territory of eastern Egypt, which was the scene of the exodus, throws
much light upon the historic event which lies back of the different
biblical narratives. As in the account of the plagues, the later
versions, which unfortunately are the most familiar, have magnified
the miraculous element. The older version, however, is clearly the one
which should be followed. Apparently the scattered Hebrew tribes were
rallied and later guided in their marches by the means still employed
by the caravans through the same wastes of sand and rock. A brazier of
coals is carried before the leader of the caravan to show where he is
and the direction of the march, so that those who straggle sometimes
many miles behind will not be lost in the wilderness. By day there
rises from these coals a column of smoke which, in the clear
atmosphere of the desert, may be seen many miles away. By night the
glowing coals are lifted aloft so that all may be guided by their
light. In this manner the Hebrews were reminded of Jehovah's presence
and guided by his prophet, Moses.
=Moses' Equipment as a Leader.= The distance from the eastern side of
the land of Goshen to the wilderness was only a few miles. What the
Hebrew serfs most needed was a courageous, energetic, and trained
leader, able to command their confidence and inspire them to quick and
decided action. These qualities Moses had acquired largely as a result
of his desert experience. Above all, he was able to appeal to their
faith in the God of their fathers, and thus, like the great prophet of
Islam, to rule his followers through their religious as well as
through their selfish impulses.
=The Scene of the Exodus.= Of the two ways which led eastward from
Egypt, the Israelites chose the southern, that ran directly into the
desert. The northern route, the Way of the Philistines, was already
guarded by strong, warlike peoples. Unfortunately, the oldest biblical
account of the exodus contains no geographical data, and none of the
three or four places mentioned in the late priestly narrative have
been identified. The interpretation which places the scene of the
exodus near the present port of Suez, at the northern end of the
western arm of the Red Sea, is based wholly on the biblical reference
to the Sea of Reeds, which is commonly translated Red Sea. That this
term is frequently used in the Old Testament as the designation of the
Red Sea is unquestioned; but there is no place in the vicinity of the
present Port of Suez which satisfies the conditions implied by the
biblical narrative. Furthermore, it is difficult to see what would
have led the Hebrews to make this long and difficult détour to the
south rather than escape to the desert directly east of the Wady
Tumilat. The biblical narrative implies that the latter was the course
followed. The significant term, Sea of Reeds, points not to the Red
Sea, in whose saline waters reeds would not thrive, but to the marshy
shores of the Crocodile Lake, the modern Lake Timsah, which lay
directly east of the Wady Tumilat. Into it poured the fresh waters
from the Nile, which were conducted thither by the canal that ran
along the wady. Even though the modern Suez Canal, which runs through
it, has transformed conditions, Lake Timsah is still surrounded by a
thicket of vegetation. Inasmuch as the Hebrews frequently used the
word sea (for example, the Sea of Galilee) as the designation of an
inland lake, the name Sea of Reeds was exceedingly appropriate.
=Probability That the Passage Was at Lake Timsah.= According to the
earliest biblical narrative deliverance came to the Hebrews as they
were pursued by the Egyptians because "Jehovah caused the sea to go
back, by a strong east wind all the night, and made the bed of the sea
dry." The shallow southeastern end of Lake Timsah satisfies most fully
the physical conditions implied by this ancient narrative. At its
southern end it opens out into a broad bay, but between this point and
the main body of the lake was a shallow, marshy strait, not more than
a quarter of a mile across. A strong wind driving it from the level
desert would force back the waters into other parts of the lake,
leaving this passage comparatively dry. A close and significant
parallel is recorded by Major-General Tulloch, who states that the
shallow waters of Lake Menzaleh, which lies only a short distance to
the north and is subject to the same conditions, were driven back by
the wind for seven miles, leaving the bottom of the lake dry (_Journal
of the Victorian Institute_, vol. XXVIII, p. 267, and vol. XXVI, p.
12). The biblical narrative also states that "Jehovah bound the
chariot wheels of the Egyptians so that they proceeded with
difficulty." This is precisely what would follow, not on a hard, sandy
shore, but in the marshy, muddy depths of a body of fresh water like
Lake Timsah. While the exact scene of that incident, which, more than
any other in their history, impressed upon the consciousness of the
Israelites Jehovah's power and willingness to deliver them, will never
be exactly identified, the southeastern end of Lake Timsah is the most
probable site.
[Illustration: THE LAND OF THE EXODUS AND WILDERNESS WANDERING.
BORWAY & CO., N.Y.
]
XIII
THE HEBREWS IN THE WILDERNESS AND EAST OF THE JORDAN
=Identification of Mount Sinai.= Desert sites are so readily
forgotten, and the records of this period in Israel's history were
committed to writing so many years after the events transpired, that
it is now impossible to follow the Israelites with certainty in their
desert wanderings. Their first aim after leaving Egypt was to find a
safe asylum. In this quest the experiences of their leader, Moses,
would influence them to find at least a temporary refuge with his
kinsmen, the Midianites. Their second aim was to worship at the sacred
mountain the God who had so signally revealed himself to them.
According to the Northern Israelitish traditions (Ex. 3:1) the
mountain of God was near the wilderness, where Moses was pasturing the
flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. In all the biblical narratives it
is implied that Sinai was not far from the land of Midian and that the
home of the Midianites was to the south or east of Mount Seir. All the
earliest references in the Old Testament, as for example, Judges 5:4,
5 and Deut. 33:2, indicate definitely that Mount Sinai was at least
near the Mount Seir range, if not identical with one of its
peaks.^{(66)} Furthermore, recent excavations have shown that the road
which led along the western arm of the Red Sea to the Mount Sinai of
later tradition passed important Egyptian garrisons, stationed there
to guard the extensive quarries and mines which for centuries had been
worked under the direction of the Pharaohs. This route would also have
taken the Israelites far away from their kinsmen and their ultimate
goal, into a barren country, incapable of supporting a large body of
men and filled with hostile Arab tribes.
=Lateness of the Traditional Identification.= The tradition which
identifies the mountain of God with Jebel Mûsa, in the southern part
of the Sinaitic peninsula,^{(67)} cannot be traced earlier than the
fourth or fifth centuries of the Christian era. The detailed itinerary
of Numbers 33 is generally recognized to be one of the latest sections
in the Old Testament and embodies the late Jewish conception of the
wilderness period. All attempts to identify the sites here mentioned
have proved uniformly unsatisfactory.
=Probable Route of the Hebrews.= Of the two or three sites mentioned
in the biblical narrative, Elim, with its twelve springs of water and
seventy palm-trees, is probably the fertile spot at the end of the
northeastern arm of the Red Sea known in later biblical times as the
port of Elath. A journey of two hundred miles along the main caravan
route from Egypt would bring the Hebrews to this point after three
weeks comfortable travel. From there the highways branch northward
toward Canaan. If Sinai was their first objective point, the earliest
biblical references to this mountain indicate that from Elim they
probably turned to the northeast and followed the way of the Arabah
until they reached that one of the many peaks in the southwestern part
of the Mount Seir range which was regarded by their Midianite kinsmen
as the special abode of Jehovah. Here Moses' Midianite father-in-law
visited the Israelites. Here, in keeping with an ancient custom of the
desert, a sacred covenant was made with their God, which became the
basis of their later social and religious life.
=Kadesh-barnea.= Late Jewish (_cf._ Jos. _Ant._ IV, 4:7) and modern
Moslem traditions make the picturesque Wady Mûsa, in the heart of
which was the marvellous Edomite capital, Petra, the scene of their
desert sojourn; but the older biblical narratives indicate that from
Sinai the Hebrews turned to the northwest. A desert journey of sixty
or seventy-five miles would bring them into the midst of the series of
bold, rugged mountains, cut in every direction by dry wadies, known
to-day as the Jebel el-Magrah, in the southwestern part of the South
Country. In one of these wadies was the famous spring of
Kadesh-barnea, still known as Ain Kdês, the Holy Spring. The water
gushes out through several openings from the side of a steep limestone
cliff and is caught in a series of artificially constructed basins.
The stream which arises from this spring, as it runs down the valley,
converts it into what seems in contrast to its barren surroundings a
little oasis. As in the case of most desert streams, the waters soon
disappear, however, beneath the desert sand. Here, in the heart of the
wilderness, and yet only a few miles east of the point where the
highway that ran from Elath to Beersheba was joined by another which
came across the desert from Egypt, the Israelites apparently
established their central camp.
=Effect of the Wilderness Life Upon the Hebrews.= The spring of Kadesh
is still a favorite resort of Arab tribes, but its waters are not
sufficient to support permanently even a small Bedouin clan. It is
only as the tribes wander from place to place, ever seeking new
pastures for their flocks, that the inhabitants of this southern
wilderness are able to subsist. If the Israelites remained in this
region for a generation, as the later traditions state, they must have
reverted to that nomadic life which still survives in the
desert.^{(68-71)} This experience was not without value to a race
which must work out its destiny in the face of great obstacles. It
taught them to endure want and hardship. The presence of constant
danger not only developed courage and skill in warfare, but also bound
them closely together. At any moment they were subject to attack from
hostile tribes. Their life and that of their families and flocks
depended upon their finding from time to time springs of water and
pasture lands among the rocky wastes that would supply the necessities
for their strenuous existence. The constant deep sense of dependence
developed those religious impulses which are very strong in the heart
of the Semites. The long marches through the sombre wilderness by day
and by night fostered habits of meditation and kept ever before their
vision the God who revealed himself through the striking phenomena of
nature. The sense of racial unity which bound together the Hebrew
clans tended to develop the belief, not in many, but in one tribal
God, who had delivered them from the land of Egypt, who was protecting
them from ever-present dangers, and who was leading them on to the
realization of their destiny. Their nomadic life, with its constant
change from place to place, gave little opportunity for the growth of
local shrines and institutions. As a result, their worship was freed
from those elaborate forms and ceremonies which in more settled
communities took the place of true religion. Thus during those desert
wanderings, under the leadership of Moses, an ethical religion was
born into the world that laid stress not merely on ritual, but on
righteousness.
=Evidence That the Hebrews Aimed to Enter Canaan From the South.= In
the scanty and somewhat confused biblical traditions regarding the
life of the Hebrews in the wilderness there are clear indications that
at first their intention was to enter Canaan from the south. Their
camp at Kadesh, in the South Country, was doubtless chosen as a base
from which to advance into Palestine, for it was near one of the main
highways which led into the land from the south. Their battle with the
Amalekites, recorded in Exodus 17:8-16, is further evidence that their
ultimate goal was Canaan, for the Amalekites were Bedouin tribes
living in the wilderness on the southern borders of Palestine.
According to the isolated passage, found in Numbers 21:1 and evidently
taken from a very early source, certain Hebrew clans at least were
found fighting with the Canaanites, who dwelt in the city of Arad,
about nineteen miles south of Hebron. They were defeated, however,
some were taken captive, and probably the rest were driven back into
the wilderness. The story of the spies in Numbers 13 and 14 is, on the
whole, the clearest proof of the ambitions of the Hebrews. From Kadesh
a picked group of men were sent along the great highway past Rehoboth
and Beersheba to Hebron and southern Canaan to investigate
conditions, with a view to conquest.
=Reasons Why They Did Not Succeed.= The report of the spies makes it
clear why the Hebrews, as a whole, did not enter Canaan from the
south. Their statements are in perfect accord with the conditions
revealed by contemporary Egyptian inscriptions and the results of
recent excavations. Already the territory of southern Canaan was fully
occupied. The larger cities were surrounded by strong walls and their
inhabitants were in possession of the most advanced equipment for
military defence known to that age. These defences were practically
impregnable against the attack of nomadic tribes. Furthermore, the
natural line of approach for the invasion of Canaan was not through
the South Country. Its barren wastes did not supply a sufficient base
from which to make an attack. The conquest of a land like Canaan by
nomads required a comparatively fertile intermediate territory, where
the besiegers might settle and derive the supplies necessary for a
siege that might last many years. The reasons, therefore, why a
majority of the tribes abandoned their original purpose to enter
Canaan from the south and chose the more favorable route through the
east-Jordan land are obvious and valid.
=Tribes That Probably Entered Canaan From the South.= There are
intimations, however, that certain desert tribes, later absorbed into
the Hebrew empire, found their way into Palestine from the south.
Caleb, who figures in the story of the spies as an advocate of advance
from the south, appears in the narrative of the first chapter of
Judges as a tribe established on the southern borders of Judah. It is
probable, therefore, that the Calebites gradually advanced through the
South Country to the possession of the territory which they ultimately
occupied. The same is true of certain Midianite clans, like the
Kenizzites, who shared with Israel the worship of Jehovah, the God of
Sinai. Possibly even before the exodus, certain of these clans had
gained a footing on the borders of Canaan; at any rate they, together
with the Jerahmeelites, are later found firmly intrenched to the
southeast of Judah.
=The Journey to the East of the Jordan.= The account of the march of
the Hebrews from Kadesh to the east of the Jordan is in perfect
harmony with the peculiar topography of this region. The shortest way
was across the dry valley of the Arabah, past the southeastern end of
the Dead Sea and northward through central Moab; but this involved a
journey through a part of the wilderness which can be made by large
bodies of men only when they are provided with camels and are able to
carry full supplies for the journey. For women and children, such a
journey was exceedingly difficult even if they were inured to the life
of the wilderness. Still more dangerous was the march of a large tribe
through the centre of Moab, for its highways were difficult and
strongly guarded. A second way, which, according to biblical
narrative, the Hebrews seriously considered, was the narrow, rocky
road which led through the heart of Edom to the great eastern desert
highway. Without the consent of the Edomites, a passage by this easily
defended way was absolutely impossible. Inasmuch as the request of the
Hebrews was refused by the Edomite king, the only way that remained
was the long détour around the southern end of Mount Seir.
Accordingly, they retraced their way southeastward to Elath. Thence
they turned abruptly to the northeast and took the broad highway
northward along the borders of the desert, where the streams of
pilgrims pass to-day on the journey from Damascus to Mecca (_cf._ p.
77). The way was through hot, rocky deserts and it is not strange that
the Israelites indulged in bitter complaints.
=Stations on the Way.= The earliest Old Testament narrative has
preserved a list of the stations on the highway by which the
Israelites approached Moab. Most of these, as the names indicate, were
but stopping-places in the desert, corresponding probably to the
stations on the modern pilgrims' road. Thus the name Beeroth
Bene-jaakan means Wells of the Sons of Jaakan, and was probably named
after the Arab tribe that roamed in this desert region. The second
station from this point, Jotbathah, is described as a land of flowing
brooks. This is an excellent description of the modern important city
of Maan, near the station on the Damascus-Mecca railway, from which
the traveller to-day sets out for Petra, that lies about twenty-five
miles due west. Maan is a little oasis made by a beautiful flowing
brook, which soon loses itself, however, in the sands of the
encircling desert. It is almost the only spot along this dry highway
from the north to the south where the weary traveller hears the
refreshing ripple of flowing waters. Farther north the road passes
over the high, parched plateaus where, according to the ancient song
in Numbers 21:17, 18, the Hebrew chieftains joined in digging, or more
probably in cleaning out the well from which the much-needed water
might be secured. The third station farther north bears the name
Nahaliel, which means Torrent Valley of God. It was apparently at this
point that the Israelites turned westward, following perhaps the
ravine which leads from the east to the great valley of the Arnon.
Bamoth, the next station, which means high places, was probably some
height to the north of the ravine, possibly the Jebel er-Ram (the High
Mountain). The fragment of the ancient poem found in Numbers 21:14,
15, reflects the profound impression which the deep valleys of the
Arnon made upon the Hebrew invaders. Waheb, in Suphah, was possibly a
place in the Wady es-Sufeiy, which opens into the Arnon from the east
and thus would lie in the line of Israel's approach. The city of Ar,
mentioned in the same connection, possibly represents the shortened
form of the well-known city of Aroer, on the heights to the north of
the Arnon.
=Conquests East of the Dead Sea.= From the banks of the Arnon, which
marked the northern boundary of Moab, the Hebrews set out for the
conquest of the Amorite kingdom of Sihon to the north. The decisive
battle was fought in the open, near the city of Jahaz, on the borders
of the wilderness. The site of the city has not yet been identified.
According to the Moabite stone (lines 18-20) it was the head-quarters
of the northern Israelites in their war with King Mesha of Moab.
Later it was captured by the Moabite king and joined to the city of
Dibon, which lay a little north of the Arnon. Eusebius, in his
_Onomasticon_ (264-294), places it between Medeba and Dibon. This
battle gave the Hebrews possession of the upland pastures and fertile
fields lying between the Arnon and the Jabbok.
=Situation of Heshbon.= Sihon's capital, Heshbon, became the capital
of the first Israelite state. It crowned the top of a low rocky hill,
which rose gradually from the rolling plains. On the east the plains
extend unbroken to the desert with its fringe of purple mountains. It
lay, therefore, in the midst of one of the most fruitful regions in
the east-Jordan land and commanded the wide plains which extended in
every direction. The city itself did not possess great natural
strength. Its inhabitants were obliged to depend upon walls for
defence. At present its top is strewn for acres with ruins of small
ancient houses and what were once an ancient fortress and temple; but
there are no traces of a great encircling wall. The water supply
apparently came from the large pools in the shallow valley to the
east. The city was, therefore, ill-fitted to stand a protracted siege.
This fact probably explains why the ancient Amorite king chose to meet
his foe farther south. The city is two thousand eight hundred and
sixty-six feet above the sea-level and commands a wonderful view of
the blue Gilead mountains in the north, the gorge of the Jordan to the
southwest, the central plateau of Canaan on the west, and Medeba, set
on a slightly elevated hill across the rolling plains, to the south.
=Sojourn of the Hebrews East of the Jordan.= Heshbon was the key to
the east-Jordan land. Through it ran the central highway from Moab
northward. Westward the road led rapidly down to the Jordan Valley,
past Abu Shittim, the Meadow of the Acacias, to the main fords
opposite Jericho. At Heshbon and on these high uplands of the
east-Jordan the Hebrews had ever before them the land of Canaan and
the open road inviting them to enter. According to the oldest biblical
narratives, the tribes of Machir and Manasseh also won for themselves
homes in Gilead, in the rich territory between the Jabbok and the
Yarmuk. A later narrative states that even at this early period the
Israelites crossed the Yarmuk and conquered the kingdom of Og, king of
Bashan, whose capital was the strange, rock-cut city of Edrei in the
valley of the upper Yarmuk.
=Its Significance.= This east-Jordan land supplied in fullest measure
the training and opportunity for expansion which the Israelites
required before they entered upon the larger task of conquering the
lands across the river. Here they learned to cultivate the soil as
well as to follow the flocks. The survivors of the conquered Amorites
began to instruct them in the arts of agriculture and in the secrets
of that higher civilization which had been developing for centuries in
Palestine. Here, amidst these highly favoring conditions, their
numbers rapidly increased, until they began to feel the need of new
fields for colonization. At the same time they were constantly subject
to the pressure of Arab invasion, which kept sweeping in from the
eastern desert. Meantime the armies of Egypt had been withdrawn and
the old feuds and wars between the different races of Palestine had
sprung up. No strong power had come to the front in northern Syria. By
1150 B.C. Palestine was ready to receive the race for which it had
been preparing through the long ages.
XIV
THE SETTLEMENT IN CANAAN
=The Approach to the Jordan.= About the middle of the twelfth century
B.C. the Hebrew tribes from Egypt crossed the Jordan into Canaan. They
probably approached the river by the main highway which to-day skirts
the northern side of Mount Nebo,^{(72)} crossing the Wady Heshban, and
entering the Jordan Valley where the Wady Kefrein broadens into the
meadow on which still stands a group of acacias, the Valley of Shittim
(Acacias), of the Hebrew narratives. After the late spring and summer
freshets the lower Jordan may be forded at two points. One is at the
shallow place where the Wady Kelt pours its waters and mud into the
Jordan. The other is six or seven miles farther north, just below the
point where the Wady Nimrin comes down from the highlands of Gilead.
Probably the Hebrews crossed by this northern ford.