OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
1.Names.Egypt, Kem, Mizraim, Rahab, Land of Ham.
2.Boundaries and Dimensions.North (Mediterranean Sea); East (Palestine, Arabia, Red Sea); South (Nubia); West (African Desert). Area, 115,000 square miles. Inhabitable, 9,600 square miles. Land, 5,600 square miles.
3.Divisions.Lower (Delta); Upper (Valley).
4.Nile.White Nile, Blue Nile; Sources; Delta; Overflow.
5.People.Hamitic Origin; Civilization; Language; Art; Physical Traits.
6.History.Old Empire (Memphis, Pyramids); Middle Empire (Thebes, Dynasty XII., Hyksos); New Empire (Rameses II., Persians).
I.Situation.This region lies between Egypt and Edom, a great triangle, having for its three points the border ofLake Menzaleh, the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, andRas Mohammed, the southern end of the peninsula. Its northern boundary is the Mediterranean Sea, the land of the Philistines, and theNegeb, or South Country. Its southeastern line is the depression of theArabah, and the Gulf of Akaba, or Ælanitic Gulf. Its southwestern line is the Isthmus of Suez and the Gulf of Suez. From Egypt, in a line due east, to the Dead Sea, is about 200 miles; from the Mediterranean, at theWady el Arish("the River of Egypt"), to Ras Mohammed, a line a little east of south, is about 225 miles, thus making the entire area of the triangle about 22,500square miles, or less than the aggregate area of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, though larger than any two of those States.
photoRÂS ES SUFSAFEH (MOUNT SINAI).
II.Natural Features.This region has two general divisions, and three others closely connected with them. 1. The Table-Land. 2. The Sinaitic Mountains. 3. The narrow plain by the western arm of the Red Sea. 4. The Arabah, or valley between the Ælanitic Gulf and the Dead Sea. 5. The Negeb, or South Country.
1. The northern and central portion of the triangle is a sterile table-land of limestone, from 2,000 to 2,500 feet high, and consisting of rolling plains with a gravelly surface; with few springs, and these mostly of impure water; and watered only by the streams of theWady el Arish("the River of Egypt"), a torrent which is dry during most of the year.
This was the Wilderness of Paran, "the great and terrible wilderness" (Deut. 1:19) in which the Israelites wandered for 38 years. It is now calledet Tih, "the wandering," and is traversed from east to west by two caravan routes, marked by the bleached bones of camels that have perished by the way. On the north it slopes away to a plain of white sand reaching to the Mediterranean, which was generally called the Wilderness of Shur. On the other three sides it is bounded by a chain of mountains, 4,000 feet high, calledJebel et Tih. It was in this wilderness country that the children of Israel were doomed to wander until all the generation that came out of Egypt died, except Caleb and Joshua. Even Moses was not permitted to more than see the Promised Land from the top of Pisgah.
2. Beyond the desert, and separated from it by the chain of mountains above named, and also by a narrow strip of sand south of the mountains, is the group of the Sinaitic Mountains. This group is triangular in form, and consists of ranges radiating from a centre. The names Horeb and Sinai seem to have been used interchangeably, though some consider the former the name of the group, and Sinai a single peak. There has been much discussion as to which is the "Mountain of the Law," from which the Ten Commandments were given. Three peaks have been most prominently presented by different explorers.Jebel Musa, "the Mountain of Moses," which is supported by local tradition, and by the authority of Ritter, Kurtz, Keil and Kalisch;Jebel Serbal, claimed by Lepsius; andRâs es Sufsafeh, supported by Robinson, Dean Stanley, and the most of recent travelers. This is a granite cliff standing above the plain so boldly that one may walk up and lay a hand upon its wall, which rises 1,500 feet above the plain, and 6,500 feet above the sea. The plain in front of it is calleder Rahah, and is 2,300 yards long and 900 yards wide, sufficiently large for the presence of all the Israelites before the mount, without including another plain on the northeast, branching fromer Rahah, and calledWady esh Sheikh. It is situated in a vast and dreary desert, occupied for the most part by hordes of Arabs, who subsist by plunder, and render the journey to Sinai impossible except to large and well defended caravans.
3. Between the mountains and the western arm of the Red Sea lies a narrow plain, following the line of the coast. On the northwestern section it was called the Wilderness of Etham; opposite the Sinaitic group of mountains, the Wilderness of Sin. This lower portion is now calledel Kaa.
LANDS OF THE SOJOURN AND WANDERING. and VICINITY OF MOUNT SINAI.
4. From the head of the Gulf of Akaba (Ælanitic Gulf) a gorge extends nearly northward to the Dead Sea, an extension of the Jordan Valley, the Arabah, called in the history the Wilderness of Zin. It lies between the mountain chain on the east of the Wilderness of Paran (et Tih) and Mount Seir, the home of the Edomites. The opinion held by many early writers, that the Jordanonce flowed through this depression into the Red Sea, may be correct as regards a past geologic period, but not as an historical fact; for it is evident that no great change has taken place in this region within the limit of historical time. Opposite the traditional Mount Hor the bed of the valley is about 500 feet above the sea-level; and from this point it slopes northward to the Dead Sea, 1,300 feet below the sea-level, and southward to the Gulf of Akaba.
5. The Negeb, or South Country, has already been described. (Seep. 32.) The southern section of this region belongs to the Wilderness of the Wandering, from Mount Halak northward.
III.Inhabitants.The only inhabitants of this region at the time of the Israelite Wandering were the Amalekites, who roamed throughout the desert of Paran. Their origin is uncertain; and they may have belonged to the same stock with the earliest inhabitants of Canaan, as they were a distinct tribe in the times of Abraham. (Gen. 14.) They were the bitter enemies of Israel during all the period of the Wandering, attacking their rear, and destroying detached companies of them on their march. (Deut. 25:18.) The only pitched battle with them took place at Rephidim, near Mount Sinai, when they were defeated by Israel; but they attacked the Israelites again at Hormah, and inflicted serious injury. Long afterward their power was broken by Saul (1 Sam. 15), and their destruction was completed by David. (1 Sam. 27 and 30.)
OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
I.Situation.Triangle (Menzaleh, Dead Sea, Ras Mohammed). Boundaries. North (Mediterranean Sea, Philistines, Negeb); Southeast (Arabah, Akaba); Southwest (Isthmus and Gulf of Suez). 200 miles east and west; 225 north and south.
II.Natural Features.Table-Land (Paran, Shur); Sinaitic Mountains (Horeb and Sinai); Plain (Etham, Sin); Arabah (Zin); Negeb (Mount Halak).
III.Inhabitants.Amalekites (Rephidim, Hormah).
I.Boundaries.The country of Edom, or of the Edomites, lay south of that of the Moabites, the boundary between them being the brook Zered (Wady el Ahsy), which flows into the southern lagoon of the Dead Sea. On the east it extended to the great Arabian desert, in that section supposed to be the "land of the Temanites." On the south its border was the country of the Midianites, and the head of the Gulf of Akaba. The western boundary was the Arabah, or sunken ravine running northward between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. There is, however, an opinion gaining ground, that "the field of Edom" extended somewhat to the west of the Arabah, and south of Palestine.
II.Names.The earliest name of this country, and one often used throughout Bible history, was Mount Seir, "the rugged," from its rough, mountainous nature. This was the name of its earliest inhabitants, "the sons of Seir the Horite." (Gen. 36:20.) Afterward it was possessed by the descendants of Esau, and called Edom, "red," from the "red pottage" for which Esau sold his birthright. Probably the red color of its sandstone mountains also aided to fix the name. In the New Testament time the word received a Greek form, and became Idumea. Josephus called it Geballene, "mountainous." At present it is divided into two sections, each having a different name; north of Petra being calledJebal, and south,esh Sherah.
III.Natural Features.Edom is emphatically a land of mountains. On the west, along the side of the Arabah, is a line of low limestone hills. Back of these rise higher, igneous rocks, surmounted by variegated sandstone, of peculiar color, 2,000 feet high. The eastern side of the mountains slopes gently away into the Arabian desert. But, though rough, the land is rich, and the terraced hill-sides have in all ages been bright with vegetation, and its people have been prosperous. So the blessing of Esau (Gen. 27:39, 40) has been fulfilled in a land of "the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven." Its capital during the Old Testament period was Bozrah (nowBusireh), near its northern border. Afterward, Sela, thePetraof remarkable rock-hewn buildings, arose to prominence. Ezion-geber, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, was its seaport.
IV.History.Mount Seir was first settled by the Horites, or Horim, like the inhabitants of Palestine a people of unknown origin. During the later patriarchal age it was conquered and possessed by Esau, the brother of Jacob, and ever after occupied by his descendants, the Edomites. The refusal of this people to allow the Israelites to journey through their territory compelled them to make a long detour around Edom on the south and east, and enter Palestine by the land of the Moabites. During the period of the Judges the Edomites are not mentioned; but they were beaten by Saul, and thoroughly conquered by David, after a severe struggle. At the division of the kingdom, B.C. 935, Edom was held by Judah. Its people rebelled in the time of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, and, although defeated by Judah, were able to maintain their independence. They joined the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar in the destruction of Jerusalem, for which the later prophecies and psalms gave them bitter denunciations. About the time of the captivity, B.C. 587-536, the Edomites gained possession of most of the country south of Judah, extending even to the confines of Egypt. But they lost their own land, Mount Seir, which became the possession of the Nabatheans. These were a race, perhaps allied to the Arabians, who laid aside their nomad habits, and founded a kingdom, whose people grew rich by the caravan trade. The Edomites, or Idumeans, south of Palestine, were conquered by the Maccabean princes and incorporated with the Jews, B.C. 130, and the Nabathean kingdom was annexed to the Roman empire, A.D. 105.
V.Peculiarities.The Edomites, though descended from the stock of Abraham, adopted the idolatry of the Canaanites, with whom they had intermarried. Buttheir most remarkable feature, as a nation, was that of dwelling in caves. The mountains of Idumea are of soft sandstone, easily wrought, and are penetrated with caves and grottoes, which were used, not like those of other nations, for burial places, but for residence. The rock-hewn temples, palaces and homes of Petra, so well known to travelers, are magnificent in appearance. The custom probably arose from the fear of robbers, and from the ease with which the caves could be excavated in the sandstone rock.
OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
1.Boundaries.Moab; Desert: Midianites; Arabah.
2.Names.Seir, Edom, Idumea, Geballene, Jebal and esh Sherah.
3.Natural Features.Mountains; Soil; Capitals (Bozrah, Petra).
4.History.Horites; Esau; Edomites; Israelite Supremacy; Chaldeans; Nabatheans; Maccabeans; Romans.
5.Peculiarities.Religion; Rock Houses.
There are great difficulties in fixing the location of the places and the order of events in the history of the forty years which intervened between the exodus, or "going out," from Egypt, and the entrance into the Promised Land (B.C. 1250-1210). These difficulties arise from various causes: the antiquity of the events, the fragmentary character of the history, the extent of the country, our scanty knowledge of the region, and especially the changes which have taken place in the sea-coast during the 3,000 years past. While the general course of the journey can be easily defined, the particular localities are, in many instances, exceedingly uncertain. For the convenience of the student, we divide the entire journey from Egypt to Canaan into sections.
I.From Rameses to the Red Sea.(Exod. 12-14; Num. 33:5-8.) The sojourn of the Israelites was passed in the Land of Goshen, between the Nile and the Isthmus of Suez. The court of the reigning Pharaoh during the time while Moses was negotiating for the departure of the Israelites, was at Zoan, or Tanis (Psa. 78:12), the royal city of the Delta. Rameses, the place of meeting for the Israelites, was probably a district rather than a city (Gen. 47:8), but may have been atAbu Kesheib. Pithom (Exod. 1:11) has been discovered atTell Maskutor, ten miles west of Lake Timsah. Succoth, "booths" or "tents," was probably not a city but a camp, and its location is unknown. Etham, "wall" (Exod. 13:20), may indicate a place near the great wall which extended across the isthmus. Pi-hahiroth may be atAgrud, near Suez. Baal-zephon may be the mountainJebel Alaka. The Israelites crossed the sea at the narrow Strait of Suez, where the distance from shore to shore is about two-thirds of a mile. At that time the gulf probably extended several miles north of its present position. The northeast wind drove out the waters, leaving a path across the gulf, with pools on either side, as a "wall" or defense to the crossing Israelites.
II.From the Red Sea to Mount Sinai.(Exod. 15-19; Num. 33:8-15.) The general direction can be traced with certainty, but the precise places of encampment are only conjectural. It is probable that so vast a body of people, about two millions, must have occupied a large extent of territory, and the "stations" were the various headquarters of the camp. This section of the journey was mostly spent in the two narrow plains along the coast, the Wilderness (or desert) of Etham, and that of Sin. At Marah (AinHawârah) the bitter waters were healed; at Elim (Wady Ghurundel) they were refreshed by the "twelve wells and three-score and ten palm trees." At the next station, No. 9, "the encampment at the Red Sea," they saw for the last time the waters of the western gulf, and the land of Egypt beyond them. Here they turned eastward, and, passing the mountain barrier, entered the Wilderness of Sin. (This is to be distinguished from the Wilderness of Zin, or the Arabah, on the eastern side of the peninsula.) In this wild and barren country, food failed them, and the manna began to be supplied (Exod. 16), to last for forty years. Their general course was now eastward, through thewadies, or dry beds of winter torrents. At Rephidim (station 13) two events are recorded as occurring. The want of water led to a miraculous supply from the smitten rock (Exod. 17:2-7); and the Israelites fought the first battle in their history, with the wandering Amalekites, who attacked the rear of the scattered host. Under Joshua, who here appears for the first time, they were defeated, and devoted to complete destruction. (Exod. 17:8-16; Deut. 25:18.) The next station was Mount Sinai, in front of which they encamped, probably on the plainer Rahah. Their journey thus far had occupied two months and a half, and here they remained for a year. The principal events at Mount Sinai were: 1. The giving of the law. (Exod. 19-31.) 2. The worship of the golden calf, and its punishment. (Exod. 32.) 3. The building and consecration of the Tabernacle. (Exod. 35-40.) 4. The numbering and organization of the people. (Num. 1-2.)
III.From Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea.After a year spent at and around Mount Sinai, the camp was taken up, and the host, led by the Ark of the Covenant, entered once more upon its march. The direction of the journey was northeast, and the route was probably through theWady Saal. At Taberah (station 15), the "fire of the Lord" consumed some on the verge of the camp who murmured against God's commands. (Num. 11:1-3.) At Kibroth-hattaavah (station 16), (perhaps the same place with the preceding), a dislike of the manna and a lust for flesh-meat seized the crowd of people, and for a month they fed upon quails, but were punished by a plague, which destroyed multitudes, and gave a name to the place, "the graves of lust." (Num. 11:4-35.) At Hazeroth (probablyAin Hudherah), Miriam instigated Aaron to a rebellion against Moses, but was smitten with leprosy, though healed at the prayer of Moses. (Num. 12:1-16.) The Israelites followed the mountain chain by the Red Sea, keeping upon the western side of the hills, and, passing through the edge of the Wilderness ofParan and along the Arabah, followed up the line of the "Mount of the Amorites" (which appears to have been a general name for the mountains in the southern portion of the Negeb, or South Country), until they came to Kadesh-barnea. The location of this place is the great difficulty in the geography of the period. The name appears to be used with reference to a region, and more definitely referring to a place. Three localities have been claimed, all on the border of the "Mount of the Amorites," or the South Country. The most southerly location is that now known asAin esh Shehabeh, on theWady Jerafeh; the most westerly, atAin Gadis, orQuadis, directly south of the land of Judah; the one farthest to the north and east, atAin el Weibeh, in the edge of the Arabah, south of the Dead Sea. The latter has been regarded by most explorers since Dr. Robinson, as the correct site, and as it appears on the older maps. But the Rev. J. Rowlands, on a journey through the entire region, identifiedAin Quadisas the true Kadesh-barnea, and his conclusion was confirmed by Dr. H. C. Trumbull after a thorough investigation of all the three places. It is now accepted by most writers. We have therefore regardedAin Quadisas Kadesh-barnea, and have made it the center of Israelite journeying during the thirty-eight years of the wandering. The change in the location of Kadesh-barnea may necessitate a change in the location of Mount Hor, which Trumbull places atJebel Maderah, but we have retained the old locality on the edge of Edom. Twice the Israelites were encamped at Kadesh, which marked the beginning and end of the thirty-eight years' wandering in the Wilderness of Paran. From Kadesh the twelve spies were sent northward into the Land of Canaan, and the adverse report of ten of them caused such terror and rebellion in the host, that God declared that they should not enter the Promised Land until all that generation should have passed away. (Num. 13, 14.) They were ordered to turn back into the wilderness, but disobeyed, and, against their leaders' advice, undertook to force a passage to Canaan, probably up the passes Sufa. But the inhabitants of the mountains (Amorites, Canaanites, and Amalekites in alliance) attacked them to their utter defeat at Hormah, and effectually barred their entrance to the land through the South Country, as the warlike Philistines had closed it against them by the way of the plain by the sea. (Exod. 13:17.) Discouraged and despairing, the host of Israel again turned their faces once more toward the terrible Wilderness of Paran.
IV., V., VI.From Kadesh-barnea to Mount Hor, Ezion-geber, and Return.The period of the next thirty-eight years remains in shadow. Scarcely an event is named which certainly belongs to this division, the longest by far in the journey. In the history at Num. 14:45, there is a break in the record, and other topics are referred to until we find the people at Kadesh once more, at the end of the 38 years, in chapter 20; and the list of stations in Num. 33:18-36, is only a barren catalogue of 18 places, in which not one is clearly recognized, and only two or three can be even guessed at. Some have thought that the entire period was spent in the Arabah, wandering up and down, as two of the stations plainly belong there. But it is more probable that the people wandered over the borders between the Negeb (South Country) and the Wilderness of Paran. For convenience we may subdivide this period of wandering into its three journeys. From Kadesh, through 12 unknown stations, to Moseroth, which is afterward named in the account of Aaron's death (Deut. 10:6), showing that it was near Mount Hor. This is indicated on the Map as Journey IV. Journey V. was from Mount Hor down the Arabah southward to Ezion-geber, at the head of the Ælanitic Gulf. Journey VI. was once more through the Arabah, northward to Kadesh-barnea, completing the period of the punishment for the rebellion of 38 years before. Here three events took place. 1. The rock was smitten by Moses, when God had bidden him speak to it, in order to bring forth water; and, as a penalty, he was not permitted to enter Canaan. (Num. 20:1-13.) 2. The Israelites asked of the Edomites (on whose western border they were encamped at Kadesh), the privilege of crossing their territory on their journey to Canaan, but their request was denied. 3. Soon after this, the king of the Canaanite city of Arad, in the Negeb, or South Country, 20 miles south of Hebron, hearing of Israel's approach by the same route as that of the spies, 38 years before, went out to meet the invading host. He was repulsed near the same place where Israel had suffered a defeat before, and which was thenceforth called Hormah, "destruction." (Num. 21:1-3.)
CAMP OF ISRAEL.
VII., VIII.From Kadesh-barnea to Elath and Jordan.The Israelites were now ready to enter their Land of Promise. But, as the entrance by the south was found impracticable, and the Edomites would not permit them to cross their mountains, a long detour became necessary; so for a third time they took theirjourney through the Arabah. This we have indicated on the map as No. VII. They paused before Mount Hor, while Aaron left them, to ascend the mountain and to die. The peak still bears his name,Jebel Haroun. So according to most travelers; but Trumbull locates Mount Hor in the Negeb. At Ezion-geber and Elath (stations 43 and 44), they saw once more the Red Sea, at its eastern arm. On this journey, too, but whether before or after passing the Red Sea, is uncertain, they were plagued by serpents, and "the brazen serpent" was lifted up by Moses. (Num. 21:4-9.) At last the southern point of Mount Seir was reached and passed, and now for the last time (Journey VIII.) the Israelites turned their faces northward. They traveled through the land of Teman, between Edom and the Arabian desert. At the brook Zered (Wady el Ahsy), station 49, they entered the land of Moab, which they crossed in safety (Num. 21:11); and at the brook Arnon they came into the country of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who came against them, and was defeated and slain at Jahaz. (Num. 21:12-31.) The Amorites of Bashan on the north were ruled by the giant Og, a descendant of the ancient Rephaim. (Seepage 37.) His land was conquered and himself slain in a decisive battle at Edrei. From the heights of Abarim (station 57) they descended to the Jordan Valley, and encamped at their last station (No. 58) before entering the Land of Promise, on the eastern bank of the Jordan, opposite Jericho. Here occurred: 1. The episode of Balaam's prophecy. (Num. 22-24.) 2. The iniquity of Israel with the women of Moab, and the plague on the people as a result. (Num. 25:1-18.) 3. The numbering of Israel. (Num. 26.) 4. The campaigns against the Moabites and Midianites. (Num. 31.) 5. The allotment to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. (Num. 32.) 6. The repetition of the law and the recapitulation of the journeys, in the book of Deuteronomy. 7. Last of all, the ascent of Moses up the height of Nebo, his prophetic view of the Promised Land, and his lonely death. (Deut. 34.)
mapKADESH-BARNEA AND VICINITY.(According toDr. Trumbull.)
I.From Rameses to the Red Sea.Station.Identification.Exod.Num.Deut.1. RamesesAbu Kesheib12:3733: 32. SuccothUnknown12:3733: 53. EthamUnknown13:2033: 64. Pi-hahirothBir Suweis14: 233: 75. Red Sea14:2233: 8II.From the Red Sea to Mount Sinai.Station.Identification.Exod.Num.Deut.6. Desert of Shur, or of EthamShore of Red Sea15:2233: 87. MarahAin Hawârah15:2333: 88. ElimWady Ghurundel15:2733: 99. Red SeaWady Taiyibeh33:1010. Desert of SinEl Murkîyeh(?)16: 133:1111. DophkahAin Markhâ(?)33:1212. AlushUncertain33:1313. RephidimWady Feiran17: 133:1414. SinaiPlain er Râhah19: 133:15III.From Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea.Station.Identification.Num.Num.Deut.15. TaberahWady Sâal(?)11: 39:2216. Kibroth-hattaavahErweis el Ebeirig11:3433:1617. HazerothAin Hudherah11:3533:1718. Mount of the AmoritesJebel Magrah(?)1:1919. Kadesh-barneaAin el Weibeh(?)13:261:19IV.From Kadesh-barnea to Mount Hor.Station.Identification.Num.Num.Deut.20. RithmahUncertain33:1821. Rimmon-parezUncertain33:1922. LibnahUncertain33:2023. RissahUncertain33:2124. KehelathahUncertain33:2225. Mount ShapherJebel Araif(?)33:2326. HaradahUncertain33:2427. MakhelothUncertain33:2528. TahathUncertain33:2629. TarahUncertain33:2730. MithcahUncertain33:2831. HashmonahUncertain33:2932. MoserothMount Hor33:30V.From Mount Hor to Ezion-geber.Station.Identification.Num.Num.Deut.33. Bene-jaakanArabah33:3134. Hor-hagidgadWady Ghudhaghidh33:3235. JotbathahEmshâsh(?)33:3336. EbronahUncertain33:3437. Ezion-geberGulf of Akabah33:35VI.From Ezion-geber to Kadesh-barnea.Station.Identification.Num.Num.Deut.38. Kadesh-barneaAin Quadis20: 133:36VII.From Kadesh-barnea to Elath.Station.Identification.Num.Num.Deut.39. Bene-jaakanArabah10: 640. MoseraMount Hor20:2233:3710: 641. GudgodahWady Ghudhaghidh10: 742. JotbathUncertain10: 743. Ezion-geberGulf of Akaba21: 42: 844. ElathAkabah2: 8VIII.From Elath to Jordan.Station.Identification.Num.Num.Deut.45. ZalmonahWady Amran(?)33:4146. PunonUncertain33:4247. ObothUncertain21:1033:4348. Ije-abarimUncertain21:1133:4449. ZeredWady el Ahsy21:1210:1350. ArnonWady Môjeb21:1310:2451. Dibon-gadDhibân33:4552. Almon-diblathaimUncertain33:4653. BeerUncertain21:1654. MattanahUncertain21:1855. NahalielUncertain21:1956. BamothUncertain21:1957. Abarim, Nebo, or PisgahJebel Neba21:2033:4758. Plains of Moab, or JordanGhôr en Nimrîn22: 133:48
black and white paintingGARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.
Beth-horon and Vicinity. and CONQUEST OF CANAAN.
Afterthe forty years of the Wandering came the seven years of the Conquest. Yet it is true, that in the complete sense the conquest began before the Israelites crossed the Jordan under Joshua, and was not finished until long after the period of the Judges. As Dean Stanley says: "The conquest began from the passage of the brook Zered, under Moses; it was not finally closed till the capture of Jerusalem by David. But in a more limited sense it may be confined to the period during which the territory, afterward known by the name of Palestine, was definitively occupied as their own by the Israelites." The map onpage 36shows us the territorial divisions of the land before the conquest; the one which we are now studying presents the campaigns by which it was won. These may be divided into three sections. 1. The conquest of the territory on the east of the Jordan, in three campaigns, during the rule of Moses. 2. The conquest of that on the west of the Jordan, under the leadership of Joshua, in three campaigns. 3. A series of supplementary conquests completing the work of subjugation.
paintingSHECHEM.
This region was occupied, at the time of the arrival of the Israelites, by the Moabites between the brooks Zered and Arnon, and by the Amorites north of the Arnon. The latter people were divided into two kingdoms. The land of Gilead was ruled by King Sihon, whose capital was at Heshbon; and the table-land of Bashan by Og, a remnant of the old race of the Rephaim. Tributary to Sihon, and on the border of the Arabian desert, were the Midianites (Josh. 13:21); and near the Moabites were their nomadic kinsmen, the Ammonites.
1.The Conquest of Gilead.(Num. 21:21-31.) The Amorites, under Sihon, had wrested from the Moabites the land between the Arnon and the Jabbok, a short time before the coming of Israel. Moses sent messengers, requesting the privilege of journeying through their land; but they refused to permit the passage of such a vast host, and came out to meet the Israelites in battle at Jahaz, near their border, at the brook Arnon. They were defeated, and their whole land was conquered, including their own territory north of the Jabbok, as well as their Moabite possessions south of it. Thus the Israelites obtained, as their first foothold, the rich region of the eastern table-land, from the Arnon to the Hieromax.
2.The Conquest of Bashan.(Num. 21:32-35.) The success of the war with one nation of the Amorites encouraged the Israelites to cross the Hieromax and undertake the conquest of the rich pasture fields of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, whose capital was at the ancient city of his race, Ashteroth Karnaim. There is some evidence to indicate that the leader in this campaign was Nobah, of the tribe of Manasseh. (Num. 32:42.) A decisive battle was fought at Edrei, at the entrance to theLedja, or mountainous district; and Og was slain, and his kingdom possessed by Israel. Its western portion, including Kenath and its vicinity, was given to Nobah, who named the region after himself. (Num. 32:42; Judges 8:11.)
3.The Conquest of Midian.(Num. 25 and 31.) While the Israelites were encamped on the plain of Jordan, opposite Jericho, their last station, called Shittim (Num. 25:1), a league was formed by the Moabites and Midianites to resist their advance. Balaam, the Mesopotamian seer, was summoned to aid them by his cursesagainst Israel; but his words were turned to blessing. (Num. 22-24.) Fearing the result of open war, the allied nations now undertook to corrupt Israel by their friendship and the seductions of their women; and they succeeded to such an extent that multitudes of the people perished by a plague which fell upon the nation as a penalty. The Moabites were punished by exclusion for ten generations from the privileges of Israel (Deut. 23:3, 4), and by the loss of that portion of their territory already taken from the Amorites. The Midianites, evidently the guiltier nation, were doomed to utter destruction. The campaign against them was regarded as a sacred war, and Phinehas the priest took command of the army. The entire people were laid under the ban, and the portion of them east of the Jordan were thoroughly annihilated. This was, however, only a small section of the great tribe of Midian, whose principal home was on the eastern shore of the Red Sea, south of the Edomites; and their former home near Moab was again repopulated, and, some centuries afterward, gave new trouble to Israel.
The entire country east of the Jordan and north of the brook Arnon was thus conquered by the Israelites before the death of Moses. It was assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, as their home, upon condition that their warriors should accompany the rest of the tribes in the conquest of Western Palestine. (Num. 32.) Their boundaries will be noticed in connection with the map of Israel, as divided among the Twelve Tribes.
This was undertaken by Joshua after the death of Moses, and, as far as can be ascertained from the record, was accomplished in three campaigns. The war began with the passage of the Jordan, B.C. 1210, and, so far as active hostilities were concerned, was finished in seven years. But the great mass of the native population remained upon the soil, to plague the Chosen People by the influence of their wickedness, so that the conquest was never thoroughly completed. Indeed, some writers think that the inhabitants of Palestine at the present time belong mainly to the old Canaanite stock, which has perpetuated itself under all the changes of government.
1.The Conquest of Central Palestine.(Josh. 3-8.) According to the account in the book of Joshua, this was a brief campaign; but the Samaritan records relate a series of supplementary sieges and battles, which would indicate that the war may have been longer than appears. Still, there are evidences that the Hivites and Perizzites, who occupied most of this district, were peaceful peoples, readily yielding to the conquerors, so that the resistance was less stubborn than in other sections. The war began with the passage of the Jordan, an event ever kept in mind as the entrance of the people upon their own land. They pitched their camp at Gilgal, in the Jordan Valley, and fortified the place as a permanent headquarters during the entire period of conquest. (Josh. 5.) Jericho was first taken, by supernatural aid, and devoted to God as the first fruits of conquest. (Josh. 6.) An act of trespass against God by Achan, caused a defeat at Ai (near Bethel), the next place attacked; but the sin was punished, and, by a stratagem and ambush, Ai was taken. They then marched northward to Shechem, an ancient Hivite city, of which the last previous account is its destruction by the sons of Jacob. (Gen. 34.) It may not have been rebuilt, as we find at this time the Hivites occupying a number of towns at a distance from it (Gibeon and others, Josh. 9); or it may have submitted to the overwhelming power of Israel. In the Vale of Shechem, between the mountains Ebal and Gerizim, all the Israelites were assembled, the law was read in their hearing, and memorial stones were erected. After this, the Hivites of four villages, of which Gibeon was the most important, by means of a deception made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, and obtained a pledge of protection; being the only nation in all the land formally spared from destruction. Their deceit was soon discovered; but the word of Israel was kept, though the people of the four villages were reduced to the condition of "servants of the sanctuary,"i. e., employed in the menial duties of the Tabernacle. The central portion of the land was now possessed by Israel, from Jericho and Gibeon northward to the Carmel range of mountains, and the army returned to the fortified camp at Gilgal. (Josh. 9.)