SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM.
Early on Tuesday morning, the eleventh of October, I set out by
carriage, with some other tourists, for a trip to Bethlehem, Solomon's
Pools, and Hebron. Bethlehem is about five miles south of Jerusalem, and
Hebron is a little southwest of the Holy City and twenty miles distant.
We started from the Jaffa gate and passed the Sultan's Pool, otherwise
known as Lower Gihon, which may be the "lower pool" of Isaiah 22:9. "The
entire area of this pool," says one writer, "is about three and a half
acres, with an average depth, when clear of deposit, of forty-two and
a half feet in the middle from end to end." We drove for two miles, or
perhaps more, across the Plain of Rephaim, one of David's battlefields
soon after he established himself in Jerusalem. Here he was twice
victorious over the Philistines. In the first instance he asked Jehovah:
"Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into
my hand?" The answer was: "Go up; for I will certainly deliver the
Philistines into thy hand." In this battle the invaders were routed and
driven from the field. "And they left their images there; and David and
his men took them away." But "the Philistines came up yet again, and
spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of
Jehovah, he said, Thou shalt not go up: make a circuit behind them, and
come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when
thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees,
that then thou shalt bestir thyself, for then is Jehovah gone out before
thee to smite the hosts of the Philistines." David obeyed the voice of
the Lord, and smote his enemies from Geba to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:17-25.)
On the southern border of the plain stands the Greek convent called Mar
Elyas. This is about half way to Bethlehem, and the city of the nativity
soon comes into view. Before going much farther the traveler sees a
well-built village, named Bet Jala, lying on his right. It is supposed
to be the ancient Giloh, mentioned in 2 Samuel 15:12 as the home of
Ahithophel, David's counselor, for whom Absalom sent when he conspired
against his father. Here the road forks, one branch of it passing Bet
Jala and going on to Hebron; the other, bearing off to the left, leads
directly to Bethlehem, which we passed, intending to stop there as we
returned in the evening. At this place we saw the monument erected to
mark the location of Rachel's tomb, a location, like many others, in
dispute. When Jacob "journeyed from Bethel and there was still some
distance to come to Ephrath," Rachel died at the birth of Benjamin, "and
was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem). * * * And
Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave" (Gen. 35:16-20). The spot, which
for many centuries was marked by a pyramid of stones, is now occupied
by a small stone building with a dome-shaped roof, at the east side of
which is a room, open on the north, with a flat roof. For hundreds of
years tradition has located the grave at this place, which is indeed
near Bethlehem, but in 1 Samuel 10:2 it is mentioned as being "in the
border of Benjamin," which has occasioned the belief that the true
location is some miles farther north.
Before long we came to Solomon's Pools. We first stopped at a doorway,
which looks like it might lead down to a cellar, but in reality the door
is at the head of a flight of stairs leading down to what is known as
the "sealed fountain" (Song of Solomon 4:12). The door was fastened,
and we were not able to descend to the underground chamber, which is
forty-one feet long, eleven and a half feet wide, with an arched stone
roof, all of which, except the entrance, is below the surface. A large
basin cut in the floor collects the water from two springs. After rising
a foot in the basin, the water flows out into a channel more than six
hundred feet long leading down to the two upper pools. These great
reservoirs, bearing the name of Israel's wisest monarch, are still in a
good state of preservation, having been repaired in modern times.
The first one is three hundred and eighty feet long, two hundred and
twenty-nine feet wide at one end, two hundred and thirty feet wide at
the other, and twenty-five feet deep. The second pool is four hundred
and twenty-three feet long, one hundred and sixty feet wide at the upper
end, two hundred and fifty feet wide at the lower end, and thirty-nine
feet deep at that end. The third pool is the largest of all, having a
length of five hundred and eighty-two feet. The upper end is one hundred
and forty-eight feet wide, the lower end two hundred and seven feet,
and the depth at the lower end is fifty feet. The pools are about one
hundred and fifty feet apart, and have an aggregate area of six and a
quarter acres, with an average depth approaching thirty-eight feet. The
upper two received water from the sealed fountain, but the lower one was
supplied from an aqueduct leading up from a point more than three miles
to the south. The aqueduct from the sealed fountain leads past the
pools, and winds around the hills to Bethlehem and on to the Temple
Area, in Jerusalem. It is still in use as far as Bethlehem, and could be
put in repair and made serviceable for the whole distance. An offer
to do this was foolishly rejected by the Moslems in 1870. The only
habitation near the pools is an old khan, "intended as a stopping place
for caravans and as a station for soldiers to guard the road and the
pools." The two upper pools were empty when I saw them, but the third
one contained some water and a great number of frogs. As we went on to
Hebron we got a drink at "Philip's Well," the place where "the eunuch
was baptized," according to a tradition which lacks support by the
present appearance of the place.
Towards noon we entered the "valley of Eschol," from whence the spies
sent out by Moses carried the great cluster of grapes. (Num. 13:23.)
Before entering Hebron we turned aside and went up to Abraham's Oak, a
very old tree, but not old enough for Abraham to have enjoyed its
shade almost four thousand years ago. The trunk is thirty-two feet in
circumference, but the tree is not tall like the American oaks. It is
now in a dying condition, and some of the branches are supported by
props, while the lower part of the trunk is surrounded by a stone wall,
and the space inside is filled with earth. The plot of ground on which
the tree stands is surrounded by a high iron fence. A little farther up
the hill the Russians have a tower, from which we viewed the country,
and then went down in the shade near Abraham's Oak and enjoyed our
dinner.
Hebron is a very ancient city, having been built seven and a half years
before Zoar in Egypt. (Num. 13:22.) Since 1187 it has been under the
control of the Mohammedans, who raise large quantities of grapes, many
of which are made into raisins. Articles of glass are made in Hebron,
but I saw nothing especially beautiful in this line. The manufacture of
goat-skin water-bottles is also carried on. Another line of work which I
saw being done is the manufacture of a kind of tile, which looks like a
fruit jug without a bottom, and is used in building. Hebron was one of
the six cities of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and for seven years and a half
it was David's capital of Judah. It is very historic. "Abraham moved his
tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and
built there an altar unto Jehovah." (Gen. 13:18.) When "Sarah died in
Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan, * * * Abraham
came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." At this time the worthy
progenitor of the Hebrew race "rose up from before his dead, and spoke
unto the children of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with
you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury
my dead out of my sight." The burial place was purchased for "four
hundred shekels of silver, current money of the land. * * * And after
this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave in the field of Machpelah
before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan" (Gen.
23:1-20). Years after this, when both Abraham and his son Isaac had
passed the way of all the earth and had been laid to rest in this cave,
the patriarch Jacob in Egypt gave directions for the entombment of his
body in this family burial place. "There they buried Abraham and Sarah
his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I
buried Leah" (Gen. 49:31), and here, by his own request, Jacob was
buried. (Gen. 50:13.) Joshua, the successor of Moses, "utterly
destroyed" Hebron (Joshua 10:37), and afterwards gave it to Caleb, to
whom it had been promised by Moses forty-five years before. (Joshua
14:6-15.) Here Abner was slain (2 Samuel 3:27), and the murderers of
Ishbosheth were put to death. (2 Samuel 4:12.)
The most interesting thing about the town is the "cave of Machpelah,"
but it is inaccessible to Christians. Between 1167 and 1187 a church was
built on the site, now marked by a carefully guarded Mohammedan mosque.
It is inclosed by a wall which may have been built by Solomon. We were
allowed to go in at the foot of a stairway as far as the seventh step,
but might as well have been in the National Capitol at Washington so far
as seeing the burial place was concerned. In 1862 the Prince of Wales,
now King of England, was admitted. He was accompanied by Dean Stanley,
who has described what he saw, but he was permitted neither to examine
the monuments nor to descend to the cave below, the real burial chamber.
As the body of Jacob was carefully embalmed by the Egyptian method, it
is possible that his remains may yet be seen in their long resting place
in this Hebron cave. (Gen. 50:1,2.)
Turning back toward Jerusalem, we came to Bethlehem late in the
afternoon, and the "field of the shepherds" (Luke 2:8) and the "fields
of Boaz" (Ruth 2:4-23) were pointed out. The place of greatest interest
is the group of buildings, composed of two churches, Greek and Latin,
and an Armenian convent, all built together on the traditional site
of the birth of the Lord Jesus. Tradition is here contradicted by
authorities partly on the ground that a cave to which entrance is made
by a flight of stairs would probably not be used as a stable. This
cave is in the Church of St. Mary, said to have been erected in 330 by
Constantine. Descending the stairs, we came into the small cavern, which
is continually lighted by fifteen silver lamps, the property of the
Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, who each have an interest in the place.
Beneath an altar, in a semi-circular recess, a silver star has been set
in the floor with the Latin inscription: "_Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus
Christus Natus est._" An armed Turkish soldier was doing duty near this
"star of Bethlehem" the evening I was there. The well, from which it is
said the "three mighty men" drew water for David, was visited. (2 Samuel
23:15.) But the shades of night had settled down upon the little town
where our Savior was born, and we again entered our carriages and drove
back to Jerusalem, having had a fine day of interesting sight-seeing. On
the Wednesday before I left Jerusalem, in the company of Mrs. Bates, I
again visited Bethlehem.
Thursday, October thirteenth, was the day we went down to Jericho, the
Dead Sea, and the Jordan. The party was made up of the writer, Mr.
Ahmed, Mr. Jennings, Mrs. Bates, four school teachers (three ladies and
a gentleman) returning from the Philippines, and the guides, Mr. Smith
and Ephraim Aboosh. We went in two carriages driven by natives. "A
certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among
robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half
dead" (Luke 10:30). This lonely road is still the scene of occasional
robberies, and the Turkish Government permits one of its soldiers to
accompany the tourist for a fee, but we did not want to take this
escort, as neither of the guides feared any danger. Accordingly we took
an early start without notifying the soldiers, and reached Jericho,
about twenty miles away, in time to visit Elisha's Fountain before
dinner. The road leads out past Bethany, down by the Apostles' Fountain,
on past the Khan of the Good Samaritan, and down the mountain to the
plain of the Jordan, this section of which is ten miles long and seven
miles wide. Before the road reaches the plain, it runs along a deep
gorge bearing the name Wady Kelt, the Brook Cherith, where the prophet
Elisha was fed by the ravens night and morning till the brook dried up.
(1 Kings 17:1-7.) We also saw the remains of an old aqueduct, and of a
reservoir which was originally over five hundred feet long and more than
four hundred feet wide. Elisha's Fountain is a beautiful spring some
distance from the present Jericho. Doubtless it is the very spring whose
waters Elisha healed with salt. (2 Kings 2:19-22.) The ground about
the Fountain has been altered some in modern times, and there is now a
beautiful pool of good, clear water, a delight both to the eye and to
the throat of the dusty traveler who has come down from Jerusalem seeing
only the brown earth and white, chalky rock, upon which the unveiled sun
has been pouring down his heat for hours. The water from the spring now
runs a little grist mill a short distance below it.
After dinner, eaten in front of the hotel in Jericho, we drove over to
the Dead Sea, a distance of several miles, and soon we were all enjoying
a fine bath in the salt water, the women bathing at one place, the men
at another. The water contains so much solid matter, nearly three and a
third pounds to the gallon, that it is easy to float on the surface with
hands, feet and head above the water. One who can swim but little in
fresh water will find the buoyancy of the water here so great as to make
swimming easy. When one stands erect in it, the body sinks down about
as far as the top of the shoulders. Care needs to be taken to keep the
water out of the mouth, nose and eyes, as it is so salty that it is very
disagreeable to these tender surfaces. Dead Sea water is two and a half
pounds heavier than fresh water, and among other things, it contains
nearly two pounds of chloride of magnesium, and almost a pound of
chloride of sodium, or common salt, to the gallon. Nothing but some very
low forms of animal life, unobserved by the ordinary traveler, can live
in this sea. The fish that get into it from the Jordan soon die. Those
who bathe here usually drive over to the Jordan and bathe again, to
remove the salt and other substances that remain on the body after the
first bath. The greatest depth of the Dead Sea is a little over thirteen
hundred feet. The wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood here some
place, but authorities disagree as to whether they were at the northern
or southern end of the sea. In either case every trace of them has been
wiped out by the awful destruction poured on them by the Almighty. (Gen.
18:16 to 19:29)
The Jordan where we saw it, near the mouth, and at the time we saw it,
the thirteenth of October, was a quiet and peaceful stream, but the
water was somewhat muddy. We entered two little boats and had a short
ride on the river whose waters "stood, and rose up in one heap, a great
way off," that the children of Israel might cross (Joshua 3:14-17), and
beneath whose wave the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized by the
great prophet of the Judaean wilderness. (Matt. 3:13-17.) We also got
out a little while on the east bank of the stream, the only time I was
"beyond Jordan" while in Palestine. After supper, eaten in Jericho, we
went around to a Bedouin encampment, where a dance was being executed--a
dance different from any that I had ever seen before. One of the
dancers, with a sword in hand, stood in the center of the ground they
were using, while the others stood in two rows, forming a right angle.
They went through with various motions and hand-clapping, accompanied
by an indescribable noise at times. Some of the Bedouins were sitting
around a small fire at one side, and some of the children were having a
little entertainment of their own on another side of the dancing party.
We were soon satisfied, and made our way back to the hotel and laid down
to rest.
The first Jericho was a walled city about two miles from the present
village, perhaps at the spring already mentioned, and was the first city
taken in the conquest of the land under Joshua. The Jordan was crossed
at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19), where the people were circumcised with knives
of flint, and where the Jews made their first encampment west of the
river. (Joshua 5:2-10.) "Jericho was straitly shut up because of the
children of Israel," but by faithful compliance with the word of the
Lord the walls fell down. (Joshua 6:1-27.) "And Joshua charged them with
an oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah,
that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: with the loss of his
first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his
youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." Regardless of this curse,
we read that in the days of Ahab, who "did more to provoke Jehovah, the
God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before
him, * * * did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation
thereof with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates
thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word
of Jehovah, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun" (1 Kings 16:33,34).
"The Jericho * * * which was visited by Jesus occupied a still different
site," says Bro. McGarvey. The present Jericho is a small Arab village,
poorly built, with a few exceptions, and having nothing beautiful in or
around it but the large oleanders that grow in the ground made moist by
water from Elisha's Fountain. We had satisfactory accommodations at the
hotel, which is one of the few good houses there. Jericho in the time of
our Lord was the home of a rich publican named Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10),
and was an important and wealthy city, that had been fortified by Herod
the Great, who constructed splendid palaces here, and it was here that
"this infamous tyrant died." The original Jericho, the home of Rahab the
harlot, was called the "city of palm trees" (Deut. 34:3), but if the
modern representative of that ancient city has any of these trees, they
are few in number. Across the Jordan eastward are the mountains of Moab,
in one of which Moses died after having delivered his valedictory, as
recorded in Deuteronomy. (Deut. 34:1-12.) From a lofty peak the Lord
showed this great leader and law-giver a panorama of "all the land of
Gilead unto Dan. * * * And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which
I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it
unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou
shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in
the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And he buried him
in the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man
knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day."
Early Wednesday morning we began our toilsome journey back to Jerusalem,
having nearly four thousand feet to climb in the twenty miles
intervening. We stopped awhile at the Khan of the Good Samaritan, which
stands near some old ruins, and may not be far from the place to which
the Good Samaritan carried his poor, wounded fellow-man so long ago.
Here I bought some lamps that look old enough, but may be quite modern
imitations of the kind that were carried in the days of the wise and
foolish virgins. A stop was also made at the Apostles' Fountain, near
Bethany, where I saw an Arab working bread on his coat, which was spread
on the ground. Over by the Damascus gate I one day saw a man feeding his
camel on his coat, so these coarse cloth garments are very serviceable
indeed. We got back to Jerusalem in time to do a good deal of
sight-seeing in the afternoon.
The following Tuesday was occupied with a trip on "donkey-back" to Nebi
Samwil, Emmaus, Abu Ghosh, and Ain Kairim. Our party was small this
time, being composed of Mr. Jennings, Mr. Smith, the writer, and a
"donkey-boy" to care for the three animals we rode, when we dismounted
to make observations. He was liberal, and sometimes tried to tell us
which way to go. We went out on the north side of the city and came to
the extensive burial places called the "Tombs of the Judges." Near by is
an ancient wine press cut in the rock near a rock-hewn cistern, which
may have been used for storing the wine. En Nebi Samwil is on an
elevation a little more than three thousand feet above the sea and about
four hundred feet higher than Jerusalem, five miles distant. From the
top of the minaret we had a fine view through a field glass, seeing the
country for many miles around. This is thought by some to be the Mizpah
of the Bible (1 Kings 15:22), and tradition has it that the prophet
Samuel was buried here. A little north of Nebi Samwil is the site of
ancient Gibeon, where "Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before
the servants of David" (2 Samuel 2:12-17).
We next rode over to El Kubebeh, supposed by some to be the Emmaus of
New Testament times, where Jesus went after his resurrection and sat at
meat with his disciples without being recognized. (Luke 24:13-25.) The
place has little to attract one. A modern building, which I took to be
the residence of some wealthy person, occupies a prominent position, and
is surrounded by well-kept grounds, inclosed with a wall. The Franciscan
monastery is a good sized institution, having on its grounds the remains
of a church of the Crusaders' period, over which a new and attractive
building has been erected. One section of it has the most beautiful
floor of polished marble, laid in patterns, that I have ever seen. It
also contains a painting of the Savior and the two disciples.
We went outside of the monastery to eat our noon-day lunch, but before
we finished, one of the monks came and called us in to a meal at
their table. It was a good meal, for which no charge was made, and I
understand it is their custom to give free meals to visitors, for they
believe that Jesus here sat at meat with his two disciples. We enjoyed
their hospitality, but drank none of the wine that was placed before us.
Our next point was Abu Ghosh, named for an old village sheik who, "with
his six brothers and eighty-five descendants, was the terror of the
whole country" about a century ago. Our object in visiting the spot was
to see the old Crusaders' church, the best preserved one in Palestine.
The stone walls are perhaps seven or eight feet thick. The roof is still
preserved, and traces of the painting that originally adorned the walls
are yet to be seen. A new addition has been erected at one end, and the
old church may soon be put in repair.
The last place we visited before returning to Jerusalem was Ain Kairim,
a town occupied mainly by the Mohammedans, and said to have been the
home of that worthy couple of whom it was written: "They were both
righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6). The portion occupied by the Latins and
Greeks is very beautifully situated on the side of the mountain. The
stone houses, "whited walls," and green cypresses make quite a pretty
picture. The Church of St. John, according to tradition, stands on the
spot where once dwelt Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John, the
great forerunner of Jesus. Night came upon us before we got back to our
starting place, and as this was my first day of donkey riding, I was
very much fatigued when I finally dismounted in Jerusalem; yet I arose
the next morning feeling reasonably well, but not craving another donkey
ride over a rough country beneath the hot sun.
On Saturday, the twenty-second of October, I turned away from Jerusalem,
having been in and around the place almost two weeks, and went back to
Jaffa by rail. After a few miles the railway leads past Bittir, supposed
to be the Beth-arabah of Joshua 15:61. It is also of interest from the
fact that it played a part in the famous insurrection of Bar Cochba
against the Romans. In A.D. 135 it was captured by a Roman force after
a siege of three and a half years. Ramleh, a point twelve miles from
Jaffa, was once occupied by Napoleon. Lydda, supposed to be the Lod of
Ezra 2:33, was passed. Here Peter healed Aeneas, who had been palsied
eight years. (Acts 9:32-35.)
Jaffa is the Joppa of the Bible, and has a good deal of interesting
history. When "Jonah rose to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of
Jehovah," he "went down to Joppa and found a ship going unto Tarshish:
so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to
Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah." (Jonah 1:3.) His unpleasant
experience with the great fish is well known. When Solomon was about to
build the first temple, Hiram sent a communication to him, saying: "We
will cut wood out of Lebanon as much as thou shalt need; and will bring
it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to
Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 2:16). In the days of Ezra, when Zerubbabel
repaired the temple, we read that "they gave money also unto the masons,
and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, unto them of Sidon,
and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, unto
Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia"
(Ezra 3:7). It was the home of "a certain disciple named Tabitha," whom
Peter was called from Lydda to raise from the dead. (Acts 9:36-43.)
Simon the tanner also lived in Joppa, and it was at his house that Peter
had his impressive vision of the sheet let down from heaven prior to his
going to Caesarea to speak the word of salvation to Cornelius and his
friends. (Acts 10:1-6.)
The city is built on a rocky elevation rising one hundred feet above
the sea, which has no harbor here, so that vessels do not stop when the
water is too rough for passengers to be carried safely in small boats.
Extensive orange groves are cultivated around Jaffa, and lemons are also
grown, and I purchased six for a little more than a cent in American
money. Sesame, wine, wool, and soap are exported, and the imports are
considerable. The train reached the station about the middle of the day,
and the ship did not leave till night, so I had ample time to visit the
"house of Simon the tanner." It is "by the sea side" all right, but
looks too modern to be impressive to the traveler who does not accept
all that tradition says. I paid Cook's tourist agency the equivalent of
a dollar to take me through the custom house and out to the ship, and I
do not regret spending the money, although it was five times as much as
I had paid the native boatman for taking me ashore when I first came to
Jaffa. The sea was rough--very rough for me--and a little woman at my
side was shaking with nervousness, although she tried to be brave, and
her little boy took a firm hold on my clothing. I don't think that I was
scared, but I confess that I did not enjoy the motion of the boat as it
went sliding down from the crest of the waves, which were higher than
any I had previously ridden upon in a rowboat. As darkness had come, it
would have been a poor time to be upset, but we reached the vessel in
safety. When we came alongside the ship, a boatman on each side of the
passenger simply pitched or threw him up on the stairs when the rising
wave lifted the little boat to the highest point. It was easily done,
but it is an experience one need not care to repeat unnecessarily.
I was now through with my sight-seeing in the Holy Land and aboard the
Austrian ship _Maria Teresa_, which was to carry me to the land of the
ancient Pharaohs. Like Jonah, I had paid my fare, so I laid down to
sleep. There was a rain in the night, but no one proposed to throw me
overboard, and we reached Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal, the
next day.