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diff --git a/old/56019-0.txt b/old/56019-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 828548e..0000000 --- a/old/56019-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8842 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Class-Book of Biblical History and -Geography, by Henry S. Osborn - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: A Class-Book of Biblical History and Geography - with numerous maps - -Author: Henry S. Osborn - -Release Date: November 21, 2017 [EBook #56019] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLASS-BOOK OF BIBLICAL HISTORY *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Hulse and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - A - - CLASS-BOOK - - OF - - BIBLICAL HISTORY - - AND - - GEOGRAPHY: - - - WITH NUMEROUS MAPS. - - - BY - PROF. H. S. OSBORN, LL. D. - - - _AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY_, - 150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK. - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1890. - AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. - - - - - ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ │ - │ Transcriber’s Notes │ - │ │ - │ │ - │ Punctuation has been standardized. │ - │ │ - │ Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. │ - │ │ - │ Non-printable characteristics have been given the following │ - │ transliteration: │ - │ Italic text: --> _text_ │ - │ bold text: --> =text=. │ - │ │ - │ This book was written in a period when many words had │ - │ not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have │ - │ multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in │ - │ the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated │ - │ with a Transcriber’s Note. │ - │ │ - │ Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in │ - │ brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section │ - │ at the end of the text. │ - │ │ - │ Transcriber’s Notes are used when making corrections to the │ - │ text or to provide additional information for the modern │ - │ reader. These notes are not identified in the text, but have │ - │ been accumulated in a single section at the end of the book. │ - │ │ - └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - - - - - PREFACE. - - -THIS work is a Class-Book of the Old and the New Testaments treated -as consecutive history. It includes the Jewish history of the centuries -between the close of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. - -It presents those important elements of Biblical history which -distinguish it from all other histories and which illustrate the plan -and the purpose of the Bible as one Book. Whatever modern scholarship -has accomplished to aid in the understanding of the original languages -of Scripture in important points has been made use of, and whatever -monumental or topographic discoveries would contribute to a better -understanding of the geography or archæology of the text-statements -have been introduced where the history required it. - -The history of the centuries between the close of the Old Testament -canon and the beginning of the Christian era includes that of its -Jewish literature. This history greatly helps us to appreciate that -singular tenacity with which the earliest Christian church held to the -Mosaic ritual. - -In the treatment of this history we have allowed no space for mere -opinions or speculations. The work is purely historical, and its text -is illustrated only by that which is pertinent and well authenticated, -in either geographic or archæological discovery. - -The entire subject matter is divided into Periods and chapters and -subdivided into sections and paragraphs, the latter presented in such -a form as generally to suggest to the teacher the question and to the -reader the topic of the paragraph. - - - - - TABLE OF CONTENTS. - - - PERIOD I. - THE ANTE-DILUVIAN ERA. - - CHAPTER I. Creation, Eden: Chronology and its Sources. - - CHAPTER II. The Significance of Names. - - CHAPTER III. The Descendants of Adam. - - CHAPTER IV. The Lineage of the Patriarchs. - - CHAPTER V. The Flood. - - - PERIOD II. - THE PATRIARCHAL ERA AFTER THE FLOOD TO THE DEATH OF JACOB. - - CHAPTER I. The Two Ararats. The Sons of Japheth. - - CHAPTER II. The Sons of Ham. Their More Recent Names. - - CHAPTER III. The Descendants of Shem. Job. - - CHAPTER IV. The Confusion of Tongues. - - CHAPTER V. The History of Abram and his Times. - - CHAPTER VI. The Patriarchs Isaac and Jacob. - - CHAPTER VII. Egyptian Testimonies. - - - PERIOD III. - THE THEOCRACY TO THE JUDGES. - - CHAPTER I. The Israelites in Egypt. - - CHAPTER II. The Physical Geography of Sinai and the Desert. - - CHAPTER III. The Entrance into Canaan. - - CHAPTER IV. The Battles of the Conquest. - - CHAPTER V. The Introduction of Idolatry. - - - PERIOD IV. - THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES. - - CHAPTER I. The Nature of the Office. The Chronology. - - CHAPTER II. The Scribes of the Age. - - - PERIOD V. - THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS TO THE CAPTIVITY. - - CHAPTER I. Origin of the Monarchy. Reign of Saul. - - CHAPTER II. The Reigns of David and of Solomon. - - CHAPTER III. The Division of the Kingdom. - - CHAPTER IV. Analysis of the Reigns of Judah and Israel. - - CHAPTER V. The Institution of the Prophetical Office. - - - PERIOD VI. - THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH TO THE CLOSE OF THE CANONICAL PERIOD. - - CHAPTER I. The Various Captivities. - - CHAPTER II. The Comparative Religious Spirit. - - CHAPTER III. The Captivity Ended. - - CHAPTER IV. The Canonical Books. Samaritan Pentateuch. - - CHAPTER V. What Was Scripture? The Septuagint. - - CHAPTER VI. The Origin of the Talmud. - - CHAPTER VII. Concluding Remarks. - - - PERIOD VII. - THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA. - - CHAPTER I. From the Birth of Christ to his Public Ministry. - - CHAPTER II. The Public Ministry of our Saviour. - - CHAPTER III. From the First Passover to the Second. - - CHAPTER IV. From the Second Passover to the Third. - - CHAPTER V. The Third Passover. - - CHAPTER VI. The Beginning of the Christian Church. - - CHAPTER VII. The Gospel for Gentiles as well as Jews. Paul’s - First Mission. - - CHAPTER VIII. The Second and Third Missionary Tours of Paul. - - CHAPTER IX. Paul at Rome. The Seven Churches. Colosse and - Hierapolis. - - - - - BIBLICAL HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY. - - - - - PERIOD I. - - THE ANTE-DILUVIAN ERA. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - CREATION: CHRONOLOGY AND ITS SOURCES. - - -=1. The first book= of the Bible, which is Genesis, begins with a -history of the Creation. The words “In the beginning,” with which -it opens, give us no chronological data by which we are able to form -any estimate of the time. Seven divisions, called “days,” have special -appointments assigned to each in that which is usually called “the work -of creation,” including the appointment of a day of rest. - -Before the beginning of the days there existed a state of chaos, the -earth being “without form and void” and darkness being upon the face of -the waters. - -The first act was the calling into being LIGHT The appointment of Day -and Night closed the work of the first day. - -The separation of the waters beneath “the firmament,” or expanse, from -those above “the firmament” constituted the work of the second day. - -The formation of dry land, called earth, and the appearance of -vegetable growth, called grass, herbs, and trees, occurred on the third -day. - -On the fourth day lights appeared in “the firmament,” or expanse, and -on the fifth day the first animal life moved in the waters and birds in -the air, the latter called “winged fowl.” On the sixth day the earth -brought forth living creatures, “cattle, creeping things, and beasts;” -and finally man was created, made after God’s image, with dominion over -all that had been here created. - -The seventh day was set apart as a day of rest, a day of which it is -said, “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.” Gen. 2:3. - -=2. After the creation of man= he was placed in a garden which the Lord -God planted “eastward in Eden.” The locality of Eden is unsettled, but -the opinion of many scholars is that it is not far off from the head of -the Persian Gulf. The garden is described as “eastward in Eden,” and it -is supposed to have been in the eastern part of a district called Eden. -Prof. Sayce derives Eden from an ancient word meaning “the desert.” -If this be correct, the garden of Eden was more remarkable for its -contrast with the great Syrian desert in its immediate vicinity. The -rivers mentioned by name are Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates. The -Euphrates at the present day joins the ancient Hiddekel, which is now -called the _Tigris_, at a point one hundred miles northwest from the -Persian Gulf, and the stream formed by the union of the two rivers is -called the _Shat el-Arab_. The Pison and Gihon have not been -satisfactorily identified. - -It should be remembered that the geographical condition of this -region is very unlike that which existed at the time we are considering. -Dr. Delitzsch calculates that a delta of between forty and fifty miles -in length has been formed since the sixth century B. C. Prof. Sayce -says that in the time of Alexander, B. C. 323, the Tigris and Euphrates -flowed, by different mouths, into the sea (gulf), as did also the -Eulæus, or modern _Karun_, in the Assyrian epoch.[1] - -The increment of land about the delta has been found to be a mile in -thirty years, which is about double the increase of any other delta, -owing to the nature of the soil over which the rivers pass.[2] Under -these changes it is probable that any but very large streams might -disappear. - -=3. The Euphrates= passes along a course of more than 1,780 miles -from the head-waters of the _Mourad Chai_[3] and for about 700 miles it -passes through a nearly level country on the east of the great Syrian -desert. It varies in depth from eight to twenty feet to its junction -with the Tigris; after its union with the Tigris its depth increases. -It is navigable for about 700 miles or more from the Persian Gulf. - -The Tigris is shorter, being about 1,150 miles in length, and navigable -for rafts for 300 miles. Some of the extreme head-sources of this river -approach those of the Euphrates within the distance of two or three -miles. The name Hiddekel is the same word as _Hidiglat_, which is its -name in the Assyrian inscriptions, as _Purat_ is the ancient Assyrian -for Perath in Hebrew.[4] - -The land of Havilah, which was encompassed entirely by the river Pison, -is unknown, but the “Ethiopia” encompassed by the river Gihon is in -the Hebrew called Cush, and recent discoveries have proved that in very -early times Cushite people inhabited a part of the region near the head -of the Persian Gulf. - -There is little doubt that the land so called was a part of the plain -of Babylonia where the cities of Nimrod were planted, Gen. 10:10, -Nimrod being a son of Cush. - -These discoveries show that, in after ages, the Cushites left Babylonia -and emigrated southward along the Persian Gulf into Arabia, of which -they occupied a very large part, and from its southern part crossed -over to Africa to the country which in after times was called by the -Greek geographers Ethiopia. - -Dr. F. Delitzsch supposes that Havilah was the district lying west of -the Euphrates and reaching to the Persian Gulf, and that the Cush of -the text was the land adjoining on the east, having the present _Shat -el-Nil_ for its border line. The long stream west of the Euphrates, -which was known to the Greeks as Pallacopas, Dr. Delitzsch considers as -the Pison, and the _Shat el-Nil_ as the Gihon (see the map). The Garden -of Eden he places at that part where the Euphrates and Tigris approach -each other very nearly, being at that place only twenty-five miles -apart.[5] - -=4. In the Garden of Eden= the Lord God put the first pair. Of the man -it is said that he was placed in the garden “to dress it and to keep -it;” and of the woman, that she should be “a help meet for him.” How -long this state of things continued is not related, but, through the -serpent, temptation entered into the mind of Eve, and she gave of the -forbidden fruit unto her husband and they did eat, “and their eyes -were opened,” apparently to the sense of guilt in violating the command -which forbade them to “eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and -evil.” The curse then followed, and they were driven out from the -garden, to which they were never to return. - -=5. After the expulsion= Cain and Abel were born, and the first murder -took place in the killing of Abel by Cain, the latter being punished -by being driven out “from the presence of the Lord.” Cain went eastward -and dwelt in the land of Nod, and his first-born son, Enoch, built the -first city, which was named after him, Enoch. Neither the land of Nod -nor the city Enoch has been certainly located. - -=6.= We now have an account of the =descendants of Adam=, with the -statement of their several ages. Upon this statement of ages a -chronology has been based, usually called the Biblical Chronology. -It is derived from that account which is recorded in the Hebrew, the -language in which the history was originally written. But there is -another account which was given in the earliest extant translation -of the Hebrew history, and this is called the Septuagint Greek, made -about 286 B. C.; and the chronology of this old translation differs -materially from the Hebrew original. There is yet another authority, -the Samaritan Pentateuch, the manuscript of which is kept at Shechem, -in Palestine, and is the oldest known manuscript of the Bible in the -world, having been written before the Captivity and in the old Hebrew -letters.[6] - -These are the only three records of any importance, and the variations -in these records are seen in the following table:[7] - - │ Lived before │ After birth │ Total. - │ birth of sons. │ of sons. │ - ───────────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼─────┬─────┬───── - │ HEB.│ SAM.│ SEP.│ HEB.│ SAM.│ SEP.│ HEB.│ SAM.│ SEP. - ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼───── - Adam │ 130 │ │ 230 │ 800 │ │ 700 │ 930 │ │ - Seth │ 105 │ │ 205 │ 807 │ │ 707 │ 912 │ │ - Enos │ 90 │ │ 190 │ 815 │ │ 715 │ 905 │ │ - ───────────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼───── - Cainan │ 70 │ │ 170 │ 840 │ │ 740 │ 910 │ │ - Mahalaleel │ 65 │ │ 165 │ 830 │ │ 730 │ 895 │ │ - Jared │ 162 │ 62 │ 162 │ 800 │ 785 │ 800 │ 962 │ 847 │ 962 - Enoch │ 65 │ 65 │ 165 │ 300 │ 300 │ 200 │ 365 │ │ - ───────────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼───── - Methuselah │ 187 │ 67 │ 187 │ 782 │ 653 │ 782 │ 969 │ 720 │ 969 - Another │ │ │ 167 │ │ │ │ │ │ - translation │ │ │ 165 │ │ │ │ │ │ - of Septuagint │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - ───────────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼───── - Lamech │ 182 │ 53 │ 188 │ 595 │ 600 │ 565 │ 777 │ 653 │ 753 - Noah │ 500 │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - ───────────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴───── - -It will be seen by the above table that the Hebrew text affords data -which give us 1,656 years from the creation of Adam to the Flood, for -we must add 100 to Noah’s age of 500, since the Flood began when Noah -was 600 years old (Gen. 7:6). The Samaritan text takes away 100 years -from the life of Jared, 120 from that of Methuselah, and 129 from that -of Lamech, as compared with the Hebrew text, making the Flood occur -1,307 after Adam’s creation, while the Septuagint adds 100 to the lives -of each of the first five and to that of Enoch, and six to that of -Lamech, making the Flood begin 2,262 years after the creation of Adam, -according to one reading of the Septuagint, or 2,242 according to -another. - -So that the aggregates of time from the Creation to the Flood, -as deduced from the Hebrew, the Samaritan, and the Septuagint, -severally are 1,656, 1,307, and 2,262. The Samaritan is the oldest -manuscript, but it cannot be made certain that the dates as given -in that manuscript have suffered no alteration; and hence the Hebrew -account has been followed in our entire English version, the chronology -of which was arranged by Archbishop Ussher (usually written Usher), -A. D. 1580,[8] but it “is of no inspired authority and of great -uncertainty.” - -=7.= The subject of =Biblical Chronology=, as derived from data -recorded in the Scripture, is necessarily unsettled; and this is -so partly because[9] the sacred writers speak of descendants of a -given progenitor as his sons, in accordance with Eastern custom, -and partly perhaps from the use of letters, for figures, in the -early manuscripts,[10] which have suffered changes in subsequent -transcriptions. But although these variations occur, discoveries -connected with the remains of other nations than the Jewish, and -connected with other histories than the Jewish, are beginning to throw -light upon the Scripture history and chronology. - -These collateral histories allude to persons and events of Jewish -history and afford such data that in many instances we can determine -from them the actual year of Scripture events. This aid is particularly -important as derived from both Assyrian and Egyptian discoveries, and -this we shall have reason hereafter to show. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAMES. - - -=1. In the earliest periods= of human history names, either for persons, -places, or things, had meanings which were in some sense applicable to -the person, place, or thing named. This was specially true in Hebrew -history, and of this we have already had illustrations; for when Eve -was brought to Adam “he called her name _woman_, because she was taken -out of man,” but afterwards, because Eve in the Hebrew meant life, he -“called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” - -Adam’s name denoted his relation to the ground (Hebrew, _Adamah_), -from the dust of which he was taken; and as Eve’s body was derived from -that of Adam, the name of the two was _Adam_ (Gen. 5:2), which was the -name given by God “in the day when they were created,” and this name -was exclusively the description of the first man and the first woman. - -In Gen. 2:23 we have the generic name given to the race in the Hebrew -terms “_Ish_” and “_Ishah_” for “man” and “woman,” given by Adam to -himself and to the woman: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my -flesh: she shall be called woman (Ishah), because she was taken out of -man (Ish).” - -=2. The root=, or primitive meaning, of Ish is uncertain, but from -its subsequent use we may infer that it denoted a characteristic -of humanity higher than that expressed by the word Adam, and may -have occurred to the father of men while naming the animals as an -appellative distinguishing his own from the inferior order of the -animate creation.[11] - -It is remarkable that the ancient Assyrian name for the first man is -Admu or Adamu, the Assyrian form of the Hebrew Adam.[12] - -=3. In the Hebrew history=, therefore, names are not to be regarded as -mere sounds or combinations of sounds, attached at random to certain -objects or persons, so as to become the audible signs by which we -distinguish them from each other, but very frequently proper names -had a deeper meaning and were more closely connected in men’s thoughts -with character and condition than among any other ancient nation with -the history and literature of which we are acquainted.[13] Thus it is -that, as Archbishop Trench says, words are often the repositories of -historical information.[14] - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM. - - -=1. As the history proceeds= it becomes very plain that the descendants -of Adam are selected with a purpose, which a general acquaintance with -Scripture reveals. That purpose was to record the ancestry of Abraham -and so of the children of Israel. Other descendants are occasionally -mentioned when any interesting or important event suggests itself to -the historian, but the main purpose is never lost sight of. - -Thus the descendants of Cain are briefly enumerated through his -first-born, Enoch, “the teacher,” as his name signifies. He was the -first builder of a city, and may, as Geikie suggests, have been the -first to teach men “the culture of city life,” or “the elements of -physical life.” - -=2. His descendants= were Irad, “the swift one,” perhaps because of -his hunter’s life; Mehujael, “the stricken of God,” for some unrecorded -transgression; Methusael, probably bearing the name God in the syllable -“el,” and meaning “champion of God,” suggesting some religious act; as -if, even among the race of Cain, God “had not left himself without a -witness.”[15] - -=3.= But we find Lamech, “a wild man,” who first =introduces polygamy=, -for ever hereafter to be associated in origin with the race of Cain. -One of his two wives was named Adah, a Hebrew term for “ornament,” and -is found in the compounds Adaiah, “whom Jehovah adorns,” and Maadiah, -“ornament from Jehovah.” There must have been a personal attraction -which made the name appropriate. - -=4.= In the other wife’s name, Zillah, it has been supposed that -the termination “ah” has reference to the name of Jehovah; it is -more probable, however, that the meaning is confined to the root -of this word, which signifies “a shade.” To her son, Tubal-Cain, we -are indebted for the first work in copper and iron, as the sentence -“instructor of every artificer in brass and iron” means. Perhaps we -may say “bronze” for “brass,” since brass is a compound of zinc and -copper, and bronze is a compound of tin and copper, and the latter has -been discovered in the most ancient ruins, which has not been true as -to brass. Brass, however, is used in Scripture in some instances as -the name for copper.[16] Chisels have been taken from ruins in Egypt -containing copper 94 per cent., tin 5.9, and iron 0.1; and a bowl from -Nimrud, about twenty miles south of Nineveh, was composed of copper -89.57 per cent., and of tin 10.43. In the sepulchral furniture with -which the oldest of the Chaldæan tombs were filled we already find more -bronze than copper.[17] The excavations at Warka, the ancient Erech of -Gen. 10:10, ninety-five miles southeast of Babylon, seem to prove that -the ancient Chaldæans made use of iron before the Egyptians.[18] - -=5. The name given to Jabal=, the son of Adah, suggests that he led -a pastoral life with his cattle. His name means “wanderer,” and hence -he was very appropriately “the father of such as dwell in tents.” “His -brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all such as handle the -harp and organ;” the latter name suggesting some wind instrument or -pipe. His name significantly means “the player.” - -=6.= To this list of “first things” may be added the =first instance of -poetical utterance=, for the address of Lamech to his wives is in the -form of the earliest Hebrew poetry. Gen. 4:23. - - Adah and Zillah, hear my voice, - Wives of Lamech, hear my speech. - I have slain a man for wounding me, - A young man for hurting me. - If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold, - Surely Lamech seventy-and-seven. - -With this ends the history of the descendants of Cain. The history of -those descendants of Adam through whom the children of Israel traced -their lineage is begun in the fifth chapter of Genesis. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE LINEAGE OF THE PATRIARCHS. - - -=1. Ten generations are given=, from Adam to the Flood, and the -remarkably long lives of the Patriarchs have suggested to many the -probability of error or misunderstanding. Some have supposed that each -name represents a tribe, the lives of whose leading members have been -added together. Others have understood the years to mean only months, -and others that numbers and dates are liable in the course of years to -become obscured and exaggerated.[19] - -=2. But as to all these opinions= it must be remembered, First, that -the era from the creation of Adam to the Flood, 1,656 years, is to be -divided by the number ten, the number of the Patriarchs, which would -require an individual length of life much longer than that enjoyed at -the present day; and, Secondly, no scientific reasons can be offered -why human life should be limited in duration to its present length. It -varies now according to the contingencies of accident and disease, and -old age itself may be only a modified form of disease and not essential -to a human organism. A clock made to run twenty-four hours is expected -to run down in about that time, but the clock-maker may, by adding -one wheel, or to the length of the weight-cord, or by some other very -simple rearrangement, make the very same clock run a week or a month. -It is only a question of life, about which, as to its nature, we know -little or nothing. Thirdly, as to the historic probability, it is a -fact that traditions other than those of the Hebrew nation represent -that in the earliest ages there was an enjoyment of exceedingly long -lives. The chronology of Berosus, a Chaldæan priest and historian, -B. C. 279 to 255, gives to the ten Babylonian kings who in the earliest -traditions of that people reigned before the Babylonian deluge 2,221 -years, or only 21 years less than the period given in the Septuagint -as having elapsed between the Creation and the Deluge.[20] The earliest -Aryan tradition states that the first man lived 1,000 years in Paradise. - -Other nations have kept the same tradition of long lives in the -earliest times, which nations could not have received the tradition -from the Scriptures. - -=3.= But there is a probability arising from =the fitness of long -lives=, and that is seen in the necessity of a history which could thus -be obtained by tradition when no written language existed. It will be -seen that from Adam to the Flood tradition was delivered through only -one person, so that Lamech could repeat to Noah what Adam had narrated -to him of all the dealings of God in Eden and after the expulsion. -Although Lamech lived during the lifetimes of all the Patriarchs down -to the Flood, which took place 1,656 years after the creation of Adam, -he himself was only 777 years old at death. Thus we see that tradition -was more trustworthy then than at any time since. - -=4.= Moreover, Shem lived nearly a century before the death of -Lamech, who could have narrated the story of Eden and the trials -and experiences of his after-life, as well as the history of the -Patriarchal times, to Shem, who was alive in the times of Abraham and -his son Isaac. By that time writing was invented, and doubtless much of -the history of the times before and after the Flood had been committed -to writing, which was invented several centuries before the death of -Shem, as we learn from the ancient Chaldæan records. - -=5. After the Flood= long lives continued, but in =much shorter -terms=, Arphaxad, Salah, and Eber each lived about four centuries, and -each of the next three patriarchs lived over 200 years, and it was not -till after the time of Judah, seven centuries after the Flood, that the -length of a human life was reduced to about a century. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE FLOOD. - - -=1. The Scripture statement= of the occasion of the Flood is very brief. -It is made plain, however, that the wickedness of men was so great that -“_the earth was filled with violence and corrupt before God_.” - -=2.= Noah was commanded to prepare an ark for his own safety and that -of his family; and he was also directed to provide for the preservation -of a large number of “fowls, cattle, and creeping things.” - -=3.= Between the time of the announcement of the divine intention to -destroy “man whom he had created” and the occurrence of the Flood God -gave a warning era of 120 years, at the close of which the Flood began. -“The waters prevailed upon the earth 150 days.” After this time they -were abated, and gradually retired till the earth was dry, and Noah -and his family left the ark in which he had remained twelve months and -ten days, or from the six hundred and first year, second month, and -seventeenth day to the six hundred and second year, second month, and -twenty-seventh day of Noah’s life. - -=4. An interesting fact= may here be stated. A few years ago there -were discovered by excavations at the ancient site of Nineveh, on the -Tigris, the palace of Assur-bani-pal, in which had been stored some -10,000 tablets of a library gathered by this king B. C. 968. These -tablets were shipped to the British Museum, of which George Smith, the -Assyriologist, was librarian, and a large number of them translated. -Among these tablets was found a record of the Deluge, which was read by -Mr. Smith in December, 1872, before the Society of Biblical Archæology -in London. - -=5. The record states= that the tradition recorded is copied from a -more ancient account which was in existence in the times of a king of -the city of Accad (Gen. 10) many years after the time of Nimrod, who -founded it. The remains of this city have been recently discovered -forty-three miles north-northwest from Babylon. - -The name of the king of Accad was Sargon I., whose date appears from -the monuments to have been about 3800 B. C. This Chaldæan history of -the Deluge is so similar to that of the Scriptures as to leave no doubt -that both record the same fact. - -=6. The simple narration= as it occurs in Genesis is so free from the -irrelevant and unnecessary additions of the Chaldæan account as to show -that the Biblical account is a record of true history. As the Chaldæan -account is dated long before Abram left Chaldæa, and hence long before -the birth of Moses, it could never have been derived from Scripture, -and proves that a tradition of such an event as that of the Flood must -have existed very early in the history of the race. - - - - - PERIOD II. - - THE PATRIARCHAL ERA AFTER THE FLOOD TO THE DEATH OF JACOB. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE TWO ARARATS. THE SONS OF JAPHETH. - - -=1.= Although =the tradition of the Flood= seems to have reached to -almost every nation, it has been referred locally to some part of -Western Asia, and particularly to that part known as Armenia. The -Scriptures tell us that the ark rested upon “=the mountains of Ararat=,” -Gen. 8:4, not upon any particular mountain called Ararat, as it has -been assumed. - -=2.= The word Ararat is found in the Assyrian inscriptions for -Armenia.[21] A mountain 500 miles north of Babylon is called Mt. -Ararat by travellers, and seems first to have been announced as the -“Mt. Ararat” in A. D. 1250, as Bochart says. - -=The other claimant= is 50 miles north of Nineveh and is called -_Mt. Kudur_, the meaning being “the great ship.”[22] This view -is supported by older historians, such as Berosus and others. The -Mt. Ararat of present travellers is a solitary double peak, called -_Mt. Massis_ by the Armenians, which rises 17,500 feet above the sea. - - - THE DISTRIBUTION OF RACES. - -=3.= The tenth chapter of Genesis is considered one of the most -remarkable chapters because of the aid it affords in tracing =the -early emigrations= and distributions of the race. In this chapter the -descendants of the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, are -given. The descendants of Shem are known among scholars as Shemites or -Semites, as those of Ham are known as Hamites. Although Shem is named -first in order, Japheth is called the elder (ver. 21), and the -genealogy begins with him. - - - THE SONS OF JAPHETH: THEIR MORE RECENT NAMES. - -=4.= (a) =Gomer.= These were the Cimmerians of antiquity, the Cimbri -of Roman times, and the Cymry or Celts still existing. Their ancient -country was north of the Black Sea, including the Crimea and the shores -of the Sea of Azov. - -The name Crimea is a corruption of the ancient name. It is to -this north land Ezekiel refers in chap. 38:2, 6. A part of them -went southward to Asia Minor when driven out by the Scythians, and -some emigrated to the west of Europe and to Britain. The Welsh call -themselves Cymry. “The SONS OF GOMER” were “ASHKENAZ, RIPHATH, and -TOGARMAH.” - -=5. Ashkenaz.= The name means “THE HORSE MILKERS,” and suggests some -race of a wandering tribe of the same general country of the Cimmerians -or of that land northeast of them. The names _Ascanius_, a river and -lake in Asia Minor, and _Scandia_ and _Scandinavia_, suggest that they -may have entered Phrygia, as Bochart supposes, but the associations -are uncertain. They seem in later times to have in some degree returned -to a region near Armenia, since Jeremiah associates them with Ararat, -Jer. 51:27. - -=6. Riphath= seems to be suggested by the name of the Rhiphæan -Mountains in the distant regions of the north of Scythia. More probably -we may find some intimation of their presence near Armenia in the name -Riphates, which is that of a mountain range in that vicinity. - -=7. Togarmah= is supposed to be represented by the tribes of the -Caucasus, Georgians and Armenians, who call themselves “the House of -Torgona,” the latter word being the same as Togarmah. - -=8.= (b) =Magog=, the name of the second son of Japheth, was also -the name of a country. Slavonic tribes in the north and northeast of -Europe are supposed to be comprehended under this term as descendants -from the grandson of Japheth, and the original country of Magog was -the Caucasian Mountains and the country around the northern part of the -Caspian Sea. - -=9.= In the =time of the prophet Ezekiel= they had become a powerful -people and had overrun the north of Europe. The Russians are, and the -Scythians were, the descendants of Magog, and Gog is the “prince of -Rosh,” of Meshech, and of Tubal. They are described by Ezekiel, chaps. -38:15 and 39:3, as a wild race of mounted men armed with the bow. This -seems also to describe the Scythians who invaded Palestine B. C. 625, -and left the evidence of their presence in the city called Scythopolis, -formerly Beth-shean, now _Beisan_, on the Jordan.[23] - -=10.= (c) =Madai= is the name by which the Medes are known on the -Assyrian monuments. Their country was south of the Caspian Sea. - -=11.= (d) =Javan= was the progenitor of the Greeks, and the name occurs -on the Assyrian monuments as Javanu; a term also used by Darius, the -Mede.[24] - -=12.= The sons of =Javan= were: (1.) ELISHAH, who settled in the -northwest of Asia Minor from the Propontis eastward throughout Mysia -and Lydia and the adjacent islands. (2.) TARSHISH, supposed to be the -ancestor of the Etruscans who inhabited the northern part of Italy; but -the name as it occurs in Isa. 23:6‒10; Ezek. 27:12 and 38:13, seems to -refer to a city on the southern coast of Spain whither Jonah attempted -to escape. Jonah 1:3. (3.) KITTIM. This name is afterwards spelled -Chittim, but it is the same word in the Hebrew text. It has the plural -ending (_im_), and therefore refers to a people of that name. In Isa. -23:1, 12, Chittim refers to the island of Cyprus; but when “_the isles -of Chittim_” are mentioned, as in Jer. 2:10 and in Ezek. 27:6, the -phrase includes the island of Crete and the islands along the coast of -Asia Minor and the Ægean Sea, thus embracing a great sea district, with -probably all Greece. In Dan. 11:30 Chittim includes Macedonia, because -of its supposed settlement from the former, as Bochart shows.[25] - -(4.) DODANIM is the same as Rodanim, which is also in plural form, and -refers to the Greeks of the island of Rhodes, which is particularly one -of the islands of Kittim or Chittim. - -=13. The other sons of Japheth= were: (e) Tubal and (f) Meshech and -(g) Tiras. Of these Tubal and Meshech appear as tribes neighboring with -the Scythians and other northern tribes, and perhaps remained about -the southeastern parts of the Black Sea. The Tubal of Isa. 66:19 was, -as supposed, in Spain; but a tribe called Tyrrhenians in later times -settled the islands of Lemnos and Imbros.[26] The name is supposed -to be derived from the turreted walls by which the early Tyrrhenians -surrounded their fortifications, and not from Tyre, as some have -said; this Bochart shows. Tiras is supposed by some to represent -ancient Thrace, but this is doubtful, as the people seem to have -been associated with the Achæans, Lydians, Sicilians, and Sardinians -fourteen centuries B. C., in an invasion of Egypt, as Chabas shows.[27] -They seem in remote antiquity to have been seafarers and pirates upon -the Italian seas and Greek Archipelago.[28] - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE SONS OF HAM. THEIR MORE RECENT NAMES. - - -=1.= (a) =Cush= was the first mentioned son. Dr. Franz Delitzsch has -shown that the Assyrian monuments now prove that Cushites settled in -the early ages of the world near the northwest of the Persian Gulf. -They afterwards migrated southward along the western shore of the -Persian Gulf and onward to the south and southwest of Arabia. Some -of these crossed the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb to Africa, and there -established themselves in that part now known as Abyssinia, and called -first by the Greek geographers Ethiopia. - -=2. The Hebrew name Cush= is translated Ethiopia twenty of the -twenty-one times it occurs in the Scripture. There can be no reasonable -doubt that in the first mention of the word Ethiopia in Gen. 2:13 -the region northwest of the Persian Gulf is meant. In after ages the -Cushites had established themselves in Arabia, and the inhabitants -in that region were called Cushites, or as it is in our English -translation, “Ethiopians,” as in the case of Moses’ wife, who is called -an “Ethiopian woman,” Num. 12:1, but it is “Cushite” in the Hebrew. - -The varying meanings of the name Cushite afford an indication that all -these passages of Scripture could not have been written in the same -period of time. - -=3. The earliest monuments in Egypt= make a strong distinction between -the =Ethiopians= south of Egypt and the =negro races=, for although the -Ethiopians were of a dark or dusky skin, they had straight hair, thin -noses, and the form of the head of different shape. It is not apparent -that any reference in Scripture is made to the negro race as such; the -passage in Jer. 13:23, “_Can the Ethiopian change his skin?_” may apply -to the dark Ethiopian and not to the negro, whose native land was west -of Ethiopia.[29] - -=4. Five races= spring from CUSH: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and -Sabtecha. These have generally been referred to large tribes settling -in Arabia. From Raamah we have the nations Sheba and Dedan. These have -been located in Arabia, and it was the queen of the former who visited -Solomon, 1 Kin. 10:1 and 2 Chron. 9:1. Dedan was a district north of -Sheba, and its inhabitants seem by caravans to have traded and settled -northward until the time of Abraham, Gen. 25:3, when their descendants -were numerous enough to be known by the old name of their ancestors. - -=5. Cush begat= Nimrod, whose exceptional prowess and enterprise gave -him precedence over all his brethren. He was a mighty hunter upon the -plains of Babylon, and from the monuments of Assyria it seems that -the lion was the chief object of his hunting expeditions. He was the -founder of some of the earliest cities. The first mentioned is BABEL, -afterwards called Babylon by the Greeks, which was built upon the -Euphrates. - -=6. At that early time= this city was about one hundred and -seventy-five miles northwest from the head of the =Persian Gulf=, -but it is now three hundred miles, the land having been extended -southeastward by the annual deposits brought down by the rivers -Euphrates and Tigris. ERECH, the second city of Nimrod, was -seventy-five miles northwest (now 200) of the same gulf; ACCAD, -recently discovered by Rassam, was forty-five miles almost due north -from Babylon; and CALNEH about fifty miles southeast of Babylon; it is -now called _Niffer_. - -=7. The land of Shinar= was the district corresponding with that now -known as the land of _Chaldæa_. “Out of that land went forth Asshur -and builded Nineveh” is the statement made, and the monuments recently -discovered have remarkably corroborated this text, for the history -shows the importance of Asshur, and that Nineveh, which was the capital -of the Assyrian kingdom, was a more recent city than Babylon.[30] Its -ruins are two hundred and seventy-five miles north by west from Babylon -and upon the Tigris River. - -=8.= But it will be seen that Asshur was a son of Shem, while Nimrod -was a son of Ham, and recent discovery has sustained the distinction, -showing that another people preceded the Assyrians and Babylonians -which were not descendants of Shem. In connection with Nineveh are -mentioned “the city REHOBOTH”[31] and CALAH: the former is not known, -and the latter is supposed to be at the ruins nearly twenty miles south -of Nineveh, now called _Nimrud_, and a few miles north of the latter is -supposed to be the site of _Resen_. - -Further excavations are needed to attest the accuracy of these -identifications. - -=9.= (b) =Mizraim= is mentioned as the second son of Cush, and is -supposed to have =colonized Egypt=. The word is in the dual form and -indicates the double land of Egypt, which from the earliest times was -divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. - -(1.) =Mizraim’s descendants= are LUDIM, probably simply a name for the -Egyptians themselves; they held themselves “the best of all men,”[32] -and they were the same as Libyans or Lubim, 2 Chron. 12:3; 16:8; Nah. -3:9. The Libyans of the most ancient era inhabited the west of the Nile -and parts near the Mediterranean Sea. They appear of bright complexions -as represented upon the Egyptian monuments. - -(2.) “ANAMIM and LEHABIM and NAPHTUHIM and PATHRUSIM” appear to be -only names of the people of the different settlements along the Nile -and not distinct races. (3.) The CASLUHIM have been identified with -a people settling east of the Delta near the Mediterranean coast -towards Palestine, and seemed to have been of Phœnician origin (Ebers). -(4.) CAPHTORIM were the earliest settlers on the coast of the Delta -or on its Mediterranean shore, even before the Egyptians occupied -that part of Egypt (Ebers). The Philistines of Palestine (southwest -coast) were descendants of both Casluhim and Caphtorim. “Kaft” was the -Egyptian name of the latter people, who early settled in the island -of Crete, but also, as we have stated, on the seacoast of the Nile, -and gradually moved through the lands of the Casluhim to their final -resting-place in Palestine.[33] - -=10.= Thus the =passage in Amos 9:7= is explained by the discovery -that the Philistines came from Caphtor (Crete), but they passed -through the land of the Casluhim. This explains =Deut. 2:23=, wherein -the inhabitants of Azzah (or Gaza) are called Caphtorim, but more -distinctly in Jer. 47:4, “the Philistines, the remnant of the country -of Caphtor.” So that the Philistines, who came originally from Crete -(Caphtor), settled on the Delta coast, and thence passing through the -land of Casluhim, settled in Philistia, as Ebers has shown.[34] - -=11.= A migration of the earliest Phœnicians to the coasts of the Delta -is generally accepted as =leading to the invention of the alphabet=, -for these settlers soon learned the new form of hieroglyphics (called -the hieratic or priestly form), and afterwards improved these signs, -as in the Phœnician alphabet. The most ancient manuscript in hieratic -is referred to an age in the third millennium B. C., or perhaps about -2500 B. C. In the trading intercourse between Egypt and Phœnicia this -new form was introduced into Phœnicia, where the full alphabetic forms -were originated. Wise men of that day must have very generally adopted -the improved letters, and in the course of the centuries, but certainly -before the time of the Exodus, the alphabet on the Phœnician model -was well formed. De Rougé has shown that the Phœnicians adopted these -hieratic forms long before the Exodus.[35] - -=12. This alphabet must have been known to Moses=, and perhaps to all -the elders of Israel, and became that Hebrew alphabet which furnished -the source of the lettering of the law and its accessories. - -The similarity between the old Hebrew and the Phœnician letters has -been fully shown in the discoveries of tablets near Tyre and in the -Moabite stone, so called, which was discovered at some ruins east -of the Dead Sea, upon the site of the ancient Dibon. It is probable -therefore that the first elements of the alphabetic form of letters -were invented about this era of the world’s history, when the -Phœnicians began their trading with the races upon the shores of -Egypt, which we have last mentioned. - -=13. The next son of Ham= is (c) PHUT. The hieroglyphics of Egypt -represent the nation east of the Red Sea and along the northern half -of the coast as the people of _Punt_, and this people is supposed to -be meant by _Phut_ or _Put_. They traded in incense and turquoise (a -blue mineral not so hard as quartz but as heavy). They were a wandering -tribe of a dusky hue, but entirely distinct from the Cushites on whose -confines they dwelt. - -=14. The last= mentioned =descendant of Ham= was (d) CANAAN. He begat -Sidon, the firstborn of eleven heads of tribes or nations. Sidon became -in after centuries the name of the chief city of Phœnicia. The rest of -the descendants of Canaan formed the Canaanites. - -=15.= A very important fact should be noticed here. These Canaanites -spoke a Shemitic language, but they were, as here seen, descendants -of Ham through Canaan. Recent discoveries show that long before their -settlement in the land of Canaan they are met with first in Southern -Arabia, from whence they made their way northward to certain islands -in the Persian Gulf, their next resting-place being on the flat shores -of the Persian Gulf at the mouth of the Euphrates. They then emigrated -to the shores of Phœnicia, carrying the name Canaan, or, as they -pronounced it, Chna, “the low-lying,” to their new inheritance on the -shores of Phœnicia. Their associations were Shemitic and their language -also, although they were by descent Hamitic. - -=The temples= still standing in the times of the Romans upon the -islands in the Persian Gulf were Phœnician, and the inhabitants -claimed to be the original stock of the famous race of Palestine.[36] -“Canaanite” in after times became the term used to signify a merchant -or trader, from the habits of the people.[37] - -=16. The people of Heth=, another son of Canaan, became in later times -a very powerful nation, whose history has only recently been brought to -light. Their name as Hittites has been found in the Egyptian records, -from which it is shown that at one time, so early as that of Moses, -they were sufficiently powerful to resist the forces of the king, -Rameses II., of Egypt. On one of the Egyptian monuments they are -represented as making a treaty with the Egyptian monarch which was as -favorable to them as to him, B. C. 1333 (Brugsch). - -=17. Sidon=, the city of that name, was early a fishing station of -the Phœnicians on the coast of the Mediterranean west of the Lebanon -Mountains, twenty-two miles north of Tyre. This place, now in existence, -yet bears the name of the ancient son of Canaan. - -=18. The Canaanites= were “spread abroad” over what is now known as -Palestine, from Sidon to Gaza and Gerar, “as thou goest to Sodom and -Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboim, even unto Lasha,” Gen. 10:19. Gaza is -well known, being 150 miles southwest of Sidon and about two miles from -the shore of the Mediterranean, and is now a town of 15,000 inhabitants. -Sodom and Gomorrah are not certainly located, being by some supposed -to have been at the south end of the Dead Sea, but by others at the -north end. Neither of the remaining names can be identified with any -known sites. But it is plain that the Canaanites occupied the whole of -Palestine west of the Jordan and as far north as the Lebanon Mountains, -the Arvadites and Hamathites extending beyond them more than 130 miles -north of Sidon. _See the map._ - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE DESCENDANTS OF SHEM. JOB. - - -=1. The descendants of Shem= are next given: (a) ELAM was north -of the Persian Gulf and east of the Tigris; Shushan was its capital -in later times. (b) ASSHUR was the origin of the name Assyria. The -Assyrian monuments show that Nineveh was built after Babylon, and that -the Assyrians were a later people than the Babylonians and derived -their literature from them, and also that they were a Shemitic nation. -(c) ARPHAXAD was settled north of Assyria on the table-land between -Oroomiah and Van. (d) LUD appears to be represented by Lydia in western -Asia Minor, though at first it was a wider district. (e) ARAM settled -in Syria near the Upper Euphrates, and as far west as the Upper -Lebanon Mountains north of Palestine, which we learn from the Assyrian -inscriptions. The four children of Aram are UZ, HUL, GETHER, and -MASH. Uz is thought to be the district east of the Jordan known as -the Hauran, parts of which are very fertile. This was the land of Job, -and is reckoned in Arabia by Josephus.[38] The remaining three names -are associated with the following lands: first, HUL, with el-Huleh, a -region in Northern Palestine, at the head-waters of the Jordan; second, -GETHER, with the district of Ituræa between the waters of the lake -el-Huleh and Uz; third MASH, with a site known as Maisel Jebel. But -these identifications are only probable. - -=2. Arphaxad had a son= Salah who begat Eber, whose descendants were -the ancestors of Abraham through Peleg, in whose days “was the earth -divided.” Peleg appears to have settled near the Euphrates, since a -city named Phaliga once existed at the place where the river Chaboras -falls into the Euphrates from the east. - -=3. The descendants of Peleg’s brother=, Joktan, thirteen in number, -seem to have found their early settlements in Southern Arabia and -as far south as Isfor on the southeast coast, which is supposed to -represent the SEPHAR of the text, Gen. 10:30. - -This closes a table which is generally considered to be the most -important as well as the most ancient list of nations in existence. - - - THE HISTORY OF JOB. - -=4. This history= is contained in the book of the same name. The author -of this book is not known. It may have been written by Job himself. -The history is that apparently of a chief who lived in the land of Uz, -which was probably in the region we have already described. Many think -that the land of Uz was in Northern Arabia or in Idumæa. - -=5. Job=, according to one writer (Wamys) was an Arabian prince, -who is represented as living in his family and enjoying a life of -unalloyed prosperity, the consequence of his exemplary piety and -rectitude. Suddenly the scene changes, and this excellent man is -visited by a series of overwhelming calamities, which are the result -of a transaction which passed in the council of the Most High, into the -secret of which the reader is for the moment admitted, as stated in Job -1:8‒13. During his affliction Job is visited by his friends. Instead of -comforting him, these friends ascribe his calamities to some great sin, -for which he is now punished. Job’s friends affirm that great suffering -is a proof of great guilt, and exhort him to _repent and confess_.[39] -Job denies this, Job 4:5‒31:40. At the close of their dialogue another -and younger friend of the patriarch intervenes to modify the view taken -by the others. - -=6.= At length the Lord condescends to interpose in the controversy. -From the midst of a whirlwind, in words of incomparable grandeur -and sublimity he silences the murmurings of his servant, bidding him -reflect on the glory of creation and learn the stupendous power and -wisdom of Him whose purposes are good, though unexplained, and with -whom it is useless for a created being to contend. Thereupon Job -acknowledges his error, and the whole party are convinced of forming -false estimates of the Lord’s administration. Job is restored to -prosperity and prays for his friends, who are accepted in their -offering and received back into favor. - -=7. The book of Job=, from internal evidence, is probably one of the -earliest productions of Biblical literature. The names of his friends, -the Temanite and the Shuhite, and the mention of the Sabæans, indicate -the Idumæan parts of Northern Arabia as the scene of the history. The -long life of Job, which appears to have been about 200 years, indicates -a period in the second or third century following the Flood, or before -the time of Abraham. But neither the date of the composition nor the -location of Uz can be settled any further than we have already stated. - -One of the proofs of the very early origin of this composition is found -in its reference to the ancient seal, Job 38:14, which was rolled over -the clay, covering it with figures; hence the illustration used in the -above passage. The cylindrical seals were used in the early Babylonian -era. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES. - - -=1.= The next subject which is presented in the sacred text is =the -confusion of tongues= at the building of the tower of Babel, Gen. -11:1‒10. In this passage of the Scripture history we have an extremely -condensed view of an event which must have been one of greater -importance than would appear from the very concise manner in which it -is described. All that we know from Scripture is that a certain part of -the human race coming from the East settled upon the plains of Shinar, -and there began the erection of the highest known tower, with the -purpose of making themselves a name before they were “scattered abroad -upon the face of the whole earth.” They began the tower, using brick -from the clay which abounds upon the plain of Babylon and bitumen, -called “slime” in the text, for mortar. During the building of this -city and tower their language, which up to this period was the same, -became confused, so that, being unable to understand each other, they -were forced to desist, “and they left off to build the city.” This is -the brief history. - -=2.= From the recently discovered Assyrian history, recorded -upon the =tablets= now in the British Museum, it appears that the -Babylonians of the earliest ages had a tradition of this tower and of -the sudden confusion of tongues. The event seems to indicate that the -determination of the early descendants of Noah, probably under Nimrod -or his immediate successors, was to settle on the plains and build -a vast metropolis and a tower, whose height should serve the double -purpose of a means of direction or as a guide to the city, and also -of an advertisement of their immense wealth and enterprise amid the -surrounding tribes. - -=3. The divine intention= was, however, that the command given to Noah -and his descendants, that they should replenish the earth, should be -literally executed, and it was the divine intervention which prevented -all the people from remaining in that land. - -As we have said, =the word Babel= in the Greek form is Babylon; but -the word which originally meant “confusion” in the Hebrew seems to have -been changed from that form originally given it into _Bab_, or “gate,” -el, of “God,” for the actual original Hebrew word for “confusion,” as -Buxtorf shows from the Rabbinical word for “confusion,” is Bilbal, or -Bilbul. Oppert[40] has shown that the word is distinctly of Assyrian -derivation, from Balal, to “confound.” Similar changes from original -forms have frequently occurred. Thus Beth-lehem is now Beit-lahm -the former meaning “house of bread,” and the latter “house of meat.” -Borsippa, the name of the ruined tower near Babylon, supposed to be the -Tower of Babel, is now called Bar-Sab, the former (Borsippa) meaning -the “tower of languages,” the latter (Bar Sab) meaning the “shattered -altar,” as Geikie has mentioned. - -=4.= In studying the early parts of Biblical history the student should -be mindful that history and traditions as recorded by the Assyrians -were borrowed, or, more truly speaking, derived, from the early records -of the Babylonian and Chaldæan nations, as in some cases is stated upon -Assyrian tablets. This fact we have illustrated, page 26. The original -records were kept at the old Chaldæan city of Erech, 90 miles southeast -of Babylon, at the present ruins of Warka. Assur-bani-pal, the Assyrian -king, beside being a great warrior, was also one who encouraged -literature and had an immense library, for those days, 10,000 tablets -from which were removed to the British Museum. In his time, 668‒647 -B. C., the ancient Chaldæan tongue was translated into Assyrian, and in -this library at Nineveh was a lexicon of the Chaldæo-Turanian language -with the meaning of the words put in Assyrian cuneiform.[41] This -showed that so many years had passed that the ancient Chaldæan language -was, at that time, nearly lost. - -=5. Those records=, both of the Chaldæan and of the later Assyrian -ages, have not only been of great service to the student of ancient -history, but they have added much to the explanation and corroboration -of Biblical history, as we shall hereafter have occasion to show. - -=6.= The ruins of both Nineveh and Babylon bear some names which are -=reminiscences of Nimrod=, but these seem to have been applied at some -comparatively recent date. The chief structure bearing the name of -Nimrod is the _Birs Nimrud_, or Tower of Nimrod, ten miles southwest -of the modern town of Hillah, which is near the ruins of Babylon. The -large mass of burned brick at this place seems to have been originally -erected in the form of a steep pyramid some six hundred feet in height -and of the same length at its base. It is extremely ancient, as its -Assyrian name proves, which name, Saggatu, “the high temple,” is an old -Accadian word. - -=7. Nebuchadnezzar=, B. C. 604‒562, one of the greatest builders among -the Babylonian kings, says of himself that he builded additions to it, -although Tiglath-pileser repaired it one hundred years before. It is -now a bare hill of yellow sand and bricks a few miles west of the banks -of the Euphrates, reaching a height of about 200 feet, a vast mass of -brick-work jutting from the mound to a further height of 37 feet. It -is very probable that these are the most ancient remains to be found -in Babylonia, and in its form seems to have furnished a universal model -for all succeeding temples and towers in that region.[42] - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE HISTORY OF ABRAM AND HIS TIMES. - - -=1.= The promise that in his seed should all the nations of the -earth be blessed renders the history of Abram one of great interest, -especially as recent discoveries of the monuments and literature -of ancient Chaldæa have given us more correct knowledge of those -early ages than had been acquired for more than 3,000 years. In the -eleventh chapter of Genesis, beginning at the tenth verse, is given -the =ancestry of Abraham=, the father of the Hebrews. Abram, afterward -called Abraham, for reasons stated in chapter 17:5, was the ninth -from Shem. Until the birth of Abram his ancestors appear to have -lived in the region known as Chaldæa. Abram’s birthplace was Ur, 150 -miles southeast of Babylon and a few miles west of the Euphrates. The -ruins of Ur include, at the present day, a part of an ancient temple -dedicated to the moon. This temple seems to have been erected many -years before the days of Abram. A vast number of tombs surround it and -the city, in the times of Abram, must have been a place for burial and -considered sacred. Eupolemus, a Greek writer who is quoted by Eusebius, -speaks of it in his time, about 446 B. C., as “the place of the -Chaldees.”[43] Its ruins on a vast mound are so largely cemented with -bitumen that this fact has given rise to its present name, Mugheir, -which means “bitumen.” The tablets and bricks bear the ancient name of -Ur as well as the names of its earliest kings and the builder of its -temples. - -=2.= Although at the present day the Persian Gulf is about 140 miles -distant from Ur, only the deposits from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris -have removed the waters of the gulf to this distance. Certain coast -marks show that the sea must have sent its waters up the river to a -distance of nearly, if not quite, 124 miles, and in the time of Abram -Ur must have been a maritime city. - -=3. From this city Terah=, Abram’s father, removed with his family to -Haran. This city was 580 miles northwest of Ur on the banks of a small -tributary stream which runs seventy miles southward before it joins -the Euphrates. Both Ur and Haran were the seats of the Moon-god, called -“Sin” in the Chaldee language. This deity was masculine in the same -language and the Sun-god was feminine, as is apparent from the omens -of that day as seen in the following translations of certain priestly -utterances and directions by Prof. Sayce.[44] - -Of the month Elul it is said: He shall make his free-will offering -to the Sun, the mistress of the world, and to the Moon, the supreme -god.... The fifteenth day is sacred to the Sun, the Lady of the House -of Heaven.... The Moon the Lord of the month. - -=4. In this age= we read that the seventh day was “a day of rest,” and -the very ancient name for “rest” was very similar to the word Sabbath -used in the Hebrew, and special observance of the day was ordered by -the priests; thus “the shepherd of mighty nations (king) must not eat -flesh cooked on the fire or in the smoke. He must not drive a chariot. -He must not issue royal decrees; the lifting up of his hands finds -favor with the god,” etc.[45] - -=5. It is plain therefore= that the seventh day was a day of rest, -a sacred day, in the time of ancient Babylonish kings. It was so in -the era of earliest Chaldæan records, and it was not an institution -derived only from the Jewish nation, but the day was regarded as a -Sabbath among the Chaldæans in the time and long before the days of -Abram, for the records above translated and preserved in the library of -Assur-bani-pal, King of Assyria, as we have said, page 26, were derived -from far more ancient records, existing even before the Deluge, of -which latter event they give a history. So that the Chaldæan records of -the Creation, the Deluge, and the Sabbath may very reasonably have been -derived from one and the same source. - -=6.= The =name Abram= is of Babylonish-Assyrian derivation, but was -changed by the Lord into Abraham, which was a purely Hebrew name, as is -recorded in Gen. 17:5.[46] - -=7. It is not stated how long= Terah remained in Ur after the birth -of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, but the removal was not made until Lot was -born to Haran and until the death of the latter. Then Terah left Ur for -Haran, six hundred miles northwest, where they remained probably many -years (see Gen. 12:5). - -=8. The fact that Abram’s name= occurs first in the mention of the -three is no proof, judging from the Scripture method of naming sons, -that Abram was the oldest, but only that he was the most important -character, for Shem is mentioned first in the three Shem, Ham, and -Japheth, although Japheth is called the elder, Gen. 10:21, Shem being -the most important as the head of the Hebrew race. - -Abram was probably born when Terah was 130 years old, for it must be -remembered that there is no good reason for supposing that the three -sons of Terah were born in the same year, but only that one of the -three mentioned (Gen. 11:26) was born when Terah was 70 years of age -and the two others at some time after. If Abram was born when Terah -was 130 and lived to be 75 years old at the death of his father, his -father’s age would have been 205 as given in the text. It seems that -Haran was the elder of the three, though mentioned last as in the case -of Noah’s three sons. - -=9. Abram=, at the call of the Lord, left with a large retinue of -servants and crossed the Euphrates and came into Canaan, probably by -the way of Damascus. He immediately entered into the land known then as -Canaan, and the first place named on his way is “Sichem, unto the plain -of Moreh.” Sichem is the place also called Shechem, and the word Sichem -is in the Hebrew precisely the same as Shechem, the variation being one -due only to the translator of the Hebrew name into English. - -=10. Shechem= is almost exactly half way between Dan on the north -and Beersheba on the south. It was therefore not till Abram arrived -in the midst of the land that he erected an altar to Jehovah after the -Lord had promised that to his seed He would give this land, Gen. 12:7. -Various tribes of Canaanites occupied the whole future land of Israel, -Gen. 10:19. - -=11. The plain of Moreh= was a mile east of the city, or town, of -Shechem. It is evident that both Moreh and Shechem were names of -Canaanites, as Shechem is seen in Gen. 33; 34; Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2, -and other places, as a personal name. - -=12.= The word translated “plain” is equally applicable to a grove of -trees, and it may be that Abram chose this grove as a shelter from the -heat. Twenty-seven miles north of Shechem is probably the hill called -in Judg. 7:1, after the same person, the hill of Moreh. The city of -Shochen, which exists at the present time, is between the high hills of -Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. - -For the reasons why the word “plain” should be rendered “oak” see -Josh. 24:26 and Judg. 9:6, wherein it is evident that a pillar by the -oak is meant. Also see that the word “oak” is in the Hebrew exactly -the same as that translated “plain” in the text referred to above, Gen. -12:6, and this identical oak seems to have been used for an important -purpose many years after. In Deut. 11:30 the name is in the plural, -leading us to suppose that it was a grove continuing through many -centuries. Groves always were important and sometimes sacred, as it -appears from the action of Abraham, for in Gen. 21:33 it is stated that -“Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba and called there on the name of -the Lord, the everlasting God.” - -=13. The next place visited= by Abram was an unknown place between -Bethel and Hai.[47] Bethel was not so named until 160 years afterwards, -by Jacob, Gen. 28:19. Hai and Ai[48] are the same, and this place was -probably a Canaanitish town at this time. The distance south of Shechem -was 20 miles to the place occupied by the patriarch, where he seems -to have remained only to build an altar and then moved on, evidently -seeking pasture for his flocks and herds. - - - EGYPT FIRST MENTIONED. - -=14. The name of Egypt= occurs now for the first time in Scripture, -and we may judge of its importance from the fact that the name occurs -six hundred and thirteen times, twenty-four of which number are to be -found in the New Testament. In this instance the mention is made about -1920 B. C.,[49] and the kingdom is referred to as fully established and -well known. - -The occasion of Abram’s visit was the famine existing in the land of -Canaan. Abram journeys southward with the intention of entering Egypt -to provide sustenance for himself and his retinue against this famine. - -=15. The condition of Egypt= at or just before the time of Abram’s -first visit was one of great prosperity. The reigning Pharaohs, -generally called those of the twelfth dynasty, were most probably the -Usertesens and the Amen-emhats. Under this dynasty the sceptres of -Upper and Lower Egypt were united. All the kings were powerful and -prosperous and art flourished, the Sun temple at Heliopolis (six miles -northeast of the present Cairo) was magnificently restored, and in the -Fayum on the west of the Nile (about 50 miles southwest of Cairo) the -practice of building pyramids was revived. Here was the vast lake or -inland sea made by Amen-emhat III., to receive the overplus waters of -the annual overflow of the Nile and to distribute them in case of need. -This king also built the great labyrinth in the Fayum, the latter name -being an alteration of the Egyptian word for “sea,” namely “_Piom_.” - -=16.= During this period fortifications were erected on the -northeastern frontier of Egypt, which appear to have extended across -the whole of the present isthmus of Suez (_Socin_). The term Shur used -six times in Scripture is now supposed to refer to this “wall.”[50] - -=17. As the pyramids of Gizeh= were built in the fourth dynasty (the -most recent date of which is given by Wilkinson as 2450 B. C.), they -had been in existence more than 400 years before Abram’s visit. The -Sphinx was then existing also, as seems probable from an inscription -found by M. Mariette, which indicates that there was a “temple of the -Sphinx” in the time of Cheops,[51] the builder of the great pyramid. -It seems also probable that the rule of the foreigners, called the -Shepherd Kings, had begun before Abram’s visit. - -=18. These foreigners= took possession of Lower Egypt and drove the -original rulers up the Nile to Thebes and other parts of Upper Egypt. -Long before this period emigrants from the East had been admitted to -Egypt and had settled in various places upon the rich lands of the -Delta, until, finding themselves sufficiently powerful, they usurped -all authority without a battle. They were called the Shepherd kings, -or Hyksos, from what was supposed to be their employment. They governed -Lower Egypt for about five hundred years, until they were finally -driven out by the Egyptian royal family. - -=19. Abram’s first visit= seems to have been made at or near the -beginning of the Hyksos era. The most recent date of the beginning -of the rule of the Shepherd Kings is that of Wilkinson, 2091 B. C., -and if the date usually given for the visit of Abram was 1920 B. C., -then these invaders had already had possession of the land for over -170 years. Egypt was therefore renowned and its rulers were of a race -acquainted with the employments to which Abram was not a stranger. They -spoke the dialect of Canaan, as it is very evident that many came from -the region of Canaan. - -=20. In this age the horse= is not mentioned as in Egypt. Oxen and -asses and sheep are found depicted upon the walls and tablets, but the -horse does not appear in Egypt till the reign of Thothmes I., who met -with them in his wars in Assyria. This king was the third Pharaoh of -the eighteenth dynasty.[52] This dynasty began immediately after the -expulsion of the Hyksos. So that while it is probable that the horse -might have been known only as a foreign animal, it was introduced into -Lower Egypt by Thothmes I., and Egypt became known after this for its -fine breed of horses, which took the place of the asses previously used -throughout the land. It is for this reason that Abram’s list of animals -excludes the horse, Gen. 12:16. - - - THE FIRST BATTLE. - -=21. The next important occurrence= in the history of Abram is that -of the =first battle= mentioned in Scripture. Abram had returned to -Canaan with large additions to his herds. This increase brought about -a necessary separation between Abram and Lot. Abram settled in Hebron, -while Lot chose his residence in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah, -the cities of the plain. Soon after four kings from Chaldæa approached -Canaan on a tour of conquest, and passing to the south and east of -the Dead Sea went down to Mt. Seir and thence to Kadesh, then called -En-mishpat, and thence north to Hazezon-tamar. They then met the kings -of Sodom and Gomorrah in battle, defeated them, and carried off Lot -and others captives. Upon knowledge of this captivity Abram set out -to overtake the invaders. He was joined by the forces of the three -Amorites confederate with him, and found the kings at Dan, about 140 -miles from Hebron northward, as they were leaving the country on their -way home to Chaldæa. A battle now took place at night, and the four -kings were defeated, and Lot and other captives, together with the -stolen goods, were all retaken and brought back in safety. - - - SODOM AND GOMORRAH. - -=22. The exact location= of these cities has not yet been discovered. -They were, with the other cities of the plain, situated very near the -Dead Sea, and the traditions place them at the western part of the -southern end, where there is a salt hill five miles long, called the -hill of Sodom, _Jebel Usdum_. There are good reasons for supposing that -when Abram and Lot stood overlooking the land from the heights near -Bethel, Lot chose the region north of the Dead Sea, which was visible, -in preference to the southern part, which was more than forty miles -distant. But from the Scripture account, considered in view of the -evident volcanic nature of this part of Palestine and the fearful -earthquakes which have happened in the vicinity in recent times, there -is reason to believe that some terrible convulsion not only buried the -cities, but submerged the plain at the south end of the sea, and no -other interpretation seems to suit the history, which definitely states -that the plain and all that grew upon it were destroyed, the water -system of the plain being all entirely changed. The submerged plain -at the south, therefore, which is covered for the area of about fifty -square miles with water only a few feet deep, has given occasion for -the theory that the cities of the plain are to be sought beneath these -waters, which are by some supposed to cover the vale of Siddim. - -=23. Hazezon-tamar is the same= as En-gedi, 2 Chron. 20:2. It is upon -the west shore of the Dead Sea, twenty-three miles south of the mouth -of the Jordan. Hobah, whither Abram pursued the kings, is two miles -north of Damascus. - -=24. Abram was near Hebron=, twenty miles west of the Dead Sea, when -the news reached him of the defeat of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah -and the capture of Lot. Hebron is almost equidistant from the north and -south ends of the Dead Sea, at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet above -the Mediterranean, while the waters of the Dead Sea are 1,293 feet -below those of the Mediterranean. - -=25. The recent discoveries in Chaldæa= and the surrounding countries -show that the names of these four kings――Amraphel king of Shinar, -Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of -nations, are names which have in large part been found on the tablets -and in the history of the countries mentioned. Amraphel is the same -in the Hebrew as Amarphal, and it was so translated in the Septuagint -made more than 250 B. C. This name was that of a viceroy of Sumir, the -district around and south of Babylon, called Shinar in Genesis, and the -name Amar-pal has been found “borne by private persons on two cylinders -of ancient workmanship” (Lenormant). The Septuagint has for Tidal, -Thargal, which seems to be the proper spelling; the difference between -the two spellings in the original Hebrew is only that between an _r_ -and a _d_, which in that language is exceedingly small. In the Akkadian -(same as Accadian), which was the language used in the ancient Chaldæan -times, Turgal meant “great chief.”[53] This king was chief of a people -called the Gutium in the monumental inscriptions, and this tribe or -small nation has been identified with the Goim of the Hebrew text, -which in our English version is translated “nations.” So that the -“Tidal king of nations,” of the text in Genesis, is shown to be the -“great chief” of a tribe living in Northern Babylonia, of which one -part became afterwards the nation of the Assyrians.[54] - -Chedorlaomer, the monuments show us, was truly an Elamite name, -Chedor, or Kudur, forming part of several names of the early kings -of that district, and Laomer, or Lagamar, being the name of a most -important Elamite god. The name Arioch is very similar to that of the -son of an Elamite king who was king of Larsa, which itself is similar -to the Hebrew name Ellasar, and the circumstances have led the best -Assyriologists to believe that they are the very same. - -=26. The monumental records show= that this king of Elam, on a previous -occasion, when Abram was still at Haran, had passed over the Euphrates -and conquered Phœnicia and a country to the south. He is called both -king of Elam and king of Phœnicia, as the land of Canaan was called -by name “Martu,” “the land of the setting sun,” or Phœnicia. So that -14 years before, at the time when Chedorlaomer crossed the Euphrates -on his first expedition, Abram may have beheld the troops of that king -whom he afterward conquered, with his viceroys, when they came on their -second invasion of Canaan. At that time Abram was with his father Terah -at Haran, as we may see from the dates in the context, Gen. 16:3; 14:5. - - - THE ISHMAELITES. - -=27. Some years after this battle= we have the account of the birth -of Ishmael, the son of Abram by Hagar. As the descendants of Ishmael -exerted great influence in years afterward, it is well at this point -to study the early history of this son of Abram. When Isaac was -born Ishmael was about 16 years of age, Gen. 17:21, 25; 21:1, 8, and -until the day of the divine promise to Abram, at which time his name -was changed to Abraham, he was evidently, from the context, greatly -attached to Ishmael. Moreover, Abram was considered by his neighbors as -“a mighty prince among them,” Gen. 23:6. Under these circumstances this -only son must have been allowed privileges and attentions at the hands -of the hundreds of Abram’s servants such as an heir apparent to all -the wealth of Abram would be certain to receive. When, however, Sarah -became the mother of Isaac a change necessarily transpired. Ishmael -was no longer the expected heir. Hagar’s spirit of self-importance, -which showed itself before so positively that she was forced to leave -the family, was now repeated in some disagreeable actions of her son -Ishmael, and, despite the persistent love of Abraham, Ishmael and his -mother were summarily dismissed from the family. - -=28. There can be no reasonable doubt= that the action of Abraham in -sending Hagar and her son out upon the desert with only sufficient food -to support them for a time was greatly or almost entirely influenced -by the direct revelation to Abraham that the divine interference would -be exerted on behalf of the exiles. That had been assured, as we see -in verses 12 and 13 of chapter 21. At the same time both the mother -and son, after all the preceding years of privilege, would naturally -imagine that a great wrong had been done them, and Ishmael readily -became a wild wanderer upon the vast deserts east of Egypt. - -He was the progenitor of twelve great tribes whose names in part are -recognized among some of the tribes existing at the present day and -whose characters are accurately represented in the description of what -they were to be, as it occurs in Gen. 16:12, and the expression “he -shall dwell in the presence of his brethren” simply alludes to the fact -that his race should be wanderers upon the desert without any fixed -habitation, this being the life of all the most pleasurable to the -desert Arabs. - -=29. As Abraham was 99 years= of age when Ishmael was 13, Gen. -17:24, 25, and died at 175, it is plain that Ishmael must have been -about 90 years of age at Abraham’s death. The love and reverence which -Ishmael had for the patriarch were apparent after this long time in -the fact that at the death of the latter, Isaac and Ishmael united to -perform the burial at the cave of Machpelah at Hebron, Gen. 25:9. - - - HEBRON AND MACHPELAH. - -=30. Hebron= is a very old city, having been founded long before -Abram’s time, and it is in existence at present. It is south of -Jerusalem eighteen miles, and is unlike nearly all the cities in -Palestine in that it is situated in a valley. The cave of Machpelah -is on the east side of the valley, which runs nearly north and south. - -This city becomes important in Biblical history at the time when Sarah, -the wife of Abraham, died, and then this cave was purchased by Abraham -as a family burying-place. It was the first spot possessed by any of -the ancestors of the Hebrew race in Palestine. Here Sarah and Abraham -were buried and in after times Leah and Isaac, and Jacob’s remains were, -by his desire, removed from Egypt and placed by the side of his wife -Leah. - -Although Hebron has suffered several attacks and partial destruction, -it is probable that the sacredness of the place may have protected it -so that the actual remains of some of the bodies deposited there may -yet be there, under Moslem guardianship. - -=After the birth of Isaac=, Abraham remained in the region of Gerar, -whose precise location is not known, although it must have been in the -southwest of Canaan and in the land of the Philistines. From thence he -removed to Beersheba.[55] - - - BEERSHEBA AND GERAR. - -=31. Beersheba= bears, at the present day, the same name and contains -two wells, one about 12 feet in diameter, the other about 5 feet. The -larger appears to be very old and may well have existed since the days -of the patriarch. It is about 40 feet deep to the water and is still -used daily by the Arabs. The exact distance from Hebron to Beersheba -is twenty-six and a half miles southwest. There are some ruins 24 miles -southwest by south from Beersheba, called Umel Jerar, which possibly -may indicate where the ancient Gerar was. - -=32.= From Beersheba Abraham travelled with Isaac to =Mt. Moriah=, -which was at the present site of Jerusalem and distant in an air line -45 miles northeast. Here his obedience and faith were severely tried in -the command to offer up, as a burnt-offering, his only son Isaac. This -act might have been more trying to the faith of Abraham because it was -the practice of the Canaanites at that time. That the immolation of -children was practised by the Phœnicians at that age and in the land -of Chaldæa is proved by an Accadian text which expressly states that -sin may be expiated by the vicarious sacrifice of the eldest son.[56] -In after times it was practised by the Moabites, 2 Kings 3:27. But -Abraham’s faith never failed him, and the offering was accepted, though -the act was arrested. - -=33. Abraham after this purchased= the cave of Machpelah, of which -we have spoken, where Sarah was buried, and he himself was laid away -in the same place at his death, having given all his possessions to -his son Isaac, except some smaller gifts to his other children by his -second wife Keturah, when he sent them away from Isaac his son “unto -the east country.” - -=34. The character of Abraham= has been revered among the Jews, -Mohammedans, and Christians alike in all ages and parts of the world. -His tomb now existing at Hebron is among the very few places in the -East about which there has never been any doubt. The structure, now -a mosque, is a Mohammedan addition to a building which was in part -erected near the beginning of the Christian era. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE PATRIARCHS ISAAC AND JACOB. - - -=1. Isaac=, as appears from sacred history, towards the close of his -father’s life, dwelt in the “south country,” a term given to the large -district far to the south of Hebron, where also Abraham was probably -living at the same time. - -The exact place called =Beer-lahai-roi=, or “the spring of Lahai-roi,” -is not known, but it was that spring, called a “well,” which was -mentioned in connection with the first departure of Hagar, and it was -evidently on the way towards Egypt, between Kadesh and Bered, some -thirty miles nearly south of Beersheba. - -=2. The pastures= were excellent here, and Isaac, now about 40 years -of age, had come into possession of large herds whose care devolved -upon him. It was here that he received his wife, whom his father -Abraham had selected for him from among his kindred in the far-off -land of Mesopotamia in preference to the people of the land where he -dwelt, who were Hittites, and descendants of Canaan the son of Ham, -Abraham being a descendant of Shem. =The Philistines= who dwelt on the -southwest coast of Canaan and of whom the Abimelech of the text was -king, were formerly a mixed race. In this age they are considered to -be the immediate descendants of a tribe which took possession of the -dry, salt region stretching from the Delta of the Nile on the coast -around towards Canaan. Here, in early times, they became the great salt -producers and of great importance to the salt fisheries which supplied -various surrounding countries. The Mt. Casios in their territory was -the “Kas-lokh,” or “dry” “burnt up hill” of the ancient Egyptians, -hence the name of Casluhim, of the Hebrew text, as that of the people -from whom the Philistines were derived, Gen. 10:14. - -=3.= They seem many years before to have left the Phœnician shores and -settled near the coast of the Egyptian Delta. Thence they moved to the -salt regions, but they adapted themselves fully to the Egyptian method -of life and literature, as appears from their history gathered from the -ancient records. These records have fully corroborated the statement of -Genesis.[57] - -=4. In the time of Abram= they had taken possession of the southwestern -part of Palestine and had largely modified their habits of life. They -are represented on the monuments of Egypt as fine-looking warriors, -wearing a head-dress of peculiar and very ornamental form, with the -back of the neck protected, and when marching, moving in great order, -using the javelin and the short sword for close combat. - -=5. At this time=, about B. C. 1800, the Philistines had not arrived -at that condition of power and wealth which they possessed in later -centuries. They afterward became most formidable enemies of the -Israelites, and possessed at least five grand cities. In this era of -their history Gerar seems to be the residence of the king, Abimelech, -as it was of his father of the same name in the time of Abraham, -90 years before. Being a small tribe, its king was anxious to form an -alliance with Isaac, whose household and possessions had become very -great, and, judging from the context, his retinue of servants and his -wealth exceeded all that Abraham had possessed before him. - -=6. There are=, at present, two wells at Beersheba of the same general -architecture, and both seem to be very ancient. The one about 300 feet -off from the large one, spoken of before, is only about five feet in -diameter. As the men of Gerar, at Abraham’s death, filled up “all the -wells” built by the patriarch, it is probable that the second well was -dug by the servants of Isaac and called also Beersheba as commemorative -of the second oath of treaty made by Abimelech, the second of that -same name mentioned in Scripture, and his commander-in-chief, as Phicol -means. - -The life of Isaac seems to have been spent chiefly in the region of -Beersheba, but he died at Hebron, at the age of 180 years. Esau and -Jacob are his only sons named in the sacred history. - - - JACOB. - -=7. Jacob= was a native of Beersheba, and, having incurred the -displeasure of his brother Esau by the practice of a deceitful act -towards his father, as narrated in the text, Gen. 27, fled to the same -region whence his father obtained his own wife, and there found his -wives Leah and Rachel in Mesopotamia. - -In that act of deceit he was aided by his mother, who probably never -lived to see again the son she loved so much. Jacob returned not for -many years, although when his mother parted with him she supposed it -was for “a few days,” Gen. 27:44. He returned to Hebron shortly before -the death of his father, in whose burial, in the cave of Machpelah, -both his sons, Esau and Jacob, united, Gen. 35:29. - -=8. Jacob and his twelve sons= remained near Hebron for some time after -the death of his father Isaac, when an event occurred which changed -the history of the entire family and led to their long residence in the -land of Egypt. - -=Joseph=, the son of Jacob’s old age, because of jealousy on the part -of his brethren, was sold by them to a party of trading merchants, -called “=Ishmaelites=.” These “came from Gilead, with their camels -bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.” - -=Gilead= was the large district east of the Jordan, beginning some 15 -miles southwest of Damascus, and whose southern limit was a few miles -north of the Dead Sea. Their way towards Egypt was by Dothan, where the -brethren were tending their father’s flock. - -=Dothan= was a Canaanitish town about five miles southwest of the -Carmel range of mountains and thirteen miles north of Shechem. It was -fully 900 feet above the sea, and on the south of a beautiful plain -five miles long and two wide. - -=9. The Ishmaelites= sold Joseph in Egypt, where, through his ability -to interpret the dream of Pharaoh, he became, under the king, the -second ruler of Egypt and prepared for the seven years of famine which -were preceded by seven years of extraordinary harvests. The famine in -Egypt was attended by famine in Canaan, as also in other lands. This -condition of famine caused Jacob to send his sons into Egypt for corn. -It should be remembered that in these countries the word “corn” was -applied to almost any kind of grain, but especially to wheat and barley, -as indeed it is at the present day in several other countries. It is -not probable that _Indian maize_, called _corn_ in our land, was ever -referred to in Scripture. - -At the second visit of the patriarch’s sons, Joseph, who recognized -them at the first visit, made himself known unto them and sent them -back with the direction to bring his father, and all that made up the -entire family, into Egypt. - -=10.= After some hesitation on the part of Jacob, he left Hebron, -and passing through Beersheba, started on his way to Egypt, where -he arrived and was met by Joseph, on the plains of =Goshen=. Recent -discovery has located this region about 40 miles northeast of -the present Cairo, in its central point, with a diameter of about -15 miles.[58] - -Jacob was introduced to the reigning Pharaoh when he was 130 years of -age. His interview was followed by the settlement of the entire family, -with all their herds and possessions, in the district above mentioned. -This was a small district included in a much larger one called, in -after times, the land of Rameses, which name had reference to a second -king of that name, Rameses II., who was the great builder monarch, and -who lived not long before the time of the Exodus. He died when Moses -was 80 years of age. - - [The student of Biblical chronology should use considerable - caution in accepting the dates and surmises offered by some - writers in connection with this history. The ages already given - us in the text, namely, 130 for Jacob when Joseph was 39 by the - texts preceding, show that Jacob was 91 years of age at Joseph’s - birth, but by Gen. 31:38 he had been at least 14 years with - Laban, in Mesopotamia, just preceding the birth of Joseph. So - that 14 years before the birth of Joseph he left his home for - Haran, at the age of 77. It seems somewhat probable that Jacob - was 40 years in Haran, and that he means to make that assertion - when, in Gen. 31:38, 41, he separates the two 20 years. This - affords more time for his sons to grow to the ages of that - manhood necessary for the after occurrences narrated in the - history. For the eldest, Reuben and Simeon, were born not until - the marriage with Leah, and this appears to have been only seven - years before the birth of Joseph. Six years after the birth of - Joseph, Jacob leaves with all his family for Shechem, where he - remains eight years. It appears, therefore, that Simeon and Levi, - when they attacked and overthrew Shechem and sacked the town, - were not over 19 or 20 years of age, as six of the last years - and re-engagement for six years in Mesopotamia, and eight in - Shechem, and perhaps a year on the travel, and various stoppages, - give grounds for that supposition, if Jacob was only 20 years - with Laban. It would then be as follows, remembering that Reuben - was the first-born of the sons of Jacob: - - 8th year. Reuben born first year after Jacob’s marriage. - - 14th year. The rest born during the six remaining years; Joseph - now born. - - 20th year. At the close of the last seven years Jacob is newly - employed for six years, which, with the previous 14 years, makes - 20 years with Laban, Gen. 31:38. - - 21st year. Jacob and all the family start for Canaan, and reach - Shechem, including stoppages, in the 21st year, or 13th year - after Reuben’s birth. - - When Jacob arrived in Shechem he bought land, dug a well, and is - considered as resident for eight years. - - 29th year. At the close of this year Simeon and Levi attack the - Shechemites. This would make Reuben about 21 or 22, and Simeon - and Levi 19 and 20, but old enough, with their servants and - probably others, to have executed their revenge. But we must - understand that this is the extreme shortest period, and several - circumstances might have detained them longer on their journeys - and made the sons older. - - In the above calculation it is not necessary to suppose that - Jacob was any longer than 20 years engaged with Laban. It is - impossible to suppose, with some writers, that Jacob was only - 40 years of age when he left his home for Haran.] - -=11. Jacob=, having had the land of Goshen, in Egypt, appointed him, -remained there until his death at 147 years of age, having dwelt in the -land of Egypt 17 years. - -As Joseph died at 110 years of age, he lived 56 years after the death -of Jacob, as governor of Egypt, very probably, since the last account -of him was that “they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” -He lived to see his great grandchildren, and therefore was prominent -in Egypt for a term of 80 years. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - EGYPTIAN TESTIMONIES. - - -=The recovery of the meaning= of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and -the many discoveries of monuments illustrating the early history and -literature of that nation, have added great interest to the study of -Scripture and established the accuracy of Biblical accounts of this -period. - -=1. The articles= which the Ishmaelites carried to Egypt at the -time Joseph was sold are, in part, recorded in a list upon one of the -tablets at Edfu, on the Nile. The first and second of the articles -named in Gen. 37:25 are recorded by name, the article rendered -“spicery” being the name of a gum found in Syria. - -=2. The price of a common slave= of Joseph’s age is recorded in the -time of Rameses XIII. as about $10. This agrees with the statement, -Gen. 37:28, where it is stated that Joseph was sold for twenty pieces -of silver, shown to be shekels of about 50 to 56 cents’ value, which -was high, but Egyptian records show that young men from Syria were -unusually valuable.[59] - -=3. The existence of slavery= is frequently alluded to upon the -monuments and in manuscripts, wherein those who had lost slaves offer -rewards to any one who will bring them back. Moreover, Syrian slaves -are recorded as of great value, and a treaty record is still preserved, -made between Rameses II. and the king of the Hittites, in which it is -agreed to return fugitive slaves. - -=4. The statement has been made= by several Greek historians that the -Egyptians never cultivated the grape nor drank wine. Therefore the -statement that Pharaoh drank the juice of the grapes, or wine, and had -a chief butler, as stated in Gen. 40, was said to be inaccurate. But -the discoveries show that not only were vineyards cultivated, but the -grapes were pressed in the wine-press, grapes were eaten, and wine made -and used before the time of Joseph. - -=5. Various terms= as descriptive of official position, of names of -places and objects of art or commerce, are now shown to be of ancient -Egyptian origin, although brought into the Hebrew language. The use of -these terms and names proves that the early Israelites were in familiar -contact with the Egyptians. - -=6. The name of Rameses=, used in the history of Joseph, as afterward -in the history of the Israelites, has been shown to be that of the -chief Pharaoh of Egypt, and his mummy has recently been recovered with -his name and titles inscribed upon his body, and certified to by the -high-priest. - -=7. The singular remark= made by the writer of Genesis concerning the -shepherds, 46:34, has been thoroughly attested by the history of the -incursion of the Shepherd Kings, who oppressed the land, seized upon -the government in the Delta, and drove the native kings up the Nile to -Thebes, occupying and ruling the land for about 500 years. It was at -the close of their rule that Joseph is supposed to have entered Egypt. - -=8. The keeping of the birthday= of Pharaoh as stated in Gen. 40:20 -is fully attested in the history of the early Egyptian periods. An -inscription of the era of the Exodus tells us that the birthday of -Rameses II. “caused joy in heaven.”[60] Great gatherings and feasts -were had, and the king dispensed his favors as he saw fit.[61] - -=9. The name for the Nile= used in the Hebrew is the Egyptian name for -that river found in the papyri, and translated in our English version -as “the river.” It is not the word the Hebrews used for a river, and -its use proves that the writer was familiar with Egyptian usage. - -=10. The statement as to the offices= of chief butler and chief baker, -as appointed to the Pharaoh, is remarkably attested by the Egyptian -records, which show that these two were very high and important offices, -“for both had the responsible duty of protecting the king’s life from -poison.”[62] - -=11. A most remarkable illustration= of the accuracy of Joseph’s -history, as narrated in Genesis, is seen in the statement that he was -required to change his clothes and be shaven before going into the -presence of the king. Among the kindred of Joseph shaving was never -practised, except as a disgrace. But with the Egyptian the law of -cleanliness required shaving, not only of the chin, but of the hair -also. Not only every priest, but the king himself, was shaven, and the -appearance of great heads of hair, and even of beard, in some pictures -is due to the wigs and artificial beards worn by priests and laymen -alike to cover the bald head. All foreigners were known by being -unshorn. - -The accuracy of Scripture in its references to the land of Egypt in -ancient times has been proved only since the discovery of the meaning -of the hieroglyphics, as Greek historians knew little of Egypt in its -ancient history, and their accounts were erroneous, as is frequently -apparent in Herodotus.[63] - - - - - PERIOD III. - - THE THEOCRACY TO THE JUDGES. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT. - - -=1. How long after the death= of Joseph the Israelites remained in -Goshen until they were enslaved has not as yet been determined. The -account in the book of Exodus opens with the significant expression -that “there arose up a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph.” It has -been supposed that Joseph was governor under the last of the Shepherd -Kings, but this supposition is uncertain, and perhaps wrong, for the -long life of Joseph after he came into Egypt, namely 80 years, added -to the necessarily advanced age of the Pharaoh who was upon the throne -on the arrival of Joseph, would, with greater probability, lead us to -suppose that Joseph’s sojourn in Egypt was extended through more than -one reign of the Shepherd Kings. - -=2. But at the end= of the happy, quiet Shepherd era, among the -descendants of Jacob in Goshen there came a change. The Israelites -became enslaved, for the mandate of the Pharaoh of the period went -forth to set over them taskmasters and to afflict them with burdens, -the object being to put a stop to their excessive growth in numbers. - -=3.= As we have said, =the Shepherd Kings= ruled Egypt for about -500 years. Towards the close of their rule and, as it is generally -supposed, under a king whose name is recorded as Apopi, or, as the -Greek historians spell the name, Aphobis, Joseph came into Egypt, and -the long war between the legitimate kings and the uprising rulers was -continued for about 80 years. - -Finally these Shepherd Kings were driven out of the Delta by a -Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty,[64] and from that period about 400 years -transpired, during which the 18th dynasty passed away and a new dynasty, -the 19th, came into power. Of this 19th dynasty two kings passed away -before the celebrated Seti I. began to reign. Rameses II. was the son -of Seti I., and his reign (67 years) was the longest of any of this -dynasty. - -=4. Moses, at the age of forty=, was driven into the desert of Sinai, -on the east of Egypt, where he escaped from the wrath of the reigning -Pharaoh, and where he remained 40 years, until the death of the king. -The Pharaoh with whom Moses’ name is thus associated must have reigned -a long time, and the reign of Rameses II. meets the conditions of the -history, not only as to time, but also as to the name. It is for these -reasons that the Egyptian Rameses II. is supposed to be the Pharaoh -alluded to in the first chapter of the book of Exodus, as the Scripture -Rameses. - -=5. After the death of Rameses=, Moses returned to Egypt from his -40 years’ residence in the desert of Sinai. As his life in those parts -was spent in the shepherd occupation, he was well acquainted with -the region, and in a large degree fitted for the work to which he was -called by the Lord, to take charge of the deliverance of the Israelites -from the bondage in Egypt. - -By divine command he appeared before the reigning Pharaoh and demanded, -in the name of Jehovah, the release of his brethren, who, in all, must -have been about 2,000,000. This number, though not stated, may be -supposed to be correct as based upon the fact that at the departure -from Egypt the able men numbered 600,000. - -=6. The unwillingness of the king= to let the people go was finally -subdued by a series of remarkable plagues. The most singular feature -of these inflictions is found in the fact that in every case they -seem to have attacked the Egyptians in the most important elements of -either their national greatness or in the direction of their greatest -comforts and reliance. Another singular feature in the whole course of -affliction was their progressive seriousness. - -=7. The first plague= appeared in the sudden change of the waters of -the Nile into blood. The Nile was not only the great source of water -supply, but was supposed to be under the immediate care of the gods -of Egypt. Hymns have come down to us composed in the honor of the -personified Nile. These were composed before the time of Moses, and -give the names of their chief gods to the waters of the great river. -The Nile was “the representative of all that was good.” This plague -made it necessary that the people should begin digging wells near the -banks of the river and elsewhere throughout all Egypt. - -=8. The second plague=, of frogs, attacked in like manner, but more -directly, the religious superstitions. The frog-headed deity Heki -was the wife of the god of the cataracts of the Nile, who also was -represented with a frog’s head. The frog was the symbol of renewed life -after death, and was worshipped as such. - -=9. The third plague= was more intense; it afflicted man and brute -alike. The ground brought forth insects, “lice” so called, in such -abundance that even the priests could not cleanse themselves. The -priests were not allowed to use woollen in any of their garments, -because of the likelihood that it would harbor this vile evil, which -was one greatly abhorred. Insects of every kind, even gnats, were -considered unclean. Priests and people were alike unclean. - -=10. The fourth plague=, of flies, was somewhat similar, being an -insect curse, but now the curse was winged. - -=11. The fifth plague=, of “murrain,” was far more serious, as it not -only touched the honor of the Egyptian faith in the worship of Isis -and Osiris, to whom the cattle were sacred, but caused the death of -the cattle throughout Egypt. It troubled in yet more serious degree -the temple and the market, the priest and the people. - -=12. The sixth= was yet more distressing, for it sent boils and -“blains” upon man and beast, not even the magicians being able to stand -in the presence of Moses “because of the boils.” - -=13. The seventh plague= was one not only of hail, but of fearful -displays of lightning and peals of thunder, such as were never before -known in the land. - -=14. The eighth= was a terrific visitation of locusts which began, in -unprecedented numbers, to eat up all vegetation left by the hail. - -=15. The ninth= was intense darkness, in which plague not only was -there an exceeding discomfort felt throughout the land, but the sun, -which was the most sacred object of reverence, the supreme god of Egypt, -withdrew his light before the command of Moses, as servant of the most -high God. - -=16. The tenth plague= was by far the most fearful of all. It was to -the Egyptians both distressing and ominous. The first-born was, in a -most loving sense, the most important member of the family――the one, -above all the rest, upon whom the privileges of birthright were laid -and who was, accordingly, regarded with special attention and love. -Besides, in this fearful and sudden death of the first-born in every -place there was felt, as never before, the presence of some awful -power immediately back of this plague, which seemed to them to presage -the approach of the destruction of the entire nation, and hence their -outcry, “We be all dead men,” Exod. 12:33. - -The Exodus, or the “departure,” began immediately, and Moses and Aaron, -who had anticipated the result of this last plague, had prepared all -the Israelites by giving them sufficient notice for a hurried flight. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SINAI AND THE DESERT. - - -=1. It is necessary= that we should obtain a general knowledge of -the country over which the Israelites were now to travel. The land of -Goshen, where the great majority of the Israelites were stationed, was -included, probably, in the greater district of Rameses, as we have said. -They left some general rendezvous early in the morning for Succoth, -which was twenty or twenty-five miles southeast of the district of -Goshen. The treasure city Pithom, mentioned with Rameses in the first -chapter of Exodus (verse 11), was in Succoth, as a recent discovery has -shown. The west arm of the Red Sea was about sixty miles farther south. -The triangular district of the country between the two northern arms of -the Red Sea, to which they were going, is a mountainous tract gradually -ascending from the Gulf of Suez, or western arm, to the mountainous -region of Horeb, of which Sinai was a chief mountain.[65] These -mountains are entirely of granite. The large plain at the base of Sinai -is 400 feet above the sea. The Sinai mountain seems to rise directly -up from this plain to the height of from 1,200 to 1,500 feet, and -in some parts, at its base, the rock is for a long distance almost -perpendicular, like a high bluff above the level soil. Parts of the -rocky heights are 2,000 feet above the plain. - -=2. North of this region=, about 50 miles, a sandy stretch of country -comes abruptly to a general rise of sandstone cliffs, which extend many -miles east and west, and the granite rocks disappear, having been left -behind in Horeb. - -It is 200 miles, a little east of north, from Mt. Sinai to the south -end of the Dead Sea and to the lower limits of the land of Canaan, -whither the Israelites were journeying. Mt. Sinai is about 35 miles -from the western and about 25 from the eastern arm of the Red Sea. - - - THE ISRAELITES IN THE DESERT. - -=3. The recent discovery of Succoth= and the treasure city Pithom -fixes this place as that of the first encampment of the Israelites at -the Exodus. One inscription calls the place Petum (the “abode” of Tum) -in the city of Thuku, or “Pithom in the city of Succoth.” - -The great desert now begins, stretching eastward from Succoth for about -200 miles, a very desolate and barren region, to the country of Edom -and the great valley of Arabah, which valley runs northward directly -from the eastern arm of the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, a distance of -115 miles. The chief divine object in directing the course of the -Israelites southeast from Egypt to the region of Horeb and then around -by the Gulf of Akabah, rather than by the short course to Canaan by the -coast, is expressed in the Scripture, and was one of discipline, Exod. -13:17, and preparation for the new life they were destined to live. - -=4. Many misapprehensions= of the real difficulty of this long travel -have resulted from a failure to comprehend the largeness of the company. -It must be remembered that so large a number as 2,000,000 people, with -their herds and flocks, their tents, the Tabernacle, and other baggage, -must have covered a much larger space than is sometimes allowed by -some readers of this history. Thus in crossing the Red Sea and stopping -at stations and fording the Jordan on their arrival at Canaan, and in -settling upon plains, before and after, it must be always kept in mind -that no narrow line or small surface less than several square miles -would in any way represent that necessary area over which the moving -body travelled, or rested when it came to a halt. In its course at -evening the advanced officers would soon lay out upon the area to be -occupied the plan for encampment, and in a short time that space of -land, which an hour before was the prowling-ground for a few wild -beasts of the desert, would become the site of a city of 2,000,000 -inhabitants, with long streets and squares lighted with the magnificent -and mysterious flame which accompanied them during all their wanderings. - -=5. The habits of eating and drinking= in that day were very -different from anything now customary in our midst. The plainest food, -and frequently only one meal a day and one draught of water in 24 hours, -is sufficient for the Bedouin of the desert. We are therefore wrong -in comparing the habits of the times of the Exodus with those of the -present day. - -=6. Very few of the stations= named after crossing the Red Sea can be -certainly located. But after leaving Mt. Sinai, at three days’ journey -Prof. Palmer discovered the evidences of an ancient camp, surrounded -by an immense number of graves, and this place is generally supposed -to mark the site of a station called Kibroth-hattaavah, or “the graves -of gluttony,” the history of which is found in Num. 11:31‒35. A day’s -journey north of this the same explorer discovered other extensive -remains of stone heaps and circles covering the hillsides in every -direction. As the next station of the Israelites is called Hazeroth, -which means “the circles,” and as the Arabs still call this place the -“look-outs of Hazeroth,” it seems that the site of another station is -known. - -=7.= After this it is difficult to trace their course until -they reached =Kadesh=, which is 140 miles due east of their first -camping-ground in Egypt, namely, Succoth, and at present seems -identical with the spot called Ain Gadis, or the spring of Kadesh, -170 miles north by east from Sinai, and 65 miles southwest of the Dead -Sea. - -There is evidence that anciently a great population was scattered -over this region of Ain Gadis, and considerable verdure exists even -at present. This appears to have been the general camping-ground of -the Israelites for a large part of the thirty-seven years before they -finally started to enter the promised land. The sad history of the -event which brought this long delay is recorded in Num. 14. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN. - - -=1. After the long residence= in the region of Kadesh the Israelites -=took up their march= to Canaan. The generation now existing had -been almost altogether born in the desert, and had been raised under -the tutelage of Moses and his brother Aaron. Miriam, the sister, had -undoubtedly added much to the influence which her brothers exerted -by her nearer relation to the female population. The discipline had -had its full effect during this long period, and there had grown up a -vigorous and well-ordered race, totally different from the race that -had left Egypt forty years before. - -=2. It is probable= that during this long period =Moses had written= -out much, if not all, of the Scriptures usually attributed to him -under the title of “the books of Moses.” Although there is no definite -statement in Scripture that all of these books, called the Pentateuch, -are the composition of Moses, certain parts are spoken of as those of -his personal writing. But of the five books the parts spoken of are -only in the closing chapters of the last book, namely, Deuteronomy, and -as the five have never been known except as forming one roll or volume, -the general belief and tradition attribute the whole five to Moses as -author. The impression that Moses was the author of Genesis, and that -this book of Genesis was the beginning of “The Law,” is apparent in the -writings of Longinus, the Greek author, A. D. 270, who quotes Gen. 1:3 -as “the beginning of Moses’ law.”[66] - -=3. The census of the nation= at this time shows that nearly 2,000 men -had disappeared, and perhaps this lessening of the population was due -to the deaths of the strangers and aliens who had become mixed in the -vast crowd at the time of their departure from Egypt. - -The first census was taken at Sinai in the second year after the -crossing of the Red Sea, Num. 1:46, and was 603,550. The second census -was taken nearly 40 years afterwards, just before the entrance into -the promised land, Num. 26:51, and was 601,730, the difference being -1,820. The census included only the able-bodied men fit for war and -over 20 years of age. - -=4. Moses died= upon Mt. Pisgah without crossing the Jordan, Aaron died -on Mt. Hor, and Miriam died at Kadesh. These leaders being dead, the -authority to take charge was vested in Joshua. - - - MT. HOR, MT. NEBO, MT. PISGAH. - -=5. Mt. Hor= is 45 miles south of the Dead Sea, having the ruins of -the city Petra near its eastern base. Wandering Arab tribes control -all access to these two places, but a small chapel marks the spot, -according to tradition, where Aaron died on the top of the mountain. - -=Pisgah= is supposed to be a high plateau ten miles east of the -mouth of the Jordan, and Mt. Nebo a higher portion of the same general -range, but it is at a short distance east of that part where the -high table-land of Moab begins to descend to the Dead Sea. From this -elevation very extensive views of the land west of the Jordan may be -had. - - - THE ERA OF JOSHUA. - -=6. From the high table-land= of Moab the Israelites descended to -the eastern Jordan plains a few miles north of the Dead Sea, and soon -crossed the river and landed upon the wide plain west of the banks. The -crossing must have occupied the bed of the river for a long distance. - -On entrance upon the land of Canaan proper the hosts of Israel -renewedly consecrated themselves to the service of Jehovah at Gilgal. -They accepted Joshua as their commander, and began their first attempt -at subduing the Canaanites by an attack on Jericho. - - - GILGAL AND JERICHO. - -=7. The first of these names= represents simply a gathering-place -of the Israelites when the dedication of themselves to the Lord took -place. Its position is supposed to have been at a place still called -Gilgal, in the Arabic Jiljulieh, nearly three miles west of the Jordan -and six miles north-northwest of its mouth. Jericho at this time was -near the present Ain es Sultan, a very fine spring one and a quarter -miles northwest from the present little Arab village called Er Riha -or Jericho by travellers, and five miles west of the river. After its -destruction at this time it was rebuilt B. C. 918, 1 Kin. 16:34, at the -mouth of the valley of the Kelt, which is the ancient valley of Achor, -and existed at that place in the time of our Saviour. The present -miserable Arab village Er Riha and the tower near it were built during -the crusades. - -The name Gilgal signifies a “rolling” and also a “circle,” and probably -the twelve stones taken from the bed of the Jordan were placed in the -form of a circle, making the real significance more emphatic, but the -true significance of the name is given in the passage, Josh. 5:9, as -a rolling off “the reproach of Egypt,” as described in that chapter. -There were two other towns bearing this name of which mention is made -hereafter. - - - THE SETTLEMENT IN CANAAN. - -=8. Jericho= was inhabited =at this time= by a luxurious people and one -that evidently had profited greatly by the richness of the vast plain -of the Jordan. The mention of the precious metals, “the silver and -gold and vessels of brass and iron,” Josh. 6:19, the “goodly Babylonish -garment,” the 200 shekels of silver, the wedge of gold of 50 shekels’ -weight stolen by Achan, Josh. 7:21, and the references to Baal-peor -in the historic connection, prove their wealth and suggest the nature -of their idolatry. Recent historic discoveries show the cruelty and -fearful depravity of the people with whom they were associated. They -were therefore given over to destruction in accordance with the customs -of that time. - -The name Jericho seems to mean the “city of the moon,” a name given to -the city because of the early worship of the moon at that place under -the title Ashtoreth, which doubtless was derived from the earlier title -of the Babylonian Astarte, the goddess of love. It was given about this -time to a city in Bashan called Ashteroth Karnaim, meaning Ashtoreth of -the two horns, Gen. 14:5. - - - CANAAN. - -=9. This was the name= of the land which the Israelites were now to -conquer. The name was well known to the Egyptians, and we find it -upon the monuments in Egypt and in Assyria. A description of this -land occurs in Egyptian records as early as the time of Thothmes III. -(1600 B. C., Brugsch), also in the reign of Rameses II., “the Pharaoh -of the oppression” (1350 B. C., Brugsch), and from these descriptions -it is plain that the land was settled by numerous tribes who were well -provided with the comforts of living. - -They were not only numerous, but many of their cities were strongly -defended by fortresses. The list of articles recovered by Rameses II. -after his battles in Canaan bore testimony to the wealth of the people -and to the luxuries of their times, for among many other articles were -ivory, ebony, chariots inlaid with gold and silver, suits of armor, -fragrant woods, gold dishes with handles, collars and ornaments of -_lapis lazuli_, silver dishes, vases of silver, precious stones, brazen -spears, etc., “the plunder in fact of a rich and civilized country.”[67] - - - THE AMORITES. - -=10. The land of Canaan at the time of Joshua= was no barbarous -or ill-defended region. In the assault upon the Canaanitish city of -Dapur[68] by Rameses II. the standard of the Amorites appears hoisted -on the highest tower of its citadel.[69] From the pictures of the -Amorites upon the monuments in Egypt they were armed with the bow and -the oblong shield, and used chariots of solid construction fit for -rough ground, and it is probable that the “sons of Anak,” Num. 13:33, -were a distinguished clan among the Amorites and not a distinct -people.[70] They were selected for their size and strength. - - - THE HITTITES. - -=11.= It has been only recently that the history of the Hittites -has come to light. =The earliest references= to this people in secular -history are those which are found in the history of Assyria. They -are first mentioned in Scripture as the sons of Heth, Gen. 23:3, in -connection with the purchase by Abraham of the cave of Machpelah at -Hebron. But fifty-three years before that event the Amorites seem to -have been an important tribe, and fought under the direction of Abraham -the first battle recorded in Scripture, Gen. 14. - -The tribe of Hittites grew to be a strong and remarkable nation -of warriors, extending their conquests into Assyria and far into -Asia Minor. Their name occurs in Homer[71] under the form of “Ketaioi” -and in the Egyptian annals in the time of the great conqueror, -Thothmes III., B. C. 1600, wherein it is recorded that he received the -tribute from the “chief of the great Kheta,” or Hittites, which tribute -consisted in gold, slaves, and cattle. Thus it appears that in a few -centuries after the time when Abram bought the cave of Machpelah of the -sons of Heth, B. C. 1860, they had become a great people. Before the -Exodus they were the powerful rivals of Egypt. - -=12.= Until recently =the expression in the book of Joshua= (1:4) -that the land of the Hittites extended “from Lebanon even unto the -great river, the river Euphrates,” seemed to be an exaggeration. But -the recent discovery of the ruins of their great capital, Carchemish, -situated upon the Euphrates, and the mention of another city not far -off, namely Pethor, where Balaam dwelt, beside many remains extending -far into Asia Minor, all prove that it was no exaggeration, but -historic truth, which is recorded in the book of Joshua concerning -their extended empire. They were finally conquered by the Assyrians, -and their great cities, Carchemish and Pethor, captured, 719 years -before the Christian era, and they never again rose to power. - -The other Canaanitish tribes were unimportant. - - - THE LANGUAGE OF CANAAN. - -=13. The discovery= in A. D. 1868 of the Moabite stone, at Dibon, the -ruins of which city are twelve miles east of the Dead Sea, shows that -the Moabites in that region spoke a language similar to the Hebrew. - -The date of this stone is about 900 B. C. Its inscription is a -remarkable corroboration of the history contained in 2 Kings 3. - -Discoveries at Sidon, a Phœnician town on the Mediterranean, and -at other places, show that a modified Hebrew was very generally the -language of all the Canaanites. - -=14. The pertinacity= with which the more devout and learned of the -Israelites held to the Hebrew during the captivity in Assyria, and ever -since amid all nations and lands, proves that they never forgot the -language which Abraham spoke, but cherished it during their residence -in the land of Egypt, and it is probable that before their entrance -into Canaan they had entirely ceased to speak what little they knew -of the Egyptian tongue. They were the more able and ready, therefore, -to receive the ten commandments and all the rest of those laws which -were written in the Hebrew. And, moreover, there could have been very -little if any difficulty in their understanding the language of the -inhabitants into whose land they had now come. - - - THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CANAAN. - -=15. The land of Canaan= was bounded on the west by the Mediterranean, -on the east by the Jordan, on the south by the desert, and on the north -by the mountains of Lebanon. This was the land of promise. - -At Jericho the valley of the Jordan is a depressed plain about 850 feet -below the Mediterranean, and the surface of the Dead Sea on the south -is still lower, being 1,293 feet below the Mediterranean, so that from -ancient Jericho to the Dead Sea, six miles distant, the valley of the -Jordan falls rapidly. - -Jerusalem is very nearly due west of the mouth of the Jordan, and is -placed on the highest land, with the exception of the Mount of Olives, -between the Jordan and the Mediterranean on that line of latitude, -being about 2,600 feet higher than the sea. - -=16. About 60 miles= in a straight line due north of the Dead Sea the -Jordan issues from the Sea of Galilee, the waters of which were called, -in our Saviour’s time, the Sea of Tiberias and the Lake of Gennesaret. -The shape of the lake is oval, but broader in the northern half, its -length north and south being nearly thirteen miles and greatest breadth -about seven miles. Its surface is 682 feet below the level of the -Mediterranean and the hills on the eastern shore rise to the height of -the great eastern plateau of the table-land of ancient Bashan, which -is 2,000 feet above the Mediterranean. The waters are fresh and abound -with fish. - -=17. In the times of Joshua= and of the early occupation of the -land by the Israelites, the lake was called Chinnereth (Num. 34:11) -and Chinneroth (Josh. 11:2), [_pron. Kin´nereth and Kin´neroth_], -and a city of the same name existed on its western shore very near -the present site of Tiberias. Traces of this ancient city have been -recently (1887) discovered just outside the southern walls. - -Ten miles north of the Sea of Galilee is a smaller reedy lake four -miles long, which is supposed to be the “waters of Merom” (Josh. 11:5), -but now known as Huleh by the Arabs. Into the northern end the upper -Jordan finds its way as it descends from the lower parts of Mt. Hermon. -The surface of this lake is seven feet above the Mediterranean, and -extended plains are on the west and for several miles northward, beyond -which the land rapidly rises into the mountains. - -=18. The country is uplifted= midway between the Jordan and the -Mediterranean and forms an irregularly broad mountainous ridge -stretching from the far south to the borders of the plain of Esdraelon, -called in Scripture “the valley of Megiddo.” This plain is the largest -in Palestine and extends from near the Mediterranean on the west to a -valley plain near the Jordan valley on the east, where it is called the -valley of Jezreel. It is generally about 100 feet above the sea level, -or 150 in its highest average level. - -In various parts it has been the chosen battle-ground of several of the -fiercest contests in Biblical and in modern warfare. - -North of the plain of Jezreel the land rises again into the broken -and irregular hill country of Galilee until the region of the Lebanon -Mountains appears. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE BATTLES OF CONQUEST. - - -=1. The capture of Jericho= was not the result of battle, but was due -to the divine interference in behalf of the Israelites. Jericho was a -strong city and well defended by strong walls, and the destruction of -these walls under the simple process described in the text was not only -a lesson of great significance to the Israelites, but it indicated to -the Canaanitish tribes the mystery of that power with which they were -now called to deal. - -Under Joshua three great battles completed the general conquest of -Canaan and transferred to the Israelites the cities of thirty kings, -Josh. 12:9‒24, and if we include the king of Jericho the number will be -thirty-one. - -Nearly all of the book of Joshua is composed of the history of these -battles and of the division of the land among the tribes after the -conquest. - -=2. The first= of these battles took place on the high land west -of Jericho, at a town called Ai (pronounced A´-i). The site of this -ancient town is known, and it was not far off from the site of Bethel, -which is 13 miles west by north from the position of Jericho at that -time. Ai, now called Haiyan, was two miles, or a little more, east of -Bethel. - -Just north of Ai is a high elevation, 2,570 feet above the -Mediterranean, whereas the site of Jericho at the fountain of -Elisha[72] is 700 feet below, so that the troops of Joshua had a march -of about 1,500 feet ascent up a rocky ravine. Bethel is still higher -(2,890 feet). - -=3. The first great battle of Ai= was preceded by defeat in what may be -called a mere skirmish, as only 3,000 were engaged. This defeat seems -to have been divinely allowed, to place a terrible emphasis upon the -truth that disobedience to the commands of God, even of a small part of -the people, would certainly be followed by punishment. - -The result was terrible, not only in the national mortification -consequent upon the defeat, but in the lesson that no transgressor -could escape either by hiding himself or his stolen spoils, which -in this case had been buried in the ground and covered by the tent, -Josh. 7:11‒26. - -=4. The valley of Achor=, where the fearful punishment was inflicted, -is, without question, the present Wady Kelt, near the opening of which, -upon the plain of Jordan, was the city of Jericho. - -The battle was renewed, all the people of war were engaged, and the -victory was complete. - -=5. The next event= of great importance was the gathering of all -the people in a central part of the land at two mountains called Ebal -and Gerizim. This gathering was in execution of the command of Moses, -Deut. 27, and was intended to cause them to renew their covenant with -God and to set before them the blessings which should be granted upon -obedience and the curses which should follow disobedience. - - - EBAL AND GERIZIM. - -=6. The location for this great gathering= was admirably chosen. Ebal -is a mountain whose highest point is 3,077 feet above the Mediterranean. -Gerizim, right opposite, and southward, is 2,849 feet, and between -them is the valley, whose surface is about 1,600 feet above the sea. -In this valley, which runs east and west, is Shechem, on the southern -side and partly built upon the ascent of Mt. Gerizim. The gathering may -have taken place on the west of the city, where the valley is bounded -on the north by that part of the western extent of the Ebal range which -slightly recedes from the line of the valley and takes the form of an -amphitheatre. But there is ample room on the east, where the elevations -of both sides are far greater. The valley opens eastward upon the great -level plain of Moreh, several square miles in extent. Where the valley -opens upon this plain is the well of Jacob (John 4:6), and not far -north of this well is the traditional tomb of Joseph, Josh. 24:32, -whose embalmed body they buried there after they had conquered the -country. - -=7. The vicinity of this well= and the former history made this ground -sacred to the Israelites, for here was Jacob’s first settlement and -property, purchased of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, 280 -years before. Even before that purchase by Jacob it was sacred, because -that 189 years before Jacob’s time Abraham built here an altar to the -Lord after that He had appeared to him and promised to give this land -unto his seed, Gen. 12:6, 7. - -The altar built here by Joshua, Josh. 8:30, was therefore the third -altar erected in this vicinity, the first by Abraham and the second by -Jacob, Gen. 33:20. - -It is very probable that the great battle at Ai was fought with the -view of clearing the way for the uninterrupted passage of the entire -hosts of Israel to the plain just spoken of, called the plain of Moreh, -which stretches out eastward from the bases of Ebal and Gerizim, and -was 20 miles north of Ai. - -=8. Shechem= never was a large town before the conquest. After it was -despoiled by the sons of Jacob and all the inhabitants destroyed or -taken captive, Gen. 34, it does not appear as re-settled until after -the arrival of the Israelites at their first great national convention -at Ebal, as described in the eighth chapter of the book of Joshua. - -=9. The second great battle= or campaign began at Gibeon. This -place has been identified with an elevated ruin five and a half miles -northwest of Jerusalem. It should be remembered that the Israelites -returned to the camp at Gilgal near the ford of the Jordan, this being -their first great camping-place, and remaining such during their first -seven[73] years, until they removed to Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle -in that place, Josh. 18:1. - -During the second campaign Joshua conquered nearly all the southern -half of Palestine. - -=10. The third great campaign= began with the greatest battle of the -conquest, at the waters of Merom, Josh. 11:5. Here a great plain exists -eight or nine miles in extent north and south, having the waters of the -lake with a part of the upper stream of the Jordan on the east border. -In this battle the Israelites came off victors, and then followed a -series of reprisals, which with previous wars consumed about five years. - -During all these years the women and children, with the herds and -flocks, remained at Gilgal on the plains of the Jordan near Jericho. - -=11. The next great move= was to SHILOH. This place was upon the -highland 2,230 feet above the sea, nineteen miles north of Jerusalem -and about the same distance from the camping-ground at Gilgal. We -suppose that the Gilgal of this time was about three miles southeast -of ancient Jericho and at the pool now called that of Jiljulieh. - -Some remains of Shiloh, now called Seilun, yet appear, partly on a -low hill surrounded by higher hills. Jerome says that in his time, -A. D. 340‒420, it was in ruins. The top of the hill has been levelled -for several hundred feet, where are found some ancient foundations and -hewn stones, and here, as is supposed, was the site of the Tabernacle. -A little over a half-mile to the northeast is a spring called the -spring of Seilun, and a pool where the seizure of the young women -described in Judg. 21:19‒23 might very easily have taken place. - -=12. Shiloh remained= the religious capital and the city where the -Ark and the Tabernacle rested for about 300 years, until the Ark was -removed to the battlefield, 1 Sam. 4:3, and captured by the Philistines, -after which it was never returned to Shiloh. The Tabernacle and the -brazen altar were also removed and set up at Gibeon before the Temple -at Jerusalem was built, 1 Chron. 16:39; 21:29, 30. Gibeon was five and -a half miles northwest of Jerusalem and 2,535 feet above the sea. - -For the history of the capture of the Ark, its restoration to Israel, -and its remaining at Kirjath-jearim many years before its placement in -the Temple at Jerusalem, read 1 Sam. 4 and 6 with 7:1, and 2 Sam. 6, -also 1 Kin. 8:1‒8. - -The tradition that the Ark was hidden by the prophet Jeremiah in a -cavern in Mt. Pisgah has arisen from a statement in the second book -of Maccabees, 2 Mac. 2:4, written about B. C. 144. But before this -time there was a tradition among the Jews, which was recorded in the -Babylonian Talmud,[74] that the Ark was hidden in a chamber of the -Temple buildings, and out of this seems to have grown the other and -later tradition. The Ark was probably burned at the destruction of the -Temple under Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 588, 2 Chron. 36:19. - -=13. Kirjath-jearim=, where the Ark remained so long, 1 Sam. 7:2, -was seven miles west by north of Jerusalem. In this connection it is -necessary to say that, while the statement in 1 Sam. 7:2 leaves the -impression in the English translation that 20 years was the whole time -during which the Ark remained at that place, yet “the sense clearly -expressed in the original” is that from the first placing of the Ark at -Kirjath-jearim 20 years transpired of anxious expectation that Jehovah -would interpose for the deliverance of his people before that Samuel -gave them any hope.[75] - -The Ark remained at Kirjath-jearim from about the time of Eli’s -death through the reign of Saul and until David took it from thence to -Jerusalem, with the exception of the three months during which it was -at the house of Obed-edom, 2 Sam. 6. That was from about B. C. 1140 to -B. C. 1042, or nearly one hundred years. - -=14. The next great work= performed at Shiloh was the division of the -land among the tribes of Israel. At this time, about 1444 B. C., we -have the first recorded survey, and this was described by the cities -then existing and “in a book,” which was probably attended with the -first map of the land. - -Of the twelve tribes, the Levites received no district in the division, -they having been devoted to the service of the Tabernacle. Of the -remaining eleven tribes, Manasseh had a section of land east of the -Jordan as well as one west. - -=15. After this division= the appointment of =six cities of refuge= -was made both east and west of the Jordan, and very nearly equally -distributed north and south. Of these six cities only the three west -of the Jordan have been identified with present towns. One was KEDESH, -now called Kades, four miles west by north of the “waters of Merom.” It -was on a hill overlooking the plain on the west of the “waters,” which -are now known by the name of the Lake of el-Huleh. The second city -of refuge west of the Jordan was SHECHEM, sixty-three miles towards -the south; and the third HEBRON, eighteen miles south of Jerusalem and -about fifty south of Shechem. Those east of Jordan were probably very -nearly on the same latitude, namely, GOLAN, east of Kedesh; RAMOTH in -Gilead, east of Shechem, probably identified with the town now called -es Salt, twelve miles east of Jordan on an elevation 2,500 feet above -the Mediterranean and twenty miles north of the Dead Sea; and BEZER, -not yet identified, but east of the Dead Sea, on the plains of Reuben. - -=16. The object of this appointment= of cities of refuge was to protect -the unintentional manslayer from the vengeance of his pursuer. Any one -who had “unwittingly” Josh. 20:3, slain a man might fly to the nearest -city of refuge and “declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that -city,” and dwell there until his case was decided by “the congregation -for judgment” and until the death of the high-priest. The guilty party, -if an intentional manslayer, was delivered up to the avenger. See -Deut. 19:11. - -The cities of refuge, as we have seen, were as equally distributed -throughout the land as the positions of important and accessible cities -would admit. - -=17. The blood feud= had existed for centuries under the -traditionary demand of “a life for a life,” and this demand, without -the slightest regard to the intention of the manslayer, was customary -and even obligatory, so that the nearest relative of the slain man -was charged with the duty of destroying the manslayer whenever a -favorable opportunity presented itself. This custom was modified by -the appointment of the cities of refuge and by the institution of laws -associated with their appointment, so that thereafter the innocent -slayer should not suffer equally with the guilty, although the fact -that he had shed blood even unintentionally would subject him to the -inconvenience of separation from his family for a time. - -=18. The rehearsal of the Law= at the great convention at Shechem, the -division of the land among the tribes, and the appointment of cities -of refuge[76] were equally in accordance with the directions of Moses, -and they followed upon the entrance and conquest as soon as it was -possible to carry them into execution. The three events are therefore -in accordance with the spirit of the times and the provisions of the -law, and are properly connected with the age of Joshua, although some -writers have thought that the appointment of the cities of refuge took -place some centuries later. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE INTRODUCTION OF IDOLATRY. - - -=1. During the life of Joshua= and of the elders or officers who -outlived their leader and were acquainted with the early history of the -nation, the Israelites held to their obedience to and reverence for the -Mosaic law in all its bearings upon them. But after this era of about -thirty years a remarkable defection took place, and the generation -which grew up was drawn into alliances and such social intercourse -with the inhabitants that many were won over to the faith and rites -of Canaanitish idolatry. - -=2. It should be remembered= that these Canaanitish tribes were not -only possessed of riches, but they showed considerable advance in the -knowledge of art, and their idolatries were attended by a degree of -mystery and splendor which we are not accustomed to attribute to them. -These conditions are only suggested by certain intimations in the -Scriptural records, but plainly shown by recent discoveries, wherein -the luxuries and riches of these nations are described by the victors -in their records of tribute and capture, as we have shown. - -=3. The fascination= of this splendid idolatry had its influence -upon the people who had spent their early lives in the monotony -of the desert and of a worship which was devoid of images or of -anything which could impress itself upon the sight, except the distant -and inaccessible pillar of fire and cloud or the rarely seen and -approachless Ark, with a few other objects of which many had only -occasionally heard. But in the land of the Canaanites and of their own -tribes they met the symbols of the worship of Baal and of Ashtoreth -upon almost every high hill and in every beautiful grove; they saw -their sacred sculptures frequently and their ornamented temples, some -remains of which are found upon the mountains of Lebanon at the present -day. And those who could not see them were daily entertained with vivid -descriptions of the altars and the gold and silver ornaments associated -with the worship of the moon as Ashtoreth and of the sun as Baal. - -=4. Baal was the chief god= of Canaan, whose worship was manifold and -spread through the Canaanitish tribes under varied names, which, though -differing in form, always suggested the same cruel or obscene worship. -Hence the term in Scripture Baalim,[77] the plural of Baal. Thus there -was the Baal-thammuz, Ezek. 8:14; Baal-moloch (the fire Baal), 2 Kin. -23:10; Baal-zebub, 2 Kin. 1:2, presiding over that decomposition which -gave rise to new life, for zebub, “flies,” symbolized that life; hence -the Jewish form in the time of Christ of Beelzebub as a burlesque upon -the word and worship, since zebul (the Greek in the New Testament) was -a sarcasm intended to mean _dung_, and Satan was thus contemptuously -called lord of the dung-heap or Beelzebul. A change of place also -changed the form of the name――Baal-hermon, Baal-hazor, Baal-meon, etc. - -=5. The worship of Baal= and of Ashtoreth was attended by great cruelty -and debauchery. These features were stamped upon all the ceremonies of -their worship and the precepts of their religion. No other people ever -rivalled them in the mixture of bloodshed and debauchery.[78] Every -influence for good seemed to have been banished from their religion. -Their most frightful worship was that of Baal-moloch, referred to above. -In this children were burned alive by their parents; and this practice -in honor of Baal was carried by the Phœnicians even to Carthage, where -it became an institution of the State. - -=6. It was to avoid the contamination= of these various idolatries that -Moses commanded the extermination of the Canaanites, and it was due to -the fact that they permitted the Canaanites to reside among them that -the Israelites soon fell into their ways of worship, and in after years -they were led in some degree to adopt even the rites of the bloody -Moloch. - - - - - PERIOD IV. - - THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES. - - ABOUT B. C. 1402‒1060 (USSHER), BUT FROM HISTORY APPARENTLY - OVER 400 YEARS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE NATURE OF THE OFFICE. THE CHRONOLOGY. - - -=1. Soon after the death of Joshua= the conquest of the land was -continued under the lead of the tribe of Judah. But the Israelites soon -began to be affiliated with the inhabitants. Intermarriages, commercial -and social intercourse brought about the change whereby the worship -of Baal and Ashtoreth took the place of the ancient service of the -God of their fathers, and the Israelites seemed to be given up to the -idolatries of the surrounding nations. - -=2. A long series of captivities= and servitudes now began which -introduced a new class of public officers, called =Judges=, who united -the office of general-in-chief and of referee in civil cases, thus -partaking somewhat of the duties indicated by the name “judge” by which -they are called in Scripture. - -=3.= But =the duties= of the so-called judge varied with the times and -the person. Gideon declined to rule, delegating all rule to Jehovah, -and acted only as deliverer. His son Abimelech coveted the office of -king, and was the only king during this period and the first king in -any part of Israel. Eli judged Israel 40 years, 1 Sam. 4:18, and was a -noted high-priest. Samuel judged all the days of his life, 1 Sam. 7:15, -and was also the first of the long unbroken series of prophets, uniting -with this accredited and newly created office that of sacrifice and -intercession for the people, 1 Sam. 7:5. Samuel closed the line of -Judges. - -=4. The period of the Judges= presents us with a most singular form of -government and totally unlike any other form which either had preceded -or did succeed it. These rulers were generally divinely appointed, but -at times seem to have been elected by the people, as in the case of -Jephthah and Abimelech, Judg. 11:6; 9:3. - -=5. The most remarkable fact= connected with the history of the times -of the Judges, from about B. C. 1400‒1060, is found in the private and -public =idolatry= of the Israelites. This idolatry should be considered -in view of the covenant their fathers had solemnly made at Sinai, -and more especially in view of the warnings by Moses, reiterated by -Joshua, and despite the consecration of themselves at Shechem. Many -who were living at this time had formed a part of the great convention -of consecration and covenant held under Joshua. Notwithstanding all -these promises of loyalty to God, there seems to have been no form -of idolatry into which they did not fall. The cause of this strange -defection is very forcibly presented in Judg. 3:5‒8. - -Another remarkable feature of this age is seen in the renewals -of idolatry after equally repeated deliverances from distressful -servitudes followed by temporary reforms. - -=6. One constant cause= of the persistent idolatry was doubtless to -be found in the continued social relations of the Israelites with the -tribes of the Canaanites. The wisdom of the forewarnings of Moses, -Deut. 7:3‒5, and of Joshua, and of the command made very early in their -history that the Canaanites should be driven out from the land, and -that no association should be had with them, is now very apparent, Exod. -34:16. The non-observance of the command was followed by these intimate -relations all over the land. At least seven tribes are named, Judg. 1, -as living together with the Canaanites. Even Judah, Benjamin, and the -Jebusites dwelt in Jerusalem together at this time, Josh. 15:63 and -Judg. 1:21. - -=7. The Canaanites= therefore =were admitted= into the nation of -Israelites by a kind of naturalization, and they brought in with -them their customs and idolatries, although they themselves were made -tributary. - -=8. The history of the times= of the Judges is derived mainly from the -books of Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel. But considerable light is added -from the records of surrounding nations, especially from those of the -Egyptians. In a poem by the poet laureate of the times of Rameses II., -B. C. 1350, it is asserted that the Hittites in a battle on the plain -of Esdraelon had 2,500 chariots of war. This was before the Israelites -left Egypt, and the monuments record that Rameses III. captured 994 -Canaanitish chariots. - -The goddess Ashtoreth was, according to Naville, the patroness of -war-chariots, and although the chariots taken by Joshua were drawn by -horses, Josh. 11:6, we find them on some of the monuments represented -as drawn by oxen, and it is said that oxen have been trained to run -fast. - -It should be remembered that the use of scythes or swords attached to -the wheels or sides of chariots does not appear to have been in vogue -until after this period.[79] - -=9. The Israelites= had no war chariots until the time of David, 2 Sam. -8:4, and it is highly improbable that at that time they were used for -war purposes, but only as baggage or forage wagons, and the remaining -number taken in battle were disjointed, crippled, or destroyed, as the -Hebrew text is translated in the Septuagint, and not that the horses -were “houghed,”[80] as in our English version. - -=10.= Solomon, B. C. 992, gathered chariots from Egypt and horses, -although he was a man of peace, and it does not appear for what purpose -the chariots were used except for display; but the act was certainly in -direct violation of the law, Deut. 17:14‒20, and marked the beginning -of that king’s departure from the service of Jehovah. - -=11. The chronology of the times= of the Judges is not clearly made -out. It cannot be determined that the Judges all reigned consecutively -or that any one Judge had authority over any larger district than that -of a few tribes. The Scriptural order seems to be as follows: - - ───────────────────┬───────────┬─────────────┬────────────┬─────────── - │ Duration │ │ Duration │ Began to - Conquerors. │ of │ The Judge. │ in office,│ rule B. C. - │ servitude.│ │ or “Rest.” │ (Ussher). - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Chushan-rishathaim │ 8 years. | │ │ 1402 - │ │ Othniel │ 40 years. │ 1394 - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Eglon │ 18 years. │ │ │ 1354 - │ │ Ehud │ 80 years. │ 1336 - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Philistines │ ? │ Shamgar │ ? │ ? - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Jabin, a Canaanite │ │ │ │ - king at Hazor │ 20 years. │ │ │ 1316 - │ │ Deborah and │ │ - │ │ Barak │ 40 years. │ 1296 - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Midianites and │ │ │ │ - Amalekites, etc. │ 7 years. │ │ │ 1256 - │ │ Gideon │ 40 years. │ 1249 - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Civil war │ │ Abimelech │ 3 years. │ 1209 - │ │ Tola │ 23 years. │ 1206 - │ │ Jair │ 22 years. │ 1183 - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Philistines and │ │ │ │ - Ammon │ 18 years. │ │ │ 1161 - │ │ Jephthah │ 6 years. │ 1143 - │ │ Ibzan │ 7 years. │ 1137 - │ │ Elon │ 10 years. │ 1130 - │ │ Abdon │ 8 years. │ 1120 - ───────────────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼────────────┼─────────── - Philistines │ 40 years. │ │ │ 1112 - │ │ Samson │ 20 years. │ - │ │ Eli │ 40 years. │ - │ │ Samuel │ All the │ - │ │ │ days of │ - │ │ │ his life, │ - │ │ │1 Sam. 7:15.│ dies 1060 - │ │ SAUL │ │ 1095 - │ │ │ │ FIRST YEAR - │ │ │ │ OF REIGN. - ───────────────────┴───────────┴─────────────┴────────────┴─────────── - -The period of the Judges closed at the time when Saul was appointed -king, B. C. 1095. Joshua died B. C. 1426, as is supposed, but some[81] -have thought that at least thirty years passed between the death of -Joshua and the first servitude, and the general opinion is that at -least four hundred years, or even four hundred and fifty, must be -taken as the length of time from Joshua to Saul, the first king. By -adding the time of the servitudes and those of the rules of the Judges, -including the time from the death of Joshua, we have about the sum -stated in Acts 13:20. But it is difficult to reconcile the chronology -of this period with that of other periods because of the want of -sufficient fulness of statement in the history of the Judges.[82] - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE SCRIBES OF THE AGE. - - -=1. It should be remembered= that during these ages in all -prominent nations =the office of scribe= or historian was a very -important one, the existence of which was very general. Before the -Exodus the historians accompanied the kings of Egypt and Assyria in -their expeditions. Several references to such persons are found in the -Scriptures, 2 Kin. 25:19; 2 Chron. 26:11, as especially belonging to -the army. They are called “remembrancers” and “writers of chronicles” -or “recorders” in the time of David, 2 Sam. 8:16. There were =also -poets=, who described the events of the national history or the prowess -of the king, not only in Egypt and Assyria, long before David, but -also in Israel. The book of Jasher referred to in Josh. 10:13 and -2 Sam. 1:18 was probably a poetic history of heroic acts, very similar -to one discovered in Egypt, called the poem of Pentaur, celebrating the -courage of the Pharaoh, Rameses II., who was contemporary with Moses. - -=2. The number= of writers of different kinds must have been =much -greater= than is generally supposed. At a very early period during -the residence of the Israelites in Egypt the taskmasters were always -accompanied with “writers,” called “officers” in our version, Exod. 5:6, -and we find them pictured on the monuments, with their tablets and -reeds, writing even while walking. The children of Israel had scribes -also on their brick-fields to check off the records of those who -wrote for the taskmasters, Exod. 5:15, 19. So also the Judges in “the -gates”[83] had their writers, Deut. 16:18, also called “officers.” - -Writers were employed for such engineering purposes as are recorded -in Josh. 18:9, and these were not simply draughtsmen who mapped the -country in a book, but also recorded the position of cities, of which -not less than four hundred and eleven are mentioned by name. - -=3. In more recent times= there arose the class of writers called by -the Hebrews “=Sopherim=” or “scribes,” who appear to have been high -officers of the State or secretaries, recording edicts of the king -besides the many important occurrences of history. - -=4. That writers= or scribes =existed= at so early a period as that -when the Israelites were in the desert is certain from the statement -in Num. 11:16, where Moses is commanded to assemble these writers with -the seventy elders. It is plain from these instances that there were -numbers in the camp who were expert writers, and it is highly probable -that many of the people were instructed through their writings, not -only then, but during all the residence of the Israelites in Canaan. - -=5. There were men= then, as now, =peculiarly fitted= to record current -events, or interested in genealogy, or gifted with poetic talent, and -their inclinations led them to make records which were interesting at -those periods, or to make “books” which were known to be faithful and -authentic; and hence in no less than fourteen instances there seem -to be references to such books throughout the Old Testament writings: -Num. 21:14; Josh. 10:13; 1 Sam. 10:25; 1 Kin. 4:32, 33; 11:41; 1 Chron. -27:24; 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 12:15; 20:34; 33:19; 35:25. - -=6. It is certain= therefore that in the times of the monarchy =public -records= were =carefully= kept, and even long before that time the -people were not without their historians, who wrote down all important -events and preserved and copied writings for others then living and for -those who should come after them. - - - - - PERIOD V. - - THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS TO THE CAPTIVITY. - - FROM B. C. ABOUT 1095 TO B. C. 588, 507 YEARS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. REIGN OF SAUL. - - -=1. One of= the most evident =results= of the intimate =associations= -of the Israelites with the Canaanitish tribes was the desire to have a -king. - -In the transition from the era of the Judges to that of the -Kings =there arose a man= whose earliest days had been passed in the -precincts of the Tabernacle at Shiloh under the care of Eli, the priest -and judge of Israel. He seems to have been one whose evident piety and -clear and manly judgment had impressed the people with a reverence for -him from his earliest days. No other person in the times of the Judges -seems to have been known so universally as uniting in one man divine -authority and wisdom, and of no other had it been said that “all Israel, -from Dan to Beersheba, knew that =Samuel= was established to be a -prophet of the Lord,” 1 Sam. 3:20. - -=2. With Samuel=, as we have said, the line of the Judges closes. By -divine direction he gratified the demands of the people by appointing -Saul king over Israel, but not without a solemn warning as to the -despotism with which the kings, in the future, would rule over them. - -The whole land now becomes united under one ruler as a king, but at the -same time strongly influenced by the prophetic authority of Samuel, who -seems never to have lost power, either over the people or the king. - -=3. Dan= and =Beersheba= were towns which in common speech limited the -whole land, the former on the north, the later on the south. Dan was -the name of only the tribe on the Mediterranean west of Jerusalem until -the time that a colony from this tribe migrated to the extreme north of -Canaan, beyond all the tribes, and drove out a company of Sidonians who -had settled by themselves near the southern parts of Mt. Hermon, in a -place before called Laish. This town the Danites conquered, and, taking -possession of the place, named it Dan, after their ancestor. - -Scarcely anything remains of this ancient city, but its location, -called Tel el-Kady is beautiful, at the head of the plain of Huleh, -nearly twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee. There are two -fine springs at the ancient site and the elevation is 505 feet above -the Mediterranean, which is twenty-five miles distant, on the west, -to a point near the city of Tyre, which then existed. Dan was in the -region assigned to the tribe of Naphtali. - -=4. Beersheba= was exactly 148 miles south-southwest of Dan. Here the -only remains consist of two very ancient large wells. The site still -bears the ancient name and is twenty-seven miles southwest from Hebron. -The wells contain excellent water and show the rope-grooves of many -centuries in the massive stones with which they are lined and curbed. - -=5. The introduction of Saul= to the full possession of the kingly -office and authority was after his first battle, near a place east of -the Jordan, called Jabesh-gilead. - -The Ammonites had come up against this city from the south and -demanded its unconditional surrender. In their distress they sent -to their brethren, at Gibeah, where Saul resided. Saul seems to have -had, at this time, but little to do as king, and it was not until he -returned from the field, where he had been attending to his cattle, -that on inquiry he learned the condition of the inhabitants of -Jabesh-gilead and their appeal for help to their brethren, who were -publicly lamenting their inability to give them any aid. - -=6. Saul immediately hewed a yoke of oxen= into pieces, and sending -messengers with pieces of the oxen throughout the entire land of -Israel, made wise use of the name of Samuel in union with his own, in -the threat, “Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, -so shall it be done unto his oxen,” 1 Sam. 11:7. - -No such universal call to united effort had before sounded over -the land for ages. It was the sword of the king and the authority of -Samuel the prophet of the Lord, and the call was honored from Dan to -Beersheba. The messengers from the besieged city were hurried back with -the cheering reply from the gathering army, “To-morrow by that time the -sun be hot ye shall have help,” 1 Sam. 11:9. - - - JABESH-GILEAD. - -=7. Jabesh-gilead= is not certainly identified, but it was not far -off from a valley known as Wady Jabes, or Yabes, about twenty miles -southeast of the Sea of Galilee, in the land of Gilead. - -Bezek, where the hosts gathered before they started to cross the Jordan, -was some plain near the Jordan not yet identified. - -=8. Three hundred and thirty thousand= of Israel gathered themselves -together in three bands and hastily crossed the Jordan in the night, -and before the heat of day they had slain and routed the Ammonites in -the greatest battle that had been known in Canaan for several centuries. - -So great was the reaction from the long-continued indifference -to united effort, and especially to the publicly expressed lack of -confidence in Saul, that, in keeping with their rude manners, they -demanded the immediate execution of those who had spoken against the -king. - -=9. But Samuel turned this feeling= into another channel. He summoned a -great gathering similar to the one called by Joshua 300 years before at -Shechem, but at this time the assembly was at Gilgal. Here they renewed -their promises to God and to the king. This was the Gilgal which was -upon the plains of Jericho, and of which we have already spoken. - -=10. Saul now became king= in its fullest sense. His first act was -to appoint a standing army of 3,000. By an ill-timed attack upon an -outpost of the Philistines the anger of that entire nation was aroused -at a time when the Israelites were unprepared to meet them. Samuel -was called upon for advice and service, but Saul’s impatience and -disobedience to the directions of the prophet discouraged Samuel so -greatly that he withdrew from Saul. Jonathan by a stratagem executed in -the night, 1 Sam. 14, created a panic in the Philistine army, and the -Israelites, gathering together from various hiding-places to which they -had fled in their fear, joined in pursuit, until the Philistines were -driven back to their own country, which was upon the southwest coast of -Palestine about forty miles distant. - -But the repeated instances of disobedience, coupled with deception, on -the part of Saul led Samuel to withdraw from the king entirely and for -ever, and by divine appointment he anointed David, in private, to be -successor to Saul. David’s appointment was suspected, and it aroused -the bitter jealousy of the king, which was shown by his continued -pursuit and persecution of David, until the great and final battle of -Saul’s reign, which took place on the plain of Jezreel, against the -Philistines, about B. C. 1056. - - - SAUL’S LAST BATTLE. - -=11. This battle=, with its associated geography and incidental history, -requires some knowledge of the localities of SHUNEM, GILBOA, and EN-DOR. - -The Philistines, with whom Saul was soon to contend, had approached the -great plain of Esdraelon from their coast on the southwest. They had -passed up the plain of Sharon northward along the shore of the Great -Sea and entered through the pass of Mt. Carmel, which range limits this -plain on the southwest, and thus they had entered the plain which we -have already described, page 101. - -Saul had gathered his army, and passing northward along the central -elevated ridge, had reached the same plain at the town of En-gannim, -which is on the edge of the southern border and overlooks the plain. -Shunem was ten miles north. Here the Philistines were now gathering -in their forces from the west, since the pass is sixteen miles west -of Shunem. - -It is an interesting fact that Gen. Kleber, under Napoleon I. in -his battle with the Turks, 1799, drew up his smaller army of fifteen -hundred in a square occupying exactly the same ground which a part of -the Philistine army covered at this time, while the Turks with their -twenty-five thousand covered more of the same battle-ground on the -north.[84] - -=12. Shunem=, now called Solam, is on the west and southern end of the -short hill range running east, and supposed to be the hill of Moreh, -but the Philistines occupied the plain on the south of this ridge-end, -for Saul’s army was across the valley on the west end of Mt. Gilboa and -immediately opposite the Philistines. Between the two armies was the -valley of Jezreel running down eastward to Beth-shean in the valley of -Jordan. The town of Jezreel, which gave name to the valley, was south -of Shunem――Shunem on the Philistines’ side, Jezreel on that of Saul. - -Just one mile and a half southeast of the valley of Jezreel is the -“Fountain of Jezreel,” now a large body of water fed by a spring -called Ain Jalud. This is probably both the Fountain of Jezreel of -1 Sam. 29:1, and the “water” referred to in Judg. 7:4. It is also the -“well of Harod” of the first verse. - -It was just two centuries before this battle that Gideon at this place -obtained his great victory over the Midianites, and it was, perhaps, -chosen by Saul because of the fountain. - -=13. As Saul had= more than 300,000 warriors in his battle with the -Ammonites and was as fully aware of the seriousness of a conflict with -the Philistines as he was there with the Ammonites, it is probable -that he brought into the field as many as he then had. The Philistines -had a much larger number than Saul, and the total number therefore in -conflict could not have been less than 700,000. - -The evening before the morning of the battle Saul came fully to the -conclusion that the Philistines were too strong for the forces under -his command. In his forlorn belief in the spirit world and in the -existence of Samuel, although three years dead, he determined upon -an interview with the prophet if it were possible by a witch’s power -of incantation to obtain it. As soon as it was dark, Saul, disguised, -and with two trusty servants, crossed the valley from Gilboa northward -to the village of En-dor, where in the caves near at hand there dwelt -such a woman as he sought. The distance from the Fountain of Jezreel is -about seven miles north. The interview with Samuel, which seems to have -been as unlooked for and as terrible to the witch as it was dreadful -and disheartening to Saul, is recorded in 1 Sam. 28:3‒25. - -=14. Early the next day= the battle began. The place called Aphek, -where the main centre or headquarters of the Philistines was located, -is not known, but was probably a mile southwest of Shunem, where the -left wing of the army extended upon the line of its approach. The -Philistines had the army of Saul at terrible disadvantage from the -fact that his troops were drawn up southeast of them against the foot -of Gilboa and slightly covering its sides, and thus elevated to the -shafts of the archers. It was at about this age that the bow in war -was used with terrible fatality by some of the African nations, and the -Philistines had added this weapon to their javelins and short arms.[85] - -=15. It was a battle of arrows= against swords and slings, and the -archers won the victory, and after a long day’s fearful contest Saul -and his three sons lay dead among the defeated thousands that covered -the flanks of Gilboa. - -Beth-shean was in sight eastward down the valley of Jezreel. It -probably was never a Jewish but always a Canaanitish city, and here -the Philistines the next day carried the headless trunk of Saul’s body -and nailed it upon the outside walls with the bodies of his sons, while -the salted head of the king was sent to the land of the victors to be -carried around through the cities of the Philistines on exhibition. - -Large numbers of the Philistines now took possession of the vacated -cities, and many of the Israelites crossed the Jordan to find other -homes until better times should come. - - - ZIKLAG AND THE SOUTH COUNTRY. - -=16. Among the vast numbers of the Philistine army=, as they came -upon the plain from Mt. Carmel, David’s royal friend, King Achish, -occupied the rear, and David and his small band would be distinguished -from the lack of the conventional army uniform, which could be seen -at a great distance. The appearance of the Philistines in war was -specially distinguishable from that of all other warriors by a peculiar -head-dress and tightly-fitting tunic, leaving the arms bare. - -But David’s presence formed ground for suspicion, and he was dismissed -to return with his men to =Ziklag=. The situation of this place is not -known, but from various circumstances it could not have been far off -from the hill country of Judæa and in the general vicinity and south of -Gath, since Achish, who gave him the place, was king of that city.[86] - -=17.= On his return to Ziklag, finding that the Amalekites of the far -south had burned his city and carried off all the families, David and -his men pursued after them, recovered all, and returned to Ziklag. -“=The south=” was a special term for that country beginning somewhere -about Beersheba and reaching fifty or sixty miles south, and perhaps -farther. - -=18. The duration of Saul’s reign= was about forty years, or as the -commonly received chronology presents it, from 1095 B. C. to 1056 B. C., -and at the latter date Saul and his eldest son Jonathan died upon the -battlefield. - -In this great battle the Philistines, as we have said, used bows and -arrows, and in this respect had a great advantage over the Israelites, -who were not taught the use of this instrument in war until after this -battle, 2 Sam. 1:18, and in the reign of David. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE REIGNS OF DAVID AND OF SOLOMON. - - -=1. Upon the death of Saul= and Jonathan the kingdom of Israel was -ruled by =two kings=, David and the son of Saul, Ish-bosheth, whom -Abner, the captain-general of Saul’s host, had made king over all -Israel excepting Judah, which was loyal to David, 2 Sam. 2:4. Saul’s -son reigned only two years, when he was assassinated by two of his -“captains of bands.” After this event the chief men of Israel came to -David, who was at Hebron, and entered into a league with him, by which -he became king over all Israel at the age of forty years. - -After seven years of reign at Hebron he attacked the city of the -Jebusites, 18 miles north of Hebron. This place was known as JERUSALEM -in after ages, although at that time called Jebus, 1 Chron. 11:4. The -position of Jebus was an exceedingly strong one. - -=2. From recent examinations=, by shafts and excavations, the site -of the Jebus of David’s time was a rocky eminence, precipitous towards -the east, south, and southwest, with access on other sides except for -a short space on the north. The top was unevenly level, but only a -part of this top seems to have been occupied by the city of Jebus, -the southern part having a fortification distinct from the walled-up -portion on the north and northeast. This part was taken by David on his -arrival, and the remaining part, after some delay, was captured in a -very courageous attack by an officer whose name was Joab. - -=3. The present circumference= of the walls of Jerusalem is 2¾ miles -very nearly; but although these walls include the larger part of the -hill, there still remains a portion, called Mt. Zion, on the southwest, -which is not included, and it is this part that was captured by David -and was called the city of David or Zion. - -Due west from the city the Mediterranean is 36 miles distant and the -Jordan is 18 miles due east. On the east side, in the time of David, -a part of the city wall rose nearly 100 feet above the channel of the -Kidron, and from the representations of fortified cities of these times, -as they are met with upon the tablets both of Egypt and of Assyria, the -stones of the walls were placed with great skill. Some of the ancient -stones of the city are even now laid upon solid rock eighty feet below -the soil at the base of the present wall on the east side and the -southeast corner. - -=4. The reign of David= was noted for successful wars with the -Philistines on the southwest, the Amalekites on the south, the Moabites -and Ammonites on the east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, the Syrians in -the region of Damascus, together with a king on the north. From the -circumstances narrated, this king must have been one of great wealth -and power and was probably a king of the Hittites, as that nation had -at this period grown in extent and in military strength and held large -landed property near the Euphrates. He is recorded as king of Zobah, -a region not exactly identified, but very probably a district north -of Damascus, between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, but lying -east of Hamath (the modern Hama) which is 110 miles north of Damascus. -In one of the Assyrian inscriptions Zobah is spoken of as between -the Euphrates and Hamath, which latter place belonged to another -king (2 Sam. 8:9). Beside these lands, he conquered Edom and placed -garrisons there. - -=5. David reigned= from B. C. 1056 to B. C. 1015, or about forty years -according to the commonly received chronology, and was over 70 years of -age at his death, just before which he appointed Solomon, his son, at -about the age of 20, to succeed him. - -The reign of Solomon was unlike the two previous in that it was one -of entire rest from war until at the extreme close. A large part of -Solomon’s reign was devoted to building the Temple and several palaces -and cities, beside the construction of a navy upon the Red Sea and -the erection of various treasure cities for his chariots and for his -horsemen. - -=6. This age= in Israel was characterized as one of great wealth and -splendor, such as had not been known before. It was also distinguished -for the wisdom of Solomon. - -His policy of peace was greatly strengthened by leagues and alliances -with the kings about him, chiefly through marriages, after the custom -of Oriental kings at that day. - -The Pharaoh whose daughter he married, and for whom he built a -palace in Jerusalem, came up and burned a city called Gezer and slew -the Canaanites who dwelt there, giving the city to his daughter, -1 Kings 9:16. - - - GEZER. - -=7. Gezer= has recently been discovered, with a Hebrew and Greek -inscription on the surface of a large rock which identifies the town by -name. The location of the place is not quite 20 miles west by north of -Jerusalem, and its position upon a high ridge, which is nearly a mile -long, makes it probable that it was a formidable town. It was, before -its capture by Pharaoh, a standing menace to the authority of Solomon, -as it seems at that time to have been independent. It is probable -that its destruction was instigated by Solomon, who thereby exhibited -the interest Pharaoh had in him and, at the same time, avoided the -unwelcome task of exposing his own people to the casualties of warfare. - -=8. The prayer of Solomon= at the beginning of his reign was for -wisdom and judgment in the execution of his kingly authority and in his -government of the people. Of this wisdom he possessed an unparalleled -share. But, while wise in the control of others, he lost power over -himself and was led into grievous idolatry through his associations. -This open worship of the deities of the nations with whom he had -entered into league through his marriages will always remain as a -warning against the insidious power of evil associations, even in -the case of the wisest. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM. - - -=1. Solomon after a reign of 40 years=[87] was succeeded by his -son Rehoboam, who, through the adoption of evil counsel, brought on -a great rebellion and division which resulted in the formation of the -two kingdoms――one of =Judah=, with its chief city at Jerusalem, and the -other of =Israel=, with its capital at Shechem. Jeroboam soon removed -to Tirzah, where the capital, or royal residence, remained for many -years until Samaria became the capital, and continued to be so until -the captivity, 1 Kings 16:23. - - - TIRZAH. - -This city has been identified with a village now inhabited and which is -called Teiasir, eleven miles north by east of Shechem and twelve miles -east-northeast of Samaria. It is 995 feet above the Mediterranean on -the main road to Beth-shean. But formerly Tirzah was, by Dr. Robinson, -supposed to be found in a village called Telluzah, six miles due east -of Samaria, built upon a hill 1,940 feet above the Mediterranean and -commanding a magnificent view eastward. This place, in its position, -well deserves the name “Tirzah,” which means “beauty.” It is probably -referred to in the Song of Solomon, 6:4. It was thirty-four miles a -little east of due north from Jerusalem. But neither of these places -can with certainty be called the Tirzah of this history. - -Samaria was private property at this time, having no settlement upon -it until nearly fifty years after the division of the kingdom, when it -was bought by Omri, king of Israel, from Shemer, and, after him, named -Samaria. - -=2. There is a great chronological difficulty= in adjusting the reigns -of the kings of Judah and of Israel. - -It arises, in some degree, from the fact that the number of months -is omitted in the statements of the years during which the reigns -continued, for the whole number of years only is given. Moreover -the statements are not always clear in relation to the epoch from -which the number given is to be counted. But more recently collateral -history, both Egyptian and Assyrian, has supplied certain data whereby -considerable aid has been furnished in the settlement of some of the -difficulties. - -Under the supposition that the commonly accepted chronology is correct -and that the division of the kingdom, at the death of Solomon, took -place B. C. 975, the kingdom of Israel lasted 253 years and the kingdom -of Judah 387 years, that is from B. C. 975 to B. C. 722 for Israel and -from B. C. 975 to B. C. 588 for Judah. - -=3. The captivity of Israel= took place B. C. 722, at the taking -of Samaria by Sargon, the general of Shalmaneser. In the book of -Kings we have the account of the attack of Shalmaneser upon Samaria, -2 Kings 17:6; 18:10. In the last passage, the phrase “they took it” -appears to refer to the fact that both Shalmaneser and Sargon laid -siege to Samaria, for although the former began the siege, he died -suddenly before the city was taken, and Sargon, who had seized upon -the throne of Assyria, immediately returned and completed the siege. - -Sargon’s own account of the siege and of the captivity remarkably -agrees with the statement in the book of Kings. These facts are derived -from the Assyrian tablets. - -=4. In regard to this king of Assyria=, Sargon by name, the verse in -Isaiah 20:1 was for twenty-five centuries the only known evidence of -his existence. It was not until recently, when the mound which covered -his palace was excavated, that the name came to view. It was then -discovered that he was one of the greatest kings of Assyria, and his -history was recorded upon the large alabaster slabs which lined a part -of his palace. - -Judah was carried into captivity B. C. 588. The whole number of rulers, -from Rehoboam the first king to Zedekiah the last, inclusive of both, -was 20, of which number there was one queen, Athaliah, who reigned six -years. - -=5. The line of descent of the Messiah= passed through Judah and -through all its kings except the last (Zedekiah), and the third and -fourth from the last, namely, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. The kings of -Israel were none of them in this line. It was for this reason that the -tribe of Judah was the most important and prominent of all the tribes. - -=6. The captivity of Judah= took place under Nebuchadnezzar, called -also Nebuchadrezzar, Ezek. 29:19. This king succeeded to the throne of -Babylon B. C. 604. His father was the first king of Babylon after the -fall of Nineveh and death of its king Assur-bani-pal, the Sardanapalus -of the Greek historians. - -=7. Immediately after the fall of Nineveh=, B. C. 626, the father -of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabopolassar, founded the independent monarchy -of Babylon, B. C. 625, and at the death of Nabopolassar, B. C. 604, -Nebuchadnezzar ascended the throne. He was a general of great energy -and enterprise and became so well known, even to the Greeks, that -according to Josephus,[88] he was compared with Hercules for his valor -and deeds.[89] The prophet Jeremiah compares him with an eagle swooping -down on his prey,[90] and Ezekiel represents him as a great eagle -with great wings.[91] He was intrusted by his father with the entire -management of the attack upon Nechoh, who had come up from Egypt in -battle against the city Carchemish on the Euphrates, B. C. 606. This -city was over five hundred miles northwest from Babylon on the west -bank of the river. - -=8. With a fine army= he attacked Nechoh, and defeated him with so -dreadful a slaughter that the Egyptian king retreated rapidly to the -Nile. Nebuchadnezzar followed him through Palestine to Pelusium, a city -on the sea-coast frontiers of Egypt, about seventy miles east of the -Nile. At this place he heard of the death of his father, at Babylon, -and committing the army and his prisoners into the hands of his trusty -generals, he left and, with a small escort, crossed the desert and -arrived at Babylon, 700 miles distant to the east. Here he found -that the chief of the priestly caste of the Chaldæans had held the -government for him since the death of his father.[92] He then peaceably -succeeded his father. - -=9. But the kingdom of Judah= had not yet submitted to Nebuchadnezzar. -He, therefore, after settling the new order of rule at Babylon, -returned to Syria, B. C. 602, and attacked Jehoiakim, king of Judah, -and placed him under tribute. Three years had not passed before this -Hebrew king, counting on help from the king of Egypt, rebelled against -the king of Babylon, and dying soon after, left the odium of the -rebellion, together with the regal succession, to his son Jehoiachin. - -=10. This king of Judah= had reigned only three months when -Nebuchadnezzar sent an army into Judah and soon after arrived in person; -and the king of Judah was forced to submit to the king of Babylon, and, -with 10,000 of his best citizens, he was taken prisoner and carried -to Babylon. The uncle of the king of Judah, whose name was changed -to Zedekiah, that is, “the righteousness of Jehovah,” was placed upon -the throne by Nebuchadnezzar. His previous name was Mattaniah, that is, -“gift of Jehovah,” and Nebuchadnezzar, in giving him this new name, -evidently intended it as a suggestion to the king that he was expected -to sustain the truthful character of that Jehovah whom he professed to -serve; for the king of Babylon had made Zedekiah promise by oath and -covenant, swearing by his God, to be faithful to him, 2 Chron. 36:13; -Ezek. 17:13, B. C. 599. - -In the same manner Pharaoh-nechoh changed the name of Eliakim to -Jehoiakim, when he advanced him to the throne eleven years before, -B. C. 610. 2 Kings 23:34. He simply changed the ordinary name, El, -_god_, to that most holy name of the Israelites’ divinity, namely -Jehovah. - -=11. After eleven years of reign= Zedekiah rebelled, and then the -final siege of Jerusalem took place, and the Jews were forced by -starvation to yield to the king. During the delay required by the siege, -Nebuchadnezzar remained at a place called Riblah (now Ribla) 200 miles -north of Jerusalem and 70 miles northeast of Beirût, pleasantly located -in the valley between the Lebanon ranges and on the east side of the -river Orontes. This place was made sadly prominent eighteen years -before by the imprisonment of Jehoahaz, the successor of Josiah, king -of Judah. He was taken captive and removed from Jerusalem and left at -this place by Pharaoh-nechoh when he was on his way to his terrible -defeat by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, B. C. 606. But on his retreat -he carried Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died, 2 Kings 23:33, 34. - -=12. When the generals of Nebuchadnezzar= had taken Jerusalem, they -brought Zedekiah and the royal family to Riblah, where it appears that -the king of Babylon upbraided Zedekiah for his violation of his oath, -and then slew his sons before his eyes. This was his last and dreadful -vision, for immediately after, according to the custom of these kings -depicted upon the monuments, “he put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound -him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon,” 2 Kings 25:7. - -=13. The king of Babylon now left= the completion of the destruction -of Jerusalem and the deportation of captives to one of his chief army -officers, called “the captain of the guard.” This officer sent off all -the treasure of the Temple and of the various palaces, and then having -burned the Temple and all the chief houses, he broke down the walls and -so completely destroyed the city that the ruler, who was left to take -charge of the few poor remaining, resided at Mizpah,[93] a village, -not certainly but very probably, identified with a place on a high hill -five miles west by north from Jerusalem. - -=14. Judah was now finally= carried away captive, and the seventy -years of captivity foretold by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 24:11; 29:10) -are to be reckoned from the first captivity, B. C. 606, when Daniel -and others were carried to Babylon in the third year of Jehoiakim, -2 Kings 24:1, 2. These seventy years terminated when Cyrus, in the -first year of his reign at Babylon, B. C. 536, made his proclamation -permitting the Jews to return to Palestine and rebuild the temple, -Ezra 1:11. - -=15. About 50,000 accepted= the invitation, but a large number -preferred to remain, as we shall more fully explain hereafter. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - ANALYSIS OF THE REIGNS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL. - - -=1. Of the twenty sovereigns of Judah=, Manasseh reigned the longest, -namely fifty-five years. He was the fourteenth king and began to reign -at twelve years of age, B. C. 698. - -The shortest reigns in Judah were those of Jehoiachin and Jehoahaz, -who reigned only about three months each, near the close of the kingdom, -B. C. 600 and B. C. 610. Both of these kings were deposed by foreign -kings. - -=2. Of the nineteen sovereigns of Israel=, the one who continued -longest upon the throne was Jeroboam, the second of that name. His -reign continued forty-one years, from B. C. 825 to B. C. 784. He was -the thirteenth king. - -The shortest reign was that of Zimri, who committed suicide by burning -himself in his palace at Tirzah, with all its riches, B. C. 930, when -he found he was about to be taken. He usurped the throne and held it -only seven days. He was the fifth king. - - - MORAL CHARACTER OF THE KINGS. - -=3. Of the twenty sovereigns of Judah=, twelve were continually -idolatrous. They seemed to be entirely unmindful of the previous -history of the nation and of the claims of Jehovah upon their reverence -or gratitude. The Temple service seems to have been continued by -the priests at Jerusalem, but, from the warnings of the prophets, it -appears that even the priests proved faithless and frequently allowed -themselves to be led in accordance with the passions and violence of -the kings, so that irreverence and sacrilege were common. - -The treasures of the Temple, those vessels, ornaments, and trophies -which were sacred to its use, or placed there in commemoration of -victories and in honor of the Lord, were repeatedly seized by the kings -and given to their enemies, or used for private purposes, and, in some -instances, removed to give place for idolatrous practices. Parts of -the Temple considered sacred to the name of Jehovah were desecrated by -altars built for the worship of the hosts of heaven, and graven images -were erected upon the Temple grounds, in defiance of the law. - -=4. The kings themselves= frequently gave public examples of their -contempt for Jehovah by the service and worship of the gods of -surrounding nations, by erecting temples and altars and by planting -groves upon high places and setting up images of Baal and Ashtoreth -throughout the land and in prominent towns, so that the people were -constantly drawn into idolatry and their children made to dwell in -the presence and under the influence of idolatrous emblems, as seen -throughout the kingdom. - -=5. The above mentioned facts= are specially applicable to twelve kings -out of the twenty of Judah, but the character of the reigns of Israel -was even worse. Of its nineteen kings, not one was free from idolatry. -At the very beginning of their history the first king, Jeroboam, who -had spent about five years in Egypt at the court of Shishak, erected -a golden calf at Bethel and one at Dan in the north, and invited the -people to worship at these shrines in preference to the “house of the -Lord,” the Temple, at Jerusalem. - -=6. This worship of the golden calf= was a repetition of the same -worship which was performed 500 years before at Mt. Sinai, soon after -the Israelites came out of Egypt, and Jeroboam the king in instituting -it repeated the words which were uttered at Mt. Sinai,[94] namely, -“These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of -Egypt,” Exod. 32:4. - -=7. The selection of the calf= was suggested by the prominence which -that animal,[95] as the symbol of divine power, attained in Egypt. -The costly adornment and preservation of the sacred living bull, or -Apis, and the magnificent funeral ceremonies and entombment of the -dead Apis are frequently alluded to on the monuments of Egypt. Long -before the departure of the Israelites from Egypt the veneration of the -sacred bull had been exhibited in services and obsequies, so general -throughout Lower Egypt, and so imposing, that the effect upon the -population must have been far more solemn and impressive than anything -we can conceive of at the present day. The costly burial places, called -“Serapeums,” some of which yet exist, and the granite sarcophagi show -beyond any question how reverent and imposing the worship of the bull -must have been. - -=8. In the expression used at Mt. Sinai= and by Jeroboam the word -“gods” has the force of the singular number, being that word sometimes -applied to Jehovah and always used in the plural number, called “the -plural of excellence;” so that while translated in this phrase “gods,” -to the Hebrew it was the same as “god;” hence there was only one -calf-image at any place. - -It is both remarkable and memorable that notwithstanding the bold and -careless manner in which Jeroboam’s contempt for the worship of Jehovah -was exhibited, yet in the later history of his life, when a bitter -sorrow was coming upon him, he acted the part of Saul and applied for -help to the prophet whose counsel he had abused. The results were the -same and the record is in 1 Kings 14. - -=9. It should be remembered= that while the kings and many of the -people departed from their covenanted service of Jehovah, and the -land was full of idolaters, there were, at all times, those who in -the privacies of their homes were faithful servants of the Most High. - -This fact was brought out in the time of the prophet Elijah; for -when the prophet in his despair supposed he was the only surviving -worshipper of God, the Lord revealed to him the truth that at that -very moment there were 7,000 in Israel who had never bowed the knee -to Baal, but were faithful to Jehovah, 1 Kings 19:18. Even in the -household of the idolatrous Ahab there was one who held so persistently -to the ancient faith in Jehovah, that, despite the cunning, power, and -vengeance of Jezebel, he succeeded in hiding and feeding one hundred of -the prophets of the Lord, probably in several caves. This man, Obadiah -by name, was governor of Ahab’s house, 1 Kings 18:3, and not the -prophet, who lived about 587 B. C. - -=10. Frequently, during the darkest times= of the two kingdoms, there -suddenly appeared an antecedently unknown messenger of God, who bore -with him the evidence that he was a member of a reserved force of -faithful ones whose existence had never been published in the annals -of the kingdom; and these unknown servants existed in both kingdoms -alike, and were of both sexes, as we find in the cases of Huldah, whose -knowledge of the law made her worthy of consultation by the king, and -of Hannah before her, and of that nameless woman dwelling in the walled -city Abel, who, although “peaceable and faithful in Israel,” had power -enough simply by her wise counsel to turn back the fierce army of Joab, -2 Sam. 20:19. - - - ABEL. - -This place was also called Abel-beth-maachah. It was upon the level -land twelve miles north by west of the waters of Merom, lake Huleh, and -is now called Abl. Abel means “meadow.” The village is over 1,000 feet -above the lake Huleh (1,074 feet), and is a Christian village. - -=11. It is, therefore, reasonable= to suppose that although at court -and by the kings the law of the Lord was little known and read, it -might yet have been thoroughly studied and observed by many in private. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE INSTITUTION OF THE PROPHETICAL OFFICE. - - -=1. But a most remarkable feature= of the times of the kings, both of -Judah and Israel, appeared in that religious body called the Prophets. - -The name “prophet” was originally given by God to Abraham, Gen. 20:7, -and seemed to imply a familiarity with God, or that the one to whom -it was applied had divine authority to speak for God. The prophets, -therefore, were not confined in their utterances to a mere foretelling -of events, but, in addition, were made the messengers of God and -uttered commands as well as advice by his appointment and in his stead. - -=2. They received divine messages= in several ways: (1) by impulses, -commanding and influencing their thoughts while awake, as in the case -of Elisha, 2 Kings 3:15; (2) by audible sounds, as in the case of -Samuel when a child, 1 Sam. 3:10, and when older and a prophet, as -recorded in 1 Sam. 9:15 and in other passages; (3) and by visions, or -dreams, as in the cases of Isaiah, Isa. 1:1, Micaiah, 1 Kings 22:17, -and Daniel, Dan. 10:1, 7. - -=3. There was a class= who were officially known as prophets, whose -lives were chiefly devoted to this office, and these were distinguished -by a term which has come down to the present time and is in use among -the Arabs in the regions of Palestine and Syria. This is the term -“Neby” used by the natives as a title of a sacred person and associated -with tombs throughout these lands, and it is the same word used in the -times of Abraham, Gen. 20:7. - -=4. There was, however, another class= of prophets who seem to -have been used for special occasions and who were commissioned for -one prophetic act, after which they do not appear again in history, -2 Chron. 9:29; 1 Kings 16:1‒4; 2 Chron. 19:2; 15:1‒8, and elsewhere. -These, however, may in some instances have been chosen from one of -those collections, or schools, of the prophets which existed from the -time of Samuel to a period several centuries later, 1 Sam. 19:18, 19. -“Naioth” in this passage alludes to the “habitations” in Ramah, which -appear to have been “colleges” of the prophets. There were such -colleges or schools at Bethel and Jericho, 2 Kings 2:3, 5. In these -schools the law was studied, and perhaps psalmody, as we find that in -some passages references are made to the instrumental performances of -the prophets, 1 Sam. 10:5. - -=5. Of all the prophets= the utterances of only sixteen have come down -to us in distinct books. Of these it is customary to speak of four as -THE GREATER, or major, prophets, and of twelve as THE MINOR prophets, -but these terms have reference only to the extent of their writings. -Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel are included in the term major, -and their prophecies, as written, are composed in the following order, -only as to the number of verses in each prophecy as that prophecy -appears in the English authorized version: Jeremiah (including -Lamentations, which has 154 verses) 1,518 verses, Isaiah 1,292, -Ezekiel 1,273, and Daniel 357. - -=6. Of the minor prophets=, the order, in point of number of verses in -each book, is as follows: Zechariah 211, Hosea 197, Amos 146, Micah 105, -Joel 73, Habakkuk 56, Malachi 55, Zephaniah 53, Jonah 48, Nahum 47, -Haggai 38, Obadiah 21. - -The prophecy of Jeremiah, including Lamentations, ranks, in order of -number of verses, next after Genesis, which contains 1,533 verses. - -This analysis of the books of the major prophets shows not only -their comparative importance, as to size, among the sixteen prophetical -books, but also among all the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament; -for Genesis, in point of number of verses, is second only to the book -of Psalms, and Jeremiah’s writings are the third in this order. - -=7. In point of time=, there seems to have been an entirely -uninterrupted line of such prophets as we have described from the age -of Samuel to the return from the captivity, an era of nearly 750 years -(from B. C. 1141 to B. C. 397). - -Some of even the greatest of the prophets, as Elijah and Elisha, -never committed their prophecies to writing. In a very large degree, -however, their words and acts are recorded in various histories, as -the historian had need to make reference to them in explaining certain -events he was narrating in the history of the kingdoms of Judah and of -Israel. - -Of those prophets whose prophecies are given in distinct books, Jonah -was the first mentioned in point of time, and Malachi was the last, -probably B. C. 397. - -After the death of Malachi the prophetic institution, as an order, -seems to have closed, and it was so understood by some of the ancient -Jewish writers, as appears in the apocryphal books.[96] - - - - - PERIOD VI. - - THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH TO THE CLOSE OF THE CANONICAL PERIOD. - - B. C. 588‒397(?). - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE VARIOUS CAPTIVITIES. - - -=1. By the words= “the captivity” is generally meant the final -captivity of Judah, which was the last of a series of captivities -both of Israel and of Judah. As a knowledge of these captivities is -not only important in the study of Jewish history, but has a bearing -upon the authenticity of the Scripture, they should all be carefully -distinguished. We therefore give a full list as follows. - - - THE VARIOUS CAPTIVITIES. - -=2. The first captivity=, B. C. about 733, was that of the tribes east -of the Jordan, by a king of Assyria bearing two names in Scripture, -which were formerly supposed to be the names of two distinct kings. But -a recently discovered list of Babylonian kings shows that the two names -are those of the same king, and therefore the reading of the verse, -1 Chron. 5:26, is correct in which the two names of this king, namely, -Pul and Tilgath-pilneser, are spoken of as in the singular number. - -Pul seized the throne B. C. 745, and died 727.[97] The dates in our -marginal references (2 Kin. 15:19) are too early. This king carried -away “the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, -and brought them unto Halah and Habor and Hara and to the river Gozan,” -1 Chron. 5:26; see also 2 Kings 15:29. - - - HALAH, HABOR, HARA, THE RIVER GOZAN. - -=3. Halah= is probably identified with a mound now called Gla, on -the river Khabour, which is a tributary to the Euphrates. It is about -430 miles northeast of Jerusalem and 330 northeast of Babylon. - -=Habor= was probably on the river Khabour, but its site has not been -identified. - -=Hara= is about 100 miles northwest of Gla and is supposed to be -the same as Haran, to which Terah and Abraham migrated from Ur of the -Chaldees. It is situated upon the river Belik, which runs southward -about seventy miles and then joins the Euphrates. - -The river Gozan was probably the same as the Khabour, as the province -of Gozan, through which it ran, seems to be identified with the -Gauzanitis of Ptolemy. Its mouth is about 100 miles east of that of the -river Belik, which also empties into the Euphrates. After the Khabour -no other river is tributary to the Euphrates for 500 miles of its -course. The mouth of the Khabour is 300 miles northwest of Babylon. - -=4. The second captivity=, B. C. 721. Twenty years afterward, at the -siege of Samaria, the Assyrian king Sargon carried off a larger and -more important number. This king gives an account of this siege, in -remarkable corroboration of the Scripture history, and states that -he “carried off 27,280 of its citizens.” Nevertheless a large number -remained in the region around and many fled who returned afterward, -2 Kings 17:6. - -=5. “The cities of the Medes”= here spoken of had been only recently -conquered by Tiglath-pileser. In an inscription, towards the end of -his reign, he mentions Parthia (parts of Media), Nisæa, and other -places that paid him tribute. It was in 736 B. C. that he made a great -expedition in the east, farther than any of his predecessors, reaching -the frontiers of India. He was succeeded by Shalmaneser, B. C. 727, who -died and was succeeded by Sargon, B. C. 721, the year of the capture -of Samaria.[98] The war of the first captivity (page 158) was carried -on between B. C. 733‒731 by Tiglath-pileser, and it was then that -the first recorded instance occurred of the practice of transplanting -the whole people of a conquered country to places far distant from -their native land and replacing them by other captives.[99] Such was -afterward the act of Esar-haddon in regard to Samaria, as stated in -Ezra 4:2. This king reigned B. C. 681‒668.[100] - -The captivity B. C. 721 was the last captivity in any form of Israel, -which is known as “the northern kingdom,” in contradistinction from -Judah, “the southern kingdom.” It comprised “the ten tribes.” - -=6. The third captivity=, B. C. 606. Of the captivities of Judah, -the first happened when Daniel and others were carried off to Babylon, -B. C. 606, 2 Kings 24:2; 2 Chron. 36:6; Dan. 1:3, when but a few were -sent to Babylon. - -=7. The fourth captivity=, B. C. 599‒598. The second deportation to -Babylon from Judah was in B. C. 599‒598, when 10,000 captives were -taken from Jerusalem, 2 Kings 24:12, and from the surrounding country -3,023, Jer. 52:28. The king Jehoiachin was also taken captive. - -=8. The fifth and final captivity=, B. C. 588. In the third great -captivity of Judah Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem by burning the -Temple and pulling down the walls and the houses. - -Perhaps in all 100,000 were carried off at various times. While this -number was comparatively small, it represented the very strength of -the kingdom of Judah, with which tribe the promise of the Messiah -alone rested, and it was of this tribe that the majority of those who -returned to Palestine were composed. - -The captives of Judah remained in or around Babylon during the entire -term of their captivity. - -=9. The captivity of Manasseh.= In this connection there is another -captivity merely referred to in one verse in 2 Chron. 33:11. It is the -captivity of Manasseh by the king of Assyria. In this verse it is said -that this king of Judah was carried captive to Babylon, and for a time -it was thought by some critics that this was an incorrect statement, -since the king of Assyria was at Nineveh. But among the inscriptions -at present in the British Museum were found those of the history of -Esar-haddon, who reigned from B. C. 681 to B. C. 668. In this history -it is stated that he went to Syria and conquered and destroyed Sidon -and held court at Damascus, summoning twenty-two kings to meet him -there; and second among the names is that of “the king of Judah.” This -was in the year B. C. 672.[101] It is recorded that he rebuilt Babylon, -and we find that both he and his son held their courts and judged -vassal princes like Manasseh at Babylon.[102] Esar-haddon gathered men -from Babylon and other places and planted them in Samaria, and hence we -have the account given us in Ezra 4:2, 9, 10. - -=10.= Although the “=seventy years=” of captivity pronounced against -Judah by the prophet Jeremiah (25:12; 29:10) are supposed to begin -B. C. 606, yet the destruction of Jerusalem and the last deportation -of Judah, B. C. 588, closed up the list of captivities both of Judah -and of Israel. Both communities now existed, but, with small exception, -only as captives in Assyria or as exiles in various other lands. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT. - - -=1. As a people=, the Jews of the northern kingdom never were so warmly -attached to the Temple worship as those of the southern, and hence all -the Psalms which alluded to Jerusalem[103] and the Temple are supposed -to have been written by the exiles of Judah, that is of the southern -kingdom, who went into captivity B. C. 588 under Nebuchadnezzar, and -were settled in Babylon or its vicinity. For the entire seventy years -the people of Judah and those of Israel were separated by several -hundred miles of country. - -=2. During the many years= of captivity, Israel, that is the ten -tribes, probably mingled with other nations in their midst and became -very largely estranged from the father-land. There were fewer of the -ties of religious faith with them than with Judah. Even the tribes of -Judah and Benjamin, when they returned from the captivity and entered -into their city Jerusalem and into the cities and lands surrounding, -brought wives from the heathen about them,[104] the very priests and -Levites being also guilty, Ezra 9:1, although the Mosaic law prohibited -such marriages. - -=3. Such heathen intermarriages= among the members of the tribes would, -after 185 years, be less objected to than among the tribes of Judah and -Benjamin, and would naturally be followed by not only indifference to -any return, but also by forgetfulness of the land and of the history -of their origin, and it is not surprising that when the tribes of Judah -and Benjamin accepted the permission granted by Cyrus, the king of -Babylon, to return to Palestine, the ten tribes, as a whole, remained -in Assyria and never returned, but probably became lost by being -absorbed into the nations with whom they associated. - - - CONDITION DURING THE CAPTIVITY. - -=4. During the captivity= the Jews in Assyria and Babylonia were -allowed great privileges. They were considered more in the light of -colonists than of slaves, and from the histories, both sacred and -secular, we learn that, as stated in the books of Nehemiah, Esther, and -Daniel, they were occasionally employed in high positions in the state -and at court. Nehemiah, though born at Babylon during the captivity, -was a Jew of the tribe of Judah, but was cup-bearer to the Persian king, -Artaxerxes Longimanus, at Susa. Ezra also enjoyed great consideration -at the Persian court during the reigns of several of the kings of -Persia. And from the book of Esther it is evident that the Jews -prospered greatly during the reign of Xerxes. - -=5. The prophets=, during the captivity of Judah, were earnest in their -endeavors to preserve the integrity and reverence of the people, and it -was largely due to them that many of the observances of the Mosaic law, -and a loving remembrance of the Temple and of Jerusalem, prevailed so -far as it did in spite of the idolatries of the people by whom they -were surrounded. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, with Obadiah, were the -prophets of the captivities. - - - PROPHETS DURING THE CAPTIVITY. - -=6. Before the captivity Jeremiah=[105] had foretold the captivity of -Judah, for seventy years, in Babylon, Jer. 25:8‒12, and also the fall -of Babylon (verses 13‒38). His faithfulness endangered his life, and -when Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem he found Jeremiah in prison and -released him, offering him a residence in Babylon. The prophet, however, -chose to remain with the remnant of Judah who were not carried away, -and when this remnant fled to Egypt, for fear of Nebuchadnezzar, they -took Jeremiah with them. See the account in Jer. 43:6. - -=7. A recent remarkable discovery= has been made, in Egypt, of the -palace of Pharaoh-hophra, the Egyptian king who reigned at the time -Jeremiah was carried to Egypt, about B. C. 585. The prophet protested -against the departure to Egypt of the remnant of which we have spoken, -and forewarned them that Nebuchadnezzar would go to Egypt and would -overcome Pharaoh-hophra and would pitch his tent in the court of this -palace. Several clay cylinders have been picked up in the vicinity -bearing the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and proving that he had been -here, and the brick pavement, or court, before the palace, which seems -to be alluded to in Jer. 43:9, has been uncovered. It was here that -the prophet hid the stones at the place he foretold as that where -Nebuchadnezzar should set his pavilion. The palace was at Tahpanhes -(pronounced tah´-pan-heez), Jer. 43:8‒13. - - - TAHPANHES. - -=8. Tahapenes=, also written Tahpanhes, Jer. 43:7, 9, or -Tehaph´nehes, Ezek. 30:18, was an Egyptian city on the east of the -Delta, seventy-eight miles east-northeast from the present Cairo, and -upon the most eastern branch of the Nile. In 1886 Mr. Petrie discovered, -at this place, the palace above alluded to, at which the Pharaoh -(Hophra) then reigning probably received king Zedekiah’s daughters, to -which there seems a reference in the traditional name “Castle of the -Jew’s daughter.” The place is now called Tell Defenneh, but there exist -only ruins covered by a mound. - - - DANIEL. - -=9. Daniel went into captivity= six or seven years before the -captivity of Ezekiel, when Nebuchadnezzar first laid siege to Jerusalem, -B. C. 606. At this time the king of Babylon took captive Daniel and his -companions, who were young and of noble families, and had them sent to -his palace to be educated for the king’s service. The Assyrian records -show that it was a custom among the kings to select young men of talent -and educate them at royal expense, that they might be special officers -at court. Daniel was so chosen, with three others, and they were -“taught the learning and the tongue of the Chaldæans,” Dan. 1:4. Their -great skill and wisdom roused a jealousy among the princes of the court -against the companions of Daniel, and while Daniel was absent on some -commission, or other duty, his companions were condemned to be burned -alive, but were delivered by divine interference, Dan. 3. - - - EZEKIEL. - -=10. The prophet Ezekiel= went into captivity with Jehoiachin king of -Judah, eleven years before the final captivity, and was placed with a -Jewish company at the river Chebar, which may be the same as “The royal -Canal,” just north of Babylon, and which was dug by Nebuchadnezzar -to unite the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This prophet was -skilled in the law and a faithful priest and teacher, and his influence -was great among the captives. - - - OBADIAH. - -=11. Obadiah was the fourth prophet=, whose prophecies seem to have -been delivered about B. C. 587, or during the captivity of Judah and -soon after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. He appears -as specially commissioned to foretell the punishment of the Edomites -for their pride and insulting rejoicing at the destruction of Jerusalem -and the distress of the Jews. According to Josephus, this warning -received its fulfilment about five years after the prophecy. - - - ASSYRIAN KINGS OF THE CAPTIVITY. - -=12. Of the kings of Assyria and Babylon= during the captivities -the first mentioned in Scripture is Tiglath-pileser, of whom and his -successors we have already spoken, pages 159, 160. These kings were -active only in the captivities of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar was connected -with the captivities of Judah. - - - NEBUCHADNEZZAR. - -=Nebuchadnezzar= began to reign B. C. 604. During his reign of -forty-three years Babylon rose to its highest splendor and remained -a magnificent city until his death in B. C. 562. His madness, spoken -of by Daniel, is not distinctly stated in Assyrian history, but an -inscription, now in the East India House at London, gives an account -of the various works of Nebuchadnezzar, and abruptly says that his -heart was hardened against the Chaldæan astrologers. “He would grant -no benefactions for religious purposes. He intermitted the worship of -Merodach, and put an end to the sacrifice of victims. _He labored under -the effects of enchantment._” - -This last sentence seems to accord with the statement of Daniel -(chapters 1‒4). The record referred to was found in the ruins on the -Tigris. - -=13. The son and successor= of Nebuchadnezzar was Evil-merodach, -B. C. 561. He released the captive king of Judah, Jehoiachin, and -treated him as a prince and with special favor. His sister’s husband, -Neriglissar, succeeded him B. C. 559. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 25:27; -Jer. 52:31. - -=14. This Neriglissar=, or, as the monuments present it, -Nergal-Sharezer, held the throne only three years, and was followed -by his son, a minor, who perished in a conspiracy of the nobles after -a reign of only nine months. One of these nobles, Nabonidus by name, -ascended the throne and held it till the city was captured by Cyrus. -It was his son, Belshazzar, who, as eldest son, reigned with his father -when Babylon was taken, his father having entrusted him with the care -of the city while he, with the main part of the army, was engaged with -Cyrus, eight miles off at Borsippa. - -=15. Cyrus did not assume the rule= of Babylon immediately as its -titular king. He was supreme over all Asia from India to the Bosphorus, -but, for some reason, a Median prince was established for a time as -nominal king, although Cyrus retained all the power. That prince was -Darius, the son of Cyaxares, a childless man of sixty-two years of age. -When, two years after his appointment, he died, Cyrus assumed the power -and became king of Babylon.[106] - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE CAPTIVITY ENDED. - - -=1. In the first year of his reign=, B. C. 536, Cyrus issued a decree -of liberty to the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, -Ezra 1:2‒4. - -=2. No more than 42,360=, including children, could be persuaded to -return. But in addition there were over 7,000 male and female servants. -Of the priestly clans, only four out of twenty-four were ready to go -out, but these added 4,000. Of the Levites, only seventy-four cared to -leave Babylon. This multitude, of about 50,000, set out as a caravan -to reach Palestine, many of them having to travel the whole distance -on foot, as only 8,136 animals, for carriage, accompanied them. The -journey occupied about four months and when they arrived they found -much of the land preoccupied by the surrounding nations. - -But, after much labor and considerable opposition, the Temple of -Jerusalem was rebuilt and, after longer delay, the walls arose from the -ruins. B. C. 516 is the date of the second Temple, and B. C. 445 of the -rebuilt walls. - - - THE NUMBER OF THE JEWS AS A RACE. - -=3. The number of those= who returned to Palestine was small compared -with the number of the Jews as a race at this time. During the reign -of David a census of the nation was taken. Of this census there are -two accounts, one in 2 Sam. 24:9, the other in 1 Chron. 21:5. The first -gives 800,000 as the number in Israel, and 500,000 in Judah, of those -“who drew the sword.” In these statements the tribes of both Levi -and Benjamin were omitted, the former because they were not subject -to military duty, and the latter for the reason stated in the text, -1 Chron. 21:6. - -=4. This census= made the number of men capable of bearing arms -1,300,000. It seems from 1 Chron. 27:1 that there was a standing -army of 24,000, renewed every month from Israel, and drawn from an -established organization of twelve times that number, which Joab, who -took the census, may not have included in the number of the census of -Israel, 2 Sam. 24:9, but which has been added by the writer of 1 Chron. -21:5. This increases the number by about 300,000, so that the total -would be about 1,600,000 of both Israel and Judah, with the exception -of the number lost by a pestilence which immediately followed upon the -census. But the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, which were not numbered, -as we have shown above, would fully replace the number lost by the -pestilence. Hence at the time of David the able-bodied men of the -entire nation were about 1,600,000, and this number could not have been -materially lessened at the beginning of the captivities. - -=5. An important fact= connected with the captivities was that the -members of the ablest families, the wealthiest and most influential, -were chiefly included among the captives, and, in the case of Judah, -not only the most learned, but the most devoutly attached to the Mosaic -law of all the tribes, went into captivity. - -=6. What became of a large part= of the Jewish people just before these -times is plain from the references to those who had fled during the -various wars of the captivities, or who might have been taken captive -or retired to other nations than the Assyrian, 2 Kings 25:4, 22, 26; -2 Chron. 28:17, 18; Jer. 29:4; 41:10. So that we may reasonably suppose -that large numbers, especially from the ten tribes of Israel, either -remained in Palestine after the captivity, or departed to the east of -the Jordan or to Egypt, and perhaps to other countries. A considerable -number of the people of Judah who were left after the beginning of the -captivity went down as we have said, page 166, into Egypt, taking the -prophet Jeremiah with them;[107] but all probably perished there, as -foretold by that prophet, Jer. 42:19‒22. - - - CONDITION OF JERUSALEM AT THE RETURN. - -=7. Jerusalem was in ruins.= Its walls were broken down, and its -palaces and Temple and all the chief houses and monuments of every -description were levelled and burned so far as was possible. Judging -from the allusions to the destroyed city which are occasionally found -in Jewish writers, and from the accounts of similar destructions by -Assyrian and Babylonish kings, it is probable that the city was more -utterly ruined and made more uninhabitable than ever before or since. - -In the time of Amaziah, king of Judah, B. C. 826, the wall for about -600 feet was broken down by Jehoash, king of Israel, 2 Kings 14:13, but -the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar’s “captain of the guard” was far more -terrible, since it extended to the entire city, as well as to the walls, -and probably to the smallest dwellings. - - - THE HISTORY AFTER THE RETURN. - -=8. The worship at Jerusalem= soon became prominently important -throughout the land. The strict observance of the Law and a deep hatred -of idolatry seem fully to have occupied the minds of the people, and -the feast of the Passover was observed at Jerusalem with the other -feasts, in strict accordance with the Law. The sacrifices were made and -burnt-offerings offered before the foundations of the Temple were laid, -only the altar having been set up upon the former site and in the open -air. - -=9. Very few, if any, of those Jews= who had been scattered abroad -came from the remnants of the ten tribes around the distant places -of northern Assyria and from the other regions; but a new immigration, -under Ezra, came from Babylon bringing in about 6,000 more.[108] This -last immigration was not until fifty-eight years after the second -Temple had been built under Zerub´babel,[109] who went out with the -Jews from Babylon under the edict of Cyrus, at the first departure of -the captives, B. C. 588. - -=10. Much of the history of these times= is derived from the -historian Josephus, but something may be learned from the writings of -the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai encouraged Zerubbabel in the -building of the Temple, Ezra 5:1, 2. He first appears in the second -year of Darius Hystaspes, B. C. 521. About two months[110] after Haggai -the prophet Zechariah began to prophesy in Jerusalem. Malachi, the last -of the prophets, uttered his warnings and reproofs, and foretold the -coming Messiah, about 125 years after Haggai and Zechariah, or probably -about B. C. 397. - -=11. One of the books= of the Bible contains the history of Esther, -which reveals to us the extent of Jewish settlement and growth in the -Persian provinces at about the era of Xerxes, who came to the throne -of Persia B. C. 485, fifty years after the return of the Jews to -Palestine.[111] - -Cyrus had been succeeded by his son Cambyses, whose reign was spent -chiefly in attempting to reconquer Egypt, until his death by suicide, -B. C. 522. He was succeeded by Darius, who reigned till B. C. 486, and -during that reign the Jews had peace and prosperity, both in Palestine -and Persia. - -At the death of Darius, Xerxes began his reign of twenty-one years. -This king, known as Xerxes among the Greeks, was called Ahasuerus among -the Hebrews, and is so presented to us in the book of Esther. - -=12. The king was spending= his time at his splendid capital Susa, when -he gave a feast of unexampled extravagance. It was at this feast that -he became enraged at his queen because she refused to present herself, -at the order of the king, before the half-drunken revellers of the -occasion. The queen was deposed, and Esther was chosen in her place. -The new queen was an orphan maiden of the tribe of Benjamin, and, about -B. C. 478, she appeared before the king and the royal crown was placed -upon her head. - -Through jealousy a plot was originated by Haman to destroy the Jews. -This plot was prevented by Esther, and the Jews were permitted to -defend themselves and slay all who should attempt their destruction, -throughout the “one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” of the Empire. - -=13. The recent explorations=, by the French archæologist M. Marcel -Dieulafoy, in the extensive mounds of the site of ancient Susa, have -shown a very surprising accuracy in the description, both of the palace -and its ornaments, as found in the book of Esther. “The brilliant -coloring of the glazed tiles, the gorgeous decoration of the palace -walls, the handsome friezes and enormous capitals,”[112] forming part -of the collection brought together at the Musée du Louvre, together -with the plan of the palace, its courts and gardens, afford sufficient -evidence that the unknown author of the history of Esther must have -been well acquainted not only with the structure of the palace, but -with the customs of the people. - - - SUSA. - -=14. Susa was the Greek name= of the place called Shushan in Neh. 1:1, -and frequently so in the book of Esther.[113] It has been identified -with extensive ruins 175 miles north of the Persian Gulf and 275 miles -east of Babylon. One of the mounds shows the remains of a vast palace -with one central hall containing thirty-six columns about sixty feet in -height. Other halls and columns with porches make it certain that this -is the palace called so frequently “Shushan the palace” in the history -of Esther. It was the capital of Elam, the country around being called -Susiana. It was an ancient city and was captured by the Assyrian king -Assur-bani-pal about B. C. 650. When the father of Nebuchadnezzar, -Nabopolassar king of Babylon, and Cyaxares king of Media, conquered -Nineveh and divided the empire between them, Shushan fell to Babylon. -The wealth of the city may be known from the fact that at the -Macedonian conquest of this region Alexander found treasure here of -the value of $60,000,000. It is situated on the east bank of the Shapur -River, which is supposed to have been the Ulai (pronounced u´-la-i) of -the book of Daniel, Dan. 8:1, 2, 27. - -=15. It was in the palace in Susa= that Nehemiah held the office of -cup-bearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, B. C. 446, thirty-two years -after Esther was crowned, B. C. 478. - -=16. It is shown by this history= that the Jews, fifty-eight years -after their freedom was granted them, B. C. 536 to B. C. 478, had -already spread over the provinces of Persia. The extent of these -provinces was such, according to Rawlinson, that Persia deserved -the title of a mighty empire,[114] having in the middle of the sixth -century before the Christian era “established itself on the ruins of -the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms.” - -The monotheistic nature of the religion of the Persians, and the fact -that it allowed no idolatry nor any representation of the Supreme Being -under any material form,[115] rendered the Jewish settlement far less -objectionable in Persia than in any other land, and it is, therefore, -not improbable that the Jewish population was greater in the Persian -Empire alone than it was at the same period in Palestine after the -return from Babylon. - -The population of Susa in the time of Xerxes is supposed to have been -about “a half a million.”[116] - -=17. As the recently discovered monuments= have, in several instances, -enabled us to correct the errors of the Greek writers of this age, we -have given a complete view of the Persian successions from Cyrus to -Alexander the Great.[117] - -=Cyrus, B. C. 538.= Captured Babylon. The Persian army entered -Babylonia from the south. June 16 the Persian general Gobryas marched -in. In October Cyrus himself entered his new capital. - -=B. C. 536.= THE PROCLAMATION to the Jews, ending captivity. - -=B. C. 529.= DEATH OF CYRUS. - -=Cambyses, B. C. 529.= Invaded and conquered Egypt; entered -Ethiopia――Oasis of Ammon; committed suicide after eight years’ reign -alone, two years having been with Cyrus. GOMATES, a Magian, usurped the -throne for less than a year, from six to eight months. - -=Darius I., B. C. 521.= Son of Hystaspes. Slew Gomates. ZOROASTRIANISM -declared the religion of the empire. SUSA revolted and BABYLON also; -the former soon subdued, but Babylon required two years, the Persians -entering during a festival by marching along the dry channel of the -Euphrates. Herodotus errs in attributing this work to Cyrus. The -city was taken B. C. 519, in June. Eight consecutive revolts. Darius -conquered all and centralized the empire in himself. He conquered the -Punjab (India). The Thracian coast and Macedonia became tributary. -Darius died in the 63d year of his age, 36th of his reign, B. C. 486. - -=Xerxes, B. C. 486.= Attempted to continue the war with Athens. Lost -his army, lost the Ægean isles, the Greek colonies of Asia Minor, -the coast of Thrace, and the command of the Hellespont. Before this -campaign he burned the temple of Belus in Babylon. He was murdered -B. C. 466. He invaded Egypt B. C. 484. It was during this reign that -Esther became queen. - -=Artaxerxes I., B. C. 466.= Longimanus, so called from his long hands. -Succeeded after crushing the Bactrians under Hystaspes and murdering -another brother. B. C. 455 put down a revolt in Egypt. B. C. 449 treaty -of peace between Athens and Persia in which the Greek colonies in Asia -Minor were relinquished. A satrap of Syria extorted terms of peace. It -was during this reign that Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the king at Susa, -called Shushan. - -=Xerxes II., B. C. 425.= Assassinated, after forty-five days’ reign, by -his illegitimate brother Sogdianus, and he in turn by Ochus after six -months. He took the name of Darius. - -=Darius II., B. C. 424.= Called Nothus. His reign a series of -revolts for nineteen years. He lost Egypt, but by the destruction of -the Athenian power regained the Greek colonies of Asia Minor. - -=Artaxerxes II., B. C. 405.= Called Mnemon from his great memory. -His younger brother, who was satrap in Asia Minor, revolted and with -113,000 soldiers, 13,000 of whom were Greeks under Xenophon, fought -for the Persian throne, but lost his life at Cunaxa, and the retreat -of the Greeks under Xenophon became one of the great feats of history. -Sparta’s forces, however, made themselves masters of Western Asia -B. C. 399‒395, but it was restored through Persian gold and dissension -at home. Died B. C. 359. - -=Ochus, B. C. 359.= He destroyed all the other princes of the royal -family. He failed at first to recover Egypt and lost Phœnicia and -Cyprus, but his general Bagoas reconquered Egypt and destroyed Sidon, -and for six years there was peace until B. C. 338, when Ochus was -poisoned. - -=Arses, B. C. 338.= Was raised to the throne by Bagoas after murdering -all his brothers. Two years after, Arses and his children were murdered -and Bagoas placed the crown on the head of Codomannus, who took the -name of Darius III. - -=Darius III., B. C. 336.= Called Codomannus. B. C. 334 his army -was defeated by Alexander the Great at the plain of Issus, near the -northeast corner of the Mediterranean. - -=Alexander.= Alexander then passed on to Tyre and besieged and -captured it. After this he visited Jerusalem during the high-priesthood -of Jaddua and did honor to the city and Temple.[118] - -=Alexandria built B. C. 332.= He then captured Gaza and entered -Egypt and the Oasis of Ammon. He returned to Babylonia, and B. C. 331 -at Gaugamela, ten miles east of Nineveh, defeated Darius, who fled and -was murdered. The Persian Empire fell now to Alexander. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE CANONICAL BOOKS. SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH. - - -=1. The word “Canon”= is a Greek word and means a “measure,” or -“rule.” It was first used in the fourth century of the Christian era to -designate the authorized books of the Bible. - -But the question arises, By whom were these books determined? The -history is as follows. - -=2. During the captivity of Judah= a spirit of reverence for the Law -arose, and after they came back to Palestine it was cherished to an -extent never before known. - -=3. At no time= in the history of the Jews had a period existed when a -true Canon of the Old Testament writings could better have been formed. -The large number of learned and devout men who were found by Ezra -competent to explain the Scriptures, as recorded by Nehemiah, chapters -eight and nine, proves that the study of the Law had not been neglected -during the captivity; and, as we know, several of the prophets uttered -their prophecies to the nation not long before, as well as soon after, -the return. - -=4. The tradition seems= to be well sustained that this was the era -when more careful attention was paid to the “collecting, authenticating, -and defining the canonical books of the Old Testament and in -multiplying copies of them, by careful transcription,”[119] than ever -before or since. - -=5. The traditions of the various sects had= not yet distracted -attention from that which was more trustworthy in Jewish history and -in the clearer and more certain deliverances of their ancient seers and -prophets. - -=6. We must now remember= that all the books, except the Mosaic books -of the Pentateuch, were in separate manuscripts. Those which Ezra -had were either copies of those which had escaped the destruction of -Jerusalem, or they were the original manuscripts themselves. - -=7. That some manuscripts did escape= that destruction is evident from -the words of Daniel (9:2), by which we see that he, while in Babylon, -was in possession of the writings of Jeremiah and of other books “and -of the Law of Moses the servant of God,” verses 11, 13, seventeen years -before the close of the captivity, namely B. C. 553. - -But even without any definite statement as to the actual existence -of the manuscripts of the Old Testament books, it is incredible that -with all their devotion to the Law there should have been no copies in -the possession of any one. When we remember their intense regard for -their ancient history and for the songs of Zion; and when we consider -the reverential learning and ability of such men as Ezra, Nehemiah, -Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi and others, it is not reasonable to suppose -that there should have been no copies of the sacred books extant at the -time of the return. - -=8. Ezra was not only skilled= in the Hebrew, but also in the Chaldee, -called Aramaic. He was thoroughly acquainted with the literature of the -Jewish nation and deeply imbued with the spirit of his office as priest -and scribe. And Ezra was not alone in this respect. - -=9. It was in his time=, as the Jewish writings tell us, that able and -devout men among the Jews, called elders, were assembled under Ezra’s -direction with the purpose of forming a body sometimes called the Great -Council or Synagogue. - -These elders, with Ezra and probably Nehemiah, the prophets Haggai, -Zechariah, and years afterward Malachi, continued to meet through many -years, some of the most learned and devout taking the places of those -who died, until the death of one “Simon the Just,” about B. C. 300,[120] -when this council was apparently resolved into that court of the Jews -called the “Sanhedrin.” Jewish tradition asserts that the entire number -of the Great Synagogue was one hundred and twenty, during about as many -years. - -=10. This body of “The Great Synagogue”= determined the number of the -books. - -A letter to some of the Jews in Egypt after the Temple was built states -that Nehemiah had already collected “a library” in the Temple. - -In this account it is said that Nehemiah, while founding a library, -gathered together the writings concerning the kings and prophets, and -the writings of David, and letters of kings about offerings.[121] But -the chief object was to collect those writings which were not only -ancient and were copies of the ancient history, but those which had to -do with the relations of God to the people and their duties towards God. - -=11. From many allusions= to these times it is evident that there -never was a period when the people were so willing, and even earnestly -desirous, to learn and obey whatever was duty.[122] - -What was now wanted by the whole Jewish people was such a collection -from all their literature that it should be well authenticated and -trustworthy as history, and at the same time authoritative as a guide -and as a rule of faith and practice. - -=12. From what we have now said=, it is evident that no one was more -competent for the work of gathering these records than were Ezra and -his associates, and the Jewish records assert that he, with Nehemiah -and others, performed this work of gathering and selecting, and thus -forming that collection of the ancient writings which not only he, -but those of this the most learned and devout age, considered to be -truthful, and, as Josephus says, “directions of God,” or as Eusebius -quoted him, “justly considered divine.” - -=13. When these writings were gathered= and pronounced to be the books -which, Josephus says, were those “comprising a record of all time and -justly confided in,” as he declares, “no one ever after ventured to add -anything to them, nor take away from them, nor alter them.”[123] The -Old Testament was now formed and settled and the Canonical period was -closed. - - - THE INSTITUTION OF THE SYNAGOGUE. - -=14. The meaning of the word synagogue= is simply “a gathering -together,” but the name became, in after years, a term for the place -and building where the Jews gathered for worship, and this meaning -continues to the present day. - -=15. After the exile began=, the Jews, having no temple in Babylonia, -may have had meeting-places, but the synagogue, as it existed in the -time of our Saviour and since, does not appear to have been instituted -till long after the return from the captivity. - -=16. Immediately after the captivity= the synagogue became fully -organized as a place where the Jews gathered to read the law, and have -it read and explained in the language of the people; for during the -captivity the ancient pure Hebrew was to a great extent forgotten among -the common people, and the Chaldæan language, which was that of their -conquerors, was adopted. This language was unlike the ancient Hebrew, -and was called the Aramæan or Aramaic, and after the captivity, at the -synagogues, there were always present some who were able to read and -explain the books of the law in both dialects,[124] Neh. 8:8. Although -the institution of the synagogue, simply as such a gathering as we have -just mentioned, took place before the second Temple was finished, it -was continued ever afterward. - -=17. The distinctive purpose of the Temple= was for the offering of -the sacrifices, and that of the synagogues was for prayer and hearing -the Scriptures. In later times, just before and after the Christian era, -it became in addition a place for the meeting of Jewish courts, and not -only was sentence pronounced in these courts, but punishment followed -upon sentence immediately. Hence we read that scourging might, at some -time, be inflicted there. See Matt. 10:17; Mark 13:9, and elsewhere. - - - WHO WERE THE SAMARITANS? - -=18. When the ten tribes were carried= away captive by Sargon, B. C. -721, other nations were transferred from the region to which these -captives were taken, according to the custom which we have mentioned -(pages 160 and 161). A large number of other captives from other lands -were imported to Samaria, the former capital and region of the ten -tribes. Many of these imported heathen captives joined with the remnant -of the Israelites still remaining after the captivity, and made up a -mixed worship of Jehovah as taught by one of the priests, 2 Kings 17:34. -This priest, at their request, the king of Assyria returned to them, -to teach them the Jewish way of worship, 2 Kings 17:27. This state of -things continued in Samaria until after the return of Judah from the -captivity. - -When the Jews undertook to rebuild the Temple under Zerubbabel, these -Samaritans made application to join them in that work and were refused. -The refusal aroused their enmity and active opposition, which was -greatly increased in after times, as we shall see. - - - SHECHEM AND SAMARIA. - -=19. Shechem was thirty miles north= from Jerusalem and five miles -southeast from the city of Samaria. The _district_ of Samaria must be -distinguished from the _city_ of Samaria; the latter having been the -residence of the kings of Israel, or of the northern kingdom, for many -years. At the time of Alexander the Great the Samaritans were expelled -from this city because of a mutiny against one of his appointed -governors of Syria; but a remnant was permitted to occupy Shechem,[125] -where they have dwindled down to the present day. - - - THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH. - -=20. One very ancient copy= of the Pentateuch, or first five books, -called the Law of Moses, remains among this remnant of the Samaritans, -at Shechem in Palestine. It is written in the ancient Hebrew letters -used before the captivity, and this particular copy is the oldest in -the world, so far as is at present known. - -It is written in the pure old Hebrew language, but contains only the -first five books of the Old Testament in one single roll. It is called -the Samaritan, only because it is owned by the Samaritans and has -been in their possession from a period several centuries before the -Christian era down to the present time.[126] - -=21. It has been proven= that during and after the captivity all the -writings of the Scriptures, and especially the books of Moses, were -transcribed only into the square forms of Hebrew letters which are now -used in all our Hebrew Bibles.[127] It seems highly probable therefore -that this Samaritan manuscript has been in existence ever since the -time when, at the request of the Samaritans, the Assyrian king sent -back a priest (page 190) to teach them, and “he taught them the fear -of the Lord,” 2 Kings 17:28, B. C. 720. - -=22. But it is proper here to state= that this manuscript is thought, -by some, to owe its origin to the time when Nehemiah expelled from -Jerusalem the grandson of the high-priest, Manasseh by name, because -he had married the daughter of Sanballat, their Samaritan enemy. -This expulsion of Manasseh took place B. C. 434 (according to Ussher). -After this Sanballat built a Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim and made -Manasseh high-priest.[128] The enmity already existing between the Jews -and the Samaritans was made more bitter by this act, and it continued -ever after. - -=23. But although the Samaritans= at some time must have obtained their -copy of the Law of Moses from the Jews, as the latter say, yet it is -not probable that this copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch was obtained -from them after this enmity sprang up, and, moreover, because it is -written in those letters in which Ezra did not write the law after -the captivity. If it was written before, then there is at least one -manuscript copy which escaped the misfortunes of the captivity and has -come down to the present day. - -=24. This manuscript has been mentioned= by several of the early -fathers of the third century and has been copied several times during -the past three centuries. With the exception of some dates, the -variations from the present Hebrew copies are unimportant. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - WHAT WAS SCRIPTURE? THE SEPTUAGINT. - - -=1. The first five books=, called the books of Moses, seem always to -have existed in one roll, and these constituted “The Law,” and were -the only Scriptures read in the synagogues until the time of Antiochus -Epiphanes, B. C. 168,[129] who bitterly persecuted the Jews and -forbade the use of the Law in the synagogues. During the time of this -prohibition, only the Prophets were read, in the place of the Law, but -when the persecution ceased the Jews began the reading of the Law again, -but continued the reading of the prophets.[130] - -=2. In order that the Pentateuch= should be read through in one -year, the entire work was divided into fifty-four sections,[131] so as -to supply a portion for each Sabbath.[132] These divisions were made -long before the time of the persecution just referred to; indeed the -earliest Hebrew writers think they existed almost so far back as the -time of Moses.[133] - -=3. In the time of Ezra= the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, -Esther, Malachi, and possibly Daniel, were not included in the -Canonical books of that time, simply because they were either not -completed or too recently completed. Scripture, or the Bible as we -would call it, consisted only of the five books, Genesis, Exodus, -Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, in one roll. The Psalms of David -were sung in the Temple worship, but no other books appear to have been -used in public worship until the time we have already stated, B. C. 168. -But the Jewish writers included in the word “prophets” some of the -historical books.[134] - -Ezra is considered by both ancient Jews and by modern scholars to be -the author both of the Chronicles and of Ezra.[135] Nehemiah was the -author of the book bearing his name, and this is the last _historical_ -book of Scripture, as Malachi is the last _prophetic_ book. The book -of Nehemiah contains the history of the Jews from a period beginning -12 years after the close of the book of Ezra, B. C. 456, to about 110 -years after the Captivity, or B. C. 426, with the exception we shall -hereafter state, p. 219. Esther became queen of Xerxes B. C. 478.[136] -The inscription on the rocks at Behustan, 215 miles northeast of -Babylon, has shown that this king was the Ahasuerus of the book of -Esther, which was written some years after she became queen. - -=4. In regard to the size of those ancient books=, it should be -remembered that it was not always convenient to bind together in any -way more than a very few of them in one volume. They were in rolls, as -the word “volume” means, and when we know that one ancient roll of only -the Law of Moses, of average size, in manuscript, which is preserved -in the Collegiate Library, Manchester, England, is 160 feet long and -20 inches wide, we may readily see that very few could be handled at -a time. - - - THE ORDER OF THE BOOKS. - -=5. The books of the Old Testament= were named in the order of their -importance in Jewish estimation, and not as we would name them to-day -in the order of their position in the single volume of our Bibles. -The books of the Law always took precedence in the order, then the -Prophets, and after them the Psalms, as three general divisions, and -this statement included all, Luke 24:44. That some of the books were -kept in separate rolls to a very late period is evident even in the -time of Christ, for when he appeared in the synagogue at Nazareth only -the roll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and from this he -read, Luke 4:17. - -=6. But in the enumeration= of the books individually, except in -the case of the five “books of the Law,” which, as we have said, have -never been known otherwise than in one volume, it is evident that some -variations of the exact order have occurred. These variations had their -origin in the Septuagint[137] translation, wherein the translators not -only changed the Hebrew order, but the Hebrew names of some, and even -divided some of the books, making two or more out of one. - -=7. As an illustration of the changes in names= of the books, the -translators gave the Greek names: GENESIS, “the beginning;” EXODUS, -“the going out;” LEVITICUS, “concerning Levitical law;” NUMBERS (of -Latin derivation), because the book contains the census of the tribes -or numbers;[138] DEUTERONOMY, the Greek for “the repeated law,” because -of the repetition of the law. - -=8. The Jews used the initial Hebrew words= of each book in the -Pentateuch for its name; but this does not occur afterwards. The books -of Samuel were one with the older Jews, and so were the books of Kings; -but the Greek translators made them the first and second books of the -“kingdoms,” and the books of Kings came in course as the third and -fourth books, and this is the reason for the additions to the titles in -our English Bibles, “otherwise called the first book, the second book, -etc., of Kings.” - - - END OF THE CANONICAL PERIOD. - -=9. By this term= is meant the end of that time whose history is -included in the latest of the Old Testament books. Some of these books -contain histories which extend to a period nearer the Christian era -than do the histories of others, as in the case of the books of the -Chronicles, of Esther, of Ezra, and Nehemiah. - -=10. The books of the Old Testament=, which are thirty-nine in -number, present the records of events which transpired during the -course of more than 3,500 years, or from the creation of Adam to -the third century before the Christian era. But we must keep in mind -the distinction between the time when events occurred and the time -when such events were first recorded. There yet remains another date, -namely that of the period when the collator or collators of all these -manuscripts produced his or their own work of collecting and arranging -them into one history or one volume. Let us suppose a case. - -=11. A historian undertakes to write= a true history of the -times of the Norman conquest. In gathering the materials for this -history he visits the libraries and collections and finds an old -manuscript-history of events written by some one who was on the -field at the battle of Hastings, and another written by one who lived -in the times soon after and had heard from living witnesses of the -exploits of the warrior Hereward in his contests with the Normans. In -another manuscript he finds a collection of the ballads of those times -commemorating the acts of some brave knight and some reminiscences of -that age as communicated by tradition to immediate descendants. With -these and other materials he compiles the history desired. - -=12. Such a history= of the Norman conquest of England would be -credible, first, if the editor or compiler in his researches truthfully -found and wisely used such manuscripts as we have described; and -second, if the manuscripts and his other authorities were in themselves -trustworthy. But how is this to be tested? We read the new book when -finished, and in order to learn something satisfactory upon these two -points we now start out upon our examinations. Our question is, Was -there ever such an event as the battle of Hastings? How shall we get -testimony? - -=13. The geography= of the country, =local remains=, and other facts -may furnish us with evidence for or against. In one chapter of the book -it is stated that there was an old castle in which William lodged the -night before the battle, and that there is from it no view north, but a -fair view towards the south. - -We visit Hastings and find the remains of an old castle, and we see -high hills on the north and none on the south. Herein we see some -corroboration of the history. But now some one shows that there is no -evidence that any battle ever was fought at Hastings, and the oldest -manuscripts sustain the objection, and show that the battle of the -conquest was fought at a place called Senlac. - -This now throws a doubt upon the whole history. There is contradiction, -perhaps error. We go back to the study of the manuscripts and we find -that a more recent collator of the history of the conquest, writing -with a view to readers of his own times, introduced the new name, -“Hastings,” as better understood than another name, Senlac, and all -subsequent copyists followed his manuscript. - -But the early name, “Senlac,” is found nowhere, while it still remains -true that no battle was fought at Hastings. Additional doubt shadows -the whole history. But now in a monastery an old manuscript is found, -written centuries ago, describing some of the old abbeys, among which -one is mentioned named “Battle Abbey,” followed by a short explanation, -stating that it is located at the village called “Battle,” quite -near Hastings. The last part is an interpolation in the manuscript, -and evidently written many years after the writing of the original -manuscript, and both authors are unknown. - -We now visit the village of Battle, near Hastings, and find -local traditions handed down in connection with an old abbey still -remaining and built upon the spot where Harold fell. Arrow-heads and -fragments of battle-axes are found and are shown to us; the former -are found scattered over the hills only on one side. This corroborates -another statement, that the Normans used bows and arrows, while the -Anglo-Saxons used only battle-axes. - -All these discoveries strengthen the links in the chain of evidences -between facts and their history, until all doubts are cleared away and -even the “validity of doubt itself is doubtful.” - -=14. Just such a course= of research, of discovery, and of success in -final vindication has attended almost every historical announcement in -Scripture. - -=15. At the close= of the Canonical period, whatever books made up -the Canon were so rigidly guarded ever afterwards in every way, by -memorizing, by commentary and paraphrase, by increasing the copies in -manuscripts, and by numbering letters and words, that it is impossible -that any material difference exists between them and the books which -make up the Old Testament of the present day. These books have not -been changed in any important respect during the 2,200 years which have -transpired since the close of the Canon. - -=16. But now the chief discussion is= upon the question, Did the books, -at the close of the Canonical period, fairly represent those books -which the original authors wrote before the Canon was closed? In other -words, have we a true copy of the books of Moses and true copies of -those who wrote after him? The second question is, Were those ancient -books trustworthy――were they truly historical? Did Ezra and the others -wisely and truly use the old manuscripts, and were those manuscripts -trustworthy? - -=17. Now it will be perceived= that we occupy the position of those -who undertook to corroborate the history of the battle of Hastings. We -shall proceed somewhat as we did then. - -From the repeated and varied discoveries in Egypt, Assyria, and -Palestine we have a repetition of the names of kings and of cities -never known before the present century except as they were mentioned -in Scripture. They have been recently found recorded upon the monuments -which had been buried centuries before the captivity, and brought to -light only in the present century. Inscriptions have been discovered -which repeated historical statements of early Scripture books, some -of which statements had either been omitted entirely by every Greek -historian or had been contradicted by them, but which, when the -hieroglyphic and cuneiform languages could be read, were proved to -be accurate statements――thus giving testimony to the fact that the -Scripture accounts were more ancient and more accurate than any of -the Greek or other histories. - -=18. Again: peculiar terms of art= occur in the Scriptures, with -official titles, trade names, allusions to customs, and forms of -expression, the origins of which have been found only among the nations -where, or about which, these particular books of Scripture purport -to have been written; and they could be recognized only after the -hieroglyphic histories of these ancient nations could be read. - -The inferences from all these parallelisms are apparent: these -Scripture books are truly historical, they contain the records of facts -and are trustworthy. - -At what time all these histories were committed to writing, or who -were the writers, we are not in all cases able to show; but inability -in this respect does not disprove the fact of authenticity. - - - VARIATIONS IN THE BOOKS. - -=19. When we consider the ages= through which many of the books of the -Bible have passed, and the singular conditions upon which they have -thus passed through those ages, we may readily appreciate the claim of -a supernatural preservation. - -There are writings, more ancient than those of the Mosaic manuscripts, -which have come down to us from long before the time of Moses; such are -the so-called “Books of the Dead,” found in the tombs of Egypt;[139] -but these writings, as soon as they were finished, were immediately -locked up amid the spices, the darkness and protection of the tomb, -till recently brought out, while the contents of the books of the -Mosaic Law, and other manuscripts of Scripture, have come percolating -down through the ages, doing battle all that time with thousands of -scribes, and indeed with any transcriber who felt inclined to copy -a book; and that work of transcribing has continued from the period -when the Mosaic manuscripts were completed down to the period of the -return from the captivity, or of the close of the Canon――that is over -a thousand years――and from that period to the present. - -Excepting variations in some numerical figures and in a few names, -which may be accounted for, and in some cases corrected, all the rest -of the variations are of so small importance that the Bible, as we -possess it, may well be considered a literary monument, standing alone -and unexampled amid the literature of all time. And this not only -for its singular preservation, but for that evident unity of purpose, -persistent through all its variety of subjects and authors, until the -time when the last prophetic utterance closed the Canon. - -Then there stood out in luminous form a finished work, whose pages -exhibit the proof of a systematic plan, designed from the very -beginning to fill out progressively its mysterious pages, until the -last letter was complete, in order that a world might see, in one -volume, the object of creation, the necessity of law, the illustrations -of judgment and of providence, and the redemption and coming salvation -of the race. - - - THE SEPTUAGINT, B. C. 286‒285. (?) - -=20. The conquest of the Persians= under Alexander introduced the Greek -language into Western Asia and other lands. This introduction prepared -the way for a very extensive circulation of the entire Old Testament -writings throughout the surrounding nations and even the world. For up -to this time all the Old Testament was in the Hebrew language; but as -soon as the translation into the Greek was made, of which we shall now -speak, even those who could not speak Greek could easily find those who -could, because among the learned and unlearned there were many who knew -Greek who did not understand the Hebrew. - -When, therefore, the death of Alexander was followed by the partition -of his conquests among his generals, Egypt became, in B. C. 322, -governed by the Ptolemies, the second of whom, Ptolemy Philadelphus, -B. C. 286‒247, had the Law of Moses, that is the =first five books=, -translated from the Hebrew into the Greek. - -=21. Under the first of the Ptolemies= (Soter) the Alexandrian Museum -was founded for the reception of learned men, as well as of literary -treasures, and Alexandria soon superseded Athens as the chief nursery -of Greek literature. Under his successor and son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, -the library of the Museum contained 90,000 volumes of distinct works, -but 400,000 with the duplicates. - -Beginning with some period in the reign of the first Ptolemy (Soter), -the Jews were attracted to Alexandria in large numbers as settlers, to -whom this Ptolemy assigned a suburb on the coast towards the east. The -city became the resort of some of the wisest and ablest men of the age, -including such men as Apelles the painter, Euclid the mathematician, -and many others, artists and scholars. - -=22. But under Ptolemy II., Philadelphus=, B. C. 283, the Museum -became most prosperous, and among its members were numbered grammarians, -natural philosophers, astronomers, physicians, poets, and Greek -philosophers of the schools.[140] It was under this state of things -that the translation above referred to was asked by the king and was -undertaken, according to tradition, by seventy of the most learned Jews -of that date, and hence called “The translation of the seventy,” or the -Septuagint. - -=23. Although at first= only the Pentateuch was translated, the other -books were, in after years, gradually added to this translation. The -Septuagint was used among the Jews not only of Alexandria, but of -Palestine also, and during the times of our Saviour and the apostles -was more frequently quoted than was the original Hebrew.[141] - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE ORIGIN OF THE TALMUD. - - -=1. It will be remembered= that although under Cyrus the Jews were -permitted full liberty to return to Palestine, not all the Jewish -nation accepted the privilege. A very large number of the wealthiest, -and indeed of the most learned classes, remained behind. They did much -for the support of the Temple and for other objects among those who -had returned to Palestine, but they themselves continued the synagogue -service in Babylonia and in Persia, as appears from various statements -and allusions, not only in Jewish writings, but also in other history. - -=2. Among those Jews=, however, who had returned to Palestine there -arose very early a class of devout and earnest students of the Law -and of the other books of Scripture. There began also a most diligent -collection of the traditions of the Jewish race and the opinions of the -learned. Meanwhile a very constant correspondence was cherished between -the colonists abroad and those in the Holy Land, and both at home and -abroad there were those who were learned in the Law and in the other -books. - -The whole object of study and correspondence among the learned was to -explain and illustrate the sacred literature in all its branches. The -information thus gained laid the foundation of that which was soon to -be called the Talmud, a name literally meaning Doctrine or Instruction. - -=3. But before we treat further= on this remarkable work it is well -to consider certain conditions which added much to the formation of the -Talmud. - -Although the Jews reformed forever from all tendency to idolatry, they -nevertheless differed among themselves on many details of both faith -and practice, and hence there grew up an exceedingly critical study of -the literature and teachings of the book. - - - THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS. - -=4. Between the close= of the Canonical period and the Christian era -there arose many intellectual and studious ones, who ranged themselves -under three general and widespread schools. - -(1) =The Traditionalists=, called by the Jews the Masoretic School, or -Pharisees. - -(2) =The Philosophic school=, of whom were the Sadducees. - -(3) =The Kabalistic school.= - -The first of these confined themselves strictly to Scripture and -tradition. They derived their name from the Hebrew word _masar_, to -deliver, as from hand to hand. - -The second entered the paths of speculation unknown to the fathers. -They were pleased with the Greek philosophy, due to their contact with -the schools of Alexandria. They strove to harmonize the principles -of Judaism with the doctrines of Pythagoras, the philosophy of Plato, -and the logic of Aristotle. Thus, as virtue was its own reward, they -taught that there can be no future reward, and therefore that there -was no future life and no resurrection; and this was the belief of the -Sadducees. - -The third school, Kabalistic, believed in the mysteries, or secret -meaning of the words of the Law. They thought they could detect secret -truths in the words, and sometimes the letters of the words, which -others could not apprehend. They taught that the truths were to the -words of Scripture what the soul is to the body, and that we are -mistaken if we see only the letter in the Scripture, and fail to ascend -by the help of the letter to the ideas of the Infinite Mind.[142] - -=5. From the men of the Masoretic school=, who devoted themselves -strictly to the Law and Tradition, arose a series of academies, or -scholastic institutions. Those were presided over by the most learned -members of that body, which, as we have said, followed upon the Great -Synagogue after the death of Simon the Just, and which was called the -Sanhedrin, or council.[143] This council, about this time, became the -seat of supreme legislative power among the Jews, in both civil and -ecclesiastical matters, but was subsequently divested of some of its -powers by Gabinius, the Roman governor of Syria, B. C. 57.[144] It is -referred to in the New Testament (Matt. 5:22; 26:59; Acts 4:15; 5:27, -etc.). - -=6. But the Sanhedrin=, which was presided over by the high-priest, -became the centre of learning and authority so far back as B. C. 200 -years. - -The priesthood was recognized as the legitimate ministers of the altar; -but the people, with whom the Mosaic Law was supreme, entering as it -did into all the details of their lives, regarded the expositors and -interpreters of that Law with the highest honor. With them “the voice -of the rabbi” became “the voice of God.”[145] - -=7. For many years before the Christian era= the Sanhedrin was -the highest authority in matters of faith, and its utterances, or -more particularly those of the most learned of its members, both in -traditions and in opinions, became so numerous that from being only -orally delivered, they were committed to writing, and these writings -and opinions upon the Law were the foundation of that voluminous work -called the Talmud, with its divisions. - - - FORM OF THE TALMUD. - -=8. The Talmud therefore= in the main was the growth of centuries, -beginning from about B. C. 220 to several centuries after Christ. It -was composed of the text of the Law, both the written law and that -which was believed to be additional law, although only handed down from -age to age, but never written. This was called the _oral law_. All this -comprised that part of the Talmud called “the repetition,” or in the -Hebrew the MISHNA. Then came the “Commentary” upon every part, and this -was called the GAMARA. - - - THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. - -=9. As there had been a very large and learned class of Jews= in -Babylon from the Captivity to the time of Christ, there was also a -corresponding number of very important schools in several cities on the -Euphrates and east of it. These also gathered a Talmud, with its Mishna -and Gamara; but this――called the Babylonian Talmud――was of later origin -than the Jerusalem Talmud. - - - A WONDERFUL MEMORY. - -=10. The various traditions= which in all variety of expression, -as unwritten laws, as commentaries and opinions, went to make up -the Talmud, with its Mishna and Gamara, had remained unwritten for -generations because there was a rule given out by some of their learned -men and teachers that “things delivered by word of mouth must not be -recorded.” But about A. D. 180 one of the most influential and wisest -of their number, Rabbi Jehudah, decided that the time had come when -the Mishna must be committed to writing. Rabbi Jehudah, for whom the -greatest veneration existed, began with his fellow-laborers the heavy -task of reducing all these traditions and decisions of many generations -to a written form, and this work was performed at Tiberias (on the -lake of the same name, 70 miles north of Jerusalem), where a celebrated -school existed after Titus had destroyed Jerusalem.[146] It is a -memorable fact that for nearly four centuries the vast amount of -literature which composed the Talmud had been stored only in the memory -of the learned members of the Jewish nation. - -=11. The vastness of this labor= of memorial possession may be -comprehended in some degree when we learn that of only one rabbi[147] -300 magisterial sentences are recorded in the Talmud, and years before -his time Rabbi Hillel[148] reduced 600 or 700 sections, which had -been known before only in a complicated mass, into orders, divisions, -chapters, and verses, whereby they could be better memorized. - -=12. Although this cultivation of the memory= was carried on to a -very great extent among the Jews during one or two centuries before the -Christian era, and to a degree unexcelled by any other nation, there -are evidences that long before the Captivity the cultivation of the -memory was largely encouraged. - -=13. Manuscripts were rare and costly=, and therefore methods were -adopted, as in the composition of several of the Psalms, of Proverbs, -and Lamentations, which were aids to memorizing. One method was by -beginning consecutive verses or sections with consecutive letters -of the alphabet. Psalm 119 is composed of 176 verses, divided into -a number of sections, the whole number of sections equal to the -letters in the Hebrew alphabet (22), and all the eight verses of each -section begin with the same letter. In Proverbs 31:10‒31, the initial -letters of all the verses follow the order of the Hebrew alphabet. The -Lamentations of Jeremiah are composed in five poems, each, excepting -the third, consisting of 22 sections or verses, a verse for each letter -in the alphabet. The first four poems begin with the first letter of -the alphabet, and in each poem, which makes one chapter, the after -sections continue in their initial letters to follow the order of the -alphabet. In the third chapter however the stanzas are in sets of three -of the Bible verses, and each verse in the set begins with the same -letter of the alphabet, but all the sets are in the alphabetical order. -Such methods suggest the work of memorizing. - -=14.= Again, we may say that, in view of all these facts, it does not -seem possible that “the Law” could have been forgotten in the Captivity -among all the learned and devout men, some of whom were prophets. It -would seem that even without the written copies of the Law, Ezra, if -he had so desired, could not have, as some suppose, introduced into the -Law an entirely new book of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, and yet no one -amid all the Jews have discovered the forgery. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - CONCLUDING REMARKS. - - -WE add the following remarks in the nature of a general review and -inference, which are more appropriate to this era of the Jewish history -than to any other. - -=1. There never was a time= when the Jewish people exhibited such -a humble and yet determined spirit of obedience to the Mosaic Law as -when they returned from the Captivity. All the history of those times -as derived from the Jewish writings, both sacred and secular, fully -attests this spirit. All their hopes for the future, both political and -religious, were conditioned upon outward obedience to the requirements -of the Law as explained by the teachings of their ancient prophets or -illustrated and made more impressive in the Psalms or songs of Israel -and pictured to them in the happier days of the Temple service. All -that appertained to the history of the past was precious. This fact, -as we have shown, was illustrated in many ways. - -=2.= Moreover, from the Scripture history of Ezra and Nehemiah, it is -plain that a large body of skilled men, ably instructed in the Law and -acquainted with the sacred writings of the Jewish people, were among -the captives before the close of the Captivity. The Levites and priests -were in existence, and the prophets were among them, and they met in -various places for worship and for the songs of Zion. The condition of -the Jews in Babylonia and elsewhere was favorable to the cultivation of -their literature, and they were allowed many privileges. - -It is plain from the letter of Artaxerxes, Ezra 7:11, and from -other testimonies, that not only Ezra but many others studied the -Jewish writings long before the close of the Captivity. The Samaritan -Pentateuch in its letters may offer evidence on this point, for the -new letters in which the Law and the canonized books were written very -probably found their origin in the reverence in which the Jews held the -sacred writings during the Captivity. - -These new letters, as we have said, are called the “square form,” but -they were called by the early Jews[149] “the Ashuri” character, Ashuri -meaning, according to Maimonides, the sacred character, and they were -probably invented specially for sacred writings. - -The old Samaritan letters were not sacred. They were used in various -modifications by the Canaanites; they were used by the Moabites, as -we see on the Moabite stone, discovered in 1868 at Dibon, east of the -Dead Sea; they were also used by the Phœnicians,[150] and have been -found upon Assyrian weights associated with the cuneiform, probably for -the convenience of the merchants and tradesmen,[151] upon the coins of -Judæa, and upon one coin of Jehu, king of Israel.[152] It was therefore -a common character, and it was strictly in keeping with the Jewish -sentiment of exclusiveness and separation of themselves from all the -nations around that they should clothe their sacred writings in a -letter peculiarly sacred. At any rate we have no other origin for this -new form of lettering, which was never known before the Captivity, and -which was used after the Captivity exclusively for the sacred writings, -as we learn from the Talmuds of both Jerusalem and Babylonia.[153] - -=3.= The various sects of Pharisees, with their oral tradition and -“unwritten law,” and the Kabalists, with their fanciful and secret -interpretations, had not arisen at the time of Ezra. The Scriptures -were gathered and copied mainly for instruction; and, as we learn from -Ezra and Nehemiah, the people were as earnest as the teachers in their -desire that the Scriptures should be known and distinctly understood, -and this object appears to have been sincerely pursued in the work -prosecuted at that time. At this period the exclusive demand was for -those writings which should enlighten the people as to duty, both in -regard to the divine law and providence, and for such writings as -should illustrate their history as under the Law and as seen in God’s -dealings with their fathers. That the influence of the Law and of the -teachings of their prophets powerfully controlled their actions and -lives is evident from the fact that they never again fell into idolatry. -Their truthfulness to their promises and their good faith as a people -were so apparent that these traits frequently led to their appointment -to positions of trust and privilege among several of the surrounding -nations. - -=4.= It was under these conditions of character and motive that the -learned scribes of these times made the first general collection of -Hebrew literature then existing. The names of several books[154] which -were extant either at the time of this gathering of the Canonical -Books or before, are mentioned in the Scriptures; but if they had been -considered worthy of the Canon they would probably have been preserved -by copy or repetition. All that was valuable or important to the -histories which were preserved in the Scriptures was extracted from -them and contained in the Canonical Books as we have them at present. - -Judging from certain statements in the genealogies and in the -concluding history, the book of Chronicles was the last that was -written. The book of Nehemiah however has some additions, Neh. 12:10, -11, 22, of genealogies which bring the high-priests down to the time -of Alexander the Great, as Josephus (Vol. V., Book II., ch. 8) shows, -who states that Jaddua, whose name occurs in the book of Nehemiah, was -high-priest and the last under the Persian rule, and must therefore -have lived in the time when Alexander the Great, after the battle -of Issus, B. C. 334, visited Jerusalem, B. C. 332, during the -high-priesthood of Jaddua. - -It is narrated that this high-priest was succeeded by Onias, his son, -and he by “Simon the Just,” who was called by the Jews the last of the -men of the Great Synagogue. It was during the priesthood of this Simon -that, according to the general opinion of both Jewish and Christian -writers, the final addition was made to the Canon of the Old Testament. -Simon, who was not only high-priest, but a man of great learning and -of most fervent piety and devotion to the Law, is said to have added -the books of Chronicles, of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and the prophecy of -Malachi; after which, as Josephus writes, there was no further change, -omission, or addition. The Old Testament Canon was closed then for ever. - - - - - PERIOD VII. - - THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA. - - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OUR SAVIOUR. - - THE PLANTING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY. - - -=1.= No other people have had stronger motives for cherishing the -memories of their past than have had the Jews. - -One of the most important sources of Jewish pride was found in their -=genealogical records=. The history of the return from captivity and of -the renewed settlement in Palestine, as recorded in the books of Ezra -and Nehemiah, shows how important these records were considered to be. -But the most important of all the records were those which traced any -lineage up to David, and there is no reason to believe that a true line -of descent was ever forgotten. - -Not only the genealogy of the male members, but also that of the female -members of a family, were preserved, as we may learn from Scripture -accounts and certainly from secular history. A supposed defect in the -genealogy of the mother of John Hyrcanus, a high-priest, B. C. 108, was -the cause of bloodshed in Jerusalem[155] because of the insult offered -to the high-priest by the bare announcement of such a defect, although -it was shown that the genealogical records certified her descent from a -Jewish tribe. - -=2. The Virgin Mary’s genealogy= was as important as that of Joseph, -her reputed husband, although her husband’s genealogy might have been -perfect, as in the instance given in the last paragraph. In the case of -Hyrcanus, his father’s origin, according to the Jewish law, was without -defect; it was the mother’s pedigree which was assailed. - -Especially was it important to the priest’s office that the mother of -the candidate for this office should be of unquestioned Jewish descent. - -=3. It is for this reason= that while the writer of the first Gospel -(Matthew) opens his history of the Messiah with the answer to the -important question, Whose son is he? the writer of the third Gospel -(Luke) gives the lineage of his mother. So that, whether Christ’s -pedigree be traced through the line of Joseph or of Mary, it is -undeniable that he was descended from David and from Abraham.[156] - - - NAZARETH AND BETHLEHEM. - -=4. These two places=, which are brought into prominence at this part -of the history, were 68 miles apart, Bethlehem being not quite five -miles, a little west of south, from Jerusalem, and Nazareth 63 miles -north of Jerusalem, if the distances be measured in a straight line. - -=5. Nazareth= is a village of about 5,000 inhabitants, situated in a -plain surrounded almost entirely by hills. The place is not mentioned -in the Old Testament, nor in Josephus, but twenty-nine times in the New -Testament. The city itself rises in part upon the sides of a hill on -its northwest side, but the little plain at the south end of the city -is 1,144 feet above the sea level, and the top of the hill northwest of -the city 1,602 feet, or 458 feet higher.[157] The country slopes from -Nazareth southward to the northern limit of the plain of Esdraelon, -two miles distant, where the level is about 300 feet above the sea. -The Mediterranean is twenty-one miles west from Nazareth, and the -southernmost shore of the Sea of Galilee is seventeen miles due east -of the city. The soil has always been fertile and the climate pleasant. -It has one fine spring which supplies the entire city, as it must have -done in the time of Christ. - -=6. Bethlehem= contains nearly the same population as Nazareth, but -its surroundings are the reverse of those at Nazareth, Bethlehem being -upon an elevation. A church, erected by Constantine, A. D. 330, still -remains, which furnishes us with the style of architecture of the -earliest Christian period. - -This was the city of David and of his father Jesse, and hence always -held dear by his descendants, and to this town Joseph and Mary went -from Nazareth to be enrolled in accordance with the decree issued by -Cæsar Augustus, as stated in Luke 2:1. The decree was only for the -enrolment. The actual collecting of the taxes did not take place for -some years afterward, as is recorded in Josephus, when the rebellion -took place, which is alluded to in Acts 5:37, against the actual -levying of the taxes.[158] - - - THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOUR. - -=7. During their stay at Bethlehem= Jesus was born. The crowd was -great of the many who came to this small town to be registered by the -officers taking the census, and the accommodations for his parents were -poor, for the record states “there was no room for them in the inn” -and she “laid him in a manger.” It was here that he was visited by - - - THE WISE MEN. - -=8. These men=, usually known as “the Magi,” belonged to a class of -astrologers whose office it was to study omens, or signs, as drawn -from the planets. They were descendants of a class which was noted for -learning and influence in the flourishing ages of Babylon and Nineveh, -but neither of these cities was in existence at this time. As many of -the Magi had retired eastward to Persia after the fall of Babylon, it -is probable that these came from the Persian dominion to Jerusalem, -expecting that there they should learn something of the new king. - -=9. The coming of the Messiah= had long been the hope of the captive -Jews, and as a large number of the people, some of influence and -wealth, existed at this time in the Persian dominions, there can be -but little doubt that these “wise men” were roused to make the journey -they did, and to greet the advent of a king who, to them, after seeing -the celestial sign, was more than simply a “King of the Jews.” - -=10. These men= had a reputation which was highly regarded in -Jerusalem, and to Herod they were not strangers of a common class. -Hence to him their inquiry carried great importance. His consultation -with the Sanhedrin, which was the most learned body in Jerusalem at -that time, soon showed that the Messiah, according to the prophets, -was to be born in Bethlehem, Micah. 5:2. To this place, guided by the -supernatural sign, they came, found the child, and offered their gifts. - - - HEROD AND HIS SUCCESSOR. - -=11. The effort of Herod= to destroy Jesus in an indiscriminate -slaughter of the children of Bethlehem of a certain age, failed of its -intention. Joseph, having been warned in a dream, took the young child -and his mother and fled into Egypt before the destruction took place. - -=12. Egypt at this time= was entirely under Roman control. Many Jews -inhabited Alexandria and were in affluent circumstances; two of them -had been chief officers of the armies of Cleopatra. The two refugees, -with the child, in that land were safely beyond the power of Herod, and -there they remained until the death of Herod, which took place about a -year after their departure from Bethlehem. - -=13. Archelaus=, who succeeded Herod, was his son, but he inherited -none of the enterprise and mental ability, but only the atrocious -cruelty of his father; and the complaints of the Jews occasioned his -deposition and the confiscation of his property. Joseph and Mary, -fearing the consequences of coming within the power of Archelaus, -after the death of Herod returned to Nazareth in Galilee. - - - THE EARLY CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. - -=14. One incident only= is recorded of Jesus from this time until -he arrived at manhood. This incident was his visit to the Temple at -Jerusalem, when only twelve years of age. His parents, with their -friends, had visited the city to attend the great feast of the Passover. -The celebration of that feast being over, they had started upon their -return in company with crowds of those who were passing along the -only highway leading northward from the city. Jesus had stopped at the -Temple and was conversing with the learned doctors, or teachers, of the -Law. - -=15. The peculiar significancy of this visit= at this time is stated -in Mal. 3:1, and it was the first time that he had ever referred to the -great object of his divine mission. This divine mission he announced -to his mother when she, having sought for and found him in the Temple, -gently reproved him for remaining behind. - -From this time to that when he entered upon his public ministry our -Saviour remained at Nazareth, and as the Scriptural record informs us, -he was subject to his parents and “increased in wisdom and stature and -in favor with God and man,” Luke 2:51, 52. - - - THE INTERIM. - -=16. Events now transpired= in the history of the Jews which are -important to a full understanding of the future ministry of our Saviour. - -It is evident, in accordance with the ancient prophecy by Jacob in -his dying hour,[159] that the “sceptre had departed from Judah,” for -“Shiloh” had come. This Shiloh had been interpreted in all their chief -commentaries to mean the Messiah.[160] These commentaries were the -Targums of which we have written, page 189, note. The expression in -Mal. 3:1, that “he shall suddenly come to his temple,” appears to have -been fulfilled when Jesus visited the Temple as spoken of already, that -is, when at the age of twelve he suddenly appeared asking and answering -questions of the astonished doctors of the Law in whose midst he sat, -Luke 2:47. - - - THE CHRISTIAN ERA. - -=17. Before we proceed= it is necessary that we should know that not -even at the present time are we fully assured as to the exact date of -the birth of Christ. It is generally supposed that Dionysius Exiguus, -the monk who introduced in A. D. 527 the custom of dating events -from the birth of Christ, mistook the time of that event by exactly -four years. That is, the birth took place four years before the -time asserted in that chronology known as Anno Domini. But recent -discoveries seem to prove that the true statement is that the error -is one of five years, as Prof. Sattler of Munich asserts in an essay -published by him in 1883. This statement he bases upon the discovery -of four copper coins which were struck under Herod Antipas, seeming to -prove that Christ was born 749 years after the foundation of Rome, and -not, as usually accepted, 754. - -But, with this explanation, we shall continue to use the common date, -while we keep in memory that our era is at least four years in error, -so that the actual birth of Christ took place four or five years before -A. D. 1. - - - THE HERODS. - -=18. The name Herod= will be found applied to no less than five -different rulers in New Testament times. Their dates of office enable -us frequently to determine the dates of events referred to in the -Scriptures. - -The following facts are all that are necessary to distinguish the -Herods. Herod the Great had five wives, but the descendants of only -four are referred to in the New Testament, as follows: - -Herod the Great, Matt. 2:1. He was made king by Julius Cæsar, B. C. 37, -and died B. C. 4, that is, before the common era, but really in the -first year of Christ. - -He had two sons by Malthace, a Samaritan, namely, Herod Antipas and -Archelaus. The latter succeeded him after some delay, but, although -called king by the people, was only tetrarch, with the promise -conditionally made that he should be king. He was deposed through -complaint of his atrocious cruelty, and banished to Vienna, now called -Lyons, where he died.[161] - -The names of the other members of this family of Herods may be seen in -the following table. - -HEROD married: - - MARIAMNE, granddaughter of Hyrcanus. - │ - └─ ARISTOBULUS――Married his niece, Berenice, daughter of Salome, - │ Herod’s sister. Slain by his father, B. C. 6. - │ - ├─ HEROD――king of Chalcis; died A. D. 48. - │ - ├─ HEROD AGRIPPA I.――Succeeded to tetrarchy of Herod - │ │ Philip II. A. D. 37; and to Herod - │ │ Antipas A. D. 40; Judæa and Samaria - │ │ added A. D. 41; married Cypros, - │ │ granddaughter of Phasael, brother - │ │ of Herod the Great; died A. D. 44. - │ │ - │ ├─ AGRIPPA II.――king of Chalcis A. D. 48‒53; - │ │ succeeded to tetrarchy of - │ │ Philip II., A. D. 53‒100; died - │ │ A. D. 100――the last prince of the - │ │ line. - │ │ - │ ├─ BERNICE or BERENICE――Married Herod king of - │ │ Chalcis, her uncle. After his - │ │ death she returned to her brother - │ │ for a time. A woman of great lack - │ │ of virtue. - │ │ - │ └─ DRUSILLA――Married to Felix, after separation - │ │ from Azizus king of Emesa. - │ │ - │ └─ AGRIPPA――being her son by Felix. Died - │ A. D. 79. - │ - └─ HERODIAS:――1. Married Philip I. - 2. Married Herod Antipas. - - MARIAMNE, daughter of Simon, high-priest. - │ - └─ PHILIP I.――Married Herodias; lived in private. - - MALTHACE, a Samaritan. - │ - ├─ HEROD ANTIPAS――Tetrarch of Galilee, married daughter of - │ Aretas, then married Herodias. Deposed and - │ banished A. D. 40. - │ - └─ ARCHELAUS――Deposed as we have said. - - CLEOPATRA, of Jerusalem. - │ - └─ HEROD PHILIP II.――Tetrarch of Ituræa and Trachonitis, died - A. D. 33‒34. He married Salome, daughter - of Herodias by Philip I. - -=19. The Herods= mentioned in the New Testament simply by the name -“Herod” are three. - -(1) Herod the Great. - -(2) Herod Antipas, referred to in Matt. 14:1‒12; Mark 6:14‒29; Luke -3:1, 19, 20; 8:3; 9:7‒9; 23:7‒12, 15; Acts 4:27; called “the king” in -Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:22, 25‒27; and “king Herod” in Mark 6:14. He was son -of Herod the Great, as was the Herod for whom Herodias left her husband. -Therefore John the Baptist reproved him for taking for a wife Herodias, -and she, because of her hatred of the Baptist for this reproof, moved -her daughter Salome to ask, as her reward for pleasing Herod (Antipas) -by her dancing, that he would present her with the head of John in a -platter. - -(3) Herod Agrippa I., Acts 12:1‒23. The sickness referred to in this -passage occurred A. D. 44. He was grandson of Herod the Great. - -Others of this family of Herods are mentioned in Scripture, but not by -the name of Herod, as in the case of - -(4) Philip I., of Matt. 14:3; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:19. In the table he is -marked Philip I., but only to distinguish him from his brother of the -same name, Herod Philip. But Philip I. lived in private station and is -only mentioned as the husband of Herodias, as recorded in the passage -just given. - -(5) Philip II., of Luke 3:1, is called “tetrarch of Ituræa and of the -region of Trachonitis.” It was after this Philip that Cæsarea Philippi, -at the foot of Mt. Hermon, received its name, to distinguish it from -the other Cæsarea, on the coast south of Mt. Carmel, the latter being -called Cæsarea Palestina. He was also called Herod, but in Scripture -only Philip. He married Salome the daughter of Herodias, his niece, the -young woman referred to in Matt. 14:6. He was a son of Herod the Great, -as was Philip I. - -(6) Agrippa, of Acts 25 and 26, is also called king Agrippa in the New -Testament, a title given him by Claudius, the Roman emperor, A. D. 52. - -=20. Of the females= of the Herodian family, four are mentioned in -the New Testament, Herodias, Salome, Bernice, and Drusilla. Salome -is not named, but simply called “the daughter of Herodias.” Herodias -is mentioned in Matt. 14:3‒11 and in Mark and Luke, where the same -incident is recorded. Bernice (or Berenice) was niece of Herodias and -married her uncle, Herod king of Chalcis, who died A. D. 48. She then -lived with her brother Agrippa II. Drusilla was sister of Bernice and -was married to Azizus, king of Emessa in Syria, now Homs; but at the -persuasion of Felix she left her husband and married Felix, who was -procurator of Judæa, according to Josephus. He was succeeded by Porcius -Festus about 61 or 62 A. D., having been accused of great cruelty after -his departure to Rome. The scene described in Acts 23 and 24 occurred -just before his visit to Rome, and that in Acts 25 and 26 soon after. -Felix had driven out the banditti and impostors from the country, and -to this Tertullus alludes in his address as given in Acts 24:2. - - - IDUMÆA. - -=21. Before the Captivity= of the Jews to Babylon the name Idumæa -designated the land east of the great valley Arabah which runs south -of the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. Petra was its capital. But during the -Captivity the Idumæans gradually extended their settlements to that -part of Judæa south of Jerusalem, including Hebron. After the return -from Babylon, the Idumæans became the enemies of the Jews until the -time of the Maccabees, when they were conquered and required either to -leave the country or change their religion for that of the Jews. They -chose the latter alternative under John Hyrcanus, about B. C. 130, and -were governed by Jewish prefects. - -When, therefore, Antipater the father of Herod the Great, and Herod -himself, are said to be “Idumæans,” the allusion is to this district -south of Judæa, which was at that time called Idumæa. This is the Greek -term for Edom. The name is used, Isa. 34:5, 6, in the former sense, -namely, of the country east of the Arabah, before the Captivity; but -in Ezek. 36:5 in the sense used after the Captivity, and in the latter -sense also in Mark 3:8. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE PUBLIC MINISTRY OF OUR SAVIOUR. - - -=1. As soon as Jesus arrived at the age= of about thirty he left -Nazareth, and probably passing down the valley of the Jordan, went on -his way to Bethabara, John 1:28. - - - BETHABARA. - -=2. John, the forerunner of Jesus=, was baptizing at this place, -the site of which is not known, but from the meaning of the name, -“the house of the ferry, or ford,” it must have been on the banks of -the Jordan. Moreover as John was preaching in Judæa, Matt. 3:1, and -apparently baptizing in the parts of Jordan near at hand, Bethabara -must have been not far off from the locality now identified with it, -namely, somewhere east of the present plain of Jericho, but from John -3:26 it is plain that the place was “beyond,” that is east of Jordan. -The name Beth-barah of Judg. 7:24 may refer to another place farther -up the Jordan, as the word “ford” may have been then, as it is now, -applied to several places. - - - THE WILDERNESS. - -=3. After the baptism of Jesus= by John the Baptist at Bethabara he was -immediately subjected to several very severe spiritual trials called -temptations of the devil, Matt. 4:1. These temptations were preceded by -a period of fasting which continued forty days, after which the attacks -of the evil spirit took place as recorded in Matt. 4, Mark 1, and -Luke 4, but omitted by John. - -=4. “The wilderness=” was probably the uninhabited country west of the -northern end of the Dead Sea, a region which seems never to have been -settled; and the immediate scene of the temptation is celebrated in -tradition as that rough and hilly ridge west of the plain of Jericho -called by the Latin Church Quarantania. - - - DISCIPLES AND APOSTLES. - -=5. Soon after= his triumphant victory over the devil in the -temptations our Saviour gained some of his disciples and departed from -this region to Galilee. - -It is plain from the first chapter of the Gospel according to John -that the Baptist was near the region of our Saviour’s trial by the -temptations, and was left behind when Jesus and Andrew, Simon Peter and -Philip, the new disciples, left for Galilee. These were added to James -and John afterward in Galilee, Luke 5:10; and to others, who though now -believers, and called simply disciples, constituted afterward that band -of twelve who are distinguished by the more important name of apostles, -that is, envoys, or messengers. - -=6. Of these=, Andrew was the first to follow Jesus. The others were -Simon, called Peter, James and his brother John, Philip, Bartholomew, -Thomas, Matthew, called also Levi, Simon the Zealot, Lebbæus, surnamed -Thaddæus, called also Judas, or Jude, James, called “the less” to -distinguish him from the other James, called “the greater,” and Judas -Iscariot, who betrayed Him, and who, when he hung himself, was replaced -by Matthias, Acts 1:15‒26. - - - THE GENERAL ORDER OF EVENTS. CANA. - -=7. After his baptism= in the Jordan and departure to Galilee, the -first event which brought him before the great Jewish public took place -at Cana of Galilee. - - - CANA OF GALILEE, JOHN 2:11. - -=Some variance of opinion= seems to exist as regards the identification -of this place. There are two places, each of which is pointed out as -the Cana of the Gospel. One is eight miles due north of Nazareth and -the other three and a half miles northeast of it. The one is on the -north side of an extensive plain and is entirely in ruins, while the -other is now an inhabited village. Early tradition seems to claim the -former, but the latter is now, and appears always to have been, on the -direct line to Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee from Nazareth, and it -may be due to this fact that many have supposed it to be the Cana of -the Gospel. But the names are not exactly alike, the former having -been for many centuries called Kana of Galilee and the latter only -Kenna. The ruins show that the former was a much finer village than the -latter in every way, and had a Roman road on its south connecting the -Mediterranean with the Sea of Galilee. It is probable, therefore, that -it was at this Cana that two of our Lord’s miracles were performed as -stated in John 2:11 and 4:46‒54. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - FROM THE FIRST PASSOVER TO THE SECOND. - - -=1. As is generally supposed=, the first miracle, at Cana, was -performed during the first year of our Lord’s public ministry. His -attendance upon the first Passover at Jerusalem brings us to consider -the state of the city at the time of his visit. - -At the great event of =a Passover= the city would be crowded with -visitors, not only from Judæa and the surrounding country, but from -distant lands. At this time the Jews were scattered over almost every -province under Roman control, and even beyond the Roman Empire. - -Josephus informs us that for these occasions immense preparations -were made, not only to accommodate the people, but also that they might -bring with them their flocks, and he estimates that at the Passover -celebrated in the time of Nero the number of lambs sacrificed was -256,500.[162] - -=2. The presence of Jews= from so many countries would of necessity -bring into the city not only purchasers, but tradesmen with various -moneys requiring an exchange or brokerage; and some of the Rabbinical -writers say that an immense traffic was carried on in cattle and other -animals for victims and for food, and much extortion was practised, a -great part of the profits of which went to the priests.[163] - -It was on this occasion of his first Passover that our Saviour drove -out the sheep and oxen and upset the tables of the exchangers, as -recorded in John 2:15, using the material with which the animals were -bound for a whip or scourge. - -=3.= From the very evident divine power which the Saviour exhibited -at this Passover, a member of the Sanhedrin, =Nicodemus=, sought an -=interview= with him at night, John 3, at which time Christ made the -announcement of his special mission to this world in those remarkable -words: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must -the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not -perish, but have eternal life,” John 3:14, 15. - -=4.= The =Passover being ended=, Jesus left Jerusalem, but seems to -have remained in Judæa near the Jordan, perhaps on the plain at the -north end of the Dead Sea. John was baptizing in the same region. It -must have been somewhere on these plains that Herod Antipas met the -Baptist and received the reproof of which we have spoken before. This -Herod[164] was the ruler of Galilee and Peræa, and was at first married -to the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petræa, but forsook her for -Herodias, the wife of his half-brother (see preceding table). This -brought on a war with Aretas on the confines of his territory on the -south, and it is probable that on his way to meet Aretas Herod received -the reproof from the Baptist and condemned the latter to imprisonment -in his castle at Machærus. - - - MACHÆRUS AND PERÆA. - -=5. This castle= was seven miles east of the Dead Sea, and the ruins -remain at a place about 25 miles south of the north end of the sea. It -is 3,800 feet above its level and 2,507 feet above the Mediterranean. -Josephus says that John the Baptist was imprisoned here, and here he -must have been beheaded. The region of Peræa extended from this place -to Pella, near the Jordan, about 60 miles north, and Herod Antipas was -at that time ruler of all Galilee and Peræa, which included the castle -Machærus. - - - ENON AND SALIM. - -=6. During the Saviour’s stay in Judæa=, after the Passover just spoken -of, it appears that he remained for a time near the Jordan while his -disciples baptized. The two preachers were therefore not far distant -from each other, and the disciples of John, evidently with a spirit -of rivalry, communicated the fact that greater crowds attended the -ministry of Jesus. - -This brought out the testimony of John to the greater glory and future -progress of the gospel of Jesus. John was at this time at “Enon near -Salim,” and the sites of these two places have not yet been settled. - -Enon is the Greek form of the Aramaic word for “springs,” and Salim is -the word for “peace,” and both of these words are frequently found in -varying forms in several places. - -It has been thought that the little village now called Salim, not -far east of Shechem, was the site of the Scripture Salim, and that -Enon was to be identified with a little ruin called Ainun, nearly eight -miles northeast. But apart from the fact that these places are not near -each other, they are entirely too near the very heart of the Samaritan -district, Salim being only four miles east of Shechem. - -It is not at all probable that John ever left Judæa, and it is -exceedingly improbable that he would have gone into the Samaritan -region to baptize. There is a little valley three or four miles -northeast of Jerusalem which yet bears a name somewhat similar to Salim, -where there are waters described by Dr. Barclay; but neither of these -Biblical places has yet been satisfactorily identified. - -=7. Our Saviour now left Judæa= and passed to Galilee upon the shortest -road, which leads through Samaria, John 4:3. The season seems to have -been in December, John 4:35, as it was “four months to harvest,” which -began in April. On the way he sat down upon the well called Jacob’s, -and the scene described in John 4 took place. - - - JACOB’S WELL, SYCHAR, John 4. - -=8. Jacob’s well= has always been identified with that well cut in the -solid rock which is about a mile and a half east by south from Shechem. -It formerly had a small chapel built over it, in the fourth century, -and was about 80 feet in depth when examined by the writer, but the -original depth must have been greater, for there are many stones at -the bottom. It is not now a well of constant supply, but varies with -the season, and was dry when we examined it. Hence perhaps the remark -of our Saviour, John 4:10, in which he alludes to “living water.” - -Sychar was probably at the little village now called Askar, about -one-half of a mile northeast from the well. Some have supposed that -Sychar and Shechem were the same; but it is not probable that the -woman spoken of in the context would have walked a mile and a half from -Shechem, where there was an abundance of water, to draw water from this -deep well. The probabilities are that Askar was the site of Sychar, -where there are caves and remains of ancient tombs. - - - MATT. 4:12‒17; MARK 1:14, 15; LUKE 4. - -=9. Jesus passed through= Samaria to Galilee, stopping for a short time -in Nazareth, Matt. 13:53‒58; and then going to Capernaum, announced -as he went the great object of his mission, and especially that the -appointed time had arrived which had been foretold for the appearance -of the Messiah as spoken of in the prophets, Mark 1:14, 15. That he -himself was this Messiah he distinctly asserted at Jacob’s well to the -Samaritan woman, John 4:26. - -=10. Passing on from Nazareth= he again visited Cana, where the miracle -of the healing of the nobleman’s son was performed, John 4:46‒54. He -then went down to Capernaum, which hereafter seems to have been adopted -as his favorite place of abode. - - - CAPERNAUM. - -=11. This place= has not yet been certainly identified. Some have -supposed that it was on the west side of the Sea of Galilee at a place -called Khan Minyeh, which is on the plain of Gennesaret, five miles -southwest of the mouth of the Upper Jordan; others have located it at -a ruin farther north of this sea, called Tell Hum. To some this name -seems to be all that remains of the ancient name Capernaum, which, as -they think, means the village (caper) of Nahum (Naum). - -At Capernaum many of our Saviour’s miracles were performed, and the -place is referred to sixteen times by name. - -=12.= A miracle performed here at this time in the history confirmed -the faith of Andrew, Peter, James, and John, who were fishing in the -waters of the sea not far off from the village, Luke 5:1‒11. - -Soon after this the restoring of the demoniac to his senses in the -synagogue took place, Luke 4:33, and immediately after this the healing -of Peter’s wife’s mother, as recorded in the same chapter. Many other -miracles were performed the same evening. - -=13. Jesus then began to travel= throughout Galilee, preaching and -healing. One miracle on this journey is recorded, that of healing a -leper, as narrated in Matt. 8:2; Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12. On his return -to Capernaum he heals a paralytic, Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:1‒12; Luke 5:18. - -In the narrative of this last-mentioned miracle we have an illustration -of the use of _double names_ among the Jews, for Matthew, 9:9, calls -himself Matthew, whereas the other evangelists in their accounts called -him Levi,[165] and moreover Matthew adopts the usual method of Greek -historians in speaking of themselves in the third person to avoid -egotism. Compare Matt. 9:10; Mark 2:15; Luke 5:29. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE SECOND PASSOVER AND THE TRANSACTIONS UNTIL THE THIRD PASSOVER. - TIME ONE YEAR. - - - THE POOL OF BETHESDA, JOHN 5:2. - -=1. Very recent discoveries= have led to the belief that this pool was -not at the so-called Birket Israel on the left hand of the entrance -through the gate of St. Stephen――the eastern gate of Jerusalem――but on -the right hand of the same entrance at the French church of St. Anne. -It is about 160 feet on the right of the gate as you enter into the -city. Here there has recently (1888) been discovered a tank in the rock -under the church, reached by a flight of 24 steps, and more recently -a twin pool by its side, which is supposed to identify the place, -according to early writers. The remains of the five porches are still -to be seen.[166] - -=2.= In his attendance upon the second Passover Jesus performed =the -miracle of healing= at the crowded pool of Bethesda, but left with the -man whom he had restored no name or clew whereby he should know him. -Soon after however, meeting the man in the Temple, Jesus warned him -as to his future life; and thus the healed man was informed, and he -reported to those who inquired of him the name of his benefactor. This -act of healing was performed on the Sabbath day, and the consequent -command of Jesus, “Take up thy bed and walk,” was made the occasion of -bitter resentment on the part of the Jews. This gave the opportunity to -our Lord for uttering one of the most distinct avowals of his equality -with God as his Father, and the assertion that their own Jewish -Scriptures testified of him. He then departed for Galilee. - - - HISTORICAL OCCURRENCES OF THIS YEAR IN THE ORDER OF TIME, - WITH THE HARMONY OF REFERENCES AND LOCALITIES. - -=3. On the way to Galilee.= The disciples pluck ears of corn on the -Sabbath, Matt. 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6. - -=In Galilee.= The healing of the withered hand on the Sabbath, -Matt. 12:9; Mark 3:1; Luke 6:6. - -Immediately after the last mentioned miracle he retired to the Sea -of Galilee, and the greatness of the interest manifested in him can -be understood by the extent of country from which the crowds came, as -indicated in Mark 3:7, 8, for it appears that the people came not only -from Galilee, but “from Judæa and from Jerusalem and Idumæa and from -the east of Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon.” - -=4. Near Gennesaret.= Jesus chooses the twelve apostles, Matt. 10:1; -Mark 3:13; alluded to again, Mark 6:7. This he did after a night spent -in prayer on a mountain, Luke 6:12, 13. This transaction seems to have -taken place on some one of the hills south of the plain of Gennesaret, -while on his way to Capernaum. - -=5. Near Gennesaret.= The Sermon on the Mount and a probable -repetition of a part on the plain of Gennesaret, as narrated in -Luke 6:17; Matt. 5. In this and the following chapters St. Matthew -has gathered a large collection of the precepts and teachings of Jesus -which occurred at this time, but which are only in part narrated in -Luke. - -=6. Same place.= The Lord’s Prayer as narrated in Matthew, and probably -repeated upon another occasion, as seen in Luke 11:1. - -=7. Capernaum.= The centurion’s servant healed, Matt. 8:5; Luke 7:1. - -=Nain.= The widow’s son raised from the bier upon which he was carried, -Luke 7:11. - -=8. This place= was 59 miles north of Jerusalem and 20 miles southwest -of the plain of Gennesaret. En-dor is two miles northeast of it on -the same northern flank of the ridge. The scenery is very beautiful -towards the north and west, and suggests the fitness of the name, -which means “beauty.” Immediately south, one mile distant, the mountain -range rises to the height of 1,690 feet above the Mediterranean, and -on the northern flank of this range the village is built, itself at the -height of 744 feet. It overlooks the great plain of Esdraelon. The only -reference to this place is found in Luke 7:11‒17. - -=9. In Galilee.= John the Baptist while in prison sends messengers to -Jesus, Matt. 11:2; Luke 7:19. Jesus had now performed a large part of -his life’s work, and in some degree he now reviews it and in several -places sums up the amount done. He reviews also the instances in which -he had been unsuccessful in persuading some to believe upon his mission -and accept him as the true Messiah. In this review he mentions Chorazin, -Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and compares their advantages with those -enjoyed by Tyre and Sidon. - - - CHORAZIN AND BETHSAIDA, Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13. - -=10. The site of the former= of these places is unknown. Excepting the -similarity of the names, Kerazeh and Chorazin, we have nothing to show -that the ruin called by the former name is identical with the place -known in Scripture by the latter name. The ruin called Kerazeh is two -and a half miles from the northern shore of the lake and about 900 feet -higher than its surface. The ruins of a supposed synagogue are to be -found there, and near them is a spring. - -Against this supposed site of Chorazin it is said that Jerome[167] -speaks of it as one of the cities which were upon the shores of the -lake. In reply it is said the traveller Willibald, going northward in -the beginning of the eighth century, says that he went from Tiberias by -Magdala, now called Mejdel, to Capernaum, thence to Bethsaida, thence -to Chorazin, and thence to the fountains of the Jordan,[168] so that -the order of localities thus stated makes Chorazin probably off the -lake.[169] Kerazeh appears to answer to all that the Scripture claims -for Chorazin both in name and locality. - -=11. As to Bethsaida=, there are supposed to have been two of this -name, which means “fish-house;” the one is just east of the Jordan, -about a mile above the place where it empties into the northern end -of the lake. This was the eastern Bethsaida, and at about this period -of our Saviour’s life Herod Philip, the tetrarch, had greatly enlarged -and beautified the place and given it the name “Julias” in honor of -the daughter of Augustus; and here he was buried, A. D. 33, in a costly -tomb which he had erected for himself. - -It was near this Bethsaida that Jesus fed the five thousand with the -five loaves and two fishes, and after dismissing the crowd retired into -one of the neighboring hills to pray.[170] - -=12. Place uncertain=, probably Capernaum. At the house of Simon the -Pharisee, while “at meat,” Christ’s feet are anointed by a woman who is -called “a sinner,” Luke 7:36. Another anointing by a woman took place -at a much later period, and perhaps a third just before his betrayal, -John 11:2; 12:2. Anointing was very common in those days. The so-called -alabaster-box was not necessarily of any one material, much less of -the material known now as alabaster. The same Greek term is used by -Herodotus[171] in exactly the same form used in Matt. 26:7; Mark 14:3; -Luke 7:37, and the vessel might have been of marble, of glass, or -metal.[172] Theocritus[173] writes of “golden alabasters filled with -Syrian ointments.” - -It was customary to anoint the head and also the feet of a guest on -certain occasions, and the alabastron was common among persons of means. -There is therefore no sufficient reason to suppose that this anointing -was so rare an instance that the several accounts in the Gospels refer -to only one event. The other accounts besides that referred to at -the beginning of this section are found in Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3, -which appear to describe one and the same occasion, shortly before his -betrayal, and John 11:2; 12:2, which description is somewhat similar -to that of the preceding Gospels. - -=13. Galilee.= Our Saviour makes visits with the twelve through Galilee -the second time. Luke 8:1. This seems to have been in Galilee, judging -from the context as compared with Matt. 12:46; Mark 3:31, and following -verses in the next chapter. He seems to have visited extensively, as -the Greek phrase, “city by city and village by village,” signifies. - -=14.= The following incidents are supposed to have taken place about -this time and in the following order, all in Galilee: - -(1.) The healing of the demoniac, Matt. 12:22. A somewhat similar -case occurred before, Matt. 9:32. In this passage the utterances of our -Saviour define the solemnity of the office of the Holy Spirit in a most -fearful sense, and again in Mark 3:28, 29. This healing is repeated, -Luke 11:14. - -(2.) The scribes and Pharisees seek from him a sign to prove his -authority, Matt. 12:38; repeated with additional remarks, Matt. 15:1; -also Mark 8:11; and more urgently in John 6:31. It was in reply to -one of these requests that Jesus announced that the sign superior to -all others should take place after his death, for that after death -he should rise again on the third day, Matt. 12:40, drawing from the -history of Jonah an illustration of his own burial for three days only. - -(3.) The declaration that his true disciples were his nearest relatives, -Matt. 12:46; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19. - -(4.) Jesus takes dinner with a Pharisee and denounces the sect, -Luke 11:37. - -(5.) Jesus instructs a multitude when he declares that whosoever shall -confess him before men shall be confessed by him before the angels of -God, Luke 12:1. - -=15. By the lake.= (1.) The parable of the sower, Matt. 13:3; Mark 4:2; -Luke 8:4. - -(2.) The parable of the tares, Matt. 13:24. - -(3.) =Sea of Galilee.= Jesus calms the tempest, Matt. 8:24‒27; -Mark 4:37‒41; Luke 8:22‒25. - -(4.) He heals the demoniacs of the country of the Gergesenes, stilling -the tempest by a word as he crosses, Matt. 8:23; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26. - - - GADARA, GERGESA. - -=16.= The location of =Gadara= (pronounced Gad´-ara) was at the present -Um Keis, where the ruins are extensive and four fine springs exist. -Um Keis is seven miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, upon the level -surface of a steep hill. It is thought that the term Gadarenes referred -to the general region of which Gadara was the capital, and Gergesenes -to the town of Gergesa, on the lake, where the miracle occurred, and -which belonged to the district of the Gadarenes. - -Gadara is first mentioned in secular history when captured by Antiochus -the Great, B. C. 218. It was taken by the Jews twenty years afterwards, -but destroyed during their civil wars, and rebuilt by Pompey to please -his freedman, who was a Gadarene. When the proconsul of Syria, Gabinius, -changed the constitution of Judæa, dividing it into five districts -having governing councils, Gadara was made the seat of one of these -councils, and became a chief city or capital of the country around. - -It is probable that Gergesa is properly identified in the ruin Kersa -on the east shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, almost equi-distant from -the north and the south ends. It was once surrounded by a wall, the -ruins of which still remain. Just south of it the hills come down very -precipitously into the water, as they do in no other place on the shore, -Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26; Matt. 8:28. - -=17. Capernaum.= The feast given to our Lord by Levi, who is also -called Matthew, takes place at this time, Matt. 9:10; Mark 2:15; -Luke 5:29. - -The raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the healing of the woman who -touched the hem of his garment, Matt. 9:20; Mark 5:25; Luke 8:43. - -Two blind men and a dumb man healed, Matt. 9:27. - -=18. Nazareth.= Christ appears here, but is rejected the second -time, Matt. 13:54; Mark 6:1. The first time was soon after his baptism, -Luke 4:16. - -=Galilee.= Jesus makes with his disciples a third circuit through -Galilee, Matt. 9:35; Mark 6:6. The passage in Luke 13:22 gives quite -another circuit on his final journey towards Jerusalem, which took -place probably the following year. - -Jesus sends out the twelve, two by two, Matt. 10:1, 5; Mark 6:7; -Luke 9:1. - -Herod (Antipas), who had slain John the Baptist, hears of Jesus, and -supposes that John has risen, Matt. 14:1; Mark 6:14; Luke 9:7. - -=Northeast coast of the lake.= The five thousand are fed. Jesus -afterwards walks upon the water, Matt. 14:15‒33; Mark 6:35‒51; -Luke 9:12‒17 (Luke omits the walking on the water); John 6:5‒21. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE THIRD PASSOVER. - - -=1.= Many =incidental circumstances= have led commentators to suppose -that the third Passover transpired about this time. The following -incidents are therefore attributed to him after the third Passover. We -therefore, in accordance with the above supposition, recount the events -for the next six months to the Feast of Tabernacles. The chief reason -for asserting the third Passover at this time is, that according to -John 6:4, the Passover “was nigh” at the time of the feeding of the -five thousand. - -=2. Capernaum.= Jesus replies to the Pharisees who object to eating -with unwashed hands, Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:1, in which the washing was not -for cleanliness but religious ceremony. - -=3. Region of Tyre and Sidon.= The Syro-phœnician woman’s daughter -healed, Matt. 15:21; Mark 7:24. - - - TYRE AND SIDON. - -These were Phœnician towns, twenty-five miles distant from each other, -and upon the Mediterranean seacoast. They are mentioned in history long -before the building of Jerusalem. The first is mentioned in Scripture -in Josh. 19:29 for the first time, while Sidon is spoken of by name -many years before, in Gen. 10:19, as being a prominent Canaanitish city, -B. C. 2350. - -In the time of our Saviour they were both inhabited places, and Tyre -was a city of great importance. At present they are considerable towns -of from 5,000 (Tyre) to 15,000 (Sidon) inhabitants. Tyre is almost due -west from Mt. Hermon. - -=Decapolis.= The deaf and dumb healed, Mark 7:32. It is probable that -this case is to be distinguished from those mentioned in Matt. 9:32; -12:22, which may have happened at previous times, as the surrounding -circumstances suggest. - - - DECAPOLIS. - -=4.= This region contained ten principal cities, as the name signifies. -Pliny gives the names Scythopolis (or old Beth-shean), Philadelphia, -Raphana, Gadara, Hippos, Dios, Pella, Gerasa, Canatha, and Damascus -as constituting the ten. Josephus says Otopos instead of Canatha. -The region was inhabited by many foreigners, and hence might have -contained more swine than any truly Jewish region. Hence the mention -of large numbers of swine in the healing of the demoniac, for among -the strictly Jewish districts the keeping of swine would not have been -permitted. This district may be described generally as east of the Lake -of Gennesaret and of that part of Jordan which is south of the lake as -far as Scythopolis or Beth-shean, fifteen miles south of the lake and -four miles west of the Jordan. The cities of the list have not all been -identified. Scythopolis, Philadelphia, Gadara, Damascus, and possibly -Hippos and Pella, are known, but the district of Decapolis has not yet -been satisfactorily defined. - -=5. Scythopolis= we have already described, page 132. Philadelphia -was the name given to the present Ammon by Ptolemy Philadelphus. It -is a ruin on the high tableland twenty-three miles east of the Jordan -and nearly thirty miles northeast of the Dead Sea. It is the old -Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites in the time of Moses, -Deut. 3:11. Its ruins are very extensive. - -=6. Damascus= is yet an important city fifty-five miles east of the -Mediterranean coast, situated on an extensive plain bounded on the -north by spurs of the Anti-Lebanon range. - -Excavations seem to show that the greater part of Damascus is built -upon ancient ruins of the former city. Its population at present (1890) -is supposed to be about 125,000. Hippos, another city of the Decapolis, -is supposed to have been upon the south shore of the Sea of Galilee; -and Pella, whither many Christians fled just before the destruction -of Jerusalem, is about three miles east of the Jordan, up in the hills -eighteen miles south of the Sea of Galilee. - -=Decapolis region.= The four thousand are fed near the lake, Matt. -15:32; Mark 8:1. - - - DALMANUTHA. MAGDALA. - -=7. Dalmanutha= is the place which Jesus approached on his return -from the east of the lake to the west, according to Mark 8:10, after -feeding the four thousand. Matthew states that he came into the coasts -of Magdala. They must have been in the same vicinity. Magdala is now -called Mejdel, the village still being inhabited. It is immediately -upon the shore, and a little more than three miles north of Tiberias. -But between Mejdel and Tiberias there is a spring and a good landing -place with some remains. The place is called Ain el-Fuliyeh, and may -have had the above name of Dalmanutha, as the soil is richer than that -around and shows evidences of a former settlement. The place seems to -have assumed in recent times the name Ain Barideh, “the cold spring.” - -The boat in crossing evidently landed between these two villages of -Dalmanutha and Mejdel. - -=8. On the shore.= The Pharisees again demand a “sign,” or proof, of -his authority, Matt. 16:1; Mark 8:11. The former time is recorded in -Matt. 12:38. - -=Crossing the lake.= He warns his disciples of the leaven against the -Pharisees. Matt. 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1 may refer to this time or -may have been on another occasion. - -=Bethsaida (Julias).= The blind man healed, Mark 8:22. - -=Near Cæsarea-Philippi.= Jesus foretells his death. The -transfiguration takes place. He heals immediately afterward a demoniac -whom his disciples could not heal, Matt. 16:21; 17:14; Mark 8:31; 9:17; -Luke 9:38. - -=9. Passing through Galilee to Capernaum.= He foretells his death and -resurrection the second time, Matt. 17:22; Mark 9:31; Luke 9:44. - -=Capernaum.= The tribute money taken from the fish, Matt. 17:24. - -The seventy are sent out after they had received the lesson upon -humility, Matt. 18:1; Mark 9. - - - JESUS GOES UP TO THE FEAST OF THE TABERNACLES. - -=10. The nature of this feast= is described in Lev. 23:33. It was -celebrated on the fifteenth day after the new moon in October, and -was the great “harvest home” of the Jews. All dwelt in booths, called -“tabernacles,” for eight days, of which the last day was “the great -day of the feast.” The later Jews added the pouring of water mingled -with wine upon the morning sacrifices of each day, amid sounding of -trumpets and horns and the singing of a passage from Isa. 12:3. This -may have suggested the announcement made by our Saviour as given in -John 7:37, 38. - - - THE LINE OF TRAVEL. - -=11. Jesus leaves Capernaum=, passes through Galilee by Nazareth, -taking the shortest route direct to Jerusalem through Samaria, -probably by Jacob’s well, which was situated on the main road, the same -to-day as then. This was in October. His brethren had gone on before, -John 7:10, and he delayed till the crowd had decreased and then started. -Hence he did not appear till the third or fourth day of the feast, and -then he began to teach. - -=On his way, in Samaria.= The ten lepers are cleansed, Luke 17:12. - -He rebukes James and John for wishing to call down fire upon the -Samaritans, Luke 9:54. - -=12. Jerusalem.= Jesus teaches in the Temple, John 7:14. - -The woman taken in adultery, John 8:3. - -They attempt to stone him for saying, “Before Abraham was, I am,” -John 8:58. - -A lawyer instructed. Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25. - -They threaten to stone him for saying, “I and my Father are one,” -John 10:31. - -=Bethany.= Jesus visits the house of Martha and Mary, Luke 10:38. - -=Near Jerusalem.= He teaches his disciples to pray, Luke 11:1. - -=Jerusalem.= The man born blind is healed on the Sabbath, John 9:1. - -=Bethany.= He goes to “beyond Jordan,” where John at first baptized, -and there hearing of the sickness of Lazarus, goes to Bethany and -raises him, John 11:1. - -=Jerusalem.= Caiaphas, the high-priest, suggests the death of Jesus, -who retires to Ephraim, John 11:47, 54. - - - EPHRAIM, JOHN 11:54. - -=13. The site of this town= has not certainly been identified, but -Dr. Robinson has given good reasons for supposing that it was situated -at a village now called _Taiyibeh_, twelve miles a little east of north -from Jerusalem. It is off the present main road of travel, to the east, -and in the midst of a very rough and untravelled country, but there -are the remains of a good Roman road running down from this place to -the valley of the Jordan, and about a mile and a half below the village -there are two Roman mile-posts still standing on that old road. It is -probable that here our Saviour retired from the danger that seemed to -threaten him in Jerusalem. After leaving Ephraim he seems to have taken -the main road down to the plain of Jordan and crossed to the other side, -called Peræa. - -=14. Peræa.= Great numbers follow Christ here, and the following is a -brief history of what transpired in that region: - -He heals the infirm woman on the Sabbath, Luke 13:10. - -He is warned against Herod, Luke 13:31. - -He dines with a chief Pharisee on the Sabbath, Luke 14:1. - -The parables of the lost sheep and of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11‒32. - -The parables of the unjust steward and of the rich man and Lazarus, -Luke 16. - -The warnings that Christ’s coming will be sudden, Luke 17:20. - -The parables of the importunate widow, Luke 18:1, and Pharisee and -publican, Luke 18:10. - -He gives precepts respecting divorce, Matt. 19:3. - -He blesses little children, Matt. 19:13; Mark 10:13; Luke 18:15. - -The visit of the rich young man, Matt. 19:16; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18. - -Parable of the laborers in the vineyard, Matt. 20:1. - -=On the way up to Jerusalem.= Jesus for the third time foretells his -crucifixion and resurrection, but his disciples do not understand him, -Matt. 20:17; Mark 10:32; Luke 18:31. - -=15. Near the Jordan.= James and John make their ambitious request -through their mother, Matt. 20:20; Mark 10:35. - -=West of Jericho.= He heals two blind men, Matt. 20:30; Mark 10:46; -Luke 18:35. - -Visits Zacchæus, Luke 19:1‒10. - -=Nearer to Jerusalem.= Parable of the ten pounds, Matt. 25:14‒30; -Luke 19:11‒27. - -=Bethany.= The supper given by Simon the leper, Matt. 26:6‒13; Mark -14:3‒9; John 12:1‒11; from John it seems that this feast took place six -days before the Passover, and on the next day was the triumphal entry -into Jerusalem. - -=Just east of Bethany.= The sending for the ass and colt, followed by -the triumphal entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem. Matt. 21:17. Mark -11:1‒11 and Luke 19:29‒40 speak only of the colt. - -=16. Descending the Mount of Olives.= Christ weeps over Jerusalem, -Luke 19:41‒44. - -=Jerusalem.= He makes a triumphal entry into Jerusalem and visits -the Temple, Matt. 21:12‒17. This passage includes the statement -of the overturning the money-changers’ tables on the first day. -Mark 11:12 states that this act was performed on the day following. -As he performed the same act at his first Passover, two years before, -John 2:13‒17, he may have done the same thing twice, on two successive -days. Also read Luke 19:45. - -=Bethany.= He retires at evening to Bethany, Matt. 21:17; Mark 11:11. - - - BETHANY AND BETHPHAGE. - -=17. Bethany= was a little over a mile east of the lower part of the -city, about a mile and a half southeast from St. Stephen’s gate, if -measured along the road. - -=Bethphage= has not been certainly identified, but it was probably -at a place one half-mile south of the Church of the Ascension, which -is on the top of the Mount of Olives. It was on the way from Bethany -to Jerusalem, where the road from Bethany winds around the south of -the highest part of the Mount of Olives. This was the supposition of -Dr. Barclay, and seems probable to the writer, who visited the place. - -=On the way from Bethany to Jerusalem.= The fig-tree cursed, Matt. -21:19; Mark 11:12. - -=18. Jerusalem.= Christ’s authority demanded, Matt. 21:23; Mark 11:27; -Luke 20:1. - -Parable of the two sons, Matt. 21:28. - -Parable of the wicked husbandmen, Matt. 21:33‒41; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9. - -Of the marriage of the king’s son, Matt. 22:2. - -The cunning of the Pharisees regarding tribute to Cæsar, Matt. 22:15; -Mark 12:13; Luke 20:21. - -The artful question of the Sadducees answered in respect to the -resurrection, Matt. 22:23; Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27. - -A lawyer’s question, Which is the greatest commandment? Matt. 22:35; -Mark 12:28. - -Jesus’ question as to why David calls the son Lord, Matt. 22:42; Mark -12:35; Luke 20:41. - -He warns them against the scribes and Pharisees, Matt. 23:2‒36; Mark -12:38‒40; Luke 20:46, 47. - -The widow’s two mites, Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1. - -Some Greeks desire to see Jesus, John 12:20. - -=19. Mount of Olives.= Warnings and foretelling of the destruction of -Jerusalem, Matt. 24:3‒51; Mark 13:3‒37; Luke 21:7‒36. - -The ten virgins and the parable of the five talents, Matt. 25:1‒30. - -A distinct announcement that he shall come in glory with the -angels, Matt. 25:31‒46; such an announcement was made before his -transfiguration, but only in brief allusion, see Mark 8:38. - -=Jerusalem.= The chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people take -counsel to destroy Jesus, Matt. 26:3; Mark 14:1, 2; Luke 22:2. - -Jesus appoints a place where he shall eat the passover, Matt. 26:17; -Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7. - -The Lord’s Supper instituted at the close of the eating of the -passover, Matt. 26:26‒29; Mark 14:22‒26; Luke 22:19, 20. From the last -quotation, with its context both before and after, it is plain that the -institution followed the passover; read also from John 13:2. - -Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. This includes Judas’ feet, as seen in -the record by John, 13:4‒30. - -Jesus, after the departure of Judas, gives a remarkable series of -comforting instructions and exhortations to the apostles. - -=20. Gethsemane.= He retires to Gethsemane and prays while his -disciples sleep, Matt. 26:36; Mark 14:32; Luke 22:39. - -Betrayed by Judas, he is led away to Annas, who sends him bound to the -high-priest Caiaphas, who was with the Sanhedrin as they were assembled, -expecting Jesus at that hour, Matt. 26:47; Mark 14:43; Luke 22:47. - - - ANNAS, CAIAPHAS, PILATE. - -=21. Annas= had been high-priest, but had been deposed by the -procurator of Judæa; =Caiaphas=, who was made high-priest, was his -son-in-law.[174] - -Annas was a man of great influence and was probably at this time -president of the Sanhedrin.[175] Hence as he had been made a deputy by -the previous procurator and discharged some of the functions of the -office, he was called a high-priest. - -=22. Pilate= succeeded to the office of procurator A. D. 26, and -gave to the Jewish priests the management of their own affairs, -in order to conciliate them, but at times he was exceedingly cruel -and exacting.[176] As an instance, when he desired to bring water -into Jerusalem from a distance of twenty-five miles, to aid in the -enterprise he seized upon the money laid up in the Temple for sacred -purposes. This act so enraged the Jews that they assembled by thousands -at the palace gates demanding the restoration of the money. Pilate -ordered his soldiers to disperse them, and they with their short -daggers charged the crowds into the very precincts of the Temple, -slaying great numbers even upon the altars of their sacrifices.[177] - -=23. Jerusalem.= The Sanhedrin lead Jesus to Pilate, Matt. 27:2; Mark -15:1; Luke 23:1; John 18:28. - -Pilate endeavors to deliver Jesus from death, but finally gives him -over to crucifixion, Matt. 27:11‒26; Mark 15:9‒15; Luke 23:4‒24; John -18:38; 19:16. - -The supernatural darkness, from the sixth hour (twelve, midday) to -the ninth hour (three in the afternoon), Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33; -Luke 23:44. - -The rending of the veil of the Temple, Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; -Luke 23:45. - -=24. This veil was= sixty feet high and of very heavy material, -according to Jewish writers. A veil to cover the holy place was used -in the temples of Diana at Ephesus and of Jupiter at Olympia, and as -they were of the same material, of woollen and richly embroidered and -in color purple, it seems they must have been suggested by the veil -in the Jewish Temple, which was of the same material, work, and color. -The Jewish veil was the inner one separating the “Holy of holies” from -the other part of the sanctuary.[178] For the original description see -Exod. 26:31. - -The earthquake, Matt. 27:51. Rocks rent and graves opened, Matt. 27:52. - -Centurion surprised, Matt. 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47; Luke adds -“all the people.” - -Women beholding afar off, Matt. 27:55, 56; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:49; -John 19:25; John states that some stood by the cross. - -=25. Joseph of Arimathæa= applies for the body of Jesus, Matt. 27:57‒60; -Mark 15:42‒47; Luke 23:50‒53; John 19:38. - -Nicodemus brings spices to the sepulchre, John 29:39. - -The Jews, by Pilate’s permission, set a watch, Matt. 27:62‒66. - -The descent of an angel who rolls away the stone, Matt. 28:2; -Mark 16:5; Mark says a young man was sitting in the sepulchre when the -two Marys came with spices. Luke 24:4 states two men (angels) stood -at the sepulchre. John 21 mentions no angel at the first visit, but -afterward Mary Magdalene on her return sees two angels in the sepulchre, -John 20:11, 12. - -=26. The chief priests= bribe the soldiers to keep the secret, Matt. -28:11‒15. - -The two disciples, Peter and Cleopas, going to Emmaus, see Jesus, -Luke 24:13‒35. - - - EMMAUS. - -=27. The site of this town= has not been identified beyond doubt. -But the village Amwas, fifteen miles northwest by west from Jerusalem, -has been supposed to be the place. Its distance is almost too great -for the disciples to have travelled in the time specified, and it is -farther off than the sixty furlongs which is given as its distance from -Jerusalem in Luke 24:13. But the distance is given in several of the -old manuscripts as 160 furlongs instead of sixty; especially is it so -stated in the old Sinaitic manuscript. This fact, with the similarity -of name, and the statement by Jerome that it was at this place, -formerly called Nicopolis, leads to the general impression that the -site of Emmaus is to be found at Amwas. - -=28. Jesus suddenly appears= to the apostles as they are gathered in -a room, Thomas being absent, and again eight days afterward when Thomas -was present. This is according to John 20:19‒29. Luke only mentions -the one appearance in the room, Luke 24:36‒48; also in Mark only one -appearance in the room as they sat at meat or together, Mark 16:14; but -this appearance is omitted in Matthew. - -The apostles and perhaps many others go into Galilee, Matt. 28:16, 17; -Mark makes no statement, nor does Luke, in reference to the going into -Galilee. John 21:1‒23 gives the meeting of Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias. - -After this he meets the apostles and over 500 brethren at once; is -“seen of James,” and finally “of all the apostles,” having led them -out to Bethany, where his ascension took place, 1 Cor. 15:6, 7; -Luke 24:49‒53. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. - - -=1. Immediately after the departure= of our Saviour the disciples -recovered all their faith and courage and returned to Jerusalem from -Bethany. - -The first act of the apostles was to restore their number to twelve, -made eleven by the apostasy of Judas. Two nominations were made of -men who, like themselves, had been companions of the Saviour from the -baptism of John to the ascension (Acts 1:21). The men nominated were -Joseph, called Barsabas, and Matthias; the latter was chosen by lot. - -=2. The appointment=, or selection, =by lot= was considered sacred -among the ancients; and was performed, as to the mode of the lot, by -casting into some vessel a number of little tablets, pebbles, or strips -of leather or papyrus, upon which were inscribed the names or some -distinguishing marks. The vessel was then shaken, and that name, or its -representative, which first fell upon the floor determined the choice. -In the time of Homer the lot was cast into a helmet and shaken.[179] In -Prov. 16:33 the same idea of casting the lot into a vessel is intended, -with the addition that the result is guided by the Lord, for the -English word “lap” in the passage just quoted in the Hebrew signifies -“the opening,” i. e., of the urn or vessel into which the lot was cast. - -The use of lots is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament; at first -over the scapegoat, as described in Lev. 16:8; then in the division -of the holy land, Num. 34:13, and, with supernatural results, at the -detection of Achan, Josh. 7:14, 18, and Jonah 1:7; also in the division -of the priests into their orders, 1 Chron. 24:1‒5. - -The term for “lot” in the Latin is _clerus_, and the persons chosen -to any priestly office, or set apart by due ordination to the service -of God, in the Christian church as a body, are called the “clergy,” -declarative of the fact that their possession of or appointment to the -sacred office is by divine decision, as was always supposed to be the -case in the ancient priestly appointment by lots. - - - PENTECOST. - -=3. The next annual feast= took place on the fiftieth day after the -Passover and was called Pentecost, the Greek word for the fiftieth. It -was called the Feast of Weeks, Deut. 16:10, also the Feast of Harvest, -Exod. 23:16, or of the Firstfruits, Num. 28:26. It lasted but one -day, and upon that day two loaves of the first wheat were offered at -the Temple. The festival now called Whitsunday was suggested by this -festival. - -When the time for this feast arrived there was at Jerusalem a -remarkable gathering which shows to what extent the Jewish nation had -already been scattered over the world. There were visitors from Parthia, -Media, and Elam, from 600 to 700 miles on the east; from Mesopotamia, -about 400 miles on the northeast; from Cappadocia, 500 miles on the -north and midway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; from -Pontus lying on the Black Sea; and from that part of Asia Minor then -called “Asia.” - -This last mentioned district, although it afterward gave its name -to the whole vast continent, at this time comprised only the extreme -southwestern parts of the peninsula, such as Caria and Lydia and a part -of Mysia, its chief city being Ephesus. This was in after times the -region of the “seven churches” of Revelation.[180] There were gathered -Jews from Phrygia and Pamphylia, 500 to 600 miles off towards the -northwest, the former on the high tableland and the latter on the -low seacoast southeast. They were there from Egypt on the southwest, -and from Libya and Cyrene, 400 miles west of the Nile, on the African -coast, and from Rome, nearly 1,500 miles to the northwest; also from -the island of Crete, 600 miles west by north, and from Arabia on the -southeast. - -=4. It was upon the occasion= of this great gathering to Jerusalem -on the day of Pentecost that Peter exhibited the beginning of -that remarkable Christian courage, knowledge, and endurance which -characterized him ever after. He was now not only the orator, but the -able Christian expositor of the prophets and of the Psalms. The general -outline of his address at this time is given us in Acts 2:14‒40, but -the effect was so great that 3,000 came out publicly and were baptized -on that one day. - -=5. The extreme poverty= of the little band of apostles, as a whole, -is evident;[181] but after the Pentecost some of those who were added -contributed to the general fund, and there was no suffering after the -organization was complete, Acts 4:34. Even those who immediately after -the crucifixion returned to their trades were enabled to devote their -whole time to mission work, so far as we have any records of them, -Acts 6:4. - - - THE IMMEDIATE SUCCESS. - -=6. From the various notices= of additions to their number and from -the official appointment of seven men of ability to disburse the funds -and attend to the needy, Acts 6:3, it is evident that the numbers of -the early church before the first great persecution began must have -amounted to many thousands, Acts 2:42, 47; 5:14; 6:1, 7. - - - THE FIRST PERSECUTION. - -=7. Of the seven men= appointed to attend to the management of the -general treasury and to the claims of the poor, the chief was Stephen. -His exceeding prominence in public work, his very extensive knowledge -of the Law, and his aggressive ability in defending the gospel gave -great offence to some of the Jews. The result was his arraignment -before the Sanhedrin and examination upon the two points which to the -Jews were the dearest of all, namely, the sanctity of the Temple and -the supremacy of the Law. - -Stephen answered the inquiry of the high-priest, Acts 7:1, by a -history accompanied by unmistakable Scripture proof that although -Solomon himself was the builder, the Temple was no better than the -worshippers, and he quoted the prophecy of Isaiah, 66:1, 2, to show -that the temple which the Lord honored was the poor and contrite spirit. -He then immediately charged the Sanhedrin as being unworthy of the -Temple themselves and in heart violaters of the Law in that they had -both betrayed and murdered the one of whom the Law spoke, thus ending -the address with the most terrific charges of infidelity both to the -Temple and to the Law. No such words had ever been uttered before the -Sanhedrin since it had existed. - -He was immediately dragged out of the city and stoned to death. Stephen -was the =first Christian martyr=. - -=8. This death was the signal= for the first persecution. The immediate -effect of this persecution was to scatter the members of the Christian -community of Jerusalem not only throughout Samaria and Galilee, but -even to Phœnicia, Antioch, and Cyprus, and they went preaching the same -doctrines which had been taught in Jerusalem, Acts 11:19. - -The city of Samaria was at this time one of the most beautiful in -Palestine. It was presented to Herod the Great by Augustus, and in -honor of the emperor Herod named it Sebaste.[182] - -=9. One of “the seven,”=[183] of whom we have spoken was Philip, who -went to this city and preached the new doctrine with great success. - -One of the visitors from distant lands was an officer of Candace, -queen of the Ethiopians. He had come from that country to attend the -celebration at Jerusalem and was returning, when by divine direction -Philip left Samaria to join him on the homeward road. This officer -accepted the company of Philip on the way, and the latter presented -the new doctrine with such ability that the Ethiopian officer, who -was well acquainted with the Scriptures through the Greek translation -(the Septuagint), became the first recorded convert from that distant -country of Ethiopia. - - - CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. - -=10. At the stoning= of Stephen there was a young man present who -made himself conspicuous by keeping the outer garments of those who -engaged in the act of stoning the martyr. This man was Saul, a Hebrew -name, afterward changed into the Roman form of Paul. He was a native -of Tarsus, a large and celebrated city of Cilicia, a district on the -northern coast of the Mediterranean, but the most eastern on that coast. -Tarsus was a city of learned institutions and learned men. The tutors -of two emperors of Rome dwelt there, and it was a favored city in -many respects, being a place of large commerce. Young Saul was sent -to Jerusalem at an early age and became a pupil of Gamaliel. - -This Gamaliel was considered not only one of the most learned in the -Hebrew literature but also in the Greek, and he was president of the -Sanhedrin. He afterward transferred the locality of the Sanhedral -schools from Jerusalem to Jamnia, the Jabneel of Josh. 15:11. - -=11. Jabneel=, or =Jabneh=, now called Yebneh, is thirteen miles due -south of Jaffa, the ancient Joppa, and must be distinguished from the -Jamnia seaport four and a half miles northwest, which is sometimes -referred to by the same name, but not so in Scripture. In the time of -the Maccabees the coast town was a more important seaport than Joppa. -During the crusades Jabneh was called Ibelin.[184] It is built on a -hill and is four miles from the sea. - -=12. In carrying out his enmity= against the Christians Saul determined -to visit Damascus, where several synagogues existed. - -Damascus was about 150 miles by road northeast from Jerusalem. -Obtaining letters of introduction from the high-priest, he set out to -accomplish his purpose. On the way, before entering Damascus, he was -arrested by a supernatural vision and was changed from the condition of -a bitter and determined enemy to that of an equally determined advocate -of the Christian faith, and, after a season of apparent preparation, he -returned to Jerusalem. - -But this addition to the Christian community was attended with such -vexation and such disappointment to the Jews that “they went about to -slay him,” and it was thought best by his brethren that Saul should -depart for Tarsus. At his departure the persecution ceased. - - - AZOTUS, CÆSAREA, LYDDA, JOPPA. - -=13. These places= now come into notice in connection with the -missionary tours of Philip, the departure of Saul to Tarsus, and the -visit of Peter to those who had lately joined the new fellowship. - -Philip, after leaving the Ethiopian officer of Queen Candace, travelled -northward on the coast of the Mediterranean till he reached Azotus. -This was the most important city of the Philistines in the time of -David, and was known as Ashdod, but by the Greeks called Azotus. It is -three miles inland from the coast, and situated on the slope of a large -hill 140 feet above the sea level. It is twenty-one miles north from -Azotus to Joppa, and thirty-two from Joppa to Cæsarea, and along this -way on foot Philip travelled, preaching as he went. - -Cæsarea was built by Herod the Great upon the former site of a little -village called Strato’s Tower, and named after Cæsar Augustus. It was -magnificently constructed as a city and as a harbor, and vessels sailed -between it and many distant parts of the Mediterranean: hence it was -at this time and long afterward the great shipping port of Palestine. -Josephus gives us a full description of the city, and states that its -completion was celebrated, B. C. 13, by splendid games. It was the -chief residence of the Roman officers and governors of Judæa. - -=14. We have evidences= that a Christian church had been planted here -at a very early period, and in A. D. 200 it became the residence of -a bishop who was primate of all the bishops in Palestine, Jerusalem -included. Origen taught here in the third century, and here Eusebius -was educated and afterward became its bishop; he died A. D. 340. In -A. D. 1101 Cæsarea was captured from the Moslems by Baldwin I., and -among the rich booty was found a hexagonal vase of green crystal -supposed to have been a sacramental cup, and this plays an important -part in mediæval poetry as the “holy grail.” - -=15. It was to this port= that Saul was taken to find a passage direct -for Tarsus, which was about 300 miles north. Tarsus is ten miles off -the coast and twelve or fifteen miles from the present Mersina, or -ancient Soli, which was its port. - -=16. Philip went to Cæsarea= from Azotus, preaching in all the cities, -and here he seems to have finally settled, as years after, when Paul -returned from his last missionary tour, he stopped at his house and -stayed with Philip before going up to Jerusalem. At that time Philip -had four daughters who were gifted with the spirit of prophecy, Acts -21:9. It is probable, therefore, that the extensive Christian influence -which pervaded Cæsarea for so many centuries afterward was greatly -due to the early work and presence of Philip. We should not confound -the two Philips: (1) Philip the apostle, and (2) this Philip, who is -sometimes called Philip the evangelist. The latter probably died in -Cæsarea, but the apostle in Asia Minor. - -=17. Lydda and Joppa.= Joppa is upon the sea-coast thirty-five miles -northwest from Jerusalem, measured on a straight line, and Lydda is -twelve miles southeast of Joppa. Joppa is mentioned in the inscriptions -of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, who reigned B. C. 705‒681, as -Jo-ap-pa, so that the name Joppa is ancient, and the place was the -seaport of Jerusalem in the time of Solomon, B. C. 1015, at which he -received wood “out of Lebanon,” 2 Chron. 2:16. This is the first -mention in Scripture. - -It is now called Yafa, and its population is much greater than that -which generally appears in the guide-books, being about 18,000, as -the author has been informed by a long resident physician. Both of -these places are on the great coast-plain known as the plain of Sharon, -or Saron, which was, in the time of Solomon, a great pasture-land, -1 Chron. 27:29. - -It is probable that at this time greater opportunity was allowed the -Christians to work on in peace, not only because of the conversion of -Saul, but because at the death of Tiberius, March, A. D. 37, Caligula -became emperor, and the attention of the Jews was violently drawn to -care for themselves. - -On his accession to power Caligula ordered that divine honors should -be paid to him throughout the empire. In furtherance of this order -he directed that an image of himself should be placed in the Holy -of holies, the most sacred place in the Temple at Jerusalem. Such a -profanation of the Temple was so abhorrent to the Jews that it seemed -at one time to the prefect of Syria, Pétronius, that the Jews must be -exterminated if the order was carried out, and he wrote to Caligula in -accordance with his impression. But the emperor was inexorable, and it -is impossible to say what would have been the result had not Caligula -been assassinated, on the 24th of January, A. D. 41.[185] - -=18.= A. D. 38. =It was during these troublous= times in the Jewish -community that the apostle Peter went to Lydda in the course of his -visits to the Christian churches. There he raised Æneas from a sick-bed, -Acts 9:33, and going from Lydda to Joppa he raised Dorcas to life, -Acts 9:40. - -A. D. 41. Peter now visited Cæsarea by the invitation of Cornelius, -the centurion, or captain of a band called the Italian band, or cohort, -probably because it was a company of soldiers who were all from Italy, -enlisted under Roman orders. - -The soldiers usually employed were provincial, that is, belonging -to the country where they were stationed; but in this case they were -sent here from Italy and were generally composed of both infantry and -cavalry, serving as a body-guard for the governor, and were probably at -this time garrisoning Cæsarea.[186] - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE GOSPEL FOR GENTILES AS WELL AS JEWS. FIRST - MISSIONARY TOUR OF PAUL AND BARNABAS. - - -=1. It is a remarkable fact= that, although the apostles were so fully -persuaded of the verity and power of the gospel, they had not yet -learned the intent and universality of its application to the Gentiles -and to all the human race, and though commissioned by their Master -to preach it “to all the world,” still held that the Jewish people -were the only chosen race and all others were unclean, and that it -was unlawful to associate, or eat, and commune freely with any but -that race. Hence up to this time the gospel had been preached with -the intent of converting only Jews to the Christian faith. - -=2. In view of these strong prejudices= a remarkable “vision in a -trance,” Acts 11:5, on the housetop, at Joppa, was granted Peter, -whereby for the first time he was led to comprehend the fact that -hereafter spiritual cleanliness should, in the divine sight and -purposes, for ever cancel all obligations to the merely ceremonial, -and he was then directed to immediately proceed to the house and to -the Gentile company awaiting him at Cæsarea. The history is recorded -in Acts 10. - -=3. On his return to Jerusalem= he communicated the new order, that -now the gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles as well as to the -Jews, and he narrated his vision and the consequent visit to Cæsarea. -All of which was accepted without discussion and with very evident -satisfaction. - -Saul however, having been forced to leave Palestine, travelled -throughout Cilicia and Syria, Gal. 1:21, until he was invited back to -Jerusalem. - -=4. At this time=, about A. D. 41, Antioch was a city of large -population and many Jews inhabited the place, who became strong -adherents to the new faith, and it was now that, at this place, -the name Christian was applied to all who were followers of Christ, -although at first they themselves did not accept the name. - - - THE TWO ANTIOCHS. - -=Antioch in Syria= was 300 miles north of Jerusalem and about fifteen -miles from the Mediterranean shore, where was its port, then called -Seleucia. It was the most beautiful city of Syria and at that time the -most important. - -=Antioch in Pisidia=, however, which is now called Yalobatch, is -500 miles northwest of Jerusalem and 100 north of the coast of the -Mediterranean. This Antioch is partly on the southern declivity of a -long range of mountains and owes its ancient name to the same king who -gave name to the Syrian Antioch. This king was Seleucus, king of Syria, -whose father’s name, Antiochus, he gave to these cities and his own -to Seleucia, fifteen miles off, on the coast, of which we have already -spoken. - -Antioch was at this time the adopted city of a very active community of -Christians, many of whom were Grecians and others Gentiles. Paul, whose -special talents and education admirably fitted him for this class of -converts, being now at Tarsus, was sent for, and he remained in Antioch -for about a year; when he, with others, began a series of missionary -tours whereby the gospel was not only extended throughout Western Asia -but introduced into Europe, as we shall soon see. - -=5.= A. D. 42. =About this period there came= to Antioch a prophet, -by name Agabus, one of a number who not only foretold events but -seemed endowed with extraordinary powers of exposition of the divine -word.[187] This prophet announced that a great famine would soon call -for generosity on the part of the church at Antioch towards the poorer -members of the community in Judæa, Acts 11:28. - -This announcement was made during the reign of Claudius, A. D. 41‒54, -of which reign Tacitus says that it was distinguished for earthquakes, -bad harvests, and general scarcity.[188] The Christians in Antioch, -therefore, sent contributions to Jerusalem and commissioned Saul and -Barnabas for the purpose of conveying these gifts, Acts 11:29. - -For the first time we now read of the term “presbyters” in the Greek, -or seniores in the Vulgate translation, and called “elders” in the -English version, Acts 11:30. - -=6. At this time= Herod Agrippa (see table page 229) ruled in Judæa. -Claudius had known him as an earnest advocate of his rule before his -succession to the empire, and he therefore rewarded Herod with the -addition of Samaria and Judæa to those possessions of Philip Antipas -which he before possessed. Herod had been imprisoned by Tiberius, -but Caligula restored him to liberty and presented him with a golden -chain of the same weight as the iron one he had worn in prison, and -this chain he dedicated to the Temple when, A. D. 42, he arrived in -Jerusalem. This Herod courted the favor of the Jews by many public -acts. In his time the northern section of Jerusalem, now inclosed -with a wall, was a suburb; and he inclosed it and, had not the prefect -of Syria compelled him to stop, he would have strengthened all the -fortifications of the city. - -=7. It was evidently, therefore=, because it pleased the Jews, and -probably at their instigation, that he wilfully put to death James, -the son of Zebedee, with the sword and proceeded to perpetrate the -same atrocity with Peter, having imprisoned him for that purpose. The -history of this act of Herod and of the escape of Peter is given in -Acts 12. Herod, being not only disappointed, but evidently alarmed, at -the mystery of Peter’s escape, retired immediately from Jerusalem to -Cæsarea and there met his sudden death, in the fifty-fourth year of his -age, after seven years’ reign in Palestine. - -=8. The dominion of these districts=, Judæa, Samaria, and Galilee, now -reverted to the prefect of Syria, and they were fully incorporated with -the Roman Empire.[189] - - - JUDÆA, SAMARIA, AND GALILEE. - -=The boundaries of these districts= cannot be exactly traced. Judæa -was the most important; and its north border began at the Jordan and -probably ran up the valley of the Farah to the Jewish city Akrabeh, -thence westward along the course of the valley of the present river -Ballut, coming out at the city Antipatris; and although the plain of -Sharon was politically a part of Judæa, Herod having possession of the -maritime towns, yet strictly the line followed the river out to the sea. - -This line formed the north boundary of Judæa and the south boundary of -Samaria, in the strictly Jewish sense. - -Of Galilee, the south boundary began at the Jordan east of -Beth-shean, which was a Samaritan city. It ran along, probably, south -of Mt. Gilboa, westward and just north of Jenin, the ancient En-gannim, -which was within the Samaritan border, and probably along the ridge of -Carmel. At the end of the ridge, near the sea, Galilee seems to have -claimed the modern Haifa, a village then called Sycaminon, and in this -vicinity the seashore was in Galilee. The border line of Galilee thence -retired inland, the coast plain belonging to Phœnicia. It then ran -northeasterly to the angle formed by the Leontes River, now called the -Kasimiyeh, then northward a short distance, and then east by south to -Banias, thence southward, including some towns east of the upper Jordan -and the Sea of Galilee, forming that part of Galilee called “Galilee -beyond Jordan.” - -The extreme southern boundary of Judæa, in the political sense, is -mentioned in one of the rabbinical writings as from Petra to Ascalon, -but Ascalon itself did not belong to Judæa.[190] - -The apostles now seem to have “left Jerusalem for wider fields of -action.”[191] - -=9.= After a special religious consecration (Acts 13:3), Barnabas -and Saul, accompanied by John Mark, a nephew of Barnabas, set out from -Antioch on the first missionary tour to foreign countries. - -=Seleucia= was nearly four miles north of the mouth of the Orontes, -upon which river the city of Antioch was built. From this port the -missionaries set sail for Cyprus, 130 miles distant. - -=Salamis= at this time was a populous city on the southeastern shore -of Cyprus. In this city there was a colony of Jews, and Barnabas was -a native of Cyprus, and therefore the visitors did not feel themselves -entirely strangers. But they passed along the southern coast road until -Paphos, 100 miles distant, was reached. Here the apostle Paul met with -the proconsul Sergius Paulus. - - - A PROCONSUL. - -=10.= From the time of Augustus, B. C. 27, the provinces were of two -kinds, Senatorial and Imperial. The former were governed by a proconsul, -who was appointed by lot and had no military power, and was in office -for one year only. - -The latter, or imperial provinces, were governed by a legate or -commissioner chosen directly by the emperor, and he served so long as -the emperor wished. He always went out to his province with military -pomp as a commander. - -=11. Syria= was an =imperial province=, and was governed by a legate or -commissioner of the emperor stationed at Antioch. Judæa, however, was a -special province, and its distance from Antioch and its peculiar people -required a special officer under the commissioner at Antioch, and this -officer was called a procurator. He had his headquarters at Cæsarea, -Acts 23:23, wore the military dress, and had a cohort as a body-guard, -Matt. 27:27, called in this passage “the soldiers of the governor;” -moreover, he had the power of life and death, Matt. 27:26, in his own -province. - -=12. At the interview which Saul had= with the proconsul, called here -the “deputy,” there was one of the class known at that day as sorcerers. -This man greatly interfered with the apostle’s effort to explain the -new faith to the proconsul, who had requested instruction. - -=13. Peter had encountered= one of this class before, Acts 8:9. -The apostle now addressed the so-called sorcerer in terrible rebuke, -foretelling his immediate blindness for a season, and thereby showing -that behind the earnest and reasonable presentation of the great truths -of the new faith which had fully persuaded the proconsul there lay -the reserved authority of so great supernatural power to attest the -divinity of the doctrine.[192] That this is the meaning of the verse -in Acts 13:12 is evident from a verse in Luke 4:32, which shows that it -was the method of confirming the doctrine, and not the doctrine itself, -which caused the astonishment spoken of in the verse. - -=14. From this time Saul’s name= is changed into Paul, and the other -name never occurs again in Scripture. The apostle and his companions -now sailed from Paphos to the city of Perga in Pamphylia, 175 miles -northwest. Mark left them at Perga and returned to Jerusalem for -reasons not explained in the text. - -=Perga= exists as a ruin six or seven miles from the seacoast and -about 15 miles northeast of a seaport called Adalia by the Turks, the -ancient Attalia, built by Attalus, the king of Pergamos, 159‒138 B. C., -and hence its name. It has at present about 8,000 inhabitants, and -surrounds the port as an amphitheatre, the streets rising one above -another. - -=15. From Perga= the apostle proceeded to Antioch, now called Yalobatch, -about 90 miles north of Perga. The plain upon which Perga is situated -is about 20 miles wide on the seacoast, and stretches eastward for -about 30 miles. East of Perga the Eurymedon River comes down through -the plain into the sea, and its sources are high in the ridges north -of Perga. It is probable that up the valley of this river the apostles -passed to the high table-land of Pisidia upon which Antioch is placed. - -=16. When they had arrived at Antioch= they awaited the -Sabbath-gathering at the synagogue, and being, as the custom was, -invited to speak to the assembled Jews and strangers, the apostle Paul -presented the connection between the promises of the Old Testament and -the fulfilment of these promises in the coming and the teachings of -Christ. - -The impression made was so important and favorable that another -gathering of a great crowd assembled on the following Sabbath. At this -time, however, the Jews and Jewish women created so great and so public -opposition that the apostle was led to announce that hereafter he -should devote his labors to the conversion of the Gentiles and leave -the Jews to the consequences of their bitter opposition to the gospel -he was called to preach. - -But a church was planted here in spite of the opposition, which -caused the departure of the apostles across the country to Iconium, -about 85 miles southeast. - - - ICONIUM. - -=17. This city= is located upon the large plain which stretches -eastward 80 or 90 miles with little interruption. On the southeast -a solitary mountain rises at a distance of about 30 miles, “like a -lofty island in the midst of the sea.”[193] The height of this mountain -is nearly 4,000 feet above the plain. In March its top is generally -covered with snow. Here are the ruins of many tombs, churches, and -other apparently public buildings, and these ruins have given rise to -the Turkish name Bin-bir-ka-lessi, or the “thousand-and-one churches.” -With general consent this place is supposed to mark the site of Lystra, -which became the next place of visit by the apostles after leaving -Iconium. The name of this singular mountain in the Turkish is Kara-dagh, -or Black Mountain. - -The plain upon which Iconium is located is supposed to be 3,900 feet -above the Mediterranean. Iconium was a Greek city, if we may judge from -the large number of Greek ruins and inscriptions yet remaining, many of -which are built into the walls of the town. - -Here Barnabas and Saul proceeded to work as at Antioch, and addressed -the Jews gathered at the synagogue in that place. But although their -success was great a division of opinion resulted, and the Jews made -preparations to assault their visitors, but they fled to Lystra. - -=18. The identification of Lystra= with Bin-bir-ka-lessi has not been -proved, but the supposed position at the ruins above mentioned is on -a large depression on the north side of the Kara-dagh Mountain. The -village, not far off, is inhabited by Greeks. - -At Lystra the two missionaries found no synagogue, and addressed -the citizens in some public place. Here Paul restored a man who had -been born lame, and the consequent amazement produced by this miracle -induced the priest of Jupiter to bring oxen and garlands to the gates -of the temple with the intent of offering sacrifices to Paul and -Barnabas, who, despite their most earnest protestations, found it -difficult to prevent the sacrifices. - -But the Jewish enmity was apparent again. Some of the members of the -synagogues in Antioch and Iconium followed the apostle and Barnabas -across the plain, and so bitterly prejudiced the inhabitants that they -stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. -Under the care of the disciples he revived, and the next day departed -for Derbe. - -=Derbe= has not yet been identified, but it is supposed to be at a ruin -about 25 miles east of Kara-dagh, called Divle. - -=19. There Barnabas and Paul= made apparently a short visit, during -which they preached to many; but nothing more is stated than that they -now returned upon the same line of travel, revisiting and encouraging -their converts at Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, and thence returning to -Perga. - -Here they remained and preached, and then departed for Attalia, the -seaport, distant about 15 miles southwest, whence they sailed on return -to Antioch in Syria. - -=20.= But =the old question= of observance of the Law of Moses, which -had been agitated before and had never been satisfactorily quieted, now -reappeared under such conditions that it demanded immediate and most -serious attention. Some troublesome Jewish converts visiting Antioch -proclaimed, as if charged with the authority of the elders at Jerusalem, -that the Greek and other Gentile converts must submit to the rites and -ceremonies of the Mosaic Law or they could not be saved. The discussion -became so unpleasant at Antioch that a delegation, consisting of the -apostle Paul, Barnabas, and others, went to Jerusalem to present the -subject to a general council for decision. - -=21. After the discussion= in this general council, it was decided -that nothing should be required of the new Gentile converts except -abstinence “from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from -things strangled, and from fornication.” With this, the only concession -to the Law of Moses, they returned to Antioch and announced to the -assembled multitudes the decision of the council, which now and for -ever set the question at rest. Henceforward all Christian converts were -free from the restrictions and rites of the Mosaic Ceremonial Law. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE SECOND AND THIRD MISSIONARY TOURS. - - -=1.= A. D. 53. =A few days afterward=, Acts 15:36, Paul and Silas -set out upon a second journey. The expressed object was to revisit the -churches they had planted. Barnabas preferred his nephew as companion; -but Paul, fearing that the desertion which had previously taken place -on the part of Mark might be repeated, preferred to associate himself -with Silas. - -Barnabas and Mark left for Cyprus, while Paul and Silas started -for Derbe, not as before by sea, but northward, by land, across the -mountain known as Amanus, the pass of this range being about twenty -miles north of Antioch in Syria. This pass is now known as that of -Beilan, which lets the traveller down upon the famous plain of Issus, -where, B. C. 333, Alexander the Great had met and defeated the Persian -king Darius. Crossing this plain to the extreme northeastern end of -the Mediterranean, now called the Gulf of Iskanderun (or Alexandretta), -an additional distance of about twenty-five or thirty miles from the -mountain pass, they had then the towns of Mopsuesta and Tarsus on the -Roman road on the plain directly west as they turned around the corner -of the coast.[194] - -=2. It appears, however=, that they soon reached the pass north of -Tarsus, by which they made their ascent to the great high tableland. -This pass was probably that of the so-called “Silician Gates,” -twenty-two or twenty-three miles north of Tarsus, at the top of which -is the supposed site of Derbe, about fifty miles a little north of west, -upon the great plain we have before described. - -=3. From Derbe they passed= westward to Lystra. Here Paul found Timothy, -a young convert from the last visit, as mentioned, Acts 16. Thence they -came to Iconium. - -They now left the former route, and judging from the direction of the -old roads and general routes of travel between important cities at that -time, it is probable that their course was through Laodicea (now called -Ladik),[195] Philomelium, and Synnada, the last two known at present as -Ak-sher and Eski Kara-hisser, or the “old black castle.” - -Ladik is twenty-four or five miles northwest of Iconium and has many -remains of antiquity. It is now a small place of only 500 inhabitants. -Ak-sher, or the “white city” of the Turks, is about sixty-five miles -northwest of Iconium and contains about 1,500 houses, and is the -Philomelium of Strabo, the geographer. There is a remarkable salt lake -ten miles north of it, which is dry in summer and affords much salt -at that season, but in the winter is full and extends some twenty or -thirty miles westward. - -=4. The next point= which seems to have been on the course of travel -was near the great centre of the present opium manufacture of Asia -Minor, namely, the place called “the opium black castle,” or Aphium -Kara-hissar of the Turks. This place is on the northern base of a hill -on the south side of the river of the Ak-sher lake before spoken of. -This river is a small stream whose source is in the hills west of the -town, but it is lost in the lake, having no other outlet. Very fine -marble quarries existed in this region in ancient times.[196] - -=5. From this place= it is thought probable, judging, as we have -said, from the lines of travel well known in those days, that the -missionaries went northeastward, first to Pessinus, now Bali-hissar, -and then Ancyra, the present Angora, famous for its fine-haired goats -and containing a population of perhaps 35,000. But nothing is known -certainly of the exact places visited, only that it is stated they -went “throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia,” and then probably -on the same route back to Synnada, and “passing by,” that is on the -borders of Mysia, came down to Troas. - -=6. Troas= was at this time a very important seaport on the northwest -of Asia Minor near the site of ancient Troy and opposite the southeast -extremity of the island of Tenedos, four miles distant. It is now -called Eski Stamboul, i. e., Old Constantinople. - -=7. From here= Paul and Silas set sail directly towards Samothrace, -an island in the Ægean Sea northwest from Troas, and landed at Neapolis -on the shore of Macedonia. Thence they travelled about twelve miles -north to Philippi, which was a Roman military colony. Here the events -occurred which are described in Acts 16:12‒40. - -=8. From Philippi= the travellers took the Roman road to Amphipolis. -This city stood on high ground about three miles from the sea and -thirty-three from Philippi. It was colonized by Athenians and called -Amphipolis from being nearly surrounded by the river Strymon. - -=9. The next point= reached was Apollonia, but the exact location is -not known. It is laid down in some of the ancient itineraries as being -thirty miles from Amphipolis. Thence they travelled to Thessalonica, -thirty-seven miles distant from Apollonia. This was a very important -place and is even now second only to Constantinople. Its present name -is Saloniki and it is at the head of the Thermaic Gulf. It was a busy -commercial town at the time of the visit of the two missionaries. Here -Paul and Silas remained for several weeks, publicly explaining and -proving the new doctrines of the gospel, Acts 17:1‒10. - -=10. Opposition from the Jews= arising, they left for Berœa. Berœa is -now called Verria, and is sixty miles west by north from Thessalonica. -It is a large town at present, having some 20,000 inhabitants. Here the -usual vexation and opposition on the part of the Jews made it necessary -that the apostle Paul should leave the town, and at night and alone he -went down to the seashore to a shipping town about twenty-five miles -distant, called Dium, and from thence he set sail for Athens, which was -by sea about 270 miles distant. We now may read the history as recorded -in Acts 17. - -=11. Athens at the time= of the apostle’s visit was included in the -Roman province of Achaia. It was not then in its palmiest days of -prosperity, but it was nevertheless the centre of art and learning and -a city of great voluptuousness and idolatry. It contained one large -_Agora_, “the market” or place of assembling of its citizens, a large -square or open place which not only contained but was surrounded by -the finest sculptures and buildings perhaps at that time existing -in the world. The apostle came here alone, 1 Thess. 3:1, and while -waiting for his companions he met and preached to many in the Agora, -until he attracted so much attention that he was invited to the great -assembling-place on the north of the Agora called the Areopagus, where -the most important court or council of the Areopagus was held. Solon -gave the court censorial and political powers, but St. Paul was called -here more because of the curious desire of the Athenians to hear about -this new doctrine. At this place he delivered that masterly address -recorded in Acts 17.[197] - -His labors at Athens did not meet with much success, although some were -persuaded and believed, and one of the court itself, Dionysius by name, -who afterwards became a bishop of a Christian community formed there. -Paul soon left Athens for Corinth.[198] - -=12. Corinth= was a rival of Athens in luxury and magnificence, in -commerce and in wealth, and was perhaps even in art second only to -Athens. It was situated upon the isthmus of the Peloponnesus and noted -for its Acropolis, built upon an elevation 1,886 feet above the city on -the south. It was sacked and nearly destroyed by the Romans, B. C. 146, -and nearly all the treasures of art were carried to Rome, but the city -was restored under Julius Cæsar. Only a few ruins remain. The modern -town is on the Gulf of Corinth, three miles north from the site of the -old city, and contains about 2,600 inhabitants. It is 45 miles a little -south of due west from Athens.[199] Here Paul remained for nearly two -years, A. D. 52, 53, and preached with great success; and while here he -wrote the Epistle to the Thessalonians[200] and planted other churches -in Achaia, 2 Cor. 1:1. - -=13. Cenchreæ= was five and a half miles east-southeast of Corinth -on the shore of the Gulf of Ægina. It was an important port at the -time when the apostle visited it. At present it is called Kekriais[201] -and is not inhabited; the only remains are of an ancient dry dock. From -this place Paul set sail for Ephesus, 235 miles almost due east. - -=14. Ephesus= is 35 miles south-southeast from Smyrna, near where the -river Cayster empties into the Gulf of Scala Nova. It was the capital -of Ionia and had one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of -Revelation. The ruins which remain consist chiefly of a magnificent -theatre, supposed to be large enough to accommodate 30,000 people, -a stadium or gymnasium, besides walls and towers and remains of the -temple of Diana, for which it was most famous. The worship of Diana was -attended with the study and practice of magic in various forms, and the -“magical letters” spoken of by many classic authors[202] as “Ephesian -letters” were in use at the time of the apostle’s visit. The temple was -in its splendor also at that time.[203] - -On this the first visit, A. D. 54, of the apostle to Ephesus he -remained but a short time, and then departed for Jerusalem, Acts -18:19‒21, and thence down to Antioch. - - - THE THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR. - -=15. In this tour the starting-place= was at Antioch, as in the former -tour. The churches planted in Galatia and Phrygia were visited, perhaps -on the line of travel previously chosen, and then a course was taken -direct to Ephesus, which now became the centre of the apostle’s labors, -A. D. 54‒57. - -=16.= It was at the close of this visit that the remarkable tumult -described in Acts 19 took place, A. D. 57. - -Paul now left Ephesus for Philippi by Neapolis, as in the previous -journey, and thence to Thessalonica and Berœa, and onward by land to -Corinth, a journey of about 220 miles through Thessaly and Achaia. - -=17.= But it seems, Rom. 15:19, that at Thessalonica Paul resolved -to visit the lands west of Macedonia as far as Illyricum. This was -probably in the summer of A. D. 57, and perhaps the autumn. The journey -was along the Roman road to Dyrrachium, about 200 miles, and across -several ranges of mountains. - -While at Dyrrachium it is probable he made a tour about 170 miles to -the south to Neapolis, on the Bay of Arta, and returning by the city -Apollonia on the Adriatic, came back to Berœa and thence to Corinth. -The region which he visited was that Dalmatia referred to in 2 Tim. -4:10. Dalmatia was included in the greater region of Illyricum, and was -upon the shore of the Adriatic, being contiguous to Mœsia on the north -and Macedonia on the east. - -=18. After wintering at Corinth=, Paul with several friends, Acts -20:4, returned to Achaia, Berœa, and the towns previously visited, to -Neapolis, and thence by sea to Troas. At this place the events stated -in Acts 20 took place. - -Remaining a short time at Troas while his companions took ship, Paul -walked across the promontory to Assos, about 25 miles distant by the -road, and arrived in time to meet the ship, which had to stop at that -city. The place Assos is now a small village known by the name Beiram. - -=19. From this place= they sailed by Mitylene, the capital of the -island of the same name, now called Lesbos. Going between the islands -and the shore, they passed Chios, Samos, and the promontory and cape -at Trogyllium on the then Ionian coast. At Miletus Paul stopped and -sent for the elders at Ephesus while the vessel was exchanging freight. -Miletus is about 50 miles south of Ephesus. Passing Cos, which is about -55 miles from Miletus, and then the island of Rhodes, they put into -Patera in Lycia, which was a seaport of the town of Xanthus, famous -for its oracle. Thence, taking another vessel, Acts 21:2, Paul sailed -directly for Tyre, on the Phœnician coast. From this city he and his -party sailed for Ptolemais, 28 miles southward, where the sea voyage -ended. - -=20. The rest of the journey= to Jerusalem was on foot by Cæsarea. The -occurrences at Cæsarea are narrated in Acts 21, and on his arrival at -Jerusalem Paul was seized in the Temple by a mob comprised of resident -Jews, urged on by some who were in attendance upon the feast from -foreign parts who had seen Paul abroad in some Asiatic place. - -Paul was now protected by the military interference of the Roman chief -“captain of the band” stationed at the Temple. The history is minutely -given us in Acts 21:32‒40. By the order of Festus the governor, called -the procurator of Judæa, who succeeded Felix A. D. 61, Paul was taken -to Cæsarea. - -=21. On Paul’s appeal to Cæsar= he was taken on board a vessel sailing -from Cæsarea and committed to the care of a centurion, Acts 27:1. - -The course of the vessel, as stated Acts 27, was first to Sidon, -where a short stay was made. Then “under Cyprus,” that is to the east -of the island, as the winds were from the northwest and contrary, they -“tacked” to Myra, a city of Lycia. This city stands upon a hill about -two miles back from the shore. It is now called by its ancient name by -the Greeks. Its port is Andriaca. - -=22. The course thence= was to Cnidus, which is at the western end of a -peninsula between the islands Rhodes and Cos; there they changed their -course to the southward and passed Cape Salmone, on the extreme east of -the island of Crete. The wind now was more ahead, that is, against them. -Hence they “hardly,” meaning “with difficulty,” reached Fair Havens, -near which was the city of Lasea. It is ninety miles from Cnidus to -Cape Salmone and seventy from Salmone to Lasea. The island of Crete -is 160 miles long, and they remained under Crete and near the shore, -hoping to reach Phœnice, which is about forty miles from Lasea. - -=23. They had not sailed= more than about twenty miles before the wind, -which had been from the south, changed around and blew so violently -from the east that the vessel became unmanageable and they “let her -drive.” The course was now west by north seven degrees, and this course -was kept from Clauda to Melita, about 500 miles. Clauda is south of -Crete twenty miles. - - - MALTA. - -=24. Malta= is the largest of a group of islands, the one at that time -called Melita, now Malta, being the easternmost. The shore is almost -entirely precipitous; two or three small bays are found on the northern -shore, one of which is supposed to be that into which Paul’s ship was -driven. It is fifteen miles from the eastern end of the island, which -is twenty miles in length, and this is the only bay on that side with a -stream emptying into its waters. The stream is only a very small brook -coming down from a source in the southwest. It was running in November -when the writer visited the locality. - -=25. Acts 27:27 to 28:10= should be read in this connection. The island -of Malta contains many ancient remains of Phœnician, Greek, and Gothic -construction. In the Library at Valetta are three medals and other -objects found on the island said to contain Phœnician letters, and Sir -W. Drummond has translated a Punic legend found on a square stone in a -sepulchral cave which states that it marks the burial-place of Hannibal. - -=26. After three months’ stay= on this island Paul’s company proceeded -on their way to Rome, stopping at Syracuse three days. Syracuse at this -time seems to have been very populous. It was on the eastern part of -Sicily and on the coast, and was the residence, at various times, of -some of the most celebrated philosophers and poets, Plato, Simonides, -Zeno, and Cicero; and here Archimedes lost his life at the capture of -the city by the Romans. - -=27. Thence the vessel= passed to Rhegium, now called Reggio -(pronounced red´jo). This place, in Calabria, is the southernmost -city and seaport of Italy, and was once a renowned city eight miles -southeast of Messina across the strait of the same name. It has a -population now of about 20,000. - -=28. The next day= they came to Puteoli, now Pozzuoli (pronounced -pot-soo-o´-lee) on a gulf of the same name seven miles southwest of -Naples. Its vicinity was celebrated as the residence of wealthy Romans -and the port was an important one. But the land has sunken, as the -writer found many evidences that parts of the ancient city were covered -with the waters of the sea. - -=29. The main Roman road=, called the Appian Way, was now taken, upon -which was the marketplace called Apii Forum, forty-three miles from -Rome. Its site is supposed to be marked by some ruins near Treponti. -Farther on was a place called the “Three Taverns,” about thirty-three -Roman miles from the city and near the present Cisterna. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - PAUL AT ROME. - THE SEVEN CHURCHES. - COLOSSE AND HIERAPOLIS. - - -=1. After their arrival= at Rome, Paul was permitted to dwell by -himself with a soldier who kept him and to whom he was bound with -a chain, Acts 28:20. For two years Paul remained at Rome in a hired -house, Acts 28:30, teaching and preaching to all those who came to -visit him, and no one forbade him, for the Jews at Rome were under -so great fear of the Government that they were exceedingly cautious -to cause no uproar. They had not long before been expelled from the -city in consequence of an uproar, and they were forced to express any -objections to the new faith in a very quiet way.[204] - -=2. We can learn nothing= of the subsequent life of the apostle except -from notices which occur in the various epistles. It appears that the -Jews were unable to gather any definite charge sufficient to sustain -them in any plea against Paul. But during this long residence at Rome -several epistles were written and many converts were made through the -apostle’s efforts. - -=3. For his success in preaching= see Phile. 14. It is evident that -Luke was with him, Col. 4:15; Phile. 24; Timothy also, Phile. 1; Col. -1:1; Phil. 1:1; and others; see Col. 4:7; Eph. 6:21; and John Mark was -found “profitable to him,” Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:1; Phile. 24; Col. 4:14; -2 Tim. 4:10, wherein we see that Demas afterward forsook him; Col. 1:7. - -At this time the case of Onesimus is interesting; see Epistle to -Philemon. Onesimus had escaped to Rome and had been converted to the -true faith, but after his conversion returned with a letter from Paul -to his master. - -The Epistle to the Colossians was now written and sent probably by -Onesimus and Tychicus, the latter being charged with another epistle, -namely, to the Ephesians. - -These letters were written probably in the spring of A. D. 62. About -this time Paul was cheered by an offering sent from the church in -Philippi, who remembered the apostle in his confinement, Phil. 4. This -Epistle to the Philippians was also written from Rome and sent by the -same one that brought the gift from the church, namely, Epaphroditus. - -=4. All we know= of the apostle after this is from ecclesiastical -writers of the early Christian church. From these it has been supposed -that he was tried and acquitted of the charges against him and that -after this he visited some of the churches he had been instrumental in -planting. - -In this route it is thought that from Rome he went by Brundusium, -thence to Dyrrachium and onward to Macedonia and to the churches there. -It is even thought that now he visited Spain, A. D. 64, in accordance -with an expression in Rom. 15:24, 28. But these visits are only -conjectural. - -=5. It seems however= that he was again arrested and sent to Rome, some -think while spending a time at Nicopolis, on the Bay of Actium. In this -second imprisonment he was confined as a malefactor, 2 Tim. 2:9, and -none would visit him or stand by him, 2 Tim. 1:16; 4:16, and now it is -said the second Epistle to Timothy was written. Whether Timothy ever -arrived in Rome after this is not known. But the second trial came on, -and the history states that he was condemned to be beheaded; and beyond -the city walls, along the road to Ostia, the port of Rome, he was led -out and executed, a Roman swordsman beheading him. - -=6. Besides the apostle Paul=, only three appear as =writers= in the -remaining parts of Scripture; these are James, “the Lord’s brother,” -Peter, and John. James is author of one of the general epistles, -evidently intended for universal use and not sent to any one church, -and hence called “The Epistle General of James.” It makes the twentieth -of the New Testament books. - -Peter is last mentioned when at Antioch, as recorded in Gal. 2:11‒21. -It is supposed from 1 Pet. 5:13 that he remained in Babylon in Chaldæa, -where at an early period many Jews were settled, as Josephus shows. He -wrote two epistles, which form the twenty-first and twenty-second books -of the New Testament, and these were written apparently in his old age. -The tradition is that he suffered martyrdom in Rome. - - - THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. - -=7.= The only other writer of the New Testament not yet mentioned is -John. He wrote three epistles and the book of Revelation, in which are -mentioned the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, -Philadelphia, and Laodicea, Rev. 1:11. - -Ephesus has already been described. - -=8. Smyrna= was then “the ornament of Asia, with the finest harbor -in the world.” Although no mention is made of it in the book of Acts -nor in any of the epistles of St. Paul, it may have been one of the -earliest churches founded by St. John. Eratosthenes states that Smyrna -was built by the Cumæans B. C. 1015, and according to Pliny it took -its name from an Amazon, Smyrna by name, who founded it. In the time of -the apostles it had a temple and hot springs.[205] It is at present a -populous city, built however a little to the south of the ancient site, -and contains about 200,000 inhabitants. - -=9. Pergamos= is 50 miles nearly due north from Smyrna. It is described -during the Roman period as the finest city of their new province of -Asia. Its possession by the Romans was due to the gift of Attalus its -king, B. C. 132. - -Pergamos was celebrated for its extensive collections of libraries and -for the patronage of art and science at its court. All the ruins now -found are of the Roman period except a tunnel over the river Selinus, -now a small stream. This double tunnel appears to be extremely ancient, -and is supposed to be of the time of Attalus. It runs under the present -town of Bergamah for 600 feet, with arches of 40 feet diameter and -20 feet high. The present town contains about 30,000 inhabitants. As -the artisans were skilled in preparing skins for manuscripts, the skins -themselves were known by the name of the place, and hence the name -“parchment,” which is only a change of the ancient name of Pergamos. - -=10. Thyatira= is now called Ak-hissar, “the white castle,” from a -castle on the white hill back of the plain upon which the city is built. -The plain has always been inhabited, and was celebrated at and long -before the period of the apostles for its manufacture of dyes,[206] -and this art is alluded to in Acts 16:14. It never had any reputation -otherwise, but was always a busy trading city. It is 52 or 53 miles -northeast of Smyrna, and was a Macedonian colony in the time of -Strabo,[207] but before his time it was called Pelopia,[208] upon -which site the colony was placed by the Syrian king Seleucus Nicator, -a general of Alexander the Great. - -=11. Sardis=, the once proud capital of Lydia, the residence of Crœsus, -the wealthiest monarch of his age, and “the queen of Asia,”[209] is now -utterly desolate. The site is about 50 miles east of Smyrna, and the -river Pactolus is on the west. It is now called Sart, and there are to -be found only two or three huts and a water-mill. - -If Smyrna be taken as a centre of a great circle, the three cities last -mentioned will be nearly on the circumference: Pergamos north, Thyatira -northeast, and Sardis east, each about 50 miles from the centre. - -=12. Philadelphia=, the next in order as mentioned in Revelation, is -east of Sardis about 30 miles, on the northeastern slope of Mt. Tmolus, -near the little stream of the Cogamus, which winds about on the plain -and falls into the Hermus near Sardis. It received its name from its -founder, Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, B. C. about 140 years. -Strabo says that the city was subject to frequent earthquakes,[210] -and Tacitus says that Philadelphia was nearly entirely destroyed by an -earthquake in the reign of Tiberius.[211] Although never a city of much -prominence, it has outlasted Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea. One-third -of the present population, 15,000, are Christians of the Greek Church. -It is still surrounded by walls, but they are very much dilapidated. - -=13. Laodicea= was once a rich and flourishing city, but nothing -remains of it but a vast stadium, a theatre, and a gymnasium. Laodicea -is nearly 100 miles due east of Ephesus, Colosse is 10 or 12 miles -southeast, and Hierapolis about the same distance nearly north. - -=14.= Besides the seven cities forming the sites of the famous seven -churches of Asia, there are two others to be noticed, =Colosse= and -=Hierapolis=. The former was written to by St. Paul in his Epistle to -the Colossians. Nothing remains but a few fragments of broken columns -and building stones. - -=Hierapolis= received its name from its remarkable hot springs. At -one place the deadly gas (carbonic dioxide) exhaled from the opening of -a cave where the spring was located, and this exhalation caused death -to animals and men. This fact originated the superstition that some -divinity presided over the city, and hence it became called Hierapolis, -“the holy city.” About the time of the apostles there was so great an -abundance of the water supply that baths were built in every part of -the city. The waters are so heavily charged with lime that they deposit -stalactites and stalagmites in every direction, and the whiteness of -the rock and ground over which the waters flow is so general that the -place may be seen at a great distance, and because of its dazzling -whiteness it receives the name of Pembouk Kalessi, “Cotton Castle.” -It is only mentioned in Col. 4:13. - -The apostle John, who outlived the rest of the apostles, seems to have -had a special interest in those seven churches of Asia. He is said to -have exercised a pastoral care over them all, but at some time after -the death of Paul he went to Ephesus and dwelt there. He was banished -to Patmos, probably by the Emperor Domitian, A. D. 95, where he wrote -the Revelation. - - - PATMOS. - -This little rugged island was used as a place of banishment of Roman -criminals. It is 32 miles west of the coast of Asia Minor, and is rocky -and barren and about 28 miles in circumference. It has a port on the -east where is a deep indentation. The population at present is 4,000, -all Greeks and a seafaring people. On a height above the principal town -is a large convent, resembling a fortress, where are said to be some -valuable manuscripts. - -On his return from banishment John went back to Ephesus, where he died -at the great age of 95, A. D. 100. He was known to the last as the Holy -Theologian, and the present name of the little village, Ayasoluk, near -Ephesus, is the Turkish form of the Greek Hagios-Theologos, the Holy -Theologian. - - MAP: GENERAL MAP OF BIBLE LANDS ILLUSTRATING - THE ORIGIN OF NATIONS - - MAP: CANAAN AND ITS TRIBES - _BEFORE THE CONQUEST BY JOSHUA_ - - _American Tract Society - 150 Nassau St - New York_ - - MAP: ASSYRIA, CHALDEA - MEDIA, ARMENIA, AND SYRIA - - _American Tract Society - 150 Nassau St - New York_ - - MAP: CANAAN AND ITS TRIBES - _BEFORE THE CONQUEST BY JOSHUA_ - - _American Tract Society - 150 Nassau St - New York_ - - MAP: SINAI AND THE DESERT OF THE WANDERINGS - - _American Tract Society - 150 Nassau St - New York_ - - MAP: THE HOLY LAND _IN THE_ TIME OF THE KINGS. - - MAP: SINAI AND THE DESERT OF THE WANDERINGS - - _American Tract Society - 150 Nassau St - New York_ - - MAP: ENVIRONS OF JERUSALEM. - - MAP: MAP SHOWING THE MISSIONARY TOURS - OF THE APOSTLE PAUL - - _American Tract Society - 150 Nassau St - New York_ - - - - - FOOTNOTES. - - - 1 – “Ancient Empires of the East,” p. 95. PLINY, N. H., VI. 130. - - 2 – “Lippincott’s Gazetteer,” 1881. - - 3 – Pronounced Moo-rad’-chi (_chi_ as in China). - - 4 – Geikie, Vol. I., p. 108. - - 5 – “Wo lag das Paradies?” Dr. Delitzsch. - - 6 – Of this manuscript we shall give a description hereafter, - as also of the Septuagint. - - 7 – Schumann’s “Commentary on Genesis.” - - 8 – Schaff’s “Bible Dictionary,” p. 184. - - 9 – Translation of Society of Biblical Archæology, Vol. IV., - p. 315. - - 10 – Eichhorn’s “Einleitung,” Vol. I., p. 90. - Geikie, Vol. I., p. 83. - - 11 – W. F. Wilkinson, “Personal Names in the Bible,” p. 10. - - 12 – Delitzsch, “Chaldæan Genealogy,” p. 304. - - 13 – Wilkinson, p. 15. - - 14 – Trench, “Study of Words.” - - 15 – Geikie. - - 16 – Copper is as abundant now as then. There is quite a trade - in copper between Bagdad and Bassora near the head of the - Persian Gulf. All household utensils are made of copper. - When Xenophon arrived with his Ten Thousand, B. C. 400, - in this region (in his time it was called the land of the - Carduchi) he was astonished at the quantity of metallic - utensils. Lenormant, “Ancient History of the East,” - Vol. II., p. 203. - - 17 – Rawlinson, “The Five Great Monarchies,” Vol. I., p. 98. - - 18 – Perrot & Chipiez, “Art in Chaldæa.” - - 19 – See “Speaker’s Commentary,” Vol. I., p. 62. Geikie, Vol. I., - p. 184. - - 20 – See Vigouroux and Lenormant, as quoted by Geikie, Vol. I., - p. 86. - - 21 – So Schrader in Geikie, Vol. I., p. 208. - - 22 – Osborn’s “Manual of Biblical Geography.” - - 23 – Full references in Bochart’s “Geography,” pp. 192, 193. - - 24 – Schrader in Geikie, Vol. I., p. 234. - - 25 – Bochart, “Geog. Sac.,” p. 157. - - 26 – Ibid., p. 586. - - 27 – “Études de l’antiquité historique.” Paris, 1873. - - 28 – Geikie, p. 234, Vol. I. - - 29 – Lenormant, Vol. II., “Ancient History of the East,” p. 236. - - 30 – Some have recently offered a new reading of this text, as - follows: “From that land he [Nimrod] went into Assyria;” - but, beside what has been above said, Rosenmüller observes - that if this had been the meaning the Hebrew would have - been different. We may add that the Septuagint translators - understood it as it is in our English version, that it was - not Nimrod, but Asshur, who built Nineveh. - - 31 – It has been supposed by some that the word “Rehoboth” - does not refer to a city, but to the “_wide street_” of - Nineveh. The term is used in that sense in an inscription - of Esar-haddon, in which he says that he paraded the heads - of two kings of Sidon through (Rehoboth) “the streets” - of Nineveh. W. A. I., Vol. I., p. 45; in “History of - Esar-haddon,” Budge, 1881, p. 41. - - 32 – Herodotus, Vol. II., p. 121. - - 33 – Geikie, Vol. I., p. 247. - - 34 – More fully spoken of page 69. - - 35 – The hieratic is written from right to left, as is the - Phœnician. See Sayce’s “Ancient Empires of the East,” - Scribner, 1886, p. 84. - - 36 – Bertheau, as quoted by Geikie, Vol. I., p. 251, and - Lenormant, Vol. II., p. 144. - - 37 – Job 41:6; Prov. 31:24, where the word “merchant” is - Canaanite in the Hebrew. - - 38 – “Antiquities,” Vol. I., § 6:4. - - 39 – Maclear, p. 24. - - 40 – Oppert, “Journal Asiatique,” Vol. X., p. 220; Vol. IX., - p. 503. Lenormant, “Langue Primitive de la Chaldée,” p. 355. - Geikie, Vol. I., p. 291. - - 41 – Lenormant, “Ancient History of the East,” p. 445. - - 42 – Geikie, Vol. I., p. 274. - - 43 – “Præp Evang.,” IX., 17. Geikie, Vol. I., p. 295. - - 44 – A. H. Sayce in the “Hibbert Lectures,” 1887. See also in - “Old Testament Student,” 1887, p. 134. - - 45 – Sayce, translation as referred to in previous note. - - 46 – See Herzog, article “Ur.” - - 47 – Pronounced _ha´-i_. - - 48 – Pronounced _a´-i_. - - 49 – Hale’s date is B. C. 2078. - - 50 – Gen. 16:7; 20:1; 25:18; Exod. 15:22; 1 Sam. 15:7; 27:8. - Shur means “wall.” - - 51 – Pronounced Ke´-ops. - - 52 – Wilkinson’s date is B. C. 1532, but Brugsch gives it as - B. C. 1433. - - 53 – Sir Henry Rawlinson. - - 54 – “La Langue Primitive,” p. 376; in Tomkin’s “Times of - Abraham,” p. 181. - - 55 – Bir es Seba in the Arabic is the same as Beersheba in the - Hebrew. - - 56 – Sayce, “Ancient Empires,” p. 200. - - 57 – We have mentioned them on page 37. - - 58 – Fourth memoir of “The Egypt Exploration Fund,” 1887, - p. 15. - - 59 – Osborn’s “Ancient Egypt in the Light of Modern Discovery,” - p. 82. - - 60 – Ebers’ “Konigstöchter,” Vol. I., p. 22 in the note, 40. - - 61 – Geikie, Vol. I., p. 468. - - 62 – See Geikie, Vol. I., p. 462. - - 63 – For illustrations of this fact see “Ancient Empires of the - East,” Sayce. Preface. - - 64 – Dynasty was the term given to kings of the same family or - blood relations. - - 65 – This view appears to be the correct one, although there is - some variation of opinion. - - 66 – Gray’s “Connection between Sacred and Heathen Authors,” - p. 563. Longinus “On the Sublime.” - - 67 – Lepsius in Geikie, Vol. II., p. 384. - - 68 – Supposed to have been Debir, south of Hebron. - - 69 – Wilkinson in Tomkins’ “Studies of the Times of Abraham,” - p. 86. - - 70 – Tomkins, p. 86. - - 71 – Odyssey, Book II., l. 521. Gladstone’s “Hom. Synchron.” - pp. 174, 182. - - 72 – Now called Ain es Sultan. - - 73 – Ussher’s time as in the margin of our Bibles. - - 74 – The Talmud is described hereafter. - - 75 – Bishop Horsley. - - 76 – Deut. 27:12; 11:30; Num. 34:13‒29; Exod. 21:13; - Num. 35:6, 11, 14; Deut. 19:2, 9. - - 77 – The affix “im” to a word was equivalent to the letter _s_ - in English. - - 78 – Lenormant, Vol. II., p. 223. - - 79 – Geikie, Vol. II., p. 466. - - 80 – Meaning “hamstrung.” Our version puts horses in italics, - showing that it is not in the original. - - 81 – Browne in “Ordo Sæculorum,” Vol. I., chap. 5, sec. 3. - - 82 – For another solution of the chronology of this period see - the “Old Testament Student,” January, 1884. - - 83 – The place where the courts were held. - - 84 – Burckhardt’s “Travels,” p. 339. - - 85 – Osburn’s “Ancient Egypt,” p. 138. London. Samuel Bagster - & Sons. - - 86 – The place assigned as probable, namely, Astug, is an - impossible site, for Ziklag after the Captivity is located - between Beersheba and Jerusalem, and Astug was at that - time too far off for settlement by returned captives. - - 87 – 1 Kings 11:42. - - 88 – “Antiquities,” IX., 11:1. - - 89 – Strabo, XV., 1:6. Geikie, Vol. V., p. 339. - - 90 – Jer. 48:40; 49:22. - - 91 – Ezek. 17:3. - - 92 – Lenormant, “Ancient History of the East,” 475, in - remarkable corroboration of 2 Kings 24:7. - - 93 – Also spelled Mizpeh, the meaning being _watch-tower_. - - 94 – 1 Kings 12:28. - - 95 – Under the title of Apis; Greek, Ser-apis, for Osiris-Apis. - - 96 – Ecclus. 36:15 and Maccabees 9:27; 14:41. - - 97 – T. G. Pinches, in “Trans. Soc. of Biblical Archæology,” - May, 1884. Same as Tiglath-pileser, 2 Kings 15:29. - - 98 – Lenormant and Chev., “Ancient History of the East,” p. 392. - - 99 – Lenormant, 392. - - 100 – Idem, 604. - - 101 – Lenormant etc., “Ancient History of the East,” p. 406. - Geikie’s date would make it too late, see authorities in - Geikie, V., p. 91., and for the translation of cylinders, - “History of Esar-haddon,” Budge, 1881, Boston, Osgood & - Co., p. 103. - - 102 – See Rawlinson’s “Five Great Monarchies,” II., p. 477, - English Edition; also Maclear’s “Old Testament History,” - p. 445. - - 103 – Such as Psalms 79, 102, 126, 137, and others. - - 104 – Their tendencies were idolatrous from the beginning, - 1 King 14:15. For the comparative morality see p. 150. - - 105 – It is not probable that he went to Babylon, but his - prophecies were taken there, Dan. 9:2; Jer. 29. - - 106 – The discussion of this matter of Darius of Dan. 5:31 - may be found in “Translations of the Society of Biblical - Archæology,” VI., pp. 1‒133; also in Geikie, Vol. VI., - p. 398. - - 107 – Some remained in Palestine. - - 108 – “Old Testament History,” Maclear, p. 476. Ezra 8. - - 109 – According to Ussher. - - 110 – Zech. 1:1. - - 111 – “The Book of Esther,” by Haley, Andover, 1885. - - 112 – Full description by Dr. M. Jastrow, Jr., “Sunday-school - Times,” Philadelphia, November 17, 1888. - - 113 – For the critical account, see “The Book of Esther,” by - Haley, Andover, 1885. More recently, “Harper’s Monthly,” - June, 1887. “Revue des Etudes Juives,” Avril‒Juin, 1888. - “Sunday-school Times.” November 17, 1888. - - 114 – Geo. Rawlinson, “The Religions of the Ancient World,” - p. 79. - - 115 – Idem, p. 86; the utmost that was allowed was the emblem of - the winged circle. - - 116 – Keil’s “Comments on Esther,” p. 309, “Book of Esther,” - Haley, p. 81. - - 117 – Chiefly on the authority of A. H. Sayce, “The Ancient - Empires of the East.” - - 118 – According to Josephus. - - 119 – “Introduction to Hebrew Literature,” J. W. Etheridge, M.A., - London, 1856, p. 20. - - 120 – B. C. 291, Maclear’s “New Testament History,” p. 11; and - B. C. 310‒290, Westcott’s “Bible in the Church,” p. 300. - - 121 – Macc. 2:13. - - 122 – For proofs of spiritual activity of this period, B. C. 536, - read Ezra 6:16‒22. That they had the prophets Haggai and - Zechariah with them, read 6:14. That they were ready to - worship God anywhere before they had a temple, 3:1‒6. - That they called Ezra and caused him to read and explain - the Law to them, Neh. 8:1, etc. - - 123 – Jos., Contra Apion, lib. I., 8. Euseb., “Eccl. History,” - lib. III., chap. 10. Josephus lived in the time of the - apostles. He was born A. D. 37 and died after A. D. 97 and - made this statement 400 years after the Canon, or list, - had been closed. - - 124 – These men gave rise to a class of writings called - “Interpretations,” or in their language Targums, which are - also explanations as well as interpretations, and give the - ideas of the earliest writers upon Scripture. - - 125 – Prideaux, Part I., Book 5. - - 126 – What is called the Samaritan translation is a translation - of this Pentateuch into the Samaritan language and is not - the Samaritan Pentateuch. - - 127 – The proofs of the use of the square Hebrew since Ezra are - found given in Conder’s “Handbook to the Bible” (Gemara, - Sanhedrin, f. 21, 22), p. 174. “Horne’s Introd.” II., - p. 12‒17 for the versions of the Pentateuch (Samaritan), - Smith’s “Dictionary of the Bible,” Vol. III. - - 128 – In the time of Darius Nothus, B. C. 409, so Prideaux says, - “Connection,” Vol. I., pp. 357‒359. - - 129 – This is the date of his visit to Jerusalem and profanation - of the Temple. Clinton in Woodward and Cates. - - 130 – Prideaux, Part II., Book 3. - - 131 – In Babylon, but formerly in Palestine into 153, for three - years’ reading. “The New Testament Scriptures,” Charteris, - p. 17. Etheridge, “Introduction to Hebrew Literature,” - p. 201. - - 132 – The year was not so determined in that era that the same - number of weeks, or Sabbaths, would always occur one year - with another, some years having as many as fifty-four - Sabbaths, or thirteen months. Ayres’ Dictionary, - “Chronology.” - - 133 – “Talmud,” Berokoth, 12; Etheridge, “Introduction to Hebrew - Literature,” p. 201. - - 134 – Westcott, “Bible in the Church,” p. 29. - - 135 – Westcott, p. 36. - - 136 – “The Book of Esther,” Andover, 1885. p. 18. - - 137 – Described hereafter, p. 204. - - 138 – The Septuagint gave it the name “Numbers,” but the English - is the translation of the Greek, but in the other case the - Greek words are used in English letters. - - 139 – The “Book of the Dead” is found in more than one copy, - though originally one, having been added to――hence we - use the plural term. Called also “Ritual of the Dead.” - Rawlinson’s “Religions of the Ancient World,” p. 26, note. - - 140 – Baedeker’s “Egypt,” p. 210. - - 141 – Prideaux states that there were 100,000 Jews in Alexandria - at this time, B. C. 270. - - 142 – Both Josephus and Philo gave descriptions of this class - of Jews under the name of Essenes, holy men. See Prideaux, - Part II., Bk. 5, also Etheridge’s “Introduction to Hebrew - Literature,” p. 21. - - 143 – “Introduction to Hebrew Literature,” Etheridge, p. 29. - - 144 – See Parkhurst’s Lexicon, “Sanhedrin,” p. 825. - - 145 – “Introduction to Hebrew Literature,” Etheridge, p. 29. - - 146 – Etheridge, “Introduction to Jewish Literature,” p. 88. - Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple burned A. D. 70. - - 147 – Simon Ben Yochai, time of the Emperor Antonine. - “Introduction to Hebrew Literature,” p. 82. - - 148 – He was head of the Sanhedrin B. C. 32. “Introduction to - Hebrew Literature,” p. 37. - - 149 – In the Gamara, tract Sanhedrin, fol. 21, 22, Conder’s - “Handbook,” p. 174. - - 150 – As seen in the inscription in the Siloam tunnel, “Echoes - of Bible History,” Bishop Walsh, p. 282. - - 151 – Conder’s “Handbook to the Bible,” London, 1887, p. 173. - - 152 – Recently discovered by Dr. Ginsburg, in British Museum. - - 153 – Bishop Walsh’s “Echoes of Bible History,” p. 257. - - 154 – The books are “Jasher,” Josh. 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:18; “The - Acts of Solomon,” 1 Kings 11:41; “The Book of Nathan,” - 1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; “The Prophecy of Ahijah, - the Shilonite,” and “Iddo” (Yeddo), “the Seer, against - Jeroboam,” 2 Chron. 9:29; “The Book of Shemaiah;” “The - Book of Jehu,” the son of Hanani, 2 Chron. 12:15; 20:34; - “The Sayings of the Seers,” 2 Chron. 33:19; and the - “Lamentations over Josiah,” which are not the same as - those over Jerusalem which we have in the Old Testament. - - 155 – Josephus’ “Antiquities,” lib. 13, ch. 18. Prideaux, B. II., - ch. 5., p. 31. - - 156 – Bloomfield’s “Notes,” Matt. 1:1. - - 157 – Palestine Exploration Fund Map; but Baedeker 1,788 ft. - - 158 – See the full references and statements in Maclear’s “New - Testament History,” p. 134. Merivale shows that Cyrenius - was twice governor of Syria, and the Greek word πρώτη - may refer to the first time, or the enrolment. See also - Bloomfield’s “Notes on the New Testament,” Luke 2. “The - whole world” is a term frequently used when only all that - land and no more was meant. Thus in 2 Sam. 24:8, in the - Hebrew, “the whole world” meant, evidently, the whole of - that land only. So in Acts 11:28; 17:6; the phrase was - used in either way as including only the entire Syria or - Judæa to a Jew, or, to a Roman citizen, it was the Roman - Empire. - - 159 – Gen. 49:10. - - 160 – As shown in Prideaux’s “Connection.” - - 161 – This place was then in Gaul, now called France. - - 162 – “Wars of the Jews,” VI., §9:3. - - 163 – Bloomfield, John 2:14, note. - - 164 – Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great by Malthace. See the - Table, p. 229. - - 165 – Bloomfield, Notes in Matt. 9:9. - - 166 – Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration. - - 167 – Died A. D. 420. - - 168 – Murray’s “Handbook,” 1875, p. 408. - - 169 – Baedeker’s “Palestine and Syria,” p. 374. - - 170 – Merrill, “Galilee in the time of Christ,” p. 48. - - 171 – Herodotus, 3:20, and Athen., p. 268. - - 172 – Bloomfield, “Notes,” Matt. 26:7. - - 173 – Idyll 15, line 114; Parkhurst, Lex., 5; Bloomfield, - Luke 8:1. - - 174 – Josephus, “Antiquities,” XVII., 2:2. - - 175 – Ellicott, 333, in Maclear’s “Class Book of the New - Testament,” p. 149. - - 176 – Prideaux, “Connection,” II., 9, p. 379. - - 177 – “Antiquities,” XVIII., 3:2. - - 178 – Pausanias, V., 12:12, in Bloomfield’s “Notes,” Matt. 27:51. - - 179 – As mentioned, “Iliad,” III., l. 315, 316, etc. “Iliad,” - VII., l. 175, 176, etc. - - 180 – Conybeare and Howson’s, “Life and Travels of St. Paul,” - CXIV. - - 181 – John 21:2, 3. - - 182 – Sebaste being the Greek form of the word Augustus. - - 183 – Acts 6:5. - - 184 – Baedeker, p. 317. - - 185 – Josephus’ “Antiquities,” XIX., 1:11, and Maclear’s “New - Testament History,” p. 394. - - 186 – These cohorts are mentioned by Arrian; see authority in - Bloomfield’s “Notes,” Acts 10:1. - - 187 – Maclear, “New Testament History,” p. 403, note. - - 188 – Tac., “Ann.,” 12:13; Josephus, “Antiquities,” III., 15:3; - XX., 2:5. The famine here foretold took place in Judæa - A. D. 44, in the fourth year of Claudius. Josephus, - “Antiquities,” XIX., 7:2. - - 189 – Merivale, VI., 116, 117. Cassius Longinus was now - appointed, A. D. 44, to the presidency of Syria, and - Cuspius Fadus was appointed governor of Judæa, Josephus, - “Antiquities,” XIX., 9:2; XX., 1:1. See Maclear, “New - Testament History,” p. 409. - - 190 – For authorities and more minute description see Conder’s - “Handbook to the Bible,” p. 301, seq. For Galilee see - Merrill’s “Galilee in the time of Christ.” - - 191 – Lightfoot “On the Galatians,” p. 285. - Maclear, “New Testament History,” p. 40. - - 192 – There was a remarkable influx of Oriental sorcerers, - astrologers, and soothsayers at this time into Rome and - other cities, as Conybeare and Howson show, Vol. I., - p. 141. - - 193 – Walpole, “Travels in the East,” p. 222. - - 194 – Conybeare and Howson place Adana and Ægæ on the course, but - Adana is thought to have been planted by Justinian, and Ægæ - if at Aias, 35 miles southeast of Adana on the coast, was - too far out of the way. - - 195 – Not the Laodicea of Scripture. - - 196 – Strabo, 12; died A. D. 25; Claudian in “Eutropius,” 2, - A. D. 395. - - 197 – Conybeare and Howson, Vol. I., pp. 440‒444, second edition. - - 198 – Ayres’ Dictionary, “Athens.” - - 199 – See account in Lippincott’s “Gazetteer.” - - 200 – To the Church at Thessalonica. - - 201 – As an educated Greek lady wrote it for the author, Κεχριαῖς. - - 202 – Pliny, 36, chap. 14; Strabo, 12 and 14; Mela, etc. - - 203 – Mucianus, A. D. 75, says that in his time the woodwork - appeared as new, though nearly 400 years old. Tristram, - “Seven Churches of Asia,” p. 14. - - 204 – Judæos impulsore Chresto assidué tumultuantes Româ expulit. - Suetonius, Claudian, 25. - - 205 – Strabo, XIV., chap. 1. - - 206 – Pliny V., chap. 31. - - 207 – Even in the time of Homer, Iliad, IV., 141. - - 208 – Strabo, XIII., chap. 4, § 4. - - 209 – Tristram, “Seven Churches.” - - 210 – Strabo XIII., chap. 4, § 10. - - 211 – “Annals,” Vol. II., p. 47. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES. - - - The following corrections have been made in the text: - - Page 184: - Sentence starting: The tradition seems.... - – ‘Testement’ replaced with ‘Testament’ - (canonical books of the Old Testament) - - Page 224: - Sentence starting: Hence to him their.... - – ‘Sandedrin’ replaced with ‘Sanhedrin’ - (consultation with the Sanhedrin,) - - Footnote 43: - – ‘Prœp.’ replaced with ‘Præp.’ - (“Præp Evang.,” IX., 17.) - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Class-Book of Biblical History and -Geography, by Henry S. 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