Geological History.The great gorge of the Jordan and Dead Sea valley is the most striking natural phenomenon in Palestine. No place on the face of the earth has had a more dramatic geological history. As has already been noted (p. 14), this great rift which runs from northern Syria to the Red Sea was probably formed in the latter part of the Pliocene Age. At the northern end of the Dead Sea its bed reaches a depth of nearly one-half a mile beneath the ocean level. It is thus by far the deepest depression on the face of the earth. During the Pluvial period this huge rift was filled with water, making a large inland sea, fully two hundred miles long, with its surface nearly one hundred feet above the ocean level. Apparently the higher land to the south of the present Dead Sea cut off the ocean, so that at the first it was a fresh-water lake. During the Interglacial period, possibly in part as the result of volcanic changes, it fell to a level of not more than three hundred feet above the present surface of the Dead Sea. It was during this period and the ice age that followed that the deposits were made on the side of the valley, which have given it its present terraced form.
Evidences of Volcanic Action.From the Pluvial period to the present the valley has been the scene of frequent volcanic disturbances. The water, sinking through the great rifts and subterranean passages, and being transformed by the heat into steam, forced up great masses of lava, which may be traced at many points on the heights both to the east and to the west of the Jordan valley. Earthquakes, many of them severe, are still common in this volcanic region. That of 1837destroyed the city of Safed, killing one thousand of its inhabitants. In recent years severe shocks were felt in June, 1896, January, 1900, March and December, 1903. Many copious, hot, mineral springs still bear testimony to the presence of volcanic forces. Those near Tiberias, on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee and in the Wady Zerka Ma'in, east of the Dead Sea, have a temperature of about 144°, while the waters of El-Hammeh in the Yarmuk Valley vary in temperature from about 93° to 110.° These springs are strongly impregnated with mineral salts and it is from these and similar sources that the salts have come that make the waters of the Dead Sea what they are to-day, heavy and far more saline than the ocean itself.
Natural Divisions.The Jordan and Dead Sea valley falls into four natural divisions: (1) the upper Jordan, from Mount Hermon to the Sea of Galilee, (2) the Sea of Galilee, (3) the lower Jordan, and (4) the Dead Sea. At its northernmost point rises Mount Hermon, called by the natives Jebel es-Sheik, that is, Mountain of the White-haired.
Mount Hermon.Hermon is in reality a massive mountain plateau, twenty miles long from northeast to southwest. Like most of the mountains of Palestine, it is of hard limestone, covered at places with soft chalk. On its northern side the vineyards run up to a height of almost five thousand feet.(27)Above are found scattered oaks, almond and dwarf juniper trees. The mountain rises to the height of nine thousand and fifty feet and is crowned by three peaks.(28)The northern and southern peaks are about the same height, while the western, separated from the others by a depression, is about one hundred feet lower. Mount Hermon commands a marvellous view of almost the entire land of Palestine. From the masses of snow which cover its broad top far into the summer and lie in its ravines throughout the year, come the copious waters of the upper Jordan. Its sources spring from the western and southern bases of Mount Hermon fully developed streams. Three-fourths of the waters of Mount Hermon thus find their way down the deep gorge of the Jordan.
Source of the Jordan at Banias.One of the two main sources of the Jordan is at Banias, the Cæsarea Philippi of New Testament times. About one hundred feet beneath an ancient grotto in the side of a sheer cliff, the stream pours forth from the rocks and goes rushing down through thickets of trees and the gardens which are irrigated by its waters.(29)By Josephus and other ancient writers the springs at Banias were regarded as the true source of the Jordan. Here the ancient Canaanites apparently reared a sanctuary to the god of the stream and later the Greeks built a temple to Pan, from whence comes, with the change of the initial letter, the modern name of Banias, or City of Pan. Here also Herod reared a temple which was one of the glories of the Roman city.
At Tell el-Kadi.The largest source of the Jordan is on the western side of the mound now known as Tell el-Kadi. A stream about ten feet wide flows directly from the rock and is joined by a smaller confluent a little to the south, forming the so-called El-Leddan. The imposing mound of Tell el-Kadi, lying at the head of the Jordan Valley and commanding the highway that leads to Banias, and thence across the eastern spurs of Mount Hermon to Damascus, is probably the site of the Canaanite Laish, later the Hebrew Dan.
The Western Confluents.A mile and a half further to the south the two eastern sources of the Jordan are joined by the Hasbany. This stream springs from a pool on the western side of Mount Hermon and thence flows southward through the broad plain on the west of the mountain from which it sprang. The fourth source of the Jordan, the Nahr Bareighit, the least important of the four, rising not far from the River Litany, comes down through a valley to the northwest.
The Upper Jordan Valley.During the first part of its descent to the Dead Sea, the Jordan winds leisurely through a valley about five miles wide, flanked by hills rising to between fifteen hundred and two thousand feet.(30)Its northernmost part, under the shadow of Mount Hermon, is plentifully strewn with stones, but a few miles below Tell el-Kadi fertile grainfields appear, watered by copious springs. The Jewish colonists on the northwestern edge of the Jordan valley, are beginning to cultivate these meadows, again demonstrating how fertile they are. Six miles above Lake Huleh the river loses itself in reedy marshes(31)and finally empties into the lake through six different channels. Here the papyrus grows in great profusion. Lake Huleh itself, four miles long, is little more than a great malarial marsh, formed by the temporary stopping of the river by the eastern and western hills, which here approach within three or four miles of each other.
The Rapid Descent to the Sea of Galilee.From Banias to Lake Huleh the Jordan descends over one thousand feet and in the eleven miles from the lake to the Sea of Galilee it plunges downward six hundred and ninety feet. These occasional pauses, followed by sudden plunges, have given the river its name, the Jordan, which means the Descender. A little below Lake Huleh, the valley of the Jordan narrows into a rocky gorge. Through this rocky chasm, hemmed in by steep cliffs on both sides, the Jordan plunges in continuous cascades until it reaches the delta which it has formed at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee.At Lake Huleh the waters of the Jordan are seven feet above the ocean level, but at the Sea of Galilee six hundred and eighty-two feet below. The Sea of Galilee is a pear-shaped lake, twelve and one-half miles in length and eight in width, encircled by bold limestone cliffs.(32)Its greatest depth, which is in the north, is seven hundred and fifty feet. Its blue, clear waters, bathed in sunshine, and the soft, warm breezes that blow across the lake, make it in spring-time, and even in winter, one of the most delightful spots in all the world. In the summer, however, its atmosphere is hot and sultry, and at many points malarial. Ordinarily, the ocean winds blow high above the Sea of Galilee without affecting its hot, tropical climate, but occasionally they pour down through the valleys, especially to the north and northwest, suddenly transforming these quiet waters into a tempestuous sea.
Its Shores.On the east rise the steep, now barren but probably once tree-clad, limestone hills of the Jaulan, capped by vast layers of black basalt, towering in the distance like huge battlements. They stand back, however, from the lake, leaving a shore averaging one-half mile in width. On the north the Jordan has worn down the hills, which here descend gradually in wild, stony moorlands, covered with thorns and rough grasses. To the northwest opens the fertile plain of Gennesaret,(33)four miles wide, watered by dashing mountain brooks and flanked by the high hills of upper Galilee. The industry of German colonists is again beginning to demonstrate the marvellous fertility of this fair plain, where the fruits and grains of tropical and temperate climes grow side by side. On the western side of the lake the hills descend in terraces, leaving a narrow strip of shore, connected with the uplands by one or two shallow valleys. To the south the shore broadens and the hills recede until they are four miles apart at the southern end,(34)where the Jordan leaves the Sea of Galilee.
From the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.The distance from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea in a straight line is only sixty-five miles, but, owing to its constant turnings, the actual course of the river measures nearly two hundred miles. In this last plunge the river descends more than one thousand feet. Its descent is more rapid in the upper part of its course. A little below the Sea of Galilee it receives its largest confluent, the River Yarmuk, which breaks through the heights of the Hauran to the east. The volume of the water thus poured in nearly equals that of the Jordan itself at this point. Further south the Brook Jalûd comes down on the west from the Plain of Jezreel past Bethshean. About twenty miles from its mouth, the Jordan receives the waters from the Jabbok, which descends from the heights of Gilead on the east, and from the Wady Farah, which comes from the vicinity of Shechem on the west.
Character of the Valley.Below the Sea of Galilee the Jordan valley, at first but four miles wide, gradually broadensuntil it is eight miles in width opposite Bethshean, where the valley of Jezreel joins that of the Jordan. Most of the land in this part of the Jordan valley, immediately below the Sea of Galilee, is tillable. The ruins of ancient aqueducts indicate that the streams that come down from the hillsides were once used for irrigation. The valley is again being in part reclaimed by Jewish colonists. Ten miles south of Bethshean the Samaritan headlands crowd close to the Jordan, so that the valley is only three miles in width. Where the Jabbok and Wady Farah join the Jordan the valley again broadens until, opposite Jericho, it is fourteen miles in width.(35)Most of this lower Jordan valley is a parched desert covered by low bushes and desert plants, except where the streams from the highlands are used for irrigation. Fertile fields are thus reclaimed where the Wady Nimrin and the Wady el-Kefrein come from the eastern hills opposite Jericho. At Jericho itself the waters of the Wady Kelt and those of the famous Fountain of Elisha are utilized to-day as they were in ancient times. South of Jericho, however, the soil is heavily impregnated with saline and alkaline salts, so that it extends in an almost barren waste to the northern end of the Dead Sea.
The Jordan Itself.Through this broad valley the Jordan winds, frequently changing its course, and ploughing a great furrow, called by the natives the Zôr.(36)In flood time the river is from five hundred feet to a mile wide, while in the summer it is at places not more than seventy-five or a hundred feet in width and varies in depth from three to twelve feet. At all times it is a muddy, coffee-colored stream, partaking of the color of the slimy, alluvial soil through which it flows. Its banks are covered by thickets of trees, bushes, and reeds, in which are found many wild beasts and birds. This flood channel of the Jordan is a scene of wreckage and ruin, mingled with tropical luxuriance. The lowest bed of this ancient inland lake is given up to-day, as it always was in the past, to wild beasts, to occasional fugitives, to squalid Bedouin, and to the muddy, sprawling river which here rules supreme.
Fords of the Lower Jordan.The lower course of the Jordan is now spanned by four bridges. In ancient times the dwellers in Palestine were obliged to depend entirely upon its fords, of which there are between twenty and twenty-five. One of the more important is at the point where the river leaves the Sea of Galilee and is still used as a ferry. Another is the famous ford of Abarah, a little northeast of Bethshean. The third is a little farther south, opposite the ancient Pella. Another, the Dâmieh ford, is at the mouth of the Jabbok. The fifth is northeast of Jericho just below the point where the Wady Nimrin enters the Jordan. The most famous is the Pilgrim Ford, southeast of Jericho, just below the place where the Wady Kelt joins the Jordan. Owing to the alluvial character of its banks, its rapid current, and the frequency of the floods, fed by the melting snows from the Lebanons and by the heavy storms of the winter and spring, the Jordan has always proved a river difficult to cross. Its rôle throughout all of its history has been that of a divider rather than that of a binder together of tribes and races. Throughout its course of one hundred and seven miles it is rarely navigable. Flowing, as it does, into the barren waters of the Dead Sea, the Jordan was, therefore, a check upon rather than an encouragement to commerce.
Ancient Names of the Dead Sea.The residue of the ancient inland lake is represented by the present Dead Sea. This name is comparatively modern. In the Bible it is called by various names, such as simply the Sea, the Sea of the Plain, the Eastern Sea, or the Salt Sea. To-day it is known among the Arabs as the Sea of Lot.
Its Unique Characteristics.The Dead Sea lies one thousand two hundred and ninety-two feet below the surface of the ocean.(37)It is forty-seven and a half miles long and ten miles across at its widest point. At its northeastern end, under the heights of Moab, the lake reaches to the vast depth of one thousand two hundred and seventy-eight feet. In striking contrast, the southern end of the sea is only ten to fifteen feet in depth. Its waters are so thoroughly impregnatedwith poisonous chemicals that no fish can live in them and only the lowest organisms survive. Its bitter taste is due to the presence of chloride of magnesium and the oily feeling is produced by the chloride of calcium, which it holds in solution. As is well known, the density is so great that it is practically impossible for man or beast to sink beneath its waters. In time of storm the waves beat on the shore with a heavy, metallic sound. The waters of the sea are frequently lashed by heavy thunder-storms, which linger here sometimes for hours, held in by the high, towering cliffs on either side. With few exceptions the shores of the Dead Sea are barren and strewn at places with the wreckage of trees. Its water, however, is limpid, varying from light blue to green. Owing to the proximity of the desert and the intense heat—the temperature rising in summer as high as 118°—it is the scene of a stupendous process of evaporation. It is computed that between six and eight million tons of water rise in vapor from this great natural caldron each day. Often the vapor is so dense that it obscures the landscape, but at other times it imparts a marvellous prismatic color to the huge cliffs that encircle the lake,(38)so that the combination of the blue waters, the cloudless skies, and the rich, blended reds, grays, and purples of the opalescent landscape make it one of the most sublime views in all the world.
Its Eastern Bank.On the eastern side the cliffs of Moab rise at some points almost sheer to the height of between twenty-five hundred and three thousand feet. These limestone hills are mottled with huge blotches of black limestone and basalt and are frequently capped with white, chalky rocks. They are cut by several important streams, which have worn deep canyons that extend back many miles into the Moabite hills. A few miles south of the northeastern end the Wady Zerka Ma'in flows into the sea. On its northern bank, near the sea, the famous baths of Callirrhöe burst from the rock. Farther south the River Arnon, cutting a canyon three thousand feet deep through the plateau of Moab, reaches the sea through a broad opening. Here a few scattered palms and acacias relievethe utter desolation of this eastern wall of rock. Still farther south the promontory of El-Lisan, The Tongue, as it is called by the natives, pushes out into the sea, extending to within three miles of the western shore. It is a bold mass of calcareous marl, forty to eighty feet in height, treeless and barren. In pleasing contrast with this barrenness is the oasis lying behind it, watered by the Wady el-Kerak. Here are found the four Bedouin villages which are the only towns along the coast of this desolate sea.
The Southern End.At the southern end of the Dead Sea is a slimy mud marsh, low and malarial, covered with tropical thickets which are filled with the birds and the beasts of the southern clime. Farther south is the fertile Ghôr es-Safieh. In this little oasis, lying between the sea and the wilderness, a little wheat, barley, and tobacco are grown and a dense tropical vegetation abounds. Southward for a hundred and twelve miles to the Gulf of Akaba extends the Arabah,(39)the continuation of the great rift of which the Jordan and the Dead Sea valleys are a part. Low sand-hills lie across the centre of this broad, shallow valley, making direct travel impossible. Sixty-five miles to the south the watershed is reached. This is six hundred and sixty feet above the level of the ocean, that is, nearly two thousand feet above the level of the Dead Sea. It is a land of stones, gravel, and sand,(40)with only a few trickling springs—a lonesome, forbidding region where heat, dust, and the Bedouin rule supreme to-day as they have for thousands of years.
The Western Shores.The hills on the western side of the Dead Sea, except at two points, do not come close to the margin of the water. A beach from a hundred yards to a mile in width fringes the sea on this western side. Beyond this shore the hills rise in terraces to the height of from two thousand to two thousand five hundred feet. These are white, rounded, and barren, except at Engedi, where the waters of its famous spring have developed an oasis,(41)which marks the side of the plateau with a pleasing mass of dark green. Many small wadies cut downthrough these western hills. In their beds are found a few trees and bushes, but otherwise the landscape is as bold and unrelieved by vegetation as on the east. On the southwest, at Jebel Usdum, there is a remarkable range of salt cliffs, six hundred feet high, three and three-fourth miles in length and a half mile in width. Here local tradition fixes the scene of the death of Lot's wife. Along this western shore are also found deposits of bitumen. Frequently portions of it are found floating in the waters; sometimes they catch on fire, adding to the lurid impressiveness of this mysterious valley.
Grim Associations of the Dead Sea.These are a few of the many reminders that fully justify the modern name of the Dead Sea. Its historic associations, the destruction of the wicked cities of the plain, the murder of John the Baptist at Machærus on the eastern heights, and the later massacre at Masada are all harsh and appalling. In common with the Jordan valley, this region is richly suggestive of the destructive forces of nature. Life is here grim, severe, and relentless. It is not difficult to detect in Jewish character the deep impressions made by this constant contact with the symbols of death and with these suggestions of the presence of a stern, austere God.
Form and Climate of the East-Jordan Land.The east-Jordan land of biblical history is in form an irregular triangle, with its base skirting the Jordan Valley, its northern angle at the foot of Mount Hermon, its southern a little beyond the southern end of the Dead Sea, while its third angle lies in the Druse Mountains, about seventy miles east of the Sea of Galilee. Damascus,(42)to the northwest, is just beyond the bounds of Palestine. This famous ancient city lies in the midst of a verdant oasis made by the waters of the Abana River,(43)which breaks through the eastern Lebanons and finally loses itself in the Arabian desert. The heart of the east-Jordan land is the wide, level plain watered by the tributaries of the Yarmuk River. The east-Jordan territory is a great elevated plateau, averaging fully two thousand feet in height. This southern continuation of the Anti-Lebanon mountains is a land that lies open to the sunshine and to the strong breezes that blow from the dry desert or fresh from the western sea. Its temperature, as a whole, is much colder than that of western Palestine. Frosts at night begin as early as the first of November and continue into March. Deep snows cover a large portion of it in winter. I myself have travelled in the middle of March for hours through blinding snows, two or three feet deep, up among the highlands of Gilead. In summer frequent mists sweep over the heights. At night the temperature often falls very low, and, as a result, heavy dews are deposited. Even during the day cool sea-breezes make the air thoroughly invigorating. Thus it richly deserved the reputation which it enjoyed inantiquity of being one of the most healthful regions in all the world.
Well Watered and Fertile.In contrast to western Palestine, the east-Jordan land is well supplied with springs and perennial rivers. Grass grows almost everywhere in rich profusion, even far out toward the desert. Great forests are still found in Gilead, and fruit trees that yield abundantly. East of the Jordan are the chief grain fields of Palestine, but it is pre-eminently the home of the herdsman and shepherd. Herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats dot the landscape almost everywhere from the foot of Hermon to the southern end of Moab.
The Four Great Natural Divisions.The east-Jordan land falls into four great natural divisions. The first is the Jaulan or Golan, the Gaulanitis of the Roman period, which extends from the foot of Mount Hermon to the Yarmuk River and from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee to the Nahr el-Allân, a northern tributary of the Yarmuk. To the east and southeast of the Jaulan is the second great division, the Hauran. It extends northward to the vast lava-beds of El-Lejah, and eastward to the Druse Mountains, which look out upon the desert. In certain passages of the Old Testament the term Bashan seems to have been applied to the entire region north of the Yarmuk, but its exact bounds are not clearly defined. The third division includes the mountains of Gilead, which extend from the Yarmuk to the Wady Heshbân at the northern end of the Dead Sea, and from the Jordan out to the desert beyond the territory of ancient Ammon. The fourth division is the plateau of Moab, which extends from the Wady Heshbân to the Wady el-Hesa, southeast of the Dead Sea, and from the Salt Sea to the great pilgrim road on the borders of the desert.
Characteristics of the Northern and Western Jaulan.The Jaulan slopes southward to the Yarmuk and westward to the Jordan. Its characteristic features are two parallel ranges of isolated volcanic mountains between two and four thousand feet in height extending southward from Mount Hermon.
In some of these bold peaks the outlines of the ancient craters are still visible. Tell Abu Neda, of the western range, rises to the height of nearly four thousand feet. Its crater is broken at one side and its ulterior is cultivated, producing a variety of vegetables and grains. Another peak farther south, Tell el-Faras, about three thousand one hundred feet high, has a well-preserved, round crater, which inclines to the north. From these craters in early times successive waves of lava flowed toward the Jordan valley, covering this entire region. The northern part of the Jaulan is a great rocky pasture land, strewn with black basaltic boulders. In the spring it is a mass of green, which attracts thousands of Bedouin with their flocks. In the summer it becomes dry and desolate except where a few perennial springs develop little oases. The villages are small and far apart. Inland a few wadies supply water for irrigation, but as they run westward toward the Jordan they soon cut deep torrent beds through the rocks and thus become practically useless for purposes of agriculture.
Southern and Eastern Jaulan.The southern part of the Jaulan, from a point opposite the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, is a lofty plateau. Here the volcanic rock is more broken. In this rich, dark red soil much grain is raised, especially wheat and barley. Two important streams, the Wady Semakh and the Wady Fîk, here descend to the Sea of Galilee through long deep gorges. The southeastern Jaulan is pierced by two parallel streams, the Nahr er-Rukkad and the Nahr el-Allân, which run almost due south. In their upper courses they flow on the surface of the ground, but soon sink into deep gorges which lead to the Yarmuk. The Yarmuk itself is the most commanding river of all the east-Jordan land. Its tributaries water the fertile lands of the Hauran. Like all the great rivers east of the Jordan, it has cut a deep channel through the basaltic rocks. To-day the railroad from Damascus to Haifa twists along its tortuous course between walls of rock five hundred to one thousand feet in height. The climate in this deep gorge is that of the Jordan valley itself. Oleanders, palms, andfigs grow here, overshadowed by the pines and oaks of the upland plateau. The variety of twisted and tilted limestone and volcanic rocks laid bare on its rugged sides makes it one of the wildest and most picturesque valleys in all Palestine.
Character of the Hauran.The most productive grain fields of the eastern Mediterranean are found in the Hauran or Hollow.(1)With the exception of an occasional low hill, this region is as level as a floor. The soil is a rich volcanic loam, well watered and superlatively fruitful. Unlike the Jaulan, which was once largely wooded, it is treeless, except among the mountains to the east. It is also one of the few spots in Palestine practically free from stones. Here wheat and barley and the other grains of Palestine grow in rankest profusion. The landscape is comparatively monotonous except as an occasional wady furrows its way down toward the Yarmuk or some of its tributaries. Like many regions in Palestine it is dominated by the snowy heights of Hermon, which stand out in brilliant contrast to the monotony of the plain.
Borderland of the Hauran.To the north rises, thirty or forty feet above the plain, the great lava plain of El-Lejah. It is a solid, gently undulating mass of lava, containing an area of three hundred and fifty square miles. No rivers, and only occasional springs, are found throughout this barren waste, which is penetrated only by a few footpaths. It is the ancient Trachonitis, the refuge of outlaws and robbers to-day as in the past. To the east the plain of the Hauran rises to Jebel Hauran, also known as the Druse Mountains. Three of the peaks of these eastern sentinels are between four and six thousand feet high. On the south, the Hauran gradually merges into the yellow steppes of El-Hamâd and farther west into the limestone hills of Ez-Zumleh.
Gilead.South of the Yarmuk the black basalt of the Jaulan yields to the light limestone of the west-Jordan. The entire territory of Gilead more closely resembles the western hills of Palestine than does any other part of the east-Jordan region. On the broad rolling uplands of eastern Gilead there are largegrain fields and the soil is cultivated at many other points. In the Roman period great cities, of which Gerasa(44)was the chief, testified to the rich productivity of this region, but for the most part it is the paradise of the herdsmen and the shepherd. It is a land of deep valleys, rounded hills, and frequent springs. On the northwest many small streams cut their way to the Jordan valley. The roads run up and down steep inclines where the flocks and the herds cling to the sloping hillsides. Groves of noble oaks cover the hilltops and reveal the strength inherent in the soil.
The Jabbok and Jebel Osha.The dominant factor in southern Gilead is the River Jabbok.(45)It rises among the hills not far from the Moabite border, only eighteen miles from the Jordan, and then flows northeast, past the old Ammonite capital. Thence it completes the half circle, cutting its way through the Gileadite hills to the Jordan. At some points its channel is between two and three thousand feet below the level of the plateau. It is a joyous river, rippling in flashes of sunlight over the rocks, through green glades and tangles of oleanders and rushes, a type of this happy, picturesque land of the shepherd. The centre of the half circle described by the Brook Jabbok is the Jebel Osha, the highest peak in Gilead. From its height of three thousand five hundred and ninety-five feet, practically all of Gilead is spread to the north and south and east like a great variegated carpet.
Southern Gilead.In southern Gilead the trees become fewer and fewer until south of Jebel Osha they almost disappear. In spring-time the fields are green with grass and grain, but in summer they become parched and brown. The wadies in the south, such as Wady Nimrin and Wady Heshbân, avail little for irrigation, since their channels are far beneath the level of the surrounding plateau. The region as a whole begins to take on something of the sombre color of the Dead Sea region which lies in the depths below.
Character of the Plateau of Moab.In its largest bounds Moab is a territory sixty miles long and thirty miles wide.From across the Dead Sea it looks like a high mountain range, but in reality it is simply a lofty upland plateau(46)towering above the deep gorge of the Dead Sea. Throughout most of its extent it is between two thousand five hundred and three thousand three hundred feet above the ocean level, and therefore from three thousand eight hundred to four thousand six hundred feet above the blue waters of the Dead Sea. It is a gently rolling, treeless plain; its low hilltops are crowned with the ruins of ancient cities. Only a few bushes are to be found upon these bare moors. The prevailing rock is soft cretaceous limestone, which crops out at many points. The soil of the central zone, however, which runs from north to south, averaging about ten miles in width, is exceedingly fertile. Many grain fields are found throughout this territory; but like Gilead, Moab is pre-eminently the land of the herdsman and the shepherd. In the wadies which run down to the Dead Sea thousands of camels are bred, while on the hills above are seen at every point flocks of cattle, sheep, and goats.
Its Fertility and Water Supply.In the spring-time the upland fields are masses of green, which almost conceal the stones and outcrop of rock. The marvel is that any vegetation is found in a land thus bounded, on the west by the Sea of Death and on the east by the rocky desert. Most of the streams run through deep glens and no springs are found on the surface. The explanation of the marvel is found in the high elevation of the plateau and the great process of evaporation which is ever going on in the Dead Sea basin below. The west winds from the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea come laden with moisture, which they deposit in the winter and spring in drenching rains, and throughout the year in heavy dews at night.
Its Mountains.The mountains of Moab are little more than hills rising a few hundred feet above the rolling upland. The so-called mountains of the Abarim are simply the wild, rocky hills and promontories which rise rapidly from the Dead Sea.(47)Seen from across the Dead Sea they have the appearance of mountains. They skirt the eastern side of the lower Jordanand Dead Sea, running eastward nine or ten miles to meet the fields of Moab on the heights. This region corresponds to the wilderness of Judea across the sea on the west. Mount Nebo, which now bears the name Neba, is a flat tongue of land two thousand six hundred and forty-three feet above the ocean level, running out two miles westward from the main plateau. It overlooks the northern end of the Dead Sea, which is nearly four thousand feet below. It commands a marvellous view up the Jordan valley, between the lofty heights of Gilead on the right and the hills of Samaria and Judah on the left. Farther inland and to the south is the loftier peak of Jebel Attarus. The chief mountain south of the Arnon is Jebel Shihan, which rises to the height of two thousand seven hundred and eighty feet above the ocean level.
Its Rivers.The most striking features in the landscape of Moab are the deep canyons which plough from east to west across the plateau. Those in the north run back only a few miles, leaving northeastern Moab a comparatively unbroken plateau, but in the south they cut deep furrows eastward even to the borders of the desert. The Wady Zerka Ma'in has worn a broad channel through the limestone, basaltic, and sandstone rocks of northwestern Moab, so that ten miles from the point where it flows into the Dead Sea it is fully two miles across. Along the bottom of this great chasm runs a limpid brook, winding through beautiful groves of oleanders and beside fertile patches of land, which are in marked contrast to the utterly barren and desolate cliffs above.
The Arnon.Farther south the Arnon, the chief river of Moab, rises on the border of the desert. Rapidly cutting its way down into the plateau, it receives its first important confluent from the south, and farther on the Wady Waleh from the north. At the point where the central highway through Moab from the north crosses the Arnon the canyon is three thousand feet deep and two miles from bank to bank. It is by far the most stupendous and picturesque chasm in all Palestine.(48)The steep red cliffs, variegated and richly colored by white, gray, andyellow strata, extend in wavy billows east and west as far as the eyes can reach. The descent is almost sheer into the depths below, where the river, easily fordable at many points and with an actual channel only a few feet wide, rushes over the smooth rocks or winds leisurely through its fringe of oleanders and green bushes. Where the tributary wadies have cut down the soft limestone, nature's castles stand out, guarding the broad natural highway from the desert to the sea. The Arnon only in a lesser degree separated the land of Moab and destroyed its political unity, even as did the Jordan the land of Israel.
Southern Moab and Edom.Farther south the Wady el-Kerak, narrow and deep, runs past both sides of the natural citadel, whose name it bears,(49)and finds its way to the Dead Sea back of the barren promontory of El-Lisan. Thus the three zones of Moab, the western promontories, the central fields, and the dry pasture lands on the east, are repeatedly intersected by the deep gorges that make it a land easy to approach from the desert and difficult to defend. Farther south the plateau of Moab merges into the wild, picturesque mountains of Mount Seir, the home of the Edomites. The valley becomes narrower and the mountains bolder, more jagged, and abrupt. The culmination of these natural wonders is the Wady Mûsa, which cuts a deep, narrow channel through the heart of the mountains.(50)In the midst of this valley, surrounded by gorgeously colored sandstone cliffs, out of which have been carved homes, streets, tombs, theatres, temples,(51)and well-preserved high places,(52,53)stands that most astonishing and marvellous of all oriental cities—Petra.
Significance of the East-Jordan Land.Health, beauty, and fertility have ever been the three rich possessions of the east-Jordan land. It was effectually cut off, however, from contact with the teeming, highly civilized life of the Mediterranean seaboard by the deep chasm of the Jordan and Dead Sea valley and by the barren hills that flanked this great gorge on its southern end. It was a land that faced the desert and the east rather than the west. It was itself the loadstone thatconstantly attracted the wandering dwellers of the desert. The life and institutions of the desert have here prevailed through all the centuries. Here the wandering nomads first tasted and learned to appreciate the advantages of settled agricultural life and made the gradual and natural transition from the nomadic to the agricultural state. Here also the mighty energies of the powerful western nations were put forth in a mighty effort to conquer and to hold this land, for they realized that it was their natural eastern outpost against the desert. It was here, therefore, that the militant civilization and life of the East and West met, struggled, and mingled. Here the same conflicts and processes are going on to-day as in the past. This close contact with the desert has always been the strength, the significance, and the weakness of the east-Jordan land.
Importance of Jerusalem and Samaria.Two cities of ancient Palestine, Jerusalem and Samaria, towered above all others, both in size and in importance. Each was for a long period the capital of an important kingdom. Each represented a distinct type of civilization and religion. Their topography throws much light upon their development and history.
Site of Jerusalem.At first glance the site of Jerusalem seems one of the most unpromising places in all the land of Palestine for a great city. It lies on two or three low hills, projecting from the irregular plateau, which extends southward from the watershed of central Judah. It is overshadowed by higher hills near by and has no lofty, commanding acropolis. The Wilderness of Judea bounds it on the east and the hills and valleys about are rocky and comparatively barren. The reason why a city originally sprang up on this forbidding site was the presence of a spring, now known as the Virgin's Spring, on the side of the Kidron Valley(54)to the southeast of the present Jerusalem. It is the one perennial spring in this region and fixes at once the site of the old pre-Israelite town. (Cf.map op. p. 203.)
The Kidron Valley.The Kidron is a characteristic Palestinian wady. It runs almost due north past the city and then gradually bends to the west. It is about two hundred yards in width and is flanked by hills, which rise four to six hundred feet on either side. During the winter and spring rains a brook rushes down this ravine, but in the summer it is waterless,although many olive trees find sufficient moisture in the bottom and on sides of the valley. At its southern end the Kidron is joined by the broad valley of Ben Hinnom,(55)which runs due west nearly half a mile and then turns northward, thus, with the Kidron, enclosing on three sides a nearly regular rectangle half to three-quarters of a mile in width.
The Tyropœon Valley.The southern promontories or hills thus enclosed were in ancient times divided by a small shallow valley, the Tyropœon or Cheesemongers' Valley, which ran northward from the Valley of Hinnom, separating the rectangle into two unequal parts. The city has been so often besieged and razed to the ground that its original site has been largely obscured by the masses of débris scattered everywhere and especially in the Tyropœon Valley. At many points the native rock lies from forty to one hundred feet beneath the present level. East of the temple area a shaft was sunk one hundred and twenty feet before the virgin rock was reached. Hundreds of such shafts have been sent down at different points throughout the city so that the exact site of the ancient town is now well known. The Tyropœon Valley, which cuts through the heart of Jerusalem, is the key to the understanding of the ancient city. From the point where it joins the Kidron and Hinnom valleys in the south to its northern end, a little outside the present Damascus Gate, this valley is about sixteen hundred yards in length. The hills on either side originally rose to the height of between one hundred and one hundred and fifty feet above the bottom of the valley, which becomes broader and shallower toward the north. Opposite the present temple area a western branch extends about three hundred yards, nearly cutting off the southwestern hill from the northern plateau.
The Original City.The rounded ridge of rock between the Tyropœon and Kidron valleys was clearly the original site of Jerusalem. It is the so-called Ophel, on which the ancient Jebusite fortress was reared. The southern end rises rapidly from the valley below where the Tyropœon and Kidron join. Its northerncontinuation is the temple area. Excavations have shown that immediately north of the present temple area there was a rock cutting, from the Tyropœon Valley on the west to the Kidron Valley on the east, leaving a precipice of native rock twenty-five feet high as a barrier against attack from the north. At the southeastern corner of the temple area traces have also been found of the well-built wall which ran along the edge of the Kidron Valley, probably encircling the ancient Jebusite city. Thus it was surrounded on three sides with rapidly descending valleys from one to three hundred feet deep, while immediately below was the perennial spring, essential to the life of its early inhabitants. It is easy, therefore, to understand why the early Jebusites regarded their city as impregnable.
Its Extent.The hill Ophel contains an area of between sixteen and eighteen acres, which was amply sufficient for a crowded village of ancient times. This was also, without reasonable doubt, the site of David's city. As the Israelite city grew it probably extended almost to the level of the valley in the south, near the modern Pool of Siloam. At present the northern end of the hill Ophel is higher than the southern. It also broadens into the temple area, which is two thousand four hundred and forty feet above the sea-level. It is not improbable, however, that the site of the old Jebusite fortress was once higher than the temple rock to the north. If the fortress of Akra, which figures prominently in Maccabean history, was identical with the ancient citadel of Ophel, then, according to the testimony of Josephus (Jew. Wars, V, 4:1), Simon the Maccabean ruler cut down this southern eminence to make it lower than the adjoining temple area.
The Western Hill.It is not clear when the western hill was included within the bounds of Jerusalem; possibly in the days of Solomon; certainly some time before the Babylonian exile. On the south and west this hill descends rapidly to the Valley of Hinnom, on the east to the Tyropœon Valley; while on the north it is connected by a narrow neck of rock with the northern hill of Jerusalem. It is about seven hundred yardslong from north to south and four hundred from east to west. It is highest on the west, where it is two thousand five hundred and twenty feet above the sea-level. It is therefore about eighty feet higher than the temple area to the east.
The Northern Extension of the City.As the city grew in later times, it extended naturally to the north and included the little hill or knob directly north of the so-called western hill, with which it was connected by a neck of rock. This northern hill was bounded on the west by a depression running from the Hinnom Valley and on the south and east by the upper Tyropœon. On the north it had no natural defence.(56)Its highest point, about two thousand four hundred and ninety feet, was nearly on the same level as the temple area. The northern extension of the city also included another section of the ridge of rock which runs northward from the temple area, parallel to the Kidron Valley. A scarp twenty feet deep was cut across this ridge from east to west and to-day forms the northeastern limits of the city. In contrast to the ancient city, which extended far down into the valleys to the south, the modern city has climbed up the plateau toward the north.
Josephus's Description of Jerusalem.The late Jewish historian, Josephus, has given the most graphic description of the topography of Jerusalem. In the light of the preceding study of its site, his vivid picture becomes clearly intelligible. While he had in mind the city of his own day (the middle of the first Christian century) his words describe equally well the ancient town: "The city of Jerusalem was fortified with three walls, on such parts as were not surrounded with impassable valleys; for in such places it had but one wall. The city was built upon two hills, which are opposite to one another, and have a valley to divide them asunder, at which valley the corresponding houses on both hills end. Of these hills, that which contains the upper city is much higher, and in length more direct. But the other hill, which was called the Acra, and sustains the lower city, is of the shape of a moon when it is horned; over against this there was a third hill, but naturally lowerthan the Acra, and parted formerly from the other by a broad valley. However, in those times, when the Asmoneans reigned, they filled up that valley with earth, and had a mind to join the city to the temple. They then took off part of the height of Acra and reduced it to a less elevation than it was before, that the temple might be superior to it. Now the Valley of the Cheesemongers, as it was called, which separated the hill of the upper city from that of the lower, extended as far as Siloam; for that is the name of a fountain which has sweet water in it, and this also in great plenty. But on the outside these hills are surrounded by deep valleys, and by reason of the precipices belonging to them, they are on both sides everywhere inaccessible."
The Geological Formation.The geological formation of the hills of Jerusalem also throws much light upon its history. The strata is inclined toward the southeast at an average angle of ten or twelve degrees. The surface rock is hard, silicious limestone with bands of flint. This crops out on the top of the temple mount, on the west side of the Kidron Valley, and in the quarries to the north of Jerusalem. Below is a bed of soft, white limestone, easy to cut and good for building, since it hardens with exposure. The presence of this underlying rock made possible the extensive system of cisterns and underground passages with which Jerusalem is honeycombed and which has played such a large part in the tragic history of the city. Beneath this layer is a hard, dolomitic limestone, white but streaked with pink. While the upper layers of rock are porous, this lower stratum holds the water, with the result that at the one point where it comes to the surface on the western side of the lower Kidron Valley there is a spring. The southern inclination of this hard rock also carries the drainage of the city to the south, to the point where the Kidron and Hinnom valleys meet.
The Water Supply.Jerusalem, like most of the cities of Judah, was inadequately supplied with springs. The Virgin's Spring, which is in all probability identical with the ancient spring of Gihon, is intermittent. Its waters issue from a naturalsiphon in the rock, flowing according to the local rainfall, sometimes for only an hour or more, and at others for several days. It is entered by steps which lead into a natural cave, half way down the side of the Kidron Valley. From this point, in early times, the waters were conducted through the ridge of rock on which the city rested by a rock-cut tunnel, which is one of the wonders of ancient engineering. Thence they were carried to a point at the southern end of the Tyropœon Valley, where was once the famous Pool of Siloam, which was probably inside the ancient city walls. Here was built in later times a great basin, fifty-two feet square, from which the inhabitants of the city drew their chief supply of water.(112)Still another conduit carried the overflow from this pool to the so-called Job's Well, four hundred and fifty yards to the southeast, where the Kidron and the Hinnom valleys meet. West of the temple area there was apparently in ancient times a pool which received the waters from the upper basin of the Tyropœon, but there is no clear geological or historical evidence of a living spring in the northern or western part of the city. Aside from their one perennial spring and these pools the inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem were wholly dependent upon rock-cisterns for their water supply. Modern excavations have revealed the remains of the aqueducts, by which the plentiful waters of the so-called Pools of Solomon, southwest of Bethlehem, were later conducted through the valleys and along the hillsides to Jerusalem. The water was then distributed by means of high and low level aqueducts in different parts of the city, but especially in the temple area, for use in connection with the sacrificial ritual. From the same Pools of Solomon water is still brought by pipes to the southwestern side of the city.(57)
Jerusalem's Military Strength.Jerusalem's strength consisted not in its elevation, but in the deep ravines which encircled it on the east, south, west, and in part on the north. The native rock lay only a few feet beneath the surface, and the soft limestone could be cut with comparative ease. A vertical cutting of twenty or twenty-five feet into the steep sideof the hill gave a precipitous rampart of native rock, indestructible and difficult to scale. The weakness of Jerusalem was the lack of natural defences on the north.(56)This natural defect was partially overcome by the deep cuttings in the natural rock, which at certain points left a sheer descent of twenty or twenty-five feet. These artificial defences were supplemented in the more level places by broad, strong walls that made Jerusalem, throughout most of its history, the strongest citadel in Palestine.
Strength of Its Position.The city shared with the rest of Judah the protection of natural barriers on every side. It could be approached on the east only over the rough headlands that arose above the Jordan and the Dead Sea. While it was on the great highway which led along the central plateau from northern Israel to Hebron and the South Country, large invading armies never advanced against Jerusalem by this difficult mountain road. On the west the valleys which led up from the coast plains converged at Jerusalem, making it comparatively easy for the Hebrews in command of these upland passages to descend rapidly upon their foes in the plain. These passes were also easily guarded from above against advancing armies. The comparative barrenness of the territory about Jerusalem was another important source of its strength, for the land furnished insufficient sustenance for a large besieging army. Thus Jerusalem, although close to the great currents of the world's civilization, stood apart and aloof, secure because of its poverty and comparative insignificance, secure behind its bold western headlands and its walls of gray limestone.(58)It was the fitting capital of an austere race, who jealously and bravely guarded their freedom and their faith. Shut in among the limestone hills, it was typical of the land of Judah.
Samaria's Name.Samaria, situated in the midst of a broad, fertile plain, opening toward the sea and commanding far-reaching, glorious vistas, was equally representative of northern Israel. Both capitals were raised to the commanding position which they enjoyed, not as the result of chance, butthrough the deliberate choice of a strong and able sovereign. In I Kings 16:24 it is stated that Omri, the founder of the most powerful military dynasty of northern Israel, "bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill and named the city Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of the hill." Whatever be its historical derivation, the name Shomeron, or Samaria, is eminently appropriate, for it means watch-tower.
Its Situation.The hill lies on the eastern side of the Wady esh-Shair or Barley Vale, a wide and beautiful valley, which comes up from the Plain of Sharon. Opposite Samaria it broadens out and unites with several shallow valleys, which come down from the north and northeast. Along the Barley Vale runs the great highway which leads northwest from Shechem and central Israel to the Plain of Esdraelon and Phœnicia. Another highway runs directly north, past the Plain of Dothan to northern Israel and Damascus. Samaria lay near the border line between the powerful tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. It was, however, a little south and east of the centre of northern Israel. Its gates were wide open to the civilization and commerce which swept up and down the coast plains. From the city's heights there was a fine view of the Mediterranean, which represented that larger world into close touch with which Omri aimed to bring his people.
Its Military Strength.The city was built on an elongated, isolated hill,(59)rising on the west between three and four hundred feet above the plain. The hill descends precipitously on three sides; on the east it is connected with the hills by a neck of land which lies about two hundred feet above the surrounding plain. As in the case of Jerusalem, these surrounding valleys were the source of its military strength. The hill is about three-fourths of a mile in length. On its top rises a large acropolis,(60)nearly round and about a third of a mile in diameter. In the Roman period this acropolis was surrounded by a wide terrace, with a colonnade about one and one-half miles in circumference. On the top of this rounded hillthere was ample space for a large and powerful city. Surrounded, like Jerusalem, by a strong wall, it was practically impregnable.
Its Beauty and Prosperity.The view from Samaria is one of the most picturesque and attractive in all Palestine. Isaiah well describes this city as "the splendid ornament which crowns the fertile valley." Green fields, olive and vine-clad hills delight the eye on every side. Between the hills may be seen glimpses of green, peaceful valleys. Plenty and prosperity are in evidence at every turn. Samaria itself lies one thousand four hundred and fifty-four feet above the sea-level and is surrounded by higher hills on nearly every side. Two miles to the north is a hill between nine hundred and a thousand feet higher than that of Samaria, while to the southeast other hills lead up to the rocky heights of Mount Ebal, over three thousand feet above the sea-level. Thus Samaria was a symbol of the beauty, the prosperity, the openness to foreign influence, the inherent strength and the fatal weakness of northern, as contrasted with southern Israel.