THE RIVER JORDAN.
1.The River Jordanhas three sources. (1.) The most northerly is atHasbeiya, on Hermon. (2.) The largest stream proceeds from a great spring at the ancient Dan, nowTell el Kady. (3.) The one recognized as the source by the Jews is at Banias, near the ancient Cæsarea Philippi. It may be divided into three sections: from Hasbeiya to Lake Merom, about 40 miles; from its entrance into Merom to the Sea of Galilee, 15 miles; and from the northern end of that lake to the Dead Sea, 79 miles,—making its direct length 134 miles, though by its windings the channel is about 200 miles long. In its progress it falls over 3,000 feet, an average fall of over 22 feet to the mile. It varies in width from 80 to 180 feet, and in depth from 5 to 12 feet.
2.The Three Lakesare: (1.) Merom, now calledHuleh, a triangular sheet of water three miles across, located in a swamp in Northern Galilee. (2.) The Sea of Galilee, called Chinnereth in the Old Testament, a pear-shaped lake, 14 miles long, and 9 wide. (3.) The Dead Sea, 46 miles long, its surface 1,290 feet below the levelof the Mediterranean, and in some places 1,300 feet deep, though the great lagoon on its southern end is not more than 20 feet deep.
SECTION OF PALESTINE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.
3.The Brooks, or mountain torrents, are an important feature in the country. They are dry for most of the year, but during the winter are large and rapid. (1.) On the east of the Jordan Valley are: (a) the Hieromax (now called theJarmuk), flowing from the highlands of Bashan into the Jordan, south of the Sea of Galilee; (b) the Jabbok (nowZerka), descending from the table-land, and entering the Jordan a little south of midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea; (c) the Arnon (nowMojeb), entering the Dead Sea about the middle of its eastern shore. (2.) Flowing from the Mountain Region eastward are: (a) theFarah, "the waters of Enon" (John 3:23); (b) the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:3), perhapsWady Kelt, near Jericho; (c) the brook Kedron, running past Jerusalem, eastward, into the Dead Sea, probably theWady en Nar. (3.) Flowing into the Mediterranean are: (a) the Leontes (nowLitany), the northern boundary of Palestine, a stream almost as long as the Jordan; (b) the Kishon, "that ancient river" (Judg. 5:21), watering thePlainof Esdraelon; (c) the brook Besor (Wady es Sheriah), near the southern frontier. Others might be named, but these are the most important, though not in all cases the largest.
SECTION OF PALESTINE FROM EAST TO WEST.
These may be considered either in order of height or of location. The diagram groups the principal mountainsin the relation of their comparative height above the sea-level; we may notice them in their order of location. They naturally divide into two sections: 1. Those of the Mountain Region west of Jordan. 2. Those of the Eastern Table-Land.
COMPARATIVE HEIGHT OF MOUNTAINS IN PALESTINE.
Beginning at the northern boundary of Palestine, we find: 1. Mount Lebanon, "the white mountain," a range of lofty mountains stretching northward, parallel with the sea, generally about 5,000 feet high, but at its highest point,Jebel Mukhmeel, 10,200 feet high. 2. The highest point in Galilee isJebel Jermuk, northwest of the Sea of Galilee, 4,000 feet high. 3. West of the Sea of Galilee isKurûn Hattin, "the horns of Hattin," the traditional "Mount of the Beatitudes," 1,200 feet high. 4. At the northeastern corner of the Plain of Esdraelon is Mount Tabor, a symmetrical cone, the battle-field of Deborah and Barak, 1,843 feet high. 5. A short distance to the south stands Little Hermon, "the Hill of Moreh," nowJebel el Duhy, 1,815 feet high. 6. Southward still is Mount Gilboa, the place of Gideon's victory and of King Saul's defeat, 1,715 feet high. 7. Sweeping around the southern border of the Plain of Esdraelon to the Mediterranean Sea is Mount Carmel, at its highest point 1,750 feet, but 500 as it meets the sea. These last four mountains form the boundary of the Plain of Esdraelon. In the land of Samaria, which we now enter, are but two important elevations: 8. Ebal, the mountain of the curses, 3,075 feet; 9. Directly opposite, Gerizim, the mountain of the blessings, 2,850 feet. The principal peaks in Judæa are the following: 10. Mount Zion, the seat of David's castle, 2,550 feet; 11. Across the valley of the Kedron eastward, the Mount of Olives, 2,665 feet; 12. Mount Hebron, 3,030 feet. South of Hebron the land slopes away to the level of the desert.
The Eastern Table-Land has fewer elevations, and is generally less noticed in the Scriptures. 1. On the north rises Mount Hermon, 9,000 feet high, the southern end of the range known as Anti-Lebanon, or "Lebanon toward the sun-rising." 2. South of the river Hieromax is Mount Gilead, about 3,000 feet high. 3. Near the northern end of the Dead Sea is Mount Nebo, 2,670 feet high, on a "shoulder" of which, Mount Pisgah, Moses beheld the Promised Land, and died.
These have been already noticed, to some extent, but may be named together. Upon the Maritime Plain, we notice: 1. Phœnicia, a very narrow strip along the Mediterranean, north of Mount Carmel, never possessed by the Israelites, and having Tyre and Sidon as its principal cities. 2. Directly south of Mount Carmel, Sharon, having Cæsarea and Joppa as its most important places. 3. Still further south, Philistia, the land of Israel's ancient enemies, containing several cities, of which Gaza and Ashkelon (afterward Ascalon) were chief. Upon the Mountain Region we find imbedded, 4. The Plain of Esdraelon, a Y-shaped region, 250 feet above the sea-level, surrounded by mountains, and situated between Mounts Carmel, Tabor and Gilboa. 5. The Negeb, or South Country, between Hebron and the desert, in Southern Judæa, may be regarded as a plain, though of rolling character, as its hills are not so high as those on the north. 6. In the Jordan Valley, just north of the Dead Sea, is a place called "the Plain of Jordan," or "the Plain of Jericho," the site of the destroyed "cities of the plain." 7. In the northern section of the Eastern Table-Land is the vast highland known as "the Hauran," anciently called Bashan, watered by the streams which form the Hieromax river.
OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
I.Dimensions.1. Canaan. 2. Palestine (Twelve Tribes). 3. Land of Promise.
II.Natural Divisions.1. Maritime Plain. 2. Mountain Region (Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee, Hill Country, Shefelah, Negeb). 3. Jordan Valley (Merom, Galilee, Dead Sea). 4. Eastern Table-Land (Bashan, Gilead, Moab).
III.Waters.1. Jordan (sources, sections). 2. Lakes (Merom, Galilee, Dead Sea). 3. Brooks. (1.) East: Hieromax, Jabbok, Arnon. (2.) Mountain Region: Farah, Cherith, Kedron. (3.) Maritime Plain: Leontes, Kishon, Besor.
IV.Mountains.1. West of Jordan: Lebanon, Jermuk, Hattin, Tabor, Little Hermon, Gilboa, Carmel, Ebal, Gerizim, Zion, Olives, Hebron. 2. East of Jordan: Hermon, Gilead, Nebo.
V.Plains.1. Phœnicia. 2. Sharon. 3. Philistia. 4. Esdraelon. 5. Negeb. 6. Jordan. 7. Hauran.
Atthe close of the eleventh chapter of Genesis a change is made in the subject of the Bible story. Thus far it has been a history of the entire race; but from this point to the close of Genesis a single family is brought into prominent notice, and the rest of the tribes of men are referred to only incidentally. The family of Abraham, of Semitic origin, deserve all their prominence in sacred history, since through them the true religion was perpetuated until the world was ready for its wider dissemination in the gospel period.
photoMUGHEIR, SUPPOSED TO BE UR OF THE CHALDEES.
These extend over nearly all the lands of the Old Testament, from Chaldea to Egypt. They represent the separation of a Semitic clan from the great body of the race, which was then ruled by an Elamite dynasty; and they bring to our notice the political relations of the world about two thousand years before Christ, in the early Chaldean period of the East.
1.From Ur to Haran.(Gen. 11:27-32.) The family of Abraham (then called Abram) lived at Ur of the Chaldees, probablyMugheir, south of the Euphrates, and an early seat of empire. Thence, at God's call, they migrated, moving up the Euphrates to Haran, in Mesopotamia, probably the Roman Carrhæ, and the modernHaran, on the river Belik, 50 miles above its entrance into the Euphrates. Here the family remained until the death of Terah, Abraham's aged father, whose traditional tomb is still shown.
2.From Haran to Canaan.(Gen. 12:1-9.) A branch of the family, the descendants of Abraham's brother Nahor, settled in Haran; but Abraham and his nephew Lot moved on southward, past Damascus, to the land of Canaan. They paused first at Shechem, and afterward at Bethel, at each place building an altar; but after a time removed further southward, impelled by the dearth of food in the land.
3.The Visit to Egypt.(Gen. 12:10-20.) The famine caused a removal of the entire clan to Egypt, where the beauty of Sarah was the occasion of Abraham's deception, of Pharaoh's wrong, and of Abraham's expulsion from the land. He returned to his former abode at Bethel. (Gen. 13:3, 4.)
4.The Removal to Hebron.(Gen. 13:5-18.) This was occasioned by the scarcity of pasture for the immense flocks and herds of Abraham and Lot. The two chieftains made a division of the land, Lot choosing the Jordan Valley, north of the Dead Sea, near the city of Sodom, and Abraham the highlands around Hebron, anciently Kirjath-arba, now known by Abraham's title,el Khalil, "The Friend,"i. e., of God.
5.Pursuit of the Elamites.(Gen. 14.) At that period the early Babylonian empire, under Amraphel or Hammurabi (seep. 91), was at the height of its power. Its king governed Elam, Chaldea, Assyria, Mesopotamia, and most of Palestine. Chedorlaomer, the head of the united peoples, led his armies against the aboriginal races east of the Jordan. (See Map of Palestine Before the Conquest, and description, onpage 37.) After subduing them he passed around south of the Dead Sea, smote the Amorites in the mountains near Hazezon-tamar, afterward En-gedi, and poured his host down upon the Jordan Valley. The cities on the north of the Dead Sea, Sodom and Gomorrah, with their dependent villages, being unable to stay his progress, were ravaged, and their inhabitants (including Abraham's nephew Lot) carried away captive, up the valley. News of the invasion came to Abraham, and he instantly gathered his servants and allies, and pursued the marauders. He overtook them near Laish, afterward Dan, nowTell el Kady, attacked them by night, pursued them as far as Hobah, near Damascus, and brought back the booty andthe prisoners. On the return took place the remarkable interview with Melchizedek, a priest-king over the city of Salem, perhaps the place afterward Jerusalem. After the return to Hebron the following events occurred: 1. The covenant of God with Abraham. (Gen. 15.) 2. The birth of Ishmael. (Gen. 16.) 3. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Gen. 18, 19.) These cities were probably located on the plain of Jordan, north of the Dead Sea, and not on the south, as formerly supposed; but all traces of them have entirely disappeared.
map
6.The Settlement at Beersheba.(Gen. 20-25.) After the destruction of the cities of the plain, Abraham moved southward, and made his home at Beersheba, on the desert border, nowBir es Seba. Here he spent most of his later years, as after various journeys we find him each time encamped at Beersheba.
7.The Offering of Isaac.(Gen. 22.) From Beersheba Abraham took his son Isaac, at God's command, to offer him as a burnt offering in "the land of Moriah." Some authorities accept the Samaritan tradition, that this place was Mount Gerizim; but we see no sufficient reason to dissent from the general view, that it was Mount Moriah, at Jerusalem, ten centuries afterward the site of the Temple. After this sublime token of his faith in God, the patriarch returned to his tent at Beersheba.
8.The Burial of Sarah.(Gen. 23.) We find Abraham again at Hebron, in his old age. Here Sarah died and was buried in the cave of Machpelah. This is undoubtedly covered by the Mohammedan mosque so sacredly guarded against the intrusion of travelers. The after events of Abraham's history may have taken place at Hebron or at Beersheba, as neither place is named as his residence at the time of Isaac's marriage or his own death. He was buried in the family sepulchre at Hebron, beside the body of Sarah.
The life of Isaac, though longer than the lives of Abraham and Jacob, was spent in a comparatively small range of territory, and with comparatively few events. We have not noted upon the map the lines of his journeyings; but the localities may be seen, as far as they are identified, upon the map of Palestine, onpage 58.
The homes of Isaac were as follows: 1. Beer-lahai-roi, "Well of the Life of Vision,"i. e., where life remained after seeing God; an unknown locality in the south of Canaan, between Bered and Kadesh. It was so named by Hagar, after meeting an angel, before the birth of Ishmael. (Gen. 16:13.) 2. Gerar. (Gen. 26:1.) This was the chief city of the Philistines in that age; and is now calledKirbet el Gerar. The wells dug by Isaac, and seized by the Philistines, were probably in the region near this city. 3. Rehoboth (Gen. 26:22) is probably at theWady(Valley)er Ruhaibeh, south of Beersheba. 4. Beersheba. (Gen. 26:23-35.) Here he made a treaty of peace with the Philistine king, and remained for many years. It was his home during the strife of Jacob and Esau, and from this place Jacob departed on his long visit to Haran. (Gen. 28:10.) 5. Hebron. (Gen. 35:27.) Here, beside the tomb of his parents, Isaac at last met his son Jacob, and here he died and was buried, at the age of 180 years.
chartCOMPARATIVE AGE OF THE PATRIARCHS BEFORE AND AFTER THE DELUGE.
The life of Jacob is related with more of detail than that of any other person in Old Testament history; yet there is great uncertainty concerning the division of its periods. His first sixty years were passed near Beersheba; then twenty years in Haran, and fifty years inCanaan (though some of the best chronologers allowfortyyears in Haran, andthirtyyears in Canaan); and seventeen years in Egypt. The principal places named in Jacob's journeys are: 1. Beersheba, nowBir es Seba, a well-known place in the south of Palestine. 2. Bethel, nowBeitin, 10 miles north of Jerusalem. 3. Haran, now bearing the same name. (See under Abraham's life, Journey No. 1.) 4. Mizpah, called also Jegar-sahadutha, "the heap of witness," perhaps the important place afterward known as Ramoth-gilead, nowes Salt, 13 miles south of the Jabbok. But this seems too far south to represent the event, and we are inclined to place it at some unknown mountain between the Jabbok and the Hieromax. 5. Mahanaim, probably atMahneh, 10 miles north of the Jabbok. 6. Peniel, afterward Penuel, unknown, but somewhere on the brook Jabbok. 7. Succoth, "booths," recently identified asTell Darala, a mile north of the Jabbok, in the Jordan Valley. 8. Shalem, "peace." If this refers to a place, it isSalim, 3 miles east of Shechem. But some read the sentence, "Jacob came in peace [i. e., in safety] to Shechem." (Gen. 33:18.) 9. Ephrath, the place of Rachel's death and burial, near Bethlehem.
The Journeys of Jacob may be arranged as follows:
1.The Flight to Haran.(Gen. 28:10-29:14.) Fearing the vengeance of Esau after the stolen blessing, Jacob hastily left his home at Beersheba, and journeyed northward to Haran. At Bethel he saw the vision of the heavenly ladder, and arrived safely at Haran, distant 450 miles from Beersheba. Here he remained either 20 or 40 years, according to different views, and married his two wives.
2.The Return to Canaan.(Gen. 31-33.) At Mizpah he made a treaty with Laban; at Mahanaim was comforted by a vision of angels; at Peniel wrestled with "the angel of God," and was reconciled to his brother Esau; and at Salim (if that be the name of a place), near Shechem, he rested in the Land of Promise.
3.The Residence in Canaan.(Gen. 34-45.) The slaughter of the Shechemites by Simeon and Levi, caused Jacob to move his increasing clan further south. At Bethel he renewed the covenant with God. (Gen. 35:1-15.) Near Ephrath, or Bethlehem, his beloved wife Rachel died and was buried. (Gen. 35:10-20.) At Hebron he met once more his aged father, and remained during most of his after-life in the land. (Gen. 35:27.) While Jacob was living at Hebron, Joseph was sold a slave to the Midianites, at Dothan, on the southern slopes of Mount Gilboa, and by them taken down to Egypt. (Gen. 37.)
4.The Descent into Egypt.(Gen. 45-50.) At the invitation of Joseph, then prince in Egypt, Jacob left Hebron to go down into Egypt. At Beersheba he offered sacrifices, and received divine guidance. His home was fixed in the Land of Goshen, a small but fertile district between the eastern channel of the Nile and the desert, the modern province ofes Shurkiyeh, including theWady Tumilat. Here the family of Jacob remained until they became "a great nation," a period variously estimated at from 200 to 400 years, or even longer.
5.The Burial Procession.(Gen. 50.) After the death of Jacob, his embalmed body was borne from Egypt to Hebron. The direct route was not taken, probably on account of the hostility of the Philistine and Amorite tribes; but the procession passed around the south of the Dead Sea, through the land of Moab, and crossed the Jordan at Abel-mizraim, near Jericho, a place afterward known as Beth-hoglah; and thence to Hebron, where the last of the three fathers of the chosen people was laid to rest in the ancestral sepulchre.
OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
I.Journeys of Abraham.1. Ur to Haran. 2. Haran to Canaan. (Shechem, Bethel.) 3. Visit to Egypt. (Return to Bethel.) 4. Removal to Hebron. 5. Pursuit of Elamites. (Dan, Hobah, Salem.) 6. Settlement at Beersheba. 7. Offering of Isaac. (Moriah.) 8. Burial of Sarah. (Hebron.)
II.Journeys of Isaac.1. Beer-lahai-roi. 2. Gerar. 3. Rehoboth. 4. Beersheba. 5. Hebron.
III.Journeys of Jacob.1. Flight to Haran. (Beersheba, Bethel, Haran.) 2. Return to Canaan. (Mizpah, Mahanaim, Peniel, Shechem.) 3. Residence in Canaan. (Bethel, Bethlehem, Hebron, Dothan.) 4. Descent into Egypt. (Beersheba, Goshen.) 5. Burial Procession. (Abel-mizraim, Hebron.)
PALESTINE BEFORE THE CONQUEST. and JOURNEYS OF THE PATRIARCHS
Theknowledge which we possess of the inhabitants of Palestine before the 13th century B.C. is quite scanty. The names of tribes, more or less settled, are given; but we know very little of their language, customs or origin. The description of Palestine during the first eight hundred years after the Deluge may be arranged as follows: 1. The Earliest Inhabitants. 2. The Tribes of the Patriarchal Era. 3. The Nations at the Time of the Conquest. 4. The Surrounding Nations.
JERICHO AND THE JORDAN.
In most lands the earliest people have been of an unknown race, as the mound builders of America and the cave dwellers of Europe. Very early in the history of the race a people entered Palestine, and settled upon both sides of the Jordan, generally among the mountains. They were remembered by different names in various parts of the country, but the names show the dread inspired by them among the later tribes. They were doubtless of one race, but whether of Hamitic or Semitic stock is uncertain; and their history is as unknown as their origin. They were already in their decline in the times of Abraham, when the Canaanite races, the second series of inhabitants, were in possession of the land. They belonged to six tribes or divisions, each having a different name and location, but all bearing the same characteristics, and all regarded as giants by those who came after them. Our principal authorities concerning these archaic peoples are Gen. 14:5-7, and Deut. 2:10-23.
1. TheRephaim, "lofty men," are frequently named in the Old Testament, the word being generally translated "giants." In the age of Abraham they were living in the highlands of Bashan, where their capital, Ashteroth Karnaim, "the two-horned Ashtaroth," was taken by the Elamite king, Chedorlaomer, the earliest conqueror in Bible history. By degrees they lost their nationality and were merged with the Amorites, over whom one of their race, the gigantic Og, king of Bashan, ruled at the time of the conquest. They may have settled also west of the Jordan, near what was afterward Jerusalem, since a locality in that vicinity (see map onpage 82) was long afterward known as "the Valley of the Rephaim." (2 Sam. 5:18.)
2. TheZuzim, "tall ones," are supposed to be the same people with those who in Deut. 2:20 are calledZamzummim. They occupied the eastern table-land, south of Bashan and Gilead. Their capital was Ham, a city not yet identified, unless it was (as some suppose) the place afterward known as Rabbath Ammon. These people were also giants, like the Rephaim (Deut. 2:21), were also overswept in the raid of Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:5), and during the time of the Israelites' sojourn inEgypt, were dispossessed by the Ammonites, who occupied their country afterward, until in turn driven out by the Amorites.
3. TheEmim, "terrible ones," were south of the Zuzim, and therefore directly east of the Dead Sea. They were overcome by Chedorlaomer at Shaveh Kiriathaim, "the dale of the two cities," and their land was afterward occupied by the Moabites.
4. TheHorim, "cave dwellers," or Horites, occupied Mount Seir, south of the Dead Sea. Their genealogy is given in Gen. 36:20-30, and 1 Chron. 1:38-42. They lived in caves, which are still found in great numbers through that region. They were beaten by Chedorlaomer, and subsequently dispossessed by the descendants of Esau, the Edomites.
5. TheAvim, "ruins," or "dwellers in ruins," lived in the Shefelah, or foot-hills, between the Philistine plain and the mountains of Judah. (Deut. 2:23; Josh. 13:2, 3.) They were early conquered by the Caphtorim, a Philistine race, and were in a depressed condition at the time of the entrance of the Israelites. The word Hazerim (Deut. 2:23) means "villages," or "nomad encampments," showing that they were not a settled, but a wandering people.
6. TheAnakim, "long-necked ones." The name may refer either to their size, or their strength (which in Hebrew comes from a word similar toneck). They were descendants of Arba, and divided into three clans, named Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. (Josh. 14:15; 15:14.) Their principal home was at Hebron, called by them Kirjath-arba; but they also occupied a city near it, called Kirjath-sepher, or "book-town," a name which is suggestive of a national literature. Unlike the other races, they seem to have maintained a foothold in the presence of the incoming Canaanite races, and their gigantic appearance struck terror to the Israelite spies during the wandering. (Num. 13.) But they were conquered by Caleb (Josh. 14), and their remnant, driven from the mountains, mingled with the Philistines of the sea-coast plain. One family of this race remained as late as the days of David, that of Goliath and his brothers. (1 Sam. 17:4; 2 Sam. 21:15-22.)
The chosen family came to Palestine about 1921 B.C., according to the common chronology, but probably from two to four hundred years earlier. At this time these earliest races were already superseded in nearly all the land by later tribes, of Hamitic origin, with which the patriarchs were often brought into contact. Those tribes were often called Canaanites, because the nation of that name was both the original stock and in possession of the richest and best portion of the land.
We notice these tribes, as far as practicable, in the order of their location in the four great natural divisions of the country: the tribes of the maritime plain, those of the mountain region, those of the Jordan Valley, and those of the eastern table-land.
1. Beginning at the north, on the narrow plain by the Mediterranean Sea, we find theZidonians, with their two great cities, Zidon the earlier, and Tyre the later. Perhaps the latter city was not yet founded in the patriarchal age. These people were early famous as the traders of the Mediterranean world, having commercial relations as far as Spain. They occupied a narrow strip of territory between Mount Lebanon and the sea, north of Mount Carmel. Their country was never possessed by the Israelites, and most of the time the relations between the two races were peaceful.
2. Next in order of location we come to theCanaanitesproper, or that branch of the descendants of Canaan which retained the family name. Whileallthe tribes of Palestine are often called Canaanites, as descended from one stock, the name strictly belongs only to people who lived in two sections of the country. The word means "lowlanders," and was applied particularly to those dwelling on the maritime plain, on both sides of Mount Carmel, the plain of Esdraelon and that of Sharon; and to those in the Jordan Valley. These together constituted "the Canaanites on the east and on the west." (Josh. 11:3.) They occupied the richest and most valuable portions of the land. The only city on the coast belonging to the Canaanites existing during the patriarchal age was Joppa, still standing. The Canaanite cities in the Jordan Valley were the "five cities of the plain," Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar, of which all except the last were destroyed by the visitation of God. (Gen. 19.) Their location was in the plain on the north of the Dead Sea, and there is no reason to suppose that they are covered by its waters. In the time immediately before the conquest we find Jericho has arisen in the place of the destroyed cities, and not far from their site, as the most important city of the Jordan Valley.
3. South of the Canaanites, on the maritime plain, were thePhilistines. "Emigrants" is the meaning of the word, supporting the view that they came from Caphtor, or Crete, which is but little more than a surmise. They were related to the Egyptians, and hence were of Hamitic stock. They came to the land before the time of Abraham, drove out and subdued the earlier Avim (Deut. 2:23), or Avites, and had frequent dealings with Abraham and Isaac. In the patriarchal age their principal cities were Gaza and Gerar; but before the conquest they had moved northward, and were a powerful confederacy of five cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath and Ekron. (Josh. 13:3.) Their territory, if taken at all during the campaigns of Joshua, was soon reconquered, and the Philistines were the most dangerous enemies of Israel during all the period of the Judges. In David's time they were subjected; but not until the Maccabean age were they fully conquered, and their land made a part of Israel.
4. We turn now to the tribes of the mountain region, beginning, as before, at the north. As these northern regions are not alluded to in patriarchal history, andonly very briefly named in the annals of the conquest, it is not easy to determine which of the tribes occupied them. But, from allusions in Josh. 1:4 and 11:3, and from frequent mention on the monuments of Egypt, we incline to the opinion that theHittiteswere the possessors of this country. They have left their name in Hattin, the Caphar Hittai of the Talmud, near the Sea of Galilee. Another branch, more frequently mentioned, were in the south, at and around Hebron (Gen. 23), perhaps extending as far south as Beersheba. (Gen. 27:46.) With these people the relations of the patriarchs were ever peaceful, and of them Abraham purchased his family sepulchre.
HEBRON.
5. The position of theGirgashitesis uncertain, from the infrequent mention of them. But the slight indications point to the region west of the Sea of Galilee, where we locate them conjecturally. They may have been absorbed by the surrounding tribes.
6. South of Mount Carmel, and extending to what was afterward the border of Benjamin, we find theHivites, having Shechem as their principal city in the time of Jacob. (Gen. 34:2.) Afterward, they occupied several towns immediately north of Jerusalem, four of which formed the "Gibeonite league," and made a treaty of peace with Joshua. (Josh. 9:3-15.) They were a quiet people, averse to war, and submitting readily to foreign domination.
7. ThePerizzites, "villagers" are always named in connection with the Canaanites. From the allusions in Gen. 34:30, Josh. 17:15, and other places, we locate them between the Hivites and the western Canaanites, in the northern portion of the Shefelah, or foot-hills, where villages would more readily cluster than among the mountains. They remained in the land as late as the time of the restoration from Babylonian captivity. (Ezra 9:1.)
8. TheJebusiteslived in the mountains around their city Jebus, afterward Jerusalem. They were of Canaanitish origin, a small but warlike tribe. Their king was slain by Joshua; but the city, though burned by the Israelites (Judges 1:8), was still held by its own people, and remained in their possession, a foreign fortress in the midst of the land, until finally taken by David, and made his capital. (2 Sam. 5.) South of the Jebusites were the southern branch of the Hittites, already referred to.
9. One more nation of the Canaanite stock remains, perhaps the most powerful of all, theAmorites, or "mountaineers." They occupied, originally, the wilderness between Hebron and the Dead Sea, having Hazezon-tamar (afterward En-gedi) as their capital; were smitten by Chedorlaomer, but aided Abraham in his pursuit and battle. (Gen. 14.) Afterward they pushed northward, crossed the Jordan, and possessed all the eastern table-land north of the Dead Sea, dispossessing the Ammonites of its southern portion, and the Rephaim of its northern. This great country was the "land of the Amorites" at the time of the conquest, ruled by two kings, Sihon and Og.
It is probable, that, during the patriarchal era, while Abraham and his family lived as wanderers in their Land of Promise, the lands east of the Jordan were occupied by their primeval inhabitants, the Rephaim in the north, the Zuzim between the Jabbok and the Arnon, and the Emim in the south.
What changes may have taken place among the tribes of Western Palestine during the four centuries while the Israelites were in Egypt, is not known; but, as the land became more thickly settled, the strifes of the Canaanite tribes and their roving traits would result in many alterations of boundary lines. But east of the Jordan the changes may be more distinctly marked.
1. TheAmorites, already named, probably conquered the eastern table-land, north of the Jabbok, during the period of the sojourn (i. e., the stay of the Israelites in Egypt), and dispossessed its early inhabitants. Many of these, however, remained among the conquerors, and one of this race, Og, the King of Bashan, ruled over the northern Amorites when the Israelites entered the land, and was slain by them.
2. Two new tribes, closely related, made their appearance during this epoch, theMoabitesandAmmonites. They were descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and their origin is related in Gen. 19. They arose during the period of the sojourn, and conquered the primitive Emim and Zuzim (Deut. 2:19-23), probablyas far north as the Jabbok. But the Amorites on the north wrested their conquests from them and drove them back south of the Arnon, which was thenceforward their northern boundary. The Moabites were the settled portion of the tribe, dwelling in cities; while the Ammonites were the predatory, wandering element, living mostly in the east, and without permanent dwelling places. During the period of the Judges they were among the oppressors of Israel (Judges 3 and 10), were defeated by Saul, (1 Sam. 11), and conquered by David. (2 Sam. 8:2.)
The principal nations bordering upon the land of Canaan before the conquest were the following:
1. On the north were theHivites, "that dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath." (Judges 3:3.) This is supposed to have been the original home of the race, from which they journeyed to their seat in Central Palestine. Still further north were theArkites, theSinites, theArvaditesand theHamathites.
2. On the northeast lay the desert, and on the southeast roamed theAmmonites, already mentioned.
3. On the south were several tribes, not all of which can be located with certainty. In the west, south of the Philistine country, were theAmalekites, a people of unknown origin and predatory habits. South of Judah were theKenites; and southeast of the Dead Sea, were, in early times, the Horim (already mentioned), succeeded during the time of the sojourn by theEdomites, a race descended from Esau, who will be described hereafter. (See explanations to map onpage 44.)
With regard to these early inhabitants of Palestine, the following facts may be noteworthy: 1. In respect torace, most of them belonged to the Hamitic stock; though the origin of the six earliest peoples remains unknown, and the two latest, the Moabites and Ammonites, were Semites, and closely related to Israel. 2. As tolanguage, they probably spoke the Hebrew tongue, or one closely allied to it. In Isa. 19:18, the Hebrew is evidently "the language of Canaan,"i. e., of the Canaanites. Whether this language was the one originally spoken by Abraham's ancestors or not, we have no means of knowing; but it is possible that it was gained, during the period of the journeyings, from the Canaanites. 3. Ingovernment, each village or tribe had its own ruler, who was called a "king"; but his authority was limited by the "elders," a body having influence partly from birth, and partly by force of character of its members. 4. Theirreligionwas widely different from that of the Hebrews, who, from the age of Abraham, worshiped one invisible, self-existent, spiritual God. The Canaanites deified nature under various forms, especially as Baal, the giver of life, and Ashtoreth (Greek, Astarte), the corresponding female divinity. Their rites of worship were abominable, cruel and licentious. They sacrificed not only captured enemies, but their own children, to their idols, and performed acts of the grossest wickedness at their idolatrous service. 5. Theirhistoryis unwritten, save in its tragical close, the conquest of their land by the Israelites under Joshua, and the annihilation of many of their races. Still, many lived as a separate people through all Jewish history; and some of the best scholars are of opinion that the native population of Palestine at the present time mainly belongs to this old Canaanite stock.
OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
I.Earliest Inhabitants.Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, Horim, Avim, Anakim.
II.Tribes of the Patriarchal Era.1. Maritime Plain: Zidonians, Canaanites, Philistines. 2. Mountain Region: Hittites (north), Girgashites, Hivites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Hittites (south), Amorites. 3. Jordan Valley: Canaanites. 4. Eastern Table-Land: Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim.
III.Nations at the Time of the Conquest.East of Jordan: Amorites, Moabites, Ammonites.
IV.Surrounding Nations.1. North: Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Hamathites. 2. Southeast: Ammonites. 3. South: Amalekites, Kenites, Edomites.
THE LAND OF EGYPT.
I.Names.The present name, "Egypt," was given by the Greeks, and was never used by the inhabitants in ancient times. On the monuments it is generally called KEM. In the Old Testament the most frequent name is "Mizraim," in plural form. The poetical books of the Bible contain the name "Rahab," "the proud, or insolent," and "Land of Ham."
photoAN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE.
II.Boundaries and Dimensions.On the north, Egypt is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea; on the east, by Palestine, the Arabian Desert, and the Red Sea; on the south, by Nubia; and on the west, by the great African Desert. Its limits have been the same in nearly all ages. In a geographical sense, it embraces 115,000 square miles; but of this more than nine-tenths consists of uninhabitable deserts. The true Egypt, the home of its people, is simply the Valley of the Nile and the space between its mouths, an area of 9,600 square miles, a little larger than the State of New Hampshire. Deducting from this the area covered by the Nile and its branches, the land of Egypt which may be occupied or cultivated includes about 5,600 square miles, or less than the united area of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
III.Divisions.There have always been two Egypts, Northern and Southern. Northern or Lower Egypt comprises the Delta of the Nile, triangular in shape, a plain between the eastern or Pelusiac branch of the Nile and its western or Canopic branch. This is a vast garden, with soil the richest in the Old World, and the grain field of the Roman empire. Southeast of the Pelusiac branch lay the Land of Goshen (nowEsh Shurkiyeh), the home of the Israelites during the Sojourn. Southern or Upper Egypt is a narrow valley, winding with the course of the Nile, varying in width from two to ten miles; a strip of fertile soil between two barren hills, beyond which the desert lies on either side. The two sections were always regarded as separate, and each was represented in the double crown worn by the kings. There was another division, made in very early times, intonomes, or provinces, each having its own ruler, and its own object of worship. Of these nomes there were from 36 to 50 at different times.
IV.The Nile.This has been in every age the most important feature in the topography of the country, and the cause of its surpassing fertility. Its sources, long unknown, are in the great lakes of Central Africa, whence it flows in a northerly direction. The main stream, called the White Nile, receives in Nubia its principal tributary, the Blue Nile, which rises in Abyssinia. During the last 1,500 miles of its course it is not increased by any other stream, and flows through a torrid desert. Yet, as it enters the Mediterranean, its current is still that of a mighty river. Its mouths are at present three in number, though formerly seven; and, from their resemblance on the map to the Greek letter Δ, that portion of Egypt is called the Delta. Its annual overflow begins, in Lower Egypt, about the 25th of June, attains its height in three months, and remains stationary twelve days, at a height of about 36 feet above its ordinary level at Thebes, 25 feet at Cairo, and 4 feet at its mouth. This overflow is due to the rains in Central Africa, and as it brings down new soil, keeps the land always fertile. But for the Nile, Egypt would only be a part of the Great Desert.
chartAREA OF EGYPT.
V.The People of Egyptwere of the Hamitic stock, a race of high capacity, forming the earliest civilization known in history. They were religious, but worshipinganimals, and even the lowest forms of life; contemplative and studious, attaining to considerable knowledge, though on narrow lines of research; patriotic, but not fond of war, and therefore rarely conquerors of other nations. Their language was "agglutinative monosyllabic," with mingled Nigritic and Semitic characteristics. Their government was most thoroughly organized, and took cognizance of even the minute matters of life. Their art was massive and sombre, imposing from its vastness, but not varied, and therefore giving but little play to genius. The Egyptians were slender of frame, but strong. Their faces were oval and olive-colored; their hair long, crisp and jet-black. They are supposed to be represented at the present time by the Copts.
map
VI.The History of Egyptbegins at a time undated, but long after the flood. It is divided into three periods, those of the Old, Middle, and New Empires. The Old Empire was founded by Menes, and had its capital at Memphis. During the fourth dynasty of this period the Pyramids were built. The Middle Empire arose at Thebes, and lasted until 1570 B.C. The Twelfth dynasty was most powerful during this epoch, conquering Ethiopia and Arabia. About 2000 B.C. the land was conquered by foreign princes, who ruled 400 years, and were known as the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings. The New Empire arose in 1570 B.C., after the expulsion of the Hyksos, and lasted for a thousand years. Its greatest monarch was Rameses II., who has been supposed to be the "Pharaoh of the Oppression" (not of the Exodus), and ruled as far east as Chaldea and Assyria. The above dates are all uncertain. Concerning the chronology, seepage 13. The land was conquered by the Persians, B.C. 527, and annexed to the Persian empire.
VII. The principalPlaceswere, in Lower Egypt, Memphis, the ancient capital; Heliopolis, called in the Bible On, near the eastern branch of the Delta; Rameses, in the Land of Goshen; Pelusium, at the eastern mouth of the Nile; and Alexandria, in later history the metropolis of Egypt, near the Canopic mouth of the Nile. In Upper Egypt, Thebes was the most important place, and long the capital.