LiBFi APY OF PRiNGLL 'i 
 
 MAY I 5 2003 ^ ; 
 —J 
 
Digitized by 
 
 the Internet Archive 
 
 
 
 in 2015 
 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/physicalgeographOOrobi 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HOLY LAND. 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD ROBINSON, D.D. LL.D., 
 
 PKOFBSSOR OF BIBLICAJL LITERATURE IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 A SUPPLEMENT 
 
 TO THE LATE AUTHOR'S BIBLICAL RESEARCHES IN PALESTINE. 
 
 THE MAPS 
 
 OP THE LATER BIBLICAL RESEARCHES WILL SERVE FOR THIS WORK. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CROCKER AND BREWSTER, 
 
 51 WASHINGTON STREET. 
 
 1865. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by 
 CROCKER & BREWSTER, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 AIXEOVER : 
 STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED 
 BY W. F. DRAPER. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The late author of the following work has repeatedly stated, both 
 m conversation and in writing, that he considered his books of travel 
 as merely preparatory to a " systematic work on the Physical and 
 Historical Geography of the Holy Land," to which he intended to 
 devote all his remaining energies. He commenced this labor very 
 shortly after his first journey to the East, the results of which were 
 communicated in the " Biblical Researches in Palestine," etc. The 
 " Physical Geography of the Syrian Coast," which is given to the 
 reader in the Appendix of the present volume, formed the commence- 
 ment of the above work. 
 
 The author's second journey, the motives for which are stated in 
 the Introduction to his " Later Biblical Researches," caused an in- 
 terruption in this labor. When, some years later, he resumed it, it 
 was on an entirely different and improved plan, of w^hich he places 
 before the reader an accurate statement in the " Introduction " that fol- 
 lows. This plan he regarded as the best and most appropriate ; but 
 he had also another more personal reason for adopting it. He felt 
 that, on account of his increasing years, he might perhaps not be per- 
 mitted to finish the whole of the great work comprised in this design, 
 and that in the case of his being taken away, he would rather leave 
 to others those countries which he designates as "outlying" than 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 those of the " Central Hegion," which he had made for a quarter of 
 a century the object of his indefatigable investigations, and for the 
 thorough knowledge of which he could, as it were, be responsible as 
 an eye-witness. 
 
 This first part he had hoped to finish. But it was otherwise de- 
 creed above ; and a comparatively small portion — thorough and com- 
 plete in itself, however, without a missing note, without the omission 
 of a single word to be subsequently inserted — is all that is left to 
 the world from the hand of the earnest, faithful investigator. 
 
 The Physical Geography was to be followed immediately by the 
 Historical ; this again by the Topographical, arranged alphabetically. 
 Lebanon and Sinai, similarly treated, were to have succeeded, as parts 
 of the Central Region, this main portion. Whatever fragments and 
 sketches relating to this subject the author has left, the editor pre- 
 fers to withhold from the public, rather than give them, worked out 
 by another hand, in the shape of patchwork, as it were, and there- 
 fore so decidedly in contradiction to the author's peculiar spirit. All 
 that she does transmit to the world in the following pages, will, she 
 trusts, be welcome ; partly as a systematic presentation of the geo- 
 graphical researches of the author in the Holy Land, partly as a 
 Supplement to his former works. 
 
 The maps of the Later Biblical Researches will serve for this 
 book. Only the author hiniself could have furnished before its pub- 
 lication the materials for such improvements as the appearance of 
 this work may call forth. 
 
 Th. R. 
 
 New York, May, 1864. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Palestine the central point of Biblical Geography, 1. Relations of the He- 
 brew people to Jehovah, 1, 2. World-wide influence, 1, 2. Position and isola- 
 tion of Palestine, 2. Its remarkable feature, the great longitudinal valley, 2. 
 Character of its sides, 2. Depression, 2. Assumed divisions of the region, 3. 
 Northern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine proper, Sinai, etc., 3. 
 
 First Volume : Palestine with Lebanon and Sinai, 3. These regions visited 
 by the author, 3. Second Volume : Outlying Regions, 4. Xoithem Syria; Ar- 
 menia, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia; Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt; 
 Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, 4. Relations of these countries to the Old and New 
 Testaments, 4; and to Central Palestine, 5. 
 
 Sources. The Bible, G. Its method, G. Works of Josephus, 6, 17. Native 
 names of places, a national tradition, 7. Epochs, 7. First Epoch : the Onomas- 
 ticon, about A. D. 330, 8. Other early works, travels, etc., 8, 9. Second Epoch : 
 the work of Brocardus, about A. D. 1283, 9. Travels of the next three centuries, 
 9. Tlnrd Epoch : the work of Quaresmius, A. D. 1625, 9. The storehouse of ec- 
 clesiastical tradition, 9. Travellers in the subsequent centuries : Maundrell, Po- 
 cocke, riasselquist, 10. In the nineteenth century, Seetzen, Burckhardt, Irby and 
 Mangles, Russegger, Schubert, 10. Biblical Researches in Palestine in 1838 and 
 1852, 10. Other later travellers, 10. Fourth Epoch : Ritter's Comparative Geogra- 
 phy of Sinai, Palestine, and Syria, 10. Notices by ancient Greek and Roman wri- 
 ters best in Reland's Palaestina, 10, 11. As to the present state, the author's o^vn 
 personal observations a chief source, 11. 
 
 PALESTINE. 
 
 Names : Palestine, 15. Canaan, 15. The Promised Land, 16. The Holy Land, 
 16. Other appellations, 16. 
 
 Boundaries and Extent. Originally extended only to the Jordan, 16. 
 Southern boundary, 17. Western, the sea, 17. Northern, 18. Eastern, the des- 
 ert, 17. Length and breadth, 18. Area, 18. 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE SURFACE. GENERAL FEATURES. 
 
 Four long parallel tracts, two low, and two elevated, 19. The plain along the 
 coast; the Valley of Jordan. Hill-country on the west. Hill-country on the east, 19. 
 
 SECTION 1. 
 
 MOUNTAINS AND HILL-COUNTRY. 
 
 Hebrew word signifies both mountain and hill; sometimes used collectively, 
 20. 
 
 I. MOUNTAINS WEST OF JORDAN. 
 
 1. NORTH OF THE PLAIN OF ESDRAXLON. 
 
 Character of the hill-country in the north, spreads to the sea at the Promonto- 
 rium Album and the Scala Tyriorum, 20, 21. Belat in Ashur, a high point, 21. 
 Wild district, 21. Mount NaphthaU,2A. Jebel Jermak,'21. Hills and ridges. Tell 
 Hazur, Mount Asamon, 22. Kurun Hattin. wrongly Mount of Beatitudes, 22. Form, 
 
 22. Hills around Nazareth; legendary Mount of Precipitation, 23. Mount Tabor, 
 
 23. Appearance, prospect, history, 24, Parallel ridges south of Tabor, 25. LiltJe 
 Hermon, Jebel ed-Duhy, 26. Mount Gilboa, 27. Jebel Fuku'a, 27. Mount Carmel, 
 and connecting line of hills, 28. Form, 29. Wady el-Milh on S. E., 29. Fertility 
 and beauty, 29. Elijah's sacrifice, 30. Heathen altar, 31. Cells in the rock, 32. 
 
 2. SOUTH OF THE PLAIN OF ESDEAELON. 
 
 Hill-country interrupted by the plain, 32. Rises again towards the south, 32. 
 Eastern line, from Gilboa south, 32. Western line, from the plain south, 33. Line 
 of lower hills on the west, 33, 34. Breadth of mountain region, 34. Its steep 
 eastern slope, 34, 35. Divisions and names, 35. Mountains of Samaria, 36. 
 Mountains of Israel, 36. 
 
 Mountains of Ephraim, 36. Mount or Hill of Samaria, 36. Ebal and Geri- 
 zim, 36-40. History and ruins of Gerizim, 36-40. Mount Zalmon, 40. Sheikh 
 Salmon el-Farisy, 40. 3Tount of the AmaleJcites, 41. Mount Bethel, 41. Mount 
 Zemaraim, 41. Hill of Gaash, and brooks, 41, 42. 
 
 Mountains of Judah, 42. Hill of Gibeah, 42. Mount of Gibeon, Neby Samwil, 
 42. Mount of Olives, 42-44. Frank Mountain, 44; site of Beth-haccerem, 44. 
 Mount Perazim, 45. Mount west of the valley of Hinnom, 45. Mount Ephron, 45, 
 46. Mount Jearim, 46. Mount Seir, 46. 
 
 Hills near the seacoast of Judah, . Sandhill, 47. Mount Baasah, il. Mount of 
 Azotus^ 47. Mons Angaris, 47, 48. Hill towards Hebron, 48. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 VII 
 
 8. MOUNTAINS OVERHANaiNQ THE GHoR AND DEAD BEA, ON THE WEST. 
 
 Wall of cliffs, etc., 48. Kfirn Sttrtabeh, 48, 49. Quarantana, Jebel Ktiruntul, 
 49, 50. Cliffs west of Dead Sea, 50. Mountains of Engedi, 50. Sebbeh, Masada, 
 51. Mountain of Salt, at S. W. comer of Dead. Sea, 51-53. Mountain of the 
 Amorites, 53. Ascent of Akrabbim, Scorpion Cliffs, 53, 54. 
 
 II. MOUNTAINS EAST OF JORDAN. 
 
 Jebel Heish, ending at Tell el-Feras, 54. Region east of the lake of Tiberias, 54. 
 Jebel ed-Derttz (Druze Mountain), Jebel Ham-an, 54. Form and summits, 55. 
 Kuleib Hauran, form, 55. Meaning of the name, 55. Character of the range, 55, 
 56. Is the Mons Alsadamus of the ancients, 5G. Bashan, kingdom of Og, 56. 
 Mount of BasJian, probably Hermon, 57. Jebel 'Ajlun, the northern Mount Gi- 
 lead, 57. Character, extent, elevation, 58. Table-land and valleys, beauty, 59. 
 Southern "hsdf Mount Gilead," or el-Belka, extent, 59. Jebel Jil'ad, Neby Osha, 
 prospect, 59. Country further south, 59. Western slopes of the mountain, 60. 
 Elevation, 61. Level-line as seen from the west, 61. Particular mountains, 62. 
 Moab and Sihon, 62. Reuben and Gad, 62. Plains of Moab, by Jordan, 62. 
 Mount Abarim, 62. Mount Fisgah, 63. Mount Nebo, 64. Mount of Peor, 65. 
 Ridge of Jebel 'Attarus, with the niins of Atarotlx, Kirjathaim, and MacJioerus, 66, 
 67. Iron Mountain, 67. Mountains of Moab, Jebel Shihan, 67, 68. Hill of Kerak, 
 elevation, 68. Mountains of Bether, Bithron, signification, position uncertain, 68, 69. 
 
 SECTION n. 
 VALLEYS. 
 
 Different Hebrew words rendered "valley," 70. Bik'ah, 70. 'Emek, 70. Ifa- 
 hal, 71. Gai, 71. Valleys mostly without permanent streams, 72. 
 
 I. VALLEY OF THE JORDAN, OR EL-GHOR. 
 
 Part of the great longitudinal valley, 72. Its extension north and south, 72. 
 Wady et-Teim, 73. 
 
 Ifame.— The 'Arabah, 73. • Plur. 'Arboth, wastes or plains, 74. The Aulon, the 
 Ghor, 74. 
 
 General Features, — Basin or Plain of the Huleh, 75. Its rapid descent, 75. 
 Its fertility, 75, 76. Ancient Names : Merom, Ulatha, 76. From the Huleh to 
 the lake of Tiberias, 77. Plain of el-Batihah, 77. Plain of Gennesareth, 78. 
 Character of the hills south of the lake, 79. Mountains of 'Ajlfin, etc., 78. Val- 
 
vm 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ley of Jezreel enters, 78. Hills and valleys south of Mount Gilboa, 78. Plain of 
 the Ghor, 78. Valley below Sakut, 79. Plain el-Kiirawa, 79. The Ghor contracted 
 by Ktirn Sflrtabeh, 79. The lower Ghor, a desert, 79. Breadth at Jericho, etc., 
 80. Length, from lake of Tiberias to Dead Sea, 80. Depression and rapid slope, 
 80. 
 
 Valleys or Plains loithin the Ghor —The Hebrew word Kikkar, ' circuit,' of 
 Jordan, 80. The Bik'ah, plain or valley; e. g. of Lebanon, of Jericho, 81. The 
 Ghor also an Emek, 81 ; e. g. valley by Beth-Rehob, of Succoth, of Siddim, 81. 
 Valley of Achor, of Keziz, 82. The Ghor a Gai; e. g. valley over against Beth- 
 \ Peor, 82. Valley of Salt, 82. 
 
 II. THE GHOK : SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE EAST. 
 
 Two great valleys near Banias, 83. Wady el-'Asal, 84. Wady Khiishabeh, 84. 
 Wady Za'areh, 84. Merj Yafuny, and brook, 85. Land and valley of Mizpeh, 
 8-5. "Wady Semak and Wady Fik, 86. Valley of the Passengers, 86. Valley of 
 the Hieromax, 83. Brook by Raphon, 83. Wady Yabis, Jabesh-Gilead, 86. 
 Wady el-Hemar, 83. Wady Mahneh, Mahanaim, 83. Wady 'Ajlun, Bithron, 
 87. Valley of the Jabhok, 87. Wady Sha'ib, Nimrin, Beth-Nimrah, 87. Wady 
 Hesban, Heshbon, 87. Second valley over against Beth-Peor, 87, 88. Wady Zer- 
 ka Ma'in, CalUrrhoe, 88. Wady Mojib, the Amon, 88. Wady ed-Dera'ah, 88. 
 Wady el-Ahsy, brook Zered, 88. The valley in the country of Moab, 88. The 
 high plain, 89. 
 
 III. THE GHOR : SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 The Derdarab, from Merj 'Ayun, 89. Wady Hendaj, 89. Wady el-'Amfid, 
 89. Wady er-Rubudiyeh, 89. Wady el-Ham am, and its caverns, Beth-Arbel, 
 Arbela, 90. Wady el-Birch, 90. Valley of Jezreel, described, 91, 92. Wady Ma- 
 lih, 92. Wady el-Farl'a, 92, 93. Wady Fflsail, Phasaelis, 93. Wady el-'Aujeh, 
 Wady en-Nawa'imeh, and its upper branches, 94. Wady Kelt, its heads, 94. Is 
 probably * the river,' also * the water of Jericho,' 94. Probably also the brook 
 Cherith, 94, 95. Valley of Zeboim, 96, The brook Kidron described, 96, 97. 
 TJie valley of Einnom, described, 98-100. Tophet, 100. Gihon, fountain, brook, 
 100, 101. Valley of Shaveh, the King's dale, 101, 102. Valley of Jehoshaphat, 
 102. Valley of Vision, Jerusalem, 103. The river of the Wildermess, 103. Val- 
 ley of Berachah, 103. Deep valleys on the western coast of the Dead Sea, 104. 
 
 IV. VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 General character, 104. Wady el-'Ayun, or el-'Azziyeh, 104, 105. Wady Ha- 
 mul, 105. Wady el-Ktim, and fortress Kurein, 105. Wady Sha'ab, 105. Wady 
 'Abilin, or valley of Jiphthah-el, 106, 107. Wady Bedawiyeh, or Wady Melik, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 107. * River ' Kishon, 107. Wady Wesa, or Wady Abu Nar, 107. Wady Mus- 
 8in, 108. Wady Sha'ir, from Nabulus, 108, 109. Valleys next south, 109. Wady 
 'Azzuu, by Antipatris, 109. "Wady Kanah, river Kdnah, 109, 110. Wady Bir 
 Jcnab, or Wady Eibah, 110. Wady Belat, or Wady Ktirawa, 110, 111. Brooks 
 of Gaash, 111. Wady Ludd, or Wady Muzeiri'ah, 111, 112. Wady from Ram 
 Allah, 112. Wady 'Atallah, 112. Wady 'Aly, 112. Valley of Ajalon, 112, 113. 
 Valley ox plain of Ono, 113. Valley of Craftsmen, 113, Nahr Rubin at Jdbneh, 
 113. Wady Surar, 114. Wady Isma'il, 114, Wady Beit Hamna, 114. Wady el- 
 Werd, Wady Ahmed, Wady Bittir, 115, Wady Ghurab, 115. Valley by Glbeon, 
 115, 116. Valley of Bephaim or the Giants, 116. Valley of SoreTc, 116. Wady 
 es-Sumt, 116, 117; formed by Wady el-MiisttiT and Wady es-Stir, 117; is the val- 
 ley of Elah, 117. Wady Simsim, made from Wady Feranj and Wady el-Ha- 
 py, 118. Valley of Zephathah, 118. Place where Philip baptized the eunuch, 119. 
 Wady esh-Sheri'ah, from Beersheba, 119, 120. Made from Wady 'Ar'arah and 
 Wady el-Khulil, 120. Vale of Hebron, 120. Brook of Eshcol, 120, 121. The 
 brook Besor, Ziklag, 121, 122. Valleys south of Beersheba, valley of Gerar, 123. 
 Wady el-'Arish, river or torrent of Egypt, 123, 124. Note. Valley of Baca, 
 symbolical, 124. 
 
 SECTION m. 
 PLAINS. 
 
 I. PLAINS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 Southern end of the Phenician plains, 125. Plain of 'Akka, 125. Plain south 
 of Carmel, or plain of Sharon, 126. Plain of Ono, 127. Plain south of Lydda 
 and Joppa, the Sephela, 127. Daroma, ' the south,' 128. 
 
 II. PLAINS IN THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF THE GHOR. 
 
 Plain of Asor, Hazor, 129. Parallel plains, 130. Plain of Eamah, 130. 
 Plain of el-Buttauf, or plain of Zebulun, 130, 131. Plain of Esdraelon, form, ex- 
 tent, 131, 132. Three arms or branches towards the east, 132. Names in Scrip- 
 ture, etc., 133. Scene of battles, 134. Plain of Dothan, 135. Plain near Sanur, 
 135. Plain known as the Mixkhna, 136. Scriptural notices, 137. Plain at Gibeon, 
 137. Plain of Rephaim, 137. Level tracts of Judah, 138. 'Plains ' put for oaks, 
 138. 
 
 III. PLAINS IN THE GH^B. 
 
 Enumeration and references, 138, 139. 
 2 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 IV. PLAUsS EAST OF THE GHOR. 
 
 Plain of Mizpeh, 139. Great plain of Hauran, 139, 140. Plain of the Belka, 
 140, 141. Scriptural nofices, 141. Tlie plain, 142. Plain of Kiriathaim, 142. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 WATEKS. 
 
 General supply of water, 143. 
 
 SECTION I 
 RIVERS AND MINOR STREAMS. 
 The Jordan and its tributaries, the chief streams, 144. 
 
 I. THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 General characteristics, 144. Divisions, 144. Length, 145. The valleys, what, 
 145. Name, 145. Etymology, 145. 
 
 Upper Jordan. Sources. Three main streams, 146. The Hasbany, 146. 
 Source, 146. Bridge, 147. Its course below, 147, 148. 'Ain Seraiyib, a feeder, 
 
 147. Chasm and 'Ain Luweizany, also a feeder, 148. Tell el-Eddy, the Ledddn, 
 
 148. Form of the Tell, 149. Immense fountains, 149, 150. Mills, irrigation, 150. 
 Nahr Bdnids. The great fountain, 150-152. Ancient Panium, 151. Water-course 
 of the stream, 151, 152. Junction of the streams, 152, 1-53. Relative size, 153. 
 Historical Notices. Only two sources named of old, 153. The Hasbany not men- 
 tioned, 153, 154. Analogies, 154. Principle involved, 154. From the Huleh to 
 the lake of Tiberias, 154. Bridge,155. Geshur and Geshurites, 156. Rapid de- 
 scent and foaming stream, 155, 156. From Bethsaida (Julias), estuary, 156. 
 
 Middle Jordan : — Its issue from the lake, 156. Many rocks and strong rap- 
 , ids, 157. In August full of low dams ; river easily crossed, 137. Entrance of the 
 Hieromax; bridge, 158. Wmdings, the Ghor, 158, 159. Fords, 158, 159. Course 
 belo^v, 159. 
 
 Lower Jordan. — Character at Kiim Siirtabeh and below, 159, 160. Lower 
 fords, 160, 161. Bathing-places of pilgrims, 160. Course of the river more on 
 the east, 161. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 General Features. — Valleij and Channel, 161. Two terraces, or valleys, 
 101. Border of trees, etc., 161. Outer banks, 161, 162. The river winds, but not 
 its valley, 102. Pride of Jordan, 162. Descent and -Depression, amount, 162, 163. 
 Overflows of Jordan. The river in spring runs with full banks, 164, 10-5. Reasons 
 why there are no floods, 163, 164. Loneliness of Jordan ; no toAvns, 163, 104. No 
 boats, one raft, 165. No fisheries, 165, 166. Jordan as a boundary. Difficult to 
 be passed, 166. First mention, 166. Country 'beyond Jordan,' 166, 167. Recorded 
 passages of Jordan, 167, 168. Baptism of Jesus by John, 168. Twice Jesus 
 crosses over, 108. Explorations of Jordan, 168. Costigan, 169. Molyneux, 169, 
 170. Lynch, 170, 171. 
 
 II. THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 
 
 Wady Za'areh, 171. Head branches of the A'waj, 172. The Jarmuk or Hiero- 
 max, 172. Its sources and head branches, 173, 174. Its western part, 175. Hot 
 springs, 175, 176. Confluence with Jordan, 170. The Jabbok, ez-Zerka, 170-178. 
 Scriptural notices, 177, 178. The Zerka Ma'in, 178-180. Hot springs, Callirrhoe, 
 179, 180. The Arno7i, Nahr el-M6jib, 180. North branch, the Waleh, 180. The 
 Mojib proper, 181, 182. Scriptural notices, 182. Wady Kerak, 182, 183. Wady 
 el-Ahsy, or el-Kurahy, 183 ; is the brook Zered, 184. 
 
 * III. THE JORDAN : TRIBUTARIES FROM THE WEST. 
 
 The Derdarah, 184. Brooks, 185. Nahr el-Jalud, 185. 'Ain Jalud, 185. The 
 stream, 185, 186. Stream'of Wady el-Fari'a, 180. Water of Jericho, 186. 
 
 IV. RIVERS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 General character, 187. The JBelus, Nahr Na'raan, 187. The Kishon, Nahr el- 
 Muktttta' 187. Remote sources in winter, inundations, 188. Junction in the 
 plain, miriness, 189. Dry in summer, 188, 190. Permanent sources, 190. Estuary 
 and sandbar, 190, 191. Nahr Belka, 191. Nahr ez-Zerka, 191. Crocodiles, 191, 
 192. Is the Shihor-Libnath of Scripture, 192. Nahr el-Akhdar, 192. Nahr Abu 
 Zaburah, 172. Nahr Arsdf, or Nahr el-Failak, 192, 193. Nahr el-'Aujeh, 193, 194. 
 Streams south of Jafa: Nahr Rubin, 194. Wady at 'Askulan, 194. Wady el- 
 'Arish, 194. No permanent stream south of the 'Aujeh, 194, 195. 
 
 SECTION n. 
 LAKES. 
 
 The four lakes of Palestine, 196. 
 
 L The Phiala. — Now Birket er-Ram, situation, elevation, 196. Its basin or 
 
xn 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 bowl, extent, 196, 197. Stagnant and slimy waters, 197. Wild fowl, frogs, leeches, 
 197. nir.rorical notices and position, 197, 198. Not a source of the Jordan, 198. 
 
 ir. Lake of the Huleh. — Situation and form, 198. Adjacent marsh, 198. 
 Extent, 199. Not deep and not navigated, 199. Is the ancient waters of Blerom 
 and lahe Semechonitis, 199. 
 
 III. Lake of Tiberias. —Form and extent, 199. Depression about six 
 hundred and fifty feet, 199. Variation of level, 200. The water sweet, 200. Fish 
 and fishing, 200, 201. A single boat, 201. Character of the shores, 201, 202. 
 High winds and tempests, 202. Volcanic tract, 202, 203. 
 
 Historical Notices, 203. Ancient names, 203. Its connection with the history 
 of the Saviour, 203. His excursions across the lake, 203, 204. Ancient naviga- 
 tion and sea fight, 204. Ancient fisheries, 204, 205. 
 
 Hie Hot Springs, 205. Situation, temperature, etc., 205, 20G. Ancient notices, 
 206. 
 
 IV. The Dead Sea. — Its remarkable features, 206. Ancient names, 207, 208. 
 Form and Extent, 207. Lies in a crevasse, between parallel mountains, 207. The 
 ends rounded, 207. Peninsular and southern bay, 208. Length and brcadih, 208. 
 Depth and Depression. Soundings, 208, 209. Variation of the surface, 209. 
 Level below the Mediterranean, 209. Results; depression of Dead Sea, 1316.7 
 feet, 209. Unsuspected before 1837, 210. 
 
 Views from the Western Cliffs. Approach to the Dead Sea from the. west; 
 great descent, 210. Cliff overhanging 'Ain Jidy; extensive prospect, 210, 211. 
 Shores of the sea like an estuary, 211. The peninsula, 211, 212. Mountains on 
 the western coast, 211. Kerak, the Amon, etc., 212. 
 
 Character of the Waters. General qualities, 212. Four analyses, 212, 213. 
 Cause of the excessive saltness, 214. Buoyant power, 215. Heavy waves, 
 quickly stilled, 215, 216. No trace of animal or vegetable life, 216, 217. Great 
 evaporation, 217. Deposits of salt at Birket el-Khiilil, etc., 217, 218. Legendary 
 reports, mostly without foundation, 218, 219. Many birds around, 219. Heat of 
 the climate unhealthy, 219, 220. 
 
 Asphaltum. Ancient accounts, 220. Appears only occasionally, as in 1834 and 
 1837, 220, 221. Rises from the bottom, 221. 
 
 Character of the shores. Parallel ranges of mountains enclosing the chasm, 
 221,222. Scenery, 222. Geological features, 222. The strands; no passage in 
 some parts along the water, 222, 223. Southern shore, a mud flat, 223. Northern 
 shore, 223. Belt between high and low water-mark, 223. Minerals occasionally 
 picked up, 224. Blocks of breccia, etc., 224. Stone of Moses, or stink-stone, 224. 
 Drift-wood, 225. 
 
 The Peninsula. Form and extent, 225. Appearance, elevation, etc., 225, 226. 
 The isthmus, irrigation, fertihty, 226, 227. Not mentioned by ancient writers; 
 notices, 227, 228. A small peninsula in the north, 228. Reputed islands, 228, 
 229. 
 
. CONTENTS. 
 
 xm 
 
 The Ford. Two fords reported, 229, 230. They exist only where the sea is 
 very low, 230. 
 
 Navioation and Exploration. Hints of ancient navigation very slight; Josc- 
 phus, 230. Edrisi, 231. Voyage of Costigan, 231, of Moore and Bcke, 231, 232; 
 of Molyneux, 232. United States' Expedition; its labors and results, 232, 233. 
 
 Destruction of Sodom. The Dead Sea existed previously, hut only north of the 
 peninsula, 233, 234. Yale of Siddim, slime pits, 235. Probable manner of the 
 catastrophe, 235. The fertile plain now submerged by the southern bay, 235. 
 
 Apples of Sodom. The 'Osher, Asclepias gigantea, 236, 237. 
 
 SECTION m. 
 FOUNTAINS. 
 
 Palestine a land of fountains as compared with Egypt, 238. Reports to the 
 contrary, 238, 239. Fountains recorded in Scripture, 239-241. The word 'Ain 
 applied to villages, 241. Thirty fountains within ten miles around Jerusalem, 241, 
 242. 
 
 I. Fountains in or near the Western Plain, 243, 244. 
 
 II. Fountains in the Hill-Country West of Jordan. North of the Great Plain, 
 244. In and around the same plain, 245, 240. South of the Great Plain, 246. At 
 Nubulus, 247. Other fountains, 248. South of Jerusalem, 249. At Hebron, 250. 
 
 III. Fountains in or near the Ghor. West of Jordan, 250. North of the lake 
 of Tiberias, 2.51. At et-Tabighah, 251. 'Ain et-Tin,252. Round fountain, 252. 
 'Ain cl-Barideh, 253. Hot springs, 253. From the lake to Kum Surtabeh, 253. 
 At Fusail, 254. 'Ain Duk, 254. 'Ain es-Sultan, 255. 'Ain Hajla, 255. On the 
 west of the Dead Sea, 256. 'Ain Jidy, 257. Others further south, 258. 
 
 East of Jordan : few fountains in the north, 258. At Pella, 259. Waters of 
 Nimrim, 259. Fountains along the east side of the Dead Sea, 259, 2G0. 
 
 IV. Fountains of the Ulll-Countr]/, East of Jordan, 260. In the Lejuh, 2G0, 
 261. West of the Haj route, 201. In the plain and slopes of Hauran, 261. In 
 Jebel 'Ajlun, 201, 262. Around es-Salt, 262. At 'Amman and in the Belka 252, 
 263. At Kerak, etc., 203. 
 
 Warm and Mineral Fountains^ 263, 264. 
 
 SECTION lY. 
 
 WELLS. CISTERNS. RESERVOIRS. AQUEDUCTS. 
 
 I. Wells, 265. Wells of Abraham, Beer-sheba, 265. Wells of Isaac, Reho- 
 both, 266, 267. Jacob's well, 267-269. Other ancient wells, 269. Wells in the 
 
XIT 
 
 COITTENTS. 
 
 fields, or by the roadside, 270. King Uzziah's wells, 270. Drinking-troughs for 
 cattle, 271. Pastoral scenes, 271. Modes of drawing water, 271, 272. 
 
 II. Cisterns, their frequency, 272. Usually hewn out in the rock ; form, 272, 
 273. Few in the plains, 273. Places where are found ancient cisterns, 273. 
 Around Hehron, 274, 275. Between Jericho and Bethel, 275. Various places, 275, 
 276. Water of cisterns usually not pure, 276. Cisterns used as dungeons, 276. 
 Cisterns for storing grain, 277. 
 
 III. Reservoirs, mostly ancient, or pools. Impurity of the water, 277, 278. 
 Pool at Hebron, 278. Pool at Gibeon, 279, 280. Large ancient reservoirs at Bethel 
 and Ai, 280. At various places, 280, 281. Solomon's Pools, 281. Measurement, 
 source of supply, 281, 282. Vaulted room under the lower pool, 282, 283. Object 
 of the pools, 283, 284. 
 
 IV. Aqueducts, modem, 284. Ancient, at Jerusalem, 284. Aqueduct from 
 Solomon's Pools to the temple, 285. Course, 285. The channel, 285. Remains 
 of a still earlier channel, 286, 287. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 Prehminary remarks, 288. Parallel climate, 288. 
 
 I. seasons. 
 
 Only winter and summer, 288. Duration of each, 288. 
 
 Winter or Raint Season.— Its beginning, 289. Time for ploughing and 
 sowing, 289. Characteristics of the rainy season, 289, 290. Observation in 1843, 
 and 1845, 290. Snow ; observations, 290. Hail, 291. Frost, 291. Roads muddy 
 and slippery, 291. 
 
 Early and Latter Rains. — Scriptural allusions, 291. Hebrew year, 292. No 
 distinct season; beginning and end of the rainy season, 292. Consequences of 
 their failure, 292. 
 
 Summer or the Dry Season. — Its variable beginnings. From May to 
 October no rain, characteristics, 293. Vegetation withered and dry, 293. All na- 
 ture longs for rain, 294. 
 
 Fogs, not unfrequent, 294. Deio, frequent and heavy, 294. 
 
 II. temperature. 
 
 Causes which affect the temperature; differences of elevation, 295. 
 
 Western Hill-Country. Jerusalem as a summer residence, 295. Record of 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 thermometer, 296-297. Comparisons, 297. Other plains, further north, 298. 
 
 Western Plain. Higher temperature ; thermometer, 299. 
 
 Valley of Jordan. Sunken valley ; greater heat, 299. Thermometer, 299-300. 
 Southern production, 300. 
 
 Eastern Hill-Counti'y, temperature little known, 301. 
 
 Times of Harvest, as marking temperature, 301. In the Ghor, 301. In the 
 western plain, 301. At Hebron, Jerusalem, etc., 302. Results, 302. Melons at 
 Tiberias, 302. 
 
 III. WINDS. 
 
 Only four winds spoken of in Scripture, 302. These to be taken with latitude, 
 303. 
 
 Winds of the Rainy Season. The rain wind is from the S. "W. or W. S. "W., 303. 
 The east wind the next most frequent; brings a clear sky, 303. Other winds of 
 winter variable, 304. 
 
 Winds of Summer. The most prevalent is from the N. "W. quarter, cool and 
 pleasant, 304, South wind or Sirocco (east wind), disagreeable, 305. Character- 
 istics, 305. Duration, 305. Sirocco from the S. E., 305; from the S.W., 306, 307. 
 Is probably east wind of Scripture, 307. Other summer winds variable, 307. 
 
 IV. PURITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 
 
 Summer sun and sky, 307. Transparency of the air, distinctness of objects, 308. 
 Occasional haziness, 308. Climate generally salubrious, 308. Pestilence, 308. 
 In Jerusalem what causes produce fever and ague, 309, 310. 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 
 Preb'minary remarks, 311. 
 
 L General Limestone Formation, 311. The great masses forming the 
 basis are Jura limestone, 312. West of Jordan, 312. Aroimd Jerusalem and 
 Bethlehem, 313. East of the Dead Sea and Jordan, 313. 
 
 n. Sandstone, Conglomerate, Marl, 313, 314. 
 
 in. Volcanic Tracts. West of the Ghor, 314. Extent, Safed the centre, 
 
 315. Chasm of Jordan below the Huleh, 315. Wady et-Teim, 316. Tell el-Kady, 
 
 316. Clumps of basaltic rocks, 316. Extinct Craters, near Safed, etc., 317, 318. 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 East of the Ghor. I^eous rocks near Banias, Jebel Heish and its line of Tells, 
 318. Between tlie Huleh and the lake of Tiberias, 318. Eastern shore of the 
 latter lake, 319. 
 
 Haurdn, the plain, the Lejah, and the mountains, 319. The plain, 320. The 
 Lejah, 321; description of, 321, The mountain, volcanic, with many extinct 
 craters, 321. The eastern desert volcanic, extent, 321. el-Harrah, its character, 
 321. el-Safa, frightful, 322. er-Ruhbeh, an oasis, 223. Jebel 'Ajlun and el-Belka, 
 323. Lava and volcanic rocks on east shore of Dead Sea, 323. Great volcanic 
 tract of northern Syria, 324. 
 
 rV. Earthquakes. Not unfrequent, 324. Imagery of Hebrew poets, 324. 
 Four mentioned in Scripture, 324. Others recorded, 325. Many of northern 
 Syria did not extend to Palestine, 326. Earthquakes, of A. D. 1170, 1202, 1759, 
 1834, 1837, 326. Jerusalem comparatively spared, 327. Note of Editor, 327. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SYRIAN COAST. 
 Note by the Editor, 332. 
 
 General features of the Syrian Coast, 333. Syria proper including ancient 
 Phenicia, 334. Mountains, valleys, plains, ^25. Mount Amanus and the adjacent 
 country, 335. Mount Casius, 335. Valley of the Orontes, 337. Junia, Lebanon, 338, 
 344. Anti-Lebanon, 345, 346. Buka'a, 347. Wady et-Teim, 348. East of the moun- 
 tains, 349. 
 
 n. Tracers, 350. The Orontes or cl-'Asy, 351. The Leontes or Litany, 354. No 
 streams of importance north of Orontes, 358. Nahr el-Kebir, 358. Nahr el-'Arus, 
 the Sabbath river, 359. The Adonis, or Nahr Ibrahim, 360. The Lycus or Nahr 
 el-Kelb, 360. The Tamyras (Damouras) or Nahr ed-Damur, 361. The Awaly 
 (Bostrenus), 361. The Barada (Chrysorrhoas), or Amana, 362. The Pharpar, 
 362. Fountains, 365, 366. 
 
 in. Climate, 366. Rainy and dry seasons, 367-370. Winds, 370. Climate of 
 Syria healthy, 371. 
 
 IV. Geological features, 372. Formation of mountains, 373. Mineral pro- 
 ductions, 374 Mineral fountains, 376. Soil, 376. 
 
 V. Trees and plants, Til. Exuberance of Botany, 381. Beasts, Birds, e^c.,381. 
 Birds, 383. Reptiles, 384. Insects, 385. Note of Author, 386. 
 
 INDEX 
 
 387 
 
INTRODUCTION.^ 
 
 The Geography of the Bible has its central point in 
 Palestine, or the Holy Land. This was the seat of the 
 Jewish nation and of their history for more than fifteen 
 centuries. In accordance with Jehovah's promise to Abra- 
 ham, He brought the Hebrews out of Egypt, and planted 
 them in the Land of Promise ; converting them from a clus- 
 ter of nomadic tribes into a nation of fixed abode and agri- 
 cultural habits. They were Jehovah's own chosen people, 
 separated from all other nations. He was to them, in a 
 peculiar sense, their God and national Protector. His glory 
 was enthroned among them in the temple at Jerusalem. 
 Only among that people was the true God known, while all 
 the rest of the world was shrouded in the darkness of idola- 
 try. Only from that land has gone forth, to other nations 
 and to modern times, all the true knowledge which exists of 
 God, of his Revelation, of a Future State, and of Man's 
 Redemption through Jesus Christ. 
 
 What a mighty influence for good has thus proceeded 
 from that little territory, to afiect the opinions and destinies 
 of individuals and of the world, for time and for eternity ! 
 
 1 The Introduction, as already stated in the Preface, was intended for the whole 
 of the great work but a small part of which the late author was allowed to finish. 
 See Preface. 
 
2 
 
 IKTRODUCTION. 
 
 Compared with it, the splendor and learning and fame of 
 Egypt, Greece, and Rome fade away ; and the traces of their 
 influence upon the world become as the footprints of the 
 traveller upon the sands of the desert. 
 
 The land of Palestine, while it is thus the central point 
 and nucleus of all Biblical Geography, is itself only the 
 middle portion of that long and narrow tract which lies 
 along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, and stretches 
 continuously from Asia Minor on the north to the Red Sea 
 proper on the south. The remarkable configuration of this 
 extended strip of territory binds its several parts together as 
 one whole ; but this whole tract is separated from all other 
 countries, and almost isolated, by seas upon the west and 
 by deserts on the east. Only at its northern extremity is it 
 connected with the mountainous ranges of Asia Minor. 
 
 The remarkable feature of the region here in question, is 
 the great longitudinal valley extending through nearly its 
 whole length, from Antioch to the Red Sea. The northern 
 portion is watered by the Orontes, flowing north, which at 
 Antioch breaks through the western mountain to the Medi- 
 terranean. Then follows the Buka'a, between Lebanon and 
 Anti-Lebanon, with its stream, the Litany, flowing south, 
 which forces a passage around the southern end of Lebanon 
 to the sea near Tyre. The valley of the Jordan succeeds, 
 with its river and three lakes, the Huleh, the lake of Tiberias, 
 and the Dead Sea. Between the latter and 'Akabah, the 
 great valley, here known as Wady el-'Arabah, is without 
 water ; but further south it is occupied by the eastern gulf 
 of the Red Sea, the Gulf of 'Akabah. The sides of this 
 great valley sometimes rise to lofty mountains, as in Lebanon 
 and Hermon ; and again, in some parts, for a short distance 
 sink to plains, as at Hums and Bcisan. On the other hand, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3 
 
 the valley itself, along the Jordan, with its two large lakes, 
 is deeply depressed below the level of the Mediterranean. 
 
 Let us now suppose this long tract of territory divided 
 into four parts, by three lines, not wholly straight, drawn 
 from the coast towards the east. Let the first begin on the 
 north of the river Eleutherus, now Nahr el-Kebir, and pass 
 along the northern end of Lebanon, through el-Husn and 
 Hums. The second may be drawn on the south of Tyre, 
 and through the lower sources of the Jordan, at the south- 
 ern base of Hermon. The third may be carried from near 
 the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean along at some 
 distance on the south of Beersheba and of the Dead Sea. 
 Now, of the four divisions thus formed, the northernmost is 
 Northern Syria, which does not now come further under 
 consideration. The second comprises Lebanon and Anti- 
 Lebanon, with Phenicia on the west, and Syria of Damascus 
 on the east. The third is Palestine proper, lying on both 
 sides of the Jordan, and extending from Dan to Beersheba ; 
 including, also, in the southeast, the lands of Moab and Am- 
 mon. The fourth and southernmost, besides the desert and 
 Sinai, takes in also the land of Edom on the east of the 
 'Arabah. 
 
 The First Volume of this work treats specially of Pales- 
 tine, with the two contiguous divisions, Lebanon and Sinai. 
 These constitute the Central Region. The former, Lebanon, 
 is included because it was in great part comprised within 
 the original boundaries of the twelve tribes ; and the latter, 
 because it was the scene of the wanderings of Israel, as they 
 came up out of Egypt to take possession of the Promised 
 Land. Another reason why such should be the extent of 
 the first volume, is found in the fact that the author of this 
 work has visited and traversed in various directions just 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 these three divisions, — this Central Region, — and can there- 
 fore to a large extent speak of them as an eye-witness. 
 
 For the Second Volume there remain the Outlying Re- 
 gions ; which, though extending around Palestine on almost' 
 every side, are yet separated from it by intervening seas, or 
 deserts, or mountains. Beginning with Northern Syria, we 
 find this district connected towards the northeast with the 
 mountains which stretch -eastward from Asia Minor, and 
 spread into the rugged country of Armenia, in whose re- 
 cesses the great rivers Euphrates and Tigris have their 
 source. As these streams roll on southward to the Persian 
 Gulf, they traverse and embrace the vast plains of Mesopo- 
 tamia, so intimately connected with the earliest and latest 
 history of the Hebrew nation ; the seats too of the mighty 
 kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon. Eastward of these plains 
 rise the chains of mountains which separate them from 
 ancient Media and Persia. Proceeding from these regions 
 across the Persian Gulf, we reach Arabia, stretching along 
 the Red Sea, and beyond that sea, Ethiopia, on the upper 
 Nile, followed by Egypt in the lower valley of the same 
 river. Again returning to Northern Syria, we find it con- 
 nected towards the northwest with the provinces of Asia 
 Minor, followed in the west by Greece, w^ith its islands, and 
 Italy. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, in respect to the countries lying 
 out of Palestine, that the Old Testament has to do mainly 
 with those in the east and south, including Egypt ; while, on 
 the other hand, tlie New Testament refers almost exclusively 
 to those in the west. 
 
 It is seen at a glance, from tliis survey, that while Pales- 
 tine, the central region, was in ancient times in a manner 
 isolated from all other countries, it yet formed the middle 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 point of intercourse and communication between the most 
 populous and powerful nations of Asia, Africa, and Europe. 
 The hosts of Egypt swept over it on their march to oriental 
 conquest ; those of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia, in like 
 manner, overran it on their way to subjugate the valley of 
 the Nile ; while in later times the Macedonian conqueror 
 took his route across it into the east, and the Romans held 
 it as a convenient thoroughfare to their more distant oriental 
 dominions. All this implies, not an intercourse of war 
 alone, but also of commerce and the arts. 
 
 We may thus perceive the wisdom of the divine counsels 
 in planting in this narrow and apparently isolated land the 
 people to whom the knowledge of the true God and of the 
 gospel was to be revealed, in order that they should make 
 it known to other nations. Probably from no other spot in 
 the ancient world could this knowledge have been spread 
 abroad, in all directions, so widely, so constantly, and for so 
 long a series of ages. 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 SOURCES. 
 
 1. The main source of all Biblical Geography is, of course, 
 The Bible itself. The outline must be drawn wholly from 
 the pages of sacred writ, and is then to be filled up by in- 
 formation derived from every quarter possible. 
 
 The Bible does not usually specify distances, nor give 
 descriptions of places ; yet, in certain cases, the method of 
 enumeration may aid us to a certain extent. For example : 
 
 (a.) In the book of Joshua, xv.-xix., the enumeration of 
 cities and towns allotted to the different tribes proceeds in 
 no definite order ; yet they are often mentioned in groups, 
 showing that they lay near each other, but not in what 
 direction from each other ; see Josh. xv. 55, 58. 
 
 (h.) In naming places along a journey or the march of 
 an army, it is to be presumed that they lie in the order 
 specified. So the approach of the Assyrian host towards 
 Jerusalem, Isa. x. 28-32 ; the progress of Tiglath-pileser, 
 2 K. xiv. 20. 
 
 (c.) Rarely a special description is given; as of Shiloh, 
 Judg. xxi. 19. By following this description, Shiloh (now 
 Seilun) was first visited and identified in 1838. 
 
 2. Next to the Bible, the works of JosepJius, the Jewish 
 historian, are the most important source for the history and 
 geography of his people. Not that his accounts are always 
 fully reliable ; yet, when ho speaks of places and the dis- 
 tances between them along the great roads, we may well give 
 
SOURCES. 
 
 7 
 
 liim credit : for these were matters of public notoriety. He 
 alone lias given a description of tlie city of Jerusalem as it 
 was in the time of Christ. 
 
 3. The existence, at the present day, of very many ancient 
 scriptural names of places, still current among the common 
 people of Palestine, has been a fertile and important source 
 of information. This is a purely native and national tradi- 
 tion ; not derived in any degree from the influence of foreign 
 masters or convents. The affinity of the Hebrew and the 
 modern Arabic has contributed greatly to J3reserve the an- 
 cient names. Indeed, so tenacious is this kind of tradition, 
 that all the efforts of the Greeks and "Romans to displace the 
 native appellations by others derived from their own tongues, 
 were unavailing. The sounding names Diospolis, Xicopo- 
 lis, Ptolemais, and Antipatris have perished for centuries ; 
 while the more ancient Lydda (Ludd), Emmaus ('Amwas), 
 'Akka, and Kefr Saba, are still current among the people. 
 Yet a very few Greek names, thus imposed, have maintained 
 themselves ; as Neapolis (Nabulus) for Shechem, Sebaste 
 (Sebustieh) for Samaria. 
 
 It was by tracing out these scriptural names, heard from 
 the lips of the common people, that most of the ancient 
 places identified within the last five and twenty years have 
 been discovered. Yet here, again, caution is necessary. 
 The mere name decides nothing, unless the other circum- 
 stances correspond. 
 
 EPOCHS. 
 
 The history of Sacred Geography, from its beginning in 
 the fourth century to the present time, exhibits four epochs, 
 dividing it into three unequal periods. These epochs are 
 marked by works on Palestine, each embodying all the 
 
8 
 
 IXTRODUCTIOX. 
 
 knowledge of its time and period, and thus serving to show 
 the progress or decay of Biblical Geography. 
 
 I. The first epoch is marked by the Onomasticon of Eu- 
 sebius and Jerome. This is the earliest work on Biblical 
 Geography. It was written in Greek by Eusebius, bishop 
 of Caesarea, about A.D. 830 ; and was translated into Latin, 
 with a few corrections and additions, by Jerome the monk 
 of Bethlehem, towards the close of the same century. It is 
 an alphabetical list of names of scriptural places, with a 
 brief notice appended to each of its position, and often of its 
 distance from some other place. This little work is of high 
 importance, although the notices do not always rest on 
 historical facts, and are sometimes colored by legendary 
 tradition. Nor are the two writers always of one accord. 
 
 The Onomasticon is tlic work nearest to the times of the 
 New Testament ; yet there intervened three centuries which 
 are wholly blank. Nearly coeval with it was the Itinerarium 
 Hierosolijmitanum^ or Jerusalem Itinerary, written in Latin 
 by a pilgrim from Bourdeaux in A.D. 333. The part rela- 
 ting to the Holy Land is brief, but valuable. 
 
 During the fifth and sixth centuries, there is no record 
 of travels in Palestine. At the beginning of the seventh, 
 there is the Itinerary of Antoninus 3Iartijr of Placentia, about 
 A.D- 600 ; and at the close of tlie same century, about A.D. 
 697, the treatise of Adamnanus de Locis Sanctis, being a 
 report of the visit of the French bishop Areulfiis to the Holy 
 Land. In the eighth century followed the pilgrimage of 
 jSt. Willihald about A.D. 765 ; and in the ninth, the Itinerary 
 of the monk Bernhard the Wise, about A.D. 870. These are 
 all the travels in Palestine of which there remains any 
 record ; until the arrival before Jerusalem of the first host 
 of the crusaders, at the close of the tenth century, in June, 
 
SOURCES. 
 
 9 
 
 1099. But although the Franks maintained a footing in 
 Palestine (in 'Akka, at least), for nearly two centuries, until 
 1291 ; yet the historians and travellers of the times of the 
 crusades have left comparatively few notices of importance 
 relating to the geography of the land. 
 
 II. The Latin treatise of the monk Brocardus, Locorum 
 Terrce Sanctce Description written about A.D. 1283, marks 
 the second epoch ; and gives us what was known of Pales- 
 tine by the Latin monks and ecclesiastics at the close of the 
 crusades. Though less brief than the Onomasticon, it is also 
 less full and complete ; and serves to show, that, during the 
 long interval of nine centuries, much had been forgotten by 
 the church which still existed among the common people. 
 
 The three following centuries served to extend and fix the 
 dominion of ecclesiastical tradition. The travellers, whose 
 works have been preserved, and who lodged in the convents, 
 repeated, for the most part, only what they had learned from 
 the monks. In the first quarter of the fourteenth century, 
 however, we have the important Arabic work of Ahulfeda on 
 Syria ; and that of the Jewish writer ParcM^ long a resident 
 in the land. Among travellers, the more important names 
 are, Ludolf of Sachem^ about 1340 ; Breydenhach and F. 
 Fabri, in 1483 ; Pierre Beloii, in 1546 ; and Cotovicus (Koot- 
 wyk), in 1598. 
 
 III. The third epoch is constituted by the work of Qua- 
 RESMius, Terrce Sanctce Flucidatio, completed in 1625, and 
 afterwards published in two folio volumes. Ecclesiastical 
 tradition was still in its palmy days ; and this work affords 
 the best exposition of it. It is interminably prolix, and, so 
 far as the true topography of the land is concerned, is 
 indefinite and of little value. 
 
 In the latter part of the seventeenth century we have the 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 valuable works of d^Arvieux and Maundrell. The monks 
 continued to be the main source of information. Even the 
 keen-sighted Maundrell, though he obviously places little 
 reliance on these accounts, yet gives nothing better in place 
 of them. 
 
 In the eighteenth century, the chief travellers were R. 
 Pocoche and Hasselquist. The latter, a pupil of Linnaeus, 
 turned his attention particularly to the Botany of the country. 
 
 The early part of the present century furnished several 
 travellers of the highest character, both as observers and 
 narrators ; such were Seetzen^ 1 803-10 ; Burckhardt, 1809- 
 16 ; Irb?/ and Mangles^ 1817, 1818. In recent years, a 
 more thorough exploration of the land has been undertaken 
 in almost every direction ; and very much of that which 
 had been long forgotten has already been recovered. Rusb- 
 egger in 1836 examined the Geology of Palestine ; and 
 Sehuhert, in 1837, the Natural History. In 1838 and 1852, 
 the author of this work, with Eli Smith, collected the ma- 
 terials for the Biblical Researches in Palestine. They were 
 followed, in various years, by U. G-. Schulz and W. M, 
 Thomson; in 1843 by J. Wilson; in 1845 by T. Toiler in 
 Jerusalem ; and in 1855 by J. L. Porter in Damascus and 
 Hauran. The American Expedition, in 1848, made known 
 the physical features of the Dead Sea and the Jordan ; and 
 gave rise also to the able Geological Report of Palestine 
 by Dr. H. J. Anderson. In 1852, Lieutenant Van de Velde 
 travelled throughout the countries west of the Jordan, to 
 obtain the materials for his new Map of the Holy Land. 
 
 TV. The middle of the present century may therefore be 
 regarded as a new and fourth epoch in the liistory of Biblical 
 Geography. It is distinctly marked by the great work of 
 Carl Ritter, Vergleichende Erdkunde der Sinai Halhinsel, von 
 
SOURCES. 
 
 11 
 
 Palaestina und Syrien ; that is, " Comparative Geography of 
 the Sinai Peninsula, of Palestine, and Syria ; " four vols, 
 octavo, 1848-1855. This is a portion of the author's larger 
 work on Comparative Geography. In it, as a vast storehouse, 
 is brought together all that relates to the geography of Pales- 
 tine and Syria, gathered from the travellers and historians 
 of all periods and countries. 
 
 The notices of Ancient Palestine by Greek and Roman 
 writers are found best collected in the still classic work of 
 Hadr. Heland, Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata, 
 Traj. Batav. 1714, quarto. This has ever been, and yet re- 
 mains, the standard classic work on Ancient Palestine. 
 
 In respect to the modern state of the countries here treated 
 of, — the Central Region, — the chief source of information 
 and reference in this work is naturally the author's own 
 published volumes upon the Holy Land. Indeed, so far as 
 relates to the country west of the Jordan, the present volume 
 may be regarded, to a certain extent, as the systematic pre- 
 sentation of the author's own personal observations, made in 
 the country itself, and more fully recorded from day to day 
 in his Biblical Researches in Palestine. 
 
 Note. — The full titles of all the works referred to, and of many others 
 on Palestine, may be seen in the Appendix to the Biblical Researches. 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HOLY LAND. 
 
PALESTINE 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Palestine, or Palesttna, now the most common name for 
 the Holy Land, occurs three times in the English version of 
 the Old Testament ; and is there put for the Hebrew name 
 ndbs, elsewhere rendered Philistia.^ As thus used, it re- 
 . fers strictly and only to the country of the Philistines, in the 
 southwest corner of the land. So, too, in the Greek form, 
 IlaXaLaTLVTj, it is used by Joseplms.^ But both Josephus and 
 Philo apply the name to the whole land of the Hebrews ; and 
 Greek and Roman writers employed it in the like extent.^ 
 
 The earliest and native name was Canaan, "ji'ss, Xavadv, 
 or Land of Canaan.^ This word signifies " a low tract ; " in 
 contrast perhaps to d-nx, Aram, or Syria ; that is, " the higher 
 tracts " of Lebanon and Syria. It would therefore strictly 
 apply only to the plains along the coast ; and it is so used 
 for Philistia and for Phenicia.^ But it is also frequently 
 used as comprising the whole country west of the Jordan.^ 
 
 1 Ex. XV. 14; Isa. xiv. 29, 31; Ps. Ix. 8, Ixxxvii. 4, cviii. 9. 
 
 2 Antiq., 1. 6. 2; Ibid., 2. 15.2. 
 
 8 Joseph. Antiq., 8. 10. 3. Philo, Opera (ed. Mangey), II. pp. 20, 106, 457. 
 Hdot., 1. 105. Strabo, IG. 4. 18. 
 * Gen. xii. 5, xvi. 3; Ex. xv. 15; Judg. iil. 1. 
 
 5 Philistia, Zeph. ii. 5. Phenicia, Isa. xxiii. 11, in Hebrew and Septuagint. 
 Comp. Obad. xx. 
 
 6 Gen. xii. 5; Num. xxxiii. 51, xxxiv. 2; Josh. xxi. 2, xxii. 9; Acts xiii. 19. 
 Joseph. Antiq., 1. 6. 2; Ibid., 2. 15. 3. 
 
4 
 
 16 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 Palestine is known as the Promised Land, because it was 
 promised of God to Abraham.^ 
 
 It is called the Hohj Land, once in Scripture,^ and now 
 commonly ; as having been, with the Hebrews, its inhabi- 
 tants, a peculiar possession of Jehovah, where his glory was 
 revealed for ages, and where later the Messiah became flesh 
 and dwelt with men. For all who hold to the one only true 
 God it is to this day the Holy Land, as the original seat and 
 source of all true religion. 
 
 Other names, derived from the different appellations by 
 which the inhabitants were known, require no illustration. 
 Such are : Land of the Hebreivs, of Lsrael or the Lsraelites, of 
 the Jews, etc. So too the Land of Jadah, or Jiidea; which, 
 though strictly referring only to the southern part of the . 
 country, are sometimes in popular usage applied to the 
 whole. 
 
 BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. 
 
 The country promised to Abraham, and described by 
 Moses, was bounded on the west by the Mediterranean, and. 
 on the cast by the Jordan.^ Only at a later period the por- 
 tion of two and a half tribes was assigned to them on the 
 east of the Jordan. The northern boundary, as we shall see 
 hereafter, included Phenicia and Mount Lebanon.* 
 
 Of the southern border we have two specifications, — one 
 by Moses, and the other, as the southern border of the tribe 
 of Judah, in the division of the land by Joshua.^ Accord- 
 ing to these accounts, the southeastern corner of the land 
 was the desert of Zin, in the 'Arabah, at the south end of 
 
 1 Gen. xii. 7, xiii. 15, xvii. 8; Ps. cv. 9, IL 
 
 2 Zcch. il. 12. ^ 3 Num. xxxiv. 6, 12. 
 
 * Num. xxxiv. 7, 8; comp. Josh. xiii. 5. ^ Num. xxxiv. 3-5; Josh, xv 1-4. 
 
BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. 
 
 17 
 
 the Dead Sea, adjacent to the border of Edom. The bound- 
 ary line began at the tongue or bay of the sea, looking ^^outh- 
 ward, and passed up the ascent of Akrabbim to Zin, and so 
 on southward to Kadesh-Barnea ; thence it was carried by 
 Hezron, Adar, Karkaa, and Azmon, to the brook or torrent 
 of Egypt, and ended at the Mediterranean. The earlier ac- 
 count omits Hezron and Karkaa ; and for Adar, it has Hazar- 
 Addar. 
 
 Of the places here enumerated, only a few are known. 
 By the " tongue " or bay of the sea is perhaps to be under- 
 stood the shallow portion on the south of the peninsula. 
 Perhaps the line began at the mouth of the Wady el-Ahsy, 
 which appears to have separated Edom from Moab. The 
 ascent of Akrabbim is probably the line of cliffs running 
 across the 'Arabah a few miles south of the Dead Sea, form- 
 ing merely the ascent to the higher level of the great valley 
 further south. ^ Kadesh is to be sought in the valley, on its 
 western side, probably at 'Ain el-Weibeh, the chief water- 
 ing-place of the Arabs iu the whole region. ^ None of the 
 other places towards the west are known, until we reach 
 " the brook or torrent of Egypt," near the southeastern 
 corner of the Mediterranean, afterwards the site of liJdno- 
 korura, and now called "Wady el-'Arish. 
 
 For the purposes of the present work, we assume as the 
 southern boundary the parallel of Lat. 31° X. This is suf- 
 ficiently near, and divides Moab and Edom correctly. But 
 there must be a slight curve towards the south in order to 
 include Kadesh. 
 
 The western border is of course the Mediterranean ; the 
 eastern is the desert. 
 
 1 Biblical Researches in Palestine, IT. pp. 116, 120 [II. pp. 494, 501]. — The sec- 
 ond numbers refer to the first, the first to the second edition of this work. 
 
 2 Ibid., II. pp. 174, 193 [II. pp. 582, GIO]. 
 
18 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 For the northern houndary, we assume a line begmning 
 near the northern base of the Promontoriiim Albimi, now 
 Ras el-Abyad, south of Tyre, in about Lat. 3o° 10' X., and 
 drawn slightly north of east, and curving so as to take in 
 Kana, the fortress Tibnin, and also Hunm, until it strikes 
 near Dan and Banias at the southern base of Hermon, in 
 Lat. 33° 16' N. On this parallel the line continues to the 
 eastern desert. This desert may be said to constitute the 
 eastern border of Palestine. 
 
 The length of the territory thus included, is, as we have 
 already seen, 136 minutes of latitude ; that is, 136 geograph- 
 ical miles, or 158 English miles. The breadth is greatest 
 near Gaza, in about Long. 34° 31' E. from Greenwich ; and 
 at the promontory of Carmel, nearly in Long. 34° 58' E. It 
 may be estimated as not far from 90 degrees of longitude at 
 these points, — equal to about seventy-five geographical miles, 
 or from eighty-five to ninety English miles. But if measured 
 by hours along the roads, both the length and breadth would 
 appear much greater. 
 
 The whole area of the land of Palestine, consequently, 
 does not vary greatly from twelve thousand geographical 
 square miles, — about equal to the area of the two States of 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut together. Of this whole area, 
 more than one half, or about seven thousand square miles, 
 being by far the most important portion, lies on the west of 
 the Jordan. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE SURFACE — GENERAL FEATURES. 
 
 The striking feature in the aspect of the country, consists 
 in the four long parallel tracts or strips of territory into 
 which the land naturally divides itself ; two of them low, and 
 two elevated. They are as follows : 
 
 I. The low plain along the coast, interrupted only at the 
 northern end and at Carmel. See under Plains. 
 
 II. The valley or plain of the Jordan, depressed in great 
 part helow the level of the Mediterranean. See Yalleys. 
 
 III. The range of hill-country and mountains west of Jor- 
 dan, extending from Lebanon south, throughout the land, 
 and interrupted only at the plain of Esdraelon. 
 
 lY. The range of hill-country and mountains east of Jor- 
 dan, extending from Hermon south, throughout Bashan, 
 Gilead, and Moab. East of the lake of Tiberias, the high 
 plateau spreads out into the plain of Hauran. 
 
 In describing more fully the features of each of the above 
 divisions, we begin always from the north. 
 
20 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 SECTION 1. 
 
 MOUNTAINS AND HILL-COUNTRY. 
 
 The Hebrew word •nn , a mount, mountain, is used in a wider 
 sense than the corresponding English word. It is applied 
 not only to the loftiest mountain, but also to what in Eng- 
 lish is simply a MIL It is sometimes properly so rendered in 
 the English version ; as the lull Samaria ; and also, in the 
 plural, the mountains of Samaria would with more propriety 
 be rendered the hills of Samaria.^ So, too, the singular is 
 often used collectively ; as 3Iou7it Ephraim for the mountains 
 of Ephraim. Mount Judah for the mountains or hill-country of 
 Judah, and the like. 
 
 I. MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 1. North of the Plain of Esdraelon. 
 
 The hill-country between the plains of the coast and the 
 valley of the Jordan connects with the southern end of Leb- 
 anon near Sidon, and extends southward, at first as a broad, 
 elevated tract of rolling and mostly arable land, skirted on 
 the east by the great valley, and on the west by the narrow 
 Phenician plain. South of the parallel of latitude 38° IG' N., 
 our northern boundary of Palestine, it rises gradually and 
 becomes more rugged. On the east, it overlooks the Jordan 
 valley by a steep descent. On the west, it spreads itself out 
 in masses of rocky ridges and cliffs, intersected by deep and 
 
 1 1 Kings xvi. 24; Jer. xxxi. 5. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 21 
 
 wild valleys quite to the sea, between the plains of Tyre and 
 'Akka. Here it forms the promontories Ras el-Abyad and 
 Ras en-Nakurah ; the former being the Promontorium Album 
 of the ancients, and the latter the Scala Tyriorum or Ladder 
 of Tyre.i 
 
 A high point in this district is a lofty hill just west of Ra- 
 mah in Asher, called Belat ; and having upon it the columns 
 and ruins of a rude, antique temple. The view from it is 
 extensive on every side, and includes the whole coast, from 
 Tyre on the north to 'Akka and Carmel on the south. It is 
 a wild district ; though with much tillage, and more pastur- 
 age. 
 
 More elevated is the region lying west of that part of the 
 Jordan which flows between the lake Huleh and that of Tibe- 
 rias. Here are the proper mountains of Naphtali ; though 
 the whole district, as far north as Kedesh, is once, and but 
 once, spoken of in Scripture, collectively, as Mount Naph- 
 tali? The town of Safed stands upon a lofty hill, and is con- 
 spicuous from every quarter ; the elevation being, according 
 to Symonds, two thousand seven hundred and seventy-five 
 feet above the sea. Further west is a higher tract of moun- 
 tains, terminating towards the north in a fine cliff or bluff, 
 near Gaza, called Jebel Jermuk from a village upon the ridge. 
 It is the highest peak hi Galilee, and rises not less than a 
 thousand feet or more above the level of Safed, or nearly four 
 thousand feet above the sea. The ridge runs off southwest 
 for six or eight miles, where it sinks into lower hills ; while 
 at the same point another elevated ridge runs from it west- 
 ward, at an acute angle, and as a high mountain skirts the 
 
 1 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 2. 10. 2. Comp. D'Anville's Map of Palestine. Ritter, 
 Th. XVI. pp. 809, 813, 814. 
 
 2 Josh. XX. 7. 
 
22 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 north side of the plain of Ramah. As seen from the south, 
 these mountains appear quite lofty, and are, indeed, the 
 highest in Galilee. ^ The hill-country, which here skirts the 
 plain of 'Akka, is high, though mostly arable. 
 
 South of the plain of Ramah, a lower and narrow ridge 
 separates it from another plain. On this ridge is Tell Hazur, 
 a high point with no trace of ruins.^ Beyond the second 
 plain a broad ridge, or rather double range of elevated hills, 
 separates it from the beautiful plain of Zebulun, now called 
 el-Buttauf. This range of hills is probably the mountain 
 Asamon of Josephus, not far from Sepphoris.^ From this 
 plain southward the country is rolling, with some elevated 
 tracts, like the hill or ridge above Nazareth, the Wely on 
 which is everywhere conspicuous. 
 
 Eastward from the plain el-Buttauf, and situated in a lower 
 plain, is the village of Hattin ; above which, on the south, 
 Kiirun Hattin, Miorns of Hattm,' known in Latin tradition 
 as the Mount of the Beatitudes^ where our Lord is said to have 
 delivered the Sermon on the Mount. This tradition, however, 
 cannot be traced back beyond the age of the crusades ; and 
 the Greek church does not acknowledge it.^ The spot was 
 signalized, in 1187, by the complete overthrow of the host of 
 the Franks by Saladin.^ The singular character of the hill 
 may have given rise to the tradition. As seen from the high 
 southern plain, it is about a quarter of a mile in length from 
 east to west, with a higher point at each end ; but is nowhere 
 more than some sixty feet above the plain. On reaching the 
 top, however, it is found to lie along the very border of the 
 
 1 Lat. Biblical Researches, pp. 72-77. 2 ibid., p. 8L 
 
 3 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 2. 18. 11. 
 
 4 Biblical Researches, IL p. 371 [HL p. 238]. 
 
 * See the account in Biblical Researches, H. p. 372 sq. [HI. p. 240 sq.]. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 23 
 
 southern plain, where this sinks down at once by a precipi- 
 tous offset to the lower plain of Hattm. From this latter the 
 northern side of the Tell rises, very steeply, not much less 
 than four hundred feet.^ 
 
 The hills and rolling country bordering the plain of Es- 
 draelon on the north, sink down on its western quarter, 
 gradually, and run out as low ridges and disappear in the 
 plain. Further east, around Xazareth, the hills are higher. 
 That on the west of Nazareth rises to the height of about 
 sixteen hundred feet, and affords one of the finest views in all 
 Palestine.^ Those skirting the plain are also high and pre- 
 cipitous. One of them, a precipice of rock overlooking the 
 plain, is called by the Latins the Mount of Precipitation^ as 
 being the supposed spot where the people of Nazareth were 
 about to cast our Lord down " from the brow of the hill 
 whereon their city was built." A more clumsy legend 
 hardly exists, among all those which have been fastened on 
 the Holy Land. It does not reach back beyond the time of 
 the crusades ; and the spot itself is some two miles distant, 
 south by east, from Nazareth.^ 
 
 Nearly S. E. by E. from Nazareth, at the southeastern 
 corner of these higher hills, but isolated from them, and 
 jutting out into the northeastern arm of the great plain, 
 which sweeps around it in the south and east, rises gracefully 
 the Mount Tabor of scriptural history, the Itahyrion or 
 Atahyrion of the Septuagint and Greek writers.^ Its name 
 among the Arabs is Jebel et-Tur. It is a beautiful moun- 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. p. 370 [III. p. 238]. 
 
 2 See Biblical Researches, II. p. 336 [III. p. 189]. 
 
 3 Luke iv. 28-30. Biblical Researches, II. p. 338 [III. p. 187]. 
 
 * Sept., Hos. V. 1 'iTa^vpiov, comp. Pierson's Comm. in loc. Onomast., Article 
 Itahyrion. Polyb. 5. 70. 6. 'Ara^vpiov. 
 
24 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 tain, wholly of limestone, standing out prominently •upon 
 its plain ; the latter being strictly table-land, several hun- 
 dred feet above the level of the lake of Tiberias. As seen 
 from the southwest, the mountain appears like the segment 
 of a sphere ; looking at it from the W. X. W., the form 
 inclines more to the truncated cone. A low ridge connects 
 it in the W. N. W. with the adjacent hills ; and from this 
 ridge ascends the ancient and still usual road to the summit. 
 This is the most feasible path, steps being in some places 
 cut in the rock ; yet there is no part of the mountain where 
 it could not easily be ascended on foot, and in most places, 
 also, without much difficulty, on horseback.^ 
 
 There is good soil on the sides of the mountain all the 
 way up, and grass grows everywhere luxuriantly. The 
 sides are mostly clothed with bushes and orchards of oak 
 trees (ilex and cegilops)^ with also occasionally the Butm 
 (jnstacia terebinthvs), like the glades of a forest, presenting 
 a beautiful appearance and fine shade. The top of the 
 mountain now consists of a little oblong plain or basin, ex- 
 tending from N. W. to S. E., with ledges of rock on each 
 side. In ancient times it was the site of a city, Tabor; 
 remains of which, as also of fortifications out of different 
 periods, are still visible. The height of Tabor is given at 
 eighteen hundred and sixty-five feet above the sea, or about 
 thirteen hundred and fifty feet above the general level of 
 the plain. 
 
 I The view from Tabor is extensive and beautiful. In the 
 southwest and west are seen the great plain and Carmel, 
 the hills around Nazareth, and portions of the Mediterranean 
 more to the right. In the north and northeast are Safed 
 
 1 See generally the description in Biblical Researches, H. p. 3-51 sq. [HL p. 
 210 sq.J. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 25 
 
 and tlie mountains of Naphtali, with Hormon and its icy 
 crown beyond, while near at hand is traced the outline of 
 the deep basin of the lake of Tiberias, in which only a small 
 portion of the lake itself is visible. Beyond the lake the eye 
 takes in the table-lands of Jaulan and Hauran ; and further 
 south, beyond the Jordan, the higher mountains of Bashan 
 and Gilead. Towards the south, the view is mostly shut in 
 by the ridges of Little Hermon and Gilboa. As seen from 
 Tabor, Mount Gilboa lies to the left of the Little Hermon, 
 and appears somewhat higher. 
 
 Mount Tabor is mentioned several times in the Old Testa- 
 ment ; first as on the border of Issachar and Zebulun, and 
 then as the place where Deborah and Barak gathered the 
 women of Israel before their great battle with Sisera.^ The 
 Psalmist exclaims : " Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in 
 thy name ; " selecting these two as the representatives of all 
 the mountains of Palestine and its borders, — the former as 
 the most graceful, and the latter as the loftiest.^ There 
 was also in those days a city of the same name upon the 
 summit, which belonged to Zebulun, but was assigned to 
 the Levites.^ Xo mention is made of Tabor in the New 
 Testament. 
 
 The historian Polybius relates, that, about 218 B. C., An- 
 tiochus the Great of Syria " came to Atabyrion, a place 
 lying on a breast-formed height, having an ascent of more 
 than fifteen stadia ; and by stratagem he got possession of 
 the city, which he fortified.* According to Josephus, a 
 
 1 Josli. xix. 22; comp. vs. 12; Judg. iv. 6, xii. 14. Joseph. Antiq., 5. 1. 22. 
 Ibid., 5. 5. 3. 
 
 2 Ps. Ixxxix. 12; corap. Jer. xliv. 18; IIos. v. 1, 
 
 3 1 Chron. vi. 77. Perhaps the city is referred to in Josh. xix. 22. 
 
 4 Polyb., 5. 70. 6. 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 battle took place at Mount Itabyrion, about 53 B.C., between 
 the Romans under Gabinius, and the Jews under Alex- 
 ander, in which ten thousand of the latter were slain.^ At 
 a later period, Josephus himself fortified Mount Tabor, 
 along with several other places.^ Still later, and after 
 Josephus had been made prisoner, a great multitude of the 
 Jews took refuge in this fortress ; against whom Vespasian 
 sent Placidus. By a feint he drew off a large number to 
 the plain and cut off their return, and thus compelled the 
 remainder, who were straitened for water, to surrender.^ 
 
 Tabor is often mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome in the 
 fourth century. At that time the legend had become cur- 
 rent that this mountain had been the place of our Lord's 
 transfiguration. This is contradicted by the fact that a for- 
 tified city then occupied the summit. The testimony of the 
 Evangelists also goes to show that the transfiguration took 
 place whilst our Lord and his apostles were in the region of 
 Cesarea Philippi.^ 
 
 On the eastern part of the great plain of Esdraelon, rise 
 two parallel mountain ridges. Little Hermon and Gilboa, 
 running from west to east, and separating the whole tract 
 between Tabor and the hills of Samaria into three parts, like 
 arms, extending eastward from the plain. The northern 
 arm, between Tabor and Little Hermon, sweeps round on 
 the east of Tabor ; that in the middle, between Little Her- 
 mon and Gilboa, is the great valley of Jezrcel, and sinks 
 down as a broad and fertile plain to the Gh3r or Jordan 
 
 1 Joseph. Antiq., 14. 6. 3. Bel. Jud., 1. 8. 7. 
 
 2 Joseph. Vita, § 37. Bel. Jud., 2. 20. C. 
 
 3 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 4. 1. 8. 
 
 * Onomast., Articles Thabor, Itahyrhm, etc. Matth. xvii. 1 sq.; Mark ix. 2 sq., 
 Luke ix. 28 sq, Comp. Matth. xvi. 13; Mark viii. 27. See more in Biblical Re- 
 searches, H. p. 358 [IH. p. 222]. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 27 
 
 valley ; the southern one, between Gilboa and the hills of 
 Samaria, slopes up gradually eastward to a considerable 
 elevation. 
 
 The ridge of Little Hermon begins at a point north of 
 Zer'in (Jezreel), and rises rapidly to its highest elevation of 
 not far from eighteen hundred feet, about S. by TV. of Tabor. 
 Near the summit is a village, ed-Duhy, which now gives its 
 name to the mountain, Jebel ed-Duhy. The ridge soon sinks 
 again into a tract of table-land, which continues to the 
 border of the Jordan valley. This Hermon is not mentioned 
 in Scripture ; and the name Hermon is first applied to it by 
 Jerome, in the fourth century.^ But the towns of Shunem 
 (Sulam) on its western end, and Endor on its northeastern 
 quarter, belong to scriptural history. 
 
 The ridge of Mount Gilboa has its beginning a little S. E. 
 from Zer'in, and rises rapidly at ^rst, and afterwards more 
 gradually, till it attains its highest elevation in its eastern 
 part, near the village Fuku'a, from which it is now called 
 Jebel Fuku'a. It is higher than Little Hermon, and perhaps 
 than Tabor. A little further south is another village, now 
 Jelbon, representing an ancient Gilboa, from which, doubt- 
 less, came the ancient name of the mountain. The general 
 course of the ridge is E. by S. The northern side, over- 
 shadowing the valley of Jezreel, is very steep and rocky ; 
 indeed, little is to be seen except the bare wall of rock. Near 
 the Gliur, this northern side sweeps round in an arc of a 
 circle, and the mountain then forms the western side of the 
 Ghor for some distance south. The southern ridge of the 
 mountain rises quite gradually, and is everywhere cultivated 
 and inhabited. 
 
 Mount Gilboa is celebrated in Scripture as the scene of 
 
 1 Hieron. Opera (ed. Martianay), IV. ii. pp. 552, 677. 
 
28 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the great battle between Israel under Saul and the Philis- 
 tines, in which the former were totally routed, and Saul and 
 his three sons slain. The Philistines pitched first at Shu- 
 nem. on the west end of Little Hermon, and Israel over 
 against them on the western part of Mount Gilboa ; but 
 afterwards they descended, the Philistines to Aphek, and 
 Israel to the fountain in the valley.^ A more than usual 
 interest is given to this battle, by the previous interview of 
 Saul with the witch of En dor, on the north side of Little 
 Hermon ; and by the touching lamentation of David over 
 Saul and Jonathan.^ 
 
 About W. by S. from Tabor, and in the western quarter 
 of tlie plain of Esdraelon, rises the southern end of Mount 
 Carmel. This mountain runs as a long straight ridge of 
 compact limestone, from S. S. E. to N. N. W. about fifteen 
 miles in length, until it terminates as a high promontory on 
 the coast of the Mediterranean. It forms the southern head- 
 land of the bay of 'Akka. The ridge of Carmel is connected 
 with the northwestern part of the hill country of Samaria 
 by a range of lower rounded hills, about ten miles in length, 
 running between the two in the same line with the mountain 
 itself, and separating the plain of Esdraelon from that of 
 Sharon. 
 
 On its northeastern side the mountain falls off steeply, and 
 sometimes precipitously, with little of tillage except along 
 the foot, but sprinkled over with noble oaks, and rich in 
 pasturage. The southeastern line of hills is, on this side, 
 naked of trees, but grassy ; contrasting strongly with the 
 mountain itself. The long crest of Carmel is a tract of 
 table-land. Towards the S. W., the side of the mountain 
 
 1 1 Sam. x^jviii. 4, xxix. 1, xxxi. 1-13. 
 « 1 Sara, xxviii. 7-20; 2 Sam. i. 17-27. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 29 
 
 sinks down gradually into wooded hills, with well-watered 
 valleys, presenting to the eye a district of great beauty, rich 
 in tillage and pasturage, declining gently into the southern 
 plain and the adjacent lower hills. In the different character 
 of its two sides, Carmel greatly resembles Lebanon ; though 
 on a much smaller scale. Hence " the glory of Lebanon," 
 and " the excellency of Carmel," are fitly spoken of to- 
 gether.^ 
 
 The northwestern extremity of Carmel, a bold and lofty 
 promontory, rises imposingly from the sea to an elevation 
 of at least five hundred feet.^ On its top is a celebrated 
 convent of the Carmelite order. The crest of the mountain 
 rises gradually and evenly towards the S. S. E. for about 
 two thirds of the whole length. Tlie highest point is a short 
 distance northwest of Esfia, where the elevation is estimated 
 at eighteen hundred feet. It then sinks gradually in like 
 manner to the southeastern end ; having at that point near 
 the village el-Mansurah an elevation of sixteen hundred and 
 thirty-five feet. 
 
 At the southern end of Carmel, and along its eastern base, 
 comes down a narrow valley, Wady el-Milh, which lies be- 
 tween the mountain and the lower rounded hills, that stretch 
 off southeast as far as Lejjun. Up this valley lies the inland 
 road from 'Akka to Ramleh, on the east of Carmel ; and 
 by it the French army approached 'Akka in 1799. A road 
 along the shore, perhaps more travelled, passes around the 
 promontory of Carmel, between it and the sea. 
 
 Mount Carmel has its name ^ garden^ from its fer- 
 tility and beauty ; as also from its abundance of blossoms. 
 
 1 Isa. XXXV. 2. 
 
 2 Schubert gives six hundred and twenty feet; Symonds only four hundred and 
 eighty-nine feet. The mean is five hundred and fifty-four feet. 
 
30 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Besides its oaks and other forest trees above, and its olive 
 and other fruit trees farther down, the mountain is gay with 
 multitudes of flowers, such as hyacinths, jonquils, anemones, 
 and many others.^ In ancient times, also, the vine flourished 
 on its southern slopes ; as around Hebron and on Lebanon. 
 Hence Carmel is often employed by the sacred writers as a 
 type of beauty. The head of the spouse in Canticles is as 
 Carmel ; and to the renovated wilderness is promised both 
 " the glory of Lebanon " and " the excellency of Carmel 
 and Sharon.2 As such, too, Carmel is coupled with Tabor, 
 with Bashan, and with Lebanon. ^ On the other hand, the 
 withering of Carmel marks utter desolation and the judg- 
 ments of God.^ The prophets Elijah and Elisha occasionally 
 resorted to this mountain ; and here the Shunamite found 
 the latter.^ At Carmel, likewise, took place the miraculous 
 sacrifice of Elijah ; at which the four hundred and fifty 
 prophets of Baal were slain. ^ 
 
 In respect to this sacrifice, it may be remembered that 
 the whole land was now suffering in the third year of 
 drought and famine ; ' and that, of course, all the streams 
 and fountains of the land were dried up, except the very 
 few which are perennial. The river Kishon was dry, as it 
 now is almost every summer, above its permanent sources ; 
 which lie along the foot of Carmel, below the point where 
 the river reaches that mountain. The direction of Elijah 
 
 1 0. V. Richter, p. 65. Schubert enumerates the names of nearly fifty species 
 of trees and plants, merely as a specimen of what a traveller meets with on 
 Carmel; Reise, HL iii. 212. 
 
 2 Cant. vii. 5; Isa. xxxv. 2. 
 
 3 Jer. xlvi. 18; Mic. vii. 14; 2 Kings xix. 23; Isa. xxxvii. 24. 
 * Amos i. 2; Nahum i. 4. 
 
 « 1 Kings xviii. 19, 42; 2 Kings ii. 25; Iv. 25. 
 
 6 1 Kings xviii. 17-46. ^ 1 Kings xviii. 1, 2. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF TIIE JORDAN. 
 
 31 
 
 was to gather to him all Israel unto Mount Carmcl not 
 to the summit, where there was no standing-jDlace for such 
 a multitude, and no water either for them or for the sacri- 
 fice.2 All these circumstances go to show that the trans- 
 action took place at the foot of the mountain, perhaps at 
 some Tell, near the permanent fountains of t jo Kishon. It 
 was also at the part of Carmel nearest to Jczroel ; and there- 
 fore near the southeastern quarter of the mountain.^ After 
 the fire of tlie Lord had fallen upon Elijah's offering, and 
 the priests of Baal had been put to dcuth, Elijah with his 
 servant went up for the first time to the top of Carmel.* 
 Josephus, in giving an account of the same sacrifice at 
 Carmel, says nothing to imply that it was offered upon the 
 summit.^ 
 
 The New Testament contains no allusion to Mount Car- 
 mel. Among the heathen it was in high repute, and was 
 the seat of an oracle. Scylax calls it " a mountain sacred to 
 Jupiter : " and Jamblichus relates, that, because it was more 
 sacred and inaccessible than other mountains, Pythagoras 
 often resorted alone to its temple.^ Tacitus says, in speak- 
 ing of Carmel: " Thus they call tho rjountjin and the god. 
 Neither statue to the god, nor temple, so the ancients have 
 handed downjonly an altar and worship."^ " Here Vespasian 
 
 1 1 Kings xviii. 19. 2 i Kings xviii. 33-35. 
 
 3 1 Kings xviii. 44-40. * \ Kings xviii. 42. 
 
 * Joseph. Antiq. 8. 13. 5, 6. A recent hypothesis assumes, as the place of the 
 sacrifice, the summit of the southern point of tlie ridge of Carmel, distant tv.^o or 
 three hours (or at least five miles) from the permanent sources of the Kislion. 
 One writer thinks the water might have been brought from a fountain tv. o or 
 three hundred feet below the summit ; but this fountain the Rev. W. M. Thomson 
 afterwards saw nearly dried up, during the heat of an ordinary summer. 
 
 6 Reland, Palaestina, pp. 329, 432. Jamblich., Vita Pythag. c. 3. 
 
 5^ Tacitus, Hist. 2. 78: "Vsst Judneam inter Syriamque Carmdus ; ira vocant 
 montem deumque. Nec simulacrum deo, aut templum, sic tradiderc majores: 
 aram tantum et reverentiam." Comp. Movers, I. p. 670. 
 
32 Pin^SICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 offered sacrifice ; and the priests prophesied that he would 
 become emperor.^ All this shows, tliat here was a heathen 
 altar and oracle ; and the place of it is, by all analogy, to 
 be souglit upon the promontory overlooking tlic sea. 
 
 In the days of monkish asceticism, Carmel was thronged 
 with hermits dwelling in cells in the rocks ; partly, perhaps, 
 iiatural, and partly excavated. Very many of these cells are 
 yet to bo seen.^ 
 
 2. South of the Plain of Esdraelon. 
 
 The range of hill-country and mountains west of the 
 Jordan, as we have seen, is completely interrupted by the 
 great plain of Esdraelon. This plain, in its gdiieral level, 
 nowhere rises more than some four hundred feet above the 
 Mediterranean. Through its middle arm, the valley of 
 Jezreel on the cast, and the valley of the Kishon along the 
 base of Carmel in the west, it thus affords an easy and com- 
 paratively level roadway between the Jordan and the bay of 
 'Akka. 
 
 South of the plain of Esdraelon, the hill-country rises 
 again gradually until around Hebron it reaches an elevation 
 of about two thousand eight hundred feet above the Mediter- 
 ranean. South of Hebron it again declines, until the hills 
 terminate not far from Tell 'Arad and Bcersheba. 
 
 The eastern line of this hill-country, along the valley of 
 the Jordan, begins with the southeastern portion of the 
 mountains of Gilboa, which turns south along that valley 
 for a few miles. Then succeeds a tract of hills and broken 
 ridges, ending in the bluff el-Makhrud, on the north side of 
 
 1 Suetonius, Vcspas. c. 5: "Apud Judscam Carmeli Deioraculum consulcntcra, 
 ita confiimai vere sortcs, ut, quidquid cogitarct volveretque animo, quantum libet 
 magnum, id esse provcnturum, polliccrentur." 
 
 2 O. V. liichtcr, p. 05. Jac. dc Vitr. Hist. HicrosoL p. 1075. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 33 
 
 the plain of Wady Fari'a. South of that plain runs down 
 the frowning promontory of Kurn Siirtabeh ; and beyond it a 
 line of mountain wall skirts the valley, extending along the 
 Dead Sea and far beyond. This wall rises from one thousand 
 to fifteen hundred feet above the depressed valley, is every- 
 where steep and sometimes precipitous, and is often cleft to 
 its base by the deep valleys and gorges that issue from the 
 mountains. All is irregular and wild ; presenting, especially 
 along the Dead Sea, scenes of savage grandeur. 
 
 The western line of the same hill-country begins near 
 Lejjun and Um el-Fahm, where the range of hills coming 
 from Carmel unites with those of Samaria. From Um el- 
 Fahm there is a wide prospect over the western plain ; and 
 after travelling a short distance southeast, we have views of 
 the whole plain of Esdraelon. The western line is in gen- 
 eral less distinct - and marked than the eastern ; though in 
 some parts it is equally high and precipitous. Thus in the 
 northern portion it is much broken, and declines westward 
 rapidly into a tract of lower hills. Indeed, it is not till we 
 come opposite to Lydda and Ramleh that we find the steep 
 ascent or mountain wall. Here the height between the two 
 Beth-horons is not less than one thousand feet ; and the 
 same is the case between Latron and Saris. South of Zorali 
 the steep wall mostly ceases ; and the hill-country, as such, 
 terminates north of Beersheba. 
 
 Along the whole western base of the mountainous region, 
 lies a tract of lower hills, varying in breadth, forming the 
 middle region between the mountains and the plain, and 
 interrupted only occasionally, as at Zorah, by a spur or 
 promontory from the mountains. This tract is, for the most 
 part, a beautiful open country, consisting of low hills, usu- 
 ally rocky, separated by broad arable valleys mostly well 
 
 5 
 
34 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 adapted for grain, as are also many of the swelling hills. 
 The whole tract is full of villages and deserted sites and 
 ruins, and there are many olive groves. In some parts, as 
 towards the north, it may be difficult to draw the exact line 
 between the mountains and this lower tract ; but as seen, 
 for example, from the tower of Ramleh, the dark frowning 
 mountains of Judah rise abruptly from, the tract of hills at 
 their foot. 
 
 The breadth of the upper mountainous region, from the 
 eastern to the western brow, is some fifteen or twenty miles. 
 It is strictly an elevated plateau, — a region of irregular 
 table-land. The surface is everywhere rocky and uneven ; 
 sometimes spreading into smaller plains, often rising into 
 mountain ridges which run in all directions ; and in every 
 part cut up by deep valleys and ravines, which cleave their 
 way to the lower tracts upon the east and west, to the Jordan 
 or the Mediterranean. The water shed along this high pla- 
 teau follows in general the height of land ; and is in great 
 part indicated also by the course of the great road from 
 Hebron to Jerusalem, Nabulus, and Jenin. Yet, in this 
 whole course, the heads of the valleys, which run off in dif- 
 ferent directions, often interlap ; so that sometimes a valley 
 which descends to the Jordan has its head a mile or two 
 westward of the beginning of other valleys, which run to the 
 western sea. 
 
 One feature of this high mountain plateau has been dis- 
 closed only since the discovery of the deep depression of the 
 Dead Sea and Jordan valley. That sea lies (in round num- 
 bers) thirteen hundred feet below the level of the Mediterra- 
 nean.^ The eastern brow of the mountain overhanging the 
 
 1 More exactly thirteen hundred and seventeen feet, according to the level of 
 Lynch and Dale. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 35 
 
 Dead Sea, is thirteen hundred feet above it ; or ahnost 
 precisely on the level of the western sea. Jerusalem is two 
 thousand six hundred feet above the Mediterranean ; while 
 the western mountain brow is two thousand feet above the 
 same.i Hence, in the slope from Jerusalem to the west- 
 ern brow, there is a descent of six hundred feet ; while in 
 that from Jerusalem to the eastern brow, a distance not 
 much greater, the descent is two thousand six hundred feet ; 
 a difference of two thousand feet ! This remarkable feature 
 is chiefly conspicuous south of Kurn Surtabeh. The enor- 
 mous descent of the eastern slope is very marked, as seen 
 from the hill of Taiyibeh and the Mount of Olives ; and is 
 fully felt by the traveller in passing from Hebron or Carmel 
 of the south to the Dead Sea 
 
 This whole tract of mountains south of the great plain, 
 is spoken of in Scripture in two divisions, under names 
 drawn from the larger Hebrew tribes which had them in 
 possession. The northern portion are the 3Iountains of 
 Uj)hraim, which in the EnglisliYersion are referred to only 
 collectively as Mount Ephraim ; ^ the southern are the Moun- 
 tains of Jadah^ or collectively (in the EnglisliYersion) once 
 as the Mountain of Judah^ and thrice as the Hill-Country of 
 Judah.^ Once the two portions are designated as the Moun- 
 tains of Juda\ and the Movniains of Israel.^ The line of 
 division appears to have been the border between the tribes 
 of Benjamin and Ephraim, which also was later the boundary 
 
 1 By the same level, the height of the road below Saris is nineteen hundred 
 and eighty-nine feet above the Mediterranean. 
 
 2 Comp. Biblical Researches, I. pp. 490^ 501 [11. pp. 202, 204]. 
 8 Josh. xvii. 15; Judg. vii. 24, ix. 4; Jer. 1. 19, etc. 
 
 * Josh. xi. 21, XV. 48; 2 Chron. xxi. 11, xxvii. 4. Coll. Josh. xx. 7, xxi. 11. 
 Greek, fi hpeiv^ ttjs 'lovSa/a, Luke i. 39, 65. 
 Josh. xi. 21. 
 
36 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 between the kingdoms of Judali and Israel. It lay between 
 Bethel on the north, and Ramah and Beeroth on the south. 
 The following places are said expressly to be in Mount 
 Ephraim ; namely, Shechem, Shamir, Timnath-Serah, Rama- 
 thaim-Zophim, and Deborah's palm-tree between Ramah and 
 Bethel.i 
 
 The Mountains of Samaria, in the plural, are once put by 
 .Jeremiah for Mount Ephraim, which stands in the next 
 verse. So also once in Amos.^ 
 
 Twice in the book of Joshua the Mountains of Israel are 
 named, instead of what is elsewhere Mount Ephraim.^ But 
 in the prophet Ezekiel the phrase Mountains of Israel occurs 
 often ; and includes the mountains of both the kingdoms 
 Judah and Israel.* 
 
 From this general description, we now turn to enumerate 
 the particular mountains named in Scripture in connection 
 with this hill-country. 
 
 Mountains of Ephraim — TJie Mount or Hill of Samaria, 
 in the singular, is the fine mound-like eminence on which 
 the city of Samaria was built. It stands in the midst of an 
 extensive basin, shut in all around by higher hills and 
 ridges.5 The situation is one of great beauty. The hill 
 itself and the country around are fertile and highly culti- 
 vated. 
 
 Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim belong together, both in 
 
 1 Shechem, Josh. xx. 7; 1 Kings xii. 25. Shamir, Judg. x. 1, 2. Timnath- 
 Serah, Josh. xix. 50, xxiv. 30. Ramathaim-Zophim, 1 Sam. i. 1. The palm tree, 
 Judg. iv. 5. 
 
 2 Jer. xxxi. 5, 6; Amos iii. 9. 
 
 3 Josh. xi. 16, 21. 
 
 < Ez. xxxvii. 22; comp. vi. 2, xix. 9, Xxxiv. 13, 14, xxxix. 2, 4, etc. 
 « 1 Kings xvi. 24; Amos iv. 1, vi. 1. See Biblical Researches, II. p. 304 [IH. 
 p. 138]. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 37 
 
 position and in history. They form the highest part of the 
 mountain wall which skirts the long plain of the Mukhna 
 on the west. North of the middle of the plain, where this 
 wall is the highest, it is cleft to the bottom by the narrow 
 valley running up northwest, in which stands Nabulus, the 
 ancient Shechem. The mountain on the north is Ebal ; 
 that on the south, Gerizim. The valley is not more than 
 five or six hundred yards wide at the bottom ; and the 
 mountain brows are so near together, that persons upon 
 them might easily be heard form one to the other over the 
 deep valley below. The elevation of Gerizim only has been 
 measured, and amounts to two thousand six hundred and 
 fifty feet above the sea, or about eight hundred feet above 
 Nabulus. As seen from the east, Ebal appears to be a hun- 
 dred feet or more higher,^ — apparently the highest land in 
 all Mount Ephraim. 
 
 Both Ebal and Gerizim rise in steep, rocky precipices 
 immediately from the narrow valley. The sides of both, as 
 seen from the valley, are equally naked and sterile ; al- 
 though some have chosen to describe the side of Gerizim as 
 fertile, and that of Ebal alone as sterile. The only excep- 
 tion in favor of Gerizim, is a small ravine coming down 
 opposite the west end of the city, which is full of fountains, 
 fruit trees, and verdure. In other respects, the sides of 
 both mountains, as here seen, are desolate, except where a 
 few olive trees are scattered upon them. The side of Ebal, 
 along the foot, has many ancient sepulchres cut in the rock. 
 The modern name of the southern mountain is Jebel et-Tur. 
 
 A walk of twenty minutes leads from the city up along 
 the ravine to the top of Gerizim ; which is found to be a 
 tract of fertile table-land stretching off far to the west and 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 298. 
 
38 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 southwest. Twenty minutes more southeast, along nearly 
 level ground, leads to the eastern brow (or angle) of the 
 mountain, where the ground is somewhat higher, overlooking 
 the large plain below with its smaller eastern arm, and all 
 the country in the east and northeast, with Hermon in the 
 distance. The top of Ebal is here seen to be of the same 
 character, — an extensive tract of arable table-land. 
 
 Before the Hebrews entered Palestine, the Lord com- 
 manded Moses that they should set up on Mount Ebal great 
 stones, plastered over, on which a copy of the whole law 
 should be inscribed, and at the same time they should build 
 an altar of whole stones, also on Ebal, and offer burnt offer- 
 ings and peace offerings in token of rejoicing. On the same 
 occasion the law was to be publicly read in the hearing of all 
 the people. Six tribes, Simeon, Levi, J udah, Issachar, J oseph, 
 and Benjamin, were to stand on Gerizim, to pronounce 
 blessings on obedience ; and the other six tribes, Reuben, 
 Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali, were to stand upon 
 Ebal, to utter curses upon disobedience ; and to these all 
 the people were to respond, Amen.^ All these solemn and 
 imposing rites, including this public recognition of the law 
 and covenant by the whole people, were duly carried out 
 under Joshua, soon after the Hebrews entered the Promised 
 Land, and immediately after the destruction of Ai.^ 
 
 These mountains are not further named in Scripture ; 
 except that Jotham is said to have uttered his beautiful par- 
 able from the top of Gerizim.^ 
 
 From later history it appears, that when the Jews returned 
 from exile under Zerubbabel, and began to rebuild the 
 temple at Jerusalem, the Samaritans, who had been mostly 
 
 1 Dcut. xxvii. 4-8, 11-26; corap. Deut. xi. 29. 
 
 2 Josh. viii. 30-35. 3 judg. ix. 7. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 39 
 
 brought into the land by Esar-haddon, intermingled perhaps 
 with some of the lower class of people that had remained in 
 the land, proposed to aid the Jews in their good work: "Let 
 us build with you, for we seek your God, as ye do ; and we 
 do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon." ^ It 
 was the refusal of the Jews to grant this request that gave 
 rise to the subsequent long-continued hostility and hatred 
 between the two races. About 330 B.C., while Alexander 
 the Great was occupied with the siege of Tyre, the Samari- 
 tans obtained from him permission to erect a temple of their 
 own on Mount Gerizim, in which an apostate Jewish priest 
 was made high priest.^ The mutual hatred continued to 
 increase ; each party contending for the sanctity of their own 
 temple. Wars occurred ; and the temple on Gerizim was at 
 length destroyed by John Hyrcanus, about 129 B.C.^ In 
 the times of the New Testament, the national enmity had 
 not abated. " The Jews had no dealings with the Samari- 
 tans;" and the Samaritan woman places before Jesus the 
 great question in dispute : " Our fathers worshipped in this 
 mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where 
 men ought to worship." * In the subsequent centuries the 
 Samaritans made several insurrections against the Roman 
 power, until, in the reign of Justinian, about A. D. 529, they 
 were finally subdued, and a strong fortress erected around a 
 Christian church on Mount Gerizim.^ 
 
 The site of their ancient temple is even now pointed out 
 and venerated by the little remnant of Samaritans that still 
 
 1 Ezra iv. 2. 
 
 2 Joseph. Antiq., 11. 7. 2. Comp. Neh. xiii. 28. Biblical Researches, II. p. 289 
 [in. p. 117J. 
 
 3 Joseph. Antiq., 13. 9. 1. Bel. Jud., 1. 2. 6. 
 * John iv. 9, 20. 
 
 « See generally, Biblical Researches, II. pp. 293, 294 [III. pp. 123-125]. 
 
40 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 survives in Nabulus. It is an area or platform of naked 
 rock, even with the ground, with slight traces of former 
 walls around it, and is regarded by the Samaritans as their 
 holiest spot, where they always put off their shoes. It is 
 their Kibleh, the spot towards which they always turn their 
 faces during prayer, wherever they may be. Three times a 
 year they also come up hither in solemn procession, to cele- 
 brate the three great Jewish festivals, — the passover, pente- 
 cost, and the feast of tabernacles. 
 
 The ruins of Justinian's fortress still exist in great con- 
 fusion ; exhibiting the massive Roman workmanship of a 
 late age. Some have held them to be the remains of the 
 Samaritan temple ; but the Samaritans themselves do not 
 acknowledge them, and have no respect for them. 
 
 Near by these ruins are also the foundations and remains 
 of an ancient town or village which once occupied the sum- 
 mit of Gerizim.i 
 
 From Mount Zalmon Abimelech and his followers 
 
 cut down branches, with which to burn the tower of She- 
 chem.2 This could only be some part of Gerizim or Ebal, 
 then covered with wood ; since there is no other mountain 
 near to Shechem. Whether the Salmon of the Psalmist was 
 the same, is uncertain. ^ 
 
 At some distance S. W. by S. from the top of Gerizim, 
 rises a conical summit, crowned by a Wely, or tomb of a 
 Muslim saint, and hence called " Sheikh Salmon el-Farisy." 
 Its elevation, or that of a like neighboring summit, is given 
 by Symonds at two thousand three hundred and ninety-six 
 feet. It has not usually been seen by travellers.* 
 
 1 See generally, Biblical Researches, H. pp. 277, 278 [HL pp. 99-101]. 
 
 2 Judg. ix. 48, 49. ^ Psalm Ixvlii. 14. 
 
 * We twice saw it from a distance, once from the northwest, and again from the 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JOPwDAN. 
 
 41 
 
 Abdon, one of the judges of Israel, was buried in the 
 Mount of the Amalekites, at Pirathon in Ephraim, now Fer'- 
 ata southwest of Nabulus. The town stands upon a Tell, 
 which is probably the mount in question. The name is 
 perhaps a reminiscence of Amalekites who anciently dwelt 
 there. 1 
 
 The phrase Mount Bethel can only refer to the elevated 
 ground around the city of Bethel, especially on the east, 
 north, and west ; but there is no particular summit or hill. 
 It occurs twice.2 
 
 Mount Zemaraim in Mount Ephraim, from which Abijah, 
 king of Judah, addressed the host of Israel, was doubtless 
 near the town Zemaraim, which was iii Benjamin, between 
 Jericho and Bethel.^ The mountain probably was situated 
 southeast from Bethel, near the border between the two 
 kingdoms. After the defeat of Israel, Abijah proceeded to 
 take Bethel and Ephraim (et-Taiyibeh) , farther north. 
 
 The Hill of Gaash, on the north side of which Joshua was 
 buried, was in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah 
 (or Timnath-heres) in Mount Ephraim.* The site and ruins 
 of Timnath in Ephraim were discovered in 1843 by the Rev. 
 Eli Smith, some distance northwest of Gophna. Over against 
 them, on the south, is a high hill ; in the north side of which 
 are excavated sepulchres, with porticos, of a higher style of 
 architecture than is usual, except around Jerusalem. This 
 is probably the hill Gaash.^ Elsewhere the " brooks [valleys] 
 
 southeast. See Later Biblical Researches, pp. 135, 296. Mr. Wolcott took a 
 bearing of it (S. 55° W.) from Gerizim. See Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, p. 74. 
 
 1 Judg. xii. 15; comp. v. 14. Later Biblical Researches, p. 134. 
 
 2 Josh. xvi. 1; 1 Sam. xiii. 2. 
 
 8 2 Chron. xiii. 4-19; comp. Josh, xviii. 22. 
 
 * Josh. xxiv. 30; Judg. ii. 9; comp. Josh. xix. 49, 50. 
 
 « Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, pp, 484, 496. 
 
 6 
 
42 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 of Gaash" are mentioned ; referring, I presume, to the 
 deep valleys round about this hill, through which the winter 
 torrents flow to Wady Belat.^ 
 
 Mountains of Judah. — Thus far the particular mountains 
 described are among the mountains of Ephraim. Those 
 which follow belong to the mountains of Judah. 
 
 The Hill of Gibeah is not directly named in Scripture, 
 though it is referred to. Josephus speaks of it as a hill 
 (\6(/)09) thirty stadia north of Jerusalem.^ It is the present 
 Tuleil el-Ful, an isolated conical hill, just on the east of the 
 great northern road, where it forms a very conspicuous 
 object. On this hill the Gibeonites hanged the seven sons 
 of Saul before the Lord ; and this was followed by the touch- 
 ing manifestation of maternal tenderness by E-izpah, the con- 
 cubine of Saul.2 
 
 Epiphanius speaks of a mountain Gahaon (Gibeon), as 
 being higher thaii the mount of Olives. This could only be 
 the present height of Neby Samwil, near Gibeon, the proba- 
 ble site of ancient Mizpeh. The ridge begins not far towards 
 the northeast, and rises rapidly to the high point in question, 
 and then sinks off" gradually southwest into lower hills. To 
 judge by the eye, it is the liighest point of land in the whole 
 region. Symonds gives its elevation at two thousand six 
 hundred and forty-nine feet ; which is apparently too low, 
 being lower than the mount of Olives.* 
 
 The Mount of Olites, or Olivet,^ is several times referred 
 to, both in the Old and New Testaments. The present Ara- 
 
 1 2 Sam. xxiii. 30; 1 Chron. xi. 32. 
 
 2 Joseph. BeL Jud., 5. 2. 1. 
 
 3 2 Sam. xxi. G, 9, 10. Biblical Researches, I. pp. §77-579 fH. pp. 114, 115], 
 
 < Epiphan. adv. Hares, Lib. I. p. 394. Rcland, p. 345. Biblical Researches, L 
 p. 457 [H. p. 139]. 
 « See Biblical Researches, I. p. 274 sq. [I. p. 405 sq.J. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 43 
 
 bic name is Jcbel ct-Tur. It lies on the east of Jerusalem, 
 from which it is separated by the deep and narrow valley of 
 Jehoshaphat. It here forms the steep eastern side of that 
 valley ; and is usually said to have three summits. Of these, 
 the middle one, and apparently the highest, is directly op- 
 posite the city, and has been wrongly assumed, by a very 
 early tradition, as the place of our Lord's ascension. From 
 this spot one looks down upon Jerusalem, as upon a map. 
 Further east is a somewhat higher point, with a Muslim 
 Wely, from which there is a wido view of the Dead Sea, the 
 Jordan valley, and the mountains beyond. The northern 
 summit is about a mile distant from the middle one, is 
 nearly or quite as high, and commands a similar view. The 
 ridge between the two curves somewhat eastwards, leaving 
 room for the valley below to expand a little in this part. 
 On the south of the middle summit, the ground sinks down 
 into a lower ridge, over against the well of Nehemiah, called 
 now by Franks the mount of Offence, in allusion to the idol- 
 atrous worship established by Solomon in the hill that is 
 before [eastward of] Jerusalem." ^ Across this part passes 
 the usual road to Bethany ; while another, more direct but 
 much steeper path, leads over the middle summit. The ele- 
 vation of the middle summit, near the church, is given by 
 Schubert at two thousand seven hundred . and twenty- four 
 feet ; being four hundred and forty-four feet above the valley 
 of Jehoshaphat. 
 
 Over Mount Olivet David took his way in his flight from 
 Absalom. 2 Here our Lord wept over Jerusalem.^ Near 
 Bethany, on its eastern slope, he ascended to heaven, and 
 
 1 1 Kings xi. 7, 8. 
 
 * Lake xi. 41 ; comp. vs. 37. 
 
 2 2 Sara. XV. 30; comp. Zech. xiv. 4. 
 
44 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 from that spot the disciples returned to the city across the 
 mount. 1 
 
 Nearly south of Jerusalem, at the distance of seven or 
 eight miles, and southeast from Bethlehem, is seen the 
 Frank mountain, so called ; known among the Arabs as Je- 
 bel Fureidis. It is a striking feature in the landscape, rising 
 steep and round, precisely like the cone of a volcano, but 
 truncated. The height above the base cannot be less than 
 from three to four hundred feet ; and the base itself has at 
 least an equal elevation above the bottom of Wady Urtas in 
 the southwest. There are traces of terraces around the foot 
 of the mountain, apparently for cultivation. The top of the 
 mountain is a circle of about two hundred and fifty feet in 
 diameter. The whole of this is enclosed by the ruined walls 
 of an ancient circular fortress, built of hewn stones of good 
 size, with four massive round towers, standing one at each 
 of the cardinal points. The view from the summit is ex- 
 tensive towards the north, but less so in other directions. 
 On the east the prospect is bounded by the mountains of 
 Moab beyond the Dead Sea ; but of that sea itself only a 
 small portion is visible, because of intervening mountains.^ 
 
 There is no reference to the Frank mountain in Scripture, 
 unless it was perhaps the site of the Beth-haccerem of Jere- 
 miah ; where the children of Benjamin were to " set up a sign 
 of fire," while they blew the trumpet at Tekoa.^ Jerome 
 says that there was a village Bethacliarma, situated on a 
 mountain between Tekoa and Jerusalem.* All this accords 
 well enough with the position of the Frank mountain ; and 
 it would be a most fitting spot for a signal fire. More defi- 
 nite, perhaps, is the account that here was the site of He- 
 
 1 Luke xxiv. 50, 51 ; Acts i. 12. 
 ' Jer. vi. 1; comp. Neh. iii. 14. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 478 [XL p. 170], 
 * Hieron., Comm. in Jer. vi. 1. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF TIIE JORDAN. 
 
 45 
 
 rodium, a city and fortress built by Herod the Great, and 
 which also was his place of sepulture.^ 
 
 In or near the valley of Rephaim, southwest of Jerusalem, 
 at a place called Baal-perazim, David twice defeated the 
 Philistincs.2 In allusion to these overthrows, the prophet 
 Isaiah speaks of a Mount Perazim (a*:f';5, breaches)^ appar- 
 ently near the same place. ^ It was very probably the high 
 ridge northwest of Bethlehem, between Wady Ahmed and 
 Wady Bittir ; which, as seen from the north, appears quite 
 elevated.* 
 
 Other single mountains, among the mountains of Judah, 
 are mentioned in connection with the northern boundary of 
 the tribe of Judah. Such are the following : 
 
 The northern border of J udah passed up through the valley 
 of Hinnom, on the south of Jerusalem, " to the top of the 
 mountain before the valley of Hinnom westward ; which is 
 at the end of the valley of Rephaim northward." ^ This 
 mountain or hill could only be tlie low hill west of the valley 
 of Hinnom, over against Zion, now terraced and planted with 
 fruit trees. It lies south from the upper part of the vaDey 
 of Hinnom, and north of the valley of Rephaim.^ 
 
 From the top of that hill, the border passed to the fountain 
 of Nephtoah, " and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron ; 
 and was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim." ^ If, 
 now, the fountain of Nephtoah, as is probable, was at 'Ain 
 Karim, the largest fountain in that region, then the border 
 ran from the valley of Hinnom to Kirjath-jearim, in nearly 
 
 1 Joseph. Antiq., 15. 9. 4. Bel. Jud., 1. 21. 10; comp. Bel. Jud., 4. 9. 5. Bib- 
 Ucal Researches, I. pp. 480, 481 [II. pp. 172-174]. 
 
 2 2 Sam. V. 18, 20, 22, 25; 1 Chron. xiv. 9, 11, 13, 16. 
 
 ' Isa. xxviii. 21. * Later Biblical Researches, p. 159. 
 
 ^ Josh. XV. 8, 9. * Later Biblical Researches, p. 159. 
 
 ' Josh. XV. 9. 
 
46 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAKD. 
 
 a straight line. If Neplitoali be sought at one of the small 
 fountains in Wady el-Werd, then the border made a curve 
 towards the south. In either case, however, the Mount Eph- 
 ron on its course could only be the high ridge running from 
 northeast to southwest, between the deep valley which passes 
 down by KulSnieh and 'Ain Karim on the east, and the east- 
 ern branch of Wady Ghurab on the west ; the same ridge on 
 which are now the lofty sites of Soba and Kiistul. 
 
 Towards the southwestern extremity of the same high ridge 
 is now situated the village of Kesla, representing the ancient 
 Chesalon, In this part the ridge bore the name of Mount 
 Jearim, — that is, mount of Forests, — as having been an- 
 ciently covered with wood.^ 
 
 From Kirjatli-jearim, the border, it is said, " compassed 
 westward unto Mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of 
 Mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side ; and 
 went down to Beth-shemesh." ^ Here the natural explana- 
 tion would seem to be, that from Kirjath-jearim westward, 
 the border followed the high watershed, between the slope 
 towards Wady Ghurab on the south and the heads of valleys 
 running towards the western plain on the north,^ until it 
 struck the head of the northwestern branch of Wady Ghurab, 
 near Saris. Mount Seir, then, was apparently the ridge along 
 the southeastern side of that branch ; and the border followed 
 it to its termination in the fork of two branches. Thence 
 it crossed to the north side of Mount Jearim, which is Ches- 
 alon (Kesla) ; and so passed down through the deep enclosed 
 plain to Beth-shemesh.^ The territory west of this part of the 
 
 1 Josh. XV. 10. 2 Ibid, 
 
 s Later Biblical Researches, p. 156. 
 
 •* If Mount Seir was the high ridge on the northwest side of the branch valley, 
 looking towards the sea, along which we travelled, in 1852, from Mihsir to Saris, 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 47 
 
 border, from Kirjaili-jearim to Betli-shemesli, belonged to the 
 tribe of Dan.^ 
 
 Hills near the seacoast of Judah. — The coast of the Medi- 
 terranean, from its southeast corner northward to the vicin- 
 ity of Joppa, is lined, with few interruptions, by sand-hills ; 
 some of which are large, and some in the course of ages have 
 become covered with soil. Of these, three or four are men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The northern border of Judah was drawn from Beth-she- 
 mesh by Timnah to Ekron, and thence to Mount Baalah, 
 Jabneel, and the sea. It passed through Ekron ; for Ekron 
 is named among the cities of both Judah and Dan.^ Not far 
 west of Ekron ('Akir), is a short line of hills, nearly parallel 
 with the coast ; west of which the great Wady Surar, here 
 known as Nahr Rubin, passes down from the left to the sea. 
 On one of the hills is the Wely, Neby Rubin ; and on the 
 west side of the stream is Yebna, the ancient Jabneel.'^ This 
 line of hills is apparently the Mount Baalah of Scripture. 
 
 In the Apocrypha a Mount Azotus is spoken of, to which 
 the right wing of Bacchides retreated ; referring probably to 
 the low round hill or Tell on which Azotus (Ashdod) was, 
 and still is, situated.* Josephus speaks of the same place as 
 Mount Aza ; and Epiphanius as Gazara or Gazarat ; mean- 
 ing, perhaps, the similar eminence on which Gaza stands.^ 
 
 Pliny mentions a Mons Angaris in connection with Gaza 
 
 it is difficult to see why the border should have crossed again to Mount Jcarim, 
 instead of keeping along the same ridge, and so passing down to Beth-shemesh. 
 , 1 Josh. xix. 40-46. 
 ' 2 Josh. XV. 11, 45; xix. 43. 
 8 Biblical Researches, II. p. 227 sq. [III. p. 21 sq.]. 
 
 4 1 Mac. ix. 15. Biblical Researches, II. p. 33 [II. p. 368], Richardson's Trav- 
 els, II. p. 206. Tobler Dritte Wanderung, p. 26. 
 « Joseph. Antiq., 12. 11. 2, et Not. Biblical Researches, II. p. 37 [II. p. 375J. 
 
48 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 and Antbedon, and apparently towards Askelon.^ It could 
 hardly have been more than one of tbe sandbills. 
 
 In tbe book of J udges, it is narrated that Samson took tbe 
 doors of tbe gate of Gaza, " and carried tbem up to tbe top 
 of the hill tbat is toiuards Hebron.^ About balf an bour 
 southeast of Gaza, near one of tbe roads to Hebron, is a 
 partially isolated bill, witb a Wely on it, called el-Muntar ; 
 tbe bigbest point in the vicinity. Latin tradition has fixed 
 upon tbis as tbe hill to which Samson bore off the gates ; 
 ' and the supposition is not improbable.^ 
 
 3. Mountains overhanging the Ghor and Dead Sea on the West. 
 
 The western side of the Ghor, or valley of tbe Jordan, in its 
 southern part, and also of the Dead Sea, is a succession of 
 mountains and precipitous cliffs, as seen from the east. But 
 as they thus overhang the deeply depressed valley and sea, 
 their apparent elevation is all on that side ; while, as seen 
 from the west, they rise little, if any, above the high table- 
 land and ridges behind them. 
 
 This general character of the western wall of tbe valley 
 begins south of Wady Fari'a, nearly east of Nabulus. Here, 
 skirting that low plain on the south, rises at once the high 
 and imposing ridge of Kurn Surtabeh, extending from north- 
 west to southeast, and consisting of naked limestone rock. 
 The northwestern end is the highest, and rises abruptly from 
 among the lower ridges and valleys coming down from the 
 west, so as to appear almost as an isolated ridge, only slightly 
 connected with the high western region. As seen from the 
 west, more in the direction of its length, it appears as a mass 
 
 1 Pliny, Hist. Nat., 5. 13. v. 14. Reland, p. 345. 
 
 2 Judg. xvi. 3. Not " before Hebron," as in the English Version. 
 8 Biblical Researches, H. p. 39 [H. p. 377]. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 49 
 
 of naked, jagged ridges huddled together, with one main 
 backbone running through the whole. This mountain ex- 
 tends far out into the Ghor ; and towards the southeastern 
 extremity, where it is still high, is the horn (Kiirn), not 
 unlike that of a rhinoceros in form. Beyond this is a large 
 shoulder ; and then a low rocky ridge, reaching almost to 
 the Jordan. Indeed, the valley of the Jordan^ is here con- 
 tracted to its narrowest limits ; and the ridge of Kurn Sur- 
 tabeli may be said to divide it into the lower and upper Gh6r. 
 The elevation of Kurn Surtabeh above the Mediterranean 
 is given by Symonds at one thousand and twenty-eight feet, 
 which makes it two thousand three hundred and forty-five 
 feet above the Dead Sea. Along the valley of the Jordan, 
 this mountain is everywhere a conspicuous object, whether 
 looking up or down the GhOr from the Dead Sea or from 
 the Lake of Tiberias. In the neighborhood of Nabulus it 
 is not visible, by reason of intervening hills. Surtabeh is 
 mentioned in the Talmud, as the station next after the mount 
 of Olives, where signal-torches wore lighted and waved to 
 announce the appearance of the new moon.^ 
 
 Northwest from Jericho is the mountain Quarantana, so 
 called as the supposed place of our Saviour's forty days' 
 temptation. The Arabs have adopted this name under the 
 form of Jebel Kuruntiil. The mountain rises precipitously 
 from the valley, an almost perpendicular wall of rock, twelve 
 or fifteen hundred feet above the plain, and is crowned with 
 a chapel on its highest point. The eastern part is full of 
 grots and caverns, where hermits are said once to have dwelt 
 in great numbers. At the present day, as is reported, some 
 three or four Abyssinians from the convent in Jerusalem come 
 hither annually, and pass the time of Lent upon the moun- 
 
 1 See generally, Later Biblical Researches, pp. 293, 294, 318. 
 7 
 
50 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 tain, living only on herbs. There is nothing else remarkable 
 about this naked cliff, to distinguish it from the other similar 
 ones along the Gh6r and the Dead Sea further south. The 
 tradition which makes this mountain the place of our Lord's 
 temptation, as well as the name Quarantana, appears not to 
 be older than the age of the crusades. ^ 
 
 Several similar cliffs stand out along the western shore of 
 the Dead Sea ; none of which, however, are alluded to in 
 Scripture, and only one or two in other ancient writings. 
 One of these is Ras el-Feshkhah, a conspicuous promontory 
 jutting out E. N. E. into the northwestern part of the sea.^ 
 Another is the cliff* above 'Ain Terabeh, affording one of the 
 finest views of the magnificent though desolate scenery of 
 the Dead Sea. This was the starting point of the level run 
 in 1848 by Lieut. Dale of the American Expedition, between 
 the Dead Sea and Mediterranean ; the elevation of the cliff 
 or pass above the surface of the sea below it being found to 
 be thirteen hundred and six feet.^ A third cliff" is Ras el- 
 Mersed, situated north of the little plain of En-gedi ('Ain 
 Jidy). This is perhaps the highest and most inaccessible of 
 all the cliffs along the western coast of the sea ; and its base, 
 projecting into the water, cuts off all further passage along 
 the shore, except when the water is quite low.^ 
 
 This cliff, el-Mersed, and others adjacent, as also the high 
 broken region further back, would naturally be the mountains 
 of En-gedi^ which some suppose Joseplms to speak of.^ At 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 567 [II. p. 303] . 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 531, 532 [H. p. 250]. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, L pp. 528-530, 612 [H. pp. 245-248]. 
 * Biblical Researches, I. p. 506 [H. p. 212]. 
 
 « Joseph. Antiq., 6. 13. 4. Reland here reads 'Ej/ycSTjpoty ope<Ti, Palaestina, pp. 
 345, 763. But the only approved reading is 'Evy. '6pois, borders. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 51 
 
 any rate they include the narrow passes [ra arevd) of En- 
 gedi which he mentions in the same place ; and constitute 
 the wilderness of En-gedi spoken of in Scripture, where David 
 and his men dwelt " upon the rocks of the wild goats." ^ 
 
 Over against the northern part of the peninsula of the 
 Dead Sea, rises conspicuously, like a large bulwark, the cliff 
 Sebbeh, the site of the celebrated ancient fortress Masada, 
 described by Josephus. It stands out a huge mass of rock, 
 nearly isolated, having deep precipitous valleys on the north 
 and south. The elevation above the Dead Sea is estimated 
 at one thousand two hundred feet. The top is a nearly 
 level area, about three quarters of a mile in length from 
 north to south by one third of a mile in breadth. Here 
 stood the ancient fortress ; of which traces still remain, as 
 well as of other buildings down to Saracenic times.^ 
 
 Along the shore at the southwestern part of the Dead Sea 
 lies the long ridge or mound known to the Arabs as Khashm 
 Usdum ; which latter word doubtless represents the ancient 
 name Sodom. The remarkable feature of this mountain is, 
 that the main body of it is a solid mass of rock salt. The 
 ridge is about five miles in length by hardly more than one 
 in breadth ; and is strictly an outlier in front of the mountains 
 proper, separated from them by the desolate valley, Wady 
 el-Muhauwat, with its tracts of chalky, conical mounds. It 
 is in general uneven and rugged ; varying from one hundred 
 to one hundred and fifty feet in height. The upper part is 
 covered with layers of chalky limestone or marl, so as to 
 present mostly the appearance of common earth or rock ; 
 
 1 Joseph. Antiq., 6. 13. 4. 1 Sam. xxiv. 1, 2. 
 
 2 See Article Masada, in Part III. Joseph. Bel. Jud., 7. 8. 2 sq. Biblical Re- 
 searches, I. p. 525 [II. p. 241]. Wolcott, in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, pp. G2-G7. 
 Lynch's Narrative, pp. 330-334. Anderson's Report, pp. 177-179. 
 
52 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 yet the mass of salt below often breaks out, and appears on 
 the side in precipices forty or fifty feet high and several hun- 
 dred feet in length, mere crystallized fossil salt. The side 
 of the mountain next the sea is often curiously furrowed into 
 many conical or tent-shaped knolls. Sometimes pillars are 
 thus formed in front of the precipices. Large lumps and 
 masses also, broken off from above, lie like rocks along the 
 shore, or are fallen down as debris. The very stones beneath 
 the traveller's feet are wholly of salt. The lumps of salt 
 are not transparent, but present a dark appearance ; precise- 
 ly like the salt obtained from the mines along the lower 
 Danube. 
 
 About midway of the ridge, a cavern opens in front, on 
 the level of the shore, and extends, as a narrow chasm, 
 several hundred feet into the mountain. The rock is all 
 fossil salt, and a torrent rushes through the chasm in the 
 rainy season.^ 
 
 No direct mention is made of this mountain of salt, either 
 in Scripture or in Josephus. Yet its existence here enables 
 us to fix the position, in a good degree, of the " Valley of 
 Salt," where the Hebrews under David, and again under 
 Amaziah, gained decisive victories over Edom ; ^ and also of 
 the " City of Salt," enumerated along with En-gcdi as in 
 the desert of Judah.^ Both were doubtless so called because 
 of their proximity to this mountain. The only direct men- 
 tion in ancient times is by Galen, who, in speaking of the 
 salt gathered near the Dead Sea, calls it " Sodom Salt, 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 107-110 [H. p. 482 sq.]. Lynch's Nan-ativc, p. 30G 
 sq. Anderson's Geological Report, p. 181. 
 
 2 2 Sam. viii. 13; 1 Chron. xviii. 12; 2 Kings xlv. 7. Biblical Researches, II. 
 p. 109 [H. p. 483]. 
 
 3 Josh. XV. 61, 62. 
 
MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 53 
 
 from the mountains round about the lake, which are called 
 Sodom." 1 
 
 In the book of Deuteronomy the mountain of the Amorites 
 is spoken of as lying between Kadesh-barnea and the interior 
 of the Promised Land.^ This seems to refer to that portion 
 of the western mountains south of the Dead Sea and along 
 the southern GhOr and Wady 'Arabah. While at Kadesh, 
 the Hebrews, contrary to the command of God, attempted to 
 ascend this mountain, and so enter Palestine ; but were dis- 
 comfited and driven back by the Amorites, who dwelt there. 
 This name is here used broadly, as including also the Am- 
 alekites and other Canaanites.^ 
 
 South of the Dead Sea, we also read of the Maaleh ( Ascent 
 of) Akrabbim, or " Scorpion" Cliffs ; " to which the south- 
 eastern border of Judah Avas to be drawn from the Dead Sea, 
 " from the bay that looketh southward ; " and was thence to 
 pass on to Zin and Kadesh-barnea.^ This is apparently the 
 remarkable line of cliffs which crosses the Ghor obliquely 
 six or eight miles south of the sea, and forms the step or 
 offset, the dividing line, between the Ghor and the higher 
 level of Wady 'Arabah. This range of cliffs lies in an irreg- 
 ular curve, sweeping across the Ghor in a general course 
 from northwest to southeast ; the length being seven or eight 
 miles. The cliffs are of chalky earth, or indurated marl ; 
 and vary in height, in different parts, from fifty to one hun- 
 dred and fifty feet. The face of the cliffs, though very steep, 
 is not perpendicular ; and they are much furrowed by the 
 rains ; so that the upper part presents a jagged appearance. 
 
 1 Galen, de simpl. Medic. Facult., IV. p. 19. Reland, Palaestina, u. 243. Bib- 
 lical Researches, II. p. 109 [U. p. 483]. 
 
 2 Deut. i. 19, 20, 44. 
 
 3 Deut. i. 40-44; comp. Num. xiv. 40-45. 
 * Num. xxxiv. 3, 4; Josh. xv. 2, 3. 
 
54 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 All along their base, fountains of brackish water ooze out, 
 and form a tract of marshy land, overgrown with canes in- 
 termingled with shrubs and trees. ^ 
 
 n. MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 From the southeastern base of Jebel esh-Sheikh, the an- 
 cient Hermon, there is thrown off a broad ridge towards the 
 south, which forms the eastern wall of hill-country along the 
 upper Jordan to the lake of el-Huleh. This range, although 
 at first as high as the western mountains, soon declines 
 towards the south. From the western base it rises, gradu- 
 ally and brokenly, to table-land on the top, on which, at some 
 distance back, are seen a line of wooded hills (Tells), ex- 
 tending from north to south : the southernmost of which 
 is Tell el-Feras. This broad ridge gradually sinks down 
 towards the south, until it is lost in the table-land east of 
 the lake of Tiberias. The present name of this mountain is 
 Jebel Heish ; but no mention of it has come down from 
 ancient times.^ 
 
 On the east of the lake of Tiberias stretches the table-land 
 of Jaulan, the ancient Gaulonitis. As seen from the west, 
 from Safed, it presents the appearance of a vast uneven plain, 
 intersected by deep valleys and chasms running towards the 
 lake. The view extends even beyond this district, and em- 
 braces a great part of Hauran, quite to the borders of the 
 Lejah. Beyond, and towards the eastern desert, is seen 
 Jebel ed-Deruz (Druze mountain), so called hi the region 
 itself, and elsewhere known also as Jebel Hauran.^ 
 
 This is a mountainous tract running from N. E. to S. S. W., 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 116, 120 [IL pp. 495, 501]. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 397, 401. 
 
 s Biblical Researches, IL p. 432 [III. p. 336]. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 55 
 
 some forty or fifty miles in length. It rises gradually from 
 the north, is mostly volcanic, and lies in several ridges, in- 
 terspersed with many isolated higher hills or Tells ; some 
 of them having extinct craters. One of tliese, Tell Abu 
 Tumeis, in the northern part, is a lofty conical peak, perhaps 
 five thousand feet high, and, standing out alone, is visible 
 from a great distance.^ The summit of the main ridge is an 
 elevated plateau, on which rise the highest Tells or peaks of 
 the Hauran, the Juwelil, Jeneh, Jefneh, the Kelb or Kuleib, 
 etc. Until q.uite recently the Kuleib has been regarded as 
 the loftiest summit of Hauran ; and so it appears to those 
 viewing it (as is usual) only from the west. But the meas- 
 urements of Dorgens, in 1860, shows that Tell el-Jeneh, 
 which stands further east, and is covered by the Kuleib, 
 is still liigher, having an elevation of about six thousand 
 feet, while the height of the Kuleib is about five thousand 
 seven hundred feet.^ Still the Kelb or Kuleib Hauran,^ as 
 it is called, is the most conspicuous of all, rising as a lofty 
 and graceful cone, and seeming to overtop the whole range. 
 The Kuleib has an extinct crater opening towards the 
 southwest* The southern and eastern sides of the cone 
 
 1 Porter's Damascus, II. p. 51. Wetzstein in Berl. Zeitschr. f. Erdk., 1859, 
 Au^., p. 136. 
 
 2 More nearly, cl- Jeneh, five thousand six hundred and eighty Paris feet; 
 el-Kulcib, five thousand three hundred and seventy Paris feet. Dorgens in Berl. 
 Zeitschr. f. Erdls., Dec. 1860, p. 408. 
 
 3 These words, Kelb and Kuleib, are written by Burckhardt witli the letter Kaf; 
 and so too by Eli Smith, and Tannus his educated Arab companion, while trav- 
 elling through this region in 1834. Thus written, the words signify 'dog.* 
 Burckhardt, pp. 90, 92. Biblical Researches, 1841, App., p. 157. But according to 
 the later authority of Porter and Wetzstein, they are pronounced with the guttural 
 Kof, and so signify * heart.' Porter's Damascus, II. p. 133. Wetzstein, I.e., p. 
 136. Not improbably the pronunciation may vary in different districts. 
 
 * Dorgens, I.e., p. 408; comp. Wetzstein, I.e., p. 136. 
 
56 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 are naked, the northern and western are clothed with oak 
 forests. 
 
 South of the Kuleib, a lower ridge stretches off southward, 
 as far as the eye can reach. The middle and southern por- 
 tions of this mountain range exhibit many picturesque fea- 
 tures ; the northern portion is more tame ; but all parts are 
 described as very fertile. The sides of the mountain rise 
 also very gradually, and with easy slopes and terraces of the 
 richest soil.^ 
 
 This mountain of Hauran is doubtless the moimt Alsada- 
 mus of Ptolemy .2 But is it referred to in Scripture ? Once, 
 and once only, is there mention of a " mount of Bashan ; 
 but without any note of its position, whether within or upon 
 the borders of that country.^ The original district of Bashan, 
 afterwards the Batanaea of the Greeks and Romans, would 
 seem to have lain around and to have included the Jebel 
 Hauran ; and the northern portion of the same district bears 
 to this day the same name, Ard el-Beth any eh. ^ This was 
 the nucleus of the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, who, at 
 the time of the approach of the Israelites to Palestine, had 
 enlarged his domain so as to include the whole region east 
 of Jordan and north of the Jabbok ; extending from the 
 Jabbok to Hermon, and from Hermon to Sulchah, now Sul- 
 khad, on the southeastern quarter of Jebel Hauran.^ These 
 limits embraced Gaulonitis and Jebel Heish, or at least the 
 
 I 1 Burckhardt, pp. 90, 92. Biblical Researches, 1841, App., p. 157. Porter's 
 Damascus, H. pp. 51, 57, 133, 201. 
 
 ^ 2 PtoL, 5. 15. Leake, Preface to Burckhardt, p. 12. Gesenius' Notes on Burck- 
 hardt, p. 505. 
 s Ps. Ixviii. 16, 17, Heb. 
 
 * E. Smith in Biblical Researches, 1841, App., p. 158. Porter's Damascus, II. 
 p. 57. Wetzstein, I.e., p. 194. 
 « Josh. xii. 4, 5, xiii. 11, 29 sq.; Deut. iii. 9, 10, 13; 1 Chron. v. 23. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 57 
 
 eastern slope of the latter, quite to the base of Hermon. 
 Tliis kingdom of Og was subdued by the Hebrews, and as- 
 signed to the half tribe of Manasseh ; ^ and it became the 
 Bashan afterwards known to the Israelites and the sacred 
 writers. 
 
 The Psalmist, in the passage referred to,^ introduces and 
 personifies the mountains of Palestine as jealous of Mount 
 Zion, because Jehovah had made it his chosen seat. One of 
 these, the mount of Bashan, he apostrophizes separately, ap- 
 parently as the loftiest of all, and worthy to be the seat of 
 Jehovah's worship. The force of the antithesis requires this 
 interpretation. The mount of Bashan, then, can only be 
 Mount Hermon, the loftiest of the mountains of Palestine 
 and its borders by several thousand feet, and which may be 
 said to cast its shadow over the whole land of Bashan.^ 
 
 South of the river Yarmuk, the ancient Hieromax, the 
 mountains again rise, rather suddenly, along the valley of 
 the Jordan. Between the Yarmuk and the deep valley of 
 the Zerka, the ancient Jabbok, they are now known as the 
 district of Jebel 'Ajlan. There is no ridge nor range of hills 
 connecting them with Jebel esh-Sheikh or Jebel Heish. The 
 intervening tract, the plain of Jaulan, presents, along the 
 east side of the lake of Tiberias, the edge of a high plateau, 
 intersected by deep ravines.* 
 
 These mountains constitute the northern portion of the 
 land of Gilead, which lay between the Yarmuk on the north 
 and the Arnon on the south, and was divided at about one 
 third of the distance by the deep valley of the Jabbok, which 
 cleaves the mountains to their base. This territory, in its 
 
 1 Deut. iii. 13. 2 Ps. Ixxviii. 16, 17, Heb. 
 
 8 So too Gesenius, Ms. Lect. on Psalms, I.e. Hengstenberg's Comm. in loc. 
 < E. Smith in Biblical Researches, 1841, App., p. 1G2. 
 8 
 
58 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 whole length, is often spoken of as the land of Gilead, and 
 rarely as Mount Gilead.^ The portions north and south of 
 the Jabbok are each spoken of as " the half of Gilead " ; 2 
 though the northern is only two thirds as long as the southern, 
 or about thirty geographical miles. This northern Gilead 
 was subject to Og, king of Bashan, and was given to the half 
 tribe of Manasseh.^ It was in this northern Mount Gilead, 
 that Laban overtook Jacob ; and here too dwelt Gideon ; 
 whence perhaps we may account for the manner in which 
 the latter once speaks of Mount Gilead.^ 
 
 The chasm of the Jabbok is nearly opposite Nabulus ; and 
 the mountains of 'Ajlun, therefore, lie along the Jordan 
 valley over against the lower western hills, which skirt tlie 
 northern part of that valley. These higher eastern moun- 
 tains reach their greatest altitude in the south, in the district 
 el-Ma'rad, towards the Jabbok. The summits hero are the 
 loftiest beyond Jordan.^ The greatest elevation, as compared 
 with Jebel Jel'ad, may be estimated at about four thousand 
 feet above the Mediterranean ; equivalent to six thousand 
 three hundred feet above the Dead Sea. As seen from Hau- 
 ran and the desert further south, these mountains would 
 seem to be not more than from one thousand to fifteen hun- 
 dred feet above the plain. 
 
 The western side of this mountain ridge rises by rather 
 steep slopes or steps, with intervening terraces and fertile 
 tracts. The summit, in the northern part, forms a broad 
 ridge of uneven table-land. There are various ridges and 
 summits and isolated hills, and also deep valleys. Of these, 
 
 1 Gen. xxxi. 21, 23, 25; Deut. iii. 12; Judg. vii. 3; Cant. iv. 1. 
 
 2 Josh. xii. 2, 5, xiii. 31; Deut. iii. 12. 
 
 3 Josh. xii. 5, xiii. 31; Deut. iii. 13. 
 
 * Gen. xxxi. 21, 23, 25; Judg. vi. 15, vil. 3. 
 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 347. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 59 
 
 two main ones, Wady Yabis and Wady 'Ajliin, run down 
 to the Jordan. The whole mountain is well populated, and 
 cultivated. Large portions of it, especially in the south, are 
 still covered with forests and orchards of oaks of various 
 kinds ; among these, the oaks of Bashan. In 1834, Eli Smith 
 travelled through it, and thus writes : " Jebel 'Ajlun pre- 
 sents the most charming rural scenery that I have seen in 
 Syria. A continued forest of noble trees, chiefly the ever- 
 green oak (Sindian), covers a large part of it, while the 
 ground beneath is clothed Avith luxuriant grass, and decked 
 with a rich variety of wild flowers. As we went from el- 
 Ilusn to 'Ajlun, our path lay along the very summit of the 
 mountain ; and we often overlooked a large part of Palestine 
 on one side, and the whole of Hauran on the other." ^ 
 
 South of the Jabbok, and extending from it to the deep 
 chasm of the river Arnon, is the range of mountains form- 
 ing the southern portion of Gilead ; and likewise spoken of 
 as " half Mount Gilead ; " ^ though it is longer by one half 
 than the northern Gilead ; being about forty-five geographi- 
 cal miles in extent from north to south. The modern name 
 of the whole district is el-Belka. From the Jabbok and from 
 the Jordan valley, the mountain rises steeply to a high un- 
 even tract, on which, after an interval of two hours, lies the 
 still higher ridge of Jebel Jel'ad (Gilead), so called from a 
 ruined town upon it. This mountain extends from east to 
 west six or seven miles in length, and its lofty western ex- 
 tremity overtops the whole of the Belka. On it is a Wely 
 of Neby Osha' (Hosea) ; whence the mountain is also called 
 Jebel Osha'. The elevation, according to Dorgens, is about 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, 1841, App. p. 1G2. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 317, 
 318. Irby and Mangles, 1847, pp. 93, 147. Lord Lindsay, 1808, p. 272. 
 
 2 Deut. iii. 12. 
 
60 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAKD. 
 
 three thousand six hundred and fifty feet above the Mediter- 
 ranean. From this summit there is a very wide and splendid 
 prospect. 1 The slopes are clothed with forests of oak and 
 other trees. 
 
 Near the southern foot of Jebel JePad, surrounded by 
 steep mountains, is situated es-Salt, probably the ancient 
 Ramoth-Gilead, For six or eight miles south of es-Salt, the 
 country continues hilly, richly wooded, and picturesque. 
 Further south it spreads out into a high and wide plain, ap- 
 parently on a level with the eastern desert, and bordered 
 towards it by a chain of hills. This plain has many isolated 
 hills or Tells, but has few trees. On such Tells are the 
 ancient sites of the cities Eleale and Heshbon. The western 
 portion of this plain is intersected with deep Wadys and 
 precipices, affording at intervals a view of the Ghor below ; 
 and is overgrown in many parts with fine woods. Such is 
 the general character of this upper region, quite to the 
 chasm of the Arnon, midway of the Dead Sea.^ 
 
 Along the valley of the Jordan, quite to the Dead Sea, the 
 western slope of the mountain rises gradually and by easy 
 ascents. But further south, along the eastern side of the 
 sea, all becomes more wild and precipitous. The line of 
 mountains on the east of this sea, is apparently higher than 
 those on the west ; the latter having, about Hebron, an eleva- 
 tion of not less than three thousand feet above the western 
 sea.3 The high plain, therefore, above described, cannot 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 348, 353 sq. Lord Lindsay, 1858, p. 283. Irby and 
 Mangles, 1847, p. 98. Dcirgens, more nearly, three thousand four hundred and 
 thirty Paris feet; Berl. Zeitschr. f. Erdk., 18G0, Dec., p. 417. 
 
 2 Seetzen, L pp. 407, 410. Burckhardt, pp. 3G4-3GG. Irby and Mangles, 1847, 
 pp. 142, 14G. 
 
 3 According to Roth, the elevation of Hebron itself is three thousand and twenty- 
 six English feet. Petermann, Georg. Mitth., 18-38, p. 3. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 61 
 
 well be assumed as of less elevation ; that is, three thousand 
 feet above the Mediterranean, or four thousand three hun- 
 dred feet above the Dead Sea. Along the western verge of 
 tliis plain, between the Wadys which here cut their way- 
 down to the Ghur, rise a series of heights and ridges, forming 
 a lofty crest, overlooking the deep caldron below. The high- 
 est of these is Jebel 'Attar us, south of the Zerka-Ma'in. 
 From this high brow, the ridges and precipices of the western 
 slope sink down in wild confusion to the shore of the Dead 
 Sea, some five thousand feet below, where they terminate in 
 a series of perpendicular cliffs rising from twelve hundred to 
 two thousand feet above the water. The steep and narrow 
 chasms of the Zerka-Ma'in and the Mojib or Arnon are seen 
 breaking their way down precipitously to the sea. It is true 
 that in this line of mountains, south of Jebel Jel'ad, as seen 
 from Jericho and the western coast of the Dead Sea, or also 
 from the Mount of Olives, there appears no summit standing 
 out prominently, no peak or point conspicuously higher than 
 the rest ; but all is apparently one almost level line of sum- 
 mit, without peaks and without gaps.^ This is probably the 
 effect of distant view ; for we know that such heights do 
 exist, as seen from the east ; like Jebel 'Attarus and others ; 
 though their elevation above the high plain on the east is not 
 great. 
 
 Within the limits of this southern " half Mount Gilead," 
 were comprised also the particular mountains of Abarim, Pis- 
 gahj Nebo, and Peor, all mentioned in connection with the 
 death of Moses and the approach of Israel to the Promised 
 Land. At an earlier period, the territory of Moab had ex- 
 tended far north of the Arnon, and included also the south 
 eastern part of the Jordan valley. Of all this northern 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 569 [II. p. 30C]. 
 
62 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 territory Moab had been dispossessed by Sihon, king of the 
 Amorites.^ The Hebrews, approaching by the desert along 
 the eastern border of Edom and Moab proper, overthrew 
 Sihon ; and afterwards gave his land to the tribes of Reuben 
 and Gad.2 But the region continued to be spoken of as the 
 " land of Moab ; ' ' ^ and the plains along the lower Jordan, 
 being a part of the great ^Arabah, were called the ^Arhoth 
 3Ioab, signifying the ''wastes or plains of Moab."^ Here 
 Israel abode for a long time ; for it was during their sojourn 
 in these plains by Jordan, that Balaam uttered his prophecies ; 
 and here also took place the whoredoms with the daughters 
 of Moab (Midianites), and the war against Midian ; as like- 
 wise all the events recorded in Deuteronomy, including the 
 thirty days of mourning for Moses.^ From these plains of 
 Moab, the Hebrews, under Joshua, immediately crossed the 
 Jordan.^ 
 
 Of the particular mountains above mentioned. Mount Aba- 
 rim, or the mountains of Abarim^ is but another name for 
 that portion of Mount Gilead lying over against Jericho and 
 further south. The name Abarim signifies ' regions beyond ; ' 
 and on the lips of tribes dwelling west of Jordan, would be 
 an apt appellation for the '' mountains beyond Jordan." It 
 was on these mountains, near Xebo, that Israel encamped, 
 as the last station before descending to the plains of Moab 
 by Jordan ; ^ and it was into the same mountains of Abarim, 
 
 1 Xum. xxi. 26. 
 
 2 Xum. xxi. 11-13; Judg. xi. 18; Xum. xxi. 23-26, xxxii. 33. 
 
 3 Deut. i. 5, xxxii. 49, xxxiv. 5, 6, 8. 
 
 * Xum. xxii. 1, xxvi. 3, xxxi. 12, xxxiii. 48-50, xxxv. 1; Deut. xxxiv. 1. 
 
 5 Xum. xxii.-xxiv., xxv., xxxi.; Deut. xxxiv. 8. 
 
 6 Josh. i. 11, iii. 1, 2. 
 
 Xum. xxvii. 12; Deut. xxxii. 49; Xum. xxxiii. 47, 48. 
 8 Xum. xxxiii. 47, 48. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORD.VN. 
 
 63 
 
 that Moses went up from the same plains, to obtain a view 
 of the Promised Land, and die.^ The name Abarim was 
 apparently sometimes so extended as to include all the 
 mountainous tract east of the Dead Sea. A station of the 
 Hebrews, Ije-Abarim, is marked as in or near the desert east 
 of Moab proper ; and this ' lim of Abarim ' would seem to 
 be so called to distinguish it from the lim in the southeast 
 of Judah.2 
 
 Pisgah is nowhere said to be a mountain ; vet the phrase 
 " head [top] of Pisgah," ^ as well as other notices, imply 
 that it was a ridge or range of mountains, over against Jer- 
 icho ; and therefore so far identical with Mount Abarim. 
 Thus Israel, after leaving the eastern desert, is. said (in the 
 Hebrew) to have gone " from Bamoth to the plain 
 which is in the country (field) of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, 
 * which overlooketh (r!2;?rn) the wilderness." * Here the plain 
 is some part of the high table-land along the summit of the 
 mountains, and the wilderness is the desert plain of the 'Ara- 
 bah below, where Israel afterwards so long encamped.^ In 
 like manner, the mountains which Moses was to ascend from 
 the camp near Jordan, in order to obtain a view and die, 
 are twice spoken of as Pisgah, and twice as Abarim.^ Ac- 
 cording to Eusebius, the region between Livias near Jordan, 
 and Heshbon, still bore in his day the name Phusg-o (Pisgah).'' 
 In Scripture the name would seem to be applied especially 
 
 1 Num. xxvii. 12, 13; Deut. xxxii. 49; corap. Deut. iii. 27, xxxiv. 1 sq. Ono- 
 mast., Article Abarim. 
 
 ; 2 Num. xxi. 11, xxxiii. 44, 45; Josh. xv. 29. 
 3 Num. xxi. 20; Deut xxxiv. 1. 
 
 * Num. xxi. 20; comp. Num. xxxiii. 47, 48. 
 
 * Num. xxiv. 1, 2; Deut. i. 1. 
 
 6 Deut. iii. 27, xxxii. 49, xxxiv. 1; Num. xxvii. 12, 13. 
 
 7 Onomast., Article Abarim. 
 
64 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 to the upper part of these mountains, to the serrated crests 
 or line of hciglits forming the brow of the mountains on the 
 west of the high plain. 
 
 The mountain which Moses ascended, to view the land 
 and die. Mount Nebo, is only twice certainly spoken of in 
 Scripture, — once as a summit in the Abarim, and once as 
 the top or " head " of Pisgali, over against Jericho. ^ In one 
 place it is uncertain whether the name Xebo is to be under- 
 stood of a mountain or a town.^ In all the other passages 
 relating to this region Nebo is undoubtedly a town or city ; 
 taking its name from the mountain, or giving name to the 
 latter, and of course situated near it. Thus Nebo is enu- 
 merated with other cities, mostly in connection with Hcshbon 
 and Eleale, and especially with Baal-Meon, now Ma'in, an 
 hour south of Heshbon.^ It follows, that both the mountain 
 and town of Nebo were on the western verge of the high^ 
 plain, not far distant from Heshbon and Maon. With this 
 accords also the account of Eusebius and Jerome ; that in 
 their day Mount Nebo was pointed out six miles west of 
 Heshbon ; and also the deserted city Nebo eight miles south 
 of Heshbon.^ The obvious interpretation here is, that both 
 mountain and town lay in a southwest direction from Hesh- 
 bon ; and if the relative distances are correctly given, then 
 apparently the town must have been situated either further 
 south than the mount, or else below the high brow of Pisgah, 
 near the base of the height or clifi" Nebo. At the present 
 day there is enumerated among the sites of ruins in the 
 
 1 Deut. xxxii. 49, xxxiv. 1. 2 Num. xxxiii. 47. 
 
 3 Xam. xxxii. 3, SS; 1 Chron. v. 8; and so Isa. xv. 2; Jcr. xlviii. 1, 22. Thore 
 was also a town Nebo in Judah, Ezra ii. 29, x. 43; Xeli. viL 33. The idol Nebo 
 is mentioned Isa, xlvi. L 
 
 * Onoraast., Articles Nahan, Naho. In the former article the 'contra orienta- 
 lem plagam ' of Jerome, is obviously an error for occidentalem. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 65 
 
 Belka, a place called Nehd^ in near connection with Eleale, 
 Ileshbon, and Ma'in This is, without much doubt, the site 
 of the ancient Nebo ; and we may hope that the researches 
 of future travellers will bring it to light, and thus determine 
 also the true position of Mount Nebo.^ 
 
 The height named Peor^ also, is nowhere in Scripture 
 directly termed a mountain ; yet the " head " or top of Peor 
 is once spoken of.* On it a Baal was worshipped, Baal-Peor, 
 or also simply Peor ; ^ and a temple or tower, Beth-Peor, lay 
 on or near it.^ From the few notices in Scripture and else- 
 where, it would appear, that this height, Peor, lay further 
 north than Nebo, and nearer to the encampment of the He- 
 brews along the Jordan, so as to command a view of the 
 whole host. It would seem to have been a projecting emi- 
 nence, on the western declivity of the mountain, and " over- 
 looked (rii^rsin) the wilderness ; that is, the 'Arabah, where 
 Israel was encamped " over against Beth-Peor." ^ This is 
 shown, also, by the movements of Balak and Balaam, in 
 order to obtain a full view of the host. From a city on the 
 
 1 Hebrew, Nebo; Septuagint, NojSoG; Deut, xxxii. 49, xxxiv. 1. 
 
 2 E. Smith's Arabic Lists, Biblical Researches, 1841, App., p. 170. 
 
 3 In 1818, Irby and Mangles went from their camp near Ma'in to a height not 
 far distant, which commands a fine view of the Dead Sea, and is nearly on a line 
 with its northern end. Below the height was a ruin of a square form. This 
 point, if the distances of the Onomasticon are correct, would seem to be hardly 
 far enough south for Nebo. Irby and Mangles, 1847, p. 143. 
 
 ^ Num. xxiii. 28. 
 
 5 Num. XXV. 3, xxiii. 28, xxxi. 16; Josh. xxii. 17. 
 
 6 Deut. iii. 29, iv. 46, xxxiv. 6; Josh. xiii. 20. 
 
 ^ Num. xxiii. 28; comp. xxiv. 2; Deut. ill. 29, iv. 46, xxxiv. 6. In these three 
 passages the Hebrew word K^a is used ; and is by some supposed to refer to the 
 high plain upon the mountain. But the transactions narrated just before, in 
 each case, all took place after the encampment by Jordan. So Deut. iii. 29; 
 comp. Num. xxvii. 12, xxvi. 3. Also Deut. iv. 4G; comp. v. 43; Num. xxxv. 1, 
 6, 14. 
 
 9 
 
66 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Arnon, where they met, they first moved to Kirjath-huzzoth, 
 of which we know nothing ; and thence to " the high places 
 (ni^s) of Baal," where they could only see " the utmost part 
 of the people." ^ They next go to " the watcher's field, to 
 the top of Pisgah ; " which may or may not have been the 
 same with Mount Nebo, though more probably furtlier north ; 
 and here again they could still see only " the utmost part " 
 of the people, and not all of them .2 At last they repair to 
 " the top of Peor, tliat looketh toward the wilderness ; " and 
 there Balaam " saw Israel abiding according to their tribes ; " ^ 
 implying a nearer and unobstructed view. Still more def- 
 inite are the statements of Eusebius and Jerome. In their 
 day a Mount Phogor (Peor, Septuagint ^oycop) was pointed 
 out over against Jericho, on the ascent between Livias and 
 Heshbon ; the city Beth-Phogor was six miles from Livias ; 
 another city, Danneba, lay on Mount Phogor, seven miles 
 from Heshbon ; while Heshbon itself was twenty miles dis- 
 tant from the Jordan.^ Hence it would follow, that the 
 height known as Peor lay between Danneba and Beth-Peor, 
 about midway between Livias and Heshbon. 
 
 Of all the heights and ridges which constitute the lofty 
 brow of the Abarim, or eastern mountains, the highest in 
 the southern quarter is Jebel 'Attarus, ah-eady mentioned. 
 Its northern end rises precipitously from the south side of 
 the Zerka-Ma'in, and its ridge extends southwest for six or 
 eight miles.^ Upon this ridge, about midway of its length, 
 are the ruins of an ancient town, Attarus, from which the 
 mountain takes its name. This marks the site of the ancient 
 
 1 Num. xxii. 36, 39, 41. 2 Num. xxiii. 13, 14. 
 
 3 Num. xxiii. 28; comp. xxiv. 2. 
 
 4 Onomast., Articles Abarim, Beth-Fogor, Damnaha, Esebon, Fogor. 
 * Seetzen, Reisen, H. p. 342. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 370. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORD.VN. 
 
 G7 
 
 Ataroth of Gad, wliicli is named in connection with Di- 
 bon.^ On the southwestern end of the ridge are the ruins 
 now called Kureiyat, marking the ancient Kirjathaim rebuilt 
 by Reuben.2 At the northern extremity, on a precipice over- 
 hanging the Zerka-Ma'in, are the ruins of an ancient castle, 
 now known as !Mkauer, the fortress Machaerus of Herod ; 
 where, according to Joseplius, John the Baptist was be- 
 headed.^ Hence, though this mountain is not expressly 
 mentioned in Scripture, it is yet connected with several 
 scriptural associations. 
 
 Josephus, in describing the line of mountains on the east 
 of the Jordan, stretching from the lake of Tiberias to Arabia 
 Petraea, speaks of one called the Iron Mountahi^ extending 
 quite to Moab.* The name would seem to be thus applied 
 to the mountain along the northern part of the Dead Sea, as 
 far as to the Arnon. The lower portion of that mountain 
 is comprised in great part of sandstone containing iron, 
 which gives it a reddish hue ; and in some places large 
 masses are seen of a dark brown or black color.^ Hence 
 perhaps the ancient name, Iron Mountains. 
 
 South of the Arnon, the land of Moab proper extended to 
 the Wady el-Ahsy, the brook Zered of Scripture.^ The gen- 
 eral character of the region remains the same as on the north 
 of the Arnon ; a wall of wild, desolate, precipitous moun- 
 
 1 Num. xxxii. 3, 34. Seetzen, Reisen, 11. p. 342. 
 
 2 Num. xxxii. 37; Josh. xiii. 19; Jcr. xlviii. 1, 23. Seetzen, Reisen, II. p. 342. 
 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 370. 
 
 3 Seetzen, Reisen,II. pp. 331, 334. Joseph. Bel. Jud., 7. 6. 1-4. Antiq., 18. 5. 2. 
 * Joseph. Bel. Jud., 4. 8. 2, to 'Xi^ripovu Ka\ovfj.evov upos. 
 
 ^ Seetzen, Reisen, II. pp. 36-3, 370, 372, 374. Eisenschiissiger .Sandstein, Eisen- 
 sandstein. Ibid., pp. 363, 374. Burckhardt supposes the name may have come 
 from the black, heavy stone found in the region, resembling basalt, Sjn-ia, p. 375. 
 
 6 Num. xxi. 12; Deut. ii. 13, 14; comp. 18. 
 
68 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 tains, rising from the very water of the Dead Sea ; with a 
 high plain along the top, back of the lofty brow, less grassy 
 and more stony than that further north,^ and passing over 
 into the eastern desert. The steeps along the sea, south of 
 the Mojib, are described by Seetzen as peculiarly wild and 
 bare of vegetation, with gigantic terraces of naked sandstone 
 or limestone.^ Above, along the brow, only one particular 
 height is mentioned, seen by Burckhardt from the east, as 
 Jebel Shihan, not far from the Arnon ; not improbably the 
 same which Seetzen saw from the west, and heard named 
 only er-Ras.2 
 
 Further south, and on the brow of the mountain, stands 
 Kerak, the ancient Kir Moab, upon a cliff c^verhanging a 
 deep valley. It is distinctly visible, in a clear day, from the 
 Mount of Olives ; and its Wady also can be traced, as it 
 runs down S. W. and issues upon the peninsula of the 
 Dead Sea. The elevation of Kerak, according to Roth, is 
 about three thousand three hundred feet above the Mediter- 
 ranean, but it is apparently lower than the high plain further 
 north 
 
 There remain two words, as to which it is uncertain, 
 whether they are proper names of mountains, or not. These 
 are Bether and Bitliron.^ They both come from the same 
 Hebrew verb, and signify a cleaving, cleft, fissure. As to the 
 latter word, it is said of Abner, that he " passed over Jordan, 
 and went through all Bithron, and came to Malianaim." 
 Here Bithron may well be put for a "mountain-cleft" or 
 
 1 Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 410. Irby and Mangles, pp. 141, 142. 
 
 2 Reisen, H. pp. 354, 363, 367. 
 
 3 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 375. Seetzen, H. p. 349. See also De Saulcy, I. p. 354. 
 
 4 Geogr. Mitth., 1859, p. 291. Irby and Mangles, p. 141. 
 
 5 'Mountains of Bether,' Cant. ii. 17; 'Bithron' 2 Sam. ii. 29. 
 
MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 C9 
 
 ravine ; implying that he followed up either Wady 'Ajlun 
 or Wady Mahneh ; either of which would have brought him 
 to Mahanaim, which lay high up on the acclivity. In like 
 manner, Bether may best be taken as an appellation, ap- 
 plied to mountains " cleft with valleys," rugged, precipitous.^ 
 If, however, it be a proper name, the position of the moun- 
 tains of Bether is utterly unknown. . 
 
 1 Septuagint, ip-q koiKoiikxtiov^ Cant. ii. 17. 
 
70 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 SECTION n. 
 
 VALLEYS. 
 
 Not less than four different Hebrew words are rendered, 
 in the English Version, by the term valley, with more or less 
 exactness. A few remarks upon the proper signification of 
 each of these Hebrew words, may here not be without use. 
 
 The first is Bik^ah strictly " a cleft " in mountains, 
 
 a valley ; and is so used in contrast to mountains.^ But in 
 common usage it is " a deep and wide plain between ranges 
 of mountains." Such is " the plain of Aven " or On,^ the 
 Syrian Heliopolis, now Ba'albek ; which plain or valley, 
 stretching between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, still retains 
 in Arabic its ancient appellation, el-Buka'a, " a cleft." The 
 same word is put for the broad valley or plain of the Jordan, 
 both at its northern end and at Jericho.^ Similar in signifi- 
 cation are the Greek Aulon (^Avkcov) and the Arabic Ghor, 
 both used later as appellations to denote the same valley of 
 the Jordan. 
 
 Another Hebrew word is ^Emek (P^3>), which signifies a 
 valley or low plain, similar to the Bik'ah, but generally on 
 a much smaller scale. It is strictly an open valley, " a long 
 low plain " between ranges of hills or mountains, with a 
 broad and level bottom, adapted for tillage, or also con- 
 
 1 Deut. viii. 7, xi. 11; Ps. civ. 8. 
 3 Josh xi. 17, xii. 7 ; Deut. xxxiv. 3. 
 
 2 Amos i. 5. 
 
VALLEYS. 
 
 71 
 
 venient for battles.^ Such are the valleys of Jezreel, of 
 Repliaim, and of Elah, now Wady es-Sumt. Yet, as we shall 
 see further on, it is in a few instances spoken of the great 
 valley of the Jordan, which is strictly a Bik'ah, 
 
 A third Hebrew word is Nahal (^ns) the primary idea of 
 which is " a flowing," and then " place of flowing." Hence 
 it is put in a general sense for a flowing stream, a brook or 
 river.2 So the Kishon always.^ But usually, with a proper 
 name, the Nahal is rather " a place of flowing," a valley with 
 a stream ; that is, a narrow valley or chasm, often deep, the 
 bottom of which is occupied, in great part, by a water-course. 
 The stream may be permanent or transient. The Nahal 
 therefore differs altogether from both the Bik'ah and the 
 Emek. Such are the deep chasms of the Jabbok and the 
 Arnon, with perennial streams. Such is the ravine of the 
 Kidron (called by Josephus ^dpay^'), which has no stream 
 except after heavy rain ; and such also was the Cherith, 
 where Elijah was fed by ravens until the brook dried up.^ 
 In like manner a water-course in the desert is called a Nahal; 
 being usually a gully or chasm worn by the torrents of the 
 rainy season ; or lying sometimes between low hills. Such is 
 the Valley of Gerar, and also that of Egypt, now Wady el- 
 'Arish.^ The English Version often puts " brook," where 
 the reference is rather to the valley. 
 
 The fourth Hebrew word, Gai ^t), is perhaps less def- 
 inite than either of the others. It seems to imply originally, 
 
 1 Job xxxix. 10; Ps. Ixv. 13; Cant. ii. 1; Job xxxix. 21; Judg. vii. 1 sq.; 
 1 Kings XX. 28, etc. 
 
 2 Deut. Yiii. 7; 2 Chron. xxxii. 4; Ps. Ixxviii. 20; Isa. xi. 15, xxx. 28; Jer. 
 xlvii. 2. 
 
 8 Judg, V, 21; comp. iv. 7, 13; 1 Kings xviii. 40; Ps. Ixxxiii. 9. 
 * 1 Kings xvii. 3, 5, 7. 
 
 5 Gen. xxvi. 17; Num. xxxiv. 5; Josli. xv. 4, 47. 
 
72 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 a depressed tract, or basin, where waters flow together and 
 run off through a valley ; both basin and valley being com- 
 prehended under the name Gai. This is precisely the char- 
 acter of the Yalley of Hinnom by Jerusalem ; as also of the 
 Valley of Jiphthah-el, now Wady 'Abilin. The word then 
 further signifies ' a low plain,' level tract, with adjacent hills 
 or mountains ; as the Yalley of Salt southeast of Aleppo.^ 
 Yet the word is sometimes employed for " valley" or plain " 
 in general ; and is so used in antithesis with hills and moun- 
 tains.2 The Seventy also render it sometimes by (pdpay^, 
 even as spoken of the Yalley of Hinnom.^ 
 
 Most of the valleys of Palestine have in them no perma- 
 nent streams of water ; but exhibit merely the beds of tor- 
 rents, which flow only in the rainy season of winter ; and, 
 after the rains cease, soon dry up. In treating here of val- 
 leys, we include only those of this kind ; leaving those with 
 perennial waters to be described in a future Section on the 
 rivers and streams of the country. ' The only exception is 
 the great valley of the Jordan ; which has a character of its 
 own, quite apart from the river which flows through it. 
 
 I. VALLEY OF THE JORDAN", OR EL-GHOR. 
 
 Extent and Connections. — This valley is that portion of 
 the great inland longitudinal valley or chasm, stretching 
 from Antioch to the Red Sea, which lies in Palestine proper, 
 and is occupied by the river Jordan and its three lakes. It 
 extends from the southern base of Jebel esh-Sheikh (Hermon) 
 to the Scorpion Glifis (Akrabbim), some eight miles south of 
 
 1 2 Sam. viii. 13 ; Ps. Ix. 2. See Russell's Nat. Hist, of Aleppo, I. p. 55. Maun- 
 drell, p. 213. 
 
 2 2 Kings ii. 16; Ezek. vi. 3, xxxv. 8. 
 
 3 Isa. xl. 4, xxii. 1. Hinnom, Josh. xv. 8. 
 
VALLEY OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 73 
 
 the Dead Sea. Its general course is very nearly from due 
 north to south. Its length, therefore, is the same with that 
 of the country itself, — about one hundred and thirty-six 
 geographical miles, or one hundred and fifty-eight English 
 miles. 
 
 Towards the south this valley is continued by the desert 
 Wady el-'Arabah, which extends from it, without water, to 
 the Elanitu Gulf. On the north the Jordan valley is con-^ 
 nected with the Buka'a, the broad cleft and plain between 
 Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ; through which flows the river 
 Litany. This connection is made by the narrower Wady et- 
 Teim, which enters the Jordan valley at its northwest corner. 
 It lies along the western base of Hermoil and Anti-Lebanon ; 
 being separated from the Litany valley by a narrow ridge in 
 the south and a range of hills in the north, until the two 
 meet and run together opposite the great fountain of 'Anjar 
 in the Buka'a. 
 
 Name. — The ancient Hebrew proper name of this valley 
 is altogether lost in the English Version ; being there ren- 
 dered, like several other Hebrew words, by the very general 
 term * plain.' But the Hebrew ^Arahah {r^'iyj)^ signifying, 
 in general * a desert plain, waste. Steppe,' ^ is in Scripture 
 applied with the article (the 'Arabah) directly as the proper 
 name of this great valley.^ This name strictly extends from 
 the lake of Tiberias southwards, quite to the Red Sea. We 
 find the Hebrew 'Arabah distinctly connected with the lake 
 of Tiberias in the north ; ^ and with the Red Sea and Elath 
 in the south ; * while the Dead Sea is called the sea of the 
 
 * Job. xxiv. 5, xxxix. 6; Isa. xxxv. 1, 6, xL 3, etc. 
 
 2 Josh. xi. 16; 2 Sam. ii. 29, i^^. 17; 2 Kings xxv. 4; Jer. xxxix. 4, lii. 7; Ezek. 
 xlvii. 8, etc. 
 
 3 Heb., Josh. xi. 2, xii. 3; Deut. iii. 17. * Deut. i. 1, ii. 8. 
 
 10 
 
74 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAKD. 
 
 'Arabah.^ At the present day that portion of the great val- 
 ley, lying between Palestine proper and the Red Sea, retains 
 its ancient Hebrew name, Wady el-'Arabah. 
 
 The plural of the same Hebrew word (^Araboth, constr. 
 ^Arboth), apparently in its primary sense, is employed, when 
 certain ' waste tracts ' in the great 'Arabah are spoken of. 
 Thus we read of ' the wastes (^Arboth} of Jericho,' west of 
 the Jordan ; ^ ' the wastes (plains ?) of Moab,' east of the 
 Jordan, over against Jericho ; ^ and ' the wastes of the wil- 
 derness,' or uninhabited district, apparently north of Jeri- 
 cho.^ 
 
 In a similar way Greeks and Romans spoke of this valley 
 as the Aulon (6 AvK^v).^ Eusebius and Jerome describe 
 it as a long valley or low plain, shut in on both sides by 
 mountains, and extending from Lebanon and above quite 
 to the desert of Paran.^ Josephus speaks of it also as the 
 Great Plain, extending from the lake of Tiberias to the Dead 
 Sea."^ The present Arabic name, el-Ghor^ has a like signifi- 
 cation, — ' a long valley, or low plain, between mountains; ' 
 and Abulfeda in the fourteenth century describes it as begin- 
 ning at the lake of Tiberias and extending to the Red Sea.^ 
 But more usually the Ghur is understood as stretching be- 
 tween the lake of Tiberias and the Scorpion Cliffs south of 
 the Dead Sea ; and is put in a general sense for' the valley 
 of the Jordan.^ We shall often so use it for convenience. 
 
 1 Josh. iii. 16, xii. 3; Deut. iv. 49. .2 Josh. v. 10; 2 Kings xxv. 5. 
 
 3 Num. xxii. Ij Dcut xxxiv. 1, 8. See above, p. 62. 
 • 4 2 Sam. XV. 28, xvii. 16. 
 5 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 1. 21. 9. Antiq., IC. 5. 2. Comp. Antiq., 13. 15. 4. 
 ^ Onomast., Article Aulon. 
 
 7 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 4. 8. 2, 3. Antiq., 12. 8. 5. 
 
 8 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr. (ed. Kohler), pp. 8, 9, and note 35. 
 
 ^Edrisi, par Jaubert, p. 346. Vita Salad., pp. 221, 222, etc. See Biblical 
 Researches, H. p. 18G [H. p. 599]. 
 
VALLEY OF THE JORDAN-. 
 
 75 
 
 General Features. — The northern portion of the great 
 valley may properly be called the Basin or Plain of the 
 Iluleh. Its northern end is shut in, on the eastern part, as 
 with a wall, by the great southwestern buttress of Jebel esh- 
 Sheikh. Further west the plain of Wady et-Teim comes in 
 from the north. The whole width of the basin, between 
 B^nias and the western mountain, is about five miles. Its 
 length, to the southern extremity of the lake, is some sixteen 
 miles. The western wall of the basin rises steeply to the 
 plain of Kedes, from seven hundred to one thousand feet ; ^ 
 and continues to rise further west to the elevation of Safed. 
 On the east of the basin the ascent is much less steep, but 
 rises higher ; the lake Phiala lying about two thousand six 
 hundred feet above the valley 
 
 The plain of Wady et-Teim has a very rapid descent, and 
 enters the basin of the Huleh by three steps or offsets run- 
 ning from northeast to southwest, with wide terraces between. 
 Tell el-Kady stands on the brow of another similar step ; 
 and there are still two others further south. The line of 
 these last three offsets runs more from east to west. The 
 difference of elevation between one plateau and another is 
 nowhere less than some fifty feet, and sometimes more. The 
 whole descent from the northern line of the basin to the 
 waters of the Huleh, in its southern part, a distance of about 
 ten miles, is hardly less than six hundred feet. At the north- 
 east corner of the basin, is the fine terrace on which Banias 
 is situated. 
 
 A prominent feature of this basin is its exuberant fertility. 
 
 1 Kedes has an elevation of thirteen hundred and fifty-four feet, while that of 
 Tell el-Kady is six hundred and forty-seven feet. 
 
 2 The elevation of Phiala above the sea is given by Roth at three thousand one 
 hundred Paris feet; Pctermann's Geogr. Mitth., 1859, p. 290. 
 
76 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 The lake lies close to the eastern mountain. On the west 
 the land is rolling and arable. North of the lake is an ex- 
 tensive marsh, covered with canes and flags, into which noth- 
 ing can penetrate. This marsh extends westward, and north- 
 westward in some places, along the streams which enter it 
 from that quarter. Canals are also taken out from the 
 branches of the Jordan, for the purposes of irrigation ; and 
 these give rise in some places to spots of mire and marsh. 
 But in passing, in May, 1852, along the lower plain quite to 
 the junction of all the streams with the Jordan, a distance 
 of five or six miles south of Tell el-Kady, we found no trace 
 of marshy ground, although we forded several of the streams. 
 The region still merits the praise given to it by the Danite 
 spies : " We have seen the land, and behold, it is very good, 
 
 a place where there ' is no want of any thing that is 
 
 in the earth." ^ 
 
 In Scripture the name of this region is Mero?n ; and the 
 lake is called the Waters of Merom? But the present name, 
 el-Huleh, was current in Aramaean in the time of our Lord, 
 and has been preserved to us by Joseplius in the Greek from 
 Ulatha (OvXd^a). Augustus gave to Herod the districts 
 which had belonged to Zenodorus, lying between Tracho- 
 nitis and Galilee ; namely, Ulatha and Paneas, and the region 
 round about." ^ 
 
 On the south the basin of the Huleh is closed by a broad 
 tract of uneven and mostly uncultivated higher ground, 
 which shelves down from the base of the loftier hills around 
 Safed, and shuts up the whole valley ; leaving only a depres- 
 sion south of the lake, along which the Jordan rushes, in its 
 
 1 Judg. xviii. 9, 10. 2 josh.' xi. 5, 7. 
 
 3 Joseph. Antiq., 15. 10. 3 ; comp. Bel. Jud., 1. 20. 4. Comp. also Heb. bsiin , 
 Sept. Oij\y Gen. x. 23. 
 
VALLF.Y OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 77 
 
 deep and rocky volcanic chasm, to the lake of Tiberias ; a 
 distance, in all, of ten or twelve miles. The descent from 
 the upper to the lower lake, taking a mean of the various 
 levels of the latter, is not less than seven hundred and fifty 
 feet ; which compares well with the slope of the upper basin. 
 On the east the high tract terminates at the basin of the 
 lower lake, where the hills retreat, leaving between them 
 and the lake the fine alluvial plain known as the Batihah, 
 equalling in its richness and fertility that of the Huleh.^ 
 
 ,0n the west, the high tract above described continues for 
 about twelve miles in breadth, quite to the plain of Gennes- 
 areth, midway of the lake. It slopes down very gradually to 
 the shore of the lake along its northern part, and terminates 
 at the rocky promontory which juts down to the water, and 
 forms the northern limit of the plain. 
 
 The plain of Gennesareth, now called el-Ghuweir, * Little 
 Glior,' is described by Josephus, in glowing terms, for its 
 fertility and productiveness.^ It lies along the lake for about 
 three miles in length ; and extends back in the arc of a 
 circle for a mile or more, where it is shut in by hills. The 
 southern half is watered by several streams ; the northern 
 portion, now without water, was anciently irrigated by a 
 stream brought from 'Ain Tabighah, around the point of the 
 promontory.^ 
 
 South of the plain of Gennesareth, the western hills re- 
 turn again to the shore of the lake, and so continue along 
 the Ghor to the junction of the plain of Jezreel. These hills, 
 however, are for the most part nothing more than the step, 
 or offset, from the table-land above, around Tabor, down to 
 the level of the lake and valley. Assuming that this table- 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 410-414 [HI. pp. 304-310]. 
 
 2 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 8. 3 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 344, 348. 
 
78 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 land is not lower than the level of the Mediterranean, the 
 whole descent to the valley is not less than some seven hun- 
 dred feet. On the east of the lake, also, the wall rises steeply 
 from the water, perhaps one thousand feet to the table-land 
 of Gaulonitis ; and continues to rise gradually, further back, 
 to the higher plains of Hauran. 
 
 Two or three hours below the lake, and south of the river 
 Hieromax, the mountains of 'Ajlun rise up and become 
 thenceforth the eastern barrier of the Ghor ; interrupted only 
 by the valley of the Jabbok. As the mountains of 'Ajlun, of 
 Gilead and the Belka, or of old the Abarini, this range ex- 
 tends on beyond the Dead Sea. 
 
 The valley or plain of Jezreel, having reached the line of 
 the Gh5r at Beisan, sinks down to the lower valley, three or 
 four hundred feet, by a step or offset of easy descent. A 
 portion of the same higher plain stretches off south along 
 the base of the southeastern sweep of the mountains of Gil- 
 boa, which here lie somewhat back from the usual line of the 
 Ghor ; and then descends by steps to the lower valley. 
 
 South of these mountaius of Gilboa, the western hills are 
 lower, and broken up by valleys, for much of the way towards 
 el-Makhrud, the bluff on the north side of Wady Fari'a. 
 Below Sakut, spurs and ridges from these western hills run 
 down to the Jordan, where they terminate in bluffs ; the 
 river in this part being driven quite to the eastern side of 
 the Ghor.i From the lake of Tiberias to Sakut, the long low 
 plain of the GhOr, besides the Jordan meandering through 
 it, is full of fountains and rivulets ; and bears, in a high 
 degree, the character of a well watered and most fertile 
 region. Josephus speaks of it here as the Great Plain.^ 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 209. 
 
 2 Joseph. Antiq., 12. 8. 5, fxeya irebiou. 
 
VALLEY OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 79 
 
 Below Sakut the valley continues more or less contracted 
 quite down to el-Makhrud ; which promontory, for some dis- 
 tance, lies between the lower part of Wady el-Fari'a and the 
 Gh5r. Then follows the rich meadow-like plain of the Fari'a, 
 merging itself in that of the Ghc)r, and extending, as a lux- 
 uriant and beautiful tract, under the name of el-Kurawa, 
 quite to the Jordan. On the southwest it skirts the base of 
 Kurn Surtabeh. 
 
 This imposing mountain, stretching towards the southeast 
 far into the GhOr, contracts it to its narrowest limits ; and, 
 as we have seen, divides it into the upper and lower Ghor.^ 
 Indeed, a low ridge or swell of land seems to extend across 
 the whole valley, from the end of Surtabeh to the base of 
 the eastern mountains. Where the Jordan finds its way 
 through this higher tract, the latter is broken up into laby- 
 rinths of deep ravines with barren, chalky sides, forming 
 pyramids and hills of various shapes, and presenting a most 
 wild and desolate scene. ^ 
 
 South of Kiirn Surtabeh the character of the plain of the 
 Ghor changes, and becomes a parched desert ; except the 
 strip of verdure along the immediate banks of the Jordan, 
 and the tracts watered by the copious fountains which spring 
 up at the base of the mountains on each side. The eastern 
 mountains continue as before. The western wall is a series 
 of irregular and precipitous cliffs ranging from eight hun- 
 dred to twelve hundred feet in height, everywhere naked 
 and desolate. The mountains on both sides, as they enclose 
 the Dead Sea, become still loftier, and present, in a still 
 higher degree, a scene of stern and savage grandeur. The 
 
 1 See above, pp. 48, 49. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 293. Van de Yelde Mem. p. 125. 
 
80 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 brow of the western cliffs is here about on a level with the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 North of J ericho, the mountains begin to retire gradually, 
 especially the western ; so that at Jericho the breadth of the 
 valley is enlarged to ten or twelve miles ; and this continues 
 along the Dead Sea, with few exceptions. Along the north- 
 eastern side of Quarantana is a higher terrace, resting against 
 the western wall, and bordered in front by a low ridge of 
 rock, extending towards 'Aujeh. On this terrace are the 
 fountains of Duk. Indeed, so rapid is here the slope of the 
 great valley from the west to the Jordan, as well as towards 
 the south, that the village of J ericho is said to have an ele- 
 vation of four hundred and seventeen feet above the Dead 
 Sea.i 
 
 The length of the Ghor between the lake of Tiberias and 
 the Dead Sea, is fifty-six and one sixth geographical miles, 
 or about sixty-five English miles. The difference of level 
 between the two lakes, according to the United States Expe- 
 dition, is 663.4 feet. This shows a descent of 10.2 feet in 
 every English mile. 
 
 Valleys or Plains within the Ghor. — Besides the general 
 Hebrew name for the great valley, the ^Arabah, we find in 
 Scripture other names applied to different portions of it. 
 
 One of these is the term Kikkar (^^s? Gr. Trejotp^wpo?), 
 signifying ' a circle, circuit.' Hence, ' the circuit ' of the 
 Jordan ,2 is the region round aboiit Jordan, the low tract or 
 plain along that river, through which it flows. In this way, 
 it would seem to be as comprehensive, perhaps, as the Gh6r 
 itself. It is spoken of the region chosen by Lot, near Zoar, 
 south of the Dead Sea; of the plain around Jericho and 
 
 1 Symonds fixes Jericho at —900; the Dead Sea is —1317. 
 
 2 Gen. xiii. 10, 11; 1 Kings vii, 46; Matth. iii. 5; Luke iii. 3. 
 
TALT.EY OF THE JORDAN. 
 
 81 
 
 further nortli ; and of tlic upper Gliur, near Bcisan.^ It is 
 rendered in the English Version by ' plain.' 
 
 Of the four species of valley described in the beginning of 
 this Section, the Bik'ah. the ^E/nck, and the Gai (but not 
 the Nahal) are applied in Scripture to portions of the GhOr. 
 
 The great valley itself is strictly a Bik'ah, ^ cleft ; ' but is 
 nowhere so spoken of as a whole. The term is only applied 
 to tw^o different portions of it. The Bik'ah (valley) of Leb- 
 anon under Hermon^ is unquestionably the plain or basin of 
 the Huleh, while the Bik'ah (valley) of Jericlio is the great 
 valley itself around that city.^ 
 
 The Ghor is likewise spoken of several times in Scripture 
 as an ^Emek. The chief and decisive passage is in the book 
 of Joshua ; where the writer, after enumerating the cities of 
 Gad in Mount Gilead, goes on to say, " and in the valley 
 (p?::^;2) Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, .... Jor- 
 dan and border unto the edge of the sea of Chinneroth. " ^ 
 All these lay in the GhDr. Once the term is applied to the 
 basin of the Huleh, in Avhich the Danites built their city 
 Dan, in the district of Beth-Rehob.^ Twice the " valley of 
 Succoth" is mentioned;^ and, if the present Sakut repre- 
 sents the ancient city, the valley as there contracted is prop- 
 erly an ^Eynek. In like manner, the "vale of Siddim," 
 which was full of slime-pits, and " which is [now] the Salt 
 Sea," ^ could only have been the fertile plain chosen by Lot, 
 south of the Dead Sea, now occupied by the shallow southern 
 portion of that sea. 
 
 1 South of the Dead Sea, Gen xiii. 10, 11, 12, xix. 17, 25, 28, 29. To the plain 
 around Jericho, etc., Deut. xxxiv. 3; 2 Sam. xviii. 23; Neh. iii. 22; Matth. iii. 5; 
 Luke iii. 3. To the upper Ghor, 1 Kings vii. 46; 2 Chron. iv. 17. 
 
 2 Josh. xi. 17, xii. 7; Deut. xxxiv. 3. 
 
 3 Josh. xiii. 27. Judg. xviii. 28. 
 
 c Ps. Ix. 6, cviii. 7. « Gen. xiv. 3, 8, 10. 
 
 11 
 
82 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 Two other valleys of the kind (p^t) are mentioned near 
 Jericho, apparently within the GhOr itself. One is the valley 
 of Achor or ' the Troubler ; ' in which was accomplished the 
 terrible doom of Achan and his family, as having troubled 
 Israel.^ This valley lay on the border between Judah and 
 Benjamin, which, after passing westwards from Beth-hogla, 
 a known point, by Beth-arabah, to the stone of Bohan the 
 son of Reuben, apparently at or near the foot of the moun- 
 tain, went up toward Debir, from the valley of Achor." ^ 
 Hence, this valley is to be sought in the southwest of Jericho ; 
 for Jericho was in Benjamin ; and the same border went up 
 the mountain on the south of the Nahal, now Wady el-Kelt. 
 Jerome wrongly places the valley of Achor on the north of 
 Jericho.^ 
 
 The second valley was the site of a town called ^Emek- 
 Keziz (Sept. 'AfjueKaa-l^}, English Version, ' valley of Keziz.' ^ 
 It belonged to Benjamin ; and is mentioned between Beth- 
 hogla and Beth-arabah, which were on the southern border 
 of that tribe. It lay, therefore, apparently not far from the 
 same border, southeastward from Jericho, in a lower tract 
 or depression of the plain. 
 
 In a similar manner, the remaining species of valley, the 
 Gai (N"^^ t) is twice used of portions of the Ghur. Thus, ' the 
 valley over against Beth-peor,' where Israel was encamped, 
 and where Moses set the law and the testimonies before the 
 people, is obviously a portion of the same tract elsewhere 
 called * the plains of Moab.' ^ It lay apparently between the 
 Wadys Sha'ib and Hesban. Again, the valley of Salt, where 
 
 1 Josh vii. 24, 26. Symbolically, Isa. Ixv. 10; Hos. ii. 15. 
 
 2 Josh. XV. 6, 7. 8 Onomast., Article Achor. 
 
 * Josh, xviii. 21. 
 
 * Deut. iv. 46, iii. 29; corap. Num. xxii. 1, xxxiii. 48, 49; Deut. i. 1. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE EAST. 
 
 83 
 
 Amaziali smote Edom, could only have been at the south 
 end of the Dead Sea ; probably in the western part of the 
 Ghur, at and around the mountain of fossil Salt.^ 
 
 Another place or tract is mentioned in Scripture, in con- 
 nection with the sojourn of Israel in the ' plains of Moab.' 
 It is once called Abel-Shittim, ' meadow of Sliittim ; ' else- 
 where usually only Shittim ; where Israel committed whore- 
 dom with the daughters of Moab ; whence they sent spies to 
 Jericho ; and whence they broke up in order to pass the 
 Jordan .2 Josephus calls the place Abila, and says it was sit- 
 uated sixty stadia from the Jordan.^ Eusebius and Jerome 
 describe Shittim as being adjacent to Mount Peer.* It is 
 therefore not improbable, that this meadow-like tract of 
 Shittim was in part, at least, identical with the above ' valley 
 (x*;?*) over against Beth-Peor.' Once a ' valley (^na) of Shit- 
 tim' is spoken of; which, if anything more than symbolical, 
 would seem to be the ravine on the side of the mountain, 
 forming the head of the meadow-like tract in the plain 
 below.^ 
 
 II. THE GHOR: SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE EAST. 
 
 The neighborhood of Banias, in the northeast corner of 
 the basin of the Huleh, is marked by the descent of two im- 
 mense ravines from Hermon, and of another smaller one, 
 with a brook, from Jebel Heish. They are not referred to 
 in Scripture. 
 
 1 2 Kings xiv. 7; 2 Chron. xxv. IL Another valley of Salt, mentioned in con- 
 nection with David (2 Sam. viii. 13; 1 Chron. xviii. 12), is more probably that 
 which still exists a few miles southeast from Aleppo; Russell's Nat. Hist, of 
 Aleppo, I. p. 55. 
 
 2 Num. xxxiii. 49; Num. xxv. 1; Josh. ii. 1, iii. 1; Mich. vi. 5. 
 
 3 Joseph. Antiq., 4. 8. 1; Ibid., 5. 1. 1. 
 
 * Onomast., Article Sattim. « Joel, iii. 18. 
 
84 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 The westernmost is Wady el-'Asal, which lias its beginning 
 not far south of the village of Shib'a, about four hours N. N. E. 
 of Banias. It forms the mighty cleft between the upper 
 masses and summits of Hermon. and the lower western ridge. 
 It has no village nor hamlet in its entire extent : nor are 
 there in it any fountains. This vast chasm seems to cleave 
 the mountain to its base, and issues from it between two 
 lofty bulwarks, taking its course through the plain along the 
 base of the terrace of Banias.^ 
 
 The second ravine, Wady Khushabeh, begins at the very 
 base of the southwestern peak of Jebel esh-Sheikh, and ex- 
 tends down southwest to the village of Jubbata. Below this 
 village it turns W. S. W. and cuts off from the very flank of 
 Hermon the thin sharp ridge on which the ancient castle 
 stands. The ravine, a deep and almost impassable gulf, 
 issues upon the terrace of Banias, north of the great foun- 
 tain. It has no permanent stream.^ 
 
 The smaller valley, Wady Za'areh, has its beginning in 
 Jebel Heish, at the very base of Hermon, near Mejdel. It 
 runs southwest, with a fine brook, as a pretty, meadow-like 
 valley, called Merj Yafuny, until not far below the lake 
 Phiala it contracts into a wild volcanic glen. Afterwards, 
 sweeping around the end of a ridge, it turns northwest, and 
 descends to Banias. This valley, after reaching the base of 
 the higher hills, has a peculiar feature. It is apparently 
 covered over by a sloping plain, or gentle declivity of arable 
 land, stretching across it, through which, however, it breaks 
 down by a very deep and narrow chasm in the underlying 
 volcanic rock, with jagged perpendicular sides. This chasm 
 extends almost down to Banias, and is so narrow as hardly 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 396, 405. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 401, 403. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE EAST. 
 
 85 
 
 to be noticed, until one comes quite near to it.^ The brook 
 in the upper valley was flowing with a full stream early in 
 June, and at that time reached Banias. But it can hardly 
 be regarded as perennial throughout. 
 
 In connection with the victory of Joshua over Jabin at 
 the waters of Merom, we find in Scripture the name Mizpeh 
 spoken both of a land and of a valley (nrp2).2 The land of 
 Mizpeh, it is said, was under Hermon ; and Joshua chased 
 the flying enemy as far as to Sidon on the west, " and the 
 valley of Mizpeh eastward." Hence it would appear, that 
 the land of Mizpeh (signifying ' a lookout, lofty place ') lay 
 along the lower southeastern declivity of Hermon, includuig 
 the higher portion of Jebel Hcish ; and corresponding nearly 
 to the modern district known as Akiim el-Bellan.^ These 
 limits comprise the two chief sources of the river A'waj, the 
 ancient Pharpar. The valley of Mizpeh, then, would proba- 
 bly be the ' cleft ' or valley by which one of those streams, 
 the Jennany or the 'Arny, issues upon the lower country 
 towards Sa'sa'. In this case, the valley of Mizpeh belongs 
 to the territory of Damascus, as does the Bellan at the present 
 day ; and it is treated of here only because Scripture names 
 it in connection with the Huleh. At a much later period, 
 this land of Mizpeh would seem very probably to have been 
 included in the southwestern part of the Iturea of the Greeks 
 and Romans. 
 
 Looking across the lake of Tiberias from the west, the 
 high table-land along the eastern shore appears like a wall, 
 rising boldly from the water ; and two deep ravines are seen 
 breaking down through it to the lake. That towards the 
 north is Wady Semak, the beginnings of which are in the 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 398, 400, 405. 2 josh. xi. 3, 8. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, 1841, App., pp. 137, 139. 
 
86 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 northeast near the end of Jebel Heish. The southern one, 
 nearly opposite Tiberias, is Wady Fik, having its head near 
 the town of that name.^ Whether the valley of the Passetv- 
 gers on the east of the lake, spoken of by Ezekiel, and also 
 called the valley of Hamon-Gog (multitude of Gog) ,2 had 
 anything to do with either of these ravines, or was perhaps 
 purely symbolical, is quite uncertain. 
 
 About two hours below the lake of Tiberias, comes in the 
 river and valley of the Hieromax ; draining the whole of the 
 vast plain of Hauran. This will be described under the head 
 of Rivers.^ One of the branches of this stream, a winter- 
 brook (xetficippoos) J near Raphon, a place not far from the 
 city Karnaim, is mentioned in the Apocrypha. It was there 
 that Timotheus and his pagan host were discomfited by 
 Judas Maccabaeus.* 
 
 An hour or more south of Pellex, the rather shallow Wady 
 Yabis comes down from the top of the mountain. It merits 
 notice here, as bearing the name of the SiUciei\tJabesh-Gilead; 
 which stood apparently upon its southern side, at a place of 
 ruins now known as ed-Deir.^ 
 
 In like manner, after another hour and a half, the Wady 
 el-Hcmar descends from the mountain. One of its higher 
 branches bears the name of Wady Mahneh, from a place of 
 ruins upon it of the same name, Mahneh. This lies not far 
 nortli of 'Ajlun ; and the name corresponds to the ancient 
 Mahanaim.^ 
 
 Next north of the Jabbok is Wady 'Ajliln, descending 
 
 1 Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 343. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 279 sq. Biblical Researches, 
 n. p. 386 [III. p. 20'2]. 
 
 2 Ezek. xxxix. 11, 15. 3 See Chap. H., Sect. L 
 
 4 1 Mace. V. 37, 39, 40, 42. 
 
 5 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 318, 319. 
 
 6 Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 38-5. Biblical Researches, 1811, App., p. 1G6. 
 
SIDE TALLEYS FROM THE EAST. 
 
 87 
 
 steeply to the GliGr ; having its heads above 'Ajlun. There 
 are fine fountains in it ; but their streams, in summer, do 
 not reach the Jordan. This valley may perhaps be the 
 Bithro?i, which Abner ascended to reach Mahanaim.^ — On 
 its northern side, on one of the high cliffs of the mountain, 
 stands the strong fortress Kul'at er-Rubud, forming a very 
 conspicuous object, and seen from a great distance.^ 
 
 The valley (^"r)» of the Jahhok once called the river of 
 Gad,^ which breaks through the mountain range, will be de- 
 scribed under the Section on Rivers.* 
 
 Nearly opposite Jericho two Wadys descend to the Jordan 
 from the high plain at the top of the mountain. The north- 
 ern one is Wady Sha'ib, coming from the vicinity of es-Salt, 
 in a southwest course. In the plains below, it passes by a 
 site of ruins called Ximrin, the Ximrah and Bcth-niynrah of 
 Scripture. There are also fountains, corresponding to the 
 icaters of XI m rim.'' A strip of verdure marks the course of 
 the Wady through the plain to where it meets the Jordan, 
 about E. by N. of Jericho. 
 
 The other valley is Wady Hesban, coming down from the 
 neighborhood of that ancient city to the Jordan, about E. S. E. 
 of Jericho. Its course too in the plain is marked by a line 
 of verdure, which encloses the brook. The latter comes 
 from the tract west of Heshbon ; but whether it is perennial, 
 is not known. ^ 
 
 We have already treated of one ^ valley over against Beth- 
 
 1 2 Sam. ii. 29. See above, pp. 68, 69. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 445 [II. p. 121], 
 
 3 2 Sam. xxiv. 5. 4 See Chap. II., Sect. I. 
 
 5 Xum. xxxii. 3, 36; Josh, xiii, 27. Onoraast., Article Xemra. Ximrim, Isa. 
 XV. 6; Jer. xlviii. 34. Biblical Researches, I. p. 5')l [II. p. 279]. Seetzen, Reisen, 
 II. p. 318. 
 
 6 Biblical Researches, I. p. 5.51 [II. p. 279]. Seetzen, I. p. 407, 11. p. 323. 
 
88 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Peor,' towards the west, in the Ghor.^ Another valley, de- 
 scribed in the same manner, was the site of the lone and 
 unknpwn grave of Moses, after his decease on Mount Nebo.^ 
 Beth-Peor was situated nearly midway of the mountain-slope,^ 
 and this valley ' over against ' it was probably towards the 
 south, having its beginning under or near Nebo, and descend- 
 ing through a wild unvisited region. 
 
 On the eastern side of the Dead Sea two considerable 
 streams come down through deep and rugged chasms, the 
 Zerka Ma'm and the Mojib ; the former containing the hot 
 baths of Callirrhoe, and the latter being the river Arnon (^ns) 
 of Scripture. From Kerak, the ancient Kir Moab, there de- 
 scends a valley, Wady ed-Dera'ah, with a permanent brook, 
 issuing upon the peninsula. Still further south, and forming 
 the southern boundary of Moab, is the Wady el-Ahsy, with a 
 perennial stream, the ancient Zered (^n:). All the above 
 valleys are treated of in the Section on Rivers.^ Other 
 streams appear on the maps, but they all become dry in 
 summer. 
 
 One other valley or plain on the east remains to be con- 
 sidered. When Israel, on their approach to Palestine, passed 
 up through the desert on the east of Moab, having crossed 
 the head branches of the Arnon, they turned from the desert 
 to MaUanah, Nahaliel, and Banioth (heights).^ Thence their 
 further course was, according to the Hebrew, " from Bamoth 
 to the valley or plain (s^'l^n) that is in the country of Moab, 
 the top of Pisgah, and it looketh towards the wilderness ; " 
 that is, the 'Arabali. Elsewhere it is said, that they en- 
 camped at Dihon and Almon-Diblathaim and in the moun- 
 
 1 See above, p. 83. 
 3 See above, p. Of), 
 s Num. xxi. 13, 10, 19. 
 
 2 Deut. xxxiv. 5, 6; conip. xxxii. 50. 
 * See Chap. H., Sect. I. ii. 
 
SroE VALLEYS FEOM THE WEST. 
 
 89 
 
 tains of Abarim,^ This Gai therefore would seem to be no 
 other than the high plain along the summit of the eastern 
 mountains, in which Dibon was certainly situated. It might 
 properly be called a Gai ; since on the west are eminences 
 forming the crest of the Abarim ; and at some distance on 
 the east is a chain of hills towards the desert.^ 
 
 III. THE GHOR: SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 The northernmost valley which enters the basin of the 
 Huleh from the northwest, is that of the Derdarah, the stream 
 coming from Merj 'Ayun. This stream, though not strictly 
 perennial, will be described among the branches of the upper 
 Jordan.3 
 
 Opposite to the lake of the Huleh, the great Wady Hen- 
 daj breaks down through the western mountaiTi by a deep 
 and narrow chasm ; the steep banks of which are several 
 hundred feet high. It drains the region around el-Jish 
 ( Giscala) and further west. In May, 1852, a fine brook was 
 flowing in it ; which, however, did not appear to be peren- 
 nial.* 
 
 Three valleys issue upon the plain of Gennesareth from 
 the adjacent hills. The northernmost is Wady el-'Amud, 
 which drains the region around Safed ; its bed was dry in 
 May, 1 852. The next, which also enters the plain from the 
 west, is the Wady er-Rubudiyeh, the continuation of Wady 
 Sellameh, which comes from the eastern portion of the plain 
 of Rameh.^ A fine brook flowing in it in spring and early 
 
 1 Num. xxL 20; comp. xxxiii. 45-47. 
 
 2 Barckhardt, Syria, p. 366. Comp. above, p. 60. 
 
 3 See Chap. II., Sect. 1. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, pp. 364, 365. 
 « Later Biblical Researches, pp. 80, 81, 344. 
 12 
 
90 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 summer is nearly used up in irrigating the southern part of 
 the plain. The third valley is Wady el-Hamam, coming in 
 from the southwest. It has its beginning in the hills north- 
 west of Hattin, and descends to the plain of that village ; 
 which itself is but a terrace or step between the high table- 
 land further south and the lower tract along the lake ; and 
 is skirted by a ridge along its northeastern side. Nearly 
 opposite the village the Wady breaks down through this 
 ridge by a deep and singular chasm. The sides of the upper 
 or southwestern portion of the chasm are precipitous rock, 
 five or six hundred feet in height. The length of the chasm 
 is over a mile ; its course about northeast ; and it becomes 
 gradually wider towards the lower end. About midway of 
 the passage, there are caverns in the cliffs on each side ; 
 though fewer on the left. On the right several of these 
 caverns are walled up in front ; and these are now called 
 Kul'at Ibn Ma'an. Further down, at the mouth of the 
 chasm, are many smaller excavations in the upper perpen- 
 dicular cliffs.^ The bed of the Wady, below the chasm, 
 turns to the lake near Mejdel (Magdala). On the southeast- 
 ern bank of Wady el-Hamam, just above where it enters the 
 chasm, is a site of ruins, now called Irbid. This is the Beth- 
 Arbel of Scripture, and the Arbela of Josephus ; near which 
 the historian describes caverns in the face of a precipice, 
 which was occupied by robbers as a fastness, from which they 
 were dislodged by Herod.^ 
 
 South of the lake of Tiberias, and below the mouth of the 
 Hieromax, the Wady el-Bireh descends from the west to the 
 Jordan. It drains the country on the east and south of 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 312, 343. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 342, 343. Joseph. Bel. Jud., 1. 16. 2-4. Antiq., 
 14. 15. 4, 5. Biblical Researches, H. p. 398 sq. fHL pp. 280, 281]. 
 
SroE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 91 
 
 Mount Tabor ; and is formed by two main brandies, both 
 deep ; one coming from Khan et-Tujjar on the northeast of 
 the mountain ; the other, Wady Sherar, having its begin- 
 nings in the plain south of Tabor and around Endor. The 
 united valley breaks down to the Ghor by a deep and sharp 
 chasm. ^ 
 
 We now come to the great scriptural valley {p^^.) of Jez- 
 reel? This extends from the plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon 
 eastward ; and is indeed the middle one of the three great 
 arms, into which that jDlain divides itself towards the east. 
 The valley lies between the mountains of Little Hermon on 
 the north, and Gilboa on the south. Its beginning, the 
 dividing line or watershed in the great plain, is near the 
 villages Fuleh and 'AfCileh. From this point it sinks rapidly 
 along the western end of Little Hermon, until it turns E. S. E. 
 along that mountain. Its southwestern bank, in this upper 
 part, is already more than a hundred feet high at the village 
 of Zer'in (Jezreel) ; and is a steep and rocky declivity. The 
 mountains on each side extend to the Ghor, being about an 
 hour apart. Jezreel in the west, and Bethshean in the east, 
 were in sight of each other, at the opposite ends of this great 
 avenue. 
 
 This valley forms a beautiful meadow-like plain, from two 
 to three miles in breadth by about fifteen in length, watered 
 by the great fountain of Jezreel, the Tubania of the crusaders, 
 now called 'Ain Jalud.^ There are also other fountains in 
 the valley lower down ; and the stream, as the Jalud, con- 
 tinues down to the Ghor. The valley is very fertile, and is 
 mostly cultivated, even to the top of the northern hills east- 
 
 1 Later Biblical Eesearclics, pp. 340, 341. 
 
 2 Josh. xvii. 16; Judj?. vi. 33; Ilosca i. 5. 
 
 3 1 Sam. xxix. 1. Biblical Researches, IL p. 323 [IIL p. 168J. 
 
92 Pin\SICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 ward of Little Hermon. The southern side is everywhere 
 shut in by the bare rocky wall of Gilboa.^ Beisan stands 
 just upon the brow of the descent or offset by which this 
 upper plain drops down to the lower level of the Ghur. 
 Towards the south, a portion of the upper plain stretches off 
 along the eastern front of the mountains of Gilboa.^ It was 
 in the valley of Jezreel, that Gideon discomfited the Midian- 
 ites ; and here too was fought the battle between Israel and 
 the Philistines, in which Saul and Jonathan were slain on 
 Mount Gilboa.^ This valley and the plain of Esdraelon fur- 
 nish a direct and easy passage from the Jordan to the Medi- 
 terranean. 
 
 South of the mountains of Gilboa and of Sakut comes 
 in Wady Malih (Salt) ; so called from a place of salt 
 springs found upon it. It begins near Teyasir (^Asher)-,^ and, 
 passing down eastward for a time, afterwards winds off 
 among the low hills and ridges, which here constitute the 
 west side of the Ghor. South of the low bluff on which Sa- 
 kut lies, Wady Malih reaches the Jordan as a broad valley 
 with a deep channel.^ 
 
 The next important valley is Wady el-Fari'a ; which has 
 its remotest head in the plain of the Mukhna near Nabu- 
 lus, of which it is the drain. Another head begins north- 
 west of Tulluzah, and is the main branch. The former, 
 commencing some distance south of Nabulus, and passing 
 along on the east of the low ledge which is before the little 
 plain of Salim, afterwards lies close to the eastern mountain, 
 and sweeping around its northwestern flank, breaks down to 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 338, 339. 
 
 2 Sec above, p. 77. 
 
 3 Judg. vi. 33, vii. 1 sq.; 1 Sam. xxix. 1, xxxi. 1-10. 
 
 4 Josh. xvii. 7. 
 
 « Later Biblical Researches, pp. 306, 309. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 93 
 
 the level of the Fari'a by a deep and narrow chasm, along 
 which the rocky strata are singularly dislocated. Below are 
 several mills. The main branch comes down further north, 
 with a fine stream. Still another valley and stream come in 
 from the northwest, at Burj el-Fari'a, a small ruined tower 
 on a low bluff ; and here too is a mill, with immense deposits 
 from the water on the rocks. The streams unite some dis- 
 tance further down the valley. The general direction of the 
 valley is about E. S. E. In one part it is a beautiful basin 
 of meadow land, two or three miles in diameter, with the 
 stream meandering through it. Below this meadow the 
 valley is shut in by a spur from the northern hills and a 
 projecting rock on the south, forming a narrow gorge or door, 
 still an hour from the line of the Ghor. The extreme east- 
 ern point of the northern hills, forming the bluff in the angle 
 between the Fari'a and the Ghor, is called Makhrud. Be- 
 tween this and Kurn Surtabeh the broad plain of the Fari'a 
 merges in that of the Ghor, here known as the Kurawa.^ 
 
 On the other side of Kurn Surtabeli, which projects to- 
 wards the southeast far into the Gliur, between it and the 
 next, and lower promontory of the western mountain, called 
 el-Muskurah, a broad bay or offset extends up from the Ghor. 
 Into this offset descend two deep and precipitous gorges (the 
 northern one is Wady Bursheh), which unite below, and form 
 Wady Fusail, from a site of ruins of that name, the repre- 
 sentatives of the ancient Phasaelis. In the northern chasm, 
 nearly an hour above the present village, is a fine fountain, 
 'Ain Fusail ; the water of which flows to the village, and is 
 there absorbed by irrigation.^ 
 
 The deep gorge of Wady el-'Aiijeh enters the Glior south 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 301, 304. t 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 292, 293. Van de Velde Memoir, p. 122. 
 
94 
 
 rHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 of el-Muskurah. It is known further up as Wady es-Sar 
 mieh and Wady Muhamch ; and drains the region above and 
 around Kefr Malik.^ 
 
 The next valley is Wady en-Nawa'imeh. Commencing in 
 the northeast of Bethel, it passes between Deir Duwan and 
 Rimmon as Wady el-Mutyah or el-'Asas, and breaks down to 
 the Ghor as a deep and precipitous gorge. Along this gorge 
 we ascended in 1838 to Deir Duwan and Bethel from Jericlio. 
 The course of the Wady lies across the northern part of the 
 terrace at the foot of tlie mountain, just north of the foun- 
 tains of Duk.2 
 
 Directly back of Jericho lies the wild glen by which the 
 great Wady Kelt enters the Gh6r. This valley drains the 
 whole region east of Jerusalem as far north as to Bethel. It 
 receives many branches ; as Wady es-Suweinit, beginning be- 
 tween Bethel and el-Bireh, and passing down between Geba 
 and Michmash ; Wady Farah, having its head south of 
 Ramah ; and other shorter Wadys further south. These all 
 unite in the high table-land above, and form the Kelt, in 
 which, however, there flows no permanent stream. On the 
 south side of the deep gorge by which it issues from the 
 mountains, the road to Jerusalem climbs an 'Akabah (pass) 
 of seven or eight hundred feet, in order to gain the higher 
 region above. On this road, and within the gorge, is seen a 
 deserted tower, now called KakSn.^ 
 
 • The stream of this valley in winter, with that of 'Ain es- 
 Sultanor Elisha's fountain, which flows to it, is doubtless 
 " the water of Jericho," which, at its confluence with the 
 Jordan, marked the point of departure for the border between 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 201, 292. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, \. pp. 444, 568, 572 [H. pp. 120, 303, 309]. 
 8 Biblical Researches, L pp. 557, 558 [IL p. 288J. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 95 
 
 Benjamin and the sons of Joscpli ; namely, " from Jordan by 
 Jericho, at the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilder- 
 ness," etc.,1 and the 'river' (^ns) mentioned in Scripture, 
 as on the border between Judah and Benjamin, where this 
 border ascends the mountain.^ Wady Kelt would seem 
 also, with more probability than any other valley, to be the 
 ' brook' (bn) Cherith, where Elijah hid himself and was fed 
 by ravens. The prophet being at Samaria, the residence of 
 Ahab, was directed to turn " eastward " to the Cherith, "that 
 is, towards Jordan."^ Josephus, speaking appa- 
 
 rently according to the natural tradition, says, that the 
 prophet went to " the parts towards the south " (ra tt/do? vo- 
 Tov fieprj^.^ In the indefiniteness of the ancients as to points 
 of compass, both of the above specifications may be taken as 
 referring to the southeast; and are thus reconciled. Further, 
 the names Cherith and Kelt are made up of corresponding 
 Hebrew and Arabic consonants ; the main difference being 
 the change of r to Z, which is not unusual.^ We thus have, 
 in favor of the proposed identity, this close resemblance 
 of names and a probable location. Christian tradition was 
 early at fault in respect to the Cherith. Eusebius and 
 Jerome place it on the east of the Jordan ; and, many cen- 
 turies later, the crusaders found it in Wady Fusail.^ But 
 in the latter case Josephus could hardly speak of the prophet 
 as going from Samaria towards the south. 
 
 In the time of Saul, while the Philistines were encamped 
 
 1 Josh. xvi. 1; comp, xviii. 12, 13. 2 Josh, xv, 7. 
 
 3 1 Kings xvii. 3-7. Not before nor east of Jordan; comp. Gen. xviii. 26, xix. 
 28; Judg. xvi. 3. 
 
 * Joseph. Antiq., 8. 13. 2. 
 
 * Gesen. Hcb. Lex., letter ^, Comp. also the name of the place "PivoKoKovpa 
 and 'PtvoJ/coupa. 
 
 6 Brocardus, c. 7, p. 178. Marin. Sanut., p. 247. 
 
96 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 at Miclimash, and Saul and Jonathan with about six hundred 
 men lay at Gibeah of Benjamin, the Philistines sent out 
 three companies of spoilers : one towards the north, to Ophra 
 (Taijibeh) ; one towards the west, to Beth-lioron ; and a third 
 by " way of the border that looketh towards the valley of 
 Zeboim towards the wilderness." ^ As Saul and his men 
 lay at Gibeah, southwest of Michmash, the course of this last 
 company was probably towards the south or southeast ; and 
 the ' border ' spoken of was that between Benjamin and 
 Judah. The valley of Zeboim, or Hyenas, then, woul4 
 seem to have been an open valley lying in that direction 
 from Michmash, and forming one of the head-branches of 
 Wady Kelt. A town Zeboim is also named in Scripture as 
 belonging to Benjamin ; but, judging from the places with 
 which it is enumerated, it must have been situated further 
 west than Ramah, perhaps in or near the plain of Lydda.^ 
 Of course it had nothing to do with the above valley. 
 
 We come now to valleys more frequently mentioned in 
 Scripture than any other ; namely, those round about the 
 Holy City. They are the ' brook ' (^n3) Kidron on the north 
 and east of the city, usually called the valley of Jehoshaphat ; 
 and the valley of Hinnom on the west and south. Upon 
 the broad and elevated promontory within the fork of these 
 two valleys, lies Jerusalem.^ 
 
 The Kidron in Hebrew is a Nalial (^ri_3) ; which in the 
 Seventy, the New Testament, and Josephus, is rendered 
 * winter brook ' (^etfiappo^') ; and Josephus speaks of it also 
 as a ' ravine ' (^cpdpay^) It has its beginning just by the 
 
 1 1 Sam. xiii. 15-18. 2 Xeh. xi. 34. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, I. p. 258 sq. [I. p. 380 sq.]. 
 
 * Hcb. and Sept., 2 Sam. xv. 23; 1 Kings ii. 38, etc.; John xviii. 1. Joseph. 
 Antiq., 8. 1. 5. Also Joseph. Bel. Jud., 5. 2. 3, Ibid., 5. 4. 2. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 97 
 
 tombs of the Judges, about half an hour N. by W. of the city, 
 in a slight depression through which one begins to descend 
 into the great Wady Beit Hanina which goes to the Medi- 
 terranean. The region here, around the head of the Kidron, 
 is very rocky, and full of excavated sepulchres ; and these 
 continue with more or less frequency on both sides of the 
 valley all the way down to Jerusalem. The valley runs for 
 fifteen minutes directly towards the city ; it is here shallow 
 and broad, and in some places tilled, though very stony. 
 It then turns nearly east, almost at a right angle, for about 
 ten minutes, passing on the north of the tombs of the Kings. 
 Here it is still shallow ; and is about two hundred rods dis- 
 tant from tlie present city. It then bends again to the south, 
 and following this general course passes between the city 
 and the mount of Olives. 
 
 Opposite the northern part of the city and above, the val- 
 ley spreads out into a basin of some breadth, now tilled, and 
 having plantations of olive and other fruit trees. Further 
 down, the valley contracts and descends rapidly ; and the 
 steep western side becomes steeper and more and more ele- 
 vated above the bottom. At the gate of St. Stephen this 
 elevation is one hundred feet ; at the southeast corner of the 
 Haram-area it is one hundred and fifty feet. On the east 
 the mount of Olives rises higher, but is not so steep. At tho 
 tomb of Absalom, so called, the bottom of the valley has be- 
 come merely a deep gully, the narrow bed as of a torrent, 
 from which the hills rise directly on each side. Beneath the 
 southeast corner of the Haram, the valley makes a sharp turn 
 for a moment to the right, and then passes down as before. 
 This part is the narrowest of all ; it is here a mere ravine 
 between mountains. The corner of the Haram-area over- 
 hangs this part ; the angle of the wall standing upon the 
 
 13 
 
98 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 very brink of the steep declivity. Still further south the 
 western hill declines towards the south as rapidly as the 
 valley itself, the latter opens gradually, and receives from 
 the west the Tyropoeon with the rill from Siloam. Below 
 this it becomes broader, and is tilled ; and just below the 
 point where the valley of Hinnom comes in, is the well of 
 Job or Nehemiah, the ancient En-rogel.^ 
 
 For about nve hundred yards below this well, the valley 
 continues its course S. S. TV., and is from fifty to one hun- 
 dred yards wide. It is here full of olive and fig trees ; and 
 is in most parts tilled and sown with grain. It then turns 
 S. 75° E. for about half a mile ; after which it takes a more 
 southern course for a time, and passes on as a very deep, 
 wild, rocky chasm, about E. S. E. to the Dead Sea, which it 
 enters just south of Ras el-Feshkhali. On the right bank 
 of this chasm, somewhat more than half way towards the 
 Dead Sea, is situated the celebrated convent of Mar Saba, 
 founded in the early part of the sixth century. From it the 
 valley is called in that part and above, by the Arabs, Wady 
 er-Rahib, ' Monks' valley ; ' while near to the Dead Sea it is 
 known as Wady en-Nar, ' Fire valley.' ^ 
 
 At the present day the ' brook ' Kidron of Scripture is 
 nothing more than the dry bed of a winter torrent. No 
 stream flows in it now, except occasionally in the rainy 
 season of winter, when after heavy rain the waters rush down 
 into it from the neighboring hills, and form (though rarely) 
 a torrent. Nor is there any evidence that there was anciently 
 more water in it than at present.^ 
 
 The valley (x'l^) of Hinnom is called in Scripture also the 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 268-272 [L pp. 396-400]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 272, 382, 531 [L p. 402, H. pp. 26, 249]. 
 8 Biblical Researches, I. p. 272 [I. p. 402]. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 99 
 
 valley of the son or sons of Hinnom.^ It has its beginnings 
 in a shallow depression or basin west of the northern part of 
 the city ; in the midst of which basin is the upper pool or 
 reservoir, usually filled with water.^ On the west a swell of 
 land divides it from the valley in which is the convent of 
 tlie Cross ; on the south is a low hill ; and beyond it the val- 
 ley or plain of Rephaim. From the basin the open stony 
 valley runs E. S. E. nearly to the Yafa gate of the city ; the 
 depth of the valley at this point being about forty-five feet 
 lower than the gate. It here turns south, and lies along 
 under the steep western declivity of Zion, quite to its south- 
 western corner. Here only a low ridge or swell separates it 
 from tlie plain of Rephaim. Higher up, nearly opposite the 
 south wall of the modern city, the whole breadth of the valley 
 is occupied by the ruins of an ancient reservoir, the lower 
 pool.^ 
 
 At the southwest corner of Zion the valley sweeps around 
 to the east, and descends with great rapidity, between Zion 
 and the opposite hill in the south, to the valley of the Kidron ; 
 which it enters about one hundred yards above the well of 
 Job. The hill south of Hinnom is steep, rocky, and full of 
 sepulchres. The southeastern corner of Zion, between the 
 two valleys, runs down and out in a low point. At the junc- 
 tion of the two valleys there is an open oblong plot, reaching 
 from the gardens below Siloam nearly to the wall of Job, 
 and comprising also the lower portion of Hinnom. Its 
 breadth is one hundred and fifty yards or more. The west- 
 ern and northwestern parts of this plot are in like manner 
 
 1 Josh. XV. 8; Jer. xix. 2, 6; 2 Kings xxiii. 10, Keth. 
 
 2 Isa. vii. 3. Biblical Researches, I. pp. 238, 326 [I. pp. 352, 483]. 
 8 Isa. xxii. 9. Biblical Researches, I. p. 327 [I. p. 485]. 
 
100 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 occupied by gardens ; many of which are on terraces, and 
 receive a portion of the waters of Siloam.^ 
 
 In these gardens, lying partly within the lower end of the 
 valley of Hinnom, Jerome fixes the place of Tophet, where 
 the Jews practised the horrid rites of Moloch and Baal, 
 and " burned their sons and their daughters in the fire." ^ 
 Tophet was not the name of the valley ; but was merely a 
 place in the valley of Hinnom.^ It was probably in allusion 
 to this detested and abominable fire, that the later Jews ap- 
 plied the name of this valley, Gehenna (tisn-'a, yeev^a), to 
 denote the place of future punishment, or the fires of hell ; 
 and thus it was also used by our Lord and others in the New 
 Testament.* 
 
 In the basin at the upper end of the valley of Hinnom, 
 west of the city and near the upper pool, there was anciently 
 a fountain called Gihon. A ' brook ' (^ns) appears to have 
 flowed from it down to the valley. This fountain Hezekiah 
 caused to be stopped ; and brought its waters " down to the 
 west side of the city of David." ^ This was done for the 
 purposes of military defence. The Son of Sirach also tells 
 us, that " Hezekiah strengthened his city, and brought in 
 water into the midst of it ; he dug with iron into the rock 
 and built fountains for the waters." ^ From all this it would 
 seem to follow, that Hezekiah covered over the fountain of 
 Gihon, and brought its waters into the city, and probably to 
 the temple, by a subterranean channel. This inference has 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 272-274 [1. p. 402^05]. 
 
 2 Jer. vii. 31; 2 Kings xxiii. 10; corap. Jer. xxxii. 35 with Jer. xix. 5. 
 
 3 Ibid. Also Jer. vii. 32, xix. 6, 11-14. So ' the valley,' Jer. ii. 23. 
 
 4 Matth. V. 22; xvlii. 9; Mark ix. 43, 45; James iii. 6, etc. 
 
 * 2 Chron. xxxii. 4, 30; comp. xxxiii. 14, Heb. Biblical Researches, I. p. 346 
 [L p. 512]. 
 6 Sirac xlviii. 17 [19], Cod. Alex. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FKOM THE WEST. 
 
 101 
 
 been strengthened by an aqueduct hewn in the rock, discov- 
 ered on Zion. Indeed, it is not impossible, that some connec- 
 tion may yet be detected, between the intermitting fountain 
 in the valley below the Haram, and some channel now 
 unknown bringing down the water of the ancient Gihon to 
 the temple. It was to Gihon, or more probably to summer 
 gardens below it, that Solomon was brought down from Zion, 
 in order to be proclaimed king.^ 
 
 When Abraham was returning from the slaughter of the 
 kings, the king of Sodom went out to meet him " at the 
 valley (p^?) of Shaveh, which is the King^s dale ; " and of 
 Absalom it is related, that in his lifetime he erected for 
 himself a monumental pillar in the same King's dale.^ Jo- 
 sephus, speaking doubtless according to national tradition, 
 says that this monument was two stadia, a quarter of a mile, 
 distant from Jerusalem.^ Now a valley at this distance from 
 the city is found at three points, and no more. One is the 
 upper part of the Kidron, where it runs first southeast and 
 then east ; the distance being reckoned from the northern 
 (third) wall in the time of Josephus. Another is the head 
 of the valley of Hinnom, around the upper pool. The third 
 is the Kidron below the well of Job. The first of these is 
 still marked by the elaborate tombs of the Judges and many 
 other ancient sepulchres ; the remaining two have none. 
 The monument erected by Absalom was apparently in the 
 nature of a sepulchral column or cippus ; "for he said, I 
 have no son to keep my name in remembrance ; " ^ and a 
 natural place for it would be in the upper Kidron, among 
 other sepulchral monuments and sepulchres. The rock-hewn 
 
 1 1 Kinfrs i. 33, 38, 45. Joseph. Antiq., 7. 14. 5. 
 
 2 Gen xiv. 17; 2 Sam. xviii. 18. 3 Joseph. Antiq., 7. 10, 3. 
 ^ 2 Sam. xviii. 18; comp. Gen. xxxv. 20. 
 
102 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 tomb now known as Absalom's, in the Kidron valley below 
 and opposite the ancient temple, cannot here come into the 
 account, for the distance does not agree ; and its form is that 
 of the rock tombs of Petra, belonging to a period later than 
 the Christian era.^ The King's dale, then, was the upper 
 Kidron ; and here the King of Sodom met Abraham return- 
 ing from the north along the usual road, to reach his tents 
 near Hebron.^ If now the King's dale of Abraham and that 
 of Absalom be the same, it follows conclusively, that the 
 Salem of Melchizedek was Jerusalem ; and not, as Jerome 
 supposes, a Salem a few miles south of Scythopolis.^ 
 
 The prophet Joel speaks of the Valley (P^>) of Jehoshapliat, 
 as the place where God will judge the heathen for their op- 
 pression of the Jews.* This would seem to be merely a sym- 
 bolical valley, in allusion to the signification of the name, 
 Jehovah judg-eth. There is not the slightest historical ground, 
 either in the Scriptures or in Josephus, for connecting it 
 with the valley of the Kidron. But it was very early so 
 connected ; for already in the fourth century we find Euse- 
 bius and others speaking of the Kidron as the valley of 
 Jehoshaphat.^ On a like slender foundation rests the popular 
 belief current among Jews, Romanists, and Muhammedans, 
 that the last judgment will be held in this valley.^ Yet after 
 tliis long usage of the name, there is now no valid reason 
 why we should not still so employ it. 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 349-352 [I. pp. 518-521]. 2 Gen. xlv. 13. 
 
 3 Hieron. Ep. ad Evang., 73. Opera (ed. Martianay), H. p. 573. Later Bib- 
 lical Researches, p. 333. 
 
 4 Joel iii. [iv.] 2, 12. 
 
 5 Onomast., Article Codas. Cyrill in Joel iii. [iv.] 2, 12. Itin. Hieros., p. 594 
 (ed. "Wess.). 
 
 6 Reland, Palaestina, p. 355. Quaresmius, IL p. 156. Mejr. ed-Din in Fundgr. 
 des Or., H. p. 381. Biblical Researches, I. p. 269 [I. p. 396]. 
 
SIDE VALLEYS FROM THE WEST. 
 
 103 
 
 The prophet Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem itself as valley 
 (N'l^) of Vision; and Jeremiah also once called it simply the 
 Valley (P^?) The temple at Jerusalem, where Jehovah was 
 enthroned , was properly the seat of vision ; but why the city 
 is addressed as a valley, is not so clear. Moriah, on which 
 the temple stood, was separated from the higher western hills 
 Zion and Akra, by a depression or valley within the city. 
 Did perhaps the valley of tlie prophets refer to the fact, that 
 from those higher points the temple appeared lower, and as 
 if in a valley ? Or did it refer to the more general feature, 
 that the whole city lies upon the upper slope of the Kidron, 
 and descends rapidly towards that valley ? 
 
 Another valley mentioned in Scripture is also to be re- 
 ferred to the Kidron. The prophet Amos, to express the 
 extent of the land from north to south, gives it as " from the 
 entering in of Hamath unto the river of the wilderness." ^ 
 Another sacred writer, presenting the same idea, says " from 
 the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain," or Dead 
 Sea.^ In the first case it is the valley (^^i) of the ^Arabah; 
 in the second, it is in like manner the sea of the ^ Arahah ; 
 each being the southern limit. The former, therefore, would 
 seem to be the Kidron, which enters the Dead Sea not far 
 from its northern end. 
 
 There remains a single valley named in Scripture south of 
 the Kidron. It is the valley of Beracliah, or of Blessing, ren- 
 dered memorable by the rejoicings of the Hebrews after the 
 victory of Jehoshaphat.^ It was in the " wilderness of Te- 
 koa." At the present day there exists west of Tekoa a ruined 
 town on the west side of a broad open valley running north ; 
 and both the town and the valley in that part bear the name 
 
 1 Isa. xxii. 1, 5; Jer. xxi. 13. 
 8 2 Kings xiv. 25. 
 
 2 Amos vi. 14. 
 
 * 2 Chron. xx. 26; comp. v. 20-23. 
 
104 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAKD. 
 
 of Beraikutj corresponding to the ancient Berachah. The 
 valley afterwards tarns southeast ; is then called Wady Khan- 
 zireh ; and appears to run to Wady Khureitun.^ 
 
 Along the western coast of the Dead Sea, south of the 
 Kidron, several great valleys break down to the shore by 
 deep and wild gorges ; but as none of them are alluded to 
 in Scripture, it is not essential to describe them here. Such 
 are the Wadys Ta'amirah, Derejeh, el-Ghar or 'Areijeh, el- 
 Khubarah, es-Seyal, etc. 
 
 IV. VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 The valleys of the western slope, along the coast, present 
 in their upper portions the same general features as those 
 already described. Having their commencement in the 
 mountains and hill-country, they take their course some- 
 times for a long distance through the same, as deep chasms ; 
 and then break through and issue upon the western plains 
 by narrow gorges, like those along the Ghor. In the plains 
 they are, for the most part, only shallow water-beds ; by 
 which the waters of the rainy season are drained off to the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 The northernmost valley to be mentioned here is found in 
 the hill-country southeast from Tyre. Three valleys, con- 
 verging from different points, come together in the plain 
 around the village of Rumeish ; one from the northeast near 
 Bint Jebeil; another from the S. S. E. from around Kefr 
 Bir'im and Sa'sa' ; and the third from the southwest. From 
 Rumeish the plain or broad valley extends N. N. W. for half 
 an hour, when it contracts ; but afterwards expands again 
 into a smaller plain south of Dibl ; after which it again con- 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 275. Wolcott in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, p. 43. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 105 
 
 tracts. This valley is known as Wady el-'Ayun ; and the 
 direct road from Rumeish to Tyre passes along it as far as 
 to its junction with Wady Seribbin coming from the north- 
 east from towards Tibnin. Here the valley turns southwest, 
 along the southeastern base of the outermost ridge. After 
 following this course for some time, it again turns between 
 west and northwest, issues from the mountains by a deep 
 and narrow gorge, and as Wady el-'Azziyeh skirts the north- 
 ern base of the mountains to the sea near Ras el-Abyad.^ 
 
 Between this promontory and Ras en-Nakurah further 
 south, a shorter valley, Wady Hamul, breaks down through 
 the mountains by a narrow gap to the coast.^ 
 
 The great valley of the wild region back of Ras en-Naku- 
 rah and the plain of ' Akka, is the Wady el-Kurn. It drains 
 a large tract of country ; having one of its two main heads 
 above Beit Jenn in the southeastern angle of the mountains ; 
 and the other in the little plain of Bukei'a further west. 
 The valley forms everywhere a deep and wild chasm ; and 
 is described by the Arabs, in true oriental style, as so deep 
 and precipitous as to be impassable, so that even eagles con- 
 not fly across it. On an isolated cliff in this valley is situated 
 the fortress of Kurein, the ^Montfort of the crusaders ; now in 
 ruins and almost inaccessible. The great chasm by which 
 the valley breaks down to the western plain and sea, not far 
 south of en-Nakurah, is visible from 'Akka.^ 
 
 The western part of the fine plain of Ramah, in the hill- 
 country east of 'Akka, is drained by a head branch of Wady 
 Sha'ab. It breaks through the ridge south of the plain by a 
 gap ; and is there joined by another branch, coming from 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. G2, G7, C8. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 05. 
 
 3 Later Biblical Researches, pp. GG, 7G, 77, 90. 
 
 14 
 
106 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAKD. 
 
 Sukhnm and 'Arrabeh. The valley descends rapidly, and 
 becomes deep and narrow, but is not rocky. The hills sink 
 down gradually as it enters the plain ; through which it 
 passes on, as a meadow-like, marshy depression, to the river 
 Na'man, the ancient Belus, near its mouth. The perma- 
 nent sources of the latter are in the plain. Wady Sha'ab 
 has usually no water.^ 
 
 The next important valley is Wady 'Abilin, which there is 
 good reason for regarding as the scriptural valley of 
 Jiplithah-el on the border of Zebulun and Asher.^ This val- 
 ley has its main head in the fertile basin east of the sightly 
 village of Kaukab, lying northeast from 'Abilin. Into this 
 basin there descends from the east a short open Wady, which 
 separates the hill Deidebeh overhanging Kefr Menda from 
 the line of hills further north. Just beyond the watershed 
 at the head of this Wady is the site of Jefat, the ancient Jota- 
 pata ; and from it a valley runs down southeast to the plain 
 el-Biittauf at Cana ; thus in a manner isolating the hill Dei- 
 debeh. From the basin above mentioned, Wady 'Abilin 
 sweeps off south and southwest around the high tract on 
 which Kaukab stands ; and turning northwest passes down 
 on the north of 'Abilin to the western plain ; where it goes 
 to the river Na'man. The northern border of Zebulun was 
 carried from Hemmon, now Rummaneh, in the plain el- 
 Buttauf, on the north to Hannathon ; " and the outgoings 
 thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah-el." Again, the eastern 
 border of Asher, coming from Beth-dagon south of Carmel, 
 " reacheth to Zebulun and to the valley of Jiphthah-el." It 
 seems probable, therefore, that the line of hills between Sukh- 
 nin and Kefr Menda was the northern boundary of Zebulun 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 78, 85, 87, 88, 103. 
 
 2 Josh. xix. 14, 27. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 107 
 
 ill this part ; and that the valley of Jiphthah-el. was no other 
 than the great Wady 'Abilin, which has its beginning in 
 those hills near Jefat. There may be also some correspon- 
 dence between the Hebrew Jiphtah, the Greek Jotapata, and 
 the Arabia Jefdt ; inasmuch as the Greek term came through 
 the corrupt dialect of the Galilaeans. Hence, the valley 
 may have given its name to the place, or vice versa} 
 
 The western part of the plain of Zebulun, el-Buttauf, is 
 drained by a water-bed called Wady Bedawiyeh ; which, still 
 in the plain, is joined by another, draining the tract of country 
 east of Seffurieh and around Tur'an .nearly to Lubieh. It 
 passes off as a narrow plain in a southwesterly course, among 
 low hills ; and further down unites with Wady Seffurieh, 
 coming from the great fountain south of that place, with a 
 fine brook. At some distance below it takes the name of 
 Wady Melik, becomes narrower, and winds among higher 
 hills, until it joins the Kishon, just as the latter enters the 
 plains of 'Akka. The stream in it is understood not to be 
 permanent.^ 
 
 The ' river ' ( ^ns) Kishon itself passes in a northwest course 
 from the plain of Esdraeloii to that of 'Akka by a valley 
 between Carmel and the hills opposite. See in Chap. H. 
 Sect. I. 
 
 South of the plain of Esdraelon the hills for a time are 
 lower ; and, though there are many valleys running in 
 various directions, there are none at first which demand 
 notice here. The fine plain around Dothan and Ya'bud is 
 drained in that part by Wady Wesa', passing off west on 
 the south of Ya'bud. Further down it takes the name of 
 Wady Abu Nar ; and after a large bend to the south enters 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 105, 107. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 110, 112, 113. 
 
108 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the western plain on the north of Jett ; and goes to the sea 
 as the river Abu Zabura, south of Caesarea.^ 
 
 Another valley, Wady Mussin, coming down from the 
 plain of Fendekumieh, with a narrow and deep channel, was 
 said to join the Wady Abu Nar in the western plain. Others 
 regard it as uniting with the next valley, Wady Sha'ir.^ 
 
 Then follows the great Wady Sha'ir, coming from Nabulus. 
 The narrow valley between mounts Ebal and Gerizim, in 
 which that city lies, has a gradual ascent for half an hour 
 from the plain of the Mukhna to the town, situated directly 
 upon the watershed, beyond which the valley descends 
 towards the northwest. Hence all the waters coming down 
 from Gerizim into the city, and all the fountains on that side, 
 flow off northwestward ; and the stream continues, even 
 in summer, for several miles down the valley. The chan- 
 nel skirts the southern and western sides of the basin of 
 Samaria, receiving all the waters drained from the adjacent 
 regions ; and passes out in the northwest by a deep valley 
 between high hills near Ramin. The bottom of this part of 
 the valley, as also the hills, are in many parts cultivated ; 
 and there are in the valley many very old olive trees. At 
 'Anebta, an hour below Ramin, are several mills, driven in 
 winter by the stream. Down this valley, by 'Anebta and 
 Tul Keram, passes the ordinary camel road from Nabulus to 
 Ramleh and Yafa ; which, though circuitous, affords an 
 easier descent and ascent of the mountain than any other. 
 This valley sweeps round in the plain on the north of Kal- 
 unsaweh ; and is marked on the recent maps as turning 
 southwestward to the sea at the marshes near the village of 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 121, 122. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 121, 125. Van de Velde's Map. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 109 
 
 Failiik. There is no permanent stream in its lower part, 
 nor at the mouth. ^ 
 
 South of Nabulus and Wady Sha'ir, the valleys which 
 drain the western slope and brow of the mountains and enter 
 the plain, as far south as to the parallel of Jerusalem, all 
 converge in the plain, and run to the river 'Aujeh, north of 
 Yafa. Not one of them goes by itself to the sea. Among 
 the northernmost of these valleys is Wady 'Azzun, having its 
 head above the village of that name ; and winding by a deep 
 and narrow course to the western plain, which it enters 
 north of Hableh. The Wady here bends to the northwest, 
 and, passing very near to Kilkilieh on the north, then sweeps 
 round to the S. S. W. and leaves Kefr Saba QAntipatris) 
 just on the right. Thence its water-bed passes down, as a 
 depression in the rich and beautiful plain, to join the 'Aujeh. 
 This plain is separated from the level tract immediately 
 along the coast by a more elevated plateau, or range of low 
 swells, occasionally rising into low hills. The Wady from 
 the mountains is doubtless the ' river ' which Josephus men- 
 tions as flowing by Antipatris.^ 
 
 The next valley is the deep and rugged Wady Kanah, 
 having its beginning in the southern part of the plain Miikh- 
 na, near Nabulus, which it serves to drain ; the northern 
 part of the same plain, as we have seen, being drained by 
 Wady el-Fari'a and the Jordan. Wady Kanah passes out 
 from the plain as a deep valley through the western hills, 
 between the villages Kuza and 'Ain Abus. Near Deir Estieh 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 125-128. Wilson, Lands of the Bible, II. p. 255. 
 Wildenbruch in Monatsh. der Ges. fiir Erdk., 1844, 1, p. 232, and Table V. Van 
 de Velde's Map. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 135, 136, 138. Joseph. Antiq., 16. 5. 2; comp. 
 13. 5. 1. 
 
110 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 it becomes wide and is cultivated ; here several fountains 
 spring up in it. Further west it resumes its dark and rug- 
 ged character ; and enters the plain half an hour south of 
 Hableh, where it bears the local name of Wady Zakur, from 
 a ruined village on its northern side. It runs off just south 
 of Jiljulieh to the water-bed in the plain ; and so goes to the 
 'Aujeh.i There seems to be no reason to doubt but that 
 this is the ' river ' (^n:) Kanah of the book of Joshua, .which 
 was the boundary in this part between Ephraim and Manas- 
 seh. From the point where the valley leaves the mountains, 
 the border between these tribes probably was drawn directly 
 to the sea, at or near Arsuf.^ 
 
 The next important valley has its head at 'Akrabeh, several 
 miles east of the Miikhna, at a watershed in the plain below 
 that village. From that point, one Wady goes eastward to 
 the Jordan ; and the other, as Wady Bir Jenab runs west- 
 ward, by Kubalan and south of the Mtikhna, and descends 
 to the western plain as Wady Ribah, about half an hour 
 north of Mejdel Yaba. In the plain it joins the water-bed 
 from Xefr Saba, and so goes to the ' Aujeh.^ 
 
 Next follows the great Wady Belat, called also in its lower 
 part Wady Kurawa, from a village of that name on the north 
 of it. This valley drains a large extent of the mountain 
 region. It has three main head-branches. One begins south 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, IL p. 273 [HI. p. 93]. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 135, 
 
 139. See the next note but one. 
 
 2 Josh. xvi. 8, xvii. 9. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, H. p. 272 [HI. p. 92]. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 139, 
 
 140, 296. The above account of Wady Ribah as also of Wady Kanah and "Wady 
 Belat or Ktirawa, is founded either on personal observation or on information 
 collected by Dr. Eli Smith and myself in 1838 and 18-52, and given to the public 
 in the Biblical Researches. The Map of Van de Velde (1859) represents them 
 somewhat differently; on what authority is not known. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 Ill 
 
 of Jufna (Gophna) ; and runs for a time in a northerly course, 
 receiving smaller Wadys from the east ; it is here deep, but 
 open and cultivated. After turning northwest it receives a 
 large and deep branch, coming down on the north side of 
 Sinjil and Jiljilia, and having its head in the plain of Tur- 
 mus 'Aya south of Shiloh. The third branch has its head 
 just in the north of Shiloh, passes down through the little 
 plain of Lubban, and as Wady Lubban breaks through the 
 western hills by a deep notch, and goes to join the Belat near 
 Kurawa. The united valley issues from the mountains ten 
 minutes south of Mejdel Yaba, as Wady Kurawa ; and pass- 
 ing down on the south of the great fountain at Ras el-'Ain, 
 goes to the southern side of the 'Aujeh.^ Northwest of 
 Gophna there is a shorter branch Wady, which runs west- 
 ward just south of Tibneh QTimnali), and joins the Belat 
 below. Across the valley from Tibneh is the hill of Gaash ; 
 and this and other deep valleys round about are probably 
 the ' brooks ' (^n:) of Gaash ^ so named in Scrip ture.^ 
 
 Another large valley, draining a wide extent of the western 
 slope and brow of the mountains, passes down along the 
 plain on the east and north of Ludd (Lydda), and so north- 
 west to the river 'Aujeh. It is here known as Wady Ludd ; 
 or also sometimes as Wady Muzeiri'ah. Where the Sultana, 
 or great caravan road crosses it north of Lydda, it is spanned 
 by a long bridge of three or more arches, one of the best in 
 Palestine ; showing that although dry in summer, yet in the 
 rainy season a torrent of water rushes along its bed. One 
 head branch of this valley has its beginning beyond Ram 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 2G3-2GG, 271 [III. pp. 77-82, 90]. Later Biblical 
 Researches, p. 140. See the preceding note. 
 
 2 2 Sam xxiii. 30; 1 Chron. xi. 32. Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, pp. 484, 496. See 
 above, pp. 41, 42. 
 
112 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Allah, not far from the southernmost head of Wady Belat, 
 and passing down as a rugged chasm north of that village, 
 issues from the mountain north of the lower Beth-horon ; 
 but whether it there turns south to the plain of Beit Nuba, 
 or goes on directly west to join Wady Ludd above the bridge 
 just described, is not certainly determined.^ The main trunk, 
 however, of the valley, above Ludd, is Wady 'Atallah, coming 
 from the southeast from the fine plain of Beit Nuba. Into 
 that plain descends Wady Suleiman, which drains the west- 
 ern portion of the plain around Gibeon ; and up which as- 
 cends the ordinary camel route from Ramleh and Lydda to 
 Jerusalem. From the western part of the plain of Beit Nuba, 
 Wady 'Atallah passes off about W. N. W. to the foot of the 
 ridge on which stands the village of Kubab. Here it receives 
 Wady 'Aly from the left ; and bending more to the N. N. W. 
 proceeds through the rolling plain to Lydda, where it becomes 
 Wady Ludd.2 
 
 Wady 'Aly has its head just on the brow of the mountain 
 back of Saris ; and receiving apparently other like Wadys 
 from the right, descends steeply to the region of hills below ; 
 and sweeping to the south around the river Latron, goes to 
 the 'Atallah on the north of Kubab. Along this valley passes 
 up the mountain the direct road from Ramleh to Jerusalem 
 by Kubab, Saris, and Kuriet el-'Enab ; less circuitous but 
 more difficult than the route by Wady Suleiman.^ 
 
 Scripture makes mention of three valleys, which can only 
 be referred to some of the branches of the great Wady at 
 Lydda ; apparently to those near the mountains. Thus the 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 453, H. p. 250 [II. p. 133, III. p. 59]. Later BibUcal 
 Researches, p. 142. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 143-145. 
 
 8 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 156, 157, 160. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 113 
 
 vallry (p-cr) of Ajalon is certainly identified with the plain 
 of Beit Nuba (Merj Ibn 'Omeir) by the circumstance tliat 
 Yalo QAjalon) still lies upon the hills on its southern border. 
 This plain connects Wady Suleiman with Wady 'Atallah. 
 Joshua, pursuing the five kings from Gibeon, looked down 
 from the heights of the upper Beth-horon upon this beautiful 
 vale, and pronounced the sublime command : Sun, stand 
 thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou moon, in the valley of 
 Ajalon." ^ Another is the valley or plain (s^Vi?^) ^/ 
 once named by Nehemiah ; Ono, of .course, being in or near 
 the plain. But the town Ono is several times mentioned ; 
 and is always coupled with Lod (Lydda).^ It follows that 
 Ono was not far distant from Lydda ; and as the word Bik'ah 
 signifies ' a plain shut in by mountains,' the plain of Beit 
 Nuba would seem to correspond both in respect to form and 
 nearness to Lydda. And as there is no other known plain 
 in the region of Lydda which does thus correspond, we may 
 assume the plain of Ono as lying around Beit Nuba. Men- 
 tion is twice made of the valley {i^^^) of Craftsmen (^Hara- 
 shini) ; which also is directly coupled with the place Ono.'^ 
 It must therefore have been near Ono ; and may have been 
 a side valley opening into the plain of Beit Nuba. 
 
 The next estuary south of the river 'Aujeh and Yafa, is 
 the Nahr Rubin at Yebna, the ancient Jahneh or Jamnia. 
 The name Rubm comes from a Wciy on the hills north of 
 Yebna. The stream is not permanent. In October, 1817, 
 Irby and Mangles found the bed nearly dry above the bridge ; 
 but below there was a fine sheet of water. In October, 1857, 
 
 1 Josh. X. 10-12. Later Biblical Researches, p. 145. 
 
 2 Valley of Ono, Neh. vi. 2. Ono, the town, Neh. vii. 37, xi. 35; Ezra ii. 33; 
 1 Chr. viii. 12. 
 
 3 Neh. xi. 35; 1 Chron. iv. 14. 
 
 15 
 
114 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Tobler found no appearance of water. ^ The Wady comes 
 from the southeast through the plain, from 'Ain Shems, the 
 ancient Beth-shemesh. It passes that place on the north 
 side, as a broad and fertile plain, at the foot of the project- 
 ing ridge on which Sur'ah QZorah) is situated. Here and 
 throughout the plam it is known as Wady Surar. This plain 
 of the Sui'ar extends up east and northeast far into the moun- 
 tains ; the projecting ridge of Zorah lying in front and enclos- 
 ing it on the west. The upper portion of this enclosed plain 
 is almost wholly shut m by lofty precipitous ridges. Into 
 the northeastern part of this recess, just east of the village 
 Yeshu'a (ancient Jeshua), descends the deep and narrow 
 chasm of Wady Ghurab ; and further south, with a high in- 
 tervening ridge, the still deeper and wilder chasm of the 
 great Wady Isma'il coming from Kulonieh. The large water- 
 courses of these two Wadys unite towards 'Ain Shems to 
 form Wady Siirar ; and the channel runs down on the north 
 of that ruin. The plains thus shut in, are beautiful and 
 fertile.2 
 
 These two great valleys, Wady Isma'il (or Isma'in) and 
 Wady Ghurab, drain the wkole mountain region south of el- 
 Bireh and west of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The former 
 has its remote beginning just south of el-Bireh in a hollow 
 way leading down to the open tract west of er-Ram ; while 
 other heads are in the plain north and west of Gibeon, drain- 
 ing them at first southeast into this valley ; which, as Wady 
 Beit Hanina, passes close under the village of that name ; 
 and so, in a southwesterly course, and afterwards W. S. W. 
 along the southeasterly base of the ridge on which are situ- 
 ated Neby Samwil, Kiistul, Soba, and Kesla. Opposite to 
 
 1 Irby and Mangles, 1847, p. 57. Tobler Dritte TTauderung, pp. 20, 25. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 153, 154. 
 
\ 
 
 VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 115 
 
 the villages KulSnieh and Sataf, the great Wady is for a time 
 called by those names. Near the village 'Akur, another deep 
 side valley comes in from the east, made up of three branches. 
 One of these, Wady el-Werd, comes from the plain of Re- 
 phaim just southwest of Jerusalem ; another is Wady Ahmed, 
 coming from Beit Jala and the tract west of Bethlehem ; 
 and the third is Wady Bittir, which has its head near el- 
 Khudr (St. George) and joins the other near the village 
 Bittir. Beyond this village the whole valley is called Wady 
 Bittir, or also Wady Haniyeh, from the fountain in it near 
 Welejeh. Below 'Akur the great united valley passes off 
 W. S. W. as Wady Isma'il ; and breaks down through the 
 high ridge by a wild and rugged chasm to the little plain 
 above 'Ain Shems.^ 
 
 Northwest of the ridge of Kustul and Soba, the whole tract 
 quite to the western brow of the mountain, is drained by the 
 two branches of Wady Ghurab. The longest and largest 
 begins at some distance northeast of Beit Niikkaba and north 
 of Kustul ; and lies close along the northwestern base of the 
 high ridge of Soba. The shorter branch, which also is deep 
 and rugged, begins just by Saris ; and leaves on the west 
 only the high thin ridge forming the western brow of the 
 mountain. 2 
 
 Three valleys named in Scripture appear to be connected 
 with the preceding great Wady Surar and its head branches ; 
 two of them on the mountains, and one in the plains. The 
 first is the valley (p^^:) of Gibeon, referring apparently to the 
 narrower plain between Gibeon and the ridge of Neby Sam- 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 455, 575, 11. pp. 4, 5 [II. pp. 136, 314, III. p. 325J. 
 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 158, 267. Tobler Dritte Wanderung, pp. 163, 197. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 155-158. 
 
116 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 wil, probably as tbe scene of Joshua's overthrow of the five 
 kings.i The second is the valleij (p^^r) of Rephaim or the Gi- 
 ants, southwest of Jerusalem, on the border between Judah 
 and Benjamin. It is a broad valley or plain, separated from 
 the valley of Hinnom only by a swell of rocky ground ; and 
 in it Wady el-Werd' has its beginning. Here David fought 
 a great battle with the Philistines, as narrated also by Jose- 
 ph us.^ The remaining scriptural name, in or near the plain, 
 is the valley (^n3) of Sorek, where Samson found Delilah. 
 As Samson's home was at Zorah, overlooking the plain of 
 Wady Surar and also towards the east the plain or recess 
 shut in among the mountains, it is probable that the valley of 
 Sorek was in that region. In accordance with this, Eusebius 
 and Jerome testify, that in their day a village called Caphar- 
 sorech (Kefr Sorek) was still shown not far from Zorah. 
 The valley of Sorek, then, was probably either the Surar 
 itself, in that part, or some side valley opening into it within 
 the recess. The name appears to come from the excellence 
 of the vines and vineyards in this line southern exposure. 
 
 The great valley next south of the Surar, bears in the plain 
 the name of Wady es-Sumt or es-Sunt, Acacia valley, from 
 trees of that kind scattered in it. Two main branches unite 
 to form it, Wady el-Musurr in the northeast, and Wady es-Sur 
 in the south-southeast. Wady el-Musurr has its head not 
 far northwest of el-Khudr (St. George), and passes down by 
 Jeb'ah, having received several other deep Wadys which break 
 down from the brow of the mountain at and near Beit Saka- 
 
 1 Isa. xxviii. 21; comp. Josh. x. 10-12, Biblical Researches, I. pp. 454, 455 
 [IL p. 135]. 
 
 2 Josh. XV. 8, xviii. 10; also 2 Sam. v. 18, 22, xxili. 13, 14. Joseph. Antiq., 
 7. 4. 1. Ibid., 7, 12. 4. 
 
 3 Judg. xvi. 4. Onomast., Article Sorech. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 117 
 
 rieli.i Its course is there about west. South of Beit Ncttif 
 it receives Wad}^ es-Sur from the left ; and the united valley 
 becomes Wady es-Sumt. Wady es-Sur has its beginning 
 near Beit Nusib, and is a fine open valley or plain.^ After 
 the junction, Wady es-Sumt continues its course westwards 
 for an hour, as a broad, fertile plain with moderate hills on 
 each side. It then bends to the north, passing on the right 
 of Tell Zakariya ; and turning afterwards more to the left, 
 reaches the plain. We were told in 1838 that it runs to the 
 Surar ; but later information makes it continue by itself to 
 the sea, not far north of Esdud.^ 
 
 On the south side of the noble plain of Wady es-Stimt, as 
 it stretches off for an hour below the junction of its two 
 branches, in a gap of the southern hill, are seen the ruins of 
 Shuweikeh, the ancient Socoh of the plain of Judah, coup- 
 led in Scripture with Jarmath and Azekah.* Scripture also 
 tells us that the Philistines " were gathered together at So- 
 coh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Socoh 
 
 and Azekah And Saul and the men of Israel were 
 
 gathered together and pitched by tlic valley (P^>) of Elah, 
 and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the 
 Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel 
 stood on a mountain on the other side ; and there was a 
 valley between them." ^ This graphic description enables 
 us at once to identify this part of Wady es-Sumt with the 
 valley of Elah, the scene of David's combat with Goliah, the 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, IL p. 5 [IL p. 327]. Later Biblical Researches, p. 284. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, IL pp. 220, 223 [IL pp. 12, 16]. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, IL pp. 5, 20, 21 [IL pp. 326, 349]. Tobler Dritte Wander- 
 ung, pp. 181, 197. 
 
 * Josh. XV. 35. 
 1 Sam. xvii. 1-3. 
 
118 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 first essay of the youthful warrior and poet as tlie champion 
 of Israel.^ 
 
 On the north side of Beit Jibrin, the ancient EleutheropoUs, 
 a long valley comes out from the mountains, known as Wady 
 el-Feranj, lying between Idhna and Terkumieh. Its heads 
 are deep ravines breaking down on the north of Tefiuh (^Beth 
 Tappuali) and from towards Dura (^Adora) and Hebron in 
 the southeast. After passing Beit Jibrin it turns north as a 
 fine broad open valley among the low hills ; enters the great 
 western plain ; and sweeps around on the south of Tell es- 
 Safieh, the Alia Specula of the crusaders, towards the south- 
 west. It passes just on the east of the village Bureir ; then 
 turns west, having the village of Simsim on the north side ; 
 and bending more northwest goes to the sea, without a per- 
 manent stream, just south of Askelon. In the plain this 
 valley is known as Wady Simsim ; and has the character of 
 a broad and rich depression, with a gravelly water-course 
 usually dry. 2 Where it bends west around Bureir, it receives 
 from the east the similar valley, Wady el-Hasy, which drains 
 the region of lower hills as far south as the region of el-Burj, 
 and passes down on the north side of Tell el-Hasy, as a broad 
 meadow-like tract.^ 
 
 There is no direct scriptural allusion to the great valley 
 just described ; unless, perhaps, a portion of it may be the 
 valleij (Ji'i-A) of Zephathah near Marcsha, where King Asa de- 
 feated the hosts of Zerah the Ethiopian.* Maresha, we know, 
 was situated about a mile southeast of Beit Jibrin ; and the 
 broad valley running from the latter nearly to Tell es-Safieh, 
 
 1 1 Sam xvii. Biblical Researches, H. p. 21 [H. p. 349]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, U. pp. 24, 35, 46, 49, 71 [H. pp. 355, 371, 388, 391, 427]. 
 8 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 47, 48 [U. pp. 387-390] . 
 
 4 2ChroD. xiv. 10. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 119 
 
 may well have been the battle-field in question, taking its 
 name, Zephathah, from the neighboring Tell. 
 
 Another remarkable event of scriptural history probably 
 took place in one portion of tliis valley in the plain ; I mean 
 the baptism of the eunuch by Philip. This evangelist, being 
 at Samaria, was directed by an angel to " go toward the 
 south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto 
 Gaza, which is desert." ^ This last expression cannot well 
 refer to Gaza ; it was not true in fact when the book of Acts 
 was written. It belongs, therefore, rather to the angel, spec- 
 ifying which of the several roads from Jerusalem to Gaza 
 Philip was to visit. It was the road leading through the 
 uninhabited district, without towns and villages ; and of 
 course the southernmost road. It corresponds to the present 
 road from Beit Jibrin to Gaza ; which now, as anciently, is 
 also the main route from Hebron to Gaza. This route lies 
 along on the north side of the meadow-like tract of Wady el- 
 Hasy, and also of Wady Simsim for a short distance below 
 the junction. In the gravelly bed of these valleys we saw, 
 in May, 1838, water percolating through the sand and gravel, 
 and forming occasional pools. It was probably on this road 
 that Philip found the eunuch, and baptized him. Philip 
 himself was next found at Azotus (Ashdod), a few miles north 
 of this very spot.^ This definite mention of the ' desert ' and 
 of Azotus, are decisive against the legendary traditions, which 
 fix the place of the baptism anywhere upon the mountains, 
 either north of Hebron or southwest of Jerusalem. ^ 
 
 The next great valley in the plain, Wady esh-Sheri'ah, 
 comes from Beersheba, south of all the mountains, where it 
 
 1 Acts viii. 26; comp. v. 5. 
 
 2 Acts viii. 39, 40. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, II. p. 514 [11. p. C40]. Later Biblical Researches, p. 278. 
 
.120 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 is known as Wady es-Seba'. It takes its way northwest 
 through the plain to the sea not far south of Gaza, where at 
 its mouth it is called Wady Ghuzzeh, and is without peren- 
 nial water. It forms a depressed plain, with a gravelly water- 
 bed. Not far east of Beersheba its two branches unite, coming 
 from different points. One is from the southeast, having its 
 beginning beyond Aroer; it receives a tributary from the north- 
 east from beyond el-Milh, and passes around the southwestern 
 extremity or bluflf of the last ridge of mountains, south of 
 Kurmul.^ The other and larger branch comes from the north- 
 east from beyond Hebron. It has its heads east of Halhul ; 
 and extending down as a deep valley between Hebron and 
 Beni Naim, it continues on the same general course south- 
 westerly to the junction near Beersheba. The shorter par- 
 allel valley in which Hebron lies, runs into the same some 
 distance below the town ; and from that point, if not above, 
 the great valley bears the name of Wady el-Khulil.^ 
 
 To the preceding valley or its branches there seem to be 
 three separate references in Scripture. Thus in Genesis, we 
 find Jacob abiding in the vale (p'2:>) of Hebron^ and sending 
 out Joseph to Shcchem to visit his brethren. ^ This valley, 
 of course, can only be that in which Hebron lies ; and which 
 runs to the great valley further south, f^cripture also names 
 the brook (5n:) of Eshcol, whence the spies cut down a branch 
 with one cluster of grapes, and bore it between two upon a 
 staff ; and, the valley, it is said, was called Eslicol (cluster), 
 because of the cluster of grapes thus cut down.^ This inci- 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 198-200 [H. pp. 61G-619J. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 281. Biblical Researches, I. p. 489, H. p. 206 
 [H. pp. 180, 629]. 
 
 3 Gen. xxxvii. 14; comp. vs. 12, 13. 
 
 < Num. xiii. 23, 24; comp. Num. xxxii. 9; Deut. i. 24. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 121 
 
 dent is related in connection with the visit of the spies at 
 Hebron ; and it is well known that to the present day the 
 vineyards and grapes of Hebron are superior to those of any 
 other part of Palestine. Further, of the three Hebronites, 
 Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, who accompanied Abraham in 
 his pursuit of the five kings, the name of Mamre was con- 
 nected with the ^ oaks of Mamre,' where Abraham dwelt ; 
 and in like manner the name of Eshcol probably had some 
 relation to the rich valley of vineyards. ^ We may therefore 
 without hesitation identify the valley of Eshcol with that 
 valley near Hebron, which to the present day is marked be- 
 yond others by the number and excellence of its vineyards. 
 Such is the valley coming down towards the city from the 
 northwest, known as Wady TeMh ; up which leads the road 
 to that place and Beit Jibrin. In the same valley is also the 
 celebrated Sindian oak. The vineyards along this valley are 
 very fine, and produce the largest and best grapes in all the 
 country. Pomegranates also and figs, as well as apricots, 
 quinces, and the like, still grow there in great abundance.^ 
 
 When David and his men returned from near Jezreel to 
 Ziklag, which had been given him by Achish king of the 
 Philistines, in the south of Judah, they found that city plun- 
 dered and burned by a horde of Amalekites from the south- 
 ern desert.^ David immediately pursued them " with six 
 hundred men, and came to the brook (^ni) Besor;^' where 
 
 1 Gen. xiv. 24, xiii. 18. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 214 [I, p. 316]. Van de Velde says he heard at 
 Hebron the name of a fountain, 'Ain Eskali^ a few minutes north of the city; 
 Mem., p. 310; Narr. II. p. 64. But the Arabic scholar G. Rosen, Prussian consul 
 at Jerusalem, in describing Hebron, writes the name of the same fountain as 'Ain 
 Eashkala, the k in each case representing Eof. Zeitschr. der morg. Ges., 18.j8, 
 p. 481, and plate. 
 
 3 I Sam. XXX. 1, 2; comp. xxvii. 6, xxix. 1, 11. 
 
 16 
 
122 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 " two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they 
 could not go over the brook Besor ; " having just come from 
 a long march of three dajs.^ As the exact position of Ziklag 
 has not yet been determined, it is difficult to decide with 
 certainty as to the ' brook ' Besor. Yet we know that Ziklag 
 was one of the ' uttermost ' towns of the tribe of Judah, 
 ' toward the coast of Edom southward ; ' and w^as afterwards 
 given with other cities of the same region to Simeon In 
 the lists of both tribes, Ziklag stands next to Hormah, which 
 we know to have been quite in the southeastern quarter.^ 
 The Philistines had apparently come around by Beersheba 
 on the south of the mountains ; and made themselves mas- 
 ters of Ziklag and probably other places in the open region 
 north of Aroer and east of Moladah (el-Milh) ; both which 
 towns are named in connection with Ziklag.* The Amale- 
 kites, we are told, had " made an invasion upon the south 
 of the Cherethites [Philistines], and upon what belongeth to 
 Judah, and upon the south of Caleb ;" and thence had gone 
 to Ziklag.^ They would seem to have approached from the 
 southwest ; penetrated into Judah as far as to the neighbor- 
 hood of Hebron the possession of Caleb ; ^ and then turned 
 south across the mountain by Maon or Moladah to Ziklag, 
 which they destroyed.' From Ziklag they probably took a 
 southwesterly course, in order to regain the usual highway 
 of the desert, lying west of the mountains further south. 
 
 1 1 Sam. XXX. 9, 10; comp. vs. 1. 
 
 2 Josh. XV. 21, 31, xix. 5. All the towns of Simeon appear to have been 
 situated in this southeastern quarter of Judah. 
 
 3 Num. xiv. 45, xxi. 3; Deut. i. 44; Judg. i. 17. Biblical Researches, H. pp. 
 181, 198 [H. pp. 592, 017]. 
 
 4 Josh. XV. 2G; xix. 2; 1 Sam. xxx. 26, 28. 
 
 5 1 Sam. xxx. 14. <5 Josh. xiv. 13; xv. 13. 
 7 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 97, 203 [H. pp. 4G6, 624]. 
 
VALLEYS RUNNING TO THE COAST. 
 
 123 
 
 This course from Ziklag would take them across the "Wady 
 'Ar'arah, the southeastern branch of Wady es-Seba', running 
 from Aroer to Beersheba ; and this in all probability was the 
 ' brook Besor ' of the narrative. 
 
 South of Beersheba, the great valleys or water-courses are 
 known only along the main highway of the desert leading 
 from Sinai to Beersheba. Thus at el-Khulasah, the ancient 
 Elusa, passes Wady el-Kurn ; which lower down receives 
 Wady Ruhaibeh, coming from the place of ruins of that 
 name further south. Below the junction of these two, the 
 valley thus formed is called, according to one account, Wady 
 es-Suny, and goes to the Sheri'ah near the sea ; while accord- 
 ing to another account, it is Wady Khuberah, a fertile valley, 
 which goes to Wady el-'Arish.^ A valley also reaches the sea 
 at Khan Yumas, some distance south of Gaza.^ To some 
 portion or branch of these valleys south and southeast of 
 Gaza, is doubtless to be referred the valley (^n:) of Gerar^ 
 where Isaac pitched his tent, after he left the city of Gerar.^ 
 
 Only one more scriptural valley remains to be noticed in 
 this quarter ; and that is the river or rather torrent of 
 Egypt; which of old was the boundary between Palestine 
 and Egypt.^ At the present day it is called Wady el-'Arish ; 
 and comes from the passes of Jebel et-Tih towards Sinai, 
 draining the great central longitudinal basin of the desert. 
 It reaches the sea without a permanent stream ; and is still 
 the boundary between the two countries. Near its mouth 
 is a small village, el-'Arish, on the site of the ancient Rhi- 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 202 [I. p. 298]. 
 
 2 Ii-by and Mangles, p. 55. Richardson's Travels, II. p. 195. 
 
 3 Gen. xxvi. 17; comp. xx. 1, xxvi. 1, 6. 
 
 * Num. xxxiv. 5; Josh. xv. 4, 47; comp. 1 Kings viii. 65; 2 Kings xxiv. 7; Isa 
 xxvii.; 2 So too, simply * the river,' torrent, Ezek. xlvii. 19, xlviii. 28. 
 
124 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 nocolura ; as is shown by columns and other Roman re- 
 mains.^ 
 
 Note. — In the book of Psalms mention is once made of a valley (pis^), 
 of Baca, that is, ' valley of weeping,' ' vale of tears.' ^ Here, under the 
 figure of a desert, joyless valley without water, the Psalmist would seem to 
 present human life, or some portion of it ; which the righteous journeying 
 through, by their trust in God it becomes to them a fruitful and joyous 
 valley gushing with fountains. Their suffering is changed into rejoicing, 
 their sorrow into joy. 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 199 [I. p. 2931. Irby and Mangles, 1847, p. 54. 
 Richardson's Travels, IL p. 191. 
 
 2 Ps. Ixxxiv. 7, Heb. See De Wette and Hengstenberg in loc. 
 
PLAINS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 125 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 PLAINS. 
 
 Many of the Plains of Palestine are the bottoms of broad 
 valleys ; and, as such, have been described in the preceding 
 Section. Such are the plains included in the Ghor, and iii 
 the valley of Jezreel, Wady el-Fari'a, and others. 
 
 We begin with the plains lying along the coast, as the 
 most important. 
 
 L PLAINS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 In the north, the southern extremity of the long and nar- 
 row Phenician plain, south of Tyre, first claims our notice. 
 On the east, low ridges run down into it from the hill- 
 country ; and leave an actual plain of only some three or four 
 miles in breadth. This is not specially fertile. On the 
 south, it is skirted by the higher ridges which go to the sea, 
 and form Has el-Abyad in the north and Ras en-Nakurah 
 (the Ladder of Tyre) in the south. 
 
 These ridges separate the plain of Tyre from the plain 
 of 'Akka ; which extends from the ridge forming Ras en- 
 Nakurah to the base of Carmel, a distance of about twenty 
 miles. The average breadth is from four to six miles. 
 On the east is the hill-country of Upper Galilee, occasionally 
 wooded, rising for the most part steeply from the plain ; but 
 yet with frequent ridges running out in low points and 
 
126 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 gradually losing themselves in the plain.^ The whole tract 
 is fertile and well watered, having many fountains and two 
 larger streams, the Belus and Kishon. The region south of 
 'Akka is apparently lower ground, affording large tracts of 
 pasturage. Here in April, 1852, we saw, what is not usu- 
 ally seen elsewhere in Palestine, persons occupied in mowing 
 and hay-making. In the same region several isolated Tells 
 rise up in the plain.^ This plain, like the preceding, is not 
 directly referred to in Scripture. 
 
 On the southwestern side of Mount Carmel, the spurs and 
 valleys, which constitute its more gradual slope on that side, 
 fill up for a long distance the interval between the moun- 
 tain and the sea. For some time, and more towards the 
 south, a low ledge of rocks runs parallel to and near the 
 shore ; and the space between it and the water is mostly 
 covered with drift-sand.^ It is only in the vicinity of Caesa- 
 rea, that the hills recede, and the plain opens to the extent of 
 seven or eight miles. Here begins the celebrated plain of 
 Sharon, several times mentioned in Scripture for its rich 
 fields and pastures, in connection with Carmel and Lebanon.'* 
 It extends, with an average breadth of about ten miles, as far 
 south as to Lydda and Joppa ; a length of over thirty miles. 
 Jerome, in one place, makes the region lying between Lydda, 
 Joppa, and Jamnia, belong to it.^ The tract immediately 
 along the shore is low, and in some parts marshy ; the inte- 
 rior part, along the base of the hills, is everywhere fertile 
 and cultivated. Between these two tracts, north of the river 
 
 1 See Later Biblical Researches, pp. 88, 89. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 102, 103. 
 
 3 Wilson, Lands of the Bible, H. pp. 248, 249, 253. 
 
 4 Isa. xxxiii. 9, xxxv. 2, Ixv. 10; 1 Chron. xxvii. 29. 
 
 ^ Acts ix. 35. Onomast., Article Saron. Hieron. in Jes., 65, 10. Reland, Pal- 
 aestina, pp. 188, 370. 
 
PLAINS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 127 
 
 'Aujeh, rises a low plateau, or range of low hills, some of 
 them wooded, but of less fertile laud. This extends half 
 way to Caesarea, and causes all the valleys from the moun- 
 tains, in that part, to turn southward to the 'Aujeh.^ Tlie 
 wood scattered in the plain is deciduous oak, rising in the 
 north into trees, but in the south exhibiting only bushes.^ 
 It was probably from the frequenc}^ of this tree, that Ihe 
 plain was anciently also called Drumas ( Jpu/xoV) ; which the 
 Seventy have sometimes put for Sharon.^ 
 
 Near to Lydda, and therefore probably in some connection 
 with the plains of Sharon, or rather perhaps with the Sepli- 
 ela, was the valley or plain of Ono. once mentioned in Scrip- 
 ture. This was apparently the plain around Beit Nuba, 
 north of Ajalon ; as we have already shown.* 
 
 The whole great maritime plain of the tribe of Judah, 
 south of Lydda and Joppa, comprising the country of the 
 Philistines, is called in the Hebrew the Sephela (M^s^'n, Gr. i) 
 ^6<j)r]\d) ; signifying properly ' low country,' and sometimes 
 so rendered in the English Version ; as likewise by ' low plain,' 
 *plain,' and ' valley.' ^ Eusebius and Jerome describe it as 
 the great plain extending around Eleutlieropolis (Beit Jib- 
 rin), in tlie north and in the west ; it included Betli-she- 
 mesh and Ajalon.^ It extended to Gaza and beyond ; but 
 
 1 Later Biblical Resefwches, p. 138. 
 
 2 Wilson, Lands of the Bible, II. p. 254. 
 
 3 Septuagint, Apv/xds, Isa, Ixv. 10; Sapwj', Isa. xxxiii. 9; Th neSlov, Cant. ii. 1. 
 Reland, Palaestina, p. 188 sq. 
 
 * Neh. vi. 2. See above, p. 113. 
 
 * So Enp:l. 'low country/ 2 Chron. xxvi. 10, xxviii. 18; 'low plain,' 1 Chron. 
 xxvii. 28; 2 Chron. ix. 27; ' plain,' Jer. xvii. 26; * valley/ Josh. xi. IG; Judg. i. 9. 
 Gr., 7] :S,f<pT}\d, Sept., Jcr. xxxii. 44, xxxiii. 13; 1 Mace. xii. 38. Sept. usually, 
 7] ireStfTj or rh TreSiov. 
 
 * Onomast., Article Sephela. 2 Chron. xxviii. 18. 
 
128. 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the southern border is nowhere specified ; and the coun- 
 trj in that quarter is often spoken of under the name of 
 Daroma^ 'the south' (Heb. ciTi, Gr. 6 ^apco/jud^'), ahhough 
 this name comprehended not only the plain, but all the 
 south of Palestine.^ We may assume the length of the 
 Sephela at not less than forty miles ; the breadth in the 
 north being about ten miles, and widening gradually to- 
 wards the south to some twenty miles at Gaza. On the west 
 a line of sand-hills separates it from the waters of the Medi- 
 terranean ; while on the east it is bordered by the tract of 
 lower hills intervening between the mountain and the plain. 
 South of the mountains, the plain extends up eastward to 
 Beersheba and beyond. 
 
 H. PLAINS IN THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF THE GHOR. 
 
 Both the historian of the Maccabees and Josephus relate, 
 that the host of the Syrians was encamped at Kedesh of 
 Galilee ; that Jonathan with his host pitched by the " water 
 of Gennesar," apparently on the high ground northwest of 
 the lake of Galilee ; that early in the morning they made 
 their way to the plain of Asor, where the Syrians met them, 
 having set an ambush in the adjacent mountains ; that at 
 first, when the ambush rose behind them, Jonathan's troops 
 were discomfited and fled ; but afterwards recovered them- 
 selves, put the Syrians to flight, and pursued them to Kedesh, 
 even to their tents, and there encamped.^ This description 
 points quite definitely to the plain stretching south from 
 Kedesh for the distance of about three miles, to the brow of 
 the deep and almost impassable ravine of Wady Hendaj. On 
 
 1 Reland, Palaestina, pp. 185-187. 
 
 2 1 Mace. xi. C3, 67-75, Vulg. Joseph. Antiq., 13. 5. G, 7. 
 
PLAINS IN TIIE inLL-COUNTRY WEST OF THE GIIOR. 129 
 
 that brow, overlooking the ravine and the lake of the Huleh, 
 is the Tell witli ancient remains now known as el-Khuraibch. 
 This plain is accessible from the south, only by passing along 
 the basin of the Huleh as far as Wady Hendaj ; and then 
 ascending the mountains. The Syrians had set an ambush 
 in these mountains ; and came out in force from Kedesh 
 upon the plain to meet the Jews. They were finally driven 
 back ; and their tents at Kedesh captured. There can here 
 be no doubt that the Asor of this passage is a later form for 
 the earlier name Hazor, the city of the Jabins ; the plain 
 having thus retained the name, long after the city had passed 
 away. Hazor is twice mentioned in direct connection with 
 Kedesh; and overlooked the Huleh. Its site was in all prob- 
 ability at Tell Khuraibeh.i 
 
 South of the higher mountains of Naphthali, are several 
 parallel plains, stretching from east to west across the hill, 
 and separated from each other by ridges or ranges of hills. 
 The northernmost of these is the -plum of Ramah, which we 
 first saw from the brow of the mountain south of Beit Jenn. 
 It is shut in on the north by this mountain ; and on the south 
 by a lower ridge, on the eastern part of wliich is Tell Haziir. 
 At the western end of the plain are the rocky hills overlook- 
 ing the plain of 'Akka ; while its eastern end is skirted by 
 only a slight ridge. The length from east to west is about 
 ten miles, with an average breadth of less than two miles. 
 Through it passes the great road from 'Akka to Damascus, 
 by way of the bridge of the Jordan. 
 
 1 2 Kings XV. 29; Josh. xix. 35-37. Joseph. Antiq., 5. 5. 1. See Later Biblical 
 Researches, p. 3G5. The Greeli in 1 Mace. xi. G7 now reads, ds rh inBiou IJatrdpt 
 repeating apparently the final iV"u« of iredlov before the initial vowel of 'Ao-cSp, 
 This latter form is several times read in Josephus. So too the Vulgate. Reland, 
 Palaestina, p. 597. 
 
 17 
 
130 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 This plain is very fertile ; and is full of very old olive 
 trees, called by the natives Rumy or ' Greek/ from an indefin- 
 able impression that they are older than the Muhammedan 
 conquest. The eastern part of the plain, as far as to Ramah, 
 is drained by a head water-course of Wady Sellameh, which 
 sweeps round from the east and passes out through a gap on 
 the west of Tell Hazur ; whence it runs to the plain and 
 lake of Gennesareth. The fine western basin of the plain is . 
 drained by the beginnings of Wady Sha'ab ; which latter in 
 like manner passes off through another gap in the southern 
 ridge ; and then turns west to the plain of 'Akka. The pros- 
 pect from the brow of the mountain above Ramah, over this 
 plain and the country further south, is very beautiful, and 
 is scarcely surpassed in Palestine.^ 
 
 Passing over two or three ridges and ranges of hills, with 
 intervening smaller plains, we come to the noble plain now 
 known as el-Buttauf, and called by Josephus the great plain 
 of Asocliis? It was properly the plain of Zebulun ; the Rim- 
 mon of that tribe being still recognized in tlie Rummaneh of 
 this plain. ^ Its length is about ten miles from east to west, 
 by a breadth of about ten miles. On the north are the ranges 
 of hills, among which Jotapata was situated ; and at the 
 southern base of which, about midway of the plain, is still 
 found the deserted village of Kana ; the ancient Cana of 
 Galilee. The highest of these hills, now called Deidebeh, is 
 near Kefr Menda. 
 
 On the south the plain is shut in on its southeastern part 
 by a steep and almost isolated ridge, dividing it from the 
 lesser plain of Tu'ran beyond ; and ending towards the west 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 78-89. 
 
 2 Joseph. Vita, 41. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 110, 111. 
 
 3 Josh. xix. 13; 1 Chron. vi. 77 [02]. 
 
PLAINS IN THE IIILL-COUNTKY WEST OF THE GHOR. 131 
 
 near Rummaneh. West of this the plain is bordered on the 
 south by the low hills and broken tract towards Seffurieh. 
 On the east also are low hills towards Hattm ; and on the 
 west similar heights, with a conspicuous isolated Tell, called 
 el-Bedawiyeh. The whole eastern portion of the plain has 
 no outlet for its waters ; so that in winter it becomes a lake, 
 extending sometimes as far west as to the road between Kana 
 and Rummaneh. The western portion is drained towards 
 the southwest by Wady Bedawiyeh ; which, still in the plain, 
 receives the Wady coming from Tu'ran. Further down it 
 becomes Wady Melik, and goes to the lower Kishon. This 
 whole plain is of the richest fertility ; and was a glorious 
 portion of the inheritance of Zebulun.^ 
 
 We come next to the great plain of Esdraelon, lying be- 
 tween Tabor and Carmel, and between the hills of Galilee 
 on the north and those of Samaria on the south. This plain, 
 as we have seen, completely interrupts the line of hill-coun- 
 try ; and forms, in connection with the valley of the Kishon 
 in the west, and its own middle arm in the east, an easy 
 roadway from the coast to the river Jordan. The elevation 
 of the watershed of the plain, near el-Fuleh, is about four 
 hundred feet above the Mediterranean ; but it cannot well 
 be less than one thousand feet above the Jordan.^ 
 
 The great plain, in the proper sense, is triangular in form ; 
 having its southernmost angle at or near Jenm. A line 
 drawn from this place northward, along the magnetic merid- 
 ian, would touch the western extremities of the two moun- 
 tains Gilboa and Little Hermon, and strike the northern 
 hills a little east of the mount of Precipitation so called. 
 The length of this eastern side is not far from fifteen miles. 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 109-111. 
 
 2 See above, p. 32. 
 
132 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 From Jenm, again, the lulls that skirt the southwestern side 
 of the plain stretch off from S. E". by S. to N. W. by N., and 
 the length of this side is eighteen or twenty miles. On 
 the north, the hills, which at first rise more abruptly, ex- 
 tend in the general direction from E. N. E. to W. S. W., and 
 run down at length into the line of lower hills over against 
 Carmel. The length of this northern side is about twelve 
 miles. This large triangle is everywhere an almost level 
 tract of unsurpassed fertility ; but its rich soil is now in 
 great part neglected. 
 
 East of this triangle, the plain of Esdraelon sends out 
 towards the brow of the Jordan valley three great arms, each 
 nearly an hour in breadth, and separated from each" other 
 by the ridges of Gilboa and Little Hermon. That is to say, 
 these two parallel ridges, rising in the eastern part of the 
 great plain, divide it into these three great branches. The 
 remarkable and distinguishing feature of these three portions 
 of the plain is, that while both the northern and southern 
 decline towards the west, and their waters flow off through 
 the Kishon to the Mediterranean ; the middle arm sinks 
 down between them eastward, so that its waters, from a 
 point within the triangle, run with a far more rapid descent 
 to the valley of the Jordan at Beisan.^ 
 
 This great middle arm has already been described as the 
 valley of Jezreel? The northern branch, lying between Lit- 
 tle Hermon and Tabor, is definitely marked by the high and 
 steeper mountains which rise abruptly from its sides. It 
 extends around and beyond Tabor, quite to the brow of the 
 Jordan valley, and also towards the north ; but in this part 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, IL p. 362 [lU. pp. 227, 228]. See above, pp. 26, 27. 
 
 2 See above, pp. 91. 92. 
 
PLAINS IN THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF THE GHOR. 133 
 
 the surface is uneven, and sometimes rugged.^ The south- 
 ern arm or offset of the great plain runs up southeastward 
 from Jenin, between the hills of Samaria on the south, here 
 higher than farther west, and a range of naked rocky heights 
 on the north, forming the northwestern extension of the 
 mountains of Gilboa towards Jezreel. This branch of the 
 plain is about three quarters of an hour broad ; and rises 
 with a perceptible ascent towards the southeast for four or^ 
 five miles beyond Jenin. On its sides are several villages ; 
 and on the higher ground beyond the arm, lies the village 
 of Jelbon, corresponding to the ancient name Gilboa.^ 
 
 Singular as it may appear, this great plain is only twice 
 directly referred to in Scripture ; and then not as the plain 
 of Jezreel, as from later usage we might expect ; but as the 
 plain (i^^rp?) of Megiddo, so called from the place of that name 
 upon its western quarter.^ It is a Bik'ah, a plain shut in by 
 mountains and hills. When later, under the Romans, the 
 name Megiddo was lost, and the same place was called Legio, 
 the plain also was spoken of as the plain of Legio.^ It was 
 called by Josephus simply the Great Plain.^ In Greek" the 
 name 'Jezreel' appears also in the corrupted form Esdraela;^ 
 and hence the name Esdraelon for the plain. It is found 
 already in the apocryphal book of Judith, in the form Es- 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 330, 331 [III. p. 180]. Later Biblical Researches, 
 p. 340. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II.'p. 31G [TIL p. 157]. 
 
 s 2 Chron. xxxv. 22; Zech. xii. 11. The English Version has wrongly 'valley.' 
 
 * Eusebius, ireSiW t?)s Aeyewi/os; Jerome, 'campus Legionis,' Onomast., Arti- 
 cles Gabatha, Arhela, Cimon, etc. 
 
 5 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 3. 1. Antiq., 8. 2. 3. Reland, Palaestina, pp. 3GG, 367. 
 So too Eusebius, Onomast., Article Itahyrion. 
 
 ^ ^Ea-Spa-nXd, Eusebius, Onomast., Article Jezrael. Hence the still more cor- 
 rupt form Stradela, Itin. Hieros., ed. Wessel., p. 586. 
 
134 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 drelom ; and was current in the middle ages.^ At the pres- 
 ent day this noble plain is known as Merj Ibn 'Amir. 
 
 The great plain and its environs have been in every age 
 the scene of battles. We know from Scripture, that Deborah 
 and Barak, descending with their forces from Mount Tabor, 
 discomfited the host of Sisera with his " nine hundred 
 chariots of iron," from Endor to Taanach and Megiddo, 
 where the Kishon swept them away.^ It was in the broad 
 valley below Jezreel, that Gideon achieved his triumph over 
 the Midianites ; and again Israel pitched in the same valley 
 before the fatal battle in which Saul and Jonathan were slain 
 upon Mount Gilboa.^ It was likewise in the plain, not far 
 from Aphek, that Ahab and the Israelites obtained a miracu- 
 lous victory over the Syrians under Benhadad ; while near 
 Megiddo the pious King Josiah, attacking the Egyptian host 
 in spite of the warnings of their monarch, perished in the 
 conflict.* 
 
 South of the middle of the great plain, and at first sight 
 appearing like a bay or offset running up among the southern 
 liills, is another beautiful plain, not mentioned in Scripture ; 
 though once spoken of in the book of Judith, as lying around 
 Dothan.^ We may call it, therefore, the ' plain of Dothan.' 
 It is separated from the great plain by a narrow tract of 
 swells or rolling land ; through which pass one or more 
 valleys, draining the northern part to Esdraelon. The length 
 of the plain of Dothan, from Burkin in the north to its 
 southern end beyond Ya'bud, is five or six miles. Its 
 breadth is irregular ; since various offsets run up from it 
 
 1 Judith i. 8, iv. 5 [G], vii. 3. Brocardus, cc. 5, 6, Adrichom., p. 35. 
 
 2 Ps. Lxxxiii. 9, 10; Judg. iv. 12-15, v. 19-21. 
 S Judg. vi. 33, vii.; 1 Sam xxix. 1, xxx. 
 
 4 1 Kings XX. 26-30; 2 Chron. xxxv. 20-24; 2 Kings xxiii. 29, 30. 
 
 5 Judith iv. 6, toC TreS/ou tou irArjo-tou Aeoi^oi/x. 
 
PLAINS IN THE IIILL-COUNTRY WEST OF THE GHOR. 135 
 
 among the adjacent hills ; as at Kefr Kud (^Caparcotia) in the 
 northwest, and at Kiibatieh in the southeast.^ The plain 
 sweeps around the hill on which Ya'bud stands, towards the 
 S. S. W:, and is drained off in that direction by a valley. In 
 the broadest part of the plain, between Ya'bud and Kuba^ 
 tieh, but nearer the latter, stands Tell Dothan, the site of 
 ancient Dothan^ with a fountain. ^ Here then is the plain 
 where Joseph's brethren were feeding their father's flocks 
 when Joseph visited them, and was sold by them to Midi- 
 anites, and carried into slavery in Egypt. The route of the 
 Midianites was obviously the same that is now followed. 
 Crossing the Jordan to Bethshean and Jezreel, their way then 
 led through this fine plain ; and down the valley at its south- 
 western quarter to the western plain, and so to Ramleh and 
 Egypt.3 
 
 Not far southeast of the plain of Dothan, on the east of 
 Sanur and overlooked by that fortress, is spread out another 
 beautiful plain, oval or round, in form, three or four miles 
 in diameter, and surrounded by picturesque hills not very 
 elevated. It is perfectly level, with a soil of rich dark 
 loam, exceedingly fertile. The plain has no outlet for its 
 waters ; which therefore in winter collect upon it and form a 
 temporary lake. The Arabs say, the plain drinks up its own 
 waters. It is planted chiefly with millet, a summer crop ; 
 though in some parts, where the surface is higher, wheat is 
 also sown. The plain is called Merj el-Ghuruk, equivalent to 
 Drowned Meadow.^ 
 
 Along the eastern base of the mountains Ebal and Geri- 
 
 1 Wolcott in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, p. 76. Biblical Researches, II. pp. 317, 
 318 [III. p. 154]. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 121, 122. 
 
 3 Gen. xxxvii. 17-36. Later Biblical Researches, p. 122. 
 * Biblical Researches, II. p. 313 [III. pp. 152, 153J. 
 
136 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 zim lies the fine plain known as the Mukhna, extending from 
 S. S. W. to N. N. E. for eight or nine miles, with an average 
 breadth of one and a half or two miles ; it being narrower in 
 the south and north, and broader in the middle. A-t about 
 two thirds of its length from south to north, the valley of 
 Nabulus comes in from the west between Gerizim and Ebal. 
 The hills along the eastern side are lower but rocl^y, and 
 often project into the plain. Directly opposite the mouth 
 of the Nabulus valley, an offset or arm of the plain runs up 
 at right angles among these eastern hills, for nearly three 
 miles in length by half a mile in breadth. Between it and 
 the Mukhna lies a low ridge of rocks. 
 
 The southern part of the Muklina is drained by the be- 
 ginning of Wady Kanah, which passes out by a deep chasm 
 in the western mountains. But from a point considerably 
 south of Nabulus the water-course of the plain runs north, 
 near the base of the eastern hills. It passes on the east of 
 the low ridge between the MiiUhna and the eastern offset ; 
 receives the water-course of that arm ; and then passing out 
 again, lies close along the base of the eastern mountain. 
 North of the valley of Nabulus the Mukhna soon contracts, 
 and becomes rather a slope from the side of Ebal to the 
 water-course. The latter passes down northeast, by a nar- 
 row chasm with singularly broken and contorted strata, to 
 join Wady Fari'a. Both the Mukhna and its eastern arm 
 produce good crops of wheat and millet ; though the soil 
 seems to be less fertile than that of most of the other 
 plains.^ 
 
 The Mukhna is not directly mentioned in Scripture. It 
 was, however, probably the place where the sons of Jacob 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, IL pp. 273, 274, 279 [HI. pp. 92-94, 101, 102]. Later Bib- 
 lical Researches, pp. 298, 299. 
 
PLAINS m THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF THE GHOR. 137 
 
 fed their father's flocks at Shechem, before they went to 
 Dothaii.^ The Shalem near Shechem, to which Jacob first 
 came on his return from Padan-aram, was apparently the 
 Sahm of the present day, a village in the northwest part of 
 the smaller eastern plain. 2 Jacob's well, where our Lord 
 talked with the Samaritan woman, is still seen in the mouth 
 of the valley of Nabulus ; and around it is " the parcel of 
 ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph." ^ 
 
 In Isaiah we read of a valley of Gibeon, according to the 
 English Version ; but the Hebrew has it a vallei/ or plain at 
 Gibeon (p-^-'S p^.?).* The direct reference is probably to the 
 tract or valley between the ridge of Gibeon and the higher 
 one of Neby Samwil. This is strictly an ^Emek; but it is 
 only an arm of the fine plain which extends for two or three 
 miles on the north and west of Gibeon nearly to the brow 
 the mountains. The soil is fertile and productive. The 
 western part is drained by the heads of Wady Suleiman; 
 while the waters of the eastern portions flow off southeast to 
 the great Wady Beit Hanina, which after several changes of 
 name reaches the western plain as Wady es-Surar.^ The 
 allusion of the prophet is to the battles fought near Gibeon ; 
 especially that in which Joshua discomfited the five kings, 
 who had come up against Gibeon.^ 
 
 The valley or plain (P^??) of Rephaim (the Giants^ is sit- 
 uated S. S. W. of Jerusalem ; and the road to Bethlehem 
 
 1 Gen. xxxvii. 12-14. 
 
 2 Gen. xxxiii. 18. Biblical Researches, II. p. 279 [III. p. 102]. Later Biblical 
 Researches, p. 298. 
 
 s John iv. 5, C; Gen xxxiii. 19, xlviii. 22; Josh. xxiv. 32. Biblical Researches, 
 n. p. 286 [III. p. lOS]. Later Biblical Researches, p. 132. 
 * Isa. xxviii. 21. 
 
 « Biblical Researches, I. p. 454 [IL p. 135]. 
 
 « Josh. X. 1-11; comp. 1 Chron. xiv. 16. See more above, pp. 115, 116. 
 18 
 
138 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 passes along on its eastern side. It is higher than the 
 valley of Hinnom ; and is separated from it only by a low, 
 rocky swell. The hills around it are also not elevated. It 
 is drained towards the southwest by Wady el-Werd. It has 
 already been described among the valleys.^ 
 
 In speaking of king Uzziah's husbandry, it is said, " he 
 had much cattle, both in the low country and in the 
 plains." 2 The Hebrew word here rendered ' plains '(lii::^^) 
 signifies level ground^ a level spot or tract ; and as here 
 contrasted with the ' low country ' or Sephela, would seem 
 to refer to level ground or level tracts in the higher hill- 
 country of Judali. 
 
 In the English Version we read of the plains of Moreh and 
 the plain of the Magicians (^Meonemim~) , near Shechem; also 
 the plain of Tabor near Jerusalem, and the plain of Mamre, 
 near Hebron.-^ But the Hebrew word thus rendered 
 
 ' plains,' refers rather to a strong durable tree, especially an 
 oak; and is so rendered by all the ancient interpreters. 
 The above passages ought therefore to read, the oak of the 
 Magicians, of Tabor ; the oaks of Moreh, of Mamre. 
 
 UL PLAINS IN THE GHOR. 
 
 The Ghor itself, as we have seen, is strictly a Bik''ah, or 
 plain between two ranges of mountains ; and as such its va- 
 rious portions have already been described. It is necessary 
 liere only to enumerate these different parts, and refer to 
 our former descriptions. 
 
 1. The basin of the Huleh ; including the valley or plain of 
 Lebanon, and the valley at Beth^ehob ; see pp. 75, 76, and 81. 
 
 1 Sec more above, p. 116 . ^2 Chron. xxvi. 10. 
 
 3 Deut. xi. 30; Judg. ix. 37; 1 Sam. x, 3; Gen. xiii. 18, xiv. 13. 
 
PLAINS EAST OF THE GHOR. 
 
 139 
 
 2. The Plain el-Batihah, at the north end of the lake of 
 Tiberias ; see p. 77. 
 
 3. Tlie plain of Gennesareth, el- Ghuweir, on the west side 
 of the same lake ; see p. 77. 
 
 4. Opposite Beisan, from the lake of Tiberias to Sakut, 
 called by Josephus the Great Plain; see p. 78. 
 
 5. The plain el-Kurdwa in connection with Wadj Fari'a ; 
 see p. 79. 
 
 6. The plain of Jericho, south of Kurn Surtabeh ; see 
 pp. 79, 81. 
 
 7. Tlie plains (^Arboth') of Jericho, the plains (^Arboth') of 
 Moab ; see p. 74. 
 
 8. The plain or circuit QKikkar') of Jordan, in general ; 
 see p. 85. 
 
 For other valleys or valley-plains within the Ghor, see 
 pp. 81, 83. 
 
 IV. PLAINS EAST OF THE GHOR. 
 
 For the plain or valley (J^^ps) of Mizpeh, eastward of the 
 basin of the Huleh, see p. 85. 
 
 East of the lake of Tiberias lies the great plain of Haurdn, 
 now called en-Nukrah, an immense level tract, which may 
 be called table-land as compared with the depressed lake and 
 Ghor. It is bounded on the west by Jebel Heish, the lake, 
 and Jcl)el 'Ajliln ; and on the east by the Lcjah (the ancient 
 Trachonitis) and the mountain of Hauran. It extends from 
 the southernmost sources and affluents of the river A'waj 
 (the Pharpar) in the north to -the unexplored desert in the 
 south. The length is from forty to forty-five miles ; the 
 greatest breadth perhaps thirty-five opposite tlie lake. The 
 surface is greatly undulating, with occasional low Tells 
 rising in various parts. The whole plain is volcanic, being 
 
140 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 an outlier of the vast volcanic region on the east. The soil 
 is of a dark brown color, almost without stones ; in general 
 exceedingly fertile, and arable throughout. With the higher 
 tracts of Haur^n it is regarded as the granary of Damascus. 
 
 The plain is drained wholly (except the few "Wadys that 
 run to the lake) by the river Yarmuk or Hieromax and its 
 many branches ; the chief of which have their beginning on 
 Jebel Hauran, and wind as deep chasms through the plain. 
 The elevation of the western part of the plain is estimated 
 by Russegger at about two thousand five hundred feet; 
 showing a rapid ascent from the borders of the lake. 
 
 This plain is the ancient Hauran of Ezekiel,^ the Amaritis 
 of the Greeks and Romans ; though some of the northern 
 portion may have been included in the districts of Iturea^ 
 Trachonitis, and Gaulonitis. It was all. comprised in the 
 Bashan of the Hebrews ; and belonged to Manasseh.^ 
 
 There remains to be noted the plain of the Bclka, as it is 
 now called, the elevated plateau along the summit of the 
 mountains which border the Dead Sea upon the east. This 
 tract was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. It extends 
 from near cs-Salt to Kerak and beyond ; a distance of some 
 forty-five to fifty miles in length, by a breadth of ten to fifteen 
 miles. As compared with the high land on the west of the 
 sea, around Hebron, the elevation of this plain cannot well 
 be less than about three thousand feet above the Mediter- 
 ranean, or four thousand three hundred feet above the Dead 
 Sea.3 On the west the plain is skirted by the hills and ridges 
 
 1 Ezek. xlvii. 16, 18. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, 1841, IH., App., p. 150, Burclchardt, Syria, p. 285 sq. 
 Porter's Handbook, p. 499. "Wetzstein in Zcitschr. fUr allg. Erdk., Aug. 1859, 
 pp. 130, 131. Russe<?ger, IH. p. 215. Comp. above, pp. 54-56. 
 
 3 See above, p. 60. 
 
PLAINS EAST OF TIIE GHOR. 
 
 141 
 
 forming tlio crests or brojv of the lofty mountains which rise 
 steeply from the sea ; while from the plain itself these crests 
 appear but little elevated. On the east is the desert, on 
 about the same level ; sometimes with chains of hills along 
 the border. Many water-courses, and some deep chasms (as 
 that of the Arnon) pass off through the plain westward, and 
 break down through the mountains to the sea. Through 
 tliese chasms there are frequent views of the Dead Sea and 
 the country beyond. In the plain there are isolated Tells ; 
 but it has not many trees, except along the western part, 
 where there is considerable wood in some places. The soil 
 is very fertile, but is left untilled ; the whole region being 
 given up to pasturage ; for the excellency of which it is 
 greatly celebrated.^ 
 
 This high plaia of the Belka is several times mentioned 
 in Scripture, chiefly in connection with the approach of the 
 Hebrews to the Promised Land.^ The Hebrew word is here 
 Mishur ("ii'iii"*?), signifying ' a level tract,' and rendered in the 
 English Version, by ' plain, plain country.' Portions of this 
 ' plain country ' are also definitely referred to in two other 
 passages. 
 
 When the Hebrews, in approaching Palestine, turned from 
 the eastern desert into the inhabited country north of the 
 Arnon, they went (according to the Hebrew) " from Bamoth 
 to the plain or basin Q^"^^^) which is in the country (field) 
 of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which overlooketh the wilder- 
 ness." ^ This Gai or basin was perhaps some depressed tract 
 in the plain near to the heights or crest of Pisgah, where the 
 
 1 Seetzen, Eeisen, I. pp. 407, 410. Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 364-366. Irby and 
 Mangles, 1847, pp. 142, 146. Sec above, pp. 59-61, 67, 68. 
 
 2 Deut. iii. 10, iv. 43; Josh. xiii. 9, 16, 17, 21, xx. 8; Jer. xlviii. 21. 
 
 3 Num. xxi. 20; comp. Num. xxxiii. 47, 48. Sec above, p. 63. 
 
142 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 waters were gathered in winter, iind flowed off through a 
 common channel. Or, the word Gai might possibly be re- 
 ferred to the whole plain, as being skirted on each side by 
 hills ; just as the Ghor itself is spoken of as a Gai} 
 
 In Genesis it is related, that Chedorlaomer and the kings 
 with him " smote the Emims in the plain (!iv^) of Kiriath- 
 aun.^^^ The city Kiriathaim lay, as we have seen, on the 
 southern part of Jebel 'Attarus ; and the plain in question 
 was therefore probably along the eastern base of that moun- 
 tain.^ 
 
 1 See above, p. 82. 
 3 See above, p. 67. 
 
 2 Gen. xiv. 5. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 WATERS. 
 
 When Moses led Israel towards the Promised Land, he 
 described it to them by way of contrast with Egypt ; where, 
 without rain, their supply of water had to be raised from the 
 Nile or from wells : " For the land is not as the land of 
 Egypt, whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed 
 and wateredst it with thy foot,^ as a garden of herbs ; but 
 the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and 
 valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven." " For 
 the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of 
 brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that spring out of 
 valleys and hills." ^ What Palestine was then, such it is 
 now ; a land of fountains and brooks in winter ; the flow of 
 which, however, from the warmth of the climate and the 
 unclouded sunshine of a long summer, is confined within 
 brief courses for a large portion of the year. While in sum- 
 mer there are few streams, there are yet many fountains ; 
 which supply water for man and beast, and sometimes for 
 irrigation. 
 
 1 RefeiTing probably to a machine for raising water, turned by the foot; see 
 Biblical Researches, I., Note II., at the end. 
 
 2 Deut. xi. 10, 11, viii. 7. 
 
144 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND, 
 
 SECTION L 
 
 RIVERS AND MINOR STREAMS. 
 
 The River of Palestine is the Jordan. No other stream 
 in the coiintrj strictly deserves the name of river ; unless it 
 be one or two of the tributaries of the Jordan from the east. 
 On the coast the streams of the Belus, the lower Kishon,and 
 the 'Aujeh have considerable water ; but the permanent 
 course of each is very short. 
 
 I. THE JORDA^T AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 The Jordan, after the junction of all its head streams, 
 expands into the lake of the Hdleh. Then, after rushing 
 down a rocky chasm for several miles, it again spreads out 
 into the lake of Tiberias. From this lake its course is 
 comparatively uninterrupted, until it enters the Dead Sea. 
 
 Hence the Jordan may be treated of in three divisions, viz ; 
 
 The Upper Jordan, extending from the sources to the lake 
 of Tiberias. The direct length of this part, from Tell el- 
 Kady and Banias to that lake, is about twenty-five miles ; 
 the source, at Hasbeiya, being some ten miles further north. 
 
 The Middle Jordan, from the lake of Tiberias to the nar- 
 row pass opposite Kurn Surtabeli ; a direct distance of about 
 forty-five miles. 
 
 Tlie Lower Jordan, from Kurn Surtabeli to the Dead Sea ; 
 a distance of about twenty miles. 
 
TIIE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 145 
 
 The whole length of the Jordan, therefore, from H^sbeiya 
 to the Dead Sea, including the two lakes, is not far from 
 one hundred and fifteen miles. 
 
 Hie valley of the Jordan, as usually spoken of, is the Ghor, 
 the broad depressed plain shut in between two ranges of 
 mountains. But below the lake of Tiberias, the Jordan 
 flows in its own well-defined and still deeper valley, winding 
 through the plain of the Ghor. Along and within this deeper 
 valley, the channel of the river winds exceedingly ; and is, 
 in most parts, fringed by a narrow tract of verdure on 
 each side, made up of trees, bushes, reeds, and luxuriant 
 herbage. 
 
 N.AME. The name Jordan comes to us from the Hebrew 
 through the Greek QyT^'^, 'IopBdv7]<;), the Hebrew name being 
 always written in the Old Testament, except in two places, 
 with the article, the Jordan C'n*':?:). It comes from the root 
 'T^^j to g'O doivn, or spoken of a stream, to flow ; honce the 
 Jordan signifies ' the flowing,' perhaps witli some allusion to 
 its rapid descent and swift current. At the present day it is 
 called by the Arabs esh-SherVah, 'the watering-place;* 
 sometimes with the addition of el-Kebtr, ' the Great.' Yet 
 the name eZ- £/rc?w7Z (Jordan) is not unknown in Arabian 
 writers.^ 
 
 An early and current derivation, coming down at least 
 from the time of Jerome, regards the word Jordan as mado 
 up from the names of the two streams from Banias and 
 Dan ; the former, it was said, being called Jor ('^i<']), and tho 
 other Dan. That all this is without foundation, is shown by 
 the fact that the name Jordan was current in the days of 
 
 1 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr. p. 147. 
 Jordanes. 
 
 19 
 
 Schulten's Index in Vit. Saladin, Article Fluvius 
 
146 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 Abraham and the patriarchs, at least five centuries before 
 the name of Dan was given to the city in question.^ 
 
 Upper Jordan. Sources. The Jordan is formed by the 
 junction of three large perennial streams, issuing from 
 immense, fountains, near Hasbeiya, at Tell el-Kady, and at 
 Banias. All along the base of Hermon, indeed, there are 
 springs and rivulets, which run to those streams ; and large 
 fountains also send their waters to the lake of the Huleh ; 
 but no one reckons these among the proper sources of the 
 Jordan. So too the brook in Wady Zaa'reh, wliich comes 
 down to Banias ; and the Derdarah,.the streamlet from Mcrj 
 'Ayun, are neither of them perennial in their whole course ; 
 and are therefore not to be regarded as permanent sources 
 of the Jordan.2 
 
 The Hdshdny. The stream from Hasbeiya is called Nahr 
 Hasbany. It flows along the great Wady et-Teim, which 
 runs up at the western base of Hermon as far as to the region 
 around Rasheiya ; and then, descending, continues on till it 
 is merged in the Buka'a, near the great fountain of 'Anjar. 
 The whole of Wady et-Teim is north of the line of Palestine 
 proper ; and we speak of it here only with reference to the 
 upper portion of the Hasbany. 
 
 The source of the Hasbany is ten or twelve miles in a 
 direct line above the mouth of Wady et-Teim ; near the 
 opening of the side valley which leads up east to Hasbeiya, 
 and almost a mile and a half distant from that town. Here 
 a ridge running down on the north side of the short lateral 
 valley, terminates in a volcanic bluff, at the foot of which 
 the fountain bursts forth in the very channel of Wady et- 
 
 1 Gen. xiii. 10, 11, xxxii. 10, 1. 10, 11; comp. Judg. xviii. 29. See Later Bib- 
 lical Researches, p. 412, note. 
 
 2 See above, pp. 84, 89. 
 
THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 147 
 
 Teim ; sending forth at once a large volume of water. At 
 present a strong and permanent dam is thrown across just 
 below the fountain. A head of water is thus raised and a 
 small pond formed, from which the water is turned into a 
 wide mill-race. In this way all the beauty and romance of 
 the spot are destroyed. The fountain, as such, is not visible ; 
 except that just above the dam the water is seen boiling up 
 on the surface of the pool, and quite across it. There are a 
 few trees along the banks, and a large rock rises on the east 
 side of the pool. About thirty rods below the fountain there 
 is a bridge across the stream. 
 
 This fountain is the remotest perennial source of the 
 Jordan ; though never alluded to by any ancient writer. 
 There are, indeed, small fountains further up the valley, but 
 their waters do not reach this spot. Yet in the rainy season 
 a great body of water descends from the upper part of Wady 
 et-Teim and the heights of Jebel esh-Sheikh around Ra- 
 sheiya, causing a formidable torrent along the valley.^ 
 
 Wady et-Teim is, in many parts, full of spurs and ridges 
 jutting out from the base of Hermon. Along the narrow 
 dell thus formed in the west, the limpid stream of the Has- 
 bany rushes murmuring, usually fordable, except as some- 
 times almost hidden in deep chasms. About six miles below 
 Hasbeiya a fine stream comes in from the east, from 'Ain 
 Seraiyib, a large fountain at the foot of Hermon. This is 
 regarded as one of the main feeders of the Hasbany ; and is 
 said to be far more copious in winter than in summer. 
 This stream, as we saw it in May, was about one fourth part 
 as large as the Hasbany.^ 
 
 At some distance further down, and nearly opposite Khi- 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 378. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 415. 
 
148 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 yam, the hills and ridges within Wady et-Teim disappear; 
 and the whole valley opens out into a wide and tolerably 
 level plain, which thus connects with the basin of the Huleh. 
 The rapid descent of this part of the valley, and the steps 
 and terraces by which it joins the lower plain, have already 
 been described.^ It is remarkable that the river Hasbany, 
 on issuing from its mountain glen into the great volcanic 
 plain towards the Huleh, does not follow the lowest part of 
 the plain ; but keeps along in its own deep chasm through 
 •the western and highest plateau. This chasm the river has 
 worn for itself, to the depth of from two to three hundred 
 feet, in the hard trap rock ; it is quite narrow, with very 
 steep and in some places perpendicular banks. Where the 
 river flows through the lower terraces, the chasm is of course 
 less deep. About a mile below Ghujar there is a bridge over 
 the stream.2 
 
 We forded the river above Ghujar, near Luweizeh ; de- 
 scending into the chasm steeply and with difficulty, among 
 the trap boulders and globular basalt. Five minutes below 
 the ford is another large fountain, called Luweizany, burst- 
 ing forth under isolated strata of limestone rock on the west- 
 ern margin of the stream. Thickets of oleanders and marshy 
 ground render access to the fountain difficult ; but it is evi- 
 dently quite large, and the stream below is very much aug- 
 mented.^ 
 
 As the Hasbany reaches the lower terraces and plains, 
 much water is drawn off from it for the purposes of irriga- 
 tion. 
 
 Tell el-Kddy, The Ledddn. About a mile and a half 
 south by east from the southwestern corner of Hermon, 
 
 1 Sco above, p. 75. 2 Later Biblical Pvosearches, pp. 389, 390. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, p. 389. 
 
THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 149 
 
 nearly in a line with its western base, and about midway of 
 the Huleli from west to cast, rises the isolated Tell el-Kady. 
 It stands connected with the step or offset between two pla- 
 teaus ; so that while its height on the northern part is only 
 some thirty or forty feet above the plain, the southern side 
 is twice as high as the northern, rising above the plain at its 
 •southern base' not less than eighty or ninety feet. The form 
 is oblong, but irregular ; stretching from west to east. The| 
 top is an area of several acres, somewhat highest towards the 
 east, and in part cultivated. Singularly enough, this Tell 
 and offset are the dividing line between the volcanic and 
 limestone formations. The Tell and all the plain north are 
 volcanic ; while all the plain of the Huleh further south is 
 limestone. Some have held the Tell to have been the crater 
 of an extinct volcano ; but geologists do not favor the idea. 
 Nor, if so, is it easy to account for the absence of all volcanic 
 phenomena on the southern and lower quarter. The eleva- 
 tion of this spot above the sea is given at six hundred and 
 forty-seven feet. The Tell was probably the main site of the 
 ancient city Dan. 
 
 On approaching Tell el-Kady from the west, the first object 
 which strikes the eye is an immense stream of the most lim- 
 pid water pouring from its western end. This portion of 
 the Tell appears as if built up with large trap boulders ; and 
 through these the water gushes out several feet above the 
 base. It forms a little lake at the bottom ; and then rushes 
 down a steep channel to the next lower plateau. This is 
 one of the largest fountains in the world ; the stream that 
 issues from it being not less than four times as large as the 
 Hasbany, even after all the accessions which the latter re- 
 ceives. 
 
 Not all the water, however, from the interior of the Tell, 
 
150 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 escapes in this way. In the surface of the Tell, directly 
 above the great fountain, is a cavity of some extent, into 
 which the water also rises ; and runs off, as a considerable 
 stream, through a break in the edge of the Tell, tumbling 
 down its southwestern side. This stream drives two mills ; 
 and furnishes water-power enough for any number. It then 
 goes to join the other river. This of itself woul& be regarded 
 as quite a large fountain. Just in the break of the Tell 
 stands a noble oak (Sindian), with its vast boughs spreading 
 widely around, and supplying a grateful shade, under which 
 many travellers have rested.^ 
 
 The water of the Leddan, as it rushes down the various 
 declivities or offsets, is used to drive several mills ; and large 
 quantities are taken out on both sides and distributed for 
 irrigation. A small branch or canal, called Bureij, is carried 
 along parallel on the west, which supplies water to the fields, 
 and also gathers up again the superfluous waters, and joins 
 the main stream some distance below.^ 
 
 Nahr Bunids. In the angle of the mountains, formed by 
 the lofty sides of Hermon on the north, and the lower 
 mountains that skirt the Huleh on the east, on its own 
 beautiful terrace, is situated the town of Banias. Back of 
 the town, in the very nook of the mountauis, bursts forth the 
 great fountain, the most picturesque and celebrated of all 
 the sources of the Jordan. The fountain issues from the 
 lower western end of the thin, sharp ridge cut off by 
 Wady Kushabeh from the flank of Hermon, on which ridge, 
 higli up, stands the ancient fortress.^ The fountain, there- 
 fore, is wholly south of that Wady ; and has no visible con- 
 nection whatever with the mountain. The ridge terminates 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 390-392. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 394, 395. ^ ggg above, p. 81. 
 
THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 151 
 
 here in a precipice of limestone rock ; the whole terrace also 
 being of limestone ; but the volcanic rocks begin immedi- 
 ately above. The strata of the precipice are greatly in- 
 clined ; and the front would seem to have been, in the course 
 of time, much broken away, probably by earthquakes. The 
 main precipice faces about S. W. by W., and rises from a 
 hundred to a hundred and fifty feet above the water of the 
 fountain. At the base of this there appears to have been 
 anciently a cavern, from which the water probably issued. 
 But in consequence of the breaking away of the rock above, 
 the former front part of the cavern is now filled up with the 
 fallen rocks and stones, which also extend out for some 
 distance before it. Through the bottom of this mass of rocks 
 and fragments the water now gushes forth. Further to- 
 wards the south also, where apparently there was no cavern, 
 there is the same heaping up of debris along the foot of the 
 precipice ; and through this too, in like manner, the water 
 issues less abundantly, spreading itself perhaps from the 
 cavern. 
 
 This spot and cavern were the ancient Panium, and hero 
 the first Herod erected a temple in honor of Augustus.^ In 
 the face of the precipice, south of the cavern, and now only 
 just above the debris, are several votive niches, with in- 
 scriptions. Others may likewise exist, now covered by the 
 stones. 
 
 From beneath and through the mass of rocks and stones, 
 which thus fill up and hide the entrance of the cavern, 
 gushes forth the Nahr Banias, a full and rushing river, 
 twice as large as the stream from the fountain near Has- 
 beiya. The water is of the purest and finest quality, limpid, 
 bright, and sparkling. Some of the waters are carried in 
 
 1 Joseph. Antiq., 15. 10. 3. 
 
152 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 channels through the village ; but the main stream passes 
 down on the north. Gathering to itself the other streams 
 just below, and yet itself distributing its waters over the 
 terrace and portions of the adjacent western plain for the 
 purposes of irrigation, it rushes onward in a ravine of its 
 own, with swift course, towards the southwest, down to the 
 plain below, and so to the lower Hulch. It is the most beau- 
 tiful of all the streams of the Jordan.^ 
 
 Junction of the Streams. Until the year 1852, it was not 
 known whether the three head streams of the Jordan entered 
 the lake of the Huleh separately, or formed a junction above 
 the lake. To determine this problem, in May of that year 
 we struck down from Tell el-Kady into the Huleh, on the 
 east of the Leddan. After descending several steps and 
 terraces, through tracts of the richest fertility, well watered 
 by irrigation, but without a trace of marshy land, we came in 
 one hour from the Tell to the Nalir Banias. It was hero 
 flowing rapidly in a depressed but open valley. We then rose 
 to a somewhat higher plain on the right ; and soon fell in 
 with the Leddan, running, with a swift current, in a deep, 
 narrow channel, fifteen or twenty feet below the level of the 
 plain. It was almost hidden by the canes and bushes that 
 line the banks. Five minutes later, we came to the junc- 
 tion of the two streams, in a broad, open area, where the 
 river spreads itself out. TVe here forded the Leddan ; the 
 water coming nearly up to the horses' bellies. Ten min- 
 utes further was the very turbid Bureij, which was easily 
 forded. 
 
 At length, about a mile from the former junction, we came 
 upon the Hasbany at its junction with the other united 
 streams. This spot is about five miles distant from Tell 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, pp. 406, 407. 
 
THE JORD^iN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 153 
 
 el-Kady ; and one third of a mile north of Tell Sheikh Yu- 
 saf, the southernmost Tell in the middle of the plain. From 
 the junction the river passes down on the west side of that 
 Tell ; and pursues its course southward through the flat, 
 marshy plain of the lower Huleh to the lake. Above the 
 junction the streams were all running swiftly in channels 
 fifteen feet or more below the surface of the plain. 
 
 The relative size of the three streams we estimated as fol- 
 lows : That from Banias is twice as large as the Hasbany ; 
 while the Leddan, including its branch, the Bureij, is twice if 
 not three times the size of that from Banias. Below the 
 junction the river is apparently about as large as the Jordan 
 at the bridge below the lake. 
 
 In the lower plain, the stream from Banias has the clearest 
 water, being less used for irpgation. The water of the Led- 
 dan is of a turbid ash color. That of the Hasbany is muddy 
 and of a dark yellow.^ 
 
 The swiftness of the current in all the streams is ac- 
 counted for by the fact already given, that the descent along 
 the basin of the Huleh, from the base of Hermon to the lake, 
 is hardly less than six hundred feet ; or from fifty to sixty 
 feet in each mile.^ 
 
 Historical Notices. The sacred writers of the Bible make 
 no allusion whatever to the sources of the Jordan. Josephus 
 speaks of the Panium, the fountain at Banias, as the main 
 source ; and several times mentions the stream from Dan 
 (Tell el-Kady) as the Lesser Jordan.^ 
 
 But neither Josephus, nor any other ancient writer, makes 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 393, 395. 2 gee above, p. 75. 
 
 ^ Panium, Joseph. Antiq., 15. 10. 3. Bel. Jud., 1. 21. 3. The Lesser Jordan, 
 6 fxiKphs 'lopB. Joseph., Bel. Jud., 4. 1. 1. Antiq., 1. 10. 1. Ibid., 5. 3. 1. Ibid., 
 8. 8. 4. 
 
 20 
 
154 PHYSICAL GEOGRxiPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 any allusion whatever to the Hasbany, the longest of all the 
 streams. This silence in the case of Josephus might perhaps 
 be referred to a national feeling ; inasmuch as the source of 
 this stream lies beyond the limits of Palestine proper, which 
 was reckoned from Dan to Beersheba. But whatever the 
 motive may have been, the like analogy exists at the present 
 day in the case of the other three Syrian rivers, which take 
 their rise in the Buka'a and Anti-Lebanon, — the Barada, the 
 Litany, and the Orontes. Thus the proper head of the 
 Barada is a lakelet in the plain south of Zebedany, in the 
 highest part of Anti-Lebanon ; while Abulfeda expressly says 
 that " the source of the river of Damascus " is at the great 
 fountain of Fijeh, half way down the mountain. The Li- 
 tany has one of its heads in the fine stream of Ba'albek ; 
 yet the great fountains near 'A^ijar are usually spoken of as 
 its sources. In like manner the large fountain at Lebweli is 
 the true head of the Orontes ; yet what are known as the 
 sources of that river are the abundant fountains near 
 Hurmul. 
 
 The idea which, in all these cases, lies at the foundation, 
 seems to be, to regard as the source of a river, not its re- 
 remotest head, but its most copious fountains. ^ 
 
 From the Huleh to the Lake of Tiberias. For the lake of 
 the Huleh, see below, in Sect. II. 
 
 The character of the tract of higher uneven land, which 
 intervenes between the two lakes, has already been de- 
 scribed.i It is cut through by the deep rocky chasm of tlie 
 Jordan. 
 
 The Jordan, on issuing from the upper lake, flows for a 
 short distance along a narrow cultivated plain ; and then 
 enters the volcanic chasm, which leads down to the lower 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 412, 413. 
 
THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 155 
 
 lake ; the direct distance between the lakes being about 
 twelve miles. The upper part of this chasm is devoid of 
 trees ; and the sides are strewed with black boulders. Thus 
 far the current of the river is swift, but without rapids. 
 Its breadth is from thirty to forty yards. A mile below the 
 lake of the Huleh there is a substantial bridge across the 
 river. It has four pointed arches, is sixty paces long, and is 
 built of the black volcanic stones of the regions. The bridge 
 is called Tisr Bendt Yalwb. ' Bridge of Jacob's daughters.' 
 The present structure was erected apparently early in the 
 fifteenth century. During the crusades there was here only 
 a ford. But this passage of the Jordan must always have 
 been an important one ; and it would seem probable that a 
 bridge must have existed here in ancient times. Hence, 
 perhaps, the adjacent district on the east took the name of 
 Geshur ('^^-a), as if ' Bridge-land ' ; at any rate Geshur and 
 the Geshurites were in this vicinity.^ At the present day, 
 this is the great caravan-route between Damascus and all 
 western Palestine from 'Akka to Gaza. 
 
 About two miles below the lake the more rapid descent 
 begins ; and the river rushes down its deep and somewhat 
 winding ravine until it meets the level of the lower plain at 
 or above the site of the eastern Bethsaida (Julias), two 
 miles north of the lake of Tiberias. This ravine is described 
 as full of trees and shrubs ; among which the plane tree 
 (jplatamis) and oleander are conspicuous. There is no path 
 within the chasm ; but the road along the west side leads 
 over the heights above ; so that the river is only occasion- 
 ally seen dashing and foaming along its rocky bed, with 
 much noise. It is described as forming a sheet of foam 
 throughout most of the distance ; but there appear to be no 
 
 1 1 Chron. ii. 23; 2 Sara. iii. 3, xiii. 37; Josh. xii. 5, xiii. 13; Dcut. iii. 14. 
 
156 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 proper vraterfalls. The descent from the upper to the lower 
 lake is about seven hundred and fifty feet.^ 
 
 Below Bethsaida, where the Jordan flows along the western 
 part of the plain el-Batihah, its channel winds exceedingly ; 
 and the stream is fordable in various places. The river is 
 here from sixty to seventy-five feet broad, sluggish arid 
 turbid, but not clayey, with low alluvial banks, which arc 
 often changed by the washing of the stream. The Jordan 
 enters the lake near the western hills. We visited the spot 
 in 1838. At that time the strong southerly winds had driven 
 up a bank of sand before the mouth, which rose above the 
 water ; and being connected with the eastern branch, ex- 
 tended out for fifteen or twenty rods southwest, forming a 
 channel for the river for some distance along the shore on 
 that side. 2 
 
 The story told by some, that the Jordan maintains its 
 course through the middle of the lake without mingling its 
 waters, is naturally nothing more than a fable.^ 
 
 For the lake of Tiberias, see below, in Sect. II. 
 
 Middle Jordan. The Jordan issues from tlie lake of Ti- 
 berias at its southwestern extremity, east and south of tlie 
 mound on which stood the ancient Tarichaea. Pococke 
 describes the river as first running south for a furlong, and 
 then west for half a mile. Lynch represents it as flowing 
 west immediately from the lake. West of the mound of 
 Tarichaea the former traveller speaks of a marsh ; the latter 
 mentions an inlet or bay setting up north from the Jordan.* 
 
 1 See above, p. 77. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 414, 415 [HI. pp. 309, .310]. Pococke, Description 
 of the East, II. i. pp. 72, 73. Schubert, Reise, IH. p. 259. Lynch, Official Report, 
 p. 43. Lynch, Narrative, p. 470. Van de Velde, Mem., p. 148. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, H. p. 414 [HI. p. 309], note. 
 
 ■* Pococke, Description of the East, IL i. p. 70. Lynch, Official Report, p. IG 
 
THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 157 
 
 This difference might possibly be accounted for by the 
 greater height of the water in the lake, as seen by the later 
 traveller ; or, not improbably, some changes may have here 
 taken place during the century intervening between the two 
 writers. 
 
 Just below the spot where the river bends south, are the 
 ruins of an ancient bridge of ten arches ; now called Jisr 
 es-Semakh, after the village a mile east at the south end of 
 the lake. Near by the bridge is a ford ; and there is an- 
 other just below the village 'Abeidiyeh. The river, in this 
 part and below, is from twenty-five to thirty yards wide, 
 with a swift current and many rapids. Some of these latter 
 are very strong, and have a great descent. There are also 
 several mills, fed by sluices taken out at the rapids. The 
 river everywhere winds exceedingly.^ 
 
 Such was the Jordan as Lynch found it in April, when it 
 was running " with full banks," during the time of early 
 harvest. But when Molyneux passed down in the last days 
 of August, the case was very different. Duri-ng the first 
 day's journey, they scarcely had sufficient water to swim 
 the little boat for a hundred yards together. In many places 
 the river was split into a number of small streams, and con- 
 sequently almost without water in any of them. It was 
 also, at this time, full of small weirs or dams, built up tem- 
 porarily, to turn the water into narrow channels for irriga- 
 tion. In this upper part of the stream there were hundreds 
 of places where the party might have walked across without 
 wetting their feet, on the large rocks and stones.^ 
 
 and Map. Comp. Molyneux, Journal of Royal Geograph. Soc, XVIII. p. 107. 
 Irby and Mangles, 1847, pp. 90, 91. Sectzen, Reisen, I. pp. 350, 351. 
 
 1 For the many rapids, see Lynch, Official Report, pp. IG, 17, et passim. Lynch, 
 Narrative, p. 173 sq. See Irby and Mangles, pp. 90, 91. Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 351. 
 
 2 Molyneux, Journal of Royal Geograph. Soc, XVIII. pp. 108, 100, 115. 
 
158 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 Five miles below the lake, the YixQvYarmuk or Hieromax, 
 now called the Sheri'at el-Mandhur, comes in from the east ; 
 being here nearly as large as the Jordan itself. About a mile 
 further down is another bridge built of volcanic rocks, of 
 Saracenic construction, and still in use. The architecture is 
 very massive : with one large pointed arch and two smaller 
 ones below, and three small arches above each of the latter. 
 It is called Jisr el-Mejami'a, from the neighboring meeting ot 
 the waters. The river at this point is not so wide as at the 
 bridge below the Huleh. Here passes the caravan-route, 
 leading from Beisan to Damascus, through the country east 
 of the lake of Tiberias.^ 
 
 The river continues of the same general character, though 
 with more water and fewer rapids, as far as Sakut and "Wady 
 Malih, where the long fertile reach of the upper Ghur termi- 
 nates. As seen from a high point southeast from Pella, this 
 upper portion of the GhDr presents a beautiful prospect ; 
 much of it apparently cultivated and yielding rich crops ; 
 and the whole enlivened by the very many windings of the 
 Jordan, as it meanders from side to side through the broad 
 valley. Opposite to Beisan is a ford, or rather three ford- 
 ing places, near each other, the southernmost of which we 
 crossed in May, 1852. The river at this ford spreads out 
 wider than usual, being about forty-live yards ; the water 
 came up to the middle of the horses' sides. The same- 
 morning we had crossed at another ford, not far north of 
 Sakut ; here the stream was divided by a long and narrow 
 island covered with trees and the rankest vegetation ; and 
 the water was somewhat less deep. At this point the lower 
 valley of the river was wider than usual, forming a little 
 
 1 Molyneux, Journal of Royal Geograph. Soc, XVIH. p. 112. Lynch, Official 
 Report, p. 20. Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 351. 
 
THE JOEDAX AXD ITS SOURCES. 
 
 alluvial plain on the west of the stream. But in this plain 
 were two former channels of the river, now full of tamarisk 
 trees. In the rainy season the river still sends its waters 
 partly through these old channels ; hut never overflows the 
 little plain.i 
 
 Below Wady Malih, the- Ghur, as we have seen, is for a 
 time contracted ; and the Jordan passes down near the 
 eastern mountain to the lower plain of the Kurawa. Here, 
 over against the mouth of Wady Fari'a, is another ford ; 
 and just above it are the remains of an ancient Roman 
 bridge, Jisr Dumieh, not over the present course of the river, 
 but spanning an earlier, more eastern channel, now dry. 
 Several of the Roman arches remain. Here of course was 
 once a great route leading over from Nabulus (and perhaps 
 Jericho) to Gilead and Bashan ; as at the present day there 
 is a road by the ford from Nabulus to es-Salt and Jebel 
 'Ajlun.2 
 
 Tliis middle portion of the Jordan terminates over against 
 the low rocky ridge which extends out from the southeastern 
 extremity of Kurn Surtabeli, and contracts the whole valley 
 to its narrowest limits.^ 
 
 Lower Jordan. To one looking up the Ghor from a point 
 below Kurn Surtabeh, or as seen from the brow of the west- 
 ern mountains, the valley opposite the Kurn appears higher 
 than further south ; as if a low swell extended across it from 
 the ridge at the end of Surtabeh to the base of the eastern 
 mountains. Where the Jordan finds its way through this 
 apparently higher tract, this latter is broken up, on both 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 316, 325, 334. 
 
 2 Lynch, Official Report, p. 28. Lynch, Narrative, p. 249. Van de Velde, 
 Mem., p. 124. 
 
 8 Later Biblical Researches, p. 293. 
 
160 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 sides of the stream, into labyrintlis of deep ravines with bar- 
 ren chalky sides, forming cones and hills of various shapes, 
 and presenting a most wild and desolate scene. Here would 
 seem to be the great break-doivn in the bed of the Jordan 
 mentioned in this region by Lynch.^ 
 
 The character of the Jordan continues much the same as 
 higher up. The stream winds greatly along its inner valley, 
 fringed usually by a border of trees and verdure. The cur- 
 rent is swift, deep, and strong, with fewer broken rapids. 
 But the GhOr itself has now become an arid desert, except 
 where a few fountains on its borders impart verdure to nar- 
 row tracts in their immediate vicinity. There are three or 
 four fords in the river below Kurn Surtabeli ; but at some 
 seasons, when the river is full, the Arabs are compelled to 
 swim their horses. One of the main fords is at the mouth of 
 Wady Sha'ib or Nimrin, E. N. E. from Jericho; here more 
 commonly the horses swim across. The ford cl-Helu, lower 
 down, which we visited in 1838, is never passed without 
 swimming. The stream was here about forty yards in 
 breadth ; the guides supposed it to be ten or twelve feet deep. 
 The current, though still, was very swift and strong ; so 
 that the stoutest swimmers were carried down many yards 
 in crossing. The water was of a clayey color, but sweet and 
 pleasant to the taste.^ 
 
 Between these two fords, near the ruined convent of St. 
 John, is the spot where the Latin pilgrims bathe in the Jor- 
 dan. Tlie bathing-place of the Greek pilgrims, the el-Mesh- 
 ra'a of Lynch, is at some distance further down. Each party 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 293. Lynch, Official Report, p. 29. Comp. 
 Anderson's Geological Report, ibid., p. 148. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, L pp. 535, 536 [H. pp. 255-257]. 
 
THE JOKDAN AXD ITS SOURCES. 
 
 IGl 
 
 claims to bathe at the very spot where our Lord was baptized 
 by John. 
 
 The course of the lower Jordan is in general along tlic 
 eastern portion of the GhOr. It enters the Dead Sea about 
 tliree miles below the ford el-Helu. It has there sluggishly 
 expanded to the breadth of eighty yards ; with a depth of 
 only three fect.^ 
 
 General Features. — Valley and Channel. \\q have al- 
 ready referred to the inner and lower valley of its own, within 
 which the Jordan flows along the Ghur. Scientifically the 
 two valleys are spoken of as two terraces ; the upper, being 
 the*tevel of the Glijr, extending back to the mountains on 
 each side ; the lower being the level of the deeper valley in 
 which the river flows. ^ The slope or offset between the two 
 terraces, which is sometimes precipitous, and sometimes 
 composed of clayey pyramids or rounded sand-hills, is often 
 referred to as the upper or outer banks of the river, in dis- 
 tinction from the banks of the channel itself. 
 
 We have also alluded several times to the narrow line of 
 trees and herbage which in most parts borders the stream 
 along each bank. The breadth of this line of verdure seems 
 to be regulated by the extent to which the stream overflows, 
 or the water penetrates the soil. In some parts the ground 
 along the bank of the channel occupied by this border of 
 vegetation, is two or three feet more depressed than the level 
 of the lower terrace ; and in such places the water often rises 
 over it.^ 
 
 The elevation of the outer banks, or upper plain above the 
 lower, varies g]'eatly ; in some places being not more than 
 
 1 Lynch, Official Report, p. 31. 
 
 2 Anderson's Geological Report, p. 140. See above, p. 145. 
 8 Biblical Researches, L pp. 535, 53G [L pp. 255, 256]. 
 
 21 
 
1G2 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRArHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 forty feet, while in other parts it is not less than one hundred 
 and fifty feet, or even more. This refers of course to the 
 brow of the upper terrace. In like manner the breadth of the 
 lower or inner valley is irregular ; it may be said in general 
 to vary from a quarter of a mile or perhaps less in some 
 parts, to half a mile in others. 
 
 Along this lower inner valley, the stream pursues its way 
 in mazy windings. But these belong only to the river and 
 not to its inner valley. The latter, as seen from the adja- 
 cent mountains, although it deviates much from a direct 
 course, has nothing of a serpentine character. In conse- 
 quence of the alluvial soil and many short turns, the stream 
 not unfrequently changes its course, cutting for itself a new 
 channel, and forsaking the old one. In the same way islands 
 are formed ; of which there is a large number in the river. 
 
 Scripture speaks of the thicket of trees and verdure along 
 the river, as the excellency or pride of Jordan. Allusion is 
 also made to it as the haunt of lions and other wild beasts, 
 by which the country was of old infested. ^ 
 
 Descent and Depression. We have already seen that the 
 descent of the Jordan in the basin of the Huleh to the lake 
 is about six hundred feet ; and from thence to the lake of 
 Tiberias about seven hundred and fifty feet. Below the 
 latter lake the whole course of the Jordan and Ghor is 
 depressed several hundred feet below the level of the Medi- 
 terranean. The distance between the lake and the Dead Sea 
 is fifty-six and one half geographical miles, or about sixty-five 
 English miles ; and the difference in the depression of the 
 two lakes is taken at six hundred and sixty-six feet. This, 
 of course, marks the descent of the Jordan between the two ; 
 
 1 Zech. xi. 3. English Version, wrongly, * swelling of Jordan,' Jcr. xii. 5, xlix. 
 19, L 44. 
 
THE JORDAN AXD ITS SOURCES. 1G3 
 
 amounting to nearest 10.2 feet, in each English mile of its 
 direct course.^ 
 
 We thus have for the whole descent of the Jordan, from 
 the base of Hermon to the Dead Sea, as the result of obser- 
 vations with the barometer, the figures 6004-750 + G33, 
 amounting in all, to 2016 feet. Of this great descent, more 
 than two thirds lies above the lake of Tiberias. 
 
 Overfloiv of Jordan. In the English Version it is said 
 that Jordan, in the first month, " overfloweth all his banks 
 all the time of harvest." ^ The first month was Nisan, 
 beginning with the new moon of March or April ; and the 
 time of harvest in the Ghor was and is during April and 
 May ; the barley preceding the wheat harvest by two or 
 three weeks. 
 
 From this language the reader is naturally led to con- 
 clude that the Jordan, like the Nile, overflows its banks at a 
 certain season, covering with its waters all the lower valley, 
 and perhaps portions of the higher plain. Such, however, 
 is not the fact ; as appears from the preceding pages. Nor 
 indeed is such the meaning of Scripture. The Hebrew 
 simply declares that during the time of harvest Jordan is 
 " full [or filled] up to all his banks " ; that is, the river 
 runs with full banks, or brimful. This is precisely what is 
 seen at the present day. There are in some places depressed 
 spots along the banks, into which the waters rise, and thus 
 overflow ; but these are exceptions. 
 
 During the rainy season and the time of the melting of the 
 snows upon Hermon, there must of course be vast quantities 
 of water, from that mountain and the surrounding regions, 
 which would naturally find their way to the Jordan and 
 
 1 See above, p, 80. 
 
 2 Josh. iii. 15; 1 Chron. xii. 15; Sirac xxiv. 36. 
 
164 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 its lakes. Still we have no accouut of any sudden or violent 
 rise or inundation of the river ; and there are natural cir- 
 cumstances to show that nothing of the kind would ever be 
 likely to occur. 
 
 In the first place, the heavy rains of November and 
 December find the earth in a parched and thirsty state ; and 
 among the limestone rocks and caverns of Palestine a far 
 greater proportion of the water which falls is absorbed, than 
 is usual in countries where rains are frequent. Of the 
 brooks which in winter flow down the side valleys, many 
 even then do not reach the Jordan ; their waters being swal- 
 lowed up by the thirsty ground. 
 
 Again, the waters which actually descend from Hermon, 
 and the hills around the upper Jordan, are received into the 
 basins of the Huleh and the lake of Tiberias, and are there 
 spread out over a broad surface ; so that all overflow and 
 violence is prevented. The stream that issues from the lower 
 lake, can only flow with a regulated current, varying in depth 
 according to the height of water in that lake. Indeed, these 
 lakes may be compared to great regulators, which control 
 the flow of the Jordan, and prevent its. violence and inun- 
 dation. As now the lake of Tiberias reaches its highest 
 level at the close of the rainy season, the Jordan naturally 
 flows with its fullest current, and " with full banks," for 
 some time after that period. As also the rise of the lake 
 naturally varies (like that of the Dead Sea) in different 
 years, so likewise the fulness of the Jordan. ^ 
 
 Loneliness of Jordan. It is worthy of remark that there 
 has never been a city, town, or village of any note situated 
 on the immediate banks of the Jordan, below the lake of 
 Tiberias. This is true also of the upper Jordan, in respect 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 540-542 [IL pp. 2G1-264]. 
 
THE JORDAN AXD ITS SOURCES. 
 
 1G5 
 
 to its various channels ; excepting, of course, the towns 
 around their fountains. There may have been, and are still, 
 villages near the upper lake ; and the shores of the lake of 
 Tiberias were and are skirted with several towns. Among 
 these latter is to be reckoned the northern Bethsaida (Ju- 
 lias), which lay upon a Tell overlooking also the entrance 
 of the Jordan into the lake. 
 
 But below the lake of Tiberias, all the cities of the GhOr, 
 as Bethsliean, Phasaelis, Jericho, and those on the east, are 
 situated, not on the banks of tlie Jordan, nor near it, but on 
 the higher ground along the base of the mountains on each 
 side. The only exception perhaps was Succoth (now Sa- 
 kut), which stood upon a projecting bluff of the upper ter- 
 race, overlooking the lower valley. At the present day there 
 are three miserable villages near the stream, between the lake 
 and the entrance of the Hieromax ; and that is all. From 
 that point to the Dead Sea, the Jordan is utterly lonely. 
 
 In like manner, it does not appear that a boat ever floated 
 on the waters of the Jordan until the present century. Nav- 
 igation of course was impossible from the strong current and 
 violent rapids. But even for the passage of the river, boats 
 do not seem to have been in use ; the stream was everywhere 
 forded. The English Version once mentions a ' ferry-boat ; ' 
 but this was evidently nothing more than a raft to carry 
 over the king's household ; " and was not used by the king 
 himself, nor by his attendants. ^ 
 
 Nor does it appear that this river has ever been fre- 
 quented as a place of fishing. Molyneux remarks, that " the 
 muddy Jordan is, throughout, full of small fish ; " but they 
 are apparently too small to be worth taking for food.^ The 
 
 1 2 Sam. xix. 18 [19]. 
 
 2 Journal of Royal Geograph. Soc, XYIII. p. 115. 
 
166 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 lake of Tiberias is celebrated in the New Testament and at 
 the present day for its numerous and fine fish of various 
 kinds ; but none of these apparently pass out of the lake and 
 down the rapids of the Jordan. 
 
 Jordan as a Boundary^ etc. The Jordan, winding through 
 its great depressed plain, formed naturally not only the di- 
 viding line between Palestine on the west and the country 
 on the east ; but presented also serious difficulties to those 
 who would pass from one hill-country to the other. The 
 traveller, for example, who would journey from Jerusalem 
 to Heslibon, had first to descend nearly four thousand feet, 
 then cross a rapid river, througli which his animals must 
 swim ; and again ascend to an equal elevation. However 
 difficult the descent and ascent, the main point always 
 spoken of in Scripture, is the passage of the Jordan. 
 
 The earliest mention of Jordan in Scripture has reference 
 only to the fertility of its plain or circuit (">23), before the 
 destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. For this reason it 
 was chosen by Lot on his separation from Abraham. The 
 plain thus chosen was situated in, or at least included, the 
 tract then on the south of the Dead Sea, and now covered 
 by the shallow southern bay of that sea ; for it is expressly 
 said to lie " as thou comest unto Zoar." ^ 
 
 The river being the dividing line, the phrase ' beyond 
 Jordan ' is more commonly used to denote the country on 
 the east, as distinguished from the ' land of Canaan' in the 
 west.2 This is the prevailing usage ; inasmuch as the sacred 
 writers lived, for the most part, in the west.^ Yet in several 
 
 1 Gen. xiii.'lO, IL See above, p. 80. 
 
 2 Num. XXXV. 14. In this passage, and some others, the English Version 
 wrongly has * on this side,' instead of ' beyond.' 
 
 3 Gen. 1. 10, 11; Josh. ix. 10, xiv. 3, xvii. 5; Judg. v. 17, and often; Matth. iv. 
 25; Mark iii. 8; John i. 28, x. 40, al. 
 
THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 1G7 
 
 instances, where the writer or speaker was on the east of the 
 river, the phrase ' beyond Jordan ' marks western Palestine ; 
 the word ' west ' or ' westward ' being sometimes appended.^ 
 The earliest recorded passage of the Jordan is that of 
 Jacob : With my staff I passed over this Jordan ; and now 
 I am become two bands ; " but when or where he again 
 forded the river, with his two bands, to reach Shalem and 
 Shechem, is not said.^ The next was the miraculous pas- 
 sage of the Hebrew host under Joshua, over against Jeri- 
 cho, when " Jordan was driven back," after their long en- 
 campment in the wastes of Moab in the Ghor.^ It was at 
 the fords of Jordan that Jephthah slew^ the Ephraimites, who 
 could not pronounce the Shibboleth^ David with his army 
 passed over Jordan, probably in the north, to march against 
 the Syrians to Helam.^ Later also, fleeing before Absalom, 
 David crossed the river, apparently from Jericho, on his way 
 to Mahanaim ; and again returned, when Judah came down 
 to Gilgal to meet him. At this time a raft was used to carry 
 over the king's household.^ In the same quarter, too, Elijah 
 and Elisha smote the waters with the mantle of the former, 
 so that the flood parted, and they went over on dry ground.*" 
 Naaman, returning from Samaria to Damascus, bathed in 
 the Jordan at one of the upper fords ; and the Syrians, 
 fleeing panic-stricken from the same city, must have passed 
 the river in the same vicinity.^ Judas Maccabaeus and his 
 hosts returning from Gilead, crossed to Bethshean ; but it 
 was apparently opposite Jericho that Jonathan and his fol- 
 
 1 Deut. iii. 20, 25, xi. 30; Josh. v. 1, xii. 7, etc. 
 
 2 Gen. xxxii. 10, xxxiii. 18. 3 Josh. iii. 1-17; Ps. cxiv. 3. 
 4 Judg. xii. 5, 6. 5 2 Sam. x. 17. 
 
 6 2 Sam. xvii. 22; comp. 16. 2 Sam. xix. 15, 18 [19]. See above, p. 165. 
 
 2 Kings ii. 8, 14; comp. 4. 
 8 2 Kings V. 14; comp. 3. 2 Kings vii. 15. 
 
168 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 lowers swam through the river, to place themselves in safety 
 from Bacchides.i 
 
 John the Baptist, whose early life had been passed in the 
 desert of Judali, on the west of the Dead Sea, came first 
 baptizing in Jordan ; and there " went out to him Jeru- 
 salem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan." 
 Here J esus also came to be baptized of John ; and then went 
 up into the adjacent desert to be tempted.^ These circum- 
 stances, the neighboring desert, and the mention of crowds 
 only from Jerusalem and Judea, serve to show that the 
 place of baptism was probably at one of the lower fords, near 
 Jericho. According to the common (and perhaps best) read- 
 ing, John's headquarters were at Bethabara (house of the 
 ford) beyond Jordan. The place had its name doubtless 
 from the vicinity of the ford ; and is not improbably the 
 same with the Beth-barah of the Old Testament.^ 
 
 Twice afterwards our Lord passed over into the country 
 east of Jordan. Once, to escape the plots of the Jews, he 
 withdrew to the place where John at first baptized ; whence 
 he was recalled by the death of Lazarus.^ Retiring for a 
 time to Ephraim on the border of the desert, he seems from 
 thence to have crossed the Jordan, and having passed down 
 through Perea, he recrossed the river near Jericho, and so 
 made his way to Jerusalem.^ 
 
 Explorations of the Jordan. It has been said above, that, 
 
 1 1 Mace. V. 52. Joseph. Antiq., 12. 8. 5. 1 Mace. ix. 48. Joseph. Antiq., 13. 
 1. 3. 
 
 2 Luke i. 80, iii. 21; Matth. iii. 5, 6; Mark i. 5; Matth. iii. 13-lG, iv. 1; Luke 
 iv. 1. 
 
 3 John i. 28, x. 40; Judg. vii. 24. 
 * John X. 39, 40, xi. 3, IG, 17. 
 
 « John xi. 54; Mark x. 1, 46; Luke xix. 1, 28. See also the author's Harmony 
 of the Gospels in Greek, pp. 200-204. 
 
THE JORDAN AND ITS SOURCES. 
 
 1G9 
 
 SO far as is known, no boat appears to have ever floated on 
 the Jordan until the present century. ^ But, as if to mark 
 the modern spirit of progress, during the second quarter of 
 this century boats passed down the Jordan no less than three 
 times, from the lake of Tiberias to the Dead Sea. 
 
 I. Costigan. In July, 1835, Mr. Costigan, an Irish trav- 
 eller, contrived to have a small boat carried over, on camels, 
 from the coast to the lake of Tiberias ; and thence followed 
 the Jordan with it down to the Dead Sea. Here he 
 launched forth alone with his Maltese servant upon these 
 waters ; and succeeded in reaching the southern extremity. 
 By some mismanagement they were left for two or three 
 days without fresh water, exposed to the fierce rays of the 
 burning sun ; and were compelled to row hard to get back 
 to the northern end. On reaching the shore they lay for a 
 whole day too weak to move, and trying to regain strength 
 by laving each other with the heavy waters of the lake. At 
 length the servant made shift to crawl to Jericho, whither 
 Costigan was also brought, and was, as soon as possible, 
 conveyed to Jerusalem, under the excitement of high inter- 
 mittent fever. He died, two days afterwards, in the Latin 
 convent ; and lies buried in its cemetery. No notes, nor 
 any account of his voyage, were found among his papers. 
 The enterprise was wholly without fruit in respect to both 
 the Jordan and the Dead Sea.^ 
 
 II. Molyneux. In the latter part of August, 1847, Lieut. 
 Molyneux, of the British ship of war Spartan, succeeded in 
 transporting the smallest boat of the ship, on camels, from 
 'Akka to Tiberias. Accompanied by three English sailors 
 and several Arab servants, he proceeded down the Jordan 
 
 1 See above, p. 165. 
 
 2 See Biblical Researches, I. pp. 229, 230 [I. p. 339]. 
 
 22 
 
170 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 with the boat ; having also a land party with the baggage on 
 camels and mules. The water was low, and the passage of 
 the boat, for the first days, difficult. On the sixth day, not 
 far from the mouth of the Zerka, while Lieut. M. was with 
 the land party, the boat was attacked and plundered by a 
 large body of Arabs, and the three English sailors put on 
 shore, to find their way back to Tiberias ; which they did. 
 Two Arab servants were permitted to go on with the boat ; 
 which they brought safely to the ford opposite Jericho. 
 Lieut. M. embarked on the Dead Sea, with only Arab assist- 
 ants ; proceeded as far south as to the neighborhood of the 
 peninsula ; took three deep soundings (225, 178, 183 fath- 
 oms) ; and returned. He left the entrance of the Jordan 
 Aug. 24 ; and reached the northern shore of the sea, on 
 his return, Sept. 5. He was able to take back the boat on 
 camels, by way of Jerusalem, to the ship, then at Yafa. 
 But the anxiety and excessive fatigue to which he had been 
 exposed in the " misty oven " (as he calls it) of the Ghur 
 and Dead Sea, had worn him out ; and he died soon after 
 his return to his ship, from the combined effects of climate 
 and over-exertion. 
 
 A brief journal of the voyage, drawn up by Lieut. M. him- 
 self, was published, in 1848, in the Journal of the Hoyal 
 Geographical Society.^ 
 
 HI. Lynch. On the 10th of April, 1848, a well-appointed 
 expedition from the United States, under the authority of 
 the government, embarked in two metallic boats upon the 
 lake of Tiberias, and entered the Jordan ; having also a land 
 party on camels and horses. This expedition consisted of 
 Lieut. Lynch as commander, Lieut. Dale as second in com- 
 mand. Midshipman Aulick, a botanist, and ten chosen sea- 
 
 1 VoL XVIH. pp. 104-130; comp. ibid., p. xxxvi. 
 
THE JORDAN: TRIBUT.UilES FROM THE EAST. 171 
 
 men. They were accompanied by Dr. H. J. Anderson as 
 geologist, and Mr. Bedlow, a traveller. Tlie season of the 
 year was favorable ; the Jordan then usually having the 
 most water. They experienced great difficulties in the de- 
 scent of the river, from rocks and strong rapids. They 
 reached the Dead Sea in eight and a half days, on the 1 8th 
 of April. Their examination of that sea will be noticed 
 further on, in connection with our account of those waters. 
 A level was afterwards run from the Dead Sea by Jerusalem 
 to the Mediterranean at Yafa, according to the suggestions 
 of the author of this work. The party proceeded by way of 
 Tiberias, Mount Hermon, and Damascus, to Beirut. Several 
 were already ill from exhaustion and exposure ; but all re- 
 covered exc3pt Lieut. Dale, who died of fever in the house 
 of Itcv. Eli Smith at Bhamdun. His grave is in the Ameri- 
 can cemetery at Beirut. 
 
 Two works embracing the journals and results of this 
 expedition have been published by Lieut. Lynch. The first 
 appeared late in 1849, entitled Narrative of the United 
 States Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. 
 The second was not published until 1852, with the title, 
 Official Report of the United States Expedition to explore the 
 Dead Sea and the River Jordan. This latter volume con- 
 tains the scientific reports ; including the very important 
 geological report of Dr. H. J. Anderson. 
 
 II. THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 
 
 From the east, the Jordan receives its largest and most 
 important tributaries. 
 
 Wadij Za'ureh. The fine brook which flows down this 
 valley to Banias is understood not to be perennial ; and has 
 already been sufficiently described. ^ 
 
 1 See above, p. 81. 
 
172 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Before turning to the next stream, the Hieromax, it may 
 be remarked, that some of the head branches of the A'waj 
 (^Pharpar^, which flows towards Damascus, lie within the 
 northern border of Palestine proper. On the great road 
 leading northeast from the bridge over the Jordan to Da- 
 mascus by el-Kuneitirah and Sa'sa', the country between 
 these two places slopes towards the east and north. At an 
 hour or more from el-Kuneitirah, the way crosses a Wady 
 with a stream, having two bridges on the ancient road, still 
 passable, over the two branches or channels of the rivulet. 
 An hour before Sa'sa', the stream Mughanniyeli in like 
 manner crosses the road ; and also has a bridge. On ear- 
 lier maps, all these streams are made to run south to the 
 Hieromax. The latest map, however, represents them as 
 flowing together on the right of the road, and forming one 
 stream, which, coming from the south, joins the otlier 
 branches of the A'waj at Sa'sa'. This is more in accordance 
 with the slope of the land, and the testimony of travellers.^ 
 
 Tlie Yarmuk or Hieromax. No perennial stream flows to 
 the upper Jordan or the lake of Tiberias from the east. The 
 first and largest tributary on that side, the Hieromax, enters 
 the Jordan about five miles below the lake. 
 
 There is no allusion to this river in Scripture or in Jose- 
 phus ; but its Hebrew name, Jarmuk {Ty^^^^)-, occurs several 
 times in the Talmudists.^ From this name the Greek form 
 (^'lepo/jLa^^ is an obvious corruption, having the correspond- 
 ing consonants. It is not found, however, in Greek writers ; 
 
 i 
 
 1 Wetzstein's Map, by Kiepert, in Zeitschr. fiir Erdk., Auj?. 18-59. W. ]\[. Thom- 
 son, in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1849, p. 3G7. Comp. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 313. Por- 
 ter's Handbook, p. 46-5. Van de Velde's Map merely copies that of Berghaus, 
 in 1835. 
 
 2 Lightfoot, Opera, fol. H. pp. 172, 173. 
 
THE JOUDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 
 
 173 
 
 and tlio Latin Hicromax appears to be only once read in 
 Plinj.^ Arab writers have tlic name Yarinuk ; but the com- 
 mon appellation is now the Sheri'at el-Mandhur, from a 
 tribe of Arabs who pitch their tents along its lower course ; 
 and in order to distinguish it from the Sheri'at cl-Kebir or 
 Jordan. 
 
 The remote sources of the Yarmuk are the Wadys, or 
 winter-torrents, wliich descend from the western slopes of 
 Jobol Hauran. Those Wadys are numerous, and many of 
 tliem run together in the great plain ; but their course and 
 number have been as yet very imperfectly explored. Among 
 these doubtless is the brook by Raphon.^ Still some of the 
 more important ones have been pointed out ; all running 
 with deep channels througli the wide plain. 
 
 The northernmost is Wady Kunawat. It has its begin- 
 ning near the city of that name, and sweeps along northwest 
 on the border of the Lcjah, and south of Nejran, to Edhra', 
 the ancient Edrei. There turning southwest to Eshmiskin, 
 it receives Wady Hiireir, coming from the swampy ground 
 near Tell Dilly on the Haj route, between es-Suname'n and 
 Eshmiskm. In winter and spring the district arouu'l Tell 
 Dilly is a deep bog or swamp ; the proper source of tlie 
 stream is two hours west, at Tell Serraya.^ The Wady 
 Kunawat continues the same course to el-Meziirib. An- 
 other valley, Wady el-Gliar, also begins near Kunawat, and 
 runs west directly through the plain to Wady Kunawat, 
 between Eshmiskin and Mezarib. The Wady ed-Dau ,is 
 made up of two branches ; one coming from the neighbor- 
 hood of Suweideh, and the other from beyond 'Ary. The 
 
 1 " Gadara, Hieromace praefluente/' Plin. Hist. Nat., V. 16. v. 18, 
 
 2 1 Mace. V. 37, 39, 40, 42. See above, p. 86. 
 s Burckhardt, p. 656. 
 
174 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 united Wady goes to the Kunawat, near Mezarib ; and then 
 the valley below the junction takes the name of Wady 'Awei- 
 rid. The southernmost branch, Wady Zeidy, begins in the 
 mountains east and north of Kureiyeh, and passes down on 
 the north of Busrah (^Bozrali) ; while another valley, Wady 
 el-'Akib, has its rise near Sulkhad, and, sweeping round far 
 to the south of Busrah, joins the Zeidy further west. The 
 latter then runs with a winding course by Der'a, and unites 
 with Wady Aweirid. The joint stream now flows westward, 
 and becomes the Yarmuk.^ 
 
 Several lesser streams or Wadys are named as running to 
 the Yarmuk, from the north, cliiefly from Jaulan. Wady 
 'Allan, a permanent stream, unites near Tesil with the Ru- 
 kad, not permanent, coming from Tell Shak-hab in Jeidur. 
 Next west is Wady Ilamy Sukker, which has a great fall, 
 and runs through a deep chasm of precipitous rocks. Then 
 Wady Sideh ; and lastly Wady Mu'akkar, coming from the 
 southern parts of Jebel Heish.^ 
 
 In summer the waters from the mountain dry up in the 
 plain ; and then the stream of the Yarmuk is wholly sup- 
 plied from the fountains at Mezarib, the marsliy tract near 
 Dilly, and the 'Allan and perhaps one or two other per- 
 manent sources in Jaulan. At Mezarib are a number of 
 fountains ; the waters of which flow together and form a 
 pond or lake nearly half an hour in circumference, with an 
 island in the middle. Tlie water, as it issues from the 
 sprhigs, is slightly tepid ; in the lake it is as clear as crystal. 
 The lake is deeper than a man's height, and full of fish. 
 The lake and springs are known also as el-Bujjeh.^ 
 
 1 Porter, Five Years in Damascus, IT. p. 212 and Map. Burckhardt, Syria, 
 p. 273. Wetzstein in Zeitschr. fiir Erdk., Aug. 1859, p. 150, and Map. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 282, 284, 273. Seetzen, Reisen, L pp. 352, 353. 
 
 3 Porter's Handbook, p. 321. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 241. 
 
THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 
 
 175 
 
 In its western part, the Yarinuk flows through a deep 
 and wild ravine, the sides of which are rugged cUffs of ba- 
 salt, in some places more than one hundred feet high. The 
 banks along the deep valley are cultivated by the Arabs 
 Menadhereh (sing. Mandhur), who dwell in tents. Further 
 down, the Wady becomes so narrow as to leave no space 
 between the stream and the precipices on each side. 
 
 North of Um Keis, the ancient Gadara, which lies on the 
 summit of the mountain ridge between the Yarmuk on the 
 north and the Wady el-' Arab in the south, in the deep 
 chasm of the river, and an hour distant from Um Keis, are 
 the warm springs of Gadara or Amatha (Heb. Hammath, 
 warm springs), mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome, and by 
 other early writers.^ They rise up in the bottom of the chasm, 
 between the stream and the northern precipice. Three prin- 
 cipal fountains are spoken of at intervals of an hour between ; 
 one N. N. E. of Um Keis, one north, and the third X. N. W. 
 from the same place. There is also a fourth fountain on 
 the south side of the stream. The westernmost spring is the 
 hottest of all, being 43° C. or 109° F. The hand cannot be 
 held in it for any length of time. The water emits a strong 
 smell of sulphur ; and deposits a yellow sulphurous crust 
 upon the stones. The spring bubbles up in a basin some 
 forty feet in circumference and five feet deep, surrounded 
 by a dilapidated wall. The water is so clear, that minute 
 objects at the bottom of the basin can be distinctly seen. 
 Near by are the remains of an ancient building for baths. 
 In the last days of May, 1858, Roth found here three hun- 
 dred people, many of them families, who had come to use 
 the waters ; most of them Christians from the region west of 
 the lake. They were living in booths. The upper spring, 
 
 1 Onotnast., Articles JEmath, Gadara. Reland, Palaestina, p. 775. 
 
176 
 
 rilYSICAL GEOGKAniY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 ill like manner, bubbles up in a similar basin ; its tempera- 
 ture is only 34° C. or do° F., and the odor of sulphur is less 
 strong. Copious streams flow from all the fountains to the 
 river : which thus receives large accessions to its volume of 
 water. The Arabs reckon ten springs in all.^ 
 
 An hour below the fountains, the Yarmuk issues from the 
 mountaijis upon the Ghjr ; and after another hour receives 
 the WaJy el-' Arab. The river in the mountains runs with 
 great swiftness along its rocky chasm ; in the Gh^r it has 
 its own lower valley, like the Jordan : and is everywhere 
 thickly skirted with oleanders. The stream is here about 
 forty yards wide : and in the spring of the year is four or 
 five feet deep. It enters the Jordan five miles below the 
 lake of Tiberias ; and has there nearly as much water as the 
 Jordan. Xot far above the junction is a bridge over the 
 Yarmuk. built of volcanic stone, with five arches. It belongs 
 to the same great road, which coming from Beisan crosses 
 the Jisr-el-Mejami'a, and leads to Damascus through tlie re- 
 gion east of tlie lake.- 
 
 T/ie Jahhok. The next permanent tributary of tlie Jor- 
 dan on this side is the brook Jabbok of Scripture, once 
 called ' the river of GacL' ^ now the Xahr ez-Zerka, which en- 
 ters the Jordan nearly opposite Xabulus, and about half 
 way between the two lower lakes. It has its remotest sources 
 on the plateau east of the mountains ; and breaks down 
 through the latter by a deep and sometimes wild cliasm, bor- 
 dered on each side by the loftiest heights of Jebel 'Ajliin and 
 
 1 Sectzen, Eeisen, I. p. 3o0. Biirckliardt, pp. 270, 277. Iiby and Mangles, p. 00. 
 Buckingham, Palestine, pp. 442-444. Koth, in Petermann's Gco^aph. Mittlieil., 
 18-59, p. 2S4- 
 
 - Seetzen, Reiscn, p. 3-31. Lurckhardt, Syria, pp. 273, 274. Lynch, Official 
 Kcport, p. 20. Roth, in Petcnuann's GeOaTaph. Mittheil., ISjO, p. 2S3. 
 3 Gen. xxxii. 22, 23 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 5. 
 
THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 
 
 177 
 
 the Belka. The source mostly spoken of, is at the ruins of 
 'Amman (^Rabhath-ammon) ; from whence the valloy is said 
 to sweep OiT northeastward by 'Ain Ghazaleh to Kid'at ez- 
 Zerka, a castle four hours distant from 'Amman, on the Haj 
 route. Here in winter is a considerable stream, gathered 
 mainly from the north and east. Turning here northwest 
 and then west it passes down through the great notch of the 
 mountains, receiving the stream coming from Jerash, an 
 hour north ; and, according to Seetzen, no less than nine 
 other minor streams. In winter the river is often swollen 
 and impassable ; its immediate bed through the mountains 
 is a deep, narrow, and sometimes wild ravine. In summer, 
 the upper branches become dry ; and the stream then dwin- 
 dles to a small and shallow river. The channel is every- 
 where bordered with canes and oleanders. The Zerka issues 
 from the mountains an hour south of Abu 'Obeida ; and 
 Burckhardt speaks of a smaller northern branch a quarter 
 of an hour only from that place ; perhaps originally nothing 
 more than a mill-race, for which it is still used. The main 
 stream, according to the same writer, enters the Jordan 
 about an hour and a half southwest of the spot where it 
 issues from the mountain. This is doubtless a correct ac- 
 count; as Burckhardt had the stream in view for several 
 hours. In the Ghor it has its own lower valley, like the 
 Jordan, with white, chalky-looking clifFs on each side.^ 
 
 The earliest mention of this river in Scripture, is where 
 Jacob with his whole family " passed over the ford Jabbok," 
 on his way back from Syria, and then wrestled all night 
 
 I Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 347, 3C8, 657. Seetzen, Reisen, I. pp. 392, 393. Lord 
 Lindsay, pp. 278-280, 287. Molyncux, in Journal of Royal Geograpli. Soc, 
 XVIII. p. 119. 
 
 23 
 
178 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 with the angel. The next day he met his brother Esau.^ 
 The Jabbok was the northern border of the children of Am- 
 nion, and afterwards of Sihon king of the Amorites.^ Moses 
 passed over the Jabbok to subdue Og king of Bashan ; and 
 the river was tlie boundary between northern and southern 
 Gilead, as also between Manasseh on the north and Reuben 
 and Gad on the south. ^ 
 
 Other Wadys. Tlie courses of Wady Sha'ib and Wady 
 Hesban have already been described. It is uncertain whether 
 they may not have small perennial streams.* 
 
 Streams flowing to the Dead Sea. These are strictly 
 not tributaries of the Jordan, but they run to the Ghor, and 
 mingle their waters with those of Jordan in the Dead Sea. 
 
 The Zerka Ma'in. This stream is not mentioned in Scrip- 
 ture. It collects its waters from several branches on the 
 high plain of the* Belka, and passes down along the northern 
 end of Jebel 'Attarus, by a narrow and precipitous chasm, 
 to the Dead Sea. One source is near Ma'in, the ancient 
 Baal-Meon, which thus gives name to the stream. Its course 
 from Ma'in is about southwest for two hours, and then west. 
 The Wady is here deep, but an ancient highway from Ma'in 
 crosses it, and passes down on its left side. At four hours 
 from Ma'in, and below the end of Jebel Attarus (on which 
 are the ruins of the ancient fortress Machserus), the way 
 becomes impassable for liorses, terminating at what seems a 
 precipice. A narrow zigzag path leads down to the cele- 
 brated hot springs. These are about two hours distant from 
 the Dead Sea. The valley is very narrow, and on both sides 
 
 1 Gen. xxxii. 22-28, xxxiii. 1-20. 
 
 2 Josh. xii. 2; Deut. iii. 16; Num. xxi. 24; Judg. xi. 13, 22. Joseph. Antiq., 
 4. 5. 2, 3. 
 
 3 Deut. iii. 1, 2. Joseph. Antiq., 4. 5, 3. 
 * See above, p. 87. 
 
THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 179 
 
 are high, rocky cliffs. The stream enters the Dead Sea 
 through a chasm of sandstone, and has before its mouth a 
 low point or delta. The chasm is one hundred and twenty 
 feet wide, with perpendicular walls of red and yellow sand- 
 stone, at first eighty feet liigh, but rising further back to 
 one hundred and fifty feet. The stream is a copious brook, 
 twelve^ feet across by ten inches deep, and descends along 
 the chasm with great velocity, and with several cascades. 
 The water is turbid, with a temperature of 94° F.^ 
 
 The hot springs above in the valley are the Callirrhos of 
 ancient writers, to which the first Herod repaired during his 
 last illness, without benefit.^ They have been visited in 
 modern times only by Seetzen and the party of Irby and 
 Mangles.3 On the north side of the wild and narrojv chasm 
 no less than four principal springs burst forth in a distance 
 of half a mile, with many smaller ones. In one place a con- 
 siderable stream of hot water falls over a high, perpendicu- 
 lar rock, the sides of which are colored of a brilliant yellow, 
 from the deposit of sulphur. At the bottom of the chasm 
 rushes down what may be termed a hot river. The water is 
 quite hot, but not boiling ; the hand cannot be held in it for 
 half a minute. Seetzen compares the temperature with that 
 of the hot baths near Tiberias, Avhich is 144° F.^ It is here 
 probably somewhat higher. The chasm is filled with steam, 
 which in this confined spot combines with the burning rays 
 of the sun to produce an insufferable heat. The water de- 
 
 1 Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 408, 11. pp. 330, 333, 336, 370. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 309. 
 Irby and Mangles, 1847, pp. 143, 144. Lynch, Narrative, p. 370 
 
 2 Joseph. Antiq., 17. 6. 5. Bel. Jud., 1. 33. 5. Ibid., 7. 6. 2, 3. Plin. Hist. Nat., 
 5. 15. V. 16. Onomast., Article Beehneon. 
 
 3 Seetzen, Reisen, II. pp. 336, 337. Irby and Mangles, 1847, pp. 144, 145. Legh, 
 in American Biblical Repository, 1833, p. 648. 
 
 * Biblical Researches, II. p. 384 [III. p. 259]. 
 
180 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 posits sulphur, but is itself tasteless. The bottom is filled 
 with a thicket of canes, aspines, and wild palms, which spring 
 out of the crevices of the rocks. The ancient name Callir- 
 rhos refers rather to the springs, and not to the place. In- 
 deed, there could have been here no permanent town ; noth- 
 ing more, probabl}^, than booths or temporary dwellings for 
 those who us5d the waters. The whole surface of the shelf 
 where the springs are, is strewed over with tiles and broken 
 pottery, and four Roman medals of copper were also found. 
 Josephus speaks of the place (tz^tto?), not the fountains, as 
 called Baaras, which Eusebius and Jerome also name, writ- 
 ing it Baris or Baru} 
 
 Seetzen relates, that half an hour south of the mouth of 
 the Zerka Ma'in, another large brook of hot water enters the 
 Dead Sea, coming from a second cluster of hot springs not 
 far above. 2 
 
 The Arnon. This river, so often mentioned in Scripture 
 as a Nahal (^^5)? called cl-Mojib, and is made up 
 
 of two main branches, — one, the largest, being the Mujib 
 itself, and the other, on the north, called el-Walch. 
 
 The Waleh rises in the eastern part of the Belka, and 
 passes on the north of Dibon. It has a little more water in 
 this part than the Zerka Ma'in, and runs in a rocky bed at 
 tlic bottom of a deep ravine, the brook being overgrown with 
 willows, oleanders, and tamarisks. The Walch glides down 
 the mountain side in just such a deep bed of basaltic rock, 
 and unites with the Mujib at the distance of about two hours 
 above the shore of the Dead Sea.^ 
 
 * Joseph. BcL Jud., 7. 6. 3. Onomast., Articles, Beelmeorij CariatJiaim. Irby 
 and Mangles, 1817, p. 144. 
 8 Seetzen, Relsen, IL pp. 3G8-370. 
 
 « Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 409, IL pp. 342, 343. Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 370, 371. 
 
THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 
 
 181 
 
 Tho Mqjib itself has its principal source near Kul'at cl- 
 Kutraneli, a station on the Haj route ; it has in this upper 
 part, where it flows northwest, several names, and takes that 
 of el Mojib about an hour above the bridge Aroer. There it 
 receives another head branch from the northeast, which, ris- 
 ing not far from the Haj route, at first is called el-Lejum ; 
 but after receiving two or three brooks, takes the name of 
 Enkheileh, and flows in a deep bed. This last name sug- 
 gests the ancient Nahaliel, the second statian of the Hebrews 
 in this region after quitting the desert.^ Near the confluence 
 of the two streams forming the Mojib, is a tract of pasture 
 ground in the valley, having in the middle of it a hill with 
 ruins upon it ; near the stream -are several wind-mills. The 
 common road from Hesban to Kerak crosses the Arnon and 
 its valley near the remains of Aroer. There is here a com- 
 paratively modern bridge in ruins, and a wind-mill. 
 
 The view of the Mojib and its chasm at this point is very 
 striking. The river flows at the bottom along a narrow strip 
 of verdant, level ground, about forty yards across. From 
 this the steep and barren banks rise up to a great height, 
 covered with immense blocks of stone, which have rolled 
 down from the upper strata. Hence, when viewed from 
 above, the valley looks like a deep chasm formed by some 
 tremendous convulsion of the earth, into which there seems 
 no possibility of descending to the bottom. The river flows 
 in a rocky bed, and, when Burckhardt saw it in July, was 
 almost dried up ; but the bed bore evident marks of its im- 
 petuosity in the rainy season. The valley has few oleanders 
 or other shrubs.^ 
 
 * Num. xxi. 19. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 372, 373. Comp. Seetzen, Reisen, I. pp. 410, 413. 
 Irby and Mangles, p. 142. 
 
182 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 The chasm of the river as it passes down the mountain 
 side is less deep, but rocky and wild. Seetzen in January 
 found the stream here only a few paces wide ; but it flowed 
 with great velocity, roaring and foaming over the rocks in 
 many places.^ 
 
 The Mojib enters the Dead Sea through a chasm similar 
 to that of the Zerka Ma'in, having before it a low delta, 
 across which the stream flows. The chasm is nearest a hun- 
 dred feet in width, formed by high, perpendicular cliffs of 
 red, brown, and yellow sandstone, all worn by the water hito 
 fantastic forms, like Egyptian architecture. The chasm runs 
 up in a direct line for one hundred and fifty feet, and then 
 turns slowly, with graceful curves, to the southeast. Seetzen 
 waded through the stream late in January, and gives it at 
 forty feet wide, and only knee-deep. Lynch early in May 
 found the stream eighty feet wide, and four feet deep. The 
 chasm is a striking object, as seen from 'Ain Jidy on the 
 opposite shore .2 
 
 In Scripture the Arnon marks the boundary between Moab 
 and the Amorites ; as at the present .day it divides the district 
 of Kerak from the Belka.^ It became, of course, the south- 
 ern border of the tribes of Reuben and towards Moab ;^ and 
 at the same time the southern border of Palestine on this 
 side. Hence, as in the west the land of Israel extended 
 " from Dan to Beersheba ; " so, on the east, it was said to 
 reach " from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon." ^ 
 
 Wady Kerak or W. Der'a'ah. Both these names would 
 
 1 Seetzen, Reisen, 11. pp. 346, 347. 
 
 2 Seetzen, Reisen, H. pp. 364, 366. Lynch, Narrative, pp. 367, 368. Biblical 
 Researches, L p. 502 [H. p. 206]. 
 
 » Num. xxi. 13, 15, 26; Josh. xii. 2; Judg. xi. 22. Seetzen, Reisen, H. p. 348. 
 
 * Deut. iii. 16; Judg. xi. 13, 26. 
 
 * Josh. xii. 1; Deut. iii. 8, iv. 48. 
 
THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE EAST. 183 
 
 be common on the eastern side of the Dead Sea ; on the 
 western, we heard only the former. Burckhardt has both. 
 The Wady has its beginnings in the deep ravines immedi- 
 ately around the cliff on which Kerak stands ; and runs 
 down in a winding course about W. N. W. to the isthmus of 
 the peninsula in the Dead Sea. The stream flows upon the 
 isthmus to the northern bay. In January, Seetzen found 
 in.it more water than in the Arnon ; early in June, Irby and 
 Mangles speak of it as a considerable brook ; but the people 
 of Kerak told Lynch that water flows in it only in the rainy 
 season. The valley is, in many places, a deep and wild 
 chasm ; and is distinctly traceable from the opposite coast. 
 The usual path between Kerak and the peninsula passes 
 along above the cliffs on its southern side. There is no 
 allusion to this valley in Scripture.^ 
 
 Wadij el-Alisij or W. el-Kardhy, This Wady has its be- 
 ginning east of the Kul'at el-Ahsy, or el-Hassa, on the Haj 
 route. It is there dry in summer, but there are fountains 
 not far west of the castle. Like the streams further north, 
 it breaks down by a deep chasm through the high table-land, 
 and descends by a deep gorge through the mountain to the 
 Ghor just south of the Dead Sea. In a side ravine, just 
 above the point where the road from Kerak to Tiifileh 
 crosses, is a hot spring. The stream, in the lower part, is 
 permanent. In the Ghor it takes the name of "Wady el-Ku- 
 rahy ; and runs to the southeast corner of the Dead Sea as 
 a small river, fertilizing the adjacent tract.^ 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 519 [II. p. 231]. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 390. Seetzen, 
 Reisen, I. p. 417, II. p. 350. Irby and Mangles, pp. 109, 137, 138. Lynch, Narra- 
 tive, p. 354. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 112, 157 fll. pp. 488, 555]. Burckhardt, SjTia, 
 pp. 400, 401, G58. Seetzen, Reisen, I. pp. 417, 427. Irby and Mangles, pp. 108, 
 114, 137. 
 
184 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Wady el-Alisy forms the natural boundary between the 
 district of Kerak or ancient Moah on the north, and the 
 district Jebal or ancient Gebal, Gebalene, or Edom^ on the 
 soiith.i The mountains of Moab are high, and terminate 
 here in a conspicuous bUiff ; those on the south are for a 
 time lower. In all probability, therefore, this Wady is the 
 Nalial or brook Zered of Scripture, over which the Hebrews 
 went in order to enter the land of Moab from the south. 
 They doubtless crossed, as in the case of the Arnon, some- 
 where in its upper part, where it would present no difficulty 
 
 in. THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE WEST. 
 
 The streams which enter the Jordan from the west, are 
 fewer and much smaller tlian those coming from the east. 
 
 Tiie Derddrah. Tiiis stream drains the region of Mcrj 
 'Ayun, a fine oval basin surrounded by ridges of higher 
 ground ; by which it is separated from Wady et-Teim in the 
 east, and from the chasm of the Litany on the west. The 
 main source is in the northern part, where large fountains 
 break forth under a bank ; and in front of these arc the re- 
 mains of a thick wall or dam, intended to raise the water to 
 a sufficient height for mills or for extensive irrigation. The 
 stream is carried through the middle of the plain, sometimes 
 in artificial channels ; and afterward breaks down as a con- 
 siderable brook, by a deep ravine, through the high ground 
 in the southeast of the Merj. It is understood to run to the 
 Hasbany, before the junction of the latter with the other 
 streams ; but has not always water in the lower part of its 
 course.^ 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 401. Seetzen, Rcisen, I. p. 427. 
 
 2 Deut. ii. 13, 14; comp. v. 18; Num. xxi. 12. Biblical Researches, 11. p. 157 
 in. p. 555] 
 
 8 Later Biblical Researclies, pp. 372, 374, 395. 
 
THE JORDAN: TRIBUTARIES FROM THE WEST. 
 
 185 
 
 Besides two or three fine brooks of the rainy season and 
 spring, as in the Wadys Hcndaj, Rubudiyeh, and el-Bireh, we 
 meet with no stream from the west until we reach the valley 
 of Jezreel. This valley, as such, has already been described.^ 
 
 Nahr el-Jdlud, This stream, which flows down through 
 the great valley of Jezreel, has its highest source in the ' Ain 
 el-Meiyitch or Dead fountain, which springs up at the foot 
 of the rocky wall just under the village of Zer'in (Jezreel) . 
 But the main source is the great fountain 'Ain Jalud, twenty 
 minutes further down the valley, flowing out from under a 
 sort of cavern in the wall of conglomerate rock, which here 
 forms the northern base of Gilboa. The water is excellent ; 
 and spreads out at once into a fine limpid pool, forty or fifty 
 feet in diameter, with multitudes of small fish in it. From 
 this reservoir a copious mill-stream flows off eastward down 
 the valley. There is every reason to regard this as the an- 
 cient' fountain by Jezreel,' where Saul and Jonathan pitched 
 before their last fatal battle. It is also the fons Tubania of 
 the crusaders.2 
 
 Lower down, the brook flows along the northern part of 
 the plain or valley ; and receives another mill-stream com- 
 ing from the southwest, from near the base of the mountain. 
 But the water is mainly taken out by several canals for irri- 
 gation, leaving the bed of the brook a mere ditch of mud 
 and water. We crossed it as such in 1852.^ It receives 
 further supplies from various small fountains ; and likewise 
 from the marsh which exists on the southwest of Beisan. 
 
 At the site of ancient Beth-shean or Scythopolis, north of 
 
 1 See above, pp. 91, 92. 
 
 2 1 Sam. xxix. 1. Will. Tyr., 22, 26. Biblical Researches, II. p. 323 [III. 
 p. 1G8]. 
 
 8 Later Biblical Researches, p. 338. 
 
 24 
 
186 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the present village, the Jalud flows along, as a considerable 
 stream of brackish water, between the northern wall of the 
 vailej and the dark Tell on which stood the ancient citadel 
 of the place ; and breaks down by a ravine to the Ghor, 
 where it runs to the Jordan. A stream coming; from the 
 the south, apparently from the marsh, joins it on the lower 
 side of the Tell ; and two others, one passing at the village, 
 and another a mill-stream further south, tumble down the 
 slope and go to join the Jidad in the plain below. The 
 one by the village is" obviously an artificial course ; and per- 
 haps the other likewise. The water of both has a slight odor 
 of sulphur, and a darkish hue.^ Scripture makes no allusion 
 to the Jalud below the fountain. 
 
 Stream of Wady el-Fdria. This valley has been already 
 described.^ Its fine brook in winter drains the whole north- 
 ern part of the plain Miikhna by Nabulus, and receives 
 branches from several side valleys. It is a beautiful stream, 
 fringed with oleanders, and meandering through the rich, 
 meadow-like plain, until it enters the Jordan, just north 
 of Kurn Surtabeh. The Kurawa has several rivulets ; but 
 whether there is always water in the lower part of the main 
 channel, is uncertain, though probable.^ 
 
 Water of Jericho. This water, mentioned in the book of 
 Joshua, is, doubtless, the winter stream of the Wady Kelt, 
 which passes down by Jericho, and receives the waters of 
 Elisha's fountain.* 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 327. 2 See above, pp. 92, 93. 
 
 8 Later Biblical Researches, pp. .303, 304. Tan de Velde, Memoir, p. 124. 
 * Josh. xvi. 1. See above, p. 94. 
 
RIVERS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 187 
 
 IV. RIVERS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 The rivers which enter the Mediterranean are few, and 
 their permanent streams in no case reach back further than 
 the plain along the coast. 
 
 The Belus. The Belus, celebrated in ancient times for 
 the accidental discovery of the art of making glass, is men- 
 tioned by Pliny, Josephus, and other ancient writers, but 
 not in Scripture.^ It is now called Nahr Na'man, and has 
 its rise near Tell Kurdany in the middle of the southern 
 part of the plain of 'Akka. Here is a marshy tract with 
 large fountains ; there is an ancient dam below the marsh, 
 which raises the water so as to form a small lake, and drive 
 several mills. This is doubtless the marsh, palus Cendevia, 
 spoken of by Pliny as the source of the Belus. It runs as a 
 small river about N. N. W. through the plain, and enters 
 the sea about fifteen minutes south of the gate of 'Akka. Its 
 whole course is about six miles. It receives Wady 'Abilin 
 (Jiphthah-el) and Wady Sha'ab, both coming from the 
 mountains, but they bring to it no water save in the rainy 
 season. 2 
 
 The Kishon. " That ancient river, the river Kishon,'* 
 renowned as it is in Scripture, is mentioned only five times ; 
 referring in four passages to the victory of Deborah and Ba- 
 rak, and once to the slaughter of the prophets of Baal by 
 Elijah.^ It is worthy of remark, that all these notices relate 
 to the Kishon in or near the plain of Esdraelon, where for a 
 great part of the year it is wholly dry. The Kishon is called 
 
 1 riin. Hist. Nat., 5. 17. Ibid., 3G, 65. Joseph. Bel. Jucl.,2. 10. 2. Later Bib- 
 lical Researches, p. 104. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 104. Thomson, Land and Book, I. p. 480. 
 
 3 Jadg. iv. 7, 13, v. 21; Ps. Ixxxiii. 9 [10]; 1 Kings xviii. 40. 
 
188 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 a Nalial apparently from the deep gully or ravine in 
 
 wliicli it flows. 
 
 The remote winter sources of the Kishon, now called Nahr 
 el-Mukutta' (the ford), are the water-courses which drain the 
 northern and southern tracts or arms of the great plain ex- 
 tending eastward from this latter. That from the southern 
 arm is the most distant, having its beginnings from up to- 
 wards the height of ground, and receiving also the brook from 
 Jenm and from similar fountains further west. The begin- 
 ning of the water-course in the northern valley is less deli- 
 nitely marked. From the village of Endor, over against 
 Mount Tabor, a shallow Wady passes down northeast to 
 Wady Sherar, and so to Wady cl-Bireh and the Jordan. 
 Not far west of Endor another small Wady descends north- 
 west, draining its waters to the Kishon. In this northern 
 arm of the plain, therefore, the division of the waters would 
 appear to be, in general, not far from a line drawn from the 
 summit of Tabor to the summit of Little Hermon. 
 
 The waters of the rainy season, which descend from the 
 western slopes of Tabor and the hills around Nazareth, not 
 only render this the larger branch of the Kishon, but also 
 sometimes inundate the northern part of the plain towards 
 Iksal and Deburieh. It was thus inundated at the time of 
 the battle of Mount Tabor, April IG, 1799, between the 
 French and Arabs, where many of the latter are expressly 
 said to have been drowned in the stream coming from Deb- 
 urieh, which then overflowed a part of the plain. ^ One 
 traveller, in crossing from Solam to Nazareth early in June, 
 describes himself as passing, in half an hour from Solam, a 
 considerable brook from the eastward, and afterwards some 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 339. Biblical Researches, IL p. 328 [HL p. 177]. 
 
RIVERS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 180 
 
 others, which flowed into a small lake on the north side of 
 the plain. ^ 
 
 The place of junction of the two arms of the Kishon is not 
 specified, but it would seem to be near the middle of the 
 plain, not far east of the road between Lcjjun and Nazareth. 
 Along the course of the stream in this part, in early spring, 
 the ground is miry and difficult. Prokesch, passing from 
 Lcjjun to Nazareth in April, came upon the Kishon flowing 
 in a deep bed through marshy ground, and wandered about 
 for some time to find the way, until he was set right by an 
 Arab. On this route arc the ruins of a Saracenic bridge 
 The brook from Lejjun (' the waters of Mcgiddo'),^ and also 
 the frequent brooks from the southern hills between that 
 point and Carmel, all conspire to render the soil in many 
 places wet and miry in the rainy season, and for some time 
 later. The Kishon in its course strikes the base of Carmel, 
 and then passes down to the plain of 'Akka by a narrow val- 
 ley between that mountain and the low hills west of Naza- 
 reth. 
 
 All these circumstances, especially the inundations and 
 the marshes further down, fully bear out the sacred poetess 
 in affirming that the forces of the enemy were swept away 
 by the Kishon, swollen as the stream doubtless was by the 
 tempest and rain, with which " they fought from heaven ; 
 the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." * 
 
 On the other hand, later in the season, and earlier or later 
 in different years, the case is altogether reversed. In the 
 middle of June, 1838, in travelling from Jenin to Nazareth, 
 
 1 Monro, Summer Ramble, I. p. 281. 
 
 2 Prokesch, Reiso ins li. Land, p. 129. Wildenbruch in Monatsb. dcr Ges. 
 fiir Erdk., 1844, p. 233. Biblical Researches, IL p. 3G4 [IIL p. 230]. Comp. 
 Thomson, Land and Book, IL p. 141. 
 
 8 Judg. V. 19. < Judg. V. 20, 21. 
 
190 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 we found not a drop of water in the plain. Wildenbrucli, 
 passing still later from Lejjun to Nazareth, crossed midway 
 of the plain the broad and dry bed of the Kishon with its 
 ruined bridge. In the middle of April, 1852, we crossed the 
 Kishon on our way from Tell esh-Shemam to Lejjun ; it was 
 then a pretty brook, flowing in a deep gully in the plain, 
 over a bed of gravel. Not far above were pools and miry 
 places, and the Arabs said the gravel here was only a few 
 inches thick, and treacherous. Early in April, too, W. M. 
 Thomson once crossed the Kishon below its entrance into 
 the plain of 'Akka, and found its bed quite dry. Of course, 
 TVady Melik was also dry.^ 
 
 The permanent sources, then, of the Kishon or el-Mu- 
 kutta', are below the point where its course enters the plain 
 of 'Akka. Shaw was the first to speak of them. They flow 
 out, as large fountains, from the roots of Carmel, about three 
 miles east of Haifa. They are called Sa'adeh or Sa'adiyeh, 
 are very little above the level of the sea, and the water is 
 brackish. A deep, broad stream is formed at once, which 
 winds sluggishly through a tract of marsh to the sea. Dur- 
 ing the rains of winter it is of course greatly enlarged by the 
 river which then comes from the plain of Esdraelon.^ These 
 sources ' of the Kishon thus have a resemblance to those of 
 the 'Aujch at E,as el-'Ain. 
 
 The passage of the Mukutta' near its mouth, on the way 
 between 'Akka and Haifa, differs greatly, according to the 
 season of the year. In winter and spring, when the stream 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, 11. pp. 3G3-365 [HI. pp. 229-233]. Later Biblical Re- 
 searches, p. 116. "Wildenbruch in Monatsb. dcr Ges. fUr Erdk., 1S44, p. 233. 
 Thomson, Land and Book, p. 141. See above, p. 107. 
 
 2 Shaw's Travels (4to.), p. 274. Thomson, Land and Book, IL p. 141. Porter's 
 Handbook, p. 383. 
 
RIVERS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 191 
 
 is swollen, the traveller has to cross in a boat, and let liis 
 animals swim after it. The western winds drive up tlic sand, 
 and form a bar across its month. This renders the river 
 fordable later in spring, with three or four feet of water on 
 the bar. Still later in the season, when the river is lowest, 
 the sand-bank rises above the surface of the water, and forms 
 a causeway through which the water percolates, and on which 
 the traveller may pass over dry shod, until the swelling- 
 stream again washes the bank away.^ 
 
 South of Mount Carmel the streams, with one exception, 
 are not large, and only a few are permanent. 
 
 Nahr Belka. This stream is half an hour south of Tan- 
 tura,- the ancient Dor. Though small, and of no great 
 length, it is deep and miry, so that travellers ride into the 
 sea and pass around its mouth. It seems permanent, and is 
 known also as Nahr Tanturah and Nahr Kurajeh.^ 
 
 Nahr ez-Zerka. Some forty minutes north of Cesaraea is 
 the longer river Zerka, a deep and permanent stream, though 
 not large, with the ruins of a Roman bridge higher up.^ 
 
 Connected with this river, there is a popular tradition tliat 
 it is inhabited by crocodiles; and the natives sometimes 
 still call it Maat Temsah, ' crocodile water.' Strabo speaks of 
 the name of a former town Crocodilon, between 'Akka and 
 Cesaraea ; Pliny has the same, and gives the name likewise 
 to a river.* . The tradition first appears in the time of the 
 
 1 Thomson, Land and Book, I. p. 492. Biblical Researches, XL p. 305 I III. 
 p. 232]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, IL p. 528 [III. p. 469]. Wilson, Lands of the Bible, II. 
 p. 250. Porter's Handbook, p. 3C8. All these have the name Nahr Belka. 
 Wildenbruch has JSfahr Tantura, Monatsb. der Ges. fiirErdk., 1844, p. 232. Po- 
 cocke has Nahr Kurdjeh, II. p. 58. 
 
 8 Biblical Researches, II. p. 528 [III. p. 469]. Wilson, Lands of the Bible, II. 
 p. 250. Porter's Handbook, p. 368. Prokesch, p. 28. 
 4 Strabo. 16. 2. 27, p. 758. Plin. Nat. Hist., 5. 17. 
 
192 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 crusades ; and is also mentioned by travellers down to the 
 present time. There is much strong assertion ; but it does 
 not appear that any person, whether native or foreigner, has 
 ever himself actuall}'" seen a living crocodile in this region.^ 
 
 The Nalir ez-Zerka seems to be, without much question, 
 the stream Shihor-Libnath of Scripture, on the southern 
 border of the tribe of Asher.^ The town of Dor (Tantura), 
 which was assigned to Manasseh, lay within the territory of 
 Asher;3 and the river Zerka would be the natural southern 
 boundary in that quarter. This is the only stream south of 
 Carmcl mentioned in Scripture. 
 
 Nahr el-Akhdar. About one hour south of Cesaraea the 
 unimportant stream el-Akhdar enters the sea. 
 
 All the streams thus far are enlarged in winter by torrents 
 from the southwestern slopes of Carmel. 
 
 Nahr Abu Zaburah. This is a permanent stream running 
 to the sea nearly three hours south of Cesaraea. Just north 
 of its mouth is a littl-e bay or port, called Mma Abu Zabu- 
 rah. This river, the permanent sources of which are in the 
 plain, serves in winter as* the drain of various Wadys from 
 the southern part of Carmcl, and likewise for Wady Abu N^r 
 coming from the plain of Dothan ; if not also, perhaps, for 
 Wady Mussin and Wady Sha'ir.* Recent maps, however, 
 make the two latter run to the Failak. 
 
 Nahr Arsuf or Nahr el-Failak. This stream is midway 
 between Cesaraea and Joppa ; and is fed by several marshes 
 and ponds along the plain near the sea, full of gigantic 
 
 1 Vinisauf in Bohn's Chronicles of the Crusaders, p. 230. Pocockc, IL i. p. 58. 
 See other historical notices in Toblcr Drittc "Wanderung, pp. 375-378. 
 
 2 Josh. xix. 26. 3 Josh. xvii. 11. 
 
 * Biblical Researches, H. p. 528 [IH. p. 4G9]. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 
 121, 125, 126. See above, pp. 107-109. Thomson, Land and Book, H. pp. 255, 259. 
 
RIVERS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 193 
 
 reeds and rushes. These ponds swarm with leeches ; which 
 are collected bj persons who wade in and let them adhere 
 to their bare legs. In autumn no stream reaches the sea. 
 The earlier name, Nahr Arsuf, so called from the village 
 near its mouth, has been supplanted on more recent maps 
 by that of Nahr el-Fail ak, from a small village near one of 
 the ponds. The position of Arsuf coincides with the site of 
 ancient Apollonia, twenty-two Roman miles from Cesaraea, 
 as given in the Peutinger Tables.^ According to the recent 
 maps, this stream, in winter, receives also the waters drained 
 from the district between Sanur and Nabulus. 
 
 Nahr el-Aiijeh. The 'Aujeh, though short, is the longest 
 permanent river in Palestine, next to the Jordan. In winter 
 it receives the waters brought down from the mountains by 
 the numerous Wadys which descend between 'Azzun and 
 Saris.2 This river is also spoken of as Nahr Budrus or 
 Butrus (Peter), as receiving the great Wady from Ludd, 
 which is sometimes called by that name. 
 
 The proper source of the 'Aujeh is at a place called Has 
 el-'Ain, at the base of the hills a little northwest from Mej- 
 del Yaba, and about eight or nine miles distant from the 
 sea. Here, on a low mound, is a ruined modern fortress, in 
 the form of a parallelogram. At the foot of the mound, in 
 the west, are the immense fountains constituting the source 
 of the river 'Aujeh. They form a marshy tract, covered 
 
 1 Wilson, Lands of the Bible, XL p. 254. Thomson, Land and Book, II. pp. 
 267, 2C8. Wildenbmch in Monatsb. der Ges. fur Erdk., 1844, p. 232. Porter's 
 Handbook, pp. 364, 365. There is some confusion in recent maps and books, in 
 consequence of the positive assertion of Wildcnbruch that Arsuf lies further 
 south, and is only a quarter of an hour north of el-Haram. But this is contra- 
 dicted by the express testimony of Wilson, Thomson, and Porter; as also by the 
 position of Apollonia, with the site of which Arsuf has long been identified. 
 
 2 See these valleys described above, pp. 109-112. 
 
 25 
 
194 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 with reeds and rushes. These and other fountains below 
 furnish, in summer, the whole supply of water for the river ; 
 which is nearly as large as the Jordan at J ericho. The water 
 has a bluish tinge ; the stream is dark, deep, and usually 
 sluggish ; and is hardly to be forded at any place. The 
 river sweeps off about W. N. W. until it reaches the hills or 
 higher plateau, between the inner plain and that along the 
 shore. Just here are several mills, a mile from the source. 
 The stream then passes on about W. by S. under steep 
 banks formed by low cliffs, to the sea. About two miles 
 from the mouth is an old bridge, on the great road from 
 Yafa along the coast.^ Xo allusion to the 'Aujeh is found 
 in Scripture. Its permanent sources are similar to those of 
 the Kishon and Belus. 
 
 Streams South of Ydfa. No permanent stream enters the 
 sea from the Sephela, a great plain south of Yafa. The Nahr 
 Rubin, which has already been described as the estuary of 
 the great Wady es-Siirar,^ runs northwest by Yebna (^Jabneli) 
 to the sea ; but in autumn it sometimes dries up. In Octo- 
 ber, 1817, Irby and Mangles crossed it near the ruins of a 
 Roman bridge west of Yebna ; it was then nearly dry above, 
 but had a handsome sheet of water below. In November 
 1857, Tobler found no trace of water. ^ The case appears to 
 be similar with the estuary of Wady Simsim, near 'Askuliin. 
 Tbe river or torrent of Egypt^ which drains the interior of 
 the southern desert, now Wady el-'Arish, has no permanent 
 stream ; and has already been described.* 
 
 Indeed, strictly speaking, none of the Wadys and water- 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 140. Porter's Handbook, p. 364. 
 
 2 See above, p. 113. 
 
 3 Irby and Mangles, 1847, p. 57. Tobler Dritte Wanderung, pp. 20, 24, 25. 
 * See above, p. 123. 
 
KIVERS ALONG THE COAST. 
 
 193 
 
 courses south of the 'Aujeli, require any mention here under 
 the head of Rivers ; inasmuch as none of them have peren- 
 nial waters. Yet, as they are usually marked upon the 
 maps with all the fulness and distinctness of permanent 
 streams, this explanation is not inappropriate. 
 
196 
 
 Pm^SICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 SECTION II 
 
 LAKES. 
 
 Of the four lakes of Palestine,' the northernmost, Phiala, 
 was long accounted one of the sources of the Jordan. Two 
 others, the lake of the Huleh and that of Tiberias, are merely 
 expansions of the waters of the Jordan. The fourth, the 
 Dead Sea, is the recipient of the waters of that river, as also 
 of the Arnon and other streams from the eastern mountains. 
 The Phiala is the smallest of the four, and the Dead Sea the 
 largest ; the relative magnitude of the four lakes increasing 
 from north to south in the order in which they lie. 
 
 I. PHIALA. 
 
 The little lake Phiala^ now called Birket er-Ram, is on 
 the mountain, nearly east by south from Banias, and two 
 hours distant from that place. Its elevation above the Med- 
 iterranean is given by Roth at about three thousand three 
 hundred feet, or some two thousand six hundred feet above 
 the valley below. ^ 
 
 The lake is at the bottom of a deep bowl, apparently an 
 extinct crater ; not less than from a hundred and fifty to two 
 hundred feet below the level of the surrounding tract. The 
 form is an irregular circle ; the diameter of the water being 
 
 1 Petermann's Geograph. MittheiL, 1859, p. 290. See above, p. 75. 
 
PHIALA. 
 
 197 
 
 a mile, and perhaps more. The tract around is high table- 
 laud, rising on the south of the basin almost at once into 
 wooded or bushy hills ; and skirted at some distance on the 
 east likewise by a wooded range. The declivities of the 
 basin itself, consisting mostly of ancient lava, are dreary and 
 desolate, with only an occasional shrub and a few patches of 
 tillage ; but the country round about, though not fertile, is 
 more cultivated. 
 
 The lake has no outlet nor inlet, and is not deep. The 
 water, which is stagnant and impure, looks and feels slimy. 
 As we saw the lake, late in May, 1852, it was muddy for a 
 few feet just at the margin; and did not seem to be clear 
 and pure in any part. At a short distance from the shore 
 was a broad belt of water-plants, already turned brown, and 
 in some places resembling islands. The middle of the lake 
 was free. Wild ducks were swimming in different parts. A 
 large hawk was sailing above them, and occasionally swoop- 
 ing down to the surface of the water, as if to seize a duck 
 or a frog. Myriads and myriads of frogs lined the shores ; 
 and it was amusing to see them perched thickly along the 
 stones, as if drawn up in battle array to keep off intruders. 
 It is the very paradise of frogs. The lake supplies the whole 
 country with leeches ; here too they are gathered by men 
 wading in and letting the leeches fasten themselves upon 
 their legs. The ground along the margin is mostly without 
 reeds or rushes ; and is covered with small black volcanic 
 stones. The shores and sides of the crater exhibit every- 
 where small glistening black crystals, resembling hornblende.^ 
 
 According to Josephus, the Phiala, so called from its bowl- 
 like form, was situated on the road leading over the moun- 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 399, 400. Anderson's Geological Report, p. 110. 
 
198 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 tain from Cesaraea Philippi (Banias) to Traclionitis, and not 
 far distant from tliat road upon the rigid. Tliis description 
 at once identifies the Phiala with the present Birket er-Ram, 
 since there is no other body of water whatever on the right 
 of that road. The position, too, was such, that popular be- 
 lief regarded the Phiala as the true source of the great foun- 
 tain at Banias, and Josephus relates, that the tetrarcli Philip 
 once caused chaff to be thrown into the Phiala, which was 
 carried down and found at Paneum.^ This story helps to 
 confirm the identity of Phiala with Birket er-Ram ; but the 
 supply of such a fountain as that of JBanias would exhaust 
 this lake in a single day. Nor can the bright, limpid, spark- 
 ling waters of that fountain be supposed to have any connec- 
 tion with the dark, stagnant, slimy fluid which fills the, lake. 
 
 Seetzen heard of the lake, but did not visit it. Irby and 
 Mangles were the first to examine it, in passing from Damas- 
 cus to Banias, in I8I8.2 
 
 n. LAKE OF THE HULEH. 
 
 This lake occupies the southern and lowest part of the 
 basin of the Hulch already described. The nature of the 
 country around imparts to it a triangular form, the apex be- 
 ing towards the south, where the Jordan issues from it. The 
 eastern side lies along near the eastern mountain and paral- 
 lel to it, while the western side runs off in a northwesterly 
 direction, skirted by a plain somewhat higher than the lake. 
 The northern side is bordered by an extensive marsh, stretch- 
 ing in some parts quite across the whole valley, and covered 
 with gigantic reeds and canes, through which the waters of 
 the upper Jordan lazily find their way. The length of the 
 
 1 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 7. Later Biblical Researches, p. 400. 
 
 2 Seetzen, Reisen, I. pp. 334, 335. Irby and Mangles, p. 87. 
 
LAKE OF TIBERIAS. 
 
 199 
 
 lake itself from north to south is some four or five miles ; 
 its breadth is from three to four miles. The marsh extends 
 up northward five or six miles, after which succeeds the 
 fertile meadow-like tract already described, in which is the 
 junction of the streams of the Jordan.^ The lake does not 
 appear to be deep. It has never been sounded, and no boat, 
 apparently, has ever floated upon its waters. The elevation 
 of the lake, according to Wildenbruch, does not vary much 
 from one hundred feet above the Mediterranean.^ 
 
 This lake is known in Scripture as the Waters of Merom, 
 near which Joshua overthrew the hosts of Jabin king of Ha- 
 zor.^ It is not mentioned in the New Testament, but is the 
 lake Semechonitis of Josephus, over which the city of Hazor 
 was situated.* 
 
 III. LAKE OF TIBERIAS. 
 
 The lake of Tiberias, now Bahr Tubariyeh, is the second 
 basin of the Jordan, in which the waters of that river spread 
 themselves out, after rushing down the narrow basaltic chasm 
 below the lake of the Huleh. This lower lake is an irregular 
 oval, being broadest in the middle, and wider at the north- 
 ern end than at the southern. The length is nearest thirteen 
 miles, by a breadth of about six miles across the middle. 
 The lake is depressed below the level of the Mediterranean, 
 but the measurements, as yet, with one exception, have been 
 made with the barometer, and the results are quite various. 
 According to Lynch, the depression amounts to nearest six 
 hundred and fifty feet ; the mean obtained by seven different 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 361, 370. Porter's Handbook, p. 435. See 
 above, pp. 76, 152, 153. 
 
 2 Berliner Monatsber.,111., 1845, p. 271. 
 
 3 Josh. xi. 5, 7. 
 
 < Joseph. Antiq., 5. 5. 1. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 8. Ibid., 4. 1. 1. 
 
200 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 observers being six hundred and sixty feet.^ Taking the first 
 as a round number, this lake is some seven hundred and 
 fifty feet lower than that of the Huleh. Lynch sounded and 
 found the greatest depth to be one hundred and sixty-five 
 feet, the bottom being a concave basin.^ But the quantity 
 of water in the lake varies at difierent seasons. The rains 
 and melting snows from Lebanon and the adjacent hills cause 
 it to rise in winter and spring three or four feet above its 
 ordinary level, and it sometimes overflows the courtyards of 
 the houses along its shore in Tiberias. These superabun- 
 dant waters being thus spread out, first over the surface of 
 the upper lake, and then over the lake of Tiberias, all great 
 or violent inundations of the Jordan, as we have seen, are 
 thereby prevented. The story told by some travellers, that 
 the Jordan holds on its way through the middle of the lake, 
 without mingling its waters, is of course nothing more than 
 a fable. ^ 
 
 The water of the lake, as Josephus testifies, is sweet and 
 most potable.* The inhabitants of Tiberias have no other 
 water. It is clear, sparkling, and pleasant to the taste. 
 Still, some of our party thought they perceived in it a slight 
 brackish taste, which, considering the very copious brackish 
 fountains that flow into it, is not improbable. 
 
 The lake is full of fish of various kinds ; Josephus says 
 that some of the species are peculiar to it. Hasselquist the 
 naturalist, was the first in modern times to note that some 
 of the varieties of fish found here are met with also in the 
 
 ^ Lynch more exactly, six hundred and fifty-three feet. The seven observers 
 are: Lynch, Russegger, Schubert, Bertou, Symonds, Wildenbruch, Allen. 
 2 Official Report, p. 15. Biblical Researches, LNote, p. 613. 
 8 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 3^5, 414 [HI. pp. 261, 309]. 
 
 * Aifxyr] yXvKud Tf Zfxats iarl Kctl TroTi/icurdTrj, Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 7. 
 
LAKE OF TIBERIAS. 
 
 201 
 
 Nile ; namely, Silurus and Mugil (cluib), and likewise 
 another whicli he names Spams Galilaeus, a species of 
 bream. ^ We liad no difficulty, in 1838, in procuring an 
 abundant supply for our evening and morning meal at Tibe- 
 rias ; and found them delicate and well flavored. The fish- 
 ing is carried on only from the shore with hand-nets ; never 
 at the present day from a boat. The right to fish is farmed 
 out by the government. It is worthy of remark, that the 
 inhabitants of the village at 'Ain et-Tabighah, probably the 
 ancient Bethsaida of Galilee, still live by fishing.^ 
 
 At the present day a single boat, and that a sail-boat, is 
 kept upon the lake, usually at Tiberias, for the purpose of 
 bringing wood from the opposite shore. Pococke, in 1738, 
 took a sail upon the lake ; and there are again notices of such 
 a boat from 1806 onward. It appears to have been often 
 renewed. The one which we saw in 1838, or its successor, 
 was hired by Lynch, in 1848 ; but was soon wrecked in the 
 rapids of the Jordan. In 1852, it had been replaced.^ 
 
 The shores of the lake of Tiberias present, at most seasons, 
 few features of beauty or grandeur. The lake itself is a fine 
 sheet of limpid water, lying deep in its depressed basin, in 
 the midst of higher tracts around it-. Along its whole east- 
 ern side, the mountain wall, steep, but not precipitous, rises 
 perhaps a thousand feet, and then the table-land above 
 spreads off into the great plain of Hauran. On the western 
 side there is a similar wall along the southern half of the 
 lake, and the plain above extends back to Mount Tabor. 
 
 1 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 7. Hasselquist, Reise, pp. 181, 380, 412 sq., 428 sq. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 318. Biblical Researches, II. p. 38G [III. p. 261]. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, II. p. 38G [III. p. 262]. Pococke, Description of the East^ 
 IT. i. p. 69. Lynch, Official Report, pp. 15, 17. Van de Velde, Narrative, II. 
 p. 399. 
 
 26 
 
202 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 Then comes the plain of Gennesareth ; and further north 
 the land rises gradually from the shore into the tract of ir- 
 regular broken table-land which intervenes between the two 
 lakes. West of this tract lie the higher mountains around 
 Safed. But, in general, the hills along the lake are monot- 
 onous and tame, with very little of the picturesque in their 
 form, and they are decked by no shrubs nor forests. In 
 early spring, indeed, the verdure of the grass and herbage 
 imparts to them a pleasing aspect ; but at other times they 
 are naked and dreary. Whoever looks here for the magnif- 
 icence of the lakes of Switzerland or Southern Germany, or 
 the softer beauty of those of England and the United States, 
 will be disappointed. The regular and almost unbroken 
 heights which surround this lake, bear no comparison, as 
 to vivid and powerful effect, with the stern and savage gran- 
 deur of the mountains around the Dead Sea.^ 
 
 The position of this lake, so deeply depressed in the midst 
 of higher tracts of country, exposes it, as a matter of course, 
 to gusts of wind and in winter to tempests. One such storm 
 is recorded during our Lord's ministry; and another instance, 
 where the wind was contrary and great But in order to 
 account for these, it is not necessary to assume any peculi- 
 arly tempestuous character of the lake itself; nor does it ap- 
 pear, either from the testimony of the ancients or of the 
 present inhabitants, that storms are more frequent within 
 the basin than in the region round about.^ 
 
 The volcanic tract, through which the Jordan breaks its 
 way below the Huleh, extends down also on both sides of the 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 380, 416 [TH. pp. 252, 312]. 
 
 2 Matth. viii. 23 sq.; Mark iv. 35 sq.; Luke viii. 22 sq. Matth. xiv. 24; Mark 
 vi. 48; John vi. 18. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, II. p. 416 [HI. p. 312]. 
 
LAKE OF TIBERIAS. 
 
 203 
 
 lower lake. On the 'Western side, the ground back and 
 north of the plain of Gennesareth is thickly strewed with 
 black basaltic stones. On some of the hilltops clusters of 
 similar rocks are so grouped together as to present almost 
 the appearance of architectural ruins.^ 
 
 Historical Notices. In the New Testament this lake is 
 once called the lake (Xlfivrf) of Gennesaret ; oftener, the sea 
 (^dXaaaa) of Galilee or of Tiberias.^ The Apocrypha has 
 the water of Gennesar ; and Josephus calls it the lake of Gen- 
 nesar, or also of Tiberias.^ The ancient Hebrew name was 
 the sea (c;:) of Chinnereth or Chinneroth. It is mentioned 
 but four times in the Old Testament, and only in reference 
 to boundaries.* 
 
 But this want of prominence of the lake in the Old Testa- 
 ment is amply made up in the New ; where this fine sheet 
 of water is intimately interwoven with the life and ministry 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. He walked upon its shores ; he 
 sailed upon its waters ; his home was at Capernaum; and 
 in Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin, towns lying along 
 its western shore, most of his mighty works were done.^ 
 However tame may be the scenery of the lake, yet aided by 
 these historical and hallowed associations, it exerts upon the 
 Christian traveller a fascination and a charm to which the 
 mere magnificence of nature can never aspire. 
 
 The evangelists record three instances in which our Lord 
 crossed the lake in a boat, with his disciples, to the eastern 
 shore, and afterwards returned. The first time was when 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 342, 347. 
 
 2 Luke V. 1; John vi. 1; Matth. iv. 18; Mark 1. 16; John vi. 1; xxi. 1. 
 
 3 1 Mace. xi. 67. Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 7. Ibid., 3. 3. 5. 
 * Num. xxxiv. 11; Josh. xiii. 27; Deut. iii. 17; Josh. xii. 3. 
 « Matth. xi. 20-23. 
 
204 
 
 PPnrSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 he healed the two demoniacs of the Gadarenes, having 
 stilled the tempest on the way ; to this we have already 
 alluded.i Again he feeds the five thousand on the north- 
 east coast of the lake ; and sending back his disciples alone 
 with the boat, he follows them walking on the water.^ The 
 third time, he fed the four thousand in Decapolis, and re- 
 turned to Magdala.^ Still another time, he crossed the lake 
 to the northeast quarter; and then made his way by the 
 northern Bethsaida to Cesaraea Philippi (Banias).^ 
 
 In those days boats were frequent upon the lake. When 
 our Lord had fed the five thousand on the northeast of the 
 lake, and his disciples had gone away in the only boat, other 
 boats came from Tiberias nigh unto the place, so that the 
 multitude were able to pass over to Capernaum.^ On the 
 capture of Tarichaea, at the south end of the lake, by Vespa- 
 sian and Titus, great numbers of the inhabitants escaped by 
 water and remained upon the lake, in boats and small craft, 
 which they had prepared for the purpose. Vespasian caused 
 boats to be got ready in order to pursue them upon the lake. 
 A naval fight took place, in which the Jews and their boats 
 were totally destroyed.^ 
 
 The fisheries of the lake, in ancient times, were more 
 extensive and productive than now. Four of the apostles, 
 Andrew, Peter, James, and John, if not others, were fisher- 
 men. Several of our Lord's comparisons and miracles were 
 
 1 Mattli. viii. 23 sq., comp. ix. 1; Mark iv. 36 sq., comp. v. 21 ; Luke viii. 22 sq., 
 comp. 40. 
 
 2 Matth. xiv. 13 sq., comp. 22, 25 ; Mark vi. 32 sq., comp. 45, 48; Luke ix. 10 
 sq. ; John vi. 1, comp. 17, 19. 
 
 3 Matth. XV. 29 sq., comp. 39; Mark vii. 31 sq., comp. viii. 10. 
 
 * Mark viii. 13, comp. 22, 27. « John yi. 22-24. 
 
 6 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 1, 5, 6, 9. 
 
LAKE OF TIBERIAS. 
 
 205 
 
 connected with fishing.^ The fish were caught usually, it 
 would seem, with drag-nets, cast from boats, but sometimes 
 with a hook.2 So many persons followed this business, that 
 two towns near the lake received the name of Bethsaida, 
 ' house of fishing.' One, Bethsaida of Galilee, the home of 
 Andrew and Peter, was on the west shore of the lake, prob- 
 ably at et-Tabigliah, where the poor inhabitants still live by 
 fishing. The other Bethsaida, called also Julias, was in 
 Gaulonitis, on the eastern bank of the Jordan, two miles 
 above the lake ; near the foot of the steep descent of the 
 river. It may be, that the fish, attempting to ascend the 
 Jordan, were here stopped by the rapids and falls, and were 
 thus congregated in great numbers ; so that the place be- 
 came a favorite resort for fishermen. 
 
 Hot Springs. Having already described the hot springs 
 connected with the rivers Hieromax and Zerka Ma'in, we 
 may here appropriately speak of those on the shore of this 
 lake. 
 
 They are situated close to the lake, about thirty-five min- 
 utes south of Tiberias, on a part of the shore a little ele- 
 vated above the water. There is an old bath-house in decay; 
 and a new and splendid one begun in 1833 by Ibrahim Pa- 
 sha of Egypt ; but no ancient remains are found. There are 
 four fountains at intervals of a few paces from each other. 
 A covered channel now runs along before them all, conduct- 
 ing the water into a common reservoir ; so that compara- 
 tively very little rises to the surface and runs directly into 
 the lake. The water as it oozes from the ground, is too hot 
 to bear the hand in it, the temperature being 144° Far. 
 
 1 Mattli. iv, 19 and Luke v. 10; Matth. xiii. 47; Matth. iv. 18 sq. and Luke v. 
 1 sq.; Matth. xvii. 27; John xxi. 1-7. 
 
 2 Luko V. 4-6; John xxi. C; Matth. xvii. 27. 
 
206 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 The taste is excessively salt and bitter, like heated sea-water; 
 there is also a strong smell of sulphur, but no taste of it. 
 The water deposits a sediment, as it runs down to the lake, 
 which differs in color below the different springs, being in 
 one white, in another greenish, in a third reddish yellow, etc. 
 The water is iinpregnated with various salts ; the chief of 
 which is chloride of sodium} These baths are regarded as 
 efficacious in rheumatic complaints and in cases of debility ; 
 and are visited, chiefly in July, by people from all parts of 
 Syria.2 
 
 These hot springs are mentioned by Pliny, and not nn- 
 frequently by Josephus and in the Talmud. Josephus calls 
 the place Ammaus, signifying ' warm baths ; ' so that this 
 name would seem to be nothing more than a Greek form for 
 the Hebrew Hainmath, which has the same meaning, and 
 was the name of a town belonging to the tribe of Naphthali.^ 
 
 IV. THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 The Dead Sea is the third and largest basin, into which 
 the Jordan discharges its waters. The lake has no outlet ; 
 and the accumulation of the waters in it, is counteracted 
 only by strong evaporation. Its deep position and physical 
 phenomena render it the most remarkable body of water in 
 the known world. 
 
 Name. The earliest Hebrew name is the Salt Sea (rib^r\ n^) ; 
 then also, the sea of the Arab ah (desert) ; and sometimes 
 both names are used together.^ In the prophets it is also 
 
 1 For analyses of these waters, see Anderson's Geological Report (in Lynch), 
 p. 202. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 383-385 [III. pp. 258-260]. 
 
 3 Plin. Nat. Hist., 5. 15. Joseph. Antiq., 18. 2. 3. Bel. Jud., 4. 1. 3. Lightfoot, 
 Opera, II. pp. 224, 225. Hammath, Josh. xix. 35. 
 
 4 Salt Sea, Gen. xlv. 3; Num. xxxiv. 3, 12; Josh. xv. 2, 5, xviii. 19. Sea of 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 207 
 
 spoken of as the Eastern Sea} It is mostly referred to as a 
 boundary or limit. 
 
 In the New Testament there is no allusion to the Dead 
 Sea. Josephus and Galen call it Asphaltites, ' the asphaltic 
 lake ; ' and the latter, as likewise Eusebius and other Greek 
 writers speak of it also as the Dead Sea? The Arabs call it 
 Bahr Lut, ' Sea of Lot.' 
 
 Form and Extent. The Dead Sea occupies the lowest and 
 deepest portion of the Gh6r, the deep valley or which 
 extends from Mount Hermon to the Red Sea. This great 
 cha^m, for most of its length, — that is to say, from about 
 Lat. 33° to Lat. 30°, or one hundred and eighty geographical 
 miles, — is depressed below the level of the Mediterranean. 
 The Dead Sea lies about midway of this whole line of de- 
 pression ; of which it occupies somewhat less than one fourth 
 part. 
 
 The mountains enclosing the Ghor recede somewhat near 
 Jericho ; but at the north end of the sea they resume their usual 
 course, and are parallel along its whole length ; so the breadth 
 of the lake is quite uniform, filling the whole interval from 
 mountain to mountain. Its two ends are somewhat rounded. 
 At the northwestern quarter, the shore north of Ras el-Fesh- 
 khah tends more to the northeast, contracting this portion 
 of the lake, and leaving a tract of plain between it and the 
 mountains. At the southwest quarter a like effect is pro- 
 duced by the salt mountain, which runs S. S. E. and also 
 
 the'Arabah, Deut. iv. 49; 2 Kings xiv. 25; comp. p. 74. Both, Deut. iii. 17; 
 Josh. iii. 16, xii. 3. 
 
 1 Ezek. xlvii. 18; Joel ii. 20; Zech. xiv. 8. 
 
 2 \ifjLV7i 'A(r(paKT7Tis, Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 7. Ibid., 4. 7. 5. Galen de Simpl. 
 Med. Fac, 4. 20. Pausan. 5. 7. 3; comp. Eeland, p. 241 sq. QdXaaaa veKpd, 
 Galen de Simpl. Med. Fac., 4. 20. Eusebius, Onomast., Article Mare Salinarum ; 
 where Jerome, ' Mare Mortuum.* 
 
208 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGR.VPHT OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 contracts that end of the lake. In the southern portion of 
 the kike, a long low peninsula connected by a broad isthmus 
 with the eastern shore occupies for some distance two thirds 
 of the breadth of the lake. The body of water south of the 
 peninsula is often spoken of as ' the South Bay ; ' it is nearly 
 round, and comparatively shallow. 
 
 The length of the Dead Sea, as fixed by Lynch and his par- 
 ty, is forty geographical miles ; the breadth being from nine 
 to nine and three fourths geographical miles.^ Our own ob- 
 servations in 1838 had given the length at thirty-nine geo- 
 graphical miles and the general breadth at nine geographical 
 miles. The shore at the southern end is almost a dead flat, 
 and a slight rise in the lake would cause the water to extend 
 up two or three miles further south, and thus increase 
 the length. There are various indications, that in 1848 the 
 water of the lake was higher and extended further south, 
 tlian when we saw it in 1838.^ 
 
 Depth and Depression. The careful soundings of the 
 United States' Expedition under Lieut. Lynch have settled 
 the question of depth. The bottom of the lake, along the 
 middle, was found to be a deep valley or plain, extending 
 from the northern part to near the peninsula. The average 
 depth of this valley is not far from one hundred and eighty 
 fathoms, or one thousand and eiglity feet ; while at one point, 
 on a line between 'Ain Terabeh and the mouth of the Zerka 
 Ma'in, they found the greatest depth ; namely, two hundred 
 and eighteen fathoms, or one thousand three hundred and 
 eight feet Molyneux, a year earlier, reported one sounding 
 of two hundred and twenty-five fathoms, or one thousanc"' 
 
 1 Biblical Researches (2d ed.), L p. 612, Note. Comp. Lynch, Official Report, 
 p. 68. 
 
 2 BibUcal Researches, I. pp. 509, 515 [H. pp. 217, 225]. 
 
THE DE.VD SE.V. 
 
 209 
 
 tliree liuiidrcd and fifty feet. In the bay, south of the pe- 
 ninsula, the depth was nowhere over two fathoms, or twelve 
 feet.i 
 
 It may be remarked, however, that the level of the lake 
 varies considerably at different seasons. Traces of the high- 
 water mark are visible in many places ; which show that 
 at some seasons the level of the sea is ten or fifteen feet 
 higher than at others. This is readily accounted for by the 
 vast quantity of water brought into it during the rainy sea- 
 son, not only by the Jordan from the north, but, also, from 
 the deserts in the south, and from the mountains along its 
 sides. The quantity of rain which falls in Palestine varies 
 greatly in different years ; and the Dead Sea becoming in 
 proportion more or less full, is subjected in a course of years 
 to great variations.- 
 
 After the depth of the sea and the character of its shores 
 had been thus determined, Lieut. Dale, the engineer of the 
 Expedition (whose grave is atBeiriit), carried a level from 
 the shore of the Dead Sea at 'Ain Terabeh across the moun- 
 tains, by way of Jerusalem, to the shore of the Mediterra- 
 nean, at Yafa. This level gave 1316.7 feet, as the depression 
 of the Dead Sea below the Mediterranean. The following 
 are other results : ^ 
 
 Engl. Feet. 
 
 Depression of the Dead Sea, 1316.7 
 
 Pass back of 'Ain Terabeh, above Dead Sea, . . 1305.75 
 Elevation of Jerusalem above the Mediteiranean, . 2610.5 
 Elevation of Jerusalem above Dead Sea, . . . 3927.24 
 Depth of Dead Sea, . . 1308. 
 
 1 Lynch, Official Report, p. 43, Section and Map. Biblical Researches (2d ed.), 
 
 I. p. 612, Note. See above, p. 170. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 515 [II. p. 225]. Pococke, Description of the East, 
 
 II. i. p. 35. Irby and Mangles, p. 140. 
 
 3 Lynch, Official Report, p. 43. Biblical Researches (2d ed.), I. p. 612, Note. 
 
 27 
 
210 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 It is a singular coincidence that the depth and depression 
 of the sea, according to these figures, are very nearly equal ; 
 each some thirteen hundred feet ; and that the elevation of 
 Jerusalem above the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea is, in 
 each case, nearly a multiple of the same number. 
 
 The extraordinary anomaly of so enormous a depression 
 of the Dead Sea appears never to have been suspected until 
 the year 1837. In that year Moore and Beke made some im- 
 perfect experiments, as they had done elsewhere, by means 
 of the boiling point of water ; from which they inferred a de- 
 pression of about five hundred feet. Schubert, the same year, 
 made it 598.5 Paris, or about six hundred and thirty-eight 
 English feet, by the barometer. Russegger and Burton, in 
 1838, first made the depression amount to more than thirteen 
 hundred Paris feet. In 1841, Lieut. Symonds, by trigono- 
 metrical observations, obtained the result of 1312.2 English 
 feet ; a very close coincidence witli the results of the level 
 run by Lieut. Dale.^ 
 
 View from the Western Cliffs. The traveller, in passing 
 down from Hebron or Carmel to the brow of the cliffs above 
 the Dead Sea, makes a descent equal to that between Hebron 
 and the Mediterranean. This eastern slope is irregular and 
 broken up by ridges and deep chasms running towards the 
 lake. The descent is constant, and often very rapid. The 
 way is long, desert, and dreary. After five or six hours, the 
 traveller begins to look out for some glimpse of the sea ; and 
 expects soon to arrive at the shore nearly upon a level with 
 its waters. But he is doomed to repeated disappointment ; 
 and it is only after seven hours of travel from Carmel, that 
 he reaches the brow of a pass, and turning aside a few steps 
 to what seems a small knoll on the right, he unexpectedly 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 513 [H. p. 222] . Also BibUcal Researches (2(1 ed.), 
 I. p. 612, Note. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 211 
 
 finds himself on the summit of a perpendicular cliff, over- 
 hanging 'Ain Jidy and the sea, at least fifteen hundred feet 
 above its waters. The Dead Sea lies below him in its vast, 
 deep chasm, shut in on both sides by ranges of precipitous 
 mountains ; their bases sometimes jutting out into the water, 
 and again retreating so as to leave a narrow strip of shore 
 below. The view includes the whole of the Dead Sea, with 
 the exception of the northern extremity, which is shut out 
 by the adjacent higher and more projecting cliff el-Mersed»i 
 
 What struck us particularly in this view in 1838, was 
 the belt of gravelly or pebbly shore which seemed to sur- 
 round tlie lake, interrupted by many shoal-like points or 
 deltas, which run out into the southern part, appearing at 
 first sight like flat sand-banks or islands. The whole seemed 
 more like a long, winding bay, or the estuary of a large 
 river, when the tide is out, and the shores and shoals left 
 dry. Indeed, there are various reasons to suppose that the 
 level of the sea, as we saw it in 1838, was several feet lower 
 than when visited by the United States' Expedition ten years 
 later. 
 
 The peninsula is of course a prominent feature, and is seen 
 in its whole form and extent. The strait between it and the 
 western shore is so narrow, that from this point of view the 
 southern end of the peninsula is seen across one of the larger 
 spits or deltas above mentioned. Among the western moun- 
 tains is seen the bold, projecting cliff of Sebbeh (Masada) ; 
 and further on also the whole of Jebel Usdum or the Salt 
 mountain. On the east are the mountains of Moab, spring- 
 ing from the water and shore in perpendicular cliffs, and 
 rising above and back of these in far steeper and loftier 
 masses than the mountains on the western coast. Across 
 
 1 Comp. Biblical Researches, I. pp. 501-503 [11. pp. 205-207]. 
 
212 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAJ^D. 
 
 the isthmus of the low peninsula, towards the southeast, one 
 looks up along a deep, straight ravine, at the head of which 
 Kerak with its castle is visible, situated on a high, precipi- 
 tous rock, far up near the summit of the mountain. Oppo- 
 site 'Ain Jidy is the wild chasm and mouth of the Mojib 
 (Arnon) ; and further north is seen Wady ez-Zerka Ma'in. 
 
 Character of the Waters. The water of the Dead Sea has 
 a slightly greenish hue, and is not entirely transparent ; but 
 objects seen through it appear as if seen through oil. It is 
 most intensely and intolerably salt ; far more so than sea- 
 water ; and leaves behind a nauseous, bitter taste, not unlike 
 Glauber's salts. The specific gravity is greater than that of 
 any other water known. Both these qualities of taste and 
 weight, arise from the heavy solution of various salts con- 
 tained in the water, chiefly those of magnesia and soda. 
 But the amount and proportions of these salts, and of course 
 the specific gravity, are found to vary somewhat in different 
 parts of the sea, and at different seasons of the year. A 
 portion of water taken from near the mouth of the Jordan 
 might be expected to be less strongly saturated than another 
 from near the middle of the lake ; and during the rainy sea- 
 son, when the sea is filled and its level raised several feet, 
 its waters are naturally more diluted than in autumn, after 
 having been for months subjected to the process of evapora- 
 tion under a burning sun in this deep caldron. 
 
 The following four analyses of the water are among the 
 most recent : the first by Prof. C. G. Gmelin of Tiibingen, 
 1826 ; the second by Dr. Apjohn of Dublin, 1839 ; the third 
 by Prof. James C. Booth of Philadelphia, 1848 ; and the 
 fourth by Messrs. Thornton and Herapath of Edinburgh, 
 1849. The point whence the water for the first analysis was 
 obtained, is not specified. That analyzed by Dr. Apjohn was 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 213 
 
 taken half a mile from the mouth of the Jordan, near the 
 close of the rainy season ; and naturally exhibits a less 
 amount of salts, and a less specific gravity.^ The standard 
 of comparison for the specific gravity is distilled water at 
 1000. 
 
 Specific gravity 
 
 Chloride of calcium 
 " of magnesium 
 
 Bromide of magnesium 
 
 Chloride of potassium 
 " of sodium . 
 " of manganese 
 " of aluminum 
 " of ammonium 
 
 Sulphate of lime 
 
 Water 
 
 PROP. GMELIN. 
 
 1212 
 
 3.2141 
 11.7734 
 0.4393 
 1.6738 
 7.0777 
 0.2117 
 0.0896 
 0.0075 
 0.0527 
 
 24.5398 
 75.4602 
 
 100. 
 
 DR. APJOHN. 
 
 1153 
 
 2.438 
 9.370 
 0.201 
 0.852 
 9.830 
 0.005 
 
 0.075 
 
 18.780 
 81.320 
 
 100. 
 
 Boiling point. 
 221° F. 
 
 The water analyzed by Prof. Booth was drawn up by Lieut. 
 Lynch from a depth of one hundred and eighty-five fathoms, 
 or eleven hundred and ten feet, and shows a greater amount 
 of salts and a greater specific gravity than any otlier.^ 
 
 Specific gravity at 60° 
 
 Chloride of magnesium 
 " of calcium 
 " of sodium 
 ** of potassium 
 
 Bromide of potassium 
 
 Sulphate of lime 
 
 PROF. BOOTH. 
 
 227.42 
 
 Water 
 
 145.8971 
 31.0746 
 78.5537 
 6.5860 
 1.3741 
 0.7012 
 264.1867 
 735.8133 
 
 1000. 
 
 1 See other earlier analyses, Biblical Researches, I. p. 514 [II. p. 224]. 
 
 2 Lynch, Official Report, pp. 73, 204. 
 
214 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 The water for the fourth analysis was taken from the 
 northwestern shore, about half a mile west of the mouth of 
 the Jordan, in the month of March, 1849. This analysis, 
 therefore, might be expected to compare most nearly with 
 that of Dr. Apjohn. 
 
 Specific gravity . 
 
 Chloride of calcium . 
 
 " of magnesium 
 Bromide of magnesium 
 Chloride of sodium 
 
 '* of potassium . 
 
 " of ammonium 
 
 " of aluminum . 
 
 " of manganese 
 
 " of iron 
 Organic matter (nitrogenous) 
 Sulphate of lime 
 
 ME88R8. THORNTON AND HERAPATH.l 
 
 1172.05 Boiling point 221° 75 F. 
 
 2.455055 per cent. 
 
 7.822007 
 0.251173 
 12.109724 
 1.217350 
 0.005999 
 0.055944 
 0.005998 
 0.002718 
 0.061730 
 0.067866 
 
 24.055564 percent. 
 
 Besides the above salts, there were likewise faint traces of 
 carbonate of lime, silica, and bitumen, and also doubtful 
 traces of iodine. 
 
 This excessive saltness and saturation of the waters of the 
 Dead Sea is perhaps sufficiently accounted for by the im- 
 mense masses of fossil salt, which lie on a mountain along its 
 southwestern border. The waters of the lake do not indeed, 
 at present, ordinarily wash the base of the salt mountain, 
 though they appear to do so on some occasions ; but the 
 rains of winter, and the saline streamlets which we found 
 running to the sea even in June, would naturally carry into 
 it, in the course of ages, a sufficiency of salt to produce most 
 of tlie phenomena. Still, as the salt of this mountain con- 
 
 1 Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, Jan. 1850, Vol. XLVHI. pp. 313-319. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 215 
 
 tains no peculiar ingredients, and especially no bromium,i 
 it is not improbable that the waters of the sea somewhere, 
 perhaps in its hidden depths, come in contact with other 
 mineral masses. 
 
 In consequence of its great specific gravity, the water of 
 the Dead Sea is more buoyant than any other known. Per- 
 sons unable to swim elsewhere, can here swim without diffi- 
 culty, or can lie upon the water, or sit and stand in it with- 
 out effort.^ After bathing, we remarked no saline crust 
 upon the body, as some travellers report ; but there was a 
 pricking sensation, especially where the skin had been chafed ; 
 and a sort of greasy feeling, as of oil on the skin, which lasted 
 for several hours. 
 
 Ancient writers were well acquainted with the buoyant 
 power of this water. Aristotle mentions the reports, founded 
 doubtless in truth, that if men or beasts were thrown bound 
 into the lake, they would not sink, but float upon the sur- 
 face. ^ 
 
 The effect of the great specific gravity is seen, likewise, in 
 the usual placidity of the sea, and the weight and force of the 
 waves during high winds. The ordinary breezes of summer 
 occasion scarcely a ripple on the surface ; while high winds 
 and tempests excite angry and ponderous billows. When 
 the boats of Lynch entered the Dead Sea from the Jordan, 
 a fresh northwest wind was blowing, which increased to a 
 gale. This raised a heavy sea, in which the boats labored 
 exceedingly ; and the dense waves dashed upon the bows of 
 the boats like sledge-hammers. The spray was painful to 
 
 1 For analyses of the salt of Jebel Usdum, see Anderson's Geological Report, 
 p. 181. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 506 [II. p. 212], Lynch, Narrative, p. 324. 
 
 3 Aristot. Meteorol., II. 3. Galen de Simpl. Med. Fac, IV. 19. Joseph. Bel. 
 Jud., 4. 8. 4. Reland, Pulaestina, pp. 241, 249. 
 
216 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the eyes and skin ; and, evaporating as it fell, left a crust of 
 salt upon the faces, hands, and clothing. All at once the 
 wind ceased, and the sea fell with equal rapidity ; in twenty 
 minutes the heavy waters had settled down into a placid sur- 
 face.^ The effect of similar waves rolling in upon the shore, 
 is seen at 'Ain Jidy in the large bank of pebbles which there 
 lines the shore, several feet higher than the ordinary level of 
 the sea. 
 
 According to the testimony of all antiquity and of most 
 modern travellers, there exists in the waters of the Dead Sea 
 no living thing ; no trace indeed of animal or vegetable life.^ 
 Occasionally a traveller has reported, that he found shells 
 of snails or periwinkles along the shore, especially at the 
 northern end ; and small fish, either dead or dying, have 
 been picked up in the same region. Seetzen searched for 
 conchylia and sea-plants ; but found none of either. Some 
 snails that he picked up on the shore were land-snails. The 
 shells reported have been invariably dead, without a trace of 
 the living animal ; and have probably been brought into the 
 sea, in the lapse of time, from the Jordan, or from other 
 streams and fountains on the east, south, and west of the 
 lake. The small fish of the Jordan not unfrequently are 
 carried or wander into the heavy waters of the lake ; but 
 they speedily die and float upon the surface, or are thrown 
 out upon the shore. Schubert saw and picked up several 
 such ; and Jerome relates the same fact as known in his 
 day : " When the Jordan, swollen by the rains, sometimes 
 
 1 Lynch, Official Report, p. 31; Narrative, p. 2G8. 
 
 2 Tacit. Hist. 5. 6. Galen de Simpl. Med. Fac, IV. 19, (palv^Tat eV e/ceiVa> 
 SSoTt /i^TTj ^uov iyyiyv6(j.€p6i/Ti, fi-ffre (pvrSv. Hieron. ad Ezek. xlvii. 8, " Mare mor- 
 tuum, in quo nihil poterat esse vitale. Re vera, juxta literam, liac usque nihil 
 quod spirat et possit incedere, prae amaritudine nimia, in hoc maii reperiri po- 
 test." Abulfeda, Tab. Syr. ed. Kohler, pp. 12, 156. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 217 
 
 carries down fish into the lake, they die immediately and 
 float upon the sluggish waters.^ 
 
 The evaporation from the surface of the Dead Sea, lying 
 in this deep caldron, shut in between lofty precipices of 
 naked rock, and exposed for many months of the year to a 
 burning and unclouded sun, is naturally very great. Under 
 some circumstances, the vapor thus rising from the sea is 
 visible to the naked eye. At 'Ain Jidy, at dawn, we could 
 perceive the dense evaporation ascending and filling the 
 whole chasm of the lake, and spreading itself as a thin haze 
 above the tops of the mountains. Irby and Mangles like- 
 wise saw " the evaporation rising in broad, transparent col- 
 umns of vapor, not unlike water-spouts in appearance, but 
 very much longer." ^ 
 
 Here is a striking example of the equilibrium so often 
 established by the Creator among the powers of nature. 
 The Dead Sea, in the course of ages, has never been 
 greatly enlarged by an excess of waters from the Jordan 
 and rainy seasons ; nor, on the other hand, has it ever been 
 too far exhausted by the enormous evaporation. 
 
 One efiect of this strong evaporation is seen in the depos- 
 its of salt made by the sea at certain places upon its shores. 
 In the rainy season, when the lake is full, its water spreads 
 itself over several low, marshy tracts ; and when afterwards 
 the level of the lake becomes lower, these tracts are left as 
 shallow pools or basins ; and the water in them being speedily 
 evaporated, the bottom is covered with a thick crust of salt. 
 The chief place of this kind is at Birket el-Khulil, an hour or 
 more south of 'Ain Jidy. This is a part of the beach more 
 depressed and springy than the rest. It is flooded at the 
 
 1 Sec more, Biblical Researches, I. pp. 516, 517 [II. pp. 226-228]. 
 
 2 Travels, p. 137. Biblical Researches, I. pp. 512, 524 [II. pp. 220, 239]. 
 
 28 
 
218 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY L.VXD. 
 
 time of high sea, shortly after the spring rains, and shows 
 over its entire area, very soon after the fall of the water, 
 a crust or residuum of impure salt, thickest at the bottom 
 of the pans, and thinning to a more frost-hke efflorescence 
 near the margin of the temporary pools. Bits of bitumen 
 and sulphur are not unfrequently met with. At certain 
 seasons, the tract is wet with the exudations of a fetid brine ; 
 and the whole neighborhood becomes reeking with the smells 
 of sulplmreous acid and sulphuretted hydrogen gas. 
 
 This salt is carried away on donkeys by the peasants of 
 the villages south of Jerusalem, for their own use. We fell 
 in with one such company at 'Ain Jidy.^ 
 
 Similar salt pools and saline basins are found along the 
 sliore for two miles south of Birket cl-Khulil. A place was 
 pointed out to us at the northwest corner of the sea, where 
 salt is likewise gathered. On the eastern side of the lake, 
 also, Irby and Mangles found Arabs on the north side of the 
 isthmus of the peninsula, " peeling off a solid surface of 
 salt, several inches in thickness, and loading it on asses." 
 The same deposit is doubtless found on other parts of the 
 coasts.2 
 
 It is not strange, that a lake exhibiting so many extraor- 
 dinary features, — thus sunk in its deep chasm between 
 sterile mountains, devoid of all animal and vegetable life 
 witliin its waters, and surrounded by desolation, — should 
 bear the appropriate name oithe Dead Sea, nor that it should 
 become the subject of superstitious and legendary reports. 
 Seneca relates that bricks would not sink in it.^ Early trav- 
 
 1 Anderson's Geological Report, pp. 176, 177. Biblical Researches, I. p. 504 
 [H. p. 210]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 516, 535 [H. pp. 226, 254]. Irby and Mangles, 
 p. 139. 
 
 3 Seneca Quaest. Nat. lib. II. Reland, Palaestina, p. 248. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 219 
 
 ellers describe the lake as an " infernal region ; " its black 
 and fetid waters always emitting a noisome smoke or vapor, 
 which, being driven over the land, destroys all vegetation 
 like a frost. ^ Hence too the popular report that birds cannot 
 fly over its deadly waters. 
 
 All this, it is hardly necessary to say, is merely fabulous. 
 Smokes are indeed often seen in the valley and on the hills ; 
 but they proceed from Arab encampments or from the prep- 
 aration of charcoal. The waters of the lake itself emit no 
 noisome smell nor noxious vapor. Some of the marshy 
 spots along the shores send forth at some seasons, as we have 
 seen, sulphuretted hydrogen gas ; in other places there is 
 the smell of decaying plants brought down by the Jordan or 
 smaller streams and cast upon the shore ; and, again, there is 
 the usual odor of salt marshes, especially at the southern 
 end. We ourselves saw, and many travellers have seen, 
 birds flying in all directions over the lake. The absence of 
 water-fowl has been remarked, and this is readily accounted 
 for by the total absence of fish and water-plants, on which 
 they feed. But the region is full of birds ; and at 'Ain Jidy 
 we were surprised and delighted to hear their morning song 
 in the midst of the solitude and grandeur of these desola- 
 tions. The trees, and rocks, and air around were full of the 
 carols of the lark, the cheerful whistle of the quail, the call 
 of the partridge, and the warbling of many other feathered 
 choristers ; while birds of prey were soaring and screaming in 
 front of the cliffs and over the waters of the sea. 
 
 The Egyptian heat of the climate, which is found through- 
 out the whole GhOr, is in itself unhealthy ; and, in connec- 
 tion with exhalations from the marshes, gives rise in summer 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 511 [II. p. 220]. Reland, Palaestina, p. 249. Comp. 
 Tacit. Hist., 5. 6. 
 
220 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 to intermittent fevers; so that the Ghawarineh, or proper 
 inhabitants of the Ghor, including the people of Jericho, are 
 a feeble and sickly race. But this has no necessary connec- 
 tion with the Dead Sea, as such; and the same phenomena 
 might probably exist, in at least an equal degree, were the 
 waters of the lake fresh and limpid, or even were there here 
 no lake at all.^ 
 
 Asphaltum. In ancient times, such masses of asphaltum 
 or bitumen usually floated in these heavy waters, that they 
 were known as the Asphaltic Lake, Lacus Asphaltites, Jo- 
 sephus affirms that " the sea in many places sends up black 
 masses of asphaltum, having the form and size of headless 
 oxen." Diodorus Siculus relates, that the bitumen was 
 thrown up in masses, covering sometimes two or tliree 
 plethra (acres), and having the appearance of islands. The 
 ancients supposed it could not be broken or separated, except 
 by touching it with blood. The bitumen of the Dead Sea 
 was regarded as superior to any other 
 
 In modern times, masses of bitumen are only occasionally 
 found floating in the Dead Sea, at long and irregular inter- 
 vals. The Arabs on the western coast affirm, that it is tlnis 
 found only after earthquakes. The only two known recent 
 instances of its appearance seem to confirm this report. 
 After the earthquake of 18B4, a large quantity of asphaltum 
 was cast upon the shore near the southwest part of the lake, 
 of which one tribe of the Arabs brought about sixty kuntdrs 
 (cwt.) to market, and a large amount was purchased by the 
 Frank merchants of Beirut. Again, after the great earth- 
 quake of January, 1837, which destroyed Safet, a large mass 
 
 J Biblical Researches, I. pp. 511, 512, 524 [H. pp. 219, 220, 239]. 
 2 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 4. 8. 4. Diod. Sic, 2. 48. Plin. Hist. Nat., 7. 13. Tacit. 
 Hist., 5. 6. Dioscor. de re Med., 1. 99. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 221 
 
 of bitumen (one said like an island, another like a house) 
 was discovered floating in the sea, and was driven aground 
 on the west side, not far north of Jebel Usdum. The neigh- 
 boring Arabs swam off around it, and cut it up with axes, 
 so as to bring it ashore. It was carried off by camel loads, 
 and sold for four piasters (about sixteen cents) the rati or 
 pound. In this way one tribe received more than five hun- 
 dred dollars, while others sold to the amount of two or three 
 thousand dollars. \ 
 
 Except in these two instances, the Arab sheikh, who act^d ; 
 as our guide, a man of fifty years old, who had always lived 
 near by, had never known of bitumen appearing in the sea, 
 nor heard of it from his fathers. Seetzen also relates in 
 1807, that old men told him they remembered its appear- 
 ance only two or three times during their lives.^ 
 
 The ancients appear to have rightly understood, that the 
 floating masses of bitumen rose from some part of the bottom 
 of the lake. Among the western Arabs, the idea has been 
 current that it came from among the cliffs along the eastern 
 shore. But both the eastern and western shores have now 
 been fully examined, and it is certain that the floating bitu- 
 men could only come from beneath the waters. The quarter 
 where the masses of 1834 and 1837 were discovered, would 
 suggest that they had been detached by the shocks from the 
 bottom of the southern bay, which apparently occupies what 
 was anciently the vale of Siddim, with its slime pits or wells 
 of bitumen.^ 
 
 Character of the Shores, The parallel chains of mountains 
 which shut in the Ghor, and between which the Dead Sea 
 lies sunk in its depressed chasm, assume just here an aspect 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 517 [II. p. 228]. Seetzen, Reisen, II. p. 372. 
 
 2 Gen. xiv. 3, 10. See above, p. 81. 
 
222 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 of unwonted nakedness and desolation, as well as of stern 
 and savage grandeur. Below are the sluggish waters of the 
 Sea of Deatli, devoid of all life-giving qualities ; and above 
 them the naked rocks and cliffs, often perpendicular, tower 
 to the height of twelve hundred and fifteen hundred feet. 
 The view from one of these, overhanging 'Ain Jidy, has 
 already been described. 
 
 The body of the mountains is everywhere yellowish lime- 
 stone, often verging into a dirty white. On the western 
 coast, there is much chalk and marl in various parts. 
 Tracts of low white conical or tent-shaped hills and short 
 ridges occur, of fantastic shape, as if the intervening earth 
 had been washed away by torrents, leaving behind only a 
 bleached skeleton, and presenting the aspect of a frightful 
 desert. Such a tract is seen in the south behind Jebel Us- 
 dum ; and another on the north of Ras el-Feshkhah.^ Along 
 the eastern shore there is much sandstone overlying the lime- 
 stone, as at the mouths of the Wadys cl-Mujib and Zerka 
 Ma'in, and further north ; also beds of marl ; and in the 
 northern part blocks of basalt, and lava of every form and 
 variety .2 
 
 The immediate shore of the lake, between the water and 
 the base of the cliffs, is nowhere more than a narrow strip. 
 On the western coast, the cliff el-Mersed, just north of 'Ain 
 Jidy, juts out into the sea, and admits of no passage around 
 it, except when the water is very low ; and then only with 
 difficulty .3 There is also no passage around Ras el-Fesh- 
 khah. With these two exceptions, there is a strip of land at 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 534, U. p. 103 [H. pp. 233, 475]. 
 
 2 Andei-son's Report, pp. 188-194. Seetzen, Reisen, IL p. 369. 
 
 3 Seetzen, Reisen, IL p. 239; comp. pp. 257, 258. Biblical Researches, I. p. 506 
 [II.p.212J. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 223 
 
 the base of the cliffs along the whole western coast. On the 
 eastern side, there is a like strand extending from the south- 
 ern end of the sea to the isthmus of the peninsula. North 
 of the isthmus, the cliffs are understood to rise, for the most 
 part, directly from the water ; and no path whatever exists 
 along the immediate shore. Seetzen, in 1807, travelled on 
 foot from the isthmus northward ; but was able to descend 
 to the water's edge only occasionally ; as at the mouths of 
 the Mojib and Zerka Ma'm.^ 
 
 The southern shore is an extensive flat or salt marsh, 
 setting far up towards the line of the Akrabbim or Scorpion 
 Cliffs. This marsh is regarded by tlie Arabs as impassable ; 
 and they travel only along the edge of the lake, or at the 
 base of the said "cliffs. So nearly is this tract a dead level, 
 that Lynch's boats, drawing only six inches of Avater, were 
 unable to approach within half a mile of the southern ex- 
 tremity At the north end of the sea the land is somewhat 
 higher, forming a level tract a few feet above the water, 
 varied only by a few slight swells. The surface of this plain 
 is everywhere a dust like ashes ; and is covered with a tliin, 
 smooth, nitrous crust, through which the feet of men and 
 horses break, and sink up to the ankles. ^ 
 
 The belt lying between the water and the high-water mark 
 along the shore, has already been described, as seen from the 
 cliffs above. It extends all around the lake, including the 
 shores of the peninsula, except along the flat at the south 
 end, and the cliffs in the northeast part ; and gives to the 
 whole the appearance of some great estuary or bay at the 
 time of ebb-tide.* 
 
 1 Seetzen, Reisen, II. pp. 363-373. 
 
 2 Anderson's Geological Report, p. 182. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 534, 555 [II. p. 254]. 4 gee above, p. 211. 
 
224 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Along the lower shore or strand, various minerals are 
 occasionally picked up in small quantities. Bits of bitumen 
 are sometimes, though rarely, found. Sulphur is oftener 
 met with on various parts of the shore and peninsula, in 
 pieces as large as an English walnut. The Arabs report that 
 it is found in the sea, near 'Ain el-Feshkhah, in lumps as 
 large as a man's fist ; and they collect enough to make from 
 it their own gunpowder. As this spot is nearly opposite the 
 hot springs of Callirrhoe, which deposit much sulphur, may 
 it not, perhaps, in part, be brought down from thence by 
 the stream into the sea ? Small lumps of nitre are also 
 picked up ; and larger pieces or balls of pumice-stone are 
 found along the western shore, coming doubtless from the 
 lava districts on the northeast coast. ^ 
 
 Back of the strand, we have in the south the masses of 
 fossil salt in Jebel Usdum ; and on the eastern shore, south 
 of the isthmus, Seetzen saw blocks of most beautiful brec- 
 cia and conglomerate, composed of granite, jasper, griinstein, 
 feldspath, of various colors ; as also blocks of jasper of a dark 
 olive green, etc. All these he supposes to have been brought 
 down by torrents from the ravines of the mountain.^ In 
 the hills on the northwestern quarter of the sea, is found the 
 famous stink-stone^ or ' stone of Moses,' as the Arabs call it, 
 a bituminous limestone which partially ignites in the fire and 
 emits a bituminous smell. It receives a high polish ; and is 
 much used in Jerusalem and Bethlehem for the manufacture 
 of rosaries and other trinkets and small articles, which are 
 largely purchased by the pilgrims. The chief locality of this 
 mineral is around Neby Mousa, and the neighboring Wady 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 512 [H. p. 221]. Anderson's Report, pp. 160, 176. 
 
 2 Seetzen, Reisen, IL p. 354. Corap. Irby and Mangles, p. 109. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 225 
 
 Kimcitirali, on the way from the north end of the Dead Sea 
 to Mar Saba.i 
 
 Along the western sliore there is much drift-wood, mostly 
 lying at high-water mark, several feet above the ordinary 
 level of the sea. Trunks of large trees are sometimes seen. 
 They come partly from the Jordan as it washes away its 
 banks ; and partly are brought down by torrents from the 
 ravines of the adjacent mountains.^ 
 
 The Peninsula. The most conspicuous feature of the Dead 
 Sea, as one looks down upon it from the western cliffs, is the 
 long, low, narrow peninsula, which occupies about the mid- 
 dle of the southern half of the lake, and is joined to the 
 eastern shore by a broad and lower isthmus. The western 
 line of the peninsula, between its northern and southern 
 points, is nearly straight, and about ten geographical miles 
 in length. The distance from the head of the northern bay 
 to the northern point, is about five geographical miles. The 
 breadth of the isthmus lying between the southern half of 
 the peninsula and the shore from north to south, is about the 
 same ; while from the middle of the western side to the east- 
 ern shore, or base of the mountains, is also about five geo- 
 graphical miles. 
 
 The direction of the peninsula is nearly from N. N. E. to 
 S. S. W., so that the northern point is twice as distant from 
 the western shore as the southern point ; the former being 
 about five geographical miles, and the latter about two and 
 a half. This forms the strait, or narrowest part of the sea, 
 connecting the deep northern portion with the shallower 
 southern bay. 
 
 As seen from the western cliffs, the peninsula appears as a 
 
 1 Anderson's Geological Report, pp. 155, 159. 
 
 2 Seetzen, Reisen, II. p. 241. Biblical Researches, I. p. 507 [II. p. 213J. 
 
 29 
 
226 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 long, low sand-bank. This however is not its real nature. 
 From north to south a steep white ridge runs like a spine 
 along its whole length. This ridge presents steep, sloping 
 sides, seamed and furrowed into deep hollows by the rains, 
 and terminating at the summit in sharp triangular points, 
 standing up like rows of tents ranged one above another. 
 The whole is of a substance apparently partaking of the 
 mixture of soft and broken chalk and slate, and is wholly 
 destitute of vegetation. The height of the ridge varies from 
 ten to about thirty feet above its base, becoming gradually 
 lower towards its northern extremity. The opposite sides 
 of the cliff present the same general appearance, and are of 
 equal height ; while adjacent to the isthmus it spreads out 
 into broader table-land. The elevation above the water is 
 from forty to eighty feet. 
 
 The peninsula itself is an accumulation of post-tertiary 
 deposits disposed horizontally. The beds of which it con- 
 sists are chiefly a friable carbonate of lime, intermixed with 
 sand and sandy marls. Fossil salt occurs in small quanti- 
 ties ; and the few minerals picked up along the strand are 
 similar to those found along the western shores, such as bits 
 of bitumen, small lumps of sulphur and nitre, and balls of 
 pumice-stone, etc. Salt is also deposited by the water on 
 the shore of the northern bay.^ 
 
 The surface of the isthmus proper is lower; it is well 
 watered, and exceedingly fertile. Directly upon it issues the 
 brook from Wady ed-Dera'ah, coming down from Kerak ; 
 its channel goes to the north bay, but several canals are led 
 from it for the purposes of irrigation. This brook Irby and 
 Mangles found flowing in June, though Lynch saw it dry 
 
 ^ Irby and Mangles, pp. 138-140. Anderson, Geological Report, pp. 184-187. 
 Biblical Researches, I. p. 520 [II. p. 232]. See above, pp. 218, 224. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 227 
 
 early in May. Another more permanent stream comes down 
 further north from Wady Beni Hamady into the north bay ; 
 and this too is used for irrigation. Portions of the isthmus 
 are cleared and cultivated ; the rest is scattered over with 
 thickets of shrubs and trees. Among these are acacias 
 (Scyal and Tiilh), the Dom or Nubk, the Zukkum, etc. Fur- 
 ther north, towards the bay, are tamarisks and a cane-brake 
 or jungle. On the isthmus, in the heart of the thicket, and 
 not visible in any direction beyond a few yards, is the miser- 
 able village of the Ghawarineh, who cultivate this tract. It 
 is called el-Mezra'ah ; and the isthmus around bears the name 
 of Ghor el-Mezra'ah.i 
 
 It is singular, that no mention of this peninsula has come 
 down to us from antiquity ; not an allusion to it occurs, so 
 far as known, in any ancient writer. The same is true of the 
 historians of the crusades ; though some of them must have 
 passed through this region. Seetzen is the earliest traveller 
 who reports the peninsula. He first saw it in the spring of 
 1806, from the western mountains, and took it for an island ; 
 but a year later he visited it, and entered it upon his map, 
 though not in its true form. This map was published by 
 Zach, and again by Kloden in 1817.^ In the year 1818, Irby 
 and Mangles (with Messrs. Banks and Legh) travelled from 
 Hebron around the south end of the sea, and so by way of the 
 isthmus to Kerak ; and again, on returning from Petra, they 
 descended from Kerak to the peninsula, and traversed the 
 whole of it. To them we are indebted for the first published 
 
 1 Seetzen, Reisen, II. pp. 350-352. Irby and Mangles, p. 138. Lynch, Narra- 
 tive, p. 352. 
 
 2 Seetzen, in Zach's Monatl. Corresp. XVIII. p. 438. Reisen, I. p. 429. Reisen, 
 IT. pp. 350-352. The map was published in Zach's Monatl. Corresp. Vol. XXII.; 
 also reduced in Kloden's Palaest., Berlin, 1817. 
 
228 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 account of tins remarkable feature of the Dead Sea.^ Later 
 travellers, and especially the United States' Expedition, have 
 delineated the ordinary form of the peninsula ; but its out- 
 line necessarily differs considerably in different seasons, ac- 
 cording to the higher or lower state of the water in the lake. 
 
 A second and very small peninsula, or low projection, is 
 found on the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, nearly 
 tlu'ee miles west of the mouth of the Jordan. It is a grav- 
 elly point with large stones upon it, connected with the 
 main shore by a low narrow neck. The whole has much 
 the appearance of a wharf or pier. When the sea is full, 
 the water overflows this isthmus ; and then the peninsula 
 presents the appearance of an island. As such it has been 
 reported by travellers.^ 
 
 Besides mistaking these peninsulas for islands, travellers 
 have sometimes been deceived by dark shadows resting on 
 the water. Irby and Mangles were several times thus de- 
 ceived. Once, when near Rabbath Moab, on the eastern 
 mountains, they saw, at sunset, a dark shade resting on the 
 sea, which assumed so exactly the appearance of an island, 
 that they did not doubt of it, even after looking through a 
 telescope.^ We ourselves, in descending the western cliffs 
 to 'Ain Jidy, saw near the opposite shore and north of the 
 peninsula, what seemed to be another long, dark-colored 
 shoal or sand-bank. On looking further, however, it proved 
 to be a spot of calm, smooth water, around which the rest 
 of the sea was covered with a ripple ; and the dark-brown 
 eastern mountains, being reflected in this mirror, gave to 
 
 1 Travels, pp. 109, 138-140. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, L p. 534. Lynch, Narrative, p. 270. Lands of the Mos- 
 lem, p. 280. Doubtless the island reported by Warburton, Crescent and the Cross, 
 IL p. 280; and by Wilson, Lands of the Bible, H. p. 21. 
 
 3 Travels, p. 141. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 229 
 
 it their own color. Yet, for the moment, the illusion was 
 complete, that a long, dark yellow sand-bank or island lay 
 before us.^ 
 
 Tlie Ford. Seetzen, in 1806, was the first to learn from 
 the Arabs of the eastern mountains, that a ford existed in 
 the Dead Sea, leading from the southern extremity of the 
 peninsula across to near the northern end of Usdum, not far 
 from the heap of stones called Um Zoghal. This ford was 
 said to be available only when the water of the lake was very 
 low ; and had, at that time, not been used for several years, 
 on account of the depth of the water. It is marked on his 
 map. Burckhardt, in 1812, heard a similar, but less definite 
 report. The Arab Sheikh who was our guide in 1838, af- 
 firmed that he had himself crossed by the same ford many 
 years before ; although now, and for several years, the water 
 was too deep to be forded. ^ 
 
 Irby and Mangles relate, that in descending from Kerak 
 to the peninsula, in 1818, they fell in with a small caravan 
 going to Hebron by way of the ford ; and while the travel- 
 lers were examining the northern part, this caravan crossed 
 the peninsula to the strait, which they forded. The travel- 
 lers soon after arrived at the same point ; saw the ford " in- 
 dicated by boughs of trees ;" and observed the caravan just 
 landed on the opposite side. The width of the strait they 
 judged to be a mile ; and as there were asses in the caravan, 
 the depth could not be very great.^ 
 
 We thus have testimony to the existence of two fords, 
 where the water of the sea is low. Lynch, in 1848, took 
 
 1 BibUcal Researches, I. p. 504 [II. p. 208]. 
 
 2 Seetzen, Reisen, 11. p. 358. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 394. Biblical Researches, 
 I. p. 521 [11. p. 235]. 
 
 3 Travels, p. 140. 
 
230 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 soundings in search of both ; but found neither. Yet on his 
 map the lines of the two fords, as laid down by Seetzen and 
 on our map, exhibit no figures or marks of soundings.^ 
 
 All this furnishes another indication that the waters of the 
 Dead Sea were higher in 1848 than they were in 1838; 
 and, further, that in 1818, when Irby and Mangles were 
 there, the lake was at its lowest point of ebb. At that time 
 the breadth and depth of the strait were so greatly dimin- 
 ished, as to leave it fordable. Nor is this surprising ; for, 
 as we have seen, the level of the sea varies from ten to fif- 
 teen feet in different years and different seasons. This vari- 
 ation depends on the fluctuations of the rainy seasons, and 
 the amount of water which falls annually along the upper 
 valleys and basins of the Jordan, and on the mountains and 
 deserts in the south as far as to the gulf of 'Akabah.^ 
 
 Navigation and Exploration. There is only the slightest 
 historical evidence, that in ancient times the Dead Sea was 
 ever navigated. Josephus, whom Tacitus likewise copies, in 
 his fabulous account of the asphaltum, speaks of it as being 
 gathered into boats ; but these might perhaps be regarded as 
 a feature of the fable.^ Josephus also relates that the Mo- 
 abites and Ammonites, in coming to make war upon king 
 Jehoshaphat, pitched at En-gedi, after passing (Sta/Saz^re?) 
 the lake ; but this might be around the lake, or by the ford, 
 and does not necessarily imply the passage of an army in 
 boats.* Again, the same writer informs us that Placidus, 
 who had pursued the routed Jews from Gadara to the 
 Asphaltic lake, placed soldiers in boats in order to de- 
 
 1 Lynch, Official Report, pp. 35, 3G. 
 
 2 See above, p. 209. 
 
 3 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 4. 8. 4. Tacitus, Hist., 5. 6. 
 
 * Joseph. Antiq., 9. 1. 2. Comp. 2 Chron. xx. 1, 2. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 231 
 
 stroy those who took refuge in the lake.^ Now these may 
 have been slight boats or rafts got up for the occasion ; or, at 
 most, they may have been skiffs on the Jordan belonging to 
 the towns Abila, Julias (Livias), and Besimoth, which lay 
 east of the Jordan near its mouth, and are mentioned in 
 the same connection. No other ancient notice is known to 
 exist ; and the above, at any rate, do not indicate any fre- 
 quent or permanent navigation of the lake. 
 
 About*the middle of the twelfth century, we find a notice 
 of like import in the Arabian geographer Edrisi. In speak- 
 ing of the Dead Sea, he says : One sees these small craft 
 intended to transport provisions and fruits from Zoar and 
 Darah (perhaps Wady Dera'ah) to Jericho and other places 
 of the Ghor."2 Obviously Edrisi here speaks only from 
 report. 
 
 The first to navigate the Dead Sea in modern times, was 
 Costigan, an Irish traveller, who, in July, 1835, had a small 
 boat carried over from the seacoast to the lake of Tiberias ; 
 and, with his Malt.ese servant, descended the Jordan to the 
 Dead Sea, as has been already related. He would seem not 
 to have proceeded further than the peninsula ; but returned 
 exhausted to the nortiiern shore ; and was carried up to Je- 
 rusalem to die. This was the sad and only result of his 
 voyage.^ 
 
 He was followed, in March, 1837, by Messrs. G. H. Moore 
 and W. G. Beke. They transported a light boat from Yafa 
 across the mountains, intending to survey the sea, and ex- 
 amine scientifically its peculiar features. After visiting vari- 
 
 1 Joseph. Bel. Jud,, 4, 7. 6: tovs els tV \lfjLU7{v KaTa(pevy6vTas. Comp. Reland, 
 Palaestina, p. 252. 
 
 2 Edrisi, par Jaubert, I. p. 338. 
 
 ■ 3 Biblical Researches, I. p. 229 [I. p. 337] . See above, p. 169. 
 
232 
 
 Pin^SICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 ous points Oil the lake, and making experiments in respect 
 to the boiling point of water, they were led, on account of 
 various obstacles, to discontinue their labors ; which were 
 never resumed. The only result of their enterprise yet 
 made known to the public, is the earliest discovery of the 
 depression of the Dead Sea; which they supposed to be 
 about five hundred feet.^ 
 
 Hardly more successful was the enterprise of Lieut. Moly- 
 neux ; who, after descending the Jordan, entered upon the 
 Dead Sea in the first days of September, 1847. He went as 
 far south as the neighborhood of the peninsula ; took three 
 deep soundings ; and, returning to the northern end, pro- 
 ceeded to Jerusalem ; but died soon after reaching his ship. 
 A full account of his voyage has already been given 
 
 The United States' Expedition, under the command of 
 Lieut. Lynch, after descending the Jordan with two metal 
 boats, entered the Dead Sea, April 18, 1848, and continued 
 on its shores until May 10 ; in all, twenty-two days. The 
 main objects of attention were : 1. The depth and depression 
 of the sea ; the former determined by many lines of sound- 
 ings ; and the latter by an engineer's level carried over to 
 the Mediterranean. 2. The form and extent of the lake, its 
 geographical position, and the character of the shores ; for 
 which purposes the whole line of coast was visited, and many 
 topographical sketches taken. 3. The character of the wa- 
 ters, and the mineral substances found in connection witli 
 the lake. 4. The temperature of the atmosphere, and its 
 various changes, etc. etc. 
 
 The examination was everywhere careful and thorough ; 
 and so complete, that a like investigation will hardly be 
 
 1 Journal of Royal Gcograph. Soc, VIL p. 456. 
 
 2 See above, pp. 109, 170. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 233 
 
 required for many years to come. A general account of the 
 Expedition has already been given above 
 
 Destruction of Sodom. With the Dead Sea is naturally 
 connected some reference to the catastrophe of Sodom and 
 the other cities of the plain. 
 
 It was a plausible idea which formerly prevailed, that the 
 Jordan, of old before the catastrophe of the plain, pursued 
 its way through the 'Arabah to the Red Sea at 'Akabah. 
 But the discovery of the great depression of the Dead Sea, 
 as well as of the whole Jordan valley and of a large portion 
 of the 'Arabah further south ; the northward inclination or 
 direction of all the lateral valleys along the 'Arabah; and 
 the fact that the water-courses of the high western des- 
 ert, from a point far south of 'Akabah, all run northwards 
 towards the Dead Sea ; — all these circumstances go to show 
 that the configuration of this region, in its main features, 
 is coeval with the present condition of the surface of the 
 earth in general ; and not the effect of any local catastrophe 
 at a later period. It follows, that the Dead Sea existed in its 
 deep chasm, as the terminus of the Jordan, long before the 
 historic period. 
 
 It seems, too, to be a necessary conclusion that the Dead 
 Sea anciently extended no further south than the peninsula ; 
 and that the cities destroyed lay on the south of the lake as 
 it then existed. Lot fled from Sodom to Zoar, which was 
 near and Zoar, as we know, was in the mouth of Wady 
 Kerak, as it opens upon the neck of the peninsula. The 
 fertile plain, therefore, which Lot chose for himself, where 
 Sodom was situated, and which was well watered like the 
 land of Egypt, lay also south of the lake, " as thou comest to 
 
 1 Lynch, Official Report, p. 42. See above, pp. 170, 171. 
 
 2 Gen. xix. 20. 
 
 30 
 
234 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Zoar." 1 Even to the present day, more living streams flow 
 into the Ghor, at the south end of the sea, from Wadys of 
 the eastern mountains, than are found so near together in 
 all Palestine besides. Tracts of exuberant fertility are still 
 seen along these streams ; as on this isthmus and around 
 es-Safieh ; though elsewhere the district around the southern 
 bay is mostly desert. 
 
 In the same plain were slime pits, that is, .wells or foun- 
 tains of bitumen or asphaltum, which appear to have been 
 of considerable extent. The tract in which they were im- 
 mediately situated is called the vale of Siddim, probably a 
 depression in the plain ; but it was adjacent to the Salt Sea, 
 and was at least near to Sodom and Gomorrah. ^ The 
 streams that anciently watered the plain, still attest the 
 accuracy of the sacred historian ; but the pits of asphaltum 
 are no longer to be seen. Did they disappear in the catas- 
 trophe of the plain ? 
 
 To this question various circumstances suggest an affirm- 
 ative reply. In the lapse of centuries the accumulations 
 of bitumen around the fountains and in layers, perhaps be- 
 neath the soil, had of course become great. We read, that 
 " the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim- 
 stone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; and he over- 
 threw those cities and all the plain ; " so that " the smoke 
 of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." ^ This 
 narrative is readily explained by supposing that in a tempest 
 of thunder and lightning, the accompaniments perhaps of 
 an earthquake or of some volcanic action, or of both, these 
 masses of bitumen were ignited by the lightning, and a 
 conflagration produced which not only destroyed the cities, 
 but also consumed and scooped out the surface of the plain 
 
 1 Gen, xui. 10,* 11. 2 Qen. xiv. 2, 3, 10. 3 Qen. xLx. 24, 25, 28. 
 
THE DEAD SEA. 235 
 
 itself; so that the waters of the lake, rushing in, spread 
 themselves out over the once fertile tract. This hypothesis 
 is rendered more probable by the fact, that while the north- 
 ern part of the lake has a depth of more than thirteen hun- 
 dred feet, the southern bay is nowhere more than twelve or 
 thirteen feet deep ; and also by the circumstance that the 
 masses of asphaltum still occasionally thrown up, appear to 
 come from this southern portion of the sea. In this miracu- 
 lous overthrow of the plain and its cities, Zoar, though near, 
 yet lying quite at the base of the eastern mountains, was 
 readily spared. ^ 
 
 Such, we may suppose, was the method of God's judgment 
 when, " turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into 
 ashes, he condemned them with an overthrow, making them 
 an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." ^ 
 
 That the southern bay of the sea does now thus occupy the 
 place of the vale of Siddim and the fertile plain, appears 
 further also from the language of the sacred writer, speaking 
 of the vale of Siddim, which is the Salt Sea." Josephus, 
 likewise, referring doubtless to the same passage, says ex- 
 pressly, that " upon the destruction of the city of Sodom, that 
 vale [of Siddim] became the Lake Asphaltitis." ^ He else- 
 where speaks of the country of Sodom as bordering on the 
 lake ; of old, he says, it Avas a prosperous land, but being 
 burnt with lightning, it is now scorched throughout. This 
 account applies well to Usdum ; the salt from which, as also 
 from the shore, was well known among the ancients by the 
 name of salt of Sodom.^ 
 
 1 Gen. xix. 20, 22. See Biblical Researches, IL pp. 187-192 [II. pp. 601-608]. 
 
 2 2 Pet. ii. 6. 
 
 3 Gen. xiv. 3. Joseph. Antiq., 1. 9. Comp. Bel. Jud., 4. 8. 4. 
 
 4 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 4. a 4. Galen de Simpl. Med. Fac, IV. p. 19. Reland, 
 Palaestina, p. 243. 
 
236 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Apples of Sodom. To this same region belong likewise 
 those far-famed fruits 
 
 " which grew 
 Near that bituminous lake where Sodom stood." 
 
 Josephus, after speaking of the conflagration of the plain, as 
 above, and the yet remaining tokens of the divine fire, goes 
 on to say, that " there are still to be seen ashes reproduced in 
 the fruits ; which indeed resemble edible fruits in color, but 
 on being plucked with the hands, are dissolved into smoke 
 and ashes." ^ On arriving at 'Ain Jidy, in 1838, one of the 
 first objects that attracted our attention, was a tree with 
 shigular fruit, which at once suggested to our minds the 
 famous apples of Sodom. This was the 'Oslier of the Arabs, 
 the Asclepias gigantea v. procera of botanists ; which is found 
 in Arabia Felix and also in Upper Egypt and Nubia ; but 
 appears to be confined, in Palestine, to the borders of the 
 Dead Sea. There are several trees at 'Ain Jidy ; and they 
 are frequent and of large size on the isthmus of tlie penin- 
 sula, and at the south end of the lake.^ 
 
 The trees which we saw at 'Ain Jidy were six or eight 
 inches in diameter, or from a foot and a half to two feet 
 round ; the height being from ten to fifteen feet. The tree 
 has a grayish, cork-hke bark, with long, oval leaves ; and, in 
 its general appearance and character, might be taken for a 
 gigantic perennial species of the milk-weed or silk-weed of 
 the northern American States. Its leaves and flowers are 
 very similar to those of the latter plant ; and when broken 
 ofi", it in like manner discharges copiously a milky fluid. 
 The fruit resembles externally, a large, smooth apple or 
 orange, hanging in clusters of three or four together ; and 
 
 1 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 4. 8. 4. Comp. Tacitus, Hist., 5. G. 
 
 2 L-by and Mangles, pp. 108, 138. 
 
THE DE.VD SEA. 
 
 237 
 
 wlicn ripe is of a yellow color. It was, at tliat season, fair 
 and delicious to the eye, and soft to the touch ; but on being 
 pressed or struck, it exploded with a puff, like a bladder or 
 puff-ball, leaving in the hand only the shreds of the thin rind 
 and a few fibres. It is indeed filled chiefly with air, like a 
 bladder, which gives it the round form ; while in the centre 
 a small slender pod runs through it from the stem, and is 
 connected by thin filaments with the rind. The pod con- 
 tains a small quantity of fine silky fibres with seeds ; pre- 
 cisely like the pod of the silk-weed, though hardly a tenth 
 part so large. The Arabs collect the silk, and twist it into 
 matches for their guns. 
 
 Comparing now the above account of Josephus, and mak- 
 ing due allowance for the marvellous in all popular reports, 
 we find in it nothing which does not apply almost literally 
 to the fruit of the 'Osher, as here described. It is very deli- 
 cate, and must be handled with great care. We attempted 
 to carry some of the boughs and fruit to Jerusalem ; but 
 without success.^ 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 522 [II. p. 235]. Seetzen, in Zach's Monatl. Corresp., 
 XVIII. p. 442. Reisen, II. p. 231 sq. Irby and Mangles, p. 450. Comp. Bro 
 cardus, c. 7. p. 180. Fulcher Carnot., in Gesta Dei, p. 405. 
 
238 
 
 PHYSICAL 
 
 GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY 
 
 LAND. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 FOUNTAINS. 
 
 We have already referred to the description of the Prom- 
 ised Land given by Moses to the children of Israel : " For 
 the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of 
 brooks of water, of Fouxtaixs and depths that spring out of 
 valleys and hills." ^ This was spoken in contrast to the land 
 of Egypt, where there are no fountains nor brooks ; wliile 
 Palestine, in comparison, is truly a country well watered 
 with living springs on its hills and in its valleys. But 
 Moses was not comparing the Land of Promise with other 
 mountainous or more occidental regions, where fountains 
 and streams are sometimes still more abundant and lasting. 
 
 Thus it has happened, that sojourners and travellers from 
 the west, from Italy, Germany, and England, have often 
 been struck with the penury of living waters in Palestine 
 and the apparent infrequency of fountains in the parts vis- 
 ited by them. Jerome, coming from Dalmatia and Italy, 
 and sojourning in Bethlehem, writes : " In these places 
 where we now dwell, except small fountains, all the water is 
 from cisterns ; and if divine wrath should suspend the rains, 
 there is more danger of thirst than of famine." ^ In like 
 
 1 Deut. viii. 7. See above, p. 142. 
 
 2 Hieronymus, Comm. in Amos iv. 7: "In his enim locis inquibus nunc elcgi- 
 mus, praeter parvos fontes omnes cisternarum aquae sunt; et si imbres divina 
 ira suspenderit, magis sitis quara famis periculura est." 
 
FOUNTAINS. 
 
 239 
 
 manner Rosenmiieller dwells on the scarcity of living waters 
 in the Holy Land ; and refers to the traveller Korte, who 
 found only eight or ten copious fountains in the whole coun- 
 try ; and the streamlets from these did not flow for more 
 than eighty or a hundred paces. ^ This testimony is doubt- 
 less true, as to what Korte himself saw ; and probably there 
 have been travellers who liave seen still fewer fountains. It 
 is also true, that the streams from many fountains become 
 dry in summer, like the beds of the winter-brooks ; and that 
 the smaller fountains themselves sometimes disappear dur- 
 ing the summer season, in consequence of the long absence 
 of rain. Still, it will not be hard to show that the language 
 of Moses above quoted is entirely correct, as to the many 
 fountains of Palestine as compared with Egypt. 
 
 There are, in the Old Testament, quite a number of cities 
 which take their names from fountains in or near them ; in 
 the English Version, the Hebrew ^Ai?i (fountains) is given 
 by En. Thus we have Eii-g-ecli, now 'Ain Jidy^ with its 
 noble fountain ; En-gannim, now Jenin, with a fountain 
 equally noble ; En-dor, opposite Tabor ; also En-gannim, in 
 Judah, not yet identified ; - En-haddah in Issachar, not yet 
 identified, but apparently not far from En-gannim ; ^ En-ha- 
 zor, not yet identified, but named with Hazor and Kedesh 
 of Naphthali ; and probably not far from the Huleh ; * En- 
 mishpat, or Kadesh-barnea ; En-eglaim, not yet identified.-^ 
 Further, the word ^ Ain itself stands as the name of a city 
 in Simeon, not yet identified.^ We find likewise Anem, 
 ' two fountains,' a city of Issachar, the same with En-gan- 
 
 1 Rosenm., Bibl. Geograph., II. i. p. 214. Korte, pp. 139, 378. 
 
 2 Josh. XV. 34. 3 Josh. xix. 21. 
 
 * Josh. xix. 37. 5 Ezek. xlvii. 10. 
 
 « Josh. xxi. 16; 1 Chron. iv. 32. 
 
240 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 nim ; ^ also Enam and Anim, both signifying * two fountains,' 
 and both in Jiidah ; the first not yet identified, and the lat- 
 ter probably now el-Ghuwein.^ In the New Testament, the 
 name Enon^ where John was baptizing, is a plural form, 
 signifying ' fountains ; ' where, of course, there was much 
 water for the supply of the multitudes. ^ 
 
 Scripture also speaks of several fountains bearing their 
 own proper names, or else named from an adjacent place. 
 Such arc En-shemesh, on the border of Judali and Benja- 
 min, not improbably the present 'Ain el-Hand, in Wady el- 
 Hand, half an hour east of Bethany, known also as the foun- 
 tain of the apostles ; * En-Rogel and Siloam, in the valley of 
 Jehoshaphat; JE'w-^Za/tom (Engl. Dragon-well), perhaps the 
 same witli Gihon, on the west of Jerusalem ; ^ En-Harod 
 (Engl, well of Harod), in the valley of Jezreel, perhaps a 
 place of fountains and mills, east of 'Ain Jalud ;^ En-tappuah, 
 belonging to the city Tappuah.'^ There arc also mentioned : 
 a fountain at Jezreel, now 'Ain Jalud;^ one at Jericho, 
 where Elisha healed the waters, now 'Ain es-Sultan ; ^ and 
 the ' fountain of the water of Nephtoah,' on the border be- 
 tween Judah and Benjamin, west of Jerusalem, now prob- 
 ably 'Ain Karim.i^ Josephus also speaks of springs at Etam, 
 now tlrtas, with its fine fountain ; and mentions likewise 
 the fountain of Capernaum.^^ 
 
 1 1 Chron. vi. 73 [58] ; comp. Josh. xix. 21, xxi. 29. 
 
 ^ Enam, Josh. xv. 34; Anim, Josh. xv. 50. Comp. Biblical Researches, 11. 
 p. 204 [XL P.G25.] 
 
 8 John ii. 23. * Josh. xv. 7, xviii. 17. E. Smith's manuscript Notes. 
 * Neh. iii.l3. « Judg. vii. 1. Later Biblical Researches, p. 338. 
 
 7 Josh. xvii. 7, comp. v. 8. « i Sam. xxix. 1. 
 
 9 2 Kings ii. 21. 
 
 10 Josh. XV. 9, xviii. 15. See above, pp. 45, 46. 
 
 n 1 Chron. iv. 32; 2 Chron. xi. 6. Joseph. Antiq., 8. 7. 3. 
 12 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 8. 
 
FOUNTAINS. 
 
 241 
 
 Besides these fountains, referred to in Scripture, there are, 
 at the present day, very many others, few of which compara- 
 tively have been seen or reported by travellers. It is to be 
 regretted, tliat so little attention has generally been given 
 by travellers, ourselves among the rest, to ascertain the 
 manner in which each village is supplied with water. In the 
 case of many villages, the word ^Ain now forms a part of the 
 Arabic name, and would, a priori^ imply the existence of a 
 fountain in every such place. But in many cases of this 
 class, this docs not hold true. Thus the ancient Beth-she- 
 mesh is now 'Ain Shems, but there is no fountain near ; at 
 'Ain Sinai, north of Gophna, there is a well, but no foun- 
 tain ; and at' Ain Yebrdd, north of el-Bireh, no fountain is re- 
 ported. Still, an enumeration of the fountains known to 
 exist in any district, which has been tolerably explored, will 
 serve to show that there are many more of these sources of 
 living water than has usually been supposed. 
 
 We take the environs of Jerusalem, in a circuit of eight 
 or ten miles around the city ; but jiot including the foun- 
 tains of the city itself. Beginning at Beitin {Bethel), on the 
 great road north, we find there two fountains within the lim- 
 its of the ancient reservoir ; and on the way to el-Bireli 
 (^Beeroth), there are two more.^ El-Bireh has its fountains; 
 and there is one near Jufnah, in the deep valley northwest. 
 Passing now to the w^est of the great road, there is at el-Jib 
 ( Giheon) a fountain in a cavern ; on the hill of Neby Sam- 
 wil there are several small sources below the summit on both 
 sides ; and Kuryet el-'Enab has also its fountain. Return- 
 
 1 For the fountains here enumerated, the reader is referred, pjenerally, to tho 
 Biblical Researches and Later Biblical Researches, Index, 'Ain, etc.; Tobler's 
 Dritte "Wanderung, Index, 'Ain, etc.; Barclay's City of the Great King, pp. 
 544-560. 
 
 31 
 
242 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 ing to the great valley, "Wady Beit Haiima, we find quite a 
 number of fountains along its sides ; as, on the west, at the 
 ruin Beit Tulma, at KulSnieh, and at Sataf ; and, on the east, 
 'Ain Lifta, 'Ain er-B,awas, 'Ain Karim (^Nephtoali) , 'Ain el- 
 Habis (St. John's in the Desert), one at Khirbet el-Lauz, and 
 'Ain Shukaf below Sataf. Passing from Jerusalem down 
 Wady el-Werd, we find 'Ain Yalo, 'Ain Haniyeli (St. Phil- 
 ip's), one at Welejeh, and the copious source at Bittir; as 
 also one at el-Husan on the hills south. Just north of el- 
 Khudr is the small source of Hand Kibriyan ; above Solo- 
 mon's Pools is the sunken fountain that feeds them ; twenty- 
 five minutes below the same pools is the very copious source 
 at Urtas ; and further south is the small fountain at Beit 
 Faghar, the ancient Phagor or Phogor. On the east of the 
 great road, beginning at the north, we have the large foun- 
 tain in Wady Farah, below Hizmeh ; ^ 'Ain el-Hand (^Eti- 
 shemesli)^ east of Bethany ; a small fountain at Sur Bahil ; 
 and the fine one at Tekoa. 
 
 Here, then, are no less than thirty permanent fountains 
 of living water ; some of them large and copious, as at Lifta, 
 'Ain Karim, Urtas, and in Wady Farah. Several others 
 are reported, but smaller and probably less permanent. 
 Now, while it may be true, that no other district in Pales- 
 tine has been so fully explored ; and therefore it may not be 
 possible, in any other tract of like extent, to name so many 
 fountains ; yet the preceding enumeration shows that Moses 
 liad sufficient ground to speak of Palestine, in comparison 
 with Egypt, as a land of fountains. 
 
 In further speaking of the fountains of Palestine, we name 
 only the more important ones, following our usual order. 
 
 1 Barclay, p. 558. 
 
FOUNTAINS IN OR NEAR THE WESTERN PLAIN. 
 
 243 
 
 I. FOUNTAINS IN OR NEAR THE WESTERN PLAIN. 
 
 On the way south from .Tyre, after passing Ras el-Abyad, 
 there is a fine source on the shore near the remains of 
 the ancient Alexandroschoene ; and after crossing E,as en- 
 Nakurali, there are copious fountains at 'Ain el-Mush eirifeh 
 near the southern base. At el-Kabireh in the plain, is the 
 source, whence Jezzar Pasha supplied water for 'Akka by 
 his aqueduct. Southeast of 'Akka, at the extremity of one 
 of the projecting hills, a fountain furnishes water to the vil- 
 lage of Birweh ; and there are probably other fountains at 
 the foot of the more northern hills. Still further south, in the 
 plain, are the large fountains at Tell Kurdany, driving several 
 mills, and forming the source of the river Na'man or Be- 
 lus.^ At the base of Carmel, where it is skirted by the same 
 plain of 'Akka, are the extensive permanent sources of the 
 river el-Mukutta', the continuation or perennial lower, part 
 of the Kishon.2 
 
 On the southwestern slope of Carmel, the fertility and 
 beauty of the region would seem to indicate frequent foun- 
 tains ; and a fine one is noted at Um esh-Shukaf.^ The 
 fact that there are several permanent streams on the north 
 and south of Cesaraea, would also seem to imply fountains 
 along the base of the eastern hills ; but none are reported. 
 At Ras el-' Ain, near Mejdel Yaba, northeast of Yafa, are the 
 great fountains of the river 'Aujeh, already described.* At 
 Yalo QAjalon) is a fountain which supplies the village ; and 
 at 'Amwas (^Nicopolis) there are two sources of living 
 water.^ 
 
 1 See above, p. 187. 2 See above, p. 190. 
 
 * Van de Velde, Mem., p. 107. •* See above, p. 193. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, pp. 144, 146. 
 
244 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 The village of Sur'ah ( Zorali) is supplied by a noble foun- 
 tain, on the low ground, fifteen minutes north ; it is walled 
 up square with large hewn stones, and gushes over with fine 
 water, sending a brook down the valley. In 1852 we saw 
 twelve women, each with a jar of water from this fountain 
 on her head, toiling up the steep ascent to the village. In 
 the same manner, in ancient times, the mother of Samson 
 probably bore water from this fountain to her home.^ 
 
 At 'AUar es-Sifia, east of Beit Nettif, is a fine fountain, 
 watering a tract of gardens and fruit trees.^ Another, 'Ain 
 Faris, exists at Nuhalin, further east.^ 
 
 In all probability there are similar fountains further south, 
 among these lower hills along the plain ; but they are not 
 reported.. 
 
 n. FOUNTAINS OF THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF JORDAN. 
 
 North of the Plain of Esdraelon. At Kedesh of Naphthali 
 are two copious fountains, one south and the other north of 
 the village. Just below the fortress of Tibnin, in the north, 
 is 'Ain el-Mizrab. At some distance from Ramah of Asher 
 is a fountain, from which the village is supplied in summer.* 
 Near el- Jish there are small springs ; also a large one south 
 of MeirSn ; and one is reported at el-Bukeia, west of the 
 mountain.^ 
 
 The large fountain of Seffurieli is celebrated in the his- 
 tory of the crusades ; it is situated nearly half an hour south- 
 
 1 Judg. xiii. 2-24. Later Biblical Researches, p. 153. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. p. 14 [IL p. 340]. 
 
 3 Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, p. 115. 
 
 4 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 3G6, 377. Ibid., p. 57. Ibid., p. 63. 
 
 « Biblical Researches, II. p. 446 [III. p. 369]. Later Biblical Researches, p. 73. 
 Ibid., p. 76. 
 
FOUNTAINS OF THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF JORDAN. 245. 
 
 east of the village, towards Nazareth ; and by it the hosts of 
 the crusaders and of the Muslims alternately encamped.^ 
 At Nazareth is the small public fountain, which supplies the 
 village ; where the females are seen waiting their turn to fill 
 their jars. The source itself is under the Greek church. ^ 
 At Hattin a fine fountain bursts forth under the western end 
 of the Tell. Within Khan et-Tujjar there is a spring of 
 water ; and a larger fountain exists five or ten minutes fur- 
 ther south, which sends a stream of water down the valley.^ 
 
 In and around the Plain of Esdraelon. In the northwest- 
 ern part of the great plain, in passing eastward near the 
 base of the northern hills, several small streams occur, im- 
 plying fountains on the left. In the plain itself, between 
 Tell Shemmam and Lejjun, there are small fountains and 
 marshy tracts on both sides of the Kishon.^ From Lejjun 
 northwestward. Dr. Eli Smith travelled in 1844, near the 
 base of the hills on the left ; he crossed several small 
 streams and saw two or three copious fountains, the names 
 of which he did not learn. ^ 
 
 At Solam (^Shuneni), on the western end of Little Ilcrmon 
 is a small fountain. In the upper part of the valley of Jezreel 
 are two or three large ones, sending forth the stream which 
 flows down that valley. One rises just under the rocky wall 
 below Zerin (^Jezreel), and supplies that place ; it is called 
 'Ain el-Meiyiteh. Twenty minutes further down the valley 
 is 'Ain Jalud, a very large fountain, flowing out from under, 
 a sort of cavern in the wall of conglomerate rock, which 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, IL p. 345 [III. p. 203J. Later Biblical Researches, p. 11'^. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. p. 336 [III. p. 188]. 
 
 8 Biblical Researches, II. p. 378 [III. p. 249]. Ibid., IL p. 369 [HI. p. 236]. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, pp. 115, 116. 
 
 * Manuscript Journal. , > i 
 
24G 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 here forms the northern base of Mount Gilboa. The water 
 is excellent, and spreads out at once into a fine limpid pool, 
 forty feet or more in diameter, in which are great numbers of 
 small fish. From this reservoir, a stream sufficient to turn a 
 mill flows off eastward down the valley. This is, no doubt, 
 the ancient ' fountain in Jezreel,' where Saul and Jonathan 
 pitched before their last fatal battle ; and where, too, in the 
 days of the crusades, Saladin and the Christians successively 
 encamped. 1 About an hour further east are two fountains, 
 one on each side of Tell Sheikh Hasan, near the mountain ; 
 that on the west, called er-E,ahhaniyeh, is the largest, and 
 sends a mill-stream down the valley to join the Jalud.^ 
 
 On the southern side of the great plain, are several foun- 
 tains. One is at Jenin, having its source in the hills back 
 of the place, and is brought down so as to issue in a noble 
 stream in the midst of the village. It is built up with plain 
 but good masonry ; and the water flows off northwest to- 
 wards the Kishon.3 There is also the fountain of Lejjun, a 
 short distance southwest of the ruins ; which sends down a 
 stream, at first eastwardly, with several mills upon it. The 
 brook then passes off into the plain, where it goes to join the 
 Kishon, of which it is the largest arm.^ 
 
 8outh of the Plain of Esdraelon. At the southern base of 
 Tell Dothan, in the plain of Dothan, is a fountain, called el- 
 Huf ireh.^ There is likewise a fine one at Jeba' ; and several 
 smaller ones near the village of Fendekumieh.^ 
 
 The city of Nabulus (^Shechem) is more abundantly watered 
 
 1 1 Sam. xxix. L Biblical Researches, IL pp. 323, 324 [HL pp. 1G7, 108]. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 338. Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 139. 
 8 Biblical Researches, H. p. 3ir) [HL p. 154] . 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, p. 112. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, p. 122. 
 
 6 Biblical Researches, H. p. 312 [HI. pp. 150, 151]. 
 
FOUNTAINS OF THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF JORDAN. 247 
 
 •by fountains and wells of living water, than any other spot 
 in Palestine. Besides the three fountains east of the town, 
 near the mouth of the valley, the inhabitants boast of not 
 less than eighty overflowing springs in and around the city. 
 Very many of these, probably, are nothing more than smaller 
 branches from larger fountains, brought down by under- 
 ground conduits to particular points of the city. In several 
 of the streets water is constantly flowing. The water of all 
 the fountains in and just around the city runs westward 
 towards the Mediterranean ; and forms a brook with many 
 mills along the valley ; which late in April, 1852, was flow- 
 ing as far as to 'Anebta.^ 
 
 The main fountain within the city is 'Ain el-Kariun, which 
 issues from under an ancient vault, to which there is a de- 
 scent by a long flight of steps. The water is carried by sub- 
 terranean channels to several of the mosques, and many pri- 
 vate houses. The water of this and the other city fountains 
 are again collected in the western part of the town, where 
 they drive a mill both in summer and winter, and then go to 
 water the gardens west of the city. 
 
 Outside of the city of Nabulus there are on the south 
 three copious fountains, Ras el-' Ain, 'Aiii. el-Murasrasu, and 
 'Ain el-'Asal ; the two former upon the skirts of Gerizim, in 
 or near the ravine which here comes down from the moun- 
 tain ; the latter lower down, among the gardens in this 
 quarter. West of the city are 'Ain el-Kasab, in the bottom 
 af the valley near the western gate ; 'Ain Beit lima fifteen 
 minutes further west at the base of Ebal ; and a smaller 
 fountain at Rafidia. 
 
 All these fountains belong to the western slope of the 
 
 1 For an account of the fountains in and around Nabulus, see Rosen, in Zeit- 
 schr. der Deutschen morg. Gesellschaft, 1860, XIV. p. 636 sq. 
 
248 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 "watershed of the valley, on which Nabulus is situated. The 
 abundance of water lias given occasion for extensive gardens 
 and orchards on the south and west of the city, comprising 
 a great variety of vegetables and fruits, and presenting a 
 scene of luxuriant verdure elsewhere unparalleled in the 
 Holy Land. 
 
 East of the city the ground slopes eastward, and is at first 
 hard and stony, and planted with olive trees. Twenty min- 
 utes from the city is 'Ain Defneh, gushing up in the middle 
 of the valley, furnished with a reservoir, surrounded by a 
 garden, of four or five acres, and sending forth a stream large 
 enough for a mill. In the village Belatah, half an hour be- 
 low the city and in the southern part of the mouth of the 
 valley, is a large fountain, 'Ain Belatah, hardly a bow-shot 
 distant from Jacob's well ; it is very copious, and its stream 
 turns a mill just below. 'Ain 'Askar belongs to the deserted 
 village 'Askar on the southeast corner of Ebal, also about 
 half an hour distant from Nabulus. This fountain is smaller ; 
 the water issues from a long low vault running in under 
 Ebal, and flows into a broken reservoir. The vault and 
 reservoir are of ancient workmanship.- The water of all 
 these three fountains goes to join the water-bed of the plain 
 Mukhna, which runs northward to Wady Fari'a, and so to 
 the Jordan.! 
 
 Beyond the Mukhna, in the northwestern part of the lit- 
 tle plain which there runs up eastward, is the village of Sa- 
 lim, with two sources of living water ; one in a cavern, and 
 the other a running fountain called 'Ain Kebir, ' the great 
 fountain.' ^ Further southeast beyond the hills is the small 
 source called 'Ain Yanun ; and at Daumeh, near the brow 
 
 1 On all these fountains see Rosen, as referred to in the preceding note. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 298. 
 
FOUNTAINS OF THE HILL-COUNTRY WEST OF JORDAN. 249 
 
 of the Jordan valley, is a village fountain.^ Near Deir Es- 
 tieh, southwest of Nabulus, several fountains spring up in 
 the bottom of Wady Kanah, whieh is there wide and culti- 
 vated.2 At Khan el-Lubban on the great northern road is 
 a fine fountain and stream; and near Serlun (^SJdloli), not 
 far southeast, is likewise a living spring.^ Proceeding on the 
 great road towards Jerusalem, we find the small source 'Ain 
 el-Haramiyeh, two hours north of el-Bireh.^ 
 
 We come now to the fountains, thirty in number, already 
 enumerated, within eight or ten miles of the Holy City ; ex- 
 tending from Beitm and el-Bireli in the north to Tekoa and 
 Beit Faghur in the south.^ 
 
 Further south few fountains are known, except on and 
 just around Hebron. Two hours north of Hebron, by the 
 side of the great road, near Beth-zur, is the small fountain 
 ed-Dirweh, which an early tradition reports as the place of 
 Philip's baptism of the eunuch ; just by it are the remains 
 of an ancient church.^ An hour west of Hebron, on the 
 way to Dura, is the small fountain 'Ain Nunkur, and another 
 place of springs beyond. These waters are collected and 
 conducted to the valley north, where they issue from a sub- 
 terranean channel, and are used to irrigate gardens. 'Ain 
 Nunkur is a little east of south from Dewirban (Z)e6iV),and 
 may have some relation to the " upper and nether springs," 
 which Caleb gave to his daughter."^ East of Dewirban in 
 Wady el-Joz is another small spring, 'Ain el-Bassa. 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 293, 297. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 135. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, IL pp. 2G9, 271 [HI. pp. 86, 90]. 
 
 * Porter's Handbook, pp. 327, 328. 5 See above, pp. 241, 242. 
 
 6 Acts viii. 38 sq. Later Biblical Researches, p. 277. 
 
 ' Josh. XV. 19. Biblical Researches, II. p. 213 [III. p. 2J. Rosen, in Zeitschr. 
 der Deutschen morg. Gesellschaft, XI. p. 5G. 
 32 
 
250 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Ill Hebron itself and its immediate vicinity, Rosen 
 marks on Lis Plan no less than twelve fountains, mostly 
 small, but some of them tolerably copious. Such are, 'Ain 
 el-Jcdid on the hill west of the town, an unfailing spring of 
 fine water in a vault of ancient masonry, to which there is a 
 descent by steps ; ^ 'Ain cl-Kaslikaleli just out of the city on 
 the north, the waters of which are carried by pipes to the 
 Haram ; - 'Ain Sara further north, near the Jerusalem road ; 
 and 'Ain Kena'a, still more to the north and northwest, near 
 Kliurbet en-Nusarah.-'^ 
 
 In spite of its many living fountains, it would appear that 
 Hebron was dependent to a great extent on its rock-hewn 
 cisterns. Many of these still remain, and some are of great 
 extent. 
 
 in. FOUNTAINS IN AND NEAR THE GHOR. 
 
 The great fountains of the Jordan at Hasbeiya, Tell 
 el-Kady, Banias, and elsewhere, have already been described. 
 The region of the Ghor has been, perhaps, less fully explored 
 than any other part in respect to its sources of water ; and 
 many springs doubtless exist, which have never been re- 
 ported. The main fountains burst forth at the foot of the 
 mountains on each side of the Ghor. 
 
 West of the Jordan. On the west side of the basin of the 
 Huleh, several fountains issue at the foot of the hills ; the 
 streams from which run into the marsh. That called 'Amu- 
 diyeli is of considerable size ; but 'Ain Belateh is much 
 
 1 Rosen, in Zeitsch. der Deutschen raorg. GescUschaft, XII. p. 480. Biblical 
 Researches, II. p. 74 [II. p. 433]. 
 
 2 Rosen, in Zcitscli. der Deutsclien mors- Gesellschaft, XII. p. 481. Not 'Ain 
 Eskali, as Van do Vclde has it, from which he makes out the ancient name i's/icoZ. 
 See above, p. 121. 
 
 8 Rosen, in Zeitsch. der Deutschen morg. Gesellschaft, XII. pp. 485, 486. 
 
FOUNTAINS IN AND NEAR THE GHOR. 
 
 251 
 
 larger, half an hour further south, and an hour north of 
 Melluhah.^ At the latter spot, 'xV.in el-Mellahah is quite 
 large, and forms a pool of a hundred feet or more in diame- 
 ter, the water from which drives several mills, and flows to 
 the lake at its northwestern corner, perhaps a mile distant. 
 The water is brackish, and slightly warm.^ 
 
 At several of the villages lying along on the side of the 
 western hills further south, are small fountains ; as at Mu- 
 ghar and Kuba'a.^ 
 
 There are several important fountains along the western 
 shore of the lake of Tiberias. The northernmost cluster of 
 these is at et-Ta.bighah (^Bethsaidd) , now as of old a place 
 of fishermen. There are here several large sources bursting 
 forth from the foot of the hill just back of the village ; their wa- 
 ter, too, is brackish and slightly warm. It is used to turn one 
 or two mills ; and there are several others in ruins. Around 
 the main fountain there is an ancient Roman reservoir, oc- 
 tagonal in form and of great solidity, but now in ruins. It 
 was obviously built in order to raise the water to a certain 
 height for an aqueduct. The head of water was sufficient to 
 carry it around the point of the opposite hill, wiiere there is 
 a channel cut in the rock, and so into the northern part of 
 the plain el-Ghuweir, or Gennesareth, for irrigation. The 
 aqueduct was probably of wood ; no trace of it now remains. 
 Just west of the mills, near the shore, is a smaller brackish 
 fountain, enclosed by a wall or small reservoir, and called 
 Tannur Eyub, ' Job's oven.' * 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. p. 435 [III. p. 341]. Thomson, Land and Book, I. 
 p. 394. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. p. 435 [III. p. 341]. Thomson, Land and Book, 1. 
 p. 398. 
 
 3 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 3G2, 3G3. 
 
 * Biblical Researches, II. p. 405 [III. p. 20C]. Later Biblical Researches, p. 345. 
 
252 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 A good half-mile south of et-Tabighah, just at the south- 
 ern base of the rocky promontory or bluff above mentioned, 
 and at the northeastern corner of the fine plain el-Ghuweir, 
 the Gennesareth of Josephus, is the copious spring 'Ain et- 
 Tm, close by the ruined Khan Minyeh, and near to the heaps 
 of rubbish and ruins whicli mark the site of Capernaum. 
 The fountain sends forth an abundance of sweet and pleasant 
 water, neither brackish nor warm. It is so near the lake, 
 that when the latter is full, it sets up nearly or quite to the 
 fountain. The tract around the latter was covered, in May, 
 1852, with hixuriant clover.^ This appears to be the foun- 
 tain which, according to Josephus, was called Kapharnaum ; 
 and by all analogy it must have been the fountain of the 
 place which he elsewhere calls Kepharnome (Capernaum). 
 The place and the fountain bore the same name, and be- 
 longed together ; and the latter was in the plain of Gennesa- 
 reth, and was held to be a vein of the Nile.^ This argument 
 is conclusive to show that Capernaum was in the same plain, 
 and was situated here at Khan Minyeh ; and not at Tell 
 Hum, as some suppose. There is no fountain whatever at 
 Tell Hum, nor within two miles of it. 
 
 In the western part of the same plain el-Ghuweir, at the 
 base of the hills, a little west of north from Mejdel, is the 
 large 'Ain el-Mudauwarah, or * Round Fountain.' It is 
 enclosed by a low wall of hewn stones, forming an oval res- 
 ervoir more than fifty feet in diameter. The water in it is 
 perhaps two feet deep, beautifully limpid and sweet, bubbling 
 up and flowing out rapidly in a large stream to water the 
 plain below.3 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 344. 
 
 2 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 8. Vita, § 72. Later Biblical Researches, p. 350. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, IL p. 400 [III. p. 283]. 
 
FOUNTAINS IN AND NILVE THE GIIOR. 
 
 253 
 
 Halfway between Mcjdel and Tiberias, a little Wady breaks 
 down to the lake, and forms a small space of arable plain 
 along the shore, which is tilled as a garden. In the lower 
 part, just by the beach, is a cluster of five or six fountains, 
 one of which is quite large and copious. The water is clear, 
 slightly brackish, and also slightly warm. The place is called 
 'Ain el-Barideh, ' Cold Spring,' in distinction from the hot 
 springs south of Tiberias. Another name is Fuliych. Each of 
 the fountains was in ancient times enclosed by a wall of stone, 
 or round reservoir, ten or twelve feet deep, and some fifteen 
 feet in diameter, in which the water rose to the top and 
 overflowed. In 1838, two of these enclosures were in tolera- 
 ble preservation. For what purpose this head of water was 
 thus obtained, whether for baths, or for irrigation, or for other 
 uses, cannot well be determined.^ 
 
 The Hot Springs near the lake, thirty-five minutes south 
 of Tiberias, have already been described.^ 
 
 Between the lake and Beisan there are, doubtless, foun- 
 tains ; but they have not been reported. At Beisan itself, 
 th^e two brooks which tumble down the declivity at the vil- 
 lage and further south have a slightly darkish hue and an 
 odor of sulphur. This would seem to indicate a sulphur 
 spring not far southwest of that place ; while the abundance 
 of water and water-courses further west, implies a marsh and 
 perhaps ponds in the same quarter.^ The plain of the Ghor 
 itself, opposite Beisan, is full of fountains and rivulets, mak- 
 ing it in some parts almost a marsh.^ In the same plain 
 further south, we ourselves in 1852 fell in with no less than 
 five fountains, 'Ain Mak-huz, 'Ain ed-Deir, the source at 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. p. 396 [III. p. 277]. 
 
 2 Sec above, p. 205. 3 Later Biblical Researches, p. 327, 336. 
 ^ Later Biblical Researches, p. 325. 
 
254 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Tell Ridghah, 'Ain el-Beida, and the noble fountain at the 
 foot of the low bluff of Sakut, surrounded by fig trees.^ 
 
 In Wady Malih, some distance west of where it enters the 
 Gh6r, though not far above the. level of the latter, there are 
 rather copious salt springs, giving name to the Wady. The 
 water is blood-warm (98° F.) and quite salt ; and a fetid odor 
 is perceptible.^ 
 
 There is a fine spring in the Ker^wa, north of Kurn Sur- 
 tabeh.3 
 
 Just south of the Kiirn is 'xiin Fusail in the valley of the 
 same name, some distance above the site of the ancient 
 Phasaslis. The fine spring is overshaded by wild fig trees 
 and shrubs of various kinds ; and in May, 1852, the water 
 rippled down the valley as far as to the Tell and ruins of 
 Fusail, where it was lost in irrigating the gardens.* At 
 'Aujeh, too, further south, a fountain is reported.^ 
 
 On the soutliern brink of Wady Nawa'imeh, fifteen min- 
 utes below where it issues as a deep ravine from the western 
 cliffs, is the cluster of fountains known as 'Ain Duk. Here 
 are two very copious sources, besides other smaller ones, all 
 of fine limpid water. The waters naturally flow down Wady 
 Nawa'imeh. A large portion of them do so still ; and there is 
 an aqueduct further down, with pointed arches, which once 
 served to distribute them over that part of the plain. But 
 the waters of the highest and largest fountain are carried off 
 towards the south-southeast by an artificial channel along 
 the base of the mountain, for nearly an hour, and then, by 
 a deep cut through the low ridge, were formerly carried 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 310, 313-315. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 308. 
 
 3 Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 124. 
 
 4 Later Biblical Researches, p. 294. Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 122. 
 « Biblical Researches, I. p. 568 [IL p. 303]. 
 
FOUNTAINS IN AND NEAR THE GHOR. 
 
 255 
 
 upon the ' Sugar mills,' so called, the only remaining token 
 of the former extensive cultivation of sugar ; and were thence 
 distributed to different parts of the lower plain. One aque- 
 duct with pointed arches, now dry, carried these waters across 
 Wady Kelt, and far southwest of Jericho. The stream from 
 the fountain is at first six or eight feet wide, and a foot and a 
 half deep. Here doubtless was situated the ancient castle of 
 Doch.i 
 
 Fifteen minutes east of the Sugar mills, and thirty -five 
 minutes northwesterly from the present village of Jericho, is 
 the large fountain 'Ain es-Sultan. This is the only one near 
 Jericho ; and there is every reason to regard these as the waters 
 miraculously healed by Elisha.^ They may have been earlier 
 brackish and warm, like most of the fountains further north 
 and south ; now they are sweet and pleasant, not cold in- 
 deed, but also only slightly warm. The fountain bursts forth 
 at the eastern foot of a high double mound, or group of 
 mounds, situated a mile or more in front of the mountain 
 Quarantana. It was once surrounded by a reservoir or semi- 
 circular enclosure of hewn stones ; from which the water was 
 carried off in various directions into the plain ; but this is 
 now mostly broken away. The largest stream at present 
 runs towards the village ; a part of it is still carried off across 
 Wady Kelt, by an aqueduct with pointed arches. Of the two 
 fountains, that of Duk is the largest.^ 
 
 A little more than half way from Jericho to the Jordan, 
 at the ford el-Helu, in a low tract covered with shrubs and 
 trees of the Rishrash or willow {Agnus castus), is 'Ain 
 Hajla, a beautiful spring of sweet and limpid water. It is 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 571 [II. p. 309]. Aci/c, 1 Mace. xvi. 14, 15. 
 
 2 2 Kings ii. 19-22. 
 
 8 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 554, 555 [11. pp. 283-285]. 
 
25G 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 enclosed by a circular wall of masonry, or small reseiToir, five 
 feet deep ; and sends forth a tolerably copious stream, which 
 waters the tract below. It is regarded as the finest water in 
 all the Gh5r. This fountain doubtless marks the site of the 
 ancient Beth-Hoglah, on the boundary line between Judah 
 and Benjamin.^ 
 
 A number of fountains exist along the western coast of the 
 Dead Sea. On the shore, nearly an hour distant from the 
 Jordan, and two hours N. E. by E. from 'Ain el-Feshkhah, 
 is a brackish fountain in a cane-brake, called 'Ain Jehair.^ 
 
 'Ain cl-Feshkhah is at the northern base of the bold 
 promontory Ras el-Feshkhah. The fountain boils up near 
 the shore, a very copious stream, or rather streams, of lim- 
 pid water, but brackish, and having a slight taste of sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen. It is warm, like several of the fountains 
 further north ; its temperature being 80° F. The wet and 
 marshy ground around the fountain is covered by a dense 
 thicket of canes, extending for half an hour along the shore.^ 
 
 On the shore, two thirds of the way from Ras el-Feshkhah 
 to 'Ain Terabeh, is the small fountain 'Ain Ghuweir. It is 
 commonly reported as brackish ; but is, in some seasons, 
 sweet and potable.* 'Ain Teriibeli itself is about half way 
 between Ras el-Feshkhah and 'Ain Jidy. It rises on the 
 very shore of the lake, a strip of only twenty or thirty feet 
 intervening. It is usually reported as brackish ; but, at the 
 time of Lynch's encampment there, it furnished a supply 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 544 [11. p. 268]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 535 [IL p. 254]. Anderson, Geological Report, 
 p. 198. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, 1. p. 533 [IL p. 252]. Anderson, Geological Report, 
 p. 1C6. 
 
 4 Anderson, Geolo;^ical Report, p. 166. Lynch, Official Report, p. 42. Biblical 
 Researches, I. p. 531 [II. p. 249]. 
 
FOUNTAINS IN AND NEAR THE GHOR. 
 
 257 
 
 of perfectly sweet water. Here, also, is a thicket of luxu- 
 rious growth.^ 
 
 South of Ras Mersed, at the north end of the plain of *Ain 
 Jidy, comes down Wadj Sudeir. In this valley, at some dis- 
 tance from the shore, there is a fountain of sweet water 
 
 The pearl of all these fountains along the Dead Sea, is 
 that of 'Ain Jidy, nearly midway of the western coast. It 
 bursts forth, a full stream, not upon the shore, but frofn a 
 narrow plateau on the side of the clifiF, four hundred feet 
 above the lake. This cliff stands back a little from the lake, 
 as compared with Ras Mersed and that south of Wady el- 
 'Areijeh ; and the interval between its base and the lake is 
 filled by a small and partly alluvial plain, in some parts 
 nearly half a mile wide. The stream from the fountain 
 rushes down the steep declivity below ; and its course is hid- 
 den by a luxuriant thicket of trees and shrubs, belonging to 
 a more southern clime. The brook takes its way across the 
 rich plain directly to the lake; though when we saw it, in 
 May, 1838, its waters were absorbed by the thirsty earth long 
 before reaching the shore. So far as the water extended, the 
 plain was covered with gardens, chiefly of cucumbers. The 
 fountain itself is limpid and sparkling, with a copious sup- 
 ply of sweet water ; but warm, the temperature being 81° F. 
 Kept in vessels over night, we found it delightfully cool and 
 refreshing. Like most of the fountains of the country, it is 
 strongly impregnated with lime, and does not take soap well. 
 In the fountain itself are great numbers of small black 
 snails.^ 
 
 1 Anderson, Geological Report, p. 166. Biblical Researches, I. p. 528 [11. 
 p. 245]. 
 
 * Lynch, Narrative, p. 290. Biblical Researches, I. pp. 527, 533 [II. pp. 242, 
 252], 
 
 » Biblical Researches, I. pp. 504-506 [11. pp. 209-211]. 
 33 
 
258 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 In Wady el-Areijeh, next south of 'Ain Jidy, there is a 
 fine fountain of sweet water, 'Ain el-'Areijeh ; with large 
 willow trees, from which the Arabs make bowls. It pours 
 forth a very copious supply of water ; which however soon 
 runs to waste, and disappears entirely before reaching the 
 lake.i 
 
 No other sources of sweet water are known on the west- 
 ern coast. South of the sea and of Jebel Usdum are the 
 salt marshes and springs of 'Ain el-Beida. Still further 
 south, along the foot of the Scorpion Cliffs, many brackish 
 sources burst forth, converting the whole tract into a marsh. 
 The largest of these is 'Ain el-'Arus, nearly midway of the 
 cliffs.2 
 
 In the Ghor East of Jordan, The eastern side of the Gh6r 
 has been less fully explored even than the western ; and the 
 fountains known to exist there are fewer. 
 
 Below 'Ain Kunyeh, a village on the hillside east of Banias, 
 there is a fountain ; and more than three hours south of 
 Banias is 'Ain Rawy, northwest of el-Mughar, which Dr. 
 De Forest notes as the first source he saw on the way from 
 Banias.^ There are probably other sources along the base 
 of the hills ; but no traveller has passed there to note 
 them. 
 
 The little plain el-Batihah, at the north end of the lake of 
 Tiberias, is watered by no less than three perennial streams, 
 which imply living fountains not far distant ; but they have 
 not been visited.* 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 500 [H. p. 204]. Anderson's Geological Report, 
 p. 175. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 115-117 [H. pp. 493-495]. 
 
 3 Later Biblical Researches, p. 398. Journal of American Oriental Society, 
 n. p. 241. 
 
 * Biblical Researches, IL p. 412 [HL p. 306] . 
 
FOUNTAINS IN AND NILVR THE GHOR. 
 
 250 
 
 The eastern shore of the lake of Tiberias remains in like 
 manner unexplored ; nor is any spring known on this side 
 north of the river Yarmuk. The hot springs in the deep 
 bed of that river may be regarded as belonging to the level 
 of the Ghor ; they have already been described.^ 
 
 No other fountain is marked until we reach Faliil, the 
 site of ancient Pella, over against Beisan in the southeast. 
 Here in the ravine south of the ruins is the large and noble 
 fountain which led Pliny to speak of the place as " Pellam 
 aquis divitemy ^ The source is now called Jerm el-Mauz, 
 and sends off a mill-stream down the valley, which at pres- 
 ent is almost a marsh, overgrown with tamarisks and olean- 
 ders. The valley breaks down, as Wady Mauz, to the bot- 
 tom of the Ghur and the Jordan, half an hour south of the 
 ford to Beisan. Near the fountain are two columns still 
 standing, as of a small temple." 
 
 Just south of ^Vady Yabis, on the terrace of the Ghor, 
 there is a spring, giving rise to a marsh and small brook, with 
 a fertile tract around.* 
 
 We pass on to Wady Sha'ib, descending from near es-Salt 
 southwesterly to the Jordan, at a point E. by N. from Jer- 
 icho. On entering the plain it passes the ruins of Nimrin, 
 the Nimrah and Beth-Nimrali of Scripture ; and near by are 
 several fountains, corresponding to the Waters of Nimrim.^ 
 
 At the northeast corner of the Dead Sea the fountain 'Ain 
 es-Suweimeh near the shore, is surrounded by cane-brakes. 
 It would appear, that a small brook, Nahr es-Suweimeh, here 
 
 1 See above, p. 179. 2 pun. Hist. Nat., 5. 16 (18). 
 
 3 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 321, 322. 
 * Later Biblical Researches, p. 316. 
 
 « Num. xxxii. 3, 36; Josh. xiii. 27; Isa. xv. 6; Jer. xlviii. 34. Seetzen, Reisen, 
 II. p. 318. Biblical Researches, I. p. 551 [II. p. 279]. 
 
2G0 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 runs down to the shore, fed by two springs further back, 
 *Ayun ed-Deib and 'Ayun Musa.^ 
 
 Between this spot and the Zerka Ma'in there are several 
 small brooks of sweet water, and one large one ; implying 
 fountains not remote.^ The hot springs in the bed of the 
 Zerka Ma'in have already been described.^ Half an hour 
 south of the Zerka, Seetzen, who passed along the shore, re- 
 ports another brook of hot water.^ Between this and the 
 Arnon the same traveller found three fountains of sweet 
 water, two of them large, and several fine brooks. He was 
 struck with the abundance of sweet water along the side of 
 the Dead Sea.^ 
 
 In Wady Hamad, or Wady Beni Hamady, next north of 
 Wady Kerak, a liot spring is reported ; but has not yet been 
 visited by travellers. There is another similar hot spring in 
 a branch of Wady el-Ahsy, southeast from the south end of 
 the Dead Sea.^ 
 
 IV. FOUNTAINS OF THE HILL-COUNTRY EAST OF JORDAN. 
 
 Travellers in these eastern regions have been comparatively 
 few ; and our information respecting the permanent sources 
 of water is very imperfect. 
 
 The perennial sources which supply the Yarmuk and its 
 branches, at Tell Dilly and el-Mazarib, have already been 
 described.' 
 
 In the rocky district of the Lojali there are no springs in 
 
 1 Anderson, Geological Report, p. 194. Seetzen, Reisen, II, p. 324. 
 
 2 Anderson, Geological Report, p. 194. 
 
 5 See above, p. 178. •* Seetzen, Reisen, II. p. 368. 
 
 5 Seetzen, Reisen, II. pp. 3G7, 368. 
 
 6 Seetzen, Reisen, II. pp. 359, 360. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 401. See above, 
 p. 183. 
 
 7 See above, pp. 173, 174. 
 
FOUNTAINS OF THE HILL-COUNTRY EAST OF JORDAN. 261 
 
 any part ; and the inhabitants are wholly dependent on the 
 rain water preserved in cisterns and Birkets or tanks. In the 
 outer borders of the Lejah, however, called the Luhf, there 
 are springs.^ 
 
 In the west, on the great road from Damascus to the bridge 
 over the Jordan, el-Jisr Benat Ya'kob, at half an hour west of 
 Tell Khanzir, is a cluster of fountains, known as 'Ayun es- 
 Semmam. At Fik, there are three springs below the village, 
 which form a brook flowing down the valley towards the lake 
 of Tiberias.2 
 
 In the great plain of Hauran, as well as on the slopes of 
 the adjacent mountain, there are comparatively few springs. 
 The supply of water is obtained mostly from wells, cisterns, 
 and Birkets.^ Yet some of the principal towns have copious 
 fountains ; as Kunawat QKenatli)^ Hebran, 'Orman QPhilip- 
 popolis)^ and Busra (^Bozrah, Bostra)^ At the latter, there 
 are no less than five sources outside of the city, and six 
 within. There is likewise a fine spring at Tell xVsh'areh.^ 
 Besides these, Burckhardt fell in with some ten or twelve 
 other fountains in different parts of the plain. Some of the 
 strongest places are wholly dependent on rain water ; as Sul- 
 khad, the ancient Sulchah.^ 
 
 Passing southward into Jebel 'Ajlun, the fountains re- 
 ported are still few. Half an hour northwest of Hebras 
 is 'Ain el-Terab, in a Wady.' Near 'Arjan are two sources, 
 'Ain el-Tannur and 'Ain el-Beida ; the brook flows to Wady 
 Yabis, and an hour below 'Arjan is another fountain. Tlie 
 stream drives three mills.^ At Suf are three copious springs. 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 112, 218. 
 3 Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 132. 
 « Porter's Handbook, p. 531. 
 ' Burckhardt, Syria, p. 270. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, p. 315. Ibid., p. 279. 
 * Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 83, 86, 80, 99, 221. 
 6 Porter's Handbook, p. 100. 
 8 Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 383. 
 
262 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the permanent head of the stream which flows by Jerasli 
 (^Gerasa) to the Zerka.^ At the village 'Ain Jenneh, above 
 'Ajlun, several springs issue from under the rock, and form 
 the brook which descends through Wady 'Ajldn to the Jor- 
 dan ; and half an hour north of 'Ajlun is another fountain, 
 'Ain et-Teis.2 
 
 South of the Zerka, in ascending to es-Salt by the usual 
 road from Jerash, there is a fine spring half way up, at 
 'Allan ; and another further west, on the way from 'Abu 
 'Obeida to es-Salt.^ At es-Salt there is a copious spring within 
 the city ; and another, ' Ain Jedur, ten minutes distant towards 
 the north in a valley.* In descending the narrow valley 
 south of es-Salt, near the remains of a considerable town 
 known as Khirbet es-Suk, there is a fine spring called 'Ain 
 Hazor. It turns several mills, and empties into Wady Shu- 
 'eib, wliich runs by Nimrin to the Jordan.^ 
 
 Southeast of Fulieis, in the tract Ard el-Hemar, are a 
 number of springs, which render it fertile in pasturage.^ 
 Not far east, or northeast of these, are likewise springs at 
 Safut and Um Jauzy.''' All these lie on the usual routes from 
 es-Salt by Fuheis to 'Amman. The stream which flows by 
 'Amman itself, and runs north to the Zerka, has its source in a 
 small pond a few hunilred paces south of the ruins.^ Accord- 
 ing to Burckhardt, sources of water are only seldom met with 
 in the high plain of the Belka ; a circumstance which greatly 
 enhanced the importance of the situation of 'Amrhan.^ 
 
 Not far west of Hesban (Heshbo7i) is a fountain, the head 
 
 1 Burckhardr, Syria, p. 249. Scetzcn, Reisen, I. p. 387. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 2C6, 267. Sectzen, Rciscn, I. p. 380. 
 
 3 Lord Lindsay's Letters (London, 1858), p. 287. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 348. 
 * Burckhardt, Syria, p. 350. ^ Burckhardt, Syria, p. 335. 
 
 6 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 356. ^ Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 361, 362. 
 
 8 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 357. 9 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 361. 
 
WARM AND MINERAL FOUNTAINS. 
 
 2G3 
 
 of Nahr Hesban, which runs to the Jordan just above its en- 
 trance into the Dead Sea. It drives several mills.^ No other 
 springs are reported north of Rabba ; though the streams 
 which rise in the east and flow in deep chasms across the 
 plain, as the Zerka Ma'in, the Waleh, and the Mojib, indicate 
 fountains in that quarter. Less than an hour southeast of 
 Rabba, are two copious fountains, 'Ain Jubeibeh and 'Ain 
 Yarud.2 At Kerak, in the valley north and west of the town, 
 are several large springs. One of them, 'Ain Sarah, issues 
 from the rock in a very romantic spot, and serves to turn 
 three mills. Another, 'Ain Feranjy, ' Frank spring,' is 
 southwest of the city nearly a mile distant.^ 
 
 Near Khanzireli are several springs ; the waters unite in a 
 rivulet, which irrigates the fields and extensive gardens of 
 the village.* 
 
 The springs near Kul'at el-Ahsy, or el-Hassa, at the head 
 of Wady el-Ahsy, have already been referred to.^ 
 
 WARM AND MINERAL FOUNTAINS. 
 
 The springs sending forth warm and mineral waters, have 
 been enumerated above with the rest. So far as is known, 
 they are found only in the depressed region of the Ghor. 
 They may be divided into three classes : 
 
 Hot Sulphur Springs are found in five places; namely, 
 near Tiberias, on the western shore of the lake ; temperature 
 144° F.^ In the deep chasm of the Yarmuk, north of Um 
 Keis, or Gadara; highest temperature 109° F.^ In the ravine 
 
 1 Seetzen, Reisen, I. p. 407, II. p. 323. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, S3'ria, p. 377. 
 
 3 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 379. Irby and Mangles, p. 137. 
 
 4 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 397. 
 
 « See above, p. 183. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 658. 
 
 6 See above, p. 205. ^ See above, p.l75. 
 
264 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 of the Zerka Ma'in ( Callirrlwe) east of the Dead Sea.^ In 
 Wady Hamad, and in a branch of Wady el-Ahsy With 
 the exception of those near Tiberias, these are all on the east 
 of the Gh$r. 
 
 Warm Saline Springs occur at a single spot, in Wady 
 Malih, south of Beisan. The temperature of the water is 
 blood warm, or OS** F.^ 
 
 Warm Springs in general, of which there are at least five 
 reported, all on the west of the Ghor. 'Ain el-Mellahah and 
 'Ain et-Tabighah are slightly warm and brackish.* 'Ain es- 
 Sultan, near Jericho, is slightly warm, but not brackish.^ 
 'Ain el-Feshkah, on the western shore of the Dead Sea, is 
 quite brackish, with a temperature of 81° F., while 'Ain Jidy, 
 further south, has a temperature of 80° F., without any 
 brackish taste. ^ 
 
 1 See above, p. 179. 
 8 See above, p. 254. 
 ^ See above, p. 255. 
 
 2 See above, p. 260. 
 * See above, p. 251. 
 « See above, pp. 256, 257. 
 
WELLS. 
 
 265 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 WELLS. CISTERNS. RESERVOIRS. AQUEDUCTS. 
 
 All these, as being the work of man, do not in a strict 
 sense belong to Physical Geography. Still, as they relate to 
 the supply and preservation of the natural element of water, 
 they may properly be considered here. 
 
 I. WELLS. 
 
 There are many wells in Palestine, particularly in those 
 parts remote from fountains and permanent streams. The 
 patriarchs, in their wanderings, caused wells to be dug for 
 the supply of their flocks and herds ; especially in the south 
 of Judea. Of these several remain unto the present day. 
 
 Abraham's servants thus dug several wells in the south ; 
 where, in those days, the Philistines likewise pastured their 
 flocks. After his death, the latter stopped the wells which 
 his servants had dug, and filled them with earth.^ Only one 
 of Abraham's wells is spoken of by name, that of Beer- 
 sheba, * well of the oath.' Here, too, Isaac digged a well, 
 after having restored^ the others ; probably a second well, 
 for the better supply of his numerous flocks.^ These wells 
 are still known among the Arabs at Bir es-Seba'. 
 
 Upon the northern side of Wady es-Seba', close upon the 
 
 1 Gen. xxvi. 15, 18. 2 Qen. xxvi. 25, 32, 33. 
 
 34 
 
266 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 bank, are the two deep and ancient wells which give occasion 
 for this name. They are circular, and are stoned up very 
 neatly with solid masonry, apparently of great antiquity. 
 The larger one is twelve and a half feet in diameter, and 
 forty-four and a half feet deep to the surface of the w^ater (in 
 April, 1838) ; sixteen feet of which, at the bottom, is exca- 
 vated in the solid rock. The other well is fifty-five rods 
 W. S. W., and is five feet in diameter, and forty-two feet 
 deep. The water in both is pure and sweet, and in great 
 abundance. Both wells are surrounded with drinking- 
 troughs of stone for camels and flocks ; such as were doubt- 
 less used of old for the latter, wliich then fed on the neigh- 
 boring hills. The curbstones aio deeply worn by the fric- 
 tion of the ropes in drawing up water by hand.^ 
 
 Of Isaac it is related, that he removed from the city Gerar, 
 and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar ; where he " dig- 
 ged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the 
 days of Abraham his father," and which the Philistines had 
 stopped after the death of Abraham.^ His servants likewise 
 digged two other wells, called Esek and Sitnah, apparently 
 in or near the same valley ; from which the Philistines drove 
 them away.^ Isaac then " removed from thence, and dig- 
 ged another well ; and for that they strove not ; and he 
 called the name of it Rehoboth," ' wide places, room.'^ It is 
 an ob\'ious suggestion, that this name may be preserved in 
 the modern er-Ruliaibeh, the name of a Wady on which are 
 the ruins of an extensive ancient city, about eight hours 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, L p. 204 [L p. 300J. Stewart, Tent and Kban, p. 214. 
 Dr. Durbin mentions a third well now filled up, Travels, I. p. 200. Van de Velde 
 speaks of five wells of smaller diameter in the dry bed of the Wady; Narrative, 
 n. p. 136. 
 
 2 Gen. xxvi. 6, 17, 18. 3 Qen. xxvi. 19, 21. 
 * Gen. xxvi. 22. 
 
WELLS. 
 
 267 
 
 south of Beersheba. There is hero an ancient well, now 
 filled up, twelve feet in diameter, and regularly built up with 
 hewn stone ; one course of the stones being still visible above 
 ground. 1 It seems, indeed, not improbable tliat Isaac, when 
 driven away from his wells in the valley of Gerar, followed 
 up that valley, or its branches, until he came to the fertile 
 Wady er-Ruhaibeh.2 There, his servants, having dug this 
 well in quiet, a city of the same name afterwards sprang 
 up around it. I am disposed to accept this identity of name 
 and place ; especially as it is said that Isaac " went up from 
 thence to Beersheba," implying a journey of some distance.^ 
 But down to the year 1838, there is no historical notice, so 
 far as is known, either of the well or city, since the days of 
 Isaac. 
 
 It was after this that Isaac caused the second well to be 
 dug at Beersheba, as above related.^ 
 
 Jacob, on his return from Syria, purchased a piece of 
 ground on the east of Shechem, now Nabulus ; where he 
 pitched his tent and erected an altar to the Lord.^ He after- 
 wards removed to Bethel, and again to Mamre and Hebron, 
 where he seems to have dwelt until his departure for Egypt ; 
 liaving possession apparently of the wells of his fatliers in the 
 south.^ In the Old Testament it is nowhere said that Jacob 
 dug any wells ; but from the New Testament we learn, that 
 he caused one to be dug on the piece of ground which he 
 bought near Shechem."^ At this well our Lord held his 
 remarkable conversation with the Samaritan woman ; and 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 19G [L p. 290]. Stewart, Tent and Khan, p. 202. 
 
 2 See above, p. 123. 3 Qen. xxvi. 23. 
 * Gen. xxvi. 25, 31, 32; comp. vs. 18. 
 
 ^ Gen. xxxiii. 19; Josh. xxiv. 32. 
 
 « Gen. XXXV. 1, 3, 6, 15, 16, 27, xxxvii. 14, xlvi. 1, 5. 
 
 ? John iv. 5-12. 
 
268 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 there is no doubt but that the same well remains to this day. 
 Wc know from Jerome, that as early as the fourth century 
 a church was erected near the well ; the ruins and three 
 granite columns of which are still seen around it.^ 
 
 The opening of the well, as seen from without, is very 
 small ; and is usually covered with a stone. But this is only 
 an orifice in the roof of a vault or dome of stone, built up 
 over the proper mouth of the well. In this vault was for- 
 merly an altar ; on which Greek and Latin priests were ac- 
 customed to celebrate mass once a year. The well itself is 
 nine feet in diameter, and seventy-five feet deep, entirely 
 hewn out of the solid rock. It is a work of great labor, and 
 bears marks of the highest antiquity. The well is often dry ; 
 it was so in June, 1838, and nearly so in April, 1843 ; while 
 in April, 1839, it had ten or twelve feet of water. These 
 variations are the more singular, since the neighboring foun- 
 tains of Defneh and Belatali, the latter quite near, are un- 
 derstood to be permanent, sending forth their large streams 
 all the year round.^ 
 
 It may here be asked, how the Samaritan woman can be 
 supposed to have come from the city, now half an hour dis- 
 tant, in order to draw water, when too she must have passed 
 directly by large fountains on her way ? To this it may be 
 replied, that probably the ancient city of Shechem once ex- 
 tended much further down the valley towards the well ; and 
 also, that there may naturally have been in the minds of the 
 inhabitants, an idea of the greater purity and value of the 
 water of Jacob's well ; so that they occasionally resorted to 
 
 1 Hieron. (cd. Martianay), Ep. 86; Epit. Paulae, p. 676. Biblical Researches, 
 IL P.2&4 [HL p. 110]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, IL pp. 283, 284 [III. pp. 109, 110]. Wilson, Lands of the 
 Bible, IL pp. 55-57. See above, p. 248. 
 
WELLS. 
 
 2G9 
 
 it even for a small supply. The woman had only a water- 
 jar.i 
 
 More difficult is it to understand, why a well, excavated 
 with so much labor, should ever have been dug on this spot 
 at all ; so near to large fountains and streams. For this I 
 am unable to account, unless by supposing, that in this land 
 of earthquakes these fountains may have burst forth at some 
 later period, after the well was dug. 
 
 Besides the wells of the patriarchs, there are many others 
 bearing the marks of high antiquity. Such is the well of 
 Job, the ancient En^Rogel, in the valley under Jerusalem ; 
 to bo described among the waters of the Holy City. At 
 Milii QMoladali)^ quite in the southeast of Judah, are two old 
 wells, measuring about forty feet in depth, and walled up 
 round with good mason-work ; one is seven and a half and 
 the other five feet in diameter. The water is not in high re- 
 pute among the Arabs. ^ 
 
 Near Idhna (Jedna) southeast of Beit Jibrin, is a large 
 public well ; the curbstones of which are much worn by the 
 friction of ropes. ^ Xear Beit Jibrin itself (^Eleutheropolis} 
 are three large public wells, apparently ancient, and sur- 
 rounded with drinking troughs.^ At Summeil, on the way 
 to Gaza, is a large public well, one hundred and ten feet 
 deep to the water, and eleven feet in diameter ; the walls are 
 circular, and composed of hewn stones of good masonry.^ 
 At Huj and Sukkariyeh, villages lying between Gaza and 
 Bait Jibrin, are wells probably ancient ; that of the former 
 is nearly two hundred feet deep.^ At Daniyal, east of Lydda, 
 
 1 John iv. 28, vBpia. 2 Biblical Researches, II. p. 200 [II. p. 619]. 
 
 » Biblical Researches, IT. p. 57 [IT. p. 404]. 
 
 * Biblical Researches, II. p. 26 [II. p. 257]. 
 
 « Biblical Researches, II. p. 33 [II. p. 367]. 
 
 6 Biblical Researches, n. pp. 45, 50 [II. pp. 386, 393]. 
 
270 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 is likewise one, one hundred and sixty feet deep.^ Further, 
 there are ancient wells at Kefr Saba (^Antipatris} , near Kefr 
 Kud QCapa7'coiia), and at Kefr Menda in Galilee.^ 
 
 Occasionally wells appear to have been dug at a distance 
 from towns or villages, by the wayside, for the convenience 
 of travellers and their animals, or of flocks and herds pas- 
 tured in the region. Thus in Wady es-Sumt, southeast of 
 Beit Nettif, is an ancient well of this kind, twenty-five or 
 thirty feet deep ; and in another valley further west, is a 
 second similar well, at which there were many flocks.^ 
 
 Between 'Ain Shems (^Beth- Shemesli) and Akir (^Ekron) 
 are two such wells ; the one nearest Ekron being quite 
 large, and usually surrounded by flocks.^ On the way from 
 Lydda to Beit 'Ur QBeth-horoii) there is a well near a former 
 Wely, called Um Rush ; and another further east by the 
 wayside.^ Not far southeast of 'Akka also, on one of the 
 great roads leading into Galilee, are two similar wells, at 
 some distance apart.^ 
 
 Of King Uzziah it is related, that he built towers in the 
 desert and digged many wells [or cisterns] ; for he had 
 much cattle." Whether these were wells or cisterns (the He- 
 brew word may signify either), they were obviously intended 
 for the flocks and herds. 
 
 These public wells are ordinarily surrounded with drink- 
 ing troughs of stone, rarely of wood, for the use of animals. 
 Sometimes ancient sarcophagi are employed for this purpose. 
 Thus at Kefr Menda in Galilee no less than three such sar- 
 
 4 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, H. p. 248 [HL p. 55]. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 139, 121, 109. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, H. pp. 21, 22 [H. pp. 350, 351]. 
 < Biblical Researches, H. p. 226 [HL pp. 20, 21]. 
 
 « Biblical Researches, IL pp. 249, 250 [IH. pp. 57, 58]. 
 
 6 Later Biblical Researches^ p. 89. ^ 2 Chron. xxvi. 10. 
 
WELLS. 
 
 271 
 
 copliagi lie around the great well of the village as drinking- 
 troiiglis. One of them is sculptured on the side with not 
 inelegant festoons.^ 
 
 Around these wells there are frequently, even at this day, 
 scenes of pastoral life, not unlike those of the patriarchal 
 times. Thus at Beit Jibrin, in 1838, flocks and herds were 
 gathered around the wells ; while men and women were 
 drawing water, and filling for them the many drinking- 
 troughs.2 At the well in the valley west of Wady es-Sumt, 
 many cattle, flocks of sheep and of kids, and also camels, 
 were all waiting around ; and men and women were ])usily 
 employed in supplying them with water. These hospitable 
 people at once offered and drew water for us and our thirsty 
 animals, without expectation of reward.^ Similar scenes 
 were repeated at various other wells. 
 
 The mode of drawing water is various. Where the well 
 is not too deep, the rope of the bucket is usually let down 
 and drawn up by hand. At Summeil, where the well is over 
 a hundred feet deep, the rope was passed over a pulley above 
 the well ; and then several women hauled it up by running 
 off with it a long distance into the fields.* At the still deeper 
 wells of Huj and D^niyfil, the rope was fitted in like manner 
 over a pulley, and was drawn up by a yoke of oxen driven 
 off in a straight line into the fields.^ At Sukkariyeh, a vil- 
 lage which had just been rebuilt by Sheikh Sa'id, governor 
 of Gaza, an Egyptian Sikieh had been introduced ; that is, 
 an endless rope, with jars attached to it, passing over a 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 109. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, IL p. 26 [11. p.. 357]. 
 8 Biblical Researches, IL p. 22 [IL p. 351]. 
 * Biblical Researches, IL p. 33 [IL p. 367]. 
 
 « Biblical Researches, II. pp. 45, 248 [II. p. 367, III. p. 55]. 
 
272 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 wheel above the well ; this was turned by a camel travelling 
 in a circle.^ 
 
 Still more common seems to be the drawing of water by 
 means of a reel placed horizontally on a platform over the 
 mouth of the well, with the rope fastened to it. A man sit- 
 ting on a bar or bench level with the axis, winds up the rope 
 by drawing the top of the reel towards him with his hands, 
 and at the same time pushing the bottom of it from him with 
 his feet. We saw this method first at the well west of Wady 
 es-Sumt, where the reel was small and was turned by one 
 man ; and again at the well southeast of Ekron, where the 
 reel was larger and two men were at work ; the same machine 
 was also in use at the two wells southeast of 'Akka.^ 
 
 This method of raising water was formerly known in 
 Egypt, though now superseded there ; and seems to afford 
 the best explanation of what is meant in Scripture by the 
 phrase " watering with the foot." ^ 
 
 n. CISTERNS. 
 
 As rain falls in Palestine ordinarily only in the period 
 from November till March ; and during summer the winter- 
 brooks dry up, and the fountains become low ; it is important 
 for the inliabitants to preserve the waters of the rainy months 
 into the dry season, and until the autumnal rains again com- 
 mence. This is done in cisterns beneath the surface of the 
 ground ; and in reservoirs above ground. 
 
 These cisterns are quite frequent ; and have, for the most 
 part, apparently come down from ancient times. They are 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, IT. p. 50 [II. p. 393]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 22, 226 [II. p. 351, III. p. 21]. Later Biblical Re- 
 searches, p. 80. 
 
 3 Deut. xi. 10. See especially Biblical Researches, I.,Note 2, end of the volume. 
 
CISTERNS. 
 
 273 
 
 usually, if not always, excavated in the underlying rock ; 
 which w^ould seem not difficult to be wrought, and sufficiently 
 compact to hold the water. Not unfrequently the walls are 
 plastered over with cement. Jerusalem itself is supplied 
 with w^atcr mainly from its cisterns ; and the same is true 
 of many towns and villages in the hill-country. Ancient 
 cisterns are still found likewise in the fields and along the 
 high roads ; in which the water of the rainy season was col- 
 lected, for the sustenance of the flocks and herds, and^for 
 the comfort of the traveller and his beasts. 
 
 The cistern is usually nothing more than an excavated 
 chamber, with a round opening at the top. In the country 
 this opening is generally kept covered with one or more 
 large stones. In the town and in houses, the water is con- 
 ducted into the cistern from the roofs and paved courts ; and 
 the opening is often built up around with stonework, and 
 furnished with a curb and a wheel for the bucket ; so that 
 externally the whole has the appearance of a well. Some- 
 times tlie mouth of the cistern is at one side or corner, with 
 steps left in the rock to descend into it and bring up water.^ 
 
 It is needless to name the places where cisterns are still 
 to be found. The whole hill-country of Judea and Gali- 
 lee is full of them. In the low plains, where there is little 
 underlying rock, they are not frequent, and occur only in 
 parts where rock exists. A few notices will suffice. 
 
 At Ruhaibeh, probably Isaac's well Rehobothy now in the 
 desert, there are a number of cisterns among the ruins of 
 the houses.^ In the circuit of the fortress Masada, now 
 Sebbeh, are still seen several cisterns ; one of them very 
 large, being nearly fifty feet deep, a hundred long, and forty 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 85, 281. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 197 [1. p. 290]. 
 
 35 
 
274 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 broad, with steps to descend into it, and having its walls 
 still covered with a white cement.^ At Beni Xa'im, east of 
 Hebron, are likewise ancient cisterns, and there are several 
 along the road leading to it from the north ; one of these still 
 well covered on the inside with cement, though now broken.^ 
 On the summit of Tell Zif ( Zipli) a number of cisterns are 
 still seen ; and on the way from Carmel to 'Ain Jidy through 
 the desert are two deep ones, still used by the Bedawin ; 
 and a third, further down, was hewn out of the rock, a column 
 being left to support the roof ; but the roof is now broken 
 away.^ 
 
 Around Hebron there are many cisterns ; some of them 
 very large. The town itself appears to have been mainly 
 supplied from its fountains ; and private cisterns are not 
 found in the houses, as at Jerusalem^ But outside of the 
 city, round about, a large provision of cisterns was made for 
 the flocks and herds pastured on the neighboring hills. Thus 
 there are two large ones just north of the city ; also two 
 others in Wady en-Xusarah, still further north, one of which 
 is kept covered with a heavy stone ; besides others casually 
 mentioned.^ On the slope and summit of the hill south of 
 er-Rameh, or Abram's House, are several large and remarka- 
 ble ancient cisterns. Southeast of these is the vast and sin- 
 gular excavation known as Bir Ijda ; which, according to 
 Eosen, is a cistern of enormous extent hewn out in the soft 
 limestone rock of the region. It has three openings in the 
 top for drawing water ; from the main opening to a second, 
 
 1 Wolcott, in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1813, p. 64. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 488-490 [H. pp. 185-188]. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, L pp. 492, 499 [H. pp. 191, 202]. 
 
 * Rosen, in Zeitschr. der Deutschen morg. Gesellschaft, 1858, XH. p. 490. 
 « Rosen, in Zeitschr. der Deutschen morg. Gesellschaft, 1858, XH. pp. 483, 
 484, 487. 
 
CISTERNS. 
 
 275 
 
 northwest, is forty-six paces ; and from the same point to the 
 third, south, twenty-eight paces. The roof is supported by 
 pillars left in the rock itself. The distance between the sur- 
 face of the water and the roof, as seen by Wolcott in March 
 and by Rosen late in summer, was about six feet. On one 
 side a sloping passage has been cut down to the water, by 
 which animals can descend and drink. This passage was 
 furnished with a door, and an ornamental portal. One of 
 the cisterns in TTady en-Xusarah, called Bir Beshat, has in 
 like manner a passage for animals to go down.^ 
 
 On the ancient way between Jericho and Bethel are still 
 to be seen several old and broken cisterns ; indicating that 
 this was once an important and frequented road.^ 
 
 At the ruined Khan opposite er-Ram, is a public cistern ; 
 and another ten minutes north of Deir Jemr, by the way- 
 side, where women were washing, and where at first we were 
 refused water for our animals.^ Rfimin, a village northwest 
 of Samaria, is wholly supplied by cisterns ; which are nu- 
 merous in that and other villages of the region : as well as 
 along the roads. Thus, beyond 'Anebta, further west, are 
 two cisterns by the wayside, at which women were drawing 
 water and bearing it off in jars.^ 
 
 At Hableh on the border of the western plain, near An- 
 tipatris, our tent, in 1852, was pitched in a low tract, in the 
 midst of cisterns dug out in sunken rock, mostly with a 
 round opening at the top. Some were entirely open, with 
 steps to descend into them. A large one was twelve feet 
 
 1 Rosen, in Zeitschr. der Deutschen morg. Gesellschaft, 1858, XII. pp. 496, 497, 
 490. Wolcott, in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, pp. 55, 56. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches I. p. .573. [11. p. 311]. 
 8 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 287, 291. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, pp. 127, 129. 
 
276 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 long by nine feet broad and eight feet deep ; two rude and 
 very flat arches were thrown over it ; and on these rested the 
 covering of flat stones, some of which still remained. All 
 these excavations were evidently ancient ; and were thus nu- 
 merous just here in the low ground, because of the greater 
 abundance of water in the rainy season. Only one of them 
 was now in use.^ 
 
 On the summit of Tabor are several ancient cisterns ; in 
 one of which we found good water.^ 
 
 The water of cisterns is not always the most pure and 
 pleasant. Where it is collected from roofs and courts, which 
 are kept clean, and the cisterns themselves are duly cleansed, 
 the water, as mostly in Jerusalem, is pure, sweet, and cool. 
 But in the villages and fields, where it is gathered from dirty 
 roofs, and streets, and the surface of the ground, it contains 
 many impurities, and soon acquires a disagreeable smell and 
 nauseous taste ; exhibiting also the small wriggling worms 
 usually found in stagnant rain water. The contrast between 
 the dead water of cisterns and the living water of gushing 
 fountains, as well as the liability of cisterns to get out of 
 repair and lose their water, furnished to the prophet Jere- 
 miah one of his finest figures : " My people have committed 
 two evils ; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living 
 waters, and hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that 
 can hold no water." ^ 
 
 Cisterns were sometimes used as dungeons to confine pris- 
 oners. The pit into which Joseph was cast by his brethren, 
 was a cistern in the fields around Dothan ; it is said ex- 
 pressly, " the pit was empty ; there was no water in it.'' * 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 137. 
 
 2 BibUcal Researches, H. p. 333 [HL p. 214]. 
 
 3 Jer. ii. 13. * Gen. xxxvii. 22, 24. 
 
RESERVOIRS OR TANKS. 277 
 
 The dungeon into which Jeremiah was let down with cords, 
 was a deep cistern in the court of the prison ; in it " there 
 was no water, but mire." ^ 
 
 Cisterns for Grain. Another kind of cisterns is found in 
 the southern portion of Palestine, which serve for the storing 
 and preservation of grain after it is threshed. The cisterns 
 proper are designed to receive and hold water ; these are 
 intended to keep out water. A dry spot is selected near a 
 village, where all water can readily be turned away ; and 
 several of these pits are usually constructed near together. 
 The form is ordinarily that of a dome or bell, with a round 
 opening at top ; which, after the grain is stored, is closed 
 and made tight with cement. By covering the mouth over 
 with earth, such a storehouse may be entirely hidden from 
 robbers and enemies. In this dry soil grain may thus be 
 preserved sound for years, and kept also from mice and other 
 vermin. 
 
 These granaries are to be found in many parts of Judea; 
 in Galilee small magazines of stone are erected. In the vil- 
 lage of Kubab, southeast of Ramleh, we had to pick our way 
 with some difficulty among the numerous openings leading 
 to thes6 subterranean storehouses. We remember several, 
 also, near the village in the Mount of Olives.^ 
 
 III. RESERVOIRS OR TANKS. 
 
 The artificial reservoirs or tanks for collecting and pre- 
 serving water above ground, are in the English Version 
 called Pools. The Hebrew name is Berekah ; which reap- 
 pears in the Arabic form Birkeh. They are frequent in Pal- 
 
 1 Jcr. xxxviii. 6; comp. xxxvii. 21. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 143. Comp. Thomson, Land and Book, II, p. 262. 
 
278 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 estine ; especially in the parts which are remote from foun- 
 tains and wells ; and have been constructed mainly for the 
 supply of flocks and herds. They are usually near a village 
 and in a valley or depression, where the water can readily 
 be conducted into them. Sometimes they are formed merely 
 by a wall or dam thrown across the valley ; at other times 
 there is also a wall at the upper end. Sometimes the rocky 
 walls of the valley serve for the sides ; or, again, both sides 
 and ends are built up with solid masonry, forming a mas- 
 sive quadrangle. Many of the pools still to be met with are 
 ancient. Indeed, I do not remember to have seen in Pales- 
 tine any reservoir of recent construction ; except one near 
 'Arrabeh in Galilee ; and that was already broken. ^ 
 
 What has been said above in respect to the impurity of 
 cistern water, holds true in a higher degree of the water of 
 open reservoirs. It brings with it all the impurities incident 
 to the cistern ; and is further exposed to the sun and dust, 
 and to the presence of reptiles and vermin. In not a few, 
 the cattle and dogs enter the water at will ; and soon impart 
 to it the taste and odor of the stable. This water is used by 
 the inhabitants for cooking and washing ; and some have no 
 other supply .2 
 
 Some of the largest of the ancient reservoirs now remain- 
 ing are at Jerusalem, and will be described in connection 
 with the other waters of the Holy City. Most of the scrip- 
 tural allusions to ' pools ' refer to Jerusalem ; indeed, only 
 two others are definitely mentioned. 
 
 One of these is at Hebron. In the south part of the town, 
 in the bed of the valley, is the largest of the two pools now 
 seen at Hebron ; a square reservoir, measuring one hundred 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 84. 
 
 2 Comp. Thomson, Land and Book, I. p. 316. 
 
RESERVOIRS OR TAXES. 
 
 279 
 
 and thirty-three feet on each side, built with hewn stones of 
 good workmanship. The whole depth is nearly twenty-nine 
 feet ; of which the water, in May, 1826, occupied not quite 
 fourteen feet. In the beginning of September, Rosen found 
 still several feet of water in the pool ; but at the end of the 
 month it was empty, and the mud at bottom dried by the 
 sun. Flights of steps lead down into it at each corner. Just 
 at the north end of the main part of the town is the smaller 
 pool, also in the bed of the valley, eighty-five feet long by 
 fifty-five broad ; its depth is nearly nineteen feet, of which 
 the water occupied not quite seven feet. These reservoirs 
 seemed to furnish the main supply of the town at the time 
 (1838), notwithstanding the various fountains ; and were 
 constantly frequented by persons carrying away the water in 
 skins. That of the smaller pool was neither clear nor clean. 
 The pools were said to be filled only by the rains ; though 
 there is no brook in the valley, even in the rainy season. 
 Rosen supposes that the pools themselves are ancient ; but 
 that the present masonry is modern, the work of the Muham- 
 medans. The larger and more public of these reservoirs is, 
 probably, the pool in Hebron," over which David hanged 
 up the assassins of Ishbosheth.^ 
 
 The other scriptural reference is to the pool of Gib- 
 eon." 2 The fine fountain of Gibeon is situated a little east 
 of the village, on the north side of the rocky ridge, just 
 below the top ; it is in a cavern excavated under the high 
 rock, so as to form a subterranean reservoir of considerable 
 size. Some eight or ten rods below it, among the olive trees, 
 are the remains of a larger open reservoir, similar to that 
 
 1 2 Sam. iv. 12. Biblical Researches, 11. p. 74 [11. p. 432]. Rosen, m Zeitschr. 
 der Deutschen morg. Gesellschaft, 1858, XII. p. 490. 
 
 2 2 Sam. ii. 13. 
 
280 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAOT). 
 
 at Hebron ; intended anciently, no doubt, to receive the 
 waters overflowing from the cavern during the rainy season. 
 This is probably the same spoken of by the prophet as " the 
 great waters in Gibeon ; " so called as compared with the 
 waters of the cavern.^ Here took place the challenge of 
 Abner to Joab, and the battle between their followers, ter- 
 minated by the defeat and flight of the former, and the death 
 of Asahel.^ 
 
 The Psalmist also once refers to the fact, that the rain 
 filletli the pools," as an emblem of pastoral and agricultural 
 prosperity.^ 
 
 Among the largest ancient reservoirs in Palestine, was 
 that at Bethel, in the shallow western valley. It measures 
 three hundred and fourteen feet in length, by two hundred 
 and seventeen feet in breadth ; the walls were built with mas- 
 sive masonry. The southern wall is still entire ; those upon 
 the sides are partly gone ; the northern one has almost dis- 
 appeared. This large pool was fed by two living springs 
 within it.* 
 
 At the probable site of ancient Ai, in the western valley, 
 where the rocks at the side are precipitous for a few feet in 
 height, there are no less than three ancient reservoirs, mostly 
 dug in the rock, and having the following dimensions : ^ 
 
 Length. Breadth. Depth. 
 
 Upper or Northern, . . 110 feet. 32 feet. 6 feet. 
 
 Middle, .... 37 26 12 
 
 Lower, .... 88 22 15 
 
 Other similar reservoirs, or pools, of various sizes, have 
 
 1 Jer. xli. 12. Biblical Researches, I. p. 455 [II. p. 13GJ. Barclay, City of the 
 Great King, p. 549. 
 
 2 2 Sam. ii. 12-24. ^ pg. Lxxxiv. 6. 
 4 Biblical Researches, I. p. 449 [H. p. 127]. 
 
 « Biblical Researches,- 1, p. 574 [H. p. 312]. 
 
RESERVOIRS OR TxiNKS. 
 
 281 
 
 come down from antiquity ; for example, one at Ramali of 
 Benjamin ; ^ two or three at Neby Samwil (^Mizpelt) ; ^ two 
 at el-Bireh (^Beerotli) fed from tlie fountain ; ^ a deep one 
 cut in the rock at Rummon (^Rimmon) ;^ a large one with a 
 high wall at 'Akrabeli in the toparchy of Acrabatene ; ^ and 
 in various other places. 
 
 Solomon'' s Pools. Of all the ancient reservoirs in the Holy 
 Land, by far the largest and most important are the three 
 immense tanks which the tradition of monks and travellers 
 knows only as " Solomon's Pools ; " but called by the Arabs 
 simply el-Burak, " the Pools." They are situated an hour 
 southwest of Bethlehem on the way to Hebron. They are in 
 the open head or basin of a valley declining towards the east, 
 just above the point where it becomes narrow and is joined 
 by other nearly parallel valleys in tlie south. The pools are 
 some distance apart ; each on a different level, so that the 
 bottom of the one is higher than the surface of the next 
 below ; and they do not lie in a straight line. As seen from 
 without, they appear as massive structures built up above 
 the ground ; the upper or western end of each being slightly 
 higher than the eastern. The following measurements were 
 taken in 1838:6 
 
 I. Eastern or Loaver Pool. 
 Length, 582 feet. Breadth, east end 207 feet, west end 148 feet. 
 Depth at east end, 50 feet ; of which 6 feet water. 
 
 II. Middle Tool. 
 Distance above Lower Pool, 248 feet. 
 
 Length, 423 feet. Breadth, east end 250 feet, west end 160 feet. 
 Depth at east end, 39 feet ; of which 14 feet water. 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 287. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, L p. 457 [XL p. 140]. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, I. p. 451 [IL p. 136]. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, p. 290. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, p. 296. 
 
 6 Biblical Researches, I. p. 474 [II. pp. 164, 165]. 
 36 
 
282 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Ill, Upper Pool. 
 Distance above Middle Pool, 160 feet. 
 
 Length, 380 feet. Breadth, east end 236 feet, west end 229 feet. 
 Depth at east end, 25 feet ; of which 15 feet water. 
 
 The walls of the reservoirs are built of large hewn stones. 
 The bottom is formed by the naked shelving rock, which 
 constitutes the bed of the valley, leaving only a narrow 
 channel along the middle, and having several offsets or ter- 
 races along each side. The inside walls and bottoms of all 
 the reservoirs, so far as visible, are covered with cement ; 
 and the lower one, in 1838, had been recently repaired. 
 Flights of steps lead down in various places into all the pools. 
 Near the northwest corner of the upper pool there is now 
 an old square Saracenic castle, also called el-Burak. 
 
 The main source of supply for all these reservoirs, is a 
 sunken fountain, situated in the open and gradually ascend- 
 ing fields, about forty rods northwest of the castle. Here one 
 sees only the narrow mouth of a well, which is usually kept 
 stopped with a large stone, too heavy to be removed without 
 the efforts of several men. The fountain is thus described 
 by Maundrell : ^ " Through this hole you descend directly 
 down, but not without some difficulty, for about four yards ; 
 and then arrive at a vaulted room fifteen paces long and 
 eight broad. Joining to this, is another room of the same 
 fashion, but somewhat less. Both these rooms are covered 
 with handsome stone arches, very ancient, and perhaps the 
 work of Solomon himself. You find here four places at 
 which the water rises. From these separate sources it is 
 conveyed by little rivulets into a kind of basin ; and from 
 thence is carried by a large subterranean passage down to 
 the pools." 
 
 1 Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, April 1, 1G97. 
 
RESERVOIRS OR TANKS. 
 
 283 
 
 This subterranean passage terminates at the northwest 
 corner of the upper pool, in a sort of artificial fountain just 
 above the latter, so arranged that the water here divides. 
 A part passes off through a small channel or aqueduct, which 
 rnns along the north side of the pools ; while another part is 
 turned down into a vaulted but not large subterranean cham- 
 ber, whence it flows off through a square passage to the ad- 
 jacent upper pool. The aqueduct above mentioned contin- 
 ues along the north side of all the reservoirs, giving off a 
 portion of its w^aters to the middle pool, and another portion 
 to the lower one. It then passes down a steep declivity, to 
 join a similar channel leading from the lower end of the 
 lower pool, as also another coming from a parallel valley in 
 the north. There is also a similar channel coming around 
 the point of the hill from higher up in the southern valley, 
 intended to bring the waters of the rainy season from that 
 quarter into the lower pool, about a hundred feet west of its 
 lower end. 
 
 At the eastern end of the lower pool a large external abut- 
 ment is built up, in which is a passage and a vaulted room 
 extending under the massive wall of the reservoir, quite up 
 near to the water. This room appears to be not unlike those 
 at the sunken fountain ; but the purpose for which it was 
 constructed it is difficult to explain. 
 
 These pools furnish in summer a place for bathing and 
 swimming ; and are sometimes so used by the Franks of 
 Jerusalem.^ 
 
 These great reservoirs are nowhere mentioned or directly 
 alluded to in Scripture ; nor is any ancient historical notice 
 of them known to exist. The object for which they were 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 474-476 [II. pp. 1G5-1G8]. Barclay, City of the 
 Great King, pp. 554-557. 
 
284 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRArilY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 constructed may have been twofold. According to late Jew- 
 ish writers, cited in the Talmud, the temple in Jerusalem 
 was supplied with water by an aqueduct from the fountain 
 at Etam, which was on the way to Hebron. To this day an 
 aqueduct leads from one of these ancient reservoirs and 
 from the fountain that feeds them, to the site of the ancient 
 temple. Here was one object. And if the gardens of Sol- 
 omon at Etam were in the fertile valley below the pools, as 
 is probable, then another use of the latter may have been to 
 supply water for irrigating these gardens during the dry 
 summer season. There is, however, no visible arrangement 
 for drawing off water, either into the aqueduct or to the 
 valley below, except from the lower pool.^ 
 
 If such were the objects for which the pools were con- 
 structed, their antiquity may well go back to the days of 
 Solomon. 
 
 IV. AQUEDUCTS. 
 
 There are several aqueducts of the middle ages near Jer- 
 icho, supported on pointed arches, and intended to distribute 
 over the plain, around and north of that place, the waters 
 of the fountain of Duk and 'Ain es-Sultan.^ There is like- 
 wise a modern aqueduct in the plain of 'Akka, bringing 
 water to the city.^ The Haram at Hebron is also supplied 
 with water from two or three fountains, by means of modern 
 conduits. 
 
 •J Scripture speaks of three ancient conduits or aqueducts at 
 ; Jerusalem; namely, 1. Siloam, "which is by. interpretation, 
 Sent,^^ referring to the subterranean passage by which the 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 348 [I. p. 515]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 5(33, 508 [II. pp. 298, 304]. 
 
 3 Later Biblical Researches, p. 91. 
 
AQUEDUCTS. 
 
 285 
 
 pool of Siloam is fed. 2. " The conduit of the upper pool," 
 bringing down its waters, as now, to the city. 3. The aque- 
 duct mentioned by Josephus, supplying water to the tower 
 of Ilippicus and to Herod's palace on Zion.^ Possibly the 
 latter two are identical. They will all be treated of among 
 the waters of Jerusalem. 
 
 The aqueduct leading from Solomon's Pools and the foun- 
 tain which feeds them, to the great mosque of Jerusalem, the 
 site of the Jewish temple, is doubtless, in great part ancient ; 
 though, like the pools, it is not alluded to in Scripture. 
 The fact recorded by Jewish writers, cited in the Talmud, 
 that the temple was supplied with water by an aqueduct 
 from the fountain of Etam on the way to Hebron, is con- 
 clusive. Josephus too relates, that Solomon took pleasure 
 in Etam, which was fifty furlongs from Jerusalem, and had 
 fine gardens and streams of water. Scripture names it 
 between Bethlehem and Tekoa.^ 
 
 The beginning of the aqueduct, at the fountain and at the 
 lower pool, has been described above. From thence it winds 
 along the sides of the hills, preserving its level, until it 
 reaches the southern slope of the hill on wliich Bethlehem 
 stands. Here is a cistern, or rather reservoir, at some depth 
 below the surface, through which the water flows, and from 
 which it is drawn up with buckets to supply the inhabitants. 
 From this point it is carried by a tunnel through the hill, 
 below the saddle lying between the town and the convent. 
 Hence it is again conducted along the slopes of the hills pass- 
 ing just on the south and east of the convent Mar EUas ; it 
 
 1 John ix, 7; Isa. vii. 3; 2 Kings xviii. 17. Joseph. Bel. Jud., 5. 7. 3. Ibid., 
 2. 17. 9. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 348 [I. p. 515]. Joseph. Antiq., 8. 7. 3. 2 Chron. 
 xi. C. 
 
286 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 is seen on the east of the plain of Rephaim, and is brought 
 into the valley of Hinnom, which it crosses on low arches at 
 a point a little north of the southwest corner of the city wall. 
 It then passes along the southern and eastern slopes of Zion, 
 and entering the city is carried by an excavated tunnel for 
 some distance along the eastern perpendicular face of Zion ; 
 and at last crosses on the mound leading to the Haram. 
 In 1838 water was flowing in the aqueduct as far as to some 
 distance north of Bethlehem ; but did not reach Jerusalem. 
 
 The channel of the aqueduct is usually conducted along 
 the surface of the ground. For some distance from the pools 
 and in other places, it is laid with tubes of red pottery, 
 twelve or fifteen inches long and eight or ten inches in di- 
 ameter, cemented into each other. Afterwards, for mucli of 
 the way, it consists merely of stones laid in cement, forming 
 a small covered channel of perhaps a foot in breadth and 
 depth. There are occasional openings, which serve as ven- 
 tilators, through wliich also water may be obtained. ^ 
 
 But the present channel and course of the aqueduct are 
 not everywhere the most ancient. On the gentle acclivity 
 northeast of Rachel's Sepulchre, up wliich passes the Hebron 
 and Jerusalem road, are still seen the traces of a more an- 
 cient aqueduct. It was obviously carried up the slope by 
 means of tubes or perforated blocks of stone, fitted together 
 with sockets and tenons, and originally cemented. These 
 blocks are seen for some distance up the acclivity ; and the 
 aqueduct crossed a saddle in the ridge just north, in a mass 
 of large hewn stones, which yet remain. This could only 
 have been an ancient channel of the aqueduct from Solo- 
 mon's Pools ; which at the present day is carried around the 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, L p. 347 [L p. 514j. Toblcr, Dritte Wandcrung, p. 84. 
 Barclay, City of the Great Kinj^, p. 557. 
 
AQUEDUCTS. 
 
 287 
 
 eastern end of the same ridge. The circumstances show 
 that the ancient builders were acquainted with the fact, that 
 water in a close aqueduct rises to the level of its source. 
 The remains of an ancient aqueduct, constructed on the 
 like principle, are seen between Beit Miry and Brummana 
 on Lebanon.! 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 273, 285; comp. p. 17. 
 
 / 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 The parallels of north latitude which embrace Palestine, 
 (31° to 3o° 16), if extended westward, pass wholly south of 
 Greece and its islands, of Italy and its islands, and of Spain. 
 They strike the northern coast of Africa along the Mediter- 
 ranean, and the southern part of the United States of Amer- 
 ica, or the Gulf States so called. These circumstances, 
 together with the general position and physical features of 
 the country, remove tlie Holy Land from any relations of 
 climate with southern and western Europe and the north- 
 ern American States ; and bring it more into analogy with 
 northern Africa and the Gulf States of America. 
 
 I. SEASONS.^ 
 
 The occidental division of the year into four seasons is 
 not applicable to Palestine, and is unknown in Scripture. 
 The Bible makes mention only of summer and winter ; the 
 latter as the season of rain.^ There is no allusion in the 
 Old Testament or the New, in Hebrew or in the English 
 Version, to the seasons of spring and autumn. 
 
 1 See generally Biblical Researches, I. pp. 428-431 [II. pp. 96-100]. Comp. also 
 Tobler, Dcnkbl., pp. 1-35. Dritte Wanderunfr, pp. 206-211. 
 
 2 Gen. viii. 22; Ps. Ixxiv. 17; Zech. xiv. 8; Cant. ii. 11. 
 
SEASONS. 
 
 289 
 
 At the prcsont day the division of seasons is the same as 
 of old. The variations of rain and sunshine, wliicli in the 
 west exist more or less throughout the whole year, are in 
 Palestine confined chiefly to the interval between the latter 
 part of October and the early part of April, a period of not 
 yet six montlis ; while the remaining months enjoy almost 
 uninterruptedly a cloudless sky. 
 
 Winter or the Rainy Season. The rains usually begin 
 to fall in the latter half of October or beginning of No- 
 vember ; not suddenly, but by degrees. This gives to the 
 husbandman time and opportunity to plough his ground and 
 SQW his fields of winter wheat and barley. The rains in- 
 crease for some time, coming mostly from the west and 
 southwest ; they last for two or three days at a time, falling 
 especially during the night. Then the wind chops round 
 to the north or east, and several days of fine weather succeed. 
 This alternation of groups of rainy days, followed by longer 
 intervals of sunshine, continues through the winter. Dur- 
 ing the months of November and December, the rains still 
 fall heavily ; afterwards they return only at longer intervals, 
 and are less heavy ; but at no period during the winter 
 do they entirely cease to occur. During these intervals of 
 fine weather, the husbandman sows a later crop of barley, 
 and also his summer grains.^ The rains usually continue 
 to fall more or less through the month of March ; but are 
 rare after that period. In 18-38, there was little or no rain 
 in March ; and the whole quantity of rain was less than 
 usual. In 1852 the rains were abundant, and lasted through 
 the first week of April. The rains are often accompanied 
 by thunder and lightning. 
 
 Observations made in Jerusalem give the following results 
 
 1 Barclay, City of the Great King, pp. 421, 422. 
 37 
 
290 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 as to the proportion of rainy days at that point during the 
 winter seasons of 1843 and 1845. 
 
 1843-4. The rain began with a thunder-shower, Oct. 25. 
 In November rain fell on seventeen days ; in December 
 thirteen days, and once snow; January, eight days, and 
 twice frost at night ; February, seven days ; March, ten days ; 
 April, eight days, the month being colder than usual. There 
 were also showers on five days in May.^ 
 
 1845-6. In November rain fell on four days ; December, 
 tliirteen days ; January, thirteen days ; February, eleven 
 days ; to March 18, two days. But during the whole winter, 
 there was no day in which the sun was not visible for a 
 longer or shorter time.^ 
 
 Snow often falls at Jerusalem and in the hill-country, 
 mostly in January and February, to the depth of a foot or 
 more ; but does not long remain. In February, 1797, a 
 deep snow lay for twelve or thirteen days at Jerusalem ; and 
 in 1818, it lay over a foot deep for five days.^ On the 9th 
 of January, 1807, Seetzen, being at Jericho, saw the oppo- 
 site mountains of 'Ajlun, the Belka, and Kerak, covered al- 
 most to their foot witli snow, which had fallen during the 
 night ; though not a flake had fallen in all the Ghor. The 
 mountains around Jerusalem were in like manner covered 
 the same night ; and the snow lay for several days.* In 
 the winter of 1820, there was snow upon the hills of Gal- 
 ilee, but only for four hours.^ 
 
 Hail falls in the hill-country, in the rainy season, more 
 
 1 Lanneau, in Monatsb. dcr Berliner Ges. fUr Erdk., 1847-48, p. 48. 
 
 2 Tobler, Dcnkbl., p. 2L 
 
 3 Brown's Travels, p. 3GL Scholz, Reise, p. 138. 
 ♦ Seetzen, Reisen, IL p. 300. 
 
 Scholz, Reise, pp. 137, 138. For falls of snow in various other years, see 
 Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, p. 210. 
 
SEASONS. 
 
 291 
 
 frequently than snow ; but does not in general occasion 
 much damage. Fine hail mingled with rain is very com- 
 mon ; occasionally it falls as large as peas or beans, and 
 sometimes much larger.^ Scholz relates, that while he was 
 at Nazareth, early in 1821, violent hail occurred several 
 times ; some of the hailstones being as large as a pigeon's 
 egg.2 
 
 Frost is not frequent ; the ground itself never freezes. 
 But Mr. Whiting, during a residence of several years in Je- 
 rusalem, had seen the pool of Hezekiah, upon which his 
 house joined, covered with thin ice for one or two days.^ 
 
 During the whole winter the roads, or rather tracks, in 
 Palestine, are muddy, deep, and slippery ; so that the travel- 
 ler at this season is subjected to great inconvenience and 
 discomfort. When the rains cease, the mud soon dries up, 
 and the roads become hard, though never smooth. Who- 
 ever therefore wishes to profit most by a journey in Pal- 
 estine, will take care not to arrive at Jerusalem earlier than 
 the latter part of March. 
 
 Early and Latter Rain. Scripture speaks in various places 
 of the early (or former') and the latter rain, as essential for 
 the abundance of the crops and the prosperity of the land.^ 
 These naturally correspond to the beginning and end of the 
 rainy season. But the terms ' early ' and ' latter ' may also 
 be accounted for in part from the fact, that while the eccle- 
 siastical year of the Hebrews began with the month Nisan, 
 not far from the vernal equinox, their more ancient secular 
 
 1 Barclay, City of the Great King, p. 52. 
 
 2 Scholz, Eeise, p. 138. 
 
 3 Comp. Barclay, City of the Great King, p. 50. 
 
 *Deut. xi. 14; Jer. v. 24; Hos. vi. 3; Joel ii. 23; James v. 7. Latter rain, 
 Prov. xvi. 15; Jer. iii. 3; Zech. x. 1. 
 
292 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 and agricultural year began six months later, with the month 
 Tisri, about the time of the autumnal equinox.^ 
 
 But there are no definite and distinct seasons of early 
 and latter rain, separate from the rest of the rainy season. 
 The whole period from October to xVpril constitutes only one 
 continued season in which rain falls ; without any regularly 
 intervening term of prolonged fair weather. Hence the 
 early rain was the first showers in October and November, 
 which revived the parched and thirsty earth, and prepared 
 it for ploughing and the seed. The latter rain, on the otlicr 
 hand, was the later showers which continue to fall in March 
 and April, and serve to refresh and forward both the ripening 
 crops and the springing verdure of the fields. 
 
 Should the early rain fail, or be too long delayed, so that 
 the rainy season should begin at once with heavy and con- 
 stant showers, there would be no opportunity for the hus- 
 bandman to plough his ground or sow his seed ; and there 
 could be no crop. Or, if the latter rain, the showers of 
 March and April, do not take place, the ripening grain and 
 springing verdure are arrested, and do not reach their full 
 maturity. In such case the crops are diminished, or fail 
 altogetlier.2 On the other hand, when the latter rain occurs 
 in full, the husbandman is never disappointed in his harvest. 
 In 1852, these rains were sometimes heavy, and continued 
 into the second week of April. The result we saw during 
 our subsequent journey, in the very abundant crops through- 
 out the country.^ 
 
 Summer or the Dry Season". During the months of April 
 and May, the sky is usually serene, the air mild and balmy; 
 and the face of nature, after a season of ordinary rain, con- 
 
 1 Ex. xii. 2; Lev. xxv. 9, 10. 
 
 8 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 9, 30. 
 
 2 Comp. Amos iv. 7. 
 
SEASONS. 
 
 293 
 
 tin lies green and pleasant to the eye. Showers occur occa- 
 sionally, but they are mild and refreshing. In 1838, there 
 were showers in Jerusalem on the first of May ; and at eve- 
 ning there was thunder and lightning, with pleasant and 
 reviving rain. The 6th of May was also remarkable for 
 thunder and for several showers, some of which were quite 
 heavy. The rains of both these days extended far to the 
 north of Jerusalem, But the occurrence of rain so late in 
 the season was regarded as unusual ; though, as we have 
 seen, in 1844 rain fell on five days in the month of May. 
 
 In ordinary seasons, from the cessation of the showers in 
 April or May, until their commencement in October or No- 
 vember, rain never falls in Palestine, and the sky is usually 
 serene. If during the winter season there has been the or- 
 dinary and full supply of rain, the husbandman is certain of 
 his crops ; and he is also perfectly sure of fine weather for 
 the ingathering of the harvest. " Snow in summer and rain 
 in harvest " were things incomprehensible to the Hebrew. 
 Thunder and rain in wheat harvest occurred once by miracle 
 in answer to the prayer of Samuel.^ 
 
 The atmosphere is in general clear and fine ; especially at 
 the high elevation of Jerusalem ; nor does the heat of sum- 
 mer become oppressive, except during the prevalence of the 
 south wind, or sirocco. Yet the total absence of rain soon 
 destroys the verdure of the fields ; and gives to the whole 
 landscape the aspect of drought and barrenness. The only 
 green thing which remains, is the foliage of the scattered 
 fruit trees and shrubs, and occasional vineyards and fields 
 of millet. The deep green of the broad fig leaves and the 
 lighter shade of the millet is delightful to the eye amid the 
 
 1 Prov. xxvi. 1 ; 1 Sam. xii. 17, 18. 
 
294: 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 general aridness ; while the foliage of the olive, with its dull 
 grayish hue, scarcely deserves the name of verdure. 
 
 Later in the season, tlie whole land has become dry and 
 parched ; the cisterns are nearly empty ; the few streams 
 and fountains fail ; and all nature, physical and animal, looks 
 forward with longing to the return of the rainy season. 
 Mists and clouds begin to appear, and showers occasionally 
 fall ; the husbandman prepares his ground and sows his seed ; 
 and the thirsty earth is soon drenched witli an abundance of 
 rain. 
 
 Fogs. For some time after the rains, vapor continues to 
 rise from the earth, and gathers, as fog, in the valleys and 
 low places. Thus, in 1838, in the morning of May 18, 
 being at Beit Nettif, we beheld all the lower tract of hill- 
 country enveloped in a dense fog, above which the tops of 
 the hills were seen like islands; but the fog soon "passed 
 away.i Later still the vapor in the atmosphere continues to 
 gather around the tops of the mountains, forming light morn- 
 ing clouds. This we experienced on Mount Tabor, on the 19th 
 of June ; about half an hour after sunrise, a fog came on, 
 forming a cloud around the summit, which veiled everything 
 below from our view ; it soon, however, dispersed, and left a 
 clear atmosphere and a glorious prospect.^ Early in August 
 light white clouds come up over the land from the south- 
 west ; but seem to produce no further clfect upon the atmos- 
 phere.^ 
 
 Dew. During the fair weather of winter, and throughout 
 the whole of the dry season, dew falls at night, and in gen- 
 eral heavily ; and serves to refresh the languishing vegetation. 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, IL p. 19 [11. p. 347]. 
 
 2 See Biblical Researches, H. p. 3G8 [HL p. 235]. 
 8 Schultz, Tories., p. 28. 
 
TEMPERATURE. 
 
 295 
 
 On the morning of March 23, Maundrell's tents were wet 
 with dew at Lejjun, as if it had rained all night; and on 
 June 19, our own tent was wet as with rain on the summit 
 of Mount Tabor.i At Jerusalem the heavy dews contribute 
 something to the coolness of the nights.^ 
 
 II. TEMPERATURE. 
 
 The local temperature of Palestine is greatly affected by 
 the physical division of the country into the four long and 
 narrow parallel tracts or strips of territory, of different eleva- 
 tion, which have been already described.^ The western plain 
 rises but slightly above the level of the Mediterranean ; while 
 the Ghor, or valley of the Jordan, is depressed several hun- 
 dred feet below the same. The western hill-country around 
 Jerusalem and Hebron is elevated two thousand five hundred 
 and two thousand seven hundred feet above the sea ; while 
 the hill-country east of Jordan, which reaches an elevation 
 of three thousand feet around Kerak and in the Belka, rises 
 to five thousand feet in the mountains of 'Ajlun. The dif- 
 ference of level between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, is 
 about three thousand nine hundred feet, or very nearly three 
 fourths of a mile. 
 
 Western Hill- Country. The climate of Jerusalem is in 
 general cool and pleasant ; and is never oppressively warm, 
 except during the continuance of a Sirocco or south wind. 
 While the Frank residents at Beyrut and Damascus are 
 driven during the hot months to the mountains, those of 
 Jerusalem, though they may leave the city or camp outside 
 of it, because of the. miasma arising from the accumulated 
 
 1 Maundrell, March 22. Biblical Researches, 11. p. 368 [III. p. 235]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 428 sq. [II. p. 96 sq.]. 
 s See above, p. 19. 
 
29 G PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 rubbish of centuries, would have to travel far before they 
 could find a cooler or healthier spot. The nights are uni- 
 formly cool, often with a heavy dew ; and our friends, who 
 liad resided for years in the city, had never had occasion to 
 dispense with a coverlet upon their beds during summer. 
 
 During our sojourn at Jerusalem in 1838, from April 14 
 to May 6, the mercury ranged at sunrise from 44° to 64° F. 
 and at 2 p. M. from G0° to 79° F. This last degree of heat 
 was during a Sirocco, April 80. Again, from the 10th to the 
 13th of June, we had at sunrise a range from 50° to 74° ; and 
 at 2 p. M. once 8G°, with a strong northwest wind. Yet the 
 air was fine, and the heat not burdensome. 
 
 During May, 1843, according to observations by Mr. 
 Whiting, the monthly mean at Jerusalem was 67° 89° F. 
 The warmest day was the 14th, with a Sirocco, when the 
 mercury was at sunrise, 70° ; at 2 p. m. 86° ; at 3 p. M. 90° ; 
 at sunset,75° ; mean, 80° 25, F. The coldest day was the 4th, 
 marked as winter weather, when the mercury stood at sun- 
 rise, 49° ; at 2 P.M. 49°; at sunset, 50°; mean, 49° 33 F. 
 The above high monthly mean was owing to the prevalence 
 of easterly (Sirocco) winds during ten days of the month ; 
 while the wind blew from the west only eighteen days ; from 
 the north one day; and was 'variable' two days. There 
 were two days with rain.^ 
 
 For the year beginning with June 1843, and ending with 
 May 1844, we have the following summary of the mean 
 temperature, as resulting from observations kept by Mr. Lan- 
 neau : ^ 
 
 1 Bibliothea Sacra, 1814, p. 222. 
 
 s Monatsb. der Berliner Ges. fiir Erdk., 1847-48, p. 49. 
 
TEMPERATURE. 
 
 207 
 
 1843, 
 
 June, 
 
 Monthly 
 o 
 
 71.66 F. 
 
 "Warmest Day, 
 Mean. 
 
 o 
 
 18th, 79.0 F. 
 
 Coldest Day, 
 o 
 
 8th, 61.0 F. 
 
 Bemarks. 
 No rain. 
 
 July, 
 
 77.3 
 
 20th, 
 
 86.3 
 
 6ih, 71.3 
 
 No rain. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 72.7 
 
 3a, 
 
 82.0 
 
 29th, 67.0 
 
 No rain. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 72.24 
 
 3d, 
 
 72.7 
 
 20th, 66.0 
 
 No rain. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 66.63 
 
 2d, 
 
 84.6 
 
 27th, 62.6 
 
 First shower, Oct. 25. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 59.4 
 
 1st, 
 
 72 0 
 
 24th, 49.0 
 
 Kain on 17 days. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 47.9 
 
 2d, 
 
 53.6 
 
 21st, 41.6 
 
 Rain on 13 days, snow once. 
 
 1844, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 47.6 
 
 ISth, 
 
 54.0 
 
 2d, 35.0 
 
 Rain on 8 days, twice frost. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 54.2 
 
 14th, 
 
 60.6 
 
 19th, 49.0 
 
 Eain on 7 days. 
 
 March, 
 
 57.7 
 
 21st, 
 
 66.0 
 
 5th, 50.0 
 
 Rain on 10 days. 
 
 April, 
 
 53.2 
 
 29th, 
 
 66.0 
 
 15th, 42.0 
 
 Rain on 8 days. 
 
 May, 
 
 65.8 
 
 20th, 
 
 74.6 
 
 5th, 60.6 
 
 Rain on 5 days. 
 
 The month of April was colder than usual, 
 
 The above gives the mean temperature of 62° 46 for that 
 year at Jerusalem. 
 
 From Juue 1851 to January 1855, inclusive, Dr. Barclay 
 kept a record of observations in the Holy City. The mean 
 temperature of the different months is given in the following 
 table : ^ 
 
 Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. Juue. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 
 ooooooo o o o oo 
 1851, 72.8 79.8 78.2 75.0 72.3 67.0 53.3 
 
 1852, 49.6 52.1 56.0 62.2 69.6 73.8 78.0 78.0 74.1 76.6 62.7 55.3 
 
 1853, 51.4 60.4 60.2 64.0 77.6 77.3 78.0 80.0 80.2 74.9 61.1 52.9 
 18.54, 49.6 50.8 51.0 58.1 74.1 76.9 80.8 80.9 77.3 72.9 64.3 56.6 
 
 1855, 47.1 
 
 Mean, 49.4 54.4 55.7 61.4 73.8 75.2 79.1 79.3 77.0 74.2 63.8 54.5 
 
 It appears from these data that the yearly mean during this 
 period was 66° 5 F., while that of Boston is given at 49° ; of 
 Philadelphia at 52° ; of New Orleans at 62°. January was 
 the coldest month ; July and August the hottest. The high- 
 est elevation of the mercury was 92° F. the low<=>st, on one 
 
 1 Barclay, City of Great King, p. 428. 
 
298 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 occasion just before sunrise, was 28°. Pellicles of ice an 
 eighth of an inch thick were formed, and remained in the 
 shade the whole day. We have seen above that the like 
 thin ice is sometimes formed on the pool of Hezekiah.^ 
 
 What is true of Jerusalem, naturally holds good in general 
 of the whole hill-country west of Jordan ; except so far as 
 the southern part is higher than the northern. Few obser- 
 vations have been made, however, away from the Holy City. 
 In 1838, we came from Teffuh to Hebron in a violent and 
 hazy Sirocco, with the mercury at 80° F. It cleared away 
 at evening, with the wind N. W. and the mercury at 65°. 
 During the next fine days. May 24-27, and June 5, the 
 mercury ranged at sunrise between 43° and 01° ; at 10 a. m. 
 between 68° and 80° ; at 2 p. m. between 71° and 80° ; at 
 sunset, between 51° and 71° ; the weather the wliole time 
 being clear and fine, with the wind N. W. In passing, in 
 June of the same year, from Nabulus by Nazareth and Tabor 
 to Safed and Bint Jebeil, the thermometer at sunrise was 
 nearest 64° F. ; at 2 p.m. mostly from 78° to 82° ; and at sun- 
 set from 70° to 74°. On one day, June 17, at Nazareth, it 
 stood for several hours at 88° with a clear sky and south wind. 
 On the next day, on the way to Tabor, there was a violent 
 Sirocco and haze from the south castywith the mercury at 10 
 A. M. 98°, and at 2 p. m. 95° ; while at sunset on Tabor it 
 was 74°, with westerly wind.^ 
 
 Western Plain. In the western plain, which is little ele- 
 vated above the Mediterranean, very few observations have 
 been made. The mean temperature of that tract, however, 
 must naturally be some degrees higher than at Jerusalem; 
 since the difference of elevation is more than two thousand 
 
 1 Barclay, City of Great King, p. 428. 
 
 2 See the observations as recorded in the Itinerary, Biblical Researches II. [III.] 
 
TEMPERATURE. 
 
 299 
 
 feet ; and the harvest in the plain ripens a fortnight earlier 
 than on the mountains. ^ On tlie 7tli of June, at Terkiimieh, 
 the thermometer at 2 p. m. stood at 97° F., with a bright sky 
 and N. W. wind. At sunrise it had stood at 72° ; and at 
 sunset was 88°, at Beit Ncttif. The next day was remarka- 
 ble. The mercury at sunrise was at 83° ; at 11 a. m. 94° ; at 
 noon, 105° ; at 2 p. m. 97° ; and at sunset, 90°. The air was 
 very hot, with a slight haze, and a strong wind from the N. 
 W. coming directly from the sea, which was less than ten 
 miles distant. The point 105° at noon, was at Ekron ; the 
 thermometer being on the ground, in the best shade that 
 could be obtained. 
 
 Valley of Jordan. In this sunken valley, the Ghor, which 
 in its lowest part, the Dead Sea, is thirteen hundred feet 
 below the level of the Mediterranean, and about three thou- 
 sand nine hundred feet lower than Jerusalem, we must of 
 course expect a very different temperature. We find ac- 
 cordingly, to a great extent, an Egyptian climate, and many 
 Egyptian productions. In this tract, also, very few observa- 
 tions have been made. 
 
 Lynch, in descending the Jordan, April 8-18, had a range 
 of the mercury, at 8 a. m. from 6G° to 69° F. ; at noon, from 
 69° to 88° ; at 8 p. m. from 62° to 70°. During seven days 
 on the shore of the Dead Sea, April 19-25, the mercury 
 stood, at 6 A. M. on two days, 78°; at 8 a. m. on two days, 88° ; 
 and at noon on three days, 86°, 89°, 90°. On the three days 
 before the Expedition left the Ghor, May 6, 7, 8, the heat 
 had increased. On the 6th, the mercury, at 8 a. m. was 92° ; 
 at noon, 97°; at 2 p. m. 102°. On the 7th, at 8 a. m. 84° ; 
 at 11 A. M. 106° ; at 4 p. m. 9S° ; while at 6 p. m. there was a 
 
 1 For the observations made durinfj our journey in May and June, 1838, see the 
 Itineraiy, as above. 
 
300 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 sudden and violent gust of hot wind from the eastward, 
 which overthrew all the tents. On the 8th, at noon, the 
 mercury rose to 110° in the shade.^ 
 
 In 1838, we were for three and a half days in the Gh3r, 
 May 10-14, passing between 'Ain Jidy and Jericho. The 
 record of these days was as follows : 
 
 Sunrise. 10 a. m. 2 p. ra. Sunset, 
 o o o o 
 
 May 10, 80.0 at 'Ain Jidy. 
 
 11, 68.0 85.0 78.0 
 
 12, 70.0 84.0 78.0 
 
 13, 70.0 86.0 91.0 76.0 atJciicho. 
 
 14, 64.0 
 
 The wind during this time was variable. On May 29 and 
 30, we were at the southern quarter of the sea, on our way 
 to Petra. The mercury ranged as follows: May 20, sun- 
 rise, 70° ; 2 P.M. 92° ; sunset, 88°. On the 30th, sunrise, 69° ; 
 10 A.M. 96° ; noon, 102° ; 2 p.m. 96° ; sunset, 76°; the lat- 
 ter at the top of the pass Nemela. The heat at noon was 
 connected with a fierce Sirocco and haze from the S. W. 
 
 On the 20th of June, we were on the western shore of the 
 lake of Tiberias. At Tiberias, on the 19th, at sunset, we had 
 80° F. On the 20th, at sunrise, 75° ; 2 p.m. 95° ; sunset, 85° ; 
 with clear sky and a strong S. W. wind or Sirocco. At sun- 
 rise on the 21st, we had 71°. 
 
 Among the more southern productions of the GhOr, are 
 the Nubk or Egyptian lote-tree, called also Dom ; and the 
 'Osher, or apple of Sodom, which grows also in Nubia. The 
 little plain of Gennesareth, described by Josephus as so fertile 
 and rich in various fruits, owed much of its celebrity to its 
 climate and the convenient irrigation.^ 
 
 Eastern Hill- Country. In all this region we have no ob- 
 
 1 Lynch, Official Report, p. 74; comp. pp. 41, 42. 
 
 2 Joseph. Bel. Jud., 3. 10. 8. 
 
TEMPERATURE. 
 
 301 
 
 servations relating to the climate, except the occasional re- 
 marks of passing travellers. But the elevation of the region, 
 and its relative position, naturally lead to the conclusion, 
 that its climate is not, in general, unlike that of the western 
 hill-countrj. In the broad volcanic plains of Hauran, how- 
 ever, it would be no less natural to look for a mean temper- 
 ature of the summer months somewhat higher than that of 
 the corresponding western tracts. 
 
 Times of Hai'vest. The different mean temperatures pre- 
 vailing in the three western parallel divisions of Palestine, 
 as they are exemplified in the earlier or later harvest time, 
 fell under our personal observation in 1838. The barley 
 harvest usually precedes the wheat harvest by a fortnight or 
 three weeks. 
 
 On the 13th of May, we wore at Jericho, where the people 
 of Taiyibeh, who had sown the neighboring fields on shares, 
 were just completing their harvest. The harvest week might 
 be reckoned from the 7th to the 14tli. The barley harvest 
 had been finished three weeks before ; that is, about April 
 22. Three days earlier (May 10) we had left the wheat 
 still green upon the fields around Hebron and Carmel.^ In 
 1852, on the 14th and 15tli of May, tlie harvesting was in 
 full progress in the Ghor south of Beisan, and on the eastern 
 bank of the Jordan ; while at Pella, which is somewhat more 
 elevated, the grain was ripe, but the harvesting was not yet 
 begun. 2 
 
 From the 18th to the 23d of May, 1838, we were in the 
 western plain and at Gaza ; the people being then in the 
 midst of wheat harvest. Iii the western part of the great 
 
 * Biblical Researches, I. pp. 550, 551; comp. p. 431 [II. pp. 270-278; comp. 
 p. 90]. 
 
 « Later Biblical Researclies, pp. 314, 317, 320. 
 
302 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 plain, it was perhaps two or three days more forward than 
 among the tract of low liills on the east. The harvest time 
 continued apparently about ten days, from the 15th to the 
 25th of May. But the grain was not always trodden out 
 immediately.^ 
 
 On the 4th and 5th of June, 1838, as we returned from 
 Petra, the people of Hebron were just beginning to gather 
 their wheat; and on the 11th and 12th the threshing-floors 
 on the Mount of Ohves were in full operation. As we trav- 
 elled northward, on the 13th and the following days, the 
 harvest seemed to be over, with the exception of an occa- 
 sional field long ripe and waiting for the sicl<:le.^ 
 
 It thus appears that wheat harvest in the Ghor takes place 
 about four weeks earlier than at Jerusalem ; the two being 
 hardly more than twenty miles apart. The harvest of tlie 
 western plain lies between ; about ten days later than in the 
 Ghor, and eighteen or twenty days earlier than on the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 It is also reported of the melons raised along the shores of 
 the lake of Tiberias, which are of the finest quality, that 
 they are in great demand at 'Akka and Damascus, where 
 that fruit ripens nearly a month later.^ 
 
 in. WINDS. 
 
 Scripture speaks of only four winds, corresponding to the 
 four quarters of the heavens.* It names also the north, 
 south, east, and west winds,^ but none from any other quar- 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, [II. pp. 33, 50, 51, 55 11. pp. 367, 394, 395, 401]. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, I. p. 431, II. p. 324 [II. p. 99, III. p. 168] . 
 
 3 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 323. 
 
 < See especially Matth. xxiv. 31; Mark xiii. 27. 
 
 ^ North, Prov. xxv. 23. South, Ps. Ixxviii. 26; Luke xii. 55. East, Ps. 
 Ixxviii. 26; Ex. xiv. 21. West, Ex. x. 19. 
 
WINDS. 
 
 303 
 
 ter. These terms of course must be understood with lati- 
 tude ; a north wind implying any wind from the northern 
 quarter from northwest to northeast ; and so of the rest. 
 Hence a wind between two quarters might be regarded as 
 belonging to either ; for example, a wind from the southeast 
 might be spoken of as an east wind or a south wind. 
 
 Winds of the Rainy Season. The prevailing wind of the 
 rainy season is from the western quarter ; the rains come 
 mostly from the west or west-southwest. It is true now, as 
 of old, that " when ye see a cloud rise out of the west, 
 straightway ye say, There cometh a shower ; and so it is." ^ 
 It does not follow that it always rains when the west wind 
 blows ; but it is true that the west is the rainy quarter, and 
 that in winter a west wind seldom fails, sooner or later, to 
 bring rain. This wind blows from one day to seven or eight 
 days at a time, continuing through each group of rainy 
 days. Sometimes the west wind itself clears away the 
 clouds ; though fair weather more commonly follows a 
 change of wind to the north or east. The west wind is often 
 stormy and violent, and drives the rain before it with great 
 force. The coldest weather usually occurs during the prev- 
 alence of the west wind. This wind commonly follows an 
 east wind ; and is itself often succeeded by an east wind, or 
 sometimes by a wind from the north.^ 
 
 Next to the west wind, the east wind is in winter the 
 most frequent. It drives away the clouds, and brings a clear 
 sky; blows sometimes one day and sometimes for several 
 days ; and is seldom violent. As this wind comes from the 
 eastern deserts and passes over the sunken region of the 
 
 1 Luke xii. 54. 
 
 2 Tobler, Denkbl., pp. 28-30. Biblical Researches, I. p. 429 [II. p. 97]. Thorn- 
 son, Land and Book, I. p. 131. 
 
304 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 Gh5r, it brings with it a temperature somewhat warmer than 
 that of the west wind. 
 
 The other winds of winter are more variable. The north 
 wind brings occasionally fair weather, though less commonly 
 than that from the east. The wind from the south and south- 
 southwest (Sirocco) is less frequent in winter ; is occasion- 
 ally violent, with a haze from the desert ; and rarely lasts 
 more than one day. Sometimes it does not even raise the 
 temperature.^ 
 
 Winds of Summer. The most prevalent winds of sum- 
 mer are the northwesterly, and those from the southern 
 quarter. 
 
 The northwest wind or a wind from west to N. N. W. is 
 a day-breeze coming from the Mediterranean, springing up 
 in the morning at eight or nine o'clock, and continuing till 
 about ten at night. It renders the climate of the long and 
 hot summer months much more endurable ; especially at 
 Jerusalem and througliout the hill-country.^ In 1838, re- 
 turning from Petra, we had this wind, except one day, from 
 the time we left the GhDr until we arrived at Nazareth ; that 
 is, from June 3 to June 16, a period of fourteen succes- 
 sive days. The air was fine and mostly clear ; and although 
 the mercury ranged on several days at midday from 80° to 
 90° F., the heat was not burdensome. Yet at Ekron, where 
 the thermometer rose at noon to 105°, and in the sun only 
 to 108°, this nortliwest wind, coming directly from the neigh- 
 boring sea, had the usual characteristics of a wind from the 
 south. In May, 1843, this westerly wind is reported as 
 blowing on eighteen days of the month at Jerusalem.^ 
 
 The most disagreeable wind of Palestine is that called by 
 
 1 Tobler, Denkbl., p. 3L 2 Barclay, City of the Great King, p. 49. 
 
 3 Bibliotheca Sacra, February, 1844, p. 222. 
 
WINDS. 305 
 
 the Franks the Sirocco; it comes from any point of the 
 southern quarter from southeast to southwest. This name 
 is obviously an Italian form for the Arabic Shurkiyeh, ' east 
 wind,' which is used in the same manner ; and is properly 
 applied to a wind from the east or southeast. But as the 
 dreaded qualities of the east and southeast winds are like- 
 wise often exhibited in Palestine by winds from the southern 
 quarter quite around to the southwest, the name Sirocco is 
 now applied to any southern wind having the like qualities. 
 
 The main characteristics of the Sirocco are : First. Op- 
 pressive sultriness, causing great lassitude and a disinclina- 
 tion for all effort, bodily or mental. Second. Great dryness, 
 exhausting all moisture and closing tlie pores of the body ; 
 producing also a Avithering effect upon vegetation. Third. 
 Usually a hazy atmosphere, caused by the finest particles 
 of sand or an impalpable dust from the deserts over which 
 the wind passes. This haze imparts a peculiarly lurid and 
 ghastly hue to the sun and sky ; and the fine dust penetrates 
 the clothing and into every crevice and cranny of the houses. 
 It is of course most dense in the south ; and becomes grad- 
 ually thinner and less perceptible the further it advances 
 towards the north. Sometimes the southerly winds have 
 the heat and dryness, without the haze. It may still be said, 
 as of old : " When ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There 
 will be heat ; and it cometh to pass." ^ 
 
 The Sirocco more commonly lasts but a single day ; but 
 sometimes two or three days, and even longer. The more 
 easterly Sirocco prevailed at Jerusalem in May, 1843, for ten 
 days of the month. We encountered the same wind on 
 Mount Tabor in June, 1838; the thermometer showing at 
 10 A.M. 98° F., and at 2 p. m. 95° ; with a violent 'southeast 
 
 1 Luke xii. 55. Comp. Barclay, City of the Great King, p. 51. 
 39 
 
306 PHYSICAL GEOGkAPET OF THE HOLY LAXD. 
 
 wind, which in the afternoon brought up a haze. In 1848, 
 May 6, the tents of the United States' Expedition on the 
 shore of tlie Dead Sea were thrown down by a violent gust 
 of hot wind from the eastward. ^ 
 
 More frequent in Palestine is the Sirocco from the south 
 or southwest, continuing for one day and often for more. 
 We encountered it, in 1838, three times in its full strength. 
 The first time was on April 11, in the southern desert, be- 
 tween Eboda and Ruliaibeh. About 11 a. m. the wind sud- 
 
 » 
 
 denly changed from northeast to south, and came upon us 
 with violence and intense heat until it blew a perfect tem- 
 pest. The atmosphere was filled with fine dust, forming a 
 bluish haze ; the sun was scarcely visible, his disk exhibiting 
 only a dun and sickly hue ; and the glow of the wind came 
 upon our faces as frojn a burning oven. Often we could not 
 see ten rods around us ; and our eyes, ears, nostrils, mouths, 
 and clothes were filled with the sand. The thermometer at 
 noon was 88° F., at 2 r. m. TG°.2 
 
 The second instance was on May 23, between Tefi'uh and 
 Hebron. The wind had been S. W. all the morning ; but 
 about 11 o'clock it increased, and became at last a violent tem- 
 pest, bringing the dust and sand from the desert, and filling 
 the air so as to obscure the sun. The whole atmosphere 
 became of a deep dun or yellowish hue. As we approached 
 the height of land a very few drops of rain fell ; these left 
 upon our clothes spots of mud, as if we had been spattered 
 from a puddle. The thermometer at 10 a. m. and 2 p. m. was 
 86° ; at sunset it cleared away with a wind from the N. W.^ 
 
 1 Bibliotheca Sacra, \. c. Biblical Researches, II. p. 352 [HI. p. 212]. Lynch, 
 Official Report, p. 74. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, L p. 195 [II. p. 2SS]. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, U. p. 72 [IL p. 429]. 
 
PURITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 
 
 307 
 
 The last instance was on May 30, in the 'Arabah south of 
 the Dead Sea. The mercury at sunrise was at 69° F., with 
 a cool and pleasant wind from the S. W. But by 10 o'clock 
 the wind had become strong ; the mercury had risen to 96° ; 
 and the heat of the sun was intolerable. At noon this wind 
 was a fierce Sirocco, which brought up a dense haze ; and 
 the thermometer had risen to 102°. At 2 ?. m. it had sunk 
 to 96° ; and at sunset was at 76°, with a cool northwest 
 wind, which soon cleared the atmosphere.^ 
 
 It is not to be understood, that in such tempests there is, 
 in Palestine, any danger of life. Yet the three here de- 
 scribed were probably as violent as most of those which have 
 given rise to the exaggerated accounts of travellers.^ 
 
 The ' east wind ' spoken of in the Old Testament, so far as 
 it relates to Palestine, corresponds very closely to the Sirocco 
 in its characteristics, particularly in its violence, its heat, 
 dryness, and withering effect. Not improbably the name was 
 employed of old in the same general extent as is the modern 
 Shurkiyeh or Sirocco.^ 
 
 The other summer winds of Palestine can only be de- 
 scribed as variable, both in frequency and duration. 
 
 IV. PURITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 
 
 The splendor of the summer sun and sky of Palestine is 
 very striking ; and is occasioned by the usual clearness and 
 purity of the atmosphere. This clearness and transparency 
 are so great, that remote objects are seen with singular dis- 
 tinctness ; and their actual distance seems diminished by at 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. p. 122 [II. p. 503]. 
 
 2 Comp. Biblical Researches, I. p. 196 [I- p. 289]. 
 
 3 Violence, Psalm xlviii. 7; Jer. xviii. 17; Ezek. xxvii. 26. Withering eflfect, 
 Ezek. xvii. 10, xix. 12; Hos. xiii. 15. 
 
308 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 least one half. Thus when we looked from Taiyibeh down 
 upon the Ghor and across to the mountains of 'Ajlun, it 
 seemed as if the mountains themselves and the old fortress 
 er-Rubud were not more than an easy day's journey distant ; 
 although they could not have been reached in less than two 
 or three days. In the transparency of its atmosphere, Pal- 
 estine falls little, if any, short of Greece.^ 
 
 This clearness, however, is only too often interrupted by 
 the haziness brought up by the Sirocco winds, as above de- 
 scribed. This continues sometimes for one day ; sometimes 
 for several days. Besides this, there is occasionally a kind 
 of dry mist or haziness, like smoke, which renders the view 
 of distant objects quite indistinct. The appearance then 
 is not unlike that of the Indian summer of the United 
 States.2 
 
 The climate of Palestine is in general healthy ; there being 
 few marshes or other causes to detract from its salubrity. 
 The people of the country are long lived, vigorous, and ca- 
 pable of enduring great fatigue. In the sunken valley of the 
 Jordan, where the greater heat is in itself enervating, the 
 Ghawarineh, who dwell there, have less vigor and energy 
 than the inhabitants of the hill-country, and may be called 
 in comparison a feeble race ; but they are not in other re- 
 spects a sickly people. 
 
 As of old, so now Palestine, like other oriental countries, 
 is not free from the ravages of contagious diseases, nor from 
 ''the pestilence that walketh in darkness."^ The plague 
 often prevails in its chief cities ; and the Asiatic cholera 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, I. p. 9 [L p. 13]. Barclay, City of the Great King, 
 p. 414. 
 
 2 Barclay, City of the Great King, p. 414. 
 « Ps. xci. 6. 
 
PURITY OF TIIE ATMOSPHERE. 
 
 309 
 
 did not pass it by.^ But such diseases are not indigenous ; 
 they come from other lands. 
 
 In Jerusalem, and perhaps in some of the other cities, there 
 would seem to exist some local cause, operating to produce 
 particular diseases. Thus in Jerusalem full one half of the 
 patients who come under the observation of resident Frank 
 physicians, are cases of the disease known as chills and fever, 
 fever and ague, intermittent fever ; in its various forms of 
 quotidian, tertian, and quartan ague or intermittent. This 
 complaint is very common, and prevails more or less through- 
 out the year ; though it is most frequent in the beginning of 
 summer after the rainy season. It spares neither rank nor 
 age ; even infants at the breast are affected as well as their 
 mothers. Young children are seen swollen and with pale 
 faces, reminding one of the sickly inhabitants of the Pontine 
 marshes. These fevers are at first mild, and yield readily to 
 medical treatment ; but if neglected, they become more diffi- 
 cult of cure.2 
 
 The prevalence of this disease in the Holy City has been 
 ascribed to various causes. That the source must be local, 
 existing within the city itself, would seem a necessary con- 
 clusion. The city is at an elevation of two thousand six 
 hundred feet above the sea, and there are no marshes near 
 it. Those Frank families, also, which sometimes dwell in 
 tents during summer in the neighboring fields, escape the 
 disease. It is often ascribed to the poor diet and filthy 
 dwellings of the people ; but it spares just as little those who 
 live in the best houses and have plenty of food. The resi- 
 dent Franks do not escape. Our last visit in May, 1852, was 
 
 1 See an account of the plague in Jerusalem in 1838, in Biblical Researches, 1. 
 pp. 248-250 [1. pp. 367-370]. 
 
 2 Tobler, Medizinische Topograph, v. Jerus., pp. 32-35. 
 
310 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 at the house of Dr. Barclay, on the eastern brow of Zion, 
 where we found him and several of his family suffering from 
 fever and ague.^ The cause has also been sought in the 
 evaporations from the pool of Hezekiah ; but it does not 
 appear that those living directly upon that pool are more 
 affected than the rest of the city. Others suppose the disease 
 is occasioned by the exhalations from the multitude of cis- 
 terns, many of which are seldom cleansed, and when low 
 the water becomes filthy and unwholesome. Such a cause 
 may indeed have its influence, especially late in the dry 
 season ; but in the spring months, when the fever prevails 
 most, the cisterns are full, and this supposed cause can have 
 only a sliglit effect. 
 
 May not, after all, the true source of the evil lie in the 
 vast masses of rubbish accumulated upon the surface to the 
 depth in many places of forty and even eighty feet ; the re- 
 sult of the frequent desolations of the city during the almost 
 thirty centuries of its history ? In winter these surface 
 masses absorb the rain water ; and in the subsequent months 
 the burning sun causes it to exhale as miasma or malaria, 
 producing even at this high elevation effects similar to those 
 following like causes in other lands. Various towns of Greece, 
 which occupy the sites of ancient cities, and even Rome it- 
 self, are reported to exhibit analogous phenomena. 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 201. 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 
 
 Palestine in its relations to modern geology has been only 
 partially explored. Seetzen, Russegger, and Anderson are 
 the only professional observers who have given more than a 
 passing attention to the subject. Of the former we have, in 
 the recently published volumes of his journal, the daily jottings 
 of the information he obtained ; in which he often enumerates 
 briefly various rocks and earths ; but he presents no general 
 view. The second gives in several places a general survey ; 
 but enters less into particulars. The last, in those parts 
 visited by the United States' Expedition, made a very care- 
 ful and minute examination of particulars ; but his general 
 description is likewise very brief. Schubert too was a geol- 
 ogist ; but his remarks on the subject are few, and bear only 
 upon his own immediate route. Burckhardt often refers to 
 particular geological features ; and Dr. Wilson does the same 
 to a greater extent. Of all these writers, except Anderson, 
 the latest, Ritter has made use in his great work. 
 
 What we have to give here, is of course only a very brief 
 and general outline. 
 
 I. GENERAL LIMESTONE FORMATION. 
 
 The great masses of rock which constitute the mountains 
 of Palestine and Lebanon, are Jura limestone ; compact, hard, 
 
312 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 not rich in fossils, and full of caverns and grottos. This rock 
 is everywhere the basis ; on which have been deposited, in 
 some parts, extensive tracts of volcanic products ; as also 
 chalk and chalky limestone, magnesian limestone (dolo- 
 mite), sandstone, conglomerate, marl, etc. etc. 
 
 On the west of the Jordan and 'Arabah, the chalk forma- 
 tion, which prevails through the southern desert, terminates 
 with the desert ; and the Jura limestone, beginning with the 
 mountains south of Hebron, holds its course northward ; 
 forming the mass of the western hill-country of Carmel and 
 of Lebanon. 
 
 East of the Jordan and 'Arabah, where around Petra large 
 masses of porphyry, sandstone, and limestone lie in close 
 proximity, the same Jura limestone extends northward 
 through the Belka and the mountains of ' Ajliin ; and is like- 
 wise the basis on which rest the vast volcanic tracts of Hau- 
 ran, Jaulan, and the Lejah. 
 
 From Dlioheriyeh and Hebron northward throughout Ju- 
 dea and Samaria, the Jura formation prevails without in- 
 terruption ; except that many of the heights are capped with 
 strata of chalk abounding in flints ; and tracts of the same 
 extend down the eastern desert to the borders of the Ghor ; 
 the same also being the case on the west of the watershed or 
 summit level. Here on the west, the ravines expose little else 
 than the limestones which lie beneath the chalk, or at most 
 occasional banks of estuary sandstone. In the ravines of 
 the eastern slope rocks of sandstone are not of uncommon 
 occurrence ; and the character of the limestone generally 
 approaches nearer to the chalk than to the Jura.^ 
 
 The hill on which Bethlehem stands is of chalk ; so too 
 the Mount of Olives, as well as other heights. Flints appear 
 
 1 Russegger, IIL pp. 246, 247. Anderson, Geological Report, p. 81. 
 
SANDSTONE. CONGLOMERATE. aiARL. 
 
 313 
 
 ill great profusion for some distance east of Bethlehem ; and 
 a remarkable wall of them is seen just below that town.^ 
 
 Throughout Carmel and Galilee the limestone exhibits the 
 same general character. East of the watershed, along all 
 the eastern slope, basalt and other volcanic rocks are very 
 frequent, and often alternate with the limestone. 
 
 East of the Dead Sea and Jordan, there is far more of 
 sandstone and basalt. The sandstone appears especially 
 along the shore of that sea. Along the lake of Tiberias, the 
 limestone is seen in the lower strata of the high wall of 
 the eastern plateau ; and is found also in the bottoms of 
 the deep ravines, underlying the volcanic masses spread out 
 over the surface.^ The beautiful terrace of Banias is wholly 
 of limestone ; and the great fountain of the Jordan there 
 issues from beneath a limestone precipice ; but the igneous 
 rocks begin near by, which form the main mass of Jebel 
 Heish ; although the limestone appears also east of Banias.^ 
 
 Magnesian Limestone or Dolomite. In connection with 
 the Jura limestone of Jerusalem and that region, occur also 
 frequently large masses of dolomite. This is seen especially 
 in the rocks which form the sides of caverns and grottos.* 
 
 II. SANDSTONE. CONGLOMERATE. MARL. 
 
 Sandstone. On the west of the Jordan sandstone is rare ; 
 and occurs only in the ravines, as already related.^ East of 
 the Dead Sea there are extensive tracts of sandstone ; espe- 
 cially around the estuaries of the Wady Mojib QArnon) and 
 
 1 Russegger, III. pp. 246, 247. Anderson, Geological Report, p. 172. 
 
 2 Thomson, Land and Book, II. p. 39. Anderson, Geological Report, p. 133. 
 
 3 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 397, 406. Anderson, Geological Report, pp. 
 108, 109. 
 
 * Russegger, III. p. 248. « See above, p. 312. 
 
 40 
 
314 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the Zerka Ma'in.^ Further south, around Petra, wliere the 
 body of the mountain is porphyry, it is capped by thick masses 
 of sandstone of the most singular forms and colors.^ 
 
 Conglomerate. The conglomerates are mostly found 
 along the sides of the Ghor ; as at Ras el-Feshkhah. Not 
 unfrequently they appear in the Ghor itself; as in the tract 
 above Kurn Surtabeh.^ 
 
 Marl. At the southwestern part of the Dead Sea are 
 extensive tracts of marl, along with marly gypsum and chalk. 
 These lie in part back of Jcbel Usdum ; and are traversed 
 by the Wadys Ziiwinah and Muhauwat. They arc worn 
 away by the rains into conical and pyramidal hills, like a 
 vast array of white tents, without vegetation, and presenting 
 the features of a frightful desert. Some other like tracts 
 are seen along the western coast ; and north of 'Ain el-Fesh- 
 khah similar tent-like hills fill up the space between the sea 
 and the western mountain.^ 
 
 HL VOLCANIC TRACTS. 
 
 West of the Ghor. On the west of the Ghor and 'Arabah 
 no igneous rocks or volcanic products have been found be- 
 tween about the parallel of 'Akabah and the neighborhood 
 of the lake of Tiberias.^ 
 
 The basalt first shows itself at Beisan, some four hours south 
 
 1 Seetzcn, Rcisen, II. pp. 364-370. Anderson, Geological Report, pp. 190-194; 
 comp. p. 134. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. p. 125 sq.; comp. pp. 123, 124 [II. p. 509 sq.; comp. 
 p. 506 sq.]. 
 
 8 Anderson, Geological Report, p. 198. Ibid., pp. 143, 14-5, 146, etc. 
 
 * Anderson, Geological Report, pp. 180, 197. Biblical Researches, I. p. 534, II. 
 pp. 103, 104 [II. pp. 253, 474-476]. 
 
 « Anderson, Geological Report, pp. 133, 134. Biblical Researches, I. p. 176 
 [I, p. 260] . 
 
VOLCANIC TRACTS. 
 
 315 
 
 of the lake, where a considerable tract around is volcanic. 
 The ancient theatre of Bcisan was wholly built of black ba- 
 saltic stones ; as were the houses generally.^ 
 
 Commencing again at cl-'Abadiyeh, an hour south of the 
 lake, volcanic rocks, alternating with the limestone, are 
 spread over the surface of a large irregular district along the 
 eastern slope of the hill-country, extending on the west to 
 near el-Jish, and on the north to Wady et-Teim ; of which 
 district Safed may be said to be the centre. The iron gray 
 basalt-lava of Tiberias represents the southerly and predom- 
 inant formation ; the variegated pumices of Delata may be 
 taken as an average specimen of the far more recent lavas of 
 the north, while at Tell el-Haiyeh, still further northeast, 
 we found again a third description, of which the relative date 
 is more difficult to assign. ^ 
 
 The broad tract of higher uneven land, which lies between 
 the basin of the Huleh and the lake of Tiberias, and which, 
 shelving down from the higher western hills, shuts up the 
 whole GhOr, except the deep rocky chasm of the Jordan, is 
 in the west mainly limestone. But the basalt shows itself 
 in many places ; and especially along the Jordan/*^ The 
 channel and chasm of the river here, along its steep descent, 
 between the lakes, are volcanic ; and the whole region on its 
 eastern side is basalt.* Just here and nowhere else, the lavas 
 of the western and eastern sides of the Ghar touch each other. 
 
 We have already dcscri1)cd the manner in which Wady 
 et-Teim enters the basin of the Huleh by six steps or offsets, 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 328. Thomson, Laud and Book, IL p. 175. 
 BurcUhardr, Syria, p. 343. 
 
 2 Anderson, Geoloi;ieal Report, p. 130. 
 
 « Schubert, III. p. 2G0. Thomson, Land and Book, I. p. 401. 
 « Scet/.cu, Kciscn, 1. p. 342, 343. Biblical Researches, II. pp. 411, 413 [III. 
 pp. 304-308]. 
 
316 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAm 
 
 with broad terraces between. ^ The uppermost three of these 
 terraces are volcanic ; and the steps which divide them run 
 from southwest to northeast. Along the highest of these 
 plateaus the upper branch of the Jordan, the Hasbany, has 
 cut its way in a deep chasm through the trap rocks down to 
 the lower level of the more southern plain. At one place, 
 the great fountain Luweizany bursts forth from beneath the 
 strata of the underlying limestone.^ At the bridge called 
 Jisr el-Ghujar and for some distance below, the basalt is still 
 predominant.^ 
 
 Tell el-Kady, from which issiies the middle and largest 
 source of the Jordan, stands just on the front of the lower 
 volcanic terrace, and forms part of the offset. It is itself 
 volcanic ; but here the igneous rocks cease. All north and 
 northwest, as also southwest of this Tell, is basaltic ; all 
 south and east of it is limestone. The Tell is not regarded 
 as a crater.* Southwest of the Jisr el-Ghujar, a long tongue 
 of land. Tell el-Haiyeh, extends into the basin of the Huleh. 
 It is composed of gray green-stone ; and is a spur or contin- 
 uation of the ridge which bounds Wady et-Teim on the west. 
 This latter ridge is likewise made up of mixed limestone 
 and trap.^ The upper fountain of the Jordan, near Has- 
 beiya, issues at the foot of a volcanic bluff.^ 
 
 The black basaltic rocks sometimes assume singular forms, 
 especially on the west of the lake of Tiberias. West of Tell 
 Hum, the ground is covered with large volcanic stones ; 
 among which, in spring, the rank grass shoots up luxuri- 
 
 1 See above, p. 75. 2 Later Biblical Researches, p. 389. 
 
 3 Anderson, Geological Report, p. 108. 
 
 * Later Biblical Researches, pp. 391, 393. Anderson, Geological Report, p. 108. 
 
 * Anderson, Geological Report, p. 108. 
 ^ Later Biblical Researches, p. 378. 
 
VOLCANIC TRACTS. 
 
 317 
 
 antly. Here, too, on the tops of the hills around, are seen clus- 
 ters of larger black volcanic rocks ; which, standing apart, 
 bear at a distance a strong resemblance to the sites of ruined 
 towns ; for which indeed they have sometimes been mistaken. 
 The ' stones of the Christians,' so called, near the Kurun 
 Hattin, are of the same kind ; and similar appearances occur 
 in other parts. ^ 
 
 Extinct Craters. One centre of ancient volcanic action 
 on the west of the Ghor, was the region around Safed ; where 
 there exist several extinct craters. One of these, perhaps 
 the most important, was first reported by us in 1838. It is 
 situated in the middle of a high open plain, on the road 
 from Safed to Tyre ; about an hour and a half northwesterly 
 from Safed, and half an hour before reaching the village el- 
 Jish. The whole plain is thickly covered with volcanic 
 stones ; and the crater is surrounded by heaps of black stones 
 and lava. It is an oval basin, towards four hundred feet 
 long by perhaps one hundred and twenty feet broad, and 
 some forty feet deep. The sides are shelving, but steep and 
 rugged, obviously composed of lava. Near the bottom the 
 tops of polygonal columns are quite visible. The basin is 
 usually partially filled with water ; and is known as Birket 
 el-Jish.2 
 
 Two other like craters were found by Dr. Anderson in the 
 vicinity. One, a mile or two east of Birket el-Jish and north 
 of Teitebeh, is like the former in all respects, and about as 
 large ; not a stone appears which is not volcanic. Between 
 this spot and Delata is a third crater or Birkeh, smaller than 
 the other two ; but marked in like manner with blocks of 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 346, 347; corap. p. 342. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, IL p. 444 [IIL p. 367]. Anderson, Geological Report, 
 pp. 128, 129. 
 
318 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 lava.i The same explorer mentions also three other Bir- 
 kehs north of Delata, in the midst of a volcanic tract ; but 
 does not indicate whether they were once craters.^ 
 
 East of the Ghur. Passing now beyond the Ghor, we find 
 on the east of the Huleh and the lake of Tiberias a volcanic 
 region of far greater extent ; embracing vast plains and lofty 
 mountains ; and varying from the richest fertility to the 
 wildest confusion and desolation. 
 
 The great fountain at Banias, as we have seen, issues from 
 beneath a precipice of limestone. But the volcanic rocks 
 begin immediately ; and rise throughout Jebel Heish, form- 
 ing the main masses of that mountain. On the high plateau 
 along its top is situated Lake Phiala, an ancient crater. The 
 line of conical Tells which extend along this plateau towards 
 the south, are in like manner all volcanic. The loftiest is 
 Tell Abu Xida, south of Phiala, rising about four thousand 
 one hundred feet above the sea, and nine hundred feet above 
 the adjacent plateau, having a deep crater thickly wooded 
 with oak trees. The adjacent Tell 'Eram is nearly as high, 
 and also has a crater. The southernmost of this line of Tells 
 is Tell el-Feras.3 
 
 Between the Hidch and the lake of Tiberias, the whole 
 Ghor, as we have seen, is blocked up with basalt ; through 
 which the Jordan, in its narrow chasm, rushes down to the 
 level of the lower lake. The tract on the east is all basalt, 
 and is strictly still a part of Jebel Heish. 
 
 Along the eastern shore of the lake of Tiberias, in the 
 wall that rises from the lake to the high plateau above, the 
 
 1 Anderson, Geolof?ical Report, p. 129. 
 
 2 Anderson, Geological Report, p. 129. 
 
 3 Dorgens, in Berl. Zeitschr. fiir Erdk., Nov. 1860, IX. pp. 405, 406. Thomson, 
 Land and Book, II. pp. 16, 17. 
 
VOLCANIC TRACTS. 
 
 319 
 
 lower strata are everywhere limestone ; but all above is of 
 basalt. The volcanic formation extends south as far as to the 
 river Hieromax and beyond. The chasm of that river is cut 
 deep through the volcanic rocks ; but the mountain of Ga- 
 dara (Um Keis), an hour further south, is of limestone. ^ 
 
 The wiiole tract thus far described, the high plateau of 
 Jaulan, is everywhere from two thousand to three thousand 
 feet above the sea. Of course the descent towards the lake 
 of Tiberias is great ; and the volcanic formation is of great 
 thickness. " This immense volcanic field consists every- 
 where of irregular heaps of amorphous lava and disintegra- 
 ting scoriae, with gigantic mounds of globular basalt, which 
 in a few localities shows a tendency to separate into rudely- 
 shaped columns." ^ 
 
 Eastward of Jebel Heish and the lake of Tiberias, and 
 extending to the eastern desert, lies the great region now 
 known as HaTiran. It covers a much larger surface than the 
 ancient Hauran or Auranitis ; which strictly occupied only 
 its southern part. The modern Hauran is regarded by the 
 natives as consisting of three parts ; namely, en-Nukrah or 
 the great plain, extending through the whole length, and 
 reaching to the base of the mountain ; el-Lejah in the north- 
 east ; and the mountain Jehel Hcmrdn, on the east. This 
 great region is wholly volcanic.^ Between the Niikrah and 
 Jebel Heish, in the north, is the narrow district of el-Jeidur, 
 the ancient Iturea, also volcanic. 
 
 The plain of Hauran, en-Nukrah, has a gentle undulating 
 surface, with a strong slope towards the west ; is arable 
 
 1 Thomson, Land and Book, IL p. 39. Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 271, 273. Seet- 
 zen, Reisen, I. p. 3C8. 
 
 2 Thomson, Land and Book, IL p. 39. 
 
 3 E. Smith in Biblical Researches, 1841, III. App., p. 150. 
 
320 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 throughout, with the exception of occasional tracts of vol- 
 canic stones ; and is, in general, very fertile. With the rest 
 of Hauran, it is the granary of Damascus ; nothing but grain 
 is cultivated. Hardly a tree or shrub is anywhere to be 
 seen. Scattered throughout the plain are low mounds of ba- 
 salt, on which the villages are usually situated. Higher is- 
 olated conical Tells of the same character are not infre- 
 quent. The fertility of the region is owing to the nature of 
 the soil ; which, as in other volcanic countries, is composed 
 of disintegrated lava, forming a reddish brown loam of great 
 fertility. This soil, known as the Hauran loam, is celebrated 
 throughout Syria.^ 
 
 The Lejah is a singular district of volcanic rocks. It is 
 of an oval form, about twenty-five miles long from north to 
 south, by about fifteen miles broad. It is skirted on the east 
 by Wady Liwa, a water-course from the mountain running 
 north to the southernmost of the Damascus lakes. The 
 tract immediately surrounding the Lejah and forming its 
 border, is called by the Arabs el-Luhf^ ' the coverings.' The 
 outer Lejah is a level country, with a stony soil covered 
 with lieaps of rocks ; among which are interspersed small 
 patches of meadow. The inner Lejah is a labyrinth of 
 rocks ; through which the Arabs alone have the clew. Some 
 of the rocks are twenty feet high ; and the country is full of 
 clefts and Wadys. Trees grow here in great numbers among 
 the rocks ; the oak and the Butm being the most common. 
 There are no springs in any part of this rocky district. 
 
 " In the interior parts of the Lejah the rocks are in many 
 places cleft asunder, so that the whole hill appears shivered 
 
 1 E. Smith in Biblical Researches, 1841, HI. App., p. 150. Seetzen, Reisen, L 
 p. 132; corap. pp. 45, 47. Wetzstein, in Zeitschr. fiir allg. Erdk., 1859, Sept., 
 pp. 147, 148. Lyell, Elements of Geology, p. 90. 
 
YOLCAXIC TRACTS. 
 
 321 
 
 and in the act of falling down. The layers are generally 
 horizontal, from six to eight feet or more in thickness ; some- 
 times covering the hills, and inclining to their curve, as 
 appears from the fissures, which often traverse the rock 
 from top to bottom." The rock is everywhere hard black 
 basalt, filled with little pits and protuberances like air bub- 
 bles ; and emits a sharp metallic sound when struck. It is 
 much iised for the millstones of the country. Only two con- 
 ical Tells, like those in the great plain, are seen in the Lejah, 
 rising to the height of three or four hundred feet, — Tell 
 Amara and Tell Sumeid. These physical features of the 
 Lejah have rendered it a secure retreat for robbers and out- 
 laws from the earliest times until the present day. The mil- 
 itary prowess of Ibrahim Pasha was taxed in vain to subdue 
 it.i 
 
 The mountain, Jebel Hauran, lies mainly east of the plain ; 
 and the great body of it is everywhere volcanic. Especially 
 the high plateau, on which rise the loftiest summits, as the 
 Kuleib and others, several of them with extinct craters, con- 
 sists of a compact basalt with few traces of decomposition. 
 Near the southern end, also, at Sulkhad, the hill on whicli 
 the castle stands is composed of alternate layers of the com- 
 mon black tuiF of the country, and of a very porous deep 
 red pumice-stone. The soil is the reddish brown loam of 
 the region, and very fertile.^ 
 
 Eastward of the mountain and of the Lejah lies the des- 
 ert ; but it is a desert of the most extraordinary and frightful 
 character, being wholly and strangely volcanic. The extent 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 110, 112, 113. Porter's Damascus, II. pp. 48, 240. 
 Handbook, pp. 499, 504, 506. Wetzstein, in Zeitsclir. fiir allg. Erdk., 1859, Sept., 
 pp. 136, 137. 
 
 2 Dorgens, in Zeitschr. fiir allg. Erdk., 1860, Dec, p. 408. Burckhardt, Syria, 
 pp. 102, 105. 
 
 41 
 
322 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 of this volcanic desert tract, so far as known, is perhaps one 
 hundred miles or more in length from south to north, lying 
 between Lat. 32° and 34° N. The breadth may be from 
 sixty to seventy miles. The northern portion, situated east 
 of the Damascus lakes, does not of course fall within the lim- 
 its of Palestine proper. ^ The southern portion, on the east 
 and southeast of the mountain, is known as el-Harrah. It is 
 an undulating plain, thickly strewed with volcanic rocks and 
 stones, so that it is difficult for animals to find their way. 
 It can never be cultivated ; yet in the rainy season herbage 
 springs up among the stones, which affords pasturage for 
 the flocks of the Bedawin. In several places inscriptions 
 are found upon these scattered blocks, some in known char- 
 acters, and others in unknown.^ 
 
 The middle point of this great volcanic district is the 
 Safa, on tlie north and west of the Harrah. This is a tract 
 fifteen or twenty miles long by as much in breadth, a mere 
 plateau or mountain of lava, the surface exhibiting the most 
 ragged and fantastic forms, upheaved, blistered, riven, corru- 
 gated, jagged, with many deep pits and rents, and impassable 
 for man or beast. Various volcanic cones are seen in it, as 
 also in the more northern portion of the district ; the ancient 
 sources of this flood of fire. Among these more northern 
 cones are the Tellid (including Tell Dukweh), which are 
 seen from Damascus upon the eastern horizon.^ 
 
 On the southeast of the Safa, between it and the Harrah, 
 lies a depressed strip of fertile land, an oasis or plain, some 
 five miles broad by seven or eight long, known as er-Ruhbeh. 
 
 1 Wetzstein, in Zeitschiv fiir allg. Erdk., 1859, Sept., pp. 113, 114. 
 
 2 Wetzstein, in Zeitschr. fiir allg. Erdk., 1859, Sept., pp. 126, 174. 
 
 3 Wetzstein, in Zeitschr. fiir allg. Erdk., 1859, Sept., pp. 114-125. Later Bibli- 
 cal Researches, pp. 445, 446, 470. 
 
VOLCANIC TRACTS. 
 
 323 
 
 Here the waters collect in the rainy season and form a lake 
 in the northern part, which dries up in summer. This fine 
 tract is inhabited by the Bedawin.^ 
 
 The two singular regions of volcanic rocks now described, 
 the Lejah in the west and the Safa with the Harrah in the 
 east, correspond very aptly, as suggested by Wetzstein, to the 
 tivo Trachones (ol hvo Tpd^oyve^;') of Strabo ; which he places 
 in the south or southeast of Damascus. ^ These have usually 
 been regarded, on mere conjecture, as two mountains ; be- 
 cause the easternmost of the two " rough " tracts had become 
 utterly unknown to scholars. The Lejah, without doubt, 
 was comprised in ancient Trachonitis ; and gave name to the 
 district. 
 
 Returning to the borders of the Ghor, we find the igneous 
 rocks terminating, as we have described, just south of the 
 Hieromax ; and thence the limestone running on south 
 through all Jebcl 'Ajlun and the Belka. But along the 
 northeastern coast of the Dead Sea, north of the Zerka Ma'in, 
 there are blocks of basalt in great numbers, as also various 
 kinds of lava and pumice-stone.^ Near the southeastern ex- 
 tremity of the same sea, the narrow tract along the shore, 
 according to Irby and Mangles, is strewn " with innumerable 
 fragments of red and gray granite ; gray, red, and black 
 porphyry ; serpentine stone ; beautiful black basalt ; breccia, 
 etc." * These would seem to be fragments from the mountain 
 above. Still furtlier south, around Petra, as we know, the 
 whole body of the mountain is porphyry ; above which lies 
 
 1 Wetzstein, in Zeitschr. fiir allg. Erdk., 1859, Sept., p. 138. 
 
 2 Strabo, 17. 2. 16, 20, pp. 755, 756. Wetzstein, in Zeitschr. fur allg. Erdk., 
 1859, Sept., p. 144. 
 
 3 Seetzen, Reisen, II. p. 369. Anderson, Geological Report, pp. 194, 197. 
 
 4 Irby and Mangles, 1847, p. 109. 
 
324 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 the singular sandstone formation of that region ; while fur- 
 ther hack are seen still higher hills of limestone.^ 
 
 Besides the great volcanic tract in northeastern Palestine, 
 ahove described, there exists another still more extensive in 
 northern Syria. It includes the northern end of Lebanon 
 and of the Buka'a, witli the region of Hums and Hamah ; 
 extends to the sea near Tortosa, embracing most of the 
 mountains of the Nusairiyeh ; and, taking in Antioch and 
 Aleppo in the north, reaches to the Euphrates or beyond.^ 
 
 IV. EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 Like other countries in which volcanic formations exist, 
 Palestine is subject to earthquakes. So far, however, as 
 they are recorded in history, they have been less frequent 
 and less destructive in Palestine proper, than in the great 
 volcanic region of northern Syria ; where large cities, like 
 Antioch, Aleppo, Ba'albek, and otliers, have been repeatedly 
 overthrown by them. 
 
 In the sublime imagery with which the Hebrew poets sur- 
 round the appearance of Jeliovah in behalf of his people, 
 the earthquake holds a prominent place : " Then the earth 
 shook and trembled ; the foundations of the hills moved and 
 were shaken, because He was wroth.^ 
 
 In Scripture only four earthquakes are definitely recorded. 
 The first was in connection with the appearance of God to 
 the prophet Elijah in mount Horeb ; a miraculous accom- 
 paniment of the divine manifestation.^ The second took 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. pp. 123, 124, 128, 120 sq. [II. pp. 503, 507, 514 sq.]. 
 
 2 Later Biblical Researches, pp. .540, 542, 557-559. W. M. Thomson, in Bib- 
 liotheca Sacra, 1848, p. 472. See also Appendix. 
 
 8 Ps. xviii. 7; comp. Ps. Ixviii. 8; Nah. i. 5, G; Hab. iii. 10. 
 * 1 Kings xix. 11, 12; comp. vs. 8. 
 
EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 325 
 
 place dupng the reign of King Uzziah, under whom Amos 
 prophesied ; and his prophecy was uttered two years before 
 the earthquake." The date of the latter was therefore about 
 B. C. 785. It was apparently a great earthquake ; for three 
 hundred years later and after the exile, the prophet Zecha- 
 riah refers to it as an epoch of terror and flight.^ The re- 
 cord of the other two earthquakes is in the New Testament ; 
 they occurred one at the death, the other at the resurrection, 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ. The former was the most violent 
 and remarkable ; the rocks were rent, throwing open rock- 
 hewn sepulchres ; and for six hours preceding it, darkness 
 had covered the land, — a not unfrequent accompaniment of 
 earthquakes. 2 The other, at the resurrection of our Lord, 
 is mentioned only by Matthew.-^ But it obviously lay in the 
 minds of the sacred writers, that both these convulsions 
 of nature were miraculous attestations to the dignity and 
 majesty of the Son of God. 
 
 Another violent earthquake in Judea is mentioned by 
 Josephus, about the time of the battle of Actium, B. C. 31 ; 
 about ten thousand persons are said to have been killed by 
 the fall of houses ; but the army encamped in tents received 
 no damage.* Jerome relates, that in his childhood the city 
 of Ar Moab (Areopolis) was overthrown by a great earth- 
 quake. The. date is uncertain ; since the birth of Jerome 
 is variously assigned to A. D. 329, 331, and 340. The ref- 
 erence may perhaps be to the extensive earthquake of A. D. 
 342, by which several oriental cities were destroyed.^ In 
 
 1 Amos i. 1; Zech. xiv. 5. 
 
 2 Matth. xxvii. 51, 54; comp. Mark xv. 38; Luke xxiii. 45. Matth. xxvii. 45; 
 Mark xv. 33; Luke xxiii. 44; comp. Ps. xviii. 9, 11. 
 
 3 Matth. xxviii. 2. * Joseph. Antiq., 15. 5. 2. 
 
 * Hieron. in Is. xv. 1, in mea infantia. Reland, Palaestina, p. 578. Ritter, 
 Erdkunde, XV. p. 1215. 
 
326 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 A. D. 672, Gaza and Askalon, with the adjacent plaQes as far 
 as Ramleh, suffered from the shocks of an earthquake.^ 
 
 Of the ten destructive earthquakes which desolated An- 
 tioch during the eight centuries ending with the sixth cen- 
 tury of the Christian era, none are recorded in any connec- 
 tion with Palestine.^ 
 
 The terrible earthquakes mentioned in history, as having 
 devastated northern Syria during the middle ages and in 
 more modern times, extended, some of them, into Palestine ; 
 and the shocks of many of them may not improbably have 
 been felt there, though no special damage was caused by 
 them. Thus the earthquake of A. D. 1170, which was so 
 destructive to Antioch and Ba'albek, and various other 
 cities, left Palestine unharmed.^ That which occurred in 
 May, A. D. 1202, described by Abdallatif, ravaged not only 
 all Syria, but extended throughout Hauran and Galilee, 
 causing the destruction of Banias, 'Akka, and Nabulus ; 
 while Jemsalem received very little damage.* So in A. D. 
 1759, the violent earthquake wliich overthrew several of the 
 massive columns in Ba'albek, and caused the death of sev- 
 eral tliousand persons in the great valley el-Buka'a, appears 
 hardly to have extended to Palestine.^ 
 
 In the present century an earthquake occurred in 1834 ; 
 which shook Jerusalem, injured the chapel of the Nativity 
 at Bethlehem, and was followed by the appearance of as- 
 phaltum floating in the Dead Sea.^ One of the most fearful 
 
 1 Ritter, Erdkunde, XYL pp. 64, 70. 
 
 2 O. MuUer, Antiq. Antioch, pp. 14-17. Ritter, Erdkunde, XYIL 2. p. 1156. 
 
 « Will. Tyr., 20. 19. Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzziige, HL 2. p. 134. Later 
 Biblical Researches, p. 525. 
 
 * Abdallatif, Relation do I'Egypte, par de Sacv, pp. 414-418. Later Biblical Re- 
 searches, p. 94. 
 
 * Volney, Voyage en Syrie, I. p. 276. Later Biblical Researches, p. 527. 
 6 Biblical Researches, L p. 518 [11. p. 229]. 
 
EAKTHQUAKES. 
 
 327 
 
 earthquakes ever known in Palestine took place Jan. 1, 1837 ; 
 of which Safed would seem to have been the central point. 
 That town was wholly destroyed, and about four thousand 
 of the inhabitants perished. The walls of Tiberias and 
 many houses were thrown down, and seven hundred of the 
 inhabitants killed ; several of the neighboring towns and vil- 
 lages were injured more or less, Nazareth among the rest; 
 and the shocks were felt as far as Bethlehem and Hebron, 
 where, however, no great damage was done. A very large 
 mass of asphaltum was afterwards found floating in the Dead 
 Sea.i 
 
 It appears that amid all the terrific earthquakes with 
 which Syria has been afflicted for so many centuries, the 
 city of Jerusalem has been comparatively spared ; in conse- 
 quence, perhaps, of its position and distance from the vol- 
 canic regions. The same holds true, also, of the city of 
 Damascus. 
 
 NOTE BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 The Author intended to complete this Chapter by some instructive re- 
 marks on Caverns^ Minerals, and Soils ; and to add two other Chapters on 
 the Vegetable and the Animal features of the Holy Land. An operation on 
 the eye interrupted him, and he never resumed this work afterwards. 
 
 In respect to the first subjects, the Works mentioned in the notes of this 
 Geological Chapter, and principally the Author's own Works, may be re- 
 ferred to ; in respect to the last, the Note at the end of the Appendix. 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, II. p. 423 and note [III. pp. 322, 323, and note]. Ibid., 
 n. p. 381 [III. p. 254]. Ritter, Erdkunde, XVI. pp. 210, 287, 749. BibUcal Re- 
 searches, I. p. 518 [II. p. 229]. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
NOTE BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 The following description of the Syrian Coast was the commence- 
 ment of the author's large work on Biblical Geography after his first 
 plan (see Preface). It was written before his second journey to the 
 East, the results of which were his Later Bibhcal Researches in Pal- 
 estine and the adjacent regions. There is no doubt that on re- 
 suming his work on Biblical Geography, upon a somewhat different 
 plan, and beginning with Palestine as the very nucleus of the Central 
 Region, the following pages, with additions and improvements from 
 the author's hand, would have formed the second part of his work, 
 and have followed immediately the description of Palestine. The 
 editor, in producing this valuable fragment in its existing form, has 
 been careful to add the necessary references to the Later Biblical 
 Researches of the author, which are partially devoted to the Leba- 
 anon and the surrounding country. 
 
 Th. B. 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY OP THE SYRIAN COAST, 
 
 EXTENDING FROM ASIA MINOR TO THE RED SEA. 
 
 The general features of this region may be tlms specified : 
 A double range of parallel mountains, in part lofty, running 
 longitudinally and with few interruptions throughout the 
 whole extent ; between these, for nearly the whole distance, 
 a deep longitudinal valley or trough, in which rivers run in 
 opposite directions, or spread out into lakes ; the southern 
 portion being partly a desert and partly occupied by the 
 waters of the Red Sea; while along the outer bases of the 
 mountains are narrow plains, skirted on one side by the 
 Mediterranean, and on the other by the Arabian Desert. 
 The mountains are a branch thrown off nearly at right an- 
 gles towards the south, from the great chain of Mount Tau- 
 rus in Asia Minor. 
 
 In the north, we have, first. Mount Amanus, a lofty spur of 
 Taurus ; which, after enclosing in its fork the northeastern 
 corner of the Mediterranean or Bay of Issus, extends south- 
 ward along the coast to the Orontes ; where that river, turn- 
 ing westward from its former course, breaks through the 
 mountains to the sea. Next comes the broad valley of the 
 Orontes, with Mount Casius and its prolongations on the 
 west, and other lesser ranges of mountains on the east. Then 
 follows the more imposing valley of the Leontes, the modern 
 
334 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SYRIAN COAST. 
 
 Buka'a, shut in by the towering ridges of Lebanon and Anti- 
 Lebanon with Hermon ; the various peaks of which rise to 
 an elevation of nine or ten thousand feet. Here is the lofti- 
 est portion of the whole region. 
 
 To this succeeds the longer and lower valley of the Jordan 
 with its three lakes ; extending also beyond the Dead Sea, 
 but without streams, quite to the Red Sea, where it forms 
 the Gulf of 'Akabah. The mountains which enclose this 
 latter valley are lower prolongations of Lebanon and Anti- 
 Lebanon ; sometimes spreading out into plateaus of table- 
 land ; and again rising into higher tracts, like Mount Gilead 
 on the east, and the country around Hebron on the west. 
 The western range, at its southern extremity, expands into 
 the broken ridges and lofty groups of Sinai ; some of 
 which have an elevation of more than eight thousand feet. 
 
 The whole tract thus described lies betw^een Lat. 27° 45' 
 N., and Lat. 36° 55' N. It thus has a length of about five 
 hundred and fifty geographical miles ; while its average 
 breadth, between the sea and the desert, is not more than 
 about seventy-five miles. The northern and southern extrem- 
 ities of the coast are nearly in Long. 36° and 34° E. from 
 Greenwich ; so that the general direction of the region is 
 not far from N. N. E. to S. S. W. 
 
 If we regard this long narrow region as divided into three 
 parts by two parallels of latitude, — one drawn from near Tyre 
 through the lower sources of the Jordan, and the other at a 
 short distance south of the Dead Sea, — then the northern 
 portion comprehends Syria Proper, including Phenicia ; the 
 middle portion embraces all the Holy Land, from Dan to 
 Beersheba ; and the southern portion takes in on the east 
 Arabia Petrasa (except Moab), and on the west the desert 
 and peninsula of Mount Sinai. We follow this order. 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY OF SYKIA PEOPEE, 
 
 INCLUDING ANCIENT PHENICIA. 
 
 This country, as we have seen, forms the northern portion 
 of the region of the Syrian coast, adjacent to Asia Minor, and 
 is bounded on the soutli very nearly by a parallel of latitude 
 drawn through the sources of the Jordan at Banias. Its 
 length is thus about two hundred and twenty miles. The 
 breadth varies ; being at Antioch about eighty miles, and at 
 Damascus about sixty miles. Opposite to the northeast 
 corner of the Mediterranean is the great western bend of the 
 Euphrates, where that river approaches nearest to this sea. 
 The interval between is about ninety miles. 
 
 I. SURFACE: MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS. 
 
 The physical features of this land divide it naturally into 
 three portions ; namely, the tract north of the Orontes ; the 
 valley of the Orontes ; and the valley of the Leontes. 
 
 The first or northern tract is about forty-five miles in 
 length. Its main feature is the single range of Mount Ama- 
 nus ; the general elevation of which is given at five thousand 
 to six thousand feet. Its southern part, towards the mouth 
 of the Orontes, bore the name of Mount Pierius ; throwing 
 out a large promontory on the coast north of Seleucia. On 
 
336 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 these mountains are extensive forests. Two celebrated pass- 
 es break through the ridge of Amanus, called gates (pijlae) ; 
 namely, the Pylae of Amanus, so called, north of Issus ; an(J 
 the Pylae of Syria, south of Alexandria (Iskandarun) , at 
 Beilan. This latter pass is the usual road between Antioch 
 and Alexandria.^ The plain along the coast is quite narrow. 
 It is interrupted by the promontory from Mount Pierius; 
 and also by spurs running down to the sea north of Alex- 
 andria. Here is another celebrated pass along the shore, 
 called the Pylae of Syria-Cilicia. 
 
 Adjacent to Mount Amanus on the east is alow district or 
 valley drained by the Kara Su (Black water) ; beyond which 
 the country is hilly, but not unfertile, as far as to the hollow 
 of the ancient Chains, the stream on which Aleppo is situa- 
 ted. This tract has a medium elevation of five hundred to six 
 hundred feet above the sea. Beyond the Chains the country 
 is undulating and tolerably fertile quite to the Euphrates ; 
 with a medium height above the sea of about twelve hundred 
 feet. The level of the Euphrates at Bir, is six hundred and 
 twenty-eight feet above the Mediterranean.^ 
 
 The second or middle tract extends from Antioch to the 
 plain north of Lebanon, about eighty-five miles in length. 
 South of the Orontes, on the coast, Mount Casius forms a 
 lofty promontory. The elevation of its pyramidal summit is 
 given at five thousand three hundred and forty-one feet ; ^ it 
 is now called Jebel Akra. Its lower ridges stretch towards the 
 east along the lower valley of the Orontes ; and connect with 
 
 1 Chesney in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1837, pp. 414, 415. Po- 
 cocke, II. pp. 174, 175. Niebuhr, Reiseb. III. p. 18. Kicpert's Map of Asia Mi- 
 nor, 1846. 
 
 2 Chesney in Jour, of the R. Geogr. Soc, 1837, pp. 416, 419. Ritter, X. pp. 
 951, 1029. 
 
 3 Ainsworth's Researches in Assyria, etc., p. 305. 
 
xMOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS. 
 
 337 
 
 another southern range, perhaps the Anti-Casius of antiquity. 
 This latter extends southward in various ridges and with 
 many defiles quite to the plain by Lebanon ; where its ridges 
 terminate in steep wooded hills. One of these is now sur- 
 mounted by the imposing fortress el-Husn, formerly known 
 as Husn cl-Akrad, .or castle of the Kurds.^ The ancient 
 name of this mountainous chain is lost ; except perhaps at 
 the southern end, where it seems to correspond to the Mons 
 Bargyhis of Pliny. ^ It is now called Jebel en Nusairiyeh, 
 from the people of that name who inhabit it, an heretical 
 sect of Muhammedan origin.^ 
 
 This range, especially in the northern part, is richly 
 wooded with pine, oak, and various other kinds of trees. The 
 main body of the mountains is chalky limestone with flint. 
 In the southern parts there is much trap rock ; and towards 
 the north and around Mount Casius there is also found ser- 
 pentine, talc, and sandstone.* Eastward of this chain, and 
 parallel to it, is another irregular range of mountains, ex- 
 tending from near the bend of the Orontes to some distance 
 south of Hamah ; the ancient name of which is also lost. 
 The northern part is now called Jebel Riha from a village 
 upon it ; further south it takes various local names. 
 
 Between these two ranges stretches the noble valley or 
 plain of the Orontes, now called el-Ghab. Its breadth is 
 about five miles in the southern part, but lessens towards 
 the north. The river flows near the foot of the western 
 mountains, where it forms numerous marshes. Burckhardt 
 
 1 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 102. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 158. 
 
 2 Pliny, Hist. Xat., 5. 17. Pococke, II. p. 204. 
 
 3 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 390, 557. 
 
 < Irby and Mangles, p. 224 sq. W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, 
 p. 234. Russegger, I. p. 448. 
 « Burckhardt, Syria, p. 148. 
 
 43 
 
338 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SYPJAN COAST. 
 
 speaks of this as a beautiful valley, which he could compare 
 only to the Buka'a between the two Leba^ons ; but the 
 Ghab has the great advantage of being abundantly watered.^ 
 In the parallel of Antioch the mountains disappear ; and a 
 vast plain opens towards the east and north ; while the val- 
 ley with the river, sweeping around the northern end of the 
 western chain, continues towards the southwest quite to the 
 sea. Below Antioch the valley contracts and is skirted by 
 precipices ; but it again opens towards the sea into a broad 
 plain. The scenery of this portion of the valley is described 
 as romantic and very beautiful 
 
 The narrow plain along the coast begins on the south of 
 Mount Casius, not far north of Laodicea, and reaches to 
 Tripoli. Towards the southern end of the mountains of 
 the Nusairiyeh and north of Lebanon, it becomes broad and 
 extensive, and is known as the plain of 'Akkar (Jun 'Akk^r), 
 or simply Junia. From it there extends up towards the 
 southeast, between the northern mountains and Lebanon, an 
 arm of some width ; which is described as connecting be- 
 yond the mountains with the northern part of the great 
 valley of the Buka'a. This latter here spreads out on the 
 north of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon into rich plains towards 
 Hums and Hamah, forming a boundless tract of level coun- 
 try, which gradually loses itself in the eastern desert.^ The 
 region stretching from Aleppo towards the south, is mostly 
 an imdulating and sometimes rugged desert, now inhabited 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 134, 136. 
 
 2 Irby and Mangles, p. 225. Russegger, I. p. 363. See the author's description 
 of this valley after he had seen it himself, Later Biblical Researches, p. 548 sq. 
 
 s Biblical Researches, IIL, first edition, App., p. 181. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 
 160. Pococke, IL p. 204. Buckingham, Arab Tr., pp. 495, 503. O. v. Richter, 
 p. 2a3. 
 
MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS. 339 
 
 by nomadic Arabs ; but affording frequent traces of ancient 
 towns and villager. 
 
 Of all the mountains and valleys thus far described, none 
 are mentioned in Scripture. But in the third or southern 
 tract, which includes the district of Lebanon, we tread on 
 Scripture ground. It extends from the plain just described 
 on the north of Lebanon to the sources of the Jordan at 
 Banias, a distance of about ninety miles. Within these 
 limits lie the two great ranges of I^ebanon and Anti-Leba- 
 non, so prominent in Scripture, rising up from the plain on 
 the north, and running nearly parallel to each other through 
 their whole extent. The two ranges, however, have each a 
 distinct and different character. The former has its highest 
 summits in the north, and gradually declines towards the 
 south ; the latter is lower in the north, but terminates in the 
 south in the towering peaks of Hermon.^ 
 
 The range of Lebanon rises from the north, at first gradu- 
 ally, and then more boldly, into a lofty central ridge, mostly 
 barren, which forms (^o to speak) the spine of the whole 
 mountain. From this high ridge, the eastern declivity, to- 
 wards the Buka'a, is steep, with few streams, and mostly 
 without tillage or inhabitants.^ The western declivity, on the 
 contrary, is longer and more gradual ; forming indeed be- 
 low the main ridge an elevated slope of hills, deep valleys, 
 and open tracts, mostly fit for cultivation, watered by many 
 streams, and at the present day teeming with the frequent 
 villages of a thrifty population. Next the sea this lower 
 region sinks down more steeply ; so that, to one looking up 
 from below, the whole mountain side appears as if composed 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 48, 50. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, HI., first edition, App., p. 140. See a description of the 
 eastern declivity in Later Biblical Researches, pp. 421, 530, 546-548. 
 
340 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 only of immense rugged masses of naked, whitish rock, sev- 
 ered by deep wild ravines running down precipitously to 
 the plain. This whitish appearance of the mountain as the 
 light is reflected from its rocky surface, sufficiently accounts 
 for the ancient name " Lebanon," signifying in Hebrew the 
 " White Mountain." The name was not derived from its 
 snows ; for, in summer, snow is found only in high sheltered 
 places not visible from below ; so that the summits are not 
 whitened by it. The mountain still bears among the Arabs 
 the general name of Jcbel Libnan ; while its various parts are 
 known among the inhabitants by different local appellations. 
 
 The loftier summits of Lebanon rise along the high central 
 ridge ; which, in the intervals, presents not very uneven 
 tracts of table-land, covered with a scanty pasturage. The 
 northern portion of the mountain is now called Jebel 'Akkar. 
 The northernmost peak rises southeast of Tripoli, and is 
 known on the coast as Jebel Mukhmal.^ Its elevation is 
 given at eight thousand four hundred Paris feet.^ Then fol- 
 lows, after a long interval, Jebel Suniiin, north of east from 
 Beirut, generally regarded as the highest point of Lebanon. 
 The usual estimate of its elevation is from nine thousand 
 to ten thousand feet. Li the ravines around both these sum- 
 mits, snow is found during the whole summer; and from 
 Siinnin it is carried away on mules to supply Beirut with 
 a luxury. A few miles further south is Jebel Keneiseh, a 
 lower summit, just north of the pass el-Mughitbeh on the 
 road from Beirut to Damascus.^ 
 
 From this point southward the highest part of the moun- 
 
 ^ E. Smith, Ms. Later Biblical Researches, p. 593 sq. 
 * Russcggcr, I. p. 717. 
 
 ' Later Biblical Researches: " The first, el-Keniseh is marked by Petermann at 
 7245 feet. Siinnin, according to Marshal Marmont, is about 8300 English feet. 
 
MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS. 
 
 341 
 
 tain forms again a single uniform ridge nearly to Jczzm, where 
 it becomes broader, and is broken up into irregular peaks 
 and ridges. In this part it bears different local names. 
 Opposite to Kefr Huneh it takes the name of Jebel Rihan, 
 from a village further south ; and the ridge, as such, finally 
 terminates at the river Litany, where it flows in a western 
 course between the bridges of Biirghuz and Khurdela. The 
 whole southern part of Lebanon is sometimes also called 
 Jebel ed-Deruz, Mountain of the Druzes, as being the chief 
 residence of that singular people. 
 
 On the western Lebanon, below the central ridge, the 
 larger streams are generally formed by several tributaries, 
 coming from deep valleys or ravines. Indeed, the valleys of 
 all this region have in general a uniform character. Except 
 at their heads, where they are shallow and sometimes form 
 basins of fertile land, they are mostly of great depth ; their 
 sides rising up as mountains, and being marked by regular 
 features. From the bottom there is first an acclivity ; then, 
 usually about halfway up, there is a precipice ; and above this 
 precipice the ascent becomes more gradual. Along it villa- 
 ges are built (as also below the precipice), and it connects 
 itself without interruption with the arable land above. In 
 the northern part of the mountain, the course of these val- 
 leys to the sea is northwest. In the middle part, north of 
 the Damascus road, they descend towards the west and south- 
 west. South of that road they run first south, and then 
 west, to the sea. Thus the valley of the Awaly, the ancient 
 Bostrenus, begins near the Damascus road, and takes its 
 
 One summit above the cedars, Fum el-Mizab, was found by Dr. De Forest in 1853 
 to be 9135 feet high. Another adjacent peak, Dahar el-Khudib, was estimated 
 by him as at least 175 feet higher; in all 9310 feet. This is the highest point of 
 Lebanon." p. 547; see also pp. 15, 489, 494.— Ed. 
 
342 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAriiY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 course south to the vicinity of Jezzm ; separating the west- 
 ern tract of the mountain from the high ridge, and forming 
 thus two parallel ranges. Then, turning west almost at a 
 right angle, it breaks its way as a deep alluvial valley down 
 to the sea near Sidon. The higher portion of western Leba- 
 non may be said to terminate here ; its prolongation on the 
 south of the Awaly being lower and constituting the broad 
 trAct of table-land whicli extends beyond Tyre, and goes to 
 form the hills of Galilee.^ 
 
 The rock of which Lebanon is composed is the Jura lime- 
 stone, with petrifactions of muscles and fish to the height of 
 three thousand feet.^ East of Beirut, high up on the side 
 of the mountain, near Kurnayil, are mines of coal ; and still 
 higher, some of iron ; but none of these have yet been 
 wrought to advantage.^ Notwithstanding tha naked appear- 
 ance of Lebanon at a distance, it everywhere abounds in 
 fertile soil, and the products of the vegetable kingdom are 
 numerous and abundant. In the higher parts are tracts of 
 pines, which furnish timber for the neighboring countries ; 
 nor have the cedars, the ancient glory of Lebanon, by any 
 means disappeared. A grove of several hundred cedars near 
 Ehden in the highest region of the mountain, many of them 
 V3ncrable for their great age and size, was long supposed to 
 
 1 In this description of Lebanon the main features are derived from a manu- 
 script journal of Rev. E. Smith, who resided for years on the mountain, and 
 traversed every part of it. Comp. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 19. [A few years after 
 writing this, the author had occasion to convince himself, by personal inves- 
 tigation, of the correctness of this description, and to add the results of his own 
 examination of the locality. See Later Biblical Researches, pp. 14, 36, 37, 42, 
 530, 547 sq., G24 sq.— Ed.] 
 
 2 Humboldt on Ehrenberg and Hampricht's Journeys in Abhandlungen der 
 Perl. Acad., 1846, p. 131. Burckhardt, p. 19. See also Cedrenus and Glycus, 
 quoted by Reland, Palaestina, p. 321. 
 
 8 Russegger, I. p. 779 sq., 788 sq. Bowling's Report on Syria, p. 20. 
 
MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS. 
 
 343 
 
 be the only remnant of this noble tree upon its native soil. 
 Later travellers, however, have found the cedar growing 
 abundantly on the more northern parts of Lebanon ; though 
 none so large and venerable.^ In that particular grove there 
 are about a dozen patriarchal trees, formed each by the union 
 of three or four trunks, and remarkable for their age and 
 immense size. Around these have shot up about three hun- 
 dred single trees, some of them quite large, and many that 
 would be admired in any place for their beauty. Their 
 straight stem and spreading branches, and the graceful sym- 
 metry of the whole, fairly entitle them to be regarded as 
 " the glory of Lebanon." The cones, beautifully pendant 
 from the bottom of the branches, exude a kind of balsam, 
 highly fragrant, which fully explains the poetical allusion to 
 " the smell of Lebanon." ^ 
 
 The oak, walnut, plane, silver poplar, acacia, and various 
 other trees are not infrequent. The olive and the mulberry 
 are widely cultivated ; the one for its oil, and the other as 
 food for silkworms. The wine of Lebanon was celebrated of 
 old.^ At present extensive vineyards surround many of the 
 villages, the vines being left to run upon the ground. The 
 fruit is mostly eaten, or is converted into raisins and dibs 
 (sirup) ; a small part only is made into wine, which is still 
 accounted of superior excellence.* Not a little of the soil 
 is arable, and is used for crops, chiefly of wdieat, maize, 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, 11. p. 493 [III. p. 440]. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 
 588-593. 
 
 2 S. Wolcott in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, p. 86. Is. Ix. 13; Cant. iv. 11. [See a 
 full description of the cedars of Lebanon in Later Biblical Researches, pp. 588- 
 593.— Ed.] 
 
 3 Hosea xiv. 7. 
 
 4 E. Smith on the Wines of Lebanon, Bibliotheca Sacra, 1&46, p. 385 sq. Bow- 
 ring's Report on Syria, p. 17. 
 
214 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 and tobacco.^ Where the acclivities are too steep for ordi- 
 nary tillage, terraces are built up along them with great la- 
 bor and covered with soil. Indeed, the whole surface of 
 the mountain bears marks of patient industry and thrift, 
 indicating a numerous population of hardy, laborious, inde- 
 pendent mountaineers. 
 
 The ancient renown of Lebanon for beauty and fertility 
 extended beyond Palestine. Moses prayed : " Let me go 
 over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly 
 mountain, even Lebanon." ^ It is mentioned by name in 
 Scripture no less than sixty-eight times ; at first as lying on 
 the northern border of the Promised Land ; ^ and then often 
 for its cedars. The wood of these was used in building both 
 the first and second temple ; ^ as also for Solomon's palace 
 and its furniture.^ To the Hebrew poet the stately cedar 
 of Lebanon was an emblem of the good man flourishing in 
 the favor of God ; sometimes also of the prosperous wicked ; 
 and again of the glory of idolatrous Assyria.^ More fre- 
 quently it was an image of grace and beauty.^ The fra- 
 grance of the forests and flowers of Lebanon was also an 
 object of poetic comparison.^ 
 
 The name Lebanon in Scripture is sometimes supposed to 
 have comprehended also the eastern mountain ; and in five 
 instances where the Hebrew has Lebanon, the Septuagint 
 reads Anti-Lebanon.^ But this view would seem not well 
 founded. The southern part of Anti-Lebanon is always 
 known in Scripture as Mount Hermon ; and as to the nortli- 
 
 1 Bowring's Report on Syria, pp. 8, 18. 
 
 2 Deut. iii. 25. ^ Dcut. i. 7, xi. 24. Josh. i. 4, xiii. 6. 
 * 1 Kings V. G, ix. 14; Ezra iii. 7. ^ 1 Kings vii. 2, x. 21 ; Cant. iii. 9. 
 
 6 Ps. xcii. 12, Ps. xxix. 5; Is. ii. 12, 13; Ezek. xxxi. 3 sq. 
 
 ' Judg. ix. 15; 2 Kings xiv. 9, xix. 23; comp. Is. xiv. 8, xxxvii. 24. 
 
 s Hosea xiv. 6; Cant. iv. 11. 9 Deut. i. 7, iii. 25, xi. 24; Josh i. 4, ix. 1. 
 
MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS. 
 
 crii part, if mentioned at all, it is probably under the name 
 of Scnir.^ The Mount Hor spoken of as a point in the north- 
 ern border of the Israelites, would seem to have been either 
 the northern end of Lebanon Proper, or a spur connected 
 with it .2 
 
 The main ridge of Anti-Lebanon begins also from the 
 north, over against the northern end of Lebanon, some fif- 
 teen miles south of Hums, and north of Hasya on the road 
 to Damascus ; where the eastern plain extends around it 
 quite to the Orontes.^ Like Lebanon, it is composed of Jura 
 limestone. It may be regarded as made up of two parts, 
 lying north and south of the parallel of Damascus ; or rather 
 as divided at a point somewhat north of that parallel. The 
 northern part now bears the name of Jebel esh-Shurky, or 
 East Mountain. It is a long and not uneven ridge, less 
 lofty than Lebanon ; and in contrast to that mountain, 
 having its steepest declivity on the west towards the Buka'a, 
 almost without streams or villages. The top of the ridge 
 forms in some places a broad tract of uneven table-land. 
 The eastern declivity is quite gradual ; or rather this eastern 
 side is characterized by successive lower ridges with interven- 
 ing open tracts, or terraces, running parallel with its course, 
 and presenting towards the east steep declivities and some- 
 times perpendicular precipices. The river Barada, which, 
 rising high up in the mountain, flows by Damascus, the only 
 important stream of Anti-Lebanon, breaks through no less 
 than three such ridges. The surface of this portion of the 
 mountain north of the Barada, is naked and barren ; and 
 several spurs from the mountain, or rather from the parallel 
 
 1 1 Chr. V. 23; Cant. iv. 8. 2 Num. xxiv. 7, 8. 
 
 3 Biblical Researclics, III., first edition, App., p. 17L Irby and Mangles, p 281. 
 Buckingham, Arab Tr., p. 488. 
 
 44 
 
346 
 
 niYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 ridges, having the same general character, extend into the 
 desert in the direction of Palmyra ; forming the rugged and 
 broken country crossed by the caravan road from Damascus 
 to Hums.^ 
 
 The southern portion of Anti-Lebanon slightly trends still 
 further towards the southwest ; and rises south of Rasheiya 
 into the lofty peaks of Jebel esh-Slieikh, the Mount Hermon 
 of Scripture, the highest of all the Syrian mountains-, estima- 
 ted at more than ten thousand feet above the sea. It is some- 
 times called also Jebel et-Telj, or Snowy Mountain.^ Both its 
 eastern and western sides are steep and uninhabited. In the 
 ravines around the higher of the two peaks, snow or rather 
 ice lies during the whole year ; and hence in summer the 
 mountain presents at a distance the appearance of radiant 
 stripes descending from its crown. In the fourth century 
 the snows of Hermon were carried to Tyre in summer as a 
 luxury.^ Tlie ridge afterwards slopes off gradually and 
 irregularly towards the W. S. W., quite down to the mouth 
 of Wady et-Teim, northwest of Banias. From the south- 
 eastern base of the highest part of Jebel esh-Sheikh, a low 
 broad spur or mountainous tract, called Jebel Heish, runs 
 off towards the south, and forms a prolongation of Anti-Leb- 
 anon, in the high land which shuts in on the east the basin 
 of the Hulch and the valley of the Jordan.^ 
 
 Mount Hermon, although its majestic form is visible from 
 the greater part of northern Palestine, is mentioned in 
 Scripture only twelve times ; and then chiefly as marking a 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, III., first edition. Appendix, p. 171. 
 
 2 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 163. 
 
 3 Jerome, Onomast., article JErmon. 
 
 * For a short descriptive sketch of the two mountains Lebanon and Anti-Leb- 
 anon, see Later Biblical Researches, pp. .MG, 547. — Ed. 
 
MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS. 
 
 347 
 
 boundary. There are but three poetical allusions to it ; ^ 
 for as contrasted with Lebanon, it is steep and rugged, with- 
 out fertility, or cedars, or flowers ; and had, therefore, far 
 less of poetic charm. On account of its two summits, it is 
 once spoken of in the plural, as the Hermons? By the Sido- 
 nians it was called Shirion ; and by the half-nomadic Amo- 
 rites, Senir.^ But Hermon and Senir are also sometimes 
 distinguished.* The latter was probably the specific name 
 of another portion of Anti-Lebanon, occasionally applied to 
 the wliole. In the fourteenth century the name Senir, handed 
 down perhaps by tradition from the tribes of the desert, 
 was current among the Arabs for the ridge of Anti-Lebanon 
 north of Damascus.^ Once Hermon is said to be the same as 
 Mount Sion; which latter may here be nothing more than an 
 epithet, signifying " the lofty." ^ The name Amana is like- 
 wise mentioned along with Senir and Hermon ; ' it was prob- 
 ably applied to the middle portion of Anti-Lebanon around 
 the sources of the river Barada, tlie ancient Amana. Mount 
 Baal-Hermon would seem to have been nothing more than 
 that part of Hermon which was adjacent to the city Baal- 
 Hermon.^ 
 
 Between the mighty ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, 
 thus presenting their steepest walls over against each other, 
 lies the BukcVa, the valley or plain watered by the ancient 
 Leontes, now called the Litany. It is the proper Coele- Syria 
 of the ancients.^ The general breadth of the valley is from 
 
 I Ps. Ixxxix. 12, cxxxiii. 3; Cant. iv. 8. 2 ps. xlii. 6. 
 
 8 Deut. iii. 9. 1 Chron. v. 23; Cant. iv. 8. 
 
 s Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 164. 6 Deut. iv. 48. 
 
 ^ Cant. iv. 8. 
 
 8 Judg. iii. 3; comp. 1 Chron. v. 23. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 409, 410. 
 
 9 Later Biblical Researches, p. 54G. 
 
348 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 four to six miles ; ^ the steep sides of the mountains on either 
 hand rising to an elevation of five thousand to six thousand 
 feet. The Buka'a is irrigated by several streams, though 
 not profusely watered. In it is a watershed a few miles 
 nortli of Ba'albek, marked by low hills ; south of which the 
 streams all flow to the Litany ; while just north are the 
 sources of the Orontes, which send their waters northward 
 to Antioch. The elevation of the valley at Ba'albok is given 
 at three thousand four hundred and ninety-six Paris feet.^ 
 
 From the point on the western side where Jcbel esli-Sheikh 
 begins, and the ridge trends more westerly, a low spur is 
 thrown off towards the southwest ; which, being prolonged 
 as a broad ridge of arable land diverging more and more 
 from the eastern mountain, runs obliquely along the Buka'a 
 as if to join itself to the southern end of Lebanon near 
 Burghuz. By this low ridge the southern portion of the 
 great valley is gradually narrowed to a point ; from which 
 the Litany forces its way through the continuation of Leb- 
 anon by a deep and very narrow chasm, foaming and dash- 
 ing over rocks for miles between high precipices, until it 
 issues upon the plain and joins the sea north of Tyre. 
 
 On the eastern side of the same arable ridge, as it diverges 
 from Jebel esh-Sheikh, is formed the higher valley, or rather 
 hilly tract, now known as Wady et~Teim. Its head is north 
 of Muhaiditheh, where it has an open connection by a low 
 watershed with the Buka'a, near 'Ain Faluj. At this point its 
 elevation is five hundred to six hundred feet above the Li- 
 tany.^ At its southern extremity this valley becomes narrow, 
 and enters the plain of Banias at the northwest corner. In 
 
 1 Schubert, III. p. 322. 
 
 2 Russeggcr, I. p. 702. Schubert has 3572 Paris feet; III. p. 322. 
 
 3 E. Smith, Ms. Journal. 
 
MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, TLAINS. 
 
 349 
 
 this valley, near Hasbeiya, is the remotest "perennial source 
 of the Jordan ; which thus flows for a short distance parallel 
 with the Litany, though on a higher level. Not improbably 
 this may be the particular " valley of Lebanon under Mount 
 Hermon," spoken of in Scripture. ^ 
 
 On tlie seacoast, the Junia or plain, as we have seen, termi- 
 nates at Tripoli, which lies upon a low triangular point ex- 
 tending into the sea, with many small islands beyond. Thence 
 .southwards the shore hugs the skirts of Lebanon as far as to 
 Beirut. In one part a high promontory, the ancient Theu- 
 prosopon, now called Ras esh-Shiika, cuts off all passage along 
 the sea ; and nowhere is there more than a narrow strip of 
 level land. The low triangular headland of Beirut projects 
 several miles into the sea ; and is for the most part level or 
 slightly undulating, with ranges of sandhills along its south- 
 westerii side. Beyond this there is another narrow and 
 irregular level strip of coast ; until towards Sidon the skirts 
 of the mountain again reach down to the sea. South of 
 the Awaly and back of Sidon, the mountains for a fevf miles 
 recede and leave a broader amphitheatre ; but they soon 
 return towards the shore, and confine the plain to narrow 
 limits, until it expands again back of Tyre, and then termi- 
 nates a few miles beyond in the White Promontory, now 
 called Ras el-Abyad. This is the celebrated Phenician plain 
 between Tyre and Sidon, so often spoken of in Scripture and 
 in profane writers. Its breadth is unequal ; but is seldom 
 greater than a mile, except around the two cities. The sur- 
 face is not a dead level, but gently undulating. 
 
 East of the mountains, the region south of the rich plains 
 of Hums, as far as to Damascus, is intersected, as we have 
 
 1 Josh. xi. 17; comp. xiii. 5. A circumstantial description of the Bulia'a and 
 Wady ct-Teim in Later Biblical Researches, pp. 492-504. 
 
350 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYEIA PROPER. 
 
 * seen, by barren ridges thrown off towards the northeast from 
 ' the parallel ledges connected with Anti-Lebanon. These 
 impart to the country a rough and rugged, not to say moun- 
 . tainous character, with occasions valleys and plains of mod- 
 erate extent.^ South of this region is spread out the broad 
 and beautiful plain of Damascus, watered by the Barada, and 
 presenting to the eye of the traveller one of the most cele- 
 brated prospects of the oriental world. Its modern name 
 is el-Ghutali ; and Abulfeda describes it as the noblest of tlie 
 four Paradises, " which are the most excellent of the beau- 
 tiful places of the earth." ^ The medium elevation of this 
 plain is said to be two thousand three hundred Paris feet.^ 
 
 11. WATERS: RIVERS, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 The coast of Syria has very few bays, and no good har- 
 bors; most of the maritime towns having only open road- 
 steads. In the north, the bay of Issus, now the gulf of 
 Iskanderun, forms the northeast corner of the Mediterra- 
 nean. The bay of Juneli or Kesrawan north of Beirut, af- 
 fords an exposed anchorage for vessels. 
 
 East of Mount Amanus th * Kara Su (in Arabic el-As- 
 wad) flows S. S. W. and expands into the lake of Antioch, a 
 few miles distant from the Orontes. The Nahr 'Afrin, a 
 longer stream enters the same lake from the northeast. This 
 sheet of water is of an oval form, nearly forty miles in cir- 
 cuit ; not deep, but well siipplied with fish ; and is a great 
 resort of water-fowl. The level of the lake is three hundred 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, HI., first edition, App., p. 171. Pococke, II. p. 138 sq. 
 Irby and Manjrles, p. 281. 0. v. Ricliter, p. 195 sq. 
 
 2 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 100. 
 
 3 Russeggcr, I. p. 415; comp. Schubert, III. p. 283. Later Biblical Researches, 
 pp. 442-468. 
 
RIVERS. LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 351 
 
 and sixty-five feet above the sea. It is called Ak Denis, or 
 also el-Yugara. The outlet, likewise known as the Kara Su, 
 is on the west side, and enters the Orontes three miles above 
 Antioch.^ 
 
 The river of Aleppo, el-Kuweik, is the ancient Chains of 
 Xenophon, celebrated for its fish ; and having even now 
 three varieties unknown in the rivers of Europe, and consid- 
 ered of remarkable delicacy It rises near a branch of the 
 Sajur, a tributary of the Euphrates ; and has a southerly 
 course of about sixty miles. It flows by Aleppo as a small 
 sluggish stream, eight or ten yards wide ; its waters being 
 drawn off for irrigation. Near the site of the ancient Colchis, 
 it turns east, and loses itself in a marsh four miles from that 
 place and some fifteen miles south of Aleppo.^ 
 
 The longest and largest river of Syria is the Orontes^ now 
 called el-'Asy, flowing towards the north ; while all the other 
 large streams have a southern direction. Its remotest source 
 is near Lebweh, a village ten or twelve miles north of Ba'al- 
 bek, at the foot of xinti-Lebanon. A little stream here 
 comes down from the mountain ; which wanders northward 
 through the plain for twelve or fifteen miles, and then ap- 
 proaches the western side of the valley, along the low hills 
 which skirt the base of Lebanon near the village el-Hiirmul. 
 At this place is a large fountain, which is commonly re- 
 garded as the head of the Orontes ; the natives here, as in 
 the case of the Litany and the Jordan, considering not the 
 
 1 W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, p. 238. Ainswgrth, Researches 
 in Assyria, p. 299. Cliesney in Journal of Royal Geographical Society, 1838, 
 p. 416. Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 160. 
 
 2 Xenophon, Anabasis, 1. 4. 9. W. B. Barker in Bowring's Report, p. 112. 
 
 8 Russell's Aleppo, 1794, 1, p. 3 sq. Pococke, II., p. 151. Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., 
 p. 190. E. R. Beadle in Missionary Herald, 1842, p. 233. 
 
352 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYEIA PROPER. 
 
 most distant, but the most copious fountain as the proper 
 source. A large volume pf water " springs with some vio- 
 lence from a natural basin in the rock, of a triangular form, 
 measuring about fifty paces, and nearly concealed on each 
 side by trees and bushes." The Lebweh flows along the base 
 of this triangle, and mingles its little current with the stream 
 from the spring.^ On the south side of the basin, at the top 
 of the rock, there is an excavation of several rooms, said 
 to have been the hermitage of Marun, the first Maronite. 
 Hence the spot in Abulfeda's time bore the name of Mu- 
 gharat er-Rahib (the Monk's cave), and is now known as 
 Deir Mar MarOn.2 
 
 The stream pursues a northeasterly course by Ribleh 
 through the great plain towards Hums, receiving several 
 smaller tributaries. About ten miles south of that city, it 
 expands into a lake some five miles long by two broad, for- 
 
 A 
 
 merly called el-Kady^, and now known as the lake el-'Asy or 
 of Hums. The river passes on the west of Hums, less than 
 a mile distant ; and is there narrow, deep, and rapid. Be- 
 tween Hums and Hamah it makes a bend towards the right 
 around an isolated mountain. At Hamah the river runs in 
 a narrow valley lower than the plain ; and here and below, 
 as far as Shugr,^ the water is raised by large Persian wheels, 
 turned by the force of the current, for the use of the inliab- 
 itants and for irriojation. About ten miles below Hamah the 
 Orontes breaks through a range of hills by a narrow chan- 
 nel with precipitous rocky banks, near the bridge and castle 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 538, 539. 
 
 2 W. B. Barker, in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1S37, pp. 99, 
 100. Abulfcda, Tab. Syr., p. 150. Biblical Researches, 111., first edition, App. 
 p. 144, 145. See a description of this cave in Later Biblical Researches, p. 589. 
 
 3 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., pp. 151, 157. 
 * Maundrell, p. 5. 
 
EIYEES, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 353 
 
 Seijar. Here are found remains of antiquity, which mark 
 tlie place as an ancient site, probably Larissa.^ 
 
 At this point the proper valley of the Orontes, el-Ghab, 
 may be said to begin. Many large fountains along each side 
 of the Ghab send their waters to augment the river ; form- 
 ing in several instances small lakes in the bottom of the val- 
 ley. One of these, called et-Takeh, just northwest of the site 
 of the ancient Apamea, is celebrated for its fish.^ The river 
 flows near the west side of the valley, where it forms numer- 
 ous marshes ; in the rainy season it overflows and connects 
 with the lake.^ At Shugr the stream is divided into a num- 
 ber of smaller channels. It runs here rapidly over a grav- 
 elly bottom ; and for a mile above the bridge has less than 
 three feet of water, while below the bridge it is deep.* 
 
 Just where the Orontes turns west towards Antioch, is the 
 Jisr el-Hadid, or Iron bridge, so called for centuries, on the 
 great road to Aleppo.^ Below Antioch, through the narrow 
 portion of the valley, the river roars over a succession of 
 rapids and shallows, which render it unnavigable even for 
 steam vessels.^ Where the plain again opens towards the 
 sea, the stream is in some places fordable, but is usually 
 crossed by a ferry. It is here about eight rods in width, with 
 a very rapid current and muddy water, exhibiting a bluish- 
 white appearance." 
 
 The direct course of the Orontes from its source to the 
 Jisr el-Hadid, is nearest one hundred and twenty-eight 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 145. Cellarius, II. p. 356. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 137. Comp. Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., pp. 151, 157. 
 5 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., pp. 157, 158. G. Robinson, II. p. 247. 
 
 * Monro, II., p. 211. Later Biblical Researches, p. 548 sq. 
 
 5 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 151. 
 
 6 Irby and Mangles, p. 226. Bowring's Report, p. 49. 
 
 7 W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, p. 235. 
 
 45 
 
 I ■ 
 
3o4 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 miles ; and from thence to the sea, about twenty-four miles. 
 The level of the river at the Iron bridge is about the same 
 as that of the adjacent lake, or three hundred and sixty-five 
 feet above the sea. This gives an average fall of nearest fif- 
 teen feet for every mile of its lower southwestern course, 
 where it is known to be most rapid. The source at Leb- 
 weh cannot be lower than Ba'albek ; which is given at 
 three thousand four hundred and ninety-six Paris, or three 
 thousand seven hundred and thirty English feet, above the 
 sea ; or three thousand three hundred and sixty-five feet 
 above the lake of Antioch. This again gives for the northern 
 course of the river a fall of more than twenty-six feet for 
 every mile, or nearly double the. rate below the bend. This 
 result seems incompatible with the apparently greater rapid- 
 ity of the river in its lower part ; and also with the general 
 features of the country, and the marshes along the valley. 
 Perhaps there may be some error in the barometical meas- 
 urements of the Buka'a. 
 
 The Leontes, now called el-Litany,^ is the river of the 
 Buka'a, and gathers its waters from the many fountains of 
 the valley. In journeying from Zahlch at the foot of Leba- 
 non to Ba'albek, one does not yet find the Litany ; only a few 
 small streams, its tributaries, are crossed in the plain ; the 
 easternmost of which is followed to its source in a copious 
 fountain a few miles south of Ba'albek.^ This is perhaps the 
 remotest perennial source. But the district is everywhere 
 watered by rivulets ; almost every village has its spring, all 
 of which flow into the valley, where most of them are lost 
 before reaching the Litany, unless it be in the rainy season. 
 Thus at Ba'albek there is a noble fountain, the stream from 
 
 1 For the probable identity, see Biblical Researches, II. pp. 472,473 [III. p. 410J. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, III., first edition, App., p. 143. 
 
RIVERS, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 355 
 
 which would naturally form one of the sources of the Litany ; 
 yet in summer, at least, it loses itself in the plain. The case 
 is the same with the still remoter fountain of Nahleh, three 
 or four miles northeast of Ba'albek. At Zahleh, situated hi 
 the opening of a valley at the foot of Lebanon, a fine brook 
 called el-Burdony issues from the mountain, and runs into 
 the plain to join the main stream. So too just below on 
 the other side, there comes in a rivulet from Anti-Lebanon, 
 known as el-Kana, from the village of that name.^ But 
 the most copious stream of all . comes from the fountains of 
 'Anjar, at the foot of Anti-Lebanon, southeast of Zahleh. 
 Hence, as in the case of the Orontes, this spot is regarded by 
 the natives as the true source of the Litany. There are 
 here several springs at the base of the mountains, about a 
 mile distant from the village. The stream which issues from 
 them flows sluggishly into the plain, and is not fordable. 
 When Burckhardt saw it, the volume of water was triple 
 that of the other branch of the Litany. In summer the 
 largest spring intermits its flow at certain periods eight or 
 ten times in a day. Towards the north along the base of 
 the mountain are two other large springs a mile distant ; 
 and a third, a mile or two further on ; all of which send their 
 waters to the river of 'Anjar, and are reckoned among its 
 sources.2 
 
 After the junction of the streams, the Litany flows on 
 through the valley, which contracts towards the south, and 
 loses its alluvial character some distance above the village 
 of Suhmur on the left bank of the stream. Below this point 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, III., first edition, App., pp. 141, 143. Burckhardt, Syria, 
 pp. 4, 10, 16, 17. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, III., first edition, App., p. 143. Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 
 9, 10. E. Smith, Ms. Journal. 
 
356 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 the channel of the river becomes narrow, and grows contin- 
 ually deeper ; being apparently worn into the rock by the 
 action of the water. At Suhmur the stream runs rapidly 
 between perpendicular precipices. About three miles fur- 
 ther south, a liigh tract crosses from the eastern hill to the 
 foot of Lebanon ; through which the river breaks its way by 
 a similar narrow gorge. The village Yiihmur is situated 
 on the top, just on the left bank of the stream. Here is the 
 most majestic part of the wonderful chasm. Its precipices 
 cannot well be less than a thousand feet in height ; higher 
 than at any other point. At the bottom, like a silvery ribbon, 
 the current rushes from rapid to rapid, foaming among the 
 rocks, and decked with the gay blossoms of the oleander 
 along its margin. Just north of this spot there is near the 
 bottom a natural bridge across the stream, called el-Kuweh. 
 It has evidently been formed by the falling of masses of rock 
 from above ; which, spanning the stream, have in time be- 
 come covered with earth and bushes. This bridge is crossed 
 by a bridle-path.i 
 
 South of Yuhmur for several miles the course of the river 
 is through the midst of an undulating basin ; but it every- 
 where preserves its precipitous, though here lower banks. 
 There is usually no depression of the ground as one ap- 
 proaches the river ; so that when the chasm is not directly 
 in sight, the whole tract appears as one continuous surface. 
 Towards the south the basin is terminated near the village 
 of Burghuz by a hill projecting from the east towards the 
 bold side of Lebanon, with which it would form a junction 
 but for the Litany. Here is another majestic chasm ; though 
 its walls are less lofty than at Yuhmur. Just below the 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, pp. 53, 385-387. 
 
RIVERS, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 357 
 
 bridge of Burgliuz the river turns by a sudden angle towards 
 the southwest ; and continues to flow by a tortuous channel 
 between rocky precipices in that general direction, along the 
 high southern end of Jebel Rihan (Lebanon), as far as to 
 the bridge of Khurdela. Here it again flows south by the 
 great castle esh-Shukif ; below which it turns due west, and 
 passes out between precipices of great sublimity into the 
 more open country around Tibnin. 
 
 This deep rocky gorge is in fact a rent or crevice through 
 the southern skirts and spurs of Lebanon. So narrow is 
 the rent, that only here and there is there room for a foot- 
 path below along the stream ; and the high perpendicular 
 cliffs approach so near together that in some spots, as near 
 Burghuz, the branches of trees from either side meet and in- 
 terlock. The lofty precipice, on which is situated the castle 
 esh-Shukif, is exceedingly grand ; the castle crowns its high- 
 est pinnacle, standing upon the very brink ; so that a stone 
 let fall from its battlements would almost drop into the 
 stream below.^ 
 
 After turning west below the castle, the Litany has a 
 course of twelve or fifteen miles, and falls into the sea a few 
 miles north of Tyre, under the name el-Kasimiyeh. The 
 stream in its lower part is twenty or thirty feet in width and 
 of considerable depth. It flows to the sea with many wind- 
 ings, through a broad low tract of meadow-land.^ 
 
 The length of the Litany on a direct course, from Ba'al- 
 bek to the sea, is nearest fifty-five miles. From the termina- 
 tion of the alluvial part of the Buka'a to the point where 
 
 1 The foregoing description is drawn mainly fi-om the Ms. Journal of Rev. E. 
 Smith. Comp. W. M. Thomson in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1846, p. 205. [See the 
 author's own view of it, after having visited it in 1852, in Later Biblical Re- 
 searches, pp. 385, 387, 421-423, 404.— Ed.] 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. p. 472 sq. [III. p. 409 sq.]. 
 
358 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 the river issues from its mountain gorge above Tibnin, is 
 nearest twenty miles. If for this part of its course we as- 
 sume an average fall of one hundred feet in a mile, or two 
 thousand feet in all (which is a very large allowance), there 
 yet remains of the elevation at Ba'albek (three thousand 
 seven hundred and thirty English feet), no less than sev- 
 enteen hundred and thirty feet to be distributed along the 
 rest of the course ; namely, thirty-five miles. This gives 
 an average fall of nearly fifty feet in a mile, in a course 
 mostly along alluvial valleys. This result, taken in connec- 
 tion with the similar one in the case of the Orontes, seems 
 to imply an error in the assumed elevation of the Buka'a, as 
 indicated by the barometer. 
 
 Thus far of the waters of the great Syrian valley which 
 find their way, by the Orontes on the north and the Leontes 
 on the south, through the mountains to the Mediterranean. 
 Next, of the shorter streams along the western declivity to- 
 wards the sea. 
 
 North of the Orontes there are no streams of importance 
 along the coast. Between Mount Casius and Lebanon the 
 plain is well watered by several rivers which take their rise in 
 the mountains ; and by numerous fountains along the coast. 
 Ancient writers make no mention of any of these streams, 
 except the river Eleutherus ; which is twice named in the 
 Apocrypha, and often by Josephus.^ This river was obvi- 
 ously on the north of Lebanon ; and is loosely specified, 
 along with adjacent towns, as the northern boundary of 
 Phenicia towards Syria.^ According to Strabo and Pliny it 
 was near the city Simyra, now perhaps Sumrah (or Semar) ; ^ 
 
 1 1 Mace. xi. 7, xii. 30, Josephus, Antt. 15. 4. 1.; Bel. Jud., 1. 18. 5. etc. 
 
 2 Strabo, 16. 2. 12, 16. Pliny, Hist. Nat., 5. 20. Cellarius, II. p. 374. 
 
 3 Cellarius, H. p. 374. Shaw, Travels, p. 269. 
 
RIVERS, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 3o9 
 
 and corresponds therefore to the present Xahr cl-Kebir, the 
 largest river of the plain. ^ It rises in the trap mountains, 
 northeast of the castle el-Husn ; gathers the waters of the 
 northernmost parts of Lebanon, and of the southern end of 
 the Xusariyeli mountains ; and passing down between the 
 two (though nearest to Lebanon), forms in the rainy season 
 a large and swollen torrent, which is sometimes impassable 
 for weeks together.^ 
 
 One of the northernmost tributaries of this river, called 
 Nahr cl-'Arus, takes its rise from a copious intermitting 
 fountain in the valley west of the castle el-Hiisn, and not 
 far from the Greek convent Mar Jirjis, which is situated 
 half an hour northwest of the castle. This fountain, which 
 is mentioned by Burckhardt as near the convent, has re- 
 cently been identified by Mr. Thomson with the famous 
 Sabbatical river of JoseiDhus.-^ The historian speaks of that 
 river as between Arka, which belonged to Agrippa's kingdom 
 of Chalcis, and Raphanea. The former town still exists near 
 the coast at the north end of Lebanon ; and the site of the 
 latter, as we shall elsewhere see, is found on tlie way from el- 
 Husn to Hamah. Josephus describes the stream as flowing 
 only on the seventh day ; its channel being dry during the 
 intervening six days. Pliny, on the other hand, narrates, 
 that it runs during six days, and is dry on the seventh."* 
 These are doubtless merely different forms of a current pop- 
 ular report. At the present time the water ordinarily flows 
 
 1 Later Biblical Researches, p. 576, 
 
 2 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 101. Muuiidrell, p. 32. Later Biblical Researches, 
 pp. 558 -SCO, .575, 570, 582. 
 
 3"W. M. Thomson in. Silliman's Journal of Science, Nov. 1846, p. 305 sq. 
 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 160. Josephus, Bel. Jud., 7. 5. L Later Biblical Re- 
 searches, pp. 572, 574. 
 
 4 Pliny, Hist. Nat., 31. 2. 
 
360 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 every third day ; tliougli, according to the testimony of the 
 monks of the adjacent convent, the interval varies with the 
 alternations of the wet and dry seasons. Yet the inhabitants 
 of the neighboring districts still affirm, that it runs only on 
 the seventh day, and call it Nahr Sebty, or Seventh-day 
 river. Being, however, Muslims, they connect the supposed 
 flow with Friday, the Muhammedan Sabbath. 
 
 Of the streams which descend from Lebanon directly to 
 the sea, the ancient names of only five have been preserved ; 
 and these are all situated between Jebeil (Byblus) and Sidon. 
 
 The Adonis, now called Nahr Ibrahim, a few miles south 
 of Jebeil, is a stream of considerable size.^ It is crossed by 
 a very high bridge of a single arch, which appears to have 
 stood for ages. The ancient name was derived from the 
 fable of Adonis ; who was said to have been killed by a 
 wild boar in the adjacent mountain, and his blood mingled 
 with the stream. His death was annually commemorated 
 in Byblus, in connection with the temple of Yeniis ; at which 
 time the river was believed to become of a bloody color. 
 Something like this is occasionally true at the present day ; 
 as seen by Maundrell ; ^ the water after violent rains as- 
 sumes a reddish hue, and discolors the sea to a considerable 
 distance. This is occasioned by a species of minium, or 
 red earth, washed into the river. Such is the solution given 
 by Maundrell ; and Lucian relates that an inhabitant of 
 Byblus explained it "to liim in the same way.^ 
 
 The ancient Lycus is now Nahr el-Kelb, or Dog river, a 
 large and rapid stream, having its sources around Jebel 
 Sunnin, and entering tlie sea between steep and lofty preci- 
 
 1 Cellarius, II. p. 377. Maundrell, p. 45. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 601, 
 606, 609. 
 
 2 Maundrell, p. 46. 8 Lucian, de Syria. Dea, § 6, 8. 
 
RIVERS, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 3G1 
 
 pices, seven or eiglit miles northeast of Beirut.^ The scenery 
 of this mountain gorge is romantic and imposing. The 
 mountains extend out quite to the sea ; so that on the north 
 there is only a narrow rocky passage along the shore ; while 
 on the south the rampart juts out still further, and an an- 
 cient artificial road six feet in breadth is hewn in the rock 
 sometimes fifty feet above the water, for the distance of a 
 mile. A Latin inscription records this as the work of one 
 of the emperors Antoninus, probably Caracalla. Other in- 
 scriptions, now illegible, and sculptures mark the progress of 
 Assyrian and perhaps Egyptian conquerors. Higher up in 
 the mountain the region becomes still more wild and roman- 
 tic ; especially around the extensive caverns through which 
 the river flows, situated two hours above its mouth. 
 
 The present river of Beirut, which descends upon the plain 
 and enters the sea on the north side of the promontory, is 
 the Magoras of the ancients.^ 
 
 In the Nahr ed-Damur, south of Beirut, we have the river 
 Tamyras or Damouras of the ancients." Its sources are in 
 the mountain, in several valleys, near the road from Beiriit 
 to Damascus. In summer it is a moderate stream, but in 
 winter it often swells so suddenly and powerfully as to be- 
 come impassable ; and travellers are occasionally swept away 
 in attempting to ford it. A bridge has often been erected 
 over it in the plains ; but has never yet been able long to 
 withstand the fury of the wintry torrent* 
 
 1 Cellarius, II. p. 377. Maundrell, p. 45 sq. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 189 sq. 
 W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, p. 29 sq. Later Biblical Researches, 
 pp. 12, 13, G19. 
 
 2 Pliny, Hist. Nat., 5. 17. Pocockc, II. pp. 90, 91. Later Biblical Researches, 
 pp. 12, 14, 15. 
 
 3 Strabo, 16. 2. Polyb. 5. 68. Biblical Researches, II. p. 488 [III. p. 433], 
 Later Biblical Researches, p. 34. 
 
 46 
 
362 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 The Awaly, just north of Sidon, is the ancient Bosh'enus, 
 which gave and still gives fertility and beauty to the envi- 
 rons of that city.i Its source is high up in Lebanon, north 
 of Baruk ; and, as we have seen, it flows first south-south- 
 west, and then west to the sea by an alluvial valley, cleaving 
 the mountains to their base. At its angle near Jezzin, a 
 stream enters it from the north, on which is a beautiful cas- 
 cade two hundred feet high.^ Where the river issues from 
 the mountains, its waters are taken out by aqueducts to' sup- 
 ply the city of Sidon and to irrigate the surrounding region. 
 Yet it flows on, a fine broad stream, to the sea. 
 
 South of Sidon there is no river of importance except the 
 Leontes. All those thus far mentioned are within the long 
 and narrow territory encircled by the latter and the Orontes. 
 
 Along the eastern declivity of the mountains which skirt 
 the valley of the Orontes, and also along the whole northern 
 part of Anti-Lebanon towards the cast, the only waters are 
 occasional fountains, whose rivulets are quickly lost in the 
 vicinity of their sources. In the district of Damascus, we 
 have an early notice of two streams : " Are not Amana and 
 Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of 
 Israel ? " ^ These of course must be streams having their 
 sources in or near Anti-Lebanon or Hermon, and flowing 
 eastward through the plain of Damascus. 
 
 One of these is undoubtedly the Barada, the ChrysorrlwcB 
 of the Greeks.^ It is the largest and most important stream 
 
 1 Dionysius, Perigetes, 905. Reland, Palaestina, p. 437. Biblical Researches, 
 II. pp. 4a5, 480 [III. pp. 428, 429]. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 30, 37. 
 
 2 E. Smith, Ms. Journal. 
 
 3 2 Kings V. 12. The form Amana stands in the margin of the English Bible, 
 and is better supported than the reading Ahana. Later Biblical Researches, p. 
 447 sq. 
 
 4 Cellarius, II. p. 372. Later Biblical Researches, pp. 446-449. 
 
RIVERS, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 363 
 
 on the eastern declivity of the mountains, though in itself 
 of moderate size ; and flows in a southeasterly direction. Its 
 remotest sources are found in several rivulets which water 
 the plain of Zebedany near the top of Anti-Lebanon ; one of 
 these coming from the northern part of that plain. The 
 united stream passes out of the plain by a deep chasm 
 through the parallel ridge on the east. This ridge, which is 
 hundreds of feet high and at right angles to the direction of 
 the stream, is cleft so as to present tw^o perpendicular faces 
 of rock, with a level pass of only a few yards between them. 
 Just at its eastern mouth is a town, Suk el-Barada, the site 
 of the ancient Abila. The valley of the Barada now passes 
 through another plain or offset, eight or ten miles broad, to 
 a second similar gap through the next ridge, near the village 
 of Fijeh, on its left bank.^ The river is continually enlarged 
 by various fountains and streams ; the most remarkable of 
 which i^ the fountain el-Fijeh, bursting forth at once, just 
 back of that village, as a copious stream of the purest trans- 
 parent water, which unites with the Barada after a course 
 of so^ne five and twenty rods. The water of the latter is 
 whitisli and turbid ; and its stream is not more than half the 
 size of that from Fijeh.^ Hence, as in the case of the Oron- 
 tes and Litany, the latter is often regarded as the source of 
 the Barada.^ An aqueduct, the remains of which still exist, 
 once conveyed its waters to Damascus. 
 
 Below the second gap the narrow valley of the river crosses 
 a desert tract for six or eight miles, to the third and last ridge, 
 through which it breaks by a somewhat wider pass, about 
 two miles distant from Damascus.* Above the gap, near the 
 
 1 E. Smith, Ms. Journal. 2 0. v. Richter, p. 157. 
 
 3 So Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., pp. 15, 174. 
 
 < E. Smith, Ms. Journal. Biblical Researches, III., first edition, App., p. 146. 
 
364 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 village of Diimmar, the river, which hitherto flows in a chan- 
 nel eight or ten yards wide, and with a current hardly knee 
 deep,i divides itself into five arms ; not at once, but one after 
 another. Of these, one occupies the channel along the val- 
 ley ; while the rest are conducted at different heights along 
 the two declivities. Another arm goes off to the right above 
 Dummar, and is carried to the village of Mezzeh ; and one 
 of the five again divides before reaching Damascus.^ Thus 
 the waters of the Barada flow through the city and gardens 
 at least seven streams ; and being drawn off by many smaller 
 channels for irrigation, they are mostly absorbed in the plain. 
 What remains of the streams is again united southeast of the 
 city ; and after a course of seven or eight miles enters the 
 lake or marsh of Damascus, called also el-Heijany.^ This 
 lake has no outlet ; and receives all the rivers that descend 
 from Anti-Lebanon and Hermon into the plain. Of course 
 it enlarges in winter and decreases in summer. It" is sur- 
 rounded by tracts of reeds and canes. The meadow-like 
 tract adjacent to it on the west is called el-Merj ; whence some- 
 times the whole lake takes the name of Bahr el-Merj.^ In the 
 Barada we very probably recognize the Amana (or Ahand) 
 of Scripture. The more important river would naturally be 
 named first. A part of Anti-Lebanon was likewise called 
 Amana ; and this in all probability would be the tract around 
 the sources of the river of the same name. 
 
 More difficult is it to identify the Pharpar. Some have 
 regarded it as the short stream at Fijeli ; others, as one of 
 
 1 Paxton's Letters, p. 66. 2 q. v. Richter, p. 154 sq. 
 
 3 Biblical Researches, III., first edition, App., p. 148. Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 
 156. Addison, Damascus, etc., H. p. 118. 
 
 4 See on Damascus, its rivers and lakes, the author's Later Biblical Researches, 
 pp. 442-452, and the later (1855) work on Damascus and Haman by J. L. Porter. 
 
MYERS, LAKES, FOUNTAINS. 
 
 3G5 
 
 the arms of the Barada in the plain. Neither of these con- 
 jectures has any plausibility. The plain of Damascus is 
 watered by many streamlets. One of these, called el-Berdeh, 
 has its source in Jebel esk-Sheikh, back of Katana, and runs 
 into the Merj.^ Another larger stream is the A'waj ; which 
 likewise takes its rise from Jebel esk-Sheikh in the direction 
 of Hasbeiya ; flows first southeasterly to Sa'sa', and then 
 northeasterly to the Ghutah or plain of Damascus ; and falls 
 at last into the lake. Its upper part is called also Nahr es- 
 Seibarany. At Sa'sa' it is described as a rapid and pretty 
 stream. 2 Further down, it flows by el-Kesweh on the bor- 
 ders of the Ghutah ; and is there spoken of by Abulfeda.^ 
 Next to the Barada this is the most important stream in all 
 the region around Damascus ; and is therefore most probably 
 to be regarded as the Pharpar of Scripture.* 
 
 The large fountains have been mentioned, which every- 
 where burst forth, along the valley of the Orontes, at the base 
 of the mountains on each side ; as also those in the Buka'a, 
 and along the coast north of Lebanon. A very remarkable 
 fountain, or rather cluster of fountains, exists in the plain 
 just south of Tyre ; from which that city was anciently sup- 
 plied with water by an aqueduct, the greater part of which 
 is yet standing. The place is now called Kas el-'Ain, about 
 two and a half miles from Tyre, and half a mile from the 
 sea.^ The water is clear and fine, though it holds much lime 
 in solution. It gushes up in the several sources with great 
 force and in very large quantities. In order to raise the 
 
 1 Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 47, 50, 53. See last Note. 
 
 2 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 312. Schubert, III. p. 27. Monro, II. p. 54. 
 
 3 Abulfeda, Tab. Syr., p. 97. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 53. 0. v. Richter, p. 162. 
 * Later Biblical Researches, p. 447. See Note i. 
 
 « Biblical Researches, pp. 457-459 [III. p. 386 sq.]. 
 
366 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 fountain to a head sufficient to carry off the water by aque- 
 ducts, the ancients built around them elevated reservoirs, 
 with walls of stone immensely thick and fifteen or twenty- 
 feet high, with a broad border or wall around the basin, and 
 steps to ascend to the top. The principal source is that on 
 the west. It has an octagonal reservoir, with a very wide 
 border, and a broad way leading to the top; so that one 
 might ride up and around it. The water is here in constant 
 ebullition ; and is now used to turn a mill. Anciently the 
 water from the different fountains was collected by several 
 smaller aqueducts into a large one of strong and excellent 
 masonry, with round arches, apparently of the Roman age. 
 Some of the arches are filled up with stalactites of limestone . 
 formed by the trickling of the water. In a far earlier age 
 we know that Tyre was already supplied with water by aque- 
 ducts.i 
 
 The large fountain near Hasbeiya in Wady et-Teim un- 
 der Mount Hermon, the remotest perennial source of the 
 Jordan, will be noticed in describing that river. 
 
 HI. CLIMATE. 
 
 The climate of a country is modified by the character of 
 its surface ; and depends greatly on the height of its moun- 
 tains, the extent of its plains, the abundance or scarcity of its 
 waters, and other like circumstances. Syria has its lofty 
 summits, from the sheltered ravines around which snow 
 never wholly disappears, and likewise its broad and some- 
 times arid plains, where the heat of summer is intense. Yet 
 in general the climate is temperate and not unhealthy. The 
 
 1 Menander in Jos. Antiq.,9. 14. 2. 
 
CLIMATE. 
 
 3G7 
 
 three narrow longitudinal strips, of different elevation, into 
 which the country is divided, have their natural effect upon 
 the temperature ; first, the low plain along the coast ; then 
 the high mountain ranges ; and beyond these, the interior 
 elevated plains, which are shut out in a great measure by the 
 mountains from the influence of the sea. 
 
 The highest and lowest degrees of the thermometer noted 
 in the English Expedition to the Euphrates in 1885 and 1836 
 were 115° F. in the shade in summer, and 12° F. in winter. ^ 
 But the places where the observations were made, are not 
 specified ; and these extremes are apparently unusual. At 
 Beirut on the coast the thermometer seldom rises higher 
 than 95° in summer, or sinks lower than 50° in winter. Yet 
 in some winters it has fallen as low as 35° ; and in 1825 
 there was snow, hail, and even ice, in March ; but the latter 
 was so unusual, that many persons of twenty-five and thirty 
 years of age, had never before seen it.^ The highest monthly 
 average in summer is about 85° ; the lowest in winter about 
 57°. 
 
 On Mount Lebanon, at Bhamdun near the Damascus road, 
 about four thousand feet above the sea, the highest tempera- 
 ture during the summer of 1813 was 81° ; the monthly aver- 
 age of August for two years was 70° ; and the general av- 
 erage was twelve degrees lower than at Beirut. At Aithath 
 south-southeast of Beirut, with an elevation of about three 
 thousand feet, the lowest point observed during the winter 
 of 1842-43 was 40° ; the lowest monthly average was 50°, 
 in January ; and the general average was about seven de- 
 grees lower than at Beirut.^ In the interior, at Aleppo, 
 
 1 Ainsworth's Researches in Assyria, etc. p. 31. ^ 
 
 2 W. Goodell, in Missionary Herald, 1825, p. 346. 
 
 3 Dr. De Forest in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1844, p. 221. 
 
368 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYPJA PROPER. 
 
 during the years 1752 and 1753, the mercury rose to 95** in 
 summer, and fell as low as 36° in winter.^ But the latter 
 point can hardly be accurate ; since snow and ice are not 
 unusual in that city. Aleppo lies about twelve hundred feet 
 above the the sea ; and its climate is more severe than that 
 of Beirut. Damascus lies still higher ; and the average 
 temperature is probably two or three degrees less than at 
 Aleppo. But there is no account of any observations. 
 
 The winter and summer in Syria, as well as in Palestine, 
 are distinguished as the rainy and the dry seasons ; the for- 
 mer being marked by much rain, and the latter by none at 
 all. The rains in autumn commence somewhat earlier than 
 at Jerusalem ; and continue later in the spring. Slight show- 
 ers occur soon after the autumnal equinox ; but the regular 
 rains do not begin to fall until after the middle of October, 
 and then for a time at intervals, often with heavy thunder. 
 December and January are usually months of heavy rains, 
 with not less than twelve to fifteen rainy days in each. Dur- 
 ing the next three months the rains gradually become less 
 heavy and frequent. In March, and especially April, the 
 weather is variable, witli showers and much sunshine. Show- 
 ers continue to fall in May, and a few even in the first days of 
 June ; but during the summer months and until October, with 
 the exceptions specified, rain is unknown.^ This holds true of 
 Aleppo and the interior, as well as of the coast and moun- 
 tains. Yet in the night of July 1, 1743, there were thunder 
 showers at Aleppo ; an extraordinary phenomenon at that 
 season of the year.^ 
 
 During the intervals of the earlier rains in October and 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, I. App., p. 9. 
 
 2 Dr. Dc Forest, in Bibllotheca Sacra, 1844, p. 221. 
 
 3 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 289. Corap. Prov. xxvi. 1; 1 Sam. xil. 17. 
 
CLIMATE. 
 
 November, the liusbandmau ploughs his fields and sows 
 his seed. The trees retain their foliage until December ; 
 and the cold does not usually set in until the middle of 
 that month. Even delicate Europeans do not have fires 
 at Aleppo earlier. 1 The cold colitinues for six or seven 
 weeks. On the coast, frost and snow are very rare. On the 
 mountains snow falls in winter when it rains below, and lies 
 on the highest parts in large masses, so as to block up the 
 passes of Lebanon. In the cultivated parts of the mountains 
 it commonly lies only for a short time. It is mentioned as 
 being worthy of remark, that at Bhamdun, in the winter of 
 1844-5, one fall of snow lay for a month on a part of the 
 vineyards, before it entirely melted away.^ At Aleppo few 
 winters pass without frost, but many without snow ; and 
 very rarely does the snow lie more than one day. Hail is 
 not unfrequent in the spring ; and the hailstones are some- 
 times enormous. During thirteen years it happened only 
 three times at Aleppo, that there was ice of sufficient strength 
 to bear the weight of a man ; and then only in shady situa- 
 tions.^ Whenever the atmosphere is clear and calm, the 
 sun has everywhere so much power, that the weather is 
 always mild and even warm. 
 
 Spring may be said to commence in February. At Aleppo 
 the almond tree, the peach, and the plum put forth their 
 blossoms after the middle of that month. The trees resume 
 their foliage early in March, and the trees become covered 
 with verdure. The later showers of April and May seem to 
 bring forward the vegetation and ripen the crops. The coun- 
 try is in full verdure and beauty towards the end of April. 
 Early in May the grain begins to turn yellow ; the harvest 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, 11. p. 69. 2 £. Smith in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1846, p. 385. 
 3 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 70. 
 
 47 
 
370 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYEIA PROPER, 
 
 follows ill two or three weeks ; and the fields assume a dry 
 and parched aspect. During the summer months, the sky 
 is almost constantly serene, except that sometimes light 
 fleecy clouds slightly intercept the sun's rays ; or also there 
 is occasionally a partial haze in the atmosphere. The country 
 is dried up ; and the only verdure visible is that of the trees 
 and vines and the few summer crops.^ How different from 
 the green meadows and pastures of the Occident ! 
 
 The prevailing winds are from the western quarter. At 
 Beirut in summer the wind blows during the day five sixths 
 of the time from the west and southwest. These winds 
 commonly subside soon after sunset ; and a land breeze 
 sets in, which, blowing down tlie mountains, renders the 
 nights comparatively comfortable. Sometime after sunrise 
 the breeze returns again fresh from the sea. In winter the 
 winds are frequently between northeast and northwest. On 
 the mountains they appear to be in general the same as on 
 the coast.^ At Aleppo westerly breezes prevail during the 
 summer in the daytime, and die away about midnight. 
 They serve to cool and refresh the air ; which in their ab- 
 sence or during light breezes from other quarters, is disagree- 
 ably sultry. Brisk winds from the east and southeast at 
 Aleppo are dry and hot ; they parch the eyes, lips, and nos- 
 trils ; and produce great lassitude and a sense of oppression 
 at the breast. This is the true east wind of Scripture ; ^ 
 the Shurkiyeh (eastern) of the Arabs ; under which name it 
 has become known to Europeans as the Sirocco.'^ On the 
 coast and in Palestine the Sirocco comes more usually from 
 the southern quarter. At Aleppo in winter and spring the 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 64 sq. 
 
 « Dr. De Forest in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1844, p. 222. 
 
 * Job xxvii. 21 ; Ezra xvii. 10, xix. 12. * See above, pp. 305-307, 
 
CLIMATE. 
 
 371 
 
 east winds are the coldest ; and the more usual wmds in 
 those seasons are between that point and the northeast.^ At 
 Damascus also the prevailing winds in summer are under- 
 derstood to be from the west or southwest ; this is the case 
 likewise in the more eastern deserts. In these regions too the 
 Sirocco (or Simoom) comes from the west.^ 
 
 The climate of Syria is in general not unhealthy ; though 
 this remark applies less to those parts of the coast which are 
 confined to a narrow strip, than elsewhere. Iskanderun is 
 rendered decidedly unhealthy in summer by the adjacent 
 marshes.^ In Beirut, which lies directly under Lebanon, 
 where the beams of the sun ai-e reflected down from the 
 whitish masses of the mountains, and the air is moistened by 
 the breezes from the sea, intermittent or bilious fevers not 
 unfrequently prevail in August and September. For this 
 reason the foreign residents usually spend these months in 
 the adjacent mountains ; where there is always a pure and 
 healthy atmosphere. In the interior, as at Aleppo, the air 
 is pure and penetrating ; though trying to consumptive 
 persons. Indeed, so constant and salubrious is the summer 
 season that the inhabitants are accustomed to sleep for months 
 in the open air upon the flat roofs of their houses without 
 detriment. Yet fevers and dysenteries are not uncommon.^ 
 The air of Damascus is described as excellent;^ the abun- 
 dance of water and the many gardens surround the city with 
 verdure and freshness. Yet late in the summer and in au- 
 tumn it is subject to violent intermittent fevers, engendered, 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, pp. 66, 70. 
 
 2 Burckliardt, Notes on the Bedawins, I. p. 225. 
 
 3 Niebhur, Reisebeschr, III. p. 18. 
 
 < Russell's Aleppo, I. pp. 63, 64; II. p. 298 sq. E. R. Beadle in Missionary Her- 
 ald, 1842, p. 235. 
 « Brown's Travels, p. 396. 
 
372 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 doubtless, in part by the marshes of the adjacent lake.^ The 
 climate of Hums and the region round about is spoken of as 
 perhaps the finest in Syria, east of the mountains.^ 
 
 Heavy thunder and lightning, as we have seen, are not 
 unfrequent ; but it rarely happens that damage is done by 
 the electric fluid. In summer and autumn vivid flashes of 
 lightning without thunder often illuminate the heavens at 
 night. ^ 
 
 rV. GEOLOGICAL FEATURES: MINERALS, SOIL. 
 
 The Syrian mountains consist mainly of limestone ; as has 
 been already shown. In Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon the 
 Jura limestone predominates ; the mountains of the Nusai- 
 riyeh verge into chalk ; around Mount Casius, are talc, ser- 
 pentine, and sandstone ; . while the ridges of Amanus are 
 composed of limestone, serpentine, and talc schist.* The 
 whole interior region, including the desert, rests on lime- 
 stone, which often appears upon the surface ; as in the vast 
 quarries of Aleppo, and the neighboring naked hills.^ 
 
 Sandstone and likewise greenstone are found in various 
 places in Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon.^ Indeed, the most 
 important variation from the general limestone formation 
 throughout Syria, consists in the frequent occurrence of 
 greenstone, basalt, and other volcanic products, connecting 
 this whole region with the volcanic tracts on the east and 
 
 1 Addison, Damascus, etc., II. pp. 118, 389. 
 
 2 J. Kinr^ in Missionary Herald, 1825, p. 371. 
 
 3 Compare these remarks on the climate of Syria with the author's minute re- 
 port on that of Palestine, pp. 288-310. 
 
 ■* Sec p. [II.] [17. i.] Ainsworth, Researches in Assyria, p. 313 sq. RuSsegger, 
 I. pp. 429 .«q., 441 sq. 
 
 « Russell's Aleppo, I. pp. 3, 52. 0. v. Richter, p. 238, 244. 
 
 6 Russegger, 1. pp. 780, 78G sq., 795 sq. W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 
 1S41, p. 3G5. 
 
MINERALS, SOIL. 
 
 373 
 
 west of the lake of Tiberias. Throughout Lebanon, from 
 the hills of Galilee northward, lava and greenstone are said 
 to be protruded in many places. Especially is this tlie case 
 around the villages 'Areeya, Shuwit, and 'Abadiyeh, on the 
 mountain east of Beirut. The whole of Jebel 'Akkar is 
 described as volcanic ; as also all the eastern part of the ad- 
 jacent northern plain ; and the same feature continues north 
 through the mountains of the Niisairiyeh as far even as to 
 the neighborhood of Antiocli. Between Hamah and the for- 
 tress el-Husn the traveller passes for nearly fifty miles over a 
 volcanic region. As he descends into the. plain around the 
 latter, the rocks are greatly variegated ; and there are large 
 quantities of globular basalt. Between Hums and el-Husn 
 the same ridges are described as abounding in the black 
 porous stone " which occurs around the lake of Tiberias. ^ 
 On the coast south of Banias, the ancient Batanaea, a vol- 
 canic tract of ten or twelve miles in width runs out to the 
 sea, full of liills of lava and otlier volcanic products.^ 
 
 Between Lebanon and Hermon the lower part of Wady et- 
 Teim is strewed with lava ; and the bitumen pits of Has- 
 beiya point to a volcanic origin.^ East of the mountains the 
 basalt of Hauran extends northward to the borders of the 
 Ghutah of Damascus. South of Sa'sa' on the A'waj are 
 tracts of basalt ; and further towards the northeast that river 
 passes for some distance through a rocky desert region, flow- 
 ing in a deep channel of the Hauran black stone. The same 
 
 1 W. M, Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, p. 365. Buckingham, Arab 
 Tr., pp. 502, 503. [See the author's own observations on this region in Later 
 Biblical Researches, pp. 551-554, 558, 562-5(37. — Ed.] 
 
 2 W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, p. 100. See also Later Biblical 
 Researches, pp. 397, 408 sq. 
 
 3 W. M. Thomson, Ibid., p. 110. See also Lat. Bib. Researches, pp. 397, 408. 
 
 4 W. M. Thomson in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1846, pp. 186, 187. 
 
374 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 0^" THE SYRIAN COAST. 
 
 tract continues on the right of the stream ; and furnishes 
 millstones of the same character for the supply of Damas- 
 cus.i Volcanic masses are likewise frequent in the region 
 of Aleppo.2 
 
 Connected, doubtless, with these volcanic features, is that 
 terrible scourge of Syria and the east, its earthquakes. As 
 far as history reaches back they have been frequent ; and 
 often both in ancient and modern times have Aleppo and 
 Antioch and the towns along the coast been desolated by 
 their ravages. Scarcely a year passes in which shocks are 
 not felt. In 1759 the region of Lebanon was severely vis- 
 ited. In 1822 an earthquake destroyed a great part of 
 Aleppo, and buried multitudes in the ruins. In 1841, be- 
 tween the first of May and the end of December, no less 
 than five sligliter shocks were felt in the same city.^ The 
 great earthquake of Jan. 1, 1837, which destroyed Safed and 
 Tiberias, did not spread its desolations into Syria. 
 
 In mineral productions Syria as yet appears not to be rich. 
 The meagre mines of iron and coal in Lebanon have been 
 mentioned.* Near Hasbeiya under Mount Hermon are pits 
 or ratlier mines of bitumen. They arc on the eastern decliv- 
 ity of the hill or low ridge, which lies on the west of the 
 stream, about a mile below the bridge. The surface is a 
 chalky rock with nodules of flint ; and nothing indicates the 
 presence of such a mineral. The bitumen lies in a stratum 
 twenty feet below the surface. This stratum is said to be 
 eighty feet thick ; and is reached by pits or shafts from six to 
 
 1 Schubert, III. pp. 270, 271, Burckhardt, Syria, pp. 284, 312. 
 
 2 Russegger, I. p. 453 sq. W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, p. 241. 
 
 3 Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 72. Volney, Voyage en Syrie, I. p. 27G. E. R. Beadle 
 in Missionary Herald, 1842, p. 233 sq. 
 
 < See above, p. 342. 
 
MINERALS, SOIL. 
 
 375 
 
 twelve feet in diameter, through which it is raised by a wind- 
 lass. It i^ wrought like coal ; and in hewing out the bitu- 
 men the workmen leave columns at intervals to support the 
 rock above. It is of the finest quality, and the supply is sup- 
 posed to be inexhaustible ; but being the property of the gov- 
 ernment, the mines are badly managed and seldom wrought. 
 The mineral is chiefly used in the country as an antidote 
 to insects that destroy the grapes ; being mixed with oil and 
 daubed upon the vine near the root.^ 
 
 Salt is obtained from the eastern desert. The supply in 
 northern Syria comes from the famous valley or lake of salt, 
 es-Subkh, eighteen miles southeast of Aleppo, near the vil- 
 lage Jebul. In winter the rains and torrents with a few 
 springs convert the surface into a shallow but extensive lake. 
 In summer the water evaporates, leaving a crust of salt of 
 various thickness and quality ; this is broken up, sorted, and 
 carried to Jebul ; where it is dried and winnowed, and thence 
 sold to all parts of the country To supply the more southern 
 parts salt is brought from Kuryetein and Palmyra (Tadmor) ; 
 near which latter place there are large quantities of salt in 
 the desert, affording a lucrative branch of commerce to the 
 present natives.^ Indeed, in various parts of the desert, 
 lakes are formed in the rainy season, which extract the salt 
 from the earth ; and drying away in summer leave it as a 
 crust upon the surface. An inferior salt of this kind is 
 
 1 Seetzcn in Zach. XVIIL p. 342. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 34. W. M. Thomson 
 in Bibliotheca Sacra, 184G, p. 186. E. Smith in Ms. Journal. See a description 
 of these mines after the author himself had visited them, in Later Biblical Re- 
 searches, p. 379. 
 
 2 Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 55. Maundrell, p. 213. Pococke, IL p. 168. 
 
 3 Bowring's Report on Syria, p. 20. Irby and Mangles, p. 273. 
 
376 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 found ]iot far from Kutaifeh, a village on the caravan road 
 from Damascus to Hums.^ 
 
 Along the coast on the north of Tortosa the way is strewed 
 for several hours with g-eodes of very beautiful chalcedony 
 and quartz, with an occasional specimen of agate. These are 
 found in great abundance in the beds of the mountain tor- 
 rents, and arc doubtless washed out of the chalky hills above ; 
 in which probably other fine minerals might be found. In the 
 valleys and defiles between Laodicea and Antioch there oc- 
 curs beautiful jasper of very many varieties and the richest 
 colors. At the site of Daphne the Syrian agate is particu- 
 larly abundant.^ 
 
 Of mineral fountains there are very few. At Tadmor 
 there is a copious spring highly impregnated with sulphuret- 
 ted hydrogen ; which speedily evaporates and leaves the wa- 
 ter sweet. This fountain supplied the ancient city in part ; 
 and now turns a mill.'^ Some mineral waters, said to be 
 ferruginous, have recently been discovered in the mountains 
 back of Iskandcrun ; and other mineral baths, with sul- 
 phuric properties, are found in the plains, midway between 
 that place and Aleppo.^ 
 
 The soil of the Syrian plains is hardly surpassed in fertil- 
 ity. The Juneh north of Lebanon, the Buka'a and the Ghab 
 with the rich environs of Hums and Hamah, the Ghutah of 
 Damascus and the plain of Antioch, all are celebrated for 
 their productions ; though at the present day they lie for the 
 most part only half tilled. The vast plains around IlumS and 
 Hamah are particularly famous for their dark fat soil.^ The 
 
 1 Pococke, II. pp. 138, 206. 
 
 2 W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, ISll, pp. 100, 234, 236. 
 s Irby and Mangles, p. 273. 0. v. Richter, pp. 216, 22o. 
 
 * W. B. Barker in Bowrlng's Report on Syria, p. 114. 
 
 « 0. V. Richter, p. 203. Biblical Researches, III., first edition, App, p. 176. 
 
TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 377 
 
 fertility of the cultivated parts of Lebanon has already been 
 adverted to. On Anti-Lebanon the upper terrace towards 
 the east, the plain of Zebcdany, is well watered and fruitful ; 
 but the lower terraces, except where traversed by the narrow 
 valley of the Barada, are barren. This tract indeed is a 
 desert, and is called es-Sahara, reminding one of Africa. 
 North of the Barada too it retains the same character, and 
 is not susceptible of cultivation. Vegetation does not grow 
 in it ; nor does rain enough fall for sowing. It is also ex- 
 tremely cold. The only exception to tlieir general barren- 
 ness is found in small tracts irrigated by springs of water. In 
 such places the villages are situated, and vegetation is luxu- 
 riant.^ In the region of Aleppo and further south the coun- 
 try is undulating and sometimes hilly. The higher parts are 
 covered usually with a thin whitish mould ; the surface of 
 the plains and valleys is a dark or reddish mould, which is 
 very productive.^ Indeed, in many portions of what is now 
 reckoned to the desert, as in the direction of Palmyra, the 
 soil is good and capable of tillage ; requiring only irrigation, 
 which might be supplied from cisterns or reservoirs of rain- 
 water. Even as it is, the gronnd is covered with aromatic 
 plants and herbs.^ 
 
 V. TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 The forests of Syria are confined to the mountains, and 
 mainly to the more northern parts. The queen of its an- 
 cient forests, the stately cedar of Lebanon, is still found ; 
 but not in its former abundance.^ On Lebanon the pine 
 
 1 Biblical Researches, III., first edition, App. p. 171. 
 
 2 Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 373. » O. v. Richter, pp. 208, 209. 
 
 * See above, p. 342. Biblical Researches, II. p. 493 [III. p. 440]. Later Biblical 
 Researches, pp. 588-598. 
 
 48 
 
S78 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 (^pinus bruttia) is now more frequent, growing in tracts near 
 the summit and especially along the eastern declivity ; and 
 like the cedars of old, it is exported to Palestine and else- 
 where for building.^ The oak, the walnut, and many other 
 species of trees are scattered over Lebanon ; but do not 
 form thickets. Anti-Lebanon has few if any groves ; the 
 valonia oak is found along its higher parts.^ The northern 
 skirts of Lebanon and the northern hills of Jebel en-Nusairi- 
 yeh are wooded ; while the northern portion of the latter 
 mountains, with the spurs and ridges of Mount Casius, are 
 clothed with forests of oak and pine.^ 
 
 Still more is this the case witli the ridges of Amanus. So 
 extensive are its forests, that under the dominion of Muham- 
 med Ali of Egypt, vast quantities of timber were annually 
 cut upon the mountains back of Iskanderun, and sent to 
 Egypt. These forests are mostly of oak and pine, the latter 
 from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high ; with 
 some beech and linden. Li 18S7 the timber of about sixty 
 thousand large trees was shipped for Alexandria ; two thirds 
 of which was for ship-building.* Mingled in the forests, or 
 scattered upon the mountains and occasionally along the 
 coast and on the plains, are the walnut, beech, chestnut, 
 plane, acacia, silver poplar, willow, tamarisk, ash, terebinth 
 (butno), common cedar, laurel, thorn (nubk), and various 
 other trees.^ The Lombardy poplar abounds particularly in 
 
 1 Scbubert, HI. pp. 317, 353, 370. 0. v. Ricliter, pp. 125, 128. Biblical Re- 
 searches, HI. p. 192, II. p. 338 [III. p. 192]. 
 
 2 O. V. Richter, p. 135. Schubert, HI. p. 314. 
 
 3 Buckingham, Arab Tr., pp. 505, 506. W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 
 1841, p. 234. 
 
 4 Bowring's Report on Syria, pp. 11 sq. 66. 
 
 6 O. V. Richter, pp. 101, 108, 128. Schubert, HI. pp. 284, 353. W. M. Thom- 
 son in Missionary Herald, 1841, p. 234. E. Smith in Ms. Journal. 
 
TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 379 
 
 the plains of Damascus, on tlie eastern slope of Anti-Lcbanou 
 along the Barada, and in the Buka'a ; it is chiefly planted 
 for buildhig.i The Pride of India, or Pride of China (melia 
 azedarach}, of which Tyre is full, is described as a native of 
 ■ Syria.2 The cypress and lotus are not rare ; the carob tree 
 is less frequent, except on the coast.^ Scattered palm trees 
 are found at Tyre and along the coast, as also at Damascus 
 and as far as Palmyra ; but not at Aleppo.^ Pistacia trees, 
 both wild and cultivafted, are common ; those in the gardens 
 of Aleppo produce the finest nuts.^ The oleander shrub (wer- 
 iu7n oleander'), with its magnificent red blossoms, is abuni 
 dant on the mountains and along the coast.^ 
 
 Fruits of all kinds are abundant ; the trees are usually of 
 large size, and around Damascus they furnish the supply of 
 fuel.' The olive abounds everywhere on mountain and plain ; 
 The Palma Christi (vicinus) is cultivated in gardens, and its 
 oil used chiefly for lamps.^ Large plantations of the mulberry 
 are frequent ; the trees are cropped close, in order to in- 
 crease the foliage and furnish food for the silkworms. Exten- 
 sive tracts of vineyards are spread over Lebanon, and around 
 the cities.^ The fig tree and the pomegranate flourish every- 
 where ; the orange and lemon prefer the coast, the winter 
 
 1 Brown's Travels, p. 397. O. v. Richter, p. 154. E. Smith, Ms. Journal. 
 
 2 Biblical Researches, II. p. 4GG [III. p. 400J. Rees' Cyclopaedia, art. 3feUa. 
 
 3 Addison, Damascus, p. 389. Kinneir, Cairo, etc., p. 28j. Schubert, III. 
 p. 28-5. Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 88. 
 
 * Biblical Researches, II. p. 4G6 [III. p. 400]. Schubert, III. p. 283. 0. v. 
 Richter, p. 225. Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 88. 
 6 Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 82 sq. Schubert, III. p. 2a5. 
 
 6 Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 247. 
 
 7 Hogg's Visit, II. p. 72. 
 
 8 Schubert, III. pp. 285, 286. Russell's Aleppo, I. pp. 79, 80. 
 
 » Schubert, III. p. 285. Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 80. E. Smith in Ms. Journal. 
 
380 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 of the interior, as at Aleppo, being too severe.^ The ahiiond 
 tree blossoms even on the heights of Lebanon ; while apri- 
 cots, peaches, plums, apples, pears, quinces, cherries, and 
 liazlenuts luxuriate in the gardens.^ 
 
 The gardens abound too in all the esculent vegetables com- 
 mon to the temperate portions of the Occident ; as melons, cu- 
 cumbers, squashes, the tomato, the egg-plant, bananas, the le- 
 guminous plants, beets, onions, spinach, cabbage, and other 
 roots and greens in endless variety The potato is little 
 known among the natives ; though Burckhardj; speaks of it as 
 succeeding in the highest parts of Lebanon.^ Liquorice grows 
 abundantly in the region of Aleppo towards the desert ; and 
 large quantities of it are used in making a sort of Sherbet, 
 or cooling drink, in the summer season.^ 
 
 The chief field grains are wheat and barley. Oats are less 
 common ; barley being the usual food of horses.^ All the va- 
 rious leguminous plants are raised in the fields; also maize and 
 millet (dhurah). Cotton is extensively cultivated.^ Tobacco, 
 which of course has been introduced since the discovery of 
 America, forms now a great staple of agriculture ; ^ that of 
 the Syrian mountains is particularly esteemed by the pipe- 
 loving orientals, and goes by the name of Jebel. At the 
 present day the population of Syria is not sufficient for the 
 
 1 Rassell's Aleppo, I. p. 89. Schubert, III. p. 285. 
 
 2 O. V. Richter, pp. 112, 92. Schubert, III. p. 284 sq. Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 
 86 sq. Biblical Researches, II. pp. 479, 480 [III. p. 420J. 
 
 3 Schubert, III. p. 285. Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 90 sq. 
 * Burckhardt, Syria, p. 22. 
 
 5 Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 94. 
 
 6 Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 74. 
 
 7 Bow rinj^'s Report on Syria, pp. 8, 13. 0. v. Richter, p. 112. Schubert, HI. 
 p. 280. Russell's Aleppo, I. p. 78. 
 
 8 Bowring's Report on Syria, p. 9. Schubert, III. p. 286. Russell's Aleppo, 
 I. p. 78. 
 
BEASTS, BIRDS, ETC. 
 
 381 
 
 purposes of cultivation. Regions of the highest fertility re- 
 main untillcd ; and tlic traveller passes for leagues over the 
 riche'jt soil; wliich is wliolly unproductive to man.^ 
 
 Tlie botany of Syria is in general exceedingly rich ; espe- 
 cially on Mount Lebanon, where Ehrenberg and Hemprich 
 in two months collected specimens of eleven hundred and 
 forty different species of plants.^ 
 
 VI. BEASTS, BIRDS, Etc. 
 
 The usual domestic quardrupeds of the east, are all found 
 in Syria ; the camel, horse, ass, mule, ox, the tame buffalo, 
 sheep, goats, etc. The sheep are mostly of the fat-tailed 
 species ; and are commonly mingled in flocks with the goats. 
 Many thousands of sheep are annually brought into Syria 
 from the mountains of Kurdistan.^ Swine are rarely raised 
 by the natives.* Dogs in the east are never kept in the house ; 
 but herd together in the streets of the cities without masters, 
 and feed on offal and carcasses ; sleeping mostly by day, and 
 barking and howling by night. The grayhound is used for 
 hunting ; and there are shepherd's dogs. Of the cat there is 
 also a Persian variety. 
 
 Of game, the wild swine are the most important, and are 
 frequent in all parts of the country. Deer are mentioned 
 by Scetzen as found on Mount Hermon ; but this may be 
 doubtful.^ Antelopes are found ; especially the fleet and 
 graceful gazelle. Hares are abundant ; rabbits are less com- 
 mon. Squirrels are frequent.^ The hedan or mountain 
 
 1 Bovmng's Report on Syria, p. 9. *^ v. Raumer, Palestina, p. 31. 
 
 3 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 26. < Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 152. 
 
 » Scetzen in Zach. XVIII. p. 543. 
 « Rttsscira Aleppo, II. p. 159. 0. v. Richter, p. 144^ 
 
382 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 goat of the more southern regions, appears not to frequent 
 the mountains of Syria proper. 
 
 Of other wild animals there is quite a variety. The lion, 
 though found in ancient times, has now disappeared. Bears, 
 panthers, and also ounces, are common in Mount Amanus, 
 and are found also on Lebanon and Hermon ; the natives 
 call the panthers tigers. ^ Hyenas, wolves, and foxes are not 
 unfrequent. Jackals are very numerous in every part; at 
 night they often flock around the houses and set up a dis- 
 mal howling. The polecat and hedgehog are not unknown. 
 Rats and mice are common, both in the houses and in the 
 gardens. Hosts of field mice do great damage to the crops, 
 especially around Aleppo and in the plain of Hamah.^ Moles 
 and bats are also frequent. The hamster Qmus cricetus) is 
 common. The jerboa (dipus jaculus) is very numerous ; in 
 some parts of the way between Damascus and Hums, the 
 earth is everywhere perforated by their burrows.^ 
 
 As to BIRDS. Common poultry of all kinds is in plenty. 
 There are also immense numbers of pigeons, both tame and 
 wild. Of game there is an abundance of water-fowl upon 
 the lakes and rivers, as wild ducks, widgeon, teal, and the 
 like. On land there are the quail, partridge, woodcock, 
 plover, snipe, thrush, lark, and others. The kuta of the 
 Arabs (tetrao alchatd) is particularly abundant in Syria, as 
 well as in the more southern regions. It is a species of grouse, 
 somewhat larger than a partridge ; the flesh is black, hard, 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, II. pp. 188, 189. 0. v. Richter p. 105. Burckhardt, Syria, 
 p. 22. Seetzen in Zach. XVIII. p. 543. 
 
 2 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 181. Burckhardt, Syria, p. 147. Biblical Researches, 
 III., App. p. 177. 
 
 3 0. V. Richter, p. 203. Described by Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 160 sq. 
 
BEASTS, BIRDS, ETC. 
 
 383 
 
 and dry. This bird ranges in immense flocks throughout 
 all the less inhabited regions.^ 
 
 Among the birds of prey and smaller birds, are hawks and 
 falcons of various kinds, some of which are still occasionally 
 trained for hawking ;2 further, also, the raven, crow, jack- 
 daw, magpie, storks, cranes, the bittern, pelican, lapwing, 
 blackbird, woodpecker ; also the nightingale, goldfinch, lin- 
 net, wren, sparrows, swallows, and many others. The sem- 
 ermer or locust-bird Qendus rosens) is highly valued as a 
 formidable enemy of the locust, which it follows and kills in 
 great numbers.^ 
 
 The rivers and lakes are well supplied with fish. The 
 small stream of the Kuweik at Aleppo has not less than sev- 
 enteen different species of fish and eels, three of which are 
 unknown in Europe. But the city is in part supplied from 
 the Orontes and the lake of Antioch.^ The fish of the Oron- 
 tes at Shiigr are described by Maundrell as unwholesome ; 
 later travellers have found there a species of chub of several 
 pounds weight and very delicate.^ In the lake et-Taka near 
 the site of Apamea there exists a species called by the Arabs 
 black fish, on account of its coarse ash-colored flesh ; it is 
 several feet long, and very abundant. The season of fishing 
 is from November till January ; and the fish are sent to 
 Aleppo and other parts of Syria. Carp are likewise taken in 
 the same lake, and sent to Hamah and Hums.^ 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 194 sq. 0. v. Richter, pp. 201, 208. Burckhardt, 
 Syria, p. 406. Biblical Researches, II. p. 200 [II. p. 620]. 
 
 2 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 196. W. M. Thomson in Missionary Herald, 1841, 
 p. 101. 
 
 3 Russell's Aleppo, II. pp. 205, 230. Biblical Researches, II. pp. 379, 380 fm. 
 p. 252]. 
 
 * See above, p. 353. Russell's Aleppo, 11. pp. 207 sq. 216. 
 
 * Maundrell, p. 5. Monro, II. p. 211. 
 
 6 Burckhardt, Syria, p. 137. Russell's Aleppo, n. p. 217. 
 
384 
 
 PTTYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 Of REPTILES there is the usual variety. Frogs are found 
 in vast abundance, especially in the river of Aleppo ; where 
 they are of a large size, and are eaten by the native Chris- 
 tians and French residents. Toads are common, as also the 
 tree-toad or tree-frog. There are tortoises, both the land and 
 water species. A kind of crab unknown in Europe, inhabits 
 the Kuweik, and makes excursions on land in the season of 
 fruit ; they are esteemed delicate eating.^ The whole coun- 
 try swarms with lizards, which delight in old walls and ruined 
 buildings ; a particular species, less frequent than others, is 
 the chameleon, with its changing hues.^ Snakes are com- 
 mon ; a harmless kind, of a whitish gray color and two and 
 a half feet long, is often seen in houses, where they destroy 
 mice. Serpents of a more noxious kind are found in the 
 country ; but it is rare to hear of mischief done by them.^ 
 Scorpions are met with in summer nights, crawling in the 
 streets, or on the stairs and flat roofs of the houses ; their 
 sting occasions pain and swelling for several hours, but is 
 unattended by any further bad consequences.* 
 
 Of INSECTS, those made use of by man are, the silkworm in 
 vast numbers for the extensive cultivation of silk as a staple 
 of the country ; bees, which are important on account of 
 the great consumption of honey and wax ; leeches, found in 
 ponds and brooks, and sometimes taken into the mouth 
 in drinking, where they adhere and give a great trouble to 
 the sufferer ; and snails, which are occasionally eaten, though 
 not often. Wasps and ants are also common. Other insect 
 tribes minister to man's discomfort, and are the minor plagues 
 of oriental life. Thus the common fly is very troublesome, 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, II. pp. 221, 222. 
 
 2 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 231. 0. v. Richter, p. 144. 
 
 3 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 224. * Russell's Aleppo, H. p. 223. 
 
BEASTS, BIRDS, ETC. 
 
 335 
 
 and at some seasons intolerably vexatious; as is also the 
 case with various other species which infest man and beast. 
 
 Most oriental houses swarm with bedbugs and other like 
 vermin. Fleas exist in myriads ; the streets, bazaars, khans, 
 old buildings, and the fields, all swarm with them, so that it 
 is impossible to escape from them in the house or on the per- 
 son. Even the bath and change of linen is no remedy against 
 fleas ; though it avails against lice, which here harbor less in 
 the hair than on the body and undergarments. Still, such 
 are the careless habits of the natives, that travellers rarely 
 escape. Mosquitos and gnats are another like pest ; they 
 reign during the whole summer, and are particularly annoy- 
 ing at night. The scolopendra or centipede, is less common 
 than the scorpion ; but the wound inflicted by it is reckoned 
 little less venomous than the sting of the latter.^ 
 
 Of all the insect tribes the locust is the greatest scourge to 
 the country and is the most dreaded by the husbandman. The 
 peasants fight them with fire and water ; but no means of de- 
 fence seem to be of any avail against their immense numbers. 
 They sweep over a country ; and in a few days destroy every 
 green thing. They come in vast flights, darkening the air ; 
 and sometimes alight in masses a foot deep upon the surface 
 of the ground. At one time during the Egyptian rule, the 
 army of Ibrahim Pasha was employed in an attempt to de- 
 stroy them ; and they gathered up no less than sixty-five 
 thousand ardebs, or more than three hundred thousand bush- 
 els. Yet no efforts seem in any degree to diminish their 
 numbers. Such destructive swarms do not usually visit 
 Syria except at intervals of several years ; though few years 
 pass that mischief is not done by them in some part or other 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, H. pp. 222-228. 
 49 
 
386 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SYRIA PROPER. 
 
 of the country. Their most formidable and persevering 
 enemy is the locust bird.^ 
 
 Note. The vegetable and animal kingdoms in Syria and Palestine are 
 similar ; thougli better known in the former. They have, therefore, here 
 been described in greater detail, in order that less space may be required 
 for them in the account of Palestine. 
 
 1 Russell's Aleppo, II. p. 228 sq. Bowring's Report on Syria, p. 10. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A. 
 
 'Abadiyeh, village below Lake of 
 
 Tiberias 315 
 
 Abana. See Amana. 
 
 Abaraim, Mount 61-62 
 
 'Abilin, Wady, probably valley of 
 
 .Jiphthah-el 106 
 
 Absalom, pillar of 101 
 
 Abulfeda, work of, on Syria ... 9 
 Abu 'Obeida, village . . . . 177 
 Abu ZabQra, river, description 
 
 of 108, 192 
 
 Adonis, river, now Nahr Ibrahim 360 
 Adora, town, now Dura . . . 118 
 'Afrin, river, at Lake of Antioch 350 
 Agate, specimens of, near Daphne 376 
 Ahmed, Wady, near Bethlehem . 115 
 Ahsy, Wady el, and river. Scrip- 
 ture Zered, boundary between 
 Moab and Edom . . 88,183-184 
 
 Ai, pools at site of 280 
 
 'Ain Abus, village 109 
 
 'Ain el'-Arils, at foot of cliffs of 
 
 Akkrabim 258 
 
 'Ain 'Askar, near Nabulus . . 248 
 'Ain el-Bassa, near Hebron . . 249 
 'Ain el-Beida, near Beisan . . 254 
 'Ain Belateh, in the Huleh 250, 251 
 'Ain ed-Deir, near Beisan . • . 253 
 'Ain ed-Dirweh, near Hebron . 249 
 'Ain D&k, fountains of . . . . 254 
 'Ain Faluj, watershed at, between 
 
 Litany and Jordan rivers . . 348 
 'Ain Feshkhah, at Dead Sea, de- 
 scription of 256 
 
 'Ain Fiiliyeh, fountains between 
 Tiberias and Magdala . . . 253 
 
 PAGE 
 
 'Ain Fusail 254 
 
 'Ainel-Habis 242 
 
 'Ain Hajla, near Jericho . . . 255 
 'Ain Haniyeh, or St. Philip's 
 
 well 242 
 
 'Ain el-Haramiyeh 249 
 
 'Ain Jalud, fountain of Jezreel 
 
 91, 185, 245 
 
 'Ain el-Jedid, near Hebron . . 250 
 
 'Ain Jehair, near Dead Sea . . 256 
 
 'Ain Jenneh, village 262 
 
 'Ain Kena'a, near Hebron . . . 250 
 
 'Ain Kashkala, near Hebron . . 250 
 
 'Ain Lifta 242 
 
 'Ain Makhuz, near Beiscin , . 253 
 'Ain Wady Miilih, or salt foun- 
 tain 254 
 
 'Ain el-Meiyiteh, at Jezreel . . 185 
 'Ain Mellahah, great fountain in 
 
 the Huleh 250, 251 
 
 'Ain el-Mudauwarah, or round 
 
 fountain, near Magdala . . . 252 
 
 'Ain Nunkur, near Hebron . . 249 
 
 'Ain Sakut, near BeisAn . . . 254 
 
 'Ain SAra, near Hebron . . . 250 
 
 'Ain Shukaf 242 
 
 'Ain Sinai 241 
 
 'Ain es-Sultan, at Jericho . . 94, 255 
 'Ain Tabigah, at plain of Gennes- 
 
 sareth 77 
 
 'Ain Terabeh, at Dead Sea . . 50 
 
 'Ain et-Tin, near Khan Minyeh . 252 
 
 'Ain Yalo 242 
 
 Ajalon, valley of 113 
 
 Fountain of 242, 243 
 
 'Ajmn, Wady of 86 
 
 Jebel 'Ajl£in 57 
 
388 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 'Akib, Wady el, in HaurAn . . 174 
 
 'Akir. See Ekron. 
 
 Akhdar, Xahr or river, south of 
 
 Caesarea 192 
 
 Aklim el-Bellan 85 
 
 Akrabbim, or Scorpion Cliffs . 17, 53 
 'Akrabah, ancient Akrabatene, 
 
 pool at 281 
 
 'Akur, village 115 
 
 Alia Specula, of the Crusaders, 
 
 now Tell es-Safieh . . . . 118 
 'Allan, Wady, in Hauran . . . 174 
 'Allar es-Sifla, fountain of . . 244 
 Aleppo, climate and height of . 368 
 'Aly, "Wady, course of . . . . 112 
 Amana or Abana, river of Damas- 
 cus. (SeeBarada). . . . 362 
 
 Am anus. Mount 333 
 
 Passes of 336 
 
 Ammon, Rabbath, now 'Amman, 
 
 fountain at 262 
 
 Amorites, Mount of 53 
 
 'Amftd, Wady el. near Safed . . 89 
 'Amudiyeh, stream in the Huleh 250 
 'Amwas, ancient jSicopolis, foun- 
 tains at 243 
 
 Anderson, Dr. II. J., Geological 
 
 Report of 171 
 
 'Anebta, village 108 
 
 Anem, town 239 
 
 Animals of Syria .... 381,382 
 
 'Anjar, fountain of the Litany . 355 
 
 Antioch, lake of 350 
 
 Antipatris, now Kefr Saba . . 109 
 
 Apamea, site of 353 
 
 Aqueducts, ancient, at 'Ain Dak 
 'Ain es-Sultan, at 'Akka, at 
 Hebron ; ancient acquaintance 
 with the principle of . . . 284-286 
 'Arab, "Wady cl, in Hauran . 175, 176 
 
 'Arabah 62 
 
 Hebrew name to whole Jordan 
 
 valley 73, 74 
 
 Arbela, now Irbid, Scripture Beth 
 
 Arbel, fortified caves of . . . 90 
 
 Ard el-Hemar, district of . . . 262 
 'Areiyeh, W ady and fountain in, 
 
 at Dead Sea 258 
 
 'Arish, village and Wady of, 
 
 river of Egypt . . . . 17,123 
 'Arjan, fountains at, in Jebel Aj- 
 
 lun 261 
 
 Arnon, valley of, now Wady Mo- 
 jib, with river 88, 180 
 
 'Arny, river 85 
 
 Aroer 181 
 
 Arsuf, village and river of, ancient 
 
 ApoUonia . . . . 110, 192, 193 
 
 'Ary, in Hauran 173 
 
 'Asal, Wady el, in Hermon . . 84 
 Asochis, plain of, now el-But- 
 
 tauf 130 
 
 Asor, plain of 128 
 
 Asphaltum, at Dead Sea . . . 220 
 Atmosphere, purity and clearness 
 
 of in Palestine 307 
 
 Atallah, Wady 112 
 
 'Attinls, Jebel, east of Dead 
 
 Sea 61 
 
 Town of. Scripture Ataroth. . 67 
 Aulon, Greek for el-Ghor ... 74 
 
 'Aujeh, river near Yafa . . . 109 
 
 Great fountain of 193 
 
 Wady el, west of the Jordan . 94 
 
 'Awaj, river, ancient Pharpar . 364 
 
 Branches of 172, 365 
 
 Awaly, river, ancient Bostrenus 
 
 341, 362 
 
 ' Aweirid, Wady el, in Hauran . 1 74 
 'AyQn, Wady el, in Upper Gali- 
 lee, also called Wady Azziyeh 105 
 
 Azotus, Mount of 47 
 
 'Azzihn, Wady el, course of . . 109 
 
 Baalah, Mount 47 
 
 I Ba'albek, elevation of ... . 348 
 Baal Hermon, Mount .... 347 
 
 ' Baal Meon 64, 1 78 
 
 Banids, anc. Caesarea Philippi, 
 
 site of 75, 150 
 
 •River of 1.50, 151 
 
 Barada, river, anc. Amana, source 345 
 
 Course 363 
 
 Bashan, extent of 56 
 
 Batanaea, district of 56 
 
INDEX. 
 
 389 
 
 Batihah, plain of at Lake Tiberias 77 
 Bedawiyeli, Wady el, called also 
 
 WadyMelek 107 
 
 Beersheba, wells of 265 
 
 Beirut, river of, anc. Magoras . 361 
 
 Beit Ilaniua, Wady el .... 114 
 
 Fountains in 242 
 
 Beit Jala, village 115 
 
 Beit Jenn, village 105 
 
 Beit Jibrin, and Eleutheropolis . 118 
 
 Wells of 269 
 
 Beit Xettif 117 
 
 Beit Kukkaba 115 
 
 BeitNusib 117 
 
 Beit Sakarieh 116 
 
 Beit Tulma, ruin of 242 
 
 Belat, Wady, called also Wady 
 
 Kuril wa 110 
 
 Belka, district and plain of, anc, 
 
 southern Gilead, river of at Tan- 
 
 tura 59, 190, 191 
 
 Belus, river,now Nabr Na'man 106, 187 
 Beni Hamady, Wady, at Dead 
 
 Sea 227 
 
 Hot spring in 260 
 
 Beni Na'tim, east of Hebron . . 274 
 
 BcTachah, valley of 103 
 
 Besor, brook of, now Wady *Ara- 
 
 rah 121, 122 
 
 Bethany, road to from Jerusalem, 43 
 Beth Arbel. See Arbela . . . 
 
 Beth-barah 168 
 
 Bether and Bithron, mountains 
 
 of 68 
 
 Beth-haccarem 44 
 
 Beth Hogla, now 'Ain Hajla . . 256 
 
 Beth-horons 112, 270 
 
 Beth Saida, site of 155 
 
 Beth-Shemcsh .... 46, 114, 270 
 
 Bireh, Wady el, from Tabor, . 90 
 
 Village 114 
 
 Fountains at 241 
 
 Bir Beshiit, cistern 275 
 
 Bir Ejda, great cistern of . . . 274 
 
 Bir Jenab, Wady, also Wady Eibah 110 
 
 Birds of Syria 382 
 
 Birket eMvhulil at Dead Sea . 217 
 
 Birweh, fountain of 243 
 
 Bittir, Wady, village, . . . . 115 
 
 Fountain of 242 
 
 Bitumen, mines of at Hasbeiya . 374 
 
 Bordeaux pilgrim, Itinerary of . 8 
 
 Bozrah, now Busrah, in Hauran . 174 
 
 Fountains at 261 
 
 Brocardus, work of, on Palestine 9 
 
 Bujjeh, lake of, in Hauran . . 174 
 
 Buka'a, valley of, anc.Coele-Syria 347 
 
 Burdony, stream from Zahleh . 355 
 Bureij, offset from the river of 
 
 Dan 150, 152. 
 
 Bureir, village 118 
 
 Burghuz, bridge, chasm of Leon- 
 
 tes at 356 
 
 Burkin, village 134 
 
 Bursheh, Wady 93 
 
 Buttauf, el, plain of Zebulun 22, 130 
 
 C. 
 
 CalliiThoe, called also Baris, hot 
 
 fountains 179, 180 
 
 Cana of Galilee 130 
 
 Canaan, signification of the name 15 
 
 Capernaum, site of 252 
 
 Carmel, Mount, description of 28-30 
 I Sacrifice of Ehjah at . . . 30-31 
 Casius, Mount, promontory, now 
 
 Jebel Akra 336 
 
 Cedars of Lebanon 342 
 
 Chalus, now Kurreik, river of 
 
 Aleppo 336 
 
 I Clierith,brook of. See Wady Kelt. 
 Chinnereth, Hebrew for Gennes- 
 
 i aret 203 
 
 •j Cisterns, frequency and character 
 
 ! of 272 
 
 j Near Hebron and Jerusalem . 274 
 
 1 As receptacles for grain . . . 277 
 
 Climate, of Palestine .... 288 
 
 Healthiness of 308 
 
 Of Syria 366 
 
 Temperature 367 
 
 Coele-Syria. See Buka'a. 
 
 I Costigan, explorer of the Jordan 169 
 
 Coal in Lebanon 342 
 
 Craters, extinct 317 
 
INDEX. 
 
 390 
 
 D. 
 
 Dale, Lieut 171 
 
 Damascus, climate and elevation 
 
 of 371 
 
 Damur, river, anc. Tamyras . . 361 
 
 Dan, town 81 
 
 Leddiln, or great fountain at 150 
 Wady ed Dan, in Hauran . . 173 
 Daniyal, village east of Lydda . 269 
 
 Daumeh, village 248 
 
 Dead Sea 10 
 
 Lower level than the Mediter- 
 ranean 35 
 
 Mountains west of . . . 50-53 
 Mountains east of ... . 60 
 Description of the sea, form and 
 extent, Hebrew name of 206, 208 
 
 Depth of 208 
 
 Depression 209 
 
 View of, from the western cliffs 
 
 210-212 
 
 Analyses of its water . .212-214 
 
 Bathing in 215 
 
 Evaporation from 217 
 
 Deposits of salt . . . 217,218 
 
 Stories of 219 
 
 Climate 219 
 
 Asphaltum 220 
 
 Character of the shores . . 221-223 
 Salt marsh at the southern end 223 
 
 Minerals of 224 
 
 Peninsula of 225 
 
 Supposed islands in . . . . 228 
 The ford across the sea . . . 229 
 
 Navigation of 230 
 
 Volcanic rocks about . • . 323 
 Debir, now Dewirban .... 249 
 Debfirich, village at Tabor and 
 
 stream from 188 
 
 Dcidebeh, hill of 106 
 
 Deir Estieh, village . . . 109, 249 
 
 Delata, village 315 
 
 Der'a, in IlaurSn 174 
 
 Dera'ah, Wady cd, from Kcrak . 88 
 Dedarah, stream of, branch of Jor- 
 dan 146, 184 
 
 Derejeh, Wady ed 104 
 
 Dew, abundant in Palestine . . 294 
 
 Dibon 88 
 
 Dibs, sirup from grape juice . . 343 
 
 Dor, now TantClra, river of . . 191 
 
 Dothan 107 
 
 Plain of 134 
 
 Fountian at 246 
 
 Duk, fountains of 80 
 
 Aqueduct from 284 
 
 E. 
 
 Earthquakes, frequency of . . 324 
 
 Earthquake of Uzziah . . . 325 
 Other historical earthquakes 325-327 
 
 Of Syria 374 
 
 Ebal, Mount, description of . . 37 
 
 Edrei, now Edlira' 173 
 
 Egypt, river of, now Wady el 
 
 'Arish 17, 123 
 
 Ekron, now 'Akir .... 47. 270 
 
 Elah, now Wady es-Sumt . 71, 117 
 
 Eleale, site of 60 
 
 Eleutherus, river, now Nahr el- 
 
 Kebfr 358 
 
 Elusa, now Khulasah .... 123 
 
 Enam, town 240 
 
 En-eglaim 239 
 
 Engannim, now Jenin .... 239 
 Engcdi, mountains of, wilderness 50-51 
 
 Fountains of 257 
 
 En-Haddah 239 
 
 En-IIarod in valley of Jezreel . 240 
 
 En-Iiazor 239 
 
 En-Hiittanin 240 
 
 En-Mishpat 239 
 
 En-rogel, well of 98 
 
 En-shemesh • . . 240 
 
 En-tappuah 240 
 
 Endor, site of 27, 188 
 
 Enkheilch, branch of river Arnon, 
 also called Lej&ra, Scripture 
 
 Nahaliel 181 
 
 Enon 240 
 
 Ephraim, Mount, region of . . 35 
 
 Ephron, Mount 45 
 
 Eshcol. See Hebron. 
 
 Esdraelon, plain of Jezreel . 32, 131 
 
 Fountains in 245 
 
 Eshmishkin, village 173 
 
INDEX. 
 
 391 
 
 Etam, fountain of . . . *. . . 
 
 284 
 
 Sandstone formation . . 313,314 
 
 Eunuch, place of baptism by 
 
 
 Conglomerate, marl .... 
 
 314 
 
 Philip 
 
 119 
 
 Volcanic tracts . . . .314- 
 
 -324 
 
 
 
 
 123 
 
 F. 
 
 
 
 266 
 
 Fahil. See Pella. 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 
 109 
 
 Seat of the Samaritan temple . 
 
 39 
 
 River of. See Arsiif. 
 
 
 Geshur, and Geshurites .... 
 
 155 
 
 Far'ia, plain of .... 48, 79, 92 
 
 Ghab, el, valley and plain of the 
 
 
 
 186 
 
 Orontes 337, 
 
 353 
 
 Fendekumieh, ancient Penteco- 
 
 
 Ghar, Wady el, west of Dead Sea 104 
 
 
 246 
 
 
 173 
 
 
 118 
 
 Ghor, valley of the Jordan, moun- 
 
 
 Fever, malarial, prevalence of in 
 
 
 tains of its western side . . 
 
 '48 
 
 
 309 
 
 Extent and connections . . . 
 
 72 
 
 Fijeh, fountain of 
 
 363 
 
 'Ai'abah its Hebrew name . . 
 
 73 
 
 Fik, Wady el, east of Tiberias . 
 
 86 
 
 
 75 
 
 Village and fountains . . . 
 
 261 
 
 Valleys or plains in it . . 80, 
 
 138 
 
 
 383 
 
 Side valleys from the east . . 
 
 83 
 
 Fogs, common in Palestine . . 
 
 294 
 
 Side valleys from the west . . 
 
 89 
 
 Fountains, remarks upon . . . 
 
 238 
 
 
 148 
 
 Scripture names four foun- 
 
 
 Ghurab, Wady el . . . .46,114 
 
 tains 239, 240 
 
 Ghutah, plain of Damascus . . 
 
 350 
 
 Fountains of the Western Plain 
 
 243 
 
 Gibeah, hill of, now Tuleil el Fill 
 
 42 
 
 Of hill-country west of the Jor- 
 
 
 
 137 
 
 
 244 
 
 
 241 
 
 
 250 
 
 
 279 
 
 Of hill-country east of Jordan 
 
 260 
 
 
 100 
 
 "Warm and mineral fountains . 
 
 263 
 
 
 101 
 
 
 44 
 
 
 Frost infrequent in Palestine 
 
 291 
 
 Village, now Jelbon .... 
 
 133 
 
 
 379 
 
 Gilead, land or mount of . . . 
 
 57 
 
 Fuheis, fountains near . . . . 
 
 262 
 
 el-Belka, southern district of . 
 
 59 
 
 Fusail, ancient Phasaelis . . . 
 
 93 
 
 
 111 
 
 G. 
 
 
 H. 
 
 
 Gaash, hill of, grave of Joshua 41 
 
 111 
 
 
 109 
 
 
 42 
 
 
 275 
 
 Gadara, city of, now Um Keis, 
 
 
 
 291 
 
 warm springs at . . . .175 
 
 263 
 
 
 120 
 
 Gaulonitis. See Jaulan. 
 
 
 Hamah, city, and course of Oron- 
 
 
 G^nnesareth, plain of ... . 
 
 77 
 
 
 352 
 
 Lake. See Tiberias. 
 
 
 Hamam, Wady el, fortified caves 
 
 
 Geodes, of quartz and chalcedony 376 
 
 in. See Arbela. 
 
 
 Geology of Palestine .... 
 
 311 
 
 Hammath,probable Hebrew name 
 
 
 General limestone formation . 
 
 312 
 
 
 206 
 
 Magnesian limestone or dolomite 313 
 
 
 105 
 
INDEX. 
 
 392 
 
 Hamy Sukker, Wady in Ilauran 174 
 
 Hannathon, town 106 
 
 Haram of Jerusalem, over Kidron 97 
 Harvest, seasons of, in Palestine 301 
 Hasbany, river or Upper Jordan 146 
 
 Junction with other branches of 
 Jordan 152 
 
 Not mentioned in Scripture . 154 
 
 Hasy, Wady 118 
 
 Hattin, village, scene of Saladin's 
 
 victory over the Crusaders . 22 
 
 KurCln Hattin, supposed place 
 of Sermon on the Mount . 22 
 
 Fountain of 245 
 
 Hauriin, mountains of, ancient Al- 
 
 sadamus 55, 56 
 
 Plain of, or en-N(ikrah . . . 139 
 
 Extent .319 
 
 Hazor, also Asor, now Tell Klm- 
 
 raibeh 129 
 
 Hazur, 'Ain, south of es-Salt . '. 262 
 
 Hebr^in, in Haur&n 261 
 
 Hebron, vale of, same with brook • 
 
 of Eshcol 120-122 
 
 Pool of . . 278 
 
 Heish, Jebel 54, 346 
 
 Hemar, Wady el 86 
 
 Hcndfij, Wady el, at the Huleh . 89 
 Hermon, Mount, Little Hermon . 26 
 
 Great Hermon, or Jcbel esh- 
 Sheikh, valleys of ... . 84 
 
 Scripture allusions to ... . 346 
 
 Other names 347 
 
 Herodium, site of 44 
 
 Heshbon, site of 60, 64 
 
 Fountain at 263 
 
 Wady HcsbAn, or Heshbon . . 87 
 Hicromax, river. See Yarmuk. 
 Hinnom, valley of 45 
 
 Description of 98 
 
 Hizmeh, fountain near .... 242 
 Hor, Mount, at northern boundary 
 
 of Palestine 345 
 
 Hot and saline springs . . . 260, 263 
 Htij, village on the road to Gaza 269 
 Hiileh, lake of 10 
 
 Plain, description of . 75, 76, 198 
 
 Fountains of 250 
 
 Hums, pli^ of 10 
 
 Lake of ' 352 
 
 Hureir, Wady in Hauran . . . 173 
 Hurmul, village near source of 
 
 Orontes 351 
 
 Husdn, fountain of 242 
 
 Husn el-Akrdd, castle in northern 
 
 Syria 337 
 
 I. 
 
 Ibrahim, Nahr. See Adonis . . 360 
 Idhna, ancient Jedrra . . .118,269 
 
 Insects of Syria 384 
 
 Iksal on Esdraelon 188 
 
 Iron Mountain, of Josephus . . 67 
 Iskanderun, or Alexandretta, un- 
 
 healthiness of 371 
 
 Isma'il, Wady course of . . . 114 
 
 Issus, bay of 333 
 
 Itineraries, of the Middle Ages . 8 
 
 Iturea, district of 85, 319 
 
 J. 
 
 Jabcsh Gilead 86 
 
 Jabbok, river, now ez-Zurka 57, 176,177 
 
 Jabneh or Jamrala, now Yebneh 113 
 
 Jacob's well 137 
 
 Description of 267 
 
 Jalftd, stream of, description . . 185 
 
 Jasper, found in Lebanon . . . 376 
 Jaulan, district of, ancient Gaul- 
 
 onitis 54 
 
 Volcanic character of . . . . 319 
 
 Jearim, Mount 46 
 
 Jeba', village, fountain of . . . 246 
 
 Jebel 'AjlDn, description of . . 57 
 Jebel 'Akkcir, volcanic character 
 
 of 373 
 
 Jebel 'AttarCls. See 'AttdrOis. 
 
 Jebel HaurAn 54, 321 
 
 Jebel Heish 54, 346 
 
 Jebel Jcl'ad. . . 58 
 
 Jebel Keneiseh, on Lebanon . . 340 
 Jebel Mukhmal, high point of 
 
 Lebanon 340 
 
 Jebel en-Nusairiyeh 337 
 
 Jebel Osha', or Hosea, in Gilead 59 
 
 Jebel Eiha . • 337 
 
IXDEX. 
 
 393 
 
 Jebel Kihan, southern part of 
 
 
 Entrance into Lake Tiberias . 
 
 156 
 
 
 341 
 
 Rapids and shallowness in sum- 
 
 
 Jebcl Sheikh. Sec Hermon. 
 
 
 
 157 
 
 Jebel Shihan, east of Dead Sea . 
 
 68 
 
 
 159 
 
 Jebel Sunnin, highest point of 
 
 
 
 160 
 
 
 340 
 
 
 160 
 
 Jedilr, fountain near es-Salt . . 
 
 262 
 
 Entrance into Dead Sea . . 
 
 161 
 
 District, ancient Iturea . . . 
 
 319 
 
 General features of the Jor- 
 
 
 Jehoshaphat, valley of ... . 
 
 102 
 
 
 161 
 
 Jenin, ancient En-gannira . . . 
 
 239 
 
 Height and extent of its ter- 
 
 
 
 246 
 
 
 163 
 
 
 85 
 
 Descent and overflow of . 162, 
 
 163 
 
 Jcrash, ancient Gerasa .... 
 
 177 
 
 Loneliness of its valley . . . 
 
 164 
 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 
 186 
 
 Jordan as a boundary . 166, 
 
 167 
 
 
 21 
 
 Place of John's baptizing . . 
 
 168 
 
 
 108 
 
 
 168 
 
 Jezrecl, now Zer'in, valley of 26, 7i 
 
 3, 91 
 
 
 168 
 
 Jczzin, town in Lebanon . . . 
 
 341 
 
 Tributaries 
 
 171 
 
 
 110 
 
 
 106 
 
 Jiphthah-el, valley of .... 
 
 106 
 
 
 263 
 
 Jish, extinct craters near . . . 
 
 317 
 
 Judah, Mount of, or hill-country 
 
 
 Jisr Bendt Ya'kob, bridge over 
 
 
 • of 
 
 35 
 
 
 155 
 
 Jufna. See Gophna. 
 
 
 Jisr Dumieh, Koman bridge over 
 
 
 Juneh, bay of in Kesrawan . . 
 
 350 
 
 
 159 
 
 Junia, or Jun 'Akkar, plain along 
 
 
 Jisr el-Hadid, on the Orontes . . 
 
 353 
 
 coast of Northern Syria . . . 
 
 338 
 
 Jisr el-Mejami'a, over Jordan . . 
 
 158 
 
 Justinian, fortress of on Geri- 
 
 
 Jisr es-Semakh, ruins of, over 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 157 
 
 
 
 Job, well of. Scripture En-rogel 98, 269 
 
 K. 
 
 
 John the Baptist, scene of his exe- 
 
 
 
 243 
 
 
 67 
 
 Kadesh Barnea, probably 'Ain el- 
 
 
 
 168 
 
 Weibeh 
 
 17 
 
 
 242 
 
 Kadesh Naphthali, now Kedes . 
 
 75 
 
 Jordan, valley of. See Ghor. 
 
 
 Plain of 
 
 128 
 
 Description of the western range 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 along its valley .... 32 
 
 , 33 
 
 
 94 
 
 
 144 
 
 
 108 
 
 Signification of its name . . 
 
 145 
 
 Kana, village and stream in Anti- 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 
 355 
 
 Great fountain at Dan . . . 
 
 149 
 
 
 109 
 
 Source from Banias .... 
 
 150 
 
 Kara Su, river in north of Syria 
 
 336 
 
 Junction of its streams, their 
 
 
 Kushabeh, Wady at Banias . . 
 
 150 
 
 relative size .... 152, 
 
 153 
 
 Kasimiyeh, name for river Litany 
 
 357 
 
 Historical notices of these foun- 
 
 
 
 106 
 
 
 153 
 
 Kefr Haneh, village in Lebanon 
 
 341 
 
 Distance between its upper lakes 155 
 
 Kefr Kud, ancient Carpacotia 
 
 135 
 
 50 
 
394 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Kefr Mend a, village 106 
 
 Kefr Saba, ancient Antipatris . 270 
 Kelb, Nahr el, or Dog River, anc. 
 
 Lycus .361 
 
 Kerak, village, ancient Kir Moab 68 
 
 Valley and stream of . . . . 183 
 
 Fountains at 263 
 
 Kesla, village, ancient Chesalon . 46 
 
 Kesrawan, district of .... 350 
 
 Keziz, valley of 82 
 
 KhAn el-Lubban, fountain at . . 249 
 
 Khdn et-Tujar, fountain at . . 245 
 
 Khan Yumas 123 
 
 Khanzireh, village, fountains of . 263 
 Khanzir, Wady, ancient Bera- 
 
 chah 104 
 
 Khirb el-Lauz 242 
 
 Khiyara, village 147 
 
 Khurdela, bridge over the Leontes 357 
 
 Khudr, el, fountains of ... , 242 
 
 Khulil, Wady, vale of Hebron . 121 
 
 Kidron, valley of 96, 97 
 
 Kilkilieh, village 109 
 
 King's Dale 101 
 
 Kirjathaira 67 
 
 Plain of 142 
 
 Kirjath Jearim 46 
 
 Kir ^Nloab. See Kerak. 
 Kishon, river, now Nahr el-Mu- 
 
 kutta' 107, 187 
 
 Sources 188-190, 243 
 
 Kuba'a, village, and fountain at . 251 
 
 Kubab, village 112 
 
 Grain cisterns at 277 
 
 Kubaliin, village 110 
 
 Kub&tieh, village 135 
 
 Kul'at el-K^traneh 181 
 
 Kul'at er-Rubud 87 
 
 Kul'at ez-Zerka 177 
 
 KalOnieh, village 115 
 
 Fountain of 242 
 
 Kunawat, "Wady, branch of the 
 
 Yarmuk 173 
 
 Scripture Kenath, village and 
 
 fountains of 261 
 
 Kuneitirah, village 172 
 
 Kurawa, plain of Wady Fari'a 79, 111 
 
 Kureiyeh, in Hauran .... 174 
 
 Kurmul, village 120 
 
 Kurn, Wady 105 
 
 Kurnayil, village and coal mines 
 
 in Lebanon 342 
 
 Kurn Surtabeh, promontory . . 33 
 
 Description of 48, 79 
 
 Kusttil, village, site of ... . 46 
 
 Kuweik, river of Aleppo, fish of 351 
 KAvreh, natural bridge over the 
 
 Leontes 356 
 
 KAza, village 109 
 
 Larissa, site of 353 
 
 Latron, village 33 
 
 River 112 
 
 Lebanon, Mount, description of . 339 
 
 Signification of its name . . 340 
 
 Geological formation .... 342 
 
 Coal mines in 342 
 
 Cedars and trees of . . . 342, 343 
 
 Wine of 343 
 
 Fertility 344 
 
 Anti-Lebanon, description of its 
 
 range 345 
 
 Southern portion or Hermon . 346 
 Lebweh, village, source of the 
 
 Orontes 351 
 
 Leddan, great fountain of the 
 
 Jordan 1 50 
 
 Legio. See Megiddo. 
 
 Lejah, volcanic district of the 
 
 Hauran 320 
 
 Lejilm, branch of Arnon . . . 181 
 
 Lejjiin, village 33 
 
 Fountain 246 
 
 Lions, not found in Syria . . . 382 
 Litany,description of its gorge 354-358 
 
 Locusts, of Syria 385 
 
 Locust birds 386 
 
 Lubban, plain of Ill 
 
 Ludd, Wady, also called Muzei- 
 
 ri'ah Ill 
 
 Luweizany, fountain of, branch 
 of Upper Jordan . . . . 148, 316 
 
 Lydda, village of 33 
 
 Lynch, expedition of . . . . 170 
 
 At Dead Sea 232 
 
INDEX. 
 
 395 
 
 M. 
 
 Macherus, fortress of, over Dead 
 Sea, scene of John the Baptist's 
 
 execution . 67 
 
 Mahanaim 86 
 
 Makhrud, Mount of . . . . 32, 78 
 
 Mamre, plain of 138 
 
 Maresha, town of 118 
 
 Mdron, St., cave of, at the Orontes 352 
 
 Mar Saba, convent of ... . 98 
 Masada, fortress of, OA-er Dead 
 
 Sea 51 
 
 Cisterns x)f 273 
 
 Mauz, Wady from Pella . . . 259 
 Megiddo, plain of. Scripture name 
 
 for Esdraclon 189 
 
 Meiron, fountain near .... 244 
 Mejdel Yilba, village . . 110, 193 
 
 Merj el-Ghuruk 135 
 
 Merj Ibn 'Amir, Arabic name for 
 
 plain of Esdraelon .... 134 
 
 Merj Yafdny ....... 84 
 
 Merom. See Hiileh. 
 
 Mezarib, in Hauran, lake at 173, 174 
 
 Mezra'ah, village at isthmus of 
 
 Dead Sea 227 
 
 Mezzeh, village near Damascus . 364 
 
 Milh, Wady, south of Carmel . 29 
 
 Minerals of Syria 374 
 
 Mizpeh, site of 42, 85 
 
 Moab, region and i)lain of . . . 62 
 Moladah, now el-Milh . . .122, 269 
 Molyneux, expedition of on Dead 
 
 Sea and Jordan 169 
 
 Mons Angaris, of Pliny ... 47 
 
 Mons Bargylus, situation of . . 337 
 
 Montfort, castle of, now Kurein . 105 
 
 Moreh, plain or oak of . . . . 138 
 
 Mount of the Beatitudes ... 22 
 
 Of Precipitation near Nazareth 23 
 
 Of Transfiguration .... 26 
 
 Mountain of Salt, at Dead Sea . 52 
 
 Mu'akkar, "Wady in Hauran . 174 
 Mughanniyeh, branch of river 
 
 'Awaj 172 
 
 Mughdr, village and fountain at 251 
 
 Mughitbeh, pass over Lebanon . 340 
 
 Muhauwat, Wady 314 
 
 Mukhna, plain of 136 
 
 Muntcir, wely el 48 
 
 Musheirifeh, fountains of . . . 243 
 
 N. 
 
 Nabulus, ancient Shechem and 
 
 Sychar 108 
 
 Numerous fountains at . . 247, 248 
 
 Nahleh, fountain of 355 
 
 Nahr Na'mun, ancient river Belus 106 
 
 Nahr Rubin, valley of .... 113 
 
 Naphthali, region of 21 
 
 Nebo, Mount 61 
 
 City of 64 
 
 Neby Samwil, probable site of 
 
 Mizpeh 42 
 
 Nejrcin, village 173 
 
 Nephtoah, fountain of, now 'Ain 
 
 Karim 45, 240 
 
 Nimrah, now Nimrin .... 87 
 
 Waters of 259 
 
 O. 
 
 Oflfence, Mount of, near Jeru- 
 salem 43 
 
 Olives, Mount of, description of . 43 
 Ono, valley or plain of . . 113, 127 
 Onomasticon, of Eusebius . . 8 
 
 P. 
 
 Palestine, middle portion of the 
 tract between Asia Minor and 
 the Red Sea 2 
 
 Its central position in the an- 
 cient world 4 
 
 Early and modern writers on 8-1 1 
 
 Boundaries of 16-18 
 
 Panium, temple and cave at Ba- 
 
 nias 151 
 
 Pella, site of, now Fahil, fountain 
 
 of 259 
 
 Peor, Mount 61, 65, 66 
 
 Perazim, Mount 45 
 
 Phagor, or Phogor, site of . . . 242 
 Pharpar. See river A'waj. 
 
 Phenician plain 349 
 
 Phiala, lake of, now Birket er- 
 
 Ram 75, 196-198 
 
396 
 
 Philistines, plain of the ... 127 
 
 Pierius, Mount 335 
 
 Pine forests of Amanus . . . 378 
 Pirathon, now Fer'ata .... 41 
 
 Pisgah, Mount 61, 63 
 
 Pools, character of 277 
 
 Solomon's Pools .... 281-284 
 Promontorium Album, near Tyre 18 
 Pylae, gates or passes of Amanus 336 
 
 Q- 
 
 Quarantana, Mount, alleged scene 
 of the Temptation . . . 49, 50 
 
 Quaresimus, work of on Pales- 
 tine 9 
 
 R. 
 
 Rabbath, Ammon, now 'Amm<in 
 
 ruins of 177 
 
 Rahhaniyeh, fountain of . . . 246 
 Rain, early and latter rain of Pal- 
 estine 291 
 
 Ramah, plain of, in Galilee 22, 105, 129 
 
 Ramah of Ashcr, fountain at . 244 
 
 Ramathaim Zophim .... 36 
 
 Ramin, village .... 108, 275 
 Ramoth Gilead, probably now es- 
 
 Salt 60 
 
 Ramleh 33 
 
 Raphon, river 86 
 
 Ras el-'Ain, fountain in Sharon . Ill 
 
 Great fountains near Tyre . . 365 
 RfiLs el-Feshkah, promontory of 
 
 Dead Sea 50 
 
 Rasheiya, town of 146 
 
 Ras esh-Shuka, promontory, anc. 
 
 Theuprosopon 349 
 
 Rawy, 'Ain 258 
 
 Rehoboth, wells of 266 
 
 Roland, work of on Ancient Pal- 
 estine 11 
 
 Remmon, town of 106 
 
 Rephaim, valley of . 45, 99, 116, 137 
 
 Reptiles, of Syria 384 
 
 Rhinocolura, now 'Arish . . . 124 
 
 Ribleh, village 352 
 
 Ritter, Carl, work of on Palestine,etc. 10 
 
 Rivers of Syria, sources of . . 1 54 
 Rubin, Wady, course of . . 113, 194 
 Rubtidiyeh, Wady, west of Tibe- 
 rias 89 
 
 Ruhbeh, plain of 322 
 
 Ruhaibeh, Wady 123 
 
 Rukad, Wady el, in Hauran . . 174 
 
 Rumeish, village of 104 
 
 S. 
 
 Sa'adiyeh, foitntain of the Kishon 190 
 Sabbatical River, now Nahr el- 
 
 'Arus 359 
 
 Safa, volcanic tract of ... . 322 
 
 Safed, town of 21 
 
 Sajiir, river, tributary of Euphra- 
 tes 351 
 
 Sakut, ancient Succoth . 78, 81, 165 
 
 Salem, same as Jerusalem . . . 102 
 
 Sdlim, village and fountains . . 248 
 Salt, mountain of, at Dead Sea, 
 site of valley of Salt, and 
 
 city of Salt 52, 83 
 
 Fountains of 262 
 
 Lake of, south of Aleppo . . 375 
 Samaria, mountains of, equiva- 
 lent to mountains of Ephraim 36 
 Samaritans, origin of ... . 39 
 
 SanCir, castle of 135 
 
 Sarah, fountain near Kerak . . 263 
 
 Saris, village 33, 115 
 
 Satuf, village and fountain . 115, 242 
 
 Seasons of the year in Palestine . 288 
 
 Character of the winter . . . 289 
 
 Of summer 292 
 
 Seijar, castle and bridge on the 
 Orontes, probable ancient La- 
 
 rissa 353 
 
 Seir, Mount 36 
 
 Semak, Wady, east of Lake Tibe- 
 rias 85 
 
 Semmam, fountains of . . . . 261 
 
 Semar, village, ancient Simyra . 358 
 
 Senir, name for Hermon . . . 347 
 
 Sepphoris, town of 22 
 
 Fountain of 244 
 
 Sha'ab, Wady, east of 'Akka . 105 
 
INDEX. 
 
 397 
 
 Sha'ib, Wady 87 
 
 Slia'ir, Wady, course of . . . 108 
 
 Shalem, now Salim 137 
 
 Shamir . . . 35 
 
 Sharon, plain of 126 
 
 Shaveh, valley of 101 
 
 Shechem. See Nabulus. 
 Sheri'at el-Mandhur, the Yarmuk 
 
 branch of Jordan 158 
 
 Sheri'ah, Wady, also V/'ady es- 
 
 Seba 119 
 
 Shibboleth 167 
 
 Shihor Libnath, now Nahr ez- 
 
 Zerka 192 
 
 Shittim, or Abel Shittim, valley 
 
 of 83 
 
 Shugr on the Orontes .... 353 
 
 Shuuem, now Solam . . .27, 245 
 
 Shukif, castle of 357 
 
 Siddim, vale of 234 
 
 Sideh, Wady 174 
 
 Siloam, waters of . . . 98, 100,284 
 
 Simsim, village 118 
 
 Sinjil • . . Ill 
 
 Sirocco, wind, description of . . 305 
 
 In Syria 371 
 
 Soba, village 46 
 
 Socoh, town, now Shuweikeh . 117 
 Sodom, destruction of . . . 233-235 
 
 Apples of Sodom . . . 236, 237 
 
 Solomon's Pools, description of . 281 
 
 Aqueduct from 285 
 
 Sorek, valley of 116 
 
 Snow, at J< rusalem and Palestine 290 
 Sudeir, Wady and fountain . . 257 
 Saf, fountain in Jebel 'Ajlun . .261 
 
 Suklmin 106 
 
 Sukkariveh, village on road to 
 
 Gaza 269 
 
 Suk Khirbet, ruins near es-Salt . 262 
 
 Suleiman, Wady 112 
 
 Stdkhad, ancient Sulchah . 174, 321 
 
 Summeil, well at 269 
 
 Sumt, Wadyes 116 
 
 Siinamein, village 173 
 
 Sar, Wady 117 
 
 Surar, Wady 47, 114 
 
 Sur Bahil, fountain 242 
 
 38 
 
 I Suweimeh, fountain at Dead Sea 259 
 j Syria, length and breadth of . . 334 
 Divisions of its extent ... 335 
 Waters, climate, and seasons . 366 
 
 Diseases 371 
 
 Geological features .... 372 
 Mineral productions .... 376 
 Soil, trees, fruit, productions, 
 
 botany 376-381 
 
 Fauna, birds, fish . . . . 381-383 
 
 T. 
 
 Tabighah, fountain of . . . 201, 251 
 Tabor, Mount, description of . . 23 
 
 View from 24, 25 
 
 Not the Mount of Transfigura- 
 tion 26 
 
 Cisterns of 276 
 
 Takeh, lake of, on the Orontes . 353 
 
 Tarichoea, region of 156 
 
 Teffuh, scriptural Teffuah . . . 118 
 Teim, Wady et, description of . 348 
 
 Teis, 'Ain et, 262 
 
 Tekoa, fountain of 242 
 
 Tell Abu Nida, hill and crater in 
 
 I Jaulun . 318 
 
 Tell Abu Tumeis, in Haun^m . 55 
 Tell Amara, in the Lejah ... 321 
 Tell Ash'areh in Haurcin, and 
 
 fountain 261 
 
 Tell el-Bedawiyeh 131 
 
 Tell Dilly, in Ilaurun .... 173 
 Tell Dukweh, east of Hauriin . 322 
 Tell el-Faras, in Jaulan . . 54, 318 
 Tell el-Haiyeh .... 315,316 
 
 Tell Hazur 22 
 
 Tell Hiim, on lake of Tiberias, 
 
 not Capernaum 252 
 
 Tell el-K&dy, or Dan, source of 
 
 the Jordan at . . . 75, 148, 316 
 Tell Kurddny, near 'Akka . 187, 243 
 
 Tell es-Safieh 118 
 
 Tell Serraya 1 73 
 
 Tell Shakhal 174 
 
 Tell Sumeid, in the Lejah . .321 
 
 Tell Zakariya 117 
 
 Temperature, of Palestine . . 295 
 
 Of Jerusalem .... 296, 297 
 
398 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Of the western plain .... 298 
 
 Of the Jordan valley . • . 298 
 
 Of the eastern hill-country . . 300 
 
 Terab, 'Ain et, in Jebcl 'Ajliln . 261 
 
 Terkftmieh, village 118 
 
 Tesil, village in IlaurAn . . . 174 
 
 Tiberias, lake of, description . . 199 
 
 Below the Mediterranean . . 200 
 
 Eish 205 
 
 Scenery . 201-202 
 
 Storms on 202 
 
 Historical notices of ... . 203 
 
 Crossed four times by Christ . 203 
 
 Fisheries of 204 
 
 Hot springs of 205, 206 
 
 Tibnin, castle, fountain near . . 244 
 Timnath Serah . . . . . 36,41 
 
 Now Tibneh Ill 
 
 Tophet 100 
 
 Trachonitis, or district of the two 
 
 Trachones 323 
 
 Transfiguration, Mount of, in 
 
 neighborhood of Banias . . 26 
 
 Trees of Syria 377 
 
 Tripoli, situation of . . . . . 349 
 
 Tu'ran, plain of 130 
 
 Turmus Aya, plain of . . . . Ill 
 Tyre, Ladder of, or Scala Tyrio- 
 
 rum 21 
 
 Plain of 125 
 
 Tyropoeon, valley of ... . 98 
 
 U. 
 
 Urtas, fountain of 242 
 
 Um el-Fahm 33 
 
 TJra Keis, ancient Gadara . . . 175 
 
 Urn esh-Shukaf, fountain of . . 243 
 TJsdura, Khasm, Mount of, at 
 
 Dead Sea 51 
 
 V. 
 
 Valley, term used in English for 
 
 four different Hebrew words 70-72 
 Valley of Achor ; of Keziz ; 
 
 plain of Moab 82 
 
 Valley of the Passengers, or 
 
 Haman Gog 86 
 
 Of Shaveh, and of Jehosha- 
 
 phat 102 
 
 Valley of vision 103 
 
 Valley of Craftsmen . . . . 113 
 
 Of Gibeon 115 
 
 Of Eephaim 116 
 
 Of Elah 117 
 
 The great valley of Syria from 
 
 Cilicia to the Red Sea . . 333 
 
 Volcanic districts of Palestine . 314 
 
 Extinct craters 317 
 
 Districts east of the Jordan 318, 325 
 
 W. 
 
 Wdleh, river, branch of the Arnon 180 
 
 Warm and saline springs . . . 263 
 
 Welejeh, village 115 
 
 Wells, a feature of Palestine 265, 270 
 
 Mode of drawing water from . 271 
 
 Werd, Wady el, near Jerusalem 1 1 5 
 
 Winds of the rainy season . . 303 
 
 Of summer 304 
 
 The Sirocco 305 
 
 Winter, or rainy season of Pales- 
 tine 289 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yabis, Wady, ancient Jabesh Gil- 
 cad 59, 86 
 
 Ya'biid, village 107, 135 
 
 Yarmuk, river, branch of the Jor- 
 dan, now Sheri'atel-Mandhilr 57, 158 
 
 Sources of 173 
 
 YarCld, fountain of 263 
 
 Yuhmur, village on the Lit&ny . 356 
 
 Z. 
 
 Za'areh, Wady el, stream of . . 146 
 
 Zalmon, Mount 40 
 
 ZcbedAny, village 363 
 
 Zeboim, town of 96 
 
 Zebulun, plain of, now el-Buttauf 22 
 
 Northern boundary of . • . 106 
 
 Zeidy, Wady el 174 
 
 Zemaraim, Mount 41 
 
 Zephathah, valley of . . . . 118 
 Zerka, Crocodile river, near Caes- 
 
 area 191 
 
ESTDEX. 
 
 399 
 
 Ziklag, town of 122 
 
 Zin, desert of 16 
 
 Ziph, now Tell Zif, cisterns at . 274 
 
 Zoar, site of 233 
 
 Zorah, village 23,114 
 
 Fountain of 244 
 
 Zurka, ancient Jabbok .... .')7 
 Zurka Ma'hi, stream of, east of 
 
 Dead Sea 61, 88, 178 
 
 Zuwinah, Wady . . - . . .314 
 
I 
 
 15737YB 2BZI 
 
 05-01-03 32182 MS 
 
Princeton Theoloaical Seminary. Libraries 
 
 1 1012 01285 8777 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 :,i i> _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 HIGHSMITH #45115