oppressors the permission to assemble in this place, which they pass in weeping and mourning over the desolation of Jerusalem, and their lengthened captivity. It was on this side, that the city was carried by assault by the besiegers in the first crusade. VIII. The country of Judæa, being mountainous and rocky, is full of CAVERNS; to which the inhabitants were accustomed to flee for shelter from the incursions of their enemies. (Josh. x. 16.; Judg. vi. 2. ; 1 Sam. xiii. 6., xiv. 11.) Some of these appear to have been on low grounds, and liable to inundations, when the rivers, swollen by torrents or dissolving snows, overflowed their banks, and carried all before them with resistless fury. To the sudden destruction thus produced Isaiah probably alludes. (xxxviii. 17.) Therefore, to enter into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord (Isa. ii. 19.), was to the Jews a very proper image to express terror and consternation. The prophet Hosea has carried the same image further, and added great strength and spirit to it (x. 8.); which image, together with these of Isaiah, is adopted by the sublime author of the Revelation (vi. 15, 16.), who frequently borrows his imagery from the prophet Isaiah." Some of these caves were very capacious: that of ADULLAM afforded an asylum to David and four hundred men, including his family, who resorted thither to him. (1 Sam. xxii. 1, 2.) "The only entrance to this cave is one hundred feet from the ground, high on the cliff. It contains many vaulted chambers, with shelves and nooks cut in the rock, no doubt for the convenience of David's men. The cavern is said to extend many miles, even to Hebron."3 The cave of ENGEDI was so large, that David and six hundred men concealed themselves in its sides; and Saul entered the mouth of the cave without perceiving that any one was there. "At first, it appears neither lofty nor spacious; but a low passage on the left leads into apartments, where a party could easily remain concealed from those without. The face of the hill around it corresponds to the description- he came to the rocks of the wild goats.' (1 Sam. xxiv. 2.) Bishop Pococke has described a cave which he thinks may be this of Engedi; concerning which there is a tradition, that thirty thousand people retired into it to avoid a bad air. Josephus has taken particular notice of similar caverns, which in his time were the abode of robbers. Maundrell has described a large cavern under a high rocky mountain in the vicinity of Sidon, containing two hundred smaller caverns, which are supposed to have been the residence of the veller continues:-" Observing many Jews, whom I could easily recognise by their yellow turbans, black eyebrows, and bushy beards, walking about the place, and reposing along the brook Kedron in a pensive mood, the pathetic language of the Psalmist occurred to me, as expressing the subject of their meditation.-By the rivers we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. Upon frequently inquiring the motive that prompted them in attempting to go to Jerusalem, the answer was, "To die in the land of our fathers.'" Ibid. Three Weeks' Residence in Palestine, p. 39. * Bishop Lowth's Isaiah, vol. ii. p. 37. 3 Macgregor's Three Days in the East, pp. 53, 54. 'Carne's Letters, p. 307. Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 15. § 5. Pococke's Travels, vol. ii. part i. p. 41. original inhabitants. Numerous caves were noticed by Mr. Buckingham' in the rock to the south of Nazareth; several of which now, as anciently, serve as dwellings to the Nazarenes. Mr. Hartley has described a similar cavern, capable of holding a thousand men by actual enumeration, whither the Greeks fled, and found a secure asylum from their Mohammedan enemies.2 Captain Lyon has described similar residences occupied by a tribe of Troglodytes in northern Africa. It was probably in some such cave that Lot and his two daughters dwelt after the destruction of Sodom (Gen. xix. 30.); and in similar caverns, excavated by primeval shepherds as a shelter from the scorching beams of the sun, Dr. Clarke and his fellow-travellers found a grateful protection from the intense heat of the solar rays; as Captains Irby and Mangles subsequently did from a violent storm. These caves were sometimes the haunts or strongholds of robbers (as the excavations in the rocks near Bethlehem are to this day), and to them our Lord probably alludes in Matt. xxi. 13., where he reproaches the Jews with having profaned the temple of God, and made it a den of thieves. 5 IX. Numerous fertile and level tracts are mentioned in the Sacred Volume, under the title of PLAINS. Three of these are particularly worthy of notice; viz. 1. The PLAIN OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, which reached from the river of Egypt to Mount Carmel. The tract between Gaza and Joppa was simply called the Plain; in this stood the five principal cities of the Philistine satrapies, Ascalon, Gath, Gaza, Ekron or Accaron, and Azotus or Ashdod. The tract from Joppa to Mount Carmel was called Saron or Sharon; which, however, is a different 1 Travels in Palestine, p. 113. 2 Journal of a Tour in Greece, in 1828. (Missionary Register, May 1830, p. 231.) 3 "As the natives live under ground, a person unacquainted with the circumstance might cross the mountain without once suspecting that it was inhabited. All the dwelling-places being formed in the same manner, a description of the scheik's may suffice for the rest. The upper soil is sandy earth of about four feet in depth; under this sand, and in some places lime-stone, a large hole is dug to the depth of twenty-five or thirty feet, and its breadth in every direction is about the same, being, as nearly as can be made, a perfect square. The rock is then smoothed, so as to form perpendicular sides to this space, in which doors are cut through, and arched chambers excavated, so as to receive their light from the doors; these rooms are sometimes three or four of a side; in others, a whole side composes one: the arrangements depending on the number of the inhabitants. In the open court is generally a well, water being found at about ten or twelve feet below the base of the square. The entrance to the house is about thirty-six yards from the pit, and opens above ground. It is arched over head; is generally cut in a winding direction, and is perfectly dark. Some of these passages are sufficiently large to admit a loaded camel. The entrance has a strong wall built over it, something resembling an ice-house. This is covered over-head, and has a very strong heavy door, which is shut at night, or in cases of danger. At about ten yards from the bottom is another door equally strong, so that it is almost impossible to enter these houses, should the inhabitants determine to resist. Few Arab attacks last long enough to end in a siege. All their sheep and poultry being confined in the house at night, the bashaw's army, when here, had recourse to suffocating the inmates, being unable to starve them out."-- See Capt. Lyon's Travels in Northern Africa, p. 25. Travels in Greece, &c. vol. iv. pp. 189, 190. Travels, p. 217. Clarke's Travels, vol. iv. p. 421. See also Sir R. K. Porter's Travels in Georgia, Persia, &c. vol. ii. pp. 540-544. for a description of the caves in the mountain of Kerefto (in the province of eastern Cou distan), which tradition states to have been anciently used for the same purpose. place from the Sharon that lies between Mount Tabor and the Sea of Tiberias, and from another place of the same name, which was celebrated for its pastures, and was situated in the tribe of Gad beyond Jordan. 2. The PLAIN OF JEZREEL, or of ESDRAELON, also called the GREAT PLAIN (the Armageddon of the Apocalypse), extends from Mount Carmel and the Mediterranean to the place where the Jordan issues from the Sea of Tiberias, through the middle of the Holy Land. Here, in the most fertile part of the land of Canaan, the tribe of Issachar rejoiced in their tents. (Deut. xxxiii. 18.) In the first ages of Jewish history, as well as during the Roman empire and the crusades, and even in later times, it has been the scene of many a memorable contest; this plain being the key of the country, for whoever was master of it could easily subdue all the rest. "Here it was that Barak, descending with his ten thousand men from Mount Tabor, discomfited Sisera and all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, gathered from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon; when all the host of Sisera fell upon the sword, and there was not a man left; when the kings came and fought, the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. (Judg. iv. 13. 15, 16. v. 19.) Here also it was that Josiah, king of Judah, fought in disguise against Necho, king of Egpyt, and fell by the arrows of his antagonist. (2 Kings xxiii. 29.) So great were the lamentations for his death, that the mourning of Josiah became an ordinance in Israel (2 Chron. xxxv. 24, 25.): and the great mourning in Jerusalem, foretold by Zechariah (xii. 11.), is said to be as the lamentations in the plain of Esdraelon, or, according to the prophet's language, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. Josephus often mentions this very remarkable part of the Holy Land, and always under the appellation of the Great Plain : and under the same name it is also mentioned by Eusebius and by Jerome. It has been a chosen place for encampment in every contest carried on in this country, from the days of Nabuchadonosor king of the Assyrians, in the history of whose war with Arphaxad it is mentioned as the Great Plain of Esdrelom', until the disastrous march of the late Napoleon Buonaparte from Egypt into Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Saracens, Christian crusaders, and anti-Christian Frenchmen, Egyptians, Persians, Druses, Turks, and Arabs, warriors out of every nation which is under heaven, have pitched their tents in the Plain of Esdraelon, and have beheld the various banners of their nation wet with the dews of Tabor and of Hermon."2 This plain is about thirty miles in its greatest length by forty in breadth: it is inclosed on all sides by mountains: the hills of Nazareth to the north,- those of Samaria to the south,- to the east the mountains of Tabor and Hermon, and Carmel to the south-west. The Rev. Mr. Jowett, in November, 1823, counted in his road across this plain only five very small villages, consisting of wretched mud hovels, chiefly in ruins, and only a very few persons moving on the road; so that to this scene the words of 1 Judith i. 8. 2 Clarke's Travels, vol. iv. pp. 255-258. Deborah might again be truly applied :—The highways were unoccupied; the inhabitants of the villages ceased; they ceased in Israel. (Judg. v. 6, 7.) "The ground is arable, and of the finest quality; and furnishes, whether cultivated or lying waste, proofs of such extraordinary fecundity, that, in the opinion of intelligent travellers, the produce of this single plain might supply grain sufficient to maintain the whole province of Galilee, were it as abundantly stocked with inhabitants as it once was." But a poor and partial cultivation is all that meets the eye of the traveller, who seeks in vain for the waving crop and the rejoicing husbandman. Some cotton, however, is raised here, the quality of which is supposed to be superior to any in the East. The fertility of this plain is chiefly to be attributed to its being watered by the river Kishon, which flows through it. The deputation sent to the East by the Committee of the Malta Protestant College in 1849, found not more than a sixteenth part of this fertile vale under cultivation. They found the uncultivated tracts covered with a forest of thistles from six to eight feet high, each bearing twelve or eighteen red purple heads; besides thick bushes of the spina christi, and other thorns, with patches of luxuriant grass, and beautiful wild flowers. A great portion of the land has remained fallow for ages; and labourers only are wanted to render it again, under God's blessing, abundantly productive. The plain of Esdraelon now bears the name of Fooli, and has been celebrated in modern times by the victory which Murat gained over the Mamelukes and Arabs, in their attempt to relieve Acri or Acre, in April, 1799. Though it bears the title of " Plain," yet it abounds with hills, which in the view of it from the adjacent mountains, shrink into nothing. The Rev. C. B. Elliott found a miserable little village on this plain, called Zuraeen: it was surrounded by some magnificent sarcophagi." 5 3. The REGION ROUND ABOUT JORDAN (Matt. iii. 5.) comprised the level country on both sides of that river, from the lake of Gennesareth to the Dead Sea. It is said to average about fifteen miles in breadth. Of this district the Plain of Jericho, celebrated for its fertility and the intense heat that prevails there during the hot season, forms a part; as also do the Valley of Salt near the Salt or Dead Sea (where David defeated the Syrians (1 Chron. xviii. 3-8.) and Amaziah discomfited the Edomites), and the Plains of Moab, where the Israelites encamped, and which are also called Shittim in Num. xxv. 1., Josh. ii. 1., and iii. 1. the Plains of Shittim, in Num. xxxiii. 49. (marginal rendering), and the Valley of Shittim, in Joel Wylie's Modern Judæa compared with Ancient Prophecy, p. 196. 2 Fisk's Pastor's Memorial, p. 352. Jowett's Christian Researches in Syria, pp. 191, 192. Journal of the Deputation from the Malta Protestant College, part ii. pp. 427, 428. Light's Travels, p. 201. Jowett's Researches in Syria, pp. 301, 302. Elliott's Travels in Austria, Russia, and Turkey, vol. ii. p. 379. Dr. Robinson has described the Plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel, as it appeared in 1838, in his Biblical Researches, vol. iii. pp. 160–162. 227. 228. 72 Kings xiv. 7. 2 Chron. xxv. 11. 8 Numb. xxii. 1. xxvi. 3. iii. 18. Through the neglect of the present inhabitants of Palestine, this once fruitful plain is now totally unproductive. 4. The LAND OF GENNESARETH is a beautiful little plain, extending along the shore of the lake of the same name, about four miles in length, and between two and three miles from the lake to the foot of the hills. It was so called from an ancient city (Josh. xix. 35.), which also gave name to the adjacent lake. This plain "has the appearance of the greatest fertility; and, when kept in order and properly laid out, would be truly beautiful and delightful. At present it has some rich pasturage, and cultivated fields bearing luxuriant crops of corn, rice, and vegetables. Wild figs are still found growing in it in several places. Various lines of oleanders, particularly along the streams which run through it, add to its beauty." X. Frequent mention is made in the Scriptures of WILDERNESSES or DESERTS, by which we usually understand desolate places, equally devoid of cities and inhabitants. The deserts noticed in the Bible, however, are of a different description; as the Hebrews were accustomed to give the name of desert or wilderness to all places that were not cultivated, but which were chiefly appropriated to the feeding of cattle, and in many of them trees and shrubs grew wild. Hence this term is frequently applied to the commons (as they would be called in England) which were contiguous to cities or villages, and on which the plough never came. The wildernesses or deserts of Palestine, therefore, are twofold: some are mountainous and wellwatered, while others are sterile sandy plains, either destitute of water, or affording a very scanty supply from the few brackish springs that are occasionally to be found in them: yet even these afford a grateful, though meagre, pasturage to camels, goats, and sheep. The Deserts of the Hebrews frequently derive their appellations from the places to which they were contiguous. Thus, 1. The DESERT or WILDERNESS OF SHUR lay towards the northeastern point of the Red Sea. In this wilderness, Hagar wandered, when unjustly driven from Abraham's house by the jealousy of Sarah. (Gen. xvi. 7.) It is still overspread with stunted bushes and shrubs; and it was no doubt under one of these that she cast her child. (Gen. xxi. 15.) Being the most direct communication between Egypt and Palestine, this desert has been traversed from the earliest times (Exod. xiii. 17.) to the present, by caravans, armies, and people. The Israelites marched through this wilderness after they had miraculously crossed the Red Sea (Exod. xv. 22.) as they also did subsequently through, 2. The WILDERNESS or DESERT OF PARAN, which lay considerably more to the south. (Num. x. 12.) In this desert (which was situated in Arabia Petræa, near a city of the same name, Ish 1 Wilson's Lands of the Bible, vol. ii. p. 137. 2 The Arabs to this day give the appellation of Desert to any solitude, whether barren or fertile. Clarke's Travels, vol. iv. p. 422. 3 Narrative of the Scottish Mission to the Jews, p. 80. |