deep, runs past both sides of the natural citadel, whose name it
bears,^{(49)} and finds its way to the Dead Sea back of the barren
promontory of El-Lisan. Thus the three zones of Moab, the western
promontories, the central fields, and the dry pasture lands on the
east, are repeatedly intersected by the deep gorges that make it a
land easy to approach from the desert and difficult to defend. Farther
south the plateau of Moab merges into the wild, picturesque mountains
of Mount Seir, the home of the Edomites. The valley becomes narrower
and the mountains bolder, more jagged, and abrupt. The culmination of
these natural wonders is the Wady Mûsa, which cuts a deep, narrow
channel through the heart of the mountains.^{(50)} In the midst of
this valley, surrounded by gorgeously colored sandstone cliffs, out of
which have been carved homes, streets, tombs, theatres,
temples,^{(51)} and well-preserved high places,^{(52, 53)} stands that
most astonishing and marvellous of all oriental cities--Petra.
=Significance of the East-Jordan Land.= Health, beauty, and fertility
have ever been the three rich possessions of the east-Jordan land. It
was effectually cut off, however, from contact with the teeming,
highly civilized life of the Mediterranean seaboard by the deep chasm
of the Jordan and Dead Sea valley and by the barren hills that flanked
this great gorge on its southern end. It was a land that faced the
desert and the east rather than the west. It was itself the loadstone
that constantly attracted the wandering dwellers of the desert. The
life and institutions of the desert have here prevailed through all
the centuries. Here the wandering nomads first tasted and learned to
appreciate the advantages of settled agricultural life and made the
gradual and natural transition from the nomadic to the agricultural
state. Here also the mighty energies of the powerful western nations
were put forth in a mighty effort to conquer and to hold this land,
for they realized that it was their natural eastern outpost against
the desert. It was here, therefore, that the militant civilization and
life of the East and West met, struggled, and mingled. Here the same
conflicts and processes are going on to-day as in the past. This close
contact with the desert has always been the strength, the
significance, and the weakness of the east-Jordan land.
VIII
THE TWO CAPITALS: JERUSALEM AND SAMARIA
=Importance of Jerusalem and Samaria.= Two cities of ancient
Palestine, Jerusalem and Samaria, towered above all others, both in
size and in importance. Each was for a long period the capital of an
important kingdom. Each represented a distinct type of civilization
and religion. Their topography throws much light upon their
development and history.
=Site of Jerusalem.= At first glance the site of Jerusalem seems one
of the most unpromising places in all the land of Palestine for a
great city. It lies on two or three low hills, projecting from the
irregular plateau, which extends southward from the watershed of
central Judah. It is overshadowed by higher hills near by and has no
lofty, commanding acropolis. The Wilderness of Judea bounds it on the
east and the hills and valleys about are rocky and comparatively
barren. The reason why a city originally sprang up on this forbidding
site was the presence of a spring, now known as the Virgin's Spring,
on the side of the Kidron Valley^{(54)} to the southeast of the
present Jerusalem. It is the one perennial spring in this region and
fixes at once the site of the old pre-Israelite town. (_Cf._ map op.
p. 203.)
=The Kidron Valley.= The Kidron is a characteristic Palestinian wady.
It runs almost due north past the city and then gradually bends to the
west. It is about two hundred yards in width and is flanked by hills,
which rise four to six hundred feet on either side. During the winter
and spring rains a brook rushes down this ravine, but in the summer it
is waterless, although many olive trees find sufficient moisture in
the bottom and on sides of the valley. At its southern end the Kidron
is joined by the broad valley of Ben Hinnom,^{(55)} which runs due
west nearly half a mile and then turns northward, thus, with the
Kidron, enclosing on three sides a nearly regular rectangle half to
three-quarters of a mile in width.
=The Tyropœon Valley.= The southern promontories or hills thus
enclosed were in ancient times divided by a small shallow valley, the
Tyropœon or Cheesemongers' Valley, which ran northward from the Valley
of Hinnom, separating the rectangle into two unequal parts. The city
has been so often besieged and razed to the ground that its original
site has been largely obscured by the masses of débris scattered
everywhere and especially in the Tyropœon Valley. At many points the
native rock lies from forty to one hundred feet beneath the present
level. East of the temple area a shaft was sunk one hundred and twenty
feet before the virgin rock was reached. Hundreds of such shafts have
been sent down at different points throughout the city so that the
exact site of the ancient town is now well known. The Tyropœon Valley,
which cuts through the heart of Jerusalem, is the key to the
understanding of the ancient city. From the point where it joins the
Kidron and Hinnom valleys in the south to its northern end, a little
outside the present Damascus Gate, this valley is about sixteen
hundred yards in length. The hills on either side originally rose to
the height of between one hundred and one hundred and fifty feet above
the bottom of the valley, which becomes broader and shallower toward
the north. Opposite the present temple area a western branch extends
about three hundred yards, nearly cutting off the southwestern hill
from the northern plateau.
=The Original City.= The rounded ridge of rock between the Tyropœon
and Kidron valleys was clearly the original site of Jerusalem. It is
the so-called Ophel, on which the ancient Jebusite fortress was
reared. The southern end rises rapidly from the valley below where the
Tyropœon and Kidron join. Its northern continuation is the temple
area. Excavations have shown that immediately north of the present
temple area there was a rock cutting, from the Tyropœon Valley on the
west to the Kidron Valley on the east, leaving a precipice of native
rock twenty-five feet high as a barrier against attack from the north.
At the southeastern corner of the temple area traces have also been
found of the well-built wall which ran along the edge of the Kidron
Valley, probably encircling the ancient Jebusite city. Thus it was
surrounded on three sides with rapidly descending valleys from one to
three hundred feet deep, while immediately below was the perennial
spring, essential to the life of its early inhabitants. It is easy,
therefore, to understand why the early Jebusites regarded their city
as impregnable.
=Its Extent.= The hill Ophel contains an area of between sixteen and
eighteen acres, which was amply sufficient for a crowded village of
ancient times. This was also, without reasonable doubt, the site of
David's city. As the Israelite city grew it probably extended almost
to the level of the valley in the south, near the modern Pool of
Siloam. At present the northern end of the hill Ophel is higher than
the southern. It also broadens into the temple area, which is two
thousand four hundred and forty feet above the sea-level. It is not
improbable, however, that the site of the old Jebusite fortress was
once higher than the temple rock to the north. If the fortress of
Akra, which figures prominently in Maccabean history, was identical
with the ancient citadel of Ophel, then, according to the testimony of
Josephus (_Jew. Wars_, V, 4:1), Simon the Maccabean ruler cut down
this southern eminence to make it lower than the adjoining temple
area.
=The Western Hill.= It is not clear when the western hill was included
within the bounds of Jerusalem; possibly in the days of Solomon;
certainly some time before the Babylonian exile. On the south and west
this hill descends rapidly to the Valley of Hinnom, on the east to the
Tyropœon Valley; while on the north it is connected by a narrow neck
of rock with the northern hill of Jerusalem. It is about seven hundred
yards long from north to south and four hundred from east to west. It
is highest on the west, where it is two thousand five hundred and
twenty feet above the sea-level. It is therefore about eighty feet
higher than the temple area to the east.
=The Northern Extension of the City.= As the city grew in later times,
it extended naturally to the north and included the little hill or
knob directly north of the so-called western hill, with which it was
connected by a neck of rock. This northern hill was bounded on the
west by a depression running from the Hinnom Valley and on the south
and east by the upper Tyropœon. On the north it had no natural
defence.^{(56)} Its highest point, about two thousand four hundred and
ninety feet, was nearly on the same level as the temple area. The
northern extension of the city also included another section of the
ridge of rock which runs northward from the temple area, parallel to
the Kidron Valley. A scarp twenty feet deep was cut across this ridge
from east to west and to-day forms the northeastern limits of the
city. In contrast to the ancient city, which extended far down into
the valleys to the south, the modern city has climbed up the plateau
toward the north.
=Josephus's Description of Jerusalem.= The late Jewish historian,
Josephus, has given the most graphic description of the topography of
Jerusalem. In the light of the preceding study of its site, his vivid
picture becomes clearly intelligible. While he had in mind the city of
his own day (the middle of the first Christian century) his words
describe equally well the ancient town: "The city of Jerusalem was
fortified with three walls, on such parts as were not surrounded with
impassable valleys; for in such places it had but one wall. The city
was built upon two hills, which are opposite to one another, and have
a valley to divide them asunder, at which valley the corresponding
houses on both hills end. Of these hills, that which contains the
upper city is much higher, and in length more direct. But the other
hill, which was called the Acra, and sustains the lower city, is of
the shape of a moon when it is horned; over against this there was a
third hill, but naturally lower than the Acra, and parted formerly
from the other by a broad valley. However, in those times, when the
Asmoneans reigned, they filled up that valley with earth, and had a
mind to join the city to the temple. They then took off part of the
height of Acra and reduced it to a less elevation than it was before,
that the temple might be superior to it. Now the Valley of the
Cheesemongers, as it was called, which separated the hill of the upper
city from that of the lower, extended as far as Siloam; for that is
the name of a fountain which has sweet water in it, and this also in
great plenty. But on the outside these hills are surrounded by deep
valleys, and by reason of the precipices belonging to them, they are
on both sides everywhere inaccessible."
=The Geological Formation.= The geological formation of the hills of
Jerusalem also throws much light upon its history. The strata is
inclined toward the southeast at an average angle of ten or twelve
degrees. The surface rock is hard, silicious limestone with bands of
flint. This crops out on the top of the temple mount, on the west side
of the Kidron Valley, and in the quarries to the north of Jerusalem.
Below is a bed of soft, white limestone, easy to cut and good for
building, since it hardens with exposure. The presence of this
underlying rock made possible the extensive system of cisterns and
underground passages with which Jerusalem is honeycombed and which has
played such a large part in the tragic history of the city. Beneath
this layer is a hard, dolomitic limestone, white but streaked with
pink. While the upper layers of rock are porous, this lower stratum
holds the water, with the result that at the one point where it comes
to the surface on the western side of the lower Kidron Valley there is
a spring. The southern inclination of this hard rock also carries the
drainage of the city to the south, to the point where the Kidron and
Hinnom valleys meet.
=The Water Supply.= Jerusalem, like most of the cities of Judah, was
inadequately supplied with springs. The Virgin's Spring, which is in
all probability identical with the ancient spring of Gihon, is
intermittent. Its waters issue from a natural siphon in the rock,
flowing according to the local rainfall, sometimes for only an hour or
more, and at others for several days. It is entered by steps which
lead into a natural cave, half way down the side of the Kidron Valley.
From this point, in early times, the waters were conducted through the
ridge of rock on which the city rested by a rock-cut tunnel, which is
one of the wonders of ancient engineering. Thence they were carried to
a point at the southern end of the Tyropœon Valley, where was once the
famous Pool of Siloam, which was probably inside the ancient city
walls. Here was built in later times a great basin, fifty-two feet
square, from which the inhabitants of the city drew their chief supply
of water.^{(112)} Still another conduit carried the overflow from this
pool to the so-called Job's Well, four hundred and fifty yards to the
southeast, where the Kidron and the Hinnom valleys meet. West of the
temple area there was apparently in ancient times a pool which
received the waters from the upper basin of the Tyropœon, but there is
no clear geological or historical evidence of a living spring in the
northern or western part of the city. Aside from their one perennial
spring and these pools the inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem were
wholly dependent upon rock-cisterns for their water supply. Modern
excavations have revealed the remains of the aqueducts, by which the
plentiful waters of the so-called Pools of Solomon, southwest of
Bethlehem, were later conducted through the valleys and along the
hillsides to Jerusalem. The water was then distributed by means of
high and low level aqueducts in different parts of the city, but
especially in the temple area, for use in connection with the
sacrificial ritual. From the same Pools of Solomon water is still
brought by pipes to the southwestern side of the city.^{(57)}
=Jerusalem's Military Strength.= Jerusalem's strength consisted not in
its elevation, but in the deep ravines which encircled it on the east,
south, west, and in part on the north. The native rock lay only a few
feet beneath the surface, and the soft limestone could be cut with
comparative ease. A vertical cutting of twenty or twenty-five feet
into the steep side of the hill gave a precipitous rampart of native
rock, indestructible and difficult to scale. The weakness of Jerusalem
was the lack of natural defences on the north.^{(56)} This natural
defect was partially overcome by the deep cuttings in the natural
rock, which at certain points left a sheer descent of twenty or
twenty-five feet. These artificial defences were supplemented in the
more level places by broad, strong walls that made Jerusalem,
throughout most of its history, the strongest citadel in Palestine.
=Strength of Its Position.= The city shared with the rest of Judah the
protection of natural barriers on every side. It could be approached
on the east only over the rough headlands that arose above the Jordan
and the Dead Sea. While it was on the great highway which led along
the central plateau from northern Israel to Hebron and the South
Country, large invading armies never advanced against Jerusalem by
this difficult mountain road. On the west the valleys which led up
from the coast plains converged at Jerusalem, making it comparatively
easy for the Hebrews in command of these upland passages to descend
rapidly upon their foes in the plain. These passes were also easily
guarded from above against advancing armies. The comparative
barrenness of the territory about Jerusalem was another important
source of its strength, for the land furnished insufficient sustenance
for a large besieging army. Thus Jerusalem, although close to the
great currents of the world's civilization, stood apart and aloof,
secure because of its poverty and comparative insignificance, secure
behind its bold western headlands and its walls of gray
limestone.^{(58)} It was the fitting capital of an austere race, who
jealously and bravely guarded their freedom and their faith. Shut in
among the limestone hills, it was typical of the land of Judah.
=Samaria's Name.= Samaria, situated in the midst of a broad, fertile
plain, opening toward the sea and commanding far-reaching, glorious
vistas, was equally representative of northern Israel. Both capitals
were raised to the commanding position which they enjoyed, not as the
result of chance, but through the deliberate choice of a strong and
able sovereign. In I Kings 16:24 it is stated that Omri, the founder
of the most powerful military dynasty of northern Israel, "bought the
hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on
the hill and named the city Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of the
hill." Whatever be its historical derivation, the name Shomeron, or
Samaria, is eminently appropriate, for it means watch-tower.
=Its Situation.= The hill lies on the eastern side of the Wady
esh-Shair or Barley Vale, a wide and beautiful valley, which comes up
from the Plain of Sharon. Opposite Samaria it broadens out and unites
with several shallow valleys, which come down from the north and
northeast. Along the Barley Vale runs the great highway which leads
northwest from Shechem and central Israel to the Plain of Esdraelon
and Phœnicia. Another highway runs directly north, past the Plain of
Dothan to northern Israel and Damascus. Samaria lay near the border
line between the powerful tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. It was,
however, a little south and east of the centre of northern Israel. Its
gates were wide open to the civilization and commerce which swept up
and down the coast plains. From the city's heights there was a fine
view of the Mediterranean, which represented that larger world into
close touch with which Omri aimed to bring his people.
=Its Military Strength.= The city was built on an elongated, isolated
hill,^{(59)} rising on the west between three and four hundred feet
above the plain. The hill descends precipitously on three sides; on
the east it is connected with the hills by a neck of land which lies
about two hundred feet above the surrounding plain. As in the case of
Jerusalem, these surrounding valleys were the source of its military
strength. The hill is about three-fourths of a mile in length. On its
top rises a large acropolis,^{(60)} nearly round and about a third of
a mile in diameter. In the Roman period this acropolis was surrounded
by a wide terrace, with a colonnade about one and one-half miles in
circumference. On the top of this rounded hill there was ample space
for a large and powerful city. Surrounded, like Jerusalem, by a strong
wall, it was practically impregnable.
=Its Beauty and Prosperity.= The view from Samaria is one of the most
picturesque and attractive in all Palestine. Isaiah well describes
this city as "the splendid ornament which crowns the fertile valley."
Green fields, olive and vine-clad hills delight the eye on every side.
Between the hills may be seen glimpses of green, peaceful valleys.
Plenty and prosperity are in evidence at every turn. Samaria itself
lies one thousand four hundred and fifty-four feet above the sea-level
and is surrounded by higher hills on nearly every side. Two miles to
the north is a hill between nine hundred and a thousand feet higher
than that of Samaria, while to the southeast other hills lead up to
the rocky heights of Mount Ebal, over three thousand feet above the
sea-level. Thus Samaria was a symbol of the beauty, the prosperity,
the openness to foreign influence, the inherent strength and the fatal
weakness of northern, as contrasted with southern Israel.
[Illustration: THE Main Highways OF THE ANCIENT SEMITIC WORLD
L.L. POATES ENGR'G CO., N.Y.
]
IX
THE GREAT HIGHWAYS OF THE BIBLICAL WORLD
=Importance of the Highways.= Upon the direction and character of the
highways depend to a great extent the growth and history of early
civilization. By the great roads which entered Palestine the Hebrews
came as immigrants. Along the same roads those later waves of both
hostile and peaceful invasion swept in upon them that largely shaped
their history. These highways were to them the open doors to the life
and civilization of the outside world. Over these same roads the
Hebrews later fled as fugitives or were dragged as captives. Along
these channels of communication and commerce the missionaries and
apostles at a still later day went forth to their peaceful conquest of
the Roman empire. Thus, next to the land itself, the highways of the
ancient world have exerted the most powerful influence upon biblical
history, literature, and religion.
=Lack of the Road-building Instincts among the Semites.= The Semitic
races, as a rule, were not road-builders. Their earlier nomadic
experiences had accustomed them to long and arduous marches over
rough, rocky roads. The ox, the camel, the horse, and the donkey
furnished the common means of transportation. Most of the people went
from place to place on foot, and in Palestine the distances were so
short that this mode of travel was easy and practical. To-day in
well-travelled roads large boulders lie in the middle of the way, worn
smooth by the hoofs of pack-animals and by the feet of countless
passersby, who through the centuries have stumbled over them rather
than put forth the effort of a few moments in removing them. The
Aryans were the first to develop good roads in southwestern Asia. The
royal Persian post-roads, that connected remote parts of the vast
empire, introduced a new era in road-building. The greatest
road-builders of antiquity were the Romans; but most of the superb
highways, which to-day arouse the wonder and admiration of the
traveller, were constructed by them in the second and third Christian
centuries, later, therefore, than the biblical period.
=Evidence that Modern Roads Follow the Old Ways.= There is strong
evidence that the later roads usually followed the ancient paths. Both
were connecting links between the same important centres. Both
necessarily crossed the same fords and the same mountain passes. The
later roads were held within the same limits by natural barriers and
by that tendency to follow established traditions which has ever
characterized the East. In riding over the roads of Palestine to-day
the traveller is constantly reminded that he is following in the
footsteps of the early inhabitants of the land. Often the path,
instead of following the most direct course, climbs over a pass or
steep hill, past a rocky ruin once a famous city, but now a mere chaos
of scattered rocks. The road still follows this awkward détour simply
because a thousand years ago it led to a populous town. Where the
roads have changed their course it has been because the centre of
population or of political ascendancy has changed, or else because the
Romans, disregarding old traditions or physical obstacles, flung their
mighty highways over the mountains and across the deep valleys.