present moment. The blood of the sacrifices from the temple' ran by a drain into this brook, and as it served for a similar purpose to the adjacent lands, its necessarily discoloured waters afford a more probable derivation of its name. . . . Willow-trees anciently grew upon the banks of this brook, but none are now to be seen. It was beside this stream that Asa burned the idol his mother had caused to be set up; and into it the Levites threw all the uncleanness of the temple at its purification by Hezekiah. During a drought, the inhabitants have no other resource than this brook for supplying themselves with the indispensable article of water."—RAE WILSON's Travels, vol. i. pp. 244, 245.

PLAIN, OR VALLEY OF REPHAIM, OR GIANTS.

SCRIPTURE NOTICES.

"AND the border (of Judah) came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the Giants on the north."-Joshua xviii. 16.

"The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim."-2 Sam. v. 18.

"And it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim."-Isaiah xvii. 5.

The plain or valley of Rephaim lies south-west of Jerusalem, and extends almost to the city. It " is still so fertile, that we were assured it is capable of yielding three crops in the year. To this fertility the prophet Isaiah refers. He says that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and shall be no more like the rich waving fields of Rephaim, but only like its gleanings. In this plain, too, David twice defeated the Philistines, who had penetrated as near as this to the royal city; and some

where not far off was Baal-perazim, where the heat of the conflict was greatest-the type of a yet more terrible conflict in the latter days, when the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim." (2 Sam. v. 20.)—Narrative, &c. pp. 136, 150, 335.

The most prominent object to the south is a graceful conical hill, called the Frank Mountain, and supposed by some to be Beth-haccerem, a suitable spot for setting up a sign of fire. (Jer. vi. 1.)

MOUNT OF OLIVES, OR OLIVET.

SCRIPTURE NOTICES.

" AND David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered; and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up."-2 Sam. xv. 30. (See verse 32, &c.)

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."-Zechariah xiv. 4.

"And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which, at your entering, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat; loose him, and bring him hither . . . And they brought him to Jesus and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as they went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began

to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven, and glory in the highest And when

he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes."-Luke xix. 29-44. (Matt. xxi. 1; Mark xi. 1.).

"And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, asked him privately, Tell us when shall these things be?" (the destruction of the temple, &c.)—Mark xiii. 3. (Matthew xxiv. 3.)

"And in the day-time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives."-Luke xxi. 37. (John viii. 1, 2.)

"And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives... Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy." -Matthew xxvi. 30, 36. (See whole Chapter. xiv. 26-32.)

Mark

"This mountain, so celebrated, both in the Old and New Testaments, is called by the Arabs, Jebel et Tûr, and lies on the east of Jerusalem, from which it is separated only by the narrow valley of Jehoshaphat. It is usually said to have three summits; . . . towards the south it sinks down into a lower ridge over against the well of Nehemiah, called now . . . the mount of Offence, in allusion to the idolatrous worship established by Solomon, in the hill that is before (eastward of) Jerusalem." Across this part leads the usual road to Bethany 11 Kings xi. 7, 8.

(From the middle summit) there is a commanding view of the Dead Sea, and the adjacent country, including a large part of the valley of the Jordan, and the dreary region between Jerusalem and Jericho, and between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. The course of the river Jordan may be traced by the narrow strip of verdure which clothes its banks. At a considerable distance north of Jericho, a lofty summit, forming the highest point of the mountains of Gilead, is visible."ROBINSON'S Researches, vol. i. pp. 348, 349, 405.

MOUNT OF OLIVES.

Brook Kedron-Garden of Gethsemane-Road to Bethlehem.

"The mount upon which we stand," writes a recent traveller," is very interesting in the details of its story. There are yet a few olive-trees that maintain their ground, though in nation, language, and religion, their owners

have once and again been changed. Some of them appear very ancient, with gnarled branches, and hollow trunks, and though not so old as Christianity, they may be lineally descended, by not more than one remove, from the trees that here flourished when Christ trod upon the same spot. In this direction David retired from the city on the rebellion of Absalom, with the priests, and the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. 'And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot; and all the people that were with him, covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.' This mount was the favourite place of retirement to our Saviour and his disciples, from the noise and distraction of the city, of which we have many evidences in the Gospels. As

he sat upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? ... At night he went out, and abode in the mount, that is called the mount of Olives . . . Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. . . And came out and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives.' In passing to Bethany, where Jesus appears generally to have lodged, during his visits to the city, he would have to cross this mountain. It was probably along that path, which still leads from the village, that he rode in triumph, attended by acclaiming thousands; and at that turn in the road, where the city in all its magnitude bursts at once upon the sight, that he wept. When he was come near, he

beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes.""