A • If) princ'SjCton, N. J. I • Part of the 4 t ADDIK05 ALEXANDER LIBKAKY, ^ ^ which \jfaf. presented by li Y Mkbsks. If. L. Asv A. Stuakt. \| I Cffsr, Division A. Shelf. Section. ..r. \ 9. (Z. ^jUcoccy>\^^ /7l ci^e^ /S, //I HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE. JERrSALKM AT TIIK TIMK OF CHKIST AN HISTORICAL GEOaMPHY OF THE BIBLE. BY REV. LYMAN 'Coleman, ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS, FROM THE LATEST AND MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES, OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES. NEW EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS. PHILADELPHIA : PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLEE & CO. 1850. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849 by LYMAN C O J E M A N, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court ot the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. E. B. MEARS, STEREOTYPER. C. SHERMAN, PKINTER. PREFACE. '^My mother," says Lamartine, ^^had received from hers, on the bed of death, a beautiful copy of the Bible of Royau- mont, in which she taught me to read when I was a little child. This Bible had engravings on sacred subjects in every page ; they depicted Sarah, Tobit and his angel, Joseph and Samuel ; and, above all, those beautiful patriarchal scenes, in which the solemn and primitive nature of the East was blended with all the arts of the simple and wonderful lives of the fathers of mankind. When I had repeated my lesson well, and read with only a fault or two the half page of historical matter, my mother uncovered the engraving, and holding the book open on her lap, showed and explained it to me as my recompense. She was endowed by nature with a mind as pious as it was tender, and with the most sensitive and vivid imagination ; all her thoughts were sentiments, and eveiy sen- timent was an image. Her beautiful, noble, and benign coun- tenance, reflected in its radiant physiognomy all that glowed in her heart, all that was painted in her thoughts; and the sil- very, affectionate, solemn, and impassioned tone of her voice, added to all that she said, an accent of strength, grace, and love, which still sounds in my ear, after six years of absence. The sight of these engravings, the explanations, and the poeti- cal commentaries of my mother, inspired me, from the most tender infancy, with a taste and inclination for Biblical lore. " From the love of the things themselves, to the desire of seeing the places where these things had occurred, there was (5) VI PREFACE. but a step. I burned, therefore, from the age of eight years, with the desire of going to visit those mountains on which God descended ; those deserts where the angel pointed out to Hagar the hidden spring, whence her banished child, dying with thirst, might derive refreshment; those rivers which flowed from the terrestrial paradise; the spot in the firmament at which the angels were seen ascending and descending Jacob's ladder. This desire grew with my growth, and strengthened with my strength ; I was always dreaming of travelling in the East; I never ceased arranging in my mind a vast and reli- gious epopee, of which these beautiful spots should be the principal scene." This passage is pertinent to our present purpose, as illustra- tive of the means employed by this mother to interest her noble son in the reading of the Scriptures. As he read, she discoursed with serious earnestness upon the events related. She pointed out the geographical position of the places where they transpired, and by pictorial representations aided his youthful fancy to form a vivid conception of the surrounding scenery and all the attending circumstances of the narrative under consideration. The lands of the Bible became by these means the subject of delightful contemplation, and its won- ders, events of deep and stirring interest to the imaginative, susceptible spirit of this child. As he roamed in fancy over the varied scenery of mountain and desert, of hill and valley, of lake and river and sacred fountain, each had a charm be- yond all that nature gives, arising from the sacred associations with which it was connected. The result of this judicious training is manifest in the devout spirit of the great orator, statesman, and poet of France, and in his profound reverence for the Word of God. The present work is the result of an endeavour to interest the reader in the study of Scripture, by directing his attention to the historical incidents therein recorded, in connexion with a PREFACE. VII geographical description of the localities mentioned in the pro- gress of the history. It is an attempt to put in requisition the principle of association, to give interest to the study of the Bible, and to employ this great law of our nature in the study of Sacred Geography, by connecting it with that of Sacred History. In the universities of Europe, geography is taught chiefly, if not entirely, by associating it with history. Ritter, the great geographer of the age, pursues this method. His learned and voluminous works are historical geographies of the countries of which they treat. Rohr's historico-geographical account of Palestine has had a wider ch'culation in Germany than any kindred work. To associate the geography of a country with its history, is indeed the most efficient, if not the only effectual method of rendering the study of both mutually entertaining and instructive. It wonderfully aids the memory to know where any histori- cal event occurred, while it quickens, in an equal degree, our interest in the narrative. On the other hand, we read with indifference what we do not understand. To one who has no knowledge of Biblical history and geography, what is the Bible itself but an antiquated record of dim and distant events, about which he knows nothing, and cares as little, and full of myste- ries alike uninteresting and unintelligible ! But to one of dif- ferent qualifications, it may become the most attractive of books. The study of Sacred Geography is accordingly an indispensable requisite for an intelligent and interested perusal of the Scriptures. Tell a child of the Mount of God, of the desert, the plain, the lake, the city, where each moving inci- dent of Scripture narrative occurred, and the reading of the Bible, which seemed so dull, becomes attractive and entertain- ing. The historical associations that cluster thickly around the sacred names of Sinai, Hebron, Bethel, Bethlehem, Nazareth, VIU PREFACE. Gennesaret. Jordan^ Jerusalem, and other localities of the Holy Land, give to Biblical history a charm that never tires. With these views, the author has laboured to bring together, in the following manual, the results of modern research in the department of Sacred Geography, in connexion with the histo rical events associated with each locality. In the progress of the work, he has had continually in mind not only those who, in Sunday-schools and Bible-classes, may be engaged in the study of the Scriptures, but the youth of the land in our schools, academies, and colleges, who are expected to study the geography of the Bible as an indispensable part of their education. At the same time, he has studiously sought to make it a convenient assistant to the theological student, the instructor, the parent, and the pastor, in his efforts to interest others in the reading of the Scriptures. Diligent reference has been made to the latest and most authentic sources of information, in the works of writers upon this subject, both English and German; such as Rosenmiiller, Winer, Von Raumer, Rohij Arnold, Weiland Jahn, Ritter, Kitto, &c.. together with the travels of Drs. Olin, Durbin, and Wilson, Mr. Stephens, Messrs. Irby and Mangles, Burckhardt, Lamartine, &c. In common with all who have an interest in this subject, the author is under peculiar obligations to Dr. Robinson, for his invaluable Biblical Researches in Palestine. This has become a standard work in Biblical Geography, from which all must freely draw, either directly or indirectly, who treat of the localities which come within the range of his travels and his searching investigations. In this Historical Geography, the Bible is all the ivhile sup- posed to be the principal text-book. This is to be constantly consulted in the study of Sacred Geography, and the present manual, to be used only in connexion with the reading of Sacred history. Of what avail is a commentary without the text ? So PREFACE. IX lo this work belongs only the subordinate office of assisting the reader to a just comprehension of the incidents, historical and geographical, which occur in the consecutive reading of the Sacred Scriptures. Constant reference to maps is indispensable for a thorough comprehension and vivid recollection both of Sacred Geography and Sacred history. It is no less important as the means of giving interest to the perusal of the Word of God. Indeed, the true rule for the study of the Scriptures is, to let no historical incident, no local designation, no technical term, no rite or ceremony, pass unnoticed. The maps have been carefully prepared from the latest authorities. Kiepert's Bible Atlas, accompanying Dr. Lisco's works, and the maps of Drs. Wilson and Robinson, have been the principal reliance of the artist in the execution of his task. The index which accompanies these maps, will direct the reader to the principal localities in Biblical Geography, and con- tribute not a litde to the convenience of the learner. Particular care has been used not to confound the known with the unknown. Such confusion, however, is in some degree una- voidable, until one has made himself somewhat familiar with the subject, and until the geography of the Bible shall be better understood. Considerable obscurity overshadows that portion of the Mosaic history which precedes the exodus of the Israel- ites. These localities are given from the latest German author- ities above mentioned. After passing this period of history, the localities are better known. In Maps V. and VI. of Pales- tine, such localities as have been clearly identified by modern research, were first entered in small capitals, to distinguish them from what may be more or less conjectural and indeter- minate. The outline was then filled by copying from Kiepert's Bible Atlas, Berlin, 1847. Let the learner begin by establishing a few landmarks as central points from which to determine the relative positions of X PREFACE. Other places; such as Jerusalem, the Mediterranearij and Iho Dead Sea, the Jordan and the Sea of Gallilee. Let this outline then be extended, and embrace the Tigris, the Euphrates, Asia Minor, Egypt and the Desert of Arabia, together with the Nile, the Red Sea, Mount Sinai, &c. Let him in this manner estab- lish the position and natural features of a few important points, and let the oudine be filled with the details as they may arise. The relative position, the bearing and distances, may be noted only in general terms, but care should be taken not to rely too much upon these statistical data. To give specific bounda- ries, and to attempt to define with accuracy, where so much is still indeterminate, only leads to positive error, by confounding the true with the false, the certain wuth the uncertain. With these suggestions and explanations, the book is com- mitted to the public, in the hope that it may, in some humble measure, assist the young to read with more intelligent interest the Sacred Scriptures ; and that so reading, they may, through grace, learn by blest experience the divine power of this Holy Book in enlightening the eyes, rejoicing the heart, and convert- ing the soul. Philadelphia, April, 1849. CONTENTS. OLD TESTAMENT. CHAPTER I. Antediluvian Period Page 17 CHAPTER II. From the Deluge to the Call op Abraham . . 37 CHAPTER III. From the Call of Abraham to the Descent into Egypt 53 CHAPTER IV. The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt . . 71 CHAPTER V. Settlement in Canaan under Joshua. . . . 119 CHAPTER VI. Judges and Ruth 201 CHAPTER VII. Samuel and Saul 210 > CHAPTER VIII. David and Solomon , ,235 CHAPTER IX. Kings of Judah and Israel 265 (11) Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. JUDAH UNTIL THE CaPTIVITY CHAPTER XI. The Captivity, and Later Prophets . 332 338 NEW TESTAMENT. CHAPTER I. Political Divisions CHAPTER II. Synopsis of the Harmony . CHAPTER III. Acts of the Apostles Conclusion . Chronological Table Index of Texts Index of the Harmony Index of Subjects Index of Maps Index of Battle-Scenes in Jewish History Chart of the elevation of Important Places 355 362 406 450 453 475 484 489 503 513 514 MAPS. I. Jerusalem-in the Time of Christ. Frontispiece. II. The Ancient World, as knovtn to the Israelites in the Time of Moses. III. The Exodus of the Israelites. IV. Palestine under the Kings and tpie Judges, with the Allotment of the Tribes. V. Southern part of Palestine in the Time of Christ. VI. Northern part of Palestine in the Time of Christ. VII. Missionary Tours of the Apostle Paul. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. CHAPTER I. ANTEDILUVIAN PERIOD. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Modern geology dates this original act of crea- tion far back in the unknown, unfathomable depths of eternity. From the beginning down to the creation of man, it supposes the lapse of ages on ages, in which the successive stages of creation intervened at distant intervals, until the whole was concluded by forming man out of the dust of the earth. The chaotic mass of which the earth was at first composed is supposed to have subsided gradually, and to have resolved itself into its original elements. The firmament, the waters, and the earth, as they became capable of supporting li\^ng creatures after their kind, had, previous to man's creation, received from the hand of God their respective orders of beings, of fowls, and fishes, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. These successive stages and acts of creation are, ac- When was the world created ? And in what state ? How did it become capable of supporting the different orders of beings ? Wh^t is said of the successive stages of creation ? 2 18 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. cording to the theories of geology, the several days into which the work of creation is distributed in the Mosaic record. As in all languages a day often expresses an indefinite period of time^ so, here it is supposed to comprehend any requisite number of years, or of ages. Even in this narrative we have an instance of this in- determinate use of the word : — " These are the genera- tions of the heavens and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens," (Gen. ii : 4.) EDEN, PARADISE. Adam, at his creation, was placed in a garden in the land of Eden. But where was Eden? All the re- sources of literature, of philology, and of historical research have been put in requisition to make out some satisfactory answer to this inquiry ; but it remains still unanswered. The learned have brought to this investi- gation the aid of the most recent discoveries of Eastern missionaries and travellers ; and, after the widest range of inquiry, have only returned with some elaborate theory, or fanciful conjecture. The geographical position of Eden as defined by Moses is involved in great obscurity ; and yet it evidently was designed to describe the location of the country by landmarks that were familiarly known at the time. Four rivers proceeded from it, one of which encom- passed the land of Havilah, where was found fine gold and precious stones. Two other places bearing this name are mentioned in Gen. x: 7 and 29; but each is What were the days of creation ? What is said of Eden ? What of its geographical position ? What rivers proceeded from it ? What places were named Havilah 7 EDEN, PARADISE. 19 evidently distinct from this, which is totally unknown. Another encompassed the land of Cush ; w^hich, in other passages, is the Ethiopia of the Scriptures, lying upon either side of the Red Sea, in Upper Egypt and Southern Arabia (Gen. x : 7) ; but in this place it seems to be the name of some other country, now unknown. The third river, Hiddekel, flow^ed from Eden towards Assyria. This w^as the Tigris. The fourth w^as the Euphrates; this famous river was so well known as to need no description. It is there- fore merely named by the sacred geographer; while the other rivers, as being less know^n, are described by the countries which bordered on their banks. The original plainly says that the rivers of Paradise first arose from one source ; and that, after flow^ing out of the garden, it divided itself into four great rivers, running in different directions. But \vas such a thing ever known on earth ? Herder, in view of this diffi- culty, says, that all the traditions of the Upper Asiatics place this Paradise on the loftiest land of the globe, with an original living fountain, and with its rivers fertilizing the world. '« Chinese and Thibetians, Hin- doos and Persians speak of this primitive mountain of the creation, around which lands, seas, and islands lie, and from the cloud-capped summit of which the earth has received the boon of its rivers." The Mosaic account he considers as one of these Asiatic tradi- tions. (Gen. ii: 10.)* Describe Havilah. What other places of that name are men- tioned? Describe Cush. Hiddekel. Euphrates. What traditions are mentioned of the original fountain ? Give Herder's theory. •Philosophyofthe History of Mankind. Eng. Translation, vol. i. p. 508, cited in Bib. Cabinet, No. XI, 51. 20 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Whatever be the meaning of the original, Eden was confessedly situated upon the Tigris and the Euphrates. This fact is so plainly declared, that any theory which removes the abode of our first parents from these rivers, may be dismissed as unworthy of consideration. If, among the conjectures of the learned on this subject, we must make a choice, it w^ould de- cidedly be in favour of that which supposes the land of Eden to comprise a considerable extent of country in the mountainous regions of Armenia, which have recently been explored by the Nestorian missionaries from America. The head waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris flow from these elevated regions towards the south, and have been traced to sources not more than fifteen or twenty miles from each other. Those of the Araxes flow from near the same region towards the east, or north-east, into the Caspian Sea ; while other smaller streams run off to the north- w^est into the Black Sea. Of these rivers, two are acknowledged to be the same as those which issued from Eden ; two others may have borne the ancient names of Pison and Gihon. This theory was first propounded by Reland, and has since been adopted by Calmet and many others. It were easy to oppose objections to this, as well as to every other theory on the subject ; and the reader may fairly be left to his own conclusions in the choice of these difficulties. But whatever may have been the location of Eden, the residence of the first human pair was in a garden in the eastern part of it. This dwell- Describe Armenia. What rivers flow fiom it ? What rivers flow from it into the Black Sea? Into the Caspian Sea ? Into the Persian Gulf? What and where was Paradise? THE LAND OF NOD. 21 ing-place of our first parents has received the name of Paradise. THE LAND OF NOD. One other antediluvian country is mentioned in Scripture, in connexion with the history of Cain. Of this we know nothing, save that it was east of Eden. Driven from the presence of the Lord, Cain «^ went and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." It was, as its name indicates, a land of wandering, of flight, of banishment — some desert region in which the wretched fugitive roamed about, an exile and a vagabond. In this land, however, he had some settled abode ; where he built a city to which he gave the name of Enoch. (Gen. iv: 16,17.) These brief and imperfect sketches are all the geo- graphical notices that remain of the w^orld before the flood. The names of a few of the venerable patriarchs of the ancient world are given in the Mosaic record ; but nothing is said of the countries w^hich they in- habited, or the cities which they built. Whether the works of man were entirely swept away by the flood, and the face of the earth wholly changed when the fountains of the great deep w^ere broken up, or whether the ruins of their cities survived the desolations of the flood, they have perished from the face of the earth. What countries the antediluvians inhabited, what cities they founded, and what monuments of their arts they reared — all is alike unknown. What is the meaning of the Land of Nod ? Relate the narrative of Cain. What city did he build ? What is known of the works of the antediluvians ? What is said of the countries inhabited by them? What is said of their monuments of art ? 22 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. PROGRESS OF THE ANTEDILUVIANS IN CIVILIZATION, LITERA- TURE, AND THE ARTS. Much has been written respecting the progress of the antediluvians in the cultivation of literature, and of the useful arts. Some have supposed that man began his existence in a state of ignorance and barba- rism, but a little above the beasts of the field, and was left, by his own unaided reason, to form for himself a language, to learn the arts, and to perfect them by the process of experience; to organize society, to enact laws for self-defence as they were found necessary, and gradually to raise himself from a savage to a civilized state. This theory supposes the inhabitants of the earth before the flood to have been comparatively few, over- spreading but a small portion of the earth's surface, and to have been but partially civilized, without learn- ing, and only rude proficients even in the common mechanic arts. Others, with much greater probability, suppose Adam at his creation to have been something more than " a noble savage," or an adult infant. He came forth from the hand of the Creator in the full maturity of manhood, endowed by the benevolent Being who gave him his existence, with whatever of intelligence, of skill in lan- guage and in the arts of civilized life, was necessary for him to begin an existence worthy of the exalted destiny for which he was created. It is worthy of special consideration, that there is not in history the slightest indication of a savage state before the flood. The men of that epoch were profi- What evidence that the original state of man was civilized ? What was the state of society before the flood ? If barbarous, what was their condition and number ? What, if civilized ? MOUNT ARARAT. 23 cients in the arts of civilized life. They were artificers in wood, iron, and brass, and skilled, at least to some extent, in music and in poetry. They built cities and dwelt in them ; degenerate, indeed, and corrupt, in con- sequence of their perverted use of all those original endowments with which man first awoke to the praises of his Maker, and to the healthful exercise of all his faculties. In accordance with these views of the original state of man, the earth is supposed to have been densely peopled at the time of the general deluge. Some have supposed that the population of the earth at that time may have greatly exceeded even the present number of the inhabitants of our globe. This conclusion, however, is merely conjectural ; but we may safely assume that the number must have been immensely great of those who were overwhelmed in that catas- trophe. MOUNT ARARAT. The destruction of the world, by the flood, occurred 1656 years from the creation of Adam, and 2348 B. C* After drifting about for five months on the shoreless ocean of the world, the ark lodged upon Ararat ; but it was more than six months after this, before the waters wholly subsided, and the ground became sufficiently dry for the sustenance of the solitary remnants of the What arts are specified as having been known to the antediluvians ? What vi'as the population of the earth before the flood ? Give the date of the deluge. How long did the waters continue upon the earth ? How long did Noah continue in the ark ? * According to the chronology of Mr. Browne, in his Ordo Saecu- lorum, which is adopted in the following pages, the Deluge occurred 2447 before Christ. 24 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. old world, who survived the deluge. These, after a sojourn of an entire year in the ark, went forth again to people the earth with their several tribes. Ararat, which first reared its head above the waste of waters, to arrest and support the ark, is reputed to have been some unknown summit in a region of country bearing this name. It is appropriately, not a mountain, but a territory ; and is several times mentioned in the Scriptures : (Isa. xxxvii : 38 ; 2 Kings xix : 37 ; Jer. li : 27.) In our translation it is sometimes styled Ar- menia, and is supposed to have been the country known in history by this name. Mount Ararat is by common consent assumed to be the summit in question. According to this hypothesis, Noah and his sons went forth to renew the desolations of the earth, in the plains near where Adam may have gone out of Eden, in the sweat of his brow to till the earth, and to people with a sinful race its solitudes already smitten with the curse of God. Ararat, lying east of iVrmenia proper, consists of two stupendous summits of unequal heights, one of which is 16,000 feet above the level of the sea, and 1500 above the highest elevation of Mont Blanc. The majestic grandeur of this immense mountain is described by Sir Robert Ker Porter, as awfully imposing and sub- lime: ^^ It appeared as if the highest mountains of the world had been piled together to form this one sublime im- mensity of earth, rocks, and snow. The icy peaks of its double head rose majestically into the clear and cloudless heavens ; the sun blazed bright upon them, Where was Mount Ararat ? Describe it. Its height ? What is its appearance as sketched by Sir Robert Ker Porter ? MOUNT ARARAT. 2b and the reflection sent forth a dazzling radiance equal to other suns. My eye, not able to rest for any time upon the blinding glory of its summits, wandered down the apparently interminable sides, till I could no longer trace their lines in the mists of the horizon, when an irrepressible impulse immediately carrying my eye upwards again, relixed my gaze upon the awful Ararat." To the same effect Morier writes : — " Nothing can be more beautiful than its shape, more awful than its height. All the surrounding mountains sink into insig- nificance when compared to it. It is perfect in all its parts ; no hard rugged feature, no unnatural promi- nences ; everything is in harmony, and all combines to render it one of the sublimest objects in nature." From about three miles below its summit, the moun • tain is covered with a mantle of eternal snow and ice. It runs along in a rigid crust, broken but by few pro- jections of rock, up to the summit, over which it spreads one glassy, glittering sheet of ice. Such is the hoary head of Ararat. This mountain has been ascended by Professor Par- rot, whose account of this perilous adventure is so interesting that the reader must be gratified with the perusal of it. The first and second attempts were unsuccessful. The extract below is taken from the narrative of his second attempt to scale the lofty heights of Ararat. " At about six o'clock in the evening, when we also were much tired, and had almost reached the snowy region, we chose our night's lodging in the clefts of What is its appearance as sketched by Morier ? When and by whom first ascended ? What is said of the summit of Ararat ? How many attempts did Professor Parrot make to ascend the mountain ? 26 HISTORICAL GEOGKAPHY. the rocks. We had attained a height of 11,675 Paris feet ; in the sheltered places about us lay some new- fallen snow, and the temperature of the air was at the iieezing point. <« At daybreak we pursued our journey towards the eastern side of the mountain, and soon reached the declivity which runs immediately from the summit ; it consists entirely of pointed rocky ridges coming down from above, and leaving between them ravines of con- siderable depth, in which the icy mantle of the summit loses itself, and glaciers of great extent. There were several of these rocky ridges and clefts of ice lying between us and the side of the mountain which we were endeavouring to reach. " When we had happily surmounted the first crest and the adjoining beautiful glacier, and reached the second crest, Schak had no courage to proceed. His benumbed limbs had not yet recovered their warmth, and the icy region towards which he saw us hastening did not hold out much prospect of relief. Mr. Schiemann, however, though unaccustomed to these hardships, did not for an instant lose his courage or his desire to accompany me, but shared with alacrity and perseverance all the diffi- culties and dangers we had to encounter. " Leaving Schak behind us, we crossed the second glacier, and gained the third rocky ridge. Then, imme- diately turning off in an oblique direction, we reached the lower edge of the icy crest at a height of 13,180 Paris feet, and which from this place runs without inter- ruption to the summit. How far did he ascend ? What difficulties did he encounter ? State some of the incidents and perils of the ascent. What is the extent of its summit ? MOUNT ARARAT. 2^ i( We had now to ascend this declivity covered with perpetual snow. Though the inclination was barely SO'^, this was a sheer impossibility for two men to accomplish in a direct line. We therefore deter- mined to advance diagonally towards a long pointed ridge which runs far up towards the summit. We succeeded in this by making with our ice-poles deep holes in the ice of the glacier, which was covered with a thin layer of new-fallen snow, too slight to afford the requisite firmness to our steps. We thus reached the ridge, and advanced direct towards the summit by a track where the new snow was rather deeper. " Though we might by great exertions have this time reached the goal of our wishes, yet the fatigue of the day had been considerable, and as it was already three o'clock in the afternoon, we were obliged to think of providing a lodging for the approaching night. We had attained the extreme upper ridge of the rocky crest, an elevation of 14,550 Paris feet above the level of the sea (the height of the top of Mont Blanc), and yet the summit of Ararat lay far above us. <' I do not think that any surmountable obstacle could have impeded our further progress, but to spend the few remaining hours of daylight in reaching this point would have been worse than madness, as we had not seen any rock on the summit w^hich could have afforded us protection during the night ; independently of which our stock of provisions was not calculated to last so long. What expedient did Professor Parrot and his companion adopt to assist them in their ascent? To what height did they ascend ? The height of what mountain ? What caused them to retrace their steps ? 28 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. " Having made our barometrical obsen'ations, we turned back, satisfied from the result that the mountain on this side was not inaccessible. In descending, however, we met with a danger which we had not anticipated ; for if in the descent of every mountain you tread less safely than in going up, it is still more difficult to tread firmly, when you look down upon such a surface of ice and snow as that over which we had to pass for more than a verst (three-quarters of a mile), and where, if we had slipped and fell, there was nothing to stop us but the sharp-pointed masses of stone in which the region of eternal ice loses itself. " The danger here is perhaps rather in the want of habit than real difficulties. My young friend, whose courage had probably been proof against severer trials, lost his presence of mind here — his foot slipped and he fell ; but, as he was about twenty paces behind me, I had time to thrust my pole firmly into the ice, to take a sure footing in my capital snow-shoes, and, while I held the pole in my right hand, to catch him in passing with my left. "JNIy position was well chosen, but the straps which fastened my ice-shoes broke, and, instead of being able to stop my friend, I was carried with him in his fall. He was so fortunate as to be stopped by some stones, but I rolled on for half a verst, till I reached some fragments of lava near the lower glacier. The tube of my barometer was dashed to pieces — my chronometer burst open, and covered with blood — everything had fallen out of my pockets, but I escaped without severe injury. As soon as we had recovered our fright, and What difficulty did they meet with in descending? Give some of the incidents of their descent? Did they receive any injury? MOUNT ARARAT. 29 thanked God for our providential escape, we collected the most important of our effects, and continued our journey." The following is his account of the third and suc- cessful attempt: — '' In the mean time the sky cleared up, the air became serene and calm, the mountain too was more quiet, the noise occasioned by the falling of the masses of ice and snow grew less frequent — in short, every- thing seemed to indicate that a favourable turn was about to take place in the weather, and I hastened to embrace it for a third attempt to ascend the mountain. " On the 25th of September, I sent to ask Stepan w^hether he would join us, but he declined, saying that he had suffered too much from the former excursion to venture again so soon ; he however promised to send four stout peasants with three oxen and a driver. Early the next morning, four peasants made their appearance at the camp to join our expedition, and soon after a fifth, who offered himself voluntarily. To them I added two of our soldiers. The deacon again accompanied us, as well as Mr. Hehn, who wished to explore the vegetation at a greater elevation ; but he did not intend to proceed beyond the line of snow. (' The experience of the preceding attempt had con- vinced me that everything depended on our passing the first night as closely as possible to this boundary, in order to be able to ascend and return from the summit in one day, and to confine our baggage to what was absolutely necessary. We therefore took with us only When did Professor Parrot make his third attempt to ascend Mount Ararat ? What encouragements had he to make this attempt ? Who accompanied him ? 30 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. three oxen, laden with the clothing, wood, and provi- sions. I also took a small cross carved in oak. .... <' We chose our route towards the same side as be- fore, and, in order to spare ourselves, Abowian and 1 rode on horseback, wherever the rocky nature of the soil permitted it, as far as the grassy plain Kip-Ghioll, whence we sent the horses back. Here Mr. Hehn parted from us. " It was scarcely twelve o'clock w^hen we reached this point, and, after taking our breakfast, we pro- ceeded in a direction rather more oblique than on our former attempt. The cattle were, however, unable to follow us so quickly. We therefore halted at some rocks w^hich it would be impossible for them to pass — took each our own share of clothing and wood, and sent back the oxen. At half-past five in the evening we were not far from the snow-line, and considerably higher than the place where we passed the night on our previous excursion. << The elevation of this point was 13,036 Paris feet above the level of the sea, and the large masses of rock determined me to take up our quarters here. A fire was soon made and a warm supper prepared. I had some onion broth, a dish which I would recommend to all mountain travellers in preference to meat broth, as being extremely warm and invigorating. This being a fast day, poor Abowian was not able to enjoy it. The other Armenians, who strictly adhered to their rules of fasting, contented themselves with bread and the brandy which I distributed among them in a limited quantity, as this cordial must be taken with great What route did they take ? Where did they pass the first night? At what height ? MOUNT ARARAT. 31 caution, especially where the strength has been pre- viously much tried, as it otherwise produces a sense of exhaustion and inclination to sleep. ^'It was a magnificent evening, and, with my eye fixed on the clear sky and the lofty summit which projected against it, and then again on the dark night which was gathering far below and around me, I experienced all those delightful sensations of tranquil- lity, love, and devotion, that silent reminiscence of the past, that subdued glance into the future, which a traveller never fails to experience when on lofty eleva- tions and under pleasing circumstances. I laid myself down under an overhanging rock of lava, the tempera- ture of the air at 4.^'^ (about 40*^ of Fahrenheit), which was tolerably warm, considering our great height. «' At day-break we rose, and began our journey at half-past six. We crossed the last broken declivities in half an hour, and entered the boundary of eternal snow nearly at the same place as in our preceding ascent. In consequence of the increased warmth of the weather, the new-fallen snow, which had facilitated our progress on our previous ascent, had melted away, and again frozen, so that in spite of the still incon- siderable slope, we were compelled to cut steps in the ice. This very much embarrassed our advance, and added greatly to our fatigue. '« One of the peasants had remained behind in our resting-place, as he felt unwell ; two others became exhausted in ascending the side of the glacier. They What does Professor Parrot say of the temperature at that eleva- tion ? With what degree of Fahrenheit does this compare ? What difficulties did they encounter in their ascent of the glaciers ? How did they surmount them ? 32 HISTORICAL GEOGBAPHY. at first lay down, but soon retreated to our quarters. Without being disheartened by these difficulties, we proceeded, and soon reached the great cleft which marks the upper edge of the declivity of the large glacier, and at ten o'clock we arrived at the great plain of snow which marks the first break on the icy head of Ararat. i «« At the distance of a mile, we saw the cross which* we had reared on the 19th of September, but it ap- peared to me so extremely small, probably on account of its black colour, that I almost doubted w^hether I should be able to find it again with an ordinary tele- scope from the plain of the Araxes. In the direction towards the summit, a shorter but at the same time a steeper declivity than the one we had passed lay before us ; and between this and the extreme summit there appeared to be onty one small hill. " After a short repose we passed the first precipice^ which was the steepest of all, by hewing out steps in the rock, and after this the next elevation. But here, instead of seeing the ultimate goal of all our difficulties, immediately before us appeared a series of hills, which even concealed the summit from our sight. This rather abated our courage, which had never yielded for a mo- ment so long as we had all our difficulties in view; and our strength, exhausted by the labour of hewing the rock, seemed scarcely commensurate with the attain- ment of the now invisible object of our wishes. " But a review of what had been already accom- plished and of that which might still remain to be done. What memorial did they find of Professor Parrot's former ascent ? How far is a verst ? What further discouragements did they meet with ? How were they overcome ? MOUNT ARARAT. o6 the proximity of the series of projecting elevations, and a glance at my brave companions, banished my fears, and we boldly advanced. We crossed two more hills, and the cold air of the summit blew towards us. I stepped from behind one of the glaciers, and the ex- treme cone of Ararat lay distinctly before my enrap- tured eyes. But one more effort was necessary. Only one other icy plain was to be ascended, and at a quarter past three, on the 27th of September, 0. S., (October 9th, N. S.) 1829, we stood on the summit of Mount Ararat!" Professor Parrot, having thus happily accomplished the object of his perilous enterprise, spread his cloak on the ice, and sat down to contemplate the boundless prospect around him. He was on a slightly convex, almost circular platform, about two hundred Paris feet in diameter, which at the extremity declines pretty steeply on all sides, particularly towards the south-east and north-east ; it was the silver crest of Ararat, com- posed of eternal ice, unbroken by a rock or a stone. Towards the east the summit declined more gently than in any other direction, and was connected by a hollow, likewise covered with perpetual ice, with another rather lower summit, which by Mr. Federow's trifronometrical measurement was found to be one thou- sand and two hundred feet distant from the principal summit. On account of the immense distances nothing could be seen distinctly. The whole valley of the Araxes was covered with a gray mist, through which Erivan and Sardarabad appeared as small dark spots. "When was the summit of Mount Ararat first trodden by the foot of man ? What is the extent and form of the summit ? How was it covered ? What does Professor Parrot say of the obscurity of the prospect, and the causes of it ? 3 34 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Mr. Parrot, having allowed himself time to enjoy this prospect, proceeded to observe his barometer, which he placed precisely in the middle of the summit. The mercury was no higher than 15 inches j of a line, Paris measure, the temperature being 26J below the freezing-point of Fahrenheit's thermometer. By com- paring this observation w'ith that which Mr. Federow made at the same time at the convent of St. James, the elevation of the summit appears to be 10,272 Paris feet above the convent, and adding to that the height of the latter, the top of Ararat is 16,254 Paris feet, or more than three miles above the level of the sea. While the professor was engaged in his observa- tions, the deacon planted the cross, not precisely on the summit, where it could not have been seen from the plain, as it was only five feet high, but on the north- east edge, about thirty feet lower than the centre of the summit. The professor and his five companions, viz., the deacon, two Russian soldiers, and tw^o Armenian pea- sants, having remained three-quarters of an hour on the summit, commenced their descent, which was very fatiguing ; but they hastened^ as the sun was going down, and before they reached the place where the great cross was erected, it had already sunk below the horizon. '' It was a glorious sight to behold the dark shadows which the mountains in the w^est cast upon the plain, and then the profound darkness which covered all the val- What is the extreme height of Ararat ? What memorial did the travellers leave of their adventure ? How long did they remain on the summit ? What is said of the approach of night at this great •levation ? MOUNT ARARAT. 35 leys, and gradually rose higher and higher on the sides of Ararat, whose icy summit was still illuminated by the beams of the setting sun. But the shadows soon passed over that also, and would have covered our path with a gloom that would have rendered our descent dangerous, had not the sacred lamp of night, oppor- tunely rising above the eastern horizon, cheered us with its welcome beams." Having passed the night on the same spot as on their ascent, where they found their companions, they arri- ved the next day at noon at the convent of St. James, and on the following day, Sunday, the 28th of Septem- ber, 0. S., they offered their grateful thanksgiving to Heaven for the success of their arduous enterprise, per- haps not far from the spot where <' Noah built an altar to the Lord." Doubts were soon raised whether Prof. Parrot really reached the summit. Many Armenians had expressed their doubt even before he left the country, and it being afterwards publicly asserted by an eminent scientific man that it was impossible, the professor found it ex- pedient to req^uest that all persons in that country who had taken part in the expedition might be examined on oath, and he has inserted their depositions at full length confirming, his statements. A Mr. Antonomoff, a young man holding an office in Armenia, ascended Mount Ararat, in the middle of August, 1834, partly to satisfy his own curiosity, and partly out of regard to the reputation of Parrot, in refe- Give some particulars of their descent ? What doubts were en- tertained with regard to this adventure ? Has Ararat since been as- cended ? When and by whom ? 36 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. rence to whom it is still obstinately denied that he evei reached the summit. Mr. Antonomoff found that the large cross set up by Parrot was nearly covered with snow ; the smaller cross planted on the summit was not to be found, and was probably buried in the snow. One of his guides, who had accompanied Parrot, showed him the spot where it had been set up. On descending, he also encountered the same obstinate and foolish incredulity. TRADITIONS OF THE FLOOD. Every child has heard of Deucalion's flood, of which he may find an account in every classical dictionary. It represents Deucalion to have built an ark, in which he caused his wife and children to embark ; and then following these, swine, horses, savage beasts, serpents, and living creatures of every kind entered into the ark with them. There is a Chaldee tradition of the flood which is more ancient and more in accordance with the histori- cal record. Sisuthros, the tenth king of the Chaldees, is represented as building an ark by divine command, because the human race were to be destroyed by a flood. In this he embarks with his wife and children and friends, and receives the beasts of every kind. After some time he sends forth some birds, which return again, finding no resting-place ; again a second time they return ; but the third time, on being sent forth, they are seen no more. Sisuthros then opens the ark, What evidence did M. Antonomoff find of the adventure of Pro- fessor Parrot? What doubts were raised respecting his ascent ? What traditions of the Deluge are mentioned ? Deucalion's flood ? Points of resemblance ? Chaldee tradition ? DESCENDANTS OF NOAH. 37 and finds it resting on a mountain. He then descends with those that were in the ark, and worshipped the earth, built an altar to the gods, and then disappeared and was seen no more. Similar traditions of the flood have been traced among all the nations of the earth — Egyptians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Romans, Goths, Chinese, Hindoos, Mexicans, Peruvians, and even the islanders of the Pacific. And there is an ancient coin from a Phrygian city, with the image of an ark floating upon the waters, a dove resting on it, and inscribed with the name Noe. These traditions are of interest, as showing that the indications of that great catastrophe are spread wide as was that waste of waters that wrapped the earth in the general deluge. CHAPTER II. FROM THE DELUGE TO THE CALL OF ABRAHAM. A. M. 1656—2084. 2446—2019 B. C. Peleg was born one hundred years after the flood, and lived two hundred and thirty-nine years, in which time the earth was divided (1 Chron. i : 19) ; so that the dispersion of the nations may have occurred in the course of the second or third century from the deluge. Many suppose that this division was earlier and more general than that at the confusion of tongues in building What Phrygian coin is mentioned ? Universality of tradition ? Importance of these traditions ? Birth of Peleg ? Dispersion of the nations ? When ? National chart, why given ? 38 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. the tower of Babel, and was the natural result of the increase of the people, and their roving disposition. The following national chart will best illustrate the dispersion of the several families, from which it w^ill appear that Moses has given an imperfect genealogy, tracing through several generations the descendants of some ; and naming but a single ancestor of others, agreeably to his great design of exhibiting the lineage of our Lord and Saviour. A. SHEM. I. Elam. II. Ashur. III. Arphaxad. IV. Lud. V. Aram. 1. Salah. 1. Uz. 2. Eber. 2. Hul. 3. Peleg. 3. Gether. 4. Joktan. 4. Mash. 1. Almodad. 2. Sheleph. 3. Hazarmaveth. 4. Jerah. 5. Hadoram. Descendants Joktan. of 6. Uzal. 7. Diklah. 8. Obal. 9. Abimael. 10. Sheba. 11. Ophir. 12. Havilah. ^ 13. Jobab. How many sons had Shem ? Name them. How many sons had Arphaxad ? Name them. How many sons had Aram ? Give their names. How many sons had Joktan ? Name the descendants of Joktan. GENEALOGICAL CHART. 39 B. HAM I. Cush. II. Mizraim. III. Phut. IV. Canaan. 1. Seba. 1. Lubim. 1. Sidon. 2. HavHah. 2. Anamim. 2. Heth. 3. Sabtah. 3. Lehabim. 3. The Jebusite. 4. Sabtecha. 4. Naphtuhim. 4. The Amorite. 5. Raamah. 5. Pathmsim. 5. The Girgasite. ^ 6. Casluhim. 7. Caphtorim. 6. The Hivite. 7. The Arkite. Sheba. Dedan. 8. The Sinite. 9. The Arvadite. 10. The Zemarite. 11. The Hamathite. C. JAPHETH. I.Gomer. II. Magog. III.Madai. IV.Javan. V. Tubal. VI. Meshech. VII.Tiras. 1. Ashkenaz. 2. Riphath. 3. Togarmah. 1. Elishah. 2. Tarshish. 3. Kittim. 4. Dodanim. This genealogical chart of the descendants of the three sons of Noah, Shem-, Ham, and Japheth, is drawn from the tenth chapter of Genesis. The names which here occur designate, however, not merely the posterity of Noah, but more frequently the cities and countries where his descendants settled. The enumeration in Genesis begins with Japheth, w^hose descendants peopled Europe, and the northern part of Asia. The geography of this chart is very obscure, and authorities are greatly divided respecting the position of many of these tribes. Name the sons of Ham. Give the names of their descendants ? How many sons had Japheth? What were the names of their de- scendants ? Do these names always designate persons ? 40 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. DESCENDANTS OF JAPHETH. I. GoMER. Cimmerians, around the north coast of the Black Sea. From thence they spread west over Europe. Others again migrated to the east, over the Caucasian Mountains, and the western and northern parts of Asia. 1. Ashkenaz. On the eastern coast of the Black Sea, or farther east, towards Armenia, whence they may have peopled Europe. The modern Jews understand by this name Saxony, or all of Germany, whence, accord- ing to the prophet, they were to proceed to execute Divine judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea, in con- nexion with Ararat and Minni ; which implies that they were near Armenia. 2. Riphath; supposed to be the Carpathian Mountains in Europe, sometimes called the Riphean Mountains. 3. Togarmah; a province of Armenia. According to the tradition of the Armenians and Georgians, Thar- gamoss, from whom they descended, was the third from Noah, and lived six hundred years. The Arme- nians also call themselves " The house of Thorgom." The prophet Ezekiel uses the same expression (Ezek. xxxviii : 6 ; xxvii : 14.) Europe, the Caucasus, and all Northern Asia, are said to have been comprehended in the Isles of the Gentiles. (Gen. x: 5.) By them, the Jews, according to Sir I. Newton, understood the places to which they sailed by sea, particularly all Europe. Others understood by this phrase, the northern coast of the Mediterranean. II. Magog. Gog and Magog. The northern parts Give the lineage of Gomer. Of Ashkenaz. Of Riphath. Of Togarmah. Isles of the Gentiles, what? DESCENDA^'TS OF JAPHETH. 41 of Asia ; the Scythians generally. In Ezekiel (chap- ters xxxviii ; xxxix.), Magog is a country, and Gog is its ruler, confederate with the rulers of Meshech and Tubal. In Revelation (xx : 8), Gog and Magog are distant barbarous nations. III. Madai. The progenitor of the ancient kingdom of the Medes, which w^as situated around the Caspian Sea, on the south and w^est, between the 35th and 40th degrees of north latitude, and comprehended a larger extent of country than that of Spain. Much of it is a mountainous country, with very fruit- ful valleys ; and, with the exception of the flat marshy plains on the shores of the Caspian, the atmosphere is celebrated for its purity and salubrity. From May to September the sky is not obscured by a single cloud ; during w^hich time the stars are so brilliant, as to emit a light sufficient for many ordinary purposes. From November to March it is very cold. Much snow^ falls, which, w^hen the wind blows, is whirled in clouds like the sands of the desert, filling up every pathway and valley. For the traveller to be caught in a snow-storm is almost certain destruction. This de- scription is applicable particularly to Southern Media, Northern Persia. Ecbatana, Lat. 34° N., Long. 41° E., 480 miles from Persepolis, and 700 from Tabreez, supposed to be the modern Hamadam, w^as the capital of this kingdom. The Ten Tribes of Israel w^ere transplanted to this country in the Assyrian captivity (2 Kings xvii : 6 ; 1 Chron. v: 26), in the reign of Hosea, B. C. 721. Descendants of Magog ? Lineage of Gog ? Situation and extent of Media ? Climate ? Atmosphere ? Snow-storms ? Ecbatana ? Captivity of Ten Tribes ? 42 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. From the same source came also their deliverance from the Babylonish captivity by the hands of Cyrus, B. C. 536. (Ezra i : 1 ; v : 13 ; vi : 3 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi : 22 seq. ; compare Dan. i: 21.) IV. Javan. The lonians or Greeks. Their descend- ants were, 1. Elishahj Elis, Hellas; the Greeks, strictly so called. The isles of Elishah are represented by Ezekiel as dis- tinguished for the manufacture of purple. 2. Tarshish. The scriptural notices of this country are twofold. Some passages speak of it only in gene- ral terms, in connexion with distant northern and west- ern regions and islands. (Ps. Ixxii: 10; Isa. Ixvi: 19.) Others describe the articles of merchandise which are exchanged with Tarshish, and its productions, gold, silver, iron, tin, lead, &c. (Ez. xxxviii: 13; Jer. x: 9.) From such passages the opinions of the learned have been greatly divided respecting the country of Tarshish ; but the prevailing opinion is, that we are to refer this celebrated country to the coasts of Spain. This coun- try is known to have yielded many of the metals and other articles of merchandise which came from Tar- shish. If not produced here, they may have been brought from other countries ; and this may have been the mart for such articles of commerce with Phoenicia and the eastern provinces of the Mediterranean. The ships of Tarshish (Isa. ii : 16 ; xxiii : 1, &c.) are supposed to be used in a generic sense of a particular class of vessels, like our terms merchant-ship, inan'of" war, &c. Lineage of Javan ? Of Elishah ? Scriptural notices of Tarshish ? Its productions ? Supposed to be what country ? Ships of Tar- shish, what ? DESCENDANTS OF HAM. 43 3. Kittim. This people were situated upon the coast and isles of the Mediterranean. (Isa. xxiii: 1; Jer. ii : 10 ; Ez. xxvii : 6 ; Num. xxiv : 24 ; Dan. xi : 30.) In Maccabees, Alexander the Great is said to come from Kittim. Josephus understands it to be the name of Cyprus. These various opinions are best harmo- nized by supposing Kittim to designate the Grecian Isles and Greece, including Macedonia. 4. Dodmiim. The Dodonsei in Epirus, perhaps in- cluding the lonians. In some texts the reading is Ro- danim, seeming to designate the inhabitants of Rhodes. DESCENDANTS OF HAM. I. CusH. South-western Arabia, the modern pro\4nce of Jemen ; in a more extended sense, Ethiopia, including Southern Arabia and Ethiopia in Africa south of Egypt. 1. Mmrod. The founder of Shinar, i.e. Babylon and Mesopotamia ; where he built the town of Babel and the cities Erech (supposed to be Edessa, in the northern part of Mesopotamia) and Calneh. 2. Seba. The Sabeans. According to Josephus, a people in Ethiopia, in Nubia, whose principal city was called Meror, by Camby ses, after his sister. It was situ- ated at the distance of some 1200 miles above Alexan- dria, on an island in the Nile, and was a place of much trade by caravans. (Is. xlv: 14; xliii: 3; Ps.lxxii: 10). 3. Havilah. This is quite distinct from the Havilah of Genesis ii : 11 ; and was probably on the western side of the Red Sea. 4. Sabtah. Supposed to be situated in Arabia, on the Red Sea, probably in Ethiopia or Gush. The Kittim? The Dodanim ? Cusb, what country ? Sett etnent of Nimrod ? Of Seba ? Havilah ? Of Sabtah ? 44 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. 5. Raamah, Regma. On the coast of the Persian Gulf. Sheba and Dedan were descendants or colonies from Raaraah. Sheba, whose queen came to learn of the wisdom of Solomon, was on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. To the Jews in Palestine, it was in the uttermost parts of the earth. (Matt, xii : 42.) Dedan was a place of merchandise. (Ez. xxvii : 15, xxxviii: 13; Isa. xxi: 13.) It was in the region of Edom, Idumea. (Jer.xlix: 8;xxv:23; Ez.xxv: 13.) The inhabitants are said to have descended from Abra- ham by Keturah, (Gen. xxv : 3.) From these notices some suppose that two or three different people are intended, but Winer contends that all designate one people in the northern part of Arabia and neighbour- hood of Idumea. 6. Sabtecha. The inhabitants of Ethiopia, on the west coast of the Red Sea. II. MizRAiM. The Egyptians: literally the Two Egypts. Their descendants were, 1. Lubim. \ Supposed to have been African tribes 2. Ananim. \ west of Egypt, Libyans; but their coun- 3. Lehabim. ) try is not known. The Lubim were a part of the invading army of Shishak from Egypt, against Rehoboam ; and again of Zerah against Asa, king of Judah. They were still a powerful tribe in the days of Nahum and of Daniel. (2 Chron. xii : 3 ; xvi : 8 ; xiv : 9. Nahum iii : 9 ; Dan. xi : 43.) Libyans from the neigh- bourhood of Gyrene were also at Jerusalem, and subjects of the miraculous gift of the spirit on the day of Pente- cost. (Acts ii: 10.) Of Raamah ? Whence came the Queen of Sheba ? Where was Dedan situated? Sabtecha, where? Descendants of Mizraim? The country of the Lubim ? DESCENDANTS OF HAM. 45 4. JYaphtuhim. A province near the coast of the Mediterranean, east of the Nile. 5. Pathrusim. Pathros, in the south of Egypt, and the frequent subject of prophetic denunciation. (Ezekiel xxix. 14; XXX : 14; Jer. xi : 11.) 6. Casluhim. Unknown, but supposed to have been a colony from Egypt, who settled early in Colchis. From thence descended the Philistines and the inhabit- ants of Crete. Herodotus asserts that the Colchians w^ere a colony from Egypt. 7. Caphtorim. Supposed to have inhabited Cyprus. III. Phut. The Mauritanians, comprised in the western part of the Barbary States. Their soldiers were in the ships of Tyre, (Ez. xxvii : 10.) And in the armies of Gog. (Jer. xlvi : 9.) And of the Egyptians. (Ez. xxxviii : 5.) Often threatened by the prophets. (Ez. XXX : 5 ; xxxviii : 5 ; Nahum iii : 9.) According to Ritter the interior of iVfrica, from which hordes of people have come at different times. IV. Canaan. The inhabitants of the land of the same name, lying between the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and the Jordan and the Dead Sea on the east ; and extending from Sidon to the parallel of the south end of the Dead Sea. The descendants were : 1. The Sidonians. 2. The Hittites. 3. The Jebusites. 4. The Amorites, Emo- rites. 5. The Girgasites. 6. The Hivites. 7. The ArJdtes, 8. The Sinites. 9, The Arvadites. 10. The Zemarites. 11. The Hamathites. Give the country of the Naphtuhim ? The Pathrusim ? The Cas- luhim ? From whom descended the Philistines ? Give the country of the Caphtorim ? Descendants of Phut ? What is said of their soldiers ? Give the country and descendants of Canaan ? 46 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. DESCENDANTS OF SHEM. I. Elam. a province of Persia, east of Babylonia, and between the Persian Gulf and Media. It represents the origin of the Persians. (Daniel viii : 2 ; Ezra iv : 9.) II. AsHUR. The Assyrians, by whom the cities of Nineveh, Rechoboth, Chalnach, and Resen, were founded. III. Arphaxad, the first-born after the flood. North- ern part of Assyria, the land of the Kurds and the Nestorians. From them sprang: 1. Salah. 2. Eber, the progenitor of Abraham and of the Hebrews. 3. Peleg. 4. Joktan. The descendants of Joktan were : a, Almodad ; b, Sheleph ; c, Hazarmaveth ; d, Jerah ; e, Hadoram ; f, JJzal ; g, Diklah ; h, Ohal ; i, Ahimael ; j, Sheha ; k, Opiiir ; 1, Havilah ; m, Johab. These all are supposed to be Arabian tribes, some of whom lived in Southern Arabia ; but the most of them are wholly unknown. Notwithstanding all the researches of the learned after the famous mineral regions from which the gold of Ophir was brought, we must content ourselves with our own conjectures, or an election among the theories which have been advanced respect- ing the locality of this unknown land. Was it in Mada- gascar, in Ceylon, in some part of India, or in the re- motest regions of Arabia ? The last, perhaps, is the most probable conjecture. IV. LuD. By some supposed to be blended with the descendant of Ham of the same name. By others, the Settlement of Elam ? Of Ashur ? Of Arphaxad ? Descendants of Arphaxad ? Of Joktan ? What is said of Ophir ? Settlement of Lud ? DESCENDANTS OF SHEM. 47 Lydians of Asia Minor ; by others, a remote tribe in Armenia. (Gen. x: 13, 22.) V. Aram. A large central tract of country lying between Phoenicia, Lebanon, and Palestine on one side, and the Tigris and the Taurus on the other. A portion of this country between the Tigris and the Euphrates was called Mesopotamia, or more frequently Padan- aram. On this side of the Euphrates, it included 1. The region around Damascus, in Syria. 2. Syria-maachah (1 Chron. xix : 6), near Bashan, and the portion of Reuben. 3. Geshur in Syria, near Bashan, (2 Sam. xv: 8; Josh, xii : 5.) 4. Beth-rehob, at the foot of Anti-Libanus, (2 Sam. x: 6.) The colonies from these regions were, 1. Uz; 2. Hul; 3. Gether; 4. Mash; of which nothing is known. Uz, the native place of Job, appears to have been either adja- cent to Edom, or a part of it. (Lament, iv : 21.) The friends of Job appear to have come from Edomitish cities. (Job ii : 11 .) From these hints it is with proba- bility referred to the mountains south of the Dead Sea and east of the iVkabah. In this chart of the countries settled by the descend- ants of the three sons of Noah, it will be seen that they represent the three divisions of the earth ; Asia, Africa, and Europe. The sons of Japheth peopled Europe, and the north-west of Asia ; those of Ham, the southern part of Arabia and Africa. The sons of Shem occupied the central parts of Asia, blending in Arabia with the de- What was the situation of Aram ? Colonies from Aram? Situa- tion of Uz ? Countries peopled by the sons of Japheth ? By the sons of Ham ? By the sons of Shem ? 49 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. scendants of Ham, finally supplanting them, and spreading eastward over southern Asia. The nations that sprang from Shem, longest retained the primitive religion, and the worship of the true God. The family of Abraham were selected from them to be the deposi- taries of God's word, and to give unto the world the Saviour and Redeemer of men. In the election of grace, the blessing of the promise was afterwards re- stricted to the race of Israel, to the descendants of Ju- dah, to the family of David. DIVISION OF THE EARTH. The brief notice concerning Peleg, " in his days was the earth divided," is interesting in several points of view ; and we may now remark a manifold significance of the name of this Patriarch. It means " division," with an express reference to the division of the earth : but it seems to have a further significance in these respects : — 1. Peleg is central between Noah and Abraham ; Noah Peleg Abraham Shem Reu Arphaxad Serug Salah Nahor Heber Terah 2. At Peleg the term of human life is abruptly dimi- nished the second time. Arphaxad, the first-born after the flood, lived not half the term of the antediluvian lives: at Peleg it is reduced from an average of about 450 years to 239. Hence Peleg, the fourth from Arphaxad, In whose days was the earth divided ? Meaning of the name Peleg ? What divisions are noticeable in his days ? When was human life shortened ? DIVISION OF THE EARTH. 49 dies before all his ancestors, and even ten years before Noah : and the middle year of his life is also that of Arphaxad : also, if the life of Eber be divided into three equal parts, the first ends at the central year of Peleg, the second at the death of Reu, and the whole life four years after the death of Abraham. The Rabbins and old commentators suppose, not unreasonably, that the name of Peleg's brother, Joktan (small), relates to this diminution of the term of man's life. We will suppose, then, that the great event in refe- rence to which Peleg has his name, occurred about the middle of his life, L e. about 220 years after the flood. The interval here supposed between the dispersion of nations and the Call of Abraham, is amply sufficient for the growth of populous nations and the foundation of considerable empires. For in 100 years from the flood, the population would have grown from 3 males to 400, if it doubled its numbers but once in 14 years. In the second century, since all the males who lived in the first century were still in the vigour of life, the term of doubling cannot have been more than half what it was in the former century. Hence at the end of this century the population might number 400 X 2^*, or about 205,000 males; and at the 220th year, it would number, at the same rate, more than seven times as much, or a million and a half of males. These, dis- persed over the world, and still living on an average 200 years each, are abundantly sufficient to have over- spread the territory of the most ancient nations with a numerous and civilized population in the course of How does the duration of his life compare with that of his ances- tors ? How often may the population have doubled after the flood ? What the population at the dispersion ? 4 50 HISTORICAL GEOGBAPHY. about 200 years from that time. For it is to be remem- bered that the antediluvian arts of civilization were of course preserved among the descendants of Noah. THE BUILDING OF BABEL. (B. C. 2246.) This is the usual period to which the dispersion of the nations is assigned. On the supposition of two dis- persions, the building of Babel may be dated somewhat later. Nimrod became the leader of a roving, godless horde, w^ho, after the first dispersion, wandered far beyond the mountains of Armenia, southward, until they came to the plains of Shinar, where they attempt- ed to make a permanent settlement. The tower of Babel was situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, near the site of the ancient city of Babylon, more than 300 miles above the mouth of the river, and some 700 miles east of Jerusalem. It result- ed from an impious attempt to build a tower, whose top should reach to heaven. The structure w^as an immense quadrangular pyra- mid, built of bricks, and was carried to a vast height, before the suspension of the work by the confusion of tongues and the dispersion of the builders. The early traditions respecting this ancient structure, and the ruins of it that still remain, sufficiently show that it was a stupendous work, not only for that, but for any age. It has given the builders of it a name in all the earth for their amazing work of folly and fruitless toil. Euse- bius has preserved an extract from Abydenus, an Assy- rian historian, in which he says, «' that the first men who When was the Tower of Babel built? On the supposition of two dispersions, at what time ? Situation of Babel ? Design and form of it ? What tradition of the destruction of the Tower of Babel is mentioned by Eusebius ? BUILDING OF BABEL. 61 were upon the earth, relying on their strength and greatness, and despising the gods, and thinking them- selves superior to them, undertook to build a high tower on the spot where Babylon now stands ; that the tower had nearly reached to heaven, when the w^nds, coming to the help of the gods, threw down the immense mass of stones upon the heads of the builders, and that Baby- lon took its rise from these ruins ; and, whereas before that period all men had but one language, they now began to speak different tongues."* There is also an extract to the same effect from an ancient Chaldee work, which Alexander caused to be translated from the royal library at Nineveh. " From the gods, who inhabited the earth in the first ages, there sprang the race of giants of immense size, and of the strongest bodily frame. Full of insolent daring, they formed the ambitious design to build a lofty tower ; but while they were employed in the erection, a dreadful tempest, raised by the gods, destroyed the huge edifice, and scattered among them unknown words, whence arose discord and confusion."! The Sibylline oracle contains a similar tradition, and the classical fable of the giants attempting to scale the heavens by piling Ossa upon Pelion, is a fiction founded on the same fact. The ruins of this vast tower, notwithstanding all the depredations of man, generation after generation, and the waste of time, age after age, still remain an endu- ring monument at once of the ambitious impiety of this ancient race, and of the avenging justice of God. What Chaldee tradition derived from Alexander is mentioned ? Of the Sibylline oracle ? Classical tradition respecting the giants ? • Euseb. Praep. Evang. ix. 14, cited by Rosenmiiller. I Moses of Chorene, in " Armen. Hist." i. 8, cited by Rosenmiiller. r»2 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. On the west side of the Euphrates, at the distance of a few miles from the other ruins of Babylon, stands a huge mountain mass of ruins — Birs JYemi'oud, the Tower of Nimrod. <'Its present height, reckoning to the bottom of the tower on the summit, is two hundred feet ; the tower itself being thirty-five feet. Looking at it from the west, the entire mass rises at once from the plain in one stupendous, though irregular pyramidal hill. It is composed of fine bricks, kiln-baked. From the western side two of its stories may be distinctly seen ; the first is about sixty feet high, cloven in the middle by deep ravines. The tower-like looking ruin on the top is a solid mass, twenty-eight feet wide, of the most beautiful masonry ; to all appearance it formed an angle of some square building, the ruins of which are yet to be seen on the eastern side. " The cement which connects the bricks is so hard that Ker Porter found it impossible to chip off the smallest piece ; and for this reason none of the inscrip- tions can be copied, as they are always on the lower surface of the bricks. It is rent from the top nearly half-w^ay to the bottom ; and at its foot lie several un- shapen masses of fine brick-work, still bearing traces of a violent fire, which has given them a vitrified ap- pearance, whence it has been conjectured that the tower had been struck with lio^htnino^." Sir Robert Ker Porter says, "that there are immense fragments of brick- work of no determinate figure tum- bled together, and cemented into solid, vitrified masses, as if they had undergone the action of the fiercest heat." Ruins of Babel, where found ? Height and appearance ? Of what constructed ? How many stories remain ? Conjecture as to the means of its destruction ? ABRAHAM IN CANAAN. 58 We are naturally led to connect these appearances with the tradition that the Tower of Babel was overthrown by- fire from Heaven. The appearance of the hill on the eastern side evi- dently shows that this enormous mass has been reduced more than one-half. Only three stories, out of the eight which it formerly contained, can now be discerned. Yet the appearance of the Tower of Nimrod is sublime even in its ruins. Clouds play around its summit ; its recesses are inhabited by lions ; these were quietly basking on the heights when Porter approached it, and, scarcely intimidated by the cries of the Arabs, gradually and slowly descended into the plains. (Comp. Isa. xiii : 20, 21.) CHAPTER III. FROM THE CALL OF ABRAHAM TO THE DESCENT INTO EGYPT. A. M. 2083—2299. 2019—1803 B. C. This venerable patriarch of the faithful lived origi- nally in Ur of the Chaldees, probably between the Tigris and the Euphrates, about four hundred miles north-east from Jerusalem. From thence he removed to Haran, a short distance from Ur ; from this place, at the command of God, he parted from his kindred and his country to go to the distant land of Canaan, the future residence of his posterity. Sixty-four years afterwards, Abraham sent his ser- Ruins of Babel, how inhabited ? Call of Abraham, when ? His native country, what and where ? 54 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. vant to his kindred to solicit a wife for his son Isaac. (Gen. xxiv.) And Jacob, a hundred years later, tra- versed the same journey on a similar errand. (Gen. xxvii: 43; xxviii : 10; xxix: 4.) Haran is enumerated, a thousand years after the call of Abraham, among the towns which had been taken by the predecessors of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and is also mentioned still later among the cities that traded with Tyre. (2 Kings xix : 12 ; Isa. xxxvii : 12 ; Ez. xxvii: 23.) Terah, and the whole family, accompanied Abraham to Haran, where, after a residence of fifteen years, Terah died. (Gen. xi : 32.) On the renewal of the promise, Abraham, at the com- mand of God, resumed his journey towards Canaan, and rested on the plain of Moreh, at Sichem, afterwards Shechem, near which is Jacob's Well. His next en- campment was twenty miles south, between Bethel and Hai. From this he proceeded still further south, through the country, and the year following was compelled by famine to go down into Egypt, a distance of two hun- dred and fifty or three hundred miles. After a short residence here, he returned to his former encampment, near Bethel, eight or ten miles north of Jerusalem, greatly enriched by presents from Pharaoh. The separation of Lot from Abraham soon followed. (Gen. xiii : 11.) The former selected for his residence the vale of Siddim, in the plain of Jordan, south of the Dead Sea ; and the latter, Mamre, near Hebron. (Gen. xiii: 18.) What known of Haran ? Distance and course to Canaan ? En- campnaent at Shechem, and Bethel ? Descent into Egypt ; continu- ance there ? Separation of Lot from Abraham ? Chosen residence of each ? BATTLE OF THE KINGS. 55 The battle of the Kings occurred soon after the settle- ment of Lot in the cities of the plain. Chedorlaomer, an ambitious chieftain from the region of Babylon, in con- nexion with Tidal, an unknown prince, had come from beyond the Euphrates twelve years before, and made a conquest of that region of country which Lot had chosen for his residence. Incensed at the revolt of the cap- tured cities, he now returned and ravaged the country of Edom, south and west of the Dead Sea, inhabited by the Amalekites and Amorites. Lot and all his pos- sessions fell a prey to this marauder. Abraham, on hearing of this catastrophe, immedi- ately went in pursuit, with his whole household of train- ed servants, and three neighbouring chiefs. The pur- suit led him through the whole length of the country, to the head waters of Jordan, where he routed the foe and pursued him many miles on his retreat to Hobah, near Damascus. This prince he slew at the King's Dale, supposed by "Winer to be some unknown valley north of Jerusalem. Others identify it with the King's Gar- den, a short distance south-east of the city, in the valley of Kidron. The promise was again renewed to Abraham ; and, after a residence of ten years in Canaan, Ishmael was born. (^Gen. xvi.) Thirteen years after the birth of Ish- mael, Sodom was destroyed by fire from heaven, A. M. 2108, B. C. 1994, and 452 years after the flood. (Gen. xviii — xix.) The year following, when Abraham was a hundred years old, Isaac was born in Beer-sheba, twenty-five miles south-west from Hebron, on the southernmost Chedorlaomer, who ? Battle of the Kings ? Course of pursuit ? King's Dale, where ? Birth of Ishmael and destruction of Soaorix, when ? Birth of Isaac, when ? 56 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY, limits of Canaan, and on the border of the great desert that lies beyond. (Gen. xxi.) This place was a favourite station of the patriarch, and occurs so frequently in subsequent history that it deserves particular notice. We are indebted to Dr. Robinson for authoritative information respecting it. On coming up from the desert by a long and tedious ascent, he came out on a broad, undulating country, overspread to a considerable extent with grass, and affording in ordinary seasons good pasturage, a grateful evidence that the desert was at an end. On the north side of a broad beaten course he found two wells, fifty- five rods distant from each other, one twelve feet in diameter and forty-four and a half feet deep ; the other, five feet in diameter, and forty-two in depth. The water was sweet and abundant, and flocks w^ere gather- ing around to drink at these fountains. On some low hills a little north, he found ruins in- dicative of a considerable village, in the remote ages of its prosperity. " Here, then, is the place where the patriarchs Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt! Here Abraham dug perhaps this very well ; and journeyed from hence wdth Isaac to Mount Moriah to offer him up there in sacrifice. From this place Jacob fled to Padan-aram after acqui- ring the birthright and blessing belonging to his brother ; and here too he sacrificed to the Lord, on setting off to meet his son Joseph in Egypt. Here Samuel made his sons judges ; and from here Elijah wandered out into the southern desert, and sat down under a shrub of Re- tem, just as our Arabs sat down under it every day and Relate Robinson's description of Beer-sheba. Tlie dimensions o*" the walls, and their distance from each other? What rums are found there ? Historical associations and incidents ? OFFERING OF ISAAC. 57 every night. Here was the border of Palestine proper, which extended from Dan [on the extreme north] to Beer-sheba. (Gen. xxi : 31; xxii : 19; xxvi : 23; xxviii : 10 ; xlvi : 1 ; 1 Sam. viii : 2 ; 1 Kings xix: 3 ; 2 Sam. xvii : 11.) Over these smiling hills the flocks of the patriarchs once roved by thousands ; where now we found only a few camels, asses, and goats."* From the birth of Isaac until his own death, seventy- five years afterwards, the venerable patriarch seems to have lived a pastoral life in the south country, compris- ing the southern part of Canaan, removing from place to place, as he had occasion to find pasturage for his numerous flocks and herds. He resided " many days" at Gerar, in the land of the Philistines, evidently be- cause of its fertility. Isaac afterwards went to Gerar on account of a famine. It is supposed to have been situated a little north of west from Beer-sheba, not far from Gaza. But its locality is totally unknown. (Gen. xxi ; xxvi.) Besides this, Hebron and Beer-sheba were the favourite residences of Abraham. The trial of his faith in offering Isaac on Mount Mo- riah at Jerusalem occurred when Isaac w^as of adult age, twenty years or more, and was as remarkable an exemplification of faith on the part of the son in meekly submitting to the stroke, as of the father in lifting his hand to take the life of his child. (Gen. xxii.) Mount Moriah in Jerusalem is supposed to have been the scene of this offering. Others, in consideration of the distance, three days, suppose it to have been Gerizim, near Shechem. About twenty years later, when Abraham was a hun- Subsequent life of Abraham ? Offering of Isaac, where ? Dis- tance of the journey ? • Robinson's Researches, i. 302. 68 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. dred and thirty-seven, and Isaac thirty- seven years of age, Sarah died, at the age of a hundred and twenty- seven, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah, at Hebron. (Gen. xxiii.) Abraham soon provides a wife for Isaac, by sending his faithful servant to his own country with proposals of marriage with Isaac, to some of his kindred. The result was the marriage of Isaac with Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, and grand-daughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother. (Gen. xxiv.) About the same time Abraham married Keturah, and thirty-five years after this marriage died, at the age of a hundred and seventy-five, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah, in Hebron, with Sarah, his wife. HEBRON. Hebron is situated in a deep and narrow valley in the mountains of Judah, twenty-two miles south from Jeru- salem, and an equal distance north-east of Beer-sheba. It is an Arab town of 5000 or 10,000 inhabitants, com- pactly built of stone, on the declivities of the valley. In the bottom of the valley, just below the town, is a large square reservoir, built of stone, for the reception of water, which it collects in the rainy season. It is a hundred and thirty-five feet on each side, and twenty- one feet eight inches in depth. Above the town there is another cistern of smaller dimensions, for a similar pur- pose. These pools, in the opinion of Dr. Robinson, are of high antiquity, " and one of them is probably to be regarded as the pool of Hebron, over which David hung up the assassins of Ishbosheth." (2 Sam. iv: 12.) Age of Isaac ? Death and burial of Sarah ? Marriage of Isaac with Rebekah ? Of Abraham with Keturah ? Death of Abraham ? Hebron— situation ? Pool of Hebron ? Cave of Machpelah ? Of whom did Abraham obtain it? HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS AND INCIDENTS. 59 The reputed site of the cave of Machpelah, the sepul- chre of the patriarchs, is covered by a Turkish mosque, and enclosed by a wall of great antiquity, probably beyond the period of the Christian era. This enclosure is two hundred feet by a hundred and fifteen, and fifty or sixty feet in height. It is to the Moslem a sacred place ; and neither Jew nor Christian is permitted, on any occasion, to enter within the enclosure. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS AND INCIDENTS. With the exception of Jerusalem, no place on earth is more hallowed by high and holy associations, than this venerable city of Hebron. It is, perhaps, the oldest inha- bited city in the world, and still survives the waste of ages by lightning, fire and tempest, earthquakes, wars, pesti- lence and famine. Here lived the venerable patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and here they were buried, with their wives. Here they communed with God, and received the promises and the seal of the covenant. The spies that went up from the wilderness to search the land, came to Hebron, then inhabited by the sons of Anak. (Num. xiii.) It was utterly destroyed by Joshua (Josh, x.) ; and given to Caleb for a possession, in reward for his cou- rage and trust in God. It was one of the cities of refuge, and a levitical city of the sons of Aaron. (Josh, xxi : 7; xxi: 11.) David was here anointed king over Israel; and made it, for seven years .and six months, the seat of his kingdom. (2 Sam. ii : 11.) Abner also was here assassinated by Joab (2 Sam. iii : 27), and Absalom made it his head- quarters in his rebellion against his father. (2 Sam, xv.) CaT'e of Machpelah ? Of whom did Abraham obtain it ? Historical associations? Age of the city? Connexion of the patriarchs with it ? Relate the subsequent events ? 60 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Rehoboam made it one of his fenced cities. It was resettled after the captivity, and from that period it dis- appears for many centuries from the page of history. ISHMAEL, AND THE SONS OF KETURAH. Ishmael assisted at the interment of his father Abra- ham, and seems to have lived on terms of friendship with Isaac in the desert south of Canaan, where he rose to influence and power, and died at the age of a hun- dred and thirty-seven years, 1870 B. C, leaving twelve sons, who became the heads of as many tribes. The younger sons of Abraham, the offspring of Keturah, had already been settled in the " east country," beyond the valley of the Jordan and the Arabah." PASTORAL LIFE OF ISAAC. Isaac now addicted himself to a quiet, pastoral life, to which his gentle disposition and contemplative habits were well suited. Like Abraham in the latter part of his life, Isaac ranged with his flocks over the country west and south of Hebron to a considerable distance, often digging wells for the supply of his flocks, and peaceably withdrawing rather than to contend for them with his neighbours. Once, by reason of famine, he was compelled, as Abraham had been a century before, to repair to Gerar to obtain supplies from Abimelech, who is supposed to have been a son of the prince of the same name who reigned there in the days of Abraham. What became of Hebron after the captivity ? History of Ishmael (Gen. xxv : 11-18) ? Where did his posterity settle ? What was Isaac's manner of life ? His character ? Who was Abimelech ? Where was Gerar ? BETHEL. 61 DEATH OF ISAAC. Twenty years after the marriage of Isaac, Esau and Jacob were born ; and at the age of seventy- seven, Jacob obtained, by an unlawful device, the birthright over his elder brother Esau. (Gen. xxvii.) Isaac had been for some time afflicted \vith blindness, and felt that his death was near ; but he lived until the jealousy and enmity of his two sons, which had embit- tered his old age, were healed, and enjoyed, for more than twenty years, the society of Jacob and his family after his return to Canaan. Being old and full of years, he gave up the ghost, and died at Hebron, aged a hun- dred and eighty years, and w^as gathered unto his people, and his sons Jacob and Esau buried him. (Gen. XXXV : 29.) BETHEL. But a single incident is recorded in the journey of Jacob to Haran, to escape the vengeance of Esau, and obtain a wife of his kindred. This incident is his re- markable dream at Bethel, and his vision of the ladder, and of the angels of God ascending and descending. (Gen. xxviii.) In the Mountains of Ephraim, twelve miles north of Jerusalem, and a little east of the road leading to Ga- lilee through Samaria, was Bethel. It was situated on a tongue of land between two valleys which unite just below, and run off to the south-east towards the Jordan. The place is now^ overspread w^ith ruins ; and though uninhabited, must once have been a town of some im- portance. Here are the remains of a vast reservoir, three hundred and fourteen feet in length by two hundred Infirmitj' of Isaac, and trials and tribulations of his old age ? Age of Jacob when he obtained the birthright ? Manner of obtaining it ? Relate the vision of Jacob at Bethel ? Situation of Bethel ? 62 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. and seventeen in breadth. The region around, as m the days of Abraham and Jacob, still affords excellent and extensive ground for pasturage and tillage HISTORICAL INCIDENTS. Bethel, originally Luz, occurs often in the early his- tory of Abraham and his descendants. Here he pitched his tent on his first arrival in the land, and called upon the name of the Lord. (Gen. xii : 8.) Jacob, a hun« dred and fifty-six years afterwards, beheld here a vision of the God of Abraham, received the promise, and en- tered into covenant with Jehovah. Tw^enty-one years after, he returned, enriched with the blessings of God's providence, to fulfil his vow and commune with God. (Gen. XXXV.) Bethel was on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim (Josh, xvi: 1, 2; xviii: 13, 22; Judg. i: 22-6), and was violently wrested from the former by the sons of Joseph. The ark of the covenant was for a long time here, to which the children of Israel came often to inquire of the Lord. (Judg. xx: 26,27.) Samuel came here also once a year to judge the people. (1 Sam. vii: 16.) Bethel was desecrated by the idolatrous worship of a golden calf erected by Jeroboam (1 Kings xii), which was destroyed by Josiah (2 Kings xxiii: 15), and the prediction of the disobedient prophet was ful- filled. (1 Kings xiii.) " The scriptural associations of Bethel are both de- lightful and painful. Shaded by a pastoral tent, on the heights between it and Hai to^the east, we call, with the father of the faithful, on the name of the Lord. What ruins are still found at Bethel ? Relate the encampment of Abraham here, and visits of Jacob also. What is said of the ark at Bethel ? Of the visits of Samuel ? Of idolatrous worship there ? MEETING OF JACOB AND ESATT. 63 Interested and solemnized by the glorious vision of Jacob, we say of it, < This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven ;' and, with the same patriarch, we there make an altar unto God, who answered us in our distress. We find it, after the death of Joshua, fallen, through the righteous vengeance of God on its immoral inhabitants, into the hands of the house of Joseph. We visit it with the devout and upright Samuel in his annual circuit of judgment. We see Jeroboam planting there one of his abominable calves to tempt Israel to sin, and there signally pun- ished by God. Our spirit is relieved when its idolatrous establishment is totally destroyed by Josiah, the regal reformer of the Jewish nation."* MARRIAGES AND FAMILY OF JACOB. The subsequent history of Jacob after leaving Bethel, is fully recorded in the Scriptures : his marriage with Leah and Rachel, daughters of Laban his uncle ; his ser- vice of twenty years under Laban ; his departure for the land of promise with great possessions; the meeting of his brother Esau, and their mutual reconciliation ; are fully detailed. (Gen. xxviii — xxxiii.) MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU AT MAHANAIM. The interview took place at Mahanaim, in the moun- tains of Gilead, east of the valley of the Jordan, below the Sea of Galilee, and north of the river Jabbok. Esau came up from Seir, in the mountains of Edom, Relate the destruction of Bethel by Josiah. Relate reception of Jacob by his kinsmen ; his marriages ; and his departure for his own country. Where was Mahanaim ? Trace the route of Jacob, and of Esau. • Dr. Wilson's "Lands of the Bible," ii. 290. 64 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. south of the Red Sea, to meet Jacob, by imitation from the latter. The course of their journeys brought the two parties together at this place, which afterwards is of frequent occurrence in Jewish history. It fell to the tribe of Gad in the distribution. (Josh, xiii : 26-30.) Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was here made king by Abner (2 Sam. ii ; 8.) ; and David, driven from his throne by the treason of Absalom, fled also to Mahanaim. (2 Sam. xvii.) The battle between the forces of David and Absalom, in which the latter was slain, was fought in a place near Mahanaim, which, for reasons which do not now appear, was called the Woods of Ephraim. (2 Sam. x\4ii : 6.) The site of this ancient town has not been clearly identified. In the immediate vicinity are we to look also for Peniel, the encampment where Jacob wres- tled with the angel of the covenant. (Gen. xxxii : 30.) SUCCOTII. The next station of the patriarch was Succoth, a city of Gad, on the east bank of Jordan, where he passed over into Canaan. Gideon, near six hundred years after, crossed the Jordan at this place in pursuit of the kings ; and Solomon had a brass-foundry in the neigh- bourhood for casting the vessels of the temple. (1 Kings vii:46; 2Chron. iv: 17.) JACOB AT SHECHEM— SHALIM. After a short residence at Hebron, where the dreams Describe David's flight to this place, and the death of Absalom. Where were the woods of Ephraim ? Where was Peniel ? De- scribe the wrestling of Jacob with the angel of the covenant. Where was Succoth ? Relate the historical incidents connected with it. For what were Shechem and Shalim remarkable? Relate the dreams of Joseph and the conspiracy of his brethren. Joseph's history. 65- of Joseph awoke the jealousy of his brethren, and after the reputed death of his favourite son, Jacob himself removed to the plain of Shechem, a luxuriant valley, in which Jacob's well is situated. Shalim, Dr. Robin- son supposes, may have been the town of Salim, which he saw at a distance on the east side of the valley. In this region he is supposed to have resided about eight years. " Shechem, as the scene of Joseph's death, had a strong attraction for the fond old man, who said, «I will go down to the grave to my son mourning.' " After the slaughter of the Shechemites (Gen. xxxiv.), he appears to have retired towards Hebron, tarrying awhile at Bethel. The subsequent history to the time of Moses, is fully recorded in the Scriptures, to which we refer the reader, and content ourselves with simply appending a chrono- logical table of the principal events. Rachel, in giving birth to Benjamin, dies at Bethle- hem, while Jacob is on his way from Bethel to Hebron. Two years after this Isaac dies, aged 180 years. (Gen. XXXV : 28.) B.C. 1813, A.M. 2289, and 632 years after the flood. Joseph is now in prison in Egypt. (Gen. xxxix ; xl.) Pharaoh's dream and Joseph's enlargement occur in the year following. (Gen. xli.) B. C. 1805. Seven years of famine begin. 1804. First descent of Jacob's sons into Egypt. (Gen. xlii.) Death of Rachel and of Isaac ? The years of famine ? Joseph's first and second interview with his brethren ? Discovery of Joseph to his brethren ? 5 66 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. c. 1803. Second visit. Joseph discovers himself. Jacob and his household descend into Egypt. (Gen. xliii; xliv; xlv; xlvi.) 1786. Jacob dies, aged 147 years. (Gen. xlvii — 1.) 1732. Joseph dies, aged 110 years. (Gen. 1 : 26.) 1666. Moses is born. (Ex. ii.) 1626. Moses (40 years old) flees to Midian. THE LAND OF GOSHEN. On going down into Egypt, the whole caravan of Jacob and his sons, with their families, halted on the eastern borders of the land of Goshen, and sent forward one of their number to notify the governor of their coming. Joseph hastened from the court of Pharaoh, to meet his brethren in the land of Goshen. This province now became the residence of the descendants of Jacob for two hundred years. Here, in process of time, they were subjected, for more than eighty years, to a cruel oppression under Egyptian task-masters. Here were wrought those stupendous miracles, denominated the Plagues of Egypt, which subdued the proud heart of Pharaoh, and compelled him to let the people go, ac- cording to the Lord's command. Where then was the land of Goshen ? The river Nile, at a great distance from the sea, di- vides into several branches, and finally discharges its waters into the Mediterranean through several separate Joseph's settlement of his brethren in Goshen ? The death of Jacob; and of Joseph ? The birth of Moses, and his flight ? Where was Midian ? Where did Joseph meet his father and his brethren on their going down info Egypt ? What land did he give them to dwell in ? How long did the Israelites dwell in Goshen ? Where was Goshen ? LAXD OF GOSHEN. 67 mouths, at a distance from each other. From the east- ern branch of the Nile, at some distance from the sea, a broad valley runs off in a south-east direction far towards the head waters of the Red Sea. This valley, fertilized by the inundations of the Nile, and overspread with verdure, afforded pasture-ground for flocks and herds, while its rich alluvial soil yielded in great abundance the various productions of the coun- try. Through this valley ran an ancient canal, con- necting the waters of the Nile with the Red Sea, and commanding to a great extent the commerce of the East. The country adjacent remains to this day an im- portant province of Egypt. Here was the land of Goshen, where Joseph settled his brethren. It com- prised the land lying on the banks of the eastern arm of the Nile, and extended eastward to the Arabian desert. Though itself almost surrounded by a desert waste, it had very fruitful districts, and yielded abundant pas- turage. It was therefore suited to the sons of Jacob, " whose trade had been about cattle from their youth'' (Gen. xlvi : 34) ; it was also one of the richest pro- vinces of the kingdom. He " gave them a possession in the land of Eg}^t, in the best of the land" (Gen. xlvii: 11), which yielded in abundance the productions of the country, and was «' as a garden of herbs." (Num. xi : 5 ; Deut. xi : 10.) What was the soil of Goshen ? What canal ran through this land? To what country does it at present belong? What com- prised the land of Goshen ? What is said of its fertility? In what was it suited to the wants of Joseph's brethren ? 68 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. PHARAOH'S TREASURE-CITIES, PITHOM AND RAAMSES. Pithom was situated at a little distance eastward of the right branch of the Nile, and near the canal which connected this river with the Red Sea. Pithom is in- disputably the Patumus of Herodotus, who says that the waters of the Nile were received into this canal a little above the city Bubastis, near the Arabian city Patumus, but discharged themselves into the Red Sea. The canal, according to Strabo, was one hundred feet wide, and sufficiently deep to float large ships. It was built about 600 years B. C, by Pharaoh-Necho, by whom Josiah was slain at Megiddo. (2 Kings xxiii : 29,30; 2 Chron. xxxv: 22.) Herodotus gives the following account of the construction of this ancient canal : — "To this king (Psammitichus) succeeded his son Neco, who was the first to undertake a canal, leading into the Red Sea, and which after him Darius carried on : it extends a distance of four days' voyage, and its breadth is such that two galleys may work their oars abreast in it. " The canal derives its water from the Nile, a short distance above Bubastis, [Pibeseth,] near an Arabian town called Patumus, [Pithom:] it discharges itself into the Red Sea. The excavation was commenced on that part of the Egyptian plain which borders on Arabia. The mountain which stretches towards Memphis, and which contains the quarries, is above the plain at no great distance. Where was Pithom? What was its ancient name? By whom and when was the canal built ? What was its width as given by Strabo ; as given by Herodotus ? How was it supplied ? What is Heiodotus's description of it? PITHOM AND RAAMSES. 69 «' The canalj commencing at the foot of this hill, was continued for some length, from west to east, and then turning through the defiles, left the mountains, and was carried southward into the Arabian Gulf. The shortest track from the Northern Sea to the Red Sea, which is the same as the Southern Sea, passes by Mount Cas- sius, which divides Egypt from Syria : for this mountain is but 1000 furlongs from the Arabian Gulf. But the canal is so much longer than this, as it is more tortuous. <' In digging this canal in the reign of Neco, 120,000 Egyptians perished. He desisted in the midst of the work, being opposed by an oracular prediction, which declared, that « he wrought for a barbarian.' " Having desisted from this work, Neco betook him- self to military exploits. He, therefore, constructed galleys, some on the Northern Sea, and some on the Arabian Gulf for the Red Sea. Of these vessels the stocks (docks) may yet be seen. The fleets he em- ployed as occasion served. Neco invading the Syrians (Jews of Syria), overthrew them at Magdolus (Megid- do), and then took Cadytes (Jerusalem the holy), a great city of Syria."* Raamses, called also Rameses, was, like Pithom, a fortified city, and the metropolis of Goshen. It was situated in the great valley of the canal, near the head of the flood waters of the Nile, about midway between the Nile and the Red Sea, at the distance of forty miles or more from it. At a later period, Rameses took the name of Heroopolis, the City of Heroes. In the neigh- What is said of the loss of life in the construction of the canal ? What mention does Herodotus make of the Red Sea ? Of Neco's invasion of Palestine and capture of Jerusalem ? Where was Rameses ? What traces of Rameses are still found ? * Herodotus, lib. ii. cited by Dr. Wilson. 70 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. bourhood of what are now called the Bitter Lakes, tra- vellers have discovered an extensive heap of ruins, which the Arabs denominate Abu Keisheid, indicating the position of this ancient city. Rameses, the metropolis of Goshen, became the rendezvous of the children of Israel previous to their departure from Egypt. From hence they began their flight from the bondage of Pharaoh. The city naturally gave its name to the surrounding country. The sacred historian therefore speaks of the Land of Rameses as synonymous w^th the Land of Goshen. (Gen. xlvii : 11.) SOJOURN IN EGYPT. « Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years" (Ex. xii : 40-42, 51 ). These 430 years are reckoned, not from the descent into Egypt, but from the beginning of the so- journing of Abraham in Canaan, or from his going down into Egypt. This was 23 or 24 years before the birth of Isaac ; add 60 years to the birth of Jacob, 130 years to the descent ; from the descent to the exodus, 217. These several periods added equal 430 years; 23 + 60 + 130 + 217 = 430. The exodus, according to this construction of the chronology, was the fulfilment of the promise recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis, 13th and 14th verses : " Know^ of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in the land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and they shall afflict them four hundred years ; and also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge ; and afterwards shall they come out with great substance." What was the Land of Rameses ? Where did the Children of Israel rendezvous previous to their departure from Egypt ? How are the 430 years of the bondage in Egypt computed ? What was the promise and prediction respecting it? THE EXODUS. 71 CHAPTER IV. THE EXODUS OF THE ISRAELITES FROM EGYPT. B. C. 1586—1546. With urgent haste the Children of Israel took their departure from Rameses towards the Isthmus of Suez, and encamped the first night at Succoth (Ex. xii : 37 ; Num. xxxiii : 3, 5), a station midway between Rame- ses and the borders of the Arabian desert north of Suez. At the end of the second day they had already arrived at the borders of this desert, at Etham. Twelve miles north-west of Suez, is a well, two hundred and fifty feet deep, defended by a fortification and a garrison. South and east of this, three miles from Suez, is another watering-place, which supplies the city with water. At one of these places it is reasonable to suppose that the Israelites encamped, where they might be supplied with water. Etham was therefore situated somewhere in the region above the northern point of the Red Sea, in the neighbourhood of the Arabian desert. Here their natural course would have led them to advance directly into the desert, passing around the head waters of the Red Sea, and thence southward down the eastern shore of it ; but instead of this, they turned to the south, and directed their course along its western coast (Ex. xiv : 2 ; Num. xxxiii: 7), and encamped near Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against In what manner did the Israelites depart from Rameses ? Where were their first and second encampments ? What watering-places are there near Suez ? Where must Etham have been ? From Etham what was the natural course of the Israelites ? What course did they take ? 72 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Baal-zephon. This movement must have seemed to the Israelites the extreme of infatuation ; but it had the effect to draw Pharaoh after them, and to accomplish his overthrow. MTGDOL, PI-HAHIROTH, BAAL-ZEPHON, AND THE PASSAGE THROUGH THE RED SEA. The position of these places cannot be defined. Many suppose Migdol to be the same as Magdolum, a strong military fortress on the northern frontier of Egypt, which commanded the route to the land of Canaan by the coast of the ^lediterranean. According to this view, the phrase " between Migdol and the sea," indicates the dangers to which the Israelites were exposed on either side. From Migdol on the left, the garrison, marching out, might intercept their flight, while the sea opposed them on the right. Others again suppose that the children of Israel passed down the sea by the headland of the Atakah, six or eight miles below Suez, which Dr. Wilson affirms to be entirely practicable ; or else that they reached the same station by a circuit around this headland. In this case Migdol, Pi-hahiroth, and Baal-Zephon are to be assumed as localities in this region. Of the stations here mentioned, no trace remains ; nor is it probable that either their position, or the exact place of the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, will ever be determinately established. Niebuhr, Dr. Robinson, and many others, limit the passage to the neighbourhood of Suez. From this town an arm of the Between Migdol and the sea what position did they take ? What is said of Migdol ? What is meant by the expression, " between Migdol and the sea" ? In what situation were the Israelites placed by their movement ? PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 73 sea sets up some distance towards the north-east. This bay is less than a mile in width, and is easily forded at low water, on sand-bars that run across it. The tide, however, rises here more than six feet, rendering the passage impracticable in flood-tide, and at all times more or less difficult, so that caravans never cross the ford. Bonaparte nearly lost his life in 1799, in crossing at this very place, though attended by guides who were well acquainted with the ground. The blowing of a '« strong east wind," miraculously, upon the ebbing waters, is supposed to have laid bare a space on these shoals wide enough for the immense caravan of the Israelites to pass over on dry ground, while the deeper waters of the bay remained on their left, and the main waters of the sea pressed closely upon their right. The Egyptians were overthrown before the morning appeared, for so the original should be rendered. Now, supposing the Children of Israel to have begun their march, as the account of it seems to imply (Ex. xiv : 21, 22), at a late hour of the night, and considering the vast extent of their caravan, they could only have had time, before the dawn of morning, to pass over a narrow arm of the sea, like that now under considera- tion. Such is the reasoning of those who limit the passage of the Israelites to the neighbourhood of Suez. Professor Ritter, the greatest geographer of the age, supposes that the place of the passage is to be sought How wide is the bay at Suez? What passage is found here? What is the height of the tide here ? What incident occurred to Bonaparte at this place ? How is a passage supposed to have been opened through the sea ? What time could have been occupied in the passage ? Where, according to Professor Ritter, was the pass- age ? 74 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. higher up, considerably beyond the present gulf, in the ancient bed of the Red Sea, which extended 90,000 paces, with an average breadth of 18,000 or 20,000 paces. At the head of this ancient gulf he locates Etham and Pi-hahiroth, somewhere on its Egyptian side. (Erdlmnde, ii. 232 seq.) Dr. Wilson, and many others, suppose the passage to been effected a few miles below the town, across the sea itself, where it is about eight or ten miles in width. How could the Israelites have been " entangled in the land,'''' so as to become an easy prey to their pursuers, having only a narrow and fordable frith before them .'' Whence the consternation and distress of the Israelites ? How could the waters be ^^ a wall unto them, on the right hand and on the left ;" so as to justify the ex- pression "the waters stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea?" Why the triumphant song of Moses at the miraculous overthrow^ of the Egyptians, if this was occasioned mainly by the regular return of the tide-w^aters ? " The dukes of Edom shall be amazed ; the mighty men of Moab, trembling, shall take hold of them ; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away" with fear. And why ? Because the Israelites went at low water, over a narrow pass, in safety, as is customary to this day, and the Egyptians in pursuit were drowned by the returning tide ! What was the extent of the ancient bed of the gulf ? Where does Professor Ritter locate Etham and Pi-hahiroth ? Where, according to Dr. Wilson and others, was the place of pass- ing ? Width of the sea at this place ? What objections are there to Dr. Robinson's theory drawn from the alarm of the Israelites ? From the song of Moses, and the influence of this event upon other nations ? PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 75 To obviate these objections, the children of Israel are supposed to have turned their course from Etham, and passed either in a circuitous route around the Atakah, which rises " lofty and dark," in a bold bluff from the western shore below Suez, or else directly down the coast, passing between this headland and the sea. This mountain is supposed to have been Baal-zephon ; and the valley on the south side of it, Pi-hahiroth. Von Raumer, again, supposes them to have made their final exit from the south-western border of Goshen, near Cairo, and to have pursued their course to the sea through a valley, still called the Valley of Wandering, south of a chain of mountains which runs from Cairo eastward, and terminates in the Atakah. According to this theory, Rameses was near Cairo ; Succoth and Etham were in the valley ; and Migdol, the Deraj, a lofty mountain south of Atakah. Here they would be beset with dangers on every side. On the right, a wide waste of mountains and desert ; on the left, the impassable Atakah ; before them, the sea ; and behind them, the Egyptians in eager pursuit, with a regular military force, a large body of cavalry, and six hundred chariots of war. On the supposition that the waters were divided by the direct and immediate power of Jehovah, the Israel- ites would have eight or ten hours to make their way through the channel opened to them by the hand of Omnipotence, a space amply sufficient for a march of What was the course of the Israelites from Etham to the place of their passage ? What, according to Von Raumer, was the route of the Israelites? Where by this theory were Rameses and Mig- dol ? How entangled in land at this place ? What time could they have had for the passage ? 76 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. ten or twelve miles. An escape so miraculous, through the depths of the sea, and the fearful overthrow of Pha- raoh and his hosts, might indeed strike the dukes of Edom and the surrounding nations, far and near, with the fear of Jehovah, and a dread of his people. DESERT OF ETHAM. The Children of Israel came up from the sea into the Desert of Etham ; not to be confounded with the town of this name, which has been already mentioned, as the second place of encampment in their flight. This desert appears to have extended for some distance down the eastern shore of the Red Sea (Num. xxxiii : 8), and comprised a part of the desert of Arabia. But the wilderness of Etham was only a small section of the vast Arabian desert into which the Israelites had now entered ; and where, as a just judgment for their rebellion and murmurings against God, they were to wander for forty years, and to die without seeing the good land towards which they were journeying. DESERT OF ARABIA. This immense desert extends from the Nile, in Lower Egypt, to the Euphrates, a distance of one thousand miles from west to east. The remarkable valley of Akabah, and the mountains of Edom, east of it, divide this desert into two great divisions, Arabia Deserta on the east, and Arabia Petrsea on the west. The northern boundary of the latter extends from the eastern mouth Where was the Desert of Etham ? What relation does it bear to the town of the same name? Of what great desert did it form a part ? What was the extent of the Desert of Arabia ? What val- leys divide it ? THE SINAITIC GROUP. 77 of the Nile, along the Mediterranean to Gaza, and thence to the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, form- ing the base of a vast triangular desert, in the opposite angle of which, between the Red Sea and the Ailanitic Gulf, are the mountains of Sinai. THE SINAITIC GROUP. These mountains consist of an innumerable multitude of sharp rocky summits, thrown together in wild con- fusion, rising to different heights, leafless and barren, without the least trace of verdure to relieve the stern and awful features of the prospect. The view from one of these summits presents a perfect «^sea of desolation," without a parallel on the face of the earth. The valleys between the summits sink into steep and narrow ravines, with perpendicular sides of several hundred feet in height, forming a maze of irregu- lar defiles, which can be securely traversed only by the wild Arab, who has his habitation in the «« clefts of the valleys," amidst these eternal solitudes. Towards the north this wilderness of mountains slopes down in an irregular curvilinear line, which turns out- ward like a crescent, and runs off, on the one hand, to- wards the head of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea; and on the other, north-west, to this sea itself. The extremities of the long, irregular line, formed by this circular ridge, are joined by a high chain of mountains, Et-Tih, extending eastward from the Red Sea, south of Suez, in a continued chain to the Ailanitic Gulf; a Give the form of the western division ? Position of the mount- ains of Sinai ? Of what do these mountains consist ? Aspect of them? Difficulties of traversing them? Prospect from them? Describe the northern outline of these mountains; the chain El-Tih and the desert between them ? 78 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. distance of near one hundred and twenty miles, and enclosing in a circular segment, a high sandy desert, utterly desolate and barren. North of Et-Tih, the whole tract of country extending to the Mediterranean, and from the Red Sea to the deep valley of the Akaba, is an immense table-land, lying high above the level of the adjacent waters, with a slight inclination to the north. The surface of this elevated plain is overspread with a coarse gravel mingled with black flint-stone, inter- spersed occasionally with drifting sand ; and only diver- sified with occasional ridges and summits of barren chalk-hills. In the time of Moses it was a great and terrible wilderness ; and from time immemorial it has been a waste, howling desert, without rivers, or foun- tains, or verdure, to alleviate the horrors of its desolation. But we must suppose that this desert was once sup- plied, in some measure, both with water and with vege- tation. The bretliren of Joseph repeatedly traversed it from Hebron to Egypt with asses. (Gen. xlii : 26 ; xliii : 24.) When the country was suffering with extreme dearth, Jacob and his sons went down with their Jiocks and their herds. (Gen. xlvii : 1.) But no animal save the camel is now able to pass over the same route. The Israelites, to the number of two millions, with their flocks and their herds (Ex. x : 9), inhabited por- tions of this w^ilderness for forty years, where now they could not subsist a week without drawing supplies both of water and of provisions from a great distance. Describe the table-land of the desert north of El-Tih ? Face of the country, slope, and water-sheds ? Nature of this desert in the time of Moses ? Reasons for supposing that it may have been less barren than now ? How did the flocks and herds of the Israelites subsist in the desert ? FROM SUEZ TO MOUNT SINAI. 79 Others, in view of the sterility of the desert, suppose that the flocks and herds of the Israelites were sustained in the desert by a continued miracle. FROM SUEZ TO MOUNT SINAI. Below Suez, the table-land of the desert breaks ab- ruptly off towards the Red Sea, into a rugged line of mountains, running south-by-east, at the distance of eight and ten miles from the shore. Along the interval between the brow of these mountains and the shore, lay the route of the Israelites. On the eastern shore of the Red Sea, at a short distance below Suez, are several springs of brackish water called Ayun Mousa, the Fountains of Moses, where Moses is supposed to have indited his triumphal song. (Ex. xv: 1-22.) Hence " they went out into the wilderness of Shur: and went three days in the wilderness and found no water;" when they came to Marah, the waters of which were so bitter that they could not drink them. (Ex. XV : 22, 25.) About forty miles below the Foun- tains of Moses is that of Hawarah, whose water is salt, and so bitter that even camels refuse, unless very thirsty, to drink it. In this fountain we recognise the bitter waters of Marah, which were miraculously changed at the complaint of the Children of Israel. The barren tract between these fountains corresponds with the desert of Shur. (Ex. xv : 22.) We next find the Israelites at Elim, where were several fountains of water, and many palm-trees. (Ex. What forms the mountains which run parallel to the eastern shore of the Red Sea ? What is their general distance from the shore ? Fountain of Ayun Mousa ? Wilderness of Shur ? Waters of Marah ? Distance from Ayun? Distance of Elim from Marah ? 80 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. XV : 27.) This station is admitted to be the valley Ghurundel, six miles from Hawarah, where is found an abundant supply of water, some tillage land, several varieties of plants and shrubs, and a few palm-trees. From Elim they removed and encamped by the Red Sea. (Num. xxxiii : 10.) This station they reached by a circuitous route around a spur of the mountains on the left, which comes down to the sea, where it termi- nates in the lofty summit of Jebel Hummam, f« extend- ing along the coast towards the south, black, desolate, and picturesque." WILDERNESS OF SIN. Near the last station the coast again becomes an ex- tensive desert, running far down towards the extremities of the peninsula. This desolate region is clearly iden- tified as the Wilderness of Sin, w^here the Israelites are next found. (Ex. xvii : 1 ; Num. xxxiii: 11.) Burck- hardt describes it " as a frightful desert, almost wholly without vegetation." This wilderness is memorable as the place w^here, in answer to their murmurings, they were, for the first time, miraculously fed with quails, to appease their lusting after the flesh-pots of Egypt. (Ex. xvi.) Here, also, they w^ere first fed with manna, that bread of heaven, which they continued to eat for forty years, until they reached the land of promise and ate of the corn of that land. DOPHKAH, ALUSH, AND REPHIDIM. From this desert, the children of Israel are supposed by Dr. Robinson and others to have turned up south- What water and vegetation is found there ? The course of the Israelites to the next station by the sea? Describe the Wilderness of Sin ? For what is it memorable ? DOPHKAH, ALUSH, REPHIDIM. 81 east, into the mountainous region of Sinai. Their en- trance into this mountainous wilderness was through the Wady Feiran, a broad valley which is overspread with vegetation, and tamarisk-trees, or occupied with gardens and date plantations. It is much frequented by the Bedouins for pasturage. Somewhere in the range of the route from the Wilder- ness of Sin to Rephidim were the stations of Dophkah and Alush (Num. xxxiii : 12, 13), but their situation is irrecoverably lost. And the same may be said of Re- phidim, except that it must have been further in the in- terior, at the distance perhaps of a day's journey from Mount Sinai. Burckhardt supposes that it may have been at the extremity of the valley above described, which has now assumed the name of Esh-Sheikli ; where it enters by a narrow gorge into the high granite cliffs of these cen- tral regions. He says : — " We had now approached the central summits of Mount Sinai, which we had had in view for several days. Abrupt cliffs of granite, from six to eight hundred feet in height, whose surface is blackened by the sun, sur- round the avenues leading to the elevated platform to w^hich the name of Sinai is specifically applied. We entered these cliffs by a narrow defile about forty feet in breadth, with perpendicular granite rocks on both sides." At Rephidim, somewhere in this vicinity, and in the neighbourhood of Sinai, the Israelites encamped for Route from the Wilderness of Sin ? What wady or valley is found here ? What is known of Rephidim and the other stations mentioned in this connexion ? Entrance into the mountains of Sinai ? Burckhardt's description ? 6 83 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. some time. Here they renewed their murmurlngs for the want of water, and were miraculously supplied frotn the rock in Horeb ; here were the Amalekites defeated ; and here Jethro, the father-in-law, or more probably perhaps the brother-in-law of Moses, visited him, and, in consequence of his advice, judges were appointed to assist in the administration of justice. (Ex. xvi. xvii.) MOUNT SINAI. The next encampment of the Israelites w^as at this mountain. But how could such an immense caravan find a suitable place of encampment within the hidden recesses of these mountains, where travellers have found nothing but rugged, frowning cliffs, and high spindling peaks, dark and desolate beyond description, separated from each other by an endless labyrinth of deep and frightful chasms? To this difficulty the researches of Robinson and Smith are supposed to offer a satisfactory explanation, which we give in their own words. At the foot of the pass which leads up to the sacred shrine beneath the awful mount, from whose summit Jehovah proclaimed his law to the trembling hosts of Israel, Dr. Robinson says : " We commenced the slow and toilsome ascent along the narrow^ defile, about south-by-east, between blackened, shattered cliffs of granite, some eight hundred feet high, and not more than two hundred and fifty yards apart, which every moment threatened to send down their ruins on our heads. Nor is this at all times an empty threat ; for the whole pass What transpired with the Israelites at this place ? Who was Jethro ? What advice did he give to Moses ? How could the Is- raelites find space for encampment in the defiles of these mountains ? What is Dr. Robinson's description of this passage ? MOUXT SINAI. 83 is filled with large stones and rocks, the debtis of these cliffs. " The bottom is a deep and narrow water-course, where the wintry torrent sweeps down with fearful violence. A path has been made for camels, along shelving rocks, partly by removing the topmost blocks, and sometimes by laying down large stones side by side, somewhat in the manner of a Swiss mountain-road. But though I had crossed the most rugged passes of the Alps, and made, from Chamouni, the whole circuit of Mont Blanc, I had never found a path so rude and difficult as that w^e were now ascending." After toiling along for near two hours, our travellers continue their narrative : " Here the interior and loftier peaks of the great circle of Sinai began to open upon us — black, rugged, desolate summits ; and, as we ad- vanced, the dark and frowning front of Sinai itself (the present Horeb of the monks) began to appear. <« We were still gradually ascending, and the valley gradually opening ; but as yet all was a naked desert. Afterw^ards a few shrubs were sprinkled round about, and a small encampment of black tents was seen on our right, with camels and goats browsing, and a few donkeys belonging to the convent. The scenery through which we had now passed, reminded me strongly of the mountains around the Mer de Glace, in Switzerland. T had never seen a spot more wild and desolate. « As we advanced, the valley still opened wuder and wider, with a gentle ascent, and became full of shrubs What does Dr. Robinson say of the cliffs, and the valleys ? Of the rugged ascent of the mount ? Appearance of Horeb ? To what does he compare the scenery ? Appearance of the plain which opens here ? 84 HISTOKICAL GEOGRAPHY. and tufts of herbs, shut in on each side by lofty granite ridges, with rugged, shattered peaks, a thousand feet high, while the face of Horeb rose directly before us. Both my companion and myself involuntarily ex- claimed : « Here is room enough for a large encamp- ment!' ''Reaching the top of the ascent, or water-shed, a fine, broad plain lay before us, sloping down gently towards the S S E, enclosed by rugged and venerable mountains of dark granite, stern, naked, splintered peaks and ridges of indescribable grandeur ; and ter- minated, at a distance of more than a mile, by the bold and awful front of Horeb, rising perpendicularly in frowning majesty, from twelve to fifteen hundred feet in height. It was a scene of solemn grandeur, wholly unexpected, and such as we had never seen ; and the associations which at the moment rushed upon our minds, were almost overwhelming." They subsequently ascended the frowning summit of Horeb, and sketched the scene from that point: '' The whole plain, Er-Ilahah, lay spread out beneath our feet, with the adjacent wadys and mountains; w^hile WadyEsh-Sheikh on the right, and the recess on the left, both connected with and opening broadly from Er- Rahah, presented an area which serves nearly to double that of the plain. " Our conviction was strengthened that here, or on some of the adjacent cliffs, was the spot w^here the Lord * descended in fire,' and proclaimed the law. Here lay Solemnity and grandeur of the scene ? Height of Horeb ? View from the summit of Horeb ? Where is Er-Rahah ? What its form and extent ? Where is it supposed the Lord descended in fire to the mount in sight of the people ? MOUNT SINAI. 85 the plain where the whole congregation might be assem- bled ; here was the mount that could be approached, if not forbidden ; and here the mountain brow, where alone the lightnings and the thick cloud would be visible, and the thunders and the voice of the trump be heard, when the Lord ' came down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.' u We gave ourselves up to the impressions of the awful scene ; and read, with a feeling that will never be for- gotten, the sublime account of the transaction, and the commandments there promulgated, in the original words as recorded by the great Hebrew legislator."* Other travellers have explored a valley on the south- ern base of Sinai, which was shut from the view of Dr. Robinson, in his ascent, by a long ridge of rocks, and which has been found, by measurement of Kraffl and Strauss, and others, to be even greater than the valley of Er-Rahah on the north. This, it is supposed by Ritter and others, may have been occupied by the Israelites at the gi'V'ing of the law\ The locality of this tremendous scene may perhaps be better determined by future researches. An American artist and scholarf has just given an interesting account of this valley, which appears to be much more extensive than Er-Rahah, and better fitted for the accommodation of the immense camp of Israel. What plain have other travellers noticed south of Jebel Mousa ? Where, according to Ritter and others, may have been the place of encampment and of the giving of the law ? What American travel- ler is mentioned as having given an interesting account of this valley ? ♦ Biblical Researches, vol. i. pages 129-30, 158. t Mr. M. K. Kellog. 86 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. To reach this station, the Israelites must have con- tinued their march much further down the coast than on the other supposition, and turned at a bolder angle up into the mountains near the modern town of Tur or Tor. Dophkah, Alush, and Rephidim must also, on this supposition, be transferred to other localities corre- sponding with this supposed line of march. If there be such a valley at the southern base of Sinai, it seems very extraordinary that it should have escaped the notice of travellers. It must be visible from the summit of Sinai, Jebel Mousa ; but, seen only from that lofty summit, and running in an irregular line at the very base of the mountain, they must have over- looked it in their brief survey of the scenery, so grand, gloomy, and peculiar, which there engaged their con- templation. The subject, however, is so curious and interesting, that we insert in detail the narrative of the American traveller to which these remarks refer. Standing on the Mountain of the Cross, the Nejah on the map, he proceeds to say : — " Here, close at my right, arose, almost perpendicu- larly, the Holy Mountain ; its shattered pyramidal peak tow^ering above me some fourteen hundred feet, of a brownish tint, presenting vertical strata of granite, which threw off the glittering rays of the morning sun. Cling- ing around its base was a range of sharp, upheaving crags, from one to two hundred feet in height, which What must have been the course of the Israelites from the Wil- derness of Sin to this valley ? AVhere, on the supposition of a val- ley south of Sinai, were Rephidim, Alush, and Dophkah? How would this valley have escaped the notice of other travellers ? De- scribe the Mountain of the Cross. What is the height and appear- ance of Sinai from this plain ? MOUNT SINAI. 87 formed an almost impassable barrier to the mountain itself from the valley adjoining. These crags were separated from the mountain by a deep and narrow- gorge ; yet they must be considered as forming the pro- jecting base of Sinai. '' Directly in front of me was a level valley, stretch- ing onward to the south for two or three miles, and en- closed on the east, west, and south, by low mountains of various altitudes, all much less, however, than that of Sinai. " This valley passed behind the Mountain of the Cross to my left, and out of view, so that I could not calculate its northern extent from where I stood. The whole scene was one of inexpressible grandeur and solemnity, and I seated myself to transfer some of its remarkable features to the pages of my portfolio." Again, in speaking of the junction of Wady Sedout with Seba'iyeh, he remarks: — i' These two wadys make a width of at least the third of a mile. The hills rising from the east and south of Seba'iyeh, in front of Sinai, are of gentle ascent, upon which flocks might feed, and the people stand in full view of Sinai. For many miles, perhaps six or more, on the eastern border of this plain, are seen many small plains high up among the hills, from all of which Sinai is plainly visible. '« At its junction with the Wady Seba'iyeh, Wady Sheikh turns from its eastern course, after leaving Wady By what valley is the base of the mountain surrounded ? What rocky rampart forms this deep narrow valley ? What is the length of the Seba'iyeh ? How is it enclosed on the east, west, and south ? What obstructed the view of it ou the north ? Form and elevation of the hills east ? What pasturage might they afford for flocks ? Course of Wady Sheikh ? 88 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Rahah, and runs north around Jebel Fureia, where it receives Seba'iyeh from the south, and with it forms one level and unbroken plain for about twelve miles to the north of the place where I was seated. Turning back now to the south, w^e traversed the plain towards the base of Sinai. The wady grew gently narrower as we approached Nejah, whose base projected far into the plain, and whose head shuts oiTthe view of Sinai for a distance of about one-half the width of the plain at its base. " As we passed its foot Sinai again appeared, and we measured the plain near the pathway which leads up towards Sinai on the southern border of Nejah, and which appears to be the only entrance to the Holy Mountain. The measured width here was four hun. dred and thirty feet. Passing on three hundred and forty-five paces, we arrived at the narrowest part of the plain, some few yards narrower than where we had measured it. " This maybe considered as an entrance-door to the plain which lies directly in front of Sinai, which now spreads out level, clear, and broad, going on to the south with varied widths for about three miles, on gently ascending ground, where it passes between two sloping hills and enters another wady which descends beyond, from which it is most probable Sinai may yet be clearly seen. <« On the east, this plain of Seba'iyeh is bounded by mountains having long, sloping bases, and covered w^ith wild thyme and other herbs, affording good tenting- What is the length and breadth of Wady Seba'iyeh ? How is this valley bounded on the east ? MOUNT SIXAI. 89 ground immediately fronting Sinai, which forms, as it were, a grand pyramidal pulpit to the magnificent amphitheatre below. "The width of the plain immediately in front of Sinai is about sixteen hundred feet, but further south the wddth is much increased, so that on an average the plain may be considered as being nearly one-third of a mile wide, and its length, in view" of Mount Sinai, between five and six miles. The good tenting-ground on the moun- tain sides, mentioned above, w^ould give much more space for the multitude on the great occasion for which they were assembled. This estimate does not include that part of the plain to the north, and Wady Esh-Sheikh, from which the peak of Sinai is not visible ; for this space would contain three or four times the number of people w^hich Seba'iyeh w^ould hold. " Now, if we conjecture the Israelites to have entered the wilderness of Sinai from the south, that is to say, that they came from the neighbourhood of Tur, from their last encampment by the Red Sea, and passed through Wady Hibran, or some other w^ady, to the south of Sinai, until they came into Wady Seba'iyeh, w^e shall find them passing through a fertile country, in w^hich there was both pasturage and water, until they came within one day's march of Sinai, to Rephidim, where, for the^;'5^ time^ they complain that there was no water to drink. What is the width and length of the plain immediately in front of Sinai? From what quarter must the Israelites have approached Mount Sinai, and how left it ? What reasons have we for supposing that the Israelites came up to Sinai through valleys leading to the coast of Tur ? 90 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. " May not the broad valley of Haszfet el Ras, which we have seen is only four hours' travel from Sinai, be the valley of Rephidim ? Burckhardt does not speak of finding any water there. The two stations of the Israelites, between the Dead Sea and Rephidim (^Doph- kah and Mush) ^h?i\Q not as yet been identified. May they not lie between the great plain around Tur, and Haszfet el Ras ? But I will not dwell upon this point." To all these representations, Dr. Robinson objects that the extent of these plains is not a little exaggerated ; but, allowing no exaggeration, he contends that this theory does not correspond with the specifications implied in the text. (Ex. xix : 10-22.) " In this language there are implied three specifica- tions, or particulars, which must all be present in any spot answering to the true Sinai : " 1. A mountain-summit, overlooking the place where the people stood. '<■ 2. Space sufficient, adjacent to the mountain, for so large a multitude to stand and behold the phenomena on the summit. "3. The relation between this space where the people stood and the base of the mountain must be such, that they could approach and stand at « the nether part of the mount ;' that they could also touch it ; and that, further, bounds could appropriately be set around the mount, lest they should go up into it or touch the border of it. " In respect to the application of the three particu- lars, above specified, to Jebel Mousa, there is here of course the mountain, and also space before it on the Where, according to this supposition, were Rephidim, Alush, and Dophkah ? What are the specifications implied respecting the nature of the plain, and of the mountain? What are Dr. Robinson's objec- tions to the theory of Mr. Kellogg, derived from the*se specifications ? MOUNT SINAI. 91 south-east sufficient for all the people. But as to the third particular, — and this is the point I wish to bring out, — it may well be doubted, whether the relation be- tween this space and the foot of the mountain is such, that bounds may be supposed to have been necessary, lest the people should approach and touch the mount. It is just this point, which those who adopt this view seem to me to have overlooked." Dr. Robinson proceeds to urge three main reasons against the supposition that this was the position of the Israelites before the mount : first, the distance from the base of the mountain, at least half a mile or more ; secondly, the rough and impassable character of the intervening ground precluding all idea of easy approach ; thirdly, the fact that Moses ascended the mountain in the sight of all the people. But here, on the southern side, the mountain is inaccessible ; on the northern, there is an ascent directly in sight of the whole plain. With these considerations, the reader will form his own conclusions respecting the identity of the sacred summit of Mount Sinai, and the position of the children of Israel. The children of Israel left on the fifteenth day of the first month of the sacred year, or about the middle of April, and reached Sinai On the third month (Ex. xix : 1), having been apparently just three months on the way, and made a journey of about two hundred miles. At Sinai they remained during all the transactions re- corded in Exodus, from the eighteenth chapter to the end, and in Leviticus, and the first nine chapters of Numbers. In these transactions they were occupied a little less than a year. When did the children of Israel reach Mount Sinai ? How long were they on the way ? What was the distance of their route ? How long did they remain near Sinai ? 93 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. MOUNT HOREB, MOUNT SINAI. The mountain from which the law was given is de- nominated Horeb in Deuteronomy i : 6 ; iv : 10, 15 ; V : 2 ; x\-iii : 16 ; in other books of the Pentateuch it is called Sinai. These names are now applied to two opposite sum- mits of an isolated, oblong, and central mountain in the midst of this confused group of mountain-heights. It is about two miles in length from north to south, and about one-third of this distance in width. Modern Horeb is the frowning, awful cliff at the northern extremity, already described as overhanging the valley Er-Rahah. Sinai rises in loftier, sterner grandeur, at the southern extremity. Its elevation is 7047 Paris feet above the level of the sea. A deep, irregular, and narrow defile sweeps around the entire base of this oblong mountain, which supports the heights of Horeb and Sinai, as if the Almighty himself had set bounds around the Holy Mount and sanctified it. Even the mountains round about, which seem huddled together in wild confusion, as if in mute amazement at the scene when tlie Lord descended in fire upon the mount, " and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly" — even these mountains are cut off from any immediate communication with this Mount of God. Mount Sinai is situated above the 28th degree of Where, in the Pentateuch, is the mountain from which the law was given called Horeb ? Where is it called Sinai ? Position of the summits which now bear this name ; their height, and the length of the ridge ? How is it separated from other mountains around 1 Latitude of Mount Sinai ? MOUNT HOREB. 9S^ north latitude, about one hundred and twenty miles from Suez, and near one hundred from the head of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea. The Hebrews remained at their station in Horeb, a few days more than eleven months. During this time their theocracy was fully established ; Jehovah himself was constituted their King ; his law was promulgated in dreadful solemnity from the mount, and committed to them as written by the finger of God ; their govern- ment was duly organized, their national laws and institutions were established, to separate them from all other nations as tlie future depositaries of the oracles of God ; the tabernacle was set up for the palace of their King, Jehovah ; and the regular service of his court was established. In this interval of time they were severely rebuked for their defection from their God and King in the worship of the golden calf; the sanctions of the law were solemnly repeated ; the people were numbered and mustered for war ; the order of encamping, break- ing up, and marching was accurately settled ; and the whole constitution of the state was completed. The twelve tribes in their marches and encampments, formed a square, facing the cardinal points, with the tabernacle in the centre, surrounded by the tribe of Levi, and the carriers and attendants. Moses had been a wandering shepherd for forty yearg in this region ; and, on this same mount, had received Distance from Suez ; from the eastern gulf of the Red Sea ? How long did the Israelites remain at Sinai ? What organization was es- tablished there ? What rebellion occurred ? How was it rebuked ? Where is the narrative of their exodus resumed ? With what is the intervening portion of the Pentateuch occupied ? 94 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. from Jehovah appearing to him in the burning bush (Ex. iii.), his commission for the deliverance of his people. He was therefore well prepared, by his intimate acquaintance with the country, to conduct the thousands of Israel in their perilous march through this terrible wilderness. He also took with him, as a guide, his brother-in-law, Hobab, who was well acquainted with the situation of the fountains, wells, and pastures of that region, and might direct the people in the foraging excursions which they would have occasion continually to make, in order to supply water and provisions for themselves and their flocks and herds. (Num. x: 29-32.) The de- scendants of Hobab from this time remained among the Hebrews. After their organization had been fully settled, and the rites of their religion established, the children of Israel broke up from Horeb and proceeded on their way. Their marches and encampments in all their subse- quent wanderings were directed by Jehovah, their King. A cloud in token of his presence covered the tabernacle by day, <« and at even, there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire until the morning." So it was always ; the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. (Num. ix: 15, 16.) The rising of this cloud was the signal for them to ad- vance, as this, overhanging the tabernacle, should lead the way ; and the settling of the cloud upon the taber- nacle was, again, the signal for them to encamp. What qualifications had Moses to act as guide through the wilder- ness? Who accompanied and assisted him? How were the march and encampments denoted ? What was their signal for these ? WILDERNESS OP PARAN. 95 On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year after their departure, the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony, and the children of Israel, taking their departure from out the Wilderness of Sinai, came by three days' journey into the Wilderness of Paran. (Num. x: 11-36.) Burckhardt supposes the rocky wilderness of the upper nucleus of Sinai, to be the Desert of Sinai ^ so often mentioned in the wanderings of the Israelites. WILDERNESS OF PARAN, MOUNT PARAN, This desert is several times mentioned in Scripture. Hagar, when Abraham sent her away, wandered first in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, and afterwards dwelt with Ishmael in the wilderness of Paran. (Gen. xxi : 14, 21.) David, after the death of Samuel, retired into this desert. Here, also, the flocks of Nabal, who dwelt in the south- ern Carmel, were accustomed to feed. (1 Sam. xxv : 2-43.) " The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir, unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran." (Deut. xxxiii : 2.) «« The Lord came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran." (Hab. iii : 3.) Beer-sheba is well known to have been situated upon the borders of the desert at the southern extremity of Palestine. Carmel was in the neighbourhood of He- bron, lying further south and near the desert, w^est of the southern part of the Dead Sea. Seir, we know, was south of the Dead Sea, between that and the east- Where did the children of Israel set forward from the Wilderness of Sinai ? What wilderness did they next arrive at ? Where did Hagar dwell with Ishmael ? What is said of David and Nabal in this wilderness ? Where was Maon ? Carmel ? Where Mount Seir / 96 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. ern gulf of the Red Sea. Mount Paran must be near this chain of mountains, and in the desert of Paran. All these notices indicate that the whole desert region south of Palestine was designated as the Wilderness of Paran, extending down to the mountainous regions of Sinai. The general course of the Israelites was north- east, towards the gulf of the Red Sea which has been so often mentioned. At first their course from Sinai must have been due north, down the Wady Sheikh some twelve miles, \vhere, according to Dr. Robinson, was Rephidim, at which encampment the Children of Israel, on coming here, turned up to the south to go to Sinai. From the elevated plains around the base of Sinai to this place there is a regular descent, through which water might naturally flow from the rock at Horeb. Indeed, this valley is the natural outlet of the waters from storms and wintry rains, which flow down from these central mountain heights. The blackened cliffs about this place, at the junction of the Wadys Sheikh and Feiran, form the outposts of Horeb. And liere the Israelites entered upon the desert ])lain which is called the Wilderness of Paran, at the border of the great wilderness which bears this name. TABERAH. Moses denominates their first station after three days' march by this name, because at this place, their third What was included in the Wilderness of Paran ? What was the general course of the Israelites ? At what point did they enter the wilderness ? What name did Moses give to their first station after their three days' march from Paran ? Why ? HAZEROTH. 97 stage from Horeb, the murmurings of the Children of Israel at the hardships and fatigues of their march in the desert became so strong, that fire, enkindled by the indignation of the Lord, broke forth and raged with great fury among the tents in the outskirts of the camp. The name Taberah, burnings was given as a memorial of this chastisement. (Num. xi : 3.) KIBROTH-HATTAAVAH, HAZEROTH. Their next station was Kibroth-hattaavah, the graves of lust J where, for "a whole month," they were again fed with quails, and multitudes died in consequence of their surfeit. (Num. xi : 4-34.) These quails were brought by a strong wind from the sea^ the eastern gulf mentioned above; this place must have been situated near the eastern extremity of the mountainous chain Et-Tih, and not far from the western shore of the gulf. It is observable that on this occasion, as on the former, in the Wilderness of Sin, the Children of Israel were fed by the flight of quails from over the sea. In this instance, from over the eastern branch of the Red Sea, and in that, from over the western arm of the same sea. Those who are curious to explain by natural phe- nomena the miraculous events of Scripture history, in- form us that these birds move in immense flocks, and, when wearied by long flights over water, fly so low and heavily as to be easily captured. Where was their next station ? What took place here ? What other instance is recorded of feeding the Children of Israel with quails ? From what sea were they brought in each instance ? What natural phenomenon is related respecting a similar supply of provi- sion by quails from over the sea ? 7 98 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. They tell us, from an ancient historian, of a colony at Rhinocolura, on the Mediterranean Sea, who saved themselves from starvation by making long nets of slit reeds and placing them along the shore, to catch the quails which came flying over the sea in large flocks. In this manner they secured for themselves an ample supply of provisions.^ But however ingenious such efforts, they are more curious than important to a believer in the miracles of the Scriptures. If we do not believe the sacred writers, we need not believe the miraculous events recorded by them. If we believe that God made heaven, earth, and sea, and all that is therein, we may believe also that he could, as seemed good unto him, divide the sea, or call water from the rock, or stay the river in its course, or bring quails to feed his people, and satisfy them with the bread of heaven. The Wady Sheikh, which runs north from Sinai, opens at the distance of a few miles into a large valley or plain, extending for more than thirty miles east and west between the Sinaitic group and Et-Tih on the north. This plain is called El-Hadharah, correspond- ing to Hazeroth of the Scriptures, in some part of which must have been the station of the Israelites of this name, and probably also Taberah, and Kibroth-hattaavah, in which places the Israelites were so severely punished for their repinings and rebellion. (Num. xi.) Is it necessary or desirable to seek natural causes for what is represented in the Scriptures to be miraculous ? What great plain was between the Sinaitic group and Et-Tih ? What is its Scriptural name? • Diod. Sic. i. 5. HAZEROTH. 99 Dr. Wilson supposes the Israelites to have continued their course further north, across this plain ; and, through a pass in the range Et-Tih, to have come out upon the plateau of the great desert. His reasons for this sup- position we give in his own Tvords : « From the first time that I had my attention directed to the opinions of Burckhardt and Dr. Robinson, now adverted to, I felt great difficulties about the well of Hadharah and the Hazeroth of Scripture, which, on every attempt which I made to overcome them, became only the more formidable. What these are, I beg here distinctly to state. '< Upon the numbering of the Israelites before Sinai, new order was introduced into their camp. They pitched by the respective standards of their tribes. (Num. ii: 34.) When they « took their journeys out of the Wilderness of Sinai,' < the cloud rested in the Wilderness of Paran ;' and ' they first took their jour- ney according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses,' regularly marshalled, and following the respective standards of their respective tribes. (Num. x: 12-18.) " ' They departed from the Mount of the Lord three days' journey,' still in the order in which they had set out. Num. x: 33.) Here they were at Taberah. (Num. xi : 3 ; Deut. ix : 22.) '« They next proceeded to Kibroth-Hattaavah, which What, according to Dr. Wilson, was the course of the Israelites from this place ? Through what great wilderness ? What, accord- ing to Robinson, was Hazeroth ? Where is the well ? What access to it ? What, according to Dr. Wilson, was Hazeroth ? Describe the plain ? Describe the order of march of the Israelites ? By how many marches did they come to Taberah ? 100 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. was obviously in a plain^ and not in a defile ; for upon their murmuring for flesh, « there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits (high) upon the face of the earth.' (Num. xi: 31.) < And the people journeyed from Kibroth-Hattaavah unto Hazeroth, and they abode at Hazeroth.' (Num. xi: 35.) " It appears from the sacred narrative here referred to, that the Israelites must have left Sinai by a route which, in the first instance, permitted their orderly march and encampment according to their tribes ; and every one who will look to the topography of the Sinai- tic range, must see that their course must have been through the wide avenue of Wady Esh-Sheikh, with the mountainous boundaries on each side which we have noticed as we have passed along. " Coming out of the Sinaitic group, probably near their former encampment at Rephidim, they were in the « Wilderness of Paran,' another distinctive district of the desert, not unlikely the plain Alwat El-Jerum, to the north-east of Wady Sheikh, which is admitted on all hands to be a part of the head of the valley of Feiran, from which probably the designation of Paran, as applied to this part of the desert, was derived. Still What evidence is there that this march was over a plain country ? What is their next station ? What is the sea from which the quails were brought ? What the extent of this supply ? What evidence that this was miraculous ? What, according to the above represen- tations, must have been the route of the Israelites ? When and where did they enter upon the Wilderness of Paran ? HAZEROTH. 101 further advancing, they were in the plain of Hadharah, or Hazeroth, in a part of which our tents are now pitched. All this seems natural and perfectly con- gruous. " If we take them, however, to the well of Hadharah, by Dr. Robinson's route, we lead them at once from a broad valley — where they could march in order — over hills and ridges, and narrow valleys, where their ranks must have necessarily been broken up. " We continue them among the irregularities and tortuosities of the eastern outposts of the Sinaitic group for about twenty miles. We give them an exit from these groups, where Jebel Tih runs down upon them from the north-west, and we find, for the first time, probably, a part of the plain of Hadharah, where an encampment could easily be formed by them. We take them a stage in advance to the well of Hadharah, the path to which is so rugged and difficult, that, ac- cording to the accounts of Dr. Robinson's Arabs, their camels could not reach the spring. In the neighbour- hood of this well, in very confined space, there is a regular station of the Israelites. <-<■ Afterwards they are necessitated — for they cannot mount Jebel Tih — to descend upon the Gulf of Aka- bah, and to proceed along its narrow shores, rounding its headlands jutting into the sea of Ezion-Geber. That all this is possible^ I should certainly not venture to deny. That a course, apparently more consistent with the sacred narrative, can be found for them, at least to the What is the difficulty of supposing the Children of Israel to have been at- the well of Hadharah ? From this well what must have been their route ? What apparent necessity exists for their pursuing this course ? 102 HISTORICAL GEOGHAPHY. valley of Hadharah, or Hazeroth, I have already indi- cated. " Were I required to admit that the Israelites must have proceeded from Sinai to the Gulf of Akabah, by the passes leading down from the southern ridge of Jebel Tih, I should be disposed to think that they first came out from the Sinaitic range, going almost straight north, through Wady Sheikh, and then through the out- posts of Sinai in that direction ; and that they after- wards turned to the right hand, and proceeded eastward through the open valleys to these passes. As far as the march to the passes is concerned, this supposed route presents no apparent difficulty, when viewed in con- nexion with the Scripture narrative. " Other routes to Mount Seir (Deut. i : 2), however, occur to us as practicable and suitable, when we advert to the extent of the plateau of Hadharah, as seen by us in its western parts. The Israelites, leaving Hadharah, might have at once surmounted Jebel Tih, either by the pass of Mareikhi, or that of Zaranah (called also Za- lakah), at the head of Jebel Shakeirah. Ascending through either of these passes, they would be in the < great and terrible Avilderness,' in which the universal tradition of Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans sup- poses them to have wandered. " Their route by the latter pass, which appears the more probable of the two, w^hen its relative position to Mount Seir is considered, would carry them along the plateau behind the ridge, bounding the Sea of Akabah, What, according to Dr. Wilson, was their course after entering the Wilderness of Paran near the supposed site of Rephidim ? What other practicable routes are there ? What advantages has the route assumed by Dr. Wilson ? HAZEROTH. 103 allow the orderly pitching of their camp, according to the Divine directions, free them from many difficulties which the narrow coast road presents, and actually prove the shortest route either to Ezion-Geber,or to any part of Wady Arabah, bounded by Mount Seir, at which they might descend from the plateau by any of the numerous wadys which lead into tliat long and dis- tinctive plain." We subjoin in this connexion Dr. Wilson's account of his passage over the Tih to the desert beyond : — " Turning our faces to the west, we had the long and winding pass of Mareikhi overhanging us. We found it no very easy matter to complete its ascent, which occupied a couple of hours, though we kept our seats on the camels for a considerable part of the way. In the abrupted rocks on each side of our narrow path- way, we had a section of the desert laid bare to our view, from 1000 to 1500 feet in depth. " It seemed to us, by its slopes, and precipices, and hollows, and caverns, to be a striking illustration, — as we often noticed among the ravines of the wilderness, — of the text in which the Israelites are said to have been led < through a land of deserts and of pits.'* (Jer ii : 6.) It was interesting to us, too, in a scientific point of view, as it illustrated the order of the supra position of certain of the systems of rocks forming the crust of our globe. We commenced with the variega- ted sandstone, passed through the cretaceous system, and entered above it on layers of tertiary sand, and Describe the pass over the Tih to the desert beyond ? Difficul- ties of the ascent ? Appearance of the desert below ? In what respects is this a " land of deserts and of pits ?" What is said of its geological formation ? 104 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. gravel, exactly like those of the Egyptian desert be tween Suez and Cairo. " When we got to the summits above, forming the plateau gently sloping to the north, we reckoned our- selves about 4500 feet above the level of the sea, a good part of the Sinaitic range, and particularly its western division near Jebel Serbal,being still visible. Here we found, even on the surface, beds of the ostrea diluviana, and of coralline, almost as if they had been yesterday raised from the bed of the ocean. We pitched our tents on the summits of the ridge, about two hours in advance of the southern face." From this point their course would extend north-east across the great and terrible wilderness, either to Kadesh- barnea, in the northern part of the Arabah, or by a more easterly course to the head of the Ailanitic Gulf, the Akabah. Their precise route will probably never be determined. If, as Dr. Robinson supposes, a fountain in the eastern extremity of the plain Hadharah, bearing also this name, is Hazeroth, then this is decisive as to the whole route of the Israelites from Sinai to Kadesh. Burckhardt and Robinson suppose that this fountain El-Hadharah, which they found at the foot of the Tih, at the distance of thirty miles or more from Sinai, and forty from the head of the gulf, may be the Hazeroth of Scripture, memorable for the envious sedition of Miriam and Aaron. (Num. xii.) This whole region, from the southern chain of the What is the height of the Tih ? Appearance of the desert beyond the Tih ? What diluvian remains are found here ? What doubts are entertained by Dr. Robinson with regard to this route ? What do Burckhardt and Robinson suppose the fountain at the foot of El- Tih to be ? THE AKABAH THE ABABAH. 105 Tih to the shore of the gulf, is a frightful desert; and the passage leads through a tangled net of deep and narrow passes between perpendicular walls of sand-stone, grunstein or granite, often rising several hundred feet in height, and emerging out upon the shore by a narrow gorge or pathway. This route would seem to be more difficult for the Israelites than that proposed by Dr. Wilson, across the desert north of the mountains. THE AILANITIC GULF, OR THE AKABAH. The eastern gulf of the Red Sea is narrower than the western ; but like that, it runs up through the midst of a region totally desolate. The mountains are here higher and more picturesque than those that skirt the Gulf of Suez ; the valley between them is narrower, and the desert plains along the shores are less extensive. The shores of the gulf present an undulating out- line, approaching and receding so as to vary considera- bly the width of the waters, which may have an average breadth of eight or ten miles. The mountains along the western coast are mostly precipitous cliffs of granite, per- haps eight hundred feet in height, and generally a mile from the shore. The entire length of this bay, called the Ailanitic Gulf, or the Akabah, is about eighty miles. THE ARABAH. The remarkable chasm which forms the bed of the Akabah continues in a direct line from the head waters What is said of the route from Tih to the gulf ? Describe the Ailanitic Gulf. Where is it situated, and what is its extent ? Height of the mountains on either side ? What is the Arabah, and where ? 106 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. of the gulf, more than a hundred miles to the Dead Sea. The whole valley of the Jordan, indeed, is only a continuation of the same depression. The bed of the Dead Sea and of the Sea of Galilee are only still deeper depressions in this extraordinary valley, which extends north in a direct line a distance of not less than three hundred and forty miles from the Red Sea, with a variable width from five to ten or fifteen miles, com- prising the eastern gulf of that sea, the Arabah, the Dead Sea, and the whole course of the valley of the Jordan. This rent in the earth's surface, is in geology called a crevasse^ and is the most remarkable of this class of phenomena of which we have any knowledge. It opens a wide field of speculation respecting the stupendous convulsions and disruptions to which the surface of the earth has been subject in the early and unknown ages of its existence. From below the Dead Sea northw^ard this valley takes, the name of the Ghor, a name which it has appropriately received from the Arabic language, in which it means a valley between two ranges of mountains. The western side of the great valley of the Arabah is limited by a lofty line of cliffs, forming an abutment of the great western desert, which lies at the height of twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the bed of this valley. What is the valley of the Jordan a continuation of? What are the beds of the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee ? What is the length and width of this valley ? What is it styled in geology ? What is its Arabic name, and the meaning of the term ? What is the western limit of it ? « KADESH-BARNEA. 107 On the east, the mountains of Edom rise a thousand feet above the opposite bluffs on the west, and raise the plateau of the great eastern desert to a similar elevation above that of the western. The bed of this valley is a sandy desert plain, five or six miles in width. The northern part of it slopes dis- tinctly to the north towards the Dead Sea, so as to forbid the supposition that the waters of Jordan could ever have flow^ed through this, beyond the Dead Sea, into the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, as many have supposed. It is a curious fact that this immense valley, stretch- ing from sea to sea, deep, dreary, and desolate, and embracing at both extremities a vast body of water, was totally unknown to modern geographers and tra- vellers from Europe, for some years within the present century. It was, however, the scene of some of the most inter- esting incidents in the exodus of the Israelites. It was the field of their encampment for eight-and-thirty years during their wanderings in the desert, and became the grave of that rebellious generation whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. KADESH-BARNEA. This is the next station of the Israelites, which they reached apparently some time in June of the second year after their departure from Egypt, and not many days after their departure from Horeb. (Num. xiii: 26; Deut. i: 2.) "What its eastern limit ? Length and breadth of this valley ? Which way does it slope ? Can the waters of the Jordan or the Dead Sea ever have flowed through it? For what is it memorable in the exodus of the Israelites? Where was Kadesh-barnea ? 108 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. , They were now on the borders of the land of their search. Spies were sent to examine and report respect- ing the country, and the best means of entering into the possession of it. They traversed the whole length of the country to Rehob and Hamath, at the northern ex- tremity of the Land of Canaan. Forty days afterwards, this delegation returned, with flattering accounts of the soil, and of the country, accompanied with dishearten- ing representations of the warlike character of the inha- bitants, of their giant stature, and the great strength of their cities. (Num. xiii.) The region around Kadesh is here denominated the Wilderness of Paran. At a later period, on their second return to Kadesh, it takes the name of the Desert of Zin. The position of this place is, by common consent, assigned to the northern part of the Arabah, at some distance south of the Dead Sea. But the exact site of Kadesh cannot perhaps be de- fined. Dr. Robinson conjectures that it may have been at Ain el Weibah, a fountain at the mouth of a deep valley that leads up through the mountains to the high western desert south of Hebron. This course, which Dr. Robinson himself traversed, offered a natural and convenient route for the spies, by which to enter Canaan. And through this, or some neighbouring pass, they doubtless went up to view the land. What spies were sent out from there ? What was their report of the land ? What of the people ? What is its site, according to Robinson? Where, according to others? Has the exact position of Kadesh ever been defined ? What was the route of the spies to Canaan ? KADESH-BARNEA. 109 The waters of this fountain are sweeter and more abundant than any now known in the Arabah. They are in the line of the great thoroughfare of ancient com- merce, and near the foot of the principal pass to the great desert and the southern borders of the hill country of Judea above Kadesh-barnea. Sufah is said to be in form identical with Zephath, and Arad is still found a few miles north, " a barren- looking eminence rising above the country around," bearing the name and designating the site of this an- cient city of the Canaanites. It seems, therefore, but just to accord to Dr. Robinson the honour of having identified this interesting locality. Von Raumer, and others, place Kadesh higher up, some miles nearer the Dead Sea. The people murmured at the report of the spies, and in consequence were destined to die in the wilderness, in which they were to wander for forty years. The pass up which the Israelites, after this sentence from Jehovah, probably went to fight with the Amale- kites and Canaanites (Num. xiv: 40-45), is extremely steep and difficult. The remains of an ancient road, formed of steps hewn in the rocks, are perceptible in many places, with ruins of a fortification, at the foot and at the summit. The pathway is in a zigzag direc- tion, and much worn. Here, says Dr. Durbin, ^< We were in the great high- way of ancient commerce between the south and the What is said of the fountain ? Where and what was Sufah ? Arad ? Where, according to Van Raumer and others, was Kadesh? How was the report of the spies received by the Children of Israel ? What judgment was inflicted in consequence? What pass did the Chil- dren of Israel ascend to war with the Amalekites ? Give a descrip- tion of this pass. 110 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. north. We were climbing up the side of tlie mountain down which the Amorites had chased Israel and de- stroyed them, even unto Hormah. (Deut. i : 44.) t' Having: gained tlie summit, the first great plateau or steppe, being tlie south country of Judea, expanded upon a level with it, formed of low hills, rolling ridges, and fine valleys, sprinkled over with grass, wild flowers, and shrubs. We were in the Promised Land, and be- fore us lay the pasture- grounds of Abraliam, Isaac, and Jacob, upon which they had tented, and over which their flocks had roamed." From Kadesh-Barnea, the people now turned at tlie command of God, and took their journey into tlie wilder- ness by the eastern gulf of the Red Sea. (Deut. i : 40 ; ii: 1.) But of tlieir subsequent wanderings, tln'ough the long period of thirt}--eight years, we have no know- ledge. The sacred historian passes over this portion of their historv in perfect silence, save that the eighteen stations between Hazerotli and Kadesh, in Num. xxxiii: 18-36, were visited in this interval ; but nothing is known of the location of any of tliem. The Israelites, like the modern Bedouins, doubtless spent this time in roving up and down the Arabah, and over the vast desert of Paran, between Sinai and Pales- tine, according as they could find pasturage and water. RETURN TO KADESH. In the first month, April, they again returned to Kadesh, which they had left, in the third or fourth month ^ almost thirty-eight years before. Here Miriam What is known of the wanderings of the Israelites for thirty-eight years after leaving Kadesh? Where and how did they spend this time I MOUNT HOR. Ill now dies ; the people murmur for water ; Moses and Aaron bring water from the rocks ; but, in doing it, sin against God, and receive sentence of death without seeinor that good land beyond Jordan, so long the object of their desire ; a passage is demanded through tlie land of Edom, and is refused. The children of Israel then journev from Kadesh to Mount Hor or Mosera (Deut. x: 6), where Aaron dies. (Num. xx. and xxxiii: 37, 3S.) ^Vhile in the Aicinity of Mount Hor, the Israelites gained a signal ^'ictory over the Canaanites, by whom diev had been repulsed on their attempt to ascend up into Palestine after their murmurs at the report of the spies. Arad was overtlirown, and the cities of the Canaanites were laid waste as far as to Hormali, for- merly called Zephath. (Num. xxi : 3) MOUNT HOR. This is a hio;h rocky peak in the mountains of Edom, east of the Arabah, and situated midway between the Dead Sea and Akabah. It rises, in lone majesty, above the surrounding summits, and overlooks a bound- less prospect of craggy cliffs, gloomy ra^-ines, and lofty, barren deserts. The crrandeur and sublimity of the scene from the summit of Mount Hor, is forcibly sketched by Dr. Wil- son in the following paragraphs. " After the greatness and peril of the effort which we had been compelled to make, we should, in ordinary What incidents occurred at Kadesh on their second return ? ^Vhat judgment was pronounced on Moses and Aaron at this place ? What was their sin ? "What victory did the Israelites gain here ? Over what people ? Where is :Mount Hor ? What is said of the scenery from it ? 112 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. circumstances, have been elated with the success which "we had experienced ; but the wild sublimity, and grandeur, and terror of the new and wonderful scene around and underneath us, overawed our souls. " We were seated on the ver}' throne, as it appeared to us, of desolation itself. Its own metropolis of broken, and shattered, and frowning heights — ruin piled upon ruin, and dark and devouring depth added to depth — lay on our right hand and on our left. " To the rising sun, Mount Seir, the pride and glory of Edom, and the terror of its adversaries, lay before us — smitten in its lengtli and breadth by the hand of the Almighty stretched out against it — barren and most desolate, with its daughter, the ' cit)- of the rock,' overthrown and prostrate at its feet. To the west, we had the great and terrible wilderness, with its deserts, and pits, and droughts, spread out before us, without any limit but its own vastness, and pronounced by God himself to be the ver}- ' shadow of death.' (Jer. ii : 6.)" Here Moses took Aaron and Eleazar, and went up into Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation, where these venerable pilgrims took of each other their last farewell, " and Aaron died there in the top of the mount." (Num. xx : 28.) A tomb has been erected to his memor}- on the summit, which has often been visited and described by modern travellers. From Mount Hor, the children of Israel passed along the Arabah, south to Ezion-Geber, at the head of the Give Dr. Wilson's description of Mount Hor ? For what is it celebrated in Scripture history ? Manner of Aaron's death ? Tomb of Aaron, what ? Course of the Children of Israel from Mount Hor? EZION-GEBER. 113 eastern or Ailanitic gulf, which is several times denomi- -flated the Red Sea. (Dent, i : 40 ; Num. xxi: 4.) Elath and Ezion-Geber were both situated at the nead of this gulf. The latter afterwards became famous as the port where Solomon, and after him Jehoshaphat, built fleets to carry on a commerce with Ophir. (Deut. ii : 8 ; 1 Kings ix : 26 ; 2 Chron. viii : 17, 18.) Here they turned eastward, up the pass that leads to the high plain of the great eastern desert of Arabia. At this place a large defile comes down steeply from the north-east through the mountains, forming the main passage out of the great valley to this desert. The ascent of the Israelites was, doubtless, through this pass, when they departed from the Red Sea, and turned north to " compass Edom," and to pass on to Moab, and to the Jordan. It was at this point in their wanderings, that " the people was much discouraged because of the way ;" and they were bitten by fiery serpents. (Num. xxi : 4-10; Deut. ii: 8.) Burckhardt informs us, that this place is still infested by poisonous serpents, which are greatly feared by the inhabitants. Their course now lay along the border of the eastern desert, back of Mount Seir, the Mountains of Edom. The Edomites, who had refused the Children of Israel a passage through their land from Kadesh, now suffered them to pass unmolested along their borders on the east, Where were Ezion-Geber and Elath ? For what are they famous ? What is the eastern gulf called? Course of the Israelites from Ezion-Geber? Describe the pass ? What judgment befell the Israel- ites here? What serpents are still found here? How were the Children of Israel now treated by the Edomites ? 8 114 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. and even supplied them with provisions for their march. (Deut. ii: 3-6.) Nothinar is known of the stations of the Israelites in this route, until they arrived at the brook Zared, where they ended their pilgrimage of forty years in the desert. ZARED, AND THE LAND OF MOAB. Zared is a small stream which comes down from the desert through the mountains, into the southern ex- tremity of the Dead Sea. North of this river, and east of the Dead Sea, lay the land of Moab, through which they were next to pass. The Moabites, once a powerful people east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, had been driven south by the Amo- rites from the plains of Moab (Num. xxii : 1 ; xxxiii : 48), lying along the eastern shore of the sea and of Jordan ; and were at this time confined within narrow limits between the streams Zared and Arnon. (Num. xxi: 13, 26 ; Judges xi : 18.) They seem to have been too feeble to offer resistance to the progress of the Israelites ; but they succeeded, in connexion with the Midianites, in enticing, by their wiles, the Children of Israel into grievous idolatry and sin. (Num. xxv.) SIHON OF HESHBON. The Israelites next encounter a formidable foe in Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. The Amorites were at this time a powerful tribe, who had extended their conquests over the Ammonites, whose territories extended from the river Arnon, north- Route of the Israelites ? Give the situation of Moab ? The plains of Moab ? Why did they not oppose the Israelites in passing through their country ? What evil did they bring upon the Israel- ites ? Who were the next foes of the Israelites ? OG OF BASH AN. 115 ward along the shores of the Dead Sea, and up the valley, east of Jordan, to the river Jabbok. Against this people, Moses waged a war of extermination. (Num. xxi: 12, seq. ; Deut. ii : 26, seq.) Heshbon afterwards became a levitical city of Reuben, though sometimes assigned also to Gad. (Num. xxxii : 37; Josh, xxi: 39.) A few broken pillars, several large cisterns and wells, together with extensive ruins, still mark the situation of Heshbon, twenty-one miles east of the mouth of the Jor- dan. These ruins overspread a high hill, commanding a wild and desolate scenery on every side : — on the north, the mountains of Gilead ; on the west, the valley of Jor- dan , and mountains of Palestine beyond ; and on the east, the vast Desert of Arabia, stretching away towards the Euphrates. OG OF BASH.VN. The next conquest of the Israelites was over Og, king of Bashan, who ruled over the territory east of the Sea of Galilee, and the north-eastern portion of the valley of the Jordan. This expedition, which required a march of some sixty miles north, from Heshbon, resulted in the death of the king of Bashan, the capture of his cities, and the overthrow of the kingdom. On their return from this conquest, they removed and took up their final station at Beth-peor, in the plains of Moab, east of Jordan, and over against Jericho. (Deut. iv : 46; Josh, xiii: 20.) The Moabites, against whom the Children of Israel Where was Heshbon ? What its present condition and appear- ance ? What is the prospect and scenery around it ? What was the next conquest of the Children of Israel ? What were its results ? Where was Bashan ? What was their next station ? 116 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Ira-l no lios'ile intentions, discouraged at the catastrophe of the kin^: of the Amorites, and of Bashan, formed an alliance with the Midianites against Israel; and called Balaam from the land of their common ancestry, whence Abraham came, and where Jacob dwelt so long, to curse the people whom God had so signally blessed. (Num. xxii. xxiii. xxiv.) Failing in their fruitless endeavours to prevail by enchantment, they had recourse to other whiles, in which they were more successful. At the advice of Balaam, they seduced the Israelites into impurity and idolatry. The consequences were appalling to all par- ties. Twenty-four thousand of the Israelites were smitten with a plague, and died. The kings of Midian and of Moab, were vanquished; their cities were de- stroyed, and the people and their wicked advisers slain. (Num. XXV ; xxxi : 1-25 ; Deut. xxiii : 3-6.) DEATH OF MOSES. Under the guidance of the God of Israel, Moses had at length brought their long pilgrimage to a happy issue. The perils and privations of the wilderness were all passed. Every formidable foe had disappeared. The land of which the Lord had so often spoken in promise, and towards which the aged leader of Israel had been journeying so long, now lay in full view before him, beyond Jordan. "Who invited Balaam to curse Israel ? Whence did he come ? "What allurements did the people, at his suggestion, practise upftn the Israelites ? What was the consequence of this defection ? What befell the kings of Midian and Moab, and their cities ? What was the end of Balaam ? Why did Moses desire to see the promised land ? DEATH OF MOSES. 117 Nothing was more natural than that he should earnestly desire to pass over, and see it before he died. « I pray thee let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon." (Deut. iii : 23-26.) This cherished desire, however, he submissively yields in accordance with the decree of God, and spends his remaining days in preparing to leave his people. He prays for the appointment of a fit successor to lead them out and bring them in, "that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd." (Num. xxvii: 16, 17.) He delivers all those affecting and importunate ex- hortations contained in Deuteronomy ; he recapitulates to the generation that had sprung up around him in the wilderness, the dealings of God towards himself and their fathers ; he rehearses the commandments of God, with the blessing and the curse that should follow; he causes the people to renew their covenant with God, and urges them to obedience by every pathetic and solemn motive, enforced by his own dying testimony of the faithfulness of God. Notwithstanding his advanced age of one hundred and twenty years, "his eye was not dim, nor his natu- ral strength abated," but the day had come when he must die, according to the stern decree of God, before the people should pass over to possess the land. The self-same day that he finished his exhortations, he took an affecting farewell of his people, passing through the tribes and pronouncing upon each a solemn benediction. Why was he refused? What was his sin? How did he receive the refusal ? What was his prayer for his people ? What is the book of Deuteronomy? Object of Moses in writing it? Moses* Describe his farewell to his people ? 118 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Then he exclaims, in conclusion ; " There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun — Happy art thou, 0 Israel : who is like thee, 0 people saved by the Lord!" (Deut. xxxii ; xxxiii.) In this triumphant spirit he went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, and died there, according to the word of the Lord, B. C. 1451. There is some difficulty in harmonizing the several passages in which the names of Abarim, Pisgah, and Nebo occur. (Num. xxi: 11- 13; Deut. xxxii: 49; xxxiv: 1; Num. xxxiii: 44-47; Num. xxiii: 14-24.) Abarim is supposed to be the chain of mountains running north and south, east of the Dead Sea ; Pisgah is some height in this chain, or in the northern part of it; and Nebo, the summit of Pisgah. Travellers, however, have not noticed any remarka- ble mountain height east of Jericho, but a line of mountain ridge, without remarkable peaks or summits. This mountain ridge, as seen in the distance, presents the appearance of a horizontal line, drawn by a trem- bling hand, along the eastern sky. The heights of Pisgah and Nebo will probably never be identified. The Israelites had neither an opportunity of going up to Mount Hor, where Aaron died, nor of visiting after- w^ards the tomb of their illustrious high-priest, lest their veneration for the man should degenerate into dis- affection to God ; and, for the same reason, God him- self buried Moses " in a valley over against Beth-peor, and no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." Circumstances of Moses' death? Where and when did he die ? What burial did he receive ? What are Abarim, Pi«gah, and Nebo ? Is any remarkable summit seen there ? What is the appearance of the mountains at a distance ? What end was answered by with- drawing the people from the death and burial of Moses and Aaron ? SETTLEMENT OF CANAAN. 119 CHAPTER V. SETTLEMENT IN CANAAN UNDER JOSHUA. This land, the promised possession of the Children of Israel, into which they are about to enter, is known by different names, of which the most prominent is Canaan (Gen. xi : 31 ; xii : 5), derived from the origi- nal settler, the fourth son of Ham. (Gen. x: 15-19.) It was afterwards known as Israel, the Land of Israel, and the Land of the Hebrews. (Isa. xix : 24 ; 1 Sam. xiii : 19 ; 2 Chron. xii : 1 ; Gen. xl : 15.) After the revolt of the ten tribes, it was sometimes denominated Israel, and sometimes Judah, according as the government of one or the other prevailed, giving name to the whole country. Besides these names, it is known as Jehovah's Land, the Holy Land, the Pro- mised Land, Judea, &c. Palestine, signifying the land of the wanderer^ was originally the name of the land of the Philistines. (Ex. XV : 14 ; Isa. xiv : 29.) But Philo and Josephus use it to designate the country of the Jews ; and from them it became a common appellation of the country by Greeks and Romans, Jews, Christians, and Mahommedans. These appellations relate chiefly to that country which lies between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. This region of country, so inconsiderable in extent, and yet so famous in the history of the world, is situ- ated between the thirty-first and thirty-third degrees What period is comprehended in this chapter ? What are the dif- ferent names of the Land of Promise ? By whom was it first set- tled ? Meaning of Palestine ? Whence is the name derived ? Situ- ation of the country ? Latitude and Longitude ? 120 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. of north latitude, and the thirty-fourth and thirty-sixtn of east longitude. Its boundaries, though varying considerably at different times, were as follows ; on the west, the Mediterranean Sea ; on the north, the Moun- tains of Lebanon : on the east, the great Syrian Desert, and on the south the peninsular Desert of Sinai, the Desert Et-Tih, the Wilderness of Paran. The Land of Canaan as defined by Moses (Gen. x : 19) was an extended triangle, having Zidon on the Mediterranean for its apex, and its base extending from Gaza eastward to the valley of the Arabah, near Kadesh- barnea, and including the lost cities of the plain south of the Dead Sea. The other boundaries given by Moses (Num. xxxiv: 2-12), and by Joshua (Josh, xiii : 15-31; and xv-xx: 49), are not easily identified. Its south and western bounda- ries were as above, the desert and the sea. From Zidon it ran eastward to some lofty summit of Lebanon, here denominated Mount Hot, then north be- tween the two mountains of Lebanon and Anti-Leba- non, in the valley of Coele- Syria to the land of Hamath, where modern travellers have identified the site of Riblah and of Ain, (2 Kings, xxiii : 33 ; Num. xxxiv : 11) From thence it passed across Anti-Lebanon, down east of Lebanon, by Damascus, and then south through the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, to the pa- rallel of Kadesh-barnea, some twenty miles south of this sea ; then westward to the south-eastern angle of the Mediterranean, below Gaza, at the mouth of a small Boundaries north, east, south, and west of Palestine ? Form of the triangle ? What is said of the boundaries given by Moses and Joshua? What were its boundaries on the south, west, east, and north ? CANAAN. 121 stream, El-Arish, supposed to be the river of Egypt. (Num. xxxiv: 5.) The extreme length from north-east to south-west was, perhaps, one hundred and eighty miles. The width on the north scarcely exceeded twenty miles ; on the south, it was eighty or ninety miles. The ave- rage width of the country is variously estimated from forty-five to sixty miles. In extent, it was hardly as large as the state of Massa- chusetts, and was about equal to that covered by the counties which border upon both sides of the Hudson river from New York to Albany. Compared with the vast dimensions of the earth, it is but an inconsiderable point ; in comparison with other countries, it is in itself as uninviting as it is in- considerable. It is intersected only by small brooks and a single river, not navigable in any part of its course. Only fishing-boats float upon one of its lakes. Its coast presents an inhospitable shore, without safe anchorage or harbours. The face of the country is covered with barren hills, with only here and there a fruitful valley intervening. In its most flourishing periods it was inhabited only by a few millions of people, and has for centuries been reduced and almost depopulated by tyranny and op- pression. Nevertheless, in the wide world there is not a coun- try so attractive as this, alike to the learned and the ignorant, and which so well rewards the trouble of a Length? Breadth? Extent of territory compared with other states ? Face of the country ? Rivers and lakes ? Natural disad- vantages ? Extent of its population ? Local interest and associa- tions ? 122 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. careful study. To it, pious pilgrims, and travellers thirsting for knowledge, eagerly direct their steps ; and they who have wandered through every region of the globe, and seen all its wonders, instantly feel them- selves peculiarly and irresistibly attracted by this. "I have seen," says Chateaubriand, "the great rivers of America, with the pleasure which nature and solitude inspire. I have visited the Tiber with enthu- siasm, and have examined with similar interest the Eurotas and the Cephisus ; but I cannot tell what I experienced on seeing the Jordan. " Not only did this river recall to me a famous anti- quity, and one of the fairest names which the most beautiful poetry has intrusted to the memory of man, but its streams presented me with the scene of the miracles of my religion. " Judea is the only country of the earth, which recalls to the traveller the recollection of things human, and things divine, and which, by this blending, causes to spring up in the inmost soul, thoughts and feelings which no other land can inspire." The country allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, lay east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, from the river Arnon which empties into the Dead Sea, to Mount Hermon, and extending inde- finitely eastward into the Desert of Arabia. CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN. The desert on the southern border of Palestine rises in the hill country of Judea, into a rugged mountainous Reflections on visiting Palestine ? Interest in it compared with other parts of the world ? What country was allotted to Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh ? EASTERN DESERT. 1-3 chain, which extends north through the middle of the land to the region of Galilee, west of the Lake of Tiberias. This central chain of mountains presents an uneven outline of summits, ranging from one to two thousand feet in height. These heights are separated by deep ravines winding around their bases, and intersecting the principal range in many places on either side with water-courses, which fall on the one hand into the val- ley of the Jordan, and on the other into the Medi- terranean. EASTERN DESERT, Between this central ridge and the valley of the Jor- dan, there is a frightful desert, from fifteen to twenty miles in width, and one hundred miles in length. This vast desert is composed of naked limestone hills, sepa- rated from each other by deep, winding valleys, and narrow gullies covered with gravel, and rounded water- worn stones. The southern portion especially of this waste, howl- ing wilderness, is rent and torn in every direction by jagged, perpendicular ra\4nes, which open to the tra- veller frightful gorges along the eastern border of the desert, bounded by high, precipitous walls, as the gloomy gateway leading into the wild and desolate scenery within. «< With the exception of a few olives and pomegran- ates around Jericho, a small village in the Jordan valley, Describe the central chain of mountains. Valleys intersecting ? How inhabited ? What desert lies east of the central chain of mountains ? Of what is it composed ? What is said of the face of the country in the southern part of this desert ? 124 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. and a few patches of green grass and shrubs scattered here and there throughout the tract and along the west- ern shore of the Dead Sea, there is scarcely a tree or shrub or blade of grass in all this district. It would seem as though the curse which overwhelmed the Cities of the Plain was still burning over its arid and scathed surface." THE PLAIN OF THE COAST. The central ridge of mountains on the west slopes irregularly down to a plain at unequal distances from the coast, forming an extended and narrow tract of land between the mountains and the sea. The surface of this plain is for the most part level, but sometimes undulating. In some places this tract is interrupted by promon- tories and rising ground running off from the moun- tains, but generally the whole coast of Palestine may be described as an extensive plain of various breadth. Sometimes it expands to considerable width, at others it contracts into narrow valleys. On the south it spreads out into a broad plain, com- prising the whole land of the Philistines, and the w^est- ern portion of Judea. This section of country was sometimes called Tlie Plain, in distinction from the hill country of Judea. At the north the Plain of the Coast terminates in an apex formed by the Mountains of Le- banon jutting out to the sea. The soil, with some exceptions, particularly in the What is said of the absence of vegetation on the western shore of the Dead Sea ? What peculiarities are observed here ? What plain lies to the west of the central ridge of mountains ? What is its appearance ? What distinctive appellation had this plain ? How does it terminate on the north ? PLAIN OF ESDEAELON. 125 northern part of the plain, is exceedingly fertile ; and in the season of vegetation is overspread with the richest verdure. This is particularly true of the plain of Saron, or Sharon, between Csesarea and Joppa. This charming valley, so celebrated in the songs of the poets and prophets of Judah, now lies neglected, save that its verdant knolls are occasionally interspersed with a few small Arab houses built of stone. The climate all along the coast, compared with the more elevated parts of the country, is rather unhealthy and very warm. PLAIN OF ESDRAELON. The central chain of mountains on the north is inter- rupted just south of the parallel of the lower extremity of the Sea of Galilee by the great plain of Esdraelon, which lies in the form of a triangle, having its apex near the Mediterranean north of Carmel, and through which the river Kishon discharges its waters into the sea. From this apex it spreads out east-south-east into a deep and fertile valley, having a broad irregular base on the east, formed by the mountains of Gilboa, Her- mon, and Tabor, between which mountains it sends off three narrow branches to the great valley of the Jordan. This plain is about twenty-four miles long, and ten or twelve in breadth. This plain, in the Scriptures, bears also the name of the valley of Jezreel (Josh, xvii : 16 ; Judges vi : 33 ; What is said of its fertility ? What of its present state ? What of the climate? Where is the plain of Esdraelon situated ? What river flows through it ? What are its boundaries ? What name does this plain bear in the Scriptures ? 126 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Hosea i : 5), and the plain of Megiddo. (2 Chron xxxv : 22; Zech. xii : 11.) No portion of the whole country perhaps, with the exception of the city of Jerusalem, is so rich in historical incident as this celebrated valley. Here Deborah and Barak discomfited Sisera and his hosts. (Judges iv: 12-24.) Here Gideon besieged the Midianites and Amalekites. (Judges vi. vii.) Here, near the mountains of Gilboa, Saul fought his last battle with the Philistines. (1 Sam. xxxi.) Benhadad, the Sy- rian king, was defeated here by Ahab. (1 Kings xx.) And here again Josiah, king of Judah, was routed and put to death by the Egyptian king. (2 Kings xxiii : 29 ; 2 Chron. xxxv: 22.) This plain indeed for more than three thousand years has been the battle-ground of successive armies. " The Assyrian and the Persian, Jews and Gentiles, Crusaders and Saracens, Egyptians, Turks, Arabs, and Franks have poured out their blood on this plain. Even Bona- parte achieved here one of his signal victories, and again retired in disgraceful flight from Syria, over this « great battle-ground of nations.' " North of this, the country is broken and mountainous, from whence spring the mountains of Lebanon, w^hich, rising to the height of 8000 and 10,000 feet, with sum- mits crowned with snow^, soon divide into two ranges separated by a narrow valley, and running north-north- east, far beyond the limits of Palestine. What is said of its historical character? What has this plain been always celebrated for? What great battles were fought here ? By what nations ? What is said of Deborah and Barak ? Gideon ? Saul ? Benhadad ? Josiah ? Bonaparte ? What appellation has this plain received ? What mountains lie north of it ? What is their height ? THE RIVER JORDAN. 127 THE RIVER JORDAN. This river has its origin among the mountains thirty or forty miles north of the Sea of Galilee. The original source is a large fountain just above Hasbeiya, twenty miles above Banias or Csesarea Philippi, and the ancient idolatrous city of Dan, where again are large fountains, which have usually been regarded as the head waters of the Jordan. The streams from these latter fountains soon unite and form a small river, w^hich, after running a short distance further, unites w^th the Hasbany. The several sources of the Jordan have been recently •explored by the Rev. Mr. Thompson, an American missionary, from whom w^e have the first authentic account of these interesting localities. His description of the fountain near Hasbeiya is as follows : — " The fountain hes nearly north-west from the town, and boils up from the bottom of a shallow pool, some eiorht or ten rods in circumference. The water is im- mediately turned, by a strong stone dam, into a wide mill-race. " This is undoubtedly the most distant fountain, and therefore the true source of the Jordan. It at once, even in this dry season, forms a considerable stream. It meanders for the first three miles through a narrow, but very lovely and highly cultivated valley. Its mar- gin is protected and adorned with the green fringe and Where does the river Jordan rise? At what distance from the Sea of Galilee ? Give the original source of the river ? Foun- tains near Coesarea Philippi, and the ancient city of Dan ? What river unites with the streams from these fountains? Desciibe the fountain near Hasbeiya? 128 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. dense shade of the sycamore, button, and willow-trees, while innumerable fish sport in its cool and crystal bosom. " It then sinks rapidly down a constantly deepening gorge of dark basalt for about six miles, when it reaches the level of the great volcanic plain extending to the marsh above the Huleh. Thus far the direction is nearly south ; but it now bears a little westward, and, in eight or ten miles, falls into the marsh about midway between the eastern and western mountains. Pursuing a southern direction through the middle of the marsh for about ten miles, it enters the Lake Huleh not far from its north-west corner, having been immensely en- larged by the w^aters from the great fountains of Banias, Tell El-Kady, El-Mellahah, Derakit or Belat, and innu- merable other springs. " The distance from the fountain of Hasbany to the lake cannot be less than twenty-five miles, and nearly in a straight direction. The Huleh may be eight miles long ; and the river, after it issues from the lake, pre- serves the same southerly course, until it falls into the Sea of Tiberias. The great fountain of Hasbany, there- fore, has an indisputable title to stand at the head of the springs and fountains and lakes of this very celebra- ted and most sacred river." The second source of the Jordan is the fountain at Tell El-Kady, sixteen or eighteen miles south of the fountain of Hasbany. This is at the head of the great marsh north of the Huleh, two or three miles west of Course of the Jordan to the Lake Huleh ? What tributaries does it receive before reaching Huleh ? Distance from the fountain of Hasbany to Lake Huleh ? What course does the river pursue after leaving the lake ? Give the second source of the Jordan ? THE RIVER JORDAN. 129 Banias or Paneas, the ancient city of Csesarea Philippi. The Tell itself marks the site of the more ancient city of Dan, recognised as the northern limit of Palestine, in the proverbial expression " from Dan to Beer-sheba ;" and yet more notorious as the principal seat of the idolatrous worship of the Jews. " The Tell (or hill) is elevated about forty or fifty feet, and its figure is circular or rather oval, being long- est from east to west. One part of it is covered with oak-trees, and another part with thick brush-wood and briars. It is evidently an extinct crater, about half a mile in circumference. " On the south-western side, the wall of this crater has been partly carried away by the action of the great fountain, which gushes out all at once a beautiful river of delicious w^ater, several times larger than the stream at Banias. " The fountain in reality first appears in the centre of the crater. The great body of water, however, glides underneath the lava boulders, and rushes out at the bottom of the Tell on the west. But a considerable stream rises to the surface within the crater, and is con- ducted over its south-western margin, and drives a couple of flouring-mills, which are overshadowed by some magnificent oak-trees, and almost buried beneath the luxuriant vegetation of the place. " The two streams unite below the mills, forming a river forty or fifty feet wide, which rushes very rapidly down into the marsh of the Huleh. There were a What is the distance of this fountain from the first ? Describe this fountain. Volcanic hill from which it issues? The quality of the waters ? The size of the stream formed by them, and its course ? 9 130 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. multitude of turtles sunning themselves on the rocks around. " The miller, with whom I happened to he acquainted, pointed out to me a clump of trees, about three miles to the south-west, where, he assured me, the stream from Banias unites with this from the Tell. This junc- ture is in the marsh, a short distance to the north of a huge mound, very similar to the Tell El-Kady, and which, in all probabihty, is also an extinct crater. " My informant had often been there, and I under- stood him to say, that the river, after the junction, flowed along on the north of the mound until it fell mto the Hasbany, which I have before mentioned as the main stream of the Jordan. I thought also that I could trace the course which he pointed out, through the tall reeds of the marsh, down to the point where these two main streams come together." The fountain at Banias is nearly as large as this at Tell El-Kady, and gushes out in a full stream from the base of a mountain in the midst of the ruins of Csesa- rea Philippi. The western borders of Lake Huleh and the great marsh above it are skirted by a high ridge of mountains, from the base of which spring several large fountains, which discharge their waters into the lake and the river above as additional contributions to the Jordan. What stream unites with the stream from the Tell El-Kady? What is the principal tributary of the Jordan ? Describe the Has- bany. Describe the fountain of Banias. What is the western boundary of the Lake Huleh ! What springs flow from the base of this mountain ? LAKE HULEH. 131 LAKE HULEH— THE WATERS OF MEROM. The lake itself into which these waters are collected, is of a triangular or funnel shape, five or six miles broad at its base, and tapers down to an apex at its out- let, at a distance of six or eight miles from the northern base. The modern name of this collection of waters is the Lake Huleh; in the Scriptures it is known as the Waters of Merom. At the outlet of this lake the stream assumes the name of the River Jordan. We subjoin our traveller's graphic description of these waters, and of the great marsh above them, which, according to his estimate, is not less than eight or ten miles square. " As the lake narrows towards the outlet, the plain on the west widens, forming a beautiful and very fertile champaign called Ard El-Khait. The lake itself is also called El-Khait by the Arabs. The water is clear and sweet, and the shore muddy where we visited it. But a little further south, as the Arabs informed us, it is abrupt and stony ; and such was its appearance. " Its surface is, in many places, covered with a marsh plant, having very broad leaves. On its bosom were sporting a variety of water fowl. By our estimate the lake may be about seven miles long, and its greatest width six. But it very rapidly narrows on the western side towards the outlet of the Jordan. " On the north, the lake and the marsh blend and Size of Lake Huleh ? Situation ? Form ? Distance from the Sea of Tiberias? What is its Scriptural name? What is the character of the water ? How is the surface of the lake covered ? What is the width of Lake Huleh ? 132 HISTORICAL GEOGEAPHY. intermingle ; but on all the other sides, the Huleh is as well defined as any other lake. The land is in fact ploughed quite down to the edge of the water." * * * " During the dry season of the year the Arabs pasture their cattle on the northern part of the marsh ; and appear to penetrate as far down as the great mound already mentioned. Below this it is wholly an impass- able swamp. "I asked an Arab, if I could not reach the lake through the marsh. He regarded me with surprise for some time, as if to ascertain whether I was in earnest, and then, lifting his hand, he swore by the Almighty the Great, that not even a wild boar could get through. This is probably correct. " The whole taken together is the largest marsh I have seen. It is perfectly level, and covered with flags and reeds and rushes. Flocks almost innumerable of white sheep and black goats, each with its shepherd before and dogs behind, are seen from early dawn till evening, sauntering lazily along the eastern, northern, and western shores of the marsh. Droves of camels, and herds of cows and buffaloes also enliven every part of the plain ; whilst low ranges of tents here and there stretch their black curtains along the reedy marsh, and associate what is every-day and common-place, with the ancient and the patriarchal." SEA OF GALILEE. About ten miles south of this, the Jordan empties How far down is the great marsh passable ? What flocks and herds graze upon its shores ? What is the appearance and probable character of the great mound in the middle of the marsh ? Where is the Sea of Galilee situated ? THE SEA OF TIBERIAS. 133 into the Sea of Galilee, known as the Sea of Tiberias and the Lake of Gennesaret. Even in this short dis- tance, the Jordan makes a descent by a series of rapids from Huleh to Gennesaret, of five hundred feet or more. GENNESARET, THE SEA OF TIBERIAS, OR, OF GALILEE. The Sea of Tiberias is surrounded on either side by lofty irregular ridges, which break abruptly down to form the bed of the lake. The view of the eastern shore especially presents, like the Highlands of Scotland, the appearance of bald, green mountain sides, running down by steep declivities into the waters of the lake at the base. Lieutenant Lynch caught the first glimpse of the w-aters from the western heights, where he " saw below, far down the green sloping chasm, the Sea of Galilee, basking in the sunlight ! Like a mirror it lay embo- somed in its rounded and beautiful, but treeless hills. How dear to the Christian are the memories of that lake ! The lake of the New Testament ! Blessed beyond the nature of its element, it has borne the Son of God upon its surface. Its cliffs first echoed the glad tidings of salvation, and from its villages the first of the apostles were gathered to the ministry. Its placid w^aters and its shelving beach ; the ruined cities once crowded with men, and the everlasting hills, the handiwork of God, — all identify and attest the wonderful miracles that were here performed." The lake itself is some twelve miles in length, and half that distance in width. It will again come into Descent of the Jordan from Huleh to Gennesaret? Formation and scenery of the opposite heights which line the lake? View of the lake ? Length and breadth of it? » 134 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. notice in connexion with the geography of the New Testament. THE JORDAN BELOW THE SEA OF GALILEE. From this sea the general course of the river is south, by many meanderings, a distance of near sixty miles to the Dead Sea. Through this course it receives few tributaries. It rolls on its rapid tide of waters, some- times turbid, sometimes clear, seventy-five or one hun- dred and fifty feet in width, and six or eight in depth. At certain seasons of the year, it is, however, said to be fordable in some places. It is snpposed to discharge about 6,500,000 tons of water daily into the sea. It is wonderful how little has been known of this river. For three thousand years it has been celebrated as sacred alike to the Jew and the Christian. All the nations of antiquity have had access to it. Caravans innumerable have crossed it, bearing the wealth of the Indies. Countless multitudes from year to year, age after age, have bathed in its sacred waters, and travel- lers in endless succession have frequented its banks. The armies of the Greek and the Roman, of the Cru- sader, the Turk, and the Christian, have encamped on its heights and died on its plains ; and yet it remained for a lieutenant of our navy, from this far distant country, first to explore within the last year this extraordinary stream. Though well known these thousands of years, it has remained, down to this late day, almost totally unknown. Lieutenant Lynch has within a few months published General course of the river ? Length in a direct line ? Breadth and depth? How much frequented? In what respect known, yet unknown .' • THE RIVER JORDAN. 135 the first authentic account of the river Jordan, and it now appears, that though its general course is exceed- ingly direct from sea to sea, it so infolds its channel by short and frequent windings, as to run a course of two hundred miles to make a distance of sixty in a right line. In these wonderful contortions, it dashes over twenty-seven appalling rapids, besides others of less descent. The channel of the river is deeply embedded between opposite terraces, running nearly parallel to each other, at the distance of from three to five miles. These terraces, presenting sometimes perpendicular cliffs, sometimes steep, precipitous banks, form the com- mencement of high rounded knolls, conical hills, and rocks, thrown together in wild confusion, which rise irregularly as they recede to the highlands of the central chain of Palestine on the west, and to a higher series of mountain heights on the east beyond Jordan. Between these terraces, which form the bed of the Jordan, this river was found to rush on in its way through endless sinuosities and contortions, leaping down fre- quent and most fearful rapids, and dashing from side to side of the narrow bed in which it is imprisoned, as if struggling to burst the barriers by which it is con- fined, and save its sacred waters from being lost in that sea of death below. Towards the end of its course the flow of the Jordan became more gentle, but its meanderings continued the same. It <' curved and twisted north, south, east, and west, turning, in the short space of half an hour, Plain of the river how formed ? Opposite terraces ? Formation of the banks and face of the country beyond ? Meandering of the river ? Current and rapids ? 136 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. to every quarter of the compass, — seeming as if desirous to prolong its luxuriant meanderings in the calm and silent valley, and reluctant to pour its sweet and sacred waters into the accursed bosom of the bitter sea." The survey was most thoroughly made. In order that no feature of the river might be omitted, Lynch <« noted every turn in the course ; the depth, the velocity and temperature of the river ; the islands and tributary streams ; the nature of its banks ; the adjacent scenery when visible ; the trees, flowers, weeds, birds, and tracks of wild beasts." The following paragraphs, taken almost at random, may illustrate the perils of this enterprise, from the frightful rapids in the stream : — *' At 10-15 A. M., cast off and shot down the first rapid, and stopped to examine more closely a desperate- looking cascade of eleven feet. In the middle of the channel was a shoot at an angle of about sixty degrees, with a bold, bluff*, threatening rock at its foot, exactly in the passage. It would therefore be necessary to turn almost at a sharp angle in descending, to avoid being dashed to pieces. This rock was on the outer edge of the whirlpool, which, a caldron of foam, swept round and round in circling eddies. Yet below were two fierce rapids, each about 150 yards in length, with the points of black rocks peering above the white and agitated surface. Below them again, within a mile, w^ere two other rapids — longer, but more shelving and less difficult. <« Fortunately a large bush was growing upon the left bank, about five feet up, where the wash of the Thoroughness of the survey? Perils of the descent over the rapids ? THE RIVER JORDAN. 137 water from above had formed a kind of promontory. By swimming across some distance up the stream, one of the men had carried over the end of a rope and made it fast around the roots of the bush. The great doubt was whether the hold of the roots would be sufficient to withstand the strain, but there was no alternative. In order not to risk the men, I employed some of the most vigorous Arabs in the camp to swim by the side of the boats, and guide them, if possible, clear of danger. Landing the men, therefore, and tracking the Fanny Mason up stream, we shot her across, and gather- ing in the slack of the rope, let her drop to the brink of the cascade, where she fairly trembled and bent in the fierce strength of the sweeping current. It was a moment of intense anxiety. The sailors had now clambered along the banks and stood at intervals below, ready to assist us if thrown from the boat and swept towards them. One man with me in the boat, stood by the line ; a number of naked Arabs were upon the rocks and in the foaming water gesticulating wildly, their shouts mingling with the noise of the boisterous rapids, and their dusky forms contrasting strangely with the effervescing flood ; and four on each side, in the water, were clinging to the boat, ready to guide her clear of the threatening rock if possible. <' The Fanny Mason, in the meanwhile, swayed from side to side of the mad torrent, like a frightened steed, straining the line which held her. Watching the mo- ment when her bows were brought in the right direc- tion, I gave the signal to let go the rope. There was a rush, a plunge, an upward leap, and the rock was Describe the manner of accomplishing it. l38 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. cleared, the pool was passed, and, half full of water, with breathless velocity, we were swept safely down the rapid." The same day the boats descended several other rapids of almost equal difficulty and danger. The descent of one was as follows : <' Fortunately there were some bushes on the right bank, which determined me to attempt the descent. Bearing the boats as far down as we could hold them against the current, we fastened the end of a rope to a bush and lowered them down to near its end ; then, sheering in shore, fastened the rope to another bush, lowered away, and dropped through one of the most frightful rapids we had yet encountered." <«In some instances during the day the rapids had been perfect cataracts, down which the boats plunged with such velocity as to drive them over the rocks below, upon which they would otherwise have rested, from the shallowness of the water." During the day the party passed an ancient bridge, and a large khan in ruins. '' Our tents were pitched upon a small promontory, commanding a fine view of the ruined khan and the bridge, with the river dashing and foaming through its arch. Directly in front, the river, filled with fragmentary rocks, is quite wide, and, separating into several channels, forms some small sedgy islands, where snipe were flitting about, and dis- cordant frogs were croaking. " The bridge is on the road from Nabulus, through Beisan, to Damascus. The second place, now in ruins, was the Bethshean of the Bible and Scythopolis of the Greeks. Saul and his three sons, after the defeat Situation of the ancient bridge ? Encampment and scenery ? THE RIVER JORDAN. 139 of Mount Gilboa, threw themselves upon their swords, and their bodies were exposed from the walls of this town." For some miles below the Sea of Galilee the soil is fertile, and capable of supporting a dense population. At this time it was covered with a rich growth of grass and wild flowers. The cheerful day was redolent with their fragrance, and vocal with the song of birds. The distant heights of ancient Bashan on the east, and of Galilee on the west, Hermon, Gilboa, and Tabor, were overspread with verdure. Lower down, at some distance above the Dead Sea, the landscape changes to that of a stern and gloomy desert, of w^hich our author has given a description : — '' Although the day was some hours past its meridian, the weather was exceedingly sultry, and the eye ached from the reverberated glare of light it had encountered since morning. " There was something in this solitude — in these spots, forsaken and alone in their hopeless sterility and weird silence — that begat reflection, even in the most thoughtless. In all this dreary waste there was no sound ; for every living thing had retired, exhausted, from the withering heat and blinding glare. Silence, the fit companion of desolation, was profound. The song of a bird, the chirrup of a grasshopper, the drone of a fly, would have been out of harmony. The wind, without which even solitude is incomplete, sounded mournfully as it went sweeping over the barren plain, and sighed, even in the broad and garish day, like the Describe the soil below the Sea of Galilee ? Bashan, and the heights of Galilee, Hermon, Gilboa, and Tabor ? Scenery of the country ? Appearance of the country near the Dead Sea ? 140 IIISTOEICAL GEOGRAPHY. blast of autumn among the marshy sedge, where the cold toad croaks, and the withered leaf is spotted like a leprosy. <' Here, the eye looked in vain for the soft and tender sky, so often beheld in utter listlessness in our own far- distant land, and yet, dull and ungrateful that we were, w^e remained untouched with the beauty of its transparent and penetrable blue — pure azote and oxygen — into the immeasurable depths of which the eye pierced and wan- dered, but to return to earth again, dazzled and unfixed, as though it had caught a glimpse of infinity, and, wearied and overpowered, sought the finite and the tangible, — the comprehensible reality of laminated hills, broad plains, deep valleys, and the mountains, broad of girth and firmly rooted. The heavens of more favoured climes, — climes as yet uncursed of God; skies, tender, deep, and crystalline, so profound in their unfathomableness, and, wdth their lightning and black thunder-cloud, so terrific in their wrath, — such skies are never seen here. " Here, there is no shifting of the scenes of natural beauty ; no ever-varying change of glory upon glory ; no varied development of the laws of harmony and truth, which characterize her workings elsewhere ; no morning film of mist, or low, hanging cloud of unshed dew ; no clouds of feathery scirrhus, or white and wool- like pinnacles of cumuli ; or light or gorgeous tints, dazzling the eye with their splendours ; no arrowy shafts of sunlight streaming through the rifts of drift- ing clouds ; no silvery spikes of morning shooting up in the east, or soft suffusion of evening in the west: Appearance of the sky, compared with other countries ? Change- less aspect of the scenery ? THE RIVER JORDAN. 141 but, from the gleam of dawn, that deepens at once into intensity of noon, one withering glare scorches the eye, from which, blood-shot and with contracted pupil, it gladly turns away. " Here, night but conceals and smoulders the flame which seems to be consuming earth and heaven. Day after day, there is no change. Nature, which else- where makes a shifting kaleidoscope with clouds, and sunshine, and pure azure, has here the curse of same- ness upon her, and wearies w'ith her monotony. "Beneath a sky hollowed above us like a brazen buckler, and refracting the shafts of smiting sunlight, we journeyed on, heeding neither light nor heat, hunger nor thirst, danger nor fatigue ; but each day looked cheerfully forward to the time when we should be gathered on the margin of the river, — the tents all spread, the boats fastened to the shore, the watch-fires blazing, and the sound of human voices breaking the tyrannous silence, and giving a home-like aspect to the wilderness. " The character of the whole scene of this dreary waste was singularly wild and impressive. Looking out upon the desert, bright with reverberated light and heat, was like beholding a conflagration from a window at twilight. Each detail of the strange and solemn scene could be examined as through a lens. " The mountains towards the west rose up like islands from the sea, with the billows heaving at their bases. The rough peaks caught the slanting sunlight, while sharp black shadows marked the sides turned from the rays. Deep-rooted in the plain, the bases of the moun- Parched and desolate character of the scenery? Silence and solemnity of it ? 142 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. tains heaved the garment of the earth away, and rose abruptly in naked, pyramidal craijs, each scar and fissure as palpably distinct as though within reach, — and yet we were hours away ; the laminations of their strata resembling the leaves of some gigantic volume, wherein is written, by the hand of God, the history of the changes he has wrought. "Towards the south, the ridges and higher masses of the range, as they swept away in the distance, were aerial and faint, and softened into dimness by a pale transparent mist. " The plain that sloped away from the bases of the hills was broken into ridges and multitudinous cone- like mounds, resembling tumultuous water at ' the meeting of two adverse tides ;' and presented a wild and chequered tract of land, with spots of vegetation flourishing upon the frontiers of irreclaimable sterility. " A low^, pale, yellow ridge of conical hills marked the termination of the higher terrace, beneath which swept gently this lower plain, with a similar undulating surface, half redeemed from barrenness by sparse ver- dure and thistle-covered hillocks. " Still low^er was the valley of the Jordan ! The sacred river ! Its banks fringed with perpetual verdure ; winding in a thousand graceful mazes ; its pathway cheered with songs of birds and its own clear voice of gushing minstrelsy ; its course a bright line in this cheerless waste. Yet beautiful as it is, it is only ren- dered so by contrast with the harsh, dry, calcined earth around: the salt-sown desert!" Face of the country ? Appearance of the mountains on either side ? The line of the Jordan intervening ? THE RIVER JORDAN. 143 The bathing of the pilgrims in the Jordan presents a scene so strangely wild and exciting, as to justify the insertion of the following graphic description of it : — «