International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Palestine

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Palestine


Subjects in this Topic:

pal´es-tı̄n (פּלשׁת, pelesheth; Φυλιστιείμ, Phulistieı́m, Ἀλλόφυλοι, Allóphuloi; the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) “Philistia”), “Palestina”; the King James Version ; , ; compare ; ; ; ):

I. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

1. General Geographical Features

2. Water-Supply

3. Geological Conditions

4. Fauna and Flora

5. Climate

6. Rainfall

7. Drought and Famine

II. PALESTINE IN THE PENTATEUCH

1. Places Visited by Abraham

2. Places Visited by Isaac

3. Places Visited by Jacob

4. Mentioned in Connection with Judah

5. Review of Geography of Genesis

6. Exodus and Leviticus

7. Numbers

8. Deuteronomy

III. PALESTINE IN THE HISTORIC BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. Book of Joshua

2. Book of Judges

3. Book of Ruth

4. Books of Samuel

5. Books of Kings

6. Post-exilic Historical Books

IV. PALESTINE IN THE POETIC BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. Book of Job

2. Book of Psalms

3. Book of Proverbs

4. Song of Songs

V. PALESTINE IN THE PROPHETS

1. Isaiah

2. Jeremiah

3. Ezekiel

4. Minor Prophets

VI. PALESTINE IN THE APOCRYPHA

1. Book of Judith

2. Book of Wisdom

3. 1 Maccabees

4. 2 Maccabees

VII. PALESTINE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

1. Synoptic Gospels

2. Fourth Gospel

3. Book of Acts

LITERATURE

The word properly means “Philistia,” but appears to be first used in the extended sense, as meaning all the “Land of Israel” or “Holy Land” (), by Philo and by Ovid and later Roman authors (Reland, Palestine Illustr., I, 38-42).

I. Physical Conditions.

The Bible in general may be said to breathe air of Palestine; and it is here intended to show how important for sound criticism is the consideration of its geography, and of the numerous incidental allusions to the natural features, fauna, flora, cultivation, and climate of the land in which most of the Bible books were written. With the later history and topography of Palestine, after 70 AD, we are not here concerned, but a short account of its present physical and geological conditions is needed for our purpose.

1. General Geographical Features:

Palestine West of the Jordan, between Dan and Beersheba, has an area of about 6,000 square miles, the length from Hermon southward being nearly 150 miles, and the width gradually increasing from 20 miles on the North to 60 miles on the South. It is thus about the size of Wales, and the height of the Palestinian mountains is about the same as that of the Welsh. East of the Jordan an area of about 4,000 square miles was included in the land of Israel. The general geographical features are familiar to all.

(1) The land is divided by the deep chasm of the Jordan valley - an ancient geological fault continuing in the Dead Sea, where its depth (at the bottom of the lake) is 2,600 ft. below the Mediterranean.

(2) West of the valley the mountain ridge, which is a continuation of Lebanon, has very steep slopes on the East and long spurs on the West, on which side the foothills (Hebrew shephēlāh or “lowland”) form a distinct district, widening gradually southward, while between this region and the sea the plains of Sharon and Philistia stretch to the sandhills and low cliffs of a harborless coast.

(3) In Upper Galilee, on the North, the mountain ridge rises to 4,000 ft. above the Mediterranean. Lower Galilee, to the South, includes rounded hills less than 1,000 ft. above the sea, and the triangular plain of Esdraelon drained by the River Kishon between the Gilboa watershed on the East and the long spur of Carmel on the West.

(4) In Samaria the mountains are extremely rugged, but a small plain near Dothan adjoins that of Esdraelon, and another stretches East of Shechem, 2,500 ft. above the level of the Jordan valley. In Judea the main ridge rises toward Hebron and then sinks to the level of the Beersheba plains about 1,000 ft. above the sea. The desert of Judah forms a plateau (500 ft. above sea-level), between this ridge and the Dead Sea, and is throughout barren and waterless; but the mountains - which average about 3,000 ft. above the sea - are full of good springs and suitable for the cultivation of the vine, fig and olive. The richest lands are found in the shephēlāh region - especially in Judea - and in the corn plains of Esdraelon, Sharon, and Philistia.

(5) East of the Jordan the plateau of Bashan (averaging 1,500 ft. above the sea) is also a fine corn country. South of this, Gilead presents a mountain region rising to 3,600 ft. above sea-level at Jebel Osha', and sloping gently on the East to the desert. The steep western slopes are watered by the Jabbok River, and by many perennial brooks. In North Gilead especially the wooded hills present some of the most picturesque scenery of the Holy Land. South of Gilead, the Moab plateau (about 2,700 ft. above sea-level) is now a desert, but is fitted for raising grain, and, in places, for vines. A lower shelf or plateau (about 500 to 1,000 ft. above sea-level) intervenes between the main plateau and the Dead Sea cliffs, and answers to the Desert of Judah West of the lake.

2. Water-Supply:

The water-supply of Palestine is abundant, except in the desert regions above noticed, which include only a small part of its area. The Jordan runs into the Dead Sea, which has no outlet and which maintains its level solely by evaporation, being consequently very salt; the surface is nearly 1,300 ft. below the Mediterranean, whereas the Sea of Galilee (680 ft. below sea-level) is sweet and full of fish. The Jordan is fed, not only by the snows of Hermon, but by many affluent streams from both sides. There are several streams also in Sharon, including the Crocodile River under Carmel. In the mountains, where the hard dolomite limestone is on the surface, perennial springs are numerous. In the lower hills, where this limestone is covered by a softer chalky stone, the supply depends on wells and cisterns. In the Beersheba plains the water, running under the surface, is reached by scooping shallow pits - especially those near Gerar, to be noticed later.

3. Geological Conditions:

The fertility and cultivation of any country depends mainly on its geological conditions. These are comparatively simple in Palestine, and have undergone no change since the age when man first appeared, or since the days of the Hebrew patriarchs. The country was first upheaved from the ocean in the Eocene age; and, in the subsequent Miocene age, the great crack in the earth's surface occurred, which formed a narrow gulf stretching from that of the ‛Aqabah on the South almost to the foot of Hermon. Further upheaval, accompanied by volcanic outbreaks which covered the plateaus of Golan, Bashan, and Lower Galilee with lava, cut off the Jordan valley from the Red Sea, and formed a long lake, the bottom of which continued to sink on the South to its present level during the Pleiocene and Pluvial periods, after which - its peculiar fauna having developed meanwhile - the lake gradually dried up, till it was represented only, as it now is, by the swampy Ḥûleh, the pear-shaped Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea. These changes all occurred long ages before the appearance of man. The beds upheaved include: (1) the Nubian Sandstone (of the Greensand period), which was sheared along the line of the Jordan fault East of the river, and which only appears on the western slopes of Hermon, Gilead, and Moab; (2) the limestones of the Cretaceous age, including the hard dolomite, and softer beds full of characteristic fossils; (3) the soft Eocene limestone, which appears chiefly on the western spurs and in the foothills, the angle of upheaval being less steep than that of the older main formation. On the shores of the Mediterranean a yet later sandy limestone forms the low cliffs of Sharon. See GEOLOGY OF PALESTINE.

4. Fauna and Flora:

As regards fauna, flora and cultivation, it is sufficient here to say that they are still practically the same as described throughout the Bible. The lion and the wild bull (Bos primigenius) were exterminated within historic times, but have left their bones in the Jordan gravels, and in caves. The bear has gradually retreated to Hermon and Lebanon. The buffalo has been introduced since the Moslem conquest. Among trees the apple has fallen out of cultivation since the Middle Ages, and the cactus has been introduced; but Palestine is still a land of grain, wine and oil, and famous for its fruits. Its trees, shrubs and plants are those noticed in the Bible. Its woods have been thinned in Lower Galilee and Northern Sharon, but on the other hand the copse has often grown over the site of former vineyards and villages, and there is no reason to think that any general desiccation has occurred within the last 40 centuries, such as would affect the rainfall.

5. Climate:

The climate of Palestine is similar to that of other Mediterranean lands, such as Cyprus, Sicily or Southern Italy; and, in spite of the fevers of mosquito districts in the plains, it is much better than that of the Delta in Egypt, or of Mesopotamia. The summer heat is oppressive only for a few days at a time, when (espescially in May) the dry wind - deficient in ozone - blows from the eastern desert. For most of the season a moisture-laden sea breeze, rising about 10 AM, blows till the evening, and fertilizes all the western slopes of the mountains. In the bare deserts the difference between 90ø F. by day and 40ø F. by night gives a refreshing cold. With the east wind the temperature rises to 105ø F., and the nights are oppressive. In the Jordan valley, in autumn, the shade temperature reaches 120ø F. In this season mists cover the mountains and swell the grapes. In winter the snow sometimes lies for several days on the watershed ridge and on the Edomite mountains, but in summer even Hermon is sometimes quite snowless at 9,000 ft. above the sea. There is perhaps no country in which such a range of climate can be found, from the Alpine to the tropical, and none in which the range of fauna and flora is consequently so large, from the European to the African.

6. Rainfall:

The rainfall of Palestine is between 20 and 30 inches annually, and the rainy season is the same as in other Mediterranean countries. The “former rains” begin with the thunderstorms of November, and the “latter rains” cease with April showers. From December to February - except in years of drought - the rains are heavy. In most years the supply is quite sufficient for purposes of cultivation. The plowing begins in autumn, and the corn is rarely spoiled by storms in summer. The fruits ripen in autumn and suffer only from the occasional appearance of locust swarms. There appears to be no reason to suppose that climate or rainfall have undergone any change since the times of the Bible; and a consideration of Bible allusions confirms this view.

7. Drought and Famine:

Thus, the occurrence of drought, and of consequent famine, is mentioned in the Old Testament as occasional in all times (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; -12; ; ), and droughts are also noticed in the Mishna (Ta‛ănı̄th, i. 4-7) as occurring in autumn, and even lasting throughout the rainy season till spring. Good rains were a blessing from God, and drought was a sign of His displeasure, in Hebrew belief (; ; ). A thunderstorm in harvest time (May) was most unusual (, ), yet such a storm does still occur as a very exceptional phenomenon. By “snow in harvest” () we are not to understand a snowstorm, for it is likened to a “faithful messenger,” and the reference is to the use of snow for cooling wine, which is still usual at Damascus. The notice of fever on the shores of the Sea of Galilee () shows that this region was as unhealthy as it still is in summer. The decay of irrigation in Sharon may have rendered the plain more malarious than of old, but the identity of the Palestinian flora with that of the Bible indicates that the climate, generally speaking, is unchanged.

II. Palestine in the Pentateuch.

1. Places Visited by Abraham:

The Book of Genesis is full of allusions to sites sacred to the memory of the Hebrew patriarchs. In the time of Abraham the population consisted of tribes, mainly Semitic, who came originally from Babylonia, including Canaanites (“lowlanders”) between Sidon and Gaza, and in the Jordan valley, and Amorites (“highlanders”) in the mountains (-19; ). Their language was akin to Hebrew, and it is only in Egypt that we read of an interpreter being needed (), while excavated remains of seal-cylinders, and other objects, show that the civilization of Palestine was similar to that of Babylonia.

(1) Shechem.

The first place noticed is the shrine or “station” (māḳōm) of Shechem, with the Elon Moreh, the Septuagint “high oak”), where Jacob afterward buried the idols of his wives, and where Joshua set up a stone by the “holy place” (; ; ). Samaritan tradition showed the site near Balâṭa (“the oak”) at the foot of Mt. Gerizim. The “Canaanite was then in the land” (in Abraham's time), but was exterminated () by Jacob's sons. From Shechem Abraham journeyed southward and raised an altar between Bethel (Beitı̂n) and Hal (Ḥayân), East of the town of Luz, the name of which still survives hard-by at the spring of Lôzeh (; ; , ; ).

(2) The Negeb.

But, on his return from Egypt with large flocks (), he settled in the pastoral region, between Beersheba and the western Kadesh (; ), called in Hebrew the neghebh, “dry” country, on the edge of the cultivated lands. From East of Bethel there is a fine view of the lower Jordan valley, and here Lot “lifted up his eyes” (), and chose the rich grass lands of that valley for his flocks. The “cities of the Plain” (kikkār) were clearly in this valley, and Sodom must have been near the river, since Lot's journey to Zoar () occupied only an hour or two (, ) through the plain to the foot of the Moab mountains. These cities are not said to have been visible from near Hebron; but, from the hilltop East of the city, Abraham could have seen “the smoke of the land” () rising up. The first land owned by him was the garden of Mamre (; ; ), with the cave-tomb which tradition still points out under the floor of the Hebron mosque. His tent was spread under the “oaks of Mamre” (), where his mysterious guests rested “under the tree” (). One aged oak still survives in the flat ground West of the city, but this tree is very uncommon in the mountains of Judah. In all these incidental touches we have evidence of the exact knowledge of Palestine which distinguishes the story of the patriarchs.

(3) Campaign of Amraphel.

Palestine appears to have been an outlying province of the empire of. Hammurabi, king of Babylon in Abraham's time; and the campaign of Amraphel resembled those of later Assyrian overlords exacting tribute of petty kings. The route (-8) lay through Bashan, Gilead and Moab to Kadesh (probably at Petra), and the return through the desert of Judah to the plains of Jericho. Thus Hebron was not attacked (see ), and the pursuit by Abraham and his Amorite allies led up the Jordan valley to Dan, and thence North of Damascus (). The Salem whose king blessed Abraham on his return was thought by the Samaritans, and by Jerome, to be the city near the Jordan valley afterward visited by Jacob (; ). See JERUSALEM.

(4) Gerar.

Abraham returned to the southern plains, and “sojourned in Gerar” (), now Umm Jerrâr, 7 miles South of Gaza. The wells which he dug in this valley () were no doubt shallow excavations like those from which the Arabs still obtain the water flowing under the surface in the same vicinity (SWP, III, 390), though that at Beersheba (-32), to which Isaac added another (-25), may have been more permanent. Three masonry wells now exist at Bı̂r es Seba‛, but the masonry is modern. The planting of a “tamarisk” at this place () is an interesting touch, since the tree is distinctive of the dry lowlands. From Beersheba Abraham journeyed to “the land of Moriah” Septuagint “the high land”) to sacrifice Isaac (); and the mountain, according to Hebrew tradition (), was at Jerusalem, but according to the Samaritans was Gerizim near the Elon Moreh - a summit which could certainly have been seen “afar off” () on “the third day.”

2. Places Visited by Isaac:

Isaac, living in the same pastoral wilderness, at the western Kadesh () and at Gerar (), suffered like his father in a year of drought, and had similar difficulties with the Philistines. At Gerar he sowed grain (), and the vicinity is still capable of such cultivation. Thence he retreated Southeast to Rehoboth (Ruḥeibeh), North of Kadesh, where ancient wells like those at Beersheba still exist (). To Beersheba he finally returned ().

3. Places Visited by Jacob:

When Jacob fled to Haran from Beersheba () he slept at the “place” (or shrine) consecrated by Abraham's altar near Bethel, and like any modern Arab visitor to a shrine - erected a memorial stone (), which he renewed twenty years later () when God appeared to him “again” ().

(1) Haran to Succoth.

His return journey from Haran to Gilead raises an interesting question. The distance is about 350 miles from Haran to the Galeed or “witness heap” () at Mizpah - probably Sûf in North Gilead. This distance Laban is said to have covered in 7 days (), which would be possible for a force mounted on riding camels. But the news of Jacob's flight reached Laban on the 3rd day (), and some time would elapse before he could gather his “brethren.” Jacob with his flocks and herds must have needed 3 weeks for the journey. It is remarkable that the vicinity of Mizpah still presents ancient monuments like the “pillar” () round which the “memorial cairn” (yeghar-sāhădhūthā) was formed. From this place Jacob journeyed to Mahanaim (probably Maḥmah), South of the Jabbok river - a place which afterward became the capital of South Gilead ( f; ); but, on hearing of the advance of Esau from Edom, he retreated across the river () and then reached Succoth (), believed to be Tell Der‛ala, North of the stream.

(2) From the Jordan to Hebron.

Crossing the Jordan by one of several fords in this vicinity, Jacob approached Shechem by the perennial stream of Wâdy Fâr‛ah, and camped at Shalem (Sâlim) on the east side of the fertile plain which stretches thence to Shechem, and here he bought land of the Hivites (-20). We are not told that he dug a well, but the necessity for digging one in a region full of springs can only be explained by Hivite jealousy of water rights, and the well still exists East of Shechem (compare f), not far from the Elon Moreh where were buried the terāphı̄m () or “spirits” (Assyrian, tarpu) from Haran () under the oak of Abraham. These no doubt were small images, such as are so often unearthed in Palestine. The further progress of Jacob led by Bethel and Bethlehem to Hebron (, , ), but some of his elder sons seem to have remained at Shechem. Thus, Joseph was sent later from Hebron () to visit his brethren there, but found them at Dothan.

(3) Dothan.

Dothan () lay in a plain on the main trade route from Egypt to Damascus, which crossed the low watershed at this point and led down the valley to Jezreel and over Jordan to Bashan. The “well of the pit” (SWP, II, 169) is still shown at Tell Dothân, and the Ishmaelites, from Midian and Gilead, chose this easy caravan route (, ) for camels laden with the Gilead balm and spices. The plain was fitted for feeding Jacob's flocks. The products of Palestine then included also honey, pistachio nuts, and almonds (); and a few centuries later we find notice in a text of Thothmes III of honey and balsam, with oil, wine, wheat, spelt, barley and fruits, as rations of the Egyptian troops in Canaan (Brugsch, Hist Egypt, I, 332).

4. Mentioned in Connection with Judah:

The episode of Judah and Tamar is connected with a region in the Shephēlāh, or low hills of Judea. Adullam (‛Aı̂d-el-ma), Chezib (‛Ain Kezbeh), and Timnath (Tibneh) are not far apart (, , ), the latter being in a pastoral valley where Judah met his “sheep shearers.” Tamar sat at “the entrance of Enaim” (compare , the English Revised Version) or Enam (), perhaps at Kefr ‛Ana, 6 miles Northwest of Timnath. She was mistaken for a ḳedhēshāh, or votary (sacred prostitute) of Ashtoreth (, ), and we know from Hammurabi's laws that such votaries were already recognized. The mention of Judah's signet and staff () also reminds us of Babylonian customs as described by Herodotus (i. 195), and signet-cylinders of Babylonian style, and of early date, have been unearthed in Palestine at Gezer and elsewhere (compare the “Babylonian garment,” ).

5. Review of the Geography of Genesis:

Generally speaking, the geography of Gen presents no difficulties, and shows an intimate knowledge of the country, while the allusions to natural products and to customs are in accord with the results of scientific discovery. Only one difficulty needs notice, where Atad () on the way from Egypt to Hebron is described as “beyond the Jordan.” In this case the Assyrian language perhaps helps us, for in that tongue Yaur-danu means “the great river,” and the reference may be to the Nile itself, which is called Yaur in Hebrew (ye'ōr) and Assyrian alike.

6. Exodus and Leviticus:

Exodus is concerned with Egypt and the Sinaitic desert, though it may be observed that its simple agricultural laws (Exodus 21 through 23), which so often recall those of Hammurabi, would have been needed at once on the conquest of Gilead and Bashan, before crossing the Jordan. In Leviticus 11 we have a list of animals most of which belong to the desert - as for instance the “coney” or hyrax (; ; ), but others - such as the swine (), the stork and the heron () - to the ‛Arabah and the Jordan valley, while the hoopoe (the King James Version “lapwing,” ) lives in Gilead and in Western Palestine. In Deuteronomy 14 the fallow deer and the roe () are now inhabitants of Tabor and Gilead, but the “wild goat” (ibex), “wild ox” (buball), “pygarg” (addax) and “chamois” (wild sheep), are found in the ‛Arabah and in the deserts.

7. Numbers:

In Numbers, the conquest of Eastern Palestine is described, and most of the towns mentioned are known (21:18-33); the notice of vineyards in Moab () agrees with the discovery of ancient rock-cut wine presses near Heshbon (SEP, I, 221). The view of Israel, in camp at Shittim by Balaam (), standing on the top of Pisgah or Mt. Nebo, has been shown to be possible by the discovery of Jebel Neba, where also rude dolmens recalling Balak's altars have been found (SEP, I, 202). The plateau of Moab () is described as a “land for cattle,” and still supports Arab flocks. The camps in which Israel left their cattle, women and children during the wars, for 6 months, stretched () from Beth-jeshimoth (Suweimeh), near the northeastern corner of the Dead Sea over Abel-shittim (“the acacia meadow” - a name it still bears) in a plain watered by several brooks, and having good herbage in spring.

8. Deuteronomy:

(1) Physical Allusions.

The description of the “good land” in Deuteronomy () applies in some details with special force to Mt. Gilead, which possesses more perennial streams than Western Palestine throughout - “a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills”; a land also “of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates, a land of olive-trees and honey” is found in Gilead and Bashan. Palestine itself is not a mining country, but the words (), “a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper,” may be explained by the facts that iron mines existed near Beirut in the 10th century AD, and copper mines at Punon North of Petra in the 4th century AD, as described by Jerome (Onomasticon, under the word “Phinon”). In Deuteronomy also (; compare ; ) Ebal and Gerizim are first noticed, as beside the “oaks of Moreh.” Ebal the mountain of curses (3, 077 ft. above sea-level) and Gerizim the mountain of blessings (2, 850 ft.) are the two highest tops in Samaria, and Shechem lies in a rich valley between them. The first sacred center of Israel was thus established at the place where Abraham built his first altar and Jacob dug his well, where Joseph was buried and where Joshua recognized a holy place at the foot of Gerizim (). The last chapters of Deuteronomy record the famous Pisgah view from Mt. Nebo (34:1-3), which answers in all respects to that from Jebel Neba, except as to Dan, and the utmost (or “western”) sea, neither of which is visible. Here we should probably read “toward” rather than “to,” and there is no other hill above the plains of Shittim whence a better view can be obtained of the Jordan valley, from Zoar to Jericho, of the watershed mountains as far North as Gilboa and Tabor, and of the slopes of Gilead.

(2) Archaeology.

But besides these physical allusions, the progress of exploration serves to illustrate the archaeology of Deuteronomy. Israel was commanded () to overthrow the Canaanite altars, to break the standing stones which were emblems of superstition, to burn the 'ăshērāh poles (or artificial trees), and to hew down the graven images. That these commands were obeyed is clear. The rude altars and standing stones are now found only in Moab, and in remote parts of Gilead, Bashan, and Galilee, not reached by the power of reforming kings of Judah. The 'ăshērāh poles have disappeared, the images are found, only deep under the surface. The carved tablets which remain at Damascus, and in Phoenicia and Syria, representing the gods of Canaan or of the Hittites, have no counterpart in the Holy Land. Again when we read of ancient “landmarks” (; ; ), we are not to understand a mere boundary stone, but rather one of those monuments common in Babylonia - as early at least as the 12th century BC - on which the boundaries of a field are minutely described, the history of its grant by the king detailed, and a curse (compare ) pronounced against the man who should dare to remove the stone. See illustration under NEBUCHADNEZZAR.

III. Palestine in the Historic Books of the Old Testament.

1. Book of Joshua:

Joshua is the great geographical book of the Old Testament; and the large majority of the 600 names of places, rivers and mountains in Palestine mentioned in the Bible are to be found in this book.

(1) Topographical Accuracy.

About half of this total of names were known, or were fixed by Dr. Robinson, between 1838 and 1852, and about 150 new sites were discovered (1872-1878, 1881-1882) in consequence of the 1-in. trigonometrical survey of the country, and were identified by the present writer during this period; a few interesting sites have been added by M. Clermont-Ganneau (Adullam and Gezer), by A. Henderson (Kiriathjearim), by W.F. Birch (Zoar at Tell esh Shâghûr), and by others. Thus more than three-quarters of the sites have been fixed with more or less certainty, most of them preserving their ancient names. It is impossible to study this topography without seeing that the Bible writers had personal knowledge of the country; and it is incredible that a Hebrew priest, writing in Babylonia, could have possessed that intimate acquaintance with all parts of the land which is manifest in the geographical chapters of Joshua. The towns are enumerated in due order by districts; the tribal boundaries follow natural lines - valleys and mountain ridges - and the character of various regions is correctly indicated. Nor can we suppose that this topography refers to conditions subsequent to the return from captivity, for these were quite different. Simeon had ceased to inhabit the south by the time of David (), and the lot of Dan was colonized by men of Benjamin after the captivity (, ; , ). Tirzah is mentioned () in Samaria, whereas the future capital of Omri is not. Ai is said to have been made “a heap forever” (), but was inhabited apparently in Isaiah's time ( = Aiath) and certainly after the captivity (; ; = Aija). At latest, the topography seems to be that of Solomon's age, though it is remarkable that very few places in Samaria are noticed in the Book of Joshua.

(2) The Passage of the Jordan.

Israel crossed Jordan at the lowest ford East of Jericho. The river was in flood, swollen by the melting snows of Hermon (); the stoppage occurred 20 miles farther up at Adam (ed-Dâmieh), the chalky cliffs at a narrow place being probably undermined and falling in, thus damming the stream. A Moslem writer asserts that a similar stoppage occurred in the 13th century AD, near the same point. (See JORDAN RIVER.) The first camp was established at Gilgal (Jilgûlieh), 3 miles East of Jericho, and a “circle” of 12 stones was erected. Jericho was not at the medieval site (er Rı̂ḥa) South of Gilgal, or at the Herodian site farther West, but at the great spring ‛Ain es Sulṭân, close to the mountains to which the spies escaped (). The great mounds were found by Sir C. Warren to consist of sun-dried bricks, and further excavations (see Mitteil. der deutschen Orient-Gesell., December, 1909, No. 41) have revealed little but the remains of houses of various dates.

(3) Joshua's First Campaign.

The first city in the mountains attacked by Israel was Ai, near Chayan, 2 miles Southeast of Bethel. It has a deep valley to the North, as described (). The fall of Ai and Bethel () seems to have resulted in the peaceful occupation of the region between Gibeon and Shechem (Josh 8:30 through 9:27); but while the Hivites submitted the Amorites of Jerusalem and of the South attacked Gibeon (el Jı̂b) and were driven down the steep pass of Beth-horon (Beit ‛Aûr) to the plains (-11). Joshua's great raid, after this victory, proceeded through the plain to Makkedah, now called el Mughâr, from the “cave” (compare ), and by Libnah to Lachish (Tell el Ḥesy), whence he went up to Hebron, and “turned” South to Debir (edh Dhâherı̂yeh), thus subduing the shephēlāh of Judah and the southern mountains, though the capital at Jerusalem was not taken. It is now very generally admitted that the six letters of the Amorite king of Jerusalem included in Tell el-Amarna Letters may refer to this war. The ‛Abı̂ri or Ḥabiri are therein noticed as a fierce people from Seir, who “destroyed all the rulers,” and who attacked Ajalon, Lachish, Ashkelon, Keilah (on the main road to Hebron) and other places. See EXODUS, THE.

(4) The Second Campaign.

The second campaign (-14) was against the nations of Galilee; and the Hebrew victory was gained at “the waters of Merom” (). There is no sound reason for placing these at the Ḥûleh lake; and the swampy Jordan valley was a very unlikely field of battle for the Canaanite chariots (). The kings noticed are those of Madon (Madı̂n), Shimron (Semmunieh), Dor (possibly Tell Thorah), “on the west,” and of Hazor (Ḥazzûr), all in Lower Galilee. The pursuit was along the coast toward Sidon (); and Merom may be identical with Shimron-meron (), now Semmunieh, in which case the “waters” were those of the perennial stream in Wâdy el Melek, 3 miles to the North, which flow West to join the lower part of the Kishon. Shimron-meron was one of the 31 royal cities of Palestine West of the Jordan (Josh 12:9-24).

The regions left unconquered by Joshua (-6) were those afterward conquered by David and Solomon, including the Philistine plains, and the Sidonian coast from Mearah (el Mogheirı̂yeh) northward to Aphek (Afḳa) in Lebanon, on the border of the Amorite country which lay South of the “land of the Hittites” (). Southern Lebanon, from Gebal (Jubeil) and the “entering into Hamath” (the Eleutherus Valley) on the West, to Baal-gad (probably at ‛Ain Judeideh on the northwestern slope of Hermon) was also included in the “land” by David (-10). But the whole of Eastern Palestine (Josh 13:7-32), and of Western Palestine, except the shore plains, was allotted to the 12 tribes. Judah and Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), being the strongest, appear to have occupied the mountains and the shephēlāh, as far North as Lower Galilee, before the final allotment.

Thus, the lot of Simeon was within that inherited by Judah (), and that of Dan seems to have been partly taken from Ephraim, since Joseph's lot originally reached to Gezer (); but Benjamin appears to have received its portion early (compare -11; , ; 18:11-28). This lot was larger than that of Ephraim, and Benjamin was not then the “smallest of the tribes of Israel” (), since the destruction of the tribe did not occur till after the death of Joshua and Eleazar ().

The twelve tribes were distributed in various regions which may here briefly be described. Reuben held the Moab plateau to the Arnon (Wâdy Môjub) on the South, and to the “river of Gad” (Wâdy Nā'aûr) on the North, thus including part of the Jordan valley close to the Dead Sea. Gad held all the West of Gilead, being separated from the Ammonites by the upper course of the Jabbok. All the rest of the Jordan valley East of the river was included in this lot. Manasseh held Bashan, but the conquest was not completed till later. Simeon had the neghebh plateau South of Beersheba. Judah occupied the mountains South of Jerusalem, with the shephēlāh to their West, and claimed Philistia South of Ekron. Benjamin had the Jericho plains and the mountains between Jerusalem and Bethel. The border ran South of Jerusalem to Rachel's tomb (), and thence West to Kiriath-jearim ('Erma) and Ekron. Dan occupied the lower hills West of Benjamin and Ephraim, and claimed the plain from Ekron to Rakkon (Tell er Raḳḳeit) North of Joppa. Manasseh had a large region, corresponding to Samaria, and including Carmel, Sharon and half the Jordan valley, with the mountains North of Shechem; but this tribe occupied only the hills, and was unable to drive the Cannanites out of the plains (, ) Ephraim also complained of the smallness of its lot (), which lay in rugged mountains between Bethel and Shechem, including however, the grain plateau East of the latter city. Issachar held the plains of Esdraelon and Dothan, with the Jordan valley to the East, but soon became subject to the Canaanites. Zebulun had the hills of Lower Galilee, and the coast from Carmel to Accho. Naphtali owned the mountains of Upper Galilee, and the rich plateau between Tabor and the Sea of Galilee. Asher had the low hills West of Naphtali, and the narrow shore plains from Accho to Tyre. Thus each tribe possessed a proportion of mountain land fit for cultivation of figs, olives and vines, and of arable land fit for corn. The areas allotted appear to correspond to the density of population that the various regions were fitted to support.

The Levitical cities were fixed in the various tribes as centers for the teaching of Israel (), but a Levite was not obliged to live in such a city, and was expected to go with his course annually to the sacred center, before they retreated to Jerusalem on the disruption of the kingdom (). The 48 cities (Josh 21:13-42) include 13 in Judah and Benjamin for the priests, among which Beth-shemesh (, ) and Anathoth () are early noticed as Levitical. The other tribes had 3 or 4 such cities each, divided among Kohathites (10), Gershonites (13), and Merarites (12). The six Cities of Refuge were included in the total, and were placed 3 each side of the Jordan in the South, in the center, and in the North, namely Hebron, Shechem and Kedesh on the West, and Bezer (unknown), Ramoth (Reimûn) and Golan (probably Saḥem el Jaulân) East of the river. Another less perfect list of these cities, with 4 omissions and 11 minor differences, mostly clerical, is given in 1 Ch 6:57-81. Each of these cities had “suburbs,” or open spaces, extending () about a quarter-mile beyond the wall, while the fields, to about half a mile distant, also belonged to the Levites ().

2. Book of Judges:

(1) Early Wars.

In Judges, the stories of the heroes who successively arose to save Israel from the heathen carry us to every part of the country. “After the death of Joshua” () the Canaanites appear to have recovered power, and to have rebuilt some of the cities which he had ruined. Judah fought the Perizzites (“villagers”) at Berek (Berḳah) in the lower hills West of Jerusalem, and even set fire to that city. Caleb attacked Debir (Jsg -15), which is described (compare -19) as lying in a “dry” (the King James Version “south”) region, yet with springs not far away. The actual site (edh Dhâherı̂yeh) is a village with ancient tombs 12 miles Southwest of Hebron; it has no springs, but about 7 miles to the Northeast there is a perennial stream with “upper and lower springs.” As regards the Philistine cities (), the Septuagint reading seems preferable; for the Greek says that Judah “did not take Gaza” nor Ashkelon nor Ekron, which agrees with the failure in conquering the “valley” () due to the Canaanites having “chariots of iron.” The Canaanite chariots are often mentioned about this time in the Tell el-Amarna Letters and Egyptian accounts speak of their being plated with metals. Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali, were equally powerless against cities in the plains (-33); and Israel began to mingle with the Canaanites, while the tribe of Dan seems never to have really occupied its allotted region, and remained encamped in the borders of Judah till some, at least, of its warriors found a new home under Hermon (; 18:1-30) in the time of Jonathan, the grandson of Moses.

(2) Defeat of Sisera.

The oppression of Israel by Jabin II of Hazor, in Lower Galilee, appears to have occurred in the time of Rameses II, who, in his 8th year, conquered Shalem (Sâlim, North of Taanach), Anem (‛Anı̂n), Dapur (Debûrieh, at the foot of Tabor), with Bethanath (‛Ainitha) in Upper Galilee (Brugsch, History of Egypt, II, 64). Sisera may have been an Egyptian resident at the court of Jabin (); his defeat occurred near the foot of Tabor () to which he advanced East from Harosheth (el Ḥarathı̂yeh) on the edge of the sea plain. His host “perished at Endor” () and in the swampy Kishon (). The site of the Kedesh in “the plain of swamps” () to which he fled is doubtful. Perhaps Kedesh of Issachar () is intended at Tell Ḳadeis, 3 miles North of Taanach, for the plain is here swampy in parts. The Canaanite league of petty kings fought from Taanach to Megiddo (), but the old identification of the latter city with the Roman town of Legio (Lejjûn) was a mere guess which does not fit with Egyptian accounts placing Megiddo near the Jordan. The large site at Mugedd‛a, in the Valley of Jezreel seems to be more suitable for all the Old Testament as well as for the Egyptian accounts (SWP, II, 90-99).

(3) Gideon's Victory.

The subsequent oppression by Midianites and others would seem to have coincided with the troubles which occurred in the 5th, year of Minepthah (see EXODUS, THE). Gideon's home () at Ophrah, in Manasseh, is placed by Samaritan tradition at Fer‛ata, 6 miles West of Shechem, but his victory was won in the Valley of Jezreel (Jdg 7:1-22); the sites of Beth-shittah (Shaṭṭa) and Abel-meholah (‛Ain Ḥelweh) show how Midian fled down this valley and South along the Jordan plain, crossing the river near Succoth (Tell Der‛ala) and ascending the slopes of Gilead to Jogbehah (Jubeiḥah) and Nobah (-11). But Oreb (“the raven”) and Zeeb (“the wolf”) perished at “the raven's rock” and “the wolf's hollow” (compare ), West of the Jordan. It is remarkable (as pointed out by the present author in 1874) that, 3 miles North of Jericho, a sharp peak is now called “the raven's nest,” and a ravine 4 miles farther North is named “the wolf's hollows.” These sites are rather farther South than might be expected, unless the two chiefs were separated from the fugitives, who followed Zebah and Zalmunna to Gilead. In this episode “Mt. Gilead” () seems to be a clerical error for “Mt. Gilboa,” unless the name survives in corrupt form at ‛Aı̂n Jâlûd (“Goliath's spring”), which is a large pool, usually supposed to be the spring of Harod (), where Gideon camped, East of Jezreel.

The story of Abimelech takes us back to Shechem. He was made king by the “oak of the pillar” (), which was no doubt Abraham's oak already noticed; it seems also to be called 'the enchanter's oak' (), probably from some superstition connected with the burial of the Teraphim under it by Jacob. The place called Beer, to which Jotham fled from Abimelech (), may have been Beeroth (Bı̂reh) in the lot of Benjamin. Thebez, the town taken by the latter (), and where he met his death, is now the village Ṭûbâs, 10 miles Northeast of Shechem.

The Ammonite oppression of Israel in Gilead occurred about 300 years after the Hebrew conquest (), and Jephthah the deliverer returned to Mizpah (), which was probably the present village Ṣûf (already noticed), from his exile in the “land of Tob” (, ). This may have been near Ṭaiyibeh, 9 miles South of Gadara, in the extreme North of Gilead - a place notable for its ancient dolmens and rude stone monuments, such as occur also at Mizpah. Jephthah's dispute with the men of Ephraim () indicates the northern position of Mizpah. Aroer () is unknown, but lay near Rabbath-ammon (; ); it is to be distinguished from Aroer (‛Ar'air) in the Arnon ravine, mentioned in .

The scene of Samson's exploits lies in the shephēlāh of Judah on the borders of Philistia. His home at Zorah (Ṣŭr‛ah) was on the hills North of the Valley of Sorek, and looked down on “the camp of Dan” ( margin), which had been pitched in that valley near Beth-shemesh. Eshtaol (Eshu‛a) was less than 2 miles East of Zorah on the same ridge. Timnath () was only 2 miles West of Beth-shemesh, at the present ruin Tibneh. The region was one of vineyards (), and the name Sorek (Sûrı̂k) still survives at a ruin 2 miles West of Zorah. Sorek signified a “choice vine,” and a rock-cut wine press exists at the site (SWP, III, 126). These 5 places, all close together, were also close to the Philistine grain lands () in a region of vines and olives. Samson's place of refuge in the “cleft of the rock of Etam” (see ) was probably at Beit ‛Aṭâb, only 5 miles East of Zorah, but rising with a high knoll above the southern precipices of the gorge which opens into the Valley of Sorek. In this knoll, under the village, is a rock passage now called “the well of refuge” (Bı̂r el Ḥasŭtah), which may have been the “cleft” into which Samson “went down.” Lehi () was apparently in the valley beneath, and the name (“the jaw”) may refer to the narrow mouth of the gorge whence, after conference with the Philistines, the men of Judah “went down” () to the “cleft of the rock of Etam” (SWP, III, 83, 137), which was a passage 250 ft. long leading down, under the town, to the spring. All of Samson's story is connected with this one valley (for Delilah also lived in the “Valley of Sorek,” ) except his visit to Gaza, where he carried the gates to the 'hill facing Hebron' (), traditionally shown (SWP, III, 255) at the great mound on the East side of this town where he died, and where his tomb is (wrongly) shown. Another tomb, close to Zôrah, represents a more correct tradition (), but the legends of Samson at this village are of modern Christian origin.

The appendix to Judges includes two stories concerning Levites who both lived in the time of the 2nd generation after the Hob conquest (; ), and who both “sojourned” in Bethlehem of Judah (; ), though their proper city was one in Mt. Ephraim, In the first case Jonathan, the grandson of Moses, founded a family of idolatrous priests, setting up Micah's image at Dan (Tell el Ḳâdı̂) beside the sources of the Jordan, where ancient dolmen altars still exist. This image may have been the cause why Jeroboam afterward established a calf-temple at the same place. It is said to have stood there till the “captivity of the ark” (St. Petersburg MS, ), “all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh” (). From this narrative we learn that the tribe of Dan did not settle in its appointed lot (), but pitched in the “camp of Dan,” west of Kiriath-jearim (). This agrees with the former mention of the site () as being near Zorah; and the open valley near Beth-shemesh is visible, through the gorges of Lehi, from the site of Kiriath-jearim at ‛Erma.

(4) Appendix: The Defeat of Benjamin.

In the 2nd episode we trace the journey of the Levite from Bethlehem past Jerusalem to Gibeah (Jeba‛), East of Ramah (er-Râm), a distance which could easily be traversed in an afternoon (compare -14). Gibeah was no doubt selected as a halting-place by the Levite, because it was a Levitical city. The story of the great crime of the men of Gibeah was well known to Hosea (). Israel gathered against them at Mizpah (Tell en Ṇaṣbeh) on the watershed, 3 miles to the Northwest, and the ark was brought by Phinehas to Bethel (compare , ; , ), 3 miles Northeast of Mizpah. The defeat of Benjamin occurred where the road to Gibeah leaves the main north road to Bethel (), West of Ramah. The survivors fled to the rock Rimmon (Rummôn), 3 1/2 miles East of Bethel, on the edge of the “wilderness” which stretches from this rugged hill toward the Jordan valley. The position of Shiloh, 9 miles North of this rock, is very accurately described () as being North of Bethel (Beitı̂n), and East of the main road, thence to Shechem which passes Lebonah (Lubban), a village 3 miles Northwest of Seilûn or Shiloh. The “vineyards,” in which the maidens of Shiloh used to dance () at the Feast of Tabernacles, lay no doubt where vineyards still exist in the little plain South of this site. It is clear that the writer of these two narratives had an acquaintance with Palestinian topography as exact as that shown throughout Jgs. Nor (if the reading “captivity of the ark” be correct) is there any reason to suppose that they were written after 722 BC.

3. Book of Ruth:

The Book of Ruth gives us a vivid picture of Hebrew life “when the judges ruled” ( the King James Version), about a century before the birth of David. Laws as old as Hammurabi's age allowed the widow the choice of remaining with the husband's family, or of quitting his house (compare ). The beating out of gleanings () by women is still a custom which accounts for the rock mortars found so often scooped out on the hillside. The villager still sleeps, as a guard, beside the heap of winnowed grain in the threshing-floor (); the head-veil, still worn, could well have been used to carry six measures of barley (). The courteous salutation of his reapers by Boaz () recalls the common Arabic greeting (Allah ma‛kûm), “God be with you.” But the thin wine () is no longer drunk by Moslem peasants, who only “dip” their bread in oil.

4. Books of Samuel:

(1) Samuel.

The two Books of Samuel present an equally valuable picture of life, and an equally real topography throughout. Samuel's father - a pious Levite () - descended from Zuph who had lived at Ephratah (Bethlehem; compare , ), had his house at Ramah () close to Gibeah, and this town (er-Râm) was Samuel's home also (; ). The family is described as 'Ramathites, Zuphites of Mt. Ephraim' (), but the term “Mt. Ephraim” was not confined to the lot of Ephraim, since it included Bethel and Ramah, in the land of Benjamin (). As a Levite, Elkanah obeyed the law of making annual visits to the central shrine, though this does not seem to have been generally observed in an age when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (). The central shrine had been removed by Joshua from Shechem to the remote site of Shiloh (), perhaps for greater security, and here the tabernacle () was pitched (compare ) and remained for 4 centuries till the death of Eli. The great defeat of Israel, when the ark was captured by the Philistines, took place not far from Mizpah (), within an easy day's journey from Shiloh (compare ). Ekron, whence it was sent back (), was only 12 miles from Beth-shemesh (‛Ainshems), where the ark rested on a “great stone” (Septuagint, 1 Sam 6:18); and Beth-shemesh was only 4 miles West of Kiriath-jearim (), which was in the mountains, so that its inhabitants “came down” from “the hill” (; ) to fetch the ark, which abode there for 20 years, till the beginning of Saul's reign (), when, after the war, it may have been restored to the tabernacle at Nob, to which place the latter was probably removed after Eli's death, when Shiloh was deserted. The exact site of Nob is not known, but probably (compare ) it was close to Mizpah, whence the first glimpse of Jerusalem is caught, and thus near Gibeon, where it was laid up after the massacre of the priests (; , ; ), when the ark was again taken to Kiriath-jearim (). Mizpah (Tell en-Naṣbeh) was the gathering-place of Israel under Samuel; and the “stone of help” (Eben-ezer) was erected, after his victory over the Philistines, “between Mizpah and Shen” () - the latter place (see Septuagint) being probably the same as Jeshanah (‛Ain Sı̂nai), 6 miles North of Mizpah which Samuel visited yearly as a judge ().

(2) Saul's Search.

The journey of Saul, who, “seeking asses found a kingdom,” presents a topography which has often been misunderstood. He started () from Gibeah (Jeba') and went first to the land of Shalisha through Mt. Ephraim. Baal-shalisha () appears to have been the present Kefr Thilth, 18 miles North of Lydda and 24 miles Northwest from Gibeah. Saul then searched the land of Shalim - probably that of Shual (), Northeast of Gibeah. Finally he went south beyond the border of Benjamin () to a city in the “land of Zuph,” which seems probably to have been Bethlehem, whence (as above remarked) Samuel's family - descendants of Zuph - came originally. If so, it is remarkable that Saul and David were anointed in the same city, one which Samuel visited later (, ff) to sacrifice, just as he did when meeting Saul (), who was probably known to him, since Gibeah and Ramah were only 2 miles apart. Saul's journey home thus naturally lay on the road past Rachel's tomb near Bethlehem, and along the Bethel road (, ) to his home at Gibeah (, ). It is impossible to suppose that Samuel met him at Ramah - a common mistake which creates great confusion in the topography.

(3) Saul's Coronation and First Campaign.

Saul concealed the fact of his anointing () till the lot fell upon him at Mizpah. This public choice by lot has been thought (Wellhausen, History of Israel, 1885, 252) to indicate a double narrative, but to a Hebrew there would not appear to be any discrepancy, since “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of Yahweh” (). Even at Mizpah he was not fully accepted till his triumph over the Ammonites, when the kingdom was “renewed” at Gilgal (). This campaign raises an interesting question of geography. Only 7 days' respite was allowed to the men of Jabesh in Gilead (), during which news was sent to Saul at Gibeah, and messengers dispatched “throughout the borders of Israel” (), while the hosts gathered at Bezek, and reached Jabesh on the 7th or 8th day (-10) at dawn. Bezek appears to be a different place from that West of Jerusalem () and to have been in the middle of Palestine at Ibzı̂k, 14 miles North of Shechem, and 25 miles West of Jabesh, which probably lay in Wâdy Yâbis in Gilead. The farthest distances for the messengers would not have exceeded 80 miles; and, allowing a day for the news to reach Saul and another for the march from Bezek to Jabesh, there would have been just time for the gathering of Israel at this fairly central meeting-place.

The scene of the victory over the Philistines at Michmash is equally real. They had a 'post' in Geba (or Gibeah, ), or a governor (compare the Septuagint), whom Jonathan slew. They came up to Michmash (Mukhmâs) to attack Jonathan's force which held Gibeah, on the southern side of the Michmash valley, hard by. The northern cliff of the great gorge was called Bozez (“shining”) in contrast to the southern one (in shadow) which was named Seneh or “thorn” (). Josephus (BJ, V, ii, 2) says that Gibeah of Saul was by “the valley of thorns,” and the ravine, flanked by the two precipitous cliffs East of Michmash, is still called Wâdy es Suweinı̂ṭ, or “the valley of little thorn trees.” Jonathan climbed the steep slope that leads to a small flat top ( the King James Version), and surprised the Philistine 'post.' The pursuit was by Bethel to the Valley of Aijalon, down the steep Beth-boron pass (, ); but it should be noted that there was no “wood” (, ) on this bare hilly ridge, and the word (compare ) evidently means “honeycomb.” It is also possible that the altar raised by Saul, for fulfillment of the Law (; ), was at Nob where the central shrine was then established.

(4) David's Early Life.

David fed his flocks in the wilderness below Bethlehem, where many a silent and dreadful “Valley of Shadows” (compare ) might make the stoutest heart fail. The lion crept up from the Jordan valley, and (on another occasion) the bear came down from the rugged mountains above (). No bears are now known South of Hermon, but the numerous references (; ; ; ; ) show that they must have been exterminated, like the lion, in comparatively late times. The victory over Goliath, described in the chapter containing this allusion, occurred in the Valley of Elah near Shochoth (Shuweikeh); and this broad valley (Wâdy es Sunṭ) ran into the Philistine plain at the probable site of Gath (Tell es Ṣâfi) to which the pursuit led (, , ). The watercourse still presents “smooth stones” () fit for the sling, which is still used by Arab shepherds; and the valley still has in it fine “terebinths” such as those from which it took its name Elah. The bronze armor of the giant (, ) indicates an early stage of culture, which is not contradicted by the mention of an iron spearhead (), since iron is found to have been in use in Palestine long before David's time. The curious note () as to the head of Goliath being taken “to Jerusalem” is also capable of explanation. Jerusalem was not conquered till at least 10 years later, but it was a general practice (as late as the 7th century BC in Assyria) to preserve the heads of dead foes by salting them, as was probably done in another case () when the heads of Ahab's sons were sent from Samaria to Jezreel to be exposed at the gate.

David's outlaw life began when he took refuge with Samuel at the “settlements” (Naioth) near Ramah, where the company of prophets lived. He easily met Jonathan near Gibeah, which was only 2 miles East; and the “stone of departure” (“Ezel,” ) may have marked the Levitical boundary of that town. Nob also () was, as we have seen, not far off, but Gath () was beyond the Hebrew boundary. Thence David retreated up the Valley of Elah to Adullam (‛Aı̂d-el-ma), which stood on a hill West of this valley near the great turn (southward) of its upper course. An inhabited cave still exists here (compare ), and the site meets every requirement (SWP, III, 311, 347, 361-67). Keilah () is represented by the village Kı̂la, on the east side of the same valley, 3 miles farther up; and Hereth () was also near, but “in Judah” (), at the village Kharâs on a wooded spur 7 miles Northwest of Hebron. Thence David went “down” () to Keilah 2 miles away to the West. As there was no safety for the outlaws, either in Philistia or in Judah, they had to retreat to the wilderness of Ziph (Tell ez Zı̂f), 4 miles Southeast of Hebron. The word “wood” (ḥoresh) may more probably be a proper name, represented by the ruin of Khoreisa, rather more than a mile South of Ziph, while the hill Hachilah () might be the long spur, over the Jeshimon or desert of Judah, 6 miles East of Ziph, now called el Kôla. Maon (M'ain) lay on the edge of the same desert still farther South, about 8 miles from Hebron. En-gedi (; , ) was on the precipices by the Dead Sea. The “wild goats” (ibex) still exist here in large droves, and the caves of this desert are still used as folds for sheep in spring (). The villagers South of Hebron are indeed remarkable for their large flocks which - by agreement with the nomads - are sent to pasture in the Jeshimon, like those of Nabal, the rich man of Carmel (Kurmul), a mile North of Maon (), who refused the customary present to David's band which had protected his shepherds “in the fields” () or pastures of the wilderness. In summer David would naturally return to the higher ridge of Hachilah () on the south side of which there is a precipitous gorge (impassable save by a long detour), across which he talked to Saul (), likening himself () to the desert “partridge” still found in this region.

(5) The Defeat and Death of Saul.

The site of Ziklag is doubtful, but it evidently lay in the desert South of Beersheba (; ; ; -12), far from Gath, so that King Achish did not know whether David had raided the South of Judah, or the tribes toward Shur. Saul's power in the mountains was irresistible; and it was for this reason perhaps that his fatal battle with the Philistines occurred far North in the plain near Jezreel. They camped () by the fine spring of Shunem (Sûlem), and Saul on Gilboa to the South. The visit to Endor (Andûr) was thus a perilous adventure, as Saul must have stolen by night round the Philistine host to visit this place North of Shunem. He returned to the spur of Gilboa on which Jezreel stands (), and the spring noticed is a copious supply North of the village Zer‛ı̂n. Beth-shan () was at the mouth of the valley of Jezreel at Besiân, and here the bodies of Saul and his sons were burned by the men of Jabesh-gilead; but, as the bones were preserved (; ), it is possible that the corpses were cremated in pottery jars afterward buried under the tree. Excavations in Palestine and in Babylonia show that this was an early practice, not only in the case of infants (as at Gezcr, and Taanach), but also of grown men. See PALESTINE (RECENT EXPLORATION). The list of cities to which David sent presents at the time of Saul's death (-31) includes those near Ziklag and as far North as Hebron, thus referring to “all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.”

(6) Wellhausen's Theory of a Double Narrative.

The study of David's wanderings, it may be noted, and of the climatic conditions in the Jeshimon desert, does not serve to confirm Wellhausen's theory of a double narrative, based on the secret unction and public choice of Saul, on the double visit to Hachilah, and on the fact that the gloomy king had forgotten the name of David's father. The history is not a “pious make-up” without “a word of truth” (Wellhausen, Hist Israel, 248-49); and David, as a “youth” of twenty years, may yet have been called a “man of war”; while “transparent artifice” (p. 251) will hardly be recognized by the reader of this genuine chronicle. Nor was there any “Aphek in Sharon” (p. 260), and David did not “amuse himself by going first toward the north” from Gibeah (p. 267); his visit to Ramah does not appear to be a “worthless anachronistic anecdote” (p. 271); and no one who has lived in the terrible Jeshimon could regard the meeting at Hachilah as a “jest” (p. 265). Nor did the hill (“the dusky top”) “take its name from the circumstance,” but Wellhausen probably means the Ṣela‛ha-maḥleḳōth (“cliff of slippings” or of “slippings away”), now Wâdy Malâḳeh near Maon (compare , , ), which lay farther South than Ziph.

(7) Early Years of David's Reign.

David, till the 8th year of his reign, was king of Judah only. The first battle with Saul's son occurred at Gibeon (), where the “pool” was no doubt the cave of the great spring at el Jı̂b; the pursuit was by the 'desert Gibeon road' () toward the Jordan valley. Gibeon itself was not in a desert, but in a fertile region. Abner then deserted to David, but was murdered at the “well of Sirah” (‛Ain Sârah) on the road a mile North of David's capital at Hebron. Nothing more is said about the Philistines till David had captured Jerusalem, when they advanced on the new capital by the valley of Rephaim (), which apparently ran from South of Jerusalem to join the valley of Elah. If David was then at Adullam (“the hold,” the King James Version; compare ), it is easy to understand how he cut off the Philistine retreat (), and thus conquered all the hill country to Gezer (). After this the ark was finally brought from Baale-judah (Kiriath-jearim) to Jerusalem (), and further wars were beyond the limits of Western Palestine, in Moab () and in Syria (-12); but for “Syrians” () the more correct reading appears to be Edomites (), and the “Valley of Salt” was probably South of the Dead Sea. Another war with the Syrians, aided by Arameans from East of the Euphrates, occurred East of the Jordan (-18), and was followed by the siege of Rabbath-ammon (‛Amman), East of Gilead, where we have notice of the “city of waters” (), or lower town by the stream, contrasted, it seems, with the citadel which was on the northern hill.

(8) Hebrew Letter-Writing.

In this connection we find the first notice of a “letter” () as written by David to Joab. Writing is of course noticed as early as the time of Moses when - as we now know - the Canaanites wrote letters on clay tablets in cuneiform script. These, however, were penned by special scribes; and such a scribe is mentioned early (). David himself may have employed a professional writer (compare ), while Uriah, who carried his own fate in the letter, was probably unable to read. Even in Isaiah's time the art was not general (), though Hebrew kings could apparently write and read (; ); to the present day the accomplishment is not general in the East, even in the upper class. It should be noted that the first evidence of the use of an alphabet is found in the early alphabetic Psalms, and the oldest dated alphabetic text yet known is later than 900 BC. The script used in the time of Moses may have been cuneiform, which was still employed at Gezer for traders' tablets in 649 BC. The alphabet may have come into use first among Hebrews, through Phoenician influence in the time of David; and so far no script except this and the cuneiform has been unearthed in Palestine, unless it is to be recognized in signs of the Hittite syllabary at Lachish and Gezer. Another interesting point, as regards Hebrew civilization in David's time, is the first mention of “mules” (; ; , ), which are unnoticed in the Pentateuch. They are represented as pack animals on an Assyrian bas-relief; but, had they been known to Moses, they would probably have been condemned as unclean. The sons of David fled on mules from Baal-hazor (Tell ‛Aṣûr) “beside Ephraim” (now probably Ṭaiyibeh), North of Bethel, where Absalom murdered Amnon.

(9) The Later Years of David's Reign.

On the rebellion of Absalom David retreated to Mahanaim, apparently by the road North of the Mount of Olives, if the Targum of Jonathan () is correct in placing Bahurim at Almon (‛Almı̂t), Northeast of Jerusalem. It is not clear where the “wood of Ephraim,” in which Absalom perished, may have been, but it was beyond Jordan in Gilead (; ); and oak woods are more common there than in Western Palestine. The latest revolt, after Absalom's death, was in the extreme north at Abel (Abil), in Upper Galilee (), after which Joab's journey is the last incident to be studied in the Books of Samuel. For census purposes he went East of the Jordan to Aroer (perhaps the city on the Arnon), to the “river of Gad” (Wâdy Nâ‛aûr) near Jazer, and through Gilead. Tahtim-hodshi () is believed (on the authority of three Greek manuscripts) to be a corruption of “the Hittites at Kadesh” (Ḳades), the