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[Illustration: Map of Palestine]
PALESTINE
OR
THE HOLY LAND.
From the Earliest Period to the Present Time.
BY THE REV. MICHAEL RUSSELL, LL.D.
PREFACE.
In giving an account of the Holy Land, an author, upon examining his
materials, finds himself presented with the choice either of simple
history on the one hand, or of mere local description on the other; and
the character of his book is of course determined by, the selection which
he makes of the first or the second of these departments. The volumes on
Palestine hitherto laid before the public will accordingly be found to
contain either a bare abridgment of the annals of the Jewish people, or a
topographical delineation of the country, the cities, and the towns which
they inhabited, from the date of the conquest under Joshua, down to the
period of their dispersion by Titus and Adrian. Several able works have
recently appeared on each of these subjects, and have been, almost without
exception, rewarded with the popularity which is seldom refused to
learning, and eloquence. But it occurred to the writer of the following
pages, that the expectations of the general reader would be more fully
answered were the two plans to be united, and the constitution, the
antiquities, the religion, the literature, and even the statistics of,
the Hebrews combined with the narrative of their rise and fall in the
sacred land bestowed upon their fathers.
In following out this scheme, he has made it his study to leave no
source of information unexplored which might supply the means of
illustrating the political condition of the Twelve Tribes immediately
after they settled on the banks of the Jordan. The principles which
entered into the constitution of their commonwealth are extremely
interesting, both as they afford a fine example of the progress of
society in one of its earliest stages, when the migratory shepherd
gradually assumes the habits of the agriculturalist; and also as they
confirm the results of experience, in other cases, in regard to the
change which usually follows in the form of civil government, and in
the concentration of power in the hands of an individual.
The chapter on the Literature and Religion of the Ancient Hebrews cannot
boast of a great variety of materials, because what of the subject is not
known to the youngest reader of the Bible must be sought for, in the
writings of Rabbinical authors, who have unfortunately directed the
largest share of their attention to the minutest parts of their Law, and
expended the labour of elucidation on those points which are least
interesting to the rest of the world. It is to be deeply regretted,
that so little is known respecting the Schools of the Prophets--those
seminaries which sent forth, not only the ordinary ministers of the Temple
and the Synagogue, but also that more distinguished order of men who were
employed as instruments for revealing the future intentions of Providence.
But the Author hesitates not to say, that he has availed himself of all
the materials which the research of modern times has brought to light,
while he has carefully rejected all such speculations or conjectures as
might gratify the curiosity of learning without tending to edify the
youthful mind. The account which is given of the Feasts and Fasts of the
Jews, both before and after the Babylonian Captivity, will, it is hoped,
prove useful to the reader, more especially by pointing out to him
appropriate subjects of reflection while perusing the Sacred Records.
The history of Palestine, prior to the Fall of Jerusalem, rests upon the
authority of the inspired writers, or of those annalists, such as Josephus
and Tacitus, who flourished at the period of the events which they
describe. The narrative, which brings down the fortunes of that remarkable
country to the present day, is much more various both in its subject and
references; more especially where it embraces the exploits of the
Crusaders, those renowned devotees of religion, romance, and chivalry. The
reader will find in a narrow compass the substance of the extensive works
of Fuller, Wilken, Michaud, and Mills. In the more modern part of this
historical outline, in which the affairs of Palestine are intimately
connected with those of Egypt, it was thought unnecessary to repeat facts
mentioned at some length in the volume already published on the latter
country.[1]
The topographical description of the holy Land is drawn from the works of
the long series of travellers and pilgrims, who, since the time of the
faithful Doubdan, have visited the interesting scenes where the Christian
Faith had its origin and completion. On this subject Maundrell is still a
principal authority; for, while we have the best reason to believe that he
recorded nothing but what he saw, we can trust implicitly to the accuracy
of his details in describing every thing which fell under his observation.
The same high character is due to Pococke and Sandys, writers whose
simplicity of style and thought afford a voucher for the truth of their
narratives. Nor are Thevenot, Paul Lucas, and Careri, though less
frequently consulted, at all unworthy of confidence as depositaries of
historical fact. In more modern times we meet with equal fidelity,
recommended by an exalted tone of feeling, in the volumes of Chateaubriand
and Dr. Richardson. Clarke, Burckhardt, Buckingham, Legh, Henniker,
Jowett, Light, Macworth, Irby and Mangles, Carne, and Wilson, have not
only contributed valuable materials, but also lent the aid of their names
to correct or to conform the statements of some of the more apocryphal
among their predecessors.
The chapter on Natural History has no pretensions to scientific
arrangement or technical precision in its delineations. On the contrary,
it is calculated solely for the common reader, who would soon be disgusted
with the formal notation of the botanist, and could not understand the
learned terms in which the student of zoology too often finds the
knowledge of animal nature concealed. Its main object is to illustrate the
Scriptures, by giving an account of the quadrupeds, birds, serpents,
plants, and fruits which are mentioned from time to time by the inspired
writers of either Testament.
Edinburgh, _September_, 1831.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS.
Interest attached to the History of Palestine; Remarkable Character of
the Hebrew People; Their small Beginning and astonishing Increases; The
Variety of Fortune they underwent; Their constant Attachment to the
Promised Land; The Subject presents an interesting Problem to the
Historian and Politician; The Connexion with Christianity; Effect of this
Religion on the Progress of Society; Importance of the Subject to the
pious Reader; Holy Places; Pilgrims; Grounds for Believing the Ancient
Traditions on this Head; Constantine and the Empress Helena; Relics;
Natural Scenery; Extent of Canaan; Fertility; Geographical Distribution;
Countries Eastward of the Jordan; Galilee; Samaria; Bethlehem; Jericho;
The Dead Sea; Table representing the Possessions of the Twelve Tribes.
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH.
Form of Government after the Death of Joshua; In Egypt; In the Wilderness;
Princes of Tribes and Heads of Families; Impatience to take Possession
of Promised Land; The Effects of it; Renewal of War; Extent of Holy
Land; Opinions of Fleury, Spanheim, Reland, and Lowman; Principle of
Distribution; Each Tribe confined to a separate Locality; Property
unalienable; Conditions of Tenure; Population of the Tribes; Number of
Principal Families; A General Government or National Council; The Judges;
Nature of their Authority; Not ordinary Magistrates; Different from Kings,
Consuls, and Dictators; Judicial Establishments; Judges and Officers;
Described by Josephus; Equality of Condition among the Hebrews; Their
Inclination for a Pastoral Life; Freebooters, like the Arabs; Abimelech,
Jephthah, and David; Simplicity of the Times; Boaz and Ruth; Tribe of
Levi; Object of their Separation; The learned Professions hereditary,
after the manner of the Egyptians; The Levitical Cities; Their Number and
Uses; Opinion of Michaelis; Summary View of the Times and Character of the
Hebrew Judges.
CHAPTER III.
HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM THE ACCESSION OF SAUL TO THE DESTRUCTION OF
JERUSALEM.
Weakness of Republican Government; Jealousy of the several Tribes;
Resolution to have a King; Rules for regal Government; Character of
Saul; Of David; Troubles of his Reign; Accession of Solomon; Erection
of the Temple; Commerce; Murmurs of the People; Rehoboam; Division
of the Tribes; Kings of Israel; Kingdom of Judah; Siege of Jerusalem;
Captivity; Kings of Judah; Return from Babylon; Second Temple; Canon of
Scripture; Struggles between Egypt and Syria; Conquest of Palestine by
Antiochus; Persecution of Jews; Resistance by the Family of Maccabaeus;
Victories of Judas; He courts the Alliance of the Romans; Succeeded by
Jonathan; Origin of the Asmonean Princes; John Hyrcanus; Aristobulus;
Alexander Jannaeus; Appeal to Pompey; Jerusalem taken by Romans; Herod
created King by the Romans; He repairs to the Temple; Archelaus succeeds
him, and Antipas is nominated to Galilee; Quirinius Prefect of Syria;
Pontius Pilate; Elevation of Herod Agrippa; Disgrace of Herod Philip;
Judea again a Province; Troubles; Accession of Young Agrippa; Felix;
Festus; Floris; Command given to Vespasian; War; Siege of Jerusalem by
Titus.
CHAPTER IV.
ON THE LITERATURE AND RELIGIOUS USAGES OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS.
Obscurity of the Subject; Learning issued from the Levitical Colleges;
Schools of the Prophets; Music and Poetry; Meaning of the term Prophecy;
Illustrated by References to the Old Testament and to the New; The power
of Prediction not confined to those bred in the Schools; Race of false
Prophets; Their Malignity and Deceit; Micaiah and Ahab; Charge against
Jeremiah the Prophet; Criterion to distinguish True from False Prophets;
The Canonical Writings of the Prophets; Literature of Prophets; Sublime
Nature of their Compositions; Examples from Psalms and Prophetical
Writings; Humane and liberal Spirit; Care used to keep alive the Knowledge
of the Law; Evils arising from the Division of Israel and Judah; Ezra
collects the Ancient Books; Schools of Prophets similar to Convents;
Sciences; Astronomy; Division of Time, Days, Months, and Years;
Sabbaths and New Moons; Jewish Festivals; Passover; Pentecost; Feast
of Tabernacles; Of Trumpets; Jubilee; Daughters of Zelophedad; Feast
of Dedication; Minor Anniversaries; Solemn Character of Hebrew Learning;
Its easy Adaptation to Christianity; Superior to the Literature of all
other ancient Nations.
CHAPTER V.
DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM.
Pilgrimages to the Holy Land; Arculfus; Willibald; Bernard; Effect of
Crusades; William de Bouldessell; Bertrandon de la Broquiere; State of
Damascus; Breidenbach; Baumgarten; Bartholemeo Georgewitz; Aldersey;
Sandys; Doubdan; Cheron; Thevenot; Gonzales; Morison; Maundrell; Pococke;
Road from Jaffa to Jerusalem; Plain of Sharon; Rama or Ramla; Condition of
the Peasantry; Vale of Jeremiah; Jerusalem; Remark of Chateaubriand;
Impressions of different Travellers; Dr. Clarke; Tasso; Volney; Henniker;
Mosque of Omar described; Mysterious Stone; Church of Holy Sepulchre;
Ceremonies of Good Friday; Easter; The Sacred Fire; Grounds for
Skepticism; Folly of the Priests; Emotion upon entering the Holy Tomb;
Description of Chateaubriand; Holy Places in the City; On Mount Zion;
Pool of Siloam; Fountain of the Virgin; Valley of Jehoshaphat; Mount of
Offence; The Tombs of Zechariah, of Jehoshaphat, and of Absalom; Jewish
Architecture; Dr. Clarke's Opinion on the Topography of Ancient Jerusalem;
Opposed by other Writers; The Inexpedience of such Discussions.
CHAPTER VI.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM.
Garden of Gethsemane; Tomb of Virgin Mary; Grottoes on Mount of Olives;
View of the City; Extent and Boundaries; View of Bethany and Dead Sea;
Bethlehem; Convent; Church of the Nativity described; Paintings; Music;
Population of Bethlehem; Pools of Solomon; Dwelling of Simon the Leper; Of
Mary Magdalene; Tower of Simeon; Tomb of Rachel; Convent of St. John; Fine
Church; Tekoa Bethulia; Hebron; Sepulchre of Patriarchs; Albaid; Kerek;
Extremity of Dead Sea; Discoveries of Bankes, Legh, and Irby and Mangles;
Convent of St. Saba; Valley of Jordan; Mountains; Description of Lake
Asphaltites; Remains of Ancient Cities in its Basin; Quality of its
Waters; Apples of Sodom; Tacitus, Seetzen, Hasselquist, Chateaubriand;
Width of River Jordan; Jericho; Village of Rihhah; Balsam; Fountain of
Elisha; Mount of Temptation; Place of Blood; Anecdote of Sir F. Henniker;
Fountain of the Apostles; Return to Jerusalem; Markets; Costume; Science;
Arts; Language; Jews; Present Condition of that People.
CHAPTER VII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY NORTHWARD OF JERUSALEM.
Grotto of Jeremiah; Sepulchres of the Kings; Singular Doors; Village of
Leban; Jacob's Well; Valley of Shechem; Nablous; Samaritans; Sebaste;
Jennin; Gilead; Geraza or Djerash; Description of Ruins; Gergasha of the
Hebrews; Rich Scenery of Gilead; River Jabbok; Souf; Ruins of Gamala;
Magnificent Theatre; Gadara; Capernaum, or Talhewm; Sea of Galilee;
Bethsaida and Chorazin; Tarrachea; Sumuk; Tiberias; Description of modern
Town; House Of St. Peter; Baths; University; Mount Tor, or Tabor;
Description by Pococke, Maundrell, Burckhardt, and Doubdan; View from the
Top; Great Plain; Nazareth; Church of Annunciation; Workshop of Joseph;
Mount of Precipitation; Table of Christ; Cana, or Kefer Kenna; Waterpots
of Stone; Saphet, or Szaffad; University; French; Sidney Smith; Dan;
Sepphoris; Church of St. Anne; Description by Dr. Clarke; Vale of Zabulon;
Vicinity of Acre.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE FROM THE FALL OF JERUSALEM, TO THE PRESENT TIME.
State of Judea after the Fall of Jerusalem; Revolt under Trajan;
Barcochab; Adrian repairs Jerusalem; Schools at Babylon and Tiberias;
Attempt of Julian to rebuild the Temple; Invasion of Chosroes; Sack of
Jerusalem; Rise of Islamism; Wars of the Califs; First Crusade; Jerusalem
delivered; Policy of Crusades; Victory at Ascalon; Baldwin King; Second
Crusade; Saladin; His Success at Tiberias; He recovers Jerusalem; The
Third Crusade; Richard Coeur de Lion; Siege and Capture of Acre; Plans of
Richard; His Return to Europe; Death of Saladin; Fourth Crusade; Battle of
Jaffa; Fifth Crusade; Fall of Constantinople; Sixth Crusade; Damietta
taken; Reverses; Frederick the Second made King of Jerusalem; Seventh
Crusade; Christians admitted into the Holy City; Inroad of Karismians;
Eighth Crusade under Louis IX.; He takes Damietta; His Losses and Return
to Europe; Ninth Crusade; Louis IX. and Edward I; Death of Louis;
Successes of Edward; Treaty with Sultan; Final Discomfiture of the Franks
in Palestine, and Loss of Acre; State of Palestine under the Turks;
Increased Toleration; Bonaparte invades Syria; Siege of Acre and Defeat
of French; Actual State of the Holy Land; Number, Condition, and Character
of the Jews.
CHAPTER IX.
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF PALESTINE.
Travellers too much neglect Natural History--Maundrell; Hasselquist,
Clarke. GEOLOGY--Syrian Chain; Libanus; Calcareous Rocks; Granite;
Trap; Volcanic Remains; Chalk; Marine Exuviae; Precious Stones.
METEOROLOGY--Climate of Palestine; Winds; Thunder; Clouds; Waterspouts;
Ignis Fatuus. ZOOLOGY--Scripture Animals; The Hart; The Roebuck;
Fallow-Deer; Wild Goat; Pygarg; Wild Ox; Chamois; Unicorn; Wild Ass; Wild
Goats of the Rock; Saphan, or Coney; Mouse; Porcupine; Jerboa; Mole; Bat.
BIRDS--Eagle; Ossifrage; Ospray; Vulture; Kite; Raven; Owl; Nighthawk;
Cuckoo; Hawk; Little Owl; Cormorant; Great Owl; Swan; Pelican; Gier Eagle;
Stork; Heron; Lapwing; Hoopoe. AMPHIBIA AND REPTILES--Serpents known to the
Hebrews; Ephe; Chephir; Acshub; Pethen; Tzeboa; Tzimmaon; Tzepho; Kippos;
Shephiphon; Shachal; Seraph, the Flying Serpent; Cockatrice' Eggs; The
Scorpion; Sea-monsters, or Seals. FRUITS AND PLANTS--Vegetable Productions
of Palestine; The Fig-tree; Palm; Olive; Cedars of Libanus; Wild Grapes;
Balsam of Aaron; Thorn of Christ.
ENGRAVINGS.
Map of Palestine
Vignette--Part of Jerusalem, with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives
Fountain of Siloam
Tomb of Absalom
Village of Bethany, and Dead Sea
Subterranean Church of Bethlehem
River Jabbok, and Hilts of Bashan
Sea of Galilee, Town of Tiberias, and Baths of Emmaus
Mount Tabor
CHAPTER I.
_Introductory Observations_.
Interest attached to the History of Palestine; Remarkable Character of the
Hebrew People; Their small Beginning and astonishing Increase; The Variety
of Fortune they underwent; Their constant Attachment to the Promised Land;
The Subject presents an interesting Problem to the Historian and
Politician; The Connexion with Christianity; Effect of this Religion on
the Progress of Society; Importance of the Subject to the pious Reader;
Holy Places; Pilgrims; Grounds for believing the ancient Traditions on
this Head; Constantine and the Empress Helena; Relics; Natural Scenery;
Extent of Canaan; Fertility; Geographical Distribution; Countries eastward
of the Jordan; Galilee; Bethlehem; Samaria; Jericho; The Dead Sea; Table
representing the Possessions of the Twelve Tribes.
The country to which the name of Palestine is given by moderns is that
portion of the Turkish empire in Asia which is comprehended within the
31st and 34th degrees north latitude, and extends from the Mediterranean
to the Syrian Desert, eastward of the river Jordan and the Dead Sea.
Whether viewed as the source of our religions faith; or as the most
ancient fountain of our historical knowledge, this singular spot of earth
has at all times been regarded with feelings of the deepest interest and
curiosity. Inhabited for many ages by a people entitled above all others
to the distinction of peculiar, it presents a record of events such as
have not come to pass in any other land, monuments of a belief denied to
all other nations, hopes not elsewhere cherished, but which, nevertheless,
are connected with the destiny of the whole human race, and stretch
forward to the consummation of all terrestrial things.
To the eye of mere philosophy nothing can appear more striking than the
events produced upon the world at large by the opinions and events which
originated among the Jewish people. A pastoral family, neither so
numerous, so warlike, nor so well instructed in the arts of civilized life
as many others in the same quarter of the globe, gradually increased into
a powerful community, became distinguished by a system of doctrines and
usages different from those of all the surrounding tribes; retaining it,
too, amid the numerous changes of fortune to which they were subjected,
and finally impressing its leading principles upon the most enlightened
nations of Asia and of Europe. At a remote era Abraham crosses the
Euphrates, a solitary traveller, not knowing whither he went, but obeying
a divine voice, which called him from among idolaters to become the father
of a new people and of a purer faith, at a distance from his native
country. His grandson Jacob, a "Syrian ready to perish," goes down into
Egypt with a few individuals, where his descendants, although evil
entreated and afflicted, became a "nation, great, mighty, and populous,"
and whence they were delivered by the special interposition of Heaven. In
prosperity and adversity they are still the objects of the same vigilant
Providence which reserved them for a great purpose to be accomplished in
the latter days; while the Israelites themselves, as if conscious that
their election was to be crowned with momentous results, still kept their
thoughts fixed on Palestine, as the theatre of their glory, not less than
as the possession of their tribes.
We accordingly see them at one period in bondage, the victims of a
relentless tyranny, and menaced with complete extirpation; but the hope
of enjoying the land promised to their fathers never ceased to animate
their hearts, for they trusted that God would surely visit them in the
house of their affliction, and, in his appointed time, carry them into
the inheritance of peace and rest. At a later epoch we behold them swept
away as captives by the hands of idolaters, who used all the motives which
spring from fear and from interest to secure their compliance with a
foreign worship; but rejecting all such inducements, they still continued
a separate people, steadily resisting the operation of those causes which,
in almost every other instance, have been found sufficient to melt down a
vanquished horde into the population and habits of their masters. At
length they appear as the instruments of a dispensation which embraces
the dearest interests of all the sons of Adam; and which, in happier
circumstances than ever fell to their own lot, has already modified and
greatly exalted the character, the institutions, and the prospects of the
most improved portion of mankind in both hemispheres of the globe.
Connected with Christianity, indeed, the history of the Hebrews rises
before the reflecting mind in a very singular point of view; for, in
opposition to their own wishes they laid the foundations of a religion
which has not only superseded their peculiar rites, but is rapidly
advancing towards that universal acceptation which they were wont to
anticipate in favour of their own ancient law. In spite of themselves they
have acted as the little leaven which was destined to leaven the whole
lump; and in performing this office, they have proceeded with nearly the
same absence of intention and consciousness as the latent principle of
fermentation to which the metaphor bears allusion. They aimed at one
thing, and have accomplished another; but while we compare the means with
the ends; whether in their physical or moral relations, it must be
admitted that we therein examine one of the most remarkable events
recorded in the annals of the human race.
Abstracting his thoughts from all the considerations of supernatural
agency which are suggested by the inspired narrative, a candid man will
nevertheless feel himself compelled to acknowledge that the course of
events which constitutes the history of ancient Palestine has no parallel
in any other part of the world. Fixing his eyes on the small district of
Judea, he calls to mind that eighteen hundred years ago there dwelt in
that little region a singular and rather retired people, who, however,
differed from the rest of mankind in the very important circumstance of
not being idolaters. He looks around upon every other country of the
earth, where he discovers superstitions of the most hateful and degrading
kind, darkening all the prospects of the human being, and corrupting his
moral nature in its very source. He observes that some of these nations
are far advanced in many intellectual accomplishments, yet, being unable
to shake off the tremendous load of error by which they are pressed down,
are extremely irregular and capricious, both in the management of their
reason and in the application of their affections. He learns, moreover,
that this little spot called Palestine is despised and scorned by those
proud kingdoms, whose wise men would not for a moment allow themselves to
imagine, that any speculation or tenet arising from so ignoble a quarter
could have the slightest influence upon their belief, or affect, in the
most minute degree, the general character of their social condition.
But, behold, while he yet muses over this interesting scene, a Teacher
springs up from among the lower orders of the Hebrew people,--himself not
less contemned by his countrymen than they were by the warlike Romans
and the Philosophic Greeks,--whose doctrines, notwithstanding, continue
to gain ground on every hand, till at last the proud monuments of pagan
superstition, consecrated by the worship of a thousand years, and
supported by the authority of the most powerful monarchies in the world,
fall one after another at the approach of his disciples, and before the
prevailing efficacy of the new faith. A little stone becomes a mountain,
and fills the whole earth. Judea swells in its dimensions till it covers
half the globe, carrying captivity captive, not by force of arms, but by
the progress of opinion and the power of truth, all the nations of Europe
in successive ages,--Greek, Roman, Barbarian,--glory in the name of the
humble Galilean; armies, greater than those which Persia in the pride of
her ambition led forth to conquest, are seen swarming into Asia, with the
sole view of getting possession of his sepulchre; while the East and the
West combine to adorn with their treasures the stable in which he was
born, and the sacred mount on which he surrendered his precious life.[2]
On these grounds, there is presented to the historian and politician a
problem of the most interesting nature, and which is not to be solved by
any reference to the ordinary principles whence mankind are induced to
act or to suffer. The effects, too, produced on society, exceed all
calculation. It is in vain that we attempt to compare them to those more
common revolutions which have changed for a time the face of nations, or
given a new dynasty to ancient empires. The impression made by such events
soon passes away: the troubled surface quickly resumes its equilibrium,
and displays its wonted tranquility; and hence we may assert, that the
present condition of the world is not much different from what it would
have been, though Alexander had never been born and Julius Caesar had
died in his cradle. But the occurrences that enter into the history of
Palestine possess an influence on human affairs which has no other limits
than the existence of the species, and which will be everywhere more
deeply felt in proportion as society advances in knowledge and refinement.
The greatest nations upon earth trace their happiness and civilization to
its benign principles and lofty sanctions. Science, freedom, and security,
attend its progress among all conditions of men; raising the low,
befriending the unfortunate, giving strength to the arm of law, and
breaking the rod of the oppressor.
Nor is the subject of less interest to the pious Christian, who confines
his thoughts to the momentous facts which illustrate the early annals of
his religion. His affections are bound to Palestine by the strongest
associations; and every portion of its varied territory, its mountains,
its lakes, and even its deserts are consecrated in his eyes as the scene
of some mighty occurrence. His fancy clothes with qualities almost
celestial that holy land,
Over whose acres walked those blessed feet,
Which eighteen hundred years ago were nailed
For our advantage to the bitter cross.[3]
In a former age, when devotional feelings were wont to assume a more
poetical form than suits the taste of the present times, an undue
importance, perhaps, was placed on the mere localities of Judea, viewed
as the theatre on which the great events of Christianity were realized,
and more especially on those relics which were considered as identifying
particular spots, honoured by the sufferings or triumph of its Divine
author. The zealous pilgrim, who had travelled many thousand miles
amid the most appalling dangers, required a solace to his faith in the
contemplation of the cross, or in being permitted to kiss the threshold of
the tomb in which the body of his Redeemer was laid. To such a character
no description could be too minute, no details could be too particular.
Forgetful of the ravages inflicted on Jerusalem by the hand of the Romans,
and by the more furious anger of her own children within her,--fulfilling
unintentionally that tremendous doom which was pronounced from the Mount
of Olives,--the simple worshipper expected to see the hall of judgment,
the house of Pilate, and the palace of the high-priest, and to be able to
trace through the streets and lanes of the holy city the path which led
his Saviour to Calvary. This natural desire to awaken piety through the
medium of the senses, and to banish all unbelief by touching with the
hand, and seeing with the eye, the memorials of the crucifixion, has,
there is reason to apprehend, been sometimes abused by fraud as well as
by ignorance.
But it is nevertheless worthy of remark, that from the very situation of
Jerusalem, so well defined by natural limits which it cannot have passed,
there is less difficulty in determining places with a certain degree of
precision than would be experienced in any other ancient town. Nor can it
be justly questioned, that the primitive Christians marked with peculiar
care the principal localities distinguished by the deeds or by the
afflictions of their Divine Master. It is natural to suppose, as M.
Chateaubriand well observes, that the apostles and relatives of our
Saviour, who composed his first church upon earth, were perfectly
acquainted with all the circumstances attending his life, his ministry,
and his death; and as Golgotha and the Mount of Olives were not enclosed
within the walls of the city, they would encounter less restraint in
performing their devotions to the places which were sanctified by his more
frequent presence and miracles. Besides, the knowledge of these scenes was
soon extended to a very wide circle. The triumph of Pentecost increased
vastly the number of believers; and hence a regular congregation appears
to have been formed in Jerusalem before the expiry of the third year from
that memorable epoch. If it be admitted that the early Christians were
allowed to erect monuments to their religious worship, or even to select
houses for their periodical assemblies, the probability will not be
questioned that they fixed upon those interesting spots which had been
distinguished by the wonders of their faith.
At the commencement of the troubles in Judea, during the reign of
Vespasian, the Christians of Jerusalem withdrew to Pella, and as soon as
their metropolis was demolished they returned to dwell among its ruins.
In the space of a few months they could not have forgotten the position
of their sanctuaries, which, generally speaking, being situated outside
the walls, could not have suffered so much from the siege as the more
lofty edifices within. That the holy places were known to all men in the
time of Adrian is demonstrated by an undeniable fact. This emperor, when
he rebuilt the city, erected a statue of Venus on Mount Calvary, and
another of Jupiter on the sacred sepulchre. The grotto of Bethlehem was
given up to the rites of Adonis, the jealousy of the idolaters thus
publishing by their abominable profanations, the sublime doctrines of
the Cross, which it was their object to conceal or calumniate.
But Adrian, although actuated by an ardent zeal in behalf of his own
deities, did not persecute the Christians at large. His resentment seems
to have been confined to the Nazarenes in Jerusalem, whom he could not
help regarding as a portion of the Jewish nation,--the irreconcilable
enemies of Rome. We accordingly perceive, that he had no sooner dispersed
the church of the Circumcision established in the holy city, than he
permitted within its walls the formation of a Christian community,
composed of Gentile converts, whose political principles, he imagined,
were less inimical to the sovereignty of the empire. At the same time he
wrote to the governors of his Asiatic provinces, instructing them not to
molest the believers in Christ, merely on account of their creed, but to
reserve all punishment for crimes committed against the laws and the
public tranquillity. It has therefore been very generally admitted; that
during this period of repose, and even down to the reign of Dioclesian,
the faithful at Jerusalem, now called Aelia, celebrated the mysteries of
their religion in public, and consequently had altars consecrated to their
worship. If, indeed, they were not allowed the possession of Calvary, the
Holy Sepulchre, and of Bethlehem, where they might solemnize their sacred
rites, it is not to be imagined that the memory of these holy sanctuaries
could be effaced from their affectionate recollection. The very idols
served to mark the places where the Christian redemption was begun and
completed. Nay, the pagans themselves cherished the expectation that the
temple of Venus, erected on the summit of Calvary, would not prevent the
Christians from visiting that holy mount; rejoicing in the idea, as the
historian Sozomen expresses it, that the Nazarenes, when they repaired to
Golgotha to pray, would appear to the public eye to be offering up their
adoration to the daughter of Jupiter. This is a striking proof that a
perfect knowledge of the sacred places was retained by the church of
Jerusalem in the middle of the second century. At a somewhat later period,
when exposed to persecution, if they were not allowed to build their
altars at the Sepulchre, or proceed without apprehension to the scene of
the Nativity, they enjoyed at least the consolation of keeping alive the
remembrance of the great events connected with these interesting monuments
of their faith; anticipating, at the same time, the approaching ruin of
that proud superstition by which they had been so long oppressed.
The conversion of Constantine gave a new vigour to these local
reminiscences of the evangelical history. That celebrated ruler wrote to
Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, to cover the tomb of Jesus Christ with a
magnificent church; while his mother, the Empress Helena, repaired in
person to Palestine, in order to glue a proper efficacy to the zeal which
animated the throne, and to assist in searching for the venerable remains
of the first age of the gospel. To this illustrious female is ascribed the
glory of restoring to religion some of its most valued memorials. Not
satisfied with the splendid temple erected at the Holy Sepulchre, she
ordered two similar edifices to be reared under her own auspices; one over
the manger of the Messiah at Bethlehem, and the other on the Mount of
Olives, to commemorate his ascension into heaven. Chapels, altars, and
houses of prayer gradually marked all the places consecrated by the acts
of the Son of Man; the oral traditions were forthwith committed to
writing, and thereby secured for ever from the treachery of individual
recollection.[4]
These considerations gave great probability to the conjectures of those
pious persons who, in the fourth century of our era, assisted the mother
of Constantine in fixing the locality of holy scenes. From that period
down to the present day, the devotion of the Christian and the avarice of
the Mohammedan have sufficiently secured the remembrance both of the
places and of the events with which they are associated. But no length of
time can wear out the impression of deep reverence and respect which are
excited by an actual examination of those interesting spots that witnessed
the stupendous occurrences recorded in the inspired volume. Or, if there
be in existence any cause which could effectually counteract such natural
and laudable feelings, it is the excessive minuteness of detail and
fanciful description usually found to accompany the exhibition of sacred
relics. The Christian traveller is delighted when he obtains the first
glance of Carmel, of Tabor, of Libanus, and of Olivet; his heart opens to
many touching recollections at the moment when the Jordan, the Lake of
Tiberias, and even the waters of the Dead Sea spread themselves out before
his eyes; but neither his piety nor his belief is strengthened when he has
presented to him a portion of the cross whereon our Saviour was suspended,
the nails that pierced his hands and feet, the linen in which his body was
wrapped, the stone on which his corpse reposed in the sepulchre, as well
as that occupied by the ministering angel on the morning of the
resurrection. The skepticism with which such doubtful remains cannot fail
to be examined is turned into positive disgust when, the guardians of the
grotto at Bethlehem undertake to show the water wherein the infant Messiah
was washed, the milk of the blessed Virgin his mother, the
swaddling-clothes, the manger, and other particulars neither less minute
nor less improbable.
But such abuses, the fruit of many ages of credulity and ignorance, do not
materially diminish the force of the impression produced by scenes which
no art can change, and hardly any description can disguise. The hills
still stand round about Jerusalem, as they stood in the days of David and
of Solomon. The dew falls on Hermon, the cedars grow on Libanus, and
Kishon, that ancient river, draws its stream from Tabor as in the times of
old. The Sea of Galilee still presents the same natural accompaniments,
the fig-tree springs up by the wayside, the sycamore spreads its branches,
and the vines and olives still climb the sides of the mountains. The
desolation which covered the Cities of the Plain is not less striking at
the present hour than when Moses with an inspired pen recorded the
judgment of God; the swellings of Jordan are not less regular in their
rise than when the Hebrews first approached its banks; and he who goes
down from Jerusalem to Jericho still incurs the greatest hazard of falling
among thieves. There is, in fact, in the scenery and manners of Palestine,
a perpetuity that accords well with the everlasting import of its
historical records, and which enables us to identify with the utmost
readiness the local imagery of every great transaction.
The extent of this remarkable country has varied at different times,
according to the nature of the government which it has either enjoyed or
been compelled to acknowledge. When it was first occupied by the
Israelites, the land of Canaan, properly so called, was confined between
the shores of the Mediterranean and the western bank of the Jordan; the
breadth at no part exceeding fifty miles, while the length hardly amounted
to three times that space. At a later period, the arms of David and of his
immediate successor carried the boundaries of the kingdom to the Euphrates
and Orontes on the one hand, an in an opposite direction to the remotest
confines of Edom and Moab. The population, as might be expected, has
undergone a similar variation. It is true that no particular in ancient
history is liable to a better-founded suspicion than the numerical
statements which respect nations and armies; for pride and fear have, in
their turn, contributed not a little to exaggerate, in rival countries,
the amount of the persons capable of taking a share in the field of
battle. Proceeding on the usual grounds of calculation, we must infer,
from the number of warriors whom Moses conducted through the desert, that
the Hebrew people, when they crossed the Jordan, did not fall short of two
millions; while, from facts recorded in the book of Samuel, we may
conclude with greater confidence that the enrolment made under the
direction of Joab must have returned a gross population of five millions
and a half.
The present aspect of Palestine, under an administration where every thing
decays and nothing is renewed, can afford no just criterion of the
accuracy of such statements. Hasty observers have indeed pronounced that a
hilly country destitute of great rivers, could not, even under the most
skilful management, supply food for so many mouths. But this precipitate
conclusion has been vigorously combated by the most competent judges, who
have taken pains to estimate the produce of a soil under the fertilizing
influence of a sun which may be regarded as almost tropical, and of a
well-regulated irrigation which the Syrians knew how to practise with the
greatest success. Canaan, it must be admitted, could not be compared to
Egypt in respect to corn. There is no Nile to scatter the riches of an
inexhaustible fecundity over its valleys and plains. Still it was not
without reason that Moses described it as "a good land, a land of brooks
of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a
land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a
land of oil-olive and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without
scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are
iron, and out of whose hills thou mayst dig brass."[5]
The reports of the latest travellers confirm the accuracy of the picture
drawn by this divine legislator. Near Jericho the wild olives continue to
bear berries of a large size, which give the finest oil. In places
subjected to irrigation, the same field, after a crop of wheat in May,
produces pulse in autumn. Several of the trees are continually bearing
flowers and fruit at the same time, in all their stages. The mulberry,
planted in straight rows in the open field, is festooned by the tendrils
of the vine. If this vegetation seems to languish or become extinct during
the extreme heats,--if in the mountains it is at all seasons detached and
interrupted,--such exceptions to the general luxuriance are not to be
ascribed simply to the general character of all hot climates, but also to
the state of barbarism in which the great mass of the present population
is immersed.
Even in our day, some remains are to be found of the walls which the
ancient cultivators built to support the soil on the declivities of the
mountains; the form of the cisterns in which they collected the
rain-water; and traces of the canals by which this water was distributed
over the fields. These labours necessarily created a prodigious fertility
under an ardent sun, where a little moisture was the only requisite to
revive the vegetable world. The accounts given by native writers
respecting the productive qualities of Judea are not in any degree opposed
even by the present aspect of the country. The case is exactly the same
with some islands in the Archipelago; a tract, from which a hundred
individuals can hardly draw a scanty subsistence, formerly maintained
thousands in affluence. Moses might justly say that Canaan abounded in
milk and honey. The flocks of the Arabs still find in it a luxuriant
pasture, while the bees deposite in the holes of the rocks their delicious
stores, which are sometimes seen flowing down the surface.
The opinions just stated in regard to the fertility of ancient Palestine
receive an ample confirmation from the Roman historians, to whom, as a
part of their extensive empire, it was intimately known. Tacitus,
especially, in language which he appears to have formed for his own use,
describes its natural qualities with the utmost precision, and, as is his
manner, suggests rather than specifies a catalogue of productions, the
accuracy of which is verified by the latest observations. The soil is
rich, and the atmosphere dry; the country yields all the fruits which are
known in Italy, besides balm and dates.[6]
But it has never been denied that there is a remarkable difference between
the two sides of the ridge which forms the central chain of Judea. On the
western acclivity, the soil rises from the sea towards the elevated ground
in four distinct terraces, which are covered with an unfading verdure. The
shore is lined with mastic-trees; palms, and prickly pears. Higher up, the
vines, the olives, and the sycamores amply repay the labour of the
cultivator; natural groves arise, consisting of evergreen oaks, cypresses,
andrachnés, and turpentines. The face of the earth is embellished with the
rosemary, the cytisus, and the hyacinth. In a word, the vegetation of
these mountains has been compared to that of Crete. European visitors have
dined under the shade of a lemon-tree as large as one of our strongest
oaks, and have seen sycamores, the foliage of which was sufficient to
cover thirty persons along with their horses and camels.
On the eastern side, however, the scanty coating of mould yields a less
magnificent crop. From the summit of the hills a desert stretches along to
the Lake Asphaltites, presenting nothing but stones and ashes, and a few
thorny shrubs. The sides of the mountains enlarge, and assume an aspect
at once more grand and more barren. By little and little the scanty
vegetation languishes and dies; even mosses disappear, and a red burning
hue succeeds to the whiteness of the rocks. In the centre of this
amphitheatre there is an arid basin, enclosed on all sides with summits
scattered over with a yellow-coloured pebble, and affording a single
aperture to the east through which the surface of the Dead Sea and the
distant hills of Arabia present themselves to the eye. In the midst of this
country of stones, encircled by a wall, we perceive extensive ruins;
stunted cypresses, bushes of the aloe and prickly pear, while some huts of
the meanest order, resembling whitewashed sepulchres, are spread over the
desolated mass. This spot is Jerusalem.[7]
This melancholy delineation, which was suggested by the state of the
Jewish metropolis in the third century, is not quite inapplicable at the
present hour. The scenery of external nature is the same, and the general
aspect of the venerable city is very little changed. But as beauty is
strictly a relative term, and is everywhere greatly affected by
association, we must not be surprised when we read in the works of eastern
authors the high encomiums which are lavished upon the vicinity of the
holy capital. Abulfeda, for example, maintains, not only that Palestine is
the most fertile part of Syria, but also that the neighbourhood of
Jerusalem is one of the most fertile districts of Palestine. In his eye,
the vines, the fig-trees, and the olive-groves, with which the limestone
cliffs of Judea were once covered, identified themselves with the richest
returns of agricultural wealth, and more than compensated for the absence
of those spreading fields waving with corn which are necessary to convey
to the mind of a European the ideas of fruitfulness, comfort, and
abundance.
Following the enlightened narrative of Malte Brun, the reader will find
that southward of Damascus, the point where the modern Palestine may be
said to begin, are the countries called by the Romans Auranitis and
Gaulonitis, consisting of one extensive and noble plain, bounded on the
north by Hermon or Djibel-el-Sheik, on the south-west by Djibel-Edjlan,
and on the east by Haouran. In all these countries there is not a single
stream which retains its water in summer. The most of the villages have
their pond or reservoir, which they fill from one of the wadi, or brooks,
during the rainy season. Of all these districts, Haouran is the most
celebrated for the culture of wheat. Nothing can exceed in grandeur the
extensive undulations of their fields, moving like the waves of the ocean
in the wind. Bothin or Batanea, on the other hand, contains nothing except
calcareous mountains, where there are vast caverns, in which the Arabian
shepherds live like the ancient Troglodytes. Here a modern traveller, Dr.
Seetzen, discovered, in the year 1816, the magnificent ruins of Gerasa,
now called Djerash, where three temples, two superb amphitheatres of
marble, and hundreds of columns still remain among other monuments of
Roman power. But by far the finest thing that he saw was a long street,
bordered on each side with a splendid colonnade of Corinthian
architecture, and terminating in an open space of a semicircular form,
surrounded with sixty Ionic pillars. In the same neighbourhood the ancient
Gilead is distinguished by a forest of stately oaks, which supply wealth
and employment to the inhabitants. Peraea presents on its numerous
terraces a mixture of vines, olives, and pomegranates. Karak-Moab, the
capital of a district corresponding to that of the primitive Moabites,
still meets the eye, but is not to be confounded with another town of a
similar name in the Stony Arabia.[8]
The countries now described lie on the eastern side of the river Jordan.
But the same stream, in the upper part of its course, forms the boundary
between Gaulonitis and the fertile Galilee, which is identical with the
modern district of Szaffad. This town, which is remarkable for the beauty
of its situation amid groves of myrtle, is supposed to be the ancient
Bethulia, which was besieged by Holofernes. Tabara, an insignificant
place, occupies the site of Tiberias, which gave its name to the lake more
generally known by that of Genesareth, or the Sea of Galilee; but industry
has now deserted its borders, and the fisherman with his skiff and his
nets no longer animates the surface of its waters. Nazareth still retains
some portion of its former consequence. Six miles farther south stands the
hill of Tabor, sometimes denominated Itabyrius, presenting a pyramid of
verdure crowned with olives and sycamores. From the top of this mountain,
the modern Tor and scene of the transfiguration, we look down on the river
Jordan, the Lake of Genesareth, and the Mediterranean Sea.[9]
Galilee, says a learned writer, would be a paradise were it inhabited by
an industrious people under an enlightened government. Vine stocks are to
be seen here a foot and a half in diameter, forming, by their twining
branches, vast arches and extensive ceilings of verdure. A cluster of
grapes, two or three feet in length, will give an abundant supper to a
whole family. The plains of Esdraelon are occupied by Arab tribes, around
whose brown tents the sheep and lambs gambol to the sound of the reed,
which at nightfall calls them home.[10]
For some years this fine country has groaned and bled under the malignant
genius of Turkish despotism. The fields are left without cultivation, and
the towns and villages are reduced to beggary; but the latest accounts
from the holy Land encourage us to entertain the hope, that a milder
administration will soon change the aspect of affairs, and bestow upon the
Syrian provinces at large some of the benefits which the more liberal
policy of Mohammed Ali has conferred upon the pashalic of Egypt.
Proceeding from Galilee towards the metropolis, we enter the land of
Samaria, comprehending the modern districts of Areta and Nablous. In the
former we find the remains of Cesarea; and on the Gulf of St. Jean d'Acre
stands the town of Caypha, where there is a good anchorage for ships. On
the south-west of this gulf extends a chain of mountains, which terminates
in the promontory of Carmel, a name famous in the annals of our religion.
There Elijah proved by miracles the divinity of his mission; and there, in
the middle ages of the church, resided thousands of Christian devotees,
who sought a refuge for their piety in the caves of the rocks. Then the
mountain was wholly covered with chapels and gardens, whereas at the
present day nothing is to be seen but scattered ruins amid forests of oak
and olives, the bright verdure being only relieved by the whiteness of the
calcareous cliffs over which they are suspended. The heights of Carmel, it
has been frequently remarked, enjoy a pure and enlivening atmosphere,
while the lower grounds of Samaria and Galileo are obscured by the densest
fogs.
The Shechem of the Scriptures, successively known by the names of Neapolis
and Nablous, still contains a considerable population, although its
dwellings are mean and its inhabitants poor. The ruins of Samaria itself
are now covered with orchards; and the people of the district, who have
forgotten their native dialect, as well perhaps as their angry disputes
with the Jews, continue to worship the Deity on the verdant slopes of
Gerizim.
Palestine, agreeably to the modern acceptation of the term, embraces the
country of the ancient Philistines, the most formidable enemies of the
Hebrew tribes prior to the reign of David. Besides Gaza, the chief town,
we recognise the celebrated port of Jaffa or Yaffa, corresponding to
the Joppa mentioned in the Sacred Writings. Repeatedly fortified and
dismantled, this famous harbour has presented such a variety of
appearances, that the description given of it in one age has hardly
ever been found to apply to its condition in the very next.
Bethlehem, where the divine Messias was born, is a large village inhabited
promiscuously by Christians and Mussulmans, who agree in nothing but their
detestation of the tyranny by which they are both unmercifully oppressed.
The locality of the sacred manger is occupied by an elegant church,
ornamented by the pious offerings of all the nations of Europe. It is
not our intention to enter into a more minute discussion of those old
traditions, by which the particular places rendered sacred by the
Redeemer's presence are still marked out for the veneration of the
faithful. They present much vagueness, mingled with no small portion of
unquestionable truth. At all events, we must not regard them in the same
light in which we are compelled to view the story that claims for Hebron
the possession of Abraham's tomb, and attracts on this account the
veneration both of Nazarenes and Moslems.
To the north-east of Jerusalem, in the large and fertile valley called
El-Gaur, and watered by the Jordan, we find the village of Rah, the
ancient Jericho, denominated by Moses the City of Palms. This is a name
to which it is still entitled; but the groves of opobalsamum, or balm
of Moses, have long disappeared; nor is the neighbourhood any longer
adorned with those singular flowers known among the Crusaders by the
familiar appellation of Jericho roses. A little farther south two rough
and barren chains of hills encompass with their dark steeps a long basin
formed in a clay soil mixed with bitumen and rock-salt. The water
contained in this hollow is impregnated with a solution of different
saline substances, having lime, magnesia, and soda for their base,
partially neutralized with muriatic and sulfuric acid. The salt which it
yields by evaporation is about one-fourth, of its weight. The bituminous
matter rises from time to time from the bottom of the lake, floats on
the surface, and is thrown out on the shores, where it is gathered for
various economical purposes. It is to be regretted that this inland sea
has not yet been examined with the attention which it deserves. We
are told, indeed, by the greater number of those who have visited it,
that neither fish nor shells are to be found in its waters; that an
unwholesome vapour is constantly emitted from its bosom; and that its
banks, hideous and desolate in the extreme, are never cheered by the
note of any bird. But it is admitted by the same travellers, that
the inhabitants are not sensible of any noxious qualities in its
exhalations; while the accounts formerly believed, that the winged
tribes in attempting to fly over it fell down dead, are now generally
regarded as fabulous. Tradition supports the narrative of Sacred
Scripture so far as to teach that the channel of the Dead Sea was once a
fertile valley, partly resting on a mass of subterranean water, and
partly composed of a stratum of bitumen; and that a fire from heaven
kindling these combustible materials, the rich soil sunk into the abyss
beneath, and Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed in the tremendous
conflagration.
This brief outline of the geographical limits and physical characters of
the Holy Land may prove sufficient as an introduction to its ancient
history. Details much more ample are to be found in numerous works, whose
authors, fascinated by the interesting recollections which almost every
object in Palestine is fitted to suggest, have endeavoured to transfer to
the minds of their readers the profound impressions which they themselves
experienced from a personal review of ancient scenes and monuments. But
we purposely refrain at present from the minute description to which
the subject so naturally invites us, because, in a subsequent part of
our undertaking, we shall be unavoidably led into a train of local
particularities, while setting forth the actual condition of the country
and of its venerable remains. Meantime, we supply, in the following table,
the means of comparing the division or distribution of Canaan among the
Twelve Tribes, with that which was afterward adopted by the Romans.
Ancient Canaanitish Israelitish Roman
Division. Division. Division.
Sidonians, Tribe of Asher (in Libanus) ]
Unknown, [Naphtali (north-west of the ]Upper Galilee.
[ Lake of Genesareth) ]
Perizzites, Zebulun (west of that lake) ]
The same, [Issachar (Valley of Esdraelon,]Lower Galilee.
[ Mount Tabor) ]
Hivites, [Half-tribe of Manasseh (Dora ]
[ and Cesarea) ]Samaria.
The same, Ephraim (Shechem, Samaria) ]
Jebusites, Benjamin (Jericho, Jerusalem) ]
Amorites, Hittites, Judah (Hebron, Judea proper) ]
Philistines, [Simeon (south-west of Judah) ]Judea.
[Dan (Joppa) ]
Moabites, Reuben (Peraea, Heshbon) ]
Ammonites, Gilead, Gad (Decapolis, Ammonites) ]
Kingdom of Bashan, [Half-tribe of Manasseh, ]Peraea.
[ Gaulonitis, Batanea ]
In a pastoral country, such as that beyond the river Jordan especially,
where the desert in most parts bordered upon the cultivated soil, the
limits of the several possessions could not at all times be distinctly
marked. It is well known, besides, that the native inhabitants were never
entirely expelled by the victorious Hebrews, but that they retained, in
some instances by force, and in others by treaty, a considerable portion
of land within the borders of all the tribes,--a fact which is connected
with many of the defections and troubles into which the Israelites
subsequently fell.