The area of the Holy Land is about eleven thousand square miles--nearly
as large as Belgium; its greatest length, from Beyrout to the southern
point of the Dead Sea, being one hundred and eighty miles, and its
greatest breadth, east to west, about sixty-five miles. It has a nearly
straight western coast-line, with but two indentations--the Bay of
Sidon, and the Bay of Acre. Though the Sinaitic Peninsula is not a
_geographical_ part of the Holy Land, its _history_ is really one with
it, and is so considered in this article.
Notwithstanding its narrow limits, Palestine presents a remarkable
variety of surface, scenery, and climate. The central portion consists
of an undulating tableland (the “hills” or “hill-country”), separated
from Lebanon on the north by the fertile Plain of Esdraelon (Jezreel).
It has a gentle slope towards the west, but descends abruptly to the
Jordan valley, the surface gradually rising, as it extends southward,
till it reaches its greatest elevation (about 3,300 feet) in the
neighborhood of Hebron, beyond which, near Beersheba, it sinks into the
Idumæan Desert. The northern part of this tract is more fertile than
that towards the south, the least productive district being the country
round Jerusalem; but even there, the vine is grown with success, and the
barren aspect of the plateau is relieved in many places by gardens of
olives and figs and luxuriant cornfields.
To the west of the central tableland and the Lebanon ranges, there runs
a strip of low seaboard, which expands into the plain of Philistia; to
the north is the Valley of Sharon, once the Garden of Palestine, but now
for the most part a marshy or sandy wilderness. The maritime plain is
intersected by deep gullies, traversed in some cases by perennial
streams. Oranges, lemons, citrons, bananas and melons grow luxuriantly,
especially in the gardens of Jaffa and Ascalon.
East of the central tableland is a deep fissure, increasing in width
from five to thirteen miles, down which flows the Jordan. Beyond Jordan
is another upland district, forming a prolongation of the Anti-Libanus
ranges, with an elevation of two to three thousand feet, succeeded on
the east by a plateau which stretches away to the Arabian Desert. This
region contains wide tracts of excellent pasture.
The highest point in Palestine is Jebel Jermuk (three thousand nine
hundred and thirty-four feet). The height of Carmel--a northwestern spur
of the uplands terminating in a promontory--one thousand seven hundred
and forty feet.
MOUNT NEBO, a summit of Abarim, Moab (two thousand six hundred and
forty-three feet), seven miles northeast of the Dead Sea, was the place
of the death of Moses.
MOUNT TABOR (_tā´bor_), a wooded mountain in Palestine, six miles east
of Nazareth, on the border of the plain of Esdraelon, according to a
tradition, was the scene of the Transfiguration; and in the monastic
ages it was peopled with hermits. Height, about one thousand eight
hundred feet.
MOUNT SINAI (_sī´nī_ or _sī-nā-ī_) and the SINAITIC (_sī-nȧ-it´ik_)
PENINSULA. This peninsula, which, since 1907, has been included within
the boundaries of Egypt, is situated between the Gulf of Suez and the
Gulf of Akaba. In the north of the peninsula is the desert Paran, a
desolate limestone plateau, bounded on the south by a tract of low
sandstone mountains, ravines, and valleys rich in minerals which had
been worked as early as 3000 B. C. Then rises the barren, rugged, and
majestic triangle of the Sinai Mountain (also called Horeb) on which,
tradition asserts, the Law was given to Moses.
From very early times it seems to have been regarded as a sacred
mountain, perhaps as dedicated to the Babylonian moon-god Sin. These
peaks are over six thousand feet high. At the base is a broad plain
where the Israelites may easily have encamped. In a valley on the
northeast of the same mountain, stands the famous convent of St.
Catharine, with its beautiful gardens, which was originally founded by
the Emperor Justinian (527-565). It became celebrated in recent years by
the discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus (the Greek version of the Old
Testament and the Greek New Testament), made in it by Tischendorf in
1844. There are two other valleys in the same vicinity, both of which
are comparatively fertile and well-watered. The rocks of this region are
steep and jagged and richly colored. They are composed of granite,
porphyry, diorite, and gneiss. A path of stone steps leads up from the
convent to the summit. Holy places marked by crosses cover the mountain.
Near the top of Jebel Musa stands a chapel dedicated to Elijah.
[Illustration: =MOUNT SINAI=
where the Laws of Moses were received. The site is disputed, but these
heights on the northwest cliffs of Jebel Mûsa seem to answer the
required conditions better than any other mountain on the Sinaitic
Peninsula. The law given from Sinai--“the book of the Covenant”--is
contained in Exodus xx. to xxiii. 19. Besides the Ten Commandments there
are rules for justice, equity and purity far transcending any known
ancient legislation.]