IN THE MASTER'S COUNTRY A GEOGRAPHICAL AID TO THE STUDY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST MARTHA TARBELL, Ph. D., Author of Tarbell's Teachers' Guide to the International Sunday-School Lessons, Joint Author of Tarbell's Geographical Series for Schools BS630 tl \I HODDER & STOUGHTON X I f 1 NEW YORK GE< ^ORGE H. DORAN COMPANY LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON. N. J. PRESENTED BY Dr. Thomas C. Pears hVisionlbS.^^O Siectxon^.-' 1 |_. From slcrcugraph copyright by Underwood & Undcrxvood, New York A WOMAN BAKING BREAD IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE IN JERICHO IN THE MASTER'S COUNTRY A GEOGRAPHICAL AID TO THE STUDY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST MARTHA TARBELL, Ph. D., Author of Tarbell's Teachers' Guide to the International Sunday-School Lessons, Joint Author of Tarbell's Geographical Series for Schools RODDER & STOUGHTON NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY Copyright 1907 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY COPYKICHT I9IO GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY Position and Extent : Location of Syria ; Limits of Palestine and Distance from the United States ; Names of Palestine; Size of Palestine; Map Work. Physical Features : Four Parallel Regions ; Maritime Plain ; Plain of Esdraelon ; Jordan Valley ; Jordan River System ; Eastern Range ; Map Work. Climate: Temperature; Seasons; Prevailing Winds; Storms on the Sea of Galilee. Divisions: Political Divisions; Judea; Samaria; Gali- lee; Perea; Tetrarchy of Philip; Map Work. Great Highways: North and South Roads; East and West Roads ; Map Work. Cities: Of the Maritime Plain ; Of Judea; Of Samaria; Around the Sea of Galilee ; Among the Galilean Hills ; Of the Tetrarchy of Philip; Of Perea; Map Work. Reproductions o^ Photographs, Colored Maps, Outline Maps and Diagrams. RELIEF MAP OF PALESTINE PALESTINE ill the TIME OF CHRIST TMe M.-N. WOOKS. PREFACE Whoever would study the life of Jesus Christ must study the geography of the Land where He lived. What teacher or pupil can clearly understand the events of His public ministry who does not understand the effect on the people of the geographical conditions which made it possible for Hirti to labor more successfully with the people of Galilee than He could have done with the people of Judea : who can not locate approximately the cities on the Sea of Galilee; who does not, in brief, thoroughly know the land where He wrought His mighty works? There are several large, comprehensive works upon the historical geography of Palestine which arc invaluable for the student who would know the land in all its details, or for any one to use as books of reference, but the lack of a small book containing all that is essential for the study of the life of Christ and yet no more than teachers must know and pupils can readily learn, has led to the preparation of this book for the use of teachers and pupils alike. The aim of the writer has been to give all the essential facts in an orderly, clear and interesting way. Teachers realize that a knowledge of the geograpl:y cf Palestine is essential to a correct understanding of the Gospel narratives, b"t in their short lesson period each week they have not time to impart this knowledge orally, nor could they do this successfully unless the pupils are themselves provided with maps and diagrams. From the large colored relief map in the book pupils can gain a better understanding of the altitudes and depths of Palestine's sur- face than from any other map published. Besides the three full-page maps the numerous small maps and diagrams will be found very helpful. An important feature of the book is the map work assigned ; the outline maps at the end of the book are to be filled in by the pupils in accordance with the directions given. After the four parallel regions are taught by te.xt and map and sectional diagrams on page 4, for example, directions are given for tracing them upon the outline map provided on page 33 ; after the extent, char- acter and importance of the Maritime Plain have been taught on page 5, di- rections are given for coloring it on the large relief outline map page 37; etc. Pupils will find the work called for very interesting, and this practical work can not fail to make their geographical knowledge gained a permanent pos- session. For the convenience of teachers in assigning the study of the text in connec- tion with the regular Bible lessons, the paragraphs are numbered. For their convenience also, frequent review questions are given. The first chapter of the book treats of the position and extent of Palestine, its distance from the United States, its boundaries and its size. In tlie next the physical regions are fully treated — the Maritime Plain, Central Range, Plain of Esdraelon, Jordan Valley, Jordan River System, Eastern Range. In succeeding chapters are treated the climate of Palestine, the political divisions and their characteristics, the great highways, and the cities in geographical PREFACE groups. Throughout the book the effect of the geographical features of The Land on the history in The Book is emphasized, and with each locality the events in Christ's life are associated. Reproductions from eight of the beautiful Underwood stereographs portray places and scenes connected with the life of Christ. The use also of the many stereographs of Palestine, together with the stereoscopes and maps, of the Underwood and Underwood Travel System is strongly recommended. The sketch of the Master's Life, which gives in chronological order (as far as can be given) the events and discourses of all four Gospels, with the ref- erences to the Gospel records, will be found useful in connection with The Study of the Master's Country. U THE LTF]^] OF JESUS CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED (Jesus lived perhaps thirty-three years, but only one event in the thirty years from His infancy to His baptism is known. The definite events in His life gleaned from all four Gospel records cover only thirty to thirty-five days : His recorded words can be spoken in five or six hours. A complete life of Jesus can not be written, nor can the events of His public ministry be arranged with certainty in chronological order. Jesus lived in the first third of the first century, but the date of His birth is variously assigned by scholars to 8 to S B. C, His ministry to one to four years' duration, and His death to 29 to 33 A. D. In this sketch Dec. 25 B. C. is taken as the date of His birth, about three and a half years as the duration of His ministry, and the spring of A. D. 30 as the date of His crucifixion. The order of events follows Stevens and Burton's "Harmony of tlie Gospels.") Part I. The Thirty Years of Private Life: from the Birth of Jesus until the Coming- of John the Baptist, Dec. 25, B. C. to the Summer of A. D. 26. 1. Jesus was born at Bethlehem of Judea. The Shepherds found Him lying in a manger there. When forty days old He was presented to the Lord in the temple according to Jewish custom, and Simeon and Anna gave thanks that they had seen the Lord's Christ. The Wise-men from the East came and brought Him their gifts, and from them Herod, the ruler, learned of the birth of "the King of the Jews." He ordered the slaying of all the children in Bethlehem who were two years old and under, for he feared a claimant to his throne. But the Babe and His mother Mary had already been taken into Efypt by Joseph, for God had warned Joseph in a dream that Herod would seek the Babe's life. After the death of Herod, they all returned and settled in Nazareth of Galilee. And the Child grew, and wa.xed strong, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Mt. 1. 1-2.23; J^lk. i.i ; Lk. i.i- :2.40; 3.23-3S; Jn. 1.1-18. 2. Only one incident of the silent y;ars in secluded Nazareth is recorded, Jesus' visit as a Lad of twelve to Jerusalem at the passover (April A. D. 9), where He amazed the learned rabbis with His understanding, and gave that wonderful answer to His mother, who thought Him lost — Knew ye not that I must be about my Father's business? The Lad returned with His parents to Nazareth and was subject to them, and He advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Lk. 2.41-52. Part 11. The (3pening Events of Jesus' ^Ministry : from the Coin- ing of John the Baptist until the Public Appearance of Jesus in Jerusalem, Summer of A. D. 26 to March A. D. 2^. 3. Seventeen years passed, and the time came for Jesus the Christ to enter on His public ministry. His herald, John the Baptist, announced His coming, CHRONOLOGICAL LIFE OF JESUS warned the people to repent, and baotized them in the Jordan River. To him Jesus came and was baptized, received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and was thus consecrated for His divine mission. He withdrew to the wilderness of Judea and there met and conquered three great temptations. Mt. 3.1-4.11; Mk. 1. 2-13; Lk. 3-1-23; 4-I-I3- 4. Before the priests and Levites from Jerusalem, John the Baptist bore his testimony to Jesus as the Christ, and pointed Him out to two of his own dis- ciples, Andrew and John, as "The Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." These two followed Jesus, and on the morrow Andrew brought his brother Simon (Peter), and probably John his brother James, to see Him. Philip obeyed Jesus' call to follow Him and then brought Nathanael. Jesus went with these followers to Cana of Galilee, where at a marriage feast He wrought His first miracle, the turning of water into wine. From there He went to Capernaum. Jn. 1.19-2.12. Part in. The Early Jiulean IMinistry : from the Public Appearance of Jesus in Jerusalem until His Return to Galilee, April to Decem- ber, A. D. 2-]. 5. After a few days in Capernaum, Jesus went to Jerusalem to attend the passover. There He drove out the traders in the temple (the first cleansing of the temple), and many believed in Him. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, visited Him, believing Him to be a Teacher come from God, and Jesus told him that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Jn. 2.13- 3-21. 6. While Jesus tarried in Judea and preached and His disciples baptized, John the Baptist was continuing his preaching and baptizing at .Unon. Disciples of John, jealous for their master, came to him and complained because "all men" were flocking to Jesus. He that cometh from heaven is above all ; He must increase, but I must decrease, answered John, who rejoiced in Jesus' popularity. Jn. 3.22-36. 7. John was imprisoned by Herod probably in the castle of Machterus, and Jesus left Judea for Galilee. On the way He passed through Samaria, and at the city of Sychar, by Jacob's well. He talked with a Samaritan woman, telling her that He was the Messiah, and that God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The Samaritans came and besought Him to stay with them. He remained there two days, and won many disciples. Mt. 4.12; Mk. 1. 14; Jn. 4.1-42. Part W . First Period of the (jalilean IMinistry; from the Return to Galilee until the Choosing of the Twelve, Dec. A. D. 27 to May A. D. 28. 8. Continuing His journey, Jesus reached Galilee and was favorably re- ceived by the people, for many of them had seen Him at the passover in Jerusalem. At Cana a nobleman besought Him to come to Capernaum and cure his son, who was very ill. Go thy way; thy son liveth, Jesus answered, and the father found His word true. In the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus ap- plied to Himself the prophecy of Isaiah in regard to the work of the Messiah, and was rejected by the people who had known Him in His youth. They drove Him out of the city, inlcnding to hurl Him down from the hill, but iv CHRONOLOGICAL LILK OL JESUS He escaped unharmed and went to Capernaum. Mt. 4.12-17; Mk. 1.14, 15; Lk. 4.14-313; Jn. 4 1-54- 9. After tlii.s Jesu.s made His headquarters at Capernaum. By the Sea of Galilee He called the four fishermen, Peter and Andrew, James and John, to leave their nets and become His constant companions. An account of a busy day in Capernaum is recorded, when Jesus healed a demoniac, the mother of Peter's wife, and many others. During the winter He made a tour of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people. Mt. 4.18-23; 8.14-17; Mk. 1.16-45; Lk. 5.1-11; 4.31-44. 10. Among the miracles wrought were the healing of a leper and that of a fTralytic who was brought by persistent friends and let down through t'.ie roof of the house at Capernaum where Jesus was preaching. Maltliew the publican, who later wrote our first Gospel, was called by Jesus to follow Him, and he instantly obeyed. Matthew gave a feast for his new Master, and the watching Pharisees complained because Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. He declared that His mission was to those who most needed Him. The dis- ciples of John the Baptist arrd of the Pharisees complained because Jesus' dis- ciples did not fast. He declared that a new order of things was beginning. Mt. 8.2-4; 9-I-I7; Mk. 2.1-22; Lk. 5.12-39. 11. Jesus attended the passover at Jerusalem in the spring of the year 28, and there healed the infirm man at the pool of Bethesda. The Jews objected because the miracle was wrought on the Sabbath and' because Jesus made Him- self equal with God, and they determined to kill Him. In His defence Jesus told them that the very works He did bore witness of Him, that the Father had sent Him. In Galilee the Pharisees objected to the plucking and eating corn on the Sabbath by the disciples ; Jesus told them that He was Lord of the Sabbath. At another time Jesus cured the withered hand of a man in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the angry Pharisees went out and counseled with the Herodians how they might destroy Him. Jn. 5.1-47; Mt. 12.1-14; Mk. 2.23-3.6; Lk. 6.1-11. Part \". Second Period of the Galilean Ministry : from the Choos- ing of the Twelve ttntil the Withdrawal into Northern Galilee, Spring of A. D. 28 to Spring of A. D. 29. 12. By this time the fame of Jesus had spread throughout all Syria. He chose from among His followers twelve to be His constant companions and called them apostles. In the Sermon on the IMount He taught them the nature of the kingdom Pie had come to establish. ]\It. 4.23-25; 12.15-21; 10.2-4; 5.1-8.1; Mk. 3.7-193; Lk. 6.12-49. 13. At Capernaum Jesus healed the centurion's servant and marveled at the great faith of the centurion. Soon afterwards He went to the city of Nain, and there restored to life the widow's son. John the Baptist sent disciples to Him to inquire if He were the Christ, and in answer Jesus bade them tell their master of the wonderful works He was doing. Then to the multitude He extolled the Baptist. He rebuked the people who found fault both with John the Baptist and with Him, and then because of their unbelief upbraided the cities of Galilee in which most of His mighty works had been wrought. At the house of Simon the Pharisee Jesus was anointed by a repentant, sinful woman, and to the complaining Pharisees He told the parable of the Two CHRONOLOGICAL LIFE OF JESUS Debtors and added: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. On His second preaching tour throughout Gahlce Jesus was accom- panied by His twelve disciples and also bj^ women who ministered unto them with their substance, Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Herod's steward, and others. Mt. 8.5-13; 11.2-30; Lk. 7.1-8.3. 14. This is the record of one day in Capernaum : When Jesus healed a blind and dumb demoniac the Pharisees said that He cast out demons by the prince of demons, and He refuted them and warned them of "an eternal sin"; He re- buked the Pharisees' craving for a sign, and when His mother and brethren asked to see Him He declared that His true kindred were those who did the will of His Father in heaven; going out of the house and sitting in a boat by the Sea of Galilee He spoke His parables of the Sower, the Tares, the Mustard Seed, the Leaven, the Hid Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Net. ]\It. 12.22-13.53; Mk. 3.i9b-4.34; Lk. 8.19-21, 4-18. 15. On the evening of that busy day Jesus started with His disciples to cross from Capernaum to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in a boat; they aroused Him from His sleep when a tempest arose, and He stilled it. On reaching Gadara on the other side Jesus healed a fierce demoniac. The people besought Plim to leave, because their swine, into which the expelled demons had entered, as they declared, had rushed into the sea. Jesus returned to Capernaum, and as Pie sat teaching the multitude on the shore, Jairus, a ruler of the Jews, besought Plim to come and cure his dying d.iugluer. On the way an afflicted woman touched the hem of His garment and was cured. The ruler's daughter had died, but Jesus restored her to life. Not long after- wards Jesus healed two bhnd men and a dumb demoniac. Mt. 8.18, 23-34; 9.1, 18-34; Mk. 4-3S-5-43; Lk. 8.22-56. 16. A second time Jesus went to Nazareth and taught in the synagogue, only to be again rejected by the people. He continued His teaching in the villages of Galilee, and also sent forth the Twelve on a tour of preaching and healing. Herod heard of the fame of Jesus and thought that He must be John the Bap- tist returned to life. His conscience troubled him, for at the demand of Herodias, through her daughter who had danced at his feast and won his favor, he had ordered John beheaded in prison. Mt. 13.54-58; 9.35-11.1; 14.1-12; Mk. 6.1-29; Lk. 9.1-9. 17. The disciples returned from their mission, and to secure rest for them and opportunity to talk with Him apart from the crowds Jesus proposed going across the Lake. The crowds followed to the northern shore in the tetrarchy of Philip, and there Jesus with five loaves and two fishes fed the five thousand people. The people sought to make Him king; He sent the disciples in the boat back to Capernaum, sent away the people, and then went alone to the moun- tain to pray. At night the disciples were startled to see Jesus walking on the sea towards the boat. Peter asked and received permission to come to Him upon the water, but he began to sink, and was saved by Jesus. On the morrow the multitude followed Jesus to Capernaum. Jesus told them that they sought Him for the loaves and fishes, and talked to them about the Bread of Life. The people, disappointed in finding Jesus so different from the earthly King they had expected, deserted Him in great numbers. Would ye also go away? Jesus asked the Twelve, and Peter replied for them. To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Scribes and Pharisees objected to the fact that the disciples ate with unwashed hands, and Jesus taught them the vi CHRONOLOGICAL LIFE OF JESUS difference between ceremonial and real defilement. Mt. 14.13-15.20; Mk. 6.30- T.2Z\ Lk. 9.10-17; Jn. 6.1-71. Part VL Third Period of the GaUlean Ministry: from the With- drawal into Northern Gahlee until the Final Departure for Jerusalem, Summer to October, A. D. 29. 18. The crisis at Capernaum having been reached, Jesus deemed it wise to leave Galilee. With the Twelve He went to the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia, and there healed the daughter of a Gentile woman. He journeyed eastward, crossed the Jordan, and then went south to the region of Decapolis. He returned to the Sea of Galilee, wrought many miracles of healing and fed the four thousand. During His brief sojourn by the Sea of Galilee Phari.sees and Sadducees demanded a sign from heaven, which Jesus re- fused, and then He warned His disciples against hypocrisy, the "leaven of the Pharisees." Near Bethsaida He gave sight to a blind man. Mt. 15.21-16.12; Mk. 7.24-8.26. 19. A second northern journey was made that Jesus might be alone with the Twelve. Had they profited from their close companionship with Him, and did they know who He was? Near Cjesarea Philippi He asked them who they thought Him to be, and Peter answered. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He then plainly told them that He must go to Jerusalem to suffer and be killed and be raised up on the third day. With Peter, James and John, Jesus ascended a mountain and was transfigured before them. On their return to the foot of the mountain He healed the demoniac boy whom the disciples had failed to help. Again he foretold His death and resurrection. Mt. 16.13- 17.23; Mk. 8.27-9.32; Lk. 9.18-45. 20. When they were again in Capernaum, Jesus bade Peter throw his hook into the sea and in the mouth of the fish caught he would find a shekel with which to pay the temple tax for them both. Who is greatest in the Kingdom of heaven? the disciples asked Him about this time, and He talked to them about humility and forgiveness, telling them the parables of the Lost Slieep and of the Unmerciful Servant. Mt. 17.24-18.35; Mk. 9.33-50; Lk. 9.46-50. 21. In October, Jesus went to Jerusalem to attend the feast of tabernacles. His enemies were astonished at His teaching, and the officers sent to arrest Plim failed to do so because, they said, Never man so spake. At the close of His discourse on the Light of the World and Spiritual Freedom, the Jews attempted to stone Him, but He escaped. Jn. 7.1-8.59. Part \\\. The Perean Ministry: from the Final Departure from Galilee until the Final Arrival at Jerusalem, Nov. A. D. 29 to April I, A. D. 30. 22. Jesus had now "steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem," and He left Galilee. Upon the Samaritans, who would not receive Him, James and John would call down fire from heaven, but their Lord rebuked them. Jesus chose seventy from among Plis followers and sent them forth on a mission of teach- ing and healing; and they returned rejoicing in their power. A lawyer asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus said he must love God and his neighbor. In answer to the lawyer's question. Who is my neigh- bor? Jesus gave His parable of the Good Samaritan. They journeyed to Beth- CHRONOLOGICAL LIFE OF JESUS any, and were welcomed in the heme of Martha and Mary. At Jerusalem, Jesus gave sight to a man born blind. The Pharisees found fault with Him for heal- ing on the Sabbath, and in answer Jesus gave His parable of the Sheep-fold and His talk about Himself as the Good Shepherd. While walking in Solo- mon's porch at the feast of dedication, He told the Pharisees, in answer to their demand, "I^ thou art the Christ, tell us plainly," that He and the Father are One, whereupon the Jews took up stones to kill Him, and when calmed by His words attempted to arrest Him. He eluded them and crossed over to Perea. Mt. 19.1, 2; 8.18-22; Mk. lo.i; Lk. 9.51-10.42; Jn. 9.1-10.42. 23. During His stay of three months in Perea Jesus gave many discourses, in which are repetitions of counsel recorded by Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount. He encouraged His disciples to pray. After casting out a demon, He rebuked the craving for a sign, and exposed and denounced the Pharisees, charging His disciples to beware of their hypocrisy. In a talk about covetous- ness He told the parable of the Rich Fool. He urged His disciples to be watchful, and told them the parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servants. The punishment of the Galileans massacred by Pilate led Him to preach the necessity of repentance and to give His parable of the Barren Fig Tree. A cure of a woman on the Sabbath aroused anew the anger of His enemies. Lk. Ii.l-i3.21. 24. Jesus continued His journey toward Jerusalem and taught in the cities and villages. He answered the question whether few are saved with his talk about the Narrow Door, and followed His answer to the warning against Herod with His lament over Jerusalem. At a dinner with a Chief Pharisee He gave the parable of the Great Supper. A discourse on counting the cost followed. The parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Piece of Money, Prodigal Son, Unjust Steward, and the Rich Man and Lazarus were spoken, and a talk was given about stumbling-blocks and faith. He heard of the sickness of Lazarus, and after a short delay went on to Bethany and raised Lazarus from the dead. This miracle caused so many to believe in Him that the chief priests met in council to plan His death. He withdrew to Ephraim. Lk. 13.22-17.10; Jn. II. 1-54. 25. On the final journey to Jerusalem Jesus cured ten lepers of Samaria. After teaching the Pharisees about the coming of the Kingdom, He taught them about prayer by the parable of the Importunate Widow and the Upright- eous Judge, and about humility by the parable of the Pharisee and the Pub- lican. A discourse about divorce is next recorded,. Little children were brought to Plim and He blessed them. The rich young ruler came with his question about what he must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus talked about the peril of riches and gave His parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. He foretold once more what would happen in Jeru.salem, but His disciples did not understand Him. James and John were ambitious to have the first seats in His Kingdom, but Jesus declared that greatness in Plis Kingdom lies in service. Near Jericho two blind men were healed, and in Jericho Jesus visited Zacchaeus the publican, and gave His parable of the Pounds. He reached Bethany and was anointed "for His burial" by Mary. Mt. 19.3-20.34; 26.6-13; Mk. 10.2-52; 14.3-9; Lk. 17.11-19-28; Jn. 11.55-12.11. Part VIII. Passion Week: from the Final Arrival in Jerusalem until the Resurrection, Sunday, April 2, to Sunday, April 9, A. D. 30. viii CHRONOLOGICAL LIFE OF JESUS 26. Sunday, Jesus made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem, retiring at night to Bethany. Mt. 21.1-11; Mk. ii.i-ii; Lk. 19.29-44; Jn. 12. 12-19. 27. Monday. On His way back to Jerusalem in the morning. He pronounced His curse on the fig tree. Entering the temple He drove out the traffickers (tlie second cleansing) and received the hosannas of the children. j\It. 21.18,19,12-17; Mk. II. 12-19; Lk. 19.45-48. 28. Tuesday. On returning to Jerusalem in the morning, the disciples found the fig tree withered away. Jesus entered the temple and was met by the chief priests and elders who challenged His authority. In reply, He gave three parables of warning, that of the Two Sons, of the Wicked Husbandmen, and of the King's Marriage Feast. The Pharisees came, seeking to ensnare Him in His talk, and asked Him three questions about tribute to Caesar, the resur- rection, and the great commandment. He silenced them by His wise answers, and then in His turn asked them a question about the Christ which they did not answer. He j)ronounccd His woes upon the Scribes and Pharisees and de- clared the widow's gift of two mites greater than the gifts of the rich. When told that certain Greeks wished to see Him, He was led to reflect upon His rejection by the Jews. The long day of conflict ended with a discourse con- cerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, and the parables of the Ten Virgins, the Talents, and the Judgment. Judas met with the chief priests and made his bargain with them to betray his Lord. Mt. 21.20-26. 16; Mk. 11.20-14.11; Lk. 20.1-22.6; Jn. 12.20-50. 29. Wednesday. There is no record of any event on this day. 30. Thursday. Jesus and His disciples met to celebrate the passover, and even at this time there was strife among the disciples as to who was the greatest ; by washing their feet Jesus taught them that greatness is in service. As they sat around the table He announced His betrayal. The institution of the Lord's Supper followed. Peter's denial was predicted. After a farewell discourse and intercessory prayer, they left Jerusalem for the IMount of Olives. Mt. 26.17-35; Mk. 14.12-31; Lk. 22.7-38; Jn. 13.1-17.26. 31. Friday. About midnight in the Garden of Gethsemane occurred the agony of Jesus, His betrayal and arrest. He was taken before the Jewish authorities, first to the palace of the high priest, where about one in the morning there was a hearing before Annas, and then later a trial before Caiaphas. Here occurred the three denials of Peter. At daybreak Jesus was formally condemned by the Sanhedrin. Very early in the morning He was taken to Pilate who made an attempt to release Him. After being sent to Herod, He was again brought to Pilate, who offered the people their choice of Jesus or Barabbas and they chose Barabbas. Pilate delivered Him over to the soldiers to be mocked and scourged, then made his final attempt to have Him released. He was then led away to Golgotha where at nine in the morn- ing He was crucified, and at three in the afternoon He died. He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arithmathea. ]\It. 26.30-27.61; Mk. 14.26-15.47; Lk. 22.39-23.56; Jn. 18.1-19.42. 32. Saturday. The guard was stationed at the sepulcher. Mt. 27.62-66. Part IX. The Forty Days : from the Resurrection until the Ascen- sion, Sunday, April 9, to Thursday, May 18, A. D. 30. 33. Early on Sunday morning, April 9, the women visited the sepulcher and found the stone rolled away, and had a vision of angels ; Peter and John visited ix CHRONOLOGICAL LIFE OF JESUS the sepulcher; Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and then to the other women. The guard made their report to the chief priests. In the afternoon Jesus ap- peared to Peter (i Cor. 15.5), and to two disciples on their way to Emmaus. In the evening He appeared to the disciples while Thomas was away, and a week later, April 16, to them in the presence of Thomas. The disciples departed to Galilee, and there Jesus appeared to seven of them by the Sea of Galilee. On a mountain in Galilee He appeared to many disciples. The Ascension was from the Mount of Olives, Thursday, May 18. Mt. 28.1-20; Mk. 16. 1-20; Lk. 23.56- 2453; Jn- 20.1-21.25. THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF CHRIST SYRIA and the .llEDITERltANE.VN WORT.D POSITION AND EXTENT 1. Location of Syria. At the eastern end of the Mediterranean is the peninsula of Arabia. The Greeks gave the name Syria, a shortened form of Assyria, to all that part of the peninsula comprised in the Assyrian Empire. Later they limited the name to the part that lay west of the Euphrates, and finally to Syria proper, the tract of land seventy to one hundred miles in width, that extended the length of the Mediterranean on the east, a distance of nearly four hundred miles. A sea of water was its boundary on the west, a sea of sand its boundary on the east, while the Taurus Mountains were its limit on the north, and Eg>'pt was its limit on the south. 2. Limits of Palestine. The southern part of Syria was Palestine, limited on the north by the Mountains of Lebanon, on the east and south by the desert, and on the west by the Great Sea, as the Mediterranean was called in ancient times. In those days the sea, like the desert, was a barrier, not a means of communication as at present. Another limit was given to Palestine by the Jews themselves. As Dr. Edmond Stapfer says: "Outside the city of Jerusalem there was an admixture of pagan population, and the greater the distance from the Holy City the more the pagan element predominated. Where the population became entirely pagan, and the Jewish element disappeared altogether, it ceased to be Palestine." 3. Very isolated was this little country by its natural boundaries, for " Nature had shut Palestine in and turned the key," and yet it lay between the great nations of antiquity : on the one side the Babylonians, Assyrians, Medes and Persians; on the other the Egyptians, Phenicians, Greeks and Romans, and across Palestine went the great caravan routes from one to the other. " These nations were its visitors, its guests, its terrors, but they never were its neigh- bors. Its neighbors were the sea and the desert." 4. Distance of Palestine from the United States. Palestine lies in the. 1 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE latitude of northern Florida and southern Georgia. Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, is over seven thousand miles east and over six hundred miles south of Xcw York City. It lies a trifle south of the latitude of Savannah. 5. Names of Palestine. The most ancient name of Palestine is Canaan. When the ancient Hebrews took possession of the land, they called it the Land of the Hebrews, or the Land of Israel. In the Talmuds (the writings of the Jewish teachers) it is still spoken of as the Land of Israel, or simply as The Land. After the Exile, the name Israelites was changed to Jews, and the Land of Israel was called the Land of Judah, for only the tribes of Judah and Ben- jamin had returned from the captivity. 6. We are indebted to the Greeks for our modern name of Palestine. They called the southern part of Syria, Syria Palaistine (meaning that part of Syria inhabited by the Philistines), and later used the adjective Palaistine alone to designate the region. The Romans changed the name to Palestina, whence our word Palestine. From the prophet Zechariah (Zcch. 2.12) comes the term The Holy Land. In Hebrews 11. 9 it is called the Land of Promise. 7. Size of Palestine. The word Palestine is used both for Western Palestine, the part west of the Jordan, and for Palestine proper, whicli inchulv^s a section east of the Jordan. 8. Western Palestine has about the same area as the State of New Jersey (New Jersey, 7,455 sq. m. ; Palestine, 6,400 sq. m.). In the diagram on the next page. New Jersey and Western Palestine are drawn to the same scale. 2 IN THE TIME OF CHRIST The area of Palestine proper is nearly twelve thousand square miles. Belgium and .Marjiand have each about the same area. 9. The greatest length of Western Palestine is one hundred and sixty miles, and its average width forty miles. It is, as you see, a very small country, for its length could be crossed by rail in less than six hours and its breadth in less than two hours. From its highest mountain peaks a glimpse of almost the entire country can be had. After Christ was brought back in infancy from Egypt, His whole life was spent within this small territory. 10. Map Work. Copy one of the outline maps of Palestine on page 33, either by drawing it or by putting over it a paper thin enough to show the lines beneath and then tracing them. Notice how nearly straight the coast-line is. About a third of the distance down from the north there is a curve in this coast-line; the projection westward is made by Mount Carmel. The curve is for the Bay of Acre. Write these names on your map, and west of the coast write the words Mediterranean Sea. Notice that the south- ern line on the map is a little more than twice as long as the northern line east of the coast. Write 90 miles bclov the southern line, and 45 miles above the eastern part of your northern line. Draw the northern bound- ary cf Palestine. 11. Directly east of Mount Carmel is the Sea of Gali- lee, south of this lake is the Dead Sea, and north of it the little Lake Huleh. Draw and name these lakes, and the River Jordan, which rises above Lake Huleh and flows southward through the two lakes and on into the Dead Sea. Notice the land which projects into the Dead Sea on the southeast. The Arab name for this projection means " The Tongue." 12. Make a dotted line from Mount Carmel to the Sea of Galilee and above it write the distance, 30 miles. Make another dotted line from the coast to the northern end of the Dead Sea, and above it write 35 miles. 13. Practise drawing this map till you can do it quickly and accurately. Fill out the first outline map on page ;^Ti with these names and distances. Western Palestine Com- pared with New Jersey 14. Review Questions. By what names has Palestine been known ? How did it receive the name of Palestine? On what continent is it? Between what two other continents? On what peninsula? In what part of Syria? In the latitude of what part of the United States? How far east of New York is Jerusalem? How far south? In the latitude of what city of the United States? Between what great nations of antiquity did Palestine lie? In what direction was each from Palestine? 15. What is the northern limit of Palestine? Eastern? Southern? Western? What did the Jews regard as its limits? What is the g.eatest length of Western Palestine? Greatest width? How long by rail would it take to cross Palestine in each direction? \\'hat is its greatest area? What State has the area of Palestine? What country? What river system divides Palestine into two parts? V/hat is the area of I'.'estern Palestine? What State has about the same area? 16. What three lakes form part of the Jordan River System? How far from the Med- iterranean is the Sea of Galilee? The Dead Sea? What mountain is soutli, of the bend in the coast? What bay north of it? Which lake is directly east of this bay and moun- tain? 3 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE PHYSICAL FEA rURES Four Parallel Regions 17. The Character of Each Region. To understand the geography of Palestine it is important to keep in mind the four distinct, parallel regions which extend across it from north to south. The diagram shows: (i) The Maritime (Sea Coast) Plain; (2) the Central Range; (3) the Jordan Valley; and (4) the Eastern Range. The dia- gram shows also the Plain of Esdraelon, which extends southeastward north of Mount Carmel, breaking through the Central Range, and uniting the Jordan Valley with the Maritime Plain. 18. In crossing Palestine eastward from the sea, one traverses the low, level plain along the coast, mounts to the summit of the Central Range, and then descends quickly to the deep Jordan Valley, far below the level of the Med- iterranean Sea, and after crossing the Jordan River and the eastern part of the Jordan Valley climbs up again through a steep canyon to the heights of the Eastern Range. The diagrams on this page show the varying levels across Palestine : the first in the lati- tude of the Sea of Galilee ; the second in the latitude of the Dead Sea. 19. Map Work. On the third outline map, page 32^ (after making sev- eral practice maps) locate and name Mount Carmel. On either side of the Jordan River sketch the dotted lines which indicate the Valley of the Jordan, as shown in the diagram on this page. Next indicate by dotted lines the Plain •4000 fti -«aoo -*J00 .^000 The Four Physical Regions Section East and West, Latitude of Mt. Carmel of Esdraelon. By a dotted line show the eastern edge of the Maritime Plain. Name each physical region which you have thus marked off on your map. ■n»thl»hpm MOUNT NEBO 2600 ft. Section East and West, Latitude of Dead Sea 4 IN THE TIME OF CHRIST Thf Makitime Plain 20. Character of the Plain. Tliis plain aloiii:; tlie coast is only a few hmulrcd feet, at most, above the sea. Tliere is a beacli but two hundred yards witle between tlie end of iMount Carmcl and the sea, and a third of the distance n;irtli of Mount Carmel in tbe diagram (page 33) a l)ol(l promontory, called the " Ladder of Tyre " comes near the sea. South of the Ladder of Tyre the plain widens, and it widens rapidly again south of Mount Carmel. Turn to the large relief map, and notice the extent of the Maritime Plain and the two places wliere it is narrowest. A little more than half-way down the coast south of Carmel is the city of Joppa. See the large colored map of Palestine. South of Joppa tiic plain is called Philistia, north of it, Sharon, while north of Carmel ii is the Plain of Phenicia. 21. Along the coast, almost throughout its length, there is a strip of sand from whicli in places long tongues of sand run inland. The soil of the rest of the plain is well watered and very fertile, producing fruitful grain fields and orchards. In the northern part of the Plain of Sharon there is a marsh, and in the very north are the remains of an oak forest that once wholly covered the plain. 22. While many Jews lived on this plain in the time of Christ, they were strangers here, for in Old Testament times it was never inhabited by the Israelites. It has been a famous path, and over it have marched the armies of Thothmes, Rameses, Sennacherib, Cambyscs, Alexander, Pompey, Napoleon. 23. Map Work. On the fourth outline map, page 33, mark ofT the four physical regions and the Plain of Esdraelon. Locate Mount Carmel, the Ladder of Tyre, and Joppa. Name the three divisions of the Maritime Plain. 24. Procure Japanese transparent water colors, or crayons that will not rub off, four shades of one color and one of blue. On the large outline relief map, page 37, color the water blue. Color the Maritime Plain with your second darkest shade of the other color, and also the strip in the square at the left of the map whicii represents the lieight of the plain, l^etween o and 600 feet. The Central Range 25. The Lebanon Mountains. Tn Syria beyond the boundary of Palestine are two lofty, parallel ranges of mountains separated by a broad plateau, the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Their extensions southward are the Central Range and the Eastern Range of Palestine. Although these mountains are outside the limits of Palestine, they belong to a study of its geogra;;liy, because they have so great an influence on its climate and character. Upon them the vapor-laden winds from the Mediter- ranean deposit their moisture, and it is carried down the Jordan Valley by the Jordan River. 26. Divisions of the Central Range. The Central Range, although the western of the two ranges of Palestine, is called central because historically it has been the center of the land, the region where most of the Israelites lived. On the west the descent to the Maritime Plain is gradual ; on the east the descent to the Jordan Valley is short and precipitous. 27. In the north the Central Range is a plateau walled by hills, whose highest peaks are 4000 feet ; then comes ranges running east and west, about a thousand feet lower, which si:-.k to the Plain of E-draelon. South of Esdraelon the 5 THE GEOGRAPHY OF TALESTINE Central Range consists of a network of mountains and valleys, and then be- comes a tableland about 2500 feet high, which sinks gradually to the south. 28. The changes in the Central Range divide Palestine west of the Jordan into three natural divisions: north of the Plain of Esdraelon it is known as Galilee : the network of mountains in the center is Samaria : and the tableland in the south is Judea. The diagram shows the changes in level across the country from north to south in the longitude of Jerusalem. MOO LOWER \-1>*^^^*'*S .^^ O^ .SV(( I., r. I Sectidii North and Scnitli, Longitude of Jerusalem 29. The Low Hills. South of the latitude of Joppa the Central Range is separated on the west by shallow valleys from low, rounded hills, three hundred to five hundred feet high, called the Low Hills or The Shephelah. COAST PLAIN Low Hills Central Range Section East and ^\■est, Showing the Low Hills y/. '^m^y^^y^y Between Joppa and Mount Carmel the low hills continue, but they are foot- hills of the Central Range, with no intervening valley. 30. Map Work. On the fourth map, page 2>i^ locate and name the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Write the words Mount Hcnnon at the base of the Anti-Lebanon range. Across the Central Range write the names of its three natural divisions. On the western part of Judca b^low the latitude of Joppa write Loiv Hills. 31. On the outline relief map, page 37, color the Central Range like the colored relief map. On the first section east of the Maritime Plain use the next to the lightest shade, and also in the section at the left of the map which shows its height, between 600 and 1500 feet. Leave uncolorcd the Plain of Esdraelon, which breaks through the range. On the next section east, and on the section at the left which shows its height, between 1500 and 3000 feet, use your ligbtest shade. Leave white Mount Lebanon and the mountains in Judea which are over 3000 feet high. 32. Review Questions. Name the four different physical regions of Palestine. In what direction do they e.xtcnd? What is the character of each? What is the name of the plain which breaks through the Central Range? What is the name of the section on the south between the Maritime Plain and the Central Range? What separates it from the Central Range? Describe the changes in level between the coast and the Eastern Range. 33. How high is the Maritime Plain? What two projections nearly reach the Sea? Where are the widest parts of the plain? Where is Joppa? What is the plain called south of Joppa? North of it? North of Mount Carmel? What is the character of the soil? Describe the Plain of Sharon. 34. What two mountain ranges lie north of Palestine? What efTect on the climate of Palestine have they? What are the ranges southward called? Why has the Central Range 6 IN THE TIME OF CHRIST received this name when it is the western range? Of what three distinct regions does the Central Range consist? Name and describe each. Where are the Low Hills? What sep- arates them from the Central Range? What is tlic nature of the eastern slope of the Central Range? Of the western slope? Plain of Esdraeloii The Plain of Esuraelon 35. Character and History of the Plain. The Plain of Esdraelon is a triangular plain between Mount Carmel and the Valley of the Jordan, from which stretches of plain run out in every direction. Its apex is north of Mount Carmel. On the north a low ridge separates it from the Phenician coast plain and leads up to the Galilean Hills, which form a steep wall a thousand feet high, with the rounded dome of Mount Tabor in the northeast. On the south are Mount Carmel ami the lower hills of Sa- maria which curve around and end in Mount Gilboa on the southeast. Between Blount Gilboa and Mount Tabor, partly blocking the way to the Jordan, are low hills with Little Her- mon (called the Hill of Moreh in the Old Testament) on the west. 36. The plain is well irrigated by the River Kishon, a turbulent stream in winter and only a muddy ditch in summer, and also by numerous springs, so that the soil is very fertile. The plain is noted for its abundant harvests, but far more famed is it as the great battle-field of the East. It affords an open passage from the coast to the Jordan, and is " a vast theater, with its clearly- defined stage, with its proper exits and entrances." More battles have bjcn fought here than on any other battle-field of the world. " Here for four thousand years was the great trail of the nation," says Mr. William Eleroy Curtis. " It naturally became the arena of war between the lowlanders, who trusted in their chariots; the Ishmaelites who fought from their saddles; and the Israelite highlanders of the surrounding mountains." On the diagram, notice the location of Nazareth, where Christ lived before His public ministry. From the hills south of Nazareth He must have often looked across this plain, and during His ministry He must have often walked across it. 37. Mount Carmel. The name Carmel means garden, for in ancient times Mount Carmel was well cultivated. In the Book of Kings is told the story of the contest here fought out as to whether Jehovah or Baal had the elements in control. Dr. George Adam Smith in his Historical Geography of the Holy Land thus describes the mountain and the view from its summit. " Some hills suggest immovableness, while others, with their long, greyhound backs, are full of motion. It is the peculiarity of Carmel to impress those who look upon it with the sense of one long stride across the plain and a firm 7' THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE foothold upon the sea. Before him who stands on its summit Nature rises in a scries of great stages from sea to Alp: the Mediterranean, the long coast from nortli to south, with its hot sands and plains ; Esdraelon, covered with wheat; Tabor and the lower hills of Galilee with their oaks, — then, looking northeastward over the barer peaks of Upper Galilee and the haze that is about them, the clear snow of Hermon appears, hanging like an only cloud in the sky." 38. Mount Tabor. " Like Tabor among the mountains and Carmel. by the sea," is one of the expressions used in the Book of Jeremiah. Mount Tabor towers 1800 feet above the Plain of Esdraelon, a beautiful, symmetrically shaped mountain. 39. Map Work. On the fifth outline map, page 35, indicate the sections of higher land which surround the Plain of Esdraelon, and name the sea, the lake, the two rivers, the four mountains, and the city given in the diagram on page 7. 40. On the fourth map, page ^3, indicate by crossed lines (x) the position of Mount Tabor, Little Hermon, and Mount Gilboa. 41. On the large outline relief map, page 37, color the Plain of Esdraelon like the Maritime Plain. The Jord.xn V.\LiLEY 42. The Chasm. The Jordan Valley, through which the Jordan River flows, is a deep, colossal chasm from five to fifteen miles broad. It extends throughout the length of Palestine. See the large relief map. Just below Lake Huleh the valley sinks below sea level ; at the Sea of Galilee it is 680 feet below, and at the Dead Sea it reaches a depth of 1300 feet (1292), a quarter of a mile, below the Mediterranean, the lowest valley on the surface of the earth. " No other part of the earth's land surface sinks much over three hundred feet below the level of the sea ; " says Dr. George Adam Smith. " there may be something on the surface of another planet to match the Jordan Valley — there is nothing on this." Below the Dead Sea the valley rises to 300 feet above sea level, and then sinks to the Gulf of Akabah, the eastern arm of the Red Sea. 43. The Lower Jordan Valley. The Arabs call the Lower Jordan Valley, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, El Ghor, the Rift, or the De- pression. Upon its western edge rises the Central Range, from 800 to 15PO feet above the floor of the valley, broken only by the Plain of Esdraelon. and on its eastern edge rises the Eastern Range, 2000 feet above the valley. broken only by the valleys of the Yarmuk and the Jabbok. 44. The heat in this valley is intense from early spring till late autumn. Swamps are numerous, and wherever there is water, vegetation is rank, grow- ing as high as one's shoulders. Towards the Dead Sea the ground is en- crusted with salt, and the Hebrew name of Arabah, meaning the Desert, is most appropriate. 45. Map Work. On the outline relief map color the Jordan Valley with your darkest shade. Color also the section at the left of the map which indi- cates its depth, from o to I2Q2 feet below sea level. Color the very narrow strip of land adjoining that below sea level so as to indicate that its height is the same as that of the Maritime Plain and the Plain of Esdraelon. 8 From stereograph copyright by Underwood & Undem-ood, A'ezv York M.OUNT TABOR AND VILLAGE OF NAIN IN THE TIME OF CHRIST 46. Review Questions. What stparates the plain of Ksdraclon from the Maritime I'lain? What limits it on the north? On the south? On the east? What four mountains overlook the plain? Describe Mount Carniel. Mount Tabor. By what river is the plain watered? l-ur what is the plain noted? 47. What is the height of the Jordan \allcy at Lake llukh? What is its dcj.th just below that lake? At the Sea of Galilee? At the Dead Sea? Below the Dead Sea what is its level? What do the Arabs call the Lower Jordan X'al'.ey and what does its name mean? Describe its western wall. Its eastern. Its surface. The Jokua.n River System 48. The Upper Jordan River and Lake Huleh. Four streams unite be- fore entering Lake Huleh, and each one is claimed as tlie source of the Jordan. Lake Huleh is an expansion of tlie river, about three by four miles in arv.i. In the Old Testament it is called " the waters of Merom." Swamps and jungles of papyrus reeds surround the lake. Here is fo;:r.d the largest mass of papyrus reeds in the world — ihe material from which tlie first writing paper was made. 49. The word Jordan means the Descender, the Down-Comer; in the t-n miles between Lake Huleh and the Sea of Galilee it falls six hundred r.nd eighty feet. The deposits which it brings down in its tunniltous course have formed a delta through which it hastens into the Sea of Galilee. 50. The Sea of Galilee. This is the most famous of all the inland waters of the earth. " Jehovah hath cre- ated seven seas," said the rabbis, " but the Sea of Gennesaret is His delight." It is pear-shaped, or harp-shaped, and in the Old Tes- tament is called the Sea of Chin- ncrcth, from Kiniior, the Hebrew word for harp. It is called the Sea of Galilee from the province, the Lake of Gennesaret from the plain, and the Sea of Tiberias from the city, all on its western shore. The lake is thirteen miles long and eight miles wide in its greatest width. 51. The Sea of Galilee is sur- rounded by hills, but between them and the lake there is a beach. Passing around the lake to the left, one crosses on the north- west the beautiful Plain of Gen- nesaret, a famous plain called by Josephus " that unparalleled garden of God." Its name means '' Garden of Abundance." About five miles away from the Sea of Galilee, southwest of Magdala, is Karn Hattin, or the Horns of Hattin, the traditional " Mountain of the Beatitudes " where Christ delivered the Sermon on t!ie Mount. Between its two elevations, or " horns," there is a depression which forms a natural amphitheater where thousands could recline upon the grass. The green slopes about the lake soon change to the dark. Around the Sea of Galilee THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE imprisoning cliffs at Tiberias. Then tlie ribbon-like coast widens at the southern end where the Jordan valley, four miles wide, stretches away southward. On the eastern side of the lake the wall of hills is higher than on the western side, rising to a height of a thousand feet or more. On the northeast is the plain of El-Batihah, the traditional site where Christ fed the five thousand. 52. In the time of Christ the shores of the lake were green and fruitful. The country was well wooded, and Josephus says the climate was very pleasant. Now the shores are a wilderness. The heat from April to July is intolerable, travelers tell us, and Dr. James Stapfer says the mosquitoes and flies are so troublesome that one can well understand how, in this country, the devil came to be called the god of flies, Beelzebub. " Where there are now no trees, in the time of Christ there were great woods ; where there are marshes, there were noble gardens ; where there is but a boat or two, there were fleets of sails ; where there is one town (Tiberias) and not more than three or four very small villages, there were nine or ten flourishmg towns," says Dr. Smith. Even the site of some of the cities can not now be determined. 53. Map Work. On the sixth map, page 35, draw the limit of the level land surrounding the Sea of Galilee, and name the plain on the northeast and the one on the northwest. Locate and name Karn Hattin, Magdala, and Til)erias. 54. The Lower Jordan. From the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is a distance of sixty-five miles, but the Jordan River here makes so many twists and turns that it is two hundred miles long. " As if sensible of his sad fate, and desirous to defer what he can not avoid," an old writer quaintij' remarks, " he fetcheth many turnings and windings, but all will not avail him from falling into the Dead Sea." It is a swift, turbulent river; near the Sea of Galilee it falls forty feet a mile, and in the sixty- five miles it falls six hundred and ten feet. A dense jungle marks the limit of the river in flood time (April), while mud banks and driftwood line its usual narrower bed. 55. The Dead Sea. How far east of the Mediter- ranean is this lake? (Page 3.) It is forty-seven miles long and about ten miles in average width. In the Old Testament it is called the Salt Sea. Its surface, as we have seen, is about thirteen hundred feet below the sea level, but its bottom is about thirteen hundred feet lower still at the entrance of the Jordan, brom this point it shelves rapidly upward to only eight to fourteen feet in depth at the southern end. 56. It is said that no lake looks so blue and beautiful as do the waters of the Dead Sea. It is several times as salt as the ocean, for while it receives four or five small streams besides the Jordan River it has no outlet, and th^ constant evaporation due to the excessive heat of the valley leaves the water 10 Jordan River System in w Q p < o H -^ 3 O 'i '^■ -'< ^ < =. Q i < ~ in IS ^ o Q < Pi IN THE TIME OF CHRIST biiter with brine. It is cstinialcd that six niilHon tons uf water ascend daily in vapor. " There it lies," says a traveler, " and with wide open mouth swallows the whole of the fresh waters of the Jordan and all the snows of Hermon, and yet it is not a whit sweeter or larger for it! The Sea of Galilee receives the Jordan and passes il along. The Dead Sea receives, but gives not. It sends out not one rill to gladden or refresh the waste around it." No fish can live in the lake, and so great is the density of the water that no one was ever drowned in it, though the bather, just as in our Great Salt Lake, has to make a constant effort to keep his head from going under. 57. Along the shore there is, of course, no vegetation. There are deposits of sulphur and bitumen, and here and there tall figures of salt. Naturally one of thcni is called " Lot's Wife." The Arabs to-day call the lake Balir Litt, the Lake of Lot. 58. Map Work. On page 35, copy the diagram of the Jordan River System. Insert the figures showing the length of each lake and the distances between them. The Eastern Range 59. Character and Extent. This has been called by Dr. Smith " the most novel feature of the Holy Land, the elevating and solemn background of all that is poor and mean in the scenery of Western Palestine." " Who that has ever traveled in Palestine has not longed to cross the Jordan Valley to those mysterious hills which close every eastward view with their long, horizontal outline, their ever shadowing heights, their deep, purple shade?" Dean Stanley asks. In the far northern part rises the great white dome of Mount Hermon. " the King of Syria." It is the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Range, or " Lebanon toward the Sun-rising," and is the loftiest mountain in Palestine, towering over nine thousand feet above the sea. Parts of it are covered with snow the year round. Two of the sources of the Jordan are at its base. The Eastern Range extends from Hermon to the lower end of the Dead Sea, and eastward to the edge of the desert, varying in width from thirty to eighty miles. Its area is about the same as that of Western Palestine. Its average elevation is 2000 feet above the sea, and much more above the Jordan Valley, while some of its peaks tower to a height of 4000 feet. The western margin of the Range is made still higher by extinct volcanoes. Near the northern end of the Dead Sea is Mount Ncbo, where Moses beheld the Promised Land and died. Because of its elevation the Eastern Range has a temperate climate. 60. Rivers. Three large rivers cross the eastern plateau and enter the Jordan, the Yarmuk, the Jabbok, and the Arnon. The Arnon crosses the plateau in a deep canyon fifty miles long. "The cliffs on either side rise from 1500 to 3000 feet, broken at places with impassable, short ravines running north and south. Its valley has no equal on earth except the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, which is more extensive." The Jabbok River is sixty miles long, and flows in a deep ravine with a somewhat rapid course. Its namj means " The Struggler," and was given it because of the difficulty which it seems to have in finding a way through the steep hills. The Yarmuk has almost as great a volume of water as the Jordan. 61. Map Work. On the tmirtli map. page '■)?>. draw and name the ihree rivers that cross the Eastern Range. Locate Mount Hermon and Mount Nebo. 11 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE 62. On the large outline relief map, color the Eastern Range like the colored relief map, leaving white the mountains over 3000 feet. 63. Review Questions. What does the word Jordan mean? Where does the river rise? What distance does it traverse betvi'een Lake Huleh and the Sea of Galilee? How many feet does it fall in this distance? How far is it between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea? How many miles long is the river in its course between these lakes? What marks the limit of the river in flood time? 64. How large is Lake Huleh? Sea of Galilee? Dead Sea? What is found in Lake Huleh? Describe the plain surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Where is the traditional place where the Sermon on the Mount was given? How does the appearance of the plain about the Sea of Galilee differ now from its appearance in the time of Christ? How deep below the Mediterranean is the surface of the Dead Sea? How deep is the bottom of the lake? What makes its water so salt? Describe its shores. 65. What mountain range at the north of the Eastern Range? What is the height of its highest peak? What is the extent and area of the Eastern Range? Its average elevation? Where is Mount Nebo? What three large rivers cross the plateau? Describe the Jabbok. The Arnon. CLIMATE 66. Temperature. The temperature of this little country varies greatly, owing to its varying altitudes. From the Lower Jordan Valley (1292 ft. below sea level), where the temperature may reach 118 degrees in summer, and that great steaming caldron, the Dead Sea, is sending up its vapors, one may look up to Mount Hermon, at the other end of the valley (9200 ft. above the sea), with its snow and. glaciers. Dr. George Adam Smith thus graphically tells of the changes in temperature experienced in a trip of seventy miles in winter across the country. " With its palms and shadoofs, the Philistine Plain might be a part of the Egyptian Delta ; but on the hills of the Shephelah which overlook it, we are in the scenery of southern Europe. The Judean moors which overlook them are like the barren uplands of central Germany. The shepherds wear sheepskin cloaks and live under stone roofs, for sometimes the snow lies deep. A few miles farther east and we are down on the desert among the Bedouin, with their tents of hair and their cotton clothing; a few miles farther still, and we drop to torrid heat in the Jordan Valley ; a few miles beyond that, and we rise to the plateau of Perea, where the Arabs say ' The cold is always at home.' " 67. Seasons. There are two seasons in Palestine, the rainy season, from October to April, and the dry season from April to October. The Bible speaks of "the early" and "the latter rains." The early rains occur late in October or early in November. They last for a day or for several days at a time, and loosen the parched earth for plowing. After a period of mild weather, the heavy winter rains begin about the middle of December. They are well called " the Pourers." The " latter rains " are the heavy showers of March and early April. " Lo, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone," says the Song of Solomon. Showers rarely fall in May. No rain whatever falls between June and October, even a cloud is almost unknown, but there are heavy dews. Upon the highlands snow and hail are common in winter. 68. During the rainy season every wady (river-bed) is filled to overflowing, a raging torrent of water, while in the dry season there are only a few short streams west of the Jordan, all water having disappeared from the other wadies. In Galilee, springs and fountains (some of them pools twenty feet 12 IN THE TIME OF CHRIST across) supply water in tlie drj- season; on tlic tableland of Judea it is obtained mainly from the winter rains stored in pits or cisterns. 69. To the scarcity of water in the dry season is due the great importance of the wayside wells often mentioned in the Bible. A striking feature of the Central Range is its underground waters. In many places the surface rock is soft and porous, and water filters through it to the hard bed-rock beneath, where it flows in its subterranean channels and springs up to the surface in fountains. Beersheba, Gaza, and Hebron have each many fountains and wells; Sa4naria has them in abundance, and they are still more common in Galilee. 70. Prevailing Winds. The prevailing winds during winter are from the west, and they come laden with moisture from the Mediterranean. " When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is," says Christ (Luke 12.54). The north winds prevail in summer, and "fair weather cometh out of the north" (Job 37.22). The east and south winds come from across the hot desert. " When ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass" (Luke 12.55). 71. Storms on the Sea of Galilee. Sudden and violent storms are fre- quent on this lake. The heat in this low trench warms the air over the lake so that it rises, and the colder, heavier air from the tablelands above rushes down every wady to take its place, lashing the waters into fury. (Matt. 8.24.) THE POLITICAL DIVISIONS 72. The Divisions made after the Death of Herod. When Christ was born, Herod the Great, who had ruled all Palestine under the Romans, was drawing near the close of his long reign. He died in 4 b. c, and his kingdom was divided among his sons, none of whom had his ability or power. 7S- Archilaus received Idumea, Judea, and Samaria, west of the Dead Sea and the Lower Jordan, and was given the title of ethnarch. He was deposed by R6me in 6 a. d., and his territory was made the Roman Province of Judea, and was ruled by procurators appointed from among the Roman knights. But little is known about these procurators till Pontius Pilate was appointed in 26 A. D. He held his office till deposed in 36 A. D. 74. To Herod Antipas were given Galilee, west of the Jordan and north of Samaria, and Perea, east of the Lower Jordan and Dead Sea, with the title of tetrarch. He was deposed about the year 39 a. d. Christ passed His life as a civil subject of Herod Anti- pas. 75- Philip, the best of the sons of Herod the Great, was made tetrarch of the country east of the Sea of Galilee 13 Political Divisions of Palestine THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE and north of the Yarmuk River. He reigned throughout Christ's life, and died in 34 A. I). 76. The political divisions of Palestine during the life of Christ were, there- fore: (I) Judea and Samaria under the rule of Roman procurators; (2) Galilee and Perea under Herod Antipas ; and (3) small principalities east of Galilee and north of Perea, under the rule of Philip. 77. Map Work. On the second map, page :i2< write the names of the provinces and of the three political divisions of the country made after the death of Herod the Great. 78. Review* Questions. Describe the changes in temperature in a journey across the coun- try from the coast. In going up the Jordan Valley from the Dead Sea. When is the rainy season? From what direction do the winds come? Why do they bring rain? When do the "early rains" occur? "The Pourers"? "The latter rains"? When is the dry sea- son? From what direction does "fair weather come"? From what direction do the hot winds blow? What causes the sudden storms on the Sea of Galilee? 79. To what Empire did Palestine belong in the time of Christ? To w-hat ruler at Christ's birth? In what year was Palestine divided among the sons of Herod the Great? Where was the Ethnarchy of .-Vrchilaus? Who were its rulers after his death? Who was the most noted one? How long did he rule? What was his territory called? Where was the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas? When was he deposed? Where was the Tetrarchy of Philip? How long did he rule? What three provinces west of the Jordan from south to north? Name the two rulers of these ])rovinces. Name the two provinces east of the Jordan and their rulers. Which rulers had each two provinces? 80. Judea. Judea in Christ's day was larger than in Old Testament times, for Idumea, or Edom, on the south was annexed about a hundred years before His birth. South of Idumea was the Negeb, a word meaning the Dry, or Parched Land, but translated in our version of the Old Testament as- The South. Including all that was desert, the area of Judea was about the size of the State of Delaware. 81. ]vluch of Judea was border-land. The Judea of history is the part occu- pying the Central Range, a plateau from 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea, v/here the general level is so high that the noticeable features are the gorges that cross it rather than the mountains that rise still higher. It is the small section between Bethel on the north and the cities in the neighborhood of Hebron on the south, and between the Jordan Valley on the east and the valley that intervenes between the Central Range and the Low Hills on the west. Less than half as large as the State of Rhode Island in area, this little section is the most famous province of all lands. Here occurred the great events in Old Testament history, and here Christ was born, was crucified, and arose from the dead. 82. Judea has always been a land of shepherds. In Christ's time there were more vineyards and olive- and fig-trees than now, and the fields about IScthany, Bethlehem, and Hebron were very fertile. But Judea as a whole is a most rugged and barren land. "The prevailing impression is of stone — the torrent beds, the paths that are no better, the heaps and heaps of stones gathered from the fields, the fields as stony still, the moors strewn with boulders, the bare ribs of the hills. The gray stone walls and mud roofs of the villages look in the distance like a mere outcrop o* the rock. In places the impression of desolation is increased by the ruins ,if ancient civilization — cairns, terrace- walls, and vineyarfl towers." 83. Besides the rocky soil there is another feature that impresses every traveler II ii < < Q U <3 O m * CO ■o 2 o a; w -h; Q = J -J ^^ ^ ■^ ^ w ifl s 5., H IN THE TIME OF CHRIST in Judea, and that is the deep, desolate abyss on its eastern edge, the Wilderness nf Judea, where John the Baptist lived and preached. In this rocky, dreary waste thoughts would come to him of the deeds here of Elijah and Elisha, and here he wtnild get his figures of judgment, the scorpions and vipers fleeing before the fires in the dry scrub, and the ax laid at the roots of the trees, for wood-cutters were busy in this wilderness. Here Christ was " alone with the wild beasts " when He endured His temptation. 84. Says Dr. G. A. Smith : " Across the Dead Sea rise the hills of Moab, high and precipitous, and it is their bare edge, almost unbroken, which forms the eastern horizon of Judea. The simple name by which that horizon is known to the Jews — the Mountains of the Other-side, or the Mountains of Those-across — is more expressive than anything else could be of the great vacancy between, the Wilderness of Judea. In the Old Testament it is called the Jcshimon, a word meaning devastation, and no term could better suit its haggard and crumbling appearance. It carries the violence and desolation of the Dead Sea Valley right up to the heart of the country, to the roots of the Mount of Olives, to within two hours of the gates of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. When you realize that this howling waste came within the reach of nearly every Jewish child; when you climb the Mount of Olives, or any hill about Bethlehem, and, looking east, see those fifteen miles of chaos, sinking to a stretch of the Dead Sea, you begin to understand the influence of the Desert on Jewish imagination and literature. It gave the ancient natives of Judea, as it gives the mere visitor of to-day, the sense of Ifving next door to doom ; the awe of the power of God, who can make contiguous regions so opposite in character." 85. Samaria. In going from Judea to Samaria one passes from an ele- vated plateau covered with rocks to scattered groups of mountains covered with verdure; from a thirsty, barren land to a well-watered, fertile one; from a land of shepherds to a land of husbandmen ; from a secluded, austere region on the road to nowhere, to an open, fairer landscape on the road to every- where. " Judea is mountain, emphasized by gorge ; Samaria is valley, diversified by hill." Samaria is a smaller province than either Judea or Galilee. Springs are abundant, gushing forth from the very mountain tops, and the broad valleys extending in every direction are productive grain fields. There is a pass across Samaria from the coast to the Jordan. 86. Samaria is associated more with Old Testament history than with the New. When Abraham entered the Land of Canaan from the East he came first to Shechem in Samaria, and to this place Jacob came when he returned from exile. When the Israelites took possession of the land after their desert wanderings, they held their great inaugural services, when " the blessings and the cursings " were read, from the summits of INIount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. The lives of Elijah and Elisha are connected with Samaria. " Rottenness and swift ruin " was the doom pronounced on Samaria by the prophets from Amos to Isaiah, because of her traffic with foreigners, her luxury and dissi- pation and idolatry. 87. The Jews never considered Samaria a part of the Holy Land. They " had no dealings with the Samaritans," and they avoided passing through Samaria on their way from Judea to Galilee by going sometimes by way of the sea coast (for the Maritime Plain was not considered a part of Samaria), but more 15 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE often up the liot Jordan Valley on the eastern side of the river. When Christ went through Samaria He had a journey of hut twenty-three miles. 88. Galilee. The province of Galilee is not so large as the entire prov- ince of Judea. Its limits are the River Litany on the north and the soutlicrn edge of Esdraelon on the south, the Jordan on the east, and the coast and narrow Phenician Plain on the west. From south to north it rises in three zones: the Plain of Esdraelon; Lower Galilee, where there are low, parallel ranges nowhere over 1850 feet high, separated by broad, fertile valleys ; and Upper Galilee, a plateau surrounded by hills from 2000 to 4000 feet high. 89. To the rain and mists that fall on the Lebanons above are due Galilee's abundant vvater supply in rivers, wells, springs, and fountains, and her great fruitfulness. Galilee is the garden of Palestine. We have seen how fertile is the Plain of Esdraelon : Lower and Upper Galilee are well wooded and every- where cultivated. Josephus says that " the soil of Galilee is universally rich and fruitful and full of the plantations of trees of all sorts. Accordingly it is cultivated by its inhabitants, and no part of it lies idle." Oil, wine, wheat, flax, fruits, and fish were produced. Linen fabrics and pottery were manufac- tured. 90. The province was thickly populated in Christ's time ; according to Josephus there were here about three million inhabitants. " And Him evermore I behold Walking in Galilee, Through the corn fields' waving gold, In hamlet, in wood, and in wold. On the shores of the Beautiful Sea," says our poet Longfellow. The geography and environment of Galilee and Judea account for the difference in the spirit and the temperament of the Galileans and the Judeans, and this difference was the reason for Christ's living and working in Galilee during the greater part of His ministry rather than in Judea. Eleven of the twelve Apostles were Galileans; Judas Iscariot was the only Judean. 91. "If any one wishes to be rich, let him go north; if he wants to be wise, let him come south," said the proud rabbis at Jerusalem. " Can any good come out of Nazareth ? " questioned the Judeans. The narrowness and bigotry of the Judeans were not possible in the Galileans. Where the Judeans lived, on their stony plateau, they were isolated from the rest of the world, as we have seen ; Galilean territory was crossed by some of the world's great highways, which connected the Euphrates with the Nile, the far East and Damascus with the Mediterranean. The sea and the desert were the neighbors of the Judeans, but the people of Galilee had as neighbors the Phenicians on the west, with their Greek culture, their mines and manufactures and open ports, and the people east of the Jordan with the forums and amphitheaters and gay life of their Greek cities. In Christ's time there were many Gentiles — Phenicians, Syrians, Arabs, and Greeks — in Galilee itself, especially in the cities along the great highways. " Galilee of the Gentiles " it had been called till a century before Christ's birth. 92. Perea. The Yarmuk River divided the district east of the Jordan. North of that river lay the Tetrarchy of Philip; south, the province of Perea, which together with Galilee formed the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas. 93. Perea is called Gilead in Old Testament times. Perea is the Greek 10 IN TMK TLAIK OF CHRIST translation of the llclircw ilhcr, nu'anin<4 Jh'yoiid. I'erca was beyond the Jordan. The word itself does not occur in tlic Gospels. Mark ( lo. i ) calls it "Judea by the farther side of Jordan." h was a thinly populated district, famed for its halm and myrrli. 94. The Tetrarchy of Philip. The northern province east of the Jordan was called Bashan in Old Testament times. Luke (3.1) calls it " Iturca and the region of Trachoniiis." It is crt)ssed by many brooks, and is the richest grazing land of all Palestine. In former times it was called tlie granary of Syria. This province has little connection with the Gospel narratives. Judea, Galilee, and Pcrea were the only divisions of Palestine considered by the Jews as Jewish territory. 95. Map Work. On tlie large outline map, page 41, draw the bounda- ries of the ])rovinces as shown on the colored map. Write the names of the provinces and of the political divisions. Name all the lakes and rivers Locate and name all tiie mountains. See map page 39, which is divided into squares like the outline map. 96. Review Questionti. With what State may Judea be compared in area? What State is twice as large as the central plateau region? How high is this plateau? What is south of it? East of it? What has made it famous? What are the two characteristic features of Judea? What has always been the occupation of its people? 97. Compare Judea and Samaria. How does Samaria compare with the two other western provinces in area? What two noted mountains in Samaria? How is Samaria watered? What historical events occurred in this province? How did the Jews avoid crossing it in going from Judea to Galilee? 98. Compare Judea and Galilee. What are the limits of Galilee? What three distinct regions has it? Describe each. How high is the plateau of Upper Galilee? How is Galilee watered? What were its products? Why did Christ spend the greater part of His public ministry in Galilee instead of in Judea? 99. What two divisions east of the Jordan? What river between them? What does the word Perea mean? What was the province called in the Old Testament? For what was it famous? For what was Philip's Tetrarchy famous? Which divisions of Palestine were re- garded by the Jews themselves as Jewish territory? THE GREAT HIGHWAYS 100. The North and South Roads. The chief trading nations of antiquity were Egypt and Ass)'ria. In Old Testament times all roads led to Damascus, just as later it was said that "All roads lead to Rome." Several roads to Damascus crossed Palestine. Follow^ them on the diagram on the next page as they are mentioned below. loi. (i) The coast route, called in Exodus 13.17 "the way of the land of the Philistines," which came from Egypt and ran up through the Maritime Plain. Over the Plain of Philistia it went farther inland to avoid the loose sand along the coast, but from Joppa it closely followed the shore up to Tyre and beyond. From Tyre a road ran eastward to Dan and on to Damascus. In Roman times the streams and marshes along this road were bridged. 102. (2) From Ashdod, half-way between Gaza and Joppa, a road branched off from the coast route to Lydda and ran up through the Maritime Plain skirting the foot-hills till south of Carmel it led over passes into the Plain of Esdraelon. The road continued to Ptolemais, but the main traveled route crossed to Scythopolis (Bethshan) and then after crossing the Jordan went up the valley and around the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee to the center of the lake, and thence it continued northeastward to the city of Damascus. 17 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE Ptoleinais Haifai \ _ (V Caesarea I I03- (3) An ancient caravan route from Egjpt led through Beersheba to Hebron and continued past Bethlehem to Jerusalem, whence a Roman paved road ran through Samaria to Galilee, and thence to Damas- cus. Christ traversed this road, as mentioned in Luke 9.52; 17.11; John 4.4. The Jews avoided it, because it crossed Samaria, and went instead from Jerusalem to Jericho and the Jordan, which they crossed, and then they journeyed northward through the hot valley till they recrossed the river south of the Sea of Galilee. 104. (4) Through Eastern Palestine the road from the Red Sea ran over the high- land region east of the Dead Sea and over Perea to Gerasa, and then went northwestward to the Jordan Valley opposite Scythopolis. From here to Damascus the road was the one followed by the traveler from Egypt over the Maritime Plain and Esdraelon. 105. (5) Still farther east there was the " Pilgrim Road " from Arabia northward to Damascus. 106. The Chief East and The Main Roads ^^^^ j^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^^.^^ east and west was called in the history of the Crusades the J'ia Maris, the Way of the Sea. It was a Roman paved highway which connected Damascus with Rome. Below Lake Huleh it crossed the Jordan by the Bridge of the Daughters of Jacob (a modern name for a bridge built by the Romans), wound around the western si'de of the lake past Capernaum to Tiberias and then one branch went on past Cana to the sea at Ptolemais, and another continued southward to Scythopolis. The Romans collected toll from those using this paved road ; it was on this road, not far from Capernaum, that Matthew " sat at the receipt of custom " when Christ called him to be His disciple. The Plain of Esdraelon was crossed by several roads. A road from Joppa to Shcchcm was continued to Scythopolis and the Sea of Galilee. There were important roads from Joppa to Jerusalem and from Gaza to Hebron and to Beersheba. There were many other cross roads and innumerable paths. 107. Map Work. On the map, page 41, locate the cities mentioned in 18 IN THE TIIME OF CHRIST this section. Draw the route from Egypt to Joppa, Tyre, Dan and Damascus. Draw the route from Egypt to Lydda, Plain of Esdraelon, Scythopoiis, cast of the Jordan and Sea of Galilee, to Damascus. Draw the route from Egypt to Beershcba, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Shechem, Cana, and Damascus. Draw the route up the Eastern Range to the Jordan opposite Scythopoiis and thence to Damascus. Draw the route still farther east. Draw the main east and west roads. THE CITIES OF PALESTINE The Cities of the M.\ritime Plain io8. Gaza. The cities of the Maritime Plain have no connection with the Gospel narratives, for, as far as known, Christ never visited any of them, though there is a record of one visit to " the region of Tyre and Sidon." Yet there are a few whose location it is important to learn. The one farthest south was Gaza, three miles from the sea. Gaza is often mentioned in the Old Testament, and it was always an important city because the last halting place for caravans before entering the desert on the way into Egypt. 109. Ashkelon. This city is on the coast farther north. It was the birthplace of Herod the Great and he adorned it with many fine buildings. no. Joppa. Joppa is the port of Jerusalem, although port it can not properly be called, for large ships are obliged to stay out at sea and their passengers and freight are landed in small boats. In stormy weather landing is impossible. Jaffa, as it is now called, is a beautiful city when seen from the sea, but, like nearly all the cities of Palestine to-day, it is disappointing on a nearer view because of its narrow and dirty streets. 111. When Solomon's temple was built, the cedars from Lebanon were floated down to Joppa in rafts. It was here Peter restored Dorcas to life, and here he had tl:e vision that convinced him the Gospel was for Gentiles as well as for Jews. 112. A railroad now connects Jaffa with the Holy City, and in three and a half hours the traveler may " go up to Jerusalem." " Lydda was nigh unto Joppa," the place where Peter cured Aeneas ; it is seven miles away on this railroad. 113. Caesarea. Still farther up the coast was Caesarea, which Herod the Great spent twelve years in building. He made a harbor by dropping immense stones into twenty fathoms of water, and constructing a breakwater two hun- dred feet wide. Later, Cassarea was made the Roman capital of Judea, for here Pontius Pilate and other procurators had their palaces. It was at Csesarea, in the home of Cornelius, that Peter preached his first sermon to t'le Gentiles (Acts 10). The harbor is no longer servicealile, and ruins only occupy the site of the city. 114. Haifa. North of Carmel is Haifa, which has a natural harI)or in the Bay of Acre. From here a railroad has recently been built to Damascus. It follows up the Kishon River and crosses the Plain of Esdraelon to Scythopo- iis, and then runs northeastward, crossing the Jordan below the Yarmuk, to the center of the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, where it turns eastward and then northeastward to Damascus. 115. Tyre and Sidon. These two coast cities were in Phenicia beyond 19 THE GEOGRAPHY OF TALESTIXE the limits of Palestine. At the time of Christ they were included in the Roman Province of Syria. Tyre is about thirty-five miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee, and Sidon is twenty-five miles still farther north. Bo'th cities were noted for their commerce, their wealth, and their luxury. It was on His northward journey into the region of Tyre and Sidon that Christ met the Syrophenician woman, whose daughter He restored to health at her im- portunity. ii6. Map Work. On your outline map, page 41, locate and name these cities of the Maritime Plain. See the map, page 39, which is marked off into squares. Locate Jerusalem and Damascus, and by dotted lines indicate the route of the modern railroads from Jaffa to Jerusalem and from Haifa to Damascus. Draw the road which connects these cities along the coast, and also the road which runs through Lydda. 117. Heview Questions. Describe the coast route from Egypt to Damascus. Through what cities did it ])ass? What was the course of the road which branched off from it and went through Lydda? Through what cities did the road from Beersheba to Cana pass?' What two roads cast of the Jordan? What were the main east and west roads? How did the Jews go from Jerusalem to Galilee without passing through Samaria? What made Gaza an im- portant place? Who adorned Ashkelon? What is the modern name of Joppa? What is the connection of this city with Jerusalem? How was it important in Solomon's time? What events of Peter's life occurred here? What coast city was the Roman capital of Judea? Who built the city? What important event in the history of the Church occurred here? What city north of Mount Carmel? Where are Tyre and Sidon? I'"or what were they noted? What miracle did Christ work in this region? Describe the course of the two modern rail- roads which start from the coast. The Cities of Jude.^ 118. The Important Cities. On almost every hill top in Judea there was a city or a village. The important cities mentioned in the life of Christ are Jerusalem, Bethany, Bethlehem, Ephraim, and Emmaus on the high table- land, and Jericho in the Jordan Valley. 119. Jerusalem. . Eighteen miles west of the Jordan and thirty miles east of the JVIediter- r a n e a n is located Jerusalem, the Holy City, the center of the religious authority and worship of Pal- estine. So high is the general elevation of Judea here that tlie visitor is not im- pressed by " the mountains round about Jerusalem " be- cause of " the moun- tain," the whole ele- vation on which the city rests. " There are here none of the natilral conditions of <,xy 20 IN THE TIME OF CHRIST a great city," says Dr. Sniitli, " ;ind yet it was liorc that slie arose who, more tiian AtluMis am! iiKiro than Rome, taught tlie natimis cuic justice. Her builder was not Nature ntu^ the wisdom of man. l)ut on tliat secluded and barren site, the Word of God, by her prophets, laid her eternal foundations in righteousness, and reared her walls in her people's faith in God." 120. Ravines surround the city on all sides except on the north. Northwest of the city three valleys start. The eastern valley is the valley of the Kidron, now more often called the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It runs eastw.ird, then turns directly south and separates the city from the ]\Iount of Olives. The western valley is the \"alley of Hinnom. It runs directly south along the western edge of the city, and then turns eastward and joins the first valley. It separates Jerusalem from the Hill of Evil Counsel, a name given to the Sketch Showing Topographical Features of Jerusalem (After Fulton, " The Beautiful Land.") summit of the range which curves around the southwestern part of the city, because tradition says that here the plot to betray Christ was formed ; at its base is the traditional potters' field, bought with the price of Judas' treachery. Between these two valleys a third shallow valley, the Tyropoeshi, curves through the city in the shape of the new moon, as Josephus says, and divides the lower part into two hills. 121. The topography of the city in the time of Christ can not be given with certainty, for in 70 a. d. it was utterly destroyed by the armies of Titus, the temple and the whole city burned over, and the city afterward built has since been many times besieged and partially destroyed and rebuilt. The hills have been lowered and the valleys filled in, and it is estimated that the present city is built on from twenty to ninety feet or more of accimulated ruins. 122. Study this sketch of the topography of Jerusalem. The hill west of the Tyropoean Valley is now called Mount Zion : this was the highest of the hills, the one on wbich the greater part of the city was built in Christ's time. East of the Tyropcean Valley is Mount Moriah, where the teinple stood ; south and almost a part of it is the lower hill of Ophel, and north and northwest are the smaller hills of Bezetha and Acra. 123. Notice on the diagram of Jerusalem, page 20, how the wall that sur- rounded the city in the time of Christ juts inward, leaving an oblong space out- side. Here is the Pool of Siloam, where Christ bade the man born blind wash his eyes. The water from the one famous spring of Jerusalem, the fountain at the base of the eastern hill now known as the Virgin's Fountain, overflowed 21 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE through Hczckiah's aqueduct into this pool. It is now nearly filled with stones and earth. 124. The site of the other pool mentioned in the Gospels, the Pool of Bcthesda where Christ wrought one of His miracles, has long been disputed. Recent scholars claim to have identified it in a pool on the north side of the temple area, near the present Church of St. Anne. 125. " He who has not seen Jerusalem," say the Talmuds, " has never seen a beautiful city." Herod the Great did much to beautify Jerusalem. He re- stored the towers on the walls. He enlarged the fortress commanding the temple on the north and renamed it Antonia. A flight of steps connected it with the temple; here Paul was taken when arrested (Acts 21.34). A theater, an amphitheater " covered with inscriptions of the great deeds of Csesar," and a monument to himself were among his other great structures, but the glory of all was his restoration of the temple. Josephus describes it as " covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, which at the first rising of the sun reflected back a fiery splendor, and made those who forced themselves to look upon it, turn their eyes away. But the temple appeared to strangers, when they were coming from a distance, like a mountain covered with snow, for those parts of it that were not gilt were exceeding white." The Dome of the Rock, or Mosque of Omar as it is also called, now crowns the summit of Mount Moriah. The rock visible under its dome is believed to be the one on which the Holy of Holies stood. 126. On Mount Zion was Herod's palace, to which Christ was sent by Pilate ; Pilate's Pretorium, on the northwestern corner, where now stands the Tower of David (some claim for it the site of the Tower of Antonia, north of the temple) ; the High Priest's house, where Christ was brought before Annas and Caiaphas ; and the Supper Room, the scene of the Last Supper. The traditional sites of Golgotha and of the tomb of Christ are beneath the col- lection of buildings called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, north of Pilate's Pretorium, but most modern scholars accept as the site of Golgotha a rounded knoll outside the northern wall of the city, a short distance from the Damascus Gate. 127. " In the time of Christ," says Dr. Edmond Stapfer, " the open spaces were swept every day, a detail in striking contrast to the uncleanliness of modern oriental cities. Stoves were forbidden because of the smoke. The streets were narrow, but the principal thoroughfares had been paved by Herod the Great. Here and there was one broader than the rest, which was used for shops and bazaars ; but the largest open spaces were always round the inside of the gates, and here there were most traffic and movement. No carriage was seen in the streets, litters even were rare ; camels and asses were in more frequent use. Most of the streets were, indeed, so narrow that no carriage could have passed along them. There were no fewer than four hundred and eighty synagogues, and every morning, at break of day, the streets were full of women, scribes and Pharisees, repairing to their chosen synagogue." 128. " To-day in Jerusalem," says a recent visitor, " one sees only an old city upon an elevation, some ancient-appearing walls, some narrow, tortuous streets, often filthy, a nondescript crowd of people of all nationalities, and a lot of so-called 'sacred places' with but little save their names to commend them, and nothing about them to excite either wonder or admiration. But it is the city through whose streets the feet of prophets, priests and kings, of 22 Q 6 H O O ■£ -1 CO o H IN THE TIME OF CHRIST apostles and inartjrs, passed, the city wliere Christ walked in lunnan form and where He taught and wrought, and over which He wept, and througli the streets of which He went willingly to the cross for onr redemption. Every niche of it is interesting, for like a stringed instrument every touch upon which brings forth some sweet and musical sound, it vibrates at every turn with some suggestion or beautiful passage of the Word of God." 129. Christ was presented in the temple as an infant, and He made His first visit to Jerusalem as a buy of twelve. In April a. u. jj (assuming that His ministry was three years in duration) occurred His first cleansing of the temple and His discourse wilii Nicodemus. in April a. d. 28 He healed the in- firm man in Jerusalem, and in October of that year went again to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles, where He gave His discourses on the Light of the World and Spiritual Freedom, and the Jews attempted to stone Him. Again in December He visited Jerusalem, and gave sight to the man born blind. He attended the Feast of Dedication and did not return again till He made His triumphal entry in April, a. d. 30. Jerusalem is the scene of the events of Passion W'eek. After His resurrection He appeared to His disciples at Jerusalem, and His ascension was from the Mount of Olives. 130. Bethany. On the east of Jerusalem the brook Kidron flows through the valley of the same name into the Dead Sea. It is a winter torrent, dry in summer time. Over a bridge across this brook Christ passed many times on His way to Gethsemane or to Bethany. Gethsemane was a garden on the ]\Iount of Olives, east of the Kidron Valley, but its e.xact site is not known. The traditional Garden of Gethsemane has a few ancient olive-trees and has been enclosed by a wall. 131. Bethany was two miles from Jerusalem on the road to Jericho. It was on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, facing the Dead Sea and the Jordan. The word Bethany means " House of Dates," and probably there were date palms here. Bethany was the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, where Christ often visited. Here He raised Lazarus from the dead, and declared Himself to be " the Resurrection and the Life." Here He was anointed by Mary, and here He spent the nights of Passion Week before His arrest. " Jerusalem meant the towai, the crowd, physical and mental weari- ness, the disputes and hatred of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and of all those who sought His death. Bethany meant the country, solitude, rest of body and soul, the hospitality of the friends whom He loved." 132. The modern name for Bethany is El-Azariyah, the Arab name for Lazarus. Only a few tumbled down houses remain. Naturally a ruin in the center of the village is called that of the house of Mary and Martha, and the so-called tomb of Lazarus also is shown to visitors. 133. Bethlehem. Six miles south of Jerusalem is the site of Bethlehem. Bethlehem was " little among the thousands of Judah," but what sacred asso- ciations are connected with it ! Rachel's tomb is passed on the road from Jerusalem. In the fields about Bethlehem Ruth gleaned, and in Bethlehem David, the king, was born. But the fame of Bethlehem rests on the fact that here was the birthplace of Jesus Christ. It was to this village that the shepherds and the wise men came, and Herod's soldiers on their bloody errand. 134. The Hebrew name. Beth Lehem, meant the "House of Bread," and referred, no doubt, to the fertility of the surrounding region. Now it is 23 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE called Beit Lahm, the House of Meat, and is one of the few prosperous vil- lages in Palestine. The Church of the Nativity, the oldest part of which. it is claimed, was erected by Constantine in the fourth century a. d., with its three adjoining convents, appears like a fortress in the distance. In a natural cave beneath the church, the " Chapel of the Nativity," there is a silver star in the pavement encircled with the inscription " Hie de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est" (Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary). The so-called Chapel of the Manger opposite is the traditional location of the manger in which the infant Jesus was laid. While the Gospel account does not say that Jesus was born in a cave, yet we know that caves were used as stables, and it may have been that He was born in a cave similar to the one shown. 135. Hebron. This ancient city, as old as Damascus, is twenty miles south of Jerusalem. It was the home of the patriarchs, and the place where David reigned first as King of Judah alone. Many are the Old Testament events associated with this place. Mary, the mother of Christ, visited Elizabeth at Hebron, and here Elizabeth's son, John the Baptist, was born. The place is now called by the Arabs El-Khalil, the Friend, because Abraham was called the Friend of God. The Arabs are still drawing their water from the pool that has been in use since the days of Abraham. 136. Ephraim. This city was situated on a conspicuous hill on the bor- derland between Galilee and Samaria, about thirteen miles northeast of Jeru- salem. To Ephraim Christ withdrew after the raising of Lazarus. 137. Emmaus. Three sites are claimed for the city of Emmaus. It was a few miles west of Jerusalem. The two disciples were on tkeir way to Emmaus when the risen Christ joined them. 138. Jericho. Jericho is northeast of Jerusalem, five miles west of the Jordan and five miles north of the Dead Sea. The Gospels always speak of going down to Jericho, for there is a descent of four thousand feet in less than twenty miles between the two places, through a rough and desolate coun- try, the scene of the parable of the Good Samaritan. 139- Opposite Jericho there are two fords across the Jordan, to which high- ways lead from both sides of the river. From the hills back of Jericho many streams come down which formerly were used for irrigation, making this plain an exceedingly fertile oasis in the Lower Jordan Valley. Now there are only a few squalid huts and a tower on the edge of a swamp, not far from the site of tlie Jericho of Christ's time, which in its turn was on a different site from the Jericho destroyed when the people under the command of Joshua marched around its walls. Dr. G. A. Smith refers to the many times Jericho was taken, and ascribes her weakness to two facts, the openness of the approach from the north, and the lack of energy on the part of her people on account of the climate in tliis deep trench. " Enervated by the great heat, which degrades all the inhabitants of the Lower Jordan Valley, it was im- possible for them to be warriors or anything but irrigators, paddlers in water and soft earth. We forget how near neighbors they had been to Sodom and Gomorrah. No great man was born in Jericho ; no heroic deed was ever done in her. She has been called the key and the guard-house of Judea ; she was only the pantry. She never stood a siege, and her inhabitants were always running away." 140. Among Greeks and Romans Jericho was famed for its dates and bal.'^am. From stereograph copyright by Underwood & Underzvood, New York THE MARKET PLACE AT BETHLEHEM IN THE TIME OF CHRIST Palm trees surrounded the city on all sides, and it was called " the City of Palms," and " the City of Perfumes." Antony presented to Cleopatra the balsam gardens, and from her Herod the Great purchased them. Herod made this one of his royal cities, and here he died. 141. Near Jericho Christ restored sight to two blind men, and at Jericho He visited Zaccheus the Publican, and gave His parable of the pounds. 142. Map Work. On your outline map, page 41, locale these cities of Judea. Draw the roads which extended from Jerusalem in each direction. Continue the road which connects Jerusalem and Jericho on to Damascus. 143. Koview Questions. What were the chief cities on the tableland of Juilea that were connected with Christ's life? What was the important city in the valley? Describe the loca- tion of Jerusalem. Why was it not naturally a good location for a great city? What valley east of the city? From what does it separate it? What valley west? From what does it separate the city? What valley divides the city into two parts? What hill on the west? Wliat hills on the east? Where was the temple? What were the important buildings on the western hill in the time of Christ? Where was the Pool of Siloam? The Pool of Bethesda? Golgotha? Why are we uncertain about the location of places in the time of Christ? What building now occupies the site of the temple? What did Herod the Great do for the city? How was the city kept in former times? What were the familiar scenes on the streets? Why is a visit to Jerusalem now disappointing? Why is it helpful? On what occasions do we know that Christ was in Jerusalem? 144. How far was Bethany from Jerusalem? Where was it? What valley and river between? What does the name of the place mean, and why was it given? For what is Rethany famous? Why did Christ seek the place often? What is the modern name of Bethany? What are shown to visitors? Where was Gethsemane? What important city was farther away on the road that connects Bethany with Jerusalem? How far is it from the Jordan and from the Dead Sea? What is the difference in elevation between Je- rusalem and Jericho? What made the plain about Jericho fertile? For what was the city famed among the Romans? What is the present appearance of the place? What may account for the history of Jericho? What events of Christ's life occurred here? 145. Where is Bethlehem? What king of Israel was born here? What traditional places are shown to visitors beneath the Church of the Nativity? Who came here to see the infant' Jesus? What massacre occurred here? In what direction and how far from Jerusalem is Hebron? What famous hero of the New Testament was born here? What is the place now called? What does the word mean and to whom does it refer? Where was Ephraim? When was it visited by Christ? Where was Fmmaus? Por what is it famed? The Cities of Samaria 146. Samaria. Samaria, " the crown of pride of Ephraim, the flower of his glorious beauty," as it is called in Isaiah, was the capital which gave its name to the province. It was built upon an isolated hill, and other hills, all higher than the city, surrounde'd the circular valley about it except on the west. It was built by Omri, and was the capital of the Northern Kingdom. Herod the Great changed its name to Sebaste, in honor of the Emperor Augustus. Sebaste being the feminine Greek form of Augustus. He fortified the city, and built a magnificent temple in honor of Augustus. Here he mar- ried Mariamne, and here he killed her and her two sons. Many arches and lofty columns are still standing that were parts of Herod's magnificent struc- tures. 147. Shechem. A few miles southeast of Samaria, in the long, narrow, and very fertile valley between IMount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, was Shechem, where so many events of Old Testament history took place. In the time of Christ it was the chief city of the Samaritans. 25 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE 148. The city is now called Nabulus, or Nablous, and is one of the most important in Palestine. In the southwestern part of the city there is a little colony of Samaritans who are descendants of those who lived here in the time of Christ. They accept only the Pentateuch, and they have their own version, which they claim was written by Aaron's grandson. They celebrate each year the passover on the spot where their temple stood on Mount Gerizim. 149. Sychar. There are two small villages represented on the diagram, a mile away from Shechem ; the one at the foot of Mount Gerizim is the modern village of Balata, and the one opposite, at the base of Mount Ebal, is the modern village of Askar, the Sychar of New Testament times, the village to which the woman of Samaria went after her conversation with Christ, and where Christ Himself spent a few days at the request of the people. Jacob's Well, too, is shown in the diagram, where, wearied and thirsty, Christ sat when the woman came to draw water, and where He looked up and saw the fields white for harvest. The same stone well curb may now be seen in a little chapel that Shechem and Sychar ^^^ ^^^^ Uj^JU q^^j. j^^ ^g shown in the illustration. Nearer Sychar a small square building marks the site of a very ancient sepulchre, that of the Patriarch Joseph. The Cities on the Sea of Galilee 150. In the Time of Christ. How often we read in the Gospels about the cities and villages of the Sea of Galilee ! No other region in all Palestine is so closely associated with the life of Christ. Here most of His mighty works were wrought and most of His gracious words were spoken. At that time: the lake must have been girdled with prosperous cities. There is said to have been nine large cities where now there is but one city (Tiberias) and a few miserable hamlets. Everywhere about the lake we can trace Christ's foot- steps, but it was the northwestern shore that He traversed most often. 151. "Amid the sowing and the reaping, the fishing and mending nets, the journeying to and fro on foot, all the simple .habits of the native life of the Sea of Galilee," says Dr. G. A. Smith, " do we not catch some shadow of that other world, which had grown up around it, in the crowds that are said to grind on one another in the narrow lanes, like corn between millstones (Mark 5.24) ; in the figures of the centurion, the publican, and the demoniac crying that his name was legion; in the stories of the pulling down of barns and building of greater ; of opulent householders leaving their v/ell-appointcd villas for a time with every servant in his place and the porter set to watch ; of market-places and streets, as well as lanes; in the comparison of the towns on the lake to great cities — Sodom and Gomorrah, Tyre and Sidon and Nineveh; in the mention of Mammon and all the things after which the Gentiles seek, and in the seeming acknowledgment to the disciples that Galilee was the place where a man might gain the whole world (Luke 9.25)?" 2G From stereograph copyriglit by i'uclerwood &■ Underwood, New York A WO^IaN of SAMARIA AT JACOB'S WELL IN THE TIME OE CHUIST 152. Bethsaida and Chorazin. Upon three cities, Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capcrnainii, Christ piuiKumced His woes, because in them most of His mighty works had been done, and they repented not. The site of each city is disputed. Bethsaida means Fisher-Home. Some authorities think that there were two Bethsaidas, one on the east bank of the Jordan a short distance above the lake (in the Tetrarchy of Philip), called Bethsaida Julias, and the other, the city of Andrew and Peter and Philip, on the western shore of the lake. 153. Bethsaida Julias was named by Philip the Tetrarch in honor of the daughter of Augustus Ca'sar. It was to this place that Christ went by boat on learning of the death of John the Baptist, and on the plain near by (El Batihah) was probably the place where He fed the five thousand who followed on foot around the lake, crossing the Jordan at a ford. 154. A heap of ruins at Keraseh among the hills west of the Jordan probably marks the site of Chorazin. 155. Capernaum. We know from the Gospel accounts that Capernaum was on the shore of the lake, and on or near the Plain of Gennesaret. Two sites, two or three miles apart — Khan Minyeh and Tell Hum — are claimed for the cit}'. At Tell Hum there are ruins of an ancient building thought by some to have been the synagogue built by the centurion (Luke 7.5), and at Khan Minyeh there is a mass of earth-covered ruins. 156. There was a Roman garrison at Capernaum, under the command of a centurion. Jerusalem alone surpassed Capernaum as a gathering place for all peoples, for travelers passed through it on their way from Damascus and the Euphrates to the coast, to Jerusalem, and to Egj-pt. 157. Peter and Andrew settled in this city, and Christ made it His home after His rejection at Nazareth. It was "His own city" (Matt. 4.13: 9.1), the starting point from which He made His journeys, and the place to which He returned after " going about doing good." Capernaum was the scene of many of His miracles. Here the nobleman's son was healed. Near Capernaum occurred the miraculous draught of fishes, when Christ called the four fisher- men, Peter and Andrew, James and John, to be His disciples. In the syna- gogue the demoniac was freed. Here the mother of Peter's wife was cured, and " multitudes came to Him to be healed of their diseases." The paralytic was let down through the roof at Christ's feet, and He restored him to strength. ^^latthew was called from his tax-gathering to be a disciple. From here the Roman centurion's servant was healed. Here Christ was anointed by the woman that was a sinner. It was from a boat off the shore near Capernaum that Christ uttered his beautiful parables of The Sower, The Tares, The Mus- tard Seed, The Leaven, The Hid Treasure, The Net, as told in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. At Capernaum Matthew gave Him a feast, and the Phari-sees complained because He ate with publicans and sinners. He raised to life the daughter of Jairus, healed a woman, some blind men, and a demoniac. The disciples returned to Capernaum after their missionary tour, and Christ sought with them a place of rest on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, when He was followed by the multitudes whom He miraculously fed. That night He came to His disciples in a storm, walking on the water, and returned with them in their boat to Capernaum, where the next day the multi- tudes followed and found Him in the .synagogue. To them He gave His dis- course about the Bread of Life, and after many were offended and left Him, 27 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE He asked His disciples if they, too, would go away, and Peter made his confession of faith, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we know that Thou art the Holy One of God." The contest with the Pharisees about eating with unwashed hands occurred here, the sign from Heaven was demanded, the piece of money for the temple tax was se- cured, and the lesson of humility with a little child for a text and the duty of forgiveness were taught. 158. Magdala. Magdala, in Matthew 15. 39 called T\Iagadan, is famous as the home of Mary Magdalene. It was a place of wealth, " a city of dyers." A few mud and stone hovels now occupy the site. 159. Tiberias. This city is six miles from the southern end of the lake. Herod Antipas entirely rebuilt it, naming it in honor of the Emperor of Rome, Tiberius Caesar, and made it the capital of his tetrarchy. He erected a castle, synagogue, forum, and other magnificent buildings and beautiful villas all in great contrast to the humble fishermen's homes in other towns about the lake. Because it was built on the site of an ancient burial place, no Jew would willingly live here, although Herod gave him land and exempted him from taxation. The hot, sulphurous springs near the city were famous through- out the Roman world. The city is mentioned in John 6. 23, but we do not know^ whether Christ ever visited it or not. Tiberias is now the only place of any size on the lake. It has the reputation of being one of the dirtiest places in Palestine, and the home of " the king of fleas." 160. Map Work. On your outline map, page 41, locate the cities of Samaria and tiiose around the Sea of Galilee. Draw the roads which ran through Shechem. 161. Review Questions. Describe the location of the city of Samaria, \^'hat name was given to it by Herod the Great? What ruins are now to be seen here? Describe the location of Shechem. What interesting colony of people now live in the city? Where was Sychar? For what is it famed? \\'hy do travelers visit this spot? What were some of the scents about the Sea of Galilee in the time of Christ? What were the important cities? What places are now to be seen about the lake? Upon what three cities did Christ pronounce His woes? What is now known about their sites? Where was Bethsaida Julius? What occurred near here? Wliere was Capernaum? What two sites are claimed for it now? Why was it an important city? What events in Christ's life occurred in this city? What has made the city of Magdala famous? Where was Tiberias? For what was it famous among the Romans? Why would not the Jews willingly live here? What did Herod Antipas do for the place? The Cities among the Galilean Hills 162. Nazareth. Josephus says there were two hundred and forty cities and villages in Galilee. Among the hills of Lower Galilee the cities of im- portance in the Gospel narratives are Nazareth, Cana, and Nain. Nazareth is seventeen miles west of the Sea of Galilee. A glance at the map shows that it is on a line with the lower end of the lake, while Jerusalem is on a line with the upper end of the Dead Sea, the two cities being as far apart as the length of the River Jordan between these lakes, sixty-five miles. Naz- areth is on the range of Lower Galilee which bounds the Plain of Esdraelon. From the village itself the surrounding country can not be seen, for its ele- vated basin is surrounded by fifteen hills, " like a rose enclosed in its petals." says an ancient writer. Its houses climb up the hillsides. From the hill northeast of the city one has a fine prospect over all Upper Galilee even to 28 From stcreogrol'h copyright by inaetwuod & Underwood, Xezi.- Yurk THE "FOUNTAIN OF TRE VIRGIN," NAZARETH IN THE TLMK OF CHRIST Hermon, eastward to Tabor, soutlnvard over the ria.in of Esdraclon, and westward to the Great Sea. " 1 do not think that my experience inclndes a view so sf caking as this," says Dr. Sanday. " There is no spot in Palestine that so suggests a Gospel cradled among the quiet hills, but carried out from thence over the habitable world." The life upon which the eyes of the boy Jesus looked from the southern hill Dr. Smith thus pictures : " Across Es- draelon, opposite Nazareth, there emerged from the Saniarian hills the road from Jerusalem, thronged annually with pilgrims, and the road from Egypt with its merchants going up and down. The Midianite caravans could be watched for miles coming up from the fords of Jordan ; and the caravans from Damascus wound round the foot of the hill on which Nazareth stands. From the northern edge of His hollow home, there was another road within sight, where the companies were still more brilliant — the highway between Acre and Decapolis, along which legions marched, and princes swept with their retinues, and all sorts of travelers from all countries went to and fro." 163. From Nazareth Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to be enrolled, and to Nazareth they returned with Jesus after the flight into Egypt. This was His home till the beginning of His public ministry. In the synagogue here He proclaimed Himself the fulfilment of prophec}', and so aroused the anger of the people that they sought to hurl Him from the brow of the hill. A second time He was rejected at Nazareth. 164. The city is now one of Palestine's few" prosperous places. The most interesting sight here is the Fountain of the Virgin, or Mary's Well, as it is also called, which from time immemorial has supplied the place with water. Here without doubt Mary came for water, carrying her pitcher on her head as the women still do to-day, and here Christ must have often tarried. 165. Cana. It is uncertain which of two modern places — the one four miles northeast of Nazareth, and the other twice as far away to the north of that city — was the site of Cana, the place made famous by the first miracle of Christ, the changing of water into wine at the wedding feast. Christ was at Cana when sought by the nobleman whose son was ill at Capernaum. Cana was the birthplace of Nathanael, one of the Apostles. 166. Nain. Nain is on the northwestern slope of Little Hermon. -Here Christ restored to life the widow's son. In the neighborhood rock-cut tombs are now to be seen, toward which the funeral procession probably was going when met by Christ. The Cities ix the Tetrarchy of Philip 167. Caesarea Philippi. Twelve miles north of Lake Huleh, and then five miles eastward upon one of the southern spurs of Mount Hermon was Caesarea Philippi. It was the most northern city of the Holy Land in the time of Christ, a few miles east of the site of Dan of the Old Testament times. The Greeks had dedicated here a grove and a grotto to Pan, their god of the shepherds, and they named the town which grew up here Paneas. The name survives in its modem name Banias. Herod the Great built a temple here of white marble. His son Philip the Tetrarch enlarged the town and changed its name to Caesarea. The name of Philippi was added to honor the Tetrarch and to distinguish the town from Caesarea on the coast. From a 29 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE very large spring in the grotto the River Banias, one of the sources of the Jor- dan, flows. i68. Caesarea PhiHppi was the northernmost limit of Christ's journeys. He came to this Gentile region to escape Jewish hostility, and here His disciples first clearly recognized and acknowledged His divinity. From here He " set His face steadfastly toward Jerusalem." In the neighborhood, on some part of Mount llormon, it is believed the Transfiguration scene occurred. 169. Gergesa. On the eastern sliore of the Sea of Galilee, almost opposite RIagdala, there are ruins known as Khersa, which have been identified as the site of the city of Gergesa. This city was included in the larger district of which Gadara, farther away, was the capital, and was therefore said to be in " the country of the Gadarenes," or " of the Gerasenes." The steep hills come close to the shore at this point. Here Christ healed the demoniacs and the destruction of the swine followed. The Cities of Perea 170. The Decapolis. The League of " The Ten Cities," as the Latin word Decapolis means was a union of Greek cities mainly for the sake of defense and commerce. Scythopolis (called in Old Testament times Bethshan) was the only city west of the Jordan; the others (save Damascus northeast of Mount Hermon) were scattered along the main routes of travel across Perea to the desert. Each city controlled a large surrounding territory with its nu- merous villages. Gadara, one of the League, was only six miles south of the Sea of Galilee. Dr. Smith thus speaks of the influence of the Greek life of these cities : " The Decapolis was flourishing in the time of Christ's min- istry. Gadara, with her temple and her amphitheaters, with her art, her games, and her literature, overhung the Lake of Galilee, and the voyages of its fishermen. Philodemus, Meleager, Menippus, Theodorus, were names of which the one end of the Lake of Galilee was proud, when Matthew, Peter, James, and John, were working at the other end. The temples of Zeus, Pallas, and Astarte crowned the height opposite to that which gave its name to the Ser- mon on the Mount. Bacchus, under his Greek name, ruled the territory down the Jordan Valley to Scythopolis. There was another temple to Zeus on the other side of Galilee, at Ptolemais, almost within sight of Nazareth. We can not believe that the two worlds, which this one landscape embraced, did not break into each other. The many roads which crossed Galilee from the Decapolis to the coast, the many inscriptions upon them, the constant trade be- tween the fishermen and the Greek exporters of their fish, the very coins — everywhere thrust Greek upon the Jews of Galilee." 171. Bethany beyond Jordan. This city is called Bethabara beyond Jor- dan in tiic Authorized Version. The traditional site is nearly opposite Jericho, but recent scholarship locates it about fifteen miles south of the Sea of Galilee, east of the Jordan. It was probably near here that Christ was baptized, and here John bore his testimony to Him as the Lamb of God. After His tempta- tion Christ came to Bethany and met His first disciples, John and Andrew, Peter and James, Philip and Nathanael. 172. Machserus. This was an enormous fortress in the southern part of Perea, five miles from the Dead Sea. Herod Antipas rebuilt it. and in the dungeon beneath the royal palace he imprisoned John the Baptist, and after- ^0 IN THE TIME OF CHRIST ward caused him to be beheaded. In this region Moses and John, many cen- turies apart, ended their earthly lives. 173. Map Work. Un your outline map, page 41, locate the cities among the hills of Galilee, and those east of the Jordan. Draw the road from Damas- cus that crosses Galilee, and the roads east of the Jordan. 174. Review Questions. How far is Nazareth from Jerusalem ? Describe its location. W'liy was tliis a suitable spot for the early years of Christ's life? How long did He live here? Why did He leave? What city did he make His home after this? What is the main object of interest here now? Where was Cana? What event in Christ's life occurred here? Wliere was Nain? What miracle did Christ perform here? Where was Caesarea Philippi? What was its first name? What is it called now? What is the name of the source here of the Jordan? Why did Christ visit the place? Where was the scene of His transfiguration? What other city in the Tetrarchy of Philip is mentioned in the Gospels? What occurred there? 175. Where were the cities of the Decapolis? What does the word mean? Why was this league formed? \\'hich city was west of the Jordan? What roads ran through this place? Where was Christ baptized by John? What disciples did lie first meet here? Wliere and what was Macha;rus? Who was imprisoned in the dungeon beneath? 176. Map Work. On page 43, draw from memory the map of Pales- tine. Locate all the lakes, rivers, mountains, and cities about which you have studied. 11 RELIEF 3IAP OF PALESTINE Soilo ..f Mill's S to 1% JO 39 THE M.-N. WORKS, BUFFALO, W. Y INDEX Acra, Mount, 21. Across Palestine: from east to west, 4; from north to south, 6. Altitudes: Central Range, 5; Dc^d Sea, 10 ; Eastern Range, 1 1 ; froiM east to west, 4 ; from north to south, 6; Galilee, 16; Jordan Valley, 8; Judea, 14; Low Hills, 6; Lower Jor- dan Valley, 8; Maritime Plain, 4; Mount Hermon, 11; Samaria, 15: Sea of Galilee, 8; Tabor, 8. Anti-Lebanon ]\Iountains, 5. Antonia, Tower of, 22. Arabia, Peninsula of, i. Areas : All Palestine, 3 : Eastern Palestine, 11; Galilee, 16: Judea, 14; Samaria, 15: Western Palestine, 2. Arnon River, 11. Ashkelon, \g. Banias River, 30. Bay of Acre, 3. Bethany, 23. Bethany (Bethabara) beyond Jordan, 30. Bethcsda, Pool of, 22. Bethlehem, 22,, 24. Bethsaida, 27. Bezctha, JMount, 21. Csesarea, 19. C?esarea Philippi, 29, 30. Cana, 29. Canaan, 2. Capernaum, 27, 28. Carmol. Mount, 5, 7- Central Range, 4, 5. Chorazin, 27. Cities: among Galilean Hills, 28, 29; in Judea, 20-25; in Samaria, 25, 26; in Palestine, 19-31 : in Perea, 30, 31 ; in Tetrarchy of Philip, 29, 30; on Maritime Plain, 19, 20; on Sea of Galilee, 26-28. Climate: Effect of on Jericho, 24; in Jordan Valley, 8; in Neighborhood of Dead Sea, 10 ; in Neighborhood of Sea of Galilee, 10 ; Influence of Lebanon Mountains on, 5, 16 ; Pre- vailing Winds. 13; Range of Tem- perature, 12; Seasons, 12; Storms on Sea of Galilee, 13. Coast Line, 3. Coast Route, 17. Damascus, Roads to, 17. Dead Sea: Depth of Surface, 8; De- scription of, 10; Location of, 3- Decapolis, 30. Direction of Palestine from the United Stales, I. Distances: across Samaria, 15: Beth- any from Jerusalem, 23; Bethlehem from Jerusalem, 23; C?esarea Philippi from Lake Huleh, 29 ; Dead Sea from Coast, 3 : Emmaus from Jeru- salem, 24 ; Ephraim from Jerusalem, 24 ; Hebron from Jerusalem, 24 ; Jericho from Dead Sea, 24; Jericho from Jerusalem, 24; Jericho from Jordan, 24 ; Jerusalem from Dead Sea, 20; Jerusalem from Mediter- ranean, 20 ; Jerusalem from New York, 2; Nazareth from Jerusalem, 28; Nazareth from Sea of Galilee, 28; Palestine from United Stales, I ; Sea of Galilee from Coast, 3 ; Sea of Galilee from Dead Sea, lo; Sea of Galilee from Lake Huleh, 9. Divisions of the Central Range, 5. Divisions Political, 13-17. Dome of the Rock, 22. East and West Roads, 18. Eastern Range, 4, 11, 12. Ebal, 15. Effect of Climate on Jericho, 24. Effect of Geographical Conditions on Judeans and Galileans, 16. Effect of Greek Life in Cities of the Decapolis, 30. EI-Batihah, 10. Emmaus, 24. Ephraim, 24. Esdraelon, Plain of, 4, 7. Fountain of the Virgin, Nazareth, 29. Four Parallel Regions, 4. Gadara, 30. Galilee, 6, 16. Gaza, 19. Gergesa, z^- Gerizim, 15. Gethsemane, Garden of, 22. Golgotha. 22. Great Highwavs. 17, 18. Great Nations of Antiquity, 1, 2. Gulf of Akabah, 8. Haifa, 19. Hebron, 24. Hermon, II. Highways, 17, 18. Hill of Evil Counsel. 2^ Hinnom, Valley of, 21. INDEX Idumea, 13. Itiiroa, 17. Jabbok River. 11. Jacob's Well, 26. Jolioshapliat, Valley of. 21. Jericho, 24, 25. Jerusalem : Description of, 20-23 ; Dis- tance from New York, 2. Joppa, 5, 6, 19. Jordan River. 3, 9. 10. Jordan River Sjstem, 9-11. Jordan Valley, 4, 8. Jiulca, 6, 14. 15. Karn Hattin. 9. Kidron, 21, 23. Kishon, 7. Ladder of Tyre, 5. Lake Huleh, 3, 9. Land of Israel, 2. Lebanon Mountains, i, 5, 11. Little Hermon, 7. Low Hills, 6. Lower Galilee, 16. Lower Jordan, 10. Lower Jordan Valley, 8. l\Lach?erus, 30. Magdala, 9. -'S- Alap Work, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 28, 31. Maritime Plain, 4, 5. Mediterranean Sea, i. Moriah, 21. Mountains: Acra, 21; Bezetha, 21; Carmel, 5, 7 : Gilboa, 7 ; Hermon, 1 1 ; Little Hermon, 7 ; Moriah, 21 ; Nebo, 11; of Beatitudes, 9; Olives, 21, 23; Ophel, 21; Tabor, 7, 8; Zion, 21, 22. Nain, 29. Names: of Palestine, 2; of Syria, i, 2. Nazareth, 28, 29. Nebo, II. Negeb, 14. North and South Roads, 17, 18. Olives, Mount of, 21, 23. Ophel, Mount, 21. Palestine: Area of, 3; Distance from United States, i ; Limits of, i ; Names of, 2 ; Physical Features of, 4 ; Size of, 2. Perea, 13, 16, 17. Phenicia, Plain of. 5. Philistia, Plain of, 5. Physical Features. 4-12. Pilgrim Road. 18. Plains: Fl-Batihah. to; Esdraclon. 4, 7, 8; Gcnnesaret, 9: Phenicia, 5: Philistia, 5; Sharon, 5. Political Divisions, 13-17. Pools: Belhesda, 22; Siloam, 21. Position and Extent of Palestine, 1-3. Potters' Field, 21. Prevailing Winds, 13. Products: Galilee, 16: Judea, 14; Sa- maria, IS; Perea, 17; Telrarchy of Philip, 17. Province of Judea, 13. Rains, 12. Review Questions, 3, 6, 9, 12, 14, 17, 20, 25, 28, 31. Rivers: Arnon, 11 ; Banias, 30; Jabbok, 11; Jordan, 3, 9, 10; Kishon, 7; Yarmuk, 11, 16. Samaria City, 25. Samaria, Province, 6, 15. Scenery: across Palestine, 12; around the Dead Sea, 11 ; around the Sea of Galilee, 9, 10; of Eastern Range, II ; of Jerusalem, 22; of Judea, 14, 15; of Palestine, 7, 8; of Samaria. 15 ; View from Nazareth, 2S. Scythopolis, 30. Sea of Galilee : Cities on, 26-28 ; Depth of Surface. 8; Description of, 9, ij; Location of, 3 ; Storms on, 13. Sea of Gennesaret, 9. Sea of Tiberias, 9. Seasons, 12. Sharon, Plain of, 5- Sliechem. 25. 26. Slicphelah, 6. Sidon, 19, 20. Springs, 12, 13, 15. Storms on Sea of Galilee, 13. Sychar, 26. Syria : Boundaries, i : Extent, 1 , Names, i, 2; Location, i. Tabor, 7, 8. Temperature, 12. Temple, 22. Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas, 13, 16. Tetrarchy of Philip, 13, 16, 17. Tiberias, 10, 28. Tyre, 19, 20. Tyropoean Valley, 21. L^nderground Waters, 13. Upper Galilee, 16. L'pper Jordan, 9. Valleys: Hinnom, 21: Kidron or Je- hoshaphat, 21 ; Tyropcean, 21. Virgin's Fountain, 21. Water Supply, 12, 13, 15, 16. Western Palestine : Area, 2 ; Limits, 3. Wilderness of Judea, 15. Winds, 13. Yarmuk River, 11, 16. Zion, Mount, 21, 22. i Date Due