island of _Crete_. With these, and not with the _Casluhim_, should the
_Philistim_ be connected. (See Deut. 2:23, Jer. 47:4, Amos 9:7.)
3. =Phut.= The word is several times translated _Libya_, and, from its
association with other tribes, should probably be referred to that
section in Northern Africa. (See Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 27:10; 30:5; 38:5;
Nah. 3:9.) Some of these passages would indicate that there was also an
Asiatic branch of this same family.
4. =Canaan.= The ancient inhabitants of Palestine and Lower Syria, from
Gaza to Hamath. In their most flourishing period, just before the
conquest by Joshua, they embraced six subdivisions or clans. (See map on
page 36, and explanations.)
III. THE SEMITIC RACES. (Gen. 10:21-31.)
The descendants of Shem are placed last in the list of the table of
nations, not because their founder was the youngest, but because out of
their lines one family is chosen as the especial theme of the history,
which thus receives a fitting introduction. Shem was the founder of five
great races, and of many subordinate tribes.
1. =Elam= everywhere is recognized as the name of a province east of the
Tigris and north of the Persian Gulf, called by the Greeks _Elymais_.
The name was often applied, in later times, to the whole of Persia,
whose capital stood within its territory.
2. =Asshur= is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. It was located
on the Tigris, having Nineveh as its capital, and its people at one time
were rulers of all the lands westward to the Mediterranean.
3. =Arphaxad=, or _Arpachshad_ (as in the margin of Gen. 11:10), has
been supposed to be the ancestor of the Chaldeans, whose home was at the
head of the Persian Gulf. The patriarch Abraham belonged to his race,
and was born in "Ur of the Chaldees." Another of Arphaxad's descendants
was _Joktan_, from whom arose thirteen tribes, named after _Almodad_,
_Sheleph_, _Hazarmaveth_, _Jerah_, _Hadoram_, _Uzal_, _Diklah_, _Obal_,
_Abimael_, _Sheba_ (the most important of all in after history,
absorbing most of the rest), _Ophir_, _Havilah_, and _Jobab_. All these
occupied the southeastern and southern sections of the great Arabian
peninsula. The fact that some of these names have already been mentioned
in the Hamite genealogies may indicate that the two races became
mingled.
4. =Lud.= This is believed by most scholars to refer to the _Lydians_,
who dwelt on the southwestern border of Asia Minor, and under their
king, Croesus, became a powerful nation. Their history was short, as
their empire was conquered by Cyrus the Great.
5. =Aram.= This is the word uniformly rendered _Syria_ throughout the
Bible. The Arameans, or Syrians, occupied the region between Canaan and
Phoenicia, on the east, the Euphrates on the north, and the great desert
on the west and south. Four branches of this race formed separate
tribes. _Uz_, the race of the ancient Job, was settled in the middle of
North Arabia, near Nejd. _Hul_ and _Gether_ are supposed (but with
slight evidences) to have occupied the country near Lake Merom, where
the _Geshurites_ were afterward found. _Mash_, or, as called in 1 Chron.
1:17, _Meshech_, may have merged with the Meshech of the Japhetic line.
[Illustration: OUTLINE MAP FOR REVIEW.]
OUTLINE FOR TEACHING.
1. The principal authorities for the map on page 24, and its
explanations, are: "Ethnic Affinities," by Canon George Rawlinson; E. H.
Browne, in "The Speaker's Commentary"; J. G. Murphy's "Notes on
Genesis"; Dillmann, "Commentary on Genesis"; and "The Races of the Old
Testament," by A. H. Sayce. To these the student is referred for more
thorough discussion of the subject.
2. In teaching, draw on the blackboard a sketch map (no matter how
roughly) of the outlines of the coast, as given above, and then write on
each place the name of the people occupying it. Take, first, the great
divisions of Noah's family; then, the subdivisions; then, the minor
tribes. Review the locations as each family is finished. Write on the
board only the first syllable of each name, as an aid to memory, as _Ar_
for _Arphaxad_, _Cu_ for _Cush_, etc. If the names of each of the three
great races are written in chalk of a different color, it will make the
distinctions more readily understood.
3. If practicable, by means of a duplicating process, print a sufficient
number of copies of the sketch map to supply the class or audience, and
let each person, with pencil, place on the map the names of the tribes
as they are located. This will greatly add to the interest of the
lesson.
[Transcriber's Note: This family tree was originally one tree. It was
separated into families to accommodate size issues.]
REVIEW CHART--THE TABLE OF NATIONS.
NOAH
+---------------------+----------------------+
JAPHETH HAM SHEM
(_Aryan Race_) (_Turanian Race_) (_Semitic Race_)
JAPHETH (_Aryan Race_)
+---------+---------+------------+--------+-------+-------+
| | | | | | |
Gomer Magog Madai Javan Tubal Meshech Tiras
(_Celts_)(_Scythians_)(_Medes_) (_Greeks_) (_Thracians_)
| |
Ashkenaz (_Nysia and Phrygia_) Elishah (_Æolians_)
Riphath (_Riphaean Mts?_) Tarshish (_Tartessus_)
Togarmah (_Armenia_) Kittim (_Cyprus_)
Dodanim (_Trojans_)
HAM (_Turanian Race_)
+-------------+------+--------+
| | | |
Cush Mizraim Phut Canaan
(_Ethiopia_) (_Egypt_)(_Libya_)(_Palestine_)
| |
Seba Ludim
(_Meroë_) (_Nubia?_)
Havilah Anamim
(_Arabia_)
Sabtah Lehabim
(_Sabbatha?_) (_Libya_)
Raamah Naphtuhim
(_Per. Gulf_) (_Na-petu_)
Sabtechah Pathrusim
(_Pathros_)
NIMROD Casluhim-Philistim
(_Philistia_)
Caphtorim
(_Crete_)
SHEM (_Semitic Race_)
+--------------+-------------+------------+-----------+
| | | | |
Elam Asshur Arphaxad Lud Aram
(_Elamites_) (_Assyrians_) (_Chaldeans_) (_Lydians_) (_Syrians_)
| |
Salah Uz
| Hul
| Gether
| Mash
Eber
+---+---+
| |
Peleg Joktan(_Arabia_)
[Illustration: THE JEWS' WAILING PLACE, AT JERUSALEM.]
[Illustration: PHYSICAL MAP OF PALESTINE.]
PHYSICAL PALESTINE.
I. DIMENSIONS.
THE terms Canaan, Palestine and the Holy Land are used with various
meanings. The first is the original name, taken from the ancestor of its
early inhabitants; the second is a modernized form of the word
"Philistine," a race occupying its southwest portion; the third is the
name applied to it as the land where the Saviour of the world lived and
died. In either one of these three names we may also find three
different limitations of meaning. 1. Strictly speaking, the word
"Canaan" refers to the country between the Jordan and the Mediterranean;
bounded on the north by Mount Lebanon, and on the south by the desert.
The name "Palestine" is often given to this section only. This region
includes about 6,600 square miles, a territory smaller than the State of
Massachusetts by 1,200 square miles. 2. Palestine Proper, the Land of
the Twelve Tribes, embraces both Canaan and the region east of the
Jordan, loosely called Gilead, though that name strictly belongs to but
one section of it. Palestine Proper is bounded on the north by the river
Leontes, Mount Lebanon and Mount Hermon; east by the Syrian desert,
south by the Arabian desert, and west by the Mediterranean; and forms a
sort of parallelogram, embracing an area of about 12,000 miles, about
the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut. 3. The Land of Promise (Num.
34), in its largest meaning, extended from the "Entrance of Hamath," on
the north, to Mount Hor, Kadesh-barnea, and the "River of Egypt" (_Wady
el Arish_); and from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean; including an
area of 60,000 square miles, a little less than that of the five New
England States. This was realized only during a part of the reigns of
David and Solomon. Not all of even Palestine Proper was possessed by
Israel during most of its history; for the plain along the sea-shore was
held by the Philistines on the south, and by the Phoenicians on the
north.
[Illustration: COMPARATIVE AREAS OF PALESTINE AND NEW ENGLAND.]
II. NATURAL DIVISIONS.
The divisions of Palestine made by the natural features of the country
are four, generally parallel to each other: 1. The Maritime Plain. 2.
The Mountain Region. 3. The Jordan Valley. 4. The Eastern Table-Land.
1. =The Maritime Plain= lies along the coast of the Mediterranean for
the entire length of the country, broken only by Mount Carmel, north of
which it is quite narrow; but immediately south of the mountain it is 8
miles wide, thence widening to 20 miles at the southern boundary of the
country. It is an undulating surface of low hillocks of sandy soil, from
100 to 200 feet above the sea-level, and very fertile. In the Old
Testament period it was but little occupied by the Israelites, whose
home was on the mountains. It is divided into four portions. North of
Mount Carmel a narrow strip is called Phoenicia. Directly east of Mount
Carmel the level country is pressed inward, and lies between the
mountains, forming the remarkable Plain of Esdraelon, physically
belonging to the Maritime Plain, but geographically to the Mountain
Region. South of Mount Carmel lay Sharon; and further southward was
Philistia, a land whose people, the Philistines, were long the enemies
of Israel, and have since given the name PALESTINE to the whole land.
2. =The Mountain Region=, between the Jordan Valley and the Plain, is
the backbone of the country, and was the principal home of the
Israelites. It is a continuation of the Lebanon range of mountains, and
extends southward to the desert. It is divided into five sections, by
natural rather than political lines of boundary. (1.) In Upper Galilee
the mountains average a height of 2,800 feet above the sea, and _Jebel
Jermuk_, the highest peak, is 4,000 feet high. (2.) In Lower Galilee the
hills are about 1,800 feet high, their southeastern slopes precipitous,
the northern and northwestern gentle. In this section lies the Plain of
Esdraelon, about 250 feet above the sea, 9 miles across, and 14 miles
north and south. (3.) The Hill Country of Samaria and Judæa, called in
the Old Testament "Mount Ephraim," and "the mountains of Judah," is from
2,000 to 3,000 feet high, consisting of mountain and valley, with the
watershed midway between the Jordan and the sea. Near the Dead Sea is
the Wilderness of Judæa, an uninhabitable region, without verdure, and
penetrated with ravines and caves; sometimes called Jeshimon. (4.) The
_Shefelah_, or "low hills," are the foot-hills of the Mountain Region,
forming a natural terrace 500 feet above the sea-level, on the western
side of the mountains, between them and the Plain. This extends along
both Samaria and Judæa. (5.) The Negeb, a word meaning "dry," translated
"South Country" in the Bible, begins just south of Hebron, and slopes
southward to the Arabian desert, in a series of hills much lower than
those in the northern section.
3. =The Jordan Valley= is a remarkable depression, beginning at the
sources of the river, and plowing a gorge which grows deeper as it goes
southward. At the springs of the Jordan it is 1,700 feet above the sea,
with lofty mountains on each side, Hermon and Lebanon. At lake Merom it
is 7 feet above the level of the sea. Below Merom it descends by a fall
of 60 feet to the mile, and at the Sea of Galilee is 682 feet below the
Mediterranean. Here begins the _Ghor_ (its Arab name, meaning "hollow"),
a gorge 65 miles long to the Dead Sea, and descending 610 feet further
in its depth, with a barrier of cliffs on either side, from 2 to 8 miles
apart, except at the "Plain of Jordan," or "Plain of Jericho," just
north of the Dead Sea, which is 14 miles wide. This plain lies 400 feet
above the level of the Dead Sea, and is encompassed by mountains which
rise above it about 4,000 feet.
4. =The Eastern Table-Land= is a lofty plateau, east of the Jordan. The
mountains on this side are higher and more steep than are those on the
west; and from their summit a plain stretches away to the great Syrian
desert. It is mostly fertile, and especially adapted to pasturage. On
the north is Bashan, now called "the Hauran," in the centre lies Gilead,
and south was the land of Moab.
III. THE WATERS OF PALESTINE.
These may be noticed under three heads: 1. The River Jordan. 2. The
Three Lakes. 3. The Brooks, or mountain torrents.
[Illustration: THE RIVER JORDAN.]
1. =The River Jordan= has three sources. (1.) The most northerly is at
_Hasbeiya_, on Hermon. (2.) The largest stream proceeds from a great
spring at the ancient Dan, now _Tell el Kady_. (3.) The one recognized
as the source by the Jews is at Banias, near the ancient Cæsarea
Philippi. It may be divided into three sections: from Hasbeiya to Lake
Merom, about 40 miles; from its entrance into Merom to the Sea of
Galilee, 15 miles; and from the northern end of that lake to the Dead
Sea, 79 miles,--making its direct length 134 miles, though by its
windings the channel is about 200 miles long. In its progress it falls
over 3,000 feet, an average fall of over 22 feet to the mile. It varies
in width from 80 to 180 feet, and in depth from 5 to 12 feet.
2. =The Three Lakes= are: (1.) Merom, now called _Huleh_, a triangular
sheet of water three miles across, located in a swamp in Northern
Galilee. (2.) The Sea of Galilee, called Chinnereth in the Old
Testament, a pear-shaped lake, 14 miles long, and 9 wide. (3.) The Dead
Sea, 46 miles long, its surface 1,290 feet below the level of the
Mediterranean, and in some places 1,300 feet deep, though the great
lagoon on its southern end is not more than 20 feet deep.
[Illustration: SECTION OF PALESTINE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.]
3. =The Brooks=, or mountain torrents, are an important feature in the
country. They are dry for most of the year, but during the winter are
large and rapid. (1.) On the east of the Jordan Valley are: (_a_) the
Hieromax (now called the _Jarmuk_), flowing from the highlands of Bashan
into the Jordan, south of the Sea of Galilee; (_b_) the Jabbok (now
_Zerka_), descending from the table-land, and entering the Jordan a
little south of midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea;
(_c_) the Arnon (now _Mojeb_), entering the Dead Sea about the middle of
its eastern shore. (2.) Flowing from the Mountain Region eastward are:
(_a_) the _Farah_, "the waters of Enon" (John 3:23); (_b_) the brook
Cherith (1 Kings 17:3), perhaps _Wady Kelt_, near Jericho; (_c_) the
brook Kedron, running past Jerusalem, eastward, into the Dead Sea,
probably the _Wady en Nar_. (3.) Flowing into the Mediterranean are:
(_a_) the Leontes (now _Litany_), the northern boundary of Palestine, a
stream almost as long as the Jordan; (_b_) the Kishon, "that ancient
river" (Judg. 5:21), watering the Plain of Esdraelon; (_c_) the brook
Besor (_Wady es Sheriah_), near the southern frontier. Others might be
named, but these are the most important, though not in all cases the
largest.
[Illustration: SECTION OF PALESTINE FROM EAST TO WEST.]
IV. THE MOUNTAINS OF PALESTINE.
These may be considered either in order of height or of location. The
diagram groups the principal mountains in the relation of their
comparative height above the sea-level; we may notice them in their
order of location. They naturally divide into two sections: 1. Those of
the Mountain Region west of Jordan. 2. Those of the Eastern Table-Land.
[Illustration: COMPARATIVE HEIGHT OF MOUNTAINS IN PALESTINE.]
Beginning at the northern boundary of Palestine, we find: 1. Mount
Lebanon, "the white mountain," a range of lofty mountains stretching
northward, parallel with the sea, generally about 5,000 feet high, but
at its highest point, _Jebel Mukhmeel_, 10,200 feet high. 2. The highest
point in Galilee is _Jebel Jermuk_, northwest of the Sea of Galilee,
4,000 feet high. 3. West of the Sea of Galilee is _Kurûn Hattin_, "the
horns of Hattin," the traditional "Mount of the Beatitudes," 1,200 feet
high. 4. At the northeastern corner of the Plain of Esdraelon is Mount
Tabor, a symmetrical cone, the battle-field of Deborah and Barak, 1,843
feet high. 5. A short distance to the south stands Little Hermon, "the
Hill of Moreh," now _Jebel el Duhy_, 1,815 feet high. 6. Southward still
is Mount Gilboa, the place of Gideon's victory and of King Saul's
defeat, 1,715 feet high. 7. Sweeping around the southern border of the
Plain of Esdraelon to the Mediterranean Sea is Mount Carmel, at its
highest point 1,750 feet, but 500 as it meets the sea. These last four
mountains form the boundary of the Plain of Esdraelon. In the land of
Samaria, which we now enter, are but two important elevations: 8. Ebal,
the mountain of the curses, 3,075 feet; 9. Directly opposite, Gerizim,
the mountain of the blessings, 2,850 feet. The principal peaks in Judæa
are the following: 10. Mount Zion, the seat of David's castle, 2,550
feet; 11. Across the valley of the Kedron eastward, the Mount of Olives,
2,665 feet; 12. Mount Hebron, 3,030 feet. South of Hebron the land
slopes away to the level of the desert.
The Eastern Table-Land has fewer elevations, and is generally less
noticed in the Scriptures. 1. On the north rises Mount Hermon, 9,000
feet high, the southern end of the range known as Anti-Lebanon, or
"Lebanon toward the sun-rising." 2. South of the river Hieromax is Mount
Gilead, about 3,000 feet high. 3. Near the northern end of the Dead Sea
is Mount Nebo, 2,670 feet high, on a "shoulder" of which, Mount Pisgah,
Moses beheld the Promised Land, and died.
V. THE PLAINS OF PALESTINE.
These have been already noticed, to some extent, but may be named
together. Upon the Maritime Plain, we notice: 1. Phoenicia, a very
narrow strip along the Mediterranean, north of Mount Carmel, never
possessed by the Israelites, and having Tyre and Sidon as its principal
cities. 2. Directly south of Mount Carmel, Sharon, having Cæsarea and
Joppa as its most important places. 3. Still further south, Philistia,
the land of Israel's ancient enemies, containing several cities, of
which Gaza and Ashkelon (afterward Ascalon) were chief. Upon the
Mountain Region we find imbedded, 4. The Plain of Esdraelon, a Y-shaped
region, 250 feet above the sea-level, surrounded by mountains, and
situated between Mounts Carmel, Tabor and Gilboa. 5. The Negeb, or South
Country, between Hebron and the desert, in Southern Judæa, may be
regarded as a plain, though of rolling character, as its hills are not
so high as those on the north. 6. In the Jordan Valley, just north of
the Dead Sea, is a place called "the Plain of Jordan," or "the Plain of
Jericho," the site of the destroyed "cities of the plain." 7. In the
northern section of the Eastern Table-Land is the vast highland known as
"the Hauran," anciently called Bashan, watered by the streams which form
the Hieromax river.
OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
I. _Dimensions._ 1. Canaan. 2. Palestine (Twelve Tribes). 3. Land of
Promise.
II. _Natural Divisions._ 1. Maritime Plain. 2. Mountain Region (Upper
Galilee, Lower Galilee, Hill Country, Shefelah, Negeb). 3. Jordan Valley
(Merom, Galilee, Dead Sea). 4. Eastern Table-Land (Bashan, Gilead,
Moab).
III. _Waters._ 1. Jordan (sources, sections). 2. Lakes (Merom, Galilee,
Dead Sea). 3. Brooks. (1.) East: Hieromax, Jabbok, Arnon. (2.) Mountain
Region: Farah, Cherith, Kedron. (3.) Maritime Plain: Leontes, Kishon,
Besor.
IV. _Mountains._ 1. West of Jordan: Lebanon, Jermuk, Hattin, Tabor,
Little Hermon, Gilboa, Carmel, Ebal, Gerizim, Zion, Olives, Hebron. 2.
East of Jordan: Hermon, Gilead, Nebo.
V. _Plains._ 1. Phoenicia. 2. Sharon. 3. Philistia. 4. Esdraelon. 5.
Negeb. 6. Jordan. 7. Hauran.
THE JOURNEYS OF THE PATRIARCHS.
AT the close of the eleventh chapter of Genesis a change is made in the
subject of the Bible story. Thus far it has been a history of the entire
race; but from this point to the close of Genesis a single family is
brought into prominent notice, and the rest of the tribes of men are
referred to only incidentally. The family of Abraham, of Semitic origin,
deserve all their prominence in sacred history, since through them the
true religion was perpetuated until the world was ready for its wider
dissemination in the gospel period.
[Illustration: MUGHEIR, SUPPOSED TO BE UR OF THE CHALDEES.]
I. THE JOURNEYS OF ABRAHAM.
These extend over nearly all the lands of the Old Testament, from
Chaldea to Egypt. They represent the separation of a Semitic clan from
the great body of the race, which was then ruled by an Elamite dynasty;
and they bring to our notice the political relations of the world about
two thousand years before Christ, in the early Chaldean period of the
East.
1. =From Ur to Haran.= (Gen. 11:27-32.) The family of Abraham (then
called Abram) lived at Ur of the Chaldees, probably _Mugheir_, south of
the Euphrates, and an early seat of empire. Thence, at God's call, they
migrated, moving up the Euphrates to Haran, in Mesopotamia, probably the
Roman Carrhæ, and the modern _Haran_, on the river Belik, 50 miles above
its entrance into the Euphrates. Here the family remained until the
death of Terah, Abraham's aged father, whose traditional tomb is still
shown.
2. =From Haran to Canaan.= (Gen. 12:1-9.) A branch of the family, the
descendants of Abraham's brother Nahor, settled in Haran; but Abraham
and his nephew Lot moved on southward, past Damascus, to the land of
Canaan. They paused first at Shechem, and afterward at Bethel, at each
place building an altar; but after a time removed further southward,
impelled by the dearth of food in the land.
3. =The Visit to Egypt.= (Gen. 12:10-20.) The famine caused a removal of
the entire clan to Egypt, where the beauty of Sarah was the occasion of
Abraham's deception, of Pharaoh's wrong, and of Abraham's expulsion from
the land. He returned to his former abode at Bethel. (Gen. 13:3, 4.)
4. =The Removal to Hebron.= (Gen. 13:5-18.) This was occasioned by the
scarcity of pasture for the immense flocks and herds of Abraham and Lot.
The two chieftains made a division of the land, Lot choosing the Jordan
Valley, north of the Dead Sea, near the city of Sodom, and Abraham the
highlands around Hebron, anciently Kirjath-arba, now known by Abraham's
title, _el Khalil_, "The Friend," _i. e._, of God.
5. =Pursuit of the Elamites.= (Gen. 14.) At that period the early
Babylonian empire, under Amraphel or Hammurabi (see p. 91), was at the
height of its power. Its king governed Elam, Chaldea, Assyria,
Mesopotamia, and most of Palestine. Chedorlaomer, the head of the united
peoples, led his armies against the aboriginal races east of the Jordan.
(See Map of Palestine Before the Conquest, and description, on page 37.)
After subduing them he passed around south of the Dead Sea, smote the
Amorites in the mountains near Hazezon-tamar, afterward En-gedi, and
poured his host down upon the Jordan Valley. The cities on the north of
the Dead Sea, Sodom and Gomorrah, with their dependent villages, being
unable to stay his progress, were ravaged, and their inhabitants
(including Abraham's nephew Lot) carried away captive, up the valley.
News of the invasion came to Abraham, and he instantly gathered his
servants and allies, and pursued the marauders. He overtook them near
Laish, afterward Dan, now _Tell el Kady_, attacked them by night,
pursued them as far as Hobah, near Damascus, and brought back the booty
and the prisoners. On the return took place the remarkable interview
with Melchizedek, a priest-king over the city of Salem, perhaps the
place afterward Jerusalem. After the return to Hebron the following
events occurred: 1. The covenant of God with Abraham. (Gen. 15.) 2. The
birth of Ishmael. (Gen. 16.) 3. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
(Gen. 18, 19.) These cities were probably located on the plain of
Jordan, north of the Dead Sea, and not on the south, as formerly
supposed; but all traces of them have entirely disappeared.
[Illustration: EMPIRE OF AMRAPHEL OR HAMMURABI.]
6. =The Settlement at Beersheba.= (Gen. 20-25.) After the destruction of
the cities of the plain, Abraham moved southward, and made his home at
Beersheba, on the desert border, now _Bir es Seba_. Here he spent most
of his later years, as after various journeys we find him each time
encamped at Beersheba.