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TIVE SEMITIC
RELICION TODAY
SAMUEL IVES CURTISS
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William H. Worrell
Jerusalem
PRESENTED
BY
THE HARTFORD THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
TO
W. lt. Worrill
Rev.
FROM THE PROCEEDS OF
THE
BALDWIN
AND
FOOTE
MINISTER'S
LIBRARY FUND.
1
1
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION
TO-DAY
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC
RELIGION TO-DAY
A RECORD OF RESEARCHES, DISCOV-
ERIES AND STUDIES IN SYRIA, PALES-
TINE AND THE SINAITIC PENINSULA
BY
SAMUEL IVES CURTISS
PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE AND INTERPRETATION
CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
|_j11l|llllllllllllll
WILLIT TRORRELL,
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FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
CHICAGO, NEW YORK, TORONTO. MCCCCII
Wm. A. Horrell
4
6-16-1925
COPYRIGHT, 1902
BY FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
CHICAGO
TO THOSE MISSIONARIES AND TO
ALL OTHERS IN SYRIA AND PALESTINE WHO HAVE
BEEN MY COMPANIONS IN TRAVEL
HAVE RECEIVED ME INTO THEIR HOMES
OR AIDED ME IN ANY WAY
THIS VOLUME IS
GRATEFULLY DEDICATED
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
17
22
34
49
56
63
75
96
I 12
124
I. INTRODUCTORY
II. SKETCH OF PRELIMINARY TRAVELS, 1898–1899
III. SPECIAL RESEARCHES, SUMMERS OF 1900, 1901
IV. SOURCES OF PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION
V. MODERN SEMITES
VI. CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
VII. THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
VIII. THE DEIFIED MEN
IX. PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD -
X. MORAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD -
XI. THE HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
XII. PRIESTS AND "HOLY MEN"
XIII. Vows AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
XIV. THE INSTITUTION OF SACRIFICE
XV. THE USE OF BLOOD
XVI. REDEMPTION, AND “THE BURSTING FORTH OF
BLOOD"
XVII. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRIFICE -
XVIII. THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE -
XIX. CONCLUSION
133
-
144
156
179
181
194
218
229
238
APPENDICES
247
A. QUESTIONS ON THE SURVIVALS OF ANCIENT RELIGION
IN BIBLE LANDS
B. OUTLINE OF JOURNEYS IN SYRIA, PALESTINE, EGYPT,
AND THE SINAITIC PENINSULA
C. THE SEVEN WELLS AT BEERSHEBA
D. THE PROSE VERSION OF THE STORY OF 'ARJA
249
255
257
7
8
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
260
264
E. HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
F. THE SAMARITAN PASSOVER
G. ALTARS AND SACRIFICES IN THE PRIMITIVE ART OF
BABYLONIA. BY THE REV. W. HAYES WARD, D.D.,
LL.D. -
266
INDICES
.
-
NAMES
SUBJECTS
LIST OF ARABIC AND OTHER SEMITIC WORDS
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
QUOTATIONS FROM THE KORAN
279
282
285
286
288
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
36
38
1
79
WELL AT BEERSHEBA
UNOPENED WELL AT BEERSHEBA
37
GADIS FROM THE EAST
SACRED GROVE AT THE “ MOTHER OF PIECES '
44
PLATFORM OF THE “MOTHER OF PIECES'
"
45
PART OF THE “CHAIR OF THE LEADERS"
46
SHRINE OF AARON ON MOUNT HOR
CENOTAPH OF AARON
81
MAR RISHA AT KARYATEN
85
THE ROCK OF JOB AT SHEIK SA'D
86
SACRED TREE HUNG WITH RAGS
91
SHRINE OF NUSAIRIYEH AT DER MARIA
143
PRIEST OR MINISTER OF THE MEZAR AT JAFAR
146
SHRINE OF NEBI DAUD, JERUSALEM
157
GRAVE OF HOLY MAN NEAR MEDEBA
179
SHRINE IN THE LAND OF AMMON
185
SHRINE OF ST. GEORGE
187
BLOOD MARKS OF ARABS ON THE SHRINE OF ABU OBEIDA 193
GREAT WATER-WHEEL AT HAMATH
198
SACRED TREES AND ROCK ALTAR AT YAZUZ
234
DOLMEN-ALTAR WITH HOLLOWS FOR BLOOD
234
DOLMEN NEAR ZERKA MAIN
235
SPECIMEN OF ALTAR AT THE GIZEH MUSEUM
235
GENERAL PLAN OF HIGH PLACE AT PETRA
236
ANCIENT PLACE FOR SLAUGHTERING SACRIFICE AT PETRA 237
SIXTEEN CUTS AND THREE HALF-TONES ILLUSTRATING
THE ARTICLE ON ALTARS AND SACRIFICES IN THE
PRIMITIVE ART OF BABYLONIA, IN APPENDIX G, BY
THE REV. WILLIAM HAYES WARD, D.D., LL. D. 267-276
2
PREFACE
Every new book must demonstrate its right to be.
The publisher and the circle of readers for which it is
designed may well ask, “Why should you claim our atten-
tion? What are you? Do you give any new or important
information? Are you interesting?"
These are all legitimate questions, to which I shall
attempt a brief answer. In the preparation of the fol-
lowing pages, I have not thought of any special class of
readers except those who may be interested in the study
of primitive religious customs. Earnest students of the
Bible, as well as those of comparative religion, may per-
haps find in this treatise new materials for thought and
investigation.
My chief interest in the subject is as an interpreter
of the Old Testament, who after four years of prepa-
ration with the late Professor Franz Delitzsch, of
the University of Leipzig, and twenty years of teaching
and lecturing in Chicago Theological Seminary, at last
spent fourteen months in tours throughout the length
and breadth of Syria and Palestine, not to speak of a
visit to Egypt and the Sinaitic Peninsula. In that period,
largely devoted to travel, I had the opportunity to see
these countries as perhaps few have seen them.
out my purpose involved anxieties, struggles, and vic-
tories, which I have sketched as an encouragement to
those who might wish to engage in a similar undertak-
ing. Aside from Chapters II and III, and the Itineraries
contained in Appendix B, I have not attempted to describe
these travels in detail.
To carry
II
I 2
PREFACE
and 1901.
The first journeys, including my sojourn at such
centers as Beirut, Jerusalem, and Damascus, requiring
more than a twelvemonth, were supplemented by two
others, covering fully five months, in the summers of 1900
The last two were conducted in the interest
of a particular investigation, namely, to discover from
personal interviews with natives in different parts of the
country who had not come in contact with European
civilization, and who were but slightly influenced by
Islam, what was the primitive religion of the ancient
Semites; for it is not to the Hebrews, to the Assyrians,
or to the Babylonians that we are to go for this primitive
picture. They have indeed retained many traces of
primitive religious customs, but these have been modi-
fied from the original type through outside influences.
If, then, we wish to discover the ancestor of Semitic
religions, whose lineaments are to be found in the beliefs
and usages of Assyria, Phænicia, and Israel, we shall
pursue our investigations among Syrians and Arabs, who
observe the same religious rites as did their progenitors
from the earliest dawn of history. We shall find among
them many individual examples of religious customs, of
which perhaps only one or two may be seen among the
Assyrians and the Hebrews. Thus, through many illus-
trations discovered among Syrians and Arabs, a religious
custom observed among the Assyrians or Hebrews which
almost escapes our attention, or which we might suppose
to be primitive among them, comes out in its true bear-
ing as something which they have inherited from a pri-
meval source.
A book which contains many examples of vows, of
blood-sprinkling, of sacrifice, should be of interest to all
who desire to know what was the foundation on which
the religion of other ancient Semitic peoples was built.
PREFACE
13
It may seem that it is an unwarrantable assumption
to claim that among such modern Semites as Arabs and
Syrians we have the sources of primitive Semitic reli-
gion. But to my mind, this assumption becomes an indis-
putable fact when we once recognize the power of custom
in the East, which persists throughout the millenniums
without change when untouched by outside influences.
The basis for my treatment of primitive Semitic reli-
gion is in my own researches, some of which, considering
their number and significance, may have the value of
original discoveries. It may well be that those who are
familiar with the literature of the subject, or with the
countries traversed, may recognize isolated facts as
already known to them, and see their bearing on the
discussion after a large number of examples have been
presented, and so be tempted to claim that in all that
follows there is little that is new. But from my knowl-
edge of the literature, and as the result of interviews with
numerous missionaries, I am persuaded that there are
many new facts which have enabled me to put the sub-
ject in a new light. While I refer to some of the most
important works bearing on this discussion, I am not
dependent upon them, but have relied almost altogether
on personal investigation.
It has been my effort to trace the characteristic fea-
tures of the primitive religion of the Semites: their con-
ceptions of the being who has for them the value of God,
their ideas of sin; to describe their places of Worship,
their priesthood, and to discuss the nature as well as the
significance of their sacrifices. I have not sought to
establish any theory, only to give the facts, so far as I
apprehend them. The discussion is based on unpub-
lished personal journals of my travels and observations,
to which constant reference is made in the notes.
14
PREFACE
With respect to my position as an Old Testament
interpreter, I see in the Bible a record of many divine
revelations, each adapted to a particular age and con-
dition of God's people, beginning with a disclosure of
himself, made with infinite condescension, to the child-
age of the world, hence simple, elementary, and pictorial.
Forms of speech and modes of thought belonging to
primitive Semitism have been adopted as a medium of
communication, without which the Semites could not
originally have understood the divine message. I have
given a few illustrations of such a use of primitive
Semitic conceptions and modes of thought as are found
in the Scriptures.
While it seems to me that we find abundant evidences
of development in the Old Testament, from very simple
concrete representations of God to those which are pro-
foundly spiritual, I am not able to account for this
development on naturalistic principles. In it I see God
at all times and everywhere co-working with human
instruments until the fullness of the time should come.
The messages which we find in the Old Testament
seem all the more divine to me because of the great gulf
which is fixed between primitive Semitic conceptions of
God, and the noble, spiritual views of Him set forth
under divine illumination by an Isaiah. The great
prophet is a product of many ages of divine revelation
and teaching, and cannot be accounted for as a natural
representative of his age and people.
In my investigations I have been indebted to many,
especially to the Rev. J. Stewart Crawford, of the Irish
Presbyterian Mission in Damascus and the Syrian
Desert-the nature of this indebtedness I shall mention
later.
At my earnest solicitation I have received from
the Rev. W. Hayes Ward, LL.D., editor of The Inde-
PREFACE
15
pendent, a valuable paper on Altars and Sacrifices in the
Primitive Art of Babylonia, with many illustrations, the
result of years of study, which I have added as Appen-
dix G. In the revision of my manuscript, I have enjoyed
many kindly and helpful suggestions from my colleague,
the Rev. William Douglas Mackenzie, D.D.; in reading
the proof I have had the valued assistance of our libra-
rian, Mr. Herbert Wright Gates. No attempt has been
made to indicate the quantity of the syllables of Arabic
words, or the mode of their pronunciation. Such tran-
scription is difficult on account of the many ways of pro-
nouncing Arabic among the Arabs themselves and the
many kinds of transliteration employed by English and
German scholars. So far as the English dictionary affords
a standard for the spelling of Arabic names it has been
followed, otherwise essentially the transliteration of
Baedeker's Syria and Palestine has been adopted, though
with some modifications, except the spelling of Arabic
words occurring in various quotations, which has not
been changed.
A large proportion of the photographs were taken
at my suggestion, by my companions in travel, and serve
to illustrate the special themes discussed.
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION
TO-DAY
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
This book is the outgrowth of three journeys during
the years 1898-1901, in which Syria was visited three
times, Palestine twice, and the Sinaitic Peninsula once.
It was on my first journey to northern Syria, in the
autumn of 1898, that my attention was drawn to this
subject. During a tour made with Rev. F. W. March,
and Rev. W. S. Nelson, D.D., both missionaries of the
American Presbyterian Board, a sacred grove and high
place were recognized at Beinu. In the further course
of the journey to Safita, many others were visited.
Greeks, Maronites, Moslems and Nusairiyeh were inter-
viewed as to the use of the shrines found in connection
with the groves, the missionaries acting as interpreters.
As a result of the information received the question
at once arose whether there was in these shrines a sur-
vival of ancient Semitic worship. The elucidation of
this question gradually opened up a whole vista of
usages, antedating the Israelitish codes and presupposed
by them.
It was a fascinating investigation, continued for three
years and constantly growing in interest to the end of
my journey last summer. Hints became positive infor-
mation, conjectures developed into certainties, facts,
17
18
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
obscurely apprehended at first, often came out as the
result of many interviews with natives into clearness.
These investigations covered the whole round of sacred
places, seasons, persons, and rites.
Important information had been expected from some
of the missionaries in Syria and Palestine. It seemed as
if they must know, by virtue of a long residence in the
country and by an unconscious absorption, many things
that ought to be gathered before they should pass away.
And yet I had been warned by one of the most eminent
authorities on manners and customs, Rev. George E.
Post, M.D., of the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut,
that not much new material could be expected from this
source.
Such has largely proved to be the case. Mis-
sionaries are so fully occupied with their pressing duties
that they cannot easily turn aside to get information
which would be within their reach if they were prepared
to conduct researches, which would reveal the primitive
beliefs of the people. In general, such an investigation
was characterized by Dr. Post as likely to be almost
fruitless, since every essential fact that could be gathered
was already in print. All that could be looked for would
simply be a restatement of these old facts in a new dress.
A careful examination of the literature of the subject, and
various contributions solicited from those who had been
long in the country, appeared to confirm this view.
Nevertheless, it seemed that if no new facts about ancient
religious customs were to be discovered, those already
published would possess a new value if grouped and dis-
cussed by an Old Testament interpreter. It will be
1 In all I sent out several hundred circulars, from London in
the autumn of 1900, and again from Beirut in the summer of
1901, with respect to the manners, customs, and religious usages of
Syrians and Bedouin. Very few replies were received. For the
second set of questions see Appendix A.
1
INTRODUCTORY
19
found, however, as the result of my researches, that a
mass of new material has been unearthed, and that some
institutions are proved to exist, the presence of which
had not been described by any previous traveler, or even
by missionaries who had resided for years in the country.
I have not merely recorded the facts which came to me-
I have been on the lookout for them.
It might be natural to suppose that the orthodoxy of
Islam as well as that of ancient Christianity must have
had power to suppress such usages of ancient Semitism
as were clearly contrary to them. Reasoning on this
basis, a well-known physician in Jerusalem declined to
analyze a substance from a Moslem shrine that looked
like blood. The assurance of eminent Moslems in Jeru-
salem, that the use of blood would be impossible in con-
nection with any Moslem shrine, was assigned by him as
a sufficient reason for not making what he deemed a use-
less investigation. The following pages will show the
real state of the case.
Heretofore there has been much difficulty in gaining
information on such points. Some of the most learned
scholars in Great Britain, for example, working under
the auspices of the Palestine Exploration Fund, had pre-
pared six pamphlets, of about forty-five pages each,
containing an elaborate series of questions regarding the
manners, customs, and religious practices of various
sects and classes of people. But aside from articles by
Mr. Philip Baldensperger in The Quarterly Statement,2
1
1 The titles of those at hand are as follows: Questions on the
Bedawin; Questions on the Fellahin; Questions on the Ismailiyeh
and Anseiriyeh; Questions on the Yezids.
2 Peasant Folklore of Palestine, 1893, pp. 203-219; Religion of
the Fellahin of Palestine, ibid., pp. 307-320; Orders of Holy Men
in Palestine, 1894, pp. 22–38; Morals of the Fellabin, 1897, pp.
123-134; Woman in the East, 1899, pp. 132-160.
20
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
there has been very little response to these inquiries.
Each one who had made an investigation seemed like the
man with the one talent, ready to hide it in a napkin. Then
there was the difficulty of securing trustworthy informa-
tion, for in the kindness of his heart the Oriental is often
ready to give the traveler just the knowledge he desires,
while intelligent natives have looked upon such investi-
gations as "unworthy of a serious-minded man."
I believe I have been able to overcome most of these
difficulties. My method was to avoid asking leading
questions, and to pursue my inquiries in such a way as
to get the exact facts in a given inquiry.
I was
able to have interviews with large numbers of persons
widely distant from each other. The frankness with
which natives answered my interrogatories was a delight-
ful surprise. Undoubtedly the openness of the replies
was often due to the confidence which the natives felt in
my companions, the missionaries and their helpers.
Information partially gained at one point was supple-
mented and made clear by further interviews in other
parts of the country.
While Burckhardt, in his travels among the Arabs,
found it impracticable to write any notes in their pres-
ence, because those who have had but little contact with
civilization fear writing as if it were a black art, in every
interview, thus far, I have been able to take down infor-
mation from the lips of the interpreter. In this way a
mass of material has been gathered about the ancient
religious customs of the people, such as has never been
published before. For help in getting this information,
I am indebted to Mr. A. Forder, of Jerusalem, mission-
1 The Arabs at one of the encampments in the South Country
(Negeb), when they saw me taking notes, said: “He is writing down
our names so as to report to the Sultan at Stambul (Constantino-
ple) whether or not he has been well treated.”
INTRODUCTORY
2 I
ary among the Arabs, with whom I traveled during the
summer of 1900, and pre-eminently to the Rev. J. Stewart
Crawford, of the Irish Presbyterian Mission, Damascus,
who was born in Syria, who speaks Arabic like a native,
who entered into every investigation with the keenest
interest, and who, in addition to a brief tour in the
Syrian Desert in the autumn of 1898, was, during the
summer of 1901, an almost constant companion and
interpreter.
Although much valuable material is scattered through
the volumes of travelers, especially of Burckhardt
and Doughty, and through the learned monographs
of Trumbull, I am not aware of any systematic attemp
to gain information regarding ancient religious usages
from Syrians and Arabs to-day. W. Robertson Smith,
in his Religion of the Semites, has drawn on Arabic litera-
ture for a masterly treatise, but the field of special
investigation into the primitive religious customs of
modern Semites, which this volume enters, is entirely
new. May it prove of service to students of the old
Testament, as well as to those of Comparative Religion.
CHAPTER II
SKETCH OF PRELIMINARY TRAVELS
1898-1899
When I sailed from New York for Naples, the 21st
of May, 1898, on the steamship Aller, of the North
German Lloyd, I could not forecast what would be the
final outcome of my studies and investigations. I knew
it would not be easy for a private individual, with no
society behind him, to open up a new field of research,
owing to the great contributions which have been made
to the knowledge of Palestinian geography by the Pales-
tine Exploration Fund. I did not feel disposed to add
another book to the delineation of a country which had
been so often described by so many competent travelers.
But for many years I had desired to visit Palestine.
This was the goal of my expectations when I first set
sail from New York, in May, 1872, with the hope of
devoting a considerable period to study and travel. The
realization of this hope seemed near when, in the winter
of 1877, the late Professor Philip Schaff, LL.D., of Union
Theological Seminary, New York, kindly invited me to
join his party for a tour in Palestine and the Sinaitic
Peninsula. Much as I desired to accept his invitation, I
was dissuaded from undertaking a journey at that time
by Professor Franz Delitzsch, of the University of Leip-
zig, who with fatherly kindness had supervised my Se-
mitic studies for three years.
As I was then engaged in
translating Bickell's Outlines of Hebrew Grammar, it did
not seem wise to him that I should undertake the jour-
ney at that time.
22
SKETCH OF PRÉLIMINARY TRAVELS
23
Later I entertained the hope of spending one or more
summers in Lebanon, but became so involved in various
forms of work in Chicago that it proved impossible, as
I thought, to visit the land toward which my heart had
repeatedly turned.
It was not until I had served as Professor of Old
Testament Literature and Interpretation in the Chicago
Theological Seminary for twenty years that the oppor-
tunity came, through the great kindness of the directors
of the seminary, for a leave of absence, which was to
extend over sixteen months.
While planning for this journey, I entertained the
view held by most travelers in Syria and Palestine, so far
as I am aware, which is emphasized in their travels and
in guide-books, that there are only about three months
each year suitable for traveling in these countries, owing
to the excessive heat of summer, and the consequent
danger of Syrian fever and to the rains falling at inter-
vals between the middle of November and the beginning
of April. Not contemplating any other seasons for travel
than those laid down in the guide-books, and desiring to
make the most careful and effective preparation possible
for my journey, I debated with friends and myself
whether I should spend the months preceding the autumn
in preliminary study at the British Museum, and under
the advice of the officers of the Palestine Exploration
Fund, or whether I should spend the time at Berlin, or
should proceed at once to Beirut and avail myself of the
admirable facilities to be found in the library of the
Syrian Protestant College. I therefore addressed a
letter of inquiry to the Rev. Daniel F. Bliss, D.D., presi-
dent of that college, from whom in due time I received a
type-written list of many excellent books on the coun-
tries I was to visit, and a very cordial invitation to pur-
24
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
sue my studies at the college. This letter was decisive.
I determined to journey at once to Beirut. My voyage
was accomplished in nineteen days from New York, by
the way of Gibralter, Naples, and Port Said, on three
different lines of steamers. I arrived in Beirut the
9th of June, where through the great kindness of Presi-
dent Bliss, I was soon established in one of the rooms
in the main college building overlooking the Lebanon
and St. George's Bay. I at once began the study of
modern Arabic, and made such use of the library as I
could.
The charm of the changing colors which rested on the
bay, sometimes becoming deep as indigo, and rivaling the
beauty of the Bay of Naples, the soft light which fell on
the mountain sides, bringing out every configuration in
the landscape and shedding a glory upon it, baffle my
powers of description. For five weeks my eyes rested on
these scenes, and on such peculiarities of Oriental life as
may still be observed in the most European city of Syria,
only to be fascinated by them. I think I felt something
of the saying attributed to Mohammed, when he is said
to have withheld his foot from entering Damascus, lest he
should not afterwards desire the joys of paradise. I am
well aware that many a traveler is grievously disap-
pointed in Syria and Palestine; the filth and the squalor
are so present to the senses that he can neither see nor
feel the beauty that surrounds him.
My surprise was great when I learned that instead of
traveling in Syria and Palestine for only about three
months, there would be no very serious barrier to con-
tinuing my journeys almost throughout the year. I had
provided the means for three months of travel and for
nine months of study, how then could I find the resources
involved in this change of plans withoạt incurring a
SKETCH OF PRELIMINARY TRAVELS
25
burdensome debt? It seemed certain that if I would find
a more economical way of traveling than that pursued by
the ordinary tourist, I must become able to communicate
with natives and muleteers so as to dispense with the
services of a dragoman, and that besides I must try, if
possible, to make some money in a literary way.
I had studied classical Arabic in Leipzig. Indeed I
passed an examination on it as a minor, when I was a
candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy. But
it was evident that I could not undertake a journey in
the country five weeks after entering it with such slight
knowledge as I had, and where at every step I was liable
to be imposed on. I therefore labored in vain for some
time to secure the services of a student as dragoman for
a tour of three months. His demands were quite beyond
my means. But through the kindly interest of Professor
Robert H. West; the Rev. George C. Doolittle, of Der
el-Kamar; the Rev. W. S. Nelson, D.D., of Tripoli;
the Rev. William Jessup, of Zahleh; the Rev. W. K.
Eddy, of Sidon; the Rev. Henry H. Jessup, D.D., of
Beirut; and of Professor George Post, M.D., doors that
had seemed closed, opened, and insuperable difficulties
vanished. The first gentleman named was my trusted
counselor, and lent me his Damascus tent, Mr. William
Jessup hired my muleteers, Dr. Jessup and Dr. Post pre-
pared an itinerary for a journey to Baalbek and in the
Lebanon, and the other gentlemen were companions in
travel, offering me missionary fare and their unexcelled
knowledge of the country at a minimum.
I shall never
cease to be grateful to them, nor to the missionaries all
through Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, who refreshed me
by their counsel and sympathy, and who in no sinali
degree contributed to the success of my journeys.
I can merely allude to these, for I could easily
26
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
fill more than one volume with incidents of travel in
uncommon sections of country seen in an uncommon
way
My first journey to Baalbek and the Cedars from the
home of Mr. William Jessup at Zahleh, began July 19,
1898, and lasted eighteen days. Anis Masud, a inember
of the senior class, was my dragoman and Jirjis, of the
culinary department in the college, was cook. I had the
loan of two tents and had two muleteers. I traveled in
great comfort at an expense of about five dollars a day.
I do not know of a more delightful and inspiring journey
in the East than one beginning at Baalbek. There is an
indescribable glamor about the ruins, rising fairy-like in
their beauty, near the Litani, and having the highest of
the white-capped mountains of Lebanon as their distant
background. I cannot even enumerate the attractions
of such a journey. It is one delightful memory, full of
novel adventure, and the enjoyment of grand and beauti-
From beginning to end it was romantic,
refreshing, and inspiring,
Then came a rest for a week at Brummana, the seat
of the Friends' Mission. It is about two hours and a half
from Beirut by carriage. The view of that city and of
the Bay of St. George is wonderful. There I attended
the first general conference held by missionaries of Syria
and Palestine, and was greatly instructed by many
admirable papers.
During the latter part of August and until about the
end of October I joined various missionaries, already
named, in their tours of travel. Who that has seen Der
el-Kamar and the surrounding country will think I ex-
aggerate when I write of the joy I experienced in the com-
pany of Mr. George C. Doolittle, now of Zahleh, who
then had his home in this gem of the Lebanon, with
ful scenery.
SKETCH OF PRELIMINARY TRAVELS
27
whom I went on one of his missionary tours to a neigh-
boring village?
This was preliminary to my joining Mr. W. K. Eddy,
for the ascent of Mount Hermon. Attended part of the
way to Jezzin by a native, I rode over the remainder of
it quite alone. Accompanied by three of Mr. Eddy's
children, we traveled over the road to the mission station
at Jedaideh, whence we could see the surrounding coun-
try. How grand was Mount Hermon! How soft and
lovely the afternoon light which rested like a halo on the
hills of Naphtali! How enticing the blue waters and
malarial marshes of Huleh-when seen from afar! How
varied and interesting the ascent of the mountain, under
the guidance of one who had made it twelve times before;
who knew and could explain so many points of interest;
who could tell of exposure to death, when for thirty
hours on that lonely height with a faithful companion,
almost without food and drink, he had sunk down in
exhaustion; who could speak of perils of robbers, and
adventures with bears!
It was a grand view that greeted our eyes from the
summit of Hermon; a wide prospect reaching far away
and revealing the anatomy of the country in the clear
light of the afternoon. A little before sunset there was
the shadow of the mountain rising higher and higher
above the eastern horizon, and the illusion of a polar sea
on the western. After my return to Jedaideh, I visited
all the sources of the Jordan.
But I did not find my vocation as a traveler until I
began my journey in northern Syria with Messrs. March
and Nelson, of the American Presbyterian Mission, the
11th of September, of the same year. It was in that
northern country, once the stronghold of the ancient
Canaanites, and now, as there is reason to think, inhab-
28
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
ited by their descendants, that I recognized the sacred
groves and high places for the first time. These had
been seen and described by missionaries, but I do not
know of any one who had previously made an investiga-
tion of the facts connected with them. My former class-
mate, the Rev. F. W. March, was a constant and faithful
interpreter. Visiting many shrines on the way from
Beinu to Safita, we heard substantially the same story at
each, as to the vows made, the sacrifices paid, and the
feasting which followed. We had also interviews with
Protestant congregations, who had much to tell. The
recognition of these groves, and the researches which I
at once instituted with respect to them, gave me an aim
which I have followed with increasing interest to the
present time. I have already alluded to W. Robertson
Smith's Religion of the Semites. It seemed to me that
studies and investigations which had been made mostly
in the domain of Semitic literature could also be profit-
ably pursued into the life of the people. Indeed I could
not resist the conjecture that ancient institutions had
been transmitted from the remotest past to the present
day.
The information which I received on this journey with
these missionaries was supplemented and the inspiration
was augmented by the next tour which I made in the
Syrian Desert, with the Rev. J. Stewart Crawford, of the
Irish Presbyterian Mission, who resides at Nebk. If I
could have spent all of my time with such companions,
and have followed the method which I adopted in the
summer of 1901, the results would have been much
greater. But I was still like one groping in the dark. I
did not yet know the field, nor how to conduct my investi-
gations, nor could I find one capable of aiding me. Both
my helper and myself needed time for study, and a much
SKETCH OF PRELIMINARY TRAVELS
29
wider experience. However, as a Bible interpreter, with-
out any hope or expectation of authorship, but desiring
that I might be a more useful teacher of students, I
sought to see the land thoroughly, from the entering in
of Hamath to the South Country (Negeb) and the Sinaitic
Peninsula. The question of ways and means was still a
perplexing one, though the directors of the seminary had
made liberal provision for me.
But it became necessary
to earn as well as to save money. With the hope of
increasing resources, I visited Jerusalem when the Ger-
man emperor was there at the dedication of the Church
of the Redemption, and wrote a description of his visit,
which was published in one of the magazines. With the
hope of saving money I went to Damascus, where I
engaged in the study of colloquial Arabic, that I might
get on without the services of a dragoman. While there
I experienced great kindness from the veteran mission-
ary, the Rev. John Crawford, D.D., and from others.
I had
my
home in two small chambers on a Syrian house-
top. It was a unique experience. Dimitri, one of the
native teachers of the Irish Presbyterian Mission, gave
me two lessons a day during December and January, one
at eight o'clock in the morning, the other at eight o'clock
in the evening. Life under such circumstances was
novel and full of variety. Damascus is the most inter-
esting Oriental city I have seen, surpassing Cairo in its
presentation of various forms of Oriental life. None
could have been kinder than my Syrian hostess, nor could
I have found a more willing maid than her daughter.
The absence of sons and brothers in a foreign land warmed
their hearts toward a stranger. They were applying the
principle of the Golden Rule, which in their minds ran
something like this: "As we would that strangers should
do to our sons and brothers, so we do to you.” At the
30
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
same time there was a suggestion of the ancient homage
which woman pays to man in the East, which Sarah
exhibited when she called Abraham lord.
These two months were a most profitable, most enjoy-
able season, in which I was practising Arabic, reading
books from the college library, and was frequently
cheered by the sympathy and kindness of the mission-
aries. I often gazed with joy at Hermon, completely
enveloped in snow, white and glistering in the sunlight.
My last visit to Jebel Kasiun, one hour west of Damas-
cus, whither I went to bid adieu to Anti-Lebanon and
Hermon and all of the plain of Damascus, might have
had serious consequences, for I was surrounded by five or
six robbers. Previously instructed by Mr. Crawford
concerning the law of blood revenge, which prevails
among Orientals at the present day, I did not attempt to
defend myself with a revolver. Barring a trifling loss
of money and valuables, I suffered no serious injury.
On the 6th of February, 1899, I left Beirut for Egypt
and the Sinaitic Peninsula. At Cairo I experienced
much kindness from the Rev. Dr. Watson, of the Ameri-
can Mission, and at Luxor from the Rev. Mr. Murch. I
continued my journey to Assuan at the first cataract.
The journey to Mount Sinai, which I undertook after my
return to Cairo, was in every way successful. I enjoyed
it to the full, and was able to make the ascent of Jebel
Katherin and of Jebel Musa; and from Ras Sufsaf to
look out on the great plain Er-Raha. I spent two and a
half days in camp near the monastery of St. Catharine.
It was on this journey that I first discovered there were
annual festivals in connection with certain shrines. It
was a strange contrast to former experiences in the life
of the desert, after meeting many an Arab in a soiled
shirt and with an abba of rusty black, to see one morning
SKETCH OF PRELIMINARY TRAVELS
31
men and women clad in clean, white undergarments with
abbas of fresh black, looking as if they had been at some
festival. I found they had been in attendance on an
annual feast of one of their saints.
On my return journey I reached Beirut the last of
March, where I was delayed for a week, as the rainy
season was not yet over, and was delightfully entertained
at the home of my friends, Dr. and Mrs. Graham. The
rain ceased on the 5th of April so that I could go to
Sidon, to the house of my friend, the Rev. W. K. Eddy,
who had promised to prepare me for my tours in Pales-
tine, which were to continue until the middle of August.
I had secured Peter (Butrus), of Safita, in northern Syria,
who had been trained in the Protestant school, as cook
and muleteer. In the autumn of 1898, during my jour-
ney in northern Syria, and again in the Syrian desert, he
had been of my company, so we were in no sense stran-
gers. I owed much in the journeys that followed to his
good sense, his coolness, and fearlessness in danger. I
do not refer to those mock attacks which dragomen some-
times institute in collusion with Arabs for the diversion
of tourists, that they may have something to tell, but to
those perils which become dangers in lawless countries,
if not promptly and resolutely met. He never failed me,
when others were on the point of open rebellion, or even
deserted me, and was always faithful to my interests, and
sought to promote the economies that I found necessary.
The first two days out, I tried a camel for the trans-
portation of my baggage, but found him too slow and
uncertain. Shut off from speaking my own tongue, and
entirely dependent upon the natives for social inter-
course, with but a very imperfect knowledge of Arabic,
I found the first two days out quite disappointing, and
began to count up the time I must practise endurance.
32
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
But the spirit of travel soon possessed me, the charm of
the scenery prevailed, the love of adventure, the joy
of receiving light on the Bible so inspired me that every
day became a satisfaction, and I could have gone on
alone to the end. But friends suggested there were loss
and danger involved in travel where I was cut off from
English-speaking companionship. What if I should fall
ill? Who, then, would minister to my needs? After five
weeks of touring, in which I had visited many important
points between Sidon and Jerusalem, by a series of zig-
zags, I reached the Holy City, where I made arrange-
ments with Professor Gilroy, of the Semitic department
of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, to make the
rest of our journeys together. While this arrangement
was pleasant, it necessitated the employment of another
muleteer, at the scale of prices current in Jerusalem, and
created considerable dissatisfaction among the men I had
hired in Syria at a cheaper wage. My expenses had
been three dollars and sixty cents a day, after this they
averaged four dollars apiece, including such difficult
journeys as those to Beersheba, Kerak, and the Hauran,
an amount which was not excessive.
I had carried out all these journeys without malaria
and without the loss of a single day through illness,
except a slight indisposition in Jerusalem, at the end of
my tours, which hindered me from a visit to Mar Saba
and the cave of Adullam. In the months reviewed I had
visited the most important places from Hamath to Beer-
sheba on the west side of the Jordan, and from Karyaten
in the Syrian desert on the east, to Kerak on the south;
had passed up the sea coast from Beirut to Tripoli, and
in the opposite direction to Haifa; and from Carmel to
Jaffa, had seen Gaza and all the cities of the Philistine
Plain, including a visit of two days with Dr. Fred Bliss
SKETCH OF PRELIMINARY TRAVELS
33
at Tell es-Safi, who afterwards showed me the line of his
excavations in Jerusalem. I had scaled the most impor-
tant mountains, such as Jebel Mahmal, Sunnin, Keneiseh,
Hermon, Jermak; the hills back of Nazareth, Carmel,
Tabor, Little Hermon, Osha, Jebel Neba, and Shihan.
I had traversed the most important rivers, from the
Orontes down; had visited most of their principal sources;
had seen the lakes, from Kadesh near Homs, and Lake
Yammuneh in Lebanon, to Huleh, Galilee, and the Dead
Sea, all, through God's goodness, without serious acci-
dent or mishap, thus adding greatly to my knowledge and
appreciation of the Old Testament. However, the best
results of travel were still to come. A list of tours will
be found in Appendix B.
CHAPTER III
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
SUMMERS OF 1900 AND 1901
For years I had been impressed with the importance
of realism in the interpretation of the Old Testament-of
being able to reproduce the life of the people as it was
when lawgivers rendered their decisions, when prophets
preached, when psalmists sang, and wise men uttered
proverbs.
It was in the hope that I could enter more
truly into the flesh and blood of the Old Testament that
I planned the second journey for the summer of 1900.
It seemed to me, as I have already indicated, that treas-
ures of knowledge were possessed on the subject of man-
ners and customs by missionaries which must pass away
with the passing of those missionaries who had been
longest in the country. But how to get that after which
I was groping I could hardly tell; where to go and what
to do, what companions I should choose was not clear.
I had completed my travels the year before with two
regrets. One was that on account of the great expense
of the journey, as I could not secure a companion, it had
been impossible to visit Gadis,' as it is known among the
natives, though commonly called Ain Kadis, in the works
on geography--the Kadesh Barnea of Trumbull and
? Gădîs is the pronunciation indicated by the natives. In vain
we inquired for 'Ain Kadis; finally Gadis was suggested. As is
well known by Arabic scholars, the Egyptians and some Bedouin
tribes pronounce kaf like a hard g. This is the pronunciation
recorded by Professor Palmer, The Desert of the Exodus, New
York, 1872, pp. 282–287, though he uses the term 'Ain Gadis. The
Arabs with whom we conversed spoke simply of Gadis.
2 Kadesh-Barnea, New York, 1884.
34
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
35
1
8
others. The few who have visited this place have jour-
neyed by the way of the Sinaitic Peninsula and Nakhl.
They have found it difficult of approach and have been
compelled to pay heavy blackmail by the Arabs. The
other regret was that I had been foiled in my attempt to
visit the Druse Mountains.
Reaching Jerusalem the 15th of June, 1900, I found
Mr. A. Forder, missionary among the Arabs, ready to
accompany me. He had lived in Kerak as the head of
an independent English mission more than five years.
He had traveled repeatedly and successfully in various
parts of Syria and Palestine, especially over the more
difficult routes. He has quite recently made an extensive
tour in Arabia. He bears on his body the marks of
stripes from Arabs, who on one occasion beat him
unmercifully and left him almost naked.
In the gray
1 Edward L. Wilson, editor and proprietor of the Photographic
Magazine, failed to find it, as did Professor Schaff. Père Lagrange
of the Dominicans, Jerusalem, who approached it by the way of
Nakhl, said: “The Arabs pretended utter ignorance of Ain
Kedeis," Revue Biblique, July, 1896. This Review contains a
caustic criticism of Trumbull's Description of Gadis, as he derived
it from Guthe, Zeitschrift des Palestina Vereins, Vol. VIII., p.
182, ff. _Père Lagrange writes, after giving particulars of that
which Trumbull described with great enthusiasm, "the decep-
tion was so great, the disenchantment so profound, that I threw
myself on Sheik Suleiman, crying that he had deceived us. He
gravely lifted his hand toward heaven, swearing by the Prophet
that there was no other Ain Kedeis."
A professor of one of the American theological seminaries
was compelled to pay ninety dollars blackmail to the Arabs in
order to visit Gadis.
31 copy the following from Journal V., Jerusalem, July 11, 1899:
“I have been waiting here ten days in hope that the restriction
laid by the Governor of Damascus on my traveling in the Leja
and the Jebel el-Druse might be removed, and have incurred no
little expense in telegraphing both to Mr. Ravndal, the Consul at
Beirut, and to Mr. Oscar Straus, the Minister at Constantinople,
but it was all in vain. Mr. Straus saw the Grand Vizier at Con-
stantinople last Saturday, who portrayed the dangers of the jour-
ney so effectively that Mr. Straus telegraphed I should not go."
36
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
morning he stole, with a piece of sack around his loins, to
the house of Mr. Murray, in Hebron, where he secured
a suit of clothes.
had been told that it was possible to approach Gadis
from the northeast by way of Beersheba.? Mr. Forder
had never visited the place, but did not fear to attempt
the journey. We set out on the 18th of June from Jeru-
salem, and spent the first night at Mar Saba in the wilder-
ness. Thence we went to Hebron, visited Main and
Kurmul, the scene of David's history when he guarded
the sheep of the churlish Nabal, and when he afterwards
took Abigail to wife. We visited Juttah, supposed by
some to be the birthplace of John the Baptist, and passed
the night at Dahariyeh. Thence we went to Beersheba,
a second time. On my first visit, in the summer of 1899,
I found that there were four wells, the Arabs were then
engaged in reopening the fourth. On my second visit
there were five, and I was shown the place where the
sixth and seventh were to be found.4
We passed on through the South Country, which derives
its water supply from wells only. People bring all their
flocks and herds a distance of three or four hours for
their supplies of water. It is a great sight to visit such
wells as those at Khalasa or at Biren, and to see from five
to seven hundred and fifty sheep and goats, three hundred
camels, and numerous asses—the flocks attended by
1 This information came from Dr. Sterling, who was then mis-
sionary of the Church Missionary Society at Gaza. It seems that
some travelers had made the journey from Gaza, as Mrs Patterson
of Hebron told me she had met three Americans who had visited
Gadis, going by way of Gaza.
2 1 Sam. xxv. 40-43.
3“ The Juttah of Joshua, xv. 55, and perhaps also the 'City of
Judah,' of Luke i. 39."—Baedeker, Palestine and Syria, Leipsic
1898, p. 199.
* See Appendix C.

WELL AT BEERSHEBA, WITH GROOVES WORN IN THE STONES BY ROPES.

UNOPENED WELL AT BEERSHEBA.
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
37
women, the camels and asses by men--and to reflect that
for millenniums, just such scenes have been enacted at
these wells as one may behold to-day.
At a tradesman's tent in Khalasa we made friends
with a sheik of the Azazimeh, who had been collecting
taxes for the Turkish government and was returning
home. After much hesitation he decided to go with us
to Gadis. Accompanied by a clansman of his we set out
about four o'clock in the morning. Though my ther-
mometer had registered ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit in
my tent about half-past two P. M. the day before, it had
fallen to fifty-nine degrees at four o'clock A. M., and was
so cold that I was glad of the abba of my friend. Every
now and again we passed by flocks of goats in the wilder-
ness under the care of a shepherdess, for in that country,
as well as in the Sinaitic Peninsula, girls attend the flocks,
like Rachael and Zipporah' in the days of old. Each
one started to her feet at the sound of our horses' hoofs
to watch the travelers.
We wound around wadis, where there were small
fields of wheat with strong and luxuriant stalks, and where
the soil was kept from being washed away in the rainy
season by a succession of low, retaining walls.
threshing-floors, where camels were treading out the
grain. Presently we left the country of the Azazimeh
and came to that of the Teyahah. A man greeted us
savagely, asked us whither we were going, and assured
us if we kept on in our course to the spring, the people
there would cut off our heads. We were not dismayed.
About noon we came to a very deep and wild ravine,
where the path was so precipitous that we had to dis-
mount. We saw large flocks of goats in the distance,
and after about half an hour, we suddenly came on
1 Gen. xxix. 9; Ex. ii. 16-21.
We saw
38
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
we
Gadis. Rather a small stream of water ran through
the lowest part of the wadi. On the right, as
entered it, was a succession of springs, or places in the
ground where there was water, perhaps from ten to fif-
teen. I was unable to make careful observations on
account of the threatening attitude of the men and boys,
who charged me with trying to bewitch a spring. There
were from three to five hundred goats, scores of donkeys,
and some camels. Many women were engaged in water-
ing their flocks and in filling water-skins. Gadis is
equivalent to Kadesh, and this is connected with a root
in the Semitic family of languages which signifies holy.
The spring was also called En Mishpat, or spring of judg-
ment. As we shall see, such a place might be conceived
of as the residence of a spirit to whom the people came
for judicial decisions. This may have been the site of
the famous Kadesh Barnea. At least no place has yet
been discovered which so well fulfils the conditions of
the problem. There is good sweet water in considerable
abundance for the wilderness, so that Gadis is in marked
contrast to the rest of the South Country, which is
dependent, as we have seen, on wells.
As I cannot do more in the present work than to
sketch travels which were of wide extent, I must not
delay on details, which were most interesting, such as a
night at Kurnub, where there are ruins and an ancient
dam across the wadi. We had hoped to cross the south-
ern end of the Dead Sea at this point on the way to Petra,
but deceived by the Arabs as to our ability to reach an
encampment and to secure food for our animals, we spent
an anxious night in the wilderness, full of the sons of the
desert, who might have massacred us and none would
W. Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the Sem-
ites, New York, 1889, p. 165.
1

GADIS (KADESH BARNEA) FROM THE EAST.
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
39
have been the wiser. Indeed at midnight I heard foot-
steps near my bed, out under the stars, and springing to
my feet saw an Arab advancing with his long gun. My
outcry put him to flight. The next day we reached an
Arab encampment on the way to Hebron, where there
were five Turkish horsemen collecting taxes.
A more
courteous, hospitable sheik than Salem, of the Zulam
tribe of Arabs, whom we met there, I have never seen.
He was tastefully dressed, was elegant in manners, and
graceful in every gesture.
After returning to Jerusalem and resting for a few
days we set out for Petra, on the 2d of July, by the way
of Jericho, Medeba,' the hot springs of Callirrhoe,
Machærus, Kerak, Tafileh (Tophel), famed for its
springs and olive groves, and Shobek. It is a most
interesting journey. At certain points there are magnifi-
cent views of the southern end of the Dead Sea. We
passed Busera in Edom, supposed to be ancient Bozra,
to which allusion is made in a passage of Isaiah. I was
surprised to find how cold it was at Shobek in the sum-
iner-time. I was glad to fold my blankets at night so
that there were four thicknesses.
Others have described Petra. I cannot attempt to do
so in this work. But to me it is one of the most fasci-
nating places I have ever visited. The Treasury of
Pharaoh, which you behold almost at once after riding
twenty minutes through a narrow cleft in the rock the
walls of which rise in some places one hundred and fifty
feet, might seem to be one of the creations of Aladdin's
lamp. It is cut out of the solid rock, which is suffused
with a light carnation-pink, and seems as fresh as if it
had been hewn yesterday.
By keeping our purpose a profound secret, we eluded
1 Deut. i. I.
2 Is. lxiii. 1.
3 Appendix B.
3
40
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
our mounted horsemen, and made the steep ascent to the
traditional tomb of Aaron at Mount Hor, along the path
which in many places passes over bare rock.
None saw
us, and so we were not prevented from visiting the shrine.
On our return in the early evening our horses went flying;
Musa our guide first, I next, and Mr. Forder last, as he
observed, "just as if all the sprites were after us."
The next journey was to Palmyra and the Druse Moun-
tains. On account of quarantine, we were not able to
go by Jaffa and Beirut, so had to take our journey over-
land, one day from Jerusalem to Nablus, one from
Nablus to Beisan, one from Beisan to Irbid, where, as
we failed to find the Jisr el-Mujami, we forded the Jordan .
in the wake of a caravan of camels, and one by the way
of Muzerib and the railroad to Damascus.
The journey to Palmyra, for which we set out the 31st
of July, had no especial bearing on my researches, but I
had deeply regretted that when I was within less than a
day of Tadmor in the desert, eighteen months before, I
had not visited it. We drove all the way from Damascus
to Palmyra in a victoria. We were accompanied by a
single horseman from Karyaten whom I had secured with
no small difficulty, as the twenty-five mounted soldiers
were otherwise engaged and he had brought the mail
from a solitary fort in the desert, about five hours from
Palmyra. Naturally he had set his heart on enjoying
some of the pleasures of civilization for a day or two, and
was most reluctant to return at once. Off we drove at
night over what seemed like the trackless ocean of the
desert, guided by our horseman and drawn by three
horses. Early in the morning we reached Beda, consist-
1 The term Syrian Desert is partly a misnomer. In March it
is carpeted with verdure, and gay with flowers, even between
Karyaten and Palmyra, as the Rev. John Crawford, D.D., of
Damascus assured me.
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
41
ing only of a fortress by a deep well where four soldiers
were stationed. There we rested about nine hours, and
then pushed on. In the early evening we reached
Palmyra. The ruins are extensive and magnificent.
Baalbek, Jerash, Petra, Palmyra, who that has seen them
can be the same person any more? Each has a fascina-
tion of its own, and awakens thoughts and emotions
which become a lifelong possession.
On our return from Palmyra, we undertook a tour to
the Druse Mountains under the most favorable circum-
stances. This time I did not seek the permission of the
government, as I had been thwarted in my endeavor to
visit this district the year before. Mr. Forder had
secured the services of a Druse who was familiar with
the country, and who was highly esteemed by his coreli-
gionists.
We stole out of Damascus, the 13th of August, by one
of the side streets, so that none might inquire concerning
our destination, or be inclined to stop us. Toward even-
ing, we reached a point where we met several caravans
of camels during half an hour. I had fallen behind. My
horse, in his efforts to overtake my companions, dropped
my saddle-bags containing my notes of all the preceding
journeys of that summer. Our Druse guide, when he
learned what had happened, slipped from his camel, took
my horse, and at once galloped after the last Arab cara-
van, which had just passed us. There, off in the wilder-
ness, Mr. Forder and I stood waiting in the gloaming.
They were anxious moments, because almost a constant
stream of dark, wild men of the desert were passing us,
and more than all, because these precious records might
be lost for good. In due time our Druse appeared with
the bags and everything intact. They had been appro-
priated by a cameleer.
42
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
At ten o'clock at night, wrapped in our abbas, we
passed the military station, on the frontier at Brak,
where a guard of one hundred soldiers were peacefully
sleeping. On we went to the first house of entertainment
(medayfen), with which every considerable village is
supplied. Thus for nine days we traveled without tents
in the country of the Druses, enjoying a delightful
hospitality.
I had my bed, but with the exception of the last night,
when my Druse had lain on it, I had escaped the pests
of the country. On this tour I saw some most interesting
evidences of blood-sprinkling and of other curious cus.
toms. I had the pleasure of spending Sunday at the
home of our Druse guide. He had desired we should
take his photograph. I had stipulated that when it was
taken his wife should be in the group. He had seemed
to accede to this condition, but when the time came for
the picture to be taken, he discovered that it would be
a “shame" to have any woman in the group. His wife,
a sweet-faced woman, was compelled to be content to
stand at a corner of the house with her babe in her arms,
shyly looking on while the lords of creation were being
photographed
These journeys seemed rich in their fruits. On reach-
ing London I published several hundred circulars of
inquiry regarding the manners and customs of the peoples
of the East. These I sent quite widely to mission-
aries. I received less than a dozen answers, some of
these, however, were valuable.
On my return to iny work at the Chicago Theological
Seminary, I prepared a course of ten lectures on the
Manners and Customs of the Peoples of Bible Lands,
1 For the questions on the religious life of the people see
Appendix A.
1
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
43
during the second period of our year; and during
the third, another course on the Survivals of Ancient
Semitic Religion To-day. This latter sketch proved
to be of great value in preparation for the researches
I was to make in the summer of 1901, the results
of which have far exceeded anything I had gained
before.
The preceding summer I had arranged with the Rev.
J. Stewart Crawford to be my companion and interpreter.
I had supplied him with a copy of the list of questions
prepared in London. He had seen but little light on the
subject of my inquiries during most of the year, but in
the spring of 1901, a series of floods at Nebk revealed
religious beliefs of which he had never dreamed. In the
prosecution of his inquiries he had the assistance of two
native teachers, Selim and Suleiman, both men of much
intelligence and of great caution. He told them, in
their interviews with natives, never to ask leading ques-
tions, but to get all the information possible. They had
regarded with disdain "the old wives' fables" which so
abound in Syria, but under his encouragement they
undertook the task with great success.
I landed in Beirut to spend my fourth summer in Syria,
the first day of June, 1901. I had been expecting to
begin my travels at once, but Mr. Crawford was waiting
for the arrival of a surrey from America, which we ex-
pected to use on our journey for four days from Damas-
cus to Mehardeh by Nebk, Homs, and Hamath. While
waiting until the 20th of June, I had the opportunity to
make some investigations which were of the rarest inter-
est. I shall never lose the fascination of the first inter-
view which I had with the priest of a shrine, of whose
existence the missionaries had not dreamed, though
Doughty must have seen it without recognizing its signifi-
44
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
cance.
This first interview, in the information and
suggestions gained, was most inspiring, and was of happy
augury for others which were to follow.
Between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon is the
famous plain of the Buka, in which rise the sources of the
Orontes and the Litani, and in which are the magnificent
ruins of Baalbek.
Parallel to the first range of the Anti-Lebanon is a
second east of it, and between these ranges is a large
valley, though of far less extent in length and width than
the Buka, the southern part of which is known as the
Plain of Zebedani. In this valley rises the Barada, com-
monly supposed to have been the Abana, to which Naa-
man refers.? It is also traversed by the railway from
Beirut to Damascus.
The observant traveler, after leaving the station of
Zebedani, on his way to Damascus, may notice, a little
past the village of Bludan, a grove of oaks, covering
several acres on one of the foothills of the second range
of Anti-Lebanon. It has long been known among
the missionaries as the “Mother of Pieces" (Umm
Shakakif) from the custom of breaking jars in fulfillment
of a vow, though the legends connected with the name
were first ascertained by Mr. Crawford and myself on
1 Travels in Arabia Deserta, Cambridge, 1888, Vol. I., p. 450.
“In the W. Barada, near Damascus, where certain heathenish cus-
toms do yet remain amongst the Moslemîn, I have visited two
groves of evergreen-oaks, which are wishing-places for the peas-
antry. If the thing fall to them for which they vowed, they will
go to the one on a certain day of the year to break a crock there;
or they lay up a new stean in a little cave which is under the rock
at the other." There I have looked in and saw it full to the entry
of their yet whole offering-pots; in that other grove you will see
the heap of their broken potsherds. [The groves are in the valley
coast westward above the village of Zibidany.)” He should have
said eastward above the village.-C.
2 Kings v. 12.
2

SACRED GROVE AT THE "MOTHER OF PIECES."

PLATFORM OF "MOTHER OF PIECES."
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
45
the 18th of June, and are now published, in another
connection, for the first time.
Such a grove, which would be common enough in other
countries, easily suggests to the student of the religious
customs of Syria a sacred grove. Such groves, aside
from some religious use, are comparatively rare in Syria
and Palestine, as the temptation is very great to use the
wood for charcoal or for. some other purpose.
On visiting a hillside, which slopes rather abruptly,
one finds a rectangular plot of ground, or platform, com-
posed of earth, which is supported on two sides by
retaining walls, meeting at right angles at the southwest
corner. The wall in front, running nearly north and south,
is thirty-five feet long, the other, running nearly east
and west, is forty-four feet. The highest part of the
front wall is six feet eight inches. There are no evi-
dences of cement between the stones, which are of their
natural size, except they have been broken so as to give
a rough face. Back of the first platform there are traces
.of a second, on which I discovered the remains of a
lintel, with a hollow for a hinge, such as is common in
the buildings of the country. The presence of this stone
seemed to indicate that a building once existed here.
Whether we have in this platform the remains of an
ancient high place cannot be determined, though it does
not seem unlikely.
At a considerable distance farther on, about a third
of the way up the mountain, are other oaks, and a promi-
nent rock, described by some missionaries as having the
shape of a natural altar, though the top of it has been
artificially smoothed. On visiting it, the 11th of June,
with a muleteer, who is a nominal Christian, I learned
that it was called "Rock of the Chair" (Kalat el-Kursi).
It was on this visit I discovered that there was a weli
46
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
underneath the base of the monolith, which is superim-
posed upon two projections of the ledge below, thus
forming a little cave, in which I found a small banner of
cotton cloth, with an Arabic inscription on it, beginning
in the usual way, “In the name of God, the merciful,
the compassionate,” etc. There were some bits of mat-
ting about the size of door-mats laid over each other and
water-jars, perhaps designed for oil. Two other visits
were made later with Mr. Crawford. The first on the
18th of June, when we learned from the care-taker, or
minister,' that it was called among the Moslems “Chair
of the Leaders" (Kursi el- Aktab).
The situation of the “Chair” is one of rare beauty and
grandeur. To the south is Hermon, usually striped with
snow before it has dissolved under the fierce Syrian sun;
to the northwest is the highest summit of Lebanon.
Below is the lovely valley of Zebedani, with its rich
meadows, covered with grain, its tall green poplars, its
vineyards, and in general a profusion of foliage, which is
in sharp contrast to much of the barren scenery in Syria.
The thoughts of the ancient worshipers, mounted on
this rock, whatever their cult, as they gazed on this
grand and beautiful scene, must have been of an inspir-
ing character.
The “Chair," which resembles a great natural altar,
rises thirty-two feet, fronting toward the valley. Its
width near the base, northwest by west and southeast by
east, is about twenty feet. The dimensions of the top,
which is perfectly fiat and rectangular, are fourteen feet
six inches in length, running nearly north and south, by
eleven feet three inches running nearly east and west.
It is, therefore, in the shape of a rough monolith. The
"I had visited the place June 10, and did so again August 3,
1901, when I took as exact measurements as possible.

PART OF THE CHAIR OF THE LEADERS."
THE DARK OPENING IS A SMALL CAVERN USED AS A SHRINE.
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
47
appearance of this rock on the brink of a precipice at
least sixty feet in depth, with sacred oaks all around it,
about a third of the way up the mountain, is command-
ing. There can be no doubt that from the earliest times
it has been set apart for some sacred use. It may be
that altar-fires have been kindled on its summit. It
may have been a favored place for the adoration of
the sun.
The rites now observed are doubtless differ-
ent from what they once were, but their existence testifies
to the sacred character of the rock in ancient times. It
is impossible to determine whether it was put in its
present place by human hands or by some convulsion of
nature. The latter seems more probable.
For prudential reasons I cannot enter into details of
the journeys undertaken during the summer of 1901, in
giving names and the circumstances of each interview.
They are all in my journals, and were taken down with
the utmost care. Each day was a surprise, with reference
to the people with whom I had interviews.
I do not see
how I could have been more favored had I been gifted
with the power to summon whom I would, for I conversed,
through Mr. Crawford, with men familiar with distant
parts of the Arab world, who had traveled widely and
observed many curious customs.
There were Arabs and men who had lived with Arabs;
there were Bedouin; there were Moslems, including those
who held official positions in mosques and at shrines;
there were representatives of sects who had been initi-
ated, whose disclosures, if known, might have meant
death to them. The statements of Suleiman of Adana
were confirmed, and an interesting manuscript was found.
Almost every day was a revelation and a delight, for the
information received was beyond the most sanguine
expectations, and often came from sources, and on occa-
48
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
sions least expected. Mr. Crawford was much surprised,
for we were hearing about matters concerning which the
veteran missionaries of the country had no clear and
connected knowledge. We experienced a joy and intoxi-
cation like men who have found a treasure. So far as it
was possible for us, we were careful in receiving our
information and in testing it.
Our first journey, which lasted from the 21st of June to
the 19th of July, covered the following chief points: Nebk,
Homs, Hamath, Mehardeh, Ain Kurum, Ladikiyeh,
Jendairieh, Dibbash, Behammra, Baniyas, Musyaf, and
the return was over Mehardeh, Hamath, Homs, Nebk,
and so back to Damascus. Besides, we visited Rasheya,
Mount Hermon, and Nebi Safa.
I also had the privilege of attending the second mis-
sionary conference at Brummana, and of visiting Abbas
Effendi, the head of the Babites at Acre.
The value of the researches which I was enabled to
make must stand the test of criticism. I am aware that
at certain points they are incomplete. But I hope to
continue my travels and researches, and in my efforts to
receive further information shall welcome criticism and
suggestions, and shall hope for the co-operation of those
who can add anything which may enforce or correct
the positions taken, or shed new light upon them.
CHAPTER IV
THE SOURCES OF PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION
1
The student of early Semitic religion is at once con-
fronted with the question of the sources to which he shall
go for investigation. There are two chief methods of
approach, one is to take the religious literature, as far
as it exists, in the great branches of the Semitic peoples,
the other is to study the customs and beliefs of modern
Semites.
There should be abundant materials for the former
among the clay tablets of the ancient Babylonians. How
suggestive and fruitful these are may be seen from such
a work as that of Zimmern. There are also plenti-
ful materials in the Old and New Testaments, especially
in the Old Testament, and in the literature of the ancient
Arabs. The results of researches in this latter domain
were brought most clearly to light in W. Robertson
Smith's Religion of the Semites.
It is perhaps the most natural assumption that the
form of Semitic religion, which is most ancient in years,
is most ancient in fact, and comes nearest to revealing
the primitive form of Semitic religion. If this be so, we
shall turn to the records of the Babylonians, written in a
Semitic language, for they reach back several thousand
years before Christ.
But such a method is open to this
objection, that we may not be able to reach primitive
conditions by the use of it, since there was a high degree
of civilization in ancient Babylonia, and civilization is a
1 Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Babylonischen Religion, Leipzig,
1901.
49
50
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
disturbing element in the study of primitive forms of
religion. If we really wish to learn what the original
religious conceptions were, we shall study those peoples
and those usages which have been least affected by civili-
zation, so that a people living to-day may present more
that is primitive in their religious ideas and customs than
the most ancient record can afford.
For a similar reason, while we shall find much of
greatest value for the discussion of this subject in the
Bible, we must remember that original pictures of primi-
tive conditions have been seriously affected in that book
by later developments in religious teaching and history;
in other words, by the influences which they have received
outside of the primitive life of the people, or through
Divine revelation. But the student who has once recog-
nized the constituent elements of primitive Semitic reli-
gion, from whatever source he may have derived them,
will find abundant suggestions of their survival and influ-
ence in shaping and giving expression to religious con-
ceptions among the Assyrians and the Hebrews, which
otherwise would have appeared in a different form.
On the other hand, the accounts of the ancient Arabs,
as used by Wellhausen and W. Robertson Smith, in their
W. Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites, New York,
1889, pp. 14, 15, well says, after remarking that "the preponder-
ating opinion of Assyriologists is to the effect that the civilization
of Assyria and Babylonia was not purely Semitic. If
this be so, it is plain that the cuneiform material must be used
with caution in our inquiry into the type of religion characteristic
of the ancient Semites. That Babylonia is the best starting-point
for a comparative study of ancient beliefs and practices of the
Semitic peoples is an idea which has lately had some vogue
and which at first sight appears plausible on account of the great
antiquity of the monumental evidence. But in matters of this
sort, ancient and primitive are not synonymous terms; and we
must not look for the most primitive form of Semitic faith in a
region where society was not primitive. In Babylonia, it would
seem, society and religion alike were based on a fusion of two
races and so were not primitive but complex."
+
SOURCES OF PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION
51
1
investigations, probably afford the most trustworthy
guide in the study of primitive religion, and the most
trustworthy representation of its original character, aside
from the sources which we may find to-day among the
peoples who have transmitted primitive institutions from
a remote antiquity.
If we turn to the literature of Islam, we are presented
with a problem similar to that found in the Old Testa-
ment. There is an abundance of original Semitic ideas
and usages, but these have been considerably distorted
through the medium of Judaism, and to some extent
through Christianity, which have exercised an influence
upon the teachings of Mohammed, the founder of Islam.
The student who begins his study with the Koran cannot
be certain as to that which is original in Semitic religion
and that which is not.
Where, then, are the sources of primitive Semitic reli-
gion to be found, aside from the accounts which we have
of the ancient heathen Arabs? Shall we not follow essen-
tially the same method in this study as has been used so
successfully by Mr. Andrew Lang in his Making of Reli-
gion; by Frazer in his Golden Bough; and others?
Whence do these writers derive the materials for their
conceptions of primitive religion, of which primitive
Semitic religion is but a subdivision? Is it not mainly
from studies in the life of primitive peoples as they were
found and may still be found among the American Indi-
ans, among the aborigines of Australasia and of Africa,
and among the ignorant and simple-minded of civilized
peoples? It is to such that they have gone for their
materials.
1
Geiger, Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume Aufge-
nomen? Bonn, 1833; Nöldeke, Geschichte des Qorans, Göttingen,
1860.
52
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
If, then, we follow their example, we shall conduct
our investigations among those Semites who have been
least affected by Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. There
are multitudes of these who have preserved the most
antique ideas and customs. The tenacity with which the
Oriental mind if left to itself, holds that which has always
been, and turns to it as unerringly as the needle to
the pole, has been often observed, and is our guaranty
that we may find primitive religious conditions among
people with whom, if we approach them in the right way,
we may hold intercourse to-day.
The educated among them may be ignorant of such
customs because they deem them beneath their notice,
and so unworthy of their observation, or through shame
that their people should be so superstitious and ignorant
they may deny the existence of such customs, but pa-
tience and the right method will bring out the truth.
The best results in the study of primitive religion may
be found through direct investigation at many different
points in Syria and Palestine. Elements will be found
which may be traced in other manifestations of Semitic
religion, as seen among the Babylonians, the Phoenicians,
the Moabites, the Hebrews, the Moslems, and all other
Semites who have left any monuments of their religious
beliefs and practices. But our conception of primitive
Semitic religion is to be gained by an induction from
facts and phenomena found among the modern Semites.
Of this primitive Semitic religion, when once we have
recognized its characteristic features, we shall find hints,
suggestions, and examples in the historic religions of the
ancient Semitic literatures. Each of them has been
built upon these primitive foundations or to use another
illustration, each displays traits derived from this com-
mon ancestor.
SOURCES OF PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION
53
The ques-
The temptation is, indeed, very great to suppose that
the religion which is most ancient in years must be nearer
the primal sources than anything we may find to-day,
when in fact, if civilization has come in, or a process of
development, it may be much farther away.
tion is not when a man left a certain road, but whether
he has left it at all; not when he changed his religious
beliefs and usages, but whether he has really changed
them. Hence the simple, modern Semite who has remained
untouched by the world's progress may represent a prim-
itive religion which was in existence before the ancient
Babylonian empire began to be, or was even thought of.
From this point of view, the thousands of years by which
Babylonian civilization was measured do not count, for
the purposes of our investigation they are but one day.
I emphasize this point because we are otherwise in
danger of being seriously misled. Zimmern seems to me
to indicate this tendency when he urges that the Assyrian
word kuffuru (to atone, or expiate), as used in the
Babylonian Ritual of Atonement, which is identical with
kipper, of the Old Testament, as a technical term in the
priests' language for atonement, is primitive; that the
Hebrews derived it from the Babylonians; the Aramæans
from the Hebrews; and the Arabs received the word
from the Aramæans. Evidently he is impressed by the
extreme age of the Babylonian religion. But is it not
probable that this word, which is found among simple,
ignorant Arabs to-day, may be from the primitive Semitic
stock, from which Assyrians, Hebrews, and Aramzans
have derived it? I think that any one who reads the
definitions of kafara and its derivatives in Lane's Arabic
English Lexicon must be persuaded that he is dealing
with a primitive Arabic word, from which the technical
sense was naturally derived.
54
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Zimmern finds more than hints of a use of blood, which
remind him of the sprinkling of blood in connection
with the Passover.' He does not argue that the Hebrews
derived this rite from the Babylonians, though he might
be tempted to do so. We shall see, however, that we
are dealing with a primitive Semitic institution, or one,
even if we look into other literatures, which is found
among other peoples. It will be clear, I think, that the
Babylonians derived the word kuffuru from a language
kindred to that of the Semitic forebears, from whom
Hebrews, Aramæans, and Arabs have sprung.
Zimmern does not call special attention to the sacri-
fices for houses, though he alludes to them, but in one of
the tablets there are clear indications of such sacrifices.
Here, again, it might be supposed that a custom very
prevalent among the ignorant Arabs had been derived
8
*
1 Ex, xii. 7.
* Op. cit., p. 127: “The exorcist shall to the . gate go
out, a sheep in the gate of the palace he shall offer, with the blood
of this lamb the lintel .... and post
and post right and left before the
gate of the palace."
Zimmern supplies the word askuppati.
3 Op. cit., pp. 147-149.
“ To the house thou shalt take them.
Upon a pedestal shalt thou place them.t
To direct their eyes to the rising sun, to bring them bowls of
consecrated water of incense and torches.
As soon as the sun goes down thou shalt the house shalt
prepare a sacrifice for Marduk, shalt offer a lamb thou shalt place
four altars, shalt sacrifice four sacrifices of lambs, shalt remove
the preparation for the sacrifices.
Thou shalt place three altars for the house god, the house god-
dess and the house demon, three sacrifices of lambs shalt thou
sacrifice.
** This and the following texts have to do with the preparation and ser-
vice of the images as household gods, as protecting deities against demons,
witches, etc., which are brought in at the gate of the house." Zimmern Note.
t"Meaning the prepared images of the protecting deities." Ibid.
For.
SOURCES OF PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION
55
from the Babylonians, but no one who has the facts
before him, as they appear later in our discussion, will
have the hardihood to make such an assumption.
It is our object to apply the touchstone of primitive
Semitic religion thus found to the Semitic religions of
ancient literature. I cannot attempt anything more in
my investigation than to indicate some of the lineaments
and characteristics of this primitive Semitic religion
which have been described by W. Robertson Smith, and
of which, as I have indicated in the introductory chapter,
I have gathered fresh examples, and new materials have
been discovered for other conclusions regarding that
religion.
I cannot even attempt, at this stage of my investiga-
tion, from the standpoint of an Old Testament interpreter,
to give any systematic, much less exhaustive, treatment
of the subject. I can simply show the way.
But of this I am assured, that while the peculiarities of
this ancient Semitic religion were in nowise necessary
for a divine revelation, that revelation, through God's
gracious condescension and in His divine wisdom, has
taken not a little of its form and color from primitive
Semitic religion, should it be found too much to affirm
that it furnished the historical starting-point for the reli-
gion of the ancient Israel.
CHAPTER V
MODERN SEMITES
Professor Sayce and others have described the diffi-
culty which is found in making an accurate definition of
the Semites. It is hardly practicable to consider those
who speak a Semitic language and those in whose veins
flows Semitic blood as coextensive. It is clear froin
various points of view, even from those furnished by
Arabs themselves, that while theoretically they derive
their pedigree from one ancestor, their tribes are made
up of diverse elements, which have been incorporated by
covenant, or as slaves. Even on the face of the Old
Testament record there are more than hints of the infu-
sion of outside elements among the progenitors of ancient
Israel.
In the representations of patriarchal life, Abraham
appears as an emir, with a trained band of three hundred
and eighteen men. As each of these men must have
had a wife and at least one or more children, there must
i Races of the Old Testament. London, 1891, pp. 69, ff.
Cf. an interesting and learned discussion of the subject by
Barton: A Sketch of Semitic Origins, Social and Religious. New
York, 1902, pp. I ff.
2 Sayce, op. cit., p.: 70, "The ancient population of Babylonia
was a mixed one, and it is probable that the predominant element
in it remained non-Semitic to the end, although it had learned to
speak a Semitic idiom. It is questionable whether the Phæni-
cians or Canaanites were of purely Semitic ancestry, and yet it
was from them that the Israelites learned the language which we
call Hebrew."
8W. Robertson Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia,
Cambridge, 1885, pp. 3 ff. I have heard various examples from
the Arabs of a similar sort.
Gen. xiv, 14.
56
MODERN SEMITES
57
2
have been an encampment of three hundred and fifty
tents and a population of twelve hundred. While these
are not reckoned in the Bible as the tribe of Abraham,
among both ancient and modern Semites they would be
thus reckoned, as if they were of his own flesh and blood.
It is true that this retinue of servants disappears in
the account that is given of the twelve patriarchs, who
go down to Egypt as individuals, but we read of a mixed
multitude who follow the children of Israel out of Egypt.
The blood of these original tribes could not be kept pure,
when "blood brotherhood” through covenant constitutes
a closer tie among Orientals than brotherhood through
descent, and those who are gathered under one leader
are considered as belonging to the same tribe.
Dr. Henry Clay Trumbull gives an interesting illus-
tration of the fact that people, not at all related to each
other, are reckoned in the East as members of the same
family. He writes :
"My two traveling companions were young men,
neither of them being a relative of mine. This fact
was well understood by our Egyptian dragoman, but
when we first met old Shaykh Moosa, who was to convey
us from Cairo to Sinai, the three were presented to him
as 'Mr. Trumbull and his two sons.' At this I touched
the dragoman and said, quietly, 'Not my sons, but
young friends of mine. '
“ 'That's all right,' said the dragoman. 'He wouldn't
understand anything else.'
"Then I found that each traveling party was known
as a 'family,' of which the senior member was the father.
4
1 Gen. xlvi. 1-27.
2 Ex. xii. 37-38.
8 Trumbull, The Blood Covenant, Philadelphia, 1893, p. II.
* Studies in Oriental Social Life, Philadelphia, 1894, p. 238.
58
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
So it was simply a choice in our case, whether I should
be called the young men's father, or one of them should
be called mine; one of us must stand for the father of
the other two. In view of this alternative, I, from that
time on, passed as the father of the 'family,' until the
desert was crossed."
While, therefore, it would be of the utmost interest if
we could unwind the strands which have been twisted
together in tribal life, and trace the modern Bedouin
back to the ancient Bedouin and Arabs, known as the
Midianites and all the children of the East, this is not
necessary for our purpose. Those who live in Semitic
lands, and who use Semitic forms of speech, have also
retained Semitic customs.
Semitic speech and Semitic territory conjoined, even
if we could prove that radical changes have been made
in the population, would be found more powerful for
sustaining ancient customs than alien blood in obliter-
ating them. Whatever ignorant Oriental people might
take up their abode in northern Syria, if we could sup-
pose that the present inhabitants could come under
subjection to them, would soon become converts to the
worship of the high places. The seats of ancient Canaan-
itish heathenism had power to master the Israelitish con-
querors of Canaan, who had from the very beginning
been accustomed to a worship which was not dissimilar
to that of the conquered; and any Oriental people com-
ing into the same country to-day would fall under the
spell of ancient heathenism and superstition. The con-
quered people allied with the high places and seats of
primeval worship become the conquerors in religion.
The little maid of Naaman's wife had power to set in
Cf. George Adam Smith, The Historical Geography of the
Holy Land, New York, 1895, p. 8.
MODERN SEMITES
59
1
motion a train of influences which led the proud Syrian
to humble himself, so that he sought healing from the
prophet of the despised Israelites, and at last turned from
the bright waters of his beautiful Damascus to wash in
those of the turbid Jordan.
Again, in modern times there is a well-attested instance
of the same principle in a servant being able to induce an
intelligent English woman to yield to superstition. The
story goes that there was the wife of an English officer in
India, well advanced in years, who was childless. Her
Hindustani maid knew of a temple to which barren Hin-
doo women had recourse, which was a place of phallic
worship so common in India.3 The Hindustani maid
firmly believed that if her mistress could be induced to
go thither and take her seat in the prescribed manner she
would become a mother. Her English mistress, perhaps
partly through curiosity, and partly to please her maid,
repaired to the temple and took the seat as directed; in
due time, as in so many other cases of a similar sort,
she had a son.
This, then, illustrates the proposition, that the con-
quered race allied with high places and seats of primeval
worship can maintain themselves against every Ori-
ental conqueror.
If we establish this point, we may,
for all practical purposes, consider the whole domain
of Syria and Palestine as the proper field of investigation
for survivals of ancient Semitic religious customs. The
12 Kings v. 2–14. .
2 Daniel Z. Noorian of New York, trusted dragoman of Rev.
W. Hayes Ward, LL. D.
3 Testimony of Rev. J. F. Loba, D.D., a member of the Depu-'
tation of the American Board to India.
* There are many well-attested instances of barren women
having children after the performance of superstitious rites.
• George Adam Smith, op. cit. pp. 10, II: “The population of
Syria has always been essentially Semitic. There are few lands
60
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Sinaitic Peninsula, Arabia Deserta, the entire region of
Mesopotamia, of ancient Babylonia, and of Asia Minor
are valuable for comparative purposes. But the chief
seat of investigation is, after all, to be found in the
country known as Syria and Palestine, so far as we desire
to find apposite illustrations of Semitic usage in the Old
and New Testaments, though Asia Minor is said to afford
a fruitful field. Such usage is not confined to the Old
Testament. There are abundant examples in the New.
The demonology which we find there resembles strongly
the teaching which appears among modern Arabs con-
cerning the jinn, nor need we suppose it to be essen-
tially different from the beliefs which made witchcraft
possible and profitable in Old Testament times.
In all these studies we are encroaching on the larger
domain of comparative religion, as will be abundantly
clear from the comparison of any good book on the sub-
ject with the results of such investigations. But there
is a distinct gain in limiting our researches to those who,
by virtue of descent, by territory, or by language, may be
reckoned as Semites.
However, as the subject has been suggested, “Who
are the modern Semites?”' we may pursue it a little
farther, remembering that anything like certainty is
impossible.
In northwestern Syria are the Nusairiyeh and Ismaili.
yeh, thought by many to be descendants of the ancient
Canaanites. An intelligent Syrian has suggested that
into which so many divers races have come; as in ancient times
Philistines and Hittites; then in very large numbers, Greeks; then
with the Crusades a few hundred thousand Franks; then till the
present day more Franks, more Greeks, Turks, Khurds, and some
colonies of Circassians. But all these have scarcely even been
grafted on the stock, and the stock is Semitic."
1 Jevons, An Introduction to the History of Religion: Frazer,
op. cit.
MODERN SEMITES
61
1
they are of the ancient Hittite stock, who failed to be
dislodged from their mountain fastnesses by the storms of
invading armies. Certain it is that when they had once
taken their place in their mountains no foe could dis-
lodge them, nor can to-day, until roads are constructed
by the government. However, in general terms, we may
consider them as of the ancient Canaanitic race, but
speaking a language then, as they speak a language now,
of Semitic origin. Israel, the Phænicians, the Philis-
tines, the Moabites, Ammonites, and other ancient
Semites, all spoke a kindred tongue as is the case with
the modern Semitic peoples to-day.
In the Syrian Desert and in northeastern Syria are the
Aramæans. Their speech is still preserved in the ritual
of the Jacobites, of the Syriac church, of the Maronites,
and in three villages, including Malula,» where Syriac is
still spoken. These, excepting perhaps the Maronites,
are Semites. Various races entering Palestine on the west-
ern side of the Jordan have caused an admixture of blood,
and the introduction of foreign elements, which no man
can determine.
It has been suggested by a writer in the Encyclopædia
Britannica on the Druses that they may be of Chinese
extraction. It is a singular and interesting fact, how-
ever it may be explained, that their heaven is in China,
where they claim to have a thousand cities. When
a man of some distinction dies among them there is
said to be an antiphonal service consisting of
of a
1 Mr. Jabur of Nebk.
*Cf. Stade, Lehrbuch der Hebräischen Grammatik, Leipzig,
1879, pp. 1-22.
8 Dr. F. J. Bliss, Malula and its Dialect, Palestine Exploration
Fund, London, 1890, pp. 74-98.
* Mr. H. A. Webster, but he does not commit himself to this
view.
62
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
chorega and chorus, all of whom are women. The
leader sings:
“Oh man who has been a chief for two centuries,
We congratulate the people of China on receiving your soul.”
The chorus repeats these lines. I This is curious, and
while it is not enough to prove that the Druses in
Lebanon and in the Druse Mountains are of Chinese
extraction, it seems to indicate at least that they are of
foreign elements.
Nor are the Syrians of pure stock. One may often
see fair faces and golden hair, inclining to red, among
the children, which may well point back to some Crusad-
ing sire.
It is certain that the soldiers from Britain and
European countries who could not return and who did
not die would find Syrian wives; hence a fair skin and a
cast of features are often found among Syrians which
betray a European origin.
The swarthy inhabitants of the Jaulan, the Hauran,
of Moab, Edom, and the South Country (Negeb), even
when they dwell in towns, except where Circassians have
taken their place among certain ruins, betray their Arab
origin. But from whatever loins they may have sprung,
all the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine, except Protest-
ant Christians, who have been mostly shamed out of the
ancient beliefs, are for the purposes of our investigation,
modern Semites. Even in towns which have been most
fully Europeanized there are traces of ancient supersti-
tions and usages coming down from primitive Semitism.
1 This and other information about the Druses was given me
by a Syrian physician who has lived among them and is a graduate
of the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut.
2 Cf. Sayce, op. cit. p. 74; George Adam Smith, op. cit. p. 11.
I have seen such fair faces and golden locks in many parts of the
country.
CHAPTER VI
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
Dr. W. L. Thompson, of the American Board,' says,
that "the Tongas have a hazy idea of God, as the first
cause, but the worship of spirits and ancestors is more
of a power in their lives.” 2
The same statement is true of those modern Semites
who have not been affected by the teaching of Islam, or
by that of ancient Christianity. These are to be found,
as we have seen, among ignorant peasants in Syria and
Palestine, as well as among various tribes of Arabs.
3
.
con
iOf Mount Silinda, East Central African Mission.
2 Personal interview, Journal, summer of 1901.
3 While the words Arab and Bedouin, in their application,
practically mean the saine thing, there is a clear difference in
signification indicated by Lane (see his Arabic-English lexicon) as
well as in usage. Lane defines el-Arab as “Those who have
alighted and made their abode in the cultivated regions, and have
taken as their homes the Arabian cities and towns or villages,
and others also that are related to them. an appellation of
common application [to the whole nation). [and in the lexi-
applied to the desert Arabs of pure speech].”. Hence
this term is frequently used, not only of those Arabs who have
begun to cultivate the fields, but also of those who live in towns.
It may be used of the inhabitants of the desert, or pure nomads,
but not exclusively so. On the other hand, Bedawi, according to
the same eminent authority, signifies: “Of, or belonging to, or
relating to, the bedw or desert: and used as a subst., a man,
and particularly an Arab of the desert." The Bedouin never live
in towns, never cultivate the soil, but gain their livelihood by
raids; and they regard with unspeakable disdain those who have
forsaken the nómad life to live even in part by the tillage of the
soil. The term Fellahin, which signifies ploughman, is used of
the peasant class. It is among the Fellahin and the Bedouin, as
least affected by Islam that we should expect the largest results in
these investigations with respect to the survivals of ancient
Semitic religion.
63
64
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
In conducting our investigations it is not easy to dis-
cover whether the conceptions of God, which exist to-day
among them, however shadowy, have come from the
instruction of Moslem sheiks, who often teach the
Bedouin, at least for a brief period, the tenets of Islam,
or whether we have the same phenomenon among them
as that which has been pointed out by Mr. Andrew
Lang, in his Making of Religion, where the worship of
God, and of inferior deities, without the influence of
"positive religion," 3 exists side by side. Nor can we
determine whether the conceptions of God, now found
among the Bedouin, are evolutions from the conditions
of tribal life, so that God is but a superhuman sheik.
This is a domain in which further investigations are
necessary. The opinions and reports of travelers are
too fragmentary to supply adequate data for an induction.
It must be remembered that the modern Semite does
not reason with respect to religious matters. By nature,
1 It was the testimony of Habeeb Yadji, of Mehardeh, who is
remarkably familiar with the customs of the Arabs from personal
observation, that "there are scarcely any religious sheiks among
the Bedouin. If they have no religious sheik they send for one to
attend a funeral. He has seen the Arabs come to Karyaten, in
the Syrian Desert, for such a sheik."
On the other hand, the chief of the Rawaein, a small tribe that
migrate east of Palmyra, affirm that " every body of Arabs bas a
religious sheik." Journal XII., summer of 1901. This latter
statement is improbable. Lady Blunt, Bedouin Tribes of the
Euphrates, London, 1879, Vol. II., p. 217, testifies: "The Shammar
alone of all the noble tribes we visited possessed a mollah, and
his duties with them were in no way of a priestly character."
2 Pp. 178, ff.
a W. Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the Sem-
ites, New York, 1889, p. 1: “Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are
positive religions-that is, they did not grow up like the systems
of ancient heathenism, under the action of unconscious forces,
operating silently from age to age, but trace their origin to the
teachings of great religious innovators, who spoke as the organs of
a divine revelation, and deliberately departed from the traditions
of the past."
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
65
imaginative and impressionable, his ideas regarding the
Divine Being are rather pictures left on his mind than the
result of any philosophical reflection, since he does not
philosophize. He is not at all affected by views which
are inconsistent, hence mutually exclusive. He will
admit, that according to the tenets of Islam he should
be a fatalist, whose life cannot be prolonged by prayers,
tears, or sacrifices; one day, after the limit decreed has
expired, he will confess his belief in fatalism, and then
will justify a usage entirely inconsistent with such a belief
by naïvely saying, “This is according to the simplicity
of our minds."? The simplicity of the Semitic mind
accounts for the survival of ancient customs which have
been handed down from the remotest antiquity, notwith-
standing the teachings of Islam or Christianity.
To the Arab or Syrian, custom is mightier than right;
indeed custom is the only right he knows. Both moral-
ity and religion depend upon it. The heavens might
sooner fall than custom be set aside. If we can get at
the usage of the Semite we shall know what his religion is.
Another principle which we must remember is deeply
1 Palgrave, Narrative of a Year's Journey through Central and
Eastern Arabia, London, 1865, Vol. I., p. 68: “ The Arabs are,
generally speaking, rather a believing than a religious nation ..
Men who readily grant an abstract belief to everything are not
unlikely to reconcile, in a practical way, the many contradictions
thus admitted into their theory by acting on nothing. Christian,
Jewish, Mahometan or Pagan creeds and forms-the Arab, when
left to himself, does not see why they should not all be equally
true, equally estimable."
2 The Servant of the "Chair," a shrine near Zebedani, which
will be described later, after saying, "Every building must have
its death-man, woman, child, or animal. God has appointed a
redemption for every building through sacrifice. If God has
accepted the sacrifice he has redeemed the house"-added, "this
is according to the simplicity of our minds, of course every man
dies when his time comes.". Journal X., summer of 1901.' This
expression recurred in different forms a number of times, showing
that the Arab or Syrian was conscious of the contrast between
ancient usage and the tenets of Islam.
66
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
3
ingrained in their view of the divine as well as the human
economy, is the belief that might makes right. In the
words of another, “God makes right by edict.” 1 In
the same category belongs the conviction that God can
be bought; that is, that he is bribable. This is the
experience which every Oriental has had of human gov-
ernment, he naturally has the same view of the divine.
From the foregoing it is easy to see that the modern
Semite has no ethical conception of God as holy, or as
just, hence we shall find that his views of sin are entirely
deficient, and do not possess a moral quality. He is not
afraid to take God's name in vain, or to swear falsely by
him, or to use it in the most shameful connections. It
is certain that such a conception of God has no power to
affect the life of the Syrian or Bedouin. Nor need we
find it at variance with the representations which have
been given of him by most travelers.
It may well be that Palgrave is right when he claims
that, “A general belief in the Supreme Being, author of
all, and ruler of all, has from time immemorial prevailed
throughout Arabia. Nor does such a belief serve to
cloud their hopes of the future life, or check a spirit of
cheerful bravado, when brought to think of appearing
before a God who is neither just nor holy. Mr. Henry
G. Harding, of the Church Missionary Society, for twelve
1“ The Oriental has not the same idea of abstract right
and wrong as the Occidental. He thinks God makes right and
wrong by edict."-Interview with the Rev. George E. Post, D.D.,
of the Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, Journal IX., summer of
1900.
2 Of this there are abundant examples, as is affirmed every-
where; and see Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta, Cambridge,
1888, Vol. I., p. 266.
8 Lane, An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Mod.
ern Egyptians. London, 1896, pp. 286, 287.
*Op. cit. Vol. 1., p. 249.
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
67
1 2
years missionary in the East, including a residence in
Tripoli, Africa, and in Kerak, now of Gaza, testifies in
the same strain: “The idea of God is very vague, but
seems to be mainly an enlarged edition of a Bedouin
sheik; that is, of a beneficent but capricious despot. I
have never met with any one who had a notion of the
character of God.” 1 "God is for them a chief, residing
mainly, it would seem, in the sun, with which indeed
they in a manner identify him . somewhat more
powerful, of course, than their own head man
but in other respects of much the same style and charac-
ter.
Lady Blunt's characterization of the Bedouin's rela-
tion to God gives no disclosure of him as a just or holy
being, but rather as one possessed of superior power: “A
belief, then, in God certainly exists among the Bedouins,
though the only active form of it is a submission to the
Divine will. It stands in singular correspondence with
the religion of the ancient patriarchs. At the present
day, no doubt, it is but a vague reflection of ancient
faith, and depends as much upon custom as every other
belief or prejudice of the Bedouin mind." 3
Perhaps an exceptional consciousness of sin and a
religion that is beautiful--and it would almost seem
exceptional among the sons of the desert, as observed
among the Towarah in the Sinaitic Peninsula—is indi-
cated in some Bedouin prayers, overheard and reported
by Professor Palmer. The following is a specimen of
one at sunset: “O Lord, be gracious unto us! In all
that we hear or see, in all that we say or do, be gracious
From answers furnished by Mr. Harding to questions, winter
of 1901.
2 Palgrave, ibid. p. 33.
• Lady Anne Blunt, Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, London,
1879, Vol. II., p. 220.
68
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
unto us! Have mercy upon our friends who have passed
away before us. I ask pardon of the great God. I ask
pardon at the sunset, when every sinner turns to Him.
Now and forever, I ask pardon of God. O Lord, cover
us from our sins, guard our children, and protect our
weaker friends!''
Again, at sunrise, they pray: “I seek refuge with the
great God from Satan accursed with stones. Deliver me
from evil, provide for me and for my brethren the faith-
ful. ....O Lord, uncover not our inmost faults, pro-
tect our children and our weaker friends. O Lord,
provide for me, Thou who providest for the blind hyena!''
These higher and better conceptions of God may well
have been inspired by the teachings of Islam. This
seems likely from the formula with which they preface
every prayer: “I desire to pray and to seek guidance
from God; for good and pure prayers come from God
alone. Peace be upon our Lord Abraham and our Lord
Mohammed.” 1
Besides they are able, from memory, to
recite certain sections of the Koran, as I was assured, at
one of their festivals. 2
It is doubtless true that among the majority of the
Fellahin and Arabs their conceptions of God have been
modified by their habits and condition, if we may not
affirm that they have been derived from them. Hence
to them God is the author of good and evil.S No sheik
with whom they have had to do, no emir, or sultan, of
whom they have ever heard, is the author of good alone.
1 The Desert of the Exodus, New York, 1872, pp. 86, 87.
2 Journal IV. spring of 1899, in the Sinaitic Peninsula.
3 Lady Blunt, op. cit., Vol. II., pp. 216, 217: “God is the fate to
which all must bow, the cause of the good and of the evil in life
. . of the fertility of their flocks, and of the murrains which
sometimes afflict them. The Moslems think that evil is directly
from the Devil by the permission of God. Journal X. Nebk.
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
69
13
This is an old Semitic conception which we find illus-
trated in the Old Testament. Job says, with respect to
the appalling calamities which have befallen him in the
loss of property and children, “What? shall we receive
good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?'' 1
So it is “an evil spirit from the Lord” that troubles
Saul. Thus “The anger of the Lord was kindled against
Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, go,
number Israel and Judah. The same fear of number-
ing the people among the modern Semites is partially
chargeable for the absence of any correct statistics as to
the population of Oriental cities and towns. It is inter-
esting to note that the theology of later Judaism has
amended the passage to read, 'And Satan stood up
against Israel and moved David to number Israel.
Amos speaks from the old point of view, when he asks,
“Shall evil befall a city, and the Lord hath not done
it?'5
Closely connected with this is the thought, that God
may lead astray. Thus Suleiman, a teacher in a school
of the Irish Presbyterian Church in Nebk, who made
most careful investigations for me during more than two
months, interviewing Moslems and Christians, Fellahin
and Bedouin, at the suggestion of Rev. J. Stewart Craw-
ford, said, as the result of many interviews with many
kinds of people: “Their view is that God is the creator
of heaven and earth, the maker of all men, the giver of
good to all. He may also lead astray. The ignorant
know up to this point.' This is evidently a survival
of an ancient Semitic conception, which we find gives
coloring to certain Old Testament passages, as for
8 رو
2
* Job ii. io.
1 Sam. xvi. 14-16, 23; xviii. 10.
3 2 Sam, xxiv. 1.
41 Chron. xxi. I.
Amos iii. 6.
6 Journal X., Syrian Desert.
70
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
11 2
example, when the Lord is represented as saying of
Pharaoh: "I will harden his heart," and Isaiah repre-
sents God as bidding him, “Make the heart of this people
fat, and make their ears heavy, and smear their eyes, lest
they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and perceive with their heart, and should convert and be
healed. I do not, of course, believe that these pas-
sages teach that God leads man astray, but they are
certainly colored by this idea. Another passage, read
literally, expresses the view, that God makes the enemies
of his people guilty-I refer to Ps. v. 11., where the
psalmist prays, according to the Hebrew idiom, "Make
them guilty, O God," which the Revisers well translate
"Hold them guilty, O God," or perhaps better, "Declare
them guilty, O God"; that is, “Let them suffer the con-
sequences of their guilt.” We have an illustration of
this meaning in passages parallel to God's hardening
Pharaoh's heart, where it is said: "Pharaoh hardened
his heart. But the thought that God leads man astray
is original in the Semitic mind. So ingrained is the
ancient idea, through millenniums of oppression, that
any one in power is responsible for the failure of an
inferior, that it sometimes appears to-day in a very amus-
The following incident, which illustrates this
point, came under my notice when I was spending five
weeks at the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut. A
student failed to pass his examination in French. He
therefore wrote a very indignant letter to the French
professor, in which he asked the question, in Arab-Eng-
lish, “Why did you fail me?'' By this he did not mean,
"Why did you declare that my examination was a fail-
ure?'' but “Why did you cause me to fail?''
This was
1 Ex. iv, 21, cf. ix. 12, X. 20, 27; xi. 10; xiv. 4, 8, 17.
2 Is. vi. 9, 10.
3 Ex. viii, 15, 32.
3 و
ing way.
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
71
I1
evidently his meaning from the tenor of his letter, in
which he claimed that he had done excellent work in
French. The belief that God leads men astray has a
very important bearing on their notion of sin, as we shall
see, when we come to consider the moral relation of man
to God.
The people, judging from experience, regard God as
a jealous being, upon whose help they may rely at any
given crisis of their lives, if they make him a satisfactory
present. The late Rev. John Zeller, for more than
forty years missionary in Palestine, who knew much of
the working of the native mind, said: “The sacrifice
of a sheep may have a vicarious character, in so far as it
is thought to appease a jealous God who is not willing
to have any one too prosperous.
It seems as if one
of the earliest representations of man's approach to God
was through a gift, as that is the proper rendering of
minha, the term used to describe the present which Cain
and Abel are represented as bringing to God.? This is
the simplest conception of sacrifice. They bring a
present to God as a man would bring a gift to an emir,
and would consider it "singularly impertinent to go
empty-handed." 3 Men, realizing too well their experi-
ences with earthly potentates, and fearing their jealousy,
bring their gifts. It is this ancient idea which appears
in an utterance of David, when he has a parley with
Saul: "If it be the Lord that hath stirred thee up against
me, let him smell an offering." The account of the
confusion of tongues seems almost to suggest the belief
of the writer that God was jealous because of an achieve-
4
1 Journal VIII. Jerusalem, summer of 1900.
2 Gen. iv. 3, 4 (Hebrew).
3 Interview with the Rev.G. M.Mackie, D.D., Beirut, Journal X.
* 1 Sam. xxvi. 19, Rey. Ver. Margin.
72
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
ment, which might indicate that in time men, if permitted
to live together unchecked, might become "too pros-
perous" and endanger the supremacy of God himself.
There are other illustrations of the same conception of
God. There are numerous examples in the Old Testa-
ment which show that the ancient writers have been led
in their choice of expressions and manner of representa-
tion, by beliefs and modes of thought current in their
times, and which still exist among Syrians and Bedouin
to-day.
There seems to be abundant evidence that ignorant
people think of God as one of themselves,as having a
human organism.' He and St. George, the most power-
ful of the saints, are considered by some as brothers.
The implications of such a view are far-reaching, as we
shall see when I come to speak of the physical relation
of man to God.
We have Old Testament examples, where the form of
the narrative has been borrowed from old Semitic ideas,
although the truth taught has not been dominated by
them. Such is a class of passages which are not ade-
quately explained by affirming that they are anthropo-
1 Gen. xi. 6.
9 Mr.Henry Harding, made the following statement: "Ordinary
people would think of God as like themselves. They would ex-
pect God to deal with them as they would deal with one another.
The idea of God is very vague. The welis and spirits are much
nearer." Journal XIII. Brummana, summer of 1901.
3 Suleiman, the Protestant teacher at Nebk, asked a man,
“Who is God?” Ans. “The existing one." “ Has he eyes?"
Ans. “Certainly." “Has he ears?" Ans. “
Ans. "Certainly." There
is an expression in Nebk, if a man is very tall, that he can reach
to certain parts of the body of the deity. Even the women of the
same place will say, when vexed, “Get out, for the sake of the
back parts of our Lord!". At the village of Dibbash in the Nusai-
rian Mountains, occupied by Greek Christians, we were told that
the people "think of God as made in the image of man,” Journal
XI. summer of 1901,
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
73
1
morphic; they are really more than that, for they betray
conceptions of God at a stage when his omniscience and
omnipresence were not apprehended in any such sense as
other writers apprehend them. For example, God is
represented in one of the most ancient Old-Testament
documents as walking in the garden in the cool of a
tropical day, the safest and most agreeable time for man
to walk abroad, and so the safest time for God, here
conceived of by the writer as needing to avoid the burn-
ing sun. He, too, like one of his creatures, needs to call
the man who, with his wife, has hidden himself among
the trees of the garden, else He might not find him.
Most antique is the representation of God smelling the
sweet savor of Noah's sacrifice, and pleased as much as
any man could be with a gift, and promising in his heart,
because of this satisfaction, that he will not curse the
ground again because of man.? We know that this is an
ancient Semitic conception, inasmuch as we have a gro-
tesque and polytheistic form in the ancient Babylonian
tradition. But it is also clear from this parallel account,
that while the Jehovistic writer is so naïve in his descrip-
tions, he has been kept by the Divine Spirit from making
unworthy representations of God; for these children's
pictures of God acting like a man, are not unworthy of
the child age of the world. Indeed, they are wonderfully
adapted to the conceptions of that age. When Jehovah
1 Gen. iii. 8-10.
2 Gen. viii. 21.
3 Parallel Accounts of Noah's Sacrifice.
Babylonian iii. 49-50.
Jehovistic (Gen. viii. 21).
“The gods smelt the savor;
« And the Lord smelled the
the gods smelt the good savor; sweet savor."
the gods like flies over the
sacrificer gathered.” Sayce-
Smith Chaldean Account of
Genesis, New York, pp. 286, 287.
74
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
4
goes down to see the city and tower of Babel on a visit
of inspection,' or when he proposes to make a personal
examination of Sodom, and permits Abraham to beat
him down, as if they were on the same plane, just as is
the custom in Syria at the present day, and when he
suffers Jacob to wrestle with him all night until the break-
ing of the morning, we are moving, indeed, in the
domain of ancient Semitic conceptions, but conceptions
of which there are survivals to-day.
Some may be inclined to put the words of Jotham's
parable in a different category, “Should I leave my wine
which cheereth God and man?" as if it were less of
the essence of Scripture than the passages quoted. But
this position cannot be well established, for there are
many more illustrations which might be cited showing
how certain institutions go back to human conceptions
of God, as for example, "the shewbread that was taken
from before the Lord to put hot bread'' in its place.
Such bread, according to the Priests’ Code, was placed
on a table, for God was conceived of as humanlike,
having a table.
The sixteenth psalm indicates that
there are "drink offerings of blood" which the heathen
god was thought of as drinking. With reference to these
representations of God as a man with a man's appetites,
the psalmist quotes him as saying in another place:
“Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?''
We may be sure that in the conceptions of God, which
the ignorant Arab or Fellahin entertains to-day, we have
men at the same stage as when God began to reveal
himself in terms which the childhood of the ancient
Semites could understand.
5
6
1 Gen. xi. 5.
2 Gen. xviii. 20, 21.
*Gen. xxxii. 24-30.
Judg. ix. 13.
1 Sam. xxi. 16.
6 Ex. XXV. 30.
5
i
CHAPTER VII
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
Among most sects of Moslems and Christians, includ-
ing Bedouin as well as Syrians, the worship of saints
exists. In the popular imagination they exercise a
power far above that of God. Men fear lightly to
break oaths made at their shrines, or to use obscene
language, so prevalent in the East, when going into
their presence."
It is true that orthodox Moslems insist that the saints
are only mediators, that the worshiper asks his weli to
intercede for him with God, but this is not the type of
religion as it is found among the ignorant, whose usage
corresponds most closely to that of antiquity. The
antinomy between doctrine and practice came out in a
conversation with a religious sheik, an orthodox Moslem,
at Nebk, in the Syrian desert, about vows, concerning
which he said: “If a vow is made, it is made to God, not
to the saint, but it is made by the grave of the saint, to
honor him and to please God. . However, a simple
person would say, that the vow was given to the weli,
thus making him a lord, which is an error.
an educated person, therefore I give you the right
account.
1“ They are very particular on the road (to the shrine) not to
speak foul language.” Journal XI. Behammra among the Nu-
sairiyeh, summer of 1901.
9 Cf. my article, “Ancient Shrines in northern Syria," The
Independent, Vol. L., p. 1448, “God is almighty . . . I ask the weli,
and the weli asks God.' The same idea was brought out in other
interviews with Moslems.
3 Journal X., Nebk, summer 1901.
.
I am
113
8
75
76
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
The general designation used among the Christians
for these beings who are practically treated as divine,
is the Aramaic word, mar (lord, or saint), while that
used among Moslems is weli (which signifies protector,
patron, nearest of kin). In the Arabic version of the
American Press, Job appeals to God as his weli, to be
his avenger,' and Ruth confides in Boaz, as her weli or
nearest of kin, who is under obligations by that relation-
ship to marry her.?
In the Koran the term weli is used many times, both
in the singular and plural. It is almost always trans-
lated by Professor Palmer as “patron.” The singular is
mostly applied to God. Thus we read: “God is the
patron of those who believe," 3 or "of the believers." 4
The taking of other patrons besides God is condemned
in the strongest terms. There is no place in all this
teaching for the worship of the welis, and there is good
reason for the opposition to their worship on the part of
the Wahabites, the most orthodox sect of Islam, who
sought as resolutely to crush out the sacred shrines as
King Josiah attempted to stamp out the worship of the
1 Job xix. 25. In both these passages weli is used in the Arabic
*Ruth iïi. 12.) version as the rendering of the Hebrew goel.
8 ii. 28.
4 iii. 61.
• Burckhardt, Notes on the Bedouin and Wahabys, London,
1830, pp. 280, 281.
"The Wahabys declared that all men were equal in the eyes
of God; that even the most virtuous could not intercede with him;
and that it was consequently sinful to invoke departed saints, and
to honor their mortal remains more than those of any other per-
sons. Wherever the Wahabys carried their arms they destroyed
all the domes and ornamented tombs; a circumstance which served
to inflame the fanaticism of their disciples, and to form a marked
distinction between them and their opponents. ... The destruc-
tion of cupolas and tombs of saints became the favorite taste of
the Wahabys."
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
77
high places.' In the call to prayer we were told that
ulia, the plural of weli, is used, but this seems most
unlikely, certainly in the sense of “patrons.
The term mar is employed among the Christians as a
title, St. George being known in Syria as Mar Jirjis, but
the Moslems designate their saints by the special term
of nebi (prophet), if they may be considered Biblical
characters, or as sheik, if they belong to post-Biblical
times. The term weli is general, and applies both to the
saint and to his tomb.
These saints are really departed spirits, connected
with some particular shrine, chosen because they revealed
themselves there in times past, and where they are wont
to reveal themselves now to those who seek their favor.
While our previous examination shows that the
Semitic conception of God to-day degrades him, that
which we are about to make concerning the saint will
prove that he is exalted to the place of deity, at least
among the ignorant
We must recognize a close connection between the
ordinary spirit of the departed and that of the saint who
is supposed to possess superior sanctity and power.
Indeed we shall find that conceptions which might be
held with respect to the disembodied spirit are held of
the saint and may be held of God.
Frazer has well said: “The notion of a man-god, or
of a human being endowed with divine or supernatural
powers, belongs essentially to that earlier period of reli-
gious history in which gods and men are still viewed as
beings of much the same order, and before they are
12 Kings xxiii. 8–13.
"In the regular call to prayer there is a mention of all the
ulia, first the Prophet, then all the other prophets, then the ulia.”
Journal XI., Mehardeh, summer of 1901.
246
8P. 72.
78
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
divided by the impassable gulf, which to later thought,
opens out between them. Such a notion still exists
among the most ignorant of the modern Semites, and the
impassable gulf has not yet been fixed between them.
It is evident from an examination of numerous pas-
sages in the Koran, where the term weli is used as relating
to God, that an application of the term weli to a saint,
as has been suggested, is contrary to the Koran” and to
Moslem law;8 but even good Moslems affirm that a man
who does not believe in a weli does not believe in God.4
There are also said to be ascriptions of praise rendered
to the welis, among the Nusairiyeh, a heretical sect, far
beyond those rendered to God.5
Every shrine, of whatever sort, theoretically presup-
poses a weli or saint.
He may have lived within the
memory of the generation that does him honor, and
many tales may have been preserved in regard to him.
Or he may be a mythical character about whom a pro-
fusion of folk-lore has sprung up. It may be that he has
little objective existence in the thought of the people
beyond his name and shrine. They cannot tell much
regarding his life and his achievements. Indeed there
is sometimes a clear indication of skepticism on the part
i The Golden Bough, London, 1900, Vol. I., p. 130.
2 See Flügel, Concordantiae Corani Arabicae, Lipsiae, 1842,
sub voce.
3 Journal, Hama, summer, 1901:
" There rises before the com-
pany, when they arrive at the shrine, one who recites a poem. The
subject of the poem is praise to God, or the Prophet, or the weli.
The praise of the weli is a very prominent part of it. But this is
all contrary to Mohammedan law." Cf. Burckhardt, Notes on the
Bedouin and Wababys, London, 1830, p. 279.
* Declaration of a Moslem peasant, Journal XI., Nebk.
6 Rev. James S. Stewart of Ladikiyeh, testifies: “I have read
in their books (of the Nusairiyeh) ascriptions of glory and praise
greater than any they ascribe to God.”

SHRINE OF AARON ON MOUNT HOR.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
79
1
on
of the people with respect to the origin of such shrines.
But to the heated imaginations of some of their servants,
they appear in bodily form. Theoretically they are
worshiped in connection with the God of all the world;
practically many people know no other god. In this
respect the worship of the saints is like that of the an-
cient Baalim. They are the deities whom the people
fear, love, serve, and adore.
Remembering that the saints are spirits, once living,
we shall find it of interest to consider some of the ways
in which they reveal themselves. One of the most
famous shrines is
shrines is that of Aaron Mount Hor.
Whether his body was ever buried on that height which
tradition assigns to him is of no moment in this investi-
gation. As will be seen from the following dialogue
with Musa, an Arab guide at Petra, it is evident that
Aaron is thought of as having existence, and as coming
to his shrine during two days of the week:
Question. Is there a yearly festival?
Answer. No.
Q. Why do the people visit the prophet's tomb?
A. Because he is a great prophet, out of honor to
him.
1 See the Rev. H. H. Jessup, D.D. The Women of the Arabs,
London, 1874, pp. 269–272.
2 Sheik Yuseph el-hagg, of Nebk, says, with respect to the
saint who has charge of the streams at Nebk, and whose name is
Mohammed el-Ghuffary, that he appears in various forms: "Some-
times as an old man, sometimes as a young man in white, but
always in human form; some see him at night, others see him by
day, some see him in dreams, only those who have the light in
their hearts see him.”
Another Moslem, by the name of Abu Ali, from the same vil-
lage, who works himself at times into a frenzy, and sometimes
makes a frightful noise when engaged in prayer, testified: "I have
seen his spirit because I love the saint and he loves me. He
appears to me by day and by night like a middle-aged man
wearing a green robe. I speak to him and we converse together.”
Journal X., Nebk, summer of 1901.
80
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Q. What benefits do they expect to receive from
such a visit?
A. If any one has a son or friend ill, he goes and
asks the prophet to intercede for him (with God] and
promises in case of recovery to visit the tomb once a year.
Q. Do they vow they will give the prophet anything
in case of recovery?
A. Yes; it is not necessary that they should go to
the top of the mountain to make a vow. They may pile
up a heap of stones anywhere in sight of the mountain,
as a witness [meshhad]. They may kill the animal they
have vowed anywhere.
Q. Do they consider the animals they have vowed,
and which they eat, sacrifices?
A. Yes.
Q. How can they be sacrifices when they eat them?
Does the prophet partake of them??
A. The prophet is dead, how could he eat of them?
We would not throw them away after we had killed
them. :
Q. Is the prophet dead?
A. Prophets never die. The prophet [Aaron] is
alive to-day. We ask him to intercede for us.
Q. Do the people ever make any use of the blood of
the sacrifice?
A. No, they throw it away.
Q. Why do the people put semn [Arab butter] in the
lower room of the shrine?
1 These heaps of witness (Cf. Gen. xxxi. 48) are very common
in sight of shrines which are difficult of access.
2 This question was asked to see if there was any trace of the
critical theory that God is the host at sacrificial meals. Musa did
not seem to conceive of the Prophet Aaron in any such capacity.
8 This is certainly a very important statement in connection
with the use made of the flesh in sacrifices, and would seem to
indicate that the sacrifice does not consist in eating it.

CENOTAPH OF AARON.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
81
A. It is customary to have a lamp burning Thurs-
days and Fridays, so they use semn for this purpose.
Q. Why is the light burning only on Thursdays and
Fridays?
A. Our books? say that the prophet comes only on
Thursday and Friday. The rest of the time he is with
his brother Moses, and with their friend [God). He
comes down only on these two days.?
The alleged birthplace of Abraham at Berzeh, near
Damascus, affords Moslems a reason for seeking the
patriarch, by vows and prayers, as the place of his reve-
lation, since his mother is said to have given him birth
in a hole of the rock. She remained with him three
days, and then putting his finger in his mouth, left him.
There he abode, according to the legend, seven years.
The shrine, which affords a dwelling for the minister on
the same court, is especially interesting, because on a
sheet of paper posted on the wall, all visitors who are in
trouble are invited to make ,known their sorrows to the
weli. "Advice to people who visit this place, where is
Abraham, father of Isaac, the sacrificed, the grandfather
of the prophets! Come, tell him all your adversities and
hardships, and he will help you." 3 It will be noticed
that nothing is suggested as to his intercession with God
for them. The people are bidden to come to him as the
sole source of their comfort.
Of quite another sort is the weli at an ancient plat-
1 Unlettered Moslems frequently refer to their books for state-
ments which they make. As they cannot read, the allusion to such
books must be taken with a great deal of allowance. Friday is the
Moslem Sunday, hence a favorite day for saints to visit their
shrines,
2 Journal VIII., Petra, summer of 1901.
3 This was translated by Rev. Anis Nasif Sellum of Damascus,
into Arab-English, which I have retained. Journal XII., Berzeh,
summer of 1901.
82
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
form, surrounded by several acres of oak-trees, known
as the "Mother of Pieces" (Umm Shakakif). It was my
good fortune to learn the story of this shrine for the first
time, and in two forms, one in poetry, from the servant
of another shrine, about an hour and a quarter south, the
other in prose from the servant of the shrine itself.
Both are interesting specimens of folk-lore. I give the
former here as briefer, reserving the one in prose for
Appendix D.
The story goes that there were four maidens, each of
whom was under the protection of a particular saint.
The heroine of the shrine was known, according to one
story, as 'Arja, or the lame one; according to the other,
as Fatima. She was lame, blind of an eye, bald, poor,
and almost naked. Accompanied by her three friends
she went to the fountain to draw water, where the four
saints, the respective patrons of these girls, were seated.
Each of 'Arja's companions let down her water-jar, in
turn, and it came up full of water, and each set out on
her way home. When 'Arja had lowered her jar, instead
of coming up brimming, she drew up only the handles.
Her patron, whom she had served faithfully, had shat-
tered it. Urged to desert him and choose another, she
affirmed her unalterable fidelity to him. Touched by
her devotion, he bade her give him the handles. In a
few moments she drew up her jar, more beautiful than
ever, full of water. On this the following dialogue took
place:
Saint to 'Arja. Go join your companions.
’Arja. I am your servant, you see I am lame.
He healed her.
Saint. Go join your companions.
’Arja. I am your servant, you see I am blind.
He cured her.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
83
Saint. Go join your companions.
'Arja. I am your servant, you see I am bald.
He gave her long hair.
Saint. Go join your companions.
’Arja. I am your servant, you see I am naked.
He clothed her.
Saint. Go join your companions.
’Arja. I am your servant, you see I am poor.
Saint. Raise up the carpet, and you will find silver
and gold.
She did so.
Thus, through her obedience and faith, a poor, blind,
bald, and lame girl became the object of worship, and
the place where she is reputed to be buried is still the
place of blessing. Vows are made of jars of pottery,
which are broken on the ancient platform.
In direct contrast with the legends which have grown
up around the “Mother of Pieces” is a Druse Shrine,
about two and a half hours west of Rasheya, known as
Nebi Safa." While they say that the Prophet Safa is
descended from Jacob, and that his people lived in the
direction of Jerusalem and Hebron, they do not know
how he came to be there, or to die there. "The honor-
able body is there, and the spirit is always to be found
there. Any day that a man seeks him he will find him,
it depends on his faith." The people charged with the
care of the shrine could tell wonderful stories, indicating
the exercise of supernatural powers, but nothing shed-
ding any real light on the history of the one exercising
them.
The most famous saint in the Christian calendar is St.
George, or Mar Jirjis, who killed the dragon at Beirut,
after whom the bay is named. The monastery is said to
1 Journal XIII., Nebi Safa, summer 1901.
84
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
be placed on the spot where St. George used to reveal
himself." He is known among the various sects of
Islam as Khuddr. While his most famous shrine is
near Kalat el Hosn, west of Homs and near Safita, in
northern Syria, he is associated with more places than any
other saint. His shrines are found in all parts of the
country, both in buildings originally erected for him as
well as in ancient Greek churches in the Druse Moun-
tains, which, during their occupation by Christians, may
have been sacred to the worship of St. George. At each
of these shrines there is a tomb, or the representation of
one, and at all these he is thought to reveal himself.
Such a self-revelation of the saints also takes place in
connection with sacred stones.3 These stones are not
of the sort with which one troubled with any ailment
rubs his back or head,* in which case they are used as
charms, and are supposed to belong to some saint, as at
Berzeh; nor are they of the same sort as at the shrine of
St. Rih, which is reverenced by all sects, where there is
a round stone like a heavy ring, weighing five or six
pounds-large enough to go over the wrist. The saint,
by means of this stone, manifests his power.
There are
two pillars, between which a bastard cannot pass, at
Ezra in the Hauran, and upright stones, between which
bridal couples must walk, as at a village in the Druse
* Journal I., Safita, autumn of 1898.
2 Journal VI., Negran, Tell Shaf, Smed., summer of 1900.
3 Among the Tongas there is a "natural stone about nine feet
high, called the stone that is not to be pointed at;
people would not
point at it on any account.” Journal X., W. L. Thompson, M. D.,
spring of 1901.
* Journal XI., Hamath, summer of 1901: “At Sheik Mustafa, in
the center of the makam, is a stone made smooth by rubbing. The
sick man uses it for his back. He does not vow to it but to the
weli. The stone belongs to the weli, he is not in it. God blesses it.”
5 Journal XIII., Mr. Faris L. Khuri, Damascus, summer of
1901.
4

MAR (ABU) RISHA AT KARYATEN.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
85
Mountains, and stones which receive the sacrificial
blood, as in the Sinaitic Peninsula. 2
The stones used in healing are evidently not regarded
as the places where the saints reveal themselves, but
there are others which are more or less clearly considered
as being the place of divine revelation. Abu Ali, a
devout Moslem, said:
“No one knows where the saints really are, but they
know where they have appeared. There is a saint who
appears near my house; his name is Abu Zed. At Asal
there is a stone, into which my own patron saint entered."
“At Sphene, in northern Syria, there is a Maronite
shrine of Mar Yehanna, which consists only of an ancient
stone, about three feet high by fourteen inches wide,
in the shape of a panel, standing on a hill under a grove,
near a modern church. The other sides are triangular.
[It is probably part of the lid of a sarcophagus].” A
man said of the remains of incense which were in front
of the stone, that the incense had been offered to the
weli. His expression seemed to indicate that he regarded
the weli as residing in the stone.
"At Karyaten, the last outpost for travelers making
the journey to Palmyra .... in the vineyard, at the
rear of the house of the governor of the town, known as
Feiyad, is a prostrate pillar, by the side of which, about
midway and close against it, is a structure of mud about
the size and shape of a straw beehive; in the side of this
is a small hole, where the vessel is placed in which the
oil that has been vowed is burned, when a vow is paid.
The shrine consisting in this pillar is called by the
Moslems Abu Risha, and by the Christians Mar Risha.
1 Private letter from Mr. Henry C. Harding, Kerak, winter of
1901.
2 Palmer, The Desert of the Exodus, New York, 1872, p. 218.
86
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
It is in honor of a saint of the sect of the Jacobites.
The pillar is thought by the Syrian priest to mark the
site of an ancient church. It is surrounded by a low
wall, leaving an inclosure about twenty feet square.
The practices in making a vow and in payment of it
among the Moslems and Christians are the same. They
come to the shrine and make their request; they also tie
red and blue silk around the weeds in the inclosure as
a sign to the saint that they want help. Payment, as
has been intimated, is made in oil, which is burned at the
1 ܙ ܕ
altar."
Here, then, is a sacred stone, part of the ruin of an
ancient church, which is revered by ignorant Moslems,
and Christians as a weli.
At Sheik Sa’d, near el-Merkez, the capital of the
Hauran, is a Moslem place of prayer; in it, just in front
of the prayer niche, is the Weli Sakhret Eyyub, or Shrine
of the Rock of Job, seven feet high and about four feet
wide. It is a monument of Ramses II., has a represen-
tation of his head in the right hand upper corner and an
inscription in hieroglyphics. It is significant that it is
in front of the prayer niche. Here is undoubtedly a case
of syncretism, of Moslem and ancient Semitic worship
combined. Unfortunately this is a theory, which did
not occur to me at the time when I visited Sheik Sa’d,
and which there was no opportunity to put to the test,
but I have no doubt that the natives regard it as a
sacred stone. There can be no question that such a
stone, in such a position, would be considered by the
ignorant Moslem as the dwelling place of a weli.?
See my article, “Ancient Shrines in Northern Syria,” The
Independent, Vol. L., pp. 1448, 1449.
2 Journal V. El-Merkez, summer of 1899. Cf. Dr. Schumacher,
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins, Vol. XV., p. 147: “I
therefore assume that the present building over the Sachrat Ejub

THE ROCK OF JOB AT SHEIK SA'D.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
87
The most conscious example of the survival of the
ancient worship of rocks or stones, as the abodes of
spirits, is found in the popular belief of ignorant Moslems
that a weli resides in the "Rock Chair" (Kalat el-Kursi)
or “Chair of the Companions" (Kursi el-Aktab).
those who are more orthodox say that the companions of
the Prophet Mohammed come on Fridays, and find their
abode in a room which the servant of the shrine has
never seen, the ignorant believe that they are to be found
in the rock itself.1
There are quite a number of passages in the Old
Testament, notably, though not exclusively, in the thirty-
second chapter of Deuteronomy, where "rock" is as
much a term for God as El or Elohim. 2 These two last
terms belonged to other branches of the Semitic family
as well as to the Israelites. In the same way it seems
likely that the term “rock” was used by other Semitic
stems for the Divine Being as well as by Israel. There
are various Old Testament passages where the term
"rock" is predicated of God, as fortress or stronghold
would be predicated, but there are others where it is as
originated in the Arab age before Islam. .... It probably served
the heathen Arabs as a place of worship, according, to whose
tradition, as is known, Job lived in this place." The inscription
has been read by Erman, ibid., pp. 210, 211.
1 Journal X., Kursi, el-Aktab, summer of 1901.
" The common
people believe that the spirits dwell in the rock.” “Any day you
can summon them by prayer. Friday is better, and the day of
sacrifice (dahhiyeh, the tenth of the pilgrim month) is the best of
all. There is a room where the ten companions meet, only those to
whom God has revealed it know where it is." While then the
common people think that the ten leaders (Aktab, that is, poles,
leaders) are in the stone, the representative Moslems give what
they think is a higher idea, namely, that they meet in a room.
2 Deut. xxxii. 4. "Ascribe ye greatness unto our God. The
Rock, his work, is perfect.” Cf. vs. 15, 18, 30, 31. Cf. 2 Sam. xxiii. 3;
Is, xxx. 29.
8Ps. lxii. 2.
88
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
truly a designation of God as El, or Elohim. May it not
be that this name for God among the Semites may go
back to a time when the rock was looked upon as the
medium of divine revelation? Indeed it seems pretty
clear that while rock is used in some passages as fortress
is used in others, that there are passages where rock is
as spiritual a designation for God as Elohim, and where
it is employed without reference to its original Semitic
signification.
It seems quite clear that when Jacob took the stone
which he had put under his head as a pillow, and raised it
up as a pillar, poured oil upon it, and called it “House
of God" (beth Elohim), he was on the same plane as
the ignorant Moslems to-day, who conceive of the weli,
who is practically their God, as dwelling in a rock.
The most remarkable use of stones that I have seen
is in connection with the shrine of the Prophet Job (Nebi
Eyyub) at Busan, in the Druse Mountains. In front of
this shrine are three broken pillars, three and a half feet
high. They are the only examples I have seen of the
pillars (mazzeboth), of which we read so often in the Old
Testament, which seem to have been regarded as legiti-
mate at one period of Israel's history, as at the conclu-
sion of the covenant at Mount Sinai, when Moses set up
twelve pillars in connection with the altar.? This use of
pillars, which seems to have passed without reproof in
the earlier history of worship,' was condemned in the
Deuteronomic code and the Deuteronomic history.5
There are conspicuous examples among modern
1 Gen. xxviii. 18, 19, 22; xxxv. 7.
2 Ex, xxiv. 4.
3 Gen. xxxi. 13; Xxxv. 14; Hos. iii. 4; Is. xix. 19.
4 Deut. xii. 3; xvi. 22; cf. Ex. xxxiv. 13.
62 Kings iii. 2; xvii. 10; xviii. 4; xxiii. 14.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
89
Semites of the revelation of saints in the neighborhood
of sacred waters. Sometimes the saint seems to be con-
sidered merely the proprietor of such a stream as at
Nebk, in the Syrian desert, which I shall discuss in
another place. The stream is regarded as belonging to
the saint, rather than as the means of revelation. But
it may be a question, whether the distinction between
the saint and the water spirit who inhabits the stream is
clearly drawn in the minds of the people, since the defile-
ment of the stream is regarded as equivalent to the
defilement of the saint himself, as is evident from the
language used.
The Sabbatic fountain in northern Syria ('Ain Fowar),
is considered as belonging to St. George; and yet sacri-
fices are brought to the fountain rather than to the shrine
itself.2
The hot springs at Callirrhoe (Zerka Main) are
regarded as being under the control of a saint (weli) or
spirit (jinn), who makes the fire and keeps it burning.
The natives, who go to be healed of their rheumatism,
invoke the spirit to keep up the fire, so that the water
may be hot, and to this end they offer sacrifices.
1 Journal X. Damascus. Interview with Rev. J. Stewart Craw-
ford: "One section of the village attributed the saint's displeasure
to the fact that another section had performed certain religious
ablutions in the courtyard of the shrine, and that the dirt had come
on the saint to his disgust."
2 The Independent (personal visit, autumn of 1898), Vol. L., p.
1447, note 3.
8 Journal VIII. Interview with Mr. Henry C. Harding, at
Kerak, summer of 1898. The same custom obtains when they visit
the hot springs (Zerka Main). They believe that the furnace is
in charge of a jinn who must be placated before he will make up
the fire to heat the water. Mr. Harding heard a man all the
time he was in the bath invoking the spirit. Cf. Journal VI.,
Zerka Main, summer of 1900.
“After lunch, Mr. Forder and I went to the source of two of the
springs bursting out of the mountain. Over them were sticks on
which the Arabs sit wrapped up in their abbas, and thus they get
3
90
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
At Hamath, in the court of a lunatic asylum, which
is simply a place where the insane may be kept securely
by putting the most violent in irons, there is a small
pool, or fountain, which is called a weli, and which is
visited by Moslem women.'
Such sacred waters, and many more which might be
mentioned, are of the same sort as those described in
some manuscripts of John v. 2, 3, though excluded by
the Revised Version as not belonging to the original text;
"Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool,
which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a multitude of them that were sick, blind,
halt, withered.” The additional matter not included in
the revised is evidently an outgrowth of the old Semitic
belief in sacred waters under the control of a spirit:
"Waiting for the moving of the water: for an angel went
down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the
water; whosoever then first after the troubling of the water
stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
There are numerous examples of sacred trees among
Syrians and Bedouin from one end of the country to the
other. Some of these are at shrines, and are sacred
merely as the property of the saint. They are as inviol-
able as anything else that belongs to him, or that has
vapor baths. Mr. Forder says they offer sheep, taking them by
their legs and dipping them in." Ibid. Arab camp two hours
from Zerka Main: "The Arabs say they consider the hot springs at
Zerka Main a weli, so whenever anything is the matter with their
flocks they offer a sacrifice.”
1 Journal XI., Hama, summer of 1901: "At the insane asylum
of Hama there is a pool to which they take the robe of a trouble-
some child, and wash it, The reason for the virtue
is that in the pool is a certain weli. . He is the patron
saint of all insane people. He appears at night and blesses the
insane by touching them.” At this so-called asylum I saw a stal-
wart madman with a heavy chain about his neck.
The only
asylum in Syria and Palestine is at Asfuriyeh, near Beirut, recently
founded by Mr. Theophilus Waldmeier.
1

SACRED TREE HUNG WITH RAGS.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
91
been put under his protection. At the same time they
may be conceived of as sacred from the general notion
that the saint reveals himself through the medium of
trees. Thus Mr. Harding writes: "Trees, however, are
honored apart from welis. A tree near Gaza el-Maisi is
distinctly held to be indwelt by a divine spirit, and
accordingly receives divine honors. Where a tree is
connected with a weli it probably was the original object
of honor.''
There are many trees, apart from shrines, which are
believed to be possessed by spirits, to whom vows and
sacrifices are made. Such trees are often hung with rags
or bits of cloth. It is not easy to determine the signifi-
cance of the rags. Some say they are intended to be a
constant reminder to the saint of the petition of the
worshiper, like a string tied around the finger;1 others
that the rag taken from the ailing body of the suppliant,
and tied to one of the branches, is designed to transfer
the illness of the person represented by the rags to the
saint, who thus takes it away from the sufferer and bears
it vicariously himself.? Sometimes the man who is ill
takes a rag from the tree, as one tears off a bit of the
pall from the cenotaph of the shrine, and carries it about
on his person, and so enjoys the advantage of virtue from
the saint. It may be that in this use of rags we have
1 Journal I., Karyaten, Vineyard of Feiyad, with the Rev. J.
Stewart Crawford, autumn of 1898: They also tie red and blue
silk around the weeds in the inclosure (of Mar Risha) as a sign to
the saint that they want his help.”
2 Journal X., Beirut, William Van Dyck, M.D.:
pliant, who approaches a sacred tree, tears off a piece of his gar-
ment and ties it to the tree, by which he commits to the weli his
sickness. He then takes a bit of the rag from the tree which he
carries about with him and by which he receives healing from
the tree."
3 See The Independent, journey of 1898, loc. cit. p. 1448. The
teacher at Mehardeh in northern Syria told of a sheik among the
3
2
" The sup-
92
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
the same idea as that found in Acts xix. 11, 12: “And
God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul;
insomuch that unto the sick were carried away from his
body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed
from them, and the evil spirits went out."
There is no doubt that in the minds of the people
sacred trees are places where spirits reveal themselves.
Near 'Ain Fijeh, one of the sources of the Barada,
thought to be the ancient Abana of Scripture,' is a weli,
called Sheik Rihan, decorated with flags. A peasant
woman said that it was customary for the people to make
a vow to give such flags if their petitions were fulfilled.?
Doughty mentions angels, or "the power of the air,"
who come to a sacred grove, under whose leafy canopy
one who is ill lies down and finds recovery, while he who
is well, who takes the same liberty, receives only a curse
for his presumption. Flesh is hung upon such trees as if
it were the food of the spirits residing in them.8 There
is a similar custom of hanging meat in the branches of
the trees among the Tongas, though my informant was
not certain what was the intent of the natives.*
It has been pointed out that we have two clear traces
of sacred trees in the Old Testament, one is of the burn-
ing bush, upon which Moses looked, wondering that it
was not consumed, and out of which God spoke, an
1
Ismailiyeh who carried about some of the hair of the sacred virgin
in his keffiyeh.
2 Kings v. 12.
8 Journal X., Ain Fijeh: The woman "spoke as if the spirit
were in the tree, and only said that she asked God when Mrs.
John Crawford of Damascus, who was my interpreter, reminded
her that it was wrong to pray to a tree.'
3 Op. cit. Vol. I., p. 449.
4 Journal X. Interview with W. L. Thompson, M.D., spring
of 1901.
• Ex. iii. 2-4.
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
93
obvious use of ancient tree worship, though in the revela-
tion of God to Moses clearly avoiding the superstitious
notions connected with it. A similar vision was lately
seen at a weli. A holy man at Nebk reported that he
saw in flames a sacred walnut-tree which was by the
shrine of the saint. 1
So, too, the sound of the going in the mulberry-trees,
for which David was to wait, was nothing less than the
divine voice speaking to the sweet singer of Israel,
accordance with ancient conceptions.?
Trees under which saints rested are considered holy.3
Here there is the same notion as with respect to sacred
places among the ancient Israelites. The seat of a
theophany was ever afterwards regarded as sacred, for
where God had revealed himself once he was likely to
reveal himself again. This is clearly indicated with
respect to the Mount of Jehovah, which must have been
understood to indicate the site of the temple, for we
read: “And Abraham called the name of that place
*Jehovah sees,' as it is said to-day in the Mount of
Jehovah, ‘he is wont to be seen.'" 4
Indeed, all the
ancient shrines of Israel had been consecrated by some
theophany, and men went there in the expectation of its
repetition
Trees are also objects of worship. As the term weli is
r
2
1 Journal X. Nebk.
2 Sam. y. 24.
3 Journal X., Beirut. Interview with Dr. Van Dyck: "There
is a wild myrtle in the valley below
which is referred
to a man known as the Lord, who is believed in by the Druses,
and who passed through the country working wonders. As he
journeyed he rested under trees, which from that time on assumed
miraculous powers."
4 Gen. xxii. 14. This was most likely written in the belief that
Abraham received a revelation from God on the site of the
Temple.
94
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
applied to them, a saint is evidently conceived of as
residing in them. In a Turkish village in northern Syria,
there is a large and very old oak-tree, which is regarded
as sacred. People burn incense to it, and bring their
offerings to it, precisely in the same way as to some
shrine. There is no tomb of any saint in its neighbor-
hood, but the people worship the tree itself.
The discussion of caves, as the dwelling places of
spirits, is germane, in this connection, if we consider
that there is a point in Semitic thinking where there is
no essential difference between deity, saint, and spirit.
There is, undoubtedly, a tendency to differentiate these
beings, to give God the highest place as the author of
good and evil, the saints the next place, with much the
same functions as God, and to distinguish between bene-
ficial and harmful spirits. But it is quite likely that the
original Semitic conception was much simpler, namely,
that the primitive idea of a divine being was that of
spirits, who might be friendly or hostile to men. When
we remember that the sacrifices to spirits are precisely
of the same sort as those to saints, and that sometimes
the distinction between the spirit and the weli does not
seem to be clearly drawn-as at Zerka Main, he may be
considered a weli, or may be regarded as one of the
jinn—it is evident that the notion of divinity is not sharply
defined among the ignorant, whose minds furnish the
most perfect mirror of ancient views about divine beings.
There are doubtless many caves to be found in Syria,
some of which are conceived of as being under the con-
trol of a weli, and some as inhabited by jinn. One of
the former class is resorted to by mothers who have an
insufficient supply of milk for their children;? a second
1 The Independent, loc. cit. p. 1446.
2 Ibid. p. 1447
THE LOCAL DIVINITIES
95
1
is a place visited by married couples who are childless
and who desire offspring.
Near the foot of Mount Carmel, above the sea, is an
artificial cave which is said to have been tenanted by the
Prophet Elijah, which is visited by all the sects, and
known by the Moslems as Khuddr. I saw this cave in
the summer of 1901, and had an interview with the Mos-
lem minister, or custodian, who said, when speaking of
the income which came to him through the weli,
“Khuddr is my God and my father's God; he has sup-
ported us for years. Thus there was put into con-
crete form a confession which expresses the belief of
many an Arab and Fellahin, as to the being upon whom
he depends in the hour of his distress, and who exerts
the greatest restraint upon his life.
7,2
1
1 Journal X., summer of 1891; An American physician, liv-
ing in Syria, who is childless, said "he was recommended by a
native to visit a cave near Juneh, where barren women go
attended by their husbands. There is a pool in the cave. They
first bathe together in the cave, and then expect their marriage
will be fruitful."
2 Journal XIII., Haifa, summer of 1901.
CHAPTER VIII
DEIFIED MEN
Inasmuch as the teaching of the Moslem creed insists,
“there is no god but God," it is easy to see, that wher-
ever Islam has sway, it excludes anything like the deifica-
tion of men; nevertheless we have seen in the preced-
ing chapter, that the saints, once men, are treated as
divine. They are addressed directly in vows and prayers.
Blasphemy against Mohammed is a state offense,' and
ignorant Moslems sometimes offer prayers directly to
him.2
Wherever heresy exists, and the working of the native
mind is untrammeled by fear of being unorthodox, we
may observe two phenomena, which are none the less
significant, although they are found among a people who
may be descended from a Canaanitish stock. I refer to
the Nusairiyeh, in northern Syria, who are commonly
reckoned among the Shiites, of whom the Ismailiyeh, a
closely related sect, the Druses, and the Babites are
conspicuous examples. Indeed the Turkish government,
Journal X., Damascus.
2 Journal XIII., Brummana, summer of 1901.
8 Journal XII., summer of 1901.
*For a brief account, see Sell's Essays on Islam, London, 1901,
pp. 147-184. The classic authority on the Druses is De Sacy,
Exposé de la Religion des Druses, 1, 11, Paris, MDCCCXXXVIII.
• Browne, A Traveller's Narrative, written to illustrate the Epi-
sode of the Bab, Cambridge, 1891; New History of Mirza Ali
Muhammad the Bab, Cambridge, 1893; Sell, op. cit. pp. 46-98;
Andreas, Die Babis in Persien, Ibre Geshichte und Lehre quellen-
mäsig und nach eigener Anschauung dargestellt, Leipzig, 1896.
The titles of numerous books and articles on this sect may be
found in Browne, op. cit.
96
DEIFIED MEN
97
in order to remove the Nusairiyeh from the influence of
Protestant missions, classifies them as Moslems to-day,
but with no good reason, as must appear to any one who
has the opportunity to look into any of their sacred
books.' They are divided into the initiated and the
uninitiated. For one of the initiated to disclose the
secrets of the sect means death. These were made
known years ago by an entire unbeliever through the
medium of the famous Dr. Van Dyck, of Beirut, father of
Dr. William Van Dyck. While at Beirut he wrote his
treatise in the house of the Rev. Henry H. Jessup, D.D.
Lulled into security by the promises, fair speeches, and
abounding hospitality of his former coreligionists, he
was afterwards lured to Mersina, where he was buried
alive.3
There is every reason for believing that the book,
which was published about 1863, and which was trans-
lated in part by Professor Salisbury, of Yale College, and
issued with the text in the Journal of the Oriental Soci-
ety, 1866, contains a true account of the ceremony of
initiation, as well as of the tenets of the initiated. A
sheik of the Nusairiyeh, who was very intimate with a
Protestant pastor, confessed as much to him two years
ago. They went over the book in detail, and the sheik
uttered no dissent, except with respect to prayers con-
1 A good idea of these may be had from Salisbury's translation
of the book by Suleiman of Adana, supplemented by Lyde, The
Asian Mystery, London, 1860.
2 It is customary to appoint twelve sponsors for each one who
is to be initiated. The Imam inquires: "In case he discloses this
mystery, will ye bring him to me, that we may cut him in pieces
and drink his blood ?' Journal of the American Oriental Society,
Vol. VIII., p. 232.
8 Journal XII.
4 The name is not given, for obvious reasons, but I had an inter-
view with the pastor, a most trustworthy man.
98
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
sisting in curses, in which other sects are mentioned.
The existence of such curses in the ritual of the Nusairi-
yeh he denied. But his denial did not persuade his
Protestant friend. He was soon suspected by the
Nusairiyeh of revealing the secrets of their religion.
Nothing but the strongest affirmation that there had not
been any such interview freed him from immediate death.
The information contained in this chapter is not derived
mainly from the book of Suleiman of Adana, or from
books about the Babites. I made a journey into the
mountains of the Nusairiyeh, visited Ain Kurum, a vil-
lage where lawlessness is rife, where there are no marriage
rites, boys of fifteen and girls of ten meeting and pairing
in the romantic and dark recesses of the beautiful woods,
leaving the matter of dowry to be decided in angry
dispute by their parents after the consummation of a
marriage. It was to this place, perched on the side of
a mountain, that a neighboring village came, several
hundred strong, two years before, and attacked the men
of Ain Kurum, leaving ninety dead, and thus lighting
the flames of blood revenge which will not be extin-
guished for generations.?
Sixty Turkish horsemen visited the same place to col-
lect the taxes, and had such a bellicose reception that
they begged for their lives. The only night we spent
there was made wakeful and anxious by clamor and fre-
quent shots.
As by reason of the blood feud with the village, an
1“Whoever desires salvation from the glow of infernal fires
•Curse thou those who play with apes.
together with all Christians and Jews. Moreover, lay thou
thy curse upon John Marun the patriarch . and upon all those
who feed upon thy bounties, while they worship thee not. Jour-
nal of the American Oriental Society, loc. cit. p., 273.
2 Blood revenge is still the most binding institution of ancient
Semitic life in Syria, Palestine, and Arabia.
let him say,
DEIFIED MEN
99
hour and a half distant, we were unable to take the usual
way into the western country of the Nusairiyeh, over
their mountains to Ladikiyeh, we were compelled to
make a steep and very difficult ascent under the guid-
ance of one of their religious sheiks. We saw one of
our mules roll over and over for more than a thousand
feet down an incline that seemed almost perpendicular.
We heard the despairing cry of the muleteer, and the
appeal of our sheik to Khuddr. Wonder of wonders!
thanks to our baggage, which broke the force of his fall,
we saw the mule rise to his feet. Our muleteers, over-
come by thirst, and their exertions over this fall, and
others which followed, were, after seven hours of climb-
ing, when they reached one of the most beautiful forests'
is Syria, ready to lie down and die. It was then that the
greed of the religious sheik came to the surface.
As we
sat down in one of the shadiest nooks of that beautiful
forest, and our muleteers seemed in the last stages of
collapse, he told of a spring of ice cold water, fre-
quented by beasts of prey, which he would show us for a
good bakshish.
After he had led us to this spring, we
went through fastnesses which no Turkish soldier could
1 There are perhaps three really fine forests in Syria and Pal-
estine, some might say four, and even more: 1. The cedars, par
excellence, near the valley of the Kadisha. 2. Over the Nusairiyeh
Mountains, on the way from Ain Kurum to Matwar, is “a primeval
forest of oak, perhaps the finest in all Syria." Journal XI., 3.
From Ain Jenneh to Irbid: For the first four hours one could
hardly see in any country a more delightful region. Here
are old forests. Merrill, East of the Jordan, New York, p. 181.
“The ride was delightful for about three hours. There is no other
like it that I have seen in eastern or western Palestine.
The trees are not more than twenty or twenty-five feet high, but
the tops are handsome. One has the delightful experience of rid-
ing a long distance in the shade." Journal V., summer of 1899.
Another forest may be seen on the way from Arak el-Emir to
Wadi es-Sir. There are pine forests that have been planted and
fostered at various points, but the finest natural forests are those
just mentioned.
.
I00
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
attempt, past a high place--a conical hili, towering in
solitary grandeur, crowned with one of the most beauti-
ful, awe-inspiring groves imaginable. At last we reached
an entirely different kind of life among the foothills of
the mountains. We sought protection from a sheik, a
noble-looking man, surrounded by men of fine appear-
ance. We caught glimpses of comely women, who were
in sharpest contrast to their degraded sisters at Ain
Kurum, for theirs was the happier lot of a life compara-
tively free from violence and mere animalism.
Accompanied by Rev. James S. Stewart of Ladikiyeh
I visited a company of Christians in a village of the
Nusairiyeh, and received most interesting information
from them, though they were still under the dominion
of ancient Semitic ideas, in spite of their Protestant
training
On our return journey we went to Behammra, where
Lyde, the first English missionary labored, built mission
premises, which, with one exception, are in ruins. In
Lyde's own home we gathered, and heard of the indig-
nities from which he suffered in being yoked with an ass
to a plow by the barbarians to whom he was attempting
to preach the gospel. It required some finesse to keep
away spies who came to listen, and who might have caused
the death of our informant had they heard all that was
told us.
They were emboldened by a governor of the
Turkish government, disputing the claim of the mission
of the American Reformed Presbyterian Church to the
property. Through the courage and skilful diplomacy
of the American consul, Mr. G. B. Ravndal, of Beirut,
this property was saved to the mission, and the official
who had made himself so offensive was removed.
It is not a reassuring sight in such a region to see a
band of armed men watching the highway by which you
DEIFIED MEN
IOI
are approaching, or to have them follow you, however
friendly their subsequent professions may be. This, to
me, at the time, was an alarming experience, though my
missionary companion, accustomed from childhood to
tales of murderous raids by the Bedouin, showed no sign
of fear; to him it was merely an incident of travel.
We spent a night in Musyaf, a lonely, walled town of
the Ismailiyeh, after we had traveled through their coun-
try with two mounted guardsmen who had been sent to
overtake us from the picturesque and romantic town of
Kadmus. Musyaf is the place where the chief of the
Assassins once lived in Syria, Rashid ed-Din, with whom
Saladin had to come to terms, though he had attempted
Saladin's life repeatedly through his minions.
These
were so completely under his control that, at a given
signal, two of them threw themselves down from a high
tower to a violent death, in order to demonstrate to a
visitor, Henry, count of Champagne, their implicit obedi-
ence, and to strike terror into his heart. Here, three
years before, I was under arrest, because I did not have
a passport (tezkereh). We were guarded by four sol-
diers at night, on my second visit, by command of the
governor, who marvelled at our presumption, which
would have been prevented could it have been foreseen.
But in the eyes of the government“might makes right,'
and an act questionable before its performance is con-
doned if it has been accomplished.
In the same way my visit to Abbas Effendi, the head
of the Babites, was not effected under easy circum-
stances. Quarantine had shut off all regular communi-
cation of Beirut with Haifa, except by “Prince George,
derisively known as the “Jolly Boat," which can furnish
1 Porter, The Order of The Assassins, The Bibliotheca Sacra,
Oberlin, Ohio, 1895, p. 129.
102
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
as great a complement of human misery as any craft
afloat. The Moslem, the inmate of the harem, and the
Chicago professor had the touch of nature that some-
times makes all the world kin at sea. The day after my
arrival I spent nearly four hours with the head of the
great Persian sect, who is really a prisoner at Acre, and
who is recognized by Frenchmen, Russians, and Ameri-
cans, notably by some American ladies of fortune, as an
incarnation of God himself. I had the honor of dining
with Abbas Effendi, and of taking afternoon tea with
him. He seemed to throw off all reserve, was eager to
welcome me as a possible disciple, and when I left “the
master," as he is invariably called by his followers, he
voiced the hope, evidently adapting a New Testament ex-
pression, that we might drink tea together in the heavenly
kingdom. Besides this interview, and reading all the
works that were at hand, by Abbas Effendi's permission,
I had an interview with his private secretary.
While it is true that neither the Nusairiyeh, nor the
Druses, whose heaven, as we have seen, is in China,
nor the Babites, who are a Persian sect of comparatively
recent origin, and have been strongly affected by New
Testament and Christian teaching, belong to the Semitic
stock, as we have seen, I do not feel that I should drop
them wholly out of this investigation. They furnish
some good illustrations of the deification of men, though
in all these Shiite sects this idea has been modified by
their gnostic notions, their hospitality to Neo-Platonism,
and a pantheistic philosophy, all of which elements appear
in Sufiism.
While the Nusairiyeh, like the Druses, assume in pub-
lic the guise of Islam, which they change on occasion
"P. 62.
2 Ellis, op. cit., pp. 1-45.
1
2
DEIFIED MEN
103
like a "garment, we have in them the contrast between
the survival of ancient heathenism, in the worship of
heavenly bodies, which they identify with Ali, the cousin
and son-in-law of Mohammed, and his deification as a
spiritual being. The ancient worship of the heavenly
bodies comes to the surface because the heretical sect
of the Nusairiyeh does not exercise any such restrain-
ing influence as Islam, and because the uninitiated, at
least among the Nusairiyeh, have never been purged by
a purer faith from the popular worship of the sun and
moon.
It is not difficult to trace the process by which Ali has
come to receive ascriptions of praise as a divine being,
such as are not found in the orthodox literature of
Islam. The sect of the Shiites, of which the Nusairiyeh
are a subdivision, view with indignation the treatment
that Ali received with respect to the succession in the
caliphate. Instead of being the immediate successor of
the prophet, he was not the recognized head of the
Moslems until Abu Bekr, Umr, and Uthman had pre-
ceded him. As indicating how lasting is the feeling of
the Shiites, the Nusairy bride, when she is washing her-
self preparatory to her nuptials, curses the first three
caliphs who succeeded Mohammed. But the most influ-
ential cause in bringing this indignation to white heat
1
“They simulate all sects. The simulation of sects is set
forth by them allegorically, as follows: We, say they, are the body,
and all the other sects are clothing; but whatever sort of clothing
a man may put on, it injures him not.” Salisbury, Sulaiman on the
Nusairian. Religion, loc. cit., p. 298.
2“ They hold that God is the sun and moon. ...
God is
called Ali, the highest. They are divided into two sects, some
believe he is in the sun, others that he is in the moon." Journal
XI., Country of the Nusairiyeh. Cf. Salisbury, op. cit., pp. 300, 301.
8 Salisbury, op. cit., p. 278.
4 Journal XI., Behammra.
104
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
was the assassination of Ali, the supposed assassination
of his elder son, Hasan, by an inmate of his harem, who,
as the Aliites falsely claim, was bribed to do the deed
by the caliph, and the assassination of his younger son,
Hosein, by a cruel emissary. The pathos of his ending
has never been forgotten. The lips that had fondly
kissed those of Mohammed became cold in death.
.
Passion plays are still annually celebrated at Kerbela,
where he met his death. All its bloody details are repeated
before the horrified populace, who still utter loud lamen-
tations, as if their taking off had just occurred, and who,
with pale and quivering lips, call out these names, Hasan
and Hosein as of beloved first-born." The fact that
Hasan was a weak character, and won the title of divorcer,
on account of his numerous matrimonial ventures, makes
no difference in the popular esteem.
There can be no doubt that the poignant sense of the
injustice done to Ali has contributed largely to his deifi-
cation. On the one hand, he is regarded by the heirs of
the ancient heathen worship of the heavenly bodies as
being in the sun; others think of him as in the moon,
while the angels are the stars, and the true believers are
identified with the Milky Way. There are indeed traces
of such worship of the heavenly bodies among ignorant
Moslems. A missionary was trying to teach the children
of a Moslem woman that they were descended from Adam
and Eve. "No," said the woman; “the moon is our
father and the sun our mother. Here, then, igno-
rance and heresy have joined hands to transmit the wor-
ship of the heavenly bodies, mentioned so often and with
8 ܕ ܕ
1 Testimony of an eye-witness, Journal XII. Cf. Muir, Annals of
the Early Caliphate, London, 1883, p. 442.
2 Nofel Effendi Nofel, History of Religion in Arabic.
3 Miss M. T. Maxwell Ford of Safed.
DEIFIED MEN
105
1
so much reprobation in the Old Testament. Even
to-day many ruins of ancient sun temples remain. Rev.
Franklin E. Hoskins, of Beirut, of the American Presby-
terian Mission, has made important investigations with
respect to ancient sun temples, which have never been
published.?
Even to-day many ruins of ancient sun temples remain.
The outlook is toward the east. The situation is most
beautiful, whether on some mountain summit, as on
Mount Hermon, or on the Anti-Lebanon, opposite some
notch in the mountain, where the worshiper could catch
the first rays of the rising sun. Mr. Hoskins has found
more than twenty-five such temples. Some of them exist
in pairs, one being in the village, and the other on the
mountain.
There are rites among the Nusairiyeh in other parts
of the country, which indicate a worship of the heavenly
bodies, such as the turning of silver coins to the moon,
as a presentation of the coin, indicating the worship of
that body. There can be no question that the ignorant
and uninitiated among the Nusairiyeh worship the
heavenly bodies, and it is likely that the initiated are
not entirely free from that worship. *
1 Deut. iv. 19; 2 Kings xxiii. 11; Ezek. viii. 16.
2 It is to be hoped that Mr. Hoskins will find the time to com-
plete his researches and to give them to the learned world.
8 It seems to me there can be no question that, whatever may
be determined as to the ruins as they exist to-day, there was a
time when the sun was worshiped from the summit of Hermon.
A platform can be traced which faces toward the east.
* Mr. Jabur of Nebk, a very intelligent Syrian, thinks the real
religion of the Ismailiyeh and the Nusairiyeh is an ancient hea-
thenism. He says that the sun, moon, and stars are worshiped in
the northern portion of the country. He maintains that under the
pretense of worshiping Ali, they worship the heavenly bodies.
I consider this merely a conjecture which is not supported by
facts. Journal XII.
106
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Some adore the heavens and the twilight, while others
adore the sun and moon. This adoration is indicated by
symbolical acts. Those who adore the heavens and the
twilight, when they recite a certain prayer, indicate it by
the symbolical act of placing “the right hand upon the
breast" and "applying the inner part of the thumb to
the middle finger." "While among the worshipers of the
moon," when engaged in the same prayer, “some spread
out the hand with the thumb erect, so that it has the
shape of the new moon, and others place both hands
upon the breast, opening them wide, with the fingers of
one over those of the other, and two thumbs erect, so
as, in this way, to represent the shape of the moon.
Lyde says that the Nusairiyeh are divided into two
sects, the "Shemseeh" from "shems," the sun, and the
“Kumreeh” from “kumr," the moon. He reports that
his servant told him, "that his people, who are of the
Kumreeh sect, are extremely 'afraid of the sun and
moon, and pray to them." He says, also, that it is a
common thing for the women and children to speak of
the moon (which probably looks greater to them) as the
face of Ali, and the sun, as that of Mohammed.” 2
The deification of Ali by the Nusairiyeh has become
complete. It rests on the principle that “spiritual things
appear in physical forms,” thus the Angel Gabriel was
incarnate and came in the form of a Bedouin, and Satan
may appear in human form, so, too, the jinn, and God
himself. As there is no prophet higher than Ali, and
after him his sons, because they are the best of the crea-
tion, God revealed himself through them, and therefore
they call them gods. They apply a saying of
Mohammed to Ali: 'I judge by externals, God knows
1 Salisbury, op. cit., pp. 254, 255.
? Lyde, op. cit., pp. 138, 139.
DEIFIED MEN
107
the secrets.' They believe that Ali had charge of all
the secrets of God. .... They maintain, judging from
Mohammed's statement, that he considered Ali equal to
Christ. Ali existed before the heavens and earth. He
was on the right hand of the divine throne before his
incarnation."! He is not only regarded as the incar-
nation of God, as having ascended to heaven without
dying, but he is considered as God, as the first cause, as
the creator of the heavens and the earth, and as the only
God. When this point has been reached it is easy to see
how it comes in conflict with the facts of history.
Hence there are those of the Nusairiyeh who deny a
priori, that Ali had children.2 As they affirm that
women were created from “the sins of devils,” they
could not well conceive of a divine being having connec-
tion with a daughter of the devil; indeed, they deny that
their religious sheiks have any such connection, and
claim that their children are begotten through passes
which these leaders make with their hands over the
bodies of their wives. 3
Among the Druses, who are classed as a Moslem sect,
but only wear the Moslem or any other faith as a cloak
or defense in time of danger, and who hold an esoteric
teaching, which one reveals at the peril of his life, there
is the deification of a man, Hakim, whose wickedness and
cruelties were the terror of his time, and are among the
marvels of history. And yet this monster of wicked-
1 Unpublished MS.
2 Journal XI. Cf. Lyde, The Asian Mystery, p. 116: “The
Ansaireeh do not suppose Ali to have been flesh and blood, but
rather a luminous appearance. They speak of his acts as zahir,
apparent only. For instance, says the Ansairee lad, they say he
was not really married; for how, say they, could he be, being
God?” Salisbury, op. cit., p. 253.
8 Salisbury, op. cit., p. 297.
*Sell, op. cit., pp. 147 ff.
108
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
ness has been deified by the Druses, and they confidentiy
look for his second coming.1
In treating of the Babites, we have to deal with a sect
which began in the year 1844, though its immediate
parentage was from the Shaikhis, which is also an out-
growth of Shiism, and has some points of similarity with
the Nusairiyeh and the Druses. Though a heretical sect
of Islam, and a hybrid of the teachings of Islam and the
Bible, especially of the Gospels, and with an ancestry
extending back to the Sufis, it is, in its aims, its ideals,
and in the men and women that it has produced, by far
the noblest sect born of Islam. Its founder, those who
suffered martyrdom with him, and many more who have
endured a like fate, have won the sympathy, and largely
the approval, of those who have studied their system and
portrayed their lives.?
So far as Babiism is founded on the philosophical
1 Ibid, p. 176.
2 Browne, op. cit., p. 226: “Kazem-Beg says .. that one
day, falling into an ecstasy, Mirza Ali Muhammad discovered that
he was the Bab, the gate of truth.” Bab is the Arabic for gate. It
is interesting to note that the related sect of the Nusairiyeh use the
same term of Bab. Lyde, op. cit., p. Ito writes: " The Ansaireeh
believe in one God, self-existent and eternal. This God manifested
himself in the world seven times in human form, from Abel to Ali
son of Abu-Taleb, which last manifestation was the most perfect;
that to which the others pointed, and in which the mystery of the
divine appearances found their chief end and completion.
At each of these manifestations the Deity made use of two
other persons; the first created out of the light of his essence, and
by himself, and the second created by the first. These, with the
Deity, form an inseparable trinity, called Maana, Ism, Bab.
The first, the Maana (meaning,) is the designation of the Deity
as the meaning, sense, or reality of all things.
The second, the Ism (name,) is also called the Hedjah, or veil,
because under it the Maana conceals its glory, while by it it re-
veals itself to men.
The third, the Bab (door) is so called because through it is the
entrance to the knowledge of the two former
The third per-
son in the trinity is the Bab.... who in the time of Adam was
Gabriel, and in the time of Ali was Salman-il-Farisee, the Persian."
DEIFIED MEN
IOS
1
system of Sufiism, it does not belong in our discussion;
but so far as it deifies certain men, and is closely con-
nected with the sects already mentioned, it should not be
passed by
Sell, in his able essay on The Mystics of Islam, has
shown how Sufiism has furnished the philosophical basis
for Babiism. God is the primal element. In creation
he came forth from internal to external manifestation.
He is being; man and all created things are not-being.
Not-being is the mirror in which being is seen. Indeed,
the infinite includes all being, evil as well as good, but as
evil is inconsistent with the goodness of God, as set forth
in the Koran, evil is said to proceed from not-being. All
that exists is God, and nothing exists apart from him:
It is not difficult to see how, on the basis of such a
philosophical system, the Babites hold that certain men
are as truly mirrors of deity as Jesus Christ was. Indeed,
Abbas Effendi pressed this illustration upon me as ex-
plaining the incarnation, Holiness of character is not
necessary to the idea of such an incarnation : "To the
man of God right and wrong are alike.''
Sinlessness, then, is not indispensable to any of these
incarnations. Indeed, it is not claimed for Ali, or Hakim,
or the Bab, or Beha, or Abbas Effendi.
If we turn to the Old Testament we shall find a prac-
tical tendency of the Semitic mind to deify man. This
may be a survival of a time when the distinction between
gods and men was not sharply drawn, to which allusion
has already been made. At any rate, men have the term
god applied to them in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ
himself alludes to this when he says: “If he called them
gods, unto whom the word of God came." 2 This refers
1 Sell, op. cit., pp. 3 ff.
2 John x. 35.
110
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
دور
to certain passages where judges and rulers are termed
Elohim." We find a similar usage in the Tell-el-Amarna
tablets. Various kinglets, including those of Beirut,
Sidon, Tyre, Hazor, Jaffa, Lachish, and others, in
writing to the king of Egypt, address him as “my gods''
(ilani-ja). Thus Abi-milki of Tyre writes: “To my
lord, the king, my sun, my gods.
Following the same analogy, we seem to have in the
forty-fifth psalm a conspicuous example of the deification
of a Messianic king. The psalm, according to modern
interpreters, celebrates the nuptials of a prince and
princess. There is good reason to believe that the
prince was of the house of David, perhaps Joram, and
the princess of the northern kingdom, Athaliah, the
daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. This is a theory which
was held by Delitzsch, which I rejected when he stated
it to me in the first critical work that he assigned me.
But now it seems to me far more probable than any other
theory which has been proposed. All the historical
allusions seem to me to point this way. In a single
verse which, as an epitaph, sums up the achievements of
Ahab's reign, only two are mentioned, "the ivory house
which he built, and all the cities that he built." 3 Hence,
the erection of an ivory house is made exceedingly con-
spicuous as it could hardly have been, if such a palace
had been built before. It is also said that the Tyrians
(bath Zur) would be there with a gift, which would well
be the case when the daughter of Jezebel was to be
married. Nor can there be any doubt that this is an
earthly king, for not only his queen, but also, according to
1 Ex. xxi. 6; xxii. 7-9; 1 Sam. ii. 25; Ps. Ixxxii. 1.
2 Winckler, The Tell-el-Amarna-Letters, New York, 1896, in
loc.
8 i Kings xxii. 39.
DEIFIED MEN
III
the customs of the times, his harem is mentioned.
There is also the hope expressed of a numerous poster-
ity: “Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom
thou shalt make princes in all the earth. These are to
take the place of their ancestors. When, therefore, this
king is addressed, “Thy throne, Elohim, is forever and
ever; a scepter of equity is the scepter of thy kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness.
Therefore, Elohim, thy Elohim, hath anointed thee with
the oil of gladness above thy fellows," we have the same
term applied here to the Messianic king as to the theo-
cratic judge, who, each in his place, was regarded as a
representative of God. The fact that the historical
Joram fell so far below the ideal of the Messianic king
who was to wage war in behalf of truth and of the lowly
but righteous ones, could not affect the hopes of the
psalmist, who found in the union of a prince of the south-
ern kingdom with a princess of the northern an occasion
to paint an ideal of Messianic hopes and expectations,
colored by the conceptions of the time, but which the
Spirit of God does not find an unworthy medium in New
Testament times, setting aside the purely local features,
for expressing the divine sonship of Jesus Christ.?
1 Ps. xlv, 12-16.
? Heb. i. 8, 9.
CHAPTER IX
THE PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
In the discussion of primitive Semitic religion to-day,
it is necessary for us to consider the physical relation of
man to God. But only rather obscure traces are to be
found of the physical fatherhood of Deity among modern
Semites. The subject cannot be discussed by making
use of veiled expressions. I shall try not to offend
against delicacy, but must use words which are unam-
biguous.
There is perhaps no clear proof of the existence of the
notion that God is the father of a clan, tribe, or family.
For this there is a sufficient reason in the fact that such
an idea would be most repugnant to Islam as well as to
ancient Christianity. Here, if anywhere, old Semitic
ideas should have become extinct. I can present only
such hints as I have found in certain expressions and
usages, and leave the reader to draw his own conclusions.
These hints are not limited to the representations of God,
since it seems quite certain, that to the ignorant mind,
as I have observed, there is practically no clear distinc-
tion between the divine powers of God himself, and
those of the saint, or the departed spirit; each in his
own domain may exercise an authority, which to the
simple peasant, or the Bedouin, is what we should term
supernatural and divine.
We have seen how the conceptions of God are human-
2
1 For these ideas, see W. Robertson Smith, Lectures on the
Religion of the Semites, New York, 1889, pp. 41-43.
2 P. 77.
II2
THE PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
I13
1,1
ized, while those of “the saints' are deified. We need,
therefore, in order to make an intelligent induction, to
examine every expression, or usage, which indicates that
spiritual existences may have the power of fatherhood.
It is certain that we cannot be sure of finding such traces
at any given point, but coming to us from many points,
often unexpectedly, they may be none the less significant.
Were we to ask the question, "Is there evidence that
God is regarded as the physical father of any clan, tribe,
or people among the modern Semites?'' we should be
compelled, as far as my investigations have gone, to
answer, “No.''
There is no such clear-cut statement,
so far as I am aware, of a belief among the modern
Semites of the physical fatherhood of Deity, such as is
said to exist among the Tongas, who affirm, “God had
three sons, the whites, the Zulus, and the Tongas.
I found the investigation leading to data necessary
in order to form a conclusion, delicate and difficult. Not
because the modern Semite hesitates to discuss such
themes, quite the contrary; but because the facts
vhich have a bearing upon the subject are more likely
to come to light by indirection and when least expected,
than by any formal inquiries.
There seem to be pretty clear indications that igno-
rant Moslems and Christians conceive of God as pos-
sessed of a complete male organism, and that this is not
merely popular language. Moslems at Hamath, in
northern Syria, swear by God's phallus. In the village
of Bludan, about twenty-five miles west from Damascus,
which is composed of Greek Christians of a very low
type, the same oath is heard on the lips of women,
1 Personal Interview, W. L. Thompson, M. D., missionary of
the A. B. C. F. M., Mt. Silinda, East Central Africa.
? Journal XI., summer of 1901.
I14
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
who sometimes are so shameless as to giggle when using
it, thus showing that they are conscious of its meaning.
Another form of oath of a similar sort may be heard in
Nebk, in the Syrian desert, and at Zebedani.?
At Kerak, whenever there is a drought, the Greek
Christians dress a winnowing fork in women's clothes.
This they call the bride of God." The girls and
women carry it from house to house, singing doggerel
songs. This expression, "bride of God," naturally
reminds us of the bride of the Nile," who, according
to a tradition given by Lane, was anciently thrown into
the arms of the river god, when the water began to rise.
There is a further illustration, from another country,
which shows how far superstition may descend in lower-
ing the conception of God. Some ignorant members of
the Greek Church in Syria speak of the Virgin Mary as
the “bride of God." We do not know what they may
understand by this term, but in Porto Rico a Catholic
was living openly with a woman to whom he was not
married. When rebuked by a Syrian, who was residing
in that country, he replied that there was no wrong in
what he was doing, for he was simply following the
example of God, who still lived with the Virgin Mary.
1 Testimony of Rev. J. Stewart Crawford, who has his summer
home at Bludan.
2 Suleiman, teacher in the Irish Presbyterian Mission at Nebk,
and Abdullah, teacher in the American Presbyterian Mission at
Hamath.
8 Letter from Mr. Henry G. Harding, formerly of Kerak, now
of Gaza, of the Medical Mission of the C. M. S. of Great Britain;
cf. Frazer, The Golden Bough, London, 1900, Vol. I., pp.95, 213.
4 Lane, An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Mod-
ern Egyptians, London, 1896, p. 500: "The Arab general was told
that the Egyptians were accustomed at the period when the Nile
began to rise to deck a young virgin in gay apparel, and throw her
into the river as a sacrifice to obtain a plentiful inundation.”
Journal XI.
6
THE PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
115
Among the Ismailiyeh there is said to be a sacred
maiden, whose distinctive features, eyes, and color of
hair are known from their holy books, and whose body
is considered the abode of Deity. She is introduced into
the sacred assemblies of the initiated, and stands exposed
before them. She was once seen for a moment by a
Protestant Syrian, who went to call on an intimate friend
among the Ismailiyeh. Fearing for his life he fled, and
emigrated to a foreign land. This sacred maiden is said
to be descended from the Son of God."
Procreative power is attributed by the Syrians to the
spirits of the dead. It is well known that they affirm
that the jinn may have sexual intercourse with men and
women; of this fact Baldersperger has given some fresh
examples. It is said that women sometimes find that
their best gowns, which they had carefully locked up in
their bridal chests, have been worn and soiled by female
spirits during their confinement, because they did not
utter the name of God when they were locking them up.3
But the view that the spirits of the dead may beget chil-
dren is held to the extent that it is believed a widow
may conceive by her husband, for nine months after his
death. It is said that a woman at Nebk took the bath
of ceremonial purification because she dreamed she
had received a visit from her deceased husband.
1 The custom to which allusion is made has been repeatedly
charged to the Nusairiyeh, and as often denied by Protestants
who know them intimately. The circumstance mentioned in con-
nection with the Ismailiyeh was detailed to me by a credible
witness, who heard it from the Syrian, with whom he was well
acquainted, and who was compelled to flee for his life. The point
of this incident is that this young woman is alleged to be directly
descended from the Son of God.
2 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement for 1899,
London, pp. 148, 149.
3 Journal X., Nebk, summer of 1901.
4 Ibid. Cf. Lev, xv. 18.
116
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
It may be that
There is a man in Nebk who is currently believed to
be the offspring of such a union, and no reproach was
ever cast upon his mother. There is also a person in
Nebk who is considered, by simple people, to be the
child of a jinn.
Another form of the same belief is doubtless in a
singular custom, of which I have heard of two examples.
When a man had been executed for murder at the Jaffa
gate in Jerusalem, more than thirty years ago, some
barren woman rushed up to the corpse."
they felt that, inasmuch as the man had been released
by death from previous nuptials, and was free, as a dis-
embodied spirit, he was endowed with supernatural power
to give them the joy of motherhood by proximity to his
dead body.
We also seem to find the same idea in the connection
of barren women with the spirits of sacred shrines of
various sorts, or with those whom, in their ignorance,
they suppose to be spirits.
It is said that they visit the hot springs at a certain
place, of which the name is unknown to me, and take
practically a steam bath, the weli being considered by
them as the source of the vapors.
About four hours from Karyaten, on the way to Sadad
(the Zedad of Scripture), are the so-called baths of
Solomon, where there are extensive ruins of buildings on
a grand scale. Only part of the arches that supported
the superstructure now remain. There are three places
where the hot air comes out of the ground, many yards
apart. One of these is in the floor of a room of con-
siderable size, with walls and a roof of stone. The heat
1 Journal VIII., summer of 1900, Rev. J. Edward Hanauer of
Christ Church, Jerusalem. Cf. Lane op. cit., p. 267.
2 Num, xxxiv. 8.
THE PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
I'17
is so intense that it is not possible to endure it many
minutes. The other hot air vents are in the field. One of
these, called Abu Rabah, is a famous shrine for women
who are barren and desire children. They really regard
the weli of the shrine as the father of children born
after such a visit, as appears from the rendering of an
Arabic couplet, which they repeat as they go inside the
small inclosure, consisting of a rude stone wall about four
feet high, and allow the hot air to stream up their bodies.
“Oh, Abu Rabah!
To thee come the white ones,
To thee come the fair ones;
With thee is the generation,
With us is the conception.”
The native teacher's wife said she knew of two barren
women who had recently had children after visiting this
shrine. When a child is born as the result of such a
visit, it is customary, after the immolation of the victim,
to partake of a meal which is eaten in the shade of the
vaulted ruin near by, and to which the friends of the
family from the neighboring villages are invited.
Almost equally significant is another curious custom
in connection with some of the channels of the Orontes,
used for irrigation. During a certain season of the year,
the water is turned off and the channels are cleared of
mud and any matter which might clog the flow of the
water. The first night that the water is turned on it is
said to have the power of procreation (it is called dekr).
Barren women take their places in the channel, waiting
for the embrace of the water spirit in the onrush of the
stream.
Naturally there are also shrines to which barren
1
2
1 Journal I., Karyaten, autumn of 1898, Syrian teacher's wife.
2 Journal XII., Homs and Braigh.
118
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
women go that they may have the reproach of childless-
ness removed. Sometimes the woman stands at a Chris-
tian shrine below one of the saint's pictures, covered
with a wire netting with some projecting points, and
taking her head-dress in her hand, tries to drive a sharp
bargain with the saint for the gift of the desired child.
Giving the cloth a fling toward the wire netting, she bids
one piastre;' if it catches on one of the projections, she
considers it a sign that the saint will give her a child,
and that after its birth she is to pay the sum of one
piastre. If, however, the cloth falls, she understands
that her offer has been rejected, and that the saint insists
on more money; so raising up the cloth, she gives it
another fling, and says, "two piastres." This she does
until it catches. When this takes place she goes away
in the firm belief she is to have a son, and with the
understanding that when he is born she is to bring to the
shrine the sum last named.
There are, however, barren women of all sects, includ-
ing Moslems, who go to the shrine of the most powerful
saint in all Syria. There are many natives who shrug
their shoulders when this shrine is mentioned in connec-
tion with women.
But it is doubtless true that many do
not know what seems to be its true character, and who
think that the most puissant saint, as they believe, in
the world can give them sons. Why should not ignor-
ance and superstition, in the eagerness for children, in
some cases be unsuspicious? If a dead husband can be
the parent of a child; if Abu Rabah can give seed; if a
woman can conceive by a water spirit; why should she
not believe a monkish tale that St. George (Mar Jirjis)
will be a husband to her and give her conception?
The famous shrine of St. George was once visited by
1 Journal I., Safita, autumn of 1898.
THE PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
I19
2
many Moslem women who desired offspring, and who
went with the full consent of their husbands. But the
true character of the place is beginning to be recognized,
so that many Moslems have forbidden their wives to
visit it. 1
There is a cave at Juneh in which there is a pool of
water to which the same power is attributed. The natives
believe that a childless couple who bathe in the waters of
this cave will have children. Undoubtedly the cave is
supposed by them to be inhabited by a weli, who has, as
the peasants think, the power to make a barren mar-
riage fruitful.
To sum up, the idea that a weli may be a physical
father is one of which there is more than one example,
and the notion is currently believed, as we have seen,
that disembodied spirits may still beget children from
mortal women, either those who have been their own
wives, or from others; while it is commonly held that a
jinn may have an earthly wife, or that a man may have
a spirit wife who will not tolerate his looking at any
woman. These phenomena seem to point back to a
time, already considered, when there was no distinction
between God, the weli, the departed spirit, and the jinn.
Hence the being to whom the Semite did homage was
endowed with physical fatherhood. If, now, we regard
the departed spirit, who is held in love and reverence,
hence enjoys the title of weli, as the only deity who has
any practical bearing on the life of the modern Semite,
we may claim that the idea of the physical fatherhood of
deity still exists.
1 Journal XII., village near Hamath. I had one incident
described to me from the lips of a man who visited the shrine, and
who is one of the most trustworthy in all Syria.
2 Journal X., Beirut, William Van Dyck, M. D.
I20
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
There are various indications of a relationship between
men and divine beings. The term weli, as I have
shown, indicates the one who may be nearest of kin,
hence the one, according to the Arabic version, to marry
the childless widow of a brother, or of one closely re-
lated.
From this point of view, it is perhaps significant that
the grave of the weli is often, among the graves of his
tribe or clan, the most conspicuous of them all.
But more than this, there are clans and families who
claim to have sprung from one original ancestor, who is
also a patron saint or weli. These are to be found among
certain tribes of Arabs. While, as we have seen, some
of the Nusairiyeh make such high claims for Ali as to
deny that he had children, there are others who claim
that they are descended from Ali through Nusair.
The idea that God may have sons by physical genera-
tion is common among all peoples who speak of him as
a
There is one passage in the Old Testament
which seems to have taken its color from such an old
Semitic conception. I refer to Gen. vi. 1-4: “And it
came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face
of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, that
the sons of God (benai Elohim) saw the daughters of men
that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that
they chose.
· The Nephilim were in the earth in
those days, and also after that, when the sons of God
a man.
1 Personal observation in many parts of the country.
2 Ebers, Durch Gosen Zum Sinai, Leipzig, 1872, p. 239: “Die
Sawâleha-Beduinen halten Schech Salih für ihren Anherrn und
glauben, dass er ihrem Stamme den Namen gegeben." Cf. Jour-
nal XII., interview with the chief of the Rawaeein at Mehardeh:
• They make their vows to patron saints, and these are mostly
progenitors of tribes."
We inferred that the subdivisions
of the Aneze and others have patron saints. As to the descent of
the Nusairiyeh, Journal XI., at Behammra.
THE PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
I21
came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children
to them; the same were the mighty men which were of
old, the men of renown. In the light of Semitic modes
of thought, I do not think the interpretation which has
been regnant in certain circles since the time of Augus-
tine and Chrysostom, that the sons of God were the pious
Sethites and the daughters of men were Canaanitish
women, was at all intended by the writer. It is question-
able, too, whether angelic beings, as we understand the
term, were intended. So far as the meaning of the pas-
sage is concerned, were not the Sethites men? Did they
not begin to multiply upon the earth? Did they not
have daughters born to them? Were there not fair
women among them? It seems to me that nothing but a
desire to render the scriptural narrative edifying has led
to this traditional interpretation, which is clearly alle-
gorical. I am well aware that the term “son," in Semitic
speech, is often not to be taken too literally, but here it
certainly indicates superhuman beings, at least what we
might call demigods. Out of their connection with
earthly women are born men of extraordinary physical
development. We are no more to go to such a passage
for doctrine than to other passages in the Old Testament
for teaching regarding the future state. We are not,
however, to suppose that any Old Testament writer
thought of God as a physical father, though some appear
to speak of heathen gods as if they were real existences.
We have, as it seems to me, the true reading given by
Wellhausen, in the Polychrome text of Ps. lviii. 1:
Speak ye indeed what is right ye gods?
Do ye judge men without partiality?
Nay, rather, on earth are your judgments confusion,
Your hands weigh out what is wrong."
1 Job iii. 13-18; Is. xiv. 9, 10.
I22
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
It is from this point of view, in which the writer
acknowledges their real existence, that Wellhausen well
says: “The gods are not human rulers. They are divini-
ties worshiped by the heathen, and placed by Jhuh at
the head of the nations, Ps. xxix. lxxxii. They are held
responsible for the conduct of their subjects. If they are
righteous gods, they must maintain righteousness and
justice within their domain. In point of fact, their rule
is thoroughly discredited by the disorderliness and licen-
tiousness of their subjects (v. 3-5). .... Seeing, then,
that they fail in their duty, or are incompetent for their
task, Jhuh himself must interpose, and execute justice
against the heathen, in order that it may be seen that
there is one Supreme Deity upon the earth who judges.''
So the sons of God, whoever they may be, come to
present themselves before the Lord, as if he held a court
like an earthly king. Hence, the writer sees no impro-
priety in the Adversary presenting himself also, and
receiving permission to lay his hand on Job. It is thus
that an ancient Semitic conception of divine beings,
called Elohim, but not regarded as men, is alluded to in
a way which would escape the reader of the ordinary
English version. While the Old Testament writers never
conceive of men as having physical relations to God,
they do not hesitate to speak of the sons of God as
having children, as we have seen, or of heathen gods as
having offspring. This appears from two passages
quoted by W. Robertson Smith:
“ Woe to thee, Moab!
Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh:
He hath given his sons as fugitives,
And his daughters into captivity,
Unto Sihon king of the Amorites."
2
3 ܙܙ
1 Job i. 6-12; ii. 1-6.
2 Op. cit., pp. 42, 43.
3 Num. xxi. 29.
THE PHYSICAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
123
god."í
Here, then, it is the Moabite god Chemosh who gives
up his children. The phraseology of the following pas-
sage in this connection is very significant: "Judah hath
profaned the holiness [sanctuary] of the Lord which he
loveth, and hath married the daughter of a strange
This view of the heathen divinity, like that in
the passages cited above, looks upon them as real exist-
ences, who have the power of physical fatherhood. The
ancient as well as the modern Semite did not philoso-
phize, nor see any inconsistency in acknowledging the
existence of heathen deities, as subordinate to the gov-
ernment of God, and as having children, like the
Moabites, who were sprung from their loins. In the
same way, while the modern Semite does not clearly
think of God as procreator, he certainly holds that a
disembodied spirit, whether that of an ordinary man, or
of a weli, can become a physical father.
i Mal. ii, II.
CHAPTER X
MORAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
We have seen that to the ignorant man or woman, a
spirit, a departed ancestor, or saint may stand in the
place of deity. It is important that we should consider
the relations of the people to such a béing.
Theoretically there is syncretism. The Moslem,
everywhere, confesses that he believes in one God, but
the Fellahin, the Arabs, and the Bedouin, not to speak
of many others, including multitudes of women, believe
a great deal more firmly in some weli or spirit, as the one
who can help in the time of trouble. God is far away, the
spirit or saint is near. God is so far away that the con-
sciousness of him seems to be lost as a force in life. If
any one doubts this, let him travel from one end of Syria,
through Palestine to the Sinaitic Peninsula, and observe
how the sacred shrines dominate almost every hilltop;
how they are to be found in almost every village; how
they are in the wilderness, apart from any human habi-
tation, where the nomads can insure the safety of their
flocks from disease, from wild beasts, and raids of hos-
tile tribes, by timely vows. Let him interview the people
and he will find that the saint is a real force in their lives.
In considering the relation of man to God, to saint,
or spirit we have to deal with one word which furnishes
the key.
That word is known among us as sin; among
the modern Semites it is often equivalent to misfortune;
that is, sin and misfortune are practically correlative
terms among the ignorant. Rev. W. K. Eddy, of Sidon,
See pp. 77, 94.
124
MORAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
125
who was born in Syria, and who knows the language and
customs of the people thoroughly, says that it is a com-
mon expression among the people to-day: “O Lord,
what is my sin" (ya rubb khattîtí)? It is to be doubted,
whether there is much consciousness of sin among the
ignorant, without misfortune. There are indeed two
crimes that are often acknowledged as shameful, and
hence as sins; these are adultery and murder. But
even the latter, when undertaken on a raid or in blood
revenge, is, in the estimation of the modern Semite, no
murder. Doubtless there are lawless men among the
Bedouin, who, in their thoughts of a future life, owing to
the instruction of the sheiks of Islam, may confess that
they are fit candidates for the fire. But the great mass
of the sons of the desert, if they give any thought to the
matter at all, doubtless have the spirit of bravado and
assurance expressed in the language of one of them, as
reported by Palgrave: “ 'What will you do on coming
into God's presence for judgment after so graceless a
life?' said I one day to a spirited young Sherarat, whose
long, matted lovelocks, and some pretensions to dandi-
hood, for the desert has its dandies, too, amid all his
ragged accoutrements, accorded very well with his con-
versation, which was nowise of the most edifying descrip-
1 Palgrave, op. cit., p. 33.
2 Some Arabs told Miss T. Maxwell Ford that they were going
into the fire. Cf. Doughty, op. cit., Vol. II., pp. 381, 382: "'And
tell me, what can so bind to religion this people full of ungodly
levity and deceitful life?' 'I think it is the fear of the fire (of hell)
that amazes their hearts! all the time of their lives. Fire is the
divine cruelty of the Semitic religions." But in the index Doughty
qualifies this general statement, by applying it to Moslems.” (Ibid.,
p. 580. "Fire of hell! 'the dread of - in Moslem hearts.'') It is
evident that Mohammed preached physical torments, Koran, IV.,
59: “Verily, those who disbelieve our signs, we will broil them with
fire; whenever their skins are well done, then we will change them
for other skins, that they may taste the torment.” Palmer's trans-
lation. Cf. Ibid., xvii. 5-7; xxxviii. 3-9, etc.
126
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
tion. 'What will we do?' was his unhesitating answer.
“Why, we will go up to God and salute him, and if he
proves hospitable (gives us meat and tobacco), we will
stay with him; if otherwise, we will mount our horses
and ride off.' This is a fair specimen of Bedouin ideas
touching another world, and were I not afraid of an
indictment for profaneness, I might relate fifty similar
anecdotes at least. Nor did I ever meet, among the
genuine nomad tribes, with any individual who took a
more spiritual view, whether of Deity, of the soul of man,
or of any other disembodied being soever. God is for
them a chief, residing mainly, it would seem, in the sun,
with which, indeed, they in a manner identify him
somewhat more powerful than their own head man
but in other respects of much the same style and char-
acter. The spirits of their frequent ghost stories
are, for all their diabolical propensities, very corporeal
beings, and can even intermarry with the human race.
The souls of the dead, for their part, are little
better; they are pleased with, nay require, sacrifices at
their tombs, and the blood thus shed nourishes and sa-
tiates them.” 1
The Bedouin and ignorant Syrian has every reason to
believe that his relations with the being he regards as
most powerful are good until some misfortune comes; in
his misfortune is the evidence of his sin, and he seeks at
once to put himself on good terms with the being he has
offended by means of some gift.
The fact that sin and misfortune are regarded as
essentially synonymous terms came out in a very impress-
ive way in an interview with some Nusairiyeh who were
Protestants. When visiting Jendairiyeh, with Rev.
James S. Stewart, missionary of the Reformed Presby-
1 Palgrave, op. cit., Vol. I., pp. 33, 33.
MORAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
127
1
terian Church in northern Syria, I had a long interview
with some of these people. To get their idea of the
reason for misfortune, I asked Mr. Stewart to tell them,
in outline, the story of the afflictions which befell Job,
and to ask them what they thought about them. They
said at once, “That man must have been a great sinner.'
When they heard of the man that was born blind, they
said, “Either that man sinned in a previous state, or his
parents must have sinned." 3
In another part of Syria I heard of a Moslem whose
wife, a virtuous woman, had borne him four children,
but whom he adjudged as guilty of some secret sin
because the children had died. He therefore proceeded
to put her away."
The governor of a certain town in Syria was considered
by the people as a tyrant. He lost two sons; it was at
once said that he had been punished for his unrighteous
deeds. The Syrian who related the incident, a man of
wide observation and rare intelligence, in commenting
on the incident, said that when misfortune comes people
begin to think about their sins, but do not recognize
them otherwise.
Whenever, then, any member of a family falls ill, or a
misfortune of any kind seems to impend, the conclusion
is at once reached by those interested, that the saint is
offended, and that his favor must be secured through the
medium of some gift. Oftentimes the one who is afflicted,
or some near friend or relative, promises to give some-
thing to the saint if the affliction is removed; or such a
1 Job i. 13-19.
2 John ix. 1.
3 Journal XI. The Nusairiyeh as well as the Druses believe in
the transmigration of souls.
* Journal XIII.
128
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
gift may be paid unconditionally. Where the orthodox
view is maintained, that the saint is an intercessor with
God, the vow is made as payment for his intercession.
There is no such thing as a recognition of dependence
upon the saints, so far as I am aware, among the Bedouin
and ignorant peasants, except when things go wrong.
In these respects the modern Semite has the same
conception of misfortune as equivalent to sin that the
ancient Semite had. Of this we have a conspicuous
example in the case of Job's friends, and even in the
time of Christ, for he felt called upon to correct the view
of the populace, who held that the eighteen upon whom
the tower of Siloam fell were offenders above all who
dwelt in Jerusalem.?
The same idea appears in the Moabite inscription of
King Mesha. “Omri was king over Israel, and he
afflicted Moab for many days, because Chemosh was
angry with his land." 3
No reason is assigned for this
anger; it is something with which the king has to reckon.
Because the king has suffered misfortune he argues that
the god must be angry with him. The same King
Mesha, when the battle goes against him, offers up his
first-born son to his god. He would not have done this
had he not believed, because of his defeat, that Chemosh
was angry at him for some sin, and that the only way to
appease his anger was by the sacrifice of his son.
Aside from the annual festivals, which are found only
in connection with a small number of shrines, there would
be no gifts at the great majority, if men and women did
not fear some misfortune, or were not in actual danger
Job iv. 7; viii. 6; xxii. 5-10.
2 Luke xiii. 1-5.
The_Inscription of Mesha, vs. 4-6. Driver, Notes on the
Hebrew Text of the Book of Samuel, Oxford, 1890, p. lxxxvii.
8
MORAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
129
of it. In other words, there would be no sense of depend-
ence on these welis; their cult would end. The modern
Semite feels as dependent on their favor as the ancient
Semite did upon the favor of the Baalim for good har-
vests. The motive for vows, gifts, sacrifices is in both
cases the same.
The consciousness of sin as actual guilt is not ordi-
narily very strong among the Arabs and the Fellahin.
They fear to swear falsely by their saints, but it is not
because of the sin of false swearing. They swear falsely
by God without the slightest compunctions, because they
think that he is forgiving, and will not notice this misap-
propriation of his name. They fear to swear falsely by
the saints, because they are afraid of their anger, and so
of their punishment. If they have promised anything to
the saint they are afraid to break their word for the same
reason.
It is notorious that the mouths of many Arabs and
Syrians are full of foulness. This is not merely the
frankness which pertains to all the relations of life, in a
way that is sometimes exceedingly embarrassing to Eng-
lish and American missionary ladies, but it arises from
corrupt minds. They do not fear to use such language,
although offensive to God, but it is related of the Nusairi-
yeh, that when they visit a certain shrine, they refrain
from all obscene language, because offensive to the weli;
yet when they have paid their vows, and are returning to
their homes, they give free rein to their tongues.
The relation of the modern Semites to the saints is
entirely different from that to God. The people are in
fear of them, and seek to secure their favor through gifts,
and to avert misfortune by a timely and satisfactory
bakshish.
It will thus be seen that sin, as identified with misfor-
130
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
ܐ ܙ ܕ
tune, comes to be without ethical character.
The con-
ception of a powerful being, as such, is much like that
of an earthly ruler, who makes right and wrong by edict.
That which is pleasing to the ruler is right, that which
is displeasing to him is wrong. It is in this way that
Judah proposes that he shall be regarded by his father,
if he does not return his brother Benjamin, when he says:
"I will be surety for him; at my hand thou shalt demand
him; if I do not bring him unto thee and set him before
thee, then I shall have sinned against thee all the days."
Thus, by the law of solidarity, all Israel is held
responsible for Achan's disobedience in taking the
devoted thing. To the ancient Semite, as well as to
the modern, spoil captured in battle would be legitimate.
There would be no moral wrong in Achan taking from
the spoil of the enemy, but the command of God made
that wrong which would have been right under other
circumstances. So there could ordinarily have been no
wrong on the part of Saul and the people of Israel in
appropriating the spoil of the Amalekites, but as God
had decreed otherwise, it becaine a sin.3 Later, when
they fought against the Philistines and defeated them,
after the slaughter of Goliath, and spoiled their camp,
not a word is said by way of reproach.*
So long, then, as misfortune is regarded as equivalent
to sin; so long as good and evil may come from God; so
long as right is not right in itself, or wrong, wrong by its
own nature; but right and wrong are made by God's
decree, just as by any earthly potentate, the conscious-
ness of sin, as guilt, is dulled, and men's minds are con-
1 Gen. xliii. 9 (Hebrew).
2 Josh. vii. 1-12.
31 Sam. xv. 2–24.
4 1 Sam. xvii. 53.
MORAL RELATION OF MAN TO GOD
131
fused. The forbidden thing becomes a means of wrong-
doing, simply because it is forbidden, and not with
respect to its ethical character, and the relation of men
to spiritual beings becomes a matter of barter. If
bakshish will avail to cover over almost any offense
which an Oriental may commit against his government,
it must avail in dealing with the only supernatural powers
that he knows. Their favor may be secured and their
anger turned aside, if a satisfactory gift is promptly
inade. Freed, then, from all dread in this sphere, what
need the Arab or Fellahin, who has not come under the
dominion of the teaching of Islam, fear for the future?
On the other hand, we find a marked advance in the
conception of sin in the best of the Babylonian peniten-
tial psalms; ' for in these at the first blush we seem to
have reached a consciousness of guilt as profound as in
the Old Testament. But a closer examination discloses
the fact that sin is still revealed through misfortune,
through the manifestation of the anger of some god or
goddess. It is sin, too, concerning whose character le
victim is unconscious, so that he has no idea how his
misfortune has come upon him.
In his trouble he seeks the help of each known or
unknown god or goddess. In true Oriental fashion,
after he has called in vain without any hand being out-
stretched, he lies on the ground sobbing and kissing the
feet of each god and goddess in turn.
But there is no
relief, and again he makes piteous appeal for mercy.
What can he think in the midst of such misfortunes and
such expressions of anger but that he is a great sinner?
As a result of this conclusion, he first makes a general
confession of men's lack of insight, so that they cannot
1 Zimmern, Babylonische Busspsalmen, Leipzig, 1885. pp.
61-66.
132
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
distinguish between good and evil, or between those
things which are pleasing to the divinity and those
which are not, and then he makes that pathetic confes-
sion of sin which we find at the end of the psalm, which
may not be divorced from the Semitic idea of misfortune
as sin;
My god, my sins are seven times seven, forgive my sins.
My goddess, my sins are seven times seven, forgive my sins.
“Known and unknown god, my sins are seven times seven, forgive
my sins.
“Known and unknown goddess, my sins are seven times seven,
forgive my sins.
Forgive my sins and I will bow myself before thee in humility.
“May thy heart be glad as the heart of a mother who has
brought forth,
“Be glad as of a mother who has brought forth, as of a father who
has begotten a child.
It is clear from the above confessions that the Baby-
lonian had made great progress beyond the primitive
Semite in his consciousness of sin, and if he could have
had the teaching of an Isaiah, he might easily have
passed on to such a discovery of the true nature of sin
as is indicated by the Old Testament saints.
CHAPTER XI
HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
All readers of the Old Testament, whether scholars or
not, are familiar with the passages which refer to high
places, and the worship of the Baalim. Modern critics
claim that according to the most ancient documents the
patriarchs and some of the most devoted servants of God
worshiped at these high places, and often under sacred
trees. Thus Abraham builds his first altar and receives
the first revelation which God makes to him under the
terebinth of Moreh,' which, according to Baudissin,
signifies the terebinth of the prophet;a that is, a place
to which the people of the country came for information
about those affairs which were beyond their ken.
The next altar which he builds is under the terebinths
of Mamre in Hebron. Here he pitched his tent, and
here, in a place recognized as sacred, God revealed him-
self to him again. In Beersheba he plants a tamarisk
and calls on the name of Jehovah. Later Isaac builds an
altar there, and likewise calls on the name of Jehovah.
It is at this same place, and probably on the same altar,
under the same tamarisk, that Jacob offers sacrifice.? It
was under an oak that the angel of Jehovah appeared to
1 Gen, xii, 6 and 7.
2 Studien Zur Semitischen Religionsgeschichte, Leipzig, 1878,
Vol. II., p. 224. I have derived valuable help from the work
of Baudissin in the preparation of this chapter. Cf. especially
Höhendienst der Hebräer in Realencyclopädie für Protestantische
Theologie und Kirche, Leipzig, 1900, Vol. VIII., pp. 177-195.
8 Gen. xiv. 13.
4 Gen. xviii. 1.
.
6 Gen. xxvi. 25.
6 Gen, xxi. 33.
? Gen. xlvi. I.
133
134
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Gideon, and it was under the same oak that he built an
altar. It is at the oak in Shechem that the men of the
city go to make Abimelech king. It is not stated that
these sacred trees were on high places, but this seems
altogether probable.
The use of mountains and high places for worship
among the early Hebrews provokes no reproof. Indeed
that ancient, anonymous prophet, who is embodied by
both Isaiah' and Micah, says: “And it shall come to
pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's
house shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall
flow unto it."
It is on Carmel, a sacred mountain, that the Prophet
Elijah repairs the altar of Jehovah that was thrown
down. It is upon a mountain that Abraham is directed
to offer up his son. It was on a mountain that Jacob
offered up a sacrifice before parting from Laban.? It
was on Mizpah, signifying lookout hill or mountain,
whither Jephthah went to speak all his words before the
Lord. 8 It is Mount Sinai or Horeb, which is called
repeatedly the Mount of God, upon whose summit God
revealed himself to Moses, 10 and long afterwards to
Elijah. The Mount of Olives was a place where David
or his contemporaries were wont to worship God." With
reference to the use of high places for legitimate sacrifice,
there are conspicuous examples. When Saul goes to get
8
5
1 Judg. vi. II, 21, 24.
1 Kings xviii. 30.
6 Gen. xxii. 2.
Judg. ix. 6.
s Is. ii. 2.
9 Gen. xxxi. 54.
4 Micah iv. I.
8 Judg. xi. 11.
9 Ex. iii. 1; iv, 27; xxiv. 13; 1 Kings xix. 8.
10 Ex. iii. 5; xxiv. 12.
11 2 Sam. xv. 30, 32. The imperfect indicates customary action.
HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
135
information about his father's asses, he finds that the
people have a sacrifice that day on a high place, which is
followed by a meal, of which the invited guests do not
partake until Samuel first blesses the sacrifice. It was
to Gibeon that Solomon went, after he had been made
king, to offer a thousand burnt-offerings, because, as the
writer says, "that was the great high place," and there
Jehovah appeared unto him.?
This worship upon mountains, hills, high places, and
under trees, was nothing new. It is found among other
nations, and is of great antiquity. When the centraliza-
tion of worship in Israel is emphasized under Josiah, the
effort is made to do away with the worship on the high
places, and to give effect to the command contained in
Deuteronomy: “Ye shall surely destroy all the places,
wherein the nations which ye shall possess serve their
gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and
under every green tree. Hosea is the first ancient
prophet who sets forth the true nature of this worship,
which he regards as whoredom. He says of it: “My
people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth
unto them: for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them
to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their
God. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains,
and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars,
and terebinths, because the shadow thereof is good:
therefore your daughters commit whoredom, and your
brides commit adultery."
Jeremiah and Ezekiel characterize these places of
worship more than once in similar terms: "For of old
time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and
thou saidst, I will not serve; for upon every high hill and
I Sam. ix. 12, 13.
8 Deut. xii. 2.
1 Kings iii. 4, 5.
4 Hos, iv. 12, 13.
1 4
1
2
136
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
, 2
under every green tree thou didst bow thyself playing
the harlot.” 1 “For when I had brought them into the
land, which I lifted up my hand to give unto them, then
they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they
offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented
the provocation of their offering, there also they made
their sweet savor, and they poured out their drink offer-
ings. Then I said unto them, what meaneth the high
place whereunto ye go? So the name thereof is called
Bamah unto this day.
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine whether
any
of the bamoth were artificial elevations—so Baudissin
holds, but on insufficient grounds, as it seems to me,
because his argument is sustained by that which may be
a doubtful reading in Ezekiel, namely, ramah for bamah.
While there are a few passages where the term “houses
of high places" occurs, and the parallelism sometimes
indicates a sanctuary, it is evident from a few other pas-
sages that the word bamah not only indicates the high
place, but also the sanctuary that was often erected upon
it. In common usage it is applied to a building even in
a valley. The terms employed indicate that the popular
reference was to a building, in many passages where the
word bamah is used. Thus we read that Solomon built
"an high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab,
in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech,
the abomination of the children of Ammon”; 4 "that the
children of Israel did secretly things that were not right
against Jehovah, their God, and they built them high
1 Jer. ii. 20.
2 Ezek. xx. 28, 29.
3 Op. cit., Vol. II., pp. 258, 259.
Neither the LXX. nor Jerome
understood that we have to do with an elevation. Cf. G. F. Moore,
High Place, Ency. Bib., New York, 1901, Vol. II., col. 2,067.
4 1 Kings xi.7.
HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
137
4
6
places in all their cities"';' and that Manasseh, "built
again the high places, which Hezekiah, his father, had
destroyed." ? The verb asah (to make) is also used as
a synonym of banah (to build). Sanctuaries, or houses,
are also indicated by the words used for their destruc-
tion, as nathatz (to tear down), and saraph (to burn).
The term hishmid (to destroy) is less definite, but is
probably to be understood with respect to the destruction
of a building
We have every reason to suppose that the Baalim were
worshipped on the high places, where there were buildings
as well as where there were none, under the shadow of
trees, or on the bare heights. We have the term
Bamoth Baal, used as the name of the place in Moab,
whence Balaam could see Israel, where he erected seven
altars for sacrifice, and where God met him.? This
name also occurs in Joshua, 8 and is mentioned in the
twenty-seventh line of the inscription of King Mesha.
Not only the context of several passages indicates that the
Baalim were worshiped on the high places, but the Baalim
are directly mentioned in connection with the bamoth.9
We have no details in respect to the rites used in
connection with the worship of the Baalim. Hosea indi-
cates that the Israelites consider them the givers of their
prosperity, whose favor they are to seek. The worship
is of a joyful character. There are feasts, new moons,
and sabbaths.11 At such times the people are decked
with their jewels and are dressed in their best attire. 12
2
12 Kings xvii.9.
2 Kings xxi. 3.
32 Kings xxiii. 8.
4 2 Kings xxiii. 15.
? Num. xxii. 41–xxiii. 4.
8 Josh. xiii. 17.
9 Jer. xix. 5; xxxii. 35.
10 Hos. ii. 7.
9
6 Hos. iv. 13.
11 Ver. 13.
12 Ver. 15.
6 Jer. iii. 2.
138
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
All is hilarity. In this there is syncretism, for the
prophet represents the people as calling God Baali (my
baal), as if the worship were intended for him, while the
thought is somewhere else; as if a woman should call her
husband John, by the name of her paramour Charles.
In the visit of Saul to Samuel, and in the account of
his participation in the feast which follows the sacrifice,
we have a glimpse of a meal which seems to have been
conducted with piety and dignity. Doubtless most of
the sacrifices were followed by such a meal. It was to
such a yearly sacrifice that Jonathan reported that David
had gone when Saul missed him from the royal table.
There can be no question that this feast would follow
the sacrifice at the high place of Bethlehem if there were
only one. This is a legitimate inference from 1 Kings,
iii. 2: "The people sacrificed in the high places, because
there was no house built for the name of Jehovah until
those days," interpreted in the light of the present usage
of the people. The passages which describe the worship
of the bamoth in a general way, affirm that the people
"sacrificed and burned incense on high places.
In the discussion which follows, on high places in Syria,
Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula, I have drawn on my
own observations throughout the countries named, sup-
plemented by quotations from the works of Burckhardt,
Conder, Ganneau, Tischendorf, and Palmer, which will
be found in Appendix E.
My researches began in the autumn of 1898, during a
tour in northern Syria, when I had the company of two
missionaries of the American Presbyterian Board, Rev.
F. W. March and Rev. W. S. Nelson, D.D., both of
Tripoli, whom I have already named in other connec-
tions. My first observation of a sacred grove was at a
i Kings xxii. 43; 2 Kings xii. 3; xiv. 4.
1
HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
139
missionary station at Beinu. On making inquiry regard-
ing a grove that I saw on a neighboring height, I was
told that it was sacred. The following is the record in
my journal: "One of the most beautiful and characteris-
tic places in the vicinity of Beinu is what must anciently
have been a high place, known in Hebrew as bamah. On
the top of it are oaks, called sacred trees. There is also
a Greek church among the trees, without a roof.' I
afterwards visited the grove. I found that there was a
cave in connection with it, which doubtless has a sacred
character, although I did not think of investigating the
subject at the time. Inside the ruin were various places
where incense had been burned. I was told that on the
7th of October, at the feast of Mar Sarkis, the people are
in the habit of coming from all around to this high place
and of bringing food for a feast. I was informed that
they now celebrate a mass, as this is a Greek shrine, but
twenty years ago they made their vows and brought
bread or a sheep and gave to the poor.
I need not say that when I first recognized this as a
high place and a sacred grove, it had for me the charm
of a new discovery. From this time on every energy
was spent in securing information regarding this charac-
teristic of northern Syria; for while high places and sacred
trees are to be found in almost every village and settle-
ment from Syria to the Sinaitic Peninsula inclusive, not
to speak of Asia Minor, Egypt, Abyssinia, and other
countries, there is no part of the East where sacred
groves and high places are so abundant and form such a
conspicuous part of the landscape as in northern Syria.
I saw more than fifty such in my journey from Beinu to
Safita—a portion of the country which is rarely traversed
by travelers. By interviewing peasants in the neighbor-
hood of these high places, as well as congregations of
140
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Protestant Christians, who had once been slaves of these
superstitions, I was able to get a mass of testimony
mostly consentient, which to my mind sheds at least some
light on the history of Israelitish religion.
The next shrine that I investigated was at Musulleh,
a settlement of the Nusairiyeh. Here we found a sacred
grove around the tomb of Sheik Ahmed.
The tomb was
in the form of a large mound, about eight feet long,
three feet wide at the base, but narrower at the top, and
about three feet high, covered with white plaster. It
was in an inclosure about a rod square, and surrounded
by a rude stone wall about three or four feet high, with
an entrance two feet wide on one side, with a long stone
across the top, probably to exclude any one who might
try to ride in. This was the general character of all these
tombs, which were open to the sky. In one place the stone
laid across the entrance was carved in the shape of an
immense phallus. It was impossible to get an interview
with the sheik of the village, who was reported, in the
language of some society ladies, as "not at home." We
were therefore compelled to question one of his servants.
From him we gained the following information: “The
spirit of the saint resides in the tomb. He would visit
any desecration of the grove, such as the cutting or
mutilation of the trees, with death.
We heard this latter statement repeated over and over
again. On the tomb is a green cloth. If any one is i11
he tears off a piece of the cloth and ties it around his
neck or wrist, thus vicariously transferring the healing
properties of the weli to himself. Those who are ill or
in trouble come to the tomb and make their vow to the
saint, promising him, in case of recovery, grain or sheep.
In the event of a favorable issue, they make payment of
what they have promised and use it as a meal at the tomb
HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
141
of the saint. Any one who chooses may come and par-
take. I found it was also a universal custom that a feast
was always instituted after the payment of vows, although
often more than one sheep or goat is slaughtered, and
sometimes even bullocks. Guests are often invited to
partake of the meal which follows the sacrifice.
Another shrine, which we visited the same morning,
is especially good for the eyes. The saint is an oculist, .
A man who has trouble with his eyes takes a cock, cuts
off its head, puts a drop of its blood in each eye, gives
the cock to some poor person, and his eyes get well.
Another place belongs to Moslems and Christians. There
are other examples where high places are held sacred by
Moslems and Christians, by Nusairiyeh and Christians,
by Greeks and Maronites, or by all the leading sects, of
which I shall give examples later, At a caravansary we
sought to get information as to whether the spirit of St.
John (Mar Yehanna), which I have mentioned in another
connection, was in the stone, before which we found
incense. We got different replies. One said the spirit
of the saint must be in the ground. But we said, "When
the saint was buried, did not his soul go to heaven; what
is there here?" The answer was, “We do not know any-
thing about heaven, so that the place where his body was
is the place where you are to worship him."
In regard
to another shrine, a man said, “If you are ill, you must
go and lay your hand on his tomb and make your vow.
1 رو
1 The account of these shrines is substantially as I recorded
it about three years ago. Those which I have seen since are
often in small rectangular buildings, with a dome, like the whited
sepulchres of which Christ speaks (Matt. xxiii. 27).
A description of many of these shrines is to be found in
other connections in this book, as it is impossible to disassoci-
ate them altogether from the discussion of local divinities, minis-
ters, "holy men,” etc.
Those who desire to see something of what has been already
142
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
We are now prepared to make an induction from the
passages cited in the Old Testament, from my own per-
sonal observations and studies in northern Syria, from
those things which came to my notice in Palestine and
the Sinaitic Peninsula, as well as from the statements of
eminent travelers quoted in Appendix E.
The sacred character of mountain tops is evident to
any one who travels widely in the parts named. On
Mount Hermon, near the highest summit, are the remains
of more than one temple, as well as of small bones and
ashes which lie on a bed of gravel around the ruins on
the east side for more than one hundred feet, and in
some places, for a depth of more than a foot and a half.
On Mount Gerizim there are not only ruins indicating
that from ancient times it was a place of worship, but
the Samaritans annually celebrate their passover there.?
Sacrifices are also still offered, according to the testimony
of travelers, on Mount Sinai and Mount Serbal. It is
doubtless true that from time immemorial these moun-
tains, not to speak especially of Tabor, Carmel, and
others, have been favored seats of worship.
made known on this subject by others will find some valuable
excerpts in Appendix E. There has been much more published
on this subject by travelers and scholars than in connection with
any other part of my investigation.
11 know of no other way to account for the presence of this
deposit, which has the appearance of ashes, and is intermixed
with small bones.
2 Appendix F
: When Rüppel visited the top of Mount Serbal, in 1831,
he found a circular inclosure of rough hewn stones, reached by
rude steps of stone, placed against the shelving precipice lead-
ing up to it. His guide removed his sandals from his feet when
he entered into the midst of it to pray, and afterwards told him
that he himself had twice offered a sheep as a thank-offering,
the first time after the birth of a son, and the second after his
own recovery from illness. (Cf. Lepsius. Letters from Egypt,
Ethiopia, and the Peninsula of Sinai. London, MDCCCLIII.,
p. 310. Note.)

SHRINE AND SACRED TREES OF NUSAIRIYEH AT DER MARIA.
AFTER REV. W. S. NELSON, D. D.
HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
143
Nor can there be any question that the bamoth of the
Canaanites and the Hebrews were sometimes the same as
the makams, now observed from northern Syria through-
out Palestine and in the Sinaitic Peninsula. We have
seen that the bamah was not always a high place, that
it often indicates a sanctuary, which may be in a city or
valley, and which is evidently a building. In this respect
the usage corresponds precisely to what we find to-day.
The makam is the place of the saint. It is preferably
on a hilltop, but may simply be a tomb of a saint in a
rude inclosure under the open heavens, or the tomb may
be in a little building, usually with a dome, called a
kubbeh. Such a tomb may be in town or village, or even
on low ground, like the makam of Abu Zenimeh, of the
Sinaitic Peninsula, which is a frail hut by the shore of
the Red Sea.
There can be no doubt that the sacred groves and
sacred trees are essentially of the same character as those
mentioned in the Old Testament, and that they exist in
much the same places as of old, wherever trees
grow; at least one is often found near a makam. There
is such a tree at Tell el-Kadi over the grave of a weli.
There is also a sacred grove not far away.
The only
tree I saw in a ride of nine hours between Beersheba
and Gaza was a sacred tree. The trees themselves, as
we have observed, are sometimes the objects of worship.
Though the name of the Baalim has perished in connec-
tion with these places, their cult is still observed.
can
CHAPTER XII
PRIESTS AND “HOLY MEN"
One of the surprises in the investigation of primitive
Semitic religion to-day was to find that there is virtually
a priesthood in existence at the shrines. They do not
have the designation of priests; they are known rather
as sheiks' of certain shrines, or as servants of certain
saints. But their duties and emoluments correspond in
some degree to those about which we read in the Old
Testament.
In 1898 I heard that there was a priestly family con-
nected with the shrine known as the “Mother of Pieces''
(Umm Shakakif), but could learn nothing further about
it at that time.
Three years later, after discovering the "Chair”
(Kursi), above the valley of ez-Zebedani, I had the great
joy of having my first interview with the servant of the
shrine, which consists, as we have seen, of a monumental
rock, over thirty feet high, underneath which is a little
cave known as a weli. Before making our visit, Rev. J.
Stewart Crawford, whose summer home is in Bludan, had
arranged to have the minister of the kursi ready to meet
us on our arrival.
After climbing the steep mountain-side above the
Moslem village of Madaya, where the servant of the
kursi resides, we found him and a companion reclining
under one of the sacred oaks, the largest of the group
which are near the weli. He and his friend at once
1 This is a common designation.
2 See pp. 44, 45.
144
PRIESTS AND “HOLY MEN"
145
joined us on a flat rock behind the kursi, from which,
however, the view of the source of the Barada was unob-
structed. I have seen Moslems frequently at prayer,
once in a police court in Damascus; once on a housetop,
where I was spending the night; once under a sacred
terebinth at Gadara (Mukes), where fifteen men, includ-
ing our mounted horseman, went through their prayers;
often by the roadside; and once on the way to Engedi
(Ain Jidi). I saw the sheik of our Bedouin escort stop
by a grave, where many of the clan seemed to be buried.
While standing he engaged in an act of prayer. Moslems
always prostrate themselves when engaged in their devo-
tions. Our surprise was, therefore, very great when
the minister of the kursi and his companion, standing
side by side, and turning their faces toward the source of
the Barada, which was west by south, engaged in prayer.
Not once did they bend the knee. When they had fin-
ished the first petition they paused for a few moments,
took a step forward, and resumed their prayer, then
paused again, took another step forward, and then
uttered the third and last petition. When we asked
them afterwards why they did not look toward the south,
toward Mecca, the Moslem Kibla,' they said, that, as
their prayer was to the “God of the place,” it was a
matter of indifference which point of the compass they
faced. It is needless to say that an interview which
began in such a way was most instructive and most inspir-
ing Here was the priest, or "servant of the kursi,"
shrine which they claimed was next in importance after
a
1 Cf. Muir, The Life of Mahomet. London, 1894, p. 117: "Jeru-
salem had been long regarded by the prophet with the utmost
veneration; and indeed, until his breach with the Jews at Medina,
the temple remained his Kibla, or place toward which, at each
stated genuflection, he turned to pray.'
He afterwards changed
the Kibla to Mecca. P. 183.
146
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Mecca, or rather on a par with it, consisting of a great
monolithic rock, in which the common people believed
that the ten companions of the Prophet Mohammed
reside, with a cavern so small that five people could not
sit upright in it. This servant lived in the village below
as a good orthodox Moslem, but in the presence of this
sacred stone, hallowed for millenniums, the ancient
heathenism was too much for him, as it had been for the
priestly family from which he was descended through
many generations.
The following day the minister of the "Mother of
Pieces" came, at our invitation, from the village of
Zebedani, where he resides, to Mr. Crawford's house.
We learned that in the spring there was an annual festi-
val, when the people of the villages in the vicinage
marched in procession to the shrine following a banner
borne by thirty or forty who were called his disciples.
In the course of our travels we found many men whose
business it is to care for the shrines, and to lead the wor-
ship at them, but none so interesting as the servant of
the kursi.
Usually only one priestly family is connected with a
shrine, though there may be a father and sons, as in the
case of Hophni and Phineas. Boys are sometimes dedi-
cated to the service of a shrine, like the lad Samuel.
But there are also cases of several priestly families living
at one shrine, as at Nob. Such are found at Nebi Daud,
on the traditional Mount Zion, at the northwest corner
of Jerusalem, outside the wall. There are said to be at
least ten priestly families dwelling in the houses sur-
rounding the court of the traditional tomb of David.
11 Sam. i. 3.
2 Such was the testimony of several belonging to different
priestly families.

PRIEST OR MINISTER OF THE MEZAR AT JAFAR.
NOTICE THE SEMN AND HENNA PLASTERED ON THE LINTEL AND LEFT DOORPOST.
PRIESTS AND "HOLY MEN'
147
1
It seems to be the case that such a priesthood is
hereditary. It is transmitted from father to son, or to
some scion of the family, and so on throughout the
generations.
They are supported, in part at least, by the sacrifices
which are brought to the makam. The dues of these
priests, who are commonly known as ministers, or care-
takers, are much the same as among ancient Israel.
Ordinarily they receive the hide of the animal offered
and one of the quarters, sometimes other parts. For
example, the servant of the “Chair'' receives the hide or
leg of the sacrifice, and whatever money is left in the lit-
tle cavern, also the offerings of olive oil. The servant at
Berza is presented with the hide, the right hind quarter,
and the bowels; so the Moslem caretaker at Nebi Safa
gets a quarter of the animal, and usually the hide. The
dues of the priests in ancient Israel were not essentially
different. According to the Deuteronomist, the one
bringing a sacrifice was to "give unto the priest the
shoulder, the two cheeks, and the maw.' According
to the Priests’ Code “the priest that offereth any man's
burnt-offering, even the priest shall have to himself the
skin of the burnt-offering which he hath offered"; 8 "And
the right thigh shall ye give unto the priest for an heave
offering out of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. He
among the sons of Aaron that offereth the blood of the
peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right thigh
for a portion."
The vows which are made by modern Semites yield an
important part of the income of the minister of the
* Journal XIII., Rasheya, summer of 1901.
2 Deut. xviii. 3.
3 Lev. vii. 8.
• Lev. vii. 32, 33.
148
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
shrine. During the year, at a popular makam, many
sheep and goats, and sometimes larger animals, are killed
in payment of vows. Besides there are vows of grain,
which are promised on condition of good harvests.
These vows are collected by a servant of a shrine. Such
collections are so customary that Rev. W. K. Eddy, of
the American Presbyterian Mission, Sidon, has had the
collector of vows come to his house, asking if there were
any vows for the shrine. Large revenues come to the
monastery of St. George in northern Syria from this
source. The income is so great that the abbot is able to
buy himself a bishopric. The servant of a shrine, if it
occupies a building, keeps it in order. Sometimes such
a building is quite alone by itself, as the shrine of Aaron
on Mount Hor; or it may be one of several buildings
gathered around a court, like Nebi Daud, where there
are homes for one or more priestly families, who live in
great comfort.
He may slay the victim, if for any reason
the one bringing the sacrifice, does not choose to do so.
Sometimes it is stipulated that the minister of the shrine
is to slaughter it. “The special dahhiyeh sacrifice is slain
by the person bringing it, but if he is afraid, or his hand
trembles, he can say to any proper person, 'I appoint
thee my representative in offering this sacrifice; dost
thou accept?' But when they appoint a representative
they put their hand on the back of the animal slaughtered.
The hand may be put on any part.
The same ceremony
is observed in the case of a woman, who may choose a
representative, or may slaughter with her own hand if
she prefers." 1 According to the same authority, any
one may kill the sacrifice for vows. The minister of the
"Chair" said: “If the sheik, that is, the minister of the
shrine, is present, he kills the victim, otherwise any one
1 So the Dervish Hatib of Der 'Atiyeh, summer of 1901.
1 وو
PRIESTS AND "HOLY MEN'
149
who can read the first sura of the Koran. He uses the
formula, 'This is from thee and for thee.' The dahhiyeh
sacrifice is slaughtered by the one who brings it. If,
however, it is brought by a woman, she puts her hand on
that of the man who kills it." The butcher often kills
it. So, according to the various codes, the one bringing
a private victim usually slays it himself." It is quite sig-
nificant among the modern Semites, that while they do not
lay their hands upon the head of the sacrifice, they do lay
their hands upon it, if they ask some one else to kill it.
In addition to the care that the minister takes of the
shrine, he is the repository of such legends as may exist
with respect to the origin of the shrine, and the life of
the saint whose name and deeds are celebrated.
Besides the ministers there are "holy men." This
term must be understood in the old Semitic sense of
those set apart to the service of Deity. Thus we read
of "holy men' who were Sodomites, and of "holy
women, or priestesses, of Astarte, the Syrian Venus,
who were temple prostitutes. It is the Old Testament
1 Cf. Bissell, Biblical Antiquities, Philadelphia, 1888, p. 388.
Of course it is understood that the one slaying a sacrifice must be
a Moslem, in order that it may be legal. Cf. Hedaya, Vol. IV., p.
63. Or, at least, if slain by a Christian, it must be by the com-
mand of a Moslem. P. 83.
2 The duties of the ancient Bedouin in the care of their
shrines seem to have been essentially the same as to-day. Cf. Ben-
zinger, Hebräische Archäologie, Leipzig, 1894, pp. 409, 410: "In
ausserordentlich interessanter Weise wird das alles bestätigt durch
die aufallenden Parallelen bei den alten Arabern. Das Amt des
Priesters ist bei ihnen die Bewachung des Gotteshauses
für
Darbringung des Opfers auf einem einfachen Stein ist er ent-
behrlich.... Das Amt ist in erblichem Besitz gewisser Fam-
ilien."
8 The Hebrew term for Sodomites is kadesh, and for temple
prostitute kedeshah, from kdsh, to be set apart. Deut. xxiii. 17.
(Rev. Ver.) Cf. Hos.iv. 14. According to what seems to be unim-
peachable testimony, sodomy is extensively practised in certain
cities of Syria, and according to Hugronje, as quoted by Zwemer
(Arabia: The Cradle of Islam), p. 41, in the sacred mosque of
150
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
which gives this ancient Semitic term an ethical mean-
ing. The word, as connected with the God of Israel, has
the signification which is always assigned to it in theo-
logical and devotional literature. The "holy man" of
the modern Semites may be anything but a moral man,
as we shall see.
There are said to be seven holy men in the world, so
that all who resemble them are given the benefit of the
doubt. So far as they are not imposters, they are men
whom we would call insane, known among the Syrians as
mejnún, possessed by a jinn, or spirit. They often go in
filthy garments, or without clothing. Since they are
regarded as intoxicated by deity, the most dignified men,
and of the highest standing among the Moslems, submit
to utter indecent language at their bidding without
rebuke, and ignorant Moslem women do not shrink from
their approach, because in their superstitious belief they
attribute to them, as men possessed by God, a divine
authority which they dare not resist.? Such an attitude
Mecca itself. Li
Likewise, the priest of the shrine of Ali at Kerbela
asked an Armenian, now resident in New York, if he wanted a
wife during his stay at the annual festival. These temporary
wives are kept veiled in the sacred inclosure.
1 In a certain family in Nebk the wife, a perfectly respectable
woman, apparently with the consent of her husband, considers it
wrong to refuse a "holy man. Her name is well known in the
community where she lives. Such cases are probably rare, and
occur among the very superstitious. A Moslem said they should
not be blamed or struck for such approaches, and added that the
"holy man" when he comes near a woman begins to shiver and
retires. Another Moslem explained such reports by affirming
that some "holy men" had been led astray by immoral women.
Casting aside the specific testimony of Christians, even the admis-
sions of Moslems and the case cited seem to indicate that these
mendicants have their way with the ignorant in everything. Cf.
Frazer, The Golden Bough, London, 1900, p. 147: "Women are
taught to believe that the highest bliss for themselves and their
families is to be attained by yielding themselves to the embraces
of those beings in whom the divine nature mysteriously coexists
with the form and appetites of true humanity.”
PRIESTS AND "HOLY MEN'
151
of compliance may be exceptional, but there are more
than rumors of its existence. These "holy men” differ
from the ordinary derwishes whom travelers so often see
in Cairo,' and from the ordinary madmen who are kept
in fetters, so that they may not do injury to themselves
and others. But their appearance, and the expressions
regarding them, afford some illustrations of the popular
estimate of ancient seers, or prophets, in the time of
Hosea: "The prophet is a fool, the man that hath the
spirit is mad;" ? and in the time of Jeremiah, the man
who inade himself a prophet was considered as good as
a madman. We are reminded, too, of one of the signs by
which Saul was considered a prophet, when he stripped off.
his clothes, and lay down naked all that day and all that
night, so that the people in view of these demonstrations,
with which they were so familiar, said, "Is Saul also
among the prophets?"'
The sinlessness of "holy men” is considered as of the
same sort as that of little children; that is, like little
children they are innocent, because they have had no
experience of sin.
4
5
See Lane, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians,
London, 1886, pp. 439ff., 46Iff., and Baedeker, Egypt, Leipsic,
1898, pp. lxxxvii-lxxxviii: “A considerable number of them [of
thé derwishes] are insane, in which case they are highly revered
by the people, and are regarded as especially favored by God, who
has taken their spirits to heaven, while he has left their earthly
tabernacle behind." Essentially the same view is held in the Syr-
ian desert: “They think the spirit of the 'holy man' is shut up
in heaven."
2 Hos. ix. 7. Cf. George Adam Smith, The Book of the Twelve
Prophets, New York, 1896, p. 28 n.
8 Gen. xxix. 26.
41 Sam. xix. 21-24.
A simple Moslem was explaining to Suleiman of Nebk how
a "holy man" is sinless. He said, “your child is pure and innocent
because she cannot distinguish between good and evil; the same
is true of the holy man.
8
152
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
They are also believed to be possessed of prophetic
power, so that they are able to foretell the future, and
warn the people among whom they live of impending
danger.
The "holy men" and the religious sheiks cast out evil
spirits, which resemble closely those about whom we read
in the time of our Lord. They exorcise evil spirits from
those who are ill. They think such persons are possessed
by the jinn, who seem to be the same as the demons in
the time of Christ. The religious sheiks, who fulfil a
different function from the holy men, and who are reli-
gious teachers, all exorcise. The following account of
a young woman possessed by an evil spirit, which was
exorcised, was given to Suleiman, a Protestant teacher
in Nebk, by his wife, who knows the girl: “The holy
man commanded the spirit to come out of her. He
replied, 'I will come out of her head.' 'But if you do,'
said the holy man, 'you will break her head.' "Then,'
said the spirit, 'I will come out from her eye.' 'No,'
said the holy man, 'you will destroy it.'
At last he pro-
posed to come out of her toe, and this was permitted.
1 A “holy man" foretold a confiagration. Journal of 1901.
2 The religious sheiks visit the Bedouin two or three days each
year to give them religious instruction.
8 Baldensperger relates a similar case in Palestine, Quarterly
Statement, London, 1893, pp. 214, 215: "On the 31st of December,
1891, a woman living next field to ours, in Jaffa was seized by a man
wrapped in white.. She was struck dumb with terror, and ran
into the house, but could show only by signs that something ex-
traordinary had happened. Immediately a sheik from Saknet Abu
Darwish, near by, was fetched, who brought his sacred books,
ghost books-and to begin with, administered a severe flogging to
the patient. Then burning incense all the time he began question-
ing:
Sheik.-Who art thou?
Ghost.—(Out of the woman.) A Jew.
Sh.-How camest thou hither?
Gh.—I was killed on the spot.
Sh.-Where art thou come from?
1 1 3
0
PRIESTS AND "HOLY MEN''
153
A boy had epileptic fits. The boy felt the spirit coming
up through him. The sheik gave the boy such a heavy
blow on the shoulder as to make a wound; through this
wound the spirit came out of him."
In this connection we may speak of those who corre-
spond somewhat to the ancient Nazirites, who are vowed
to God by some doting mother, as Samuel by Hannah.
The hair remains uncut until they arrive at a certain age,
is weighed when cut, and money is paid in proportion to
its weight. One thus consecrated becomes a derwish if
a Moslem, and a monk if a Christian.?
There are no "holy women," or temple priestesses,
among the Syrians, who prostitute themselves in the
service of some shrine, as was customary among the
ancient Israelites, and among their heathen neighbors,
as we see froin the worship of Baal Peor, or from that of
Afka, where, in the most romantic place in Lebanon, at
the source of the ancient River Adonis, which leaps full-
born from a cavern in a perpendicular rock, more than a
Gh.-I am from Nablus.
Sh.-When wast thou killed?
Gh.-Twelve years ago.
Sh.-Come forth from this woman.
Gh.-I will not.
Sh.—I have fire here and will burn thee.
Gh.-Where shall I go out?
Sh. From the little toe.
Gh. I would like to come out by the eye, by the nose, etc.
After long disputing, the ghost, after a terrible shake of the
body and of the leg, fled by the toe; the exhausted woman lay
down and recovered her language.”
Journal X., summer of 1901.
2 The late Rev. John Zeller, for more than forty years resident in
Palestine, said: “Women sometimes vow to give a son to God. He
is regarded as a sort of Nazirite and his hair is not cut until he comes
of age. Then a great feast is made. Such a boy, if a Christian,
may become a monk, if a Moslem a derwish.” Journal VIII., sụm-
mer of 1898.
: Deut, xxiii. 17; Hos. iv. 14:
1
154
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
thousand feet in height, was situated the temple of Venus,
at which her priestesses practised licentious rites, until
it was torn down, by the command of Constantine.
It is an interesting illustration of the permanence of the
memory of such a site that a sacred fig-tree, which has
grown out of the ruins of this temple, is known by the
natives as “Our Lady Venus." The designation "Our
Lady,"is here combined with the heathen goddess. Other-
wise it is used only in connection with the Virgin Mary.
Nor are there those in Syria who vow themselves
once, as Herodotus says was the custom among Baby-
lonian women in their service of Venus, known as Istar.
It is said that a Syrian woman vowed, in case the saint
granted her request, she would serve as a prostitute three
days. And a Syrian is authority for the statement that
Egyptian women, in connection with the molid service, at
a shrine in Tanta, follow the ancient custom of Babylonia.
1
1 Dr. William Van Dyck gave the following account: “At Afka,
a wild fig-tree, besides one or two terebinths, grows out of the east
wall of the ruined temple, which is considered sacred, and is
credited by all the inhabitants, Maronites as well as Metawileh,
with healing virtues. It is called Sayyidat-az-Zahra (Our Lady
Venus, literally Lady Venus). The word sayyideh designates
the Virgin.” Journal X., summer of 1901.
2 Book I. Cic: “The most hateful custom among the Babylo-
nians is the following: Every native woman must once in her life
sit in the Temple of Aphrodite and give herself up to some stran-
ger. The price of her prostitution is considered sacred to the
goddess. Cf. Deut. xxiii. 18. Is there a hint here of the terrible
crime mentioned in Lev. xviii. 23? Such customs, doubtless dating
from the time when the land vomited out its inhabitants (Lev.
xviii. 28, Rev. Ver.) are attested as existing in Baalbek by a mis-
sionary who has resided long in the vicinity. Cf. Doughty, Arabia
Deserta, Cambridge, 1888, Vol. I., pp. 265, 266. I have heard of
such a practice among a tribe of the Bedouin, from what seems to
be a trustworthy source. This may be a survival of ancient totem-
ism. Cf. Barton, Semitic Origins, Religious and Social, New
York, 1902, p. 37.
3 Hanna Khizani of Hamath visited Tanta, Egypt, and saw
the great annual festival of Seiyid Ahmed el-Bedawi," probably
the most popular saint in Egypt," when there were “upwards of
PRIESTS AND "HOLY MEN''
155
Such sporadic rites, if they exist to-day, have come
from the same sentiment as underlay human sacrifice-
that the worshiper would devote his, or her, most pre-
cious possession to God. This, rather than any desire for
license, must be the explanation of religious vows and
rites on which, in ancient as well as in modern times, the
devotee must have looked with the deepest mortification
and loathing.
half a million persons” present, including singers, dancers, jug-
glers and showmen of every kind. It is at this festival that some
of the honorable women vow the use of their bodies to the first one
who happens to approach them,” following precisely the custom
described by Herodotus.
CHAPTER XIII
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
According to the strict tenets of Islam, vows are con-
trary to its fatalistic philosophy. But the natural reli-
gion of the people finds expression in vows; indeed, there
could be no shrines if the ordinary people did not believe
in saints and the efficacy of vows and prayers. Whether
the saint is regarded simply as an intercessor, as among
orthodox Moslems, or as having power in himself, the
worshiper at the shrine believes that evils can be averted,
and misfortunes changed into blessings.
There can hardly be said to be any definite view as to
the attitude of the saints with respect to men. It is the
etiquette of the country not to approach any powerful
person without a gift, and it is a belief, deeply ingrained,
that no great favors are to be expected from any one for
nothing. Besides, there is the feeling, as has already
been remarked, that some of the saints are to be feared
rather than loved, and there is the dread of spirits
that injure men. A vow may be given in advance like a
retaining fee to a lawyer, or it may be a promise that if
certain benefits are received the thing vowed will be
given. Vows are of various sorts, and will be more par-
ticularly considered in connection with sacrifice.
There are vows having respect to the personal con-
1 Mishcat ul-Masabih; or, A Collection of the Most Authentic
Traditions Regarding the Actions and Sayings of Muhammed,
Vol. II., p. 155: “Do not make a vow with the dependence of its
opposing fate, because a vow does not do away fate and predesti-
nation, but all it does is extracting something from tbe wealth of
the miser.'
156

SHRINE OF NEBI DAUD, JERUSALEM,
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
157
dition of the one making the vow, or of some near rela-
tive. As barrenness is considered almost the greatest
disgrace that can befall an Oriental woman, and girls are
not reckoned in the enumeration of a family, a barren
woman often seeks a son from a local saint, or weli; thus
the story of Hannah' is not unfrequently repeated. One
of the most conspicuous cases was related to me by Rev.
E. A. Hanauer, of Jerusalem, who was an eye-witness of
part of the incident. There was a Syrian woman who
was barren, and who, in the bitterness of her soul, went
to Neby Daud, on the traditional site of Mount Zion, and
vowed that if the saint would give her a son she would
give him a fat sheep. In due time a boy was born. The
father and mother, on their way to the shrine, stopped
to rest at a house, where the missionary heard the story
from the lips of the glad mother. Sometimes a man
vows that if the saint will grant him a son he will pay for
his weight in silver coins. The teacher of a Greek school
in Safita was present at the payment of such a vow.
When the silver placed in the balances nearly tipped the
scale, the father threw in two or three gold pieces. 8
Sometimes a woman, in her ardent desire for a son,
will vow that if the saint will grant her request she will
sacrifice a sheep each year.
Such was the vow of a
woman at the cave where Abraham is reputed to have
been born at Berza near Damascus. At the last report
she had already sacrificed three sheep. There can be no
question that barren women, as the result of such vows,
sometimes receive the power to bear children. Perhaps
this is an indication of the domination of the mind over
1 Samuel i. 9-11.
2 The same incident is given by Lees, Village Life in Pales-
tine, London, 1897, pp. 24, 25.
8 This was given by Mr. Yazzi. Cf. Ancient Shrines in Northern
Syria in The Independent for 1898, p. 1448.
1
158
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
the body; or, as a native physician suggests, the very
exertion consequent on visiting a shrine may bring the
body into a normal condition,
When the little ones fall ill the mothers have recourse
to the saints. The following is an incident told by a
Moslem woman with respect to her daughter, at the
shrine of Nebi Safa, about two hours and a half from
Rasheya. Her daughter had lost one son and another
little boy of nine months lay gasping in her lap. She
shrieked, “To whom shall I vow, mother?” Her mother
replied, “They are all God's prophets, vow to whom you
please." So she vowed to Mar Elias (St. Elijah) that
if her boy got well she would take him to the church and
have him baptized, though she was a Moslem.
As soon
as she had made the vow the child gave a long quivering
sigh and recovered. She afterwards carried out her
promise. Vows of this kind are quite common, and not
a few Moslem boys thus receive Christian baptism.
The formula of a vow, as given by the same woman, is:
“O prophet of God! O Safa! leave me this boy and I will
bring you a sacrifice." The vow is addressed directly to
the prophet. Another form is, "I need so and so, and if
you will do so and so for me I will bring you a sacrifice."
The forms of vows here are not different from those
of the ancient Israelites. It was Hannah who vowed a
vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look
on the affliction of thy handmaid, and .... wilt give
unto thy handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto
the Lord all the days of his life." 2 It was Jacob who
“vowed a vow," saying: “If God will be with me, and
will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread
1 This is the view of Dr. A. A. Antounyan of Aleppo, as ex-
pressed to me in an interview at Brummana, Aug. 16, 1901.
21 Samuel i, II.
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
159
If any
to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my
father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my
God
and of all that thou shalt give unto me I will
surely give the tenth unto thee.” 1 So Absalom asked
permission to go to Hebron to pay a vow: "For thy ser-
vant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, say-
ing: 'If the Lord shall indeed bring me to Jerusalem,
then I will serve the Lord.'"2
Vows are restricted to actual cases of need.
member of a family falls ill, it is customary to offer a
sacrifice. Mr. Hanauer of Jerusalem relates that a
young woman belonging to a Moslem family living next
door fell ill. A sheep was killed at the door, the flesh
was cooked, and it was given to the poor. This is the
most meritorious use which could be made of vows.
There is an allusion to such a use of vows in feeding the
poor in Ps. xxii. 25, 26: “I will fully pay my vows before
them that fear him; the miserable shall eat and be satis-
fied.” This language is perfectly clear in the light of
customs in the disposition of vows to-day; the miserably
poor often eat of the sacrificial meals, served in connec-
tion with vows, and are satisfied. Doughty relates how
dependent he was in the summer, in Arabia, on such
sacrificial feasts to keep up his physical strength.
8
i Gen. xxviii. 20–22.
22 Sam. xv. 8.
3 Travels in Arabia Deserta, Cambridge, 1888, Vol. I., p. 442:
“Sorry were the Aarab to mark my wasted plight. . As the
sun's vast flaming eye rose each day upon us
the remem-
brance revives in our fainting breasts of our want, with the hollow
thought, 'What shall be for this day's life?' And the summer I
passed thus fasting. . . . . Yet in this low state there was hardly a
week when some householder had not a sacrifice, whether .
for the birth of a son, for his recovery from sickness, or for the
health of his camels. Then a man's friends assembled for the dis-
tribution of boiled flesh; they look also for the thaif-Ullah (guest
of God, or stranger) and I went, lest any should forget me.
160
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
Delitzsch, in giving the passage from the psalm a literal
and ritualistic interpretation, has seen the true meaning,
which some other modern interpreters have missed.
There are certain saints that have almost the powers
of physicians assigned to them. Some of them would
seem to be specialists. They perform cures for rheuma-
tism, for bad eyes, and other ailments. One shrine, near
Solomon's hot-air baths, about four hours from Karyaten,
in the Syrian desert, is good, as we have seen, for barren
women.
Vows are also offered by people setting out on jour-
neys, though I have heard of only one shrine where this
is done, at Mahin, in the Syrian desert. Such a vow is
natural, and is probably not uncommon.
A large number of vows are made for flocks and herds.
These, among the nomads, are liable to various mishaps,
to disease, and from marauding bands. Frequently vil-
lages in the Syrian desert are despoiled of several thou-
sand sheep and goats. Hence it is customary for those
who have flocks and herds to make vows to the weli;
that is, they promise him a gift if he will see that these
possessions are kept in safety.
1 A Commentary on the Book of Psalms, New York, Vol. I., p.
397: “There is no need to assume in our passage that in the mind
of David the paying of vows is a purely ethical and not a ritual
act. Having been delivered he will bring the .... thank-offerings,
which he vowed to God when in mortal danger. After sprinkling
of the blood . ... and the laying of the fat pieces upon the altar
the remaining flesh of the shelamim was appropriated by
the offerer for joyous feasts. : ... The invitation to the poor to par-
ticipate in these feasts . . . . is suggested by these legal enactments.
To this verse 27 refers: He will invite the spiritually and out-
wardly poor to this eating before Jahve. But Baethgen, Hand-
kommentar zum Alten Testament says of verse 27: "Schwerlich ist
das Essen materiell zu verstehn," and Duhm, Die Psalmen, Frei-
burg, 1899, remarks: "Essen und satt werden" ist sprichwörtlich
.
ganz glücklich werden." All of which goes to show how
important the study of archæology is for the Old Testament inter-
preter.
für
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
161
It is more difficult to determine how far the saints are
regarded as patrons of the land like the ancient Baalim.
Hosea indicates a custom in ancient Israel, where the
agriculturist, believing that his piece of ground belonged
to a particular Baal, and that he could not expect a good
harvest without the favor of the Baal, was accustomed
to seek it by a gift. This did not imply that he might
not theoretically recognize Jehovah as the God of the
country. He did, for Hosea represents God as the legit-
imate husband, and the various Baalim as paramours.
The modern Syrian, whatever he may say of God's
power, considers the saint as supreme in his own district.
It is well known that anything placed in the saint's
shrine is safe. I have seen plows and other agricultural
implements piled up on the grave of a weli, exposed to
the sky; and timbers leaning against the walls of a mezar
in the land of the children of Ammon; and grain inside
of a ruined church in the Druse Mountains, once sacred
to St. George, now known as Khuddr. No thief would
dare to touch any of these. No Arab, though he might
seek to rob a threshing-floor in the immediate vicinity,
would ever dream of invading the sacred precincts of the
makam. He would expect the weli to visit dire ven-
geance upon him.
It is for this reason that the boldest
spirits do not ordinarily venture to molest sacred trees,
because they are considered as the property of the saint.
On his premises he has a power which the people would
never think of assigning to God.
Some of the saints are regarded as well nigh omni-
present; others have power, according to Conder, extend-
ing fifteen or twenty miles. It is true that some of the
1 Tent Work in Palestine, London, 1895, p. 305: “ This
Mukam represents the real religion of the peasant. It is sacred
as the place where some saint is supposed once to have 'stood'
(the name signifying 'standing-place'), or else it is consecrated by
1
İ62
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Fellahin promise a certain proportion of grain to the
weli, with the understanding that he will give thein good
harvests. At the same time, it is a survival of that wor-
ship described by Hosea in allegorical language, where it
is said that Israel considered the Baalim the givers of her
corn, her wine, her wool, and her flax,' although she was
directly indebted to God for these things. So the Arab
and the Fellahin to-day, whatever views they may pro-
fess in regard to God, ask the saint to give them children,
to heal their diseases, to redeem their lives from destruc-
tion, and sometimes to give them bountiful harvests.
They even present the first-fruits to the saint, or reserve
certain trees or vines for him, as we were treated at
Nebi Safa to some of the fruit from the saint's mulberry-
trees. This resembles old Semitic usage, as we see
from certain passages in the Old Testament.5 The
some other connection with his history. It is the central point
from which the influence of the saint is supposed to radiate,
extending in the case of a powerful sheik to a distance of per-
haps twenty miles all around."
1 Cf. Hos. ii, 5, 8, 12.
2 It is the testimony of Mr. Theophilus Waldmeier of Asfuri-
yeh that “Syria is full of churches and convents dedicated to
various saints. In the district to which a given church belongs,
the people ask the saint to grant a blessing on their land." Jour-
nal IX., summer of 1900.
3 Hanna Demishky of Kerak, who was in Lydda for thirty-
seven years, has seen a woman bring the first-fruits of her vines
to a saint. They were eaten by the people who were present.
Afterwards she was permitted to enjoy the fruit. Journal VIII.,
summer of 1900.
4“ We took lunch under one of the mulberry trees that is said
to belong to the Nebi. There are four trees of which he is the
owner. When they brought us a large plate of mulberries, they
said that the fruit was from the Nebi."* Journal XIII., summer
of 1901.
The minister of the kursi said: " When a peasant is plant-
ing he says, 'I will give half a midd (about two gallons) of wheat
or barley to the saint if I have a good harvest.' When he fulfills
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
163
priests of the shrines and the monks of the monasteries
go about to collect the cereal vows.? I know of two
such cases.
The minister of the shrine near Hamath,
called Zeyn el-'Abadeyn, was collecting such tithes in vil-
lages near Hamath, and it was said that he was likely
to be gone several days; so, too, the minister of the
shrine of Nebi Safa came, while we were waiting for
him, with a large sack of grain which he had received in
payment of a vow.
The vows are either paid when the benefit has been
received, or at the annual festivals. There are no shrines
which are not the recipients of vows, but there are many
which do not have an annual festival. Even such an
important shrine as Nebi Daud at Jerusalem, has no
yearly festival. There are others, like Nebi Musa, near
the Dead Sea; Nebi Rubin, south of Jaffa; and Nebi Salah,
in the Sinaitic Peninsula, which are sometimes attended
by thousands of people.
With respect to Nebi Musa, the festival occurs on the
Friday before the Greek Good Friday, old style. The
attendance is estimated at fifteen thousand, from all parts
of the country. It lasts for seven days. The people
bring their vows, which they have vowed during the
preceding year, to offer them at the festival. Besides,
his vow he presents the grain to the poor. It is very common that
two of the vines in a vineyard should be dedicated to Khuddr.
When a man sold a field he said, 'I must clear my conscience,
by telling you that there are two vines in it that belong to the
Journal X., summer of 1901. Cf. Ex. xxiii. 11; Lev. xix.
saint.'"
9, Io.
1 In connection with such a great shrine as that of St. George in
northern Syria they have agents appointed in every town by the
monastery who are empowered to receive the vows of the people.
Such vows consist of flocks, of grain, etc. Thus the income of
this shrine, which is the most popular in all Syria, is very large.
Journal XII., summer of 1901.
164
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
the priestly family provides about twelve lambs a day,
with rice, bread, and Arab butter.
At Nebi Rubin the people spend a month. From the
Ioth to the 20th of September they flock together in
greater numbers than at other times, and the poor save
provisions for this festival throughout the year. The
shrine is exclusively for Moslems, though during the past
ten years, adherents of the Greek Church have attended
the festival. They kill many sheep and goats in fulfil-
ment of vows. To these feasts they invite the sheiks,
the derwishes, and the poor people. The nights are
spent in dancing, singing, and rejoicing; besides, there
special dance, called zikr, in which from thirty to
fifty people unite, including derwishes. They have a
leader who tries to excite them.? During the day the
Bedouin give exhibitions of horse racing.
From Burckhardt and Tischendorf we may gather
interesting pictures of the ceremonies and festivities
attending the performance of vows at the shrine of Sheik
Salah: “The coffin of the sheik is deposited in a small
rude stone building; and is surrounded by a thin parti-
tion of wood hung with green cloth, upon which several
prayers are embroidered. On the walls are suspended silk
tassels, handkerchiefs, ostrich eggs, camel halters,
bridles, etc., the offerings of the Bedouin who visit this
tomb .. [in] the most revered spot in the peninsula,
next to the Mountain of Moses; they make frequent vows
to kill a sheep in honor of the sheik should a wished-for
event take place; and if this happens, the votary repairs
to the tomb with his family and friends, and there passes
1 Information communicated by one of the priests of the shrine,
through Mr. C. Hornstein of the Society for Promoting Christian-
ity Among the Jews. Journal VIII., summer of 1900.
2 Hanna Demishky, ibid.
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
165
a day of conviviality. Once in every year all the tribes
of the Towara repair hither in pilgrimage, and remain
encamped in the valley round the tomb for three days.
Many sheep are then killed, camel races are run, and the
whole night is passed in dancing and singing. The men
and women are dressed in their best attire. The festi-
val, which is the greatest among these people, usually
takes place in the latter part of June, when the Nile
begins to rise in Egypt, and the plague subsides.” 1
Tischendorf's account of what he saw as a witness of
the same festival may serve as an interesting conclusion:
"After a brief hour there was a solemn procession around
the tomb of the prophet. The women went in advance
most modestly dressed. The procession moved
up the hill around the tomb, and finally entered it, where
the women appeared to pray for some minutes.
In con-
nection with the procession youths led the sacrificial
lambs to the hill. A few hairs were cut from their fore-
heads, and they were scratched until they bled. Then
followed the slaughter of all these fifty or sixty lambs.
They were hung up on the tents, their skins were
removed, and with great knives, which served as short
swords, they were cut into several pieces.
"While the meal was being prepared on the fire there
was a race between the dromedaries. .
Next in
order was the feast. All the meat was cooked.
All [the people] reclined in groups; in each case, from
four to six were grouped in a small circle around the skin
of the lamb. The meat was brought in great wooden
bowls, and was put on each skin. Of this all partook, as
well as of Arab bread and cold water.
This account should have been followed by the descrip-
1 Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, London, 1822, p. 490.
2 Reise in den Orient, Leipzig, 1846, pp. 212, 213.
܀ ܙ ܙ
166
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
tion of a dance, which was prevented by a storm. It is
described, however, by Schimper, who witnessed it.
"
The dance was participated in by men and women, and
was accompanied by singing and clapping of hands. It
was of a very graceful and solemn character, and I fancy
was much like a dance I saw at a wedding feast in north-
ern Syria, where men and women danced in a line, com-
prising perhaps twenty people, whose hands were joined,
five women being at the end of the line. Such a dance
would be very different from that already mentioned at
Nebi Rubin, in which the derwishes had a part, and of
which there was a leader who sought to excite them.
Such a dance I saw at Tell el-Safi, in which an archæolo-
gist joined. He tried to stimulate them by shots from
his revolver.
The features so graphically sketched are to be found
at other shrines. Multitudes gather dressed in their
best. There is one particular day, the great day of the
feast, but the rest of the time is spent in races, dances,
and other amusements.
Looking back from the modern Semites we find the
same customs among the ancient Semites. At the Sinai
of the time of Moses were the same observances as in the
time of Tischendorf. It was nothing new, or different
from present-day usages, when Aaron, after he had fin-
ished the calf, and built an altar, “made proclamation
and said, To-morrow shall be a feast to the Lord. And
they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-
offerings, and brought peace offerings, and the people
sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." As
Moses drew near he heard singing, and saw the dancing.?
As an adjunct of legitimate worship, such dancing is not
1 Ebers, Durch Gosen Zum Sinai, Leipzig, 1872, pp. 246, 247.
2 Ex. xxxii. 5, 6, 19.
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
167
1
si 3
open to criticism. At the annual feast of the Lord at
Shiloh the maidens of Shiloh were accustomed to engage
in dances.
When, at Nebi Rubin and the other shrines, the man
who brings the vows eats them with poor people, der-
wishes and others, he is on the basis of old Deuteronomic
usage, which has been observed at the shrines for thou-
sands of years. The feasts described in Amos were not
radically different in form from those observed at many
shrines, where the people, to quote the expression of a
Syrian physician who had studied in America, “have
a regular picnic.
We have seen that at the annual festival animals are
often provided which have no connection with the pay-
ment of vows. They are the contribution of the congre-
gation, or of the sheik in their behalf.
If vows are not brought at the annual festival, they
are taken to the shrines at other times. The villagers,
or the immediate friends of the person who has made a
vow, if it be of the herd or flock, are summoned to par-
take of it, unless the man should give it to the poor.
Vows are of various sorts. A man may vow his son
or daughter to the saint. In that case the child is not
slain, as may once have been the case, but is redeemed.
Of such cases there are various examples. Walpole
mentions one. He says: “A poor girl had been given
me; being rather at a loss how to dispose of such a
present, I gave her to the mazar. This is a common
custom among fathers; they dedicate before or after
birth their children to particular saints; these, when of
age, are made to labor for the benefit of the deceased.
1 Judg. xxi. 19, 21.
2 Deut. xii. 11, 12, 17, 18.
8 Cf. Amos y. 21-23.
168
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Girls thus vowed have a hard life of it, and it is a con-
troverted question whether they may marry or not; but
if they do, they must remain on the spot and labor."
Such a vow may be a remnant of the kind which
Jephthah used, when he “vowed a vow unto the Lord,
and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of
Ammon into my hand, then it shall be, that whatsoever
cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when
I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall
be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering,
and found he had vowed his daughter. As the modern
Semite insists on the literal fulfilment of his vow in
every particular, it seems altogether probable that when
he did with her according to his vow, which he had
vowed,” he offered her up as a burnt-offering :
It is said to be customary among Christians, where
there is only one child in the family, to make a vow to
slay a goat or sheep at the annual festival.
The origin
of the custom is supposed to be that they vow the child
to the saint; thus every year they offer an animal to the
saint, as long as the child lives.
1 The Ansayrii, London, 1851, Vol. III., p. 377.
2 Ahmed Ghazaleh, a peasant of Nebk, said: “One must always
follow the wording of a vow. For example, his uncle coming from
Tripoli with a load of rice got into trouble at the ford, and vowed
a rotl of rice to a holy man who was in his house at the time. The
mule came out of the ford safely, but his uncle did not mention it
to the holy man. God, however, revealed it to him, and he took
the uncle to task, and required him to pay his vow." Journal XI.
A woman agreed to make her husband divorce her in order to
marry a man who was in love with her. She made her lover swear
by Saint Abbas that he would marry her when she was divorced.
Later, when she had carried out her portion of the agreement, he
declined to fulfil his. So she went to the shrine, shook the pall
over the tomb of the saint, and appealed to him to make the man
fulfil his promise. The man fell ill at once, and was brought to
the shrine, where the marriage ceremony was concluded. Journal
XII.
9 Judg. xi. 30, 31, 34-36.
VOWS AND ANNUAL FESTIVALS
169
A woman, as we have seen in the previous chapter, may
vow her own body. Such a vow, according to Moslem
law, is void, but the practice survives in spite of the
prohibition.
While the life of animals is most commonly vowed, I
must reserve the discussion of the significance of this
until I come to treat of sacrifice. Vows are often made
of oil, of bread to prisoners, or to the unfortunate, or of
money. Even dances are vowed at certain shrines.
There is probably no festival without dancing. These
are simply the joyful accessories of a sacred feast, and
the people do not regard the exercise of the terpsichorean
art as in any sense a sacred rite. But there are well-
attested, exceptional cases where it is so regarded, and
where the sheika leads the dance in honor of the saint,
as Miriam led the dances in honor of Jehovah in the days
of old. Long investigation developed the fact that
dancing before the saint may be as truly a religious rite
as when “David danced before the Lord with all his
2
might."
From all our consideration of vows, it is clear that
they are designed to dispose the saint favorably to the
suppliant, so that he may receive the petition that he
seeks
1 Cf. Hedaya, Vol. I., p. 502: "If a man bind himself by a vow,
to the commission of a sin it is incumbent on him to violate
his vow and perform an expiation."
2 2 Sam. vi. 14.
CHAPTER XIV
THE INSTITUTION OF SACRIFICE
While the institution of sacrifice exists as a part of
the ritual of Islam,' and in connection with the pilgrim-
age to Mecca," it is evident that the custom of sacrificing
at shrines and in other places has not been derived from
the Moslem ritual, but that it has existed as usage
through the millenniums. Indeed sacrifice, as practised
among the Moslems, and at the shrines, may be traced
back to the ancient Semites. The custom of offering
sacrifices on the tenth day of the pilgrim month was
directly derived from the "times of ignorance.
"The
idolatrous Arabs had been in the habit of making an
annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The offering of ani-
mals in sacrifice formed a part of the concluding cere-
mony of that pilgrimage. That portion, the sacrifice of
animals, Muhammad adopted from the pagan Arabs in
the feast which now, at Madina, he substituted for the
Jewish fast." 4
The sacrifices at the shrines represent
113
1 Cf. Hamilton, The Hedaya, or Guide; a Commentary on the
Mussulman Laws, London, 1791, Vol. IV., p. 76: "It is the duty of
every free Mussulman arrived at the age of maturity to offer sac-
rifice on the Eed Kirban, or festival of the sacrifice." This is on
the tenth of the month of the pilgrimage to Mecca.
2 Cf. Sale, The Koran, London, 1734, p. 120:
“ The tenth of
Dhu'l-hajja, the pilgrims slay their victims in the said valley of
Mina, of which they and their friends eat part, and the rest is
given to the poor.”
8 See Sell, The Faith of Islam, London, 1896, p. 321.
4 This is evident from the customs of the ancient Arabs, as indi-
cated in the Koran (VI. 135). See Palmer's note, The Qur'an, Part
I., P: 132: "The pagan Arabs used to set apart certain of the
produce of their fields to Allah the chief God, and other portions
170
THE INSTITUTION OF SACRIFICE
171
2
à usage inconsistent with the principles of Islam, and
with the latest form of the Israelitish ritual, but present
striking points of contact with the worship of the Baalim,
as practised among the ancient Semites.
There is no place, so far as I can learn, where any
portion of the sacrifice comes upon the altar. Indeed
there is no altar unless the threshold or the stone used
by Arabs in the immolation of victims be regarded as
such. The part of the animal which is left, after the
minister or the saint has received his due, is used for a
feast. If this is the oldest mode of sacrifice, as the critics
claim, it is of interest to remember, that aside from the
celebration of the Samaritan Passover,* on Mount Geri-
zim, it is the only form which has been retained by the
modern Semites.
Such sacrifices, aside from those ordained in the
Moslem ritual, are made by the mass of the people to
the weli, either at his shrine, or at the home of the one
offering them. An orthodox Moslem may give a differ-
to minor deities of their pantheon. This custom survives
to a certain extent in the desert to the present day.”
As seen in the priestly portions of the Pentateuch.
'Hos. ii. 5-8, 11-13 (R. V.).
8 See W. Robertson Smith, Ency. Brit., ninth ed., Vol. XXI.
p. 133.
4 Appendix F.
6 According to the servant of the kursi, a man may slay his
offering in the village where he resides, especially if it is far
away. In case of necessity he may even sell it and bring the
money received to be expended for the shrine (cf. Deut. xiv. 24-26).
But the ministers of some shrines are inclined to frown upon
the custom of preparing the sacrificial meal away from the shrine.
Thus the sheik at Berza said that a man who brought a meal
already prepared found, to his great mortification, that the meat
was sour when he came to set it before his guests. If the minister
does not live at the shrine, and it is difficult of access, like that of
Mount Hor, or the kursi on Mount Zebedani, it is quite common
to slay and eat the victims at the home of the one presenting the
sacrifice.
172
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
ent account of them, but the views of the people who offer
them must be determinative. It is certain that they seek
help of the weli, and that their vows are made directly
to him, and are paid to him.
While the ordinary word for sacrifice and slaughtering
is the same, as in Hebrew,' there is never any doubt in
the mind of the modern Semite that what he has killed
has a sacrificial character. There are abundant facts
from which to make an induction. I never found any
question as to the use intended in the offerings made at
the shrines,
We must remember that the great majority of sacri-
fices are made in payment of vows furnished to some saint.
As soon as the animal is killed, it ceases to belong to the
one who offered it, and becomes the property of the weli.
This fact is sometimes clearly recognized in the sacri-
ficial feast, when the man who brings the offering says,
in inviting the people to the meal following the sacri-
fice: "This feast does not belong to us, it belongs to the
saint. .
... This feast is given at his expense.
The ritual observed among Mohammedan Semites in
slaying the animal has been modified to some extent.
The victim, if a sheep or a goat, is thrown down upon its
2
1 The word dhabh (Egyptian pronunciation zabh, Heb. zabah),
signifies the act of slaughtering, sacrificing. It is an interesting
fact that madhbah may be rendered either altar or slaughter-house.
The other Arabic terms for sacrifice may be found in Hughes'
Dictionary of Islam, London, 1896, pp. 551ff.
2 Journal XII., summer of 1901: “If they fulfil all the regula-
tions exactly in respect to slaughtering and eating, the saint is
well pleased with them. The most important thing is the expres-
sion of joy in the presence of the saint (Deut. xii. 12). The saint
is present, but he does not eat with them. He is the host, they are
all his guests. The men who present the sacrifice say, “This is
not ours, come and eat.' There were several times when the
ministers of shrines spoke of the sacrificial meal as being at
the expense of the saint (“on his purse,” kis).
THE INSTITUTION OF SACRIFICE
173
ܙ ܙ ܙ
left side, and its throat is cut, as has been customary,
doubtless, from time immemorial. But in accordance
with the usage of Islam, the butcher or the one killing
the animal, says: “In the name of God, God is great,
and the minister of the shrine, known as the religious
sheik, sometimes reads the first sura of the Koran.?
After the minister has received his quarter, the rest of
the animal is boiled, and may be served as in any other
feast, with boiled rice, or wheat, or with loaves of Arab
bread. Such seems to have been the mode of preparing
the sacrifice in the time of Eli, when the priest, Hophni,
or Phineas, sent around his servant to demand his por-
tion before the fat was burned, and failing in this,
plunged his fork into the pot to take what belonged to
his master.
I do not know that the modern priest of the shrine
makes so strong a demand; he sometimes yields that
which belongs to him. When there are many guests,
and the one who offers the sacrifice fears there is not
enough flesh to provide for all, he may ask the minister
to give up his share. Such a request is sometimes
granted.
In some localities only males are used. This is true
3
4
1"Bismillah! Allahu akbar." Burton, Personal Narrative of
a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Mecca, London, 1893, Vol. II., p.
217, also frequent notices in my Journals.
2 This is customary in the payment of vows, according to the
testimony of many natives. În offering the annual dahhiyeh sac-
rifice, whether on the pilgrimage to Mecca or at home, it is usual
to deliver a stereotyped sermon before the sacrifice. See Sell,
The Faith of Islam, London, 1896, pp. 323ff.
8 1 Sam. ii. 12–16.
4 We were told by the minister of Nebi Safa (Journal XIII,
1901): "If their three-quarters are not enough for the company
(after the priest has had his quarter] they make the priest give up
his quarter or pay him for it.
174
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
among the Nusairiyeh? and Ismailiyeh, who consider
females unfit for food or for sacrifice. It is possible that
the rejection of females is due to the very low view which,
as we have seen, the Nusairiyeh have of women, who
they say were “created from the sins of satans. 3 Be
this as it may, they use only males in sacrifice. These
must be at least six months old, but are usually older.
Camels are also rejected by these Shiite sects, although
specified by the prophet as fit for sacrifice."
The offerings are in general to be without blemish,
and in this respect, the regulation may have been influ-
enced by Islam, or that of Islam may have been derived
from ancient Semitic usage. They may be of the herd
or of the flock, or even of fowls. A cock may be offered
if the one paying his vow is too poor to bring a more
expensive offering. 8 A bullock or camel is considered a
sufficient offering for seven persons. This, too, is accord-
ing to the ritual of Islam.?
1
Journal XI., pp. 57-58 (June 29, 1901): They are exceed-
ingly particular never to eat the flesh of the female, though they
drink the milk. It is customary for the butchers to afford ocular
demonstration that the carcass is that of a male. The aunt of our
informant, when a bullock was killed, called one of the Nusairiyeh
to see that it was a male, so that he need not afterwards scruple
to eat it."
2 Ibid., p. 46: “The sacrifice must be a perfect male of the
flock, at least a year old. They sacrifice it to the weli.
They do not teach women prayer, because they believe they
were created from the sins of the satans, so that it is known from
their belief that the souls of women are to perish like animals.”
Nofel Effendi Nofel, History of Religion (Arabic).
Journal XI.: "Sacrifices should be perfect. A female may be
used if not with young. A sheep must be more than a year old, a
goat or bullock more than two years old."
6 The Koran, xxii. 35.
• Journal XII.: " St. Rih once revealed to his minister in a
vision, that when the suppliant could not bring a complete sacri-
fice he would accept a perfect cock, a perfect rotl of bread (5 lbs.
10 oz.), and a perfect piastre (four cents).
· Hedaya, Vol. IV., p. 77.
THE INSTITUTION OF SACRIFICE
175
1
4
There is a great difference, as has been intimated,
between the orthodox sacrifices of the Moslems and
those offered by the people at the various shrines.
The sacrifices offered by orthodox Moslems are in
connection with the pilgrimage to Mecca, on the tenth
of the pilgrim month, about three miles from the sacred
city, at Muna.
These sacrifices are called dahhiyeh.?
The meaning of the term is not clear. It comes from a root
which signifies “early in the morning," so it is supposed
to indicate those sacrifices which are offered about ten
o'clock in the morning. These sacrifices are in com-
memoration of the sacrifice of Ishmael, by Abraham his
father. They are not used at all for feasting by those
who are most pious, but are buried, or are appropriated
by Bedouin.
Besides the dahhiyeh at Muna, the faithful all over the
Moslem world are required to offer sacrifices in com-
memoration of Abraham's sacrifice on the tenth of the
pilgrim month. Hence the strange scene may be wit-
nessed of sheep and goats slaughtered in the streets of
Damascus, on this day; though otherwise it is contrary
to law to slay animals outside the slaughter-houses.5
1 Sell, The Faith of Islam, p. 297.
2 There are other forms and transliterations used, e.g., Hughes
op. cit., Uzhiyah, Sell, op. cit., Idu'z-Zuha, "the feast of sacrifice."
3 This is the Arab form of the tradition.
* Journal VIII.: “ Ahmed Hindi of Damascus, who had been on
a pilgrimage three times, said, 'They do not eat the sheep, but
put it in a hole in the ground.' Cf. Burton, op. cit., p. 218. “It is
considered a meritorious act to give away the victim without eat-
ing any portion of the flesh. Parties of Takruri might be seen
sitting vulture-like, contemplating the sheep and goats, and no
sooner was the signal given than they fell upon the bodies and
cut them up without removing them." Cf. Burckhardt, Travels
in Arabia, London, 1829, p. 276.
6 Mrs. John Crawford of Damascus saw thousands of sheep
and goats on the tenth of the pilgrim month, waiting in the streets
of Damascus to have their throats cut.
4
176
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
use.
.
They are also put to death in cemeteries and in the
courts of private houses.
Through the influence of ancient Semitic custom this
great sacrifice has come to be diverted from its original
It is employed for the dead, though the people
make the distinction between the ordinary sacrifice for
the dead and the dahhiyeh by saying that the blood of the
latter is holy and that it is of use on the judgment day.
There are other sacrifices which are offered by Mos-
lems on their pilgrimage, because of their shortcomings
in the rites required, either through inability or indispo-
sition to endure the hardships which are imposed on
pilgrims."
The traditional sacrifices offered at the shrines, by
the various sects of Islam, as well as by Christians, are
entirely distinct from the sacrifices just described, and
have evidently been transmitted from ancient times.
The spirit of all sacrifices made at the shrines, as has
been observed, is contrary to Islam. Through them
worship is rendered to the saints, to whom divine powers
are assigned. As in ancient Israel, there is syncretism.
Just as the Israelite claimed that Jehovah was his
national God, while he engaged in Baal worship, so
there are many Moslems who confess no God but God,
and Mohammed as the prophet of God, who yet recog-
nize the saints as their real deities; not only Bedouin,
Arabs, and Fellahin, who are simply Moslems by profes-
sion, but also multitudes who sincerely confess the Mos-
lem faith. Shrines are found everywhere, as we have
seen. They exist because the people make vows to the
saints, and in payment of these vows, sacrifices are being
1 Cf. Burton, op. cit., Vol. II., p. 140. He adds in a note, “ The
victim is sacrificed as a confession that the offender deems him-
self worthy of death.
THE INSTITUTION OF SACRIFICE
177
continually offered in addition to those made at the
annual festivals, or in connection with the annual dahhiyeh
sacrifice.
Besides the vows there are various kinds of sacrifices
which are not included in the Moslem ritual.
There is "the sacrifice between the feet.' This is
made in behalf of a pilgrim on his return from Jerusalem
or from Mecca, or in behalf of some one who has been
long away from home, as a soldier, or a prisoner. The
ceremony consists in a sheep or goat being slaughtered
for the one who returns. Just before he enters the door
of the house he stands with his legs spread out so that
there is room for the victim to be placed between them.
It is then thrown on its left side, with its head toward
the south, or Mecca, if he is a Moslem, and toward the
east, or Jerusalem, if he is a Christian. Its throat is
then cut, sometimes just before the threshold, sometimes
Some of the blood is placed upon his fore-
head, if he is a Christian in the sign of a cross. He then
steps over the victim and the blood into the house,
though it is not considered good usage to step over the
blood among strict Moslems. If he is a Christian, he
then takes the bundle of clothes which he is to wear to
the church. These are blessed by the priest. After he
returns home he puts them on. Sometimes the priest
comes to the house and blesses them.
There are also sacrifices for houses, which we shall
discuss in another chapter.
Sacrifices are quite commonly offered for children,
especially if there is fear that a son may not live. In
Nebk one victim is brought for a girl and two for a boy;
in other parts of the country, and perhaps usually, no
upon it. 1
iCf. Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant, New York, 1896,
pp. 3, 4.
178
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
sacrifices are brought for girls. For a boy, when he is
seven days old, they offer a sacrifice without breaking a
bone, because they fear that if a bone of the sacrifice
should be broken, the child's bones would be broken,
too.
It is also customary to offer sacrifices in connection
with the circumcision of boys. This may not take place
until they are five or six years of age, or even later, when
they are often brought to such shrines as Nebi Musa or
Nebi Rubin, at the great annual festivals, and sacrifices
of sheep are offered before the door of the makam, the
blood of the victim being placed on the threshold.
In all parts of Syria, Palestine, and Arabia, there are
sacrifices for the dead. The evidence of this is derived
from many personal interviews, as well as from the testi-
mony of Doughty. I reproduce some of the testimonies
received on my travels. The following is from the minis-
ter of the kursi: “They kill animals for the dead in
behalf of his spirit. They call them fedou. They go
before him as light, serve him in the next life as he
approaches God. They become a keffareh for his sins.
Some people have all this done before they die, in order
to cover their sins.'
Ahmed Ghazaleh, a peasant at Nebk, said when ques-
tioned with respect to sacrifices for the dead: “When a
man comes to die he appoints some one as executor to
sacrifice some animal. It is preferable for a man to offer
the sacrifice during his life.
He rides the animal
across the narrow way on the day of judgment. Because
of his obedience to God in offering the sacrifice, the
victim serves him in the day of judgment as Abraham
was saved by obedience [in offering up Ishmael]."
The minister of a Moslem shrine in Homs, who
became very friendly when he was told that I was a
O

GRAVE OF HOLY MAN NEAR MEDEBA.
THE INSTITUTION OF SACRIFICE
179
teacher of the Torah and a friend of Abraham, affirmed
that, “Only the Arabs offer sacrifice for the dead."
This does not seem to be correct, as it is spoken of as a
universal custom. Another testifies: “The relatives of
the dead man make some one executor who is to see to
the sacrifice. He must not partake of it, but it must be
given to the poor.' The particular time of such sacri-
fices undoubtedly varies. Among a tribe of Arabs in
northern Syria they sacrifice three days after the death
a goat or sheep, which must be a perfect animal and may
be male or female. They are ashamed not to sacrifice
for the dead.
Of such sacrifices among the Arabs Doughty gives
interesting examples: “There is a sacrifice for the dead,
which I have seen continued to the third generation. I
have seen a sheik come with devout remembrance, to
slaughter his sacrifice and to pray at the heap where his
father or his father's father lies buried, and I have seen
such to kiss his hand in passing any time by the place
where the sire is sleeping, and breathe out, with almost
womanly tenderness, words of blessing and prayer.
Whether there are sacrifices to the dead as well as for
the dead is a question which cannot be easily determined,
if an immediate ancestor is intended. The sacrifices
offered to the saints are, of course, really made to those
who were once mortals. It is true of the Nusairiyeh that
they "sacrifice not to God, but to the weli. They pray
to the weli who did good deeds, and when he died was
saved without any punishment."
According to Doughty, some of the Arabs among
whom he traveled sacrificed to the angels. They cooked
part of the flesh, which they distributed among their
friends, and part of it they hung upon the branches of
1 Travels in Arabia Deserta, Vol. I., pp. 240, 241.
1 ܙ ܕ
180
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
sacred trees, which are the places where angels are
thought to reveal themselves.
It will be seen from the foregoing that no part of the
animal is consumed upon the altar; but rather it is eaten
by the one offering and his friends, or is given to the
poor, or is buried.
But I shall reserve the discussion of
that in which the sacrifice really consists until a later
chapter.
1 Id., p. 449.
CHAPTER XV
THE USE OF BLOOD
In the investigation regarding the primitive religion
of the Semites, the facts with respect to the use of blood
among modern Semites have proved to be the most sur-
prising of all.
On my way from Beirut to Jerusalem in the summer
of 1900, I fell in with a young English woman, who,
moved by love of adventure, had acquired a use of col-
loquial Arabic, and had made a journey in the Druse
Mountains.
In reply to my inquiries as to the most remarkable
thing she had seen in connection with the customs of the
people, she mentioned that she had been present at a
festival, celebrated at a shrine, and had seen the blood
of the victim put on the door-posts and lintel of the
makam.
On reaching Jerusalem I sought information in regard
to this custom from missionaries who had been longest
in the country. One of them, Rev. J. E. Hanauer, of the
London Society for Promoting Christianity Among the
Jews,' had heard rumors of such a usage, though he
had never seen it. Later its existence was questioned
1 In Jaffa, where Mr. Hanauer was a missionary for many years,
he was told by one of the Baldensperger brothers that the people
are accustomed to sprinkle blood on the lintel and door-posts of
their houses.
Hanna Demishky, now of Kerak, in the employ of the Church
Missionary Society, who was stationed in Lydda for thirty-seven
years, has seen Moslems in villages near Jerusalem kill sheep and
sprinkle their blood on the lintels and door-posts of their houses in
connection with the great pilgrim festival (id dahhiyeh).
181
182
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
3
with skeptical sarcasm by a famous authority on the
geography of the country, and was denied by learned
Moslem friends of Percy D’Erf Wheeler, M.D., as having
any connection with Moslem makams.
It became per-
fectly clear that it is never safe to decide a priori what
any custom must be, because we know what it should be.
The scientific method of investigation always asks:
"What are the facts?'' The facts with respect to the use
of blood are more numerous than in regard to any other
religious usage among the modern Semites. As far as
possible, I shall give some account of the way in which
they came into view.
A few days later, on the way from Beersheba' to
Gadis, I came to Ruheibeh, thought by Professor Palmer
and others to be the same place as ancient Rehoboth.
There we were made most welcome at the tent of one of
the Arabs. Soon a company of about fifteen men were
gathered in a circle around the young man of the family,
who was to prepare refreshment for us. Yielding to our
encouragement, three women, one with flashing black
eyes which could not be concealed by the veil made of
coins hanging down over her cheeks, joined themselves
to our company.
Meanwhile the young man who had roasted the coffee
over the fire, began with a rhythmic measure to beat
it fine in a mortar. When it was ready he brewed it
1 The Arabs evidently connect Bir es-Seba with the thought of
seven wells. On my first visit to this place, in the summer of 1899,
June 11, they were opening a fourth well; on the second visit, June
21, 1900, there were five wells, and the Arabs pointed out the sites
of two others. Cf. p. 36; for details, see Appendix C.
2 Cf. p. 34. When we asked the Arabs of the South Country for
Ain Kadis, not one of them understood us. Various travelers
have identified Gadis with Kadesh Barnea. See Trumbull, Kadesh
Barnea, New York, 1884. Cf. Williams, The Holy City, Vol. I., pp.
466, 467; Palmer, op. cit.
*Cf. Palmer, op. cit., p. 236, and passim.
THE USE OF BLOOD
183
A young
with care, then cleaned the cups, and filling one,
poured it into the middle of the fire, a libation to Sheik
Shadli.1
After the coffee was served in the minute cups of the
country, and he had struck with his whip at the belle of
the harem, as she had become immodest in speech, he
began to sharpen his crescent-shaped knife.
goat was then brought near the camp, was thrown on its
left side with its head toward Mecca, and its throat was
cut. One of the women rushed to the victim before
the blood had ceased gurgling, and caught the crimson
flow in a tannur.2 When I asked her what the blood
was for, she replied, “For a blessing. One of our
muleteers dipped his finger into the blood and put it
one of the tent cords. A little later the Arabs
called my attention to a light-colored camel, on whose
neck they had made a stripe of blood, about two and
a half feet long and about three inches wide. Here,
then, was an interesting example of an ancient custom
among the Arabs, in a country once frequented by the
patriarchs.
On the next journey, which was to Petra, further
examples were observed. In addition, the following
valuable accounts were given by Mr. Henry C. Harding,
of the Church Missionary Society, then of Kerak, on the
east side of the Dead Sea, now of Gaza: “There is an
interesting relic of pagan times at Kerak. When the
on
1 This curious legend about Shekh Shadli, or Shazli, as the
originator of coffee, is heard from one end of the country to the
other, as at Kerak, Nebk, and Hamath. At the last place mentioned
we heard that when a pilgrim returns, the coffee-maker meets him
and pours the whole pot between his feet as a libation.
2 A tannar is a convex and concave piece of iron, on the outer
surface of which the thin Arab loaves are baked by the nomads,
who have no oven, when they do not bake in the ashes.
8 July 1-13, 1900.
184
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
people go into the country to cultivate the soil, they often
live in caves near the harvest-field.
Before taking up
their abode in a cave they offer a sacrifice to the spirit
of the cave' by cutting the animal's throat at the entrance.
They use some form of invocation when they do so
and pour the blood of the sacrifice upon the
ground."
"When a newly married couple take up their residence
in an old house, or any one makes his home in a new
one, it is customary to take a goat or sheep upon the flat
roof, and cut its throat so that the blood runs down over
the lintel.” When Mr. Harding entered a new house the
landlord gave him a goat for this purpose. The people
affirm that it is the custom of their forefathers, both
Moslems and Christians observe it.
“When the foundations of the new government school
were laid at Kerak, along with other religious services,
two sheep were brought, their throats were cut, and the
blood ran down into the trench, excavated for the pur-
pose."
Instances of the same custom in all parts of the coun-
try, on laying foundations of public buildings, or the
beginning of public works, are too numerous to give in
detail.
The following incident was witnessed by Rev. George
E. Post, M.D., of the Syrian Protestant College, Beirut.
When the ground was broken for the railroad from Beirut
to Damascus, ten sheep were placed in a row, their
throats were cut, their blood flowed down upon the
ground, and the flesh was given to the poor.
At shrines on the way from Kerak to Petra, which are
called mezars, signifying visiting places, there is a cus-
1 Selim Semain of Kerak says the people think there are evil
spirits in some of the caves,

SHRINE OF HAMED EL HADEFI.
THE USE OF BLOOD
185
tom which undoubtedly has the same significance as the
use of blood. On reaching Jafar? I visited the tomb of
the sheik. There was Arab butter (semn), colored with
henna, daubed over the lintel and on the door-posts.
When I asked the minister of the shrine what it was for,
he said: “It is for a blessing," thus using the same
expression that the woman at Ruheibeh employed in
respect to the blood. I think that, as wine is used as a
sacramental symbol for blood, so this mixture is espe-
cially acceptable to Moslems in this part of the country
as a substitute for blood.
Between Et-Tafileh : and Shobek we visited the
weli of Hamed el-Hudefi. There was
no minister
in attendance, but many beams for buildings were
piled up by the side of the mezar. Being thus under
the protection of the weli, there was no fear of their
being stolen. While henna and semn had been daubed
over the lintel, leaving the imprint of hands, it seemed
as if a sheep or goat had been killed on the flat roof,
so that the blood would run down on the lintel. I
scraped off the substance and submitted it to a surgeon
in Jerusalem, who declined to analyze it for the reason
stated. 4
It was my good fortune to inspect the tomb of Aaron,
on the top of Mount Hôr. On account of the fanaticism
and greed of the Arabs at Petra, such a visit is not easily
1 According to Mr. Harding, his tomb is honored not only by
Moslems but also by Christians. It is supposed that among many
of the same name this is Jafar-ibn-Abu Talib, the brother of Ali
who was son-in-law of the Prophet.
2 Semn is Arab butter, henna is somewhat lighter in color
than blood, and the mixture is thicker.
8 Et-Tafileh is the ancient Tophel (Deut. i. I).
Because, as we have seen, Moslems assured Dr. Wheeler that
such a use of blood was impossible.
4
186
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1
accomplished. Inside the shrine I saw the prints of
many hands in semn and henna.
My next journey was to Palmyra. While I did not
make any new observations of blood-sprinkling, I
received some fresh illustrations through interviews and
books. Mr. Richards, the British consul in Damascus,
who had spent more than twenty years in Oriental coun-
tries, including three years at Jiddah, the seaport of
Mecca, said that on entering a certain Moslem village
an address of welcome was given by the representative
of the village, and at a given signal a sheep was brought
forward in front of his horse and its throat was cut.2
My last tour for the summer of 1900 was to the Druse
Mountains. This is a section of country not easily pene-
trated by travelers, described by Rev. J. L. Porter, in
his Giant Cities of Bashan, in terms which seem to be
grossly exaggerated. Dr. Merrill has given a sober
account. :
We were received with such hospitality as
to be at times almost burdensome, and had a good oppor-
tunity to observe the life of the people, as we were wel-
comed at their places of public entertainment in a way
that often warmed the heart.*
At the shrines we found various examples of the use
* It was visited by Palmer, op. cit., pp. 364-366, also by several
recent travelers.
2 This seems to be a common custom Layard speaks of it as
occurring among the Yezidis: "Before we reached Guzelder, the
procession had swollen to many hundreds. The men had assem-
bled at some distance from the village, the women and children
dressed in their holiday attire, and carrying boughs of trees, con-
gregated on the housetops. As I approached, sheep were brought
into the road and slain before my horses' feet, and .. the women
and men joined in the loud and piercing 'tahel.'” Discoveries in
the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, London, 1853, p. 43. Cf.
Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant, New York, 1896, pp. 189, 190.
8 East of the Jordan, New York, 1881.
* Every village in the Druse Mountains has a place of enter-
tainment for strangers, called a medayfeh.

SHRINE OF ST. GEORGE.
THE USE OF BLOOD
187
1
on
of blood. At Smed is the Weli of St. George, an old
Greek church with three Greek inscriptions on it. The
people take the blood of the sacrifices and put it over
the lintel; on the door-posts and on the door itself one
can easily trace the marks of bloody hands.
At Ayun, a ruined town not far from Salkhad, is a
weli called Abu Hur. It is near a large sacred mulberry-
tree, consisting of five trunks which grow up separately
from the root. Near the tree is an old oblong building
with a stone door after the ancient custom of the coun-
try. There were stains on the door where blood had
run down, as well as the lintel. At one end
of the building was something of stone, about four
feet high, which looked like a baptismal font.
It was
covered with cloths. Our cameleer removed his shoes
on entering the weli, and reverently kissed the cloths on
the stone.
Tell Sh'af, near Busan, is an eminence of considerable
height, crowned with a weli, called Nebi Khuddr, or the
Prophet George. The building, like the temples of the
sun, and so many ancient buildings, fronts the east.
The cenotaph of the saint is at the western end. The
original door on the north side, which was ornamented
with a pretty design, has been taken away. On the front
step, leading to the front door, and on the front door-
step was abundance of blood. The victim had evidently
1 Ancient roofs, doors, and windows were once all of stone,
on account of the scarcity of wood; now wooden boxes in which
petroleum is shipped from Russia are used in the construction
of doors.
2 Rev. Franklin E. Hoskins, of Beirut, has made some very
interesting studies with respect to ancient temples of the sun
and has found at least twenty-five in Syria. He says they are built
in a notch of the mountain (Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon) where the
sunrise is finest. They face toward the east; the altar is by the
west wall.
188
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
H
been killed not many days before. There were some
faint traces of blood on the door-posts.
In Busan was a remarkable use of blood. At the
entrance to a court was a double door. On one leaf of
it were stripes of blood, crossing another
stripe at a slant, as indicated by the
accompanying figure. We could get no explanation
of it except that the people had been killing a sheep
some days before and had put some of the blood on the
door.
In the same village is a makam known as Nebi Eyyub,
a name which occurs often as the designation of a shrine.
It is a little building with a dome, which was plentifully
smeared with blood; there was also blood on the
threshold, the door-posts, and the lintel. In front of it
were three pillars about three and a half feet high; on
the top of one of them was a peculiar-shaped stone, of
which I saw many examples in the country." The
broken pillars were also smeared with blood.
Although examples of the use of blood in worship are
so numerous, as will be seen from the preceding account,
as well as from that which is to follow, some of those
who are most familiar with the customs of the country
have not had occasion to make any investigations in
respect to this important custom. Rev. Henry H.
Jessup, D.D., has been a distinguished missionary in
Syria since 1856; he is most familiar with the language
and institutions of the people, and is a keen observer,
1 The stone may perhaps be connected with ancient phallic
worship. On the flat roof of one of the makams I saw a row of
such stones near the outer wall. At a shrine on a high place in
northern Syria under the open heavens and a sacred grove I saw, ,
as I have already remarked, a shrine in the form of a long grave,
surrounded by a wall about three feet high, with the usual entrance
at one end, and an immense phallus laid across the two walls so
that no one could ride in.
THE USE OF BLOOD
189
but aside from the slaughter of sheep when ground was
broken for the railroad at Beirut, when foundations were
laid for the clock-tower in the same city, and when sheep
were sacrificed by the governor of the city after the blow-
ing up of a torpedo-boat, which was used for an excur-
sion, he could speak of only one instance of blood-
sprinkling at a shrine. This was at Tell Abu en-Neda,
a volcanic hill from which there is a charming view, and
on which there is a makam, near Kunetra. Here, in 1893,
he and Rev. W. K. Eddy, of Sidon, saw blood on the
lintel, the door-posts, and the threshold, which had been
put there by the Bedouin. An old man, Abu Ibrahim,
an elder of the Protestant church at Ain Kanya, near
Bainiyas, thought the blood was to seal a vow. The
feet of the animals had been cut off and had been stuck
into the interstices of the wall.
Similar uses of blood are doubtless found among the
aboriginal inhabitants of almost every country. Mr.
Theophilus Waldmeier, for ten years missionary in Abys-
sinia, and for thirty years missionary in Syria, now
superintendent of the first insane asylum in Syria at
Asfuriyeh," said that he had seen the blood of black
fowls on the lintels and thresholds of the houses of
Abyssinians.
It was in connection with this second journey that
interesting parallels were found in the volumes of Lyde?
and Doughty. The former, in speaking of the feast of
St. Barbara, mentions a significant rite. “Before sunset
they prepare wheat by beating it in a mortar to remove
the husk. They then kill a fowl, which they strike on
1 Previous to the opening of this asylum the insane were con-
fined in caves, bound in fetters, in the hope that the weli to whom
the cave belonged would grant them restoration,
2 The Asian Mystery, London, 1860.
8 Travels in Arabia Deserta, Vols. I. and II., Cambridge, 1888.
190
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
the door, and the wall on each side of it, and sometimes
on the lintel and side posts.
The examples of Doughty will be found illuminating
for our investigation. They serve to illustrate the close-
ness of his observations, as well as the peculiarity of his
English, which sometimes needs retranslation to make
his meaning apparent.
The first quotation is used to show how blood-sprink-
ling is supposed to propitiate the jinn: “The fatness of
the Hejr loam is well known in the country; many have
sown here, and awhile, the Arabs told me, they fared
well, but always in the reaping-time there has died some
one of them. A hidden mischief they think to be in all
this soil once subverted by divine judgments, that it may
never be tilled again or inhabited. Malignity of the soil
is otherwise ascribed by the people of Arabia, to the
ground demons, jan, ahl el-ard or earth-folk. Therefore
husbandmen in these parts use to sprinkle new break
land with the blood of a peace-offering: the like, when
they build, they sprinkle upon the stones, lest by any evil
accident the workmen's lives should be endangered."2
Another account of an Arab named Mishwat shows
that the saine custom that was noticed in the South Coun-
try is also to be found in Arabia: “At evening, he of-
fered a young sheep for the health of his camels,--mesquin!
unwitting of the Will above and the event determined
against him! A month later they were in the power of the
enemy.
The ewe he had cast silent and struggling to
[the] ground (the head of every sacrifice is turned
towards Mecca); then Mishwat, kneeling upon it, in the
name of God, drew his sword across the throat. Some
1Op. cit., p. 176.
2 Op. cit., Vol. I., p. 136.
8 He refers here to a marauding band of Bedouin.
دور
3
THE USE OF BLOOD
191
of the spouting blood he caught in the bowl, and with
this he passed devoutly through the troop; and putting in
with his fingers he bedaubed with a blood-streak the neck
and flank of every one of his couching great cattle.” 1
In another passage Doughty speaks of the custom of
sprinkling new buildings with blood, which differs a little
in detail from that at Kerak, although the reason for it
is very likely the same: “I asked wherefore the corner
of his new building had been sprinkled with gore? They
wondered to hear me question them thus (and felt in
their hearts that I was an alien)! They thought I should
have known that it was the blood of a goat which had
been sacrificed to the jan] for the safety of the workmen,
lest, as they said, any one should be wounded." 2
Convincing as the examples cited are with reference
to the use of blood and blood-sprinkling, the facts
gathered during the summer of 1901 are numerous and
decisive. The following incident is given on the author-
ity of Mr. Faris el-Khuri, a graduate of the Syrian Protes-
tant College: "In the neighborhood of Nablus it is
customary, when a reconciliation has been made between
the murderer and the avenger of blood, for the murderer
to kill a goat or a sheep. He then kneels before the
avenger with a red handkerchief tied about his neck.
Some of the blood of the animal slain is put on the palms
of his hands. The avenger draws his sword and inti-
mates that he could take his life from him, but that he
gives it back to him."
The use of blood at Moslem shrines has already been
alluded to. The following instance was given by an eye-
witness, Selim, a teacher of the Irish Presbyterian Mission
Couching great cattle" are, of
1 Op. cit., Vol. I., p. 499.
course, camels.
2 Op. cit., Vol. II., p. 100.
192
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
at Nebk: “There was an Arab who had two sons who
were to be circumcised at a Moslem shrine at Der Atiyeh.
As preparatory to the rite, he begged from various shep-
herds a flock of about one hundred and twenty sheep and
goats. When all was ready, he invited the villagers of
Der Atiyeh, Moslems and Christians, to the sacrifice,
which took place in the morning. A butcher uttered the
customary formula, “In the name of God"; each animal
was placed between the legs of the boys who were to be
circumcised, the throat of each was cut, and its blood
was sprinkled on the door-posts and on the lintel. Later
the younger boy fell ill, and in about three hours died.
Then his elder brother also became ill, hence they con-
cluded that the saint was angry because blood had been
sprinkled on his shrine, so they tried in every way to
efface the blood. As the elder boy recovered, they came
to the conclusion that the saint had been displeased
because of this use of blood. The animals slain were
cooked with wheat and Arab butter, and were eaten by
those present.
A Derwish from the same village con-
firmed the story, and as an orthodox Moslem, said: “We
do not think well of such a use of blood."
A few hours northwest of Hamath is a shrine used ex-
clusively by Moslems, known as Abu Obeida, one of the
companions of the Prophet Mohammed, and a famous
general.' It was my good fortune to visit this makam.
There is a small building, with a court in front of it, and
graves behind it. Here were blood marks, such as I had
never seen or heard of before, in the shape of a capital
T, or possibly designed to represent a cross. These
marks were visible on the outer door of the court. In
front of it the place could clearly be seen where the
1 Muir, Annals of the Early Caliphate, London, 1883, p. 3, and
passim.

T
BLOOD MARKS OF ARABS ON THE MOSLEM SHRINE OF
ABU OBEIDA
THE USE OF BLOOD
193
animal was slaughtered, and at a little distance from
the steps leading to the entrance was a small hole in the
ground, into which they had evidently attempted to pour
the blood they had not used. On the door of the shrine
itself was a large T, also on the corners of the lintel, as
in the accompanying diagram, and
underneath it. There were twelve
Т. С
T
blood marks of the same character on the inside walls
and two in the prayer niche, as may be seen from the
photograph. The tomb is railed off from the rest of the
makam, but over it is an inscription in Arabic, of which
the following is a translation: "This is the makam, of
the honorable Abu Obeida Ibn Gerar, may God have
mercy upon him."
These examples must suffice to show how general is
the use of blood, or a substitute for it, at shrines. Other
uses of it and expressions with respect to it will be con-
sidered in the discussion as to the significance of sacrifice
in a subsequent chapter.
CHAPTER XVI
REDEMPTION AND THE “BURSTING FORTH OF
BLOOD"
1
Hughes, in his Dictionary of Islam, affirms: "Muham-
medanism, true to its anti-Christian character, ignores
the doctrine that 'without the shedding of blood there is
no remission' (Lev. xvii. 11; Heb. ix. 22).'
It will be interesting to test this statement by examin-
ing the terms used with respect to sacrifice among the
people, for the traditional saying of Mohammed, as
reported by Ayeshah, and the usage current among many
Moslems to-day, represents a different spirit from that
which is assumed by Hughes, and one which is charac-
teristic of primitive beliefs among the Semites.
Ayeshah reported the prophet as saying: "Man hath
not done anything, on the day of sacrifice, more pleasing
to God than spilling blood: I mean sacrifice: for verily
the animal sacrificed will come, on the day of resurrec-
tion, with its horns, its hair, its hoofs, and will make the
scales of his actions heavy: and verily its blood reacheth
the acceptance of God, before it falleth upon the ground:
therefore be joyful in it." 2
Another statement of Hughes, which we shall put to
the test with reference to the usage of the people at the
present day, is: "The doctrine of expiation or atonement
1 A Dictionary of Islam, London, 1896, p. 554.
2 Mischcat-ul-Masabih, Calcutta, 1809, Vol. I., P. 321.
It is interesting to know that Hughes makes use of this and
other passages, which were translated by Capt. A. N. Matthews
without giving any credit to the source from which he derived
the translation.
194
REDEMPTION
195
1 ܙ ܕ
for neglected duties, sins of omission and commission, is
distinguished in the Muslim religion from the doctrine of
sacrifice; sacrifices being strictly confined to the Idu
'l-Azha, or Feast of Sacrifice in the month of pilgrim-
age.
It will be seen from the quotations which follow that
Hughes is in a serious error with regard to the usage of
the Moslems. This will be evident from considering a
class of sacrifices called fedou. But before examining
them in detail, we will cite the definitions of the term
given by Lane, who defines fada as follows: “He gave
his ransom; he gave a thing . or a captive for him
and so liberated him; that is, he ransomed him ..
from captivity or he loosed him, or set him free
and took his ransom: or mufādātun, which signifies the
giving a man and taking a man in exchange; and fidaātn
the purchasing him from captivity or the like; or presery-
ing a man from misfortune by what one gives by way of
compensation for him: as ... . I purchased; that is,
ransomed him with my property, and with myself
(benefsi).”
Lane renders the Koran xxxvii. 107: “And we made
an animal prepared for sacrifice to be a ransom for him
and freed him from slaughter.
We pass now to the definition of fedou, given by
Derwish Hatib, of Der Atiyeh, in the Syrian Desert,
who is a lecturer, and leads the service in the mosque of
that village: "Fedou means that it redeems the other, in
place of the other, substitute for the other. Something
is going to happen to a man, and the sacrifice is a substi-
tute for him. It prevents disease, sufferings, robbery,
1 2
1 Op. cit., p. 113.
2 Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, London, 1877, Book I.
Part VI., sub voce.
196
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
and enmity. Repent of your sins and hope that
God may cover your sins. Both repentance and the fedou
cover. The essential matter is the heart.” 1
One of the most remarkable interviews that I had with
any of the Syrians, was with the minister of the “Chair''
on the mountain-side of Zebedani, who surprised me by
the statements which he made with respect to sacrifice.
He said: “They go through the opening sura of the
Koran, address the spirits (el-Aktab), and say, 'this is
from thee and unto thee (God) and, O God, receive it
from such an one, the son of such a mother, as a redemp-
tion ( fedou) in behalf of him.' This sacrifice is a sacrifice
of thanksgiving looking backward." 2 Fedou is used for
houses, for a child, at marriage, for the sick, and for the
dead.
"When a man finishes a house, he makes a sacrifice
on the doorstep. It is redemption for the building.
Every house must have its death, a man, woman, child,
or animal. God has appointed a fedou for every building
through sacrifice. If God has accepted the sacrifice he
has redeemed the house.
As was stated in the sixth chapter, the servant of the
*Chair," who is an orthodox Moslem, said, in comment-
ing upon this usage, which is contrary to the fatalism of
Islam, “This is according to the simplicity of our minds.
Of course every man dies when his time comes.
A simple Moslem at Nebk in the Syrian Desert, said:
"The fedou is commonly for the future to ward off evil.
When they lay the foundation of a house, they slaughter
1 Journal XI.
Journal X.
3 Ibid. The primitive institution of sacrifice for houses is found
among the ancient Babylonians. Cf. Zimmern, Beiträge zur Kennt-
niss der Babylonischen Religion, Leipzig, 1901, pp. 92, 147.
4 See p.65.
3 رو
REDEMPTION
197
with the idea that (Khuddr) St. George, will preserve the
workmen. Every house must be redeemed. If not
redeemed by the sacrifice of some animal, it must be
redeemed by a human life.” 1
The next quotation is made from a personal interview
with Joseph Atiyeh, a Protestant pastor, most learned
in Arabic literature, some of whose treatises have been
translated by Sir William Muir: “He has known a custom
of beginning an important building by placing the blood
of a victim in the foundation. At Tripoli, when they
had excavated for the foundations of a government build-
ing, they killed animals and poured the blood into the
excavation. In Homs, when the carriage-road was begun,
the officials took pickaxes, dug up the soil, killed ani-
mals, read the first sura of the Koran, and shed blood on
the place. It is actually a proverb among the people,
who are about to construct a house, 'it will not do to
begin this building without shedding blood.' He does
not know of any significance except that it is pleasing to
God, and insures a blessing." 2
As we have already seen, there are very many instances
of the same custom in the opening of railroads, and the
construction of government buildings.
It was the testimony of an orthodox Moslem, who was
servant of a shrine at Homs, that he was familiar with a
fedou. “In moving from house to house, or in occupying
a new building; the first night he sleeps in the house he
kills the fedou .. the object is the bursting forth of
blood unto the face of God. .. It is for himself and
family, a redemption. It keeps off disease and the
jinn.
We were told by members of the Protestant congrega-
tion in Hamath that when there was cholera in Hamath,
1 Journal X. 2 Journal XI.
3 Ibid.
.
1 3
198
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
in the year 1875, the Christians sent to the slaughter-
house, procured blood, and placed it in the sign of the
cross on the door of every room in the house. They also
use red paint for the same purpose whenever any serious
calamity is feared in the house." 1
Another curious custom which was mentioned as occur-
ring in the same place is the following: “The largest
water-wheel in Hamath, which is used for irrigating pur-
poses, and which belongs to a system which especially
impresses and interests every traveler who penetrates to
this antique city, has to be mended every year. When
they finish repairing it, before they set it going again,
they slaughter a ram to the Afrit who is supposed to
inhabit the sluice through which the wheel moves, in
order to propitiate him, otherwise some one is sure to be
killed by the wheel in the sluice-way. No prayer is
offered, but later there is a feast, as in connection with
every other sacrifice."
The Bedouin are in the habit of visiting hot springs
in various parts of Syria and Palestine at certain seasons
of the year, as a remedy for rheumatism. They believe
that at Zerka Main there is a jinn, who is also called a
weli, who lives below the ground and keeps the fire
going, which heats the water. They are so much afraid
the fire will go out that they are in the habit of killing
animals in sacrifice to the jinn.8 Dr. F. Johnson, of
Kerak, says that they kill the animals so that the blood
runs down into the water. 4
One of the most remarkable incidents of which I have
heard occurred at Nebk, where Rev. J. Stewart Craw-
1 Ibid.
2 Ibid.
3 Journal VIII., Kerak, summer of 1900. Mr. W. G. Harding.
* Journal XIII., Brummana.

GREAT WATER-WHEEL AT HAMATH.
AFTER REV. W. S. NELSON.
REDEMPTION
199
ford resides. All the circumstances came under his
observation. The town, like five others in the Syrian
Desert, where water is usually found at a depth of
twelve or fifteen feet, derives its water supply from a
series of wells connected with one another. This method
has been in vogue in the Syrian Desert as well as in Damas-
cus and Palmyra for centuries, if not for millenniums, and
is as follows: The wells are situated on an incline, The
first well, which is sunk at the highest point, gathers water
from all the ground surrounding it. At a distance of
perhaps twelve feet below, another well is excavated
which gathers its supply of water. This lower well is
connected with the first and a third with the second. In
this way a series of wells is excavated consisting of fifty
or one hundred. As the water descends from the first
well to the hundredth, its volume naturally increases
until it comes out in a large stream at the end, sufficient
to supply a town of five or six thousand people with water
for all purposes including irrigation. After a long resi-
dence Mr. Crawford discovered, in the spring of 1901,
that the stream of water was under the protection of a
saint (weli). Whether the saint was considered as
equivalent to a water spirit cannot easily be determined;
however, his shrine, which consists of a small building
with a cupola, is near the mouth of the stream and has
sacred trees in connection with it.
At the time mentioned there came a succession of
three floods, owing to excessive rains which washed away
the series of wells, which had been repaired after each
catastrophe. The inhabitants of Nebk, reasoning accord-
ing to the custom of the country, that if there is misfortune
there must have been some sin, came to the conclusion
that the saint had been offended. They at once began
Journal I., 1898, X., 1901, Syrian Desert,
200
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
to inquire what was the reason of this offense. They
discovered that the sacrifices which had been offered to
the saint at a festival each year had been intermitted,
that people had been accustomed to perform their ablu-
tions in that part of the stream which was inside of the
courtyard of the makam, thus defiling it, and that a
dead body had been carried across the stream." All this
had angered the saint. The village at once arranged to
propitiate the saint by offering sacrifices. A certain
number of sheep, perhaps ten, were stationed over the
stream, and their throats were cut so that the blood would
run into the water. In this way the saint's anger was
removed. 2
A similar custom obtains with reference to children,
either for fear that some misfortune will befall them, and
as a protection, or because they have fallen ill, and that
the father or mother may secure the favor of some par-
ticular saint. The examples which follow abundantly
illustrate this usage.
The servant of the “Chair” at
Zebedani related the following: "The mother of a boy,
when she slaughters a sacrifice vowed in his behalf, takes
some of the blood and puts it on his skin. They call the
sacrifice fedou. Taking the blood from the place where
the sacrifice is slaughtered is equivalent to taking the
blessing of the place and putting it on the child. People
who are particular about observing all the requirements
of the ritual cover up the blood.” 8
A man who has not had a child promises a fedou that
he may receive the gift of one from a certain saint. If
1 The contiguity of a corpse to water is regarded as defiling
it. Abdu Khahil, Syrian Protestant teacher at Damascus told
me that, “if a corpse passes by a house, the common people
pour the water out from the jars.” Journal XIII., Bludan.
2 Journal X., Damascus and Nebk.
3 Ibid., Zebedani.
REDEMPTION
201
1
>> 2
it should be born, when it is several days old, they put
the blood of the sacrifice offered in payment of the vow
on its forehead.
One of the most interesting men that we met in our
travels was Surur, of Bagdad, who had once been a
slave, but was very intelligent. He gave us many
remarkable incidents which I shall relate in another
connection. He said: “A man oftentimes vows, that if
he has a son he will give gold ear-rings or a necklace to
the mosque.
A man may vow his son to the mosque,
in which case he has to redeem him with money. They
call the redemption fidee.
I had the great advantage of visiting an emir of the
Mawali Arabs, near Mehardeh, who is hired by the
people to protect the town from the incursions of sur-
rounding tribes of Arabs. The emir was greatly aston-
ished at the questions that I asked him while reclining
under his tent. He asked what was the object, and
said, “I have never had any such questions asked me
before.'' He was assured by the Protestant pastor who
accompanied us, who was a great friend of his, that he
had nothing to fear. It is a curious thing that the Arabs
are afraid that Americans and Europeans will in some
way exercise the “black art'' upon them.
Speaking of some of the ceremonies in connection
with the birth of a child, he related the following: "I
give you the good news that a son has been born to you.
The child must be taken on a pilgrimage to the
shrine to which the sheik of the tribe belongs. The
minister of the shrine sacrifices for them near the thresh-
old. The child is anointed on his forehead, or on his
nose, with a mark of the blood of the victim. They
afterwards cook the meat and have a feast. The rela-
1 Journal XI., Nebk.
2 Journal XII., Hamath.
202
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
tives and all who are present partake. The important
thing is that the child should be present. If the shrine
is too far away, they can sacrifice at their tents.
The blood is important. They slaughter at any point of
the tent, but facing toward the south. Anywhere to the
front of the tent. The east is always considered the
front. From the day God created the Arabs, the east
has been the front of the tent.
The presentation of an Arab boy at the shrine of the
tribal saint reminds us of the custom which we find
among the Hebrews, illustrated in the presentation of
Samuel at the house of the Lord in Shiloh,' and of the
child Jesus in the temple 8 at Jerusalem.
Another notable interview which we had was with one
of the Ismailiyeh in northern Syria. He belonged to the
initiated class, so that while he had the assurance of
bakshish, or a gift, he submitted to the interview with no
little fear, because, if his coreligionists had been aware
of it, the consequences might have been serious. He
said during the interview, "I do not feel happy. "
Speaking of the customs among the Ismailiyeh when
sacrificing for children, he affirmed: "When they make
a sacrifice for a child they slaughter the victim in the
courtyard where he lives, and put a few drops of blood
on his forehead and on his nose, to indicate that the sacri-
fice is in his behalf. The breaking forth of blood is
fedou. It redeems the child. They vow to the saint
that blood shall flow for the child if he redeems it." 4
The sacrifice offered for a son is usually a goat or a
sheep. It becomes necessary that there should be pro-
vision within the means of the poor. In one of the
villages of the Syrian Desert, it is customary “when a
1 Journal XI., Mehardeh.
3 Luke ii. 22–28.
2 1 Sam. i. 24, 25.
* Journal XI.
REDEMPTION
203
Moslem woman brings forth a son to sacrifice a cock,
when she bears a daughter they sacrifice a hen.” 1
We read in connection with the birth of Isaac that
when he was weaned his father made a birthday feast
for him. The same custom has been preserved through
the millenniums to the present time, and was related by
the emir whom I have already quoted. "They have a
feast when the child is a year old. They sacrifice a vic-
tim, read the first sura of the Koran, and anoint the child
with blood." 2
The last interview that I had with a Syrian with
respect to the customs of the country was with Abd
Musa, who is the minister of the shrine of Khuddr, near
the base of Mount Carmel. I had Cook's agent at Haifa
as interpreter, who expressed some fear lest this ignorant
Moslem should not be communicative, but I found him
exceedingly friendly. He made the following statement:
"All the sects visit the shrine-Moslems, Christians,
Druses, Persians (Babites), and Jews."
The shrine consists of a cave excavated out of the
rock where, according to monkish tradition, the Prophet
Elijah found a home. "If the victim is for a child or
man, they dip a finger in the blood and put it on the
forehead of the boy or man for whom the sacrifice is
made. All the sects do this. .. the Jews put flowers
on the horns of the ram used as a sacrifice, and the women
93
carry it.
It is interesting to observe how universal the customs
are with which we are dealing, extending not only through
Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, but through other parts of
the world as well. This fact finds abundant illustration
1 Ibid.
2 Gen. xxi. 8.
3 Journal XIII., Mount Carmel.
204
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
in such books as Dr. Trumbull's Threshold Covenant,
and various works on comparative religion, as Mr.
Frazer's Golden Bough.
The following account was given of the marriage cus-
toms at Mehardeh, which are common among the Greeks
and Protestants. In that town they have all the wed-
dings on a given day in the year after harvest is over.
In connection with the marriage ceremony: “They
slaughter a sheep outside the door of the house; while
the blood is still flowing, the bride steps over the blood
of the animal .... the pastor thinks there is much the
same idea underlying this custom as in building a new
house; that unless they sacrifice an animal there will be
some misfortune." I
In almost identical language Burckhardt describes the
use of blood among the Copts in Egypt. He says, "they
kill a sheep as soon as the bride enters the bridegroom's
house, and she is obliged to step over the blood flowing
upon the threshold. We have already seen that a
pilgrim on his return home cannot cross the threshold of
his house until a victim has been slain and he has stepped
over the blood.
There is doubtless a similar, though a different, mean-
ing in another custom which Burckhardt relates in con-
nection with a marriage among the Ænezes, a Bedouin
tribe: “The marriage day being appointed .... the
bridegroom comes with a lamb in his arms to the tent of
the girl's father, and there cuts the lamb's throat before
witnesses. As soon as the blood falls upon the ground,
the marriage ceremony is regarded as complete." It is
also interesting to note that among the Beni Harb, in
Hedjaz, it is deemed necessary to the completion of a
1 Journal XI., Mehardeh.
2 Notes on the Bedouin and Wahadys, London, 1830, p. 151.
REDEMPTION
205
1
8
marriage that the blood of a sheep should flow upon the
ground. Palmer mentions another significant use of
blood at a marriage among the Bedouin of the Sinaitic
Peninsula. After all the preliminaries have taken place,
and her future husband's abba has been thrown over the
prospective bride, who with shrieks and cries has
attempted to escape, the women take her in charge: “A
tent is next erected for her in front of her father's habi-
tation, to which she is conducted, and then sprinkled with
the blood of a sheep sacrificed for the occasion.
It is quite common to slay a victim in behalf of one
who is ill. A peasant at Nebk said: "A fedou is given
to the face of God. It is vowed for various purposes,
for one who is ill, or for one who is traveling.
The same custom was in vogue among the Babyloni-
ans, as sacrifices for those who were ill were also offered
by them.
There is a shrine at Mahin, in the Syrian Desert, where
travelers seek a blessing before setting out on a jour-
ney.
Surur of Bagdad gave the following account of the
shrine of Abdu Khadir, which is the largest mosque in
Bagdad, and of sacrifices offered by Indian Moslems who
come to it on a pilgrimage: “They vow that if a man
who is ill begins to recover he shall go to the shrine.
He is stripped to the waist. Then two men lift a lamb
or a kid above his head, and bathe his face, shoulders,
and the upper part of his body with the blood. While
the butcher kills the animal the sheik repeats the first
1 Ibid., pp. 61, 151.
Palmer, The Desert of the Exodus, New York, 1872, p. 83.
8 Journal XI.
* Zimmern, Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Babylonischen Religion,
Leipzig, 1901, p. 92.
5 Journal VI., Mahin, summer of 1900.
5
206
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
1 رو
sura of the Koran. They also wrap him in the skin of
the animal.
I have already mentioned, in another connection, that
it is customary to offer sacrifices for the dead. This is
universal among the Syrians and Arabs. Sheik Yusef el-
hagg Ahmed testifies that “They have a fedou for the
dead. A person often leaves a sum in his will to be
expended in the sacrifice of a victim in his behalf. They
summon a reader to read the prayers over the animals
which are slaughtered in the courtyard, and of which the
flesh is afterwards eaten.
The earliest testimony that I had with respect to this
custom was from Mr. W. G. Harding of the Church
Missionary Society, who was stationed at Kerak, which
he gave in the summer of 1900: “They have the custom,
also, of slaying to benefit the souls of the departed.
When any one dies his relatives are supposed to kill one
or more animals within a few days. They call this fedou,
or redemption, although they do not seem to have any
conception of the meaning of this term. They consider
that in some way it benefits the dead, but it is rather the
public feast to the poor that follows which is reckoned
a good deed on the deceased's account. Even the most
intelligent, however, believe that if they omit the cere-
mony some harm will befall them, apparently owing to
the wrath of the departed spirit.
The Arabs and Syrians are very sensitive on this point.
They consider it necessary that a man should not neglect
to perform his obligations to the departed, and they have
many stories to tell of the way in which such neglected
1 Journal XII., Hamath.
2 Journal X., Nebk.
8 Journal VIII., Kerak. It is very questionable whether the
benefit which the dead receive is from feeding the poor by the
flesh of the sacrifice.
I, 3
REDEMPTION
207
unes have appeared to them in dreams at night, reproach-
ing them for not performing their duty in this regard.
They also relate how the saint has often taken vengeance
on some worshiper for not paying a vow. It is said that
the ministers of certain shrines are sometimes at pains to
act for the saint in executing vengeance upon any one
who may fail to fulfil a vow.
One of the words for ransom is fidyeh, a synonym for
fedou, which, according to Lane, signifies "a ransom, a
thing, or a captive that is given for a man who is there-
with liberated. or property given as a substitute
or a ransom for a captivé: and property, by the giving of
which one preserves himself from evil in the case of a
religious act in which he has fallen short of what was
incumbent, like the expiation for the breaking of an oath
and of a fast.” 1
On our way from Ladikiyeh over the Nusairiyeh
Mountains to Hamath, we stopped at a little village
called Dibbash, which is inhabited by Greeks, and
received the following information; "At the feast of St.
George they sacrifice, and the priest prays over the sacri-
fice. The only church is about an hour away. The
sacrifices are killed several feet from the door. The
heads of the victims are turned towards the east.
any man of good character may kill them. the
blood goes on the ground, they make no marks with it.
The suppliant vows it to such and such a saint for the
sick. It is called a fidee, which means head for head.
It must be slaughtered, and the poor must eat it. The
slaughtering of it is more important than the eating of
it.", 2
On the same journey we stopped among Nusairiyeh,
at Behammra, once the home of the missionary Lyde,
Lane, op. cit., sub voce.
2 Journal XI.
208
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
where we had a remarkable interview with one of the
Protestants as to the religious customs of the people.
From him we received the following information as to
sacrifices offered for the dead: “They sacrifice for the
dead before they put him in the grave. On the evening
of the sixth day after the funeral there is a feast, and
the next morning they have a sacrifice in the house of
the dead.
• They say, 'In the name of the saint,'
and pray that God may forgive him his sins." After
the sacrifices have been presented, the soul may pass out
of an opening over the door of the house into the body
of a male child that is to be born, for the Nusairiyeh, as
well as the Druses, believe in the transmigration of souls.
A female soul never enters the body of a male. The
soul of a good man goes into the body of a good man,
the soul of a bad man enters into the form of an animal.
The sacrifices cause the forgiveness of certain sins com-
mitted by the deceased. The more food is furnished, the
greater the efficacy of the sacrifice. A parent may say,
‘redeem soul by soul'; that is, redeem the soul of the
man who is dead by the soul of the animal who is to be
killed as the victim. "The animal is a spirit and the
sick person is a spirit. The saint accepts one in the
place of the other''; that is, the soul of the animal in
the place of the soul of the man." It will be seen from
that which precedes that redemption is accomplished
through death.
It is a common custom if a man loses a son to say to
the afflicted father, "Do not mourn for him, his death may
have saved your life." When a death is announced, the
usual formula is: “Abdullah is dead, may God give you
his life"; that is, may God ransom you through his death.
The Emir of the Mawali at Mehardeh said: “If a man
Journal XII.
1
REDEMPTION
209
loses a valuable horse by death, they say to the owner,
do not fret about it, it has redeemed you"; that is, the
death of the horse has saved your life."
Joseph Atiyeh, whom I have already cited, gives the
following interesting example of the redemption of
Abdullah, Mohammed's grandfather, through death.
"They say that Abdullah, when he was digging a well,
vowed if the water came he would give one of his ten
sons in death. He prepared to slaughter Abdullah,
whom he had chosen by lot, but his mother's brothers
forbade it. He accordingly redeemed him by slaughter-
ing one hundred camels." 2
The following are still further illustrations of the use
of the term fidee. According to the testimony of Surur
of Bagdad, already quoted: “There is a fidee by means
of money, but sacrifice is in connection with a vow, not
even the dahhiyeh sacrifice is called fidee, it is called alms.
A man may take out a keffareh for an oath if he has
sworn falsely. If he is a very poor man he may fast for
three days, or he may feed ten poor men. This is laid
down for them in the Koran. Or he may redeem a slave;
this is the highest form and is called keffareh in the Koran
itself. It is not used for any other sin but a false oath."
Another term for sacrifice which is considered as a
synonym of fedou, and the other words named, is
keffareh, which is defined as follows by Lane: “An
expiation for a sin, or a crime, or a violated oath; an
action, or a quality which has the effect of effacing a
wrong action or sin or crime; that which covers or con-
ceals sins or crimes''; from the second form of the verb,
kaffara: “It .... covered, or concealed, the crime or
sin. or expiated it, or annulled it .... the say-
ing in the Koran (v. 70) means, 'we would cover, or con-
Journal XI.
2 Ibid.
210
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
This goes
ceal their sins, so that they should become as though
they had not been’; or it may mean, 'we would do away
with their sins'; as indicated by another saying in the
Koran (xi. 116): 'good actions do away with sin.'"
Lane gives another quotation, which signifies, “God
effaced his sin.” 1
In the same connection the minister of the “Chair"
said: “They kill animals for the dead in behalf of his
spirit. They call such a sacrifice fedou.
before him as light, serves him in the next life as he
approaches God. It becomes a keffareh for his sins." 2
Sheik Yusef el-hagg Ahmed affirms, with reference to
this same subject: “The Shiites do not use the term
fedou, they employ the term keffareh instead." Ques-
tion. "Does it cover sin?'' Answer. "Who knows
whether it covers sin or how many sacrifices can cover
sin? God only can cover it, but they offer it in the hope
it will be covered.
Another Moslem testified: "On the day of judgment
God weighs carefully in his scales the good and bad
1 Lane, op. cit., sub voce. Haupt: Babylonian Elements in
the Levitical Ritual, Journal of Biblical Literature, 1900, p. 61,
remarks in regard to kipper: “The original meaning seems to be
to wipe off' not 'to cover,' as Albrecht Ritschi supposed in his
famous work on The Christian Doctrine of Justification and Atone-
ment. Ritschl's knowledge of Semitic was, according to Lagarde's
Mittheilungen, somewhat inadequate. The mere fact that the gov-
ernment appointed Ritschl official examiner in Hebrew proves
that he did not know much about it.” A like criticism might
apply to Lane in his Lexicon, and to Palmer in his translation
of the Koran. The word kaffara occurs in many passages which
Palmer translates "to cover, e. g, iii., 191, Lord forgive us our
sins and cover our offences." Cf. iii. 194; v. 70; xxxix. 36 and
often. This seems to be the primary meaning of kafara, as, to
give translations: “He covered the sown seed with earth;"
"the clouds covered the sky;" “he covered his coat of mail
with a garment;" and very often.
2 Journal X.
• Journal XI., Mehardeh.
REDEMPTION
2 II
deeds of each one, and sets up a narrow bridge like a hair
over the infernal regions. They then cross the bridge
on the animals they have sacrificed. Nevertheless, they
call the blood keffareh and consider that it helps in aton-
ing for their sins." A devout Moslem, of good sense
but unlettered, told Suleiman of Nebk, "that sacrifice
would cover sin."
Some of the above expressions with regard to the use
of blood seem rather startling, and may perhaps afford a
commentary on a quotation by Muir in The Life of
Mahomet. “Wathic said of a Moslem saint, 'leave me
alone, while thus in his blood I expiate my sins.'"1
I never visited any shrine in the country without find-
ing something that was curious and helpful in my investi-
gation. At Braigh, on the way from Homs to Nebk, I
stopped at a shrine of a Persian saint, by the side of the
road. We had a conversation with the sheik of the vil-
lage, who said in regard to one of the channels of water
from which the village derived its supply:“When the chan-
nels are cleared out once a year, and the water is after-
wards turned on, they make a sacrifice for the weli, by
means of the bursting forth of blood. A sheep is slaugh-
tered in front of the weli, its head is turned toward the
south, and its blood is made to run in the same direction.”2
I have already alluded to our interview with an initi-
ated member of the Ismailiyeh, which shows how uni-
versally the same phraseology “bursting forth of blood"
is found among different sects, and in parts of the coun-
try which are remote from each other: "The dahhiyeh
may be for a man's father or mother who is dead. It is
a vow to God. It is a universal custom, long prevailing.
It is for the breaking forth of blood to the face of God,
on behalf of the dead. Usually before a man dies, he
1 Vol. I., London, 1861, p. 517. 2 Journal XII.
212
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
no
requires his relatives to take a solemn oath, that they
will make annual sacrifices in his behalf. They are afraid
of God if they are unfaithful. They never neglect such
sacrifices ... use is made of the blood. The
bursting forth of blood is absolutely indispensable." 1
A Moslem, speaking with reference to the dahhiyeh
sacrifices, observed: “The bursting forth of the blood
is the most important thing." The Mawali Arabs hold
the same view: “The vow is presented to the face of
God. Any one who is washed and is ceremonially clean
may kill the victim. They take its blood and make a
stripe on the back of the animal. It is a mark of the
good one; that is, of the weli. It indicates that the
sacrifice has been presented to him. They cook the
victim and eat it, and share its flesh with the poor.
The sacrifice is not complete without the shedding of
blood. It would not do to get a certain quantity of meat
and eat it in their houses; without the bursting forth of
blood, there is no fulfilment of the vow.
They
never use the term fedou .... but they employ the
verb from which fedou comes. It is in this connection
that the emir said: “If a man loses a valuable horse
by death, they say 'it has redeemed you.'
At Snobar, a village of the Nusairiyeh, there is a
shrine of the Persian saint, Ajami, where they have an
annual festival. Like the Ismailiyeh they make use only
of males for sacrifices. A poor man can offer a fowl,
"as far as his hand reaches. The shrine called among
دور و
1 Journal XI.
2 Ibid.
8 The phrase here is almost the same as in the Priests' Code.
Cf. Lev. v: 7:“But if his hand does not reach the sufficiency of a
lamb then he shall bring for his guilt-offering, which he hath
sinned, two turtle doves, or two young pigeons to Jehovah.” Cf.
VS. II; xiv. 32.
REDEMPTION
213
the Nusairiyeh and in Asia Minor zeyareh, is under the
open heavens, surrounded by a rude wall. Inside of this
wall is a sacred tree, a wild mulberry, on which rags are
tied in performance of a vow. Those who are ill tie
them about their necks. Inside of this wall, which sur-
rounds the zeyaren, are three swarms of bees. They
are owned by the weli, and the honey is given to the
poor.
With respect to the sacrifices offered in performance
of vows, a man said that they vowed the bursting forth
of blood to the face of God. Our informant said the
sacrifices were offered to the weli. In connection with
vows in case of illness, blood may be smeared on the
part affected, as the stomach or the bowels. 1
As showing how prevalent the expression quoted is,
we were told by the Protestant teacher at Mehardeh: “It
is St. George (Khuddr) who causes the Sabbatic foun-
tain in northern Syria to work intermittently as it does.
All sects sacrifice there; that is, at the fountain. It is
through the power of the saint that the water flows. On
April 23d is the feast of St. George, which is called the
Feast of the Convent . the Christians come first,
the Nusairiyeh second, the Moslems third. Moslems are
ceasing to go because of the unsavory reputation of the
monastery. They are now, therefore, sacrificing the vic-
tims promised in their vows in their own villages, with
their heads turned toward the monastery.
He was in a
Moslem village where a man had a calf to offer to St.
George. He asked the sheik what he should do, and
was advised either to sacrifice it, or bring it to the village
to the agent of the shrine, who was collecting vows for
the monastery, and redeem it. The agent said, what you
vowed 'was the outbursting of blood to the saint.' The
1 Journal XI.
214
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
) 1
1
meat is eaten on behalf of the spirit of the saint; that is,
of St. George, as from his bounty.
While at Rasheyeh I had an interview with a Druse
woman, in which a teacher from the Girls' School at
Damascus served as my interpreter. This Druse had
traveled widely with her husband; had visited Urfa, the
scene of the Armenian massacres, and had lived ten years
in Bagdad. In Urfa there is a shrine of Nimrod. She
said: “If a man is ill, or in prison, or if the flocks are
diseased, his relatives go to the makam and say, 'we
have come to your house, we are under the protection
(dakhiel) of a given prophet. We have fallen on your
threshold"; that is, have kissed the threshold of your
shrine. They vow a sheep, either male or female, and
generally have the animal selected quite young.
Some of the company sleep at the shrine that night.
Usually a Moslem sheik kills the animal. The head of
the victim is turned toward the south. If there is no
Moslem priest, a Druse slaughters. They put
blood marks on the outer door of the shrine.
The
important thing is the shedding of the blood, the bursting
forth of the blood.
One of the most significant events in the Old Testa-
ment which is found in one of the oldest documents is
the conclusion of the Covenant between God and Israel,
where, after the reading of the book of the Covenant,
the blood is sprinkled on the altar and the people.3
We
may be certain that this represents ancient usage among
the Semites. Singularly enough we find a parallel cus-
tom among the Ismailiyeh, which, notwithstanding the
peculiarities of their faith, has been transmitted through
the millenniums. I quote from the same interview with
one of the Ismailiyeh from which I have already made
1 Ibid.
2 Journal XII. 8 Ex. xxiv. 6-8.
د و
REDEMPTION
215
several citations: “There is an annual festival at the
shrine. They vow vows.
All who desire go. They
wash and put on clean clothes. They dance and sing.
Their own leaders do not permit men and women to dance
together, unless they belong to the same family. They
dance in honor of the weli. The sacrifice must be a male
and a sheep, must be perfect, nothing broken, nothing
wanting, must be at least a year old. They sacrifice it
to the weli. They slaughter it outside of the door of the
shrine, very near the threshold, at the expense of the
weli (on account of his purse). A religious sheik
slaughters it, and reads the first sura of the Koran over
it. They believe that by the permission of God the
saint is there. The head points to the east, that the
throat may be toward the south. They sprinkle the stones
outside the weli in the wall, and the sick person who has
made the vow, with the blood of the sacrifice. They
sprinkle the blood on the stones above the door and
on the two sides, so that the sacrifice may be accept-
able. They cook the animal and give it to the people
who are there. The man who sacrifices eats with them.
They must slaughter, the eating is not so neces-
sary.
In another chapter I have already cited many exam-
ples of blood-sprinkling in connection with houses, on the
door, the door-posts, and the lintel. I give one other
example as bearing on this discussion. Dr. Assadoun
Aram Attonnyan of Aleppo related the following: "In
Urfa there is a well which has healing property. It is
especially good for leprosy. The well is inside the house.
They kill a lamb, goat, or pigeons, then put their hands
in the blood and mark the inside of the wall of the build-
ing.' Such marks of the bloody hand or of a hand
1 Journal XI.
11
216
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
traced in red paint are very common in Syria and Pales-
tine-they are supposed to be efficacious in protecting a
house from the jinn."
Not only these sacrifices, which have been character-
istic of Semitic religion throughout the ages, but also the
chief sacrifice in the Moslem ritual at Muna is distin-
guished by the same characteristics. It was the testi-
mony of a Moslem: "The important part of the sacrifice
is the pouring out of blood. As soon as the blood of the
victims has flowed at Muna, they bury the bodies in the
ground. Any dahhiyeh sacrifice is much more acceptable
to God if offered on the mountain. No use is made of
the blood whatever. It is said that in Irak they take
the blood of the sacrifice and put it over each door
inside the court, so that there is the sign of the bloody
.
I must reserve the discussion of the significance of
sacrifice for the next chapter. But it is possible that an
incident related to me by the Rev. F. B. Meyer of Lon-
don may have some bearing on this investigation. While
he was in Calcutta, at the Temple of the Goddess Kali,
he was present at a ceremony which filled him with such
disgust that he rebuked the worshipers for it. Neverthe-
less, it seems significant. Until the English interfered,
it was customary at the annual festival of this goddess to
bring a human sacrifice, but since this practice has been
stopped by the enforcement of an English statute for-
bidding it, it has been customary for the one offering the
sacrifice to hold a little boy in his arms, while another
brought a kid in his arms, as the substitute for the son
whom his ancestors would have offered. When the
throats of the kids have been cut, and the blood has
flowed, it is customary for the holy men to catch the
Journal XIII.
2 Journal XI.
REDEMPTION.
217
blood in their hands, smear it on their faces, and dance
about in it. It was this ceremony that shocked Mr.
Meyer, and which he rebuked, but which is undoubtedly
an essential part of such an offering.
1
Journal XIII., On the train from Damascus to Beirut.
Sir William Wilson Hunter gives the following account of
human sacrifices among the Kandhs in his Brief History of the In-
dian Peoples, Oxford, 1897, p. 49, which presents another aspect of
human sacrifice as once practised in India. "The Kandhs, like
the Santals, have many deities, race-gods, tribe-gods, family-gods,
and a multitude of malignant spirits and demons. But their great
divinity is the earth-god, who represents the productive energy of
nature. Twice each year, at sowing-time and at harvest, and in all
seasons of special calamity, the earth-god required a human sacri-
fice. The duty of kidnapping victims from the plains rested with
the lower race attached to the Kandh village. The victim,
on being brought to the hamlet, was welcomed at every threshold,
daintily
fed and kindly treated till the fatal day arrived. He was
then solemnly sacrificed to the earth-god, the Kandhs shouting in
his dying ear, “We bought you with a price: no sin rests with us!'
CHAPTER XVII
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRIFICE
I went to Palestine in the early summer of 1898 with
the full persuasion that the sacrificial meal was the oldest
form of sacrifice, as Professor W. Robertson Smith and
others maintain. Indeed, my observations of the shrines
and high places during the autumn of the same year
seemed abundantly to confirm this view. I learned that
every vow of animals that was paid was prepared as a feast,
either for the one offering the sacrifice and his friends,
including any that might be present, or for the poor.
Again, all the characteristics of such offerings as are
described in Deuteronomy seemed to be preserved in
these modern sacrifices. According to the legislation
contained in that code, except in one passage, fire-offer-
ings are not mentioned. There was feasting, and every
expression of joy before the Lord. So now, when vows
are paid, men and women eat, sing, and dance. What
could be more natural, from the study of such customs,
than to see in them a confirmation of a theory which has
been presented with such learning and ability?
1
Encyclopædia Britannica, New York, 1886, pp. 133, 134: "A
sacrifice, therefore, is primarily a meal offered to the deity
The sacrificial meal with the general features that have been de-
scribed may be regarded as common to all the so-called native
religions of the civilized races of antiquity--religions which have
a predominantly joyous character, and in which the relations of
man to the gods were not troubled by any habitual and oppressive
sense of human guilt.” Cf. Smith, Lectures on the Religion of
the Semites, New York, 1889, pp. 237, 327.
2 Deut. xviii. 1. It is not improbable that the reference to
fire-offerings is no more original in this text than in that of Josh.
xiii. 14, where it does not occur in the LXX.
218
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRIFICE
219
I was led, however, a year ago last summer, after my
researches with respect to the use of blood, to distrust
the regnant hypothesis as to the primitive form of sacri-
fice. And that distrust was greatly deepened by the
researches made last summer, which have been set forth
in the three preceding chapters. Indeed, I was amazed
when I heard certain terms employed with such persist-
ency in different parts of the country, remote from each
other, as for example, the necessity of the "bursting forth
of blood" before the face of the Lord, or the weli.
If this teaching were found in Islam as a necessary
condition of acceptable sacrifice, we might well say that
Bedouin, Arabs, Fellahin, and more enlightened Syrians,
coming under the influence of positive religion, had
abandoned their ancient customs in bringing their sacri-
fices as they are wont to do to-day. This is possible,
though highly improbable. But when we find that blood
is regarded among orthodox Moslems as defiling, so that
they will not step over the blood of a sacrifice, and con-
sider it a priori impossible that it should be placed on their
shrines, or if so placed it is considered as bringing down
the rightful wrath of the weli, we must conclude that we
are dealing with a primitive custom, going back of the
time of Ezekiel, of the oldest document in the Penta-
teuch, and of usages which are found in ancient Baby-
lonia.
There are three considerations which need to be em-
phasized in the discussion of the significance of sacrifice.
The first is the persistence of custom among the Orientals,
to which allusion has already been made. That which
is customary now in all parts of the country among all
sects and classes of people, as Bedouin, Arabs, and
1 Zimmern, op. cit. See introduction and texts.
1
2 Cf. p. 52.
220
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Fellahin, may be considered as customary from time
immemorial. Custom among the Orientals is as binding
as morality and religion among us; indeed, custom is
morality and religion to the Oriental. The second con-
sideration, of like importance, is the ordinary conception
of sin among ancient and modern Semites.
There are
indeed exceptions, but only enough to prove the rule.
We have seen that sin is not ordinarily conceived of as
guilt, but rather as misfortune. There are, to be sure,
traces of a nobler idea; but the dominant notion is that
misfortune comes, not because a man or woman is guilty
of some sin, but because God is arbitrarily angry. Hence
his favor must be sought. A third consideration is in
the view which obtains of divine beings among the igno-
rant, whose belief represents original usage. We have
seen that they do not clearly distinguish in their thinking
between a jinn, an ancestor, a saint (weli), and God, as
the source of their blessings, or their misfortunes. Good
and evil come alike from God, the weli, the ancestor; and
the jinn, for there are good genii as well as evil.3 A jinn,
as we have seen, can make the ill well, and the well ill.*
Now; if we can find what is the custom regarding
sacrifice, always and everywhere, we may be sure that
the same has been the custom back to the very begin-
nings of the history of the Sèmites. Or if, in other
words, a feast åt which the saint was the host, was the
customary idea of sacrifice in primitive times, it should
be the customary idea now. If we find another element
in sacrifice dominant among those Syrians, Arabs, and
Bedouin who are nearest the condition of primitive life
now, we may be certain that the same element was domi-
nant in the primitive history of the Semites. The data
元 ​ho
3
1 See p. 65.
2 P. 124.
3 P. 94.
4 P. 92.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRIFICE
221
furnished in ancient literature, from which the critics
conclude that the sacrificial meal was the pre-eminent
element in sacrifice, are inadequate for a satisfactory
induction; those which exist to-day are abundant. After
the researches which I was enabled to make last sum-
mer, I think there can be no question as to what our con-
clusion must be, if we carefully consider the facts which
I have detailed.
Again, if the mass of modern Semites—and I speak now
of those who are not under the influence of Islam and
Christianity-look upon misfortune as an evidence of sin,
and as an indication of the displeasure of some being to
whom, practically, they assign the value of God, whether
he be weli, ancestor, or jinn, then our view of the most
important element in sacrifice must be different.
not to go to these people for anything but usage. They
may be able to give an explanation of that usage as it
may occur to them at the moment, or there may be folk-
lore which represents the effort of the generations to
explain certain phenomena. Of such folk-lore I have
found little or nothing which has a bearing on the expla-
nation of sacrifice.
It is true that sacrifice may be regarded as a gift on
the part of the suppliant, which is designed favorably to
dispose the being, who is God to him, in some undertaking
on which he is about to enter; or to remove his anger.
It may be something like a bribe to blind the eyes of
deity, a keffareh,' so that the divine being who is dis-
pleased may overlook the offense on account of which
We are
he is angry.
Connected with the sacrifice, there may be a meal, at
which all is hilarity. Before the sacrifice was made, or
the vow was paid, there might be a sort of uneasy feeling
1 P. 210.
222
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
on the part of the worshiper, but when the promised gift
has once been made to the weli, what a weight is rolled
off from the man! The sheep, goat, calf, bullock, camel
that was vowed has changed owners. It is no longer
the property of the man who gave it, but has become
the property of the saint or divine being. Now it is to
be spread before the man who offered it, and his friends,
as the saint's bounty. All is well, care is banished,
there is a feast. Why should not the light-hearted
Bedouin, Arab, or Fellahin eat, sing, dance, and be
merry? Many times, in all parts of the country, I have
sought to learn whether the saint were regarded as actu-
ally present at such a feast. I have hardly been able to
discover any such idea.
But another notion has been set forth with a strange
and surprising unanimity, in all parts of the country,
among Bedouin, Arabs, and Fellahin, as well as among
fairly intelligent Moslems and Christians, namely, that the
"shedding of blood," the "bursting forth of blood," is
the essential element in sacrifice. As to the accuracy,
as well as the emphasis, of this testimony, there can be no
question. An aversion to the teaching of the Scriptures
with reference to the blood atonement, or a predilection
in its favor should have no place here.
There can be no
scientific research if we come to such an inquiry with
our minds made up as to what the result should be.
Here, if anywhere, an open mind is absolutely essential.
It is clear that the necessity for shedding blood does not
exclude the character of sacrifice as a gift, nor does it
exclude the feast which follows it. When the sacrifice
is made, then, as has been affirmed, men and women
may be glad. But it is a very serious question whether
the term "sacrificial meal' is not a misnomer.
1 See chapter XVI.
if-elcerdog i
kas such the
azithon
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRIFICE
223
In what does the sacrifice consist? Is it in giving a
certain animal? It seems that this is not so. Young
animals are sometimes given to a weli, and are not sacri-
ficed for months. It is clearly recognized that the
animal thus given so fully belongs to the weli that even
if blemishes develop in it the man who gave it ceases to
be responsible for them. While the man could not sacri-
fice such an animal if it had lost more than a third of its
ears or tail,' now that the animal belongs to the weli,
his responsibility ends. But though he gave it to the
weli, and it belongs to the weli, it does not become a
sacrifice until he, or the butcher, throws it on its left
side, with its head toward Mecca, if he be a Moslem, or
toward Jerusalem, if he be a Christian, or toward the
shrine of Mar Jirjis, if he sacrifices to St. George in his
own village, and cuts its throat. The consummation of
the sacrifice is in the outflow of blood. The feast which
follows adds nothing. It may be affirmed with emphasis
that to the large majority it means nothing except good
cheer. If any proof were wanting in support of this
statement, it is abundantly furnished by the fact of the
great dahhiyeh sacrifices in the Valley of Muna, which
were adopted by Mohammed from the heathen rites which
attended the festival at Mecca. Not only the kissing of
the sacred stone by the Moslems at the Kaaba is a primi-
tive rite, but also the sacrifices. At the Valley of Muna
there is no feast whatever, the victims are buried, or the
Arabs are permitted to come and take them away.? It is
1 Hedaya, London, MDCCXCI., Vol. IV., p. 79.
2 Cf. Burckhardt, Travels in Arabia, London, 1829, p. 276:
"The act of sacrifice itself is subject to no other ceremonies than
that of turning the victim's face towards the Kebly, or the Kaaba,
and to say, during the act of cutting its throat, ' in the name of
the most merciful God ! O Supreme God!' .... Any place may
be chosen for these sacrifices, which are performed in every corner
of Wady Muna; but the favorite spot is a smooth rock on its
224
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
clear, with respect to these sacrifices, that the sacrificial
act consists in the outfiow of the blood of the victims.
It may not be so easy to determine the value of the
sacrifice. Does it possess in any degree a substitution-
ary or vicarious character? Let us pass some of the facts
already cited in review. Such a sacrifice is at least thought
to insure good luck, but wherein does the good luck con.
sist? There are certain facts which seem to point towart
a substitutionary value in sacrifice. Such are the for ·
mulas, already mentioned in the preceding chapter,
employed for announcing a death in Syria or Palestine:
“Abdullah is dead, but your life is redeemed," or
"Abdullah is dead, may God give you his life"; that is,
“You have a better chance of living on account of his
death.'' An Arab is almost broken-hearted at the loss
of a pet mare, whom he loves more than his wife, but a
fellow clansman seeks to comfort him by saying, "Do
not mourn for her; if she had not died, Allah might have
taken your life." So, if a beloved son is cut down in
the flower of his youth, the father is comforted by the
same assurance, that, had his son not died, he might have
lost his own life. This is clearly a substitutionary idea.
So, too, when the minister of the “Chair” at Zebe-
dani, said, “Every house must have its death, either
western extremity, where several thousand sheep were killed in
the space of an hour.". Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrim-
age to Al-Madinah and Mecca, London, MDCCCXCIII., Vol. II.,
p. 218: “It is considered a meritorious act to give away the victim
without eating any portion of its flesh. With respect to sacri-
fices slain for an incomplete performance of duty, Burton remarks,
ibid., p. 140, note 3: “ The victim is sacrificed as a confession that
the offender deems himself worthy of death: the offerer is not
allowed to taste any portion of the offering."
Ahmed Hindi of Damascus, who has made three pilgrimages
to Mecca, says: “At the age of fifteen, every man and woman
must offer a sheep. They do not eat the sheep, but put it
in a hole in the ground. If any one desires to eat the carcass he
may. Journal VIII.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRIFICE
225
man, woman, child, or animal,” it is evident that when
the owner slaughters an animal as a sacrifice for his
house, it is with the understanding that the being whom
he fears will now spare him and his family, because he
has offered it up a subsitute in their stead.
This came
out clearly when a Protestant, Mr. Jabur in the Syrian
Desert, yielding to the entreaties of his neighbors,
Moslems as well as Christians, cut the throat of a sheep
at the entrance of his house to secure the safety of his
family. The thought of his neighbors, if clearly
expressed, would have been, “If you slay a sheep, your
family will be safe; if you do not, one of them will
be in danger." Thus the sacrifice which is offered
when a bridal couple make their home in an old house,
or when a family moves from one house to another,
has really a substitutionary character. So, too, the
people of Kerak, when they occupy a cave during har-
vest, insure their lives by killing a victim who takes the
place of all of them, as a sacrifice to the jinn who is
landlord of the cave. Doughty was definitely assured
that the blood of an animal was put on the corner of a
house, which was building, to protect the workmen;"
that is, the animal died that they might live. It was
this passage which I found in Doughty' a year ago last
summer that first suggested to me the substitutionary
character of such sacrifices. The reader may well ima-
gine my sensations on the first great interview which I had
in Syria with the servant of the “Chair," when he
announcer. “Every house must have its death."
Other expressions are found for the same idea of
vicarious sacrifice, as "head for head," "spirit for
spirit,” where the head of an animal, or its spirit, is said to
1Cf. p. I9I.
Travels in Arabia Deserta, Cambridge, 1888, P, 136.
226
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
take the place of the man, woman, child, family, or
group for which it dies.
One of the most thrilling discoveries was in regard to
the existence of blood-sprinkling at the present day,
upon doors, door-posts, and lintels. I do not claim that
this was an original discovery, for it had been observed
by a young English woman in the Druse Mountains, who
mentioned her observations to me; and such a case is
cited by Dr. Trumbull, as seen by Dr. Washburn, of
Robert College, Constantinople. But this fact has been
so emphasized by the number and range of my personal
investigations as to have, perhaps, the value of a new
discovery.
Some Bible students may be tempted to conclude that
in this custom we have an imitation of blood-sprinkling
in connection with the institution of the Passover festi-
val, when the destroying angel passed by the houses of
the Israelites. At first blush, this would seem probable.
But I am confident that a closer view of the subject, a
more careful weighing of the facts, will show, that in the
institution of blood-sprinkling we have a primitive Semitic
custom which long antedates the Passover festival.
The use of blood mentioned in Ezekiel, where the priest
is to take the blood of the sin-offering and put it upon
the door-posts of the house (temple), and upon the four
corners of the ledge of the altar, and upon the posts of
the gate of the inner court, resembles the usage which
we find to-day among Bedouin who never came into con-
tact with the Old Testament. These Arabs, Bedouin,
and Fellahin, who are so little influenced by Islam, have
evidently not derived the custom from that faith; for as
1 Palmer, The Desert of the Exodus, New York, 1872, p. 218:
“We saw no blood upon the door-posts, or on the tomb itself, as is
usual in desert welis; but the reason assigned for this by the Arabs
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRIFICE
227
we have seen, orthodox Moslems consider such a use of
blood highly reprehensible. Besides we have noticed
that the same custom existed among the ancient Baby-
lonians. ?
What is the object of putting blood on the doors of
private houses? In the case of the Israelites, it was
that, when the destroying angel went through the land
of Egypt to slay the first-born of the Egyptians, he might
spare the first-born of the Israelites. If this account
were to be translated into the thought and terminology
of the ignorant modern Semite, the destroying angel
would be an “Afrit,” such as the people of Hamath, after
they have annually repaired their largest water-wheel,
seek to propitiate by causing the blood of a victim to
run down into the sluice. 2
At Hamath, as we have learned, the Christians in the
time of cholera put blood, brought from the slaughter-
houses on the doors of their houses in the shape of a
This is not good Semitic usage, because the blood
was not that of victims. But it is founded on good
Semitic usage because it represents the idea that blood
is the all-important thing in sacrifice, and that there are
malignant powers of the air who must be placated, and
turned away by the sign of a surrendered life in substi.
tute blood.
It is more difficult to understand the significance of
blood, or of semn and henna, placed on a door-post and
lintels of a shrine. Perhaps the object is to remind the
saint of the blood of the victim that has been slain. It
may be sprinkled on the shrine in the same way that the
cross.
was that on the occasion of sacrifice they placed two stones by the
door to receive the blood, and that these are afterwards removed,
in order that the tomb may be kept pure and clean."
P. 54, n. 2.
2 P. 198.
228
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
it may
ancient Arab was said to have smeared blood on the
sacred stone which was regarded as bet Allah, or the house
of God. 1
Whether it involves the idea of a covenant between
the one bringing the sacrifice and the saint, as a Protes-
tant deacon suggested to Dr. Henry H. Jessup, in con-
nection with the shrine at Tell Abu en-Neda, is not clear;
There can be little doubt that when blood is
sprinkled on the sacred stones of a shrine, and upon
those who bring the sacrifice, we have an ancient Semitic
parallel with the conclusion of the covenant on Mount
Sinai, where Moses sprinkled part'of the sacrificial blood
on the altar and part on the people.
Whether I have given a correct interpretation of the
facts gathered, the student must decide. It seems to me,
however, that these facts shed much light on the true
significance of sacrifice as a primitive Semitic institution.
1 W. Robertson Smith, op. cit., p. 184.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE, AND THE ORIGINAL
ALTAR1
We have already seen that there is no evidence among
Syrians and Arabs of the existence of burnt-offerings.
Has an ancient rite faded from their memory? If the
position taken be true that usage now, among ignorant
Syrians and among Arabs, is likely to represent primitive
usage, then it seems probable, as has been observed in a
preceding chapter, that the original element in sacrifice
was not its consumption by fire, but in its being pre-
sented to God, and if it were an animal, in its blood being
shed.
Let us approach this discussion from another point of
view, namely, that of the altar. The Biblical student
cannot well conceive of an altar, apart from incense, or
one of which the main design was not the offering up of
burnt-sacrifices to God. There are also well-attested
examples among other Semitic peoples of altars which
were used millenniums before Christ for sacrifices made
by fire:
We might, therefore, be tempted to conclude
that an original institution had perished from the mem-
ory of the modern Semites, on finding that altars for fire-
offerings date back for thousands of years among the
Assyrians and other peoples. Yet we must remember
that some of the most ancient institutions are still pre-
served among peoples living in the twentieth century,
but who have been unaffected by the progress of the ages
in their social and religious customs.
1 Cf. Appendix F.
229
230
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
If, as we seem to have found, primitive sacrifice con-
sists wholly in the shedding of blood, the place where
the sacrifice is slain becomes simply the place of slaugh-
tering, or the place of sacrifice. This conclusion is
confirmed by the etymology of the oldest words for
altar, both in Arabic and Hebrew. We may be sure
that in the form of these words we shall get the primi-
tive idea.
As all Semitic scholars are aware, there is a large
class of nouns formed by prefixing the letter m to the
verbal root. Such nouns signify, either the place where
a thing is done, the instrument by which it is done, or
the embodiment of the action. The verbal root in Arabic
which signifiesto sacrifice," is dhabaha. Lane renders
this :1 "He slaughtered [for food, or sacrificed] an animal,
or a sheep, or a goat, or an ox, or a cow in the manner
prescribed by the law, [that is by cutting the two external
jugular veins] or by cutting the throat from beneath at
the part next the head .... dhabaha anhu, he slaugh-
tered or sacrificed for him by way of expiation.” The
word dhibh signifies an animal prepared for slaughter
or sacrifice; that is, an intended victim. for
example, it is said in the Koran, xxxvii. 107, 'And we
ransomed him with a great victim'”; that is, Abraham.
Remembering that a noun formed by prefixing 'm may
mean the place where a thing is done madhbah signifies,
"A place where victims are immolated; altar, slaughter-
house. As will be seen, there is no hint in this expres-
sion of burnt-offerings, nor in another derivative midhbah,
(slaughtering-knife). On the other hand, the etymology
of the word madhbah bears unequivocal testimony to the
3,2
Arabic-English Lexicon, sub voce.
2 Wortabet and Porter, Arabic-English Dictionary, Beyrout,
1893, sub voce.
THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE
231
fact, that slaughtering an animal by the shedding of blood
was the primitive idea of sacrifice.
Let us examine the Hebrew verb signifying "to sacri-
fice," zabah, which is almost identical with the modern
Egyptian pronunciation of dhabah as zabh.
This word,
too, means originally to slaughter, and mizbeah also
"place of sacrifice"; so in Biblical Aramaic madhbah,
"altar," comes from débah, which signifies "to slaughter"
and then “to sacrifice."
Where were such sacrifices offered? Evidently in
connection with some habitation, either of God or man.
Among the Bedouin such a habitation is a tent, even
when they term it house (bet), and describe the pitching
of the tent by their women as the building of a house.
The entrance of such a tent is on the east. As an emir
testified, “Ever since God (Allah) created the Arabs, the
east has been the front of the tent. Here, then, is the
proper place to slay the animal.
But if possible, many sacrifices should be taken to some
shrine. If the saint or weli is conceived of as residing
in a sacred tree, or as revealing himself there, then at
that tree would be the place of slaughtering; if he is at
a gigantic grave under the open heavens, plastered over,
or in the ordinary Moslem grave covered with stones, and
with gravestones at the head and feet, and in both cases
surrounded with a low wall, then outside such a shrine
would be the place of sacrifice. If in a fountain, as at
Ain Fowar, or at Zerka Main, the victims are to be
brought to the place. If the weli is thought of as in the
little building, usually with a dome, known as a makam,
mezar, zeyareh, or by whatever other name, the victim
should be slain at the building.
But where is the place of sacrifice? Some say any-
where in the court, around which houses are built, but it
232
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
is clear that correct usage among Bedouin and Syrians
places it at the entrance. There are some definite testi-
monies with respect to this.
As we have seen, the sacrifices offered to the jinn or
the weli of a cave are at the entrance. It is there that
the blood falls. The east side, or entrance of a tent, is
the proper place for sacrifice. Occasional sacrifices, in
payment of vows, brought to Nebi Daud in Jerusalem are
slain either before the doorstep of the court, or before
one of the doorsteps of the dwellings inside the court.
The late Rev. John Zeller, of Jerusalem, relates that he
saw the blood of the victims killed at the feasts of circum-
cision before the doors of Nebi Musa near the Dead Sea.
Abdu Khahil, the head native master of the Boys'
School in connection with the Irish Presbyterian Mission
at Damascus, says: “It is common to kill a sacrifice at
the threshold.' Musa Khuri has twice seen in Rasheya,
once among the Greek Catholics and once among Syriac
Catholics, a lamb slaughtered over the doorstep as fedou.
They believe that if they build a new house and neglect
to do this some one of the family will die.
Mrs. Dale, daughter of President Bliss, of the Syrian
Protestant College, Beirut, saw a sheep killed among the
Greek Catholics at Ras Baalbek. They cut its throat on
the doorstep and they made the sign of the cross in
blood over the door.
There are many examples of the threshold as the place
where the sacrifice is slain. We have already passed the
various kinds of sacrifices in review. The one for the
pilgrim who returns from Mecca, or from Jerusalem, or
for a soldier, or prisoner, who comes back to his home,
is on the threshold of the entrance to that home. There
the butcher cuts the throat of the victim.
1 P. 184.
THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE
233
The following incident, related to me in Homs, with
reference to the use of a threshold in sacrifice, seems
most significant in this connection: “If a man has bought
a new house, and the inhabitants have been unlucky,
that is, have had ill health or death, before moving into
the house, the owner makes some change, and offers a
sacrifice. The change usually consists in taking up the
old stone on the threshold and laying a new one in its
place. Then the sacrifice is offered on that threshold.
They call it presenting a keffareh, in order that no evil
may befall them.”
So when the sacrifice is made for a new house, a simi-
lar ceremony is observed. This is the custom in northern
Syria and the Syrian Desert. At Kerak, and on the east
side of the Dead Sea, the victim is taken upon the flat
roof and its throat is cut so that the blood runs down
over the lintel.
Among Moslems and the so-called sects of Islam, as
Nusairiyeh, Ismailiyeh, and Druses, it is common to
immolate victims on the doorsteps of shrines. The same
custom is to be found among the Christians, including
the various sects, such as Copts, Jacobites, and others.
At a wedding among Syrian members of a Greek Church
in New York City, a sheep was sacrificed in the street,
probably before the door of the house which was to be
the home of the bridal pair, in the month of November,
1901.
In this connection Dr. Henry Clay Trumbull's learned
monograph, The Threshold Covenant, is of great value.
There can be no question that the sacrifice at the
entrance of a tent, a cave, or at the threshold of a house,
represents primitive Semitic usage, and that this is the
place of sacrifice, so far as that term means the place of
immolation, or the pouring forth of blood. It may also
234
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
be considered the original altar, so far as we understand
by that term the place where the blood of the victim is
poured out. I have seen conspicuous examples of this
usage in the Druse Mountains and in other places.
The next step in the use of an altar is in the employ-
ment of a rude stone upon which the victims are slain.
Such was the place where the sacrificial blood fell, when
the Israelites slaughtered sheep and oxen after their vic-
tory over the Philistines between Michmash and Ajalon.'
We should also remember in this connection that the
favorite place at which the Moslems slaughter their vic-
tims in the Valley of Muna, is on a smooth rock, which
may be regarded as a rude altar.?
It is reported that such rude stone altars are still used
among the Arabs. The Rev. James B. Nies, Ph.D., of
Brooklyn, New York, saw such an altar at Yazuz, in the
land of Gilead, under a sacred terebinth tree.
It is a
rectangular stone, from an old Roman ruin, about three
feet long by two feet wide, and about two feet high, with
cup-holes and channels for blood, which were probably
cut by the Arabs.
There is an Arab graveyard near the sacred trees.
Here, then, is a most interesting combination of sacred
trees, and probably, if the truth could be learned from the
Arabs, a grave where repose the mortal remains of a weli,
the saint of a clan, and a stone used as an altar for the
victims immolated upon it.
Dr. Nies also points out another illustration of a sacri-
ficial stone in a demi-dolmen, which is thus described by
Major Conder:8 "The cap-stone measures thirteen feet
east and west by eleven feet north and south, and the
mean thickness is about twenty inches.
A curious sys-
1
1 Sam. xiv. 33–34.
2 P. 223, n. 2.
3 The Survey of Eastern Palestine, London, 1889, Vol. I., p. 20.
4
DOLMEN ALTAR, WITH HOLLOWS FOR BLOOD.
AFTER MAJOR CONDER.

SACRED TREES AT YAZUZ, AND ROCK ALTAR OF ARABS UNDER THE TREE ON THE RIGHT.

DOLMEN NEAR ZERKA MAIN.

ALTAR AT GIZEH MUSEUM
After a drazving by Dr. Nies
The red color represents surface and channels for the blood
THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE
235
tem of channels and hollows was noticed in the cap-
stone.
Near the middle of the stone is a hollow
twenty-six inches by twenty inches and twelve inches
deep. Near the west end, which is the highest, is a
hollow one foot square.
The channels connecting
these hollows can be traced from the diagram. Dr. Nies
sees in the hollows on the cap-stone of the dolmen arti-
ficial depressions made by Arabs in order to receive the
blood of their sacrifices. He says that the Gizeh Mu-
seum, in Cairo, affords hundreds of altars for the immo-
lation of victims, having on the upper surface round and
square holes for receiving the blood.
Perhaps the most important confirmation of the use
of a rock as the place of sacrifice among the Bedouin is
found in a communication from Dr. Schumacher, of
Haifa.?
A conspicuous example may be found in the high
place at Petra, which I described in the Quarterly State-
1 HAIFA, 30th January, 1902. My Dear Professor Curtiss-
Your letter of the 4th inst. was just received, and I hasten to reply
to it, briefly, as I am to start for a journey to the interior and begin
archæological excavations at Taanach and Megiddo.
1. I do not know of any rock altars used by the Bedouin, but
of ancient columns and similar large stones, and have come across
some at El-Hawi near Ras Birkish in Ajlun, also near Beisan at
the shrine of El-Halaby; at Shejarat el-Arrifije ("the tree of the
sorceress” vid. my Northern Ajlun p. 106), also in Ajlun and in
other places across the Jordan.
2. They are nearly all in connection with
sacred trees and shrines.
3. The stones are hollowed on the top and
have circular holes of 3 inches to 6 inches diameter 6 in
and 2 to 4 inches depth.
4. The character of such “altar" holes is for
the reception of blood. I have been present at
several similar (sacrificial] ceremonies of the Bedouin. In order
to fulfil a vow, the family members of a tribe .... gather at a
shrine under a tree; a sheep or a goat is brought thither, the
khatib or priest lays it across the "altar," with the body on the
stone and the head and neck hanging down. Then with the
236 PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
ment of the Palestine Exploration Fund, for October,
1900.
There seems to be a combination in this illustration
of the altar of burnt-sacrifice and a table or altar for
slaying victims. The latter is eleven feet nine inches
long from north to south, sixteen feet six inches wide,
and is ascended by four steps in the northeast corner.
On the top of the platform is a remarkable and sug-
gestive feature with reference to its probable use in the
preparation of victims for the sacrificial fire.
This con-
sists in two circular and concentric pans with vertical
sides, cut out of the rock, with a conduit leading from
the lower pan which may have served to carry away the
blood of the victim. The larger pan is three feet eight
inches in diameter, its depth is three inches; the second
or lower pan is one foot five inches in diameter, its depth
is two inches. The conduit is three feet two inches long,
two inches wide, and three inches deep. This platform
corresponds to the simple altar of the Arabs, as described
by Dr. Nies and Dr. Schumacher, and is combined with
the altar of burnt-sacrifice, which arose in the develop-
ment of worship at a much later period. We have a sim-
words: bismillah, rahman, er-rahim* (in the name of God the
merciful of the merciful) he cuts the throat of the animal with
a knife, and the Bedouin gather the blood and sprinkle it over
the grave of the Muhammedan saint buried at the shrine which
is near by. In doing so they call the dead saint to witness that
they have fulfilled this vow. The animal is cooked afterwards
and eaten.
The sprinkling is generally done with a tassel made of goat
hair, which is hung over the shrine after the ceremony is over.
The graves of saints or shrines are therefore generally covered
with blood . . . . N. B. I find in my notes on northern Ajlun that
the Shejarat el-Arrifije (or Shejarat Barakat or Baruka) may be a
rock altar. The spot is greatly venerated by the Bedouin and
Fellahin of the district. The place, a heap of ruins, and rude,
large stones is, however, considered a shrine.
* This, of course, differs from the formula in the Koran, C.

PETRA
Rock Cul Alias &
platform
higam
Plan
Iconerte Sacs
Saszent
GENERAL PLAN OF HIGH PLACE AND ALTAR AT PETRA,

ANCIENT PLACE FOR SLAUGHTERING SACRIFICE AT PETRA.
AFTER PROFESSOR GEORGE L. ROBINSON.
NOTE.-The observation of the High-Place and Altar at Petra by Professor
George L. Robinson, in the spring of 1900, has all the value of a new discovery.
The place, though seen and partially described by Mr. Edward L. Wilson, an
American, in his SCRIPTURE LANDS, London, 1891, p. 104, remained unrecognized
by the learned world, until Dr. Robinson found it, as he thought, for the first time.
The writer keenly regrets, that through misinformation as to the thoroughness of
Dr. Robinson's researches, he should have anticipated him in the pages of the
Quarterly Statement in the announcement and description of a find which is one
of the most important made for the history of Semitic worship during the
nineteenth century.
THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE
237
1
ilar combination in Ezekiel, where, in the description of
the temple, eight tables are mentioned as used especially
for the slaughter of the victims, and four tables of hewn
stone for the reception of the burnt-offerings.
When we consider all these examples together, it is
easy to trace sacrifice back to a time when it consisted
chiefly in shedding the blood of the victim. It was slain
at the entrance to the tent, or cave of the earliest
Semites; and later, when they lived in houses, on the
threshold; and still later, on a rock where, ' like the
Arabs to-day, they hollowed out places to receive
the blood.
1 Ezek. xi. 39-43.
CHAPTER XIX
CONCLUSION
There are three views which may be held with refer-
ence to the origin of Israel's religion, as set forth in the
Old Testament. One is that of the naturalistic inter-
preter, who conceives that we have in it simply the record
of a human development, from which the idea of God is
excluded, except as God may be conceived of as being
in all things.
Another is that of those who may be designated as
traditionalists, for lack of a better name, who conceive
of the worship of ancient Israel as instituted by God
himself on new foundations. This view is favored, as
the critics affirm, by the historian of the Priests' Code.
A third view recognizes the fact that the religious
institutions of ancient Israel, at their beginning, are an
outgrowth of those of the primitive Semites, yet not
merely through natural development, but through the
power of God's Spirit coworking with men.
Let us examine each of these views a little more in
detail. The first adopts the principle of natural develop-
ment, of an advance from the most rudimentary religious
conceptions of God and man, and their relations to each
other, to those which are complex and spiritual. I think
no student who weighs the evidence can question the
fact of development in the religion of Israel from ele-
mentary ideas, such as are characteristic of the childhood
of the race, to those which we find in the most spiritual
utterances of prophets and psalmists. This fact can be
as truly demonstrated as the development of the eagle
238
CONCLUSION
239
from the egg, and the egg from the parent germ, or of
the mighty oak from the acorn. None who admits the
facts can dispute such a conclusion. But among the
modern, as well as among the primitive Semites, the egg
stage, or that of the eaglet which has just picked its way
out of the shell, has not been passed; the mighty oak
has not got beyond the acorn, or the tiny plant which
the goat, the enemy of all forests, can crop off. This,
as we have seen, is the case among Arabs, Bedouin, and
Syrians whose lives have not been affected by positive
religion. Whenever positive religion has come in from
without, there has been a change. Mohammed saw and
promulgated the great idea of “no god, but God." But
he did not arrive at this idea through any natural evolu-
tion. The Arabs from whom he sprang were where the
Arabs had been for millenniums before him, who, while
recognizing God as the author of all things, were adher-
ents of the most superstitious rites. There is not the
slightest evidence that Mohammed rose on the shoulders
of an Arab religion which had been climbing during the
millenniums to a grand conception of God.
While he developed individually, his coreligionists
still remained in their old heathenism, and had not fur-
nished the soil for his development. Though his mind
rose to a worthy conception of God, he was still in the
grip of ancient Semitism, in the lust of beauty which he
inculcated as a means of sensual indulgence, and the lust
of conquest by which he sought to win and hold the
Arabs. Besides, his rejection of the revelation of the
Father through Jesus Christ, the Son, made the doctrine
of the mediation of the saints, and a practical deification
of them, a necessity. Islam is in no sense the product
of a development from ancient Semitism. On the con-
trary, it is still fettered by a compromise with old heathen-
240
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
ism, by the adoption of the ancient rites at its pilgrim
festival, and kissing of the stone at the Kaaba. It is
bound by fate; it presents no worthy aim in life; woman's
face is veiled that man may not lust after the beauty of
his neighbor's wife; continence is secured through
license, which is legalized immorality; the zeal of the
faithful is stimulated by prospects of plunder; converts
are made by the sword; and paradise consists of a garden
of sensual delights. This the mass of Moslems believe,
and have no place for the spiritual joys of the Christian
heaven.
We may therefore affirm with emphasis, that
Islam, in its doctrine of God, is not a natural develop-
ment from Semitism. Its noblest teachings have come
from Judaism and Christianity. Mohammed was not
the product of his own people. Indeed, the old Semi-
tism had power to fetter him and his teaching in the
observance of their low standard of morality; and by the
tyranny of unchanging custom to confine Islam in a prison
house, whence there is no hope of release. Usage, then,
which is like a law of the Medes and Persians, that cannot
change, has stopped all moral and religious progress in
the Moslem world.
No one will, of course, presume to say that Chris-
tianity is a natural evolution from ancient Semitism. The
facts are too patent to admit of such a supposition. It
was because Christianity had become so corrupted and
debased in the ancient Syrian world, originally beginning
as a pure institution, that Islam, as in some respects a
superior faith, was able to choke it out.
If any proposition can admit of an easy demonstra-
tion, it is that those characteristics which are noblest
and best in these systems, are not a natural evolution from
the Semitic mind. Semitic custom, through the compro-
mises which it demanded of Islam, on behalf of heathen-
CONCLUSION
241
ism, sensuality, and the love of plunder, has left its brand
upon the Moslem religion. Semitism has been able to
say to Islam, “Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther."
Semitism, so far from producing Christianity, was able
to devitalize it, to bring its adherents under the influence
of the superstitions of heathenism.
The theory of the traditionalist, that the teachings of
the Old Testament are new revelations direct from God,
without relation to past customs and institutions, is not
borne out by facts. While it is often man's method to
break entirely with the past, even in innocent habits
and modes of thought, and missionaries in the earlier
years are said to have illustrated this method, some at
times teaching converts from the historic churches that it
was wrong to observe Christmas and Easter, or any other
saint's days, or to sing any of the old songs, or to main-
tain any of the old customs; a study of the Bible shows
that this is not God's method.
We are thus borne on by a consideration of the facts
of primitive Semitic religion to the third theory that the
most spiritual conceptions of the Old and New Testa-
ments have been gradually evolved from ancient Semitic
conceptions under the guiding and controlling power of
God. God must be predicated as a factor in this evolu-
tion, if we take into account the fact that among no
branch of the Semitic peoples, if we count out ancient
Israel, have they been able to rise to spiritual concep-
tions of deity and worthy ideas of morality.
Men who had the problem to deal with which was
present to God when he decided to lead a people out
from the bondage of Semitic ignorance and superstition,
would have said, “Let us break completely with the past,
let us introduce a new order which is radically different
from the old.” Not so God, in his wisdom.
As we
242
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
have seen, men had certain conceptions of him as a
superhuman man. These he did not reject, though so
imperfect and unworthy. He adopted these conceptions
as a medium of instruction, and so we find the Jehovist
treating of God as if he were a man, with something of a
inan's imperfections, but presenting a higher ideal than
that of the unaided, uninstructed mind. This, however,
is the lowest stage of the Old Testament representation
of God. It rises constantly higher through the psalmists
and prophets, through conceptions of Canaan as Jehovah's
land, and Jehovah as Israel's God, and the Temple as
his abode, to the conception of the God of all the earth,
"who does not dwell in temples made with hands,'
"whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain." For
this view, there were powerful political reasons in the
experiences of the Babylonian exile. The exile destroyed,
for the Israelites, the conception of God as confined to
one land, to one city, to one temple, or to one people.
While there had been foregleams of the great truth that
God is the God of all the earth, the death of the nation's
hopes was needed, in order to instill such lessons as we
find in the second part of Isaiah, as to mission of the
Servant Israel to all the nations, and that the same God
is immanent among all nations, as well as in Israel, and
at the same time transcendent above them.
We have seen how easily the Semite deifies men,
makes the saint his mediator, and for all practical pur-
poses his god. I have shown in another place how there
is nothing startling to his mind in the physical father-
hood of deity, that a mortal woman may have a divine
husband. Hence there was a prepared people, in these
original and natural ideas, for the mystery of the incar-
nation, which to them was no mystery. That Jesus
should be begotten by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin
CONCLUSION
243
Mary as son of man, and Son of God, was no surprise to
the Semitic mind, still believing in the possibility of such
a connection even to the point of credulity.
Then such a personal appearance of God among men
satisfied the longing of the Semitic mind, and a longing
which we find among other minds. God seems so far
away, so indifferent, to the simple Semite to-day, that
he feels the need of a saint near at hand to whom he can
utter his vows and prayers in his extremity. Here, then,
was a natural basis for the doctrine of the incarnation as
we find in the New Testament.
We have seen how crude was the original conception
of sin, as equivalent to misfortune, visited by an arbitrary
and capricious despot. This view is not absent, as we have
observed, from the Old Testament. During the period
of the judges men are continually falling away into idola-
try; misfortune comes upon them through the heavy
hands of the Philistines, for a time there is an external
reformation, and then they fall back again. There is no
real consciousness of guilt. God takes this rudimen-
tary conception; he does not at first attempt a radical
change in this thought, but he works constantly through
lawgivers, prophets, and psalmists, until men see the
exceeding sinfulness of sin, before misfortune has struck
them down, so that David could cry:
"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
“And done that which is evil in thy sight."
And under the visitation of God's judgment, and his
rebukes, Job no longer saw the hand of a capricious
1 Ps. li. 4. It seems to me that psychologically this Psalm fits
David's experience after his sin with Bathsheba, and his murder
of Uriah. The last two verses could not well have been from his
hand, and were doubtless added at a much later period. Such ad-
ditions were almost as common in ancient psalmody as in modern
hymnology.
244
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
tyrant, as was once the case,' but had such spiritual views
of Him as to say:
“I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; 2
“But now mine eye seeth thee,
"Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
Men see visions of God, like Isaiah, so that they are
led to exclaim:
“Woe is me! for I am undone; 3
“ Because I am a man of unclean lips,
"And I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips;
"For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
There are indeed other cries in the Semitic world, as
we see from the Babylonian Penitential Psalms, which
indicate a consciousness of sin, on the part of a few select
souls, far deeper than anything we find in primitive
Semitism.
But the Babylonian worshiper is still fettered by the
conception that sin and misfortune are one; that since
the heavenly powers are very angry his sins must be very
great. He has indeed reached a higher stage of develop-
ment than we find among Bedouin, Arabs, and Fellahin, so
far as these researches have extended. There does not
seem to have arisen anywhere in the world a conscious-
ness of sin as guilt, without the revealing power of God's
Spirit.
Again, the original idea of sacrifice seems to be one
derived from experience in the East, if not in the West,
that "every man has his price.'' Hence the gods have
their price. If God has brought misfortune upon man,
1 Job. ix. 30, 31.
9 Job. xlii. 5.
3 Is. vi. 5.
4 Zimmern, Babylonische Busspsalmen, Leipzig, 1885, pp. 61 ff.
CONCLUSION
245
he can be bought off; if he demands a human life, the
price may be paid through a substitute; if the price is
the "bursting forth of blood before the face of God,"
then the blood of sheep, goat, bullock, or camel, the
best that a man has of animal life, may avert the misfor-
tune and cover the sin. This is indeed a crude idea.
There are many stages between it and that contained in
the musings of penitent Israel concerning the vicarious
sufferings of the Servant, which strike through every
Christian heart with love and sorrow, so that we read
them with the same solemn hush, and sometimes with
falling tears, as if we stood with Mary and John beneath
the cross of Him who bore our sins in his own body on
the tree, and whose Christian interpretation has broken
some Jewish hearts:
“ All we, like sheep, have gone astray,
We have turned every one to his own way,
And Jehovah hath made to light on Him, the iniquity of us all."
It is not natural development which leads up from the
most rudimentary conceptions of sin as misfortune, and
sacrifice as a gift or substitute offered to a capricious
tyrant, to those conceptions which we have in the repre-
sentation of the Servant, or to a conception which we
find centuries before in Hosea. 2
How can I give thee up, Ephraim?
How can I deliver thee up, Israel?
How can I make thee as Admah?
How can I set thee as Zeboim?
Mine heart is turned within me;
My compassions are kindled together;
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger;
I will not return to destroy Ephraim:
For I am God, and not man.”
1 Is. liii. 6.
2 Hos. xi. 8, 9.
246
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
No naturalistic evolution can account for such a con-
ception of the Divine Father as we have in the parable of
the Prodigal Son, or in his love message to the world
through Jesus Christ, or in the depths of tenderness
which we have in Christ, who came to do the Father's
will by his ministry of suffering, and by laying down his
life for us.
In this we see how the divine wisdom has
been doing a greater work than in creating worlds, by
being the Teacher, the Lover, and the Saviour of the
race.
But in no way is the divine love, patience, and con-
descension more manifest than in its method of reaching
down to the ignorance and superstition of a gr
Semitic families, to teach the lessons needed, until the
fullness of the times should come, when He who was to
be the mediator of the love, mercy, and justice of God
should be revealed.
APPENDIX A
QUESTIONS ON THE SURVIVALS OF ANCIENT RE-
LIGION IN BIBLE LANDS
I.
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD.-I. What conceptions do people have
of God? (a) As a supernatural being; (6) as a superhuman man.
2. Do they seem to have derived them from the relations of tribal
life? (a) Do they think of him as moral? (6) Do they consider
him holy? 3. Is the worship of the saints (welis) a moral force
among the natives in your part of the country? 4. Why do the
people fear the saints (welis) more than they do God? 5. Are
there any indications of the idea that God (the saint, the weli), is
the physical father of a tribe or people? 6. Are there any usages
or expressions that indicate God as a procreator? (6) Do women
ever regard the saints (welis) the physical fathers of their children?
(c) Do they ever speak of a woman, or the representation of a
woman, as "the bride of God," or is there any similar idea? (d) Is
licentiousness ever a feature in the worship at the shrine? (Cf.
Hos. iv. 12–14.)
II.
DIVINE REVELATION.-I. The Place. 1. Where are tekkes,
zeyarehs, makams, welis, mezars placed in your part of the country,
and which of these designations is employed? 2. Are altars or a
substitute for them ever used? 3. Do you know of any ancient
altars or high places? Where? 4. How far are there sacred trees
or groves in connection with the shrines? 5. Is the body of a saint
(weli) put under a kubbeh, or under the open heavens? How is
the place arranged? II. The Manner. 1. Names of sacred waters
with which you are acquainted, fountains, rivers, streams, wells,
etc.; anything especially characteristic of them? (a) Do people
bathe in them to get healing? (6) or barren women to get children?
2. Sacred fish or animals? 3. Sacred trees? (a) Are they ever
regarded as having a spirit residing in them? (6) Are vows
ever made to them? Food hung upon them? (c) Do people ever
receive healing by being under them? (d) What is the signifi-
247
248
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
cance of the rags on trees? What virtues do the natives attribute
to them, and what use do they make of them? 4. Sacred stones
or pillars. (a) Do you know of any stone through which a spirit
is supposed to reveal himself, or through which cures are wrought?
(6) Have you ever seen such a stone in or before a shrine? (c) Is
it ever anointed with oil, or sprinkled with blood? (d) Have you
ever heard of a bridal pair passing between such stones? Relate
any ceremonies in connection with them. 5. Sacred caves. (a)
Do you know of any caves said to be inhabited by spirits? (6) Do
barren women ever go to them for children?
III.
MAN'S RELATION TO GOD (or the saints).-1. Sin. What is
the ordinary conception of sin? 1. Is it regarded as guilt or mis-
fortune? e.g., according to old ideas are murder and theft crimes?
2. In what is the evidence that a man has sinned. II. Sacrifice.
1. What is the mode of sacrifice in your district? 2. Does the
.term used for it signify simply slaughtering, or does it involve some-
thing more? 3. Is any part of the victim burned (on an altar or a
substitute for an altar)? 4. How is the flesh of the animal com-
monly disposed of? 5. In what sense do the natives regard fowls,
sheep, goats, bullocks killed in payment of vows as sacrifices?
III. Shedding of Blood. I. Relate any customs that you have
observed, or of which you can learn, in connection with the shed-
ding of blood. 2. Do the natives give any explanation of its
significance? 3. Is there any connection between the use that is
made of a mixture of semn and henna and blood?
IV.
THE LIFE AFTER DEATH.-1. How far do the people have any
idea of a future life? 2. Do they fear death? 3. Do they deem
any special preparation necessary for it?
V.
THE SPIRIT WORLD.-1. Have you any original information
regarding the jinn? 2. Do people offer sacrifices to them? 3.
Do they offer sacrifices to the dead or for them?
VI.
MISCELLANEOUS.-1. Give any useful information about reli-
gious customs not covered by the preceding questions. 2. Is there
a religious significance in the character of any tattoo marks?
APPENDIX B
Outline of Journeys in Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the Sinaitic
Peninsula, including the time spent at special centers.
NOTE. — The modes of travel throughout Syria and Palestine,
except from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and from Beirut to Damascus,
which are connected by railroads, was by horses; in visiting va-
rious points of interest in Egypt, was by donkeys; and in the
Sinaitic Peninsula, by camels. In connection with most of the
trips, the expense is indicated, and some particulars are given
with respect to the temperature at different points, although no
careful observations were taken except on the tours made in
the summer of 1900. The report of these observations appears
in a separate table.
I. TOURS, 1898–1899
1. Headquarters in Beirut.
July 9th—July 16th.
2. Journey through the Lebanon (with two tents, which were
loaned, with a dragoman and two muleteers; expense,
$5.00 a day); Zahleh, Niha (ruined temples), Baalbek,
Lake Yammuneh, The Cedars, Jebel Makmal, Bsherreh,
Ehden, Hasrun, Ard Akluk, Afka (source of the
Adonis), Natural Bridge, Jebel Sunnin, Zahleh, Baruk
and Cedars, Der el-Kamar, Aleih, Beirut. Temperature
comfortable all the way; very cool at the Cedars.
July 16th-August 6th.
3. First Conference of Christian workers at Brummana. Temper-
ature pleasant.
August 9th-August 14th.
4. Visit with the Rev. George C. Doolittle, of Der el-Kamar.
Temperature pleasant.
August 15th-August 22d.
5. Mount Hermon and the sources of the Jordan (on horseback,
with the Rev. W. K. Eddy and children, without tent,
Mission Stations). Jezzin, Jedeideh, Shiba, Hermon (over
night), Merj Ayun, Mutelleh (Jewish Colony), Dan (Tell el-
Kadi, chief sources of the Jordan), Cæsarea Phillippi
(Baniyas, source of the Jordan), Hasbeya, and Hasbani
(first source of the Jordan), Tell Ijon, Der el-Kamar.
Temperature comfortable; snow on Mount Hermon, and
very cold at night.
August 22d-August 31st.
249
250
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
6. Beirut to Tripoli (along the sea coast, on horseback, native
hotels); Beirut, the Dog River (inscriptions inspected),
Juneh, Gebal, Batrun, Tripoli. Temperature very warm;
but fine breeze from the Mediterranean.
September 6th-September 9th.
7. Northern Syria (companions, the Rev. F. W. March and the
Rev. W. S. Nelson, D.D., of the American Presbyterian
Mission, and Mr. C. W. Wisner, Jr., of the Syrian Protes-
tant College. We put up in the houses of native helpers
and in churches. slept, as in all other journeys, unless
otherwise mentioned, on a portable iron bedstead). Trip-
oli, Minyara, Beinu, Amar, Kalat el-Hosn, Monastery
of St. George (chief seat of his worship by all sects
of Moslems and Christians), the Sabbatic fountain, Safita,
Meshita, Musyaf, Mehardeh, Hamath, Homs. Tempera-
ture pleasant. The first thunderstorm of the season
after March occurred at Safita in the night. There was a
very heavy fall of rain.
September ioth-September 29th.
8. Homs to the Syrian Desert (companions, Turkish soldier and
Butrus, my cook and muleteer); Homs, Lake of Homs,
Tell Nebi Mendeh, Riblah (the natives pronounce it
Rubleh, just as they pronounce Kibleh, Kubleh), where
we were 'entertained over night by the sheik of the vil-
lage, Shemiyeh, Hasya, Hafar. Temperature "quite
but a nice breeze."
October ist- October 2d.
9. Syrian Desert (companion, the Rev. J. Stewart Crawford;
houses of native helpers). Hafar, Hawarin, Karyaten,
Hot Baths of Solomon, Hafar, Nebk, Yabrud, Malula,
Sednaya, Bludan. Temperature very comfortable; cool
nights.
October 20-October 12th.
10. First visit to Damascus.
October 12th-October 17th.
11. First visit to Jerusalem during the sojourn of the German
Emperor. Temperature very warm.
October 23d-November 24th.
12. On a Syrian housetop in Damascus. Rainy season, but much
pleasant weather. Cold at night, but no fire necessary
when there was sunshine.
November 28th February 4th, 1899.
13. Egypt. Port Said, Alexandria, Cairo, Pyramids, and Sphinx,
Sakkara, Cairo to Luxor (by sleeping-car), Karnak,
Thebes, up the Nile on one of Cook's steamers (Ramses
III.) to Assuan, Philae. From Assuan to Cairo by train.
February 7th-March 11th.
hot .
APPENDIX B
251
14. Sinaitic Peninsula (companion, the Rev. J. S. Scotland, of New-
port, Scotland; dragoman, Joseph M. Shaar; cook, and
seven Bedouin from four different tribes. There were
ten camels, and the total expense of the journey for both
was $600). Cairo, Suez, Ayun Musa, Wadi Werdan,
Wadi Gharandel, Ras Abu Zenimeh, Maghara, Firan,
Wadi Selaf, Monastery of St. Catharine (two days and a
half in a tent), Jebel Katherin, Jebel Musa, Ras es-
Safsaf, return journey: Wadi Barak, Wadi el-Beda,
Wadi Tal, Wadi Gharandel, and so back over the same
course as going. Weather very pleasant, but very cold
at the end.
March 12th-March 30th.
15. Beirut. End of rainy season. Powerful showers every day.
April 1st--April 7th.
1. Tours alone; made with two muleteers and a tent. (Ex-
pense, $3.60 per day.)
16. Phænicia, Galilee, and Samaria to Jerusalem. Sidon, Nabatiyeh,
Castle of Belfort, Der Mimas, Castle of Baniyas, Castle
of Hunin, Castle of Tibnin, Tyre, Alma, Vibí, Nebi
Shema, Kadesh Naphtali, Kafr Birim, Jebel Jermak,
Meiron, Safed, Tiberias (across the lake to Gamala and
Kalat el-Hosn back to Tiberias on horseback, and ford-
ing the Jordan at the southern end of the sea of Galilee),
Tiberias to rapids of the Jordan at the north end (return-
ing in a boat by moonlight), Mejdel, Wadi el-Hamam,
Jebel Hattin, Nazareth, Tabor, Sepphoris, Plain of Battof,
Acre, Mount Carmel (Pross' Hotel), Esfiyeh, el-Muhraka,
(traditional place of Elijah's sacrifice), Tell Kasis, Jenin,
Dothan, Sebastiyeh, Nablus, Gerizim, Ebal, Shiloh, Sinjil,
Jerusalem.
April 7th-May 16th.
II. Tours with a companion east of the Dead Sea. (Com-
panion during this and the remaining tours, Professor
Gilroy of the Semitic Department in the
University of Ab-
erdeen, Scotland).
17. Jericho, Dead Sea, bridge over the Jordan, Heshbon; Medeba,
Jebel Neba (Nebo), Main, Dibon, Jebel Shihan, Rabbath
Moab, Kerak, Arab encampment; return journey over
the same route, spending a night on Jebel Neba.
May 17th-June 2d.
18. Beersheba and Philistine Cities. Bethlehem, Tekoa, Engeddi,
Hebron, Beersheba, Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Yebna,
Ekron, Tell es-Safi (Camp of Dr. Fred Bliss), Tell,
Zakariya, Valley of Elah, Bet Jibrin, Husan, Pools of Solo-
omon, Jerusalem. Temperature always comfortable; some-
times with refreshing breezes.
June 5th-June 16th.
.
252
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
19. Esdraelon and the Maritime Plain. Anathoth, Ain Fara, Geba,
Mickmash, Betin, Nablus, Sebastiyeh, Sanur, Jenin, Jez-
reel, Shulem, Little Hermon, Nain, Endur, Meggido
(Lejun), Mount Carmel (at the Monastery), Athlit, Dor
(Tantura), Summarin (Jewish colony), Cæsarea, Jaffa,
Jewish Industrial School, Lydda, Modin (Mediyeh), Lower
Beth Horan, and Upper Beth Horan, Jerusalem. Temper-
ature always comfortable; the night we reached Jerusa-
lem was cold.
June 20th- July 1st.
20. Jerusalem.
July Ist- July 11th.
21. The Jaulan and the Hauran. Jericho, Arak el-Emir, Wadi es-
Sir, Rabbath Ammon, es-Salt, Jebel Osha, Wadi Zerka,
Jerash, Suf, Ain Jenneh, Ajlun, Kalaat er-Rubud, Arbela
(Irbid), Capitolias, Gadara, Hot Springs (forded the Yar-
muk three times; the ascent to Fik was steep and almost
dangerous). Aphek, el-Merkez, Tell el-Ashary, Edrei,
Bosra, Sheik - Miskin, Damascus (by rail.) Tempera-
ture, with the exception of sirocco, when the thermom-
eter stood at ninety for six hours, at Jerash, was very
pleasant.
July 1th-July 27th.
22. Jerusalem. The return home was by steamer from Jaffa to
Beirut; from Beirut and Smyrna to Constantinople,
to Athens, and by train to Patras, and by steamer to
Brindisi, and from Brindisi by train over Milan and Basle
to Paris and London. Temperature in Jerusalem com-
fortable at night, and in the shade during the day.
August 3d-August 17th.
II. TOURS, SUMMER OF 1900
Companion, Mr. A. Forder, of Jerusalem, missionary to the
Arabs. Expense of journey, $7.50 per day; traveled
with a tent; landed at Beirut June rith. [For a record
of the temperatures see special tables below.]
1. South Country (Negeb) and Gadis (Kadesh Barnea). Jerusa-
lem, Mar Saba, Bethlehem, Pools of Solomon, Hebron,
Kurmul (Carmel), Main, Yutta, Dahariyeh, Beersheba,
Khalasa, Ruheiba (Rehoboth), Biren, Gadis; return
Biren, Rasisi, Sbeta, Wadi Dhega, Asluj, Kurnub, Wadi
Milh, Hebron, Jerusalem.
June 18th- June 30th.
2. Jerusalem to Petra (Wadi Musa). Jericho, Medeba, Meshetta,
Zerka Main, Machaerus, Wadi Mojib, Kerak, Tafileh,
Shobek, Petra (Wadi Musa), Tomb of Aaron. We re-
turned by the same route.
July 2d—July 20th,
APPENDIX B
253
3. Jerusalem to Damascus. Jerusalem, Nablus, Beisan, Irbid,
Muzerib (by rail to) Damascus.
July 26th--July 29th.
4. Damascus to Palmyra (victoria, drawn by three horses;
total expense, $65.00). Damascus, Kutefeh, Nebk, Hafar,
Mahin, Karyaten, Beda, Palmyra. We returned over the
same route, including Der Atiyeh.
July 31st-August ioth.
5. Damascus to the Druse Mountains. Damascus, Negha, Brak,
Suwaret el-Kebireh, Smed, Umm ez-Zetun, Damet el-Alia,
Kanawat, Mayim, Sabwet, Ayun, Salkhad, Orman, Tell
Shaf, Busan, Shoba (Philippolis), Umm ez-Zetun, Suwaret
esh-Shaghireh, Suwaret el-Kebireh, Brak, Merjanen, Der
Ali, El-Kisweh, Damascus. The temperature, with the
exception of one day of sirocco weather, was delightful.
August 13th-August 23d.
III. TOURS, SUMMER, 1901
1. Headquarters at Damascus (including visits to Bludan and
Ain Fijeb).
June 5th-June 20th.
2. Damascus to northern Syria, the Nusairiyeh Mountains and
Ladikiyeh (companion, the Rev. J. Stewart Crawford.
We took our own beds; entertainment mostly in native
houses; expense, $3.50 a day). Damascus, Kutefeh
Nebk, Kara, Hesya, Homs, Hamath, Mehardeh, Abu
Obeda, Ain Kurum, Jebel Dhahr esh-Sh'ar, Matwar,
Snobar, Ladikiyeh, Kadmus, Musyaf, Mebardeh, and
back to Damascus by the route already indicated.
June 21st-July 20th.
3. Bludan to Mount Hermon (companion, the Rev. J. Stewart
Crawford ; expense, $2.50 per day). Bludan, Rasheya,
Mount Hermon, Kafr Miski, Burj en-Nebi, Nebi Safa,
Ain Shirsha, Der el-Ashair, Bludan.
July 26th-August 2d.
4. Second Missionary Conference at Brummana.
August 13th-August 18th.
5. Visit to Abbas Effendi at Acre. Beirut to Haifa and return.
August 20—August 24.
REMARK.-The temperature during the summer of 1900, as will
be seen from the following record, was comfortable; at times it
was very cool. And during the summer of 1901, with the exception
of heat and humidity at Ladikiyeh, it was pleasant.
254
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
SUMMER TEMPERATURES
1900
Place.
Date.
Time of Day. Fahr.
Degrees
Remarks.
Jaffa --
Jerusalem
72
60
"Strong breeze.”
58
June 14th 7:30 A. M.
June 15th 6:30 A. M.
June 16th 7:15 A. M.
June 17th 7:45 A.M.
8
P. M.
June 18th 8:30 P, M.
June 19th 5:30 A, M.
June 20th | 6:30 A. M.
Mar Saba.
62
60
71
67
55
Hebron
“ Breath of morn-
ing delicious.'
Dahariyeh
Beersheba
1
Ruheibah
Biren
June 21st | 6 A. M.
5:30 P. M.
June 22d 5 A, M.
4:30 A, M.
June 23d | 2 P. M.
June 24th 7:30 A. M.
2:30 P. M.
June 25th 4 A. M.
June 26th
12 M.
5 P. M.
59
81
59
70
93
75
92
59
65
In the tent."
-
Sbeta
Jericho
July 2d
1
"Under Terebinth."
“Thermometer in
the shade, but on
the wall."
July 3d
Medeba
62
A. M.
P. M.
84
76
Nice breeze, heat
not oppressive."
1
5 A. M.
I P. M.
4:30 A.M.
61
92
67
July 4th
Zerka Main--| July 5th
Machaerus.-- July 6th
Wadi Mojib - July 7th
Kerak
July 9th
Tafileh July íoth
Shobek
July 11th
Petra
July 13th
“ In the shade."
“ Beautiful day for
traveling.”
Deep ravine."
4:15 A, M.
5:35 A. M.
5 A. M.
6:30 A, M.
Warm
71
61
53
67
1
5:30 P, M.
72
“Treasury
Tafileh
July 14th
5
A.M.
5:45 P. M.
52
71
of
Pharaoh."
“Temperature fell
in ten minutes to
65°."
Beautiful breeze
all day."
"Cold in the night.”
July 15th
Kerak
July 17th
Wadi Mojib - July 18th
7:45 A, M.
9:30 A. M.
3:30 A. M,
58
69
77
>
APPENDIX C
THE SEVEN WELLS AT BEERSHEBA
JOURNAL V. Gaza, June 11, 1899.—“We had a most inter-
esting experience at Beersheba. I arose at 4:15 A.M., and went
to inspect the wells. One was near the place where we camped.
It is about ten feet in diameter. The stones are hewn square,
and joined with much regularity. I should think the well might
be fifty or sixty feet deep. Water is drawn up in a large skin,
by a camel, by means of a windlass, and runs from thence into
a stone reservoir, after it has been emptied by a couple of Arabs,
and then into a trough for the animals. A second well is of about
the same dimensions, and with the same arrangement for draw-
ing water. A third is about six feet in diameter, and of about
the same depth. The stones lining the well are hewn, and are
quite regular. The water is raised in skins, of smaller size than
that at the large well, two or three men pulling up each sepa-
rately. [This is the usual method of drawing water in the South
Country.] The ropes have worn grooves in the soft limestone
rock which lines the wells. A fourth well is being opened. The
old stones which were used in lining it, and which had been
thrown out, are irregular, and evidently from an ancient period;
some of them used for lining the well at the top bore the marks
where the rope had worn grooves. The superintendent told me
there were three other wells which had been closed. It was one
of the most fascinating sights I have seen, (if not the most fas-
cinating) to behold the camels, donkeys, sheep, goats, and horses
gathered at these wells. It was a matter of the deepest interest
to see these characteristics of patriarchal life in a district entirely
without houses, but where there are many tents. The country
reminds me of a western prairie in its level character around
Beersheba, and especially from Beersheba to Gaza. It seems
to be well adapted for the growing of grain and the pasturage
of flocks. I must have seen several hundred camels at Beersheba
and other points. Camels are watered once in two days in the
regular course of things, although in the Sinaitic Peninsula they
255
256
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
go without water four or five days. Horses can endure if they
have water once a day."
JOURNAL VI. Beersheba, June 21, 1900.-—“We arrived at
Beersheba at 12:30 P.M., after a ride of five and a half hours
from Dahariyeh. We could have made the journey in five, but
our guide being old was not able to keep up, so we gave him
a ride two or three different times on our animals. When
I visited Beersheba a year ago four wells had been opened;
now there is a fifth. The site of two others not very far from
the chief well was pointed out, so that seven wells are account-
ed for."
APPENDIX D
THE PROSE VERSION OF THE STORY OF 'ARJA
The name of the heroine of this story was Fatima. She was
lame in her right leg, and was therefore called 'Arja. She and
three other girls lived in a village where there was no water.
They each belonged to a patron saint.
One day the four girls went to the well from which they were
accustomed to draw water, and found their respective saints sitting
around it; but they did not recognize them as such. The four
saints began to jest with the girls.
One of them to whom the best-looking girl belonged said,
addressing her, “Would you not like to become the disciple of
our sheik?” naming another to whom she was not devoted. She
refused to abandon her sheik, and passed on, and let down her jar
into the well, it came out intact.
Another, to whom the girl who was next in good looks belonged,
said, “Take such a sheik," naming one besides himself. She re-
plied, “I will not abandon my sheik." She filled her jar, and
it came out whole. There remained two girls. The third was
attractive. Her sheik, whom she did not recognize, said, “Take
a sheik.” She replied, "I have one,” mentioning him. He said,
• He's no good.” She answered, "I will not abandon him.” She,
too, filled her jar, and it came up unharmed. The fourth gir}
remained. Her sheik asked her, "Have you a saint?" She
replied, “Yes," though she, like the others, did not recognize her
saint. He said, “He's no good; take such an one; he will help
you bring up your pitcher; it will come out safe; but your saint
will break your pitcher for you." She refused to abandon her
saint; so the other three saints said to her saint, “Will you permit
us to break her jar?” She lowered her jar, and there came up
only the two handles. She began to cry. Her companions had
filled their jars and had gone. The saints said to her, “ Did we not
advise you to take such an one as saint, and you would not heed
our counsel, but adhered to your patron, and he has broken
your jar."
257
258
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
After her companions had been gone nearly half an hour, the
saints took pity on her; so her patron saint leaned over the well,
and said, “In the name of God, the merciful and compassionate,"
and brought up her jar whole and full of water. He told her
“Take your jar and go; there are your companions.” She swore
by the life of her saint she would not go. She said, “I must
know who you are.
He told her who they were. "Now," said
her patron, “ you know our names, go.” She replied, “ You must
first give me the gifts of the good.” [i. e., the wine of those who are
good, the brotherhoods are formed through the cup.] The sheik
gave her to drink, and she became a holy woman-a sheika. She
then said, "I am not going; you see I am lame.” He replied, “I
am not a surgeon.” She responded, "The man who restored my
jar can cure my leg." He then said, “We used to be potters, now
we have become physicians. Oh, God, cure her leg!” She began
to walk like a gazelle. He said, "Take your jar and go.” She said,
“How can I go? I am bald.” The sheik said, “No, by G-, that
is an affliction; we began as potters; we continued as surgeons; now
we have become physicians,” and prayed, “Oh, God, give her long
hair." It came. He then bade her go, but she said, "One of my
eyes is bad.” He named the name of God over her, put one of his
hands on her eye, and it was restored. He urged her to go with
her companions, She refused to go because she was naked.
He prayed God, who sent down upon her a green robe like silk
from the truth. She then asked for money. He said, , “We do
not seek for property; you can turn up the carpet. We go; the
property remains.” She turned up the rug, and found a river of
gold and of silver. She did not take any, as he advised her not
to do so. He and his followers do not seek wealth. They are
allowed to beg. He said, “I do not come for gold. Are you
better than your saint? Let it go on flowing under the carpet!”
He told her to go. She said, “I am afraid to go; you must
bring me to the girls.” He told her to turn her back; he named
the name of God; he pushed her, and she landed by the side
of the girls; he pushed her again, and she was in front of the
girls; he pushed her a third time, and she was beyond them.
The girls did not recognize her, because she was so changed
from her condition when she was lame, bald, blind, and naked.
Finally they recognized her face, and asked how it had hap-
pened. She replied, “These were our four sheiks; it was my
APPENDIX D
259
saint that broke my jar, and who gave me all this.” She then
spent the rest of her life in going about.
When she came to die she abode at the place now called
the “Mother of Pieces.” She is under the stones, where women
who make vows to break jars, in case they receive the bless-
ings for which they ask, break them. The father of the priest
of the "Mother of Pieces" sought to build a shrine for her. He
spent a night at the place, and dreamed that he struck his
pickaxe into the ground and hit the neck of a woman. The
religious men whom he consulted told him it was evident she
did not wish that he should build her a shrine.
The women now break jars in fulfilment of their vows be-
cause her jar was broken. She used to have great power in
preventing any one from taking anything from the trees; but re-
cently she seems to have lost some of her power, for two or
three trees have been dug up.
APPENDIX E
HIGH PLACES AND SACRED SHRINES
On my return from a visit of fourteen months in Syria, Egypt,
the Sinaitic Peninsula, and Palestine, I had an opportunity to con-
sult the literature of the subject with reference to sacred shrines.
I found, in Conder's Tent Work in Palestine, an interesting con-
firmation of results which I had reached independently, through
my own researches as well as some new information. I quote
the most important passages:
“The professed religion of the country is Islam, yet
you may live for months in the out-of-the-way parts of Pales-
tine without seeing a mosque or hearing the call of the Muedhen
to prayer. Still the people are not without a religion which shapes
every action of their daily life. . . . In almost every village in
the country a small building surmounted by a whitewashed dome
is observable, being the sacred chapel of the place; it is va-
riously called Kubbeh (dome), Mazâr (shrine), or Mukâm (station),
the latter being used in the Bible for the places' of the Canaan-
ites, which Israel was commanded to destroy upon the high
mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree.'
(Deut. xii. 2.)
"Just as in the time of Moses, so now, the position chosen
for the Mukâm is generally conspicuous. On the top of a peak,
or on the back of a ridge, the little white dome gleams brightly
in the sun. Under the boughs of the spreading oak or terebinth,
beside the solitary palm, or among the aged lotus-trees at a spring,
one lights constantly on the low building, standing isolated, or sur-
rounded by the shallow graves of a small cemetery. The trees
beside the Mukâms are always considered sacred, and every
bough which falls is treasured within the sacred building.
The typical Mukâm is .. a little building of modern masonry,
some ten feet square, with a round dome carefully whitewashed,
prayer niche on the south wall. . . . There is gen-
erally a small cenotaph within, directed with the head to the
west, the body being supposed to lie on its right side, facing
0
and a
260
APPENDIX E
261
Mecca. ... This Mukâm represents the real religion of the
peasant. It is sacred as the place where some saint is supposed
once to have stood' (the name signifying standing-place), or else it
is consecrated by some other connection with his history. It is the
central point from which the influence of the saint is supposed to
radiate, extending in the case of a powerful sheik to a distance of
perhaps twenty miles all round.”I
My next quotation regarding the shrines is from Clermont
Ganneau, from his monograph on The Arabs in Palestine:
“The tenacity with which old religious customs have been kept
up is another remarkable circumstance. Not only have the Fella-
heen, as Robinson conjectured, preserved, by the erection of their
Mussulman kubbehs, and their fetishism for certain large isolated
trees, the site and the souvenir of the hill sanctuaries and shady
groves, which were marked out for the execration of the Israelites,
on their entry into the Promised Land, but they pay them almost
the same veneration as did the Canaanite kooffars, whose descend-
ants they are. These makoms, as Deuteronomy calls them, which
Manasseh rebuilt, and against which the prophets in vain ex-
hausted their invectives, are word for word, thing for thing, the
Arabic makams, whose little white-topped cupolas are dotted so
picturesquely over the mountain horizon of central Judæa.
“In order to conceal their suspicious origin, these fellah sanc-
tuaries have been placed under the protection of the purest Mo-
hammedan orthodoxy, hy becoming the tombs or shrines of
Sheykhs, welys, and nebys (elders, saints, or prophets), deceased in
the odor of sanctity. But there are numerous indications of their
true origin beneath this simple disguise. For instance, the name
given to them is often the same as that of the locality, and is not
merely a simple name, but a personification, or deification if I may
so say, of the place itself; for many legends show that in the eyes
of the peasants the neby, or prophet, has given his own name to the
place.
" This close connection of names and places is found in the
Phænician and Canaanite mythology, which is remarkable for
the number of its local divinities, and it helps to explain why
Moses, not content with ordering the destruction of the Pagan
sanctuaries, insisted upon the abolition of the names (Deut. xii. 3).
Another point of religious resemblance is the worship of
1 Tent Work in Palestine, London, 1895, pp. 304, 305.
262
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
female divinities, which we know was common among the Canaan-
ites and is still practised, many modern kubbehs being conse-
crated to women. In certain cases there is duality, the wely or
the neby being venerated in connection with a woman, who passes
generally for a sister or his daughter. This relationship, originally
conjugal," which has been changed by the Mussulmans into one of
consanguinity offers an equivalent of the sexual symmetry of
these Phænecian couples so clearly brought to light by M. de
Vogüe.”2
For the Sinaitic Peninsula I can cite no better authority than
the lamented Professor Palmer, whose attainments in colloquial
Arabic were so marvelous.
The following is his general characterization of the shrines
with which he became so familiar. In his chapter on Feiran, he
writes: “Here, too, is a burial ground with several nicely kept
graves.
This cemetery, as usual, contains a Weli,' the
tomb of Sheik Abu Shebib, the patron saint of the district. It is
a small stone building.
The cenotaph in the center is ac-
tually covered with a kisweh, or a cotton pall.
The Penin-
sula of Sinai is divided into so many districts, each of which has
its own private saint. In every parish' an acacia (or shittim) tree
is consecrated, and is not mutilated by having its branches rudely
lopped off to feed the flocks withal, the fate of every other tree of
the species. The pods are shaken off when ripe, as they form
a favorite and nutritious food for the camels; but even for this the
saint's permission is formally asked at his tomb. The Arab regards
his patron with as profound a reverence as that with which an
Italian peasant looks upon his little copper Janarius. He appeals
to him for help on every occasion of difficulty. Abu Shebib
himself is reported to have appeared in answer to the prayers of
a hunter who had broken his leg on Jebel el-Benát, and to have
conveyed him safe and sound to his own home. True, however,
even after death, to his Arab instincts, the saint stipulated for
a handsome bakhshish, a white-faced sheep to be offered once
every year at bis tomb." 8
1 There is an example of such conjugal relationship at the shrine of Job, at
El-Merkez, the capital of the Hauran. His cenotaph and that of his wife were
pointed out to Dr. Schumacher, of Haifa, but the old sheik who showed me the
cenotaphs assigned one of them to Job's son, which would be more in accord-
ance with Moslem ideas.
2 The Survey of Western Palestine, Special Papers, pp. 325, 326.
3 The Desert of the Exodus. New York, 1872, pp. 139, 140.
APPENDIX E
263
In this connection I present Burckhardt's account of his sacri-
fice in Wadi Musa in sight of the tomb of Nebi Aaron.
had already set when we arrived on the plain; it was too late to
reach the tomb. . . I therefore hastened to kill the goat, in
sight of the tomb, at a spot where I found a number of heaps of
stone, placed there in token of as many sacrifices in honor of the
saint. While I was in the act of slaying the animal, my guide
exclaimed aloud.; 'Oh Haroun, look upon us! It is for you we
slaughter this victim. Oh Haroun, protect us and forgive us! Oh
Haroun, be content with our good intentions, for it is but a lean
goat! Oh Haroun, smooth our paths; and praise be to the lord of all
creatures.' This he repeated several times, after which he covered
the blood that had fallen on the ground with a heap of stones; we
then dressed the best part of the flesh for our supper."1
“ The sun
1 Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, London, 1822, p. 430.
APPENDIX F
THE SAMARITAN PASSOVER
The following description was given by an eye-witness, Dr.
Daud Katibah, Nablus, July 26, 1900. I have preserved the lan-
guage of the communication without essential change.
“The observance is celebrated on the fourteenth of Nisan,
which varies according to the lunar year. When Saturday falls on
the fourteenth, they celebrate the Passover on the preceding
Friday.
They go to the top of Mount Gerizim, at least a week before
the feast, pitch their tents, and there they remain two weeks.
They observe the feast seven days.
“In the Samaritan community there are forty men; including
women and children, the whole number may be estimated at one
hundred and fifty or two hundred. [Baedeker, Palestine and Syria,
Leipzig, 1898, gives the number at 170.] They all attend the festi-
val, even though they are ill; e.g., a man went up this year (1900)
who had not recovered from pneumonia.
They reckon each day from sunset to sunset. The observances
on the day of the Passover are as follows: They begin at sunset
with singing, in which all take part. As a rule they kill the lambs
needed for the congregation at sunset. These are white, one year
old, without blemish. Should Saturday fall on the fourteenth of
the month, they kill at noon on Friday, and eat at sunset. As a
rule they eat the lambs late at night.
“All the people are dressed in white, and they begin with prayer
and singing. There are several priests to kill the animals with
special knives. The knife must be put in under the larynx. If an
animal is not properly killed they call it unclean, and give it to the
Moslems or the Christians. During the slaughtering they sing
(shout) in Samaritan.
"While slaughtering the animals they make a fire ready in two
places. One of the fires is prepared for burning the wool, the
hoofs, the horns, and the entrails. Everything that is not eaten is
burned. They do not remove the skins of the animal. They scald
264
APPENDIX F
265
them and pull off the wool. Two men then hang the lamb on a
pole by its hind legs, placing the pole on their shoulders. Then
the priest opens the belly of the animal and removes the entrails,
the liver, and the fat on the kidneys. These he burns with fire.
"The other fire is prepared a long time before the sacrifices.
They dig a pit, ten or twelve feet in depth, and in this they
make the fire five or six hours before they sacrifice. A special
priest feeds the fire all the time. When the lambs have been made
ready by the priests, they put the poles through the animals from
end to end. At a signal from the priest they quickly put the
lambs, seven or eight in number, into the pit. All the while they
are singing in the Samaritan language. Then they cover the pit
with a network of wood, and afterwards cover it with earth. No
air gets inside, so there is no conflagration, only heat. The lambs
remain in the pit three or four hours.
“After they have placed the lambs in the pit, they all go to a
special place on the mountain, including men, women and children,
and kneel in rows. The priest has the law of Moses. When he
prays he has a special mantle on his shoulders. They repeat their
prayers by rote, with their faces toward the south, and assume
different attitudes.
“When the time comes for removing the sacrifices, the priest
approaches the pit and makes a brief prayer. Then the people
remove the covering from the top of the pit, and afterwards lift
up the poles, on which are the lambs, one by one. Some-
times the poles get burned, and a man who has covered up his face
and hands is let down with ropes or by their hands, and he takes
up the lambs.
“By this time the people are very hungry. None can eat of
the lambs but those who are circumcised, and who are (ceremo-
nially) clean. Each family, and those who are reckoned with
them, take a lamb and put it in a basket, and sit around it in a
circle. The priest begins with a short prayer and song. After
this, standing, they eat the flesh of the lambs in haste with unleav-
ened bread and bitter herbs. None of the Moslems and Christians
who are watching this ceremony may partake of the lamb, though
some of the generous Samaritans offer them unleavened bread
and bitter herbs."
APPENDIX G
ALTARS AND SACRIFICES IN THE PRIMITIVE
ART OF BABYLONIA
BY REV. WILLIAM HAYES WARD, D.D., LL.D.
An attempt is not made in this paper to cover the literary
material bearing upon the use of sacrifices and the nature of the
altars in the worship of the early East. That would require
a study of texts beyond what I have leisure to make. I simply
attempt to gather from the art of early Babylonia the represen-
tations of altars and sacrifices, and discover the religious ideas
so far as they may be involved therein. A very large part of the
material must come from the seal cylinders, which have pre-
served much the larger part of the art of Babylonia, in contracted,
though fortunately permanent, forms; and to these cylinders I
have given minute study for many years.
Babylonia was not a mountainous region, and yet the early art
often suggests familiarity with the region of mountains. Gilgamesh
sometimes fights the swamp-buffalo, and sometimes the wild bull
of the forests. The sun-god appears rising above the eastern
mountains, which suggest Elam. There are ibexes or oryxes
which seem to suggest the hills of Arabia. There are different
types of faces, front view and profile, which seem to suggest
different origins. We seem to find two utterly different races,
indicated by their languages, Sumerians and Semites, going back
to the earliest times, not to speak of the “black heads" and the
evidence of a primitive negroid race. These facts make us sus-
picious that the Babylonian religion and the Babylonian gods
may have become a composite of diverse origins, which per-
haps it may yet be possible to separate. But to do this would
require a minute study of both the literatures and art, such as
has not yet been made. I merely call attention to this point
just now as one to be kept in mind in observing diverse cus-
toms that may arise.
So far as I can make out, at the very beginning of Babylo-
nian art, two entirely different kinds of altars were in use, one
266
APPENDIX G
267
1
of which soon passed out of use. This appears to be a square
altar with a single high step or shelf. Its shape may be seen
from the example in Fig. I, taken from a very archaic shell
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Fig. 1. SEAL IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK
cylinder, which, if we can judge from its style, is considerably
older than the time of Sargon I., whose date has been usually
assigned, on the authority of Nabonidos, to 3800 B.C., although
Lehmann and others who follow him believe that this date is
perhaps a thousand years too early. The two shelves appear
to be used to support vases, cakes, or animal sacrifices.
Before the figure of Bel in a four-wheeled chariot, drawn by
a winged dragon, between whose wings stands a goddess hold-
ing a sheaf of thunderbolts, stands an altar of this shape. On
the top of the altar are what may be two flat cakes, and there
is some appearance as if there were a vase on the shelf below.
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FIG. 2.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
268
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
Before the altar a worshiper pours a libation through the spout
of a small vase. The libation does not fall on the altar but be-
yond it. In this case the idea seems to be of a worshiper before
what may be a bas-relief of the god, goddess, and dragon.
second illustration of this very primitive style of altar appears
on another archaic seal (Fig. 2) of green serpentine. In this case
the seated goddess holds three stalks of grain in her hand, while
before her is an altar, on the lower shelf of which appears to be a
pile of flat cakes, with a bird above them, while a vase is set on
the upper shelf. A second figure holds a plow. A yet more im-
portant illustration of this kind of altar is seen in the famous Rich
cylinder (Fig. 3), which represents the worship of Gula. Here the
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altar stands before the goddess, and we seem to see its construc-
tion, probably of bricks, although it is equally possible to conceive
of it in the form of a table or stand made, as such objects are still
made, of stems of the palm. Here on the upper shelf, the top of
the altar, are what may be cakes, and on them the head of a goat,
probably, which may represent the whole animal. A worshiper
led to the goddess carries in his arms a goat, presumably for sacri-
fice, if we may be guided by the head of the animal on the altar.
Yet another case of this altar with a shelf is seen in figure 4,
where a cup with what appears to be a fiame arising from it, is
seen on the shelf. Here the concave sides are due to the necessity
of so drawing them because of the concave surface of the cylinder.
These four seals are the only ones I know which represent the
altar of this shape. They are of the highest antiquity, and show
offerings of food on the altar, apparently cakes, also apparently a
APPENDIX G
269
bird on the altar, and the head of an animal, also a vase on the
altar, with burning oil, also the pouring out of a libation, and
farther than this, the actual presentation of an animal before the
altar by a worshiper. We have here a pretty full ritual of sacri-
fice. Several different deities are being worshiped; in one
case the seated Gula, in another perhaps the same goddess as
the patroness of agriculture, in another case both the god Bel,
perhaps in his chariot, and the goddess with the thunderbolts, and
in the fourth case an uncertain seated deity. In each case the
deity is seated.
A second form of altar apparently quite archaic, is the round
hour-glass form. The altar we have been considering with a lower
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FIG. 4.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
shelf, or step, appears to have been of square construction, of
brick, if it were not possibly of wood, or rather like the seats
framed from stout stems of palm-leaves. This second type is
contracted in the middle, not merely by the concavity of the
cylinder, but evidently the altar itself was more slender, and of
quite a different shape. The oldest cylinder of this type is of the
extremest archaic style. This is seen in figure 5. This cylinder,
like three of the four previously shown, belongs to the remarkable
collection in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, and is of
marble. The bird-like heads indicate its antiquity. On cylinders
of this type we frequently find the earliest rude forms of the
design which gives us what Heuzy calls the coat of arms of
Sirgulla, and which we see in its best form in the silver vase of
Entemena, an eagle seizing an animal of some sort symmetrically
with each of its talons. On this cylinder the altar carries at the
270
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY.
top what may be two flames, but which look very like two simple
branches. We shall see, however, that in the bas-relief from Susa
(Fig. 4) the single flame looks very much like a branch. It is im-
possible, however, for us to imagine that that bas-relief repre-
sented the priest as watering a plant in a flower-pot. We have in
this archaic design (Fig. 5) one of the earliest representations of a
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worshiper carrying in his arms an animal, always, I believe, a
goat, for sacrifice to a god. This is an extremely frequent repre-
sentation in later times, when the altar in any form almost disap-
pears; and in the earlier times the occurrence both of the altar
and of the animal carried in the arms is not usual.
A similar altar, round, and of the hour-glass shape, and also
showing the two flames, appears on a cylinder (Fig. 6) in the
British Museum. While not as primitive as the last cylinder,
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FIG. 6. BRITISH MUSEUM
APPENDIX G
271
it is quite archaic, and it confirms the supposition that it is two
flames that are represented between the backs of the two gods:
one being the sun-god, rising behind the eastern mountains;
and another, repeated for symmetry, a god having the attri-
butes of Nergal.
In Fig. 7, we have an unusually complete and instructive de-
sign. Here we see a seated goddess holding a scepter, and be-
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Fig. 1. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
fore her a round altar of the hour-glass shape, somewhat modified.
In front of the altar stands a worshiper, carrying on one arm
a goat, while with the other hand he pours a libation upon the
altar, from which rises a flame. Behind him follow two female
attendants, one carrying a pail or basket, and the other some
uncertain object on her raised hand.
Considerably more slender in shape are the two almost col-
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Fig. 8. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
272
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
umnar altars, which we see on an archaic cylinder, though not
of this earliest period (Fig. 8). Here a male deity appears hold-
ing a plow and a club, while before him a worshiper pours
a libation from a slender vase on the altar.
We have had, in Fig. 7, an altar of this style, in which the
upper half of the hour - glass was enlarged. In the cylinder
of Dungi (Fig. 9), the upper part is much reduced, and the
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FIG. 9.
DE CLERCQ COLLECTION
lower part is enlarged. Here the standing god, or goddess,
is recognized by the horned head-dress; although the goddess,
in her familiar attitude, does not wear the usual flounced dress.
The worshiper pours the libation from a vase, and it flows
over the edges, the two symmetrical streams ending in the con-
ventional knob. We may suppose that the oil in these two
streams is imagined to be in flames; but no flame can well be
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FIG. 10. THE LOUVRE

FIG. JI, DE MORGAN.
APPENDIX G
273
represented as rising, since the space is occupied by the action
of pouring the oil from a vase.
The slender hour-glass altar, which we saw doubled in Fig. 8,
appears in several cylinders of the period of Gudea, of which
Fig. 10 is a sufficient example. I take it from Heuzy's copy of an
impression of a seal on a tablet in the Louvre, but it is proba-
bly not quite correctly drawn; and the two flounced deities, one
sitting and the other standing, should probably be beardless
goddesses. From the altar rises a flame, and two conventional
streams fall symmetrically, one on each side. We get the im-
pression on all these altars of a depression like a cup, cut in
the top of the altar, into which the oil is poured, and from
which the burning stream overflows to the ground. Yet another
admirable example (Fig. II) is taken from a bas-relief found
by de Morgan at Susa. The construction of the altar is well
shown, with a raised ornamental band in the middle, the top
apparently hollowed to make a basin. A worshiper pours into
this basin a libation of oil from a'vase with a spout. A flame
arises, conventionally drawn so that it resembles a simple plant
Two symmetrically arranged pendants, from the bottom of the
flame, represent, not fruit, but the overflow of the burning oil
(de Morgan, Délégation en Perse, Tome I., Recherches Arché-
ologiques. Paris, 1900, p. 102). This special type of altar, with
flames thus arranged, was the usual style in the Gudea period.
I now revert to a period anterior to Gudea. On a bas-relief
from Nippur (Fig. 12), appears a deity seated on a seat, the
back of which ends in a design like a bird's head. The god
holds a vase; behind the god a divine attendant leads in the
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FIG. 12. BAS-RELIEF FROM NIPPUR
274
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
worshiper, who brings a goat in: his arms, another instance
from the very earliest period in which this presentation of an
animal offering appears. In front of the god is what is evi-
dently a round altar, flaring at the top, so as to be rather
of a wine-glass shape than the shape of an hour-glass. Flames
rise from the top of the altar, indicating that oil was poured
and burned upon it. Unfortunately the fracture makes it im-
possible to distinguish clearly what were the figures in front
of the altar. This design shows what was one of the earliest
forms of the round altar, which in the time of Gudea had be-
come a slender hour-glass, and was drawn with the single slen-
der flame and two over-flowing flames. And yet we remember
that the first of the round altars we saw (Fig. 5) flared equally
at the top and bottom.
I have mentioned one cylinder which I thought imperfectly
drawn, belonging to the Louvre. In Lujard's Culte de Mithren,
XXVIII. 12, is a cylinder (Fig. 13), credited to the Museum of The
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Hague, but which does not appear in Menant's Catalogue of The
Hague. Before the seated goddess is an altar, and four female
figures approach her. On the altar appears to be a cloth, and
some objects seem to be above it. But I think it most probable
that what appears to be cloth is simply a badly drawn conception
of the streams falling from the altar.
There is a very peculiar type of cylinder of quite an early
period, although apparently less archaic than the last, on which
the seated deity is represented with the body ending in the shape
of a serpent. We may presume that this represents the god Siru.
APPENDIX G
275
The corresponding goddess sometimes sits opposite him, but not
with a serpent's body; or sometimes a worshiper stands before
him. A gate, with or without a porter, finishes the main design.
But an altar stands before the god in figure 14.
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Fig. 14. BIBLIOTHÉQUE NATIONALE
In figure 15 we have another of the serpent gods. Between
the god and goddess is an altar which seems to be a simple upright
construction, apparently of bricks, and the flame is represented to
be rising from the top. One is at liberty to imagine that this
represents a mere open fireplace for warming the hands of the
gods, but I think not.
I have shown that a worshiper may be represented as carrying
a goat as an offering to a god. He is sometimes led by a divine
attendant who takes his hand, and a second worshiper may follow
as in figure 7, carrying a pail or basket by the handles. This design,
IN
Fig, 15. COLLECTION DE CLERCQ
276
PRIMITIVE SEMITIC RELIGION TO-DAY
with the second figure carrying the pail, which begins to appear
at an early, but perhaps not the earliest, period, is more frequently
seen without the altar, on the carefully engraved smaller hematite
cylinders of the Middle Empire. Among the older examples are
some, as in figure 16, where large amphoræ seem to be presented
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FIG. 16. THE LOUVRE
to the goddess, and sometimes, as in figure 17, the worshiper
presents a drink-offering in a cup.
The nature of the vase from which libations are poured to
the god in the archaic period appears in two very old votive
bas-reliefs (Figs. 18, 19), figured by Hilprecht, Bab. Exp. I., Pt. II.,
Pl. XVI., figures 37, 38.
res 37, 38. Here we may presume that both the ram
and the goat were brought as offerings as well as the gifts which
another worshiper carries in his hand.
From the representation of these hour-glass altars we gain
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FIGURE 19, HILPRECHT.
APPENDIX G
277
very little that differs from those which were of the stepped pat-
tern. We do not see any representation of animals on these altars,
although we see animals brought in the arms of the worshipers.
The altars are used chiefly, or wholly, for libations of oil. No
cakes are seen. That it is oil, and not blood, that is poured on the
altar appears from the flames. It is noticeable that in no case
do we see an animal slain, as we do see it in the contests of
Gilgamesh and Ea-bani, with lions, buffaloes, bulls, and leopards.
There is no outpouring of blood represented. Yet on the other
hand, if the blood sacrificed is not poured out, neither is the
thought that of a meal with the god. What we most notice is the
good savor of the oil burnt before the god.
INDICES.
I. NAMES.
Aaron, tomb of, 40, 79, 185.
Bashan, 186.
Abbas Effendi, 48, 102, 109.
Baudissin, 133.
Abdu Khadir, 205.
Beersheba, 36, 255.
" Abdullah is dead," 208, 224.
Behammra, 100.
Abdullah saved by slaughter of 100
Beinu, 17, 139.
camels, 209.
Beirut, 12.
Abraham, birthplace, 81.
Berzeh, shrine of, 81, 171.
Abraham, tribe of, 57.
Bethesda, 90.
Abu Ali works himself into a frenzy, Bliss, President, Daniel, 23.
Bliss, F. J., 32, 61.
79.
Abu Ibrahim, 189.
Blunt, Lady, 64, 67.
Abu Obeida, blood marks, 192, 193.
Bozra, 39.
Abu Rabab, 117.
Braigh, 211.
Abu Risha, 85.
Browne, 96, 108.
Abyssinia, 189.
Brummana, missionary Conferences
Achan, 130.
at, 26, 48.
'Ain Kadis, 182,
Burckhardt, 20, 21, 164, 175, 204.
'Ain Kurum, 98.
Busan, 187.
Ali, worship of, 103, 104, 106.
Burton, 173, 175, 176, 224.
Attonyan, Dr. A. A., 215.
Butrus, cook and muleteer, 31.
Arabs, Mawali, 201.
Aramaeans, 61.
Cairo, 30.
'Arja, poetical story of, 82; prose ac- Calcutta, sacrifice to goddess Kali,
count of, 257 ff.
216.
Asfuriyeh, 90.
Callirrhoe, 39, 89.
Assassins, 101.
“Chair," minister of, 225.
Assuan, 30.
Chemosh angry with his land, 128.
Atiyeh, Joseph, 209,
Church of Redemption, dedication of,
Ayeshah, 194.
29.
'Ayun, 187.
Circassians, 62.
Azazimeh, 37.
Conder, 260.
Copts, custom at marriage, 204.
Baalbek, journey to, 26.
Crawford, Rev. John, 29; characteriza-
Baalim, 133, 171.
tion of Syrian Desert, 40.
Babites, 96, 108.
Crawford, Mrs. John, 175.
Baldensperger, titles of articles, 19.
Crawford, Rev. J. Stewart, 14, 21, 28,
Babylonian account of Noah's sacri-
199.
fice, 73.
Barren women, 117, 118.
Dale, Mrs., 232.
Barton, 56.
Damascus, 12, 29.
279
280
INDICES.
Ishmael, sacrifice of, 175.
Islam, not a development from ancient
Semitism, 240.
Ismailiyeh, religious customs, 60, 202.
Delitzsch, Franz, II, 22.
Demishki, Hanna, 162, 181.
Der Atiyeh, 192.
Desert, Syrian, 28.
Dahariyeh, 36.
Dibbash, 207.
Dimitri, teacher of Arabic, 29.
Doolittle, Rev. George C., 25, 26.
Doughty, 21, 66, 92, 178, 189, 190, 191.
Druse Mountains, 35, 40.
Druses, 61, 62, 96, 208.
Ebers, 166.
Eddy, Rev. W. K., 25, 27, 124, 125, 189.
Egypt, journey in, 30.
En Misphat, 38.
Erman, 87.
Jabur, 61.
Jacob, wrestles with God, 74.
Jebel Kaşiun, 30.
Jedaideb, 27.
Jehovistic account of Noah's sacri-
fice, 73.
Jerusalem, 12.
Jessup, Rev. Henry H., 25, 79, 188, 228.
Jevons, 60.
Jiddab, 186.
Job, misfortunes of, sign of sin, 127.
Johnson, Dr. F., 198.
Juneh, cave of, visited by barren cou-
ples, 119.
Juttah, 36.
Feiyad, 91.
Ford, Miss T. Maxwell, 104, 125.
Forder, 20, 35, 89.
Frazer, 51, 77.
Gadis (Kadesh Barnea) 34, 37, 38, 182.
Gates, Rev. Herbert W., 15.
Gaza, 143.
Geiger, 51.
George, St., 83.
Ghazaleh, Ahmed, 178.
Gilroy, Prof., University of Aberdeen,
companion in travel, 32.
Graham, Dr. and Mrs., 31.
Kaaba, kissing the stone, 240.
Kadesh Barnea, 38, 182.
Kalat el-Hosn, 84.
Kali, goddess, 216.
Kandhs, 217
Kazem Beg, 108.
Kerak, 114.
Khalasa, 36, 37.
Khahil, Abdu, 232.
Khuri, Faris L., 84, 191.
Kurmul, 36.
Kurnub, 38.
Karyaten, 85, 91.
Hakim, 107.
Hamath, 90, 197.
Hamed el-Hudefi, 185.
Hanauer, Rev. J. E., 181,
Harding, Henry C., 67, 72, 89, 91, 183,
198, 206.
Hasan, 104.
Haupt, Paul, 210.
Hermon, Mt., ascent of, 27.
Hindi, Ahmed, 175, 224.
Homs, 84, 197
Hornstein, C., 164.
Hosein, 104.
Hoskins, Rev. Franklin E., 105, 187.
Hughes, 194
Hunter, Sir W. W., 217.
Lane, 66, 195, 207.
Lang, 51, 64.
Layard, 186.
Lepsius, 142.
Loba, J. F., 59.
Lyde, missionary among the Nusairi-
yeh, 100, 106.
Mackenzie, Rev. Wm. Douglas, 15.
Mackie, G. M., 71.
Mahin, 205.
Matthews, A. N., 195.
Masud, Anis, dragoman, 26.
Mar, Sarkis, 139.
INDICES.
281
Mar, Yehanna, 85.
March, Rev. F. W., 17, 28.
Mecca, 170, 175.
Mehardeh, 201.
Myer, Rev. F. B., 216.
Michmash, 234.
Mina, or Muna, 170, 175, 223.
Mishwat, 190.
Mohammed, traditional saying of, 194.
Muir, Sir Wm., 192, 197, 211.
Musa, guide at Petra, dialogue with,
79.
Musyaf, 101.
Musulleh, 140.
Naaman, 58.
Nebi Safa, 173.
Nebk, 199, 205.
Nelson, Rev. W. S., 17, 25.
Nies, Rev. James B., 234, 236.
Noah, his sacrifice, 73.
Nofel Effendi, 174.
Noorian, Daniel Z., 59.
Nusair, 120.
Nusairiyeh, 60; claim Ali had no cbil-
dren, 107; reckoned as Moslems, 96;
secrets of initiated revealed, 97.
Safa, Nebi, 283.
Safita, 17.
Saladin, 101.
Sale, 170.
Salisbury, Professor of Yale College,
translator of the secrets of the
Nusairian religion, 97.
Samuel's sacrifice on the High Place,
138.
Sayce, 56.
Schaff, Philip, 22.
Schimper, 166.
Schumacher, 86, 235, 236.
Sell, 170.
Sellum, Anis, 81.
Shammar, Arab tribe, 64.
Sheik, Rihan, 92.
Sheik, Sa'ad, 86.
Sheik, Shadli, discoverer of coffee, 183.
Sherarat, 125.
Shiites, do not use the term fedou, 210.
Sinai, Mt., journey to, 30.
Smith, George Adam, 59.
Smith, W. Robertson, 21, 56, 218.
Snobar, 212.
South Country, 36.
Stade, 61.
Stambul, report to Sultan, 20.
St. Catharine, 30.
St. Rih, 84.
Sterling, Dr., 36.
Stewart, Rev. James S., 78, 100.
Straus, Mr. Oscar, fails to get permis-
sion to visit Druse Mountains, 35.
Suleiman of Adana, 47.
Suleiman of Nebk, 69, 72.
Sufsaf, Ras, 30.
Surur, 201, 205.
Syrians, not of pure stock, 62.
Syrian Desert, 40.
Orontes, channels of, 117.
Palgrave, 66, 126.
Palmer, 205, 226, 262.
Palmyra, journey to, 40, 186.
Petra, 39, 183, 235, 236.
Pharaoh, treasury of, 39.
Porter, Professor, 101.
Porter, Rev. J. L., 186.
Post, Rev. George E., M. D., 18, 66,
184.
Ramses II., 86.
Rasheyeh, 83, 214.
Ravndal, G. B., American Consul at
Beirut, 100.
Richards, British Consul at Damascus,
186.
Ritschl, Examiner in Hebrew, 210.
Rüppel, 142.
Ruheibeh, 182.
Tell el-Kadi, 143.
Tell Abu en-Neda, 228.
Tell Sh'af, 187.
Teyahah, 37.
Thompson, W. L., 63, 84.
Tischendorf, 165.
Tongas, 84.
Tophel, 185.
ļowarah, specimen of prayers, 67, 68,
282
INDICES.
Tripoli, 197.
Trumbull, H. Clay, 35, 57, 177, 233.
Urfa, 214.
VanDyck, Dr. Wm., 91, 93, 97.
Wahabites, most orthodox sect of
Islam, sought to crush out worship
of welis, 76.
Waldmeier, 90, 162, 189.
Walpole, 167.
Ward, Rev. W. Hayes, 14.
Watson, Rev. Dr., 30.
II. SUBJECTS.
Wathic, 211.
Webster, H. A., 61.
West, Robert H., 25.
Wheeler, Percy D. 'Erf, M.D., 182.
Williams, 182.
Wilson, Edward L., does not reach
Gadis, 35.
Wortabet, Arabic-English Dictionary,
230.
Yadji, Habeeb, 64.
Yuseph el-Hagg, 79.
Zeller, Rev. John, 71, 232.
Zimmern, 49, 53, 54, 196, 205, 219.
Afrit, supposed to inhabit sluice, 198.
Altars, built by patriarchs, 133.
"Ancient and Primitive," not synony-
mous, 5o.
Angel, troubling tbe water, 90.
Angels, sacrifices to, 179.
Animal, cooked, 215.
Arabic, pronunciation of, translitera-
tion of, 15; modern, study of, 30.
Atonement, Babylonian Ritual, 53; ;
doctrine of, 195.
up, 200; existence regarded im-
possible at Moslem shrine, 19;
used in foundations of buildings,
184; in sluice of water wheel, 198;
marks of, at shrine of Abu Obeida,
193; of black fowls on lintels, etc.,
in Abyssinia, 189; of cock, good
for bad eyes, 141; on neck of camel,
183; on the door posts, 181; shed
at entrance of cave, 184; used in
sign of cross, 198; sprinkled on cor-
ner of building, 191; sprinkled on
door posts of shrine, 192; stripes of
on makam at Nebi Eyyub, 188;
used in bathing face and shoul-
ders, 205; used in solemnization of
marriage among Aenezes, 204.
Blood-Sprinkling, Babylonian, 54; sup-
posed to propitiate a jinn, 190.
Book, outgrowth of journeys, 17.
Books, sacred, 81.
"Bride of God," 114.
“Bride of the Nile," 114.
Bush, burning, 92.
Babylonian exile destroyed monolatry,
242.
Bargain with saint for child, 118.
Baths of Solomon, 116.
Bay of St. George, 24.
Best gowns worn by jinn, 115.
Bible, record of many revelations, 14.
Birth of son, announcement of, 201.
Blasphemy against Mohammed, State
offense, 96.
Blessing, 185.
Blood, avenger of, 191; "breaking forth
of," 202; bride must step over it
among Copts, 204; "bursting forth
of,” 197. , 211, 212, 213;
child
anointed with, 203; considered de-
filing by Moslems, 219; covered
Calf, offered to St. George, 213.
Camel not good for transportation of
traveller's baggage, in Palestine,
31.
INDICES,
283
and inferior deities side by side,
64; "God had three sons," 113;
shameless conceptions of, 114.
Guards passed at night, 42.
Cave, Juneh, 95.
Caves, controlled by a spirit, 94.
Cave of Khuddr, 95.
“Chair of the Companions,” 87; ser-
vant of, 65.
Child, presented at shrine, 202.
Circulars of inquiry sent, 18.
Conquered races impose their customs
on conquerors, 58.
Corpse, borne across a stream defiles
it, 200.
Covenant between God and Israel, 214.
Curses of other sects in the Nusairian
ritual, 98.
Custom, persistence of, among Orien-
tals, 53, 65, 220.
"Hardening the heart," 70.
“Head for head," 207, 227.
Heaps of witness, 80.
Heavenly bodies, worship of, 104.
High Places, 133 tt.
"Holy men," 149.
House, "Every house must have its
death,” 225.
House of Ivory, 110.
Housetop, home for two months,
29.
Death, "Every house must have its
death," 196.
Deification of men excluded by Mos-
lem creed, 96.
Desecration of shrine visited with
death, 140.
Development in O. T., 14.
Dolmen, channels for blood, 234.
Druse woman interviewed, 214.
Incarnation, illustrated by image of
sun in a mirror, 109.
Investigations, place for, 60; success
of, 47.
Insane, 189.
Interviewing natives, 20.
Journals, unpublished, used as sources,
13; lost, 41.
East of tent the front, 202.
"Every house must have its death,”
65.
Evil, Moslems think it from the devil
by God's permission, 68.
Expiation, doctrine of, 194.
Kid, killed over head of a man, 204.
Lawlessness at "Ain Kurum,” 98.
Libation of cottee, 183.
"Fail me," "why did you?" 70.
Fatalist, Moslem, 65.
Festival, annual, 215.
"Fire of Hell," 125.
Folk-lore, 78.
Forests in Syria, 99.
Fowls. sacrificed by poor, 203.
Marriage of Joram and Athaliah, 110.
Messages of O. T., why divine? 14.
Misfortune, evidence of sin, 127, 221.
Method of investigation, 20.
Missionaries thought to be possessed
of important archaeological in.
formation, 34; companions in
travel, 20.
German Emperor, 29.
Girls in care of flocks, 37.
God, author of good and evil, 68; chief
residing in the sun, 67; fate to
which all must bow, 68; may lead
astray, 69; jealous, 71; he and St.
George are brothers, 72: has hu-
man organism, 72; worship of him
Moslems, unlettered, refer to books,
81.
Mt. Carmel, 95; cave at, 203.
Mt Hermon, remains of ashes and
bones, 142.
Mt. Hor, visited, 185.
Mt. of Jehovah, 93.
Mt. Serbal, place of worship, 142.
"Not a bone to be broken," 178.
284
INDICES.
Obscene language avoided in going to
a shrine, 75.
Obscenity, 129.
Old Testament, record of many divine
revelations, 14.
Origin of Israel's religion, three views,
238 ff.
Palestine Exploration Fund, ques-
tions, 19.
Purse, "on account of," 215.
Penitential Psalms, 131.
Phallic worship, possible symbol of,
188; in India, 59.
Phallus, laid across entrance to shrine,
140.
Physical fatherhood of deity, repug-
nant to Islam, 112.
“Positive religion," 64.
Primitive Semitism furnished forms of
speech, 14.
Procreative power possessed by spirits
of the dead, 115, 116.
Primitive Semitic Religion, institu-
tions of, medium of revelation, 55;
traces of to-day, 49, 50.
Prayer, attitude of Moslems, 145.
Priesthood, portion received from the
sacrifices, 147.
ment of vows, 172; part which falls
to the priest, 173; important part,
pouring out of blood, 216; human,
217; in connection with circumci-
sion, 178; place where they may be
slain, 211; place of, 229 ff; placed in
the ground at Muna, 224; substitu-
tionary character of, 225; that in
which it consists, 223; tenth day of
Pilgrim month, 170; to jinn, 198.
Sacrificial meal, 170, 218; term, misno-
mer, 222.
Saints, according to Moslems only me-
diators, 75.
Saint, called God, 95; real force in the
life of the people, 124.
Samaritan passover, 171, 264.
Secrets revealed by Suleiman of Ada-
na confirmed, 97.
Semites, primitive religion of, among
Syrians and Arabs, 12, 13.
Semites, modern, 56 ff; no ethical con-
ception of God, 66.
Semitic worship, survival of, 17.
Sheiks, religious, among Arabs, 64.
Shrines, 17.
"Simplicity of our minds," 65.
Sin, not conceived of as guilt, 129, 130.
Singing and dancing, 218.
Sodomites, 149.
Son of God, born of virgin, no mystery
to Oriental, 242, 243.
Spirits, evil, in caves, 184.
'Spirit for spirit," 225.
Stones, medium of divine revelation,
84.
Stream, property of saint at Nebk, 88.
Substitution, 208.
Sufiism, basis of Babiism, 109.
Sun temples in Syria, 105.
Syncretism, 124.
Syrian Protestant College, library of,
23.
Reconciliation of avenger with mur-
derer, 191.
"Redeemed you," 212.
“Redeem soul by soul," 208.
Researches, special, 34 ff.
Revue biblique, article on Dr. Trum-
bull, 35.
Robbed, 30.
"Rock," Semitic name of God, 88.
Sabbatic fountain, 213.
Sacred Oak, 94.
Sacrifice and slaughtering, Arabic
word for them the same, 172.
Sacrifices, animals and fowls used, 174;
between the feet, 177; confession
one is worthy of death, 176; covers
sin; 211; dabhiyeh, uses of, 176; for
children, 177; for the dead, 179, 206;
for houses, Babylonian, 54; hand
put on back of animal, 148; in pay-
Table of God, 74.
Theophany, seat of, regarded as
shrine, 93, 133, 134.
Threshold, place of sacrifice, 233; re-
newed when the house has been
unfortunate, 233.
"Times of ignorance," 170.
INDICES.
285
Vows, payment of, 141.
Voyage from New York to Beirut, 24.
Tours in Syria, false idea that it is
dangerous to travel in summer, 23.
Traditionalists, 241.
Travels, preliminary, 22 ff; 1898–1899,
extent of, 32, 33.
Trees, hung with rags, 91; under which
saints rested, holy, 93.
Unspiritual views of the deity, 126.
Vicarious use of green cloth, 140.
Virgin, sacred, 115.
Vocation in travel, first discovered in
company with Messrs. March and
Nelson, 27.
Wages of muleteers, cheaper in Syria
than in Palestine, 32.
Walnut tree, sacred in flames, 93.
Water for irrigation in Syrian Desert,
199.
Ways and means, 29.
Weli, invitation to sbrine, 81.
Wells in South country, 36.
“Whited-sepulchres," 141.
Writing, Arabs fear it as "black art,"
20, 201.
III.-ARABIC AND OTHER SEMITIC WORDS.
Definitions and illustrations may be found by reference to pages.
'Ain Fowar, 89.
Allah, 170.
el-Arab, 63.
Asah, 137.
Bamoth, 137, 138, 143.
Banah, 137.
Bath Zur, 110.
Bedawi, 63.
Bedw, 63.
Benai Elohim, 120.
Bet Allah, 228.
Beth Elohim, 88.
"Bismillah? Allahu akbar," 173.
Bismillah, rahman er-rahim, 236.
Dahhiyeh, 148, 175, 209, 211, 223.
Dakhiel, 214.
Debah, 231.
Dekr, 117
Dhabaha, 230.
Dhabh, 172.
Dhibh, 230.
Eed Kirbam, 170.
Fada, 195.
Fedou, 178, 195, 196, 197, 200, 202, 205,
206, 209, 210, 232.
Fellahin, 63.
Fidee, 201, 207, 209.
Fidyeh, 207.
Goal, 76.
Hedaya, 170.
Henna, 185.
Id dahhiyeh, 181.
Idu 'l-Azha, 195.
llani-ja, 110.
Jan, ahl el-ard, 190.
Jian, 60, 89, 150.
Kadesh, 149.
Kdsh, 149.
Kedeshah, 149.
Kafara, 53, 210.
Kaffara, 209, 210.
Kalat, el-Kursi, 87.
Keffareh, 178, 209, 210, 211, 221, 233.
Khuddr, 84, 95, 197.
Kibla, 145.
Kipper, 53, 210.
Kis, 172.
Kubbeh, 143.
Kuffuru, 53, 54.
Kursi, 144, 171.
Kursi el-Aktab, 87.
Madhbah, 172, 230, 231.
Makam, 143, 231.
Mar, 76.
Mar Jirjis, 77.
Mar Yehanneh, 141.
Mazzeboth, 88.
Medayfeh, 42, 186.
286
INDICES.
Mejnun, 150.
Meshhad, 80.
Mezars, 184, 231.
Midbah, 230.
Midd, 162,
Nebi eyyub, 88.
Negeb, 62.
Piastre, 174.
Ramah, 136.
Rotl, 174.
Sarapb, 137.
Sayyidat az-Zahra, 154.
Sayyiden, 154.
Semn, 80, 185.
Sheik, 64.
Tannur, 183.
Tezekereh, Turkish passport, 101.
Ulia, 77.
Umm Shakakif, 82, 144.
Weli, 76, 77, 78, 89, 90.
Ya rubb khattiti, 125.
Zabah, 172, 231.
Zabh, 172, 231.
Zeyareh, 213, 231.
Zikr, 164.
IV.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.
GENESIS.
iii, 2-4
73
71
120
.
.
iv, 21
iv, 27
viii, 15, 32
ix, 12
X, 20, 27
xi, 10
xii, 7
xii, 37-38
xiv, 4, 8, 17
.
.
.
0
.
.
1
.
•
.
.
.
1
.
92
70
134
70
70
70
70
54
57
70
I10
I10
163
88
134
74
166
88
1
xxi, 6
.
73
74
72
134
133
56
133
74
133
93
133
88
159
37
151
88
80
.
+
.
1
.
0
.
.
iii, 21
iv, 3-4
vi, 1-4
viii, 8-10
xi, 5
xi, 6
xii, 2
xiv, 13
xiv, 14
xviii, I
xviii, 20, 21
xxi, 33
xxii, 14
xxvi, 25
xxviii, 18, 19, 22
xxviii, 20-22
xxix, 9
xxix, 26
xxxi, 13
xxxi, 48
Xxxi, 54
xxxii, 24-30
XXXV, 7
XXXV, 14
xliii, 9
xlvi, 1
xlvi, 1-27
1
.
xxii, 7-9
xxii, II
xxiv, 4
xxiv, 13
XXV, 30
xxxii, 5, 6, 19
xxxiv, 13
.
.
.
.
.
LEVITICUS.
21.2
.
.
147
212
0
0
c
V, 7, II,
vii, 8, 32, 33
xiv, 32
xvii, II
xix, 9, 10
134
74
88
88
0
194
163
.
.
NUMBERS.
.
1
1
130
122
XXI, 29
xxii, 41; xxxiii, 4
EXODUS.
133
. 57
.
. 137
DEUTERONOMY.
ii, 16-21
iii, 1
37
134
i, I
xii, 2
185
. 135
INDICES.
287
xviii, 30
xxii, 39
xxii, 43
.
0
1
.
134
ΙΙο
138
C
88
167
88
218
147
149, 153
87
.
II KINGS.
0
88
t
xii, 3
xii, 11, 12, 17, 18
xvi, 22
xviii, 1
xviii, 3
xxiii, 17
xxxii, 4
JOSHUA.
vii, 1-12.
xiii, 14
xiii, 17
.
iii, 2.
V, 12.
xii, 3; xiv, 4
xvii, 9
xvii, 10; xviii 4
xxi, 3; xxiii, 8, 15
xxiii, 8-13
xxiii, 14
•
.
.
.
92
138
137
88
137
77
88
.
.
.
•
130
218
137
36
.
XV, 53
JUDGES.
I CHRONICLES.
vi, 11, 21, 24
,
xxi, 1
69
ix, 6
ix, 13
JOB.
•
134
134
74
134
168
167
I22
.
xi, II
xi, 30, 31, 34-36
xxi, 19, 21,
RUTH.
i, 6-12, ii, 1-6
i, 13-19
ii, 10
iii, 13-18
iv, 7
.
.
1
.
C
iii, 12
• 76
viii, 6
127
69
I21
128
128
• 244
76
128
I SAMUEL.
.
.
.
ix, 30, 31
xix, 25
xxii, 5-10
xliii, 5 .
146
157
.
.
.
244
202
173
PSALMS,
0
+
ΙΙΟ
•
159
0
1
IIO
.
.
III
.
i, 3
i, 9-II
i, 24, 25
ii, 12-15
ii, 25
ix, 12, 13
xiv, 33, 34
XV, 2-20
xvi, 14-16
xvii, 53
xviii, 10
xxi, 16
XXV, 40-43
Xxvi, 19
xxii, 25, 26
xly
xlv, 12-16
li, 4
lxii, 2
lxxxii, 1
+
.
.
.
243
87
.
.
.
.
135
234
130
23
130
69
74
36
71
.
ΙΙο
•
ISAIAH.
.
.
.
0
.
.
II SAMUEL.
ii, 2
vi, 5
vi, 9, 10
xiv, 9, 10
xix, 19
XXX, 29
liii, 6
lxiii, 1
134
244
70
121
88
87
245
39
•
.
.
.
V, 24
vi, 14
.
C
+
XV, 8
.
93
169
159
134
87
69
XV, 30, 32
xxiii, 3
xxiv, I
.
.
+
.
JEREMIAH,
.
ii, 20.
iii, 2
xix, 5
xxxii, 35
.
4
I KINGS.
jii, 4, 5
xi, 7
136
137
137
137
135
· 136
288
INDICES.
EZEKIEL
MALACHI.
ii, 11.
xi, 39-43
xx, 28, 29
123
. 237
. 136
MATTHEW.
HOSEA.
xxiii, 27
141
.
ii, 5, 8, 12
ii, 7, 13, 15
LUKE.
i, 39
0
iii, 4.
.
ii, 22-28
36
202
128
4
iv, 13
.
162
. 137
88
137
149
135
151
245
iv, 14
xiii, 1-5
+
iv, 12, 13
John.
ix, 7
.
xi, 8, 9
V, 2, 3
ix, I
90
127
AMOS.
Acts.
iii, 6.
V, 21-23.
69
. 167
xix, II, 12
92
HEBREWS.
MICAH.
III
.
i, 8, 9.
ix, 22
iv, 1.
134
.
194
V. QUOTATIONS FROM THE KORAN.
76
本
​.
210
.
.
ii, 258; iii, 61
iii, 191, 194
iv, 59
xvii, 5-7
xxii, 35
xxxvii, 107
xxxviii, 3-9
xxxix, 36
174
230
125
1
125
125
210
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