3^- f THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, Princeton, N. J. - ♦ j^ edan, 151 Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim, 151 Chazor, . . . ; . 152 Ammonites, . . . . . .153 The present Volume of the Biblical Cabinet com- pletes the translation of that part of Rosenmuller s work, which relates to the Scripture Geography of Asia, (exchisive of Palestine) — the other portions having formerly appeared in the eleventh and seventeenth volumes. ^PERTY OF BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. ASIA MINOR. The name of Asia Minor designates that largo pe- ninsula between the 26th and 38th degree of longi- tude, and the 36th and 42d degree of latitude, which is bounded on the east by the Euphrates, on the north by the Black Sea, on the west by the Bos- phorus, the Sea of Marmora, the Hellespont or Dar- danelles, and the Archipelago or iEgean Sea, and on the south b}'- the Mediterranean. It was not till about the fifdi century that the name of Lesser Asia was given to this peninsula,^ in order to dis- tinguish it from the rest of Asia, which is of far greater extent. Ptolemy, who wrote in the second 1 Paulus Orosius Histor. ad versus Paganos L. I. Cap. 2. Asia regio, vel, ut proprie dicam, Asia Minor y absque orientali parte, quae ad Cappadociam Syriamque progreditur, undique circumdata est mari, a septentrione Ponto Euxino, ab occasa Propontide atque Hellesponto, a meridie inari nostro. Diffe- rent opinions as to the signification and etjanology of the wcrd " Asia" will be found in BocharCs Phaleg. Lib. IV. Cap. 33, p. 337, and in WahVs Asia, p. 249, Note. B 2 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. century, calls it " Asia Proper,"^ and in the New Testament it is simply called '' Asia;" Acts ii. 9; vi. 9; xvi. 6. 1 Corinthiuns xvi. 19. 1 Peter i. 1. Kevelations i. 4, 11. The modern name is Auadoli, or Natolia, from the Greek word analoli^ i. e. the rising, (namely, of the sun); because, in reference to Greece, and the south of Europe generally, it lies to the east. The French and Italians call this country, for the same reason, the Levant, which denotes the JEast land. This province, extending in length about 200, and in breadth about 100 German miles,* and con- taining about 12,000 geographical square miles, is, for the most part, mountainous. On tiie coast of the iEgean Sea, near the promontory of Chelidonia, begins one of the principal mountain chains of Asia, the Taurus.^ It consists of a long range of lofty snow-clad mountains, which extends first towards the north, and then towards the east, throughout the whole of Asia Minor. The entire country between tlie two ridges of Taurus and Anti-Taurus, (which run parallel from north-west to south-east,) contains valleys more or less wide, which are separated by 2 V. 2. Comp. Cellarim Notit. Orb. Ant Tom. II. Lib. III. Cap. 1, § 7, 8. * A German mile is nearly 4| English. ^ " The name Taurus is formed from the Oriental word Toor, Tour, or Taur, which generally signifies a mountain. In the Semitic dialects it is commonly written with a th, (*Tli:3) but in the Japhetic languages of Asia, as well as in Greek, with a t, and less frequently with ad" WahVs Asia, p. 803. Comp. p. 223, Note, and p. 5/7, 578. ASIA MIKOR. O hills that connect the great mountain ranges to- gether. The smaller valleys are better cultivated than the plains, which, notwithstanding a fertile soil, lie, for the most part, waste, and only in the neigh- bourhood of the thinly scattered villages show any fields or gardens, and rarely a tree.'* The most important and celebrated river in Asia Minor is the Halys of the ancients, now the Kisil-Irmak,^ which rises in the Ardgeh Daghler mountains, in the dis- trict of Kodje-Hissar, has its course from east to west and then toAvards the north, and, afier flowing through a part of ancient Cappadocia, Galatia, and Pontus, falls into the Black Sea near Basira. We may likev/ise notice the Yekil-Irmak, formerly the Iris, which springs not far from Kara-Hissar, and runs into the Black Sea near Samsun ; and the Py- ramus, now the Djeihan, which empties itself into the Mediterranean. In consequence of the situation of the country, which is surrounded on three sides by the sea, the climate is, on the whole, temperate. The M'inter is rather severe, but short. In summer the heat is great, but, in some districts, is lessened by the prevalent winds ; while, in other districts, where morasses render the air unwholesome, the in- habitants betake themselves, in the hot season, to the neighbouring mountains. The plague not un- frequently causes great devastations. Many tracts in the province have a poor and unfruitful soil, but others have a soil peculiarly fertile ; yet scarcely the half of the latter is cultivated. The well-tilled dis- * Otto von Richtcr's Vv'allfahrten , p. 354. Comp. 690. ^ See Ker Forter's TravelS;, Yol. II. p. TiG. et seqq. '* BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. tricts yield corn in abundance. Rice is also pro- duced, being particularly excellent near Angora; and at Miles, or Melasso, tobacco is grown, -which, next to that raised at Latichea, is the best in Turkey. The saffron of this country is of a superior quality, and several districts yield it in abundance. The finer kinds of fruit are found in great plenty. Olives grow abundantly, and mulberry trees are thickly planted for the sake of the culture of silk ; cotton, also, is largely produced. The sheep's wool is coarse ; but, to make up for this, they have the celebrated Angora goats hair,^ which is commonly white, sometimes grey, and very rarely black. It is curled into locks which are often a foot long ; the finest is procured from the male kids, when one or two years old. The short and common goat's hair^ which grows under the long, and is taken from th« •kin of the animal when it is dead, is exported to Europe, and used for hats."^ At the foot of Mount Ida, now Kas Daghi,^ Pococke found, in the year 1739, mines of silver, lead, copper, iron, and alum, * The Angora goat is the animal of whose hair is manufactu- red the stuff which in Arabic is called V^^ stratum villosum. ' Several particulars regarding the goats of Angora have been given by the author in a note to his edition of Bocharfs Hieroz. Tom. I. p. 710. 8 ^Ufl -Ij' i. e. the Goose Mountain. This is the name by which Ida is known among the Turks, as we learn from O. V. Ritcher, loc. cit. p. 424. According to Meninsky^s Lexicon Arab. Pers. Turc. Tom. III. p. 940, Kas-Daghi is also the name of the Caucasus. ASIA MINOR. O which, however, did not yield much profit ; he also found a copper mine in the district of Angora.^ Earthquakes have, in modern times, occasioned fre- quent and severe devastations. Asia Minor, in the time of the Greeks and Ro- mans, comprehended twelve great provinces, some of which formed occasionally distinct kingdoms or prin- cipalities ; viz. three in the north, on the Black or Euxine Sea, Pontiis, PapJilagonia, Bithynia ; three in the west, on the ^gean sea, Mysia, (including Troas and a part of iEolis), Lydia, (including a part of iEolis, and the greater part of Ionia), and Caria, (including the rest of Ionia and the whole of Doris) ; three in the south, Lycia^ with Milyas, Pisidia, and Pamphylia^ with Isauria and Cilicia ; three in the interior of the country, forming a kind of triangle, Phrygia, (including Lycaonia), Galatia and Cappa- docia, which comprised Little Armenia. Most of these provinces are mentioned in the New Testament, for Asia Minor was the principal scene of the labours of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and their coadjutors in the propagation of the gospel. 1. The province of Pontiis^ which derived its name from the sea that formed its northern boun- dary, extended eastward from the river Halys as far as to Colchis. It was joined on the west by Paplilagonia, and on the south by Cappadocia. Part of this country was inhabited, in the earliest times, by the Tibareni, so called from the Thubal of ^ Descriution of the East, Part III. 6 BIBLICAL GEOGRAniY. the Hebrews.* Ptolemy and Pliny connect Pontus and Cappadocia as one province, but Strabo, on the other hand, rightly considers them as different, for each formed a distinct government, with its own ruler or prince. The Mithridates^o family reigned in Pontus, that of Ariarathes in Cappadocia. Nature has also separated the two countries from each other by a considerable range of mountains. The Ro- mans, in the time of Augustus, divided the province of Pontus into certain districts with specific names. Next to the river Halys was Galatian Pontus, which bordered on Galatia, and was also called Helenopon- tus. Then followed the Pontus Polemoniacus^ so called from Polemon, the king appointed by Mark * See Bib. Cab. Vol. XI. p. 130. ^° " Mithridates" is formed from the Persian f^\t^ a^ Miher-dad, as indeed the name is always written by the Ar- menians. See ScJiroder^s Thes. Ling. Armen. p. 396. Hence the more correct orthography of " flieherdates" sometimes oc- curs. Yet A^ Miher, may have been a contraction of .X^^ Mihter, i. e. " Lord." Miher or Mihter (whence Mithra), does not, as is commonly alleged, denote " the sun," but it is, in the religious system of tlie Parsees, the name of an Ized, or celestial genius, the king of all kings in relation to this world, working in it all things moral and physical. See Kleuker^s Zend Avesta (abridged), p. 102, tiote. JMiherdad means "one given by Miher," having thus a similar sense with the Greek Theodoretus. One of the treasurers of Cyrus, mentioned in Ezra i. 8, was Mithredat, rTT^riD. Comp. Simonis Ono- niast, V. T. p. 590. ASIA MINOR. 7 Antony. Farther east lay CappadGcian Pontus, ex- tending to the country of the CoIchiansJ* That Jews had settled in Pontus, previous to the time of Christ, is evident from the circumstance, that among the strangers assembled at Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, CActs ii. 9), some are men- tioned as being from Pontus. Christianity also be- came very early known in this country. The Apostle Peter addressed the first of his epistles to " the strangers '' in Pontus," (1 Peter i. 1). Of this pro- vince Aquila, the tent maker, was a native. He had settled in Rome, but, on the expulsion of all the Jews, by the emperor Claudius, he went to Corinth, where (according to Acts xviii. 2, (3, 18, 26), he be- came acquainted with the Apostle Paul, (who fol- lowed after the same occupation), and being con- verted to the faith of Christianity, he was employed as an assistant in its extension. When Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans, Aquila was again in Rome, (Romans xvi. 3) ; but we find him afterwards at Corinth. 1 Cor. xvi. 19, see also 2 Tim. iv. 19. Pontus, once a satrapy of the great kingdom of Persia, became, about four hundred years before the Christian era, an independent state under Mithridates, a descendant of the Persian prince Artabazes. It continued to be governed by a suc- cession of powerful and renowned kings, most of whom were called Mithridates. The most cele- brated of them was the sixth of the name, whom ^' See Cellarius, loc. cit. Tom. II. Lib. III. Cap. 8, Sect. III. § 63 and 89, et. seqq. Comp. Mannert. Part VI. Div. 1. 2, p. 350, et seqq. 8 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY, Cicero considered the greatest prince of Asia, after Alexander. He had formed the design of making himself king of all Asia, but having thereby excited the jealousy of the Romans, their enormous power at last subdued him, after a long and obstinate struggle. Under Nero, Pontus became a Roman province, for Polemon II. wishing to marry Berenice, the sister of king Agrippa, gave up Pontus to Nero, and only leserved for himself a part of Cilicia. The principal towns in Pontus were Amasia, the residence of the ancient kings of the country, and tlie birth place of the geographer Strabo •,\^ Themis- cyra, the first abode of the Amazons ; Cerasus, a sea port, whence the Roman consul Lucullus trans- planted the first cherry-tree to^ Rome, from which* circumstance that fruit received its name in Latin, as well as in other European languages of Latin descent ; and Trapezns, now Trebizond, near to Colchis, and which the Romans allowed to retain its freedom. At the commencement of the thirteenth century, Trapezus was the capital of the dukedom or empire of Trebizond, founded by Alexis Comnenus, which, 257 years after, was invaded and destroyed by Mohammed II. The Sampsane,^^ mentioned in 1 Maccabees xv. 23, along with other districts and ^'^ A description of the romantic vale in which this town lies is given in Ker Porters Travels, Vol. II. p. 706; and there is a view of it in plate 87. ^' In the printed editions there is la.fji.-^'a.xyi, for which, how- ever, very probably, we ought to read tafi^^dvyi with the Vati- can M.S. and the Syrian translator. ►See J. D. Michaelis' note t.) his German Transl. of the First Book of Maccabees, p. 320. ASIA MINOR. 9 towns of Asia Minor, is probably the same place as Abulfeda^"^ calls Samson or Samsun, the name which it still bears. It lies near the mouth of the river Yekil-Irmak, (the Iris of the ancients), has a good harbour, and is a considerable trading town of about 500 jklohammedan and 200 Christian families.^^ 2. Paphlagonia, called by poets Pylcemenia, was separated on the east from Pontus by the river Halys, and on the west from Bithynia by the river Parthenius, now the Bartin. On the north the Black Sea was the boundary of the province, and on the south Galatii). It appears to have derived its name from the raging and tumultuous waves of the stormy, restless sea which washes its shores. The eastern part has high mountains, but the western is a fruitful plain, well watered by small rivers. The most im- portant town is Sinope. now Sinob, on the river of the same name, where it empties himself into the Black Sea. It lies on a neck of land, and has har- bours and dockyards on both sides. It was once a splendid and flourishing commercial city, and formed an independent republic, having subdued the country around. Diogenes the Cynic was born there. 3. Bilhijnia was separated on the east from Paph- lagonia by the river Parthenius ; on the west the boundaries were the Propontis and the Thracian Bosphorus, as far as the river Ilhyndacus, (now the Mehullidj) ; on the north a part of the Black Sea, '* In the Description of Armenia, or note 2i of Mlchaelh in loc. ^^ C'cmp. Ker Porter^ loc. cit. p. O'Or;. 10 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. and on the south Phrygia and Galatia. The chief river is the Sangarius, the modern SaUari, which, after receiving several small rivers in its course, Hows into the Black Sea. The western part of the pro- vince contains the lofty wooded mountain range Olympus ; elsewhere the country is level, and pro- ductive of corn, wine, pasture, and timber, the latter being nmch employed for ship-building. In the time of Xenophon there were no towns properly so called, but only large open settlements. Of the cities afterwards built, the most remarkable were : Prusa, now Brussa, or Bursa,^" at the foot of Olym- pus, still the largest and finest town in Asia Minor, and the residence of a Pacha ; Nicomedia, now Is- Nikmid,^'' called after its founder, Nicomedes king of Bithynia, situated at the end of the bay of Artecan, on the sides of two hills, which reach to the shore, — once the splendid capital of the country, and where Constantine the Great was baptized; Nicaea, or Nice, formerly Antigonia, now Isnik,^^ on the Lake of Ascania, in a fruitful plain, once one of the largest and finest towns of Bithynia, and where, in the year 325, the first general council was held against the Arians, — now an unhealthy place of not more than 300 houses ; and C/ialcedon, now Kadikyoi,^^ on the '^ See Pococke's Descript. of the East, Part III. Le Cheva- lier's Voyage to the Propontis and Euxine Sea ; and O. v. Richter''s Wallfahrten, p. 4 GO, et seqq. '^ See Pococke, Part III. Ker Porter, II. p. 732, ^^ Pococke, Part III. Le Chevalier, loc. sit. Richter, p. 378. '^ Le Chevalier, ibid. Ker Porter, II, p. 737- ASIA MINOR. 11 Bosphorus, where, in the year 451, the fourth gene- ral council was held against the Eutychians, now only a village. That Christian congregations were formed at an early period in Bithynia, is evident from the Apostle Peter's having partly addressed the first of his Epistles to them The Apostle Paul (ac- cording to Acts xvi. 7), was inclined to go into Bithynia with his assistants Silas and Timothy, but was prevented from doing so. 4. Mysia is bounded on the north by the Pro- pontis or Sea of Marmora, and on the west by the Hellespont ; on the east it is separated from Bith}^- nia by the river ^sepus,^^ and on the south it joins ^olis. But that district was latterly included in Mysia, so that, with these extended limits, Mysia was separated from Ionia and Lydia by the river Hermus, now the Sarabad or Djedis. It was divided into Greater Mysia, traversed by the river Caicus, now the Bakirtshai,^! (Copper river), which flows into the ^gean sea ; and Lesser Mysia, the northern part, which lay on the Hellespont and Sea of Marmora. On account of its fertility in corn and wine, the ancients set a high value on this province, and it is still esteemed one of the finest tracts in Asia Minor. " I was now crossing," says a late travel- ler,22 " the magnificent region of Mysia; it consists partly of meadows, partly of cultivated fields, (a- dorned with the most picturesque groves full of nightingales), partly of moderately sized heights, 20 Richter, p. 423. ^i j^^-^. p. 492. 2^ Richter, p. 415. 12 BIBLICAL GEOGUAPHY. covered with shrubs and brushwood, yet susceptible of cultivation. Upon the whole, the excellent soil is but poorly tilled, unless near the thinly scattered villages in the valleys, which, nevertheless, present, with their inhabitants, a picture of great misery ."^3 In Northern or Lesser Mysia, was Trons, the dis- trict of the town of Troy, the Ilion of Homer. Its site was near the modern village of Bunar-Bashi, and not far from the forty springs of the Scamander ; or, as others suppose, it was rather in the neighbour- hood of the village of Tshiplak. The later built Troy, which received many privileges from Alex- ander the Great, lay thirty stadia west of this ancient Ilium, on the coast of the ^Egean Sea. The town of Troas, or Alexandria Troas, now Eski-Stam- bul,2* (z. e. Old Stambul), is in a different locality from both these places. It was a famous Roman co- lony, distant about fifteen or twenty miles from the second Troy, and situated on an eminence op- posite the Island of Tenedos. The Apostle Paul was twice at Troas, (Acts xvi. 8; xx. 6, et seq.) Dur- ing his second residence there, he restored to life a young man called Eutychus, who had fallen down from a window. Paul also mentions this town in 2 Cor. ii. 12. 2 Tim. iv. 13. Assos is another town of Lesser Mysia, mentioned in the New Testament. It is situated on the Gulf 23 Richter, p. 4 CO, et seqqo 2* Pococke, Part III. Richler, p. 462: '' The whole country is full of the finest oaks, « hich overshadow not only the sides of tlie mountains, but even the roads and fields. The ruins lie concealed in the heart of a deep wood." ASIA MINOR. 13 of Adramyttium, opposite the island of Lesbos or Mitylene, and is now called Beiram.^^ It is a miserable village, built high upon the rocks towards the side of the land. Paul came hither from Troas, on foot, to meet with his friends, in order to take shipping for Mitylene (Acts xx. 13, 14.) In Southern or Greater Mysia, is the remarkable place called Pergamus, (now Bergamo,) situated on the north bank of the river Caicus, at the base, and on the declivity of two high and steep moun- tains, (on one of which stands a dilapidated castle,) and six to seven leagues distant from the sea.^^ 2 5 The ruins and antiquities here, which are both conside- rable and interesting, have been described by Richter, p. 465, «t seqq. ^^ The Plain on which Pergamus lay, as well as the modern town, is described by Thomas Stnilh, chaplain of the English factory of ;^nly^a, who, in the year 1671, visited the sites of the Seven Churches of Asia, mentioned in the Revelation of St. John. Kis work is entitled Epistolae duae, qnarum al- tera de moribus et institutis Turcai"um agit, altera Septem Ecclesiarum Asiae notitiam continet, Oxford, 1G72, small ovo. He says, p. 110 . Hie omnia ad luxuriem a natura composita esse videntur, nee fortasse vix alicubi terrarum par planities reperienda e^t. Viginti sex milliaribus [Anglicis], aut circiter, in longum extend itur, antequam aequalitatem ipsius abrumpat vel unus colhculus. Post quem multo longius excurrit in No- tapeliotem, variae autem est latitudinis, ubi amplior est quinque milliaria occupat. IlHus partem tegunt oleae; pars culta est; partem depascunt numerosi greges. Ad Eoreazephyrum am- nis, ni fallor, Caetius, perparvo aquarum decursu fluit, a Pin- daso monte ortus, ad austrum vero Caicus, quem ad mille pas- sus ab urbe trajecimus. Hie quoque pleraqua ex parte lenis- sime decurrit alveum Hermo dimidio minorem habens, quem pluviis ubertim cadentibus, et nivibus in vicinis montibus li- 14 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. The eastern part of the town now lies waste. The other part is ahnost entirely inhabited by Turks, there being only a few poor Greek Christians, who have a church. About two centuries and a half be- qiiefactis adauctu? transgredi solet, et caropos inundare, unde iirbs est aditu perquam difficilis tempore hiemali ob pallidas. Eifunditur in sinum Elaeensem, non procul ab Elaea Aeolidis, hodie a Turcis, ni male memini, Ayasman dicta, ad Occiden- tem. Hinc merces aliaque Pergamum devehuntur (nee euira propius accedunt naviculae), a quo foristan duodecim millia passuum distat. Amnis autem hie limes est, qui Aeolidem a Mysia disterminat. — Pergamus, olim metropolis Mysiae Olym- picae, perparva variatione a Turcis dicta Bergamo^ sexaginta fere quatuor mille passus versus Circium a Smyrna dissita. sub ^,praealto et praeeipiti raonte jacet, a quo adversum flatus Bo- reales satis munitur. Urbi imminet arx in vertice montis po- sita, ab antiquis Asiae minoris dominis exstructa, quod innu- meris indiciis patebat : banc Turcae jam ab omni suspicione belli securi, et sibi ab hostibus in hisce regiOnibus mediterraneis neutiquam' metuendum esse censentes, negligunt, utpote tor- mentis reliquoque apparatu bellico destitutam Dum plateas curiose lustrarem, mihi aedificia pulchra e quadrato lapide exstructa, quae adhuc durant, quam maxime placuerunt. Paene credideram, Turcas non illic habitare, Pergamumque ipsis non cessisse ; adeo omnia nitebant. Non possem quin primo adspectu huic metropoli gratularer, quod tarn bene cum ipsa actum esset prae ceteris, quarum splendidae aedes solo aequantur, iisdemque fundamentis angusta tuguriola et gur- gustia e luto sole cocto, nulla arte, nullis ornamentis, constructa insistunt. Sed me ab hae placida cogitatione cito abripuere ingentes ruinae in orientali urbis regione extantes, quibus equi- dem vivis, eo gravior animum concussit moestitia, quo antea laetabar Magis ad orientem, versus planitiem, ecclesiae cathedralis, olim D. Joannis memoriae consecratae, ruinas vidi: e latere condita est, quinquaginta sex passus longa, lata triginta duos. Parietes altum assurgujit, duobus fenestrarum ab al- terutra parte ordinibus superimpositae. In ipsa ecclesiae nave ASIA MINOE. 15 fore the Christian ac-ra Pergamiis became the resi- dence of the celebrated kings of the family of At- taluS; and a seat of literature and the arts. King Eumenes, the second of the name, great]}' beautified the town, and increased the library of Pergamus so considerably that the number of volumes amounted to 200,000. As the Papyrus shrub had not yet be- gun to be exported from Egypt, sheep and goats' skins, cleaned and prepared for the purpose, were used as manuscripts ; and, as the art of prepar- ing them was brought to perfection at Pergamus. they, from that circumstance, obtained the name of Pergamena or parchment.^'' The library remained in Pergamus after the kingdom of the Attali had lost its independence, until Antony removed it to Egypt, and presented it to Queen Cleopatra.'^^ The valuable aliquot restant columnae, sed adeo mutilatae, \\i a debita alti- tudinemaxime deficlant. . . . Urbs fere tota occupata est a Turcis, paucissimis illic Christianorum familiis hodie relictis, quorum status admodum tristis et deploi*andus est. Hie una ecclesiola S. Theodori memoriae sacrata restat, et iie nomen Christi in Pergamo penitus deleretur, pia Metropoiitae Smyr- nensis cura cautum est, qui sacerdotem ad fungendum sacris officiis ad ipsos continuo mittit. Hortorum culturae maxima vacant, aliaque villa obeunt munera, quibus si pauculos num- mulos exactoribus rigid issimis pro capite pendendos corradaut, de ceteris vix sunt solliciti, utpote servituti tarn deploratae adea addicti, ut ad eam longo usu et piatieiitia paene occalescant. Comp. O. V. Richter''s Wallfahrten, p, 488. 2' Plinii Hist. Nat. XIII. 11. Comp. J. G, Rambach's ArchiEological Researches, (or Potter''s Archfeologia Graeca, Part HI.), p. 299, et scqq. 28 Plutarch's Antony. Cap. 68, Tom. V. p. 202 of Jieiske's Edit. 16 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. tapestries, called in Latin, Aii/aea, from having a- dorned the hall (aula) of King Attains, were also Avrought in this town. The last king of Pergamus, Attains 11.5 bequeathed his treasures to the Romans, who took possession of his kingdom also, and erected it into a Roman province, under the name of " Asia Propria."29 One of the seven churches of Asia Minor, to which John addressed the book of Revelation, was at Per- gamus. He commends this church for their fidelity and firmness in the midst of persecutions, and in a city so addicted to idolatry. " I know," it is said (ch. ii. 13.) " thy works, arid where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is ; and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth." Now there was in Pergamus, a celebrated arid much fre- quented temple of iEsculapius, who probably there, as in other places, was worshipped in the form of a living serpent, fed in the temple, and considered as its divinity. Hence ^Esculapius was called the^ God of Pergamus ; and, on the coins struck in that town, iEsculapius appears with a rod encircled by a serpent.^" As St. John mentions, (xii. 9,) the Great Dragon and the Old Serpent, there is scarcely room 59 See Martial's Epigrams, Book IX. 17. ' =° Beger''s I'hesaurus, Tom. I. p. 492. Richier, (loc. cit. p. 492), found among the ruins of this city, before the door of a bath, a circular altar, adorned round about with a relievo of bay berries, which hang on the lieads of oxen, and upon one side a laurel tree, around which the holy serpent of ^scu- lapius winds itself. ASIA MINOR. 17 to doubt, that, when he says in the above passage, that the church of Pergamus dwelt " where Satan's seat is," he alludes to the worship of the serpent, which was there practised.^ ^ 5. Lydia is bounded on the east by Greater Phrygia, on the north by Aeolis or Mysia, on the west by Ionia and the ^gean sea, and on the soutli it is separated from Caria by the Meander. The country is for the most part level. Among the mountains, that of Tmolus, now the Bosdaghi, was celebrated on account of its saffron and red wine. From it spring the rivers Pactolus and the Kaystrus, or Lesser Meander, now the Kutshuk Minder, which falls into the ^gean sea, not far from Ephe- sus, and which, along with the adjacent meadows, is celebrated for its swans. In ancient times gold was found in the sand of the Pactolus, but, before the age of Strabo, it had disappeared. That river joins the Hermus, which comes from Phrygia, and runs into the Gulf of Smyrna. Lydia appears to be noticed in Scripture so early as to find a place in the ethnographical table in the tenth chapter of Genesis, (x. 22), under the name of Lud ; and hence the Lydians would seem to have descended from the fourth son of Shem. It is re- lated in the first book of Maccabees, (viii. 8), that Antiochus the Great was compelled by the Romans to cede Lj^dia and other provinces to king Eumenes. Another people called Lud, most probably African, ^' Josephus Aiitiq. Book I. Cap. 6,, § 4. BocharCs Phalej Lib. II. Cap. 12. 18 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. are noticed, Genesis x. 13. Isaiah Ixvi. 19. Jere- miah xlvi. 9. Ezekiel xxvii. 10 ; xxx. 10. Three towns of Lydia are mentioned in the New Testament: Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia. Thyatira, which was called in earlier times Pelopia, and was a Macedonian colony, is the northernmost of these towns. It lies between Pergamus and Sar- dis, at the base of a mountain, in a beautiful plain, through which flows the river Lycus, now called the Goerduk. It is still a considerable place, but is ill- built and dirty : its modern name is Ak Hissar, i. e. White Castle.^2 Ruins of large edifices, columns of 5^ Smith, loc. cit. p. 121 : " Thyatira, urbs Lydiae, hodie a Turcis Ak-hissar XaS.:^ <3\y «• ^- album castrum nuncu- pata, a Pergarao quadraginta octo aut circiter milliaribus dis- tvntia in planitie conduntur. Hie omnia primo adspectu adeo sordebant, ut urbem banc non a prioribus Asiae minoris incolis, qui pulcliris aediliciis delectabantur, eorumqiie magnificeutiae et nitori studebant, sed a Turcis ab origine plane habitatam esse, paene contra fidem historiae suspicari ansus essem : uni- cum enim aedificium antiquum invenimus, quod forum dim fuisse videbatur, columnis ornatum, quarum quatuor tantum eminent, ceteris multum defixis in terra. Sed ecclesiarum di- rutarum ne exstant quidem vestigia Hanc autem urbem esse Thyatira ex antiquis commentationibus et quibus- dam inscriptlonibus illic repertis jam extra omne dubium poni- tuFj licet Graeci hodierni, qua profunda et plane prodigiosa ha- rum antiquitatum ignoratione laborant, Tiriam, oppidulum, quod ab Epheso viginti quinque mille passus ad Notapeliotem distat, pro iisdem sumendum esse contendant, affinitate soni decepti." Smith then introduces several of the ancient Greek inscriptions found here, in which the magistrate of Thyatira is mentioned. Comp, Richtcr, loc. cit. p. 509. ASIA MINOR. 19 temples and palaces, and several ancient monuments Avith Greek inscriptions, attest its former splendour. Manufactures and commerce flourished in the town, but the inhabitants were reproached for their immo- rality. Thyatira was the birth place of Lydia, the dealer in purple, who was converted to Christianity by the preaching of the Apostle Paul at Philippi in Macedonia, (Acts xvi. 14, 15, 40). Anotlier of the seven churches, to which John addressed the " Re- velation," was here, (Rev. i. 11). He commends this church, (ii. 18, et seqq.), on account of many of its members being sincere professors of Christianity, but, at the same time, he reproves several of them as having suffered tiieraselves to be seduced by a wo- man, w^ho represented herself as a prophetess, and whom he calls Jezebel, in allusion to the impious queen of Israel, ^^ who introduced impure and idola- trous w^orship into that country, (1 Kings xvi. 31). Sardis was the chief town of Lydia, and the resi- dence of the Lydian kings, until the time of Croesus, who was subdued by Cyrus of Persia. It is situated ^'' Those who hold the opinion, that by the name '' Jezebel," in the above cited passages of the Apocalypse, we are to under- stand generally the false teachers in the church at Thj^atira, do not seem to have duly weighed the reasons assigned for reject- ing that opinion, which have been advanced by P. E. Jablon- sky in his profoundly erudite and acute Dissert, de Jezabele Thyatirenorum pseudoprophetissa, in his Opuscula ed. Te Water. T. III. p. 225, et seqq. As to the church of Thyatira, comp. Fred Slosch^s Demonstratio existentiae ecclesiae Thy- atirae adrersus Alngos, &c. in his Symboll. Litterr. T. II. P. 1. and his Dissertat. de Moribus Thyatirenorum. Lingeu, 1747. 20 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. on the river Pactolus, in the fertile phiin below Mount Tmolus. Wealth, pomp, and luxury cha- racterized this city from very ancient times : it pro- spered alike under the Persian, Macedonian, and Ro- man governments. Tiberius, after it had been de- stroyed by an earthquake, caused it to be rebuilt. One of the seven Christian churches, to which John addressed the " Revelation," was also at Sardis, (Rev. i. 1] ; iii. 1 — 6). A mean shepherd's village, called Sarty occupies a small part of the site of this once great and rich city. " At the western base of the castle w^all," says a late traveller,^'* " lie a dozen of wretched huts, built of mud, (as Thyatira and all the other places of this district are), and at its eastern extremity is a garden with a mill. Such is the form of the modern Sardis. Between these points the space is occupied by the ruins of walls and churches of comparatively recent erection, in the building of which the large marble square stones of the more ancient edifices had been employed. The founda- tions of the old walls, which ran out from the moun- tain, and surrounded the town, are observable in some of the mounds of earth by which they are now covered. In the garden already mentioned, there are still standing the remains of large marble pillars resembling towers, upon which brick arches had been constructed, which are now quite fallen down. The summit of the Tmolus is bare, rocky, and snow- clad: a little lower its heights are covered with wood, and at the base there are high ridges of earth ^* Otto V. Richter in his Wallfahrten, p. 511. ASIA MINOR. 21 and rocks, with deep ravines, On one of these emi- nences, the sides of which are almost perpendicular, stood the ancient castle of the governors of Lydia. A concealed, narrow, and steep passage conducts to the walls, near to which, probabl}-, is the place where the Persians appeared before the town."^^ Philadelphia^ about twenty or thirty miles south-east 35 Smith, loc. cit. p. 133 : Sardes, quarum nomen adhuc re- tinetur, a Turcis nuncupatae Sart, in latere celeberrimi montis Tmoli versus septentriones sitae sunt : urbi praetenditur arapla et jucundissima planities, Pactoload Eurum, aliisque aquarum fluentis a vicino monte Euronotum scaturientibus, quae in Hermum cadunt, irrigua. Hie primo intuitu subibat animum, quantum vetustas possit, quantum terrae motus, quantum belli furor, sed praecipue quantum ira Numinis, quae hasce intulit clades. Triste erat spectaculum, nee tantae urbis minis illa- chrymari puduit. Sardes in Sardibus quaerebamus. Viculus enim hodie ignobilis est, aedes augustae et humiles, sine splen- dore, sine ornatu : nee alios fere incolas habet praeter pasto- res et bubulcos, qui gregum et armentorum in planitie depas- centiura curam habent. . . In australi urbis regione in- gentes exstant ruinae, quibus visis facile in animo concipie- bamus, quam magnifica ohm f uerit, quam splendida et superba, antequam everteretur. Ad Orientem ecclesiae Cathedralis, ut videbatur, ruinas luximus. Turcae unicam habent Moscheam, pulchram quidem, olim Christianorum templum, cujus propy- laeum columnis afFabre politis ornatum est. Pauci admodum hie reperiuntur Christiani, ingenti patientia, vel potius stupide ac sine sensu, miseram servitutem sustinentes, sed quod longe miserius est, absque ecclesia, absque sacerdote. En deploran- dum urbis quondam glorississimae statum ! Ad congeriem casularum redacta est Lydiae urbs primaria, et sedes metropoli- tica destituitur ecclesiola. t:2 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. of Saruis, and also at the foot of the Tmolus, received its name from its founder Attains Philadelphns, king of Pergamus. This town was formerly the second in rank in Lydia, and it was so well fortified, even in the Byzantine age, that among all the places of Asia Minor, it withstood the Turks the longest. At last, however, it was taken by Bajazet I. in the year 1392. It is now called Ala-Shaehr, i. e. " the High Town." The wall, built in the times of the Greek emperors, still remains. The streets are dirty from the filth that incessantly runs through them : the town, though spacious, is meanly built of mud. There are still standing four strong marble pillars, which supported the dome of a church. The dome itself has fallen down, but its remains may be observed: the arch was built of brick. On the sides of the pillars are in- scriptions, and some architectural ornaments, along with the figures of saints. A steep hill, with four flat tops, rises above the town. Across these sura- mitSj and the three small vallies between them, runs the town wall, fortified by circular and square towers, and forming also an extensive and long quadrangle in the plain below. ^^ One of the seven churches to ^° Richter, loc cit. p. 513. irmith, loc. cit. p. 138: Relictia Sardibus iter Philadelphiam versus prosequimur, fluentis quibusdam a Tmoloortis, quae uberem et foecun- dam reddunt planitiem, subinde trajectis; tandem post iter iiovem horarum illic pervenimus. Philadelphia a Sardibus ad Euronotum viginti septem milliaribus aut circiter distat, in radice montis Tmoli sita, cujus aedes ob clivum, qui leniter as- surgit, pendulae videntur, unde fere ab omni parte in planitiem ASIA MINOR. 23 M'hich the Revelation of St. John is addressed, was also at Philadelphia, Rev, i. 11 ; iii. 7 — 14. 6. Io?}ia is bounded by Lydia on the east, and Mysia on the north: on the west it is washed by the Egean or White Sea, and on the south it joins Caria. This maritime province was, from very early times, the most flourishing part of the Peninsula of Asia Minor. From the year b c. 1144 to the year b. c. 900, several Greek tribes, mostly lonians, being expelled subjectam versus septentrionem et orientem prospicere licet. o Hodie a Turcis nuncupatur Alah-Shahr {.^m \s.\)i urhs excelsa, ob hunc si turn commodissimum ; ceterum nihil, quod pulchrum aut raagnificum, in ea reperiri potest- Glim triplici murorum ordine versus planitiem, quum ab altera parte mons pro munimento fuerit, munita, quorum intimus adhuc nianet, non integer quidem, utpote hie illic dirutu?;, cui inaedificantur tiir- res. . . . Nobis maxime displicuit, haec rudera intueri, sed in barbariera Turcicam plane excandescebamus, dum ad S. Johannis ecclesiam, ad euronotum urbis, olim, ut amplitude ipsius paene demonstrat, Cathedralem, jam sterquilinium fac- tam nos convertimus, in quam purgaraenta conjiciunt impuri Turcae. Ad austrum fluit amnis, a monte ortus, Colliculi vineis, quas colunt Graeci, consiti sunt, sed a vino conficiendo, autumno proxime elapso, abstinuerunt, Edicto Imperatoris, quo vetitum erat, territi, ut, prout mihi narravit Graecus Papas, i. e. sacerdos, ad sacros Eucbaristiae usus vix ipsis sup- peteret. Nescio an dicerem, cum posteris eorum, qui in de- fen denda Christiana religione mortem adeo fortiter oppetiere, ideo melius actum esse : hi enim quatuor hie ecclesias, quae Ty^i -ravxyixi, seu Sanctissimae Virginis, S. Georgii, magnae apud Christianos Orientales famae, S. Theodori, et S. Taxi- archae nominibus insigniuntur, habet, unde eorum numerum neque parvum, neque contemnendum esse, quis facile censeat. 24 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. by the Heraclidae and the Dorians, settled there and built towns. Twelve of these colonies, (among which Miletus, Phocaea, Ephesus, and Smyrna, were the most celebrated), formed, in an extent of nearly a hundred miles, an almost uninterrupted line of buildings, and impressed strangers with a high idea of the state of civilization at which the country had ar- rived. The harbours were filled with ships from all the countries of the Mediterranean, and the Ionian fleets covered the Egean Sea. We shall here confine ourselves to a notice of the towns of Ionia mentioned in the Bible. Of these, in traversing the province from north to south, the first in order is, — Smyrna, called by the Turks Ismir. It is situated at the extremity of a gulf, into which runs the small river Helos, and at the foot of a range of moun- tains, which enclose it on three sides, and upon the highest summit of which stands an old dilapidated castle. Strabo describes this town as the finest in Asia, which, in his time, it was ; and even now it is much better built than Constantinople, the metropolis of the Turkish empire. The town was destroyed by an earthquake a.d, 177; but Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, caused it to be rebuilt in more than its former splendour. It afterwards, liowever, repeatedly suffered from earthquakes and conflagrations. There are few places in the Turkish dominions which have, in proportion to the size, so great a population as Smyrna. From the latest ac- counts it may be computed at 120,000 souls, of which the Franks compose a greater number than in any other town in Turkey, and they are generally in ASIA MINOR. 25 good circumstances. Smyrna is the most thriving commercial town in the Levant, with respect both to export and import trade. The Greeks who, next to the Turks, compose the most numerous class of inhabi- tants, have a bishop and two churches. A Christian church was early planted here, which is noticed in the Revelation of St. John, chap. i. 11, and chap. ii. 8—11.37 ^^ Riehter, p. 495 et seq. Coinp. De Bruyns, Voyage au Le- vant, p. 23, et seqq. Smith loc. cit. p. 162. Smyrna, hodie a Turcis Esmir L-'wo/i J flicta, in extreme recessu sinus, qui ab utrisque lateribus praealtis montibus cinctus, ab Occidente Orientem versus decern circiter leucis exporrigitur, sita, amne IMelete ad septentrionem irrigatur. Adhuc eminet et Celebris est, non oh splendorem et pompam aedium (diu enim est, ex quo hae igni, ferro et terrae motibus conciderint), sed ob co- piam civiura, opes et commercia. In latere mentis, et magis ad austrum urbem olim stetisse, e fundamentis, quae inter ef- fodiendum detegunt, aliisque ruderibus, certissime liquet, licet mari jam magis appropinquat. In jugo montis adhuc vetus arx manet, non nisi duobus tribusve tormentis, quae appetente nova luna Beirami, aut quo tempore cum classe triremium pqf- tum ingreditur Capitaneus Bassa, copiarum navalium Prae- fectus, explodi solent, munita. . . Inter descendendum a monte, cui arx imposita, amplum Amphitheatrum ad Notapo- liotem, quo S. Polycarpus martyrio coronatus erat, intravimus. In cujus lateribus duae cavernae, quibus claudebantur leones, sibi invicem opponuntur. Sepulcbrum S. Polycarpi, quod in latere montis versus euro — austrum adhuc conservatur, Graeci die festo ipsius memoriae consecrate, pro more, qui apud ipsos obtinet, solenniter invisunt : situm est in quadam aedicula, ec- clesiae forte sacello, alii, per quam illuc transeundum est, con- tigua. . . . Turcae hie tredecim numei'ant Moscheas, lu- daei suas hie habent Synagogas : inter hos Christiani nominis 2o BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Ephesus, once the capital of Proconsular Asia, lay fifty or sixty miles south south-east of Smyrna, near the river Caystrus, about five miles from the coast. At present the heaps of ruins that are a little to the east of the village of Ay a Soluk, or Aya Jtini, are all that indicates its site.^^ The first of these names has probably been formed by the Turks from the Greek words " Hagios Theologos," which the modern Greeks pronounce " Agios Seolo- gos/' and the second from "^ Hagios or Agios Joan- nes," the Greeks believing that the Apostle John, whom they call " the Theologian," was buried here. Ephesus was celebrated from being the emporium oFcommerceto the countries on this side the Taurus, as well as on account of the Temple of Diana, which was built at the joint expense of several cities of Asia. From its size, beauty, and magnificence, that edifice was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. According to Pliny's account,^^ all Asia was engaged for a hundred and twenty years in the building. The length was 425 feet, and the hostes viget quoque religio Christiana ; adhuc enim dignitatem Metropoleos retinet Smyrna, licet solae duae Graecorum eccle- siae illic hodie sint, quarum altera S. Georgio dedicatur, S. Photino altera. Armeni unicam habent ecclesiam. ^^ A detailed account of the country, its antiquities and ruins, as also of the temple of Diana, has been given by Pococke, in his Description of the East. Part IIF. p. GG,et seqq., with a plan on plate XLV. Comp. de Bruyri's Voyage au Levant, p. 2J). Smith, (p. 155,) is in error when he supposes the village of Aya Soluk to be the ancient Ephesus. 39 Hist. Nat. LXXXVI. Cap. 21. ASIA MINOR. 27 breadth 220 : it was adorned with 127 pillars, sixty- feet high. In the year B.C. 356, on the same night that Alexander of Macedon was born, it was set on fire by Erostratus, and so much injured that nothing remained but the outer walls ; yet it was soon re- stored in more than its former beauty and splen- dour.'*^ The wooden image of the goddess Diana in this temple, had, according to the popular belief, fallen down from heaven.'*^ Hence the town- clerk of Ephesus said, (Acts xix. 35,) " Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter." The cities in which there were splendid and famous temples of a divinity, were proud of this distinction, and called themselves Neokoroi, i» e. wardens of the temple, and attendants on the deity to whom it was dedicated. Coins are still extant upon which the town of Ephesus bears this designation."*^ De- metrius, a goldsmith at Ephesus, (Acts xix. 21,) made small silver temples, which found an extensive sale, both as objects of art and as representations of the great temple of Diana. They also served as re- positories for images of Diana, to which the worship- pers of the goddess performed their devotions ; it being not uncommon, among the Greeks and Romans, to place such small temples of the gods in their *o Strabo, XIV. 1. 22. *^ See Rosenmuller''s Morgenland, Part VI. Xo. 307, p. 50. ^^ S^ee Seidell's Marmor. Arundell, p. 571, et seqq. 28 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. houses, and also to carry them with them on journeys and during campaigns. ^^ Hence it appears, that the worship of Diana of Ephesus having become very extended, Demetrius was enabled to carry on his business on so large a scale as to employ a number of assistants; andthese " craftsmen," fearing lestthe pro- pagation of Christianity might put an end to their oc- cupation and gains, easily succeeded in stirring up the populace of Ephesus against the apostles ; but the prudent conduct of the town-clerk allayed the tumult. Paul had been at Ephesus previously to this occur- rence, (Acts xviii. 19,) but had only remained there a short time ; on his second visit, however, he re- mained three months, (Acts xix. 8.) Apollos, also, visited this city, (Acts xviii. 24,) and Onesiphorus was here serviceable to the Apostle Paul, (2 Timothy i. 16, 18.) According to Ephesians vi. 21, 22, Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus, in order to give the Christians there information regarding his affairs. The church at Ephesus is the first noticed, by John, among the churches of Asia Minor, to which he ad- dressed the Revelation, (Rev. i. 11 ; ii. 1, 7.) Trogyliiurn or Trogyllion, a place on a headland at the foot of Mount Mycale,*"^ where, according to Acts XX. 15, the Apostle Paul passed a night on his journey from Assos to Miletus. ^^ Thus, according to yiwi/nianMs Marcellinus, (XXII. 13,) i;he philosopher Asclepiades aln'ays carried aljout with him a small silver image of Venus. ^* Strabo, XIV. 1. 13, Kcci alnn I'h T^uy'ikio; cix^a v^oroui tis rr.s MvxdXvii lari. In Acts xx. 15, the name of the place is writ- ten T^oyvWiov. ASIA MINOR. 29 Miletus, on the southern frontier of Ionia, was, after Smyrna and Ephesus, the most important town of that province. It was famous for the numerous colonies which emigrated from it, and also as being the birth-place of the astronomer Thales, one of the seven wise men of Greece, and of Anaximander the naturalist. There only now remain the ruins of a few palaces and temples near a place consisting of small shepherds' huts at the north of the Meander, called Palat or Palatsha.''^ Paul allowed the elders of the church at Ephesus to accompany him to Miletus, where he took leave of them, with the affecting dis- course recorded in Acts xx. 17, and following verses. The apostle left Trophimus, one of his fellow-tra- vellers, sick at Miletus, (2 Tim. iv. 20.) It is uncer- tain whether the town Melothi, mentioned in the ancient Latin translation of' the book of Judith (ii. 13,) along with Cilicia and Tarsis, (as having been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's general, Holofernes,) be identical with Miletus or not. 7. Caria, lying at the south-western extremity of Asia Minor, and extending from the river Meander, or, according to others, from Cape Posideum south- wards to Cape Craguni or the Gulf of Glaucus, is bounded on the east by Lycia and Phrygia, on the north by Lydia and Ionia, on the west by the Egean sea, and on the south by the Mediterranean. The ^^ See Busching's Geography of Asia, p. 10 J. The modern Melasso is not, as some suppose, the ancient Miletus, but i\Iy]a- sa. See Pocockes Descript. of the East. Part III. p. 87 of the Ger. Transl. 30 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. country is mountainous, and runs out into various head-lands. It is tolerably well watered, though not so fertile as the other western provinces of Asia Minor. In very early times, this country was inha- bited by the Phoenicians. The Carians, who ac- counted themselves the aborigines, were not consi- dered Greeks. Homer calls them'*^ " a people of barbarous speech ;" and it was believed that they had formerly occupied, under the name of the Le- leges, some of the islands of the ^Egean, and had thence removed to the continent^'' They became powerful on the sea, living as pirates, or serving foreign powers for hire, especially the kings of Egypt. They were subdued by Croesus; but they submitted, of their own accord, to the Persians^ and it was probably on that account that they were allowed to retain their own kings. A colony of Dorians from Greece settled on the south-west coast of Caria ; and that district thence received the name of Doris. Their native country being mountainous and barren, they exchanged it for this tract in Asia Minor, and formed, at first, a small indei)endent state, which, however, was soon incorporated with Caria, for Halicarnassus, the chief town of Caria, and the resi- dence of the governors, was situated in Doris, upon an isthmus in the Ceramic Gulf. The place is now called Bodru, or Budron ;^® it is opposite the island of Stanchio, is very small, and inhabited by poor Greeks. Anciently it was a large and rich commer- *5 Iliad. II. 8G7. "' t-^ee Herodolus, I. 171. *^ Busching^s Geogr. of Asia, p. 102. ASIA MINOR. 31 cial city. Queen Artemesia erected here, to Mau- solus, her brother and consort, the celebrated monu- ment called Mausoleum. Of this sepulchral edifice, which was twenty-five ells high, and surrounded by thirty- six marble pillars, there only remain a few un- certain vestiges : it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world."^^ Halicarnassus was the birth place of Herodotus and the two Dionysius', viz. the historian, who lived in the time of the emperor Augustus, and the musician, a contemporary of Hadrian, who composed thirty-six books on the his- tory of music. Among the states and cities con- nected with the Romans, to which (according to 1 Maccabees xv. 22, 23,) letters were sent by the Roman senate, requesting them not to molest the Jews, the three Carian towns of Halicarnassus, Cnidos and Myndos are also mentioned. Cnidos was situated at the end of the southern peninsula, and had two harbours. Here stood the celebrated statue of Venus by Praxiteles, which was esteemed one of the first master-pieces of ancient sculpture.^° The Apostle Paul, on one of his voyages, sailed past Cnidos, (Acts xxvii. 7.) Myndos, on the northern side of the isthmus on which Plalicarnassus la^s was an insignificant town, and is still a small place, called Menteshe or Mentese. Diogenes, the Cynic, ridiculed the immense gates of this small town. " Plimi, Hist. Nat. XXXVI. 5. Straho, XIV. 2. \Q. Vitruvius, II. 8. VII. Praef. Atilus Gellius, X. 18. ^° FUny, loc cit. Strabo, ioc. cit. § 15. Pausanias, Attica, Cap. 1. § 20. S'2 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. " Shut," cried he to the inhabitants, «' your large gates, lest the town escape through them."^^ 8. Lycia was bounded by Caria on the west, the Mediterranean and Syrian seas on the south, Pam- phylia on the east, and Phrygia on the north. This province was anciently called Milyas, which name was afterwards applied to the part of Termessus ad- joining Caria and Phrygia, as far as to Apamea.^^ The country is very mountainous, the Taurus com- mencing here beside the Chehdonian, or Holy Cape. Here also was the famous volcanic mountain Chi- maera, one of the eight summits of the rapge of Cra- gus. The land is well watered by small rivers, which flow from the Taurus. The inhabitants of this region were believed to be descendants of Cre- tans, who came thither under Sarpedon, brother of Minos. One of their kings was Bellerophon, cele- brated in mythology as the conqueror of the monster Chimaera. Homer mentions two nations in this part of Asia, the Lycians and the Solj^mi, who were also called Milyi. They were a warlike people, and powerful on the sea. They maintained their freedom against Croesus, but were subdued by the Persians after a bloody resistance, being allowed to retain their own kings as satraps. Their love of in- dependence, however, continued, for they after- wards formed a kind of confederated republic. Twenty-three towns sent deputies to a general diet, where they deliberated on the public affairs of the Diogenes Laertius, Lib. VI. cap. 2. No. G. § 57. Mannert, Book VI. Div. 3. p. 156. ASIA MINOR. S3 commonwealth, declared war or peace, settled diffe- rences, and elected magistrates. The Romans, after their victory over Antiochus, (b. c. 189,) gave up Lycia and Caria to Rhodes ; but, on the Rhodians affording clandestine aid to Perseus of Macedonia, the Romans declared Lycia a free state ; in the reign of the Emperor Claudius it became a Roman province. According to 1 Maccabees xv. 23, the Romans sent one of the letters there mentioned in favour of the Jews, to the province of Lycia. There were here a number of towns, but the names of only three of them occur in the Bible : Patara, Myra, and Pha- selis. Patara was a large and rich maritime city. King Ptolemy Philadelphus, who enlarged and beautified it, called it after his consort Arsinoe; but this name was seldom given it. Among the numerpus temples of this town, that dedicated to Apollo was particu- larly celebrated; and, next to the Delphian oracle, that of the Patarean Apollo, was most frequently visited. The Apostle Paul, on his voyage from Philippi in Macedonia to Jerusalem, came from Rhodes to Pa- tara, where, finding a ship about to sail, he embarked for Phoenicia, (Acts xxvi. 1, 2.) Near the ancient Patara, the ruins of which are still to be seen, is now an insignificant place called Scamandro. Myra, also one of the six great cities of Lycia, lay about a league from the sea, on a rising ground, at the foot of which flowed a navigable river, which had a commodious harbour at its mouth. The town now lies quite desolate. When the Apostle Paul was on his way from Cesarea to Rome, he landed at D 34 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Myra,*^ where he embarked in an Alexandrian ship for Italy, (Acts xxvii. 5.) Phaselis, situated on a rock,^* east of Myra, was a town on the Pamphylian frontier of Lycia. It is mentioned, 1 Maccabees xv. 23, among the places which received letters from the Roman senate in fa- vour of the Jews. It was large, had a harbour, and carried on maritime commerce, but was destroyed by the Romans in their war against sea-robbers, be- cause it had concluded a treaty with the pirates of Cilicia, promising them here a place of shelter. ^5 In the Vulgate " Lystra" is found in place of Myra ; but it is manifestly an error ; for Lystra was not in Lycia (the province mentioned in Acts xxvii. 5,) but in Lycaonia. Be- sides, Lystra was not a maritime town. -* " This town," says Von RichteVf (in his Wallfahrten, p. 330,) has the most singular and peculiar situation in the world. At the base of the high mountain-chain of Taurus, and at the end of a broad gulf, there spreads along the sea, a fruitful and well cultivated plain. It completely separates from the moun- tains the oval rock upon which stands Alaya, (the modern name of Phaselis,) and which forms a peninsula, running into the sea from north to south, and having two bays, one to the east and the other to the west; the former seems land-locked, and well sheltered from the wind. The rock is nearly a straight perpendicular on all sides, especially on the south and west. The town is built on the steep eastern declivity ; one house rises above another, intermixed with fruit trees and cypresses. The houses are meanly constructed of unhewn stones and mor- tar, with upper rooms and wooden kiosks, formed of thin lath, and resting on slender piles. The streets wind in a zig- zag form, with steps made of rough sharp-pointed lime-stones; they are very inconvenient, and often so narrow that a man of moderate size can pass with difficulty. In some places I was obli^-ed to scramble up on all-fours." Comp. Strabo, XIV. 2 0. ASIA MINOR. 35 It is now called Alaya, and is surrounded, on the north and east, by a double wall of free stone and broad flat bricks, which, to judge from the Arabic inscriptions over the gates, must have been built in the time of the Seljook dynasty, that is, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. 9. Pamphylia joins Lycia on the east; on the south it is bounded by the Mediterranean sea, on the north by Pisidia, and on the east by Cilicia. The country is in general hilly : the river Eurymedon, now called Ai Nikola, (St. Nicholas,) flows through it. In the north, the mountains of Taurus gradually diminish in size, and are covered partly with meadow and partly with brushwood. From the numerous ruins of houses, towers, and castles, it is evident that the country must have been formerly very densely inhabited ; now, however, there are onl}^ to be seen a few poor Nomadic tribes, of Turkish extraction, called Yuritk, who, with their small black cattle, oc- cupy the green hills of ancient Pamphylia. ^^ Attalia or Altalea, one of the most considerable towns of Pamphylia, is mentioned in Acts xiv. 25, in the account of the travels of the Apostle Paul through Asia Minor. This town is situated on the coast, near where the river Cataractes falls, with a great noise, into the sea from a precipice : it has a harbour, which, however, can only accommodate small vessels.^ 6 It is surrounded by a fertile dis- trict, in which a great quantity of storax is raised. " Von Richters Wallfahrten, p. 344. ^e Strabo, XIV. 3. 1, 36 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. The heat is so insupportable in summer, that most of the inhabitants remove, during that season, to the neighbouring mountains. The modern town is com- posed of three parts, which are divided by walls; there is the lower town, which lies on the sea ; the upper town, which is built upon a height towards the north, and the middle town, which lies between the other two. A ttalia is the residence of a pacha. The Greeks have here a church and an archbishop. Perga, on the river Oestrus, about eight or nine miles from the sea, was originally the capital of the whole province ; but, on the division of Pamphylia into two districts, Side became the chief town of the First, and Perga of the Second Pamphylia. On a hill near the town stood the temple of Diana of Perga, at which the inhabitants of the surrounding country held an annual festival in honour of the goddess.^^ The Apostle Paul was twice in this town : first when he went from Paphos to the continent of Asia Minor ; on which occasion, however, he merely passed through it, (Acts xiii. 13, 14,)" and the second time, on his return from Antioch in Pisidia, when he appears to have remained there, along with Barnabas, for several days ; since it is said that they there preached the gospel, (xiv. 25.) Side, a maritime town, with a spacious harbour, in the gulf of Chelidonia, and on the frontier of Ci- licia. This town is mentioned, 1 Maccabees xv. 23, among the places to which the Romans sent letters in favour of the Jews. ^7 Strabo, loc. cit. § 2. ASIA MINOR. 37 10. Pisidia, to the north of Pamphylia, is mostly composed of the range of Taurus. Antioch,, the most important town of this province, was situated near a lake at the foot of the Taurus. The water of this lake was of so saline a quality, that bodies im- mersed in it became, in a short time, encrusted with salt. In a synagogue of this Antioch of Pisidia, (so called to distinguish it from other towns of the same name in Syria and Asia Minor,) the Apostle Paul delivered the discourse of which we have an account in Acts xiii. 14 — 41 ; but was expelled from it, along with Barnabas, his fellow labourer, at the instigation of the Jews, (ver. 30, compared with 2 Tim. iii. 11.) On its site there now stands an unimportant town, called Ak Shehr, i. e. White town.^^ 11. Cilicia extended from Pamphylia, (from which province it was separated by the river Melas,) east- wards, along the coast of the Mediterranean, as far as to Mount Amanus, which divided it from Syria: on the north it was bounded by the Taurus. Nar- row passes are the only roads through these moun- tain chains: there are two through the Amanus ^8 Olivier, Tom. VI. p. 296. " The town of Ak-Shehr, which is supposed by geographers to occupy the site of Antioch in Pi- sidia, lies very pleasantly, in an uncommonly fruitful country. The water is good and very abundant. The mountain to the west of the town, (which stretches to its base,) is wholly covered with vegetation. To the east is a beautiful, well cultivated plain, in which are several villages. The lake, which is some- times incorrectly laid down as under the city walls, is distant about two leagues, and seems to be about two leagues in cir- cuit." [Comp. ArundeVs Discoveries in Asia Minor — Tr.'\ 58 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. and one through the Taurus above Tarsus. The western part of the province being very mountain- ous, it was called Trachea, i.e. " the rough country;'* and also " Isaurian Cilicia," because it joined Isauria on the north. The part to the east of Cape Zephy- rium and the river Lamus, was, on the other hand, level, and was called " the plain,'^ and also Cilicia Proper. This district was peculiarly fertile in grain, fruit, and wine ; and the caravans were not prevented by the high mountains from carrying away the natural productions of the country in exchange for foreign commodities. The Cilician breed of horses was also celebrated. The Cilicians who dwelt on the coast were adventurous pirates, who ventured into the Egean and Ionian seas ; and, in these cruises, human beings sometimes became the objects of their traffic. The inhabitants of the north subsisted chiefly by the rearing of cattle, those of the east more by the til- lage of the soil. In early times the Cilicians had their own independent kings ; but the country was reduced by Alexander the Great to a Macedonian province. Afterwards it became a part of Syria, and (upon Pompey's subduing the pirates), it was nomi- nally annexed to the Roman empire, but was not entirely subjugated till a.d. 73, under Vespasian. The chief town of Cilicia was Tarsus, situated in a fertile plain, through which flows the river Cydnus, which the Turks now call, on account of its depth, Kara-Su, i. e. black water. It was a large, populous, and rich town, and hence the Apostle Paul, whose ASIA MINOR. 89 birth place it was, calls it " no mean city," (Acts xxi. 39). In the time of Strabo, (that is, in the first cen- tury of our era), it was a seat not only of Grecian but also of Jewish literature. ^^ Gamaliel, one of the most celebrated Rabbis, had there gathered around him a numerous school, to which Paul belonged. Although Tarsus, in the time of the apostle, recog- nized the supremacy of the Romans, yet it was what was called a free town, i. e. it had the right of choos- ing its own magistracy, was not amenable to a Ro- man prcBses, had no Roman garrison, and was go- verned by its own laws. These things, however, did not confer on the inhabitants of such a town the pri- vileges of " a citizen of Rome ;" and when Paul ap- peals to his prerogatives as a Roman, (Acts xvi. 37 ; xxvii. 29), he could not have derived them from the rights of his native town, but his ancestors must have obtained them by purchase or otherwise.^® In the time of Abulfeda, i. e. at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth centuries, Tarsus was large, and surrounded with a double wall, and was in the hands of the Armenian Christians.^®*- It is now a decayed and poor town, inhabited by Turks, '9 Straho, XIV. 4. 12, 13. ^ Comp. KuinoeVs Comment, on Acts xvi, 37. That the Tarsus of CiHcia was not, as some suppose, the Tarshish, (J^''£i/"^J^) of the Hebrews, is shewn in another part of this work. Comp. Gen. x. 4. Jer. x. 9. Ezek. xxvii. 12. Jon. i. 3 ; iv. 2. ^* Tab. Syriae, p. 133 of Kohler's edit. Abulfeda reckons Tarsus as in Syria, from its having been a boundary-fortresi of the Mahometans against the Greek empire. 40 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHYa Greeks, and Armenians : it belongs to the govern- ment of Cyprus. Mallus was situated east of Tarsus, in " the plain" of Cilicia, upon an elevation on the east bank of the river Pyramus ; it was once a town of some prospe- rity and power. Tradition bore that it was built by Amphilochus and Mopsus, the sons of Apollo and Mantus. According to 2 Maccabees iv. 30, the citi- zens revolted against king Antiochus Epiphanes, for having set one of his concubines over them ; but the tumult was soon appeased. In the district of this town there is still a place called Malo. 12. Cappadocia is bounded on the east by Ar- menia, on the south by Pontus, on the west by Ly- caonia, and on the south by Cilicia. In very remote times this country extended as far north as the Black Sea, but, in the time of Alexander the Great, the northern part was detached from it under the name of Pontus. In the age of Herodotus, the inha- bitants of Cappadocia were called '* Syrians," and even in Strabo's days they received the name of " Leuco- Syrians," i. e. White Syrians, in contradis- tinction to those dwelling beyond the Taurus, whose complexion was darkened by the sun. The country is mountainous, and abounds in water ; it was cele- brated on account of the fertility of its corn-fields, the excellence of its pasturages, and particularly for the good breed of horses, asses and sheep: its ca- valry also stood in high repute. Cappadocia was subjugated by the Persians under Cyrus, but after the time of Alexander the Great, it had kings of its own, who bore the common name of Ariarathes. ASIA MINOR. 41 The tenth of these kings was a son of Mithridates king of Pontus, who, pretending that he was the son of Ariarathes VII., established him on the throne. The Romans detected the fraud, and asserted the freedom of the Cappadocians, who elected Ariobar- zanes as their king, and he being protected by the Romans against Mithridates, was repeatedly con- firmed by them in his kingdom, and presented by Pompey with several new provinces. Ariobar- zanes III. was deposed by Antony, who made Arche- laus king of Cappadocia. The latter retained the sovereignty until Tiberius summoned him to Rome, and caused him to be put to death, upon which Cap- padocia (a.d. 1 7,) became a Roman province. Chris- tianity was very early propagated in Cappadocia, for the Apostle Peter, in addressing his first Epistle to the Christian churches in Asia Minor, includes it also, (1 Peter i. 1), without however specifying any particular place in the province. Cappadocians had been present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, (Acts ii. 9.) 13. Lycaonia joins Cappadocia on the east, Galatia on the north, Phrygia on the west, and Isauria and Cilicia on the south, extending in length about twenty geographical miles from east to west. The country is in general mountainous, particularly in the interior, where there is a chain of bare hills, called " the hills of the Lycaonians," on which wild asses find their sustenance. Beyond these hills is a plain, so dry and void of moisture, that, according to Strabo's ac- count, at Soatra or Sabatra, water had to be pur- chased. These steppes, however, furnished good 42 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. pasturage for many hundred herds of sheep. It is uncerta,in whether the language of the Lycaonians, (Acts xiv. li); was the ancient Assyrian also spoken by the Cappadocians, (as Jablonsky seeks to prove, ^^) as a corrupted Greek dialect, as is maintained by others. The chief town of Lycaonia was Iconium,^'^ which was situated at the foot of the Taurus, in a fertile plain, rich in valuable productions, particularly apri- cots, wine, and cotton. In the middle ages it was the seat of the Seljookian Sultans of Roum. It is now called Conia, and is surrounded by a wall with a ditch, and has also a castle. It is the seat of a pacha, and is inhabited by Turks, Armenians, and Greeks. 6^ When Paul and Barnabas were driven from Antioch in Pisidia, they betook themselves to Iconium, in order to publish the gospel there, (Acts xiii. 5 ; xiv. 1), which they did with so much succesS; that many Jews and Greeks were converted to the faith. But commotions having soon arisen in the town on that account, they were obliged to leave it, and went to other towns of Lycaonia, of whichj in *^ Disquisitio de lingua Lycaonica, in his Opuscula, edited by Te Water. Tom III. p. 3, et seqq. ^'^ Xenophon (Anabasis. Lib. I. 2. 19,) reckons this town in Phrygia ; but Ammianus Marcellinus (XIV. 2. 6.) places it in Pisidia. Cicero, again, (Epist. ad Familiar. XV. 4,) as well as Pliny (Hist. Nat. V. 2?,) and Strabo, (XII. 6. 1.) speak of it as a town of Lycaonia. The reason of this dis- crepancy is, that Lycaonia was sometimes held to belong to Phrygia and sometimes to Pisidia. ^3 Comp. Olivier's Voyages. Tom VI. p. 388. ASIA MINOR. 43 particular, the following are mentioned in Acts xiv. 6. Lystra and Derbe. — The latter was a small place east of Iconium, at the foot of the A nti- Taurus ; it was the birth place of Gaius, a disciple and fellow- traveller of Paul, Acts XX. 4. Lystra was a tow^n south of Iconium. Here Paul miraculously cured a man who had been lame from his birth, in conse- quence of which he and Barnabas were taken for the gods Jupiter and Mercury in human form ;^^ and they with difficulty restrained the people from offering them sacrifice. But soon after there came to Lystra certain Jews from Iconium and Antioch (in Pisidia), who excited the populace so much against them, that they were stoned and dragged out of the town a» dead, (Acts xiv. 8, 19). Timothy was a native of Lystra, (Acts xvi. 12. 2 Tim. iii. 11). 14. Phrygia adjoins Cappadocia on the east, Ga- latia and Bithynia on the north, Mysia, Lydia, and Caria on the west, and Lycia and Pisidia on the Bouth. In early times Phrygia seems to have com- prehended the greater part of the peninsula of Asia Minor. It was subsequently divided into Greater and Lesser Phrygia, the former comprising the southern part, and the latter, (called also Phrygia Epictetos, i. e. acquired,) the north-western. The Romans divided the province into three districts : Phrygia Salutaris in the east, Pacatiana in the west, " Comp. Rosenmiiller's Alte und Neue Morgenland. Part VI. p. 22. 44 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. and Katakokaumene, (i. e. the burnt), in the middle. The ground is for the most part level, and fruitful in grain, fruits, and wine. The breed of cattle peculiar to this country was very famous, and the fine raven- black wool of the sheep round Laodicea on the Ly- cus, was also in high repute. The mountains of Dindymus and Berekynthus were celebrated on ac- count of the worship of Cybele. Several large rivers water the country ; the Maeander, which slowly carries its whitish water in numerous windings over the green plains, "^^ rising at Celaenge, near the source of the Marsyas, (famous in Mythology), with which river it afterwards unites, and, after receiving the Lycus near Colossae, empties itself into the Egean sea. North of this stream runs the Hermus, now the Sarabad, called also the Gjedi,^^ anciently celebrated for its golden sands. It is a broad river, and flows gently through an extensive plain, bounded in the distance by blue mountains, and full of groves, fields, and gardens, but very hot in summer, and in winter an impassable swamp. The banks of the river are only partially cultivated, and generally yield only a marshy pasturage. The Phrygians were a very ancient people, and probably formed, along with the Pelasgi, the aborigines of Asia Minor. In ancient adages they are represented as untractable, effeminate, and superstitious ; yet they very early were an indus- trious and commercial people. To them is to be as- cribed the invention of the anchor, and of the four- ^'■^ Von Ilichter^s WaH'ahrten, p. 519. e*^ Von Wchler, p. 493, 508. ASIA MINOR. 45 wheeled waggon ; they manufactured the wool of their sheep and goats, and their woven, as well as their embroidered stuffs, were much esteemed. Their tutelary and chief divinity was Cybele, or Cubebe, the great mother of the gods. The priests of this goddess were called Cubebes, Curates, Corybantes, and Galli, and were eunuchs, (if not all at least the Galli), and were obliged to refrain from bread, wine, and all oaths. The history of the Phrygians is frag- mentary and uninteresting, the earlier portion being entirely mythical. Their kings were in general called Midas, but sometimes Gordius. Gordius I., raised by the verdict of the oracle from the pea- sant's cottage to the throne, tied on his cart the famous Gordian knot, which, a thousand years after- wards, Alexander of Macedon could only loose by his sword. With Adrastus, the pretended son of Midas IV., the Phrygian race of kings expired ; the country fell into the hands of Croesus king of Lydia, in the year b.c. 355, and, five years after, it was re- duced, by the invasion of Cyrus, to a Persian pro- vince. Three contiguous towns of Phrygia, Colosse, Lao- dicea, and Eierapolis, are mentioned in the New Testament. The first of these, (perhaps more pro- perly called ColasscB,^^) was situated on the river Ly • cus, now the Goerduk, or the Emr Sultantshai, near the place where it disappears under ground, but soon emerging, unites with the Meander. On the site of ^' See J. D. Michaelis'' Introd. to the New Test. Part II. p. 1275 of the 4th edit. 46 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. the ancient town, there now stands a castle built on a rock, and surrounded by a small village called Chonos or KonosP In the times of Herodotus and Xenophon, it was an important town, but it subse- quently appears to have decayed, since Strabo reckoned it among the smaller towns of Phrygia,^' and Ptolemy takes no notice of it at all. In the year a. d. 65, it was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake. A Christian church was very early planted here by Epaphras, a friend and assistant of the Apostle Paul, (Col. i. 7 ; iv. 12, 13). Among the scriptures of the New Testament, is a letter of the apostle to this church at Colosse, occasioned by the spread of certain heresies. Although Paul twice traversed northern Phrygia, (Acts xvii. 6, comp. with xviii. 23), he does not appear to hav-e been at Colosse. He himself says that he had not visited it before he sent his epistle, (Col. ii. 1), and there is no record found of his having afterwards done so. Laodicea, on the Lycus, one of the most consi- derable towns in Asia Minor, was the chief town of Pacatian Phrygia, (I Tim. vi. 22). It received its ^' Smith, loc. cit. p. 148. Decimo quarto die Colossus, a Turcis Chonos dictas, in clivo montis scansu perqixam difficilis sitas ingredimur, sed tantummodo ad exeundum. Hie enim a latronibus quam maxirae periclitabamur, nee minus a civibus, qui atroci in Christianos ac Occidentales odio flagrabant : apud quos reperiuntur pauci e gente Graecorum, qui inter tot oppro- bria et ealamitates, quibus obnoxii sunt, adhue fidem Christia- nam profitentur ; nulla apud ipsos est Ecclesia, nuUus sacer. dos, qui Liturgiea praelegat et Sacramentum Eucharistiae ce- lebret. Graeeae linguae penitus obliti miseri Colossenses Turcica in familiari sermone loquuntur. " Book XII. Cap. 7, § 13. ASIA MINOR. 47 name from king Antiochus II. called Theos, {i. c. God), in honour of his consort Laodice. It had been previously called Diospolis and Diocaesarea. Laodicea was a commercial town of some impor- tance, partly inhabited by Jews. The earthquake by which Colosse and Hierapolis were destroyed A.D. 65, inflicted great injury on this town, but it was speedily rebuilt under Marcus Aurelius. It is now called by the Turks Eski Hissar, i. e. the old castle.'^ The place takes in a long hilly ridge, running from south-east to north-west, between the small valleys of Asopus and Caprus. Here there is still to be seen a subterraneous aqueduct, which brings the water of the hills to the town; as also a '<' Von Richter, p. 521. Smiih, loc. cit. p. 149: Laodicea, hodie a Turcis dicta Eski Hissar j_ Ixa^ cf*^^^ J' vetus castrum, super sex septemve coUes positaest, qui circulum, cujus perimeter ingens terrae spatium occupat, quasi conficere videntur : ad mille quingentos passus versus Boream et Borea- peliotem dilabitur Lycus, latera verourbis alluunt duo fluenta, Asopus et Caper, alterum ad Occidentem, ad Euronotum alte- rum, quae iu Lycum cadunt, uti Lycus in Meandrum. A nemine jam habitatur, nisi quod hie noctu lupi, vulpes, et alo- pecidae, quas Jackal nominant, praedam investigatum eant. Quam raisera et deserta jacet Laodicea, quae tot palatiis olim tumebat ! Sola enim hodienum supersunt rudera, quae tamen earn testantur celeberrimae urbis noraen meruisse. E quatuor theatris magnitudinem et gloriam ipsius colligere licet, quorum duo sunt admiranda, &c Amplissimae ecclesiae muri nobis demonstrarunt, veteres Christianos nullis sumtibus in fabricandis aedibus religioso cultui destinatis pepercisse, prope quam exstant tres piilcherrimi fornices. 48 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Stadium, or race course, which is almost quite entire on the north side. Adjoining it are the remains of a large edifice, the use of which cannot be clearly ascertained. Its outer wall had seven gates on the longer side, and one at each of the ends : they in- closed two large halls, sixty paces long and forty broad, besides several apartments of smaller dimensions, with porches and vaults, in the construction of which co- lumns and pillars had not been spared. There are also observable the remnants of several temples, and of two theatres, the larger of which is still tolerably entire. A Christian church was here as early as the time of the Apostle Paul, to whom they addressed a letter, which is mentioned by him in his Epistle to the Co- lossians (ch. iv. 16.) A letter, pretended to have been wTitten to the Laodiceans, by the Apostle, was proved, by Theodoret, (who lived in the fifth cen- tury,) to have been falsely attributed to him-''^ The church at Laodicea was one of the seven churches to which John addressed the Revelation, (Kev. i. 11 ; iii. 14 — 22.) He mentions this church last, it hav- ing been the farthest from Patmos whence he wrote. From one of the ancient theatres still remain- ing in Laodicea, is beheld, a short distance towards '' In his Comment, on Col. iv. 16. Comp. J. D. Alichaelis' Introd. to the New Testament, Vol. II. p. 1281 of the 4th edit, and P. E. Jablonskp's Dissertatio periodica exhibens Spicilegium breve observationum de epistola scripta Laodicea, ad Coloss. iv. 16. He endeavous to shew, in § 13, that this letter was addressed by the superintendents and teachers of the church of Laodicea to those of Colosse, and referred to here- sies which had been spread in the latter city by Gnostics. ASIA MIXOR. 49 the south, the ancient Hierapolis^ built upon white rocks, on which account it is called, by the Turks, Pambuk Kulassi, (i. e. Cotton Castle.''^^ X}^g ruins of the ancient town are situated on the flat summit of the lowest elevation of the mountain, v/hich ter- minates steeply towards the valley of the Lj'cus. "^ Smith, loc. cit. p. 144 : Hierapolis, hodie a Turcis Fam- buk Kulasi [^^M^ixks Oa-Xaj j i- e- gossypina turris di\ciQ, ob rupium cHvos, qui a longe instar gossypii candicant, urbs raajoris Phrygiae, sub excelso monte ad septentrionem condi- tur, Laodiceae ad austrum ex adverso opposita, planitie quin- que circiter mille passus lata intercedente, quaiii interluit Ly- cuSj Laodiceam taraenpropiusattingens: situ, ut videtur, per- quam incomraodo, ac ob nimium soHs calorem, cui tota patet, irifesto. Sed hoc quicquid est incommodi, abunde pensatum est aquis calidis, quibus suam debet magnificentiam HierapoHs, et quarum gratia tantara celebritatem olim adepta est. Balneum illud, unde scaturiunt, marraore candido stratum est, in quod coluranae, quae id olim circumambiebant, conjiciuntur. Aquae autem continue fluxu quosdam canaliculos sibi excavavere, qui- bus supergressae, albicantis terrae superficiem in tophum maxi- me friabilem convertunt. Jam penitus eversa est incolisque destituta, cujus tamen luinae illam magnificentiam et gloriam prae se adhuc ferunt, ut, dum eas circumspicerem, nespio an mentem raeam major invaserit horror an admiratio. Lugebam quoque hujus admirandae urbis vere flebilem et miserandam sortem, tot templa intercidisse mihi doluit, quorum parietinae adhuc durant, ubique erant altaria, fornices et columnae, pala- tiorum aliarumque insignissimarum aedium appendices, ut in- ter praecipuas non solius Orientis sed totius mundi urbes, re- censeri, dum staret, mereretur. Nomen vero Sacrae Urbis forte ipsi impositum erat tum ob numerum fanorum, quibus olim superbiebat, tum ob aquas, quibus vim salutarem et medi- cinalem inesse crediderunt. Qua de causa Apoll.nem his olim praecipue cultum fuisse, vero quam maxime proximum est, rel* E 50 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. The adjacent ground is entirely composed of sta- lactites, the deposit of a strongly impregnated hot spring, which rises above it. Strabo observes, that the petrifactive properties of this fountain are so powerful, that when its stream is introduced into a channel, it produces a stony substance, which gradu- ally chokes up the course. On a plain surface, it forms excavations, with high borders, similar to shell- formed basins in fountains. Several small stalactitic caves are found, and, in many places, the ground sounds hollow under the feet. In those places where the stream falls precipitately over the rocks, its colour is a brilliant v»'hite; but in other places it is grey, from the influence of the atmosphere. This water flows, in numerous channels, through all the upper part of the mountain, from which there extend, along the valley, walls and aqueducts, all built of the same petrifactions. The stream drives a mill at the foot of a rock, and then flows, in many branches, to the Lycus. Whatever is placed in it becomes encrusted with a stalactitic covering ; even the grass petrifies when the water runs over it. Surrounding the east and south sides of the town there are walls, appa- rently of Turkish architecture, clumsily constructed out of old materials. On the east side they inclose the mountain ; on the south they only extend for a short distance. The chief entrance to the warm baths seems to have been on the north side, where there is found a large court, fully eighty paces broad. On each side of this court is a spacious hall. The whole edifice is built upon th'e rocks. There are still remaining very beautiful fragments of a white ASIA MINOR. 51 marble facade, with pillars, sculptures of acanthus- leaves, and other ornaments. The interior was laid with fine marble. Proceeding westwards, the tra- veller arrives at one of the principal streets, v/hich is intersected by another. The latter conducts hiui to a large heap of ruins, at the foot of the mountain which overlooks the town. In the direction towards the baths, he observes four great columnar walls, which had supported arches and been connected with the baths : farther on are seen quadrangular walls, (probably the remains of a temple,) between which are many fragments of pillars and doors, the posts and lintels of which are each composed of a single stone. A large gate, between two square towers, opens to a continuation of the same street, along both sides of which runs a portico with low oval pillars of the Doric order. Then succeeds a gate, with triple arches, behind which are a great many sepulchral monuments, extending for a consi- derable distance around. These monuments are composed of sarcophagi, which rise, more or less, from the ground; several of them are still unopened; they have small doors, and have commonly, in the inside, three benches for a like number of coffins. Among these graves there still remains the nave of a large church, which is distinguished by crosses over the gates. North of the baths, behind the mountain, there are several other places enclosed with pillars and gates, and also two temples, whose marble facades are destroyed. High above all these, on the side of the mountain, is the theatre, which is in a more perfect condition than almost any other 52 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. in Asia Minor.'^^ In this town, whose former extent, population, and prosperity, may be estimated from the remains above described, there was a Christian church under the care of Epaphras, so early as the time of the Apostle Paul, who commends him for his zeal and fidelity, (Col. iv. 1 2, 13). According to the account of Eusebius,^'^ the Apostle Philip was crucified here. 15. That province of Asia Minor which joined Cappadocia and Pontus on the east, Paphlagonia on the north, Bithynia and part of Phrygia on the west, and Phrygia and Cappadocia on the south, was call- ed Galatia. The inhabitants were of Celtic or Gal- lic origin. A few centuries before the Christian era, numerous hordes of Gauls migrated from their Euro- pean settlements, and spread themselves in all direc- tions. A few tribes who had been settled in Pannonia, (Hungary,) on the Danube and the Save, invaded, about the year b. c. 300, the countries to the south, which were lUyria, Thrace, Thessaly and Macedonia. After some of their tribes had taken Byzantium, and rendered tributary the whole coast of the Propontis, a part of them, on the invitation of Nicodemus I., king of Bithynia, passed, about the year 278, into Asia Minor, where they received northern Phrygia, and notwith- standing several defeats from the Syrians and Egyp- tians, spread themselves over the whole peninsula. Being at length subdued by Attalus II., he confined them to the possession of Galatia, about the year B. c. 238. These Gauls were composed of three " Von Rkhter, loc. cit. p. 523, et seqq. 7* Hist. Eccles. Book III. Cap. 31, § 9. ASIA MINOR. 53 different races, — the Trocmi, who dwelt in the eastern district, near Cappadocia and Pontus ; the Tectosages, (whose chief town was Anc3'ra,) to- wards the south, near Phrygia ; and the Tolistohoii towards the west, the chief town being Pessinus. Each of these tribes formed an independent republic, with four tetrarchs at its head ; the dignity was not hereditary but electoral, and their power was limited by that of the judges and generals. The three tribes held common assemblies, and were in mutual alliance ; the other races in this fertile and populous re- gion being subject to them. The Galatians or Galli, were practised soldiers, and hence were often hired by foreign states- Molon, satrap of Media, in his revolt against Antiochus the Great, (in which he was finally subdued,''^) employed them as mercenaries. It is uncertain whether the engagement in which Molon was unfortunate be that alluded to in the pretended speech of Judas Maccabeus,76 (2 Macca- bees xiii. 20,) where it is said that once, in a battle in Babylonia, eight thousand Jews, who, with four thousand Macedonians, took the field against a hun- dred and twenty thousand Galatians, defeated the latter, without the aid of the Macedonians, (b.c. 190). On account of their having co-operated with Molon, the Roman consul Vulso Manlius ad- vanced against them and defeated them, but grant- ed them peace, (b.c. 188)^ under the stipulation that " Polybius, Book V. Cap. I. 41—56. '^ As to the great historical improbabilities in this pretended speech, see Gottl. Wernsdorfs Commentat. de fide historica lib- ror. Maccabaicor. p. 98. 54 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY, they should rtmain within the confines of their own territor}'-, and not molest their neighbours. They still continued, however, to take part in the wars of Asia Minor ; and the Romans found it politic to pro- tect the independence of this warlike people, in or- der to keep in check the neighbouring princes. For this reason Sylla restored freedom to Galatia after it had become subject to Mithridates, and from that time forth, the Galatians remained faithful allies to the Romans. Pompey not only secured to them their territories, but richly rewarded their tetrarchs, particularly Dejotarus, on whom he bestowed a part of Pontus, and also the title of king. At his death, Amyntas, his secretary, received from Antony the greater part of Galatia, and from Octavian, not only the whole of Galatia, but likewise Pisidia, Lycaonia, Cilicin, and Isauria, along with the regal title. When he died, however, (b.c. 25), all these countries be- came Roman provinces. "^^ The most important town of Galatia, even from remote antiquity, was Ancyra (Ankyra), now An- gora and Enguri.78 After the death of Amyntas, Augustus made it the capital of Galatia, and called it " Metropolis," a name which appears on its coins, of which there are still a considerable number. It lay on the great road from Byzantium to the east of Asia, and was a principal emporium for the com- merce of the caravans. The citizens of this town ^7 On Galatia generally, see Gottl. Wernsrlorf's De Repub- Ilea Galatarum Liber Singularis. Nuremberg, 1743, 4to. 's See Busbeq. Epist. I. p. 92. Pococke's Descript. of the East, Part III. p. 127. ASIA MINOR. 55 erected a white marble temple in lionour of tlie em- peror Augustus, in which was the celebrated " Ancy- rian monument." This contained an account, com- posed by Augustus himself, of the most important events of his life, engraved upon pillars iU the porch of the temple ; it was discovered 220 years ago.''^ In ecclesiastical history, Ancyra was noted for two synods that were held there : the first, in the year 315, was composed of eighty bishops of Roman Asia, who met to put a stop to various abuses in church discipline ; the other, in the year 358, con* sisted of Semi-Arian bishops, who assembled for the purpose of solemnly disavowing certain tenets of the stricter Arians. Angora is, at present, the chief town of the district of the same name, and the seat of a richly endowed Armenian bishopric. It lies on several small hills, encompassed on the north and east by a range of mountains; the castle is on the top of a high rock, round which there flows a small stream. The population of the town cannot now be reckoned at more than 20,000, of whom a third part are Catholic Armenians, and by them the trade is almost wholly engrossed. In return for cloth, and colonial merchandise imported from Smyrna, they chiefly export fine coloured camlets, manufactured of the hair of the Angora goats, (vide ante, page 4). Angora is celebrated on account of its fruits, parti- cularly the fine penches which grow in the gardens on the plain that opens towards the north-west. '5 See Edm. ChishitlVs Antiquitt. Asiatt. p. 165, et seqq. : also printed in Oberlin's Edit, of Tacitus, Tom. II. p. 837, and in Wolfius' Edit, of Suetonius, Tom. II. p. 3GD. 56 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. That the Apostle Paul established Christian churches in Galatia, appears from his own intimations, in his letter to the Christians of that country, (Gal. i. 6, 8 ; iv. 13, &c). He does not, however, specify any of the towns in which these churches had been formed. According to the narrative in the Acts, the apostle went twice to Galatia, in the course of his travels ; first, after he had parted from Barnabas (xv. 39), along with Silas and Timothy, (xvi. 6), probably in the year 53 ; and then, in the year 57, after he had returned from Corinth to Asia Minor. On the first of these journeys Paul had doubtless founded churches in iGralatia,^^ for although Luke does not expressly say so, yet it may be inferred, partly from the invariable practice of the apostle to teach Chris- tianity every where in his travels, and partly from what is stated in Acts xvi. 6, " they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, (i. e, in Proconsular Asia). It is also related, Acts xviii. 23, that he confirmed the Christians of Galatia in the faith of the gospel, which presupposes that the}' had formerly been converted by him to that faith. Cres- cens, an assistant of the apostle, who taught the gospel in Galatia, is mentioned by him, 2 Tim. iv. 10. Peter also had probably established Christian churches in Galatia, on which account they are men- tioned among those churches to which he addressed his first Epistle. ^^ K oppe Skwd fi'ejY have supposed, on insufficient grounds, that the apostle had founded churches in Galatia at a still earlier jjeriod, but see Wi7i€r''s Prolegomena to his Comment, on GaU.t. p. 3. ASIA MINOR. 37 When Theodosius, surnamed the Great, divided the Roman empire, (towards the close of the fourth century), between his two sons, Honorius and Area- dius, the former received the western and the latter the eastern provinces, and Asia Minor became a part of the Eastern Roman, or Greek empire, the empe- rors of which had their seat at Byzantium or Con- stantinople. The x\rabs, however, wrested from the Greek emperors a considerable portion of Asia Mi- nor; and although it v/as again recovered, yet a much larger part of the country was seized by the Seljoo- kian Turks in the eleventh century. Asia Minor then became successively subject to the dynasty of the Moguls (established by Genghis Khan) of Timur, and (since the fourteenth century) of the Turks, under which it still remains. It is at present divided into five governments, viz. Eyaleti Anatoli, the government of Asia Minor, which is subdivided into fourteen Sandshaks or circles, under one Beg- lerbeg, who has his seat at Kutehiya ; Eyaleti Kara- man^ the government of Caramania, subdivided into seven Sandshaks, under the pacha of Coniah, and containing Southern and part of Eastern Asia Minor ; Eyaleti Sivas, which has seven Sandshaks ; Eyaleti 31eraasfi, and Eyaleti Trabesu7i, i. e. Trapezunt or Trebizonde ; which three last governments contain the northern part of Asia Minor.^^ ^' See Von Hammer's Osman. Eeichs Staats verfassung. Part II. p. 255. END OF ASIA MINOR. di::t,ica l Gi:oGUArii y. PHOENICIA. TriE Greeks and Romans gave the name o£ P/icenike^ or P/icenicia, to that narrow tract of country along the coast of Syria, which extended southward from the insular town oPAradus, beyond the river Eleu- therus.-" Strabo^ carries its southern boundary as far as to Pelusium on ihe east branch of the Nile. Pliny* ' The Greek name omKn probably denotes a country which abounds in (poUix.ts, palm trees, as these trees would present themselves to the view of Greek navigators who approached the coast. Burckhardi {Traveh, Vol. I. p. 314 of the German Transl.), passed not far from Beirout, through a village, A in Aanab, which appeared to him remarkable on account of a great number of palm trees, which grew on a considerable eminence near the sea. For other less probable derivations of the name Phcenike {e.o. from p^V '^^11'>Bne-Anak, i. e. the sonsof Anakor Anakites, a tribe of Canaan), see BocharCs Geogr. Sac. Part II. s. Canaan, Lil). I. Cap. I. p. 3C2. '^ See the former part of Rosenmiiller's work in the Biblical Cabinet, Vol. XVII. p. 218, 288, 28.X ^ XVI. 2. 21. After remarking that the part of Syria which lie.s between Lebanon and Anti- Lebanon, is properly called Ko'iXv) Iv^ia, [Ccele Syria, i. e. Hollow Syria. Com p. the " How of the Mearns" in Scotland,] he continues : Tsjj l\ Xeivvi h l^iv ocTo "O^Bua-ias ft-i^^i H^XouffUu va^xXix 't>otvt)ni KaXiTrai, trrtvyi ri{ xa) aXiriv^g. Comp. § 3.3. * Hist. Nat. L. V. Cap. 12 : Juxta Syria litus occupat, quondam terrarum maxima, et pluribus distincta nominibus. Namque Palaestina vocabatur, qiiacontingit Arabas, et Judaea, et Coele, deinde Phoenice. . . . Qui subtilius dividunt, PHOENICIA. 59 and Ptolemy,^ however, fix the frontier at Dora. Yet, since Acco and Aesib or Ecdippa, (two places between Tyre and Dora,) as also the pronion,- tory of Carmel, are reckoned, in the Bible, to belong to the territory of the Hebrews, it will best suit our plan to regard Tyre, and the adjacent district, as forming the southern boundary of Phoenicia. The native, and likewise the Hebrew name of the country, seems to have been Zidon or Sidon, which was, at the same time, the name of its most ancient capital ^ It was a part of the land of Canaan, under which designation Phoenicia is specially mentioned by Isaiah in his prophecy against Tyre and Sidon, (ch. xxiii. 11.) In the time of Christ, it was called Sijro-Phcenicia, from its being considered a part of Syria, and lying withing the jurisdiction of the Roman governor of that province, Plence the female who, by Matthew, (ch. xv. 22, 24,) is called "a woman of Ca- naan," is styled by Mark, (ch. vii. 26,) '^ a Syro- Phoe- nician." The Arabic writers, of the middle age, speak, of Phoenicia under the appellation oi Es-Sdchel,'^ i. e. " The coast." On the west, the natural boundary was the Mediter- ranean, as was mount Lebanon on the east; and where circumfundi Syria Phoenicen volunt, et esse oram raaritimam Syriae. Farther down, at Cap. 19, he begins the enumeration, of the southern Phoenician towns with Doron or Dora. * Lib. V. Cap, 15. Josephus cont. Apion. II. 9 : Tm fiiv. TOt ^oiviKfis ^cc^a, TO Ka^fz,^\uv o^os A&'^a 'ptoXis cvojux^ireit. ^ Comp. Gesenius Comment, on Isa. xxiii. ' ^r=»LsiwJ!. See Jib. Schulteri's Index Geograph. in his " Vita Saladini," under " Phoenicia." 60 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. that mountain terminates southward, Phoenicia met Galilee and Samaria. The tract of country inclosed within these bounds is not more than twenty-five German miles* in length from north to south, and no- where more than three German miles in breadth. The greater part is mountainous ; in several places the mountains run out into the sea and form promon- tories. One of the most famous of these was called, by the Greeks, " Theou-Pros5pon," i. e. the Face of God.s and is now known by the name of Cape Caruge or Bel-Monte ; it is to the south of Tripoli, and rises precipitously from the sea, but is flat on the top.^ It is only close on the coast that plains are met with, and they are very narrow, being hemmed in between the sea and the hills. The most considerable of them is Djunia, (that is, '' the Valley," by way of pre-eminence, '°) which extends for seven leagues in • A German mile is about 4f English. — Tr. ^ Strabo XVI. 2. 15 : TJj 1\ T^itoXh ffwi^^U i Pniel, i. e. " the Face of God," which was the name given by Jacob to the place where God appeared to him on his return from Mesopotamia. Gen. xxxii. 30. ^ 3Taundr ell found, on the top of this promontory, a Greek monastery, of which, however, Oito v. Richter says nothing. Wallfahrten, p. 116. Comp. Olivier's Voyage, Tom. V. p. 122. ^^ Thus is the name explained by Maundrell, who writes it, however, Janina. Paulus, in his Ger. Edit, of 3Iaundrell, (Collection of Remarkable Travels, Part I. p. 302), writes it o ^ in a note / , >,fc.-^, which signifies '* Valley." That mean- PH(ENICIA. 61 a northerly direction from Tripoli to the neighbour- hood of Antaradiis, The fertility of the soil is promoted by the nume- rous rivers which Lebanon sends forth to the sea. Of the most northerly of these, (which is also the most important), viz. the Eleutherus, now the Nahr- elKebir, an account has already been given in the chapter relating to Syria in a former volume.* To the south of that river runs the Nahr-Kadisha, i. e, the Holy River, dividing the city of Tripoli or Ta- rabolos into two parts.^^ About a league below Djebail, the ancient Byblus, flows another conside- ing, is found, indeed, along with others, in Castell's Lexicon Heptaglotton, but only on the precarious authority of Bedwell. It occurs neither in the Kamoos nor in Golius. The name in question appears to be the Arabic 'k^Ays^, an adjective from '^Sy^i "a wide valley." See Golius p. 557- Comp. p. 550, under *..:=»• Maundrell found it very fertile and well watered. Comp. Pococke's Description of the East, Part II. p. 296. * See the BiWical Cabinet, Vol. XVII. p. 218, 288, 289. ^1 The Aramaic name is K^***lp 1^12- Be la Rogue says, (Voyage de Syrie T. I. p. 41) : On appelle ce fleuve A^ahr- Kadicha, c'est-a dire, le fleuve saint, parce, disent les Chretiens Maronites, que la source est dans une montagne sainte, et cele- bre dans I'Ecriture ; outre que Tune et I'autre montagne, qui forment la longue vale'e par ou il coule, sont remplies de grotes, d'hermitages, et de chapelles des anciens Anacoretes, sans par- ler des Monasteres remplis de bons Religieux, qu'on y volt en- core aujourd'huy, toutes cboses, qui ne respirent que la piete'. C'est par les memes raisons, que cette valee porte aussi le nom 62 BIBLICAL GEOGKAPHY. rable stream, the Nahr Ibrahim, i. e. the river of Abrahaiii^^ ; it issues from a narrow valley, and has its course skirted with reeds and mulberry trees. '^ This is the river Adonis, rendered so famous by an ancient tradition, according to which it received its name from a god of the Pha^nicians, who, while he still resided among mortals, received a fatal wound from a wild boar on Mount Lebanon. The river named after him gave occasion to a yearly lamenta- tion for his death, in consequence of its water be- coming of a blood-red colour about the time of the festival observed in his honour. That appearance can be traced for a considerable distance into the sea at the rivers mouth ; the cause of it was long ago assigned by Lucian,^"* and is confirmed by mo- dern travellers. The earth of that part of Lebanon through which the river flows, is of a reddish colour, and, when it is carried down by the heavy rains into the river, it imparts that tinge to the water.^^ About de valee des Saints. See also p. 40, 2fiC. liurckhardi, p. 273. According to him and Otco v. Richter, (p. 1 12) the river is now called Nahr Abu- AH. ^^ A.K^\.j\ pfl.J. According to fllaundrell, the Turks call it Ibrahim Pacha. Comp De la JRoque, p. 270. Pococke, Part II. p. 142 of the Ger. Transl. Burckhardt, p. 299. Otto v. Richter, p. 1 19. The last-mentioned traveller found the sour- ces of this river on the western side of Lebanon in an uncom- monly beautiful country. *3 Otto V. Richter, p. 119. 1* In his work on tlie Syrian goddess. Tom. III. p. 554 of the edition of Rcitz2. 1^ Maundrell says, (Journal p. 34, 35,) " Leaving Gibyle, PHCENICIA. 63 two leagues farther south, between Byblus and Bei- rout, (the ancient Berytus), the Nahr-kelb,^^ or Dog's River, rushes into the sea between two high and precipitous rocks. The ancients called it the Lycus, i. e. the Wolf, probably on account of its rapid course, or, as others suppose, from the statue of a wolf which stood in the neighbourhood.^'' Be- we came, i:i one hour, to a fair large river, which the Turks call Ibraim Bassa ; but it is, doubtless, the ancient river Ado- nis, so famous for the idolatrous rites performed here in lamen- tation of Adonis. Upon the banks of this stream we took up our quarters for the following night. We had a very tempes- tuous night, both of wind and rain, almost without cessation, and with so great violence, that our servants were hardly able to keep our tents over us. But, however, tiiis accident, which gave us so much trouble in the night, made us amends with a curiosity which it yielded us an opportunity of beholding the next morning, (Wednesday, March 17-) For, by this means, we had the fortune to see what may be supposed to be the oc- casion of that opinion which Lucian relates, concerning this river, viz. that this stream, at certain seasons of the year, es- pecially about the feast of Adonis, is of a bloody colour; which the heathen looked on as proceeding from a kind of sympathy in the river for the death of Adonis, who was killed by a wild boar, in the mountains out of which this stream rises. Some- thing like this we actually saw come to pass, for the water was stained to a surprising redness, and, as we observed in travel- ling, had discoloured the sea, a great way, into a reddish hue, occasioned, doubtless, by a sort of minium or red earth, wash- ed into the river by violence of the rain, and not by any stain from Adonis's blood." ^^ De laRcque, loc. cit. p. 280. " Tons les Auteurs convien- nent que ce fleuve est le Lycus des Anciens, et Tinscription, 64 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. low Beirout, the Damir, or Tamyras of the ancients, issues from a narrow valley, enclosed by steep hills. When swollen by rains its current becomes strong qu'on lit encore a Tentree da chemin, que les Remains ont taille dans le rocher [Imp. Cues. M. Aurelius Antoninus Pius .... montihus imrainentibus Licoflumini caesis viam dilata- vit], ne laisse aucun lieu d'en douter. Son nom moderne le prouve encore, car les Arabes ont appellee Kalb, ou Chien, la ligure de pierre d'un animal, que les Grecs avoient nomme Xvxos, Loup, et qui etoit autrefois placee sur un roc assez pres de I'embouchure du fleuve. Cette figure est depuis tombee dans la mar, et on I'y entrevoit encore quand le temps est calme. C'etoit une espece d'Idole, dont on conte encore de grandes merveilles. Les Musulmans disent, que le Diable entroit quelquefois dans ce corps de pierre, et qu'il hurloit d'une e'trange force jusqu'a se faire entendre par toute la cote de Syrie, et nieme jusqu'en Tisle de Chj^pre, et que ce prodige presageoit toujours quelque funeste evenement. D'autres plus senses croyent que le fleuve se jettant dans la mer entre deux hautes montagnes qui le reserrent, et son lit etant tout rempli de I'oches, ses eaux font un bruit terrible quand elles sont en- flees par la fonte des neiges ; ce qui augmente dans le silence de la nuit, et pent etre compare' aux hurlement d'un loup : effet naturel, que la superstition du Paganisme a rendu mysterieux. qui a donne lieu sans doute a dresser I'ldole en question, et a nommer ce fleuve du nom qu'il porte encore aujourd'hui. Otto von Richter, (loc. cit. p. 95,) says, " that ou the highest part of the road towards the north, there is a pedestal hewn out of the rock, on which stood the statue of the wolf, whence the river had its name Lykos. There is still a local tradition of a dog having been here changed into stone ; and there is a rock, not far ofi^, which presents, at low watei*, something of that appearance. The view of the Nahr-Kelb from the pedestal, is enchanting. It issues from a narrow ravine in a bare gi*ey rock, and runs under a bridge of light construction, with one large and two smaller arches. On the north branch there is PHCENICIA. 65 and dangerous ; the water, however, is generally clear and cool, and the banks are adorned with rose trees and laurels. ^^ Still nearer Tyre is the Kasmih or Leitane^ which proceeds from a wild mountain tract, and meanders in serpentine windings and through flowery meadows, till it reaches the sea.^^ Besides these larger rivers, the ' plains, which are generally fertile, are irrigated by many smaller streams, and by innumerable rivulets. The climate of Phoenicia is mild. The spring and autumn are very pleasant, and the summer is, in general, not oppressively hot, unless in places near an aqueduct. The verdure along the river sides and at its mouih is most luxuriant. Comp. Maundrell, p. 48. Olivier^ Tom; IV. p. 122. Burclchardt, p. 311. ^5 The Arabic name of ^\^ Damir, (from ^:i perdi- dit, exitio dedit), it pi'obably received from the rapidity of its stream. De la Rogue says : De Baruth a Seyde en continu- ant la meme route sur les bords de la mer, on passe encore una riviere considerable, qui se decharge dans la mer ; les Anciena Tout nommee Tamyras, les gens du Pays I'appellent Nahr Da- rner. Le passage en est fort dangereux dans le temps des pluyes ; c'est du milieu de son lit, que le jeune Mx*. Spon fut entraine avec son cheval dans la mer, ou il perit malheu- reusement. Comp. Maundrell, p. 58. O. v. Richter, p. 1^. "^ It comes from the northern part of Lebanon, where it was crossed by Burckhardt, who writes the name ^JIIoaJ Liettani, Travels, p. 42. Not far from its embouchure it unites with the Kasmiehj '^a-^am^, and hence is sometimes confounded with it. See O. v. Richter, p. 72. Comp. De la Roquey p. 285. Maundrell, p. S'J. 66 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. the coast. On the other hand, the winter is so tem- perate, that pomegranate-trees, palms, fig trees, and many delicate plants, thrive in the open air. In Tripoli it is to a European a picturesque sight to behold, under his window, in the month of January, pomegranate-trees, with flowers and fruit, whilst, over his head, shines the snowy Lebanon. Climate and soil unite in rendering the coast of Phoenicia one of the finest and richest countries on the face of the earths Besides wheat, rye, barley, and cotton, it produces, in excellent quality and great abundance, citrons, oranges, figs, dates, olives, pistachio nuts, and all the best kinds of fruit. The vines, which are either tied to stalks, or cling round the oak, yield excellent red and white wme. The v/hite mulberry tree pro- motes the culture of fine silk, and, in the gardens of Beirout and Saida, the sugar cane is cultivated.^^ If, even now, when the country groans under an oppres- sive despotism so unfavourable to industry, nature, nevertheless, continues to lavish her gifts so profusely, we may form some idea of the sight which Phoenicia must have presented, when it formed the central point of the commerce of the world, and was inhabited by a most active and enterprising population. Even in the fourth century of our era, Ammianus Marcelli- nus,2i calls it '' a country rich in charms and beauty, ^0 See Volney's Travels, Part I. p. 242. II. p. 128, 171. O. V. Richter, p. 75. -^ L. XIV. Cap. 8, § 9 : Phoeuice regio plena gratiarum et venustatis, urbibus decorata magnis et pulchris. Cotwyk, who visited tbis country at tbe end of the sixteenth century, says in his Itinerar. p. 330. Regio in foecundissimos coUe PHCENICIA. 67 adorned with large and fine cities." The sites of the latter are now occupied, for the most part, by de- cayed and mean villages or hamlets, the names of which alone recal any memorial of their ancient greatness. This is specially the case with the nor- thernmost town of Phcenicia, viz. 1. Aradtis, in the Bible Arvad, now JR?md or JRowada.^'^ It is first mentioned in the Genealogical Table of nations, in the tenth chapter of Genesis, (v. 18), among the posterity of Canaan. According to a tradition in Strabo,^^ the town was founded by fugitives from Sidon. It occupied the entire surface of a small rocky island, four or five miles from the coast, and not more than seven stadia in circuit. As so small a space could accommodate but few in- habitants, they endeavoured to provide for the in- creasing population, by the erection of houses with a number of stories raised one above another. The island affords no water, and, therefore, it was neces- sary to preserve rain-water in cisterns, or bring sup- plies of spring-water from the mainland.* In cases vallesque fertilissimas distincta, agrorum fertilitate nulli terra- rum cedit, inculta tamen hodie pleraque atque deserta jacet. "' "I11K> i!v^ {Abulfeda's Annall. T. V. p. 180), ^^ XVI. 2. 13: "Exricav S' alrh (f/vyahsi ^S ^ciffiv 'ix, * [It is curious to compare these ancient accounts with the dispatch of an officer of the British navy, written oiF Ruad, during the operations of the allies on the Syro-Phcenician coast 68 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. of necessity, the Aradians could, by an ingenious process, described by Strabo,^'* procure fresh water from a spring at the bottom of the sea, near the 'sland. In the earliest times, Arad, like most of the Phoenician cities, had its own native princes or kings ;'^^ in 1840. — " We found the island without troops or arms of any kind, but an immense population just arrived from Tripoli, Tortosa, and other parts of the coast, at present menaced with mi- litary operations. About two hundred cavalry and two field pieces were encamped at the watering place on the main land, im- mediately opposite to the island, and I was informed that two squadrons, (each of two hundred men, with two field pieces) were stationed about nine miles distant to the north and to the south, with orders to prevent any persons taking water, and to obstruct all communication between the inhabitants of the country and the ships. The island of Ruad is very small, and dependent on tanks and cisterns for water, which are generally quite sufficient for its ordinary population, said to amount to fif- teen hundred; but in consequence of the influx of refugees, there cannot be less than five thousand souls upon it just now, and therefore an extra supply of water became necessary ; but the cavalry prevented any boats from the island approaching the watering-place. We, therefore, at day light next morning, dislodged them, by throwing a few shot and shells, and the ' ships were moved nearer the watering-place, and every precau- tion being taken, all her Majesty's ships were completed with water; and ever since the place, (being under our guns,) has been quite free to the people of Ruad to water." Extract from a dispatch of Captain Houston Stewart, in the London Gazette, dated, " Her Majesty's ship Benbow, oif Ruad, Sept. 26, 1840." ^* Loc. cit. *^ Strabo, in loc. cit. § 14 : To -^aKath fzh ol 'A^a.h(U xaB^' Avrov; ifiatriXivovTOf 'rcc^wrXtja-iat;^ ua-^n^ xat tmv oiXXuv iKoiffrn iroXsav 7UV ^oinxi^uv. On one of the Phcenician coins, men- tioned by Duttns, (in his " Explication de Quelques Medailles, PHCENICIA. 69 and there belonged to the territory of the town a tract of land on the neighbouring coast, in which Paltus was the northernmost place, Simyra the southernmost, but Marathos the most important.^^ In the time of the Prophet Ezekiel, about the year 590 b. c, the people of Arad served the Tyrians, probably for hire, in the capacity of soldiers and sailors. Ezek. xxvii. 8, 11. It afterwards came successively, (with the rest of Phoenicia,) under the dominion of the Persians, the Syro-Macedonian kings, and the Romans. We find it mentioned in 1 Mace. xv. 22, 23, among the cities and states in alliance with Rome, to which the Roman senate sent letters, begging them not to deal harshly with the Jews. Maundrell, who on his journey to Tripoli from Tortosa, (the ancient Antaradus,) saw this island from the coast, remarked,^^ that it seemed not to be above four or five hundred paces in length, and cover- ed with high buildings, that looked like castles. But that, in this supposition, he must have been mistaken appears from the description given by Shaw.^s " The prospect of Rouwadda, from the continent, is wonder- fully magnificent, promising, at a distance, a con- tinued train of fine buildings and impregnable fortifi- &c. Lond. 1773, 4to.) there is the inscription 1*1^^^ \10} which is correctly explained by J. D. Michaelis as meaning « King of Arad." See his Orient. BibHothek. Part VIII, p. 14. 2^ Comp. MannerVs Geogr. of the Greeks and Romans, Part VI. 2d Div. p. 398. 27 I,oc. cit. p. 28. ** Travels, p. 267 (of the original.) 70 EIBLTCAL GEOGRAPHY. cations. But this is entirely owing to the height and rockiness of its situation : for at present^ [i. e. about the year 1730], all the strength and beauty it can boast of lies in a weak unfortified castle, with a few small cannon to defend it. Yet we are not to judge of the ancient strength of this place from its present condition. For it was formerly surrounded with a large strong wall, consisting of stones of an immense bigness ; which (as in many other specimens of the ancient buildings), so exactly tallied and corresponded with each other, that the architect might very justly estimate the weight and symmetry alone of the ma- terials^ without cramps and mortar, to have been sufficient to withstand the violence of the sea, and the engines of the enemy." Richard Pococke,^^ who visited the island in the year 1737, found on the eastern side the remains of bulwarks, intended to pro- tect vessels from the storm, and on the north and west sides he discovered traces of a double wall. ♦• These walls," says he, " were fifty paces asunder, and there still exist considerable remains of the outer v/all, which, on the north side, was very high, was about fifteen feet thick, and was built of large stones, some of which are fifteen feet in length. It is pos- sible that small ships and boats may have lain be- tween these walls; the rock towards the west has all the appearance of a wall, and there is on the summit a cross and bishop's stafl^ in alio relievo. Every where on the island there are, under the houses, cis- terns hewn in the rock, having openings at the top, through which the water is drawn up. Besides the 2'J Description of the East, Part II. p. 293. PHOENICIA. 71 two small castles, which have a (ew cannon to defend them against pirates, there are very few houses on the island. The vessels that touch here commonly take in a cargo of tobacco, which grows plentifully on the neighbouring coast. They carry it to Egypt, and when there is no stock of it ready, they lay in wood, which they take to the same quarter." In 1784, Volney,^° found this once flourishing insular city in a still more decayed condition : " Not a single wall is remaining of all that multitude of houses, which, according to Strabo, were built with more stories than even those of Rome. The liberty enjoyed by the inhabitants made it very populous, and it sub- sisted by naval commerce, manufactures, and arts. At present the island is deserted ; nor has tradition even retained the memory of a spring of fresh water in its environs, which the people of Aradus discovered at the bottom of the sea, and from which they drew water, in time of war, by means of a leaden bell, and a leathern pipe fitted to its bottom." 2. Zemari^^^ {i. e. the inhabitants of the country or town of Zemar), is mentioned in Gen. x. 18 as a Canaanitish tribe, coming immediately after the peo- ple of Arad. It probably denotes the inhabitants of the district of Simyra or Ximyra, a place at the western base of Lebanon.^^ Shawns saw, " about ^0 Travels, Vol. II. p. 175 of the English Translation. • T : 2'^ Mannert, loc. cit. p. 300. Comp. Bochart's Phaleg. p. 347. J. D. Michaelis' Spicileg. Part II. p. 49. 23 Travels, p. 269. Comp. Pococke, loc. cit. and note 268, and Mmmdrell, p. 34. 72 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. twenty-four miles to the SS.E. of Tortosa, fthe ancient Antaradus] other considerable ruins, known by the name of Sumi^ah^ with several rich plantations of mulberry and other fruit trees, growing within and round about them. These, from the very name and situation, can be no other than the remains of the ancient Simyra or Ximyra, as Strabo calls it, the seat formerly of the Zemarites." 3. Arki,^^ (i. e. the inhabitants of Arka,) is like- wise mentioned in Gen. x. 17, along with the two preceding tribes, as belonging to the posterity of Ca- naan, and it was, no doubt, like them, a settlement of Phoenicians. Josephus and Jerome^^ have remarked that it was by the Arkites the town of Arka was found- ed, which lay to the north of Tripoli, at the western base of Lebanon. That place is also noticed by the Arabian writers of the middle age, as well as by the Europeans who wrote the history of the crusades. It 31 "p^y, «^. ^^ ['^ ^; See Abulfeda's Tab. Syriae, p, 11 of Koeliler's edit. Comp. Michaelis^ Spicileg. Part II. p. 23. A. SchuUens, Index to his Vita Saladini, under " Arka." Cellarius. Orb. Antiq. Tom II. p. 457. From the circumstance of the Emperor Alexander Severus having been born in this town, it received the name of Csesarea Libani. See Mannert, p. 391. With respect to coins with the inscription *! /D p'^K/ «. e. Arcse Caesariae, see Kopp's Bilder und Schriften der Vorzeit, Part II. p. 205. '* Josephus Antiqq. I. 6. 2. 'A^ovxaTo; %\ tATifftv "A^Ktiv ^^ Badia, a desert. ARABIA. 129 nature of their country, to lead the life of nomades or wandering shepherds. Hence wq find, that since the days of Abraham till now, this extensive region has been traversed by pastoral tribes who, in their mode of life, their manners, customs, and government, have always continued, and still contintie, unalterably the same. As it is only in a few places that the soil is susceptible of cultivation, their chief means of subsistence is the care of their cattle, which are content with the v/Ild her- bage of the desert. When the grass is not very abundant, they are compelled to traverse large tracts of this stinted pasture during a single day. The Be- douins consist of a great many distinct tribes, which are independent of each other, and claim a particular district as their own property ; the only difference between them and other pastoral nations being, that a much greater extent of territory is required for each, , in order to furnish nourishment for their cattle during the whole year. " Each of these tribes is collected in one or more camps, which are dispersed through the country, and which make a successive progress over the whole, in proportion as it is exhausted by the cattle ; hence it is that, within a great extent, a a few spots only are inhabited, which vary from one daj' to another ; but as the entire space is necessary for the annual subsistence of the tribe, whoever encroaches on it is deemed a violator of property ; this is, with them, the law of nations. If, therefore, a tribe, or any of its subjects, enter upon a foreign ter- ritory, they are treated as enemies and robbers, and a war breaks out. Now, as all the tribes have affini- ties with each other, by alliances of blood, or treaties, K. 130 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. leagues are formed, vvliicli render these wars more or less general. The tribe which loses the battle, strikes its tents, removes to a distance by forced marches, and seeks an asylum among its allies. The enemies, satisfied with their success, drive their herds farther on, and the fugitives soon after return to their former situation. But the slaughter made in these engage- ments frequently sows the seeds of hatreds whicii perpetuate these dissensions."* As they are constantly changing their residence, they are constrained to have their dwellings in tents, which can easily be transported from place to place. It was on account of this peculiarity that the Greeks gave the nomadic Arabs the name of Skenites, i, e. " Dwell- ers in tents." Such was Abraham's mode of life; and it became the settled custom of the Arab tribes, who descended from him by Ishmael and the sons of Ke- turah, Gen. xiii. 3, 5. 1 Chron. i. 32. 2 Chron. xiv.^ 45. Ps. Ixxx. 7. Isa. xiii. 20. Jer. xlii. 29, 31. " Their camps," says Volney, " are formed in a kind of irregular circle, composed of a single row of tents, with greater or less intervals. These tents, made of goats or camels hair, are black or brown,f in which they differ from those of the Turkmans, which are white. They are stretched on three or four pickets, only five or six feet high, which give them a very flat appearance at a distance. One of these camps seems like a number of black spots ; but the piercing eye of the Bedouin is not to be deceived. Each tent, in- habited by a family, is divided, by a curtain, into two • Volney, Vol. I. p. 398 of the Eng. Trans, f Song of Solomon, ch, i. 5. ARABIA. 131 apartments, one of which is appropriated to the women. The empty space, within the large circle, serves to fold their cattle every evening. They never have any intrenchments ; their only advanced guards and patroles are dogs. Their horses remain saddled and ready to mount on the first alarm ; but, as they are utter strangers to all order and discipline, these camps, always easy to surprise, afford no defence in case of an attack. Accidents, therefore, very frequently happen, and cattle are carried off every day ;— a species of marauding war in which the Arabs are very experienced."* The heads of the tribes are called Sheikhs,'^^ a name which properly denotes " an old man ;" but, • Volney, Vol. I. p. 397 of the Eng. Trans. o - ^' j^yw^ [On the different acceptations of the name Nie- buhr has the following remarks :— " Of all the titles in use among the Arabian nobility, the most ancient and most com- mon is that of Schiech. The Arabian language, which is, in other respects, so rich, is poor in terms expressive of the dis- tinctions of rank. The word schiech has, in consequence of this circumstance, various significations ; sometimes it is the title of a prince or noble, at other times it is given to a profes- sor in an academy, to a man belonging to a mosque, to the descendant of a saint, to the mayor of a town; and, in Oman^ even to the chief of the Jewish synagogue. Although thus seemingly prostituted, yet is not this title despised by the great. A schiech of an ancient Arabian family would not change the name for that of sultan, which has been assumed by some petty princes in the highlands of Hadramaut and Jaffa. The schiechs of illustrious families, among the Bedouins, liave reason for considering their genealogy as a matter of some consequence. Some of them are descended from ancestors who 132 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. 3ike the Spanish SenoFj (Segnor,) and the Italian Signor, is used as a title of honour. When several lesser tribes find themselves unable to defend their property against hostile neighbours, they unite and elect a common chief. Some superior Sheikhs will occasionally submit, (with the consent of the in- ferior leaders,) to one greater than themselves, styled a Sheikh-el-Kbir,22 or Sheikh-es-Shuiukh ;23 and the whole tribe then assumes the name of the great sheikh. " These tribes," says Volney,* " are distin- guished from each other by the name of their respec- tive chiefs, or by that of the ruling family; and, when they speak of any of the individuals who compose them, they call them the children of such a chief, though they may not be all really of his blood, and were princes before the days of Mahomet and the first caliphs. As it would be difficult, among a people who have no public registers or historians to make out regular tables of genea- logies reaching farther than ten centuries backwards, the A rabiaiis have contrived a compendious mode of verifying their lines of descant. From among their later ancestors they select some illustrious man from whom they are universally allowed to be descended. This great man, again, is as universally al- lowed to be descended from some other great man ; and thus they proceed backwards to the founder of the family. The iSherrilFes and Seids, by the same expedient, prove the origin of their family to have been with Mahomet, and thus abbreviate their genealogy, without rendering it doubtful." Travels, Kng. Trans. Vol. II. p. 18. i 3 JO-o ^ O.- Volney, Vol. I. p. 401 of the Eng. Trans). ARABIA. 133 iie himself may have been long since dead. They say Banu-Temim, Aulad-Tai,^* the sons of Temim, and the children of Tai," i. e. the tribe of Temim, the tribe of Tai.^^ They are all soldiers born, but pur- sue the rearing of cattle. The riches of the Bedouins, like that of the patriarchs in early times, consist in cattle, Gen. xiii, 2, 5; xxiv. 35. Job i. 11, 13, 17. The Sheikhs of the larger tribes possess a great many camels, partly to be employed in their wars, partly to transport the goods of merchants from town to town, and partly to be disposed of by sale or barter. The smaller and poorer tribes confine themselves more to the rearing of sheep. The Bedouins leave tillage and other hard labour to the Arab peasants, who are often their vassals. The latter dwell in wretched huts, the former in tents.^^ '-* (♦.A^J aJo, ^Jb ^ "^A . In the same manner we find ^KnCi^^ >J^ Sons of Israel, i.e. IsraeHtes; ^l'^ *J3 Sons •• T : • •• : ...... of Levi, i. e. Levites ; p^ V ^J3 Sons of Amnion, i. e. Am- monites. ^^ " This mode of expression is even applied, by metaphor, to the names of countries; the usual phrase for denoting their inhabitants, being to call them the " children" of such a place. Thus, the Arabs say Oulad Masr [-xa^ .i^^Q, the Egyp- tians, Oulad Sham, [_^UJi ^^\^\J, the Syrians. They would also say, " Oulad Franse, the French ; Oulad Moskou, the Kussians, — a remark which is not unimportant to ancient his- tory." Volney's Travels, Eng. TransL, Vol. I. p. 401. ^^ See Niebuhr, loc. cit. p. 379. The Arabs who practise agriculture are called Fellahs, -^ from ^i to till^ to C' t^ 134 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. ' The government is hereditary in the family of each Sheikh, though it is not always the oldest son that succeeds, but often that individual of their num- ber, or of the near relatives, who may be selected as the ablest. They pay little or nothing to their rulers. Each of the lesser Sheikhs is the representative and leader of his own family; and the superior sheik must treat them rather as allies than as subjects. When they are dissatisfied with his rule, and yet are not strong enough to depose him, they drive their cattle to another tribe, who are commonly very glad to strengthen their own party. It is the interest of every Sheikh to govern well his own adherents, otherwise they may depose or abandon him. *' Hence their situation is subject to great vicissitudes, accord- ing to the good or bad conduct of their chiefs. Some- times a feeble tribe raises and aggrandizes itself, whilst another, which was powerful, falls into dec^y, or perhaps is entirely annihilated; not that all its members perish, but they incorporate themselves with some other tribe ; and that is the consequence of their internal constitution.'** The Bedouins have never been wholly subdued by foreigners, and, from the nature of their country and habits, such an event is scarcely possible.*"^ Hence, plough. The Bedouins, who pursue the rearing of cattle, re- gard them as of less noble birth than themselves. See Burck- hardCs Travels in Syria, p. 977. (Ger. Transl.) « Volney, Vol. I. p. 400 of the Eng, Transl. '^ Niebuhr, loc cit. p. 381. In confirmation of the above view, Volney remarks, (Travels, Eng. Transl. Vol. I. p. 401) : " The government of this society is at once republican, aristo- ARABIA. 135 as the independent lords of their own deserts, they think themselves entitled to demand tribute, or pre- sents, from all travellers and caravans that pass through. The Sultans of Turkey tacitly acknow- ledge this right, inasmuch as they cause a sum of money, and a present of clothing, to be given yearly to every Arab tribe on the route to Mecca, on condi- tion of their not filling up the wells nor molesting the pilgrims. These gifts, however, are frequently re- fused by the conductors of the great pilgrim-caravan, who endeavour to make a way for themselves and their fellow-travellers by force of arms, regarding the Bedouins as rebels. The latter, whenever they find craticalj and even despotic, without exactly corresponding with any of these forms. It is republican, inasmuch as the people have a great influence in all affairs, and as nothing can be transacted without the consent of a majority. It is aristocra- tlcal, because the famihes of the Shaiks possess some of the pre- rogatives which everywhere accompany power ; and, lastly, it is despotic, because the principal Shaik has an indefinite and al- most absolute authority, which, when he happens to be a man of credit and influence, he may even abuse ; but the state of these tribes confines even this abus3 to very narrow limits. For if a chief should commit an a€t of injustice, if, for example, he should kill an Arab, it would be almost impossible for him to escape punishment, the resentment of the offended party would pay no respect to his dignity ; the law of retaliation would be put in force, and should he not pay the blood, he would be in- fallibly assassinated, which, from the simple and private life the Shaiks lead in their camps, would be no difficult thing to effect. If he harasses his subjects by severity, they abandon him and go over to another tribe. His own relations take ad- vantage of his misconduct to depose him, and advance themselves to his station." 136 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHy. themselves in sufficient strength, offer a stout resist- ance, and often succeed in beating the escort and plundering the caravans. The smaller mercantile caravans are also liable to be plundered, when the tribe that offers to protect them on their journey happens to be at feud with neighbouring tribes.^® Every Bedouin, moreover, thinks himself justified in plundering all travellers whom he may meet, if they are not accompanied by some members of his own tribe. If the order to strip be unresistingly obeyed, the traveller has commonly no reason to dread any farther ill-usage, and may even receive back part of his most necessary clothing; but the least shew of op- position endangers his life. On the other hand, the stranger who takes shelter in a Bedouin's tent, and places himself under his protection, is secure against all violence to his person, or robbery of his property. He is even treated with generous hospitality — a vir- tue for which the East has always been celebrated, but which is no where more conspicuous than among the Bedouin Arabs. ^^ 28 Niebtihr, loc cit. p. 382. ^'■> Burckhardt, loc. cit. p. 638, ^95. See also D'Arvieux and Mayeux. Volney says, (Eng. Trans. Vol. I. p. 411): " The Arabs have often been reproached with this spirit of ra- pine ; but, without wishing to defend it, we may observe, that one circumstance has not been sufficiently attended to, which is, that it only takes place towards reputed enemies, and is con- sequently founded on the acknowledged laws of almost all na- tions. Among themselves they are remarkable for a good faith, a disinterestedness, a generosity which would do honour to the most civilized people. What is there more noble than that right of asylum, so respected among all the tribes ? A stranger, ARABIA. 137 That the Bedouin tribes of Arabia Deserta, (like the Arabs generally), belong to the great Semitic race, is asserted in the Scripture, and is confirmed by their language, which is closely related to the Aramaic and Hebrew. Aram, the fifth son of Shem, who gave name to the extensive country of Syria,* had, (according to Gen. X. 23), four sons, of whom the eldest was Uz. The same name was also borne by the eldest son of Nahor,3o (Gen. xxii. 21), the brother of Abraham, both descending in a direct line from Arphaxad, Shem's third son, Gen. xi. 10. From one or other of nay even an enemy, touches the tent of the Bedouin, and, from that instant, his person becomes inviolable. It would be rec- koned a disgraceful meanness, an indelible shame, to satisfy even a just vengeance at the expense of hospitality. Has the Bedouin consented to eat bread and salt with his guest ? No- thing can induce him to betray him. The power of the Sul- tan himself would not be able to force a refugee from the pro- tection of a tribe, but by its total extermination. The Bedouin, so rapacious without his camp, has no sooner set his foot with- in it, than he becomes liberal and generous." [Whether it be from the partial intercourse of former travellers with the Be- douin tribes, or that their character has undergone deteriora- tion, yet certain it is that a great many recent travellers speak unfavourably even of their alleged virtues. See especially the graphic and lively sketches of the American Stephens.] — Tr. "" See Bib. Cab. Vol. XVII. p. 205. ^^ Nothing is more common among all nations than for the name of an early progenitor to be borne by many of his descen- dants. Thus, ill the genealogy of Arphaxad's race, (Gen. xi. 24, 2G), we find two Nahors, grandfather and grandson [Terah's father and son]. A third Uz appears at a much later period in the genealogy of Esau's family, Gen. xxxvi. 26". 138 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. these two individuals the land of Uz obtained its name — the country inhabited by Job (chap. i. 1), who is described as a man that possessed every tiling which constitutes the riches of a Sheikh or Bedouin chief.^^ The land of Uz is mentioned nowhere else in Scripture, except in the writings of Jeremiah. In his prophecy (chap. xxv. 20), in describing the na- tions round about Judaea, that were to drink succes- sively of the cup of Jehovah's fury, he mentions " all the kings of Uz." From this we may conclude that the country was of some extent, for by kings must at least be understood independent emirs or heads of tribes. In another place (Lament, iv. 21), the pro- phet says : " Rejoice, O Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz ;" from which it may be inferred that the Edomites had at one period extended their dominion as far as Uz, since, in the passage of Jeremiah, cited before (chap. xxv. 20, 21), the latter is expressly dis- tinguished from Edom. We cannot, then, greatly err if we consider Uz as the northern part of Arabia Deserta, between Damascene Syria and the Euphrates. According to Ptolemy, the Ausitse [or Aisitae] dwelt in this district, which was near Babylonia and Chal- daea, and b}' them he probably understood *' the inhabitants of the land of Uz," or, according to the Greek form of the word, Ausitis. This is also the ^^ " His cattle were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household, (i. e, a vast number of servants), and he was greater than all the sons of the east." Comp. D. Arvieux's Manners of the Bedouin Arabs, p. 61, 178- ARABIA. 139 name by which the ancient Greek translation renders Uz, in Job i. 1.32 A tribe, related to Uz, was Buz, which is men- tioned by the prophet Isaiah, (chap. xxv. 23), along with the other Arab tribes. Buz was the second son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, Gen. xxii. 21. To this tribe, doubtless, belonged Elihu the Buzite, who appears as one of the speakers in the book of Job, (cliap. xxxii. 2). According to the genealogies in the book of Gene- sis, other tribes of Arabia Deserta, (some of whom are mentioned by Greek and Roman writers), trace their descent back to Abraham/' partly through Ishmael, and partly through the six sons he had by Keturah. Abraham's descendants by Hagar, an Egyptian slave, (Gen. xvi. 1 ; xxvi. 2), are sometimes called Haga- renes [or Hagarites], after the mother, at other times Ishmaelites after the son, though the tribes known by these distinctive names seem to have occupied diffe- ^- Other, but less probable conjectures, as to the locality of the land of Uz, are discussed in the author's Prolegomena to his Scholia on Job, p. 26, et seqq. of the 2d Edit. ^^ The Arabian accounts so far agree with those of the Bible, that the people of that c;iuntry also trace their origin to two progenitors. One of them is Joktan, called by them I » i* Kahhtan, the great-grandson of Shem, (Gen. x. 2o), whose descendants spread themselves through southern Arabia or the Arabian peninsula. The other is Ismaei, whom the Bedouins acknowledge as their ancestor. See Edxv. Po- cache's Specim. Histor. Arab. p. 39, 423, 469 of the 2d Edit. 140 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHT. rent countries. The former,^^ (according to 1 Chron. V. 10, 19, 22), dwelt on the boiders of Gilead, or the district of the tribe of Reuben, with whom, in the days of Saul, they carried on a war, but were de- feated and dispossessed of their territory. In Ps. Ixxxiii. 7, they are mentioned, along with the Ishmae- lites and Moabites. The apocryphal book of Ba- ruch says of them, (ch. i. 35 ; iii. 23), that they " sought wisdom upon earth,"^^ from which it may be inferred that they possessed a certain degree of cul- ture. At the period to which the passage in Chro- nicles refers, the Hagarenes must have formed a very numerous tribe, for it is said, (I Chron. v. 19 — 2 J), that the Reubenites took from them, and their allies the Iturgeans and Naphishaeans,* a hundred thousand prisoners, fivet thousand camels, two hundred and fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand asses. Yet it is possible that the text there, as in many other places in Chronicles, may have been corrupted by transcrib- ers. The AgrcBJ, who are mentioned by Eratosthe- nes^'^ and Pliny,^'' among the tribes of the interior of ^* CDHJin. Ps. Ixxxiii. 7- LD^N"i:in, 1 Chron. v. 10, 19. ^^ O" TS Vio) "AyU,^ o\ l/i,^i]T0UVT?5 TKV (JVVniTlV Of l-TTI Tfj; yvi? . • In the Eng. Version it is " Jetur, and Nephish, and No- dab."— Tr. ■\ So in Rosenmuller, (after the Sept. and Luther), but in the English Bible it is 50,000, which is the reading of the printed Hebrew text and the Vulg. — Tr. 3G In Strabo, XVI. 4. 2. ^7 Hist. Nat. L. VI. Cap. 28. ARABIA. 14i Arabia, are not different from the Hagarenes of the Bible. Hagar^^ (pronounced by the Arabs Hadjar), is still the name of a province of Arabia, which is bounded on the east by the Persian Gulf, on the north by the district round Bassora, on the west by Nadjed, and on the south by Oman.^^ This province, which is properly called Lachsa or El-Hhassa,"^^* lies indeed far to the south of where the Hagarites of Scripture are represented as having dwelt ; but as we have seen, that at an early period they were driven from their first abode, it is quite possible that they gradually moved south, and at length settled in this district, which has retained their name. The greater part of it is inhabited by various tribes of Bedouins, who acknowledge the supremacj^ of the tribe of Beni- Chaled. They are chiefly supported by the rearing of camels, several thousands of which are yearly sent for sale to Syria. The asses of Lachsa are also cele- brated, and fetch a high price from foreigners. In Ps. Ixxxiii. 7, the Ishmaelites are expressly dis- tinguished from the Hagarenes. The former name pro- perly designates all the descendants of Ishmael, who, according to the account in the book of Genesis, (with which the Arab tradition agrees/'") had twelve sons, each of whom became the leader or prince of a tribe, Geti. xxv. 12 — 16. They settled in that part ^^ Niebuhr s Descript. of Arabia, p. 339. Comp. RommeVs Abulfedea Arab. Descriptio, p. 87. * Pocock's Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 46. 142 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. of Arabia which lay south-east of Palestine, extend- ing from Chavilah or Chaulan to Shur, on the borders of Egypt, (ver. 18). The Ishmaelites are mentioned as a distinct people so early as the time of Jacob, Abraham's grand-son ; for it is said in Gen. xxxvii. 25; xxxix. 1, that it was a caravan of Ishmaelite mer- chants, on their vvay from Gilead to Egypt, that bought Joseph from his brethren. In another part of the narrative, indeed, (ch. xxxvii. 28,) these traders are styled Midianites, who also dwelt in Arabia, and were descendants of Abraham, but through Ketu- rah. In the book of Judges, the names of " Midia- nites," and " Ishmaelites," seem, likewise, to be used as nearly synonimous. Comp, Judg. viii. 22, 24, 26, with ch. vii 12. It has hence been concluded that, by the Ishmaelites, we are to understand Arabs ge- nerally ; and, in two of the above quoted passages in Genesis, (viz. ch. xxxvii. 25, xxxix. 1,) we find the word " Arabs," substituted in the ancient Oriental Versions of Onkelos, Jonathan, the Syriac, Saadias, and the Arabic translation edited by Erpenius. In one of the places referred to in the book of Judges, (ch. viii. 24,) it is said that after Gideon had vanquish- ed the Midianites, he requested of his countrymen to give up the ear-rings of their prey, " for, (it is added,) they had golden ear-rings, because they were - Ishmaehtes." It would seem that, in consequence of their trade, they had become richer than the children of Israel. There is no mention of " Ishmaelites," either in the Greek, Roman, or Arabic* writers. The twelve sons of Ishmael, who are mentioned by name in Genesis, ch. xxv. 13 — 15, were the princes * Comp. Note 33. ARABIA. 143 or sheikhs of their respective tribes. ^^ The latter are said to have lived " in villages or tents, with hedges or enclosures,"'^'^ for their cattle, (ver. 16,) — following the same mode of life as the Bedouins of the present day, and having the same form of government. The names of Ishmael's first and second sons were Nebaioth and Kedar,'^' which are at once recognized in the Nabathsei and Cedrei of the Greeks and Romans. They are joined together by Pliny. '*^ in the same way as we find them connected by Isaiah, (ch. Ix. 7,) when he says : — All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to thee, And Nebaioth's rams shall be thy sacrifice. The Nabatseans had spread themselves not only in Desert Arabia, but also in Arabia Petrgea, and even in *^ Dn^?^7 CD *^^*Si^ J princes of their peoples, ig. their tribes. St. JeromCj in his Quaestt. in Genes., (Cap. XXV.), correctly renders this by (pCXu^^ai, id est, principes multarum tribuum. ^' Onn^pll DnnVnn- rin the Eng, vers, it is *' by their towns and by their castles." But the former word de- notes a moveable village of tents, (called by the Tartars a horde,) and the latter the pens or folds for cattle and sheep, erected for security in time of war. — Tr.'\ * "l"^p1 r)^2^« In the Arabic genealogies, also, both K — JuJ or (...XjU ai^d JtXA3 are mentioned as sons of Ish- mael. See Fococke'^s Specimen Histor. Arab. p. 46 of the second Edit. *^ Hist. Nat. L. V. Cap. 11. His Arabes junguntur, ab Oriente Canchlaei, a meridie Cedrei, qui deinde ambo Naba- taeis. ^44 . BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Arabia Felix ; and hence we find the name of Naba- thsea employed sometimes in a wider and sometimes in a more restricted acceptation. Josephus and Jerome say that it denotes the whole tract of country between the Euphrates and the Red Sea, being a part of Arabia.^^ When Judas Maccabaeus, with his brother Jonathan, had crossed the Jordan, they reach- ed, after a three days march, the country of the Na- bathseans, who gave them a very friendly reception.'*^ According to Artemidorus/^ a Greek geographer, who lived about a hundred years before the Christian aera, Nabathaea was a populous country, rich in pas- tures, upon the ^lanitic Gulf, [an arm of the Red Sea.] The same thing is affirmed by Diodorus Sicu- lus,'^'' who also places the Dead Sea in the country of the Nabataeans ;'^^ and remarks that it is a desolate and arid region, with but few fertile spots. All this suits the description of Arabia Petrsea, where both Stra- bo*^ and Pliny^o expressly place the Nabatfeans.^' ■** Josephus Antiqq. I. 12, 4. He says, in speaking of the twelve sons of Ishmael, Oiiroi 'xa.tra.v t^v «{t' Ev(p^u70V xa,^rix,evauv 9r^os jy«v rhv x'^^ar cvc- f^dffxvTtS' iift It oSroi 01 ruv 'Aoeiliuv iB^ves, x,ai vaS (pvXus ut' avTuv xaXoveri. St. Jerome loc. cit. : A Nabajoth omnis regio ab Euphrate usque ad mare rubrum Nabathena usque hodie dicitur, quae pars Arabiae est. *^ 1 Blacc. V. 24, 25. Josephus Antiqq. XII. 8. 3. 46 In Strabo XVI. 4. 18. ^- III. 43. ^^ u 43. 4^ Loc. cit. n^of rriv IliT^av, rhv ruv IJufiaTaiaJV Ku7.ovfJt.iyuv 'A^a.(iuv. •^° Loc. cit. VI. 28. Nabataei oppidum includunt Petra no- mine in convalle ; and XII. 27, in Nabataeis, qui sunt ex Arabia con termini Syriae. ^^ The Arabic writers speak of a tribe called LiaJ Nabal, ARABIA. 145 The Kedarenes dwelt in black tents, (Song of So- lomon, i. 5,) which is the colour of those of the Be- douin Arabs, and in nomadic villages, (Isa. xlii. !!_,) under sheikhs or leaders of tribes, (Ezek. xxvii. 21.) They were rich in cattle, (Isa. Ix. 7. Jer. xlix. 29. Ezek. xxvii. 21,) and warlike, being peculiarly expert in the use of the bow. Isa. xxi. 16, 17. Ps. cxx. 4, 5, 7. The name of Kedarenes seems also to be used in a more extended sense, to desigate the Bedouin tribes generally; and the Jewish rabbis are in the habit of calling the Arabic language the Kedarene.^^ The seat of this tribe is not particularly mentioned in scripture. Stephen of Byzantium, ^^ reckons them as belonging to Arabia Felix ; and Theodoret^^ men- tions that, in his day, they drove their cattle for pas- ture, as far as the neighbourhood of Babylon. The third, fourth, and fifth sons of Ishmael were Ahdeel, Mibsam, and Mishma, (Gen. xxv. 14, 15,) but they are no where else mentioned in the Bible; nor is any notice taken of Arabian tribes of these or similar names in any profane writer. But the sixth son of Ishmael, Diimah,^^ appears in Isa. xvi. 11, as giving name to an Arab tribe, against which a short prophetic denunciation is directed. Arabian writers mention two places of this name, '' Under the word Ks^^av/ra/. What St. Jerome says in his Comment, on Isa. xlii. 1 1, is very vague: Kedar inhahitabilis est regie trans Aiabiara Saracenorum. ^* In his Comment at Ps. cxx. o/ Ti vovrou (roZ Kr^Ko^, olt'o- 146 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Dumat-el- Irak^^^ i.e. Dumah of Irak, and Dumat- el-Djendel,^'^ i.e. Diimah of the Rock, also Syrian Dumah.^^ The Dumah of Scripture is probably the latter, which lies in a valley on the borders of the Sj'rian desert, towards Irak, seven (or, according to others, five) days journey from Damascus, and has a strong castle on an eminence.^^ Some trace of Ishmael's seventh son, Massa,^^ (Gen. XXV. 14,) was preserved in the Masanoi, an Arabian tribe, which Ptolemy^^ locates in the hilly country of Arabia Felix, on the road between Egypt and Babylon. The name of Ishmael's eighth son is uncertain ; for, «6 ... ., .. S7 . . \. .. ^^ See RommeVs Abulfed. Arab. Descrip. p. 98, the extract from Yakuti's Geogr. Diction, in Michaelis' Supplem. p. 420, and in Freytag's Notes to the Histor. Halebi, edited by him, (p. 52) ; and Niehuhr^s Descript. of Arabia, p. 344. In the last men- tioned work, the position is precisely laid down as in " the hilly country of Dsyof-al-Sirhan, among the monntains of Shamer, in Syria, which are reckoned as belonging to the Arabian pro- vince of Nedjed." St. Jerome, (on Tsa. xxi. 1 1.) says that Du- mah was a part of Idumasa: Est autem Duma non tota Idu- ma€a provincia, sed quaedam ejus regio, quae ad austrum ver- git et ab urbe Palaestinae, quae hodie dicitur Eleutheropolis, viginti distat millibus juxta quam sunt montes Seir. But, in that case, the Dumah he speaks of would be different from the one above described. Yet that the Dumah of Scripture was not very distant from Idumaea may be inferred from its being said, (in Isa. xxi. 11,) that a voice called to Dumah out of Seir. ^^ \W0' '' M«:r«.,), Geogr. V. 19. J - ARABIA. 147 in some manuscripts, it is written Chadad, in others Chadar^ and in others Hadar.^^ Ishmael's ninth son was Thema,^^ Gen. xxv. 15. This name is introduced in Jerem. xxv. 23^ between two other Arabic tribes, viz. Dedan and Buz. In Job vi. 19, mention is made of the " caravans of Thema." And in Isa. xxi. 14, it is said, that when the trading-caravans of Dedan should flee before their enemies into the desert, they would be refreshed with bread and water by the friendly people of the " land of Thema." Ptolemy calls Themme^* a town of Arabia Deserta. Identical with it, .(at least in name) is the castle of Tairaa,^^ mentioned by Abulfeda, which lies a few leagues east of Hedidj, on the cara- van road from Mecca to Damascus, and on the western borders of Nedjed. Jetur and Naphish,^^ the tenth and eleventh sons of Ishmael, are mentioned in 1 Chron. v. 19, 20, as tribes in alliance with the Hagarenes, with whom the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassites made war in Saul's days, and overcame them, (ver. x.) See ^^ T^n, l^in, ^I'ln- The Septuagint, has X.^Ji». [The Eng. Vers, has " Hadar."] ®* K^t^^n- '* Q'tfifirt, Geogr. V. 19. t ^^ I4.AJ. The name signifies " Desert." See Rommel, loc. cit. p. 96. There are three other places of this name, but none of them can be thought of here ; one is near Mecca, the second in Yemen, and the third, according to 1 dris', also ia Yemen. 66 -)V0% ti?"*£):. 148 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. above at p. 140. We infer from this, that the Iturse- ans and Naphishaeans lived in the neighbourhood of the Gadites ; and, from the similarity of the former name, we naturally place them in Ituraea, that exten- sive hilly tract which separates Syria from the deserts of Arabia by several mountain ranges. Kedmah,^'^ the twelfth son of Ishmael, is mentioned no where else than in Gen. xxv. 15. The six sons which Abraham had by his concubine Keturah were Simran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Jishbak, and Shuach, Gen. xxv. 2. They had not, however, equal rights with Isaac, any more than had Ishmael. Abraham, we are told, sent them away with gifts or portions, and they all migrated towards the east, i. e. to Arabia, (ver. 5). It is only the descendants of the fourth of these sons of Keturah, viz. the 31idianitesy who appear to have formed a considerable tribe at a very early period. Even in Jacob's time, (Gen. xxxvii. "27, 28. Comp. xxv. 36), they are mentioned along with the trading Ishmael- ites; and there, as well as in Judges viii. 22, 24, they are spoken of (as we have remarked above at p. 142), as if they had been but one people. That they were occasionally in alliance with their neighbours the Moabites might be inferred from a passage in Gen. xxxvi. 35, but it is still more evident from its being said, (at Num. xxii. 3, 4, 7), that, the elders or leaders of Midian consulted with those of Moab as to how they might arrest the progress of the Israelites. Soon ABABIA. 149 after this, many of the latter were enticed to idolatry by women of Moab and Midian, Num. xxv. 1, 6, 14, et seqq. With a view to prevent the contagion from spreading, a body of Israelites, to the number of 12,000, was commanded to attack them, and destroy their cities, Num. xxxi. 2. The captives and spoil, were collected in the plains of Moab, (ver. 1 1 ). Though the Midianites must have been very much weakened by this overthrow, yet they subsequently recovered their strength, for after the Israelites had obtained possession of Palestine, they were brought under the yoke of the Midianites for seven years, (Judg. vi. 1,) until delivered by Gideon, (ch. vii. 1.) It does not appear that the two nations came into collision after that period. The chief town of the Midianites was 3Iadian ; and even in the days of Eusebius and Jerome,^^ there were traces of it on the river Arnon, not far from Areopolis, the former capital of the Moabites. Both Midian, and the kindred tribe of Ephah,^^ were fa- mous for their breed of camels ; and to this there is an allusion in the picture of the future golden age in the prophecy of Isaiah, (ch. Ix. 6) :— • " A multitude of camels shall cover thee, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah." That man}'- of the Bedouin tribes are chiefly em- ployed in the rearing and sale of camels has been al- ready remarked. The Midianites who dwelt to the east of Palestine, in Arabia Deserta, are not to be ^' In his Onomasticon, under " Madian.'' nS^y from Midian's, eldest son, Gen. xxv. 4. 150 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. confounded with those who settled farther south, in Arabia Petraea, on the iElanitic Gulf" The latter will come under our notice afterwards. The sixth and youngest son of Keturah was Shuach, Gen. XXV. 2. To the tribe that descended from him Bildad, one of Job's friends, belonged, for he is called, (Job. ii. 11,) '' a Shuchite." It has been conjectured, with some probability, that the Schuchites were the same people as those designated by Ptolemy and Stephan of Byzantium, the Saccsei and Sauchitae, who were neighbours of the Agrsei and the Ausitae.'i Jokshan, the second son of Keturah, had two sons, Slieba and DedanP (Gen. xxv. 3,) whose posterity formed distinct tribes. The former is called, by the Greek and Latin translators, Saba, and his descen- dants appear to have settled in the vicinity of Uz, and to have adopted the predatory habits of Bedouins, for they are mentioned as having plundered the cattle of Job, (ch. i. 15). But they must not be confounded with two other tribes of the same name, who inhabit- ed the south of Arabia, were engaged in the pursuit of trade, and had quite a different origin.''^ ~^ Both Eusebius and Jerome mention, (loc. cit. Note 68,) the ruins of two towns that bore the name of Madian, one of which, (above mentioned), was in Arabia Deserta, and the other lay on the Red Sea. "^^ Ptolemy's Geog. V. 15. Baram/af ^u^etg, vn k'X avetro- ■^5 They were descended from Cush, the son of Ham, (Gen. X. 7,) and from Jock tan, a son of Eber, (Gen. x. 28), Vaier, (in his Comment, on Genesis, p. 243.) and Gesenius, (in his Mao ARABIA. 151 The descendants of Jokshan's second son Dedan Feem to have lived in the neighbourhood of Idumsea ; for the prophet Jeremiah (chap. xlix. 8), calls on them to consult their safety, because the calamity of the sons of Esau, i. e. the Idumseans, was at hand. The same prophet (chap. xxv. 23), connects them with Theraa and Buz, two other tribes of Desert or Stony Arabia; as does Ezekiel (chap. xxv. 13), with Theman, a district of Edom. Another tribe of the . same name, but of different origin, (Gen. x. 7), dwelt in the south of Arabia, on the Persian Gulf, and is mentioned below. In Gen. xxv. 3, Ashshurim, Le- tushim, and hmmmim,^^ are introduced as sons of nual Lexicon under ^?!2^) are of opinion, that the three T : Shebas were not different tribes, but the same tribe derived, according to different traditions, from different prog-enitors. But all the genealogies in the tenth chapter of Genesis are evidently recorded by one and the same writer, and it is very unlikely that he would have classed the same tribe first among the Hamites at v. 7, and then among the Shemites at v. 28. It is true that, in v. 7, Sheba and Dedan are put together as in ch. xxv. 3 ; but, in the former place, they are mentioned as descendants of Raghmah, a Hamite ; in the latter of Jokshan, a Shemite. In confirmation of his own opinion Vater re- marks on the similarity of this name Jokshan, ^Si^p* with Jok- tan, (Gen. x. 26,) the name of the great progenitor of the Arab tribes, whose name he writes |np*« But it should be *^p*j so that the two names differ in the characters and ^» which are never interchanged, but are essentially distinct. The repetition of the same proper names, in early times, has already been alluded to in Note 30. 7' D^K^I LD^rob^ Gn'lSi^i^. Both the chai- dee Paraphrasts, Onkelos and Jonathan, take these names 152 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Dedan, but are no where else spoken of; they were probably small tribes, which, in course of time, be- came intermixed with others, and so lost their dis- tinctive appellations. A trace of the name Leum- mim may have been preserved in the Allumaiotee,* who are placed by Ptolemy''^ in the centre of Arabia. 76 The prophet Jeremiah mentions as being near the Kedarenes, the principalities or territories of Cha- for appellatives, and are followed by the Persian trans- lator. They differ, however, in the meaning they attach to them. Onkelos has ; " they divided themselves into camps, tents, and islands." Jonathan : " they Avere merchants, arti- zans, and heads of tribes." The Persian Transl. : " they were princes, great men, and (became) nations.'' It is certainly re- markable, that the names of the three sons of Dedan should alone be in the plural form, and it might seem to intimate that the words should be regarded as aj)pellatives. Yet the other ancient Versions take them for proper names, and the explana- tions of the Chaldee and Persian translators cannot be satisfac- torily established. See Rosenmliller's Scholia on Gen. xxv. 3. • 'AWevf/.xiurai. " Geogr. V. 15. ^^ Josephus (in his Antiqq. I. 15), gives an extract from Alexander Polyhistor, in which Cleodamus the prophet, also called Malchus, is introduced as stating, in his Jewish history, that Keturah bore several sons to Abraham, and of these he ex- pressly names these three, Aphera, Surim, and Japhra. From Surim it is added Assyria received its name, {a-^o 1ov^i)fjt, fui rnv 'AfftTvo'tciv xix.Xna^a.i). The two others, Aphera and Japhra, are said to have gone to Africa, and to have built the city of Aphra, whence Africa took its name &c. In two of these names we recognize the Hebrew HDV and O'm&^K* Japhra is perhaps HIDJ^j for which the LXX. put Ti(pag. Vater thinks that D■\1^^^J may have been really an ARABIA. 153 zor,'^'^ Jer. xlix. 28, 30, S3. This name seems to designate those Arabs, Avho, in the countries frequented by the Bedouins, possessed settled dwellings, and pursued agriculture ;7^ and they are therefore put in opposition to the Kedarenes, who dwelt in tents. Both are threatened with destruction by the hosts of Nebuchadnezzar; but it is added, that Chazor shall be a dwelling for wild beasts, and become a desolate region, never more to be inhabited by man.''^ Between Arabia Deserta and Arabia Petraea, there dwelt, in early times, the Ammonifes,^^ a considerable tribe, whose origin is traced to Ammon, a son of Lot, the nephew of Abraham ; for he is mentioned in Gen. xix. 14, 30 — 38, as the fruit of the incestuous intercourse between Lot and his younger daughter, Arabic tribe, since it is said, in Gen. xxv. 18, that the Ishmael- ites dwelt towards 11^^?, Ashur. [In the Eng. Version, " Assyria] T : : — ^^ ^"iyn denotes " a place hedged in or enclosed, a court or farm-yard," and then " a village, a canton." ''^ Delia Valle says, (when speaking of the different kinds of Arabs in Arabia Deserta, Travels, Part I. Letter 17) : " The meanest among them are the Hadhri, who always live in towns." They are the same with those whom Abulfaradj calls r*h\ -. and ^^^ ^^^' " P^°P^® °^ ^^^^ dwellings." Ed. Pococke's Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 2. 154 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. — his brother Moab being the son of the elder daugh- ter. The name Ammon signifies_, according to the mother's own explanation, " son of my people, or fa- mily," — Ben-Ammi.si The descendants of Ammon spread themselves towards the north-east, and ex- pelled a race of giants, the Zamzummim, from their possessions between the rivers Jabbok and Arnon. (Deut. ii. 20.) The latter river formed the sourhern boundary of the territory of Ammon towards that of Moab. When the Israelites invaded the country east of Jordan, with a view to penetrate into Canaan, they did not encroach on the strong frontiers of the Am- monites (Num. xxi. 24) ; but they took possession of a part of Bashan, which the Amorites had conquered from the Ammonites at an earlier period. It was this circumstance which gave occasion afterwards to the first war between the Ammonites and the Hebrews. The former demanded of the latter to be put again in possession of the lands which had been once seized by the Amorites, but were now occupied by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, Num. xxxii. 33. As they sought to enforce their claims by the sword, the Israelites, with Jephthah at their head, took the field »^ Gen. xix. 38. ^iN* ^^^^ ''W']^ ^t^ti:} i^yr\) ]i^V"03- De Wette (in his Critic. Rem. on the Hist, of Israel, p. 94), and Gesenius (in the Hall. Encyclop. Part III. p. 371), regard the whole story as a fabrication occasioned by the bitter national hatred of the Hebrews to the Ammonites ; but there is nothing in it at all improbable, nor inconsistent with those modes of thinking and acting that prevailed in very remote antiquity. ARABIA. 165 against them, defeated them, and retained possession of the disputed district. Soon after Saul had been crowned as king, yet had not been acknowledged by all (I Sam. x. 27), the Ammonites, under their king Nahash, attacked Gilead, but Mere defeated by Saul, who, after this victory, was universally acknowledged as king, in a solemn manner at Gilgal, 1 Sam. xi. During the persecutions to which David was a prey, the king of Ammon appears to have befriended him ; for, though that is not expressly recorded, we may in- fer it from the circumstance that_, on his accession to the throne of Israel, he sent messengers to Hanun, the son and successor of Nahash, to condole with him on his father's death, and this upon the ground, that " his father had shewn him kindness," 2 Sam. x. 2. Hanun, however, being persuaded by his counsellors that David's ambassadors were sent as spies, subject- ed them to the vilest treatment, by " shaving off the one half of their beards, and cutting off their garments in the middle." David being exasperated at this flagrant breach of the law of nations, dispatched Joab with an army, who took Rabbah, their capital, after a two years siege, and put most of the inhabitants to death, 2 Sam. ch. x. ; xi. 1 ; xii. 26 — 31. When David had to flee across the Jordan, before l.is rebel- lious son Absalom, one of those who met him with provisions, and other necessaries, was Shobi, a son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, 1 Sam. xvii. 27. At a subsequent period the Ammonites combined with the Moabites, and other neighbouring tribes, against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, but were defeated and spoiled, 2 Chron. xx. They sought to 156 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. maintain friendly relations with Uzziah by means of presents, 2 Chron. xxviii. 8, but having made war on bis son Jotham, they were by him subdued, and rendered for some years tributary, 2 Chron. xxvii. 5. Of the hostility which almost always prevailed be- tween the Ammonites and Hebrews, we have stand- ing evidence in the denunciations of the former in the writings of the prophets. Amos (chap. i. 13), threatens them with destruction, " because they ripped up the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border;" Zephaniah (chap. ii. 8), on account of their scornful reviling of Israel; Jeremiah, (xlix. 1 — 5), because they had seized the territory of the Gadites, who had been carried captive into Assyria; Ezekiel, (chap. xxii. 1), on account of their malignant exultation over the downfal of .Jerusalem. They joined themselves to Nebuchadnezzar in his invasion of Palestine, 2 Kings xxiv. 2. Gedaliah, the gover- nor of Judaea, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, was murdered by Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, at the insti- gation of Baalis, king of the Ammonites, Jerem. xl. 14 ; xli. 1 — 10. On the return of a part of the Jews from captivity, the Ammonites still shewed their hos- tility by combining with other tribes to prevent the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, Nehem. iv. 3. They are mentioned among the idolatrous nations with whom the Hebrews at that period had inter- course, and with whom they intermarried, Ezra ix. 1. Neh. xiii. 23, though Moses had expressly forbidden them ever to receive an Ammonite into their society, Deut. xxiii. 3. Proofs of their inveterate hatred of the Jews appear even at so late a period as the reiga ARABIA. 157 of Antiochus Epiphanes ; for, after Judas Maccabaeus, by his victory at Bethzur, had restored the temple service, and enabled his countrymen to throw off the Syrian yoke, they were attacked by some of the sur- rounding nations, and especially by the Idumeeans, with an Arabic tribe called Bayiau, and the Am- monites. They appear to have been then an inde- pendent peojjle, for they sent against Judas a consi- derable army, commanded by one Timotheus, who fought several battles with the Jews, but was defeated, 1 Mace. v. 6, 7, 8, 24 — 44. At a later period, when John Hyrcanus reigned in Judsea, we find mention made by Josephus*^ Qf ^ prince of Philadel- phia, the capital of the Ammonites, ^eno by name. In the second century of our era, Justin Martyr^^ calls them still a numerous people. But by the first half of the third century, we are informed by Ori- gen,s* that both Ammonites and Iduma^ans were comprehended under the general name of Arabians, their distinctive appellations having disappeared. The Ammonites are no where mentioned by Greek or Roman writers. The capital of the country was called Rabbath of the Ammonites, i. e. the Great City of the Ammonites, Deut. iii. 11; and also simply Rabbah, i. e. the Great,85 Josh. xiii. 25. Its capture by David, after »2 Antiqq. XIII. 8. 1. '3 In his Dialogue with Trypho, p. 346 of Jebb's Edit. xai 'AfictiiTuv iffrt *vv ttoXv ttXiJ^os. " In the First Book of his Comment, on Job. 158 BIBLTCAL GEOGRAPHY. a two 3'ears siege, has been already noticed. Joab had previously got possession of what is called " the city of waters," which was probably that part which lay on both sides of the river, by which the valley is traversed. Its entire destruction is threatened by the prophet Jeremiah, (chap. xlix. 2, 3). During the rule of the Egyptian Ptolemies over Syria, it re- ceived the name of Philadelphia, (no doubt from Ptolemy Philadelphus), yet continued to be most commonly designated by the ancient name of Rab- bat-Amana.^^ Josephus calls it Rahhatha^'^ Euse- bius and Jerome, Amman ; but, on the coins from Titus to Commodus, it is styled Philadelphia. It was at that period one of the most important cities of Arabia, and the district in which it lay was named from it Philadelphian Arabia.*^ Abulfeda calls it Amman,^^ and remarks that there were there, in his day, considerable ruins. These also have been more recently found by Seetzen^*^ and Burckhardt,^* the latter of whom gives a plan of the town, with the following description : — " The town lies along the banks of a river called 5^ 'Pa[i[iciTcifAavx. For example Polybius, (Book V. Cap 71 ), who mentions its capture by Antiochus the Great. 87 'P«/3«95 (nnS'^)» Archaeol. IV. 5. 3. T T - ^^ 'Aoet(i(a rtis ^iXa.hx the river Amman, and says it is a branch of the Serka or Zerka, (the ancient Jabbok.) 160 BIBLICAL GEOGUAPHY. of boxes occupies the place of the middle seats ; and, at the top of all, there is a third tier of boxes, exca- vated in the rocky side of the hill, upon the declivity of which the theatre is built. On both wings of the theatre are vaults. In front was a colonnade, of which eight Corinthian columns yet remain, besides four fragments of shafts ; they are about fifteen feet high, surmounted by entablatures ; — the workmanship is not of the best Roman times. Near the theatre is a build- ing, the details of which I was not able to make out exactly ; its front is built irregularly, without columns or ornaments of any kind. On entering, I found a semi-circular area, enclosed by a high wall, in which narrow steps were formed, running all round from bottom to top. The inside of the front wall, as well as the round walk of the area, is richly ornamented with sculptured ornaments. The roof, which once covered the whole building, has fallen down, and choaks up the interior in such a way as to render it difficult to determine whether the edifice has been a palace or destined for public amusements. Nearly opposite the theatre, to the northward of the river, are the remains of a temple, the posterior wall of which only remains, having an entablature, and several niches highly adorned with sculpture. Before this building stand the shafts of several columns, three feet in diamater. Its date appears to be anterior to that of all the other buildings of Amman, audits style of architecture is much superior. At some distance farther down the Wady stand a few small columns, probably the remains of a temple. The plain between the river and the northern hills is covered with ruins ARABIA. 161 of private buildings, extending from the church down to the columns ; but nothing of them remains except the foundations and some of the door posts. On the top of the highest of the northern hills stands the castle of Amman, a very extensive building ; it was an oblong square, filled with buildings, of which about as much remains as there does of the private dwellings in the lower town. The castle walls are thick, and denote a remote antiquity ; — large blocks of stone are piled up, without cement, and still hold together as well as if they had been recently placed ; — the greater part of the wall is entire ; it is placed a little below the crest of the hill, and appears not to have risen much above the level of its summit. Within the castle are several deep cisterns.''^^ ^^ " The town, says Seetzen (loc. cit.) consists of two parts, the finest of which lies in the valley, C" the city of waters," 2 Sam. xii. 27,) on both sides of the river ; but the larger part on the hill. Though Amman has been destroyed and uninha- bited for many hundred years, I, nevertheless, found many re- markable ruins which attest the grandeur of the ancient city. The most conspicuous were, an old square building, very much ornamented, perhaps an ancient mausoleum ; the ruins of a considerable palace; a large, very well preserved, splendid amphitheatre, with a peristyle in front, of Corinthian pillars, without pedestals ; a temple with many pillars ; a large decayed church, perhaps the seat of a bishop in the time of the Greek emperors ; above, upon the hill, the remains of a columnar temple, which formed a rotunda, and whose pillars were of as- tonishing size, besides many other edifices. In the territory of Ammon there were, in the days of the Judges, twenty towns that were taken by Jepthah, (Judg. xi. 33) ; now there is not a single house." M 132 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. In the war which Jephthah carried on against the Ammonites, with a view to deliver his country from their yoke, he smote them '' from Arocr to Abel-Ke- ramim, [in the Eng. Vers. ' plain of the vineyards,'] and took from them twenty cities, even ij Minnith,'* Judg. xi. 33. These places probably lay within the Amraonitish territory. The one first niientioned, Aroer, must have been a place quite different from a town of the same name which lay far to the soyth, on the Arnon, and the ruins of which were seen by Burckhardt. As Jephthah advanced into the terri- tory of the Ammonites from Gilead, (v. 29,) v.'e are, no doubt, to understand by Aroer the placs which, according to Josh. xiii. 25, lay opposite to Rabbah, the capital of the Ammonites, and had formerly been in possession of the tribe of Gad. Num xxxii. 34. This Aroer is also mentioned in the history of David. The men whom that monarch sent out to number the people, " went over Jordan and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lies in the m^dst of the river of Gad," 2 Sam. xxiv. 5. The river Oi Gad is here the Jabbok or Wady Serka, which separated the possessions of the tribe of Gad from the territory of Ammon. From its being said that this Arcer lay *< in the middle of the river of Gad," it may be con- jectured that it was built upon an island. The name of the second place of Ammo-i, mentioned in Judg. xi. 33, namely, Abel-Keramim,^- denotes "a Place of Vineyards." In the time of Eusebius there ARABIA. 163 was a village called Abel, where wine was raised, six Roman miles from Philadelphia.^^ Minnith is mentioned no where else than in the above passage, and in Ezek. xxvii. 17, where its wheat is spoken of as exported to the markets of Tyre. That the land of Amnion was rich in corn appears from 2 Chron. xxvii. 5, where it is said that the Am- mcnites, when conquered by Jotham, gave him in tribute^ besides a hundred talents of silver, ten thou- sand meaoures (cors) of wheat, and as much barley. Minnith still ezisted in the age of Eusebius, four Ro- man miles from Hhesbon on the road to Philadelphia. II.— ARABIA PETR^A, OR STOKY A3ABIA. Arabia Petreea^ was so called by the Greeks and Romans, from its capital Petra^ in Hebrew Sela, i. e. " Rock;" but as Burckhardt observes,^ the name is also appropriate, on account of its rocky mountains; and, especially on account of the elevated plain running south from Belka to Akaba, which is so covered with stones, and, particularly flint, that, though susceptible of cultivation, it may fitly be described as a " stony desert." A part of this tract lying on the ^Elanitic Gulf, (an arm of the Red Sea,) was called Nabaiceay^ ^^ In Onomastic. : 'AjS£Xa^?r£X^i', 'iv^a, i7roXif£f;(riv'U(p^.:.'!, yra VitJv 'Afifiuv, n irriv lU eri viJv KUfjLn ecfcTiXoipo^os "A,Qt\, ocro ?' ffyijAum ^ UiT^Kia'A^aliix, Arabia Petraea. ^ Travels, p. 723 of the German Translation. ^ See Cellarius Notit. Orb. Antiqui. T. il. p. £85. 164 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. from a tribe who dwelt there, but who, as we saw above, (at p. 143,) likewise spread themselves into Desert and Happy Arabia. Arabia Petraea is surrounded by Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, by Palestine, Egypt, and the Ara- bian Gulf or Red Sea. That sea forms the western boundary of the greater part of the district, which is now called Hedjaz^ The two northern arms of the sea inclose another portion of Arabia Petrsea, which has Egypt for its western border. We shall describe this extensive region according to the divisions found in the Bible. 1 . The Territory of the Moabites, The northern part of Arabia Petraea was occupied, at a very early period, by the Moabites, a tribe who were related to the Hebrews ; for their progenitor Moab^ was a son of Lot, Abraham's nephew, and a brother of Ammon, Gen. xix. 30 — 38. The Moabites, like their kinsmen the Ammonites, spread themselves through the country on the east of the Dead Sea, ex- pelled the aborigines, who were the Emim, a race of giants, (Deut. ii. 9, 10), and extended their frontier northward as far as the Jabbok. But the northern portion of this territorj'^, lying between the Jabbok and the Arnon, was taken from them by the Amo- rites, so that the Arnon became their permanent 4 .|^^i=*« [The author follows Niebuhr in reckoning Hedjaz v/" * in Arabia Petraea; but see the Preface to Burkhardt's Travel^ in Arabia. — TrJ\ ^ HKlD* »• e. seed, son of the father. ARABIA. 165 boundary to the north, Num. xsi. 13, 26. Judges xi. 18. When the Israelites had to penetrate into Canaan, they were commanded not to seize on any of the possessions of the Moabites, (Deut. ii. 9), and, accordingly, they merely passed through a portion of their territory on the east side of the Dead Sea, (Num. xxi. L Deut. i. 5; ii. 18, 29; xxix. 1). Balak, the king of Moab, was alarmed at the ap- proach of the vast army of the Hebrews, (Num. xxii. 3), and though he did not venture to attack them, he employed a renowned magician, Balaam, to direct against them his enchantments ; but, being controlled by a higher power, Balaam's intended curses were changed into blessings. Num. ch. xxii. 23, 24. Dur- ing the period which elapsed from the death of Joshua to the anointing of Saul as king, the Israelites were tributary to Moab for eighteen years, but were delivered from the yoke by Ehud, one of the Judges. Judges iii. 12, SO. Towards the close of the govern- ment of the Judges, friendly relations subsisted be- tween the two countries ; for the land of Israel being visited with famine, many of the inhabitants betook themselves to the fertile plains of Moab, and, (as ap- pears from the book of Ruth), some of them intermar- ried with the natives. In the reign of Saul, however, we find the Moabites again ranked among Israel's foes, 1 Sam. xiv. 47. During David's persecutions by Saul, he found shelter with the king of Moab, (as Saul's enemy), both for himself and his aged parents, 1 Sam. xxii. 3, 4. But when he himself came to the throne, he found it necessary to attack the Moabites killing two- thirds of those who were able to bear 156 BIBLICAL GSOGRAPHY. arms, and making the rest tributary^ 2 Sam. viii. 2. 1 Chron. six. 2. Whether this state of things con- tinued during the reign of Solomon we are not in- formed ; bui:, soon after the revolt of tha ten tribes, we find tl-.3 Moabites in sabjeetion to the Mngs of Israel. Mesha, king of Moab, '* rendered to the king of Israel (Ahab) a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams xnlh the wool ;" but, after Ahab's death, they rebelled againct Icra:^l, 2 Kings Hi. 4, 5. Comp. chap. i. 1. Joram, his successor, attempted (in conjunction with Jcdah and Edom) to reduce the Moabites again, and invaded their coun- try, but without success, 2 Kings iii. 6—27. 2 Chron. XX. 1 — 30.^ At a later period, in the reign of Joash, the Moabites attacked the king of Israel, 2 Kings xiii. 20 ; and they seem to have subsequently made themselves masters of a portion of the territories of Reuben and Gad. For, in a prophecy of Isaiah, (probably delivered in the reign of Ahaz, chap. xv. xvi.), several towns between the Jabbok and Arnon, which had belonged to these tribes, are spoken of as towns of Moab. They may have got possession of them after Tiglathpilesar had carried captive into Assyria the tribes beyond Jordan, 2 Chron. v. 25. Comp. 2 Kings xv. 29.7 When Nebuchadnezzar in- vaded Judah, the Moabites appear as allies of the Chaldeans, 2 Kings xxiv. 2. The prophet Ezekiel reproaches them (chap. xxv. 8 — 11), with having ® On the discrepancies in the narratives of these wars, in the books of Kings and Chronicles, see Gesenius^ Comment, on Isaiah, Vol. I. p. 502, note. Comp. Gramherg on Chronicles, p. 15,97, 111. ' Comp. Gesenius, loc. cit. p. 503. ARABIA. 167 joined the Edomites and Ammonites in their malicious exultation ever the ealamiiisc of their kinsmen the Hebrews. But, fivs yoars after the destruction of Jerusalem, HebLichadne.':zar, when on his expedition against Sgyptj reduced to subjection both the Moab- ites and Araaicnlies.^ They nevertheless afterwards appear as z.ii independent siate ; for, in Ezra ix. 1. Nehsm. i:iii* 1, the}' ere mentioned among the people with vAicm the Jev/s had intermarried. It appears, from Dan. xi. 41, that they (as well as the Edomites and Ammonites) were left unmolested by Antiochus Epiphanas ; but, about ninety years before the Chris- tian era, AIe:.;ander Jannseus subdued them, along with other tribes on the east of Jordan,^ after which their name does not appear in history. The land of Moab was remarkably fertile. So much grain was raised in the plains, that when a scarcity prevailed in the neighbouring country of Palestine, its inhabitants repaired hither, Ruth i. I. It was also rich in wine and fruit, (Isa. xvi. 8, 9, 10), and in numerous herds of sheep, 2 Kings iii. 4. The northern part of the country, which reverted to the Moabites after the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel is now called Belka,SLnd is still the finest pasture- land of Syria. The southern portion, or Moab Proper, bears at present the designation of Karak or Kerek^ from the town of that name. The most considerable river in the country is the ^ Josephus, Antiqq. X. P, 7. » Josephus, Antiqq. XIII. 13, 5 : and Cap. 14. § 2. 168 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Arnon, now the Wady-Mudjeb. Farther south was the brook Sered^° or Sared, which rose in the mountain-chain of Abarim, and on the banks of which the Hebrews had an encampment, when passing through the Moabitish territory to Ca- naan, Num. xxi. 12. Deut. ii. 13. The Chaldee translator Jonathan renders it by '^ the Valley or Brook of Willows,"" and a rivulet of that name,'^ in the country of Moab, is mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, (chap. xv. 7). A fountain, in the neighbourhood of Kerek, still goes by the name of the " Willow Fountain. "^^ The valley, on the west and north sides of that town, is watered by several copious streams, beside which the natives rear kitchen vegetables, and have considerable plantations of olives, *^ ^*nT' The name denotes in Chaldee, '^ hixuriant bran- ches" which are lopped off. In the Hebrew the phrase is ^^ H *1_ "TIT Vn^il, which may also be translated " they encamped in the valley of Sared." The word /H^ signifies a deep dale or ravine, which is the bed of a torrent ; it corresponds to the Arabic Wadi/. See Bib. Cab. Vol. XI. p. 14. • w -: t '^ cJlxfliA^ ( , y.*>s- . Burckhardt, p. 644 of the German Transl. [Comp. Bib. Cab. Vol. XXVII. p. 273.] In the map of the Land of Moab, given by Gesenius in his Comment, on Isaiah, the brook of Sared is laid down as the Wady Kerek, and the '^ Brook of the Willows" is placed at the southern boundary of the country ; but that is mere conjecture. ARABIA. 169 The principal fountain is Ain- Sarah/'* which gushes from the rock in a very romantic spot ; the stream drives three mills in its course. By the " waters of Nimrim/' in Isa. xv. 6, we are probably to understand some rivulet or pond in the vicinity of Beth-Nimrah, which was in the northern division of what became the country of Moab after the captivity of the Reu- benitesand Gadites.^^ Of the numerous mountains in Moab only three are mentioned in Scripture. Mount Peor was near Ne- bo and Pisgah ; it commanded an extensive view into the desert, (Num. xxiii. 28), and on it probably was placed the Moabitish idol Baal-Peor, i. e. the Lord or God of Peor, Num. xxv. 3, 5. Near Luchith was a hill of that name, (Isa. xv. 5. Jerera. xlviii. 5), which was known by its ancient appellation^^ in the days of Eusebius and Jerome, and lay between Areopolis and Zoar. Then there was the mountain-ridge of Aba- rim,*'' on the southern frontier of Moab, dividing it from Edom or Idumsea, Num. xxi. 11 ; xxxiii. 44, 47, 48. The high mountain of Dhana,^^ which sepa- ^^ In the Map of Gesenius, (mentioned at note 13), he fol- lows Seetzen in identifying the Nahr (river) Nimrim with the Wady Shoaib, which falls into the Jordan south of the Jab- bok. ^'^ Dn!13^ nil. The name denotes " mountain-passes.*' " ^Us, Burckhardt, p. 688 of the German Tiansl. 170 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. rates Moeyr Djeb?,l from Sheraih, the ancient Edora, may have been part of Mount Abarim. The two principal townr. of the Moabites were Ar or Rabbalh-Moabj and Klr-Moab. 1. Ar,^^ the capital, (Numb. sxi. 15. Deut. ii. 18. Isa. x'/. j.) was also called Rabbak^^^ i. e. the Great, (Josh. xiii. 25), or lucie fully Rabbath-llcab,^^ i.e. the chief town of Moab — as the capital of the Am- monites was designated Rabbath-Ammon. The Greeks called it Areopolis, as they thought the name Ar denoted the city of Ares, z. e. ths god Mars.^^ Abulfeda calls it Rabbah and Mab,-^ i.e. Moab, ac- cording to a common practice in the east, to call ihe chief town by the name of the country.^* He re- marks that the ancient city was destroyed, and only a village was on its site. The remains of R-abbath- Moab v/ere, in modern times, first diGCOvered by Seetzen.^^ He found, among other ruins, those of a very old palace or tempi e, part of the wall of which *^ *iy, the same as "\'>^ " city." '^ Hence the 'Pal^loa^fiu/ic of Ptolemy, and the *Pa/S/3«^^4/^« of Stephan of Byzantium. *^ Comp. Reland's Palaest. p. £71. 23 Xj , c_»Lc, Tab. Syr. p. 90. ^* For example, AJu, Sham, [Syria,] for Damascus ; ^^ MisTj [Egypt,] for Cairo. ** See Von Zach's Monthly Correspondence, Vol. XVIII. p. 433. ARABIA. 171 was still standing, and of the peristyle t'vo marble Corinthian pillars, but withciit p2c^.ecta!s. A few years after it was \ idtsd by Burckhardt,^*^ who gives the following account : — '* The ruins of Rabba are about half an hour in circuit, and are situated upon a low hiil which com- mands the whoie plain. I examined a part of them onty, but the rest seemed to contain nothing remark- able. On the west side is a temple, of which one wall and several niches remain, by no means distin- guished for elegance. Near them is a gate belonging to another building, which stood on the edge of a Birket. Distant from these ruins about thirty yards, stand two Corinthian columns of middling size, one higher than the other. In the plain ^o t].e west of the birket, stand? an insulated altar. In the town many fragments are lying about. There ere many remains of private habitations, but none entire. There being no springs in this spot, the town had two birkets [|reservoirsJ the largest of which is cut en- tirely out of the rocky ground, togdthei' with several cisterns. About three quarters of an hour to the south-east of Rabba are two copious springs, called El-Djebeyba and El-Yaroud." It is probable that in very early times an aqueduct led from these £:prings to the town ; such, at least, seems to be the allusion in the ancient song, recorded in Num. xxi. 15, where mention is made of " the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar."^'' The sur- 2^ Travels in Syria, p. 377 of the original English. 172 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. rounding plain is very fertile, and large tracts are un- der cultivation by the inhabitants of Kerek, and the Arabs of the tribe of Hhamaide. 2. Kir-Moab,^^ i. e. the Wall, stronghold, or cita- del of Moab, (Isa. xv. 31), also called Kir-Chareseth^ and Kir-CheresP i. e. the Wall of Potsherds or Bricks, (Isa. xvi. 7, 11. Jerem. xlviii. 31), was the most important fortress in the country. Jorara, king of Israel, took and destroyed it except the walls ; but it appears, from the passages here referred to in Isaiah's prophecy, that it must have been subsequently rebuilt. The Chaldee translator has put for Kir- Moab, '' Kerraka-Moab;'^^ i.e. the Castle of Moab; and the former of these words, which is in Arabic pronounced Karak, Kerek, or Krak, is the name it bears in 2 Mace. xii. 17,^^ in Ptolemy and Stephan of Byzantium,3 2 in Abulfeda,^^ and in the historians of the Crusades.^* It continues to be the name at the present day. Abulfeda calls Karak a small town, with a castle on a high hill, and remarks that it is so strong, that " one must deny himself even the wish to 2' nji^nn n^p, '^^n n^p. 31 Kagaxa. ^^ x»^xKfAu[ict.- See Reland loc. cit. p. 705* 33 Tab. Syr. p. 89. t^S . Comp. Schuliens^ Index Geogr. ad Vit. Saladini under Caracha. 3* See Wilken's Hist, of the Crusades, (Ger.), Part III. Div. 2, p. 235. ARABIA. 173 take it by force." In the time of the Crusades, and when in possession of the Franks, it was invested by the famous Saladin, but^ after lying before it for a month, he was compelled to raise the siege. ^^ This place was also first visited, in modern times, by Seet- zen. '^ Near to Karrak," says he,^^ " the wide plain terminates, which extends from Kabbah,^^ and is broken only by low and detached hills, and the country now becomes mountainous. Karrak, for- merly a city, and bishop's see, lies on the top of a hill, near the end of a deep valley, and is surrounded on all sides with lofty mountains. The hill is very steep, and, in many places, the sides are quite per- pendicular. The walls round the town are, for the most part, destroyed, and Karrak can, at present, boast of being little more than a small country town. The castle, which is uninhabited and in a state of great decay, was formerly one of the strongest in these countries. The inhabitants of the town consist of Mahomedans and Greek Christians, The present bishop of Karrak resides at Jerusalem. From this place one enjoys, by looking down the Wady Karrak, a fine view of part of the Dead Sea, and even Jerusa- lem may be distinctly seen, in clear weather. The hill on which Karrak lies, is composed of lime-stone, and brittle marl, with many beds of black, blue, and grey flints. In the neighbouring rocks there are a number of curious grottoes ; in those which are under 35 See Bohaeddin's Life of Saladin, p. 55. Bar-Hehrceus Chronic. Syr. p. 392. 3^ Loc. cit. (Note 25,) p. 434. 37 Burkhardt travelled from Kabbah to Kerek in six hours. 174 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. ground, wheat is sometimeG '^reserved for a period of ten 3'3ars." Eurckharc't, who was for a considerable time in Kerek, has left ihe following account of it.* " The tov/n of Kerek (a common name in Gyria,) is built upon the top of a steep hill, surrounded on all sides by a deep and narrow valley, the mountains be- yond which command the town. In the valley on the v/est and north sides are several copious springs, on the borders of which the inhabitants cultivate some vegetables, and considerable plantations of olive trees. The town is surrounded by a wall, which hac fallen down in several places; it is defended by six or seven large towers, of which the northern is almost perfect, and has a long Arabic inscription on its wall, but too high to be legible from the ground ; on each side of the inscription is a lion, in bas-relief, similar to those seen on the walls of Aleppo and Damascus. The town had, originally, only two entrances, one to the south and the other to the north ; they ars dark passages, forty paces in length, cut through the rock. All inscription on the northern gats accribes ito foun- dation to Sultan Seyfeddin. Besides th-zze t-vo gates, two other entrances have been formed, l3r.ding over the ruins of the town wall. At ths wect end of the town stood a castle, on the edge of a deep precipice, over the Wady Kobeysha. It io built hi the ctyle of most of the Syrian castles, v/ith thick wa-.Io and para- petc., large arched apartments, darh passages, v/ith loop holes and subterraneous vaulja ; ?.rid it probably owes Its origin, like most of these castles, to the pru- • Travels ia Sy;:^, p. SFS to 33'/ of tliS original English. ARABIA. 175 dent system of dsfence adopted by the Saracens against the Franks during the cr-sades. In a large Goihic haP; are remabs of paintings in fresco, bu'i so much defiicsd that nothing cin be dearly distinguish- ed. Eereh having bean come tims i;i the hands of the Franks, thia hzll z,iaj ha-'o beeri built c.t that time for a cbiri ch, a::d decorated T.'itli paintings. Upon an uncouth Hgurs of a man, bearing z large chain, I read the lettetc loin, printed in large characters ; the rest of the ii^Gcripiian ivas G^ibsed. On the side towards the tcv/n the caatle io defended ly a deep fosse, cut in the reck ; near which are seen several remains of columns of gray and red granite. On the south side the c?*si!3 hill is faced with stone, in the same manner as at A'eppD, El Hossn, Szalkhat, &c. On the west side, a v.'all has been thrown accross the Wady, to some high rocks which project from the opposite side; a kind cf birket has been formed, which formerly supplied the garrison with water. In the castle is a deep v/eJl;, and many of the private houses also have welb, but iheir water is brackish ; others have cisterns, whieh s£,7e the inhabitants the trouble of fetching their water frcia the Wady below. There are no antiqui- ties i:i the town, except a few fragments of granite colurjinc. A good mosque, built by Melek el Dhaher, is now in ruins. The Christians have a church, de- dicated to St. George, or El Khuder, which has been lately repaired. On the declivity of the Wady, to the south cf the town, are some ancient sepulchral caves, of conse v^^orkmanship, cut in the chalky rock. '■ IIc.'c': !£ inhabited by about four hundred Turkish and one hundred and fifty Christian families; the 176 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. former can furnish upwards of eight hundred fire- locks, the latter about two hundred and fifty. The Turks are composed of settlers from all parts of Southern Syria, but principally from the mountains about Hebron and Nablous. The Christians are, for the greatest part, descendants of refugees from Jeru- salem, Bethlehem, and Beit-Djade ; they are free from all exactions, and enjoy the same rights with the Turks. " The inhabitants of Kerek being thus exempted, by their own strength, from all taxes and impositions, it might be supposed that they are wealthy. This, however, is not the case ; the great hospitality that prevails prevents the increase of wealth. The Kere- kein cultivate the plains in the neighbouring mountains, and feed their cattle on the uncultivated parts. One- third of the people remain encamped, the whole year, at two or three hours distance from the town, to su- perintend the cattle ; the rest encamp in the harvest time only. During the latter period the Christians have two large camps or douars, and the Turks five. Here they live like Bedouins, whom they exactly re- semble in dress, food, and language. The produce of their fields is purchased by the Bedouins, or exchang- ed for cattle. The only other commercial intercourse carried on by them is with Jerusalem, for which place a caravan departs every two months, travelling either by the route round the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, which takes three days and a half, or by crossing the Jordan, a journey of three days. At Jerusalem they sell their sheep and goats, a few nriules, of which they have an excellent breed, hides, wool, ARABIA. 177 and a little Fowa or madder, {Rubia tinctorum,) which they cultivate in small quanties *, in return they take coffee, rice, tobacco, and all kinds of arti- cles of dress, and of household furniture. The jour- ney, however, is undertaken by few of the natives of Kerek, the trade being almost wholly in the hands of a few merchants of Hebron, who keep shops at Kerek, and thus derive large profits from the indo- lence or ignorance of the Kerekein." The other towns, which lay within the territory of Moab at the period of the Chaldsean invasion, were those which had formerly belonged to the Israelitish tribes of Reuben and Gad. We find a tolerably complete list of them in the prophecy of Jeremiah against Moab, contained in the 48th chapter of his prophecies. The first is Heshbon* (ver. 2), the ruins of which (under the name of Hhesban), were found by Burckhardt, 6^ hours south-west of Elea- leh. He remarked a number of wells hewn out in the rock, and a large reservoir, which Seetzen had also noticed, and which reminded him of the passage in the Song of Solomon, (chap. vii. 4), " Thine eyes are like the pools of Heshbon." Madmen^^ (ver. 2), is mentioned no where else ; it is not to be confound- • [With regard to those towns of Moab, which had once belonged to Israel, the author refers to his volume on Pales- tine, from which I here give extracts to complete the descrip- tion of Moab Tr.] '« Pnr), Dunghill. 178 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. ed with Madmenah, in the tribe of Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem, llhoronaxm^ (ver. 3), probably lay on a declivity,'*" opposite the above mentioned hill of Luchith. Dibon^ (ver. 18), is in Isa. xv. 9 called Dimorii the letters b and m being frequently interchanged. Jerome speaks of them as one place. As Burckhardt was about an hour north of the Wady Mudjeb or Arnon, the ruins of Dibon were pointed out to him lying to the north, in a plain which Seetzen describes as very fine, and which Legh crossed by a Roman road. On the north bank of the Arnon Burckhardt found the ruins of Aroer^ (ver. 19), now Araayr, on the edge of a rocky preci- pice. In ver. 21 — 24 of the above chapter of Jeremiah, there is mention of eleven different towns of Moab, Two of these, Cholon and Beth-Gamul occur no where else. Jahzah or Jahaz (Isa. xv. 3) was the place where Sihon king of the Amorites was defeated by Israel, (Num. xxi. 23. Deut. ii. 32), whence we may infer that it was on the frontier of Moab to- wards the Amorites. Nephaatli was in the time of Eusebius and Jerome the seat of a Roman garrison, to protect the country from the incursions of the Arabs. Nebo must not be confounded M'ith a Nebo in the tribe of Benjamin; it lay near Mount Nebo, (now the Djebel Attarous,) eight Roman miles south ** nD*^*in, i- e. two caves, or Double Cave. The neigh- bouritig country is full of caves that have often been used for human dwellings *<> O'^lnh iSr Ver. 6. ARABIA. 179 of Hhesbon. It received its name from the idol Nebo, (supposed to be the same as Mercury), who had pro- bably been worshipped there ; for in the middle ages there was still a place called " the Village of Nebo," with the ruins of a temple. Kiriathaim (i. e. the Double town), was one of the most ancient places in the country east of Jordan, for it was possessed by the giants called Emim (Gen. xiv. 5), who were ex- pelled by the Moabites, Deut. ii. 9, 10. Eusebius places it west of Medebah ; and about half an hour west of the ruins of that place Burckhardt found other ruins called El-Teym^ which he conjectures to have been Kiriathaim, the last syllable of the name being retained. Bozrah (or as the Arabs pronounce it, Bosra), is commonly spoken of as the capital of Idu- rasea, and yet among the warlike and wandering tribes of these countries, places so often changed masters, that it may have frequently been in possession of the Moab- ites.^" It did not lie within the original territory of Edom, but north of the country of the Ammonites, in the district of Haouran or Auranitis. The Romans called it Bostra, and reckoned it as belonging to Arabia. By Burckhardt's account it is still the largest town in Haouran, with extensive ruins. Whether the Dihon of Jerem. xlviii. 22, be the same with that we have noticed at ver. 18, is uncertain. As to Betli-Dihiathaim (ver. 22) it is the same place as Diblathaim, an encampment of the Israelites, * [Thus Sela, or Peira, the capital of the Edomites, which was taken by Amaziah king of Judah, (2 Kings xiv. 7), is mentioned in Isa. xvi. 1 as a town of Moab. Coinp. Gesenius on Isa. xxxiv. G.l — Tr, 180 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Num. xxxiii. 46, and it still existed in the days of Eusebius and Jerome.'*^ Beth-Meon (ver. !23) is the same as Baal-Meon^ (Num. xxxiii. 3), the ruins of which, under the name of Myun, were seen by Burckhardt about three quarters of an hour's distance south-east of Hhesbon. It is also spoken of by Seet- zen under the name of Maein. Keriothy (ver. 24) is also mentioned among the towns^^ of Moab in Amos ii. 2. Towards the close of the 48th chapter of Jeremiah, part of a more ancient prophecy is repeated, (taken from the 15th and 16th chapters of Isaiah), in which other towns of Moab are introduced. Jazer, (ver. 32), lay south of Aroer, ten Roman miles south-west of Rabbath-Ammon and fifteen from Heshbon. Seet- zen and Burckhardt found in that locality the ruins of a place called Szir, where a small river runs into the Jordan through the Wady Szir. According to Jerome, Sibmah (ver. 32), was not more than bOO paces, or scarcely half a Roman mile, from Heshbon ; it was famous for its wines. The ruins of Elealehf (ver. 34), now El-Aal, were found by the same travellers on the top of a hill,* whence there is an extensive view of the whole southern Belka. Part of the town wall is still standing, with a great many cis- terns, and the foundations and walls of houses. Eg- *^ See Onomastlcon, under " Jassa." *2 Many (among the rest the LXX), regard the words nl^'npn nl^/tDIK, as meaning, " the palaces of the cities." See Rosenmiiller's Scholia in loc • Hence the name H/V/N- ARABIA. 181 laim, which is mentioned in Isa. xv. 8, occurs no where else in Scripture, ^^ but it was no doubt the place which Eusebius calls Agallim, eight Roman miles south of Areopolis, [Rabbath-Moab.] Beer- Elim, (Isa. xv. 8), was probably the same as Beer, (the Well), an encampment of the Hebrews on the borders of Moab, where they met with water/* Num. xxi. 16, 17, 18. Isaiah (chap. xv. 1), even mentions Sela or Petra as a town of Moab, but Jeremiah does not, because by his time it had no doubt re- verted to the Edomites, to whom it formerly belong- ed, 2 Kings xiv. 7. 2. Edom or Idumcea, On the southern border of the territory of Moab lay the land of Edom^ called by the Greeks and Ro- mans IdumcBa. It derived its Hebrew name from Edom, a son of Isaac, and the elder twin-brother of Jacob. The name given him at his birth was Esau,*^ *' The above mentioned £^/aim(tD^7-nJ^ ^*V) can scarce- ly be the same with the En-Eglaim (CD*/ JK) of Ezek. xlvii. 10, for the latter lay on the west side of the Dead Sea. ** It is there said the Israelites sung at that well : " This is the well which the princes, the nobles of the people digged, with their staves and sceptres." Gesenius remarks, (on Isa. XV. 8), that this seems like an etymological explanation of the name Beer-Ehn, JD^^N ")N2, i.e. the Well of Heroes; and the situation of the place, far in the wilderness, suits the connection very well. 182 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. i. e. •' the Hairy ;" the surname of Edom,^^ f g. «< the Red," he obtained from the circumstance of his favou- rite food being red or dark brown lentiles, for a mess of which he sold his birth-right, Gen. xxv. 29 — 34. Edom continued to be the name of his descendants ; for, in the east still, many persons are better known by a surname, incidentally imposed, than by their own proper designation. Esau, or Edom, settled in Mount Seir^^'^ which extends from the south-east end of the Dead Sea to near the iElanitic Gulf, [the north-eastern arm of the Red Sea] and is now called Sherath.^* This mountainous region had been pre- *'' *y'V^i properly " hairy," hence, in an extended sense, " rough, hilly." The name has thus the same meaning as Esau. Josephus was led to take Esau and Seir for the same person ; for he says, (Antiqq. I. 20. 3) : vmx*'>i'nirev tU tuu^Kv. IvTcivB^x yup i'TonTro rhv oiairav, T^oaayootiffas to ^u^tov uto tUs uvToZ rgi^^ffiui Aaffiiiav. But it appears, from Gen. xxxvi. 20, that Seir was the progenitor of the Horites, and no doubt lived before Esau. Yet he may afterwards have received that name from the character of the country in which his descend- ants settled. The Arabs have also, in their ancient genealo- gies, an Ashaar .x^I, so called from being born hairy, fXAt* AaJLs ; but he was a son of Saba and grandson of Joktan or Kachtan. See PococAre'* Specim. Hist. Arab. p. 39, 45, of the 2d Edit. *^ si -i* ^^® Abulfeda's Syr. p. 8, note 31. Saadias, in Gen. xxxvi. 8, puts that name for T^Si^. Comp. Reland't Palaestina, p. 82, and the note which follows. ARABIA. 183 viously inhabited by the Horites or Troglodytae,*^ (i.e. inhabitants of eaves), who were however ex- pelled by the posterity of Edom, Deut. ii. 12, 22. They subsequently spread themselves in a north- easterly direction, as far as the borders of Moab. Tiiat portion of the Edomite territory is still called Djehal,^^ i. e. " the Mountain," which the Greeks and Romans changed to Gebalene. It appears that *^ nn. See Hiller's Onomastic. Vet. Test. p. 506. C. B. Michaelis' Dissert, de antiquissima Idumaeor. Historia § XV. in Pott and Ruperti's Sylloge Commentatt. Theologic. Part VI. p. 121, and J. D. Michaelis Comraentat. de Troglo- dytis Seiritis in the Syntagm. Commentatt. P. I. p. 194. ^^ ^Ia.s» • Burckhardt says in his Travels in Syria, (p. 674 of the Ger. Transl.) : " The valley of El-Ahhsa separates the district of Kerek (the southern part of Moab), from the district of Djebal. the ancient Gebalene." And, (at p. 688), " the Wady Moeyr separates the district of Djebal from Djebel Shera, iS .M* \xcsa. » or the IMountains of Shera, which run in a southerly direction to Akaba. These are the mountains which are mentioned in Scripture under the name of Mount Seir, the territory of the Edomites." Geseniiis, in his remarks on this passage, (Ger. Traasl. of Burckhardt, p. 1067), says : " That the Seir I^J^li^ of Scripture, and the Arabic Shera are of the same derivation, I cannot admit to be established ; they have at least very different meanings, the former signifying " hairy, leafy," the latter, " a tract of land, a possession." Besides, the name Seir has in the Bible an extensive accepta- tion, and comprises the whole of the ancient territory of Edom, inclusive of Djebal, and hence, in Josh. xi. 17 : xii. 7j it is mentioned as the southern boundary of Palestine." But Burckhardt does not say that Seir and Shera have the same etymology; and in addition to the significations given above, the latter word (according to the Camua, p. 1900) denotes 184 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. the ancient inhabitants of Seir did for a time continue to occupy a portion of their native mountains along with their Esauite invaders, (as the Canaanites did Palestine for a season along M'ith Israel), for, in Gen. xxxvi. 20 — 30, M'e find a genealogical list of the heads of the Horite tribes, along with that of the princes of Edom. From these lists it appears that Esau's descendants, like the Hebrews and Horites, were divided into tribes, and that each tribe had its own Alluf,^^ or chief. This term seems to have been common in Mount Seir, for, at ver. 21, the chiefs of the Horites are also so designated. Among the tribes of Edom the one best known was that of Theman,^" a grandson of Esau, (Gen. xxxvi. 10, 11), after whom a district of the country was called, (Jer. xlix. 7, 20. Ezek. xxv. 13. Obadiah ver. 9). The name was preserved to the time of Eusebius, in that of the small town Theman, which was five Roman miles from Petra or Sela, and was occupied by a Roman garrison.^' The Themanites were famed for . ""W, mountain. Seir, the original seat of the Edomites, was certainly the southern boundary of Palestine, but there is no proof that Djebal was included under the name of Seir. *^ 5^lSj^ from P]Si^, family. [Called in the Eng. Vers. " duke,^* a word which now suggests the idea of an order of nobility, but originally had the sense of the Latin dux, a leader.— Tr.] ** ]D^n. The name denotes properly, " what lies on the right hand," and then " the south." [See Bib. Cab. Vol. XI. p. 7.] " In Onomastic. under 9»:/u,xr. ARABIA. 185 tbeir wisdom, (Jerem. xlix. 7. Comp. Baruch, iii. 22, 23), and the greater part of the dialogue in the book of Job proceeds from the mouth of Eliphaz the Temanite,^'* Job ii. 11. It would appear that at an early period (probably during the residence of the Hebrews in Egypt,) that portion of the Esauites who spread to the north-east, and took possession of Djebal, had adopted the monarchial form of government, while those in Mount Seir retained their ancient con- gtitution. For, in Gen. xxxvi. 31 — 39, after the list of the heads of tribes among the Esauites, on Mount Seir, and the Horites, mention is made of eight kings of Edom, who reigned there before there was any king in Israel. But these Edomite kings did not come in the place of the heads of tribes, of whom there had been previous mention ; both were cotem- porary in two different districts of the country of which Esau's descendants had taken possession.** Keeping this distinction in view, it will be seen that, when it is said, (Num. xx. 14 — 21; xxi. 4. Judg. xi. 17, 18,) that the Edomites refused to the Israelites a passage through their territory, that statement does not contradict Deut. ii. 4 — 8, 29, where Moses says that the Esauites on Mount Seir granted them a pas- sage. Hence, too, in the song of Moses, (Exod. xv. 15,) it is said that, at the tidings of the triumphant ^* There is an Eliphaz also mentioned in Gen, xxxvi. 11, a son of Esau, and the father of Theman. " See C. B. Michaelis, in his Dissert, (quoted at Note 49,) § xi. and § xxii. p. 218 of the Sylloge. Commentat. See aUo RosenmuUer^s Scholia on Gen. xxxvi. 15, 31, J 86 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. passage through the Red Sea, Edom's princesy^^ (i. e. the heads of tribes,) trembled with affriglit ; but that is not inconsistent with Num. xx. 14, where we read of Moses sending to the khtg of Edom, to ask per- mission to pass through his land. Yet it would ap- pear that the monarchical constitution of Edom had this peculiarity, namely, that there was not, as in the neighbouring countries, one royal dynasty, with cer- tain fixed rules of succession ; but that, on the death of one king, another was chosen in his room, or that chief was acknowledged as sovereign who was best able to vindicate his claim by force of arms. In the list of Edomite kings given in Gen. xxxvi. 32 — 39, no one is mentioned as the son or relative of the pre- ceding ; one appears to have belonged to one place and familj^, and the next to another ; and one of the number, viz. Saul, the sixth in order, would seem not to have been a native Edomite, for he came from Rechoboth,^"^ on the Euphrates, whither the Esauites never extended their dominions. At a later period, indeed, in the age of Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 14, we read of one Hadad, " of the king's seed in Edom ;''^^ but no mention is made of the " heads of tribes," in that country, after the days of Moses. Perhaps the kings had brought the tribes, on Mount Seir, under subjec- tion, so that the whole country came to be united un- der one government. *7 With regard to that city, see the Bib. Cabinet, Vol. XVII. p. 243. ARABIA. 187 Towards the Hebrews, the Edomites like the other neighbouring tribes, were always in a hostile position. Saul warred against them with success, Sam. xiv. 47, but they were completely subdued by David, who placed garrisons in the country, 2 Sara. viii. 14. Ps. Ix. 2, 10, 11. 1 Chron. xviii. 12, 13. 1 Kings xi. 15, 16. Solomon fitted out trading ships in the har- bour of Ezion-Geber, in that arm of the Red Sea called the Gulf of iEIana, 1 Kings ix. 26. In the last years of his reign, an Edomite prince, who had fled to Egypt, returned to his native country, and made an attempt to restore its independence, 1 Kings xi. 14; but it was without success, or the success was only tempo- rary, for in the account of Jehosaphat's reign, (I Kings xxii. 48,) it is expressly said, " there was no king in Edom ; a deputy was king ;" meaning, no doubt, a governor appointed by the king of Judah. It is added, that Jehosaphat, like Solomon, prepared a fleet in Ezion-Geber, but " the ships were broken there," probably by a tempest, I Kings xxii. 48, 49. When it is afterwards mentioned, that in the reign of the same Jewish monarch, a certain king of Edom made war upon the Moabites, in conjunction with Jehosa- phat, and Jehoram, king of Israel, (2 Kings iii. 9, 12_, 26,) we are, in all probability, to understand by that, a Jewish governor, with the title of king. But un- der Jehosaphat's successor, Joram, the Edomites re- volted " from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves," 2 Kings viii. 20 — 22. 2 Chron. xxi. 8 — 10. They were afterwards attacked by Amaziah, king of Judah, who took their chief town, Sela or Petra, and changed its name to Joktheel, 188 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. 2 Kings xiv. 7. 2 Chron. xxv. 11, 12, 14. His suc- cessor Uzziah took possession of the harbour of Elatb, 2 Chron. xxvi. 2, but, under Ahaz, the Edomites made an incursion into Judah, and " carried away captives," 2 Chron xxviii. 17. About the same period, Rezin, king of Syria, after overrunning Judaea, drove the Jews from ^lath, which then revolted to the Edomites, in whose possession it remained, 2 Kings xvi. 6.^^ We find no farther mention of Edom in the historical books of the Old Testament ; but it appears, from the writings of the later prophets that, about the time of the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah, the Edomites enlarged their territory to so great an extent that, in the days of Jeremiah, it reach- ed on the north-east as far as Bosra in the Hhauran, and, on the south, as far as Dedan, in Arabia, Jer. '5 According to the Hebrew text, the passage runs thus :— " At that time Rezin, king of Aram, recovered Elath to Aram, and drove the Jews from Elath ; and the Arameeans came to Elath and dwelt there unto this day.'' But instead of CD'^1"lK> which is an unusual designation for the Syrians, (who, elsewhere, are always called D^^*lJ^)the marginal Masoretic reading, (Keri,) has CD'OTIJ^ Edomites, which is also found in many MSS., and in the Septuagint [and Vulgate]. That this is the correct reading can scarcely be doubted ; but, in that case, we must, along with D^D M?*? in the second clause, follow Le*Clerc and Houbigant in reading, in the first clause, CD*TN7 instead of DHN /• Though there is no critical evidence for this, historical fact seems to require it, for Elath ^ad never belonged to Syri^. ARABIA. 189 xlix. 8, 20. Isa. xxxiv, 6 ; Ixiii. 1. Ezek. xxv. 13. When the Chaldaeans invaded Judaea, they were joined by the Edomites, who rejoiced over the ruin of their kinsmen the Jews ; hoping, doubtless, to obtain a large share of the conquered country. Obadiah, ver. 12. Ezek. xxv. 12 — 15; xxxv. 10; xxxvi. 5. The ancient national hatred of the Jews was, by this cir- cumstance, rekindled in greater fury than ever; and we find many expressions of it in the writings of the poets and prophets of the Hebrews, Ps. cxxxvii. 7 — 9. Oba- diah, V. 2, et seqq. Isa. xxxiv. 8, et seqq. Jer. xlix. 7, et seqq. Although the territory of the Edomites did not escape invasion, the inhabitants were not doomed to be carried captive into foreign lands.^o On the con- trary, after the expatriation of the Jews, they obtain- ed possession of the south of Palestine, including Hebron, out of which place, however, they were afterwards driven by Judas Maccabaeus, l.Macc. v. 63. Yet the southern part of Judaea obtained the name of Idumseaj especially after John H3 rcanus, about the year B. c. 130, subdued the Edomite inhabitants, — compelled them to submit to circumcision, and incor- porated them with the Jews.^^ Yet, at a later period, we find an Idumsean, Herod, surnamed the Great, reigning over the Jews, for it was he who was their king at the time of Christ's birth. Not long before Jerusalem was besieged by Titus, twenty thousand *" Lowth, Eichhorn, and Bertholdt think that Edom was subverted, as a kingdom, by Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the destruction of Jerusalem; but see'Gesenius^, Comment, on Isaiah, Part I. p. 906, Note. •1 Josephus Antiqq. XIII. 9. 1, and § 15. 4. 190 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Idumaeans were called in to the defence of the city by the Zealots, but they gave themselves up to the pillage and murder of the peaceable and more opulent of the citizens.^2 They retired before the siege was actually commenced f'^ and, after this, we hear no more of the Idumaeans, as a separate people, in his- tory. They, no doubt, lilie the Ammonites and Moa- bites, became amalgamated with the general race of Arabs. But few towns of Edom are mentioned in the Bible. Whether those places, whence the the kings of Edom came, who are enumerated in Gen. xxxvi. 32 — 39, belonged to the Idumasan territory, is very uncertain. One of these towns, Rechoboth, on the Euphrates, in all probability, did not. Three others, Masrekah, Awith, and Pagu,^"^ occur nowhere else. Of Dinhaba,^^ the town of the king who is mentioned first, there was in Eusebius and Jerome's days a trace in Dennaha^ the name of two small towns, one of which was eight Roman miles from Ar, or Rabbath-Moab, towards the Arnon, the other was beyond Mount Peor, in the territory of Moab, seven Roman miles from Hesbon. Of Bozra, the birth-place of King Jobab, and latterly in the possession of the Edomites, some notice has been given above at p. 179, and of Theman, at p. 184. 6' Josephus, Jewish War, IV. 4 ; VII. 8. 1. 65 Loc. cit. IV. 5.5.; 6. 1. ARABIA. ]91 The most considerable town in ancient Idumaea was Sela,^^ i. e. '' Kock," called by the Greeks and Romans Pefra, a name of the same import. Though the town itself lay on an elevated plain, where there was no want of fountains or trees, it was surrounded with rocks, which rendered an approach impossible in all directions except one, and even there the access was difficult. Beyond that enclosure, the country was, for the most part, a desert, especially towards Judea, Isa. xvi. 1. It was distant from Jericho three or four days journey, which was from twelve to sixte.^n geographical miles. ^7 Jt was, in ancient times, a con- siderable emporium for the products of Arabia, in which trade was hence carried on with Syria. When the troops of Antigonus made a sudden inroad upon it, they found large stores of frankincense and myrrh, and also five hundred talents of silver.^^ In the time of Strabo, i. e. about the commencement of the Chris- tian aera, the town was the seat of a native king, with whom was associated a prime minister, or vizier, under the titleof"tlieKing'sBrother." Thephilosopher Athenodorus, the friend of Strabo, lived there for ^^ V7D- Josephus says, (Antiqq. IV. 4. 7-)j that this town was called 'Aoxt] for which, no doubt, we should read, as in chap vii. 1, 'AoKtift, or 'A^iyAfcn, i. e. ^5 1\-, but that opinion is not probable, though adopted by Schultens, Index Geograph. ad Vit. Saladin, under Errakimum. The Rekim, or Errekim, in question, lay to the north of Karrak. Comp. Gesenius'' Comment, on Isaiah, Vol. I. p. 53G, Note. [See also Robinsoii's Sketches of Idumaea, in the American Biblical Re- pository for 1833, p. 282, Note Tr.'\ «' Strabo, XVI. 4.21. Comp. Pliny's Nat. Hist. VI. 28. " Diodorus Sicu'.ns, XIX. 55, 192 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. some time, and informs him how astonished he was to find, in Petra, many Romans and other foreigners ; and he mentions that, while the latter were constantly involved in litigation, the natives lived under most excellent laws, in amity and peace. The town, with the surrounding district, was brought under subjec- tion to the Romans by Trajan ;^^ and it would seem, from certain coins struck here, which are still extant, that Adrian had called the city by his own name.*^® In the acts of certain church councils are found the subscriptions of ♦* Bishops of Petra.'"'^ The ruins of Petra were first discovered in modern times by Burckhardt, who visited it in the summer of 1812 ;7a and six years after (viz. in May and June 1818), the ruins were carefully examined by a party of English travellers. 73 The following is the account given by Burckhardt:* ^5 Dio Casixis, LXVIII. 14. '" It is there called 'A^^iavn Tir^a M>jT^«!r«X/f. (See Eckel's Doctr. Nummor. Veter. Tom. II. p. 503. 7' RelaTid's Valiefit. It. 212. 72 Travels, p. 420. 7' Some account of this journey will be found in the appen- dix to MacmichaeVs Journey from Moscow to Constantinople, (Lend. 1819, 4to. p. 181), having been furnished by Legh, one of the party. A fuller description, to be illustrated by plates, may be expected from another of the travellers, Mr. Banke?. [This account has never appeared, but Captains Irby and Mangles, who were also of the party, have given a very in- teresting account of the visit in their " Travels in Egypt, Nubia, &c." a work, however, that was only printed for pri- vate distribution — Tr.'] • As the accounts and impressions of the first discoverer al- ARABIA. 193 " Ain Mousa is a copious spring, rushing from under a rock at the eastern extremity of Wady Mousa.''* There are no ruins near the spring ; a little lower down in the valley is a mill, and above it is the village of Badabde, now abandoned. It was inhabited, till within a few years, by about twenty families of Greek Christians, who subsequently re- tired to Kerek. Proceeding from the spring along the rivulet, for about twenty minutes, the valley opens, and leads into a plain about a quarter of an hour in length, and ten minutes in breadth, in which the rivulet joins with another descending from the mountain to the southward. Upon the declivity of the mountain, in the angle formed by the junction of the two rivulets^ stands Eldjy, the principal village of Wady Mousa. This place contains between two and three hundred houses, and is enclosed by a stone wall, with three regular gates. It is most pictu- resquely situated, and is inhabited by the tribe of the Lyathene, a part of whom encamp during the whole year in the neighbouring mountains. The slopes of the mountain near the town are formed into artificial terraces, covered with corn fields and plantations of fruit trees. They are irrigated by the waters of the two rivulets, and of many small streams which de- scend into the valley below Eldjy, where the soil is ways possess a peculiar freshness and interest, I have em- bodied some additional extracts from Burckhardt, and givea tlie whole in his own language.— Tr. 194 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. also well cultivated. A few large hewn stones, dis- persed over the present town, indicate the former existence of an ancient city in this spot, the happy situation of which must, in all ages, have attract- ed inhabitants. I saw here some large pieces of beautiful saline marble, but nobody could tell me from whence they had come, or whether there were any rocks of this stone in the mountains of Shera. " I hired a guide at Eldjy to conduct me to Ha- roun's tomb, and paid him with a pair of old horse shoes. He carried the goat, and gave me a skin of water to carry, as he knew that there was no water in the Wady below. In following the rivulet of Eldjy westwards, the valley soon narrows again ; and it is here that the antiquities of Wady Mousa begin. " At the point where the valley becomes narrow is a large sepulchral vault, with a handsome door hewn in the rock, on the slope of the hill which rises from the right bank of the torrent : on the same side of the rivulet, a little further on, I saw some other sepulchres with singular ornaments. Here a mass of rock has been insulated from the mountain by an excavation, which leaves a passage five or six paces in breadth between it and the mountain. It forms nearly a cube of sixteen feet, the top being a little narrower than the base, tiie lower part is hollowed into a small sepulchral cave with a low door ; but the upper part of the mass is solid. There are three of these mausolea at a short distance from each other. A few paces lower, on the left side of the stream, is a larger mausoleum similarly formed, which appears, from its decayed state, and the style of its ARABIA. 195 architecture, to be of more ancient dale than the others. Over its entrance are four obelisks about ten feet in height, cut out of the same piece of rock ; below is a projecting ornament, but so much defaced by time that I was unable to discover what it had originally represented ; it had, however, nothing of the Egyptian style. " Continuing for about three hundred paces farther along the valley, which is in this part about one hundred and fifty feet in breadth, several small tombs are met with on both sides of the rivulet, excavated in the rock without any ornaments. Beyond these is a spot where the valley seemed to be entirely closed by high rocks ; but, upon a nearer approach, I per- ceived a chasm about fifteen or twenty feet in breadth, through which the river flows westward in winter ; in summer its waters are lost in the sand and gravel before it reach the opening, which is called El Syk. " The precipices on either side of the torrent are about eighty feet in height ; in many places the opening between them at top is less than at bottom, and the sky is not visible from below. As the rivulet of Wady Mousa must have been of the greatest im- portance to the inhabitants of the valley, and more particularly of the city, which was entirely situated on the west side of the Syk, great pains seem to have been taken by the ancients to regulate its course. Its bed appears to have been covered with a stone pavement, of which many vestiges yet remain, and, in several places, stone walls were constructed on both sides to give the water its proper direction, and 196 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. to check the violence of the torrent. A channel was likewise cut on each side of the Syk, on a higher level than the river, to convey a constant supply of water into the city in all seasons, and to prevent all the water from being absorbed in summer by the broad torrent bed, or by the irrigation of the fields in the valley above the Syk. *' About fifty paces below the entrance of the Syk, a bridge of one arch, thrown over the top of the chasm, is still entire ; immediately below it, on both sides, are large niches, worked into the rock, with elegant sculptures, destined, probably, for the reception of statues. Some remains of antiquities might perhaps be found on the top of the rocks near the bridge ; but ray guide assured me, that notwithstanding re- peated endeavours had been made, nobody had ever been able to climb up the rocks to the bridge, which was therefore unanimously declared to be the work of the Djan, or evil genii. In continuing along the winding passages of the Syk, I saw in several places small niches cut in the rock, some of which were single ; in other places there were three or four to- gether without any regularity ; some are mere holes, others have short pilasters on both sides ; they vary in size from ten inches to four or five feet in height ; and in some of them the bases of statues are still visible. " We passed several collateral chasms between per- pendicular rocks, by which some tributary torrents from the south side of the Syk empty themselves into the river. I did not enter any of them, but I saw that tljey v^ere thickly overgrown with Defle AKABIA. 197 trees. My guide told me that no antiquities existed in these valleys, but the testimony of these people on such subjects is little to be relied on. The bottom of the Syk itself is at present covered with large stones, brought down by the torrent, and it appears to be several feet higher than its ancient level, at least to- wards its western extremity. After proceeding for twenty-five minutes between the rocks, we came to a place where the passage opens, and where the bed of another stream coming from the south joins the Syk. On the side of the perpendicular rock, directly oppo- site to the issue of the main valley, an excavated mausoleum came in view, the situation and beauty of which are calculated to make an extraordinary im- pression upon the traveller, after having traversed for nearly half an hour such a gloomy and almost subter- raneous passage as I have described. It is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity existing in Syria ; its state of preservation resembles that of a building recently finished, and on a closer examination I found it to be a work of immense labour.* • The whole description of this chasm, saj'S Robinson, finely illustrates the epithet which Diodorus Siculus applies to the single approach to Petra, viz. ^u^o^oitires, made by hand. This approach is also described by Legh, under date of May 26th, but more fully in the work of Captains Irby and Mangles. From the latter we subjoin here the following account : " The natural features of the defile grew more and more im- posing at every step, and the excavations and sculpture more frequent on both sides, till it presented at last a continued street of tombs, beyond which the rocks, gradually approaching each other, seemed all at once to close without any outlet. There is, however, one frightful chasm for the passage of the stream, 198 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. " The principal part is a chamber sixteen paces square, and about twenty-five feet high. There is not the smallest ornament on the walls, which are quite smooth, as well as the roof, but the outside of the entrance door is richly embellished with architec- which furnished, as it did anciently, the only avenue to Petra on this side. It is impossible to conceive any thing more awful or sublime than such an approach. The width is not more than just sufficient for the passage of two horsemen abreast ; the sides are in all parts perpendicular, varying from four hun- dred to seven hundred feet in height ; and they often overhang to such a degree, that, without their absolutely meeting, the sky is intercepted and completely shut out for one hundred yards together, and there is little more light than in a cavern. The screaming of the eagles, hawks, and owls, who were soar- ing above our heads in considerable numbers, seemingly annoy- ed at any one approaching their lonely habitation, added much to the singularity of this scene. The tamarisk, the wild fig, and the oleander, grow luxuriantly about the road, rendering the passages often difficult ; in some places, they hang down most beautifully from the cliffs and crevices where they had taken root. The caper-plant was also in luxuriant growth, the continued shade furnishing them moisture. " Very near the entrance into this romantic pass, a bold arch is thrown across at a great height, connecting the opposite sides of the cliff. Whether this was part of an upper road upon the summit of the mountain, or whether it be a portion of an aque- duct, which seems less probable, we had no opportunity of ex- amining ; but, as a traveller passes under it, its appearance is most surprising, hanging thus above his head betwixt two rug- ged masses apparently inaccessible. The ravine, without changing much its general direction, presents so many elbows and windings in its course, that the eye can seldom penetrate forward beyond a few paces, and is often puzzled to distinguish in what direction the passage will open, so completely does it ARABIA. 199 tural decorations. Several broad steps lead up to the entrance, and in front of all is a colonnade of four columns, standing between two pilasters. On each of the three sides of the great chamber is an apart- ment for the reception of the dead. A similar exca- appear obstructed. . . . We followed this sort of half- subterranean passage for the space of nearly two miles, the sides increasing in height as the path continually descended, while the tops of the precipices retained their former level. Where they are at the highest, a beam of stronger light breaks in at the close of the dark perspective, and opens to view, half seen at first through the tall, narrow opening, columns, statues, and cornices of a light and finished taste, as if fresh from the chisel, without the tints or weather-stains of age, and executed in a stone of a pale rose-colour, which was warmed, at the moment we came in sight of them, with the full light of the morning sun. The dark green of the shrubs that grow in this perpe- tual shade, and the sombre appearance of the passage, whence we were about to issue, formed a fine contrast with the glow- ing colour of this edifice. We know not with what to com- pare this scene ; perhaps there is nothing in the world that re- sembles it. Only a portion of a very extensive architectural elevation is seen at first ; but it has been so contrived, that a statue with expanded wings, perhaps of Victory, just fills the centre of the aperture in front, which being closed below by the sides of the rock folding over each other, gives to the figure the appearance of being suspended in the air at a considerable height ; the ruggedness of the cliflTs below setting ofi' the sculp- ture to the highest advantage. The rest of the design opened gradually as we advanced, till the narrow defile, which had continued thus far without any increase of breadth, spreads on both sides into an open area of a moderate size, whose sides are by nature inaccessible, and present the same awful and roman- tic features as the avenues which lead to it ; this opening gives admission to a great body of light from the eastward. The 200 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. vatioiij but larger, opens into each end of the vesti- bule, the length of which latter is not equal to that of the colonnade as it appears in front, but terminates at either end between the pilaster and the neighbouring column. The doors of the two apartments opening into the vestibule are covered with carvings richer and more beautiful than those on the door of the principal chamber. The colonnade is about thirty-five feet high, and the columns are about three feet in diameter, with Corinthian capitals. The pilasters at the two extremities of the colonnade, and the two columns nearest to them, are formed out of the solid rock, like all the rest of the monument ; but the two centre columns, one of which has fallen, were con- structed separately, and were composed of three pieces each. The colonnade is crowned with a pedi- ment, above which are other ornaments, which, if I distinguished them correctly, consisted of an insulated cylinder crowned with a vase, standing between two position is one of the most beautiful that could be imagined for the front of a great temple, the richness and exquisite finish of whose decorations ojBfer a most remarkable contrast to the sa- vage scenery. No part is built, the whole being purely a work of excavation ; and its minutest embeUishments, wherever the hand of man has not purposely eflFaced them, are so perfect, that it may be doubted whether any work of the ancients, excepting, perhaps, some on the banks of the Nile, have comedown to our time so little injured by the lapse of age. There is, in fact, scarcely a building of forty years' standing in England, so well preserved in the greater part of its architectural decorations. " The area before the temple is about fifty yards in width, and about three times as long. It terminates to the S. in a wild, precipitous cliflF."— Tr. ARABIA. 201 Other structures in the shape of small temples, sup- ported by short pillars. The entire front, from the base of the columns to the top of the ornaments, may be sixty or sixty-five feet. The architrave of the colonnade is adorned with vases, connected to- gether with festoons. The exterior wall of the chamber at each end of the vestibule, which pre- sents itself to the front between the pilaster and the neighbouring column, was ornamented with colossal figures in bas-relief; but I could not make out what they represented. One of them appears to have been a female mounted upon an animal, which, from the tail and hind leg, appears to have been a camel. All the other ornaments sculptured on the monument are in perfect preservation. '* The natives call this monument Kaszr Faraoun,''^ or Pharaoh's castle ; and pretend that it was the resi- dence of a prince. But it was rather the sepulchre of a prince, and great must have been the opulence of a city, which could dedicate such monuments to the memory of its rulers. " From this place, as I before observed, the Syk widens, and the road continues for a few hundred paces lower down through a spacious passage between the two cliffs. Several very large sepulchres are ex- cavated in the rocks on both sides ; they consist ge- nerally of a single lofty apartment with a flat roof; some of them are larger than the principal chamber in the Kaszr Faraoun. Of those which 1 entered, t:,^y=/» r^- 202 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. the walls were quite plain and unornamented ; in some of them are small side rooms, with excavations and recesses in the rock for the reception of the dead ; in others I found the floor itself irregularly excavated for the same purpose, in compartments six to eight feet deep, and of the shape of a coffin ; in the floor of one sepulchre I counted as many as twelve cavities of this kind, besides a deep niche in the wall, where the bodies of the principal members of the family, to whom the sepulchre belonged, were probably depo- sited. " On the outside of these sepulchres, the rock is cut awaj*^ perpendicularly above and on both sides of the door, so as to make the exterior fa9ade larger in general than the interior apartment. Their most common form is that of a truncated pyramid, and as they are made to project one or two feet from the body of the rock, they have the appearance, when seen at a distance, of insulated structures. On each side of the front is generally a pilaster, and the door is seldom without some elegant ornaments. These fronts resemble those of several of the tombs of Pal- myra; but the latter are not excavated in the rock, but constructed with hewn stones. I do not think, however, that there are two sepulchres in Wady Mousa perfectly alike ; on the contrary, they vary greatly in size, shape, and embellishments. In some places, three sepulchres are excavated one over the other, and the side of the mountain is so perpendicu- lar that it seems impossible to approach the upper- most, no path whatever being visible; some of the lower have a few steps before their entrance. ARABIA. 203 " In continuing a little farther among the sepulchres, the valley widens to about one hundred and fifty yards in breadth. Here to the left is ?. theatre cut entirely out of the rock, with all its benches. It may be capable of containing about three thousand spec- tators ; its area is now filled up with gravel, which the winter torrent brings down. The entrance of many of the sepulchres is in like manner almost choked up. There are no remains of columns near the theatre. Following the stream about one hundred and fifty paces further, the rocks open still farther, and I issued upon a plain two hundred and fifty or three hundred yards across, bordered by heights of more gradual ascent than before. Here the ground is covered with heaps of hewn stones, foundations of buildings, fragments of columns, and vestiges of paved streets ; all clearly indicating that a large city once existed here ; on the left side of the river is a iising ground extending westwards for nearly a quarter of an hour, entirely covered with similar remains.* On the right bank, where the ground is more elevated, ruins of the same description are also seen. In the valley near the river, the buildings have probably * " The defile assumes, for about 300 yards [beyond the temple], the same features which characterize the eastern ap- proach, with an infinite variety of tombs, both Arabian and Roman, on either side. This pass conducts (in a N. W. direc- tion) to the theatre ; and here, the ruins of the city burst on the view in their full grandeur, shut in, on the opposite side by barren, craggy precipices, from which numerous ravines and valleys, like those we had passed, branch out in all directions," Jrby and Mangles, — Tr, 204 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. been swept away by the impetuosity of the winter torrent ; but even here are still seen the foundations of a femple, and a heap of broken columns; close to which is a large Birket, or reservoir of water, still serving for the supply of the inhabitants during the summer. The finest sepulchres in Wady Mousa are in the eastern cliff, in front of this open space, where I counted upwards of fifty close to each other. High up in the cliff I particularly observed one large sepul- chre, adorned with Corinthian pilasters. " Farther to the west the valley is shut in by the rocks, which extend in a northern direction ; the river has worked a passage through them, and runs under ground, as I was told, for about a quarter of an hour. Near the west end of Wady Mousa are the remains of a stately edifice, of which part of the wall is still standing; the inhabitants call it Kaszr Bent Faraoun,'^6 or the Palace of Pharaoh's daughter. In my way 1 had entered several sepulchres, to the surprise of my guide, but when he saw me turn out of the footpath towards the Kaszr, he exclaimed: '' I see now clearly that you are an infidel, who have some particular business amongst the ruins of the city of your forefathers ; but depend upon it that we shall not suffer you to take out a single para of all the trea- sures hidden therein, for they are in our territory, and belong to us." I replied that it was mere curio- sity which prompted me to look at the ancient works, and that I had no other view in coming here, than to sacrifice to Haroun ; but he was not easily persuaded, ARABIA. 205 and I did not think it prudent to irritate him by too close an inspection of the palace, as it might have led him to declare, on our return, his belief that I had found treasures, which might have led to a search of my person, and to the detection of my journal, which would most certainly have been taken from me, as a book of magic. It is very unfortunate for European travellers that the idea of treasures being hidden in ancient edifices is so strongly rooted in the minds of the Arabs and Turks ; nor are they satis- fied with watching all the stranger's steps ; they be- lieve that it is sufficient for a true magician to have seen and observed the spot where treasures are hidden, (of which he is supposed to be already informed by the old books of the infidels who lived on the spot,) in order to be able afterwards, at his ease, to command the guardian of the treasure to set the whole before him. It was of no avail to tell them to follow me and see whether I searched for money. Their reply was, ' of course you will not dare to take it out before us, but we know that if you are a skilful magician you will order it to follow you through the air to what- ever place you please.' If the traveller takes the di- mensions of a building or a column, they are persuad- ed that it is a magical proceeding. Even the most liberal-minded Turks of Syria reason in the same manner, and the more travellers they see, the stronger is their conviction that their object is to search for treasures. . * Maou delayl,' ' he has indications of treasures with him,' is an expression I have heard a hundred times. *' On the rising ground to the left of the rivulet, just 206 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. opposite to the Kaszr Bent Faraoun, are the ruins of a temple, with one column yet standing, to which the Arabs have given the name of Zob Faraoun,* i. e. hasta virilis Pharaonis ; it is about thirty feet high, and composed of more than a dozen pieces. From thence we descended amidst the ruins of private habitations, into a narrow lateral valley, on the other side of which we began to ascend the mountain, upon which stands the tomb of Aaron. There are remains of an ancient road cut in the rock, on both sides of which are a few tombs. After ascending the bed of a torrent for about half an hour, I saw on each side of the road a large excavated cube, or rather truncated pyramid, with the entrance of a tomb in the bottom of each. Here the number of sepulchres increases, and there are also excavations for the dead in several natural caverns. A little farther on, we reached a high plain called Szetouh Haroun,'''' or Aaron's ter- race, at the foot of the mountain upon which his tomb is situated. There are several subterranean sepul- chres in the plain, with an avenue leading to them, which is cut out of the rocky surface. " The sun had already set when we arrived on the plain ; it was too late to reach the tomb, and I was excessively fatigued ; I therefore hastened to kill the goat, in sight of the tomb, at a spot where I found a number of heaps of stones, placed there in token of as many sacrifices in honour of the saint. While I was in the act of slaying the animal, my guide ex- claimed aloud, ' O Haroun, look upon us ! it is for ARABIA. 207 you we slaughter this victim. O Haroun, protect us and forgive us ! O Haroun, be content with our good intentions, for it is but a lean goat I O Haroun, smooth our paths; end praise be to the Lord oF all creatures !' This he repeated several times, after which ho covered the blood that had fallen oa the ground with a heap of stones ; we then dressed the best part of Ihe flesh for our supper, as expeditiously as possible, for the guide was afraid of the fire being seen, and its attracting hither some robbers. " August 23d. — The plain of Haroun and the neigh- bouring mountains have no springs ; but the rain water collects in low grounds, and in natural hollows in the rocks, where it partly remains the whole year round, even on the top of the mountain; but this year had been remarkable for its drought. Juniper trees grow here in considerable numbers. I had no great desire to see the tomb of Haroun, which stands on the summit of the mountain that was opposite to us, for I had been informed by several persons who had vi- sited it, that it contained nothing worth seeing except a large cofBn, like that of Osha in the vicinity of Szalt. My guide, moreover, insisted upon ray speedy return, as he was to set out the same day with a small cara- van for Maan ; I therefore complied M'ith his wishes, and we returned by the same road we had come. 1 regretted afterwards, that 1 had not visited Haroun's tomb, as I was told that there are several large and handsome sepulchres in the rock near it. A traveller ought, if possible, to see every thing with his own eyes, for the reports of the Arabs are little to be de- pended on, with regard to what may be interesting, in noint of nntinnifv • tViPv nftoi^ ovfnl fliinorc ivliir»Ii 208 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. upon examination, prove to be of no kind of interest, and speak with indifference of those which are curious and important. In a room adjoining the apartment, in which is the tomb of Haroun, there are three copper vessels for the use of those who slaughter the victims at the tomb ; one is very large, and destined for the boiling of the flesh of the slaughtered camel. Al- though there is at present no guardian at the tomb, yet the Arabs venerate the Sheikh too highly, to rob him of any of his kitchen utensils. The road from Maan and from Wady Mousa to Ghaza, leads by the tomb, and is much frequented by the people of Maan and the Bedouins ; on the other side of Haroun the road descends into the great valley.* • This tomb was visited by iMr. Legh and his party ; see the description of it by Legh under the date of May 26. The view fx-om the sumit of Mount Hor is said to be very fine. " No where," say captains Irby and Mangles, " is the extra- ordinary colouring of these mountains more striking, than in the road to the Tomb of Aaron. The rock sometimes presented a deep, sometimes a paler blue, and sometimes was occasionally streaked with red, or shaded off to lilac or purple; sometimes a salmon colour was veined in waved lines and circles with crimson and even scarlet, so as to resemble exactly the colour of raw meat ; in other places, there are livid stripes of yellow or bright orange, and in some parts, all the different colours were ranged side by side in parallel strata ; there are portions also with paler tints, and some quite white, but these last seem to be soft, and not good for preserving the sculpture. It is this wonderful variety of colours, observable throughout the whole range of mountains, that gives to Petra one of its most characteristic beauties ; the fa9ades of the tombs, tastefully as they are sculptured, owe much of their imposing appearance to this infinite diversity of hues in the stone. "—Tr. ARABIA. 209 «' In comparing the testimonies of the authors cited in Reland's Palcestinuy it appears very probable, that the ruins in Wady Mousa are those of the ancient Peh'a, and it is remarkable that Eusebius says the tomb of Aaron was shewn near Petra,''* Of this at least I am persuaded, from all the information I pro- cured, that there is no other ruin between the extre- mities of the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, of sufficient importance to answer to that city. Whether or not I have discovered the remains of the capital of Arabia Petrgea, I leave to the decision of Greek scholars, and shall only subjoin a few notes on these ruins. *' The rocks, through which the river of Wady Mousa has worked its extraordinary passage, and in which all the tombs and mausolea of the city have been exca- vated, as high as the tomb of Haroun, are sand-stone of a reddish colour. The rocks above Eldjy are cal- careous, and the sand-stone does not begin until the point where the first tombs are excavated. To the southward the sand -stone follows the whole extent of the great valley, which is a continuation of the Ghor. The forms of the summits of these rocks are so irregular and grotesque, that, when seen from afar, they have the appearance of volcanic mountains. The softness of the stone afforded great facilities to those who excavated the sides of the mountains ; but, un- fortunately, from the same cause it is in vain to look for inscriptions ; I saw several spots where they had existed, but they are all now obliterated * The po- "'^ See Onomastic. under " Or." Comp. Num. xx. 27, 28 ; xxxiii. 37, 38. • " The sidea of the mountains, covered with an endless 210 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. sition of this town was well chosen, in point of secu- rity ; as a few hundred men might defend the entrance to it against a large army;* but the communication with the neighbourhood must have been subjected to great inconveniences. I am not certain whether the passage of the Syk was made use of as a road, or whe- ther tlie road from the town towards Eldjy was formed through one of the side valleys of the Syk. The road A\estward towards Haroun and the valley below, is very difficult for beasts of burthen. The summer heats must have been excessive, the situation being surrounded on all sides by high barren cliffs, which concentrate the reflection of the sun, while they prevent the westerly winds from cooling the air. I saw nothing in the po- sition that could have compensated the inhabitants for these disadvantages, except the river, the benefit of which might have been equally enjoyed had the town been built below Eldjy. Security, therefore, was probably the only object which induced the people to overlook such objections, and to select such a sin- gular position for a city. The architecture of the variety of excavated tombs and private dwellings, presented altogether the most singular scene we had ever beheld ; and we must despair of giving the reader an idea of the singular effect of rocks tinted with the most extraordinary hues, whose sum- mits present to us nature in her most savage and romantic form, while their bases are worked out in all the symmetry and regularity of art, with colonnades, and pediments, and ranges of corridors adhering to the perpendicular surface." liby and Mangles. — Tu] * Hence the boast of the Edomites in the strength of their impregnable abode, Obad. v. i. Jer. xlix. 10, 16. ARABIA. 211 sepulchres, of which there are at least two hundred and fifty in the vicinity of the ruins, is of very different periods." In the ancient Seir, the modern Shera, dwelt for- merly the tribe of Maoriy'^^ who, in the period that elapsed between the death of Joshua and the com- mencement of the monarchy, joined the Amalekites in oppressing the Hebrews, but, in the reign of Hezekiah, were dispossessed of part of their lands by the Simeonites, 2 Chron. iv. 41, and were defeated along with the Arabs by king Uzziah, 2 Chron. xxvi. 7. There is still a place of the name of Maon^® south of the Wadi Mousa, on the Syrian pilgrim road to Mecca; and, in an extensive but now desolate tract of country, full of the ruins of destroyed towns and villages, it is the only place inhabited. " At Maon," says Burckhardt, " are several springs, to which the town owes its origin, and these, together with the circumstances of its being a station of the Syrian Hadj, are the cause of its still existing. The inhabitants have scarcely any other means of subsist- ence than the profits which they gain from the pil- ''^ ^"iyO J- D. Michaelis is in error when (in the Suppl. ad Lexx. Hebrr. p. 1533) he takes this Maon for a place of the same name in the tribe of Judah. ^° / . xbc^ • See Abulfeda's Syr. p. 14, and the additions in the Preface to the 2d Edit. p. 2. Volney's Travels, Vol. II. ; but chiefly Burckhardrs Travels in Syria (p. 436, 437 of the original Eng.) from which the above particulars have been taken. 212 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. grims in their way to and from Mecca, by buying up all kinds of provisions at Hebron and Ghaza, and sell- ing them with great profit to the weary pilgrims ; to whom the gardens and vineyards of Maon are no less agreeable than the wild herbs collected by the people of Maon are to their camels. The pomegranates, apricots, and peaches of Maon are of the finest qualit3\ In years, when a very numerous caravan passes, pomegranates are sold for one piastre each, and every thing in the same proportion. During the two days' staj' of the pilgrims in going, and as many in returning, the people of Maon earn as much as keeps them the whole year. Maon is situated in the midst of a rocky country, not capable of cultivation ; the inhabitants therefore depend upon their neigh- bours of Djebal and Shera for their provision of wheat and barley. The inhabitants, considering their town as an advanced post to the sacred city of Medina, apply themselves, with great eagerness, to the study of the Koran. The greater part of them read and write, and many of them serve in the ca- pacity of Imams, or secretaries, to the great Bedouin Sheikhs. The two hills upon which the town is built divide the inhabitants into two parties, almost incessantly engaged in quarrels, which are often sanguinary: no individual of one party ever marries into a family belonging to the other." The district of Sherath ends on the south-west of Maon with the valley of Gharendely the stream of which empties itself into the valley of El-Araba,^^ in *^ Xj^ . Burckhardt, p. 441. ARABIA. 2ia whose sands its waters are lost. It partly consists of a wide sandy plain, whose surface is broken by innu- merable undulations and low hills. Between these are seen, here and there, a few acacias and tamarisks ; but the depth of sand precludes all vegetation of her- bage. Numerous Bedouin tribes encamp here in winter, when the torrents produce a copious supply of water, and a few shrubs spring up upon their banks, affording pasturage to the sheep and goats. Burckhardt^^ conjectures, that in this country lay Kadesh-Barnea,^^ or Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. This is not improbable, as that place was on the borders of Idumeea, and there Moses negociated with the king of the Edomites for a passage through his territory. Num. xx. 14, 16, 22 ; chap, xxxiii. 36, 37. Deut. i. 19. Towards the west the Desert of Kadesh met the wilderness of Paran, (Num. xiii. 27. Comp. Gen. xiv. 7) ; and Eusebius places Kadesh in the neighbourhood of Petra. In his time the tomb of Miriam, the sister of Moses, was shewn there. Num. XX. 1. The southern boundary line of the tribe of Judah is said, in Josh. xv. 3, to have passed through Kadesh-Barnea, but the real possessions of that tribe seem never to have extended so far south. The two southernmost points of the Edomitish ter- ritory, were the seaports of Elath and Eziongeber,^"^ These places are spoken of (Deut. ii. 8,) as adjacent to each other ; for Moses, in recounting to the Israel- *2 Travels, p. 443. '^ VTSll tJ^lp» 214 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. ites the principal events, that had occurred since they left Egypt, says : " When we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber^ we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab." Both towns lay at the north end of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, which, from the first named town Elath, (called by the Greeks and Romans Elana,) was designated the bay of Elana, or the Elanitic Gulf.^^ It now bears the name of Bahr El-Akahah, the bay or gulf Akaba, from a castle of that name lying at the foot of a precipitous moun- tain. ^^ By the Arabian geographers of the middle age, that steep cliff was called Akabah-Aila,*^ i. e. the " Steep of Alia/' and the Bedouins of the country still **^ This gulf does not form two branches at its extremity, (as it was formerly laid down in maps,) but has only a single end- ing, at which the castle is situated. Burckhardt, p. 510. ^^ The Arabic name Xxjic signifies " a steep declivity." *^ XXj! ^aJIc. See EdrisVs Geograph. Clim. III. Sect. 5, p. 1, of the Arab. text. Comp. Schultens Index Geogr. ad Vit. Salad, under " Aila." RommeVs Abulfedea Arab. Descript. p. 78, and Reland's Palaest. p. 654. The Egyptian Historian El-Makrizi, says of Aila (in a passage translated by Burck- hardt, at p. 511.) " It is from hence that the Hedjaz begins ; in former times it was the frontier place of the Greeks ; at one mile from it, is a triumphal arch of the Caesars. In the time of the Islam it was a fine town, inhabited by the Beni-Omeya. Ibn Ahmed Ibn Touloun (a Sultan of Egypt,) made the road over the Akaba or steep mountain before Aila. There were many Mosques at Aila, and many Jews lived there. It was ARABIA. 215 call Akabah by a similar naiiie.^^ Solomon construct- ed at Eziongeber, with the aid of Tyrian shipbuilders, vessels which being manned with Phoenician sailors, went in company with the fleet of Hiram to Ophir, and brought thence the productions of India, 1 Kings ix. 26, 27, 28; x. 21, 22. This navigation of the Arabian Gulf must have been continued by the Jews after the time of Solomon, for it is said in 1 Kings xxii. 49, that the ships which Jehosaphat had built to send to Ophir, were wrecked at Eziongeber. The plain of Akaba, (or Elath and Eziongeber, Deut. ii. 8,) which is from three to four hours in length from west to east, and not much less in breadth north- ward, is very fertile in pasturage. To the distance of about one hour from the sea it is strongly impregnated with salt, but farther north sands prevail. The castle itself stands at a few hundred paces from the sea, and is surrounded with large groves of date trees. It is a square building with strong walls, erected, as it now stands, by Sultan el-Ghour^' of Egypt, in the sixteenth century. In its interior are many Arab huts ; a mar- ket is held there which is frequented by Hedjaz and Syrian Arabs ; and small caravans arrive sometimes from Khalyl, (Hebron). The castle has tolerably good water in deep wells. The Pasha of Egypt kept here a garrison of about thirty soldiers to guard the provisions taken by the Franks during the Crusades ; but in 5C6 (of the Hegira,) Salaheddyn transported ships upon Camels from Cairo to this place, and recovered it from them. JVear Aila was formerly situated a large and handsome town called Aszyoun" / , »^>jAa£ , Eziongeber. 8» Descript. of Arabia, p. 400. 216 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. deposited for the supply of the Hadj, and for the use of the cavalry on their passage by this route to join the army in the Hedjaz. Cut off from Cairo, the sol" diers of the garrison often turned rebellious : an Aga once made himself independent, and whenever a corps of troops passed, he shut the gates of the castle and pre- pared to defend it. He had married a daughter of the chief of the Omran, and thus secured the assis- tance of that tribe. Being at last attacked by some troops sent against him from Cairo, he fled to his wife's tribe and escaped into Syria. It appears that the gulf extends very little farther east than the castle, distant from which one hour in a southern direction, and on the eastern shore of the gulf, lies a smaller and half ruined castle inhabited by Bedouins only, called Kaszer el-Bedawy. At about three quarters of an hour from Akaba, and the same distance from Kaszer el-Bedawy, are ruins in the sea, which are visible only at low water. They are said* to consist of walls, houses, and columns, but cannot easily be approached on account of the shallows.^^ Perhaps these are the ruins of Eziongeber.^o * [It is right to add that this information was not given to Burckhardt by his guides, but (after his return to Cairo), by some iNJamlooks in the araiy of Mohammed Ali Pacha, who had formerly been for several weeks in garrison at Akaba ; and they had never seen the ruins except from a distance.'* — Tt.\ 89 Burckhardt, p. 509. 50 Bmching, in the third edition of his Geography of Asia, (p. 620) places Eziongeber where Sherme now lies (on Nie- buhr's IMap, Dsjerm), a spacious harbour, surrounded with high and steep rocks, and the entrance very narrow; ARABIA. 217 3. The Amalekites. To the west of the Edomites dwelt the Amalekites,''^ who, according to the traditions both of the Jews and Arabs, were among the most ancient people of Arabia. We find them mentioned so early as the time of " Sherme," says he, " I take to be Ezion-Geber, whither the Israelites came in their wanderings. (Num. xxxiii. 35, 36. Deut. ii. 8), and whence Solomon's fleet set sail to Ophir, 1 Kings ix. 26. 2 Chron. viii. 17, 18. For, in the former passage, it is said that Ezion-Geber lay (not " near'' but) along with Efath on the Red Sea, in the land of the Edomites, to whom this country formerly belonged ; and, according to Bochart's explanation, (in his " Canaan," p. 764), the name lIl^"P oy signifies a rock which runs into the sea in the form of a man's back. Now, a high rock of this description is off Sherme, and upon it the ships of Jehosaphat were wrecked in setting out for Ophir, 1 Kings xxvii. 49. 2 Chron. xx. 36, 37." This opinion of Busching is certainly erroneous, for Eziongeber is expressly placed by the Arabian geographers near Ailah or Elath, (see note 87), whereas Sherme lies not far from the promontory of Ras-Abu Mohammed, at the southern extremity of the Gulf of Elath. Niebuhr incorrectly writes the name Dsjerm, ^ ^ ; it is rather ^ ^ , Sherm, i. e, a bay or cove. There are here two deep inlets not far dis- tant, but separated by high land, in which ships can lie with the utmost security. See Burckhardi, p. 527. [The Arabian geographer Edrisi, mentions both these bays, calling the one Sherm-el-Beitf the Bay of the House, and the other, Sherm-el- Bir, the Bay of the Well. Sherm is about four or five hours distant from the Cape of Ras Abu Mohammed.— Tr.] 218 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Abraham, Gen. xiv. 7 ; and Balaam calls them < the first of the nations," Num. xxiv, 20. According to the Arabs, Amalek was a son of Aad, a great grand- son of Ham, the second son of Noah,^^ or, according to others, a grandson of Shem.^^ Regarding the countries inhabited by the Amalekites in the earliest times, some conjecture may be formed from the account given in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis of the ex- pedition of Chedorlaomer and his allies against the confederate kings in the east of Palestine. For after he had overran the country from north to south, by Astaroth-Karnaim and Seir or Sheratb, into the wil- derness of Paran, he then turned towards Kadesh, and passed through the land of the Amalekites and Amorites^ who dwelt at Hazazon-Thamar or Engedi. It may thence be gathered, that the Amalekites were settled between Kadesh, Mount Seir,, and En- gedi, a tract bounded on the north, west by the terri- tory of the Philistines, and on the south by Egypt or the desert of Mount Sinai. We likewise find, from 1 Sam. XV. 7; xxvi. 8, that the dwellings of the 32 See D'HerbeloVs Bibl. Orient, under " Amlik," and Re- land's Palaest. p. 81. ^2 See De Sacy's Excerpta ex Abulfeda, in the New Edit, of Pococke's Specimen. Hist. Arab. p. 4G4 ; j^j-J * — AaL»X -Ia*- . yj i^"^ . Some erroneously make the progenitor of the tribe to be the Amalek who is mentioned in Gen. xxxvi. 12, among the posterity of Esau, but see Michaelis' Spicileg. Geog. Hebr. Ext. Part I. p. 171. Other eastern traditions confound the Amalekites with the Philistines and the Canaan- ites. See D'Herbelot and Michaelis, in loo. ARABIA. 219 Amalekites extended as far as to Shur, i. e. Pelusium, which was a frontier town of Egypt.^* Hence the Amalekites were the first who opposed the passage of the Hebrews on their journey from Egypt, but were defeated by them, Exod. xvii. 8 — 13 ; though, on a subsequent occasion, they were, along with the Ca- naanites, the victors, Num. xiv. 39 — 45. In the time of the Judges, also, they prosecuted successful wars against some of the tribes of Israel, in conjunction with the Ammonites and Mid ianites, Judges iii. 13; vi. 3. Saul gained a complete victory over them, and took prisoner their king Agag, who was after- wards hewn in pieces by Samuel, 1 Sam. xv. It was one of the offences charged against Saul,* which ^* This agrees tolerably well with the account of Josephus in his Antiqq. VI. 7. 3, where he says the territory of the Amalekites extended from Pelusium to the Arabian Gulf; but, in the same work, (at III. 2. 1), he incorrectly places it farther east, towards Gobolitis, (Djebal) and Petra. • According to Jewish and Arab tradition, the Amalekites belonged to the doomed tribes of Canaan, with whom they are always associated, and never with Esau's posterity, the ' bre- thren' of Israel. When the people were in straits at their entry into the wilderness, these Amalekites basely way-laid them, and cut off those who were too weak to keep up with the rest. This unprovoked cruelty had drawn from God the determination to ' blot out their name from under heaven' — a decree which was put nn record for the guidance of Israel's fu- ture king, Deut. xxv. 18, 19. In almost every league against Israel we find the Amalekites a party, Ps. Ixxxiii. 7 ; as with the Canaanites, Num. xiv. 45 ; Moabites and Ammonites, Judges iii. 13; Midianites, Judges vi. 3; and just before the command given to Saul, they had '^ spoiled the land," 1 Sam. 220 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. led to his being depnved of the kingdom, that he did not make this a war of utter extermination, as God had expressly commanded. ^^ During David's resi- dence among the Philistines, he made an inroad upon the Amalekites, sparing neither male nor female; but they took their revenge by attacking and destroy- ing Ziklag during his absence, though he pursued them with success on his return, and recovered the spoil, 1 Sam. xxvii. and xxx. After he at- tained supreme power, he appears to have made xiv. 48. Besides all this, they were sinners above others (ch. XV. 18,) and had made many a woman childless (ver. 33.) ; and being a wild, unsettled, aggressive, prasdatory race, Israel's hereditary and implacable foes, there Avas a social necessity that such dangerous neighbours should be extirpated, or re- moved from the frontiers of a settled people. — Tr. '^ Something similar is found in the Arab tradition preserved by Abulfeda, in the passage referred to in Note 93 ; only that what the Hebrew history mentions as the work of Samuel, is there ascribed to 31oses. The account is, that after the con- fusion of tongues, the Amalekites settled at Sanaa in Yemen, or Southern Arabia, after they had extirpated the aborigines. Another portion fi.xed their abode in Syria, but were attacked first by Moses and then by Joshua, who rooted them out. But a third tribe had possessed themselves of Yathreb, (Medina) Chaibar, (in Nedjd, that part of Arabia which adjoins Syria,) and some other districts of the Hedjaz. Against these Closes sent an army with orders to exterminate them utterly. This army overcame and destroyed the Amalekites, but preserved the life of the king's son, and carried him a prisoner to Syria, where Moses had recently died. The rest of the Hebrews, however, reproached their countrymen with not having executed the command in all its rigour, and refused to allow them to settle again in the midst of them ; whereupon they resolved to return and take possesslo)i of the country that had been occupied by ARABIA. 221 them his tributaries, for they are mentioned in 2 Sam. viii. 11, 12, among the conquered nations who sent gifts, that were dedicated by him to the Lord. At a later period they must have been very mucii reduced, since, in the days of Hezekiah, the Simeonites expelled the remnant of thpm from their territories, and took possession of them, I Chron. iv. 42, 43. After tiiis there is no farther mention of the Amalekites in history. A " city of the Ama- lekites" is spoken of in 1 Sam. xv. 5, but witliout any notice either of tlie name or the site. 4. The Kenites,^^ The Kenites* are mentioned in Gen. xv. 19, among the tribes who, in the time of Abraham, dwelt in the land of Canaan. They seem, how- ever, to have removed at an early period towards the southern borders of the country, (having perhaps been expelled by the Canaanites), and to have settled among the Midianites. For Hobab, a brother of Je- the Amalekites. This it is said is the reason why there were Jews in Chaibar in the time of ]\Iahomet. In the MS. of Abulfeda, from which De Sacy edited this passage, (p. 544,) when the name Moses occurs, there is written on the margin in a diflFeient hand, Ju^c^^l^ ^j ^^^ "^ . ^ot Moses, but Samvel. ^^ A variety of crude and unfounded opinions respecting the origin and residence of this tribe, will be found in And. Mur- ray's Commentatio de Kinaeis, qua varia Cod. S. loca ilUistran- tur, Hamburg, 1718. 8vo. • [This paragraph is taken from the author's volume on Pa- lestine, to which, in his chapter on Arabia, he here makes a reference — Tr.~\ 222 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. thro the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, Is called the father of the Keni, Judges i. 16 ; iv. 11. It would appear from the prophecy of Balaam in Numb. xxiv. 21, 22., that in the time of Moses, the Kenites occu- pied a mountainous tract in the neighbourhood of the Moabites and Araalekites. Balaam says : " Strong is thine abode, and founded on a rock is thy nest :" where there is perhaps a paranomasia on the word ken^ which is the Hebrew for a nest. In the days of Saul, we find them located among the Amalekites, 1 Sam. XV. 6. 5. The Midianites. Among the sons of Abraham, whom he had by his second wife Keturah, the fourth was Midian.^'^ His descendants must have settled in Arabia, and engaged in trade at an early period, for in Gen. xxxvii. 28, they appear along with the Ishmaelites, (see above at p. 142,) as merchants who travelled from Gilead to Egypt, and having on their way bought Joseph from his brethren, sold him in Egypt, v. 36.* There was a country of Midian in the neighbourhood of Mounts Sinai and Horeb, where Jethro and Hobab lived, the father-in-law and brother-in-law of Moses, Exod. iii. 2 ; xviii. 5. Numb. x. 29. These must have been • In the Heb. text there is here D^^TDH the Medanites • T i — instead of D^^^ID ver. 28. Medan was an elder brother of Midian, Gen. XXV. 2. Whether their respective descendants had become united in one tribe, or formed two distinct races, it is impossible to decide. i ARABIA. 223 a different branch from those Midianites, who, in con- junction with the Moabites (Num. xxii. 4, 5,) way- laid the Hebrews as they approached Canaan, and enticed them to idolatry, Num. xxii. 4, 5 ; xxv. 6, 14 — 18. On this account Moses attacked them with a strong force, killed all their fighting men, including their five princes, making the women and children captives, Num. ch. xxx. At an earlier period these Midianites had been discomfited by the Edomites, in the fields of Moab, Gen. xxxvi. 35. Some time after the Israelites obtained possession of Canaan, the Mi- dianites had become so numerous and powerful, thnt for seven successive years, they made an inroad on the Hebrew territory in the time of harvest, carrying off the fruits and cattle, and desolating the land. At length Gideon was raised up as the deliverer of his country, and his triumph was so complete, that the Hebrews v/ere never more molested by ihem, Judges vi. 1 — 6; vi. 7; ch. vii. and viii. To this victory we find frequent allusions in the writings of the Hebrew poets, Ps. Ixxxiii. 10, 12. Isaiah ix. 4; x. 26. Habak. iv. 7. That the Midianites, both in early and later times, were famous for the rearing of camels, appears from Judges vii. 12. Isaiah Ix. 6. The Arabian geographers of the middle age, Edrisi,98 Ibn el-Wardi,^^ and Abulfeda,ioo speak of the ruins of an ancient town of Madian,^^^ on the *" Clim. III. Sect. 5, p. 3 of the Arab. text. ^9 At p. 78, 182 of the edit, of Hylander. '^ RommeVs Ahulfedea Arab. Descript. p. 77- o - •01 V 224 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. east side of the Red Sea, where Moses is supposed to have watered the flocks of Shoaib or Jethro. It was the same as Modiana, a town in that district mention- ed by Ptolemy .^°^ Niebuhr^o^ conjectures that the site is now occupied by Moilah, a small town or rather village, with a castle on the pilgrim-road from Egypt, and on the Red Sea. But that place lies too far south of Mount Sinai, to be identified with the Mi- dian of Jethro. The eldest son of Midian was Epha,^^'^ Gen. xxv. 4. His descendants formed a separate tribe, who are mentioned in Isa. \%. 6, along with Midian, as famous for their breed of camels. '^^ 6. The Peninsula of Mount Sinai and the Desert ofEl'Tyh. The southern part of Arabia Petraea is a penin- 10^ V. If). ^03 Descript. of Arabia, p. 377- Comp. Gosselin in Bred;)\v's Researches, Vol. II. p. 233. T 1°^ Bochmt in his Hieroz. (I. 2, 3, Tom. I. p. 15,) supposes that Hippo in Arabia Felix, mentioned by Ptolemy immediately after Modiana, was the same as Ephah ; but that is very un- certain. The Sept. explains HD^V in Isa. Ix. 6, by Tat'^^ The ancient xarrtKOVTii l-rt rhv voritit ^a.Xa,ffffa.v composed of nlH* H^D? is very unsatisfactory. The Apostle Paul says, (Gal. iv. 24.) that Mount Sinai was also called Hagar. That is the Arabic :^ a rock. Harant, an old translator, quoted by Busching, (Geography of Asia, p. 603,) says, that in his day, the Arabs still used that name for Mount Sinai ; but it is not known to be so tniployed now. i ARABIA. 241 in the fifth book, as also in Malachi iv. 4, it bears the name of Hhoreb}^^ Conip. Exod. xix. 20 ; xxiv. 16; xxxi. 18; xxxiv. 2, 29. Levit. vii. 38; xxvi. 46. Num. iii. 1, with Deut. i. 6 ; iv. 10, 15 ; v. 2 ; xviii. 16 ; xxxi. 1. The latfer is the designation of a single mountain ; the entire range bears the name of Sinai, or in Arabic Djehel Mousa}^^ i. e. " the Mountain of Moses." At its foot lies the convent of Mount Sinai, in a valley so narrow that one part of the building stands on the side of the western mountain, while a space of twenty paces only is left between its walls and the eastern mountain. Immediately behind the walls of the convent the road to the Djebel Mousa begins to ascend. Regular steps were formerly cut al! the way up, but they are now either entirely "^ ^'^h Drought. "2 ^M*^^ i^■^=r•• The older travellers use the names Sinai, Horeb, and Mount St. Catherine without distinction ; see re- specting that confusion of names BUsching's Geogr. of Asia, p. 600. We follow chiefly Niebuhr, (Travels, Part I. p. 247,) and Burckhardt, p. 5G5. Comp. Game's " Letters from the East," which first appeared in the New Monthly ^Jagazine for 1824 — 25, and were translated into German by Von Lin- dau. Dresden, 1' 20. In JustVs Annual. " Die Vorzeit" for 1826 and 1827, there appeared " The Pilgrimage of Albert, Count Lowestein, from Jerusalem to Mount Sinai, in the year 1 50 1," said to be edited from a MS. ; but the worthy Edi- tor does not seem to have been aware that it had formerly ap- peared in the collection of Sigm. Feyerabend, entitled " Rays- buch des Heil. Landes." 242 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. destroyed, or so much damaged by the winter tor- rents as to be of very little use. " After ascending for twenty-five minutes," says Burckhardt, " we breathed a short time under a large impending rock, close by which is a small well of water as cold as ice ; at the end of three quarters of an hour's steep ascent, we came to a small plain, the entrance to which from below is through a stone gateway, which in former times was probably closed. A little be- neath it stands a small church dedicated to the Vir- gin. On the plain is a larger building of rude con- struction, which bears the name of the convent of St. Elias ; it was lately inhabited, but is now abandoned, the monks repairing here only at certain times of the year to read mass. Pilgrims usually halt on this spot, where a tall cypress tree grows by the side of a stone tank, which receives the winter rains. On a large rock in the plain are several Arabic inscriptions engraved by pilgrims three or four hundred years ago. According to the Koran and the Moslem tra- ditions, it was in this part of the mountain, called Djebel Oreb or Horeb, that Moses communicated with the Lord. From hence a still steeper ascent of half an hour (the steps of which are also in ruins), leads to the summit of Djebel Mousa, where stands the church, which forms the principal object of the pilgrimage ; it is built on the very peak of the moun- tain, the plane of which is at most sixty paces in cir- cumference. The church, though strongly built of granite, is now greatly dilapidated by the unremitted attempts of the Arabs to destroy it ; the door, roof, ARABIA. 243 and walls, are greatly injured. About thirty paces from the church, on a somewhat lower peak, stands a poor Mosque, without any ornaments, held in great veneration by the Moslems, and the place of their pilgrimage. It is frequently visited by the Be- douins, who slaughter sheep in honour of Moses, and who make vows to him, and entreat his intercession in heaven in their favour. There is a feast day, on which the Bedouins come hither in a mass and offer their sacrifices. The Arabs believe, that the tables of the commandments are buried beneath the pave- ment of the church in Djebel Mousa, and they have made excavations on every side in hopes of finding them. They more particularly revere this spot, from a belief that the rains which fall in the peninsula are under the immediate control of Moses ; and they are persuaded that the priests in the convent are in possession of the Taourat, a book sent down to Moses from heaven, upon the opening and shutting of which depend the rains of the peninsula," * * * " We returned," continues Burckhardt, " to the con- vent of St. Elias, and then descended on the eastern side of the mountain for half an hour, by another decayed flight of steps, into a valley, where is a small convent called El-Erhayn^ or the forty ; it is in good repair, and is at present inhabited by a family of Djebalye, who take care of the garden annexed to it, which aflTords a pleasing place of rest to tho?e who descend from the barren mountains above. In its neighbourhood are extensive olive plantations." Opposite to the Djebel Mousa, which forms the western cliff of this narrow valley, rises Mount St, 244 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Catharine,^^^ almost in the centre of the Sinai ridge. " After proceeding about an liour (from St. Elias), we stopped near a small well, where we found several huts of Djebalye, and cleared a place among the rocksj where our party encamped for the night. The wall is called Bir Slionnar, from the circumstance of a monk, who was wandering in these mountains, and nearly dying of thirst, havifig miraculously discover- ed it by seeing the bird Shonnar fly up from the spot ; it is closely surrounded by rocks, and is not more than a foot in diameter, and as much in depth. The Bedouins say that it never dries up, and that its water, even when exposed to the sun, is as cold as ice. Several trees grow near it, amongst others the Zarour. While in the lower country, and particu- larly on the sea shore, I found the thermometer often at 102^ — 105o, and even at llO"; in the convent it never stood higher than 75^ The simoom wind never reaches these upper regions. In winter the whole of the upper Sinai is covered with snow, which chokes up many of the passes, and renders 1*3 Btisching, (in the work before cited, p. G02, 606), takes IMount St. Catharine for the mountain of Sinai, which Moses ascended, and this chiefly on the ground, that Josephus (Antiqq. III. 5. 1), calls fciuai the highest mountain in the country, (to 'SivkTov, v(pnXorarov rav Iv Ixsivoig toii ^^iki^ios o^aj*), and this applies to .^louut St. Catharine. When Josephus adds that Mount Sinai is inaccessible, and that its summit is not yisi'ule to mortal eye, these are to be classed among the fanci- ful exaggerations in which he sometimes indulges. [Some recent writers bring forward very plausible arguments for JMount Serbal heing the Sinai of the Bible. See especially Kitio, in the Pict. Bible and Pict. History of Palestine — Tr.] ARABIA. 245 the mountains of Moses and St. Catharine inacces- sible. The chniate is so different from that of Egypt, that fruits are nearly two months later in ripening here than in Cairo ; apricots, which begin to be in season there in the last days of April, are not fit to eat in Sinai till the middle of June. We left our resting place before sunrise, and climbed up a steep ascent, where there had formerly been steps which are now entirely destroyed. This side of Djebel Katerin, or Mount St. Catharine, is noted for its excellent pasturage ; herbs sprout up every where between the rocks, and, as many of them are odori- ferous, the scent, early in the morning, when the dew falls, is delicious. After a very slow ascent we reached Mount St. Catharine, which, like the Moun- tain of Moses, terminates in a sharp point; its highest part consists of a single immense block of granite, whose surface is so smooth that it is very difficult to ascend it. Luxuriant vegetation reaches up to this rock ; and the side of the mountain presented a ver- dure which, had it been of turf instead of shrubs and herbs, would have completed the resemblance be- tween this mountain and some of the Alpine sum- mits. There is nothing on the summit of the rock to attract attention, except a small church or chapel, hardly high enough within to allow a person to stand upright, and badly built of loose uncemented stones; the floor is the bare rock, in which (solid as it is) the body of St. Catharine is believed to have been mi- raculously buried by angels after her martyrdom at Alexandria. Mr. Seetzen, however, has fallen into a mistake in calling the convent by the name of St. 246 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Catharine. It is dedicated to the transfiguration, or as tlie Greeks called it, the metamorphosis, and not to St. Catharine, whose relics only are preserved here.'''^ " The convent is an irregular quadrangle of about one hundred and thirty paces, enclosed by high and solid walls, built with blocks of granite, and fortified by several small towers. While the French were in Egypt, a part of the east wall, which had fallen down, was completely rebuilt by order of General Kleber, who sent workmen here for that purpose. The upper part of the walls in the interior is built of a mixture of granite, sand, and gravel, cemented together by mud, which has acquired great hardness. The con- vent contains eight or ten small court yards, some of which are neatly laid out in beds of flowers and ve- getables ; a (ew date trees and cypresses also grow there, and great numbers of vines. The distribution of the interior is very irregular, and could not be otherwise, considering the slope upon which the building stands ; but the whole is very clean and neat. There are a great number of small rooms in the lower and upper stories, most of which are at present un- occupied. The principal building in the interior is the great church, which, as well as the convent, was built by the Emperor Justinian, but it has subsequent- ly undergone frequent repairs. The form of the church is an oblong square ; the roof is supported by a double row of fine granite pillars, which have been covered with a coat of white plaster, perhaps because ^44 Burckhardt, p. SSa. ARABIA. 247 the natural colour of the stone was not agreeable to the monks, who saw granite on every side of them. The capitals of the columns are of different designs; several of them bear a resemblance to palm branches, while others are a close but coarse imitation of the latest period of Egyptian sculpture, such as is seen at Philae and in several temples in Nubia. The dome over the altar still remains as it was constructed by Justinian, whose portrait, with tliat of his wife Theo- dora, may yet be distinguished on the dome, together with a large picture of the transfiguration, in honour of which event the convent was erected. " An abundance of silver lamps, paintings, and por- traits of saints, adorn the walls round the altar. Among the latter is a St. Christopher, with a dog's head. The floor of the church is finely paved with slabs of marble. " Besides the great church, there are twenty-seven smaller churches or chapels dispersed over the con- vent, in many of which daily masses are read, and in all of them at least one every Sunday. But what is more remarkable than the existence of so many churches, is, that close by the great church stands a Mahometan mosque, spacious enough to contain two hundred people at prayers. A few poor Bedouins are the servants of the mosque, which they clean on Thursday evenings and light the lamps ; one of them is called the Imam. The mosque is sometimes visited by Moslim pilgrims, but it is only on the oc- casion of the presence of some Mussulman of conse- quence that the call to prayers is made from the mi- 248 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. riaret. Whenever a new Sultan ascends the throne of Constantinople, the convent is furnished with a new firmahn, which is transmitted to the Pasha of Egypt. At present, (1816,) there are only twenty- three monks in the convent. They are under the presidence of aWakyl^^^sQp prior, but thelkonomos,^'*^ whom the x'^rabs call the Kolob,^*^ is the true head of the community, and manages all its affairs. The order of Sinai Monks, dispersed over the east, is under the control of an x\rchbishop, called, in Arabic, the Reys.^"*^ He is chosen by a council of delegates from Mount Sinai, and from the affiliated convent at Cairo, and he is con firmed /jro^r/w^ by the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Archbishop can do nothing as to the appropriation of the funds without the unanimous vote of the council. Formerly he lived in the con- vent, but, since its affairs have been on the decline, it has been found more expedient that he should reside abroad, his presence here entitling the Bedouins to great fees, particularly on his entrance into the con- vent. The discipline of these monks, with regard to food and pra3'er, is very severe. They are obliged to attend mass twice in the day and twice in the night. The rule is, that they shall taste no flesh whatever all the year round; and in their great feast, they not only abstain from butter, and every kind of animal food and fish, but also from oil, and live four days in i-*7 From i,^'i tractavit versando negotia. '''* U**""/-* ARABIA. 249 the week on bread and boiled vegetables, of which one small dish is all their dinner. They obtain their ve- getables from a pleasant garden adjoining the build- ing, into which there is a subterraneous passage ; the soil is stony, but, in this climate, wherever water is in plenty, the very rocks will produce vegetation. The fruit is of the finest quality, oranges, lemons, almonds, mulberries, apricots, peaches, pears, apples, olives, nehek trees, and a few cypresses, overshade the beds in which melons, beans, lettuces, onions, cucum- bers, and all sorts of culinary and sweet-scented herbs are sown. " We returned, in the evening, to the convent, by following, to the northward, the valley in which the Erbayn stands. This valley is very narrow ahd ex- tremely stony, many large blocks having rolled from the mountains into it; it is called El Ledja, a name given to a similar rocky district in the Haouran. At twenty minutes walk from the Erbayn we passed a block of granite said to be the rock out of which the water issued when struck by the rod of Moses, (Exod, xvii. 1 — 7.) It lies quite insulated by the side of the path, which is about ten feet higher than the bottom of the valley. The rock is about twelve feet in height, of an irregular shape, approaching to a cube. There are some apertures upon its surface, through which the water is said to have burst out ; they are about twenty in number, and lie nearly in a straight line round the three sides of the stone. They are, for the most part, ten or twelve inches long, two or three inches broad, and from one to two inches deep, but a few of them are as deep as four inches. 230 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. " Everyobservei'i^^raustbe convinced, on the slight- estexamination, thatmost of these fissures are the work of art, but three or four, perhaps, are natural, and these may have first drawn the attention of the monks to the stone, and have induced them to call it the rock of the miraculous supply of water. Besides the marks of art evident in the holes themselves, the spaces between them have been chiselled so as to make it appear as if the stone had been worn in those parts by the action of the water; though it cannot be doubted that, if water had flowed from the fissures, it must, generally, have taken quite a different direction. One traveller saw, on this stone, twelve openings, answering to the twelve tribes of Israel ; another describes the holes as a foot deep. They were probably told so by the monks, and believed what they heard rather than what they saw. " About one hundred and fifty paces farther on in the valley lies another piece of rock, upon which it seems that the work of deception was first begun, there being four or five apertures cut in it similar to those on the other block, but in a less finished state. As it is somewhat smaller than the former, and lies in a less conspicuous part of the valley, removed from the public path, the Monks probably thought proper, in process of time, to assign the miracle to the other.^^^' As the rock of Moses has been described by travellers of the fifteenth century, the deception "9 Burckhardt, p. 579. 150 For farther information regarding this rock, from Shaw, Pococke, andMosbeim, see Rosenmuller*s Morgenland, Part II. No. 234, p. 44. ARABIA. 251 must have originated among the Monks of an earlier period. As to the present inhabitants of the con- vent and peninsula, thej' must be acquitted of any fraud respecting it ; for they conscientiously believe that it is the very rock from which the water gushed forth. In this part of the peninsula the Israelites could not have suffered from thirst : the upper Sinai is full of wells and springs, the greater part of which are perennial ; and on which ever side the pretended rock of Moses is approached, copious sources are found within a quarter of an hour of it. The rock is greatly venerated by the Bedouins, who put grass into the fissures, as offerings to the memory of Moses, in the same manner as they place grass upon the tombs of their saints ; because giass is to them the most precious gift of nature, and that upon which their existence chiefly depends. " A little farther down than the rock above describ- ed, is shewn the seal of Moses ^ where, it is said, that he often sat: it is a small, and apparently natural exca- vation in a granite rock, resembling a chair. Near this is the " petrified pot or kettle of Moses," a name given to a circular projecting knob in a rock, similar in size and shape to the lid of a kettle. The Arabs have in vain endeavoured to break this rock, which they suppose to contain great treasures. " At forty minutes' walk from Erbayn, where the valley of El- Lrdja opens into the broad valley which leads eastward to the convent, is a fine garden, with the ruins of a small convent, called El Bostan : water is conducted into it by a small channel, from a spring in the Ledja. It was full of apricot trees, and roses 252 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. in full blossom. A few Djebalye live here to take care of the garden. From hence to the convent is half an hour : in the way is shewn tlie golden calf (Exod. xxxii. 4,) which the Israelites worshipped, transmuted into stone. It is somewhat singular that the Monks and the Bedouins call it the cow's head (Ras el Bakar^^i), and not the calf's, confounding it, perhaps, with the "red heifer," of which the Old Tes- tament^^^ and Koran speak. It is a stone half buried in the ground, and bears some resemblance to the forehead of a cow. Some travellers have explained this stone to be the mould in which Aaron cast the calf, though it is not hollow, but projecting. The Arabs and Monks, however, gravely assured me that it was the " cow's" head itself. Beyond this object, towards the convent, a hill is pointed out to the left, called Djebel Haroun, because it is believed to be the spot where Aaron assembled the seventy elders of Jsrael.^^^ Both this and the cow's head have evi- dently received these denominations from the Monks and Bedouins, in order that they may multiply the objects of veneration and curiosity within the pil- grim's tour round the convent. " We proceeded by Wady Sebaye, the same road I had come from Sherm. In this Wady, tradition says, the Israelites gained the victory over the Amalekites, which was obtained by the holding up of the hands of Moses, Exod. xvii. 12; but this battle was fought 151 .. .. ,, , 152 Num. xix. 1. Koran. Sure II. v. 63 or 09. 153 Burckhardi, p. 583. ARABIA. 253 in Rephidim, where the water gushed out from the rock, — a situation which appears to iiave been to the westward of the convent, on the approach from the Gulfof Suez."i5* One of the most remarkable objects in the Sinai peninsula is Mount Serial^ which is distant about eighty or ninety miles from Mount Sinai, and lies to the north-west, in the neighbourhood of the Wady Feiran. The first European traveller that ascended it was Burckhardt, who has left the following ac- count -P^ " After leaving the Wady Rymm, we walked over sharp rocks without any path, till we came to the almost perpendicular side of the Upper Serbal, which we ascended in a narrow difficult cleft. The day being excessively hot, it took us four hours to climb up to the lower summit of the moun- tain. Here is a small plain with some trees, and the ruins of a small stone reservoir for water. On seve- ral blocks of granite are inscriptions, but most of them are illegible. After reposing a little, I as- cended the eastern peak, which was to our left hand, and reached its top in three quarters of an hour, after great exertions, for the rock is so smooth and slippery, as well as steep, that even, barefooted as I was, I was obliged frequently to crawl upon my belly, to avoid being precipitated below ; and had I not casually met with a few shrubs to grasp, I should probably have been obliged to abandon my attempt, or have rolled down the cliff. The summit of the eastern peak consists of one enormous mass of 154 Burckhardt, jp. 58T. ^55 Burckhardt, p. 606. 254 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. granite, the smoothness of which is broken only by a few partial fissures, presenting an appearance not unlike the ice-covered peaks of the Alps. Tiie sides of the peak, at a few paces below its top, are formed of large insulated blocks, twenty or thirty feet long, which appeared as if just suspended in the act of rush- ing down the steep. Near the top I found steps regularly formed with large loose stones, which must have been brought from below, and so ju- diciously arranged along the declivity, that they have resisted the devastations of time, and may still serve for ascending. I was told afterwards that these steps are the continuation of a regular path from the bottom of the mountain, which is in several parts cut through the rock with great labour. If we had had the guide, we should have ascended by this road, which turns along the southern and eastern side of the Serbal. The mountain has in all five peaks ; the two highest are that to the east, which I ascended, and another immediately west of it; these are like cones, and are distinguished from a great distance, particularly on the road to Cairo. *' The eastern peak, which from below looks as sharp as a needle, has a platform on its summit of about fifty paces in circumference. Here is a heap of small loose stones about two feet high, forming a circle about twelve paces in diameter. Just below the top, I found on every granite block that presented a smooth surface, inscriptions, the far greater part of which were illegible. There are small caverns large enough to shelter a ?ev/ persons, between some of the masses of stone. On the sides of these caverns are I ARABIA. 255 numerous inscriptions similar to those mentioned above. " As the eye is very apt to be deceived with regard to the relative heights of mountains, I will not give any positive opinion as to that of Mount Seibal, but it appeared to me to be higher than all the peaks, in- cluding Mount St. Catherine, and very little lower than Djebel Mou-a. " The fact of so many inscriptions being found upon the rocks, near the summit of this mountain, and also in the valley which leads from its foot to Feiran, to- gether with the existence of the road leading up to the peak, afford strong reasons for presuming that the Serbal was an ancient place of devotion. It will be recollected that no inscriptions are found either on the mountain of Moses, or on Mount St. Catherine ; and that those which are found in the Ledja valley at the foot of the Djebel Katerin, are not to be traced above the rock from which the water is said to have issued, and appear only to be the work of pilgrims who vi- sited that rock. From these circumstances, 1 am per- suaded that Mount Serbal was at one period the chief place of pilgrimage in the peninsula; and that it was then considered the mountain where Moses received the tables of the law, though I am equally convinced, from a perusal of the Scriptures, that the Israelites encamped in the upper Sinai, and that either Djebel Mousa or Mount St. Catherine is the real Horeb.i^s *^^ It may seem an objection to this view, that there is wanting, both at the base of Djebel Mousa, and of Mount 8t. Catharine, a sufficient space of level ground for the Israelites to stand upon, on the occasion of the giving of the law, Exod. 256 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. It is not at all impossible that the proximity of Serbal to Egypt, may at one period have raised thit moun- tain to be the Horeb of the pilgrims, and that the es- tablishment of the convent in its present situation, which was probably chosen from motives of security, may have led to the transferring of that honour to Dijebel Mousa. At present neither the monks of Mount Sinai nor those of Cairo, consider Mount Ser- bal as the scene of any of the events of sacred history ; xix. 17. Deut. iv. 11. Came says: " What occasions no small surprise at first, is the scarcity of plains, valleys, or open places, where the children of Israel could have stood conveni- ently to behold the glory on the mount. From the summit of Sinai you see only innumerable ranges of rocky mountains. One generally places, in imagination, around Sinai extensive plains or sandy deserts, where the camp of the hosts was placed, wheie the families of Israel stood at the doors of the tents, and the line was drawn round the mountain, which no one might break through on pain of death. But it is not thus : save the valley by which we approached Sinai, about half a mile wide and a few miles in length, and a small plain we afterwards passed through, with a rocky hill in the mid- dle, there appears to be few open places around the Mount. We did not, however, examine it on all sides. On putting the question to the superior of the convent, where he ima- gined the Israelites stood, " Every where," he replied,-- wav- ing his hand about, — " in the ravines, the valleys, as well as the plains." Letters from the East, Part I. Comp. Niehuhr''s Travels, Part I. p. 248. Yet it is not necessary to suppose that all the people stood at the foot of the mountain, for in Exod. xix. 7, S, it is expressly said, that Moses delivered the words of God to the elders or princes of the tribes only, and that these answered in name of the whole congregation, [(^onip., however, the able note of Kitto in the Pictorial Bible, at Exod. xix. 2.] ARABIA. 257 nor have the Bedouins any tradition among them respecting it, but it is possible that if the Byzantine writers were thoroughly examined, some mention might be found of this mountain, which, I believe, was never before visited by any European traveller." Journeyhigs of the IsraelUes through the Peninsula of Mount Sinai and the adjacent Region. In the thirty-third chapter of the book of Num- bers, we have a specific enumeration of the places at which the Israelites remained, for a longer or shorter period, on their way from Eg3'pt through the Peninsula of Sinai, till they reached the Plains of Moab, opposite to Jericho, on the confines of the promised land. Tiiis list contains^r^^-Zi^^'o different stations, of which tliere are jour-and-twenty that are not mentioned either in the previous history, or in the recapitulation given by Moses in the book of Deute- ronomy, (chaps, i. and ii.) On the other hand, there are six stations introduced in the history, of w'hich no notice is taken in the list in Num. xxxiii. The following table presents a synoptical view of the stations, as mentioned in the regular history', compared with the list in the thirty-third chapter of the book of Numbers ; the references in the book of Deuteronomy are adverted to in the notes below : — Historical Account in Ey.odus List of Stations in Numbers, and Numbers. Chap, xxxiii. A. B. DeparturefromRameseSjExod. Departure from Rameses, xii. ?.7, through the desert yum. xxxiii. 3. 258 BIBLICAL GEOGRArHY. A. to the Red Sea, Exod. xiii. 17, 13. 1. Succoth, Exod. xii. 37. 2. Etham, at the end of the wilderness, xiii. 20. 3. Pi-hahiroth, between Mig- dol and the sea, opposite Baal-Zephon, xiv. 2. 4. Passage through the Red Sea, Exod. xir. 22, and three days' march through the de- sert of Shur, Exod. xv. 22. 6. Marah, Exod. xv. 23. 6. Elim, 12 fountains and 70 palm-trees, xv. 27. 8. Desert of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai, Exod, xvi. 1. 11. Rephidim, (no water), Ex. xvii. 1. 12. Desert of Mount Sinai, Exod. xix. 1 . Removal from the wilderness of Sinai to the wilderness ot" Paran,^ Num. x. 1 2. Tabe- rah, Num. xi. I — 3. 13. Kibroth-hattaavah, i. e. Graves of Lust, Num. xi. 31 —34. 14. Piazeroth, Num. xi. 35. B. 1. Succoth, ver. 5. 2. Etham, at the end of the wilderness, ver. 6. 3 Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal- Zephon, before Migdol, ver. 7. 4. Passage through the sea and three days' march through the desert of Etham, ver. 7- 5. Marah, ver. 8. 6. Elim, 12 fountains and 70 palm-trees, ver. 9. 7- Encampment on the (east) side of the Red Sea, ver. 10. 8. Desert of Sin, ver. 11. 9. Dophka, ver. 12. 10. Alush, ver. 13. 11. Rephidim, (no water), ver. 14. 12. Desert of Mount Sinai, ver. 15. 13. Kibroth-hattaavah, ver. IG. 14. Hazeroth, ver. 17- ^ Removal from the camp of Horeb to the Great Wilderness, en the way to the mountains of the Amorites, Deut. i. 19. ARABIA. !59 33. Desert of Parax or Zin : also Kadesh, Num. xii. IG; XX. 1, 14. Spies sent out, Num. xiii. 4.^ Defeat of Israel by the Amo- riteSj Amalekites, and Ca- naanites at Hormah, Num. xiv. 40— 49.g B. 15. Kithmah, ver. 18. 16. Rimmon-perez, ver. 19. 17. Libnah, ver. 20. 18. Rissah, ver. 21. 19. Kehelathah, ver. 22. 20. Mount Shapher, ver. 23. 21. Haradah, ver, 24. 22. Makheloth, ver. 25. 23. Tahath, ver. 26, 24. Tarach, ver 27. 25. Mithcahj ver. 28. 2C. Hashraonah, ver. 29. 27. Moseroth, ver. 30. 28. Bene-jaakan, ver. 31.'' 29. Hor-hagidgad, ver. 32.^= 30. Jotbathah, ver. SB.'i 31. Ebronah, ver. 34. 32. Ezion-geber, ver. 35. 33. Desert ofZiN, or Kadesh, ver. 36.« '' The Israelites moved from the fountain of Bene-Jaakan to Mosera, where Aaron died and was buried, Deut. x. 16. •* From Mosera to Gudgod, Deut. x. 7- ^ From Gudgod to Jotbathah, where there were fountains, Deut. X. 7. * From Mount Horeb, through the Great Wilderness, on the road to the mountains of the Amorites, to Kadesh-Barnea, Deut. i. 19. ^ Spies sent from Kadesh-Barnea, Deut. i. 22. s Battle with the Amorites at Hormah, Deut. i. 41 — 44. Abode at Kadesh, ver. 46. 260 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. The Edomites refuse them a passage through their terri- tory, Num. XX. 19, 20, 21.1' 34. Departure from Kadesh, arrival at Mount Hor,on the borders of Edom, T\here Aaron dies, Num. xx. 22 — 28. Defeat of Arad, king of the Canaanites at Hormah, Num. xxi. I — 3. The Israelites go back from Mount Hor to the " way of the wilderness of the Red Sea," that they may com- pass the land of Edom, Num. xxi. 4.' 37. Oboth, Num. xxi. 10. 38. Ije-abarim, in the wildtr- derness, east of Moab, Num. xxi. 11. 39. Nachal (or Wady) Sered, Num. xxi. 12.'' 40. The river Arnon, on the I'order between the Moab- B. 34. Departure from Kadesh, arrival at Mount Hor, on the borders of Edom, where Aaron dies, Num. xxxiil. 37—39. Arad, king of the Canaanites, hears of the approach of the Israelites, ver. 40. 35. From Hor to Zalmonab, ver. 41. 36. Punon, ver. 42. 37. Oboth, ver. 43. 38. Ije-abarim, on the borders of Moab, ver. 44. 39. Dibon-Gad, ver. 45. 40. Almon-Diblathaim, ver. 16. 41. Mount Abarim opposite Nebo, ver. 47- ^ After remaining long in Kadesh they return to the wilder- ness of the Red Sea, and compass Mount Seir, Deut. i. 46. ii. 1. ' The Israelites move northwards and pass through Edom, Deut. ii. 2, 3—8. ^ Wady Sered. The period which elapsed between their leaving Kadesh to their arrival here was thirty-eight years, Deut. ii. 13, 14. ARABIA. 261 A. B. ites and Amorites, Num. xxi. 13.' 41. Beer, i. e. the Well or Fountain, ver. 16. 42. Mathanah. ver. 19. 43. Nahaliel, eSid 44. Bamoth, ibid. 45. Mount Pisgah. Here Sihon, king of the Amorites, refusing them a passage, they attacked and defeated him, settling in a portion of his territory, ver. 20 — 31.™ 46. Og, king of Bashan, at- tacks Israel, but they defeat him at Edrei, and take pos- session of his country, ver. 32— SS.'^ 47. Encampment on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, op- posite Jericho, Num. xxii. 1. * " Their departure from Sinai was on the 20th day of the second month, in the second year from the de- 42. Encampment on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, opposite Jericho, ver. 48. ' Passage of the Arnon, Dent iv. 24. ""At the encampment on the Arnon, Sihon, refusing them a passage, is defeated, and they take possession of part of his land, Deut. ii. 2G— 36 " Victory over Og, king of Bashan, and occupation of that country, Deut. iii. 1 — 7. • In place of the meagre and unsatisfactory remarks of Rosenmiilier, I have substituted the lucid summary of Pro- fessor Robinson, in an article " On the Exodus of the Israel- ites," which appeared in the American Biblical Repository for 1832, p. 783.— Tr. 1^62 EIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. parture out of Egypt, Numb. x. 11 ; i. e. not far from the middle of May. The stations are thus marked : — (1.) Three days march to the wilderness of Paran ; to Taberah, where part of the camp was burned, Num. X. 12, 33 ; xi. 3.— (2.) To Kibroth-hattnavah, the Graves of Lust, xi. 34. This is a different place from Taberah, although a departure from the latter is not mentioned. Moses speaks of the two places as dis- tinct, Deut. ix. 22. — (3,) Hazeroth, Num. xi. 35. — (4.) Desert of Paran, i. e. Kadesh, Num. xii. 16 ; xiii. 26. Here the spies returned ; and hence the people were directed to turn and get them into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, xiv. 25. — (5.) We next read, Num. xx. 1, that they came into the desert of Zin in the first month, to Kadesh, where they abode, and Miriam died. Hence they sent to ask a passage through Edom, xx. 14, which was refused. — (6.) Mount Hor, where Aaron died, xx. 22. After this they journeyed by the way of the Red Sea, (Ezion- geber,) to compass the land of Edom, xxi. 4. " With this representation agrees also that in Deut. i., where there are said to be eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir, to Kadesh- Barnea, ver. 2 ; and where it is said that the Israelites departed from Horeb, and " went through all that great and terrible wilderness, and came to Kadesh- Barnea,*' ver. 19 ; after which they were commanded to turn and take their journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, ver. 40. They are then de- scribed as abiding many days in Kadesh, i, 46 ; and afterwards as turning and taking their journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, and com- ARABIA. 263 passing Mount Seir many days ; and then as passing by Elath and Eziongeber, around Edoni, as before, Deut. ii. 1, 8. '' Thus far all harmonizes. But in the catalogue of stations contained in Num. xxxiii., and which accords with the preceding statements (except Taberah) as far as to Hazoroth, there are no less than eighteen stations inserted between Hazeroth and Kadesh : and among these is Ezion-geber, which is not mentioned else- where until after the Israelites had left Kadesh, and were about to compass Edom, Deut. ii. 8. How is this account to be reconciled with the other state- ments of the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, as above exhibited ? " Let us first examine the various references to time, which are to be found in these accounts. The Israel- ites left Sinai about the middle of May, in the second year of their departure from Egypt, as we have seen above, and came by the way of the wilderness of Paran to Kadesh, according to Num. xiii. 26 ; appa- rently after eleven days (not necessarily successive days) of marching, and by the way ofMomit Seir^ ac- cording to Deut. i. 2. From the wilderness of Paran, spies were sent out to the land of Canaan, Num. xiii. 3 ; who returned after forty days to Kadesh, (xiii. 25, 26,) bringing with them a sample of the grapes of the land ; it being " the time of the first ripe grapes," xiii. 20. But we know that grapes ripen in Palestine in July and August."^^ We may therefore conclude, that the Israelites were at Kadesh in August of the 7« See Calmet's Diet. Bost. 1832, p. 241, 242. 264 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. second year ; there they rebelled on the report of the spies, and received the sentence from Jehovah, that their carcasses should all fall in the wilderness, and their children wander in the desert forty years ; and there they were commanded to turn back into the wilderness, by the way of the Red Sea. The next move- ment, recorded in Num. xx. 1, is, that ''the whole congregation came into the desert of Zin in the first month, and abode in Kadesh." Does not this neces- sarily indicate a return to Kadesh, after having once left it? Before they left Sinai in the second month, or May, and were in Kadesh in August; now, they arrive at Kadesh in the^r^^ month, or April. Here Miriam now dies; the people murmur for water; Moses and Aaron disobey God's command in regard to the mode of performing the miracle in order to procure it, and are told in consequence that they shall not enter the promised land ; Moses begs a passage through Edom, which is refused ; they then journey from Kadesh to Mount Hor, in the edge of Edom, where Aaron dies in the fortieth year of the departure from Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month, Num. XX. xxxiii. 37, 38. These last events all immediately succeed each other, and directly follow this last de- parture from Kadesh ; Aaron dies here in fulfilment of the sentence there given, and in all probability in the same year of this return to Kadesh. But between tlie time of the return of the spies to Kadesh, in August of the second year, and the death of Aaron on the first day of the fifth month (corresponding to August) of the fortieth year, there is an interval of thirty -eight years. Again, in Deut. ii. 14, it is said, ARABIA. 265 that " the space in which we came from Kadesh- Barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty-eight years.'' Must not this refer to the first departure from Kadesh, when they were com- manded to turn back and wander in the wilderness ; and not to the last departure from that place, just be- fore the death of Aaron ? If so, then the coming to Kadesh in the^r*^ month, Num. xx. I, and that men- tioned in Num. xxxiii. 86, are the same, and refer to the subsequent re^i^/vi of the Israelites to that station. And as it is said in Deur. i. 46, that tliey abode in Kadesh (the first time) many days ; and as Aaron's death took place in August, just thirty-eight years after, — and as they came to the brook Zered just thirty- eight years after leaving Kadesh the first time, we may perhrps, infer, that their first residence in Ka- desh continued for the same space of time, as their subsequent march from INIount Hor to the Brook Zered. This, however, is a point of little compa- rative importance. <' If, now, the death of Aaron occurred in the fifth month of that same year, in the first mcuith of which the Israelites returned to Kadesh, as lliore is every reason to suppose, i. e. the fortieth year of the depar- ture from Egypt, then there is an interval of more than thirty-seven years, of which the history in Numbers and Deuteronomy gives no account whatevv^r ; unless it be in the catalogue of stations contained in Num. xxxiii. We have seen above that the arrival at Kadesh, mentioned in this catalogue, corresponds to the second sojourn at that place, as inferred above ; and we may, therefore, without hesitation, assume the eighteen sta- 266 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. tions there named, between Hazeroth and Kadesh, as belonging to this interval of nearly eight and thirty years. These, of course, are not all the stations oc- cupied during that period ; only those probably are noted where they abode for some time- From Ezion- geber to Kadesh, for instance, Num. xxxiii. 36, could not be much less than the whole length of the great valley of the Ghor, — a distance of not less than one hundred miles, whatever might be the exact situation of Kadesh ; and of course, in passing from one to the other, there must have been several intervening sta- tions, although none are mentioned. *' To this general hypothesis, which indeed is adopted by most interpreters, as LeClerc, Lightfoot, Michaelis. Vater, RosenmuUer, and others, there seem to be but two objections. First, that in Num. xxxiii. 18, we ought then, instead of Rithmah, to read Paran or Kadesh, as in xii. 16, xiii. 26. Secondly, that Ezion- geber, which, in Num. xxxiii. 36, is put before Ka- desh, is not elsewhere mentioned until the Israelites came thither in order to compass the land of Edom, Deut. ii. 8. " To the first of these objections it may be replied, that Kadesh was the name not only of a city, but of the tract of desert country adjacent to it. It is, therefore, to be taken as the desert of Kadesh, Ps. xxix. 8, in the ac- count of the^r*^ coming to it ; as indeed is sufficient- ly obvious from the language of the passage itself, Num. xiii. 2G. Rithmah is then to be regarded as a place or station in this desert. Or, if we adhere strict- ly to the statement in Deut. i. 2, that they came to Kadesh after eleven stations, then Makheloth in Num. ARABIA. 267 xxxiii. 25, is the station corresponding to Kadesh. The solution is the same in either ease. " To obviate the force of the second objection, it is necessary to bear in mind the character and circum- stances of the Israelirish people, as well as the cha- racter of the country in which they were now placed. They were essentially a nomadic people ; their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had ever been so ; they were emphatically Bedouins-, removing with their flocks and herds from place to place, as occasion might require. In Egypt, they had ever been shep- herds, — their province of Goshen was adapted to pas- turage, and not to tillage ; and now, when they had come out into the deserts, with their flocks and herds, they were still the nomadic race they had ever been, — a people resembling those by whom these desert plains, and valleys, and mountains, are possessed to this very day. Hence, according to the command of God, they wandered in the desert ; and their wanderings would be determined, like those of the Arabs at present, by the opportunities of water and pasturage. When the scanty " pastures of the desert" failed in one place, they removed to another; and they would naturally resort to those tracts, where water, and consequently vegetation, were most abundant. In the long period of eight and thirty years, therefore, while thus remov- ing from place to place in the vast deserts between Palestine and the peninsula of Sinai, although they might not improbably at times take up their residence in the desert El Ty, according to tradition, as above mentioned, yet it is hardly to be supposed that they would not also sometimes visit the Ghor, which even 268 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. now is a favourite resort of the Bedouins in winter. Nor can we vvell suppose that they would not visit the same place more than once ; since, in these de- serts, the wells and springs of water are places of gen- eral resort, and the pasturage, which had been de- voured in one year, would be renewed in other years. If, then, they did thus visit the Ghor, it would be na- tural for them, in this long interval, to visit also the southern part of it, where it opens to a plain, and af- fords luxuriant pasturage. Indeed, the list in Num. xxxiii. seems to imply, that they did thus sojourn at times in the Ghor or El Araba^ and along its eastern skirts; for, in verse 31, Mose.roth is mentioned, to which they came before coming to Ezion-geber. But, in Deut. X. 6, Aaron is said to have died at Mosera, the same as Moseroth, which of course must have been the station adjacent to Mount Hor. But Mount Hor lies, as we know,- on the cast of the Ghor, nearly half way from Akaba to the Dead Sea. Hence we may infer, that this list of stations indicates in general the movements of the Israelites from north to south, and probably along the valley El Araba. Arriving at its southern extremity, they returned to Kadesh, advanc- ing, probably, from station to station, in the same oc- casional and leisure manner ; although no interven- ing station whatever is mentioned in the catalogue. This return was a part of their thirty-eight years of wandering ; but afterwards, when they had made an unsuccessful attempt from Kadesh to pass through the territory of Edom, and found it necessary to march back to Ezion-geber, in order to i)ass around Mount Seir, we may suppose that their march was ARABIA. 269 more rapid, and not so much regulated merely by a regard to an abundant supply of water and pasturage. " In this manner, we may not only remove the ob- jection suggested above, but also another difficulty which has troubled commentators. In Num. xxxiii. 31, sq., the Israelites are said to have occupied the sta- tions Moseroth, Bene-jaakan, Hor-hagidgad, and Jotbathah ; while in Deut. x. 6, 7, these same sta- tions are named in a different order, — Beeroth of the children of Jaakan, Mosera where Aaron died, Gud- godah, and Jotbath. That these names are at bot- tom the same, there can be no doubt. But in Num- bers they are probably mentioned in reference to the first visit of the Hebrews, during the long wandering southwards, before their return to Kadesh the second time ; while in Deuteronomy, they have reference to the second passage of the Israelites, when again march- ing south, in order to compass the land of Edom. It is easy to conceive, how Moseroth and the wells of Jaakan might lie in such a direction fiom each other, that a nomadic tribe, v. andering in different years southward along the great valley, might at one time take the former first in its way, and at another time, the latter." That so few of the above mentioned places can now be identified with existing localities^^^ ought to 157 ii I ^j^g much disappointed," says Burkhardt, (p. 587,) "at being able to trace so very few of the ancient Hebrew names of the Old Testament in the modem names of the peninsula ; but it is evident that, with the exception of Sinai, and a few others, they are all of Arabic derivation.'' 270 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. excite no surprise, when we consider the long period that has elapsed since the Exodus of the Israelites occurred, and how seldom, (till of late,) these coun- tries have been visited, and how partially they have, as yet, been explored. Yet, to the researches of some intelligent travellers, and especiall^^ of Burckhardt,^^* we are indebted for various illustrations of the Scrip- tural geography of this interesting region of the East. About eight or ten miles south of the point oppo- site Suez, on the east side of the Red Sea, the tra- veller comes to the Ayoun Mousa, or Fountains of Moses.^^^ Niebuhri^° says, " Water is found here, in different places, on digging holes a foot deep in the ground; and the so-called welis of Moses, of which I counted five, were not deeper than this. They were not stoned at all, and become immediately full of sand and dirt, so soon as one attempts to draw water from them. Very little water flows from them, which soon loses itself in the sand." According to Burckhardt, however, " the water of these wells is copious, but only one affords sweet water, and this is often rendered so muddy, by the passage of Arabs, whose camels descend into the wells, that it is seldom fit to supply a provision to the traveller, much less ^^^ A summary of Burkhardt's more important discoveries has been given in the preface to his Travels in Syria, by the editor, Colonel Leake. i«o Travels, Vol. I. p. 225, [Eng. Travels, Vol. I. p. 183.] Comp. Burckhardt, p. 470. ARABIA. 271 for shipping." As these wells bear the name of Moses, the Arabs believe that it was at this point the IsraeUtes crossed the Red Sea. The road from Ayoun Mousa runs in a south- easterly direction, first across a barren, sandy and gravelly plain, and then over uneven hilly ground to the Well of Hoivara, round which are a few date trees. The water of the well is so bitter that men cannot drink it, and even camels, if not very thirsly^ refuse to drink it. Burckhardt says -^-^^ " From Ayoun Mousa to the Well of Howara, we had travelled fifteen hours and a quarter. Referring to this distance, it appears probable that this is the desert of three days mentioned in the Scriptures to have been crossed by the Israelites immediately after their passing the Red Sea, and at the end of which they arrived at Marah}^'^ In moving with a whole nation, the march may well be supposed to have occupied three days; and the bitter well at Marah, which was sweetened b}'- Moses, corre- sponds exactly with that of Howara.^^^ This is the usual route to Mount Sinai, and was probably, therefore, that which the Israelites took on their escape from Egypt, provided it be admitted that they crossed the sea near i6i Loc. cit. p. 472. ^^^ niD* The corresponding Arabic name is 'i ,^\ i. e. T T vT the Bitter (Fountain). Burckhardt found a well of this name in his journey through the Nubian Desert. Travels in Nubia 2d Edit., p. 170. [Comp. Lord Lindsay's Letters, Vol. I. p. 262.] s- 163 „ »-5_yI> ,AJ - The name signifies " Fountain of Cor- ruption." 272 BIBLICAL GFOGRAPHY. Suez, as Niebuhr, with good reason, conjectures.'^^ Tiiere is no other road of three days' march on the way from Suez towards Sinai, nor is there any other well absolutely bitter on the whole of this coast, as far as Ras Mohammed. The complaints of the bitterness of the water by the children of Israel, who had been accustomed to the sweet water of the Nile, are such as may daily be heard from the Egyptian servants and peasants who travel in Arabia. Accustomed from their youth to the excellent water of the Nile, there is nothing which they so much regret in coun- tries distant from Egypt; nor is there any eastern people who feel so keenly the want of good water as the present natives of Egypt. With respect to the means employed by Moses to render the waters of the well sweet, I have frequently inquired among the Bedouins in different parts of Arabia, whether they possessed any means of effecting such a change, by throwing wood into it, or by any other process ; but I never could learn that such an art was known. "^^* * This, also, is the opinion of Professor Robinson, both in the article in the Amer. Bib. Repository, quoted at p. 261, and in one which appeared in the same periodical for April 1840, written after he had visited the locality in person. Yet the opinion that the passage was at Ayoun Moiisa is defended with much ingenuity by Kitto, in the Pictorial Hist, of Pale- stine, p. 187 — Tr- '^* The same is affirmed by Isiebuhr (Descript. of Arabia, p. 403). Yet Burckhardt himself afterwards conjectures, (p. 474), that Moses may have employed in sweetening the water, the juicy berry of a thorny shrub which abounds there, called Garkad, the Peganum Retusum of Forskal It is ex- ARABIA. 273 At the end of three hours south of Howara the traveller reaches Wady Ghorondel,^^^ which extends to the north-east, and is almost a mile in breadth, and full of elms, tamarisks, acacias, and other trees. The Arabs told Burckhardt that it may be traced through the whole desert, and that it begins at no great dis- tance from El-Arysh, on the Mediterranean, but he had no means of ascertaining the truth of this state- ment. About half an hour from the place where he halted, in a southern direction, is a copious spring, with a small rivulet, which renders the valley the principal station on this route. The water is disagree- able, and, if kept for a night in the water skins, it turns bitter and spoils. The conjecture of the older travellers,^^^ that here was the Elim of Moses, is adopted by Burckhardt. " If we admit," says he,*^'' pressly said, however, that it was a tree or its wood (for ^J/ denotes either), that was cast into the waters. In India they use for this purpose a tree called Nellimaram. See Rosen- miiller's Morgenland, Part 11. p. 28. ^^^ ^iXS-C iS^\y [Burckhardt writes it G^arenc/e/, but it must not be confounded with another Wady Gharendel in the mountains of Seir, described in this volume at p. 212.] — Tr. '^^ Bernard von Breidenbach, who travelled in 1483 from Cairo to Mount Sinai, says : Porro inclinata jam die in tor- rentem incidimus dictum Orondem, ubi figentes tentoria prop- ter aquas, quae illic reperiebantur, nocte mansimus ilia. Sunt et palmae multae ibi, unde suspicabamur, illic esse desertum Helym. Comp, Shawns Travels, p. 272. Pococke's Descript. of the East, Part I. p. 235. Niebuhr's Descript. of Arabia, p. 403. and his Travels, Part I. p. 228. J ^7 Loc cit. p. 473. T 274 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Bir Howara to be the Marah of Exodus (xv. 23), then Wady Gharendel is probably Elim, with its wells and date trees, an opinion entertained by Niebuhr, who, however, did not see the bitter well of Howara on the road to Gharendel. The non-existence at present, of twelve wells at Gharendel, must not be considered as evidence against the conjecture just stated ; for Niebuhr says, that his companions ob- tained water here by digging to a very small depth, and there was a great plenty of it when I passed ; water, in fact, is readily found by digging, in every fertile valley in Arabia, and wells are thus easily formed, which are quickly filled up again by the sands." In journeying from the Wady Ghorondel, in a south-eastern direction, we reach, on the third day, the great valley called the Wady -esh- Sheikh, ^^^ one of the principal valleys of the peninsula. The rocks around consist of granite, on the upper strata of which run layers of red feldspath, some of which has fallen down and covers the valley in broken fragments. The Wady-esh-Sheikh is broad, and has a very slight ac- clivity; it is much frequented by Bedouins for its pasturage. Whenever rain falls in the mountains a stream of water flows through this wady, and from thence through Wady Feiran into the sea. In the southern part of the valley there is a thick wood oJ tamarisk or tarfa ; it is from this evergreen tamarisk, (which grows abundantly in no other part of the pe- ninsula,) that the manna is collected. These circum- 168 ^iiJ\ <<^'^* Burckhardt, -p. 487' ARABIA. 275 stances, taken together, render it probable that in this quarter was the Desert of Sin, where the Israel- ites first gathered manna, Exod. xvi. I ; for in going from Wady Ghorondel to Mount Sinai, there is no other convenient road than through the Wady Taybe, the Wady Feiran, and the Wady-esh- Sheikh. The road on leaving Ghorondel runs along the sea-shore, which was also the way the Israelites took after they left Elim, Num. xxxiii. 10, 11. The upper part of the Sinaitic region is, as we have seen, (p. 230,) rich in water-springs, — has a comparatively temperate climate, and soil capable of supporting animal and vegetable life ; and it seems to have been in that part of the peninsula they remained for nearly a year, and where the law was given. In their subsequent pro- gress they came to a place which, on account of the punishment of their inordinate lust, was called Kib- roth-hataavah,^^^ i. e. Graves of Lust, Num. xi. 4 — 6, 31 — 34. Niebuhr met with some ancient burial grounds in the heart of the wilderness, two days jour- ney north-west of Mount Sinai ; in one of them, which lay on the side of a mountain, were a number of stones covered with hieroglyphics, whence the mountain was called Djehel-el-^Iokatteh}'^^ i. e. the Written Mountain. Niebuhr conjectures that 4-*.A.^)^J^ i)^-^* See Niebuhr' s Travels, Part I. p. 238, 239. There is another mountain of this name, or rather, as Burckhardt remarks, a Wady Mokatteb, where there are inscriptions on the rocks, but no traces of burial grounds. See Busching's Description of Asia, p. 617. 276 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. here may have been the "• Graves of Lust.'' The de- serts of Paran and Zin (through which they subse- quently passed) were parts of the desert of Kadesh,^7i and the remembrance of their long wanderings has been preserved to this day, in the name of El-Tyh, («'. e. The Wandering,) given to the great wilderness between Egypt, Palestine, and Sinai.^^^ Moses hav- ing given up all hope of penetrating into Palestine, between Gazah and the west side of the Dead Sea, endeavoured to negotiate a passage through the terri- tory of Edom, which comprised Mount Seir, — that chain of precipitous mountains which stretches along the east side of the Ghor^ from the Dead Sea to Aka- ba, and is now known under the names of Djebal- Sherath and Hesma, (see at p. 182). Among the nar- row valleys which traverse this chain from west to east, that of the Ghoej^r furnishes the only passage that would not be difficult to an army. This was probably '^ the king's way/' by which Moses request- ed permission of the Edomites to pass, on condition of leaving the fields and vineyards untouched, and of 171 a The history mentions a Kadesh in the desert of Paran, (Num. xiii. 3, 27,) and a Kadesh in the desert of Zin, (Num. XX. 1.) From the former the spies were sent out, and from the latter the people took their journey, when a passage was denied them through the land of Edom. But it is manifest that the same place is intended in both these passages, and that the two deserts of Zin and Paran were contiguous dis- tricts, the former on the north, and the latter on the south, — Kadesh being a resting-place in an oasis between the two." Gothe's Westostl. Divan, p. 450. 172 See the present volume, at p. 229, note 120, and Burck- hardt, passim. ARABIA. 277 purchasing provisions and water from the inhabitants. But the Edomites refused, and " came out against him with much people and a strong hand/' Num. xx. 19, 20. The situation of the Israelites was now very critical. Unable to force their way in either direc- tion, and surrounded on three sides with enemies, the Edomites in front, and the Canaanites and Amalekites on the right and left, they had no alternative but to follow again the great valley El-Araba, southwards, towards the head of the Red Sea. At Mount Hor, which stands here, " on the borders of the land of Edom," Aaron died and was buried, (Num. xx. 25,) tradition marking out the place of his sepulture to this day. Ar- rived at the Red Sea, they turned to the left, and crossed the ridge of mountains to the east of Ezion- geber, where Burckhardt remarked, from the oppo- site coast, that the mountains were lower than else- where.^'^^ It was in this part of their route that the Israelites suffered so much from serpents, of which Burckhardt observed many traces on the opposite side of the gulf. They then emerged into the wide and elevated plains which are still traversed by the Syrian pilgrims on their way to Mecca, and appear to have followed, northward, nearly the same route which is now taken by the Syrian Hadj, along the western skirts of this great desert, near the moun- tains of Edom. The Edomites, who had successfully repelled the approach of Israel at their strong western frontier, were now alarmed when they threatened the weaker side of their country. But the Israelites were J73 Burckhardt, p. 500. 278 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. commanded not to meddle with the children of Esau, but merely to " pass through their coasts,'* and to buy meat and water of them for money, (Deut. ii. 4 — 8,) in much the same way as the Syrian caravan of Mecca is now supplied by the people of the same mountains. After traversing the wilderness on the east of Moab, they at length entered that country, crossing the brook Zered, thirty-eight years after their first departure from Kadesh-Barnea. They then crossed the river Arnon into the land of the Amorites, and began their conquests of the promised land, by the overthrow of Sihon, king of Heshbon. Num. xxi. 21. Deut. ii. 24. III. ARABIA FELIX, OR YEMEN. The southern part of Arabia, or the peninsula of that name properly so called, was, by the ancients designated " Happy Arabia."^ The common opinion is, that the epithet was given to it on account of the many valuable productions of the soil, and especially the famous spices. But it seems to us more probable that the appellation of '' Happy," is simply a transla- tion of the Arabic name Yemen, which is given to the country by the natives. The root literally signi- fies, *' to be on the right hand ;" but has also (among 1 Pliny*s Nat. Hist. VI. 27. Arabia Eudaemon cognomi- nata. Sirabo, Book I. p. 19, of Casuabon's Edit., and p. 101 of Siehenkees' Edit. 'AXX' h 'A^a/3/a ^^evijv, xut ra fAS^n r^g ARABIA. 279 other meanings) that of " to be happy." In the former sense, Yemen is " the land lying on the right hand, i. e. on the south ;" * in the latter sense, it is " the happy land." Yet in a restricted acceptation, Yemen is also the name of a particular province in the interior of the peninsula, forming the territory of a prince, who has his seat at Sanaa. The quaUties of the soil differ much in different parts of the country. The districts along the coast are for the most part flat, sandy, and barren, subject to excessive heat and frequent drought. The middle division of the country is mountainous, and though containing some bare and unfruitful tracts, has also many hills and valleys of great fertility, possesses good water and pure air, and yields valuable pro- ductions in great abundance. Among these may be mentioned corn, sugar, rice, lemons, oranges, citrons, pomegranates, figs, and excellent grapes. Arabia has always been famed for its frankincense, myrrh, and cassia. The coffee tree is chiefly reared on the west side of the mountain range which traverses Yemen Proper ; it was not till the middle of the fifteenth century that the bean was used for the extraction of the well-known beverage.* Of wild animals there • See the Bibl. Cab. Vol. XI. p. 5, 10. 2 The proper Arabic name of this .beverage is 25*^5 Kahweh-, a word which signifies, " what occasions distaste for food, or a want of appetite," and hence the name was also given to wine, as having that tendency. The fruit of the tree is called ( .j-f Bunn. See Silvestre de Sacy's Chrestomatie Arabe, Tom I. 280 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. are found gazelles, foxes, and jackals in abundance ; and in the forests of Yemen Niebuhr saw moniieys in hundreds. Fish are found in great plenty in the Red Sea.^ Gold is not now met with either in mines or the sands of rivers, but when Niebuhr visited the country in 1762, iron mines continued to be wrought in the district of Saade, though the iron was very poor, and dearer than what was sent from Denmark. The lead mines in Oman are so productive, that a great quantity of the metal is exported from Muskat. According to the geographical ideas of the ancient Hebrews, the south of Arabia was no doubt a part of Cush,^ for (as was shewn in a former part of this work*), the name Cush included all the countries of the south, being used in the same extensive accepta- tion as was Ethiopia by the Greeks and Romans, and as is India by the modern Europeans. In several places of the Old Testament, Cush must be under- stood as describing, not African Ethiopia or Abyssi- nia, but the south of Arabia. Out of that country went Nimrod to Babylon, which he conquered, Gen. x. 8.t The Ethiopian woman, or Cushitess, whom Moses married, (Num. xii. 1), during the journey of Israel p. 412 of the 2d Edit. Comp. Memoire concernant I'arbre et le fruit du Cafe, in the Voyage de P Arable Heureuse. Am- sterdam, 1716, [and Lane's Notes to his new translation of the Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I. P. I. p. 216.] ' See Niebuhr' s Descript. of Arabia, p. 161. • Translated in the Bib. Cab. Vol. XI. p. 81. t See the Bib. Cab. Vol. XVII. p. 40, and note III. ARABIA 281 in the desert, could not well be from the remote country of African Ethiopia, but was rather from the neighbouring region of Arabia. When the prophet Habakkuk says, (chap. iii. 7), that the report of the victories of the Israelites in Canaan would make the tents of Cushan* and Midian to tremble, his readers would naturally think of the south of Arabia, which bordered upon Midian, and not of a far distant country in Africa. In the second book of Chronicles (chap. xxi. 16), mention is made of certain enemies of the Hebrews, and after the Philistines come " the Arabs who were near the Cushites/'^ where it is evident that, by the latter, we cannot understand a people separated from Arabia by an arm of the sea and extensive deserts, but a tribe in the immediate vicinity. In 2 Chr. xiv. 9, it is said that Serach, king of the Cushites, when invading Judah, came as far as Mareshah ; but, had this been an Abyssinian mo- narch, he must, before attacking Judea, have con- quered Egypt, of which, however, there is no record in history.* By writers of the fifth century, the Ho- merites, or the Hamyarites, (a tribe of southern Ara- bia,) are styled Cushgeans, Ethiopians, and Indians.7 ^ Cushan *L^13 is the poetic and more high-sounding form of the common name ti^13 Cush. • Yet if the Lubim, who are said to have been with him, (2 Chr. xvi. 8,) were people of Lybia, in Africa, he was more probably an Ethiopian — Tr. ^ See the citations in Assemann's Biblioth. Orient. Tom. III. Part II. p. 568. 282 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. Hence Jonathan the Chaldee Pharaphrast, at Gen. X. 6, and the Paraphrast of Chronicles at 1 Chr. i. 8, 9, explain Cush by " Arabia.''^ According to the most ancient Bible record, the south of Arabia was peopled, partly by the posterity of Ham, and partly by that of Shem. Cush, the eldest son of Ham, had five sons, (Gen. x. 7,) viz. Seba, Chavilah, Sabiah, Rahma, or Ragma, and Sabteca, who, (as we showed in a former part of this work*) are to be considered as the progenitors of so many distinct tribes who bore their names. The descendants of the sons of Cush seem to have spread themselves chiefly through the south of Arabia, and also in that part of Africa which lies to the east of it, and is separated from it by the Red Sea. This appears to have been especially the case with the descendants of his eldest son Seba, as v.e shall in the sequel have occasion to show. The radical elements of the name of Chavilah,^ the second son of Cush, have been preserved in the name of the Chaulatcei, an Arabian tribe mentioned by Strabo,'° along with the Nabatseans; and likewise 8 Comp. Bocharfs Geogr. Sac- Part I., or Phaleg. Lib. IV. Cap. 2.p. 237, andJ. D. MichaeUs 'S\nc\\eg. Geogr. Hebr. Ext. Part I. p. 143. Yet the above-mentioned grounds for inter- preting " Cush,'' in a more extended sense, have not satisfied Schulthess, for, in his work on Paradise, (p. 11, 101,) he holds that name to designate everywhere the Ethiopia lying south of Egypt, i. e. Abyssinia. * See Bib. Cab. Vol. XI. p. 99, 105. 9 p^>Tn [written in the English Bible Havilah.] T • ~; 'OXawAaTa/oj, XVI. 4, 2. ARABIA. 283 in Chaulan, the name of two provinces of Arabia Felix. It is remarkable, that there is a double Chavi- lah also in the ethnographic table of Moses, namely a son of Joktan (Gen. x. 29,) v/hom the Arabs call Kachtan, besides the son of Cush now mentioned. One of the districts of Chaulan lies between Sanaa and Mecca, and the other some miles south-east of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen ;'^ in the time of Niebuhr, the latter had an independent sheikh of its own, who was of an ancient family. The name of the third son of Cush, Sabtah}^ is found in Sabatha or Sabotha, a large commercial town of Arabia Felix on the Red Sea. It was the capital of the Atramitee*^ (Hhadramaut) and had with- in its walls no less than sixty temples. ^ ^ See Niebuhr's Descript. of Arabia, p. 270, 280. Firusabadi says in his Dictionary called the Kamoos (Calcutta Edit. p. 1441,) " Chaulan is an Arabic tribe in Yemen and the Cochl (eye-ointment) of Chaulan is the expressed juice of the plant called Chodhodh." Sheriff Edrisi (Climate II. Div. 5, p. 56, 57) mentions a castle ( . ^^y^ adding that it was half-way between Sanaa and Mecca. And in Div. G, p. 59, he says that " in a castle called Chand or Chund, there dwelt people from Chaulan." SchuUhess (Das Paradies, p. 81, &7, 91, 106,) takes the Chavilah of Gen. x. 7, f-^r the Aval and Avalites Emporium of the Greeks, afterwards termed by the Arabs Za- vila or Zeila ; and the Chavilah of Gen. x. 29, he identifies with the province lying opposite the island of Awal, in the north part of the west coast of the Persian Gulf, ^* HrllD Gen. X. 7, and KnUD 1 Chr. i. 9. T : - X : — '2 Pliny's Nat. Hist. vi. 28, 32. Comp. xii. 13, 32, where he says : thus collectum Sabota camelis convehitur. For other 284 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHr. The fourth son of Cush was Rahma or Ragma^^ (for the middle letter is a guttural,) a word we also find in Ezekiel xxvii. 22, as the name of one of the places in Arabia which traded with Tyre. The old- est Greek translation has <' Regma,"^* the name of a town in Arabia, mentioned by Ptolemy,^^ as being on the north side of the Persian Gulf The sons of Ragma were Sheha and Dedan}'^ who are also classed together in Ezek. xxxviii. 13, and whose de- scendants likewise settled, as is conjectured by Bochait, in the neighbourhood of the Persian Gulf. Here^ in the province of Oman, on the south-east coast of Arabia, in the district of Chorsakan, there was a city and territory of Daden,^*^ a name which has a mani- less likely conjectures, see Michaelis Spicil. Tom. I. p. 191. Busching, in his Geog. of Asia (p. 685 of the 3d edit.) finds the ancient Sabta in a market town, Suk-el-Sept, mentioned by Niebuhr in his Descript. of Arabia, p. 247. But that town ob- tained, its name from the circumstance of markets being held there every Saturday, C«_X>bAy!\ i3yM " market of the Sab- bath or Saturday." T : — ^ ^ Geography, VI. 7. Comp. Michaelis Spicil. Part I. p. 293. Less probable is the supposition of Niebuhr, (loc. cit. p. 148, 293,) and Busching, (p. 688,) that the word Ragmah has been preserved in Ramah, the name of two places in Yemen ; for Ramah is written X^j .• " See Bocharfs Phaleg. IV. 6. p. 248. Heeren conjectures, (Ideen, I. 2. p. 238 of the 2d Edit.,) that Dedan was either one of the Bahbrein Islands in the Persian Gulf, (separated ARABIA. 285 fest resemblance to the Dedan of Scripture. It is uncertain whether, along with Bochart, we are to seek the Sheba of this passage in the Sabaeans men- tioned by Pomponius Mela,^^ as being on the Persian Gulf, on the borders of Kerman, (the ancient Cara- mania,) or in Mount Sabo in the same country .^o Sabtheca^ the fifth son of Cush, appears, according to Bochart's conjecture,^^ to have settled in Kerman or Caramania, where Stephen of Byzantium and Mar- cianus Heracleota mention a town called Samj'dake, (and the latter also a river of the same name,) — a name which may have been formed from Sabtheka by the substitution of the labial m for b, letters which are frequently interchanged.'^ Instead of Samydake Ptolemy 23 has, (by transposition,) Samykade, and he styles the river Samyraches, probably for Samydakos. The country of Caramania was fertile, and rich in gold and silver. from the east coast of Arabia only by a narrow channel^) or the island of Cathema, lying a little farther north. Comp. Assemann's Bibl. Orient. Tom. III. Part II. p. 560, 564, 744. " de Situ mundi L. III. Cap. 8. 20 Bochart, Cap. VI I. p. 249. Equally unsatisfactory is Niebuhr's conjecture, (p. 257, 293,) that Sheba is found in Shibam, ^^-l^.;^^, a town in the independent principality of Kaukeban in Yemen Proper. 2 1 Loc. cit. Cap. IV. p. 246. Comp. Michaelis Spicileg. Part I. p. 196. ^^ For example, iWerot/ac^-Baladan and fi^rorfac7»-Baladan ; Bathnan, (Bashan,) and Mathnan; Meccah and Bekkah. ^' Geogr. VI. 7. 286 BIBLICAL GEORGAPHY. The Shemites, who inhabited the south of Arabia, were descended of Joktan, the second son of Eber, Shera's great-grandson, Gen. x. 25, 26. Jolctan is called by the Arabs Kachtan,^^ and they also regard him as a son of Eber. ^5 According to the tra- ditions preserved among them, Kachtan, after the confusion of tongues and dispersion of the descen- dants of Noah, settled in Yemen, reigned there as king, and was the first who was adorned with a dia- dem.26 The Katanites, mentioned among the Arab tribes, by Ptolemy, appear to have been so named from Kachtan. The Hebrew name of Joktan was pre- served in the days of the Sherif Edrisi in Baishat- Jaktan,27 a small but populous town,with good fields and fountains, a station distant from Sanaa in Yemen. /. ^Ik^ For conjectures as to the etymological connection between the Arabic name and the Hebrew !tDp'» ' T ': T see Michaelis Spicil. Part II p. 150. But that both names denote the same person cannot be doubted ; and hence even Saadias, though a Jew, has in his Arabic version used the word Kachtan for Joktan, Comp. Pococke'^s Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 30, of the New Edit. „, ,, • I i» 'i . See Abul- '' ^U ^^ ^Ac ^. ijj^^ feda on the Kings of the Arabs before Islamism, in Alb. Schultens' Imperium Joctanidar, p. 2, and in Silv. de Sacfs Appendix to the New Edit, of Pococke's Specimen. Hist. Arab, p. 423. *6 Ahulfeda in loc. text. ARABIA. 287 It is not unlikely that this place lay in the small province of Kachtan (Joktan), which, according to Niebuhr,2* is in a fertile country, about three days* journey north of Nedjeran, on the road to Mecca, and which had, in his day, its own independent sheikh. Joktan, we are informed, had thirteen sons, whose names-^ are given in Gen. x. 26 — 29, and who, it is said (ver. 30), dwelt " in the eastern moun- tains, from Mesha to Sephar."^'' The two boundary lines there intended are probably the east or north- east, and the west or south-west. Among the con- jectures as to the places designated, the most probable that has yet been offered is that of J. D. Michaelis,^^ '* Description of Arabia, p. 275. *^ The Arabs mention only one son of Kachtan, Jarebf ,_, »j , who succeeded his father. See Aibulfeda, loc. cit. ^« -in n^£)D HDi^n K^^D DD^^^ID %nn - T T : T -: T •• ■ T T . :- CD*T|>5n« The two last words do not belong to HlDDi V ' V - T T : (as Luther has it, " the mount toward the east," and the Eng. Vers. " a mount of the east,") but are to be connected with D^Si^iD Tl^l- Schulthess (Das Paradies, p. 89), T T • : - being unable to reconcile the words DIpH IH with bis idea of the locality of Sephar, (see note 35, below), thinks they are either an ancient interpolation or a corruption of I'npn in> q- d. " HomhiH," from its having a conical shape. But there is no ground for adopting either supposi- tion ; the 3JSS. and ancient versions shew no various read- ings. 3J Spicileg. Part II. p. 214. Bochart's opinion that J«?Ci^D 288 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. viz. that Mesha is the country round Basra (Bus- sora), which the later Syrians call Maishoriy or the Maishonic EuphrateSf^^ and the Greeks Mesere, un- derstanding by that the district on the Euphrates and Tigris below Seleucia, down to the Persian Gulf. Abulfeda^^ mentions two towns in that quarter near Basra, with the names of Maisan and Mushan ;3'* and here, therefore, seems to have been the north-east boundary of the residence of the sons of Joktan. The name of the opposite frontier-point, Sephar, sig- nifies in Chaldee, a shore or sea-coastP The western was the same as Muza, a sea-port town in the south of Yemen, has been sufficiently confuted by Michaelis, p. 206. Bochart was deceived by the similarity of sound, but Muza is written - .^, and consequently would be in Hebrew J^T")^> and not Kti^D- See Niebiihr's Description of Arabia, p. 223. T •• ^ ■ aiV) — a>V:> Z^ . See AssemannVs Bibl. Orient. Tom. III. Part II. p. 429, 430. 5^ In his description of Babylonian Irak, which has not yet been printed. [It has since appeared, edited by Wustenfeld, Gottingen, 1835.] The passages here referred to have been given by Michaelis from the Paris M.S. in his Spicileg. Part II. p. 214. ^^ The idea of Bochart is quite inadmissible, (Geog. Sac. Part I. Lib. II. cap. 30), that l£3D is the same as {jio, a town in the interior of Yemen. The difference in the two names is obvious ; and, besides, a place lying in the middle of a country could not be spoken of as one of its boundaries. Comp. Michaelis, p. 209. Schulthess (loc. cit. p. 87), finds Sephar in \.K/a the name of a mountain, and also a city, ARABIA. 289 part of Yeraen, which lies along the Red Sea, is called by the Arabs Tehama h ;^^ and the tract between the two boundaries is called by Moses " the eastern mountains," either as referring to Yeraen in genera), which is for the most part hilly,* and lies east of Palestine, or the country the Joktanites inhabited, was styled the high lands, in opposition to Sephar (the coast), just as Djebal,^'' L e. The Mountain, is now distinguished from Tehdmah. " That part of Ye- men," says Niebuhr, " which is called Tehdmah, is a flat and arid district,— at Mocha a day's journey in width, at Hobeida and Loheia about two short days' journeys. The other part, Djebal, lies to the east of Tehdmah, and consists of a ridge of steep and very high, yet fruitful mountains." The names of the thirteen sons of Joktan, men- tioned in Gen. x. 26 — 29, designated so many tribes and provinces in the south of Arabia ; but that these two or three days' journey from the Red Sea, south-west of Medinah. Comp. Niehuhr^s Desciip. of Arabia, p. 357. The balsam of JMecca is chiefly procured in that district. Ptolemy (Book VI. p. 154,) mentions a town, 'Savripx^, between the ter- ritory of the Homerites and Sabaeans ; and Pliny says, (Eiist. Nat. VI. 23,) Intus (a portu Oceli) oppidum, regia ejus ap- pellatur Saphar. ^^A)l^j. See RommeVs Abulfedea Arabiae Descript. 36 p. 23, and Niebuhr, loc. cit. p. 183. * Thus in Deut. iii. 25, Palestine is called " the goodly mountain." 290 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. designations should be found entirely preserved to the present day is not to be expected. Many tribes have long since disappeared, or been intermingled with others ; several of the districts have received new names ; and yet there are not a few of the old names which may be traced still, with greater or less certainty. 1. Almodad,^^ the name of the first son of Joktan, was thought by Bochart^^ to be retained in the word AlIumaeotae_, a people mentioned by Ptolemy as in- habiting the interior of i^rabia Felix. But the real name seems to have been 3Iodad, and Al only the Arabic article, according to a practice not alto- gether unknown in the Hebrew.^^ But neither in the Arabian genealogies, nor in th^ir topographical descriptions of the country, is the name Modad found to occur, and must therefore long ago have disap- peared.'*^ T : — '^ Loc. cit. (cap. 16.) *° As in Q^p^J^. P'^o^- ^^^- ^^ 5 t^^lJsSX) E^iek. xiii. I - . T : V 11, 13; nbln?^^^ '^^'^ ^^- ^^' T ; V ^1 " Taking Al for the article," says SchuUhess, (loc. cit. p. 82,) " then by the substitution of r for d, or d for r, Modad becomes identified with I\Iodar, and Modar appears in Arabian writers as one of the descendants of Joktan." Thus also Gesenius, in his Heb. INlanual, p. 46 of the 2d edit, with a reference to Pococke's Specim. Hist. Arab. p. 48, of the New Edit. But the name Modar there mentioned is written .A2X) Modhar (p. 46) ; and he is described as one of the posterity of Ishmael. If there has been a transposition of the letters, it is more natural to suppose that *! j1u7N ARABIA. 29i 2. Shaleph.'^- The elements of this name are found in the Salapeni of Ptolemy, who lived in the interior of Arabia FeHx.'*^ 3. Hhazarmavethy^^ the name of the third son of Joktan, has been preserved in the name of the Arabian province of Hhadramaut^'^^ only with a somewhat dif- ferent arrangement of the vowels. The Greeks and Romans called it Chatramotitis :^^ Pliny^'' terras the inhabitants AdramitcB. According to the account of Niebuhr,'^^ " Hhadramaut is bounded on the west by Yemen, on the south-east by Oman, and on the north been changed to "Ill0/^J»5 for Morad >^\ ^ does appear among the descendants of Joktan. Pococke, p. 42 — The opi- nion of A. Th. Hartmann, (Aufklar. iiber Asien, Part II. p. 70,) that Almodad was the modern Maudjid, a large village on the Red Sea, on the road to Mocha, (Niebuhr, p. 224,) is based on nothing but the very slight resemblance in the name. *^ Comp. Michaelis, Spicileg. Part II. p. 154. ** mD^n^n* St. Jerome correctly explains the name as equivalent to atrium mortis. Arrian says in his Periplus (IX. 7)j that in the Gulf of Sachalites, which bounded Cha- trammitis (Hhadramaut) on the east, the air was dense and sultry, and proved very deleterious to the convicts who were sent there to gather frankincense. See Bochart, Part I. Lib. II. cap. 27. o - - Ci - *^ For example, Strabo, XVI. 4. 4. *7 Hist. Nat. VI. 27. " Descrlpt. of Arabia, p. 283, [or Engl. Transl. of his Travels, Vol. II. p. 104— 7.]— T'r. 292 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. by a great desert. It comprehends a wide extent of country, especially if, with the Arabians, we include in it the district of Mahhra. Mahhra seems to be, like Tehamah, a sandy plain, extending in breadth from the shores of the ocean, backward, to where the hill country commences. These plains have probably been once covered by the sea. Hhadramaut, like Yemen, exhibits great diversities of soil and surface. Some parts of it are dry and desert; but the hills are extremely fertile, and are intersected by well watered vales. Arabia the Happy, comprehending the two provinces of Yemen and Hhadramaut, enjoyed in the remotest times a very extensive commerce. Its exports consisted not only in its own productions, but in those of India likewise, which were brought into its harbours upon the shores of the ocean, by vessels from India. As the navigation of the Arabic GuU" was always reckoned dangerous, those articles of merchandise were conveyed by land into Egypt and Syria. The caravans were a source of wealth to the whole nation : the inhabitants of the towns gained by purchases and sales, and the Bedouins by hiring out their camels. There is, therefore, the greatest truth in the accounts of the ancients, which describe so pompously the opulence of Happy Arabia, although its present state be far from flourishing. Since the Europeans have discovered a different rout to India the trade to South Arabia has necessarily declined. To Yemen the loss is made up by the exportation of such innumerable quantities of coffee — a traffic begun two centuries ago, and still increasing. But Hhadra- maut, producing little coffee, has no such resource. ARABIA. 293 and is therefore not likely to recover suddenly from the disadvantages which it has suffered by the loss of its Indian trade. Yet this province still carries on some trade in its native productions ; for the ships from Muskat visit its harbours upon the ocean. The little coffee which it affords, incense, gum Arabic, dra- gon's blood, myrrh and aloes, are the articles of this trade. The incense of Arabia is not of the very best quality ; but the aloes of Socotra, an isle belonging to the princes of Hhadramaut, have been always in the very highest estimation. The inhabitants of Hhadra- maut have likewise some trifling manufactures. Yemen is furnished from this province with coarse cloths, carpets, and the knives which the Arabs hang from the girdle. But the inhabitants of Hhadramaut, being averse to a maritime life, the trade from their seaports is all carried on in foreign bottoms."^ 4. Jarach or Jerach,^^ Joktan's fourth son. The name signifies " month," from Jareach,^^ the moon. In the Arabic language there are two words for the moon, Helal and Kamar ;5* the former we find as the name of a tribe in Arabia Felix, and the latter of a district. The Alilceiy who are mentioned by Aga- *^ Comp. Michaelis, loc cit. p. 156, and RommeVs Abul- fedea Arabiae Descriptio, p. 35. ° TW for H"^' ; the short vowel segol being changed ~T — V into the long vowel kametz. " ^ ^V.^ f^ ; the former is specially used in speaking of the new moon. 294 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. tharcides, Diodorus Siculus, and Ptolemy, as a people on the east coast of the Red Sea,53 a^e none other than the Banu-Helal,^'^ i. e. Sons of Helal, or Helal- ites, described by the Sheriff Edrisi as dwelling in the neighbourhood of Mecca. Their name in Hebrew would be expressed by Bne-Jerach or Jerachltes, and Bochart conjectures, with some plausibility, that they received this appellation from the circumstance of their worshipping the moon. For, as Herodotus relates,^^ the Arabs were in early times divided into worshippers of the sun and worshippers of the moon, the latter being called AHlat. It is worthy of re- mark, that in the year 1762, Niebuhr found on the east coast of the Red Sea, between Abu-arish and the Hedjaz, a tribe of free Arabs, called Beni- Halal,^^ who were regarded by their countrymen as *^ See the passages in Bochart, loc. cit. cap. 19, p. 124. *♦ i^i> ^xj, Klima II. Sect. 5. ^5 III. 8. Liowtrev Tt Ssov fiovvov xa) rviv Qv^eiviftv hyiufrat mTmh oiivoftd^ovffi ^i Tov fjuv Aiovvfev, 'O^otkX, rhv ot Ou^a- y'ltiv, 'AXiXar. Wesseling, in his note on this passage, makes various attempts to throw light upon it ; but we prefer the ex- planation of Pococke in his Specim. Hist Arab. p. 110. He takes 'OparaX, or, as it is in the Bodleian MS. 'o^aruXar, for a corruption of 'OXaraX or OXaraXar, and that he supposes to be ^Ixj* id^S, Olla-taala, i. e. the exalted or highest God ; while 'AX/Xar he takes for X^J'i^!, Alilaha, i. e. the goddess ; also ^^^U or with the feminine termination XJi^^^, Alhilala, i. e. the Moon. ''^ j^ Ij , rescript, of Arabia, p. 269. ARABIA. 295 infidels and robbers, practised a kind of circumcision peculiar to themselves, and had a dialect different from that of Yemen. The other Arabic name for the moon, Kamar, we find in Gohh-el-Kamar^^'^ i. e. the Moon-coast, a flat lying along the sea, between the towns of Shorma and Merbat, east of Hhadra- maut, and which is enclosed by a crescent-shaped eminence called Djebel-el-Kamar, i. e. Moonhill. It is uncertain whether Jarach is to be identified with this part of country, or with the above men- tioned tribe of Helalites.* 5. Hadoram,^^ the fifth in order of Joktan's sons, Gen. X. 27. Bochart takes his descendants to have been the Dirmati,^^ who dwelt in Arabia, on the Persian Gulf, opposite Kerman. Ptolemy also men- tions a promontory of Korodamos in that country. But these resemblances., are too faint to be built upon.^o There is more certainty in the identifica- tion of ^^ ^i^\ fc-*x , in Edrisi Klima, I. Sect. C, towards the end. Comp. Michaelis, loc. cit. p. 161. [But how came Joktan to call his son Jarach after the moon, befoi-e that son had any posterity who were moon- worshippers ? Jarach became, it is true, the name of a tribe, but was it not first that of a man ?] — Tr. CD i"ln« The most ancient Greek translators express the name by "o^oppx. *9 Hist. Nat. VI. 28. ^° Comp. Bochart, loc. cit. cap. 20 ; and Michaelis, Spicileg. Part II. p. 162. Vater says, in his Comment, on the Penta- teuch, (Vol. 1. p. 158,) that Hadoram is mentioned by Nuweiri as the son of A rphachshad. But that is a mistake, for Nuweiri, 296 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. 6. Uzal or Usal,^^ Joktan's sixth son, whom the Arabs unanimously regard as the founder o? the city of Sanaa62 j^j Yemen, whence that place was called by the name of Usal down to, at least, the sixth century .^^ A Mahomedan from India, who had lived many years in Yemen, assured Niebuhr that Usal was the ancient name of Sanaa.®* A large village in the neighbourhood of the town, inhabited by none but Jews, is called Osar, which has some re- semblance to the Auzara of Ptolemy and the Usal of the Hebrews. *' The city of Sanaa," says Niebuhr, lies *• at the foot of Mount Nikkum, on which are still to be seen the ruins of a castle, which the Arabs suppose to have been built by Shem. Near this mountain stands the castle, a rivulet runs upon the other side, and near it is the Bustan-el-Metwokkel, a spacious garden which was laid out by Imam Metwokkel, and has been embellished with another fine garden by the (Hist. Joctanidar, in Schultens, p. 48,) calls the son of Ar- phachshad ^l>w- Salaih, thus agreeing with Gen. x. 24, where he is called H/ti^' The name of Hadoram does not occur in the genealogies of the Arabs. T •^ See AssemannVs Bib. Orient. Tom. I. p. 360. Comp. MichaeliSy Spicileg. Part 11. p. 165. ^* Descr. of Arabia, p. 291, [or Eng. Trans, of Travels in Arabia, V^ol. II. p. 403]. For the passages in the Lexicon called the Kamoos, and the Geograph. Diet, of Yakuti, which shew the above opinion to be correct, see Rosenmuller^s Scholia on Ezek. xxvii. 19, p. 173. of the 2d Edit. Comp. Bochart^ cap. 21. ARABIA. 297 reigning Imam. The walls of the city, which are built of bricks, exclude this garden, which is enclosed within a wall of its own. The city, properly so called, is not very extensive: one may walk round it all in an hour. The city gates are seven. There are a number of mosques, some of which have been built by Turkish Pachas. Sanaa has the appearance of being more populous than it actually is; for gardens occupy a part of the space within the walls. In Sanaa are only twelve public baths, but many noble palaces ; three of the most splendid of which have been built by the reigning Imam. The palace of the late Imam El Manzor, with some others, belong to the royal family, who are very numerous.^^ As Sanaa lies in a somewhat elevated region, the heat is not so in- sufferable as in the Tehamah. There is also a plea- sant river in the neighbourhood, with many agreeable orchards." 7. Dikla^^ signifies, in Aramaic and Arabic, a palm or date tree. Bochart^'' thence conjectures that the name denotes the territory of the Minaei in Southern Arabia, which abounded in these trees ; but the fan- cifulness of this opinion is manifest, for to how many other districts of Arabia might we not apply the same observation ? As little do we know of 8. Obal.^^ Here Bochart is led to think of the ^ See Niehuhr, p. 230. Comp. RommeVs Abulfedea Arab. Descr. p. 48. t' : . "' Loc. cit. cap. 22. Comp. Michaelis, loo. cit. p. 1 75. " S:3iy. 298 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. AvalitcB, a tribe of Troglodytes mentioned by Arrian and Ptolemy as dwelling in the east of Africa, on the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. But the only foundation for this opinion is the slight resemblance of the names.^® 9. Abimael,'^° i. e. the father of Mael ; where Bo- chart''^ finds the progenitor of the Malitae or ManitsB of Ptolemy. The district which they occupied was, according to Theophrastus, one of the four provinces of Arabia most famous for incense and spices. 10. Sheba,'^'^ the tenth son of Joktan, is to be dis- tinguished, both from the son of Rhegma, a Hamite, (Gen. X. 7j) and also from a grandson of Abraham, a son of Jokshan,* (Gen. xxv. 3.) The descendants of this Sheba were, probably the Sahceans, a people of Arabia Felix, who settled on the Persian Gulf, between the Minsei and Cattabanii,^^ and whose chief town was Mariaba or Mareb; and hence, ac- cording to Abulfeda, Mareb and Saba, were identical [ ^^ Comp. Michaelis, loc. cit. p. 177- The opinion of Schulthess, (p. 84;) is inadmissible, that /^1V was the moun- T tainous part of Idurasea, called by Josephus GoboUtis, hy Euse- bius Gehalene ; for the name of that district was derived from ^lx:s» Djebal, a mountain. '^ Loc. cit. cap. 24. Comp. Michaelis, p. 179. '^^ i^nSi^* Tlie Septuagint renders it uniformly by tet^a. * See above at p. 150. 73 Eratosthenes in Strabo XVI. 3.^2 and 19. Comp. fio- chart, cap. 26, p. 147. ARABIA. 299 names.''* A queen of Sheba, on hearing the fame of Solomon's wisdom and greatness, paid a visit to that monarch, and presented to him valuable gifts of gold, precious stones, and fine spices, (1 Kings x. 1.4. 10. 2 Chr. ix. 1) ; and it appears^ from Greek writers, that the country of the Sabseans was famous for these native productions.^^ The memory of the event has also been preserved amon§ the Arabs, who give her the name of Balkis, and say that she became Solomon's wife. The traditions regarding her have been pre- served, and, perhaps embellished, in the 27th chapter of the Koran; she is also introduced in the list of the rulers of Yemen. 76 Mareb lies in the district of Djof in Yemen. The following is Niebuhr's^^ account of it : " Mareb, though consisting only of about three hundred mean houses, is the capital of the province. It is situate sixteen leagues north-east from Sana. It was known to the ancients as the capital of the Sa- beans, by the name of Mariaba; it is not certain whe- ther it was ever called Saba. In its neighbourhood are some ruins, which are pretended to be the re- mains of the palace of Queen Balkis ; but there is no ^^ Strabo, loc. cit. '6 Pococke's Specim. Hist. Arab. p. 60. [It is to be recol- lected, however, that the honour of being the country of the Queen of Sheba is also claimed by Abyssinia. But if there was (as Bruce informs us) a Saba in Ethiopia, opposite the Saba of Arabia, and that these two coasts of the Red Sea formed at times but one kingdom, the two opinions are not irrecon- cileable.]— Tr. " Travels in Arabia, Eng. Trans. Vol. II. p. 66. 300 BIBLICAL GFOGRAPHY. inscription to confirm or refute this assertion. The Sabeans had a reservoir or basin for water which was anciently famous, and which I often heard talked of in Arabia ; but nobody could give me an exact de- scription of it except one man of rank, who had been born at Mareb, and had always lived there. He told me that the famous reservoir, called by the Arabs Sitteh Mareb^^ was a narrow valley between two ranges of hills, and a day's journey in length. Six or seven small rivers meet in that valley, holding their course south and south-west, and advancing from the territories of the Imam. Some of these rivers contain fishes, and their waters flow through the whole year ; others are dry except in the rainy sea- son. The two ranges of hills which confine this val- ley, approach so near to each other upon the eastern end, that the intermediate space may be crossed in five or six minutes. To confine the waters in the rainy season, the entrance into the valley was here shut up by a high and thick wall, and as outlets through which the water thus collected, might be con- veyed in the season of drought to water the neigh- bouring fields, .... three large flood-gates were formed in the wall one above another. The wall was fifty feet high, and built of large hewn stones. Its ruins are still to be seen. But the waters which it used formerly to confine, are now lost among the sands after running only a short way. * * * The ^^ Such is the orthography of Niebuhr, but he ought to have written the former word Siddeh, as the Arabic for a reservoir or dam. is S^ ^^^ ^'^\ , The Town of the Two Rivers. But all this is very unsatisfactory. °* bt1^^/!3 P^- Thesecondword should be read 7T^N'tD T 'tT ' as had been done by Aquila, whr, ace jrding to Jerome, had 306 BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. cality cannot now be fixed with certainty.^* There is, indeed, a modern town in Yemen, called Javan,^^ but, besides its name, nothing is known respecting it. Vedan and Javan," says the prophet, " brought to the Tyrian markets wrought iron, cassia, and cinna- raon."97 Now, as the two latter are Indian produc- tions, they were imported into Arabia, by sea, and, therefore, we may conclude that these tribes lived on the eastern or southern coast. When Niebuhr was in Arabia, about the year 1762, there were iron- works in operation in the province of Sahan, in Ye- men ;9s and the " blades of Yemen" are celebrated by the Arab poets. ^^ " de Uzal," and so the word is still pointed in many MSS. Now, Uzal, as we saw above, is Sanaa, the modern capital of Vemen. By adding the words " of Uzal" to the name Javan at ver. 19, Ezekiel, would distinguish it from the Javan he had before mentioned at ver. 13, viz. Ionia or Greece. [The English translation at Ezek. xxvii. 19, has " Dan also and Javan going to and fro," placing in the margin " or Meusal.''] ^'^ For Michaehs conjecture as to Vedan, see note 93. 56 In the Dictionary of the Kamoos (Calcutta Edit. p. 1817), we find this article : " Javan, with double Fatha, a town in Yemen." V 't T ' . - V ; - ^8 See Niebuhr'' s Descrip. of Arabia, p. 141, 271. '5 See Schultens' Excerpta ex Hamasa, in his edition of the Grammar of Erpenius, p. 428, where the expression, '' the notched Yemeny," denotes a Yemen blade, END OF ARABIA. APPENDIX. Dr. Edward Robinson, of the Union Theological Semi- nary, New York, well known to biblical students as the author of several works of high reputation, has recently visited some of the countries described in the present volume, in company with the Eev. E, Smith, Americjan Missionary at Beirout. The result of their investigations has been published under the title of " Biblical Researches in Pa- lestine, Mount Sinai, and Arabia Petrsea," from which we shall give a few of the more important passages that have a reference to topics discussed in the preceding pages. Messrs. Robinson and Smith left Cairo on the llth March 1838, and, taking the usual wilderness route to Mount Sinai, travelled thence to Akaba. They then struck across the western desert to Hebron, and from that to Jerusalem. After making excursions to various parts of Palestine, as also to Wady Musa, &c. they ended their journey at Beirout, by way of Tyre and Sidon. The following extracts we present in the order of the above route ; the Index will guide the reader to Rosen- miiller's account of the same places. Ayun Musa, or Fountains of Moses. — " Here I counted seven fountains, several of them mere recent excavations in the sand, in which a little brackish water was standing. Others are older and more abun- dant ; but the water is dark-coloured and brackish, and 308 APPENDIX. deposits a hard substance as it rises ; so that mounds have been formed around these larger springs, on the top of which the water flows out, and runs down for a few yards, till it is lost in the sand. We did not remark that the water was warm, as reported by Monconys and others. The Arabs call the northernmost spring sweet, but we could not perceive that it differed much from the others. One of them has a small rude drain laid with stones, a few paces long, which the French have dignified with the name of a Venetian aqueduct.' About twenty stunted un- trimmed palm trees, or rather palm bushes, grow round about in the arid sand. A patch of barley, a few rods square, was irrigated from one or two of the more south- ern fountains. The barley was now in the ear ; and we counted six men busy in frightening away the little birds called Semmaneh ; thus showing the value attached to the only spot of cultivation in the vicinity of Suez, to which place they belonged. There were also a few cabbage plants. Near the fountains is a low mound of rubbish with fragments of tiles and pottery, and some foundations visible on the top, apparently marking the site of a former village.2"_Vol. I. p. 90. Hawarah^ the Marah of Moses — ' Fifteen minutes ^ See Monge, in Descr. de I'Egypte, Et. IMod. I. p. 409, seq. Laborde's Map — M. I\Ionge speaks of this aqueduct as ex- tending down to the sen so as to form a watering place for ships. We were not, at the time, aware of this hypothesis, and did not therefore examine the coast. But there is nothing around the springs which indicates it. See also Marmont's Voyage, torn. iv. p. 153. 15rux. 1837. ^ IM. ]Monge regards this as the former site of a pottery where earthen vessels were manufactured on the spot, in order to carry away water, Descr. de TEgypte, 1. c. APPENDIX. 309 beyond this, [the Hajr er Rukkab, or Stone of the Riders] we came to the fountain Hawarah, lying to the left of the road on a large mound, composed of a whitish rocky substance formed apparently by the deposites of the fountain during the lapse of ages. No stream was now flowing from it ; though there are traces of running water round about. The basin is six or eight feet in diameter, and the water about two feet deep. Its taste is unpleasant, saltish, and somewhat bitter ; but we could not perceive that it was very much worse than that of 'Ayun Musa, perhaps because we were not yet connoisseurs in bad water. The Arabs, however, pro- nounce it bitter, and consider it as the worst water in all these regions. Yet, when pinched, they drink of it ; and our camels also drank freely. Near by the spring were two stunted palm trees ; and round about it many bushes of the shrub Ghurkiid, now in blossom.^ This is alow bushy thorny shrub, producing a small fruit which ripens in June, not unlike the barberry, very juicy and slightly acidulous. The Ghurkiid seems to delight in a saline soil; for we found it growing around all the brackish fountains which we afterwards fell in with, dm*ing our journies in and around Palestine. In the midst of parched deserts, as in the Ghor south of the Dead Sea, where the heat was intense, and the fountains briny, the red berries of this plant often afforded us a grateful refreshment. " The fountain of Hawarah is first distinctly mentioned by Burckhardt. Pococke perhaps saw it ; though his language is quite indefinite. Niebuhr passed this way ; but his guides did not point it out to him ; probably be- cause the Arabs make no account of it as a watering place. ^ Peganum retusum, Forsk. Flora. JEg, Arab. p. Ixvi . More correctly Nitraria tridentata of Desfontaines ; Flora Atlant. i. 372. Comp. Gesenius' note on Burckhardt, p. 1082. 310 APPENDIX. Since Burckhardt's day it has generally been regarded as the bitter fountain Marah, which the Israelites reached after three days march without water in the desert of Shur. The position of the spring and the nature of the country tally very exactly with this supposition. After having passed the Red Sea, the Israelites would naturally supply themselves from the fountains of Naba' and ' Ayun Musa ; and from the latter to Hawarah is a distance of about six- teen and a half hours, or thirty-three geogr. miles ; which, as we have seen above, was for them a good three days' journey. On the route itself there is no water ; but near the sea is now the small fountain Abu Suweirah, which may then have been dry or not have existed ; and in the mountains on the left is the ' Cup of Siidr,' several hours from the road, and probably unknown to the Israelites. I see therefore no valid objection to the above hypothesis. The fountain lies at the specified distance, and on their direct route ; for there is no probability that they passed by the lower and longer road along the sea shore. We made particular inquiries to ascertain whether the name Marah still exists, as reported by Shaw and others : but neither the Tawarah Arabs, nor the inhabitants of Suez, nor the monks of the convent, so far as we could learn, had ever heard of it. Travellers have probably been led into error by the name of Wady el-'Amarah ; or pos- sibly by el-Miirkah, a fountain nearly two days journey farther south, on the lower route to Mount Sinai and Tur. " Burckhardt suggests that the Israelites may have ren- dered the water of Marah palatable by mingling with it the juice of the berries of the Ghiirkiid. The process would be a very simple one, and doubtless effectual ; and the presence of this shrub around all brackish fountains, would cause the remedy to be always at hand. But as the Israelites broke up from Egypt on the morrow of Easter, APPENDIX. 311 and reached Marah apparently not more than two or three weeks later, the season for these berries would hardly have arrived. We made frequent and diligent inquiries whether any process is now known among the Bedawin for thus sweetening bad water, either by means of the juice of berries, or the bark or leaves of any tree or plant ; but we were invariably answered in the negative." — Vol. I. p. 96—98. Wady Ghurundel, the Elim of Scripture, — " Wady Ghuriindel is deeper and better supplied with bushes and shrubs than any we had yet seen ; and like Siidr and Wardan, it bore marks of having had water run- ning in it the present year. The Ghiirkud is very fre- quent. Straggling trees of several kinds are found in it ; the most common of which is the Tiirfa, a species of tama- risk, Tamarix Gallica mannifera of Ehrenberg, on which our camels browsed freely, and also mimosas or acacias, called by the Arabs Tiilh and Seyal. A few small palm- trees are scattered through the valley. We saw many of the wood-ticks mentioned by Burckhardt ; but they did not trouble us. About half an hour below our encamp- ment, the Arabs procured water, as they said, from foun- tains with a running brook. It was brackish, and of the same general character as that of all the preceding foun- tains, though less disagreeable than that of Hawarah. We kept it over night in our leather bottles, and it did not change its taste, though the Arabs said it would grow worse, as Burckhardt also testifies. When the rains fail for two or three years, the brook ceases to flow, but water is always to be found by digging a little below the surface. " This Wady is now commonly regarded as the Elim of Scripture, to which the Israelites came after leaving Marah, and found twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees. There is nothing improbable in this supposition, if 312 APPENDIX. we admit ' Ain Hawarah to be Marah. The fountains of Wady Ghurundel are two and a half hours, or nearly half a day's journey for the Israelites, distant from Hawarah, and are still one of the chief watering places of the Arabs.'* —Vol. I. p. 99. Plain of el'Kaa or Desert of Sin. — " From their encampment at the mouth of Wady et-Taiyibeh, the Israelites would necessarily advance into the great plain, which, beginning near el- Miirkhah, extends with a greater or less breadth almost to the extremity of the peninsula. In its broadest part, northward of Tur, it is called el-Ka'a. This desert plain, to which they would thus necessarily come, I take to ])e the desert of Sin, the next station mentioned in Scripture. From this plain they could enter the mountains at various points, either by the present nearer route through the Wadys Shellal and Mukatteb, or perhaps by the mouth of Wady Feiran it- self. Their approach to Sinai was probably along the- upper part of this latter valley and Wady esh- Sheikh ; but the two subsequent stations, Dophkah and Alush, are mentioned so indefinitely, that" no hope remains of their ever being identified." — Vol. I. p. 106. Approach to Sinai — Wady esh- Sheikh " At three quarters past eight o'clock we reached Wady esh- Sheikh, one of the largest, and most famous vallies of the peninsula. It takes its rise in the very heart of Sinai, whence it issues a broad valley, at first in an eastern direc- tion, and then sweeping round to the north and west it passes down towards Serbal. We found it here running from N.E. to S.W. After receiving the Akhdar, it takes the name of Feiran, and as such is well watered, has gar- dens of fruit and palm-trees, and, receiving many branches, runs to the northward of Serbal quite down to the sea. APPENDIX. 313 The lower and easier road Irom Wady et-Taiyibeh, to Sinai enters the Feiran from the head of Wady Mukatteb, and follows it up through Wady esh- Sheikh almost to the convent. From the point where we now were, this road is long and circuitous ; while a shorter one strikes direct- ly towards the convent, ascending in part by a narrow and difficult pass. We took the latter ; and crossing Wady esh-Sheikh, proceeded on a course S. E. by S. up the broad Wady, or rather sloping plain, es-Seheb, thickly studded with shrubs, but without trees. Here and around Wady esh-Sheikh are only low hills, lying between the rocky mountains behind us, and the cliffs of Sinai before us ; and forming as it were a lower belt around the lofty central granite region. Over these hills, the low walls of porphyry or griinstein, run in various directions, stretching off to a great distance."— .Vol. I. p. !26, 127. Wadij-er-Rahah — Mount Horeb Describing his ap- proach to Sinai across i\\QNukb Hawy^ or " Windy Pass," he says, " It was half past three o'clock when we reached the top, from which the convent was said to be an hoiir distant, but we found it two hoars, as did also Burckhardt.* Descending a little into a small Wady which has its head here, and runs off through a cleft in the western moun- tains apparently to Wady Riidhwah, we soon began to as- cend again gradually on a course S. E. by S-, passing by a small spring of good water ; beyond which the valley opens by degrees, and its bottom becomes less uneven. Here the interior and loftier peaks of the great circle of Sinai began to open upon us, — black, rugged, desolate summits ; and as we advanced, the dark and frowning front of Sinai itself (the present Horeb of the monks) be- * Page 596. Burckhardt travelled in the other direction, from the convent down the pass. 314 APPENDIX. gan to appear. We were still gradually ascending, and the valley gradually opening ; but as yet all was a naked desert. Afterwards a few shrubs were sprinkled round about, and a small encampment of black tents was seen on our right, with camels and goals browsing, and a few donkies belonging to the convent. The scenery through M'hich we had now passed reminded me strongly of the mountains around the Mer de Glace in Switzerland. I had never seen a spot more wild and desolate. " As weadvanced, the valley still opened wider and wider with a gentle ascent, and became full of shrubs 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 com- panion and myself involuntarily exclaimed, " Here is room enough for a large encampment." 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 rug- ged and venerable mountains of dark granite, stern, naked, splintered peaks and ridges, of indescribable grandeur ; and terminated at the 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 unex- pected, and such as we had never seen; and the associations which at the moment rushed upon our minds were aJmost overwhelming. As we went on, new points of interest were continually opening to our view. On the left of Horeb, a deep and narrow valley runs up S. S. E. be- tween lofty walls of rock, as if in continuation of the S. E. corner of the plain. In this valley, at the distance of near a mile from the plain, stands the convent, and the deep verdure of its fruit trees and cypresses is seen as the traveller approaches — an oasis of beauty amid scenes of the sternest desolation. At the S. W. corner of the plain APPENDIX. 315 the cliffs also retreat, and form a recess or open place ex- tending from the plain westward for some distance. From this recess, there runs up a similar narrow valley on the west of Horeb, called el-Leja, parallel to that in which the con- vent stands; andin it is the deserted convent el- Arba'in, with a garden of olive and other fruit-trees not visible from the plain. A third garden lies at the mouth of el-Leja ; and a fourth further west in the recess just mentioned. The whole plain is called Wady er-Rahah, and the valley of the con- vent is known to the Arabs as Wady Shu'-eib, that is, the vale of Jethro ; still advancing, the front of Horeb rose like a wall before us ; and one can approach quite to the foot and touch the mount. Directly before its base, is the deep bed of a torrent, by which, in the rainy season, the waters of el-Leja and the mountains around the recess, pass down eastward across the plain, forming the commencement of Wady esh- Sheikh, which then issues by an opening through the cliffs of the eastern mountain, — a fine broad valley af- fording the only easy access to the plain and convent. As we crossed the plain, our feelings were strongly affected, at finding here so unexpectedly a spot so entirely adapted to the Scriptural account of the giving of the law. No traveller has described this plain, nor even mentioned it, except in a slight and general manner ; probably because the most have reached the convent by another route with- out passing over it ; and perhaps, too, because neither the highest point of Sinai (now called Jebel Musa), nor the still loftier summit of St. Catharine, is visible from any part of it."5_Vol. L pp. 129—132. ^ JMonconys appears to have come by the same route in A. D. 1647 : " Par un chemin tres-rude, ou les chameaux tra- vaillaient beaucoup.'' He says the convent is seen from the top of the ascent, " dans le fond d'une grande campagne verte qui commence en cet endroit. Elle a une lieue et demi de long, et un grand quart de lieue de large.?' Tom. I. p. 214. 316 APPENDIX. " The name of Sinai is now given by the Christians in a general way to this whole cluster of mountains ; but in its stricter sense is applied only to the ridge lying between the two parallel valleys, Shu'eib and el-Leja. It is the north- ern end of this ridge, which rises so boldly and majestically from the southern extremity of the plain ; and this north- ern part is now called by the Christians, Horeb ; but the Bedawin do not appear to know that name. From this front the high ridge extends back about S. E. by S. for nearly or quite three miles, where it terminates in the higher peak of Jebel Musa, which has commonly been re- garded as the summit of Sinai, the place where the law was given. " The Arabs of the present day have no other name for the whole cluster of mountains in the peninsula, than Jebel et-Tur. It is possible that they may sometimes add the word Sina (Tur Sina), by way of distinction ; but this, certainly, is not usual.^ " We measured across the plain, where we stood, along the water-shed, and found the breadth to be at that point 2700 English feet, or 900 yards ; though in some parts it is wider. The distance to the base of Horeb, measured, in in like manner, was 7000 feet, or 2333 yards. The north- ern slope of the plain, north of where we stood, we judged to be somewhat less than a mile in length, by one third of Morison describes the plain, as being " d'une lieue de longueur, mais d'une largeur peu considerable;" Relation Historique, p. 91. These notices, although exaggerated, are the most distinct mention of the plain that I have been able to find. Of Shaw's account, 1 can make nothing, p. 314, 4to. ^ The supposed Ibu Haukal about the eleventh century writes Tur Sina; see Ouseley's Ebn Haukal, p. 29 — Edrisi and Abulfeda have only Jebel Tur, and et-Tur ; see Edrisi ed. Jaubert, p. ii32. Abulfed. Arabia in geogr. vet. Scriptores minores ed. Hudson, Oxon. 1712. Tom III. p. 74. seq. APPENDIX. 317 a mile in brecidth. We may therefore fairly estimate the whole plain at two geogr. miles long, and ranging in breadth from one third to two thirds of a mile, or as equi- valent to a surface of at least one square mile. This space is nearly doubled by the recess so often mentioned in the west, and by the broad and level area of Wady Sheikh on the east, which issues at right angles to the plain, and is equally in view of the front and summit of the present Horeb. " The examination of this afternoon convinced us, that here was space enough to satisfy all the requij^itions of the Scriptural narrative, so far as it relates to the assembling of the congregation to receive the law. Here, too, one can see the fitness of the injunction, to set bounds around the moimt, that neither man nor beast might approach too near." The encampment before the mount, as has been before suggested, might not improbably include only the head quarters of Moses and the elders, and of a portion of the people ; while the remainder, with their flocks, were scattered among the adjacent vallies." — Vol. I. pp. 140, 141. Summit of Jehel Musa, — After an account of his ascent to the top of the mountain, which has commonly passed for the Sinai of Scripture, he says, " My first and predominant feeling while upon this summit was that of disappointment. Although, from our examination of the plain, er Rahah below, and its correspondence to the Scrip- tural narrative, we had arrived at the general conviction that the people of Israel must have been collected on it to receive the law ; yet we still had cherished a lingering hope or feeling, that there might, after all, be some foundation for the long series of monkish tradition, which, for at least fifteen centuries, has pointed out the summit on which we 7 Exod. xix. 12, 13. 318 APPENDIX. now stood, as the spot where the ten commandments were so awfully proclaimed. But Scriptural narrative and monkish tradition are very different things ; and, while the former has a distinctness and definiteness, which, through all our journey ings, rendered the Bible our best guide-book, we found the latter not less usually, and almost regularly, to be but a baseless fabric. In the present case, there is not the slightest reason for supposing that Moses had any - thing to do with the summit which now bears his name. It is three miles distant from the plain on which the Is- raelites must have stood ; and hidden from it by the inter- vening peaks of the modern Horeb. No part of the plain is visible from the summit ; nor are the bottoms of the adjacent vallies ; nor is any spot to be seen around it, where the people could have assembled. The only point in which it is not immediately surrounded by high mountains, is to- wards the S. E., where it sinks down precipitously to a tract of naked gravelly hills." — Vol. I. pp. 154, 135. Summit of the Bas Es Sufsafeh — The true Sinai? — After remaining on the top of Jebel Musa nearly two hours and a half, they determined to visit the northern brow of Horeb, which overlooks the plain er-Rahah. They reached by a wild and rugged path a basin among the hills, where stands a chapel of St. John the Baptist : " While the monks were here employed in lighting tapers and burning incense, we determined to scale the almost in- accessible peak of es- Sufsafeh before us, in order to look out upon the plain, and judge for ourselves as to the ad- aptedness of this part of the mount to the circumstances of the Scriptural history. This cliff rises some five hundred feet above the basin ; and the distance to the summit is more than half a mile. We first attempted to climb the side in a direct course ; but found the rock so smooth and precipitous, that after some falls and more exposures, we APPENDIX. 319 were obliged to give it up, and clamber upwards along a steep ravine by a more northern and circuitous course. From the head of this ravine, we were able to climb around the face of the northern precipice and reach the top, along the deep hollows worn in the granite by the weather dur - ing the lapse of ages, which give to this part, as seen from below, the appearance of architectural ornament. " The extreme difficulty and even danger of the ascent was well rewarded by the prospect that now opened be- fore us. The whole plain er-Rahah lay spread out be- neath our feet, with the adjacent Wadys and mountains ; while Wady esh. 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 one of the adjacent cliffs was the spot, where the Lord ' descended in fire' and proclaimed the law. Here lay the plain where the whole congregation might be assembled ; here was the mount that could be approached and touched, 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.' We gave our- selves up to the impressions of the awful scene ; and read with a feeling that will never be forgotten, the sublime ac- count of the transaction, and the commandments there promulgated, in the original words as recorded by the great Hebrew legislator,"^ — Vol. L pp. 157, 158. The pretended Rock of RepMdim. — "As to this rock, one is at a loss, whether most to admire the credulity of the monks, or the legendary and discrepant reports of tra- "^ Exodus xix. 9—25. xx. ]— 21. 320 APPENDIX. vellers. It is hardly necessary to remark, that there is not the shghtest ground for assuming any connection be- tween this narrow valley and Rephidim, but, on the con- trary, there is every thing against it. The rock itself is a large isolated cube of coarse red granite, which has fallen from the eastern mountain. Down its front, in an oblique line from top to bottom, runs a seam of a finer texture, from twelve to fifteen inches broad, having in it several irregular horizontal crevices, somewhat resembling the human mouth, one above another. These are said to be twelve in number ; but I could make out only ten. The seam extends quite through the rock, and is visible on the opposite or back side ; where also are similar cre- vices, though not so large. The holes did not appear to us to be artificial, as is usually reported ; although we ex- amined them particularly. They belong rather to the nature of the seam ; yet it is possible that some of them may have been enlarged by artificial means. The rock is a singular one ; and doubtless was selected on account of this very singularity, as the scene of the miracle.*' — Vol. I. pp. 166, 167. 'Ain el Hudhera, the Hazeroth of Scripture. — On their way from Sinai to Akabah, the travellers passed near to the fountain of Hudhera. " At three quarters past ten, our guides pointed out the place of the fountain 'Ain-el Hudhera through a pass N. N. E., with several low palm trees around it ; and soon after, we came upon another series of connected Wadys, called Mawarid el-Hiidhera, or ' paths' to this fountain. Our course led us to the right of el-Hiidhera ; but at IP. 10'. we stopped in a valley at the point where our road came nearest to it ; and all the camels were sent up the valley to be watered at the foun- tain, which was said to be more thanhalf an hour distant to- wards et-Tih. Meantime we lay down upon the sand and slept. After a while, some of the men came ba^k with APPENDIX. 321 five of the camels, saying the path was so rugged and dif- ficult, that their camels could not reach the spring. The others however succeeded ; and after a delay of nearly three hours, returned, bringing a supply of tolerably good water, though slightly bracldsh. It is the only perennial water in these parts." " Burckhardt has already suggested, that this fountain el-Hudhera is perhaps the Hazeroth of Scripture, the third station of the Israelites after leaving Sinai, and either four or five days' march from that mountain. ^^ The i- dentity of the Arabic and Hebrew names is apparent, each containing the corresponding radical letters ; and the dis- tance of eighteen hours from Sinai accords well enough with the hypothesis. The determination of this point is perhaps of more importance in Bibhcal history, than would at first appear, for if this position be adopted for Hazeroth, it settles at once the question as to the whole route of the Israelites between Sinai and Kadesh. It shows, that they must have followed the route upon which we now were, to the sea, and so along the coast to 'Aka- bah, and thence probably through the great Wady el- 'Arabah to Kadesh. Indeed such is the nature of the country, that, having once arrived at this fountain, they could not well have varied their com'se, so as to have kept aloof from the sea and continued along the high plateau of the western desert."_Yol. I. pp. 222—224. The Western Desert. — This was entered by them after they had surmounted the steep ascent leading out of Akaba. — " Having thus reached the level of the great west- ern desert, we left the Hadj road, and setting our faces towards Gaza and Hebron, on a course N. W., we launched forth into the ' great and terrible wilderness.* We entered immediately upon an immense plain, called '"Num. xi. 35. xxxiii. 17- Comp. x. 33. —Burckhardt; p. 495. Y 322 APPENDIX. Ka'a en-Nukb, extending far to the west, and apparently on so dead a level, that water would hardly flow along its surface. It has, however, as we found, a slight declivity towards the W. and N. W. ; for on our left was the com- mencement of a shallow Wady called el- Khureity, running off in that direction. The plain, where we entered upon it, was covered with black pebbles of flint ; then came a tract of indurated earth ; and afterwards again, similar pebbles- The whole plain was utterly naked of vegetation. The desert, however, could not be said to be pathless, for the camel- tracks showed that we were on a great road. One of the first objects which here struck our view, was the Mirage^ presenting the appearance of a beautiful lake on our left. We had not seen this phenomenon in the whole peninsula, nor since the day we left Suez ; and I do not remember that we ever again had an instance of it. " On this high plain, we now found ourselves above all the peaks and hills through which we had just before as- cended. We could overlook them all, and saw beyond them the summits of the eastern mountains, which the level of the plain on which we were, seemed to strike at about two-thirds of their altitude. From this and other circumstances, we judged the elevation of this plain to be about fifteen hundred feet above the level of the gulf, and el-'Arabah.*^ " The general character of the desert on which we had now entered, is similar to that between Cairo and Suez — vast and almost unbounded plains, a hard gravelly soil, ir- '^ According to the baronnetrical measurements of Russegger, who crossed the desert from the convent to Hebron a few months after us, the elevation of the castle Nukhl above the sea is 1496 Paris feet. This point is probably somewhat lower than the plain in question. See Berghaus' Annalem der Erd- kunde, &c. Feb. und Marz, 1839, p. 429. APPENDIX. 323 regular ridges of limestone, hills in various directions, the Mirage^ and especially the Wadys, or watercourses. On reaching this high plateau, we were somewhat surprised to find all these Wadys running towards the N. W., and not towards the East, into the ' Arabah, as we had expected from its near vicinity. To all this desert our Arabs gave the general name of et-Tih, ' Wandering,' and said that the mountain ridge which skirts it on the south, takes the same name from the desert." ^^ — Vol. I. pp. 259 — 262. Wady el-Jeib in the 'Arabah In their excursion to Wady Musa from Hebron, the travellers first descended the Ghor, to the south of the Dead Sea, and then came upon the higher plain of the 'Arabah, their approach to which is thus described:—" At length at 2^ 50', we reached the opening of the long expected Wady el-Jeib, through which we were to ascend. To our surprise, it turned out to be, not the mere bed of a torrent descending from the higher plain of the 'Arabah, but a deep broad Wady issuing from the south upon the Ghor, and coming down as far as the eye could reach between high precipi- tous clifi^s, hke those along which we had passed. It is, indeed, the vast drain of all the 'Arabah, which has thus worn for itself, in the course of ages, a huge channel through the upper plain, and the offset of cliffs to the level of the Ghor below. ^^ ^^ The name et-Tih, as applied to this desert, is found in both Edrisi and Abulfeda ; who refer it to the wanderings of the children of Israel. Edrisi, par Jaubert, I. p. 3()0. Abulfed. Tab. Syr. ed. Kohler, p. 4 ; et Addenda. So too Ibn el- Wardi Ibid. p. 170. ^^ From the point where we now stood, viz. the we^teI•u angle of the chffs at the entrance of Wady el-Jeib, we took the following bearings ; — 'Ain el-Arus about N. 30° W. South- west end of Usdum, N. 15° W. South eastern angle of Usdum, 324 APPENDIX. " We found here the peculiarity, that the eastern bank of this great Wady el-Jeib terminates nearly an hour fur- ther south ; from which point the offset, or line of cliffs, then runs north of east to the eastern mountains at the mouth of Wady Ghiiriindel, leaving before us a wide open tract belonging to the Ghor. The water courses from the Wady, come down across this tract, and pass on through a space without shrubs and trees to the marshy flats nearer the sea. " We now turned up along the western bank on a course S. S. W., and at 3^ o'clock, were opposite the angle of the eastern bank ; whence the line of chffs runs nearly E. by N. to the foot of the mountains, about an hour distant. Here we entered the Wady itself, in this part not far fi'om half a mile broad, shut in between perpendicular walls of the same chalky earth or marl, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high, which exclude all view of the country, and of every object around. The banks, indeed, are so entirely perpendicular, that it would be next to im- possible to ascend out of the valley on either side. The broad bed of the Wady is very level, and has to ihe eye but a slight ascent towards the south ; yet it bears traces of an immense volume of water rushing along with vio- lence, and covering the whole breadth of the valley. At its mouth and below, the bed is covered with tamarisks (Tiirfa), and another shrub resembling the retem, but larger, called el- Ghiidhah.i* These bushes soon become fewer, and gradually disappear. at the corner of the sea, N. 15° E. Peak in the mountains of Moab, N. 65° E. Wady et-Tufileh, mouth, N. 85° E. Mouth of Wady Ghurundel and south east corner of the Ghor, S. 40° E. '* " Nomen arboris. Kam. Aptissimi ad ignem et prunas hgni ; in arenis praecipue provenit, Gol." Freytag, Lex. Arab. III. p. 281. seq. APPENDIX. 325 " We travelled on along this remarkable chasm, which was now heated, both by the direct and reflected rays of the sun, to the temperature of 8S° F, The direct rays were scorching, but we avoided them by keeping within the shadow of the high western bank. At 4* 40^ the course of the valley became south ; and looking up it, we could distinguish the lone peak of Mount Hor in the distance, bearing also south. At 5 o'clock, a branch Wady came in from the west, similar in its character to el-Jeib, though much smaller. The Arabs called it Wady Hash ; and said it had its head in the plain of the 'Arabah, at a place where there is a natural pool filled with sweet living water, surrounded by much verdure, and, as the Arabs said, with some traces of ruins. Beyond this point we began to find stones and blocks of porphyry scattered along the water course of the Jeib, brought down by the torrents from the mountains further south. " Till now the cliffs on each side had been so high and unbroken, that we had seen nothing whatever of the fea- tures of the country round about ; but here those on our left became occasionally lower, and we could perceive the eastern mountains, and in them the large Wady el-Ghu- weir described by Burckhardt.^^ At six o'clock we halted, still in the shade of the high western bank. Here Mount Hor bore S., and the high peak we had before noted in the mountains of Moab, N. 54° E. " The heat in the Wady was so great, and the prospect of the country so very limited, that we concluded to travel during a part of the night ; stopping now to dine and rest, and intending to set off again at midnight. The evening was warm and still ; we therefore did not pitch our tent, but spread our carpets on the sand and lay down, not in- deed at first to sleep, but to enjoy the scene and the associa- " Travels in Syria and the Holy I^and; &c. pp. 409, 410. 326 APPENDIX. tions which thronged upon our minds. It was truly one of the most romantic desert scenes we had yet met with ; and I hardly remember another in all our wanderings of which I retain a more lively impression. Here was the deep broad valley in the midst of the ' Arabah, unknown to all thecivihzed world, shut in by high and singular cliffs; over against us were the mountains of Edom ; in the dis- tance rose Mount Hor in its lone majesty, the spot where the aged prophet-brothers took of each other their last fare- well; while above our heads was the deep azure of an oriental sky, studded with innumerable stars and briUiant constellations, on which we gazed with a higher interest from the bottom of this deep chasm. Near at hand were the flashing fires of our paity; the Arabs themselves in their wild attire, all nine at supper around one bowl ; our Egyptian servants looking on ; one after another rising and gliding through the glow of the fires ; the Sheikh ap- proaching and saluting us ; the serving of coffee ; and beyond all this circle, the patient camels lying at their ease and lazily chewing the cud. "The great feature of our journey to day, was the Wady- el-Jeib. The mountain of salt, however remarkable and important, had in part been known before . But this deep Wady was wholly new to us and unknown to the world ; the great water course of all the valley or plain of the 'Arabah; a Wady within a Wady.-'s Our Arabs of the Haweitat were acquainted with it throughout its whole length ; and assured us that it has its commencement far '^ M. de Bertou speaks of this deep water course only as Wady el-' Arabah ; and seems not to have heard or understood the name el-Jeib. Vet all our Arabs (who also had been his guides) gave it no other name than el-Jeih ; and the same ap- pears upon Laborde's map in the proper place, though with a wrong direction for the valley. APPENDIX. 327 south of Wady Musa ; and that in the rainy season, the waters of the southern Wady Ghuriindel tie wofpnorth wards through the Jeib to the Dead Sea. Further north, they said, it receives the great Wady-el-Jerafeh from the west- ern desert. "Another remarkable feature of the region is the line of cliffs crossing the whole Ghor, and constituting merely the ascent to the higher plain of the ' Arabah. From the S. W. corner of the Ghor to the mouth of Wady-el-Jeib we tra- velled two hours, and from thence to the S. E. corner is an hour or more further. The cliffs thus form an irregular curve, sweeping across the Ghor in something like a seg- ment of a circle, the chord of which would be about six or seven geographical miles in length, extending obliquely nearly from N. W. to S. E. This remarkable line of cliffs, in the absence of any better suggestion, I am inclin- ed to regard as the ' Ascent of Akrabbim ;' to which the south-eastern border of Judah was to be drawn from the Dead Sea, ' from the bay that looketh southward,' and was thence to pass on to Zin and Kadesh Barnea. '^— Vol. IT. pp. 497—501. Wady Musa^ the ancient Petra : — " Burckhardt," says Professor Robinson, " was here but a part of a day, an object of jealous suspicion to his Arab guide ; yet it struck me with astonishment to remark upon the spot the exact- ness and extent of his observations." As the substance of these has been embodied by Rosenmuller in the present volume, and we have subjoined to them the more impor- tant remarks of Irby and Mangles, &c., we here confine our quotations from Robinson to a few detached para- graphs. '' Num. iLxxiv. 3, 4. Josh, xv, 2, 3. 328 APPENDIX. Entrance from the East by the Slk or Chasm : — " Ths valley contracts more and more, and the cliffs become higher, presenting on each side a street of tombs. The rocks are of red sandstone. After 15 minutes (at three o'clock) we came to a spot where the ravine opens out in- to a small area, apparently wholly shut in by rocky walls about 80 feet high, except on the side by which we enter- ed. Here an Arab boy was watching his flock of sheep. The brook bends a little to the right, and approaching the opposite wall of rock, disappears in a narrow cleft, hardly perceptible at first to the eye of a casual observer ; being concealed in part by a projection of the cliffs. Here is the opening of the terrific chasm which anciently formed the only avenue to the city on this side. This is the Sik of Wady Miisa. " A few steps beyond the entrance, a noble arch is thrown across high up from one precipice to the other, with niches sculptured in the rock beneath each end, ornamented with pilasters, and probably intended for statues. It was con- structed doubtless as an ornament over the entrance of this singular gallery; it may, or may not, have been an arch of triumph. Just below this spot we measured the width of the Sik, 12 feet. This is the narrowest part; though it hardly becomes in any place more than three, or at the most four times this width. The rocks are all of reddish sandstone, perpendicular on both sides ; and in some places they overhang the passage so as almost to shut out the light of the sky. In other parts they have ap- parently been cut away by hand. Indeed, the whole vast mass of rock seems as if originally rent asunder by some convulsion of nature, leaving behind this long, narrow, winding, magnificent chasm. "The height of the rocks at first is eighty or a hundred feet ; the bottom has a rapid descent, and the sides become higher towards the west, varying from one hundred and APPENDIX. 329 fifty to two hundred, or perhaps two hundred and fifty feet. I doubt whether any part of these or the adjacent cliffs rises to the height of three hundred feet. We gave particular attention to this point, and repeated our obser- vations the next day ; because the elevation of the sides of the Sik and of the surrounding cliffs appears to have been greatly exaggerated in the reports of travellers." ^^ — Vol. II. pp. 515—517. " The Sik winds much ; running at first west, then south- west, then north-west, and so continuing to vary between S. W. and N. W. until near the end, where its course is again west. At some of these turns, similar chasms come in from the sides : showing that the whole mass of rock is rent to the bottom by like clefts in all directions. It is the same broad sandstone ridge, the top of which we had traversed in approaching Eljy. " The character of this wonderful spot, and the impres- sion which it makes, are utterly indescribable ; and I know of nothing which can present even a faint idea of them. I had visited the strange sandstone, lanes and streets of Adersbach, and wandered with delight through the romantic dells of the Saxon Switzerland ; both of which scenes might be supposed to afford the nearest par- allel ; yet they exhibit few points of comparison. All here is on a grander scale of savage, yet magnificent sub- limity. We lingered along this superb approach, pro- ceeding slowly, and stopping often, forgetful of every thing else, and taking for the moment no note of time. The length is a large mile ; we were forty minutes in i8 Mr. Legh gives the height from 200 to 500 feet ; May 26th. Irby and Mangles, from 400 to 700 feet ; p. 41 4. Mr. Stephens from 500 to 1000 feet ; vol. ii. p. 70. Burckhardt alone seems to have kept his right mind, and estimates the rocks at the beginning of the Sik at about 80 feet in height; pp. 422, 423. 330 APPENDIX. passing through in Ihis desultory manner. As we drew near the western end, the sun hght began to break in up- on the rugged crags before us. Here the Sik terminates, opening nearly at right angles into a similar though broader \Vady or chasm, coming down from the south, and passing off north-west. " All at once the beautiful facade of the Khuzneh, in the western precipice, opposite the mouth of the Sik, burst upon our view, in all the delicacy of its first chiselling, and in all the freshness and beauty of its soft colouring. I had seen various engravings of it, and read all the de- scriptions ; but this was one of the rare instances, where the truth of the reality surpassed the ideal anticipation. It is indeed most* exquisitely beautiful ; and nothing I had seen of architectural effect in Rome, or Thebes, or even Athens, comes up to it in the first impression. It does not bear criticism as to its architecture, though this at least is symmetrical. The broken pediment and other ornaments are not all in a pure style ; and if seen in a different land, or without the accompaniments by which it is surrounded, it would perhaps excite little adtniration. But here, its position as a portion of the lofty mass of colom'ed rock over against the imposing avenue ; its won- derful state of preservation ; the glow and tint of the stone ; and the wild scenery around ; all are unique, and combine into a power of association and impression, which takes complete possession of the mind. One column of the portico alone is broken away : yet such is the symme- trical effect of the whole, that this deficiency does not at first strike the eye. " I was perfectly fascinated with this splendid work of ancient art in this wild spot ; and the idea of it was up- permost in my mind during the day and all the night. In the morning, I returned and beheld it again with increased admiration. There it stands, as it has stood for ages, in APPENDIX. 331 beauty and loneliness ; the generations which admired and rejoiced over it of old, have passed away ; the wild Arab, as he wanders by, regards it with stupid indifference or scorn ; and none are left, but strangers from far distant lands, to do it reverence. Its rich roseate tints, as I bade it farewell, were lighted vip and gilded by the mellow beams of the morning sun ; and I turned away from it at length, with an impression which will be effaced only at death "—Vol. II. pp. 517—519. The ruins of Petra " These are the chief remains of particular structures which strike the eye of the wanderer upon the site occupied by the city itself; and they have been noticed and described by all travellers, as well as by the pencil of Laborde. But these writers have omitted to mention one circumstance, or at least all have not given to it that prominence which it deserves, viz. that all these are but single objects amidst a vast tract of similar ruins. In- deed, the whole area above described, was once obviously occupied by a large city of houses. Along the banks of the stream, the violence of the water has apparently swept away the traces of dwellings; but elsewhere, the whole body of the area, on both sides of the torrent, and espe- cially on the north, is covered with the foundations and stones of an extensive town. The stones are hewn, and the houses erected with them, must have been solid and well built. On looking at the extent of these ruins, it struck us as surprising, that they should hitherto have been passed over so slightly ; although this may readily be accounted for by the surpassing interest of the sur- rounding sepulchres. These foundations and ruins cover an area of not much less than two miles in circumference ; affording room enough, in an oriental city, for the accommo- dation of thirty or forty thousand inhabitants." — Vol. II. pp. 524, 525. 332 APPENDIX. Other approaches to Petra " A single glance had been sufficient to correct a false impression, which I had received from previous accounts, viz. that the site of the ancient city was shut in on all sides by perpendicular cliffs, and that the entrance by the Sik was the only feasible one from any quar- ter. This, as has been seen, is not the case. The area of the city is bounded only on the east and west by walls of rock ; that on the east being the broad sandstone ridge extending south below the southern end of the mountain of Dibdiba, while that on the west is the similar ridge which, further north, runs parallel to the same mountain, and is pene- trated by the Sik of Nemela. The brook of 'Ain Musa, rising above Eljy, flows down its valley and breaks through the midst of the eastern ridge, thus forming the Sik ; then crossing the open area near the middle, it passes off in like manner through the western ridge. Towards the north and south, the view is open. Towards the N. E. is seen the high southern end of the mountain of Dibdiba, resting on white sandstone at its base ; and more to the left the plain Sutuh Beida, through which we had ap- proached. From the eastern part of the area of the valley, the summit of Mount Hor is seen over the western line of cliffs, bearing about W. by S. " On each side of the brook, the ground rises towards the N. and S. as already described ; at first gradually by ir- regular hillocks and eminences, strewed with the scattered remains of former houses ; and then, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, more rapidly. Towards the S. this latter ascent is cut up by several Wadys, and leads up through several groups of sandstone rocks to the plain Sutuh Beida. Two of these torrent beds, coming from the end of the mountain of Dibdiba, unite in the N. E. part of the area, having between them a promontory of red sand- stone, in which are tombs. Further west are other small Wadys. Here, at the N. E. corner, the road from near APPENDIX. 333 Dibdiba comes in, by which our servcants entered ; and here, or somewhere in this quarter, must be the tomb de- scribed by Irby and Mangles, as having an inscription in the unknown Sinaitic character ; and also that with a Latin inscription discovered by Laborde. " Towards the south the ascent from the area of the city is steeper, and somewhat greater, perhaps a hundred feet. It leads up to a high plain of the table-land, extending westward around the end of the western cliff (which here terminates) to Mount Hor or Jebel Neby Harun. This plain bears the name of Sutuh Harun, " Aaron's Plains," corresponding to the Sutiih Beida, " White Plains," on the north of Wady Mfisa. At the S.W. corner of the area of the city, a road passes out, ascending a long nar- row Wady, lined with tombs, to this terrace. It then leads along the southern foot of Mount Hor, and dividing further on, one path descends to the ' Arabah towards the left, through Wady Abu Kusheibeh,^' and so to 'Akabah; while the other goes more towards the right, and descends through Wady-er-Ruba'y on the way to Hebron. At the foot of this latter place, according to our Arabs, there is a small spring of good water, called et Taiyibeh." — Vol. II. p.p. 527—529. " An interesting question which occupied much of our attention on the spot, was. How far these excavations are to be regarded merely as sepulchres ? and whether any of them were probably intended as abodes for the living ? I had formerly received the impression , that very many of them were to be so considered ; and, indeed, that a great portion of the ancient city had been composed of such ^^ This name is not quite certain. Laborde writes it strangely enough " Pabouchebe ;" although the sound of P does not exist in the Arabic language. 334 APPENDIX. dwellings ' in the clefts of the rocks. '^° But after atten- tive observation, we could perceive no traces of any such design. The smaller and unornamented excavations are entirely similar to the numerous sepulchres around Jeru- salem ; and the one have no more the appearance of hav- ing been intended as dwellings, than the other. Those with ornamental facades have in general a like character within ; many of them have niches for dead bodies i and even such as have not this decisive mark, exhibit, neverthe- less, no traces of having been constructed for habitations. At a later period, indeed, they may not improbably have been thus used ; just as the tombs at Thebes and those in the village of Siloam, are now converted into dwellings. 21 " The elegance of their exterior decoration, affords no ground for supposing the most of these monuments to have been other than tombs. The abodes of the dead were re- garded in Egypt, and also in Palestine, with profound veneration ; and were constructed with even greater pomp and splendour than the habitations of the living. Witness the tomb of Helena at Jerusalem, and the still more mag- nificent ones at Thebes ; erected, apparently, each as the sepulchre of a single monarch.^^ Nor is there any neces- sity for the supposition, that these excavations were intend- ed, in part, as dwellings for the inhabitants of the place. The wide spread ruins which are visible, attest, as we have 20 Jer. xlix. 16. 2 1 The interior of all these tombs is comparatively very small. The caverns in the country towards Damascus, which were never tombs, but always dwellings, are very capacious, afford- ing shelter to both the inhabitants and their flocks. See Seet- zen in Zach's Monatl. Corr. xviii. pp. .356, 418. 22 So, too, Diodorus Siculus says, in speaking of the Egyp. tians, I. 51. Aioti^ tuv ^ev kbctx rks oixiecg xaretaKivuv ^tto ^^ovri^ovffi, Tf^J It rxi ra(p«s v~i^^i>Xriv ohy. ocraXti'reutn tpikertfilx;, Comp. Gejenius, Com. zu Jesa. xiv. 18 20; xxii. IC. APPENDIX. 335 seen, that a large and extensive city of houses built of stone once occupied this spot ; and the sepulchres round about are comparatively less numerous than those which, in like manner, skirt the sites of ancient Thebes and Mem- phis. The city which stood here, was of itself built ' in the clefts of the rocks ;' without the necessity of our look- ing for single dwellings in such a situation. " Yet not all these structures, I think, were sepulchral ; some of the larger and more splendid were more probably temples of the gods. The facility and beauty with which the ornamental fagades of monuments could be sculptured in the rock, might easily suggest the idea of constructing fanes for the gods in like manner ; and such excavated temples were not unknown in Egypt. ^3 Hence the site of the beautiful Khiisneh was selected, directly opposite to the grand entrance from the east, the character of its front is decidedly that of a temple. To the same class probably belong some of the larger and more conspicuous excava- tions in the eastern cliifs ; especially the one described by Irby and Mangles, as having arched substructions built up in front, and afterwards used as a Christian church. The Deir too, has similar features, and appears also to have been transformed into a church. Nothing vAould be more natural, under the cirumstances, than to convert heathen temples of this kind into Christian sanctuaries ; but had they been originally sepulchres, such a transition would have been less natural and proba- ble. " Such were the impressions with which we spent the eve- ning beneath our tent in Wady Musa. Around us were the desolations of ages ; the dwellings and edifices of the ancient city crumbled and strewed in the dust ; the mau- ^^ E.g. The temples of Ebsambal ; M'ilkinson's Thebes, p. 495, seq. Burckhardt's Nubia, p. 88. Irby and Mangles, pp. 29, 37, seq. 336 APPENDIX. solea of the dead in all their pristine beauty and freshness, but long since rifled, and the ashes of their tenants scat- tered to the winds. Well might there be the stillness of death ; for it was the grave itself, a city of the dead by which we were surrounded." — Vol. II. pp. 532 — 534. Mountains of Edom. — "We had thus left behind us the mountains of Edom, which we had. seen in part ; and we should have been glad had time and circumstances permit- ted us to see more. The structure of the chain, where we saw it, has already been described ; at the base, low hills of limestone or argillaceous rock ; then the lofty masses of porphyry constituting the body of the mountain ; above these, sandstone broken up into irregular ridges and grotesque groups of cliffs ; and again further back and higher than all, long elevated ridges of limestone without precipices. East of all these, stretches oif indefinitely the high plateau of the great eastern desert. We esti- mated the height of the porphyry cliffs at about 2000 feet above the 'Arabah ; the elevation of Wady Musa above the same is perhaps 2000 or 3000 feet ; while the lime- stone ridges further back probably do not fall short of 3000 feet. The whole breadth of the mountainous tract between the 'Arabah and the eastern desert alone, does not exceed fifteen or twenty geographical miles. " The character of these mountains is quite different from those on the west of the 'Arabah. The latter, which seemed to be not more than two-thirds as high, are wholly desert and sterile ; while these on the east appear to enjoy a sufficiency of rain, and are covered with tufts of herbs, and occasional trees. The Wadys too are full of trees and shrubs, and flowers ; while the eastern and higher parts are extensively cultivated and yield good crops. The gene- ral appearance of the soil is not unlike that around Heb- ron ; though the face of the country is very different. It APPENDIX. 337 is indeed the region of which Isaac said to his son Esau, * Behold thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.' " This tract of mountains, south of the district of Kerak, (the ancient country of MoabJ, and separated from the latter by the Wady el-Ahsy, is at the present day spoken of as divided into tw^o districts ; though we did not learn that this arises from any regulation of the government. The northern bears the name of Jebal, ' Mountains,' beginning at Wady el-Ahsy and terminating towards the south, ac- cording to Burckhardt, at Wady el-Ghuweir.-^ Yet the southern boundary would seem not to be very definitely assigned; for esh-Shobek, although it lies south of that Wady, was sometimes spoken of to us, as belonging to Je- bal. The largest place in Jebal is Tiifileh. South of Wady el-Ghuweir follows the district esh- Sherah ; extending, so far as w^e could learn, indefinitely towards 'Akabah on the south, and including properly Shobek, Wady Musa, Ma'an, el-Humeiyimeh, and other places. "^«— Vol. II. pp. 551, 552. 2* Gen. xxvii. 39 ; Comp. ver. 27, 28. 2* Travels p. 410. — This name corresponds to the ancient Hebrew Gebal {^^^) and the Roman Gebalene, which Eu- sebius and Jerome describe as a part of Idumea, and some- times put for Idumea itself. Ps. Ixxxiii. 8. Onomast. arts. Idumea, Alius, Gethaim, &c. Reland, Falsest, pp. 82 — 84. '^ The form esh-Sherah has no relation to the Hebrew Seir {^''Vti^), the ancient name of this district. The Hebrew word means *' Hairy,'' and is written with 'Ain, which never falls away; while the Arabic name signiBes "'a tract, region." Compare Gesenius, notes on Burckhardt, p. 10U7 — Both Edrisi and Abiilfeda apply the name esh-Sherah to all the mountains south of Kerak as far as to Ailah ; Edrisi par Z 338 APPENDIX. Ain-el-Weibeh — the ancient Kadesh9 — On their way back from Wady Miisa to Hebron, after an unsuccesful attempt to visit Mount Hor, they came, in the Wady el- Jeib, upon the fountains of el-Weibeh, one of the most im- portant watering-places in all the great valley of the 'Arabah. — " We were much struck while at el-Weibeh, with the entire adaptedness of its position to the Scriptural account of the proceedings of the Israelites, on their second arrival at Kadesh. There was at Kadesh a fountain called also En-Mishpat ;''8 this was then either partially dried up, or exhausted by the multitude, so that ' there w^as no water for the congregation.' By a miracle, water was brought forth abundantly out of the rock. Moses now sent messengers to the king of Edom, informing him that they were in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of his border; and asking leave to pass through his country, so as to con- tinue their course around Moab and approach Palestine from the east. This Edom refused; and the Israelites accordingly marched to mount Hor, where Aaron died ; and then along the 'Arabah to the Red Sea.^^ " Here at el-Weibeh, all these scenes were before our eyes. Here was the fountain, even to this day the most frequent- ed watering-place in all the ' Arabah. On the N. W. is the mountain by which the Israelites had formerly assayed to ascend to the land of Palestine, and were driven back.'" Over against us lay the land of Edom ; we were in its ut- termost border ; and the great Wady el-Ghuweir, afford- ing a direct and easy passage through the mountains to the table-land above, was directly before us ; while fur- .Taubert, Vol. I. pp. 337—338. Abulfeda, Tab. Syr. ed Kohler, p. 13. Tab. Arab, ed. Hudson, p. 20. '-^7 Num. XX. 2' Gen. xiv. 7. 29 Num. XX. 14—29. 30 Num. xiv. 40-45. Deut. L 41, 46. I APPENDIX. 339 ther in the south, Mount Hor formed a prominent and striking object at the distance of two good days' journey for such a host. The small fountain et-Taiyibeh, at the bottom of the pass er-Riibay, may then have been, either the wells of Bene-Jaakan, or the Moseroth, of the Israelites.^ ^ The stations of Gudgodah and Jotbah fur- ther south, we may perhaps find at the mouth of Wady Ghiiriindel, and in the marshy tract with palm-trees fur- ther towards 'Akabah, mentioned by Labordeand Schubert; where in winter at least we might look for ' a land of rivers of waters. '-^^ " In view of all these circumstances, we were disposed to regard el-Weibeh as the probable site of the ancient Kadesh, and felt that we were here treading on ground con- secrated by many sacred associations." — Vol. IL pp. 582, 583. JES'Sufdh — the Zephath of Scripture. — In continuing their route to Hebron they came upon the Pass of Es- Siifah: — " We kept on directly towards the middle pass, es-Siifah, which affords also the shortest route. Near the foot of the mountain we came at 6^ o'clock upon the ruins of a small fort or castle of hewn stones, with a few other foundations round about. It was obviously designed to guard the pass, like the similar one at ez-Zaweirah.^^ " We reached the bottom of the pass at &" 40', and began immediately to ascend. The way leads up for a short time 3i Num. xxxiii. 30, 31, 37. Deut. x. 6. Eusebius and Jerome state, that the place of the Beeroth Bene-Jaakan was still shewn in their day, ten Roman miles from Petra, at the top of the mountain. Onomast. art. Beroth. Filior. Jac. ^^ Deut. X. 7. ; comp. Num. xxxiii. 32 — 33. See Laborde's Map and Voyage, p. 53. (147.) Schubert's Reise, ii. p. 309. 3^ From this spot Madurah bore S. 50° W. Mount Hor, S. 15° E. Mountain of Moab near Khanzireh, N. 80" . 340 APPENDIX. gradually, along the edge of a precipitous ravine on the right ; and then comes all at once upon the naked sur- face of the rock, the strata of which lie here at an oblique angle, as steep as a man can readily climb. The path, if so it can be called, continues for the rest of the ascent along this bare rock, in a very winding course. The ca- mels made their way with difficulty, being at every mo- ment liable to slip. The rock, indeed, is in general porous and rough ; but yet in many spots smooth and dangerous for animals. In such places, a path has been hewn in the rock in former days ; the slant of the rock being some- times levelled, and sometimes overcome by steps cut in it. The vestiges of this road are more frequent near the top. The appearance is that of a very ancient pass. The whole mountain-side presents itself as a vast incHned plane of rock ; in which, at intervals, narrow tracts of the strata run up at a steeper angle, and break out towards the up- per part in low projections ; while in other places, they seem to have been thrown up in fantastic shapes by some convulsion of nature. " We clambered up the pass on foot, taking a direct course over the surface of the rock, while the camels as- cended more slowly by the winding route. A parallel and still more direct path for footmen, was taken by seve- ral of o^U' Arabs ; entering the chasm on our right from below, and then climbing up by a long narrow point or ledge of the rock, wiiich extends far down into it. Fur- ther to the right, beyond the chasm, the pass of the Sufey v/inds up over the rock in a similar manner. " The name of this pass, es-Siifah (a rock), is in form identical with the Hebrew Zephath, called also Hormah ; which we know was the point where the Israelites attempt- ed to ascend the mountain, so as to enter Palestine from Kadesh, but were driven back.'* A city stood there in 3* Judg. i. 17. Num. xiv. 45 ; xxi. 3. Deut. i. 44. APPENDIX. 341 ancient times, one of the ' uttermost cities of Judah to- wards the coast of Edom southwards,' whicli was after- wards assiged to the tribe of Simeon. ^^ There is, there- fore, every reason to suppose, that in the name es-Siifah, we have a reminiscence of the ancient pass which must have existed here, and bore the name of the adjacent city Zephath. Of the name Hormah we could find no ves- tige."— Vol. II. pp. 590—592. The Great Valley of the 'Arabah " Not the least re- markable circumstance in regard to the great valley between the two seas, is the singular fact, that until the present century its existence should have remained un- known to modern geographers. But if we turn to the Hebrew Scriptures, both the knowledge and the name of the 'Arabah, are found to go back to a high antiquity. The Hebrew word 'Arabah^ signifying in general ' a desert plain, Steppe,'^^ is applied with the article (the 'Arabah) directly as the proper name of the great valley in question, in its whole length ; and has come down to us at the pre- sent day in the same form in Arabic, el-' Arabah. We find the Hebrew 'Arabah distinctly connected with the Red Sea and Elath ; the Dead Sea itself is called the Sea of the 'Arabah. It extended also towards the north to the Lake of Tiberias ; and the 'Arhoth (plains) of Jericho and Moab were parts of it.^' The 'Arabah of the He- brews, therefore, like the Ghor of Abulfeda, was the great ^^'"Josh. xii. 14 ; xv. 30 ; xix. 4. 36 Isa. xxxiii. 9. Jer. 1. 12. li. 43. '■^ Heb. n^lVn ha \4rabah, in connexion with the Red T T -: T Sea and Elath, Deut. i. 1. ii. 8. As extending to the Lake of Tiberias, Josh. xii. 3, in the Heb. vs. 1. 2 Sam. iv. 7- 2 Kings XXV. 4. " Sea of the 'Arabah, the Salt Sea," Josh. ill. 16 ; xii. 3. Deut. iv. 49. " Plains (Dlil'iy) of Jericho," Josh. 342 APPENDIX. valley in its whole extent ; and in our present state of knowledge respecting it, the Scriptures thus receive an important illustration."^«_Vol. II. pp. 599, 600. Approach of the Israelites to Palestine " I have for- merly endeavoured to trace the route of the Israelites to Sinai ; and have pointed out also their probable course from Sinai northwards, passing by 'Ain el-Hiidhera, cor- responding to the ancient Hazeroth.^^ I have likewise al- ready expressed my conviction, that whatever may have been the direction of their course after leaving that foun- tain, — whether to the shore of the eastern gulf and so along the Arabah, or whether they crossed the Tih, and came out upon the high western desert north of that moun- tain, — they still could not have passed on the west of Jebel 'Araif, and the mountainous tract further north. Such a V. 10. 2 Kings, xxv. 5. " Plains of Moab," i. e. opposite Jericho, probably pastured by Moab, though not within its pro- per territory, Deut. xxxiv. 1. 8. Num. xxii. 1. Comp. Gesenius, Lex. Heb. art. IlllJ^- T T -; ^^ Besides this general illustration, the difficult passage in Deut i. 1. admits in this way an easy explanation. The Is- raelites were in the plains of Moab opposite Jericho; and are described as " in the 'Arabah over against the Red Sea," «. e. in the part opposite the Red Sea, or towards the other end. This 'Arabah is then said to lie between Paran (Kadesh) on the one side, and Tophel (Tiifileh) on the other. The remain- ing names mentioned, are all on the west, viz. Laban, the Lib- nab of Num. xxxiii. 20. ; Hazeroth, L e. 'Ain el-Hudhera; and Di-Zahab, probably Dahab — I owe the suggestion of this ex- planation to the kind communication of Prof. Hengstenberg of Berlin. *^ See at the end of Section II. and the first part of Section II. For el-Hiidhera, see Vol. I. pp. 222 — 224. [or above, p. 320.] APPENDIX. 343 course would have brought them directly to Beersheba, and not to Kadesh in 'the uttermost border of Edom.'^° " The mountainous tract north of Jebel ' Araif and west of the 'Arabah, forming the country of the 'Azazimeh, we had now seen on all sides. Beginning at the bluff el- Miikrah and the fountain 'Ain esh-Shahibiyeh, it extends northward nearly or quite to the point where we now were, a desert limestone region full of precipitous ridges, through which BO travelled road has ever passed.*' Our convic- tion was therefore strengthened, that even if the Israelites came out at first upon the great western plateau, they must necessarily have followed down the Jerafeh to its junction with the 'Arabah opposite Mount Hor ; and then, in any case, have approached the border of Palestine along the latter valley. Most probably, however, they passed by way of the Red Sea and the 'Arabah; for the language of the sacred writer seems to imply, that their way led along Mount Seir.*^ " We are kd also to the same conclusion by all the scriptural notices of the site of Kadesh, to which they first came. It was ' in the uttermost border of Edom.'*^ The southern quarter of Judah too is described as being ' along by the coast of Edom ;' and the line was drawn ' from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looked southward ; and it went out to the south side to the ascent of Akrab- bim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the 40 See Vol. I. p. 27G. *^ See Vol. I. p. 275. Not but that it may be, and is some- times traversed ; for the 'Azazimeh live in it ; but other Arabs avoid the tracts and pass around it on their journies. M. Callier appears to have got among these mountains on his jour- ney in this region; Journ. des Savans, Jan. 1836. Nouv. Annal. des Voyages, 1839, torn. III. p. 272. *2 Deut i. 2. « Numb. xx. 16. 344 APPENIJIX. south side to KadesL-barnea.'^* Further, from Kadesh the spies entered Palestine by ascending the mountain ; and the murmuring Israelites attempting to do the same, were driven back by the Amalekites and Canaanites, and afterwards apparently by the king of Arad as far as to Hormah, then called Zephath.^^ There was also at Kadesh a fountain, mentioned long before the exodus of the Israel- ites ; and the miraculous supply of water took place only at their second visit ; which implies, that at their first ap- proach, there was no special lack of this necessary article. ^^ From Kadesh they turned back to Mount Hor, and thence proceeded to the Red Sea. " These circumstances all combine to fix the site of Kadesh at a fountain in the northern part of the great val- ley ; and I have already pointed out the remarkable coin- cidence of the position of the fountain el-Weibeh, with all these particulars. There the Israelites would have Mount Hor in the S.S.E. towering directly before them ; across the 'Arabah is the Wady el Ghuweir, affording an easy passage through the land of Edom : in the N. W. rises the mountain by which they attempted to ascend to Palestine, with the pass still called Sufah (Zephath) ; while further north we find also Tell 'Arad, marking the site of the an- cient Arad. To all this comes then the vicinity of the southern bay of the Dead Sea ; the line of cliffs or offset separating the Ghor from the ' Arabah, answering to the ascent of Akrabbim ; and the desert of Zin with the place of the same name between Akrabbim and Kadesh, not im- probably at the water of Hash in the ' Arabah. ^^ In this way all becomes easy and natural ; and the scriptural ac- ■'^ Josh. XV. 1, 2, 3 ; comp. Num. xxxiv. 3, 4. "^ Num. xiii. 17. xiv. 40—45. xxi. 1 — 3. Deut. i.4l — 44. Comp. Judg. i. 17- *s Gen. xiv. 7- Num. xx. 1 — 11. *^ See pp. 499, 586. Comp. Num. xx. 1, APPENDIX. 345 count is entirely accordant with the cliaractcr of the country. " I have thus far assumed that the Israehtes were twice at Kadesh ; and this appears from a comparison of the va- rious accounts. They hroke up from Sinai on the twentieth day of the second month in the second year of their departure out of Egypt, corresponding to the early part of May ;^^ they came into the desert of Paran, whence spies were sent up the mountain into Palestine, in ' the time of the first ripe grapes ;' and these returned after forty days to the camp at Kadesh.*^ As grapes begin to ripen on the mountains of Judah in July, the return of the spies is to be placed in August or September. The people now murmured at the report of the spies ; and received the sentence from Jehovah, that their carcasses should fall in the wilderness, and their children wander in the desert forty years. They were ordered to turn back into the desert ' by the way of the Red Sea ;' although it appears that they abode ' many days ' in Kadesh. ^^ " The next notice of the Israelites is, that in the first month they came into the desert of Zin and abode again at Kadesh ; here Miriam dies ; Moses and Aaron bring water from the rock ; a passage is demanded through the land of Edom, and refused ; and they then journey from Kadesh to Mount Hor, where Aaron dies in t!:'e fortieth year of the departure from Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month, corresponding to a part of August and Sep- tember.'^^ Here, then, between August of the second year and Aagust of the fortieth year, we have an interval of thirty-eight years of wandering in the desert. With this ^^ Num. X. 11. Comp. ix. 1. « Num. xii. 16. xiii. 2, 17, 20, 25, 26. 50 Num. xiv. 29, 32, 33. 5^ Num. xiv. 25. Deut. i. 40, 46. *2 Num. XX, 1— 2a. xxxiii. 37, 38. 346 APPENDIX. coincides another account. From Mount Hor they pro- ceeded to Elath on the Red Sea, and so around the land of Edom to the brook Zered on the border of Moab ; and from the lime of their departure from Kadesh (meaning of course their first departure), until they thus came into the brook Zered, there is said to have been an interval of thirty-eight years. " In this way the scriptural account of the journeyings of the Israelites becomes perfectly harmonious and intelli- gible. The eighteen stations mentioned only in the gene- ral Hst in the Book of Numbers, as preceding the arrival at Kadesh, are then apparently to be referred to this eight and thirty years of wandering, during which the peo- ple at last approached Ezion-geber, and afterwards re- turned northwards a second time to Kadesh, in the hope of passing directly through the land of Edom.** Their wanderings extended, doubtless, over the western desert ; although the stations named are probably only these head- quarters where the tabernacle was pitched, and where Moses and the elders and priests encamped; while the main body of the people was scattered in various direc- tions. " How in these wide deserts, this host of more than two millions of souls, having no traffic nor intercourse with the surrounding hordes, could find supplies of food and water sufficient for their support, without a constant miracle, I for one am unable to divine. Yet among them we read only of occasional longings and complaints ; while the tribes that now roam over the same regions, although numbering scarce as many thousands, are exposed to fa- mine and privations of every kind ; and, at the best, ob- tain only a meagre and precarious subsistence." — Vol. II. pp.' 609—613. s« Num. xxi. 4. Deut. ii. 8, 13, 14, 18. ** See the list of all these stations, Num. xxxiii. 18 — 36. APPENDIX. 347 PHOENICIA. Sepulchre of Hiram. — On their journey from Safed to Tyre, when crossing the hill country near the latter place, they came upon a remarkable monument with the above designation : — " Proceeding over the hilly tract with a gra- dual descent, we had a village above us on our left at 12^ 25', the name of which escaped us.^^ Ten minutes further on, we came to one of the most remarkable monuments of anti- quity yet remaining in the Holy Land. It is an immense sarcophagus of limestone, resting upon a lofty pedestal of large hewn stones ; a conspicuous ancient tomb, bearing among the common people the name of Kabr Halran, " Sepulchre of Hiram." The sarcophagus measures twelve feet long by six feet in height and breadth ; the lid is three feet thick, and remains in its original position ; but a hole has been broken through the sarcophagus at one end.'* The pedestal consists of three layers of the like species of stone, each three feet thick, the upper layer projecting over the others ; the stones are large, and one of them measures nine feet in length. This gray weather- beaten monument stands here alone and solitary, bearing the marks of high antiquity ; but the name and the record of him by whom or for whom it was erected, have perished like his ashes for ever. It is indeed possible, that the present name may have come down by tradition; and that this sepulchre once held the dust of the friend and ally of Solomon ; more probably, however, it is merely of Mu- ^^ Monro gives the name of this village as " Annowy ;" ii. p. 25. Mr. Thomson writes it Hanuany (Hiinnaneh ?) 1. c. p. 43. *^ Such tombs, composed of a single soros or sarcophagus, of immense size, are not uncommon in Asia Minor ; see Fellow's Journal in Asia Minor, Lond. 1839, pp. 48, 219, 248. 348 APPENDIX. hammedan application, like so many other names of He- brew renown, attached to their Welys and monuments in every part of Palestine. I know of no historical trace having reference to this torab ; and it had first been men- tioned by a Frank traveller only five years before."^'' — Vol. III. p. 385, 386. Present Slate of Tyre " The peninsula, on which Tyre, now Sur, is built, was originally a long narrow island, parallel to the shore, and distant from it less than half a mile. It was perhaps at first a mere ledge of rocks : and inside of this, the island was formed by the sand washed up fi'om the sea. The isthmus was first created by the famous causeway of Alexander ; which was enlarged and rendered permanent by the action of the waters, in throw- ing the sand over it broadly and deeply. At present, the isthmus cannot be much less than half a mile in width, and although consisting of loose sand, yet it is covered with traces of the foundations of buildings, probably out of the middle ages. It lies between the shore and the more northern part of the island ; so that the latter, as seen from the shore, seems to project further towards the south of the isthmus than towards the north, and forms here a larger bay ; although the harbovir, or rather road, in which vessels lie, is that on the north. The island, as such, is not far from a mile in length. The part which projects on the south beyond the isthmus, is perhaps a quarter of a mile broad, and is rocky and uneven ; it is now unoccupied, except as * a place to spread nets upon.' The southern wall of the city runs accross the island nearly on a line with the south side of the isthmus. The present city stands upon the junction of the island and *^ By Monro in 1833, whose road had again fallen into ours; Vol. II. p. 25. The tomb is also described by Mr. Thomson in 1837 ; 1. c. p. 435. APPENDIX. 349 isthmus ; and the eastern wall includes a portion of the latter. On the north and west, towards the sea, are no walls ; or at least they are so far broken away and neglect- ed as to be like none. " The inner port or basin on the north, was formerly in- closed by a wall, running from the north end of the island in a curve towards the main land. Various pieces and fragments of this wall yet remain, sufficient to mark its course : but the port itself is continually filling up more and more with sand, and now-a-days only boats can enter it. Indeed, our host informed us, that even within his own recollection, the water covered the open place before his house, which at present is ten or twelve rods from the sea and surrounded with buildings, while older men re- member, that vessels formerly anchored where the shore now is. " The western coast of the island is wholly a ledge of ragged, picturesque rocks, in some parts fifteen or twenty feet high ; upon which the waves of the Mediterranean dash in ceasless surges. The city lies only upon the eastern part of the island ; between the houses and the western shore is a broad strip of open land, now given up to tillage. This shore is strewed from one end to the other, along the edge of the water and in the water, with columns of red and gray granite of various sizes, the only remaining monuments of the splendour of ancient Tyre.^' At the N. W. point of the island forty or fifty such columns are thrown together in one heap beneath the waves. Along this coast, too, it is apparent, that the continual washing of the waves has in many places had the effect to form layers of new rock ; in which stones, bones, and fragments of pottery are cemented as consti- tuent parts. *^ I mean here, of course, Tyre before the Christian era; or at least before it fell under the Muhammedan dominion. 350 APPENDIX. " There are also occasional columns along the northern shore. I examined here very particularly the old wall of the port, at its western extremity ; where its abutments are at first built up along the shore, before it strikes off into the water. It is here constructed of large hewn stones ; and at first I took it to be of very ancient date. But on looking further, I perceived that the foundations rest on marble columns laid beneath ; a proof that these portions of the walls, at least, if not the whole port in its present form, cannot probably be much older than the middle ages. "The remains of the ancient cathedral church of Tyre, are quite in the south-eastern corner of the present city. It was in the Greek style, and must have been originally a large and splendid edifice ; but is now in utter ruin. The eastern end is partially standing ; the middle part is wholly broken away : but portions are again seen around its western extremity — After a very careful estimate we judged its length to have been not less than two hundred and fifty feet, and its breadth one hundred and fifty. The area is now wholly filled up by the mean hovels of the city ; many of which are attached, like swallows' nests, to its walls and buttresses. In the yard of one of these huts, lies an immense double column of red Syenite granite, consisting of two parallel connected shafts of great size and beauty, once doubtless a main support and ornament of the cathedral. '^^ Volney relates, that Jezzar Pasha, in the beginning of his career, attempted to remove this column to 'Akka, to ornament a mosk ; but his engineers were unable to stir it from the spot.'^ Other columns of *' Such double columns we had before seen only at Tell HAm; where, however, they were much smaller. *' Volney, Voyage torn. ii. p. 196. APPENDIX. 351 gray granite are strewed in the vicinity, and are seen along the streets. The earthquake of 1837 did great injury to these noble ruins ; throwing down a lofty arch and several other portions, which had been spared till then. " There is nothing which can serve to connect these ruins directly with any known ancient church. Yet the suppo- sition of Maun dr ell is not improbable, that this may have been the same edifice erected by Paulinus, bishop of Tyre, in the beginning of the fourth century, for which Eusebius wrote a consecration sermon. The circumstances related by Eusebius, show that it was a cathedral church ; he de- scribes it as the most splendid of all the temples of Phe- nicia.^° The writers in the times of the crusades make no mention of the cathedral ; although Tyre was then erected into a Latin archbishopric under the patriarch of Jerusalem. William of Tyre, the venerable historian of the crusades, became archbishop in a. d. 1174 ; and wrote here his history, extending to the commencement of a. d. 1184. It was probably in this cathedral, that the bones of the emperor Frederick Barbarossa were entombed. '' The present Sur is nothing more than a market town, a small sea-port, hardly deserving the name of city. Its chief export is the tobacco raised upon the neighboui'ing hills ; with some cotton, and also charcoal and wood from the more distant mountains. ^^ The houses are for the most part mere hovels ; very few being more than one story high, with flat roofs. The streets are narrow lanes, crooked and filthy. Yet the many scattered palm-trees throw over the place an oriental charm ; and the nume- rous Pride of India trees interspersed among the houses and gardens, with their beautiful foliage, give it a pleasing ^ The account of Eusebius, and his sermon as preserved l»y himself, are found in his Hist. Ecc x. 4. Com p. IVJaimdrell, March 20. 61 See above, pp. 281,335. 352 APPENDIX. aspect The taxable men at this period were reckoned at four hundred Muhammedans and three hundred Christ- ians ; implying a population of less than three thousand souls. Of the Christians, very few are of the Greek rite ; the great body being Greek- Catholics. The latter have a resident bishop ; while the bishop of the former, who is imder the patriarch of Antioch, resides at Hasbeiya.**^ We heard here of no Jews ; though in Jerusalem we w^ere informed, that two years before, a considerable number had taken up their residence in Tyre. " The earthquake of 1837 was felt here to a very con- siderable extent. A large part of the eastern wall was thrown down, and had just been rebuilt ; the southern wall also had been greatly shattered, and still remained with many breaches, over which one could pass in and out at pleasure. Several houses were destroyed, and many injured ; so that the inhabitants, at the time, forsook their dvvellings and lodged in tents, regarding the place as ruined. Twelve persons were killed outright, and thirty wounded.^^ " Siir at the present day is supplied with water, almost wholly, from two deep fountains with buildings over them, a fev/ paces outside of the gate on the north side of the peninsula ; the one nearest the gate being the largest and chiefly used. This is a singular place for fresh water to spring up ; and the conjecture is not unnatural, that they stand in some unknown connection with the ancient foun- tains of Ras el-'Ain. Such was the belief of our host, and of others in Tyre. He related, that some two or ^'^ Seetzen, in 1806, lodged at Hasbeiya with '^ the learned bishop of Sur or 8aida :" Zach's Monatl. Coir, xviii. p. 341. Burckhardt also had letters to him in^lSlO ; Travels, p. 3\ °^ See Mr. Thomsoirs Report so often referred to, Miss. Herald, Nov. 1837, pp. 434, 441- APPENDIX. 353 three years ago, the governor of Sur, having been ordered to furnish a certain number of recruits as soldiers, col- lected all the peasantry of the district, under the pretence of clearing out the ancient aqueduct, which was supposed to have come to the city. They actually dug for a day or two along the isthmus, not far from the gate, and found traces of an aqueduct at some depth under ground, con- sisting of very large and thick tubes of pottery. The governor now seized his recruits ; and his object being thus accomplished, the matter was dropped.^' — Vol. III. p. 396—401. Surafend, the ancient Zarephath^ or Sarepta. — On their way from Tyre to Sidon, they came to a "Wely near the shore, with a small Khan close by, called el-Khiidr, the Arab name of St. George. Five minutes beyond is a site of ruins on the left, broken foundations, and irregular heaps of stones, indicating, however, in themselves, little more than a mere village. Opposite to this spot, high up on the southern slope of a partially isolated hill, and hardly half an hour distant, is a large village with two or three Welys, bearing the name of Surafend. In this name we here have the Zarephath of the Old Testament, and the Sarepta of the New ; a place situated, according to Jose-. phus and Pliny, between Tyre and Sidon, and belonging to the territory of the latter. ^^ Here Elijah dwelt long in the house of the widow, and restored her son to life.®* Eusebius and Jerome have tlie name ; and the latter speaks of Paula as having visited the spot.®° «* 1 Kings xvii. 9, 10. Obad. ver. 20- Luke iv. 26. Joseph. Ant. viii. 13. 2. Plin. H. N. v. 19. Cellarius, Not. Orb. ii. p. 380. ''^ 1 Kings xvii. 9 — 24. ^*^ Onomast. art. Sarepta. Hieron. Epist. 86. Epitaph. 2a 354 APPENDIX. " In Latin poems of the subsequent centuries, the wine of Sarepta is highly celebrated ; though at the close of the sixth century, Antoninus Martyr describes the place as only a small Christian city.*^'^ It is, however, nowhere mentioned as an ancient bishopric ; the crusaders first made it the seat of a Latin bishop under the archbishop of Si- don, and erected near the port a small chapel over the re- puted spot, where Elijah dwelt and raised the widow's son from the dead.^^ Phocas, about a. d. 1185, speaks here of a fortress on the shore of the sea. Brocardus a century later says, the place had scarcely eight houses, though many ruins indicated its ancient splendour. ^^ The Chris- tian chapel was doubtless succeeded by the mosk, of which former travellers speak as erected here over the widow's house ; and at the present day, the same is probably found in the Wely el-Khudr.™_Vol. IIL pp. 412, 413. Paulae, p. 673. ed. Mart In the Itiner. Hieros. the name and the distance from Sidon are lost; but the description remains: '' Ibi Elias ad viduam ascendit et petiit sibi cibum ;" p. 683. ed. Wess. 67 Sidonius, Apoll. xvii. 16. Fulgent. Mythol. ii. 15. See the citations in full, Cellarius, Not. Orb. ii. p. 380. seq. Rel. Pal. p. 986. 6S William of Tyre speaks of Sarepta as a bishopric, xix. 14. Other bishops are recorded afterwards. See Le Quien, Oriens Chr. iii. p. 1338, seq — The chapel is mentioned by Jac de Vitr. c. 44. Marin. San. p. 165. 69 Phocas de Loc. Sanct. § 7* Brocardus c. i. p, 171. "° Sandys's Travels, p. 166. Quaresmius, ii. pp. 907, 908. Nau, p. 544. Pococke, ii. p- 85.— The Christian tradition was formerly somewhat at fault about this mosk ; some making it cover the spot where our Lord met the Syrophenician woman ; Matt. XV. 22. Mark vii. 25, 26. See Quaresmius, ibid, D'Arvieux, Memoires, ii. 4. Paris, 1735. APPENDIX. 3.35 Saida^ the ancient Sidon. — " Saida, the ancient Sidon, lies on the N. W. slope of a small promontory, which here juts out for a short distance obliquely into the sea, towards the south-west. The highest ground is on the south, where the citadel, a large square tower, is situated ; an old struc- ture, said by some to have been built by Louis IX. in a. d. 1253.^1 A wall encloses the city on the land-side, run- ning across the promontory from sea to sea ; it is kept in tolerable repair.* The ancient harbour was formed by a long low ridge of rocks, parallel to the shore in front of the city. Before the time of Fakhr ed-Din, there was here a port capable of receiving fifty gallies ; but that chieftain, in order to protect himself against the Turks, caused it to be partly filled up with stones and earth ; so that ever since his day only boats can enter it.^^ Larger vessels lie without the entrance, on the north of the ledge of rocks, where they are protected from the south- wet t winds, but exposed to those from the northern quarter. Here, on a rock in the sea, is another castle of the time of the crusades, the form of which is in part adapted to that of the rock ; it is connected with the shore at the northern end of the city, by a stone causeway with nine arches, ly- ing between the inner and outer port.'-' " The streets of Saida are narrow, crooked, and dirty, like those of most oriental cities. The houses are, many of them, large, and well built of stone ; and the town, in this respect, presents a strong contrast to modern Tyre. 71 This seems to be the story of the French residents, and may perhaps be well founded ; Nau, p. 535. Pocotke, ii. p. 87. fol. Turner's Tour, ii. p. 87. Yet D'Arvieux, in 1658, makes no mention of the report ; Mem. i. p. 296. • This description applies to the appearance of Sidor), before its capture by Sir Charles Napier in September lo40. — Tr. 72 D'Arvieux, Mem. i. p. 298. 7' Niebuhr, Reisebeschreib, iii. p. 19. 356 APPENDIX. Those, especially along the eastern wall, are distinguished for their size and height ; they are built directly on the wall, so as to constitute a part of it, and enjoy a pure air and a pleasing prospect of the fields and country. Within the city are six Khans, called by the Arabs Wekalehs, for the use of merchants and travellers.'^* The largest of these is the Wekaleh formerly belonging to the French factory and consulate, and still called the French Khan; a large quadrangle of about one hundred and fifty feet on a side, with a fountain and basin in the middle, and covered gal- leries all around. It was erected by Fakhr ed-Din early in the seventeenth century, and is minutely described by D'Arvieux, who resided here for several years as a mer- chant, soon after the middle of fhe same century. " The taxable males of Saida, as we were told, amount, as registered, to seventeen hundred ; which, according to the usual proportion, would indicate a population of nearly seven thousand souls. Yet Ibrahim, who certainly had the best opportunities of information, estimated the whole number of inhabitants at not over five thousand. About two-thirds of the whole are Muslims : one- eighth part, Jews ; and the remainder, Greek Catholics and Maronites in about equal proportions, with a very few Arab- Greeks. " The commerce of Saida which, five-and-twenty years ago, was still considerable, has of late years fallen off, in consequence of the prosperity of Beirut ; the latter hav- ing become exclusively the port of Damascus. The chief exports from Saida, are silk, cotton, and nutgalls.75 In- deed, we had now begun to enter upon the region, in which silk is extensively cultivated ; as is indicated by the orch- ards of mulberry-trees around the villnges. The earth- quake of 1837 threw down several.houses in Saida, and in- 74 Turner, ib. p. 87. For the Wekaleh, see Lane's Modern Egyptians, ii. p. 8, seq. This name is falsely written Okella. '^ Turner, ib. p. 88. APPENDIX. 357 jured many others ; but only a few persons were ldlled.76 '^ The beauty of Saida consists in its gardens and or- chards of fruit-trees, which fill the plain and extend to the foot of the mountains. The city and the tract around are abundantly sup})lied with water, by aqueducts and chan- nels which conduct it from the Auly and other smaller streams, as they issue from the mountains.''^ The environs exhibit everywhere a luxuriant verdure ; and the fruits of Saida are reckoned among the finest of the country. Hasselquist enumerates pomegranates, apricots, figs, almonds, oranges, lemons, and plums, as growing here in such abundance as to furnish annually several ship loads for export ; to which D'Arvieux adds also pears, peaches, cherries, and bananas, as at the present day.''^ At the foot of the mountains, are many ancient excavated se- pulchres-"^ " Saida was at this time the point, from which travel- lers were accustomed to make an excursion to the residence ■^^ air. Thomson's Report in the Missionary Herald for Nov. 1837, p. 434. •'^ Berggren, Reisen, ii. p. 217- Hasselquist describes the ancient aqueduct which still supplies the city, as bringing the water from the mountains, a distance of two German or Swed- ish miles, i. e. some four or five hours ; Reise, p. 192. '8 D'Arvieux, Mem. i. p. 332. Hasselquist, Reise, p. 188. Besides these fruits, Hasselquist mentions also the numerous mulberry-trees, the Cordia Sebestena, from whose berries birdlime was made and exported, and sumac (Rhus.) He says the vine was not cultivated around Saida ; yet D'Arvieux, who resided here a century earlier, describes the vine as very abundant, yielding grapes of great perfection, and a strong though delicate white wine ; I\Iem. i. p. 328, '^ Described by Maundreil, April 22. Hasselquist, Reise, p. 189. Pococke, ii. p. 87. 358 APPENDIX. of Lady Hester Stanhope, about three hours distant in the mountains. We had letters to her ; but, pressed as we were for time, in the hope of still being able to visit Ba'albek, we felt no disposition to avail ourselves of the introduction. Her career was at least an extraordinary one ; and whether she acted from the promptings of a noble or a wayward spirit, death has now closed the scene, and cast his pall over her virtues and her follies. "r- Vol. in. pp. 417—420. END OF APPENDIX. CONTENTS. IX 2. Arabia Petrcea, Moab, • Edom or Idumas?, Amalekites, Kenites, • Midianites, Peninsula of Mount Sinai and Desert of Journeyings of the Israelites, Ain Musa, Howara (Marah), Wady Ghurundel (Elim), Wady esh-Sheikh, Kibroth-hataavah, 3. Arabia Felix, Gush, Chavilah, Sabtah, Kahmah or Ragmah, Sabtheca, Joktan, Sons of Joktan, 1. Almodad, 2. Shaleph, . 3. Hhazarmaveth, 4. Jerach, 5. Hadoram, 6. Uzal, . . 7. Dikla, a Obal, El-Ty Page 163 164 181 217 221 222 h, 224 257 270 271 273 274 275 278 280 282 283 284 28 286 290 291 291 293 295 296 297 297 CUINTJiJN IS. Page 9. Abimael, .... . 298 10. Sheba, . 298 11. Ophir, . . . . . 301 12. Chavilah, . 304 13. Jobab, . 304 Vedan and Javan-Meusal, . 305 APPENDIX. {From " Robinson's Biblical Researches.' ') Ayun Musa, 307 Hawarah (Marah), 308 Wady Ghurundel (Elim,) . 311 Plain of el-Ka'a (Desert of Sin) . 312 Approach to Sinai — Wady esh Sheikh, 312 "Wady-er Rahah — Mount Horeb, . 313 Summit of Jebel-Musa, . 317 Kas es Sufsafeh— the true Sinai ? 318 Kock of Rephidira, 319 'Ain el Hiidhera — the Hazeroth of Scriptu re, 320 The Western Desert, 321 Wady-el Jeib in the 'Arabah, 323 "Wady Musa—the Ancient Petra, 327 Entrance by the Sik, 328 Ruins of the City, 330 Other Approaches to Petra, 332 Mountains of Edom, 336 Ain el Weibeh— the Ancient Kadesh, 338 Es-Sufah_the Zephath of Scripture, 339 CONTENTS. XI Great Valley of the 'Arabah, Approach of the Israelites to Palestine, Sepulchre of Hiram near Tyre Present State of Tyre, Siirafend, the Ancient Sarepta, Saida, the Ancient Sidon, Page 341 342 347 348 353 355 ERRATUM. At p. 6, line 1 of Note 10, for o!o read ^\^ , INDEX. Abarim, 169. Abdeel, 145. Abel Keramim, 162. Abimael, 293 Adonis, G2 JEla-nhic Gulf, 225 Agraei, 140 Ain el Hudhera, 320. Ain Mousa, (see AyounMusa), Ain-el-Weibeh, 338 Akaba, 213, 214 Akrabbim, (ascent of,) 327 Almodad, 290 Amalekites, 217 Amasia, 8 Ammon, 158 Ammonites, 153 Anadoli, 2 Ancyra, 4, 54 Angora, 4, 54 Antaradus, 67 Antioch, (in Pisidia.) 37 Ar, 170 'Arabah, 323, 34 1 Arabia, 121 Arabia — Deserta, 124 ■ — Petraea, 163 Felix, 279 Aradus, 67 Aram, 137 Areopolis, 170 Arki, 72 Arnon, 168 Aroer, 162, 178 Arvad, 67 Asia Minor, 1 Asshurira, 151 Assos, 12 Attalia, 35 Ayoun Musa, 271, 307 BaalMeon, 180 Badiah(El) 124 Bedouins, 128 Beer-elim, 181 Beirout, 82 Belka. 167 Beth-Uiblathaim, 179 Beth-Gamul, 178 Beth-Meon, 180 Bithynia, Bozrah, 179 Brussa, 10 Buz, 139 Byblus, 79 Cappadocia, 40 Caria, 29 Oerasus, 8 rhadad, 147 Chadar, 147 Chalcedon, 10 Chavilah, 282 360 INDEX. Chazor, 152 Cholon, 178 Cilicia, 37 Cnidos, 31 Colosse, 45 Cush, 280 Cushan, 281 Damir, 64 Dan, 306 Dedan, 151 Derbe, 43. Desert Arabia, 124 Desert, (the western.) 327 Dhelel (El) 229 Dibon, 178, 179 Dikla, 297 Dimon, 178 Dinhaba, 190 Djebail, 79 Djebal, 183 Djebalye, (The) 239 Djebel el-Mokatteb, 275 Djebel Musa, 241, 317 Djeihan, 3 Djezirat-el-Arab, 121 Djunia, 60 Doris, 30 Dumah, 145 Edom, 181 Edom, Mountains of, 336 Eglaim, 180, 181 Elath, 188, 213 E]djy, 194 Elealeh, 180 Eleutherus, 61 Elim, 273, 311 Ephah, 224 Ephesus, 26 Es.Sachel,59 Es-Sufah, 339 Ezion-geber, 213 Galatia, 52 Gebal (in Phoenicia), 79 Gebal (in Arabia), 337 Gharendel, 212 Ghor (El), 323, 4 Ghurundel Wady, 273, 311 Hadar, 147 Hadoram, 295 Hadramaut, 291 Hagarenes, 139 Haiys, 3 Halicarnassus, 30 Happy Arabia, 279 Havilah, 282 Hazarmaveth, 291 Hazeroth, 320, 342 Hazor, 152 Hedjaz, 164 Herraus, 44 Heroopolis, Bay of, 225 Heshbon, 177 Hhammad (EI), 124 Hhoronaim, 178 Hierapolis, 49 Hiram's Sepiilchre, 347 Hor (Mount), 277 Horeb, Mount, 313, 318. See Sinai. Horites, 183 Howara, 271, 308 Hudhera, 320, 342 Iconium, 42 Ida, 4 Idumaea, 181 Ionia, 23 Iris, 3 Ishmaelites, 139, 141 Israelites, Journeyings of, 257, 342 Ituraea, 147 Jabbok, 162 Jahaz, 178 Jahzah, 178 Javan, 305 Jazer, 180 Jebal. See Djebal. Jerach, 293 INDEX. 361 Jetur, 147 Jishbak, 148 Jobab, 304 Jokshan, 150 Joktan, 286 Kadesh, 213, 263, 2GG, 338,343 Karak, 1G7, 172 Kas-Daghi, 4 Kasmih, 65 Kaszr Bent Faraoun, 204 Kaszr Faraoun, 201 Kedar, 143, 145 Kedmah, 148 Kenites, 221 Kerek, 1G7, 172 Kibroth-hataavah, 275 Kir-chereseth, 172 Kir-heres, 172 Kir-Moab, 172 Kiriathaim, 179 Kisil-Irmak, 3 Laodicea, 46 Leitane, 65 Letushim, 151 Leummim, 151 Levant ( The), 2 Luchith, 169 Lud, 17 Lycaonia, 41 Lycia, 32 Lycus, 63 Lydia, 17 Lystra, 43 Madian, 149, 223 Madmen, 177 Maeander, 44 Mallus, 40 Maon, 211 Marah, 271, 308 aiareb, 298 JMassa, 14G Mearah, 105 Medan, 148 Melkarth, 92 Meusal, 305 Mesha, 287 Mibsam, 145 Midianites, 142, 148, 222 Miletus, 29 Minnith, 163 Mirage (the), 128 Mishma, 145 Misrephoth-Maim, 106 Mithridates, 6 jMoabites, 164 Musa (\Vady), see Petra, 327, 33G Mvndos, 31 Mvra, 33 M'ysia, 11 Nabatheans, 143, 163 Nahr- Ibrahim, 62 Nahr-Kadisha, 61 Nahr-Kelb, 63 Nahr-el Kebir, 61 Naphish, 147 Natolia, 2 Nebaioth, 143 Nebo, 178 Nephaath, J 78 Nicaea, or Nice, 10 Nicomedia, 10 Nimrim, 169 Obal, 297 Ophir, 301 Orthosia, 75 Pactolus, 17 Pamphylia, 35 Paphlagonia, 9 Patara, 33 Peor (Mount) 169 Perga, 36 Pergamos, 13 Petra, 123,163, 179, 181, 191, 327—330 Phaselis, 33 Philadelphia, 21, 158 Phoenicia, 58, 107 362 INDEX. Phrvgia, 43 Sinai, (Mount), 224, 312, 313 Pisidia, 37 318 Pontus, 5 Sinope, 9 Prusa, 10 Sirocco, 127 Pylaemenia. 9 Smyrna, 24 Pyramus (the), 3 St. Catharine (Mount), 230 243 Rabbalh Ammon, 157 Stony Arabia, 1C3 Eabbath-Moab, 170 Sufah, 339 Ragma or Rahmaj 284 Suffetes, 110 Eas-el-Ain, 95 Sur, 91 Ras Es-Sufsafeh, 318 Surafend, 353 Red Sea, 225 Syro-Phcenicia, 59 Rephidim, 249, 319 Szetouh Haroun, 206 Ruad, 67 Szir, 180 Saba. See Sheba. Tammuz, 62 Sabtab, 283 Tamyras, 64, 65 Sabtheca, 285 Tarabolos, 77 Sachel (Es) 59 Tarsus, 38 Sampsane, 8 Taurus, (The), 2 Sanaa, 296 Terabein Arabs, 229 Sangarius, 10 Thema, 147 Saracens, 122 Theman, 184 Sard is, 19 Themiscyra, 8 Sarepta, 90, 353 Theou Prosoporr, 50 Seba, (see Sheba), 282 Thvatira, 18 Seir, 182, 337 Tih. See El-Tyh. Sela. See Petra. Towara Arabs, 229, 238 Sephar, 287 Trapezus, 8 Serbal (Mount), 253 Trebizond, 8 Sered, 1G8 Tripoli, 76 Shaleph, 291 Troas, 12 Sheba, (Seba), 150, 298 Troglodytes, 183 Sheikh, 131 Trogyllium, 28 Sherath, 182, 212,337 Tyaha Arabs, 229 Sbuach, 150 Tyh (El), 224, 229, 320— Silmc.h, 180 323 Side, 36 Tyre, 91, 348 Sidon, 59, 83, 355 Sik of Wady Musa, 195, 197, Uz, 1S7 328 Uzal, 296 Simoom, (The) 125 Simram, 148 Vedan, 305 Simyra, 71 Sin, (in Phoenicia,) 174 Wady Feiran, 233 SiuJDesertof), 275, 312 Wady Gharendel, 212 INDEX. 363 Wady Ghurundel, 273, 311 Yekil Irmali, 3 M'adv Hasb, 325 Yemen, 2/9 Wad'y el. Jeib, 323 Wady Kyd, 233 Zarepta, 90, 353 Wady Mousa. See Musa and Zemari, 71 Pelra. Zephath, 339 ^Vady er Rahah, 313, 318 Zered, 168 Wady esh Sheikh, 274, 312 Zidon, See Sidon. Zob Faraoun, 206 Yam-Suph, 227 ^or, 91 THE END. J. Thoin 01?, Printer, Milne Square. i Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 01145 3919 I