J piTiFsiisirr] MODERN JEB.USALEM L THE CHRISTIAN QUARTER. 1 Goliath's Castle. 2 Latin Convent 8 Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 4 G-reek Convent. 5 Coptic Convent. 6 Ruins of St. John's Hospital. 7 Greek Church. St. John's. 8 Residence of the Christian Bishop. 9 Church of the Greek Schismatics. 10 Tower of Hippicus. David's Tower. 11 Supposed site of the Tower of Phasaelus 1§ The Prussian Consulate. IS Modem Evangelical ChurcL 14 Hospital and Syrian Convent. IL THE ARMENIAN QUARTER. 15 Armeniaji Convent, with the Church of St. Jamer. The only building in JeTusalem which presents any appearance of cotDfort. 16 Nunnery of St. George. 17 Barracks. ni. THE JEWS' QUARTER. The most ■wretched in the city. 18 Synagogue of the Shepardim. 19 Synagogue of the Portuguese Jews. go Mosque. IV. THE MOHAMMEDAN QUARTER. 21 Khan and Bazaar, gg Mineral Bath. gS Convent and Schools. 24 Institute for Blind Dervishes. 25 Hospital of St. Helena. 26 Reputed site of the House of the Rich Man. 27 Reputed site of the House of St. Veronica. 28 Residence of the Turkish Pasha. 29 Arch of the "Ecce Homo." §0 Place of the '' Scala Sancta/' the Holy Staircase. §1 Pilate's House. §2 Place of Flagellation. §8 Ruins of a Church. House of Simon the Pharisee. §4 Church of St. Anna. §§ House of Herod. Dervish's Mosque. V. THE MOORS' QUARTER, a Armenian Convent. House of Caiaphas. b American Burial-ground. c David's Tomb, d Place of Wailing of the Jews. Just witliin Zion's Gate are the -wretched ahodes of lepers. AN HISTORICAL TEXT BOOK AND ATLAS OF iUital #Mgra)j|j. By LYMAN COLEMAN. fUirt71RSIT7l ^^^^^ PHILADELIPHIA: PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 265 CHESTNUT STREET. 1855. .t^" ^c^ 5Xvcy riRSI ENTERED AT STATIOITEllS' HALL BT INTERNATIONAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE AMERICAN PKOPRIBTORS. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO A CO. in the Clp"k's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 8TEBE0TTPED BY L. JOHNSON * CO. PHILADELPHIA. PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN. PREFACE. History without Geography is incomplete and unsatisfactory. The duty of the historian is, not only to record the events of his narrative, with their causes and consequences, but to sketch the attending scenes and circumstances, so as to present a clear and living picture of the whole. For this pui'pose Geography comes to the aid of History, to delineate the scenery of the histori- cal narrative, to describe the city or country where the event recorded transpired, to depict the mountain, plain, or valley, the ocean, sea, or river, the lake or fountain that blend in the surround- ing landscape. Nothing so effectually aids lis to call up from the tomb the figure of the past and reinvest it with its former lineaments, as these changeless features of nature. These alone give reality and life to the picture. More than all else they carry us back to live in the bygone days of history, and to become living actors in its stirring scenes. Zion is still beautiful for situation, as in the days of the Psalmist ; the hills stand about Jeru- salem now as they did when their picturesque beauties inspired the song of the royal bard. There is the Mount of Olives, and Mount Moriah, with the deep, silent valley below; and there is " Siloa's brook," still fresh and full, as when it flowed "fast by the oracle of God." The heights of Hebron, the grazing-grounds and wells of Beersheba, are the same as when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob tended there their flocks. Lebanon and Carmel, Tabor, Hermon and Bashan, the Lake of Galilee and its winding shores, are clad still in all the varied beauties which held and charmed the eye of Jesus of Nazareth. These, contemplated in vivid mental conception, carry us back to walk with Jesus by the silent, solemn shore of that lake, to commune in spirit with the sweet singer of Israel, and to converse with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob on the tented field. Thus History and Geography are inseparably associated together, and should ever be studied in connection. Each, by association, lends new interest to the other ; and both are learned with more ease than either when studied separately. Read with careful reference to geographical and chronological data, locate in time as in history, and in space as in geography, the events of the past, trace upon chart and map the shifting scenes of the narrative, and what was before insipid and profitless, becomes, like the "expressive canvas" and the "speaking marble," in- stinct with life and spirit. What was crowded in confusion upon the mind, spreads out in dis- tinct and beautiful perspective, leaving an impression clear and abiding as the landscape of the painter. History and Geography are by common consent considered indispensable branches of study in every primary school. Ancient history and classical geography occupy a large place in every liberal course of education, and why ? only that, as names and places occur in conversation, reading, or public address, we may have some acquaintance with their relative position and importance, together with the historical incidents with which they are associated. But the cities and sites of Scripture History come before us in reading, in conversation, and in the instructions of the pulpit, every day of our life, from childhood to hoary age, while we live in profound ignorance of them, and count it no reproach, no loss. Sacred History and Geography, infinitely more important and more attractive than the histories and geographies 3 4 PREFACE. of our schools, has no place in our public systems of education. What school or acadorny, even •when proposing a course of study peculiarly select and religious — what system of Public Edu- cation — what College or Theological Seminary even, includes in its plan of study the Geography and History of the Bible ? How many, accordingly, read the Scriptures daily, and for half a century profess to expound them it may be, without any just conception of the localities and scenery of Bethlehem, of Nazareth, of Capernaum, of Jerusalem, of the Mount of Olives, or of dark Gethsemane — localities and scenes around which cluster the most hallowed associations of the Christian. The following work is the result of an humble effort and an earnest desire to associate together, for reasons which have been briefly indicated, the History and Geography of the Scriptures, and to allure the young and assist them in an interested and intelligent perusal of the Book of God. Whatever may be the consideration in which this Text Book itself shall be held, we claim that the subject of it undeniably ought to have a place, not only in the Bible-class and Sunday- school, but in the primary and grammar school, the college and the theological seminary. The general plan of the book is the same as that of the Historical Geography of the Bible, published in 1849. It is not, however, an abridgment, but a separate, independent treatise, which has called the writer to a new and extended course of reading, preparatory to the task of constructing this Text Book and Atlas. What was scattered in many volumes is here brought together, "with no cursory pains, to save the reader a far longer travail of wandering through so many desert authors." The works which have been chiefly consulted in the prepa- ration of this manual are subjoined at the conclusion of these remarks. But the present work is by no means offered to the public as a substitute for the Historical Geography of the Bible. The object has been to provide a series of maps more distinct and satisfactory, and to reduce the letter-press into the dimensions requisite for an elementary Text Book. For these purposes the Maps have been prepared, on the basis of Kiepert's Bible Atlas, compared with that of Wieland and Ackermann, and the maps of Drs. Robinson and Wilson, Lieutenant Lynch, Layard, Colonel Chesney, &c. These maps are engraved on steel plates, in such distinctness and beauty, that we think they cannot fail to commend themselves to the favourable consideration of the public. The text has been compressed into the narrowest limits that seemed compatible with the design of presenting a satisfactory compend of the wide range of Biblical Geography, Chro- nology, and History, without reducing it to a barren, repulsive series of isolated statistics. Special attention has been given to the Chronology of Sacred History. The division of the work by chapters has been made in conformity with the extraordinary parallelisms which the history of the Old Testament presents. A little attention to these divisions, compared with the summary which is found on pages 43, 44, will establish several great landmarks in the chronology of the Scriptures, to which intermediate events may be easily referred, so that each shall take its relative position in the long series of ages, without encumbering the memory with a wearisome accumulation of historical dates. Such indeed is the beautiful simplicity of the chronology of the Bible, that its great outlines, may, in a single hour, be so impressed on the memory as never to be forgotten. By means of the Chronological Table and the General Index, this book, like the Historical Geography, offers the advantages of a Gazetteer for occasional reference, as well as of a manual for the consecutive reading arid study of the Bible. Such are the ends proposed in the preparation of this Text Book and Atlas. For many weary months they have been pursued with watchful care and laborious diligence ; but with what propriety or success remains to be seen in the judgment which the book awaits from the public to whom it is submitted. In common with other works of a kindred character, it has at least this special claim for public favour, that it offers to our Institutions of Learning, of whatever grade or name, an opportunity of introducing the study of the Bible into their course of education, without disturbing the denominational or sectarian prejudices of any religious creed. SUGGESTIONS TO INSTEUCTOES. Any Bible or Sunday-school class might study this Text Book with sufficient thoroughness, by appropriating to it one lesson in a week for a single year ; and any college, academy, or pri- mary school might allot this amount of time to the study of the Holy Scriptures, at some con- venient hour, without any apparent interference with the progress of the pupils in their secular studies, while they would acquire an acquaintance with the History, Chronology, and Geography of the Bible, that would lend new attractions to this holy book, and by the grace of God might win them to a perusal of His word that would enlighten the eyes, rejoice the heart, and convert the soul. Tlie entrance of it giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple. To such as may prefer a course of study somewhat more extended, the Historical Geography of the Bible offers a wider range of description, and a fuller detail of events and incidents, arranged and grouped according to the same general plan. But in either case the Bible itself must be the principal Text Book, to the study of which such compends and manuals may be subservient, while they are never to supersede the diligent perusal of God's own Word. Select portions of the Scripture History should ever be assigned as the lesson for rehearsal, in connection with either manual of Biblical Geography ; and every locality should be distinctly traced on the map — even if it is not inserted, it should be referred to its appropriate position. Let the reader begin, as has been already suggested on another occasion, by establishing a few landmarks, as central points from which to determine the relative positions of other places. The outlines of the lands of the Bible are comprehended by a single glance at the Atlas. Palestine is included between the eastern coast of the Mediterranean and the line of the Jordan with its lakes and the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the great central point to which the bearings and distance of cities and countries may be referred. Locate these distinctly in the mind as points of departure, for convenient reference, and the outline may be filled without confusion as the details shall arise. Natural features, relative position and distance, should be distinctly noted ; but to give specific boundaries, to attempt to define with accuracy the distance and bearing of different localities, is worse than useless. It leads to positive error by confound- ing the true with the false, the certain with the uncertain. The relative position and extent of Judea, for example, of Samaria, and of Galilee, cannot be mistaken ; but who can define their exact limits ? The territory of Judah and Benjamin among the tribes, and of Philistia among the foes of Israel, may be distinctly noted, but it is neither easy nor important to trace their specific boundaries. The names of ancient cities that still remain, the ruins by which they are identified, and the scenery which invests them, have wonderful power lo daguerreotype them on the mind, and, like the faithful remembrancer of a lost friend, to suggest a thousand endearing recollections. With these suggestions this little manual is respectfully commended to the consideration of parents, superintendents, and instructors, with the hope that it may serve in some degree to call their attention to a most important but neglected branch of education, and to one of the most efficient means of alluring and aiding the young in the acquisition of knowledge which it is most important for them to know — the knowledge that may make them wise unto Eternal Life. AUTHORS CONSULTED. Reland's Palestina, 2 vols, quarto — Ritter's Erdkunde, 14th, 15th, and 16th parts, 4 volumes, relating to the Peninsula, to Palestine, and Syria, and to Judah, Samaria, and Galilee — Winer's Biblisches Real- wbrterbuch, third edition — Von Raumer's Palastina — Arnold's Palastina, Historisch-Geographisch, with Helmuth's Map, one of the best that has been published — Several German Commentators, particularly Rosenmiiller, Thenius, Kiel, and Havemick, together with Alexander on Isaiah — Robinson's Researches — Wilson's Lands of the Bible — Lepsius's Letters — Jahn's Hebrew Commonwealth — De Saulcy's Journey round the Dead Sea — Kitto's History of Palestine — Cyclopaedia — Scripture Lands, &c. — Transactions of the Royal Geographical and Royal Asiatic Societies — The Works of Joseph Schwartz, Rbhr, Wheeler ; together with the articles of Dr. Robinson and the American Missionaries in the Bibliotheca Sacra, which enrich the varied literature of this learned and valuable Journal — The Travels of the Rev. Drs. Olin and Durbin; of Lamartine, Stevens, and many others — Williams' Holy City — Bartlett's Walks about Jerusalem, &c. On the Chronology of the Scriptures, Browne's Ordo Sasclorum. On the Region of Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates, Colonel Chesney's Survey. On Nineveh, Babylon, &c., the several works of Layard, Bonomi, &c. On the Tenth Chapter of Genesis, Knobel's Vblkertafel, Dr. Robinson on the Harmony of the Gospels, and Strong's Harmony and Exposition. On the Acts of the Apostles, Hackett's Commentary, Smith's Shipwreck of St. Paul, and the late and incomparable work of Conybeare and Howson on the Life of St. Paul, 2 vols, quarto. On the Book of the Revelation, Brewer's Patmos and the Seven Churches. The Maps are after the model of Kiepert's Bible Atlas, modified by reference to Wieland and Acker- mann's Bible Atlas — the Vblkertafel of Knobel — Zimmermann's series of Maps of the Peninsula, Palestine, and Syria, accompanying ' the volumes of Ritter's Erdkunde — Helmuth's Map of Palestine, together with the Maps of Drs. Robinson and Wilson, and those of Conybeare and Howson. ^■■V""''of rHB-"'"^'^ CONTENTS, ^art 5. CHAPTER I. THE ANTEDILUVIAN PERIOD: FROM THE CREATION TO THE FLOOD. 1666 YEARS 10 A. M. 0+1666=1656. B. C. 4102—1656=2446. CHAPTER II. THE PERIOD OF THE DISPERSION: FROM THE FLOOD TO THE PROMISE. 430 YEARS 16 ^. A. M. 1656+430=2086. B.C. 2446— 430=2016. CHAPTER III. THE PERIOD OF THE PATRIARCHS: FROM THE PROMISE TO THE EXODE, 430 YEARS 26 A. M. 2086+430=2516. B. C. 2016—430=1586. CHAPTER IV. THE PERIOD OF THE WANDERING : FROM THE EXODE TO THE PASSAGE OVER JORDAN. 40 YEARS 44 A. M. 2516+40=2556. B. C. 1586-40=1546. CHAPTER V. THE PERIOD OF THE THEOCRACY: THE JUDGES FROM JOSHUA TO SAMUEL. 450 YEARS 68 A. M. 2556+450=3006. B. C. 1546—450=1096. CHAPTER VI. THE INTERMEDIATE PERIOD: FROM SAMUEL TO DAVID AS KING. 40 YEARS 105 A. M. 3006+40=3046. B. C. 1096—40=1066. CHAPTER VII. THE PERIOD OF THE MONARCHY: FROM DAVID TO THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. 460 YEARS.. 116 A. M. 3046+450=3496. B. C. 1066—450=606. CHAPTER VIII. THE PERIOD OF THE CAPTIVITY AND OF THE RESTORATION: FROM THE CONQUEST OF JUDEA TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 206 YEARS 155 A. M. 3496+70+136=3702. B. C. 606—70—136=400. ^m M, CHAPTER I. THE LIFE OF CHRIST *... 1C5 CHAPTER II. THE LABOURS OF St. PAUL 209 P CHAPTER III. PATMOS, AND THE SEVEN CHURCHES 247 7 MAPS. I.— FRONTISPIECE: ANCIENT AND MODERN JERUSALEM. II.— THE WORLD AS KNOWN TO THE HEBREWS ACCORDING TO THE MOSAIC ACCOUNT. Ill— THE ROUTES OF THE ISRAELITES THROUGH THE DESERT. CANAAN AT THE TIME OF THE CONQUEST. IV.— PALESTINE UNDER THE JUDGES AND KINGS, WITH THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. v.— PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF CHRIST. VI.— THE TRAVELS OF OUR SAVIOUR. Vn.— THE MISSIONARY TOURS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. VIII.— A CHART OF THE ELEVATION OF VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE LANDS OF THE BIBLE. [lE^^[L/^RO^TQ©[i^ ©[F m/k\P 00a GEK X. THIS comprises the world as known to the ancient Hebrews, with the exception on the east, of India, and the unknown region of Sinim, supposed to be China; and on the west of Mauritania. The author, in locating these ancient tribes of men, availed himself of the labours of Gesenius, Ewaid, Hitzig, and others, together with the re- searches of the most reliable geographers and antiquaries. Askenaz, according to these authorities, occupies the western part of Asia Minor; Togarmah is Armenia, and Gomer occupies the region of Cappadocla between them; Riphath, the author locates on the southern shore of the Black Sea, north of Gomer; but in accordance with others it is also referred to the region north of this sea. Gog, and Magog, the land of Gog, in conformity with classical and Armenian authors, is placed north of Armenia, in the neighbourhood of Togarmah, Meshech, and Tubal, v/hose position is clearly defined. They are also set farther north, to represent the Scythian nations. Tarshish, Gen. x. 4, Kiepert also identifies with Tarsus in Cilicia, alleging that Spain was at this time unknown to the Hebrews. At a later period, Tarshish became the name of the Etruscans, who inhabited a part both of Spain and of Italy. Casluh, Casluhim, should be located on the south-east angle of the Mediterranean, east of the Nile, between Egypt and Palestine, instead of occupying its present position on the map The true position cf the descendants of Jcktan, in southern Arabia, is quite uncertain. 1'hese have been varied m a few instances on the authority of Knobel in his Volkertafel. Only those names are underlined with colours which are best known and have their position most clearly defined. Later names which occur in the Prophets, fiuch as Persia, Nubia, &c., are not underlined, and classical names not found in the Bible are set in smaller type. The extent of the ancient Assyrian empire is also distinctly indicated, and the localities entered according to the latest and best authorities of English residents, surveyors, and travellers. .\ ^-t) I? THE'WOKtD^AS KWOWIf 'f^lTHB HEBREWS gsiVII^SIT THIS and the following Maps of Palestine are constnicted on the bases of Dr. Robinson's maps, reduced by Kiepert, who executed those maps under the direction of Dr. E,. The plan of the Sinaitio group is modified to represent the plains on the south of Sinai, in connection with that of Er E,ahah, where Dr. R. supposes the Israelites to have stood on the giving of the law. On the south and east of Sinai is seen the plain of Sebaiyeh, which, extending several miles, offers a wider range of ground for the hosts of Israel, and is assumed by Hitter and many others to have been the station of the Israel- ites when they received the law from Sinai. After leaving Sinai, the route and the stations of the Israelites are quite conjectural. The continuous red line denotes the track of the Israelites as sketched by Dr. E/. ; the shorter lines, green and blue, indicate the deviations from this route, on the supposition that the children of Israel occupied the plains on the south of Sinai, and from this station proceeded in a direct line across the desert toward Beer-sheba to Kadesh-barnea in the desert belov/; and then again, after thirty-eight years' wandering in the desert, are found at another Kadesh-barnea, in the deep valley below the Dead Sea. Tliis virtually supposes that there were two places having the same name, one upon the western part of the great plateau of the desert; the other, in the deep valley of the Arabah, belov/ the Dead Sea. See pages §5, §6. Lepsius contends with great earnestness and force, that the law must have been given on Mount Serbal, at the distance of a day's journey or more north-west from Sinai, near the desert of Sin. It rises in lonelier, loftier gran- deur, to the observer, than Sinai itself, though somewhat inferior in height. About its base is spread a charming oasis of the richest verdure, watered by perennial streams of water. The mysterious Sinaitio inscriptions on its rocky facings in every direction prove it to have been frequented as a sacred mountain by the pilgrims who recorded these memorials of themselves, which remain imperishable after all else relating to them, their language, their re- ligion, and their country has been totally lost. This theory of Lepsius would essentially change again the probable route of the Israelites through the desert. But Serbal stands without the group of Sinai and cannot well be made to conform to the conditions of the narrative. Ki,;-*.jn Stpd IjyWWiIKeaM Ttal* ^3-^^ Of TEE IT '^^^ THE boundaries of Palestine are indicated according to their probable limits. The exact boundaries of the tribes cannot be defined, but their relative position and the comparative extent of their territories are indicated approximately on the map. Sometimes the claims of the tribes by promise extended beyond their actual possession by conquest, as in the instances of Judah, Dan, Asher, and Manasseh, This with reference to the land of the Philistines is indicated by the crossing of different colours; the independent tribes of G-eshur, Bashan, Maachah. fee, in the territory assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh. east of the Jordan, are represented by double coloured lines. It is a vain attempt to define with precision the boundaries of the several tribes. The effacing hand of time has thoroughly obliterated them; but their relative position, magnitude, and importance may be distinctly noted, together with their natural scenery and soil. With the knowledge of these we may well be content. In geography, as in history, a general outline is more easily retained, moffe satisfactory, and more profitable than a minute detail. Such an outline is presented in these boundaries, without any claim to minute accuracy. The cities of the Plain, Sodom, G-omorrah, Zoar, Admah, and Zeboim, are entered on the map according to the late researches of the French traveller De Saulcy. The discovery of the sites of Sodom and G-omorrah by this traveller is pronounced by an English journalist to be one of the most striking in the whole range of biblical anti- quity. The disinterment of Nineveh may be of more importance in its results to the historian and the antiquary, but as a matter of feeling, it is of small moment compared with the discovery of Sodom and Gomorrah. "There is something strangely awful in the idea of these living monuments of Divine vengeance, yet remaining after six and thirty centuries, with the actual marks of the instrument of their overthrow still visible upon their blasted ruins." The region around Jerusalem, where the most interesting local incidents are clustered together, is exhibited on a larger scale in the margin. These discoveries, however, have not been confirmed by subsequent travellers, and the conclusions of De Saulcy must be regarded as questionable. v< FAI.ESTINK '"'({JV^^^ urulor lht> ^ JUDGES AND KmGS > *7 5>r<^> T W E LVE TRt BES. < s-.,,,.// ^- THE TWELVE TRIBES I .IikI.iIi I I vSlMlCOII III l^fuij.unin IV l) XKr.ul "^^ MIIumiIm'ii /(• ijuklii 'in tnu'i BATTLE FIELDS ^^;,^,')^ ,,;,! , '" ' IJMtnn (OlUfiusI ol tin Ihn^/ Unnioiuti^ (I I illUiiluen J J 15 losluuu, vu-t-'^oi^nJi UBtuiiks aiuWchnt (illfttd^l ]() Sti;./v .-r tfti ]Wli.fVi/rm ( ' Iw Siiiili. ati^Unj'in, I' I iij I ' Jicfh o ,/ .»%.' A5f t/ Ari)li,id %JliAfn'Hir 61&CI ' Li'^hsna^A ''i/h. IrbU .fji llhfifi, "-hllj ^XI ^4^ ,'%^ MVXlil \i^r cy^ ^>^ 4 ul^ /^t w:'§' ;.\v^ .V ff^>«;i *^ :5^.^'^W??V '^ ;^»?- ^ S CALl '. . Geographical Miles o r> K) ir. 20 L'r> .u) of ^ JERUSALEM h', rhifh, m isiiwli l> g}f ISHOA Ihl W; MenenalhaJ'. GeshiiT^^_^:. Rthobotfik .1 O T HElusd) odCLi"" "^'^J'^' .*"■• '•-■•-..,, V* / ^>S"" r an / ji>lM);itllM.(>!xl> J^ %ls?^ [».S?n M'Hor (jlJl^-^ekoAi/fera; " \ \Maon I'tfH ntiuUli, ,_,^ — \mnf V^ N r? D ur)\Ti.ih.' .' ,'r !':tie:"cm Stf (^Tl.','WWlnlaTl1s Ph.l ^^s^^^^ 0? THE hJBIVBRSITTj OF THE [iriri7EEsiTr] ^^S-Ai;^ Of TH3 [TJiriVBRSITY THIS map has been somewhat modified according to Dr. Wilson-s map: particularly the localities and cities v/hich have been clearly identified, some ISO or 160 in number, have been entered in a distinct type, the common Roman letter, large or small, according to the importance of the place. Places not yet identified are entered in italics. The coast and country of Syria is continued northward to Antioch, in consideration of the frequent mention of this country in the history of the Maccabees and of the Acts of the Apostles. This map is enlarged in size, to prevent confasion in inserting so many names together in a small space. The division of the country west of the Jordan into the three divisions of Judea, Samaria, and G-alilee, first occurs in the time of the Maccabees, 1 Maccab. x §0, which is also recognised by Josephus. In the time of Clirist the division had become familiar and well established. But the specific boundaries are not well defined. Judea com.prised substantially the territory of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, and Dan ; Samaria, that of Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh ; and G-alilee, that of the remaining tribes of Issachar, Zebulon, Asher, and NaphtalL Samaria, though less in extent, is more fertile than Judea ; the mountains are covered with a richer verdure ; the valleys are better watered and yield a more luxuriant vegetation. G-alilee surpasses both Judea and Samada, alike in the fertility of its soil and the grandeur of its scenery. The Perea is a general term to denote, as its name implies, the country east of Jordan from the Arnon to the sourees of the Jordan : in a more restricted sense, it designates the country from the Arnon to the neighbourhood of Pella, north of the river Jabbok, v/hich country in Joshua is denominated Bashan and Gilead. The latter again, in Deut. xxxiv. 1, denotes the v/hole country east of the Jordan. Ancient Bashan comprised the provinces of Gaulonitis, Iturea, Auronitis, and Trachonitis. THIS map/ may be more unsatisfactory and conjectural than either of the others. The travels of our Lord are seldom defined by localities sufficient to allow them to be sketched with any degree of certainty. Still, a viev/ of them even though the exact route may be altogether conjectural, serves to impress the mind with the extent of his travels and the wearisome life which he lived, in his labour of love, going about everyu'-here doing good. The chart of these journeyings may seem somewhat confused, but they may be easily traced in their order, as delineated by the different colours on the map according to the following descriptions. The dates are given according to the corrected chronology, four years below the common reckoning of the Christian era. I. In his Crst journey to Jerusalem, Jesus goes from Nazareth to be baptized of John in Jordan at Bethabara nearly opposite Jericho, | 1§. He is supposed to go down the east side of Jordan — ^he passes over into the wilder- ness of Judea, on the west side, about Jericho — ^goes up to Jerusalem, returns A. D. §;§. (§19) through the wilderness to John at Bethabara, and thence along the western banks of the Jordan to Nazareth, and (§ 20) to Gana and Caper- naum. n. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem the second time, A. D. 26. § 21, by the westem route, (see page 1 79) along the plain of Esdraelon and along the plain of Sharon. From Jerusalem he passes eastward to the Jordan, baptizes at Enon near Shalim — ^returns to Jerusalem and to G-alilee by the middle route, which conducts him to Jacob's well, § 25, and Sychar, the Shechem of the Old Testament. He teaches publicly in the synagogues in G-alilee, § 26, is again at Gana and at Nazareth, and Cxes his abode at Capernaum. This public teaching in G-alilee supposes him tc> have reached these plains by some such circuit as is indicated in this return. m. The first circuit in G-alilee from Capernaum (A. D. 27.) is wholly conjectural, § §2, but it extended "throughout all Galilee," Mark i. §9, and is accordingly so indicated on the map. IV. The third journey to Jerusalem, g §6, A D. 27. by the eastern route, crossing the Jordan and ascending to the table-land above, and following this through ilamoth G-ilead to the fords of the Jordan near Jericho. Retums by lh.e middle line of travel, for which we have no authority other than may seem to be indicated in the plucking of the ears of grain as he and his disciples passed through- The plains of Mamre and Esdraelon, through which this route passes, are among the most fertile in Palestine, and to this day are covered v/ith similar fields of grain. V. Second circuit in Galilee, § 47, A. D. 27. This is sketched by conjecture around Upper Galilee. VI. Excursion across the lake to the country of the Gadarenes, south-east of the Sea of Galilee, § S7, A. D. 27. Vn. Third circuit in Galilee, g 62, A. D. 28. Nothing is said to define this circuit. It is sketched as passing through Nazareth, Shunem, the plain of Esdraelon and Tiberias. It is represented to have been a wide circuit, when the twelve apostles were also sent to supply his lack of service. Vm. Excursion to Bethsaida, on the north-east coast of the Sea of Galilee, § 64, A. D. 28. IX. Fourth circuit in Galilee, § 68, A. D. 28. This is defined as comprising a wide range through Sarepta, Tyre, and Zidon, and the region of Decapolis beyond Jordan. X. The fifth circuit in Galilee, § 7§, A. D. 28. to Bethsaida, north-east of the cea, and to Cesarea Philippi. XL The fourth and final journey to Jerusalem, § 81, A. D. 28. This journey was by the middle route through Sa- maria, where the ten lepers were cleansed, § 62. Xn. The journey to Bethabara beyond Jordan, return to Bethany on the death of Lazarus. § 91, A. D. 29. The circuit to Ephraim, the valley of the Jordan and in Peraea, § 92, AD. S9. ^Tei-A^^ Of THE ['OSIVSBSIT [l^[F)[L^[Ri]^TD©K] ©[F m/AiP WDOo THIS map was prepared by Kiepert originally for Neander's History of the Christian Church in the Times of the Apostles. It was then reconstructed for his beautiful classical maps of G-reece and Asia Minor, embracing the re- sults of the latest researches; from that it has been reduced by him to the present form. In the preparation of it for this work, it has been carefully compared with the series of maps which accompany the learned and incom- parable work of Conybeare and Howson on the life of St. Paul. I. The travels of the Apostle begin at Damascus, on his going up to Jerusalem for the first time, A. D. 88, after his conversion, and supposes him to sail from Joppa for Tarsus. II. Paul goes by invitation of Barnabas to Antioch. A. D. 44. Visits Jerusalem a second time with Barnabas on the occasion of the famine, A. D. 45. The route is conjectural. He is supposed to pass up the Orontes through Cosle-Syria and to return by sea from Joppa. III. His First Missionary Tour, A. D. 48, is distinctly defmed and may be easily traced through Cyprus and Pamphylia to Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe in Lycaonia, and through the same places to Perga, Attalia, and Antioch. IV. Paul goes the third time to Jerusalem in company with Barnabas and Titus, G-al. ii. §, to the council about circumcision. Their line of travel is along the great Roman road dov/n the Phcenician coast, and through the midland districts of Samaria ; and returns through Damascus to Antioch. V. Paul in his Second Missionary Tour passes by land to Tarsus, and revisits Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, thence through G-alatia and Phrygia to Troas, A. D. §2. Macedonia, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Cesarea, Jeru- salem, A. D. S4, the fourth time. VI. Paul in his Third Missionary Tour visits the churches of Lycaonia, Galatia, and Pamphylia — goes to Ephesus, to Macedonia, into Ulyricum to Corinth — from Corinth returns by land through Thessaly to Philippi, then to Miletus, to Tyre, and Jerusalem the fifth and last time. VII. The voyage to Pvome in the autumn and winter of A. D. 60-61, is distinctly traced from Cesarea up the coast around C3rprus, along the coast of Asia Minor to Cnidus, around the southern coast of Crete to Malta and Syracuse — ^through the Straits of Sicily to the Bay of Naples, and along the Appian way through the Pontine marshes to Rome. Vm. After his release from his first imprisonment at Rome, A. D. 6§. we trace his journey through Brundusium and Appollonia in Illyricum to Macedonia, thence to Ephesus, and the churches of Asia, j^. D. 64, then to Spain and again to Ephesus, A. D. 66, then once more to Macedonia, thence to Crete, and yet again to Ephesus and Corinth, thence to Nicopolis in Epirus in the winter of A. D. 67-8, he is arrested and taken to P^^ome, where in th? spring of A. D. 68, he is beheaded. i •of THE ;•!•-> T, ', ;') ;UFI7BRSITr] A CHART OF DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE LANDS OF THE BIBLE. From 5000 to 6000 Table-land of Armenia Tablo-land of Asia Minor. From 3000 to 4000 Damascus 2237 r Hasbany 322 Sources of the Jordan. I Banias 526 [ Tell El-Kady 556 Waters of Merom, Huleh 100 Table-land east of the Sea of Galilee 2S00 Mountains of Galilet.' Heights of Nazareth overlooking the valley 1500 Nazareth 821 Mount Tabor I747 Giitioa 1800 Plain of Esdraelon 4.38 Mount Carmel 1500 •% Sychar, Nabulus 1568 Gerizim 2398 Mount of Olives 2555 Valley of Jehoshaphat — Gethsemane 1900 Jerusalem 2349 Mount Moriali 2300 Mount Zion 2400 Bethlehem 2700 Mountains of Judah and of Moab 3000 Hebron 2640 . Pass of Zephath 1600 ss c2 ' ■- o =-- a ^ cc *^ Of PART I. THE OLD TESTAMENT. CHAPTER I. THE ANTEDILUVIAN PERIOD ; FROM THE CREATION TO THE FLOOD, 1656 YEARS. In the beginning, at some time to us unknown, fiir back in the absorbing periods of eternit.y, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth, as originally created by the word of the Lord, waS a vast incongruous mass, "without form and void." From this chaos, in the lapse of countless ages, the elements — air, earth and water — were evolved. The waters under the heaven were gathered together unto one place, and the dry land appeared. The earth brought forth grass, and herb, and tree, yielding fruit after their kind. The vicissitudes of day and night and the "mysterious round" of the seasons were established. The earth, the air, the sea were filled with their inhabitants. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." The date of this great event, the completion of the work of creation, is, according to the chronology of the Scriptures, four thousand and four i/ears he- fore the Christian era; or, according to other ap- proved systems of chronology, four thousand one Jtundred and one or two years be/ore the BIRTH OF OUR Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. EDEN, PARADISE, NOD, ENOCH. "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden ; and there he put the man whom he had formed." Where then was Eden, the abode of our first parents in their innocency ? Two of the rivers which proceeded from this country are known, the Euphrates and the Tigris — in Scripture, the Hidde- 2 [A.M. 0+1656=1656.] kel (Gen. ii. 14, Dan. x. 4) and the Euphrates. These two rivers both arise in the highlands of Ar- menia — the Tigris within four or five miles of the Euphrates. The headwaters of the Araxes and the Cyrus, which flow north-east into the Caspian Sea, are traced to the same elevated regions of country. The Araxes, according to the survey of Colonel Chesney, springs from the mountain of a thou- sand lakes, nearly in the centre between the two principal sources of the Euphrates, at the distance of about ten miles from either, and runs a course of almost 1000 miles to the Caspian Sea. The ancient Halys, at no great distance from the Euphrates, begins to flow to the north-west, and after various windings empties into the Black Sea, after a course of 700 miles. This river, according to the theory under consideration, is Pison ; and Havilah, abounding in gold and precious stones, is the ancient Colchis, famous also from the remotest antiquity for its gold and precious gems, which gave rise to the Argonautic expedition, and the fable of the golden fleece of Jason. Ethiopia, or Cush, is a region of country adjacent to the Caspian on the west and south, throughwhich the Araxes flows; or possibly it may be the intermediate country which is " encom- passed" by this river and the Kur, the Cyrus, pre- vious to their junction, as is Mesopotamia by the Tigris and Euphrates. The Tigris has, in Central Armenia, two "principal sources, both of which spring from the southern slope of the Anti-Taurus, near those of the Araxes [Gihon] and the Euphrates, and not far from that of the Halys [Pison]." The length of this river before its junction with the Euphrates is 1146 miles. [B. C. 4102—1656=2446.] 9 11 TEXT BOOK AND ATLAS OF BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. 12 In the latter part of its course it is stated by Colonel Chesney to have an average width of 600 feet, and a depth of 15 or 20 feet. The Euphrates has an equal volume of water, and a longer course before its junction with the Tigris. The former is navi- gable 800 miles, and the latter 600, from their con- fluence. It appears then that this elevated plateau of Cen- tral Armenia, lying west of Ararat, and at an eleva- tion of more than 5000 feet above the level of the eea, gives rise to four noble rivers, all arising from sources within a short distance of each other, and ^ discharging their waters into three different seas. These four main streams seem best to answer the description of that dark and difficult passage which describes the rivers that went out of Eden and parted into four heads. Like those of Eden, these of Armenia run " Diverse, wandering many a famous realm And country, whereof here needs no account" Such is the variety of climate, surface, and temper- ature of this country, that it is adapted to the growth of "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." It is described by Colonel Chesney as in- terspersed with beautiful valleys and fertile plains, overspread with "groves, orchards, vineyards, gar- dens, and villages." In some of these delightful retreats, on the east of this Eden, dwelt, we fancy, the gentle pair in " the blissful Paradise of God." This, like every other theory, is beset with difficulties; but, in the absence of a better, we are constrained to adopt it. The land of Eden is assumed to be a province of Armenia, of indefinite extent; and Paradise, the gar- den which the Lord God planted in Eden, is referred to some one of the fertile and charming valleys in Eden, with which this region of country abounds. Nod, to which Cain, cursed of God for the shedding of his brother's blood, was driven to wander a fugi- tive and a vagabond, is a land of wanderings, of fiight, of hanishment, indicative rather of his manner of life than of his place of abode. Of this locality nothing is known more than that it was " on the east of Eden." Gen. iv. 16. In this land the city of Enoch became in process of time the settled abode of himself and of his pos- terity. Nothing more is known of the dwelling- places of the men before the flood. They doubtless built many cities and dwelt in them. Their great progenitor began life in the full maturity of man- hood, and instinctively endowed with all that was requisite for the enjoyment of civilized life. And they became artificers in wood, iron, and brass; and [A.M.04-1G56.=1G.56.] proficients, to some extent at least, in the fine arts— in music and poetry. Gen. iv. 19-25. " They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." Their memorial has perished for ever, save the brief narrative and concise genealogical table of their lineage from Adam to Noah, which is recorded in the fifth chapter of the Book of Genesis. The following analysis will illustrate the genealo- gical table given in the fifth chapter of Genesis. These and subsequent data are given in accordance with the results of the Rev. Mr. Browne in his Ordo Saeculorum, and other modern chronologists, who add one hundred years to the chronology of our Bible in common use. Gen. v. A. K. B. C. 1. 4102-1. The first year of the Mundane Era, and of the life of Adam. Whether the years of Adam are reckoned from his creation, or from the expulsion from Paradise, is left unde- cided. Cain and Ahel. The death of Abel must be supposed to have not long pre- ceded the birth of Seth, since Eve regarded Seth as the substi- tute "for Abel, whom Cain slew." In that case there will be no difficulty in explaining Cain's exclamation, " every one who findeth me shall slay me." In 120 years after the Creation, the earth may have had a considerable population. Posterity of Cain. — Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methuasel, La- mech. Lamech had two wives: 1. Adah, of whom was born Jabal, father of dwellers in tents and cattle-graziers j and Jubal, father of instrumental musicians. 2. Zillah, of whom was born Tubal-cain, who instructed artificers in brass and iron ; and Na- amah, a daughter. 131. 3972-1. Birth of Seth. 236. 3867-6. Birth of Enos. " Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord." 326. 3777-6. Birth of Cainan. 396. 3707-6. Birth of Mahalaleel. 461. 3642-1. Birth of Jared. 623. 3480-79. Birth of Enoch. 688. 3415-4. Birth of Methuselah. 875. 3228-7. Birth of Lamech. 931. 3172-1. Death of Adam, 930 years. 988. 3115-4. Translation of Enoch, 365 years. 1043. 3060-59, Death of Seth, 912 years. [Bisection of tho period from Adam to the Promise.] 1057. 3046-5. Birth of Noah. 1141. 2962-1. Deathof Enos, 905 years. 1236. 2865-6. Death of Cainan, 910 years. 1271. 2812-1. Death of Mahalaleel, 895 years. 1423. 2680-79. Death of Jared, 902 years. 1536. 2567-6. The ark begins to be prepared, (120 years.) 1557. 2546-5. Noah's eldest son is born, (500 years.) 1558. 2545-4. Shem is bom. 1652. 2451-0. Lamech dies, 777 years. 1656. 2447. Methuselah dies, in his 969th year. The Flood, in the 600th year of Noah, 99tb of Shem. In the year of the Flood we have the following dates and numbers : — [B. C. 4102— 1656=:244G.] 13 THE ANTEDILUVIAN PERIOD. 14 Gen. vii. 3-10. A pause of 7 days. 12, 17. Rain 40 clays. 24. The waters prevailed 160 days : "at the end of the 150 days the waters were abated." viii. 3. We must, therefore, arrange the times in this way : — 40 days, to the 10th of the 2d month, (a. m. 1656, b. c. 2447.) 7 days suspense to the 17th day. The Flood begins. Noah enters the ark. 40 days rain. 110 days the waters prevail. 160 days, ending at the 17th of the 7th month. (17 Nisan, A.M. 1666, B.C. 2446.) The year being lunar, the interval is in fact but 148 days, or it was on the 149th day current that the ark rested; but this discrepancy is of no moment. viii. 6. The waters decreased till the 10th month, 1st day; 100 days from the ark's resting. Ver. 6. At the end of 40 days, (10th day of 11th month, t. e. of the month afterward called Ab, the 5th month,) Noah opened the window and sent forth the raven and the dove. Ver. 10. Seven days later the dove was sent forth the second time; and at the end of another week, the third and last time —24th of the 11th month. Ver. 13. On the first day of the new year (a week after the departure of the dove) the face of the ground was dry. Ver. 14. On the 27th of the second month Noah issues from the ark, after a sojourn of a lunar year and 10 days, or a com- plete solar year. Noah issues from the ark the 27th of the 2d month, October or November, A. M. 1657, b. c. 2446-5. Ararat, on which the ark rested as the waters sub- sided, is the name rather of a region of country than of a mountain. Isa. xxxvii. 38 ; 2 Kings xix. 37 ; Jer. li. 27. It is watered by the Araxes, which flows through this province. It is situated a short distance east of the position which is assumed as the abode of our first parents. In the province of Ararat, at the distance of 25 or 30 miles south-west from the modern city of Erivan, in lat. 39° 42', Ion. 45° east, and 150 miles from Erzrum, rises the mountain of the same name, which is the reputed height on which the ark rested. It is a stupendous mountain, rising majestically out of a vast plain, towering to the height of 17,750 feet above the level of the sea, and 13,420 above that of the plain. It is accordingly 1500 feet higher than the summit of Mont Blanc. The mountain is divided by a deep cleft into two immense cones of unequal height, one falling 4000 feet below the other. The highest, for the space of near three miles from the summit, is sheathed in perpetual snow and ice, which, within a few years, has for the first time been tra- versed by the foot of man. Prof. Parrot, of Russia, in the year 1829 succeeded, after two unsuccessful attempts, in scaling the stupendous heights of Ara- rat. He found the extreme cone a silver crest of [A. M. 04-1656=1656.] ice, unbroken by rock or stone, and scarcely 200 feet in diameter From this perilous and awful height, the inequali- ties of hills, valleys, and lower mountain ranges seemed levelled into one vast plain, confused, indis- tinct, and illimitable as the wide world itself. But from the plains below, the view of this monarch of mountains is one of surpassing grandeur and sub- limity. Sir Robert Ker Porter describes his emo- tions in view of it in the following terms : — "It appeared as if the highest mountains of the world had been piled together to form this one sub- lime immensity of earth, rocks, and snow. The icy peaks of its double head rose majestically into the clear and cloudless heavens; the sun blazed bright upon them, and the reflection sent forth a dazzling radiance equal to other suns. My eye, not able to rest for any time upon the blinding glory of its summits, wandered down the apparently inter- minable sides, till I could no longer trace their lines in the mists of the horizon, when an irrepressible impulse immediately carrying my eye upward again, refixed my gaze upon the awful Ararat." Viewed from whatever point, at whatever distance, Mount Ararat is equally the admiration of every beholder, — grand, sublime, peculiar. Mr. Layard on the Alpine heights of Kourdistan, where he had pitched his tent on the margin of perpetual snow and ice, says, " I climbed up a solitary rock to take the bearings of the principal peaks around us. A sight as magnificent as unexpected awaited me. Far to the north, and high above the dark moun- tain ranges which spread like a troubled sea beneath my feet, rose one solitary cone of unspotted whiti. 26-29 ; Mark xiv. 22-25 ; Luke xxii. 19-20 ; 1 Cor. xi. 23-25. g 138. Comforts his disciples, and promises the Holy Spirit. John xiv. 1-31. 2 139. Declares himself the true vine, and assures his disci- ples that they shall be hated by the world. John xv. 1-27. § 140. Forewarns them of persecution, and promises again the Holy Spirit. Prayer in the name of Christ. John xvi. 1-33. - § 141. Christ offers his final prayer with his disciples. John xvii. 1-26. g 142. After the supper, Jesus retires at a late hour of the night from the city toward the Mount of Olives, and be- yond the brook Cedron or Kidron, just at the foot of the mount; he enters into the garden of Gethsemane, where he sinks to earth in a mysterious agony. Matt xxvi. 30, 36-40; Mark xiv. 26, 32-42; Luke xxii. 39-46; John xviii. 1. At the gate of St. Stephen, on the east side of the city, the path is turned out of its line by the terraces on which formerly stood the temple of Solomon, and where now stands the mosque of Omar ; and a broad steep bank descends suddenly to the left, toward the bridge which crosses the Kidron^ and leads to Geth- semane and the Garden of Olives, which lies at the depth of 150 feet or more below the city, and the 14 distance of less than a quarter of a mile from the gate of St. Stephen. It is, according to the descrip- tion of Lieut. Lynch, enclosed by a high stone wall. It is 145 feet distant from the bridge over the Ki- dron. It is nearly square, and 150 or 160 feet in length on either side. " When we saw it/' he adds, about the middle of May, "the trees were in full blossom; the clover upon the ground was in bloom ; and, altogether, the garden, in its aspects and associations, was better calculated than any place I know to soothe a trou- bled spirit. Eight venerable trees, isolated from the smaller and less imposing ones which skirt the pass of the Mount of Olives, form a consecrated grove. High above, on either hand, towers a very lofty mountain, with the deep, yawning chasm of Jehoshaphat between them. Crowning one of them is Jerusalem, a living city ; on the slope of the other is the great Jewish cemetery, a city of the dead. " Each tree in this grove, cankered, and gnarled, and furrowed by age, yet beautiful and impressive in its decay, is a living monument of the affecting scenes that have taken place beneath and around it. The olive perpetuates itself, and from the root of the dying parent-stem the young tree springs into exist- ence. These are accounted one thousand years old. Under those of the preceding growth, therefore, the Saviour was wont to rest; and otie of the present may mark the very spot where he knelt, and prayed, and wept. No cavilling doubt can find entrance here. The geographical boundaries are too distinct and clear for an instant's hesitation. Here, the Christian, forgetful of the present, and absorbed in the past, can resign himself to sad yet soothing meditation. The few purple and crimson flowers growing about the roots of the trees, will give ample food for contemplation — for they emblem the suffer- ing and the ensanguined death of the Redeemer." 203 TEXT BOOK AND ATLAS OF BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. f^ 204 It was a gloomy and befitting place for the sad and awful scene of the agony, still vailed in darkness, and full of unfathomable mystery. It lay low in the valley of Jehoshaphat, where not the sound of a footfall or note fi-om the city above could have broken the profound stillness of the nigh't, to disturb the devotions of the Son of Man in this hour of his mysterious, awful agony. This hour of his aban- donment by Grod and man, when prostrate upon the earth beneath the burden of our sins, was a fit occa- sion for the treachery of Judas. § 143. A tumultuous rabble, led by Judas the traitor, rush in to arrest Jesus, who calmly advances to meet them, and is betrayed with a kiss. John xviii. 2-12 ; Matt. xxvi. 47-56; Mark xiv. 43-52 ; Luke xxii. 47-53. Late on Thursday night, or early on Friday morning. ^ 144. Jesus is led immediately to the house of Hananiah, or Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who examines him while the sanhedrim assemble. He is now in the inner court or quadrangle, around which the house is built There is a fire in the open court of the quadrangle, near which Peter is standing when he first denies his Lord. He retreats to the passage, or gateway leading to the street, where he again denies his Lord ; and, an hour after, denies him the third time; still within the court, and pro- bably near the place of the first denial. In the mean time, Annas sends him bound to Caiaphas, who in his zeal has come in advance of the council into the court-house. Matt. xxvi. 57, 58, 69-75 ; Mark xiv. 53, 54, 66-72 ; Luke xxii. 64-62 ; John xviii. 13-18, 25-27. g 145. Previous to the last denial of Peter, the sanhedrim have assembled, while it is yet night, or early dawn on morning of Friday the 15th, and the trial proceeds ; during which our Lord declares himself the Christ, and is con- demned and mocked. John xviii. 19-24 ; Luke xxii. 63-71; Matt. xxvi. 59-68 ; Mark xiv. 55-65. 2 146. The sanhedrim lead Jesus away to Pilate. Morning of Friday, very early, March 18, a. d. 29. Matt xxvii. 1, 2, 11-14 ; Mark xv. 1-5 j Luke xxiii. 1-5 ; John xviiL 28t-38. The Prsetorium, or judgment-hall of Pilate, where he condemned and the soldiers mocked the Saviour of the world, appears to have been the old palace of Herod, connected with the tower of Hippicus, the remains of which are represented in the plan of the city fronting the title-page, near the western gate of the city. This locality is very clearly identified as a fixed point in the survey of the city. I 147. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod. Luke xxiii. 6-12. § 148. Pilate seeks to release Jesus. The Jews demand Ba- rabbas. Luke xxiii. 13-25 ; Matt xxvii. 15-26 ; Mark xv. 6-15 ; John xviii. 39, 40, g 149. Pilate delivers up Jesus to death, who is scourged and mocked. Matt xxvii. 26-30 ; Mark xv. 15-29 ; John xix. 1-3. 1 150. He again seeks to release Jesus. John xix. 4-16. 2 151. As soon as Judas sees that his Master is delivered to death, he is seized with remorse, and hangs himself. He had hoped, perhaps, to enjoy the reward of his treachery without incurring the guilt of his Master's blood. Matt. xxvii. 3-10. Aceldama, or the field of blood, called also Pot- ter's Field, was the field purchased by the Jews with the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas be- trayed his Lord, and which in his remorse he re- turned. Matt, xxvii. 3-8 ; Acts i. 18, 19. As the price of blood, it could not be paid into the sacred treasury j it was, accordingly, applied for the pur- chase of a burial-place for strangers who might die in the city. This field is pointed out on the south of Hinnom, toward the hill of evil counsel. High up on the heights above the valley, upon a level flat or terrace, having precipitous clifis in the rear and a precipice in front, is an immense charnel-house, which, for many centuries, has been used as a de- pository for the remains of the dead. There can be but little doubt that this memorial of the crime and infamy of Judas truly commemorates the betrayal of Jesus, while the site of his sepulchre has long been a subject of dispute, and will probably never be known. ^ 152. Jesus is led away, about nine o'clock in the morning, to be crucified. On his way to Calvary, Jesus bears the, cross to which he is to be nailed ; but, exhausted by the sufierings to which he has been subjected, he sinks be- neath the burden, and a stranger from Cyrene, a city on the coast of Africa, opposite Crete, is compelled to bear the cross. Matt, xxvii. 31-34 ; Mark xv. 20-23 ; John xix. 16, 17 ; Luke xxiii. 26-33. § 153. The Crucifixion ; from nine o'clock A. M. to throe P. H Matt, xxvii. 35-38 ; Mark xv. 24-28 ; Luke xxiii. 33, 34, 38 ; John xix. 18-34. March 18, A. d. 29. Calvary, the place of crucifixion, will probably never be identified. All the research which has been employed on this locality has done little else than substitute some plausible conjecture for the uncertain traditions of the church. A late writer suggests, with much plausibility, that the place of crucifixion may have been at the head of the valley of Jehoshaphat, by the side of the road leading north to Samaria and Galilee. The multitude ^assm^ by being those who were going to the city or returning from it. "Mount Calvary" has become common in every language, but without any authority from the Bible, unless the idea of a hill or mount is darkly intimated by the term Golgotha, a skull. 2 154. Jesus on the cross is mocked by the Jews. He com- mends his mother to John. Matt, xxvii. 39-44 ; Mark xv. 29-32. g 155. Darkness prevails over the land from twelve o'clock to three p. m., when our Saviour expires. Matt, xxvii. 45-50; Mark xv. 33-37; Luke xxiii. 44-46; John xix. 28-30. g 156. At this great event the vail of the temple is rent, the earth quakes, many graves are opened, and the Roman centurion, in attendance to witness these scenes, exclaims, "Truly, this was the Son of God." Matt xxvii. 61-56; Mark xv. 38-41 ; Luke xxiii. 45, 47-49. g 157. It was a custom of the Jews that the bodies of such as were publicly executed should be taken down before '::,* 205 THE LIFE OF 'CHRIST. 208 sunset. The body of Jesus is accordingly delivered by request to Joseph of Arimathea, who takes caro to have it embalmed and laid in a new sepulchre near by. Mary Magdalene, and other women, who had stood by the cross during the sufferings of their Lord, are also attendants at his burial. John xix. 31-42 ; Matt, xxvii. 57-61 ; Mark XV. 42-47 ; Luke xxiii. 50-56. A little before sunset, Fri- day, March 18, A. D. 29. Arimathea has generally been supposed to be the modern town of Ramleh, near Lydda. This suppo- sition is refuted by Dr. Robinson, but defended by Von Raumer. g 158. The next day, Saturday, 19th, the Sabbath of the Jews, a watch is set, and other precautions taken, to pre- vent imposition. Matt, xxvii. 62-66. PART IX.— OUR LORD'S RESURRECTION", HIS SUBSEQUENT APPEARANCES, AND HIS ASCENSION. time: FORTY DAYS. This difficult portion of the gospel history has been carefully harmonized by our author. The order of events will be best presented in his own words : — " The resurrection took place at or before early dawn on the first day of the week, when there was an earthquake, and an angel descended and rolled away the stone from the sepulchre and sat upon it, so that the keepers became as dead men from terror. At early dawn, the same morning, the women who had attended on Jesus, viz. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, Salome, and others, went out with spices to the sepulchre, in order fur- ther to embalm the Lord's body. They inquire among themselves who should remove for them the stone which closed the sepulchre. On their arrival they find the stone already rolled away. The Lord had risen. The women, knowing nothing of all that had taken place, were amazed j they enter the tomb, and find not the body of the Lord, and are greatly perplexed. At this time, Mary Magdalene, im- pressed with the idea that the body had been stolen away, leaves the sepulchre and the other women, and runs to the city to tell Peter and John. " The other women remain still in the tomb j and immediately two angels appear, who announce unto them that Jesus is risen from the dead, and give them a charge in his name for the apostles. They go out quickly from the sepulchre, and proceed in haste to the city to make this known to the disciples. On the way, Jesus meets them, permits them to em- brace his feet, and renews the same charge to the apostles. The women relate these things to the disciples, but their words seem to them as idle tales, and they believe them not. " Meantime, Peter and John had run to the se- pulchre, and entering it, had found it empty. But the orderly arrangement of the grave-clothes, and of the napkin, convinced John that the body had not been removed, either by violence or by friends ; and the germ of a belief sprang up in his mind that the liord had risen. The two returned to the city. Mary Magdalene, who had again followed them to the sepulchre, remained standing and weeping before it; and looking in, she saw two angels sitting. Turning around, she sees Jesus; who gives to her also a solemn charge for his disciples. " The further sequence of events, consisting chiefly of our Lord's appearances, presents comparatively few difficulties. The various manifestations which the Saviour made of himself to his disciples and others, as recorded by the evangelists and Paul, may accordingly be arranged and enumerated as follows : — 1. To the women returning from the sepulchre. Reported only by Matthew. See § 162. 2. To Mary Magdalene, at the sepulchre. By John and Mark. § 164. 8. To Peter, perhaps early in the afternoon. By Luke and Paul. § 166. 4. To the two disciples going to Emmaus, to- ward evening. By Luke and Mark. § 166. 5. To the apostles (except Thomas) assembled at evening. By Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. §167. N. B. These five appearances all took place at or near Jerusalem, upon the first day of the week, the same day on which the Lord arose. 6. To the apostles, Thomas being present, eight days afterward at Jerusalem. Only by John. §168. 7. To seven of the apostles on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias. Only by John. § 169. 8. To the eleven apostles and to five hundred other brethren, on a mountain in Galilee. By Matthew and Paul. § 170. 9. To James, probably at Jerusalem. Only by Paul. §171. 10. To the eleven at Jerusalem, immediately be- fore the ascension. By Luke, in Acts, and by Paul. §171. Then follows the ascension. § 172." With these preliminary explanations, the order of events in the following sections will be readily per- ceived. ' 207 TEXT BOOK AND ATLAS OF BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. 208 § 159. The resurrection, on the first day of the week, the Christian Sabbath, March 26. Mark xvi. 1 ; Matt, xxviii. 2-4. § 160. Visit of the women to the sepulchre. Mary Magda- lene returns. Matt, xxviii. 1 ; Mark xvi. 2-4 ; Luke xxiv. 1-3 ; John xx. 1, 2. § 161. Vision of the angels in the sepulchre. Mark xvi. 5-7 ; Luke xxiv. 4-8 ; Matt, xxviii. 5-7. § 162. The women return to the city. Jesus meets them. Matt, xxviii. 8-10 ; Mark xvi. 8 ; Luke xxiv. 9, 11. g 163. Peter and John run to the sepulchre. John xx. 3-10 ; Luke xxiv. 12. • § 164. Our Lord is seen by Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre. John XX. 11-18 ; Mark xvi. 9-11. § 165. Report of the watch. Matt, xxviii. 11-15. g 166. Our Lord is seen of Peter. Then by two disciples on the way to Emmaus. 1 Cor. xv. 5 ; Luke xxiv. 13-35 ; Mark xvi. 12, 13. The position of Emmaus was early lost, and has never been with certainty recovered. It is generally recognised in a small village just north of the road to Joppa, twelve or fourteen miles from Jerusalem. It is on the western declivity of the mountains, look- ing westward over the great plain. Its principal characteristics are a fine fountain and an ancient church. g 167. On the evening of the Christian Sabbath, Jesus, while at supper in Jerusalem, presents himself to the disciples, with the exception of Thomas. Mark xvi. 14^18; Luke xxiv. 36-49 ; John xx. 19-23. § 168. One week from this time, March 27, A. d. 29, Jesus again presents himself to the apostles in Jerusalem, while Thomas also is present. John xx. 24-29. § 169. The aposUes now return to Galilee, where Jesus had before assured them that he would meet them after his re- surrection. Matt. xxvi. 32; Mark xvi. 7. Here he first discovers himself to seven of them, at the Sea of Tiberias, Wednesday, March 30, A. D. 27. Matt, xxviii. 16; John xxi. 1-24. 2 170. Jesus meets the apostles and above five hundred brethren on a mountain in GalUee. Matt, xxviii. 16-20; 1 Cor. XV. 6. March or April, A. D. 29. The final interview of our Lord with his disciples at the appointed place, a mountain in Galilee, to us unknown, is appropriately introduced to our notice by the following remarks of the author of the Har- mony : — "The set time had now come; and the eleven disciples went away into the mountain, ' where Jesus had appointed them.' It would seem probable that this time and place had been appointed by our Lord for a solemn and more public interview, not only with the eleven, whom he had already met more than once, but with all his disciples in Gralilee ; and that therefore it was on this same occasion, when, accord- ing to Paul, ' he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.' " I, therefore, with many leading commentators, do not hesitate to regard the interviews thus described by Matthew (xxviii. 16-20) and Paul (1 Cor. xv. 5-8) as identical. It was a great and solemn occa- sion. Our Lord had directed that the eleven and all his disciples in Galilee should thus be convened upon the mountain. It was the closing scene of his ministry in Galilee. Here his life had been spent. Here most of his mighty works had been done, and his discourses held. Here his followers were as yet most numerous. He therefore here takes leave on earth of those among whom he had lived and la- boured longest ; and repeats to all his disciples in public the solemn charge which he had already given in private to the apostles : 'Go ye therefore and teach all nations ; — and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.' It was doubtless the Lord's last interview with his disciples in that region; his last great act in Galilee."* Paul says that our Lord was " seen of all the apostles;" apparently the same as that of which Luke speaks just before the ascension, and an appointed meeting. It was our Lord's last interview with his apostles. § 171. After this public interview with his disciples and fol- lowers, Jesus again appears to James at Jerusalem, and then to all the apostles. The language seems indeed to imply that there were repeated interviews and communi- cations of which we have no specific record. 1 Cor. xv. 7; Acts i. 3-8. g 172. Ascension of Christ. — Bethany. Luke xxiv. 50-53; Mark xvi. 19, 20 ; Acts i. 9-12. In connection with this discourse, or soon after it, our Lord, with the apostles, goes out to Bethany, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, where he lifts up his hands and blesses them ; and, while he blesses them, he is parted from them, and carried up into heaven, and a cloud receives him out of their sight. Who can conceive the emotions of the apostles as they gaze in mute astonishment at this amazing scene ! In vain they look steadfastly up toward heaven. The heaven of heavens has received their Lord and Master unto the right hand of God. But two of the heavenly host appear, saying, " Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." " And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen." § 173. Conclusion of John's Gospel. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the pre- sence of his disciples, which are not written in this » Eng. Harmony, pp. 214, 215. 209 THE LABOURS OF ST. PAUL. 210 book. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye might have life through his name." " And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not con- tain the books that should be written. Amen." John XX. 30, 31, xxi. 25. CHAPTER II. THE LABOURS OF ST. PAUL. PERIOD, THIRTY-FIVE YEARS, FROM A. D. 33 TO 68. The narrative of the evangelists ends with the ascension of our Lord, but Luke, one of the four, who was divinely moved "to set in order" the memoirs of the ministry of the Son of Man, con- tinued, under the same divine direction, in the Acts of the Apostles, the history of the origin, increase, and extension of the Christian church, particularly through the instrumentality of the apostles Peter and Paul. The historical geography of this book will chiefly engage our attention in connection with the life and missionary labours of the apostle Paul. The book of the Acts was probably written at Rome, A. D. 63 or 64, soon after the martyrdom of the apostle Paul in that city. The historical order of events in the Acts will be found inserted in the Chronological Table, to which the reader is referred. PENTECOST. This feast received its name from its occurring on the fiftieth day, or seven entire weeks, from the second day of the Passover. From this cycle of weeks, a week of weeks, the festival was called the feast of weeJcs. Ex. xxxiv. 22 ; Lev. xxiii. 15, 16 ; Deut. xvi. 10. It was a festival of thanksgiving for the harvest, and occurred on the last of May and first of June, at which time, in that country, the harvest is completed. Two loaves, accordingly, made of new meal and a tenth part of an ephah of grain, were offered as the first-fruits of the new harvest. Lev. xxiii. 17 ; Num. xxviii. 26 ; together with many holocausts, and a burnt-offering for sin. In process of time it was also made to commemorate the giving of the law on Sinai, for which there is no authority in the Old Testament. The feast was a joyful occasion, when many Jews and strangers from foreign countries came up to Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection of our Lord, and ten after his ascen- sion, while the disciples and Christians were all assembled together in Jerusalem, the effusion of the Holy Spirit was suddenly sent forth upon them in a most miraculous manner, like " a rushing, mightj wind, and filled the house where they were sitting." One of the effects of this descent of the Holy Spirit was that the disciples were suddenly endowed with ability to speak in foreign and unknown tongues, one in one language and another in another, accord- ing as each had occasion in addressing the mixed multitude who pressed around them to see and to hear the wonders respecting them which were noised abroad in the city. The enumeration of the foreigners in whose lan- guage the disciples spoke begins in the farthest east, and proceeds west and south. Acts ii. 9-11. The Parthians, at this period of history, represented the country east and south of the Caspian Sea. The Modes were chiefly south of that sea, and east of the Tigris. The country of the Elamites, the ancient Susiana, north of the Persian Grulf and east of the Euphrates and the Tigris ; but Winer sup- poses that at this time settlements of Elamites had been made north of Media, around the south-west part of the Caspian Sea, where the captive Jews, who returned to their country, had learned the lan- guage of the Elamites. The dwellers in Mesopotamia and Judea are men- , tioned, not so much as speaking strange languages, as to intimate in how many different languages the apostles spoke. Cappadocia and Pontus were north-eastern pro- vinces of Asia Minor, lying south of the eastern extremity of the Black Sea. The enumeration now passes to the south-western portion of Asia Minor, which at this time bore the name of Asia, and finally gave its name to the whole continent, of which it was then only a remote and inconsiderable portion. Phrygia and Pamphy- lia represent the central provinces of Asia Minor, between Pontus and Cappadocia on the east, and Asia on the west. 211 TEXT BOOK AND ATLAS OF BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. llZ Cyrene was a populous city, some 500 miles west of Alexandria, in the modern country of Barca. It was mucli frequented by the Jews. So numerous, indeed, were the Cyrenian Jews at Jerusalem, that they had there a synagogue of their own. Acts vi. 9. Simon, who was compelled to bear our Saviour's cross, was himself from this remote city, as was also Lucius, the prophet and teacher at Antioch. Acts xiii. 1. To this enumeration of foreign tongues we have to add those of the Romans, Cretes, and Arabians. INIany of those who were addressed in these lan- guages were Jews from these countries, present on the occasion of their national festival. The Jews generally adopted the language of the countries where they resided. The proselytes were originally heathens who had embraced Judaism. By reason of the persecution connected with the martyrdom of Stephen, Philip goes to Samaria, where he establishes the first Christian church out of Jerusalem; then he is in the south of Judea, where he baptizes the eunuch from Abyssinia ; then he is found at Azotus, Ashdod, already described; from thence he passed up the coast, through Joppa, to Csesarea, formerly known as Strato's Tower, the residence, perhaps the native place of Philip. Acts viii. C^ESAREA. This city, of which frequent mention is made in the Acts of the Apostles, was near thirty-five miles north from Joppa, twenty-five south from Mount Carmel, and fifty-five north-west from Jerusalem. It was built by Herod the Great, at immense ex- pense. To form a harbour, he constructed an exten- sive mole, or breakwater, sufficient to protect a fleet against the storms which rage on this inhospitable coast. It was built of large blocks of stone, brought from a great distance, and sunk to the depth of a hundred and twenty feet. To this stupendous work he added a temple, a theatre and amphitheatre, to- gether with many splendid buildings, and made it his own residence and the capital of Judea. After him it became the residence of the Roman governors. Its present state, and the historical recollections associated with it, in connection with the history of the apostle Paul, are clearly exhibited by Dr. Wil- son : — " The ruins are very extensive, lying along the shore to the north, where there are some remains of aqueducts. The wall of a fort, surrounded by a moat, still remains in tolerably good order. This Irby and Mangles suppose to be of Saracenic archi- tecture. The ruins within it consist of foundations, arches, pillars, and great quantities of building ma- terial ; but there is nothing distinctive about them. Various columns and masses of stone are seen lying in the sea close to the shore. " The only considerable pile of building standing is at the southern part of the fort, where travellers enter the gate to get a supply of water for them- selves and cattle. At this place we observed only a solitary human being : and there are now not more than one or two families of herdsmen occasionally to be found at the Roman capital of Judea. Were either the Grrecian Strato, who first marked the place by his tower, or Herod the Great, who built the city in a style of the greatest magnificence, and formed the breakwater necessary for constituting it a port, to raise his head, he would be astonished at the doings of the ruthless hand of man, and the still more potent hand of Time, the great destroyer. " It is mentioned in the New Testament in con- nection with circumstances and events of great in- terest. Philip preached in all the cities intermedi- ate between Ashdod and Csesarea, (a distance of more than fifty miles.) Acts viii. 40. The apostle Paul was brought down to it from Jerusalem, on his way to Tarsus, when the brethren were inducing him to escape from the violence of the Grecians who had been irritated by his reasonings. Acts ix. 30. It was the residence of Cornelius the centurion, the first Gentile convert. Acts x. 1, &c. ; xi. 11. It witnessed the judgment of God inflicted on Herod Agrippa, when — probably in the magnificent amphi- theatre erected by his grandfather — he was smitten by the angel of God, when glittering in the gorgeous display of his royal apparel, and rejoicing in the idolatrous plaudits of the maddened multitude. Acts xii. 19-23. " Paul concluded at it his voyage from Ephesus, and there saluted the church. Acts xviii. 22. This apostle made it a landing-place on a similar occasion, when he took up his abode for a time with Philip the Evangelist. Acts xxi. 8, 16. He was sent to it by Claudius Lysias to appear before Felix, in whose presence he uttered the noble speech which made that governor tremble. Acts xxiii. 24 ; xxiv. Here he was imprisoned for two long years, till he was called forth to plead his cause before Festus and Agrippa. Acts xxv. 26. From Cajsarea he sailed to imperial Rome, to finish, at that centre of in- fluence and of power, his wondrous testimony to the cause of Christ. Acts xxvii. 1." Here Vespasian was declared emperor. It was for some time the scene of Origen's labours, and the birthplace of Eusebius, the first ecclesiastical histo- rian and the first biblical geographer. 213 THE LABOURS OF ST. PAUL. 214 JOPPA AND THE PLAIN OF SHARON. 32^3. ACTS IX. Joppa is the port of Jerusalem, about thirty miles west by north from the city. From the beach rises boldly upward a steep and rounded headland, to which the city clings, supported and braced by suc- cessive terraces. The flat roofs and hemispherical domes of its clustering edifices rise by successive steps one above another, and crown the heights of this venerable city. No public inn extends to the traveller on his arrival the hospitalities of a stranger's home. He seeks in vain for lodgings or entertain- ment within its walls. He pitches his tent without the walls by the eastern gate, above the city, and provides as best he can his own provisions, from the gardens about the suburbs of the city, which abound with every variety of tropical fruits. Tradition dates the origin of Joppa back even to the years before the Flood ! It affirms that the city survived the ruins of that great catastrophe, and that its halls, deserted by the monsters of the deep, on the retiring of the waters after the deluge, were peopled again by Japheth, the son of Noah, and his posterity. Certain it is, that its origin dates back far beyond the remotest period of recorded history. What countless generations of men, in this long lapse of years, have in this venerable city pressed successively through life, and passed away into eter- nity ! Like the waves of the ocean that roll at the base of the city, its fleeting generations, age suc- ceeding age, have arisen and rolled a moment on the restless tide of life, alternately gilded by the sun- shine and darkened by the storm, then sunk and mingled with their original element. More than fifteen hundred years before the Chris- tian era, in the days of Joshua, Joppa was a Philis- tine city of importance, included in the borders of Dan. Josh. xix. 46. It was the only port of the Israelites where the rafts of cedar from Lebanon, for the building both of the first and of the second tem- ple, were landed. 1 Kings v. 9 ; 2 Chron. ii. 16 ; Ezra iii. 7. Jonah, from the neighbourhood of Nazareth, repaired to this port to take ship, that he might " flee from the presence of the Lord," unto Tarshish. Jonah i. 3. Peter, at the request of the disciples at Joppa, came to this place from Lydda, fourteen miles south-east from this city, on the occa- sion of the death of Dorcas, a benevolent woman, " full of good works and alms-deeds which she did," To the sorrowful circle who had assembled to weep and talk of the charities of their deceased friend, the miraculous power of God was displayed in her restoration to health, upon the prayer of Peter. Acts ix. 36-43. Encouraged by the favourable impressions made by this miracle, and the conversion of many in Joppa, Peter abode here for some time, with one Simon a tanner, at the base of the city, upon tha sea-shore. At this time there was stationed at Caesarea, a military and naval post, thirty-five or forty miles north of Joppa, a devput Roman officer, who, warned of God by a holy angel, sent for Peter to come and preach unto him and his household the way of salvation by faith in Christ. The messenger sent on this errand by Cornelius, arrived while Pe- ter, at three o'clock in the afternoon, had gone up on the house-top for evening prayer, according to the custom of the Jews. Here he fell into a trance; and, by a remarkable sign, let down from heaven in a vision, he was taught of God that cere- monial uncleanness under the Jewish law is totally and for ever abrogated, and that the grace of God is equally free to all, whether Jew or Greek, Barbarian or Scythian, bond or free. While musing on this wonderful revelation he receives the invitation of Cornelius, the devout Gen- tile soldier; and, yielding up those Jewish prejudices which had withheld him, in common with all the apostles, from ever ofiering the gospel to any but the Jewish nation, he immediately consents to go and preach the gospel to this Gentile family, though still hardly imagining that the gospel can be intended for any but the seed of Abraham. Acts x. The men of Joppa profess at this day to point out the very house-top by the sea-side, which was the scene of this gracious manifestation, to open unto us Gentiles a way for the reception of the gospel of the grace of God. Be this as it may, the house and the whole scene is in full view from the heights which overlook the town ; and while we gaze, in imagina- tion, upon the scene, we seem ourselves to see heaven opened, and a vessel descending, as it were a great sheet knit at the four corners, and thrice let down to the earth, to overcome the prejudices of the apos- tle, and teach him to preach the gospel of the grajce of God with equal freedom to all, of every people under the whole heavens. We behold him, with all his characteristic ardour, in fulfilment of this new mission, pressing on his journey northward, along the coast through the plain of Sharon, radiant in beauty still, with all its ancient fragrance and ferti- lity. Turning from this enchanting scene to the south beyond the olive groves, orchards, vineyards, and gardens which lie at our feet round about the towU) far as the eye can reach, it ranges over a plain, broad, beautiful, and fertile as Sharon itself; lining 215 TEXT BOOK AND ATLAS OF BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY. 216 the coast of the Mediterranean, and comprising the ancient land of the Philistines. On the eastern borders of the landscape rise the rugged, frowning mountains of Judea and Benjamin, as if gazing in cold disdain upon the bland and gentle graces that play over the landscape at their base. But beyond their frowning heights, in the south-east, we just dis- cover in the distance a solitary signal from Jerusa- lem itself, Zion cjty of our Grod, holding out to us a charming and enchanting invitation to the repose and quiet which she seems to enjoy, intrenched within the mountains round about her, as the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him. Mount Moriah, Mount Zion, Gethsemane, Calvary, Olivet, Jerusalem ! — names ever dear to the Christian. How sorrowful, and yet how delightful, to walk about Zion, and tell the towers thereof, now prostrated ; and, in view of the amazing scenes that have been enacted there, to contemplate with tender melan- choly and mitigated awe the goodness and the grace, the judgment and the severity of our Grod. THE COAST OF PH(ENICIA. Phenice, to which some of the brethren travelled in their dispersion on the persecution of Stephen, Acts xi. 19, known also as Phoenicia, comprised a portion of the coast of the Mediterranean, extending from the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel north- ward 100 miles or more along the base and western slope of Mount Lebanon, and into the interior a few miles to the summit of Lebanon. The coast of Tyre and Zidon occupies the central and most popu- lous portion of Phoenicia. The mountains, towering to the regions of perpetual snow and ice, with the graceful sweep of their waving summits, sloping sides and mountain dells covered with the deepest Tcrdure, adapted to every climate from Alpine frosts to tropical suns, and the ocean sleeping at its base, or lashed into fury by the tempest, form a succession of goodly prospects, so grand, so beautiful, so end- lessly diversified, as to charm the dullest eye and kindle into poetic fervour the coldest heart. Num- berless mountain streams flow down to fertilize the narrow plain of the coast, and open harbours for a boundless commerce. Phoenicia was settled soon after the deluge, and became the earliest and most renowned commercial region of antiquity. When the Israelites con- quered the country this coast was occupied by pow- erful maritime towns, which, though given to the Jews for an inheritance, maintained their inde- pendence through all the vicissitudes and aggres- sions of the Jewish nation. SAUL THE PERSECUTOR. This extraordinary character, whose life was more influential upon the destinies of our race than any man that ever lived, first appears on the page of his- tory at Jerusalem, about three or four years after our Lord's ascension, as a young man, a native of Tarsus, no mean city of Cilicia, born about the time of our Saviour's advent. A Pharisee of the straitest sect, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Ben- jamin, educated in the school of Gamaliel, the most renowned instructor and expounder of the Jewish religion in Jerusalem, he becomes an enthusiastic zealot in the traditions of his fathers. Toward the Christians, as a new religious sect, apostates from the faith, regardless of the law and the sacred institu- tions of Moses, he entertains the most implacable hatred. As the new religion spreads and gathers daily fresh accessions, his zeal for his religion rises to the most ungovernable fury against the new sect. Verily thinking to do God service, he persecutes them even unto death, making havoc of the church, entering into every house, and delivering both men and women to prison and to death, to compel them to blaspheme the name of Jesus. He is present at the martyrdom of Stephen, profoundly impressed by his speech, his vision, and his prayer for his persecutors, but only moved the more earn- estly to consent to his death. Finding the adhe- rents of this new religion springing up everywhere in the cities and villages of the country, he becomes exceedingly mad against them, persecuting them even unto foreign cities. Breathing out threaten- ings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, he goes to Damascus armed with authority and com- mission to bring any, whether men or women, bound to Jerusalem to be punished. PAUL THE APOSTLE. A. D. 39 OR 40. Behold how changed ! This persecuting zealot and inquisitor enters Damascus humbled, subdued, and penitent. Smitten with blindness by a vision at midday, just without the gates of the city, by that same Jesus whom he persecuted, he is led, helpless, trembling, astonished, to the house of Judas, in the street that is called Straight. So terrible is his con- flict, so deep and piercing his remorse, that for three days he neither eats nor drinks. But he finds relief in prayer. " Behold he prayeth !" This sig- nificant exclamation announces and confirms the conversion of Saul. A vision is now in mercy vouchsafed to him of a devout man of the persecuted sect coming to him by divine appointment, that he 217 THE LABOURS OF ST. PAUL. 218 might receive his sight and be baptized in the name of Jesus, to become the apostle of the Gentiles, " to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an in- heritance among them which are sanctified." With all his characteristic ardour, Paul, in obedi- ence to the heavenly vision, straightway preaches in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God, testifying to all that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. After a few days he goes out into unknown re- gions of Arabia, in fulfilment of his apostolic mis- sion. Then, returning to Damascus, narrowly es- capes assassination, and goes up to Jerusalem, and essays to join himself now to those whom he had persecuted. Gal. i. 17 j Acts ix. 25. Finding himself the object of jealousy and dis- trust by those who had only known him as their persecutor and the murderer of Stephen, he retires to Tarsus, his native city, in Cilicia. No record remains of his labours among his kinsmen and his countrymen in Cilicia. It can hardly be doubted that b 3 had tliere some fruits of his ministry ; some or sll of his Dwn family we may even imagine to ha'f e become kindred in Christ. Certain it is that eight or ten years afterward he went on his second missionary t^ ar " through Syria and Cilicia, confirm- ing the chu rches." Acts xv. 41. Perhaps that sis- ter, the c( mpanion of his childhood, whose son, twenty yes rs later, saved his life at Jerusalem, now joined he" jelf to him in the fellowship of Christian love ; cei