Land of the Philistines. ―― Its Limits. ―― Fell to the Lot of
Simeon and Dan. ―― Origin of the Philistines. ―― The meaning
of the Name. ―― Their royal Cities. ―― Their God and Goddess.
―― Journey thither. ―― Valley of Roses. ―― Baptism of the
Eunuch. ―― Home of John the Baptist. ―― Slaughter of the Jews
in the City of Bether. ―― Site of Bethshemesh. ―― Home of
Samson. ―― Village of Zorah. ―― Field where the Angel appeared.
―― Town of Timnath. ―― Lair of the Lion. ―― Home of Delilah.
―― Oriental Weddings. ―― Valley of Shochoh. ―― Scene of the
Conflict between David and Goliath. ―― Correspondence between
Scripture and the natural Features of the Place. ―― The Valley.
―― The Brook. ―― The smooth Stones. ―― The Sling. ―― The
Mountains. ―― The Champions. ―― The Victory. ―― Home of
Goliath. ―― Gath. ―― David’s feigned Insanity. ―― Road to
Eleutheropolis. ―― Its Location. ―― Great Caves. ―― Site
of Lachish. ―― Its great Battle-field. ―― Sennacherib and
Hezekiah. ―― Byron’s Hebrew Melody. ―― Gaza. ―― Palm-groves.
―― Direction of the Road. ―― Site of the City. ―― Modern City.
―― Ancient Ruins. ―― Christian Church. ―― Home of Giants. ――
Gates that Samson carried away. ―― His Prison. ―― The great
Feast. ―― Samson called. ―― His Presence alarms the Multitude.
―― Feats of Strength. ―― Death Scene. ―― He is a Failure.
―― Alexander the Great wounded at Gaza. ―― A Moslem City. ――
Ascalon. ―― Route thither. ―― Stood near the Sea. ―― Ruins. ――
Desolation. ―― History. ―― Adorned by Herod. ―― Captured by
the Crusaders. ―― Road to Ashdod. ―― Beautiful Gardens. ―― No
Ruins. ―― Dagon and the Ark. ―― Road to Joppa. ―― Villages.
―― Joppa on the Sea. ―― Its Antiquity. ―― Floats of Pine and
Cedar. ―― House of Simon. ―― Substantial Structure. ―― Peter’s
Vision. ―― Appearance of the Town. ―― Gate of the City.
―― Population. ―― Jews. ―― Nubian Magician. ―― Magnificent
Orange-groves. ―― Ramleh. ―― Franciscans. ―― Traditions.
―― Antiquities. ―― Tower. ―― View. ―― Ludd. ―― Eneas cured
of Palsy. ―― Church of St. George. ―― Beautiful Ruin. ――
Nether Bethhoron. ―― Wretchedness. ―― Upper Bethhoron.
―― Battle-field of Gibeon. ―― The Battle. ―― Wonderful
Correspondence. ―― Testimony of the Rocks. ―― Ajalon. ―― Sun
and Moon stand still. ―― City of Gibeon. ―― Modern Town. ――
Gibeonites. ―― History. ―― Death of the Gladiators. ―― Pool
of Gibeon. ―― Murder of Amasa. ―― Solomon’s Dream. ―― “The
Look-out.” ―― Mizpeh. ―― National Rendezvous. ―― Ebenezer
Stone. ―― Saul chosen King. ―― Minaret. ―― Vast and
magnificent Prospect.
PHILISTIA is among the richest sections of Palestine, and is scarcely
surpassed in fertility by any other portion of land upon the globe.
Consisting of that vast maritime plain extending from Joppa on the
north to Gerar on the south, it is washed by the Mediterranean on the
west, and is bounded on the east by the Mountains of Judea. Originally
occupied by the Avims, the descendants of Cush,[375] it subsequently
became the possession of the Philistines. In the division of the land
it fell to the tribes of Simeon and Dan, who, however, were never fully
able to subdue their allotted provinces. At present it is inhabited
by Moslem Arabs, whose humble towns occupy the sites of more renowned
cities. On the origin of the Philistines the learned are not agreed.
In the absence of authentic records and of distinctive customs, it is
difficult to decide whether they came from the hills of Cappadocia,
the islands of Cyprus and Crete, or from Lower Egypt. Their national
name, signifying “strangers,” implies their foreign birth. Nor is it
definitely known whether they came in possession of their new territory
by conquest, or by alliances formed with the aborigines of Canaan,
who, in process of time, were absorbed by the more rapid increase and
superior strength of their allies. Rising to greatness from an humble
beginning, their history forms part of the inspired narrative, and
the whole country now bears the name of Palestine, or “the Land of
the Philistines.” Dividing their possession into five lordships, they
founded as many royal cities, which are known in Scripture by the
names of Gaza, Ashdod, Askelon, Gath, and Ekron. Idolaters in faith
and practice, their chief divinity was Dagon, the “Fish-god,” whose
dominion over men, beasts, and fowls was represented by the triple
formation of his body. He had a human head, a horse’s neck, and trunk
and limbs covered with the feathers of different birds. His wife
Derceto, “the Fish-goddess,” or Syrian Venus, had the form of a
beauteous maid from her waist up, and thence downward resembled a fish.
As the home of Samson, and the scene of many a romantic story,
Philistia has a history of thrilling interest. It was therefore with no
ordinary delight that we left the Holy City to explore a region where
have occurred so many grand historic events. Skirting the northern
border of the Plain of Rephaim, we were soon under the shadow of the
Convent of the Cross. Turning to the right, we entered the Valley of
Roses, called by the Arabs Wady el-Werd. For more than half a mile
the bottom of the glen is covered with rose-bushes, cultivated for
the manufacture of rose-water, which is used in the East in large
quantities. Descending Wady el-Werd, we soon reached Philip’s Fountain,
where, according to a recent tradition, the Evangelist baptized the
Ethiopian eunuch.[376] ’Ain Hanîyeh is a pretty fountain gushing out
from a semicircular apse, ornamented with pilasters, and is situated in
a wild glen by the wayside, on the ancient road to Gaza. On the summit
of a neighboring hill to the north stands the quiet hamlet of ’Ain
Kârim, the birthplace of John the Baptist. It is in the “hill country
of Judea,” and is the scene of the meeting of those pious cousins,
the destined mothers of the Messiah and his harbinger.[377] High up on
a wild ridge to the south is the city of Bether, where the pretended
Christ, called Bar-cochba, the “Son of a Star,” made his last and fatal
stand against the Romans under Adrian. It was then a Jewish city of
wealth and learning, and, after a siege of three and a half years, was
forced to surrender. Eighty thousand of its unfortunate citizens fell
beneath the conqueror’s sword; and such was the dreadful slaughter,
that, according to the historian, the horses waded in blood up to their
bridles.
Following the Sultâny, or “Queen’s Highway,” our path lay among the
“hills of Judea,” clad with vines and covered with corn. Approaching
the large town of Beit ’Abab, we turned to the west, and at high noon
reached the ancient city of Bethshemesh. Thistles and marigolds now
cover the ruins of the Philistine village, to which the Ark of the Lord
was brought from Ekron, and where fifty thousand people were slain for
their temerity in looking into the ark, contrary to the Lord’s express
command.[378] We were now in the country of Samson. Around us rose his
native hills, and beneath us stretched the valleys of his childhood,
while here and there appeared the scenes of many memorable deeds of his
riper years. On the summit of a neighboring hill to the right, which
rises steeply from the Valley of Sûr’ah, is the village of Zorah, where
he was born,[379] and adjoining it is the field where the angel of the
Lord appeared unto Manoah and his wife. Beyond an intervening ridge,
and less than two miles to the westward, is Timnath, situated on a
plain, the place where Samson married his Philistine wife.[380] It was
in one of the vineyards in the adjacent glen that, as he hastened to
his betrothed, he turned aside to slay the lion of Timnath who roared
against him,[381] and from whose dead carcass, on a subsequent occasion,
he took the honey which, on his wedding-day, was the subject of that
perplexing riddle, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the
strong came forth sweetness.”[382] It was there the wife of his bosom
was afterward given to another, and, to avenge himself, he went forth
to destroy the corn-fields of his enemies, which dotted the Plain of
Philistia.[383] From the base of his native hill extends the Valley of
Sorek, the home of Delilah,[384] and where the man with a divine secret,
yielding to the entreaties of a woman, fell asleep in the lap of false
affection, to awake to weakness and to shame. Along this same vale
the road leads to Gaza, whither the blind captive was led, bound with
fetters of brass, to grind in the prison-house of the Philistines.[385]
And now, after the lapse of so many centuries, all the incidents
of his wedding are illustrated by existing customs and confirmed by
facts. Wives are procured now, as then, by the intervention of parents;
marriages are attended by the same display; and on such occasions
riddles are propounded by the bridegroom, and other sports practiced.
In the wild glens of this region, and on the rugged hills, are foxes or
jackals, and through the corn-fields on the rich plains below another
Samson might send them on their burning mission.
Passing on toward the scene of his death, we turned to the southeast
in search of the Valley of Shochoh, where David slew Goliath. A ride of
six miles brought us to Beit Nettîf, a small village crowning a lofty
cliff. Impelled by curiosity, the people gathered around us in crowds
to examine our garments and riding equipage. Compelled to take a guide
to the romantic valley, we secured the services of a white-turbaned
Arab, who, after tenderly kissing his child and bidding his wife
adieu, led us through the town, and, to save a detour, up the roughest,
steepest mountain in the Holy Land. Skirting the verge of a dangerous
precipice on the north, we turned southward, and in less than an hour
entered one of the most picturesque ravines in Southern Palestine.
Rising grandly on either side, the rocks were festooned with delicate
shrubs, and from a thousand rills the water glided, forming a brooklet
below. Midway the ravine there is a fountain gushing out of the
mountain’s side, around which are a few Arab huts. The glen contracted
as we ascended, and at its terminus the country opened and declined
toward the south. Rapidly descending a mountain path, we were soon
in the Valley of Elah, where David achieved his celebrated victory.
Here, as elsewhere in our travels, we had proof of the harmony existing
between the inspired narrative of the event and the topography of the
scene of its occurrence.
Running north and south, the bed of the valley measures a mile in width,
and was covered with grain and flowers. Through its centre extends a
torrent bed, lined with smooth pebbles, and fringed with acacia-trees.
Though not high, the mountains on either side are bold and well defined.
On their summits the contending armies were drawn up in battle array,
watching each other’s movements. To make an assault, the intervening
valley must first be crossed, which would give to the defense an
immense advantage. Unwilling to lose a good position and invite
such a fearful slaughter, the armies were disinclined to make an
attack. Impatient at the delay, there was one brave spirit among
the Philistines who offered to stake the issues of the war upon a
single-handed combat. Descending, day after day, for forty days, the
left bank of the valley, Goliath of Gath threw down the gauntlet and
cried out, “I defy the armies of Israel; send me a man, that we may
fight together.” His giant form, his proud, defiant tone, his powerful
weapons, sent dismay to the heart of Israel, and neither the once
heroic Saul, nor any of his warriors, had the courage to accept the
challenge. With all the appearance of an accidental event, David that
day reached the camp with provision for his three brethren who were in
Saul’s army. Rising above the contempt of Eliab, rejecting the king’s
armor, but trusting in that higher power which had led him to the scene
and ordained him for the fight, David went forth to retrieve the honor
of his country, and vindicate the supremacy of Jehovah over the idol
Dagon. Like Syrian shepherds of to-day, he carried a staff, a scrip,
and sling, for the defense of his fold. Confident of his ability to
employ with success the instruments which he had been accustomed to
all his life, David descended, in the presence of the embattled hosts,
and from the flowing brook he stooped to gather five smooth stones for
the conflict. The apparent advantages were with the Philistine; but
the Unseen, who was with David, was more than he who was against him.
Goliath had size, strength, experience, armor, and weapons. David was
young, small, and armed only with a sling; but he had spirit, courage,
and faith. What to him would forever have remained the romantic stories
of a shepherd’s life, now suddenly becomes the source of inspiration
and the ground of hope. Among his native mountains a lion and a bear
had attacked his fold, and when, in attempting to rescue the lamb, the
wild beasts rose up against him, he smote the one and the other, “and
this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has
defied the armies of the living God.” Those champions met, one in the
pride of his strength and military prowess, the other in the name of
the Lord of hosts; one full of contempt for his antagonist, the other
conscious of a just cause. The polished armor, the brazen shield,
the burnished helmet, and immense spear of Goliath, glittered in the
sunlight; the ruddy cheeks of the shepherd boy glowed with a heroic
spirit, which was his only helmet, and a brave heart within him,
beating calmly, was his only shield. Swung by unerring skill, and
guided by an invisible hand, the smooth stone from the Brook Elah
penetrated the brain of the giant, and David stood in triumph upon his
fallen body, amid the shouts of victory and the benedictions of his
countrymen.[386]
Seven miles to the northwest, on the same road over which the routed
Philistines fled, is Gath, the native city of Goliath. The conspicuous
hill on which it stood rises 200 feet above the Plain of Philistia, and
is now crowned with an old castle, a Mohammedan tomb, and a few huts,
which compose the modern town. Besides being the birthplace of the
famous warrior, it is also the scene of a singular episode in the life
of David. Compelled to fly from the presence of Saul, he stopped at Nob,
where, having obtained from Abimelech a supply of food and the sword of
Goliath, he came to Gath, either in the hope of not being recognized,
or, as a fugitive from Saul’s court, of receiving a welcome from the
Philistines, with whom the king was then at war. Disappointed in both,
and discovering that his fate was sealed, “he feigned himself mad
in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his
spittle fall upon his beard.” Madmen being privileged characters then,
as they are now in the East, he was permitted to roam at large; and,
embracing a favorable moment, he fled to the cave of Adullam, where he
gathered a small army around him, and resisted the repeated attempts of
Saul to take his life.[387]
From Gath the road runs toward the southeast, and the next important
place is Eleutheropolis, six miles distant. The path is rugged,
and alternately crosses stony ridges and small valleys. The village
occupies a nook in a green valley, and is surrounded by low hills.
Though the ancient city is destitute of special Biblical interest, yet
its ruins are extensive and unique. Within an inclosure 600 feet square
are the remains of a castle, filling one third of the entire space.
The interior contains arches, vaults, and marble shafts. Two hundred
yards up a ravine, extending eastward, are massive foundations, and a
fine well, more than seventy feet deep; but the chief attraction is the
great caves, unequaled in extent by any in Syria. The largest of these
caverns is 100 feet high and sixty-five in diameter. Lateral galleries
connect it with adjoining caves, which are surmounted with domes,
and ornamented with cornices. In another portion of the town is a
vast range of bell-shaped chambers, connected by arched doorways and
subterranean passages. While a few of them are entirely dark, most of
them are lighted by a circular aperture in the top. Some regard these
caverns as the work of Idumean Troglodytes, while others suppose them
to have been excavated for cisterns; the former is the more probable
theory.[388]
Thirteen miles to the southwest is the site of Lachish, called by the
Arabs Um Lâkis. The intervening country is rocky and undulating, and
occasionally dotted with deserted villages. The hill on which the city
stood is low and flat, and is strewn with fragments of marble columns
and blocks of hewn stones. Lachish was among the cities of Judah
captured by Joshua,[389] but derives its chief significance from having
been fortified by Rehoboam,[390] and afterward besieged by Sennacherib.
It was while the latter was encamped here that King Hezekiah sent unto
him, saying, “I have offended; return from me; that which thou puttest
on me I will bear.” To meet the demand for 300 talents of silver and
thirty talents of gold, Hezekiah emptied his own treasure and that of
the house of the Lord; and, to supply a deficiency that remained, “he
cut off the gold from the doors and pillars of the Temple.” But, not
satisfied with a sum so large, Sennacherib sent three of his generals
to Jerusalem to demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of the
city. One of the three was Rabshakeh, whose blasphemous speech offended
Heaven, as his proud and defiant words had overwhelmed the king with
consternation and fear. That night God heard Hezekiah’s prayer, and
vindicated his own insulted majesty. From his throne “the angel of
the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred
fourscore and five thousand.” The next morning Sennacherib departed for
Nineveh, where he was assassinated by two of his sons while worshiping
in the temple of Nisroch, his god.
In one of his noblest odes, Byron has described the destruction of the
Assyrian host:
“The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
“Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen;
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay wither’d and strown.
“For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he pass’d;
And the eyes of the sleepers wax’d deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still.
“And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
And through it there roll’d not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beaten surf.
“And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
“And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!”
The bleakness of the scenery from Lachish to Gaza is relieved by groves
of palms, olives, and willows, together with the gardens which surround
the half dozen intervening villages. The peasants of these towns are
industrious, and the glee of the children indicated their happiness,
notwithstanding their nudity. The road crosses diagonally several deep
torrent beds, which drain the upland country, and which continue their
courses through the white sand downs to the sea. The approach to Gaza
is among sand-hills and through olive-groves, and, after a ride of
twelve miles from Lachish, the traveler finds himself in this renowned
Philistine city. Situated three miles from the sea, Gaza is a city of
15,000 inhabitants, 300 of whom are Christians and the rest Moslems.
Around it, like a green belt, are gardens of apricots, mulberries, and
palms. On its western side runs the same road which was trodden by the
Pharaohs thousands of years ago, and which leads to the pasture-fields
of Gerar. Between the town and the sea is a range of hills, of drifting
sand, two miles wide. On the east of the city are barren hills, the
highest of which is crowned with a Mohammedan wely, and is probably the
hill to the top of which Samson carried the gates of Gaza.
Rising from amid the rude buildings of the town is the great mosque,
which was once a Christian church, and dedicated to John the Baptist.
It has a peaked roof and an octagonal minaret. The interior is 130 feet
long, and is divided into a nave and two aisles by rows of Corinthian
columns. Modern Gaza has neither walls, gates, nor fortifications of
any kind. Though thus exposed to the attacks of the predatory bands of
Bedouins, yet the inhabitants are seldom molested, for no other reason,
perhaps, than the fact that they themselves in part are freebooters.
With an antiquity that ranks it among the oldest cities in the
world,[391] Gaza was originally inhabited by the Hivites, the
descendants of Canaan,[392] who in the lapse of time were dispossessed
by the Philistines, who elevated it to the dignity of a royal city. In
the days of Moses it was the home of those giants known as the Anakims,
whose formidable stature and warlike character alarmed the Hebrew
spies, and, though subsequently captured by the tribe of Judah, it
was repossessed by the sons of Anak, who enslaved the Israelites.[393]
But Gaza appears most prominent in sacred history as the scene of many
remarkable events in the life of Samson, and from him it has derived
an imperishable name. In his happier days he here performed one of the
most astonishing feats of his supernatural strength. Besieged by his
enemies, he arose at midnight and carried the gates of the city upon
his shoulders to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.[394] It was
prior to his alliance with Delilah, and when in full possession of
his marvelous strength, that he thus bade defiance to a whole race
of giants. But, deceived by the duplicity of an unworthy wife, he
afterward became, in the very city of his triumph, a blind, fettered,
imprisoned captive, the sport of woman, and the ridicule of man.
Illustration: GAZA.
Dreading him more than an army with banners, the Philistines had taken
every precaution to secure their powerful and determined foe. Having
consigned him to eternal darkness by the destruction of his eyes,
they fastened his limbs with fetters of brass, and, thrusting him into
a loathsome dungeon, appointed him to the menial work of an Eastern
woman.[395] But He who had chosen him to be the champion and avenger
of his people restored his strength, and with its restoration the
day of vengeance returned. Deeming his capture a public good, the
Philistines assembled to offer thanksgiving to their god Dagon. The day
dawned without a cloud, and the sun rose in beauty upon the Plains of
Philistia. At an early hour the streets of ancient Gaza were thronged
with an excited multitude, who were hastening to the great sacrifice,
and rejoicing in the capture of the giant of Zorah. The grand temple of
their idol crowned the loftiest of their hills. Its broad flat roof was
supported by arches resting on pillars. Two central columns, massive
and strong, and standing near each other, were the key to the whole
support. On the roof of the spacious temple, and also within the sacred
fane, the lords of the Philistines, with their wives, had assembled to
honor their god and enjoy the sports of the occasion. Though it was no
part of their original purpose that Samson should add to the joy of the
day by exhibitions of his strength, yet, as one pleasure never fails to
excite a desire for another, and as a succession of pleasures demands
the most extravagant delights, so, in the delirious excitement of the
moment, the blind captive is called to make them sport. They had heard
of the return of his strength, and he being now sightless, they could
witness exhibitions of his power without fear of injury to themselves,
as in former days, so long as they remained beyond his reach. Josephus
supposes they made him a laughing-stock, and insulted him in their
cups; but, rather, they forced him to perform prodigious exploits of
physical strength, which accounts for his weariness, and his excuse to
lean against the pillars. Led by a little Philistine boy, he came from
his gloomy dungeon. The transition from darkness to light had no effect
upon his sightless eyeballs. Recalling the havoc he had made among
their countrymen at Lehi, and not knowing what plans of revenge were
then the subject of his thoughts, many ran at his approach, while all
sought to avoid his grasp. As he advanced he was greeted with shouts
of ridicule and peals of laughter. Removing the brazen fetters to give
full play to his mighty limbs in the contemplated performance, a guard
of Philistine giants encircle him, to pierce him with spear and javelin
should he attempt to avenge his misfortune. Without knowing the manner
in which he acted, we are left to imagine how he made sport for his
enemies. What massive block of marble did he lift? what new lion of
Timnath did he grapple with? what gate with posts and bar did he carry
on his shoulders? what new cord or green withes did he snap asunder,
as “tow is broken when it toucheth the fire?” what new Delilah wove
his fresh-grown “locks with the web, and fastened them with a pin to
a beam,” that he might bear away web, pin, and beam?
Deceived by the docility of his spirit and the obedience of his
behavior, he is called within the temple itself. At length, wearied
with the great exertions he had been required to make, he unsuspectedly
requested of the lad that led him, “Suffer me that I may feel the
pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.”
Sweating, panting, weary, the captive leans for rest against the marble
columns, while, in fancied security, the people shout, joke, laugh,
rending his very soul. A blind man’s eye reveals no heart-secret.
Samson repents a misspent life, and, conscious that his strength was
Heaven’s gift, he prays, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and
strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at
once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then, seizing the
two pillars, “he bowed himself with all his might,” and in a moment
the roof fell in, precipitating those on the top into one broken, dying
mass with those within, and, slaying more in his death than in his life,
the victor and the vanquished slept the sleep that knows no waking.
I wept when I remembered the son of Manoah. He was a child of
Providence. His was a miraculous birth. Chosen to punish idolatry,
to deliver his country, and judge a nation, Samson was an army of
_one_. God had purposed to accomplish through him what he had done
by the mighty forces of Joshua, Deborah, Gideon, and Jephthah, and to
illustrate his own divine power in subduing the enemies of his church
by the arm of a single man. It was a thought worthy of a God. As in
other ways of the Almighty, the secret of Samson’s power was hidden.
Unlike Goliath, he was an ordinary man in stature: there was nothing
in his physique that indicated his wondrous strength. It was this that
confounded his foes, and impelled them to solicit Delilah with a bribe
to ascertain the secret of his power. As his strength was not in his
muscles, so it was not in the seven locks of his hair. When asleep and
at ordinary duties he was as other men, but when the Philistines were
to be punished, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. So long as he
retained the solitary virtue of secrecy, and allowed his beard and hair
to grow untrimmed, it pleased the Lord to use him as he did Jephthah
and Cyrus, and as he does a thunderbolt or a volcano, to punish the
wicked; but when he preferred the smiles of a woman to the benedictions
of heaven, he became as other men. Though a failure in life, he was
faithful in death; and for the faith of his dying act, St. Paul records
the name of Samson among the illustrious believers.[396]
The subsequent history of Gaza is replete with memorable events. Being
the key to Palestine to those on the south, and the key to Egypt to
those on the north, it has been frequently subjected to the calamities
of war. Besieged by Alexander the Great, its defenders surrendered
their city with their lives; and in the fearful conflict the great
warrior received a wound in the shoulder, which threatened to terminate
his eventful career. In the first century of our own era it was twice
destroyed, and, though subsequently rebuilt, it never attained its
ancient splendor. Though early visited by the teachers of Christianity,
yet in the fifth century it contained eight temples dedicated to the
worship of heathen gods. In 634 A.D. it yielded to the conquering arms
of Mohammed, and afterward became the birthplace of Esh-Shâfa’y, the
founder of one of the largest of the Mohammedan sects. In 1152 A.D. the
Crusaders found the city deserted, and, erecting a strong fortress on
the highest hill, intrusted its defense to the Knights Templars.[397]
Captured and sacked by Saladin in 1170 A.D., with the exception of a
brief interval, it has remained, as it is now, a Moslem city.
Askelon is on the sea, twelve miles to the north from Gaza. The great
route thither runs along the eastern side of the sand downs which
separate it from the shore, and, continuing northward, passes through
several Arab towns, surrounded with orchards of figs and groves of
palms. Despite the incessant efforts of the villagers, the drifting
sand is annually approaching their homes, and, if not resisted by a
more formidable barrier, will completely destroy their gardens and
overwhelm their dwellings. It is not uncommon to see trees so buried
that only a green twig is visible, indicating the position of the tree,
while the branches of those not yet entombed are dusted with the flying
sand.
As one of the five royal cities of the Philistines, Askelon was
celebrated for the grandeur of its architecture. It occupied an area
not unlike in form an amphitheatre. Along the shore extend a series of
bold cliffs, a mile in length and eighty feet high. From the northern
end of this range a lofty ridge sweeps round like a semicircle, first
to the eastward, then to the southward, and finally, bending westward,
runs to the sea. Within this space are the ruins of the city, and on
the top of this curving ridge the wall was built, defended by strong
towers, the immense fragments of which, thrown together in confused
heaps, suggest a destroying angel more powerful than the hand of man.
On the east are the remains of a large castle, and near it is the chief
entrance to the city. Not far from a ruinous wely are the traces of a
noble avenue, which was once lined with columns, and within 200 yards
of it is a low excavated area, on which are thirty large granite and
marble shafts. Beneath mounds of sand there must be other remains,
perhaps of temples and palaces, but at present not even the outlines
of a building can be traced. Whether viewed in its ruins, or as
defenseless against the encroaching waves of sand, Askelon wears an
air of dreariness as indescribable as it is sad. On her rests the
burden of prophecy: “Askelon shall be a desolation.[398] Askelon shall
not be inhabited.”[399]
Illustration: RUINS OF ASKELON.
Though it was allotted to the tribe of Judah, the Philistines held
possession of their city throughout the whole period of the Jewish
monarchy. Its significance in sacred history is derived from its
gross idolatry, and the fearful judgments denounced against it by the
prophets, rather than from any great events having occurred within
its limits. But, beyond the inspired record, it has a history in which
figure many illustrious characters. Regarding its maritime location
as invaluable, Herod the Great adorned the city with baths, porticoes,
and fountains, and after his death his sister Salome resided there
in a palace which her brother had built. Suffering greatly in the
wars between the Jews and the Romans, the original citizens became the
allies of the latter, and Askelon was the scene of a horrid massacre,
in which 2500 Jews were put to death. In after years the Christians
and the Moslems lost and won in turns this important sea-port town.
Captured by Baldwin III. in 1152 A.D., it subsequently reverted to the
Moslems, but yielded again to the Crusaders, under Richard Cœur de Lion,
in 1191 A.D., who compelled Saladin to abandon this stronghold; and
when, in turn, the Christians were expelled, Askelon began to wane, and
to-day it is an uninhabited town.
Less than 100 yards to the northeast stands the wretched village of
El-Jûrah, the modern representative of the royal city. Through its
gardens the road leads to Ashdod, eight miles to the north. Two miles
on the way is the town of Mejdel, the largest and most flourishing of
all the villages on the Plain of Philistia. The buildings are large
and well constructed, the streets are wide and clean, and the scenery
and gardens around it are exceedingly beautiful. Passing through the
village of Hamâmeh, the path runs along the sandy downs, and after
ascending a low ridge, enters Ashdod on the south. Its mud houses are
located on the declivity of a hill, and near it is a lake 500 yards
in circumference. Though once the capital of a lordship, yet Ashdod is
without antique ruins, and the traveler is left to record its history
amid the beautiful gardens, without the remains of temples and palaces
to aid his recollection. It was here the Ark of the Lord was brought
after the battle of Aphek, and the Philistines, deeming it a religious
trophy, placed it in the temple of their idol, “And when they of
Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face
to the earth before the Ark of the Lord.” Elevating their deity to
his place, the Philistines found him in the dust again on the second
night. Smitten by the Lord with pestilence for their impiety, in their
distress they sent the Ark to Gath.[400] Three centuries later Ashdod
was dismantled by King Uzziah;[401] and it is afterward mentioned by
Nehemiah, who reproaches the Jews for having there married heathen
wives after their return from captivity.[402] Called by the Greeks
Azotus, it was here that Philip the Evangelist was found after the
baptism of the eunuch.[403] But Ashdod is conspicuous in profane
history for having withstood a siege of twenty-nine years, when
invested by Psammetichus, king of Egypt, which is the longest siege
on record.
Illustration: ASHDOD.
Twenty miles to the north, situated on the coast, is ancient Joppa.
From Ashdod thither the route lies through one of the richest sections
of the Plain of Philistia. It is a gentle depression coming down from
the east, three miles wide, through the centre of which runs a deep,
winding torrent bed. The soil is loamy, and yields the finest grain
raised in Syria. Among the large and prosperous villages that dot its
fertile sides are Batâneah and El-Burka; but beyond this oasis the
land is stony and barren, and the wretched hovels of which the towns
are composed, together with the squalidity of the peasants, recall the
prophetic denunciation, “A bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will
cut off the pride of the Philistines.”[404] Passing through Yebna, the
Jabneh of the Bible,[405] and leaving Ekron,[406] five miles to the
east the road crosses diagonally the great Wady Surâr, which drains the
western section of the Judean Hills from Hebron to Bethel. Less than
two miles from the sea are the remains of a Roman bridge which once
spanned the torrent, and from this ruin the path declines westward to
the coast, when, turning northward, it follows the beach to Yâfa.
Standing upon a rock whose western base is washed by the Mediterranean,
Joppa is one of the oldest cities in the world. Though its authentic
history begins with the partitioning of Palestine into tribal
possessions, yet, according to Pliny, it existed prior to the Flood.
Called by Joshua Japho,[407] by Luke Joppa,[408] by the Arabs Yâfa,
and by the Franks Jaffa, it was originally allotted to the tribe of
Dan,[409] but remained in comparative obscurity till the reign of
Solomon, when it became the chief maritime city of his kingdom. Being
the nearest harbor to Jerusalem, the floats of pine and cedar from
Lebanon for the building of the first and second temples were landed
here,[410] and hence transported to the Holy City on the back of camels.
Centuries later, Jonah here embarked for Tarshish,[411] and in our own
era here lived the benevolent Tabitha, whom Peter restored to life,[412]
and here was the home of Simon, with whom the apostle lodged.[413]
The only antiquity to detain the traveler a single hour is the
traditional house of Simon. Like all Eastern dwellings, it is
constructed of stone, square in form, with a flat roof, and may have
stood for centuries, as, without violence, it will endure for hundreds
of years to come. Standing near the seaside, both the location and
structure of the building are in harmony with the inspired narrative,
and a venerable tradition points to it as once the residence of
a tanner. The entrance is through a low gallery, before which the
servants of Cornelius stood inquiring for Peter. Within is a small
court-yard, containing a well of excellent water, and from the court
a stone staircase leads to the roof, from which I enjoyed a commanding
view of the sea, over whose blue waters had glanced the apostolic eye
as Peter sat beneath those clear expanded heavens from which descended
the symbolic sheet, opening to his Jewish understanding the purposes
of the divine mind. Plucking a leaf from the solitary tree adorning the
court, I entered the interior, which is now occupied by the Moslems as
a place of prayer, and by whom it is revered no less for its antiquity
than for its traditional sacredness. Excepting its gardens, Joppa is
neither clean nor beautiful. The streets are narrow and irregular, and
the best buildings have no claim to architectural elegance. Inclosed by
a stone wall, the city has a single gate, opening toward the east. Near
it, and around a pretty Saracenic fountain, are the famous fruit-bazars
of Jaffa, where are sold the finest oranges and lemons in the world.
Here also is the seat of justice, where the cadi[414] tries all civil
and criminal suits, sitting, as in Bible times,[415] in the gate of
the city. As of old, Joppa is a sea-port town of considerable trade,
and, if possessed of a good harbor, would be the most flourishing
maritime city of Palestine. The products of its immense fruit-orchards,
together with the silk and soap here manufactured, are exported in
large quantities to the cities on the Mediterranean coast.
Illustration: JAFFA FROM THE NORTH.
Possessing a population of 5000 souls, a fifth of whom are
Christians, 200 Jews, and the rest Moslems, the basis of social
and political distinction is religion rather than nationality. The
Mohammedans have several mosques, the Jews a synagogue, the Latins,
Greeks, and Armenians have each a convent, for the entertainment of
pilgrims _en route_ for the Holy City.
Under the direction of Dr. Barclay, who combines the two professions
of physician and missionary, a society has here been formed called the
“Abrahamic Coalition,” the object of which is the gathering together in
one large community all the indigent Jews in the East, and locate them
on the Plain of Sharon, securing to each a small piece of land, and
otherwise aiding the colonists in practical agriculture.
As illustrating the changeless character of Eastern customs, before
the door of our inn stood a magician performing astonishing feats with
serpents. A Nubian by birth, his face was black and glossy, his eyes
small and snakish, and his countenance expressive of great cunning.
With a smile, he drew from the ample folds of his bosom three large
black serpents, which had been nestling next his naked breast; and
caressing them in the fondest manner, he lifted them up to his neck,
and allowed them to entwine themselves about his head. Subject to the
will of their charmer, they obeyed his magical words, and the magician
of Joppa vividly recalled the magicians of Egypt.[416]
Once more our faces were turned toward the Holy City. On leaving Joppa,
our path for half an hour lay between enormous hedges of the cactus
plant, inclosing orange and lemon groves, which cover an area of many
miles in extent. The air was surcharged with the fragrance of those
delicious fruits, and beneath the ladened trees lay heaps of lemons
and oranges, like apples in an American orchard. Charmed with a ride
so delightful, we were soon upon the Plain of Sharon, stretching
far to the northeastward, to the white and purple Hills of Benjamin.
Passing the hamlet of Yasûr on our left, in thirty minutes we entered
the pine-groves of Beit Dejân. The declining sun forewarning us of
approaching night, we gave loose rein to our horses, and bounded over
that glorious plain. As far as the eye could reach, crimson anemones,
tufts of lily leaves, and white and yellow daisies covered the ground
like a carpet of many colors, while here and there stood the shepherd’s
black tent, with herds and flocks around it, and on the evening air
came the soft notes of his flute. In the starlight away to the east,
like a dark column standing out against the sky of night, appeared the
solitary tower of Ramleh. At seven P.M. we were knocking at the iron
gate of the Latin Monastery, and, with a courtesy for which others have
not given them credit, the Franciscan brothers received us to their
retreat, while their tall and graceful superior entertained us with
an ease and dignity worthy a Christian gentleman. After an excellent
dinner in the refectory, a quiet-looking friar led us, by the light
of a single wax taper, across a dark court-yard to a small chamber
containing four beds, neat and clean, as if the work of a woman’s hand.
Ramleh is nine miles to the southeast from Joppa, and is one of the
best-built towns on the Plain of Sharon. It is environed for miles
with fig-orchards and orange-groves. Containing a population of 3000
inhabitants, the majority of whom are Greek Christians, tradition
identities Ramleh with the Ramah of Samuel, the birthplace of Nicodemus,
and the native city of Joseph of Arimathea. Chosen by the Crusaders to
be their southern rendezvous, it became the head-quarters of Richard
of England in 1191 A.D. Its chief architectural attraction is a noble
square tower 120 feet high, built of hewn stone, and standing a mile
to the west from the town, amid the ruins of a large quadrangular
inclosure. There is nothing, either in its construction or in history,
to indicate whether it it is the campanile of a Christian church or the
minaret of a mosque. A flight of stone steps, narrow and spiral, leads
to the top, from which is obtained a view of surpassing beauty. In all
its amplitude and richness, the Plain of Sharon spreads out before the
eye, extending from the roots of Carmel on the north, to the promontory
of Joppa on the south, and from the hills of Samaria and Judea on the
east, to the Mediterranean on the west; while on every hand appear
fields of grain, groves of fruit-trees, and towns, whose white domes
shine in the sunlight like diamonds in a circlet of emeralds.
Illustration: RAMLEH, OR THE “LOOK-OUT.”
A ride of forty minutes through an embowered avenue brought us to Ludd,
the Lod of the Old Testament,[417] and the Lydda of the New.[418] It is
an Arab town of 2000 inhabitants, and, though unsurpassed by the beauty
of its environs, it is neither remarkable for the elegance of its
buildings nor the regularity of its streets. To the Christian, Lydda
is interesting as the place where Peter cured Eneas of palsy, and where
he was stopping when he was informed of Tabitha’s death. To Englishmen
it is memorable as the birthplace of St. George, England’s patron
saint, and as containing his tomb, in which he was interred near the
close of the third century, after his martyrdom in Nicomedia, under
the relentless Diocletian. According to William of Tyre, the Emperor
Justinian reared a noble church over the ashes of the saint and martyr,
which, at a later period, was destroyed by the revengeful Moslems.
Rebuilt by Richard Cœur de Lion, it was partially destroyed again by
the troops of Saladin. The walls and a part of the vault of the eastern
niche of this monumental structure remain, adorned with pilasters,
capitals, and cornice. On the south side of the grand aisle is a
pointed arch of great elegance, supported by massive clustered columns
with marble Corinthian capitals, forming one of the most picturesque
ruins in Palestine.
Illustration: CHURCH OF SAINT GEORGE.
Forty minutes from Ludd we passed the town of Jimzu,[419] and just
beyond the road branched, one path diverging to the right, running
through Wady Suleimân, and the other ascending the steep acclivities
of Bethhoron the Nether. Though it is exceedingly rugged, yet, as
it passes over one of the grandest battle-fields in sacred history,
we chose the latter. Now began the toil of the journey. The verdure
had disappeared, and the white limestone rocks protruded above the
scanty soil, leaving only intervening patches of tillable land, which
was being plowed as we passed. Disobeying the divine command, and
disregarding the fitness of nature, a peasant was plowing with an ox
and an ass,[420] and another with an ass and a camel. Passing Um Rush
in two hours from Jimzu, we toiled up a mountain path, and at noon
reached Lower Bethhoron. Memorable in Bible history as the second
stage of the flight of the five kings of the Amorites, the roughness
of the scene is in harmony with the horrors of war. The surface of
the land is broken into circular rocky hills, around the base of which
equally stony valleys wind. From the hill-sides the rocks protrude like
terraces, rising with much regularity one above the other. The modern
town is perched on a rocky ridge, and called by the Arabs Beit ’Ur
et-Tahta. Amid its sterility a few half-naked peasants lay basking in
the genial sunshine of spring, who greeted us as we passed with a lazy
smile. Though located on the northwest border of Benjamin, the city
belonged to Ephraim, and from that tribe it was taken and allotted to
the Levites.[421] Passing over the roughest tract of land above the sea,
in less than an hour we reached Upper Bethhoron. Bearing the Arabic
name of Beit Ur el-Fôka, it is a small village, the huts of which
are composed of large hewn stones once belonging to more pretentious
buildings. Sturdy men sat smoking on the rocks, and near them women
were playing with their children. Among the maidens were the sheikh’s
daughters, who wore about the head a circlet of silver coins. These
ornaments are a maiden’s dowry.
Surveying the surrounding country from the roof of the sheikh’s house,
the famous battle-field of Gibeon lay before me. Seven miles to the
southeast is Gibeon, whose conical summit is just hidden by the loftier
peaks of Benjamin. Less than three miles to the northwest is Lower
Bethhoron, and five miles to the south, on the summit of a long, low
ridge, is the small hamlet of Yâlo, the traditional site of Ajalon.
Between the two hills is the green valley of Ajalon, now called Merj
Ibn ’Omeir, expanding, as it opens, into the Plain of Philistia. Having
formed a powerful coalition, the chiefs of the Amorites, with the King
of Jerusalem at their head, had besieged the city of Gibeon. On the eve
of the battle the Gibeonites sent to Joshua for relief, whom they had
previously deceived into an alliance, and found him on the Plain of
Jericho. Though despising a treaty founded in craft, yet appreciating
the obligations of an oath above a temporary inconvenience, and guided
by the faint light of the stars, the Israelitish chieftain passed up
the Plain of Jericho to Wady Fârah, and, turning westward, he reached
the scene of the conflict, after a forced march by night, in the early
dawn of the next morning. Falling with irresistible surprise and power
upon the confederate kings, “he slew them with great slaughter at
Gibeon.” Flying before his victorious arms, the remnant went “along
the way that goeth up to Bethhoron.” Outstripping their pursuers,
the Amorites continued their flight “in the going down to Bethhoron.”
Reaching the ridge on which we stand with all his “mighty men” around
him, Joshua beheld the valley through which the fugitives were escaping,
and, despairing of overtaking them if the day was not prolonged, he
invoked the divine interposition in his behalf. Moved by a sublime
faith, he stretched forth the arm that bore the conqueror’s spear,
and, in the presence of all Israel, said, “Sun, stand thou still on
Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” Respecting the faith
of his servant and answering his prayer, Jehovah interposed; “and the
sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies; and there was no day like that before
it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man; for
the Lord fought for Israel.” Receiving more than he had asked for,
a hail-storm came to his assistance, and after it had accomplished
its terrible work, killing foes but sparing friends, Joshua and his
warriors descended the declivities of Bethlehem, and pressed the
remnant of a once proud foe so hard as to compel the five kings to
take refuge in the great cave of Makkedah, around which he encamped
for the night, and on the morrow hung the royal fugitives.[422]
“God’s testimony is in the rocks.” The correspondence between the
inspired account and the facts as they now appear, after the lapse of
twenty-three centuries, illustrates the accuracy of sacred history.
The night’s march from Gilgal to Gibeon, a distance of less than
twenty-five miles, was not only possible, but can now be accomplished
by any ordinary pedestrian. The going up to Bethhoron the Upper, and
the going down to Bethhoron the Nether, correspond with the altitude
of the former from Gibeon, and the depression of the latter from Beit
el-Fôka. The relative locations of Gibeon and Ajalon to Upper Bethhoron,
and the probable position of the sun and moon in the heavens at that
time, agree with the statement as to where Joshua was when he invoked
the prolongation of the day; and his subsequent pursuit of the foe in
the direction of Azekah, Makkedah, and Jarmuth is confirmed by the
identification of those places.
There is nothing in the text indicating that the prayer of Joshua
was offered late in the afternoon, and that, as Gibeon is on the east
of Upper Bethhoron and Ajalon on the west, therefore the sun could
not have stood still on the former nor the moon on the latter. It was
probably not noon when he invoked the lengthening of the day. The sun
had not yet passed the meridian of Gibeon, while over the western vale
of Ajalon the faint crescent of an old moon still lingered, just as
it appeared to me. Hence, standing between the two planets as they
rode high in the heavens above him, and between the two cities on the
earth, he gave forth his miraculous command with the utmost accuracy;
while from the western sea came that fearful hail-storm driving up the
valleys below, killing more than had been slain by the sword, and from
the eastern border of the otherwise dark storm-cloud was reflected the
light of the motionless sun and moon.
Leaving Upper Bethhoron, our path lay for some time along the old
Roman road, sections of which remain as perfect as when the chariot
of the proud Cestius was driven over it. Turning to the southeast, in
two hours we reached the celebrated city of Gibeon. Like most Oriental
towns, it crowns the summit of a conspicuous hill, which, being
separated from the surrounding hills, rises in isolation from a noble
plain. The encircling plains are unsurpassed in Southern Palestine
for the richness of their soil, and their meadow-like smoothness and
verdure. Covering many acres are vineyards, olive-groves, and almond
orchards. Such is the peculiar formation of the hill on which the town
is built, that the rocks protruding from the sides serve the double
purpose of steps and terraces. Over the summit are scattered the small
stone buildings of El-Jib, which in part are composed of materials
of great antiquity. Without walls and gates, the city is destitute
of fortifications, and the crooked, unpaved streets are accessible to
all. The present inhabitants are an illustration that character, like
names, is transmitted from one generation to another. In their address
and shrewdness they resemble their ancestors. The Sheikh of Gibeon
is a man of medium height, and, unlike his countrymen, is emotional,
communicative, and exceedingly gracious. Pressing us to enter his
khan,[423] he refreshed us with coffee, and, failing to persuade us
to remain during the night, he accompanied us through the village,
and received our gifts with flowing eyes and many bows. Nor are the
children less crafty. Boys kissed our hand for paras, and for a piastre
the maidens at the fountains let down their pitchers from their heads
that we might drink. Reading the story of their ancestral cunning on
the spot, we could easily fancy their fathers gathering together the
emblems of deception to decoy the Israelites into an alliance that
brought protection to themselves, but war to their allies; and with
less difficulty their descendants could collect tattered garments,
clouted shoes, rent wine-skin bottles, musty bread, and jaded asses,
and with equal confidence declare themselves to be “embassadors from a
far country.”
Illustration: GIBEON.
Falling to the tribe of Benjamin in the division of the land,[424]
Gibeon afterward became a Levitical city.[425] Subsequently to the
destruction of Nob by Saul, it was the seat of the tabernacle till the
completion of the Temple.[426] On the eastern side of the hill is a
large well of delicious water. Springing up in a cave excavated in the
solid rock, the water was originally conducted to a reservoir below,
which measures 120 feet in length and 100 in breadth. Formerly it
was called the “Pool of Gibeon,” and around its peaceful waters the
rival armies of Israel and Judah met in battle. It was here that
Abner challenged Joab to terminate the strife by a gladiatorial fight
between twenty-four chosen men――twelve representing David, and twelve
representing Ishbosheth. But so equal were the champions in skill and
power, “that they caught every man his fellow by the head, and thrust
his sword in his fellow’s side, so they fell down together.”[427] The
death of all the combatants leaving the issue of the contest undecided,
the two armies sprang to the fight on the adjoining plain, and, after a
sore battle, Abner was defeated, and the claims of David to the kingdom
of all Israel were confirmed by a decisive victory.[428] Thirty-three
years after, by the “great stone which is in Gibeon,” in the same
highway now trodden by the feet of careless pilgrims, “Joab took Amasa
by the beard with the right hand to kiss him,” and, with a sword in the
other, treacherously slew his cousin.[429]
But the glory of Gibeon is the dream and prayer of Solomon. Sanctifying
the morning of a long and eventful reign by acts of devotion, he came
from Jerusalem to worship the Lord. Upon a great altar which he had
reared he offered a thousand burnt sacrifices, and that night in a
dream he communed with the God of his fathers, and asking wisdom to
govern his kingdom rather than wealth and honor, he received a wise
and understanding heart.[430]
A mile to the south, beyond a green and lovely plain, is Mizpeh――“The
Look-out”――one of the oldest watch-towers in Southern Palestine. With
it stand connected many of the most thrilling events in Jewish history.
Chosen in the infancy of the nation for the advantages it afforded
as a point of observation in times of war, it subsequently became
the national rendezvous, where the tribes were accustomed to meet to
worship Jehovah, to make war, to conclude peace, and elect a king.
Justly aggrieved at the insult offered the whole country by the
citizens of Gibeah in refusing to surrender the young men who had
committed the horrid crime on the person of the Levite’s concubine,
the eleven tribes here assembled, and, having vowed never to return to
their homes till the inhabitants of Gibeah were punished, they marched
forth to that series of battles in which thousands fell, and in which
the tribe of Benjamin was well-nigh exterminated.[431] Two hundred
and eighty-six years later, Samuel gathered the armies of Israel at
Mizpeh to fight against the Philistines, and after their return from
the slaughter of the foe he set up a memorial-stone and called it
Ebenezer.[432] A quarter of a century thereafter the nation reassembled
to choose a king; and here, for the first time in Israel, when the
people beheld the majestic form of Saul, the son of Kish, on whom the
lot had fallen, their loyal exclamations awakened the echoes of the
surrounding hills――“God save the king!”[433] Fortifying it for the
protection of his frontier, King Asa removed from Rama the materials
with which Baasha had constructed his battlements, and with them built
a strong fort. Five centuries after the coronation of Saul, Ishmael,
of the royal family of Judah, here surprised and assassinated Gedaliah,
the Chaldean governor, who, during the Jewish captivity, resided at
Mizpeh.[434]
Called by the natives Neby Samwîl, after the honored son of Hannah,
the hill has an altitude of 600 feet above the surrounding plain. On
its evenly-terraced sides the fig and vine grow luxuriantly. The summit
is dotted with a few rude dwellings, composed of the remains of nobler
edifices. The ruins of departed greatness are every where visible, and
in the wall of a caravansary are imbedded shattered capitals and broken
columns. In rude mimicry of happier days, the peasants have excavated
small courts to the depth of several feet in the native rock in front
of their unpretending homes. Rising, as if by way of contrast, from
amid these hovels is a large but deserted mosque. Erected by the
Crusaders, it was originally a Christian church. Constructed in the
form of a Latin cross, the interior is ornamented with Saracenic arches.
Within is the traditional tomb of Samuel, which, unlike the sepulchres
of other prophets, has neither altar nor ornaments. Attached to the
mosque is a graceful minaret, which rises 100 feet above the summit
of the hill, from the balcony of which I obtained an extraordinary
view of Southern Palestine. As far as the eye could reach, the land of
Judea was spread out before me, broken by deep ravines and dotted with
conical hills. To the north was Gibeon, and beyond appeared Alaroth,
Beeroth, the dark peak of Ophrah, and the famous rock of Rimmon; lining
the distant horizon to the northeast were Gibeah of Saul, Michmash
of Jonathan, and the Hills of Gilead; over a forest of summits to the
east were the Mountains of Moab――that ever-visible wall of limestone;
beyond, the small hamlet of Hanîna; to the southeast rose the domes and
minarets of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and the tomb-like form of Herodium;
to the south were the vine-clad hills of Hebron and the home of Samson;
while due west, and as far as the eye could penetrate north and south,
was the white shore of the Mediterranean, with the blue waters of the
sea mingling with the mists of the western sky. Such was the prospect
from Mizpeh, which, in the mighty past, often met the eye of Samuel,
Saul, and Solomon; and, though he occupied a stand-point a few miles to
the eastward, but of greater altitude, such must have been the vision
of Moses from the summit of Pisgah ere he entered into glory.