueduct, exposed above ground within 
 the neighborhood of the pools. The conduit was composed of stones ; 
 each piece is about three feet long, and about two feet thick, having a 
 hole chiseled through the middle, and so shaped at its end as to allow 
 it to fit in the piece to which it is attached. It is an ingenious display 
 of mechanical skill, and was in all probability done by the workmen 
 from Tyre, or conducted by them, at least, as they did the most of Sol- 
 omon's artistic work. It would be in our times a very costly contract ; 
 but in those ancient times, when labor was done at a very meagre cost, 
 and often just for what the workmen ate, large contracts could be ac- 
 complished for a small sura of money. It is true even of our present 
 age, that men in the far eastern parts of the old countries, especially in 
 Asia and Asia ^Minor, work for from seven to seventeen cents a day ; 
 and hundreds of them, I have been credibly informed, work just for 
 something to eat. On such cheap bases the pyramids of Egypt, and 
 the mammoth palaces and monuments of India were constructed. 
 Taking this view of the manner men were compensated for their labor, 
 there can be no wonder, that such giant structures were built for the 
 use of kings in antique times ; and it may be understood how Solomon 
 could so elaborately surround himself with every convenience, compe- 
 tent to make him happy. The pools which Solomon caused to be 
 built nine miles away from Jerusalem, with the acqueduct connection, 
 would, in the present age, tax the financial ability of the Turkish 
 government, to have it done with the same kind of material and im- 
 plements, at the cost of mechanical labor in America. These pools are so 
 constructed, that the bottom of each is higher than the top of the one 
 next to it. The reason for this was to collect as great a quantity of 
 water as possible. They are in such a splendid state of preservation, 
 that it seems difficult to be persuaded they were constructed in the 
 time of King Solomon. But as to the fact of their being erected in 
 his day and by his order, there seems no reasonable cause of doubt ; 
 but it is the opinion of many, they were repaired, by order of Pontius 
 Pilate. The first or upper pool is three hundred and eighty feet long, 
 two hundred and twenty-nine feet wide, at the western terminus, and 
 twenty-five feet deep at the eastern end. The middle pool is one hun- 
 dred and sixty feet from the upper one, and is four hundred and 
 twenty-three feet long, thirty-nine feet deep at the eastern end, two 
 hundred and twenty-nine feet wide at its west end, and two hundred 
 and sixty feet on the east end. The lower pool is two hundred and 
 12 
 
178 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 forty-eight feet from the middle one ; this is the most spacious of all 
 and commands the greatest attention. It is five hundred and eighty- 
 two feet long, and is fifty feet deep at its eastern terminus, one hun- 
 dred and forty-eight feet wide at the west end, two hundred and seven 
 feet at the eastern end. This lower pool supplied the aqueduct that 
 conducted water by the east side of the hills, past Bethlehem, and 
 onward to Jerusalem. 
 
 That these reservoirs and aqueducts have an antique origin is sel- 
 dom questioned, by the most critical investigations, notwithstanding 
 there is no direct reference to them either in the Holy Scriptures or in 
 the writings of Josephus. It is the opinion of some of those who have 
 investigated these pools and the country immediately circumjacent to 
 them, they are identical with the place referred to in the declaration of 
 Solomon, " I made me great works, I planted me vineyards ; I made 
 me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of 
 fruit ; I made me pools of water to water therewith the wood that 
 bringeth forth trees." 
 
 SOLOMON'S GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 
 
 The valley just below the pools fully accords with Solomon's ex- 
 pressions, and is even to the present very beautiful and inviting to 
 look upon and pass through. Not far from the pools of Solomon is 
 situated in a narrow valley, a little village called Artas, surrounded 
 with fine gardens and trees, and several ruins of ancient bearing here, 
 and there strewn about. It is supposed this little village is the Ethom 
 of Solomon's time ; if so, he used to take daily drives from Jerusalem 
 to these gardens and orchards in the early morning, to refresh himself, 
 and enjoy the fragrance of his rich and handsomely arranged pleasure 
 grounds. It is thought to be the place referred to in Ecclesiastes. 
 The village was built by Rehoboam when he built fortifications about 
 Bethlehem. 
 
 One of the most marvelous places in Palestine, and one that should 
 not be passed unnoticed by any traveler from abroad, is the convent 
 Mar Saba. It is situated in the wild and dreary wilderness of Judea, 
 among a forest of rocks, in the very centre of extraordinary solitude. 
 The route from Bethlehem is one of the roughest in eastern Palestine, 
 and vei'y fatiguing to both man and beast, and one of the most lonely 
 roads in all the land. After passing the shepherd's field, just east of 
 Bethlehem, there is nothing seen to interest a traveler especially, the 
 entire length of the route ; but one is kept busy picking his way over 
 the very difficult and dangerous pass, lest a misfortune might occur 
 
FR0:M JERUSALEM TO MAR-SABA. 179 
 
 (Ecclesiastes ii. 4, 5 ; 2 Chron. xi. 6 ; and were it not that the horses 
 are so well trained to these rough roads, many accidents would occur 
 of a very serious and even fatal character. 
 
 SITE OF THE CONVENT. 
 
 The convent is about fourteen miles from Jerusalem, and to reach 
 it, one must travel over high hills, and through deep valleys, leading 
 through narrow passes, beside which high massive stones project, so 
 that in niany places it is necessary to lift your feet almost even with 
 the back of the horse, to save them from being injured by some of the 
 more prominent cragged rocks along the paths. It frequently occurs 
 that the pass is close to the edge of a tremendous precipice, at points, 
 along which the slightest misstep of the horse would precipitate its 
 rider into a gulf three hundred feet below, where he would be broken 
 to pieces among the sharp pointed rocks by his dreadful fall. There 
 are several white hills seen in the distance, which have a very strong 
 resemblance of the sand hills of North Carolina ; and were it not for 
 the peculiar situation the traveler is placed in, he might for a while 
 imagine himself in America. The convent is in the midst of an utterly 
 barren and desolate, wild wilderness, where naught but solitude is 
 supreme. Those who wish to visit the convent of Mar Saba, must first 
 procure a letter of commendation from the Patriarch at Jerusalem ; 
 without such a paper no one need apply for admission. There have 
 been foul measures taken with the inmates of some of these institutions, 
 which may be the prompting cause why they so cautiously guard the 
 entrance door ; otherwise persons with murderous intent might enter 
 and deal treacherously with them. 
 
 Mar Saba was visited a good many years ago by a number of sav- 
 age men, and over forty of the monks were slain. From that day to 
 this, the convent has been cautiously guarded against the admission of 
 an)' other than worthy persons. The entrance door, which is iron, is 
 always securely fastened, and those applying for admission must knock 
 upon it very loudly with a stick or stone. On being heard, the keeper 
 will come and open a small wicket, into which the visitor or his guide 
 places the letter of commendation, which, if found to be genuine, is so 
 recognized, and the door is opened to admit him. If the visit is for 
 the purpose of lodging during the night, the guest is escorted to the 
 room especially kept for strangers, situated at the bottom of the insti- 
 tution. Ladies are not allowed under any circumstances whatever to 
 enter it Should a female be in the company, they have a small tower 
 adjoining the convent where they are permitted to spend the night ; 
 but this does not occur once a year ; for when females are traveling. 
 
180 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 caution is always taken to provide tents and beds for the trip, with all 
 other needed accommodations, and they generally pitch the tent in the 
 valley near the convent, where the whole party stay together. On 
 entering the outer door of the institution, a long deep flight of steps 
 must be descended, and these are intercepted by another iron door very 
 heavy ; then another long flight of steep steps lead to the third door. 
 When this is passed, the stranger enters within the precincts of a 
 marvelously contrived habitation, and one of the most solitary places 
 of retreat known in the world. The visitor, who hitherto has been 
 stout-hearted and even dauntless, will feel somewhat intimidated 
 although he may try to maintain his former courage. I know noth- 
 ing with wliich this isolated place can be more adequately compared, 
 than the Doubting Castle, so minutely desci'ibed in Pilgrim's Progress. 
 The room at the eastern end of the convent, into which strangers are 
 first taken and in which they are to spend the night, is a small, gloomy, 
 and a very uninviting place. The hard bed is put on the stone floor, 
 and is very uncomfortable, and one must be almost dead for sleep to 
 secure any rest whatever ; even then he will arise in the early morning 
 feeling as though he had been lying on a bed of stones during the night. 
 The convent is composed of a number of deep dells, with walls of 
 natural rock, connected with artificial walls upon them. There are 
 several holes or caves in the walls where the monks stay ; and a person 
 unaccustomed to a place of the kind would be astonished to see men 
 walking about upon the ridges of the massive Avails, then suddenly dis- 
 appear. Each of the holes seen above are sleeping apartments, where 
 a lawful number of the sixty or seventy people composing the inhabi- 
 tants sleep ; therefore, the monk who had been seen by the awe-stricken 
 visitor, darted into one of them. The convent is so expressly com- 
 plicated, none but those familiar with it could find their way through, 
 without some one to guide him. There is no attempt undertaken by 
 the inmates to take advantage of their guests in any way ; they do not 
 as much as ask for backsheesh, which is the custom commonly indulged 
 by people in Palestine ; nor do they make any charges for stopping 
 there a night, but naturally expect something as a present. The his- 
 tory of this convent is most peculiar, and much of what is circulated 
 as history is but a combination of fables. This monastery is the 
 property of the Greeks, and under the supervision of the Patriarch 
 whose headquarters is in Jerusalem ; and notwithstanding its appear- 
 ance is somewhat modern, it was founded as far back as the fifth cen- 
 tury. St. Saba (as he is called), the monk, whose name the convent 
 bears, has the reputation of having been a man of great piety. He 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO MAR^.iBA. 181 
 
 "was born in the year four hundred and thirty-nine of our era. It is 
 recorded concerning hira, that the people had the fullest confidence in 
 him because of the piety he manifested, and thousands became his 
 devout followers He was born in Cappadocia, and at an early age 
 devoted himself to convent life, in view of which he went to Pales- 
 tine, and after having gone from one place to another, without settling 
 himself in retirement, came to this place about the year four hundred 
 and eighty-three, and began forming a religious community, and some- 
 time afterwards founded the Mar Saba convent. 
 
 The Patriarch at Jerusalem, seeing the faithfulness and earnest, 
 untiring efforts of " St. Saba " to stimulate a general religious senti- 
 ment amongst the people, exalted him to the position of Archiman- 
 drite of all the Anchorites of Palestine. It is said. Abbot Saba took a 
 leading part ia the vexing controversy raised about the Monophysite 
 heresy, and at one time collected a company of his followers and 
 marched up to Jerusalem, forced the enemies to leave the city, not- 
 withstanding they had a squad of the imperial troops to aid them. 
 This courageous step of Abbot Saba, gave him additional fame, and he 
 was looked upon as a hero of the superior type ; and, as it might be 
 supposed, the people spread his fame far and near as one of the greatest 
 men of his age. It seems, from certain legends, many looked upon 
 him as almost superhuman, and really adored him. As it was usual, 
 with the most of the ascetics of strong piety and zeal, at that time, to 
 have the word " Saint " added to their names, it was, by general con- 
 sent, agreed to call this man, so distinguished for piety, St. Saba ; after- 
 ward his name became associated with a number of fables descriptive 
 of miraculous achievements, which the monks, who conduct visitors 
 through the convent, take pleasure in relating. St. Saba died at the 
 age of ninety-four, after having spent a very useful and most eventful 
 life, struggling against hosts of foes, and winning many precious victo- 
 ries of great importance to his followers. The convent of Mar Saba 
 has been anxiously sought by many strong foes, and has had a hard 
 struggle to maintain its existence. It was several times attacked and 
 much damage done to both the institution and its inmates. It v> as 
 plundered by the Persians under Khaasau in the year six hundred and 
 fourteen, and forty-four of the monks were brutally murdered ; and 
 several times afterwards it was entered and robbed of what valuables 
 it contained ; and when the great war was in Palestine between the 
 Crescent and the Cross, Mar Saba passed through many bitter changes. 
 And to the present, it is said, the Bedouin Arabs are often seen lurk- 
 ing around the massive walls seeking an opportunity to enter and rob 
 
182 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 the inmates of their meagre possessions. It is commonly believed by 
 those robbers, whose lurkings are amongst the rocks and caves of the 
 wilderness of Judea, that rich treasures are hid in some private vault 
 in the convent, and they are anxious to come in possession of them. 
 It may be that at some unguarded moment they will gain an entrance 
 and do much damage both to life and property. But the monks are 
 aware of the malicious purpose of these roving demons, and are at all 
 times on the alert, closely guarding their interests. 
 
 There are generally from fifty to seventy monks living in the con- 
 vent, who are not the most tidy people to be found, yet they are polite 
 and inofi'ensive. It is said some of these men have been placed in the 
 monastery because of some violation of their church rules ; they are 
 sent there to pass a certain term of months or years, as the case may 
 be, and those who are guilty of graver oiFences are sent there to spend 
 their lives. It is said, there are some apartments of the convent, ex- 
 pressly for the insane who are sent there from other monasteries. The 
 institution is sustained by charities, and the monks who are there are 
 not much inclined to industry. 
 
 There are only a few things of interest in this lonely place to be 
 seen ; but any little thing that would not be noticed on the outside, is 
 attractive to visitors who are shut up within the impregnable walls of 
 the deep solitude for which Mar Saba is noted. The first place to which 
 strangers are taken is the tomb of St. Saba, the illustrious founder of 
 the convent, which is in the centre of the court near the steps leading 
 down from the entrance gate. The remains of the Abbot are not 
 there, having been removed to Venice, Italy ; but his vacant tomb is 
 venerated by his followers as a most precious relic. Behind a screen 
 in the St. Nicholas Chapel is a vault, in which have been placed the 
 skeleton heads of the monks who were murdered by the Persians in 
 the seventh century ; and the site is by no means coveted, especially in 
 such a desolate place. Then there is another small chapel, called the 
 Church of the Convent ; it has a small bell in the tower, which is rung 
 every night at twelve o'clock, at which time all the monks in the 
 building are compelled to assemble for religious services. It seems 
 rather strange to one who has not been accustomed to such a procedure 
 to he'ar the bell in the dead stillness of the night, and the inmates 
 leaving their various rocky-chambers to attend religious worship. The 
 bell in this convent is the only one, east of Bethlehem, in Palestine. 
 The monks are handy with the knife. They employ a portion of their 
 time cutting various kinds of souvenirs of olive wood, cherry stones, 
 and other materials, all of which are readily sold to strangers who go 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO MAR-SAB A. 183 
 
 amongst them, and to the shops in Jerusalem and Bethlehem ; these 
 men might do a good business at this work were they more industrious, 
 but they seemingly, do a little occasionally to pass the time and earn a 
 few pennies. It is certain my visit there will not be forgotten while 
 my memory is good. The evening I entered this most solitary convent, 
 a feeling of uneasiness seized me, that grew more intense each moment, 
 until I found myself trembling, as if a severe ague had control of me ; 
 and when conducted to the vault in which the skulls of the murdered 
 monks were exposed to view, I had an impression that they might be 
 the skulls of visitors who came there to remain over night ; and whilst 
 steadfastly looking, absorbed in curious imaginations that were akin to 
 insanity, I inquired within myself, " Are these the heads of the monks 
 who were slain here by the Persians a long number of years ago, or 
 are they the heads of strangers who came into this 'Doubting Castle ' 
 to tarry for the night ? " and I said, '' I wonder if my poor head will 
 be there soon? " These unpleasant thoughts, troubled me so intensely 
 that sleep left my eyes, and although I lay down on ray bed, I was on 
 watch all night. It seemed to me there was nothing in my possession 
 too dear to give, just for one more opportunity of looking up to the 
 heavens at the stare. So about midnight, I ventured to open the heavy 
 iron door that shut me in from the world, or even the notice of those 
 in the convent. When I managed to open the door, I just put one 
 foot outside to get myself in position to have a good look at the stars, 
 and as I looked up I saw one of the monks, who had been attracted 
 by the noise I made opening the door, looking down on me ; well, 
 indeed I went back and stayed back, awaiting whatever fate that 
 would come to me. But when the day was about to dawn, and my 
 guide indicated his purpose arranged for starting, I was one of the 
 happiest men in Palestine. AYe left the old convent never to return 
 again, and that purpose is still prominent in my mind. The guides 
 who are compelled to go there many times during the season, while 
 traveling through that country, say they dread Mar Saba more than 
 any other place in Palestine. It may be of interest to state, that my 
 visit to this old convent was during my sojourn in Palestine in the 
 winter of eighteen hundred and seventy-eight ; and during my recent 
 visit around the world, I met my old guide in Jerusalem. He called 
 my attention to the night we spent at Mar Saba, and asked if I remem- 
 bered the circumstance? I assured him I did, and the scene was so 
 fresh in my mind I had no disposition whatever to return. This con- 
 vent is the only convenient place on this route between Bethlehem and 
 Jericho, and those whose time is very limited are usually brought down 
 
184 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 this way, on what is known as a three days' journey. It embraces a 
 visit at Bethlehem, Kachel's Tomb, Solomon's Pools, Ethom, Mar Saba 
 the Dead Sea, Gilgal, Jericho, and the Jordan. 
 
 The return journey to Jerusalem is up the " Bloody Pass," or the 
 old highway from Jericho. This route is several miles nearer and can 
 be traveled in about eight hours. Proceeding to the Dead Sea from 
 Mar Saba, the road is more solitary and desolate, than that from 
 Bethlehem to it. The scenery is wild and savage, and the fearful, deep 
 chasms along which travelers are compelled to ride, produces a feel- 
 ing of dissatisfaction that is dreadfully annoying until they are passed. 
 It is indeed a wild wilderness, which has no charms to invite the delay 
 of any one, not even the wandering Bedouins who are accustomed to 
 living in the mountains. It is the desert country, called in the Bible 
 Jeshimon, or the solitude ; the highest point is called Watch Tower, 
 and the surrounding district is called El Hadeidun, which is in 
 harmony with the Hebrew " Hidoodim " which was the name given to 
 the wilderness to which the scape-goat was led, that symbolically 
 bore away the sins of God's people from His gracious presence. 
 
 There is a well close to the old pass leading up to Jerusalem, called 
 Bir-essuk, the existence of which is regarded as an evidence of the 
 identity of this wild wilderness as that to which the scapegoat was led. 
 The messenger, who was authorized to lead the scape-goat into this wilder- 
 ness started from the " Holy City " on the Sabbath day, and that he 
 might avoid breaking the law, he took a tent with him ; this he would 
 pitch at the limit of a Sabbath day's journey, at which point he would 
 rest for a while to eat and drink ; after this he could lawfully pursue 
 his journey for another limited distance. Between Jerusalem and the 
 point where the scape-goat was set free were ten stations, and the last 
 one where the tent was pitched was called the " Well of Suk." 
 
 A BEDOUIN CAMP. 
 
 There is nothing more of historical interest, to be seen until the 
 Dead Sea is sighted in the distance. It is not an uncommon thing to 
 pass a Bedouin camp along the way ; these roving people usually go in 
 companies of about twenty-five or thirty families, with their flocks and 
 all they possess, and move from one pasture to another, where they 
 find good water convenient or within a mile or two. They are a 
 vicious people, made up of thieves and men who would commit 
 murder and all kinds of crime to accomplish their thievish purposes. 
 
FROM JERUSALE^kl TO THE DEAD SEA. 185 
 
 On account of these characters, it is indispensable to the safety of 
 travelers to have a guard of soldiers to escort them the whole journey 
 during the three days' travel. The tents in which the Bedouins live 
 are made of camel's hair ; they are generally small, not more than six 
 or seven feet long and from four to four and a half feet high. They 
 are very black, and to each is tied a dog in the front to keep watch, 
 and they invariably give notice when they see strangei-s approaching. 
 Then there is a sharp lookout by these people to see who is coming, and 
 a stranger would have a poor chance for his life, if there were no 
 soldiers nigh to protect him against these desperadoes. But the sight of 
 a guard or the wave of his hand will at once suppress any move they 
 attempt ; for all of them are cautious of their conduct, in the presence 
 of the officers, who have authority to dispatch them on the least 
 attempt they make to do violence to strangers. 
 
 THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA. 
 
 This wilderness, in which they are generally found, is mentioned 
 repeatedly in the Scriptures. There are different names given to sep- 
 arate portions of it. The southern portion is called the wilderness of 
 Maon, so named because a town of that name was at one time situated 
 in this district, near which Nabal lived, and there David took refuge 
 from Saul. A little to the north of it is the wilderness of Ziph, named 
 after a city or town four miles to the southeast of Hebron ; to both of 
 these places David fled from King Saul, who was hunting his life from 
 day to day. It was near the latter place he remained hid for a long 
 time. And farther on northwards, is the famous wildernes of En-gedi. 
 This is the most elevated of the whole wilderness of Judea. The entire 
 region abounds with caverns and cragged rocks, and furnishes one of the 
 most retired lurking' places for thieves in the entire district. The 
 height of En-gedi is fifteen hundred feet above the level of Dead Sea. 
 In this place David spent many lonely hours, wandering from place to 
 place in his endeavor to escape the vengeance of Saul, and it is proba- 
 ble, he made his home for a time, in some of the caves that are still to 
 be seen. The region, as has been mentioned, is frequented by outlaws, 
 who make it a part of their business to rob whomsoever they can, whether 
 native or stranger, when the least opportunity can be obtained. It was 
 in this wilderness, the author was confronted by several of these wild 
 barbarians, and had it not been for the prompt interference of the 
 guard, the results would no doubt have been serious ; but, thank the 
 Father of Spirits, the guard was just around the bend of the road and 
 reached the scene in time to avoid a calamity. I do not know of a 
 
186 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 more wild and desolate place in Palestine, except the thieves' valley, 
 than the lonely and cheerless wilderness of En-gedi. As far as one 
 can see, naught but a succession of mammoth rocks, deep chasms, 
 alarming even to look into, and barren mountain ridges for miles 
 around, and occasionally a Bedouin can be seen walking cautiously 
 along the margin of the precipice, look wistfully down on the passer- 
 by, and would compel him to stop, if it were not for the guard, whom 
 they so greatly fear. These outlaws, always have a long gun swung to 
 thom, so that they are prepared to make an attack upon a traveler at 
 any moment, for they know well how to handle the instrument. From 
 the present barren state of the country, one would not think it is the 
 En-gedi that at one time flourished with vineyards, concerning which 
 the Holy Scriptures give account. And were it not that so much in- 
 controvertible evidence of the identity of the place still remains, to 
 declare it to be the genuine site, it would be sternly doubted. The 
 wise man, in speaking of the former flourishing condition of the place, 
 said, " My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna-flowers in the vine- 
 yards of En-gedi." Now, how can this be explained to human satis- 
 faction in such a wild, dreary wilderness, and where, in all the length 
 and breadth of it could a vineyard have been found ? The word En- 
 gedi means " Fountain of the Kid." As the traveler proceeds down 
 towards the Dead Sea, he will see nearly opposite the mouth of the 
 Eiver Arnon, a fine and copious spring or fountain, called by the na- 
 tives Ain Jedy, which means En-gedi. The water streams forth from 
 the rocks about four hundred feet above the level of the sea ; this is 
 the most beautiful and cheering place along the journey, and is iden- 
 tified as the ancient En-gedi. This district was at one time very fruit- 
 ful, but has become fruitless from being neglected (1 Sam. xxiii. 29 ; 
 xxiv. 1-2) for many centuries, so that nearly all the soil in the greater 
 part of it has been washed away by the heavy rains, common in Pales- 
 tine during the winter season. Indeed, it seems strange, that much of 
 the country, throughout eastern and southern Palestine, in the time 
 of the Israelites the most productive, is now wild, desolate a,nd covered 
 with beds of deep-seated rocks, from one end to the other, and must 
 remain so forever, for there is no possibility of ever causing it to pro- 
 duce again. 
 
 THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 The most mysterious body of water in Palestine, if not in the world, 
 is the Dead Sea. It is situated in the lowest portion of the ravine that 
 extends from the northern to the extreme southern portion of Pales- 
 tine. This body of water is regarded as one of the great wonders of 
 
< 
 
 w 
 
 Q 
 < 
 W 
 Q 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 187 
 
 the world, and has been a subject of discussion for many ages, by the 
 most learned scientific men, our world has produced. Although they 
 have discovered and brought many things of interest to light, yet 
 there is a deep mystery clinging to it, which has baffled the most 
 talented scientists of the world to demonstrate. Many have consented 
 to accept the Scripture narratives concerning it, as to its origin, whilst 
 others have endeavored to trace its origin to some other cause, but 
 without satisfying themselves, after years of research and much loss of 
 time. All these great investigations of men who undertake to set aside 
 the word of God, as taught us in the Holy Scriptures, by endeavoring to 
 establish other theories, suitable to their own fancies, have been a suc- 
 cession of failures, so glaring that many have become disgusted with 
 their own folly and abandoned the contest. It must be admitted, how- 
 ever, we have been much enlightened as to many of the characteristics 
 of the Dead Sea, that for a long time were not properly understood before 
 the various investigations took place. There were many opinions as to its 
 nature, and these became so very complicated, that there seemed to be 
 less information furnished the world as to its true character, than 
 existed prior to the time men began making tours to it. But when 
 investigations were being held, it was seen that many wild legends were 
 in circulation, concerning this wonderful body of water, which were 
 too glaringly weak to find a resting-place in the hearts of an enlight- 
 ened and progressive people. There is a general belief that the Dead 
 Sea occupies the area where the cities of the plain once stood, and here 
 righteous Lot, after parting from Abraham, settled down amongst a 
 very wicked and Godless people, who vexed his soul because of their 
 persistent evil doings. 
 
 The Dead Sea lies about twenty-five miles southeast of Jerusalem. 
 The ravine or basin, in which it is confined, connects with the depression 
 which extends from the foot of Mount Hermon, on the north, to the 
 Gulf of Akabah on the south. This ravine, running from the north to 
 the southeast, is for more than one hundred miles of its course, below 
 the level of the Mediterranean Sea, and falls lower still, so that when 
 it reaches the Dead Sea basin, it is thirteen hundred and twelve feet 
 below the western sea. The waters of the river Jordan are contin- 
 uously pouring into the Salt Sea on its north, and those of the Wady 
 el Jeib on the south. Yet there seems to be no overflow of water 
 caused by these immense tributaries, nor has any place been found 
 where the waters find an outlet. There have been many theories and 
 conjectures as to the outlets of the Dead Sea, but none of them have 
 been so clearly and definitely demonstrated as to establish a certainty, 
 
188 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 except that of the immense evaporations. This is regarded by many to 
 be the only means of carrying off the great quantity of water coming 
 into it from the Jordan. 
 
 The Wady el-Jeib and other smaller tributaries flow into it. It has 
 been thought there is a subterranean communication, between the Salt 
 Sea and the Red Sea, into which it empties a great volume of water ; 
 but this theory has not been sustained. This body of most bitter water, 
 frequently called in the Holy Scriptures, the Sea of Lot, is, so far as 
 development has revealed, solitary and alone in a deep bed, shut in on 
 the east and west by high limestone borders, which at points, dip 
 into the sea, not leaving margin enough to walk on. It is forty miles 
 long from the northern to the southern extremity, and the widest por- 
 tion is about nine miles ; but it becomes narrower until its widest 
 northern point is only five miles, and its area about two hundred and 
 fifty miles. It has the enormous depth of one thousand and eighty 
 feet in some places, and from this many variations are found, ranging 
 from one thousand and eighty, to only eleven feet deep. These differ- 
 ences of depth are caused by the elevations and depressions of the 
 caldron in which the sea is confined. 
 
 Those who visit the Dead Sea from Jerusalem descend thirty-one 
 hundred and fifty feet below the Holy City before the sea is reached. 
 It is the most depressed body of water on the globe ; and when the 
 traveler finds himself standing upon the margin, he would do well to 
 call to mind he is nearly thirteen hundred and fifty feet below the great 
 sea on the west, and more than three thousand feet below Mt. Zion ; 
 above all he should bear in mind, his feet are pressing the soil of the 
 very lowest ^spot of ground known on the face of the earth. To 
 have such a distinguished privilege, is worth more than the cost and 
 fatigue of the journey. It is excessively warm there, the sun seemingly 
 shining in its most oppressive strength. Those who visit the Dead 
 Sea in the months of March and April, are specially cautioned against 
 exposing themselves to the sun, lest they receive a sun-stroke. It is so 
 very warm there, many times in the spring, that persons visiting Jeru- 
 salem from Europe are not allowed to travel in the middle of the day, 
 but must, for the sake of their own safety, go out sight-seeing in the 
 early morning and late in the evening, to avoid being out in the intense 
 heat. 
 
 When nearing the borders of the sea, it appears as if it was a beach 
 of pure white sand, or a bed of snow had whitened its whole expanse. 
 But it will soon be seen, as a nearer approach is gained, that the whole 
 surface of the ground is covered with salt. In many places on the 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 189 
 
 north side, salt can be gathered into little balls during the warm sea- 
 son ; and on the east side the salt abounds in a much greater quantity, 
 "which is seen to a greater advantage if no rain has fallen for a few 
 days 
 
 There is nothing green, nor any kind of produce to be seen on the 
 border of this salt sea, nor has there been, since it supplanted the cities 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lying, as it does, in this deep dell, nearly 
 immediately encompassed by cragged rocks, and having, during the 
 long hot season, the intense rays of the sun pouring constantly down 
 upon it, nothing could be looked for about it, but barrenness ; and 
 those who desire to take in the products of nature must remain about 
 the regions of Jericho and the Jordan. It has been ascertained, the 
 immense evaporations which cause the ground to be whitened all 
 around the sea with salt, are produced by the intense heat, common 
 to the deep caldron in which it is confined. 
 
 The atmosphere is necessarily heavy from its connection with the 
 constant evaporations, which cause it to have a heavy and dark appear- 
 ance ; and the marshes of the Ghor, send out an unhealthy vapor, that 
 connect with the already heavily charged atmosphere, and renders 
 the country round about very unhealthy ; so much so, that the people 
 are generally feeble and short-lived. On the south of the Dead Sea 
 are situated the remarkable salt hills, which have been so largely dis- 
 cussed, and with which many fables have been associated. They are 
 called by the natives Jebel Usdum, or the " Mountains of Sodom." 
 There are deep impressions, and many interesting reflections to engage 
 the attention of any one while passing round the shores. The natural 
 curiosities about the shores, and in the basin leading up to the sullen- 
 looking waters, of this ancient renowned region are few, but those to be 
 seen are different from any in other parts of Palestine ; especially the 
 Dead Sea stones, that are so highly praised by the relic-dealers in Jeru- 
 salem and Bethlehem. But there is so much history connected with 
 the country, within the limits of one's observation, there is but little 
 time spent in hunting souvenirs. The waters of this wonderful, mys- 
 terious basin, are so very salt, that it contains twenty-six pounds of 
 saline to every one hundred pounds of water. This naturally makes 
 it fatal to animal life — nothing lives within its solitary deep. But it is 
 not true, that birds flying over it fall dead in the water, as has been 
 erroneously stated by persons who we feel never visited this sea, or 
 if they did, had no respect for the truth. Birds do fly over it every 
 day and hour, by the hundreds ; we have seen them in great numbers, 
 going from the western to the eastern shore, and they fly over just as 
 
190 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 safely as they would over any other body of water. It has been also stated, 
 that men cannot breathe its heavy atmosphere, even for a very short 
 while, without being in eminent danger of fatal results. This is another 
 ill-contrived fabrication, which cannot bear the light of truth. Pil- 
 grims go there, sometimes by the hundreds, especially immediately after 
 the Easter Festival ; and hundreds of tourists, also, during the travel- 
 ing season, visit there, and breathe in the air as freely as if in a more 
 agreeable climate, without incurring any injury. There is danger, how- 
 ever, in strangers remaining too long ; for, notwithstanding the atmos- 
 pheric odor is not disagreeably unpleasant, strangers are cautioned not 
 to camp out over night on the shores of the Dead Sea, as the locality 
 is generally unhealthy during the heavy evaporations, which are much 
 more prominent after sunset. Strangers who are exposed to it, are liable 
 to be stricken with a fever that might terminate fatally. Much of the 
 physical condition of this mysterious body of water has been brought to 
 light, and many wild stories concerning it put at rest, by the energetic 
 labors of the American exploring expedition. The scientists composing 
 it made investigations from one end to the other, and gave the results to 
 the world, which have been of great benefit. What was more mislead- 
 ing than the story of the " Pillar of Salt " into which Lot's wife was 
 changed? It had been currently circulated that persons who had 
 visited the shore of the Dead Sea, had seen her, broken off a piece of 
 her finger or toe, to take home as a relic ; that the mutilated finger or 
 toe would grow again in a short time and become fully restored. This 
 flagrant misrepresentation was credited by many, and is still believed, 
 by some, to be true. It is true there are a number of salt mounds or 
 pillars about the sea; but no one can tell which, if any one of them, is 
 that of Lot's wife. It should be borne in mind, the Lord did not turn 
 her into a statue, but a pillar. If a statue, she would have had bodily 
 form, with accurately defined limbs, such as a statue naturally must 
 have. But she was turned into a pillar. Therefore, it can at once be 
 seen, that no one can tell which, of the many mounds or pillars of salt 
 is that to which Lot's wife was turned. It was supposed for a long 
 while, there was a deep abyss in the centre of the Dead Sea, into which 
 flowed the accumulated waters of the Jordan, and other streams would 
 carry it off" as fast as it ran in. But it has been finally agreed by the 
 most talented explorers, that there is no outlet ; the whole domain of 
 the amazing sea has been thoroughly explored, and nothing indicating 
 an outlet has been found. But careful observations have satisfied 
 those who have made repeated investigations, that the evaporations pro- 
 duced by the intense heat of the sun, are equal to the amount of water 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 191 
 
 flowing into it. Great are the works of the Lord, and marvelous are 
 His ways. 
 
 It would be of great benefit to the world, if all persons who visit 
 the Dead Sea, other places in Palestine, and elsewhere for historical 
 purposes, would make correct notes of the things they intend giving to 
 the world. I am sure it would be the means of harmonizing the true 
 state of things, in many places that have been greatly exaggerated, by 
 those who have not been careful to minutely record what they saw and 
 heard. It many times occurs, that persons who go to the Holy Land, 
 visit a few of the most convenient and memorable historic places, but 
 on account of fear or disinclination, fail to visit the more remote and 
 difficult places, because of the many dangers to which they are con- 
 stantly exposed ; yet they desire to impress others that they have seen 
 them, and having obtained an incorrect account of them from what 
 they have read, form an opinion very foreign to the real condition of 
 things, and put it in circulation as truth. Many persons who visit Jeru- 
 salem, and a few places round about it, content themselves with taking a 
 view of the Dead Sea from the Minaret of Helena, on the Mount of 
 Olives ; from which point of observation the water appears as black 
 as ink, and just as still as death. It also occurs, sometimes, when travelers 
 are not careful as to the fitness of the guide ; untrained and know- 
 nothing men, will impose themselves upon tourists, who will tell them 
 anything to pass off the time and entertain those in their care. This 
 is often the cause of many of the misrepresentations given by persons 
 who are ignorant of their mistakes. Those who visit the Dead Sea, 
 after viewing it from the summit of Olivet, find a marked difference 
 as to its real condition. If the day is cloudy and a strong wind 
 is blowing, it will be very much agitated, and the waves can be heard 
 roaring almost equal to those on the Mediterranean ; and the water 
 that seemed to be as black as ink, when viewed eighteen miles away, is 
 seen to be a beautiful sheet of deep blue. Out from the border and 
 near the point, where the Jordan is pouring into it, the water is trans- 
 parently clear. The Dead Sea has a specific gravity, so great, that a 
 heavy man can stand erect in some parts of it, and not sink above his 
 knees, or he may lie down as upon a sofa in perfect safety. Many 
 travelers go in, so they may experience the peculiarly strange sensation 
 it produces. But I am frank to inform all who may wish to know, I 
 did not try it. The peculiar sensation of my surroundings was suffi- 
 ciently impressive, without going in those Sodomic waters to intensify 
 them, It is said after the bathing is finished, the salt causes every 
 portion of the body to tingle, and often produces an eruption known 
 
192 . THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 as the " Dead Rash." Those who venture to take a bath, are advised to 
 ride as fast as possible and bathe in fresh water thoroughly, so as to 
 remove the saline effects of the previous bath ; which if allowed to dry- 
 in the flesh, will jjroduce a cuticle disease from which it is hard to 
 recover. It is strange that people will allow their better judgment to 
 be overruled to the extent, that they venture, in the face of the peril 
 of being sick, into the Dead Sea simply to gratify a greedy ambition. 
 The malignant character of the sea is attributed to the extraordi- 
 nary amount of mineral salts it contains The analysis of chemists, 
 show that it contains twenty-six per cent, of saline matter, an amount 
 fatal to animal life. It can be readily understood why nothing can 
 live in it, for it is freighted with death. The different chemical results 
 are accounted for, according to the portion of the sea the specimens 
 were taken from, the season they were collected, as well as the distance 
 they were, when procured, from the point the Jordan flows into it. If 
 they were collected in the early spring or during the warm, dry season, 
 their analysis will largely differ from those collected in the winter. 
 Water taken from a point near where it receives the Jordan flow, is 
 much fresher than that taken a greater distance from it. The water 
 in winter taken from any part of the sea, will contain less salt, and be 
 less bitter than that taken in autumn. One analysis shows chloride of 
 sodium, eight; potassium, one ; calcium, three. The above facts ,were 
 obtained ,after careful analytical investigations were made by leading 
 scientists; and taking it for granted their conclusions are correct, the 
 buoyancy of the water is easily understood. We have also the results 
 of the masterly expedition of Lieutenant Lynch, who surveyed the 
 whole of the Dead Sea thoroughly, and ascertained its geographical 
 situation and much of its mineral contents, as well as its depth, its 
 width, its temperature and the velocity of its tributaries. He collected 
 all obtainable specimens, and noted the currents, the changes of weather 
 and a variety of other useful information which has been of great ben- 
 efit to those who have been searching and collecting its history. The 
 following will be read with much interest, it being a portion of the 
 statement of Lieutenant Lynch : " Everything said in the Bible about 
 the Dead Sea and the Jordan, we believe to be fully verified by our 
 observations. The inference from the Bible that the entire chasm was 
 a plain, sunk and overwhelmed by the wrath of God, seems to be sus- 
 tained by the extraordinary character of our surroundings. The bot- 
 tom of the sea consists of two submerged plains, one elevated and the 
 other depressed, the former averaging thirteen feet, and the latter about 
 thirteen hundred feet below the surface. Through the northern, and 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 193 
 
 longest and deepest one, in a line corresponding with the bed of the 
 Jordan, is a ravine at the south end of the sea. Between the Jabbok 
 and this sea, we unexpectedly found a sudden break-down in the bed 
 of the Jordan. If there be a similar break-down in the water-courses 
 to the south of the sea, accompanied with like volcanic characters, 
 there can scarce be a doubt that the whole Ghor, has sunk from 
 some extraordinary convulsion, preceded probably by an eruption 
 of fire and a general conflagration of bitumen which abounded in 
 the plain." The danger which seemed to be imminent, during 
 Lieutenant Lynch's exploring expedition of the Dead Sea was alarm- 
 ing. At times it seemed to him as if the Almighty had frowned upon 
 their attempt to explore the dreary regions of the mysterious sea, 
 under whose foaming bosom, are entombed the once proud and sin- 
 cursed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah ; and in whose depths nothing 
 can breathe life, and around which naught but solitude reigns, as an 
 ever-present memento of the creation of Divine wrath. But, although 
 the expedition of Lieutenant Lynch was, according to prediction, to 
 be a failure, and the tradition of the Arabs, that no one can venture 
 upon the sea and live, was at times gaining strength in the opinion of 
 some, who were nearly overcome with the threatening attitude of the 
 sea, yet the little ship made the harbor safely with all its human cargo. 
 One standing on the northern shore of the Dead Sea, taking a careful 
 survey of its situation, would conclude, that the silence prevailing 
 throughout its circumference, the desolation prominent everywhere to 
 be seen, the deep mystery still enveloping much of its history, and the 
 repulsive character of the water, all associate their strength and stamp 
 upon the character of the sea the veritable image of death. It is, 
 therefore, properly named " Dead Sea." 
 
 It was an opinion of long standing, that the Jordan flowed directly 
 through the deep chasm, that extends from the southern end of the 
 Dead Sea to the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, and in this 
 way the water of the Jordan might be discharged. But recent investi- 
 gations have proven that such a channel did not exist, and it is also 
 shown to be impossible that such a subterranean connection could be 
 between the Dead and Red Seas, through which the water of the former 
 could be conveyed to the latter, from the ostensible fact, the depression 
 of the Dead Sea basin and the whole Jordan valley is so much lower 
 than the Red Sea, that if such a passage were open, the waters of the 
 Red Sea would flow into the Jordan, in such volumes it would flood it 
 as far north as the base of Mt. Hermon, and fill its eastern portion 
 several hundred feet deep. There is a conflicting opinion as to the 
 13 
 
194 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 condition of the Dead Sea at present and that of earlier times with 
 reference to its increase in territory. The general belief is, this sea 
 holds its own, and has not increased nor decreased to any perceptible 
 degree, since the Divine Being caused it to exist. The evaporations are 
 so intense, that they absorb nearly as much water as the Jordan and 
 other streams pour into it. But Dr. Robertson and others are of the 
 opinion, the Dead Sea is larger now than in former times. The north- 
 ern portion of it is known to be much deeper than that on the south, 
 the former being many hundred feet deep in every part, while the 
 latter measures but a few feet in depth, and in summer becomes a broad 
 lagoon, so very shallow it may be forded in several places. It is sup- 
 posed by many Biblical scholars, this shallow portion is of late forma- 
 tion, and think it was at some time, long since passed, a fertile plain. 
 It may have been at the time of Lot, a part of the well-watered and 
 beautiful plain, which won his affections and caused him to pitch his 
 tent towards Sodom. This was without doubt, the land of the cities of 
 the plain, upon, at least a portion of which, some of them proudly stood. 
 No one can stand on the dismal shore of this historic sea, without 
 having many sad reflections concerning the event which brought it 
 into existence, and the dreadful calamity on the proud and Godless 
 people, who at one time reveled in the most daring and vicious crimes 
 against the Lord. One may imagine he sees Lot running for his life, 
 his wife suddenly turned into a 2:)illar of salt, and people falling under 
 the wrath of God. We see the first mention of the locality of the 
 Dead Sea in Genesis, referring to an incident that took place nearly 
 four thousand years ago, when there was an increasing dissatisfaction, 
 and ill-feeling existing between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot, 
 growing out of misunderstandings, it is thought, concerning the rights 
 of each other as to certain pastures. The hard feeling grew more 
 aggravating and became a very serious matter, tending towards 
 a little strife, that would have eventually interfered with the ties of 
 friendship, which bound Abraham and Lot together. The senior 
 patriarch was apprehensive of the inevitable calamity should they con- 
 tinue together ; therefore, he advised that a friendly separation take 
 place, to avoid a permanent fraternal dissolution. Then Lot looked 
 down from the high mountain summit just above Bethel, and beheld 
 the plain of the Jordan, and the cities which were very beautiful to look 
 upon. He was at once attracted by its fertility, and drawn by the 
 prospect of having in that part of the country all that was needful to 
 make him prosperous and happy. He, therefore, gathered together all 
 that belonged to him and moved down toward Sodom. 
 
FKOM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 195 
 
 SODOM AND GOMOERAH. 
 
 Almost every one who has been favored with the opportunity of 
 taking a view of the plain of the Jordan from the heights above 
 Bethel, entertains the belief that the cities of Sodom and Gomoi-rah, 
 were situated to the north of the Dead Sea, instead of the south side 
 as some have located them ; otherwise when Lot looked down from the 
 summit, where he stood, he could not have seen the cities of the plain, 
 unless a great change has taken place in the natural situation of the 
 country. The Bible tells us Lot saw the condition of the land from 
 where he stood ; for he " Beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was 
 well watered everywhere," before the Lord destroyed Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, " even as a garden of the Lord, like the laud of Egypt, as 
 thou goest unto Zoar." " Lot therefore chose him all the plain of 
 Jordan, and dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward 
 Sodom." The portion of the plain seen by Lot from Bethel, is north of 
 the sea, as the south side is not visible from that point. It is the pre- 
 vailing opinion that Lot came to the northern portion of the plain first, 
 and went southward from time to time, until he at length reached 
 Sodom, as the whole of tlie southern plain was well adapted to afford 
 abundance for his flocks. 
 
 He having entered Sodom, it is reasonable he would seek the 
 acquaintance and friendship of the inhabitants. He next indicated his 
 intention of remaining there, by marrying one of the maidens of the sin- 
 smitten town, and reared a family, and in some respects he became socially 
 identified with the people, who were not lovers of the God of Abraham, 
 and remained with them until compelled to " escape for his life," from 
 the pending wrath of God, which was suspended to allow him to shun 
 it. The plain in which the doomed cities stood was called " The Vale of 
 Siddim," and we are informed in the Scriptures, it was full of slirae-pits, 
 of which several relics are still to be seen. Those who have been at 
 Jericho in the rainy season, and have gone to the Dead Sea on a horse, 
 have witnessed something of the condition of this slimy district, which 
 will give an idea of its former status, when the pits were numerously 
 dispersed throughout the whole region, and he may also faintly catch a 
 glimpse at a panoramic view of the ancient cities, which once flourished 
 in the neighborhood of the place over which he rides. The whole 
 scene of the ill-fated cities came before my mind, while standing on the 
 shore of the Sea of Lot (Dead Sea), so vividly, I seemed for a while to 
 be living amongst the scenes of nearly four thousand ages past. The 
 hasty flight of Lot to Zoar, the gathering fire-clouds in which were the 
 
196 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 magazines of God's Avrath, the falling storms of the arrows of death 
 clothed in flames, the consternation of thousands who felt the terrible 
 effects of the calamity, and their fruitless attempts to seek places of 
 refuge, all came before my mind so clearly and pungently, that my 
 imagination almost persuaded me I was in the midst of the scene. 
 
 The Bible narratives relative to the eventful occurrence, inform us 
 of the overthrow of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the 
 preservation of Zoar, which God permitted to remain for the security 
 of Lot, who was fleeing to it for refuge. This little city to which Lot 
 escaped was near Sodom, on the south of the plain where the ill-fated 
 cities were located. 
 
 LOCATION OF ZOAR. 
 
 There seems to be but little, if any, doubt as to the location of 
 Zoar by those who have carefully investigated the country round about 
 the Dead Sea, and that it was situated on the south of the plain, 
 becomes more evident, when we take into consideration what is said 
 concerning the view of Moses from the summit of Mount Pisgah. 
 Whilst standing upon that lofty eminence, the man of God surveyed 
 the land of promise, the wide prospect opening to actual vision, and as 
 suggested by this to the imagination is represented as being bounded 
 on the south by Zoar, which must be a natural boundary if the above 
 view of the situation of Zoar be correct. 
 
 This little city, which, perhaps, was the most humble of all the 
 flourishing cities in that region, suddenly became the chief city of the 
 whole district, for it was left alone. Here Lot stood early in the morn- 
 ing, and having looked towards the plain, he saw the smoke of the 
 condemned and consumed cities ascending, for all their former glory 
 had melted, under the awful displeasure of the Almighty. It is highly 
 probable, Zoar grew to be a very important place after the destruction 
 of its neighbors, and flourished as such for a long time after the death 
 of Lot. 
 
 It is said to have been a place of much importance in the time of 
 Josephus, and was known down to the time of the Crusades. Accord- 
 ing to the Scripture, Sodom and Gomorrah were demolished by fire 
 and brimstone, which were rained down upon them from Heaven, as a 
 result of their unbearable sins. It came upon the inhabitants sud- 
 denly, at a time when they were indulging in their usual wickedness, 
 and from their conduct towards Lot ; the same evening a messenger 
 came down from Heaven; it may be said they were even more daring 
 than ever before, for they seemed to have spent the greater part of the 
 
FKOM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 197 
 
 night indulging in crimes and shame, which is not customary with the 
 people in that part of the country. The early part of the evening is 
 usually spent in whatever pleasures are sought, and before midnight 
 everything is perfectly quiet. 
 
 But these people, while standing on the verge of an awful calamity, 
 were more intensely lost in wickedness (from their attitude toward Lot 
 and his divine guest) than they had showed themselves to be at any 
 other time. Being too blind to take warning, they were found with- 
 out a place of refuge or a God to help them when the cup of their 
 doings was falling upon them. Every attempt to escape was in vain, 
 because of the extent of the calamity. It visited all the cities of the 
 plain instantly, so that every one was in the same condition ; and it 
 became suddenly overwhelming, so that nd opportunity was given the 
 people to follow in the direction Lot fled, which was known to some of 
 them, at least. 
 
 The command given by the angel to Lot was expressly urgent : 
 " Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the 
 plain; escape to the mountain lest thou be consumed." Abi-aham, 
 who lived in his tent on the plain of Mamre, having been informed of 
 the purpose of God with reference to the wickedness of those cities, 
 arose early in the morning, ascended to the peak of a high hill, near 
 his tent, and looked towards Sodom. He saw the smoke of the whole 
 country of the plain going " up as the smoke of a furnace ;" there was 
 naught but solitude to express the woe that had been brought upon 
 the people by their own doings, so that those who had flourished in the 
 morning, prior to the fatal visitation of destruction, were all dead the 
 following morning, except righteous Lot and his two daughters, who 
 had found a safe retreat. Thus ended the career of the famous cities 
 of the plain, whose dreadful doom has turned the attention of the civil- 
 ized world to the renowned Salt Sea, that largely covers the space 
 where once lived, the proudest and most sinful people of their genera- 
 tion known in the world. 
 
 In closing this chapter, it may be of interest to present one or two 
 leading thoughts, upon the agents used to accomplish God's purpose in 
 the miraculous overthrow of the cities of the plain and their entire in- 
 habitants save three. This fearful and complete destruction, visited 
 upon the ill-fated district, is presented in such j^lain words, no one can 
 fail to comprehend them if they will pay the least attention to their 
 teachings. 
 
 The cities with their inhabitants, the entire surrounding country, 
 together with all the fruitful fields and beautiful pastures, which charmed 
 Lot and so attracted him he dwelt there, and all the glory of the region 
 
198 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 round about were overwhelmed and completely destroyed beneath the 
 devouring flame of the wrath of God. It is written in unmistakable 
 words that, '• God overthrew the cities, and all the plain, and all the 
 inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground." It is 
 noteworthy, that nothing is said, in the narrative, which discloses the 
 most wonderful catastrophe, of water as an agent in the work of destruc- 
 tion, in the form of a flood overwhelming the plain as some would dare 
 assume ; but the agent at work was fire and brimstone, elements that 
 were sure and speedy in the accomplishment of their work, not only in 
 the destruction of man and beast, but to the ground ; so that all that 
 was beautiful, rich and fruitful, in a few moments became barren and 
 dead. The people and the land on which they dwelt were blotted out 
 of existence forever. Scientific men have indulged much speculation 
 concerning the Dead Sea, and the cause Avhich brought it into promi- 
 nence, but left their investigations under a deep cloud of supposition 
 and doubt. But when we consult the Sacred Word, the only true and 
 safe guide, we must conclude that, upon the borders of this lonely sea, 
 Lot made choice of a home for himself and all his possessions ; that it 
 is the veritable vale of Siddim which was full of slime pits, and into 
 which the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell. These kings and Lot 
 were captured by the forces of Chedorlaomer, but were recaptured by 
 Abraham and his confederates. Here w^ere situated the cities of the 
 plain whose cup of wickedness had filled to overflow. Somewhere 
 within the limits of observation. Lot was speeding his flight, and as he 
 ran, he found, after a short while, his wife was not with him ; her heart 
 longed for the pleasures of Sodom, and she was turned to a pillar of 
 salt. These, and many other thoughts, crowd the mind of the visitor 
 while passing through this district, whose sin-smitten neighborhood is 
 still forsaken by man and beast, since the day when the fiery indigna- 
 tion of Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 
 EARTHQUAKES' WORK OF DESTRUCTION. 
 
 The district has been repeatedly visited with earthquakes ; and 
 there are hot springs near the shore, which continue to send out steam- 
 ing hot water, much like that coming from the extinct volcano Solfatara, 
 near Pozzuoli, Italy. The appearance of these springs, indicates the 
 existence, of a fiery chamber somewhere within the region close enough 
 to communicate with them. Sulphur has been plentiful about the 
 sea-shore, and sometimes a small lump is found by the Bedouins ; also 
 bitumen, or, as it is called, asphaltum is often found in large quantities. 
 It is said after the earthquakes it is seen in abundance in the southern 
 
FEOM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 199 
 
 regions of the sea ; the Arabs gather it, after it becomes hard from ex- 
 posure to the heat of the sun, and find ready sale for it in Bethle- 
 hem and Jerusalem to the relic dealers. There is but little of this sub- 
 stance found of late. It may be, that it has become about exhausted. 
 But the evidences of the past eruptions are yet prominent along the 
 way between the northen shore of the sea and the Jordan. This region 
 is a silent witness of the overthrow of the cities of the plain as narrated 
 in the Bible. 
 
 After the Israelites settled in Canaan, the borderland of the Dead 
 Sea was a familiar battle-ground, just as the plain of Esdraelon be- 
 came later on. It also formed the boundaries of the territory of some 
 of the tribes, as is indicated in our introduction. The districts round 
 about the sea, especially those on the east and west, furnish much im- 
 portant history, showing their connection with som,e of the most inter- 
 esting events mentioned in the early history of the Hebrews. Lot had 
 two sons, Moab and Ammon, whose descendants were called Moabites 
 and Ammonites, respectively. These tribes inhabited the valleys on 
 the east side of the Dead Sea, and the descendants of Esau, known as 
 Edomites, lived on the south side. They were a powerful people, very 
 numerous, and occupied a large tract of country which extended from 
 the southern border of the Dead Sea to the eastern, or Elamitic Gulf 
 of the Red Sea, embracing a district about one hundred miles long 
 and fifteen or more wide. AVhen they grew to be numerous and pow- 
 erful, they established a kingdom, and were ruled by kings, instead of 
 governors and princes, as they formerly had been. These people were 
 bitterly hostile to Israel from the time they entered their borders until 
 the time of their subjugation by the Romans, and were ready to lend 
 their aid to any foreign power who came up against Jerusalem. When 
 the Israelites were journeying to Canaan their route was through their 
 confines, and as soon as they arrived at the western borders of Edom, 
 they were confronted and refused a peaceful passage through their 
 country to Moab. Then the children of Israel forced their way 
 through, and the result of their triumphs purchased the enmity of the 
 Edomites against them, to the remotest generation. 
 
 THE AMOEITES. 
 About the time these sons of Esau were strongly opposing the 
 children of Israel, a powerful foe came up against the descendants of 
 Lot, who were living on the southern border of the Dead Sea, drove 
 them back eastward and southward, establishing themselves in the 
 borderland along the sea, and the hilly country of the lower Jordan. 
 
200 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 These new occupants, who supplanted the Ammonites and Moabites, 
 were the Amorites (Gen, x. 16 ; xix. 37), a powerful tribe who de- 
 scended from Emer, the fourth son of Canaan, the son of Ham. It is 
 noteworthy the descendants of Ham were numerously settled in those 
 regions on the east and south sides of the Dead Sea, as well as through- 
 out the most fertile portions of Canaan. The Amorites first appeared 
 in small communities on the west of the sea, in the mountains in the 
 neighborhood of Hebron, but rapidly increased, so that they spread 
 their borders and took possession of the most fertile territory of the 
 Moabites and Ammonites. But they were subdued by the Israelites 
 in the time of Moses, while Sihon was their king ; their provinces on the 
 east of the Jordan were allotted to Reuben, and those on the west were 
 possessed by Judah. It is of great historical interest to travelers to make 
 a tour around the shores of the Dead Sea, especially the most eventful 
 portious ; it will enable them to more clearly outline the districts inhab- 
 ited by the various tribes who in their turn possessed them. The route for 
 those visiting the Dead Sea from Jericho, with the intention of making 
 a tour of its shores, is to start from the northern bank and proceed 
 south. After traveling a few miles a point is reached where there is a 
 break in the high mountains, at the base of which, a small stream flows 
 into the sea ; and a short distance up the valley, among the cragged 
 rocks, are hot springs, which are supposed to be the En-eglaim of Bible 
 mention. Here, according to Josephus, Herod the Great came a 
 short time before his death, seeking in vain its healing virtues, that the 
 loathsome disease which had seized him and was tormenting his life, 
 might be exterminated. 
 
 Proceeding on southward, the ancient river Arnon, which is so 
 greatly renowned in history, is reached. It was the chief river east of 
 the Dead Sea and the Jordan, at one period ; and before the Amorites 
 drove out the Moabites and Ammonites, it formed the boundary between 
 those tribes ; later on it marked the division between the Amorites and 
 Moabites, and lastly between the latter and the tribe of Reuben, who 
 supplanted the Amorites. Still proceeding a few miles south, the 
 country of Moab is entered, and twelve miles farther south is located the 
 site of ancient Zoar, the little city to which Lot fled. It may be seen 
 from the above description, the distance from Sodom to Zoar was many 
 miles, and Lot must have, of necessity, sped his journey to reach the 
 refuge, before the storm of God's indignation came upon the cities he 
 left behind. If the mountains and rivers were the same to-day as 
 when Lot was making his flight to Zoar, one might map in his mind 
 the route he took on that memorable night. From the northern shore 
 
FKOM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 201 
 
 of the Dead Sea, which we have made our starting point, and follow- 
 ing the southern shore several miles, we have roughly calculated the 
 distance from that point to Zoar to be thirty-two miles. But is is not 
 to be inferred, Lot had that distance to travel ; in the first place, it is 
 not known which of the cities he was living in at the time he was com- 
 manded to leave ; nor how close that city was to the place of his escape. 
 It is certain some of them were farther south than others, and Lot may 
 have lived in one of the most southern cities ; if so, his journey was 
 many miles shorter. The route he took is not known. Before the 
 physical changes took place, caused by earthquakes and natural 
 developments, there were doubtless other ways leading to Zoar, than 
 that commonly traveled at present. It is currently stated, that along 
 the southern end of the western shore of the sea, the hills which 
 hitherto margin the shore, recede far in the distance, and gives the sea 
 a much wider space. Here the water is shallow, and the immediate 
 space connecting with the shore is marshy, and very hard even in the 
 best places to travel. In the summer months and early part of the fall, 
 when the usual winter flow from the Jordan and the Arnon is very 
 much reduced, and the greatly increased heat causes greater evapora- 
 tions, the sea bordering along these muddy flats becomes dry, and a 
 large portion of the shallow margin extending into it, takes the place 
 of the outer shore. Now it seems clear from this fact, that the only 
 outlet to the Dead Sea is the immense evaporations and the spreading 
 out of the sea over several miles of territory on the southwestern side, 
 where the mountains greatly retire. If there was an outlet, through 
 which a volume of water flowed from the bed of the sea, in connection 
 with the wonderful evaporations constantly going on, the decrease 
 would be so vastly more than the increase, the lowest portion of the 
 " Vale of Siddim " would be visible during the latter part of the hot 
 season. For on some portions of the shore of the sea, especially the 
 northern, southern and eastern shores, salt is abundant ; sometimes lumps 
 are found a foot or more thick. This shows the immense evaporations 
 which absorb the water and fill the districts around for miles with beds 
 of salt. If there were other avenues for the water to escape, it is 
 plainly seen there would be a diminution, so great, that at least one-half 
 of the water would be drained out. For when the decrease is greater 
 than the increase, the chief reservoir must become exhausted ; and if 
 the evaporations are suflScient to keep the present increase in bounds 
 a subterranean passage would exhaust it. 
 
 When the children of Israel changed their government into a 
 monarchy, many important events transpired, on or near the shores of 
 
202 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 the Dead Sea, under the reign of different kings ; and those tribes 
 living nearest the historic lake, were the most prominently active in 
 their opposition to the new nation. King David, the man of war, had 
 several touching experiences with them, and subdued all the nations 
 round about, who were hostile to him. The tribes east and west of the 
 Dead Sea, also submitted to his authority, after several bitter conflicts 
 had proven their inability to contend against him. These new acces- 
 sions to the sceptre of David brought to him large tax incomes and 
 greatly strengthened the government revenue. David's reputation as 
 a man of war, had been so widely circulated, the kings of the earth and 
 the mighty men feared him ; but after the death of Solomon, when re- 
 bellion and rivalry divided the nation, those tributary states began to 
 show themselves unwilling to remain under the sceptre of the Hebrew 
 kings, and began to throw off the yoke of subordination by degrees, 
 until an opportune moment came for them to strike for their indepen- 
 dence; at length they became so bold, they were not content with 
 their own freedom, but remembering their past subordinate relation to 
 Israel, endeavored to serve them in like manner. 
 
 That their purpose might be accomplished, the three restless 
 nations, whose former territory about the Dead Sea had been allotted 
 to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Manasseh and Judah, formed a confed- 
 eration, to subdue Israel. These restless nations were the Ammonites, 
 the Moabites and the Edomites. It was during the reign of Jehosha- 
 phat, that these governments formed a confederacy, to overthrow the 
 kingdom of Judah, in the most secret manner. The Ammonites 
 marched over to Moab, and were joined there by the Moabites ; then 
 the two armies went over and joined the Edomites near Mount Seir, 
 and the three potent and over-confident armies, marched in a solid 
 phalanx, up the western shore of the Dead Sea, until they had arrived 
 at the Fountain of the Kid. 
 
 During this whole journey, it seems, their march was not observed 
 or known to the people of Judah until they came to Engedi. Then 
 the approach of the armies, suddenly burst upon the sight of the 
 people and filled them with wild dismay. The news of their advance 
 towards Jerusalem was soon dispatched to King Jehoshaphat, which 
 greatly alarmed him. The following was the announcement : " There 
 cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, on this 
 side of Syria ; and behold they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi." 
 This happened just at the time when hosts of people had gathered from 
 all parts of his kingdom at the Temple, and the king, as did Solomon 
 when the dedication took place, led the services. 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 203 
 
 It must have been an impressive sight, to see all Judah standing 
 before the Lord with their wives and children, while the king poured 
 forth his supplications to the Most High, a part of which was as fol- 
 lows : " And now behold the children of Ammon, and Moab, and Mount 
 Seir, whom Thou wouldst not let Israel invade when they came out of 
 the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and destroyed them 
 not ; behold, I say, now they reward us; they come and cast us out of 
 our possessions, which Thou hast given us to inhabit. O, our God, wilt 
 Thou not judge them, for we have no might against this great company 
 that Cometh against us, neither know we what to do ; but our eyes are 
 upon Thee." 
 
 Just at this stage of the king's prayer, one of the Levites was en- 
 dowed with the spirit of prophecy. And in those moments of extreme 
 alarm, the Lord gave a message of blessed consolation to the king and 
 his sorrow-stricken people. He advised them to go out to meet the 
 confederate forces the next day ; He also told where they would be 
 found, and assured the king, the victory would be given Israel without 
 having to strike a blow. He said, " Behold they come up by the cliff 
 of Ziz ; " which is a rugged pass near Engedi. This pleasing prophecy 
 greatly encouraged King Jehoshaphat and the people. They, having 
 the fullest confidence in the prediction of the young Levite, went out the 
 following day to meet the invaders, and were victorious. The Lord 
 who had never failed to come to the help of Israel when they prayed 
 to Him, heard their supplication, and came to their help in a miracu- 
 lous manner. The confederate army, having learned the army of Israel 
 was approaching, became alarmed and blindly confused, so that they 
 mistook their own forces for Israel and began to slay one another with 
 great slaughter, and fled in wild confusion, and, as had been predicted, 
 the Israelites did not strike a blow ; their enemies' own hands destroyed 
 them. The king and those with him, having seen the fulfillment of the 
 prophecy in the destruction of the enemy, went over to the camp, gath- 
 ered the spoil and returned in triumph to Jerusalem, and offered up 
 their renewed thanks to God for having delivered them from the pow- 
 erful hand of relentless foes. 
 
 JUDAH AND ISRAEL COMBINE AGAINST MOAB. 
 
 While Jehoshaphat yet reigned over Judah, and Jehoram, son of 
 Ahab, was king over Israel, the king of Moab, who had been burdened 
 with tax by Ahab, concluded to throw off the yoke that was so sorely 
 pressing him. Jehoram, feeling himself incompetent for the pending 
 crisis, appealed to Jehoshaphat to assist him in the suppression of the 
 
204 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 rebellion, which he readily complied with, and emphasized his willing- 
 ness as follows : " I will go up : I am as thou art, my people as thy 
 people, my horses as thy horses." And in answer to Jehoram's ques- 
 tion, Jehoshaphat advised they should go up against Moab by the way 
 of the wilderness of Edom, which was a little to the south of the Dead 
 Sea, bordering on Moab and is known as Mt. Seir. It must have been 
 a fatiguing march to the army ; for the route they took was circuitous 
 and hard to travel, requiring at least seven days' steady marching to 
 accomplish the journey. Many of the men became thirsty and dis- 
 couraged because there was no water, neither for themselves nor their 
 beasts ; for they were traveling through a desert country. The water 
 supplies they had provided were exhausted, and they must continue on, 
 through the wild wilderness, before water could be secured. It is the 
 case, now that persons passing over this route and several others in Pal- 
 estine, must take a supply of water with them or they will greatly 
 suffer ; and if the want of a little water, even in the time of peace, is so 
 discomforting, what must have been the distressing situation of this vast 
 army of men and beasts, who were worn down with thirst, passing through 
 the wilderness on a mission of war ! They found themselves in a peril- 
 ous situation ; for unless they obtained water, they must surely perish. 
 But the Lord, who is at all times equal to every emergency, informed 
 the discomfited people through the prophet Elisha, they should have a 
 plentiful supply of water the next day, although it would not rain ; and 
 in the morning, as had been predicted by the prophet, all the ditches 
 were filled with water. The Moabites, looking toward the plain on the 
 borders of the Dead Sea early in the morning, just as the sun was re- 
 flecting its light over the valley, saw the water in the trenches the 
 Israelites had prepared the previous day, and supposed it to be blood, 
 for it had a blood-red appearance to them, because of the peculiar re- 
 flection of the sun. They seeing this, said to each other, they have 
 smitten one another, and at the same time they may have remembered 
 their own mistake at Engedi, how they slew one another instead of 
 Israel, and supposed they made a similar fatal attack upon them- 
 selves. 
 
 Feeling assured Israel had been its own destroyer, the Moabites 
 came down from their heights to capture the residue and gather the 
 spoil, but were seized with wild dismay when they saw the hosts of 
 Israel in battle array. The panic-stricken Moabites fled in great haste 
 and confusion. This was another signal victory the Lord gave Israel 
 on the old battle-ground near the Dead Sea, where on other occasions 
 He showed His love for that people, notwithstanding they so often 
 
FROM JEEUSALEM TO THE JOEDAN. 205 
 
 rebelled against Him. Just at the time the Moabites were indulging 
 in exalted expectation, of reaping bountiful spoils from the camp of 
 Israel, near the Salt Sea, where they had stationed themselves, they 
 were driven into confusion and into the jaws of death. They were not 
 only driven from the field, but pursued into their own stronghold ; for 
 they were shut up in their capital city, Kir-haraseth, one of the most care- 
 fully fortified of all their cities. It may be seen, therefore, the Dead 
 Sea is not only famous because it occupies at least a large portion of 
 territory, on which the cities of the plain stood, but also for the many 
 memorable battles fought along its border, and the manifestation of 
 God's power in fighting for Israel. (2 Kings iii.) 
 
 THE VALLEY OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 The Jordan Valley, so named because of the great historic river 
 that flows through it, is one of the most interesting ravines in Palestine. 
 It has been several times explored by some of the most expert 
 scientists of our globe, and has provoked many very earnest discussions 
 as to the prime physical causes of its formation, and is regarded as one 
 of the most remarkable depressions in the world. It is situated 
 between the Sea of Galilee on the north and the Dead Sea on the south ; 
 its width is from five to ten miles, the widest portion being at Jericho, 
 where it is known as the Plain of Jericho ; here it assumes the appear- 
 ance of a tremendous expanse, inclosed on the east and west by 
 mammoth mountainous ridges, known as the mountains of temjjtation, 
 and those of the spies. These heights are barren, rugged, and steep. 
 On the south the Dead Sea appears like a continuation of the plain; 
 but in the distance it has every appearance of a beautiful little lake. 
 Its northern bank is nearly level with the water and therefore has 
 a similar resemblance to the plain at first sight on approaching it. 
 
 The present aspect of the Plain of Jericho is not to be compared 
 with that described in the Holy Scriptures and by Josephus. He 
 pronounced it the most beautiful tract of country in the entire district 
 of Judea, a blessed region full of fatness ; and in referring to the 
 fountain of Elisha, he said it watered the country seventy stadia long by 
 twenty broad, covered with luxuriant gardens and palm groves It 
 was so thickly studded with these orchards, it was called the " City of 
 Palm Trees." But this product of the land, which was so greatly 
 esteemed by the ancient inhabitants of that once proud city, has 
 passed from its borders, and the thorny bramble and other small trees 
 have taken their places. All the rich products which so bountifully 
 flourished, have seemingly fallen with the city never to rise again. 
 
206 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 The Jordan valley is remarkable as to its physical situation, when 
 compared to other deep ravines in that country and in the world. Its 
 surface is estimated to be six hundred feet below the level of the Medi- 
 terranean, at the Sea of Galilee, and continues increasing in depth 
 southward, so that at the Dead Sea, its depression has the enormous 
 depth of thirteen hundred and twelve feet below the western sea. 
 
 This tremendous valley, the most remarkable for depth in the 
 world, on its extreme southern terminus, has puzzled the most expert 
 geologists on the globe, in their endeavors to investigate the physical 
 causes that produced it; and various theories have been drawn as a 
 result of their opinions, the most acceptable of which is that given by 
 the Palestine exploration survey, found in the fourteenth chapter of 
 Condor's " Tent Work." They have concluded that " a violent and sud- 
 den collapse of the Avhole of the Jordan valley, south of the Sea of 
 Galilee, probably occurred at a late geological period, and that was 
 followed by a further catastrophe of considerably later date, caused by 
 volcanic action." It is also thought by others, from certain develop- 
 ments, that the Dead Sea, at some distant period, extended much further 
 north than at present. This oj)inion is drawn from the fact that four 
 distinct beaches have been discovered. The first is about thirty feet 
 above the present high-water mark, and the others are situated one, 
 two and four hundred feet from each other. Others have drawn the 
 theory that the Dead Sea had assumed its present proportions before 
 the age of man. Therefore, it is impossible for the cities of the j^lain 
 to have occupied the space or any part now covered by it. The above 
 theories clearly show the inability of scientific men to produce abso- 
 lute harmony, by their investigations, independent of Divine revelation, 
 although they earnestly endeavor to do so, and that God's word is the 
 only true and safe guide for mankind. The Bible teaches, that at least 
 a portion of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, stood on the site now 
 occupied by the Dead Sea. Now we know that in the time of Lot 
 this was the most fertile of all the land in southern Palestine ; and so 
 inviting that cities had been built upon the plain, and thousands of 
 inhabitants lived in them, and were in a highly prosperous condition. 
 Taking into account the character of the sea, that it is destructive to 
 vegetation and human life, it is nut likely, the people in those times 
 would have made choice of the most deadly tract of country in the 
 whole land, to establish their cities, when they could have made choice 
 of other sites more healthy. Again, we are taught in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, these regions were flourishing with fruits, pastures and vegeta- 
 tion. We are just here very forcibly reminded of the stupendous 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO THE JORDAN. 207 
 
 question of the Scriptures, " Can a man by searching find out God? " 
 and the declaration, "As high as the heavens are above the earth, so 
 are my ways above thy ways, and my thoughts above thy thoughts." 
 From the fact that men of the most progressive science differ in opinion, 
 as to the origin and character of things, and if these extraordinarily 
 profound matters, with which they have interested themselves, are hid- 
 den from them, it is clearly evident that they are not to be relied upon 
 in their conclusions, of things of a graver and more intricate nature. 
 But historians have been greatly aided in their investigations, so as to 
 understand much that has been tangled, by having acquired a thorough 
 knowledge of the native tongue ; so that many words of the Hebrew lan- 
 guage, when compared with corresponding words in English, furnish a 
 key to the original meaning. Take, for example, the Arabic word for 
 shelves, or beaches, as above referred to ; it is Lidd. This is found to 
 be a derivation of the term Vale of Siddim. It is plain, therefore, if 
 the Vale of Siddim was located at the southern end of the plain of 
 Jericho, there can exist no reasonable doubt as to the site of the cities 
 of the plain, which must have been situated on the north. The great 
 depressions of the plain, being protected on each side by lofty moun- 
 tains, render the climate the hottest of any in Palestine, which emi- 
 nently qualified it for the growth of palm trees and other highly 
 esteemed fruits, such as are produced only in very warm countries. 
 
 It is stated, that during the time of the crusaders' control of Pales- 
 tine, sugar cane was cultivated in the plain of Jericho, and it was 
 during that period the aqueducts and pointed arches were constructed. 
 Remnants of them are still partially standing at the entrance of the 
 " bloody pass " coming up from the city of palm trees. At this period, 
 under the activity of the crusaders who made an effort to restore the 
 former fertility of that region, and make it again the garden of Pales- 
 tine, much time and labor were spent to reinstate it, but they were not 
 successful. It is at present under the jurisdiction of Arabs, who seem 
 to know but little about cultivation, and care less ; therefore, much of 
 the best land, that, with a little care, would produce good crops is not 
 noticed. There is no doubt that the plain of Jericho would be 
 more fruitful than any portion of the country between Jerusalem and 
 the Jordan, if those controlling it would bestir themselves a little more 
 industriously. It is in my mind, only a question of comparatively short 
 time, before this valley will bloom again as a rose. These miserable 
 offensive Arabs will be crowded out, by an industrious people from 
 Europe, who are already settling in various portions of the country in 
 small communities, and producing fine crops in those districts that for 
 
208 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 a long while were left idle. I suppose those rich fields would have 
 been settled upon long since, had it not been for the dangerous barriers, 
 which must in time be removed. 
 
 THE EIVER JOEDAN. 
 
 The Jordan is the most distinguished river in Palestine, and one of 
 the most noted in the world. Its name is said to be a compound of 
 Jar or Yar, and Dan, because its rise is in the vicinity of Dan. It is 
 the chief river in Canaan, and runs from north to south, dividing the 
 country into two parts ; the larger portion is on the west and is the 
 most important. There are two streams claimed to be the sources of 
 the Jordan, one is at Barket-es-Ram, known in the writings of Josephus, 
 as Phiala, from its bowl-like shape. For a long while this was supposed 
 to be its chief and highest source. The water running from it is slimy 
 and offensive. It has been found since, the main source is a spring of 
 considerable size, which issues a stream from the western base of a Tell 
 (Hill) at Dan. This is regarded as one of the largest fountains in the 
 world, and without doubt the largest in either Syria or Palestine. It 
 will be called to mind that Dan is the most northern point occupied 
 by the Israelites. At Banaias or Csesarea Philippi, not far from the 
 site on which once stood a shrine erected to the god Pan, is a great 
 cave called Rasen-neb, regarded as the " fountain head." From this 
 fountain runs one of the sources of the Jordan. It is situated on the 
 side of a perpendicular cliff estimated to be one hundred feet high. 
 These three fountains have been the prime feeders of the great historic 
 river ever since its name has been known to man, or has had a begin- 
 ning in the world. The river Jordan is without a parallel on the 
 globe. It is shut in from the great western sea by high mountains, and 
 pours its contents into the great Salt Sea, at the lowest point of surface 
 known in the world, it being thirteen hundred feet below the level of 
 the sea on its west side. It gathers the water from the melting snows 
 along the highland as it proceeds south, and thus became a stream of 
 considerable size. The length of the Jordan from its source to its 
 mouth, if it continued in a direct line, would be about one hundred 
 and four miles ; but because of its tortuous course, it travels two hun- 
 dred miles before it reaches its terminus at the Dead Sea. It runs 
 rapidly down a continuous plain, interrupted at different stages by 
 twenty-seven cataracts. It is not traveled by vessels, and there is not 
 a flourishing city along its banks, as is commonly the case in other lands. 
 But instead of lively towns and cities along the border land, the olean- 
 der, the tamarisk bushes and the willow, are plentifully seen fringing 
 
<: 
 
 Q 
 K 
 O 
 
 H 
 O 
 
 UJ 
 
FROM BETHLEHEM TO THE JORDAN. 209 
 
 the banks forming a deep border ; the weeds and bush-wood grow 
 uninterruptedly and have become so very thick, a person has much 
 difficulty to work his way through them. These closely grown thickets 
 affoi'd convenient homes for beasts of prey. The wild boar and the 
 leopard frequent them. Therefore, it is highly important that great 
 caution is observed by all who pass through this trackless mass. 
 
 The half-savage Bedouin, whose chief ambition is to plunder and 
 steal whenever an opportunity is presented, often finds it unsafe to 
 enter this wild forest alone, although he would find a safe retreat from 
 those who may be in pursuit of him. Jericho is about ten miles west 
 of the Jordan, and is the only place of importance along the valley 
 until the Sea of Galilee is reached, on the shore of which the little vil- 
 lage of Tiberias stands. From the above outline it may be seen that 
 the banks of the Jordan possess no charms of interest ; and were it not 
 that the traveler is on the margin of the river where some of the most 
 remarkable events known to the world took place, no one would care 
 to waste time and means in traversing its borders. But the historical 
 associations connected with the Jordan are so full of interest, one who 
 travels its shores for the sake of informing himself as to location where 
 these wonders took place, does not take any account of the labor and 
 trouble of the journey. The traveler becomes more deeply impressed 
 with the many events prominently|narrated in the Bible, that occurred 
 at the Jordan, by visiting the scenes where they took place. He may 
 think of Lot, who, being allured by the richness of the plain along 
 which it flows, because it was well watered and full of verdure, sought 
 its benefits. And to these fords, came the great army of Hebrews, after 
 their wanderings of forty years in the wilderness, and crossed over on 
 dry ground, until all the people were passed to the other side, to pos- 
 sess the goodly land which the Lord had chosen for them to dwell in. 
 Their crossing was miraculous and a most striking evidence of the 
 presence of the Lord. This wonderful event occurred at a season 
 when the fords, where it was usually shallow and easy to cross, were 
 swelled so greatly that no one could pass them. For it was during the 
 April harvest, when the overflow of the inner banks, had caused the 
 water to flood the whole space between the outer and inner banks. 
 This overflow visits the Jordan annually, and is caused by the melting 
 of the snow on Mounts Hermon, Lebanon and the neighboring high- 
 lands. The sudden breaking up of the ice and snow rushes into the 
 river and causes it to swell rapidly, so that its inner banks cannot con- 
 tain the volume of water passing between them. " For Jordan over- 
 floweth all her banks all the time of harvest, that the water which 
 14 
 
210 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 came down from above stood, and rose a great way off, at Adam, the 
 city tliat is beside Zaretan : and those that went down toward the sea 
 of the Arabah, even the Salt sea, were wholly cut off; and the people 
 went over right against Jericho." Here also Elijah and Elisha crossed; 
 on that memorable day the Jordan was divided, by a single stroke of 
 the prophet with his mantle, in the name of the Lord. It is noteworthy 
 that the Jordan was commonly fordable during the dry seasons, when 
 the water was low at the fords. Jacob, David, Abner, Absalom, and 
 thousands of others crossed the Jordan after Israel entered the land of 
 Canaan. It was a common thing for the Jews, living in the northern 
 and southern districts, Avhose prejudice would not give consent for them 
 to pass through Samaria, to cross the Jordan when visiting each other 
 both on business and social relations. At present the inhabitants on 
 either side of the Jordan, cross it at the fords as often as their business 
 demands, during the ^dry or summer season. They know the time 
 when the " swellings of Jordau " ibrbid the passing of any one Then 
 even those who are most expert in crossing at such a stage of the water, 
 that hundreds would not dare venture, would not attempt to pass over 
 at the shallowest ford, fearing they would be swept away with the tor- 
 rent. It may be inferred, therefore, it is not an uncommon thing for 
 men to cross the Jordan, as it is an ordinary custom. But it is not in 
 any natural way possible to cross during the season of the overflow. 
 And nothing but a miracle wrought by the Almighty could enable a 
 person to do so. Had the Israelites crossed at the time the river is 
 usually fordable, there would have been no reason for surprise, for it 
 would have been crossed just as the people ordinarily did at that season. 
 (Joel iii. 15, 16.) But crossing as they did at the time of the great 
 overflow, and the miraculous circumstances connected with the event of 
 their passage, make it a most stupendous wonder. The ark was carried 
 by the priests who were in advance of the people, and a monument of 
 stones was built in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where priests 
 who bore the ark stood, and the forty thousand prepared for war, 
 " passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plain of Jericho." 
 
 Again, when Gideon went out against the Midianites, he lay in wait 
 for them at the fords ; and there the men of Gilead slew the men of 
 Ephraim ; and here David crossed and found refuge in ]\Iahanaim. 
 But none crossed at the time of the overflow. There are several tribu- 
 taries to the Jordan ; the largest one, between its source and the Sea of 
 Galilee, is Lake Merom, or Hulek, from whence it flows with increased 
 rapidity and volume into the Lake Gennesaret, through which it passes, 
 exhibiting most clearly the course of its passage. My attention was 
 
FROM BETHLEHEM TO THE JORDAN. 211 
 
 drawn to the beautiful line formed througli tlie lake from north to 
 south, while standing on the shore at Capernaum, and it attracted me 
 so, I for a while was completely absorbed in admiration, for it seemed 
 so strange, that the Jordan could flow thi'ough a body of water as 
 large as the Sea of Tiberias as if confined within the limits of its banks, 
 without being at least partly hidden from view. There is a continuous 
 depression in the course of the Jordan from its northern extremity to 
 its mouth. During the whole distance of its passage, it falls twenty- 
 three hundred feet ; seventeen hundred feet of this fall is embraced in 
 the first twenty-seven miles, that is, from its source to the Sea of 
 Tiberias ; this gives it an average fall of about sixty -three feet to the 
 mile in its upper course, and eight feet in the lower. Therefore, the 
 first fall of twenty-seven miles is very abrupt, but the greater distance 
 is gradual ; it also becomes deeper and wider during the winter rains. 
 At this season it is not uncommon for the river to be from eighty to 
 one hundred and sixty feet wide, and from five to twelve feet deep. 
 Then the water becomes very muddy on account of the collection of 
 clay it gathers from the banks. Those who visit the Jordan from Jer- 
 usalem, usually take luncheon at the ford opposite Jericho, which is 
 the traditional site of the crossing of the Israelites ; and some say, 
 our Lord was baptized at or near the same place ; and that Elijah 
 crossed here with Elisha, when he was taken to heaven. It is an inex- 
 pressible pleasure, to the Bible student, to have the privilege of visiting 
 the shore of the Jordan and its historic fords, with the Bible and guide- 
 book, scanning the narratives of events having transpired at the place 
 where he stands, or near by. 
 
 In connection with others, he might fix his mind on Elijah and 
 Elisha, who crossed here at the lower ford opposite Gilgal, and the 
 return of the young prophet alone to the same crossing, for his father 
 had been taken up in a chariot, and the only thing belonging to him, 
 in the keeping of Elisha, was the familiar mantle. With this precious 
 relic the young man came in triumph to the Jordan, which had as- 
 sumed the same attitude it presented when he first approached it in 
 company with Elijah ; but remembering how the water parted when 
 his father smote it, and having unshaken faith in the same God, Elisha 
 stood on the east bank, while the young men, who came to witness the 
 miracle, sat on the west, looking on, and Elisha struck Jordan with the 
 same instrument, and said, " Where is the Lord God of Elijah !" and 
 again Jordan parted to allow the young prophet a passage over it. 
 The young men who so eagerly watched the movement of Elisha, hav- 
 ing seen the miraculous display of the power of God working in him, 
 
212 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 proclaimed : " The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." From that 
 auspicious moment, the young man who had left his plow and parents, 
 to follow the man of God became his successor, and went forth in the 
 strength of God, working wonders, and delivering such messages to 
 men. whether kings or peasants, as were given him from God. One, in 
 a highly spiritual state, may imagine, at times, while standing on the 
 bank of the Jordan, he can see the wonderful event taking place. 
 
 At the brink of this river came Naaman the Syrian, burdened with 
 a loathsome disease. Being directed hither by Elisha that he might 
 be healed, and be persuaded thereby, that there is no other suj^reme 
 being but the God of Israel, the advice given him by the prophet was 
 simple and at first disregarded. " Go wash in Jordan seven times," 
 was the recommendation of Elisha to the captain. But he despised 
 this counsel, and would have returned home, filled with indignation, 
 had not one of his attendants urged him to try the remedy. Being 
 finally persuaded, he dipped himself seven times in this historic river, 
 and was every whit whole ; for his " flesh was like unto a little child's " 
 But while these events referred to, are stupendously wonderful, they 
 are but stepping-stones to those of which the New Testament gives ac- 
 count. 2 Kings ii. 1-15. 
 
 JOHN THE BAPTIST'S VISIT AND WORK THERE. 
 
 Here at this Jordan and near (according to tradition) where I 
 took luncheon at the ford, the voice of John the Baptist " was heard 
 preaching in the wilderness," in tones so awakening that all Judea and 
 Jerusalem came down to hear him, and he baptized them, confessing 
 their sins. It was along the western bank of this Jordan, that our 
 Lord came walking, to be introduced to the multitude that had as- 
 sembled to hear John, and to enter more fully upon the work of His 
 divine mission. It was while Jesus stood on the bank of the Jordan, 
 that the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended, looking like a 
 dove, and lit upon Him. Here our Lord made the river memorable 
 forever, by having the rite of sacred baptism performed upon Him by 
 John. 
 
 It is proper to state, there exists a division of opinion as to the site 
 where these latter events took place ; one tradition favors the lower 
 ford opposite Jericho, near the crossing of the Israelites ; another has 
 settled upon the next ford on the north, as the place. But the old 
 crossing opposite Gilgal, is the place generally believed to be the origi- 
 nal site, and here hundreds of pilgrims come every year and take a 
 bath, after the close of the Easter Festival. We were informed that 
 
FEOM BETHLEHEM TO THE JOKDAN. 213 
 
 they rush to the Jordan in great crowds — sometimes a thousand or 
 more — and without ceremony, or even halting ; without doubting or 
 intimidation ; without taking off any of their clothing, they plunge 
 into the muddy, yet sacred stream ; then they vigorously and prayer- 
 fully bathe ; then lie down, with a hope that the new baptism wiU 
 cleanse them from whatever stains of sin they may possess and will 
 bring to them many blessings. 
 
 It is certain, if their faith in the Lord Jesus, whose example they 
 attempt to follow, is as strong as it is in the Jordan, they will not come 
 short of the blessings they so ardently seek. The clothing in which 
 they bathe is supposed to be made holy by the cleansing influence of 
 the water, therefore they are carefully preserved, to be used only to 
 bury them in as their Avinding-sheet ; and they also indulge in the an- 
 ticipation of entering in through the gates into the city of the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, in the sacred garments with which they bathed in the 
 Jordan. 
 
 The Oriental pilgrims who visit the sacred sites in Palestine from 
 far-distant lands seldom have more than one opportunity to do so in 
 life, and they esteem it next to the hope they entertain of heaven. It 
 is the same case with the Moslems ; it is enjoined upon all the followers 
 of Mohammed, to visit Mecca at least once in life, even at a tremendous 
 sacrifice ; and inany spend the last mite they possess to comply with 
 this rule. And so the Greeks have a similar rule for the adherents to 
 their faith. This is the reason the many thousands go up to Jerusalem, 
 from remote parts of the world, feeling it to be their duty if possible 
 to make the pilgrimage, confidently believing it will be of spiritual 
 benefit to them. It so happens at times some of these people are un- 
 able to return to their homes, both those who go to Jerusalem and to 
 Mecca. It seems that the people in the far East and Palestine take 
 great delight in carrying out their obligiations to the church, however 
 great a sacrifice they must make to perform them. This example 
 should be noted. But if we properly look into the conduct of these 
 devotees, we will see the necessity of a general circulation of the Holy 
 Bible and a proper instruction of its teachings. It may be seen from 
 their custom that the old Jewish idea is still indulged by many of the 
 Gentiles, especially the ancient custom of going up to Jerusalem to 
 worship. While they do not hold to the opinion, it is the only place 
 to engage themselves in sacred devotion, they do believe a visit there, 
 and to the holy shrines and sacred places, adds greatly to their stand- 
 ing in heaven ; and like the Samaritans of old, wlio supposed Mount 
 Gerizim was the most acceptable place to worship, so the Moham- 
 
214 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 medans believe Mecca is the most sacred spot on the whole earth, and 
 they must by all means go there once in life to bow at the shrines and 
 kiss the tomb in which this illustrious founder's remains were depos- 
 ited. By so doing they think it will bring to them blessings, such as 
 nothing else can. These gravely sad errors obtain because the Holy 
 Bible is not generally circulated among these peojDle, as well as 
 a great lack of receiving proj^er instruction from those in whom they 
 confide as teachers. These are plain cases of " blind leading the blind." 
 But the Holy Bible, the Book of books, opens the understanding of 
 all who will consent to abide by its teachings. It is suited to all men, 
 of all ages and conditions. We learn that the wise, the ignorant and 
 poor, the humble and despised, all may draw bountiful supplies fi'om 
 its inexhaustible fullness without fear, for all are welcome. It is not, 
 as many may think, a mere pastoral book, or one that is adapted to 
 certain classes who live in cities and towns, who may read it merely 
 for historical information, but it is given to all men ; to the end they 
 may have an abiding knowledge of the will of God and be conducted 
 in the path of holiness ; its various forms of conveying the truth adapts 
 itself to all j^hases of human condition, and these diversified forms of 
 truth, at once commend their teachings to man as the word of the great 
 and all-wise God, and impress him that it is not needful he should go 
 to Jerusalem, nor to Mecca, to worship, but in every place where men 
 call upon the Lord, He will hear them and come to their help. Again, 
 the Holy Bible has helped men as nothing else could, in developing 
 much ancient history which would not have been understood without 
 it. For this most precious of all books, like the inscriptions carved on 
 tombstones, tells the story of the past. 
 
 NEBO AND PISGAH. 
 
 We might pass from one part of Palestine to another, viewing its 
 rivers, seas, brooks and the various places of historical value, and 
 would know but little, if anything, of the wonderful events that took 
 place there, had not the Bible revealed them to us. Take for example 
 the lonely peak of Pisgah, on which Moses, the illustrious leader of the 
 Israelites, ascended when he viewed the land of promise ; its geograph- 
 ical location, could not have been satisfactorily settled, had it not been 
 so minutely defined in the Bible. In it we are informed that, " Moses 
 went up from the plain of Moab into the mountain of ]S^ebo, to the top of 
 Pisgah, that is over against Jericho." This definition is so distinct and 
 evident, that visitors even in these times have but little difiiculty in 
 identifying Mounts Nebo and Pisgah, from the other mountains of 
 
FEOM BETHLEHEM TO THE JOKDAN. 215 
 
 Moab ; and in whatever direction one may go in central or southern 
 Palestine, and many parts in the north, the mammoth mountains of 
 Moab can be seen prominent. 
 
 THE VIEW OF MOSES. 
 
 Very soon after the plain of Shai*on is passed, on the way up to 
 Jerusalem from Joppa, and the western point of the highland of Judea 
 is passed, this range, of which Nebo forms a part, appears to view along 
 the eastern horizon about thirty miles away, but does not seem more 
 than half the distance. It is also seen from Mizpeh and the sacred 
 Mount of Olives ; then a little to the north of Jerusalem on Mt. 
 Scopus, the range is distinctly seen ; then, southeast, as far as Bethle- 
 hem, and south, as far as Hebron, views are had of these mountains. 
 On the north they can be seen from Bethel, Shechem, Ebal and Geri- 
 zim. One who has viewed them from the Jordan particularly, will be 
 able without difficulty, to point out the historic mountains from all 
 others in the range, even from the far northern points of view. 
 Although Pisgah belonged to the Abarim range, there seems to be, 
 when viewed from the Jordan or the Plain of Jericho, a depression 
 breaking the range a little, near Nebo ; this gives it distinction, and as 
 there is no visible elevation behind the summit of Pisgah, which is a 
 peak on the top of Nebo, it has the highest and most conspicuous altitude 
 in its neighborhood. Standing as it does, the foreground of the moun- 
 tain range, it affords a more prominent view of Palestine than any 
 other round about it. Therefore, Moses, the servant of God and faith- 
 ful leader of the Hebrews, was directed to ascend to the summit of 
 Pisgah, that he might obtain the best observation of the land of Canaan, 
 the future permanent home of the children of the promise. Although 
 Moses had reached the advanced age of one hundred and twenty years, 
 he was not embarrassed by feeble sight, nor was his natural physical 
 force abated. This is evident from the fact, he was able in his old 
 age to climb to the heights of the lofty Pisgah, then stand and view 
 the land, until he had gotten a general observation of the whole 
 country : " And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan 
 and all Naphtali, and the laud of Ephraim and Mannassah, and all 
 the land of Judah, unto the uttermost sea (Mediterranean) ; and the 
 south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, 
 unto Zoar." This loftly summit was the most prospective peak of the 
 whole range. It is so situated, both as to elevation and location, that 
 an unobstructed view can be had over the mountainous country of 
 Palestine, and over the sea on the west. 
 
216 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 On tlie top of this mount Moses stood, about the time he was near- 
 ing the end of the long, weary journey through the wilderness, and his 
 career on earth, and looked with extreme delight, upon the beautiful 
 country the Lord had chosen for a heritage of the people, with whom 
 he had so long suffered many heavy trials, during their forty years' wan- 
 dering from the land of Egypt, the land concerning which, under 
 Divine direction, he had written so strangely, and where Abraham, the 
 father of the faithful, had sojourned five hundred years prior. While 
 viewing the many hills and mountain tops, doubtless his ravished eyes 
 glimpsed Mount Moriah, and he thought of the morning, when Abra- 
 ham took his son Isaac to sacrifice him to the Lord, and how in the 
 moment, the faithful father stood with uplifted hand to slay him, the 
 voice of the Lord stayed his hand. As Moses looked westward and 
 downward, the bold Jordan had flooded its banks, in proud defiance of 
 the multitude below, who were soon to stand upon them, eager to enter 
 into the country on the margin of its western shore. 
 
 Just across this narrow stream, which, from the height of his view, 
 must have appeared almost beneath him, near the base of Nebo, was 
 the beautiful plain of Jericho, and little Gilgal, where his i^eople should 
 build their first altar in Canaan. Then looking a little to his left, he 
 saw the dreary waters of the Dead Sea, the border-land of which still 
 bore prominent signs of the wrath of God Then casting his eyes 
 northward. Mounts Tabor, snowy Hermon, Ebal, and Gerizim were in 
 full view before him ; and on the west could be seen Carmel, Leba- 
 non, and the hills of Galilee, and all the country as far as Dan, the 
 most northern limit of the land. It may be imagined, how unusually 
 happy, the old care-worn and age-stricken man of God felt, as he 
 stood upon this lofty peak, far away from the communion of the people, 
 whose constant inclinations to rebellion and mistrust, many times chafed 
 his soul and caused him to weep bitterly, especially when he heard 
 them murmur against God and charge Him with dealing unkindly 
 towards them. But for a short time, while holding special communion 
 with the Lord, who had taken charge of him, his soul enjoyed undisturbed 
 rest, and there was nothing to disturb the thoughts passing through his 
 mind. Therefore he was permitted to drink to his fullest satisfaction, 
 the blessing so desirable to man, while standing on the narrow margin 
 of death. He also enjoyed the blessing of having a most delightful 
 view of the land, soon to be inhabited by the people whom he had en- 
 deavored to encourage and counsel all through the journey of the wil- 
 derness ; the land that should produce abundantly, the " land of milk 
 and honey." And although he would not be permitted to conduct 
 
FROM BETHLEHEM TO THE JORDAN. 217 
 
 them beyond the narrow confines of the Jordan, or spend another hour 
 with them on earth, he was willing to surrender his responsible charge 
 to Joshua, whilst he waited patiently for the summons that should end 
 his long and trying probation. We may suppose, without transcending 
 the limits of propriety, that the transporting views Moses had of the 
 goodly land, gave him as much pleasure, as if he had been permitted to 
 have entered and enjoyed its fruits. How greatly he drank in its de- 
 lectable impressions is not known, as he died upon the mount without 
 communicating it to the people. But it is no stretch of imagination, to 
 suppose, his satisfaction was so complete he was willing to die, and let 
 his spirit wing its flight to the upper Canaan, to join the ranks of the 
 glorified hosts, who bask in the splendors of the golden city beyond 
 this chilly vale of tears. 
 
 The heart of Moses, while looking upon these scenes, must have had 
 much satisfaction in the contemplation of the fact that the journey of the 
 people would soon be ended, and everything they could consistently 
 hope for, would be obtained in the land whither they should soon enter. 
 And could Moses have commanded enough power while there to com- 
 municate with his weary people, in the camp at the foot of Nebo, his 
 graphic description of the country, would have caused new inspiration 
 to arouse the anxious multitude, with a full determination to enter 
 upon their long-sought possessions. 
 
 Upon the lofty summit of Pisgah, Moses, whose patience had been 
 taxed for forty dreary years, finished his observations of the country 
 before him, that lay just beyond the Jordan, finished the number of 
 his days in the world, and immediately opened his eyes on the most 
 glorious land, promised to all who will take up their cross and follow 
 Jesus. How transporting was the sight ! The very first look upon the 
 heavenly land, was far more glorious than all the country he had been 
 surveying from the top of Pisgah. We venture the assertion he be- 
 came lost in amazement. But Avhat a marvellous funeral the great 
 prophet must have had, although the usual ceremony was not 
 performed ; the long procession was not seen, following him to 
 the tomb, while the weeping ones were filling the air with bewildering 
 lamentations. No human orators were there, delivering long eulogies, 
 setting forth in strong terms the sacrifices Moses made for the good of the 
 people ; but God, who had led this, the greatest of men for one hundred 
 and twenty years, took charge of the funeral on the mountain top, far 
 from mortal sight, and saw to it that this hero, whose presence upon 
 Pisgah immortalized its name, should be honored with a burial such 
 as man never had. It may be imagined that hosts of angels came and 
 
218 THE LAND OF PEOMiSE. 
 
 rested their feet upon Pisgah's rocky summit, while the remains of the 
 man of God were Laid to rest, where no mortal could know or identify 
 his grave. 
 
 JOSHUA CAMPED AT GILGAL. ' 
 
 Joshua, the successor of Moses, led the people into the promised 
 land. Gilgal, the place so distinguished in sacred history as the first 
 camping-place of the Israelites, after entering Canaan, is southeast of 
 Jericho. Nothing marks the site of that anciently renowned place, so 
 sacredly memorable to the Jews, but a small, shapeless ruin. But 
 they highly reverence the locality because the Ark of God remained 
 there, until it was removed to Shiloh. It is about four miles southw^est 
 of the Jordan, and five miles from Jericho. There were several places 
 in Palestine bearing the name of Giigal : one on Mt. Carmel, another 
 near Kefr, Suba, and another near Singel. But this one near the Jor- 
 dan, southwest of Jericho, is the historic place which the Hebrews 
 looked upon for many ages with profound, if not adoring, reverence. 
 The twelve stones taken from the bed of the Jordan were carried to the 
 hill Gilgal, where they were piled ; and all the Israelites were circum- 
 cised, and there made it a place of rest. The headquarters of the 
 camp, for a long time were there. After they had rolled away the re- 
 proach of Egypt from them, they celebrated their first passover there, 
 in the land of Canaan. 
 
 It was from Gilgal Joshua went up to Jericho, and saw over against 
 the wall one whom he supposed to be a man, who informed him, he 
 had come " as captain of the Lord's host." In the immediate neigh- 
 borhood, a school of the prophets flourished in the time of Elijah. It 
 was from Gilgal the army of Israel, marched when they won the great 
 victory over Jericho without striking a blow, until after the walls 
 tumbled down. This proud city was situated in the Jordan valley, 
 about ten miles from the river, and was shut in by a high mountainous 
 fortress, which is known as the mountains of the spies, because the 
 men were directed by Rahab to hide in them three days. The only 
 way for Joshua to march against Jericho, was from the south or south- 
 east portion of the plain. This route was not obstructed by mountains, 
 and the Israelites had a pleasant plain to march through, up to the 
 city. There are three Jerichos known in history ; these are, the 
 ancient city, which was in a flourishing state when the children of 
 Israel entered Canaan ; the Jericho of Herod's time, which is known 
 to have been a city of great importance in the time of " Our Lord," 
 and the modern village now standing, which is a little dilapidated 
 
FKOM THE JOEDAN TO JERICHO. 219 
 
 place knowu to the Arabs as Eriha ; its inhabitants have the reputa- 
 tion of being a very dishonest people, and by no means trustworthy. 
 They do but little work, as the tillable land of the plain clearly shows. 
 One of the attractions about Jericho is the famous fountain, or spring 
 of Elisha, which is in the immediate vicinity of the site of the ancient 
 city, and is the life of the present community. Its water is perennial 
 and copious ; so that it not only furnishes supplies for the people and 
 cattle, but for irrigation also. It is cool, bracing and pleasant to the 
 taste. A small reservoir receives its flow, from which it is carried 
 off by several little channels, cut through a portion of the plain, for the 
 purpose of watering the gardens in the dry season. This is the spring, 
 which, in the time of Elisha, contained bitter water, and the men came 
 to him complaining of it ; when the prophet heard this, he had com- 
 passion on them, and healed the spring so that it was made sweet im- 
 mediately, and has continued so to the present. As to the fact of its 
 sweetness, I can candidly testify ; for while there I drank abundantly 
 of it, and found it not only sweet, but delicious. This seems to be the 
 candid conclusion of all who have drunk of it. Were it not for this 
 spring, the inhabitants would be compelled to travel to the Jordan, 
 which is at the nearest point about ten miles, for water. There are 
 seasons they cou d get it from the brook Cherith ; but the greater por- 
 tion of the year it is dry or so low water could not be gotten. There 
 is nothing to be seen at the site of ancient Jericho, to indicate its 
 passed history in any way, for it is " an heap," where not even its 
 ruins are visible. But it is the opinion of many, that if at this late 
 date, money enough could be appropriated to excavate some of the old 
 mounds, many valuable and interesting relics would be found. We 
 rode entirely around the site of the ancient walls, talking of Joshua and 
 thinking of the great victory he won, and of the triumphant shouts of 
 the multitudes, when they saw the massive walls falling level with the 
 ground, when the seventh round had been completed. But now all is 
 desolate and dead. On the high mound above the spring, a good view 
 can be had over the plain, and of the mountains of Moab from which 
 the children of Israel fondly gazed, upon the country they should soon 
 enter and enjoy. Just under our feet were the woeful remains of the 
 once popular and prosperous city to which Joshua sent men from 
 beyond Jordan to spy. Just behind us on the west, are the bold moun- 
 tains, to which the men fled to evade the wrath of their jDursuers. 
 
 The most conspicuous memorials of the ancient city, with its mighty 
 gates, ma.fsive walls, monumental towers and Edenic gardens, are a 
 few withering mounds, under which lie buried all the dusty remains of 
 
220 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 that great city. Lying, as it does, under these mounds, in a deep 
 depression nearly thirteen hundred feet below the level of the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea, and more than thirty-one hundred feet below Mt. Zion, 
 and being nearly closed in by high mountains, a temperature rises so 
 intensely hot, it would almost seem as if the fire of divine indignation 
 was still being poured upon it, that others may be aware of His wrath. 
 It may be that upon this very spot over which we rode, Joshua stood 
 forth in the presence of all Israel, and pointed his victorious hand to- 
 wards the masses of ruins that comprised the renowned city of Jericho, 
 which had fallen beneath the displeasure of the Almighty ; and in the 
 name of the God who made him conqueror, pronounced a curse upon 
 the man who should at any time thereafter attempt to rebuild it : 
 " Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this 
 city Jericho ; he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and 
 in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that notwithstanding this awful maledic- 
 tion, in about five hundred years after it was pronounced, a man came 
 forward to test its validity, or defy its authority, and made an effort to 
 rebuild the city upon which the wrath of God was still abiding. This 
 man was Hiel, the Bethelite ; he rebuilt the old sin-cursed city, but to 
 his bitter sorrow witnessed the literal fulfillment of the woe pronounced 
 by Joshua, upon the man who would dare to do it ; for his children suf- 
 fered the fate of his folly. The second Jericho, is that which existed in 
 the time of our Lord, and was located at the entrance of the hill country 
 of Judea ; it was known as the city of palm-trees, and was founded by 
 order of Herod the Great. 
 
 Several traces of old ruins are prominent, that indicate the existence 
 at some time of a flourishing and inviting city. But like the great 
 city Heleopolls, that has but a single shaft remaining, to tell the story 
 of its past existence, so at the second Jericho, a small tower about 
 thirty feet high, is the most conspicuous object of the remains of the 
 city of palm-trees. In connection with the tower are a few scattered 
 remnants of the old aqueduct, as we proceed towards Eriha, the present 
 Jericho. It is noteworthy that there is not a city to be found on the 
 plain. Our Lord visited Jericho and spent some time with Zaccheus 
 the publican, who was a tax-gatherer ; and somewhere in the region 
 over which travelers usually ride, may have been the spot along the 
 wayside, where poor blind Bartimeus, son of Timeus, sat asking alms, 
 because he was suffering from two serious afflictions, blindness and 
 poverty. The Saviour had mercy upon him and restored his sight. 
 The modern Jericho dates from the time of the Crusaders. Just out- 
 
FROM THE JORDAN TO JERICHO. 221 
 
 side of its low mud walls are the hotels, at which visitors put up, and 
 find them very comfortably arranged. The most of the houses com- 
 posing the village are composed of mud, but those who seem not to 
 care to live in them, have small black tents, which are not strong. The 
 most of them are worn with age and constant use. Joshua vi. 26 ; 1 
 Kings xvi. 24. 
 
 The last night I spent in Jericho, one of the most fearful land-storms 
 swept over the plain, I ever witnessed. It shook the hotel as if it were 
 but a reed, and almost persuaded me at first, it was built upon the sand ; 
 for it was shaking so alarmingly, it seemed as if down it must come ; 
 and great would have been " the fall of it." It was with difiiculty, the 
 guests could compose themselves ; not one of us retired until after mid- 
 night, fearing the building would be blown to the ground. How strik- 
 ingly clear the words of Jesus were comprehended, as to the difference 
 of the house founded upon the sand, from that one built upon a rock, in 
 the time of great storms ! If that hotel had been built upon a solid 
 rock foundation, it would not have been moved ; and although it was 
 not wholly on the sand, the soil is so very light, one would feel as if it 
 was. It did not fall, but we saw in the morning that it had sustained 
 considerable damage. Some, if not all, the little black tents in Eriha 
 were torn to shreds. It is a living truth, sandy foundations will not 
 stand heavy storms, neither spiritual nor physical. Luke xviii. 43 ; 
 xix. 1-10; Matt. xx. 29-34. 
 
 THE BROOK CHERITH. 
 
 The Brook Cherith, called by the natives Woody Kelt, though very 
 small and generally dry, during a part of the hot season, when the rain 
 is suspended, yet it is highly interesting because of the peculiar history 
 associated with it, in connection with the sojourn of Elijah there. The 
 event of chief interest, that seems to have caused more discussion than 
 anything else that occurred thex-e, is the supply of food Elijah, the 
 prophet, obtained from day to day for a year, while hiding from Ahab, 
 king of Israel. The ravine, through which the brook flows, crosses the 
 Jericho road about three miles north of Elisha's spring, near the en- 
 trance into the bloody pass. This ravine, especially that portion in the 
 region of the convent of Elijah, is one of the most sublime in Palestine. 
 It is from four to five hundred feet deep, and very narrow at the bottom, 
 only wide enough to permit the little stream to pass. The highway to 
 Jericho, passes for some distance along the border of the deepest southern 
 part, and from top to bottom, high sharp rocks line the gorge, so that it is 
 solemnly grand to look into. On the nothern bank is situated, in abso- 
 
222 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 lute seclusion, in this deep depression, tlie convent of Elijah, which is 
 under the management of the Greek church. It is supposed to be 
 located at or near the place, the prophet was hiding, during the exhaus- 
 tive search king Ahab instituted to apprehend him. The path leading 
 from Jericho to the convent, is very rugged and difficult in many places 
 to travel ; yet the monks who live there, seem to go over it without 
 fatigue ; but persons who are accustomed to good roads find it a most 
 tedious journey, even riding a horse. It will be remembered, here, we 
 are informed in the Holy Scriptures, that while Elijah was hiding by 
 the historic brook, the ravens furnished him bread and meat daily, and 
 the brook, until it became dry, furnished him with water. The food 
 which the man of God received has of late caused many lengthy and 
 profitable discussions. These arguments are not in opposition to the 
 fact that Elijah was fed by the ravens ; but who were these ravens, men 
 or birds? This has laid the foundation for discussion. Many are in- 
 clined to the opinion, that the ravens spoken of in the Bible in connec- 
 tion with the prophet Elijah, were men and not birds, as is held by 
 others. 1 Kings xviii. 3-7. 
 
 On this subject, much has been said, and many important facts have 
 been advanced. It has been strangely doubted that the Lord would 
 make choice of a bird so very unclean as the raven, to feed his servant, 
 especially in a country where so many clean birds exist. To the north of 
 the modern Jericho, three or four miles, is a high hill having a projecting 
 peak. The Arabs call it Osh-el-Ghoreb, or " The Raven's Nest." This hill 
 is in the locality of the brook Cherith, and not far from the traditional 
 site where Elijah hid. It is said the whole district around the hill 
 Oreb was inhabited then, as at present, by nomadic tribes, who are 
 supposed to be Orebim, or, according to the English, the Ravens, or 
 citizens of Arabah, the town, that rabbinical authority says, was near 
 Bethshan. Jerome, who spent his life in Palestine hunting up facts 
 for general information, and whose writings are regarded as authority, 
 says the inhabitants of this town furnished Elijah with food. This 
 statement, coming from the pious Jerome, as early as the fourth cen- 
 tury, who wrote his convictions after careful investigation of facts 
 had convinced him, must of necessity be entitled to our esteem. And 
 it is found that the Arabic version of the word Orebinj, in this pas- 
 sage, means people known by the name of Raven, either as a tribe or 
 a family name, or after the town in which they live, and not that of 
 birds. It is also worthy of remark, that the Jewish commentator, 
 Jarchi, who wrote with great care and caution, his convictions, inter- 
 prets the words in the same light, and adds his opinion, that " it was 
 
FROM THE JORDAN TO JERICHO. 223 
 
 impossible that tlie Lord's prophet should receive food from creatures 
 declared by the law unclean." 
 
 The arguments insisting that the ravens who fed Elijah morning 
 and evening for one year, were human agents, and not unclean birds 
 of prey, have grown in popular favor, and many are of the opinion 
 that the only likely interpretation of the passage is, that the Orebim 
 (Ravens), who brought food to Elijah, were a class of people so called 
 from the town in which they lived. Murray thinks this is a plain and 
 simple explanation, of a fact connected with Elijah's sojourn in the 
 neighborhood, of the people whom God impressed to care for his ser- 
 vant, " which, from want of knowledge of the locality and its surround- 
 ings " (Josh. XV. 6 ; xviii. 18.), has been misunderstood, and wrongly 
 interpreted by those who had ihe responsible and stujDendous task of 
 translating the Bible into English. Therefore, " they have perverted 
 this text into a miracu'ous and supernatural incident ; and that when- 
 ever an incident in the scriptural narrative can be explained in a plain 
 and straightforward manne, rit is a mistake to import any elements of 
 supernatural miracle into it ; consequently, it is a matter of satisfac- 
 tion that here we have an explanation so plain and rational, of what 
 hitherto proved a stumbling-block to not a few minds." There are 
 strange arguments produced by Dr. Paxton and others, favoring the 
 English translation; that is, Elijah was fed by that class of birds 
 known as ravens. But there seems to be more than a simple collec- 
 tion of ideas, in the arguments which favor human agency, in adminis- 
 tering daily food to God's servant, and whatever may have been the 
 characteristics ot the men known as ravens, God could have easily 
 caused them to take care of His prophet, as He did the widow of 
 Zarephath, or the Shunammite woman who provided for Elisha. And 
 may it not be possible after all, that Elijah received his daily food, 
 during the twelve months he was hiding from Ahab at the Brook 
 Cherith, from men living near-by ? I am frank to say this interpreta- 
 tion seems to have a shade of plausibility, that is worthy of toleration, 
 so that I find myself inclining to the opinion, those ravens may have 
 been men. 
 
 The Brook Cherith will be ever memorable to me. When I 
 returned from Jericho en route for Jerusalem, during my first visit to 
 Palestine, our party had a puzzling time in crossing it. The previous 
 night a heavy rain fell, (but not half so stormy as that of my last visit 
 there), which caused the water to run from the surrounding mountains 
 so rapidly, that by eight o'clock in the morning, the brook had swollen 
 so tremendously, it -was with much difficulty our horses crossed it. 
 
224 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 We Avere compelled to ford it, as there are very few bridges to be 
 found anywhere in Palestine. When my horse started over, I was so 
 anxious to cross that, in my random, I pulled him too far to the left ; 
 the guide said, had I gone three feet farther that way, we would have 
 gotten into a deep place over our heads, and that he feared to tell me 
 while crossing, lest he would have excited me. Now, strange as it may 
 seem, the last visit I made to the Jordan, we crossed the same brook 
 at the same place, and just a few days later in the same month, and it 
 was nearly dry. A short distance seemingly from Jericho, about three 
 miles, the quarantine or the noted Mount of Temptation, upon which 
 our Lord was led in the spirit to be tempted of the devil, can be 
 reached easily and seen plainly from any portion of the plain, east or 
 south. The side of the mount nearest to Jericho, has many hermitages 
 drilled in it. These were the habitations of hermits, who came there to 
 fast and pray, in imitation of the example of our Lord. Persons who 
 desire, are allowed to visit them ; but the fatigue of the trip would be 
 too great for a visit of such little value. 
 
PAET IX. 
 FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 
 
 Preparation for the Journey — The Customs and Situation of the People in the 
 Interior— Places of Interest on the Damascus Highway — Mount Scopus — 
 The Last Sight of the Holy City — Scenes along the Eoad — The Village 
 of Sha'fat — Ancient Nob, Its Memorable Eyents — Gibeah, the Birth-place 
 of Saul — Eizpah's Devotion — The Leyite and Benjamite — Ramah of Benja- 
 min — Situation of Beeroth— Ramah and Its Population — The Character of 
 the Mohammedans — Bethel and Its Condition — The Altar of Abraham and 
 Jacob — Bethel a Judicial Station — Jeroboam's Idolatrous Worship — Dan 
 and Bethel as Two Places for Worship — Reign of Josiah — The Reign of Ahab 
 — The Reign of Solomon — Rehoboam's Reign Oyer Israel — The Reign of 
 Pious Asa — Victory of the Cushite King — Number of Kings After Asa — 
 Bethel, the Home of the Prophet — Present Situation of Bethel — Ancient 
 Shiloh — History of Shiloh — Important Events at Shiloh — The Present Ap- 
 pearance of Shiloh — The Road From Shiloh to Labonah — Ancient Tombs — 
 The Plain of Mukhna — Mt. Hermon Seen From Mukhna — Well of 
 Jacob— History of the Samaritans — Conversation Between Our Saviour and 
 the Woman of Sychir — Temple on Mt. Gerizim— Jacob's Well and Its 
 Surroundings - The Tomb of Joseph — Shechem and Sychar — Moses' Relation 
 to Mt. Gerizim and Ebal — Historical A&sociation of Mt. Gerizim and Ebal — 
 View from Mt. Gerizim and Ebal— Backsheesh. 
 
 THERE are elaborate pre})arations made generally by those •who 
 have charge of persons intending to travel northward, especially 
 the exteuded tour to Damascus, which is the most tedious and dan- 
 gerous of all the itineraries throughout the country, and the most 
 dreaded of any I had taken during my tour of the world. It may be 
 of interest to mauy to read a brief sketch of my own experience prior 
 to leaving Jerusalem for the far north. Many discouragements had 
 been set before me by attempts being made to increase the price first 
 agreed upon for the tour; but when it was understood I intended to 
 withdraw from the parties with whom the arrangements were first 
 made, and go with one of the rival parties, they agreed to carry out the 
 stipulations that had been made. On the evening before the morning 
 we were to start, the dragoman who had me in charge, came to my 
 room, at the Grand Hotel, in Jerusalem, t ) inform me he was going to 
 15 225 
 
226 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 make the necessary preparations for our journey, and would like me 
 to be ready by nine o'clock in the morning. I told him I would be 
 ready at the time stated, but I was seized with a trembling at the 
 thought ; for I had been told so many discouraging things concerning 
 the roughness, distance, inconvenience, and danger of the route, my 
 courage was fast failing. It is not common for persons to undertake 
 the journey unless several are in a party. But there was no one of all 
 the travelers in Jerusalem at that time going north, but myself. I 
 began thinking of the loneliness of the tour, as no one would be with 
 me but my dragoman and muleteer. Having a knowledge of the hostile 
 Bedouins, who lurk in convenient places along the road for the sake of 
 plunder and murder, it became a task for me to gather myself together 
 enough to prepare for starting. Then the inopportune season was 
 embarrassing, it being just the time when heavy rains were usual in the 
 south, and deep snows in the north often rendered the roads im2:)assable. 
 All these obstacles greatly added to my discomfort and caused me to 
 feel as if I were undertaking a risk that no sane person would. The 
 guide who was apjoointed to go with me from Joppa up to Jerusalem, 
 fearing he would be sent through the interior, rfnd dreading the trip, 
 used his best endeavors to persuade me to abandon the journey, by 
 saying there were not suitable accommodations. I would be obliged 
 to sleep in native huts, which were very dirty, in connection v ith 
 several other inconveniences that were expressly disagreeable to me. 
 Well, I was almost persuaded to give up the idea, and partially con- 
 cluded I should not reach Nazareth, Tiberias and Damascus, nor any 
 of the historical places in the north. But after soberly reflecting over 
 the matter, I concluded to go even if I should be compelled to sleep in 
 open air. But I was assured by Mr. Clark, the chief tourist agent at 
 Jerusalem, there was no real inconvenience in my way, except the 
 weather might hinder me from getting through ; but all possible efforts 
 would be made to accommodate me 
 
 Another dragoman was chosen to go with me, who was very en- 
 couraging as to the comforts of the interior, saying " they would be as 
 good as any one could expect in a country like Palestine." This I 
 found to be true, for the beds, both in the convents and inns, were 
 just as comfortable as those in hotels of Jericho or Jerusalem. We 
 had all needed comforts except fire. There are no conveniences for 
 warming in the country ; the j^eople have neither fuel nor stoves, ex- 
 cept in some of the larger cities, such as Joppa, Jerusalem, and a few 
 of the cities in the North ; even in them there are poor fires. The 
 fuel mostly used in the interior is charcoal, which they burn in small 
 
FEOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 227 
 
 lieatei*s, such as plumbers use for heating their tools. These are the 
 ouly stoves used in the coldest weather, and the natives do what little 
 cooking they have by them It is hard for me to understand how the poor 
 manage to Hve without fire, or even other home comforts. Their dwell- 
 ings are miserable little huts, without bedding or furniture ; not even 
 a chair or stool is to be seen, and not enough clothing to comfortably 
 cover themselves. Many women and children have so hardened them- 
 selves to the cold weather that they go about barefooted in the snow, 
 just as happily as if it were warm. There are .thousands of old men 
 and women who have not had a shoe on in their lives, yet, with all 
 their poverty and ignorance, they seem to be as cheerful and happy as 
 those whose circumstances place them beyond the disadvantage of 
 poverty. I was up bright and early for the journey, for my ambition 
 to visit the towns and villages, made memorable by the presence and 
 labors of our Lord and His disciples, overruled my fears of the hard- 
 ships that were so appallingly described. I became anxious to start 
 without delay. The guide was not promptly on time, being an hour 
 and a half later than he proposed. 
 
 It is generally a scene of excitement when tourists start for the north 
 from Jerusalem. It is a lonely and perilous journe}', and if a person 
 should chance to start without being in company with other travelers 
 as I did, the excitement becomes more intense. Such was the scene on 
 the morning we bade adieu to Jerusalem. The American consul 
 attended to the getting of my passport, which must be issued by the 
 Turkish authorities, so as to permit one to pass through the country, 
 and secure protection in times of trouble. Everything being ready 
 necessary for the journey, a company of friends escorted me to my 
 horse, among whom were the hotel manager, the chief tourist agent, and 
 several others who wished me good luck and bade me a friendly good- 
 bye. We started up David Street, and passed out the Joppa gate, and 
 in a few moments were beyond the walls, leaving the Holy City, never 
 to enter within the sacred walls again. Having before me nineteen 
 days of rough travel, I thought at times it would dampen the pleasure 
 with, which my heart was filled at the starting ; this small obstacle was 
 soon banished by the anticipation of visiting some of the most important 
 places of which the Bible speaks. Passing along the Damascus road, 
 the tombs of the Judges are passed on the east ; this is the usual route 
 taken by those leaving Jerusalem for the north, and is regarded the 
 best way to go. Those starting from Jericho, who do not wish to return 
 to Jerusalem, may go direct to Bethel and on to Shechem ; but with the 
 exception of traveKng the old road that was used by Joshua and his 
 
228 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 army, there is but little of Bible interest to be seen until Bethel is 
 reached. Those who start northward from the Holy City have the advan- 
 tage of passing several important places before arriving at Bethel ; the 
 journey lies in the heart of the country in which many great events 
 occurred in ancient times, especially after leaving the tombs of the 
 Judges, the first three or four hours. 
 
 VIEW FROM MT. SCOPUS. 
 
 Several of these antique places are close to each other, so that not 
 long after one is passed, another is in sight. And soon JMount Scopus 
 is reached ; this is the famous peak from which Titus took his first view 
 of Jerusalem, and where he was joined by several other legions. It is 
 the unerring custom for all tourists going north to go to the top of 
 Mount Scopus to take a farewell view of the Holy City and its sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 It w^as from the summit of this memorable mount that my eyes be- 
 held the immortal city for the last time. The occasion is just as fresh 
 in my mind as if the day had just passed ; the impression was so pun- 
 gent we cannot forget it. I beheld the whole of the Holy City ; the 
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mosque of Omar, the Jews' Synagogue, 
 the Citadel of David, and several other buildings, could be distin- 
 guished. A little to the east, the Mount of Olives and its several 
 buildings were seemingly just a short distance from me; westward, 
 Mizpeh, the mountains of Judah, and other places having prominence 
 in history, were in full view ; then stretching my vision far eastward 
 and southward, the mountains of Gilead and Moab, the valley of the 
 Jordan and the wilderness of Judah were visible. As I looked, my 
 heart was filled with solemn emotions. Thinking my eyes were be- 
 holding Jerusalem for the last time, I found myself involuntarily say- 
 ing, " Farewell, Jerusalem ! farewell, Jerusalem!" At the same time 
 I could only by a strong effort restrain the tears from flowing copi- 
 ously. 
 
 Passing down the northern side of Mt. Scopus, the city was soon hid 
 from view, and we entered upon the most sterile and stony road I had 
 ever witnessed. In the winter months the road is much more encum- 
 bered and unjileasant to travel than at any other season ; it becomes inde- 
 scribably muddy, which, in connection with the large stones promiscu- 
 ously scattered along, greatly impede the travel, which is but slow at 
 best. Many camels and donkeys are met and passed, and the road 
 being very narrow at places, the travelers are compelled many times to 
 allow their horses to go at camel speed until a place can be reached in 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 229 
 
 the road wide enough to pass them. Sometimes long trains of them 
 are overtaken ladened with merchandise, and the vicious Arabs seem 
 unwilling to make room enough to permit a hoi'se to pass them. It is 
 not uncommon for the dragoman to hold contention with them before 
 they will give travelers the right of way by turning a little to one side. 
 In those parts of the road where it is sufficiently broad to allow others 
 to pass, the camels are generally in the middle, and often must be 
 driven to one side by the dragoman because of the indisposition of 
 their drivers to give place Like the streets in the cities, the roads are 
 too narrow to allow a vehicle to pass through them, except a very few ; 
 indeed, many of the highways are but little wider than a common 
 path, and the horses can scarcely go faster than a walk. There is a 
 good carriage road from Joppa to Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem to He- 
 bron, and one or two other short roads ; the rest are simply paths. There 
 is a railway in operation from Joppa to Jerusalem ; also one was being 
 laid between Beyrout and Damascus, and another from Haifa to Tibe- 
 rias. These roads will greatly help merchants and native travelers, 
 but it would be very unwise for tourists to travel in cars, as many 
 places of importance would be passed unnoticed, several of which are 
 distinguished in Sacred History. 
 
 The condition of most of the public roads greatly impedes travel ; 
 on this account many complaints are made against the Turkish gov- 
 ernment for criminally neglecting them ; but the unyielding Turks do 
 not pay any attention to these complaints, but just continue in any 
 way that suits them best. The horses do well to make an average of 
 four miles per hour, and that could not be done were it not that at 
 times a tolerably good portion of the road is reached, when the horses 
 can gallop for a mile or two. It often happens that the poor, heavy- 
 laden camel falls by the w^ay under his load, which causes the entire 
 caravan to stop for several hours, unless it is apparent the beast will 
 not recover ; in such cases the load is usually divided among some of 
 the stronger ones that have already been burdened with as much as they 
 should carry. Camels cannot travel over those rough roads at a faster 
 rate than two miles per hour, and many cannot do that. The northern 
 country, from Jerusalem to Damascus, by the way of Mount Hermon, 
 is very much broken up ; and at times the road leads through a deep 
 ravine caused by the water ; often heaps of stones are found in them, 
 yet they are much better to pass through than what is known as the 
 main highway. 
 
 The husbandmen till every conceivable spot of ground they can 
 find, and in many places plow the highway, so that it would be impos- 
 
230 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 sible for a stranger to find his way through some parts of the north, if 
 he had to depend upon the road as a safe guide. It is common to 
 ride through wheat and barley fields, those parts bordering on the 
 highway, especially if the road is very rough. The rough roads are 
 encountered soon after leaving Jerusalem if the traveler is going north 
 or northwest, and in some instances they continue so for miles. One 
 would be worn down with fatigue, were it not that so many places of 
 Bible mention are seen at short intervals, that completely absorb the 
 attention of those who are seeking a more definite knowledge of the 
 Bible-land. Soon after leaving Mt. Scopus, a small village is passed 
 called Sha'fat. It is situated in the midst of a cluster of Olive trees, 
 and old ruins of a church or tower, and a few cisterns supposed to be 
 of very ancient date. This little place is thought to be the ancient 
 Nob, to which David came, hungry and weary, in company with a 
 few friends, and ate the shew-bread. 
 
 ANCIENT NOB. 
 
 It has been discovered that Sha'fat is from the plural form of the 
 Arabic woi*d Sha'f, which means hill-top, this (it is said) exactly cor- 
 responds with the Hebrew word Nob. When David went to Nob and 
 ate the shew-bread, he was fleeing from the vengeance of King Saul, who 
 was anxiously seeking him. David obtained from the officiating priest, 
 Ahimelech, the consecrated bread and the sword of Goliath. The 
 priest did not know of the existing strife betAveen King Saul and David, 
 or he doubtless would not have consented, without remonstrating 
 against his conduct in taking the bread and sword, for he knew it was 
 putting his own life in danger, to allow such a privilege to one whom 
 the king regarded as his potent enemy. But notwithstanding the ignor- 
 ance of Ahimelech of the feud between the king and the young man 
 whom God had caused to be ordained to succeed him, Saul would 
 not excuse him, for his wrath was kindled, and some one must suifer 
 the penalty even if the offense was a small one. He, therefore, put the 
 work of destruction into the hands of his servant Doeg, the Edomite, 
 who put Ahimelech, and all the priests of Nob, to death ; about eighty- 
 five ; and his work of death-dealing did not subside until all the 
 inhabitants of the place were slain : men, women and children, none 
 escaped. There is but little of value to be seen at Nob, for the town 
 has long since fallen ; the only attraction to travelers is the ancient 
 history clustering there. A good view can be had of Mt. Zion and 
 some of its buildings ; this is the only portion of Jerusalem that can 
 be seen from that point. How pleasant it must have been for the priests. 
 
FEOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 231 
 
 who lived in this little village, to look upon the great Hill of Zion 
 while absent from Jerusalem in their quiet homes at Nob ! The Taber- 
 nacle and the Ark of the Covenant were located there in the time of 
 King Saul. After leaving this priestly town, going northward a short 
 distance, Gibeah, the birth-place of Saul, is reached. It is proper to 
 state, this site like many others is disputed, but it is settled upon by 
 the majority of those who have carefully investigated it, as the identi- 
 cal place where ancient Gibeah, the home of the first king of Israel, 
 was located, and was the headquarters of King Saul, the greater por- 
 tion of his reign, 
 
 RIZPAH'S DEVOTION. 
 
 It was at Gibeah the seven descendants of Saul were hung by the 
 Amorites; and here one of the most touching exhibitions of maternal 
 love, known in the world, was demonstrated. A loving mother had 
 two sons among those slain ; they were put to death in the first days of 
 the beginning of the barley harvest, and Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, 
 took sackcloth and spread it upon a rock from the beginning of har- 
 vest until water dropped upon them from the heavens, and would not 
 allow birds nor beasts to rest upon them by day or night. Here the 
 poor, distressed woman watched the remains of her dead sons for six 
 months during the hottest days of the year, with a devotion that none 
 but a fond mother can possess. It was at Gibeah, that the shocking 
 event occurred that revealed the woeful narrative concerning the 
 Levite's wife, who was brought to an untimely death by the outrageous 
 conduct of some of the townsmen. The Levite was on his way from 
 Bethlehem to Mt. Ephraim with his wife ; he came from Jebus (Jeru- 
 salem) late in the day, and his servant endeavored to urge him to 
 remain there for a night ; (1 Samuel xxi. 1-6 ; Neh. xi. 32 ; Isaiah x. 
 32) ; but he would not do so because they were strangers, both as indi- 
 viduals and racial connections ; therefore, fearing there might be some 
 unkind feeling against him, he preferred going over to Gibeah, and 
 tarrying with those who were "bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh," 
 feeling it Avould be pleasanter and more safe for him with a people of 
 his own kindred and tongue than with the children of Ham. And he 
 said unto his servant, " Come, let us draw near to one of these places 
 and lodge there all night in Gibeah or in Ramah." It was agreed to 
 remain in Gibeah, so they journeyed on, and before they had arrived 
 in the town, the sun had set behind the western sea. But it was a sad 
 night for him, for the conduct of some of the townsmen towards his 
 wife was so vicious and brutal it caused her death, and introduced a 
 conflict of a most bloody and disastrous character, so that the people 
 
232 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 suffered most bitterly for their crime, for they were slain without 
 mercy. Gibeah is now, like most places in Palestine that flourished 
 thousands of years ago. " It has fallen." There are a few small huts, 
 the abodes of the half-civilized Arabs, but the old town with its glory 
 is buried in the ages past, leaving nothing but desolation and dreary 
 solitude for those of to-day to behold. 
 
 RAMAH OF BENJAMIN. 
 
 The next place of interest along the old highway northward is Ra- 
 mah of Benjamin, which is only a few moments' ride from Nob. It is 
 not to be identified as the home of Elkannah, Hannah and Samuel ; 
 their home was another Ramah in Mt. Ephraim. But Ramah of Ben- 
 jamin is situated on a hill close to the old Damascus road about six 
 miles north of Jerusalem. It is a place sacredly memorable in Jewish 
 history, for it was the place where they assembled, after Nebuzaradan 
 had wrecked and destroyed Jerusalem, to bid adieu to each other and 
 their country, which was so dear to them, and go into captivity in a 
 strange land and become the subjects of a strange people. It must 
 have been a day of great lamentation, when the multitudes took the 
 parting hand, pressed the cheek with endearing friendship, then parted, 
 many of them to meet no more. 
 
 The feelings of the Jews caused by that great affliction cannot be 
 understood better by any people than those in America, who, in the 
 dark days of a terrible bondage, had to part from near and dear rela- 
 tives, having been sold to distant lands, one from the other, in strange 
 parts, and among strange people, to tyrant owners. 2 Sam. x. 26 ; 
 xiv. 2 ; xvi. 10 ; Judges xix. Those who left their loved ones with 
 bleeding hearts and dejected heads could tell what were the feelings 
 of the Jews when they bade farewell to each other at Ramah. It is 
 presumable, from the usual custom, that those who pass the old solitary 
 site, sadly remember the event and sustain emotions of sorrow. It was 
 at Ramah, that Rachel is represented by the prophet as being in great 
 sorrow and weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted. But 
 when the captives left this place, such must have been the wailing and 
 mourning that the hills and valleys around about echoed the sound 
 even to Bethel and amongst the hills of Ephraim. 
 
 The next town of any historical interest beyond Ramah is Beeroth, 
 situated on a high summit, so that persons approaching from the east 
 can see it several miles away. It is a large village having well-built 
 houses and many comforts not usual to villages in that part of the 
 country. There is an old church on the western border of the village 
 
FEOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 233 
 
 that is still in a good state of preservation ( Josli. xviii. 25 ; Jer. xi, 1 ; 
 xxxi. 16), although time has made a perceptible impression upon it. 
 This church was built in the twelfth century, and is one of the many 
 belonging to the Holy Sepulchre. There are about one thousand 
 people living in Beeroth, of whom a small number are orthodox Clu'is- 
 tians. In olden times it was one of the cities belonging to the Gibeon- 
 ites, but was allotted to Benjamin when the children of Israel took 
 possession of the land, and is said to be the birth-place of one of the 
 mighty men of King David, known as Xaharai, the Beerothite. Some 
 of the early inhabitants of the town were among those who returned 
 from the captivity with Ezra. 
 
 There is a tradition connected with this place from an early Chris- 
 tian period, stating it was at Beeroth that the parents of our Lord 
 missed Him on their return to Nazareth from Jerusalem, and returned 
 to seek Him, continuing their search until they reached the Holy City 
 and found Him in the Temple, discussing deep subjects with the most 
 talented men of that age, notwithstanding He was but twelve years 
 old. The village is near the border line of the tribe of Ephraim, and 
 but a short distance from Ramah, the home of Samuel, which is also 
 called Ramathaim, and some who have taken pains to investigate cer- 
 tain parts of the interior have located Arimath?ea here, the town in 
 which the disciple lived who obtained the body of Jesus and buried it. 
 There are two places to which claims are laid as the original Arima- 
 thsea, and it is highly improbable the matter will be settled as to the real 
 site, unless some undeniable evidence should be developed sufficiently 
 clear to settle the perplexed question for all time to come in favor of 
 one of the two places. 
 
 The other place, supposed to be Arimathsea, is west of Jerusalem, 
 just nine miles from Joppa. Beeroth occupies a commanding situa- 
 tion, and good views can be had down the mountains of Ephraim and 
 Benjamin, and as far west as the Mediterranean Sea. Ramah is a 
 large town, compared with others in Palestine, and its population ad- 
 here to the Latin and Greek Churches, except a small number who 
 are Protestants. It is noteworthy that the Christian people through- 
 out the land manifest a far more friendly spirit toward strangers than 
 the other natives, who are of the Moslem faith. (Josh. ix. 17 ; 2 Sam. 
 xxiii. 37 ; Ezra ii. 25 ; Luke ii. 44-45.) They have clean huts, al- 
 though humble, and are clean and tidy generally. Their attitude 
 towards foreigners is genteel, polite and friendly, while those belonging 
 to the Mohammedans are entirely the reverse. They have a look 
 expressive of ill-will ; sometimes this is emphasized in their conduct. 
 
234 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 It is a part of their religion to be unkind to tho&e who are not of their 
 faith, and on the least provocation to use the harshest means to punish 
 them. This is well known by their conduct toward the Christians in 
 Damascus and other parts of Palestine and Syria. These were people 
 who were to the manner born, and it may be inferred what would be 
 the treatment they would administer to those of foreign birth when an 
 opportunity wou'd permit them. This is one of the chief reasons 
 guards are stationed through the whole country, and were it not for 
 those officials, Christians would have a hard time to live anywhere in 
 Palestine. We just arrived in Beeroth in time to witness a very 
 strange sight, which so greatly attracted me I could not enjoy my meal, 
 or even pay proper attention to the wild-looking scenes about the hills 
 and mountains around the country. There was a large gathering of 
 young men and maidens on the hill, about two hundred yards away, 
 who seemed to be engaged in a strange exercise, such as I had not 
 seen in any part of the country. I asked my dragoman what it 
 meant, and was informed it was a marriage celebration ; and from what 
 could be seen of the performance from where we were, I concluded 
 they were having a big dance. But it was at length found to be a 
 solemn gathering, for it was a funeral. One of the young people of 
 the village had died, and the friends met at the grave to bewail the 
 loss of one of their companions. But one not acquainted with the 
 custom would not have the slightest idea the people had gathered to 
 pay a tribute of respect to the dead. They had formed a large circle 
 around the grave, with their hands joined, passing round with quick pace, 
 hallooing and j umping, very much like our young people in some of their 
 plays. Those who were not in the circle were busy in throwing old 
 tins, cans, or some old pieces of garments and other things, as high in 
 the air as they could throw them. Then they would break out anew 
 with wild shouts, and mournful lamentations, as touching and deafening 
 as it is possible to describe. It is a custom rarely witnessed in any 
 part of the country, and, when once seen, we do not think any one 
 would care to see the same kind of performance again. AVe are not 
 prepared to state how long the people kept up their doleful lamenta- 
 tions. Our sojourn there was an hour or more, and we found them 
 deeply engaged in the service W'hen we entered the village, and they 
 were just as active when we left as when we first heard them. It seems 
 that they offer prayers for the dead, and refer to him in song. The 
 pieces of clothing they throw up may be those that belonged to the 
 deceased friend. 
 
FKOM JERUSALEfil TO SHECHEM. 235 
 
 BETHEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 
 
 The next place of particular interest is Bethel, but a short distance 
 from Beeruth, on the. east. Any one passing the little uninviting town, 
 not knowing it to be the site of ancient Bethel, would not be likely to 
 see any attractions worthy of delay. The present village is situated on 
 a high hill, and is composed of huts which are by no means tidy. I am 
 sure persons of advanced civilization would much prefer taking a night's 
 lodging out of doors than in one of the native huts. 
 
 But Bethel is one of the most frequently visited places in Palestine, 
 especially by those going north, and but few places in the land have 
 more attractions. There is but little of the remains of the material, of 
 which the ancient city was composed, visible. Some of these are used in 
 the present buildings composing the village. There is also a remnant 
 of the walls of the church, supposed to be not older than the twelfth 
 century, and built during the time the crusaders had control of the 
 country. There is an old time-worn tower, which is supposed to have 
 belonged to a monastery that was converted into a fortress ; the ruins 
 occupy an area of about one hundred and sixty feet in length and one 
 hundred feet wide, with chambers along the walls. The old reservoir 
 indicates the importance of the ancient city, which in the days of its 
 greatest progress was the pride of Israel. This old lake received its 
 supply of water from two springs which are so close together that they 
 are known as the "double spring." It is estimated to be three hundred 
 and fourteen feet long and two hundred and seventeen feet wide. A 
 portion of the old walls that enclosed it are still standing, but are well 
 worn with age and exposure. Those who will take the trouble and 
 risk to ascend to the top of the old tower above mentioned, or what is 
 less trouble, and far better, one may go to the top of one of the highest 
 hills near by, and from a few of the highest houses, a view of the Mosque 
 of Omar at Jerusalem, twelve miles away, can be had, with good 
 field glasses. It is therefore evident that those living in Bethel in the 
 days of Jeroboam and his successors, could see the Temple of Solomon. 
 One soon becomes interested in the history, both antique and modern, 
 connected with the places around him. Bethel is one of the household 
 words of Palestine. Here Abraham pitched his tent to settle for a time 
 before he had a permanent habitation ; and it was between Bethel and 
 Ai he built an altar, and called on the name of the Lord, more than 
 nine hundred years before the national sanctuary that crowned Moriah 
 had the first foundation stone laid. When he returned from Egypt, 
 whither he had fled from the famine that oppressed the land, he was 
 
236 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 mindful of the place that had been consecrated to the Lord, and went 
 there to pay his devotion to the Great Being who had sustained him. 
 It was at Bethel that Jacob saw in his dream the ladder reaching from 
 heaven to earth, and the angels of God ascending and descending ; the 
 sight was so glorious that Jacob called it Bethel or " the house of God, 
 and the gate of heaven." 
 
 On his return to his native land from Haran, about twenty years 
 later, he came to Bethel and built an altar, and erected a memorial 
 stone because the Lord met him there and talked with him. It was 
 here that Abraham and Lot separated, and the Lord renewed his cove- 
 nant with the father of the faithful, which was first made known to him 
 in Shechem ; that the land wherein he was then sojourning should be 
 given him and his seed, for an everlasting habitation. While the Patri- 
 arch was standing on the mountain summit east of Bethel, he had a 
 commanding view of all the country round about ; and the Lord said 
 unto him, " Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou 
 art, northward, southward, eastward and westward, for all the land 
 which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." 
 
 And when the Israelites had established themselves in the land, 
 Bethel was allotted to Benjamin, and Ephraim joined him, for his bor- 
 der skirted the place where the altar had been built by Abraham. 
 When Bethel was taken by the tribe of Ephraira, the Benjamites seem to 
 have surrendered their claim to it, and it became a part of the territory 
 of the former. When Joshua was making his victorious expedition 
 through Canaan, he conquered the king of Bethel which was called 
 Lud, before the wonderful vision appeared to Jacob when he was flee- 
 ing from the hand of Esau. It seems remarkably strange that attempts 
 should be made to change the memorable name of this highly reveren- 
 tial place, but that each generation would sacredly cling to it, and re- 
 dedicate the spot made memorable by the vision of angels and the 
 presence of the Lord, remembering most fondly, that Abraham, whom 
 they so greatly admired, held the place in great reverence (Gen. xxvii. 
 11-19; XXXV. 14-15), and Jacob erected a pillar and anointed it with 
 oil, as a memorial for all generations, that they might regaid the place 
 as he did to be the house of God and the gate of heaven. But men 
 who have no respect for their fellow and but little for the Lord, will do 
 almost anything they feel disposed, especially if it will be offensive to 
 their neighbors. The enemies of the Hebrews, by whom they were 
 subdued, changed the names of the most important towns and cities, 
 Jerusalem itself not escaping. 
 
 But there are other things of great interest attaching to the 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHE:\I. 237 
 
 the history of Bethel that should be noticed here. It was a judical 
 town, where Samuel came at stated times to hear such cases that came 
 under his official notice as judge. It is noteworthy that Samuel was a 
 circuit judge; Gilgal, Mizpeh, and Bethel seemingly to have been the 
 chief stations of his court sessions. It seems his usual route was from 
 Mizpeh to Bethel, then down the rugged highway through which 
 Joshua and his army passed when he marched against Ai When the 
 revolt of the ten tribes took place, Bethel was in Ephraim's possession, 
 they being with those who rebelled, and was one of the greatest cities 
 belonging to the Kingdom of Israel. It appears that Benjamin was 
 dispossessed of this important city when the other tribes made war 
 against them, on account of the sad affair that occurred at Gibeah. 
 
 When Jereboam became king of the ten tribes, caused by the great 
 dissatisfaction with the conduct of Rehoboam, which had been kindling 
 from the time of King Solomon's installation, if not from David's time, 
 the religious reverence that had been given Bethel for many ages by the 
 pious fathers, because of the sei'vices conducted there by Abraham, 
 Jacob and others, is supposed to have been the cause that stimulated 
 this king of the rebel tribes, to choose it as one of the chief 
 seats of his idolatrous worship, as well as for the convenience of the 
 people who lived east of Samaria. This ambitious man, whom the 
 people had called to rule over them, was not interested in directing the 
 minds of the people to the worship of the God of their fathers ; but 
 having been reared amongst the Egyptians, he had greatly imbibed 
 their flickering religion, and was little more, in point of piety, than 
 one of the stubborn heathens who knew nothing of the wonderful 
 works of the God of heaven. Fearing the people of his kingdom 
 might be induced to follow the worship of their fathers as taught by 
 Moses, Samuel and others, he caused all the Levites to be expelled 
 from the various cities that had been allotted to them, and in their 
 stead he established a priesthood founded upon his own selfish con- 
 trivance, and appointed such men as priests whose means allowed them 
 to make liberal contributions to his stores, that the people might not 
 indulge an anxious desire for the services of the Temple at Jerusalem, 
 and finally return there on the great feast days, and seeing such a 
 practice would soon bring his idolatrous religion to naught, he abol- 
 ished all the established festival days, except the Feast of Tabernacles, 
 which continued regularly on the same day. Jeroboam was not moved 
 by a truly religious motive, to allow the feast to be observed on the usual 
 day, but he wished the people to gather on that memorable day and pay 
 homage to him and renew their faith in him. It is noteworthy that 
 
238 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the celebration of the feast only, was continued (1 Samuel vii. 16 ; Gen. 
 xiii. 14-15; Josh, xviii. 13-22 ; xxviii. 16-22), but the regular day 
 for holding this anniversary was changed to another, chosen by the 
 king himself. It is plainly seen from the general conduct of Jero- 
 boam, that he utterly disregarded the true worship, or any other, only 
 so far as it served to extol himself and keep the people, whose mode of 
 public service was not such as met his idea, in accomplishing his 
 design. In order to succeed he knew the people of his kingdom must 
 be kept within its borders in celebrating various festivals commonly 
 conducted every year ; and those customary feasts, if continued, would 
 naturally draw the minds of the people from him to the regular place 
 for holding them. This he could see from the tendency of some of 
 the more enthusiastic ; who, rather than abandon the privilege of the 
 various religious entertainments, willingly left the northern kingdom, 
 although they were in great sympathy with it and were members of the 
 same tribes composing it. Therefore Jeroboam, seeing what he regarded 
 to be detrimental to him and a signal failure of his government, on 
 account of those people's fondness for the worship of the Temple, 
 ■which would naturally win the people to it, unless something could be 
 substituted in the northern kingdom to entertain the people, cunningly 
 devised a plan which fully accomplished the end in view. 
 
 It may be stated that the people belonging to the kingdom of Judah 
 were not sacredly devout in their religious celebrations ; for they had 
 wandered from God little by little, by partaking of the worship of the 
 idolatrous nations round about, so that their devotion had largelj'' 
 become shadowy, and anything in imitation of them would have its 
 weight with his people. So he appointed two places as religious head- 
 quarters ; one was Bethel, a place held in great esteem by the people 
 of both kingdoms ; the other was Dan, on the extreme north, for the 
 special convenience of the people living remote from the former. At 
 each of these places the king set up a molten calf, and introduced a 
 worship to supersede the original one held at Jerusalem, and exhorted 
 the people to embrace it, telling them it was too far to have them go 
 up to Jerusalem, as had been the custom previously. It was not a hard 
 thing to persuade the people to follow his scheme, and thus they were 
 pemanently drawn from the Temple, which was twelve miles west of 
 Bethel. The prompting idea of the calf-worship may have been from 
 a traditional account he had of the method Aaron took to quiet the 
 people at the foot of Sinai, when Moses went up to commune with 
 God, and receive the law for their government. Or, what seems more 
 probable he desired to introduce this service, because he knew how 
 
FKOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 239 
 
 fondly the people of Egypt were drawn to it. Bethel, that had been 
 a sacredly adored place by many of the pious Hebrews, suddenly 
 became a scene of wild confusion ; and the people, whose ancestors 
 built an altar and bowed before the living God, were seen developing 
 into gross idolatry, within a few hours' walk from the Holy Hill, 
 Moriah, on which stood the most glorious monument of Divine honor 
 in the world. This very city, that had been made so memorable by 
 the altar of Abraham and Jacob, had been turned into heathen wor- 
 shipers' headquarters. It is supposed by many, that Jeroboam was sin- 
 cere in his religious views, and that they had been cultivated while in 
 Egypt, because of his long associations with the people of that country, 
 who were wholly idolatrous. Having become enamored with it 
 affectionately, his faith was weaned from the worship of his fathers. 
 His marriage to an Egyptian princess greatly influenced him to adopt 
 the false worship. If these opinions are well founded, it may be 
 inferred, that notwithstanding the people were not in the least disposed 
 to accept the teachings of the nation under whom their forefathers so 
 greatly suifered, especially that pertaining to their religion ; yet, 
 because of their inclination to adopt the popular heathen worship, they 
 followed the very teachings they had been so many times admonished 
 to carefully avoid. It is well known the calf and other animals were 
 worshiped by the Egyptians, as fondly as the most devout of Israel 
 served the living God. This worship was not confined to Egypt, for it 
 had been adopted by all the tribes and nations of the eastern world, 
 and was prominent among the various tribes when Israel entered the 
 promised land. But it seems Jeroboam's chief interest in the introduc- 
 tion of this worship was especially to aggrandize himself; he did not 
 make it obligatory upon all his subjects when it was first established ; 
 he allowed the people to accept it of their own choice (1 Kings xi. 
 14-39; xii. 26-33), without a code of laws exacting their faithful 
 adherence to the new religion ; but while this was true, he clustered it 
 with so many allurements that were winning, he felt confident results 
 would follow, that would steal the affections of the people to the extent 
 they would confidently and firmly embrace the new national religion 
 lie had so cunningly planned It is not to be wondered that a people 
 would so readily change their idea, when we remember the eagerness 
 they had manifested for a long time to have full liberty to worship 
 other gods. 
 
 The fact should be remembered, that notwithstanding Jeroboam 
 and the great majority of his subjects had adopted a false worship, 
 which they conducted so exultingly at Bethel, just within sight of the 
 
240 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 pinnacle of the Sacred Temple, they entertained a fondness for the 
 worship of their fathers, and attempted to hold on to the weak cords 
 of the faith they had been admonished to observe. That this is true, 
 none will dare doubt, if they consider the address of Elijah to them, 
 when, in connection with other things, he asked how long they would 
 " halt between two opinions." This scene occurred many years after the 
 time of Jeroboam, which is an evidence that the primitive teachings 
 never left them. It is also known that Jeroboam himself had abiding 
 confidence in the God of his fathers ; and when the time of trouble 
 came, he did not do as the false prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, but 
 fell back on the religion of his early instruction. He built an altar to 
 his idol gods, and a prophet was sent to cry against it, and God con- 
 firmed the mission of His servant by a most striking incident. The altar 
 was rent in pieces by unseen hands and its ashes were poured out. The 
 king, in his insane madness, stretched out his rebellious arm against 
 the prophet, and it became withered that instant, and continued so 
 until the compassionate prophet appealed to the Lord to restore it. 
 
 This miraculous rebuke which Jeroboam received, for his rude con- 
 duct toward the messenger God had sent to him to condemn his altar 
 and false worship, caused him to boldly acknowledge that the Lord of 
 heaven is the only true God. It is noteworthy, also, that when the 
 child of this sinful and idolatrous king was stricken with sickness, he 
 did not send for one of the false prophets that could have been so easily 
 gotten, for he had no confidence in them, nor in the images he set up 
 in the days of his pride, but he sought comfort from Gad, whose wor- 
 ship he had so wickedly ignored. He sent his wife in disguised dress to 
 seek consolation from a true prophet. This act of Jeroboam is a 
 strong evidence of the faith he had in his idol gods and false prophets. 
 This is one of the many cases shown that men of high standing and 
 empty pride, who have dared to insult the Lord of Hosts, and even 
 rule Him out of their consciences while basking in the pleasures of sin, 
 have been compelled to return to the Lord in the time of deep afflic- 
 tion and humiliation and seek His protection. No people have in- 
 dulged the habit more than the kings of Israel and Judah and the 
 people under them. But the house of Jeroboam was doomed, the 
 malediction pronounced, and it was sure and inevitable. The sins of 
 the father were embraced by his children, therefore, the chastisement 
 of the Lord visited them, and the prediction of the prophet was sig- 
 nally fulfilled upon the whole house of the first king of the northern 
 kingdom, for his family perished. His son, who succeeded him to the 
 throne, had anything but an honorable reign. Josiah, King of Judah, 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 241 
 
 utterly destroyed every memorial of the idolatrous worship the un- 
 worthy Jeroboam had established, and spared nothing in the city except 
 the sepulchre of the man of God from Judah, who was divinely com- 
 missioned to " cry against the altar," because Bethel was made the 
 chief headquarters of false worship. Its name was changed to Beth- 
 a'ven, the house of idols. 
 
 What a wonderful change ! Jacob said it was none other than " the 
 house of God and the gate of heaven," but in after years "bone of his 
 bone and flesh of his flesh," said, it shall not be the house of God, but 
 that of idols. How differently did the Lord deal with the kings of 
 Judah, for, although they many times turned from the Lord, yet the 
 worship at the Temple, the place where His honor dwelt, was generally 
 respected. So, instead of changing the dynasties as did Israel, there 
 was a continuous succession of the royal line of David without any 
 interruption. But the kingdom of Israel was begun in a tumult and 
 continued so until it was finished. But there were ambitious persons 
 in both kingdoms, always eagerly seeking the sceptre. This disposi- 
 tion is so manifest in men, we should entertain no surprise that it pre- 
 vailed among the Israelites. (1 Kings xiii. 1-2 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 15-20.) 
 Jeroboam had reigned twenty-two years, when death summoned him 
 to lay down his sceptre. It may be said his whole term of office was 
 strangely eventful. He was succeeded by his son, Nadab, who only 
 ruled the kingdom two years ; then the sceptre departed from the 
 house of Jeroboam forever. Xadab was succeeded by Baasha, his 
 captain, who was a man full of courage and very prominent as a 
 warrior. He was succeeded by his son, Elah, who was not in much 
 esteem among his people and had a short reign of two years, when 
 General Zimre, of the staflT of Elah, supplanted him. Just as he had 
 gathered the reins of government firmly in his hand, he was assassi- 
 nated, while indulging in a drunken spree, and was succeeded by Omri, 
 who was chosen by the army. He ruled the kingdom of Israel twelve 
 years, and was succeeded by Ahab, who was one of the most notorious 
 idolatrous kings that had occupied the throne. It was during his term 
 Elijah, the prophet, was sent to the palace to declare the pending 
 famine. This wicked man was in power twenty-two years, and his 
 work of evil would fill several large volumes ; but death ended his 
 shameful career, and the sceptre was put in the hand of Ahaziah, who, 
 after two years' reign, was compelled to surrender. After him, eleven 
 others are named down to the time of the captivity. The last one was 
 Hosea. The nineteen kings mentioned were of no particular family, 
 that is, of any special line, but belonged to several districts ; therefore, 
 16 
 
242 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 they were known as dynasties. The most of these men ascended to 
 power through stratagem and much bloodshed. There was a diflerent 
 state of things in the kingdom of Judah after the death of King Said. 
 David, who succeeded him, was exalted to the throne by divine ap- 
 pointment, and held the sceptre for forty years amid very serious 
 changes and conflicts. He was succeeded by his son, Solomon, who 
 had a peaceful reign the first few years, during which he displayed 
 wonderful wisdom and shrewdness, so that all he attempted to do for 
 the welfare of the kingdom prospered. But pride and self-iudu'gence 
 so greatly controlled him, that, in the very time of life his piety and 
 wisdom should have been most prominent, he became as weak as a 
 little child, having, it seems, no gontrol of himself whatever. Although 
 he was permitted to reign forty years, he did not grace his position in 
 the latter years of his administration. He was succeeded by Eeho- 
 boam, his son by Naamah, who was an Ammonitess woman. He was 
 a man of more years than either of his predecessors when he was in- 
 stalled king, and should have been competent, both because of his age 
 and experience, to have shunned the calamity which nearly destroyed 
 his kingdom. His unwise policy gave great dissatisfaction to the peo- 
 ple generally, and ten of the tribes left him. He was full of self-will 
 and would not be guided by the counsel of the old men who knew 
 what was best to produce harmony in the kingdom, but went directly 
 opposite to the wise and safe instructions given him. He reigned at 
 Jerusalem seventeen years, during the whole of which his people were 
 involved in bloody strife. Rehoboam ruled the people but one year 
 before the rebellion, after which his kingdom was known as Judah, 
 and that established by the ten tribes, with Jeroboam its acknowledged 
 king, was called Israel. Rehoboam was succeeded by his son, Abijah, 
 who soon obtained great fame as a man of war, but gained very little 
 distinction as a wise and judicious ruler, having occupied the throne 
 but three years, and seemed not to profit by the evil example of his 
 father, but followed his unwise teaching. 
 
 Asa, the son of Abijah, was the next king. He was a very shrewd 
 man and gave strong evidences of piety from the beginning of his 
 reign, being devoted to the true worship, and restored it wherever he 
 found it had been supplanted by idolatry, and expelled those whose 
 superstitions had made them slaves to false gods, and cleansed Jeru- 
 salem from every vestige of idol worship. Such was his firm purpose 
 to restore the true worship throughout his kingdom, he took the posi- 
 tion of queen from his own mother, because she caused an idol to be 
 built to Ashtaroth, which was one of the prominent idolsof the Phoeni- 
 
FKOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 243 
 
 cians. He reigned forty-one years, with a degree of commendable 
 prosperity. In the eleventh year of his reign, he won a great victory 
 over the Cushite king, who came out against him with a vast army. 
 His heart was strengthened and encouraged by the Lord, who guarded 
 him and gave him success because he followed His counsel. Yet it is 
 strange that this man, who, under the direction of the Lord, seems to 
 have known nothing but success, was found yielding to human frailties 
 in his latter years, and thereby was not free from reproach. It is stated 
 that when Baasha, king of Israel, opposed the work of reform Asa was 
 conducting under divine direction, he sought not aid from heaven to 
 assist him in the great work, but went over to Syria for help, which was 
 a great mistake, and one with which the Lord was not pleased. But 
 the kingdom of Judah had not been presided over by a more prosper- 
 ous king since the revolt, than he. And the people enjoyed a state of 
 happiness such as they had not enjoyed for a long time. So it may be 
 said of Asa, taking all his surroundings into consideration, he was of 
 great service to the people, and left the kingdom in a state of piety 
 that it had not known for many years. There are seventeen other 
 kings mentioned after Asa, some of whom were weak and idolatrous, 
 so that there was no real prosperity for any considerable period for the 
 kingdom of Judah (2 Chron. xvi. 12; 1 Kings xxii. 43; 2 Chron. 
 XX. 32). The w'hole number of kings of the southern kingdom accord- 
 ing to the chronological account, from Saul down to the captivity, were 
 twenty-three. Bethel fell again to the Benjamites for a short while, 
 but it never rose to its former importance after the return of the people 
 from bondage. It was strongly fortified in the time of the JMaccabees. 
 
 BETHEL, THE HOME OF PROPHETS. 
 
 After Ahab ascended the throne of Isreal the worship of Baal 
 became so general, that the calf-worship established by Jeroboam at 
 Bethel went down, and Bethel became the home of the sons of the 
 prophets, and the sturdy form of Elijah was no doubt seen among them 
 several times. It is certain he was there, in company with Elisha, just 
 before he was translated. This old, familiar city, in which so many 
 amazing events occurred, suddenly dropped from the record of the 
 Scriptures, and is not brought into prominence again except by early 
 writers. Bethel was captured by Vespasian whilst on his way to Jeru- 
 salem. At that time it was maintaining some of its former prestige ; 
 but it was fast ebbing, so that in the fourth century its glory had finally 
 departed, and it had become very weak and unimportant. But during 
 the Crusade rule in Palestine, Bethel is said to have revived a little. 
 
244 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 It is visited in these times simply on account of the ancient history for 
 which it is celebrated, as there is nothing to be seen but desolation and 
 ruin. The prediction concerning Bethel has been strictly fulfilled, for 
 it has come to naught. 
 
 Those visiting this ancient site purely for historical purposes can 
 have some very profitable observations, which will be of lasting benefit 
 to them. If travelers will take pains to ascend the high hill, and look 
 southward from its summit, they will have an extensive view of the 
 country round about for many miles. It may be readily understood 
 why Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom rather than those pastures in 
 the neighborhood of Bethel ; for the country environing the latter is 
 one of the most stony of all the pastures in Palestine. For this reason 
 the dissatisfaction took place between the herdsmen of Abraham and 
 Lot ; as the flocks of each were large, and the pastures not being 
 sufficiently extensive for both sets of cattle, it would naturally cause 
 the men to endeavor to get the best places, even if a little advantage 
 had to be taken to do so ; hence the ill feelings. It is plain to be seen 
 (Ezra ii. 28 ; Neh. xi. 31), that Abraham was a lover of peace and 
 would rather be imposed upon than to do his fellow an injustice. He 
 being the oldest naturally had the right to choose another place for his 
 cattle when it became necessary for them to separate ; but lest Lot 
 should feel his uncle had taken advantage of him, the senior patriarch 
 gave the junior the right of choice. Lot looked toward the southeast 
 and saw the plain in the Jordan valley, that it was every way adapted 
 for the use of his flocks, and aflTorded abundant pasture for all his 
 possessions ; that several towns and cities flourished in that region 
 where he could find ready sale for his cattle, and that no other part of 
 the country, as far as he could see, was so inviting ; therefore, he parted 
 with his uncle and went toward Sodom. But Abraham contented 
 himself with the pasture land about Bethel, until he fixed his mind 
 on the land near Hebron, known as the plain of Mamre, where he was 
 found when the Lord made known to him the early fate of the Avhole 
 country whither Lot had settled. It would be worthy of the time, and 
 fatigue necessary to the trip, to make a short visit to the Rock Rim- 
 mon, which can be reached in a short time from Bethel, — down a steep 
 hill. This rock was where the six hundred Benjamites hid themselves 
 when fleeing from the vengeance of the other tribes, who were in hot 
 pursuit after them. 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 245 
 
 JIFNA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 The next point from Bethel is Jifna ; there is no special history 
 attaching to the town, except, Titus camped there Avith his army when 
 on his way to take Jerusalem. It is usual for those going north to 
 remain here all night, as good accommodations can be obtained at the 
 Latin convent, or at the house of a Syrian lady, who is a school-teacher 
 and missionary. The most fatiguing road I experienced in any por- 
 tion of the world, was when we were making our way from Jifna to 
 the main road to Shiloh and Shechem. Were it not for the sake of 
 getting a good place to lodge for the night, it would be far better not 
 to go over there. 
 
 The road or narrow gorge leads up a high mountain, through a 
 continuous bed of solid rock, very crooked and cragged ; sometimes 
 the turns are so very narrow the horse can scarcely get through ; and 
 there are other places that seem to be impossible for the poor beast to 
 pass through safely, but they are trained to the work, and, if they are 
 allowed to take their time, they never fail to reach the summit safely. 
 The journey up this rugged, steep mountain gorge is about two or two 
 and a half miles, and requires about two and a half hours to ascend to 
 the top. It is advised that horses be rode up, as it is better for both, 
 the man and his animal. But to me it looked cruel to attempt to ride, 
 and I am sure an officer in a country in which a law exists against 
 cruelty to animals, would indict the first person he saw riding up such 
 a terrible road on the back of a horse. I attempted to get off the one I 
 rode, but the guide advised me not to do so. But I am confident it would 
 not have been more fatiguing to have walked, for I was so completely 
 unnerved when the summit was reached, I could have pleasantly rested 
 the remainder of the day, but there was no time for halting until we 
 arrived at Shiloh, for we were compelled to go as far as Shechem that 
 day, and to do so an early start was necessary. The landscape from 
 the summit is very cheering after traveling up such a terrible road ; 
 and the indications of an improved condition of the soil, and evidences 
 of more cultivation are seen as far as the mountains of Galilee. Fig, 
 orange and olive orchards, proved beyond doubt we had entered a fer- 
 tile and more thrifty district. But very soon another dreary waste 
 •was entered. As the hill is descended a deep, narrow gorge, caused by 
 a winter torrent, is passed through. It has been deepened by the flow 
 of water descending from the mountains during the heavy rains, and 
 at times the travel is almost, if not entirely, cut off, for it swells from 
 five to thirteen feet. We passed a very lonely and wild glen, called 
 
246 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 by tlie natives Wady-el-Hararayeh, or "the robbers' valley." Progress 
 through it is made necessarily slow on account of the great rocks 
 that are so thickly scattered in every part of it. It is a place for rob- 
 bers who lay in wait for any one from whom they ai'e likely to gain 
 spoils. Natives and strangers dread them alike. Xear the northern 
 end several caves are pointed out in which robbers usually hide. I rode 
 up to them and viewed them. It would be useless to attempt to escape 
 should they pursue one, especially a sti-anger, for the horses can- 
 not walk through safely unless they go very slow, almost at a rate of 
 about two miles per hour, and the robbers walking could make much 
 faster speed than a horse. I could see no way of escape in case they 
 should come to attack us. So I had arranged to surrender if the crisis 
 came. It would have been the only safe way out of the difficulty, for 
 I was informed it would be certain death to attempt a combat with 
 them. The valley is something over a mile long. Near its northern 
 end is a fine fountain, called " the robbers' fountain," and a few steps 
 to the north of it are the caves in which these fiends have their hidings. 
 Soon as the valley is passed the country begins to assume a more cheer- 
 ful aspect, and the whole region round about presents a beautiful 
 appearance, and the traveler passes from a rocky, sterile wilderness 
 into a cultivated and fruitful tract of country, which changes the dull, 
 solitary monotony he had been depressed with for a few hours. 
 
 ANCIENT SHILOH. 
 
 In order to make a visit to ancient Shiloh it is necessary to leave 
 the main road and travel to the northeast a mile or two. The pass is 
 very narrow, and leads through a very deep valley, then up a high hill 
 and through cultivated fields. The site of the old historic town is about 
 half way between Bethel and Shechem. There are no visible attrac- 
 tions at Shiloh ; nearly every portion of the laud of this once busy and 
 sacred place is under cultivation, except the rocky summit on which 
 it is supposed the Sacred Tabernacle stood. When the Israelites re- 
 moved it from Gilgal, with its precious furniture, they set it up at 
 Shiloh, where it remained three hundred years. The exact spot on 
 which the holy tent stood is thought to be on the circular hill, at the 
 northern terminus of the small plain, over which a number of ruins are 
 scattered from one end to the other. Behind it is a very deep valley ; 
 the descent into it is very abrupt and above the ruins is a terrace with 
 rocky sides, and other terraces below it. The whole length is five 
 hundred and twelve feet, by twenty-seven feet wide ; upon this terrace 
 it is supposed the ancient Tabernacle rested. Shiloh is chiefly noted 
 
FEOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 247 
 
 for its connection with the sanctuary. But there are other important 
 events connected with it which are of vital interest to the world The 
 remaining tribes who had not gone to possess the portion assigned 
 them, met at Shiloh and arranged their meeting tent, after which they, 
 at the solicitation of Joshua, dispersed to take charge of their allot- 
 ments. It must have been a pathetic scene, when they fondly embraced 
 each other, then separated, many of them n»ver to meet again. At 
 Shiloh the tribes annually assembled to celebrate the great feast, and 
 renew their friendship. On these occasions, the village maidens, living 
 nearby, would want to enliven the festival by interspersing the various 
 amusements with dancing. The vineyards were just a short distance 
 from the main road, in which the Benjamites hid themselves at one 
 time when they came up to the feast, and came out suddenly from their 
 hidings, when the daughters of Shiloh were going up to the dance ; and 
 each man took one for a wife, and fled to their district. While Samuel 
 was yet an infant he was brought to Shiloh by his mother and dedi- 
 cated to the Lord ; and there he had his vision. It was at Shiloh, Eli 
 died when in very advanced age ; and although it is not known to 
 any one, yet it is the general opinion, the old sire was buried in one of 
 the many rock-hewn tombs around the mountain slope. It is a blessed 
 thing his resting-place has not been identified, or the relic-seekers would 
 have taken every particle of rock composing it, and many of them 
 would have reverenced the stony fragments as they do their Lord. It 
 is really astonishing how adoringly men appreciate a small stone or 
 stick coming from one of the sacred places in Palestine. The Prophet 
 Abijah also lived in Shiloh, to whom came the wife of Jeroboam to seek 
 consolation as to the future of her child who was ill. When the ark 
 of God was captured by the Philistines it did not only cause the death 
 of Eli, but of Shiloh also, for her glory departed. It is not definitely 
 known when the Tabernacle was removed from Shiloh. But it is 
 understood, the people who joyfully went over to Shiloh to the annual 
 celebration, lost their ambition for visiting there after the Ark of God 
 had been taken ; and it may be presumed with some assurance, that 
 very early after the death of Eli, the Tabernacle was transferred 
 (Hos. V. 8 ; Judges xx. 45-47 ; xxi. 19 ; Josh, xviii , xxii. ; 1 Sam. iii, 
 18-21 ; iv. 12-18 ; 1 Kings xiv. 2-16) ; for Shiloh seems to have 
 gone into a state of almost profound silence. It is also noteworthy 
 that while Samuel himself was busy in his official ofiice, oflfering sacri- 
 fices upon many altars on the high places throughout his circuit, he 
 did not officiate at the altar at which he was solemnly dedicated to 
 God. Very soon after Saul of Benjamin was installed king of Israel, 
 
248 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 the Tabernacle is known to have been in Nob ; this is the cause of such 
 a collection of priests there, for at this place the most of their official 
 labors were performed. The situation of Shiloh was most graphically 
 detailed by the elders, who advised the small number of Benjamites, 
 who survived the war, that nearly exterminated the entire tribe, which 
 was precipitated u^Don them by the Gibeonites, because they had broken 
 the covenant made between the latter and Joshua, to go up to Shiloh 
 and take to themselves wives ; and although it was only ten or twelve 
 miles away, they deemed it advisable to minutely describe the locality, 
 that there might not be any mistake, and thereby prevent themselves 
 from taking wives from any other town or village in the neighborhood, 
 or any other part of the country except Shiloh. They said to each 
 other, " Behold there is a feast of the Lord fi-om year to year in 
 Shiloh, w^hich is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the high- 
 way that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of 
 licbonah." 
 
 The directions given here are so distinctly clear the Benjamites 
 could not mistake their way. The destruction of Shiloh was made 
 known to the prophets, who lifted up their voices and proclaimed the 
 calamity that should lay the glory of that festive city in the dust. 
 When the prophet Jeremiah solemnly warned Jerusalem, he referred 
 to Shiloh. " But go ye now into my place, which was in Shiloh, where 
 I set my name at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of 
 my people, Israel." Those interested in the fate of Shiloh are recom- 
 mended to carefully read the seventy-eighth Psalm, and see what was 
 the character of the wickedness indulged in by the people, that pro- 
 voked the Lord to anger with them and their high places and caused 
 His indignation to frown upon them It seems plainly evident that 
 God forsook the Tabernacle services at Shiloh, because the people who 
 pretended to celebrate His praise had virtually turned from the God 
 of their fathers, and substituted the image-worship with enthusiastic 
 devotion. It seems the tribe of Ephraim, above all others, would have 
 unyieldingly clung to the Tabernacle and its services. As they 
 were its close guards while coming from Egypt to Canaan, for they 
 had their position nearest it, it seems this alone would have so won 
 their love and veneration for the precious sanctuary that nothing upon 
 the earth could have broken it, and that they would have been eager 
 to defend its sanctity, when it Avas set up at Shiloh, as their fathers 
 were, who guarded it through the dreary wilderness so many long and 
 weary years. But we find Ephraim had no stability nor any pious 
 attainments worthy of the blessings that distinguished them from the 
 
FKOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 249 
 
 other tribes. It is not unlikely that, while under the influence of 
 pride and selfishness, Ephraira many times boasted of being distinct 
 from their brethren, because they came down through an unbroken line, 
 from Joseph, the ruler of Egypt, as did the nation in the time of our 
 Lord (Josh, xviii. 1 ; xix. 51; 1 Sam. i. 2, 3, 4; xxi. ; xxii ; Judges 
 xxi. 15), of being the children of Abraham, which filled them so full 
 of vainglory and foolish conceit, they thought themselves better than 
 any other men, humanly speaking. The Lord would not suffer the 
 meeting-tent to remain at Shiloh, but caused it to be moved entirely 
 from their borders. It is written, " The Lord refused the Tabernacle 
 of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, but the tribe of Judah, 
 the mount of Zion, which He loved." 
 
 It is certainly a great treat for any one who is in search of more 
 light on the history of Shiloh, especially its general situation, to take 
 time enough to visit it, notwithstanding the road leading to it is by no 
 means inviting. My guide did not care to go over there with me, 
 because it was two or three miles out of our way ; but I insisted he should 
 go, and it was to me a great satisfaction. The scenery round about the 
 place deeply interested me first of all, for I had not conceived the 
 least idea of its situation. It is next to an impossibility to do so ; . 
 though we may read of a place until we get its history so definitely as 
 to repeat it verbatim, and then minutely consider its locality and situ- 
 ation, as well as any one can without seeing the place, we will find on 
 approaching that our conceptions were far from being correct as to its 
 general situation. I found this to be my case everywhere I went. 
 
 THE PRESENT APPEARANCE OF SHILOH. 
 
 The whole area composing the site of Shiloh is like a dreary wild- 
 erness, except here and there where the husbandman was plowing the 
 ground and sowing seed. I looked over on the knoll where the sacred 
 Tabernacle, in which was placed the Ark of God, stood, and viewed 
 the whole situation the best I could under the circumstances. It 
 seemed to me at first to be a strangely-situated place to set up the 
 sacred Tabernacle. But it is not the Shiloh now that it was when Eli 
 lived, and the whole face of the country for miles around was almost 
 like a beautiful garden, and the firmament was echoing from hill-top 
 to valley, the songs of thousands of happy voices, that sang their heart- 
 felt praises to the Lord of Hosts ; and the whole place was filled with 
 the presence of the Lord, who met His people there and blessed them. 
 One will soon change his opinion as to the propriety of locating the 
 sacred tent and ark here on a second sober reflection. It is also natural 
 
250 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 to suppose that there must have been a large community about Shiloh 
 and its environments in the time of its prime glory. This is evident 
 from the fact, the Benjamites came over and took wives to themselves 
 of the maidens living there. 
 
 The site of the Tabernacle being remote from the main road, and 
 on a hill a little below the surrounding mountains, seems to have 
 reminded the worshipers who came to it of the sacredness of the 
 Holy Shrine ; that as Israel Avas shut in from other nations, both 
 socially and religiously, so w^as the meeting-tent shut in from the rest 
 of the world, and the whole region within its mountain-walls was dedi- 
 cated to the Lord. And even though many ages have been launched into 
 the deep abyss of eternity since the Tabernacle was taken from Shiloh, 
 and the physical features of the country greatly changed, the songs 
 of high praises having long since been hushed, except those chanted 
 by the birds who still linger about the site of the ancient meeting-tent, 
 though all nature seems cheerless around this once sanctified spot, yet 
 to me the whole scope within the surrounding mountains seemed to 
 have an air of sacredness that indicated the presence of the Holy 
 One, still lingering about the place once occupied by the sacred shrine. 
 I felt like saying, " Put off thy shoes, for the ground on which thou 
 standest is holy ; " for the valleys, the hill-tops, and the mountains 
 round about that formed the spacious enclosure, seemed to be clothed 
 with a majesty not common to others not entitled to sacred distinction. 
 
 lebDnah and its ancient tombs. 
 
 On leaving Shiloh for Lebonah, the pass is a long, deep descent, 
 through terraced fields of wheat, barley, and other products, and cross- 
 ditches in every direction ; finally the main highway is reached, at a 
 point where tradition says our Lord rested for a night or more, and 
 iust above the plain, along the hillside, is ancient Lebonah. There are 
 many tombs cut in the rocks about this region ; in some of them it is 
 thought the remains of several Israelites were interred about the time 
 Shiloh was aglow with prosperity. The traveler having entered the 
 ancient highway to Shechem and the far north, he may be assured that 
 he is passing over the very same ground the patriarchs and prophets 
 of old frequented, the very route our Lord j^assed through with His 
 disci])les, and the same way Saul of Tarsus went when on his w^ay to 
 Damascus to persecute the church. 
 
 The knowledge of the fact we are traveling the same highway 
 frequented by the Loi'd Jesus, both in His youth and while going to 
 and from Judea and Galilee, on His mission of mercy and love, expels 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 251 
 
 the fatigue of the rough and stony way. After passing a short dis- 
 tance beyond Lebonah the plain of Mukhna is entered. Here a beau- 
 tiful sight looms up to view, and many objects of interest absorb the 
 traveler's attention. The plain is about seven miles long and two miles 
 wide. On its east side the line of hills is low, dark and rocky ; the 
 hills on the west side are much higher, and very rugged and barren. 
 On the very highest point projecting into the plain, can be seen from 
 the distance a white tomb, situated on one of the peaks of Mt. Gerizim. 
 Many of them are seen, both in Egypt and Palestine ; they are always 
 erected upon the highest summits to be found in the country, and can 
 be seen several miles away. Pains are taken, by those having them 
 in charge, to keep them beautifully whitened, especially during the 
 season when the most travel through the country is usual. They are 
 known as tombs of men whose self-denial and religious devotion caused 
 popular opinion to regard them as saints or holy men. When these 
 distinguished characters die, their remains are laid to I'est in one of 
 these whitened sepulchres, which are generally prepared by the persons 
 whilst in health. It is strange that there is never more than one of 
 these tombs found on the same hill, no matter how much space it 
 occupies, and they are usually several miles apart. It is the opinion, 
 some rule or understanding existed, that the remains of but one person 
 could be hurried on the same summit. The people are astonishing 
 imitators, and some are always found to follow the examples of the 
 ancient fathers, and it is highly probable, the desire of this peculiar 
 class of men, known as holy or saintly people, to be buried on the 
 highest summit of the most lofty mountains, has existed from the time 
 that information of the burial of Moses upon Mt. Pisgah was made 
 known to the world. 
 
 The point in the plain of Mukhna from which this tomb is seen is 
 about six miles away, and far in the distance Mt. Hermon's snowy 
 heights are so distinctly visible, one, not acquainted with the geography 
 of the country, would suppose it was not more than ten or twelve miles 
 away ; but you would have to travel at least forty miles, the nearest 
 possible way, before the base of the mount could be reached, and several 
 more before the region of the snow is entered. The air is so very rare, 
 that distant objects seem very near. When the weather is bright 
 Mt. Ebal cannot be seen at the point Gerizim is first noticed, because 
 it sets in farther northward. The plain now known as Mukhna was 
 formerly called Moreh, signifying a camp, It is the place where the 
 Israelites halted when they came up to Shechem to renew their covenant 
 with the Lord, after their conquest at Ai. Hence, the name of the 
 
252 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 plain was given it because of that event. A few miles from Shechem, 
 the road forks, both leading to it. The one skirting the foot of Geri- 
 zim is the main highway, and is used mostly in dry weather, or by 
 those who wish to go the shortest way. But the road thi'ough the 
 midst of the plain is the more important to sight-seers, and also easier 
 to travel. There is a village near-by, opposite the fork, on the slope of 
 a hill called in Arabic, Awertah, having two ancient tombs on its 
 most prominent point called el-Azeir and el-Azeirat. There is a tra- 
 dition, which identifies the tombs as those of Eleazar and Phinehas, 
 the son and grandson of Aaron, respectively. This tradition is so 
 generally credited, that the most critical explorers of that country 
 have confidence in it. Therefore, the village AAvertah is the ancient 
 Gibeah of Phinehas. These tombs are regarded by all capable of 
 investigating their origin, to be Jewish of very ancient date, and they 
 believe them to be the resting-places of the persons above mentioned. 
 
 JACOB'S WELL. 
 
 Not far from the tombs, the plain is crossed at the north side ; at 
 which point the valley of Shechem is entered ; and just here the old 
 historic well of Jacob is located. It, like all other places of sacred 
 memory in Palestine, is under the care of some religious denomination, 
 who guard it with the most cautious vigilance. The well is in the 
 custody of the Greek Church. It is in the midst of an area enclosed 
 by a thick stone wall, very low and in some places very weak ; as an 
 entrance can be obtained without passing through the entrance gate. 
 When we arrived there it was getting late in the afternoon, and for 
 some reason the keeper was absent, and as I was especially anxious 
 to see it that day, for it would have taken too much time to return 
 from Shechem the next morning; having to go a long journey north- 
 ward, we concluded to climb the low wall and enter the enclosure 
 regardless of consequences. We found it an easy matter to accom- 
 plish and were soon standing over the famous well of the illustrous 
 patriarch, who was the great ancestor of the children of Israel. I 
 came from the scene feeling fully satisfied that my visit was highly 
 profitable. About the identity of the well, there is not a shadow of 
 doubt, for all sects regard it as the ancient well, planted thousands of 
 years ago, by the man whose name it bears ; Jews, Christians, Samari- 
 tans and Mohammedans alike confidently believe this to be the origi- 
 nal well. The land immediately circumferencing it is the land Jacob 
 bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Here the 
 patriarch built an altar which he called El-Elohe-Israel. 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 253 
 
 This well is regarded as a very sacred place by all Christians, and 
 there can be no reasonable doubt that our Lord sat here at noon, on 
 the day He came to the district of Samaria with His disciples en route 
 to Galilee ; and being thirsty, He stopped at the well to refresh Him- 
 self. The fields round about, upon which we had the pleasure to gaze, 
 are those corn-fields to which He referred when He said to His disciples, 
 ** Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already 
 to the harvest." One can scarcely realize he is standing on the ground 
 and by the well made memorable and hallowed by the presence of the 
 Son of God, whose voice uttered such pungent truths, while sitting 
 upon a stone-seat, that the whole village of Sychar was aroused to a sense 
 of duty. Jesus was going over from Judea to Galilee on a missionary 
 tour, and the nearest and most direct route was through the district of 
 Samaria (Deut. xi. 30 ; John iv. 35 ; Joshua viii. 30-35 ; xxiv. 33-38 ; 
 Gen. xii. 6 ; xxxiii. 20). Our Lord exhibited an entirely different 
 spirit from the Jews ; who, rather than pass through Samaria, would 
 take the trans-Jordanic road by the way of Perea, that they might shun 
 the Samaritan people, between whom and the Jews there were no fra- 
 ternal relations. It is an easy matter to understand the intense bitter- 
 ness they entertained against each other, if we consider the event 
 which caused the breach. But Jesus, having a tender feeling for the 
 Samaritans and desiring them to be partakers of His mercies, pre- 
 ferred going the more direct way over to Galilee. When our Lord 
 started from Judea to the northern district, in company with His dis- 
 ciples, " He must needs go through Samaria." The Jews maintained 
 a relentless hatred against them, which was reciprocated by the Samari- 
 tans. This feeling seems to exist at present just as strongly as in the 
 time of our Lord. We deem it best at this point to examine the his- 
 tory of this people and some of the peculiarities common to their 
 character, before we give an outline statement of the events that 
 occurred in and about Shechem. The Samaritans are a mixed people, 
 and were very numerous in the time of our Lord ; but at present there 
 are few remaining who can claim to have regularly descended from the 
 original stock. There are a few living in Shechem, who cling with 
 precious fondness to their primitive religion ; and to speak in the mild- 
 est terms, they hate the Jews with an unyielding hatred, too intense to 
 be expressed. Not long after the abolishment of the northern king- 
 dom, and the transportation of the people beyond the Euphrates, a new 
 state of things took place in Shechem. It was at this time and under 
 these circumstances this new race appeared. The origin of the Samar- 
 itans is disclosed in the first and second Kings, In these we are told 
 
254 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the Assyrians removed the Israelitish inhabitants as captives of war to 
 their own hind, and colonized a number of the people of their own gov- 
 ernment in Canaan, to take charge of the places made vacant by the 
 capture. The people colonized from Assyria, being comparatively few, 
 were not capable of protecting themselves nor the country ; so that the 
 wild beasts, that had been kept under control by the former inhabitants, 
 increased so greatly they distressed them as if a devouring epidemic 
 had visted their homes. They were a very superstitious people, and 
 attributed the great influx of wild beasts to their lack of knowing the 
 religion that was usually known to the Israelites. That they might be 
 instructed in its merits, one of the priests who was taken into captivity 
 was sent to them. He made Bethel his headquarters, and taught the 
 people the form of the worship of the Lord. This new form of service 
 Tvas adopted by them, but they did not abandon their heathen religion ; 
 they held to both the God of the Israelites and their own dumb idols. 
 Now, as to how this people so greatly multipled is a matter u^Don which 
 many opinions have been founded. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SAMARITANS. 
 
 Some think the Samaritans are wholly of heathen origin ; others 
 believe they are a mixture of the Israelites and Assyrian colony. It 
 is not to be sui)posed all the Israelites were carried away into captivity ; 
 it is not known in the annals of warfare that the victors have captured 
 all the vanquished and transported them, especially where they were 
 very numerous, as were the Israelites. It is also known that in all 
 cases of conquest, social and matrimonial relations existed between the 
 conqueror and conquered, when they mingled together in the time of 
 peace. It is known that such relations existed among the very highest 
 oflicials of the two kingdoms of the children of Israel, notwithstanding 
 the Lord had forbidden such relations. It can be readily inferred that 
 a people like the Assyrians, who were under no restrictions iu this 
 regai'd, would unhesitatingly have social and conjugal relations, with 
 the people they found in the country, in which they were colonized. 
 Josephus, to whom we must concede great liberality in his voluminous 
 writings, was not free from partiality ; and we must conclude his feel- 
 ing towards the Samaritans was not of the most friendly character. 
 And, therefore, he naturally would, in the absence of positive proof, 
 hesitate stubbornly to claim any consanguineous relation to them. 
 When we consider the various circumstances connected with the con- 
 dition of these people, socially and otherwise, we do not think it a step 
 beyond the limits of an ordinary prerogative to say that the great 
 
FEOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 255 
 
 Jewish historian was in error when he disclaimed that any social or 
 matrimonial relation existed between the two races. Indeed, it is 
 clearly evident the burden of proof is against him. We know from 
 the record of the Holy Scriptures the people sent uj) to Samaria, to 
 occupy the country in place of the Israelitish captives, were of several 
 race types. "The King of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and 
 from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharwaim, 
 and placed them in the cities of Samaria, instead of the children of 
 Israel, and they possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof." 
 These various race-types settled in the country among the remnant of 
 the Hebrews, who had not been carried to Babylon, and it is not reason- 
 able to suppose those who were left in the land ostracised themselves from 
 the fraternal association of the people, by whom they had been subordi- 
 nated, any more than it could be reasonably supposed that the Africans, 
 who were in a state of slavish subordination in this land, could have 
 kept themselves free from such relations with those who ruled them. 
 It should be remembered there was no law against matrimonial relations 
 between the Israelites and other peoples, upon racial lines, but it was a 
 religious necessity. The proneness of the Hebrews to embrace the 
 religion of heathens made it impossible to have free and full inter- 
 course with them and maintain the true worship of God. 
 
 This barrier, if it was considered at all by the remaining Iraelites 
 (which is very doubtful), was removed when the people partially em- 
 braced their religion, after the priest had been returned to them from 
 among the captives, to teach the new-comers the principles of the 
 Israelitish worship. It is also known that there are even to-day, among 
 those claiming to be Jews, a comparatively small number who have 
 come down unmixed from the j)rimitive Israelitish progenitors. It 
 must be agreed, therefore, that although we must accord to Josephus a 
 large degree of liberality and fairness, his opposition to the Samaritan 
 sect caused him to greatly blunder when he tells the w^orld there were 
 no social or matrimonial relations between the Israelites and the people 
 colonized among them from Babylon. 
 
 Having stated the above facts, which to me seem perfectly clear, I 
 must frankly confess my opinion is that the Samaritans are a mixed 
 people composed of several races (2 Kings xvii. 24), Jewish in- 
 cluded. Josephus, referring to the vacillating character of the Samari- 
 tans, says ; " When the Jews are in adversity, they deny they are of 
 •kin to them, and then they confess the truth ; but when they perceive 
 some good fortune hath befallen them, they immediately pretend to 
 have communion with them, saying, ' they belong to them, and derive 
 
256 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 their genealogy from the posterity of Joseph, Ephraira and Manas- 
 sah.' " It is certain they claimed this relationship in the time of our 
 Lord, which He did not dispute ; and when we consider the pains He 
 took to settle vexed questions, we incline strongly to the opinion, that 
 if the Samaritans had been ignorant of their origin, or had knowingly 
 or wilfully claimed a relationship they knew to be false. He would 
 have corrected them and set the matter aright. 
 
 The woman of Sychar, while conversing with Jesus at the well, 
 said to Him : " Art Thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us 
 this well ?" claiming, in these words, Jacob as their great ancestor, and 
 themselves as having descended through his line. She also said to the 
 Saviour : " Our fathers worshiped in this mountain," evidently refer- 
 ring to Joshua and others, who worshiped there in early days. Now, 
 inasmuch as our Lord did not dispute this claim of blood-relation to 
 the patriarch, nor of the fathers to the woman, or any others during 
 the two days He remained in Sychar, it seems consistent to infer that 
 He indorsed her statement in regard to the matter. 
 
 There is another matter of importance necessary to be considered 
 before leaving this point: the expression of the Samaritans to Zerub- 
 babel and his assistants when re-building the Temple ; they, wishing to 
 be allowed to assist the workmen, presented their plea as follows: 
 " For we seek your God as you do, and we do sacrifice unto Him since 
 the days of Esar-haddon, King of Assyria, who brought us hither." It 
 will be seen, if a little time is taken to investigate this peculiar applica- 
 tion, that it has no bearing on the fact of their relation to the Jews. It 
 refers especially to the words " which brought us hither." It is cer- 
 tainly known the petitioners were not those who had been transferred 
 to Samaria by the King of Assyria, but descendants of them, there- 
 fore, the words, " which brought us up hither," refer to their fathers 
 who settled (2 Kings xvii. 24) in the land seventy years prior. 
 This was a usual expression among the Jews when referring to their 
 fathers' deliverance from Egypt; the words, "brought us up out of 
 Egypt," were many times addressed to the generations who lived hun- 
 dreds of years after those who entered Canaan were dead. These peti- 
 tioners meant by their statement, that they were in the land by virtue 
 of the colonization of their forefathers, and not that they themselves 
 were " brought hither." On the self-same principle, the African race 
 in America say. We were brought here from Africa ; it is evidently 
 known that reference is made to the early fathers and not to the pres- 
 ent generation ; for millions of them have never seen that far-ofi" land 
 and do not care to see it. 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 257 
 
 ^Ve have presented these items of history to clear away any clouds 
 of doubt that might hinder a clear observation of the fact as to the 
 relation between the Jews and Samaritans. Those of this mixed race 
 living in Sliechem atpi^esent are the only representatives of the ancient 
 stock. They closely resemble the Jews in their features and general 
 bearing. They are as ever greatly opposed to their long-standing 
 enemy, and have no more dealings with them now than in those days 
 when the woman met our Lord at the Avell. It is generally believed 
 by those who have expressed themselves on the subject, that the 
 Samaritans are the descendants of the Jews who ^vere left at the time 
 of the captivity ; that intermarriages took place between them and 
 the new-comers, the result of which being, the introduction of a mixed 
 people. AVhen the Jews were permitted to return from Babylon, the 
 Samaritans' chronicles state, a portion of the congregation followed 
 Sanballat, the remaining portion adhering to Zerubbabel. It seems 
 that among the many things that caused ill-feelings between the two 
 races was concerning the proper place of worship ; the Jews thought 
 Mount Moriah was the place, and the Samaritans contended for Mount 
 Gerizim. But there are indications, that the Samaritans became 
 willing to unite with the Jews, in rebuilding the waste places of Jeru- 
 salem and the Temple, that there might be a common interest existing 
 between them, and we have not found it recorded or implied that any 
 arrangements were being made for the erection of a temple in this 
 district until after their offer to help the Jews had been refused. But 
 being denied, they became exasperated and used every means possible, 
 fair and otherwise, to oppose them. The Samaritans introduced every 
 measure they could conceive, to interfere with their Jewish neighbors. 
 They calumniated them in the most bitter terms, and brought indict- 
 ments against them to the king of Persia, and even searched the 
 records to find something written that would stimulate them to divide 
 the religious sentiment permanently. 
 
 Finding the command of Moses, that on entering the land, the 
 people should proceed to Mt. Gerizim, and one-half should stand on 
 its slope and respond, amen, to the blessing pronounced by the Levites, 
 it was deemed by the Samaritans that this mount was a proper place 
 to build a Temple. Therefore, they set themselves to the work to 
 accomplish it ; they also instituted an order of ceremonies according 
 to the letter of the law. About the time of these movements, which 
 so rapidly followed one another, a great tumult began in Judah con- 
 cerning some of the officials in high position over in Jerusalem who 
 were charged with unfair dealing (Ezra iv. 1-4 ; Neh. iv. ; Deut. xxvii. 
 17 
 
258 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 11-13). Many of the Jews, feeling tlieir rights had been greatly 
 imposed upon, left and went over to Samaria, and assisted in building 
 the temple on Mt. Gerizim. It is said, one of the causes of this move- 
 ment of the Samaritans was the expulsion of the son of a high priest 
 from Jerusalem, because he had married the daughter of Sanballat, a 
 Samaritan governor. It is supposed this man was afterward made 
 high priest of the temple on Mt. Gerizim. It then became a familiar 
 custom for dissatisfied Jews to go over to Samaria and join the people 
 in their worship claiming to be disgusted with the manner the services 
 were conducted in Jerusalem. The Samaritans, like the Jews, firmly 
 believed in the coming of the Messiah, and entertained a hope He would 
 descend from them, and not from the remnant of the restored captives 
 of Judah who had come from Babylon. The sacred books of the 
 Jews, that had been partially countenanced by the Samaritans, were 
 at once stubbornly rejected, except the Pentateuch. There seemed to 
 be an endless chain of incidents that bred strife and unyielding 
 enmity between these races; so that they seemed not only to hate each 
 other, but the very ground they walked upon. Therefore, the Jews 
 living in the northern and southern districts, would go miles 
 out of their way rather than go through Samaria ; and the enmity 
 existed equally as strong between those Jev/s who left and went over 
 to the Samaritans, and their kindred whom they had forsaken, as if 
 they were iull-fledged Samaritans. Now, after all, it is strikingly won- 
 derful what a tremendous flame of hatred a small matter can kindle. 
 It no doubt has puzzled many to understand why these jieople were 
 not allowed to test their sincerity, when they made such a strong 
 appeal to assist in rebuilding the Temple. But a close examination 
 will reveal the fact, that the Samaritans were only pailially converted 
 from heathenism. The priests sent to them did not succeed in 
 influencing them to wholly abandon their native religion ; and it 
 would have been most unfortuate to the true worship, to have admitted 
 them fully into the fellowship of the Jews. It would have been a 
 most blessed thing if there could have been a harmonious relation 
 among the people, so that there would have been but one people, one 
 God recognized, and one religion known. But the proneness of the 
 Jews to follow strange gods is well and widely known ; and if the 
 Samaritans had been permitted to associate with them in re))airing the 
 city and Temple, their influence over them would have been disastrous 
 to the true worsliip. It were fiir better to have the two races at vari- 
 ance forevei' than to insult the Lord whose hand of tenderness had led 
 them from captivity and restored them to their own land, than to have 
 
FEOM JEEUSALEM TO SHECIIEIM. 259 
 
 contaminated themselves with a people whose religion was not approved 
 
 of by Him. 
 
 THE WOMAN OF SYCHAR. 
 
 When the Lord Jesus came through Samaria He found the most 
 bitter feeling existing between the Jews and Samaritans, and when He 
 sat upon one of the stone seats at the well, while His disciples went 
 to get food over in the town, a woman from Sychar, a small village a 
 few hundred yards away, came to draw water and saw a Jew sitting 
 there. She paid no attention to him w^hatever, nor w'ould she under 
 any circumstances have passed the usual friendly courtesies if the 
 Saviour had not aj)proached her in such tones as to cause her to enter 
 into a conversation with Him. And before she consented to comply 
 with His wish, or allow herself to be detained, she wished first of all 
 to know how it was that He, being a Jew, would ask a Samaritan for 
 a drink, for the feeling between those people was so strong that a Jew' 
 would have died before he would have asked a favor so small even as 
 a cup of cold water ; and, as has been stated, they would not pass 
 through the country unless their business was such that they could not 
 avoid it. It is worthy of remark that the woman of Sychar was not 
 surprised to see a Jew sitting at the well, for no doubt she had seen 
 others there from time to time, whose business called them through 
 that way, and, as the plain of Mukhna is hot and shadeless, they would 
 naturally come to the well to draw a cool drink of water to refresh 
 themselves ; but such was not often the case. It is also noteworthy 
 the Jews invariably took with them their vessel to draw water, for 
 they would not drink from one used by the Samaritans ; hence, the 
 woman said to our Lord, ''Sir, thou hast nothing to drawAvith, and the 
 well is deep." She had no idea He would drink from her vessel, or, if 
 He would, it would have been a blight on her to have permitted it. 
 Therefore, she could see no way to comply with the stranger's request. 
 The way was then open to begin a sermon to the woman, by the old 
 historic well, that she would remember to her latest days, and that 
 would reach all the people in the town, although they did not hear 
 Him deliver it. He had time to make known His mission to the peo- 
 ple, and the method used to open the way was a sermon preached to a 
 lone woman, with as much power and earnestness as if the whole area 
 encircling the well had been crowded with attentive hearers. Surely 
 an important lesson is taught all those who profess to teach the Gospel ; 
 that the good done does not depend upon the number of people within 
 the sound of their voices, but the earnestness they command to dis- 
 charge their duty, though there may be but one present. It is 
 
260 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 now, as in antique times, the custom of all travelers, whether natives 
 or strangers, to carry vessels with them to draw water, for they are 
 just as necessary as it is to take provisions for the journey. The wells 
 are far a]Dart, and often travelers must go ten or twelve miles before 
 they come to one. There are but few brooks or running streams in 
 Palestine, and only two or three of them clear enough to drink. But 
 in the event one is come upon which may be used for drinking 
 purposes, and it is necessary to have a vessel to dip with, it would be 
 a very strange request, if not insulting, to ask any whom we might 
 meet at one of the wells to allow us to drink out of their water-pots ; 
 indeed, it would seem to them as inconsistent as it did to the woman of 
 Sychar, whom Christ addressed. 
 
 The women and young maidens are still the water-bearers. They 
 often go in small companies, especially Avhen they have a distance of 
 two or three miles to go, and can be seen almost from early morning 
 until late in the evening, waiting for their turn to draw water. They 
 seem to have a regular system in procuring it. The first comers are the 
 first served, no matter how small the company may be. And should 
 there be one who would dare intrude upon the one who had come first 
 (as the shepherds of Midian did to the daughters of Reuel, whom they 
 would not allow to draw water for their flocks until their own were 
 served, when Moses interposed for them), there would be such an 
 uproarious tumult that a stranger would be impressed that some one had 
 met with a lamentable misfortune. But such a thing seldom if ever 
 occurs, unless by special consent one may allow some others to take 
 their place. When the woman, by her slowness to comply with the 
 request of the stranger with whom she was talking, strongly indicated 
 her unwillingness to do so. He said to her, " If thou hadst known the 
 gift of God, and who it is that sayeth to thee. Give me to drink, thou 
 wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living 
 water." She was immediately aroused, and became curiously anxious, 
 to know something of the water that would keep her from thirst and 
 save her the trouble and labor of drawing from the well, for it is 
 evident she did not comprehend the meaning of our Lord, although 
 His words were plainly presented. She was so absorbed in His 
 remarks, she had forgotten her errand to the well, and that she was 
 having a friendly conversation with a Jew, which was a thing not to be 
 tolerated among the Samaritans. She had become extremely desirous 
 for " living watei'." Our Lord, seeing He had sufiiciently won her 
 attention, further informed her as to the conditions upon which she 
 could obtain it. That there must be a change in her internal and 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 261 
 
 external life, both with regard to herself and to the Jews whom she 
 and her people inveterately hated, and that she must comply with the 
 law of Moses to whom she claimed relationship whose law she 
 professed to observe. Jesus was leading her into a state of mind that 
 would enable her to look upon her own life, and allow her to see how 
 deeply her lewdness had covered her, and the immediate need of being 
 delivered from such a life. To accomplish this, Jesus made an impres- 
 sion upon her conscience so effectual, she was compelled to open another 
 door for the truth to uncover her sins and bring her conduct of the 
 past and present before her, to an astonishing if not alarming degree ; 
 for the conversation that followed touched the very quick of her soul. 
 That He might reveal His divinity to her and make her feel that the 
 person with whom she was conversing was more than the ordinary 
 Jew, she had b^en accustomed to see passing through the country, or 
 sitting at the well. He impressed her that it was necessary to have her 
 husband present, before the " life-giving water " could be given to her. 
 Therefore He said, " Go call thy husband," that both might enjoy the 
 blessing. She, with an innocent expression that was doubtless endeavoring 
 to hide the guilt then disturbing her conscience said, " I have no hus- 
 band." He endorsed her answer, and at once entered into the secrets 
 of her life with such exactness she was overwhelmed with amazement. 
 Jesus uncovered her life more and more, as if reading a correctly 
 written diary, telling her all she had done. The woman must have 
 been profoundly astonished, while the secrets of her inner life were 
 being unfolded by the Master so accurately ; she could only stand and 
 wonder who the wise stranger could be. And when He had gone farther 
 and deeper into her social life, she concluded the stranger must be a 
 prophet ; and as it was commonly believed Elijah must come before 
 the appearance of the Messiah, she may have thought it was he, for 
 there were no prophets among the Jews at that time, nor had there 
 been for centuries, except John the Baptist, who was not generally 
 regarded as such. So she said to Jesus, " Sir, I perceive that thou art 
 a prophet ; " or, I feel you have told me the whole truth, — " who art 
 thou ? " It should be called to mind that Jesus selected an opportune 
 time to unfold to this woman her conduct, when no one was near ; not 
 even the disciples heard the conversation. 
 
 This is a most important lesson, and would be of unspeakable 
 benefit to us all if followed. Feeling satisfied she was in the presence 
 of a man of God, as the prophets were called, she wished Him to 
 settle the long-agitated and most vexing question that had been a 
 source of contention ever since the return of the captives from Baby- 
 
262 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Ion; one that had formed a mountain wall of division between the 
 Jews and Samaritans which seemed im])ossible to penetrate, for they 
 had no dealings together. The woman did not change the conversa- 
 tion simply to avoid a further disclosure of her life, for Christ had 
 told her, according to her own words, '-all things that she had doiie." 
 But as she was in conversation with one who was familiar with the 
 facts, she wished that question of questions to be settled in her mind. 
 Therefore, in order to draw from the stranger's mind something that 
 would explain the question over which there had been so much dispute, 
 she said to the Saviour, "Our fathers worshiped in these mountains'' 
 (referring to Ebal and Gerizim, which were in front of her, a short 
 distance to the north and west), and ye say that Jerusalem is the 
 jilace where men ought to worship." It is veiy clear that Jesus had 
 so won the confidence of the woman, she was ready to implicitly con- 
 fide in whatever He might tell her concerning the matter; and inas- 
 much as He had told her such pungent truths as to her own life, she 
 could not believe He would do otherwise in this gravely perplexing 
 question as to the proper place of worship. Her spiritual appetite had 
 been so thoroughly aroused, she seemed to be ready to go wherever 
 the proper place was, so that she might secure the appi'obation of the 
 Lord ; indeed, she was deeply and keenly convicted Her people 
 were of the opinion, because of a tradition of long standing, that there 
 was no other place under the sun more sacred and holy than Mount 
 Gerizim, and that from its soil the Lord made Adam, and on its brow 
 was situated the Garden of Eden in which he was placed ; and from 
 its lofty summit the tree of life lifted up its boughs, in connection 
 with all the other precious fruit trees of the garden ; that here, Noah 
 landed his precious cargo after the fiiood, and here he built an altar 
 and sacrificed to the Lord ; that Abraham came with his son Isaac to 
 this same mount, to ofl^er him up in obedience to the command as a 
 sacrifice to God upon the altar of fire ; that Jacob, when on his way 
 to Mesopotamia, seeking a refuge from the wrath of Esau, rested his 
 head upon a stone here, on the night he saw in his dream the wonder- 
 ful ladder reaching from heaven to earth, and the angels ascending 
 and descending. Here, and not at Gilgal, the twelve stones were set 
 up which the childi'en of Israel took from the bed of the river Jordan. 
 But notwithstanding these flattering traditions attaching to the moun- 
 tains before her, the woman wished to hear the decision of this won- 
 derful personage, whose words of truth had won her soul. The Saviour 
 knew the feelings of the woman — that she was ripe for instruction, and 
 He took time to explain the matter to her, even though the disciples 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 263 
 
 were opposed to it. They were of the opinion it would be of more 
 profit for Him to eat something, than to spend time talking with the 
 woman, whose race they had been taught to despise and to have no 
 dealings with, except purely business transactions. But Jesus knew 
 the importance of the moment, and used it to a most beneficial advan- 
 tage. He at that opportune moment unfolded the truth to the woman 
 so clearly that men of every generation since her day have gladly 
 embraced it. She heard the explanation, that it was not material 
 as to the ])lace where men should worship the Father, but the manner 
 was the matter of chief interest, that is. He must be " worshiped in 
 the spirit and in truth." 
 
 It can be seen how easily Christ discharged this vexed question 
 without deciding with either party, and at the same time brought a 
 great truth to the surface that settled the matter for all time to come. 
 The woman is inclined to think the Messiah had come, of whom Moses 
 and the prophets wrote, and was talking with her ; or some one gifted 
 as man had never before been known to be in the knowledge of ex- 
 plaining the deep things of God. "I know that the Messiah cometh 
 (which is called Christ) ; when He is come. He will declare unto us all 
 things," said the woman Then Jesus said, " I that speak unto thee 
 am He." On hearing this, she left her water-pot at the well and ran 
 to the city and said to the men, "Come, see a man which told me 
 all things that ever I did ; can this be the Christ?" 
 
 Jacob's well is seventy-five feet deep, and seven feet six inches in 
 diameter, partly inclosed within a stone building so as to prevent the 
 public from seeing it, as are all the places in the land where it is pos- 
 sible to do so. About the middle of the fourth century there was a 
 church built over it, said to have been cruciform, with the well in the 
 centre. There are a few old pillars and other ruins near the well, 
 which, it is supposed, were used in the old church building. It was a 
 pleasure to me to have an opportunity to stand upon this renowned 
 spot and take a survey of the country round about, especially the bald 
 mountains at which the woman of Sychar pointed while conversing 
 with Jesus, and to meditate concerning the things that occurred there 
 thousands of years gone by. 
 
 In the plain near the well, Abraham built an altar while sojourn- 
 ing as a stranger in a strange land ; and here, many years later, Jacob 
 came and settled for a time ; having bought a plot of ground, he dug 
 a well for the use of his household and flocks. Notwithstanding he 
 bought the land and paid for it, attempts were made to dispossess him 
 of it, but he managed finally to regain his legitimate claim. After he 
 
264 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 moved down to Hebron, he sent his sons over there with the flocks to 
 pasture them on his own fields. Jacob referred to the event Avhen, 
 Hearing the end of life, he said, " I took it out of the hand of the 
 Amorites with my sword and bow." Joseph, whom God had raised up 
 to save his father and all his household from the distresses of the seven 
 years' famine, came through this field in which the well is located 
 when in seai'ch of his brethren. It may be, that while I walked 
 about there, my feet marked the soil where Abraham, Jacob, Joseph 
 and our blessed Lord walked when in that region. Here by the well 
 sat our Lord in the hottest portion of the day, and drew an illustrious 
 comparison (Gen. xii. 6: xxxiii. 19: xxxvii 15: Josh, xviii. 22) be- 
 tween the effects of the water which He asked of the woman and that 
 blessed stream which continually flows from the throne of God, from 
 ■which He preached one of the most memorable sermons of His life to 
 a poor woman, and it has come thundering dow^n the ages with all the 
 freshness and power it had when first proclaimed, so that millions of 
 thirsty souls have heard the good tidings and prayed, " Lord, give me 
 evermore of this water." 
 
 THE TOMB OF JOSEPH. 
 
 Just a few hundred yards north of the W'ell is the tomb of Joseph, 
 whose bones were, according to his dying request, brought out of Egypt 
 by the Israelites and buried in that portion of the ground bought by 
 his father. It is venerated by all the native religious communities. 
 It is specially remarkable that Joseph's remains should be brought 
 over from that far-away country, and rested in the very field through 
 which he passed the last time he was in the neighborhood, when but 
 a lad seventeen years old. Sychar, the towai in which the woman 
 lived who was so graciously entertained by our Lord, is a little to the 
 northeast of Joseph's tomb, and is a small village six hundred yards 
 north of the well. It is notew^orthy, that the extortionate Arabs have 
 not selected a site in the neighborhood of the location of the woman's 
 home, as seems to be the rule. It must be remembered that Sychar 
 and Shechem are distinct places ; sometimes they are taken for the 
 same place, and thereby the student gets greatly confused and mis- 
 represents the one or the other when referring to certain events of 
 antique times. This shows the importance of making the closest 
 examination of history before one attempts to instruct others ; for a 
 single error may lead thousands, historically astray, even without the 
 knowledge of the author. Shechem, which was in later times called 
 Neapolis, or New City, by Vespasian, who while emperor caused it to 
 
o 
 
 < 
 X 
 o 
 >^ 
 w 
 
 m 
 D 
 O 
 J 
 
 < 
 2 
 
FEOM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 265 
 
 be rebuilt, is at present called by the Arabs Nablous. But Syebar, 
 now called Iskar, situated a few hundred yards north of Jacob's well, 
 just at the base of Mt. Ebal, accords with the ancient town of the 
 same name referred to in the New Testament, When our Lord came 
 to the well, it is written, " He came to a city in Samaria called 
 Sychar ; near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave his son Joseph ; 
 and Jacob's well was there." The description of this town is so very 
 minutely defined, it would seem that no mistake could be made in 
 locating the little city the Saviour entered on the day He sat at Jacob's 
 well. Several authors have said, He came to Shechem first, and it was 
 called Sychar in the New Testament. But it seems to me altogether 
 improbable. For we are to remember that on coming to the well our 
 Lord was fatigued ; and had He passed around the foot of Gerizira to 
 Shechem and then come back to the well, He would have walked six 
 miles farther than He should have ; for the city is at least three miles 
 from the well. Now when we take the Bible for our guide and read, 
 " He must needs go through Samaria," there can be no other conclu- 
 sion than that He came the old highway by the way of Lebonah up 
 through the jilain of Mukhna, direct to the well. St. John says, " He 
 came to a city called Sychar — and Jacob's well was there." The 
 village called Sychar accurately accords with the definition. The 
 town in question is only about six or seven hundred yards from 
 Joseph's tomb, which is in the parcel of ground Jacob gave him, and 
 about the same distance from the well. But Shechem is at .least three 
 miles away. It is, therefore, clear that our Lord came to Sychar en 
 route to Jacob's well, and not Shechem. We make this jDoint in the 
 face of opposition, for the reason our Lord could have come no other 
 way to go through Samaria; and the same highway is open now that 
 was traveled in His day, and we do not see how any one could other- 
 wise conclude who has visited that portion of Palestine. 
 
 ANCIENT SHECHEM. 
 
 Shechem is an ancient city, about thirty-five miles north of Jeru- 
 salem, and three miles from Jacob's well, having the Jordan on the 
 east and the Mediterranean on the west. Situated between Mounts 
 Ebal and Gerizim is the valley of Shechem, surrounded by beautiful 
 olive groves, and is said to be watered by eighty springs, which is a 
 blessing that no other city in Palestine enjoys, not even Jerusalem, and 
 cannot be surpassed by any other city in historic events, except Jeru- 
 salem, Hebron and Bethel. The pame Nablous, given it by the 
 natives, is a contraction from Neapolis, by which it was known for 
 
266 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 many years. But anciently it was called Shechem, or Chesliem. The 
 Canaanites were in possession of this country when Abraham first 
 came to it, and it is therefore regarded as the oldest city in Palestine of 
 which there is any knowledge. The inhabitants boast of it as being 
 the oldest city in the world, having, as it does, a history reaching four 
 thousand years into the past. When Jacob came and settled in the 
 vicinity, it is said that the city of Shechem and the country round 
 about, was in possession of the Havites, having Hamer, the father of 
 Shechem, for governor. There is a long traiu of historical events run- 
 ning through many centuries connecting Shechem with the old and 
 new dispensations. It is mentioned prominently wdth the early events 
 of the New Testament, and alike conspicuous during and after the 
 time of our Lord and His apostles. It was in all probability about the 
 time of the great persecution of the church at Jerusalem, during which 
 the Jews killed Stephen, and the apostles were all scattered abroad 
 throughout Judea and Samaria, that Philip, Peter and John preached 
 the gospel of Christ in Shechem. It was also one of the Christian 
 strongholds in the time of the supremacy of the Crusaders in Pales- 
 tine. Like many other cities in Palestine, Shechem has passed through 
 many bitter ordeals from foes without and within. It is one of the 
 principal cities visited in the Holy Land, and ranks in this I'espect 
 with all the cities and towns except Joppa, Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethel, 
 Bethlehem and Hebron. When these places are visited, the traveler 
 turns his face towards Shechem and its environments. Jacob's well 
 and Joseph's tomb are as eagerly sought by the sight-seer as the plain 
 of Mamre, and the great Mosque, Machpelah, where the mortal re- 
 mains of Abraham and a portion of his family are buried. The indig- 
 nation of Simeon and Levi was kindled against the city, on account of 
 a grave insult committed by the male inhabitants; they therefore rose 
 up in their might and slaughtered them, and captured the city. This 
 was the beginning of a woeful future for the old historic city, that 
 brought to the people untold misery. When Jacob left Haran with 
 his family and possessions he demanded all the strange gods in their 
 possession, and when they were given him he hid them by an oak 
 near Shechem. It was the place of the great convention of the ten 
 tribes or their representatives, when they revolted from the dominion of 
 Rohoboam and organized a new kingdom, with Jeroboam as king. The 
 first mention of Shechem in the Bible is concerning the sojourn of 
 Abraham there as mentioned above. It was strongly urged by many 
 who were in the northern kingdom that the king should establish his 
 headquarters there permanently, but this failed, Tirzah and Samaria 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 267 
 
 being more preferable as the seat of power. In tbe days of tbe Judges 
 Shecbem became a Levitieal city, and it was here that the men of 
 the town assembled for the purpose of crowning Ahimelech, the 
 Shechemite, son of Gideon ; and it was from the summit of Mount 
 Gerizim, Jotham, his brother, who alone escaped, when Ahimelech 
 caused seventy of his brethren to be massacred, addressed the men of 
 Shechem in flaming words concerning the tree and the bramble. The 
 conspiracy (which was a common occurrence in those times) caused the 
 overthrow of the city. The people expressed their preference for an 
 iron-clad heathen of the Shechemites to rule over them, and shut the 
 gates against Ahimelech, whereupon he captured the city, beat it 
 down and sowed salt from one end to the other. It was rebuilt by 
 Jeroboam soon after he was chosen king of Israel, and made his capi- 
 tal for a short time, when it was moved to Tirzah. It so deeply 
 afflicted Shechem that it never fully recovered, for just as soon as the 
 seat of power was removed, the city suddenly sank into a state of 
 almost profound silence, and from that time forward but little men- 
 tion is made of it during the two hundred and fifty years of the inde- 
 pendence of the northern kingdom. 
 
 There seems to have been, after the permanent establishment of 
 idol-worship in Israel, a continuous downward tendency of the ancient 
 city. It was invaded and plundered by the formidable Saracens in the 
 middle of the twelfth century, and again in the latter part of it. At 
 the beginning of the thirteenth century, an earthquake occurred, which 
 did a great deal of damage to the country round about, and Shechem 
 was not spared ; it is said to have sustained great damage. The Sara- 
 cens were compelled to abandon the city about the middle of the thir- 
 teenth century, and have never been able to regain it, although 
 attempts were made. The Moslems were found to be a powerful foe, 
 entirely too strong for their enemies. There are several mosques in 
 Shechem. As might be supposed, the most celebrated of them is called 
 the Great Mosque. This seems to be a favorite name with the ]\Ioham- 
 medans, as " Metropolitan " is among certain Christian denominations 
 in America. Tiiis " Great Mosque " was at one time a Christian 
 church. There are many buildings used by the Mohammedans as 
 mosques, that were originally erected by Christians for church purposes. 
 When the crusaders were in power they had churches in every city 
 and town in Palestine, all of which, with rare exceptions, were con- 
 verted into Moslem places of worship after the great victory Saladin 
 achieved, on the fifth day of July, eleven hundred and eighty-seven, 
 who nearly annihilated the crusaders in the memorable conflict. 
 
268 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Shechem was visited again with an earthquake, in the first half of the 
 nineteenth century, and nearly overwhelmed ; and soon after that 
 destructive visitation Ibrahim Pasha plundered it and distressed the 
 people greatly. But of late there has nothing of a serious nature 
 occurred to mar the peace of the inhabitants, and there is comparative 
 peace between the several religious sects who live there. The whole 
 population is estimated to be twenty thousand, of whom one hundred 
 and sixty are Samaritans, and nineteen thousand and forty are Moham- 
 medans of the most radical character. They are full of selfish pride, 
 and classed with the most bigoted people in the land. It is of great 
 interest to travelers through northern Palestine to go up to the summits 
 of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, although the ascent is long and tedious, 
 but, like Tabor, Carmel and other mountains, it well pays one for the 
 toils and hardships of the journey, when the top is reached, to view 
 the extensive ruins dispersed over a large tract of country. The prin- 
 cipal ruins of Mt. Gerizim, are seen on the top of a very rocky hill ; 
 some being the remains of buildings erected by the Samaritans when 
 they were in a high state of enthusiasm, over the religious subject that 
 had been so hotly discussed and caused much excitement a question 
 that remained unsettled until Christ met the woman at the well. There 
 are other ruins that date back to the time of the crusaders. 
 
 Moses, the man of God and great leader of the Israelites from 
 bondage, had been made familiar with these two mountains, that stand 
 out like mighty sentinels guarding the sacred spot in the valley below, 
 where, for the first time, an altar blazed with a sacrifice acceptable to 
 the Lord, in the land of Canaan ; and where God made a covenant, to 
 give the beautiful and fruitful land upon which he looked, for an ever- 
 lasting inheritance to him and his descendants. He knew of the plot 
 of ground Abraham bought from the sons of Hamar, and in his pro- 
 phetic visions saw other important events that had transpired there, 
 and, therefore, gave a special charge to the people, that on coming into 
 the land of their inheritance, they should proceed to the place which 
 was dedicated to God by their forefathers, and made hallowed by the 
 presence of the Lord, and solemnly renew their covenant before the 
 Most High. In obedience to this command, Joshua, as soon as the 
 way was clear enough to make a safe trip (after the capture of Ai), 
 went over to Gerizim and assembled the hosts in the valley of Shechem 
 that they might prepare for the solemn service that should soon follow. 
 This scene is fully recorded in the book of Joshua and should be care- 
 fully read by all Bible students. The people assembled on the side of 
 the mountains and in the valley, while the Levites assembled on the 
 
FROM JERUSALEM TO SHECHEM. 269 
 
 mountains ; from the summit of Ebal smoke was seen ascending from 
 the altar that Joshua had built of " unhewn stones," according to the 
 directions of Moses, and he wrote a copy of the Law upon the stones 
 in the presence of all the people. The stipulations of the Law were 
 read in their hearing of all Moses commanded. It is clear from the 
 command of Moses, which was faithfully observed by Joshua, that 
 the Israelites were divided by tribes while the law was being read. 
 Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin, were to stand 
 on Mt. Gerizim ; Eeuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Xaphtali, 
 on Mt. Ebal ; and the Levites repeated with a loud voice the word of 
 the law, and all the people at the end of each command said, "Amen." 
 It is a singular fact that by reason of the formation of the mountains 
 into an amphitheatre, a natural sounding-board is constituted by which 
 persons can hear each other distinctly talking in an ordinary tone of 
 voice from either side, or conversations can be had with persons in the 
 valley by those on the summit of either mountain just as plainly as 
 though they were standing at an ordinary talking distance. 
 
 THE VIEW FROM GERIZIM AND EBAL.. 
 
 These two historic mountains, standing so prominently along the 
 plain of Mukhna and the valley of Shechem, furnish many topics for 
 the Bible student's perusal. Both are nearly three thousand feet high ; 
 Ebal is said to be about three hundred feet higher than Gerizim. The 
 view from either is sublime ; the plain and valley seem like a beauti- 
 ful green carpet under you. The hills of Moab and Gilead are in full 
 view on the east of the Jordan, while Sharon, Joppa and the Great 
 Sea, are plainly seen on the west ; Hermon and the mountains of 
 Galilee loom up on the north and northwest and all the highland 
 round about. The sides of Ebal are more difficult to climb than 
 Gerizim, having a very narrow path winding up to the summit, which 
 has on its highest point an enclosure ninety-two feet square, with walls 
 said to be twenty feet thick. It is the general opinion that these ruins 
 are the remains of a fortress located here by the crusaders, as it was a 
 familiar custom with them to strongly fortify their highlands. 
 
 The Samaritans are very much reduced numerically, so that there 
 is but a small community left. They live in Shechem, and have a small 
 building which they call " The Samaritan Temple," on the slope of 
 Mt. Gerizim. In it they keep the Roll of the Law, which no one is 
 allowed to examine except by special permission from the High Priest, 
 which must be done in his august presence. It is not often permitted; 
 therefore, a person may feel himself highly favored who is given liberty 
 
270 THE LAXD OF PROMISE. 
 
 to see tliem. These ancient documents have given rise to much dis- 
 cussion, especially the oldest, which they claim was written in the time 
 of Moses, and the production of the grandson of Aaron. But while.it 
 is very stubbornly doubted that these old, time-worn manuscripts were 
 written in the time of Moses, or by the grandson of Aaron, it is certain 
 they are very old, and were written long before the Christian Era. 
 The oldest one is much worn with age, and so defaced (Josh. viii. 33 : 
 Deut. xxvii. 13) that those who have charge of it can only read a little 
 here and there in it . 
 
 The Temple is surprisingly small and low, having a plain, old- 
 fashioned interior that would remind one of a small country church, 
 with a white-washed finish rather than a temple. But the people are 
 anxious to have it look as ancient as possible, and anything that will 
 give it that appearance is appreciated by them, and they seem to be 
 just as proud of it as though it were a spacious house. It is located in 
 a very quiet and lonely part of the city on the northwest, and one 
 must prepare for a very unpleasant trip to reach it, for it is a half 
 hour's walk from the convent, including the short time required to 
 view the bazaar, which is uninviting. The Temple cannot be reached 
 conveniently riding, on account of the crooked and roundabout way 
 leading to it, therefore it can be made in less than half the time walk- 
 ing. The passes or narrow streets are winding, rough, dark, and 
 shamefully filthy. When Ave arrived there it seemed a pleasure to the 
 priest to open the door to admit us. In a few moments the High 
 Priest appeared, who, after the usual salutations, began 1o exhibit the 
 precious relics it contains. The recess where they are kept is called 
 Mizbah ; it is about five feet square and generally covered \\ith a veil. 
 It is so situated, that the worshipers, in looking at it, are always facing 
 their sanctuary on jNIt. Gerizim. There is a striking resemblance be- 
 tween the Jews and Samaritans in worship, which is a clear evidence 
 that they largely embraced the Jewish mode in the early ages. The 
 High Priest chants the service like the Kabbi, and generally takes the 
 place of that functionary in administering the higher order of service. 
 It requires but a short time to see all there is on exhibition ; and were 
 it not for the ancient manuscripts it would not pay any one to go 
 there. 
 
 The Samaritans seem to be a people well-disposed towards strangers, 
 and are glad when they pay their little Temple a visit. But the ma- 
 jority are said to be a do-less people, depending more upon charity 
 than labor for their maintenance. They have, for many ages, with- 
 drawn themselves from the social communion of other races in the 
 
FROM JEEUSALE:M to SHECHEM. 271 
 
 vicinity, so that, in their present reduced state, thej' must necessarily 
 marry their bhjod-rehations, which, to my mind, is the major cause of 
 their sickly expressions and the fast rate in which they have thinned 
 out. It will not be a century before there will not be a full-blooded 
 Samaritan in the community, and their existence will be a thing of the 
 past. They still hold their passover on Mt. Gerizim, and the ascent 
 to the ancient site is generally made by tourists. 
 
 The following is in part a description of a method of conducting the 
 feast, copied from Murray's Hand Book : " We proceed along the due east 
 toward a conspicuous hill on a rocky knoll, and in fifteen minutes reach 
 the base of the latter. Here we observe a few perches of tolerably level 
 ground, where the Samaritans encamp at the feast of the passover." On 
 its eastern side is a small rectangular area, surrounded by stones like the 
 foundation of an old building. In its centre is a trough about a foot 
 deep, and four feet long, filled with ashes and calcined bones, the 
 remains of the passover lambs, which are burned with fire accoiding 
 to the command of the law. Beside the enclosure is a circular pit 
 three feet in diameter and eight or ten feet deep, in which the lambs 
 are roasted. The Samaritan passover is rigidly observed in accordance 
 with the exact directions laid down by Moses (Exodus xii. 3-28). In 
 this respect it diifers considerably from the modern Jewish rite, and is 
 in consequence far more interesting. The tents of the community are 
 pitched around the inside of the enclosure formed by rough walls, 
 which is called Khurbet Luz, from a Samaritan tradition which 
 makes Gerizim the scene of Jacob's dream. The Tabernacle stands at 
 the southeast corner of the camp close to the rough trough. On the 
 afternoon preceding the eating of the passover, the scene is animating 
 and picturesque ; the younger men complete all the necessary ^^repa- 
 rations, and some of the older ones recite jDortions of the law, but the 
 most of them are inclined to take things easy. They remain in and 
 about the tents enjoying solid comfort. As the approach to sunset 
 comes on, they collect in the tabernacle and the women and children 
 take their positions in the doors of their tents. The men are generally 
 clothed in long white garments, surplice-like. The ceremony now 
 begins with prayer and a spreading out of hands. Six or seven lambs 
 are kept in readiness in a space behind the tabernacle door ; a careful 
 watch is kept on the downward progress of the sun, and as he di]is into 
 the west and hides from mortal view ^Gen. xxviii. 19 ; Exodus xii. 10), 
 the High Priest comes forward out of the tabernacle accompanied by 
 the white robed men, who form a group around the place of sacrifice. 
 When the sun is down the priest repeats in a loud voice, and very 
 
272 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 rapidly, the Samaritan version of the latter half of the sixth verse of 
 the twelfth chapter of Exodus. In an instant the lambs are seized, 
 and passed from one to another of the sacrificial ministers until they 
 reach the white-robed men, whose business it is to slay them. As they 
 lay quivering in death, two or three of the surpliced young men catch 
 the blood in basins and proceed around the camp, sprinkling the upper 
 sides of the posts of the tent doors, and the foces of the women and 
 children, with blood. The lambs are then examined, and if pronounced 
 faulty, they are rejected and consumed in a separate fire. If passed as 
 without blemish, their fleeces are stripped off and the entrails are 
 extracted ; each lamb is then pierced lengthwise by a wooden spit with 
 a cross bar near the extremity, and carefully placed in the circular pit, 
 which has been heated like an oven. When all are finally deposited, 
 the mouth of the pit is closed with sticks and mud, and there they 
 remain until fully roasted. Unleavened bread and bitter herbs having 
 been already prepared, as soon as roasting is complete, which is not as a 
 general thing until midnight, the whole male community gather around 
 the oven, the covering is torn ofi", and the roasted lambs are dragged 
 out on their long spits, black and charred. Then the eating begins, 
 which is done literally according to law, with loins girded, shoes on, 
 staff in hand, and in haste. In less than ten minutes, almost evejy 
 vestige of the meat is consumed ; the women and children being sup- 
 plied in the tents. The remnants are carefully gathered and thrown 
 into the fire, and " nothing remaineth until morning." It is said that 
 large numbers of natives gather on Mount Gerizim to witness the pass- 
 over ; and even the Mohammedans who live in and about Shechem are 
 no less curious than those who happen to be passing through on a tour 
 northward. When the time of the passover approaches, occurring annu- 
 ally, those who are in Jerusalem, going over to Galilee or Syria, are 
 advised to arrange to start in time to witness this strange feast. It is 
 also an occasion of great annoyance to strangers on account of the 
 incessant begging so commonly indulged throughout the country. The 
 native children and adults of both sexes pathetically implore every 
 stranger for " Backsheesh," and to say no to them is simply to say ask 
 me again, for they will follow one, and every step he takes a dozen 
 voices will call out "backsheesh." I became so very accustomed to 
 them, it did not annoy me but little to have them follow me. It will not 
 do to give one of them anything, unless you have concluded to give a 
 dozen or more something, for they will not allow one a moment's rest 
 until they all fare alike. It seems to be the first word the Arab chil- 
 dren learn to speak, for surely it is the first word in Arabic the 
 stranger learns, and that he learns too well. 
 
PART X. 
 
 SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 The Road from Shechem to Samaria, or Sebastiyeh — The Pool of Samaria 
 — Kings of Israel — Change of Dynasties — -Jehu's Reigu — Temple of 
 Baal — The Syrian Invasion— Jehu Anointed — Death of Joram — Death of 
 Jezebel — Reign of Jeroboam — Reign of Shallum — Pul, King of Assyria — 
 Attack Upon Israel— Shalmaneser Invades Samaria — Description of Ancient 
 Sites — The Situation and Environment of Dothan^-Plain of Esdrselon — 
 Mount Gilboa — Cities of Philistia — The Site of Ancient Jezreel — Naboth's 
 Vineyard — Ancient Nain — Historical Associations — Visit to Shunem. 
 
 THE ROAD FROM SHECHEM TO SAMARIA. 
 
 LEAVING Shechem, the present Nablous, for Sebastiyeh, the site of 
 ancient Samaria, the direction for about one mile is southward 
 along the Joppa highway, which is very pleasant to travel, and the 
 traveler has time to prepare for the journey before the rough road is en- 
 countered. The road is well paved and kept in good condition the whole 
 way from Nablous to Joppa, but only a short distance of it is enjoyed 
 by those going over to Samaria. Just as soon as Shechem is left the 
 road winds down into the valley, through a succession of orchards of 
 fig, apricot, apple, pomegranate and olive trees. On the hills are sev- 
 eral villages, one after another, so that the country is aglow with life 
 and prosperity. After the distance of a mile is traveled the tourist 
 leaves the pleasant carriage-road and sets his face westward. The road 
 to Sebastiyeh is not a difficult one to travel ; indeed, it is very good 
 when compared to the ancient highway, but the change is so very 
 great between it and the one leading to Joppa, one feels it keenly ; and 
 were it not for the many attractions along the way, the change would 
 be deeply lamented. But the natural scenery along the route is so 
 charming one has no time to think of the roughness of the path he is 
 traveling ; especially are the scenes delightful as viewed from the top 
 of a high mountain. Here the whole west opens to view like a vast 
 map, and the Mediterranean appears as though it were only five or six 
 hours' ride westward, but I was informed it would require two days' 
 constant travel on a horse to reach the nearest point. It is believed 
 18 273 
 
274 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 that some of the many villages dotting the high mountains have been 
 there ever since the time the Canaanites had possession of the country, 
 and others were inhabited by the Israelites, afterwards by the Samaritans ; 
 yet many of the houses seem to be as firm as they were the day of 
 their completion. The country round-about is one of the most beau- 
 tiful in the whole land. I frequently found myself standing still in 
 the road looking over the beautiful landscape, the lovely hills, valleys 
 and plains filled with wheat, barley, rye and other products. On 
 reaching the valley from the high mountain, on which such a fine 
 prospect is obtained, a spring of good water is seen, and close to it are 
 ruins of an ancient building. The spring is supposed to be the Pool 
 of Samaria, in which the blood-stained wheels of Ahab's chariot were 
 washed when he received his deadly wound in battle. After crossing 
 this memorable pool a short, but very steep, hill is ascended, on which 
 was located Samaria, the ancient capital of Israel, and one of the 
 most historic places in the northern kingdom. Here is a site of a once 
 powerful and proud city, in which many events took place that the 
 Bible speaks of, which caused the Lord to withhold His hand of pro- 
 tection from them ; and " the holy men of old " wrote many lament- 
 able prophecies concerning it. 
 
 Not long after the ten tribes had established their new kingdom, 
 Samaria became the seat of power. The Lord sent to this place many 
 warnings of her fate which would surely come, if she did not repent. 
 Prophets came with plain and painfully sad messages, to urge the 
 people to observe the commands of the Lord. She was visited by 
 famine and great loss of life, to warn her of the inevitable judgment 
 that would bring her to naught. The city was situated upon a high 
 eminence, a little lower than the surrounding mountains ; its elevation, 
 surroundings and other conveniences made it more desirable than 
 Shechem. It would not be a hard thing for any one who had the 
 choice of one of the two places, Samaria or Shechem, to see the former 
 is far more desirable. When Omri procured this tract of land, he saw 
 that it was suited in every way (at that time) for his capital ; so, the 
 place chosen for the erection of the city, is an elevation in the centre 
 of a basin nearly five miles in diameter, and almost surrounded by 
 lofty mountains whose summits form a natural fortress. Such a situa- 
 tion would at once attract the attention of a jjolitical chieftain far 
 more than a city located as is Shechem in a valley between two lofty 
 mountains, where an invading foe could pounce down ujion them, no 
 matter how strongly their walls were built. But, although there seems 
 to have been great precautions taken in the selection of a site for the 
 
SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 275 
 
 capital, there were some things connected with its situation tliat made 
 it unsafe when confronted by a powerful enemy. One of the objec- 
 tionable features of its situation was, its isolation from any of the 
 stronghold cities in the kingdom ; and such a condition in olden times 
 would naturally make it the object of attraction to those powers who 
 were unfriendly to Israel. Thei'efore, it was liable to be completely 
 hemmed in by foreign foes, which was one of the principal battle-plans 
 in ancient times. It is well known the inhabitants of Samaria were 
 several times invaded and greatly embarrassed by the presence of 
 powerful enemies who came up against their capital, and shut them 
 within the gates causing great, suffering among both men and beasts ; 
 especially was this the case, when the city was besieged by Benhadad, 
 King of Syria. The hill on which the city was built seems to derive 
 its name from Shemer, from whom King Omri purchased it. This is an 
 instance that shows how a small matter can immortalize a person's 
 name, and will serve as a stimulant for those who are seeking distinc- 
 tion, to "sow beside all waters." If Omri, King of Israel, bad not 
 bought the ground from Shemer, it is likely his name would never 
 have been mentioned in sacred history or any other. It is not the 
 man at all times who performs the giant work, who wins an imperish- 
 able name; it often occurs that men do things, who only have in view 
 something of a temporary character, Avithout having the slightest idea 
 of extraordinary results which will follow. The author's name has 
 been kept alive for a hundred generations ; such persons are known to 
 almost every one in the civilized world (1 Kings xvi. 24). 
 
 CHANGE OF DYNASTIES. 
 
 The kings of Israel may be regarded as a succession of dynasties ; 
 the fii'st began with Jeroboam and ended with his son Nadab. The 
 former died from natural causes after a reign of about twenty-two 
 years, having won great distinction in infamy and shame. The latter 
 had but a short reign of two years, and was assassinated. He followed 
 the path of his father in wickedness, and the Lord cut off the house of 
 Jeroboam forever. With the death of Nadab came the end of the first 
 dynasty ; and from that moment an endless succession of disgraceful 
 hostilities began in Israel, which at length blotted the kingdom from 
 existence. Men of various grades of position began to fix their eye 
 upon the sceptre, and resorted to every possible intrigue to become the 
 rulers of the kingdom ; therefore, the chief office did not remain in one 
 household but a short time before it was transferred to another. Jehu's 
 
276 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 family governed the kingdom for about four generations, which was 
 longer than any other dynasty of Israel. 
 
 When the capital was removed from Shechem to Tirzah, which be- 
 came the seat of power for fifty years, Omri then removed it to Sama- 
 ria, where it continued for nearly two hundred years ; but when Ahab, 
 the son of the latter, was installed king, a strong effort was made to 
 have the capital transferred from Samaria to Jezreel. a town beauti- 
 fully situated on a small ridge in the plain of Esdraelon, about twenty 
 miles north of the capital. The feeling of the people to have the capi- 
 tal established there may have been stimulated on the grounds of its 
 being the home of Jezebel, and the place where the worship of Ashta- 
 roth was permanently established. But it was not changed from Sa- 
 maria, although Jezreel was in some respects looked upon as such. At 
 Samaria a temple was erected to Baal, in which several hundred priests 
 officiated, and at its shrines thousands poured forth adoring strains of 
 devotion. This was a fearful period ; the people had become steeped 
 in idolatry and swallowed up in iniquity ; therefore, God sent several 
 prophets to them, who, in unmistakable terms, made known the fact 
 that their sins would be visited with severe chastisements from the 
 Lord. 
 
 The great founder of the capital at Samaria was buried there. It 
 may have been by Omri's request, or, that his friends wished to lay 
 their dead kings to rest at the capital just as the people of Judah did 
 theirs. Ahab, seventh king of the northern kingdom, married Jezebel, 
 the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Phoenicia ; she exerted a wonderful 
 influence over her husband (1 Kings xiv. 17-18 : xviii. 46), who seems 
 to have been completely controlled by her. Jezebel insisted that the 
 worship of Baal should be adopted in Israel. Ahab had, in compli- 
 ance Avith this wish, proceeded to build a temple to Baal on the hill of 
 Samaria. The eminence on which the temple stood was one of the 
 most beautiful and commanding hills about the city enclosure. A few 
 of the colossal pillars are yet standing just above the ground, and 
 others are completely hidden from view. 
 
 Notwithstanding the gross wackedness indulged in by his predeces- 
 sors, Ahab was the most depraved and daring. He did more evil in 
 the sight of the Lord than all the kings of Israel. The Temple was 
 destroyed by Jehu, an account of which will be seen on another page. 
 The Syrians, who were potent enemies of Israel, did everything 
 they could to vex them ; they continuously assaulted the people, al- 
 though one of the most striking evidences of the Lord's care for that 
 people had been seen in the case of Elisha, who captured a Avhole army 
 
SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 277 
 
 of Syrians and led them to Samaria. The distress brought to Samaria 
 by the Syrians is more than can be adequately described by the most 
 gifted tongue or the most graphic pen (1 Kings xxi. 17-20: 2 Kings 
 vi. 8-23). 
 
 When the alarming crisis came, caused by this determined foe, 
 who had besieged the city, and hemmed the people in for a long time 
 there was a deep g'oom haunting every household, from the king to 
 the most humble inhabitant. Benhadad's army was stationed com- 
 pletely around the city, so as to prohibit any one from escaping, sup- 
 posing they could by that method starve the people, or compel them 
 to open the massive gates, which were too strong for the besiegers to 
 break down, and had it not been for a miraculous interposition of the 
 Lord, all the dwellers of Samaria would have perished. Their food 
 supplies began to diminish more and more as the days passed, until 
 they were about exhausted, so that a very sore and distressing famine 
 was raging, and the people were dying like sheep, when a contagious 
 disease comes among them. Mothers, whose love for their children 
 was as pure as the morning air, consented to put some of their infants 
 to death and cook them for table use, that the others might live a few 
 days longer. Such was the rage of the death-dealing calamity that 
 the king became insane with auger, trouble and fear. He put on 
 sackcloth and walked upon the walls, swearing vengeance against 
 Elisha the prophet, who was living there at the time, and sent a mes- 
 senger to sever his head from his body, following close behind the man 
 himself to see that the deadly work was performed. The prophet 
 had delivered an encouraging prophecy, ^vhich the king thought would 
 not come to pass, because the condition of the people was growing 
 worse day after day. "When the man sent on the errand of death 
 arrived at the humble dwelling of Elisha, the king was just behind 
 him, leaning on the arm of one of his captains. The man of God was 
 not alarmed when the messenger came to him, but calmly waited until 
 the king came. Then Elisha delivered a wonderful prophecy as to 
 the abundance of food at the disposal of the king the next day. But 
 the faithlessness of the captain caused him to flatly deny the words of 
 the man of God. For this cause a prophecy was pronounced against 
 him, which was fulfilled to the letter.. Elisha declared to them that 
 a blessed change was at hand, when each one in the city would have 
 abundance, saying : " To-morrow, about this time, shall a measure of 
 fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel 
 in the gate of Samaria." The captain on whose arm the king leaned 
 said, ■' Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven might 
 
278 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 this thing be." Elisha answered him, saying, " Behold, thou shalt 
 see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eat thereof." Just as Avas 
 predicted, the thing happened. The Syrians were panic-stricken by a 
 miraculous event. The king of Syria, having heard a great noise, as 
 if a strong army was coming against him, and supposing the king of 
 Israel had formed an alliance with other kings, or had hired them to 
 assist him. caused his whole army to beat a hasty retreat from their 
 camp, leaving everything behind them. It was an anxious time with 
 the king of Samaria and his starving people, who had heard what 
 the prophet had said. Some of them were no doubt like the captain, 
 did not credit what Mas predicted, while others at least believed it to 
 the extent that they were hopeful it might be so. It is certain king 
 Jorani had faith in the statement of Elisha, for he had spared his life, 
 awaiting the results of the follow^ng day. It so happened there were 
 four lepers sitting at the entrance gate in a starving condition, who 
 concluded to go to the Syrian camp to beg something to eat; "for," 
 said they, " if we remain in this state we will die," and they could suffer 
 no more than death if they went to the enemy's camp. So they went, 
 and, to their surprise, found the camp vacated, but all the abundant 
 supplies left there. This was reported to the king, and everything 
 Elisha had said came to pass just as Avas predicted. The captain who 
 doubted Elisha was placed in charge of the gate, and the rush of the 
 nearly starved people trampled him to death. Truly he saw it with 
 his eyes, but did not taste it. Seeing how triumphantly the Lord had 
 delivered them from their relentless foes and from the very jaws of 
 death, it would seem that the king and all his subjects throughout the 
 kingdom would have immediately abandoned every shadow of idolatry 
 and turned themselves in fervent devotion to the God of their fathers, 
 but they ate, drank, and filled themselves with the spoils and returned 
 to their idols. 
 
 The intrigues of Jehu add to the history of Samaria a page of 
 infamy of the basest character. This young man was commander-in- 
 chief of the army of Israel, and about this time a fierce conflict was 
 going on between Syria and Israel, as had been during the whole of 
 Elisha's prophetic life (2 Kings vi. ; vii. ). In the earlier days of the 
 Syrians, they were not regarded ^s an important people, and were not 
 dreaded by the northern kingdom ; but by reason of the consolidation 
 of the various independent states they suddenly grew rapidly and 
 became a powerful nation, and because of their bravery had gained a 
 wide-spread reputation as shrewd warriors. Israel, seeing how warlike 
 they had become, feared them ; and had there not been a true prophet 
 
SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 279 
 
 among them, their condition would have been hopeless, for they were 
 the most timid people in the world when left to themselves. It is known 
 to be a fact, that every victory Israel won from the time they left 
 Egypt until taken into captivity, was given them immediately from 
 God ; and when they marshalled themselves against their foes, if God 
 did not interpose for them in some wonderful way, they invariably lost 
 the battle. Therefore, when Israel knew their northern neighbors had 
 gained power so rapidly, they became alarmed when compelled to con- 
 front them in war. The Syrians, feeling they were competent to sub- 
 ordinate Israel, began to impose upon them by taking portions of 
 their territory, little by little. The intention of the Syrian monarch 
 to reduce Israel to a subordinate kingdom became so evident, that it 
 was found expedient for the latter, if they would preserve their safety, 
 to contend for their rights, and even unite their forces against this 
 common enemy, as they did in the time of Ahab and Jehoshaphat. 
 These two kingdoms, which were so strongly opposed to each other on 
 account of the revolt, found it to their advantage to become friendly, 
 so that their united powers might be exerted against the Syrians. Had 
 it not been for the continued interference of this new kingdom in the 
 far north, the people of Israel and Judah would have remained 
 unfriendly. The Syrians were encroaching upon the dominion of 
 Israel ; they had possessed Ramoth-Gilead, on the east side of the Jor- 
 dan, in the time of Ahab, by the walls of which he received his death- 
 wound ; and it remained in their hands until after his death. When 
 the furor created on account of the murder of Benhadad, king of 
 Syria, by Hazael. an officer in his court, caused the Syrian army to 
 abandon Ramoth-Gilead for a time, and it was occupied by Jehu, the gen- 
 eral-in-chief of Israel, who' was known to be a very brave man and an 
 expert in horsemanship. At this time Joram, Ahab's son and successor, 
 Avas king of Israel, and was at Jezreel, very ill from the effects of a 
 wound he had received at the same place his father had been mortally 
 wounded; and Ahaziah, king of Judah and nephew of Joram, had 
 come over from Jerusalem to pay him a visit. 
 
 These two raonarchs were in conversation in the summer palace at 
 Jezreel, and the army was in charge of Jehu at Ramoth-Gilead. Just 
 at this time, Elisha sent a young man over the Jordan to anoint Jehu 
 to be king of Israel. When the messenger arrived and informed him 
 of his mission, he received it with great composure, not wishing to 
 disclose the matter until his plans were fully matured ; but his com- 
 panions were apprised of the secret, and hailed him with shouts of 
 praise as their future king. Then, without delay, the young prince 
 
280 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 entered his chariot, escorted by some of his close friends, and made all 
 possible speed for Jezreel, where Joram, the wounded king, and 
 Ahaziah, his nephew and king of Judah, were. When Jehu was seen 
 from afar, his coming had a suspicious bearing, although he was not 
 recognized from the distance, he was at first seen about six miles 
 off. There was a watch-tower in Jezreel, in which a man was stationed 
 to keep a close lookout and give notice when he saw anything worthy 
 of attention approaching. These towers were thought to be indispen- 
 sable, in those days, in all the strongholds or important places in Pales- 
 tine and Syria, and many are still in use. The watchman was stead- 
 fastly looking in every direction of the approach to Jezreel ; and as 
 he turned his eyes down the road that is between little Hermon and 
 Mt. Gilboa in the plain of Esdraelon, he saw a rapidly-advancing 
 chariot accompanied by an escort, coming with great speed, and gave 
 notice to Joram of the approach of some one whom he did not recog- 
 nize. Then the king ordered that a messenger should meet the com- 
 pany and ascertain who was coming, and whether they were on a visit 
 of peace or war. He made haste to execute the command, but did 
 not return ; for, when he drew near to Jehu, and asked if his coming 
 to Jezreel was for peace, he answered, " What hast thou to do with 
 peace? Turn thee behind me." The watchman noticed this strauge pro- 
 cedure, and informed the king that " the messenger cometh to them, 
 but cometh not out again." Another was dispatched with the same 
 message, and was treated as the first one. Then the king became 
 alarmed, for he was apprehensive that a foe was advancing with 
 treachery in his heart. By this time Jehu had reached a point in the 
 road where the watchman partially recognized him by the way he 
 drove ; for the general was well known as a fast driver. He then 
 informed the king, it must be "Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he drives 
 furiously." On his approach to Jezreel, Joram arose from his bed, 
 mounted his chariot, having Ahaziah by his side, and went with haste 
 to meet him. When he approached within speaking distance, he 
 cried out, " Is it peace Jehu ? " He answered, " What peace ? " adding 
 that the conduct of Jezebel, the mother of Joram, was disreputable and 
 unbearable; for she was leading a life of lewdness and indulging in 
 witchcraft. The king became alarmed, seeing Jehu was about to bring 
 trouble, turned immediately and fled, saying, " There is treachery, O 
 Ahaziah." But without further warning, Jehu drew his bow with all his 
 strength, and sent a dart of death into the wounded body of Joram, 
 which resulted in his speedy demise. It happened just as he was passing 
 through Naboth's vineyard, and his body was thrown in the same plot of 
 
SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 281 
 
 ground his father so unjustly took possession of, to satisfy a covetous 
 ambition. Ahaziah fled, but was pursued and slain. In the mean- 
 time, Jehu went with haste to Jezreel ; Jezebel, being old and feeble, 
 endeavored to hide her age and feebleness by artificial means, but was 
 not spared ; for Jehu caused her to be thrown from the window out 
 of which she was looking, and the hungry dogs devoured her flesh, 
 just as the prophet had predicted. When Jehu understood how com- 
 pletely the dogs had done their work, he said, " This is the word of the 
 Lord which He spake by His servant Elijah, the prophet, saying, 'In 
 the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel.' " 
 
 The new monarch proceeded to destroy the household of Ahab. 
 His next command was, that the seventy sons of Ahab should be put 
 to death ; all of whom had hoped to hold the sceptre of power at some 
 time in the future. Thus it is seen, the very beginning of Jehu's reign 
 was a scene of murder and tyranny, which continued until he had 
 destroyed all those connected with Ahab's family ; even the house of 
 Ahaziah did not escape his wrath. The house of Ahab was not per- 
 mitted to control the kingdom, because it would follow the evil exam- 
 ple of their father, who was one of the most wicked men of his day. 
 Not one member of the house of Ahab, of the large number it was com- 
 posed, escaped the sword of Jehu. He proceeded immediately with all 
 possible haste to Samaria, after putting the sons of Ahab to death who 
 lived in Jezreel, and conceived a scheme which succeeded in accom- 
 plishing the destruction of the remaining members of that household ; 
 and when he had done this fully and completely, he turned his atten- 
 tion toward the utter demolition of the images of Baal, and imme- 
 diately put an end to that famous worship that had been so enthusiasti- 
 cally conducted at the renowned capital of Israel and other parts of 
 the kingdom. Jehu's method was a cunning one, which gave him an 
 opportunity to make a clean sweep of all against whom he had plotted. 
 At the same time he pretended to the officials he had great zeal for 
 the worship of Baal, and commanded that those who were of that faith, 
 both priests and people, should meet at the temple of that deity at a 
 certain time, for special worship ; to which call, all the interested 
 people responded with great pleasure, expecting to enjoy a season of 
 extraordinary pleasure, so that the temple was crowded with Baalites. 
 Jehu, having pre-arranged all his deep-laid plans, so as to carry into 
 effect his murderous purpose, ordered that every one should be slain, 
 which was alnjost instantly done Not one of the followers of Baal 
 remained alive. Then the images of the gods were brought out and 
 broken ; the temple was demolished, and its place was devoted to pur- 
 
282 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 poses highly questionable. There would seem, from a casual observa- 
 tion of Jehu's distaste for the Baal worship, to be a disposition in him 
 to bring about a creditable religious change in his kingdom ; but his 
 idea of true reformation was not half complete ; for, when he destroyed 
 one form of idolatry, he established another. The old custom of wor- 
 ship ordained by Jeroboam, which had sunk into insignificance, w-as 
 revived, and again took its original station as the religion of the king- 
 dom, so that the people were no freer from idol worship than they were 
 before the ambitious and deadly Jehu destroyed the Baal form. 
 
 There w^as a foul and deadly purpose hidden in the heart of Jehu 
 when he caused all the Baal-worshipers throughout his kingdom to 
 be put to death under the pretense of reorganizing the true worship of 
 Jehovah. His intensely proud heart seems to have been filled to 
 an overflow with an insatiable lust for his own aggrandizement, so 
 that everything like lasting preference, devotion and zeal, relative to 
 the true religion, could not obtain, although he is regarded as an excep- 
 tion to those who succeeded him. Every one of his successors culti- 
 vated a ravenous passion for the idol-worship established by Jeroboam, 
 and Samaria was not at any time entirely free from the humiliating 
 practice of idolatry. The law^s of the Lord were not looked upon as 
 a standard-guide of human conduct ; they trampled upon them as 
 unworthy of toleration, and expelled them from their thoughts. Jehu 
 had the most favorable opportunity, had he been truly sincere, to have 
 rooted out every phase of idolatry, and with ease established the true 
 worship, for he had from the beginning of his control of the kingdom 
 everything under his sway. The w^hole dominion felt his masterly 
 hand and stood in great fear of him. Therefore, his was the pivot- 
 reign, for no monarch succeeding him had such a commanding control 
 of the people. The destruction of the Baal worship, A\'hich was done 
 at such a tremendous sacrifice of life, was in fact but disguised mockery, 
 for Jehu had no intention of reorganizing the people according to the 
 will of Heaven. The house, of which he was the acknowledged head, 
 was the largest of all the dynasties in Israel, and had the kingly con- 
 trol for the period of one hundred and three years, Avith the following 
 members of his house upon the throne, viz. : Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jero- 
 boam, the second, and Zechariah. None of these are known to have 
 exerted any manliness worthy of note, except Jeroboam, who Avon sev- 
 eral important victories, and did much toAvards advancing the pros- 
 perity of his kingdom during the forty-one years of his reign, and yet 
 added much to the guilt of Israel. The kingdom, having an ambitious 
 man as king, Avhose heart Avas full of selfishness and death-dealing, Avas 
 
SAMAKIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 283 
 
 still in a state of woeful corruption. His thirst for blood did not abate 
 when his destructive hand had wiped from existence the wickedly- 
 licentious occupant of the throne and his household, but his influence 
 was strongly exerted in Jerusalem through Athaliah, whose mother 
 he had slain. This woman united with Jehu in carrying out his deep- 
 laid plans to destroy the royal house of Judah. She even caused all her 
 own children to be put to death that she might be permitted to remain 
 queen. Only the infant, Joash, who had been hidden by his aunt and 
 reared in absolute secrecy, was left alive, for if Jehu, the blood-thirsty 
 monarch, or Athaliah, his infamous mother, had known where he had 
 been hidden, they would have secured him for slaughter by some low- 
 cunniug means. There was not much interest attached to the admin- 
 istration of the house of Jehu in Samaria after his death, who seems 
 to have left but little bloody work for his successors to perform. Bethel 
 was again choseu as the chief place for calf-worship, and idolatrous 
 priests, under the reign of Jeroboam, the second, who Avas the third 
 king from Jehu, officiated. He seems to have had a good degree of 
 prosperity during the time of his reign. But it is clearly evident that 
 Bethel became once more the seat of great corruption, for the prophets 
 who watched Samaria with incessant vigilance suddenly turned them- 
 selves towards Bethel and fixed their attention on the place where the 
 people bowed with enthusiastic devotions to the calf. These men of 
 God, who had been appointed to warn the people against the bitter 
 results of idol-worship, were almost constantly busy in the discharge of 
 their duties, and were just as determined to do the work of their call- 
 ing when their messsage was woeful as when it was pleasant. There 
 was no period during the time of the prophets that one could not be 
 found who was ready for duty. (2 Kings viii. 28-29 ; ix. ; x. ; Amos 
 vii. 10-13.) 
 
 Jeroboam extended the border of Israel, and subdued Damascus, the 
 capital of the Syrians ; a people whose continuous eflTorts to capture Israel 
 kept them in constant dread of the vengeance of their relentless ire. 
 The last king belonging to the house of Jehu was Zechariah, who only 
 was permitted to reign six months, when he was ruthlessly slain by 
 Shallum, son of Jabesh, an ambitious aspirant, who after committing the 
 fiendish deed usurped the crown. His aim was accomplished, but like 
 many whose ambition overrules their judgment, Shallum had not got- 
 ten the sceptre in his hand before he was in turn slain by Menahem, 
 in Samaria ; for it was just at the end of one month's reign, when he 
 was dispatched to eternity. About this time a new and powerful 
 nation rose into prominence on the east beyond the Euphrates, who 
 
284 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 increased so rapidly in strength that Judah and Israel watched her with 
 a suspicious eye ; for there were evident indications that a woeful crisis 
 would seize the two kingdoms of the Hebrews, if this nation continued 
 to grow. These new people were the Assyrians, who afterwards proved 
 to be the mightiest foe the Israelites had known. An alarming signal 
 of their power was developed by Pul, king of Assyria, who resented 
 the conduct of Menahem, who caused the inhabitants of Tiphsah to 
 be slaughtered Pul became indignant, and suddenly rose up Avith his 
 forces and descended upon Israel with vengeance, carrying a large 
 number into captivity, but spared Samaria and the immediate districts 
 around it. Yet, while Pul was disposed to be gracious enough to save 
 the capital of Israel from destruction, he brought the tyrant Menahem 
 under heavy obligations to the Assyrian government, by compelling 
 him to pay a tax amounting to a thousand talents. It is said this 
 attack was made upon Israel, by the king of Assyria, through the 
 mountainous country east of the Jordan, and north of the plain of 
 Esdraelon, The attack was so very sudden upon the people, they were 
 not in condition to defend themselves. The event was a manifestation 
 of the weakness of Israel, and the maiden test of Assyrian strength. 
 This was a warning to Israel, and should have admonished them suffi- 
 ciently to awaken them to a sense of their duty to the God of their 
 fathers, who had so frequently fought for them, and never allowed them 
 to lose a battle while they were under His command The Assyrians 
 continued to increase so rapidly that other nations w'ere beginning to 
 notice them and fear their power. When Hoshea, the last king of 
 Israel, was ruling, he attempted to sever his subordinate relation to 
 the Assyrian empire, by forming an alliance with the king of Egypt ; 
 and no doubt would have effected his plans, had not Shalraaneser been 
 apprised of the plot in time to prevent further negotiations between the 
 two monarchs. So, an Ethiopian, who was second king of the twenty- 
 fifth dynasty, Avas the ruler over Egypt at the time the proposition for 
 an alliance was offered by Hoshea, king of Israel. It would have been 
 a wonderful addition to the strength of Israel, had an opportunity 
 been given the king of Egypt to help Hoshea But as soon as the 
 news reached Shalmaneser, he at once came up against Samaria with a 
 large army, and besieged it for three years ; at length the peojDle 
 became so greatly reduced they could hold out no longer, but surren- 
 dered to the powerful foe, who was determined to capture the city (it 
 seems), even if they starved every inhabitant to death. The king Avas 
 captured also, put in bonds, and carried Avith the people aAvay into 
 captivity. This struggle terminated the existence of the northern 
 
SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 285 
 
 kingdom, which had been prominent for two hundred and fifty years, 
 under the most variable circumstances of any kingdom known in the 
 world, considering the length of time it existed. 
 
 The people, whose hearts were brought low because of their bond- 
 age, were dispersed throughout the Assyrian empire, and many en- 
 dured great afflictions under their new rulers; but the Lord allowed 
 them to remain there until the expiration of seventy years. There 
 were no more attractions in the city of Samaria for a long time; her 
 doom had come ; her rich treasures had been carried away, and her 
 glory was in the dust. This was about the year seven hundred and 
 twenty, before the Christian era, when this final calamity visited the 
 kingdom of Israel, which completely demolished it. It is thought by 
 several eminent scholars, that the new-comers, who were transported to 
 take charge of the country, occupied the city of Samaria as their head- 
 quarters for a while, then went down to Shechem and made it their 
 permanent and chief city. It is plain to be seen, that the Israelites, 
 who revolted and established a new kingdom, began it with a malicious 
 spirit, and proved themselves unworthy of the protection of the Lord 
 almost from the beginning to the end of their national independence. 
 They went from God to the idol calf ; then to Baal ; then to Astarte, 
 and a number of other images. After the captivity, which caused the 
 downfall of the kingdom, but little is known of Samaria for several 
 centuries. 
 
 The next important development in its history was in the time of 
 Herod the Great. It having been given him by Emperor Augustus, 
 the king rebuilt Samaria and adorned it, changed its name, which is 
 known to the Greeks as Sebaste, but is called by the natives Sebastiyeh. 
 It is said that Herod left an open area of nine hundred feet in the 
 centre of the city, surrounded by some of the most costly buildings ; 
 upon this area he built a most magnificent temple to the emperor. It 
 is supposed to have stood on the summit of a hill, which is an eminent 
 site, and must have been highly attractive to those approaching the 
 city from the east or west. It is also believed, from a number of de- 
 velopments, that Ahab built his temple to Baal upon this same site. 
 There are many remnants of the long colonnade which winds around 
 the hill, several of them remaining where they were placed by the 
 workmen. They extend as far as the village in the western section. 
 Sixty columns are yet standing ; several have been broken, and others 
 are full of scars, many of which have been caused by relic-seekers ; but 
 time's hand has crumbled them more than the hand of man. It is the 
 general opinion that the colonnade was erected to beautify the great 
 
286 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 street of the city, just as those in other cities in the East, especially 
 Damascus, Pahnyra and Constantinople. It is thought that the large 
 building which stood on the corner of the hill facing the north was in. 
 tended for the celebration of the great festivals or on other occasions 
 when jubilees were held. From what has been stated concerning the 
 new city built by Herod the Great, it may be concluded that he did 
 not spare pains or expense in making it a stupendous palace. But 
 Samaria, the beautiful, has fallen to rise no more, for it has become a 
 wreck. 
 
 The little village that crowns a small portion of the site of the an- 
 cient city, called Sebastiyeh, is composed of about sixty houses and 
 four hundred inhabitants. It is built upon an old terrace, about the 
 middle of the eastern side of the hill, and is almost entirely composed 
 of the old material of the former cities. Many of the carefully carved 
 blocks of stone, which formed a portion of the beauty of the capital of 
 Israel, and the Sebaste of Herod's time, are carelessly laid in the walls 
 of the present huts of which the whole village is composed. 
 
 The first attraction on entering Samaria is the church of St. John, 
 standing upon an elevation on the east of the village. Its entrance- 
 door opens from a court which is a little lower than the grade around 
 it. The low door passed through to enter the building is said to be- 
 long to the time of the Crusaders ; and it is currently believed that it 
 stands over the grave of John the Baptist. 
 
 The church had almost become a ruin for a long time, but efforts 
 were being made to remodel and change it into a Mohammedan 
 mosque. It is one hundred and eighty feet long and seventy feet wide, 
 having a small dome over the cellar, under which is the traditional 
 tomb of John the Baptist, which is reached by descending thirty-one 
 stone steps into a very dark and lonely chamber. This is partitioned 
 from the tomb by a thick wall. The graves of Elisha and Obadiah 
 are traditionally located here also. Josephus says : " John was be- 
 headed at Fort Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea," but many of the 
 foremost writers and scholars are of the opinion that Herod Antipas 
 did not select such an out of-the-way place as that was to hold a jubi- 
 lant feast. There is a tradition, reaching back to the time of Jerome, 
 which says : " John was beheaded at Samaria." It is thought to be 
 the more likely place, as it corresponds with the vicinity where he per- 
 formed his latter work, which was only a few miles east of Samaria, at 
 the head of Wady Far'ah, wdiich is between ^non and Salim. It is 
 also supposed John was in one of the prisons in Samaria, either the 
 one connected with the palace or the one common to prisoners in gen- 
 
SAMAKIA— ANCIENT AND ^MODERN. 287 
 
 eral. It is certain the place of Jolm's confinemeut ^vas not far from 
 the place where the feast was held. Jerome, who was a man of great 
 piety and candor, says, " John met his death at Samaria," which seems 
 to be the more likely place from the connecting circumstances. The 
 traditional tomb of John is much older than the building over it, and 
 may be the place where the great prophet and forerunner of our Lord 
 was laid to rest. This being the Samaria of the New Testament times, 
 and no doubt the city to which Philip on his evangelistic mission came 
 and preached the gospel, and here preached Peter and John also. 
 When the Crusaders were in power, Samaria was their headquarters 
 and the seat of a bishopric, at which time it had regained a portion of 
 its former importance. It was about noon when we arrived there from 
 Shechem, and on approaching the village we turned to the northwest 
 to make a tour of the site of the ancient cities, and see the remaining 
 ruins that are visible. I had for some time been very dubious of visit- 
 ing Samaria, having heard of so many unpleasant things as to the 
 conduct of the natives toward strangers. The inhabitants have the 
 reputation of being the most vicious of all the people in Palestine, 
 and they have on several occasions driven strangers from the place 
 with stones and deadly instruments. I nerved myself for the journey, 
 with the purpose of making the very best I could of the worst that 
 might come. According to custom, when we drew near the village 
 every one that could came from their humble dwellings to see who was 
 approaching. We made the usual circuit of the whole place, and it is 
 but just that I should say for the inhabitants of Samaria. I did not find 
 in all my travels through the land a more friendly and quiet people. 
 Not one of them gave me an ill-look or a cross word. There is a small 
 native school kept in an apartment in which several important relics 
 are stored, some being images that were worshiped in ancient times. 
 Just as I entered the room the teacher ordered the children to rise 
 and make obeisance to me, and they did it with as much delight 
 seemingly as though I were one of the high officials. I thought they 
 would immediately take their seats, but when it became apparent they 
 would stand until I left the room, I told the teacher, through my 
 guide, to seat them. We remained some time in Samaria, visiting the 
 many scenes of remarkable ruins. We rode around the elevated ter- 
 race on the west side to the leper's gate, and took a passing view of 
 the ruins of the ancient colonnade, which we followed to the end, where 
 heaps of stones are promiscuously piled up. Many more columns are 
 yet standing in the line they were placed in Herod's time. 
 
 The colonnade begins on the west, where there is a large mass of 
 
288 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 ruins, which are supposed to have been a triumphal arch. It runs 
 about one thousand feet eastward in a direct line, then turns a little 
 southward, following the hill until the terminus is reached, which is a 
 little to the southeast of Sebastiyeh. There about sixty of the old 
 columns standing on the west side, which indicate by their irregular 
 positions, the depth of the ruins about them. Some of them are several 
 feet above the ground, others are not more than a foot or two above. 
 Not one of them is as high above the ground as when first put in 
 position, but several are high enough to indicate their former heights, 
 and the depth of the ruins about them ; and there are reasons to 
 believe, from the heights of some of the mounds between many of the 
 columns, that several of them are completely covered up by higher 
 piles of ruins. There w^as a double range of these columns, at a dis- 
 tance of about fifty feet, supposing to have extended about three thou- 
 sand feet. The shafts are sixteen feet high and two feet in diameter. 
 These colonnades are supposed to have been the centre of attraction 
 in the main street of Samaria ; but their glory is departed, and, like a 
 man who has descended from riches and plenty to poverty and want, 
 they stand to tell all who visit them what they were in other days ; 
 stationed as they are in a place of solitude, surrounded by great masses 
 of ruins, it cannot be conjectured by any one who has not witnessed the 
 sight, what a strikingly sad spectacle they present. Here stood clustered 
 in dazzling splendor, the glory of Samaria and Sebaste in the days of 
 their prosperity, when their proud heads were lifted to the sky, and 
 their envied fame was spread to the ends of the earth, but now all lies 
 deeply entombed in the dust ; for the mighty cities have fallen. Who 
 can look upon these heaps of desolation, under which the crumbling 
 remains of the two great cities are buried, without dropping a tear of 
 deep sorrow because of human weakness? Who can ride around the 
 hillside and in the valley of this wrath-smitten place, and look in the 
 valley and on the hill upon these broken columns, standing among the 
 wild vines, olive trees and green corn, looking like an old dead trunk 
 of a once flourishing and fruitful tree, or see them surrounded with 
 heaps of stones, which at some age of the distant past occupied their 
 place in one of the lavishly embellished buildings that adorned the 
 hill with splendor, without feeling most pungently the sacred words, 
 " Thy sins will find thee out ; " or, who can look at the heaps of stones, 
 which have been carefully carved by skilled workmen, to be placed in 
 some of the most spacious buildings crowning the hill, now serving as 
 the bases of terraces in the corn and barley fields ; or, upon the many 
 beautifully-hewn and costly stones strewn along the valley, as if tossed 
 
SAMARIA— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 289 
 
 by a mighty tornado or a tremendous upheaval, and not see the revela- 
 tion of the handwriting on the wall, " God hath numbered thy days." 
 The prediction of the prophet Micah, as to the fate of Samaria, has a 
 standing testimony of its fulfillment in the piles of ruins from one end 
 of its original boundary to the other. "Therefore, will I make Samaria 
 as an heap of the field and as the planting of a vineyard ; and I will 
 throw down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the 
 foundations thereof." I did not see in any other portion of Palestine 
 such a tremendous profusion of ruins as are prominent in Samaria ; 
 and any one passing through the old ruins, having a knowledge 
 of the predictions concerning it, could not otherwise conclude than 
 that every word has been literally fulfilled. (Micah i. 6.) 
 
 There are several interesting places to visit while passing around 
 about the ruins, among them the most interesting is the site of the 
 " Leper's Gate," to which the poor, starving men came on the night the 
 Syrians abandoned their camp, leaving everything and fleeing in wild 
 dismay, suj^posing a reinforcement was on the way to capture them. 
 The site of the " camp " is supposed to be the beautiful little plain on 
 the northwest side ; certainly, it is the only convenient place about the 
 city for a camp, and we have no doubt that it is identical with " The 
 Lepers' Gate," and the scene of the great press of half-starved people, 
 who came out to get food when the captain was killed. The traditional 
 tomb of John the Baptist is also worthy of visiting. It is down in a 
 dark crypt, and the person who intends entering must brace himself 
 strong with courage or he will not be able to go into it. I am not 
 ashamed to confess my timidity when about to make the trip, iSot to 
 descend looked cowardly, and to do so seemed to be a venture of immi- 
 nent peril, and to allow that opportunity to pass would be giving up the 
 only chance I should ever have to see the place, where it is said a 
 portion of the mortal remains of one of the most pious and dis- 
 tinguished men of the world was buried. I, therefore, concluded to 
 go down into it whatever might occur. The lights were arranged and 
 we started down the journey of thirty-one steps to the little, dark 
 chamber at the bottom, where a ray of sunlight cannot enter, and per- 
 haps has not since the sainted dead was first rested there. The keeper 
 of the sepulchre went in advance, followed by one of his companions ; 
 I followed them and my dragoman came behind me. My nerves had 
 gotten to an exciting point, and many unpleasant ideas came unbidden 
 to my mind. At one time I was about to give up the trip and inti- 
 mated my purpose to the dragoman ; he insisted I should continue, so, 
 mustering all the courage possible, I started again, and finally we 
 19 
 
290 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 reached the chamber. I was conducted to the partition which divides 
 the tomb from the main room and shown an opening in the walL 
 Through this visitors look upon the traditional tomb of John. I was 
 soon satisfied with what I had seen and ready to return towards the 
 earth's surface, and came up feeling rather pleased with my visit. 
 There could be a fine museum of Ancient Statues in Samaria if the 
 people knew how to arrange it and could appreciate its value, for 
 hundreds, if not thousands, of such relics could be found under the 
 mounds ; if the people would command enough industry to dig for them 
 they might find other valuables which would place every inhabitant 
 above the sills of poverty. But thej' are under the Turkish Govern- 
 ment, which seems to be disinterested in making investigations. One 
 unfortunate thing about Samaria is there are no Christians residing in 
 it. I feel safe in saying if the present villagers were blessed with 
 native Christian neighbors a greater state of progress would soon be 
 seen, for it is noticeable in all the cities and towns in Palestine where 
 Christians form a part of the inhabitants there are evident indications 
 of progress, and where they are not found signs of improvement are 
 wanting. It is a fact, as plainly demonstrated as two and two are 
 four, that Christianity is lifting the world, and is the light of it in 
 every sense pertaining to human elevation. The road from Samaria 
 northward is, for a few miles, " beautiful for situation," and when the 
 high hill is reached travelers usually halt to take their last look at the 
 scenes just left and the fine country round about. Close to the halt- 
 ing place is a small village called Neby Lamin, or the " Levite 
 Prophet ' Near by is a tomb supposed to be that of Sanballat, who 
 was a very prominent governor of the district of Samaria. 
 
 Proceeding a short distance, the plain of Esdraelon is seen a few 
 miles away ; and a stranger finds himself nearing one of the most his- 
 torical districts in the world ; for it is filled with memorable associa- 
 tions from one end to the other. To just give an outline of all the 
 events of this plain, several volumes much larger than this would be 
 required. About midway the beautiful valley leading to the plain, 
 just east of a flat-top hill that stands out from the surrounding moun- 
 tains, is an opening to the northeast. This is Dothan. It was on this 
 rich plain that the sons of Jacob were feeding their flocks, when Joseph 
 was sent to see if they were doing well. On the hill-sides are yet remain- 
 ing several ancient pits, one of which Joseph, no doubt, was put in before 
 he was sold to the merchants who were going down to Egypt. It is 
 well no one has been able to identify the pit of Joseph's incarceration, 
 or a mosque would have been placed over it, and every one visiting there 
 
FROM SAMARIA TO JEZREEL. 291 
 
 would be required to pay for entering. One of the most important 
 events connected with the life of Elisha transpired at Dothan, and 
 should have special mention here (2 Kings vi. 8-23). When the king of 
 Syria was haunting the king of Israel, many cunning and deep-laid 
 plans were arranged by him and his council to capture the kingdom. 
 To accomplish this design he would get information as to the route 
 the king of Israel's army would take, or where they were likely to 
 camp, and lay in ambush so as to come out against it suddenly and 
 capture it ; but Elisha warned the king of these cunning intrigues, and 
 the Syrians were unsuccessful in their plans that had been so carefully 
 formulated in great secrecy. The king of Syria was puzzled to under- 
 stand how his plans were exposed to the king of Israel, unless some of 
 those of his own council were traitors. He therefore called a council 
 that he might find who was the man so shamefully untrue. It was 
 made known to him that his suspicions were misplaced ; that none of 
 his council were false, but that there was a prophet in Israel who told 
 these things and knew his most secret plans. Hearing this the king 
 of Syria became almost insanely excited, and sent out spies to apprehend 
 the prophet. Poor fellow, he did not seem to know that if the prophet 
 could tell all his secret plans, he could also know when spies were 
 seeking him and could, if necessary, elude them. But Elisha had 
 nothing to fear, and therefore made no effort to flee. The spies soon 
 returned with the information that the prophet was in Dothan, which 
 is about ten miles north of Samaria, a little to the northeast of the 
 main road to Jeuin and Nazareth. The king, hearing where the 
 prophet was, sent a large army by night to capture him and bring him 
 to Damascus. The army obeyed the order ; and on their arrival at 
 Dothan concluded to wait there qaietly all night and make the capture 
 in the morning. That they might prohibit his escape, the soldiers sur- 
 rounded the mountain so as to hem in the village completely. But, 
 without their knowledge, another army appeared on the scene. 
 
 The Lord, whose messenger Elisha was, sent an army of angels 
 from heaven to guard his interests ; much larger than the King of 
 Syria had sent to capture him. When the morning came, and the 
 servant of God was ready for the engagement, he simply prayed that his 
 enemies might be smitten with blindness, and it was instantly done. 
 He then led them into the city of Samaria as blind captives. Surely, 
 " one can chase a thousand." 
 
 I took great care, on our arrival at Dothan, to survey its situation ; 
 and especially the location of the mountains where the Syrians en- 
 camped, awaiting the morning dawn, that they might execute their 
 
292 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 mission. The village is nearly surrounded by a double range of moun- 
 tains, the inner circle being very near it, but the outer one a mile (we 
 think) away. It is, therefore, reasonable to suppose that the Syrians 
 formed their circle around the heights of the inner or smaller range, 
 for it would have required a very large army to have encircled the 
 outer and more extensive mountains. The small circle does not con- 
 nect on the northwest, the narrow space between them forming a beau- 
 tiful little plain, extending to the village. At present there are but 
 two or three houses, a mill, and a shed or two in Dothan. It may be 
 we passed the site of Elisba's house. (2 Kings vi. 8-23 ; Gen. xxxvii. 
 15-28). 
 
 The next point of importance north of Dothan is Jenin, the ancient 
 Engannim. It was one of the Levitical cities, belonging to the tribe 
 of Issachar, and stands on the border terminating Manasseh. In the 
 time of our Lord, Jenin, also, was the extreme northern border of the 
 province of Samaria. It is pleasantly located along the highway, and 
 is very im2:)ortant because of its abundant supply of water ; its present 
 name, Jenin, signifies " much water." It is one of the most convenient 
 towns for travelers of any in the interior of Palestine especially between 
 Samaria and Nazareth and points along the sea. Those not going to 
 Jezreel, Shunem, and the north, can find a road from the vicinity of 
 Jenin in any direction usually traveled. The main road passing through 
 it is the same ancient highway along which Ahab traveled in the days of 
 his pride when passing to and from Samaria and Jezreel, and the identi- 
 cal road that the iron-hearted Jehu i^assed over when he went to Samaria 
 on his mission of death, about the time he cunningly devised the scheme 
 which resulted in the massacre of all the worshipers of Baal. It is be- 
 lieved he was on this road, near Engannim, when he received Jonadab, 
 the son of Rechab, into his chariot. 
 
 The beautiful plain of Esdraelon is entered just at the northern end 
 of the town ; here, a fine prospect of the country for miles around is 
 spread out to view. In the far north, Hermon is seen ; a little to the 
 northwest, Gilboa and Little Hermon appear in sight, and on the 
 southwest, Carmel is seen stretching herself to the sea. It almost 
 seems to one who has been traveling through the interior a few days as 
 if he was coming from behind a dark cloud, such is the pleasant change 
 of nature. The beautiful lilies are seen in every direction, and life 
 seemingly begins anew. 
 
 This large tract of land is known in the Scriptures as the plain of 
 Jezreel, which is the Hebrew form of the Greek " Esdraelon." This 
 plain was the frontier of Zebulun, and the special portion of Issachar; 
 
FROM SAMARIA TO JEZREEL. 293 
 
 it passes through the country east and west from the valley of the Jor- 
 dan to the Mediterranean Sea. That portion north of Mt. Carmel is 
 known as the Plain of Acre ; the central portion is called the Valley 
 of Megiddo, an immense triangle, having its highest point towards the 
 west, at the eastern end of Mt. Carmel. It is estimated to be about 
 fourteen miles long on the north side, seventeen on the east, and twenty 
 on the southwest The plain is cut by the interference of Little Her- 
 raon and Mt. Gilboa, so that it became three separate valleys of equal 
 proportions ; the centre one is the noted valley of Jezreel, stretching 
 gently into the valley of the Jordan. 
 
 The plain of Esdraelon is not only famous for its superior beauty, 
 but as a battle-field ; some very memorable battles were fought in 
 different parts of it, and Israel has sent up many shouts of joy along 
 its bordering mountains, because of the victories the Lord won for 
 them. Among the most prominent battles fought in this plain were, 
 the one between the Israelites and Syrians (Josh. xvii. 16; Deut. 
 xxxiii. 18), in which Deborah, Barak and Sisera, were the most prom- 
 inent factors ; another with Israel and Syria, in the reign of Ahab ; 
 also, one between Saul and the Philistines, in which the king received 
 his death-wound ; and one between Gideon and the Midiauites. There 
 was also a fierce battle encountered here between Josiah and Pharaoh- 
 nechho, in which the former was slain ; here, the Romans fought sore 
 battles when contending for the supremacy ; and the Crusaders, when 
 contending for the right of Christianity, found Esdraelon a convenient 
 battle-field. In this plain over against Mt. Tabor, the French engaged 
 in a deadly conflict with the Turks ; fifteen hundred of the former 
 battled against twenty thousand of the latter for thirty-five hours and 
 were rescued by Napoleon. There are many places to be seen in and 
 about the plain, the names of which are familiar to Christendom on 
 account of frequent mention being made of them in the Bible. Several 
 are in nearly a direct line to Nazareth, and can be visited by making 
 short detours. We shall mention them as we proceed, for there are so 
 many historical localities in the midst of this plain and along its bor- 
 der, we deem it best to refer to them, if only slightly, as we come to 
 them. Engannim is the usual halting place over night for northern- 
 bound travelers (Judges vi. 33 ; iv. 14 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 29 ; 1 Samuel 
 xxix. 1), it being the most favorable place from which to reach Naza- 
 reth in one day's travel, and allow a visit to the several important 
 places along the way. The whole journey through the plain is enjoya- 
 ble, especially to those who are attracted by the fragrance of a vast 
 variety of flowers ; for the whole expanse is aglow with some of the 
 
294 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 most beautiful lilies, roses and many other kinds of wild flowers that 
 nature can produce, so that the scene is really dazzling. Several 
 ancient villages and places of historic importance are in view on either 
 side of the highway as we proceed toward Jezreel ; some of them are 
 so surrounded with flowers they appear like a paradise. There are but 
 few elevations in the plain proper ; therefore, the whole landscape from 
 the base of the mountains, on either side, is comparatively level ; and 
 instead of draining off" the great flow of water that is poured into it 
 from the mountains during the heavy rains, it soaks the ground and 
 makes traveling very difficult for man and beast. Some portions of 
 the plain are like a marsh for three or four miles, which at times becomes 
 impassable. It has been several times the case, that animals have 
 stuck fast in the mud and were obliged to remain there a day or two. 
 It has also been the case that tourists have had to get down in the midst 
 of the worst of the marsh and make their way out as best they could, 
 leaving their horses stuck fast, and were compelled to unload them 
 before they could be released. This difiiculty exists because of the 
 great lack of water-courses. The water which accumulates from day 
 to day during the season of the heavy rains, must remain in the low 
 land until it settles in the earth, except in those parts near a regular 
 stream or winter torrent. The river Kishon and its few small tribu- 
 taries are of great benefit in taking the water from the plain about 
 Jenin and along their coasts. Through these small channels, the 
 drainage from the foot of Mounts Gilboa and Tabor flows to the western 
 sea ; there is a small winter stream that flows through the valley of 
 Jezreel to the Jordan. It will be called to mind, that these two streams 
 run in direct opposite courses ; the former flowing to the west, the latter, 
 to the east ; were it not for these little streams, many parts of the 
 plain would be so greatly soaked no one could travel through it 
 in winter, especially from Jenin to Jezreel, for the mud and water 
 would form a complete blockade. Soon after leaving Jenin going 
 northward, Taanach, Gath-rimmon. Kedesh and Lejjun, the ancient 
 Megiddo, are passed at a short distance, but can be distinctly seen. Mt. 
 Gilboa lies a little to the east of the main road, but as Jezreel is 
 approached, it skirts its border. This famous mountain of the Scrip- 
 tures lies northeast and southeast, and is estimated to be eight miles 
 long from Jellron to Zer'ain, and six miles wide from Beitkad to 
 Mujedd'a. It contains several peaks which are intercepted by small 
 villages, its highest summit being nearly seventeen hundi'ed feet above 
 the level of the Mediterranean Sea. Some parts of Gilboa are very 
 rocky and desolate, while in other portions spots are seen at intervals 
 
FROM SAMARIA TO JEZREEL. 295 
 
 which show evidences of fruitfulness, and the husbandmen are busily 
 at work from da}- to day, tilling the soil, planting and reaping. The 
 most barren land is on the north side, and there is nothing seen on the 
 south but clusters of shrub-bushes and dwarf trees. There is nothing 
 of special interest to a traveler upon Gilboa except a more definite 
 knowledge of its general condition. The journey is very fatiguing 
 and monotonous even to the natives themselves. There was a bitter 
 feeling existing among nearly all the tribes and nations against the 
 Israelites about them ; these, in connection with their domestic troubles, 
 kept them almost constantly at war with foes within and without ; for 
 when they were free from internal struggles, they were engaged in 
 battle with some foreign power whom, at times, they found to be more 
 than a match for them. It may be said of Israel, it was a target for 
 all other tribes and nations ; but of the numerous foes who gave much 
 trouble and perplexity to them, none were more vexing than those 
 imposed upon them by the aggressive tribes of the desert on the east 
 and south of Palestine, known as the Amalekites and Midianites, who 
 for centuries sorely troubled this famous people, whom the Lord had 
 brought into the land. These sons of the desert first opposed them 
 while on their way to the " Land of Promise." They followed them 
 after they had settled themselves in their homes, and continued their 
 assaults upon them in every way they could. They came against 
 Israel with a tremendous force in the time of Gideon, but the Lord 
 greatly discomfited them, and gave the victory to the small army of 
 brave men, who had the courage to confront them. The Amalekites 
 lived in Arabia Petrsea, between the Red and Dead Seas ; they are 
 suj^posed to have been a migrating people, being very powerful and 
 warlike. It is the opinion of many, they were more numerous in that 
 territory south of Palestine, between Mt. Seir and the border of 
 Egypt ; but they did not seem to have many cities ; as a rule they 
 lived in caves and tents. Soon after the children of Israel crossed the 
 Red Sea, they were opposed by them in the desert of Rephidim, and 
 they slew all the Hebrews whom they found straggling behind the 
 army. This conduct greatly incensed the Israelites and they concluded 
 to exterminate them ; but this determination was not executed, for they 
 made another attack upon Israel, or some of them, when they were on 
 the border of Canaan. 
 
 The inhabitants of the desert had a hatred against the Hebrews, 
 which nothing but vengeance could satisfy, and every generation came 
 into activity with the same feeling of unfriendliness, and were engaged 
 warring against the Israelites after they had established a kingdom. 
 
296 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 The Midianites were descendants of Midian ; they were a wandering 
 people, living largely in Arabia, and are said to have been very nu- 
 merous, having rich possessions, consisting mostly of flocks, herds and 
 camels. It seems as though they lived mainly on the east of the 
 Elonitic branch of the Red Sea, about the location of Midian. These 
 people became very numerous, and spread themselves over a large 
 tract of the desert, and when their own land seemed too narrow for 
 them the}^ came east of Mount Seir to the border of the Moabites, and 
 on the other side to the region of Mount Sinai. They were the de- 
 scendants of Ishmael, but the two tribes seem to have been so intimate 
 or mixed they are sometimes called by the same name, or by both, as 
 the case may be ; that is, at times they would call them by the one 
 name, and at other times by the other (Exodus xvii. 8-16; Num. 
 xiv. 45). Their capital was called Midian as late as the time of 
 Jerome and Eusebius ; much of its ruins were to be seen. It was 
 situated on the river Ornon, south of Areopolis. They were, as all 
 their kindred tribes, idol-worshipers, and many times Israel became 
 anxious to adopt their gods or mode of worship. Therefore, when the 
 Midianites were not in open contest with the Hebrews, they would be 
 inducing them to pay their devotions to idols. At other times they 
 would sorely oppress them, and cause their hearts to bleed because of 
 the outrages perpetrated upon them. Many times it occurred that 
 when the Israelites were about to gather the produce, for which they 
 had toiled hard, the Midianites would suddenly come down upon them 
 and drive them from the field and gather the harvest themselves. It 
 is written, "The Amalekites and Midianites, children of the desert, 
 would come down like locusts in countless swarms, with their cattle 
 and tents and camels, to devour and carry off the fruits of the 
 ground." They would come with their arms, ready to do violence, or 
 even murder, if they could not drive off" the Hebrew fai'mers by mere 
 threats. Hence the poor husbandmen, who had been toiling all the 
 season, were many times compelled to flee for their life, leaving all 
 their possessions (Isa. ix. 6; Acts vii. 29; Exodus iii. 1 ; xviii. 1 ; 
 Num. xxii. 25-31 ; Judges vi 8 ; Gen. xxv. 2-4), and seek places of 
 refuge in dens, caves, and in the solitary mountains, where they must 
 remain until their thieving foes had satisfied themselves with plunder 
 and retired. At one time, when these outlaws came on their mission 
 of plunder and death, God commissioned Gideon to deliver the people, 
 whose hearts had often bled because of these malicious foes. He en- 
 tered into the conflict against a great multitude, but God commanded 
 his little army, and gave him the victory. It may not be out of place 
 
FROM SAMARIA TO JEZREEL. 297 
 
 to state here that the Ishmaelites of the present age are followers of 
 their ancestors in all the malicious work they indulged and fondly 
 practiced; therefore they may be justly classed with them in the com- 
 mission of the meanest and most nuirderous crimes of which mankind 
 is guilty. They are constantly on the alert, seeking plunder, and are 
 not only dreaded by strangers, but by natives as well. At the time in 
 question Gideon was a Judge in Israel ; he was a very prudent and 
 just man, living in the fear of the Lord, and resided on the east of the 
 Jordan in Ophrah, and, no doubt, witnessed many of the disadvantages 
 which the people over whom he presided were compelled to 
 endure. Moreover, as he was a judge, it is likely the people often 
 complained to him of the conduct of the Midianites, for many living 
 in his district suffered on account of them, and when he heard the 
 news he was greatly pained. It is highly probable Gideon cried to 
 God daily in behalf of the people, and asked Him to interpose for 
 them. Many times the people "sowed in tears," thinking of what 
 was likely to occur about the time of harvest. 
 
 The Lord called Gideon to go forth and drive from the land those 
 barbarous people who were a thorn in the flesh of Israel, that they 
 might have rest from continued hostilities. And that he might be 
 assured of success, God showed him signs from heaven which stimu- 
 lated l.im for the battle, for he was so nerved by them that he was as 
 certain of the victory before the engagement was begun as if it had 
 been already practically won. The tribes of the desert formed a com- 
 bination and invaded the land, intending to make a sweeping raid 
 everywhere throughout those parts inhabited by the Hebrews. They 
 crossed to the west of the Jordan and entered the plain of Esdraelon, 
 and proceeded beyond Carmel and Charon to the confines of Philistia, 
 having multitudes of camels and cattle and a great number of tents, 
 preparing to settle in the country so as to be ready at any moment to 
 do violence to the Israelites whose kindred they had inhumanly de- 
 stroyed on the east of the Jordan. (Judges vi. 7.) The presence of 
 these wanderers filled the people with great fear ; indeed, their fears 
 were well founded, for their crops had been destroyed, their pastures 
 filled with strange cattle, and they had to escape for their life. Gideon, 
 himself, had suffered much by the intrusion of these plunderers, and 
 his brothers, who had gone over to INIount Tabor, had been overtaken 
 and slain by the princes of Midian. He, therefore, attempted to col- 
 lect a large army to drive the intruders out of the land, but this he 
 found to be a hard thing, the men being timid because of the jiast 
 offenses. Gideon was of the tribe of Manasseh, whose allotment in 
 
298 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Canaan was on the southern border of the plain of Esdraelon. He 
 succeeded in collecting his forces, which at first were thirty-two thou- 
 sand men, but fear seized twenty-two thousand of these, who, in accord- 
 ance with the command of Gideon, left the army and w-ent to their 
 homes. Nine thousand and seven hundred more, because of faint- 
 heartedness, refused to " lap water like a dog," and were therefore 
 excused. The daring Midianites and Amalekites were camped in the 
 valley of Jezreel, a little to the east of the city, between Little Hermon 
 and Mount Gilboa, known as " the hill of Moreh." Gideon, the man 
 of valor, came down from the hills of Manasseh with his men, pitched 
 his camp beside the well of Harod, which is believed to be the foun- 
 tain of Jezreel, now known as Gideon's fountain, having only a small 
 number of men upon whom to rely, who, rather than be subjected to 
 the outrages of the invaders, would sacrifice their existence. The com- 
 mander went in the dead stillness of the night over to the camp of the 
 enemy, and just arrived there in time to listen to one of the Midianitish 
 soldiers relating his dream to one of his fellows, which clearly indicated 
 a defeat and assured Gideon of a glorious victory. His next move- 
 ment was very unlike the usual custom of procedure when an army is 
 about to attack an enemy ; he was totally without the ordinary weap- 
 ons of defense, but he marched silently forward, unseen and unheard. 
 The invaders were quietly sleeping, many of whom lay down expect- 
 ing to make a sweeping dash upon Israel the next day. But Gideon 
 with but three hundred men, these each armed only with a pitcher, a 
 lamp and a trumpet. This strangely equipped comj^any came cau- 
 tiously up to the camp of the combined foes and spread their line out 
 the whole length of their camp, which would appear like a vast army 
 to any one suddenly aroused from sleep. Then instantly, as if a mighty 
 thunder had disturbed the midnight silence, or a shocking earthquake 
 had shaken the ground, the thunder of the smashing of three hundred 
 pitchers w^as heard, three hundred lamps flashed with fire, three hun- 
 dred trumpets were sounding, and three hundred voices cried out, 
 " The sword of the Lord and Gideon." 
 
 The sleeping multitudes of the Amalekites and Midianites were 
 immediately aroused from their quiet, filled with alarm and being 
 wild with confusion did not take the time to notice who were friends 
 and who belonged to Israel ; but began striking right and left, killing 
 each other at a rapid rate, mistaking their own men for those of 
 Gideon. At length they fled from the camp, madly running towards 
 the ford of the Jordan near Succoth, hoping to be able to cross 
 there and escape the vengeance of the Israelites. A few made good 
 
FROM SAMARIA TO JEZREEL. 299 
 
 their escape, but the large majority were captured and slain. Israel 
 was once more free from a most bitter and annoying foe. But there 
 was not a complete subjugation of these people, for, down the line as 
 far as the time of King Saul, they were seeking Israel. The causes 
 which provoked the bitter feeling of those powerful tribes against 
 Israel, is an illustration of the enmity that was fostered from one gen- 
 eration to another, as has been stated. These people sought to revenge 
 Israel for an action of Moses against their forefathers. When the 
 great leader and law-giver of the Hebrews was journeying to Canaan 
 with his vast army, he camped for a time within the confines of Moab, 
 at the time Balak was king ; he, fearing his country would become 
 impoverished by the multitudes who had appeared in his territory, or 
 that they would overpower him and take possession of the land, was 
 anxious to get rid of them. He therefore appointed a large delegation 
 to wait upon Balaam, and solicit him to come and curse Israel. That 
 the petition might be as strong and influential as possible, the king 
 requested that a delegation of the Midianites should accompany his 
 men and jointly present their wishes. When this matter was made 
 known to Moses, he severely punished both Moab and Midian, causing 
 their king and male population to be slain, their cities and strongholds 
 to be destroyed, and all their possessions, together with their wives and 
 children, were carried to the camp of Israel (Num. xxxi.). The 
 residue united their etforts, and within two hundred years became a 
 numerous and powerful people. And having had the conduct of the 
 Israelites, with reference to the massacre of their ancestors, transmitted 
 to each generation, with the ill-advice that they should retaliate in the 
 same way even to the last generation, the Midianites sought the life 
 and property of Israel whenever the slightest opportunity was pre- 
 sented ; and this was the chief cause of their attack upon them in that 
 memorable engagement in which Gideon was the most conspicuous 
 factor. Before going to Jezreel or Shunem, it is customary with trav- 
 elers to make a detour to the fountain of Gideon, which is called by 
 the natives Ain Jalud. It is about one mile and a half or two miles 
 east of Jezreel, under the northwestern end of Mount Gilboa, and 
 sometimes called the " Well of Harod." It is a large stream gushing 
 from the crevice of a mass of rocks, which seem as though they had 
 been deranged by an earthquake. Just at the foot of the mountain, a 
 few feet from the point where the water spouts out is a natural reser- 
 voir, quite narrow at the end next the mountain, but suddenly widens, 
 so that it is about fifteen feet wide with a diameter (according to esti- 
 mate) of fifty feet. As the word Harod means trembling, it is highly 
 
300 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 probable the name was applied to it because the men of Gideon, who 
 did not lap water, were so greatly overawed with fear they shook while 
 standing there ; therefore, the name is highly appropriate. 
 
 The brave and heroic leader and commander of the stalwart three 
 hundred fearless men who composed his army, came here, lapped water, 
 as a signal of their willingness to go out against the Midianitish hosts, 
 and under the guidance of the Lord and Gideon, put them to flight. 
 The fountain sends forth a stream of crystal-like water, very delightful to 
 drink. The Lord assured His servant that He would deliver Israel out of 
 the hand of their enemy and save every one of the three hundred dauntless 
 men whose confidence was strongly fixed in Him, although their ene- 
 mies were as numerous as grasshoppers, and their camels without num- 
 ber, as the sands of the sea. There never was a general who entered 
 upon the field of battle against a foe with stronger confidence of a tri- 
 umphant victory than Gideon. Men of to-day would have branded 
 him with insanity, as they did John Brown, who marched to Harper's 
 Ferry with a few men and struck an effective blow for the freedom of 
 four and a half millions of poor colored slaves. 
 
 The little army of Gideon was not provided with the current deadly 
 weapons of warfare, but with such keen-edged instruments as were not 
 known to the foes against whom he marched. The sword of the Lord 
 and Gideon was the armor of the three hundred, which cut down the 
 enemy like grass, and caused a shout of triumph to go up from the 
 small army that made the regions round about echo. It is also note- 
 worthy, that when the hosts of Philistines had gathered in battle array 
 against Israel, they camped just across the plain near Shunem, and 
 King Saul pitched his camp near the fountain of Jezreel, where Gid- 
 eon and his brave three hundred had their headquarters. The Philis- 
 tines were anxious to subordinate the Israelites, and resorted to all 
 manner of schemes to accomplish their wish. They made a strong 
 effort in this direction in the youthful days of David, and felt confident 
 of gratifying results through the conquering arm of Goliath of Gath, 
 whom they pitted against any man Israel might produce ; and had it 
 not been for the heroic courage of little David, the contest would have 
 been deeply perplexing to Saul. The lad sent a stone well directed 
 from his [sling, which brought Goliath low. This great victory 
 weakened the Philistines and gave fresh courage to Israel. But these 
 people prepared to renew their strength, and came with more energy 
 than ever before. It may be said of the Philistines, that no people in 
 Canaan, except the Phoenicians, were so well equipped for warfare ; 
 they were indomitable in spirit, and marshalled one of the most war- 
 
FROM SAMARIA TO JEZREEL. 301 
 
 like armies known in the land, with stores of wealth to sustain them ; 
 so that when they came over to Mt. Gilboa to attack Saul's army, they 
 seemed as numerous as the locusts of Egypt. In this conflict Saul fell. 
 Before entering into the particulars of the battle in which King Saul 
 received his death-wound, it may be of interest to give a brief sketch 
 of this war-like people, who so often made it opportune to oppose 
 Israel. 
 
 The Philistines, from whose general name the promised land is 
 called Palestine, were very numerous on the borderland along the 
 southern coast between Joppa and the northwestern border of Egypt. 
 They had established themselves there at a very early date, and had 
 formed a government with a king over them when Abraham came in 
 the land and had built several small cities. There are divided opin- 
 ions as to from which of the three great ancestors they descended ; 
 some think they were of the race of Shem ; others believe they were of 
 Japhetic origin ; and a third opinion is that they were racially identi- 
 fied with Ham ; or may have been a mixture of one of the two other 
 races. However, it is the settled opinion that they came from Egypt 
 first and settled on the Island of Crete ; from there they migrated to 
 Southern Palestine and planted themselves on what is known as the 
 Plain of Philistia, between the sea and the western boundary of Judea. 
 
 About the time Saul began his reign, this people had multiplied 
 very greatly. It may be that they w^ere not all of one race, for as the 
 word Philistine means " stranger," it would apply to all persons coming 
 there of foreign birth ; and it is generally known that in all large com- 
 munities, in those times as now, other races settled among those who 
 were known as the primitive inhabitants. Such a custom prevailed 
 from very early times, and it was the case in Israel, notwithstanding a 
 law existed among them forbidding their mingling with other peoples. 
 It is also known that it was an ordinary thing for different political 
 states and tribes to combine in a common cause to protect themselves 
 against other powers ; and such an alliance naturally introduced social 
 relations. This is one of the reasons, and perhaps the major cause, 
 that brought many of the high officials of Israel into social intercourse 
 with other nations and tribes. Therefore we feel competent, with these 
 facts in view, to venture the assertion that much of the numerical 
 growth of the Philistines was caused by the migration of other people. 
 As the growing population of the world made it necessary for those 
 who were confined in a straightened district or province to seek locali- 
 ties more suited to their wants, men began to migrate in small colonies 
 to other parts which were not burdened with inhabitants. Therefore 
 
302 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 this was no doubt the stimulating cause that impelled the Philistines, 
 formerly known as Cretens or Caphtorims, to leave their island home 
 and come over to Canaan. Being pleased with both the availableness and 
 richness of the country, they established themselves in the southern por- 
 tion along the sea, adjoining the territory settled by the Hamites. The 
 Philistines, having become a strong political people when the Israelites 
 entered Canaan, it was not an easy matter to dispossess them of their 
 territory. Joshua did attack them, but it seems they suffered but little 
 inconvenience from it, if any Their portion of the country was very 
 rich and fertile, and when a sore famine raged in other portions of 
 Canaan, the Philistines had abundant supplies. When the seven 
 years' famine was greatly distressing the land, and the beautiful rich 
 plain of Esdraelou was parched and unyielding so that want and suf- 
 fering prevailed, Elisha the prophet sought refuge in Philistia, as did 
 the Shunammite woman who had cared for him so faithfully. The 
 Philistines had five principal cities that were thickly inhabited, 
 namely : Gaza, Ekron, Askelou, Ashdod, and Gath, the home of 
 Goliath, the great champion upon whom they so strongly relied ; who, 
 when they demanded that Israel should send out a man to contend 
 against him, when seeing little David, the youngest son of Jesse, 
 coming down the hillside to strive against him, became madly insane. 
 These people troubled Israel and even alarmed them for about one 
 hundred and tw^enty years, because of their aggressiveness, and their 
 armed forces were always a signal of discomfort to them. King Saul 
 himself was seized w'ith dismay when he saw the armed multitudes of 
 their dreaded enemy encamped at Shunem. The Philistines watched 
 Israel with a jealous eye ; and when they knew of an extra large gath- 
 ering of them, spies would come up from Philistia to see and hear 
 what it meant. But there was a sudden increase of strength and cour- 
 age in Israel when they assembled at Mizpeh, about twenty years after 
 the Ark of God had been recovered from the Philistines. The people 
 had returned to the Lord to the extent that a religious reformation 
 obtained among them, through the blessed influence of their pious 
 leader and adviser, Samuel the prophet, who was also the last regular 
 judge divinely appointed over them. 
 
 The Israelites, having seen their unfortunate situation, became 
 anxious for the return of the favor of the Lord in their midst as in 
 other days, when He led them triumphantly in every struggle against 
 their enemies They therefore put away their strange gods and earn- 
 estly cried unto the God of their fathers to mercifully return unto 
 them and lead them, pledging themselves to observe His commands. 
 
FROM SAMARIA TO JEZREEL. 303 
 
 They then, in accordance with the call of Samuel, assembled at Mizpah 
 to renew their vows, and solemnly engage themselves in religious de- 
 votion to the God of heaven and earth. When the Philistines saw 
 the people thronging the highways in multitudes to attend the convo- 
 cation their suspicions were greatly aroused, thinking they had mis- 
 chievous aims in view, so they came up from their lowland cities, armed 
 with deadly weapons, against the assemblage, thinking the knowledge 
 of their presence would intimidate Israel and confuse their purpose. 
 But Israel, having newly and solemnly dedicated themselves to God, 
 immediately received a revival of their former courage, and once more 
 the people went out in the strength of the Lord, the God of their 
 fathers, who fought for them and gave them a glorious victory. The 
 Philistines fled from the presence of Israel in great alarm, but were 
 pursued, and numbers of them were overtaken and slain. Then 
 Samuel set up the memorial-stone and called it Ebenezer, saying, 
 " Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." Such was the success of the 
 Israelites in their engagement, the Philistines restored to them the 
 cities they had captured, even from Ekron to Gath, and the coasts 
 thereof. Then there was peace, for the great victory of Israel so sub- 
 dued the Philistines they did not attempt an open attack again until 
 the reign of King Saul. During his long and perplexing rule those 
 people of the lowland began to renew their encroachments upon the 
 children of Israel, with almost continued success. It appears they 
 renewed their usurpations about the time Saul was inaugurated, and 
 continued them with increasing vexations until the day that monarch 
 died on Mount Gilboa. The first war these lowlanders had with Saul 
 they brought up a tremendous army, having thirty thousand chariots 
 of war, six hundred thousand horsemen, " and people as the sand of 
 the seashore in multitude." This vast number came up and camped 
 at Michmash, a little to the south-east of Bethel. The Israelites along 
 the route they marched were greatly alarmed, so that many left their 
 homes and took refuge in caves and dens ; others fled to the east of the 
 Jordan ; but Saul came out with his men of war and slew them right 
 and left. So vigorous was the conflict that the Philistines fled from 
 the field, and the victorious Israelites pursued them as far as Ajalon, 
 cutting them down as they ran. This is the fight that took place after 
 Jonathan, the eldest son of Saul, performed that brilliant exploit when 
 he entered the garrison of the Philistines without the knowledge of 
 any one except his armor-bearer, who went with him, and threw the 
 whole camp into a state of confusion. This act of heroism has made 
 the name of Jonathan memorable to the present generation. But there 
 
304 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 seems to have been a restless purpose existing in the Pliilistines never 
 to abandon their endeavors until they had become the acknowledged 
 masters of the Israelites. Therefore, if they lost a battle, it only served 
 as a stimulant for them to renew their attack. 
 
 From the day Samuel died a train of alarming adversities began 
 to be strewn in the path of King Saul, which haunted him through 
 life. This young, promising king, who thrilled the hearts of his sub- 
 jects into a high state of enthusiasm when he appeared before them at 
 Mizpah, and fixed himself affectionately in their esteem, soon began to 
 show evidences of weakness, which indicated that he was being con- 
 trolled by a spirit not of God. In the meantime the Philistines, who 
 had made several unsuccessful assaults upon Israel, prepared themselves 
 for another, more vigorous than any of their previous attacks, intend- 
 ing to subdue them or crush their kingdom. To this end they marched 
 up for a deadly encounter, and, notwithstanding their plans were cun- 
 ningly devised and arranged in profound secrecy (1 Sam. xiii. 3; xiv. 
 1-52), their movement was bold and daring, and yet so unexpected to 
 the Hebrews, that King Saul and all his army were troubled. The 
 Philistines came up from their lowland homes and proceeded north- 
 ward, making a long march through the plain of Sharon as far as 
 Mount Carmel, then crossed to the plain of Jezreel and camped on the 
 southern slope of Little Hermon, near ancient Shunem. King Saul 
 also came with his forces and camped by the " fountain of Jezreel," 
 on the northern slope of Mount Gilboa. These camps were so near 
 each other that Saul could look across the narrow neck of the plain 
 from his camping-ground and distinctly see the army of the Philis- 
 tines, who were so very numerous ; his head bowed, and sorrow, 
 fear and weakness seized his frame. Then he began examining him- 
 self Samuel, the mau of God, who had cautiously advised him, Avas 
 dead ; the priests of Nol) had been put to death, to appease his wrath, 
 by his own command ; and, more than all, he had allowed his proud 
 to turn him from God, so that he could not commune with Him nor 
 receive an answer to his most fervent inquiries. Saul was left to him- 
 self in the darkest moments of his life ; he had no Samuel, no priests, 
 and no God from whom to obtain a word of counsel, which he so 
 greatly needed. He sought it in dreams and asked it of the Urim and 
 inquired of the prophets, but could find no consolation ; then the bitter 
 anguish of his heart was pressing him sore, even to despair. After deep 
 reflection Saul could see only one thing to do that might relieve his 
 fears or disclose to him the results of the pending conflict. The little 
 village of Endor was not far distant, in which lived a woman known 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 305 
 
 to be a \vitcli. Saul desired to consult her, for he was willing to court 
 the favor of any one who could by any means give him a word as to 
 the turn of the battle. He wanted to hear from Samuel concerning 
 the matter, although he did not treat the old man with due respect 
 while he was living, and received a stern rebuke by him for his unto- 
 wardness, very early after he was anointed to be the King of Israel. 
 Saul must have felt his situation most keenly, for we venture the asser- 
 tion that no man was brought into a deeper state of humility than the 
 falling king. He had two great impediments to encounter in attempt- 
 ing to effectually carry out his design. He wanted to go over to Endor 
 to consult the witch, and to do so he must run the risk of being appre- 
 hended by the Philistines, for they were in camp in the direction of 
 Endor, and to get there he must pass beyond their lines. The next 
 obstacle was his mission to consult with and ask a favor from a woman 
 who was one of the class of people whom he had manifested uncom- 
 promising opposition to, for he had ordered all the witches in the land 
 to be put to death. Therefore, to be compelled in an extreme moment 
 to go to a person for favors whom he had commanded should be killed, 
 must have been a most painful thorn in his side. But, as humiliating 
 as it was, he could see no better course of procedure ; hence, of the two 
 great dilemmas, he chose what seemed to him the less. King Saul 
 then disguised himself and started in the thickest of the darkness to 
 find the woman of Endor, to implore her to bring up Samuel, that he 
 might consult with him. 
 
 It can be clearly seen that Saul was a believer in witchism, al- 
 though he ordered them all to be put to death. He found the woman, 
 and when she apprehended him, she feared his visit was for a deadly 
 purpose, or that he would attempt to set a snai-e for her ; but he swore 
 to her that she should not die. Having heard his oath, she consented 
 to do the work he so anxiously desired her to perform. She said to 
 Saul, " Whom shall I bring to thee ?" "Bring me up Samuel," was 
 the answer of the consternated king. She gave a cry and said, "Thou 
 hast deceived me! I saw gods ascending out of the earth." And in 
 answer to Saul's question as to the appearance of the objects seen, she 
 said, " An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle." The 
 king hearing this, feared the spirit of Samuel and bowed himself to the 
 ground, and heard a voice saying to him, " Why hast thou disquieted 
 me?" he answered, "I was sore distressed, for the Philistines make war 
 against me, and Jehovah is departed from me, and answereth me no 
 more." Then said the voice to him, " Why ask of me, seeing Jehovah 
 is departed from thee and become thine enemy ? He hath done to 
 20 
 
306 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 thee as He said, and has given thy kingdom to David, and He will de- 
 liver thee to the Philistines, and to-morrow thou shalt be with me> 
 thou and thy three sons." 
 
 Then Saul was nearly helpless ; in an instant he became as helpless 
 as a baby, and gave up in hopeless despair, for his doom had been de- 
 clared, and he was of no more service to himself nor his army. Saul 
 had the fullest confidence in what he heard ; therefore, it is not hard 
 to understand why his strength left him. The proud and selfish king 
 felt himself no longer the successful leader of Israel, for his hope had 
 vanished like a dream, and his courage melted into weakness. The 
 next day the fierce battle was begun ; but Saul and his army being 
 overpowered with fear, fled. The people having no commander or 
 leader, and no one to advise the discomfited men in their alarming 
 peril, all their courage left them, and the wildest confusion prevailed. 
 Those who, in their disorderly flight, could not keep up with their com- 
 rades, were captured and slain wherever found, so that the whole line 
 of retreat was marked by dead men. 
 
 The king, being conscious of defeat, and alarmed by the doleful 
 tidings he received at Endor the previous night, fled with his three 
 sons to Mt. Gilboa, hoping to find a safe retreat within some of its 
 hiding-places ; but nothing could save them. They were hotly pur- 
 sued up the rugged slope by the courageous Philistines, and before they 
 could elude them, Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua, sons of Saul, 
 were slain in the front of the fight, and Saul himself was sorely 
 wounded by an arrow hurled into his doomed body from one of the 
 Philistines. The ill-fated king knew his army was powerless and that 
 the potent enemy was master of the situation. He at the same time 
 remembered he had been a proud and victorious king, the pride of 
 Israel and the great leader of a hitherto victorious army ; and the very 
 people who were then slaying his sous, cutting dow'n his army, and 
 had sent a dart of death into his own body, had been made to tremble 
 and flee from the vengeance of his sword in the recent past ; then, to 
 be captured by them, and be compelled to bow at their feet, was a 
 matter he could not endure. He then piteously entreated his com- 
 panion-in-arms to kill him ; but he sternly refused to comply with 
 Saul's petition. Then the doomed king drew his own sword, fell upon 
 it and died. 
 
 It is sadly painful to be compelled to record the fact that the first 
 king of Israel committed suicide. His head was severed from his body, 
 and sent with his armor to Philistia as a signal of their triumph, and 
 his body was hung upon the wall of Beth-shan, on the west of the 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 307 
 
 Jordan, about twenty-five miles south of the Sea of Galilee. When 
 the tidings of Saul's death came to the knowledge of David, it over- 
 whelmed him. Indeed it is an event deserving more than a passing 
 notice. David's most relentless enemy was King Saul, who hunted 
 him with his heart flooded with vengeance and would have murdered 
 him if he had not eluded him from time to time; yet David loved 
 Saul because he was the Lord's anointed and would not injure a hair 
 of his head. It was also known to David that he was to succeed him 
 as king of Israel, but he was not anxious that that monarch should 
 die, that he might control the nation. The extent Saul's death affected 
 David should increase our esteem for him, so as to hold up this unpre- 
 cedented example to every young aspirant to the position of others, 
 that he should do nothing to indicate an anxious wish to step in the 
 place of another before his time comes. But we find so many in 
 our times seemingly so anxious for the place occupied by another, 
 they restlessly wait and long for it while the rightful incumbent is 
 active. But David's conduct was the reverse ; for he wept bitterly and 
 became author of one of the most touching funeral dirges ever con- 
 ceived by man. The words which fell from his lips, when informed of 
 Saul's fate, are strikingly sublime and touching. David was aware 
 the Philistines would raise a tumultuous shout of joy when the news 
 came to them of the death of the king of Israel, and the triumph of 
 their own army. " Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in Askelon, 
 lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice ; lest the daughters of the 
 uncircumcised triumph," were the touching words of the son of Jesse. 
 But the exultant victory of the Philistines was not permanent. The 
 lost cause of Saul was a rebuke from the Almighty because of his 
 waywardness ; but when David ascended the throne, the Philistines 
 found him competent to withstand them ; and it was not long after this 
 young man was acknowledged king of Israel, that they came up 
 against him. They marched to the southwest of Jerusalem, and 
 halted in the plain of Raphaim ; but King David was more than 
 a match for them ; he repulsed them and finally subdued them, so that 
 their government became tributary to David. Then there was an end 
 to hostilities for a time by these people who had been a sore plague to 
 the children of Israel. The whole narrative of the memorable battle 
 between the Philistines and the Hebrews, can be drawn before the 
 mind like a panorama, from the hill on which ancient Jezreel stood. 
 It is along the edge of the plain, and one may station himself for a 
 while, facing the north, and look over the plain toward Shunem where 
 the camp of the Philistines was located in the neck of the valley, and 
 
308 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 while reading the history of the battle, can almost imagine himself in 
 the midst of the real scene. Then turning towards Gilboa, he can see 
 the place where Saul was in camp with his timid array, at the foot of 
 the mountain. It appears from the present situation of the place, 
 Saul made a blind attempt to gain the heights of Gilboa ; for the 
 Philistines had a favorable opportunity to capture and slay him as 
 they were coming from Faku'a, marching along the crest of the moun- 
 tain. And as we look upon this memorable battle-field, high upon 
 Gilboa, we pause and ask the unanswerable question, Where among 
 these mighty rocks did Saul, Israel's first king, draw his own sword with 
 a quivering hand, and then with all the force of his death-stricken 
 frame, covered with his own blood, rise up, fall upon it and die, a 
 self-murderer ? 
 
 Ancient Jezreel, called by the natives Zer'ain, has been so clearly 
 identified that there have no objections appeared as to its certainty. It 
 is said there are but few places in Palestine whose original site is so 
 generally agreed to as Jezreel, the home of Ahab and Jezebel. It has 
 been minutely defined by many of the foremost and most critical 
 explorers of Palestine. The principal mention of the ancient city is 
 largely connected with the life and character of the cunning Jezebel, 
 and her barbarous husband, Ahab, and the daring Jehu, the son of 
 Nimshi. The present village is by no means a pleasant place to visit ; 
 the little half-mud huts are anything but tidy, and the whole place is 
 disorderly, if not filthy. I would have refused to pass through its nar- 
 .row and crooked lanes, had it not been for the ancient history attaching 
 to it. It seems that the whole village is filled with beggars ; and just 
 as soon as a stranger enters it, they come out of their little huts, like 
 locusts coming out of the ground. Sometimes twenty or thirty chil- 
 dren will be heard shouting at the top of their voices, "Backsheesh, 
 backsheesh ; " and keep the strain up until the stranger leaves the place, 
 and the sound is lost in the distance behind him. It was a great relief 
 and pleasing satisfaction to me when I had left the place ; for I was not 
 only relieved of the troublesome beggars, but had the privilege of 
 inhaling the pure air once more. There is a tall house in the centre of 
 the village, which is approached by passing through the site of Naboth's 
 vineyard ; it is not an ancient building, though it bears the marks of 
 age. It is the general opinion that this house stands on the spot of the 
 famous watch-tower of Jezreel, in which the watchman stood when he 
 saw Jehu approaching in great haste. From the top of this building 
 a splendid view may be obtained of the valley as far as Beth-shan, 
 on the southeastern border of Galilee. There is a very steep pass lead- 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 309 
 
 ing down from the village into the adjacent valley toward the east. 
 Along the side of the hill, are several ancient wine-presses cut in the 
 rock ; this is believed to be the plat of ground known as Naboth's 
 vineyard, and the wine-presses were used in his day, and probably 
 hewn out by his own hands. A little north of the village is a fine well 
 at which the maidens of Jezreel maybe seen in small companies await- 
 ing their turn to draw water. Another remark concerning ancient 
 Jezreel may be in place. It can be discerned without much research, 
 that a prominent vein of Hamitic influence ran through both Judah 
 and Israel from Solomon's time down to the captivity. The latter 
 married a daughter of one of the kings of Egypt who greatly influ- 
 enced him to consent to the toleration of idolatrous worship, which was 
 the beginning of the decline and ultimate fall of the chosen people ; 
 for this state of things continued at intervals to grow in popular favor, 
 until the daring Jeroboam became the acknowledged head of the 
 revolting tribes and established his kingdom upon the rotten founda- 
 tion of idolatry, with Bethel and Dan as headquarters. It is a fact 
 that cannot be reasonably denied, that these giant departures from God 
 are invariably traced to the immediate or remote influence of tribes or 
 nations not of the household of Israel. One of the chief ideas for 
 referring to this state of things among the children of Israel is, to indi- 
 cate the fact that the Hamitic descendants had a strong grip upon the 
 two kingdoms. This matter will be presented in another page, we 
 hope, so clearly, that no room will be left for reasonable dispute. It is 
 marvelously strange that the people of antique times had no prejudice 
 as to color or race, but recognized man as man, even as far back as the 
 beginning of civilization, and have not changed their faith in this 
 regard to the present ; the only distinction being that of a religious or 
 class line, which is the same among all of whatever complexion, in the 
 old world. And then to see such a spirit of racial distinction in a 
 country that proudly boasts of its civilization and Christian brotherhood, 
 as is fostered in America, shows clearly there is a great lack of the 
 spirit of justice existing here, and that those who profess to be religious, 
 are as largely idolatrous as w'ere the Israelites whom they pity. They 
 worshiped gods made of their own hands ; but the dominant race of 
 this land worship their complexion. Which is the greater sin ? 
 
 It may be of interest to note, there were two Jorams or Jerams or 
 Jehorams,as the name has been pronounced at different times; both of 
 whom were blood relatives and connected with the two kingdoms by 
 virtue of their birth-right. The one in question was the son of Ahab, 
 king of Israel ; the other, a son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. This 
 
310 THE [.AND OF PROMISE. 
 
 latter Joram married Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel ; there- 
 fore, their son Ahaziah was a nephew of Joram, king of Israel, and 
 were contemporaneous monarchs over the southern and northern king- 
 doms. When Ahaziah learned of the illness of his uncle Joram, he 
 went over to Jezreel to see him. which happened to be about the time 
 the young man sent by Elisha was anointing Jehu to be the tenth king 
 of Israel. He was an admirer of the administration of the house of 
 Ahab, and followed it as did his father Joram in the house of Judah. 
 But he was permitted to rule the kingdoms but one year, before he 
 came to an untimely death by order of Jehu. It may, therefore, be 
 reasonably inferred that both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were 
 largely controlled by Phoenician influence. Jezebel, the daughter of 
 the king of Sidon, held for many years the ruling sway over the 
 northern kingdom, for it seems as if Ahab, her husband, became so 
 completely wound up in the net of her cunning schemes, he did all she 
 desired. It was through her persuasions, the groves were arranged at 
 Jezreel and the altars were built to Astarte, at which four hundred 
 priests officiated, and her daughter Athaliah, who was the wife of 
 Joram, king of Judah, followed as near as possible the footsteps of her 
 mother, who was living at the same time in Jezreel, and was untiring 
 in her efforts to add to the strength she possessed over the kingdom of 
 Judah, to bring it into political and religious harmony with that of 
 Israel. If we consider the laws that led to the assassination of Naboth 
 we cannot fail to see that Ahab was a selfish, covetous and dishonora- 
 ble man ; and that Jezebel was a cunning, shrewd and a daringly 
 adventurous woman. She was ever ready to plan and formulate deep 
 schemes for the successful accomplishment of any issue that gave her 
 much concern. Ahab, in his desire for gains, was not content with the 
 enjoyment of his beautiful palace and the general comforts with which 
 he was surrounded ; his parks and gardens were of the most spacious 
 and fascinating character, all of which were attached to his family 
 palace, to embellish and make it a lovely paradise. But his envious 
 and greedy disposition caused him to long for a plot of ground belong- 
 ing to Naboth, the Jezreelite, in which were a wine-press and vineyard. 
 Ahab requested the owner to let him have the plot, saying he wanted 
 it for a garden of herbs. But Naboth would not consent to the propo- 
 sition of Ahab, because the land in question was bequeathed to him by 
 his father and kept as a sacred memorial of him. The king, seeing he 
 could not persuade his neighbor to part with his cherished possession, 
 went to his palace with bowed head and (pretendingly) a heavy heart 
 Such was the sad expression of his countenance, the curiosity of Jezebel 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 311 
 
 was greatly aroused, who seenied to have a balm for all her hu.sband's 
 wounds and a remedy for every fear. 
 
 To express the depth of his trouble Ahab went to bed, turned his 
 face to the wall and i-efused to eat bread, because of the grief he suf- 
 fered from the disappointment caused by Naboth's refusal. When 
 Jezebel entered the room and found her husband in such deep distress 
 she became alarmed, and when she learned the cause of his discomfort 
 she urged him to eat bread and be merry, for she would see that his 
 desire should be obtained. She then ordered a feast to be made ready, 
 to which Naboth should be invited, and at which time men were to stand 
 ready to stone him to death. The order was carefully observed. The 
 charge against him was that he had sinned against God and the king. 
 After the tragedy, which resulted in the death of Naboth, Jezebel went 
 to Ahab, who was pretending to be grieved because he had not gained 
 consent to take the property he so greatly coveted, and said to him, 
 " Rise and go^, take possession of the vineyard." In compliance with 
 the ill-advice of the cunning woman. King Ahab went and seized it. 
 And while there, feeling jubilant over the accomplishment of his aim, 
 Elijah, the prophet, met him with a message from God. When Ahab 
 saw Elijah he said to him. '• Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" 
 " I have found thee," said the man of God. He then pronounced the 
 fate of Ahab, of Jezebel, and the entire royal house, telling him not 
 one of them should be left, and that upon the same ground where the 
 dogs licked the blood of Naboth, should dogs lick his blood. When 
 Ahab heard this doleful message he came to himself, but it was too 
 late ; his doom was fixed, for the mouth of the Lord had declared it, 
 and the whole calamity came to pass. The next place of importance 
 is Shunem, about three miles north of Jezreel. There is nothing an- 
 tique to be seen in the village, and therefore no halt is made there, 
 except it is for luncheon. It is likely there would have been no men- 
 tion made of it had not Elisha, the prophet, been so kindly cared for 
 by the Shunammite woman. It is also a satisfaction to travelers to look 
 over the plain westward and take an observation of the route the poor, 
 distressed woman took when she went with great haste to Elisha on 
 Mount Carmel, to consult him about the death of her only child. There 
 are a cluster of villages and other places of historic interest situated at 
 short distances in the vicinity of Shunem. To the northeast about 
 three miles, upon the margin of Little Hermon, Nain is situated. It 
 is a very small village, bearing no signs of importance whatever, and 
 would be passed unnoticed, as many other places are, were it not for 
 the miracle which our Lord performed the day He made a \'isit there. 
 
312 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 This present little village occupies the site of the ancient town in the 
 time of our Lord, near the gate of which He performed one of His 
 greatest miracles. He met the funeral of a young man who was the 
 only child of a widow ; he was her only supj^ort. Christ caused the 
 bearers of the dead to halt, and in a few moments the man who was 
 being carried to the tomb, was restored alive to his mother. It is note- 
 worthy that the number of persons our Lord restored to life accords 
 exactly with the number of days He suffered himself to be under the 
 dominion of death. He raised three persons to life, and He came 
 forth from the gates of death on the third day. There is a small 
 mosque at the edge of the village, standing on the spot designated by 
 tradition as the scene of our Lord's miracle, and is known as the 
 " Shrine of Christ." Very early in our era a Christian chapel stood 
 upon the same site, and it is supposed, the title of the mosque is the 
 name by which the original chapel was known. (1 Kings xx. 1-23.) 
 An opinion has been advanced that Nain was not a walled town, as 
 there have been found no traces of its ancient foundations by those who 
 have made investigations, as is usual in many cases. But there are 
 two things that would incline us to believe the opinion is not well 
 founded. 
 
 It should be considered, in the first place, that if it was unprotected 
 by walls, it would have been exposed to the danger of being taken at 
 any moment by foes, who were prowling like wild beasts through the 
 land, hunting prey, and the people living in the various towns and 
 cities in Palestine did not fail to protect themselves in the surest pos- 
 sible way, especially with walls and gates. Therefore it is not likely 
 that the inhabitants of Nain would content themselves to live in an 
 unprotected town, under a thousand liabilities to hostile attacks, when 
 they had ample means and opportunity to secure themselves as other 
 places were, against the entrance of those who sought their discomfort. 
 Secondly, it is plainly stated in the Bible concerning the visit of our 
 Lord there, " When He drew near the gate of the city." This is a clear 
 evidence, the city had one gate at least, and without a wall it would 
 have been but mockery. It is also known that the people in those 
 days did not build ordinary fences, and the gate must have been placed 
 there to pass in and out of, because the little city was surrounded by a 
 wall. The town is small and uninviting, as are nearly all the villages 
 in the interior. But it gives the Christian traveler supreme consola- 
 tion, to make a visit there and other places of sacred memory, because 
 the same road was marked by the feet of our Lord while going about 
 doing good. On entering the road to Nain new thoughts enter one's 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 313 
 
 mind, and a change naturally takes possession of a traveler's feelings, 
 he having for several days been busy with the scenes of the idolatrous 
 tendencies of Israel, and the many chastisements God gave them, and 
 the wars they had with foes without and within, a'l have a tendency 
 to make one feel gloomy and wish for a change. Then having so sud- 
 denly entered upon another scene so very touching and cheering as 
 the mission of Christ to little Nain, it seems to one as though he had 
 been transported from a dark, dreary, monotonous land to one full of 
 beauty and pleasure. It certainly is a change from a sad and unen- 
 viable state of mind to one that is full of good cheer. And although 
 the foot-prints of our Lord cannot be traced, we know He came over 
 this plain and visited a little city called Nain, on the eastern side, and 
 did a work of love that hushed the noise of lamentation, checked the 
 flow of a widowed mother's tears, and made a multitude of poor weep- 
 ing ones jubilant over the restoration to life of a young man, whom 
 they were about to lay in the tomb. Indeed, he was known to travel 
 many times over the plain of Esdraelon, a little to the west of Nain, so 
 the place was familiar to Jesus and His disciples There seems to be 
 no doubt as to the identity of the place as being the site of ancient 
 Nain. Our Lord had been in Capernaum, attending His mission and 
 healing many who came to Him from afar. But He suddenly left 
 them and came to Nain, a distance of about twenty miles, and just 
 reached the gate in time on the next day to perform a most stupendous 
 work. We venture the opinion that our Lord came up to this little 
 border city of Esdraelon, especially to perform the miracle of life-giv- 
 ing. What a tremendous excitement must have prevailed when the 
 dead man was restored to life and to his weeping mother ! Those walking 
 in the procession did not pay special attention to the man approach- 
 ing the gate, but when He had made them astonished, every one 
 wanted to see Him. It is likely some of those attending the funeral 
 were from Nazareth, and knew Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary, 
 but not as " the Mighty God," for the two cities were only about four 
 miles apart, and the inhabitants were often going to and from them. 
 (Luke vii. 11-18). It is certain they had heard of Jesus; the fame 
 of His miracles had spread over the land. Not far from Nain was 
 another small village prominently mentioned in the Bible in connec- 
 tion with King Saul's nocturnal visit. This is Endor, where the famous 
 witch lived, whom he sought in the time of his grief. 
 
 When the allotments were apportioned, Endor fell to Manasseh, 
 and was a flourishing place as late as the time of Eusebius. But noth- 
 ing remains there now to attract any one, except the caves in the hill- 
 
314 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 side ; the curiously shaped one near the village is supposed to be the 
 one in which the witch lived. The country round about presents a 
 beautiful appearance as far as one can see. The soil of the plain of 
 Esdraelon is one of the richest and most productive in Palestine. The 
 shepherds and wandering Arabs take advantage of the beautiful pas- 
 tures, and hundreds visit them daily with their flocks. If the hus- 
 bandmen were adapted to the modern customs of farming, the products 
 of the plain would be at least ninety per cent, more abundant. But 
 they do not seem to care for the general cultivation of this most fruit- 
 ful tract of country (1 Sam. xxviii. 7-25), and content themselves with 
 tilling it in small patches. The half-wild Arabs, who migrate from 
 place to place, make this plain one of their most favorite resorts. 
 They take their herds, tents and families, with all their possessions, and 
 camp there for weeks, and often for months, seeking the pastures for 
 their herds by day, and at the same time watch for an opportunity to 
 plunder by night. It is not infrequently the case that they commit 
 these depredations in the open day whenever the slightest opportunity 
 is presented. They have been known to hotly pursue travelers on 
 several occasions, before the government of Turkey placed guards 
 through the country, to give strangers the much-needed protection now 
 given them. 
 
 Sometimes, persons going from Shunem to Carmel and from Jezreel 
 to Tiberias have been compelled to escape for their lives. The matter 
 became so alarming that the Sultan of Turkey has caused a military 
 force to patrol the country, so that travelers may be permitted to pass 
 through safely, and that farmers may be encouraged to pursue their 
 work without entertaining fears of being deprived of enjoying the fruits 
 of their labor at the time of harvest; for the native husbandmen have 
 not escaped (in many cases) the murderous intrusions of the Bedouin 
 highwaymen, who would kill them for the purpose of plunder just as 
 readily as if they were foreigners. It is reasonable to suppose that 
 those husbandmen sowed in tears, not knowing whether they W'Ould be 
 permitted to reap what they so earnestly labored for. But we think 
 the days of these outlaws are passed, and a more healthy state of things 
 exists. 
 
 The greater portion of the plain was in the bounds of the territory 
 allotted to the tribe of Issachar, who seem to have been a people not 
 very much noted for bravery, but were quiet and passive, disposed rather 
 to suffer intrusion than stand out boldly for their rights. This feature 
 of their character is demonstrated by their humble submission to the 
 Canaanites of the adjacent towns and cities, especially the Phoenicians 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIKONMENTS. 315 
 
 along the sea-coast between the Ladder of Tyre and Sidon. It is said 
 that the tribe of Issachar, or a goodly number of them, were not only 
 the burden-bearers of the Canaanites, but were in a serai-slavisli state, 
 and were content in having a menial relation to them, their occupation 
 being such as mule-drivers, wood-choppers, and the general handy- 
 fellow. Their situation accoi'ded exactly with the prophecy of Jacob 
 concerning them, when about to die : " Issachar is a strong ass ci'ouch- 
 ing down between two burdens ; and he saw that rest was good ; and 
 the land, that it was pleasant ; and bowed his shoulders to bear, and 
 became a servant to tribute." It is proper to remark at this point that 
 it would be well for those who believe and teach the doctrine, that the 
 curse pronounced upon Canaan, was to continue down the line to all 
 the descendants of Ham, and that his progeny have no higher calling 
 than that of menials, to consider this fact, that the very people who 
 they say are to be kept down and deprived of an opportunity to de- 
 monstrate their manhood as others, were the masters of those who 
 they say are divinely set apart to rule, and their will was submitted to 
 with hiimble obedience. 
 
 Those Canaanites, whose ancestor was Ham, and who were more 
 the typical Hamite by far than ninety per cent, of the colored popula- 
 tion of America, were of the direct class these false teachers would 
 have the world believe, were born under the curse of the Almighty, 
 and that Shem and Japheth are appointed to execute it throughout all 
 generations. The above is but one of the many proofs of the down- 
 right absurdity of the damaging doctrine so earnestly taught by those 
 whose blindness have hidden " the truth as it is in Jesus " from them. 
 " God is no respecter of persons. " The very foundation of the northern 
 kingdom was built upon elastic premises, and, therefore, was unstable 
 from the day Jeroboam was proclaimed king to the lamentable day 
 when Hoshea, the last king, being overpowered by Shalmaneser, king 
 of Assyria, carried him and his subjects into captivity. There was 
 a constant tendency among the people to emerge into the darkest 
 shades of idolatry, so that when Ahab, the seventh king, ruled Israel, 
 the people had so generally given themselves up to idol worship, there 
 could be found of the vast number comprising the population, but 
 seven thousand who had not bowed their knee to Baal. 
 
 This is the number the Lord informed Elijah had been preserved 
 from the seductions of the established idolatry of the kingdom of Israel. 
 There seem to have been two modes of making proselytes to Baal 
 adopted by Ahab and Jezebel : one was seduction and the other intimi- 
 dation. When favors were to be granted, personal and otherwise, the 
 
316 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 recipients would be those who had become Baalites ; and as there were 
 many positions of honor at the disposal of the king, and men were in 
 those days, as at present, eager to become the honored incumbent of an 
 office of high trust in the government, they would go over to Baal 
 simply for the sake of an official position, or indulging the hope of 
 obtaining one. Those who would not be induced by these and other 
 seductive allurements were doomed to death. Such was the wholesale 
 slaughtering of those who were strongly inclined to the worship of 
 the God of their fathers, that Elijah was of the opinion, when the 
 Lord called him from his rocky retreat at Mt. Horeb, he was the only 
 one left who had escaped Jezebel's murderous hand. 
 
 Jezreel and Samaria were dotted with idolatrous priests, four hun- 
 dred of whom were chosen to officiate in the former city, and four 
 hundred and fifty in the latter ; their altars were constantly blazing 
 with sacrificial fires, and the lower atmosphere was darkened with 
 smoke. The name of the great idol was sacredly adored, and devoutly 
 praised by multitudes who had forsaken the Lord. Notwithstanding 
 the tendencies of man are evil, and the Hebrews were surrounded by 
 idolatrous tribes and nations whose examples were of the most degrad- 
 ing nature, there is no excuse for their wilful departure from the God 
 of their fathers, knowing, as they did, the wonderful things He had 
 done, both in delivering them from the bondage of Egypt and sus- 
 taining them during the many years of their national independence. 
 The Lord intended these people should have a religious government, 
 or one in which the light of the true God should flame so brilliantly 
 that the heathen about them might be persuaded to adopt their wor- 
 ship and become admirers and servants of the God of heaven ; but we 
 find Israel just as eager to depart from God and wholly abjure His 
 worship, as were the idol-worshipers who never knew Him as such. 
 
 There seems to have been no trouble for Jeroboam to establish his 
 calf-worship among the people ; they took hold of it with a greediness 
 that was hard to satisfy. Israel may be compared to a young person, 
 or a youth cautiously trained, and who is surrounded by others who 
 have been given a wider privilege, so that they do as suits them best. 
 The youth who has been carefully disciplined, seeing the wide scope of 
 liberty seemingly enjoyed by those in his neighborhood, becomes dis- 
 satisfied with the rule of his own parents and seeks to break them down 
 and follow the example of those whose restraints are very meagre. He 
 begins to extend his privileges little by little, until he finds himself 
 indulging in whatsoever he wishes, and only finds out the danger of 
 his course when it is too late to redeem himself. This is about the 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 317 
 
 status of Israel. They felt that the laws of God were too exacting ; 
 that they were kept in a position which cut them off from those enjoy- 
 ments others indulged in, and hence they longed to abjure the law of 
 the Lord and become their own keepers. This tendency was fostered 
 in Samuel's time, and was often rebuked by him, for he did not fail to 
 tell the people of the calamity that would follow such conduct. But 
 their evil passions seem to have mastered their judgment, so that they 
 would not be admonished. 
 
 It was one hundred and twenty-one years from the time Saul of 
 Benjamin was anointed king at Raraah by Samuel, to the time of 
 the revolt of the ten tribes, when Jeroboam was installed king. Under 
 this monarch the long-sought opportunity to indulge in open idolatry, 
 without lawful restraints was accorded to all who desired it, and from 
 that day the Israelites went into deeper sins, until their desire for the 
 worship of the true God became a thing of the past. So that when 
 Ahab was made king, fifty-six years from the time Jeroboam took the 
 sceptre, the people had gone so far from the God of their fathers (with 
 few exceptions), they were ready to do anything that might be sug- 
 gested by their ruler. Ahab has the reputation of being the most 
 wicked and daring king of the six preceding him ; and finding the 
 subjects of his kingdom completely in his hands, he ventured to go 
 farther into idolatry than even Jeroboam, who practically established 
 it. Most authors seem to be in sympathy with Ahab, and even 
 apologize for his conduct by charging Jezebel, the Phoenician princess^ 
 with influencing his course of procedure. This seems to be a strange 
 apology, one having no more force than that made by Adam, as a reason 
 for violating the command of the Lord, when, to satisfy his disobedient 
 inclination, he took the fruit from the hand of his wife and ate it. 
 
 Men who send out their thoughts to the world for its enlighten- 
 ment, ought to clothe every idea with candor perfectly free from bias. 
 It is a fact known to the world that Ahab was king, and as such held 
 the sceptre of power in his own hand, or had the authority to do so. 
 He was not a feeble-minded man, as some authors would have us 
 believe he was, from the manner in which they record his life ; but a 
 sturdy, brave and daring man, full of ambition, pride, covetousness 
 and vanity, caring for none but himself and household any farther than 
 to serve some personal end in view. He was also the husband of Jez- 
 ebel, and was to some extent, by human and divine law, a king or 
 double ruler over her ; first as husband, and second as monarch of the 
 kingdom in which she was living. Therefore Ahab's malicious con- 
 duct was the outgrowth of his own diabolical inclinations, intensified 
 
318 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 by au insatiable disposition to be regarded the greatest man on earth. 
 Jezebel was equally anxious for his success in the direction he aimed ; 
 she, therefore, put almost an endless number of plans in motion to 
 accomplish it, and having been reared amid heathen influences and by 
 parents who were fervent adherents of Baal, it cannot be expected she 
 would incline to any religion except that taught her from babyhood, 
 especially when her husband was willing to abandon the God of his 
 fathers and those ordained by Jeroboam to adopt the religion of the 
 Phcenicians. 
 
 The fact seems clear to my mind that Ahab was the worst of the 
 two, according to the opportunities each had in life to know the true 
 God. It does, therefore, seem unjust that the malicious conduct of 
 Ahab should be charged to Jezebel, his Hamite wife, but on the other 
 hand her husband, who was the acknowledged sovereign of Israel, was 
 guilty of allowing his wife too much ruling authority, which was many 
 times the cause of much trouble. The northern kingdom was ripe 
 with idolatry, when Ahab ascended the throne, for the calf-worship had 
 gained strong hold on the people in the fifty -six years of its establish- 
 ment, and the future outlook had become alarming, so much so, that 
 God raised special messengers to warn the king and subjects, from 
 time to time, of the pending calamities with which they would be 
 plagued on account of their rebellion against Him. 
 
 There had been several prophets in Israel from the time Jeroboam 
 expelled the priests and Levites to the occasion of Ahab's accession to 
 the throne, but none of them were endowed with the characteristics of 
 Elijah. It became necessary for God to raise up a host of these special 
 agents, from time to time, to admonish Israel and declare His judg- 
 ments. Many of them were bold, stern and faithful men, going 
 through the land, prefixing their message with the words, '• Thus saith 
 the Lord." Many times it was one of death, but they declared it with 
 the same boldness they did those that delighted the receiver. Their 
 authority was generally recognized, and what they declared was confi- 
 dently expected, whether to an individual or to the nation. 
 
 These prophets were not looked upon as leaders of the people politi- 
 cally, or rulers, nor did they so regard themselves ; they were not 
 consecrated priests in the ordinary sense of the word, therefore they 
 did not attempt to ofliciate at the altars as such, but they were persons 
 chosen from the people of whatever tribe the Lord selected them, with- 
 out respect to priestly descendants. Yet there were times when a 
 prophet seemed to rank above both priest and king, for both of these 
 functionaries were often confronted by them with a message from God 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 319 
 
 to which they would listen auJ respect. Not a few limes these mys- 
 terious messengers would be sent to the chief officials of the country, 
 both religious and political, to denounce their conduct, without being 
 interfered with ; sometimes they would speak most bitterly against 
 king, priests and people, and yet their authority would not be ques- 
 tioned, although the parties concerned would at times become enraged. 
 There can be no doubt that these messengers of the Lord were sus- 
 tained by Him, to the extent that their enemies became powerless when 
 listening to the word of the Lord sent to them. That the prophets 
 were specially constituted by God, cannot be consistently doubted. It 
 is a known fact that what they said was fulfilled exactly according to 
 the time they predicted, and much of their prophecy has been fulfilled 
 in our time, and is yet being accomplished in every age. 
 
 Let us consider the call of Jeremiah, for example. " The word of 
 the Lord came to me saying, ' Before I formed thee in the womb I 
 knew thee ; and before thou camest forth I sanctified thee and ordained 
 thee to be a prophet unto the nation.'" Then said I, "Oh! Lord, 
 behold I cannot speak, for I am a child ; but the Lord said unto me. 
 Say not that I am a child, for thou shalt go unto all that I shall send 
 thee ; and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak." It was 
 likewise with Hosea, Ezekiel and Amos among the herdsmen. The 
 mysterious voice of the Lord told them to go, and they promptly 
 obeyed. The first class, as we have designated them, were the most 
 notable. They were as a rule bold, fearless and pointed in their 
 addresses, regardless of smiles or frowns. Our imagination can draw 
 the appearance of one of these wonderful men before us. AVe see him 
 with rugged countenance, flowing hair, stern voice, clothed with the 
 skin of beasts, or in garb worn by the peasantry, and with keen eyes 
 flashing — as it were — the message of their mission. Sometimes they 
 appear suddenly in the presence of a rabble multitude, at the door of 
 the temple, or in the presence of a king, or meet some one while on a 
 journey to do some act highly oflensive to the Lord, and, with a thun- 
 der-like voice, pronounce a doleful message from God to them, and 
 and then disappear as mysteriously as they came. And if, in our day, 
 one of those inspired messengers should appear in a church congregation 
 some Sunday morning, just as the people were about to engage in their 
 formal worship, and should suddenly pronounce words of condemnation 
 against those who came with but a form of Godliness, and were he to 
 single them out one by one, telling them. You draw nigh to God with 
 your lips, but your hearts are far from Him ; and suppose he should 
 tell them of their unchristian discriminations, of the contempt with 
 
320 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 which they look upon the poor, of the bitterness they entertain against 
 those whom God in His wisdom has permitted to be born with a darker 
 complexion ; and should he sternly rebuke the rich for oppressing and 
 grinding the life out of the poor, by refusing to reward them properly 
 for services rendered, and tell in detail, in words that could be distinctly 
 understood, of all the inhuman deeds committed against those who 
 could not defend themselves, what would be the result of such a mes- 
 sage ? 
 
 It seems to me that if an earthquake of extraordinary force should 
 occur, it would not produce a greater consternation. And what would the 
 minister think of his course of procedure, who attempts to declare the 
 word of God to the people and so arrange his subject as to evade the 
 duty of pointing out their wrongs? I imagine there would be such a 
 stir, with both pastor and people, they would go down in the dust of 
 humility and cry against themselves. It is also known the prophets 
 were often abused and even murdered. In one period of Elijah's time 
 the persecution of these servants of God became so great many were 
 slain, others were faint-hearted, being overcome with fear, for they were 
 all doomed to death. It would seem there were two classes of prophets ; 
 one, those who were moved by the Spirit to go forth bearing messages 
 without having passed through the preparatory schools ; some were 
 without the meager education the ordinary people were taught; indeed, 
 it might be said, many were without any knowledge of letters, but 
 God took them up and demonstrated the possibility of an unlearned 
 man's powers to accurately comprehend and declare future events 
 through the agency of the Holy Spirit. The work of this class was 
 somewhat peculiar. They wrote and posted no messages along the 
 highways to be read by those passing through the land, but delivered 
 them to the person or persons concerned face to face, except in a few 
 instances when one was sent to perform a work in their stead, as was 
 the case when Jehu was anointed to be the tenth king of Israel. 
 
 Sometimes the work of these prophets was confined to a single case, 
 as that of the young Levite in Jehoshaphat's time, when a confederate 
 army was marching against Jerusalem. The other class were those 
 who were especially trained for the work in the several schools which 
 seem to have originated in the time of Samuel. There were schools 
 located at Gibeah, Naioth, Bethel, Gilgal, Jericho and Mt. Carmel ; 
 in these, young men were carefully trained in the religion of the He- 
 brews, to conduct the services and to teach the people the will of God. 
 These doctrines were in opposition to the religion established upon the 
 rotten foundation of idul worship ; therefore, they were antagonized by 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 321 
 
 the kings and other authorities who followed the teachings of those 
 whose god was not the Lord. This class, in addition to their teaching 
 as to the proper and only true worship, would write messages and post 
 them along the public highways for the good of all who read them. 
 But we need not have a prophet sent to warn us against the toleration 
 and practice of such conduct. One has been here, the greatest of all 
 prophets, even the author of them, whose voice can be heard in thun- 
 der-tones by all who will give attention. He has had our duty, which 
 must be observed by all generations, plainly recorded : " As ye would 
 that men should do unto you, do ye also unto them." 
 
 The prophets were reformers of the people ; they exerted their ut- 
 termost powers to keep them in the ways of the Lord, but many living 
 in their day lost sight of the words of warning until it was too late ; 
 their fate came finding them away from God. It is, therefore, easily 
 discerned who were the divinely appointed men and who were false. 
 The words of the self-constituted prophets died with them, and were 
 buried in the same grave. But the predictions of the true prophets 
 (many of them) are with us to-day. Their prophecies are given us in 
 detail in the Scriptures so distinctly that evidences of their fulfillment 
 are developed in numerous instances to those living in this age, which 
 are powerful demonstrations of the divine authenticity of the men who 
 uttered the predictions. Every one who reads the Holy Scriptures 
 cannot fail (if he takes time to examine them carefully) to see the 
 prophecies continue through both the Old and New Testaments, em- 
 bracing the vast extent from the fall of man to the end of time, and 
 that at first they were delivered at long intervals, but at length they 
 became more frequent, and were uniformly ca'rried on in the line of 
 one people, the seed of Abraham, who were separated from the rest of 
 mankind to be the unyielding Avitnesses of the true God and the custo- 
 dians of His precious oracles ; and that with some intermission the 
 spirit of prophecy continued with men down to the close of the life of 
 Malachi. 
 
 That Jesus and His apostles exercised the same power in the most 
 conspicuous manner, and that they left various predictions on record of 
 a most sublime and glorious character, are yet to be developed, but are 
 just as sure to be accomplished as if already fulfilled, for the mouth of 
 the Lord hath spoken them. From the beginning of the kingdom of 
 Israel to the end, it was found necessary to have these prophetic re- 
 formers constantly engaged in urging the people to abandon idolatry 
 and return to the God of their fathers ; and there was no time in the 
 history of this people when they needed the teachings of the prophets 
 21 
 
322 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 moi'e than when Ahab was ruling. As has been intimated, this noto- 
 riously wicked king ventured beyond the limits of the idol-worship 
 established by Jeroboam and adopted by his successors, and did just 
 what his evil heart inclined to. His reign over Israel was one of the 
 most remarkable for idol worship in the annals of their history. He 
 was not only an admirer of the idolatrous examples of Jeroboam, but 
 leaped beyond them, and planted his kingdom in the very heart of that 
 practiced by the heathen or that so fondly adored by Ethbaal, king of 
 Phcenicia and father of Jezebel. 
 
 When Jeroboam established the calf worship it was more intended 
 as a state religion than to settle down in idolatry. That is, he wished 
 to confine his subjects within the bounds of the northern kingdom, 
 and thereby lead their minds from the worship at Jerusalem It was 
 a cunning deception, leading the people to believe that they were 
 paying due homage to the Lord, by presenting their devotions to the 
 images. It was indeed idolatry in disgui5;e; and the entering wedge 
 which sundered the people from the God of their fathers. But Ahab 
 was not content with that form of worship ; he seems to have enter- 
 tained an opinion, he should be looked upon as deity, and lost no time 
 in introducing every scheme his wicked heart could conceive to bring 
 about the result. It was a matter of impossibility to firmly establish 
 the worship of Baal (the religion his wife sacredly adored and lent her 
 strongest influence to establish it in Israel), and hold to the form 
 adopted by Jeroboam, and greatly admired by the people. He, there- 
 fore, caused the calf worship to be abolished, and planted the Baal 
 worship in its stead. Then the new idol was generally endorsed by 
 the state and adored as god. The kingdom had had several severe 
 blows from its own hand, but this was the most serious of all. It was 
 a willful departure from God, and a wholesale turning over to Baal. 
 
 During their fifty-six years of calf worship, under the guise of 
 paying devotions to the God of their fathers through them, God bore it 
 with great patience and chided them in various ways, sending prophets 
 to them, who in ungaruished terms denounced their fostered inclina- 
 tions to evil, and told them of the ultimate end of their conduct ; but 
 they went from bad to worse, until they compelled the Lord to with- 
 draw His hand of protection from them and give the kingdom over to 
 the keeping of Baal. Having ignored the teachings of Moses, Samuel 
 and others who had been raised up for their betterment, they lapsed 
 into the deepest slums of iniquity. At the same time it is but natural 
 to suppose, Jezebel, whose ambition to supplant the existing state relig- 
 ion by that she ardently loved, did all she could to welcome and estab- 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 323 
 
 lish the Baal form of worship throughout the kingdom, putting a law 
 in practical force that any who refused to adopt it, were doomed to ter- 
 rible persecutions ; the real torture of which could only be known by 
 those who were the victims. Ahab was not inclined to build a temple 
 to Baal at Bethel, the headquarters of the calf worship ; he, therefore, 
 caused one to be erected in the city of Samaria of a stupendous char- 
 acter, both in proportion and embellishment, as the headquarters of 
 the services of Baal. Fragments of this temple remain to the present; 
 and a grove was also prepared and dedicated to the new' divinities at 
 Jezreel where four hundred priests were employed. 
 
 These gorgeous preparations and elaborate ceremonies so completely 
 enchanted the people, they fondly adored them and were ready to slay 
 any one who avowed their intention to worship the true God. The 
 altars that had been erected to the Lord were torn down, and others 
 were set up to Baal in their stead. The prophets of the Lord were 
 slain, and those of Baal were appointed in their stead. The crisis had 
 come when the large majority of the people in the northern kingdom 
 determined to bring the whole people to Baal, if not by common con- 
 sent, they should submit by force. The music, dances, and songs of 
 praise that were fondly lavished upon the idols, were at times tumultu- 
 ous, so that it seems as if the whole people had become wild over their 
 new state religion, and Baal was the cry from all quarters by old, 
 young, wise and ignorant; all sang songs of adoration to Baal in 
 exulting strains. Just then when the enthusiasm of the people was 
 the most marked, their hopes highest, their joys brightest, their shouts 
 loudest, and their prospect of future prosperity most encouraging, a 
 strange man, whom they had not seen or even heard of, suddenly 
 appears. He had no one with him, and from his general bearing one 
 would suppose him to be a man whose calling was not by any means 
 enviable. His manner was uncouth, his step firm with an air of inde- 
 pendence and carelessness, his expression was stern and bold ; his 
 voice was heavy, impressive and daring ; his garments were composed 
 of sheep-skin, and his girdle was leather ; he walked with the dignity 
 of a king, although his appearance was like a green countryman, who 
 knew nothing of the courtesy common to city life ; yet he moved on 
 in this unusual way to the residence of the king, and suddenly appears 
 before the palace, in the august presence of the mighty king of Israel 
 with a special message from God. Who was the stranger, and from 
 whence came he? It was the pi'ophet Elijah, a native of Gilead, but 
 of unknown parentage and earlj'^ history. All we can learn of his 
 early life is, he was born east of the Jordan, somewhere among the 
 
324 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 mountains of Gilead ; his bearing gave evidence that he was trained 
 in the highlands and looked much like the wandering Bedouins of the 
 present time, who are often met in Palestine and Syria. Elijah had 
 been commissioned of the Lord to cross the Jordan and go over to 
 Jezreel'with a special message to Ahab. It was not lengthy, but woeful 
 as to the future of Israel. 
 
 This cai'eless- looking man did not shrink from the responsible duty, 
 nor did he go down to Joppa and embark for some other country, 
 rather than go to the people, who were swallowed up in idolatiy, but 
 fearlessly went directly to him to whom he was sent, without alarm, or 
 offering any apology for his coming, nor did he present himself to the 
 haughty Ahab in an humble way. He was bearing a message to a 
 king from the King of kings, under whose protection he had the lib- 
 ei'ty to go with manly boldness and with an uncompi'omising expres- 
 sion depicted upon his countenance, and with undaunted earnestness 
 flashing from his eyes. When such a man, who was unbidden, un- 
 known and uncouth, approached the king of Israel, it must have been 
 an exciting scene, especially so when he began his short speech with a 
 sacred oath, and then pronounced the calamity that was at the door. If 
 an unexpected thunderbolt had struck the palace, it would not have 
 excited more alarm than the words of the stranger who stood before 
 the king. The prophet did not dress his message with an alluring 
 introduction charged with flattery, but began at once to disclose his 
 mission in the strongest and most positive terms at his command. "As 
 the Lord the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not 
 be dew nor rain these three years, but according to my word." This 
 was an astonishing message, one that foretold a pending calamity, 
 freighted with great distress and death ; yet it was but the beginning 
 of a continuous flow of Divine indignation, that would not stop until 
 the kingdom should be leveled with the dust, and its inhabitants led 
 into captivity. 
 
 When the message had been delivered, the prophet did not wait to 
 hear the king's rejjly, for none was needed ; but as suddenly as was 
 his coming he departed, leaving the king to ponder the words of his 
 strange visitor. Ahab, in his blindness, allowed himself to become 
 enraged and swore vengeance against Elijah. It may have been he 
 did not wish to show weakness in the presence of Jezebel, who was 
 ever ready to cheer him and prompt him to deeds of violence on the 
 least seeming provocation. He resolved to have the man of God put 
 to death, and commissioned his officers to hunt him down and slay 
 him. But where was he to be found ? No one knew. (1 Kings xvii. 1). 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 325 
 
 It seems not to have occurred to them that the God of heaven, who 
 sent Elijah would surely protect him against the wrath of wicked 
 Ahab- So they made a diligent search for him, but could not appre- 
 hend him or hear of him through any one. Where is he? was the 
 anxious inquiry escaping thousands of lips. 
 
 ELIJAH'S RETREAT. 
 
 It is highly probable all the officers of state, high and low, were 
 hunting God's messenger with excited eagerness, hoping to have the 
 honor of bearing the news to Ahab that the daringly arrogant fellow, 
 whose presence had disturbed him so much, had been hunted down and 
 slain. But the Lord had provided a place of security for His servant, 
 and arranged for his sustenance there for a year. It is remarkable 
 that Elijah did not 'go east of the Jordan to elude the officers in search 
 of him, but was hiding within a few miles from the place where he 
 delivered the words of his message to Ahab. He, being directed by 
 the Spirit of the Lord, fled to the narrow confines of the brook Cherith, 
 and made his home in one of the solitary caves in a deep and wild 
 ravine (traditionally) located on its northeastern bank, a few miles 
 north of Jericho. There were no fears lurking in the breast of Elijah 
 as to his safety, for he knew the Lord would sustain him amid the 
 rugged clefts of the Cherith, just as He did while living at the house 
 of his childhood, among the mountains of Gilead. There were four 
 or five hundred more prophets in Israel against whom Ahab vented 
 his wrath, Jezebel, his wife, being the chief directress of the ma.ssacre. 
 Obadiah, who was chief of the household, took a hundred of the 
 prophets secretly from the slaughtering huntsmen and hid them in caves 
 by fifties, and fed them with bread and water, without the knowledge 
 of their wicked persecutors. Some of the number, it is feared, became 
 timid and changed their conduct so as to please Ahab, or refused to 
 pronounce as before against the idol worshipers. The brook, which 
 was Elijah's only water supply, became dry. This was not an un- 
 common event, as some have supposed, but an annual occurrence. 
 This brook is a winter torrent, which carries off the water during the 
 rainy season from the heights along its course, and receives other small 
 streams caused by the rains. But when these feeders fail to supply it 
 the water ebbs, day after day, until the brook becomes dry. But it is 
 reasonable to suppose its water gave out earlier the season Elijah was 
 hiding there because of the lack of the usual rains. The time had 
 come when the people throughout the kingdom hopefully looked for 
 the return of rain, to replenish their cisterns, w^hich were about ex- 
 
326 THE LAXD OF PROMISE. 
 
 hausted, but no rain fell. Then Ahab and Jezebel, who doubtless in 
 their madness were eager for the life-blood of Elijah, began to awaken 
 and remember the words uttered by the strange visitor, who so abruptly 
 approached the presence of his august majesty, and told him there 
 would be a cessation of rain and dew for three years. Soon a scene of 
 desolation was prominent over the whole kingdom. The fruitful fields 
 and vineyards, the perennial springs and streams became dry. The 
 fig, olive and all other trees began to droop under the pressure of the 
 drought. The cattle and flocks were dying in astounding numbers, 
 while the people were famishing. Elijah's water-supply was also cut 
 off, for the brook went dry. But the Lord had made other provisions, 
 as He always does for those who follow Him. He ordered him to 
 Zarephath, the Sarepta of the New Testament, a city near the coast 
 north of Tyre, and gave him a^ home in the house of a poor widow. 
 It is noteworthy that each of the places selected for the prophet were 
 such as would not be suspected by those who were hunting him. It 
 did not enter their minds he would be among the rugged clefts of 
 Cherith, where the needed friendly aid to sustain him could not be had, 
 nor did they suppose he would escape to any of the cities of Phoenicia, 
 because he was religiously unfriendly to the people and could expect 
 no protection from them. But the Lord chose these places for him 
 and raised up friends to His servant in a marvelous and miraculous 
 way. The first work of mercy the prophet did on entering Zarephath, 
 was a miracle which recruited the woman's meal and oil until the 
 return of rain. 
 
 The famine had waxed sore, even in Phoenicia, and when Elijah 
 drew near the house the Lord had selected for his home while there, 
 the poor, heart-broken widow came out of her door to perform the last 
 domestic work of her life. Her meal, except a handful, was entirely 
 gone, and the cruse of oil was also about gone, except enough to pre- 
 pare a small cake of bread, all of which she was preparing to bake for 
 herself and son to eat — then die. But the prophet being weary with 
 his long journey, hungry and thirsty, asked her. in connection with the 
 water she wa.s about to get him, to bring also a cake. The poor woman 
 related her sad situation, telling Elijah of the small amount of meal 
 and oil she had, but the man of God assured her, if she did as he 
 requested, her meal and oil should not give out until the Lord should 
 send rain. Ordinarily this would have been an exorbitant request, 
 but, under the circumstances, she was simply blessing herself abun- 
 dantly by blessing God's sen'ant a little. This act of the widow met 
 the approval of the Almighty ; she did not refrain from giving a part 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 327 
 
 of the small remnant of meal she had to a stranger, and did not fail 
 to receive her reward. The least we may suppose as to her faith hence- 
 forth, is she became soundly drawn from the faith of Baal-worship and 
 served the God of Elijah, This did not take place, however, until her 
 only son, who died, was restored alive to her by Elijah, for she said, 
 when he was returned to her, " Noav, I know that thou art a man of 
 God, and that the word of the Lord is in thy mouth in truth." After 
 a time it so happened, the famine was raging so greatly in Israel, the 
 king, his household, his full-blooded horses and cattle were threatened 
 Avith death. 
 
 Seeing the imminent peril the royal household was placed in, Ahab 
 became alarmed and concluded he would go himself in search of water 
 and grass for the perishing animals, hoping he might find some green 
 spot, somewhere wnthin the domain of his kingdom ; and a running 
 stream, though it might be very shallow, that would serve to keep the 
 beasts alive. That a thorough canvass of the kingdom might be carefully 
 made, the king requested Obadiah, who had charge of the affairs of 
 his household, to assist in making the search. It is just that we say, 
 Obadiah was in great sympathy with the prophets and the remain- 
 ing few who adhered to the religion of their fathers, and he reverenced 
 and feared the Lord (1 Kings xvii. 10-24). It is likely he was many 
 times found in the same attitude of the earnestly devout worshipers 
 who bowed their knee to Baal. For it is not perceivable how he cou'd 
 be in the confidence of Ahab without indicating his belief in and 
 devotion to the worship of their god. It is our opinion, therefore, that 
 while Obadiah often bowed his knees before Baal, he did not bow to 
 him in his heart ; but like Naaman, when he entered with his master 
 the house of Rimmon, he only bowed his knee, but his heart took no 
 pleasure in it. These two men of high distinction divided the whole 
 kingdom between them, to go in diligent search for water and grass 
 among the ravines and low lands far and near ; Ahab going in one 
 direction, and Obadiah in another. 
 
 ELIJAH'S RETURN TO AHAB. 
 
 This occurred about the time that the Lord ordered Elijah to appear 
 again before Ahab, which was about the end of the third year of the 
 famine. The prophet had left his temporary home in Sarepta, and was 
 again in Israel, wending his way towards Jezreel to meet Ahab, in the 
 same stern and fearless manner he approached the king on his first 
 visit. Obadiah was out earnestly hunting for grass and water, having 
 no idea of meeting the man 5f God, for whom a relentless search was 
 
328 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 being made, and against whom vengeance had been sworn ; but Elijah 
 went on fearlessly, for the Lord had sent him. He said to Obadiah 
 (who knew him), " Go tell thy lord, Behold Elijah is here," and 
 assured him he would appear before the king that day. The prophet, 
 true to his word, met Ahab, not to declare the continuance of the fam- 
 ine, but to assure him that the end of it had come, and there would be 
 an abundance of rain. It is probable that when the king saw Elijah 
 all the indignation of his soul was kindled against him for a moment, 
 but was suppressed just as soon as the messenger of the Lord opened 
 his mouth to him. " Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel? " 
 
 Elijah was not alarmed at the presence of the man who had sworn 
 vengeance against him, but addressed him with the same sternness he 
 did w^hen he met him three years prior. In reply to the king he said, 
 " I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that 
 ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast fol- 
 lowed Baalim." Is it not marvelous that Ahab at once seems to have 
 lost all the bitterness he so long entertained for Elijah, and became as 
 though he was but a subject standing in the presence of a king? Indeed 
 Elijah did, for a time, ascend in point of power above the king of 
 Israel and commanded him to do a work which was faithfully fulfilled. 
 So it may be said of the prophet, he for a short period while filling his 
 mission as a divine messenger, acted as king of Israel in that he com- 
 manded the king to assemble all the people before him (Elijah) on Mount 
 Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four 
 hundred prophets of Astaroth. In compliance with the request of the 
 messenger of the Most High, Ahab had messengers dispatched calling 
 the people to meet Elijah on Mount Carmel ; and when they had 
 come, the man of God asked in thunder tones the momentous question, 
 which has been repeated with equal earnestness by many thousands 
 who have been chosen messengers under the Lord Jesus Christ, " How 
 long halt ye between two opinions ? If Jehovah be God, follow Him ; 
 but if Baal, then follow him." 
 
 The people followed Baal because they wished to please Ahab, and 
 be favored with the positions of state at his disposal ; at the same time 
 they wanted to hold to the God of heaven, that they might respect the 
 opinions of their fathers. But their inclination for the worship of 
 Baal was fast absorbing them so completely, they were claiming for 
 him the same authority the true follower and prophet of the Almighty 
 God claimed for Him. Now Elijah wished to have the matter fully 
 and fairly te.sted, that it might be settled for all time. Therefore the 
 stern, dauntless prophet stood the lone representative of the God of 
 
JEZKEEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS.. 329 
 
 heaven, against eight hundred and fifty of those representing Baal, 
 who had a host who were in open sympathy with them. It may be that 
 Obadiah and a few of the seven thousand who continued true to the 
 God of their fathers were present, but did not dare make known their 
 preference. Hence Elijah practically stood alone ; yet he was brave, 
 confident, and full of good cheer. The prophet proposed that a settle- 
 ment of the question, as to who had the right to be acknowledged the 
 true God, be made ; and that there might be no disadvantage taken, 
 he gave the Baalites the first opportunity to test the authority and 
 reality of their god. 
 
 The matter of demonstrative answers to prayer had never been 
 tested by the officials of this heathen deity, and yet they had full con- 
 fidence in him, and believed he would make known himself in showers 
 of fire that day, to the jubilant gratification of all the people assem- 
 bled on the mount and to all Israel throughout. The mode of testa- 
 tion was the consumption of a sacrificial bullock laid upon a new 
 altar, expressly erected for the tremendous event. They, after care- 
 fully arranging their sacrifice, began to send out a wild and tumultu- 
 ous cry, " Come, Baal, O, Baal, hear us ! " But he did not hear them, 
 nor come in that extreme moment of anxious hope. To give them a 
 good chance to vindicate their cause, Elijah told them tauntingly and 
 ironically to " Cry aloud, for he is a god ; either he is amusing himself 
 or is gone aside, or is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and 
 must be awakened." Then the scene that followed must have been 
 amusing to the prophet, for they became really wild with clamorous 
 shouts, and dancing about the altar, even cutting themselves with 
 their lances. But Baal did not come. Jezebel, who was equally con- 
 cerned as to the result of the test, no doubt heard the cries of her 
 confident prophets, and sat at the highest window in the palace of 
 Jezreel, or in the tower, anxious to witness the flow of fire stream from 
 heaven in answer to the faithful call of the priests of Baal ; and Ahab, 
 who had become greatly humbled in the presence of Elijah, was sta- 
 tioned at a convenient distance from the scene in hopeful expectation 
 of a triumphant victory for Baal. 
 
 After these priests had made a thorough test of the capacity ot 
 their god and signally failed up to the time of the offering of the 
 evening sacrifice, Elijah, the lone representative of the God of heaven; 
 called the people around him, that they might witness there was no 
 unfairness in his dealing with this monstrous test. He then rebuilt 
 the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down, and took up twelve 
 stones, each one representing a tribe of Israel, and built an altar in 
 
330 . THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 the name of his God, He cut the bullock in piece? and put it upon 
 
 the altar, and then drew water from the perennial spring (which is 
 
 still located) and poured, or caused to be, twelve barrels on the altar, 
 
 so that the bullock, wood and altar were overflowing, and the trench 
 
 around it was filled. Now all is in readiness for the test of Elijah's 
 
 God. The prophet was not only confident, but full of assurance. He 
 
 drew near the altar and prayed, saying : " O. Lord God of Abraham, 
 
 of Isaac and of Jacob, let it be known this day that Thoii art God in 
 
 Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these 
 
 things at Thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me that this people may 
 
 know that Thou, Lord, art God, and that Thou hast turned their hearts 
 
 back again." 
 
 ANSWER TO ELIJAH'S PRAYER. 
 
 At the moment Elijah had finished his pathetic prayer, fire from 
 the Lord God fell from heaven, consuming the sacrifice, the wood, and 
 to the astonishment of all, the very stones of which the altar was com- 
 posed were melted by the fire, and the water in the trench was con- 
 sumed by the flames. When the multitude of witnesses saw it, they 
 suddenly fell upon their faces and cried out, " The Lord, He is God ; 
 the Lord, He is God." Elijah immediately became the acknowledged 
 master of the situation ; therefore the people, and even Ahab, stood 
 ready to observe whatsoever he commanded. All the false prophets of 
 Baal, without an exception, were captured. They were then led down 
 to the foot of the mountain and slain by the brook Kishon. Then 
 Elijah came to Ahab, who seems to have been as meek as any of his 
 subjects, and said : " Get thee up ; eat and drink, for there is the sound 
 of abundance of rain." The king reverentially obeyed, for Elijah was 
 the commander-in-chief for the time being, and every order was care- 
 fully observed. But there was yet another thing to be done according 
 to prophecy — the rain which had been stopped for three years must 
 come in abundance. 
 
 The man of God ascended to the top of Carmel in great humilia- 
 tion, and sent his servant up to another peak to look toward the sea 
 for signs of the gathering clouds, for he was expecting rain, but he 
 soon returned without having seen any visible indications of the pend- 
 ing storm. But the prophet sent him again, even until he had gone 
 Seven times. Then he reported he saw a cloud about the size of a man's 
 hand, as if rising out of the sea. Elijah sent word to Ahab to have his 
 chariot in readiness, to make all possible haste to his palace, lest the 
 rain should prevent him. Such a message would doubtless have been 
 as an idle tale to Ahab under ordinary circumstances ; but it came 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 331 
 
 from Elijah, and he believed it to be true, notwithstanding there were 
 no indications of a storm as far as he could see. Elijah ran before the 
 chariot of Ahab, like an Egyptian courier, to the gate of Jezreel. In 
 the meantime the heavens became black with clouds, and the rain 
 descended in torrents. Ahab, having witnessed the wonderful demon- 
 stration of the power of God through Elijah, did not come forward 
 like an honorable man and destroy every image of Baal he had set 
 up, and order the people to return to the religion of their fathers, but 
 went home sheepishly to Jezebel and told her all that had come to 
 pass. The woman was viciously angry, and sent a messenger to Elijah 
 with this woeful message : " So let the gods do to me and more also if 
 I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about 
 this time." 
 
 When Elijah heard this, he became alarmed and fled to Beersheba, 
 in Judah, and left his servant there. The conduct of Elijah has been 
 harshly criticised by some people because he allowed a Avoman to so 
 alarm him ; but it should be remembered that all that the prophet 
 did of a superior character, was by the direction and under the 
 influence of the Holy Spirit, and without its dictation he was simply 
 an ordinary man. It would have been a hard thing to have found a 
 man who, under the circumstances, would not have done the same. 
 When the man of God had finished the work assigned him on Mt. Car- 
 mel, and escorted Ahab to the gate of Jezreel, all that was intended 
 for him to do at that time was accomplished. It should be remembered, 
 also, that Elijah was of the class of prophets that were given certain 
 messages to carry immediately, and not as those whose prophecies were 
 many centuries developing. He did not write his predictions as did 
 those whose names are used as the title of a number of books in the 
 Old Testament, but was a reformer of men, and a messenger from the 
 Lord, going from man to man, rebuking and commending as the case 
 might be. If God had ordered Elijah to carry a message to Jezebel, 
 he would have returned with the messenger that she sent to him, and 
 delivered it. It was the Lord's will he should do as he did, and caused 
 Jezebel to notify him of her intention, that he might have ample time 
 in which to escape. It was not the will of the Lord to reveal to Elijah 
 the calamities that should visit Ahab, Jezebel, the city of Samaria, and 
 the whole kingdom, which would be of such a destructive character 
 that the king should be swept from his throne and the nation brought 
 down to the dust ; but it seems He intended to show the prophet, who,, 
 but a few hours prior, was the hero of Mt. Carmel, that he was but a 
 frail man, and could do nothing without divine help. 
 
332 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 ELIJAH'S FLIGHT. 
 
 It may have been that Elijah's triumph over the eight hundred 
 and fifty priests of Baal, and over Ahab himself, would have caused 
 him to become a little pompous ; therefore, the Lord allowed this sud- 
 den withdrawal of spiritual force to keep His servant humble and ever 
 mindful that he was but an humble instrument through whom the 
 Almighty worked His sovereign will. When Elijah was moved by 
 the Spirit to leave Beersheba and flee into the wilderness, he seems to 
 have comprehended the magnitude of the situation, and left the lad, 
 his servant (who, a far-fetched tradition says, was the widow's son 
 whom he restored to life, and the Jonah who was sent to Nineveh), 
 and went alone to the solitary wilderness, and sat down under the 
 shady branches of a juniper tree, and wished he might be permitted to 
 die. Here we find the bold, indomitable, indefatigable Elijah, weary, 
 thirsty, hungry, and preferring death rather than the ordeal through 
 which he was passing. But the eye of the Lord was watching him to 
 guide and comfort him along the lonely road. While he slept, an 
 angel brought him bread and water, which strengthened him forty 
 days and nights. "The eye of the Lord is over the righteous, and His 
 ear is open to their cry." Elijah journeyed from thence to Mt Horeb, 
 and took refuge in one of the huge caves, once more far from those 
 who sought his life, and in a place far more dreary than his rocky 
 chamber by the brook Cherith. He was a ready man, and moved by 
 divine command the moment he was called upon. 
 
 It did not matter to him what the character of the message was, to 
 whom it was to be delivered, nor how far he must go to bear it ; he 
 was ready and willing for the task. There were many prophets sent 
 among the people, but none more impressive and distinguished than 
 this stern Tishbite, whose second coming was confidently expected 
 prior to the advent of the Messiah, to recognize the chafed Hebrews 
 who were groaning under the reward of their hands. When Malachi 
 was finishing his prophecies, he referred to Elijah as the great central 
 figure in turning the hearts of those who had become estranged towards 
 each other ; and it is reasonable to believe his name was carried down 
 through that long period of over four hundred years of profound 
 silence, which causes a deep and dark chasm to be placed between the 
 closing of the Old Dispensation and the beginning of the New. This 
 idea is clear from the statement of the woman of Sychar to our Lord 
 at Jacob's Well. " We know Elias must first come and restore all 
 things." And those who were about the cross when Jesus cried out, 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 333 
 
 "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthaui," supposed He was calling for Elijah, 
 aud waited to see if ho would come and deliver Him. It is worthy of 
 remark that the Lord never removes one of His messengers from labor 
 without having some one to take his place, if another is needed ; for it 
 occurs at times that the entire work belonging to certain developments 
 is allotted to one person, so that in hundreds of instances we have but 
 one man for some peculiar work, whose singular characteristics aud fit- 
 ness prepared him to discharge the duties enjoined. There was in fact 
 but one Moses, one Samuel, one Elijah ; and so we might trace this 
 line of singularly fitted men down to our time, aud find them in the 
 persons of John Wesley, Richard Allen, Daniel A. Payne, John Brown, 
 Abraham Lincoln, Charles Sumner, and others. When the time of 
 their demise came, the living wondered who would take their places 
 and carry on the work they were so faithfully pursuing ; but as time 
 passed it was found that the work in this particular was so well devel- 
 oped that another to follow in their identical sphere was not needed. 
 The Lord appointed Elijah to perform a peculiar work that required a 
 man with just such singular fitness as he possessed ; one who had the 
 courage to strike heavy and effectual blows at the very heart of idol- 
 worship, and cause the powers that upheld it to tremble. But before 
 the time came for Elijah to be called from the field, God made choice 
 of another who was to enter upon the work in his room, but conduct 
 it under diflerent circumstances and in another way. 
 
 ELIJAH COMMANDED TO RETURN. 
 
 When the Lord came to Elijah, while he no doubt was in deep 
 meditation in his rocky home in Mt. Horeb, and informed him, to his 
 great astonishment, there were yet seven thousand in Israel who had 
 not bowed to Baal, He commanded him to " return on the way to 
 the wilderness of Damascus : aud when thou comest. thou shalt anoint 
 Hazael to be king over Syria ; and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt thou 
 anoint to be king over Israel ; and Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel- 
 meholah, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room." This young 
 man, who seems to have known nothing but country life, having been 
 reared as a husbandman, was chosen of God to the high ofiicial ofiice 
 of Elijah. The prophet went from his solitary hiding with the full 
 intention of fulfilling the commands he had received, but only had an 
 opportunity of performing one of them in person. He anointed the 
 man named as his successor the first of all, instead of going down to 
 Damascus to anoint Hazael to reign in the stead of Ben-hadad, or Jehu 
 to take Ahab's place. 
 
334 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 We know human beings are so constituted tliey are seldom willing 
 that another should succeed them in honorable and exalted positions, 
 whether in church or state, notwithstanding the burden of more than 
 three-score and ten years, united with failing health which disqualifies 
 them to discharge the duties their position enjoins. But there was no 
 feeling existing in Elijah, for he manifested no disposition to stand in 
 the way of another whom God had chosen. It was important Elisha 
 should be anointed and receive a primary knowledge of the work 
 before he (Elijah) was called home; others could fill his place in 
 setting apart Hazael and Jehu, but no one could anoint his successor. 
 Therefore, he performed the more important duty first. We feel con- 
 fident that every fair-minded man will indorse Elijah's conduct in this 
 all-important matter, and his aflTectionate disposition towards Elisha 
 the remainder of the time allotted him before the chariot separated 
 them. Elijah took the young man as his sou from the day he anointed 
 him, and acted like a loving father to the end of his pilgrimage 
 on earth. Indeed they seemed more like close companions than pre- 
 decessor and successor, for they aflfectionately lived together, going 
 from place to place with all the fondness that they could possess. Nor 
 was Elisha willing to leave Elijah when the day of separation came, 
 although he could not fully enter upon his work until his father had 
 left the world. This young man's conduct towards his senior was a 
 manly example that would be of great benefit to many in our day if 
 they would follow it. 
 
 It should be borne in mind, Elijah did not leave the world for 
 several years after his return from Mt. Horeb, and pronounced doleful 
 predictions against Ahab and his house. After the separation, Elisha 
 devoted much time to the sons of the prophets, giving them counsel 
 in the work they were to pursue as teachers in the \aneyard of the 
 Lord. On one occasion his presence saved many of them from a sad 
 and deadly calamity; when the poisonous plant had been uninten- 
 tionally put in the pot of pottage. He was active in admonishing the 
 kings, and giving such warnings from time to time as the Spirit of the 
 Lord dictated. One of his great acts was the advice to Xaaman the 
 leper, as has been stated. There is an incident connected with the life 
 of Elisha most touching and instructive. It was his custom to make 
 frequent visits to Shunem ; and in time, the attention of a wealthy 
 woman, whose household consisted of herself and husband only, was 
 drawn to him. She is called in the Bible, "a great woman ; " and she 
 proved herself worthy of this distinguished recognition, as her history 
 shows. It occurred one day, when the prophet entered the town, she 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 335 
 
 gave him a cordial invitation to stop at her house any time he passed 
 that way ; she also proposed to her husband to build a special room 
 apart from the main building "for the man of God." When it was 
 finished she furnished it with whatever was necessary for his comfort. 
 
 Elisha was grateful for her generous considerations and felt himself 
 under obligations to her, and felt it his duty to do any kindness for the 
 family he could, whenever an opportunity was presented. He asked 
 what returns he should make to repay her for her favor ; asking if he 
 should speak of her commendably to the king or the captain of the 
 hosts. But the woman did not do this deed of charity that she might 
 be extolled or brought into high favor with the powers that be, but for 
 " the man of God's " sake. " I dwell among mine own people," said 
 she, or she would have Elisha understand she took more pleasure with 
 her husband and home, than to be in company with the king or the high 
 officials of the kingdom. Elisha was informed by Gehazi she had no 
 children, and told her she would be a mother (2 Kings iv. 13). The 
 statement seemed to her so very unlikely, she said to Elisha, "Nay, my 
 lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thine hand-maid." But the pre- 
 diction of the prophet was fulfilled, and this woman in advanced age 
 embraced a son, who seemed to have been the idol of her heart. At 
 length the child became suddenly ill, at a time when Elisha was not 
 there, but at his own home at Mt. Carmel. This little child finally died 
 in its mother's arms. It was a most bitter affliction to her ; yet she had 
 strong faith in Elisha, and without any demonstration of grief, she laid 
 her dead child on the bed of the prophet, and fled with haste across 
 the plain, enduring the pressure of the burning sun, to the home of 
 Elisha on the mountain. 
 
 When he saw her coming he was impressed that something of a 
 very urgent character impelled her to come to him so far through the 
 intense heat, and being anxious to know what the cause of her visit 
 was, he sent Gehazi to meet her and inquire if all was well. But she 
 was not willing to make known her sorrows to the young man, so she 
 kept the object of her mission within her own sad heart until she 
 came into the house of the " man of God." On arriving at the house 
 she fell in an exhausted state at his feet. When she sufficiently recov- 
 ered to break the news, she told what had happened to her son. Elisha 
 immediately sent his servant ahead with his staff" to lay it on the child, 
 for the woman would not leave him, so he arose and went with her. 
 On entering the room where the dead child lay he prayed to God 
 from the depth of his soul for his restoration, and soon it revived and 
 was restored to the mother. When the famine was raging in the land 
 
336 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 this woman, by advice of Elisha, left her home, and went into Philistia 
 and remained seven years. On her return home she found that her 
 projjerty had been seized by an enemy. 
 
 When court opened she went up to lay her complaint before the 
 king. On her arrival at the palace Gehazi was there relating the 
 whole circumstance ; and seeing her enter, exclaimed : " My Lord ! 
 O ! king, this is the woman and her son whom Elisha restored ! " After 
 hearing her story the king ordered her property returned with all the 
 benefits it brought during her absence. There seems to have been a 
 divine purpose, not known to Elisha at the time he turned his atten- 
 tion towards Samaria as a residence, instead of Bethel, for he arrived 
 there just about the time the two kings, Jehoram or Joram of Israel 
 and Jehoshaphat of Judah, had formed an alliance to go up against 
 Mesha, king of Moab, and his allies, as mentioned in another chapter 
 (2 Kings viii. 2), and he gave Joram the needed advice for Jehosha- 
 phat's sake. It occurred also that a poor widow, who had been the 
 wife of one of the prophet's sons, was in deep distress : her husband, 
 who had been very poor, died in debt, leaving nothing to settle the 
 amount due his creditors. And as the law permitted the person seek- 
 ing satisfaction to seize all the dead man left, even his wife and chil- 
 dren, to recover his money, the creditor, taking advantage of this law, 
 was about to take the two sons of this widow to make them work for 
 him until the debt was settled. This rule still obtains (we are informed) 
 in Damascus, Bagdad and other places in the East. She complained 
 to Elisha of her situation, and the prophet asked what she had in the 
 house ; she told him, nothing but a pot of oil. Elisha ordered her to 
 borrow all the pots she could find among the neighbors far and near 
 that were not in use ; this she did, fully expecting good results, although 
 she did not at first know what the prophet would do with them. But 
 she felt it her duty to carry out to her uttermost ability the advice 
 given. Elisha told her, when she had finished bringing the vessels, 
 she should shut the door upon herself and sons so as to be secluded 
 from any one, and pour out in all the vessels, and set aside those that 
 were filled. This the woman and her sons carefully did. When all 
 were filled, she went to Elisha and told him. He said, " Go sell thy 
 oil and pay thy debt, and live, thou and thy children of the rest." It 
 is useless to add more than this — a poor widow's heart was made to 
 rejoice, her sons were saved from bondage, and the name of God was 
 gloi'ified. 
 
 It rarely occurs that men whose dispositions so widely diflfer live 
 together such a long time as Elijah and Elisha did in harmony. But 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 337 
 
 we find these two servants of God just as lamb-like as if they possessed 
 the same peculiar characteristics, but as men there was a vast contrast 
 between them. In the first place, Elijah was odd in his dress, so much 
 so he was known by it ; it is likely that many who met him, who had 
 never seen him before, knew he was Elijah by his clothes. He was 
 in that respect like many who live in our time, that seem to take pleas- 
 ure in being odd from their fellows. In connection with the oddness 
 of Elijah's dress, he was equally so in his general bearing, yet he was 
 kind, manly and sympathetic. But Elisha was full of life, having 
 gentle manners and mild speech ; and yet between the two a fervent 
 friendship was kindled that continued as long as they remained 
 together. (2 Kings iii. ; iv.) When Elisha was called from his plow 
 to be a prophet he immediately consented to the will of the Lord with- 
 out a murmur, notwithstanding but little could be expected as to his 
 prosj^erity at that time, for the whole land in which his services were 
 wanted, had gone astray after idols. And when the mantle of Elijah 
 fell upon him he entered the work under different circumstances and 
 a heavier responsibility than he had yet experienced. 
 
 It was not until the translation of his father that he was to become a 
 full-fledged prophet ; hitherto he was a disciple sitting at the feet of 
 Elijah. But the trouble came to him when his father was taken away. 
 It was far more easy for him to divide the Jordan with the sheep-skin 
 mantle, than to stop the flow of idolatry that was prevalent in the 
 land. It •\vas much easier for him to make the bitter waters of the 
 spring of Jericho sweet, than change the bitter water flowing from a 
 wicked heart to a sweet and pure spring from which might flow the 
 water of life. It was much less troublesome to cause the oil to flow 
 into vessels that enabled the widow to save her sons from bondage, 
 than to persuade men to receive the oil of eternal life. One of the 
 greatest examples of rebuke on record, is the calamity that visited the 
 children who made open sport of Elisha while en route to Bethel. It 
 is one that should be deeply impressed uj)on the minds of the young, 
 that they may feel it necessary to their existence to respect the aged, 
 although they may appear at times somewhat untidy, especially aii 
 ambassador of the Lord. It should be carefully taught them that they 
 put themselves in the way of calamity, when they make the people of 
 God the objects of ridicule. The children in question reproachfully 
 cried after Elisha and said, " Go uji, thou bald head ! " He invoked a 
 visit of divine displeasure upon the children, and immediately two 
 female bears came suddenly upon them while they were enjoying the 
 playful amusement, and slew forty- two of them. Elisha was not 
 22 
 
338 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 insulted as a man, but as God's messenger and successor of Elijah, 
 who the people of Bethel knew well, was to be respected, even at the 
 cost of many lives. It is likely the whole people round about Bethel 
 and throughout eastern Palestine had heard of the mysterious transla- 
 tion of Elijah, and many were glad to learn he had gone, for they 
 feared him. When these children saw the young man coming, whom 
 they had seen passing along the highway with the old prophet, they 
 doubtless proposed to have a little fun to themselves. But the Lord 
 intended that the man he appointed to take the place of Elijah should 
 
 be reverenced. 
 
 THE LESSON IT TAUGHT. 
 
 Therefore the lesson was a lasting memorial for those who did not 
 share in the fate of those who attempted to make sport of the young 
 messenger of the Lord. This pungent rebuke established the fact that 
 Elisha was a man of God, and sent by him in the room of Elijah. 
 This is not the only insult hurled at him during his official life ; but he 
 did not rebuke them in the same way. Yet he did not fail to rebuke 
 them in a manner sufficiently clear to warn others of the results 
 of wicked insults offered him by those who should have sought his 
 counsel. 
 
 It is said that Elisha was about to make his home in Bethel, but 
 the conduct of the inhabitants was so vicious he suddenly changed his 
 mind, and went to Samaria. These fearless and determined men went 
 forth inspired of the Lord to bear His message ; and they went 
 dauntlessly proclaiming themselves prophets of the. Most High, and 
 demanded that their message should be heard and obeyed. But it 
 should be borne in mind that all who claimed to be sent to prophesy 
 were not chosen of God. There were false prophets in those days ; 
 that is, men set themselves up as prophets whom God had not ordained, 
 pretending to be divinely inspired (2 Kings ii. 24). And it is note- 
 worthy that a class of men have been found in every age of the church 
 to our day, who claim to be teachers sent of God, that have never been 
 appointed by Him. Indeed we find false prophets were prominent as 
 far back as the time of Moses ; they were so active in their work of 
 deception, that it was commanded they should be put to death. 
 
 ,The Hebrews were often alarmed by the declarations of men claim- 
 ing to be .sent of God, who assumed the position of their own accord. 
 Jeremiah says, " The prophets speak lies in My name ; I sent them not, 
 neither have I commanded them, neither spoke I unto them ; they 
 prophesy unto you a false vision, divination and things of naught and 
 deceit of their heart." Ezekiel was disturbed by them, also, and said> 
 
JEZREEL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 339 
 
 •' The word of the Lord came unto me saying, iSon of man, prophesy 
 against these prophets of Israel, and say unto them that prophesy out 
 of their own hearts : Hear ye the word of the Lord. Thus saith the 
 Lord, Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and 
 have seen nothing. O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the 
 desert." It would seem, from the above references, that false prophets 
 acted so much like those whose commission was from God, that it was 
 not easy for the people to distinguish them ; and it is not to be won- 
 dered at, when we remember the same characters exist to-day in the 
 person of many who attempt to teach God's word simply as a business. 
 It was but a short time after our Lord went to the house of " many 
 mansions," before false teachers came forward and attempted to teach 
 the principles of Christianity, who had not known the love of Christ 
 experimentally. 
 
PART XI. 
 NAZARETH. 
 
 Nazareth the Home of Our Lord — The Visit of Jesus to Galilee — Phoenician 
 Possessions in Galilee — Hamitic Possessions in Galilee — Christ's Removal 
 from Bethlehem — Childhood of Our Lord in Nazareth — Baptism of Jesus — 
 First Miracle — Establishment of the Christian Church — Church of Annunci- 
 ation — Feeding the Five Thousand — Christ's Social Life — Why Jesus was 
 Rejected — Mount of Precipitation — The Ministiy of Our Lord — Village of 
 Gath-hepper. 
 
 NAZARETH, THE HOME OF OUR LORD. 
 
 NAZARETEI, the home of Joseph and Mary, is indeed, a village 
 among the hills ; and though it is much lower than its immediate 
 surroundings, it would be regarded as a mountainous city in many 
 parts of our world. Those approaching Nazareth from Endor or Nain 
 can see it five or six miles away. It is situated on the slopes of a basin 
 formed by fourteen high hills ; the approach to it from all points is 
 rough, steep and fatiguing ; but the view of the village is cut off on 
 the north and northwest on account of the mountains ; so that it is not 
 seen until the top of the mountain overlooking it is reached. 
 
 It is generally conceded that Nazareth is one of the most pros- 
 perous inland towns in Palestine. It is not mentioned in the Old 
 Testament, as nothing transpired there during the old dispensation con- 
 necting it with the Holy Scriptures ; and it is strikingly strange that 
 Josephus did not mention it. There is no place in Palestine, except 
 Bethlehem and Jerusalem, that is more admired by Christians of all 
 lands and denominations than Nazareth, the home of our Lord's child- 
 hood, and where He remained until He began His soul-saving work. 
 It was in this place He suffered much and was bitterly opposed by His 
 own townsmen, who sought to kill Him, just as eagerly as those who 
 afterwards nailed Him to the cross. Nazareth is a very lively place ; 
 every one seems to be doing something ; it has a large population for 
 its size, which is estimated to be twelve thousand, of whom^ nine 
 thousand are Christians and three thousand are Moslems. 
 
 Strange as it may seem, there is not one Jew living in the village. 
 It is a very secluded place, which is regarded as an essential fitness for 
 340 
 
H 
 
 PC 
 
 < 
 
 N 
 < 
 7. 
 
NAZARETH. 341 
 
 tlie scenes of the history it contains. Although Nazareth is not con- 
 nected with the sacred history of the old dispensation, it composes a 
 part of the early history of the Christian era, and is mentioned in con- 
 nection with the visit of the angel who brought the news to the Virgin 
 concerning the birth of Jesus. It is mentioned as the home of Joseph, 
 who was a carpenter, and was espoused to an inestimable maiden 
 named Mary The Lord made choice of her to become the mother of 
 Jesus Christ, whom He promised to the world as a Saviour. 
 
 Nazareth, being separated from the scenes of the busy world, and 
 less popular in public estimation than the other villages and towns in 
 the district of Galilee, was chosen as the retired home of the Son of 
 God until He entered upon the work of His holy mission. The inhabi- 
 tants of this world-renowned village, in the time of Joseph and Mary, 
 were considered by the people of the neighboring communities un- 
 worthy of friendly recognition, and, therefore, held the least commu- 
 nion with them possible. These people, living high up amongst the 
 hills of Galilee, grew up rough, and, in many respects, unmanly ; so 
 much were they given to gross sins that they were unable to appreciate 
 their own prophet who had been reared among them, whom they knew 
 to be perfect and exemplary from His youth, and had seen Him daily 
 in the town, many of whom, no doubt, had talked with Him. It may 
 be understood how they were regarded by the more advanced people 
 of Galilee and other portions of Palestine, if we consider how greatly 
 Nathaniel, who lived in Cana, about three miles from them, was aston- 
 ished when he exclaimed, " Can any good come out of Nazareth ?" 
 But out of that town, which was so very low in the estimation of all 
 the people round about, came the most holy and distinguished being 
 that our world ever knew. 
 
 We know that Jesus was not born in Nazareth, but it was there the 
 first quickening inspiration of mortal life entered His infantile body, 
 and He lived there with His espoused father and virgin mother after 
 His wondrous birth in Bethlehem of Judea, and performed the most of 
 the mighty works He wrought in the district of which Nazareth formed 
 a part. It was His custom to make annual visits up to Jerusalem to 
 celebrate the passover, but He would soon return home in company with 
 His parents. The first bold attack made to take the life of Jesus after 
 the great massacre of the young children in Herod's time, and by his 
 command, was by the people of Nazareth, when He preached that short, 
 pointed and mighty sermon in the synagogue. Such was their anger 
 and murderous excitement, they sought to kill Him, and did succeed 
 in thrusting Him from the house and the city. They even led Him to 
 
342 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the brow of the hill now known as the Mount of Precipitation, with the 
 full intention of hui'ling Him headlong that they might dash Him into 
 the arms of death and thus put a sudden stop to His career. But 
 Jesus, in some way unknown to them, escaped from their midst and 
 prevented the success of their purpose. It must be admitted that the 
 people who were acquainted with Jesus in the town in which He was 
 reared, knew Him to be a most exemplary, pious person from His 
 youth up, or the officials of the synagogue would not have consented 
 to allow Him to officiate on that memorable Sabbath, when they be- 
 came so greatly enraged that attempts were made to kill Him. Indeed, 
 it was commonly known by those with whom Jesus came in daily con- 
 tact, that His piety was decidedly more marked than that of any of 
 the devoutly religious in the town ; and it is reasonable to suppose 
 that they often spoke of Him as an example for others to follow. As 
 a citizen, He strictly conformed to the law, so that none ever com- 
 plained of Him as an offender until He began to perform works of 
 great power. 
 
 It is likely that Jesus attended the services at the synagogue every 
 Sunday, with Joseph and His mother during His childhood ; and it is 
 certain they made it a yearly custom to travel with Him up to Jeru- 
 salem to celebrate the great feast. When Jesus stood to read the 
 Scriptures, no one objected ; no one said a word against His morals, 
 notwithstanding they knew just who He was and how He had spent 
 much of His life as a townsman with them. It is evident from their 
 conduct that they would have branded Him as one of the foulest of 
 men, could they have found any stains attaching to His character. 
 The keeper of the Sacred Records, who must have known Jesus, had 
 given Him the volume containing that portion of the prediction of 
 Isaiah referring to Himself as the divine healer of men. It so hap- 
 pened that that was the passage that came in the regular order, accord- 
 ing to their custom of reading the Scriptures ; it wa.* not especially 
 selected for Him ; any other person who might have been requested to 
 conduct the reading at that service in the synagogue would have been 
 given the same lesson. Jesus came just in time to read a passage which 
 gave Him a favorable opportunity to introduce Himself as the person- 
 age the passage referred to, and invite their adherence to His teach- 
 ings. 
 
 After the reading was concluded, He closed the book, returned it 
 to the minister, then sat down to address the eager listeners. There 
 was something so very inviting in the tone of the Saviour's voice that 
 every one present was drawn firmly towards Him, and all listened with 
 
NAZARETH. 343 
 
 the closest attention to His remarks. According to custom in those 
 days, those conducting the services stood to read, and sat to deliver the 
 address. Our Lord did this in keeping with the form. AVhen begin- 
 ning to explain the passage He had read, the first utterances surprised 
 them beyond recovery. He said to them, " This day is the Scriptures 
 fulfilled in your ears." When He began to unfold the meaning of the 
 passage they had heard so clearly, those present knew He was refer- 
 ring to Himself. Then they became greatly incensed, and were ready 
 to murder Him, without even the form of a trial. This action proved 
 them to be more lawless than those who crucified Him, for they con- 
 sented to have a trial, although their purpose was fixed before the 
 authorities took the case under consideration. It was the Sabbath-day, 
 which was supposed to be most sacredly observed by the Jews, 
 and yet they were so indignant that their respect for the sacred day 
 was overruled, so that by unanimous consent they attempted to lynch 
 Him in a most brutal manner. They considered it a crime for a man 
 to work his ox on the Sabbath, but they could commit murder without 
 remorse. 
 
 How stinging must have been the words of Jesus to those viciously 
 desperate people when He told them the thoughts they were pondering 
 in their hearts. "Ye will surely say to me, Physician, heal thyself; 
 whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy 
 country." It may be seen they had heard of His work of healing 
 down in the capital city of Galilee, and were of the opinion some 
 miracle would be performed by Him at the home of His childhood, 
 but Jesus gave them to understand the inutility of a miraculous work 
 among them by referring to the prophet Elijah, that while there were 
 many widows in Israel who perished by the great famine, he was ap- 
 pointed by the Lord to go over to Sarepta and perform a miracle at 
 the home of a poor widow, which increased her meal and oil until the 
 rain fell. She was a heathen, and had not been taught to fear the 
 Lord, as had been the widows in Israel. Also, He called attention to 
 the many lepers in Israel, and but one person was cured by Elisha 
 and he was a Syrian. The inference is that He had lived in their 
 midst from childhood, and His life, as seen by them, was enough to 
 convince them, to believe without having to perform miracles. 
 
 When our Lord returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, He 
 did not go immediately to Nazareth to introduce His divine mission, 
 but went to other parts of the province, preaching and teaching in the 
 synagogues, and was glorified in all. From the beginning of His 
 ministry His fame spread so among the people that they sought Him. 
 
344 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Therefore when the time canie fur Him to return home, the people had 
 received information of His wonderful power, and this should have 
 made them the more anxious to prepare in every way possible that 
 would give evidence of their faith in Him. But selfishness and unbe- 
 lief overcame them ; so much did they manifest their opposition to 
 Christ they were ready to dash out His precious life among the rocks. 
 This action severed the domestic relation with Him and the people of 
 Nazareth, and only on one more occasion did He pay them a spiritual 
 visit. Then He could do nothiug for them because of their infidelity 
 except heal a few sick folks by laying His hands upon them. It may 
 have been an insincere motive that prompted the people to have Christ 
 conduct the service. They, no doubt, were more anxious to see some 
 wonderful miracle performed than to hear the word of God expounded. 
 It should be remembered, the people did not have Jesus conduct the 
 service on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue because they con- 
 sidered Him a master in Israel, for it was not an unusual thing for 
 persons who were not rabbis to address assemblages in synagogues. It 
 was a custom of long standing for men known to be strictly pious to 
 be invited by the officiating ministers to read the Scriptures and 
 explain them to the people. Therefore Jesus was not given an extra 
 honor by being permitted to do so ; any other truly pious person 
 would have been invited to do the same. The people were not inclined 
 to bestow any act of high honor upon Christ that they would not wil- 
 lingly confer upon others whom they considered " worthy. Those 
 authors who would have us believe that Jesus was accepted as a rabbi 
 because he was permitted to read and expound the Scriptures, are at 
 least guilty of false representation, or of a blunder caused by prema- 
 ture conclusions. 
 
 St. Paul was invited under the same rule at Antioch, in Pisidia, 
 as was our Lord at Nazareth and other places The people knew Paul 
 was a very pious man, and from his knowledge of the Scriptures was 
 able to explain them ; they, therefore, asked him to conduct a part of 
 the service. The home people heard of the great satisfaction Christ 
 had given many in other synagogues, and the wonders He did among 
 the people, and having, as has been stated, a knowledge of His piety, 
 they became anxious to hear Him. The whole life of our Redeemer 
 was simple, which is a characteristic not generally common with 
 rabbis, and upon no occasion did He allow the people to be misled as 
 to who He was. It is true, in the general acceptation of the word, 
 Christ was a rabbi, but not in the peculiar sense it implies, and it is, 
 therefore, unfair to intimate that our Lord accepted the appointment 
 
NAZARETH. 345 
 
 to address the people at Nazareth under the guise of a Jewish rabbi 
 iu the sense in which such officials were known. For while we must 
 freely admit our Lord was a rabbi in the most exalted degree, He was 
 not so recognized at home by the people among whom He lived. It is 
 plain that Christ made no pretentions of the kind, for as soon as He 
 began explaining the Scriptures He endeavored to establish the fact of 
 His mission as Messiah, and not as an ordinary rabbi. He knew what 
 a tumultuous uproar His remarks would produce, but He had the duty 
 to discharge just at this time and place. 
 
 CANA OF GALILEE. 
 
 It is noteworthy that Jesus did everything at the time it should be 
 done, fearless of what might follow, so that nothing that should have 
 been done to-day was postponed until to-morrow. Therefore, each day 
 had a finished record of all that belonged to it so far as the work of 
 Christ was concerned. The beginning of our Lord's miracles, at Cana 
 and Capernaum, were great agents in causing His fame to be generally 
 circulated. The first miracle was wholly unexpected, as He had not 
 fully entered into the work of demonstrating His divinity through 
 miraculous developments. It may be said the wedding at Cana was 
 the most illustrious one known to the country. Two of the most dis- 
 tinguished people in the world were there. Mary, the mother of Jesus, 
 the most important woman of the globe, was invited, and went over from 
 Nazareth to attend it. It may be that one of the contracting parties was a 
 relative or a very dear friend of the family. Our Lord was also present, 
 having been absent from His mother preparing for the work before 
 Him (Mark vi. 5 ) He joined her at the marriage at Cana. The 
 presence of Jesus and Mary made this occasion the most memorable of 
 any wedding on record. It was likely this is the only one our Lord 
 attended while on earth, and it is certain there never was a greater 
 surprise at a feast than that caused by the miracle He wrought, which 
 changed water into wine. It was conducted in private ; even the gov- 
 ernor of the feast was ignorant of what had taken place, and supposed 
 the best wine had been retained to serve last. The bridegroom was 
 just as ignorant of the miracle as the governor ; but those who were 
 serving the wine knew why ic was brought to the company last. 
 
 This miracle, which was witnessed by the servants and the few 
 disciples Jesus had chosen, made a deep impression upon ihem, so that 
 their increasing faith in the God-man became greatly strengthened. It 
 should be borne in mind, this increase of wine at the feast was not to 
 gratify the appetite of wine-drinkers, but to open the eyes of those 
 
346 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 who saw the miracle, and others who would hear of it, to the fact that 
 Jesus of Nazareth was He of whom Moses in the law and the prophets 
 did write. It was wine made of pure water. It will not be surprising 
 to learn there are three places in Galilee claimed to be the ancient Cana 
 (St. John ii. 1-11.), where the miracle of the changing of water to 
 wine was wrought. It is an ordinary thing in Palestine, when the 
 least opportunity is presented for the over-anxious people, who wish to 
 have the honor of living in the place where something miraculous or 
 wonderful occurred by our Lord or His disciples, to dispute the right 
 of one place, that the one they favor may be acknowledged the proper 
 site of the event. 
 
 At Reinch, a C'hristian village, but a shor t distance from Nazareth, 
 on the Tiberias road, is a spring called Ain-Kana, and this place has 
 been located by a few persons as the scene of our Lord's miracle. 
 There is another place, now in ruins, eight miles north of Nazareth, 
 called Khurbet-Kana, and the third place, called Kefr Cana, is situ- 
 ated three or four miles from Nazareth, on the direct road to Ti- 
 berias, and is generally settled upon as the true site of the miraculous 
 change of " water to wine." It stands on an incline bordering a nar- 
 row valley, and is regarded as a very progressive village, nearly sur- 
 rounded by fruit trees, such as figs, pomegranates and wild olives. 
 About one hundred or more yards from the west end of the village is 
 a copious fountain, which supplies the inhabitants with an abundance 
 of water. This is supposed to be the identical fountain from which 
 the water was taken for the making of the wine. This opinion is well 
 founded, for there is no other place about the village to get water, nor 
 anywhere in the neighborhood. 
 
 There is a small church near the east end of the village, which, 
 according to tradition, stands on the site of the house in which the 
 marriage-feast was held. It is divided by a partition into two distinct 
 churches, owned by the Greeks and Latins respectively. In the apart- 
 ment belonging to the latter are several old relics, such as old pictures. 
 Several of these old pictures are hanging around the walls. Near the 
 altar are two ancient water-pots, very large. These are said to be the 
 vessels into which the water was poured when our Lord made the wine. 
 It may be understood from this badly-gotten up tradition, how unlikely 
 many things are that the authorities would have strangers believe. 
 The officials were very kind to us, not only in showing the old relics, 
 but doing other things to make us comfortable. On the west of Cana 
 a short distance, there is a village called by the natives El-Mesh-hed. 
 It is supposed to be the ancient Gath-hepher, sometimes called Gettah- 
 
NAZARETH. 347 
 
 hepher, and is said to be the birth-place of the prophet Jonah. An 
 old tradition, sanctioned by Jews, Christians and Moslems, locates the 
 prophet's tomb on a hill, which is conspicuously seen from the road 
 near the village. The action on the part of our Lord's townsmen 
 made it necessary that He should teach and preach in other cities in 
 Galilee instead of His own home. 
 
 Our Lord did visit towns and cities in southern Palestine, the dis- 
 trict of Samaria, and visited some of the people east of the Jordan ; 
 but the greater portion of His time was spent in Galilee, and Galilee 
 received His first visit after the resurrection ; for He left Jerusalem 
 before all of His disciples saw Him and went to the district where so 
 much of His time and labors had been spent. It may seem strange 
 to many, that during the whole of the ministry of Jesus, He did not 
 make a visit to the little town where he was born. Bethlehem is only 
 six miles from Jerusalem, and Jesus went to the latter several times 
 from the time of His childhood to that of His crucifixion, and passed 
 to the east of His birth-place, coming from Jericho to Bethany, but 
 never saw the rock-cut manger after Joseph fled with Him and the 
 Virgin into Egypt ; but one thing is sure, our Lord left a most hopeful 
 influence there, for the inhabitants of the town are strong believers in 
 Him ; so staunch are they in the faith that He is the Messiah, Moham- 
 medanism has no footing there. 
 
 It is evident our Lord loved Galilee most dearly, notwithstanding 
 the insults that were hurled at Him from many of those who lived there 
 and saw His mighty works. Therefore, for some reason unknown to 
 man He returned there very soon after His resurrection. The angel 
 who rolled the stone from the sepulchre told the women to inform the 
 disciples, their Lord had gone over into Galilee and they should see 
 Him there. Having heard this, the eleven went over there and 
 assembled upon the mountain that had been designated by their Master, 
 and saw Him. It is worthy of remark that Galilee, which means 
 " round," was selected as one of the districts for a city of refuge. There 
 were six of these cities, three on the east side of the Jordan and three 
 on the west ; the one in the north was Kedesh in Mt. Naphtalim. The 
 four northern tribes inhabited the district of Galilee, which embraced 
 the ti'act of country between the upper Jordan valley (including Lake 
 Meram) and Lake Tiberias on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea 
 on the west, and between the mountains of Samaria on the south and 
 Mt. Lebanon on the north. 
 
 The four tribes living in this territory were, Issachar on the south, 
 occupying the most of the beautiful plain of Esdraelon; Asher on the 
 
348 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 west, along the plains of Acre and Phoenicia and the hills adjoining ; 
 Zebulun and Napthali possessed the great tract of hill country, the 
 territory of each opening on the Sea of Galilee. This part of the dis- 
 trict contained the places in which Christ did the most of His works 
 of power. Therefore, it is readily observed how definitely the pro- 
 phetic declaration representing the presence and labors of Jesus, in the 
 territory mainly controlled by those two tribes, were described when 
 He foretold the joy that would enthuse the people on account of His 
 visit there. " The land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtalim toward 
 the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles : the people which 
 sat in darkness saw great light ; and to them which sat in the regions 
 and shadow of death light is sprung up." (Matt, xxviii. 7, 16, 17; 
 
 Matt. iv. 15, 16.) 
 
 GALILEE. 
 
 The province of Galilee was important in developing the general 
 history of the Israelites, and was one of the most desirable divisions 
 allotted to them. Much of the land was highly productive and afforded 
 excellent pastures for the numerous cattle owned by the people within 
 its boundary. The references made to this district in the Scriptures 
 strongly indicate its importance. Speaking of Issachar it says, " His 
 rest is good ; " " The land is pleasant ; " "Rejoice, O Issachar, in thy 
 tent." Zebulun, nestling amid the hills of lower Galilee, " offers sac- 
 rifices of abundant flocks nourished by their pastures." "Asher yields 
 royal dainties ; " " His bread is fat." Naphtali is described as 
 "satisfied with favors and with the blessings of the Lord." 
 
 The portion of Asher bordered on the Mediterranean Sea, the plain 
 and coast belonged to the Phoenicians, and the portion of territory 
 under their jurisdiction occupied by Asher was by their permission. 
 Those people, in whose district thousands of Israelites lived on amica- 
 ble terms, were of Hamitic descent, owned twenty cities in Galilee 
 which the Israelites inhabited and paid tribute for their privilege to 
 Hiram, king of Tyre. This will be seen more fully in another chap- 
 ter. There existed, as far back as the Old Testament times, a cold 
 feeling between that portion of the Hebrews who lived in Jerusalem, 
 Shechem, Samaria and their environments, and those living up' north, 
 especially in Nazareth. It is likely the revolt was the premature cause 
 of much of the bad feeling in connection with the change of customs 
 and other minor things that assisted in keeping the ill-feeling alive. 
 Isaiah, in speaking of the district, calls it " Galilee of the Gentiles," 
 and represents the people as sitting in darkness and in the region and 
 shadow of death. Such were the extensive social relations between the 
 
NAZAiRETH. S49 
 
 Israelites and Gentiles, that the pure Hebrew had become much broken 
 in the time of our Lord (Gen. xlix. 20-21 ; Deut. xxxiii. 23-25). 
 
 CHILDHOOD OF OUR LORD IN NAZARETH. 
 
 How marvelous are the ways of God, and how tenderly is His care 
 made known to the children of men ! When the King of kings came 
 into our world. He appeared first in a small town, that was regarded 
 as worthy of but little notice, notwithstanding it is within six miles of 
 the capital city. Christ came humble and poor, preferring rather a 
 place among the beasts than the inn, and a stony manger for His bed 
 rather than the best chamber that could be found in the little town. 
 When Christ Avas removed from Bethlehem permanently, it was by 
 order of the Lord to Joseph to make a hasty flight into Egypt by 
 night that He might safely hide the young child from the massacre of 
 King Herod. And when by the will of the Father He left the land 
 of Egypt, Joseph must take up his abode again at his home in Naza- 
 reth, and Veep the child Jesus in seclusion for a time from the outside 
 world. Therefore Jesus was not known as God-man to the people in 
 whose midst He lived, for neither Joseph nor Mary declared to their 
 townsmen the wondrous events that attended His birth, nor how they 
 had preserved Him from the decree of King Herod by fleeing to 
 Egypt, having been ordered by an angel to do so. If they had told 
 such a wonderful story to the people, they would have had no confidence 
 in their words, and at the same time there would have been an ill- 
 feeling existing of a most disastrous character. 
 
 It is noteworthy that the home selected for our Lord was in a town 
 whose inhabitants were regarded by other communities as the worst of 
 all people in the land. Yet it was the will of God that His Son should 
 grow to manhood in this place and preserve Himself spotless. He 
 could have lived elsewhere with the same influence upon the world. 
 He could have been reared in Bethlehem, where He was born, or in 
 Jerusalem, where He was crucified ; but it was not so ordered iii 
 Heaven. Our Lord was the humblest being known to the world ; for 
 though He was the Son of the Highest Being, He became so humble 
 that it was not offensive to accompany Joseph to his carpenter shop 
 and assist him in such things as He was requested to do. 
 
 When but a very small child. He was no doubt often found going 
 in company with Mary, His affectionate mother, to the fountain to 
 draw water, and many times His parents took Him over to Jerusalem 
 to witness the yearly feast. From Nazareth our Lord went to the 
 Jordan to be baptized of John, and after a temptation of the greatest 
 
350 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 test, returned with a few followers to Cana of Galilee, and performed 
 His first miracle ; from there He went to Capernaum. His life then 
 began to be sought by those whom He came to save ; but with all the 
 opposition produced by adversaries, our Lord was willing to bear all 
 the impositions of men that He might open their eyes to the light of 
 immortality. Since the events connected with the life of Jesus in Naz- 
 areth have been made known, all Christendom has turned its attention 
 towards the little isolated town where He spent the most of His life. 
 
 When the Crusaders were in possession of Palestine, they built a 
 Christian church there, which was afterwards destroyed by the Turks 
 when they came into power. The Christians made several efforts after- 
 wards to establish themselves there again, but could not succeed until 
 the eighteenth century; but when they Avere permitted to reorganize 
 themselves, they took a firm stand (it seems) for the cause of Christ, 
 and their work has been crowned with great success. It is, therefore, 
 a pleasant fact to note, that three-fourths of the inhabitants of Nazareth 
 are Christians, and no barriers are fixed to interfere with their religious 
 devotions. The various denominations do not meet under the same 
 roof as in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Cana ; therefore, they are at 
 peace. It seems impossible for peace to obtain where these different 
 denominations meet under the same roof, notwithstanding they have 
 separate apartments ; many serious troubles have occurred, especially 
 with the Greek and Latin monks. The latter have the greater reli- 
 gious influence; Iheir church and convent are the chief places of inte- 
 rest, both to tourists and pilgrims. They are surrounded by high walls. 
 The Church of the Annunciation is the most important of all the visit- 
 ing places in the town. It is really astonishing to know how eagerly 
 the people attend the services, and with what sincere devotion they bow 
 in holy reverence to Him who was once one of the humble citizens of 
 the town, and was compelled to abandon it for doing good. It may 
 have been clearly seen that the prophet saw the results of good works 
 when he advised us to cast our bread upon the waters, for it should be 
 found after many days. Our Lord did this on the Sabbath, He con- 
 ducted the service in the synagogue, and now it is found throughout 
 the town. In the time of the ministry of Jesus, but few could be seen 
 in Nazareth who consented to follow Him ; but at present, nine thou- 
 sand profess His name and publicly acknowledge Him as their God. 
 In His time, the people of Nazareth were mean, murderous, and a by- 
 word for all other communities ; to-day, they are peaceable and exem- 
 plary. Then, it was generally thought that nothing good could come 
 out of Nazareth ; now, it is looked upon as one of the most Christian 
 
NAZARETH. 351 
 
 communities in Palestine ; then, the people sat in great darkness ; now, 
 the light of blessed hope shines upon them ; then, they did not want 
 Christ for their Saviour ; now, they cling to Him. 
 
 The province of Galilee abounded with rich pastures, olive groves, 
 and other pleasant attractions, which drew many people from other parts 
 to it. Josephus, who was a chief militaiy officer shortly after the time 
 of our Lord, is authority for the statement that Galilee had a teeming 
 population, and was dotted over with towns and villages. He was of 
 the opinion that an army of one hundred thousand men might have 
 been raised from its male population, who were able to do service in 
 war. The labors of our Lord in Galilee must have been immense, for 
 He visited all the towns and cities in the province, teaching and 
 preaching the gospel of the kingdom of Heaven. How tremendous 
 must have been the multitude that followed Him ! At one time He fed 
 five thousand men, besides women and children, and we feel satisfied 
 in venturing the opinion the latter classes outnumbered the former. 
 It is not unreasonable to suppose there was at some period of His 
 ministry a greater number following Him than the above-named. It 
 may be readily inferred that our Lord spent a busy life from the time 
 He entered upon the work of His mission until it was fully accom- 
 plished. 
 
 Jesus made three distinct itineraries through Galilee, on which 
 occasions He was kept constantly busy from the early morning to late 
 in the night, preaching, teaching and healing all kinds of diseases and 
 casting out devils. At one time His near relatives felt concerned as 
 to His sanity, and went in search for Him, with the intention of urg- 
 ing Him to retire from His work and return home, but such was the 
 importance of His engagements, the persuasive entreaties of His fond 
 mother could not influence Him to abandon it. This was not that He 
 feared to return to Nazareth, where He had been so shamefully opposed, 
 for when the time came for Him to go to those wicked people again 
 He went boldly. But the people were just as blind to their welfare 
 as when they attempted to kill Him. 
 
 NAZARETH— OUR LORD'S INCREASING FAME. 
 
 Jesus loved the people of Nazareth. He would not forsake them, 
 even if they did threaten His life, but returned there to teach them 
 lessons of peace, that they might flee from the wrath to come, and 
 finding them unyieldingly obstinate, He left them. How sadly stub- 
 born they were ! Jesus had gained great fame when He made His last 
 visit to Nazareth, for it had spread over into Syria, Phoenicia, and all the 
 
352 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 country round about Galilee, and it is highly probable several people 
 living at His home had been amongst those who followed Him in other 
 portions of the province, and witnessed some of the mighty works He 
 did. Yet their sins had so deeply overshadowed them, they closed 
 their eyes and stopped their ears, so that they could neither see nor 
 hear. Finding nothing could be done, Jesus left them. It must have 
 been a sad time with our Lord when He thought of the final state of 
 those who refused life, and though no tears were seen coursing down 
 His cheeks, there w^ere deep emotions disturbing His soul. The people 
 of Nazareth, or a portion of them, seem to have been religiously in- 
 clined, for they had a synagogue, in which services were regularly 
 conducted by the proper officials. This would suggest at least the 
 existence of a species of the formal piety current amongst the Jews 
 in those days; therefore the people were not entirely without moral 
 precepts and teachers. But it is apparent the example was sadly 
 wanting. 
 
 It is also known, the whole people could not be justly pronounced 
 as singularly depraved, although the city was universally scorned ; for 
 we know Joseph, Mary and their children were exceptions, and 
 several others, no doubt, whom they associated with, were truly pious. 
 But the great majority were both wucked and vicious The grounds 
 upon which they founded their objection to Jesus, was from the fact 
 that He was a fellow-townsman. This seems to be the view of our 
 Lord as to the situation, and we know His views were always correct. 
 It is also remarkable, He did not condemn them harshly at the time 
 the people rejected Him, but simply said, "No prophet is acceptable 
 in his own country," It is likely He was consistently familiar with 
 the young people of the neighborhood of His home, for when they were 
 listening to His discourse, they marvelled at the knowledge He pos- 
 sessed, for they knew Him as Joseph's son, and knew^ all the family. 
 It is certain, not one who knew Him could say a word against His 
 character in any way, or they would have done it while their rage was 
 kindled against Him. 
 
 HIS SOCIAL LIFE. 
 
 The older people (many of them) were associates of Joseph and 
 Mary, and in keeping with the custom of friends, they often called to 
 pay them a visit, taking their younger children with them, as is usual 
 to the present time ; and it is not unlikely some of their children were 
 about the same age of Jesus. Therefore, many formed His acquaint- 
 ance in early childhood, and grew up to manhood, somewhat familiar 
 
NAZARETH. 353 
 
 with Him. It was customary also for those living at a distance 
 from Jerusalem to go up in companies to the annual feasts, as the 
 pilgrims do now on the return of the Easter celebration each year. It 
 is known the parents of Jesus took Him with them from time to time 
 in company with their friends and children. Hence the people, young 
 and old, had many opportunities of seeing Jesus and knowing some- 
 thing of His piety. If He had been reared in obscurity and had come 
 before the public suddenly, they would have more readily received 
 Him, even as they did John the Baptist. But Jesus was objected to 
 because He was a fe'low-townsman and was known It really should 
 have been the chief reason for accepting Him as Christ, knowing as 
 they did He was correct in a'l His ways from childhood and that none 
 of the young folks in the town had such a clean and sinless record as 
 Jesus. But He came to His own, and they rejected Him. 
 
 It was not a question of a popular city or town with our Lord in 
 selecting a home on earth, but putting Himself in touch with the 
 poorest and most depraved of mankind. When the life of Jesus is 
 well studied and understood, it will be seen that His great condescen- 
 sion to come into our world and make His home in a city so wretchedly 
 sinful as Nazareth, was an evidence stronger than can be described, 
 that " He came into the world to save sinners ; " and that He might 
 accomplish the purpose in view. He consented to become poor, dis- 
 honored and humbled. The lesson we learn from our Lord's humilia- 
 tion is this (St. John i. 45), He became meek, so that none would feel 
 embarrassed in approaching Him. The king and peasant alike might 
 come without feeling unwelcome. He knew the masses of the people 
 composing our wor d were poor, and had no social relations with the 
 rich; therefore, to come to the latter adorned in costly garments would 
 be to estrange Himself from the very people who would be more likely 
 to accept the kingdom of God first. 
 
 Riches are a tremendous barrier against the full exercise of sympathy 
 for the condition of the poor. For a person who fully understands the 
 situation of his fellow must have some practical idea of it. Our Lord 
 became experimentally conversant with the great masses of those in a 
 state of absolute poverty by becoming poor Himself. It is known His 
 parents were in humble circumstances. Joseph was a poor man, work- 
 ing daily at the carpenter-bench, to sustain himself and family; and in 
 those days it was not an easy thing for a poor mechanic to move his 
 family and effects into a strange city and establish himself in business. 
 Therefore, it was important he should remain where he was generally 
 known. It is also noteworthy that our Lord's home was near the place 
 23 
 
354 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 where the majority of men lived whom He chose to become His dis- 
 ciples, and where the most of His mighty works were done. There- 
 fore, He was perfectly willing to endure the many hardships and priva- 
 tions of life, both as to society and luxuries, that the gospel might be 
 preached to the poor. And should we notice the class of people who 
 express the greatest fondness for the cause so richly purchased by the 
 Saviour, and whose devotions for His cause are the most earnest, we 
 will see at once the wisdom He displayed in providing for the poor, 
 that the " word of life " might be preached to them. 
 
 The life of Jesus is without doubt a tremendous example to those 
 who prefer to follow Him. It admonishes them to become meek, that 
 their influence may reach the poor ; that their preaching should be to 
 win souls to Christ, whether their hearers be rich or poor ; and they 
 are not to use the gospel as a medium through which their talents may 
 be displayed or education admired, as we fear many do, but to preach 
 the word in its simplicity, having in view the same purpose our Lord 
 had. He was not satisfied in having the poor know the gospel was 
 preached only, but that it was preached to them in the same manner and 
 for the very purpose it was preached to the rich. Nor are those who 
 stand in Christ's stead to content themselves with having a rich and 
 fashionable congregation to preach to from time to time, but they 
 should seek the poor and lowly, and even the meanest men, that they 
 may bring them to the foot of the cross. 
 
 If the world is to be saved, those who stand as watchmen on the 
 walls of Zion must take the same general method Jesus took to save it. 
 They are not to feel themselves too important to go down to men who 
 are held in derision, in popular estimation, as were the people of Naza- 
 reth, among Avhom Jesus lived the most of His life It is absolutely 
 strange that many men who claim to be masters in Israel, sent of God 
 to preach His word to men, are so very select in their pretended efforts 
 to save. Thousands of poor, unfortunate men and women would be 
 brought to Christ if the preacher would show them by his friendliness 
 he is anxious as to their future and eternal welfare. It was a very 
 pleasant afternoon the day we left Nain and Endor behind, and came 
 into the town made sacredly memorable as the home of our Lord 
 from infancy to manhood. 
 
 On account of the elevated situation of Nazareth, it can be seen 
 afar off. It is very atti'active when first viewed. The valley of Es- 
 draelon, with its great profusion of variegated flowers, begins to lose its 
 charms, and the approaching traveler draws his attention to the beau- 
 tiful town before him. Notwithstanding I had carefully read the his- 
 
NAZARETH. 355 
 
 tory of this little city among the hills, I am frank to confess that my 
 idea of it was but meagre, as was the case with regard to all other cities 
 and towns in that land. Just after leaving the plain, the ascent of a 
 high and rugged hill begins, which is difficult and fatiguing to travel. 
 It is just west of the Mount of Precipitation, the traditional hill to 
 which the enraged citizens led Jesus to hurl Him to death among the 
 rocks below. A full view is obtained of it as the town is approached 
 from Nain. After the rough hill is ascended, the traveler enters a 
 good road ; here we could travel much more comfortably. In a few 
 moments after reaching the eastern edge of the town, we halted at a 
 little hotel, at which I spent two nights pleasantly. The Greek church 
 and convent are seen first, on arrival at Nazareth, from the south and 
 southeast. The Latins have the most important historic sites under 
 their control. It is really wonderful to learn of the shameful amount 
 of deception practiced upon strangers in various portions of Palestine 
 by the two rival churches, the Greeks and Latins. 
 
 In Nazareth, both churches claim to occupy the site of the home of 
 the Virgin Mary where she was visited by the Angel Gabriel, who in- 
 formed her that the Lord had chosen her as the medium through 
 whom the advent of Christ should be made into our world But the 
 site held by the Greeks is wholly repudiated by those Avho have made 
 investigations ; and the general opinion inclines to the site of the Latin 
 Church. The officials are very generous, and take great pains in con- 
 ducting visitors to the various sacred sites they have in charge. It is 
 also worthy of mention that they do not allow any of their officials to 
 take pay from those who go through the church and convent, which is 
 an honorable exception to the general rule, for in many places they are so 
 greedy, a visitor is perplexed with their importunities tor contributions. 
 
 There are many things of interest to see in the Church of the An- 
 nunciation. The hij^h altar, which is approached from the broad 
 marble steps, is dedicated to the Angel Gabriel, and is supposed to be 
 near the spot where he stood when he announced to the Virgin that she 
 should be the mother of our Lord. " Thou shalt bear a son, and His 
 name shall be called Jesus." The altar is handsomely decorated, and 
 presents a very impressive scene ; but the interior of the church is 
 plain, having a few fairly good pictures suspended along the walls. 
 Below the altar is an apartment called the Chapel of the Angels, ad- 
 joining which is another small chamber known as the Chapel of the 
 Annunciation. In this room is seen a marble altar containing the fol- 
 lowing inscription: "Hie verbum caro factum est." — Here the Word 
 was made flesh. 
 
356 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 There are several other sites within and about the church to which 
 visitors are conducted, such as the Visitation of Mary, the Worship of 
 Joseph, the Fountain of the Virgin, the Mount of Precipitation, the 
 old synagogue in which our Lord delivered His first sermon, etc. As 
 these places are, with two or three exceptions, wholly traditional, they 
 are not to be relied upon as identical with the events they represent ; 
 yet, they are highly interesting to visit, because of the history cluster- 
 ing about them The very high mountain northwest of the town called 
 Mount Nazareth affords one of the grandest views to be had in Pales- 
 tine. One standing upon this lofty summit can look over to Nain, 
 Endor, and upon the highest peak of Mount Tabor, all of which seem 
 to be only a few hundred yards away. Turning westward, the Medi- 
 terranean seems to be only a mile off. The whole view is superb ! 
 
PAET xn. 
 
 MOUNT CARMEL. 
 
 Description of Mount Carmel — The Athlit — Simon Bar-Cochebas, or "Son of the 
 Stars" — Situation of the Carmelite Convent — Location of Acre— Pasha of 
 Acre— The Ladder of Tyre — Sidon the Mother of Tyre — Situation of Tyre 
 — Shalmaneser's Invasion of Tyre — Nebuchadnezzar's Invasion of Tyre. 
 
 M 
 
 OUNT CARMEL is one of the most famous of all the mountains 
 in Palestine except Zion and Olivet. It is regarded as sacred 
 by the various Christian denominations in the land, and reverenced by 
 them next to the Holy Mount in the City of David. It is not a single 
 mountain, as many suppose, but an extensive range of about thirty 
 miles in length, having many ravines and peaks of different degrees of 
 altitudes and depths. Carmel separates the Sharon plain from that 
 of Esdraelon, forming it into a triangular shape. It is very dismal 
 to travel, and were it not for its historical associations no tourist would 
 consent to make a trip over it. The whole range is wild and uninviting, 
 having a hugh limestone surface here and there ; from one end to the 
 other, great ledges of these rocks pave the pass leading up the moun- 
 tain from the base to its summit. But a much wilder scene is pre- 
 sented while passing over its steep hills and winding paths, studded 
 with monstrous rocks from beginning to end. It is not a wonder the 
 Prophet Amos referred to it as a place of retreat for refugees. It has 
 many secure hiding-places, which are sought many times by the 
 Bedouins, who endeavor to elude their pursuers. It is said there were 
 many large trees covering several of the hills and vales of Carmel in 
 the near past, but nearly all of them have been cut down by the 
 charcoal-burners for the markets. This fuel is mostly used in the interior 
 of Palestine, and is in great demand in the cold season. The herds- 
 men, who are very numerous in the locality of Carmel, have destroyed 
 much of the timber-land to procure pasture for their cattle. They 
 have set fire to large tracts of it, so that they may get fodder from the 
 tender branches which grow the following spring. This procedure has 
 caused many of the vicious wild animals, that have made their homes 
 in the dens and caves so frequently seen, to abandon them and hunt 
 
 357 
 
358 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 homes in other parts of the country ; yet there are a few remaining 
 among the wild haunts, such as the leopard, hyena, porcupine, weasel, 
 wild boar, wolf, and a few of the minor classes. The jackals are the 
 most numerous, not only in the wilds of Carmel, but in almost all 
 parts of the northern and western portions of Palestine and Syria. 
 It is said many venomous snakes lurk in several of the more dreary 
 places, but it was my good fortune not to see any of them. It is very 
 evident from the number of ruins scattered over certain portions of 
 Carmel, that a large population lived up there in earlier times, who 
 had comfortable homes. The present inhabitants are Arabs and live 
 in their usual characteristic huts, mostly composed of sun dried clay. 
 It is supposed the greater portion of the ruins on the southeastern 
 side of the mountain are the remains of a Jewish village in which a 
 synagogue was built. It is, therefore, evident there were several thou- 
 sands of them inhabiting the southeastern district, and that they settled 
 there after their return from captivity, because the Jews did not have 
 such buildings previously. Great precautions seem to have been taken in 
 building the town, both in arranging for comfort and protecting them- 
 selves against the encroachments of invaders. The Crusaders partially 
 renewed the place and made a long jetty to land their fellow-pilgrims 
 who came over from Europe. 
 
 It may be of interest to state, that in connection with the many 
 ruins remaining on Mt. Carmel, are those which, from their archi- 
 tecture, are supposed to be of Phoenician origin. One of these is an 
 antique chamber hewn out of the solid rock, and is likely to have been 
 used as a guard-house by that most progressive and war-like people, 
 during their occupancy of that portion of the coast. The old, weather- 
 beaten rock; that has been pelted by the storms of four thousand years, 
 still bears visible impressions of the instruments used by the workmen. 
 And there are many other old ruins scattered over the mount, which 
 are evidences that the ancients caused the dreary wilderness to be a busy 
 scene, when they were the custodians of this most noted mountain. 
 But now solitude reigns supreme almost from one end to the other, 
 except the few Arabs who inhabit it ; whom to look upon, many times 
 causes a stranger to feel more lonely than if he had seen nothing but 
 the occasional wild animals which still find a home in the dens and 
 
 caves. 
 
 THE ATHLIT. 
 
 The site of the ancient town and fortress lies beyond the ruins of a 
 gateway, about wdiich may be seen great masses of crumbling pillars 
 and blocks of stone of various shapes scattered over a large space. 
 
MOUNT CAKMEL. 359 
 
 This is where the Athlit was located, historically known as the Castel- 
 lum Peregrinorum, or " The Pilgrims' Castle." It was the landing- 
 place for the new recruits in the time of the Crusades, for more than 
 two hundred years. It is the general opinion of those who have made 
 examinations of the numerous ruins, that the fortress and castle were 
 built by the Knights Templars early in the thirteenth century. It has 
 been discovered that there are prominent traces of masonry that belong 
 to the age of the Phoenicians and Canaanites among these vast ruins pro- 
 miscuously strewn over the mountains. It is highly probable that the 
 Phoenicians had one of their strongest fortifications here, when they were 
 guarding the coast along their territory. The natural situation of the 
 place forms a monstrous citadel in itself, and when combined with art 
 it must have been the most stupendous of all the fortresses of the 
 coast, and those whose good fortune it was to be residents of the mount, 
 felt themselves perfectly secure. 
 
 The greatest historical interest of the Athlit lies in the fact of its 
 being the last Jewish, and also the last Christian possession in the 
 Holy Land. In the year one hundred and thirty of our era, Simon, 
 the son of Bar-Cochebas, commanded the last Jewish insurrection 
 against the Romans in the time of Hadrian. It is said the whole plan 
 was cunningly formulated by Simon, who was a skillful man, but amaz- 
 ingly superstitious. He called himself Bar-Cochcbas, or " Son of the 
 Star ; " claiming that the prophecy of Baalim was centred in him, 
 saying, " There shall come a star out of Jacob." The Jews had the 
 greatest confidence in Simon, as the man whom God had raised up to 
 deliver them, and believed the above prediction would be fulfilled in 
 him. Therefore they were ready to follow whatever commands he 
 might give them. Feeling assured their commander was the gift of 
 God, the Jews entered into the conflict with great energy, and through 
 the whole struggle, which lasted three years and a half, they possessed 
 indomitable courage, W'iuning one victory after another until fifty towns 
 and cities that had been dispossessed by the Romans, were captured. 
 But after a little more than three years had elapsed, Julius Serverus, 
 Hadrian's commander-in-chief, came upon the scene, and cut down the 
 hitherto victorious Jews like grass ; many thousands were slain, others 
 were captured and executed, and the residue were subjected to the most 
 rigid discipline. This was the final Jewish struggle for independence 
 in Palestine, and the one which caused them to be dispersed over the 
 face of the whole earth. 
 
360 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 FORTRESS OF SIMON " BAR-COCHEBAS," OR "SON OF THE STARS." 
 
 During this conflict Athlit was the main stronghold, where '■ the 
 son of the star " garrisoned his forces. It is still celebrated in Jewish 
 literature as a memorial of the last foothold of land in Palestine they 
 possessed, while making their final contest for national independence. 
 The new-comers to this land of Bible renown, having a knowledge of 
 Athlit, made it the stronghold of the Crusaders ; and although a 
 thousand years had passed since Simon and his brave army were in 
 camp there, it was found to be in such a good condition, but compara- 
 tively little work was required to make it the strong fortress it was in 
 former times. But it is very evident the Crusaders greatly increased 
 its dimensions and fortifications. It was attacked by Sultan El-Melek 
 Moaddham, and sometime afterwards the famous Bibare vainly strove 
 for seven years to capture it. But when Acre, just three or four 
 miles away, had fallen into the hands of the Moslems, who had control 
 of every inch of Palestine except Athlit, the Crusaders were compelled 
 to abandon their fortress. Before they finally left it, those who escaped 
 the sword of their foe came together the night prior to their departure 
 and held a memorial banquet. 
 
 It is very evident this part of Mount Carmel was chosen as a 
 fortress, because of the memorable victory won by Elijah the prophet 
 near the place of Athlit. But aside from the sacred history attaching 
 to this mountain, the events that transpired upon its summit in later 
 times makes it one of the most interesting places in Palestine, for it is 
 a historical reservoir. Mount Carmel first came into imperishable dis- 
 tinction as a battle-field when the prophet Elijah went up against the 
 hosts of Baal, to decide who was the true God. This of all the events 
 for which Carmel is noted is the most important. As has been stated, 
 Carmel has been from ancient times to the present a refuge for all 
 classes of men. It is as much sought at times by those fleeing from 
 justice as were the ancient cities to which refugees escaped from their 
 pursuers. 
 
 It is regarded as a fruitless procedure to attempt to hunt down 
 one who has time enough to reach the hiding-places of Carmel before 
 the officer of the law overtakes him, for some of the caves and dens 
 are so secluded that it is impossible for those who are well acquainted 
 with them to capture a man without running a sad risk of his life. It 
 is said one might be in the same cave where his pursuer is, and within 
 arm's length of him, before he could see him. This is also true of 
 several other mountains in Palestine and Syria, such as the mountains 
 
MOUNT CAEMEL. 361 
 
 of the spies of Jericho, the Frank mountain, east of Bethlehem, the 
 Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges in Syria, and a few others. But 
 none of these seem to be so abundantly supplied with retreats as Mount 
 Carmel. Those who have traveled over it had an opportunity to see 
 many of its secluded retreats. 
 
 The pass leading to the summit on its western border begins at 
 Haifa, and requires about one hour and a half to ascend it. Some 
 portions of the pass are mediumly good, but from the half-way station 
 to the top it is most difficult. It is with much labor and fatigue the 
 animals are enabled to carry a person up. Many will not venture to 
 remain on their horses when the most dangerous places are to be trav- 
 eled, and it often occurs that people walk the whole way from the base 
 to the summit. There are open places along the extreme narrow por- 
 tions of the pass as it approaches the edge of the sea. along which are 
 gorges several hundred feet deep. It is alarming to pass them, either 
 riding or walking, for if the least blunder should happen to be made, 
 the unfoi'tunate person would fall headlong down among the pointed 
 rocks and be broken to pieces in an instant. 
 
 There are still to be seen several caves in the mountain-side which 
 were occupied in earlier times by the Anchorites. The most celebrated 
 of them is near the foot of Carmel, between Tel-es-Samak and Kaifa, 
 known as El-Khudr, or "the evergreen." This is the name the natives 
 gave the prophet Elijah. But English-speaking people call it the 
 school of the prophets. 
 
 On arriving at the gateway, at the top of the mount, the visitor 
 passes into a beautiful yard where green grass and various flowers 
 abound. The buildings round about compose the Carmelite Convent. 
 It is estimated to be forty-five feet long, twenty-seven wide and fifteen 
 high, the whole of which has been excavated out of the solid rock, 
 having a modern building .on each side of it. In the central chamber 
 is a broad stone seat, about two feet high, hewn out of the rock ; and 
 in the east wall is a recess carved from the huge limestone bed compos- 
 ing it. This cave is sacredly reverenced by Jews, Christians, Mos- 
 lems and Druses as the identical site of one of the schools of the 
 prophets. The convent is located near the sea-border, and is one of 
 the most desirable situations of the entire range. The custodians are 
 very polite to strangers who visit the convent. 
 
 THE BROOK KISHON. 
 
 The Brook Kishon is one of the great historic streams of Palestine. 
 It came into prominence on the day the false prophets were so shame- 
 
362 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 fully defeated by Elijah, on Carmel. who in their vain attempt to 
 escape the sword of justice, were slain near this brook by their enraged 
 pursuers. 
 
 The Kishon takes its rise in the plain of Esdraelon. near the foot 
 of Mount Tabor. It flows through the memorable plain, gathering 
 more strength from its tributaries along the way, which swell it in the 
 winter season to a deep and rapid current. For a considerable dis- 
 tance it runs along the base of Carmel, and pours its contents into the 
 sea, a short distance from Acre. During the latter portion of the 
 summer the brook is generally dry about its source, but in that portion 
 that runs along the foot of Carmel the water remains the year round, 
 because it is continually receiving supplies from the perennial springs 
 flowing down into it. When the rainy season is in its height the 
 brook's fords become so greatly swollen it is impossible to pass over 
 them. It was just such a season when the army of Sisera was drowned 
 when fleeing from the army of Israel. Here the Arabs were most 
 sadly defeated while fleeing from the memorable battle of Tabor. 
 This brook, Kishon, will ever be memorable to the author of this vol- 
 ume, for it was by a slender chance his life was preserved. 
 
 The dragoman having me in charge feared we would not be able to 
 cross, as the water was running rapidly, and was getting deeper seem- 
 ingly every moment, as it had been raining hard several days. As we 
 approached nearer, evidences were prominent that it would be diflicu't 
 to cross the ford. We went to the lower ford, which was a good deal 
 nearer Haifa, but not near as crossable as the one a mile or two above 
 in the time of heavy rains. On our arrival at the usual crossing the 
 water was running in torrents, but we concluded to make an eftbrt to 
 cross. My horse being very thirsty stopped, after entering a few feet, 
 to drink ; and there being a great accumulation of mud at the bottom he 
 sank into it several inches, so that when he attempted to recover him- 
 self it W'as with much difficulty ; and twice while attempting to free his 
 feet the poor horse came near falling. Just at that time it seemed 
 impossible for me to free my feet from the stirrups ; but, by the mercy 
 of God, he finally recovered, and we reached the other shore safely. 
 Had he fallen we would have both perished. But O ! what joy when 
 we reached the land ! I cannot ever forget the experience We 
 reached Haifa in the early afternoon very much fatigued ; but it was 
 only a short Avhile after dinner Avhen we w^ere again in the saddle 
 ascending the rugged path to the summit of Mount Carmel. 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 363 
 
 LOCATION OF ACRE. 
 
 Haifa is supposed to be the site of Misheal or Mishbal of the 
 Scriptures. Acre is known by different names. It is sometimes called 
 Akko (Accho), also St. Jean d' Acre It is a small city, situated 
 along the sea-border about ten miles north of Haifa. It is a place of 
 great historical importance, notwithstanding it is not prominently 
 mentioned in the Scriptures, yet we find it mentioned in the Old Tes- 
 tament as Accho. In the New Testament it is called Ptolemais. Akka 
 is the name by which it is known in Arabic. The French call it " St. 
 Jean d' Acre," and the English have named it " Acre." This little 
 city contains about seven thousand inhabitants, all of whom are Mos- 
 lems, except about one thousand who have espoused the Christian . 
 faith. The situation of Acre with reference to approaches to it by sea 
 and land were so peculiarly difficult it was for a long time called the 
 key of Palestine. Those entering the Holy Land from the north had 
 to come this way, over the very narrow and rugged pass known as the 
 Ladder of Tyre, then through the plain of Acre. 
 
 When the children of Israel entered upon their tribal possessions, 
 Acre was allotted to Asher. This tribe seems to have lived on terms 
 of peace with the Canaanites who inhabited the place, as they were 
 never expelled from it. The following towns, according to the Scrip- 
 tures, were held by the Canaanites after the allotment was made and 
 Asher went up to dwell in the country as appoi-tioned. " Asher drove 
 not out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of 
 Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehab ; but 
 the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, • 
 for they drove not them out " The Jews regarded the city as abhor- 
 rently unclean, and excluded it from the boundary of the Holy Land, 
 confining it to the walls of the town. The same opinion has come 
 down through the ages of Jewish traditions to the present, so that the 
 Jews of to-day in Palestine adhere as strongly to the idea as those of 
 the earlier times. They abhor the name of Accho, and will not consent 
 to die there under any circumstances if they can avoid it. They have 
 a small cemetery on the east of the town just outside the wall, which 
 they claim is within the limits of the Holy Land. Here the Jews are 
 willing to be laid to rest until awakened by the trump of the resurrec- 
 tion. 
 
 Acre, being the key of Palestine, caused many hostile nations to 
 turn their attention towards her. These came up against the little 
 fortress city from time to time, until seventeen heavy sieges were en- 
 
364 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 countered., during which it was captured several times. The city_ and 
 district were for some time divided into seventeen parts, each being 
 under a separate jurisdiction. "It had many sovereigns, but no gov- 
 ernment." The kings of Jerusalem and Cyprus, of the house of Lusig- 
 nan ; the princes of Antioch ; the counts of Tripoli and Sidon ; the 
 great masters of the Hospital, the Temple, and the Teutonic Orders ; 
 the republics of Venice, Genoa and Pisa ; the popes, the legate, the 
 kings of France and England, each assumed an independent command, 
 so that seventeen tribunals exercised the power of life and death (Gib- 
 bon). This complicated state of things introduced many sad events, so 
 that mob-violence was often indulged in and blood freely shed. The 
 Turks finally gained possession of Acre and placed it under the control 
 of a pasha. 
 
 In the latter part of the eighteenth century, a very cruel and heart- 
 less official ruled the district, whose administration Avas so inhumanly 
 outrageous that he became generally known as the Jezzar, or the 
 " Butcher." There are many things stated as to the atrocities com- 
 mitted by this man, of which the following is a sample : He caused his 
 fifteen wives to be killed to appease his wicked passion, and tortured 
 his banker to death. This young man was a Jew belonging to Damas- 
 cus. He was very handsome and generally admired. Jezzar was very 
 jealous of him. He passed a high compliment on him for his beauty 
 one day, and while he pretended to be playing with the young man, 
 put one of his eyes out, so that he might be robbed forever of some of 
 his beauty. The young banker afterwards so adjusted his turban as to 
 hide the disfigured eye. Jezzar, seeing this, drew his sword and smote 
 off the man's nose. He then, at short intervals, committed other brutal 
 assaults on him, until at length he caused him to be beheaded. It is 
 said, that aside from his cruel disposition, Jezzar Pasha was a most 
 prosperous and energetic ruler, and largely extended the pashalik of 
 Acre while he was ruling. There is a mosque in the town bearing his 
 name that was built by his direction. The New Testament mentions 
 this town by its new name, Ptolemais. St. Paul came here and re- 
 mained a day when on his way to Jerusalem. This seems to be the 
 only mention made of it in the New Testament. 
 
 THE LADDER OF TYRE. 
 
 After the fatal battle of Mt. Hattin, when the Crusaders were 
 vanquished. Acre fell into the hands of Saladin, and in four years 
 later the Crusaders recaptured the city after a heavy siege of two 
 years, which cost the lives of sixty thousand men. But there was a 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 365 
 
 constant uneasiness jirevailing among the people on account of repeated 
 attempts on the part of the enemy to capture it. Just about one hun- 
 dred years after this great struggle, the Crusaders were again compelled 
 to abandon Acre after a strong resistance of one month. This was 
 the last desperate struggle the Crusaders engaged in, for they had 
 become hopelessly overpowered and their doom was sealed in the 
 " Holy Land." About twelve miles north of Acre the narrow pass is 
 crossed on the slope of the hill skirting the sea ; this is called " The 
 Ladder of Tyre." It well deserves the name, for it is very steep and 
 dreadfully rugged. After ascending to the summit, the northern 
 descent is so very steep and dangerous, but few will attempt to ride 
 down it ; even the natives dread it, and dismount when they begin the 
 descent. Some portions of it have openings to the sea ; and the pass 
 is so close to the edge of the gulf it is really shocking to pass them ; 
 should you fall here nothing could save your life. Just as the pass is 
 crossed the border of Phoenicia is reached. The road leading over the 
 Ladder is one of the most ancient highways in Palestine, and, as has 
 been stated, was the only ovei*-land entrance to Tyre. 
 
 Through this narrow head-land hundreds of thousands of mighty 
 .men of war have passed in olden times to battle and to death. When 
 Rameses IL, sat himself against Asia Minor to subdue it, he caused 
 his large army to pass this way ; and according to information the 
 Bible gives us, the Assyrians were sent over this critical pass on at 
 least five missions of war and death. At one time they came over 
 under the leadership of Pul ; once under Tilgath-Pileser. Shalmane- 
 ser led his forces over it, Sargon's troops came over it with a greedy 
 expectation of victoiy ; and here came also Sennacherib with his 
 tremendous host. The Syrians came down like a flood over this pass 
 more than twenty-five hundred years ago ; and hither came the proud 
 Rameses more than three thousand years ago to lift his conquering 
 sceptre over the land. This monarch was the Sesostris of Herodotus, 
 and the Pharaoh of Moses. Many other victorious armies have 
 marched ovei this narrow Ladder since those ancient warriors have 
 fallen asleep. 
 
 This pass is called by the natives Ras en-Nakurah, and is known 
 to the Romans as Tyriorum. Soon after leaving the northern base of 
 the pass, a countless number of ruins are exposed to view, extending 
 over several miles. Some of them are piled in mounds and others are 
 scattered in every direction. This is an evidence that the whole dis- 
 trict was an unbroken succession of cities and towns, in which lived 
 many hundred thousands of Phoenicians. But how sadly those mighty 
 
366 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 cities have fallen ! They were once a scene of busy life ; now the whole 
 region is a vast wilderness. There is not a sign of life to be seen in 
 the most of it except a traveler here and there passing through. These 
 ruins are strong evidences of Phoenician genius, whose knowledge in 
 sculpture was the most skillful of any people in the countries round 
 about them. 
 
 Ancient Tyre is supposed to have been one of the first cities of our 
 world, running back into prehistoric times. It was built and inhabited 
 by Phoenicians, who settled in the country early after the dispersion of 
 men over the earth. They were descendants of Canaan, the youngest 
 son of Ham. These people became so very numerous, the whole 
 country was named after them prior to the time the children of Israel 
 took possession of the greater portion of it. Tyre is the word from 
 which Syria takes its name, which means " the Land of the Tyrians." 
 With reference to its antiquity there can be no doubt, for it is spoken 
 of as such in the Holy Scriptures. Isaiah, in speaking of it, says, " It 
 is of ancient days." It is an established opinion among authors that 
 Tyre was founded nearly three thousand years before our era ; and, 
 according to William of Tyre, its founder was Tyras. Herodotus says 
 the city was in a state of prosperity as far back as two thousand and 
 fifty years, B.C. 
 
 SIDON THE MOTHER OF TYRE. 
 
 It is evident that Sidon was a much older city and was known as 
 the mother of Tyre — indeed, she was the parent of all the cities, towns 
 and villages along the coast. This statement will not be questioned if 
 we confide in the words of Isaiah, who calls Tyre the daughter of 
 Sidon. But it seems that the former suddenly grew and became the most 
 important city the Phoenicians possessed, for it became the most noted 
 of all others known in the land. Ezekiel's reference to Tyre is most 
 graphic and expressive of the wonderful powers of the people whose 
 influence had spread over sea and land as that of no other people had. 
 These two great cities of the Phoenicians were well known to Jacob 
 before he left Hebron for Egypt, and when about to die he named 
 them as the boundary of the portion of Zebulun. The Phoenicians 
 were a powerful people and were dreaded by the nations around them, 
 notwithstanding their country was allotted to Asher, that tribe never 
 took possession of it, but remained in a subordinate relation to this 
 warlike people whom they found inhabiting their portion. 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 367 
 
 PHCENICIANS AND ISRAELITES. 
 
 The Phoenicians, however, seemed to have lived on the most friendly 
 terms with Israel, and rendered them great service. And, although 
 numerous wai-s and quarrels continued so many years between Israel and 
 other nations, we have no knowledge of any contentions having existed 
 between them and the Phoenicians ; notwithstanding in some portions 
 of the country they lived together ; and in cities adjoining each other, 
 they were on most intimate and friendly terms. We know there was, 
 in the time of David and Solomon, a strong friendship existing be- 
 tween the two nations, that bound them almost as one people. It is 
 known that King Hiram of Tyre rendered great assistance to King 
 Solomon in the construction of the Temple, and we have reasons to 
 believe these friendly relations continued without any serious interrup- 
 tion, for when Ahab reigned over the northern kingdom he married 
 Jezebel, a Phoenician woman and daughter of the king of Phoenicia. 
 It seems strange that these people should be so wholly lost in idolatry, 
 especially when they had for neighbors a people who professed to be 
 children of the living God. But instead of being turned from their 
 idols through the influence of the chosen people, they caused Israel to 
 turn wistfully towards their gods, and even devoutly worshiped them. 
 
 Tyre is situated about twenty-five miles south of Sidon, on the 
 eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Its inhabitants in early 
 times endured some of the most hostile attacks that were ever made 
 against a people in the history of wars. She withstood them for a long 
 time, and proved herself mistress of the situation ; for these brave peo- 
 ple either put their foes to flight, or so persistently withstood them that 
 they considered it a fruitless procedure to contend against them. The 
 Phoenicians had both harbors securely garrisoned by a powerful and 
 alert fleet of well-equipped men, who were ever ready to defend their 
 government against the encroachments of an invading foe. The Phoeni- 
 cians were masters of the sea, and possessed unequaled skill in their 
 day, in arming and commanding vessels. This superior knowledge not 
 only prepared them to maintain their prestige as seamen, but placed 
 them in a condition to successfully contend against forces much larger 
 than their own. Many times the enemy came against them, whose 
 numbers were by far the greater, who, after a long and bloody conflict, 
 resulting in the loss of many lives, were compelled to return to their 
 home covered with shame and defeat. 
 
 Josephus says : " Shalmaneser went up against Tyre with sixty ves- 
 sels, having eight hundred men manning the oars. The Tyrians met 
 
368 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 them with only twelve vessels and discomfited them. They captured 
 five hundred of the Assyrians, and put the remaining fleet to flight." 
 But the land force of Shalmaneser was not so readily subdued; they 
 could fight better on the land ; moreover, they were very numerous. 
 This vast army camped before Tyre five years, and did much damage 
 to the outskirts of the city and the watei'-works ; but at length they 
 became hopeless of accomplishing their aim and gave up the contest, 
 leaving the Phoenicians masters of the situation. Nebuchadnezzar stood 
 out against Tyre with a strong army, who besieged it for nineteen years, 
 using every means at their command to overthrow it, but were finally 
 compelled to abandon their eflfort as a fruitless task. Until Alexander 
 the Great came up with his conquering army, the Phoenicians main- 
 tained their jurisdiction over Tyre. 
 
 But when this conqueror of conquerors came upon the scene, with 
 his invincible host, one of the most bloody and deadly conflicts began 
 that had visited the Phoenician citadel. The people fought bravely 
 and desperately, but were compelled to surrender their cherished city 
 to the superior strength of Alexander's forces. The island city with- 
 stood the invaders seven months ; but they also were finally subdued and 
 captured after the enemy had united it to the mainland by forming a 
 mole of massive stones and timbers from the ruins of the old city. This 
 little isthmus was so well constructed, that it gave Alexander an oppor- 
 tunity to seize the island city with but little trouble, although the 
 Tyrians fought with great determination to maintain their position ; 
 but they were too weak for their powerful foe, and were compelled to 
 submit to him. The most decided encounter of the Greeks against the 
 Tyrian-Phoenicians was an illustrious fulfillment of the graphic predic- 
 tion of the Prophet Fzekiel. He so clearly disclosed the scene that it 
 could not have been more definitely narrated if he had been looking 
 upon the event when it took place. This shows how clearly and ade- 
 quately the Lord inspired human beings to foretell events hundreds of 
 years before they came to pass. 
 
 ANCIENT TYRE. 
 
 Tyre is now called by the natives Ras-el-Ain. It is located about 
 three miles from the island city on the south. The present town 
 occupies a portion of the site on which the latter city stood, in and 
 about which many ruins of the former city are to be seen. Investi- 
 gations have strongly indicated that old Tyre occupied all the space 
 from the southern end of its ruins to the island. There are remnants 
 of the ancient reservoirs, still in a medium state of preservation, into 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 369 
 
 which several perennial springs flow. These reservoirs formed a por- 
 tion of the water supply of the renowned city, in ancient times, through 
 an aqueduct. It has been discovered that the vast tract adjoining 
 the reservoir was made into a succession of beautiful gardens. It is 
 supposed they contained some of the most lovely flowers known in the 
 East. There were also fine shade-trees, beautifiilly arranged, so as to 
 make the gardens not only inviting to look upon, but pleasant to visit. 
 The reservoirs are believed to be those which King Solomon gave to 
 Hiram, King of Tyre, as a compliment in recognition of the efficient 
 aid rendered by the latter in building the Temple. The following is 
 the current tradition concerning them, which is credited by the people 
 of Tyre generally. 
 
 Hiram, the great King of Tyre, having made a tour of the twenty 
 cities in Galilee, which Solomon had presented him in return for 
 the services he gave him in building the Temple, i:)erceived at once 
 that the possession of them might bring him more annoyance than 
 benefit, and thinking that Solomon had only presented them to him to 
 get them ofi" his hands, expostulated indignantly with Solomon on the 
 nature of the proffered gift. Nay, more, in accordance with a 
 genuine and universal mode of proceeding in the East, he intimated 
 his unwillingness to accept the gift or acknowledge it in the light of a 
 friendly recompense, and forwarded to Solomon one hundred and 
 twenty talents in gold, a little more than a just equivalent of the 
 value of the villages. Thus far the Tyrian tradition is simply in 
 accordance with the Biblical record ; but the sequel, which is perhaps 
 the most interesting part, is not to be found in the Bible. " Solomon, 
 having received the money, well understood that Hiram expected 
 something further in the way of recompense from him." He there- 
 fore sent an embassy to Hiram to inquire what he most desired, and 
 the King of Tyre replied : " A proper supply of water for his great 
 city." 
 
 Solomon accordingly dispatched to Tyre the masons who had built 
 the Temple, and constructed the magnificent reservoirs and aqueducts 
 of Ras el-Ain. Hiram, in return for this, presented Solomon with 
 the beautiful garden which he caused to be laid out around the reser- 
 voirs ; and it is to this very garden and to these springs the Hebrew 
 King alludes when he says : " A garden inclosed is my sister, my 
 spouse ; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. A fountain of gardens, 
 a well of living waters and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north 
 wind, and come thou south ; blow upon my garden, that the spices 
 thereof may blow out." (Murray). It is said that the above tradi- 
 24 
 
370 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 tion is of very aucient date, and from the general connection it lias to 
 the situation, credence is given it by many close observers. The situa- 
 tion of old Tyre corresponds minutely with the well-defined descrip- 
 tion given it in the Song of Solomon. The well of living water is 
 fed by streams from Lebanon. And the most healthy and bracing 
 winds come from the north and south. Were it not for the over- 
 whelming sands that have covered much of the remaining beauty of 
 the reservoirs and gardens, no doubt many traces of them would be 
 prominent which are now hidden. There ai-e sand-beds spread over 
 the garden many feet deep, caused by the winds which blow fiercely in 
 the winter season. 
 
 Tyre was conveniently located for a commercial city, and was 
 doing business in all ports of the commercial world. The inhabitants 
 were the most expert navigators of their day, and delighted in doing 
 business over the sea. It is called the " merchant city " in the Bible, 
 and is also called " the crowning city, whose merchants are princes," 
 and whose traffickers are the honorable men of the earth. These 
 merchants and traffickers traded in every land, so that their bazaars 
 contained the most important and richest goods from all the trading 
 countries known to them. Merchants from afar came to this city, 
 having for sale the choicest products of their country invitingly dis- 
 played in the mai'kets of Tyre. It can be assuredly said, that the 
 most precious fruits of the genius and industries of the people of every 
 tribe and nation, along all the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, were 
 on exhibition in the business places and markets of ancient Tyre. 
 They came from Damascus, Jerusalem, Egypt, India, Arabia, and 
 from the islands of the sea, seeking the trade of this most thrifty city 
 
 of the world. 
 
 GENIUS OF THE TYRIANS. 
 
 Tyre was also widely known as a place in which some of the most 
 skillful workmen in fine arts known in the world lived. In the time 
 of David and Solomon, Hiram, King of Tyi'e, was applied to for 
 skillful artists to assist in fully carrying out the original design in 
 building the Temple. He sent cedar timbers to Joppa, and skilled 
 workmen to Jerusalem, whose ability to execute the work far exceeded 
 the most expert among the Hebrews. Solomon himself acknowledged 
 the superior skill of the Phoenicians when he sent to Hiram asking 
 the favor. " There is not among us any that can skill to hew timber 
 like unto the Sidonians." Solomon also procured from the king of 
 Tyre, Hiram, a widow's son, whose services were indispensable in fully 
 accomplishing the work of the Temple. He was an expert worker in 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 871 
 
 brass. The most celebrated of all Phoenician goods ruanulkctured 
 was the Tyrian purple ; it had the distinction of being the richest of 
 all other goods in the world. It was great gratification to a person to 
 be able to dress in this renowned purple that was eagerly sought by 
 the kings of the earth and mighty men, who thought their wardrobe 
 incomplete without a garment made of this material. It is said that 
 this famous dye was extracted from the glands of a peculiar species of 
 shell-fish found in the Mediterranean, called " murextruuculus," small 
 quantities of which are still found, but not to be compared in quan- 
 tity to that obtained in the prime days of the ancient city. 
 
 The spirit of development was so replete in the Phoenicians, they 
 did not content themselves with the territory they possessed on the 
 east in Canaan, but established several colonies ; among them were 
 Leptis, Utica, Carthage, Gades and others, in all of which the progress 
 and enterprise of Phoenician industries were clearly developed. After 
 the fall of Tyre, before the victorious arm of Alexander the Great, it 
 was again partially restored, but never attained to its former distinc- 
 tion. There were several rivals who clamored to be its acknowledged 
 ruler. It is said the greatest contentions were stimulated by the lival 
 successors to the great conqueror, who, because of greedy ambition, 
 caused Tyre to suflfer greatly. It passed from one ruler to another, 
 according to the amount of power he exerted in warring against it. 
 It fell into the hands of the Mohammedans in the early part of the 
 seventh century, a. d., who, it is strange to say, agreed to spare the 
 lives of the inhabitants and their property, provided they promised to 
 build no more Christian churches, and that they should ring no bells, 
 nor ride on horses, nor ofier insults to the Mohammedan religion. 
 
 Tyre was retaken by the Christians in the early part of the twelfth 
 century, who controlled it one hundred and sixty-seven years ; but 
 was recaptured by the Moslems and became hopelessly lost to the cru- 
 sading Christians. These insanely cruel people completely demolished 
 this once-famous city, which, for several centuries, had been pining 
 more and more, from time to time, like the fading moon, until finally 
 her last ray was extinguished. The present town is small, but it has 
 grown rapidly within a few years. At present there are jjrominent 
 indications of a revival in business to a medium degree, but it is not 
 thought in business circles that much c^ be done to enhance the inte- 
 rest of Tyre while under Turkish rule. In the time of our Lord's 
 ministry, His teachings so greatly arou.sed the people -of Sidon and 
 Tyre, that they went over into Galilee in great numbers to see Him and 
 taste of His love. And we have reasons to believe that many of them 
 
372 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 were so influenced by His word that they followed Him, and on their 
 return to Tyre they separated themselves into a Christian society. If 
 this was not done while our Lord was yet on earth, it existed in the 
 early age of the apostles. It is certain that St. Paul found a church 
 (on his arrival in Tyre, when en route to Jerusalem), in a progressive 
 state, and publicly declaring their faith in Christ. 
 
 It may have been on account of the eagerness manifested by the 
 people of Sidon and Tyre to hear the instructions of our Lord, and the 
 readiness with which they received it, that He favorably referred to 
 them while denouncing Capernaum, Bethsaida and Chorazin. Paul 
 remained here seven days with the disciples, and when the time came 
 for him to leave them, the farewell meeting was most touching. They 
 accompanied the apostle outside of the city with their families, then 
 all of them knelt down on the shore and fervently invoked the bless- 
 ings of God upon Paul ; and when they took leave of each other, he 
 entered the vessel, and the friends returned to their homes. This is a 
 clear evidence that a small congregation, at least, of faithful Christians, 
 who gave public expression to their faith in Christ, lived in Tyre. 
 When the Crusaders took possession, the whole city came under Chris- 
 tian influence, and remained so until the force-rule of Mohammedan- 
 ism compelled many to espouse that religion. 
 
 THE FALLEN CITY. 
 
 The ruins of the spacious cathedral built by the Christians ai'e still 
 to be seen. These remains of the cathedral would be extensive were it 
 not for several small buildings which have been built in the centre of 
 the nave They greatly obstruct the sight, and prevent an extensive 
 observation of the space occupied by it. There are a few capitals and 
 broken column-bases of white marble strewn about ; and with them 
 can be seen several slabs of white marble supposed to have belonged to 
 the front. The building was erected some time in the twelfth century, 
 and occupied the site of that built early in the fourth century by Paul- 
 inus. One passing among the ruins as they lay about in various por- 
 tions of the present town, can only with an efibrt persuade himself that 
 his eyes are beholding the mouldering i-emains that formed one of the 
 most distinguished cities the world ever knew — a city with towering 
 walls, and massive gates, through which the merchants passed from all 
 lands, seeking the richly woven materials and skillfully carved metals 
 wrought by the genius of the Phoenicians. 
 
 Tyre was, in her prime days, the centre of attraction from which 
 the superior skill of the children of Ham flowed to all the world. 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 373 
 
 And notwithstanding the proud city and its teeming millions of busy 
 people have returned to dust, much of their genius lives to benefit 
 the world. It is strange such a limited number of those who pretend 
 to be seeking to find something worthy of mention performed by the 
 Karaites along the line of their existence fail to remember the Phoeni- 
 cians were racially identified with them, who, aside from their idola- 
 trous tendencies, deserve the praise and appreciation of the civilized 
 world. They were not only skillful workmen, but inventors of such great 
 distinction, that they have furnished the world with some of the most 
 important developments that move the progressive people of our globe. 
 Their works stand to the present as monuments of their power and 
 genius. Tyre is many times referred to in the Bible ; in fact it became 
 the burden of prophecy, for six of them were divinely commissioned 
 to speak against her and declare its utter destruction. Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
 Ezekiel, Amos, Zechariah and Joel, all prophesied against Tyre with 
 such accuracy, power and firmness, there can be no doubts entertained 
 as to their being supernaturally inspired to foresee her downfall. 
 
 But how hath the mighty fallen ! Tyre, the great and beautiful 
 city, that in the days of her glory was mistress of the sea, has been 
 brought low ; she has become a heap of ruins, and her glory and pride 
 have come to dust. Her spacious towers and massive walls, her 
 splendid arches and deep vaults, are crumbling beneath the hand of 
 time. That which escaped the instruments of war, the earthquakes 
 finished ; and many of her rich treasures, that for centuries were 
 buried under massive ruins, have been washed into the sea by the 
 innovations of the billows. The towers of the old city, it is said, could 
 be seen from afar as the trading vessels approached ; and the high 
 walls formed a fortress that defied the arm of the most powerful foe 
 for a long time. Her vigilant fleet was ever alert, guarding with care 
 the approaches to her portals. But they have all disappeared forever. 
 Her beauty and pride, her spinning-wheels and tools for the work of 
 fine ai'ts, her merchants and merchandise have all been brought low, 
 
 even into the dust. 
 
 BURIED TREASURES. 
 
 The final demolition of the city, which occurred near the end of the 
 thirteenth century, left nothing but mounds of stone and debris, much 
 of which was transferred to Acre and Sidon for building purposes. 
 The present town is built over ruins of the city of the Crusaders, 
 which lies buried several feet beneath it ; and deeper still are the dusty 
 remains of the Mohammedan and early Christian city of Tyre. But the 
 great and beautiful ancient city, that was mistress of the sea and pride 
 
374 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 of Phoenicia, over which King Hiram swayed the sceptre, and was, 
 after a most bloody and deadly conflict, captured by Alexander the 
 Great, lies deeply entombed under the cities that have been built over 
 her grave. It is currently believed, from evidences several times 
 developed, that there are many valuable treasures yet remaining 
 among the deeply-buried ruins, as various denominations of ancient 
 coins have been found in those parts that have been washed out by 
 the waves of the sea. But the inhabitants seem to have no disposition 
 to seek it ; they lurk around the place where the waves are likely to 
 undermine, to pick up what they can find, but exhibit no ambition to 
 seek further. Many valuable metals have been found after the high 
 tide abated at various times, that would be highly appreciated by all 
 tourists could they procure them. ■ 
 
 While in Tyre I stopped at the Latin Convent, and one of the offi- 
 cials presented me with several pieces of old coin ; some of them were 
 current in the time of King Solomon and King Hiram. It was a very 
 acceptable gift to me, and one that will ever be gratefully remembered. 
 In almost every direction in and about the town deep caves exist, 
 caused by the sinking in of decayed ruins. Many look as though they 
 would afford safe retreats for bandits and other outlaws, whose presence 
 in the country is so greatly dreaded. Just about six miles south-east 
 of Tyre is situated on the hillside, near the Safed road, the tomb of one 
 of the most celebrated and illustrious men known to the Phoenicians. 
 It is the monument beneath which lie the dusty remains of King 
 Hiram of Tyre, the memory of whom will go down to the latest genera- 
 tion. This venerable relic stands alone, out from the scenes of busy 
 life, but is looked upon as one of the most remarkable sepulchres in 
 the world, because of the distinction the character achieved whose 
 remains are resting there. It is an immense sarcophagus of lime- 
 stone, hewn out of a single block, and standing on a base formed of 
 three courses of large, white stones, nine feet and eight inches high. 
 The sarcophagus itself measures twelve feet and two inches in length, 
 and seven feet and nine inches in width ; it tapers slightly towards the 
 top. The lid is made with large ridges in the direction of its length, 
 and is three feet seven inches high in the centre, and two feet ten inches 
 at the sides. Immediately at the north side of the monument two 
 flights of rough steps lead to an artificial cavern, ten feet long, eight 
 feet wide, and five feet high. There is a general agreement as to the 
 identity of this tomb as that of King Hiram, the ally of King Solo- 
 mon, whose skilled men in fine arts greatly assisted the latter. 
 
 Close to the tomb of Hiram is another, which, in some respects. 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 375 
 
 resembles that of the illustrious king of Tyre, aud is generally regarded 
 as the resting-place of Hiram of Tyre, the widow's son. There seems 
 to be several well-founded reasons for regarding this tomb as identical 
 AA'ith that of Hiram AbifF. Not far from these tombs are several others, 
 differing widely from the above, in which it is thought some of the 
 most distinguished Tyrians have been buried. 
 
 In one of those tombs is a remarkable group of fifteen stone figures 
 that w^ere carefully carved, representing male and female; all but 
 three or four are standing erect, with their hands placed one upon the 
 other in front of their breasts. It is said this is the usual attitude of 
 the Phoenicians when they paid their devotions to Baal and Astarte. 
 The statue in the midst of the group is supposed to represent Baal. 
 Towards this deity three men and a woman are approaching. The 
 statues are much disfigured, no doubt by the hands of invaders, which 
 is a common custom in the East. In this way all the statues of ancient 
 date in Egypt have been mutilated. It is likely that all the great 
 images the Phoenicians set up have been destroyed in this way. If 
 these ancient tombs could have been preserved in Phoenicia as in many 
 other places, the historians would have had a greater advantage in 
 obtaining a correct idea of the characters they illustrate, for instead 
 of probability there would be certainty designating each of them. 
 
 Ten miles and a half north of Tyre the site of ancient Zarephath 
 or Sarepta is entered. This is the town to which the Lord directed 
 Elijah to journey, and make his home with a poor widow, when the 
 brook dried near which he was hiding from the wrath of Ahab 
 While here he raised the widow's son, who had suddenly died. There 
 is nothing to be seen in the place now, except great masses of ruins 
 covering a large space. The town was abandoned by the inhabitants 
 in the thirteenth century, because of the insecurity of the plain in which 
 it was located, and they built up a village on the side of the moun- 
 tain, not far away, and named it Surafend. Some have supposed this 
 old site to be identical with Misrephoth-maim. There is but little 
 known of the inhabitants of Palestine and Syria, prior to the settle- 
 ment of the Hamites, who came in the land in large companies, and 
 made vast improvements in all parts in which they located, so that in 
 process of time, it became one of the most progressive countries in the 
 
 world. 
 
 PRIMITIVE CANAANITES. 
 
 The Canaanites were divided into eleven tribes, according to the 
 information the Bible furnishes us. This great Canaanitish nation 
 must be acknowledged, by all fair-minded people, as one of the most 
 
376 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 progressive people the world contained. It may be of interest to men- 
 tion the tribes respectively, and the parts of the country they inhab 
 ited Avheu Joshua entered Canaan with the children of Israel. 
 
 The Phoenicians settled along the shores of the Mediterranean 
 from Gebal, on the north, to Acre on the south. It is also evident 
 they occupied the tract between Acre and Haifa, for they had a garri- 
 son on the west border of Mount Carmel. The Hittites were descend- 
 ants of Heth, who was the oldest son of Canaan. This tribe was 
 divided into two divisions : those on the south occupied the territory 
 around Hebron ; the northern division lived back from the sea in the 
 northern districts of Syria, and along the Orontes valley ; their capital 
 city was Kadesh. The Jebusites selected the country in and about 
 Jerusalem ; Oman, who had the threshing-floor, in the time of David, 
 on Mount Moriah, was of this tribe. He was an important helper to 
 the king in the time of his great trouble. The Amorites were a pow- 
 erful j^eople ; they were also divided into distinct portions ; those on 
 the south settled west of the Dead Sea, in the district of Engedi, a 
 very mountainous and wild country. They afterward crossed the 
 Jordan and established two highly prosperous kingdoms known as 
 Heshbon and Bashan. 
 
 The northern Amorites settled in the plain of the Beka'a, between 
 Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, on the south of the Hittites. The Ger- 
 gasites occupied the district which was known in later times as Deca- 
 polis. The Havites were a very popular tribe, and finally divided into 
 two distinct portions ; that on the north selected their portion of ter- 
 ritory on the Anti-Lebanon district, extending as far as Hamath, 
 which seems to have been the most northern limit of the Cauaanitish 
 territory. The Havites, on the south, settled at Shechem, and the 
 whole country round about as far south as Gibeon. The Arkites set- 
 tled in the plain on the north of Lebanon, which was well watered and 
 fruitful. The Sinites occupied the whole of the mountain tract of 
 Lebanon. The Arvadites lived along the seacoast on the north of 
 Sidon, having their chief seat on the Island of Aradus. The Zemar- 
 ites also inhabited a portion of the coast (it is thought) between the 
 Phcenicians and the Arvadites. This tribe seems to have been one of 
 the smallest of the Canaanites. The Hamathites settled in the city of 
 Hamath, and this district divided the Hittites from the Amorites along 
 the Orontes. It should be remembered that these various tribes were 
 called Canaanites, because they descended from the same chief ances- 
 tor. The most of the tribes were progressive, industrious and brave, 
 but the most important of them in point of prosperity were the 
 Phoenicians. 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 377 
 
 The country inhabited by the Canaanites, and afterwards given to 
 the children of Israel, has been known under several names ; the most 
 prominent was " Canaan," after the general name of the people whose 
 influence and progressiveness were known throughout the realm of civ- 
 ilization. They were inventors of the most intricate arts and sciences 
 of their age. There are several who have written historical sketches 
 concerning this wonderfully progressive people, who have failed to 
 appreciate them properly for the enterprising spirit they exhibited ; 
 and others seem to have been puzzled to know to which race they 
 belonged. Attempts have been made to take the Phoenicians out of 
 the Hamitic stock and give them to Sbem or Japheth. Others say 
 they were of doubtful origin, and therefore fail to give them to either 
 race. It is strange that all other races can be traced to a distinct 
 origin and placed with the class to which they proj^erly belong. 
 
 Because these Hamites were an important people attempts have 
 been made to rob them of their proper place in the catalogue of races. 
 The Bible tells us plainly the Phoenicians were descendants of Canaan, 
 the son of Ham, and any one who will take the time to read the Bible 
 account of their origin must concede the fact. It is well understood 
 the youngest son of Ham was named Canaan, whose posterity was 
 very numerous, so that it became necessary for them to seek a new 
 territory. They migrated from their home and settled along the 
 eastern border of the Mediterranean Sea, north of Mount Carmel ; 
 then spread themselves over much of the interior, as described above. 
 The first city founded by them was called Sidon, after the first son of 
 Canaan. Making this city their capital, they began to spead over the 
 most fruitful districts in the land. They settled in communities, call- 
 ing each by a particular name to designate one from the other. But the 
 country became known by the name of the ancestor of the people, 
 " Canaan," whose name was adopted by all his descendants. The fol- 
 lowing is recorded in the Scriptures concerning them: " And Canaan 
 begat Sidon his first born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, 
 and the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Zemarite, 
 and the Hamathite ; and afterward were all the families of Canaan 
 spread abroad." " And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, 
 as thou goest toward Gerar, unto Gaza ; as thou goest toward Sodom 
 and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboim, unto Lasha. These are the 
 sons of Ham after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in 
 their nations." 
 
 The Hittites appear to be the most numerous of all the tribes ; 
 they soon became a j)owerful and warlike people. They formed them- 
 
378 THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 
 
 selves into a separate government entirely independent of the other 
 tribes, submitting themselves to one general head instead of having 
 independent rulers over each town and village, known as the Sheikh, 
 which seems to have been the custom of a majority of the tribes, which 
 was the cause of many severe internal struggles. The Hittites were 
 the descendants of Heth ; their first settlement was on the west of the 
 Sea of Tiberias, but in time they became so numerous it was necessary 
 for them to divide, and as early as the time of Abraham a great num- 
 ber of them had moved to the south and settled about Hebron. This 
 was a brave, warlike and progressive people. Many emblems of their 
 chariots and other war implements are still seen among the broken 
 shafts and monuments in Egypt. 
 
 It was to the Hittites Abraham applied for a burial-place to lay the 
 remains of Sarah to rest, and purchased from them the cave Mach- 
 pelah. It seems that this tribe was not lost sight of, until after the Jews 
 returned fi*om cajjtivity. Uriah, one of David's royal officers whom 
 he caused to be treacherously put to death, that his adulterous conduct 
 with Bath-Sheba (Uriah's wife) might not be unfolded, was a Hittite 
 It will be seen by this, the Hamitic race were not only the menials in 
 Israel, but held royal positions. It seems the Arvadites and Zemarites, 
 because of their position along the coast, became blended with the 
 Sidonians so intimately, that they were known by the same name, and 
 became a portion of the most enterprising, skillful and prosperous peo- 
 ple of the Canaanitish families. The origin of the Phoenicians, there- 
 fore, is perfectly clear and distinctly stated in the Bible. They were first 
 known as Sidonians for many ages (2 Sam. xi. 3-27 ; Gen. x 15—20 ; 
 Ezra ix. 1), because they were descendants of Sidon, the oldest son of 
 Canaan ; and Canaanites because Canaan Avas their great ancestor. 
 But they were called Phoenicians by the Greeks and Komans. This 
 was the name given to the district in which they lived rather than a 
 racial title ; just as it is common to call a resident of Washington, a 
 
 Washingtonian. 
 
 HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 The name Phoenicia was given to a tract of country in Palestine, 
 embracing a narrow strip of frontier laud, between the hills of northern 
 Canaan, the mountains of Lebanon on the east, and the Mediterranean 
 on the west. But notwithstanding the title given the district by the 
 Greeks and Roman.s, the inhabitants clung to their original name and 
 called themselves Canaanites. The accounts given us concerning these 
 people are but meagre ; for their real history was destroyed. But enough 
 has been gleaned from the Bible and other places to assure us they 
 
FKOM MOUNT CAKMEL TO DAMASCUS. 379 
 
 were of Hamitic origin, and known to belong to the families of Canaan, 
 who spread themselves over the land They developed into a great 
 people, possessing a high degree of literature, and kept accurate records 
 of their history ; and had not the most important accounts of their 
 progress been destroyed, we should be much more enlightened as to 
 their wonderful intellectual powers and historical value. The numer- 
 ous manuscripts, compiled by their scribes, were committed to the 
 flames by foes, who after many attempts succeeded in overthrowing 
 Tyre, their capital, and demolished everything valuable. 
 
 There have been exhaustive investigations made by men of 
 brilliant minds to find something reliable that would allow them to 
 trace the origin of the Phoenicians to Shem or Japheth ; but they have 
 failed in their attempt. The Bible account of their racial descent is 
 conclusive ; and were it not for this. Ham would no doubt be robbed, 
 in general estimation of his fatherhood, of one of the most energetic 
 and skillful people known to the world in their day. Although we 
 have the clear facts of the word of God concerning them, there seem 
 to be a few authors who fail to comprehend them, and contend that the 
 Phoenicians are descendants of Shem. Rawlinson is quoted as hav- 
 ing said, in giving the world the benefit of his convictions as to the 
 origin of this people : " On the whole, it may be concluded, that the 
 Canaanites and Phoenicians were two distinct races ; the former being 
 the original occupants of the country, and the latter being immigrants 
 of a comparatively recent date."' This is a tremendous step backward 
 to dodge a plain Bible truth, which teaches to the contrary ; for every 
 one who has examined the Holy Scriptures, concerning the origin of 
 the people known as Phoenicians, must, in all fairness, conclude that 
 they were composed of the Sidonians, Arvadites and Zemarites, in con- 
 nection with a few from some or all of the other Canaanitish tribes. 
 These, without a doubt, were that great people, called by the Greeks 
 and Romans, Phoenicians, but known in the Scriptures as Canaanites 
 and the descendants of the fourth son of Ham. There is but one 
 conclusion for all unbiased and reliable authors, who claim to be guided 
 by the standard of truth, and that is, the Phoenicians were, beyond all 
 question, Canaanites, whose great anccestor was Ham. 
 
 It is lamentably true that this wonderful people, so full of progress 
 and genius, were ignorant of the true God ; notwithstanding there 
 must have existed among them a traditional knowledge of His deal- 
 ings with the people whose sins became unbearable before the flood 
 was visited upon them ; yet they were so allied to Baal, their false 
 deity, that their eyes were closed against the true God. They were 
 
380 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 most stubborn in their idol worship, which, without doubt, brought 
 down upon their government repeated visits of God's just indignation. 
 
 THEIR WIDESPREAD INFLUENCE. 
 
 But when we turn from this dreadful and most damaging evil, and 
 look upon this people's progress in art and science, the fact must be 
 conceded, that we cannot point to a civilized people on the globe where 
 Phoenician influence is not felt. There were no people living, in the 
 age of the Phoenicians' greatest advancement, who surpassed them in 
 .skilled workmanship and naval achievements. Their vessels were 
 built so as to be used for battle-ships in the time of war, and trading 
 purposes in peace. It is said they had such a well-defined code of 
 laws for the government of their fleet, that Athens, the foremost mari- 
 time state in Greece, was not equal to her in disciplinary regulations. 
 Hence, when the officials of Athens wished to improve their military 
 laws, Xenophon referred to the Phoenician vessels as the best-known in 
 the world for orderly regulations and skillful management. The Phoe- 
 nicians were, also, the great leaders in the use of astronomical science 
 in navigation ; until they introduced it, the world was ignorant of its 
 value to navigators. 
 
 The connection of the moon with the tides, and how it influences 
 their ebb and flow, was first brought into prominent notice by the 
 Phoenicians ; and it is one of the great sciences that aid shipmasters in 
 many ways to-day. Many precious lives have been saved by a knowl- 
 edge of it. Each of the Phoenician cities along the sea-border was noted 
 for some specialty that particularly characterized it. The manufac- 
 ture of the world-famed purple dye, which the Tyrians prepared from 
 a certain shell-fish, gave them celebrity throughout the civilized world. 
 The people of tSidon were celebrated because of the knowledge they 
 had in manufacturing glass. Its invention and use in Palestine were 
 first introduced by the Sidonians. Some authors say this people were 
 the first inventors of glass ; but this is strongly doubted by others, who 
 are inclined to give Egypt the honor of introducing the use of it, and 
 that men .skilled in the art ^yere sent over from that country to Sidon to 
 carry on the work. 
 
 It is known, however, that glass was first discovered by the Canaan- 
 itish seamen on the banks of the Belus River, near Acre ; and there is 
 now to be seen at Ain Musheirifeh a well having faint traces of an old 
 foundation near it. This is supposed to be the site of ancient Mis- 
 rephoth, the limit to which the Israelites caused the Canaanites to 
 retreat, and the identical place where they established a glass factory 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 381 
 
 long before the Hebrews entered the country. It is likely that the old 
 ruins scattered about are the withering remains of the ancient glass 
 works founded in the time of the Karaites' occupancy of Canaan. 
 Now it cannot be regarded as a matter of very great importance, 
 whether glass was first invented in Egypt or Canaan, so far as it per- 
 tains to the race to whom the honor of bringing it into use is con- 
 cerned, for in either case the Hamiticrace is entitled to the first honor. 
 It seems the Phoenicians were inventors of several musical instru- 
 ments, which they played with great skill. With one or two excep- 
 tions, there was a general idea of government existing among the 
 tribes, which they endorsed early after settling in Canaan. They had 
 no disposition to form a general government under a chief executive 
 and become a strongly fortified people, but each city was a kind of 
 independent sovereignty in itself. The stronger cities were usually 
 looked up to for protection by the dwellers in the towns and villages 
 in cases of necessity. This gave the ruler, who guarded the welfare of 
 the neighboring towns, the right as chief adviser, which the people 
 felt to be under obligations to observe. This state of affairs intro- 
 duced many disastrous troubles, which would have been avoided if 
 they had formed a general government. The Tyrians had a large 
 slave population, which seems to have been more numerous than the 
 free citizens. These slaves were taken from various parts of the world 
 by traders, somewhat on the plan African slaves were obtained in 
 the United States of America. At times the bondsmen would cause 
 the Phoenicians much trouble, which on one occasion at least caused 
 great torture, much bloodshed and the loss of many lives. All of this 
 could have been instantly checked if the people had been united in a 
 general government ; but under the circumstances the Tyrians were 
 compelled to fight their own battle when domestic trouble confronted 
 them. When foreign invaders came up against them the whole people 
 would unite to secure the general welfare of their country. 
 
 The best evidence obtainable as to the founding of Sidon and Tyre, 
 the two most important Phoenician cities, shows that the former was 
 built about fourteen hundred years before King Solomon's time, and 
 the latter at an early subsequent period. With the beginning of Solo- 
 mon's reign a historical notice of their doings is recorded. The king 
 succeeded by Hiram was Ahibal, from whose time a written sketch 
 has been preserved. It is thought by many that the Phoenicians 
 reached their meridian in progressive development about the time 
 Solomon came into power. Hiram Abiff" was one of the most skillful 
 workmen in the country at that time, and was master of the artistic 
 
382 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 workmanship in carving gold, silver, brass, iron, stone, and timbers, 
 and was equally expert in preparing the purple, the blue, the vine 
 levin, and the various engravings. Therefore King Hiram sent him 
 to look after the work of the Temple. It was, it seems, an ordinary 
 custom with the Phoenicians to carve their names in some of the founda- 
 tion stones of buildings of extraordinary character. This they did on 
 some of the stones composing the foundation of the Temple. 
 
 It has been discovered that several stones of the ancient Temple 
 that were used in the foundation have the names of the Phoenicians 
 carved on them. We were informed, while passing through the Temple 
 area, old foundation stones are found as the work of investigation pro- 
 ceeds. These are very deep down in the earth, and all that had been 
 found bearing inscriptions were those that had been carved by the 
 Phoenicians. We have reason to believe the Israelites were employed, 
 in common with the Canaanites, in preparing stone for the building ; 
 but they failed to set their mark upon it, that their work might be dis- 
 tinguished from their Phoenician associates. There is a remarkable 
 coincidence in the reign of Solomon and Hiram. Under their official 
 jurisdiction both kingdoms were prosperous, and reached the highest 
 point of their national greatness, and when these monarchs died the 
 gates of success, hitherto opened to the two kingdoms, were suddenly 
 closed, and they began to decline. It is stated Hiram was succeeded 
 by Balieastartus, his son, whose reign was comparatively short. This 
 decline took place in the tenth century b. c. Then domestic troubles 
 became prominent, and the kingdom of the Israelites divided, and at 
 the same time foreign nations were covetously looking towards 
 Phoenicia. Indeed, the government of Tyre never became prominent 
 after the decline began. It was continually haunted with " fightings 
 without and fears within." The last representative of Hiram's family 
 who held the sceptre of power was Philetus, who fell in the second 
 year of the ninth century by the murderous hand of Ethbaal. 
 "Ethbaal," who assumed the ruling jurisdiction of the kingdom, 
 thereby formed a new dynasty, causing the kingdom of Tyre to pass 
 into the hands of his own family in regular succession. It seems that 
 during his reign Ahab was installed king, to succeed Omri, his father. 
 The king of Tyre (Ethbaal j, like the former rulers, was on intimate 
 terms with Israel, and gave his daughter Jezebel in marriage to Ahab. 
 
 Sidon, the mother of Phoenician cities, was one of the most ancient 
 cities in the world. It is mentioned in the early writing of human 
 progress, and is supposed to have been built very soon after the dis- 
 persion, or about twenty -three hundred years before Christ. It is men- 
 
FEOM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 383 
 
 tioned in connection with the first events, when the work! began to 
 increase in poiJulation, of the Land of Promise by the Canaanites. 
 Josephus says the city was built by Sidon, the oldest son of Canaan, 
 and named after him. 
 
 Long before the children of Lsrael entered the country from 
 their wilderness wanderings, Sidon had a wide-spread fame, and was 
 known as Great Sidon, so called by Joshua in distinguishing it from 
 another city of the same name in the interior, because of the wonder- 
 ful achievements the people had made in progress. The inhabitants 
 were a thrifty, energetic, and prosperous people, doing everything they 
 attempted in the best possible way. Their indomitable spirit of enter- 
 prise made them not only an equal, but superior to all other nations 
 who followed the same employments. The ancient writers unite in 
 their statement concerning the people of Sidon, that they were pro- 
 gressive citizens and stood in^he front ranks of the cultured classes of 
 their day. Their architects were the best in Syria, and they seem to 
 have maintained that character during the many ages of independ- 
 ence. Strabo says, the Sidonians were celebrated in astronomical 
 science, in geometry, navigation and philosophy. This must be true, 
 otherwise the j^eople would not have reached such a high state of pros- 
 perity and distinction. 
 
 SOME OF ITS STRUGGLES. 
 
 The situation of Sidon was far more exposed than Tyre, and was 
 much less trouble to attack. It was captured in seven hundred and 
 twenty B.C., by Shalmaneser, who became famous as a great warrior 
 on account of the many victories he won while king of Assyria. It 
 was also subdued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, several years later. 
 But when Alexander the Great went up against the city, the people 
 regarded any attempt to withstand his army but a fruitless issue, and 
 surrendered immediately. In this, the difference between Sidon and 
 Tyre is seen in regard to their situation in case of an attack. When 
 the great conqueror attempted to besiege the latter, he found it much 
 more difficult. The city was well fortified and hard to approach. The 
 Tyrians were not willing to surrender without compelling him to win, 
 by a great struggle, every inch of ground upon which his men should 
 set their feet. Therefore, he was withstood most manfully for seven 
 consecutive mouths before his victory w^as complete. 
 
 Sidon was captured at least six times after the death of Alexander, 
 at each of which the whole city was plundered and ransacked, so 
 that it finally became deserted, and remained so a long time before 
 
384 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 signs of a revival were hopeful. Finally, the city was partially 
 restored, and at present compares favorably with the majority of small 
 cities and large towns along the Mediterranean coast. There is but 
 little of antique importance within the city limits of interest to histori- 
 cal visitors. But some of the ancient tombs, a short distance from it, 
 are regarded as highly important. The most renowned of them are 
 those of Ashmanezer, Sidon's greatest monarch, and Alexander the 
 Great, the world's most famous conqueror. The tomb of the former 
 was discovered in January, eighteen hundred and fifty-five ; the latter, 
 thirty-seven years later. The remains of each of these great and 
 mighty men w^ere removed ; those of Ashmanezer were taken to Paris 
 and placed in the Louvre, and those of Alexander were placed in the 
 Museum at Constantinople. There are many beautiftil orange orchards 
 about Sidon, which are very fruitful, and are regarded as some of the 
 finest in all the land. 
 
 Now, when we take into consideration what the Canaanites have 
 done for the good of the world, and that many of the inventions pro- 
 duced by their progressive minds have been improved and are still 
 being used by land and sea, we cannot fail to see that the descendants 
 of Ham have been as much (if not more) benefit to the world as any 
 other race in it. To say these Phceniciaus were not of the families of 
 Canaan is to deny the word of God ; and to affirm as some do, without 
 a single evidence, they became extinct before the period of the great 
 achievements made by the people called Phoenicians, by whom they 
 were supjilanted, is worse than folly. For it is well known the original 
 Phoenicians did not lose their identity in the country until after the 
 captivity of the Israelites. 
 
 THE LEBANON RANGE. 
 
 The range of Lebanon is one of the most noted in Syria and Pal- 
 estine, It is very low, continuing many miles in length, connecting 
 with a number of parallel ridges and peaks having deep valleys be- 
 tween them. There are other portions containing a number of trans- 
 verse valleys, some of which are beautiful and green, affording rich 
 pasture for thousands of cattle. 
 
 This great mountain chain of Lebanon, which, to look upon, seems 
 as if it were struggling towards the region of perpetual snow, but has 
 not as yet reached the line of its destination, affords enough atmospheric 
 pressure to hold the barometer to a point where snow can be kept the 
 year around in sheds or storage provided for that j^urpose. Its highest 
 peaks are situated at the southern extremity of the chain ; were they 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 385 
 
 to the extreme northern limit, it is likely snow would be on them almost 
 the year round. Those parts of the country which cluster around the 
 base of Lebanon are furnished with a beautiful supply of water and 
 heavy dews constantly, while those more remote parts are scantily 
 Avatered. This towering mountain yielding its moisture incessantly is 
 the life of Damascus ; without it she would not be the beautiful city 
 of gardens, which she has been always called. There is but one road 
 leading over the mountain between Damascus and Bey rout, which is 
 known as the "Diligence Road." This is one of the finest highwa3's 
 in the land. It belongs to a French company, and is kept in the best 
 repair, so that the stages, by making an early start, drive the whole 
 distance of seventy miles between Damascus and Beyrout in one day. 
 There are several stations along the road where the teams are changed. 
 
 When the mountain ascent is begun, the elevation is gradual until 
 a half mile is traveled. The road then begins to wind in a zigzag 
 style up the lofty mountain side ; sometimes it runs along a ridge 
 which abounds with wild, romantic scenes, and soon the traveler will 
 find himself about five thousand feet above the level of the sea, where 
 the scene is wilder than any of those previously seen, and the only 
 pleasant attraction is a large grove of several thousand small cedar 
 trees. Very nearly all the climates are passed through Avhile making 
 a passage over the mountain of Lebanon and Anti- Lebanon, from an 
 ice-cold to a blood heat. The rocks in many parts of the mountains 
 are very porous, and have been worn by the action of air and water 
 into many deep caves and hollows. These afforded safe retreats for 
 many persecuted Christians and Jews, who fled from the wrath of their 
 pursuers, on occasions when dreadful religious mutinies suddenly 
 matured to exterminate them. It seems as if God caused these caves 
 to be opened against the day of conflict, as a refuge for His people. 
 
 The tillable land of Lebanon is very fertile, and many of the 
 farmers are in a state of commendable prosperity. But the country 
 comprising the Anti- Lebanon district is wild, barren and desolate; 
 some portions of the road through this scene of desolation were noted 
 as favorite lurking haunts for robbers. At Hameh, a few miles from 
 Damascus, a favorable change begins, from the w'ild and lonely 
 scenery to verdure and fertility ; more and more the way becomes 
 cheerful and lifelike. The river Abana with its tributaries flows 
 directly from the heights of Anti-Lebanon to the plateau at the eastern 
 base, giving Damascus a beautiful girdle of gardens. The cedars of 
 Lebanon became celebrated and widely known from the time of the 
 building of the Temple ; because the hewers in great multitudes, both 
 25 
 
386 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Israelites and Phoenicians, were sent to cut down the trees and prepare 
 them for the use of the building. It is reasonable to suppose there 
 was in those days a very extensive forest of lai'ge and beautiful cedars 
 from which the workmen selected the best to send up to Jerusalem. 
 
 It is often a disappointment to travelers going from Beyrout to 
 Damascus, over a portion of the most mountainous region of the Leb- 
 anon range, not to see the lofty cedai's, of which so much has been writ- 
 ten, both in sacred and profane history. The remaining large cedars 
 are situated on a group of knolls, in the middle of a vast seclusion in 
 the central ridge of the mountain range, at the head of Wady (val- 
 ley) Kadisha. It is not a large forest ; those who have had time and 
 means for surveying it, estimate it to be about three-quarters of a mile 
 in circumference, and containing about four hundred trees. On approach- 
 ing them from a distance, they appear so small that one feels he is not 
 half compensated for the pains it requires to go to them. But when 
 the small forest is reached, after a fatiguing ride for one or two hours, 
 the full size of the trees is seen and one's fullest expectation is at once 
 gratified. Some tourists have pronounced it the most lovely specimen 
 forest they have ever beheld. One thing which greatly heightens the 
 appreciation of visitors, is the comfort it affords after a weary horse- 
 back ride through the mountains and valleys under the severe pressure 
 of a burning sunny day ; then suddenly entering into a lovely shade, it 
 would seem as though one escaped the heat of a furnace. 
 
 One of the most interesting features of this forest was its deep soli- 
 tude ; but that has been largely removed by the erection of a chapel on 
 the site where it is supposed many of the timbers, which composed the 
 Temple, were taken from. There are about a dozen of the most ancient 
 trees yet standing. It is not known how old they are, but some of 
 the guides would have us believe they are coeval with those that 
 furnished timber for the Temple in Solomon's time. It is known 
 that cedars, under favorable circumstances, live to a great age ; but 
 we cannot suppose there is a tree standing on Lebanon, which had an 
 existence when the busy hewers were leveling and trimming them to 
 take their place in the first house built for the worship of God. If 
 there could be found such an antique cedar in any portion of the 
 mountain range, it would be worth a double fortune to the owner ; for 
 souvenir-seekers would give a large amount of money for a small piece 
 of it, and the greatest impositions would be practiced by venders. 
 These trees vary in size, as may be supposed ; the older ones — at least 
 two of them — measure forty feet in circumference ; the others are not 
 more than five or six feet in diameter. Many of them are scarred 
 
FROM MOUNT CARMEL TO DAMASCUS. 387 
 
 with the names of travelers who have visited the forest. This is not 
 to be wondered at, when it is remembered such a custom has existed 
 for many years, wherever it has been allowed. 
 
 Lebanon has been visited by thousands who seem to be satisfied if 
 their feet can press the honored forest from which the timber was taken 
 for the Temple. And when we remember the antiquity of the trees, 
 their ancient glory, their world-wide fame, and the holy uses for which 
 the cedars were hewn, we can readily understand why so many pil- 
 grimages have been made to it from century to century. The cedars 
 of Lebanon were greatly venerated by the Hebrews as emblems of 
 power and majesty. These groves on Mount Lebanon were doubtless 
 very vast in olden times. 
 
PAET XIII 
 DAMASCUS AND ENVIRONMENTS. 
 
 Situation of Damascus — River Barada — Saul Arrested while on his Mission of 
 Persecution — Its Buildings — Some of her Rulers — First View of the City — 
 Present Inhabitants — Annual Pilgrimage to Mecca — Principal Places of 
 Amusement — The Great Cafe — Its Walls and Houses — Mohammedans Hatred 
 Towards Christians — The City Seized by Timour — The Street Called 
 "Straight" and Others — The Great Mosque — House of Rimmon— Greek 
 Inscription on the Wall. 
 
 DAMASCUS. 
 
 DAMASCUS is one of the chief cities of Syria; but Beyrout is 
 much larger and more progressive. The latter is along the 
 coast of the Mediterranean Sea; therefore it possesses many advan- 
 tages over the old capital which are common to seaboard cities. 
 It has been said Damascus is the oldest city in the world, but there 
 are objections to this tradition ; some incline to the opinion that 
 Hebron is the oldest, others think Shechem is entitled to the honor; 
 but it is certain Damascus is a very old city, having a history ex- 
 tending back into the dim regions of antiquity, and it was widely 
 known in the time of Abraham's sojourn in Canaan. It is situated 
 in a beautiful, luxuriant plain, about thirty miles in diameter, be- 
 tween the eastern base of Anti-Labonus and the desert, about fifty 
 miles southeast of Beyrout, its nearest seaport, and one hundred and 
 thirty miles (by the way of Tiberias) from Jerusalem, but much 
 further if the trip is made by Tyre and Sidon. 
 
 Notwithstanding Damascus sits in a valley, it is estimated to be 
 about two thousand and three hundred and forty-four feet above 
 the level of the Mediterranean Sea. This valley is supposed to be 
 one of the richest and most fertile tracts of land in Syria. Its fer- 
 tility is due to the river Barada, tlie Abaua of the Scriptures, which 
 became so widely known because Naaman referred to it when recom- 
 mended to dip seven times in the Jordan. This life-giving stream, 
 though very small, waters the plain. We are told by Josephus 
 that Damascus was founded by Uz, grandson of Shem ; therefore 
 it takes its station among the oldest cities known in history, although 
 388 
 
DAMASCUS AND EXVIRONMENTS. 389 
 
 it was not generally popular until the time of King David, who 
 subdued it when the Syrians of Damascus came up to assist Hada- 
 dezer to tight against Israel. David's army slew twenty thousand 
 of them and took charge of their city. But the Syrians waited 
 their opportunity, and recaptured it in the time of Solomon under 
 the dynasty of the Hadads. Damascus became the capital of Syria, 
 when it began to rise into power, and exerted itself in every possi- 
 ble way to become the equal, even the superior, of the kingdom of 
 Israel. Syria became involved in several wars from the time it 
 began to struggle for superiority until late in the ninth century 
 before Christ, when it was captured by the Assyrians. One of the 
 most interesting events connected with the high officials of Damas- 
 cus was the miraculous cleansing of Naamau (Gen. xiv. 15; xv. 
 21 ; 2 Sara. viii. 5, 6 ; 2 Kings v. 1—27), the commander-in-chief, 
 of the leprosy. Syria, like the surrounding kingdoms, passed 
 through many bitter ordeals; for she had foes within as well as 
 without. There was always some one who did not belong to the 
 royal house looking up to the throne with an anxious hope of be- 
 coming the ruler, and would even take the life of their king, to 
 satisfy their wicked ambition, as did Hazael, after he was anointed, 
 to change the dynasty of Benhadad. Damascus fell into the hands 
 of Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, about the middle of the eighth 
 century, B.C., and lost her independence from that moment; yet it 
 seems her commercial prosperity was not materially impeded for a 
 long time. There are many references to Damascus, especially 
 with regard to the many conflicts it had with Israel and the Assy- 
 rians, which caused much bloodshed, suffering and great loss of life. 
 In the latter part of the fourth century before Christ, Alexander 
 the Great captured Syria, and sometime afterwards it fell into the 
 hands of the Ptolemies; then of Aretas, King of Arabia, and was 
 finally captured by the Romans, and subjected to the emperor of 
 Rome in the time of our Lord. The Romans strongly fortified 
 Damascus, so that it became one of their main strongholds. It finally 
 fell into the hands of the Turks, under whose sway it remains to 
 the present, and is made the headquarters for their military barracks 
 in the middle district. Damascus, like all the principal cities of 
 Palestine and Syria, has had its severe ordeals, although it escaped 
 the total demolition, which many of the others suffered ; for while 
 they have been so terribly wrecked that not one stone was left upon 
 another, this old capital has partially maintained its original status; 
 'but she has changed many times from one nation to another. She 
 
890 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 passed from the ruling authority of the Hadads, and was subor- 
 dinated to the kingdom of Israel during the reign of David. The 
 Assyrians, under Tiglath-Pileser, captured it ; after a time it fell 
 into the hands of Alexander the Great. The Ptolemies in turn were 
 over her, and several other foreign monarchs swayed the scepter of 
 power over this antique Syrian capital. When Philip, the tetrarch 
 of Ituraea and Traclionitis, died, those states were annexed to the 
 E-omau province of Syria (Isa. xvii. ; Jer. ix. 23-27; xi.; Ezek. 
 xxvii. 18; 2 Kings v.; vi.; viii. 7-15-28, 29; x. 32-38 ; xii. 17, 
 18 ; xvi. 3-7-17, 18-22-25; xiv. 5-12 ; 2 Chron. xxiv. 23 ; xxviii. ; 
 Song of Sol. vii. 4 ; viii ; xi ; Amos i. 3-5), which was on the 
 border of the government of Aretus, the Arabian, who gave his 
 daughter in marriage to Herod, the tetrarch whose lewd passion 
 caused him to put away his wife and take Herodias, the wife of his 
 brother Philip, for which he was strongly rebuked by John the 
 Baptist. The daring act of licentious indulgence aroused the indig- 
 nation of Aretus, father of Herod's lawful wife, and he marched 
 an army against him and captured Damascus just about the time 
 of the death of Tibet'ius Caesar at Rome, which was in the year 
 thirty-seven of our era. 
 
 When Saul of Tarsus went to Damascus on his mission of 
 persecution, it formed a part of the Arabian kingdom which was 
 held by Aretus under the Romans. The place where Saul, "when 
 he drew nigh unto Damascus," saw a brilliant light which caused 
 him to fall to the ground, is still pointed out to travelers as identi- 
 cal with that memorable event. 
 
 Early in the seventh century Damascus was taken and ruled by 
 the Moslems, and twenty-seven years afterwards it was made 
 the capital of the Mohammedan empire by Moamyah, the first 
 Caliph of the Omeiyades. This powerful dynasty swayed a wide- 
 spread influence, and several other nations fell under Moslem 
 dominion. Europe, Africa and Asia were under its iron hand, so 
 that Damascus could boast of being the great centre of one of the 
 most extensive empires known in the world. 
 
 The city, while under the control of the Omeiyades, was much 
 improved with many spacious buildings, both for residence and 
 worshiping places ; he having used some of the most costly and 
 carefully prepared materials the city contained ; such as the Roman 
 Colonnades and porticoes; and other costly structures were partly, 
 if not entirely, demolished to erect them. But this Moslem sway 
 was only for a comparatively short duration. 
 
DAMASCUS AND ENVIRONMENTS. 391 
 
 The people, content with the victories they had won, and sup- 
 posing their stay permanent, made themselves contented without 
 fortifying against outward foes, and went from one degree of moral 
 and physical degeneracy to another, until they became steeped in 
 licentiousness, and the glory they had faded like a rose; and Da- 
 mascus, the city of their pride, was taken from them. Damascus 
 passed from one conqueror to another during a stormy period of four 
 hundred years. The Tulumides and Fatimites of Egypt possessed 
 it, and from them it was taken by the Seljuks, who were a roving 
 Turkish people. In the year of our Lord one thousand one hun- 
 dred and twenty-six, when the Crusaders were making successful 
 attacks in Palestine and Syria under Baldwin, Conrad and Louis 
 VIL, they attempted to enter Damascus, but were not successful, 
 and the Crescent banner of Syria still proved to be the honored 
 emblem of the great capital, which gave great joy to its admirers. 
 
 In the second half-quarter of the twelfth century Damascus 
 was captured by the Mongols, but was only a short time under their 
 control when it was captured by the Bibars ; about the beginning 
 of the fifteeth century, she was again siezed by Tamerlane, who 
 dealt with the people in a most barbarous manner. He did more 
 to injure the inhabitants than all the previous conquerors together. 
 The whole place was exposed to the most outrageous assaults known 
 in the most barbarous countries of our world. The Turks captured 
 Damascus about a century later, and were one of the last masters of 
 the situation, whose rule was of no benefit to the Syrians; on the 
 other hand, they seem to be draining the whole country dry by 
 extorting from the people heavy taxes, and other heavy burdens 
 that will not allow many of them to get beyond the limits of strin- 
 gency. It is thought one of the chief reasons for pauperism and 
 theft originated from the refusal of thousands to work on account 
 of the heavy heel of taxation, which continually grinds them down. 
 
 Many cutting criticisms have been published against the Turkish 
 rule in Palestine and Syria, but it does not seem to amount to any- 
 thing so far as changing the condition of the people is concerned. 
 Without doubt Damascus was a renowned city in the earlier his- 
 toric times ; it was known in the days of the pioneer Patriarchs, 
 and continued through the multitude of ages to modern times. 
 During its existence other powerful cities have risen in many parts 
 of the eastern world that vied with her in strength and beauty for 
 a time, then decayed and came to naught. But Damascus, not- 
 withstanding she has passed through the furnace of many bitter 
 
392 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 ordeals, lias maintained an unbroken space in history from the time 
 it was founded to the present. She has been robbed of much of 
 her glory and early greatness; but her claims to antiquity must be 
 respected by all the world. It was founded before Baalbec and 
 Palmyra, and has outlived each of them. These two great cities, 
 in connection with Babylon, Tyre and Sidon, and many others of 
 proud boast in the East, have come up and pa.ssed out of existence 
 in the swift train of time and left this old Syrian capital, the lone 
 star, to point the traveler to their ancient greatness. It was in a 
 most flourishing condition in the time of the Jewish kings; this is 
 evident from the caution David took to place a strong garrison 
 there, after his army had captured it, and from the stand it took 
 against King Solomon, who vainly attempted to hold it under his 
 sway. This proud city must have been from very early times 
 attractive to men as a place of habitation, as the adored Nile, the 
 life of Egypt, has from time immemorial been the centre of attrac- 
 tion to the population of that country in all generations to its living 
 waters. 
 
 Damascus abounds with water-courses for miles around ; in all 
 directions may be seen an unbroken forest of beautiful gardens 
 containing; man v acres of o-round, and everywhere can be heard the 
 murmur of rivulets, breaking the silence of the night. Abana 
 and Pharpar, those ancient rivers which were the proud boast of 
 Naaman, constantly pour their contents into these little canals, so 
 that froai those parent streams the whole expanse of country in 
 which the city and gardens are located is fed and kept alive. Such 
 are their beauty and enchantment, that when the first viev/ of the 
 city is obtained from a distance, it appears like an earthly para- 
 dise ; and the astonished beholder is ready to cry out, Great is Da- 
 mascus! Although she has lost much of her splendor, riches and 
 antique embellishments, she is now the most important city in Syria. 
 It contains a busy population, many of whom are thrifty, prosper- 
 ous and healthy. 
 
 The inhabitants of the city are estimated to be one hundred and 
 eighty thousand, of whom one hundred and fifty-two thousand are 
 Mohammedans and twenty thousand are Christians of various 
 denominations, and eight thousand are Jews. These Jews and 
 Christians are much hated by the dominant class, and are often cruel- 
 ly treated. Were it not for the military troops, who are con- 
 stantly .stationed there, it would be impossible for them to live 
 among them. As it is, there have been alarming outbreaks, 
 
DAMASCUS AND ENVIRONMENTS. 393 
 
 caused by the ever-flaming fury of indignant Moslems, who swept 
 the Christians away by the thousands. There is a deep and per- 
 maneutlv-seated ill-feeling; existino^ between Mohammedans and 
 Christians, which will require many years to obliterate. There 
 was one of the most shocking and bloody massacres occurred in this 
 ancient city in eighteen hundred and sixty, known in history, the 
 effects of which are keenly felt to this day in Damascus ; notwith- 
 standing, many of the churches and dwellings, which were 
 destroyed, have been rebuilt. The story of the terrible and heart- 
 less tragedy is pathetic in the extreme, and would seem to be more 
 like a carefully-written myth, conceived in the mind of an expert 
 novelist, rather than a true historical account of a recent event. 
 
 There was one imposition after another heaped upon the Chris- 
 tian population, until a great fire of indignation suddenly burst 
 upon them with fearful violence and destruction. It is said, by 
 those living near the dreadful scene, that by sunset, on the ninth of 
 July, 1860, the whole space, known as that portion of the Christians' 
 quarters, was a broad sheet of flame. The water supplies were 
 cut oW, so that it became impossible for them to extinguish the fire 
 in any of the burning buildings, nor could they leave their fast- 
 consuming quarters themseh'es, being hemmed in and closely 
 quartered by infuriated Moslems, who stood ready with instru- 
 ments of death to murder any one who attempted to escape. Caution 
 was taken not to begin the bloody work until the Christians, who 
 were in other parts of the city attending to their avocations, had 
 returned to their homes, so that all of them, if possible, might be 
 burned to death or slain at the same time. 
 
 It is pleasant to know that the whole plan did not succeed ; for 
 many, having received help from a source the blood-thirsty 
 Moslems did not anticipate, were rescued from their murderous 
 scheme ; and yet it is estimated that five thousand Christians were 
 killed in cold blood, and many thousands more, who escaped, per- 
 ished, shortly afterwards, from fright, famine and other agencies. 
 Recruits were pouring into the city to join the rioters from the 
 neighborhood to put a final end to all the Christians. During the 
 entire night and following day the shameful massacre went on. 
 Hundreds fled to the caves and dens in Mt. Lebanon for security, 
 homeless, penniless, naked and wounded. Thousands of those who 
 could not escape were treated in a most shameful manner. Many, 
 to save their lives, were compelled to deny the Christian faith and 
 espouse that of the Mohammedans. The scene was one which has 
 
394 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 but few parallels in the history of the world. Damascus is the 
 capital of the eastern district of Syria, under command of a 
 governor-general, and is the headquarters of the array of Syria. 
 The commander-in-chief is called Seraskier, and the space occupied 
 for himself and the command is very large. The soldiers are com- 
 pelled to patrol the whole country. 
 
 There are no police officials or constables to guard the interest 
 of the people in any part of the Turkish dominion ; therefore, the 
 soldiers are sent out in all directions to look after the general wel- 
 fare of the country. Sometimes they are sent out in small com- 
 panies, especially in the most dangerous portions of the Lebanon 
 and anti-Lebanon districts. They have the fastest horses in Syria, 
 and a person would have a hard time to escape them. As there 
 are no color-lines drawn in the Turkish government, nor any other 
 outside of America, as far as I have seen, no distinction is made 
 in forming companies. There can be found among the soldiers 
 complexions from a coal-black to the ordinary white, forming the 
 same company without a murmur ; all are fellowshipped upon the. 
 most friendly relations. They go on patrol duty together, eat at 
 the same table and sleep in the same bed. Damascus is the great 
 centre from which the annual pilgrimage starts for Mecca, so as to 
 be convenient to the commander of the army, whose duty it is to 
 go with the pilgrims or send an official in his stead. These pil- 
 grimages are composed of Moslems, who, in compliance with their 
 law, make a journey to the citadel of their religion at least once 
 in life. 
 
 These people make the greatest sacrifice to accomplish it. 
 Many are very poor, but they do without the comforts of life to 
 lay up a fund sufficient to enable them to go to Mecca and pay 
 their devotions at the great shrine. Those who can, take all their 
 family, so that if the children find it impossible to go when they 
 become of age, the law will not hold them responsible. Pilgrim- 
 ages are made from China, Japan, Ceylon, India, Syria, Palestine, 
 Egypt, and all parts of the world where Mohammedans are in 
 large numbers, and when they all reach Mecca they sometimes 
 number three or four hundred thousand. The principal places of 
 amusement or public comfort are the baths and the " Great Cafe," 
 which are almost continually thronged with the pleasure-seeking 
 classes of all grades of society. The cafe is generally visited at 
 night or after working hours, as many of the public parks of our 
 American cities are by those whose employment occupies their time 
 
DAMASCUS AND ENVIRONMENTS. 395 
 
 during the day. It is simple in its construction and general 
 arrangement, consisting of several shed-like buildings, situated in 
 the midst of a number of rapidly running streams, which are 
 roaring constantly and producing a deafening noise, which is 
 greatly augmented by the inharmonious sound of hundreds of 
 voices that make a stranger feel as though he is in the ante- 
 chamber of Pandemonium. The place is illuminated dimly W'heu 
 compared to our modern illuminations. There is no gas or electric 
 lights in Damascus. Small oil lamps are used, which, from their 
 sparseness, make a very poor light ; these lamps are suspended on 
 ropes from one limb of a tree to another, at a considerable distance 
 apart, and many are hid from view on account of the hanging 
 branches of the trees. 
 
 The greatest attraction to a stranger is the beautiful coloring it 
 gives the white foam of the waters as they dash against the rock. 
 The whole space, which is very large, is filled with people, even 
 the banks of the little streams are crowded. The cafe is a com- 
 mon resort for men and children. The streams passing through it 
 are made by digging deep trenches, into which the waters from 
 Abana, which is now, as in the days of Naaman, the great river of 
 Damascus. It has been the life of the city from its beginning. 
 To these waters she is indebted for her beauty and fertility, and in 
 this water Naaman, the leper, thought he might wash and be 
 healed. 
 
 The city is walled in, but the wall is not very strong; while 
 there is much material that was in the former walls composing 
 those of to-day, tlie most of the composition is sun-dried mud, 
 which makes them appear ragged and dilapidated. In several 
 parts of the wall, small houses are built, which is a custom brought 
 down from the earliest times. They are quaint in appearance, and 
 so situated as to compose a portion of the wall. It can be readily 
 understood how the house of Rahab, Elisha, and that from which 
 St. Paul was let down over the wall in a basket was constructed, 
 by closely examining these houses built now on the wall of Damas- 
 cus. The site of that eventful escape of the apostle is still pointed 
 out, as is also the site where he fell to the ground, having seen a 
 liglit above the brightness of the sun. On the south side of the 
 city, w:here the walls contain the models of masonry of almost 
 every age, the foundations are of Roman origin mostly. In some 
 parts the character of the work shows they are of great age, no 
 doubt from the early days of the ancient city. Farther southward 
 
396 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 to the boundary is still standing the foundation of the ancient 
 wall ; the pi'esent is not connected with it, a deep ditch being 
 between the two. 
 
 The jNIohammedans of Damascus are intensely opposed to 
 Christians, and were it not that they fear the authorities it would 
 be impossible for any to live there, or even visit. In all my 
 travels it is the only place where I noticed any attempt of an out- 
 rage upon me. I noticed on two or three occasions, while riding 
 down the streets in a carriage, stones were thrown by some one at 
 me; and on the day we visited the public garden, it seemed to me, 
 for a while, they would take us by force, but we fortunately got off 
 without injury. One fellow threw something at us ; I do not think 
 it would have done much damage if it had struck me. The native 
 Christians must at all times be alert lest they are outraged by these 
 midnight disciples of Mohammed, who hate them as poison. They 
 have no more relations with them than the Jews and Samar- 
 itans had in the days of our Lord. It will be no surprise if at 
 any time they sh »uld rise up against them. Damascus has been 
 famously known for its wonderful steel sword-blades, which in 
 olden times were so very elastic they could be bent until the point 
 reached the hilt, and sharpened as keenly as a fine razor. But 
 after Tamerlane or " Timour" (the Asiatic, as he is called by some 
 writers) seized the city and committed many vile depredations and 
 carried off its wealth, its stores of antiquity were pillaged and 
 robbed, all the costly fabrics were taken, its beautiful palaces were 
 ransacked and burned to the ground ; its great libraries, filled with 
 valuable literature, were destroyed, and its noted armors and keen- 
 edged steel swords were carried away to Samarcand and Khorassan, 
 which places from that time supplanted Damascus in the art of 
 making the famous steel swords. 
 
 It seems the people could not regain their original expertness 
 in finishing those noted blades, although they do what they can to 
 imitate them, and many of all sizes are seen lying in piles in the 
 bazaars, selling at low prices. There are many bazaars in Damas- 
 cus which form an almost perfect labyrinth of narrow lanes and 
 alleys, connected by dark passages, some of which are so very nar- 
 row two persons cannot walk abreast, and often on meeting each 
 other in certain parts of them, pass with difficulty. 
 
 Many of the streets where they are located are completely arched 
 over, so that it is necessary for lamps to be lighted in the stores all 
 day. This is also true of the street called " Straight/' which is to 
 
DAMASCUS AND ENVIRONMENTS. 397 
 
 the present day a great feature and thoroughfare in the city ; not only 
 for its busy markets and stores, but for its important connection 
 with Ananias, who lived on this street when Saul and his associates 
 came down from Jerusalem with a commission to disturb tlie 
 believers in Christ. The street is not entirely straight all the way 
 from east to west, but it seems to be in a direct line for a consider- 
 able distance. It is mostly a business street, and crowds are in it 
 all the day. The greater portion of the streets in the city are 
 narrow and dark, and ancient in appearance. There are but few 
 that will admit a vehicle to pass through them. Many times it is 
 necessary to alight from the carriage and Avalk through certain 
 streets and meet at another point ; for many of the narrowest are 
 the most important for sight-seers. They do not excel in cleanli- 
 ness, especially in the Jewish and Christian quarters ; and no one 
 accustomed to streets having proper sanitary provisions will regret 
 having to leave these hovels so entirely wanting of purifying water. 
 The Mohammedans' quarters are much more inviting : caution is 
 taken to keep them clean and pleasant. Those whose condition 
 will allow it, have richly furnished houses paved with marble, and 
 beautifully adorned with fountains, flowers, fruit-trees, and other 
 things that embellish and make home inviting and cheerful. 
 
 The city is two miles or more in length from its extremity on 
 the northeast to that of the southwest, with a comparative breadth 
 in some portions, and densely filled with a varied population of all 
 classes, conditions, races and complexions. These peof)le can be 
 best seen on Friday, which is the great market day. The Jew, 
 with long, curly locks and turbaned head, can be seen with his sack 
 and stool in some locality of the market, carrying on the money- 
 exchange business. The A.rab looks as if he were ready to pounce 
 upon any one who ventured to stand before him ; the waddling 
 Turk, who seems too lazy to walk ; the African, who looks amazed 
 at one of his own color dressed in European clothes ; the philoso- 
 phical-looking Afghan and the dusky-looking Algierian, all pass 
 together. One of the greatest attractions in Damascus is the great 
 Mosque; not because of its superior character in architecture or 
 magnificence, for it is very inferior to the great Mosque of Omar 
 in Jerusalem, or that of St. Sophia of Constantinople, though it is 
 called the great Mosque. Any one who first visits either of the 
 two last named, would not be much impressed with that at Damas- 
 cus, except on account of its historical association, which runs back 
 into antiquity. 
 
398 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 The price of admitting a party into this mosque is exorbitant, 
 and would be checked by law were it located in a country where 
 people pay some attention to the admonishment of conscience. 
 Twenty francs is the amount charged for a party. The usual pre- 
 parations must be made on the outside. If the visitor has no 
 slippers of his own, he may rent them from the bookseller, who has 
 a stand close to the entrance door kept for that purpose, as no one 
 is allowed to enter without them. In connection with the things 
 shown inside are the Fountain of Ablution, and the tomb in which 
 the traditional story locates the burial-place of the head of John the 
 Baptist. This structure is four hundred and thirty feet long, and 
 one hundred and twenty-five feet wide. Its greatest attraction 
 is, its being situated on the site once occupied by a heathen temple, 
 which, it is stated, covered six hundred square yards ; and a 
 number of its broken columns are here and there seen among the 
 bazaars near by. In the time of the splendor of this building, 
 when the people devoutly kneeled at its shrine, it was somewhat 
 on the order of the Temple at Jerusalem. It contained rows of 
 columns forming a colonnade, with everything else needed to make 
 it alluring to the thousands of her devotees who knelt at the shrine. 
 This is supposed to be the identical site of " the house of Rimmon," 
 to which Xaaman referred, and in this temple was erected that 
 altar, the beauty of which, so won the admiration of Ahaz he 
 ordered one like it made for the use of the Temple at Jerusalem. 
 
 It is stated that the temple in which heathens used to worship 
 was standing during the first century of our era, and " was de- 
 stroyed by Theodosius in the middle of the fourth century ; and 
 that a Christian church was built on the site out of a part of its 
 ruins by Arcadius, in the beginning of the fifth century, which 
 was dedicated to John the Baptist, whose head was said to have 
 been buried there." This church continued under the control of 
 the Christians for three hundred years, after which it was divided 
 between the Christians and Moslems, each of them having separate 
 apartments ; but later the Christians were routed by the Moham- 
 medans, who took absolute control of the whole structure. 
 
 There has been allowed to remain on the outside of the south 
 wall a most significant inscription in Greek, which some think the 
 Moslems have overlooked, or their blindness hides it from their view, 
 which contains the following : " Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an 
 everlasting kingdom ; and Thy dominion endureth throughout all 
 generations." The wonder prevailing among Christians is, how it 
 
DAMASCUS AND ENVIRONMENTS. 399 
 
 has escaped the notice of the Mohammedans, who for over twelve 
 hundred years have been the sole custodians of the Mosque. The 
 inscription is in an obscure place, and was discovered by persons 
 who were closely examining the building historically. The Mosque 
 has three minarets, one of which visitors generally ascend to get a 
 good view of the city, which enables them to have an almost per- 
 fect idea of it and its environments. The street called Straight, 
 the various orchards, streets and lanes, the bazaars, the crooked 
 shape of the city, together with the surrounding hills, are all open 
 like a map to the eye. These are some of the wonders of Damascus. 
 (2 Kings V. 18 ; xvi. 10-16.) 
 
PAET XLY. 
 
 THE SEA OF TIBERIAS AND THE NOTED PLACES 
 ROUND ABOUT. 
 
 Route from Nazareth to Tiberias — View of Mt. Tabor — Ascent of Mt. Tabor — 
 Journey from Tabor to Tiberias — Caravan Eoad from Jerusalem to Damas- 
 cus — Character of the Natives — The " Mount of Beatitudes " or " Horns of 
 Hattin " — Time Spent in Galilee — The Environments of the Sea of Tiberias 
 — Visit to Decapolis —Visit to Magdala — Visit to Csesarea Philippi — Mt. 
 Hermon— Sea of Tiberias and its Situation — Fish of the Sea of Galilee — 
 Custom of the Fishermen — Town of Tiberias — Plain of Gennesaret — Springs 
 of Lake Gennesaret — Old Testament Association — Ancient Magdala — The 
 Latin Convent — Kuins of Chorazin — The Two Bethsaidas. 
 
 FROM NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS.— APPROACHING MT. TABOE. 
 
 THERE are two routes from Nazareth to Tiberias ; one leading 
 through Cana, the other by the way of Mt. Tabor, both of 
 which are full of interest. It is customary for persons going no 
 farther north than the lake, to go down via. the . latter route and 
 return by the former. Indeed, it would be of benefit to those 
 going to Damascus to arrange with the authorities to return by the 
 Mount Hermon route, so as to get a nearer view of it than that 
 obtained from Capernaum, and also have the privilege of returning 
 to Nazareth, by the Mount Tabor road. In this way a traveler 
 has the benefit of both routes ; that is, he may go down through 
 " Cana of Galilee," and return by way of Tabor. When the 
 Israelites received their allotments, the frontier boundaries of Zebu- 
 lun and Naphtali were marked by Tabor. It is a most command- 
 ing mountain, which at first sight strikes the attention of the 
 beholder as a place of historic importance. Tabor is very lofty 
 and sloping at the top. This princely mount stands alone in the 
 plain, looking as if it were frowning down upon the few minor 
 elevations that connect it with the mountains of Galilee. This 
 monarch of the plain is estimated to be over two thousand feet 
 above the level of the sea, and thirteen hundred and fifty feet 
 above the surrounding hills. It is attractive from any point of 
 400 
 
O 
 
 pq 
 < 
 
 h 
 
NOTED PLACES AEOUND SEA OF TIBEKIAS. 401 
 
 view, whether from a long distance or near by, and presents a differ- 
 ent scene from each quarter. One standing on the south will 
 notice it has a steep, rough and rugged slope, from base to summit 
 with mammoth rocks, seeming as though they were ready to fall, 
 clinging to it. On the north its general features are changed so 
 greatly, that it does not seem like the same mountain. The whole 
 slope from bottom to top is covered with green foliage and small 
 trees. 
 
 It is usual for tourists, who are not pressed for time, to make a 
 trip to the summit. A comparatively good road winds the slope, 
 and therebv renders the ascent much less fatig-uino- than might be 
 supposed. There are two convents on the peak, belonging to the 
 Greek and Latin churches respectively; at which fairly good ac- 
 commodations may be obtained for the night. There is a tradition 
 of several centuries' standing that upon i\It. Tabor, the scene where 
 the transfiguration of our Lord took place, and those who have 
 had an opportunity of investigating its general situation, have con- 
 cluded it is beautifully adapted for the occurrence of such a trans- 
 portingly grand event. Its beautiful and inviting landscape round 
 about, its shady depressions in connection with its general adapta- 
 bility for such a memorable conference as was held at the time in 
 question so prominently combine, that the top of Mount Tabor is 
 believed by many to be the hallowed place that our Lord ascended 
 with Peter, James and John, when Moses and Elijah came down 
 to commune with Him. But as no one knows it to be the real site 
 of the event, the visitor cannot go one step beyond probability, for 
 opinion is divided between Tabor and Hermon ; and, notwith- 
 standing critical examinations have been made, no definite conclu- 
 sion has been reached by candid and unbiased minds that are 
 capable of settling the difficulty. The Greeks and Latins, who seem 
 to be ever ready to draw definite conclusions from mere traditions, 
 many of which are founded upon unjustifiable premises, claim 
 Tabor as the real site of the stupendous transfiguration. It is also 
 true that many of the best examiners believe, from the circum- 
 stances connected with the event, that Hermon is the most proba- 
 ble mount of its occurrence. This opinion is established upon the 
 fact that two of the three evangelists, in referring to the matter, 
 speak of Caesarea Philippi immediately before the event took place. 
 It is supposed by some that their statements warrant the belief that 
 the event took place on Mount Hermon. But those who incline to 
 Mount Tabor as the scene of this stupendous event, hold the argu- 
 26 
 
402 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 ment in favor of Mount Hermon, is based upon the fact of our Lord 
 being at Csesarea Philippi with His disciples a few days prior to 
 the transfiguration, which is claimed to be insufficient to justify 
 their position. It is evident a week had elapsed between the time 
 He questioned the disciples as to the opinion of men concerning 
 Himself and the conference with Moses and Elijah on the mount, 
 which would allow ample time to travel from Caesarea Philippi to the 
 summit of Tabor. St. Matthew and St. Mark use the same words 
 as to the time Jesus went up into the mountain. They say, " after 
 six days," etc. St. Luke says, " about eight days after " the Saviour 
 was teaching the disciples at Csesarea, He ascended the high 
 mountain with the three in whose presence the transformation took 
 place. There is no conflict between these two statements with refer- 
 ence to the time of the occurrence ; two of the evangelists say, " after 
 six days," which may be the seventh or eighth day ; the other 
 says about eight days, which may be a little less than eight full 
 days, and surely after six had passed. It is not stated by either of 
 these disciples where Christ went, or what He did between the time 
 He ended His teachings relative to the great sufferings He should 
 soon encounter and the glorious change of His person, when visited 
 by the two great lights of the church who came down to commune 
 with Him. It is certain, therefore, that neither Tabor nor Hermon 
 can be definitely settled upon as the real site of this overpowering 
 event. But there can be no doubt that it transpired on one of the 
 two. The convents belonging to the Greeks and Latins, respec- 
 tively located on Tabor, are both claimed to be on the site of the 
 ti'ansfiguration, which is not a strange occurrence with those two 
 religious bodies ; their bitter opposition to each other seems to for- 
 bid the one from havino; in charo;e a traditional site without the 
 other having one close by claiming the same thing. It is so with 
 reference to the Church of the Holy Annunciation in Nazareth, and 
 the site of the changing of water into wine in Cana ; and we might 
 mention many other places of similar occurrences. It is sadly 
 unfortunate that such is the case, for many times a person is placed 
 in a state of doubt as to the identity of a place when he is stand- 
 ing on the exact site where certain Bible events took place. In 
 fact, both of these sects should be branded with deception ; for if 
 it could be established that Tabor is the mount upon which the 
 hallowed transformation took place, no one could tell the exact site. 
 There was no altar or tabernacle built as suggested by Peter, or even 
 .a atone set up to mark the site of the event; and yet men dare, in 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 403 
 
 this date of our era, to tell to the world that they have discovered 
 the identical spot of the transfiguration. I do not hesitate in saying it 
 would require Peter, James and John, the three who witnessed the 
 glorious occasion, to return to earth and point out the spot before it 
 could be definitely located. 
 
 Notwithstanding this fact, thousands of poor, ignorant pilgrims 
 are decoyed by this glaringly deceptive delusion, and climb to the 
 top of Tabor expressly to worship on the traditional spot of the 
 transformation of their Lord. The summit of Mount Tabor is 
 broad, although it seems to be very narrow from a far view, and 
 contains many ruins of buildings which in earlier times dotted it. 
 It is highly probable that a small village was built there in the 
 time of the Hebrews, or later. The ruins consist of walls, towers, 
 houses, cisterns and vaults, all of which, though greatly decayed, 
 are sufficiently preserved to indicate the use made of them when 
 they were erected. The view from the peak of this lofty mountain 
 is better than that from Mt. Nazareth in some respects, but not so 
 general, for several points can be seen from the latter that are not 
 prominentfrom thesummit of the former. Investigations haveshown 
 the ruins scattered over Tabor are of Jewish, Byzantine, Crusad- 
 ing and Saracenic origin. There are indications of several cisterns 
 having been cut in the rock, which are supposed to belong to the 
 Jewish period, and are likely to have been cut out during the time 
 Josephus had command. The descent from the mountain is not 
 dangerous, as might be supposed, but very tedious ; many times 
 it is found best to alight from the horse and walk over the very 
 rough places ; persons are advised to make this descent in the cool 
 of the morning ; therefore an early start is necessary, so that Tibe- 
 rias can be reached in time to make a trip across the lake to 
 Capernaum and Bethsaida on the same day. 
 
 Now, if this majestic Tabor is the place where that memorable 
 transfiguration of our Lord occurred, how hallowed is its lofty sum- 
 rait, and what a gush of divine glory covered it when the immaculate 
 feet of the world's Redeemer rested upon its rocky surface ! The 
 beauty and majesty in which the Saviour appeared to receive His 
 heavenly guests, cannot be described even by those who had an 
 opportunity to behold Him for a moment. There was no change 
 in the nature of Christ, although His form and appearance were 
 marvellously transformed ; but in substance His body remained the 
 same as when the angelic host proclaimed in song His entrance into 
 the world, or as when He ascended the rocky summit. The cause 
 
404 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 for which Christ went up into the mountain was unknown to the 
 three witnesses, for our Lord did not give them the least intima- 
 tion of the event. And when it took place, they were so greatly 
 overwhelmed they could not maintain strength enough to catch 
 but a slight glimpse of the splendor with which He was adorned, 
 however desirous they may have been to witness the whole trans- 
 action. The sight was too effulgent for them to gaze upon fully at 
 that stage of their spiritual adoption ; they were not members of 
 the council, but taken up there simply to witness the glorious pre- 
 parations for it. Therefore, they were not permitted to hear what 
 was said during the conversation ; they simply saw the transform- 
 ation of Christ, and the two members of the Holy Convocation 
 appear upon the scene, then they fell into a state of death-like stupor, 
 and remained so until the conclusion of the conference. What 
 less could Peter say than he did, and what more could he have pro- 
 posed to exjDress his willingness to be shut in with Jesus from the 
 communion of the rest of mankind ? He exclaimed : " Lord, it 
 is good for us to be here ; let us make three tabernacles, one for 
 Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias." It may be said of 
 Tabor or Hermon (for this scene occurred upon one of the two 
 beyond all doubt), that the most stupendously glorious conference 
 ever conducted upon the face of the earth known to man, was held 
 on the occasion of the transfiguration of Christ. 
 
 Two patriarchs of the militant church had come to pay honor to 
 the Saviour, and to talk with Him concerning His death, which 
 was soon to take place over at Jerusalem. Moses, the distin- 
 guished leader of the Hebrews, came as the chief representative of 
 the law that was given him on Mount Sinai, which he made known 
 to the people in his charge. Elijah came as the chief representa- 
 tive of the prophets, who gave unmistakable evidence of our 
 Lord's coming. The condition of the three witnesses during the time 
 they had to catch a glimpse at the likeness and distinguish the two 
 ancient worthies, must have been to them a transporting scene. 
 But neither of them could take such advantage of the event as to 
 listen to what was being said, or see what those distinguished rep- 
 resentatives did ; the whole transaction was as a blank to them ; it 
 was a secret council. Therefore, beings who knew nothing practi- 
 cally of the state beyond this life could not be permitted even to 
 hear what was being said. It must have been a most glorious 
 sight, and, notwithstanding we were not with the favored three 
 who saw the beginning of the transfiguration, we join St. Peter in 
 the statement, it was good to be there. 
 
NOTED PLACES- AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 405 
 
 The journey from the foot of Tabor to Tiberias i? not a pleasant 
 one, but the thought of visiting the place where our Lord did 
 many of His mighty works makes the travel much less fatiguing. 
 The whole route, except in two or three places, is dreary, rough 
 and monotonous. There are no shade-trees along the way, and 
 those traveling that route in April or May, experience a most 
 unpleasant and tiresome journey. When the descent into the plain is 
 made, Tabor is seen in its majesty, lifting its summit beyond the lower 
 clouds, and presents a form more amazing than from any other 
 point hitherto seen, especially when an unobstructed view from its 
 base to summit is obtained. There is but one place of material 
 interest along the route, which is the old caravan road leading 
 from Jerusalem to Damascus. This is crossed at a place called 
 Khan-el-Zejjar, the merchants' caravanserai. This is the identical 
 road Saul of Tarsus went, in company with his little band of men, 
 on his mission to Damascus to persecute the saints. It is also 
 thought they stopped for the night at the old inn, just at the cross 
 roads we have named. This is a very dreary place, and deadly 
 quiet, except one day in each week it is a scene of tumultuous 
 confusion. 
 
 The merchants assemble here from all parts of the country for 
 miles once a week to conduct their sales ; many are found there 
 from day-break until late in the afternoon. "SATien they &\\ arrive, 
 the space used for the market is well filled with men, camels, don- 
 keys and produce of various kinds ; then a scene of wild confusion 
 begins, which would seem to one unaccustomed to their mode of 
 transacting business, that a mob, with the serious results of great 
 loss of life, had occurred. But no trouble of a dangerous charac- 
 ter happens ; the natives are a very excitable people, and make the 
 greatest fuss over small matters. AVe have witnessed many occa- 
 sions when from the conduct of the people nothing short of a hard 
 battle was looked for ; but all soon became quiet without having 
 struck a blow. When the afternoon advances, the merchants and 
 dealers quietly disperse from their wonderful market and return to 
 their distant homes, leaving the place to resume its usual solitude. 
 I had not the opportunity of witnessing the market at Khan-el- 
 Zejjar, but formed an opinion of it from the conduct of the people 
 at others we had seen. 
 
 The Saturday I left Nazareth for Tiberias, was very unpleasant. 
 It began raining in the morning and continued all day, and, 
 although we had made careful preparations for the weather, it was 
 
406 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 SO piercing that our clothing was very wet when we reached the lit- 
 tle village on the shore of the lake. Our horses were faithful, and 
 took us down in good time, but they showed evidences of being much 
 worried by the storm. There are many places and things to 
 interest the traveler round about the Sea of Galilee. Our Lord 
 spent much time here, doing wonderful works, and establishing his 
 Messiahship to the great satisfaction of thousands. Thronging 
 multitudes followed Him from place to place around the sea, and 
 made the hills echo with their importunities to be healed of deadly 
 diseases with which they had been grievously tormented for many 
 years. From here His fame spread to all the nations and people 
 in far-away countries, as a wonderful physician, whose healing power 
 had never failed to instantly exterminate any disease the people 
 were afflicted with. 
 
 It is noteworthy that our Lord did not leave His home in 
 Nazareth simply to build for Himself a great reputation as a healer 
 of all complaints so as to display His divine power, for He would 
 have gladly done for the people of His home all these things 
 which were so greatly beneficial to those of other towns and cities, 
 if they had not murderously rejected Him. The time having 
 come for Him to openly work the works of the Father who sent 
 Him, and being forced to leave the home of His childhood, our 
 Redeemer came down the mountainous region of Galilee, entered 
 Capernaum and temporarily established His home there. He 
 immediately began anew His mission of mercy and love that the 
 dwellers of Nazareth so blindly rejected. 
 
 St. John tells us our Lord went from Cana in company with 
 His mother, brethren and disciples down to Capernaum, where He 
 only remained a few days, as it was about the time for Him to 
 attend the Jewish Passover at Jerusalem. On one occasion He 
 found the Temple desecrated by those who had made it a trading 
 place, at which the Lord became disgusted and whipped them out. 
 These occasions were very exciting in Jerusalem ; the people in all 
 parts of the land looked with eagerness, hoping to be able to go up 
 to the great feast. When the time drew near, large companies from 
 every section of the country would wend their way to the great 
 festival, M'hich grew more attractive each year ; that is, it became 
 less sacred and more for pastime, and what we would call miscel- 
 laneous pleasures. The venders of doves, pigeons, oxen, sheep, etc., 
 and the ever ready money-changers usually made extra preparations 
 for the entertainment. The people began gathering several days 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 407 
 
 before the feast took place ; the throng was so dense during the 
 celebration that accommodations could not be had for all in the 
 houses or public inns ; hence it became necessary to put up tents 
 on Mounts Zion and Bezetha beyond the confines of the walls. 
 
 The Easter feast now celebrated in Jerusalem is not to be in 
 any way compared with the ancient Jewish feast, neither in the 
 number of attendants, nor the character of the feast. But if we 
 could witness one of the annual celebrations at Mecca, when from 
 two to three hundred thousand people have gathered, we could 
 form an idea of the gathering at the great Jewish feasts in the time 
 of our Lord. Now if we could fix our minds on a scene of this 
 character, composed of men, women, and children of all grades of 
 society and dispositions, crowding the Temple that had been built 
 especially for the worship of God, degrading its sacred precincts 
 with merchandise, and defiling its sanctum by cheating and robbing, 
 we would not wonder that Jesus, who was full of compassion, 
 became indignant at such inexcusable wickedness. To look at the 
 conduct of our Lord from a natural standpoint, we might be 
 amazed at the fact that the many who were selling and buying in 
 the Temple, allowed one man to drive them all out with a cord 
 without remonstrating. But there was a power in Him they 
 keenly felt and feared ; therefore they fled from His presence. 
 This alone should have convinced them and all the people in 
 Jerusalem of His divinity. 
 
 It was during this visit to Jerusalem the conference took place 
 between our Lord and Nicodemus, who sought an interview with 
 Him in the night, and was kindly listened to by the Saviour, who 
 afterward delivered a powerful sermon to him, assuring him that the 
 simple fact of his being persuaded that Jesus was sent of God to 
 teach and enlighten men was not sufficient — he " must be born 
 again." It is reasonable to suppose Nicodemus returned home 
 fully convinced of the authority of Christ, and saw his own condi- 
 tion as never before. Some authors criticise this night visitor for 
 not telling his associates of the conference he had with Jesus ; but 
 to my mind it was better, under the circumstances, that he should 
 hold his peace. 
 
 When the time came for Jesus to depart from Judaea, He 
 returned to Galilee through the district of Samaria, and stopped at 
 Jacob's well, as has been stated in another chapter. After two 
 days, He left Samaria and came into Galilee, and was gladly wel- 
 comed by the Galileans, for many of them had been up to the feast 
 
408 THE LAND OF PHOMISE. 
 
 at Jerusalem and witnessed the works of power He did there ; 
 then Jesus came again to Caua, where He had changed water into 
 wine. This was a timely visit, just as were all the others made by 
 Him. He was anxiously desired at the time by a nobleman in 
 Capernaum, whose son was very ill, and nothing that had been 
 done for his restoration to health was effectual. 
 
 THE NOBLEMAN'S SON HEALED. 
 
 The news of our Lord's return spread through the land as if 
 sent by electricity ; every one passing through Cana, which is on 
 the road leading from Nazareth to Capernaum (and people were 
 passing to and from those cities constantly), told the news that 
 Jesus had returned to Cana. It is highly probable He was 
 expected ; for although He had been absent about nine months, it 
 was generally known in what part of the country He was laboring, 
 and when He resolved to return to Galilee, we have no doubt the 
 news reached the province, and likely the capital, in advance of Him. 
 The nobleman, hearing that Jesus had returned to Cana, which was 
 about twenty miles from him, made all possible speed to go for 
 Him to come and heal his son, who seemed to be in the arms of 
 death. When the man found Him, he made a touching appeal : 
 " Sir, come down ere my child die," was his beseeching petition. 
 This was a glorious opportunity for Jesus to manifest the power 
 He had over a dreadful fever without being by the bedside of the 
 sick, or sending anything to be taken. It was a real faith cure. 
 "Go thy way, thy son liyeth," said the Lord. The nobleman took 
 Christ at His word, firmly believed his son would be healed, and 
 returned home filled with hope. He was met by his servant the 
 next day, as he was approaching the house, with the glad news of 
 the complete restoration of his son to health, and that the fever 
 that held him with a deathly grasp had left him about one o'clock 
 the previous day, Avhich corresponded exactly with the time Jesus 
 assured him the boy should be healed. What news could have 
 been more joyful to that father, whose interest in the health of his 
 son compelled him to travel over the rough and dangerous moun- 
 tain road to procure the services of Jesus, the Great Physician, who 
 alone was able to exterminate the deadly disease that was surely 
 stealing away the life of his son; and what could have demon- 
 strated to him more pungently the divinity of Jesus, than the favor 
 so mercifully conferred ? The meeting at home must have been 
 one of great emotion, intensified with the tenderest embraces. It is 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 409 
 
 certain the nobleman did not leave the presence of Jesus doubting, 
 nor did he entertain a moment's mistrust during his return, for he 
 was about twenty-four hours in returning^ which could have been 
 traveled ordinarily in eight hours, and by forcing the journey, it 
 could have been made in six, for nearly the whole distance is down 
 hill. He seems to have been several hours longer going home than 
 he was coming over to Cana, which is an evidence that he came in 
 haste to find Jesus if possible before the lad died. But having had 
 the promise that his son would live, he went home slowly. 
 
 THE VISIT TO CAPERNAUM. 
 
 There seems to have been an interval of several months between 
 the time of the miraculous healing of the nobleman's son and the 
 visit the Saviour made to Capernaum. He returned to Nazareth 
 after He had spent the time allotted Him in and about Cana ; in 
 the mean time He was pre})aring to enter more largely upon the 
 work of His mission of healing the sick, casting out devils, and 
 raising the dead. Our Lord made Cana His temporary head- 
 quarters or the point from which He started on His mission of 
 mercy through all that region. Luke says, " He taught in their 
 synagogues and was glorified of all." (John iv. 50 ; Luke 
 iv. 15). This is the time He went to Nazareth, the home of His 
 parents, where He had been reared from infancy ; and the people, 
 having heard of His w'onderful works, invited Him to conduct the 
 reading and address the people in their synagogue on the Sabbath. 
 The result that followed has been stated on another page. 
 
 Being compelled to leave home, Jesus came to Capernaum, 
 where He had several friends, who would receive Him most gladly. 
 The nobleman, whose son He healed from the deadly fever and all 
 his house, were His friends, and would have arranged to accom- 
 modate their benefactor during His stay; but our Lord preferred a 
 more humble residence, — one that the poorest of men would not 
 fear to approach. Therefore He came to the house of Peter, the 
 poor fisherman, and seems to have made it His headquarters while 
 in that city. Jesus, having settled upon Capernaum as His future 
 home, entered with great power upon the work of teaching men the 
 way of salvation ; confining His labors largely to the province of 
 Galilee, through which He made three special itineracies, working 
 many miracles, and healing all kinds of diseases. How blind the 
 Jews were ; all of them looking steadfastly for the coming king 
 known as the Messiah; and according to their instruction, they ex- 
 
410 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 pected He would first appear in one of their four sacred cities ; 
 therefore they were found each year there looking for him, and as 
 Tiberias was one of these cities, it would be filled w^ith Jews each 
 year about the season they expected their deliverer would come. 
 But when He came in their midst and performed such things as no 
 one but God can, they turned themselves from Him. 
 
 How assiduously our Lord labored for the good of men ! For 
 beside doing the wonderful works daily, He walked over all the 
 ground, making three circuits over Galilee, passing through Samaria 
 and Judea, through a portion of the country beyond the Jordan, 
 and we hear of Him being out in the northwest as far as the borders 
 of Phoenicia. We do not hear of Him riding at any time until 
 He entered in triumph into Jerusalem ; at this time He rode a 
 donkey from Bethany to the Holy City. When the fame of Jesus 
 had spread over the land as a great teacher and healer, multitudes 
 came to Him, so that many strangers were seen in Capernaum. 
 Many no doubt came just to see the man about whom so much was 
 being said ; some came to be healed of their disease, or brought their 
 friends to hav^e their ills exterminated. 
 
 When Jesus went from the synagogue to the house of Simon 
 Peter, He found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a torment- 
 ing fever. He rebuked the diseasfe, and it left her immediately, so 
 that " she rose up from her couch at once and ministered unto 
 them." This was on the Sabbath, and the news was soon dis- 
 patched through the city, of the miraculous healing of the mother 
 of Peter's wife, which created a great desire in many to apply to 
 Him to cure them. It must have been a time of great jealousy 
 among the physicians, who so suddenly lost their prestige. It is 
 reasonable to presume they would have gladly expelled Him from 
 the city if it had been in their power. The people w^ere ready to 
 go at once to have our Lord heal them, but many were prevented 
 by those who pretended to scrupulously observe the Sabbath, insist- 
 ing they should not visit Jesus on such business until after the 
 hour which closed the Sabbath day, teaching the poor sick ones the 
 moral law, forbidding them doing anything of the kind on that 
 day. Several observed their request and waited with impatience 
 until the blast of the trumpet announced the close of the Sabbath. 
 Then the multitude made a dash for the house of Simon Peter to 
 see Jesus, 
 
 Our Lord had been teaching the multitude, and being greatly 
 pressed, it became necessary he should enter a boat and move a 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 411 
 
 little from the shore. It was Peter's fishing boat He entered, and 
 Peter at that moment was off with his brothers with their nets. 
 They had been fishing all night and caught nothing ; therefore they 
 were much discouraged. After the Saviour finished speaking to 
 the people, He told the men to put out a little into the deep and 
 prepare for a draught ; they did so, and caught so great a number 
 their boats began to sink. They became convinced of His divinity, 
 and at the command they followed He first called, according to 
 the evangelists, Simon Peter, and Andrew, his brother ; James and 
 John, sons of Zebedee. These first disciples seem to have fol- 
 lowed our Lord on his first itineracy through Galilee. They left 
 their nets and came into Capernaum with Jesus, and went in com- 
 pany with Him to the synagogue on the Sabbath. This is the 
 occasion when He expelled the unclean spirit from the man in the 
 presence of all the people. The unclean spirit objected ; but He 
 bade him come out of the man, and he obeyed. 
 
 In a comparatively short time the house was crowded, and a 
 multitude, being unable to get in, remained about the yard. Jesus 
 without a murmur attended each case in regular order. " He laid 
 His hands on them all and cured them." It was a busy night 
 with Christ, but He took pleasure in healing each one of whatever 
 disease he possessed. It must have been a wonderful sight, espe- 
 cially when the devils came out of some of them " crying out and 
 saying, Thou art the Son of God." The number of persons 
 healed was very great, and no doubt it was a late hour before He 
 had a chance to take His rest. He could have healed every one 
 with a single word, but did not choose to adopt that method ; hav- 
 ing many ways at command to cure. He preferred to work with 
 His hands that night, although it required several hours to lay 
 them on that vast multitude of infirm people. 
 
 But the Saviour was not fatigued, for when the day broke He 
 rose up and sought a place of retirement that He might commune 
 with the Father before the busy scenes of the day began. It is 
 likely the multitude who had been healed spent a sleepless night 
 with their friends holding a jubilee over the result of the event 
 that restored them to health, and no doubt sent word to all whom 
 they knew to be troubled with disease, to come over quickly and 
 apply to Jesus for relief. At any rate the news quickly spread, 
 and an early start was made for Peter's house by a host of sick 
 people possessed of various diseases. 
 
 They must have been greatly exercised when it was made 
 
412 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 known the Lord was not there, but had left early in the morning, 
 saying nothing as to His destination, nor when He would return. 
 But Jesus was at the time out in the quiet desert having uninter- 
 rupted communion with the Father. This seems to be the first 
 recorded instance of our Lord going out to engage in private devo- 
 tion at the early dawn. Simon Peter, who seems to have known 
 where the Lord w^as, seeing how disappointed the people were, 
 concluded to lead them to Jesus, and when he had come to where 
 He was, he told Him how eagerly the people sought Him. But 
 He said to Peter, " Let us go to the next town that I may preach 
 there also, for therefore came I forth." It is plain that Jesus did 
 not wait for the people to come to Him, for many living remotely 
 from Capernaum had po way to reach Him, and wishing all to be 
 beneficiaries of His blessings. He was anxious to visit them. 
 
 The impression made by our Lord in Capernaum before start- 
 ing on this mission was so great, the people spread His name 
 through all Galilee, so that the whole country was excited over His 
 good works. All the people of the cities and towns received Him 
 gladly, except those who were ambitious to be lords, such as the 
 Scribes, Pharisees, Elders, and rulers of the people. These classes 
 generally opposed Jesus secretly, and when there was no danger of 
 an uprising against them by the people, they made open opposition 
 to His claims. But His ability to heal the poor sick folks, who 
 had been many years pressed down under incurable complaints, 
 was so clearly demonstrated, no persuasions offered by these mali- 
 cious enemies could deter the people from seeking Him from every 
 part of the country round about. These good tidings had reached 
 those living in Judea and beyond the Jordan, many of whom came 
 seeking Him over in Galilee. 
 
 It is a most pleasant thought, that of all the varied cases pre- 
 sented to Christ not one was too hard for Him to master ; whether 
 the persons were blind, halt, dumb, deaf, covered with leprosy, 
 possessed with devils, or dead, He controlled every case and set 
 the captive free. It was many times so very exciting in those 
 parts Jesus visited, the people left their daily work for a while 
 and followed Him into other towns and cities. 
 
 One of the most touching appeals was made to our Lord by a 
 poor man who was smitten with leprosy. It seems to have been a 
 very severe case, for the Evangelists say, "He was full of it;" 
 and, having heard of Jesus' wonderful cures, he came and fell at 
 His feet saying, " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 413 
 
 Jesus immediately had compassion on the man and healed him. 
 What a gracious change ! The disease had not only made its subject 
 miserable, but ostracised him from the society of his friends. It is 
 a most dreaded and destructive affliction ; when it takes hold of one 
 it never releases its victim until death discharges it. Would any- 
 one Avonder that the man spread the news everywhere, telling all 
 whom he met what Jesus of Nazareth had done for him, and what 
 great joy there must have been at his home when his friends met 
 and embraced him ! 
 
 It was the custom of Jesus to so arrange His tours of mercy to 
 be in a community on the Sabbath where a synagogue was located, 
 that He might teach the people and open their understanding to 
 the things pertaining to their peace with God. The pressing 
 demand to hear Him w^as so great that the officials always invited 
 Him to explain the Scriptures. Therefore Jesus taught and 
 preached in all the synagogues throughout Galilee. The whole 
 country was dotted with these places of worship. They were built 
 for the convenience of the people after the return of the Jews from 
 captivity. To build a synagogue was regarded as a mark of piety ; 
 hence, if it was found that a community of ordinary wealth was 
 without such a building, it was as surprising as it would be to those 
 of our times should they enter a large town or city in which t lere 
 is no Christian church, and no one directing the people to the Lamb 
 of God. There were also many people dispersed through Galilee 
 who could not attend the services at Jerusalem on those great occa- 
 sions to worship, while others could only, with much difficulty, 
 manage to go once each year. The synagogues served as a kind of 
 substitute for those who, by reason of physical and domestic ina- 
 bilities, were unable to go up to the Temple with the hosts that 
 assembled there. They were so constructed that the faces of the 
 people who went into them to worship were turned toward Jerusa- 
 lem. They were allowed to be built any place where the commu- 
 nity was large enough to form a medium congregation. They all 
 contained special seats for the elders, which were known, being 
 higher than the others ; usually invited guests sat on them, and 
 they were commonly called " the chief seats." The Pharisees, who 
 were always anxious to be conspicuous, generally sat in them, so 
 that they might be looked upon with a high degree of veneration. 
 Jesus referred to them when He was administering a searching 
 rebuke to these selfish men. 
 
 The synagogues were usually built by personal gifts, as churches 
 
414 THE LAND OF PKOMISE. 
 
 are in onr times. Tlie people would come together wherever their 
 means would justify such procedure, and give according to their 
 ability money enough to build a house of worship suited to the 
 number of attendants. Sometimes one person who desired to im- 
 mortalize his name would build a synagogue for the people. Those 
 who came to Jesus in behalf of the Roman nobleman's servant, 
 regarded the recommendations they gave him of the highest im- 
 portance when they said, " He is worthy that thou shouldst do this 
 for him ; for he loveth our nation, and himself built us our syna- 
 gogue." While the services were being conducted the strictest 
 decorum was enforced and any manifest tendency to violate the rule 
 was sternly rebuked. 
 
 It is estimated that there were four hundred and eighty of these 
 buildings in Jerusalem alone. These places of worship contained 
 two apartments, one on the, west, the other on the east. The former 
 was the repository of the chest in which the books of the law and 
 the sections of the prophecies were kept ; and, to distinguish it 
 from the main room, it was called the temple; the other apartment, 
 in which the congregation assembled, was known as the synagogue. 
 The men and women had separate seats ; the former occupied the 
 main floor and the latter had seats arranged in the gallery secluded 
 behind lattice-work. The last of the services was the reading of 
 certain portions of Scripture, and the preaching was done by the 
 officials or some one chosen by them. It can be understood from this 
 how our Lord had so many opportunities to read and preach in 
 synagogues. He was generally known and sought by the people 
 in every city He entered ; and many times the officials were just as 
 eager to hear Him as those who followed Him ; hence it was no 
 trouble for an opening to be made to have Him preach at each place 
 He was found on the Sabbath day. 
 
 When Jesus had completed the first itineracy through Galilee, 
 He came back to His '■' own city," to attend to those who 
 sought Him there, and to work wonders in the presence of 
 great multitudes from all the country around. His fame had so 
 attracted the people in all parts of the land that " everybody was 
 talking about Jesus." This intensified the malice of His opposers 
 to the extent they determined to spare no pains in securing His 
 capture. The Pharisees and doctors from all the villages and 
 cities in Galilee and Judea, and those at Jerusalem, rose up as if 
 drawn by magic, and came down to Capernaum to criticise Jesus, 
 and use their uttermost endeavors to turn popular opinion against 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 415 
 
 Him. They assembled at Peter's house, mingling with the anxious 
 throng that had gathered from every direction. Just then four 
 men brought one of their friends lying on his cot helpless, stricken 
 ■with palsy ; and when they found it impossible because of the mul- 
 titude to get to the door, went on the house-top and let him down 
 before Jesus that He might heal him. He turned His attention to 
 the man and said, " Thy sins are forgiven thee." Then a general 
 murmur was indulged among the Pharisees and doctors, claiming 
 that " none but God could forgive sins." Jesus, perceiving their 
 reasonings, clearly demonstrated that the Son of Man had power to 
 forgive sins, by commanding the man to rise, saying, " Arise, take 
 up thy couch and go unto thy house," the man quickly obeyed, to 
 the amazement of all present ; so much were they astonished, they 
 said one to the other, "We have seen strange things to-day." 
 
 Our Lord, having silenced these critics, left the house and went 
 along the sea-shore, followed by an enthusiastic throng, and saw 
 Levi, a tax-collector, sitting at the customs office, and He said to 
 him " Follow me ; " he immediately rose up, left all, and followed 
 Him. This man may have seen Jesus, but never as at that time. 
 As a public acknowledgment of his thankfulness of the favor of 
 being counted worthy of being a follower of Christ, Levi gave a 
 great feast in honor of Him, to which he had invited a multitude 
 of publicans. The Pharisees regarded that class as too mean for 
 them to associate with, just as many of the same spirit do to-day. 
 But Jesus was teaching the fatherhood of God, and the brother- 
 hood of man ; that, whether Jew or Gentile, they were but men. 
 This Levi was the St. Matthew who wrote the first book of the 
 New Testament. » 
 
 It was a busy day with Jesus on the Sabbath. He restored the 
 poor man whose hand had been paralyzed a long time. The Scribes 
 and Pharisees, whose teachings were very unlike that of Jesus, were 
 jealous of the great fame He had won in all parts of the land, for 
 about that time the masses of the people of all classes had turned 
 their attention to Him, which was one of the reasons no effijrt was 
 interposed to keep Him from teaching in cities and towns. But 
 wherever Christ went, the malicious Scribes and Pharisees were 
 found watching Plira and endeavoring to measure every word and 
 work He did, hoping by that method to catch Him committing 
 some deed or saying a word that would give them an opportunity 
 to charge Him with violating the law. It was very grievous to 
 those who would be lords to find that their influence had so sud- 
 
416 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 deuly left them aud everybody seemed to follow Jesus. It was no 
 use for them to openly attack Him, for the people would have inter- 
 fered, and they could do nothing with Him in arguments, for they 
 would soon become tangled so greatly that the people would see 
 their weakness, as had been the case the last time they attacked 
 Him. 
 
 The thing they tried to establish in popular estimation was that 
 Jesus was a Sabbath-breaker and was generally lawless. Now as 
 He knew their viciousuess, that they were attempting to persuade 
 the people He was not observing the law, that He would do what- 
 ever He chose on the Sabbath day, — and no doubt one of the 
 strongest points was the permission He gave the disciples to pluck 
 the corn on the Sabbath ; in connection with this, they insisted that 
 the work of healing on the Sabbath was a gross violation of the 
 law. Jesus went into the synagogue as usual, followed by a num- 
 ber of Scribes and Pharisees, who were always after Him, and 
 while there He saw a man having his right hand withered. Jesus 
 found it opportune to put a stunning question to these false pre- 
 tenders, who would have the world believe that they were strict 
 conformists to the law, and that Jesus was one of the chiefest of 
 sinners. He commanded the afflicted man to stand up, that all the 
 audience might see his condition ; the man immediately did so. 
 Then, when all eyes were fixed upon him, and saw how deplorable 
 his case was, and no doubt all who looked upon him greatly sym- 
 pathized except the heartless Scribes and Pharisees, and having 
 drawn the attention of the sick man. He asked the pretenders if it 
 was " lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm ? " " to 
 save life, or to destroy it?" They would not answer the questions, 
 for they did not dare to say it was not lawful to do good on that 
 day, and they also knew to restore a palsied arm would be a most 
 benevolent work ; therefore they thought it more to their iikerest 
 to say nothing. Jesus, seeing their indisposition to be honest and 
 manly, gave them a look of condemnation that must have touched 
 the very quick of their souls and filled them with torturing emo- 
 tions ; then turned to the paralytic and said, " Stretch forth thy 
 hand ; " he immediately did so, and found it to be as strong as the 
 other. The Scribes and Pharisees, finding themselves in another 
 dilemma, went out to hold a council against Him to see if there 
 was not sufficient magnitude in the procedure of our Lord in the 
 recent case of healing to formulate a lawful indictment against 
 Him. What gratitude the poor man naturally entertained for the 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 417 
 
 blessed Christ ! It is probable he went home spreading the news 
 and praising God for the wonderful blessing he had received. 
 
 The increasing labors of the Master pressed Him so heavily 
 about this time (for the people were coming to Him from all the 
 countries), that He withdrew from the busy scenes for a while, that 
 He might choose from those who followed Him the competent 
 number needed to be His apostles. Before making the final selec- 
 tion, our Lord went into the mountains and engaged all night in 
 prayer. When the morning star rose, it found Him in the same 
 place the evening star left Him ; and when the day-dawn kissed His 
 holy cheeks, He was still in the same place where the night shades 
 covered Him. It is reasonable to suppose that the Master was 
 praying for direction in the selection of twelve men who were to 
 stand before the world as its lights. It was a momentous time, an 
 occasion that should impress those who are to select men to stand 
 as the great leaders of the Christian Church. The result of our 
 Lord's selection comprised the following : Simon Peter, Andrew, 
 James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, the 
 son of Alpheus, Simon, which was called the Zealot, Judas, the son 
 of James, and Judas Iscariot. 
 
 After the selection of these men our Lord solemnly set them 
 apart as His future messengers. Afterwards He preached to the 
 people who followed him in great multitudes from Galilee, Decapo- 
 lis, Jerusalem, Judea, from beyond the Jordan, and from Sidon 
 and Tyre, who were possessed with div^ers diseases, and He healed 
 them. Jesus ascended the mountain, sat and taught them. The 
 newly-chosen apostles stood close to Him listening to the words of 
 power the Saviour was declaring. He gav^e a clear exposition of 
 the spirit of the law, which had been so grossly corrupted by the 
 Scribes, Pharisees and rulers of the land. St. Matthew gives a 
 lengthy statement of this wonderful sermon which should be^read 
 and pondered by all men. The traditional mountain, on the brow 
 of which Jesus delivered this exhaustive sermon, is ab'out seven 
 miles west of Tiberias and a little to the north of the road to Cana. 
 It is called the " Horns of Hatten," from the two ridges resembling 
 horns or arms connecting with it. It is remarkable that Moses 
 gave the letter of the law from Mt. Sinai, but Christ gave its spirit 
 from Mount Hatten, or one of the mountains near the sea of Galilee. 
 We do not wonder that the people were greatly astonished and 
 said, " He taught as one having authority, and not as a scribe." 
 
 When Jesus had finished teaching the multitude. He returned 
 27 
 
418 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 to Capernaum followed by all who heard His words; for they were 
 not weary, notwithstanding He had held them spell-bound for a 
 long time. It was not long after His arrival that a Roman centu- 
 rion stationed there sent for Him to come and heal his servant. 
 To make the request impressive, he sent a delegation of Elders to* 
 recommend him, should a question arise as to the propriety of enter- 
 ing his house. He had done several favors for the Jews ; the most 
 commendable of them was building a synagogue for them with his 
 own money. But without cavil Jesus started at once to heal the 
 sick servant ; and as He was approaching the house the Centurion 
 seems to have suddenly felt the weight of his unworthiness to have 
 one so kind, loving and holy as Jesus come into his house, and he 
 at once sent others of his intimate friends to apologize to the blessed 
 Christ, and tell Him not to come because the man, whose house He 
 was approaching, felt, after a careful examination of himself, un- 
 worthy to have Him come, or go to the Master in person ; therefore 
 he asked through the messengers that Jesus would speak the word 
 where He was, and his servant "shall be healed." Our Lord com- 
 mended the man's faith, telling those following "He had not found 
 such faith in Israel." He then informed the messengers it should 
 be as they had believed ; and when they returned to the house they 
 found the man entirely restored. 
 
 We next hear of Jesus over at Nain restoring the widow's son, 
 as has been mentioned in another chapter. We find our Lord, after 
 this first miracle of resurrecting the dead, taking dinner with 
 Simon, the Pharisee, at Capernaum. This was the occasion when 
 Mary Magdalene came in and anointed His feet with tears and 
 wiped them with her hair. The conduct of the woman astonished 
 the Pharisees ; but Jesus put them again to silence. He made a 
 second tour through Galilee with increasing fame, preaching again 
 in the cities and villages to multitudes of eager hearers, and was 
 attended during this itinerancy by the twelve disciples, Mary Mag- 
 dalene of Magdala, out of whom He had casted seven devils, Joanna, 
 wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, Susanna and many others who 
 had ministered unto Him. The people thronged Him as usual, 
 but He slighted none. 
 
 It is generally known to those familiar with Bible history, that 
 our Lord spent the most of His life in Galilee ; not only while a 
 quiet citizen in Nazareth, but the greater part of His busy mis- 
 sionary life was spent in that province. The inhabitants of Galilee 
 were not looked upon with much favor by those of the southern 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 419 
 
 district, and were criticised by them harshly. There were many 
 Gentiles living among them ; they were therefore looked upon as a 
 mixed people and ignored in many respects by the more secluded 
 or distinct communities of Jews over in Judea, Yet these very 
 people, who were so unpopular among their fellows, were more 
 susceptible to the teachings of Jesus than those who looked upon 
 them with contempt. Our Lord found it far more pleasant to be 
 with them than those round about Jerusalem, because they sought 
 and welcomed Him to their towns and cities. He always addressed 
 the people plainly and pointedly without being liable to be mobbed 
 by those self-important false teachers, w^ho held themselves up as 
 lights of the people. 
 
 Galilee was the most favorable district for our Lord to prepare 
 His disciples for the duties they were to discharge when they should 
 enter upon their mission after His departure ; for a work so full of 
 interest to the world could not be successfully accomplished where 
 exposure to numerous assaults were common. Therefore He chose 
 Galilee as the more favorable place to train the disciples for their 
 soul-saving work. Again, Galilee was better adapted for the mis- 
 sion of Christ than the southern province for the reason which has 
 been stated; the people in that far-oif district were anxious to have 
 -Him with them, and received Him with enthusiasm. But in 
 Judea, the Pharisees, Rulers, and Elders were more numerously 
 seen in the multitudes ready at every opportunity to incense the 
 people against Him. But it is noteworthy that most of the mighty 
 works of Jesus were performed about the Sea of Tiberias, although 
 Galilee at large was His chosen field of labor. This region was 
 made the centre; from here He made visits through the country, 
 frequently returning to Capernaum, remaining there for a time, 
 giving the needed attention to those who came seeking His aid, 
 then away again to another part of the district. 
 
 The Sea of Tiberias was environed by towns and cities, some 
 being very important, especially Capernaum, Chorazin, Bethsaida, 
 Tiberias, Magdala, Gadara, and Bethsaida Julius. These were 
 bordering on the sea or near it. In some of these cities many 
 Gentiles lived ; and it was of equal importance that they should 
 have the benefit of our Lord's labors; for He came " to save that 
 which was lost." There were other advantages that made this 
 region a convenient field for the wonderful works of Christ. Many 
 synagogues were located in these cities by the sea, all of which He 
 labored in ; this naturally required a long time. The sea was to 
 
420 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 be a scene of several of His stupendous works and the deserts 
 were chosen as the tramping ground of multitudes of hungry 
 people, who followed Him, and were bountifully fed. The country 
 about the lake was very favorable for His labors, because the 
 great highway to Damascus went through Capernaum, and to the 
 western sea from Tiberias. Through these roads people were con- 
 stantly traveling, many of whom had an opportunity of witnessing 
 His works, and spread the news among the people where they 
 lived. It is not unnatural that the Scribes and Pharisees should 
 leave Jerusalem and go down to Galilee in pursuit of Christ, for 
 although He was not working in their immediate district, such was 
 the holy intiuenee exerted by Him, the dwellers in Jerusalem and 
 Judea talked of the greatness of His labors as much as if He were 
 at the time in their midst. The merchants from Damascus and the 
 cities about the sea brought fresh news of the wonders being done 
 daily, as they came to Jerusalem. It seems highly probable the 
 people asked every new-comer where Jesus was, that they might 
 find Him. This exasperated the Pharisees so greatly, they went 
 down to use their influence against Him. 
 
 One of th;3 most touching visits our Lord received was that of 
 a small baud of friends, who came from Nazareth with His mother 
 and brothers to take him home. Reports had reached Mary at her- 
 home that Jesus was not sane; and they, fearing it might be so, 
 came to plead with Him to return with them. On their arrival at 
 the house, they found such a dense crowd, it was impossible for 
 them to get to the door. The Pharisees, who had come down from 
 Jerusalem, were found mingling with the multitude in the yard, 
 charging Jesus with black art, or being possessed with a devil and 
 working through the agency of Beelzebub, the prince of devils. 
 But He soon put them to silence, as He always did ; that their 
 ignorance might be exposed to ridicule. He showed them in a few 
 words, a house divided against itself could not stand, and if He 
 cast out devils through the agency of their prince, their kingdom 
 must fall. 
 
 About this time some one informed Him of the desire of His 
 mother and brothers to see Him ; Jesus took the occasion just then to 
 show the relation which those who are the children of God sustain to 
 Him: *'Who is my mother and my brethren?" — then, looking 
 upon his disciples, said, '' Behold my mother and my brethren, for 
 whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, my 
 sister, and my mother." Our Lord did not allow the pleadings of 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 421 
 
 a fond mother to interfere with the work of His mission. The 
 people, who heard the teacliings of Jesus, became so enraptured 
 they would not leave Him, notwithstanding the opposition of the 
 Pharisees, who were using the greatest exertions to have them look 
 upon Him as a man entirely influenced by the prince of devils. 
 Poor, stupid fellows ; how keenly they must have felt their defeat 
 when they saw their uttermost endeavors could not turn the people 
 from following the man who, day by day, was curtailing the sway 
 they had so loug held among them ! 
 
 The people thronging the house where Jesus stopped at Caper- 
 naum, He withdrew to the sea-side, and taught the multitude many 
 things in parables. This was a change from the mode hitherto 
 adopted. He had been refuting in word and deed the doctrines 
 taught by the Scribes and Pharisees ; and having confounded them, 
 He begins to teach the people the practical side of His mission, that 
 they might fully comprehend their duty. The parable of the 
 sower must have been strikingly illustrated. Not far from the 
 sea-shore, where He was addressing the multitude, were the fruitful 
 fields, just where the peojjle could look upon them and see the 
 stony places, the thorn bushes, the wayside path, and the good 
 ground. This lesson being brought before them with a glowing 
 illustration before their eyes, must have been most impressive ; and 
 if it happened at a time when the sower was scattering the seed, 
 they saw he was laboring just as hard at those spots that were 
 unyielding as on the good soil. This would have. illustrated the 
 efforts of their Divine Teacher, who at that time was working just 
 as earnestly to save the poor, stony hearts in His presence as those 
 who allowed the word to sink deeply in them. Surely those who 
 were husbandmen clearly understood this lesson. 
 
 The last of the many parables Jesus taught at this gathering 
 was the illustration of the drag-net, which contained all kinds of 
 fish, good and bad. Our Lord at this time was in a small fishing- 
 boat, having many fishermen near Him who had experienced the 
 practical side of the parable ; hence, the lesson was equally as im- 
 pressive to them as the other was to the seed-sowers. These 
 teachings must have carried their whole weight to the conscience 
 of the amazed Scribes and Pharisees, who had begun to fall 
 before Him as Haman fell before Mordecai. The physical bearing 
 of this little plain is beautiful when contrasted with the surround- 
 ing country, and gives a lucid illustration of the parable of our 
 Lord concerning the sower. Such is the literal development and 
 
422 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 impressiveness of this wonderful lesson, its spiritual bearing is 
 clear to the most ordinary mind. 
 
 This wayside is trodden by hundreds who have passed over it 
 from time to time. These are what we would call near cuts ; those 
 who do not wish to follow the main highway, take the wayside path 
 to save time and labor. They are sometimes made directly through 
 the centre of a field of wheat or barley. ISuch a procedure would 
 be regarded as a lawless act in our country, unless consent be given 
 by the owner; but in Palestine they have been used to it so long 
 people regard them as highways. Many of these wayside roads are 
 much better for man and beast to travel, because the main highways 
 are not kept in traveling condition ; in certain seasons they are used 
 in preference. These paths are usually plowed every year by the 
 husbandmen, but their direction is so well known by the natives 
 they soon beat them down. It is often the case while he is plowing 
 one portion or sowing the seed, the other portion is being trodden 
 by passing natives. This fact we experienced soon after leaving 
 Shiloh. My dragoman wished to take the wayside path leading to 
 Lebonah, it being much nearer than the main road. He therefore 
 started for the familiar, intersecting path ; on reaching it we found 
 the husbandman ploMdng through it in connection with the other 
 portion of the field. But the dragoman knew where the wayside 
 was, and went along just as if he had not been interrupted. 
 
 Some of these waysides, or what we call byways, have been 
 used from the time of our Lord, and are regarded now as public 
 thoroughfares; hence, the husbandmen offer no objections to the 
 use being made of them, notwithstanding they lay through the 
 midst of fields in which they have sowed their seed, much of which 
 falls by the wayside as they scatter it with their hands. This the 
 fowls of the air are more likely to see " and pluck up," because it 
 is glaringly exposed to their keen eyes. Birds are very numerous 
 in Palestine and Syria, and are generally found in great numbers 
 in newly-ploughed fields seeking food. They appear to know 
 about the time the grain will be sown, and are ready at the first 
 opportunity to get a good portion of it, especially when it falls by 
 the wayside. The " stony places " are prevalent and conspicuous ; 
 in the plain a stranger cannot pass them unnoticed. It seems very 
 strange to those who live in countries like Europe and America 
 where large tracts of farming land are almost stoneless, to see how 
 the husbandmen of the eastern world manage to cultivate those 
 fields which abound with rocks; many of them have sheets of 
 
NOTED PLACES AEOUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 423 
 
 rock extending several feet above the surface, some just on a level 
 with it, and others about an inch or two below. These are so 
 close to each other in many places the sower unavoidably casts the 
 seed as he scatters it over the field in these stony places, * ' where 
 there is not much earth." 
 
 While looking over one of these fields in the neighborhood of 
 the scene of the multitude, on the day our Lord addressed 
 t^he people in parables, it seemed to me as though the seed 
 sown "in the rocky places" was the more prosperous; it had 
 sprung up and looked beautiful and green, while that sown " in 
 good ground " was just making its appearance. I could see then, 
 as never before, the force of the parable of the sower. The mat- 
 ter was plain that the seed, looking so beautiful and green here 
 and there over the field, had but little depth of earth, and there- 
 fore soon came up and would be blasted, no doubt, as soon as the 
 sun shone upon it with more power ; but that which seemed sparse 
 and unyielding, had taken deep root, and would bring joy to the 
 heart of the husbandman in the time of harvest. This most valu- 
 able lesson I learned along the plain of Gennesaret, so clearly 
 unfolding the parable of the "sower" to my mind will never be 
 forgotten. Those of the multitude who had a practical experi- 
 ence of these teachings must have felt their force vividly while the 
 blessed Master was presenting the truth so distinctly. 
 
 St. Mark says, " Our Lord went on the same evening with the 
 disciples to the other side of the sea." This was the night the 
 waters of the little lake became exceedingly troubled, and great 
 fear filled the disciples, so that they went to Jesus and aroused 
 Him from sleep to interpose for them. Here was another oppor- 
 tunity for Him to demonstrate His authority over nature ; He 
 commanded the waters to be still, and the sea instantly obeyed His 
 voice. When the country of the Gergesenes was reached, they saw 
 a most distressing sight — a poor man over among the tombs, 
 wholly under the control of devils, so that he was killing himself 
 by degrees without knowing v/hat he was doing ; such was his 
 madness, nothing could hold him, strong cords with which he was 
 bound being broken as if they were cotton strings, and every one 
 feared even to pass along that way. When the blessed Christ was 
 approaching him, while a considerable distance off, the devils 
 endeavored to practice deception on Him, as if they could mis- 
 lead Him to the extent to cause Him to believe the man was 
 objecting to His presence. " What have we to do with thee, 
 
424 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God ? art Thou come hither to 
 torment us before the lime ? " was the language coming from the 
 mouth of the man, but not from his heart, for it was the senti- 
 ment of the controlling devils ; He knew what the man would do 
 if he could have the liberty to exercise his own will ; therefore, He 
 said to the demons, " Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the 
 man ; " at this command the devils came, and on being asked their 
 name, "Legion," was the answer, "for we are very many." He 
 permitted them to enter a herd of swine, which became crazed and 
 were choked in the sea. 
 
 The poor man expressed his gratitude for the unspeakable good- 
 ness of Jesus by sitting at His feet clothed in his right mind. But 
 the people of that country besought Christ to leave there. This 
 He did ; and when He reached the other side, Jairus, a ruler of the 
 synagogue, met Him and fell at His feet, praying that He would 
 heal his little daughter, who was at the point of death. He consented 
 to go with him, and while on the way a poor woman, having an 
 issue of blood twelve years, came out and pressed her way through 
 the throng, touched His garments and was restored immediately. 
 
 It is noteworthy that every case Jesus handled was such as 
 proved His divinity. The man over in Gadara had everything 
 done his friends had a knowledge of to help him ; but nothing 
 reached his case, not even to the extent of keeping him from doing 
 personal injuries. They gave up all effort to further assist him ; 
 fearing he would be a serious pest to the neighborhood, they let 
 him wander about among the tombs where Jesus found him. The 
 woman, who for twelve years had suffered with an issue of blood, 
 not only spent all her means to procure a remedy, but had baffled 
 the skill of the most distinguished and learned physicians, without 
 success. He healed her without looking at her ; simply by the 
 touch of faith. The daughter of Jairus had every attention that 
 could be given, and every remedy applied to produce restoration, 
 but nothing could be done. The last resort was Jesus. The dis- 
 tracted father came and fell prostrate at His feet, overwhelmed with 
 grief, praying that He would go with him to the bedside of the 
 child and heal her. But lo, a messenger came, informing the 
 ruler that his daughter was dead ; therefore Jesus, the Great Phy- 
 sician, was not needed, for all was over. But He continued with 
 Jairus, and, on entering, found the friends in tumultuous lamenta- 
 tion over the demise of the child. Jesus, being full of comforting 
 words, told them the maid was not dead, but they did not believe 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 425 
 
 Him. They even scornfully laughed at Him ; but our Lord had 
 been doubted and laughed to scorn so often that He paid no atten- 
 tion to the scorners, but immediately approached the bedside of 
 the dead child and restored her to her parents. When He came 
 down from the ruler's house two blind men appealed to Him, and 
 in the presence of the multitude He gave them sight. 
 
 Each of these cases was such that all the skill of man failed to 
 remedy, so that not one could say. If I had seen these afflicted 
 ones, the same restorations would have been made. Jesus, after 
 these things, turned His steps toward Nazareth, the home of His 
 childhood, from which He had been so cruelly forced by a mur- 
 derous crowd. But he did not abandon them because of the first 
 rejection. He came again to urge the people to accept salvation. 
 This visit was as fruitless with the masses as that when they 
 attempted to kill Him. It would seem that His home-folks, 
 having heard of the mighty works He had wrought in other com- 
 munities in Galilee, would have received Him joyfully. For they 
 did not only hear of His works, but many Nazarenes had witnessed 
 them ; and yet, in the face of ocular demonstration, they still 
 insisted that Christ was a blasphemer and unworthy of their confi- 
 dence. " We know Him," they said, " Joseph, the carpenter of 
 the town, is His father, and Mary, a woman living in our midst, 
 is His mother ; we also know His brothers and sisters, and have 
 known Him from youth up ; we will have nothing to do with Him ; 
 let others follow if they choose." Jesus, seeing their unbelief, and 
 the extreme hardness of their hearts, could do nothing there except 
 lay His hands on a few sick folks. He then left the city never to 
 visit it again officially, and trav^eled through the country, the peo- 
 ple every where receiving Him with great joy. This seems to be 
 his second tour through Galilee, and He was followed by tremen- 
 dous multitudes anxious to hear Him. 
 
 It became necessary, because of the increasing greatness of the 
 work, to send forth the disciples to preach, teach, cast out devils, and 
 do many works of power. The instructions they had received from 
 their Lord during a year or more they were with Him, amply fitted 
 them for the duties assigned them as apostles. Having qualified 
 and commissioned them, they went forth in His name doing won- 
 ders. They were sent two and two, each couple going in different 
 directions, as the Master appointed them, which seems to be as fol- 
 lows : Simon Peter and Andrew went first; James and John, the 
 two sons of Zebedee, came next ; then Philip and Bartholomew 
 
426 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 went out in another direction ; Thomas and Matthew, the publi- 
 can, were associates ; then James, the son of Alpheus, and Thad- 
 dens were sent ; the last were Simon, the Canaanite, and 
 Judas Iscariot. 
 
 These men went forth by authority of their commission, taking 
 nothing to provide against the discomforts of their journey, but a 
 staff in hand. Tiiey were commanded to take neither bread, wallet 
 nor money. They began their mission most hopefully, healing 
 many that were sick of divers diseases and did many wonderful 
 works. After they had been away from their Lord for a time 
 they returned to Him, who had come again to Capernaum to re- 
 port the success that attended their mission. Jesus said to them, 
 " Come ye yourselves apart into a desert-place and rest awhile." 
 It was a busy time with Him and the apostlts, for crowds were 
 thronging them so that they had no chance to take a meal. 
 
 They were soon in a boat with Jesus, sailing for the other shore ; 
 but the multitudes preceded them, and ran with great haste to 
 shore where the boat was heading, and reached there before Jesus 
 and the Apostles, for when the boat arrived at the landing, a great 
 multitude awaited them. He was moved with compassion on 
 account of the people, and began teaching them immediately. 
 " When the day was far spent," the Apostles desired that the people 
 should be dismissed, that they might go out and get some food for 
 themselves. But, in answer to the question of our Lord, it was 
 found that the disciples had " five loaves and two fishes." Then, 
 by command, the multitude was seated on the grass by companies 
 of one hundred, and fifties. Then Jesus took the bread and fishes 
 and gave them a wonderful extension. This small amount of food 
 would not have been, under ordinary circumstances, enough for 
 the disciples ; but, in this extraordinary case, five thousand men 
 ate and were filled, after which they took up twelve basketsful of 
 the pieces left from the meal. 
 
 Jesus, wishing to have a few quiet hours to commune with the 
 Father in prayer, ordered the disciples to enter the boat and return 
 to the other shore, while He sent the people away. No doubt 
 everything looked favorable to them : the sky Mas clear, the water 
 placid, and the breeze coming from a direction to make them hope- 
 ful of a smooth and swift passage to their destination. But their 
 prospects were soon blighted, for the wind changed in an opposite 
 direction and was blowing furiously. The water became greatly 
 troubled, so that one high wave after another lashed the little craft 
 
XOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 427 
 
 and swept over it. The sails were useless, and the oars were incom- 
 petent to make headway. The scene became alarming ; the Master 
 had commanded them to go to the other shore ; therefore they must 
 not go back to the desert where they left Him, but bend to their oars 
 with their greatest strength to carry out the order. Their whole 
 journey from the shore was but four miles and a half, and although 
 the disciples started about dusk (St. Mark vi. 30-32), they were 
 found, just before daybreak the next morning, but a little beyond 
 the middle of the lake, or about three miles from their destination. 
 
 He, having finished the private interview with the Father, came 
 down from the mountain to assist the distressed disciples, for it 
 was a momentous time with them. Just when their trouble was 
 greatest, and despair was making a telling impression upon them, 
 Jesus walked out to them. The appearance of a human form on 
 the sea amid such an overpowering storm, struck them with dread- 
 ful alarm, for they supposed a spirit had come as a signal of their 
 speedy calamity. This troubled them more than the horror of the 
 sweeping storm. Jesus said to them, " Be of good cheer ; it is I." 
 Then all hearts were light. Peter, having received permission 
 from his Lord, leaped iuto the water to walk to Him ; he soon 
 began to sink. On this account he made one of the most earnest 
 and pathetic prayers of his life. " Lord, save ; I perish," was the 
 short but earnest petition. The blessed Saviour saved him, and 
 both of them entered the tempest-tossed vessel, and soon all were 
 safe on the other shore at Bethsaida. He had reached the landing; 
 but a short time, before the news of His arrival spread, and the 
 people who had sought Him, brought their sick on beds and other- 
 wise that they might be healed. 
 
 The people in other cities and villages came in multitudes, and 
 finding neither Jesus nor the disciples at the place where the 
 miracle of feeding the five thousand occurred, they came over to 
 Capernaum ; and, when they found Him, said : '* Rabbi, when 
 camest thou hither ? " This opened the way for our Lord to 
 preach another most memorable sermon. He told them it was not 
 because they saw signs leading them to believe in His Messiahship 
 they were stimulated to seek Him ; not that the words He had 
 spoken and the miracles wrought by Him had caused them to 
 hunger after righteousness, but because He fed them the day before 
 in the desert to their full satisfaction. Jesus then preached a most 
 pungent sermon on the '' bread of life." There were great objec- 
 tions to His remarks, so much so that a general murmuring was 
 
428 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 indulged in by the Jews ; several of the disciples (not the chosen) 
 became offended and refused to follow Hira. (St. Mark vi. 
 44-56.) 
 
 This seems to be the time several Scribes and Pharisees had 
 come down from Jerusalem, charging that the discij)les transgressed 
 the traditions of the Elders. Jesus in answering them showed 
 they were not only guilty of violating traditions, but the com- 
 mandments of God. He then called the multitude and taught 
 them what defiled a man, and proved the fallacy of the doctrines 
 taught by the Scribes and Pharisees. 
 
 After these things our Lord went from Capernaum through 
 Galilee, and continued His visit as far as Sidon and Tyre in Phoe- 
 nicia. It is the opinion of many of the most learned authors that 
 Jesus went there to conceal Himself from Herod, who had put 
 John the Baptist to death. But it seems highly probable He went 
 there especially to administer to that heathen Canaanitish people 
 the " bread of life." He knew there were people along the route 
 and in that country waiting for the glad tidings. They followed 
 the God-man from village and city unto the cities of the coast; but 
 He had not been there but a short while when a woman of Canaan, 
 a Syrophoenician, came imploring Him to help her poor demon- 
 possessed daughter. Jesus told her " it was not meet to take the 
 children's bread and give it to the dogs." But her answer was so 
 remarkably touching, He commended her faith and expelled the 
 evil spirit from her child. 
 
 Jesus left the border of Tyre and went about twenty miles 
 further north to Sidon, then made a long circuit through Galilee to 
 the district of Decapolis. This is the country in which He was 
 rejected by multitudes of citizens, when He expelled the legion 
 from the man who was out among the tombs. The conduct of the 
 people towards Jesus had entirely changed, for they sought Him. 
 One of their highly respected friends was deaf and had an impedi- 
 ment in his speech ; they petitioned our Lord that He would heal 
 the man. This He readily complied with, and he was restored. 
 There were tremendous throngs following Him, and again He fed 
 them with seven loaves and a few fishes. On this occasion four 
 thousand men were fed, besides women and children ; and after 
 all were filled, seven basketsful of pieces were left. Jesus then 
 crossed the sea with the disciples and went to Magdala, on the 
 northwest shore, the home of Mary, out of whom He had cast seven 
 devils. This seems to have been the first visit He made here. 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 429 
 
 although He liacl beeu in the neighborhood several times. The 
 Scribes and Pharisees met Him again, but received a stern rebuke. 
 
 Our Lord then embarked and went up to the head of the sea to 
 Bethsaida Julias on the northeast. Here a throng of people met 
 Him, among whom was a blind man they brought to Him to be 
 given sight. Jesus took the man from the crowd to the outskirts 
 of the village, anointed his eyes and the man received sight. He 
 then proceeded northward to Csesarea Philippi, where He informed 
 the disciples concerning His death, and received through Peter 
 their faith as to who He was, and impressed them with the import- 
 ance of their mission, instructing them it should be more dear than 
 their life. This was' but a short time before the marvelous trans- 
 figuration. AVhen He came down from the mountain He restored 
 a lad to health who was severely controlled by an evil spirit that 
 had battled the faith of the disciples; then He went over to Caper- 
 naum, and sent seventy disciples out to prepare the way* before 
 Him towards Jerusalem, whither He was about to go (St. Mark 
 viii. 22; ix. 1-38; St. Matt. xv. 21-28; xvi. 1-4; xvii. 14; St. 
 Luke X. 1-16). 
 
 One of the most wonderful mountains in Syria is Hermon. 
 Tho.se approaching it from the east see its snow-clad summit plainly 
 as soon as they enter the southern border of the plain of Esdraelon, 
 and it continues visible, except at short intervals, for at lea.st forty 
 miles. Those who have had the courage to ascend the old tower of 
 the forty martyrs at Ramleh could see Hermon's snowy cap, look- 
 ing like a small white cloud hovering over the northern sky. Ii 
 can be seen also from an elevation near the Dead Sea along the 
 wilderness of Judea, but from both of the.se remote points a clear 
 day is necessary for the view, Hermon marked the boundary of 
 the most northern extension of the territory of the Lsraelites, and 
 is known as the Sheikh mountain of Syria. There are three 
 prominent peaks connected with this mountain ; of these the one 
 on the north is the highest ; the southern cap comes next in height; 
 the one on the west is the lowest. When the author was in its 
 neighborhood, it was too cold to attempt to ascend this stupendous 
 mountain ; in fact, it was impossible to do so, on account of the 
 deep snows which completely blocked the road ; it was impossible 
 for either camels or horses to pass. Therefore, that we might 
 reach Damascus, our final destination in Syria, w-e were compelled 
 to return to Nazareth and go by the way of Mount Carmel, Haifa, 
 Acre, Tyre and Sidon, which required three days longer to make 
 
430 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 the journey ; this would not have been necessary if the snow had 
 not prevented us from continuing along the base of Hernion. 
 
 The most favorable months to ascend this mountain are June, 
 July, August and September. Herraon is not the highest moun- 
 tain in Syria, notwithstanding it would seem so from the presence 
 of snow almost the year round, because of its being so far north. 
 Its highest peak is estimated to be nine thousand feet above the 
 level of the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the highest point of Leba- 
 non is eleven thousand — nearly two thousand feet higher. Snow 
 seldom appears on the latter after the extreme hot weather sets in. 
 Lebanon is the most conspicuous mountain range in Palestine or 
 Syria, as well as one of the most historic in the world. The 
 southern cap of Hermon is supposed to mark the site of one of 
 the high places where the worship of Baal was conducted during 
 the reign of Ahab. One of these peaks is supposed by some 
 authors to be identical with the scene of our Lord's transfiguration. 
 But, as has been stated, we incline to Mount Tabor, as the site of 
 this wondrous event. But this is a thing not known to man, and 
 must remain a mystery forever. The opinion favoring Hermon 
 seems to be based upon the fact that Jesus was in that region about 
 eight days prior to the event. This we know to be true ; but the 
 presence of the Lord at Csesarea Philippi at that time is not suffi- 
 cient proof to settle upon Hermon as the scene of the transfigura- 
 tion. Herod caused a temple to be built at Ciesarea, in honor of 
 Caesar Augustus, and changed the name from Paneas (the name 
 given it by the Greeks in honor of the god Pan, to whom they 
 built a shrine here) to Csesarea. But after Philip became tetrarch 
 of the district, he added Philippi to it, so as to distinguisii it from 
 the Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. This seems to have 
 been the fartlfest northward our Lord traveled. 
 
 The time having come for Jesus to go up to the feast at Jeru- 
 salem, He returned to Capernaum for the last time, without money 
 enough to pay the lawful tax, and the disciples were in the same 
 impoverished state. This duty had been levied by the Roman 
 government, and was greatly opposed by the Jews, who had, on 
 many occasions, made known their opposition to it. The Scribes 
 and Pharisees were, it seems, constantly agitating the people in 
 opposition to tiie payment of the tax, yet they were unable to release 
 them. Jesus had not decided that the duty imposed was legal, 
 although He was asked at one time to give His opinion concerning 
 it, when the Sadducees and Herodians came to Him with the penny 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERTAS. 431 
 
 on which was the image of Ciesar. But, on this occasion, Jesus 
 agreed with Peter that the claim was not Just, but that they miglit 
 not be considered offenders, He agreed to pay it, and told Peter to 
 go to the sea, and the first fish he should catch, open its mouth and 
 he would find a piece of money, with which he should pay their 
 tax. After this, He set out for Jerusalem, where He must meet 
 the demand of justice, and reconcile the Creator to the creature.' 
 This had to come when the most eventful life ever spent was about 
 to close. 
 
 There is no place north of Jerusalem of more interest to the 
 Christian traveler than the Sea of Tiberias and its environment. 
 Here our Lord spent much time during His public ministry. This 
 small body of water is nearly surrounded by mountamous eleva- 
 tions, so that from almost every quarter a beautiful view can be 
 gotten of the lake and country round about. Those going down 
 to Tiberias from Nazareth via Cana, have a most delightful view, 
 from the summit just east of Mount Hatten. The beautiful 
 expanse of water appearing from the distance, like an extensive 
 sheet of glass, is spread out fourteen hundred feet below the summit 
 from which the first glimpse of it is obtained ; from this point, the 
 whole of the northern and central portions are visible. One has a 
 most touching impression while looking upon the lake the first 
 time ; many incidents connected with the life of Christ naturally 
 tiood one's mind, and if he is a Christian, a fervent expression of 
 thankfulness will fill his heart. 
 
 The country round about the sea is the theatre of many of our 
 Lord's miraculous works. Teeming multitudes made the shores 
 and wilderness ring with their shouts of praise to the King of 
 kings, and hundreds who were brought to Him here, burdened 
 with deadly diseases, went to their homes nimble as young lambs. 
 Here the Pharisees, Scribes, and Elders came with vengeance in 
 their hearts, bent on influencing the people against the Son of God, 
 and if possible, to turn a flood of indignation against Him. Just over 
 there is Bethsaida, and beyond it the site of ancient Capernaum ; 
 at the same point between the two cities our Lord called Peter and 
 others from their nets to learn from Him how to catch men. 
 These poor men, unlearned and possessing but little of the goods of 
 the world, were called to be the first ministers of the new dispensa- 
 tion ; men whose experience of trials and hardships fitted them to 
 endure the various physical encumbrances they would necessarily 
 meet with in attending to the work of their mission. 
 
432 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 The Sea of Galilee is one of the most renowned of all others in 
 the world. This eminent distinction is given it because of the 
 frequent presence of our Lord about its shores, and crossing from 
 side to side when visiting the cities round about it. Those who 
 have read of the labors of Jesus in Galilee know He was often seen 
 on the shores of the sea surrounded by great muUitudes who came 
 from variou.«5 parts to see Him, and have the opportunity of witness- 
 ing some of the mighty works for which He had become so dis- 
 tinguished. This lake is estimated to be thirteen miles long from 
 the northern to its southern terminus ; its widest portion is six and 
 a half miles, and its deepest portions range from one hundred to a 
 hundred and seventy-five feet. The water is beautiful, transparent 
 and excellent to the taste. All the inhabitants round about its 
 border get their water supply from it. As in the time of Peter, 
 James, and Andrew, this little body of Mate;- furnished a living 
 for many fishermen ; so it does at present ; every hour in the day 
 when the weather permits, men can be seen along the Bethsaida 
 shore with their nets fishing. 
 
 While stopping at the little hotel in Tiberias, I ordered a fish 
 supper for the sake of eating some caught from the Sea of Galilee, 
 which was a delicious luxury to me. The fishermen seem to be 
 fearful of leaving the shore to catch the great swarms that are to 
 be seen out in the deep. 
 
 One can imagine Peter's position when Jesus bade him " go out 
 into the deep and prepare for the great draught," on the occasion 
 when he had been lingering about the shore so long making a fruit- 
 less effort to catch them. Indeed it seems to have been the custom 
 from the early times not to go far from the shore ; for when our 
 Lord was passing and called the sons of Zebedee to leave their nets 
 and follow Him, they were so near the shore His voice could be 
 distinctly heard in an ordinary tone. It is highly probable that 
 this custom was observed because of the sudden storms that sweep 
 over the sea which would damage the little vessels, and many times 
 prove fatal to life were the fishermen caught in them ; hence the 
 caution. The same custom is adhered to now ; the boatmen will 
 not venture from the shore during a storm. It seems as though 
 the fish take advantage of the timidity of their pursuers, and the 
 hosts of them are generally to be seen out in the deep. 
 
 While passing from Capernaum to Tiberias we saw multitudes 
 of fine fish out in the middle of the sea, sporting and jumping as 
 if they were laughing to scorn the power of the men who were 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND 8EA OF TIBERIAS. 433 
 
 lino;erinsr close to the shore near the site of ancient Bethsaida. It 
 is trne there were many shoals of smaller fish near the shore, but 
 they were not the kind mostly desired by the fishermen. While 
 looking at a man preparing his net, opposite Bethsaida, I remarked 
 to one of our company that that man may be just about the spot 
 Peter was when our Lord advised him to " launch out into the 
 deep and prepare for the draught." It may be of interest to many 
 to read a brief description of the situation of the sea. It is located 
 in a surprisingly deep depression, nearly surrounded by mountains; 
 some are a little remote from it, while others are so close that no 
 margin is left to walk between them and the water, and at the 
 southern end they do not appear at all. 
 
 It is thought, at some period in the past, mountains were 
 prominent on the south, but became extinct by powerful volcanic 
 actions. The mountains on the east seem to have corresponding 
 altitude along the entire border, while those on the west are much 
 broken by intervening depressions ; and yet these do not come 
 down so abruptly upon the margin of the sea as those on the 
 southern side. 
 
 Here, there is a wide space forming a shore between them and 
 the lake, on the margin of which the renowned city of Tiberias is 
 located. On the north the mountains assume the form of a semi- 
 circle, and are farther distant from the w^ater than any of the 
 neighboring hills round about ; and here Gennesaret is spread out. 
 It is called by the natives " el Ghuweir," meaning little Ghar. At 
 the foot of the hill, on the north border of the plain, are a number 
 of ruins. Many of those who have made examinations of this 
 region, locate Capernaum here; but later and perhaps more scrutinize 
 ing examinations have rendered this opinion unpopular. There 
 are many fruitful trees in the plain of Gennesaret. The whole of 
 this district is well watered, which alone makes it much more 
 desirable than any other tract of land in the region, and it has 
 been looked upon, from olden times to the present, as a paradise. 
 
 This section of country has been visited with volcanic dis- 
 turbances, remnants of which are yet to be seen. The stones 
 near the shore are cemented to shells towards the southern 
 boundary of the lake, which indicate the presence of the alarming 
 earthquakes that repeatedly visited this region. There are also 
 springs called Hammam, or hot baths, situated near the southern 
 extremity of a small plain. There are four of them, one under 
 the old ruins of a building, the other three being a little farther 
 28 
 
434 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 south. The water issuing from the springs is very salt and bit- 
 ter, constantly emitting a strong sulphurous odor. These springs 
 are highly valuable in curing rheumatism, and those afflicted with 
 it endeavor to bathe at the boiling springs on the southern shore of 
 Lake Gennesaret. The depth of the lake below the surrounding 
 country is the cause of the extraordinary heat that prevails around 
 its shores, and is said to be the reason also of the sudden high winds 
 and storms so frequently witnessed on it. 
 
 It happens many times, that travelers experience great disap- 
 pointment who go down to Tiberias, especially to have the inex- 
 pressible pleasure of crossing over to Capernaum, the Bethsaidas, 
 Magdala, and Gadara, because they are prevented from doing so 
 on account of prevailing storms ; they come, many times, so sud- 
 denly and unexpectedly that the oldest inhabitants cannot foretell 
 their approach. At times they continue two or three days ; then 
 again, they are over in a few moments. When the wind comes up 
 steadily and increasing in force from the southwest, entering the 
 Jordan valley, it sweeps violently along the whole length to its 
 mouth on the north. But when the weather is calm, it is a most 
 delightful gratification to have the privilege of sailing upon this 
 little sea, to the various places about its borders, and think of the 
 wondrous scenes that transpired here by our Lord, when the vast 
 multitudes followed Him from hill to hill and around the shores, 
 seeking His mercy. 
 
 Travelers often go around the seashore to. Capernaum and 
 other places on horses, when it is too stormy on the lake, but not 
 with much comfort. This little body of water is often referred to 
 in the Bible under different names. It is known in the ancient 
 Scriptures as the sea of Chinnereth, and it is supposed, a town was 
 located on or near the shore from which the sea's name was taken. 
 In our era its name was changed to Tiberias, after the city which 
 was founded on its southwestern border ; it is also known as Lake 
 Gennesaret, after the beautiful plain on its northwestern border, 
 and is familiarly known as the Sea of Galilee, the name of the 
 district in which it is embraced. The latter is a Gentile name, and 
 the sea is commonly called by this rather than the other. 
 
 The Old Testament associations with this lake are but few ; it 
 is specially mentioned in designating the portions allotted to Zebu- 
 lun and Naphtali, but the references to it in the New Testament 
 are many. The western shores and border-land of the sea must 
 have been the most important as well as the most business-like 
 
KOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 435 
 
 portion of the whole province of Galilee. The most of the large 
 cities and towns were round about it, and the people from the 
 various parts of the country came to transact business and for 
 other causes. Trains of camels and donkeys, heavily ladened 
 with rich merchandise from Egypt, Jerusalem, and Damascus, 
 came this way, and a mixture of races inhabited Galilee at the 
 time our Lord opened up a travel through these parts, especially 
 for a variety of people not of the Jewish family. 
 
 Tiberias, on the southwest shore, is supposed to have contained 
 a larger Gentile population than any other city in Galilee. It was 
 founded by Herod Antipas,and was made the capital of the province. 
 This city is not specially referred to in the Scriptures as such ; 
 St. John, in speaking of the Sea of Galilee, mentioned its name 
 by way of reference. It was not founded until the twentieth year 
 of our era, and there is no record of our Lord having ever visited 
 it during His ministry. Tiberias soon became the chief city of the 
 Galilean province, and was beautified with many handsome build- 
 ings, among which were the royal palace and the amphitheatre. 
 Tamud says, " The site of Tiberias was formerly occupied by a 
 city called Rakkah." It became the seat of the Sanhedrim, and 
 the chief city of Jewish literature after the fall of Jerusalem. It 
 is now looked upon by the Jews as a sacred city, and they rever- 
 ence it as such. Many of their most learned rabbis lived, taught 
 and died here, and many prominent tombs are seen, which are sup- 
 posed to be their silent homes. 
 
 The present population is something over six thousand, of whom 
 two-thirds are Jews, three hundred are Christians, and the re- 
 mainder Mohammedans. The Free Church of Scotland has a 
 mission here, seemingly in a flourishing state. There is not a radical 
 numerical change manifest, but those who do come from under the 
 heavy yoke of Judaism or Mohammedanism, seem to be staunch 
 for the cause of Christ. The present town is small, partially sur- 
 rounded by walls, very low and very weak. This renowned city, 
 like all others of fame and high distinction in Palestine, has 
 suffered greatly on account of wars and other calamities. Under 
 Constantine's administration it was set apart as the Episcopal See ; 
 many Christians settled here and built several churches, in which 
 the services of God were conducted enthusiastically. Justinian 
 rebuilt the walls, which had been demolished, and for a time the 
 city prospered religiously and otherwise. But the Persians, under 
 the generalship of Khosrus, or Khosroes, captured the city about 
 
436 • THE LAXD OF PROMLSE. 
 
 the year six hundered and fourteen, and in twenty-three years after- 
 wards it was taken from them by the Arabs, Moslems, under the 
 leadership of Omar. At the time of the Crusade conquest Tan- 
 cred captured it, and renewed the bishopric. But this victory was 
 not permanent, although it may have seemed so for a while. The 
 indefatigable Moslems came up more powerful than ever under the 
 victorious Saladin, and swept everything before them. Tiberias 
 and all Palestine was forced to surrender to them. The battlefield 
 where the great victory was won is called " The Horns of Hattin." 
 There are a few remnants of the ancient city yet remaining in the 
 southern portions of the present town, which largely consist of old 
 foundations and ruins of the original walls. There is a small 
 space of old Mosaic, still in a mediumly good state of preservation, 
 at the foot of the hill where the gorgeous palace of Herod stood. 
 These are about the only remnants of ancient relics to be seen. 
 
 The Jews of Tiberias, are generally recognized on sight, by their 
 odd appearance from the other people of the town. Many of them 
 wear high, black hats, wholly rimless, and sloping towards the 
 top; they also have long hair, hanging in ringlets about their shoul- 
 ders. They generally look pale and despondent. Some of them 
 are conducting a small business about the bazaar and the most 
 prominent thoroughfares; but the greater number of them have the 
 reputation of being paupers. It is with much difficulty that those 
 who made investigations have agreed as to the identity of some of 
 the sites ; but there seems to be no disagreement as to the site of 
 Tiberias. 
 
 About three and a Iralf miles from this town, on the northwest- 
 ern shore, is a very uninviting little town known as Mejdel, and 
 the only inhabited place in the plain of Gennesaret. It only con- 
 tains about twenty or thirty huts and the ruins of a tower. But 
 the site is one of the most ancient about the sea. The distin- 
 guished Magdala, the birth-place and home of Mary Magdalene, was 
 located on this ground now occupied by a few miserable huts. Our 
 Lord made a short visit here. The best time to make a start to visit 
 these ancient sites is in the morning early, as they are several miles 
 apart. It will require a day to see some of them properly. It 
 seems that all visitors to the Sea of Galilee are enthused with the 
 same spirit when they arrive at Tiberias ; that is, to make a visit to 
 Capernaum first of all. 
 
 The present Capernaum has been settled upon as the identical 
 site of the flourishing ancient city that, until Tiberias rose into 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 437 
 
 fame, was the capital of Galilee. It was the most flourishing of all 
 the cities about the lake in our Lord's time, and the city He chose 
 for a home after leaving Nazareth. The site of this ancient city is 
 now called by the natives Tell-Hum. There are two ways by 
 which Capernaum may be reached ; one is by skirting the shore as 
 much as possible over-land ; the other, by crossing the historic lake 
 in small boats especially built for that purpose. The latter is far 
 the best way ; it affords a good opportunity to see both the south- 
 east and northwest shores to a greater advantage, and also the hills 
 and valleys round about. Another advantage of crossing in the 
 boat is, the visitor may avail himself of the opportunity of reading 
 up the topography of each place before arriving, which will be a 
 valuable aid to any one who seeks to obtain the general history of 
 the place about to be visited. We have found in several instances, 
 the guides must be questioned by those whom they have in charge ; 
 otherwise they will furnish but a meagre account of some of the 
 most historic places. 
 
 It is proper to state that the site of ancient Capernaum has long 
 been disputed, as all other places whose identity has not been 
 developed beyond all possible doubt; the reason for these unsettled 
 opinions has been explained. But there have been recent develop- 
 ments, caused by more minute examinations, which point to Tell- 
 Hum as the most probable site of ancient Capernaum. One of 
 the most important discoveries is the ruins of an old synagogue, 
 and several ancient tombs. There are many fragments of the old 
 synagogue scattered over the ground which have been carefully 
 examined ; and from the many illustrations they develop, it has 
 been concluded they are the remains of the synagogue built by the 
 Roman centurion, who sent for our Lord to come and heal his 
 servant, and afterwards thought himself unworthy for Him to 
 come under his roof. If the opinion with regard to it is true, it is 
 also the place in which our Lord delivered that most impressive 
 sermon on the "bread of life." (St. Luke vii. 5). Up the slope 
 behind the synagogue, are many ruins of an ancient city, spreading 
 over about three-quarters of a mile; and it is evident the greater 
 number of them have not been discovered, for they are deeply 
 buried under ground. 
 
 Capernaum is called by St. Matthew our Lord's " own city ; " 
 the Holy Scriptures refer to it many times, but it has come to 
 naught ; and any one walking amidst the ruins of the fallen city, 
 cannot fail to see the literal fulfillment of the Lord's prediction as 
 
438 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 to its dreadful fate. There is at present a small Latin convent at 
 Capernaum, near the site of the old synagogue ; it was not finished 
 at the time of my visit, but was in hopeful progress. The custo- 
 dian was very polite, and seemed to be willing to do all necessary 
 to make strangers comfortable. It is the usual luncheon place for 
 those who arrive there about noon. One can almost imagine him- 
 self to be living in the time of our Lord, as he walks amid the 
 scenes of those ancient localities where He performed many mighty 
 works, although he looks in vain for the beautiful cities that once 
 crowned the hills round about, through whose busy streets thous- 
 ands passed in haste, on their way to the sea-shore, looking for 
 "Jesus of Nazareth." Yet there is something impressive in 
 " Capernaum," especially when one is standing on or near the 
 place it stood (exalted in glory), that produces an impression hard 
 to explain. But where now is the mighty city that made the hill 
 on which it stood vocal, by reason of multitudes of voices of Jews 
 and Gentiles? Where are those mighty buildings that changed 
 this solitude into a paradise ? All have fallen to rise no more, for 
 the " mouth of the Lord hath declared it." About two miles 
 north of Capernaum are the extensive ruins of Chorazin, having 
 many visible remnants of its ancient buildings. There seems to be 
 no doubt as to its identity. The Bethsaida, which seems to have 
 been largely inhabited by fishermen and their families, is believed 
 by those who have carefully examined the site to have been located 
 near the present Tabighah, close to the edge of the plain of Gen- 
 nesaret, where the German Roman Catholics, have founded a 
 colony. It is regarded as the most desirable place along the north- 
 west shore for a fishing village to be located. This site seems to 
 accord with the description the Scriptures give of it, as being near 
 the sea. 
 
 It is also gratifying to make a short visit at least, over to Ger- 
 gesa, where once stood the city of the Gergesenes, in the district of 
 Gadara, to view the ''steep place" where the swine ran down and 
 " were choked in the sea," when the legion entered them. If there 
 have been no changes in the physical condition of this portion of 
 the sea-shore, there is no doubt as to the identity of the site of the 
 event. It is the only spot along the eastern shore that corresponds 
 with the narrative. The hill is very steep and runs abruptly into 
 the water, without having any margin to allow one to walk ; but 
 there is a narrow strip of shore, everywhere else wide enough for 
 persons to walk between the sea and hills; sometimes the space is 
 
NOTED PLACES AROUND SEA OF TIBERIAS. 439 
 
 SO narrow only one can pass at a time, but the "steep place" 
 runs down directly into the sea. It has been said that travelers 
 sometimes become confused in regard to the several names given 
 this part of the country in the Bible, and some have been disposed 
 to become somewhat skeptical, thinking the Evangelists contradict 
 each other. 
 
 St. Matthew speaks of the Gergesenes in his narrative, and St. 
 Mark and St. Luke call them the Gadarenes. But it should be 
 remembered St. Matthew speaks of the people as inhabitants of a 
 city in the province, and St. Mark and St. Luke refer to them as 
 citizens of that country. For example, we may, in speaking of a 
 person or people, call them Marylanders, meaning they live in 
 that State ; or, we might call them Baltimoreans, meaning they 
 live in Baltimore ; but this would not conflict with the fact of 
 them being ISIarylanders. Gadara was the district. Gergesa was 
 a city in the district ; therefore the Gergesenes were Gadarenes, 
 and the statements of the Apostles are in harmony. There are 
 three or four other places in the region of the sea usually visited 
 that should be at least briefly mentioned. These are the two 
 Bethsaidas, Gadara and the Jordan. 
 
 On the northeast side of the sea stood, in our Lord's time, a 
 beautiful little city which Philip the Tetrarch enlarged and em- 
 bellished, calling it Bethsaida Julias, in honor of Julias, daughter 
 of Augustus of Rome. This name also distinguished it from the 
 Bethsaida on the edge of the Gennesaret plain on the northwest 
 shore. 
 
 It has been a question with some authors as to whether there 
 existed two Bethsaidas in Galilee ; but careful investigations, in 
 connection with what has been gleaned from the Scriptures, have 
 disclosed the fact of their existence to the satisfaction of all who 
 have taken pains to find out the facts in the case. It is believed 
 both places were comparatively large for the time, and were thickly 
 settled with a busy population ; one of them was located on the 
 northwest, adjacent to the plain of Gennesaret, where Peter, James, 
 John, Andrew, and Philip lived, at least for a while ; for we have 
 reason to believe that the former afterward moved to Capernaum. 
 The Bethsaida Julias was situated on the northeast of the sea, and 
 north of Gergesa. There are several references made to these Beth- 
 saidas in the Scriptures, which will prove interesting to the Bible 
 student, Bethsaida Julias was nearly opposite Capernaum. The 
 disciples went there after the miracle of the desert, just before our 
 
440 THE LAND OF PROMISE. 
 
 Lord went with them to Caesarea Philippi. Close to it the place is 
 located where, it is supposed, the multitudes were fed when Jesus 
 blessed the seven loaves and few fishes. St. John says, " The 
 multitude found Him on the other side of the sea," which is an 
 evidence that two Bethsaidas existed at that time : for the one 
 in which the fishermen lived was on the northwest. It will be 
 found by any who will examine the Scriptures, the feeding of the 
 four thousand men and a large number, probably, of women and 
 children, was not in the same place the five thousand were fed ; the 
 former was near Bethsaida Julias. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 ABANA, River 385 
 
 ^ Abraham 151-235-244 
 
 Absalom 112-120 
 
 Absalom's Pillar 121 
 
 Acre 363 
 
 Acre, Plain of 363 
 
 Ahab 310-317 
 
 Ai 51 
 
 Ajalon 51 
 
 Allotments 21 
 
 Antonia 134 
 
 Arimathea 49-233 
 
 Armed Merchants and Shepherds . 15 
 
 Ashdod 50-302 
 
 Asher 23 
 
 Assyria 3 
 
 jDEEROTH 232 
 
 Beersheba 22 
 
 Benjamin 23-236 
 
 Bethany 104 
 
 Bethel 235 
 
 Bethesda, Pool of 70-129-130 
 
 Beth-horou, The 54 
 
 Bethlehem • . 168 
 
 Bethsaida • 431-439 
 
 Bethsaida, Julius 439 
 
 Beth-zur 145 
 
 Bezetha 95-99 
 
 Boundary 2 
 
 r^ESAREA Philippi .... 402-440 
 
 ^ Calvary 96-98 
 
 Canaan 1 
 
 Canaanites, Primitive 375 
 
 Capernaum 409 
 
 Page 
 
 Carmel, Mt 357 
 
 Cherith, Brook 221-325 
 
 Chorazin 438 
 
 Climate 10-11-18 
 
 DAMASCUS 388 
 
 Dan, Territory of 238 
 
 David's Tomb 92-136 
 
 Dead Sea 186 
 
 Decapolis 417 
 
 Decline of Two Kingdoms . . 309-315 
 Dothan 290 
 
 pBAL, MT 269 
 
 Ebenezer 60 
 
 .Edom or Idumea 2 
 
 Eglou 54 
 
 Egypt 256 
 
 Ekron 302 
 
 Ehud 26 
 
 Elah, Brook 6 
 
 El-Aksa, Mo.sque of 80 
 
 Elijah 323 
 
 Elisha 333 
 
 Elisha's Fountain 219 
 
 Endor • 313-314 
 
 Engannim 292 
 
 Engedi 185 
 
 Enon 286 
 
 En-rogel 122 
 
 Ephraim, Territory of 22 
 
 Esdraelon, Plain of . . . 292-313-314 
 
 Eshcol 158 
 
 Etham 1 78 
 
 Euphrates 131 
 
 441 
 
442 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 pALSE Teachers Rebuked . . .315 
 
 Farming Implements .... 14 
 
 Frank, Mt 361 
 
 rAD 22 
 
 Gadara . 439 
 
 Galilee, Province of 348 
 
 Galilee, Sea of 434 
 
 Gath 50-302 
 
 Gaza 302 
 
 General Character of Hebrews . . 20 
 
 Gergesa 439 
 
 Gerizim 257-268-269-272 
 
 Gethsemane 108 
 
 Gibeah 231 
 
 Gibeon or Il-Jib 68-121 
 
 Gideon 297 
 
 Gilboa, Mt 292 
 
 Gilead 113 
 
 Gilgal 218 
 
 Golgotha 96-98 
 
 Gomorrah 195 
 
 UAIFA 362 
 
 Harod, Well of 298 
 
 Haran 74-236 
 
 Hatten, Mt 417 
 
 Hazor 50 
 
 Hebron 146-152-113 
 
 Hermou, Mt 429 
 
 Hermon, Little 292 
 
 Herod 76, 200 
 
 Hinnom, Valley of 122 
 
 Holy Nativity, Church of .... 169 
 
 ISRAEL, Idolatry of 124 
 
 Issachar 314 
 
 JACOB'S WELL 252 
 
 •^ Jabiu 56 
 
 Jebus 85 
 
 Jehoshaphat, Valley of . . .113-136 
 
 Jephthah 30 
 
 Jerichos 218 
 
 Jerusalem 62 
 
 Page 
 
 Jezreel 308-309 
 
 Joppa 43 
 
 Jorara 310 
 
 .Jordan, River 208 
 
 Jordan, ^^alley of 208 
 
 Joseph's Tomb 264 
 
 Judah, Kingdom of 238 
 
 Judea, Wilderness of 185 
 
 Judges 25 
 
 j/EDESH Naphtali 294 
 
 Kedron, Valley of . . . 131-139 
 
 Khan 405 
 
 King's Garden 178 
 
 Kirjath-Arba 151 
 
 Kirjath-Jearim 53 
 
 Kishon, Brook . . 361 
 
 T EBANON, MT 384-430 
 
 Landmarks 16 
 
 Lebanon, Anti- 385 
 
 Lebonah 250 
 
 Levi 23 
 
 Levites 24 
 
 Lydda 49 
 
 ]V/|ACHFELAH 153-155 
 
 ^^ Magdala 436 
 
 Mahanaim 118 
 
 Makkedah 56 
 
 Mamre 150 
 
 Manasseh 22 
 
 Mar-Saba 179 
 
 Mecca 394 
 
 Merom, Lake 57 
 
 Midian • ... 296 
 
 Mizpeh 59 
 
 Moab 200 
 
 Moriah, Mt 93-101-135 
 
 Mukhna, Plain of 251 
 
 AJABOTH'S Vineyard . . . 310-311 
 
 ^ Nain 311-313 
 
 Names Given Palestine 1-2 
 
 Naphtali, Tribe of 23 
 
INDEX. 
 
 443 
 
 Nazareth 340 
 
 Nebo, Mt 215 
 
 Nebo and Pisgah, View of ... . 20S 
 
 Neby-Samuel 59 
 
 Neby-Da'rid 138 
 
 Nob . . ., 230 
 
 ABADIAH 325 
 
 ^ 01ive,s, Mt. of 103-107-131 
 
 Old Judges Revenged IB 
 
 Omar, Mosque of 75 
 
 Ophel 128 
 
 PALESTINE .... 
 
 Permanent Homes 
 
 Persians 
 
 Philistia 
 
 Phoenicia 
 
 Physical Formation of the Country 
 
 Pisgah, Mt 
 
 Political Status 
 
 Pools of Solomon 
 
 Potter's Field 
 
 Prophets 
 
 Proselytes to Baal 
 
 17 
 
 182 
 
 4 
 
 214 
 7-10 
 176 
 123 
 318 
 315 
 
 D ACHEL'S TOMB 164 
 
 Ramah of Benjamin .... 232 
 
 Ramah of Samuel 233 
 
 Ramleh . 49 
 
 Reuben 21 
 
 Rimmon, Plouse of 397 
 
 CAMARIA 
 
 Samuel . . . , . 
 
 Scopus 131 
 
 Seir, Mt 
 
 Shamgar 
 
 Sharon, Plain of 
 
 Shechem 153 
 
 Shiloh 
 
 Shnnammite Woman 
 
 Siddim, Valley of 
 
 Sidon 
 
 Siloam, Pools of 
 
 Simon, Sou of a Star 
 
 Sodom 
 
 Solomon 
 
 Sychar 
 
 Syria 
 
 P.\OE 
 
 273 
 
 31 
 
 -228 
 
 295 
 
 27 
 
 47 
 
 -265 
 
 246 
 
 335 
 
 207 
 
 366 
 
 129 
 
 359 
 
 195 
 
 176 
 
 259 
 
 3 
 
 TABERNACLE ........ 23 
 
 ^ Tabor 400 
 
 Tell-Hum 409 
 
 Tiberias 419 
 
 Tirzah 276 
 
 Titus 131 
 
 Tyre 128 
 
 Tyropeau, Valley 128 
 
 7EBULUN, Territory of ... 23 
 Zion ". . 101-135-143 
 
 Zoar 
 
 200 
 

 ■■ y 
 
 irj. 
 
 c-' y ~-l>^f^;\_ 
 
 'in/y-'^-h^