GEOGRAPHY
jTPALESTINE

Compiled and Written
by the Late

REV. A. L. PHILLIPS, D.D.

For use In the

Sabbath-School Graded Course

gf Instruction

The Presbyterian Committee if Publication

Richmond, Virginia





The Geography of

Palestine

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY

REV. A. L. PHILLIPS, D. D.

General Superintendent of Sabhath-Schools and

Young People's Societies in the Southern

Presbyterian Church

FOR USE IN THE SABBATH-SCHOOL GRADED

COURSE OF INSTRUCTION—JUNIOR
DEPARTMENT, SECOND AND

THIRD YEARS

RICHMOND, VA.
The Presbyterian Committee op Publication



Copyright, 1904

By rev. a, L. PHILLIPS, D. T
RICHMOND., VA



Ea Mvi Wift

Whose watchful care makes labor

possible, whose unwearying

love makes it sweet.

A. L. P.





FOREWORD.

This little book has no claims to originality in

matter or method of ' presentation. It has seemed

to me that there is at present no satisfactory ac~

count of Palestine for the use of children from ten

to fifteen years of age. This is peculiarly the

geographical period of childhood. It seems that

there is a place in literature and in the develop-

ment of childhood for some such treatise.

The matter has been gotten from many sources,

chiefly from George Adam Smith's Historical Ge-

ography of the Holy Land, perhaps the most bril-

liant book of its kind ever written; from Mac-

Coun's Holy Land in Geography and History, two

volumes; from Stewart's The Land of Israel and

Memorable Places Among the Holy Hills; from

Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible; and from Eyre

and Spottiswoode's Variorum Bible for Bible

Teachers. The method is that long used by the

author in teaching geography, and has been fruit-

ful to an encouraging degree. The development

of the matter is natural and scientific.



FOREWORD.

The little book is given to eager childhood in the

hope that it will help them the better to under-

stand God’s choice of the land for his chosen peo-

,ple, and with the prayer that it may bring them

more fully into sympathy with the life of the Lord

JesuS,' ' whose eyes saw the beauty of the land,

whose weary feet trod its ancient highways, and

whose pierced body rested for a little while in its

bosomo A, L. E



INTRODUCTION

BIBLE GEOGRAPHY IN THE EARLY PRL
MARY GRADES.

The age of five or six
An Early Beginning.

begin to teach the little ones about the land where

Jesus lived. It would be silly to try to teach them

definitions and verbal descriptions. Fortunately,

however, this is not necessary. We can give them

object-lessons which will be adapted to their ca-

pacity and age.

Get an ordinary cheap table, about
IRST

two feet by three feet in size. Nail

some boards four inches wide and half an inch

thick securely around the edges, so that the top of

the table will be a sort of box. Saw off two of the

legs that are two feet apart six or eight inches

from the floor. The table will then slope forward.

Fill the top with clean sand. With this sand you

can teach your little ones to make the land of Pal-

estine. Heap up the mountains, scoop out the seas,

smooth the valleys, and trace the rivers. Go very

slow, giving one thing at a time. While making

the map in the sand, tell an interesting story, using

the knowledge already possessed by the children as

hooks to hang new ideas on. Have some little sticks

for men, who can be made to walk about in the land.



8 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

Such a sand-tray is simply invaluable in the

teaching of the life of Jesus. Make Nazareth or

the mountain; bring Joseph and Mary down the

road into Esdraelon, and up into the mountains or

Samaria, and so on to Bethlehem. By and by, take

the journey to Egypt, and then back to Nazareth.

Then to Jerusalem lead them, with the lad at

twelve years of age. And so we may use the sand

to trace all his journeys, which will then become

very real indeed.

Send to the Presbyterian Committee
ECOND ^TEP.

Publication, Richmond, Va., and

get some geographical sewing-cards. These are

sketch maps of Palestine, printed on cardboard

With needle and thread the little ones may be

taught to sew around the outlines, and so become

familiar with the map before they know it. These

maps are made for different ages, with differing

details in them. This work is particularly recom-

mended for home-study. It will amuse the little

folks many an hour.

Teach them to sing this little sons
HJRD TEP.

Palestine to the tune of “Mary

land. My Maryland.’^

Palestine Song. (Tune, '‘Maryland.”)

First the line of coast we make,

Merom, then a marshy lake;

Then the Sea of Galilee,

Exactly east of Carmel, see.



THE geography OF PALESTINE.

The Jordan river flows through both,

To the Dead Sea on the south,

While the Great Sea westward lies,

Stretching far as sunset skies.

The country south is old Judea,

While on the east is wild Perea;

Samaria, then, on the west.

Reaching up to Carmel’s crest;

Then comes dear Galilee,

Phoenicia, bordering on the sea,

While Bashan, eastward to be seen,

Completes the land of Palestine.

On Zion stands Jerusalem,

Six miles south is Bethlehem;

On Olive’s slopes is Bethany;

Bethabara by Jordan, see.

Our Saviour drank at Sychar’s well.

Of boyhood days let Nazareth tell.

A.t Cana, water turned to wine.

Showed our Lore to be divine.

While the class is singing their song, have one

of them to take a pointer and show where each

place is as it is called in the singing.

From the first, do all you can to
Fourth tep.

tnind the places where the

vords of our Lord w^re spoken, or where he did

ome wonderful work, or where the incidents re-



lO THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

corded in the Old Testament took place. Tell them

stories about the places now and then. Seek in

every way possible to impress on their tender

minds whatever they are capable of receiving about

this land, its customs, houses, animals, people,

and so on.



THE GEOGRAPHY OF

PALESTINE.

The name Palestine is gotten from the

I. Names. form of the word Philistine, the

name of the old and powerful enemies of Israel.

It is called The Land of Canaan from the Canaan-

ites who dwelt in it. Sometimes we call it The

Holy Land, because it was here that the holy God

made himself known to Israel, whom he called to

be holy. ^LnifnanueVs Land” is another name

given to show that it belonged to God. It is

spoken of as the Land of Promise, recalling God’s

promise to Abraham.

Questions: Give four other names for the land

besides Palestine. Explain the Live names.

It is difficult to fix exactly the

II. Where Is It?
f^oundaries of the land. In a

general way, it lay in southwest Asia, and was

bounded on the north by Syria; on the east by the

Syrian desert
;

on the south by the Desert of

Arabia; and on the west by the Mediterranean

Sea, or the ‘'Great Sea.” It .was nearly at the

centre of the civilized world. If you will draw a

circumference, using Jerusalem as a centre, with a

radius of i,6oo miles, it will embrace the chief



12 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

cides of ancient times, Rome, Athens, Ephesus,
Nineveh, Babylon, Thebes, Memphis and Alexan-
dria. Is inhabitants were shut in by the moun-
tains on the north, by the desert on the east and
south, and by the sea on the west. By the same
means enemies were shut out. Through it lay the
shortest and best road between Babylon and Egypt,
and across it passed the caravans with goods from
the East and West. It will be thus seen from the
safe location of the land that God intended here
to preserve the knowledge of the true religion, and
hence to scatter it in every direction.

Questions: Find Palestine on the map. Trace
its boundaries carefully. Name them from mem--
ory. In what part of the ancient world was it situ-
ated f How were its people kept in and their ene-
mies kept out? Why was it so located?

III. How Large?
'vith the vast extent

of our own country, it was
small. From Dan in the north to Beersheba in
the south, its length was about one hundred and
forty-four miles, while its average breadth from
east to west was about forty-five miles. Its area,
including the territory east of Jordan, was about
twelve thousand square miles, or about the size of
Maryland. From Jerusalem to Dan, in the north,
it v/as one hundred and ten miles, and about forty-
five miles to Beersheba, in the south.

Questions: What was its length? Breadth?
Area? Compare its size with that of Maryland.



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

The line of its seacoast is remark-
I . UTLiNE.

regular. There is but one cape

of considerable size, and that is formed by Mt.

Carmel’s jutting into the sea. Few good harbors

have made safe anchorage for ships. Joppa (or

Jaffa), Caesarea and Accho or Ptolemais are the

only harbors. The sea is shallow all along the

coast. It is almost impossible to describe the other

boundary lines, because they did not remain defi-

nitely fixed. At no time in Israel’s history did

these lines embrace all the land God promised to

Abraham.

Questions : What kind of a seacoast dia it have?

Name its three harbors. Why is it difficult to

describe the boundary lines? Did they inclose all

the land God gave to Abraham?

V, The Surface.

I. East to West.

If one should land at

Joppa and go east, he

would pass for fifteen miles

over the low and level Maritime Plain, which ex-

tends all along the whole seacoast from Mt. Carmel

south. The northern end of this plain was called

the Plain of Sharon, and the southern end, which

is much the wider part, was inhabited by the war-

like Philistines. For thousands of years this beau-

tiful plain has been producing great crops. Going

further east, he would come to rising ground, with

rolling hills, some ten miles wide. This region is

known as the Shephelah, and extended from about

opposite Samaria to the southern limit of the land.



H the geography of PALESTINE.

On the hills and in the valleys of the Shephelah was
the favorite battle-ground between Israel and the

Philistines. Leaving the Shephelah, one comes to
the Central Range of mountains, which extends,
sometimes by short ranges, sometimes by disjointed

mountains, from Lebanon, far to the north of Gali-

lee, throughout the whole land, and finally loses

itself m the desert. On this tableland, some twenty
miles wide, and amongst these mountains were the

chief cities of Israel, and here the chief events in

its life occurred. The average height of this rang^e
is about 2,400 feet. From it the streams ran east
and west. On its summit or in its protected val-
leys, the towns and cities were shielded by nature

and difficult to capture.

Taking his journey eastward again, one would

soon come to the edge of this mountainous table-

land, for before him would lie the Valley of the

Jordan, some twelve or fifteen miles wide. This

wonderful valley extends north and south, begin-

ning in the Lebanon mountains, more than a thou-

sand feet above the sea. In the course of one hun-

dred and twenty-five miles it extends to a depth of

1,292 feet below sea level at the surface of the

Dead Sea, and 1,300 feet more to its bottom in one

place. South of the Dead Sea there is a valley ex-

tending to the Persian Gulf, along which at one

time the Jordan probably flowed. The walls on

the east and west of this valley are high and nearly

perpendicular. Coming up out of the valley of the

Jordan, our traveler would rise gradually from be-





THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.l6

low sea level till he faced the hills and monntainL

of Bashan. Climbing their western face, he would

come out upon a vast tableland, which stretches far

away to the east and finally disappears as the desert.

Questions: JVhat is the Maritime Plain? Where

is the Plain of Sharon? Where was Philistia?

What did this plain produce? What is the Shep-

helah? Who fought there? What is the Central

Range? Tell what you can about it. Of whati

importance was it to Israel? Describe the Jordan^

Valley. What tableland was zuest of the Jordan?

If one should start at Dan* in

2. North to South. extreme north, and go

south, he might travel along the backbone of
the

land. As he came through Galilee, he would see

mountains on every side, and finally, near Naza-

reth, he would descend upon the gr^at plain of

Esdraelon or Jezreel. Crossing this plain, he would

climb the eastern end of Mt. Carmel, and continue

south among the mountains until, far south ot

Hebron, they fall away into the desert region of

the Negeb. The levelest region in all the land
is

the Maritime Plain; but one is never out
of sight

of the hills and naountains. For ages these
hills

and mountain sides have been cultivated. The tim-

ber has been cut from them. The general appear-

ance of the hills in Judea is bald and barren. In

Galilee, there are more trees left. This presence of

mountains and hills explains their frequent use in

the Bible as illustrations of God’s protection.
x



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. ^7

Questions: What is the northern part of Pales-

tine called f Tell of a journey from Galilee to the

south? What was the middle part of the land

called? What plain south of Galilee? What sec-

tion was in the south? Where do the mountains

die away? What is the appearance of the moun-

tains in Judea? Is the land mostly level or moun-

tainous?

There are two great valleys in the
3. a eys,

Valley of the Jordan and

the Plain of Esdraelon. The Jordan river is the

most interesting in the whole world. ‘‘In both a

natural and spiritual sense, the Jordan stands

apart from all other rivers : spiritually, it comes

close to the life of each one, as the symbol of that

inner change by which the soul passes into the

kingdom of heaven, and also of the waters of death

which now roll between us and the promised land

of immortality
;

naturally, it is unlike any other

part of the earth.’’ (MacCoun.) Says G. A.

Smith, “No other part of the earth uncovered by

water sinks to three hundred feet below the level

of the ocean; but here we have a rift, more than

one hundred and sixty miles long, and from two

to fifteen broad, which falls from the sea level to as

deep as twelve hundred and ninety-two feet below

it. In this trench are the Jordan, a river nearly

one hundred miles long; two great lakes, respec-

tively twelve and fifty-three miles in length; and

large tracts of arable land.” The river rises near

the base of Mt. Hermon. Its sources are two, and



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

may be more, great springs which burst out into

full streams. These unite, and, flowing south, soon

lose themselves in the marshes around Lake Me-

rom, which is itself a widening of the river. ‘The

marsh is a tangled jungle of papyrus, cane and

rushes, utterly impenetrable.” (MacCoun.) From

Merom it goes tumbling down six hundred and

eighty feet from the sea level, over nine miles of

distance, when it falls into the Sea of Galilee, on

whose shores Jesus lived much and preached and

wrought wonderful signs. It is about thirteen

miles long, at its widest point about eight miles

wide, and at its deepest point, near the northern

end, about seven hundred and fifty feet deep. Of

it G. A. Smith says : “The lake feeds every sense of

the body with life. Sweet water, full of fish, a sur-

face of sparkling blue, tempting down breezes from

above, bringing forth breezes of her own, the Lake

of Galilee is at once food, drink and air, a rest to

the eye, coolness in the heat, an escape from the

crowd.” South of the Sea of Galilee the river bot-

tom widens out considerably on each side. The

section of the valley between the Sea of
Galilee

and the Dead Sea is called the Ghor
(meaning

rift). In a direct line it is about
sixty-five miles

long, but owing to the twistings of the
channel two

hundred miles, with a descent of more than six

hundred feet, hence its name, “Jordan”
(meaning

descender). MacCoun says, “This river, which

runs to no place, has no harbor, no boats,
no city

of importance on its banks, flows through a
desert



THE GEOGi^/iPHY OF PALESTINE. 19

—a trench between mountains/’ The valley proper
is a dense jungle, the haunt of wild beasts. The

river bed, ‘'covered with driftwood and deposits of

the yearly freshets, is rank and forbidding through

nearly its whole length.”

The river “is not the bright, plunging, noisy

river that might be expected from its rapid de-

scent, but a swift, black, sullen current, flowing

between ugly mud-banks of refuse or an occasional

bed of stones, foul with ooze and slime.” (Mac-'

Coun.)

“The vegetation of the valley, under the intense

heat of 100° to 118°, which it often stands in

summer, is extremely rank, but the soil itself is

that of an old sea-bottom, salt and greasy.” (Mac-

Coun.)

Questions: How many great valleys in Pales-
tine f What is the most interesiing river in the

world F Of what is the Jordan a symbol? How
long is its valley? How wide? How much below
sea level is its mouth? Where does it rise? Jell

about Lake Merom. What lake south of Meromi

How big is the Sea of Galilee? Quote what G. A.
Smith says about it. What is that part of the

Jordan Valley between the Sea of Galilee and the

Dead Sea called? What does Jordan mean? What

kind of place is the valley? How does the river
look? In what river was Jesus baptized? Where?

What miracle was worked when Israel crossed the

Jordan?



20 THE GEOGRAPHY OP PALESTINE.

At last the river rolls into the

4. The Salt or Dead Sea. In the Bible

Dead Sea.
also the Sea of the

Plain (Dent. iii. 17) and the East Sea (Ezek.

xlvii. 8 }. To-day the Arabs call it Bahr Lut (Lots

Sea). It is fifty-three miles long and ten miles

wide. In the northeastern corner it is thirteen

hundred feet deep. Its surface is twelve hundred

and ninety-two feet below sea level. “Its shores

have a clean pebbly beech, strewn with driftwood,

bleached and coated white with salt, except at its

southern end, where the mud-banks of Es Sebkeh

stretch several miles down the Arabah. The waters

in their deep bed have a beautiful blue appear-

ance, but are intensely salt—five times as salt as

ordinary sea water, three pounds of water yielding

one pound of solid salts. This renders it to the

taste intensely nauseous, and to the touch oily.

This great density is due to not only the fact that

the sea has no outlet, and, with the intense heat,

evaporation is most rapid, but to the gradual melt-

ing of the salt Jabel Usdum (a mountain of pure

rock salt at its southern end) and the deposits of

sulphur and petroleum springs in its banks. Bitu-

minous limestone beds underlie this section. It is

an oil district, and in ancient times must have been

much more productive of mineral pitch. The de-

scription in Genesis xiv. of the destruction of

Sodom meets all the conditions of a petroleum

eruption.’’ (MacCoun.)

Questions: How large is the Dead Sea? Deep?

Give MacCoun’s description of it.



illE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 21

Stretching in a northwestern di-

5. The Plain of from the Jordan, not far
Esdraelon.

fj-om the south end of the Sea

of Galilee, and reaching to the Mediterranean Sea,

just north of the point where Mt Carmel breaks

off, lies the wonderful Plain of Esdraelon or Me-

giddo. It is roughly divided into three parts: (i)

the eastern section extending from Mt Tabor, the

Hill of Moreh and Mt Gilboa to the Jordan. The

streams run down its steep surface into the Jordan.

(2) The northwestern end of the plain extends

from the Mediterranean Sea to some hills running

north and south, and is called the Plain of Acre.

(3) By far the largest and most beautiful section

is the central section, which is the Plain of Esdrae-

lon proper. It is somewhat triangular in shape.

MacCoun thus briefly describes it : “Before you lies

the flat expanse of loose red and black loam, ex-

tremely fertile, covered with corn, millet, cotton,

tobacco, or the castor-oil plant, one of the richest

natural fields in the world. Dotting the plain and

the surrounding hills are the white houses of nu-

merous villages, and at periods when the Arabs

have come to plunder its harvests or graze their

camels and herds upon its grass, it has been thickly

strewn with the black Bedouin tents.” Great roads

crossed it in several directions, along which passed

great armies and richly laden caravans. It is, per-

haps, the greatest battle-field in the world. It was

the scene of Deborah and Barak’s victory over

Sisera, when the Kishon, swollen by the rains, with

the mud of the plain, helped the Israelite^ Ter^



22 THE GEOGRAJt^HY OF PALESTINE.

too, Gideon fought and drove back the hosts ot

Midian.

Questions: Where is the plain of Esdraelont

Tell of its three parts. Which is the chief part?

What is its shape? What does MacCoun say of its

soil? Crops? Pastures? Roads? Tell of Debo-

rah and Barak's battle with Sisera; of Gideon's

with the Midianites.

^ „ 7-. ,, Besides the Jordan and Esdrae-
o. Small Valleys. i .1, „ r

Ion, there were many small fer-

tile and exceedingly beautiful valleys or “vales/'

They may be seen frequently nestling among the

hills and mountains of Galilee. In Judea and

Samaria they extend east and west from the cen-

tral mountain ridge. Those which extend to the

east are short and steep, running to the Jordan

Valley. They run through the region called Jesh-

imon, or the Wilderness of Judea, a vast and deso-

late region. It was in the valleys of the southern

end of this region that David hid successfully from

the vengeance of Saul. The valleys which extend

to the west are more extended and less steep. Three

of them have been made famous : Ajalon, by the

conquest under Joshua; Sorek, by the wonderful

deeds of Samson; Elah, by David's fight with

Goliath.

Questions : In what direction from the Central

Range do the small valleys extend? Where is

Jeshimon, or the Wilderness of Judea? Where did

David hide from Saul? Where is Ajalon? Sorek?

What happened in each of these valleys? \



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 23

Mt. Herman.

Stretching north and northeast
7. Mountains.

northern boundary ot
Lebanon.

great Lebanon

mountain chains, divided north and south by the

Litany River. The western range, with a few

breaks, runs out in the mountains and hills of

Galilee, Samaria and Judea. The eastern range

runs south,and forms the mountains of Bashan and

Gilead, east of the Jordan. These ranges have a

controlling influence on the amount of rainfall, and

give direction to the streams.

About thirty-five miles east of Tyre

and some one hundred and twenty-

five miles northeast of Jerusalem stands Mt. Her-

man. It is not in Palestine proper, but being the

highest mountain in all that region, it is visible

from nearly every part of the land. It is 9,383

feet high, and its top is covered with snow. Near

its base four great rivers rise and flow north, east,

south and west. It was on this mountain that

Jesus was transfigured.

From eight to ten miles due

east of the northern end of the

Dead Sea were Mounts Nebo and Pisgah, two

peaks of the Abarim Mountains. At their base

Moses gave his last speeches to Israel, and on

Nebo he was buried.

,
- These were two hills wihin the

Mt. Moriah and .. r j 1 u* u
city of Jerusalem, which was

\
itself about 2,500 feet above sea

t. of ives.
Zion, David built

Nebo and Pisgah.





THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 25

his palace, and on Mt. Moriah, Solomon built the

temple. Just across the brook Kidron, east of Je-

rusalem, was the Mount of Olives, so closely con-

nected with the events of the last week of Jesus*

life.

About thirty miles almost
Ehal and Gerisim.

north of Jerusalem were

Mounts Ebal and Gerisim. Between them was ‘‘the

place of the grand national assembly, where all the

tribes of Israel were gathered after the conquest,

to hear and ratify the ‘Book of the Law of God

which Moses had written.’ . . . Next to the giv-

ing of the law at Sinai this was the most impress-

ive service in the history of the covenant people.”

(Stewart.)

About fifty miles a little northeast of

Mt. Gilhoa.
j^j-nsalem was Mt. Gilboa, made for-

ever famous as the battlefield where King Saul took

his own life, and Jonathan, the beloved, was slain.

Near the eastern edge of the Plain of

Mt. Tabor.
Esdraelon was Mt. Tabor. It was

noted as a meeting-place of armies in early times,

and is beautiful to see now.

The only cape on the coast of Pales-
Mt. Carmel,

formed by the projection of

the northwestern end of Mt. Carmel into the sea.

This mountain was the place where Elijah slew the

prophets of Baal.

A few miles west of the middle
Horns of Hattin. Q^lilee is a moun-

tain with two peaks, called the Horns of Hattin.



26 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

On its sides Jesus delivered the Sermon on the
Mount.

Says Dr. G. A. Smith: ‘‘By numerous little
tokens, we feel that Palestine’s scenery is described
by highlanders, by men who, for the most pa“t,
looked down upon their prospects and painted their
scenes from above. Their usual word for valley is
depth—something below them; for terror and de-
struction some of their commonest names mean
originally abyss.”

Questions . Find each of the following moun~
tains. What is each noted for? Mt. Gilboaf Mt.
Carmel? Horns of Hattin? Neho and Pisgah?
Moriah and Zion? Ehal and GeriHm? Why do
Bible writers often speak of valleys as depths?

jVI. How THE Land
^ WAS Made.

I. Ages upon ages ago, the

region which is now Pales-

tine was formed first far be-
neath the surface of the ocean by layers of granite.

Through cracks in this rock, here and there streams
of red granite were forced from below. Then came
a layer of soft sandstone, and on top of this lime-

stone, in which may be found remains of dead sea
animals. Then came a layer of sandstone of varied
colors, on top of which was a very thick layer of
soft limestone. On this, near what is now the
west coast, there was a layer of hard limestone, and
on this a soft yellow sandstone was laid Thus,

below the sea level there are six layers, called

strata, of rock. By and by some great force caused



27THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

all these layers to rise up until they appeared

above the sea level. The soft yellow sandstone, the

hard limestone and, in great quantities, the soft

gray limestone formed the land. After a while, in

some strange way, these layers. broke, and one end

fell downwards, leaving the other end of the break

as it was before. This break made a long rift in

the surface, which afterwards became the valley of

the Jordan. Then came the action of the sun and

wind and waves, washing the hills away to the east

and west until the mountains and plains were

formed. Then came along some volcanoes, which

cast out lava in many places east of Jordan. So

we can understand how nearly all of the rocks in

Palestine are sandstone, limestone and lava. The

granite is many hundred feet under the surface.

Questions: Hozv many layers (strata) of rock

made Palestine f Name them beginning with the

drst layer. How did they appear above the seaf
What happened when the Jordan Valley was

formed f How were the hills and mountains made?
How can you tell that volcanoes once existed there?

When limestone crumbles and mixes
* with sandstone and decaying vegetation,

it makes a soil of great fertility. In every part of

the land, except on the bare rocks or in pure sand,

the soil has always been very fertile. On the

Plains of Philistia, Sharon and Esdraelon, for ages

enormous crops of grain and grass have been

grown. Even the hills and mountain-sides were



28 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. ^

terraced, and bore rich harvests of grapes and

olives and figs and pomegranates. Even to-day,

where water can be had, the land produces well.

Questions: What kind of soil has Palestine
chiefly f

7. Minprnh
frequently men-

‘ tioned in the Bible are gold, silver,

iron and copper (usually called “brass’"). No gold
or silver was mined in Palestine. They were both

brought into the land from other countries, per-

haps chiefly by the merchants of Tyre. Gold was

common, and used extensively for ornaments for

the person and in building. Silver was the prin-

cipal metal used in making money. It was also

used for ornamentation. Iron is still found there,

and was used from the most ancient times much
in the same way as we now use it, except that
the Israelites probably did not have cast-iron. Cop-

per also is found, and was much used for making

cooking vessels. Mixed with tin, it made bronze,

which was used extensively for tools. Salt was

found in inexhaustible quantities at the southern

end of the Dead Sea, near which there is a moun-

tain of rock salt. Besides its use in domestic af-

fairs, the Israelites used it extensively in connec-

tion with religious ceremonies.

Questions: Did Palestine produce gold and sil-
ver? What were they used for? Where did the
iron and copper come from? What uses were they
.put to? Where did the people get salt?



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 29

VIL Water Supply.
I. There were two river

systems in the land: (i)

The streams which flowed west from its central

mountain range emptied into the Mediterranean

Sea. Of these, the chief was Kishon, which rose

at Mt. Gilboa, flowed northwest through the Plain

of Esdraelon, and emptied into the Mediterranean

Sea. Across the Plain of Sharon and Philistia

many small streams made their way to the sea,

which in the rainy season contained much water,

but in the dry season their rocky beds were dry.

(2) Into the Jordan Valley many streams emptied

on both sides of the river. On the western side

the streams were short. The chief one of these

was probably the brook Cherith. On the eastern

side the Yarmuk came down from the mountains

of Bashan and emptied a little south of the Sea of

Galilee
;

the Jahbok came down from the moun-

tains of Gilead and Ammon. Farther south the

Arnon, rising in the mountains of Moab, fell into

the Dead Sea, about midway of its eastern shore.

water gush out in such quantities as to turn a

mill-wheel a little way from their source. On the

central ridge the people had to keep water in cis-

terns, sometimes made by nature, and sometimes

by hand. In the plains and valleys water can be

gotten by wells or pumps.

2. Fountains and

Springs.

In many places, especially near

Mt. Hermon, great springs or

fountains of pure, sparkling



i



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

Questions : What two river systems were found

f

1 ell where the following streams rose, which way
they -flowed ,and where they emptied: Kishon,

Yarmuk, Jahhok, Arnon. What kind of springs
or fountains zvere found? Where did the people

of the central range get water? Where could
wells he had?

The weather of Pales-
VIII. The Weather.

varies greatly in

I. Great Variety, different latitudes, ac-

cording as they are near the Mediterranean Sea,

the desert or mountains, and according to the di-

rection from which the winds blow.

2 Causes
climate of the Maritime Plain is

much influenced by its nearness to the

Mediterranean. The winds blow most of the time

during the winter from the west and southwest,

and are laden with moisture. When they strike
against the cool mountain tops, moisture comes

down as winter rains. (Luke xii. 54.) In the

summer-time the winds blow chiefly from the

northwest, and are dry. In the deep Jordan Val-

ley the heat is very great at times, owing to its

deep depression below sea level. On the moun-
tains the heat is not oppressive. On Mt. Hermon,
patches of snow lie all summer, and snow and hail

fall often on the Central Range. The eastern and

southern parts are much influenced by being near

the great dry deserts.

^ 77 j. TJ7- j whole land is now and then

visited, chiefly m the spring, by
or iiocco.

winds, which blow from the



32 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

east or south across the desert. Says G. A. Smith.

'They come with a mist of fine sand, veiling the

sun, scorching vegetation, and bringing languor

and fever to men.” (Luke xii. 55.)

There are only two seasons in the

4. Seasons, ^nd dry. The wet season

begins about the end of October and lasts until

about April first. The rains which fall in No-

vember are called in the Bible ''the early or former

rains” and, coming at the end of the long, hot

summer, they moisten the baked ground for plow-

ing and sowing. In March and April heavy

showers fall, giving us the latter rains. They come

before harvest and the long drought, and are very

important.

The sea, the mountains, the desert

5. The Heat winds combine to cause

differences of temperature. The coldest month is

February, with an average temperature of 46°;

and it is hottest in July and August, with an aver-

age temperature of 76°. The average yearly tem-

perature varies from 62° to 68°. In the Jordan

Valley the thermometer in summer has registered

as high as 118°.

In the Bible we read of famine
6. Drought and

then, which caused great

Famine.
(^stress to man and beast. It was

caused by the failure of the early or latter rain.

(Elijah’s time.)



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. • 33

The houses were built of wood, brick

7. Houses, (often dried in the sun) and of stone.

Glass was rare, and the houses were not well

lighted. There were no chimneys, and heat was

gotten from grates set in the middle of the rooms,

in which charcoal was burned.

Questions: What made the difference of cli-

mate? Why do the west winds bring rain? Why

do the east and south winds bring heat?. What is

the hottest part of the land? Why? Tell about

the east wind or Sirocco. What seasons has the

land? Of what special use were the early
and

latter rains? When do they come? Which is the

coldest month? The hottest? Why is it hotter

on the Maritime Plain and in the Jordan Valley

than on the Central Range? What was the chief

cause of famine? What was the consequence of

the famine in Jacob’s day? What caused the fam-

ine in Elijah’s time? What kind of house/ c id the

people have? How came Peter, in Acts, to be on

the housetop praying?

It is probable that the

IX. Vegetation.
Isiud was never covered

I. Native Growth, forests such

as we know. There were, however, many native

trees, as the oak, cypress, pine, plane,
walnut and

sycamore. Near the deserts acacia (shittim wood)

is common. Many smaller trees and bushes exist,

and oleanders are found on the streams.
The

papyrus is still to be found, and willows and cane-



31 . THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE,

bushes are common where there is water. Many
kinds of beautiful wild flowers are seen everywhere
in the spring and early summer. Poppies are so
plentiful in places as to color the landscape when
m bloom. Wild roses and lilies of great beauty
are plentiful. Great pastures of rich grass
abounded, especially beyond Jordan. Figs are
grown for their fruit, and pomegranates flourish.

2. Cultivated
are grown for fruit and

Growth
“t*^nsive vineyards might be

found everywhere, bearing luscious
grapes. The plateaus, valleys and plains have al-
ways produced great crops of wheat. Barley was
grown for beasts, and the poorer peasants raised
It for bread. Vegetables of nearly all kinds that
we have grow well.

Questions: Name some of the native trees.
What wild dowers are found? What kind of pas-
tures are found? Name some of the chief fruit-
trees. IV hat of the grapes? Name the chief grain
crops.

X. Animals
Almost all the wild ani-

I. Wild Mammal..
/nown to us are

named m the Bible, and
lived in Palestine at one time. Besides these,
others were apes, behemoth (probably the hippo-
potamus), leviathan (probably the crocodile),

camel, leopard, lion, and some others.

The land was the home of the com-
mon snakes and many other reptiles

'z. Reptiles.



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 35

which we have. Many of them were very poison-

ous and dangerous.

The ant, bee, hornet, several
3. t ler mma s.

q£ locusts (very much

like our common grasshopper), scorpion and snail,

could be tound.

.
The domestic animals that we use

4. omestic
food, or clothing, or protection,

mma s.
work, or as pets, were in daily

use, such as the ass, cow, sheep, dog, horse, goat.

^
In the woods, fields and swamps many

different kinds of birds lived to make

music, to destroy the insects, or to provide food for

the people. One could find cormorants, crows,

doves, eagles, fowls, hawks, ostriches, owls, par-

tridges, quails, ravens, sparrows, storks and swal-

lows, beside others.

Perhaps, in all the world, one cannot find a

country as small as Palestine which contains so

many different kinds of plants and animals known

to people of almost every land. In this way it

happens that when people of different countries

and languages read the Bible, they feel as if it were

telling of their own home-land.

Questions: Name the chief wild animals. What

reptiles are found? Name some useful and some

harmful insects and other small animals. What

domestic animals are found? For what were they

used? Name some of the birds. Why do people

think that Palestine is like their own home-land?



36 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

XL First Inhabitants.
We have thus far

studied something
I. A Good Home-Land.

Palestine’s situ-

ation at the very centre of the ancient world
;
of its

seacoast and of its mountain and desert boundar-

ies; of its plains and mountains; of its minerals

and soils; of its rivers and fountains; of its snowy

mxDuntain-tops, its hot valleys, and its cool hill-

sides; of its vegetation suited to sustain life; of its

animals for food and work and clothing. This land

was truly made by God for a strong and noble race

of people.

Questions: Why is Palestine a good home dandf

Why was it a good land for God's chosen people

f

When the Bible begins first to
2. irst eop es.

land, it was set-

tled by various tribes or nations. All that part of

Southwestern Asia which was bounded on the

north by Mt. Taurus, east by the Euphrates river,

south by the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, ana

west by the Red and Mediterranean seas, most of

which we know to-day as Arabia, was the home of

a branch of the human family whom we call Sem-

ites, descendants of Shem, Noah’s son, to which

the Israelites belong. When we first see them they

v/ere broken up into tribes, and so they have ever

been. They have always been moving about in

Arabia, fighting one another, and occasionally unit-

ing for a little while to fight other races. Of these

tribes we have so^ie little account in Genesis x.



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 37

When we become first acquainted with Palestine it

is divided among Semitic tribes, the chief of which

were the Philistines, the Canaanites, meaning low-

landers, who seized the best of the lowlands; the

Amorites, meaning highlanders, who held the

mountains
;
the Perizzites, of whom little is known

;

the Hivites, who lived in cities ruled by ''elders”

;

the Jebusites, who owned the place where Jerusa-

lem now stands. The Hittites, or children of Heth,

came from the north of Palestine, and spread over

the land in Abraham’s time as far south as Hebron.

These Hittites were a very powerful and warlike

tribe, and for a long time made war on nearly equal

terms with powerful Egypt. They had a strong

government, and have left tablets written in such

a bad hand that they have not yet been read. But

God did not want this land to belong to these

wicked tribes that had forgotten him and made

many gods of their own.

Questions: From whom did the Semites come?

Where was their home? What branch of this fam-

ily are we most interested in? What are some of

their traits of character? Name the chief tribes or

nations that lived in the land before Israel came.

Describe the Philistines. Describe the Hittites.

Why were these nations destroyed?

XII. Political Divisions.

I. A Chosen Land for
a Chosen People.

Beginning at Genesis

xi. 27, and ending

with Genesis xxv. 10,

we have an account





THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 39

of the birth, call, removal and settlement, and life

of Abraham. He came from Ur of the Chaldees,

far to the east of Palestine. God made a covenant

with him, and gave him all the land for his de-

scendants. From these early chapters in Genesis

to the close of Revelation, the Bible is telling of

this chosen land and these chosen people. The

wonderful history must be read in the Bible to

learn all about how Abraham’s descendants finally

settled in the land, after living in oppression in

Egypt for four hundred and thirty years, and being

led out across the desert by Moses, and of their

entering, conquering, and dividing up the land

under Joshua amongst the twelve tribes. In this

land they grew rich and strong under judges ana

kings. God taught them by chosen prophets, and

they worshipped him through priests and sacrifices.

They loved and served Jehovah for long years; but

finally they borrowed idols from the wicked nations

around them, and sank low in wickedness. And

God drove them out of their beautiful land and

gave it to other nations.

Questions: What hook in the Bible gives a his-

tory of Abraham f What chapters? Where did he

come from? Give his father's name. Why did he

leave home? Where did he settle? What land did

God give him and his descendants? Who finally

conquered the land? jlmongst how many tribes

did he divide it?





THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE, 41

2. Tribal

The twelve tribes of Israel were,

three on the east side of Jordan,
Dwisions.

Reuben, Gad and half of Manas-

seh; on the west side of Jordan, beginning in the

South, Simeon, Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim,

half of Manasseh, Issachar, Zebuhm, Naphtali and

Asher. These tribes were commanded to drive out

the nations they found there, but they never fully

obeyed. In consequence, they had much trouble

with them because of their many false gods and

great wickedness.

Questions : Name the twelve tribes. Locate

them on the map. Why did not the tribe of Levi

have a portion? Which had the largest share of

land? The smallest? Why did two and a half

tribes stay east of Jordan? Which was the royal

tribe? Which two tribes gave the most trouble?

Can you tell why?

his son, Rehoboam, who succeeded him as king,

and Jeroboam, who had been given a position of

authority. The result of this quarrel was that the

kingdom divided. Two tribes, Judah and Benja-

min, followed Rehoboam as king, whose capital was

Jerusalem, and made the kingdom of Judah. The

other ten tribes followed Jeroboam, and made the

kingdom of Israel, whose capital was part of the

time at Samaria and part at Jezreel. Great bitter-

3. Northern and Southern

Kingdoms.

After the death of

Solomon there was a

great quarrel between



42 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

ness and jealousy grew up between them, and at

times they fought each other desperately. Finally

the kingdom of Israel was carried away captive

and ceased forever. The kingdom of Judah lasted

longer, but was finally carried away captive to

Babylon.

Questions : Describe the division of the land

after Solomon^s death.

During the life of Christ the
4. In Christ’s Time.

dan was divided into three parts, Judea in the

south, Samaria in the middle, and Galilee in the

noTtli*. East of the Jordan the land was divided

into many districts, of which Perea is the most im-

portant in studying the life of Christ.

Questions : Into how many parts was the land

divided in the time of Christ? What were they?

Where was Perea?

When they came into the land they
iTiES.

cities which they had not

built. Here and there the Israelites built new

cities, and the Greeks and Romans built others.

Their capital city was Jerusalem, which was a

stronghold of the Jebusites, and taken from them

by David’s men. He built it up, and under Solo-

mon, his son, it became very great. Situated on

mountains, it has ever been very hard to capture.

Surrounded by mountains, it is '‘beautiful for situa-

tion.” It became the religious centre of Israel, and





44 the geography of Palestine.

held the splendid temple. It is to-day the most

famous city in all the wide world. More than once

it has been torn to the ground, but has arisen from

its ruins. Other famous towns and cities were

Accho, Ai, Bethany, Bethel, Beth-Haran, Bethle-

hem of Judea, Bethshean, Bezer, Caesarea, Caper-

naum, Golan, Hebron, Jabesh Gilead, Jericho, Jez-

reel, Joppa, Mahanaim, Kedesh, Nazareth, Ramoth

Gilead, Ramah, Samaria, Shechem and Shiloh. In

the Plain of Philistia the^e were several cities of

importance, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza and

Gath. Outside of Palestine were Damascus, Tyre

and Sidon, which had a powerful influence on the

people.

Questions : How did the Israelites get their first
cities f What was their capital cityf Who founded

itf Who enlarged and beautified itf Why was

Jerusalem so dear to Israel? Who was crucified

just outside its walls? Where was Bethlehem of

Judea? Who was born there? (Matt. ii. i.)

Where was Capernaum? Who taught and worked

miracles there? What was Hebron famous for?

(Gen. xiii. i8 and 23.) Tell about the fall of

fericho. (Joshua vi.) Tell something about Joppa.

(It was the chief seaport of the land. See, also,

\cts X. 1-23.) Who lived at Nazareth? (Luke

ii. 4; Matt. ii. 19-23.) What was Samaria thr,

capital of? (Of the kingdom of Israel, consisting

of ten tr/Ves that split off after - Solomon died. )

What rei lined a long time at Shiloh? (Joshua

iriii. r;
'

Sam. iii. 21.) Name the ^7;^ chief



6) Mahanalm



46 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

Philistine cities. What three great cities outside

the land had much induence on Israel?

^ _ The Israelites have
XIV. Commerce and Trade.

I. ro nets.
guished as manufac-

turers; they were, and still are, successful traders.

In old times they were shepherds and farmers,,

quite different from their present life. They raised

great flocks of sheep and goats, from which they

received wool and meat. Their farms yielded

grapes and olives and grain in abundance. Most

of their manufactured goods came from Egypt and

Tyre. Trade was carried on by caravans, the

camel being the chief beast of burden. The traders

used very much the same roads in ancient times

as are used to-day.

There were many roads running north
2. oa s.

south and east and west through

the land. Of these only four can be here named.

(r) There was a great road that came up out

of Egypt and ran north along the coast of Tyre

and beyond. This was a great military as well as

trade road. Egyptian armues passed along it to

Assyria, and Assyrian to Egypt. It forked at Gaza,

the right-hand road leading by Bethlehem to Jeru-

salem. Several important branch roads Ed from

this one up into the hill country of Judea and

Samaria.

(2) A road came up from the desert in the south
to Hebron, and thence went to Jerusalem; thence





48 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

along the ridge to Samaria; thence across the

Plain of Esdraelon either to right or left to the

Mediterranean or Sea of Galilee.

(3) A great road started in the far northeast
at Damascus, and led southwest along the eastern

bank of the Jordan. Opposite Bethshean this road

forked towards the northwest, and so led to the

Mediterranean. Along this branch runs the pres-

ent railroad from Acre to Damascus. This road

put out another important branch which crossed

the Jordan opposite Jericho and led up to Jerusa-

lem.

(4) From Jerusalem there were several impor-

tant roads leading to the seacoast. One ran by the

mountain pass at Beth-Horon and by Lydda. An-

other ran a little further southwest by Ramleh.

To-day the railroad runs from Joppa southeast of

Lydda, then south by Ramleh to the Valley of

Sorek, up which it turns eastward near Beth She-

mesh and Kirjath-jearim, and finally comes into

Jerusalem up the Valley of Rephaim from the

southwest. On some of these roads the pavements

laid two thousand years ago by the Roman Gov-

ernment still lie.

Questions: What was the chief business of the

Israelites? With whom did they trade most?

How was trade carried on? Trace the road from

Egypt to Jerusalem. From Egypt to Tyre. From

Hebron to Nazareth. From Nazareth to Caper-

naum. From Damascus by Bethshean to the Medi-



THE GEOGBaPHY OP PALESTINE. 49

terranean Sea, From Damascus by Jericho to

Jerusalem, From Jerusalem to Joppa {or Jaffa).

The most important

XV. The Home of the about this land
Only True Religion.

that God chose to reveal to sinful men the only

true rehgion. All the lands round about it were

filled with the most corrupt people, whose religion

taught of many gods, and who covered their wick-

edness under the cloak of rehgion. To the Israel-

ites there was revealed the true religion, which

taught them to worship one God, Jehovah, who

punished sin and loved righteousness.

Questions: What is the most important matter

concerning this land? What sort of God was

Jehovahy Israel’s God? What is God? Who is

the Redeemer of God’s elect?

God has so tied the land
XVI. ^The Land AND together

THE Book.
cannot clearly

understand the one without a full knowledge of the

other. There is not a writer of the holy pages who

does not turn again and again to the land about

him for illustrations of moral and spiritual truth.

Moses cheered the people in their journey by de-

scriptions of its beauty, and with his dying words

held before them this picture (Deut. xi. 10-17):

“For the land whither thou goest in to possess it

is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came

out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst



50 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

It with thy foot, as a garden of herbs
;
but the land

whither ye go over to possess it is a land of hills
and valleys, and drinkest water of the rain of
heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for;
the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it,
from the beginning of the year even unto the end
of the year. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall
harken diligently unto my commandments which I
command you his day, to love the Lord thy God,
and to serve him with all your heart and with all
your soul, that I will give you the rain of the land
m its season, the former rain and the latter rain,
that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine,
and thine oil. And I will give grass in thy fields
for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full. Take
heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and
ye turn aside and serve other gods and worship
them

;
and the anger of the Lord be kindled against

you, and he shut up the heaven that there be no
rain, and that the land yield not her fruit

;
and ye

perish quickly from off the good land which the
Lord giveth you.” And it was in full view of this
land that Moses, with undimmed eye and longing
heart, died on Pisgah’s summit. Across the dried
bed of Jordan Joshua led the conquering tribes to
divide the land auiongst them. A careful study ol
its formation throws a world of light on the border
warfare of Samson and David and his “mighty
nen. The prophets owed to their knowledge of
ts topography many of their most wonderful pic-
ures. Take Isaiah. He wishes (Chap, v 1-7) to



I'HE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 51

celebrate the goodness and painstaking care of God

for his people. Before him rises “a very beautiful

hill,” covered with the choicest vines. It is pro-

tected by trenches from washing; the stones have

been gathered out. In the midst of it is the watch-

man’s tower, and hard by is the wine-press hewn

from rock. The vision of Israel’s desolation

through disobedience passes before him, and he

sees the vineyard trodden under foot, its fences

broken down, briars and thorns contending for the

mastery over it. The very clouds leave it un-

watered. Would that have been written in any

land where the vine did not grow and flourish and

be broken down ? See, further, the picture of

ntter desolation in Isaiah vii. 17-25.

When he describes the fall of Babylon, Sodom

and Gomorrah rise before him as its picture. He

sees the kingdom of Messiah rising suddenly from

the ruin and desolation of centuries. He had often

seen the wilderness, baked and barren, and bare

from the fierce heat of the sun, burst forth sud-

denly after rain into blooming beauty and fruit-

fulness. Hear him : ‘'The wilderness and the soli-

tary place shall be glad; and the desert shall re-

joice and blossom as ;he rose. It shall blossom

abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing;

the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the

excellency of Carmel and Sharon
;
they shall see

the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God.”

(Chap. XXXV. I, 2.) The blessed fulness of the

gospel’s invitation to all men comes before him.



52 THE CiGOGRAPJIY OF PALESTINE.

He writes, “Ho every one that thirsteth! come ye
to the waters, and he that hath no money; come

ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price/’ Turn the pages

of Jeremiah. At the twenty-fourth chapter we find
him holding out cheer to the “captive of Judah,”

and giving warning to Zedekiah and his princes

under the picture of two baskets of figs: “One

basket had very good figs, even like the figs that
are first ripe; and the other had very naughty figs,

which could not be eaten, they were so bad.”

^zekiel sees the waters of salvation (Chap, xlvii.)

bringing life and beauty and fruitfulness to the
oarren souls of men. He describes it under the
image of Kidron flowing past Gethsemane and Mt.
Zion, and flinging itself into the burning* chasms

of the wilderness of Judea, bringing fadeless beauty

to the trees and inexhaustible fruitfulness.

And so on and on through the prophets, until it
is uHerly impossible to understand them without
considerable knowledge of their geographical sui-
roundings. And how sweetly the poet sings of the
land and its people! He had seen the great green
tree planted by the water-course, its roots drinking
life fiom the limpid stream., its boughs laden with
fruit, and he says that righteousness is like a.
tree planted by the rivers of water, etc. (Psa. i. 3}.
Through the transparent depths of the Syrian sky
he had seen the sun and moon and stars, and so he
wrote P.>alm viii. to tell of their beauty and man’s

oomparative insignificance. The awful end of the



THE GEOGkaPHY of PALESIHnE. 53

wicked rises before him,, and in Psalm xi. he sings,

''Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and

brimstone, and an horrible tempest/’ In his medi-

tations he remembers God’s faithful protection,

and he says, Psa. xviii. 2, “The Lord is my Rock

and my Fortress.” Says G. A. Smith, “One will

find a more comprehensive view of the Holy Land

in the One hundred and fourth Psalm than in any

other Scripture, for it embraces both atmosphere

and scenery, wind, water and light, summer and

winter, mountain and sea, man and the wild

beasts.” What sublimer statement of an imperish-

able faith can be found than in those beautiful

words in Habakkuk’s prayer? (Hab. iii.) : “Al-

though the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall

fruit be in the vines
;
the labour of the olive shall

fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock

shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be

no herd in the stalls
:
yet I will "ejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord

Sod is my strength, and he will make my feet like

ainds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon

mine high places.” Perhaps the world’s literature

has nothing finer than David’s great pastoral (Psa.

xxiii.), and how suggestive it is of green pastures,

still waters and resting sheep—a picture essentially
Judean.

Passing irfio New Testament times, at the thres-

hold we meet John Baptist, !he fearless product of

the awful Judean Wilderness. He has been long

familiar with the life in the desert. He had seen



64 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

the grass, nettles, and other herbs grow up sud-

denly after rain. He had seen the fire burn them'
up when dried by the sun. At the approach of the
flames, vermin, lizards and vipers ran for their

lives. When the multitude crowded to hear him,
he cried, ''O generation of vipers! who hath
warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

At another time he warned them that Messiah was

about to appear to separate the true disciples from

the false. He saw him under the figure of a man
standing with a fan in hand to fan the chaff from

the grain as it was tossed into the air—a purely
local picture.

What wonderful illustrations did Jesus draw
from the material world around him. The lily at
his feet becomes the model of unconscious beauty

and the imperishable reminder of God's tender

care. The white mustard of the fields the string

of little sparrows in the market; the circling eagle

above the dead carcass; the winds blowing Judea-

ward from the desert or sea; the water in the

Samaritan woman's pitcher; the bread from the

lad's wallet, are made, each in its turn, to set forth

some truth of his spiritual kingdom. How largely
did he tax the land and the people about him for

material for his marvelous parables. There are

about forty parables recorded, and in every one

Jesus drew upon nature or customs around him.

It is impossible to understand them without some

good degree of knowledge of local conditions. He



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 55

had no doubt seen many a proprietor hire laborers

for his vineyard ; had seen a woman sweeping and

looking with lighted candle, for her lost coin; had

many a time seen his mother hide the leaven in the

measure of meal ; had watched the shepherd divide

his goats Irom his sheep, and had seen a shepherd

wandering about the hillsides and in gorges look-

ing for his lost sheep, and had heard him calling

them tenderly to him. What reality is added to

his words, ‘I am the Good Shepherd;^’ I am the

True Vine.”

There are two contrasted ideas which we fre-

quently see in the Bible—doom eternal and life
eternal. The Hebrew prophets and teachers drew

on the land to impress the idea of doom upon the

people of their day. What better idea of hell

(sheol) could they form than that presented by

the Dead Sea, with all its associations! Says G.

A. Smith : “In this awful hollow, this bit of the

infernal regions come up to the surface, this hell

with the sun shining into it, primitive man laid the

scene of God’s most terrible judgment on human

sin. The glare of Sodom and Gomorrah is flung

down the whole length of Scripture history. It is

the popular and standard judgment of sin. The

jetory is told in Genesis (Chap, xix.) ; it is applied

in Deuteronomy, by Amos, by Isaiah, by Jeremiah,

by Zephaniah, in Lamentations, and by Ezekiel.

Our Lord himself employs it more than once as

the figure of the judgment he threatens upon cities



56 THE G£;0GRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

where the Word is preached in vain, and there we

feel the flame scorch our own cheeks. Paul, Peter,

Jude, all make mention of it. In the Apocalypse

the great city of sin is ‘spiritually called Sodom.’
”

The ancient Hebrew, in order to be reminded of

the consequences and penalty of sin, needed only to

look eastward from the edge of the Judean plateau

into the awful depths of the Dead Sea.

For centuries unnumbered Jordan and Canaan

have been symbolical to the children of God To

some Jordan marks the point of separation from

an uncertain wandering in faith and duty, and

Canaan pictures the land of surrendered life and

quiet peace with God. To others Jordan means

death, and Canaan is heaven. Since Paul’s day

certainly men have been looking for “a city that

hath foundations”—the heavenly Jerusalem. Hear
old Bunyan : “Now, I saw in my dream that these

two men (Christian and Plopeful) went in at the

gate
;
and lo, as they entered, they were trans-

figured, and they had raiment put on that shone

like gold. There was also a company that met thern

with harps and crowns, and gave to them the harps

to praise withal, and the crowns in token of honor.

Then I heard in my dream that all the bells in the

city rang again for joy, and that it was said unto

them, ‘Enter ye into the jo}^ of your Lord.’ I also

heard the men themselves, and they sang with a

loud voice, saying, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory,

and power be unto him that sitteth upon the

throne, and unto the Lamb forever and forever



THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 57

Now, just as the gates were opened to let in
the

men, I looked after them, and, behold,
the city

shone like the sun; the streets also
were paved

with gold, and in them walked many men, with

crowns on their heads, palms in their hands,
and

golden harps to sing praises withal.
There were

also of them that had wings, and they
answered

one another without intermission, saying.
Holy,

holy, holy is the Lord.^ And after that they shut

up the gates; which, when I had seen, I
wished

myself among theni.
^

Questions i Give a descviption of the land
which

God gave Moses. Explain Isaiah's picture of
God's

care for his peot>le, given in chapter
v. i”7 * How

does the fall of Babylon remind Isaiah of
the de-

struction of Sodom and Gomorrah

f

(Isa. xiii.

19-22.) What do the sudden beauty and bloom of

springtime bring to Isaiah's mind? (Isa. xxxv. i,

2.) Of what does the hnding of water in
the desert

or on a mountain or in a besieged city remind

Isaiah? (Isa. Iv. i.) Can you explain leremiah's

two baskets of iigsf (Jer. xxiv. i-io.) Explain

how religious truth is made plain by comparing

it with the natural features of the land in Psa.

i. 3; Psa. via.; Psa. xi.; Psa.
xviii. 2; Psa. xxiii.;

and especially Psa. civ. and Habakkuk Hi. How did

John the Baptist's knowledge of the desert life give

him language to describe the multitude who came

to hear him in Luke Hi. 7 Luke Hi. 17?

Give an example of how Jesus used his knowledge



58 THE GEOGRAPHY OP PALESTINE.

of the geography of the land and customs of the
people to make his teachings plain. How did the
Israelites form an idea of God’s wrath for sin hy
looking upon the Dead Seaf What has the Jordan
river represented to men? What did Paul mean
when he said, “We look for a city that hath foun-
dations?” Was he thinking of Jerusalem? Read
carefully John Bunyan’s description of Christian’s
md Hopeful’s entrance into hecweu.



T^otes



Tlotes





T>lotes

/



TSjates



T^otes





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