{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_56019/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_56019","id":"gutenberg_56019","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56019","summary":null,"tags":["Bible -- History of Biblical events -- Textbooks","Category: History - Religious","Category: Teaching & Education"],"text":"A\n\n CLASS-BOOK\n\n OF\n\n BIBLICAL HISTORY\n\n AND\n\n GEOGRAPHY:\n\n\n WITH NUMEROUS MAPS.\n\n\n BY\n PROF. H. S. OSBORN, LL. D.\n\n\n _AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY_,\n 150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.\n\n\n\n\n COPYRIGHT, 1890.\n AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.\n\n\n\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Punctuation has been standardized. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Non-printable characteristics have been given the following \u2502\n \u2502 transliteration: \u2502\n \u2502 Italic text: --> _text_ \u2502\n \u2502 bold text: --> =text=. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 This book was written in a period when many words had \u2502\n \u2502 not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have \u2502\n \u2502 multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in \u2502\n \u2502 the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated \u2502\n \u2502 with a Transcriber\u2019s Note. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in \u2502\n \u2502 brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section \u2502\n \u2502 at the end of the text. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes are used when making corrections to the \u2502\n \u2502 text or to provide additional information for the modern \u2502\n \u2502 reader. These notes are not identified in the text, but have \u2502\n \u2502 been accumulated in a single section at the end of the book. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\n\nTHIS work is a Class-Book of the Old and the New Testaments treated\nas consecutive history. It includes the Jewish history of the centuries\nbetween the close of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New.\n\nIt presents those important elements of Biblical history which\ndistinguish it from all other histories and which illustrate the plan\nand the purpose of the Bible as one Book. Whatever modern scholarship\nhas accomplished to aid in the understanding of the original languages\nof Scripture in important points has been made use of, and whatever\nmonumental or topographic discoveries would contribute to a better\nunderstanding of the geography or arch\u00e6ology of the text-statements\nhave been introduced where the history required it.\n\nThe history of the centuries between the close of the Old Testament\ncanon and the beginning of the Christian era includes that of its\nJewish literature. This history greatly helps us to appreciate that\nsingular tenacity with which the earliest Christian church held to the\nMosaic ritual.\n\nIn the treatment of this history we have allowed no space for mere\nopinions or speculations. The work is purely historical, and its text\nis illustrated only by that which is pertinent and well authenticated,\nin either geographic or arch\u00e6ological discovery.\n\nThe entire subject matter is divided into Periods and chapters and\nsubdivided into sections and paragraphs, the latter presented in such\na form as generally to suggest to the teacher the question and to the\nreader the topic of the paragraph.\n\n\n\n\n TABLE OF CONTENTS.\n\n\n PERIOD I.\n THE ANTE-DILUVIAN ERA.\n\n CHAPTER I. Creation, Eden: Chronology and its Sources.\n\n CHAPTER II. The Significance of Names.\n\n CHAPTER III. The Descendants of Adam.\n\n CHAPTER IV. The Lineage of the Patriarchs.\n\n CHAPTER V. The Flood.\n\n\n PERIOD II.\n THE PATRIARCHAL ERA AFTER THE FLOOD TO THE DEATH OF JACOB.\n\n CHAPTER I. The Two Ararats. The Sons of Japheth.\n\n CHAPTER II. The Sons of Ham. Their More Recent Names.\n\n CHAPTER III. The Descendants of Shem. Job.\n\n CHAPTER IV. The Confusion of Tongues.\n\n CHAPTER V. The History of Abram and his Times.\n\n CHAPTER VI. The Patriarchs Isaac and Jacob.\n\n CHAPTER VII. Egyptian Testimonies.\n\n\n PERIOD III.\n THE THEOCRACY TO THE JUDGES.\n\n CHAPTER I. The Israelites in Egypt.\n\n CHAPTER II. The Physical Geography of Sinai and the Desert.\n\n CHAPTER III. The Entrance into Canaan.\n\n CHAPTER IV. The Battles of the Conquest.\n\n CHAPTER V. The Introduction of Idolatry.\n\n\n PERIOD IV.\n THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES.\n\n CHAPTER I. The Nature of the Office. The Chronology.\n\n CHAPTER II. The Scribes of the Age.\n\n\n PERIOD V.\n THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS TO THE CAPTIVITY.\n\n CHAPTER I. Origin of the Monarchy. Reign of Saul.\n\n CHAPTER II. The Reigns of David and of Solomon.\n\n CHAPTER III. The Division of the Kingdom.\n\n CHAPTER IV. Analysis of the Reigns of Judah and Israel.\n\n CHAPTER V. The Institution of the Prophetical Office.\n\n\n PERIOD VI.\n THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH TO THE CLOSE OF THE CANONICAL PERIOD.\n\n CHAPTER I. The Various Captivities.\n\n CHAPTER II. The Comparative Religious Spirit.\n\n CHAPTER III. The Captivity Ended.\n\n CHAPTER IV. The Canonical Books. Samaritan Pentateuch.\n\n CHAPTER V. What Was Scripture? The Septuagint.\n\n CHAPTER VI. The Origin of the Talmud.\n\n CHAPTER VII. Concluding Remarks.\n\n\n PERIOD VII.\n THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA.\n\n CHAPTER I. From the Birth of Christ to his Public Ministry.\n\n CHAPTER II. The Public Ministry of our Saviour.\n\n CHAPTER III. From the First Passover to the Second.\n\n CHAPTER IV. From the Second Passover to the Third.\n\n CHAPTER V. The Third Passover.\n\n CHAPTER VI. The Beginning of the Christian Church.\n\n CHAPTER VII. The Gospel for Gentiles as well as Jews. Paul\u2019s\n First Mission.\n\n CHAPTER VIII. The Second and Third Missionary Tours of Paul.\n\n CHAPTER IX. Paul at Rome. The Seven Churches. Colosse and\n Hierapolis.\n\n\n\n\n BIBLICAL HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY.\n\n\n\n\n PERIOD I.\n\n THE ANTE-DILUVIAN ERA.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n CREATION: CHRONOLOGY AND ITS SOURCES.\n\n\n=1. The first book= of the Bible, which is Genesis, begins with a\nhistory of the Creation. The words \u201cIn the beginning,\u201d with which\nit opens, give us no chronological data by which we are able to form\nany estimate of the time. Seven divisions, called \u201cdays,\u201d have special\nappointments assigned to each in that which is usually called \u201cthe work\nof creation,\u201d including the appointment of a day of rest.\n\nBefore the beginning of the days there existed a state of chaos, the\nearth being \u201cwithout form and void\u201d and darkness being upon the face of\nthe waters.\n\nThe first act was the calling into being LIGHT The appointment of Day\nand Night closed the work of the first day.\n\nThe separation of the waters beneath \u201cthe firmament,\u201d or expanse, from\nthose above \u201cthe firmament\u201d constituted the work of the second day.\n\nThe formation of dry land, called earth, and the appearance of\nvegetable growth, called grass, herbs, and trees, occurred on the third\nday.\n\nOn the fourth day lights appeared in \u201cthe firmament,\u201d or expanse, and\non the fifth day the first animal life moved in the waters and birds in\nthe air, the latter called \u201cwinged fowl.\u201d On the sixth day the earth\nbrought forth living creatures, \u201ccattle, creeping things, and beasts;\u201d\nand finally man was created, made after God\u2019s image, with dominion over\nall that had been here created.\n\nThe seventh day was set apart as a day of rest, a day of which it is\nsaid, \u201cGod blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.\u201d Gen. 2:3.\n\n=2. After the creation of man= he was placed in a garden which the Lord\nGod planted \u201ceastward in Eden.\u201d The locality of Eden is unsettled, but\nthe opinion of many scholars is that it is not far off from the head of\nthe Persian Gulf. The garden is described as \u201ceastward in Eden,\u201d and it\nis supposed to have been in the eastern part of a district called Eden.\nProf. Sayce derives Eden from an ancient word meaning \u201cthe desert.\u201d\nIf this be correct, the garden of Eden was more remarkable for its\ncontrast with the great Syrian desert in its immediate vicinity. The\nrivers mentioned by name are Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates. The\nEuphrates at the present day joins the ancient Hiddekel, which is now\ncalled the _Tigris_, at a point one hundred miles northwest from the\nPersian Gulf, and the stream formed by the union of the two rivers is\ncalled the _Shat el-Arab_. The Pison and Gihon have not been\nsatisfactorily identified.\n\nIt should be remembered that the geographical condition of this\nregion is very unlike that which existed at the time we are considering.\nDr. Delitzsch calculates that a delta of between forty and fifty miles\nin length has been formed since the sixth century B. C. Prof. Sayce\nsays that in the time of Alexander, B. C. 323, the Tigris and Euphrates\nflowed, by different mouths, into the sea (gulf), as did also the\nEul\u00e6us, or modern _Karun_, in the Assyrian epoch.[1]\n\nThe increment of land about the delta has been found to be a mile in\nthirty years, which is about double the increase of any other delta,\nowing to the nature of the soil over which the rivers pass.[2] Under\nthese changes it is probable that any but very large streams might\ndisappear.\n\n=3. The Euphrates= passes along a course of more than 1,780 miles\nfrom the head-waters of the _Mourad Chai_[3] and for about 700 miles it\npasses through a nearly level country on the east of the great Syrian\ndesert. It varies in depth from eight to twenty feet to its junction\nwith the Tigris; after its union with the Tigris its depth increases.\nIt is navigable for about 700 miles or more from the Persian Gulf.\n\nThe Tigris is shorter, being about 1,150 miles in length, and navigable\nfor rafts for 300 miles. Some of the extreme head-sources of this river\napproach those of the Euphrates within the distance of two or three\nmiles. The name Hiddekel is the same word as _Hidiglat_, which is its\nname in the Assyrian inscriptions, as _Purat_ is the ancient Assyrian\nfor Perath in Hebrew.[4]\n\nThe land of Havilah, which was encompassed entirely by the river Pison,\nis unknown, but the \u201cEthiopia\u201d encompassed by the river Gihon is in\nthe Hebrew called Cush, and recent discoveries have proved that in very\nearly times Cushite people inhabited a part of the region near the head\nof the Persian Gulf.\n\nThere is little doubt that the land so called was a part of the plain\nof Babylonia where the cities of Nimrod were planted, Gen. 10:10,\nNimrod being a son of Cush.\n\nThese discoveries show that, in after ages, the Cushites left Babylonia\nand emigrated southward along the Persian Gulf into Arabia, of which\nthey occupied a very large part, and from its southern part crossed\nover to Africa to the country which in after times was called by the\nGreek geographers Ethiopia.\n\nDr. F. Delitzsch supposes that Havilah was the district lying west of\nthe Euphrates and reaching to the Persian Gulf, and that the Cush of\nthe text was the land adjoining on the east, having the present _Shat\nel-Nil_ for its border line. The long stream west of the Euphrates,\nwhich was known to the Greeks as Pallacopas, Dr. Delitzsch considers as\nthe Pison, and the _Shat el-Nil_ as the Gihon (see the map). The Garden\nof Eden he places at that part where the Euphrates and Tigris approach\neach other very nearly, being at that place only twenty-five miles\napart.[5]\n\n=4. In the Garden of Eden= the Lord God put the first pair. Of the man\nit is said that he was placed in the garden \u201cto dress it and to keep\nit;\u201d and of the woman, that she should be \u201ca help meet for him.\u201d How\nlong this state of things continued is not related, but, through the\nserpent, temptation entered into the mind of Eve, and she gave of the\nforbidden fruit unto her husband and they did eat, \u201cand their eyes\nwere opened,\u201d apparently to the sense of guilt in violating the command\nwhich forbade them to \u201ceat of the tree of the knowledge of good and\nevil.\u201d The curse then followed, and they were driven out from the\ngarden, to which they were never to return.\n\n=5. After the expulsion= Cain and Abel were born, and the first murder\ntook place in the killing of Abel by Cain, the latter being punished\nby being driven out \u201cfrom the presence of the Lord.\u201d Cain went eastward\nand dwelt in the land of Nod, and his first-born son, Enoch, built the\nfirst city, which was named after him, Enoch. Neither the land of Nod\nnor the city Enoch has been certainly located.\n\n=6.= We now have an account of the =descendants of Adam=, with the\nstatement of their several ages. Upon this statement of ages a\nchronology has been based, usually called the Biblical Chronology.\nIt is derived from that account which is recorded in the Hebrew, the\nlanguage in which the history was originally written. But there is\nanother account which was given in the earliest extant translation\nof the Hebrew history, and this is called the Septuagint Greek, made\nabout 286 B. C.; and the chronology of this old translation differs\nmaterially from the Hebrew original. There is yet another authority,\nthe Samaritan Pentateuch, the manuscript of which is kept at Shechem,\nin Palestine, and is the oldest known manuscript of the Bible in the\nworld, having been written before the Captivity and in the old Hebrew\nletters.[6]\n\nThese are the only three records of any importance, and the variations\nin these records are seen in the following table:[7]\n\n \u2502 Lived before \u2502 After birth \u2502 Total.\n \u2502 birth of sons. \u2502 of sons. \u2502\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n \u2502 HEB.\u2502 SAM.\u2502 SEP.\u2502 HEB.\u2502 SAM.\u2502 SEP.\u2502 HEB.\u2502 SAM.\u2502 SEP.\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Adam \u2502 130 \u2502 \u2502 230 \u2502 800 \u2502 \u2502 700 \u2502 930 \u2502 \u2502\n Seth \u2502 105 \u2502 \u2502 205 \u2502 807 \u2502 \u2502 707 \u2502 912 \u2502 \u2502\n Enos \u2502 90 \u2502 \u2502 190 \u2502 815 \u2502 \u2502 715 \u2502 905 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Cainan \u2502 70 \u2502 \u2502 170 \u2502 840 \u2502 \u2502 740 \u2502 910 \u2502 \u2502\n Mahalaleel \u2502 65 \u2502 \u2502 165 \u2502 830 \u2502 \u2502 730 \u2502 895 \u2502 \u2502\n Jared \u2502 162 \u2502 62 \u2502 162 \u2502 800 \u2502 785 \u2502 800 \u2502 962 \u2502 847 \u2502 962\n Enoch \u2502 65 \u2502 65 \u2502 165 \u2502 300 \u2502 300 \u2502 200 \u2502 365 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Methuselah \u2502 187 \u2502 67 \u2502 187 \u2502 782 \u2502 653 \u2502 782 \u2502 969 \u2502 720 \u2502 969\n Another \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 167 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n translation \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 165 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n of Septuagint \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Lamech \u2502 182 \u2502 53 \u2502 188 \u2502 595 \u2502 600 \u2502 565 \u2502 777 \u2502 653 \u2502 753\n Noah \u2502 500 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\nIt will be seen by the above table that the Hebrew text affords data\nwhich give us 1,656 years from the creation of Adam to the Flood, for\nwe must add 100 to Noah\u2019s age of 500, since the Flood began when Noah\nwas 600 years old (Gen. 7:6). The Samaritan text takes away 100 years\nfrom the life of Jared, 120 from that of Methuselah, and 129 from that\nof Lamech, as compared with the Hebrew text, making the Flood occur\n1,307 after Adam\u2019s creation, while the Septuagint adds 100 to the lives\nof each of the first five and to that of Enoch, and six to that of\nLamech, making the Flood begin 2,262 years after the creation of Adam,\naccording to one reading of the Septuagint, or 2,242 according to\nanother.\n\nSo that the aggregates of time from the Creation to the Flood,\nas deduced from the Hebrew, the Samaritan, and the Septuagint,\nseverally are 1,656, 1,307, and 2,262. The Samaritan is the oldest\nmanuscript, but it cannot be made certain that the dates as given\nin that manuscript have suffered no alteration; and hence the Hebrew\naccount has been followed in our entire English version, the chronology\nof which was arranged by Archbishop Ussher (usually written Usher),\nA. D. 1580,[8] but it \u201cis of no inspired authority and of great\nuncertainty.\u201d\n\n=7.= The subject of =Biblical Chronology=, as derived from data\nrecorded in the Scripture, is necessarily unsettled; and this is\nso partly because[9] the sacred writers speak of descendants of a\ngiven progenitor as his sons, in accordance with Eastern custom,\nand partly perhaps from the use of letters, for figures, in the\nearly manuscripts,[10] which have suffered changes in subsequent\ntranscriptions. But although these variations occur, discoveries\nconnected with the remains of other nations than the Jewish, and\nconnected with other histories than the Jewish, are beginning to throw\nlight upon the Scripture history and chronology.\n\nThese collateral histories allude to persons and events of Jewish\nhistory and afford such data that in many instances we can determine\nfrom them the actual year of Scripture events. This aid is particularly\nimportant as derived from both Assyrian and Egyptian discoveries, and\nthis we shall have reason hereafter to show.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAMES.\n\n\n=1. In the earliest periods= of human history names, either for persons,\nplaces, or things, had meanings which were in some sense applicable to\nthe person, place, or thing named. This was specially true in Hebrew\nhistory, and of this we have already had illustrations; for when Eve\nwas brought to Adam \u201che called her name _woman_, because she was taken\nout of man,\u201d but afterwards, because Eve in the Hebrew meant life, he\n\u201ccalled his wife\u2019s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.\u201d\n\nAdam\u2019s name denoted his relation to the ground (Hebrew, _Adamah_),\nfrom the dust of which he was taken; and as Eve\u2019s body was derived from\nthat of Adam, the name of the two was _Adam_ (Gen. 5:2), which was the\nname given by God \u201cin the day when they were created,\u201d and this name\nwas exclusively the description of the first man and the first woman.\n\nIn Gen. 2:23 we have the generic name given to the race in the Hebrew\nterms \u201c_Ish_\u201d and \u201c_Ishah_\u201d for \u201cman\u201d and \u201cwoman,\u201d given by Adam to\nhimself and to the woman: \u201cThis is now bone of my bones and flesh of my\nflesh: she shall be called woman (Ishah), because she was taken out of\nman (Ish).\u201d\n\n=2. The root=, or primitive meaning, of Ish is uncertain, but from\nits subsequent use we may infer that it denoted a characteristic\nof humanity higher than that expressed by the word Adam, and may\nhave occurred to the father of men while naming the animals as an\nappellative distinguishing his own from the inferior order of the\nanimate creation.[11]\n\nIt is remarkable that the ancient Assyrian name for the first man is\nAdmu or Adamu, the Assyrian form of the Hebrew Adam.[12]\n\n=3. In the Hebrew history=, therefore, names are not to be regarded as\nmere sounds or combinations of sounds, attached at random to certain\nobjects or persons, so as to become the audible signs by which we\ndistinguish them from each other, but very frequently proper names\nhad a deeper meaning and were more closely connected in men\u2019s thoughts\nwith character and condition than among any other ancient nation with\nthe history and literature of which we are acquainted.[13] Thus it is\nthat, as Archbishop Trench says, words are often the repositories of\nhistorical information.[14]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM.\n\n\n=1. As the history proceeds= it becomes very plain that the descendants\nof Adam are selected with a purpose, which a general acquaintance with\nScripture reveals. That purpose was to record the ancestry of Abraham\nand so of the children of Israel. Other descendants are occasionally\nmentioned when any interesting or important event suggests itself to\nthe historian, but the main purpose is never lost sight of.\n\nThus the descendants of Cain are briefly enumerated through his\nfirst-born, Enoch, \u201cthe teacher,\u201d as his name signifies. He was the\nfirst builder of a city, and may, as Geikie suggests, have been the\nfirst to teach men \u201cthe culture of city life,\u201d or \u201cthe elements of\nphysical life.\u201d\n\n=2. His descendants= were Irad, \u201cthe swift one,\u201d perhaps because of\nhis hunter\u2019s life; Mehujael, \u201cthe stricken of God,\u201d for some unrecorded\ntransgression; Methusael, probably bearing the name God in the syllable\n\u201cel,\u201d and meaning \u201cchampion of God,\u201d suggesting some religious act; as\nif, even among the race of Cain, God \u201chad not left himself without a\nwitness.\u201d[15]\n\n=3.= But we find Lamech, \u201ca wild man,\u201d who first =introduces polygamy=,\nfor ever hereafter to be associated in origin with the race of Cain.\nOne of his two wives was named Adah, a Hebrew term for \u201cornament,\u201d and\nis found in the compounds Adaiah, \u201cwhom Jehovah adorns,\u201d and Maadiah,\n\u201cornament from Jehovah.\u201d There must have been a personal attraction\nwhich made the name appropriate.\n\n=4.= In the other wife\u2019s name, Zillah, it has been supposed that\nthe termination \u201cah\u201d has reference to the name of Jehovah; it is\nmore probable, however, that the meaning is confined to the root\nof this word, which signifies \u201ca shade.\u201d To her son, Tubal-Cain, we\nare indebted for the first work in copper and iron, as the sentence\n\u201cinstructor of every artificer in brass and iron\u201d means. Perhaps we\nmay say \u201cbronze\u201d for \u201cbrass,\u201d since brass is a compound of zinc and\ncopper, and bronze is a compound of tin and copper, and the latter has\nbeen discovered in the most ancient ruins, which has not been true as\nto brass. Brass, however, is used in Scripture in some instances as\nthe name for copper.[16] Chisels have been taken from ruins in Egypt\ncontaining copper 94 per cent., tin 5.9, and iron 0.1; and a bowl from\nNimrud, about twenty miles south of Nineveh, was composed of copper\n89.57 per cent., and of tin 10.43. In the sepulchral furniture with\nwhich the oldest of the Chald\u00e6an tombs were filled we already find more\nbronze than copper.[17] The excavations at Warka, the ancient Erech of\nGen. 10:10, ninety-five miles southeast of Babylon, seem to prove that\nthe ancient Chald\u00e6ans made use of iron before the Egyptians.[18]\n\n=5. The name given to Jabal=, the son of Adah, suggests that he led\na pastoral life with his cattle. His name means \u201cwanderer,\u201d and hence\nhe was very appropriately \u201cthe father of such as dwell in tents.\u201d \u201cHis\nbrother\u2019s name was Jubal; he was the father of all such as handle the\nharp and organ;\u201d the latter name suggesting some wind instrument or\npipe. His name significantly means \u201cthe player.\u201d\n\n=6.= To this list of \u201cfirst things\u201d may be added the =first instance of\npoetical utterance=, for the address of Lamech to his wives is in the\nform of the earliest Hebrew poetry. Gen. 4:23.\n\n Adah and Zillah, hear my voice,\n Wives of Lamech, hear my speech.\n I have slain a man for wounding me,\n A young man for hurting me.\n If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold,\n Surely Lamech seventy-and-seven.\n\nWith this ends the history of the descendants of Cain. The history of\nthose descendants of Adam through whom the children of Israel traced\ntheir lineage is begun in the fifth chapter of Genesis.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE LINEAGE OF THE PATRIARCHS.\n\n\n=1. Ten generations are given=, from Adam to the Flood, and the\nremarkably long lives of the Patriarchs have suggested to many the\nprobability of error or misunderstanding. Some have supposed that each\nname represents a tribe, the lives of whose leading members have been\nadded together. Others have understood the years to mean only months,\nand others that numbers and dates are liable in the course of years to\nbecome obscured and exaggerated.[19]\n\n=2. But as to all these opinions= it must be remembered, First, that\nthe era from the creation of Adam to the Flood, 1,656 years, is to be\ndivided by the number ten, the number of the Patriarchs, which would\nrequire an individual length of life much longer than that enjoyed at\nthe present day; and, Secondly, no scientific reasons can be offered\nwhy human life should be limited in duration to its present length. It\nvaries now according to the contingencies of accident and disease, and\nold age itself may be only a modified form of disease and not essential\nto a human organism. A clock made to run twenty-four hours is expected\nto run down in about that time, but the clock-maker may, by adding\none wheel, or to the length of the weight-cord, or by some other very\nsimple rearrangement, make the very same clock run a week or a month.\nIt is only a question of life, about which, as to its nature, we know\nlittle or nothing. Thirdly, as to the historic probability, it is a\nfact that traditions other than those of the Hebrew nation represent\nthat in the earliest ages there was an enjoyment of exceedingly long\nlives. The chronology of Berosus, a Chald\u00e6an priest and historian,\nB. C. 279 to 255, gives to the ten Babylonian kings who in the earliest\ntraditions of that people reigned before the Babylonian deluge 2,221\nyears, or only 21 years less than the period given in the Septuagint\nas having elapsed between the Creation and the Deluge.[20] The earliest\nAryan tradition states that the first man lived 1,000 years in Paradise.\n\nOther nations have kept the same tradition of long lives in the\nearliest times, which nations could not have received the tradition\nfrom the Scriptures.\n\n=3.= But there is a probability arising from =the fitness of long\nlives=, and that is seen in the necessity of a history which could thus\nbe obtained by tradition when no written language existed. It will be\nseen that from Adam to the Flood tradition was delivered through only\none person, so that Lamech could repeat to Noah what Adam had narrated\nto him of all the dealings of God in Eden and after the expulsion.\nAlthough Lamech lived during the lifetimes of all the Patriarchs down\nto the Flood, which took place 1,656 years after the creation of Adam,\nhe himself was only 777 years old at death. Thus we see that tradition\nwas more trustworthy then than at any time since.\n\n=4.= Moreover, Shem lived nearly a century before the death of\nLamech, who could have narrated the story of Eden and the trials\nand experiences of his after-life, as well as the history of the\nPatriarchal times, to Shem, who was alive in the times of Abraham and\nhis son Isaac. By that time writing was invented, and doubtless much of\nthe history of the times before and after the Flood had been committed\nto writing, which was invented several centuries before the death of\nShem, as we learn from the ancient Chald\u00e6an records.\n\n=5. After the Flood= long lives continued, but in =much shorter\nterms=, Arphaxad, Salah, and Eber each lived about four centuries, and\neach of the next three patriarchs lived over 200 years, and it was not\ntill after the time of Judah, seven centuries after the Flood, that the\nlength of a human life was reduced to about a century.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE FLOOD.\n\n\n=1. The Scripture statement= of the occasion of the Flood is very brief.\nIt is made plain, however, that the wickedness of men was so great that\n\u201c_the earth was filled with violence and corrupt before God_.\u201d\n\n=2.= Noah was commanded to prepare an ark for his own safety and that\nof his family; and he was also directed to provide for the preservation\nof a large number of \u201cfowls, cattle, and creeping things.\u201d\n\n=3.= Between the time of the announcement of the divine intention to\ndestroy \u201cman whom he had created\u201d and the occurrence of the Flood God\ngave a warning era of 120 years, at the close of which the Flood began.\n\u201cThe waters prevailed upon the earth 150 days.\u201d After this time they\nwere abated, and gradually retired till the earth was dry, and Noah\nand his family left the ark in which he had remained twelve months and\nten days, or from the six hundred and first year, second month, and\nseventeenth day to the six hundred and second year, second month, and\ntwenty-seventh day of Noah\u2019s life.\n\n=4. An interesting fact= may here be stated. A few years ago there\nwere discovered by excavations at the ancient site of Nineveh, on the\nTigris, the palace of Assur-bani-pal, in which had been stored some\n10,000 tablets of a library gathered by this king B. C. 968. These\ntablets were shipped to the British Museum, of which George Smith, the\nAssyriologist, was librarian, and a large number of them translated.\nAmong these tablets was found a record of the Deluge, which was read by\nMr. Smith in December, 1872, before the Society of Biblical Arch\u00e6ology\nin London.\n\n=5. The record states= that the tradition recorded is copied from a\nmore ancient account which was in existence in the times of a king of\nthe city of Accad (Gen. 10) many years after the time of Nimrod, who\nfounded it. The remains of this city have been recently discovered\nforty-three miles north-northwest from Babylon.\n\nThe name of the king of Accad was Sargon I., whose date appears from\nthe monuments to have been about 3800 B. C. This Chald\u00e6an history of\nthe Deluge is so similar to that of the Scriptures as to leave no doubt\nthat both record the same fact.\n\n=6. The simple narration= as it occurs in Genesis is so free from the\nirrelevant and unnecessary additions of the Chald\u00e6an account as to show\nthat the Biblical account is a record of true history. As the Chald\u00e6an\naccount is dated long before Abram left Chald\u00e6a, and hence long before\nthe birth of Moses, it could never have been derived from Scripture,\nand proves that a tradition of such an event as that of the Flood must\nhave existed very early in the history of the race.\n\n\n\n\n PERIOD II.\n\n THE PATRIARCHAL ERA AFTER THE FLOOD TO THE DEATH OF JACOB.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n THE TWO ARARATS. THE SONS OF JAPHETH.\n\n\n=1.= Although =the tradition of the Flood= seems to have reached to\nalmost every nation, it has been referred locally to some part of\nWestern Asia, and particularly to that part known as Armenia. The\nScriptures tell us that the ark rested upon \u201c=the mountains of Ararat=,\u201d\nGen. 8:4, not upon any particular mountain called Ararat, as it has\nbeen assumed.\n\n=2.= The word Ararat is found in the Assyrian inscriptions for\nArmenia.[21] A mountain 500 miles north of Babylon is called Mt.\nArarat by travellers, and seems first to have been announced as the\n\u201cMt. Ararat\u201d in A. D. 1250, as Bochart says.\n\n=The other claimant= is 50 miles north of Nineveh and is called\n_Mt. Kudur_, the meaning being \u201cthe great ship.\u201d[22] This view\nis supported by older historians, such as Berosus and others. The\nMt. Ararat of present travellers is a solitary double peak, called\n_Mt. Massis_ by the Armenians, which rises 17,500 feet above the sea.\n\n\n THE DISTRIBUTION OF RACES.\n\n=3.= The tenth chapter of Genesis is considered one of the most\nremarkable chapters because of the aid it affords in tracing =the\nearly emigrations= and distributions of the race. In this chapter the\ndescendants of the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, are\ngiven. The descendants of Shem are known among scholars as Shemites or\nSemites, as those of Ham are known as Hamites. Although Shem is named\nfirst in order, Japheth is called the elder (ver. 21), and the\ngenealogy begins with him.\n\n\n THE SONS OF JAPHETH: THEIR MORE RECENT NAMES.\n\n=4.= (a) =Gomer.= These were the Cimmerians of antiquity, the Cimbri\nof Roman times, and the Cymry or Celts still existing. Their ancient\ncountry was north of the Black Sea, including the Crimea and the shores\nof the Sea of Azov.\n\nThe name Crimea is a corruption of the ancient name. It is to\nthis north land Ezekiel refers in chap. 38:2, 6. A part of them\nwent southward to Asia Minor when driven out by the Scythians, and\nsome emigrated to the west of Europe and to Britain. The Welsh call\nthemselves Cymry. \u201cThe SONS OF GOMER\u201d were \u201cASHKENAZ, RIPHATH, and\nTOGARMAH.\u201d\n\n=5. Ashkenaz.= The name means \u201cTHE HORSE MILKERS,\u201d and suggests some\nrace of a wandering tribe of the same general country of the Cimmerians\nor of that land northeast of them. The names _Ascanius_, a river and\nlake in Asia Minor, and _Scandia_ and _Scandinavia_, suggest that they\nmay have entered Phrygia, as Bochart supposes, but the associations\nare uncertain. They seem in later times to have in some degree returned\nto a region near Armenia, since Jeremiah associates them with Ararat,\nJer. 51:27.\n\n=6. Riphath= seems to be suggested by the name of the Rhiph\u00e6an\nMountains in the distant regions of the north of Scythia. More probably\nwe may find some intimation of their presence near Armenia in the name\nRiphates, which is that of a mountain range in that vicinity.\n\n=7. Togarmah= is supposed to be represented by the tribes of the\nCaucasus, Georgians and Armenians, who call themselves \u201cthe House of\nTorgona,\u201d the latter word being the same as Togarmah.\n\n=8.= (b) =Magog=, the name of the second son of Japheth, was also\nthe name of a country. Slavonic tribes in the north and northeast of\nEurope are supposed to be comprehended under this term as descendants\nfrom the grandson of Japheth, and the original country of Magog was\nthe Caucasian Mountains and the country around the northern part of the\nCaspian Sea.\n\n=9.= In the =time of the prophet Ezekiel= they had become a powerful\npeople and had overrun the north of Europe. The Russians are, and the\nScythians were, the descendants of Magog, and Gog is the \u201cprince of\nRosh,\u201d of Meshech, and of Tubal. They are described by Ezekiel, chaps.\n38:15 and 39:3, as a wild race of mounted men armed with the bow. This\nseems also to describe the Scythians who invaded Palestine B. C. 625,\nand left the evidence of their presence in the city called Scythopolis,\nformerly Beth-shean, now _Beisan_, on the Jordan.[23]\n\n=10.= (c) =Madai= is the name by which the Medes are known on the\nAssyrian monuments. Their country was south of the Caspian Sea.\n\n=11.= (d) =Javan= was the progenitor of the Greeks, and the name occurs\non the Assyrian monuments as Javanu; a term also used by Darius, the\nMede.[24]\n\n=12.= The sons of =Javan= were: (1.) ELISHAH, who settled in the\nnorthwest of Asia Minor from the Propontis eastward throughout Mysia\nand Lydia and the adjacent islands. (2.) TARSHISH, supposed to be the\nancestor of the Etruscans who inhabited the northern part of Italy; but\nthe name as it occurs in Isa. 23:6\u201210; Ezek. 27:12 and 38:13, seems to\nrefer to a city on the southern coast of Spain whither Jonah attempted\nto escape. Jonah 1:3. (3.) KITTIM. This name is afterwards spelled\nChittim, but it is the same word in the Hebrew text. It has the plural\nending (_im_), and therefore refers to a people of that name. In Isa.\n23:1, 12, Chittim refers to the island of Cyprus; but when \u201c_the isles\nof Chittim_\u201d are mentioned, as in Jer. 2:10 and in Ezek. 27:6, the\nphrase includes the island of Crete and the islands along the coast of\nAsia Minor and the \u00c6gean Sea, thus embracing a great sea district, with\nprobably all Greece. In Dan. 11:30 Chittim includes Macedonia, because\nof its supposed settlement from the former, as Bochart shows.[25]\n\n(4.) DODANIM is the same as Rodanim, which is also in plural form, and\nrefers to the Greeks of the island of Rhodes, which is particularly one\nof the islands of Kittim or Chittim.\n\n=13. The other sons of Japheth= were: (e) Tubal and (f) Meshech and\n(g) Tiras. Of these Tubal and Meshech appear as tribes neighboring with\nthe Scythians and other northern tribes, and perhaps remained about\nthe southeastern parts of the Black Sea. The Tubal of Isa. 66:19 was,\nas supposed, in Spain; but a tribe called Tyrrhenians in later times\nsettled the islands of Lemnos and Imbros.[26] The name is supposed\nto be derived from the turreted walls by which the early Tyrrhenians\nsurrounded their fortifications, and not from Tyre, as some have\nsaid; this Bochart shows. Tiras is supposed by some to represent\nancient Thrace, but this is doubtful, as the people seem to have\nbeen associated with the Ach\u00e6ans, Lydians, Sicilians, and Sardinians\nfourteen centuries B. C., in an invasion of Egypt, as Chabas shows.[27]\nThey seem in remote antiquity to have been seafarers and pirates upon\nthe Italian seas and Greek Archipelago.[28]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE SONS OF HAM. THEIR MORE RECENT NAMES.\n\n\n=1.= (a) =Cush= was the first mentioned son. Dr. Franz Delitzsch has\nshown that the Assyrian monuments now prove that Cushites settled in\nthe early ages of the world near the northwest of the Persian Gulf.\nThey afterwards migrated southward along the western shore of the\nPersian Gulf and onward to the south and southwest of Arabia. Some\nof these crossed the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb to Africa, and there\nestablished themselves in that part now known as Abyssinia, and called\nfirst by the Greek geographers Ethiopia.\n\n=2. The Hebrew name Cush= is translated Ethiopia twenty of the\ntwenty-one times it occurs in the Scripture. There can be no reasonable\ndoubt that in the first mention of the word Ethiopia in Gen. 2:13\nthe region northwest of the Persian Gulf is meant. In after ages the\nCushites had established themselves in Arabia, and the inhabitants\nin that region were called Cushites, or as it is in our English\ntranslation, \u201cEthiopians,\u201d as in the case of Moses\u2019 wife, who is called\nan \u201cEthiopian woman,\u201d Num. 12:1, but it is \u201cCushite\u201d in the Hebrew.\n\nThe varying meanings of the name Cushite afford an indication that all\nthese passages of Scripture could not have been written in the same\nperiod of time.\n\n=3. The earliest monuments in Egypt= make a strong distinction between\nthe =Ethiopians= south of Egypt and the =negro races=, for although the\nEthiopians were of a dark or dusky skin, they had straight hair, thin\nnoses, and the form of the head of different shape. It is not apparent\nthat any reference in Scripture is made to the negro race as such; the\npassage in Jer. 13:23, \u201c_Can the Ethiopian change his skin?_\u201d may apply\nto the dark Ethiopian and not to the negro, whose native land was west\nof Ethiopia.[29]\n\n=4. Five races= spring from CUSH: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and\nSabtecha. These have generally been referred to large tribes settling\nin Arabia. From Raamah we have the nations Sheba and Dedan. These have\nbeen located in Arabia, and it was the queen of the former who visited\nSolomon, 1 Kin. 10:1 and 2 Chron. 9:1. Dedan was a district north of\nSheba, and its inhabitants seem by caravans to have traded and settled\nnorthward until the time of Abraham, Gen. 25:3, when their descendants\nwere numerous enough to be known by the old name of their ancestors.\n\n=5. Cush begat= Nimrod, whose exceptional prowess and enterprise gave\nhim precedence over all his brethren. He was a mighty hunter upon the\nplains of Babylon, and from the monuments of Assyria it seems that\nthe lion was the chief object of his hunting expeditions. He was the\nfounder of some of the earliest cities. The first mentioned is BABEL,\nafterwards called Babylon by the Greeks, which was built upon the\nEuphrates.\n\n=6. At that early time= this city was about one hundred and\nseventy-five miles northwest from the head of the =Persian Gulf=,\nbut it is now three hundred miles, the land having been extended\nsoutheastward by the annual deposits brought down by the rivers\nEuphrates and Tigris. ERECH, the second city of Nimrod, was\nseventy-five miles northwest (now 200) of the same gulf; ACCAD,\nrecently discovered by Rassam, was forty-five miles almost due north\nfrom Babylon; and CALNEH about fifty miles southeast of Babylon; it is\nnow called _Niffer_.\n\n=7. The land of Shinar= was the district corresponding with that now\nknown as the land of _Chald\u00e6a_. \u201cOut of that land went forth Asshur\nand builded Nineveh\u201d is the statement made, and the monuments recently\ndiscovered have remarkably corroborated this text, for the history\nshows the importance of Asshur, and that Nineveh, which was the capital\nof the Assyrian kingdom, was a more recent city than Babylon.[30] Its\nruins are two hundred and seventy-five miles north by west from Babylon\nand upon the Tigris River.\n\n=8.= But it will be seen that Asshur was a son of Shem, while Nimrod\nwas a son of Ham, and recent discovery has sustained the distinction,\nshowing that another people preceded the Assyrians and Babylonians\nwhich were not descendants of Shem. In connection with Nineveh are\nmentioned \u201cthe city REHOBOTH\u201d[31] and CALAH: the former is not known,\nand the latter is supposed to be at the ruins nearly twenty miles south\nof Nineveh, now called _Nimrud_, and a few miles north of the latter is\nsupposed to be the site of _Resen_.\n\nFurther excavations are needed to attest the accuracy of these\nidentifications.\n\n=9.= (b) =Mizraim= is mentioned as the second son of Cush, and is\nsupposed to have =colonized Egypt=. The word is in the dual form and\nindicates the double land of Egypt, which from the earliest times was\ndivided into Upper and Lower Egypt.\n\n(1.) =Mizraim\u2019s descendants= are LUDIM, probably simply a name for the\nEgyptians themselves; they held themselves \u201cthe best of all men,\u201d[32]\nand they were the same as Libyans or Lubim, 2 Chron. 12:3; 16:8; Nah.\n3:9. The Libyans of the most ancient era inhabited the west of the Nile\nand parts near the Mediterranean Sea. They appear of bright complexions\nas represented upon the Egyptian monuments.\n\n(2.) \u201cANAMIM and LEHABIM and NAPHTUHIM and PATHRUSIM\u201d appear to be\nonly names of the people of the different settlements along the Nile\nand not distinct races. (3.) The CASLUHIM have been identified with\na people settling east of the Delta near the Mediterranean coast\ntowards Palestine, and seemed to have been of Ph\u0153nician origin (Ebers).\n(4.) CAPHTORIM were the earliest settlers on the coast of the Delta\nor on its Mediterranean shore, even before the Egyptians occupied\nthat part of Egypt (Ebers). The Philistines of Palestine (southwest\ncoast) were descendants of both Casluhim and Caphtorim. \u201cKaft\u201d was the\nEgyptian name of the latter people, who early settled in the island\nof Crete, but also, as we have stated, on the seacoast of the Nile,\nand gradually moved through the lands of the Casluhim to their final\nresting-place in Palestine.[33]\n\n=10.= Thus the =passage in Amos 9:7= is explained by the discovery\nthat the Philistines came from Caphtor (Crete), but they passed\nthrough the land of the Casluhim. This explains =Deut. 2:23=, wherein\nthe inhabitants of Azzah (or Gaza) are called Caphtorim, but more\ndistinctly in Jer. 47:4, \u201cthe Philistines, the remnant of the country\nof Caphtor.\u201d So that the Philistines, who came originally from Crete\n(Caphtor), settled on the Delta coast, and thence passing through the\nland of Casluhim, settled in Philistia, as Ebers has shown.[34]\n\n=11.= A migration of the earliest Ph\u0153nicians to the coasts of the Delta\nis generally accepted as =leading to the invention of the alphabet=,\nfor these settlers soon learned the new form of hieroglyphics (called\nthe hieratic or priestly form), and afterwards improved these signs,\nas in the Ph\u0153nician alphabet. The most ancient manuscript in hieratic\nis referred to an age in the third millennium B. C., or perhaps about\n2500 B. C. In the trading intercourse between Egypt and Ph\u0153nicia this\nnew form was introduced into Ph\u0153nicia, where the full alphabetic forms\nwere originated. Wise men of that day must have very generally adopted\nthe improved letters, and in the course of the centuries, but certainly\nbefore the time of the Exodus, the alphabet on the Ph\u0153nician model\nwas well formed. De Roug\u00e9 has shown that the Ph\u0153nicians adopted these\nhieratic forms long before the Exodus.[35]\n\n=12. This alphabet must have been known to Moses=, and perhaps to all\nthe elders of Israel, and became that Hebrew alphabet which furnished\nthe source of the lettering of the law and its accessories.\n\nThe similarity between the old Hebrew and the Ph\u0153nician letters has\nbeen fully shown in the discoveries of tablets near Tyre and in the\nMoabite stone, so called, which was discovered at some ruins east\nof the Dead Sea, upon the site of the ancient Dibon. It is probable\ntherefore that the first elements of the alphabetic form of letters\nwere invented about this era of the world\u2019s history, when the\nPh\u0153nicians began their trading with the races upon the shores of\nEgypt, which we have last mentioned.\n\n=13. The next son of Ham= is (c) PHUT. The hieroglyphics of Egypt\nrepresent the nation east of the Red Sea and along the northern half\nof the coast as the people of _Punt_, and this people is supposed to\nbe meant by _Phut_ or _Put_. They traded in incense and turquoise (a\nblue mineral not so hard as quartz but as heavy). They were a wandering\ntribe of a dusky hue, but entirely distinct from the Cushites on whose\nconfines they dwelt.\n\n=14. The last= mentioned =descendant of Ham= was (d) CANAAN. He begat\nSidon, the firstborn of eleven heads of tribes or nations. Sidon became\nin after centuries the name of the chief city of Ph\u0153nicia. The rest of\nthe descendants of Canaan formed the Canaanites.\n\n=15.= A very important fact should be noticed here. These Canaanites\nspoke a Shemitic language, but they were, as here seen, descendants\nof Ham through Canaan. Recent discoveries show that long before their\nsettlement in the land of Canaan they are met with first in Southern\nArabia, from whence they made their way northward to certain islands\nin the Persian Gulf, their next resting-place being on the flat shores\nof the Persian Gulf at the mouth of the Euphrates. They then emigrated\nto the shores of Ph\u0153nicia, carrying the name Canaan, or, as they\npronounced it, Chna, \u201cthe low-lying,\u201d to their new inheritance on the\nshores of Ph\u0153nicia. Their associations were Shemitic and their language\nalso, although they were by descent Hamitic.\n\n=The temples= still standing in the times of the Romans upon the\nislands in the Persian Gulf were Ph\u0153nician, and the inhabitants\nclaimed to be the original stock of the famous race of Palestine.[36]\n\u201cCanaanite\u201d in after times became the term used to signify a merchant\nor trader, from the habits of the people.[37]\n\n=16. The people of Heth=, another son of Canaan, became in later times\na very powerful nation, whose history has only recently been brought to\nlight. Their name as Hittites has been found in the Egyptian records,\nfrom which it is shown that at one time, so early as that of Moses,\nthey were sufficiently powerful to resist the forces of the king,\nRameses II., of Egypt. On one of the Egyptian monuments they are\nrepresented as making a treaty with the Egyptian monarch which was as\nfavorable to them as to him, B. C. 1333 (Brugsch).\n\n=17. Sidon=, the city of that name, was early a fishing station of\nthe Ph\u0153nicians on the coast of the Mediterranean west of the Lebanon\nMountains, twenty-two miles north of Tyre. This place, now in existence,\nyet bears the name of the ancient son of Canaan.\n\n=18. The Canaanites= were \u201cspread abroad\u201d over what is now known as\nPalestine, from Sidon to Gaza and Gerar, \u201cas thou goest to Sodom and\nGomorrah and Admah and Zeboim, even unto Lasha,\u201d Gen. 10:19. Gaza is\nwell known, being 150 miles southwest of Sidon and about two miles from\nthe shore of the Mediterranean, and is now a town of 15,000 inhabitants.\nSodom and Gomorrah are not certainly located, being by some supposed\nto have been at the south end of the Dead Sea, but by others at the\nnorth end. Neither of the remaining names can be identified with any\nknown sites. But it is plain that the Canaanites occupied the whole of\nPalestine west of the Jordan and as far north as the Lebanon Mountains,\nthe Arvadites and Hamathites extending beyond them more than 130 miles\nnorth of Sidon. _See the map._\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n THE DESCENDANTS OF SHEM. JOB.\n\n\n=1. The descendants of Shem= are next given: (a) ELAM was north\nof the Persian Gulf and east of the Tigris; Shushan was its capital\nin later times. (b) ASSHUR was the origin of the name Assyria. The\nAssyrian monuments show that Nineveh was built after Babylon, and that\nthe Assyrians were a later people than the Babylonians and derived\ntheir literature from them, and also that they were a Shemitic nation.\n(c) ARPHAXAD was settled north of Assyria on the table-land between\nOroomiah and Van. (d) LUD appears to be represented by Lydia in western\nAsia Minor, though at first it was a wider district. (e) ARAM settled\nin Syria near the Upper Euphrates, and as far west as the Upper\nLebanon Mountains north of Palestine, which we learn from the Assyrian\ninscriptions. The four children of Aram are UZ, HUL, GETHER, and\nMASH. Uz is thought to be the district east of the Jordan known as\nthe Hauran, parts of which are very fertile. This was the land of Job,\nand is reckoned in Arabia by Josephus.[38] The remaining three names\nare associated with the following lands: first, HUL, with el-Huleh, a\nregion in Northern Palestine, at the head-waters of the Jordan; second,\nGETHER, with the district of Itur\u00e6a between the waters of the lake\nel-Huleh and Uz; third MASH, with a site known as Maisel Jebel. But\nthese identifications are only probable.\n\n=2. Arphaxad had a son= Salah who begat Eber, whose descendants were\nthe ancestors of Abraham through Peleg, in whose days \u201cwas the earth\ndivided.\u201d Peleg appears to have settled near the Euphrates, since a\ncity named Phaliga once existed at the place where the river Chaboras\nfalls into the Euphrates from the east.\n\n=3. The descendants of Peleg\u2019s brother=, Joktan, thirteen in number,\nseem to have found their early settlements in Southern Arabia and\nas far south as Isfor on the southeast coast, which is supposed to\nrepresent the SEPHAR of the text, Gen. 10:30.\n\nThis closes a table which is generally considered to be the most\nimportant as well as the most ancient list of nations in existence.\n\n\n THE HISTORY OF JOB.\n\n=4. This history= is contained in the book of the same name. The author\nof this book is not known. It may have been written by Job himself.\nThe history is that apparently of a chief who lived in the land of Uz,\nwhich was probably in the region we have already described. Many think\nthat the land of Uz was in Northern Arabia or in Idum\u00e6a.\n\n=5. Job=, according to one writer (Wamys) was an Arabian prince,\nwho is represented as living in his family and enjoying a life of\nunalloyed prosperity, the consequence of his exemplary piety and\nrectitude. Suddenly the scene changes, and this excellent man is\nvisited by a series of overwhelming calamities, which are the result\nof a transaction which passed in the council of the Most High, into the\nsecret of which the reader is for the moment admitted, as stated in Job\n1:8\u201213. During his affliction Job is visited by his friends. Instead of\ncomforting him, these friends ascribe his calamities to some great sin,\nfor which he is now punished. Job\u2019s friends affirm that great suffering\nis a proof of great guilt, and exhort him to _repent and confess_.[39]\nJob denies this, Job 4:5\u201231:40. At the close of their dialogue another\nand younger friend of the patriarch intervenes to modify the view taken\nby the others.\n\n=6.= At length the Lord condescends to interpose in the controversy.\nFrom the midst of a whirlwind, in words of incomparable grandeur\nand sublimity he silences the murmurings of his servant, bidding him\nreflect on the glory of creation and learn the stupendous power and\nwisdom of Him whose purposes are good, though unexplained, and with\nwhom it is useless for a created being to contend. Thereupon Job\nacknowledges his error, and the whole party are convinced of forming\nfalse estimates of the Lord\u2019s administration. Job is restored to\nprosperity and prays for his friends, who are accepted in their\noffering and received back into favor.\n\n=7. The book of Job=, from internal evidence, is probably one of the\nearliest productions of Biblical literature. The names of his friends,\nthe Temanite and the Shuhite, and the mention of the Sab\u00e6ans, indicate\nthe Idum\u00e6an parts of Northern Arabia as the scene of the history. The\nlong life of Job, which appears to have been about 200 years, indicates\na period in the second or third century following the Flood, or before\nthe time of Abraham. But neither the date of the composition nor the\nlocation of Uz can be settled any further than we have already stated.\n\nOne of the proofs of the very early origin of this composition is found\nin its reference to the ancient seal, Job 38:14, which was rolled over\nthe clay, covering it with figures; hence the illustration used in the\nabove passage. The cylindrical seals were used in the early Babylonian\nera.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES.\n\n\n=1.= The next subject which is presented in the sacred text is =the\nconfusion of tongues= at the building of the tower of Babel, Gen.\n11:1\u201210. In this passage of the Scripture history we have an extremely\ncondensed view of an event which must have been one of greater\nimportance than would appear from the very concise manner in which it\nis described. All that we know from Scripture is that a certain part of\nthe human race coming from the East settled upon the plains of Shinar,\nand there began the erection of the highest known tower, with the\npurpose of making themselves a name before they were \u201cscattered abroad\nupon the face of the whole earth.\u201d They began the tower, using brick\nfrom the clay which abounds upon the plain of Babylon and bitumen,\ncalled \u201cslime\u201d in the text, for mortar. During the building of this\ncity and tower their language, which up to this period was the same,\nbecame confused, so that, being unable to understand each other, they\nwere forced to desist, \u201cand they left off to build the city.\u201d This is\nthe brief history.\n\n=2.= From the recently discovered Assyrian history, recorded\nupon the =tablets= now in the British Museum, it appears that the\nBabylonians of the earliest ages had a tradition of this tower and of\nthe sudden confusion of tongues. The event seems to indicate that the\ndetermination of the early descendants of Noah, probably under Nimrod\nor his immediate successors, was to settle on the plains and build\na vast metropolis and a tower, whose height should serve the double\npurpose of a means of direction or as a guide to the city, and also\nof an advertisement of their immense wealth and enterprise amid the\nsurrounding tribes.\n\n=3. The divine intention= was, however, that the command given to Noah\nand his descendants, that they should replenish the earth, should be\nliterally executed, and it was the divine intervention which prevented\nall the people from remaining in that land.\n\nAs we have said, =the word Babel= in the Greek form is Babylon; but\nthe word which originally meant \u201cconfusion\u201d in the Hebrew seems to have\nbeen changed from that form originally given it into _Bab_, or \u201cgate,\u201d\nel, of \u201cGod,\u201d for the actual original Hebrew word for \u201cconfusion,\u201d as\nBuxtorf shows from the Rabbinical word for \u201cconfusion,\u201d is Bilbal, or\nBilbul. Oppert[40] has shown that the word is distinctly of Assyrian\nderivation, from Balal, to \u201cconfound.\u201d Similar changes from original\nforms have frequently occurred. Thus Beth-lehem is now Beit-lahm\nthe former meaning \u201chouse of bread,\u201d and the latter \u201chouse of meat.\u201d\nBorsippa, the name of the ruined tower near Babylon, supposed to be the\nTower of Babel, is now called Bar-Sab, the former (Borsippa) meaning\nthe \u201ctower of languages,\u201d the latter (Bar Sab) meaning the \u201cshattered\naltar,\u201d as Geikie has mentioned.\n\n=4.= In studying the early parts of Biblical history the student should\nbe mindful that history and traditions as recorded by the Assyrians\nwere borrowed, or, more truly speaking, derived, from the early records\nof the Babylonian and Chald\u00e6an nations, as in some cases is stated upon\nAssyrian tablets. This fact we have illustrated, page 26. The original\nrecords were kept at the old Chald\u00e6an city of Erech, 90 miles southeast\nof Babylon, at the present ruins of Warka. Assur-bani-pal, the Assyrian\nking, beside being a great warrior, was also one who encouraged\nliterature and had an immense library, for those days, 10,000 tablets\nfrom which were removed to the British Museum. In his time, 668\u2012647\nB. C., the ancient Chald\u00e6an tongue was translated into Assyrian, and in\nthis library at Nineveh was a lexicon of the Chald\u00e6o-Turanian language\nwith the meaning of the words put in Assyrian cuneiform.[41] This\nshowed that so many years had passed that the ancient Chald\u00e6an language\nwas, at that time, nearly lost.\n\n=5. Those records=, both of the Chald\u00e6an and of the later Assyrian\nages, have not only been of great service to the student of ancient\nhistory, but they have added much to the explanation and corroboration\nof Biblical history, as we shall hereafter have occasion to show.\n\n=6.= The ruins of both Nineveh and Babylon bear some names which are\n=reminiscences of Nimrod=, but these seem to have been applied at some\ncomparatively recent date. The chief structure bearing the name of\nNimrod is the _Birs Nimrud_, or Tower of Nimrod, ten miles southwest\nof the modern town of Hillah, which is near the ruins of Babylon. The\nlarge mass of burned brick at this place seems to have been originally\nerected in the form of a steep pyramid some six hundred feet in height\nand of the same length at its base. It is extremely ancient, as its\nAssyrian name proves, which name, Saggatu, \u201cthe high temple,\u201d is an old\nAccadian word.\n\n=7. Nebuchadnezzar=, B. C. 604\u2012562, one of the greatest builders among\nthe Babylonian kings, says of himself that he builded additions to it,\nalthough Tiglath-pileser repaired it one hundred years before. It is\nnow a bare hill of yellow sand and bricks a few miles west of the banks\nof the Euphrates, reaching a height of about 200 feet, a vast mass of\nbrick-work jutting from the mound to a further height of 37 feet. It\nis very probable that these are the most ancient remains to be found\nin Babylonia, and in its form seems to have furnished a universal model\nfor all succeeding temples and towers in that region.[42]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE HISTORY OF ABRAM AND HIS TIMES.\n\n\n=1.= The promise that in his seed should all the nations of the\nearth be blessed renders the history of Abram one of great interest,\nespecially as recent discoveries of the monuments and literature\nof ancient Chald\u00e6a have given us more correct knowledge of those\nearly ages than had been acquired for more than 3,000 years. In the\neleventh chapter of Genesis, beginning at the tenth verse, is given\nthe =ancestry of Abraham=, the father of the Hebrews. Abram, afterward\ncalled Abraham, for reasons stated in chapter 17:5, was the ninth\nfrom Shem. Until the birth of Abram his ancestors appear to have\nlived in the region known as Chald\u00e6a. Abram\u2019s birthplace was Ur, 150\nmiles southeast of Babylon and a few miles west of the Euphrates. The\nruins of Ur include, at the present day, a part of an ancient temple\ndedicated to the moon. This temple seems to have been erected many\nyears before the days of Abram. A vast number of tombs surround it and\nthe city, in the times of Abram, must have been a place for burial and\nconsidered sacred. Eupolemus, a Greek writer who is quoted by Eusebius,\nspeaks of it in his time, about 446 B. C., as \u201cthe place of the\nChaldees.\u201d[43] Its ruins on a vast mound are so largely cemented with\nbitumen that this fact has given rise to its present name, Mugheir,\nwhich means \u201cbitumen.\u201d The tablets and bricks bear the ancient name of\nUr as well as the names of its earliest kings and the builder of its\ntemples.\n\n=2.= Although at the present day the Persian Gulf is about 140 miles\ndistant from Ur, only the deposits from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris\nhave removed the waters of the gulf to this distance. Certain coast\nmarks show that the sea must have sent its waters up the river to a\ndistance of nearly, if not quite, 124 miles, and in the time of Abram\nUr must have been a maritime city.\n\n=3. From this city Terah=, Abram\u2019s father, removed with his family to\nHaran. This city was 580 miles northwest of Ur on the banks of a small\ntributary stream which runs seventy miles southward before it joins\nthe Euphrates. Both Ur and Haran were the seats of the Moon-god, called\n\u201cSin\u201d in the Chaldee language. This deity was masculine in the same\nlanguage and the Sun-god was feminine, as is apparent from the omens\nof that day as seen in the following translations of certain priestly\nutterances and directions by Prof. Sayce.[44]\n\nOf the month Elul it is said: He shall make his free-will offering\nto the Sun, the mistress of the world, and to the Moon, the supreme\ngod.... The fifteenth day is sacred to the Sun, the Lady of the House\nof Heaven.... The Moon the Lord of the month.\n\n=4. In this age= we read that the seventh day was \u201ca day of rest,\u201d and\nthe very ancient name for \u201crest\u201d was very similar to the word Sabbath\nused in the Hebrew, and special observance of the day was ordered by\nthe priests; thus \u201cthe shepherd of mighty nations (king) must not eat\nflesh cooked on the fire or in the smoke. He must not drive a chariot.\nHe must not issue royal decrees; the lifting up of his hands finds\nfavor with the god,\u201d etc.[45]\n\n=5. It is plain therefore= that the seventh day was a day of rest,\na sacred day, in the time of ancient Babylonish kings. It was so in\nthe era of earliest Chald\u00e6an records, and it was not an institution\nderived only from the Jewish nation, but the day was regarded as a\nSabbath among the Chald\u00e6ans in the time and long before the days of\nAbram, for the records above translated and preserved in the library of\nAssur-bani-pal, King of Assyria, as we have said, page 26, were derived\nfrom far more ancient records, existing even before the Deluge, of\nwhich latter event they give a history. So that the Chald\u00e6an records of\nthe Creation, the Deluge, and the Sabbath may very reasonably have been\nderived from one and the same source.\n\n=6.= The =name Abram= is of Babylonish-Assyrian derivation, but was\nchanged by the Lord into Abraham, which was a purely Hebrew name, as is\nrecorded in Gen. 17:5.[46]\n\n=7. It is not stated how long= Terah remained in Ur after the birth\nof Abram, Nahor, and Haran, but the removal was not made until Lot was\nborn to Haran and until the death of the latter. Then Terah left Ur for\nHaran, six hundred miles northwest, where they remained probably many\nyears (see Gen. 12:5).\n\n=8. The fact that Abram\u2019s name= occurs first in the mention of the\nthree is no proof, judging from the Scripture method of naming sons,\nthat Abram was the oldest, but only that he was the most important\ncharacter, for Shem is mentioned first in the three Shem, Ham, and\nJapheth, although Japheth is called the elder, Gen. 10:21, Shem being\nthe most important as the head of the Hebrew race.\n\nAbram was probably born when Terah was 130 years old, for it must be\nremembered that there is no good reason for supposing that the three\nsons of Terah were born in the same year, but only that one of the\nthree mentioned (Gen. 11:26) was born when Terah was 70 years of age\nand the two others at some time after. If Abram was born when Terah\nwas 130 and lived to be 75 years old at the death of his father, his\nfather\u2019s age would have been 205 as given in the text. It seems that\nHaran was the elder of the three, though mentioned last as in the case\nof Noah\u2019s three sons.\n\n=9. Abram=, at the call of the Lord, left with a large retinue of\nservants and crossed the Euphrates and came into Canaan, probably by\nthe way of Damascus. He immediately entered into the land known then as\nCanaan, and the first place named on his way is \u201cSichem, unto the plain\nof Moreh.\u201d Sichem is the place also called Shechem, and the word Sichem\nis in the Hebrew precisely the same as Shechem, the variation being one\ndue only to the translator of the Hebrew name into English.\n\n=10. Shechem= is almost exactly half way between Dan on the north\nand Beersheba on the south. It was therefore not till Abram arrived\nin the midst of the land that he erected an altar to Jehovah after the\nLord had promised that to his seed He would give this land, Gen. 12:7.\nVarious tribes of Canaanites occupied the whole future land of Israel,\nGen. 10:19.\n\n=11. The plain of Moreh= was a mile east of the city, or town, of\nShechem. It is evident that both Moreh and Shechem were names of\nCanaanites, as Shechem is seen in Gen. 33; 34; Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2,\nand other places, as a personal name.\n\n=12.= The word translated \u201cplain\u201d is equally applicable to a grove of\ntrees, and it may be that Abram chose this grove as a shelter from the\nheat. Twenty-seven miles north of Shechem is probably the hill called\nin Judg. 7:1, after the same person, the hill of Moreh. The city of\nShochen, which exists at the present time, is between the high hills of\nGerizim on the south and Ebal on the north.\n\nFor the reasons why the word \u201cplain\u201d should be rendered \u201coak\u201d see\nJosh. 24:26 and Judg. 9:6, wherein it is evident that a pillar by the\noak is meant. Also see that the word \u201coak\u201d is in the Hebrew exactly\nthe same as that translated \u201cplain\u201d in the text referred to above, Gen.\n12:6, and this identical oak seems to have been used for an important\npurpose many years after. In Deut. 11:30 the name is in the plural,\nleading us to suppose that it was a grove continuing through many\ncenturies. Groves always were important and sometimes sacred, as it\nappears from the action of Abraham, for in Gen. 21:33 it is stated that\n\u201cAbraham planted a grove in Beersheba and called there on the name of\nthe Lord, the everlasting God.\u201d\n\n=13. The next place visited= by Abram was an unknown place between\nBethel and Hai.[47] Bethel was not so named until 160 years afterwards,\nby Jacob, Gen. 28:19. Hai and Ai[48] are the same, and this place was\nprobably a Canaanitish town at this time. The distance south of Shechem\nwas 20 miles to the place occupied by the patriarch, where he seems\nto have remained only to build an altar and then moved on, evidently\nseeking pasture for his flocks and herds.\n\n\n EGYPT FIRST MENTIONED.\n\n=14. The name of Egypt= occurs now for the first time in Scripture,\nand we may judge of its importance from the fact that the name occurs\nsix hundred and thirteen times, twenty-four of which number are to be\nfound in the New Testament. In this instance the mention is made about\n1920 B. C.,[49] and the kingdom is referred to as fully established and\nwell known.\n\nThe occasion of Abram\u2019s visit was the famine existing in the land of\nCanaan. Abram journeys southward with the intention of entering Egypt\nto provide sustenance for himself and his retinue against this famine.\n\n=15. The condition of Egypt= at or just before the time of Abram\u2019s\nfirst visit was one of great prosperity. The reigning Pharaohs,\ngenerally called those of the twelfth dynasty, were most probably the\nUsertesens and the Amen-emhats. Under this dynasty the sceptres of\nUpper and Lower Egypt were united. All the kings were powerful and\nprosperous and art flourished, the Sun temple at Heliopolis (six miles\nnortheast of the present Cairo) was magnificently restored, and in the\nFayum on the west of the Nile (about 50 miles southwest of Cairo) the\npractice of building pyramids was revived. Here was the vast lake or\ninland sea made by Amen-emhat III., to receive the overplus waters of\nthe annual overflow of the Nile and to distribute them in case of need.\nThis king also built the great labyrinth in the Fayum, the latter name\nbeing an alteration of the Egyptian word for \u201csea,\u201d namely \u201c_Piom_.\u201d\n\n=16.= During this period fortifications were erected on the\nnortheastern frontier of Egypt, which appear to have extended across\nthe whole of the present isthmus of Suez (_Socin_). The term Shur used\nsix times in Scripture is now supposed to refer to this \u201cwall.\u201d[50]\n\n=17. As the pyramids of Gizeh= were built in the fourth dynasty (the\nmost recent date of which is given by Wilkinson as 2450 B. C.), they\nhad been in existence more than 400 years before Abram\u2019s visit. The\nSphinx was then existing also, as seems probable from an inscription\nfound by M. Mariette, which indicates that there was a \u201ctemple of the\nSphinx\u201d in the time of Cheops,[51] the builder of the great pyramid.\nIt seems also probable that the rule of the foreigners, called the\nShepherd Kings, had begun before Abram\u2019s visit.\n\n=18. These foreigners= took possession of Lower Egypt and drove the\noriginal rulers up the Nile to Thebes and other parts of Upper Egypt.\nLong before this period emigrants from the East had been admitted to\nEgypt and had settled in various places upon the rich lands of the\nDelta, until, finding themselves sufficiently powerful, they usurped\nall authority without a battle. They were called the Shepherd kings,\nor Hyksos, from what was supposed to be their employment. They governed\nLower Egypt for about five hundred years, until they were finally\ndriven out by the Egyptian royal family.\n\n=19. Abram\u2019s first visit= seems to have been made at or near the\nbeginning of the Hyksos era. The most recent date of the beginning\nof the rule of the Shepherd Kings is that of Wilkinson, 2091 B. C.,\nand if the date usually given for the visit of Abram was 1920 B. C.,\nthen these invaders had already had possession of the land for over\n170 years. Egypt was therefore renowned and its rulers were of a race\nacquainted with the employments to which Abram was not a stranger. They\nspoke the dialect of Canaan, as it is very evident that many came from\nthe region of Canaan.\n\n=20. In this age the horse= is not mentioned as in Egypt. Oxen and\nasses and sheep are found depicted upon the walls and tablets, but the\nhorse does not appear in Egypt till the reign of Thothmes I., who met\nwith them in his wars in Assyria. This king was the third Pharaoh of\nthe eighteenth dynasty.[52] This dynasty began immediately after the\nexpulsion of the Hyksos. So that while it is probable that the horse\nmight have been known only as a foreign animal, it was introduced into\nLower Egypt by Thothmes I., and Egypt became known after this for its\nfine breed of horses, which took the place of the asses previously used\nthroughout the land. It is for this reason that Abram\u2019s list of animals\nexcludes the horse, Gen. 12:16.\n\n\n THE FIRST BATTLE.\n\n=21. The next important occurrence= in the history of Abram is that\nof the =first battle= mentioned in Scripture. Abram had returned to\nCanaan with large additions to his herds. This increase brought about\na necessary separation between Abram and Lot. Abram settled in Hebron,\nwhile Lot chose his residence in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah,\nthe cities of the plain. Soon after four kings from Chald\u00e6a approached\nCanaan on a tour of conquest, and passing to the south and east of\nthe Dead Sea went down to Mt. Seir and thence to Kadesh, then called\nEn-mishpat, and thence north to Hazezon-tamar. They then met the kings\nof Sodom and Gomorrah in battle, defeated them, and carried off Lot\nand others captives. Upon knowledge of this captivity Abram set out\nto overtake the invaders. He was joined by the forces of the three\nAmorites confederate with him, and found the kings at Dan, about 140\nmiles from Hebron northward, as they were leaving the country on their\nway home to Chald\u00e6a. A battle now took place at night, and the four\nkings were defeated, and Lot and other captives, together with the\nstolen goods, were all retaken and brought back in safety.\n\n\n SODOM AND GOMORRAH.\n\n=22. The exact location= of these cities has not yet been discovered.\nThey were, with the other cities of the plain, situated very near the\nDead Sea, and the traditions place them at the western part of the\nsouthern end, where there is a salt hill five miles long, called the\nhill of Sodom, _Jebel Usdum_. There are good reasons for supposing that\nwhen Abram and Lot stood overlooking the land from the heights near\nBethel, Lot chose the region north of the Dead Sea, which was visible,\nin preference to the southern part, which was more than forty miles\ndistant. But from the Scripture account, considered in view of the\nevident volcanic nature of this part of Palestine and the fearful\nearthquakes which have happened in the vicinity in recent times, there\nis reason to believe that some terrible convulsion not only buried the\ncities, but submerged the plain at the south end of the sea, and no\nother interpretation seems to suit the history, which definitely states\nthat the plain and all that grew upon it were destroyed, the water\nsystem of the plain being all entirely changed. The submerged plain\nat the south, therefore, which is covered for the area of about fifty\nsquare miles with water only a few feet deep, has given occasion for\nthe theory that the cities of the plain are to be sought beneath these\nwaters, which are by some supposed to cover the vale of Siddim.\n\n=23. Hazezon-tamar is the same= as En-gedi, 2 Chron. 20:2. It is upon\nthe west shore of the Dead Sea, twenty-three miles south of the mouth\nof the Jordan. Hobah, whither Abram pursued the kings, is two miles\nnorth of Damascus.\n\n=24. Abram was near Hebron=, twenty miles west of the Dead Sea, when\nthe news reached him of the defeat of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah\nand the capture of Lot. Hebron is almost equidistant from the north and\nsouth ends of the Dead Sea, at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet above\nthe Mediterranean, while the waters of the Dead Sea are 1,293 feet\nbelow those of the Mediterranean.\n\n=25. The recent discoveries in Chald\u00e6a= and the surrounding countries\nshow that the names of these four kings\u2015\u2015Amraphel king of Shinar,\nArioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of\nnations, are names which have in large part been found on the tablets\nand in the history of the countries mentioned. Amraphel is the same\nin the Hebrew as Amarphal, and it was so translated in the Septuagint\nmade more than 250 B. C. This name was that of a viceroy of Sumir, the\ndistrict around and south of Babylon, called Shinar in Genesis, and the\nname Amar-pal has been found \u201cborne by private persons on two cylinders\nof ancient workmanship\u201d (Lenormant). The Septuagint has for Tidal,\nThargal, which seems to be the proper spelling; the difference between\nthe two spellings in the original Hebrew is only that between an _r_\nand a _d_, which in that language is exceedingly small. In the Akkadian\n(same as Accadian), which was the language used in the ancient Chald\u00e6an\ntimes, Turgal meant \u201cgreat chief.\u201d[53] This king was chief of a people\ncalled the Gutium in the monumental inscriptions, and this tribe or\nsmall nation has been identified with the Goim of the Hebrew text,\nwhich in our English version is translated \u201cnations.\u201d So that the\n\u201cTidal king of nations,\u201d of the text in Genesis, is shown to be the\n\u201cgreat chief\u201d of a tribe living in Northern Babylonia, of which one\npart became afterwards the nation of the Assyrians.[54]\n\nChedorlaomer, the monuments show us, was truly an Elamite name,\nChedor, or Kudur, forming part of several names of the early kings\nof that district, and Laomer, or Lagamar, being the name of a most\nimportant Elamite god. The name Arioch is very similar to that of the\nson of an Elamite king who was king of Larsa, which itself is similar\nto the Hebrew name Ellasar, and the circumstances have led the best\nAssyriologists to believe that they are the very same.\n\n=26. The monumental records show= that this king of Elam, on a previous\noccasion, when Abram was still at Haran, had passed over the Euphrates\nand conquered Ph\u0153nicia and a country to the south. He is called both\nking of Elam and king of Ph\u0153nicia, as the land of Canaan was called\nby name \u201cMartu,\u201d \u201cthe land of the setting sun,\u201d or Ph\u0153nicia. So that\n14 years before, at the time when Chedorlaomer crossed the Euphrates\non his first expedition, Abram may have beheld the troops of that king\nwhom he afterward conquered, with his viceroys, when they came on their\nsecond invasion of Canaan. At that time Abram was with his father Terah\nat Haran, as we may see from the dates in the context, Gen. 16:3; 14:5.\n\n\n THE ISHMAELITES.\n\n=27. Some years after this battle= we have the account of the birth\nof Ishmael, the son of Abram by Hagar. As the descendants of Ishmael\nexerted great influence in years afterward, it is well at this point\nto study the early history of this son of Abram. When Isaac was\nborn Ishmael was about 16 years of age, Gen. 17:21, 25; 21:1, 8, and\nuntil the day of the divine promise to Abram, at which time his name\nwas changed to Abraham, he was evidently, from the context, greatly\nattached to Ishmael. Moreover, Abram was considered by his neighbors as\n\u201ca mighty prince among them,\u201d Gen. 23:6. Under these circumstances this\nonly son must have been allowed privileges and attentions at the hands\nof the hundreds of Abram\u2019s servants such as an heir apparent to all\nthe wealth of Abram would be certain to receive. When, however, Sarah\nbecame the mother of Isaac a change necessarily transpired. Ishmael\nwas no longer the expected heir. Hagar\u2019s spirit of self-importance,\nwhich showed itself before so positively that she was forced to leave\nthe family, was now repeated in some disagreeable actions of her son\nIshmael, and, despite the persistent love of Abraham, Ishmael and his\nmother were summarily dismissed from the family.\n\n=28. There can be no reasonable doubt= that the action of Abraham in\nsending Hagar and her son out upon the desert with only sufficient food\nto support them for a time was greatly or almost entirely influenced\nby the direct revelation to Abraham that the divine interference would\nbe exerted on behalf of the exiles. That had been assured, as we see\nin verses 12 and 13 of chapter 21. At the same time both the mother\nand son, after all the preceding years of privilege, would naturally\nimagine that a great wrong had been done them, and Ishmael readily\nbecame a wild wanderer upon the vast deserts east of Egypt.\n\nHe was the progenitor of twelve great tribes whose names in part are\nrecognized among some of the tribes existing at the present day and\nwhose characters are accurately represented in the description of what\nthey were to be, as it occurs in Gen. 16:12, and the expression \u201che\nshall dwell in the presence of his brethren\u201d simply alludes to the fact\nthat his race should be wanderers upon the desert without any fixed\nhabitation, this being the life of all the most pleasurable to the\ndesert Arabs.\n\n=29. As Abraham was 99 years= of age when Ishmael was 13, Gen.\n17:24, 25, and died at 175, it is plain that Ishmael must have been\nabout 90 years of age at Abraham\u2019s death. The love and reverence which\nIshmael had for the patriarch were apparent after this long time in\nthe fact that at the death of the latter, Isaac and Ishmael united to\nperform the burial at the cave of Machpelah at Hebron, Gen. 25:9.\n\n\n HEBRON AND MACHPELAH.\n\n=30. Hebron= is a very old city, having been founded long before\nAbram\u2019s time, and it is in existence at present. It is south of\nJerusalem eighteen miles, and is unlike nearly all the cities in\nPalestine in that it is situated in a valley. The cave of Machpelah\nis on the east side of the valley, which runs nearly north and south.\n\nThis city becomes important in Biblical history at the time when Sarah,\nthe wife of Abraham, died, and then this cave was purchased by Abraham\nas a family burying-place. It was the first spot possessed by any of\nthe ancestors of the Hebrew race in Palestine. Here Sarah and Abraham\nwere buried and in after times Leah and Isaac, and Jacob\u2019s remains were,\nby his desire, removed from Egypt and placed by the side of his wife\nLeah.\n\nAlthough Hebron has suffered several attacks and partial destruction,\nit is probable that the sacredness of the place may have protected it\nso that the actual remains of some of the bodies deposited there may\nyet be there, under Moslem guardianship.\n\n=After the birth of Isaac=, Abraham remained in the region of Gerar,\nwhose precise location is not known, although it must have been in the\nsouthwest of Canaan and in the land of the Philistines. From thence he\nremoved to Beersheba.[55]\n\n\n BEERSHEBA AND GERAR.\n\n=31. Beersheba= bears, at the present day, the same name and contains\ntwo wells, one about 12 feet in diameter, the other about 5 feet. The\nlarger appears to be very old and may well have existed since the days\nof the patriarch. It is about 40 feet deep to the water and is still\nused daily by the Arabs. The exact distance from Hebron to Beersheba\nis twenty-six and a half miles southwest. There are some ruins 24 miles\nsouthwest by south from Beersheba, called Umel Jerar, which possibly\nmay indicate where the ancient Gerar was.\n\n=32.= From Beersheba Abraham travelled with Isaac to =Mt. Moriah=,\nwhich was at the present site of Jerusalem and distant in an air line\n45 miles northeast. Here his obedience and faith were severely tried in\nthe command to offer up, as a burnt-offering, his only son Isaac. This\nact might have been more trying to the faith of Abraham because it was\nthe practice of the Canaanites at that time. That the immolation of\nchildren was practised by the Ph\u0153nicians at that age and in the land\nof Chald\u00e6a is proved by an Accadian text which expressly states that\nsin may be expiated by the vicarious sacrifice of the eldest son.[56]\nIn after times it was practised by the Moabites, 2 Kings 3:27. But\nAbraham\u2019s faith never failed him, and the offering was accepted, though\nthe act was arrested.\n\n=33. Abraham after this purchased= the cave of Machpelah, of which\nwe have spoken, where Sarah was buried, and he himself was laid away\nin the same place at his death, having given all his possessions to\nhis son Isaac, except some smaller gifts to his other children by his\nsecond wife Keturah, when he sent them away from Isaac his son \u201cunto\nthe east country.\u201d\n\n=34. The character of Abraham= has been revered among the Jews,\nMohammedans, and Christians alike in all ages and parts of the world.\nHis tomb now existing at Hebron is among the very few places in the\nEast about which there has never been any doubt. The structure, now\na mosque, is a Mohammedan addition to a building which was in part\nerected near the beginning of the Christian era.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n THE PATRIARCHS ISAAC AND JACOB.\n\n\n=1. Isaac=, as appears from sacred history, towards the close of his\nfather\u2019s life, dwelt in the \u201csouth country,\u201d a term given to the large\ndistrict far to the south of Hebron, where also Abraham was probably\nliving at the same time.\n\nThe exact place called =Beer-lahai-roi=, or \u201cthe spring of Lahai-roi,\u201d\nis not known, but it was that spring, called a \u201cwell,\u201d which was\nmentioned in connection with the first departure of Hagar, and it was\nevidently on the way towards Egypt, between Kadesh and Bered, some\nthirty miles nearly south of Beersheba.\n\n=2. The pastures= were excellent here, and Isaac, now about 40 years\nof age, had come into possession of large herds whose care devolved\nupon him. It was here that he received his wife, whom his father\nAbraham had selected for him from among his kindred in the far-off\nland of Mesopotamia in preference to the people of the land where he\ndwelt, who were Hittites, and descendants of Canaan the son of Ham,\nAbraham being a descendant of Shem. =The Philistines= who dwelt on the\nsouthwest coast of Canaan and of whom the Abimelech of the text was\nking, were formerly a mixed race. In this age they are considered to\nbe the immediate descendants of a tribe which took possession of the\ndry, salt region stretching from the Delta of the Nile on the coast\naround towards Canaan. Here, in early times, they became the great salt\nproducers and of great importance to the salt fisheries which supplied\nvarious surrounding countries. The Mt. Casios in their territory was\nthe \u201cKas-lokh,\u201d or \u201cdry\u201d \u201cburnt up hill\u201d of the ancient Egyptians,\nhence the name of Casluhim, of the Hebrew text, as that of the people\nfrom whom the Philistines were derived, Gen. 10:14.\n\n=3.= They seem many years before to have left the Ph\u0153nician shores and\nsettled near the coast of the Egyptian Delta. Thence they moved to the\nsalt regions, but they adapted themselves fully to the Egyptian method\nof life and literature, as appears from their history gathered from the\nancient records. These records have fully corroborated the statement of\nGenesis.[57]\n\n=4. In the time of Abram= they had taken possession of the southwestern\npart of Palestine and had largely modified their habits of life. They\nare represented on the monuments of Egypt as fine-looking warriors,\nwearing a head-dress of peculiar and very ornamental form, with the\nback of the neck protected, and when marching, moving in great order,\nusing the javelin and the short sword for close combat.\n\n=5. At this time=, about B. C. 1800, the Philistines had not arrived\nat that condition of power and wealth which they possessed in later\ncenturies. They afterward became most formidable enemies of the\nIsraelites, and possessed at least five grand cities. In this era of\ntheir history Gerar seems to be the residence of the king, Abimelech,\nas it was of his father of the same name in the time of Abraham,\n90 years before. Being a small tribe, its king was anxious to form an\nalliance with Isaac, whose household and possessions had become very\ngreat, and, judging from the context, his retinue of servants and his\nwealth exceeded all that Abraham had possessed before him.\n\n=6. There are=, at present, two wells at Beersheba of the same general\narchitecture, and both seem to be very ancient. The one about 300 feet\noff from the large one, spoken of before, is only about five feet in\ndiameter. As the men of Gerar, at Abraham\u2019s death, filled up \u201call the\nwells\u201d built by the patriarch, it is probable that the second well was\ndug by the servants of Isaac and called also Beersheba as commemorative\nof the second oath of treaty made by Abimelech, the second of that\nsame name mentioned in Scripture, and his commander-in-chief, as Phicol\nmeans.\n\nThe life of Isaac seems to have been spent chiefly in the region of\nBeersheba, but he died at Hebron, at the age of 180 years. Esau and\nJacob are his only sons named in the sacred history.\n\n\n JACOB.\n\n=7. Jacob= was a native of Beersheba, and, having incurred the\ndispleasure of his brother Esau by the practice of a deceitful act\ntowards his father, as narrated in the text, Gen. 27, fled to the same\nregion whence his father obtained his own wife, and there found his\nwives Leah and Rachel in Mesopotamia.\n\nIn that act of deceit he was aided by his mother, who probably never\nlived to see again the son she loved so much. Jacob returned not for\nmany years, although when his mother parted with him she supposed it\nwas for \u201ca few days,\u201d Gen. 27:44. He returned to Hebron shortly before\nthe death of his father, in whose burial, in the cave of Machpelah,\nboth his sons, Esau and Jacob, united, Gen. 35:29.\n\n=8. Jacob and his twelve sons= remained near Hebron for some time after\nthe death of his father Isaac, when an event occurred which changed\nthe history of the entire family and led to their long residence in the\nland of Egypt.\n\n=Joseph=, the son of Jacob\u2019s old age, because of jealousy on the part\nof his brethren, was sold by them to a party of trading merchants,\ncalled \u201c=Ishmaelites=.\u201d These \u201ccame from Gilead, with their camels\nbearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.\u201d\n\n=Gilead= was the large district east of the Jordan, beginning some 15\nmiles southwest of Damascus, and whose southern limit was a few miles\nnorth of the Dead Sea. Their way towards Egypt was by Dothan, where the\nbrethren were tending their father\u2019s flock.\n\n=Dothan= was a Canaanitish town about five miles southwest of the\nCarmel range of mountains and thirteen miles north of Shechem. It was\nfully 900 feet above the sea, and on the south of a beautiful plain\nfive miles long and two wide.\n\n=9. The Ishmaelites= sold Joseph in Egypt, where, through his ability\nto interpret the dream of Pharaoh, he became, under the king, the\nsecond ruler of Egypt and prepared for the seven years of famine which\nwere preceded by seven years of extraordinary harvests. The famine in\nEgypt was attended by famine in Canaan, as also in other lands. This\ncondition of famine caused Jacob to send his sons into Egypt for corn.\nIt should be remembered that in these countries the word \u201ccorn\u201d was\napplied to almost any kind of grain, but especially to wheat and barley,\nas indeed it is at the present day in several other countries. It is\nnot probable that _Indian maize_, called _corn_ in our land, was ever\nreferred to in Scripture.\n\nAt the second visit of the patriarch\u2019s sons, Joseph, who recognized\nthem at the first visit, made himself known unto them and sent them\nback with the direction to bring his father, and all that made up the\nentire family, into Egypt.\n\n=10.= After some hesitation on the part of Jacob, he left Hebron,\nand passing through Beersheba, started on his way to Egypt, where\nhe arrived and was met by Joseph, on the plains of =Goshen=. Recent\ndiscovery has located this region about 40 miles northeast of\nthe present Cairo, in its central point, with a diameter of about\n15 miles.[58]\n\nJacob was introduced to the reigning Pharaoh when he was 130 years of\nage. His interview was followed by the settlement of the entire family,\nwith all their herds and possessions, in the district above mentioned.\nThis was a small district included in a much larger one called, in\nafter times, the land of Rameses, which name had reference to a second\nking of that name, Rameses II., who was the great builder monarch, and\nwho lived not long before the time of the Exodus. He died when Moses\nwas 80 years of age.\n\n [The student of Biblical chronology should use considerable\n caution in accepting the dates and surmises offered by some\n writers in connection with this history. The ages already given\n us in the text, namely, 130 for Jacob when Joseph was 39 by the\n texts preceding, show that Jacob was 91 years of age at Joseph\u2019s\n birth, but by Gen. 31:38 he had been at least 14 years with\n Laban, in Mesopotamia, just preceding the birth of Joseph. So\n that 14 years before the birth of Joseph he left his home for\n Haran, at the age of 77. It seems somewhat probable that Jacob\n was 40 years in Haran, and that he means to make that assertion\n when, in Gen. 31:38, 41, he separates the two 20 years. This\n affords more time for his sons to grow to the ages of that\n manhood necessary for the after occurrences narrated in the\n history. For the eldest, Reuben and Simeon, were born not until\n the marriage with Leah, and this appears to have been only seven\n years before the birth of Joseph. Six years after the birth of\n Joseph, Jacob leaves with all his family for Shechem, where he\n remains eight years. It appears, therefore, that Simeon and Levi,\n when they attacked and overthrew Shechem and sacked the town,\n were not over 19 or 20 years of age, as six of the last years\n and re-engagement for six years in Mesopotamia, and eight in\n Shechem, and perhaps a year on the travel, and various stoppages,\n give grounds for that supposition, if Jacob was only 20 years\n with Laban. It would then be as follows, remembering that Reuben\n was the first-born of the sons of Jacob:\n\n 8th year. Reuben born first year after Jacob\u2019s marriage.\n\n 14th year. The rest born during the six remaining years; Joseph\n now born.\n\n 20th year. At the close of the last seven years Jacob is newly\n employed for six years, which, with the previous 14 years, makes\n 20 years with Laban, Gen. 31:38.\n\n 21st year. Jacob and all the family start for Canaan, and reach\n Shechem, including stoppages, in the 21st year, or 13th year\n after Reuben\u2019s birth.\n\n When Jacob arrived in Shechem he bought land, dug a well, and is\n considered as resident for eight years.\n\n 29th year. At the close of this year Simeon and Levi attack the\n Shechemites. This would make Reuben about 21 or 22, and Simeon\n and Levi 19 and 20, but old enough, with their servants and\n probably others, to have executed their revenge. But we must\n understand that this is the extreme shortest period, and several\n circumstances might have detained them longer on their journeys\n and made the sons older.\n\n In the above calculation it is not necessary to suppose that\n Jacob was any longer than 20 years engaged with Laban. It is\n impossible to suppose, with some writers, that Jacob was only\n 40 years of age when he left his home for Haran.]\n\n=11. Jacob=, having had the land of Goshen, in Egypt, appointed him,\nremained there until his death at 147 years of age, having dwelt in the\nland of Egypt 17 years.\n\nAs Joseph died at 110 years of age, he lived 56 years after the death\nof Jacob, as governor of Egypt, very probably, since the last account\nof him was that \u201cthey embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.\u201d\nHe lived to see his great grandchildren, and therefore was prominent\nin Egypt for a term of 80 years.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n EGYPTIAN TESTIMONIES.\n\n\n=The recovery of the meaning= of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and\nthe many discoveries of monuments illustrating the early history and\nliterature of that nation, have added great interest to the study of\nScripture and established the accuracy of Biblical accounts of this\nperiod.\n\n=1. The articles= which the Ishmaelites carried to Egypt at the\ntime Joseph was sold are, in part, recorded in a list upon one of the\ntablets at Edfu, on the Nile. The first and second of the articles\nnamed in Gen. 37:25 are recorded by name, the article rendered\n\u201cspicery\u201d being the name of a gum found in Syria.\n\n=2. The price of a common slave= of Joseph\u2019s age is recorded in the\ntime of Rameses XIII. as about $10. This agrees with the statement,\nGen. 37:28, where it is stated that Joseph was sold for twenty pieces\nof silver, shown to be shekels of about 50 to 56 cents\u2019 value, which\nwas high, but Egyptian records show that young men from Syria were\nunusually valuable.[59]\n\n=3. The existence of slavery= is frequently alluded to upon the\nmonuments and in manuscripts, wherein those who had lost slaves offer\nrewards to any one who will bring them back. Moreover, Syrian slaves\nare recorded as of great value, and a treaty record is still preserved,\nmade between Rameses II. and the king of the Hittites, in which it is\nagreed to return fugitive slaves.\n\n=4. The statement has been made= by several Greek historians that the\nEgyptians never cultivated the grape nor drank wine. Therefore the\nstatement that Pharaoh drank the juice of the grapes, or wine, and had\na chief butler, as stated in Gen. 40, was said to be inaccurate. But\nthe discoveries show that not only were vineyards cultivated, but the\ngrapes were pressed in the wine-press, grapes were eaten, and wine made\nand used before the time of Joseph.\n\n=5. Various terms= as descriptive of official position, of names of\nplaces and objects of art or commerce, are now shown to be of ancient\nEgyptian origin, although brought into the Hebrew language. The use of\nthese terms and names proves that the early Israelites were in familiar\ncontact with the Egyptians.\n\n=6. The name of Rameses=, used in the history of Joseph, as afterward\nin the history of the Israelites, has been shown to be that of the\nchief Pharaoh of Egypt, and his mummy has recently been recovered with\nhis name and titles inscribed upon his body, and certified to by the\nhigh-priest.\n\n=7. The singular remark= made by the writer of Genesis concerning the\nshepherds, 46:34, has been thoroughly attested by the history of the\nincursion of the Shepherd Kings, who oppressed the land, seized upon\nthe government in the Delta, and drove the native kings up the Nile to\nThebes, occupying and ruling the land for about 500 years. It was at\nthe close of their rule that Joseph is supposed to have entered Egypt.\n\n=8. The keeping of the birthday= of Pharaoh as stated in Gen. 40:20\nis fully attested in the history of the early Egyptian periods. An\ninscription of the era of the Exodus tells us that the birthday of\nRameses II. \u201ccaused joy in heaven.\u201d[60] Great gatherings and feasts\nwere had, and the king dispensed his favors as he saw fit.[61]\n\n=9. The name for the Nile= used in the Hebrew is the Egyptian name for\nthat river found in the papyri, and translated in our English version\nas \u201cthe river.\u201d It is not the word the Hebrews used for a river, and\nits use proves that the writer was familiar with Egyptian usage.\n\n=10. The statement as to the offices= of chief butler and chief baker,\nas appointed to the Pharaoh, is remarkably attested by the Egyptian\nrecords, which show that these two were very high and important offices,\n\u201cfor both had the responsible duty of protecting the king\u2019s life from\npoison.\u201d[62]\n\n=11. A most remarkable illustration= of the accuracy of Joseph\u2019s\nhistory, as narrated in Genesis, is seen in the statement that he was\nrequired to change his clothes and be shaven before going into the\npresence of the king. Among the kindred of Joseph shaving was never\npractised, except as a disgrace. But with the Egyptian the law of\ncleanliness required shaving, not only of the chin, but of the hair\nalso. Not only every priest, but the king himself, was shaven, and the\nappearance of great heads of hair, and even of beard, in some pictures\nis due to the wigs and artificial beards worn by priests and laymen\nalike to cover the bald head. All foreigners were known by being\nunshorn.\n\nThe accuracy of Scripture in its references to the land of Egypt in\nancient times has been proved only since the discovery of the meaning\nof the hieroglyphics, as Greek historians knew little of Egypt in its\nancient history, and their accounts were erroneous, as is frequently\napparent in Herodotus.[63]\n\n\n\n\n PERIOD III.\n\n THE THEOCRACY TO THE JUDGES.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT.\n\n\n=1. How long after the death= of Joseph the Israelites remained in\nGoshen until they were enslaved has not as yet been determined. The\naccount in the book of Exodus opens with the significant expression\nthat \u201cthere arose up a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph.\u201d It has\nbeen supposed that Joseph was governor under the last of the Shepherd\nKings, but this supposition is uncertain, and perhaps wrong, for the\nlong life of Joseph after he came into Egypt, namely 80 years, added\nto the necessarily advanced age of the Pharaoh who was upon the throne\non the arrival of Joseph, would, with greater probability, lead us to\nsuppose that Joseph\u2019s sojourn in Egypt was extended through more than\none reign of the Shepherd Kings.\n\n=2. But at the end= of the happy, quiet Shepherd era, among the\ndescendants of Jacob in Goshen there came a change. The Israelites\nbecame enslaved, for the mandate of the Pharaoh of the period went\nforth to set over them taskmasters and to afflict them with burdens,\nthe object being to put a stop to their excessive growth in numbers.\n\n=3.= As we have said, =the Shepherd Kings= ruled Egypt for about\n500 years. Towards the close of their rule and, as it is generally\nsupposed, under a king whose name is recorded as Apopi, or, as the\nGreek historians spell the name, Aphobis, Joseph came into Egypt, and\nthe long war between the legitimate kings and the uprising rulers was\ncontinued for about 80 years.\n\nFinally these Shepherd Kings were driven out of the Delta by a\nPharaoh of the 18th dynasty,[64] and from that period about 400 years\ntranspired, during which the 18th dynasty passed away and a new dynasty,\nthe 19th, came into power. Of this 19th dynasty two kings passed away\nbefore the celebrated Seti I. began to reign. Rameses II. was the son\nof Seti I., and his reign (67 years) was the longest of any of this\ndynasty.\n\n=4. Moses, at the age of forty=, was driven into the desert of Sinai,\non the east of Egypt, where he escaped from the wrath of the reigning\nPharaoh, and where he remained 40 years, until the death of the king.\nThe Pharaoh with whom Moses\u2019 name is thus associated must have reigned\na long time, and the reign of Rameses II. meets the conditions of the\nhistory, not only as to time, but also as to the name. It is for these\nreasons that the Egyptian Rameses II. is supposed to be the Pharaoh\nalluded to in the first chapter of the book of Exodus, as the Scripture\nRameses.\n\n=5. After the death of Rameses=, Moses returned to Egypt from his\n40 years\u2019 residence in the desert of Sinai. As his life in those parts\nwas spent in the shepherd occupation, he was well acquainted with\nthe region, and in a large degree fitted for the work to which he was\ncalled by the Lord, to take charge of the deliverance of the Israelites\nfrom the bondage in Egypt.\n\nBy divine command he appeared before the reigning Pharaoh and demanded,\nin the name of Jehovah, the release of his brethren, who, in all, must\nhave been about 2,000,000. This number, though not stated, may be\nsupposed to be correct as based upon the fact that at the departure\nfrom Egypt the able men numbered 600,000.\n\n=6. The unwillingness of the king= to let the people go was finally\nsubdued by a series of remarkable plagues. The most singular feature\nof these inflictions is found in the fact that in every case they\nseem to have attacked the Egyptians in the most important elements of\neither their national greatness or in the direction of their greatest\ncomforts and reliance. Another singular feature in the whole course of\naffliction was their progressive seriousness.\n\n=7. The first plague= appeared in the sudden change of the waters of\nthe Nile into blood. The Nile was not only the great source of water\nsupply, but was supposed to be under the immediate care of the gods\nof Egypt. Hymns have come down to us composed in the honor of the\npersonified Nile. These were composed before the time of Moses, and\ngive the names of their chief gods to the waters of the great river.\nThe Nile was \u201cthe representative of all that was good.\u201d This plague\nmade it necessary that the people should begin digging wells near the\nbanks of the river and elsewhere throughout all Egypt.\n\n=8. The second plague=, of frogs, attacked in like manner, but more\ndirectly, the religious superstitions. The frog-headed deity Heki\nwas the wife of the god of the cataracts of the Nile, who also was\nrepresented with a frog\u2019s head. The frog was the symbol of renewed life\nafter death, and was worshipped as such.\n\n=9. The third plague= was more intense; it afflicted man and brute\nalike. The ground brought forth insects, \u201clice\u201d so called, in such\nabundance that even the priests could not cleanse themselves. The\npriests were not allowed to use woollen in any of their garments,\nbecause of the likelihood that it would harbor this vile evil, which\nwas one greatly abhorred. Insects of every kind, even gnats, were\nconsidered unclean. Priests and people were alike unclean.\n\n=10. The fourth plague=, of flies, was somewhat similar, being an\ninsect curse, but now the curse was winged.\n\n=11. The fifth plague=, of \u201cmurrain,\u201d was far more serious, as it not\nonly touched the honor of the Egyptian faith in the worship of Isis\nand Osiris, to whom the cattle were sacred, but caused the death of\nthe cattle throughout Egypt. It troubled in yet more serious degree\nthe temple and the market, the priest and the people.\n\n=12. The sixth= was yet more distressing, for it sent boils and\n\u201cblains\u201d upon man and beast, not even the magicians being able to stand\nin the presence of Moses \u201cbecause of the boils.\u201d\n\n=13. The seventh plague= was one not only of hail, but of fearful\ndisplays of lightning and peals of thunder, such as were never before\nknown in the land.\n\n=14. The eighth= was a terrific visitation of locusts which began, in\nunprecedented numbers, to eat up all vegetation left by the hail.\n\n=15. The ninth= was intense darkness, in which plague not only was\nthere an exceeding discomfort felt throughout the land, but the sun,\nwhich was the most sacred object of reverence, the supreme god of Egypt,\nwithdrew his light before the command of Moses, as servant of the most\nhigh God.\n\n=16. The tenth plague= was by far the most fearful of all. It was to\nthe Egyptians both distressing and ominous. The first-born was, in a\nmost loving sense, the most important member of the family\u2015\u2015the one,\nabove all the rest, upon whom the privileges of birthright were laid\nand who was, accordingly, regarded with special attention and love.\nBesides, in this fearful and sudden death of the first-born in every\nplace there was felt, as never before, the presence of some awful\npower immediately back of this plague, which seemed to them to presage\nthe approach of the destruction of the entire nation, and hence their\noutcry, \u201cWe be all dead men,\u201d Exod. 12:33.\n\nThe Exodus, or the \u201cdeparture,\u201d began immediately, and Moses and Aaron,\nwho had anticipated the result of this last plague, had prepared all\nthe Israelites by giving them sufficient notice for a hurried flight.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SINAI AND THE DESERT.\n\n\n=1. It is necessary= that we should obtain a general knowledge of\nthe country over which the Israelites were now to travel. The land of\nGoshen, where the great majority of the Israelites were stationed, was\nincluded, probably, in the greater district of Rameses, as we have said.\nThey left some general rendezvous early in the morning for Succoth,\nwhich was twenty or twenty-five miles southeast of the district of\nGoshen. The treasure city Pithom, mentioned with Rameses in the first\nchapter of Exodus (verse 11), was in Succoth, as a recent discovery has\nshown. The west arm of the Red Sea was about sixty miles farther south.\nThe triangular district of the country between the two northern arms of\nthe Red Sea, to which they were going, is a mountainous tract gradually\nascending from the Gulf of Suez, or western arm, to the mountainous\nregion of Horeb, of which Sinai was a chief mountain.[65] These\nmountains are entirely of granite. The large plain at the base of Sinai\nis 400 feet above the sea. The Sinai mountain seems to rise directly\nup from this plain to the height of from 1,200 to 1,500 feet, and\nin some parts, at its base, the rock is for a long distance almost\nperpendicular, like a high bluff above the level soil. Parts of the\nrocky heights are 2,000 feet above the plain.\n\n=2. North of this region=, about 50 miles, a sandy stretch of country\ncomes abruptly to a general rise of sandstone cliffs, which extend many\nmiles east and west, and the granite rocks disappear, having been left\nbehind in Horeb.\n\nIt is 200 miles, a little east of north, from Mt. Sinai to the south\nend of the Dead Sea and to the lower limits of the land of Canaan,\nwhither the Israelites were journeying. Mt. Sinai is about 35 miles\nfrom the western and about 25 from the eastern arm of the Red Sea.\n\n\n THE ISRAELITES IN THE DESERT.\n\n=3. The recent discovery of Succoth= and the treasure city Pithom\nfixes this place as that of the first encampment of the Israelites at\nthe Exodus. One inscription calls the place Petum (the \u201cabode\u201d of Tum)\nin the city of Thuku, or \u201cPithom in the city of Succoth.\u201d\n\nThe great desert now begins, stretching eastward from Succoth for about\n200 miles, a very desolate and barren region, to the country of Edom\nand the great valley of Arabah, which valley runs northward directly\nfrom the eastern arm of the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, a distance of\n115 miles. The chief divine object in directing the course of the\nIsraelites southeast from Egypt to the region of Horeb and then around\nby the Gulf of Akabah, rather than by the short course to Canaan by the\ncoast, is expressed in the Scripture, and was one of discipline, Exod.\n13:17, and preparation for the new life they were destined to live.\n\n=4. Many misapprehensions= of the real difficulty of this long travel\nhave resulted from a failure to comprehend the largeness of the company.\nIt must be remembered that so large a number as 2,000,000 people, with\ntheir herds and flocks, their tents, the Tabernacle, and other baggage,\nmust have covered a much larger space than is sometimes allowed by\nsome readers of this history. Thus in crossing the Red Sea and stopping\nat stations and fording the Jordan on their arrival at Canaan, and in\nsettling upon plains, before and after, it must be always kept in mind\nthat no narrow line or small surface less than several square miles\nwould in any way represent that necessary area over which the moving\nbody travelled, or rested when it came to a halt. In its course at\nevening the advanced officers would soon lay out upon the area to be\noccupied the plan for encampment, and in a short time that space of\nland, which an hour before was the prowling-ground for a few wild\nbeasts of the desert, would become the site of a city of 2,000,000\ninhabitants, with long streets and squares lighted with the magnificent\nand mysterious flame which accompanied them during all their wanderings.\n\n=5. The habits of eating and drinking= in that day were very\ndifferent from anything now customary in our midst. The plainest food,\nand frequently only one meal a day and one draught of water in 24 hours,\nis sufficient for the Bedouin of the desert. We are therefore wrong\nin comparing the habits of the times of the Exodus with those of the\npresent day.\n\n=6. Very few of the stations= named after crossing the Red Sea can be\ncertainly located. But after leaving Mt. Sinai, at three days\u2019 journey\nProf. Palmer discovered the evidences of an ancient camp, surrounded\nby an immense number of graves, and this place is generally supposed\nto mark the site of a station called Kibroth-hattaavah, or \u201cthe graves\nof gluttony,\u201d the history of which is found in Num. 11:31\u201235. A day\u2019s\njourney north of this the same explorer discovered other extensive\nremains of stone heaps and circles covering the hillsides in every\ndirection. As the next station of the Israelites is called Hazeroth,\nwhich means \u201cthe circles,\u201d and as the Arabs still call this place the\n\u201clook-outs of Hazeroth,\u201d it seems that the site of another station is\nknown.\n\n=7.= After this it is difficult to trace their course until\nthey reached =Kadesh=, which is 140 miles due east of their first\ncamping-ground in Egypt, namely, Succoth, and at present seems\nidentical with the spot called Ain Gadis, or the spring of Kadesh,\n170 miles north by east from Sinai, and 65 miles southwest of the Dead\nSea.\n\nThere is evidence that anciently a great population was scattered\nover this region of Ain Gadis, and considerable verdure exists even\nat present. This appears to have been the general camping-ground of\nthe Israelites for a large part of the thirty-seven years before they\nfinally started to enter the promised land. The sad history of the\nevent which brought this long delay is recorded in Num. 14.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n THE ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN.\n\n\n=1. After the long residence= in the region of Kadesh the Israelites\n=took up their march= to Canaan. The generation now existing had\nbeen almost altogether born in the desert, and had been raised under\nthe tutelage of Moses and his brother Aaron. Miriam, the sister, had\nundoubtedly added much to the influence which her brothers exerted\nby her nearer relation to the female population. The discipline had\nhad its full effect during this long period, and there had grown up a\nvigorous and well-ordered race, totally different from the race that\nhad left Egypt forty years before.\n\n=2. It is probable= that during this long period =Moses had written=\nout much, if not all, of the Scriptures usually attributed to him\nunder the title of \u201cthe books of Moses.\u201d Although there is no definite\nstatement in Scripture that all of these books, called the Pentateuch,\nare the composition of Moses, certain parts are spoken of as those of\nhis personal writing. But of the five books the parts spoken of are\nonly in the closing chapters of the last book, namely, Deuteronomy, and\nas the five have never been known except as forming one roll or volume,\nthe general belief and tradition attribute the whole five to Moses as\nauthor. The impression that Moses was the author of Genesis, and that\nthis book of Genesis was the beginning of \u201cThe Law,\u201d is apparent in the\nwritings of Longinus, the Greek author, A. D. 270, who quotes Gen. 1:3\nas \u201cthe beginning of Moses\u2019 law.\u201d[66]\n\n=3. The census of the nation= at this time shows that nearly 2,000 men\nhad disappeared, and perhaps this lessening of the population was due\nto the deaths of the strangers and aliens who had become mixed in the\nvast crowd at the time of their departure from Egypt.\n\nThe first census was taken at Sinai in the second year after the\ncrossing of the Red Sea, Num. 1:46, and was 603,550. The second census\nwas taken nearly 40 years afterwards, just before the entrance into\nthe promised land, Num. 26:51, and was 601,730, the difference being\n1,820. The census included only the able-bodied men fit for war and\nover 20 years of age.\n\n=4. Moses died= upon Mt. Pisgah without crossing the Jordan, Aaron died\non Mt. Hor, and Miriam died at Kadesh. These leaders being dead, the\nauthority to take charge was vested in Joshua.\n\n\n MT. HOR, MT. NEBO, MT. PISGAH.\n\n=5. Mt. Hor= is 45 miles south of the Dead Sea, having the ruins of\nthe city Petra near its eastern base. Wandering Arab tribes control\nall access to these two places, but a small chapel marks the spot,\naccording to tradition, where Aaron died on the top of the mountain.\n\n=Pisgah= is supposed to be a high plateau ten miles east of the\nmouth of the Jordan, and Mt. Nebo a higher portion of the same general\nrange, but it is at a short distance east of that part where the\nhigh table-land of Moab begins to descend to the Dead Sea. From this\nelevation very extensive views of the land west of the Jordan may be\nhad.\n\n\n THE ERA OF JOSHUA.\n\n=6. From the high table-land= of Moab the Israelites descended to\nthe eastern Jordan plains a few miles north of the Dead Sea, and soon\ncrossed the river and landed upon the wide plain west of the banks. The\ncrossing must have occupied the bed of the river for a long distance.\n\nOn entrance upon the land of Canaan proper the hosts of Israel\nrenewedly consecrated themselves to the service of Jehovah at Gilgal.\nThey accepted Joshua as their commander, and began their first attempt\nat subduing the Canaanites by an attack on Jericho.\n\n\n GILGAL AND JERICHO.\n\n=7. The first of these names= represents simply a gathering-place\nof the Israelites when the dedication of themselves to the Lord took\nplace. Its position is supposed to have been at a place still called\nGilgal, in the Arabic Jiljulieh, nearly three miles west of the Jordan\nand six miles north-northwest of its mouth. Jericho at this time was\nnear the present Ain es Sultan, a very fine spring one and a quarter\nmiles northwest from the present little Arab village called Er Riha\nor Jericho by travellers, and five miles west of the river. After its\ndestruction at this time it was rebuilt B. C. 918, 1 Kin. 16:34, at the\nmouth of the valley of the Kelt, which is the ancient valley of Achor,\nand existed at that place in the time of our Saviour. The present\nmiserable Arab village Er Riha and the tower near it were built during\nthe crusades.\n\nThe name Gilgal signifies a \u201crolling\u201d and also a \u201ccircle,\u201d and probably\nthe twelve stones taken from the bed of the Jordan were placed in the\nform of a circle, making the real significance more emphatic, but the\ntrue significance of the name is given in the passage, Josh. 5:9, as\na rolling off \u201cthe reproach of Egypt,\u201d as described in that chapter.\nThere were two other towns bearing this name of which mention is made\nhereafter.\n\n\n THE SETTLEMENT IN CANAAN.\n\n=8. Jericho= was inhabited =at this time= by a luxurious people and one\nthat evidently had profited greatly by the richness of the vast plain\nof the Jordan. The mention of the precious metals, \u201cthe silver and\ngold and vessels of brass and iron,\u201d Josh. 6:19, the \u201cgoodly Babylonish\ngarment,\u201d the 200 shekels of silver, the wedge of gold of 50 shekels\u2019\nweight stolen by Achan, Josh. 7:21, and the references to Baal-peor\nin the historic connection, prove their wealth and suggest the nature\nof their idolatry. Recent historic discoveries show the cruelty and\nfearful depravity of the people with whom they were associated. They\nwere therefore given over to destruction in accordance with the customs\nof that time.\n\nThe name Jericho seems to mean the \u201ccity of the moon,\u201d a name given to\nthe city because of the early worship of the moon at that place under\nthe title Ashtoreth, which doubtless was derived from the earlier title\nof the Babylonian Astarte, the goddess of love. It was given about this\ntime to a city in Bashan called Ashteroth Karnaim, meaning Ashtoreth of\nthe two horns, Gen. 14:5.\n\n\n CANAAN.\n\n=9. This was the name= of the land which the Israelites were now to\nconquer. The name was well known to the Egyptians, and we find it\nupon the monuments in Egypt and in Assyria. A description of this\nland occurs in Egyptian records as early as the time of Thothmes III.\n(1600 B. C., Brugsch), also in the reign of Rameses II., \u201cthe Pharaoh\nof the oppression\u201d (1350 B. C., Brugsch), and from these descriptions\nit is plain that the land was settled by numerous tribes who were well\nprovided with the comforts of living.\n\nThey were not only numerous, but many of their cities were strongly\ndefended by fortresses. The list of articles recovered by Rameses II.\nafter his battles in Canaan bore testimony to the wealth of the people\nand to the luxuries of their times, for among many other articles were\nivory, ebony, chariots inlaid with gold and silver, suits of armor,\nfragrant woods, gold dishes with handles, collars and ornaments of\n_lapis lazuli_, silver dishes, vases of silver, precious stones, brazen\nspears, etc., \u201cthe plunder in fact of a rich and civilized country.\u201d[67]\n\n\n THE AMORITES.\n\n=10. The land of Canaan at the time of Joshua= was no barbarous\nor ill-defended region. In the assault upon the Canaanitish city of\nDapur[68] by Rameses II. the standard of the Amorites appears hoisted\non the highest tower of its citadel.[69] From the pictures of the\nAmorites upon the monuments in Egypt they were armed with the bow and\nthe oblong shield, and used chariots of solid construction fit for\nrough ground, and it is probable that the \u201csons of Anak,\u201d Num. 13:33,\nwere a distinguished clan among the Amorites and not a distinct\npeople.[70] They were selected for their size and strength.\n\n\n THE HITTITES.\n\n=11.= It has been only recently that the history of the Hittites\nhas come to light. =The earliest references= to this people in secular\nhistory are those which are found in the history of Assyria. They\nare first mentioned in Scripture as the sons of Heth, Gen. 23:3, in\nconnection with the purchase by Abraham of the cave of Machpelah at\nHebron. But fifty-three years before that event the Amorites seem to\nhave been an important tribe, and fought under the direction of Abraham\nthe first battle recorded in Scripture, Gen. 14.\n\nThe tribe of Hittites grew to be a strong and remarkable nation\nof warriors, extending their conquests into Assyria and far into\nAsia Minor. Their name occurs in Homer[71] under the form of \u201cKetaioi\u201d\nand in the Egyptian annals in the time of the great conqueror,\nThothmes III., B. C. 1600, wherein it is recorded that he received the\ntribute from the \u201cchief of the great Kheta,\u201d or Hittites, which tribute\nconsisted in gold, slaves, and cattle. Thus it appears that in a few\ncenturies after the time when Abram bought the cave of Machpelah of the\nsons of Heth, B. C. 1860, they had become a great people. Before the\nExodus they were the powerful rivals of Egypt.\n\n=12.= Until recently =the expression in the book of Joshua= (1:4)\nthat the land of the Hittites extended \u201cfrom Lebanon even unto the\ngreat river, the river Euphrates,\u201d seemed to be an exaggeration. But\nthe recent discovery of the ruins of their great capital, Carchemish,\nsituated upon the Euphrates, and the mention of another city not far\noff, namely Pethor, where Balaam dwelt, beside many remains extending\nfar into Asia Minor, all prove that it was no exaggeration, but\nhistoric truth, which is recorded in the book of Joshua concerning\ntheir extended empire. They were finally conquered by the Assyrians,\nand their great cities, Carchemish and Pethor, captured, 719 years\nbefore the Christian era, and they never again rose to power.\n\nThe other Canaanitish tribes were unimportant.\n\n\n THE LANGUAGE OF CANAAN.\n\n=13. The discovery= in A. D. 1868 of the Moabite stone, at Dibon, the\nruins of which city are twelve miles east of the Dead Sea, shows that\nthe Moabites in that region spoke a language similar to the Hebrew.\n\nThe date of this stone is about 900 B. C. Its inscription is a\nremarkable corroboration of the history contained in 2 Kings 3.\n\nDiscoveries at Sidon, a Ph\u0153nician town on the Mediterranean, and\nat other places, show that a modified Hebrew was very generally the\nlanguage of all the Canaanites.\n\n=14. The pertinacity= with which the more devout and learned of the\nIsraelites held to the Hebrew during the captivity in Assyria, and ever\nsince amid all nations and lands, proves that they never forgot the\nlanguage which Abraham spoke, but cherished it during their residence\nin the land of Egypt, and it is probable that before their entrance\ninto Canaan they had entirely ceased to speak what little they knew\nof the Egyptian tongue. They were the more able and ready, therefore,\nto receive the ten commandments and all the rest of those laws which\nwere written in the Hebrew. And, moreover, there could have been very\nlittle if any difficulty in their understanding the language of the\ninhabitants into whose land they had now come.\n\n\n THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CANAAN.\n\n=15. The land of Canaan= was bounded on the west by the Mediterranean,\non the east by the Jordan, on the south by the desert, and on the north\nby the mountains of Lebanon. This was the land of promise.\n\nAt Jericho the valley of the Jordan is a depressed plain about 850 feet\nbelow the Mediterranean, and the surface of the Dead Sea on the south\nis still lower, being 1,293 feet below the Mediterranean, so that from\nancient Jericho to the Dead Sea, six miles distant, the valley of the\nJordan falls rapidly.\n\nJerusalem is very nearly due west of the mouth of the Jordan, and is\nplaced on the highest land, with the exception of the Mount of Olives,\nbetween the Jordan and the Mediterranean on that line of latitude,\nbeing about 2,600 feet higher than the sea.\n\n=16. About 60 miles= in a straight line due north of the Dead Sea the\nJordan issues from the Sea of Galilee, the waters of which were called,\nin our Saviour\u2019s time, the Sea of Tiberias and the Lake of Gennesaret.\nThe shape of the lake is oval, but broader in the northern half, its\nlength north and south being nearly thirteen miles and greatest breadth\nabout seven miles. Its surface is 682 feet below the level of the\nMediterranean and the hills on the eastern shore rise to the height of\nthe great eastern plateau of the table-land of ancient Bashan, which\nis 2,000 feet above the Mediterranean. The waters are fresh and abound\nwith fish.\n\n=17. In the times of Joshua= and of the early occupation of the\nland by the Israelites, the lake was called Chinnereth (Num. 34:11)\nand Chinneroth (Josh. 11:2), [_pron. Kin\u00b4nereth and Kin\u00b4neroth_],\nand a city of the same name existed on its western shore very near\nthe present site of Tiberias. Traces of this ancient city have been\nrecently (1887) discovered just outside the southern walls.\n\nTen miles north of the Sea of Galilee is a smaller reedy lake four\nmiles long, which is supposed to be the \u201cwaters of Merom\u201d (Josh. 11:5),\nbut now known as Huleh by the Arabs. Into the northern end the upper\nJordan finds its way as it descends from the lower parts of Mt. Hermon.\nThe surface of this lake is seven feet above the Mediterranean, and\nextended plains are on the west and for several miles northward, beyond\nwhich the land rapidly rises into the mountains.\n\n=18. The country is uplifted= midway between the Jordan and the\nMediterranean and forms an irregularly broad mountainous ridge\nstretching from the far south to the borders of the plain of Esdraelon,\ncalled in Scripture \u201cthe valley of Megiddo.\u201d This plain is the largest\nin Palestine and extends from near the Mediterranean on the west to a\nvalley plain near the Jordan valley on the east, where it is called the\nvalley of Jezreel. It is generally about 100 feet above the sea level,\nor 150 in its highest average level.\n\nIn various parts it has been the chosen battle-ground of several of the\nfiercest contests in Biblical and in modern warfare.\n\nNorth of the plain of Jezreel the land rises again into the broken\nand irregular hill country of Galilee until the region of the Lebanon\nMountains appears.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE BATTLES OF CONQUEST.\n\n\n=1. The capture of Jericho= was not the result of battle, but was due\nto the divine interference in behalf of the Israelites. Jericho was a\nstrong city and well defended by strong walls, and the destruction of\nthese walls under the simple process described in the text was not only\na lesson of great significance to the Israelites, but it indicated to\nthe Canaanitish tribes the mystery of that power with which they were\nnow called to deal.\n\nUnder Joshua three great battles completed the general conquest of\nCanaan and transferred to the Israelites the cities of thirty kings,\nJosh. 12:9\u201224, and if we include the king of Jericho the number will be\nthirty-one.\n\nNearly all of the book of Joshua is composed of the history of these\nbattles and of the division of the land among the tribes after the\nconquest.\n\n=2. The first= of these battles took place on the high land west\nof Jericho, at a town called Ai (pronounced A\u00b4-i). The site of this\nancient town is known, and it was not far off from the site of Bethel,\nwhich is 13 miles west by north from the position of Jericho at that\ntime. Ai, now called Haiyan, was two miles, or a little more, east of\nBethel.\n\nJust north of Ai is a high elevation, 2,570 feet above the\nMediterranean, whereas the site of Jericho at the fountain of\nElisha[72] is 700 feet below, so that the troops of Joshua had a march\nof about 1,500 feet ascent up a rocky ravine. Bethel is still higher\n(2,890 feet).\n\n=3. The first great battle of Ai= was preceded by defeat in what may be\ncalled a mere skirmish, as only 3,000 were engaged. This defeat seems\nto have been divinely allowed, to place a terrible emphasis upon the\ntruth that disobedience to the commands of God, even of a small part of\nthe people, would certainly be followed by punishment.\n\nThe result was terrible, not only in the national mortification\nconsequent upon the defeat, but in the lesson that no transgressor\ncould escape either by hiding himself or his stolen spoils, which\nin this case had been buried in the ground and covered by the tent,\nJosh. 7:11\u201226.\n\n=4. The valley of Achor=, where the fearful punishment was inflicted,\nis, without question, the present Wady Kelt, near the opening of which,\nupon the plain of Jordan, was the city of Jericho.\n\nThe battle was renewed, all the people of war were engaged, and the\nvictory was complete.\n\n=5. The next event= of great importance was the gathering of all\nthe people in a central part of the land at two mountains called Ebal\nand Gerizim. This gathering was in execution of the command of Moses,\nDeut. 27, and was intended to cause them to renew their covenant with\nGod and to set before them the blessings which should be granted upon\nobedience and the curses which should follow disobedience.\n\n\n EBAL AND GERIZIM.\n\n=6. The location for this great gathering= was admirably chosen. Ebal\nis a mountain whose highest point is 3,077 feet above the Mediterranean.\nGerizim, right opposite, and southward, is 2,849 feet, and between\nthem is the valley, whose surface is about 1,600 feet above the sea.\nIn this valley, which runs east and west, is Shechem, on the southern\nside and partly built upon the ascent of Mt. Gerizim. The gathering may\nhave taken place on the west of the city, where the valley is bounded\non the north by that part of the western extent of the Ebal range which\nslightly recedes from the line of the valley and takes the form of an\namphitheatre. But there is ample room on the east, where the elevations\nof both sides are far greater. The valley opens eastward upon the great\nlevel plain of Moreh, several square miles in extent. Where the valley\nopens upon this plain is the well of Jacob (John 4:6), and not far\nnorth of this well is the traditional tomb of Joseph, Josh. 24:32,\nwhose embalmed body they buried there after they had conquered the\ncountry.\n\n=7. The vicinity of this well= and the former history made this ground\nsacred to the Israelites, for here was Jacob\u2019s first settlement and\nproperty, purchased of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, 280\nyears before. Even before that purchase by Jacob it was sacred, because\nthat 189 years before Jacob\u2019s time Abraham built here an altar to the\nLord after that He had appeared to him and promised to give this land\nunto his seed, Gen. 12:6, 7.\n\nThe altar built here by Joshua, Josh. 8:30, was therefore the third\naltar erected in this vicinity, the first by Abraham and the second by\nJacob, Gen. 33:20.\n\nIt is very probable that the great battle at Ai was fought with the\nview of clearing the way for the uninterrupted passage of the entire\nhosts of Israel to the plain just spoken of, called the plain of Moreh,\nwhich stretches out eastward from the bases of Ebal and Gerizim, and\nwas 20 miles north of Ai.\n\n=8. Shechem= never was a large town before the conquest. After it was\ndespoiled by the sons of Jacob and all the inhabitants destroyed or\ntaken captive, Gen. 34, it does not appear as re-settled until after\nthe arrival of the Israelites at their first great national convention\nat Ebal, as described in the eighth chapter of the book of Joshua.\n\n=9. The second great battle= or campaign began at Gibeon. This\nplace has been identified with an elevated ruin five and a half miles\nnorthwest of Jerusalem. It should be remembered that the Israelites\nreturned to the camp at Gilgal near the ford of the Jordan, this being\ntheir first great camping-place, and remaining such during their first\nseven[73] years, until they removed to Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle\nin that place, Josh. 18:1.\n\nDuring the second campaign Joshua conquered nearly all the southern\nhalf of Palestine.\n\n=10. The third great campaign= began with the greatest battle of the\nconquest, at the waters of Merom, Josh. 11:5. Here a great plain exists\neight or nine miles in extent north and south, having the waters of the\nlake with a part of the upper stream of the Jordan on the east border.\nIn this battle the Israelites came off victors, and then followed a\nseries of reprisals, which with previous wars consumed about five years.\n\nDuring all these years the women and children, with the herds and\nflocks, remained at Gilgal on the plains of the Jordan near Jericho.\n\n=11. The next great move= was to SHILOH. This place was upon the\nhighland 2,230 feet above the sea, nineteen miles north of Jerusalem\nand about the same distance from the camping-ground at Gilgal. We\nsuppose that the Gilgal of this time was about three miles southeast\nof ancient Jericho and at the pool now called that of Jiljulieh.\n\nSome remains of Shiloh, now called Seilun, yet appear, partly on a\nlow hill surrounded by higher hills. Jerome says that in his time,\nA. D. 340\u2012420, it was in ruins. The top of the hill has been levelled\nfor several hundred feet, where are found some ancient foundations and\nhewn stones, and here, as is supposed, was the site of the Tabernacle.\nA little over a half-mile to the northeast is a spring called the\nspring of Seilun, and a pool where the seizure of the young women\ndescribed in Judg. 21:19\u201223 might very easily have taken place.\n\n=12. Shiloh remained= the religious capital and the city where the\nArk and the Tabernacle rested for about 300 years, until the Ark was\nremoved to the battlefield, 1 Sam. 4:3, and captured by the Philistines,\nafter which it was never returned to Shiloh. The Tabernacle and the\nbrazen altar were also removed and set up at Gibeon before the Temple\nat Jerusalem was built, 1 Chron. 16:39; 21:29, 30. Gibeon was five and\na half miles northwest of Jerusalem and 2,535 feet above the sea.\n\nFor the history of the capture of the Ark, its restoration to Israel,\nand its remaining at Kirjath-jearim many years before its placement in\nthe Temple at Jerusalem, read 1 Sam. 4 and 6 with 7:1, and 2 Sam. 6,\nalso 1 Kin. 8:1\u20128.\n\nThe tradition that the Ark was hidden by the prophet Jeremiah in a\ncavern in Mt. Pisgah has arisen from a statement in the second book\nof Maccabees, 2 Mac. 2:4, written about B. C. 144. But before this\ntime there was a tradition among the Jews, which was recorded in the\nBabylonian Talmud,[74] that the Ark was hidden in a chamber of the\nTemple buildings, and out of this seems to have grown the other and\nlater tradition. The Ark was probably burned at the destruction of the\nTemple under Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 588, 2 Chron. 36:19.\n\n=13. Kirjath-jearim=, where the Ark remained so long, 1 Sam. 7:2,\nwas seven miles west by north of Jerusalem. In this connection it is\nnecessary to say that, while the statement in 1 Sam. 7:2 leaves the\nimpression in the English translation that 20 years was the whole time\nduring which the Ark remained at that place, yet \u201cthe sense clearly\nexpressed in the original\u201d is that from the first placing of the Ark at\nKirjath-jearim 20 years transpired of anxious expectation that Jehovah\nwould interpose for the deliverance of his people before that Samuel\ngave them any hope.[75]\n\nThe Ark remained at Kirjath-jearim from about the time of Eli\u2019s\ndeath through the reign of Saul and until David took it from thence to\nJerusalem, with the exception of the three months during which it was\nat the house of Obed-edom, 2 Sam. 6. That was from about B. C. 1140 to\nB. C. 1042, or nearly one hundred years.\n\n=14. The next great work= performed at Shiloh was the division of the\nland among the tribes of Israel. At this time, about 1444 B. C., we\nhave the first recorded survey, and this was described by the cities\nthen existing and \u201cin a book,\u201d which was probably attended with the\nfirst map of the land.\n\nOf the twelve tribes, the Levites received no district in the division,\nthey having been devoted to the service of the Tabernacle. Of the\nremaining eleven tribes, Manasseh had a section of land east of the\nJordan as well as one west.\n\n=15. After this division= the appointment of =six cities of refuge=\nwas made both east and west of the Jordan, and very nearly equally\ndistributed north and south. Of these six cities only the three west\nof the Jordan have been identified with present towns. One was KEDESH,\nnow called Kades, four miles west by north of the \u201cwaters of Merom.\u201d It\nwas on a hill overlooking the plain on the west of the \u201cwaters,\u201d which\nare now known by the name of the Lake of el-Huleh. The second city\nof refuge west of the Jordan was SHECHEM, sixty-three miles towards\nthe south; and the third HEBRON, eighteen miles south of Jerusalem and\nabout fifty south of Shechem. Those east of Jordan were probably very\nnearly on the same latitude, namely, GOLAN, east of Kedesh; RAMOTH in\nGilead, east of Shechem, probably identified with the town now called\nes Salt, twelve miles east of Jordan on an elevation 2,500 feet above\nthe Mediterranean and twenty miles north of the Dead Sea; and BEZER,\nnot yet identified, but east of the Dead Sea, on the plains of Reuben.\n\n=16. The object of this appointment= of cities of refuge was to protect\nthe unintentional manslayer from the vengeance of his pursuer. Any one\nwho had \u201cunwittingly\u201d Josh. 20:3, slain a man might fly to the nearest\ncity of refuge and \u201cdeclare his cause in the ears of the elders of that\ncity,\u201d and dwell there until his case was decided by \u201cthe congregation\nfor judgment\u201d and until the death of the high-priest. The guilty party,\nif an intentional manslayer, was delivered up to the avenger. See\nDeut. 19:11.\n\nThe cities of refuge, as we have seen, were as equally distributed\nthroughout the land as the positions of important and accessible cities\nwould admit.\n\n=17. The blood feud= had existed for centuries under the\ntraditionary demand of \u201ca life for a life,\u201d and this demand, without\nthe slightest regard to the intention of the manslayer, was customary\nand even obligatory, so that the nearest relative of the slain man\nwas charged with the duty of destroying the manslayer whenever a\nfavorable opportunity presented itself. This custom was modified by\nthe appointment of the cities of refuge and by the institution of laws\nassociated with their appointment, so that thereafter the innocent\nslayer should not suffer equally with the guilty, although the fact\nthat he had shed blood even unintentionally would subject him to the\ninconvenience of separation from his family for a time.\n\n=18. The rehearsal of the Law= at the great convention at Shechem, the\ndivision of the land among the tribes, and the appointment of cities\nof refuge[76] were equally in accordance with the directions of Moses,\nand they followed upon the entrance and conquest as soon as it was\npossible to carry them into execution. The three events are therefore\nin accordance with the spirit of the times and the provisions of the\nlaw, and are properly connected with the age of Joshua, although some\nwriters have thought that the appointment of the cities of refuge took\nplace some centuries later.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE INTRODUCTION OF IDOLATRY.\n\n\n=1. During the life of Joshua= and of the elders or officers who\noutlived their leader and were acquainted with the early history of the\nnation, the Israelites held to their obedience to and reverence for the\nMosaic law in all its bearings upon them. But after this era of about\nthirty years a remarkable defection took place, and the generation\nwhich grew up was drawn into alliances and such social intercourse\nwith the inhabitants that many were won over to the faith and rites\nof Canaanitish idolatry.\n\n=2. It should be remembered= that these Canaanitish tribes were not\nonly possessed of riches, but they showed considerable advance in the\nknowledge of art, and their idolatries were attended by a degree of\nmystery and splendor which we are not accustomed to attribute to them.\nThese conditions are only suggested by certain intimations in the\nScriptural records, but plainly shown by recent discoveries, wherein\nthe luxuries and riches of these nations are described by the victors\nin their records of tribute and capture, as we have shown.\n\n=3. The fascination= of this splendid idolatry had its influence\nupon the people who had spent their early lives in the monotony\nof the desert and of a worship which was devoid of images or of\nanything which could impress itself upon the sight, except the distant\nand inaccessible pillar of fire and cloud or the rarely seen and\napproachless Ark, with a few other objects of which many had only\noccasionally heard. But in the land of the Canaanites and of their own\ntribes they met the symbols of the worship of Baal and of Ashtoreth\nupon almost every high hill and in every beautiful grove; they saw\ntheir sacred sculptures frequently and their ornamented temples, some\nremains of which are found upon the mountains of Lebanon at the present\nday. And those who could not see them were daily entertained with vivid\ndescriptions of the altars and the gold and silver ornaments associated\nwith the worship of the moon as Ashtoreth and of the sun as Baal.\n\n=4. Baal was the chief god= of Canaan, whose worship was manifold and\nspread through the Canaanitish tribes under varied names, which, though\ndiffering in form, always suggested the same cruel or obscene worship.\nHence the term in Scripture Baalim,[77] the plural of Baal. Thus there\nwas the Baal-thammuz, Ezek. 8:14; Baal-moloch (the fire Baal), 2 Kin.\n23:10; Baal-zebub, 2 Kin. 1:2, presiding over that decomposition which\ngave rise to new life, for zebub, \u201cflies,\u201d symbolized that life; hence\nthe Jewish form in the time of Christ of Beelzebub as a burlesque upon\nthe word and worship, since zebul (the Greek in the New Testament) was\na sarcasm intended to mean _dung_, and Satan was thus contemptuously\ncalled lord of the dung-heap or Beelzebul. A change of place also\nchanged the form of the name\u2015\u2015Baal-hermon, Baal-hazor, Baal-meon, etc.\n\n=5. The worship of Baal= and of Ashtoreth was attended by great cruelty\nand debauchery. These features were stamped upon all the ceremonies of\ntheir worship and the precepts of their religion. No other people ever\nrivalled them in the mixture of bloodshed and debauchery.[78] Every\ninfluence for good seemed to have been banished from their religion.\nTheir most frightful worship was that of Baal-moloch, referred to above.\nIn this children were burned alive by their parents; and this practice\nin honor of Baal was carried by the Ph\u0153nicians even to Carthage, where\nit became an institution of the State.\n\n=6. It was to avoid the contamination= of these various idolatries that\nMoses commanded the extermination of the Canaanites, and it was due to\nthe fact that they permitted the Canaanites to reside among them that\nthe Israelites soon fell into their ways of worship, and in after years\nthey were led in some degree to adopt even the rites of the bloody\nMoloch.\n\n\n\n\n PERIOD IV.\n\n THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES.\n\n ABOUT B. C. 1402\u20121060 (USSHER), BUT FROM HISTORY APPARENTLY\n OVER 400 YEARS.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n THE NATURE OF THE OFFICE. THE CHRONOLOGY.\n\n\n=1. Soon after the death of Joshua= the conquest of the land was\ncontinued under the lead of the tribe of Judah. But the Israelites soon\nbegan to be affiliated with the inhabitants. Intermarriages, commercial\nand social intercourse brought about the change whereby the worship\nof Baal and Ashtoreth took the place of the ancient service of the\nGod of their fathers, and the Israelites seemed to be given up to the\nidolatries of the surrounding nations.\n\n=2. A long series of captivities= and servitudes now began which\nintroduced a new class of public officers, called =Judges=, who united\nthe office of general-in-chief and of referee in civil cases, thus\npartaking somewhat of the duties indicated by the name \u201cjudge\u201d by which\nthey are called in Scripture.\n\n=3.= But =the duties= of the so-called judge varied with the times and\nthe person. Gideon declined to rule, delegating all rule to Jehovah,\nand acted only as deliverer. His son Abimelech coveted the office of\nking, and was the only king during this period and the first king in\nany part of Israel. Eli judged Israel 40 years, 1 Sam. 4:18, and was a\nnoted high-priest. Samuel judged all the days of his life, 1 Sam. 7:15,\nand was also the first of the long unbroken series of prophets, uniting\nwith this accredited and newly created office that of sacrifice and\nintercession for the people, 1 Sam. 7:5. Samuel closed the line of\nJudges.\n\n=4. The period of the Judges= presents us with a most singular form of\ngovernment and totally unlike any other form which either had preceded\nor did succeed it. These rulers were generally divinely appointed, but\nat times seem to have been elected by the people, as in the case of\nJephthah and Abimelech, Judg. 11:6; 9:3.\n\n=5. The most remarkable fact= connected with the history of the times\nof the Judges, from about B. C. 1400\u20121060, is found in the private and\npublic =idolatry= of the Israelites. This idolatry should be considered\nin view of the covenant their fathers had solemnly made at Sinai,\nand more especially in view of the warnings by Moses, reiterated by\nJoshua, and despite the consecration of themselves at Shechem. Many\nwho were living at this time had formed a part of the great convention\nof consecration and covenant held under Joshua. Notwithstanding all\nthese promises of loyalty to God, there seems to have been no form\nof idolatry into which they did not fall. The cause of this strange\ndefection is very forcibly presented in Judg. 3:5\u20128.\n\nAnother remarkable feature of this age is seen in the renewals\nof idolatry after equally repeated deliverances from distressful\nservitudes followed by temporary reforms.\n\n=6. One constant cause= of the persistent idolatry was doubtless to\nbe found in the continued social relations of the Israelites with the\ntribes of the Canaanites. The wisdom of the forewarnings of Moses,\nDeut. 7:3\u20125, and of Joshua, and of the command made very early in their\nhistory that the Canaanites should be driven out from the land, and\nthat no association should be had with them, is now very apparent, Exod.\n34:16. The non-observance of the command was followed by these intimate\nrelations all over the land. At least seven tribes are named, Judg. 1,\nas living together with the Canaanites. Even Judah, Benjamin, and the\nJebusites dwelt in Jerusalem together at this time, Josh. 15:63 and\nJudg. 1:21.\n\n=7. The Canaanites= therefore =were admitted= into the nation of\nIsraelites by a kind of naturalization, and they brought in with\nthem their customs and idolatries, although they themselves were made\ntributary.\n\n=8. The history of the times= of the Judges is derived mainly from the\nbooks of Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel. But considerable light is added\nfrom the records of surrounding nations, especially from those of the\nEgyptians. In a poem by the poet laureate of the times of Rameses II.,\nB. C. 1350, it is asserted that the Hittites in a battle on the plain\nof Esdraelon had 2,500 chariots of war. This was before the Israelites\nleft Egypt, and the monuments record that Rameses III. captured 994\nCanaanitish chariots.\n\nThe goddess Ashtoreth was, according to Naville, the patroness of\nwar-chariots, and although the chariots taken by Joshua were drawn by\nhorses, Josh. 11:6, we find them on some of the monuments represented\nas drawn by oxen, and it is said that oxen have been trained to run\nfast.\n\nIt should be remembered that the use of scythes or swords attached to\nthe wheels or sides of chariots does not appear to have been in vogue\nuntil after this period.[79]\n\n=9. The Israelites= had no war chariots until the time of David, 2 Sam.\n8:4, and it is highly improbable that at that time they were used for\nwar purposes, but only as baggage or forage wagons, and the remaining\nnumber taken in battle were disjointed, crippled, or destroyed, as the\nHebrew text is translated in the Septuagint, and not that the horses\nwere \u201choughed,\u201d[80] as in our English version.\n\n=10.= Solomon, B. C. 992, gathered chariots from Egypt and horses,\nalthough he was a man of peace, and it does not appear for what purpose\nthe chariots were used except for display; but the act was certainly in\ndirect violation of the law, Deut. 17:14\u201220, and marked the beginning\nof that king\u2019s departure from the service of Jehovah.\n\n=11. The chronology of the times= of the Judges is not clearly made\nout. It cannot be determined that the Judges all reigned consecutively\nor that any one Judge had authority over any larger district than that\nof a few tribes. The Scriptural order seems to be as follows:\n\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n \u2502 Duration \u2502 \u2502 Duration \u2502 Began to\n Conquerors. \u2502 of \u2502 The Judge. \u2502 in office,\u2502 rule B. C.\n \u2502 servitude.\u2502 \u2502 or \u201cRest.\u201d \u2502 (Ussher).\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Chushan-rishathaim \u2502 8 years. | \u2502 \u2502 1402\n \u2502 \u2502 Othniel \u2502 40 years. \u2502 1394\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Eglon \u2502 18 years. \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 1354\n \u2502 \u2502 Ehud \u2502 80 years. \u2502 1336\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Philistines \u2502 ? \u2502 Shamgar \u2502 ? \u2502 ?\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Jabin, a Canaanite \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n king at Hazor \u2502 20 years. \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 1316\n \u2502 \u2502 Deborah and \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502 Barak \u2502 40 years. \u2502 1296\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Midianites and \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n Amalekites, etc. \u2502 7 years. \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 1256\n \u2502 \u2502 Gideon \u2502 40 years. \u2502 1249\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Civil war \u2502 \u2502 Abimelech \u2502 3 years. \u2502 1209\n \u2502 \u2502 Tola \u2502 23 years. \u2502 1206\n \u2502 \u2502 Jair \u2502 22 years. \u2502 1183\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Philistines and \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n Ammon \u2502 18 years. \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 1161\n \u2502 \u2502 Jephthah \u2502 6 years. \u2502 1143\n \u2502 \u2502 Ibzan \u2502 7 years. \u2502 1137\n \u2502 \u2502 Elon \u2502 10 years. \u2502 1130\n \u2502 \u2502 Abdon \u2502 8 years. \u2502 1120\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Philistines \u2502 40 years. \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 1112\n \u2502 \u2502 Samson \u2502 20 years. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502 Eli \u2502 40 years. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502 Samuel \u2502 All the \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 days of \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 his life, \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502 \u25021 Sam. 7:15.\u2502 dies 1060\n \u2502 \u2502 SAUL \u2502 \u2502 1095\n \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 FIRST YEAR\n \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 OF REIGN.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\nThe period of the Judges closed at the time when Saul was appointed\nking, B. C. 1095. Joshua died B. C. 1426, as is supposed, but some[81]\nhave thought that at least thirty years passed between the death of\nJoshua and the first servitude, and the general opinion is that at\nleast four hundred years, or even four hundred and fifty, must be\ntaken as the length of time from Joshua to Saul, the first king. By\nadding the time of the servitudes and those of the rules of the Judges,\nincluding the time from the death of Joshua, we have about the sum\nstated in Acts 13:20. But it is difficult to reconcile the chronology\nof this period with that of other periods because of the want of\nsufficient fulness of statement in the history of the Judges.[82]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE SCRIBES OF THE AGE.\n\n\n=1. It should be remembered= that during these ages in all\nprominent nations =the office of scribe= or historian was a very\nimportant one, the existence of which was very general. Before the\nExodus the historians accompanied the kings of Egypt and Assyria in\ntheir expeditions. Several references to such persons are found in the\nScriptures, 2 Kin. 25:19; 2 Chron. 26:11, as especially belonging to\nthe army. They are called \u201cremembrancers\u201d and \u201cwriters of chronicles\u201d\nor \u201crecorders\u201d in the time of David, 2 Sam. 8:16. There were =also\npoets=, who described the events of the national history or the prowess\nof the king, not only in Egypt and Assyria, long before David, but\nalso in Israel. The book of Jasher referred to in Josh. 10:13 and\n2 Sam. 1:18 was probably a poetic history of heroic acts, very similar\nto one discovered in Egypt, called the poem of Pentaur, celebrating the\ncourage of the Pharaoh, Rameses II., who was contemporary with Moses.\n\n=2. The number= of writers of different kinds must have been =much\ngreater= than is generally supposed. At a very early period during\nthe residence of the Israelites in Egypt the taskmasters were always\naccompanied with \u201cwriters,\u201d called \u201cofficers\u201d in our version, Exod. 5:6,\nand we find them pictured on the monuments, with their tablets and\nreeds, writing even while walking. The children of Israel had scribes\nalso on their brick-fields to check off the records of those who\nwrote for the taskmasters, Exod. 5:15, 19. So also the Judges in \u201cthe\ngates\u201d[83] had their writers, Deut. 16:18, also called \u201cofficers.\u201d\n\nWriters were employed for such engineering purposes as are recorded\nin Josh. 18:9, and these were not simply draughtsmen who mapped the\ncountry in a book, but also recorded the position of cities, of which\nnot less than four hundred and eleven are mentioned by name.\n\n=3. In more recent times= there arose the class of writers called by\nthe Hebrews \u201c=Sopherim=\u201d or \u201cscribes,\u201d who appear to have been high\nofficers of the State or secretaries, recording edicts of the king\nbesides the many important occurrences of history.\n\n=4. That writers= or scribes =existed= at so early a period as that\nwhen the Israelites were in the desert is certain from the statement\nin Num. 11:16, where Moses is commanded to assemble these writers with\nthe seventy elders. It is plain from these instances that there were\nnumbers in the camp who were expert writers, and it is highly probable\nthat many of the people were instructed through their writings, not\nonly then, but during all the residence of the Israelites in Canaan.\n\n=5. There were men= then, as now, =peculiarly fitted= to record current\nevents, or interested in genealogy, or gifted with poetic talent, and\ntheir inclinations led them to make records which were interesting at\nthose periods, or to make \u201cbooks\u201d which were known to be faithful and\nauthentic; and hence in no less than fourteen instances there seem\nto be references to such books throughout the Old Testament writings:\nNum. 21:14; Josh. 10:13; 1 Sam. 10:25; 1 Kin. 4:32, 33; 11:41; 1 Chron.\n27:24; 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 12:15; 20:34; 33:19; 35:25.\n\n=6. It is certain= therefore that in the times of the monarchy =public\nrecords= were =carefully= kept, and even long before that time the\npeople were not without their historians, who wrote down all important\nevents and preserved and copied writings for others then living and for\nthose who should come after them.\n\n\n\n\n PERIOD V.\n\n THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS TO THE CAPTIVITY.\n\n FROM B. C. ABOUT 1095 TO B. C. 588, 507 YEARS.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. REIGN OF SAUL.\n\n\n=1. One of= the most evident =results= of the intimate =associations=\nof the Israelites with the Canaanitish tribes was the desire to have a\nking.\n\nIn the transition from the era of the Judges to that of the\nKings =there arose a man= whose earliest days had been passed in the\nprecincts of the Tabernacle at Shiloh under the care of Eli, the priest\nand judge of Israel. He seems to have been one whose evident piety and\nclear and manly judgment had impressed the people with a reverence for\nhim from his earliest days. No other person in the times of the Judges\nseems to have been known so universally as uniting in one man divine\nauthority and wisdom, and of no other had it been said that \u201call Israel,\nfrom Dan to Beersheba, knew that =Samuel= was established to be a\nprophet of the Lord,\u201d 1 Sam. 3:20.\n\n=2. With Samuel=, as we have said, the line of the Judges closes. By\ndivine direction he gratified the demands of the people by appointing\nSaul king over Israel, but not without a solemn warning as to the\ndespotism with which the kings, in the future, would rule over them.\n\nThe whole land now becomes united under one ruler as a king, but at the\nsame time strongly influenced by the prophetic authority of Samuel, who\nseems never to have lost power, either over the people or the king.\n\n=3. Dan= and =Beersheba= were towns which in common speech limited the\nwhole land, the former on the north, the later on the south. Dan was\nthe name of only the tribe on the Mediterranean west of Jerusalem until\nthe time that a colony from this tribe migrated to the extreme north of\nCanaan, beyond all the tribes, and drove out a company of Sidonians who\nhad settled by themselves near the southern parts of Mt. Hermon, in a\nplace before called Laish. This town the Danites conquered, and, taking\npossession of the place, named it Dan, after their ancestor.\n\nScarcely anything remains of this ancient city, but its location,\ncalled Tel el-Kady is beautiful, at the head of the plain of Huleh,\nnearly twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee. There are two\nfine springs at the ancient site and the elevation is 505 feet above\nthe Mediterranean, which is twenty-five miles distant, on the west,\nto a point near the city of Tyre, which then existed. Dan was in the\nregion assigned to the tribe of Naphtali.\n\n=4. Beersheba= was exactly 148 miles south-southwest of Dan. Here the\nonly remains consist of two very ancient large wells. The site still\nbears the ancient name and is twenty-seven miles southwest from Hebron.\nThe wells contain excellent water and show the rope-grooves of many\ncenturies in the massive stones with which they are lined and curbed.\n\n=5. The introduction of Saul= to the full possession of the kingly\noffice and authority was after his first battle, near a place east of\nthe Jordan, called Jabesh-gilead.\n\nThe Ammonites had come up against this city from the south and\ndemanded its unconditional surrender. In their distress they sent\nto their brethren, at Gibeah, where Saul resided. Saul seems to have\nhad, at this time, but little to do as king, and it was not until he\nreturned from the field, where he had been attending to his cattle,\nthat on inquiry he learned the condition of the inhabitants of\nJabesh-gilead and their appeal for help to their brethren, who were\npublicly lamenting their inability to give them any aid.\n\n=6. Saul immediately hewed a yoke of oxen= into pieces, and sending\nmessengers with pieces of the oxen throughout the entire land of\nIsrael, made wise use of the name of Samuel in union with his own, in\nthe threat, \u201cWhosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel,\nso shall it be done unto his oxen,\u201d 1 Sam. 11:7.\n\nNo such universal call to united effort had before sounded over\nthe land for ages. It was the sword of the king and the authority of\nSamuel the prophet of the Lord, and the call was honored from Dan to\nBeersheba. The messengers from the besieged city were hurried back with\nthe cheering reply from the gathering army, \u201cTo-morrow by that time the\nsun be hot ye shall have help,\u201d 1 Sam. 11:9.\n\n\n JABESH-GILEAD.\n\n=7. Jabesh-gilead= is not certainly identified, but it was not far\noff from a valley known as Wady Jabes, or Yabes, about twenty miles\nsoutheast of the Sea of Galilee, in the land of Gilead.\n\nBezek, where the hosts gathered before they started to cross the Jordan,\nwas some plain near the Jordan not yet identified.\n\n=8. Three hundred and thirty thousand= of Israel gathered themselves\ntogether in three bands and hastily crossed the Jordan in the night,\nand before the heat of day they had slain and routed the Ammonites in\nthe greatest battle that had been known in Canaan for several centuries.\n\nSo great was the reaction from the long-continued indifference\nto united effort, and especially to the publicly expressed lack of\nconfidence in Saul, that, in keeping with their rude manners, they\ndemanded the immediate execution of those who had spoken against the\nking.\n\n=9. But Samuel turned this feeling= into another channel. He summoned a\ngreat gathering similar to the one called by Joshua 300 years before at\nShechem, but at this time the assembly was at Gilgal. Here they renewed\ntheir promises to God and to the king. This was the Gilgal which was\nupon the plains of Jericho, and of which we have already spoken.\n\n=10. Saul now became king= in its fullest sense. His first act was\nto appoint a standing army of 3,000. By an ill-timed attack upon an\noutpost of the Philistines the anger of that entire nation was aroused\nat a time when the Israelites were unprepared to meet them. Samuel\nwas called upon for advice and service, but Saul\u2019s impatience and\ndisobedience to the directions of the prophet discouraged Samuel so\ngreatly that he withdrew from Saul. Jonathan by a stratagem executed in\nthe night, 1 Sam. 14, created a panic in the Philistine army, and the\nIsraelites, gathering together from various hiding-places to which they\nhad fled in their fear, joined in pursuit, until the Philistines were\ndriven back to their own country, which was upon the southwest coast of\nPalestine about forty miles distant.\n\nBut the repeated instances of disobedience, coupled with deception, on\nthe part of Saul led Samuel to withdraw from the king entirely and for\never, and by divine appointment he anointed David, in private, to be\nsuccessor to Saul. David\u2019s appointment was suspected, and it aroused\nthe bitter jealousy of the king, which was shown by his continued\npursuit and persecution of David, until the great and final battle of\nSaul\u2019s reign, which took place on the plain of Jezreel, against the\nPhilistines, about B. C. 1056.\n\n\n SAUL\u2019S LAST BATTLE.\n\n=11. This battle=, with its associated geography and incidental history,\nrequires some knowledge of the localities of SHUNEM, GILBOA, and EN-DOR.\n\nThe Philistines, with whom Saul was soon to contend, had approached the\ngreat plain of Esdraelon from their coast on the southwest. They had\npassed up the plain of Sharon northward along the shore of the Great\nSea and entered through the pass of Mt. Carmel, which range limits this\nplain on the southwest, and thus they had entered the plain which we\nhave already described, page 101.\n\nSaul had gathered his army, and passing northward along the central\nelevated ridge, had reached the same plain at the town of En-gannim,\nwhich is on the edge of the southern border and overlooks the plain.\nShunem was ten miles north. Here the Philistines were now gathering\nin their forces from the west, since the pass is sixteen miles west\nof Shunem.\n\nIt is an interesting fact that Gen. Kleber, under Napoleon I. in\nhis battle with the Turks, 1799, drew up his smaller army of fifteen\nhundred in a square occupying exactly the same ground which a part of\nthe Philistine army covered at this time, while the Turks with their\ntwenty-five thousand covered more of the same battle-ground on the\nnorth.[84]\n\n=12. Shunem=, now called Solam, is on the west and southern end of the\nshort hill range running east, and supposed to be the hill of Moreh,\nbut the Philistines occupied the plain on the south of this ridge-end,\nfor Saul\u2019s army was across the valley on the west end of Mt. Gilboa and\nimmediately opposite the Philistines. Between the two armies was the\nvalley of Jezreel running down eastward to Beth-shean in the valley of\nJordan. The town of Jezreel, which gave name to the valley, was south\nof Shunem\u2015\u2015Shunem on the Philistines\u2019 side, Jezreel on that of Saul.\n\nJust one mile and a half southeast of the valley of Jezreel is the\n\u201cFountain of Jezreel,\u201d now a large body of water fed by a spring\ncalled Ain Jalud. This is probably both the Fountain of Jezreel of\n1 Sam. 29:1, and the \u201cwater\u201d referred to in Judg. 7:4. It is also the\n\u201cwell of Harod\u201d of the first verse.\n\nIt was just two centuries before this battle that Gideon at this place\nobtained his great victory over the Midianites, and it was, perhaps,\nchosen by Saul because of the fountain.\n\n=13. As Saul had= more than 300,000 warriors in his battle with the\nAmmonites and was as fully aware of the seriousness of a conflict with\nthe Philistines as he was there with the Ammonites, it is probable\nthat he brought into the field as many as he then had. The Philistines\nhad a much larger number than Saul, and the total number therefore in\nconflict could not have been less than 700,000.\n\nThe evening before the morning of the battle Saul came fully to the\nconclusion that the Philistines were too strong for the forces under\nhis command. In his forlorn belief in the spirit world and in the\nexistence of Samuel, although three years dead, he determined upon\nan interview with the prophet if it were possible by a witch\u2019s power\nof incantation to obtain it. As soon as it was dark, Saul, disguised,\nand with two trusty servants, crossed the valley from Gilboa northward\nto the village of En-dor, where in the caves near at hand there dwelt\nsuch a woman as he sought. The distance from the Fountain of Jezreel is\nabout seven miles north. The interview with Samuel, which seems to have\nbeen as unlooked for and as terrible to the witch as it was dreadful\nand disheartening to Saul, is recorded in 1 Sam. 28:3\u201225.\n\n=14. Early the next day= the battle began. The place called Aphek,\nwhere the main centre or headquarters of the Philistines was located,\nis not known, but was probably a mile southwest of Shunem, where the\nleft wing of the army extended upon the line of its approach. The\nPhilistines had the army of Saul at terrible disadvantage from the\nfact that his troops were drawn up southeast of them against the foot\nof Gilboa and slightly covering its sides, and thus elevated to the\nshafts of the archers. It was at about this age that the bow in war\nwas used with terrible fatality by some of the African nations, and the\nPhilistines had added this weapon to their javelins and short arms.[85]\n\n=15. It was a battle of arrows= against swords and slings, and the\narchers won the victory, and after a long day\u2019s fearful contest Saul\nand his three sons lay dead among the defeated thousands that covered\nthe flanks of Gilboa.\n\nBeth-shean was in sight eastward down the valley of Jezreel. It\nprobably was never a Jewish but always a Canaanitish city, and here\nthe Philistines the next day carried the headless trunk of Saul\u2019s body\nand nailed it upon the outside walls with the bodies of his sons, while\nthe salted head of the king was sent to the land of the victors to be\ncarried around through the cities of the Philistines on exhibition.\n\nLarge numbers of the Philistines now took possession of the vacated\ncities, and many of the Israelites crossed the Jordan to find other\nhomes until better times should come.\n\n\n ZIKLAG AND THE SOUTH COUNTRY.\n\n=16. Among the vast numbers of the Philistine army=, as they came\nupon the plain from Mt. Carmel, David\u2019s royal friend, King Achish,\noccupied the rear, and David and his small band would be distinguished\nfrom the lack of the conventional army uniform, which could be seen\nat a great distance. The appearance of the Philistines in war was\nspecially distinguishable from that of all other warriors by a peculiar\nhead-dress and tightly-fitting tunic, leaving the arms bare.\n\nBut David\u2019s presence formed ground for suspicion, and he was dismissed\nto return with his men to =Ziklag=. The situation of this place is not\nknown, but from various circumstances it could not have been far off\nfrom the hill country of Jud\u00e6a and in the general vicinity and south of\nGath, since Achish, who gave him the place, was king of that city.[86]\n\n=17.= On his return to Ziklag, finding that the Amalekites of the far\nsouth had burned his city and carried off all the families, David and\nhis men pursued after them, recovered all, and returned to Ziklag.\n\u201c=The south=\u201d was a special term for that country beginning somewhere\nabout Beersheba and reaching fifty or sixty miles south, and perhaps\nfarther.\n\n=18. The duration of Saul\u2019s reign= was about forty years, or as the\ncommonly received chronology presents it, from 1095 B. C. to 1056 B. C.,\nand at the latter date Saul and his eldest son Jonathan died upon the\nbattlefield.\n\nIn this great battle the Philistines, as we have said, used bows and\narrows, and in this respect had a great advantage over the Israelites,\nwho were not taught the use of this instrument in war until after this\nbattle, 2 Sam. 1:18, and in the reign of David.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE REIGNS OF DAVID AND OF SOLOMON.\n\n\n=1. Upon the death of Saul= and Jonathan the kingdom of Israel was\nruled by =two kings=, David and the son of Saul, Ish-bosheth, whom\nAbner, the captain-general of Saul\u2019s host, had made king over all\nIsrael excepting Judah, which was loyal to David, 2 Sam. 2:4. Saul\u2019s\nson reigned only two years, when he was assassinated by two of his\n\u201ccaptains of bands.\u201d After this event the chief men of Israel came to\nDavid, who was at Hebron, and entered into a league with him, by which\nhe became king over all Israel at the age of forty years.\n\nAfter seven years of reign at Hebron he attacked the city of the\nJebusites, 18 miles north of Hebron. This place was known as JERUSALEM\nin after ages, although at that time called Jebus, 1 Chron. 11:4. The\nposition of Jebus was an exceedingly strong one.\n\n=2. From recent examinations=, by shafts and excavations, the site\nof the Jebus of David\u2019s time was a rocky eminence, precipitous towards\nthe east, south, and southwest, with access on other sides except for\na short space on the north. The top was unevenly level, but only a\npart of this top seems to have been occupied by the city of Jebus,\nthe southern part having a fortification distinct from the walled-up\nportion on the north and northeast. This part was taken by David on his\narrival, and the remaining part, after some delay, was captured in a\nvery courageous attack by an officer whose name was Joab.\n\n=3. The present circumference= of the walls of Jerusalem is 2\u00be miles\nvery nearly; but although these walls include the larger part of the\nhill, there still remains a portion, called Mt. Zion, on the southwest,\nwhich is not included, and it is this part that was captured by David\nand was called the city of David or Zion.\n\nDue west from the city the Mediterranean is 36 miles distant and the\nJordan is 18 miles due east. On the east side, in the time of David,\na part of the city wall rose nearly 100 feet above the channel of the\nKidron, and from the representations of fortified cities of these times,\nas they are met with upon the tablets both of Egypt and of Assyria, the\nstones of the walls were placed with great skill. Some of the ancient\nstones of the city are even now laid upon solid rock eighty feet below\nthe soil at the base of the present wall on the east side and the\nsoutheast corner.\n\n=4. The reign of David= was noted for successful wars with the\nPhilistines on the southwest, the Amalekites on the south, the Moabites\nand Ammonites on the east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, the Syrians in\nthe region of Damascus, together with a king on the north. From the\ncircumstances narrated, this king must have been one of great wealth\nand power and was probably a king of the Hittites, as that nation had\nat this period grown in extent and in military strength and held large\nlanded property near the Euphrates. He is recorded as king of Zobah,\na region not exactly identified, but very probably a district north\nof Damascus, between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, but lying\neast of Hamath (the modern Hama) which is 110 miles north of Damascus.\nIn one of the Assyrian inscriptions Zobah is spoken of as between\nthe Euphrates and Hamath, which latter place belonged to another\nking (2 Sam. 8:9). Beside these lands, he conquered Edom and placed\ngarrisons there.\n\n=5. David reigned= from B. C. 1056 to B. C. 1015, or about forty years\naccording to the commonly received chronology, and was over 70 years of\nage at his death, just before which he appointed Solomon, his son, at\nabout the age of 20, to succeed him.\n\nThe reign of Solomon was unlike the two previous in that it was one\nof entire rest from war until at the extreme close. A large part of\nSolomon\u2019s reign was devoted to building the Temple and several palaces\nand cities, beside the construction of a navy upon the Red Sea and\nthe erection of various treasure cities for his chariots and for his\nhorsemen.\n\n=6. This age= in Israel was characterized as one of great wealth and\nsplendor, such as had not been known before. It was also distinguished\nfor the wisdom of Solomon.\n\nHis policy of peace was greatly strengthened by leagues and alliances\nwith the kings about him, chiefly through marriages, after the custom\nof Oriental kings at that day.\n\nThe Pharaoh whose daughter he married, and for whom he built a\npalace in Jerusalem, came up and burned a city called Gezer and slew\nthe Canaanites who dwelt there, giving the city to his daughter,\n1 Kings 9:16.\n\n\n GEZER.\n\n=7. Gezer= has recently been discovered, with a Hebrew and Greek\ninscription on the surface of a large rock which identifies the town by\nname. The location of the place is not quite 20 miles west by north of\nJerusalem, and its position upon a high ridge, which is nearly a mile\nlong, makes it probable that it was a formidable town. It was, before\nits capture by Pharaoh, a standing menace to the authority of Solomon,\nas it seems at that time to have been independent. It is probable\nthat its destruction was instigated by Solomon, who thereby exhibited\nthe interest Pharaoh had in him and, at the same time, avoided the\nunwelcome task of exposing his own people to the casualties of warfare.\n\n=8. The prayer of Solomon= at the beginning of his reign was for\nwisdom and judgment in the execution of his kingly authority and in his\ngovernment of the people. Of this wisdom he possessed an unparalleled\nshare. But, while wise in the control of others, he lost power over\nhimself and was led into grievous idolatry through his associations.\nThis open worship of the deities of the nations with whom he had\nentered into league through his marriages will always remain as a\nwarning against the insidious power of evil associations, even in\nthe case of the wisest.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM.\n\n\n=1. Solomon after a reign of 40 years=[87] was succeeded by his\nson Rehoboam, who, through the adoption of evil counsel, brought on\na great rebellion and division which resulted in the formation of the\ntwo kingdoms\u2015\u2015one of =Judah=, with its chief city at Jerusalem, and the\nother of =Israel=, with its capital at Shechem. Jeroboam soon removed\nto Tirzah, where the capital, or royal residence, remained for many\nyears until Samaria became the capital, and continued to be so until\nthe captivity, 1 Kings 16:23.\n\n\n TIRZAH.\n\nThis city has been identified with a village now inhabited and which is\ncalled Teiasir, eleven miles north by east of Shechem and twelve miles\neast-northeast of Samaria. It is 995 feet above the Mediterranean on\nthe main road to Beth-shean. But formerly Tirzah was, by Dr. Robinson,\nsupposed to be found in a village called Telluzah, six miles due east\nof Samaria, built upon a hill 1,940 feet above the Mediterranean and\ncommanding a magnificent view eastward. This place, in its position,\nwell deserves the name \u201cTirzah,\u201d which means \u201cbeauty.\u201d It is probably\nreferred to in the Song of Solomon, 6:4. It was thirty-four miles a\nlittle east of due north from Jerusalem. But neither of these places\ncan with certainty be called the Tirzah of this history.\n\nSamaria was private property at this time, having no settlement upon\nit until nearly fifty years after the division of the kingdom, when it\nwas bought by Omri, king of Israel, from Shemer, and, after him, named\nSamaria.\n\n=2. There is a great chronological difficulty= in adjusting the reigns\nof the kings of Judah and of Israel.\n\nIt arises, in some degree, from the fact that the number of months\nis omitted in the statements of the years during which the reigns\ncontinued, for the whole number of years only is given. Moreover\nthe statements are not always clear in relation to the epoch from\nwhich the number given is to be counted. But more recently collateral\nhistory, both Egyptian and Assyrian, has supplied certain data whereby\nconsiderable aid has been furnished in the settlement of some of the\ndifficulties.\n\nUnder the supposition that the commonly accepted chronology is correct\nand that the division of the kingdom, at the death of Solomon, took\nplace B. C. 975, the kingdom of Israel lasted 253 years and the kingdom\nof Judah 387 years, that is from B. C. 975 to B. C. 722 for Israel and\nfrom B. C. 975 to B. C. 588 for Judah.\n\n=3. The captivity of Israel= took place B. C. 722, at the taking\nof Samaria by Sargon, the general of Shalmaneser. In the book of\nKings we have the account of the attack of Shalmaneser upon Samaria,\n2 Kings 17:6; 18:10. In the last passage, the phrase \u201cthey took it\u201d\nappears to refer to the fact that both Shalmaneser and Sargon laid\nsiege to Samaria, for although the former began the siege, he died\nsuddenly before the city was taken, and Sargon, who had seized upon\nthe throne of Assyria, immediately returned and completed the siege.\n\nSargon\u2019s own account of the siege and of the captivity remarkably\nagrees with the statement in the book of Kings. These facts are derived\nfrom the Assyrian tablets.\n\n=4. In regard to this king of Assyria=, Sargon by name, the verse in\nIsaiah 20:1 was for twenty-five centuries the only known evidence of\nhis existence. It was not until recently, when the mound which covered\nhis palace was excavated, that the name came to view. It was then\ndiscovered that he was one of the greatest kings of Assyria, and his\nhistory was recorded upon the large alabaster slabs which lined a part\nof his palace.\n\nJudah was carried into captivity B. C. 588. The whole number of rulers,\nfrom Rehoboam the first king to Zedekiah the last, inclusive of both,\nwas 20, of which number there was one queen, Athaliah, who reigned six\nyears.\n\n=5. The line of descent of the Messiah= passed through Judah and\nthrough all its kings except the last (Zedekiah), and the third and\nfourth from the last, namely, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. The kings of\nIsrael were none of them in this line. It was for this reason that the\ntribe of Judah was the most important and prominent of all the tribes.\n\n=6. The captivity of Judah= took place under Nebuchadnezzar, called\nalso Nebuchadrezzar, Ezek. 29:19. This king succeeded to the throne of\nBabylon B. C. 604. His father was the first king of Babylon after the\nfall of Nineveh and death of its king Assur-bani-pal, the Sardanapalus\nof the Greek historians.\n\n=7. Immediately after the fall of Nineveh=, B. C. 626, the father\nof Nebuchadnezzar, Nabopolassar, founded the independent monarchy\nof Babylon, B. C. 625, and at the death of Nabopolassar, B. C. 604,\nNebuchadnezzar ascended the throne. He was a general of great energy\nand enterprise and became so well known, even to the Greeks, that\naccording to Josephus,[88] he was compared with Hercules for his valor\nand deeds.[89] The prophet Jeremiah compares him with an eagle swooping\ndown on his prey,[90] and Ezekiel represents him as a great eagle\nwith great wings.[91] He was intrusted by his father with the entire\nmanagement of the attack upon Nechoh, who had come up from Egypt in\nbattle against the city Carchemish on the Euphrates, B. C. 606. This\ncity was over five hundred miles northwest from Babylon on the west\nbank of the river.\n\n=8. With a fine army= he attacked Nechoh, and defeated him with so\ndreadful a slaughter that the Egyptian king retreated rapidly to the\nNile. Nebuchadnezzar followed him through Palestine to Pelusium, a city\non the sea-coast frontiers of Egypt, about seventy miles east of the\nNile. At this place he heard of the death of his father, at Babylon,\nand committing the army and his prisoners into the hands of his trusty\ngenerals, he left and, with a small escort, crossed the desert and\narrived at Babylon, 700 miles distant to the east. Here he found\nthat the chief of the priestly caste of the Chald\u00e6ans had held the\ngovernment for him since the death of his father.[92] He then peaceably\nsucceeded his father.\n\n=9. But the kingdom of Judah= had not yet submitted to Nebuchadnezzar.\nHe, therefore, after settling the new order of rule at Babylon,\nreturned to Syria, B. C. 602, and attacked Jehoiakim, king of Judah,\nand placed him under tribute. Three years had not passed before this\nHebrew king, counting on help from the king of Egypt, rebelled against\nthe king of Babylon, and dying soon after, left the odium of the\nrebellion, together with the regal succession, to his son Jehoiachin.\n\n=10. This king of Judah= had reigned only three months when\nNebuchadnezzar sent an army into Judah and soon after arrived in person;\nand the king of Judah was forced to submit to the king of Babylon, and,\nwith 10,000 of his best citizens, he was taken prisoner and carried\nto Babylon. The uncle of the king of Judah, whose name was changed\nto Zedekiah, that is, \u201cthe righteousness of Jehovah,\u201d was placed upon\nthe throne by Nebuchadnezzar. His previous name was Mattaniah, that is,\n\u201cgift of Jehovah,\u201d and Nebuchadnezzar, in giving him this new name,\nevidently intended it as a suggestion to the king that he was expected\nto sustain the truthful character of that Jehovah whom he professed to\nserve; for the king of Babylon had made Zedekiah promise by oath and\ncovenant, swearing by his God, to be faithful to him, 2 Chron. 36:13;\nEzek. 17:13, B. C. 599.\n\nIn the same manner Pharaoh-nechoh changed the name of Eliakim to\nJehoiakim, when he advanced him to the throne eleven years before,\nB. C. 610. 2 Kings 23:34. He simply changed the ordinary name, El,\n_god_, to that most holy name of the Israelites\u2019 divinity, namely\nJehovah.\n\n=11. After eleven years of reign= Zedekiah rebelled, and then the\nfinal siege of Jerusalem took place, and the Jews were forced by\nstarvation to yield to the king. During the delay required by the siege,\nNebuchadnezzar remained at a place called Riblah (now Ribla) 200 miles\nnorth of Jerusalem and 70 miles northeast of Beir\u00fbt, pleasantly located\nin the valley between the Lebanon ranges and on the east side of the\nriver Orontes. This place was made sadly prominent eighteen years\nbefore by the imprisonment of Jehoahaz, the successor of Josiah, king\nof Judah. He was taken captive and removed from Jerusalem and left at\nthis place by Pharaoh-nechoh when he was on his way to his terrible\ndefeat by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, B. C. 606. But on his retreat\nhe carried Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died, 2 Kings 23:33, 34.\n\n=12. When the generals of Nebuchadnezzar= had taken Jerusalem, they\nbrought Zedekiah and the royal family to Riblah, where it appears that\nthe king of Babylon upbraided Zedekiah for his violation of his oath,\nand then slew his sons before his eyes. This was his last and dreadful\nvision, for immediately after, according to the custom of these kings\ndepicted upon the monuments, \u201che put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound\nhim with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon,\u201d 2 Kings 25:7.\n\n=13. The king of Babylon now left= the completion of the destruction\nof Jerusalem and the deportation of captives to one of his chief army\nofficers, called \u201cthe captain of the guard.\u201d This officer sent off all\nthe treasure of the Temple and of the various palaces, and then having\nburned the Temple and all the chief houses, he broke down the walls and\nso completely destroyed the city that the ruler, who was left to take\ncharge of the few poor remaining, resided at Mizpah,[93] a village,\nnot certainly but very probably, identified with a place on a high hill\nfive miles west by north from Jerusalem.\n\n=14. Judah was now finally= carried away captive, and the seventy\nyears of captivity foretold by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 24:11; 29:10)\nare to be reckoned from the first captivity, B. C. 606, when Daniel\nand others were carried to Babylon in the third year of Jehoiakim,\n2 Kings 24:1, 2. These seventy years terminated when Cyrus, in the\nfirst year of his reign at Babylon, B. C. 536, made his proclamation\npermitting the Jews to return to Palestine and rebuild the temple,\nEzra 1:11.\n\n=15. About 50,000 accepted= the invitation, but a large number\npreferred to remain, as we shall more fully explain hereafter.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n ANALYSIS OF THE REIGNS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL.\n\n\n=1. Of the twenty sovereigns of Judah=, Manasseh reigned the longest,\nnamely fifty-five years. He was the fourteenth king and began to reign\nat twelve years of age, B. C. 698.\n\nThe shortest reigns in Judah were those of Jehoiachin and Jehoahaz,\nwho reigned only about three months each, near the close of the kingdom,\nB. C. 600 and B. C. 610. Both of these kings were deposed by foreign\nkings.\n\n=2. Of the nineteen sovereigns of Israel=, the one who continued\nlongest upon the throne was Jeroboam, the second of that name. His\nreign continued forty-one years, from B. C. 825 to B. C. 784. He was\nthe thirteenth king.\n\nThe shortest reign was that of Zimri, who committed suicide by burning\nhimself in his palace at Tirzah, with all its riches, B. C. 930, when\nhe found he was about to be taken. He usurped the throne and held it\nonly seven days. He was the fifth king.\n\n\n MORAL CHARACTER OF THE KINGS.\n\n=3. Of the twenty sovereigns of Judah=, twelve were continually\nidolatrous. They seemed to be entirely unmindful of the previous\nhistory of the nation and of the claims of Jehovah upon their reverence\nor gratitude. The Temple service seems to have been continued by\nthe priests at Jerusalem, but, from the warnings of the prophets, it\nappears that even the priests proved faithless and frequently allowed\nthemselves to be led in accordance with the passions and violence of\nthe kings, so that irreverence and sacrilege were common.\n\nThe treasures of the Temple, those vessels, ornaments, and trophies\nwhich were sacred to its use, or placed there in commemoration of\nvictories and in honor of the Lord, were repeatedly seized by the kings\nand given to their enemies, or used for private purposes, and, in some\ninstances, removed to give place for idolatrous practices. Parts of\nthe Temple considered sacred to the name of Jehovah were desecrated by\naltars built for the worship of the hosts of heaven, and graven images\nwere erected upon the Temple grounds, in defiance of the law.\n\n=4. The kings themselves= frequently gave public examples of their\ncontempt for Jehovah by the service and worship of the gods of\nsurrounding nations, by erecting temples and altars and by planting\ngroves upon high places and setting up images of Baal and Ashtoreth\nthroughout the land and in prominent towns, so that the people were\nconstantly drawn into idolatry and their children made to dwell in\nthe presence and under the influence of idolatrous emblems, as seen\nthroughout the kingdom.\n\n=5. The above mentioned facts= are specially applicable to twelve kings\nout of the twenty of Judah, but the character of the reigns of Israel\nwas even worse. Of its nineteen kings, not one was free from idolatry.\nAt the very beginning of their history the first king, Jeroboam, who\nhad spent about five years in Egypt at the court of Shishak, erected\na golden calf at Bethel and one at Dan in the north, and invited the\npeople to worship at these shrines in preference to the \u201chouse of the\nLord,\u201d the Temple, at Jerusalem.\n\n=6. This worship of the golden calf= was a repetition of the same\nworship which was performed 500 years before at Mt. Sinai, soon after\nthe Israelites came out of Egypt, and Jeroboam the king in instituting\nit repeated the words which were uttered at Mt. Sinai,[94] namely,\n\u201cThese be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of\nEgypt,\u201d Exod. 32:4.\n\n=7. The selection of the calf= was suggested by the prominence which\nthat animal,[95] as the symbol of divine power, attained in Egypt.\nThe costly adornment and preservation of the sacred living bull, or\nApis, and the magnificent funeral ceremonies and entombment of the\ndead Apis are frequently alluded to on the monuments of Egypt. Long\nbefore the departure of the Israelites from Egypt the veneration of the\nsacred bull had been exhibited in services and obsequies, so general\nthroughout Lower Egypt, and so imposing, that the effect upon the\npopulation must have been far more solemn and impressive than anything\nwe can conceive of at the present day. The costly burial places, called\n\u201cSerapeums,\u201d some of which yet exist, and the granite sarcophagi show\nbeyond any question how reverent and imposing the worship of the bull\nmust have been.\n\n=8. In the expression used at Mt. Sinai= and by Jeroboam the word\n\u201cgods\u201d has the force of the singular number, being that word sometimes\napplied to Jehovah and always used in the plural number, called \u201cthe\nplural of excellence;\u201d so that while translated in this phrase \u201cgods,\u201d\nto the Hebrew it was the same as \u201cgod;\u201d hence there was only one\ncalf-image at any place.\n\nIt is both remarkable and memorable that notwithstanding the bold and\ncareless manner in which Jeroboam\u2019s contempt for the worship of Jehovah\nwas exhibited, yet in the later history of his life, when a bitter\nsorrow was coming upon him, he acted the part of Saul and applied for\nhelp to the prophet whose counsel he had abused. The results were the\nsame and the record is in 1 Kings 14.\n\n=9. It should be remembered= that while the kings and many of the\npeople departed from their covenanted service of Jehovah, and the\nland was full of idolaters, there were, at all times, those who in\nthe privacies of their homes were faithful servants of the Most High.\n\nThis fact was brought out in the time of the prophet Elijah; for\nwhen the prophet in his despair supposed he was the only surviving\nworshipper of God, the Lord revealed to him the truth that at that\nvery moment there were 7,000 in Israel who had never bowed the knee\nto Baal, but were faithful to Jehovah, 1 Kings 19:18. Even in the\nhousehold of the idolatrous Ahab there was one who held so persistently\nto the ancient faith in Jehovah, that, despite the cunning, power, and\nvengeance of Jezebel, he succeeded in hiding and feeding one hundred of\nthe prophets of the Lord, probably in several caves. This man, Obadiah\nby name, was governor of Ahab\u2019s house, 1 Kings 18:3, and not the\nprophet, who lived about 587 B. C.\n\n=10. Frequently, during the darkest times= of the two kingdoms, there\nsuddenly appeared an antecedently unknown messenger of God, who bore\nwith him the evidence that he was a member of a reserved force of\nfaithful ones whose existence had never been published in the annals\nof the kingdom; and these unknown servants existed in both kingdoms\nalike, and were of both sexes, as we find in the cases of Huldah, whose\nknowledge of the law made her worthy of consultation by the king, and\nof Hannah before her, and of that nameless woman dwelling in the walled\ncity Abel, who, although \u201cpeaceable and faithful in Israel,\u201d had power\nenough simply by her wise counsel to turn back the fierce army of Joab,\n2 Sam. 20:19.\n\n\n ABEL.\n\nThis place was also called Abel-beth-maachah. It was upon the level\nland twelve miles north by west of the waters of Merom, lake Huleh, and\nis now called Abl. Abel means \u201cmeadow.\u201d The village is over 1,000 feet\nabove the lake Huleh (1,074 feet), and is a Christian village.\n\n=11. It is, therefore, reasonable= to suppose that although at court\nand by the kings the law of the Lord was little known and read, it\nmight yet have been thoroughly studied and observed by many in private.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE INSTITUTION OF THE PROPHETICAL OFFICE.\n\n\n=1. But a most remarkable feature= of the times of the kings, both of\nJudah and Israel, appeared in that religious body called the Prophets.\n\nThe name \u201cprophet\u201d was originally given by God to Abraham, Gen. 20:7,\nand seemed to imply a familiarity with God, or that the one to whom\nit was applied had divine authority to speak for God. The prophets,\ntherefore, were not confined in their utterances to a mere foretelling\nof events, but, in addition, were made the messengers of God and\nuttered commands as well as advice by his appointment and in his stead.\n\n=2. They received divine messages= in several ways: (1) by impulses,\ncommanding and influencing their thoughts while awake, as in the case\nof Elisha, 2 Kings 3:15; (2) by audible sounds, as in the case of\nSamuel when a child, 1 Sam. 3:10, and when older and a prophet, as\nrecorded in 1 Sam. 9:15 and in other passages; (3) and by visions, or\ndreams, as in the cases of Isaiah, Isa. 1:1, Micaiah, 1 Kings 22:17,\nand Daniel, Dan. 10:1, 7.\n\n=3. There was a class= who were officially known as prophets, whose\nlives were chiefly devoted to this office, and these were distinguished\nby a term which has come down to the present time and is in use among\nthe Arabs in the regions of Palestine and Syria. This is the term\n\u201cNeby\u201d used by the natives as a title of a sacred person and associated\nwith tombs throughout these lands, and it is the same word used in the\ntimes of Abraham, Gen. 20:7.\n\n=4. There was, however, another class= of prophets who seem to\nhave been used for special occasions and who were commissioned for\none prophetic act, after which they do not appear again in history,\n2 Chron. 9:29; 1 Kings 16:1\u20124; 2 Chron. 19:2; 15:1\u20128, and elsewhere.\nThese, however, may in some instances have been chosen from one of\nthose collections, or schools, of the prophets which existed from the\ntime of Samuel to a period several centuries later, 1 Sam. 19:18, 19.\n\u201cNaioth\u201d in this passage alludes to the \u201chabitations\u201d in Ramah, which\nappear to have been \u201ccolleges\u201d of the prophets. There were such\ncolleges or schools at Bethel and Jericho, 2 Kings 2:3, 5. In these\nschools the law was studied, and perhaps psalmody, as we find that in\nsome passages references are made to the instrumental performances of\nthe prophets, 1 Sam. 10:5.\n\n=5. Of all the prophets= the utterances of only sixteen have come down\nto us in distinct books. Of these it is customary to speak of four as\nTHE GREATER, or major, prophets, and of twelve as THE MINOR prophets,\nbut these terms have reference only to the extent of their writings.\nIsaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel are included in the term major,\nand their prophecies, as written, are composed in the following order,\nonly as to the number of verses in each prophecy as that prophecy\nappears in the English authorized version: Jeremiah (including\nLamentations, which has 154 verses) 1,518 verses, Isaiah 1,292,\nEzekiel 1,273, and Daniel 357.\n\n=6. Of the minor prophets=, the order, in point of number of verses in\neach book, is as follows: Zechariah 211, Hosea 197, Amos 146, Micah 105,\nJoel 73, Habakkuk 56, Malachi 55, Zephaniah 53, Jonah 48, Nahum 47,\nHaggai 38, Obadiah 21.\n\nThe prophecy of Jeremiah, including Lamentations, ranks, in order of\nnumber of verses, next after Genesis, which contains 1,533 verses.\n\nThis analysis of the books of the major prophets shows not only\ntheir comparative importance, as to size, among the sixteen prophetical\nbooks, but also among all the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament;\nfor Genesis, in point of number of verses, is second only to the book\nof Psalms, and Jeremiah\u2019s writings are the third in this order.\n\n=7. In point of time=, there seems to have been an entirely\nuninterrupted line of such prophets as we have described from the age\nof Samuel to the return from the captivity, an era of nearly 750 years\n(from B. C. 1141 to B. C. 397).\n\nSome of even the greatest of the prophets, as Elijah and Elisha,\nnever committed their prophecies to writing. In a very large degree,\nhowever, their words and acts are recorded in various histories, as\nthe historian had need to make reference to them in explaining certain\nevents he was narrating in the history of the kingdoms of Judah and of\nIsrael.\n\nOf those prophets whose prophecies are given in distinct books, Jonah\nwas the first mentioned in point of time, and Malachi was the last,\nprobably B. C. 397.\n\nAfter the death of Malachi the prophetic institution, as an order,\nseems to have closed, and it was so understood by some of the ancient\nJewish writers, as appears in the apocryphal books.[96]\n\n\n\n\n PERIOD VI.\n\n THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH TO THE CLOSE OF THE CANONICAL PERIOD.\n\n B. C. 588\u2012397(?).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n THE VARIOUS CAPTIVITIES.\n\n\n=1. By the words= \u201cthe captivity\u201d is generally meant the final\ncaptivity of Judah, which was the last of a series of captivities\nboth of Israel and of Judah. As a knowledge of these captivities is\nnot only important in the study of Jewish history, but has a bearing\nupon the authenticity of the Scripture, they should all be carefully\ndistinguished. We therefore give a full list as follows.\n\n\n THE VARIOUS CAPTIVITIES.\n\n=2. The first captivity=, B. C. about 733, was that of the tribes east\nof the Jordan, by a king of Assyria bearing two names in Scripture,\nwhich were formerly supposed to be the names of two distinct kings. But\na recently discovered list of Babylonian kings shows that the two names\nare those of the same king, and therefore the reading of the verse,\n1 Chron. 5:26, is correct in which the two names of this king, namely,\nPul and Tilgath-pilneser, are spoken of as in the singular number.\n\nPul seized the throne B. C. 745, and died 727.[97] The dates in our\nmarginal references (2 Kin. 15:19) are too early. This king carried\naway \u201cthe Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh,\nand brought them unto Halah and Habor and Hara and to the river Gozan,\u201d\n1 Chron. 5:26; see also 2 Kings 15:29.\n\n\n HALAH, HABOR, HARA, THE RIVER GOZAN.\n\n=3. Halah= is probably identified with a mound now called Gla, on\nthe river Khabour, which is a tributary to the Euphrates. It is about\n430 miles northeast of Jerusalem and 330 northeast of Babylon.\n\n=Habor= was probably on the river Khabour, but its site has not been\nidentified.\n\n=Hara= is about 100 miles northwest of Gla and is supposed to be\nthe same as Haran, to which Terah and Abraham migrated from Ur of the\nChaldees. It is situated upon the river Belik, which runs southward\nabout seventy miles and then joins the Euphrates.\n\nThe river Gozan was probably the same as the Khabour, as the province\nof Gozan, through which it ran, seems to be identified with the\nGauzanitis of Ptolemy. Its mouth is about 100 miles east of that of the\nriver Belik, which also empties into the Euphrates. After the Khabour\nno other river is tributary to the Euphrates for 500 miles of its\ncourse. The mouth of the Khabour is 300 miles northwest of Babylon.\n\n=4. The second captivity=, B. C. 721. Twenty years afterward, at the\nsiege of Samaria, the Assyrian king Sargon carried off a larger and\nmore important number. This king gives an account of this siege, in\nremarkable corroboration of the Scripture history, and states that\nhe \u201ccarried off 27,280 of its citizens.\u201d Nevertheless a large number\nremained in the region around and many fled who returned afterward,\n2 Kings 17:6.\n\n=5. \u201cThe cities of the Medes\u201d= here spoken of had been only recently\nconquered by Tiglath-pileser. In an inscription, towards the end of\nhis reign, he mentions Parthia (parts of Media), Nis\u00e6a, and other\nplaces that paid him tribute. It was in 736 B. C. that he made a great\nexpedition in the east, farther than any of his predecessors, reaching\nthe frontiers of India. He was succeeded by Shalmaneser, B. C. 727, who\ndied and was succeeded by Sargon, B. C. 721, the year of the capture\nof Samaria.[98] The war of the first captivity (page 158) was carried\non between B. C. 733\u2012731 by Tiglath-pileser, and it was then that\nthe first recorded instance occurred of the practice of transplanting\nthe whole people of a conquered country to places far distant from\ntheir native land and replacing them by other captives.[99] Such was\nafterward the act of Esar-haddon in regard to Samaria, as stated in\nEzra 4:2. This king reigned B. C. 681\u2012668.[100]\n\nThe captivity B. C. 721 was the last captivity in any form of Israel,\nwhich is known as \u201cthe northern kingdom,\u201d in contradistinction from\nJudah, \u201cthe southern kingdom.\u201d It comprised \u201cthe ten tribes.\u201d\n\n=6. The third captivity=, B. C. 606. Of the captivities of Judah,\nthe first happened when Daniel and others were carried off to Babylon,\nB. C. 606, 2 Kings 24:2; 2 Chron. 36:6; Dan. 1:3, when but a few were\nsent to Babylon.\n\n=7. The fourth captivity=, B. C. 599\u2012598. The second deportation to\nBabylon from Judah was in B. C. 599\u2012598, when 10,000 captives were\ntaken from Jerusalem, 2 Kings 24:12, and from the surrounding country\n3,023, Jer. 52:28. The king Jehoiachin was also taken captive.\n\n=8. The fifth and final captivity=, B. C. 588. In the third great\ncaptivity of Judah Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem by burning the\nTemple and pulling down the walls and the houses.\n\nPerhaps in all 100,000 were carried off at various times. While this\nnumber was comparatively small, it represented the very strength of\nthe kingdom of Judah, with which tribe the promise of the Messiah\nalone rested, and it was of this tribe that the majority of those who\nreturned to Palestine were composed.\n\nThe captives of Judah remained in or around Babylon during the entire\nterm of their captivity.\n\n=9. The captivity of Manasseh.= In this connection there is another\ncaptivity merely referred to in one verse in 2 Chron. 33:11. It is the\ncaptivity of Manasseh by the king of Assyria. In this verse it is said\nthat this king of Judah was carried captive to Babylon, and for a time\nit was thought by some critics that this was an incorrect statement,\nsince the king of Assyria was at Nineveh. But among the inscriptions\nat present in the British Museum were found those of the history of\nEsar-haddon, who reigned from B. C. 681 to B. C. 668. In this history\nit is stated that he went to Syria and conquered and destroyed Sidon\nand held court at Damascus, summoning twenty-two kings to meet him\nthere; and second among the names is that of \u201cthe king of Judah.\u201d This\nwas in the year B. C. 672.[101] It is recorded that he rebuilt Babylon,\nand we find that both he and his son held their courts and judged\nvassal princes like Manasseh at Babylon.[102] Esar-haddon gathered men\nfrom Babylon and other places and planted them in Samaria, and hence we\nhave the account given us in Ezra 4:2, 9, 10.\n\n=10.= Although the \u201c=seventy years=\u201d of captivity pronounced against\nJudah by the prophet Jeremiah (25:12; 29:10) are supposed to begin\nB. C. 606, yet the destruction of Jerusalem and the last deportation\nof Judah, B. C. 588, closed up the list of captivities both of Judah\nand of Israel. Both communities now existed, but, with small exception,\nonly as captives in Assyria or as exiles in various other lands.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT.\n\n\n=1. As a people=, the Jews of the northern kingdom never were so warmly\nattached to the Temple worship as those of the southern, and hence all\nthe Psalms which alluded to Jerusalem[103] and the Temple are supposed\nto have been written by the exiles of Judah, that is of the southern\nkingdom, who went into captivity B. C. 588 under Nebuchadnezzar, and\nwere settled in Babylon or its vicinity. For the entire seventy years\nthe people of Judah and those of Israel were separated by several\nhundred miles of country.\n\n=2. During the many years= of captivity, Israel, that is the ten\ntribes, probably mingled with other nations in their midst and became\nvery largely estranged from the father-land. There were fewer of the\nties of religious faith with them than with Judah. Even the tribes of\nJudah and Benjamin, when they returned from the captivity and entered\ninto their city Jerusalem and into the cities and lands surrounding,\nbrought wives from the heathen about them,[104] the very priests and\nLevites being also guilty, Ezra 9:1, although the Mosaic law prohibited\nsuch marriages.\n\n=3. Such heathen intermarriages= among the members of the tribes would,\nafter 185 years, be less objected to than among the tribes of Judah and\nBenjamin, and would naturally be followed by not only indifference to\nany return, but also by forgetfulness of the land and of the history\nof their origin, and it is not surprising that when the tribes of Judah\nand Benjamin accepted the permission granted by Cyrus, the king of\nBabylon, to return to Palestine, the ten tribes, as a whole, remained\nin Assyria and never returned, but probably became lost by being\nabsorbed into the nations with whom they associated.\n\n\n CONDITION DURING THE CAPTIVITY.\n\n=4. During the captivity= the Jews in Assyria and Babylonia were\nallowed great privileges. They were considered more in the light of\ncolonists than of slaves, and from the histories, both sacred and\nsecular, we learn that, as stated in the books of Nehemiah, Esther, and\nDaniel, they were occasionally employed in high positions in the state\nand at court. Nehemiah, though born at Babylon during the captivity,\nwas a Jew of the tribe of Judah, but was cup-bearer to the Persian king,\nArtaxerxes Longimanus, at Susa. Ezra also enjoyed great consideration\nat the Persian court during the reigns of several of the kings of\nPersia. And from the book of Esther it is evident that the Jews\nprospered greatly during the reign of Xerxes.\n\n=5. The prophets=, during the captivity of Judah, were earnest in their\nendeavors to preserve the integrity and reverence of the people, and it\nwas largely due to them that many of the observances of the Mosaic law,\nand a loving remembrance of the Temple and of Jerusalem, prevailed so\nfar as it did in spite of the idolatries of the people by whom they\nwere surrounded. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, with Obadiah, were the\nprophets of the captivities.\n\n\n PROPHETS DURING THE CAPTIVITY.\n\n=6. Before the captivity Jeremiah=[105] had foretold the captivity of\nJudah, for seventy years, in Babylon, Jer. 25:8\u201212, and also the fall\nof Babylon (verses 13\u201238). His faithfulness endangered his life, and\nwhen Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem he found Jeremiah in prison and\nreleased him, offering him a residence in Babylon. The prophet, however,\nchose to remain with the remnant of Judah who were not carried away,\nand when this remnant fled to Egypt, for fear of Nebuchadnezzar, they\ntook Jeremiah with them. See the account in Jer. 43:6.\n\n=7. A recent remarkable discovery= has been made, in Egypt, of the\npalace of Pharaoh-hophra, the Egyptian king who reigned at the time\nJeremiah was carried to Egypt, about B. C. 585. The prophet protested\nagainst the departure to Egypt of the remnant of which we have spoken,\nand forewarned them that Nebuchadnezzar would go to Egypt and would\novercome Pharaoh-hophra and would pitch his tent in the court of this\npalace. Several clay cylinders have been picked up in the vicinity\nbearing the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and proving that he had been\nhere, and the brick pavement, or court, before the palace, which seems\nto be alluded to in Jer. 43:9, has been uncovered. It was here that\nthe prophet hid the stones at the place he foretold as that where\nNebuchadnezzar should set his pavilion. The palace was at Tahpanhes\n(pronounced tah\u00b4-pan-heez), Jer. 43:8\u201213.\n\n\n TAHPANHES.\n\n=8. Tahapenes=, also written Tahpanhes, Jer. 43:7, 9, or\nTehaph\u00b4nehes, Ezek. 30:18, was an Egyptian city on the east of the\nDelta, seventy-eight miles east-northeast from the present Cairo, and\nupon the most eastern branch of the Nile. In 1886 Mr. Petrie discovered,\nat this place, the palace above alluded to, at which the Pharaoh\n(Hophra) then reigning probably received king Zedekiah\u2019s daughters, to\nwhich there seems a reference in the traditional name \u201cCastle of the\nJew\u2019s daughter.\u201d The place is now called Tell Defenneh, but there exist\nonly ruins covered by a mound.\n\n\n DANIEL.\n\n=9. Daniel went into captivity= six or seven years before the\ncaptivity of Ezekiel, when Nebuchadnezzar first laid siege to Jerusalem,\nB. C. 606. At this time the king of Babylon took captive Daniel and his\ncompanions, who were young and of noble families, and had them sent to\nhis palace to be educated for the king\u2019s service. The Assyrian records\nshow that it was a custom among the kings to select young men of talent\nand educate them at royal expense, that they might be special officers\nat court. Daniel was so chosen, with three others, and they were\n\u201ctaught the learning and the tongue of the Chald\u00e6ans,\u201d Dan. 1:4. Their\ngreat skill and wisdom roused a jealousy among the princes of the court\nagainst the companions of Daniel, and while Daniel was absent on some\ncommission, or other duty, his companions were condemned to be burned\nalive, but were delivered by divine interference, Dan. 3.\n\n\n EZEKIEL.\n\n=10. The prophet Ezekiel= went into captivity with Jehoiachin king of\nJudah, eleven years before the final captivity, and was placed with a\nJewish company at the river Chebar, which may be the same as \u201cThe royal\nCanal,\u201d just north of Babylon, and which was dug by Nebuchadnezzar\nto unite the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This prophet was\nskilled in the law and a faithful priest and teacher, and his influence\nwas great among the captives.\n\n\n OBADIAH.\n\n=11. Obadiah was the fourth prophet=, whose prophecies seem to have\nbeen delivered about B. C. 587, or during the captivity of Judah and\nsoon after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. He appears\nas specially commissioned to foretell the punishment of the Edomites\nfor their pride and insulting rejoicing at the destruction of Jerusalem\nand the distress of the Jews. According to Josephus, this warning\nreceived its fulfilment about five years after the prophecy.\n\n\n ASSYRIAN KINGS OF THE CAPTIVITY.\n\n=12. Of the kings of Assyria and Babylon= during the captivities\nthe first mentioned in Scripture is Tiglath-pileser, of whom and his\nsuccessors we have already spoken, pages 159, 160. These kings were\nactive only in the captivities of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar was connected\nwith the captivities of Judah.\n\n\n NEBUCHADNEZZAR.\n\n=Nebuchadnezzar= began to reign B. C. 604. During his reign of\nforty-three years Babylon rose to its highest splendor and remained\na magnificent city until his death in B. C. 562. His madness, spoken\nof by Daniel, is not distinctly stated in Assyrian history, but an\ninscription, now in the East India House at London, gives an account\nof the various works of Nebuchadnezzar, and abruptly says that his\nheart was hardened against the Chald\u00e6an astrologers. \u201cHe would grant\nno benefactions for religious purposes. He intermitted the worship of\nMerodach, and put an end to the sacrifice of victims. _He labored under\nthe effects of enchantment._\u201d\n\nThis last sentence seems to accord with the statement of Daniel\n(chapters 1\u20124). The record referred to was found in the ruins on the\nTigris.\n\n=13. The son and successor= of Nebuchadnezzar was Evil-merodach,\nB. C. 561. He released the captive king of Judah, Jehoiachin, and\ntreated him as a prince and with special favor. His sister\u2019s husband,\nNeriglissar, succeeded him B. C. 559. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 25:27;\nJer. 52:31.\n\n=14. This Neriglissar=, or, as the monuments present it,\nNergal-Sharezer, held the throne only three years, and was followed\nby his son, a minor, who perished in a conspiracy of the nobles after\na reign of only nine months. One of these nobles, Nabonidus by name,\nascended the throne and held it till the city was captured by Cyrus.\nIt was his son, Belshazzar, who, as eldest son, reigned with his father\nwhen Babylon was taken, his father having entrusted him with the care\nof the city while he, with the main part of the army, was engaged with\nCyrus, eight miles off at Borsippa.\n\n=15. Cyrus did not assume the rule= of Babylon immediately as its\ntitular king. He was supreme over all Asia from India to the Bosphorus,\nbut, for some reason, a Median prince was established for a time as\nnominal king, although Cyrus retained all the power. That prince was\nDarius, the son of Cyaxares, a childless man of sixty-two years of age.\nWhen, two years after his appointment, he died, Cyrus assumed the power\nand became king of Babylon.[106]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n THE CAPTIVITY ENDED.\n\n\n=1. In the first year of his reign=, B. C. 536, Cyrus issued a decree\nof liberty to the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple,\nEzra 1:2\u20124.\n\n=2. No more than 42,360=, including children, could be persuaded to\nreturn. But in addition there were over 7,000 male and female servants.\nOf the priestly clans, only four out of twenty-four were ready to go\nout, but these added 4,000. Of the Levites, only seventy-four cared to\nleave Babylon. This multitude, of about 50,000, set out as a caravan\nto reach Palestine, many of them having to travel the whole distance\non foot, as only 8,136 animals, for carriage, accompanied them. The\njourney occupied about four months and when they arrived they found\nmuch of the land preoccupied by the surrounding nations.\n\nBut, after much labor and considerable opposition, the Temple of\nJerusalem was rebuilt and, after longer delay, the walls arose from the\nruins. B. C. 516 is the date of the second Temple, and B. C. 445 of the\nrebuilt walls.\n\n\n THE NUMBER OF THE JEWS AS A RACE.\n\n=3. The number of those= who returned to Palestine was small compared\nwith the number of the Jews as a race at this time. During the reign\nof David a census of the nation was taken. Of this census there are\ntwo accounts, one in 2 Sam. 24:9, the other in 1 Chron. 21:5. The first\ngives 800,000 as the number in Israel, and 500,000 in Judah, of those\n\u201cwho drew the sword.\u201d In these statements the tribes of both Levi\nand Benjamin were omitted, the former because they were not subject\nto military duty, and the latter for the reason stated in the text,\n1 Chron. 21:6.\n\n=4. This census= made the number of men capable of bearing arms\n1,300,000. It seems from 1 Chron. 27:1 that there was a standing\narmy of 24,000, renewed every month from Israel, and drawn from an\nestablished organization of twelve times that number, which Joab, who\ntook the census, may not have included in the number of the census of\nIsrael, 2 Sam. 24:9, but which has been added by the writer of 1 Chron.\n21:5. This increases the number by about 300,000, so that the total\nwould be about 1,600,000 of both Israel and Judah, with the exception\nof the number lost by a pestilence which immediately followed upon the\ncensus. But the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, which were not numbered,\nas we have shown above, would fully replace the number lost by the\npestilence. Hence at the time of David the able-bodied men of the\nentire nation were about 1,600,000, and this number could not have been\nmaterially lessened at the beginning of the captivities.\n\n=5. An important fact= connected with the captivities was that the\nmembers of the ablest families, the wealthiest and most influential,\nwere chiefly included among the captives, and, in the case of Judah,\nnot only the most learned, but the most devoutly attached to the Mosaic\nlaw of all the tribes, went into captivity.\n\n=6. What became of a large part= of the Jewish people just before these\ntimes is plain from the references to those who had fled during the\nvarious wars of the captivities, or who might have been taken captive\nor retired to other nations than the Assyrian, 2 Kings 25:4, 22, 26;\n2 Chron. 28:17, 18; Jer. 29:4; 41:10. So that we may reasonably suppose\nthat large numbers, especially from the ten tribes of Israel, either\nremained in Palestine after the captivity, or departed to the east of\nthe Jordan or to Egypt, and perhaps to other countries. A considerable\nnumber of the people of Judah who were left after the beginning of the\ncaptivity went down as we have said, page 166, into Egypt, taking the\nprophet Jeremiah with them;[107] but all probably perished there, as\nforetold by that prophet, Jer. 42:19\u201222.\n\n\n CONDITION OF JERUSALEM AT THE RETURN.\n\n=7. Jerusalem was in ruins.= Its walls were broken down, and its\npalaces and Temple and all the chief houses and monuments of every\ndescription were levelled and burned so far as was possible. Judging\nfrom the allusions to the destroyed city which are occasionally found\nin Jewish writers, and from the accounts of similar destructions by\nAssyrian and Babylonish kings, it is probable that the city was more\nutterly ruined and made more uninhabitable than ever before or since.\n\nIn the time of Amaziah, king of Judah, B. C. 826, the wall for about\n600 feet was broken down by Jehoash, king of Israel, 2 Kings 14:13, but\nthe destruction by Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s \u201ccaptain of the guard\u201d was far more\nterrible, since it extended to the entire city, as well as to the walls,\nand probably to the smallest dwellings.\n\n\n THE HISTORY AFTER THE RETURN.\n\n=8. The worship at Jerusalem= soon became prominently important\nthroughout the land. The strict observance of the Law and a deep hatred\nof idolatry seem fully to have occupied the minds of the people, and\nthe feast of the Passover was observed at Jerusalem with the other\nfeasts, in strict accordance with the Law. The sacrifices were made and\nburnt-offerings offered before the foundations of the Temple were laid,\nonly the altar having been set up upon the former site and in the open\nair.\n\n=9. Very few, if any, of those Jews= who had been scattered abroad\ncame from the remnants of the ten tribes around the distant places\nof northern Assyria and from the other regions; but a new immigration,\nunder Ezra, came from Babylon bringing in about 6,000 more.[108] This\nlast immigration was not until fifty-eight years after the second\nTemple had been built under Zerub\u00b4babel,[109] who went out with the\nJews from Babylon under the edict of Cyrus, at the first departure of\nthe captives, B. C. 588.\n\n=10. Much of the history of these times= is derived from the\nhistorian Josephus, but something may be learned from the writings of\nthe prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai encouraged Zerubbabel in the\nbuilding of the Temple, Ezra 5:1, 2. He first appears in the second\nyear of Darius Hystaspes, B. C. 521. About two months[110] after Haggai\nthe prophet Zechariah began to prophesy in Jerusalem. Malachi, the last\nof the prophets, uttered his warnings and reproofs, and foretold the\ncoming Messiah, about 125 years after Haggai and Zechariah, or probably\nabout B. C. 397.\n\n=11. One of the books= of the Bible contains the history of Esther,\nwhich reveals to us the extent of Jewish settlement and growth in the\nPersian provinces at about the era of Xerxes, who came to the throne\nof Persia B. C. 485, fifty years after the return of the Jews to\nPalestine.[111]\n\nCyrus had been succeeded by his son Cambyses, whose reign was spent\nchiefly in attempting to reconquer Egypt, until his death by suicide,\nB. C. 522. He was succeeded by Darius, who reigned till B. C. 486, and\nduring that reign the Jews had peace and prosperity, both in Palestine\nand Persia.\n\nAt the death of Darius, Xerxes began his reign of twenty-one years.\nThis king, known as Xerxes among the Greeks, was called Ahasuerus among\nthe Hebrews, and is so presented to us in the book of Esther.\n\n=12. The king was spending= his time at his splendid capital Susa, when\nhe gave a feast of unexampled extravagance. It was at this feast that\nhe became enraged at his queen because she refused to present herself,\nat the order of the king, before the half-drunken revellers of the\noccasion. The queen was deposed, and Esther was chosen in her place.\nThe new queen was an orphan maiden of the tribe of Benjamin, and, about\nB. C. 478, she appeared before the king and the royal crown was placed\nupon her head.\n\nThrough jealousy a plot was originated by Haman to destroy the Jews.\nThis plot was prevented by Esther, and the Jews were permitted to\ndefend themselves and slay all who should attempt their destruction,\nthroughout the \u201cone hundred and twenty-seven provinces\u201d of the Empire.\n\n=13. The recent explorations=, by the French arch\u00e6ologist M. Marcel\nDieulafoy, in the extensive mounds of the site of ancient Susa, have\nshown a very surprising accuracy in the description, both of the palace\nand its ornaments, as found in the book of Esther. \u201cThe brilliant\ncoloring of the glazed tiles, the gorgeous decoration of the palace\nwalls, the handsome friezes and enormous capitals,\u201d[112] forming part\nof the collection brought together at the Mus\u00e9e du Louvre, together\nwith the plan of the palace, its courts and gardens, afford sufficient\nevidence that the unknown author of the history of Esther must have\nbeen well acquainted not only with the structure of the palace, but\nwith the customs of the people.\n\n\n SUSA.\n\n=14. Susa was the Greek name= of the place called Shushan in Neh. 1:1,\nand frequently so in the book of Esther.[113] It has been identified\nwith extensive ruins 175 miles north of the Persian Gulf and 275 miles\neast of Babylon. One of the mounds shows the remains of a vast palace\nwith one central hall containing thirty-six columns about sixty feet in\nheight. Other halls and columns with porches make it certain that this\nis the palace called so frequently \u201cShushan the palace\u201d in the history\nof Esther. It was the capital of Elam, the country around being called\nSusiana. It was an ancient city and was captured by the Assyrian king\nAssur-bani-pal about B. C. 650. When the father of Nebuchadnezzar,\nNabopolassar king of Babylon, and Cyaxares king of Media, conquered\nNineveh and divided the empire between them, Shushan fell to Babylon.\nThe wealth of the city may be known from the fact that at the\nMacedonian conquest of this region Alexander found treasure here of\nthe value of $60,000,000. It is situated on the east bank of the Shapur\nRiver, which is supposed to have been the Ulai (pronounced u\u00b4-la-i) of\nthe book of Daniel, Dan. 8:1, 2, 27.\n\n=15. It was in the palace in Susa= that Nehemiah held the office of\ncup-bearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, B. C. 446, thirty-two years\nafter Esther was crowned, B. C. 478.\n\n=16. It is shown by this history= that the Jews, fifty-eight years\nafter their freedom was granted them, B. C. 536 to B. C. 478, had\nalready spread over the provinces of Persia. The extent of these\nprovinces was such, according to Rawlinson, that Persia deserved\nthe title of a mighty empire,[114] having in the middle of the sixth\ncentury before the Christian era \u201cestablished itself on the ruins of\nthe Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms.\u201d\n\nThe monotheistic nature of the religion of the Persians, and the fact\nthat it allowed no idolatry nor any representation of the Supreme Being\nunder any material form,[115] rendered the Jewish settlement far less\nobjectionable in Persia than in any other land, and it is, therefore,\nnot improbable that the Jewish population was greater in the Persian\nEmpire alone than it was at the same period in Palestine after the\nreturn from Babylon.\n\nThe population of Susa in the time of Xerxes is supposed to have been\nabout \u201ca half a million.\u201d[116]\n\n=17. As the recently discovered monuments= have, in several instances,\nenabled us to correct the errors of the Greek writers of this age, we\nhave given a complete view of the Persian successions from Cyrus to\nAlexander the Great.[117]\n\n=Cyrus, B. C. 538.= Captured Babylon. The Persian army entered\nBabylonia from the south. June 16 the Persian general Gobryas marched\nin. In October Cyrus himself entered his new capital.\n\n=B. C. 536.= THE PROCLAMATION to the Jews, ending captivity.\n\n=B. C. 529.= DEATH OF CYRUS.\n\n=Cambyses, B. C. 529.= Invaded and conquered Egypt; entered\nEthiopia\u2015\u2015Oasis of Ammon; committed suicide after eight years\u2019 reign\nalone, two years having been with Cyrus. GOMATES, a Magian, usurped the\nthrone for less than a year, from six to eight months.\n\n=Darius I., B. C. 521.= Son of Hystaspes. Slew Gomates. ZOROASTRIANISM\ndeclared the religion of the empire. SUSA revolted and BABYLON also;\nthe former soon subdued, but Babylon required two years, the Persians\nentering during a festival by marching along the dry channel of the\nEuphrates. Herodotus errs in attributing this work to Cyrus. The\ncity was taken B. C. 519, in June. Eight consecutive revolts. Darius\nconquered all and centralized the empire in himself. He conquered the\nPunjab (India). The Thracian coast and Macedonia became tributary.\nDarius died in the 63d year of his age, 36th of his reign, B. C. 486.\n\n=Xerxes, B. C. 486.= Attempted to continue the war with Athens. Lost\nhis army, lost the \u00c6gean isles, the Greek colonies of Asia Minor,\nthe coast of Thrace, and the command of the Hellespont. Before this\ncampaign he burned the temple of Belus in Babylon. He was murdered\nB. C. 466. He invaded Egypt B. C. 484. It was during this reign that\nEsther became queen.\n\n=Artaxerxes I., B. C. 466.= Longimanus, so called from his long hands.\nSucceeded after crushing the Bactrians under Hystaspes and murdering\nanother brother. B. C. 455 put down a revolt in Egypt. B. C. 449 treaty\nof peace between Athens and Persia in which the Greek colonies in Asia\nMinor were relinquished. A satrap of Syria extorted terms of peace. It\nwas during this reign that Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the king at Susa,\ncalled Shushan.\n\n=Xerxes II., B. C. 425.= Assassinated, after forty-five days\u2019 reign, by\nhis illegitimate brother Sogdianus, and he in turn by Ochus after six\nmonths. He took the name of Darius.\n\n=Darius II., B. C. 424.= Called Nothus. His reign a series of\nrevolts for nineteen years. He lost Egypt, but by the destruction of\nthe Athenian power regained the Greek colonies of Asia Minor.\n\n=Artaxerxes II., B. C. 405.= Called Mnemon from his great memory.\nHis younger brother, who was satrap in Asia Minor, revolted and with\n113,000 soldiers, 13,000 of whom were Greeks under Xenophon, fought\nfor the Persian throne, but lost his life at Cunaxa, and the retreat\nof the Greeks under Xenophon became one of the great feats of history.\nSparta\u2019s forces, however, made themselves masters of Western Asia\nB. C. 399\u2012395, but it was restored through Persian gold and dissension\nat home. Died B. C. 359.\n\n=Ochus, B. C. 359.= He destroyed all the other princes of the royal\nfamily. He failed at first to recover Egypt and lost Ph\u0153nicia and\nCyprus, but his general Bagoas reconquered Egypt and destroyed Sidon,\nand for six years there was peace until B. C. 338, when Ochus was\npoisoned.\n\n=Arses, B. C. 338.= Was raised to the throne by Bagoas after murdering\nall his brothers. Two years after, Arses and his children were murdered\nand Bagoas placed the crown on the head of Codomannus, who took the\nname of Darius III.\n\n=Darius III., B. C. 336.= Called Codomannus. B. C. 334 his army\nwas defeated by Alexander the Great at the plain of Issus, near the\nnortheast corner of the Mediterranean.\n\n=Alexander.= Alexander then passed on to Tyre and besieged and\ncaptured it. After this he visited Jerusalem during the high-priesthood\nof Jaddua and did honor to the city and Temple.[118]\n\n=Alexandria built B. C. 332.= He then captured Gaza and entered\nEgypt and the Oasis of Ammon. He returned to Babylonia, and B. C. 331\nat Gaugamela, ten miles east of Nineveh, defeated Darius, who fled and\nwas murdered. The Persian Empire fell now to Alexander.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE CANONICAL BOOKS. SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH.\n\n\n=1. The word \u201cCanon\u201d= is a Greek word and means a \u201cmeasure,\u201d or\n\u201crule.\u201d It was first used in the fourth century of the Christian era to\ndesignate the authorized books of the Bible.\n\nBut the question arises, By whom were these books determined? The\nhistory is as follows.\n\n=2. During the captivity of Judah= a spirit of reverence for the Law\narose, and after they came back to Palestine it was cherished to an\nextent never before known.\n\n=3. At no time= in the history of the Jews had a period existed when a\ntrue Canon of the Old Testament writings could better have been formed.\nThe large number of learned and devout men who were found by Ezra\ncompetent to explain the Scriptures, as recorded by Nehemiah, chapters\neight and nine, proves that the study of the Law had not been neglected\nduring the captivity; and, as we know, several of the prophets uttered\ntheir prophecies to the nation not long before, as well as soon after,\nthe return.\n\n=4. The tradition seems= to be well sustained that this was the era\nwhen more careful attention was paid to the \u201ccollecting, authenticating,\nand defining the canonical books of the Old Testament and in\nmultiplying copies of them, by careful transcription,\u201d[119] than ever\nbefore or since.\n\n=5. The traditions of the various sects had= not yet distracted\nattention from that which was more trustworthy in Jewish history and\nin the clearer and more certain deliverances of their ancient seers and\nprophets.\n\n=6. We must now remember= that all the books, except the Mosaic books\nof the Pentateuch, were in separate manuscripts. Those which Ezra\nhad were either copies of those which had escaped the destruction of\nJerusalem, or they were the original manuscripts themselves.\n\n=7. That some manuscripts did escape= that destruction is evident from\nthe words of Daniel (9:2), by which we see that he, while in Babylon,\nwas in possession of the writings of Jeremiah and of other books \u201cand\nof the Law of Moses the servant of God,\u201d verses 11, 13, seventeen years\nbefore the close of the captivity, namely B. C. 553.\n\nBut even without any definite statement as to the actual existence\nof the manuscripts of the Old Testament books, it is incredible that\nwith all their devotion to the Law there should have been no copies in\nthe possession of any one. When we remember their intense regard for\ntheir ancient history and for the songs of Zion; and when we consider\nthe reverential learning and ability of such men as Ezra, Nehemiah,\nZechariah, Haggai, Malachi and others, it is not reasonable to suppose\nthat there should have been no copies of the sacred books extant at the\ntime of the return.\n\n=8. Ezra was not only skilled= in the Hebrew, but also in the Chaldee,\ncalled Aramaic. He was thoroughly acquainted with the literature of the\nJewish nation and deeply imbued with the spirit of his office as priest\nand scribe. And Ezra was not alone in this respect.\n\n=9. It was in his time=, as the Jewish writings tell us, that able and\ndevout men among the Jews, called elders, were assembled under Ezra\u2019s\ndirection with the purpose of forming a body sometimes called the Great\nCouncil or Synagogue.\n\nThese elders, with Ezra and probably Nehemiah, the prophets Haggai,\nZechariah, and years afterward Malachi, continued to meet through many\nyears, some of the most learned and devout taking the places of those\nwho died, until the death of one \u201cSimon the Just,\u201d about B. C. 300,[120]\nwhen this council was apparently resolved into that court of the Jews\ncalled the \u201cSanhedrin.\u201d Jewish tradition asserts that the entire number\nof the Great Synagogue was one hundred and twenty, during about as many\nyears.\n\n=10. This body of \u201cThe Great Synagogue\u201d= determined the number of the\nbooks.\n\nA letter to some of the Jews in Egypt after the Temple was built states\nthat Nehemiah had already collected \u201ca library\u201d in the Temple.\n\nIn this account it is said that Nehemiah, while founding a library,\ngathered together the writings concerning the kings and prophets, and\nthe writings of David, and letters of kings about offerings.[121] But\nthe chief object was to collect those writings which were not only\nancient and were copies of the ancient history, but those which had to\ndo with the relations of God to the people and their duties towards God.\n\n=11. From many allusions= to these times it is evident that there\nnever was a period when the people were so willing, and even earnestly\ndesirous, to learn and obey whatever was duty.[122]\n\nWhat was now wanted by the whole Jewish people was such a collection\nfrom all their literature that it should be well authenticated and\ntrustworthy as history, and at the same time authoritative as a guide\nand as a rule of faith and practice.\n\n=12. From what we have now said=, it is evident that no one was more\ncompetent for the work of gathering these records than were Ezra and\nhis associates, and the Jewish records assert that he, with Nehemiah\nand others, performed this work of gathering and selecting, and thus\nforming that collection of the ancient writings which not only he,\nbut those of this the most learned and devout age, considered to be\ntruthful, and, as Josephus says, \u201cdirections of God,\u201d or as Eusebius\nquoted him, \u201cjustly considered divine.\u201d\n\n=13. When these writings were gathered= and pronounced to be the books\nwhich, Josephus says, were those \u201ccomprising a record of all time and\njustly confided in,\u201d as he declares, \u201cno one ever after ventured to add\nanything to them, nor take away from them, nor alter them.\u201d[123] The\nOld Testament was now formed and settled and the Canonical period was\nclosed.\n\n\n THE INSTITUTION OF THE SYNAGOGUE.\n\n=14. The meaning of the word synagogue= is simply \u201ca gathering\ntogether,\u201d but the name became, in after years, a term for the place\nand building where the Jews gathered for worship, and this meaning\ncontinues to the present day.\n\n=15. After the exile began=, the Jews, having no temple in Babylonia,\nmay have had meeting-places, but the synagogue, as it existed in the\ntime of our Saviour and since, does not appear to have been instituted\ntill long after the return from the captivity.\n\n=16. Immediately after the captivity= the synagogue became fully\norganized as a place where the Jews gathered to read the law, and have\nit read and explained in the language of the people; for during the\ncaptivity the ancient pure Hebrew was to a great extent forgotten among\nthe common people, and the Chald\u00e6an language, which was that of their\nconquerors, was adopted. This language was unlike the ancient Hebrew,\nand was called the Aram\u00e6an or Aramaic, and after the captivity, at the\nsynagogues, there were always present some who were able to read and\nexplain the books of the law in both dialects,[124] Neh. 8:8. Although\nthe institution of the synagogue, simply as such a gathering as we have\njust mentioned, took place before the second Temple was finished, it\nwas continued ever afterward.\n\n=17. The distinctive purpose of the Temple= was for the offering of\nthe sacrifices, and that of the synagogues was for prayer and hearing\nthe Scriptures. In later times, just before and after the Christian era,\nit became in addition a place for the meeting of Jewish courts, and not\nonly was sentence pronounced in these courts, but punishment followed\nupon sentence immediately. Hence we read that scourging might, at some\ntime, be inflicted there. See Matt. 10:17; Mark 13:9, and elsewhere.\n\n\n WHO WERE THE SAMARITANS?\n\n=18. When the ten tribes were carried= away captive by Sargon, B. C.\n721, other nations were transferred from the region to which these\ncaptives were taken, according to the custom which we have mentioned\n(pages 160 and 161). A large number of other captives from other lands\nwere imported to Samaria, the former capital and region of the ten\ntribes. Many of these imported heathen captives joined with the remnant\nof the Israelites still remaining after the captivity, and made up a\nmixed worship of Jehovah as taught by one of the priests, 2 Kings 17:34.\nThis priest, at their request, the king of Assyria returned to them,\nto teach them the Jewish way of worship, 2 Kings 17:27. This state of\nthings continued in Samaria until after the return of Judah from the\ncaptivity.\n\nWhen the Jews undertook to rebuild the Temple under Zerubbabel, these\nSamaritans made application to join them in that work and were refused.\nThe refusal aroused their enmity and active opposition, which was\ngreatly increased in after times, as we shall see.\n\n\n SHECHEM AND SAMARIA.\n\n=19. Shechem was thirty miles north= from Jerusalem and five miles\nsoutheast from the city of Samaria. The _district_ of Samaria must be\ndistinguished from the _city_ of Samaria; the latter having been the\nresidence of the kings of Israel, or of the northern kingdom, for many\nyears. At the time of Alexander the Great the Samaritans were expelled\nfrom this city because of a mutiny against one of his appointed\ngovernors of Syria; but a remnant was permitted to occupy Shechem,[125]\nwhere they have dwindled down to the present day.\n\n\n THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH.\n\n=20. One very ancient copy= of the Pentateuch, or first five books,\ncalled the Law of Moses, remains among this remnant of the Samaritans,\nat Shechem in Palestine. It is written in the ancient Hebrew letters\nused before the captivity, and this particular copy is the oldest in\nthe world, so far as is at present known.\n\nIt is written in the pure old Hebrew language, but contains only the\nfirst five books of the Old Testament in one single roll. It is called\nthe Samaritan, only because it is owned by the Samaritans and has\nbeen in their possession from a period several centuries before the\nChristian era down to the present time.[126]\n\n=21. It has been proven= that during and after the captivity all the\nwritings of the Scriptures, and especially the books of Moses, were\ntranscribed only into the square forms of Hebrew letters which are now\nused in all our Hebrew Bibles.[127] It seems highly probable therefore\nthat this Samaritan manuscript has been in existence ever since the\ntime when, at the request of the Samaritans, the Assyrian king sent\nback a priest (page 190) to teach them, and \u201che taught them the fear\nof the Lord,\u201d 2 Kings 17:28, B. C. 720.\n\n=22. But it is proper here to state= that this manuscript is thought,\nby some, to owe its origin to the time when Nehemiah expelled from\nJerusalem the grandson of the high-priest, Manasseh by name, because\nhe had married the daughter of Sanballat, their Samaritan enemy.\nThis expulsion of Manasseh took place B. C. 434 (according to Ussher).\nAfter this Sanballat built a Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim and made\nManasseh high-priest.[128] The enmity already existing between the Jews\nand the Samaritans was made more bitter by this act, and it continued\never after.\n\n=23. But although the Samaritans= at some time must have obtained their\ncopy of the Law of Moses from the Jews, as the latter say, yet it is\nnot probable that this copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch was obtained\nfrom them after this enmity sprang up, and, moreover, because it is\nwritten in those letters in which Ezra did not write the law after\nthe captivity. If it was written before, then there is at least one\nmanuscript copy which escaped the misfortunes of the captivity and has\ncome down to the present day.\n\n=24. This manuscript has been mentioned= by several of the early\nfathers of the third century and has been copied several times during\nthe past three centuries. With the exception of some dates, the\nvariations from the present Hebrew copies are unimportant.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n WHAT WAS SCRIPTURE? THE SEPTUAGINT.\n\n\n=1. The first five books=, called the books of Moses, seem always to\nhave existed in one roll, and these constituted \u201cThe Law,\u201d and were\nthe only Scriptures read in the synagogues until the time of Antiochus\nEpiphanes, B. C. 168,[129] who bitterly persecuted the Jews and\nforbade the use of the Law in the synagogues. During the time of this\nprohibition, only the Prophets were read, in the place of the Law, but\nwhen the persecution ceased the Jews began the reading of the Law again,\nbut continued the reading of the prophets.[130]\n\n=2. In order that the Pentateuch= should be read through in one\nyear, the entire work was divided into fifty-four sections,[131] so as\nto supply a portion for each Sabbath.[132] These divisions were made\nlong before the time of the persecution just referred to; indeed the\nearliest Hebrew writers think they existed almost so far back as the\ntime of Moses.[133]\n\n=3. In the time of Ezra= the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles,\nEsther, Malachi, and possibly Daniel, were not included in the\nCanonical books of that time, simply because they were either not\ncompleted or too recently completed. Scripture, or the Bible as we\nwould call it, consisted only of the five books, Genesis, Exodus,\nLeviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, in one roll. The Psalms of David\nwere sung in the Temple worship, but no other books appear to have been\nused in public worship until the time we have already stated, B. C. 168.\nBut the Jewish writers included in the word \u201cprophets\u201d some of the\nhistorical books.[134]\n\nEzra is considered by both ancient Jews and by modern scholars to be\nthe author both of the Chronicles and of Ezra.[135] Nehemiah was the\nauthor of the book bearing his name, and this is the last _historical_\nbook of Scripture, as Malachi is the last _prophetic_ book. The book\nof Nehemiah contains the history of the Jews from a period beginning\n12 years after the close of the book of Ezra, B. C. 456, to about 110\nyears after the Captivity, or B. C. 426, with the exception we shall\nhereafter state, p. 219. Esther became queen of Xerxes B. C. 478.[136]\nThe inscription on the rocks at Behustan, 215 miles northeast of\nBabylon, has shown that this king was the Ahasuerus of the book of\nEsther, which was written some years after she became queen.\n\n=4. In regard to the size of those ancient books=, it should be\nremembered that it was not always convenient to bind together in any\nway more than a very few of them in one volume. They were in rolls, as\nthe word \u201cvolume\u201d means, and when we know that one ancient roll of only\nthe Law of Moses, of average size, in manuscript, which is preserved\nin the Collegiate Library, Manchester, England, is 160 feet long and\n20 inches wide, we may readily see that very few could be handled at\na time.\n\n\n THE ORDER OF THE BOOKS.\n\n=5. The books of the Old Testament= were named in the order of their\nimportance in Jewish estimation, and not as we would name them to-day\nin the order of their position in the single volume of our Bibles.\nThe books of the Law always took precedence in the order, then the\nProphets, and after them the Psalms, as three general divisions, and\nthis statement included all, Luke 24:44. That some of the books were\nkept in separate rolls to a very late period is evident even in the\ntime of Christ, for when he appeared in the synagogue at Nazareth only\nthe roll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and from this he\nread, Luke 4:17.\n\n=6. But in the enumeration= of the books individually, except in\nthe case of the five \u201cbooks of the Law,\u201d which, as we have said, have\nnever been known otherwise than in one volume, it is evident that some\nvariations of the exact order have occurred. These variations had their\norigin in the Septuagint[137] translation, wherein the translators not\nonly changed the Hebrew order, but the Hebrew names of some, and even\ndivided some of the books, making two or more out of one.\n\n=7. As an illustration of the changes in names= of the books, the\ntranslators gave the Greek names: GENESIS, \u201cthe beginning;\u201d EXODUS,\n\u201cthe going out;\u201d LEVITICUS, \u201cconcerning Levitical law;\u201d NUMBERS (of\nLatin derivation), because the book contains the census of the tribes\nor numbers;[138] DEUTERONOMY, the Greek for \u201cthe repeated law,\u201d because\nof the repetition of the law.\n\n=8. The Jews used the initial Hebrew words= of each book in the\nPentateuch for its name; but this does not occur afterwards. The books\nof Samuel were one with the older Jews, and so were the books of Kings;\nbut the Greek translators made them the first and second books of the\n\u201ckingdoms,\u201d and the books of Kings came in course as the third and\nfourth books, and this is the reason for the additions to the titles in\nour English Bibles, \u201cotherwise called the first book, the second book,\netc., of Kings.\u201d\n\n\n END OF THE CANONICAL PERIOD.\n\n=9. By this term= is meant the end of that time whose history is\nincluded in the latest of the Old Testament books. Some of these books\ncontain histories which extend to a period nearer the Christian era\nthan do the histories of others, as in the case of the books of the\nChronicles, of Esther, of Ezra, and Nehemiah.\n\n=10. The books of the Old Testament=, which are thirty-nine in\nnumber, present the records of events which transpired during the\ncourse of more than 3,500 years, or from the creation of Adam to\nthe third century before the Christian era. But we must keep in mind\nthe distinction between the time when events occurred and the time\nwhen such events were first recorded. There yet remains another date,\nnamely that of the period when the collator or collators of all these\nmanuscripts produced his or their own work of collecting and arranging\nthem into one history or one volume. Let us suppose a case.\n\n=11. A historian undertakes to write= a true history of the\ntimes of the Norman conquest. In gathering the materials for this\nhistory he visits the libraries and collections and finds an old\nmanuscript-history of events written by some one who was on the\nfield at the battle of Hastings, and another written by one who lived\nin the times soon after and had heard from living witnesses of the\nexploits of the warrior Hereward in his contests with the Normans. In\nanother manuscript he finds a collection of the ballads of those times\ncommemorating the acts of some brave knight and some reminiscences of\nthat age as communicated by tradition to immediate descendants. With\nthese and other materials he compiles the history desired.\n\n=12. Such a history= of the Norman conquest of England would be\ncredible, first, if the editor or compiler in his researches truthfully\nfound and wisely used such manuscripts as we have described; and\nsecond, if the manuscripts and his other authorities were in themselves\ntrustworthy. But how is this to be tested? We read the new book when\nfinished, and in order to learn something satisfactory upon these two\npoints we now start out upon our examinations. Our question is, Was\nthere ever such an event as the battle of Hastings? How shall we get\ntestimony?\n\n=13. The geography= of the country, =local remains=, and other facts\nmay furnish us with evidence for or against. In one chapter of the book\nit is stated that there was an old castle in which William lodged the\nnight before the battle, and that there is from it no view north, but a\nfair view towards the south.\n\nWe visit Hastings and find the remains of an old castle, and we see\nhigh hills on the north and none on the south. Herein we see some\ncorroboration of the history. But now some one shows that there is no\nevidence that any battle ever was fought at Hastings, and the oldest\nmanuscripts sustain the objection, and show that the battle of the\nconquest was fought at a place called Senlac.\n\nThis now throws a doubt upon the whole history. There is contradiction,\nperhaps error. We go back to the study of the manuscripts and we find\nthat a more recent collator of the history of the conquest, writing\nwith a view to readers of his own times, introduced the new name,\n\u201cHastings,\u201d as better understood than another name, Senlac, and all\nsubsequent copyists followed his manuscript.\n\nBut the early name, \u201cSenlac,\u201d is found nowhere, while it still remains\ntrue that no battle was fought at Hastings. Additional doubt shadows\nthe whole history. But now in a monastery an old manuscript is found,\nwritten centuries ago, describing some of the old abbeys, among which\none is mentioned named \u201cBattle Abbey,\u201d followed by a short explanation,\nstating that it is located at the village called \u201cBattle,\u201d quite\nnear Hastings. The last part is an interpolation in the manuscript,\nand evidently written many years after the writing of the original\nmanuscript, and both authors are unknown.\n\nWe now visit the village of Battle, near Hastings, and find\nlocal traditions handed down in connection with an old abbey still\nremaining and built upon the spot where Harold fell. Arrow-heads and\nfragments of battle-axes are found and are shown to us; the former\nare found scattered over the hills only on one side. This corroborates\nanother statement, that the Normans used bows and arrows, while the\nAnglo-Saxons used only battle-axes.\n\nAll these discoveries strengthen the links in the chain of evidences\nbetween facts and their history, until all doubts are cleared away and\neven the \u201cvalidity of doubt itself is doubtful.\u201d\n\n=14. Just such a course= of research, of discovery, and of success in\nfinal vindication has attended almost every historical announcement in\nScripture.\n\n=15. At the close= of the Canonical period, whatever books made up\nthe Canon were so rigidly guarded ever afterwards in every way, by\nmemorizing, by commentary and paraphrase, by increasing the copies in\nmanuscripts, and by numbering letters and words, that it is impossible\nthat any material difference exists between them and the books which\nmake up the Old Testament of the present day. These books have not\nbeen changed in any important respect during the 2,200 years which have\ntranspired since the close of the Canon.\n\n=16. But now the chief discussion is= upon the question, Did the books,\nat the close of the Canonical period, fairly represent those books\nwhich the original authors wrote before the Canon was closed? In other\nwords, have we a true copy of the books of Moses and true copies of\nthose who wrote after him? The second question is, Were those ancient\nbooks trustworthy\u2015\u2015were they truly historical? Did Ezra and the others\nwisely and truly use the old manuscripts, and were those manuscripts\ntrustworthy?\n\n=17. Now it will be perceived= that we occupy the position of those\nwho undertook to corroborate the history of the battle of Hastings. We\nshall proceed somewhat as we did then.\n\nFrom the repeated and varied discoveries in Egypt, Assyria, and\nPalestine we have a repetition of the names of kings and of cities\nnever known before the present century except as they were mentioned\nin Scripture. They have been recently found recorded upon the monuments\nwhich had been buried centuries before the captivity, and brought to\nlight only in the present century. Inscriptions have been discovered\nwhich repeated historical statements of early Scripture books, some\nof which statements had either been omitted entirely by every Greek\nhistorian or had been contradicted by them, but which, when the\nhieroglyphic and cuneiform languages could be read, were proved to\nbe accurate statements\u2015\u2015thus giving testimony to the fact that the\nScripture accounts were more ancient and more accurate than any of\nthe Greek or other histories.\n\n=18. Again: peculiar terms of art= occur in the Scriptures, with\nofficial titles, trade names, allusions to customs, and forms of\nexpression, the origins of which have been found only among the nations\nwhere, or about which, these particular books of Scripture purport\nto have been written; and they could be recognized only after the\nhieroglyphic histories of these ancient nations could be read.\n\nThe inferences from all these parallelisms are apparent: these\nScripture books are truly historical, they contain the records of facts\nand are trustworthy.\n\nAt what time all these histories were committed to writing, or who\nwere the writers, we are not in all cases able to show; but inability\nin this respect does not disprove the fact of authenticity.\n\n\n VARIATIONS IN THE BOOKS.\n\n=19. When we consider the ages= through which many of the books of the\nBible have passed, and the singular conditions upon which they have\nthus passed through those ages, we may readily appreciate the claim of\na supernatural preservation.\n\nThere are writings, more ancient than those of the Mosaic manuscripts,\nwhich have come down to us from long before the time of Moses; such are\nthe so-called \u201cBooks of the Dead,\u201d found in the tombs of Egypt;[139]\nbut these writings, as soon as they were finished, were immediately\nlocked up amid the spices, the darkness and protection of the tomb,\ntill recently brought out, while the contents of the books of the\nMosaic Law, and other manuscripts of Scripture, have come percolating\ndown through the ages, doing battle all that time with thousands of\nscribes, and indeed with any transcriber who felt inclined to copy\na book; and that work of transcribing has continued from the period\nwhen the Mosaic manuscripts were completed down to the period of the\nreturn from the captivity, or of the close of the Canon\u2015\u2015that is over\na thousand years\u2015\u2015and from that period to the present.\n\nExcepting variations in some numerical figures and in a few names,\nwhich may be accounted for, and in some cases corrected, all the rest\nof the variations are of so small importance that the Bible, as we\npossess it, may well be considered a literary monument, standing alone\nand unexampled amid the literature of all time. And this not only\nfor its singular preservation, but for that evident unity of purpose,\npersistent through all its variety of subjects and authors, until the\ntime when the last prophetic utterance closed the Canon.\n\nThen there stood out in luminous form a finished work, whose pages\nexhibit the proof of a systematic plan, designed from the very\nbeginning to fill out progressively its mysterious pages, until the\nlast letter was complete, in order that a world might see, in one\nvolume, the object of creation, the necessity of law, the illustrations\nof judgment and of providence, and the redemption and coming salvation\nof the race.\n\n\n THE SEPTUAGINT, B. C. 286\u2012285. (?)\n\n=20. The conquest of the Persians= under Alexander introduced the Greek\nlanguage into Western Asia and other lands. This introduction prepared\nthe way for a very extensive circulation of the entire Old Testament\nwritings throughout the surrounding nations and even the world. For up\nto this time all the Old Testament was in the Hebrew language; but as\nsoon as the translation into the Greek was made, of which we shall now\nspeak, even those who could not speak Greek could easily find those who\ncould, because among the learned and unlearned there were many who knew\nGreek who did not understand the Hebrew.\n\nWhen, therefore, the death of Alexander was followed by the partition\nof his conquests among his generals, Egypt became, in B. C. 322,\ngoverned by the Ptolemies, the second of whom, Ptolemy Philadelphus,\nB. C. 286\u2012247, had the Law of Moses, that is the =first five books=,\ntranslated from the Hebrew into the Greek.\n\n=21. Under the first of the Ptolemies= (Soter) the Alexandrian Museum\nwas founded for the reception of learned men, as well as of literary\ntreasures, and Alexandria soon superseded Athens as the chief nursery\nof Greek literature. Under his successor and son, Ptolemy Philadelphus,\nthe library of the Museum contained 90,000 volumes of distinct works,\nbut 400,000 with the duplicates.\n\nBeginning with some period in the reign of the first Ptolemy (Soter),\nthe Jews were attracted to Alexandria in large numbers as settlers, to\nwhom this Ptolemy assigned a suburb on the coast towards the east. The\ncity became the resort of some of the wisest and ablest men of the age,\nincluding such men as Apelles the painter, Euclid the mathematician,\nand many others, artists and scholars.\n\n=22. But under Ptolemy II., Philadelphus=, B. C. 283, the Museum\nbecame most prosperous, and among its members were numbered grammarians,\nnatural philosophers, astronomers, physicians, poets, and Greek\nphilosophers of the schools.[140] It was under this state of things\nthat the translation above referred to was asked by the king and was\nundertaken, according to tradition, by seventy of the most learned Jews\nof that date, and hence called \u201cThe translation of the seventy,\u201d or the\nSeptuagint.\n\n=23. Although at first= only the Pentateuch was translated, the other\nbooks were, in after years, gradually added to this translation. The\nSeptuagint was used among the Jews not only of Alexandria, but of\nPalestine also, and during the times of our Saviour and the apostles\nwas more frequently quoted than was the original Hebrew.[141]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n THE ORIGIN OF THE TALMUD.\n\n\n=1. It will be remembered= that although under Cyrus the Jews were\npermitted full liberty to return to Palestine, not all the Jewish\nnation accepted the privilege. A very large number of the wealthiest,\nand indeed of the most learned classes, remained behind. They did much\nfor the support of the Temple and for other objects among those who\nhad returned to Palestine, but they themselves continued the synagogue\nservice in Babylonia and in Persia, as appears from various statements\nand allusions, not only in Jewish writings, but also in other history.\n\n=2. Among those Jews=, however, who had returned to Palestine there\narose very early a class of devout and earnest students of the Law\nand of the other books of Scripture. There began also a most diligent\ncollection of the traditions of the Jewish race and the opinions of the\nlearned. Meanwhile a very constant correspondence was cherished between\nthe colonists abroad and those in the Holy Land, and both at home and\nabroad there were those who were learned in the Law and in the other\nbooks.\n\nThe whole object of study and correspondence among the learned was to\nexplain and illustrate the sacred literature in all its branches. The\ninformation thus gained laid the foundation of that which was soon to\nbe called the Talmud, a name literally meaning Doctrine or Instruction.\n\n=3. But before we treat further= on this remarkable work it is well\nto consider certain conditions which added much to the formation of the\nTalmud.\n\nAlthough the Jews reformed forever from all tendency to idolatry, they\nnevertheless differed among themselves on many details of both faith\nand practice, and hence there grew up an exceedingly critical study of\nthe literature and teachings of the book.\n\n\n THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS.\n\n=4. Between the close= of the Canonical period and the Christian era\nthere arose many intellectual and studious ones, who ranged themselves\nunder three general and widespread schools.\n\n(1) =The Traditionalists=, called by the Jews the Masoretic School, or\nPharisees.\n\n(2) =The Philosophic school=, of whom were the Sadducees.\n\n(3) =The Kabalistic school.=\n\nThe first of these confined themselves strictly to Scripture and\ntradition. They derived their name from the Hebrew word _masar_, to\ndeliver, as from hand to hand.\n\nThe second entered the paths of speculation unknown to the fathers.\nThey were pleased with the Greek philosophy, due to their contact with\nthe schools of Alexandria. They strove to harmonize the principles\nof Judaism with the doctrines of Pythagoras, the philosophy of Plato,\nand the logic of Aristotle. Thus, as virtue was its own reward, they\ntaught that there can be no future reward, and therefore that there\nwas no future life and no resurrection; and this was the belief of the\nSadducees.\n\nThe third school, Kabalistic, believed in the mysteries, or secret\nmeaning of the words of the Law. They thought they could detect secret\ntruths in the words, and sometimes the letters of the words, which\nothers could not apprehend. They taught that the truths were to the\nwords of Scripture what the soul is to the body, and that we are\nmistaken if we see only the letter in the Scripture, and fail to ascend\nby the help of the letter to the ideas of the Infinite Mind.[142]\n\n=5. From the men of the Masoretic school=, who devoted themselves\nstrictly to the Law and Tradition, arose a series of academies, or\nscholastic institutions. Those were presided over by the most learned\nmembers of that body, which, as we have said, followed upon the Great\nSynagogue after the death of Simon the Just, and which was called the\nSanhedrin, or council.[143] This council, about this time, became the\nseat of supreme legislative power among the Jews, in both civil and\necclesiastical matters, but was subsequently divested of some of its\npowers by Gabinius, the Roman governor of Syria, B. C. 57.[144] It is\nreferred to in the New Testament (Matt. 5:22; 26:59; Acts 4:15; 5:27,\netc.).\n\n=6. But the Sanhedrin=, which was presided over by the high-priest,\nbecame the centre of learning and authority so far back as B. C. 200\nyears.\n\nThe priesthood was recognized as the legitimate ministers of the altar;\nbut the people, with whom the Mosaic Law was supreme, entering as it\ndid into all the details of their lives, regarded the expositors and\ninterpreters of that Law with the highest honor. With them \u201cthe voice\nof the rabbi\u201d became \u201cthe voice of God.\u201d[145]\n\n=7. For many years before the Christian era= the Sanhedrin was\nthe highest authority in matters of faith, and its utterances, or\nmore particularly those of the most learned of its members, both in\ntraditions and in opinions, became so numerous that from being only\norally delivered, they were committed to writing, and these writings\nand opinions upon the Law were the foundation of that voluminous work\ncalled the Talmud, with its divisions.\n\n\n FORM OF THE TALMUD.\n\n=8. The Talmud therefore= in the main was the growth of centuries,\nbeginning from about B. C. 220 to several centuries after Christ. It\nwas composed of the text of the Law, both the written law and that\nwhich was believed to be additional law, although only handed down from\nage to age, but never written. This was called the _oral law_. All this\ncomprised that part of the Talmud called \u201cthe repetition,\u201d or in the\nHebrew the MISHNA. Then came the \u201cCommentary\u201d upon every part, and this\nwas called the GAMARA.\n\n\n THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD.\n\n=9. As there had been a very large and learned class of Jews= in\nBabylon from the Captivity to the time of Christ, there was also a\ncorresponding number of very important schools in several cities on the\nEuphrates and east of it. These also gathered a Talmud, with its Mishna\nand Gamara; but this\u2015\u2015called the Babylonian Talmud\u2015\u2015was of later origin\nthan the Jerusalem Talmud.\n\n\n A WONDERFUL MEMORY.\n\n=10. The various traditions= which in all variety of expression,\nas unwritten laws, as commentaries and opinions, went to make up\nthe Talmud, with its Mishna and Gamara, had remained unwritten for\ngenerations because there was a rule given out by some of their learned\nmen and teachers that \u201cthings delivered by word of mouth must not be\nrecorded.\u201d But about A. D. 180 one of the most influential and wisest\nof their number, Rabbi Jehudah, decided that the time had come when\nthe Mishna must be committed to writing. Rabbi Jehudah, for whom the\ngreatest veneration existed, began with his fellow-laborers the heavy\ntask of reducing all these traditions and decisions of many generations\nto a written form, and this work was performed at Tiberias (on the\nlake of the same name, 70 miles north of Jerusalem), where a celebrated\nschool existed after Titus had destroyed Jerusalem.[146] It is a\nmemorable fact that for nearly four centuries the vast amount of\nliterature which composed the Talmud had been stored only in the memory\nof the learned members of the Jewish nation.\n\n=11. The vastness of this labor= of memorial possession may be\ncomprehended in some degree when we learn that of only one rabbi[147]\n300 magisterial sentences are recorded in the Talmud, and years before\nhis time Rabbi Hillel[148] reduced 600 or 700 sections, which had\nbeen known before only in a complicated mass, into orders, divisions,\nchapters, and verses, whereby they could be better memorized.\n\n=12. Although this cultivation of the memory= was carried on to a\nvery great extent among the Jews during one or two centuries before the\nChristian era, and to a degree unexcelled by any other nation, there\nare evidences that long before the Captivity the cultivation of the\nmemory was largely encouraged.\n\n=13. Manuscripts were rare and costly=, and therefore methods were\nadopted, as in the composition of several of the Psalms, of Proverbs,\nand Lamentations, which were aids to memorizing. One method was by\nbeginning consecutive verses or sections with consecutive letters\nof the alphabet. Psalm 119 is composed of 176 verses, divided into\na number of sections, the whole number of sections equal to the\nletters in the Hebrew alphabet (22), and all the eight verses of each\nsection begin with the same letter. In Proverbs 31:10\u201231, the initial\nletters of all the verses follow the order of the Hebrew alphabet. The\nLamentations of Jeremiah are composed in five poems, each, excepting\nthe third, consisting of 22 sections or verses, a verse for each letter\nin the alphabet. The first four poems begin with the first letter of\nthe alphabet, and in each poem, which makes one chapter, the after\nsections continue in their initial letters to follow the order of the\nalphabet. In the third chapter however the stanzas are in sets of three\nof the Bible verses, and each verse in the set begins with the same\nletter of the alphabet, but all the sets are in the alphabetical order.\nSuch methods suggest the work of memorizing.\n\n=14.= Again, we may say that, in view of all these facts, it does not\nseem possible that \u201cthe Law\u201d could have been forgotten in the Captivity\namong all the learned and devout men, some of whom were prophets. It\nwould seem that even without the written copies of the Law, Ezra, if\nhe had so desired, could not have, as some suppose, introduced into the\nLaw an entirely new book of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, and yet no one\namid all the Jews have discovered the forgery.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n CONCLUDING REMARKS.\n\n\nWE add the following remarks in the nature of a general review and\ninference, which are more appropriate to this era of the Jewish history\nthan to any other.\n\n=1. There never was a time= when the Jewish people exhibited such\na humble and yet determined spirit of obedience to the Mosaic Law as\nwhen they returned from the Captivity. All the history of those times\nas derived from the Jewish writings, both sacred and secular, fully\nattests this spirit. All their hopes for the future, both political and\nreligious, were conditioned upon outward obedience to the requirements\nof the Law as explained by the teachings of their ancient prophets or\nillustrated and made more impressive in the Psalms or songs of Israel\nand pictured to them in the happier days of the Temple service. All\nthat appertained to the history of the past was precious. This fact,\nas we have shown, was illustrated in many ways.\n\n=2.= Moreover, from the Scripture history of Ezra and Nehemiah, it is\nplain that a large body of skilled men, ably instructed in the Law and\nacquainted with the sacred writings of the Jewish people, were among\nthe captives before the close of the Captivity. The Levites and priests\nwere in existence, and the prophets were among them, and they met in\nvarious places for worship and for the songs of Zion. The condition of\nthe Jews in Babylonia and elsewhere was favorable to the cultivation of\ntheir literature, and they were allowed many privileges.\n\nIt is plain from the letter of Artaxerxes, Ezra 7:11, and from\nother testimonies, that not only Ezra but many others studied the\nJewish writings long before the close of the Captivity. The Samaritan\nPentateuch in its letters may offer evidence on this point, for the\nnew letters in which the Law and the canonized books were written very\nprobably found their origin in the reverence in which the Jews held the\nsacred writings during the Captivity.\n\nThese new letters, as we have said, are called the \u201csquare form,\u201d but\nthey were called by the early Jews[149] \u201cthe Ashuri\u201d character, Ashuri\nmeaning, according to Maimonides, the sacred character, and they were\nprobably invented specially for sacred writings.\n\nThe old Samaritan letters were not sacred. They were used in various\nmodifications by the Canaanites; they were used by the Moabites, as\nwe see on the Moabite stone, discovered in 1868 at Dibon, east of the\nDead Sea; they were also used by the Ph\u0153nicians,[150] and have been\nfound upon Assyrian weights associated with the cuneiform, probably for\nthe convenience of the merchants and tradesmen,[151] upon the coins of\nJud\u00e6a, and upon one coin of Jehu, king of Israel.[152] It was therefore\na common character, and it was strictly in keeping with the Jewish\nsentiment of exclusiveness and separation of themselves from all the\nnations around that they should clothe their sacred writings in a\nletter peculiarly sacred. At any rate we have no other origin for this\nnew form of lettering, which was never known before the Captivity, and\nwhich was used after the Captivity exclusively for the sacred writings,\nas we learn from the Talmuds of both Jerusalem and Babylonia.[153]\n\n=3.= The various sects of Pharisees, with their oral tradition and\n\u201cunwritten law,\u201d and the Kabalists, with their fanciful and secret\ninterpretations, had not arisen at the time of Ezra. The Scriptures\nwere gathered and copied mainly for instruction; and, as we learn from\nEzra and Nehemiah, the people were as earnest as the teachers in their\ndesire that the Scriptures should be known and distinctly understood,\nand this object appears to have been sincerely pursued in the work\nprosecuted at that time. At this period the exclusive demand was for\nthose writings which should enlighten the people as to duty, both in\nregard to the divine law and providence, and for such writings as\nshould illustrate their history as under the Law and as seen in God\u2019s\ndealings with their fathers. That the influence of the Law and of the\nteachings of their prophets powerfully controlled their actions and\nlives is evident from the fact that they never again fell into idolatry.\nTheir truthfulness to their promises and their good faith as a people\nwere so apparent that these traits frequently led to their appointment\nto positions of trust and privilege among several of the surrounding\nnations.\n\n=4.= It was under these conditions of character and motive that the\nlearned scribes of these times made the first general collection of\nHebrew literature then existing. The names of several books[154] which\nwere extant either at the time of this gathering of the Canonical\nBooks or before, are mentioned in the Scriptures; but if they had been\nconsidered worthy of the Canon they would probably have been preserved\nby copy or repetition. All that was valuable or important to the\nhistories which were preserved in the Scriptures was extracted from\nthem and contained in the Canonical Books as we have them at present.\n\nJudging from certain statements in the genealogies and in the\nconcluding history, the book of Chronicles was the last that was\nwritten. The book of Nehemiah however has some additions, Neh. 12:10,\n11, 22, of genealogies which bring the high-priests down to the time\nof Alexander the Great, as Josephus (Vol. V., Book II., ch. 8) shows,\nwho states that Jaddua, whose name occurs in the book of Nehemiah, was\nhigh-priest and the last under the Persian rule, and must therefore\nhave lived in the time when Alexander the Great, after the battle\nof Issus, B. C. 334, visited Jerusalem, B. C. 332, during the\nhigh-priesthood of Jaddua.\n\nIt is narrated that this high-priest was succeeded by Onias, his son,\nand he by \u201cSimon the Just,\u201d who was called by the Jews the last of the\nmen of the Great Synagogue. It was during the priesthood of this Simon\nthat, according to the general opinion of both Jewish and Christian\nwriters, the final addition was made to the Canon of the Old Testament.\nSimon, who was not only high-priest, but a man of great learning and\nof most fervent piety and devotion to the Law, is said to have added\nthe books of Chronicles, of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and the prophecy of\nMalachi; after which, as Josephus writes, there was no further change,\nomission, or addition. The Old Testament Canon was closed then for ever.\n\n\n\n\n PERIOD VII.\n\n THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA.\n\n THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OUR SAVIOUR.\n\n THE PLANTING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY.\n\n\n=1.= No other people have had stronger motives for cherishing the\nmemories of their past than have had the Jews.\n\nOne of the most important sources of Jewish pride was found in their\n=genealogical records=. The history of the return from captivity and of\nthe renewed settlement in Palestine, as recorded in the books of Ezra\nand Nehemiah, shows how important these records were considered to be.\nBut the most important of all the records were those which traced any\nlineage up to David, and there is no reason to believe that a true line\nof descent was ever forgotten.\n\nNot only the genealogy of the male members, but also that of the female\nmembers of a family, were preserved, as we may learn from Scripture\naccounts and certainly from secular history. A supposed defect in the\ngenealogy of the mother of John Hyrcanus, a high-priest, B. C. 108, was\nthe cause of bloodshed in Jerusalem[155] because of the insult offered\nto the high-priest by the bare announcement of such a defect, although\nit was shown that the genealogical records certified her descent from a\nJewish tribe.\n\n=2. The Virgin Mary\u2019s genealogy= was as important as that of Joseph,\nher reputed husband, although her husband\u2019s genealogy might have been\nperfect, as in the instance given in the last paragraph. In the case of\nHyrcanus, his father\u2019s origin, according to the Jewish law, was without\ndefect; it was the mother\u2019s pedigree which was assailed.\n\nEspecially was it important to the priest\u2019s office that the mother of\nthe candidate for this office should be of unquestioned Jewish descent.\n\n=3. It is for this reason= that while the writer of the first Gospel\n(Matthew) opens his history of the Messiah with the answer to the\nimportant question, Whose son is he? the writer of the third Gospel\n(Luke) gives the lineage of his mother. So that, whether Christ\u2019s\npedigree be traced through the line of Joseph or of Mary, it is\nundeniable that he was descended from David and from Abraham.[156]\n\n\n NAZARETH AND BETHLEHEM.\n\n=4. These two places=, which are brought into prominence at this part\nof the history, were 68 miles apart, Bethlehem being not quite five\nmiles, a little west of south, from Jerusalem, and Nazareth 63 miles\nnorth of Jerusalem, if the distances be measured in a straight line.\n\n=5. Nazareth= is a village of about 5,000 inhabitants, situated in a\nplain surrounded almost entirely by hills. The place is not mentioned\nin the Old Testament, nor in Josephus, but twenty-nine times in the New\nTestament. The city itself rises in part upon the sides of a hill on\nits northwest side, but the little plain at the south end of the city\nis 1,144 feet above the sea level, and the top of the hill northwest of\nthe city 1,602 feet, or 458 feet higher.[157] The country slopes from\nNazareth southward to the northern limit of the plain of Esdraelon,\ntwo miles distant, where the level is about 300 feet above the sea.\nThe Mediterranean is twenty-one miles west from Nazareth, and the\nsouthernmost shore of the Sea of Galilee is seventeen miles due east\nof the city. The soil has always been fertile and the climate pleasant.\nIt has one fine spring which supplies the entire city, as it must have\ndone in the time of Christ.\n\n=6. Bethlehem= contains nearly the same population as Nazareth, but\nits surroundings are the reverse of those at Nazareth, Bethlehem being\nupon an elevation. A church, erected by Constantine, A. D. 330, still\nremains, which furnishes us with the style of architecture of the\nearliest Christian period.\n\nThis was the city of David and of his father Jesse, and hence always\nheld dear by his descendants, and to this town Joseph and Mary went\nfrom Nazareth to be enrolled in accordance with the decree issued by\nC\u00e6sar Augustus, as stated in Luke 2:1. The decree was only for the\nenrolment. The actual collecting of the taxes did not take place for\nsome years afterward, as is recorded in Josephus, when the rebellion\ntook place, which is alluded to in Acts 5:37, against the actual\nlevying of the taxes.[158]\n\n\n THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOUR.\n\n=7. During their stay at Bethlehem= Jesus was born. The crowd was\ngreat of the many who came to this small town to be registered by the\nofficers taking the census, and the accommodations for his parents were\npoor, for the record states \u201cthere was no room for them in the inn\u201d\nand she \u201claid him in a manger.\u201d It was here that he was visited by\n\n\n THE WISE MEN.\n\n=8. These men=, usually known as \u201cthe Magi,\u201d belonged to a class of\nastrologers whose office it was to study omens, or signs, as drawn\nfrom the planets. They were descendants of a class which was noted for\nlearning and influence in the flourishing ages of Babylon and Nineveh,\nbut neither of these cities was in existence at this time. As many of\nthe Magi had retired eastward to Persia after the fall of Babylon, it\nis probable that these came from the Persian dominion to Jerusalem,\nexpecting that there they should learn something of the new king.\n\n=9. The coming of the Messiah= had long been the hope of the captive\nJews, and as a large number of the people, some of influence and\nwealth, existed at this time in the Persian dominions, there can be\nbut little doubt that these \u201cwise men\u201d were roused to make the journey\nthey did, and to greet the advent of a king who, to them, after seeing\nthe celestial sign, was more than simply a \u201cKing of the Jews.\u201d\n\n=10. These men= had a reputation which was highly regarded in\nJerusalem, and to Herod they were not strangers of a common class.\nHence to him their inquiry carried great importance. His consultation\nwith the Sanhedrin, which was the most learned body in Jerusalem at\nthat time, soon showed that the Messiah, according to the prophets,\nwas to be born in Bethlehem, Micah. 5:2. To this place, guided by the\nsupernatural sign, they came, found the child, and offered their gifts.\n\n\n HEROD AND HIS SUCCESSOR.\n\n=11. The effort of Herod= to destroy Jesus in an indiscriminate\nslaughter of the children of Bethlehem of a certain age, failed of its\nintention. Joseph, having been warned in a dream, took the young child\nand his mother and fled into Egypt before the destruction took place.\n\n=12. Egypt at this time= was entirely under Roman control. Many Jews\ninhabited Alexandria and were in affluent circumstances; two of them\nhad been chief officers of the armies of Cleopatra. The two refugees,\nwith the child, in that land were safely beyond the power of Herod, and\nthere they remained until the death of Herod, which took place about a\nyear after their departure from Bethlehem.\n\n=13. Archelaus=, who succeeded Herod, was his son, but he inherited\nnone of the enterprise and mental ability, but only the atrocious\ncruelty of his father; and the complaints of the Jews occasioned his\ndeposition and the confiscation of his property. Joseph and Mary,\nfearing the consequences of coming within the power of Archelaus,\nafter the death of Herod returned to Nazareth in Galilee.\n\n\n THE EARLY CHILDHOOD OF JESUS.\n\n=14. One incident only= is recorded of Jesus from this time until\nhe arrived at manhood. This incident was his visit to the Temple at\nJerusalem, when only twelve years of age. His parents, with their\nfriends, had visited the city to attend the great feast of the Passover.\nThe celebration of that feast being over, they had started upon their\nreturn in company with crowds of those who were passing along the\nonly highway leading northward from the city. Jesus had stopped at the\nTemple and was conversing with the learned doctors, or teachers, of the\nLaw.\n\n=15. The peculiar significancy of this visit= at this time is stated\nin Mal. 3:1, and it was the first time that he had ever referred to the\ngreat object of his divine mission. This divine mission he announced\nto his mother when she, having sought for and found him in the Temple,\ngently reproved him for remaining behind.\n\nFrom this time to that when he entered upon his public ministry our\nSaviour remained at Nazareth, and as the Scriptural record informs us,\nhe was subject to his parents and \u201cincreased in wisdom and stature and\nin favor with God and man,\u201d Luke 2:51, 52.\n\n\n THE INTERIM.\n\n=16. Events now transpired= in the history of the Jews which are\nimportant to a full understanding of the future ministry of our Saviour.\n\nIt is evident, in accordance with the ancient prophecy by Jacob in\nhis dying hour,[159] that the \u201csceptre had departed from Judah,\u201d for\n\u201cShiloh\u201d had come. This Shiloh had been interpreted in all their chief\ncommentaries to mean the Messiah.[160] These commentaries were the\nTargums of which we have written, page 189, note. The expression in\nMal. 3:1, that \u201che shall suddenly come to his temple,\u201d appears to have\nbeen fulfilled when Jesus visited the Temple as spoken of already, that\nis, when at the age of twelve he suddenly appeared asking and answering\nquestions of the astonished doctors of the Law in whose midst he sat,\nLuke 2:47.\n\n\n THE CHRISTIAN ERA.\n\n=17. Before we proceed= it is necessary that we should know that not\neven at the present time are we fully assured as to the exact date of\nthe birth of Christ. It is generally supposed that Dionysius Exiguus,\nthe monk who introduced in A. D. 527 the custom of dating events\nfrom the birth of Christ, mistook the time of that event by exactly\nfour years. That is, the birth took place four years before the\ntime asserted in that chronology known as Anno Domini. But recent\ndiscoveries seem to prove that the true statement is that the error\nis one of five years, as Prof. Sattler of Munich asserts in an essay\npublished by him in 1883. This statement he bases upon the discovery\nof four copper coins which were struck under Herod Antipas, seeming to\nprove that Christ was born 749 years after the foundation of Rome, and\nnot, as usually accepted, 754.\n\nBut, with this explanation, we shall continue to use the common date,\nwhile we keep in memory that our era is at least four years in error,\nso that the actual birth of Christ took place four or five years before\nA. D. 1.\n\n\n THE HERODS.\n\n=18. The name Herod= will be found applied to no less than five\ndifferent rulers in New Testament times. Their dates of office enable\nus frequently to determine the dates of events referred to in the\nScriptures.\n\nThe following facts are all that are necessary to distinguish the\nHerods. Herod the Great had five wives, but the descendants of only\nfour are referred to in the New Testament, as follows:\n\nHerod the Great, Matt. 2:1. He was made king by Julius C\u00e6sar, B. C. 37,\nand died B. C. 4, that is, before the common era, but really in the\nfirst year of Christ.\n\nHe had two sons by Malthace, a Samaritan, namely, Herod Antipas and\nArchelaus. The latter succeeded him after some delay, but, although\ncalled king by the people, was only tetrarch, with the promise\nconditionally made that he should be king. He was deposed through\ncomplaint of his atrocious cruelty, and banished to Vienna, now called\nLyons, where he died.[161]\n\nThe names of the other members of this family of Herods may be seen in\nthe following table.\n\nHEROD married:\n\n MARIAMNE, granddaughter of Hyrcanus.\n \u2502\n \u2514\u2500 ARISTOBULUS\u2015\u2015Married his niece, Berenice, daughter of Salome,\n \u2502 Herod\u2019s sister. Slain by his father, B. C. 6.\n \u2502\n \u251c\u2500 HEROD\u2015\u2015king of Chalcis; died A. D. 48.\n \u2502\n \u251c\u2500 HEROD AGRIPPA I.\u2015\u2015Succeeded to tetrarchy of Herod\n \u2502 \u2502 Philip II. A. D. 37; and to Herod\n \u2502 \u2502 Antipas A. D. 40; Jud\u00e6a and Samaria\n \u2502 \u2502 added A. D. 41; married Cypros,\n \u2502 \u2502 granddaughter of Phasael, brother\n \u2502 \u2502 of Herod the Great; died A. D. 44.\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u251c\u2500 AGRIPPA II.\u2015\u2015king of Chalcis A. D. 48\u201253;\n \u2502 \u2502 succeeded to tetrarchy of\n \u2502 \u2502 Philip II., A. D. 53\u2012100; died\n \u2502 \u2502 A. D. 100\u2015\u2015the last prince of the\n \u2502 \u2502 line.\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u251c\u2500 BERNICE or BERENICE\u2015\u2015Married Herod king of\n \u2502 \u2502 Chalcis, her uncle. After his\n \u2502 \u2502 death she returned to her brother\n \u2502 \u2502 for a time. A woman of great lack\n \u2502 \u2502 of virtue.\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2514\u2500 DRUSILLA\u2015\u2015Married to Felix, after separation\n \u2502 \u2502 from Azizus king of Emesa.\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2514\u2500 AGRIPPA\u2015\u2015being her son by Felix. Died\n \u2502 A. D. 79.\n \u2502\n \u2514\u2500 HERODIAS:\u2015\u20151. Married Philip I.\n 2. Married Herod Antipas.\n\n MARIAMNE, daughter of Simon, high-priest.\n \u2502\n \u2514\u2500 PHILIP I.\u2015\u2015Married Herodias; lived in private.\n\n MALTHACE, a Samaritan.\n \u2502\n \u251c\u2500 HEROD ANTIPAS\u2015\u2015Tetrarch of Galilee, married daughter of\n \u2502 Aretas, then married Herodias. Deposed and\n \u2502 banished A. D. 40.\n \u2502\n \u2514\u2500 ARCHELAUS\u2015\u2015Deposed as we have said.\n\n CLEOPATRA, of Jerusalem.\n \u2502\n \u2514\u2500 HEROD PHILIP II.\u2015\u2015Tetrarch of Itur\u00e6a and Trachonitis, died\n A. D. 33\u201234. He married Salome, daughter\n of Herodias by Philip I.\n\n=19. The Herods= mentioned in the New Testament simply by the name\n\u201cHerod\u201d are three.\n\n(1) Herod the Great.\n\n(2) Herod Antipas, referred to in Matt. 14:1\u201212; Mark 6:14\u201229; Luke\n3:1, 19, 20; 8:3; 9:7\u20129; 23:7\u201212, 15; Acts 4:27; called \u201cthe king\u201d in\nMatt. 14:9; Mark 6:22, 25\u201227; and \u201cking Herod\u201d in Mark 6:14. He was son\nof Herod the Great, as was the Herod for whom Herodias left her husband.\nTherefore John the Baptist reproved him for taking for a wife Herodias,\nand she, because of her hatred of the Baptist for this reproof, moved\nher daughter Salome to ask, as her reward for pleasing Herod (Antipas)\nby her dancing, that he would present her with the head of John in a\nplatter.\n\n(3) Herod Agrippa I., Acts 12:1\u201223. The sickness referred to in this\npassage occurred A. D. 44. He was grandson of Herod the Great.\n\nOthers of this family of Herods are mentioned in Scripture, but not by\nthe name of Herod, as in the case of\n\n(4) Philip I., of Matt. 14:3; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:19. In the table he is\nmarked Philip I., but only to distinguish him from his brother of the\nsame name, Herod Philip. But Philip I. lived in private station and is\nonly mentioned as the husband of Herodias, as recorded in the passage\njust given.\n\n(5) Philip II., of Luke 3:1, is called \u201ctetrarch of Itur\u00e6a and of the\nregion of Trachonitis.\u201d It was after this Philip that C\u00e6sarea Philippi,\nat the foot of Mt. Hermon, received its name, to distinguish it from\nthe other C\u00e6sarea, on the coast south of Mt. Carmel, the latter being\ncalled C\u00e6sarea Palestina. He was also called Herod, but in Scripture\nonly Philip. He married Salome the daughter of Herodias, his niece, the\nyoung woman referred to in Matt. 14:6. He was a son of Herod the Great,\nas was Philip I.\n\n(6) Agrippa, of Acts 25 and 26, is also called king Agrippa in the New\nTestament, a title given him by Claudius, the Roman emperor, A. D. 52.\n\n=20. Of the females= of the Herodian family, four are mentioned in\nthe New Testament, Herodias, Salome, Bernice, and Drusilla. Salome\nis not named, but simply called \u201cthe daughter of Herodias.\u201d Herodias\nis mentioned in Matt. 14:3\u201211 and in Mark and Luke, where the same\nincident is recorded. Bernice (or Berenice) was niece of Herodias and\nmarried her uncle, Herod king of Chalcis, who died A. D. 48. She then\nlived with her brother Agrippa II. Drusilla was sister of Bernice and\nwas married to Azizus, king of Emessa in Syria, now Homs; but at the\npersuasion of Felix she left her husband and married Felix, who was\nprocurator of Jud\u00e6a, according to Josephus. He was succeeded by Porcius\nFestus about 61 or 62 A. D., having been accused of great cruelty after\nhis departure to Rome. The scene described in Acts 23 and 24 occurred\njust before his visit to Rome, and that in Acts 25 and 26 soon after.\nFelix had driven out the banditti and impostors from the country, and\nto this Tertullus alludes in his address as given in Acts 24:2.\n\n\n IDUM\u00c6A.\n\n=21. Before the Captivity= of the Jews to Babylon the name Idum\u00e6a\ndesignated the land east of the great valley Arabah which runs south\nof the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. Petra was its capital. But during the\nCaptivity the Idum\u00e6ans gradually extended their settlements to that\npart of Jud\u00e6a south of Jerusalem, including Hebron. After the return\nfrom Babylon, the Idum\u00e6ans became the enemies of the Jews until the\ntime of the Maccabees, when they were conquered and required either to\nleave the country or change their religion for that of the Jews. They\nchose the latter alternative under John Hyrcanus, about B. C. 130, and\nwere governed by Jewish prefects.\n\nWhen, therefore, Antipater the father of Herod the Great, and Herod\nhimself, are said to be \u201cIdum\u00e6ans,\u201d the allusion is to this district\nsouth of Jud\u00e6a, which was at that time called Idum\u00e6a. This is the Greek\nterm for Edom. The name is used, Isa. 34:5, 6, in the former sense,\nnamely, of the country east of the Arabah, before the Captivity; but\nin Ezek. 36:5 in the sense used after the Captivity, and in the latter\nsense also in Mark 3:8.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE PUBLIC MINISTRY OF OUR SAVIOUR.\n\n\n=1. As soon as Jesus arrived at the age= of about thirty he left\nNazareth, and probably passing down the valley of the Jordan, went on\nhis way to Bethabara, John 1:28.\n\n\n BETHABARA.\n\n=2. John, the forerunner of Jesus=, was baptizing at this place,\nthe site of which is not known, but from the meaning of the name,\n\u201cthe house of the ferry, or ford,\u201d it must have been on the banks of\nthe Jordan. Moreover as John was preaching in Jud\u00e6a, Matt. 3:1, and\napparently baptizing in the parts of Jordan near at hand, Bethabara\nmust have been not far off from the locality now identified with it,\nnamely, somewhere east of the present plain of Jericho, but from John\n3:26 it is plain that the place was \u201cbeyond,\u201d that is east of Jordan.\nThe name Beth-barah of Judg. 7:24 may refer to another place farther\nup the Jordan, as the word \u201cford\u201d may have been then, as it is now,\napplied to several places.\n\n\n THE WILDERNESS.\n\n=3. After the baptism of Jesus= by John the Baptist at Bethabara he was\nimmediately subjected to several very severe spiritual trials called\ntemptations of the devil, Matt. 4:1. These temptations were preceded by\na period of fasting which continued forty days, after which the attacks\nof the evil spirit took place as recorded in Matt. 4, Mark 1, and\nLuke 4, but omitted by John.\n\n=4. \u201cThe wilderness=\u201d was probably the uninhabited country west of the\nnorthern end of the Dead Sea, a region which seems never to have been\nsettled; and the immediate scene of the temptation is celebrated in\ntradition as that rough and hilly ridge west of the plain of Jericho\ncalled by the Latin Church Quarantania.\n\n\n DISCIPLES AND APOSTLES.\n\n=5. Soon after= his triumphant victory over the devil in the\ntemptations our Saviour gained some of his disciples and departed from\nthis region to Galilee.\n\nIt is plain from the first chapter of the Gospel according to John\nthat the Baptist was near the region of our Saviour\u2019s trial by the\ntemptations, and was left behind when Jesus and Andrew, Simon Peter and\nPhilip, the new disciples, left for Galilee. These were added to James\nand John afterward in Galilee, Luke 5:10; and to others, who though now\nbelievers, and called simply disciples, constituted afterward that band\nof twelve who are distinguished by the more important name of apostles,\nthat is, envoys, or messengers.\n\n=6. Of these=, Andrew was the first to follow Jesus. The others were\nSimon, called Peter, James and his brother John, Philip, Bartholomew,\nThomas, Matthew, called also Levi, Simon the Zealot, Lebb\u00e6us, surnamed\nThadd\u00e6us, called also Judas, or Jude, James, called \u201cthe less\u201d to\ndistinguish him from the other James, called \u201cthe greater,\u201d and Judas\nIscariot, who betrayed Him, and who, when he hung himself, was replaced\nby Matthias, Acts 1:15\u201226.\n\n\n THE GENERAL ORDER OF EVENTS. CANA.\n\n=7. After his baptism= in the Jordan and departure to Galilee, the\nfirst event which brought him before the great Jewish public took place\nat Cana of Galilee.\n\n\n CANA OF GALILEE, JOHN 2:11.\n\n=Some variance of opinion= seems to exist as regards the identification\nof this place. There are two places, each of which is pointed out as\nthe Cana of the Gospel. One is eight miles due north of Nazareth and\nthe other three and a half miles northeast of it. The one is on the\nnorth side of an extensive plain and is entirely in ruins, while the\nother is now an inhabited village. Early tradition seems to claim the\nformer, but the latter is now, and appears always to have been, on the\ndirect line to Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee from Nazareth, and it\nmay be due to this fact that many have supposed it to be the Cana of\nthe Gospel. But the names are not exactly alike, the former having\nbeen for many centuries called Kana of Galilee and the latter only\nKenna. The ruins show that the former was a much finer village than the\nlatter in every way, and had a Roman road on its south connecting the\nMediterranean with the Sea of Galilee. It is probable, therefore, that\nit was at this Cana that two of our Lord\u2019s miracles were performed as\nstated in John 2:11 and 4:46\u201254.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n FROM THE FIRST PASSOVER TO THE SECOND.\n\n\n=1. As is generally supposed=, the first miracle, at Cana, was\nperformed during the first year of our Lord\u2019s public ministry. His\nattendance upon the first Passover at Jerusalem brings us to consider\nthe state of the city at the time of his visit.\n\nAt the great event of =a Passover= the city would be crowded with\nvisitors, not only from Jud\u00e6a and the surrounding country, but from\ndistant lands. At this time the Jews were scattered over almost every\nprovince under Roman control, and even beyond the Roman Empire.\n\nJosephus informs us that for these occasions immense preparations\nwere made, not only to accommodate the people, but also that they might\nbring with them their flocks, and he estimates that at the Passover\ncelebrated in the time of Nero the number of lambs sacrificed was\n256,500.[162]\n\n=2. The presence of Jews= from so many countries would of necessity\nbring into the city not only purchasers, but tradesmen with various\nmoneys requiring an exchange or brokerage; and some of the Rabbinical\nwriters say that an immense traffic was carried on in cattle and other\nanimals for victims and for food, and much extortion was practised, a\ngreat part of the profits of which went to the priests.[163]\n\nIt was on this occasion of his first Passover that our Saviour drove\nout the sheep and oxen and upset the tables of the exchangers, as\nrecorded in John 2:15, using the material with which the animals were\nbound for a whip or scourge.\n\n=3.= From the very evident divine power which the Saviour exhibited\nat this Passover, a member of the Sanhedrin, =Nicodemus=, sought an\n=interview= with him at night, John 3, at which time Christ made the\nannouncement of his special mission to this world in those remarkable\nwords: \u201cAs Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must\nthe Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not\nperish, but have eternal life,\u201d John 3:14, 15.\n\n=4.= The =Passover being ended=, Jesus left Jerusalem, but seems to\nhave remained in Jud\u00e6a near the Jordan, perhaps on the plain at the\nnorth end of the Dead Sea. John was baptizing in the same region. It\nmust have been somewhere on these plains that Herod Antipas met the\nBaptist and received the reproof of which we have spoken before. This\nHerod[164] was the ruler of Galilee and Per\u00e6a, and was at first married\nto the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petr\u00e6a, but forsook her for\nHerodias, the wife of his half-brother (see preceding table). This\nbrought on a war with Aretas on the confines of his territory on the\nsouth, and it is probable that on his way to meet Aretas Herod received\nthe reproof from the Baptist and condemned the latter to imprisonment\nin his castle at Mach\u00e6rus.\n\n\n MACH\u00c6RUS AND PER\u00c6A.\n\n=5. This castle= was seven miles east of the Dead Sea, and the ruins\nremain at a place about 25 miles south of the north end of the sea. It\nis 3,800 feet above its level and 2,507 feet above the Mediterranean.\nJosephus says that John the Baptist was imprisoned here, and here he\nmust have been beheaded. The region of Per\u00e6a extended from this place\nto Pella, near the Jordan, about 60 miles north, and Herod Antipas was\nat that time ruler of all Galilee and Per\u00e6a, which included the castle\nMach\u00e6rus.\n\n\n ENON AND SALIM.\n\n=6. During the Saviour\u2019s stay in Jud\u00e6a=, after the Passover just spoken\nof, it appears that he remained for a time near the Jordan while his\ndisciples baptized. The two preachers were therefore not far distant\nfrom each other, and the disciples of John, evidently with a spirit\nof rivalry, communicated the fact that greater crowds attended the\nministry of Jesus.\n\nThis brought out the testimony of John to the greater glory and future\nprogress of the gospel of Jesus. John was at this time at \u201cEnon near\nSalim,\u201d and the sites of these two places have not yet been settled.\n\nEnon is the Greek form of the Aramaic word for \u201csprings,\u201d and Salim is\nthe word for \u201cpeace,\u201d and both of these words are frequently found in\nvarying forms in several places.\n\nIt has been thought that the little village now called Salim, not\nfar east of Shechem, was the site of the Scripture Salim, and that\nEnon was to be identified with a little ruin called Ainun, nearly eight\nmiles northeast. But apart from the fact that these places are not near\neach other, they are entirely too near the very heart of the Samaritan\ndistrict, Salim being only four miles east of Shechem.\n\nIt is not at all probable that John ever left Jud\u00e6a, and it is\nexceedingly improbable that he would have gone into the Samaritan\nregion to baptize. There is a little valley three or four miles\nnortheast of Jerusalem which yet bears a name somewhat similar to Salim,\nwhere there are waters described by Dr. Barclay; but neither of these\nBiblical places has yet been satisfactorily identified.\n\n=7. Our Saviour now left Jud\u00e6a= and passed to Galilee upon the shortest\nroad, which leads through Samaria, John 4:3. The season seems to have\nbeen in December, John 4:35, as it was \u201cfour months to harvest,\u201d which\nbegan in April. On the way he sat down upon the well called Jacob\u2019s,\nand the scene described in John 4 took place.\n\n\n JACOB\u2019S WELL, SYCHAR, John 4.\n\n=8. Jacob\u2019s well= has always been identified with that well cut in the\nsolid rock which is about a mile and a half east by south from Shechem.\nIt formerly had a small chapel built over it, in the fourth century,\nand was about 80 feet in depth when examined by the writer, but the\noriginal depth must have been greater, for there are many stones at\nthe bottom. It is not now a well of constant supply, but varies with\nthe season, and was dry when we examined it. Hence perhaps the remark\nof our Saviour, John 4:10, in which he alludes to \u201cliving water.\u201d\n\nSychar was probably at the little village now called Askar, about\none-half of a mile northeast from the well. Some have supposed that\nSychar and Shechem were the same; but it is not probable that the\nwoman spoken of in the context would have walked a mile and a half from\nShechem, where there was an abundance of water, to draw water from this\ndeep well. The probabilities are that Askar was the site of Sychar,\nwhere there are caves and remains of ancient tombs.\n\n\n MATT. 4:12\u201217; MARK 1:14, 15; LUKE 4.\n\n=9. Jesus passed through= Samaria to Galilee, stopping for a short time\nin Nazareth, Matt. 13:53\u201258; and then going to Capernaum, announced\nas he went the great object of his mission, and especially that the\nappointed time had arrived which had been foretold for the appearance\nof the Messiah as spoken of in the prophets, Mark 1:14, 15. That he\nhimself was this Messiah he distinctly asserted at Jacob\u2019s well to the\nSamaritan woman, John 4:26.\n\n=10. Passing on from Nazareth= he again visited Cana, where the miracle\nof the healing of the nobleman\u2019s son was performed, John 4:46\u201254. He\nthen went down to Capernaum, which hereafter seems to have been adopted\nas his favorite place of abode.\n\n\n CAPERNAUM.\n\n=11. This place= has not yet been certainly identified. Some have\nsupposed that it was on the west side of the Sea of Galilee at a place\ncalled Khan Minyeh, which is on the plain of Gennesaret, five miles\nsouthwest of the mouth of the Upper Jordan; others have located it at\na ruin farther north of this sea, called Tell Hum. To some this name\nseems to be all that remains of the ancient name Capernaum, which, as\nthey think, means the village (caper) of Nahum (Naum).\n\nAt Capernaum many of our Saviour\u2019s miracles were performed, and the\nplace is referred to sixteen times by name.\n\n=12.= A miracle performed here at this time in the history confirmed\nthe faith of Andrew, Peter, James, and John, who were fishing in the\nwaters of the sea not far off from the village, Luke 5:1\u201211.\n\nSoon after this the restoring of the demoniac to his senses in the\nsynagogue took place, Luke 4:33, and immediately after this the healing\nof Peter\u2019s wife\u2019s mother, as recorded in the same chapter. Many other\nmiracles were performed the same evening.\n\n=13. Jesus then began to travel= throughout Galilee, preaching and\nhealing. One miracle on this journey is recorded, that of healing a\nleper, as narrated in Matt. 8:2; Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12. On his return\nto Capernaum he heals a paralytic, Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:1\u201212; Luke 5:18.\n\nIn the narrative of this last-mentioned miracle we have an illustration\nof the use of _double names_ among the Jews, for Matthew, 9:9, calls\nhimself Matthew, whereas the other evangelists in their accounts called\nhim Levi,[165] and moreover Matthew adopts the usual method of Greek\nhistorians in speaking of themselves in the third person to avoid\negotism. Compare Matt. 9:10; Mark 2:15; Luke 5:29.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE SECOND PASSOVER AND THE TRANSACTIONS UNTIL THE THIRD PASSOVER.\n TIME ONE YEAR.\n\n\n THE POOL OF BETHESDA, JOHN 5:2.\n\n=1. Very recent discoveries= have led to the belief that this pool was\nnot at the so-called Birket Israel on the left hand of the entrance\nthrough the gate of St. Stephen\u2015\u2015the eastern gate of Jerusalem\u2015\u2015but on\nthe right hand of the same entrance at the French church of St. Anne.\nIt is about 160 feet on the right of the gate as you enter into the\ncity. Here there has recently (1888) been discovered a tank in the rock\nunder the church, reached by a flight of 24 steps, and more recently\na twin pool by its side, which is supposed to identify the place,\naccording to early writers. The remains of the five porches are still\nto be seen.[166]\n\n=2.= In his attendance upon the second Passover Jesus performed =the\nmiracle of healing= at the crowded pool of Bethesda, but left with the\nman whom he had restored no name or clew whereby he should know him.\nSoon after however, meeting the man in the Temple, Jesus warned him\nas to his future life; and thus the healed man was informed, and he\nreported to those who inquired of him the name of his benefactor. This\nact of healing was performed on the Sabbath day, and the consequent\ncommand of Jesus, \u201cTake up thy bed and walk,\u201d was made the occasion of\nbitter resentment on the part of the Jews. This gave the opportunity to\nour Lord for uttering one of the most distinct avowals of his equality\nwith God as his Father, and the assertion that their own Jewish\nScriptures testified of him. He then departed for Galilee.\n\n\n HISTORICAL OCCURRENCES OF THIS YEAR IN THE ORDER OF TIME,\n WITH THE HARMONY OF REFERENCES AND LOCALITIES.\n\n=3. On the way to Galilee.= The disciples pluck ears of corn on the\nSabbath, Matt. 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6.\n\n=In Galilee.= The healing of the withered hand on the Sabbath,\nMatt. 12:9; Mark 3:1; Luke 6:6.\n\nImmediately after the last mentioned miracle he retired to the Sea\nof Galilee, and the greatness of the interest manifested in him can\nbe understood by the extent of country from which the crowds came, as\nindicated in Mark 3:7, 8, for it appears that the people came not only\nfrom Galilee, but \u201cfrom Jud\u00e6a and from Jerusalem and Idum\u00e6a and from\nthe east of Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon.\u201d\n\n=4. Near Gennesaret.= Jesus chooses the twelve apostles, Matt. 10:1;\nMark 3:13; alluded to again, Mark 6:7. This he did after a night spent\nin prayer on a mountain, Luke 6:12, 13. This transaction seems to have\ntaken place on some one of the hills south of the plain of Gennesaret,\nwhile on his way to Capernaum.\n\n=5. Near Gennesaret.= The Sermon on the Mount and a probable\nrepetition of a part on the plain of Gennesaret, as narrated in\nLuke 6:17; Matt. 5. In this and the following chapters St. Matthew\nhas gathered a large collection of the precepts and teachings of Jesus\nwhich occurred at this time, but which are only in part narrated in\nLuke.\n\n=6. Same place.= The Lord\u2019s Prayer as narrated in Matthew, and probably\nrepeated upon another occasion, as seen in Luke 11:1.\n\n=7. Capernaum.= The centurion\u2019s servant healed, Matt. 8:5; Luke 7:1.\n\n=Nain.= The widow\u2019s son raised from the bier upon which he was carried,\nLuke 7:11.\n\n=8. This place= was 59 miles north of Jerusalem and 20 miles southwest\nof the plain of Gennesaret. En-dor is two miles northeast of it on\nthe same northern flank of the ridge. The scenery is very beautiful\ntowards the north and west, and suggests the fitness of the name,\nwhich means \u201cbeauty.\u201d Immediately south, one mile distant, the mountain\nrange rises to the height of 1,690 feet above the Mediterranean, and\non the northern flank of this range the village is built, itself at the\nheight of 744 feet. It overlooks the great plain of Esdraelon. The only\nreference to this place is found in Luke 7:11\u201217.\n\n=9. In Galilee.= John the Baptist while in prison sends messengers to\nJesus, Matt. 11:2; Luke 7:19. Jesus had now performed a large part of\nhis life\u2019s work, and in some degree he now reviews it and in several\nplaces sums up the amount done. He reviews also the instances in which\nhe had been unsuccessful in persuading some to believe upon his mission\nand accept him as the true Messiah. In this review he mentions Chorazin,\nBethsaida, and Capernaum, and compares their advantages with those\nenjoyed by Tyre and Sidon.\n\n\n CHORAZIN AND BETHSAIDA, Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13.\n\n=10. The site of the former= of these places is unknown. Excepting the\nsimilarity of the names, Kerazeh and Chorazin, we have nothing to show\nthat the ruin called by the former name is identical with the place\nknown in Scripture by the latter name. The ruin called Kerazeh is two\nand a half miles from the northern shore of the lake and about 900 feet\nhigher than its surface. The ruins of a supposed synagogue are to be\nfound there, and near them is a spring.\n\nAgainst this supposed site of Chorazin it is said that Jerome[167]\nspeaks of it as one of the cities which were upon the shores of the\nlake. In reply it is said the traveller Willibald, going northward in\nthe beginning of the eighth century, says that he went from Tiberias by\nMagdala, now called Mejdel, to Capernaum, thence to Bethsaida, thence\nto Chorazin, and thence to the fountains of the Jordan,[168] so that\nthe order of localities thus stated makes Chorazin probably off the\nlake.[169] Kerazeh appears to answer to all that the Scripture claims\nfor Chorazin both in name and locality.\n\n=11. As to Bethsaida=, there are supposed to have been two of this\nname, which means \u201cfish-house;\u201d the one is just east of the Jordan,\nabout a mile above the place where it empties into the northern end\nof the lake. This was the eastern Bethsaida, and at about this period\nof our Saviour\u2019s life Herod Philip, the tetrarch, had greatly enlarged\nand beautified the place and given it the name \u201cJulias\u201d in honor of\nthe daughter of Augustus; and here he was buried, A. D. 33, in a costly\ntomb which he had erected for himself.\n\nIt was near this Bethsaida that Jesus fed the five thousand with the\nfive loaves and two fishes, and after dismissing the crowd retired into\none of the neighboring hills to pray.[170]\n\n=12. Place uncertain=, probably Capernaum. At the house of Simon the\nPharisee, while \u201cat meat,\u201d Christ\u2019s feet are anointed by a woman who is\ncalled \u201ca sinner,\u201d Luke 7:36. Another anointing by a woman took place\nat a much later period, and perhaps a third just before his betrayal,\nJohn 11:2; 12:2. Anointing was very common in those days. The so-called\nalabaster-box was not necessarily of any one material, much less of\nthe material known now as alabaster. The same Greek term is used by\nHerodotus[171] in exactly the same form used in Matt. 26:7; Mark 14:3;\nLuke 7:37, and the vessel might have been of marble, of glass, or\nmetal.[172] Theocritus[173] writes of \u201cgolden alabasters filled with\nSyrian ointments.\u201d\n\nIt was customary to anoint the head and also the feet of a guest on\ncertain occasions, and the alabastron was common among persons of means.\nThere is therefore no sufficient reason to suppose that this anointing\nwas so rare an instance that the several accounts in the Gospels refer\nto only one event. The other accounts besides that referred to at\nthe beginning of this section are found in Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3,\nwhich appear to describe one and the same occasion, shortly before his\nbetrayal, and John 11:2; 12:2, which description is somewhat similar\nto that of the preceding Gospels.\n\n=13. Galilee.= Our Saviour makes visits with the twelve through Galilee\nthe second time. Luke 8:1. This seems to have been in Galilee, judging\nfrom the context as compared with Matt. 12:46; Mark 3:31, and following\nverses in the next chapter. He seems to have visited extensively, as\nthe Greek phrase, \u201ccity by city and village by village,\u201d signifies.\n\n=14.= The following incidents are supposed to have taken place about\nthis time and in the following order, all in Galilee:\n\n(1.) The healing of the demoniac, Matt. 12:22. A somewhat similar\ncase occurred before, Matt. 9:32. In this passage the utterances of our\nSaviour define the solemnity of the office of the Holy Spirit in a most\nfearful sense, and again in Mark 3:28, 29. This healing is repeated,\nLuke 11:14.\n\n(2.) The scribes and Pharisees seek from him a sign to prove his\nauthority, Matt. 12:38; repeated with additional remarks, Matt. 15:1;\nalso Mark 8:11; and more urgently in John 6:31. It was in reply to\none of these requests that Jesus announced that the sign superior to\nall others should take place after his death, for that after death\nhe should rise again on the third day, Matt. 12:40, drawing from the\nhistory of Jonah an illustration of his own burial for three days only.\n\n(3.) The declaration that his true disciples were his nearest relatives,\nMatt. 12:46; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19.\n\n(4.) Jesus takes dinner with a Pharisee and denounces the sect,\nLuke 11:37.\n\n(5.) Jesus instructs a multitude when he declares that whosoever shall\nconfess him before men shall be confessed by him before the angels of\nGod, Luke 12:1.\n\n=15. By the lake.= (1.) The parable of the sower, Matt. 13:3; Mark 4:2;\nLuke 8:4.\n\n(2.) The parable of the tares, Matt. 13:24.\n\n(3.) =Sea of Galilee.= Jesus calms the tempest, Matt. 8:24\u201227;\nMark 4:37\u201241; Luke 8:22\u201225.\n\n(4.) He heals the demoniacs of the country of the Gergesenes, stilling\nthe tempest by a word as he crosses, Matt. 8:23; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26.\n\n\n GADARA, GERGESA.\n\n=16.= The location of =Gadara= (pronounced Gad\u00b4-ara) was at the present\nUm Keis, where the ruins are extensive and four fine springs exist.\nUm Keis is seven miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, upon the level\nsurface of a steep hill. It is thought that the term Gadarenes referred\nto the general region of which Gadara was the capital, and Gergesenes\nto the town of Gergesa, on the lake, where the miracle occurred, and\nwhich belonged to the district of the Gadarenes.\n\nGadara is first mentioned in secular history when captured by Antiochus\nthe Great, B. C. 218. It was taken by the Jews twenty years afterwards,\nbut destroyed during their civil wars, and rebuilt by Pompey to please\nhis freedman, who was a Gadarene. When the proconsul of Syria, Gabinius,\nchanged the constitution of Jud\u00e6a, dividing it into five districts\nhaving governing councils, Gadara was made the seat of one of these\ncouncils, and became a chief city or capital of the country around.\n\nIt is probable that Gergesa is properly identified in the ruin Kersa\non the east shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, almost equi-distant from\nthe north and the south ends. It was once surrounded by a wall, the\nruins of which still remain. Just south of it the hills come down very\nprecipitously into the water, as they do in no other place on the shore,\nMark 5:1; Luke 8:26; Matt. 8:28.\n\n=17. Capernaum.= The feast given to our Lord by Levi, who is also\ncalled Matthew, takes place at this time, Matt. 9:10; Mark 2:15;\nLuke 5:29.\n\nThe raising of Jairus\u2019 daughter, and the healing of the woman who\ntouched the hem of his garment, Matt. 9:20; Mark 5:25; Luke 8:43.\n\nTwo blind men and a dumb man healed, Matt. 9:27.\n\n=18. Nazareth.= Christ appears here, but is rejected the second\ntime, Matt. 13:54; Mark 6:1. The first time was soon after his baptism,\nLuke 4:16.\n\n=Galilee.= Jesus makes with his disciples a third circuit through\nGalilee, Matt. 9:35; Mark 6:6. The passage in Luke 13:22 gives quite\nanother circuit on his final journey towards Jerusalem, which took\nplace probably the following year.\n\nJesus sends out the twelve, two by two, Matt. 10:1, 5; Mark 6:7;\nLuke 9:1.\n\nHerod (Antipas), who had slain John the Baptist, hears of Jesus, and\nsupposes that John has risen, Matt. 14:1; Mark 6:14; Luke 9:7.\n\n=Northeast coast of the lake.= The five thousand are fed. Jesus\nafterwards walks upon the water, Matt. 14:15\u201233; Mark 6:35\u201251;\nLuke 9:12\u201217 (Luke omits the walking on the water); John 6:5\u201221.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE THIRD PASSOVER.\n\n\n=1.= Many =incidental circumstances= have led commentators to suppose\nthat the third Passover transpired about this time. The following\nincidents are therefore attributed to him after the third Passover. We\ntherefore, in accordance with the above supposition, recount the events\nfor the next six months to the Feast of Tabernacles. The chief reason\nfor asserting the third Passover at this time is, that according to\nJohn 6:4, the Passover \u201cwas nigh\u201d at the time of the feeding of the\nfive thousand.\n\n=2. Capernaum.= Jesus replies to the Pharisees who object to eating\nwith unwashed hands, Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:1, in which the washing was not\nfor cleanliness but religious ceremony.\n\n=3. Region of Tyre and Sidon.= The Syro-ph\u0153nician woman\u2019s daughter\nhealed, Matt. 15:21; Mark 7:24.\n\n\n TYRE AND SIDON.\n\nThese were Ph\u0153nician towns, twenty-five miles distant from each other,\nand upon the Mediterranean seacoast. They are mentioned in history long\nbefore the building of Jerusalem. The first is mentioned in Scripture\nin Josh. 19:29 for the first time, while Sidon is spoken of by name\nmany years before, in Gen. 10:19, as being a prominent Canaanitish city,\nB. C. 2350.\n\nIn the time of our Saviour they were both inhabited places, and Tyre\nwas a city of great importance. At present they are considerable towns\nof from 5,000 (Tyre) to 15,000 (Sidon) inhabitants. Tyre is almost due\nwest from Mt. Hermon.\n\n=Decapolis.= The deaf and dumb healed, Mark 7:32. It is probable that\nthis case is to be distinguished from those mentioned in Matt. 9:32;\n12:22, which may have happened at previous times, as the surrounding\ncircumstances suggest.\n\n\n DECAPOLIS.\n\n=4.= This region contained ten principal cities, as the name signifies.\nPliny gives the names Scythopolis (or old Beth-shean), Philadelphia,\nRaphana, Gadara, Hippos, Dios, Pella, Gerasa, Canatha, and Damascus\nas constituting the ten. Josephus says Otopos instead of Canatha.\nThe region was inhabited by many foreigners, and hence might have\ncontained more swine than any truly Jewish region. Hence the mention\nof large numbers of swine in the healing of the demoniac, for among\nthe strictly Jewish districts the keeping of swine would not have been\npermitted. This district may be described generally as east of the Lake\nof Gennesaret and of that part of Jordan which is south of the lake as\nfar as Scythopolis or Beth-shean, fifteen miles south of the lake and\nfour miles west of the Jordan. The cities of the list have not all been\nidentified. Scythopolis, Philadelphia, Gadara, Damascus, and possibly\nHippos and Pella, are known, but the district of Decapolis has not yet\nbeen satisfactorily defined.\n\n=5. Scythopolis= we have already described, page 132. Philadelphia\nwas the name given to the present Ammon by Ptolemy Philadelphus. It\nis a ruin on the high tableland twenty-three miles east of the Jordan\nand nearly thirty miles northeast of the Dead Sea. It is the old\nRabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites in the time of Moses,\nDeut. 3:11. Its ruins are very extensive.\n\n=6. Damascus= is yet an important city fifty-five miles east of the\nMediterranean coast, situated on an extensive plain bounded on the\nnorth by spurs of the Anti-Lebanon range.\n\nExcavations seem to show that the greater part of Damascus is built\nupon ancient ruins of the former city. Its population at present (1890)\nis supposed to be about 125,000. Hippos, another city of the Decapolis,\nis supposed to have been upon the south shore of the Sea of Galilee;\nand Pella, whither many Christians fled just before the destruction\nof Jerusalem, is about three miles east of the Jordan, up in the hills\neighteen miles south of the Sea of Galilee.\n\n=Decapolis region.= The four thousand are fed near the lake, Matt.\n15:32; Mark 8:1.\n\n\n DALMANUTHA. MAGDALA.\n\n=7. Dalmanutha= is the place which Jesus approached on his return\nfrom the east of the lake to the west, according to Mark 8:10, after\nfeeding the four thousand. Matthew states that he came into the coasts\nof Magdala. They must have been in the same vicinity. Magdala is now\ncalled Mejdel, the village still being inhabited. It is immediately\nupon the shore, and a little more than three miles north of Tiberias.\nBut between Mejdel and Tiberias there is a spring and a good landing\nplace with some remains. The place is called Ain el-Fuliyeh, and may\nhave had the above name of Dalmanutha, as the soil is richer than that\naround and shows evidences of a former settlement. The place seems to\nhave assumed in recent times the name Ain Barideh, \u201cthe cold spring.\u201d\n\nThe boat in crossing evidently landed between these two villages of\nDalmanutha and Mejdel.\n\n=8. On the shore.= The Pharisees again demand a \u201csign,\u201d or proof, of\nhis authority, Matt. 16:1; Mark 8:11. The former time is recorded in\nMatt. 12:38.\n\n=Crossing the lake.= He warns his disciples of the leaven against the\nPharisees. Matt. 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1 may refer to this time or\nmay have been on another occasion.\n\n=Bethsaida (Julias).= The blind man healed, Mark 8:22.\n\n=Near C\u00e6sarea-Philippi.= Jesus foretells his death. The\ntransfiguration takes place. He heals immediately afterward a demoniac\nwhom his disciples could not heal, Matt. 16:21; 17:14; Mark 8:31; 9:17;\nLuke 9:38.\n\n=9. Passing through Galilee to Capernaum.= He foretells his death and\nresurrection the second time, Matt. 17:22; Mark 9:31; Luke 9:44.\n\n=Capernaum.= The tribute money taken from the fish, Matt. 17:24.\n\nThe seventy are sent out after they had received the lesson upon\nhumility, Matt. 18:1; Mark 9.\n\n\n JESUS GOES UP TO THE FEAST OF THE TABERNACLES.\n\n=10. The nature of this feast= is described in Lev. 23:33. It was\ncelebrated on the fifteenth day after the new moon in October, and\nwas the great \u201charvest home\u201d of the Jews. All dwelt in booths, called\n\u201ctabernacles,\u201d for eight days, of which the last day was \u201cthe great\nday of the feast.\u201d The later Jews added the pouring of water mingled\nwith wine upon the morning sacrifices of each day, amid sounding of\ntrumpets and horns and the singing of a passage from Isa. 12:3. This\nmay have suggested the announcement made by our Saviour as given in\nJohn 7:37, 38.\n\n\n THE LINE OF TRAVEL.\n\n=11. Jesus leaves Capernaum=, passes through Galilee by Nazareth,\ntaking the shortest route direct to Jerusalem through Samaria,\nprobably by Jacob\u2019s well, which was situated on the main road, the same\nto-day as then. This was in October. His brethren had gone on before,\nJohn 7:10, and he delayed till the crowd had decreased and then started.\nHence he did not appear till the third or fourth day of the feast, and\nthen he began to teach.\n\n=On his way, in Samaria.= The ten lepers are cleansed, Luke 17:12.\n\nHe rebukes James and John for wishing to call down fire upon the\nSamaritans, Luke 9:54.\n\n=12. Jerusalem.= Jesus teaches in the Temple, John 7:14.\n\nThe woman taken in adultery, John 8:3.\n\nThey attempt to stone him for saying, \u201cBefore Abraham was, I am,\u201d\nJohn 8:58.\n\nA lawyer instructed. Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25.\n\nThey threaten to stone him for saying, \u201cI and my Father are one,\u201d\nJohn 10:31.\n\n=Bethany.= Jesus visits the house of Martha and Mary, Luke 10:38.\n\n=Near Jerusalem.= He teaches his disciples to pray, Luke 11:1.\n\n=Jerusalem.= The man born blind is healed on the Sabbath, John 9:1.\n\n=Bethany.= He goes to \u201cbeyond Jordan,\u201d where John at first baptized,\nand there hearing of the sickness of Lazarus, goes to Bethany and\nraises him, John 11:1.\n\n=Jerusalem.= Caiaphas, the high-priest, suggests the death of Jesus,\nwho retires to Ephraim, John 11:47, 54.\n\n\n EPHRAIM, JOHN 11:54.\n\n=13. The site of this town= has not certainly been identified, but\nDr. Robinson has given good reasons for supposing that it was situated\nat a village now called _Taiyibeh_, twelve miles a little east of north\nfrom Jerusalem. It is off the present main road of travel, to the east,\nand in the midst of a very rough and untravelled country, but there\nare the remains of a good Roman road running down from this place to\nthe valley of the Jordan, and about a mile and a half below the village\nthere are two Roman mile-posts still standing on that old road. It is\nprobable that here our Saviour retired from the danger that seemed to\nthreaten him in Jerusalem. After leaving Ephraim he seems to have taken\nthe main road down to the plain of Jordan and crossed to the other side,\ncalled Per\u00e6a.\n\n=14. Per\u00e6a.= Great numbers follow Christ here, and the following is a\nbrief history of what transpired in that region:\n\nHe heals the infirm woman on the Sabbath, Luke 13:10.\n\nHe is warned against Herod, Luke 13:31.\n\nHe dines with a chief Pharisee on the Sabbath, Luke 14:1.\n\nThe parables of the lost sheep and of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11\u201232.\n\nThe parables of the unjust steward and of the rich man and Lazarus,\nLuke 16.\n\nThe warnings that Christ\u2019s coming will be sudden, Luke 17:20.\n\nThe parables of the importunate widow, Luke 18:1, and Pharisee and\npublican, Luke 18:10.\n\nHe gives precepts respecting divorce, Matt. 19:3.\n\nHe blesses little children, Matt. 19:13; Mark 10:13; Luke 18:15.\n\nThe visit of the rich young man, Matt. 19:16; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18.\n\nParable of the laborers in the vineyard, Matt. 20:1.\n\n=On the way up to Jerusalem.= Jesus for the third time foretells his\ncrucifixion and resurrection, but his disciples do not understand him,\nMatt. 20:17; Mark 10:32; Luke 18:31.\n\n=15. Near the Jordan.= James and John make their ambitious request\nthrough their mother, Matt. 20:20; Mark 10:35.\n\n=West of Jericho.= He heals two blind men, Matt. 20:30; Mark 10:46;\nLuke 18:35.\n\nVisits Zacch\u00e6us, Luke 19:1\u201210.\n\n=Nearer to Jerusalem.= Parable of the ten pounds, Matt. 25:14\u201230;\nLuke 19:11\u201227.\n\n=Bethany.= The supper given by Simon the leper, Matt. 26:6\u201213; Mark\n14:3\u20129; John 12:1\u201211; from John it seems that this feast took place six\ndays before the Passover, and on the next day was the triumphal entry\ninto Jerusalem.\n\n=Just east of Bethany.= The sending for the ass and colt, followed by\nthe triumphal entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem. Matt. 21:17. Mark\n11:1\u201211 and Luke 19:29\u201240 speak only of the colt.\n\n=16. Descending the Mount of Olives.= Christ weeps over Jerusalem,\nLuke 19:41\u201244.\n\n=Jerusalem.= He makes a triumphal entry into Jerusalem and visits\nthe Temple, Matt. 21:12\u201217. This passage includes the statement\nof the overturning the money-changers\u2019 tables on the first day.\nMark 11:12 states that this act was performed on the day following.\nAs he performed the same act at his first Passover, two years before,\nJohn 2:13\u201217, he may have done the same thing twice, on two successive\ndays. Also read Luke 19:45.\n\n=Bethany.= He retires at evening to Bethany, Matt. 21:17; Mark 11:11.\n\n\n BETHANY AND BETHPHAGE.\n\n=17. Bethany= was a little over a mile east of the lower part of the\ncity, about a mile and a half southeast from St. Stephen\u2019s gate, if\nmeasured along the road.\n\n=Bethphage= has not been certainly identified, but it was probably\nat a place one half-mile south of the Church of the Ascension, which\nis on the top of the Mount of Olives. It was on the way from Bethany\nto Jerusalem, where the road from Bethany winds around the south of\nthe highest part of the Mount of Olives. This was the supposition of\nDr. Barclay, and seems probable to the writer, who visited the place.\n\n=On the way from Bethany to Jerusalem.= The fig-tree cursed, Matt.\n21:19; Mark 11:12.\n\n=18. Jerusalem.= Christ\u2019s authority demanded, Matt. 21:23; Mark 11:27;\nLuke 20:1.\n\nParable of the two sons, Matt. 21:28.\n\nParable of the wicked husbandmen, Matt. 21:33\u201241; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9.\n\nOf the marriage of the king\u2019s son, Matt. 22:2.\n\nThe cunning of the Pharisees regarding tribute to C\u00e6sar, Matt. 22:15;\nMark 12:13; Luke 20:21.\n\nThe artful question of the Sadducees answered in respect to the\nresurrection, Matt. 22:23; Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27.\n\nA lawyer\u2019s question, Which is the greatest commandment? Matt. 22:35;\nMark 12:28.\n\nJesus\u2019 question as to why David calls the son Lord, Matt. 22:42; Mark\n12:35; Luke 20:41.\n\nHe warns them against the scribes and Pharisees, Matt. 23:2\u201236; Mark\n12:38\u201240; Luke 20:46, 47.\n\nThe widow\u2019s two mites, Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1.\n\nSome Greeks desire to see Jesus, John 12:20.\n\n=19. Mount of Olives.= Warnings and foretelling of the destruction of\nJerusalem, Matt. 24:3\u201251; Mark 13:3\u201237; Luke 21:7\u201236.\n\nThe ten virgins and the parable of the five talents, Matt. 25:1\u201230.\n\nA distinct announcement that he shall come in glory with the\nangels, Matt. 25:31\u201246; such an announcement was made before his\ntransfiguration, but only in brief allusion, see Mark 8:38.\n\n=Jerusalem.= The chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people take\ncounsel to destroy Jesus, Matt. 26:3; Mark 14:1, 2; Luke 22:2.\n\nJesus appoints a place where he shall eat the passover, Matt. 26:17;\nMark 14:12; Luke 22:7.\n\nThe Lord\u2019s Supper instituted at the close of the eating of the\npassover, Matt. 26:26\u201229; Mark 14:22\u201226; Luke 22:19, 20. From the last\nquotation, with its context both before and after, it is plain that the\ninstitution followed the passover; read also from John 13:2.\n\nJesus washes his disciples\u2019 feet. This includes Judas\u2019 feet, as seen in\nthe record by John, 13:4\u201230.\n\nJesus, after the departure of Judas, gives a remarkable series of\ncomforting instructions and exhortations to the apostles.\n\n=20. Gethsemane.= He retires to Gethsemane and prays while his\ndisciples sleep, Matt. 26:36; Mark 14:32; Luke 22:39.\n\nBetrayed by Judas, he is led away to Annas, who sends him bound to the\nhigh-priest Caiaphas, who was with the Sanhedrin as they were assembled,\nexpecting Jesus at that hour, Matt. 26:47; Mark 14:43; Luke 22:47.\n\n\n ANNAS, CAIAPHAS, PILATE.\n\n=21. Annas= had been high-priest, but had been deposed by the\nprocurator of Jud\u00e6a; =Caiaphas=, who was made high-priest, was his\nson-in-law.[174]\n\nAnnas was a man of great influence and was probably at this time\npresident of the Sanhedrin.[175] Hence as he had been made a deputy by\nthe previous procurator and discharged some of the functions of the\noffice, he was called a high-priest.\n\n=22. Pilate= succeeded to the office of procurator A. D. 26, and\ngave to the Jewish priests the management of their own affairs,\nin order to conciliate them, but at times he was exceedingly cruel\nand exacting.[176] As an instance, when he desired to bring water\ninto Jerusalem from a distance of twenty-five miles, to aid in the\nenterprise he seized upon the money laid up in the Temple for sacred\npurposes. This act so enraged the Jews that they assembled by thousands\nat the palace gates demanding the restoration of the money. Pilate\nordered his soldiers to disperse them, and they with their short\ndaggers charged the crowds into the very precincts of the Temple,\nslaying great numbers even upon the altars of their sacrifices.[177]\n\n=23. Jerusalem.= The Sanhedrin lead Jesus to Pilate, Matt. 27:2; Mark\n15:1; Luke 23:1; John 18:28.\n\nPilate endeavors to deliver Jesus from death, but finally gives him\nover to crucifixion, Matt. 27:11\u201226; Mark 15:9\u201215; Luke 23:4\u201224; John\n18:38; 19:16.\n\nThe supernatural darkness, from the sixth hour (twelve, midday) to\nthe ninth hour (three in the afternoon), Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33;\nLuke 23:44.\n\nThe rending of the veil of the Temple, Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38;\nLuke 23:45.\n\n=24. This veil was= sixty feet high and of very heavy material,\naccording to Jewish writers. A veil to cover the holy place was used\nin the temples of Diana at Ephesus and of Jupiter at Olympia, and as\nthey were of the same material, of woollen and richly embroidered and\nin color purple, it seems they must have been suggested by the veil\nin the Jewish Temple, which was of the same material, work, and color.\nThe Jewish veil was the inner one separating the \u201cHoly of holies\u201d from\nthe other part of the sanctuary.[178] For the original description see\nExod. 26:31.\n\nThe earthquake, Matt. 27:51. Rocks rent and graves opened, Matt. 27:52.\n\nCenturion surprised, Matt. 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47; Luke adds\n\u201call the people.\u201d\n\nWomen beholding afar off, Matt. 27:55, 56; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:49;\nJohn 19:25; John states that some stood by the cross.\n\n=25. Joseph of Arimath\u00e6a= applies for the body of Jesus, Matt. 27:57\u201260;\nMark 15:42\u201247; Luke 23:50\u201253; John 19:38.\n\nNicodemus brings spices to the sepulchre, John 29:39.\n\nThe Jews, by Pilate\u2019s permission, set a watch, Matt. 27:62\u201266.\n\nThe descent of an angel who rolls away the stone, Matt. 28:2;\nMark 16:5; Mark says a young man was sitting in the sepulchre when the\ntwo Marys came with spices. Luke 24:4 states two men (angels) stood\nat the sepulchre. John 21 mentions no angel at the first visit, but\nafterward Mary Magdalene on her return sees two angels in the sepulchre,\nJohn 20:11, 12.\n\n=26. The chief priests= bribe the soldiers to keep the secret, Matt.\n28:11\u201215.\n\nThe two disciples, Peter and Cleopas, going to Emmaus, see Jesus,\nLuke 24:13\u201235.\n\n\n EMMAUS.\n\n=27. The site of this town= has not been identified beyond doubt.\nBut the village Amwas, fifteen miles northwest by west from Jerusalem,\nhas been supposed to be the place. Its distance is almost too great\nfor the disciples to have travelled in the time specified, and it is\nfarther off than the sixty furlongs which is given as its distance from\nJerusalem in Luke 24:13. But the distance is given in several of the\nold manuscripts as 160 furlongs instead of sixty; especially is it so\nstated in the old Sinaitic manuscript. This fact, with the similarity\nof name, and the statement by Jerome that it was at this place,\nformerly called Nicopolis, leads to the general impression that the\nsite of Emmaus is to be found at Amwas.\n\n=28. Jesus suddenly appears= to the apostles as they are gathered in\na room, Thomas being absent, and again eight days afterward when Thomas\nwas present. This is according to John 20:19\u201229. Luke only mentions\nthe one appearance in the room, Luke 24:36\u201248; also in Mark only one\nappearance in the room as they sat at meat or together, Mark 16:14; but\nthis appearance is omitted in Matthew.\n\nThe apostles and perhaps many others go into Galilee, Matt. 28:16, 17;\nMark makes no statement, nor does Luke, in reference to the going into\nGalilee. John 21:1\u201223 gives the meeting of Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias.\n\nAfter this he meets the apostles and over 500 brethren at once; is\n\u201cseen of James,\u201d and finally \u201cof all the apostles,\u201d having led them\nout to Bethany, where his ascension took place, 1 Cor. 15:6, 7;\nLuke 24:49\u201253.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.\n\n\n=1. Immediately after the departure= of our Saviour the disciples\nrecovered all their faith and courage and returned to Jerusalem from\nBethany.\n\nThe first act of the apostles was to restore their number to twelve,\nmade eleven by the apostasy of Judas. Two nominations were made of\nmen who, like themselves, had been companions of the Saviour from the\nbaptism of John to the ascension (Acts 1:21). The men nominated were\nJoseph, called Barsabas, and Matthias; the latter was chosen by lot.\n\n=2. The appointment=, or selection, =by lot= was considered sacred\namong the ancients; and was performed, as to the mode of the lot, by\ncasting into some vessel a number of little tablets, pebbles, or strips\nof leather or papyrus, upon which were inscribed the names or some\ndistinguishing marks. The vessel was then shaken, and that name, or its\nrepresentative, which first fell upon the floor determined the choice.\nIn the time of Homer the lot was cast into a helmet and shaken.[179] In\nProv. 16:33 the same idea of casting the lot into a vessel is intended,\nwith the addition that the result is guided by the Lord, for the\nEnglish word \u201clap\u201d in the passage just quoted in the Hebrew signifies\n\u201cthe opening,\u201d i. e., of the urn or vessel into which the lot was cast.\n\nThe use of lots is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament; at first\nover the scapegoat, as described in Lev. 16:8; then in the division\nof the holy land, Num. 34:13, and, with supernatural results, at the\ndetection of Achan, Josh. 7:14, 18, and Jonah 1:7; also in the division\nof the priests into their orders, 1 Chron. 24:1\u20125.\n\nThe term for \u201clot\u201d in the Latin is _clerus_, and the persons chosen\nto any priestly office, or set apart by due ordination to the service\nof God, in the Christian church as a body, are called the \u201cclergy,\u201d\ndeclarative of the fact that their possession of or appointment to the\nsacred office is by divine decision, as was always supposed to be the\ncase in the ancient priestly appointment by lots.\n\n\n PENTECOST.\n\n=3. The next annual feast= took place on the fiftieth day after the\nPassover and was called Pentecost, the Greek word for the fiftieth. It\nwas called the Feast of Weeks, Deut. 16:10, also the Feast of Harvest,\nExod. 23:16, or of the Firstfruits, Num. 28:26. It lasted but one\nday, and upon that day two loaves of the first wheat were offered at\nthe Temple. The festival now called Whitsunday was suggested by this\nfestival.\n\nWhen the time for this feast arrived there was at Jerusalem a\nremarkable gathering which shows to what extent the Jewish nation had\nalready been scattered over the world. There were visitors from Parthia,\nMedia, and Elam, from 600 to 700 miles on the east; from Mesopotamia,\nabout 400 miles on the northeast; from Cappadocia, 500 miles on the\nnorth and midway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; from\nPontus lying on the Black Sea; and from that part of Asia Minor then\ncalled \u201cAsia.\u201d\n\nThis last mentioned district, although it afterward gave its name\nto the whole vast continent, at this time comprised only the extreme\nsouthwestern parts of the peninsula, such as Caria and Lydia and a part\nof Mysia, its chief city being Ephesus. This was in after times the\nregion of the \u201cseven churches\u201d of Revelation.[180] There were gathered\nJews from Phrygia and Pamphylia, 500 to 600 miles off towards the\nnorthwest, the former on the high tableland and the latter on the\nlow seacoast southeast. They were there from Egypt on the southwest,\nand from Libya and Cyrene, 400 miles west of the Nile, on the African\ncoast, and from Rome, nearly 1,500 miles to the northwest; also from\nthe island of Crete, 600 miles west by north, and from Arabia on the\nsoutheast.\n\n=4. It was upon the occasion= of this great gathering to Jerusalem\non the day of Pentecost that Peter exhibited the beginning of\nthat remarkable Christian courage, knowledge, and endurance which\ncharacterized him ever after. He was now not only the orator, but the\nable Christian expositor of the prophets and of the Psalms. The general\noutline of his address at this time is given us in Acts 2:14\u201240, but\nthe effect was so great that 3,000 came out publicly and were baptized\non that one day.\n\n=5. The extreme poverty= of the little band of apostles, as a whole,\nis evident;[181] but after the Pentecost some of those who were added\ncontributed to the general fund, and there was no suffering after the\norganization was complete, Acts 4:34. Even those who immediately after\nthe crucifixion returned to their trades were enabled to devote their\nwhole time to mission work, so far as we have any records of them,\nActs 6:4.\n\n\n THE IMMEDIATE SUCCESS.\n\n=6. From the various notices= of additions to their number and from\nthe official appointment of seven men of ability to disburse the funds\nand attend to the needy, Acts 6:3, it is evident that the numbers of\nthe early church before the first great persecution began must have\namounted to many thousands, Acts 2:42, 47; 5:14; 6:1, 7.\n\n\n THE FIRST PERSECUTION.\n\n=7. Of the seven men= appointed to attend to the management of the\ngeneral treasury and to the claims of the poor, the chief was Stephen.\nHis exceeding prominence in public work, his very extensive knowledge\nof the Law, and his aggressive ability in defending the gospel gave\ngreat offence to some of the Jews. The result was his arraignment\nbefore the Sanhedrin and examination upon the two points which to the\nJews were the dearest of all, namely, the sanctity of the Temple and\nthe supremacy of the Law.\n\nStephen answered the inquiry of the high-priest, Acts 7:1, by a\nhistory accompanied by unmistakable Scripture proof that although\nSolomon himself was the builder, the Temple was no better than the\nworshippers, and he quoted the prophecy of Isaiah, 66:1, 2, to show\nthat the temple which the Lord honored was the poor and contrite spirit.\nHe then immediately charged the Sanhedrin as being unworthy of the\nTemple themselves and in heart violaters of the Law in that they had\nboth betrayed and murdered the one of whom the Law spoke, thus ending\nthe address with the most terrific charges of infidelity both to the\nTemple and to the Law. No such words had ever been uttered before the\nSanhedrin since it had existed.\n\nHe was immediately dragged out of the city and stoned to death. Stephen\nwas the =first Christian martyr=.\n\n=8. This death was the signal= for the first persecution. The immediate\neffect of this persecution was to scatter the members of the Christian\ncommunity of Jerusalem not only throughout Samaria and Galilee, but\neven to Ph\u0153nicia, Antioch, and Cyprus, and they went preaching the same\ndoctrines which had been taught in Jerusalem, Acts 11:19.\n\nThe city of Samaria was at this time one of the most beautiful in\nPalestine. It was presented to Herod the Great by Augustus, and in\nhonor of the emperor Herod named it Sebaste.[182]\n\n=9. One of \u201cthe seven,\u201d=[183] of whom we have spoken was Philip, who\nwent to this city and preached the new doctrine with great success.\n\nOne of the visitors from distant lands was an officer of Candace,\nqueen of the Ethiopians. He had come from that country to attend the\ncelebration at Jerusalem and was returning, when by divine direction\nPhilip left Samaria to join him on the homeward road. This officer\naccepted the company of Philip on the way, and the latter presented\nthe new doctrine with such ability that the Ethiopian officer, who\nwas well acquainted with the Scriptures through the Greek translation\n(the Septuagint), became the first recorded convert from that distant\ncountry of Ethiopia.\n\n\n CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.\n\n=10. At the stoning= of Stephen there was a young man present who\nmade himself conspicuous by keeping the outer garments of those who\nengaged in the act of stoning the martyr. This man was Saul, a Hebrew\nname, afterward changed into the Roman form of Paul. He was a native\nof Tarsus, a large and celebrated city of Cilicia, a district on the\nnorthern coast of the Mediterranean, but the most eastern on that coast.\nTarsus was a city of learned institutions and learned men. The tutors\nof two emperors of Rome dwelt there, and it was a favored city in\nmany respects, being a place of large commerce. Young Saul was sent\nto Jerusalem at an early age and became a pupil of Gamaliel.\n\nThis Gamaliel was considered not only one of the most learned in the\nHebrew literature but also in the Greek, and he was president of the\nSanhedrin. He afterward transferred the locality of the Sanhedral\nschools from Jerusalem to Jamnia, the Jabneel of Josh. 15:11.\n\n=11. Jabneel=, or =Jabneh=, now called Yebneh, is thirteen miles due\nsouth of Jaffa, the ancient Joppa, and must be distinguished from the\nJamnia seaport four and a half miles northwest, which is sometimes\nreferred to by the same name, but not so in Scripture. In the time of\nthe Maccabees the coast town was a more important seaport than Joppa.\nDuring the crusades Jabneh was called Ibelin.[184] It is built on a\nhill and is four miles from the sea.\n\n=12. In carrying out his enmity= against the Christians Saul determined\nto visit Damascus, where several synagogues existed.\n\nDamascus was about 150 miles by road northeast from Jerusalem.\nObtaining letters of introduction from the high-priest, he set out to\naccomplish his purpose. On the way, before entering Damascus, he was\narrested by a supernatural vision and was changed from the condition of\na bitter and determined enemy to that of an equally determined advocate\nof the Christian faith, and, after a season of apparent preparation, he\nreturned to Jerusalem.\n\nBut this addition to the Christian community was attended with such\nvexation and such disappointment to the Jews that \u201cthey went about to\nslay him,\u201d and it was thought best by his brethren that Saul should\ndepart for Tarsus. At his departure the persecution ceased.\n\n\n AZOTUS, C\u00c6SAREA, LYDDA, JOPPA.\n\n=13. These places= now come into notice in connection with the\nmissionary tours of Philip, the departure of Saul to Tarsus, and the\nvisit of Peter to those who had lately joined the new fellowship.\n\nPhilip, after leaving the Ethiopian officer of Queen Candace, travelled\nnorthward on the coast of the Mediterranean till he reached Azotus.\nThis was the most important city of the Philistines in the time of\nDavid, and was known as Ashdod, but by the Greeks called Azotus. It is\nthree miles inland from the coast, and situated on the slope of a large\nhill 140 feet above the sea level. It is twenty-one miles north from\nAzotus to Joppa, and thirty-two from Joppa to C\u00e6sarea, and along this\nway on foot Philip travelled, preaching as he went.\n\nC\u00e6sarea was built by Herod the Great upon the former site of a little\nvillage called Strato\u2019s Tower, and named after C\u00e6sar Augustus. It was\nmagnificently constructed as a city and as a harbor, and vessels sailed\nbetween it and many distant parts of the Mediterranean: hence it was\nat this time and long afterward the great shipping port of Palestine.\nJosephus gives us a full description of the city, and states that its\ncompletion was celebrated, B. C. 13, by splendid games. It was the\nchief residence of the Roman officers and governors of Jud\u00e6a.\n\n=14. We have evidences= that a Christian church had been planted here\nat a very early period, and in A. D. 200 it became the residence of\na bishop who was primate of all the bishops in Palestine, Jerusalem\nincluded. Origen taught here in the third century, and here Eusebius\nwas educated and afterward became its bishop; he died A. D. 340. In\nA. D. 1101 C\u00e6sarea was captured from the Moslems by Baldwin I., and\namong the rich booty was found a hexagonal vase of green crystal\nsupposed to have been a sacramental cup, and this plays an important\npart in medi\u00e6val poetry as the \u201choly grail.\u201d\n\n=15. It was to this port= that Saul was taken to find a passage direct\nfor Tarsus, which was about 300 miles north. Tarsus is ten miles off\nthe coast and twelve or fifteen miles from the present Mersina, or\nancient Soli, which was its port.\n\n=16. Philip went to C\u00e6sarea= from Azotus, preaching in all the cities,\nand here he seems to have finally settled, as years after, when Paul\nreturned from his last missionary tour, he stopped at his house and\nstayed with Philip before going up to Jerusalem. At that time Philip\nhad four daughters who were gifted with the spirit of prophecy, Acts\n21:9. It is probable, therefore, that the extensive Christian influence\nwhich pervaded C\u00e6sarea for so many centuries afterward was greatly\ndue to the early work and presence of Philip. We should not confound\nthe two Philips: (1) Philip the apostle, and (2) this Philip, who is\nsometimes called Philip the evangelist. The latter probably died in\nC\u00e6sarea, but the apostle in Asia Minor.\n\n=17. Lydda and Joppa.= Joppa is upon the sea-coast thirty-five miles\nnorthwest from Jerusalem, measured on a straight line, and Lydda is\ntwelve miles southeast of Joppa. Joppa is mentioned in the inscriptions\nof Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, who reigned B. C. 705\u2012681, as\nJo-ap-pa, so that the name Joppa is ancient, and the place was the\nseaport of Jerusalem in the time of Solomon, B. C. 1015, at which he\nreceived wood \u201cout of Lebanon,\u201d 2 Chron. 2:16. This is the first\nmention in Scripture.\n\nIt is now called Yafa, and its population is much greater than that\nwhich generally appears in the guide-books, being about 18,000, as\nthe author has been informed by a long resident physician. Both of\nthese places are on the great coast-plain known as the plain of Sharon,\nor Saron, which was, in the time of Solomon, a great pasture-land,\n1 Chron. 27:29.\n\nIt is probable that at this time greater opportunity was allowed the\nChristians to work on in peace, not only because of the conversion of\nSaul, but because at the death of Tiberius, March, A. D. 37, Caligula\nbecame emperor, and the attention of the Jews was violently drawn to\ncare for themselves.\n\nOn his accession to power Caligula ordered that divine honors should\nbe paid to him throughout the empire. In furtherance of this order\nhe directed that an image of himself should be placed in the Holy\nof holies, the most sacred place in the Temple at Jerusalem. Such a\nprofanation of the Temple was so abhorrent to the Jews that it seemed\nat one time to the prefect of Syria, P\u00e9tronius, that the Jews must be\nexterminated if the order was carried out, and he wrote to Caligula in\naccordance with his impression. But the emperor was inexorable, and it\nis impossible to say what would have been the result had not Caligula\nbeen assassinated, on the 24th of January, A. D. 41.[185]\n\n=18.= A. D. 38. =It was during these troublous= times in the Jewish\ncommunity that the apostle Peter went to Lydda in the course of his\nvisits to the Christian churches. There he raised \u00c6neas from a sick-bed,\nActs 9:33, and going from Lydda to Joppa he raised Dorcas to life,\nActs 9:40.\n\nA. D. 41. Peter now visited C\u00e6sarea by the invitation of Cornelius,\nthe centurion, or captain of a band called the Italian band, or cohort,\nprobably because it was a company of soldiers who were all from Italy,\nenlisted under Roman orders.\n\nThe soldiers usually employed were provincial, that is, belonging\nto the country where they were stationed; but in this case they were\nsent here from Italy and were generally composed of both infantry and\ncavalry, serving as a body-guard for the governor, and were probably at\nthis time garrisoning C\u00e6sarea.[186]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n THE GOSPEL FOR GENTILES AS WELL AS JEWS. FIRST\n MISSIONARY TOUR OF PAUL AND BARNABAS.\n\n\n=1. It is a remarkable fact= that, although the apostles were so fully\npersuaded of the verity and power of the gospel, they had not yet\nlearned the intent and universality of its application to the Gentiles\nand to all the human race, and though commissioned by their Master\nto preach it \u201cto all the world,\u201d still held that the Jewish people\nwere the only chosen race and all others were unclean, and that it\nwas unlawful to associate, or eat, and commune freely with any but\nthat race. Hence up to this time the gospel had been preached with\nthe intent of converting only Jews to the Christian faith.\n\n=2. In view of these strong prejudices= a remarkable \u201cvision in a\ntrance,\u201d Acts 11:5, on the housetop, at Joppa, was granted Peter,\nwhereby for the first time he was led to comprehend the fact that\nhereafter spiritual cleanliness should, in the divine sight and\npurposes, for ever cancel all obligations to the merely ceremonial,\nand he was then directed to immediately proceed to the house and to\nthe Gentile company awaiting him at C\u00e6sarea. The history is recorded\nin Acts 10.\n\n=3. On his return to Jerusalem= he communicated the new order, that\nnow the gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles as well as to the\nJews, and he narrated his vision and the consequent visit to C\u00e6sarea.\nAll of which was accepted without discussion and with very evident\nsatisfaction.\n\nSaul however, having been forced to leave Palestine, travelled\nthroughout Cilicia and Syria, Gal. 1:21, until he was invited back to\nJerusalem.\n\n=4. At this time=, about A. D. 41, Antioch was a city of large\npopulation and many Jews inhabited the place, who became strong\nadherents to the new faith, and it was now that, at this place,\nthe name Christian was applied to all who were followers of Christ,\nalthough at first they themselves did not accept the name.\n\n\n THE TWO ANTIOCHS.\n\n=Antioch in Syria= was 300 miles north of Jerusalem and about fifteen\nmiles from the Mediterranean shore, where was its port, then called\nSeleucia. It was the most beautiful city of Syria and at that time the\nmost important.\n\n=Antioch in Pisidia=, however, which is now called Yalobatch, is\n500 miles northwest of Jerusalem and 100 north of the coast of the\nMediterranean. This Antioch is partly on the southern declivity of a\nlong range of mountains and owes its ancient name to the same king who\ngave name to the Syrian Antioch. This king was Seleucus, king of Syria,\nwhose father\u2019s name, Antiochus, he gave to these cities and his own\nto Seleucia, fifteen miles off, on the coast, of which we have already\nspoken.\n\nAntioch was at this time the adopted city of a very active community of\nChristians, many of whom were Grecians and others Gentiles. Paul, whose\nspecial talents and education admirably fitted him for this class of\nconverts, being now at Tarsus, was sent for, and he remained in Antioch\nfor about a year; when he, with others, began a series of missionary\ntours whereby the gospel was not only extended throughout Western Asia\nbut introduced into Europe, as we shall soon see.\n\n=5.= A. D. 42. =About this period there came= to Antioch a prophet,\nby name Agabus, one of a number who not only foretold events but\nseemed endowed with extraordinary powers of exposition of the divine\nword.[187] This prophet announced that a great famine would soon call\nfor generosity on the part of the church at Antioch towards the poorer\nmembers of the community in Jud\u00e6a, Acts 11:28.\n\nThis announcement was made during the reign of Claudius, A. D. 41\u201254,\nof which reign Tacitus says that it was distinguished for earthquakes,\nbad harvests, and general scarcity.[188] The Christians in Antioch,\ntherefore, sent contributions to Jerusalem and commissioned Saul and\nBarnabas for the purpose of conveying these gifts, Acts 11:29.\n\nFor the first time we now read of the term \u201cpresbyters\u201d in the Greek,\nor seniores in the Vulgate translation, and called \u201celders\u201d in the\nEnglish version, Acts 11:30.\n\n=6. At this time= Herod Agrippa (see table page 229) ruled in Jud\u00e6a.\nClaudius had known him as an earnest advocate of his rule before his\nsuccession to the empire, and he therefore rewarded Herod with the\naddition of Samaria and Jud\u00e6a to those possessions of Philip Antipas\nwhich he before possessed. Herod had been imprisoned by Tiberius,\nbut Caligula restored him to liberty and presented him with a golden\nchain of the same weight as the iron one he had worn in prison, and\nthis chain he dedicated to the Temple when, A. D. 42, he arrived in\nJerusalem. This Herod courted the favor of the Jews by many public\nacts. In his time the northern section of Jerusalem, now inclosed\nwith a wall, was a suburb; and he inclosed it and, had not the prefect\nof Syria compelled him to stop, he would have strengthened all the\nfortifications of the city.\n\n=7. It was evidently, therefore=, because it pleased the Jews, and\nprobably at their instigation, that he wilfully put to death James,\nthe son of Zebedee, with the sword and proceeded to perpetrate the\nsame atrocity with Peter, having imprisoned him for that purpose. The\nhistory of this act of Herod and of the escape of Peter is given in\nActs 12. Herod, being not only disappointed, but evidently alarmed, at\nthe mystery of Peter\u2019s escape, retired immediately from Jerusalem to\nC\u00e6sarea and there met his sudden death, in the fifty-fourth year of his\nage, after seven years\u2019 reign in Palestine.\n\n=8. The dominion of these districts=, Jud\u00e6a, Samaria, and Galilee, now\nreverted to the prefect of Syria, and they were fully incorporated with\nthe Roman Empire.[189]\n\n\n JUD\u00c6A, SAMARIA, AND GALILEE.\n\n=The boundaries of these districts= cannot be exactly traced. Jud\u00e6a\nwas the most important; and its north border began at the Jordan and\nprobably ran up the valley of the Farah to the Jewish city Akrabeh,\nthence westward along the course of the valley of the present river\nBallut, coming out at the city Antipatris; and although the plain of\nSharon was politically a part of Jud\u00e6a, Herod having possession of the\nmaritime towns, yet strictly the line followed the river out to the sea.\n\nThis line formed the north boundary of Jud\u00e6a and the south boundary of\nSamaria, in the strictly Jewish sense.\n\nOf Galilee, the south boundary began at the Jordan east of\nBeth-shean, which was a Samaritan city. It ran along, probably, south\nof Mt. Gilboa, westward and just north of Jenin, the ancient En-gannim,\nwhich was within the Samaritan border, and probably along the ridge of\nCarmel. At the end of the ridge, near the sea, Galilee seems to have\nclaimed the modern Haifa, a village then called Sycaminon, and in this\nvicinity the seashore was in Galilee. The border line of Galilee thence\nretired inland, the coast plain belonging to Ph\u0153nicia. It then ran\nnortheasterly to the angle formed by the Leontes River, now called the\nKasimiyeh, then northward a short distance, and then east by south to\nBanias, thence southward, including some towns east of the upper Jordan\nand the Sea of Galilee, forming that part of Galilee called \u201cGalilee\nbeyond Jordan.\u201d\n\nThe extreme southern boundary of Jud\u00e6a, in the political sense, is\nmentioned in one of the rabbinical writings as from Petra to Ascalon,\nbut Ascalon itself did not belong to Jud\u00e6a.[190]\n\nThe apostles now seem to have \u201cleft Jerusalem for wider fields of\naction.\u201d[191]\n\n=9.= After a special religious consecration (Acts 13:3), Barnabas\nand Saul, accompanied by John Mark, a nephew of Barnabas, set out from\nAntioch on the first missionary tour to foreign countries.\n\n=Seleucia= was nearly four miles north of the mouth of the Orontes,\nupon which river the city of Antioch was built. From this port the\nmissionaries set sail for Cyprus, 130 miles distant.\n\n=Salamis= at this time was a populous city on the southeastern shore\nof Cyprus. In this city there was a colony of Jews, and Barnabas was\na native of Cyprus, and therefore the visitors did not feel themselves\nentirely strangers. But they passed along the southern coast road until\nPaphos, 100 miles distant, was reached. Here the apostle Paul met with\nthe proconsul Sergius Paulus.\n\n\n A PROCONSUL.\n\n=10.= From the time of Augustus, B. C. 27, the provinces were of two\nkinds, Senatorial and Imperial. The former were governed by a proconsul,\nwho was appointed by lot and had no military power, and was in office\nfor one year only.\n\nThe latter, or imperial provinces, were governed by a legate or\ncommissioner chosen directly by the emperor, and he served so long as\nthe emperor wished. He always went out to his province with military\npomp as a commander.\n\n=11. Syria= was an =imperial province=, and was governed by a legate or\ncommissioner of the emperor stationed at Antioch. Jud\u00e6a, however, was a\nspecial province, and its distance from Antioch and its peculiar people\nrequired a special officer under the commissioner at Antioch, and this\nofficer was called a procurator. He had his headquarters at C\u00e6sarea,\nActs 23:23, wore the military dress, and had a cohort as a body-guard,\nMatt. 27:27, called in this passage \u201cthe soldiers of the governor;\u201d\nmoreover, he had the power of life and death, Matt. 27:26, in his own\nprovince.\n\n=12. At the interview which Saul had= with the proconsul, called here\nthe \u201cdeputy,\u201d there was one of the class known at that day as sorcerers.\nThis man greatly interfered with the apostle\u2019s effort to explain the\nnew faith to the proconsul, who had requested instruction.\n\n=13. Peter had encountered= one of this class before, Acts 8:9.\nThe apostle now addressed the so-called sorcerer in terrible rebuke,\nforetelling his immediate blindness for a season, and thereby showing\nthat behind the earnest and reasonable presentation of the great truths\nof the new faith which had fully persuaded the proconsul there lay\nthe reserved authority of so great supernatural power to attest the\ndivinity of the doctrine.[192] That this is the meaning of the verse\nin Acts 13:12 is evident from a verse in Luke 4:32, which shows that it\nwas the method of confirming the doctrine, and not the doctrine itself,\nwhich caused the astonishment spoken of in the verse.\n\n=14. From this time Saul\u2019s name= is changed into Paul, and the other\nname never occurs again in Scripture. The apostle and his companions\nnow sailed from Paphos to the city of Perga in Pamphylia, 175 miles\nnorthwest. Mark left them at Perga and returned to Jerusalem for\nreasons not explained in the text.\n\n=Perga= exists as a ruin six or seven miles from the seacoast and\nabout 15 miles northeast of a seaport called Adalia by the Turks, the\nancient Attalia, built by Attalus, the king of Pergamos, 159\u2012138 B. C.,\nand hence its name. It has at present about 8,000 inhabitants, and\nsurrounds the port as an amphitheatre, the streets rising one above\nanother.\n\n=15. From Perga= the apostle proceeded to Antioch, now called Yalobatch,\nabout 90 miles north of Perga. The plain upon which Perga is situated\nis about 20 miles wide on the seacoast, and stretches eastward for\nabout 30 miles. East of Perga the Eurymedon River comes down through\nthe plain into the sea, and its sources are high in the ridges north\nof Perga. It is probable that up the valley of this river the apostles\npassed to the high table-land of Pisidia upon which Antioch is placed.\n\n=16. When they had arrived at Antioch= they awaited the\nSabbath-gathering at the synagogue, and being, as the custom was,\ninvited to speak to the assembled Jews and strangers, the apostle Paul\npresented the connection between the promises of the Old Testament and\nthe fulfilment of these promises in the coming and the teachings of\nChrist.\n\nThe impression made was so important and favorable that another\ngathering of a great crowd assembled on the following Sabbath. At this\ntime, however, the Jews and Jewish women created so great and so public\nopposition that the apostle was led to announce that hereafter he\nshould devote his labors to the conversion of the Gentiles and leave\nthe Jews to the consequences of their bitter opposition to the gospel\nhe was called to preach.\n\nBut a church was planted here in spite of the opposition, which\ncaused the departure of the apostles across the country to Iconium,\nabout 85 miles southeast.\n\n\n ICONIUM.\n\n=17. This city= is located upon the large plain which stretches\neastward 80 or 90 miles with little interruption. On the southeast\na solitary mountain rises at a distance of about 30 miles, \u201clike a\nlofty island in the midst of the sea.\u201d[193] The height of this mountain\nis nearly 4,000 feet above the plain. In March its top is generally\ncovered with snow. Here are the ruins of many tombs, churches, and\nother apparently public buildings, and these ruins have given rise to\nthe Turkish name Bin-bir-ka-lessi, or the \u201cthousand-and-one churches.\u201d\nWith general consent this place is supposed to mark the site of Lystra,\nwhich became the next place of visit by the apostles after leaving\nIconium. The name of this singular mountain in the Turkish is Kara-dagh,\nor Black Mountain.\n\nThe plain upon which Iconium is located is supposed to be 3,900 feet\nabove the Mediterranean. Iconium was a Greek city, if we may judge from\nthe large number of Greek ruins and inscriptions yet remaining, many of\nwhich are built into the walls of the town.\n\nHere Barnabas and Saul proceeded to work as at Antioch, and addressed\nthe Jews gathered at the synagogue in that place. But although their\nsuccess was great a division of opinion resulted, and the Jews made\npreparations to assault their visitors, but they fled to Lystra.\n\n=18. The identification of Lystra= with Bin-bir-ka-lessi has not been\nproved, but the supposed position at the ruins above mentioned is on\na large depression on the north side of the Kara-dagh Mountain. The\nvillage, not far off, is inhabited by Greeks.\n\nAt Lystra the two missionaries found no synagogue, and addressed\nthe citizens in some public place. Here Paul restored a man who had\nbeen born lame, and the consequent amazement produced by this miracle\ninduced the priest of Jupiter to bring oxen and garlands to the gates\nof the temple with the intent of offering sacrifices to Paul and\nBarnabas, who, despite their most earnest protestations, found it\ndifficult to prevent the sacrifices.\n\nBut the Jewish enmity was apparent again. Some of the members of the\nsynagogues in Antioch and Iconium followed the apostle and Barnabas\nacross the plain, and so bitterly prejudiced the inhabitants that they\nstoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.\nUnder the care of the disciples he revived, and the next day departed\nfor Derbe.\n\n=Derbe= has not yet been identified, but it is supposed to be at a ruin\nabout 25 miles east of Kara-dagh, called Divle.\n\n=19. There Barnabas and Paul= made apparently a short visit, during\nwhich they preached to many; but nothing more is stated than that they\nnow returned upon the same line of travel, revisiting and encouraging\ntheir converts at Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, and thence returning to\nPerga.\n\nHere they remained and preached, and then departed for Attalia, the\nseaport, distant about 15 miles southwest, whence they sailed on return\nto Antioch in Syria.\n\n=20.= But =the old question= of observance of the Law of Moses, which\nhad been agitated before and had never been satisfactorily quieted, now\nreappeared under such conditions that it demanded immediate and most\nserious attention. Some troublesome Jewish converts visiting Antioch\nproclaimed, as if charged with the authority of the elders at Jerusalem,\nthat the Greek and other Gentile converts must submit to the rites and\nceremonies of the Mosaic Law or they could not be saved. The discussion\nbecame so unpleasant at Antioch that a delegation, consisting of the\napostle Paul, Barnabas, and others, went to Jerusalem to present the\nsubject to a general council for decision.\n\n=21. After the discussion= in this general council, it was decided\nthat nothing should be required of the new Gentile converts except\nabstinence \u201cfrom meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from\nthings strangled, and from fornication.\u201d With this, the only concession\nto the Law of Moses, they returned to Antioch and announced to the\nassembled multitudes the decision of the council, which now and for\never set the question at rest. Henceforward all Christian converts were\nfree from the restrictions and rites of the Mosaic Ceremonial Law.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n THE SECOND AND THIRD MISSIONARY TOURS.\n\n\n=1.= A. D. 53. =A few days afterward=, Acts 15:36, Paul and Silas\nset out upon a second journey. The expressed object was to revisit the\nchurches they had planted. Barnabas preferred his nephew as companion;\nbut Paul, fearing that the desertion which had previously taken place\non the part of Mark might be repeated, preferred to associate himself\nwith Silas.\n\nBarnabas and Mark left for Cyprus, while Paul and Silas started\nfor Derbe, not as before by sea, but northward, by land, across the\nmountain known as Amanus, the pass of this range being about twenty\nmiles north of Antioch in Syria. This pass is now known as that of\nBeilan, which lets the traveller down upon the famous plain of Issus,\nwhere, B. C. 333, Alexander the Great had met and defeated the Persian\nking Darius. Crossing this plain to the extreme northeastern end of\nthe Mediterranean, now called the Gulf of Iskanderun (or Alexandretta),\nan additional distance of about twenty-five or thirty miles from the\nmountain pass, they had then the towns of Mopsuesta and Tarsus on the\nRoman road on the plain directly west as they turned around the corner\nof the coast.[194]\n\n=2. It appears, however=, that they soon reached the pass north of\nTarsus, by which they made their ascent to the great high tableland.\nThis pass was probably that of the so-called \u201cSilician Gates,\u201d\ntwenty-two or twenty-three miles north of Tarsus, at the top of which\nis the supposed site of Derbe, about fifty miles a little north of west,\nupon the great plain we have before described.\n\n=3. From Derbe they passed= westward to Lystra. Here Paul found Timothy,\na young convert from the last visit, as mentioned, Acts 16. Thence they\ncame to Iconium.\n\nThey now left the former route, and judging from the direction of the\nold roads and general routes of travel between important cities at that\ntime, it is probable that their course was through Laodicea (now called\nLadik),[195] Philomelium, and Synnada, the last two known at present as\nAk-sher and Eski Kara-hisser, or the \u201cold black castle.\u201d\n\nLadik is twenty-four or five miles northwest of Iconium and has many\nremains of antiquity. It is now a small place of only 500 inhabitants.\nAk-sher, or the \u201cwhite city\u201d of the Turks, is about sixty-five miles\nnorthwest of Iconium and contains about 1,500 houses, and is the\nPhilomelium of Strabo, the geographer. There is a remarkable salt lake\nten miles north of it, which is dry in summer and affords much salt\nat that season, but in the winter is full and extends some twenty or\nthirty miles westward.\n\n=4. The next point= which seems to have been on the course of travel\nwas near the great centre of the present opium manufacture of Asia\nMinor, namely, the place called \u201cthe opium black castle,\u201d or Aphium\nKara-hissar of the Turks. This place is on the northern base of a hill\non the south side of the river of the Ak-sher lake before spoken of.\nThis river is a small stream whose source is in the hills west of the\ntown, but it is lost in the lake, having no other outlet. Very fine\nmarble quarries existed in this region in ancient times.[196]\n\n=5. From this place= it is thought probable, judging, as we have\nsaid, from the lines of travel well known in those days, that the\nmissionaries went northeastward, first to Pessinus, now Bali-hissar,\nand then Ancyra, the present Angora, famous for its fine-haired goats\nand containing a population of perhaps 35,000. But nothing is known\ncertainly of the exact places visited, only that it is stated they\nwent \u201cthroughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia,\u201d and then probably\non the same route back to Synnada, and \u201cpassing by,\u201d that is on the\nborders of Mysia, came down to Troas.\n\n=6. Troas= was at this time a very important seaport on the northwest\nof Asia Minor near the site of ancient Troy and opposite the southeast\nextremity of the island of Tenedos, four miles distant. It is now\ncalled Eski Stamboul, i. e., Old Constantinople.\n\n=7. From here= Paul and Silas set sail directly towards Samothrace,\nan island in the \u00c6gean Sea northwest from Troas, and landed at Neapolis\non the shore of Macedonia. Thence they travelled about twelve miles\nnorth to Philippi, which was a Roman military colony. Here the events\noccurred which are described in Acts 16:12\u201240.\n\n=8. From Philippi= the travellers took the Roman road to Amphipolis.\nThis city stood on high ground about three miles from the sea and\nthirty-three from Philippi. It was colonized by Athenians and called\nAmphipolis from being nearly surrounded by the river Strymon.\n\n=9. The next point= reached was Apollonia, but the exact location is\nnot known. It is laid down in some of the ancient itineraries as being\nthirty miles from Amphipolis. Thence they travelled to Thessalonica,\nthirty-seven miles distant from Apollonia. This was a very important\nplace and is even now second only to Constantinople. Its present name\nis Saloniki and it is at the head of the Thermaic Gulf. It was a busy\ncommercial town at the time of the visit of the two missionaries. Here\nPaul and Silas remained for several weeks, publicly explaining and\nproving the new doctrines of the gospel, Acts 17:1\u201210.\n\n=10. Opposition from the Jews= arising, they left for Ber\u0153a. Ber\u0153a is\nnow called Verria, and is sixty miles west by north from Thessalonica.\nIt is a large town at present, having some 20,000 inhabitants. Here the\nusual vexation and opposition on the part of the Jews made it necessary\nthat the apostle Paul should leave the town, and at night and alone he\nwent down to the seashore to a shipping town about twenty-five miles\ndistant, called Dium, and from thence he set sail for Athens, which was\nby sea about 270 miles distant. We now may read the history as recorded\nin Acts 17.\n\n=11. Athens at the time= of the apostle\u2019s visit was included in the\nRoman province of Achaia. It was not then in its palmiest days of\nprosperity, but it was nevertheless the centre of art and learning and\na city of great voluptuousness and idolatry. It contained one large\n_Agora_, \u201cthe market\u201d or place of assembling of its citizens, a large\nsquare or open place which not only contained but was surrounded by\nthe finest sculptures and buildings perhaps at that time existing\nin the world. The apostle came here alone, 1 Thess. 3:1, and while\nwaiting for his companions he met and preached to many in the Agora,\nuntil he attracted so much attention that he was invited to the great\nassembling-place on the north of the Agora called the Areopagus, where\nthe most important court or council of the Areopagus was held. Solon\ngave the court censorial and political powers, but St. Paul was called\nhere more because of the curious desire of the Athenians to hear about\nthis new doctrine. At this place he delivered that masterly address\nrecorded in Acts 17.[197]\n\nHis labors at Athens did not meet with much success, although some were\npersuaded and believed, and one of the court itself, Dionysius by name,\nwho afterwards became a bishop of a Christian community formed there.\nPaul soon left Athens for Corinth.[198]\n\n=12. Corinth= was a rival of Athens in luxury and magnificence, in\ncommerce and in wealth, and was perhaps even in art second only to\nAthens. It was situated upon the isthmus of the Peloponnesus and noted\nfor its Acropolis, built upon an elevation 1,886 feet above the city on\nthe south. It was sacked and nearly destroyed by the Romans, B. C. 146,\nand nearly all the treasures of art were carried to Rome, but the city\nwas restored under Julius C\u00e6sar. Only a few ruins remain. The modern\ntown is on the Gulf of Corinth, three miles north from the site of the\nold city, and contains about 2,600 inhabitants. It is 45 miles a little\nsouth of due west from Athens.[199] Here Paul remained for nearly two\nyears, A. D. 52, 53, and preached with great success; and while here he\nwrote the Epistle to the Thessalonians[200] and planted other churches\nin Achaia, 2 Cor. 1:1.\n\n=13. Cenchre\u00e6= was five and a half miles east-southeast of Corinth\non the shore of the Gulf of \u00c6gina. It was an important port at the\ntime when the apostle visited it. At present it is called Kekriais[201]\nand is not inhabited; the only remains are of an ancient dry dock. From\nthis place Paul set sail for Ephesus, 235 miles almost due east.\n\n=14. Ephesus= is 35 miles south-southeast from Smyrna, near where the\nriver Cayster empties into the Gulf of Scala Nova. It was the capital\nof Ionia and had one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of\nRevelation. The ruins which remain consist chiefly of a magnificent\ntheatre, supposed to be large enough to accommodate 30,000 people,\na stadium or gymnasium, besides walls and towers and remains of the\ntemple of Diana, for which it was most famous. The worship of Diana was\nattended with the study and practice of magic in various forms, and the\n\u201cmagical letters\u201d spoken of by many classic authors[202] as \u201cEphesian\nletters\u201d were in use at the time of the apostle\u2019s visit. The temple was\nin its splendor also at that time.[203]\n\nOn this the first visit, A. D. 54, of the apostle to Ephesus he\nremained but a short time, and then departed for Jerusalem, Acts\n18:19\u201221, and thence down to Antioch.\n\n\n THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR.\n\n=15. In this tour the starting-place= was at Antioch, as in the former\ntour. The churches planted in Galatia and Phrygia were visited, perhaps\non the line of travel previously chosen, and then a course was taken\ndirect to Ephesus, which now became the centre of the apostle\u2019s labors,\nA. D. 54\u201257.\n\n=16.= It was at the close of this visit that the remarkable tumult\ndescribed in Acts 19 took place, A. D. 57.\n\nPaul now left Ephesus for Philippi by Neapolis, as in the previous\njourney, and thence to Thessalonica and Ber\u0153a, and onward by land to\nCorinth, a journey of about 220 miles through Thessaly and Achaia.\n\n=17.= But it seems, Rom. 15:19, that at Thessalonica Paul resolved\nto visit the lands west of Macedonia as far as Illyricum. This was\nprobably in the summer of A. D. 57, and perhaps the autumn. The journey\nwas along the Roman road to Dyrrachium, about 200 miles, and across\nseveral ranges of mountains.\n\nWhile at Dyrrachium it is probable he made a tour about 170 miles to\nthe south to Neapolis, on the Bay of Arta, and returning by the city\nApollonia on the Adriatic, came back to Ber\u0153a and thence to Corinth.\nThe region which he visited was that Dalmatia referred to in 2 Tim.\n4:10. Dalmatia was included in the greater region of Illyricum, and was\nupon the shore of the Adriatic, being contiguous to M\u0153sia on the north\nand Macedonia on the east.\n\n=18. After wintering at Corinth=, Paul with several friends, Acts\n20:4, returned to Achaia, Ber\u0153a, and the towns previously visited, to\nNeapolis, and thence by sea to Troas. At this place the events stated\nin Acts 20 took place.\n\nRemaining a short time at Troas while his companions took ship, Paul\nwalked across the promontory to Assos, about 25 miles distant by the\nroad, and arrived in time to meet the ship, which had to stop at that\ncity. The place Assos is now a small village known by the name Beiram.\n\n=19. From this place= they sailed by Mitylene, the capital of the\nisland of the same name, now called Lesbos. Going between the islands\nand the shore, they passed Chios, Samos, and the promontory and cape\nat Trogyllium on the then Ionian coast. At Miletus Paul stopped and\nsent for the elders at Ephesus while the vessel was exchanging freight.\nMiletus is about 50 miles south of Ephesus. Passing Cos, which is about\n55 miles from Miletus, and then the island of Rhodes, they put into\nPatera in Lycia, which was a seaport of the town of Xanthus, famous\nfor its oracle. Thence, taking another vessel, Acts 21:2, Paul sailed\ndirectly for Tyre, on the Ph\u0153nician coast. From this city he and his\nparty sailed for Ptolemais, 28 miles southward, where the sea voyage\nended.\n\n=20. The rest of the journey= to Jerusalem was on foot by C\u00e6sarea. The\noccurrences at C\u00e6sarea are narrated in Acts 21, and on his arrival at\nJerusalem Paul was seized in the Temple by a mob comprised of resident\nJews, urged on by some who were in attendance upon the feast from\nforeign parts who had seen Paul abroad in some Asiatic place.\n\nPaul was now protected by the military interference of the Roman chief\n\u201ccaptain of the band\u201d stationed at the Temple. The history is minutely\ngiven us in Acts 21:32\u201240. By the order of Festus the governor, called\nthe procurator of Jud\u00e6a, who succeeded Felix A. D. 61, Paul was taken\nto C\u00e6sarea.\n\n=21. On Paul\u2019s appeal to C\u00e6sar= he was taken on board a vessel sailing\nfrom C\u00e6sarea and committed to the care of a centurion, Acts 27:1.\n\nThe course of the vessel, as stated Acts 27, was first to Sidon,\nwhere a short stay was made. Then \u201cunder Cyprus,\u201d that is to the east\nof the island, as the winds were from the northwest and contrary, they\n\u201ctacked\u201d to Myra, a city of Lycia. This city stands upon a hill about\ntwo miles back from the shore. It is now called by its ancient name by\nthe Greeks. Its port is Andriaca.\n\n=22. The course thence= was to Cnidus, which is at the western end of a\npeninsula between the islands Rhodes and Cos; there they changed their\ncourse to the southward and passed Cape Salmone, on the extreme east of\nthe island of Crete. The wind now was more ahead, that is, against them.\nHence they \u201chardly,\u201d meaning \u201cwith difficulty,\u201d reached Fair Havens,\nnear which was the city of Lasea. It is ninety miles from Cnidus to\nCape Salmone and seventy from Salmone to Lasea. The island of Crete\nis 160 miles long, and they remained under Crete and near the shore,\nhoping to reach Ph\u0153nice, which is about forty miles from Lasea.\n\n=23. They had not sailed= more than about twenty miles before the wind,\nwhich had been from the south, changed around and blew so violently\nfrom the east that the vessel became unmanageable and they \u201clet her\ndrive.\u201d The course was now west by north seven degrees, and this course\nwas kept from Clauda to Melita, about 500 miles. Clauda is south of\nCrete twenty miles.\n\n\n MALTA.\n\n=24. Malta= is the largest of a group of islands, the one at that time\ncalled Melita, now Malta, being the easternmost. The shore is almost\nentirely precipitous; two or three small bays are found on the northern\nshore, one of which is supposed to be that into which Paul\u2019s ship was\ndriven. It is fifteen miles from the eastern end of the island, which\nis twenty miles in length, and this is the only bay on that side with a\nstream emptying into its waters. The stream is only a very small brook\ncoming down from a source in the southwest. It was running in November\nwhen the writer visited the locality.\n\n=25. Acts 27:27 to 28:10= should be read in this connection. The island\nof Malta contains many ancient remains of Ph\u0153nician, Greek, and Gothic\nconstruction. In the Library at Valetta are three medals and other\nobjects found on the island said to contain Ph\u0153nician letters, and Sir\nW. Drummond has translated a Punic legend found on a square stone in a\nsepulchral cave which states that it marks the burial-place of Hannibal.\n\n=26. After three months\u2019 stay= on this island Paul\u2019s company proceeded\non their way to Rome, stopping at Syracuse three days. Syracuse at this\ntime seems to have been very populous. It was on the eastern part of\nSicily and on the coast, and was the residence, at various times, of\nsome of the most celebrated philosophers and poets, Plato, Simonides,\nZeno, and Cicero; and here Archimedes lost his life at the capture of\nthe city by the Romans.\n\n=27. Thence the vessel= passed to Rhegium, now called Reggio\n(pronounced red\u00b4jo). This place, in Calabria, is the southernmost\ncity and seaport of Italy, and was once a renowned city eight miles\nsoutheast of Messina across the strait of the same name. It has a\npopulation now of about 20,000.\n\n=28. The next day= they came to Puteoli, now Pozzuoli (pronounced\npot-soo-o\u00b4-lee) on a gulf of the same name seven miles southwest of\nNaples. Its vicinity was celebrated as the residence of wealthy Romans\nand the port was an important one. But the land has sunken, as the\nwriter found many evidences that parts of the ancient city were covered\nwith the waters of the sea.\n\n=29. The main Roman road=, called the Appian Way, was now taken, upon\nwhich was the marketplace called Apii Forum, forty-three miles from\nRome. Its site is supposed to be marked by some ruins near Treponti.\nFarther on was a place called the \u201cThree Taverns,\u201d about thirty-three\nRoman miles from the city and near the present Cisterna.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n PAUL AT ROME.\n THE SEVEN CHURCHES.\n COLOSSE AND HIERAPOLIS.\n\n\n=1. After their arrival= at Rome, Paul was permitted to dwell by\nhimself with a soldier who kept him and to whom he was bound with\na chain, Acts 28:20. For two years Paul remained at Rome in a hired\nhouse, Acts 28:30, teaching and preaching to all those who came to\nvisit him, and no one forbade him, for the Jews at Rome were under\nso great fear of the Government that they were exceedingly cautious\nto cause no uproar. They had not long before been expelled from the\ncity in consequence of an uproar, and they were forced to express any\nobjections to the new faith in a very quiet way.[204]\n\n=2. We can learn nothing= of the subsequent life of the apostle except\nfrom notices which occur in the various epistles. It appears that the\nJews were unable to gather any definite charge sufficient to sustain\nthem in any plea against Paul. But during this long residence at Rome\nseveral epistles were written and many converts were made through the\napostle\u2019s efforts.\n\n=3. For his success in preaching= see Phile. 14. It is evident that\nLuke was with him, Col. 4:15; Phile. 24; Timothy also, Phile. 1; Col.\n1:1; Phil. 1:1; and others; see Col. 4:7; Eph. 6:21; and John Mark was\nfound \u201cprofitable to him,\u201d Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:1; Phile. 24; Col. 4:14;\n2 Tim. 4:10, wherein we see that Demas afterward forsook him; Col. 1:7.\n\nAt this time the case of Onesimus is interesting; see Epistle to\nPhilemon. Onesimus had escaped to Rome and had been converted to the\ntrue faith, but after his conversion returned with a letter from Paul\nto his master.\n\nThe Epistle to the Colossians was now written and sent probably by\nOnesimus and Tychicus, the latter being charged with another epistle,\nnamely, to the Ephesians.\n\nThese letters were written probably in the spring of A. D. 62. About\nthis time Paul was cheered by an offering sent from the church in\nPhilippi, who remembered the apostle in his confinement, Phil. 4. This\nEpistle to the Philippians was also written from Rome and sent by the\nsame one that brought the gift from the church, namely, Epaphroditus.\n\n=4. All we know= of the apostle after this is from ecclesiastical\nwriters of the early Christian church. From these it has been supposed\nthat he was tried and acquitted of the charges against him and that\nafter this he visited some of the churches he had been instrumental in\nplanting.\n\nIn this route it is thought that from Rome he went by Brundusium,\nthence to Dyrrachium and onward to Macedonia and to the churches there.\nIt is even thought that now he visited Spain, A. D. 64, in accordance\nwith an expression in Rom. 15:24, 28. But these visits are only\nconjectural.\n\n=5. It seems however= that he was again arrested and sent to Rome, some\nthink while spending a time at Nicopolis, on the Bay of Actium. In this\nsecond imprisonment he was confined as a malefactor, 2 Tim. 2:9, and\nnone would visit him or stand by him, 2 Tim. 1:16; 4:16, and now it is\nsaid the second Epistle to Timothy was written. Whether Timothy ever\narrived in Rome after this is not known. But the second trial came on,\nand the history states that he was condemned to be beheaded; and beyond\nthe city walls, along the road to Ostia, the port of Rome, he was led\nout and executed, a Roman swordsman beheading him.\n\n=6. Besides the apostle Paul=, only three appear as =writers= in the\nremaining parts of Scripture; these are James, \u201cthe Lord\u2019s brother,\u201d\nPeter, and John. James is author of one of the general epistles,\nevidently intended for universal use and not sent to any one church,\nand hence called \u201cThe Epistle General of James.\u201d It makes the twentieth\nof the New Testament books.\n\nPeter is last mentioned when at Antioch, as recorded in Gal. 2:11\u201221.\nIt is supposed from 1 Pet. 5:13 that he remained in Babylon in Chald\u00e6a,\nwhere at an early period many Jews were settled, as Josephus shows. He\nwrote two epistles, which form the twenty-first and twenty-second books\nof the New Testament, and these were written apparently in his old age.\nThe tradition is that he suffered martyrdom in Rome.\n\n\n THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA.\n\n=7.= The only other writer of the New Testament not yet mentioned is\nJohn. He wrote three epistles and the book of Revelation, in which are\nmentioned the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis,\nPhiladelphia, and Laodicea, Rev. 1:11.\n\nEphesus has already been described.\n\n=8. Smyrna= was then \u201cthe ornament of Asia, with the finest harbor\nin the world.\u201d Although no mention is made of it in the book of Acts\nnor in any of the epistles of St. Paul, it may have been one of the\nearliest churches founded by St. John. Eratosthenes states that Smyrna\nwas built by the Cum\u00e6ans B. C. 1015, and according to Pliny it took\nits name from an Amazon, Smyrna by name, who founded it. In the time of\nthe apostles it had a temple and hot springs.[205] It is at present a\npopulous city, built however a little to the south of the ancient site,\nand contains about 200,000 inhabitants.\n\n=9. Pergamos= is 50 miles nearly due north from Smyrna. It is described\nduring the Roman period as the finest city of their new province of\nAsia. Its possession by the Romans was due to the gift of Attalus its\nking, B. C. 132.\n\nPergamos was celebrated for its extensive collections of libraries and\nfor the patronage of art and science at its court. All the ruins now\nfound are of the Roman period except a tunnel over the river Selinus,\nnow a small stream. This double tunnel appears to be extremely ancient,\nand is supposed to be of the time of Attalus. It runs under the present\ntown of Bergamah for 600 feet, with arches of 40 feet diameter and\n20 feet high. The present town contains about 30,000 inhabitants. As\nthe artisans were skilled in preparing skins for manuscripts, the skins\nthemselves were known by the name of the place, and hence the name\n\u201cparchment,\u201d which is only a change of the ancient name of Pergamos.\n\n=10. Thyatira= is now called Ak-hissar, \u201cthe white castle,\u201d from a\ncastle on the white hill back of the plain upon which the city is built.\nThe plain has always been inhabited, and was celebrated at and long\nbefore the period of the apostles for its manufacture of dyes,[206]\nand this art is alluded to in Acts 16:14. It never had any reputation\notherwise, but was always a busy trading city. It is 52 or 53 miles\nnortheast of Smyrna, and was a Macedonian colony in the time of\nStrabo,[207] but before his time it was called Pelopia,[208] upon\nwhich site the colony was placed by the Syrian king Seleucus Nicator,\na general of Alexander the Great.\n\n=11. Sardis=, the once proud capital of Lydia, the residence of Cr\u0153sus,\nthe wealthiest monarch of his age, and \u201cthe queen of Asia,\u201d[209] is now\nutterly desolate. The site is about 50 miles east of Smyrna, and the\nriver Pactolus is on the west. It is now called Sart, and there are to\nbe found only two or three huts and a water-mill.\n\nIf Smyrna be taken as a centre of a great circle, the three cities last\nmentioned will be nearly on the circumference: Pergamos north, Thyatira\nnortheast, and Sardis east, each about 50 miles from the centre.\n\n=12. Philadelphia=, the next in order as mentioned in Revelation, is\neast of Sardis about 30 miles, on the northeastern slope of Mt. Tmolus,\nnear the little stream of the Cogamus, which winds about on the plain\nand falls into the Hermus near Sardis. It received its name from its\nfounder, Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, B. C. about 140 years.\nStrabo says that the city was subject to frequent earthquakes,[210]\nand Tacitus says that Philadelphia was nearly entirely destroyed by an\nearthquake in the reign of Tiberius.[211] Although never a city of much\nprominence, it has outlasted Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea. One-third\nof the present population, 15,000, are Christians of the Greek Church.\nIt is still surrounded by walls, but they are very much dilapidated.\n\n=13. Laodicea= was once a rich and flourishing city, but nothing\nremains of it but a vast stadium, a theatre, and a gymnasium. Laodicea\nis nearly 100 miles due east of Ephesus, Colosse is 10 or 12 miles\nsoutheast, and Hierapolis about the same distance nearly north.\n\n=14.= Besides the seven cities forming the sites of the famous seven\nchurches of Asia, there are two others to be noticed, =Colosse= and\n=Hierapolis=. The former was written to by St. Paul in his Epistle to\nthe Colossians. Nothing remains but a few fragments of broken columns\nand building stones.\n\n=Hierapolis= received its name from its remarkable hot springs. At\none place the deadly gas (carbonic dioxide) exhaled from the opening of\na cave where the spring was located, and this exhalation caused death\nto animals and men. This fact originated the superstition that some\ndivinity presided over the city, and hence it became called Hierapolis,\n\u201cthe holy city.\u201d About the time of the apostles there was so great an\nabundance of the water supply that baths were built in every part of\nthe city. The waters are so heavily charged with lime that they deposit\nstalactites and stalagmites in every direction, and the whiteness of\nthe rock and ground over which the waters flow is so general that the\nplace may be seen at a great distance, and because of its dazzling\nwhiteness it receives the name of Pembouk Kalessi, \u201cCotton Castle.\u201d\nIt is only mentioned in Col. 4:13.\n\nThe apostle John, who outlived the rest of the apostles, seems to have\nhad a special interest in those seven churches of Asia. He is said to\nhave exercised a pastoral care over them all, but at some time after\nthe death of Paul he went to Ephesus and dwelt there. He was banished\nto Patmos, probably by the Emperor Domitian, A. D. 95, where he wrote\nthe Revelation.\n\n\n PATMOS.\n\nThis little rugged island was used as a place of banishment of Roman\ncriminals. It is 32 miles west of the coast of Asia Minor, and is rocky\nand barren and about 28 miles in circumference. It has a port on the\neast where is a deep indentation. The population at present is 4,000,\nall Greeks and a seafaring people. On a height above the principal town\nis a large convent, resembling a fortress, where are said to be some\nvaluable manuscripts.\n\nOn his return from banishment John went back to Ephesus, where he died\nat the great age of 95, A. D. 100. He was known to the last as the Holy\nTheologian, and the present name of the little village, Ayasoluk, near\nEphesus, is the Turkish form of the Greek Hagios-Theologos, the Holy\nTheologian.\n\n MAP: GENERAL MAP OF BIBLE LANDS ILLUSTRATING\n THE ORIGIN OF NATIONS\n\n MAP: CANAAN AND ITS TRIBES\n _BEFORE THE CONQUEST BY JOSHUA_\n\n _American Tract Society\n 150 Nassau St\n New York_\n\n MAP: ASSYRIA, CHALDEA\n MEDIA, ARMENIA, AND SYRIA\n\n _American Tract Society\n 150 Nassau St\n New York_\n\n MAP: CANAAN AND ITS TRIBES\n _BEFORE THE CONQUEST BY JOSHUA_\n\n _American Tract Society\n 150 Nassau St\n New York_\n\n MAP: SINAI AND THE DESERT OF THE WANDERINGS\n\n _American Tract Society\n 150 Nassau St\n New York_\n\n MAP: THE HOLY LAND _IN THE_ TIME OF THE KINGS.\n\n MAP: SINAI AND THE DESERT OF THE WANDERINGS\n\n _American Tract Society\n 150 Nassau St\n New York_\n\n MAP: ENVIRONS OF JERUSALEM.\n\n MAP: MAP SHOWING THE MISSIONARY TOURS\n OF THE APOSTLE PAUL\n\n _American Tract Society\n 150 Nassau St\n New York_\n\n\n\n\n FOOTNOTES.\n\n\n 1 \u2013 \u201cAncient Empires of the East,\u201d p. 95. PLINY, N. H., VI. 130.\n\n 2 \u2013 \u201cLippincott\u2019s Gazetteer,\u201d 1881.\n\n 3 \u2013 Pronounced Moo-rad\u2019-chi (_chi_ as in China).\n\n 4 \u2013 Geikie, Vol. I., p. 108.\n\n 5 \u2013 \u201cWo lag das Paradies?\u201d Dr. Delitzsch.\n\n 6 \u2013 Of this manuscript we shall give a description hereafter,\n as also of the Septuagint.\n\n 7 \u2013 Schumann\u2019s \u201cCommentary on Genesis.\u201d\n\n 8 \u2013 Schaff\u2019s \u201cBible Dictionary,\u201d p. 184.\n\n 9 \u2013 Translation of Society of Biblical Arch\u00e6ology, Vol. IV.,\n p. 315.\n\n 10 \u2013 Eichhorn\u2019s \u201cEinleitung,\u201d Vol. I., p. 90.\n Geikie, Vol. I., p. 83.\n\n 11 \u2013 W. F. Wilkinson, \u201cPersonal Names in the Bible,\u201d p. 10.\n\n 12 \u2013 Delitzsch, \u201cChald\u00e6an Genealogy,\u201d p. 304.\n\n 13 \u2013 Wilkinson, p. 15.\n\n 14 \u2013 Trench, \u201cStudy of Words.\u201d\n\n 15 \u2013 Geikie.\n\n 16 \u2013 Copper is as abundant now as then. There is quite a trade\n in copper between Bagdad and Bassora near the head of the\n Persian Gulf. All household utensils are made of copper.\n When Xenophon arrived with his Ten Thousand, B. C. 400,\n in this region (in his time it was called the land of the\n Carduchi) he was astonished at the quantity of metallic\n utensils. Lenormant, \u201cAncient History of the East,\u201d\n Vol. II., p. 203.\n\n 17 \u2013 Rawlinson, \u201cThe Five Great Monarchies,\u201d Vol. I., p. 98.\n\n 18 \u2013 Perrot & Chipiez, \u201cArt in Chald\u00e6a.\u201d\n\n 19 \u2013 See \u201cSpeaker\u2019s Commentary,\u201d Vol. I., p. 62. Geikie, Vol. I.,\n p. 184.\n\n 20 \u2013 See Vigouroux and Lenormant, as quoted by Geikie, Vol. I.,\n p. 86.\n\n 21 \u2013 So Schrader in Geikie, Vol. I., p. 208.\n\n 22 \u2013 Osborn\u2019s \u201cManual of Biblical Geography.\u201d\n\n 23 \u2013 Full references in Bochart\u2019s \u201cGeography,\u201d pp. 192, 193.\n\n 24 \u2013 Schrader in Geikie, Vol. I., p. 234.\n\n 25 \u2013 Bochart, \u201cGeog. Sac.,\u201d p. 157.\n\n 26 \u2013 Ibid., p. 586.\n\n 27 \u2013 \u201c\u00c9tudes de l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 historique.\u201d Paris, 1873.\n\n 28 \u2013 Geikie, p. 234, Vol. I.\n\n 29 \u2013 Lenormant, Vol. II., \u201cAncient History of the East,\u201d p. 236.\n\n 30 \u2013 Some have recently offered a new reading of this text, as\n follows: \u201cFrom that land he [Nimrod] went into Assyria;\u201d\n but, beside what has been above said, Rosenm\u00fcller observes\n that if this had been the meaning the Hebrew would have\n been different. We may add that the Septuagint translators\n understood it as it is in our English version, that it was\n not Nimrod, but Asshur, who built Nineveh.\n\n 31 \u2013 It has been supposed by some that the word \u201cRehoboth\u201d\n does not refer to a city, but to the \u201c_wide street_\u201d of\n Nineveh. The term is used in that sense in an inscription\n of Esar-haddon, in which he says that he paraded the heads\n of two kings of Sidon through (Rehoboth) \u201cthe streets\u201d\n of Nineveh. W. A. I., Vol. I., p. 45; in \u201cHistory of\n Esar-haddon,\u201d Budge, 1881, p. 41.\n\n 32 \u2013 Herodotus, Vol. II., p. 121.\n\n 33 \u2013 Geikie, Vol. I., p. 247.\n\n 34 \u2013 More fully spoken of page 69.\n\n 35 \u2013 The hieratic is written from right to left, as is the\n Ph\u0153nician. See Sayce\u2019s \u201cAncient Empires of the East,\u201d\n Scribner, 1886, p. 84.\n\n 36 \u2013 Bertheau, as quoted by Geikie, Vol. I., p. 251, and\n Lenormant, Vol. II., p. 144.\n\n 37 \u2013 Job 41:6; Prov. 31:24, where the word \u201cmerchant\u201d is\n Canaanite in the Hebrew.\n\n 38 \u2013 \u201cAntiquities,\u201d Vol. I., \u00a7 6:4.\n\n 39 \u2013 Maclear, p. 24.\n\n 40 \u2013 Oppert, \u201cJournal Asiatique,\u201d Vol. X., p. 220; Vol. IX.,\n p. 503. Lenormant, \u201cLangue Primitive de la Chald\u00e9e,\u201d p. 355.\n Geikie, Vol. I., p. 291.\n\n 41 \u2013 Lenormant, \u201cAncient History of the East,\u201d p. 445.\n\n 42 \u2013 Geikie, Vol. I., p. 274.\n\n 43 \u2013 \u201cPr\u00e6p Evang.,\u201d IX., 17. Geikie, Vol. I., p. 295.\n\n 44 \u2013 A. H. Sayce in the \u201cHibbert Lectures,\u201d 1887. See also in\n \u201cOld Testament Student,\u201d 1887, p. 134.\n\n 45 \u2013 Sayce, translation as referred to in previous note.\n\n 46 \u2013 See Herzog, article \u201cUr.\u201d\n\n 47 \u2013 Pronounced _ha\u00b4-i_.\n\n 48 \u2013 Pronounced _a\u00b4-i_.\n\n 49 \u2013 Hale\u2019s date is B. C. 2078.\n\n 50 \u2013 Gen. 16:7; 20:1; 25:18; Exod. 15:22; 1 Sam. 15:7; 27:8.\n Shur means \u201cwall.\u201d\n\n 51 \u2013 Pronounced Ke\u00b4-ops.\n\n 52 \u2013 Wilkinson\u2019s date is B. C. 1532, but Brugsch gives it as\n B. C. 1433.\n\n 53 \u2013 Sir Henry Rawlinson.\n\n 54 \u2013 \u201cLa Langue Primitive,\u201d p. 376; in Tomkin\u2019s \u201cTimes of\n Abraham,\u201d p. 181.\n\n 55 \u2013 Bir es Seba in the Arabic is the same as Beersheba in the\n Hebrew.\n\n 56 \u2013 Sayce, \u201cAncient Empires,\u201d p. 200.\n\n 57 \u2013 We have mentioned them on page 37.\n\n 58 \u2013 Fourth memoir of \u201cThe Egypt Exploration Fund,\u201d 1887,\n p. 15.\n\n 59 \u2013 Osborn\u2019s \u201cAncient Egypt in the Light of Modern Discovery,\u201d\n p. 82.\n\n 60 \u2013 Ebers\u2019 \u201cKonigst\u00f6chter,\u201d Vol. I., p. 22 in the note, 40.\n\n 61 \u2013 Geikie, Vol. I., p. 468.\n\n 62 \u2013 See Geikie, Vol. I., p. 462.\n\n 63 \u2013 For illustrations of this fact see \u201cAncient Empires of the\n East,\u201d Sayce. Preface.\n\n 64 \u2013 Dynasty was the term given to kings of the same family or\n blood relations.\n\n 65 \u2013 This view appears to be the correct one, although there is\n some variation of opinion.\n\n 66 \u2013 Gray\u2019s \u201cConnection between Sacred and Heathen Authors,\u201d\n p. 563. Longinus \u201cOn the Sublime.\u201d\n\n 67 \u2013 Lepsius in Geikie, Vol. II., p. 384.\n\n 68 \u2013 Supposed to have been Debir, south of Hebron.\n\n 69 \u2013 Wilkinson in Tomkins\u2019 \u201cStudies of the Times of Abraham,\u201d\n p. 86.\n\n 70 \u2013 Tomkins, p. 86.\n\n 71 \u2013 Odyssey, Book II., l. 521. Gladstone\u2019s \u201cHom. Synchron.\u201d\n pp. 174, 182.\n\n 72 \u2013 Now called Ain es Sultan.\n\n 73 \u2013 Ussher\u2019s time as in the margin of our Bibles.\n\n 74 \u2013 The Talmud is described hereafter.\n\n 75 \u2013 Bishop Horsley.\n\n 76 \u2013 Deut. 27:12; 11:30; Num. 34:13\u201229; Exod. 21:13;\n Num. 35:6, 11, 14; Deut. 19:2, 9.\n\n 77 \u2013 The affix \u201cim\u201d to a word was equivalent to the letter _s_\n in English.\n\n 78 \u2013 Lenormant, Vol. II., p. 223.\n\n 79 \u2013 Geikie, Vol. II., p. 466.\n\n 80 \u2013 Meaning \u201chamstrung.\u201d Our version puts horses in italics,\n showing that it is not in the original.\n\n 81 \u2013 Browne in \u201cOrdo S\u00e6culorum,\u201d Vol. I., chap. 5, sec. 3.\n\n 82 \u2013 For another solution of the chronology of this period see\n the \u201cOld Testament Student,\u201d January, 1884.\n\n 83 \u2013 The place where the courts were held.\n\n 84 \u2013 Burckhardt\u2019s \u201cTravels,\u201d p. 339.\n\n 85 \u2013 Osburn\u2019s \u201cAncient Egypt,\u201d p. 138. London. Samuel Bagster\n & Sons.\n\n 86 \u2013 The place assigned as probable, namely, Astug, is an\n impossible site, for Ziklag after the Captivity is located\n between Beersheba and Jerusalem, and Astug was at that\n time too far off for settlement by returned captives.\n\n 87 \u2013 1 Kings 11:42.\n\n 88 \u2013 \u201cAntiquities,\u201d IX., 11:1.\n\n 89 \u2013 Strabo, XV., 1:6. Geikie, Vol. V., p. 339.\n\n 90 \u2013 Jer. 48:40; 49:22.\n\n 91 \u2013 Ezek. 17:3.\n\n 92 \u2013 Lenormant, \u201cAncient History of the East,\u201d 475, in\n remarkable corroboration of 2 Kings 24:7.\n\n 93 \u2013 Also spelled Mizpeh, the meaning being _watch-tower_.\n\n 94 \u2013 1 Kings 12:28.\n\n 95 \u2013 Under the title of Apis; Greek, Ser-apis, for Osiris-Apis.\n\n 96 \u2013 Ecclus. 36:15 and Maccabees 9:27; 14:41.\n\n 97 \u2013 T. G. Pinches, in \u201cTrans. Soc. of Biblical Arch\u00e6ology,\u201d\n May, 1884. Same as Tiglath-pileser, 2 Kings 15:29.\n\n 98 \u2013 Lenormant and Chev., \u201cAncient History of the East,\u201d p. 392.\n\n 99 \u2013 Lenormant, 392.\n\n 100 \u2013 Idem, 604.\n\n 101 \u2013 Lenormant etc., \u201cAncient History of the East,\u201d p. 406.\n Geikie\u2019s date would make it too late, see authorities in\n Geikie, V., p. 91., and for the translation of cylinders,\n \u201cHistory of Esar-haddon,\u201d Budge, 1881, Boston, Osgood &\n Co., p. 103.\n\n 102 \u2013 See Rawlinson\u2019s \u201cFive Great Monarchies,\u201d II., p. 477,\n English Edition; also Maclear\u2019s \u201cOld Testament History,\u201d\n p. 445.\n\n 103 \u2013 Such as Psalms 79, 102, 126, 137, and others.\n\n 104 \u2013 Their tendencies were idolatrous from the beginning,\n 1 King 14:15. For the comparative morality see p. 150.\n\n 105 \u2013 It is not probable that he went to Babylon, but his\n prophecies were taken there, Dan. 9:2; Jer. 29.\n\n 106 \u2013 The discussion of this matter of Darius of Dan. 5:31\n may be found in \u201cTranslations of the Society of Biblical\n Arch\u00e6ology,\u201d VI., pp. 1\u2012133; also in Geikie, Vol. VI.,\n p. 398.\n\n 107 \u2013 Some remained in Palestine.\n\n 108 \u2013 \u201cOld Testament History,\u201d Maclear, p. 476. Ezra 8.\n\n 109 \u2013 According to Ussher.\n\n 110 \u2013 Zech. 1:1.\n\n 111 \u2013 \u201cThe Book of Esther,\u201d by Haley, Andover, 1885.\n\n 112 \u2013 Full description by Dr. M. Jastrow, Jr., \u201cSunday-school\n Times,\u201d Philadelphia, November 17, 1888.\n\n 113 \u2013 For the critical account, see \u201cThe Book of Esther,\u201d by\n Haley, Andover, 1885. More recently, \u201cHarper\u2019s Monthly,\u201d\n June, 1887. \u201cRevue des Etudes Juives,\u201d Avril\u2012Juin, 1888.\n \u201cSunday-school Times.\u201d November 17, 1888.\n\n 114 \u2013 Geo. Rawlinson, \u201cThe Religions of the Ancient World,\u201d\n p. 79.\n\n 115 \u2013 Idem, p. 86; the utmost that was allowed was the emblem of\n the winged circle.\n\n 116 \u2013 Keil\u2019s \u201cComments on Esther,\u201d p. 309, \u201cBook of Esther,\u201d\n Haley, p. 81.\n\n 117 \u2013 Chiefly on the authority of A. H. Sayce, \u201cThe Ancient\n Empires of the East.\u201d\n\n 118 \u2013 According to Josephus.\n\n 119 \u2013 \u201cIntroduction to Hebrew Literature,\u201d J. W. Etheridge, M.A.,\n London, 1856, p. 20.\n\n 120 \u2013 B. C. 291, Maclear\u2019s \u201cNew Testament History,\u201d p. 11; and\n B. C. 310\u2012290, Westcott\u2019s \u201cBible in the Church,\u201d p. 300.\n\n 121 \u2013 Macc. 2:13.\n\n 122 \u2013 For proofs of spiritual activity of this period, B. C. 536,\n read Ezra 6:16\u201222. That they had the prophets Haggai and\n Zechariah with them, read 6:14. That they were ready to\n worship God anywhere before they had a temple, 3:1\u20126.\n That they called Ezra and caused him to read and explain\n the Law to them, Neh. 8:1, etc.\n\n 123 \u2013 Jos., Contra Apion, lib. I., 8. Euseb., \u201cEccl. History,\u201d\n lib. III., chap. 10. Josephus lived in the time of the\n apostles. He was born A. D. 37 and died after A. D. 97 and\n made this statement 400 years after the Canon, or list,\n had been closed.\n\n 124 \u2013 These men gave rise to a class of writings called\n \u201cInterpretations,\u201d or in their language Targums, which are\n also explanations as well as interpretations, and give the\n ideas of the earliest writers upon Scripture.\n\n 125 \u2013 Prideaux, Part I., Book 5.\n\n 126 \u2013 What is called the Samaritan translation is a translation\n of this Pentateuch into the Samaritan language and is not\n the Samaritan Pentateuch.\n\n 127 \u2013 The proofs of the use of the square Hebrew since Ezra are\n found given in Conder\u2019s \u201cHandbook to the Bible\u201d (Gemara,\n Sanhedrin, f. 21, 22), p. 174. \u201cHorne\u2019s Introd.\u201d II.,\n p. 12\u201217 for the versions of the Pentateuch (Samaritan),\n Smith\u2019s \u201cDictionary of the Bible,\u201d Vol. III.\n\n 128 \u2013 In the time of Darius Nothus, B. C. 409, so Prideaux says,\n \u201cConnection,\u201d Vol. I., pp. 357\u2012359.\n\n 129 \u2013 This is the date of his visit to Jerusalem and profanation\n of the Temple. Clinton in Woodward and Cates.\n\n 130 \u2013 Prideaux, Part II., Book 3.\n\n 131 \u2013 In Babylon, but formerly in Palestine into 153, for three\n years\u2019 reading. \u201cThe New Testament Scriptures,\u201d Charteris,\n p. 17. Etheridge, \u201cIntroduction to Hebrew Literature,\u201d\n p. 201.\n\n 132 \u2013 The year was not so determined in that era that the same\n number of weeks, or Sabbaths, would always occur one year\n with another, some years having as many as fifty-four\n Sabbaths, or thirteen months. Ayres\u2019 Dictionary,\n \u201cChronology.\u201d\n\n 133 \u2013 \u201cTalmud,\u201d Berokoth, 12; Etheridge, \u201cIntroduction to Hebrew\n Literature,\u201d p. 201.\n\n 134 \u2013 Westcott, \u201cBible in the Church,\u201d p. 29.\n\n 135 \u2013 Westcott, p. 36.\n\n 136 \u2013 \u201cThe Book of Esther,\u201d Andover, 1885. p. 18.\n\n 137 \u2013 Described hereafter, p. 204.\n\n 138 \u2013 The Septuagint gave it the name \u201cNumbers,\u201d but the English\n is the translation of the Greek, but in the other case the\n Greek words are used in English letters.\n\n 139 \u2013 The \u201cBook of the Dead\u201d is found in more than one copy,\n though originally one, having been added to\u2015\u2015hence we\n use the plural term. Called also \u201cRitual of the Dead.\u201d\n Rawlinson\u2019s \u201cReligions of the Ancient World,\u201d p. 26, note.\n\n 140 \u2013 Baedeker\u2019s \u201cEgypt,\u201d p. 210.\n\n 141 \u2013 Prideaux states that there were 100,000 Jews in Alexandria\n at this time, B. C. 270.\n\n 142 \u2013 Both Josephus and Philo gave descriptions of this class\n of Jews under the name of Essenes, holy men. See Prideaux,\n Part II., Bk. 5, also Etheridge\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to Hebrew\n Literature,\u201d p. 21.\n\n 143 \u2013 \u201cIntroduction to Hebrew Literature,\u201d Etheridge, p. 29.\n\n 144 \u2013 See Parkhurst\u2019s Lexicon, \u201cSanhedrin,\u201d p. 825.\n\n 145 \u2013 \u201cIntroduction to Hebrew Literature,\u201d Etheridge, p. 29.\n\n 146 \u2013 Etheridge, \u201cIntroduction to Jewish Literature,\u201d p. 88.\n Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple burned A. D. 70.\n\n 147 \u2013 Simon Ben Yochai, time of the Emperor Antonine.\n \u201cIntroduction to Hebrew Literature,\u201d p. 82.\n\n 148 \u2013 He was head of the Sanhedrin B. C. 32. \u201cIntroduction to\n Hebrew Literature,\u201d p. 37.\n\n 149 \u2013 In the Gamara, tract Sanhedrin, fol. 21, 22, Conder\u2019s\n \u201cHandbook,\u201d p. 174.\n\n 150 \u2013 As seen in the inscription in the Siloam tunnel, \u201cEchoes\n of Bible History,\u201d Bishop Walsh, p. 282.\n\n 151 \u2013 Conder\u2019s \u201cHandbook to the Bible,\u201d London, 1887, p. 173.\n\n 152 \u2013 Recently discovered by Dr. Ginsburg, in British Museum.\n\n 153 \u2013 Bishop Walsh\u2019s \u201cEchoes of Bible History,\u201d p. 257.\n\n 154 \u2013 The books are \u201cJasher,\u201d Josh. 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:18; \u201cThe\n Acts of Solomon,\u201d 1 Kings 11:41; \u201cThe Book of Nathan,\u201d\n 1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; \u201cThe Prophecy of Ahijah,\n the Shilonite,\u201d and \u201cIddo\u201d (Yeddo), \u201cthe Seer, against\n Jeroboam,\u201d 2 Chron. 9:29; \u201cThe Book of Shemaiah;\u201d \u201cThe\n Book of Jehu,\u201d the son of Hanani, 2 Chron. 12:15; 20:34;\n \u201cThe Sayings of the Seers,\u201d 2 Chron. 33:19; and the\n \u201cLamentations over Josiah,\u201d which are not the same as\n those over Jerusalem which we have in the Old Testament.\n\n 155 \u2013 Josephus\u2019 \u201cAntiquities,\u201d lib. 13, ch. 18. Prideaux, B. II.,\n ch. 5., p. 31.\n\n 156 \u2013 Bloomfield\u2019s \u201cNotes,\u201d Matt. 1:1.\n\n 157 \u2013 Palestine Exploration Fund Map; but Baedeker 1,788 ft.\n\n 158 \u2013 See the full references and statements in Maclear\u2019s \u201cNew\n Testament History,\u201d p. 134. Merivale shows that Cyrenius\n was twice governor of Syria, and the Greek word \u03c0\u03c1\u03ce\u03c4\u03b7\n may refer to the first time, or the enrolment. See also\n Bloomfield\u2019s \u201cNotes on the New Testament,\u201d Luke 2. \u201cThe\n whole world\u201d is a term frequently used when only all that\n land and no more was meant. Thus in 2 Sam. 24:8, in the\n Hebrew, \u201cthe whole world\u201d meant, evidently, the whole of\n that land only. So in Acts 11:28; 17:6; the phrase was\n used in either way as including only the entire Syria or\n Jud\u00e6a to a Jew, or, to a Roman citizen, it was the Roman\n Empire.\n\n 159 \u2013 Gen. 49:10.\n\n 160 \u2013 As shown in Prideaux\u2019s \u201cConnection.\u201d\n\n 161 \u2013 This place was then in Gaul, now called France.\n\n 162 \u2013 \u201cWars of the Jews,\u201d VI., \u00a79:3.\n\n 163 \u2013 Bloomfield, John 2:14, note.\n\n 164 \u2013 Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great by Malthace. See the\n Table, p. 229.\n\n 165 \u2013 Bloomfield, Notes in Matt. 9:9.\n\n 166 \u2013 Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration.\n\n 167 \u2013 Died A. D. 420.\n\n 168 \u2013 Murray\u2019s \u201cHandbook,\u201d 1875, p. 408.\n\n 169 \u2013 Baedeker\u2019s \u201cPalestine and Syria,\u201d p. 374.\n\n 170 \u2013 Merrill, \u201cGalilee in the time of Christ,\u201d p. 48.\n\n 171 \u2013 Herodotus, 3:20, and Athen., p. 268.\n\n 172 \u2013 Bloomfield, \u201cNotes,\u201d Matt. 26:7.\n\n 173 \u2013 Idyll 15, line 114; Parkhurst, Lex., 5; Bloomfield,\n Luke 8:1.\n\n 174 \u2013 Josephus, \u201cAntiquities,\u201d XVII., 2:2.\n\n 175 \u2013 Ellicott, 333, in Maclear\u2019s \u201cClass Book of the New\n Testament,\u201d p. 149.\n\n 176 \u2013 Prideaux, \u201cConnection,\u201d II., 9, p. 379.\n\n 177 \u2013 \u201cAntiquities,\u201d XVIII., 3:2.\n\n 178 \u2013 Pausanias, V., 12:12, in Bloomfield\u2019s \u201cNotes,\u201d Matt. 27:51.\n\n 179 \u2013 As mentioned, \u201cIliad,\u201d III., l. 315, 316, etc. \u201cIliad,\u201d\n VII., l. 175, 176, etc.\n\n 180 \u2013 Conybeare and Howson\u2019s, \u201cLife and Travels of St. Paul,\u201d\n CXIV.\n\n 181 \u2013 John 21:2, 3.\n\n 182 \u2013 Sebaste being the Greek form of the word Augustus.\n\n 183 \u2013 Acts 6:5.\n\n 184 \u2013 Baedeker, p. 317.\n\n 185 \u2013 Josephus\u2019 \u201cAntiquities,\u201d XIX., 1:11, and Maclear\u2019s \u201cNew\n Testament History,\u201d p. 394.\n\n 186 \u2013 These cohorts are mentioned by Arrian; see authority in\n Bloomfield\u2019s \u201cNotes,\u201d Acts 10:1.\n\n 187 \u2013 Maclear, \u201cNew Testament History,\u201d p. 403, note.\n\n 188 \u2013 Tac., \u201cAnn.,\u201d 12:13; Josephus, \u201cAntiquities,\u201d III., 15:3;\n XX., 2:5. The famine here foretold took place in Jud\u00e6a\n A. D. 44, in the fourth year of Claudius. Josephus,\n \u201cAntiquities,\u201d XIX., 7:2.\n\n 189 \u2013 Merivale, VI., 116, 117. Cassius Longinus was now\n appointed, A. D. 44, to the presidency of Syria, and\n Cuspius Fadus was appointed governor of Jud\u00e6a, Josephus,\n \u201cAntiquities,\u201d XIX., 9:2; XX., 1:1. See Maclear, \u201cNew\n Testament History,\u201d p. 409.\n\n 190 \u2013 For authorities and more minute description see Conder\u2019s\n \u201cHandbook to the Bible,\u201d p. 301, seq. For Galilee see\n Merrill\u2019s \u201cGalilee in the time of Christ.\u201d\n\n 191 \u2013 Lightfoot \u201cOn the Galatians,\u201d p. 285.\n Maclear, \u201cNew Testament History,\u201d p. 40.\n\n 192 \u2013 There was a remarkable influx of Oriental sorcerers,\n astrologers, and soothsayers at this time into Rome and\n other cities, as Conybeare and Howson show, Vol. I.,\n p. 141.\n\n 193 \u2013 Walpole, \u201cTravels in the East,\u201d p. 222.\n\n 194 \u2013 Conybeare and Howson place Adana and \u00c6g\u00e6 on the course, but\n Adana is thought to have been planted by Justinian, and \u00c6g\u00e6\n if at Aias, 35 miles southeast of Adana on the coast, was\n too far out of the way.\n\n 195 \u2013 Not the Laodicea of Scripture.\n\n 196 \u2013 Strabo, 12; died A. D. 25; Claudian in \u201cEutropius,\u201d 2,\n A. D. 395.\n\n 197 \u2013 Conybeare and Howson, Vol. I., pp. 440\u2012444, second edition.\n\n 198 \u2013 Ayres\u2019 Dictionary, \u201cAthens.\u201d\n\n 199 \u2013 See account in Lippincott\u2019s \u201cGazetteer.\u201d\n\n 200 \u2013 To the Church at Thessalonica.\n\n 201 \u2013 As an educated Greek lady wrote it for the author, \u039a\u03b5\u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2.\n\n 202 \u2013 Pliny, 36, chap. 14; Strabo, 12 and 14; Mela, etc.\n\n 203 \u2013 Mucianus, A. D. 75, says that in his time the woodwork\n appeared as new, though nearly 400 years old. Tristram,\n \u201cSeven Churches of Asia,\u201d p. 14.\n\n 204 \u2013 Jud\u00e6os impulsore Chresto assidu\u00e9 tumultuantes Rom\u00e2 expulit.\n Suetonius, Claudian, 25.\n\n 205 \u2013 Strabo, XIV., chap. 1.\n\n 206 \u2013 Pliny V., chap. 31.\n\n 207 \u2013 Even in the time of Homer, Iliad, IV., 141.\n\n 208 \u2013 Strabo, XIII., chap. 4, \u00a7 4.\n\n 209 \u2013 Tristram, \u201cSeven Churches.\u201d\n\n 210 \u2013 Strabo XIII., chap. 4, \u00a7 10.\n\n 211 \u2013 \u201cAnnals,\u201d Vol. II., p. 47.\n\n\n\n\n TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES.\n\n\n The following corrections have been made in the text:\n\n Page 184:\n Sentence starting: The tradition seems....\n \u2013 \u2018Testement\u2019 replaced with \u2018Testament\u2019\n (canonical books of the Old Testament)\n\n Page 224:\n Sentence starting: Hence to him their....\n \u2013 \u2018Sandedrin\u2019 replaced with \u2018Sanhedrin\u2019\n (consultation with the Sanhedrin,)\n\n Footnote 43:\n \u2013 \u2018Pr\u0153p.\u2019 replaced with \u2018Pr\u00e6p.\u2019\n (\u201cPr\u00e6p Evang.,\u201d IX., 17.)","title":"A Class-Book of Biblical History and Geography: with numerous maps","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":70674}