them; and, according to the concurring testimony | computes to be about 6,090,000 tuns daily, withof other travellers, those carried thither by the out overflowing its banks, although there is no Jordan instantly die. Maundrell, nevertheless, states that he found some shell-fish, resembling oysters, on the shore; and Pococke was informed that a monk had seen fish caught in the water. These statements, however, require corroboration: hitherto we are without any satisfactory evidence that the lake contains any living thing. The mud is black, thick, and fetid, and no plant vegetates in the water, which is reputed to have a petrifying quality. Neither do plants grow in the immediate vicinity of the lake, where every thing is dull, cheerless, and inanimate; whence it is supposed to have derived the name of the Dead Sea. The water is extremely acrid, and the earth surrounding it is deeply impregnated with the same qualities, too predominant to admit of vegetable life; and even the air is saturated with them. Great quantities of asphaltum and sulphur are found on the edges of the lake; as well as a kind of stone or coal, which on attrition exhales an intolerable odour, and burns like bitumen: this is used by the inhabitants of the country for paving churches, mosques, and other places of public resort. Mr. Maundrell saw some pieces of it in the convent of St. John in the Wilderness, two feet square, carved in bas relief, and polished to as great a lustre as black marble is capable of. As the lake is at certain seasons covered with a thick dark mist, which is dissipated with the rays of the sun, some writers have alleged that black and sulphureous exhalations are constantly issuing from the water. They have been no less mistaken in supposing that birds attempting to fly across are struck dead by pestiferous fumes; for late and reputable travellers declare that numerous swallows skim along the surface, and thence take up the water necessary to build their nests. On this point, indeed, Heyman and Van Egmont made a decisive experiment. They carried two sparrows to the shore, and having deprived them of some of the wing feathers, after a short flight both birds fell on the sea, but got out in safety. An uncommon love of exaggeration is testified in all the older narratives, and in some of modern date, of the nature and properties of the water. Chateaubriand speaks of "a dismal sound proceeding from the lake, like the stifled clamours of the people engulfed in its waters;" that its shores produce fruit beautiful to the sight, but containing nothing but ashes; and that it bears upon its surface the heaviest metals. These properties of the water, however, have all vanished upon a more rigid investigation. (2) The circumstance of this lake constantly receiving the waters of the Jordan, which Shaw visible outlet, induced Reland, Pococke, and other writers to suppose, that it must throw off its superfluous waters by some subterraneous channel. This opinion, however, is now relinquished, Dr. Halley having shown that the effect of evaporation in a hot climate will satisfactorily account for the phenomenon. The specific gravity of the water is found to be very great. Pococke, Van Egmont, Heyman, and Captain Mangles affirm, that it is sufficiently buoyant to sustain persons who could not swim on its surface. But the question of its specific gravity has been set at rest by the chemical analysis of the waters made by Dr. Marcet, whence it was found to be 1,211, that of fresh water being 1000.* (3) The Dead Sea is said to have been produced by the exercise of divine wrath against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, for their unexampled iniquity. Five cities were involved in the general destruction then overwhelming the fertile vale of Siddim, in which they stood. Various conjectures have been formed as to the agents employed in this signal display of the divine displeasure; but the scriptural account is explicit, that “the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrha brimstone and fire from heaven" (Gen. xix. 24), which may be safely interpreted as implying a shower of inflamed sulphur or nitre. (4) From an inspection of the map accompanying the volume of Mr. Burckhardt's travels in Syria, it will be perceived that the valley extending from the source of the Jordan to the Dead Sea, and then encompassing that lake on its western and eastern sides, is continued from its southern extremity to the Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea. This southern Ghor, or valley, is supposed by Mr. Leake to have been the ancient course of the Jordan, before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, when the bason containing the Dead Sea was probably formed; and, consequently, that instead of its waters being evaporated, as they are now, they emptied themselves, before that awful event, into the Elanitic Gulf. The direction of the valley, and the immense volume of water contained in the Jordan, render this conjecture extremely probable. 4. The Arnon is noticed here chiefly for the purpose of correcting an error relative to its course, which has been copied from D'Anville into most of our maps of Palestine. This river takes its rise at a short distance to the N. E. of Katrane, * Phil. Trans., 1807, pt. ii., art. 18. + Preface to Burckhardt's Travels in Syria, &c., P. 6. north of Kerek (the ancient Karak Moaba), runs | below Antioch; the Kasmia, which, from the in a north-west direction (not a south-west or north of Balbec, takes its course towards Tyre; western direction, as generally but erroneously the Jordan, forced by the declivities toward the represented in maps), into the Dead Sea; passing south; prove that this is the highest point. No by Ar, and consequently turning towards "the one has yet had an opportunity of ascertaining valley in the plains of Moab, and to the top of the height of these mountains by the barometer; Pisgah, which looketh towards Jeshimon," Numb. but we may deduce it from another consideration. xxi. 14-20. It now divides the province of In winter their tops are entirely covered with Belka from that of Kerek, as it formerly divided snow, from Alexandretta to Jerusalem; but after the small kingdoms of the Moabites and Amo- the month of March it melts, except on Mount rites.* Lebanon, where, however, it does not remain the II. MOUNTAINS. Of these we shall notice the whole year, unless in the highest cavities, and following: 1. Lebanon, called by the Greeks and Latins Libanus, is a long chain of limestone mountains, extending from the neighbourhood of Sidon westward, to that of Damascus eastward, and forming the northern boundary of the Holy Land. It consists of two principal ranges, and forms a kind of horse-shoe in its length, beginning three or four leagues from the Mediterranean, above Smyrna, and running from north towards Sidon; from thence bending from west to east towards Damascus, and returning from the south northward, from the strait of Damascus, as far as Laodicea. The western part of this chain is properly Libanus; the other part, eastward, extends from south to north, and is by the Greeks called AntiLibanus, because it is over against the other. Lebanon is composed of four inclosures of mountains, which rise one on the other. The first is very rich in grain and fruits; the second is barren, abounding in thorns, rocks, and flints; the third, though higher than this, enjoys a perpetual spring, the trees being always green, and the orchards filled with fruit; the fourth is so high that it is constantly covered with snow, and is uninhabitable in consequence of the extreme cold. The most elevated summit of one of these ridges was called by the Hebrews Hermon; by the Sidonians, Sirion; and by the Amorites, Shenir; Deut. iii. 9. The reader will, perhaps, be gratified by Volney's general description. "A view of the country will convince us that the most elevated point of all Syria is Lebanon. Scarcely do we depart from Lameca in Cyprus, which is thirty leagues distant, before we discover its summit, capped with clouds. This is also distinctly perceivable on the map, from the course of the rivers. The Orontes, which flows from the mountains of Damascus, and loses itself See CRITICA BIBLICA, where the reader will find an investigation of Numb. xxi. 14-20; a passage which has baffled the ingenuity and critical acumen of every translator and commentator, both ancient and modern. towards the north-east, where it is sheltered from the sea winds, and the rays of the sun. In such a situation, I saw it still remaining, in 1784, at the very time I was almost suffocated with heat in the valley of Balbec. Now, since it is well known that snow, in this latitude, requires an elevation of fifteen or sixteen hundred fathoms, we may conclude that to be the height of Lebanon, and that it is consequently much lower than the Alps, or even the Pyrenees."+ (2) Lebanon was formerly much celebrated for its stately cedars; but they are now considerably reduced, and are verging fast to utter extinction. Bellonius, who visited them in 1550, found them twenty-eight in number. Rauwolf, in 1575, makes them twenty-four. Dandini, in 1600, and Thevenot, about fifty years after, make them twenty-three. In 1696, Maundrell found them reduced to sixteen. Pococke, about forty years afterwards, saw fifteen standing, and the sixteenth recently blown down. Burckhardt, in 1810, counted eleven or twelve. And finally, Dr. Richardson, in 1818, states them to be no more than seven. In less than half a century more, it is probable that not one of these sylvan monuments will be standing. ‡ 2. Carmel is a range of hills, extending six or eight miles, nearly north and south, coming from the plain of Esdraelon, and ending in the promontory or cape which forms the bay of Accho. Its greatest height does not exceed fifteen hundred feet.|| It has, on the east, a fine plain, watered by the river Kishon; and on the west, a narrower plain, descending to the sea. The summits of the hills abound with oaks and other trees; and a few wild vines and olive-trees may still be Travels, vol. i., p. 293, &c. Mr. Buckingham states the height of Lebanon to be ten or twelve thousand feet. For a particular account of the towns, villages, &c. of Libanus, the reader is referred to Burckhardt's Travels in Syria, pp. 1-51. Modern Traveller, Palestine, p. 134; and Carpenter's Scripture Natural History, p. 434, &c. Buckingham, Travels, p. 119. found, indicating its ancient state of cultivation, to which an allusion occurs in Amos i. 2, where it is denounced, as a punishment upon Israel, that "the top of Carmel shall wither." There was another Carmel, apparently a pastoral district, within the tribe of Judah, not far from Maon (comp. Josh. xv. 55; 1 Sam. xxv. 2; 2 Sam. iii. 3); and it is not always easy to determine to which of these reference is made, or whether, in all cases, the word is used as the specific name of a place.* To this mount, however, on the top of which Elijah sacrificed, the prophet Amos ob viously refers, when, speaking in the name of God, he says, "If they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence," Amos ix. 3. But as the height of the mountain will not altogether account for the expression “hide themselves," it is probable that here is an allusion to the caves with which it abounded, and which seem to have been places of refuge in the time of Elijah. "The excellency of Carmel" (Isai. xxxv. 2), if this district be alluded to, may denote either the vineyards and olive-grounds that once clothed the sides of the mountains, or the rich pastures afforded by the range of hills; and which rendered it "the habitation of shepherds,” Amos i. 2.† 3. Tabor is a large hill rather than a mountain, rising in the plain of Esdraelon, in Galilee, about three hours and a quarter distant from Tiberias. Its shape is that of a truncated cone, and, according to Burckhardt, it is entirely calcareous. Pococke says, "It is one of the finest hills I ever beheld, being a rich soil that produces excellent herbage, and is most beautifully adorned with groves and clumps of trees. The ascent is so easy, that we rode up the north side by a winding road. Some authors mention it as being about four miles high, others as about two: the latter may be true, as to the winding ascent up the hill; but Mr. Buckingham is of opinion that its real height cannot exceed 2000 feet. The top of it, which is not half a mile long, and near a quarter of a mile broad, is encompassed by a wall, which Josephus built in forty days: there The Hebrew Carmel denotes a verdant or fruitful place. Modern Traveller, Palestine, p. 30. was also a wall along the middle of it, which divided the south part, on which the city stood, from the north part, which is lower, and is called the meidan, or place, being probably used for exercises when there was a city here, which Josephus mentions by the name of Artaburion. Within the outer wall, on the north side, are several deep fosses, out of which it is probable the stones were dug to build the walls; and these fosses seem to have answered the end of cisterns, to preserve the rain water, and were also some defence to the city. There are likewise a great number of cisterns under ground, for preserving the rain water. To the south, where the ascent was more easy, there are fosses cut on the outside, to render the access to the walls more difficult. Some of the gates also of the city remain; as one to the west, and a smaller one to the south. Antiochus, king of Syria, took the fortress on the top of this hill. Vespasian, also, got possession of it; and after that, Josephus fortified it with strong walls."§ (2) During the greater part of the summer, Tabor is covered in the morning with thick clouds, which disperse towards mid-day; and in the night dews fall very copiously. In the wooded parts of the mountain are wild boars, ounces,¶ and great numbers of red partridges.** Hasselquist enumerates among the productions of this mountain, the oak, the carob-tree, the turpentinetree, the holly, the myrtle, the ivy, oats, onion, artichoke, rue, sage, poppy, wormwood, &c.; and Van Egmont states, that its verdure is beautiful, being every where decorated with small oak-trees, and the ground universally enamelled with a variety of plants and flowers, except on the south side, where it is not so fully covered with verdure. The prospects from the summit of Tabor are very extensive, and are also singularly beautiful. "We had on the north-west," says Mr. Buckingham, "a view of the Mediterranean Sea, whose blue surface filled up an open space left by a downward bent in the outline of the western hills; to the west-north-west a smaller portion of it is said, that when Sisera gathered all his hosts together, with his 900 chariots of iron, to the river Kishon, Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and 10,000 men after him, ver. 14. From this one might infer, that the summit was even then used as a military post; for there is no other part of the mountain on ‡ Mr. Buckingham says, a quarter of a mile in its greatest which half the number could stand. It was even then, perhaps, length. The last-named traveller considers this as the most ancient part. In the book of Judges, where the story of Deborah is related (ch. iv.), Barak is commanded to draw toward Mount Tabor; and afterwards it is said, that he went up there with 10,000 men, accompanied by the prophetess, ver. 10. Again, it is repeated, that they who were encamped with Heber, the Kenite, in the plain of Zaaraim, showed Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, was gone up to Mount Tabor, ver. 12. And, lastly, walled and fortified as belonging to Barak; and as its natural position would always preserve its consequence, so these walls and fortifications would be strengthened by each new possessor. -Buckingham's Travels, pp. 104, 105. Jewish Wars, book iv., c. 1; book ii., c. 20; and Antiq., book xiv., c. 6. ¶ Burckhardt's Travels, p. 335. its waters were seen; and on the west again, the slender line of its distant horizon was just perceptible over the range of land near the sea-coast. From the west to the south, the plain of Esdraelon extended over a large space, being bounded on the south by the range of hills generally considered to be Hermon, whose dews are poetically celebrated (Ps. cxxxiii. 3), and having in the same direction, nearer the foot of Tabor, the springs of Ain-el-Sherrar, which send a perceptible stream through its centre, and form the brook Kishon of antiquity, Ps. lxxxiii. 9. From the south-east to the east is the plain of Galilee, being almost a continuation of Esdraelon, and, like it, appearing to be highly cultivated, being now ploughed for seed throughout. Beneath the range of this supposed Hermon, is seated Endor, famed for the witch who raised the ghost of Samuel (1 Sam. xxviii.); and Nain, equally celebrated as the place at which Jesus raised the only son of a widow from death to life, and restored him to his afflicted parent, Luke vii. 11—15. The range which bounds the eastern view is thought to be the mountains of Gilboa, where Saul, setting an example of self-destruction to his armour-bearer and his three sons, fell on his own sword, rather than fall into the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines, by whom he was defeated, 1 Sam. xxxi. The Sea of Tiberias, or the Lake of Gennesaret, famed as the seat of many miracles, is seen at the north-east, filling the hollow of a deep valley, and contrasting its light blue waters with the dark brown shades of the barren hills by which it is hemmed around. Here, too, the steep is pointed out, down which the herd of swine, who were possessed by the legion of devils, ran headlong into the sea, Luke viii. 33. In the same direction, below, on the plain of Galilee, and about an hour's distance from Mount Tabor, there is a cluster of buildings, used as a bazaar for cattle; somewhat further on, is a rising ground, from which it is said Christ delivered the long and excellent discourse called the Sermon on the Mount; and the whole view in this quarter is bounded by the high range of Gebel-elTelj, or the mountain of snow. The city of Saphet, supposed to be the ancient Bethulia, a city said to be seen far and near, and thought to be alluded to in the apophthegm, which says, 66 a city set on a hill cannot be hid" (Matt. v. 14), is also pointed out in this direction. To the north were the stony hills over which we had journeyed thither; and these completed this truly grand and interesting panoramic view."* • Travels, p. 107, &c. See also Maundrell, under April 19. (3) Since the time of Jerome this mountain has been considered as the scene of the transfiguration; and there are three altars, which are said to mark the site of the three tabernacles proposed to be erected by Peter, when he beheld the Saviour's glory; as also a grot, where they say Christ charged his disciples not to tell the transactions they had witnessed till after he should be glorified. This story, however, is devoid of probability, for the journey which the Saviour is said to have taken for the purpose of exhibiting his glory to the disciples, places the scene of transfiguration much farther north.† 4. The mountains of Israel, or Ephraim, were situate in the very centre of the Holy Land, and opposite to the mountains of Judah. The soil of both is fertile, excepting those ridges of the mountains of Israel that look toward the region of the Jordan, which are both rugged and difficult of ascent; and the chain extending from the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem, to the plain of Jericho. The whole of this road is considered to be the most dangerous in Palestine; the very aspect of the scenery, indeed, is sufficient, on the one hand, to tempt to robbery and murder; and, on the other, to inspire a dread of it in those who have to pass this way. The bold projecting mass of rocks, the dark shadows in which every thing lies buried below, the towering height of the cliffs above, and the forbidding desolation which every where reigns around, present a picture which is quite in harmony throughout all its parts. With what propriety did our Saviour choose this spot as the scene of that delightful tale of compassion recorded by Luke, ch. x. 30-34! One must be amid these wild and gloomy solitudes, surrounded by an armed band, and feel the impatience of the traveller who rushes on to catch a new view at every pass and turn; one must be alarmed at the very stamp of the horses' hoofs resounding through the caverned rocks, and at the savage shouts of the footmen, scarcely less loud than the echoing thunder produced by the discharge of their pieces in the valleys; one must witness all this upon the spot, before the full force and beauty of the admirable story of the good Samaritan can be perceived. Here, pillage, wounds, and death would be accompanied with double terror, from the frightful as Six days before this event our Lord was at Cæsarea and came to Capernaum. Compare Mark viii, 27 ; ix. 2, 30, 33. Philippi, and after the transaction he passed through Galilee It is usual, in travelling this solitary pass, to be attended by a number of armed men, who keep up a continued shout and firing, sent forth from hill to hill, which is re-echoed through all the valleys. pect of every thing around. Here, the unfeeling 3. To render the valley truly detestable, the act of passing by a fellow-creature in distress, as bodies of those executed for flagitious crimes, and the priest and Levite are said to have done, strikes of animals that died of disease, were cast into it; one with horror, as an act almost more than in- and, that the pestilential vapours which filled the human. And here, too, the compassion of the air might not endanger the surrounding country, good Samaritan is doubly virtuous, from the fires were almost constantly kept burning there. purity of the motive which must have led to it, On the south side of the valley, near where it in a spot where no eyes were fixed on him to meets with the valley of Jehoshaphat, is shown draw forth the performance of any duty, and from the spot of ground formerly called the potter's the bravery which was necessary to admit of a field, but afterwards Aceldama, or the field of man's exposing himself, by such delay, to the blood, Matt. xxvii. 7, 8. risk of a similar fate to that from which he was endeavouring to rescue a fellow-creature.* The most elevated summit of this ridge, which appears to be the same that was anciently called the rock of Rimmon (Judges xx. 45-47), is at present known by the name of Quarantania, and is supposed to have been the scene of our Saviour's temptation. The mountains of Ebal and Gerizim are situated, the former to the north, and the latter to the south, of Sichem or Napolose, whose streets run parallel to the latter mountain, which overlooks the town.† The cave of Adullam, mentioned in 1 Sam. xxii. 42, is in the mountains of Judah. 2. The valley of Jehoshaphat, also called the valley of Kedron, lies between the foot of Mount Moriah, as a continuation of Sion, on the east, where the temple of Solomon stood, and on which the eastern front of the city walls lead along. It is about three quarters of a mile in width, and has on its eastern side the Mount of Olives, and the brook Kedron running through it in winter with great impetuosity. The traveller is here shown the well of Nehemiah, where the prophet is said to have restored the fire of the altar after the Babylonian captivity. There are also a great number of grave-stones, with inscriptions in Hebrew characters; and among the rest, two interesting antiquities, reputed to be the tomb of Zacharias and the pillar of Absalom. See 2 Sam. xviii. 18.|| Independently of the celebrity of this valley as the scene of other important and interesting events, the prophet Joel has chosen it for the place of a pleading between God and the enemies of his people, Joel iii. 1, 2. By many Jews and Mahometans, this passage is applied to the general resurrection. Hence the former consider it as the highest honour to obtain a place for their bones to be deposited in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and the latter have left a stone III. VALLEYS, PLAINS, and DESERTS.Of these jutting out of the wall of the city, for the accomthe chief were— 5. The mountains of Gilead are on the eastern side of the Jordan, and extend from Hermon southward, to Arabia Petrea. The northern part of this chain, known by the name of Bashan, was celebrated for its stately oaks, and numerous herds of cattle. The scenery of this elevated tract, is described as being extremely beautiful.‡ In the southern parts of these mountains were the Abarim, or passes, the most eminent of which were Pisgah and Nebo, which form a continued chain, and command a view of the whole land of Canaan, Numb. xxvii. 12, 13. 1. The valley of Hinnom, lying at the foot of Mount Moriah, and rendered memorable by the idolatrous and inhuman worship there paid to Moloch. See 2 Kings xxiii. 10; 2 Chron. xxviii. Buckingham's Travels, p. 292, &c. modation of their prophet, who, they say, is to sit on it, and call the whole world from below to judgment.§ Chateaubriand, after summoning up all the images of desolation that the place presents, but without once thinking of the contemptible size of the theatre for so grand a display, says, "One might say that the trumpet of judgment had already sounded, and that the dead were about to rise in the valley of Jehoshaphat."¶ 4. The vale of Siddim is the spot upon which formerly stood the five cities of the plain, destroyed by fire from heaven on account of the These two mountains are only separated by a valley of about two hundred paces wide, in which stands the town of Shechem. Both mountains are much alike in length, height, and form. Their altitude is described by Mr. Buckingham as not exceeding 700 or 800 feet from the level of the valley. But if they resemble each other in these particulars, they are in others very dissimilar; for Ebal is barren, but Gerizim is beautiful and fruitful. The Jews and Samaritans have great disputes For a description of these, see Buckingham's Travels, concerning the one on which the blessings were to be pro- p. 191; or Critica Biblica, vol. i., p. 248, &c. nounced, Deut. xxvii.; Josh. viii 30, 31. See p. 414, ante. § Maundrell, April 6. ¶ Travels, vol. ii., p. 39. |