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Biblical Geography
Biblical Geography
With the exception of the didactic literature, there is no book in the Bible which, to a greater or less extent, does not contain mention of, or allusions to, the geography and topography of the Holy Land. In early times, when the perusal of the Sacred Books was confined within the limits of the country in which they had come to light, there was little need of any special attention to geographical details. Palestine has a small area, and every one of its inhabitants was acquainted with almost every by-corner and nook in it. Not so, however, the outside reader -- the Jew of the Diaspora, for instance. But little did he care, in many cases, for such trifles as topographical niceties; God's message was all he was looking for in Holy Writ; as to those who longed for a fuller knowledge of the land of their forefathers, an occasional pilgrimage thither, at a time when local traditions were still alive, afforded ample opportunities. After a.d. 70, Jewish pilgrims ceased to flock to Palestine; on the other hand, zealous Christians, whilst at times casting a glance towards the land whence the light of the Gospel had come, would rather "stretch forth themselves to the things that are before", and direct their conquering steps to new shores. It thus happened that when the Church obtained her long-delayed freedom from the throes of persecution, and her scholars turned their minds to a searching study of the Bible, they realized that much of the book would remain sealed to them unless they were acquainted with the Holy Land. To this deeply-felt need Biblical geography, as a help to the study of the Scriptures, owes its birth (cf. St. Aug., De Doctr. Chr., II, xvi, 24; Cassiod., De institut. div. litt., xxv; St. Jer., Ad Domn. et Rogat. in I Paralip., Præf.). Its necessity has never since been questioned, and its growth has kept abreast of the strivings after a better knowledge of the literal and historical sense of the Scriptures. The study of Biblical geography is pursued more than ever in our time, and it may not be amiss to mention here the principal sources and means at its disposal.
First of all, of course, stands the Bible, some parts of which, however, must be singled out, owing to their importance from the present point of view. The ethnographical list in Gen., x, is a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the old general geography of the East, and its importance can scarcely be overestimated. The catalogues of stations of the Hebrew people in their journeyings from Egypt to the bank of the Jordan supply us with ample information concerning the topography of the Sinaitic Peninsula, the southern and eastern borders of the Dead Sea. In the Book of Josue is to be found a well-nigh complete survey of Palestine (especially of Southern Palestine) and the territory allotted to Juda in particular. Later books add little to the wealth of topographical details given there, but rather give a casual glimpse of an ever-growing acquaintance with places abroad -- in Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia. The centuries following the Exile were for the adventurous Israelites a period of expansion. Colonies of thrifty merchants multiplied wonderfully East and West, above all throughout the Greek and Roman world, and Palestinian folks had to train their ears to many new, "barbarous" names of places where their kinsmen had settled. The Church at Jerusalem, therefore, was well prepared to listen with interest to the accounts of Barnabas's and Paul's missions abroad (Acts, xv, 12; xxi, 19).
While the authors of the English Authorized Version (A.V.) have made efforts to preserve proper names in their old Hebrew mould, our Douay Version (D.V.) adheres, as a rule, to the Latin transliteration. This imperfection is, however, by no means to be compared with that which arises from the astounding transcriptions of the Codex Vaticanus from which the Greek textus receptus was printed. To cite at random a few instances, Bahurim has become Barakim; Debbaseth, Heb. Dabbasheth, Baitharaba; Eglon, Hodollam or Ailam; Gethremmon, Iebatha, etc., not to speak of the frequent confusion of the sounds d and r or of the proper names wrongly translated, as En Shemesh by he pege tou heliou, etc. Thanks to a systematic correction of the whole text, such divergences are not to be found in the Codex Alexandrinus. Biblical information is in a good many instances paralleled, and not un-frequently supplemented, by the indications gathered from the documents unearthed in Egypt and Assyria. No fewer than 119 towns of Palestine are mentioned in the lists of Thothmes III (about 1600 b.c.); the names of some 70 Canaanite cities occur in the famous Tell-el Amarna letters(about 1450 b.c.); on the walls of Karnak the boastful records of the conquests of Sheshonk I (Sesac) exhibit a list of 156 names of places, all in Central and Southern Palestine (935 b.c.); the inscriptions of the Assyrian kings Tukalti Pal-Esarra III (Teglathphalasar, 745-27), Sarru-kinu (Sargon, 722-05), and Sin-akhi-erba (Sennacherib, 705-681) add a few new names. From the comparison of all these lists, it appears that some hundred of the Palestinian cities mentioned in the Bible are also recorded in documents ranging from the sixteenth to the eighth centuries b.c.
"The immovable East" still preserves under the present Arabic garb a goodly proportion (three-fourths, according to Col. C. R. Conder) of the old geographical vocables of the Bible; in most instances the name still cleaves either to the modern city which has supplanted the old one (e.g. Beit-Lahm for Bethlehem), or to the ruins of the latter (e.g. Khirbet' Almîth), or the site it occupied (e.g. Tell Jezer for Jazer; Tell Ta 'annak for Taanach); sometimes it has shifted to the neighbouring dale, spring, well, or hill (as Wâdy Yabîs). The history of the Palestinian cities and of the changes which some local names have undergone in the intervening centuries is traced, and the identification helped, by the information supplied by geographers, historians, and travellers. In this regard, parts of the works of classical geographers, such as Strabo and Ptolemy, are consulted with profit; but they cannot compete with Eusebius's "Onomasticon", the worth of which was already recognized by St. Jerome, any more than the Peutinger Table, however useful, can rival the Madaba Mosaic Map (dating probably from Justinian's time) discovered in the autumn of 1897. The "Peregrinatio Silviæ" (whatever the true name of the authoress), the descriptions of the Bordeaux pilgrim, the accounts of those whom the piety of the Middle Ages brought to the Holy Land, the histories of the Crusades and of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, and, lastly, the Arab geographers afford valuable material to the student of Biblical geography.
The topography, as well as the history, of Palestine is a favourite study of the present day. Governments commission to the East diplomatic agents who are masters of archæology; schools have been founded at Jerusalem and elsewhere to enable Biblical students, as St. Jerome recommended (in lib. Paralip., Præf.), to acquire a personal acquaintance with the sites and the natural conditions of the country; and all -- diplomats, scholars, masters, and students -- scour the land, survey it, search its innermost recesses, copy inscriptions, make excavations, sift on the spot the evidences furnished by the Bible and all available authorities. The results of their labours are published in periodicals founded for that particular purpose (such as the "Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement", the "Zeitschrift", and the "Mittheilungen und Nachrichten des deutschen Palästina-Vereins", the "Palästinajahrbuch") or appear as important contributions in reviews of a wider scope (like the "Revue Biblique", the "Mélanges d'Archéologie orientale" or the "American Journal of Archæology"). In the bibliography given at the end of this article the reader will find a list of the works of scholars who, especially in the last fifty years, have earned fame in the field of Biblical geography, and a right to the gratitude of all students of Sacred Scripture.
The name Palestine, first used to designate the territory of the Philistines, was, after the Roman period, gradually extended to the whole southern portion of Syria. It applies to the country stretching from the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon to the Sinaitic Desert, and from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Desert. Politically, the limits varied in the course of Biblical times. The old Land of Canaan was relatively small: it included the region west of the Jordan between a line running from the foot of the Hermon Range to Sidon, and another line from the southern end of the Dead Sea to Gaza. David's and Solomon's possessions were considerably larger; they probably extended north-eastward to the Syrian, and eastward to the Arabian Desert. Two classical expressions occur frequently in the Bible to designate the whole length of the land in historical times: "from the entrance of Emath [i. e., probably, the Merj Ayûn] to the river of Egypt [Wâdy el-Arish]", or "to the Sea of the Wilderness [Dead Sea]" and "from Dan to Bersabee". This represents, in the estimate of St. Jerome, about 160 Roman miles (141 Engl. m.). As to the breadth of the country, the same Father declared himself ashamed to state it, lest heathens might take occasion from his assertions to blaspheme (Ep. ad Dardan., 129). According to the measurements of the English surveyors, the area of the Holy Land is about 9700 square miles, a trifle over that of the State of Vermont. These figures are humble indeed compared to those found in the Talmud, where (Talm. Babyl., "Sotah," 49 b) Palestine is given an area of 2,250,000 Roman square miles -- more than half the area of the United States.
The Land of Israel is a "land of hills and plains" (Deut., xi, 11). To the north, two great ranges of mountains, the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon, or Hermon, separated by the deep valley of Cœlesyria (El-Beqâ'a), raise their summits to a height of 9000 or 10,000 feet. The Lebanon was never within the borders of Israel; it remained the possession of the Phœnicians and of their Syrian successors; but the Hebrews liked to speak about its majestic grandeur, its slopes covered with oaks, firs, and cedars, its peaks capped with nearly perennial snow. Glistening closer on the northern frontier, Mt. Hermon -- Sirion of the Sidonians, Sanir of the Amorrhites, Jebel esh-Sheikh -- was perhaps more familiar. On both sides of the Jordan the mountains of Palestine prolong these two ranges. West of the upper course of the river, the mountains of Galilee gradually decrease towards the plain of Esdrelon which alone divides the highland. Only a few hills, among which Thabor (A. V. Tabor; J. et-Tôr), Moreh (Nebî-Dahî, "Little Hermon"), and the heights of Gelboe (A. V. Gilboa; J. Fuqû'a), bordering the plain to the east, connect the lesser ranges of Galilee with the mountains of Ephraim. The country then rises steadily, studded with rounded hills -- among them Ebal and Garizim (A. V. Gerizim) -- riven east and west by torrents, and is continued in the "Mountains of Juda" (3000 ft.), to decrease farther south (Bersabee, 700 ft.) and be connected through the "Mountains of Seir" (Jebel Madera, J. Maqra, J. Arãif) and the J. et-Tih, with the first approaches of Sinai. The mountains of Ephraim and those of Juda decline gradually towards the Mediterranean Sea, the last western hillocks bordering on the rich plain of Saron (A. V. Sharon), south of Mount Carmel, and on the Sephelah (A. V. Shephelah). As the Jordan Valley sinks while the plateau rises, the eastern ravines are the deeper (the Cedron falls 4000 ft. between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea), and west of the Dead Sea the wilderness of Juda becomes a labyrinth of rugged and precipitous gorges, the favourite haunt of outlaws at all times (cf. I Sam., D. V. I Kings, xxii, xxiii, xxiv), the last stronghold of Jewish independence (Masada, April, a.d. 78), and the time-honoured retreat of the Essenes and of the early Christian hermits.
East of the Jordan, the Hermon range is prolonged by the "mountains of Basan" [A. V. Bashan] (Jôlan), to the north of the Yarmûk (Sheri' at el-Menadhireh), the "mountains of Galaad" [A. V. Gilead] from the Yarmûk to the Arnon (J. 'Ajlûn and J. Jil'ad), north and south respectively to the Jaboc, or Wâdy Zerkâ, the Abarim Mountains, and the highlands of Moab, east of the Dead Sea; farther south this orographic system is continued by the ranges east of the 'Araba (Jebâ, J. esh-Sherâ), the J. Tâuran and the mountains of Western Arabia (Hedjaz, etc.). Tumbling down abruptly towards the Jordan and the Dead Sea, the mountains of Basan, of Galaad, and of Moab buttress the plateaux of the desert, where from time immemorial the nomad tribes of Bedouin have roamed. Only east of the watershed of the Yarmûk, some fifty miles from the Jordan, does the plateau rise to an altitude of 3500 feet in the volcanic region of the Hauran, where some peaks tower to a height of over 5000 feet, and north-east of which stretches, 25 miles long and 20 miles wide, and with the average depth of 500 feet, the broken sea of lava of the Trachon (Lejâh). With the exception of the Trachon, and the mountains of Hauran -- which lie beyond the limits of classical Palestine -- and of a small volcanic section in the north-east, which lies between Mount Hermon and the river Yarmûk, and extends westwards to Mount Thabor, the surface rock of Palestine is a soft limestone containing many fossils; it is hollowed by numberless caverns, some of which are mentioned in Scripture, once, probably, the dwelling-places of the early inhabitants of the country; in later times the favourite cells of anchorites.
The most wonderful geographical and geological feature of Palestine is the gigantic depression which divides the country into two halves. It is the natural continuation of the ravine through which the Orontes (Nahr el-'Asî) and the Leontes (N. el-Litâni) have furrowed their beds. From "the entrance of Emath", the Ghôr, as this depression is called by the Arabs, runs directly south, falling persistently with an average gradient of 15 feet per mile, and passes at an altitude of 1285 feet below the sea level, under the blue waters of the Bahr Lût, the bed of which reaches a depth of more than 1300 feet below the water level, this being the lowest point of this unparalleled depression. Towards the south the bed of the Salt Sea rises, but the furrow is continued through the 'Araba, which, although in some places it goes to a height of 781 feet above the Red Sea, remains much lower than the bordering regions, and finally plunges into the Gulf of 'Aqaba. From the "waters of Merom" (Bahrat el Hûleh) to the Lake of Tiberias (Bahr Tabarîyeh) the Ghôr is scarcely more than a narrow gap; it broadens to about four miles south of the lake, then narrows to a mile and a half before reaching the plain of Beisan, where it spreads to a breadth of eight miles. South of 'Ain es-Saqût, down to the confluence of the Jaboc, the valley is only two miles wide; but it soon expands again and north of the Dead Sea measures twelve to fourteen miles.
Inside the Ghôr the Jordan has ploughed its double bed. The larger bed, the Zôr, is an alluvial plain, the width of which varies from 1200 feet to a mile and a half; it is sunken eighteen to twenty feet in the upper course of the river, forty to ninety feet in the middle course, and about one hundred and eighty feet at some distance north of the Dead Sea. The Zôr is very fertile except in its few last miles (the 'Arabah or "desert" of Scripture), where the salt-saturated soil is barren and desolate. Sunken within the Zôr, and hidden behind a dense screen of oleanders, acacias, thorns, and similar shrubbery, the Jordan (esh-Sheri-'at el-Kebîr, 'the Great Trough") follows its serpentine course, swiftly rolling its cream-coloured waters through a succession of rapids which render it practically unnavigable. "The Great Trough" of Palestine is much narrower than its celebrity might lead one to suppose. A few miles below Lake Hûleh, its width is only 75 feet; about twenty miles, as the crow flies, north of the Dead Sea, it measures some 115 feet; but as it goes down towards the Sea, the river broadens to 225 feet. Before the Roman period no bridges existed over the Jordan; communications were active, nevertheless, between both banks, thanks to the shallowness of the water, which is fordable in five or six places (Jos., ii, 7; Judges, iii, 28; vii, 24; xii, 5, 6, etc.). Early in the spring, however, this is utterly impossible, for the river, swollen by the melting snow of Mount Hermon, overflows its banks and spreads over the whole area of the Zôr (Jos., iii, 15; I Par., xii, 15; Ecclus., xxiv, 36). The Jordan is formed by the union of three springs, respectively known as Nahr el-Hasbâni, N. el-Leddân, and N. Banîyas, which meet nine miles north of Lake Hûleh. On both sides it receives many tributaries, very few of which are explicitly mentioned in Scripture. We may mention, on the west side, the N. el-Bîreh, which comes down from Mount Thabor, the N. el-Jahûd, bringing down from Nebî Dahî the waters of 'Ain-Jalûd, possibly the site of the trial of Gideon's companions (Judges, vii, 4, 6), the Wâdy Far'ah, which originates near Mount Hebal and Mount Garizim, the W. Nawaimeh, the pass to the heights of Bethel (Beitîn; cf. Jos., xvi, 1), and, below Jericho, the W. el-Kelt, the "torrent of Carith (A. V. Cherith)" mentioned in III (A. V. I) Kings, xvii, 3, according to many Biblical geographers. On the east, besides many brooks draining the hill country of Galaad, the Jordan receives, south of the Lake of Tiberias, the Sherî 'at el-Menadhîreh, not spoken of in the Bible (Yarmûk of the Talmud, Hieromax of the Greek writers), the W. Yabîs, the name of which recalls that of the city of Jabes-Galaad W. (I Kings, xi; xxxi, 11-13), the Jaboc (N. ez-Zerqa), the Nimrîn (cf. Bethemra, Num., xxxii, 36; Jos., xiii, 27), and, a few miles from the Dead Sea, the united waters of the W. Kefrein and W. Hesbân (cf. Hesebon, A. V. Heshbon, Num., xxi, 26; Jos., xxi, 39, etc.).
Among the rivers and torrents debouching into the Dead Sea from the mountains of Juda, only one deserves notice, viz., the Wâdy en-Nâr, made up of the often dry Cedron (Wâdy Sitti Maryam), east of Jerusalem, and the "Valley of Ennon" (W. er-Rabâbi) to the south of the Holy City. Many torrents stream from the highlands of Moab; among these may be mentioned the Wâdy 'Ayûn Mûsâ, the name of which preserves the memory of the great leader of Israel, the Arnon (W. el-Mojîb), the Wâdy of Kerak, probably the Biblical Zared, the "waters of Nemrim [A. V. Nimrim]" (Is., xv, 6; Jer., xlviii, 34. -- W. Nemeira), and finally the W. el-Qurâhi, very likely the "torrent of the willows" of Is., xv, 7.
In the Mediterranean watershed, from the extreme north of Phœnicia, the most famous rivers are the Eleutherus (I Mach., xi, 7; xii, 30. -- Nahr el-Kebîr), the N. el Qasimîyeh (Leontes of the Greeks), the N. el-Muqattâ (Cison; A. V. Kishon), the N. ez-Zerqâ, very likely the "flumen Crocodilon" of Pliny (Hist. Nat., V, xvii) and the Sichor Labanah of the Bible (Jos., xix, 26. -- A. V. Shihôr-libnath), the N. el-Falêq, possibly the Nahal Qanah (D. V. "valley of reeds"; A. V. Kanah) of Jos., xvi, 8 and xvii, 9, the N. Rabin, one of the confluents of which, the W. es-Sarâr, runs through the famous "valley of Sorec" (A. V. Sorek. -- Judges, xvi, 4, etc.), the N. Sukreir, into which opens the "valley of the terebinth" (A. V. "valley of Elah". -- I Kings, xvii, 2, 19; xxi, 9 -- probably the W. es-Sunt), the W. el-Hasy, the main branch of which passes at the foot of Lachis (Tell el-Hasy), while another originates near Khirbet Zuheilîqa, not unlikely the site of Siceleg (A. V. Ziklag. -- Jos., xv, 31, etc.); the W. Ghazzeh, into which flows the W. esh-Sherî'a, perhaps the "torrent Besor" (I Kings, xxx, 9, etc.), and the W. es-Seba', which recalls to the mind the city of Bersabee (Beer-Sheba), both being the natural outlets of all the hydrographic system of the Negeb; finally, the W. el-'Arîsh, or "torrent of Egypt", Shihôr of the Hebrews and Rhinocolurus of the Greeks, which drains all the northern and north-eastern portions of the Sinaitic Peninsula. The Scriptures mention likewise a few inland rivers, particularly two in the territory of Damascus: the Abana (N. Barâda), which, after watering the city of Damascus, loses itself some twenty miles east in the Bahrat el-'Ateibeh, and the Pharphar, which feeds the Bahrat el-Hijâneh.
Besides the two lakes just mentioned, which are outside of Palestine proper, and the Lakes Hûleh and Tiberias, in the course of the Jordan, the Holy Land possesses no other lakes of any extent except the Birket er-Ram (the Lake Phiala of Josephus -- Bell. Jud., III, x, 7) to the south of Banîyas; but ponds and marshes are numerous in certain parts of the land. Marshes near the lower Jordan, at a short distance from the Dead Sea, are mentioned in I Mach., ix, 46.
Deut., viii, 7, describes Palestine as "a land of brooks and of waters and of fountains". Many springs are mentioned in Scripture, and nearly all belong to Western Palestine. Going from north to south, and leaving aside those in the neighbourhood of cities to which they gave their names (Engannim, Enhasor, etc.) we may mention here: the "fountain of Daphnis" (Num., xxxiv, 11, in the Vulgate only: other texts have merely: "the fountain") identified by Robinson with 'Ain el-'Asy, the main spring of the Orontes in Cœlesyria; the "fountain which is in Jezrahel" (I Kings, xxix, 1) generally recognized in the 'Ain Jalûd, near the Little Hermon; the "fountain that is called Harad" (Judges, vii, 1), possibly the same, or 'Ain el-Meiyteh, 180 feet below 'Ain Jalûd; the "fountain of Taphua" (Jos., xvii, 7), near the city of that name; the "fountain of Jericho" or "of Eliseus" (D. V. Elisha. -- IV Kings, ii, 19, 22), 'Ain es-Sultân, to the north of Jericho; the "fountain of the Sun" (Jos., xv, 7), 'Ain el-Haûd, or Apostles' Fountain, on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho; the "fountain of the water of Nephtoa" (Jos., xv, 9), near Lifta, north-west of Jerusalem; the "source of the waters of Gihon" (II Par., xxxii, 30), 'Ain Umm ed-Derej, or, as the Christians call it, 'Ain Sitti Maryam, on the south-east slope of the Temple hill at Jerusalem; the "fountain Rogel" (Jos., xv, 7), Bîr Eiyûb in the W. en-Nâr, south of Jerusalem; the "dragon-fountain" (Neh., D. V. II Esdras, ii, 13), somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Holy City, unidentified; "The Spring of him that invoked from the jawbone" (so D. V.; A. V. Enhakkore -- Judges, xv, 19 -- rather, "the Spring of the partridge, which is in Lehy"), identified by Conder with some 'Avûn Qâre, north-west of Sor'a; the "water" where Philip baptized the eunuch of Candace (Acts, viii, 36) 'Ain ed-Dirweh, near the highroad from Jerusalem to Hebron; "the fountain of Misphat that is Cades" (A. V. "Enmishpat, which is Kadesh" -- Gen., xiv, 7) 'Ain Kedeis in the desert.
In places where the supply of water was scanty the ancient inhabitants constructed pools, either by damming up the neighbouring valley or by excavation. Of the former description were very likely the pools of Gabaon [A. V. Gibeon. -- II Kings (A. V. II Samuel), ii, 13], Hebron (II Kings, iv, 12), Samaria (III Kings, xxii, 38), Hesebon (Cant., vii, 4), and certainly the lower pool of Siloe near Jerusalem (Is., xxii, 9, 11); of the latter description are the "upper pool" of Siloe (IV Kings, xx, 20) and the famous "pools of Solomon", probably alluded to in Eccl., ii, 6, near Bethlehem. These pools, frequent in the East, are supplied either by natural drainage, or by springs, or by aqueducts bringing water from a distance.
In its climate, as well as in everything else, Palestine is a land of contrasts. At Jerusalem, which is 2500 feet above the sea level, the mean temperature of the whole year is about 63º F.; during the winter months, although the mean temperature is about 50º, the mercury occasionally plays around the freezing-point; whereas in June, July, August, and September, the average being between 70º and 75º, the thermometer sometimes rises to 100º or higher. For six or seven months there is no rain; the dry wind from the desert and the scorching sun parch the land, especially on the plateaux. The first rains generally fall aboul the beginning of November; the "latter rain", in the month of April. Plenty or famine depend particularly on the April rains. On clear nights, all the year round, there falls a copious dew; but in summer time there will be no dew if no westerly breeze, bringing moisture from the sea, springs up towards the evening. Snowfalls are only occasional during the winter, and usually they are light, and the snow soon melts; not seldom does the whole winter pass without snow (as an average, one winter in three). Owing to the neighbourhood of Lebanon and Hermon, the Upper Galilee enjoys a more temperate climate; but in the lowlands the mean temperature is much higher. Along the coast, however, it is relieved almost every evening by the breeze from the sea. In the Ghôr, the climate is tropical; harvesting, indeed, begins there in the first days of April. During the winter months, the temperature is warm in the daytime, and may fall at night to 40º; in summer the thermometer may rise in the day to 120º or 140º, and little relief may be expected from the night. "The valley concentrates the full radiance of an eastern sun rarely mitigated by any cloud, though chilled at times by the icy north winds off the snows of Lebanon and Hermon; it is parched by the south wind from the deserts of the South, yet sheltered from the moist sea breezes from the West that elsewhere so greatly temper the climate of the Holy Land" (Aids to the Bible Student). The flora and fauna of the lowest portions are accordingly similar to those of India and Ethiopia. The coast of the Dead Sea, sunken deeper than the Ghôr, has a deadly equatorial climate, perhaps the hottest in the world.
These orographic, hydrographic and climatic conditions of the Holy Land explain the variety -- wonderful, if we consider the size of the country -- of its fauna and flora. It is "a good land. . . . A land of wheat, and barley, and vineyards, wherein fig trees, and pomegranates, and olive yards grow: a land of oil and honey. Where without any want thou shalt eat thy bread, and enjoy abundance of all things" (Deut., viii, 7-9). Palestine, indeed, even now, but much more so in Biblical times, may be said fairly to repay the labour of its inhabitants. The north, on both sides of the Jordan, is a most fertile region; the plains of Esdrelon and of Saron (A. V. Sharon, except in Acts, ix, 35), the Sephelah and the Ghôr were at all times considered the granaries of the country. Even the land of Juda contains rich and pleasant dales, an ideal home for gardens, olive-groves, vineyards, and fig trees; and the high country, with the exception of the sun-baked and wind-parched desert, affords goodly pastures. (See ANIMALS IN THE BIBLE; PLANTS IN THE BIBLE.)
Palestine seems to have been inhabited about the fourth millennium b.c. by a population which may be called, without insisting upon the meaning of the word, aboriginal. This population is designated in the Bible by the general name of Nephilim, a word which, for the Hebrews, conveyed the idea of dreadful, monstrous giants (Num., xiii, 33, 34). We hear occasionally of them also as Rephaim, Enacim, Emim, Zuzim, Zamzommim, and Horites, these last, whose name means "cave-dwellers", being confined to the deserts of Idumæa. But what were the ethnological relations of these various peoples, we are not able to state. At any rate, the land must have been thinly inhabited in those early times, for about 3000 b.c. it was styled by the Egyptians "an empty land". Towards the third millennium b.c., a first Semitic Canaanite element invaded Palestine, followed, about the twenty-fifth century, by a great Semitic migration of peoples coming from the marshes of the Persian Gulf, and which were to constitute the bulk of the population of Canaan before the occupation of the land by the Hebrews. From the twentieth century b.c. onwards, Aram continued to pour on the land some of its peoples. Palestine had thus, at the time of Abraham, become thickly inhabited; its many cities, united by no bond of political cohesion, were then moving in the wake of the rulers of Babylon or Susa, although the influence of Egypt, fostered by active commercial communications, is manifest in the Canaanite civilization of that period. As a result of the battle of Megiddo, the Land of Canaan was lost to Babylon and added to the possessions of Egypt; but this change had little effect on the internal conditions of the country; administrative reports continued to be written, and business transacted, in the Cananæo-Assyrian dialect, as is shown from the Tell el-Amarna and the Ta'annak discoveries. About the same epoch the Hethites came in from the North and some of their settlements were established as far south as the valley of Juda, while the Amorrhites were taking hold of the trans-Jordanic highland. Speaking generally, when the Hebrews appeared on the banks of the Jordan and the Philistines on the Mediterranean shore (c. 1200 b.c.), the Amalecites held the Negeb, the Amorrhites the highlands east of the river, the Canaanites dwelt in the valleys and plains of the west, and some places here and there were still in possession of the aborigines. The Philistines drove the Canaanites from the coast and occupied the Sephela, whereas the Zakkala settled on the coast near Mount Carmel. We know in detail from the Bible the progress of the Hebrew conquest of the rest of the land: the remnant of the former settlers were absorbed little by little into the new race.
Needless to tell here how the different tribes, at first without any other bond of unity than that of a common origin and faith, gradually were led by circumstances to join under a common head. This political unity, however, was ephemeral and split into two rival kingdoms -- that of Israel in the north, and that of Juda in the south. The vicissitudes of these two tiny kingdoms fill several books of the Old Testament. But they were doomed to be merged into the mighty empires of the Euphrates and to share their fate. A Babylonian province in 588, a Persian satrapy after Cyrus's victories, Palestine became for a few years part of Alexander's vast dominion. At the division of his empire the Land of Israel was allotted to Seleucus, but for fifteen years was a bone of contention between Syria and Egypt, the latter finally annexing it, until, in 198 b.c., it passed by right of conquest to King Antiochus III of Syria. A short period of independence followed the rebellion of the Machabees, but finally Rome assumed over Palestine a protectorate which in time became more and more effectual and intrusive. Josephus narrates how Palestine was divided at the death of Herod; St. Luke (iii, 1) likewise describes the political conditions of the country at the beginning of Christ's public life. West of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, Palestine included Galilee, Samaria, Judea, and Idumæa (Edom); east of that river, Gaulanitis corresponded to the modern Jolan; Auranitis was the administrative name of the plateau of Jebel-Hauran; north-west of it, the Lejah formed the main part of Trachonitis; Iturea must have been the country south-east of Hermon; north of Iturea, on the banks of the upper Barâda, at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon, was situated the small, but rich, tetrarchy of Abilene; south of Iturea, between Gaulanitis and Auranitis extended Batanea; finally, under the name of Perea was designated the land across the Jordan from Pella to Moab, and westwards to the limits of Arabia, determined by the cities of Gerasa (Jerash), Philadelphia (Ammân), and Hesebon.
It is very difficult to form an estimate of the population of Palestine, so conflicting are the indications supplied by the Bible. We are told in II Kings, xxiv, 9, that in the census undertaken at David's command, there were found 1,300,000 fighting men. These figures, which may represent a total population of from 4,000,000 to 5,000,000, undoubtedly overshoot the mark. From what may be gathered in various places of Holy Writ, the figures given in II Kings might fairly represent the whole population at the beat epochs.
In the foregoing portions of this article Palestine alone has been spoken of and described. However, as has been intimated above, Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Esther, in the Old Testament, the Acts, the Epistles, and the first chapters of the Apocalypse, in the New, contain geographical indications of a much wider range. To attempt a description of all the countries mentioned would be to engage in the whole geography of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Roman empires, a task which the allusions made -- with the exception of the detailed description of the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Jordan -- would hardly justify. On the other hand, it is certain that Palestine is the theatre where most, and those the most vital, of the events of sacred history took place. The following 1ist, which gives the names of most places, within and without Palestine, mentioned in Holy Writ, briefly supplies the indications needed. From the variety of countries to which these places belonged the reader may form an idea of the range of geographical knowledge possessed by the Biblical writers, and acquired by them, either from personal experience or by hearsay.
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES IN HOLY SCRIPTURE
Many of the more important places mentioned below are subjects of special articles in THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA; where the title of such an article is identical with the local name given in the list, the reader will be referred to that article simply by the letters "q. v." (quod vide); where the special article is headed with a different name or a modified form of the same name, the cross-reference gives that name in CAPITALS AND SMALL CAPITALS. Cross-references to other titles in the list itself are given in the ordinary type.
Abana: river of Damascus. See
Lebanon.
Abarim (q.v.): mountains in N. Moab.
Abdon (Jos., xxi, 30, etc.): Khirbet Abdeh, N. of the Wâdy
el-Karn.
Abel (the great: I Kings, vi, 18) is a common name, "stone", as
the D.V. suggests in the parenthesis. --
Abel (Judges, xi, 33; Heb.
'Abél Kerãmîm), --
Abela (IV Kings, xx, 14) --
Abeldomum Maacha (III Kings, xv, 20; IV Kings, xv, 29); --
Abelmaim (II Par., xvi, 4); --
Abelmehula (Judges, vii, 23, etc.);
Abelsatim (Num., xxxiii, 49), the place where the Israelites
were enticed into the impure worship of Beelphegor; in the Ghôr E.
of the Jordan, at a short distance from the Dead Sea.
Aben-Boen (Jos., xviii, 18), also "the stone of Boen" (Jos., xv,
6): a conspicuous rock marking the limit of Juda and Benjamin between
Beth Hagla and the Ascent of Adommim.
Abes (Jos., xix, 20; Issachar): prob. Kh. eb-Beidâ, in the
plain of Esdrelon, between Nazareth and Mt. Carmel.
Abila (not mentioned in the Bible), after which Abiline was
named: Sûk Wâdy Barâda, S. of Anti-Lebanon.
Abran (Jos., xix, 28; Aser): perhaps a mistake for Abdon.
Unknown.
Accad (Achad; Akkad). See
Babylonia.
Accain (Jos., xv, 57): mtn. of Juda, Kh. Yâqîn.
Accaron (q.v.).
Accho. See
Acre.
Achazib, 1 (Jos., xix, 21; Aser): Ez-Zib, betw. Accho and Tyre.
-- 2 (Jos., xv, 44; Mich., i, 14; W. Juda): 'Ain el-Kezbeh.
Achor: a valley near Jericho, possibly Wâdy el Qelt.
Achsaph (Jos., xi, 1, etc.; Aser): prob. Kefr Yâsîf,
N.E. of Acre.
Achzib. See Achazib 2.
Acrabatane: 1. Toparchy of Judea, including region betw.
Neapolis (Naplûs) and Jericho. -- 2 (I Mach., v, 3), region of the
Ascent of Acrabim.
Acrabim (Ascent of; D.V.: "Ascent of the Scorpion"; Jos., xv, 3;
S. limit of Juda): most prob. Naqb es-Sâfâ, S.W. of the Dead
Sea, on the road from Hebron to Petra.
Acron (Jos., xix, 43). See
Accaron.
Adada (Jos., xv, 22; S. limit of Juda): 'Ad'ada, E. of Bersabee.
Adadremmon (Zach., xii, 11): in the plain of Esdrelon; in later
times, Maximianopolis (St. Jerome): Rûmmâneh, S. of
Lejûn.
Adama (Deut., xxix, 23): city of the Pentapolis.
Adami (Jos., xix, 33): also
Adam: Damîeh, S.W. of the L. of Tiberias. The Jordan may be
forded there.
Adar (Num., xxxiv, 4; Jos., xv, 3), also
Addar and
Adder: S. limit of Juda, N.W. of Cades. There is in that region
a Jebel Hadhîreh.
Adarsa (I Mach., vii, 40), also
Adazer (I Mach., vii, 45): Kh. 'Adaseh, N. of Jerusalem and E.
of El-Jib.
Adiada (I Mach., xii, 38), also
Addus, in the Sephela: Haditeh, E. of Lydda.
Adithaim (Jos., xv, 36)-- text perhaps corrupt; as it stands,
designates a place, hitherto unidentified, in the neighbourhood of
Gaza.
Adom (Jos., iii, 16): Tell-Damîeh, a little S. of the
confluence of the Jaboc and the Jordan.
Adommim: (Ascent of; Jos., xv, 7; xviii, 18), limit of Benjamin
and Juda; seems to correspond to Tal'at ed-Dûmm, on the road from
Jerusalem to Jericho, a place notorious for the thieves who lurked
round about (Luke, x, 30-35).
Adon (I Esd., ii, 59), also
Addon (II Esd., vii, 61): a city of Chaldea, the same as
Eden in Is., xxxvii, 12; Ezech., xxvii, 23.
Adrumetum (Acts, xxvii, 2): city and seaport in Mysia, over
against the island of Lesbos; mod. Adramiti or Edremid, also Ydremid.
Adullam (q.v.).
Aduram (II Par., xi, 9, S. Juda), also
Ador (I Mach., xiii, 20): Dora, W. of Hebron.
Ænon (q .v.).
Agar's Well (Gen., xvi, 14), "between Cades and Barad": Bîr
Mâyîn.
Ahalab (Judges, i, 31; Aser): poss. the same as
Mehebel (Jos., xix, 29; D.V. "from the portions"), the
Makhalliba of the third campaign of Sennacherib. Unknown.
Ahava: stream, or perhaps canal, in Babylonia, possibly not far
W. of Babylon.
Ahion (III Kings, xv, 20, etc.), also
Aion (IV Kings, xv, 29): the name seems to be preserved in Merj
'Ayûn, between the valley of the Leontes and that of the upper
Jordan. The site was possibly Tell-Dibbîn, or Khiam, a near-by
place.
Aialon, 1 (Jos., x, 12 etc.) town and valley:
Yâlô, W. N.W. of Jerusalem, E. of Amwâs. —
2 (Judges, xii, 12; Zabulon): Kh. Jalîm, E. of Acre.
Ai: D.V. for Hai.
Aiath (Is., x, 28): the same as Hai.
Aila, Ailath: the same as Elath.
Ain (Jos., xix, 7; Juda), also called
En,-Rimmon: Kh. Umm er-Rummânîm, N. of Bersabee, on
the road to Beit-Jibrîn.
Alexandria (q.v.).
Alima (I Mach., v, 26): poss. Kh. 'Ilma.
Almath (I Par., vi, 60: Heb. 45) also
Almon (Jos., xxi, 18), in Benjamin: Kh. 'Almith, N.E. of
Jerusalem, between Jebâ and Anâtâ.
Alus (Num., xxxiii, 13), encampment of the Israelites on their
way to Sinai: poss. Wâdy el-'Ech, N.W. of Jebel Mûsa.
Amaad (Jos., xix, 26; Aser): Kh. el-'Amud, N. of Acre, or Umm
el-'Amed, W. of Bethlehem of Zabulon.
Amam (Jos., xv, 26; S. Juda). Unidentified.
Amana (Cant., iv, 8): poss. the same as Mt. Hor of the N.
Amma (Jos., xix, 30; Aser): perhaps 'Alma esh-Shâ'ûb,
W. of the Scala Tyriorum (Râs en-Nâqûra).
Amona (Ezech., xxxix, 6): if we should see in it the name of a
town, might stand for Legio-Mageddo, mod. El-Lejûn.
Amosa (Jos., xviii, 26; Benjamin): either Qolonieh (so Talmud),
or Beit-Mizzeh, N. of Qolonieh.
Amphipolis (Acts, xviii, 1): in Macedonia, 30 m. from Philippi;
mod. Jenikoei.
Amthar (Jos., xix, 13; Zabulon): prob. not a proper name, seems
to mean "turns towards".
Ana: a town in Babylonia, on the Euphrates, possibly 'Anah.
Anab (Jos., xi, 21): mount. of Juda, once belonging to the
Enacim; Kh. 'Anab, S. of Beit-Jibrîn.
Anaharath (Jos., xix, 19); Issachar); Egypt.: Anuhertu:
En-Na'ûra, N.E. of Zerâ'în.
Anania (II Esd., ii, 32; Benjamin): Beit-Hanîna, N. of
Jerusalem.
Anathoth (q.v.).
Anem (I Par., vi, 73, Heb., 58; Issachar), perhaps a contraction
for Engannim, which stands in the same place, Jos., xix, 21. However,
poss. 'Anîm, S. of Lejûn.
Aner (I Par., vi, 70; Heb. 55; W. Manasses), perhaps a
corruption for Thanach of Jos., xxi, 25; poss. also 'Ellar, N.W. of
Sebastiyeh.
Ange (Judith, ii, 12), a mount, in Cappadocia: Erjias.
Anim (Jos., xv, 50; mount. of Juda): Kh. Ghuwein.
Antioch: 1. Of Pisidia. -- 2. Of Syria (q.v.).
Antipatris (q.v.).
Apadno (Dan., xi, 45); doubtful as a proper name.
Apamea (Judith, iii, 14), country and city of Syria: Qal 'at
el-Mudhiq.
Aphaerema (I Mach., xi, 34; not in the Vulg.), one of the
toparchies of Juda: see Ephraim.
Aphara (Jos., xviii, 23; Benjamin), commonly identified with
Tell el-Fârah, S.E. of Beitîn.
Aphec 1 (Jos., xii, 18; N.W. Juda): poss. Merj-Fikieh (Conder).
-- 2 (Jos., xix, 30, etc.; Aser). Unknown. -- 3 (I Kings, iv, 1;
Benjamin): perhaps Qastûl. -- 4 (I Kings, xxix, 1; Issachar):
El-'Afûleh, N.W. of Zerâ 'în. -- 5 (III Kings, xx, 26,
etc.) Assyr.:
Apqu: prob. Fîq, E. of the L. of Tiberias.
Apheca, 1 (Jos., xiii, 4): Afkâ, N.E. of Beirût. -- 2
(Jos., xv, 53; mount. of Juda), Egypt.: Apuken: prob. Fuqîn, W. of
Bethlehem.
Apollonia (Acts, xvii, 1), in Mygdonia, a prov. of Macedonia:
mod. Pollina.
Appiiforum (Acts, xxviii, 15), 43 m. S.E. of Rome, on the Appian
Way, on the edge of the Pontine Marshes.
Ar, Ar Moab (Num., xxi, 15, etc.) N. of Moab, and S. of the
river Arnon; some suggest Rabba; others Umm er-Resâs; others
Mûhâtet el-Haj.
Arab (Jos., xv, 52; mount. of Juda), also
Arbi (II Kings, xxiii, 25): Kh. er-Râbîyeh, W. of
Ziph.
Arach, 1 (Gen., x, 10), cuneif.
Arku, a town in Babylonia. Warka, on the left bank of the
Euphrates, 125 m. S.E. of Babylon. -- 2. See Archi.
Arad (q.v.).
Arada, a station of the Israelites in their journey between
Sinai and Cades. Unknown.
Arama, 1 (Jos., xix, 36; Nephtali): Rameh, N.W. of the L. of
Tiberias. -- 2 (I Kings, xxx, 30). See Horma.
Ararat. See
Ark.
Arbatis (I Mach., v, 23); doubtful whether it is a district or a
city. Unknown.
Arbee. See
Hebron.
Arbella (I Mach., ix, 2), according to Josephus, in Galilee, in
the neighbourhood of Sepphoris; prob. Kh. 'Irbid, W. of the L. of
Tiberias.
Archi seems rather a gentile name, derived from Arach, Erek, or
Erech, 'Ain 'Arîk, between Beitîn and Beit Ur.
Arebba (Jos., xv, 60; mount. of Juda): Kh. Rebba S.W. of
Jerusalem, near Beit Nettîf(?).
Arecon (Jos., xix, 46; Dan): Tell er-Raqqeit, N. of Jaffa.
Areopolis, Greek name of Ar Moab.
Ariel (Is., xxix, 1, 2), symbolical name of Jerusalem: "city of
God".
Arimathea. See Rama.
Arnon, river of Moab: Wâdy el-Môjib.
Aroer, 1 (Deut., ii, 36, etc.; Moab. S., l. 26): 'Arâ'ir,
N. of the Arnon river. -- 2 (Judges, xi, 33), "over against Rabba", i.
e. E. of Ammân. Unknown. -- 3 (I Kings, xxx, 28; S. Juda), Egypt.:
Har-horar: 'Ar'ârah, E.S.E. of Bersabee.
Arpad A. V. for Arphad.
Arphad (IV Kings, xviii, 34, etc.), Assyr.:
Arpaddu: Tell 'Erfâd, 12 m. N. of Aleppo.
Aruboth (III Kings, iv, 10), poss. Wâdy Arrûb, near
Bersabee.
'Arûmah (Judges, ix, 31; D.V.: "privately"), a proper name:
perhaps El-'Orme, S. of Naplûs.
'Asal (Zach., xiv, 5; D.V.: "the next"). A proper name is
demanded by the context: perhaps the Wady 'Asûl, S. of Jerusalem.
Asan. (Jos., xv, 42, etc.; Juda): poss. 'Aseileh (?) between
Bersabee and Hebron.
Asaramel (I Mach., xiv, 27); wrongly given as a proper name;
either some court, or a title of Simon: "prince of the people of God".
Asasonthamar. See
Engaddi.
Ascalon. See
Philistines.
Asem (Jos., xv, 29, etc.; S. Juda), also
Asom (I Par., iv, 29). Unknown.
Asemona (Num., xxxiv, 4; Jos., xv, 14; S. Juda): poss. 'Ain
Qaseimeh, W. of Cades.
Asena (Jos., xv, 33, plain of Juda): perhaps 'Aslîn; perh.
Kefr Hâsan.
Aser (q.v.) 1 (Jos., xvii, 7; W. Manasses). -- 2 (Tob., i, 2;
Nephtali) poss. the same as Asor 1.
Asergadda (Jos., xv, 27; S. Juda). Unidentified.
Ashdod, A.V. for Azotus.
Asiongaber (q.v.).
Asor, 1 (Jos., xi, 1, etc.; Nephtali), also
Hasor, Heser. Egypt.:
Huzar: the site seems to have been in the neighbourhood of L.
Hûleh, but its exact location is the object of great discussions.
-- 2 (Jos., xv, 23; S. Juda). Unknown; perhaps connected with Jebel
Hâdhîreh, N.E. of Cades.-- 3 (Jos., xv, 25; S. Juda).
Unknown. -- 4 (II Esd., xi, 33, Benjamin), poss. Kh. Hazzûr, N. of
Jerusalem.
Asphar (I Macb., ix, 33), a pool in the desert of Thecue, perh.
Bîr ez-Zã'ferâneh.
Assedim (Jos., xix, 35; Nephtali). Some: Hattin el-Kedim;
others: Es-Sattîyeh; perhaps not a proper name.
Asson, 1 (Acts, xx, 13, 14), seaport in Mysia: Behram Kalessi.
-- 2 (Acts, xxvii, 13); not a proper name, but compar. of
agchi, "near".
Astaroth (Deut., i, 4, etc.), capital of Og, king of Basan: Tell
Astâra, in Hauran.
Astarothcarnaim (Gen., xiv, 5), prob. Tell As'âri, in
Hauran.
Ataroth, 1 (Num., xxxii, 1, etc.; Moab. S., l. 10; Moab):
Khirbet 'Attarus, S. of the Wâdy Zerqâ. Ma'în. -- 2
(Jos., xvi, 2; S. Ephraim), also
Ataroth Addar (Jos., xvi, 5; xviii, 13); some: Atâra, S. of
El-Bireh; others: Kh. ed-Darieh, near Lower Bethoron. -- 3 (Jos., xvi,
7; E. Ephraim), poss. Tell et-Trûny (Conder).
Athach (I Kings xxx, 30), possibly the same as Ether.
Athar. See Ether.
Athens (q.v.).
Athmatha (Jos., xv, 54; mount. of Juda). Unidentified.
Athrôth bêth Yô'áb (I Par., ii, 54; D.V.:
"the crowns of the house of Joab"), name of a place. Site unknown.
Attalia (q .v.).
Ava (IV Kings, xvii, 24, etc.), also
Avah, a Babylonian city conquered by the Assyrians. Possibly
Hit, on the right bank of the Euphrates.
Avim (Jos., xviii, 23, Benjamin). Some identify it with Hai.
Otherwise unknown.
Avith (Gen xxxvi, 35; Edom), perhaps in the neighbourhood of the
Jebel el-Ghuweiteh, E. of the Dead Sea.
Avoth Jair (III Kings, iv, 13). See Havoth Jair.
Axaph. See Achsaph.
'Ayephîm (II Kings, xvi, 14; D.V.: "weary"), possibly,
rather, a place E. of Bahurim.
Aza (I Par., vii, 28; N.W. of Ephraim). Unknown.
Azanotthabor (Jos., xix, 34; Neplitali), in the neighbourhood of
Mt. Thabor. Unknown.
Azeca (Jos., x; 10, etc.; plain of Juda), in the environs of
Tell Zakarîyah. No agreement as to the exact identification.
Azmaveth (I Esd., ii, 24): Hizmeh, N. of Anita.
Azotus (q.v.).
Baal (I Par., iv, 33), probably identical with
Baalath Beer Ramath (Jos., xix, 8; Simeon), poss. Biâr
Mãyîn, or Tell el-Lekiyeh, N. of Bersabee.
Baala, 1 (Jos., xv, 9, etc.; Juda) old name of Cariathiarim. --
2 (Jos., xv, 29, etc.; S. Juda), also
Bala; perhaps Kh. Umm-Baghle, N.E. of Bersabee.
Baalam (I Par., vi, 70; Heb. 55; W. Manasses), also
Balaam; possibly
Jeblaam (Jos., xvii, 11): Bir Bel'ameh, S. of Jenîn.
Baalath (Jos., xix, 44; N. Dan), also
Balaath (II Par., viii, 6), prob. Bel'ain, N.W. of Beit Ur.
Baalath Beer Ramath. See Baal.
Baalbek (q.v.).
Baalgad (Jos., xi, 17, etc.), at the foot of Mt. Hermon:
Baniyas.
Baal Hamon (Cant., viii, 11; D.V. "that which hath people"),
poss. identical with Balamon (Judith, viii, 3); perh. Kh. Bel'ameh S.
of Jenîn.
Baalhasor (II Kings, xiii, 23), poss. Tell 'Asûr, N.E. of
Beitîn.
Baal Hermom (Judges, iii, 3, etc.). Whether it is a city or a
mountain is doubtful; supposed to be the same as Baalgad.
Baalmeon (Jos., xvii, 17, etc.), also
Baalmaon, Beelmeon, Bethmaon: Tell Mã'în, S.W. of
Madâba.
Baal Peor, A.V. for Beelphegor.
Baal Pharasim (II Kings, v, 20), in the neighbourhood of the
Valley of Raphaim, S. of Jerusalem.
Baal Salisa (IV Kings, iv, 42): prob. Kh. Sarîsia, 15 m.
N.E. of Lydda.
Baalthamar (Judges, xx, 33; Benjamin), N.W. of Gabaa, about Kh.
Adase.
Babylon. See
Babylonia.
Bahurim (II Kings, iii, 16, etc.), on the slope of Mt. Olivet,
poss. Kh. ez-Zambi, or Kh. Buqei'dan.
Bala, 1 (Gen., xiv, 2). See Segor. -- 2. See Baala 2.
Balaam. See Baalam.
Balaath. See Baalath.
Baloth (Jos., xv, 24; S. Juda), poss. identical with Baalath
Beer Ramath. Otherwise unknown.
Bamoth (Num., xxi, 19; Moab). Site unknown, between
Dîbân and Mâ'în.
Bamothbaal (Jos., xiii, 17), prob. the same.
Bane (Jos., xix, 45; Dan), also
Bane Barach; Assyr.:
Banaaibarqa; prob.
'Ibn-'Ibrãk, E. of Jaffa.
Banias. See
CÆsarea Philippi.
Barach. See Bane.
Barad (Gen., xvi): Umm e1-Bãred, S.E. of Cades.
Barasa (I Mach., v, 26): Bosra, in the Hauran.
Basan (Deut., iii, 4), a region S. of the Plain of Damascus; at
first the Kingdom of Og, then given to the tribe of Manasses.
Bascama (I Mach., xiii, 23), perh. Tell-Bãzûk, in
Jolan.
Bascath (Jos., xv, 39; plain of Juda), somewhere around Lachis.
Unknown.
Bashan, A.V. for Basan.
Bathuel (I Par., iv, 30; Simeon). See Bethul.
Baziothia (Jos., xv, 28; S. Juda), an unidentified city in the
neighbourhood of Bersabee unless the text is Corrupt.
Beelmeon. See Baalmeon.
Beelphegor (q.v.).
Beelsephon (Ex., xiv, 2); Egypt.: Bali Sapûna. If a
mountain, poss. Jebel 'Attâka, S.W. of Suez.
Beer (Num., xxi, 16; D.V.: "the well"), prob. in the Wâdy
Themed, S.S.E. of Madâba.
Beer Elim (Is., xv, 8; D.V.: "the well of Elim"); the same as
Beer.
Belamon. See Baal Hamon.
Belma. See Baal Hamon.
Belmen (Judith, iv, 4 omitt. in Vulg.), between Bethoron and
Jericho.
Benejaacan (Num., xxxiii, 31), Bîrein, north of Cades.
Benennom (II Par., xxviii, 3), valley S. of Jerusalem. See
Jerusalem.
Beon (Num., xxxii, 3). See Baalmeon.
Bera (Judges, ix, 21), prob. El-Bîreh, N. of Jerusalem.
Berdan (Gen., xxi, 32; D.V.: "well of oath"), Tell el-Qady,
W.S.W. of Bersabee.
Berea (I Mach., ix, 4), commonly identified with El-Bîreh.
Berœa (q.v.).
Beromi (II Kings, xxiii, 31), the same as Bahurim.
Beroth (q.v.)
Berotha (II Kings, viii, 8), Bereitân, S. of Baalbek.
Bersabee (q.v.).
Besecath (IV Kings, xxii, 1). See Bascath.
Besor, a river S.W. of Gaza, prob. Wâdy esh-Sherî'a.
Bessur (Jos., xv, 58). See Bethsur.
Betane (Judith, i, 9; omitt. in Vulg.), a name poss. misspelled,
points to a place S. of Jerusalem.
Bete (II Kings, viii, 8; I Par., xviii, 8, has Thebath),
possibly Tãyibeh, on the road from Hamath to Aleppo; or more prob.
Tãyibeh, S. of Baalbek.
Beten (Jos., xix, 25; Aser): El-Bãneh, E. of Acre.
Bethabara. See
Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
Bethacad (IV Kings, x, 12; D.V.: "shepherd's cabin"), more prob.
a proper name: Beit Qãd, betw. Mt. Gelboe and Jenîn.
Bethacarem (Jer., vi, 1; II Esd., iii, 14; Juda), also
Bethacharam. Unknown; supposed to be some place on the Jebel
el-Fureidis, S.E. of Bethlehem.
Bethanan (III Kings, iv, 9; Benjamin), perhaps Beit
'Ãnân, W. of Nebi Samwîl.
Bethanath (Jos., xix, 38; Nephtali), prob. 'Ainîta, near
Cades of Nephtali.
Bethany (q.v.).
Bethanoth (Jos., xv, 59; mount. of Juda), Kh. Beit'Anun, N.E. of
Hebron.
Betharaba (Jos., xv, 6, etc.; E. of Juda), unknown; must have
been in the neighbourhood of Jericho.
Betharam (Jos., xiii, 27). See
Betharan.
Betharan (q.v.).
Beth Arbel (Osee, x, 14; D.V. "the house of him that judgeth
Baal"), prob. the same place as Arbella.
Bethaven (Gen., xii, 8): poss. Kh, Haiyân, also called
El-Jîr, E. of Beitîn. -- I Kings, xiii, 5,
Bethoron should probably be read instead of
Bethaven.
Bethazmoth (I Esd., ii, 24). See Azmaveth.
Beth Baal Meon (Moabite Stone, line 30). See Baalmeon.
Bethbera (Judges, vii, 24), a ford of the Jordan, either N. of
the confluence of the W. Jalûd, or in the neighbourhood of
Jericho.
Bethberai (I Par., iv, 31; Simeon), poss. Bîrein, betw.
Cades and Khalasa.
Bethbessen (I Mach., ix, 62), prob. the same place as Beth
Hagla.
Bethchar (I Kings, xvii, 11), an unknown place in the
neighbourhood of Maspha of Benjamin.
Bethdagon (q.v.).
Beth Deblathaim (Jer., xlviii, 22; D.V.: "the house of
Deblathaim"; Moabite Stone, line 30). See Deblathaim.
Beth Eden (Amos, i, 5; Lebanon). Some: Jusieh el-Kadimeh;
others: Beit el-Jaune, between Banîyas and Damascus.
Bethel, 1 see s.v. -- 2 (Jos., xii, 16; Simeon) another name for
Bethul.
Bethemec (Jos., xix, 27; Aser), prob. 'Amqâ, N.E. of Acre.
Bether (Cant., ii, 17; mount. of Juda), Kb. Bettîr, S.W. of
Jerusalem, the last stronghold of the Jewish rebels in the second
century.
Beth Esel (Mich i, 11: D.V. "the house adjoining"), perhaps the
same place as Asal (Zach., xiv, 5); some place it E. of Mt. Olivet;
some others S. of Jerusalem; some, finally, in the Sephela.
Bethgader (I Par., ii, 51). See Gader.
Bethgamul (Jer., xlviii, 23; Moab), Kh. Jemãîl, N.E.
of Dibân.
Beth-Haggan (IV Kings, ix, 27; D.V.: "gardenhouse"), prob. the
same as Engannim, i.e. Jenîn.
Beth Hagla (Jos., xv, 6, etc.; Benjamin): Qasr Hajlâ, S.E.
of Jericho.
Beth Hammerhaq (II Kings, xv, 17; D.V. "afar off from the
house") likely the name of some place in the Cedron Valley.
Bethjesimoth (Jos., xiii, 30), Bethsimoth (Num., xxxiii, 49),
Kh. Suweimeh, in the Ghôr, 1¼ m. N. of the Dead Sea, 2 m. E.
of the Jordan.
Beth Le 'ãphrah (Mich. i, 10; D.V.: "the house of Dust"),
el-Thaiyebeh, N.E. of Beitin.
Beth Lebã'ôth (Jos., xv, 32), perhaps the same as
Bethberai.
Bethlehem (q.v.).
Bethmaacha. See Abel.
Bethmaon. See Baalmeon.
Bethmarchaboth (Jos., xix, 5; S. Simeon; Jos., xv, 31, has
Medemena). If we should distinguish, Bethmarchaboth might poss. be
El-Merqeb, S.W. of the S. end of the Dead Sea.
Beth Millo (Judges, ix, 6), probably some stronghold in the
neighbourhood of Sichem, perhaps Kh. ed-Duãrah, S. of
Nãplûs.
Bethnemra (Num., xxxii, 36, etc.), Tell-Nimrîn, on the
Wâdy Nimrîn.
Bethoron, two cities of Ephraim, about 12 m. N.W. of Jerusalem:
Upper Bethoron, Beit 'Ur el-Fôqâ, to the E.; and Lower
Bethoron, Beit Ur el-Tahtâ, to the W. -- In I Mach., iv, 29,
Bethsur should be read instead of Bethoron.
Bethphage (Matt., xxi, 1; Luke, xix, 29), on Mt. Olivet, near
the road from Jerusalem to Jericho; poss. Habalat el-'Amîrã,
or Kehf Abu Laiân.
Bethphalet (Jos., xv, 27; II Esd., xi, 26; S. Juda). Also
Bethphelet. Unknown.
Bethpheses (Jos., xix, 21; Issachar), in the neighbourhood of
Jenîn. Unknown.
Bethphogor (Deut., iii, 29, D.V. "temple of Phogor"; A.V.
Bethpeor), prob. an abbreviation for
Beth Beelphegor. See
Beelehegor.
Bethsaida (q.v.).
Bethsames, 1 (Jos., xv, 10, etc.; Dan); also
Bethsemes (I Par., vi, 59): 'Ain-Shems, 15 m. W. of Jerusalem.
-- 2 (Jos., xix, 22; Issachar), possibly 'Ain esh-Shemsiyeh, S. of
Beisân; or Kh. Shemsin, S. of the L. of Tiberias. -- 3 (Jos., xix,
38; Nephtali), perhaps Kh. Shem'â (?), W. of Sãfed.
Bethsan (q.v.).
Bethsetta (Judges, vii, 23), possibly Shuttah, N .W. of
Beisân.
Bethsimoth. See Bethjesimoth.
Bethsur, Bethsura (Jos., xv, 58, etc.; mount. of Juda),
Beit-Sûr, N. of Hebron.
Beththaphua (Jos., xv, 53; mount, of Juda), Taffuh, W. of
Hebron.
Bethul (Jos., xix, 4, etc.; Simeon), perhaps Beit-Ulã, N.W.
of Hebron (doubtful).
Bethulia (q.v.).
Bethzachara (I Mach., vi, 32, 33): Beit-Skâria, S.W. of
Bethlehem.
Bethzecha (I Mach., vii, 19), a much controverted site. Some
think that it is the hill of Bezetha, which was enclosed within the
walls of Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa.
Betomesthaim (Judith, iv, 6; omitt. in Vulg.): Kh. Umm
el-Bothmeh, S. of Jenîn.
Betonim (Jos., xiii, 26; Gad): Batneh, 4 m. S. of Es-Salt.
Bezec, 1 (Judges, i, 4), possibly Bezqâh, S.E. of Lydda;
some, however, think the text corrupt, and would read Azeca. -- 2 (I
Kings, xi, 18; Issachar): Kh. 'Ibzîq, on the road from Naplûs
to Beisân.
Bokim (Judges, ii, 1, 5), unknown place near or at Bethel.
Bosor, 1 (Deut., iv, 43, etc.; Moab. S., l. 27), prob.
Qesûr el-Besheir, S.W. of Dibân. -- 2 (I Mach., v, 26, 36),
very likely Busr el-Harîrî, in the Ledjah. -- 3 (I Mach., v,
28): Bosra in Hauran. See
Bostra.
Bosphorus (Abd., 20). So Vulg. and the versions thereof, for
Sepharad.
Bosra, 1 (Is., lxiii, 1; Edom): Buseireh, S. of the Dead Sea. --
2 (Jos., xxi, 27), mistranslation for Astaroth. -- 3 (Jer., xlviii,
24): Bosor, 1.
Bubastus (Ezech., xxx, 17), Egypt.:
Pi-Beset; Tell el-Basta, N.E. of Cairo.
Cabseel (Jos., xv, 21; S. Juda). Unknown.
Cabul (Jos., xix, 27; Aser): Kabûl, S.E. of Acre.
Cademoth (Deut., ii, 26, etc.), also
Cedimoth. Seems to have been N. of the Arnon; poss. Umm
Ressâs.
Cades (q.v.).
Cadumim (Judges, v, 21), perhaps not a proper name; possibly
also a corrupt. of the text for Cades: "torrent of Cades" (of
Nephtali), another name for the Cison.
Cæsarea. See
CÆsarea PalÆstinÆ; C.
Philippi.
Calano (Gen., x, 10; Is., x, 9; Amos, vi, 2), in S. Babylonia,
perhaps mod. Zerghûl.
Caleb Ephrata (II Par., ii, 24). So Heb.; most probably Sept.
and Vu1g. are right in translating: "Caleb went to Ephrata".
Camon (Judges, x, 5), a town E. of the Jordan, in the
neighbourhood of Pella: Qimeim or Tabekat-Fakîl.
Cana (q.v.).
Canath (Num., xxxii, 42). See
Canatha.
Caphara (Jos., ix, 17, etc.; Benjamin), also
Caphira, Cephira: Kh. Kefîreh, W. of Nebi Samwîl.
Capharnaum (Matt., iv, 13, etc.), on the L. of Tiberias;
identified by some with Tell Hûm, on the W. shore; by others with
Minieh, S.W. of Tell Hûm.
Capharsalama (I Mach., vii, 31) was likely near Jerusalem.
Unknown.
Carcaa (Jos., xv, 3; S. Juda); W. of Cades. Unknown.
Carehim (I Par., xii, 6) is not, as would seem at first sight, a
place-name, but a gentile name.
Carem (q.v.).
Cariath (Jos., xviii, 28; Benjamin), prob. for Cariathiarim.
Cariathaim, 1 (Gen., xiv, 5, etc.): Qreiyat, 10 m. S.W. of
Madaba. -- 2 (I Par., vi, 76; Nephtali). Unknown. jos., xxi, 32, has
Carthan, instead of Cariathaim.
Cariatharbe. See
Hebron.
Cariathbaal. See Cariathiarim.
Cariath Chuzoth (Num., xxii, 39), a place between the Arnon and
Bamothbaal. Unidentified.
Cariathiarim (N.W. Juda), also called
Cariathbaal, Cariath: Qaryet el-'Enâb, or Abu-Gosh, W. of
Jerusalem.
Cariathsenna. (Jos., xv, 49). See Dabir 1.
Cariathsepher (Jos., xv, 15; Judges, i, 12). See Dabir 1.
Carioth, 1 (Jos., xv, 25; S. Juda), rather
Carioth Hesron, the birthplace of Judas, "the man of Carioth":
Kh. el-Qureitein, S. of Hebron. -- 2 (Amos, ii, 2; Jer. xlviii, 24, 41;
Moabite Stone, 1. 13; Moab): prob. Er-Rabbâh.
Carmel (Jos., xv, 55; I Kings, xv, 12, etc.; S. Juda):
El-Kermel, S. of Hebron.
Carnaim (I Mach., v, 26, etc.; Transjord.), the same, according
to some, as Astarothcarnaim; others identify it with
Sheikh-Sãâd, near Astarothcarnaim.
Carnion (II Mach., xii, 21, 26). Many identify it with Carnaim;
some with Qrein, in the Ledjah.
Cartha (Jos., xxi, 34; Zabulon), poss. Kh. Qîreh.
Carthan (Jos., xxi, 32), perhaps another name for Cariathaim 2.
Casaloth (Jos., xix, 8; Issachar), most probably the same as
Ceseleth-Thabor.
Casbon (I Mach., v, 36), very likely identical with
Casphin (II Mach., xii, 13): Khisfîn, N.of the Yarmûk,
and E. of the L. of Tiberias.
Casphin. See Casbon.
Casphor (I Mach., v, 26), the same as Casbon.
Cateth (Jos., xix, 15; Zabulon), also
Cathed, probably to be identified with Cartha.
Cauda (Acts, xxvii, 16; A.V. Clauda), a small island where St.
Paul landed after leaving Crete; most probably the island of Gaudo, S.
of Crete, although some, though with little reason, would have it to be
the island of Gozo, near Malta.
Cedes (q.v.).
Cedimoth (Jos., xiii, 18). See Cademoth.
Cedron, 1 (1 Mach., xv, 39; xvi, 9), prob. Qatra, S.E. of
Yebnâ and S.W. of 'Aqîr -- 2 A torrent E. of Jerusalem:
Wâdy Sitti Maryam. See
Jerusalem.
Ceelatha (Num., xxxiii, 22), station of the Israelites on their
journey from Sinai to Cades; prob. Contellet Qureyeh.
Ceila (Jos., xv, 44, etc.; middle of Juda): Kh. Qîlâ,
N.W. of Hebron.
Celesyria (or Cœle-Syria. -- I Mach., x, 69, etc.), the
valley between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon: El-Beqâ'a.
Cellon (Judges, ii, 13), perhaps the country watered by the
Chalos river (Nahr Kuãik), which flows through Aleppo.
Cenchrœ (Acts, xviii, 18; A.V. Cenchrea), seaport of
Corinth.
Cenereth, Ceneroth. See
Genesareth.
Cenezites, a clan named among the inhabitants of Palestine in
patriarchal times (Gen., xv, 19); their original settlements were
probably in Mt. Seir (Edom).
Cenneroth. See
Genesareth.
Cephira (I Esd., ii, 25; II Esd., vii, 29). See Caphara.
Cerethi (I Kings, xxx, 14, etc.); a tribe settled on the S.
border of Canaan, and closely associated with the Philistines. Some
think it originated in Crete.
Ceseleth-thabor (Jos., xix, 12): 'Iksâl, W. of Mt. Thabor.
Cesil (Joe., xv, 30), a mistaken form for Bethul.
Cesion (Jos., xix. 20; xxi, 28), See
Cedes.
Cethlis (Jos., xv, 40; plain of Juda). Unknown.
Chabul (III Kings, ix, 13), name which seems to be ironical:
"thorn land", given by Hiram, King of Tyre, to the twenty cities of
Galilee handed over to him by Solomon; these cities very likely
belonged to N. Aser and Nephtali.
Chalane (Gen., x, 10, etc.). See Calano.
Chaldee. See
Babylonia.
Chale (Gen., x, 11, 12), city in the neigbbourhood of Ninive;
Assyr.: Kalhu or Kalah: Nimrûd, at the confluence of the Tigris
and the Upper Zab.
Chali (Jos., xix, 25; Aser): prob. Kh. 'A1ya, N.E. of Acre.
Chamaam (Jer., xli, 17), name of a caravanserai in the
neighbourhood of Bethlehem. Site unidentified.
Chanath (Num., xxxii, 42). See
Canatha.
Characa (II Mach., xii, 17; Transjord.). Some: El-Harâk,
N.W. of Bosra; others: Arâq el-'Emîr, also El-Kerak. Perhaps
not a proper name.
Charan, 1 (Judges, v, 9; Acts, vii, 2, 4). See Haran. -- 2
(Tob., xi, 1). The Greek
Textus Receptus gives here no place-name. Impossible to
determine the true reading.
Charcamis. See
Hethites.
Chasphia (I Esd., viii, 17), town or region inhabited by an
important colony of exiled Jews. Unknown.
Chebbon (Jos., xv, 40; Juda): El-Qubeibeh, S.W. of
Eleutheropolis.
Chebron (I Mach., v, 65), for HEBRON.
Chellus (Judith, i, 9; omitt. in Vulg.), prob. Khalasah, S.W. of
Bersabee and N. of Cades.
Chelmad (Ezech., xxvii, 23); poss. a town; in that case might be
Chelmadeh, near Bagdad; or a region -- Carmania; possibly also might be
translated "as a disciple."
Chelmon (Judith, vii, 3, in Greek only), a town near Bethulia,
likely Te11-Qaimûn, E. of Mt. Carmel; or Kumieh, between the
Little Hermon and Mount Gelboe.
Chene (Ezech., xxvii, 23). The Heb. has
Kalneh. See Calano.
Cherub (I Esd., ii, 59; II Esd., vii, 61); the complete name was
Cherub Addon-Immer. Unknown.
Cheslon (Joe., xv, 10; N.W. Juda). Keslâ.
Chobar, a river in "the land of the Chaldeans", commonly
identified with the mod. Chabûr; but the names have roots
absolutely different, and the position seems unsatisfactory. Perhaps we
should see here one of the canals with which Babylonia was seamed,
poss. the Nahr Malcha, or King's Canal, of Nabuchodonosor.
Chorazin, A.V. for Corozain.
Chub (Ezech., xxx, 5). Great divergences exist as to its
identification. Some suggest Cobe, near the Indian Ocean; others
Chobat, in Mauretania, or Cobion, in Mareotica; both these opinions are
most unlikely. It has also been proposed to correct the text and read
Lûb (Libya); not probable. One Heb. MS. has
Kenûb (Egypt.
Keneb, i.e. S. Egypt). Nothing can be said with certainty.
Chun (I Par., xviii, 8). In the parallel text of II Kings, viii,
8, instead of Chun, we find Berothai. If Chun was a distinct city, it
might be recognized in Kûnâ, S.W. of Baalbek.
Chus (Judith, vii, 8; omitt. in Vulg.): poss. Qûzâ, 5
m. S. of Naplûs.
Cibsaim (Jos., xxi, 22; Ephraim), perhaps the same as Jecmaam (I
Par., vi, 68). Tell el-Qabans, near Bethel, has also been suggested,
but the identification is very doubtful.
Cina (Jos., xv, 22; S. Juda). Unknown.
Cineans (Gen., xv, 19, etc.), a clan closely allied to Israel,
perhaps also to the Madianites. Its home seems to have been in the S.
of Juda; however, we see in Judges, iv, 11, that Heber the Cinean dwelt
in the plain of Esdrelon.
Clauda A.V. for Cauda.
Coa (Ezech., xxiii, 23); Assyr.:
Ku (tu) or
Gu (tu) perhaps the same word as rendered in Hebrew
Gõyîm, Gen. xiv, 1. A country in the neighbourhood of
Babylonia and Elam. Unidentified.
Colossae (q.v.).
Corinth (q.v.).
Corozain (Matt. xi, 21; Luke, x, 13), prob. Kh. Kerâzeh, N.
of the L. of Tiberias.
Cos (I Mach., xv, 23; Acts, xxi, 1), an island in the Ægean
Sea: mod. Stanko.
Culon (Jos., xv, 59, in Greek; omitt. in Heb. and Vulg.; Juda)
prob. Qoloniyeh.
Cutha (IV Kings, xvii, 24); cuneif.
Gudua, Gudu, Kutu; identif. with Tell Ibrahim, N.E. of Babylon.
Cyprus (q.v.).
Cyrene (q.v.).
Dabereth (Jos., xix, 21, etc.; Zabulon), Deburîyeh, W., and
at the foot of Mt. Thabor.
Dabir, 1 (Jos., xi, 22, etc.; S. Juda) the same as
Cariathsenna and
Cariathsepher: most prob. Darherîyeh, S.S.W. of Hebron. --
2 (Jos., xv, 7; N. Juda): poss. Toghret ed-Debr.
Dalmanutha (Mark, viii, 10): perhaps El-De1hamîyeh, S. of
the L. of Tiberias, on the left bank of the Jordan.
Damascus (q.v.).
Damna (Jos., xxi, 35; Zabulon; in the parallel passage, I Par.,
vi, 77, Heb. 62, Remmono). The true name is doubtful; poss.
Rummâneh, N. of Nazareth.
Dan (q.v.).
Danna (Jos., xv, 49: mount. of Juda). Unknown.
Daphca (Num., xxxiii, 12, 13,) station of the Israelites on
their journey from the Red Sea to Sinai: poss. Tabacca, near the
Wâdy Lebweh.
Daphne (II Mach., iv, 33), a sacred grove and shrine near
Antioch of Syria.
Dathema (I Mach., v, 9; Transjord.), either Er-Remtheh, or
E1-Hosn, S.W. of the Yarmûk.
Debbaseth (Jos., xix, 11; Zabulon). Some: Jebâta, S.W. of
Nazareth; others: Kh. ed-Dabsheh, or Zebdâh.
Debera (Jos., xv, 7). See Dabir 2.
Deblatha (Ezech., vi, 14), in the land of Emath; prob. the same
as Reblatha (Jer., xxxix, 5, 6).
Deblathaim (Jer., xlviii, 22; D.V.: "house of Deblathaim";
Moabite Stone, l. 30:
Diblathan): Ed-Dleilet el-Gharbiyeh (Musil), doubtful.
Decapolis (q.v.).
Delean (Jos., xv, 38; Plain of Juda). Unknown.
Delos (I Mach., xv, 23), an island in the Ægean Sea.
Denaba (Gen., xxxvi, 32; I Par., i, 43; Edom). Unidentified.
Derbe (Acts, xiv, 6, etc.), a town in Lycaonia; not identified.
Dessau (II Mach., xiv, 16; Judea). Unknown.
Dibon (q.v.).
Dimona (Jos., xv, 22; S. Juda; the same is called, prob. by a
copyist's mistake, Dibon, in II Esd., xi, 25): Kh. et-Teibeh.
Diospolis. Greek name of Lod. See
Sebaste,
Diocese of.
Dizahab (Deut., i, 1; D.V. "where there is very much gold"). The
name of a station of the Israelites; poss. Ed-Dhejbeh.
Doch (I Mach., xvi, 15): Ain-Dûk, N.W. of Jericho.
Dommim. See Phesdommim.
Dor (Jos., xi, 2, etc.; Aser), Assyr.
Duru: Tantûra, on the Mediterranean shore, S. of Mt.
Carmel.
Dora (I Mach., xv, 11). See Dor.
Dothain, Dothan (Gen., xxxvii, 17, etc.), Tell Do-thân,
betw. Sebastîyeh and Jenin.
Duma (Jos., xv, 52; S. Juda): Kh. Dômeh, S.W. of Hebron.
Dura (Dan., iii, 1), plain S.E. of Babylon; the name is
preserved in the Teful (hills) Dûra, and Nahr Dûra.
Ecbatana, 1 (I Esd., vi, 2), capital of Major Media: Takti
Soleiman. -- 2. Capital of the kingdom of Cyrus: Hamadan.
Edema (Deut., ix, 23; Nephtali), prob. Kh. 'Admâh, on the
right bank of the Jordan, below the confluence of the Yarmûk.
Some, however, identify it with Damîyeh, W. of the L. of Tiberias.
Eder (Jos., xv, 21; S. Juda), either Eh. el-'Adar, or Kh. Umm
Adreh.
Edom. See
Idumea.
Edrai, 1 (Num., xxi, 33; E. Manasses): Der'at. -- 2 (Jos., xix,
37; Nephtali): Yã'ter, half way between Tyre and L. Hûleh.
Eglon (Jos., x, 3, etc.; plain of Juda): Kh. Ajlan, W. of
Beit-Jibrîn.
Ekron, A.V. for Accaron.
Elam (q.v.).
Elath (Deut., ii, 8, etc.), seaport on the 'Aqâba Gulf:
mod. 'Aqâba.
Elcesi, or rather
Elqosh, birthplace of the prophet Nahum. Some deem it to be
El-Kauze, in Nephtali; others, Qessîyeh, S.E. of Beit-Jibrîn,
in the Sephela.
Eleale (Is., xv, 4, etc.; Moab): El-'Al, N. of Hesbân.
Eleph (Jos., xviii, 18; Benjamin). Unknown.
Eleutheropolis (q.v.), Greek name of Beit-Jibrîn.
Eleutherus, river dividing Syria from Phœnicia: Nahr
el-Kebir.
Elim (Ex., xvi, 1, etc.), station of the Israelites on their
journey from the Red Sea to Sinai: somewhere about the Wâdy
Gharandel.
Ellasar (Gen., xiv, 19): prob. Larsa, Larissa of the Greeks, on
the left bank of the Euphrates, in Lower Babylonia.
Elmelech (Jos., xix, 26; Aser); Egypt.
Retemaraka probably in the neighbourhood of Wâdy
el-Mãlek, a tributary of the Cison (A.V. Kishon).
Elon (Jos., xix, 43; Dan): either Beit-'Ello, or more prob.
Ellîn.
Eltecon (Jos., xv, 59; mount. of Juda), Thecue, birthplace of
Amos, according to St. Jerome (little prob.). Unidentified.
Elthece (Jos., xix, 44, etc.; Dan); also
Eltheco: Assyr.: Altaquu, in the neighbourhood of Accaron. Not
identified.
Eltholad (Jos., xv, 30; S.W. Juda). Unknown.
Elymais (II Mach., ix, 2), not a town, but the prov. Elymais is
meant; although a city, poss. Susa, is alluded to in the context.
Emath, 1. Egypt.: Hamt(u); Assyr.: Amaatti; Epiphania of the
Greeks: Hamah, on the Orontes. -- 2 (Jos., xix, 35; Nephtali): prob.
El-Hammân, S. of Tiberias.
Emath Suba (II Par., viii, 3), possibly the country of Emath 1.
Emer. See Cherub.
Emmaus (q .v.).
Emmer (I Esd., ii, 59;Esd., vii, 61). See Cherub.
Emona (Jos., xviii, 24; Benjamin), poss. Kh. Kefr 'Anâ, N.
of Beitin.
Enaim (Gen., xxxviii, 14, etc.; plain of Juda), near Odollam;
but unknown.
Enan, rather
Hasar Enan, "the village of Enan" (D.V., Num., xxxiv, 9, etc.).
Some: Qiryatein, on the road from Damascus to Palmyra; others, and more
prob.: Hazûreh, near Banîas.
Endor (I Kings, xxviii, 7; Issachar): 'Endor, S. of Mt. Thabor.
Engaddi (q.v.), W. shore of the Dead Sea, towards the middle:
'Ain Jîdî.
Engallim (Ezech., xlvii, 10): poss. 'Ain el-Feshkhâh, N.W.
shore of the Dead Sea; or 'Ain Hajlâh.
Engannim, 1 (Jos., xv, 34; plain of Juda): perh. Beit el-Jemal.
-- 2 (Jos., xix, 31; xxi, 29; Issachar): Jenîn, S. of
Zerã'în.
Enhadda (Jos., xix, 21; Issachar): prob. Kefr 'Adan, N.W. of
Jenîn.
Enhasor (Jos., xix, 37; Nephtali): Kh. Hazîreh, W. of L.
Huleh.
Ennom (Valley of). See
Jerusalem.
Ennon. See Æ
NON.
Enon. See Enan.
Ensemes (Jos., xv, 7; xviii, 7), generally recognized in Ain
el-Hãûd, or "Apostles' Spring" of the Christians on the road
from Jericho to Jerusalem.
Epha (Is., lx, 6), a branch of the Madianites, prob. settled in
N. Arabia.
Ephes Dammim (I Kings, xvii, 1). See Phesdommim.
Ephesus (q .v.).
Ephra, 1 (Judges, vi, 11, etc.; W. Manasses), birthplace of
Gedeon: perhaps Et-Tayebeh, between Mt. Thabor and Beisân. -- 2
(Jos., xviii, 23; I Kings, xiii, 17, etc.; Benjamin): Et-Tayebeh, N.E.
of Beitîn.
Ephrata (Gen., xxxv, 16, etc.), surname of Bethlehem, poss. the
name of the surrounding region.
Ephrem. See Ephra 2.
Ephron, 1 (Jos., xv, 9). A mountain district on the N. border of
Juda, between the spring of Nephtoa and Cariathiarim. -- 2 (II Par.,
xiii, 19). See Ephra 2 -- 3. (I Mach., v, 46; II Mach., xii, 27;
Transjord.), a city perhaps identical with Gephrus of Polyb. (V. lxx,
12). The site is unknown, but was likely in the Wâdy el-'Arab, or
the straits of the Sheri 'at el-Mand-hûr.
Erek. See Archi.
Esaan (Jos., xv, 22; mount. of Juda). The text is perhaps
corrupt and should be read Samma, as I Par., ii, 43:
Es-Samîyâh seems to be intended.
Escol. A valley with vineyards and pomegranates near Hebron,
prob. the Wâdy Beit Iskahîl N.W. of the city.
Esdrelon: large plain in the watershed of the Cison (A.V.
Kishon).
Esem. See Asem.
Esna (Jos., xv, 43; plain of Juda): 'Idhnâh, between
Beit-Jibrîn and Hebron.
Esora (Judith, iv, 4; omitt. in Vulg.) seems to be identical
with Hasar of Nephtali.
Estaol. See Esthaol.
Esthamo (I Kings, xxx, 28 etc.; mount, of Juda), also
Esthemo, Istemo: Es-Semû'a, S. of Hebron.
Esthaol (Judges, xiii, 25, etc.; plain of Juda): 'Eshû'a,
W. of Jerusalem, and S. of Amwas.
Etam, 1 (Jos., xv, 60, etc.; mount. of Juda): prob. near 'Ain
Etân, S.W. of Bethlehem, perhaps Kh. el-Khûkh. -- 2 Cave of
Etam (Judges, xv, 8), very likely in the neighbourhood of Jerrah, poss.
the cave of Marmita, near Deir Aban. 3 (I Par., iv, 32; Simeon), Kh.
'Aitûn, S. of Beit-Jibrîn.
Etham (Ex., xiii, 20; Num., xxxiii, 6), station of the
Israelites on their journey from Egypt to Sinai: somewhere E. of
El-Gisr.
Ethan (" rivers of", Ps. lxxiii [Hebr. lxxiv], 15), probably not
a proper name, but the equivalent for "perennial".
Ether (Jos., xv, 42, etc.; plain of Juda), also
Athar. In I Par., iv, 32, instead of Ether we read
Thoken. Possibly Kh. el-'Atr, N.W. of Beit-Jibrîn.
Ethroth (Num., xxxii, 35; Transjord.), prob. in the
neighbourhood of Jebel Attarûs, S. of the W. Zerqâ
Mã'in, in Moab.
Euphrates. See
PeratÆ.
Ezel (I Kings, xx, 19). An unknown conspicuous rock; perhaps the
text is corrupt.
Fair Havens, A.V. for Good-havens.
Gaas (Jos., ii, 9; Ephraim), a mountain N. of which was Josue's
tomb: Jebel el-Ghassâneh.
Gabaa, also
Gaba, Gabae, Gabee, Geba, 1 (Jos., xviii, 24, etc.; Benjamin):
Jeba', N.E. of Jerusalem. -- 2 (Jos., xv, 57, etc.; mount. of Juda):
poss. Jeba'a, S.W. of Bethlehem. -- 3 (Judges, xix, 20, etc.;
Benjamin): poss. Tell el-Fûl, or Kh. es-Sikkeh. -- 4 (Judith, iii,
14; Samaria): perh. Jeba', S. of Tell Dothan.
Gabaa of Benjamin. Gabaa 3.
Gabaa of Saul. Gabaa 3.
Gabaa of Phinees (Jos., xxiv, 33; Ephraim), burial place of
Eleazar, Aaron's son: perh. Jibî'a, N.W. of Jifneh.
Gabae (Jos., xxi, 17). See Gabaa 3.
Gabaon (Jos., ix, 3, etc.; Benjamin): El-Jib, N.N.W. of
Jerusalem.
Gabathon (Jos., xxi, 23, etc.; Dan), also
Gebbethon: poss. Qibbîyeh, E. of Lydda.
Gabee (Jos., xviii, 24; I Par., vi, 60). See Gabaa 3.
Gabim (Is., x, 31), wrongly interpreted as a proper name: seems
to mean houses scattered in the country, outside of villages.
Gad (q.v.).
Gadara. A city of the Decapolis: Umm Keis, S. of the
Yarmûk.
Gader (Jos., xii, 13; S. Palestine), identical with
Bethgader, I Par., ii, 51; also identified by some with
Gedor; by others with
Gedera. Otherwise unknown.
Gaderoth (Jos., xv, 41; II Par., xxviii, 18; plain of Juda),
poss. Qatrah, S.E. of Yebna (doubtful).
Gadgad (Num., xxxiii, 32; D.V.: Mount Gadgad), is not a
mountain; the Wâdy Ghãdhãghydh, S. of Qureîyeh, on
the road from 'Ain Kedeis to the 'Aqâba Gulf, has been proposed,
and the identification does not lack probability.
Gador (Jos., xv, 58; mount. of Juda): Jedûr.
Galaad, 1. Country on the E. of the Jordan. -- 2 (Judges, xii,
7) should probably be completed, according to several Gr. Manuscripts:
Maspha of Galaad.
Galgal, Galgala, 1. Place of the encampment of the Israelites in
the Ghôr, commonly recognized in Tell Jeljûl, E. of Jericho.
-- 2 (Jos., xii, 23; I Mach., ix, 2), a Canaanite royal city:
Jiljulîyeh, N.E. of Jaffa, or Qalqilîyeh, a little to the N.
-- 3 (IV Kings, ii, 1, etc.) Jiljilîya, between Beitîn and
Naplûs.
Galilee (q.v.).
Gallim, 1 (Jos., xv, 59; omitt. in Heb. and Vulg.) Beit
Jâlâ, between Bettîr and Bethlehem. -- 2 (I K., xxv, 44;
Is., x, 30; Benjamin) Kh. el-'Adâse, or Beit Lejâ, N. of
Jerusalem. -- 3 (Is., xv, 8; Moab) Unknown; located by the Onomasticon
8 m. S. of Areopolis.
Gamzo (II Par., xxviii, 18): Jimzu, S.E. of Lydda.
Gareb (Jer., xxxi, 39), a hill in or near Jerusalem. From the
text it would seem the Jebel Neby Daûd is intended; many, however,
identify it with J. Abû Tôr.
Garizim, mountain in the neighborhood of Sichem: J. et-Tôr,
S. of Naplûs.
Gaulon (Jos., xx, 8, etc.; E. Manasses), also
Golan: probably Sãhem el-Jôlân, N. of the
Wâdy el-Ehreir.
Gaza (q.v.).
Gazara (I Mach., vii, 45 etc.), later name for Gazer 1.
Gazer, 1. Tell Jezer, S. of Lydda. -- 2. See Jazer.
Gazera (I Par., xiv, 16). See Gazer 1.
Geba. See Gabaa 1.
Gebal. See
Byblos.
Gebbar (I Esd., ii, 20), for Gabaon.
Gebbethon. See Gabathon.
Gedera (Jos., xv, 36; Sephela): poss. Kh. Jedîreh, S.E. of
Lydda; or Qatrâ, S.E. of Jabneh.
Gederothaim (Jos., xv, 36), poss. another reading for Gedera.
Gedor, 1 (Jos., xv, 58; mount. of Juda) Kh. Jedûr, between
Bethlehem and Hebron. -- 2 (I Par., xii, 7) Perhaps Gedor 1. -- 3 (I
Par., iv, 39) Unknown. Some think Gerara is intended. -- 4 (I Mach.,
xv, 39). See Cedron 1.
Genesar. See
Genesareth.
Genesareth (q.v.).
Gerara (Gen., x, 19, etc.). A city on the S.W. border of
Palestine, commonly identified with Kh. Umm Jerâr, S. of Gaza.
Gerasa, 1 (Transjord.), Jerash. See
Gerasa. -- 2 A city supposed by Matt., viii,
28, etc. (original text somewhat doubtful): poss. Kuren Jerâdeh,
N. of the Wâdy Fîk, E. of the L. of Tiberias.
Gerisim, A.V. for Garizim.
Gessen. Region in Lower Egypt, between the Pelusian arm of the
Nile and the wilderness.
Gessur (I Kings, xxvii, 8, etc.), a region the location of which
is much disputed. Some think it to have been in the S. of Palestine
(Cheyne); others locate it in the N. Jôlân, even in the
Ledjâh.
Gethaim (II Kings iv, 3; II Esd., xi, 33; in or near Benjamin),
identified by some with Ramleh.
Gethhepher (Jos., xix, 13, etc.; Zabulon): El-Meshhad, N.E. of
Nazareth.
Gethremmon, 1 (Jos., xix, 45, etc.; Dan) possibly identical with
Gethaim. -- 2 (Jos., xxi, 25; W. Manasses; -- I Par., vi, 70, Heb. 55,
Balaam). If the text of Jos. be preferred, Gethremmon might
possibly be
Kefr Rummân, N.W. of
Sebastîyeh.
Gethsemani (q.v.).
Gezer, Gezeron. See Gazer.
Gibeon, A.V. for Gabaon.
Gideroth. See Gaderoth.
Gihon. See
Jerusalem.
Gilo (Jos., xv, 51; mount. of Juda), birthplace of Achitophel;
unlikely supposed by some to be Kh. Jâlâ, or Beit
Jâlâ, near Bethlehem; really uuknown.
Gnidus (I Mach., xv, 23; Acts, xxvii, 7), a city in Caria.
Gob (II Kings, xxi, 18, 19). Unknown. Perhaps the text is
corrupt.
Golan. See Gaulon.
Golgotha. See
Jerusalem.
Gomorrha (Gen., xiv, 2, etc.), a city of the Pentapolis. Site
unknown.
Good-havens (Acts, xxvii, 8), Kalo Limniones, E. of C. Matala,
on the S. coast of Crete.
Gortyne (I Mach., xv, 23), a city in Crete.
Goaen (Jos., xv, 51; mount. of Juda). Unknown.
Gullath (Judges, i, 15; D.V. "the Upper and the Nether watery
ground"); proper names, poss. referring to Seil ed-Dilbeh.
Gurbaal (II Par., xxvi, 7): Tell el-Ghûr, N. of
Bersabee.
Habor (q.v.).
Haceldama. See
Jerusalem.
Hachila (I Kings, xxiii, 19, etc.), a hill on the S. of the
wilderness of Ziph (Juda): might be Dahr el-Kôlâ, although
the identification is by no means certain.
Hadassa (Jos., xv, 37; plain of Juda), perh. 'Ebdis, or 'Eddis,
E. of Ascalon.
Hadid (I Esd., ii, 33), identical with Adiada.
Hadrach (Zach., xi, 1); Assyr.:
Hatarika, Hataraka, a town in Syria; unknown.
Hai, 1 (A.V. Gen., xii, 8, etc.), prob. Kh. Haiyân, E. of
Beitîn. -- 2 (Jer., xlix, 3), prob. an Ammonite city. Unknown.
Hala (IV Kings, xvii, 6; xviii, 11), a place of exile of the
Israelites in Assyria; Assyr.:
Halahhu perh. Gla or Kalah, near the source of the Khabur.
Halcath (Jos., xix; 25; xxi, 31): Yerkâ, N.E. of Acre.
Halhul (Jos., xv, 58; mount. of Juda): Halhûl, N. of
Hebron, near Beit Sûr.
Halicarnassus (q .v.).
Hammoth Dor (Jos., xxi, 32). See Hamon 1.
Hamon, 1 (I Par., vi, 76, Heb. 61; Nephtali): El-Hammâm, on
the W. shore of the L. of Tiberias. -- 2 (Jos., xix, 28; Aser), poss.
Kh. el-'Awâmîd, S. of Tyre.
Hanathon (Jos., xix, 14; N. Zabulon): perh. Kefr' Anân.
Hanes (Is., xxx, 4), Egypt.
Hininsu; Assyr.:
Hiniinshi: a city in the Delta of the Nile, prob. Heracleopolis
Parva of the classics: Ahnâs el-Medîneh.
Hapharaim (Jos., xix, 19; Issachar), Egypt.
Hapurama; Kh. el-Farrîyeh, between Mt. Carmel and
Lejûn.
Haran. A town in Mesopotamia: Assyr.:
Harranu, on the river Belikh, a confluent of the Euphrates.
Hares (Judges, i, 35). The exact name is doubtful; moreover
Hares is equivalent to Shemesh (Sun); hence Har Heres, 'Ir Shamesh, and
Beth Shamesh might be three forms of one name, After all, the name
might not indicate a hill, but a village: 'Ain Shems.
Harma. See Horma 1.
Haroseth (Judges, iv, 2): El-Haritîyeh, on the right bank
of the Cison, between Haifa and Nazareth.
Hasarsuhal (Jos., xv, 28 etc.; S. Juda). Unknown.
Hasarsusim (Jos., xix, 5; S. Simeon); might be Sûsîn
or Beit Sûsîn, on the road from Gaza to Egypt.
Haserim (Deut., ii, 23), a common name meaning "the villages":
Arab. Dwar.
Haseroth (Num., xi, 35), a station of the Israelites in their
journey from Mt. Sinai to Cades: 'Ain Hadrâ, about eighteen hours
N.E. of Mt. Sinai.
Hasersual. See Hasarsuhal.
Hasersusa. See Hasarsusim.
Hassemon (Jos., xv, 27; S. Juda). Unknown.
Havoth Jair. A group of cities E. of the Jordan in Galaad,
Argob, and Basan.
Hebal, a mountain in the Ephraim range, N. of Naplûs, over
against Mt. Garizim: Jebel Slîmâh.
Hebron (q .v.).
Hebrona (Num., xxxiii, 34), a station of the Israelites on their
journey from Egypt to the Holy Land: near Asiongaber.
Helam (II Kings, x, 16, 17), an unknown Ammonite city.
Helba (Judges, i, 31). See Ahalab.
Helbon (Ezech., xxvii, 18), a town in Syria renowned for its
wine: Helbûn, on the E. slope of Anti-Lebanon, 12 m. N.W. of
Damascus.
Helcath. See Halcath.
Heleph (Jos., xix, 33; Nephtali), poss. Beit Lîf, halfway
between L. Hûleh and the sea.
Heliopolis. See
Baalbek.
Helmondeblathaim. See Deblathaim.
Helon, 1 (I Par., vi, 58, Heb. 43, Gr. 57). See Holon. -- 2 (I
Par., vi, 69, Heb. 54), for Aialon. -- 3 (Jer., xlviii, 21; Ruben).
Unknown.
Hemath (I Par., xviii, 3, 9). See Emath.
Henoch (Gen., iv, 17), the first city built by Cain and called
after his first-born son; of course, entirely unknown.
Herma. See Horma 1.
Hermon. Mountain range on the N. border of Israel: Jebel
el-Sheikh, or J. et-Telj.
Hesebon (Num., xxi, 26, etc.; Moab). Hesbân.
Heser (III Kings, ix, 15), the same as Asor 1.
Heshbon, A.V. for Hesebon.
Hesmona (Num., xxxiii, 29; xxxiv, 4), station of the Israelites
on their way from Cades to Asiongaber: in the neighbourhood of 'Ain
Kôemeh.
Hesron, 1 (Jos., xv, 3; S. Juda), prob. some Hasar.
Unidentified. -- 2 (Jos., xv, 25). See Asor 3.
Hethalon (Ezech., xlvii, 15; xlviii, 1): either Heitela, N. of
Tripoli of Syria; or more prob. Adlûn, N. of the Leontes, on the
road from Tyre to Sidon.
Hethites (q.v.).
Hevites. One of the petty clans of Canaanites dispossessed by
Israel and the Philistines. The Gabaonites were Hevites.
Hevilah, Hevilath. Country watered by the Phison. Unknown.
Hierapolis (q.v.).
Hieromax, Greek name of the Sherî'at el-Menadhîreh, or
Yarmûk.
Hirsemes. See Bethsames.
Hoba (Gen., xiv, 15), N. of Damascus; the identifications
proposed are very unsatisfactory.
Hodsi (II Kings, xxiv, 6), probably a copyist's mistake for
Cedes.
Holon (Jos., xv, 51; xxi, 15; mount. of Juda). Unknown.
Hor, 1. A mountain by which Israel had their encampment in the
desert, and the place of Aaron's death; commonly identified with Jebel
Nebî Harûn, S.W. of Petra, a most unlikely location; must be
looked for in the neighbourhood of Cades, possibly Jebel Mueileh, N.W.
of Cades. -- 2. According to common interpretation, another mountain at
the N. limit of the Promised Land, and variously identified, although
the Jebel esh-Shûqîf seems to be the most suitable location;
-- perhaps not a proper name, but an expression to be translated: "the
rising up of the mountain", i.e. S. Lebanon.
Horeb (q.v.).
Horem (Jos., xix, 38; Nephtali), Kh. el-Hûrâh, W. of
L. Hûleh.
Horma, 1 (Num., xiv, 45 etc.), formerly called Sephath: prob.
Sbaite, N.N.E. of Cades. -- 2 (Jos., xix, 29; Aser) Râmeh, S.E. of
Tyre.
Hosa (Jos., xix, 29; Aser. text doubtful), poss. Ezzìyat,
S. of Tyre.
Hucac. See Halcath.
Hucuca (Jos., xix, 34; Nephtali): Yaqûq, W. of Capharnaum,
S.S.W. of Sâfed.
Hus (Job. i. 1; Jer., xxv, 20; Lam., iv, 21; perhaps different
regions are intended). From what may be gathered concerning the "land
of Hus" in Job, it was in Arabia, N. of Saba, W. of Chaldea, N. of
Edom. See
Job.
Iconium (q.v.), in Lycaonia: Konieh.
Idumea (q.v.).
Ijeabarim (Num., xxi, 11; xxxiii, 44), station of the Israelites
in Moab: Kh. 'Ai, S.E. of Kerak.
India, I. (Esth., i, 1) the region on the right bank of the
Indus. -- 2. The text (I Mach., viii, 8) seems to be at fault, and
should perhaps be read Ionia.
Islands, refers to the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean
Sea.
Iturea (Luke, iii, 1), originally the country of Jetur (I Par.,
i, 51; v, 19), on the E. slope of Anti-Lebanon, N. of Damascus.
Jabes (I Par., ii, 55; Juda). Unknown.
Jabes Galaad (I Kings, xi, 1 etc.), poss. Ed-Deir near which
there is a Wâdy Yâbîs.
Jabnia (II Par., xxvi, 6). See Jamnia.
Jaboc: Nahr es-Zerqâ, between the regions called
Belqâ. and 'Ajlûn, E. of the Jordan.
Jacan. See Benejaacan.
Jachanan (Jos., xii, 22), an unknown place about Mt. Carmel.
Jagur (Jos., xv, 21; S. Juda). Unknown.
Jamnia (I Mach., xiv, 15, etc.), a town of the Sephela:
Yebnâ.
Janoe, 1 (Jos., xv, 6; xvi, 7; Ephraim): Yânûn, S.E.
of Naplûs. -- 2 (IV Kings, xv, 29; Nephtali): Yânûh, E.
of Tyre, according to some; more prob. Hûnûn, S. of the Merj
'Aiyûn.
Janum (Jos., xv, 53; mount, of Juda), poss. Beni Naim, E. of
Hebron.
Japhie (Jos., xix, 12; Zabulon): Yâfâ, S.W. of
Nazareth.
Jaramoth (Jos., xxi, 29; Issachar), called
Ramoth in I Par., vi, 73, Heb. 58). Unidentified.
Jarephel (Jos., xviii, 27; Benjamin): Râphât, N. of
El-Jib.
Jasa (Num., xxi, 23; Jer., xlviii, 21; Moab. S., l. 19);
Onomasticon: "between Madaba and Dibon": Umm el-Wâlîd (?
Musil).
Jaser (Jos., xxi, 36). See Jasa. -- 2. See Jazer.
Jassa. See Jasa.
Jazer (Num., xxxii, 1, etc.; Transjord.), prob. Kh. Sâr, W.
of Ammân.
Jeabarim (Num., xxi, 11, etc.). See Ijeabarim.
Jeblaam (Jos., xvii, 11; Issachar); Egypt.:
Ibra'amû: Kh. Bel'ameh, S. of Jenîn.
Jebnael (Jos., xix, 33; Nephtali): Yemmâ, between Thabor
and the S. end of the L. of Tiberias.
Jebneel. See Jamnia.
Jeboc: the same as Jaboc.
Jebus. See
Jerusalem.
Jecmaam (I Par., vi, 68, Heb. 53), also
Jecmaan (III Kings, iv, 12). In the parallel list of Jos., xxi,
22,
Cibsaim is to be found. Text doubtful.
Jecnam (Jos., xxi, 34; Zabulon): prob. Tell Qaimûn, E. of
Mt. Carmel.
Jeconam (Jos., xix, 11). See Jecnam.
Jectehel (IV Kings, xiv, 7), name given to Petra by Amasias,
King of Juda. See
Petra.
Jecthel (Jos., xv, 38; Sephela). Unknown.
Jedala (Jos., xix, 15; Zabulon): Jeidâ, S. of Bethlehem of
Zabulon.
Jegbaa (Judges, viii, 11; Transjord.): Ajebîhât, E. of
Es-Salt.
Jehoshaphat, A.V. for Josaphat.
Jemnaa. See Jamnia.
Jephtha (Jos., xv, 43; plain of Juda). An unidentified place,
S.E. of Beit Jibrîn.
Jerico (q.v.).
Jerimoth. Jos x 23, 35; Sephela): Kh. Yarmûk, 6 m. N.N.E.
of Beit Jibrîn.
Jerimuth (II Esd., xi, 29). See Jerimoth.
Jeron (Jos., xix, 38; Nephtali): Yârûn, W. of L.
Huleh.
Jerusalem (q.v.).
Jesania (III Kings, xv, 17): 'Ain Sinîya, N. of
Beitîn. Perhaps should be read also instead of Sen, I Kings, vii,
12.
Jesimon, 1 (Num., xxi, 20; xxiii, 28; Moab) desert N. of the
Dead Sea, and E. of the lower Jordan. -- 2 (I Kings, xxiii, 15 etc.)
country between the deserts of Ziph and of Maon, and Engaddi.
Jesse (Judith, i, 9), for Gessen.
Jesue (II Esd., xi, 26; S. Juda): Kh. Sã'weh, E. of
Bersabee.
Jeta (Jos., xxi, 16; Juda-Simeon): Yuttâ, S. of Hebron.
Jeteba (IV Kings, xxi, 19), birthplace of Messalemeth, Manasses'
wife, prob. in Juda, but unknown.
Jetebatha (Deut., x, 7), station of the Israelites between Cades
and Asiongaber. Unknown.
Jethela (Jos., xix, 42; Dan): Beit Tûl, S.E. of Yalô.
Jether (Jos., xv, 48; mount. of Juda): 'Attîr, between
Hebron and Bersabee.
Jethnam (Jos., xv, 23; S. Juda). Unknown.
Jethson (Jos., xxi, 36). So Vulg., prob. by mistake; in other
texts,
Cademoth.
Jezer. See Jazer.
Jezrael, 1 (Jos., xvii, 16, etc.; Issachar): Zerã'în,
S.W. of Jebel Nebî Dahî (Little Hermon). -- 2 (Jos., xv, 56;
I Kings, xxvii, 3; Juda), in the neighbourhood of Carmel and Ziph.
Unknown.
Jim (Jer., xxvi, 18; S. Juda): perh. Beit 'Awwâ, not far
from Bersabee.
Joppe. See
Jaffa.
Jordan (q.v.).
Josaphat (Joel, iii, 2, 12), prob. an allegorical name: "the
valley wherein Yahweh shall judge".
Jota (Jos., xv, 55). See Jeta.
Jucadam (Jos., xv, 56; mount. of Juda): apparently S.E. of
Hebron. Unidentified.
Jud (Jos., xix, 45; Dan): El-Yehûdîyeh. N. of Lydda.
Juda (q.v.).
Judea (q.v.).
Laban (Deut., i, 1), station of the Israelites in their journey
from Sinai to Cades. Unknown.
Labanath (Jos., xix, 26), is separated in Vulg. from preceding
word, to which it should be joined: Sihor Labanath. See Sihor.
Lacedemon (II Mach., v, 9). See
Sparta.
Lahela (I Par., v, 26), a mistake for "to Hala", a region of
Assyria.
Lahem (I Par., iv, 22; the text is not clear). Unknown.
Lais. See
Dan.
Laisa (Is., x, 30; I Mach., ix, 5): Kh. Q'âqûl, W. of
'Anâta
Lampsacus (I Mach., xv, 23), a city of Mysia, on the Hellespont,
possibly a mistake for
Sampsame: Samsûn, a little seaport between Sinope and
Trebizond, on the Black Sea.
Laodicea. (Col., ii, 1, etc.; q.v.).
Lebaoth (Jos., xv, 32). See Beth Leba'ôth.
Lebna, 1 (Num., xxxiii, 20) a station of the Israelites in the
journey from Sinai to Cades. Unknown. -- 2 (Jos., x, 31; Sephela):
poss. Kh. el-Benâwy, 10 m. S.E. of Lachis.
Lebona (Judges, xxi, 19): El-Lûbbân, S. of
Naplûs.
Lehi (Judges, xv, 17; D.V. "jawbone"): Kh. 'Ain el-Lehî has
been proposed, but is very doubtful; the above Arab. name seems to be
rather 'Ain 'Allek.
Lecum (Jos., xix, 33; Nephtali) site unknown, probably in the
neighbourhood of L. Huleh.
Leheman (Jos., xv, 40; plain of Juda), Kh. el-Lahm, S. of Beit
Jibrîn.
Lesa (Gen., x, 19), poss. Callirrhoe (St. Jerome): Hammâm
ez-Zerqâ, E. of the Dead Sea.
Lesem (Jos., xix, 47). See
Dan.
Lobna (Jos., xxi, 13), the same as Lebna 2.
Lod (I Par., viii, 12, etc.): El-Lûdd. See
Sebaste.
Lodabar (II Kings, ix, 4, etc.; Transjord.) Greek has
Daibon: text unsettled.
Luith (Is., xv, 5; Jer., xlviii, 5; Moab): Kh. Fâs (Musil);
Nûchîn (de Saulcy); hardly identified.
Luza, 1 (Gen., xxviii, 19, etc.), an old name for Bethel. -- 2
(Judges, i, 26) A city of the Hethites, perh. Lûweizîyeh,
N.W. of Tell el-Qâdî.
Lyda (I Mach., xi, 34),
Lydda (Acts, ix, 32, etc.). Lod.
Lystra. 1 (Acts, xiv, 8, etc.), a city of Lycaonia:
Khatyn Seraî. -- 2 (Acts, xxvii, 5), in some Manuscripts, a
mistake for
Myra in Lycia.
Maara of the Sidonians (Jos., xiii, 4): possibly "the cave" of
Jezzîn, about 9 m. E. of Sidon; but the text seems corrupt and
should perhaps be read: "from Gaza to Sidon".
Macces (III Kings, iv, 9; Dan). Unknown.
Maceda (Jos., x, 10, etc.), poss. El-Mûghâr, in the
neighbourhood of Accaron.
Maceloth (Num., xxxiii, 25), station of the Israelites on the
journey from Sinai to Cades: prob. Maqehelat.
Machbena (II Par., ii, 49), prob. the same as Chebbon.
Machmas (I Kings, xiii, 2, etc. Benjamin): Mikhmâs N. of
Jerusalem.
Machmethath (Jos., xvi, 7, etc., limit of Ephraim and W.
Manasses), perhaps not a city, but a region, poss. the Plain of
El-Makhnâh (Guthe).
Machtesh (Soph., i, 11; D.V.: "the Mortar"), a place near
Jerusalem, "the Valley of Siloe" (St. Jerome).
Madmena (I Par., ii, 49). See Medemena.
Madon (Jos., xi, 1, etc.) perh. should be read
Maron; poss. Kh. Madîn, W. of Tiberias, or Meiron, N.W. of
Sâfed.
Magala (I Kings, xvii, 20; xxvi, 57), wrongly interpreted by
Vulg. as a proper name; means a fenced encampment.
Magdal, 1 (Ex., xiv, 2, etc.): perh. Serapeum. -- 2 (Jer., xliv,
1, etc.) perh. the same; poss. Tell es-Semût, near Pelusium.
Magdala (Matt., xv, 39; Mark, viii, 10; text not certain):
El-Mejdel; on the W. shore of the L. of Tiberias.
Magdalel (Jos., xix, 38; Nephtali): poss. El-Mejdel; according
to the Onomasticon, Athlit.
Magdalgal (Jos., xv, 37; Sephela), Assyr.:
Magdilu; either El-Mejdel, near Ascalon, or El-Mejeleh, S. of
Beit Jibrîn.
Magedan (Matt., xv, 39). See Magdala, Dalmanutha.
Mageddo,
Mageddon. See
Mageddo.
Mageth (I Mach., v, 26, 36; Transjord.): prob. Kh.
el-Mukatîyeh, W. of the confluence of the Rûqqâd and the
Yarmûk.
Magron, 1 (I Kings, xiv, 2), prob. a common name indicating the
top of the hill on the slope of which Jeba' is built. -- 2 (Is., x,
28): poss. Makrûn, N.W. of Mikhmâs.
Mahanaim: Kh. Malneb, S.W. of Hauran, in the Jebel 'Ajlûn,
N. of the Jaboc.
Mahane Dan (Judges, xiii, 25; xviii, 12), a place W. of
Cariathiarim.
Mallos (II Mach., iv, 30), a city of Cilicia.
Malta (q.v.).
Mambre. See Hebron.
Manaim (Jos., xiii, 26, etc.). See Mahanaim.
Manasses (q.v.).
Maon, 1 (Jos., xv, 55; S. Juda): Kh. Ma'în. -- 2 (Judges,
x, 12), perhaps Ma'ân, E. of Petra; text poss. corrupt.
Mara (Ex., xv, 23), station of the Israelites between Egypt and
Mt. Sinai, perh. 'Ain Hawâra, or Wâdy Mereira.
Maresa, a city in the Sephela; the name is preserved in Kh.
Maresh, near Beit Jibrîn; the site was prob. in Tell Sandahanna, a
little S.E. of Kh. Maresh.
Mareth (Jos., xv, 59: mount. of Juda), poss. Beit Ummâr,
S.S.W. of Bethlehem.
Maroth (Mich., i, 12). Unknown, although some deem it to be
identical with Mareth.
Masal (Jos., xix, 26 etc.; Aser): perh. Khan Mithilîya,
S.W. of Mt. Carmel.
Masaloth (I Mach., ix, 2), prob. a common name meaning "the
steps" -- i.e. the steps of the caves of Arbella.
Masepha (Jos., xv, 38; Sephela): Tell es-Safîyeh, 7 m. N.W.
of Beit Jibrîn.
Maserephoth (Jos., xi, 8; xiii, 6). Unknown. Perhaps 'Ain
Musherfi, on the Mediterranean shore, S. of Râs
en-Nâqûra.
Maspha,
Masphath, 1. Of Benjamin: site much disputed: Shâ'fat,
Nebî Samwîl, El-Bîreh, and Tell Nasbeh, all N. of
Jerusalem, have been proposed with more or less probabiity. -- 2. Of
Galaad: see Ramoth Galaad. -- 3. Of Juda: prob. Tell es-Safîyeh.
-- 4. Of Moab (I Kings, xxxii, 3, 4). Unknown.
Masphe. See Maspha of Galaad.
Masreca (Gen., xxxvi, 36; I Par., i, 47), N. of Idumea.
Matthana. Station of the Israelites in their journey through
Moab; possibly Mechatta.
Meddin (Jos., xv, 61; wilderness of Juda). Unknown.
Medemena, 1 (Jos., xv, 31; S. Juda). Unknown. -- 2 (Is., x, 31;
Benjamin): Kh. el-Qarâmi, N. of Jerusalem.
Megiddo. See
Mageddo.
Mejarcon (Jos., xix, 46; Dan), poss. the Nahr el-'Aujeh, betw.
Joppe and Arecon.
Melita, A.V. for Malta (q.v.).
Melothi (Judith, ii, 3, Vulg. only), perhaps Melitine of
Cappadocia.
Memphis (q.v.).
Mennith (Judges, xi, 33). Onomasticon: at a short distance from
Hesebon; poss. Umm el-Qenâfîd.
Mephaath (Jos., xiii, 18): Nef'â, S.S.E. of Ammân.
Merala (Jos., xi, 19, Zabuton): prob. Ma'lûl, S.W. of
Nazareth.
Merom (Waters of). Lake Hûleh.
Meroz (Judges, v, 23): poss. El-Mahrûneh, between
Dothân and Kûbatîyeh; or El-Mûrassas, near
Beisân.
Merrha (Bar., iii, 23). Unknown. Perhaps we should read Madian.
Mesopotamia (q.v.).
Mesphe (Jos., xviii, 26), for Maspha of Benjamin.
Messa (Gen., x, 30), in Arabia. Unknown.
Messal (Jos., xix, 26). See Masal.
Methca (Num., xxxiii, 28), station of the Israelites in the
journey from Sinai to Cades. Unknown.
Miletus (q.v.).
Misor (Jos., xxi, 36), not found in the Hebr.; poss. a mistake.
Mitylene (Acts, xx, 14), in the island of Lesbos: Metelin.
Mochona (II Esd., xi, 28; Juda): Kh. el-Moqenna.
Modin, the birthplace of the Machabees; generally admitted to be
El-Medieh, E. of Lydda.
Molada (Jos., xv, 26; S. Juda), perh. Tell el-Milh, between
Bersabee and the Dead Sea.
Moresheth Gath (Mich., i, 1, etc.), birthplace of Micheas, E. of
Eleutheropolis. Unidentified.
Mortar (Soph., i, 11). See Machtesh.
Mosel (Ezech., xvii, 19). As such, not a proper name; should be
understood: "from Uzal".
Mosera (Deut., x, 6). See Moseroth.
Moseroth (Num., xxxiii, 30), station of the Israelites in the
journey from Cades to Asiongaber. Unidentified.
Myndus (I Mach., xv, 23), a city in Caria, between Miletus and
Halicarnassus.
Myra (Acts, xxvii, 5), not in the Vulg., but should be read
instead of Lystra.
Naalol (Jos., xix, 15, etc.; Zabulon), prob. Ma'lûl, E. of
Nazareth.
Naama, 1 (Jos., xv, 41; Sephela): perh. Na'ameh, S. of Lydda and
E. of Jabneh. -- 2 (Job, ii, 11); there was prob. a city of that name
in Nabathea. Unknown.
Naaratha (Jos., xvi, 7; E. Ephraim), poss. Tell Tahtâni, N.
of Jericho.
Naas (I Par., iv, 12; Juda), perh. Deir Nâbâs, N.E. of
Beit Jibrîn.
Naasson (Tob., i, 1), prob. Aser 2.
Nahaliel (Num., xxi, 19), station of the Israelites E. of the
Dead Sea, near the Arnon. Wâdy Enkeile (? Robinson).
Naim (Luke, vii, 11): Naîn, on the N.W. slope of the Jebel
Dahy.
Naioth (I Kings, xix, 18, etc.), "in Ramatha". Otherwise
unknown.
Nazareth (q.v.).
Neapolis (Acts, xvi, 11; xx, 6), a city in Macedonia: Kavalla.
Neballat (II Esd., xi, 34): Beit Nebâla, N. of Lydda.
Nebo, 1 Mountain N. of Moab: Jebel Nebâ. -- 2 (Num., xxxii,
3; Moabite Stone, l. 14), a town about the Jebel Nebâ.
Nebsan (Jos., xv, 62; desert of Juda, near the Dead Sea).
Unknown.
Neceb (Jos., xix, 33, in the Vulg.; Nephtali). See Adami.
Nehelescol. See Escol.
Nehiel (Jos., xix, 27; Aser). Some: Kh. Yânîn, E. of
Acre; others: Mi'âr.
Nemra (Num., xxxii, 3). See Bethnemra.
Nemrim (Is., xv, 6; Jer., xlviii, 34): Wâdy Nemeira, S.E.
of the Dead Sea; there is a Kh. Nemeira.
Nephath Dor. See Dor.
Nephtali (q.v.).
Nephtoa (Jos., xv, 9; Juda-Benjamin): Liftâ, N.W. of
Jerusalem.
Nesib (Jos., xv, 43; Sephela): Beit Nâsîb, E. of
Eleutheropolis.
Nethuphati (II Esd., xii, 28). See Netupha.
Netupha (I Par., ii, 54, etc.; Juda): prob. Beit Nettîf, N
.E. of Eleutheropolis.
Nicopolis (Titus, iii, 12), a city in Epirus: Paleoprevyza.
Nineveh, A.V. for Ninive.
Ninive (q.v.).
No, No Amon (Nahum, iii, 8; Ezech., xxx, 14); not Thebes of
Upper Egypt, but Thebes in the Delta (Diospolis): Tell Balamûn.
Noa (Jos., xix, 23; Zabulon). Unknown.
Nob (II Esd., xi, 32; Benjamin): Beit Nûbâ, between
'Anâta and Jerusalem.
Nobe, 1 (Judges, viii, 11; Transjord.). Unknown. -- 2 (I Kings,
xxi, 1, etc.). See Nob. -- 3 (Num., xxxii, 42). See Canath.
Nophe (Num., xxi, 30; Moab): text doubtful.
Nopheth (Jos., xvii, 11), a town, according to Vulg.; the clause
should be rendered: "three villages".
Noran. See Naaratha.
Oboth (Num., xxxiii, 43). Station of the Israelites in the
journey from Asiongaber to the frontiers of Moab; prob. Wâdy
Weibeh, N. of Fenân.
Odollam: prob. Kh. 'Aid el-Mîeh; the cave is near the
summit of the S. hill. See
Adullam.
Odullam. See
Adullam.
Olon (Jos., xv, 51). See Holon.
On. See
Baalbek.
Ono (I Par., viii, 12; Dan); Egypt.:
Aunau; Kefr Anâ, between Lydda and Jaffa.
Ophel (II Par., xxvii, 3), a part of Jerusalem.
Opher (IV Kings, xiv, 25). See Gethhepher.
Ophera (Jos., xviii, 23). See Ephra 2.
Ophni (Jos., xviii, 24); Benjamin: perhaps Jifneh, N.W. of
Beitîn.
Oreb (Judges, vii, 25, etc.): poss. 'Osh el-Ghûrâb,
between the Jebel Qarantâl and the Jordan.
Oronaim (Is., xv, 5; Jer., xlviii, 3, etc.; Moabite Stone, l.
32): Wâdy Ghûweir (Conder): would seem rather S. of the
Arnon.
Orontes, great river of Syria: Nahr el-'Asî.
Orthosias (q.v. -- I Mach., xv, 37).
Ozensara (I Par., vii, 24): perhaps Beit Sîrâ, W.S.W.
of Lower Bethoron.
Palmyra (q.v.).
Paphos (q.v. -- Acts, xiii, 6, etc.), in Cyprus: Baffo.
Paros. I Par., xxix, 2; Esth., i, 6, speak of "marble of Paros";
but this is not to be found in the original; only "white stone".
Patara (Acts, xxi, 1-3), a city in Lycia: Jelemish.
Patmos. One of the Sporades, S. of Samos, W. of Miletus: Patino.
Pelusium (Ezech., xxx, 15, 16); Copt.:
Peremun,
Pelusiu, a city N.E. of the Delta of the Nile, on the branch
called, after the name of the city, Pelusiac: Sâ el-Haggâr.
Pentapolis. Region of the five cities: Sodom, Gomorrha, Adama,
Seboim, in the Valley of Siddim.
Pergamus (Apoc., i, 11; ii, 12), metropolis of the prov. of
Asia: Bergamo, or Bergama.
Perge (Acts, xiii, 13), second city of the prov. of Pamphilia:
Murtana.
Persia (q.v.).
Persepolis. Whether it is spoken of in II Mach., xix, 2, is
doubtful.
Petra (q.v.).
Phalti. See Bethphalet.
Phanuel (Gen., xxxii, 30, etc.; Transjord.), Egypt.:
Penualu; on the banks of the Jaboc. Site uncertain.
Phara (I Mach., ix, 50): the text seems uncertain; perhaps the
same as Pharaton.
Pharan. General term to designate the wilderness between Sinai
and Palestine.
Pharaton (Judges, xii, 13, etc.): birthplace of Abdon, one of
the Judges of Israel. Prob. Fer'ata, 7 m. S.W. of Naplûs.
Pharphar, river of Damascus: Nahr el-'Awaj.
Phaselis (I Mach., xv, 23): a city of Asia Minor on the borders
of Lycia and Pamphilia.
Phasga. Whether this is a common or a proper name is doubtful.
At any rate, it indicates a place connected with Mt. Nebo, prob. Ras
Siâghâh, W. and at a very short distance of the Jebel
Nebâ.
Phatures (Is., xi, 11; Jer., xliv, 1, etc.): Egypt.:
Patarisi. Upper Egypt.
Phau (Gen. xxxvi, 39; I Par., i, 50): Phau'ârâ has
been proposed.
Phesdommim (I Kings, xvii, 11; I Par., xi, 13): poss.
Dâmîm, on the road from Jerusalem to Beit Jibrîn, N. of
Shûweikeh.
Phihahiroth (Ex., xiv, 29; Num., xxxiii, 7); Egypt.:
Pikeheret. A station of the Israelites in their flight from
Egypt. Unidentified.
Philadelphia (q.v.).
Philippi (q.v.).
Phinon. See Phunon.
Phithom, a town in Lower Egypt: Tell el-Maskhûtâ, W.
of Lake Timsab.
Phœnicia (q.v.).
Phogor, 1 Mountain N. of the Abarim range, variously identified:
El-Mareighât, Tell-Matâba, El-Benât. -- 2 See
Bethphogor. -- 3 (Jos., xv, 60, Greek): one of the 11 cities added in
the Greek to the list of the Hebrew: Kh. Beit Foghûr, S.W. of
Bethlehem.
Phrygia. See
Asia Minor.
Phunon (Num., xxxiii, 42), a station of the Israelites on the
journey from Asiongaber to Moab: Kh. Fenân, on the edge of the
'Araba.
Pisidia (q.v.).
Pontus, territory N.E. of Asia Minor, on the shore of the Black
Sea.
Ptolemais (I Mach., xii, 48, etc.): Greek name of Acre.
Puteoli (Acts, xxviii, 13), a seaport near Naples: Pozzuoli.
Qibroth Hatthawah (Num., xi, 3; D.V.: "graves of lust"), station
of the Israelites on their journey from Sinai to Cades: possibly in
Wâdy Khbebeh.
Qir Moab (Is., xv, 1; D.V.: "the wall of Moab"), a proper name:
Kerak.
Qir Heres (Is., xvi, 7, etc.; D.V.: "brick walls"; Moabite
Stone, 1, 3). See Qir Moab.
Rabba,
Rabbath Ammon, principal city of the Ammonites: Ammân. See
Philadelphia.
Rabboth Moab. See Ar.
Rabboth (Jos., xix, 20; Issachar): Râbâ, 7 m. S.E. of
Jenîn.
Rachal (I Kings, xxx, 29; Septuag.: "in Carmel"). A city in S.
Juda; the text, however, is doubtful, and several commentat. prefer the
Greek reading.
Ragau (Judith, i, 5, 15): a prov. in Media.
Rages (Tob., i, 14, etc.): principal city in Ragau: Rai, S.E. of
Teheran.
Rama, 1 Of Aser: prob. Râmîâ, E. of Tyre. -- 2 Of
Benjamin Er-Ram, 5 m. N. of Jerusalem. -- 3 Of Galaad. See Ramoth
Galaad. -- 4 Of Nephtali: Rameh, 6 m. S.W. of Sâfed. See Arama. --
5 Of Samuel. Some: Ram-Allâh 3 m. S.W. of Beitîn; others:
Beit Rîmâ, 13 m. E.N.E. of Lydda; others: Ramleh; more
probably Rentis, W. of Beit Rîmâ. -- 6 Of Simeon: possibly
Kubbet el-Baul, S. of Hebron.
Ramatha, birthplace of Samuel. See Rama 5.
Ramathaim Sophim. See Rama 5.
Ramesses (Gen., xlvii, 11; Lower Egypt). The site has not yet
been identified; some see it in San, the Tanis of the ancients; others
in Es-Salihîeh.
Rameth. See Jaramoth.
Ramoth, 1 Of Galaad, usually called in the Bible Ramoth Galaad:
perhaps Reimûn (Conder); more probably Es-Salt. -- 2 See Jaramoth.
Ramoth Masphe. See Ramoth of Galaad.
Raphaim, 1 Generic term designating the early population of
Palestine: the Emim, Enacim, Horim, Zuzim, were Raphaim. -- 2 (Valley
of). A valley which seems to have been S. of Jerusalem, perh. the plain
El-Bûqei'a.
Raphidim (Ex., xvii, 8, etc.). A station of the Israelites in
their journey from the Red Sea to Sinai; may correspond to Wâdy
'Erphâîd.
Raphon (I Mach., v, 37; Transjord.): poss. Er-Râfe, E. of
the Jerb el-Hajj.
Rebla, 1 (Num., xxxiv, 11): N. boundary of Israel; its site is
much disputed: 'Arbîn, N.E. of Damascus; Rebleh, between Baalbek
and Homs; Halibna or Zôr Ramlîeh being proposed, the latter
with perhaps more probability. -- 2 Also called
Reblatha (IV Kings, xxv, 6, etc.): Rebleh, in the Beqâ'a
Reccath (Jos., xix, 35; Nephtali): an old name of Tiberias,
according to the Talmud.
Recem (Jos., xviii, 27; Benjamin). Unidentified.
Recha (I Par., iv, 12). Unknown.
Rechoboth (Gen., xxxvi, 37), a well near Bersabee: Naqb
er-Rûbâ'i (?).
Remmon, 1 (Jos., xv, 32, etc.; S. Juda): prob. Kh. Umm
er-Rummâmîn, N. of Bersabee. -- 2 (Jos., xix, 13; Zabulon):
Rummâneh, N. of Nazareth.
Remmono (I Par., vi, 77, Heb. 62): see Remmon 2.
Remmonphares (Num., xxxiii, 19), station of the Israelites on
their journey from Sinai to Cades. Unknown.
Rephidim, A.V. for Raphidim.
Resen (Gen., x, 12), one of the four cities which made up
Greater Ninive: poss. Selamîyeh.
Reseph (IV Kings, xix, 12; Assyria); Assyr.:
Rasapa: identified with Rusâfâ, between Palmyra and
the Euphrates.
Ressa (Num., xxxiii, 21), station of the Israelites, between
Sinai and Cades: Wâdy Suweiqâ (?).
Rethma (Num., xxxiii, 18), another station in the same
neighbourhood. Unknown.
Rhegium (Acts, xxvii, 40): Reggio di Calabria.
Rhodes (q.v. -- I Mach., xv, 23; Acts, xxi, 1).
Rogelim (II Kings, xvii, 27, etc.; Galaad). Unknown.
Rohob, 1 (Num., xiii, 22, etc.), in the neighbourhood of
Cæsarea Philippi: poss. Hibbarîyeh. -- 2 (Jos., xix, 23;
Aser): prob. Tell er-Râhîb, at a short distance from Sidon.
-- 3 (Jos., xix, 30; Judges, i, 31), near the Sea and the Cison.
Unknown.
Rohoboth. See Rechoboth.
Rome (q.v.).
Ruben (q.v.).
Ruma, 1 (Jos., xv, 52: should be Duma; S. Juda): Ed-Dôme,
S.E. of Eleutheropolis. -- 2 (IV Kings, xxiii, 36). Unknown.
Saananim (Jos., xix, 33; Nephtali): poss. Sin
en-Nâbrâ, S. of the L. of Tiberias.
Saarim (Jos., xv, 36; 5. Simeon): prob. identical with Sarohen.
Sabama (Jos., xiii, 19; Ruben): poss. Shânâb, N.W. of
Hesbân.
Saban. See Sabama.
Sabarim, 1 (Jos., vii, 5; D.V.: "quarries"), on the descent from
Hai towards the Ghôr. Unknown. -- 2 (Ezech., xlvii, 16), a town in
Syria "between the border of Damascus and the border of Emath."
Sabee (Jos., xix, 2; Simeon); text not certain.
Sachacha (Jos., xv, 61; desert of Juda): prob. Kh. es-Sikkheh.
Salebim (Jos., xix, 42, etc.; Dan): Kh. Selbît, N.W. of
Yâlô.
Salecha (Deut., iii, 10, etc.; E. limit of Basan): Salkhâd,
S. of Jebel Hauran.
Salem, 1 (Gen., xiv, 18), commonly identified with Jerusalem;
this identification, however, is far from certain. -- 2 (Gen., xxxiii,
18), perhaps not a proper name; if one, Salim, E. of Naplûs.
Salim (John, iii, 23). See Æ
NON.
Salmona (Num., xxxiii, 41), station of the Israelites in the
journey from Asiongaber to Moab; must be between the Gulf of
'Aqâba and Kh. Fenân. Unidentified.
Salmone (Acts, xxvii, 7), a promontory at the N.E. end of Crete:
C. Sidero.
Sama (Jos., xix, 2; S. Juda): perhaps
Saba should be read; might be Tell es-Seba', E. of Bersabee.
Samaraim (Jos., xviii, 22; Benjamin): prob. Kh. es-Sumrâ, 5
m. N. of Jericho.
Samaria (q.v.).
Samir, 1 (Jos., xv, 48; mount. of Juda): poss. Kh.
Sômerâh, S.W. of Hebron. -- 2 (Judges, x, 1, 2), the home and
burial place of Tola: Sanûr (?), between Samaria and Engannim.
Samos (q.v.).
Samothracia, an island in the Ægean Sea, S. of the Coast of
Thracia, N.W. of Troas.
Sanan (Jos., xv, 37; Sephela): perhaps the same city as
indicated in Mich., i, 11 (D.V.: "pass away"):
Senân.
Sanir. Name given to Mt. Hermon by the Amorrheans.
Saphon (Jos., xiii, 27; Gad). Some: El-Hammeh; others: Tell
Amâteh, N. of the Jaboc.
Saraa (Jos., xv, 33, etc.; Dan): Sûr'ah, W. of Jerusalem.
Saraim (Jos., xv, 36; plain of Juda): Kh. Sa'îreh, N.E. of
Zanû'a.
Sarathasar (Jos., xiii, 19; Ruben): Sârâ, a little S.
of the Zerqâ.
Sardis (Apoc., iii, 1), principal city of Lycia.
Sarea. See Saraa.
Sared. See Sarid.
Sareda. Prob. Sarthan.
Saredatha. See Sarthan.
Sarephta,
Sarepta (III Kings, xvii, 9, etc.): Sarafend, about 8 m. S. of
Sidon.
Sarid (Jos., xix, 10; Zabulon): poss. Tell Shâdûd,
S.W. of Nazareth.
Sarion. Name given by the Sidonians to Mt. Hermon.
Sarohen (Jos., xix, 6; S. Simeon): prob. Tell esh-Sherî'ah.
N.W. of Bersabee.
Saron, 1 Maritime plain between Jaffa and Mt. Carmel. -- 2
Country between Mt. Thabor and the L. of Tiberias. -- 3 (I Par., v,
16): either some region E. of the Jordan, or 1.
Sarona (Acts, ix, 35). See Saron 1.
Sarthan,
Sarthana (Jos., iii, 16, etc.): poss. Qarn Sartabeh, W. of the
Jordan, S. of the Wâdy Fâr'a.
Scorpion (Ascent of the). See Acrahim.
Scythopolis (II Mach., xii, 30): Beisân. See
Bethsan.
Seboim, I (Gen., x, 19, etc.). A city of the Pentapolis. -- 2 (I
Kings, xiii, 18). A valley leading from the Ghôr to the heights of
Machmas (Benjamin): Wâdy Abû Dâba', which debouches into
the Wâdy el-Kelt.
Sechrona (Jos., xv, 11; N. Juda): Kh. Sukereir (?).
Sedada (Num., xxxiv, 8): prob. Kh. Serâdâ, E. of the
Merj 'Aiyûn.
Segor (Gen., xiii, 10), generally identified with
Es-Safîyeh, in the Ghôr of the same name, S. of the Dead Sea.
Sehesima (Jos., xix, 22; Issachar), prob. E. of Mt. Thabor.
Unknown.
Seir, 1 (Gen., xxxvi, 8, etc.) practically synonymous with Edom:
the mountainous region between the S. end of the Dead Sea, the
Wâdy el-Emâz and the Wâdy Ar'ârah. -- 2 (Jos., xv,
10), a point defining the limit of Juda, S.W. of Cariathiarim.
Seira (IV Kings, viii, 21; Edom), poss. Ez-Zûweireh, W. of
the S. end of the Dead Sea.
Seirath (Judges, iii, 26), likely in the hill-country of
Ephraim, and not far from Galgala. Site unknown.
Sela, 1. See
Petra. -- 2 (Judges, i, 36): prob. Cades. -- 3
(Jos., xviii, 23; Benjamin): poss. Kh. Tabaqât, at a short
distance S.E. of Tell el-Fûl.
Selcha. See Salecha.
Selebin. See Salebim.
Seleucia (q.v. -- I Mach., xi, 8; Acts, xiii, 4).
Selim (Jos., xv, 32; 5. Juda), prob. the same as Sarohen.
Selmon, 1 (Judges, ix, 48): prob. Sheikh Selmân, S.W. of
Mt. Garizim. -- 2 (Ps. lxviii, 14): the text is not altogether certain;
perhaps the Asalmanus of Ptolemy: Jebel Hauran.
Semeron, 1 (Jos., xix, 15, etc.; Zabulon): perh.
Semûnîyeh, 5 m. W. of Nazareth; or Es-Semeirîyeh, 3 m.
N. of Acre. -- 2 (II Par., xiii, 4): a hill S. of Beitîn.
Senaa. Unknown.
Sene (I Kings, xiv, 4), one of two conspicuous rocks on the way
from the Wâdy Sûweinît, which seems to have retained the
name, to Machmas.
Senna. See Sin 2.
Sennaar: prob. Upper and Lower Babylonia.
Sennim. See Saananim.
Sensenna (I Par., iv, 31); Jos., xix, 5, has
Hasersusa, prob. identical.
Seon (Jos., xix, 19; Issachar): 'Ayûn esh-Shâ'în
(?), N.W. of Mt. Thabor.
Sephaath (Judges, i, 17; S. Juda): prob. Sbaite.
Sephama (Num., xxxiv, 10, 11), N. limit of the Holy Land; prob.
Ofânî, S.E. of Banîyas.
Sephamoth (I Kings, xxx, 28; S. Juda), near Aroer. Unknown.
Sephar (Gen., x, 30), limit of the country of the sons of
Jectan, commonly identified with Zaphar, in S. Arabia.
Sepharad (Abd., 20; D.V.: "Bosphorus"): some prov. in the
Persian empire.
Sepharvaim (IV Kings, xvii, 24, etc.): poss. Sippar, in
Babylonia: mod. Abû Habbâ; more prob. a city in Syria, poss.
Sabarim 2.
Sephata (II Par., xiv, 9-10): text unsettled. Some: Tell
es-Safîyeh; others: a valley near Maresa; others, with Sept.
"northwards".
Sephela: maritime plain from Jaffa to the "torrent of Egypt".
Sepher (Num., xxxiii, 23), a station of the Israelites in their
journey between Sinai and Cades: prob. the defiles of the Jebel
'Arâîf.
Sephet (Tob., i, l; Aser): poss. Sâfed, in Upper Galilee.
Ser (Jos., xix, 35; Nephtali). Unknown.
Sesach (Jer., xxv, 26; li, 41), cryptographic name of Babylon,
according to the system called the Athbash (i.e.:
Aleph=Thau; Beth=Shin; etc.).
Setim,
Settim. See Abel.
Siceleg (Jos., xv, 31, etc.; S. Simeon): prob. Kh.
Zûheilîqâ, N. of the Wâdy esh-Sherî'a.
Sichar (John, iv, 5), very prob. Sahel 'Askar, E. of
Naplûs.
Sichem (q.v.).
Sicyon (I Mach., xv, 23), a town N.W. of Corinth, on the Gulf of
Corinth.
Siddim (Gen xvi, 3, etc.; D.V.: "Woodland Vale"): plain of the
Pentapolis, believed to be about the Dead Sea, perhaps towards the S.
end.
Side (I Mach., xv, 23), a city on the coast of Pamphilia: Eski
Adalia.
Sidon (q.v.).
Silo (Jos. xviii, 1, etc. Ephraim). A famous place of worship of
the Israelites in early times; the Ark of the Covenant was kept there
until the last days of Heli. Silo was situated "on the N. of the city
of Bethel, and on the E. side of the way that goeth from Bethel to
Sichem, and on the S. of the city of Lebona" (Judges, xxi, 19):
Seilûn. See
Ark.
Siloe. See
Siloe;
Jerusalem.
Sin, 1. Desert in the Sinaitic Peninsula, through which the
Israelites went on leaving Egypt: Debbet er-Ramleh. -- 2. Egypt:
Sun: Pelusium.
Sinai (q.v.).
Sion, 1. See
Jerusalem. -- 2. Another name for Mt. Hermon.
Sior (Jos., xv, 44; mount. of Juda): Sâ'îr, N.N.E. of
Hebron.
Sis (II Par., xx, 16), a steepy passage from Engaddi up to the
desert above: prob. Wâdy Hâsâsâ.
Smyrna (q.v.).
Soba, Assyr.:
Subiti; a region in Syria, possibly S. of Damascus, in the
neighbourhood of the Jebel Hauran.
Sobal (Judith, iii, 1, 14; Ps. lix, 2), for Soba.
Soccoth, 1. (Ex., xii, 37) first station of the Israelites on
leaving Ramesses, poss. about Ismailiya or El-Gisr. -- 2 (Gen., xxxiii,
17, etc.; Gad); prob. Tell Dar'âla, N. of the Nahr ez-Zerqâ.
Socho, 1 (I Kings, xvii, 1), where David overcame Goliath: Kh.
esh-Shuweikeh, N .E. of Eleutheropolis. -- 2 (Jos., xv, 48; mount. of
Juda): prob. Kh. esh-Shuweikeh, S.W. of Hebron. -- 3. See Soccoth 2.
Sochot,
Sochoth. See Soccoth 2.
Sodom (q.v.).
Sorec (Judges, xvi, 4, etc.), a valley famous in the story of
Samson; prob. the Wâdy es-Sarâr; the name has been preserved
in the neighbouring Kh. Sûriq.
Sparta (q.v.).
Sual (I Kings, xiii, 17), a place which seems to have been in
the N. of Benjamin.
Suba. See Soba.
Sunam,
Sunem (Jos., xix, 18, etc.; Issachar): Sûlem, at the foot
of Jebel Dâhy, 4 m. N. of Zerâ'în.
Sur, 1. Desert E. of Egypt, also called Desert of Etham, perhaps
around Tharu, which the Egyptians considered their E. frontier. -- 2
(Judges, ii, 28), perhaps another form of the name Tyre (Hebr.
Çûr).
Susa,
Susan. See
Susa.
Syene (q.v.).
Syracuse (q.v.).
Syria (q.v.).
Taberah (A.V.). See Qibroth Hatthawah.
Tanis, a city in the Delta of the Nile: Zoan.
Taphna, a town in Lower Egypt, in the neighbourhood of Tanis and
Pelusium: Tell Defenne.
Taphua, 1 (Jos., xv, 34; Sephela). Unknown. -- 2 (Jos., xii,
17): "between Bethel and Epher". Unidentified. -- 3 (Jos., xvi, 8,
etc.), on the borders of Ephraim and Manasse, perh. the same as Taphua
2.
Tarsus (q.v.).
Tebbath (Judges, vii, 22), a city in the Ghôr, near
Abelmehula. Unidentified.
Telaim (I Kings, xv, 4; D.V.: "as lambs"): prob. Telem.
Telem (Jos., xv, 24; S. Juda), S. of Tell el-Milh, there is a
tribe of Arabs whose name, Dhâllâm, bears analogy with the
present Biblical name; moreover, all the district of Molada is called
Tûlam (Schwartz), possibly also a relic of the old name.
Temptation (Ex., xvii, 7, etc.). See Raphidim.
Terebinth (Valley of; I Kings, xvii, 2, etc.): between Socho and
Azeca, most prob. Wâdy es-Sant.
Thabor, 1. Mountain (q.v.). -- 2 (Jos., xix, 22; Judges, viii,
18; Issachar). Unknown. -- 3 (I Par., vi, 77; Zabulon); in Jos., xxi,
28, instead of Thabor, we read Daberath: Debûrîyeh.
Thacasin (Jos., xix, 13; Zabulon): possibly Corozain.
Thadmor. See
Palmira.
Thahath (Num., xxxiii, 26), given as a station of the Israelites
in their journey from Sinai to Cades; poss. a gloss added to the text.
Thalassa (Acts, xxvii, 8), a city in Crete, near Good-havens.
Thalassar (Is., xxxvii, 12), a region in W. Mesopotamia, prob.
along the Euphrates, between Balis and Birejik.
Thaleha (Jos., xix, 7, Septuag.), for Ether.
Thamar (Ezech., xlvii, 19; xlviii, 28): poss. Thamara of the
classics, and Thamaro of the Peutinger Table, on the road from Hebron
to Elath.
Thamna, 1 (Judges, xiv, 1, 25; Benjamin) Kh. Tibneh, W. of 'Ain
Shems. -- 2 (Gen., xxxviii, 12-14; Jos., xv, 57; N. Juda); Assyr.:
Tamna; perh. Tibneh, N.W. of Jebâ'a; more prob.
Tibnâh, S.E. of Deir Abân.
Thamnata (I Mach., ix, 50), between Bethel and Pharathon: poss.
El-Taiyebeh, or Tammûn, in the Wâdy Fâr'a.
Thamnathsaraa,
Thamnathsare, burialplace of Josue: prob. Kh. el-Fakhakhir, in
Ephraim.
Thanac,
Thanach (Jos., xxi. 25, etc.): Tell Ta'annak, S.W. of
Lejûn.
Thanathselo (Jos., xvi, 6; N. Ephraim): Ta'anâ, S.E. of
Naplûs.
Thapsa, 1 (III Kings, iv, 24), N. limit of Solomon's kingdom:
Thapsacus, on the Euphrates, above the confluence of the Belik. Kala'at
Dibseh. -- 2 (IV Kings, xv, 6), city taken by Manahem, after he had
overthrown Sellum: prob. a mistake for Thersa.
Thare (Num., xxxiii, 27), supposed to be a station of the
Israelites on the journey from Sinai to Cades; poss. a gloss.
Tharela (Jos., xviii, 7; Benjamin). Unknown.
Tharsis, 1. A maritime country far to the W. of Palestine, and
on the location of which there is much variance of opinions, some
deeming it to be Spain (Tartessos); others Carthagena, in Spain
(Tarseion), others, the Tyrrhenians (Tiras of Gen., x, 12), or
Etruscans. -- 2 (Judges, ii, 13), pose. Tarsus of Cilicia.
Thebath (I Par., xviii, 8), identical with Bete.
Thebes (Judges, ix, 50; II Kings, xi, 21; Samaria):
Tûbâs, N.E. of Naplûs.
Thecua,
Thecue (Amos, i, 1), birthplace of Amos: Kh. Teqû'a, S. of
Bethlehem.
Thelassar. See Thalassar.
Thelharsa (I Esd., ii, 59; II Esd., vii, 61), an unknown
Babylonian city.
Thelmala (I Esd., ii, 59; II Esd., vii, 61), another unknown
Babylonian city.
Theman (Jer., xlix, 7, etc.): poss. Chobak, in the Wâdy
Gharandel, S. of the Dead Sea.
Thelmela. See Thelmala.
Themna. See Thamna.
Thenac. See Thanac.
Thersa (Jos., xii, 24, etc.; Samaria), the capital of Jeroboam's
kingdom: poss. Tullûzâh, N. of Mt. Hebal, or Et-Tîreh,
near Mt. Garizim.
Thesbe, birthplace of Elias; whether Thisbe of Galilee (see
below), or Thesbon of Galaad (Kh. el-Istib, near the Wâdy
'Ajlûn, 10 m. N. of the Jaboc), is not absolutely certain,
although the Greek favours the latter opinion.
Thessalonica (q.v.).
Thisbe (Tob., i, 2), birthplace of Tobias, S. of Cedes of
Nephtali.
Thochen. See Ether.
Thogorma (Gen., x, 3, etc.): Phrygia, according to Josephus and
Targum; others generally identify it with Armenia, and especially W.
Armenia. Cf. Asayr.:
Til-Garimmu.
Tholad. See Eltholad.
Thophel (Deut., i, 1): poss. Tefîleh, S.E. of the Dead Sea.
Thopo (I Mach., ix, 50; Judea), perh. identicai with Taphua 1.
Three Taverns (Acts, xxviii, 15), a place likely near the mod.
Cisterna on the Appian Way.
Thyatira (Apoc., ii, 20), a city in Lydia: Ak-Hissar.
Tiberias. See
Galilee.
Tichon (Ezech., xlvii, 16; D.V.; "the house of Tichon"):
possibly El-Hadr, E.N.E. of Banîyas, on the Nahr Mughannîyeh.
Tob. A country E. of the Jordan; Geographers are at variance as
to its location: some place it S.W. of Soba; others, S. of Gadara;
others E. of the bridge called Jisr Benât Yâkûb.
Topheth. See
Jerusalem.
Tripoli (q.v.).
Troas (Acts, xvi, 6-8), a seaport in Mysia: Eski Stambûl.
Trogyllium (Acts, xx, 15, accord, to MS.D; omitt. in the
principal other Manuscripts), a promontory in Asia Minor, over against
the E. end of Samos: C. Mycale.
Tubin (I Mach., v, 13). See Tob.
Tyre (q.v.).
Ur (Gen., xi, 28, etc.); Assyr.: Uru: el-Mughâir, on the right bank of the Lower Euphrates.
Vale Casis (Jos., xviii, 21), a place in the Ghôr, in the
neighbourhood of Jericho.
Vedan (Ezech., xxvii, 19), poss. Egypt.:
Uethen, a city E. of Egypt; the text is not clear.
Zabulon (q.v.).
Zanoa,
Zanoe, 1 (Jos., xv, 34, etc.; Sephela): Zanû'a. -- 2 (Jos.,
xv, 56, etc.; mount. of Juda): Kh. Zanûtâ.
Zephrona (Num., xxxiv, 9; N. limit of the Holy Land): perh. Kh.
Senbarîyeh.
Ziklag, A.V. for Siceleg.
Ziph (Jos., xv, 24, etc.; desert of Juda): Tell ez-Ziph, betw.
Hebron and Carmel.
Zoheleth (III Kings, i, 9), a rocky place near Jerusalem; the
name seems preserved in the mod. Ez-Zehweileh.
The bibliography of Biblical Geography is very extensive. In his Bibliotheca Geographica Palestinœ (Berlin, 1890), RÖRICHT attempted a classification of the whole literature of the subject, from 333 to 1878. TOBLER had already paved the way by a similar work, some twenty-five years before. A systematic enumeration has been undertaken by Prof. THOMSEN, of the German Palestinian Institute. We must limit ourselves here to a selection of: I. Serials and periodicals; II. Studies on old sources; III. General works; IV. Special subjects.
I. First and foremost, the publications of the Palestine Exploration Fund, since 1865. Besides the maps of E. and W. Palestine (1 inch to the mile), seven volumes of Memoirs on W. Palestine, Moab, Jerusalem, special papers, name-lists, three volumes of studies on natural history, botany, geology, have been issued, and others are forthcoming. The Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement announces the progress of the work accomplished by the society. Germany has likewise her Palestine Association, issuing the Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins (abbreviated ZdDPV), the Mittheilungen und Nachrichten des DPV. The Imperial Palestinian Institute began in 1905 the publication of a Palästinajahrbuch. The Ecole pratique d'Etudes Bibliques of the French Dominicans at Jerusalem started in 1892 the excellent Revue Biblique; the Faculté Orientale of the St. Joseph University at Beirut has been issuing yearly since 1906 a stout volume of Mélanges; while the members of the American School of Oriental Study and Research in Palestine publish their contributions mostly in the Biblical World and The American Journal of Archœology. Valuable articles on Biblical geography are likewise to be found in CLERMONT-GANNEAU: Mélanges d' Archéologie Orientale, also in the Oriens Christianus, and the Revue de l'Orient Latin.
II. 1. PETRIE, Syria and Egypt from the Tell el Amarna letters (London, 1898); ZIMMERN, Palästina um das Jahr 1400 v. Chr. (s. d.); CLAUSS, Die Städte der El Amarna Briefe und die Bibel in ZdDPV, t. XXV (1907), parts 1 and 2; DHORME, Les pays bibliques au temps d'El Amarna in Revue Biblique (1908, Octob.). 2. MAX MÜLLER, Asien und Europa nach Altägyptischen Denkmälern (Leipzig, 1893); ID., Die Palästinaliste Thutmosis III, in Mittheilungen der Vorderas. Gesellschaft (1907), I, 3. SCHRADER-WINCKLER, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament (3rd ed.; a new edition, entitled Keilinschriften und Bibel, is forthoomiar, vol. II, to be published by H. WINCKLER, will be devoted to history and geography). 4. Notitia dignitatum et administrayionum omnium tam civilium quam militarium in partibus Orientis et Occidentis (BÖCKING edit., 1839-1853); Peutinger Table (ed. prine., 1591; ed. DESJARDINS, Paris, 1875). 5. DE LAGARDE, Onomastica Sacra (Gôttingen, 1870); KLOSTERMANN, Eusebius Onomasticon der Bibl. Ortsnamen (Leipzig, 1904); THOMSEN, Palästina nach dem Onomasticon des Eusebius in ZdDPV, XXVIII, 97-141; ID., Loca sacra; Verzeichnis der 1. bis 6. Jahrh. n. Chr. erwähnten Ortschaften Palästinas (Halle, 1907). 6. NEUBAUER, La Géographie du Talmud (Paris, 1868). 7. Descriptions of the Holy Land by early Christian pilgrims may be found in P. L., VIII (PILGRIM or BORDEAUX); CLV, and P. G., CXXXIII. The Palestine Pilgrims Texts Society have printed these and other texts, even of Moslem writers; some likewise (BURKARD, Descriptio Terrœ Sanctœ, in particular), may be found in LAURENT, Peregrinatores Medii œvi quattuor (Leipzig, 1873); others in GOLUBOVICH, Biblioteca bio-Bibliografica della Terra Santa e dell' Oriente Francescano (Quaracchi, 1906). A good criticism of some of these Pilgrims' texts is given in BAUMSTARK, Abendländische Palästinapilger des ersten Jahrtausends und ihre Berichte (Cologne, 1906). 8. PARIS, Guillaume de Tir et ses continuateurs (Paris, 1879-80); Recueil des historiens des Croisades, publié per les soins de l'Académie des inscriptions et Belles-Lettres-Historiens Orientaux (Paris, 1884-); REY, Recherches géographiques et historiques sur la domination des Latins en Orient (Paris, 1877); Colonies Franques de la Syrie au XII e el au XIII e s. (Paris, 1883).
III. BAEDEKER (BENZIGER), Palestine and Syria (4th ed., Leipzig, 1906); CONDER, Handbook to the Bible (London, 1887); ID., Palestine and numerous articles on Bibl. geography in HAST., Dict. of the Bible; HURLBUT. Manual of Biblical Geography (Chicago, 1894); RITTER, The Comparative Geography of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula (Edinburgh, 1866); SMITH, Historical Geography of the Holy Land (New York, 1908, 13th ed.); STANLEY, Sinai and Palestine (London, 1886); THOMSON, The Land and the Book (3 vols., London, 1881-86); WILSON, The Lands of the Bible (Edinburgh, 1847); BENZIGER, Hebräische Archäologie (Tübingen, 1907); BUHL, Geographie des Alten Palästina (Freiburg and Leipzig, 1896); RIESS, Biblische Geographie (Freiburg, 1872); ID., Atlas Scripturœ Sacrœ, re-edited by RÜCKERT; Freiburg, 1906); FILLION AND NICOLLE, Atlas Géographique de la Bible (Lyons and Paris, 1890); GRATZ, Théâtre des événements racontes dans les divines écritures, Fr. tr., by GIMAREY, revised by BUGNIOT (Paris, 1869); GUÉRIN, Description géographique, historique et archéologique de la Palestine (3 vois., Paris, 1868-1880); LEGENDRE, Carte de La Palestine ancienne et moderne (Paris, s. d.); ID., Palestine, and numerous geographical and topographical articles in VIGOUROUX, Dict. de la Bible; LIÉVIN DE HAMME, Guide indicateur de la Terre Sainte (Jerusalem, 4th ed., 1897); HAGEN, Atlas biblicus (Paris, 1897); RELAND, Palœstina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata (Utrecht, 1714).
IV. 1. ROBINSON, Physical Geography of the Holy Land (London, 1865); HULL, Memoir on the Geology and Geography of Arabia Petœa, Palestine and adjoining districts (London, 1889); LARTET, Essai sur la géologie de la Palestine et des contrées avoisinantes, in Annales des sciences géologiques, I (1869); BLANCKENHORN, Entstehung und Geschichte des Todten Meeres, in ZdDPV, XIX (1896). 2. VAN KASTEREN, La frontière septentrionale de la Terre Promise, in Revue Biblique, IV (1895), 23 sqq. 3. FURRER, Die antiken Städte und Ortschaften im Libanongebiete, in ZdDPV, VIII (1885). 4. FURRER, Zur Ostjordanischen Topographie, in ZdDPV, XIII (1890); SCHUMACHER, Der Dscholan, in ZdDPV, IX(1886), tr. The Jaulan (London, 1888). .5. DE LUYNES, Voyage d'Exptoration à la Mer Morte (Paris, s. d.); DE SAULCY, Voyage autour de la Mer Morte (Paris, 1853); GAUTIER, Autour de la Mer Morte (Paris, 1898). 6. CONDER, Heth and Moab (London, 1889); TRISTRAM, The Land of Moab (London, 1874); BRÜNNOW AND VON DOMASZESWKI, Die Provincia Arabia (Strasburg, 1904); MUSIL, Karte von Arabia Petrœa (Vienna, 1906); ID., Arabia Petrœa: Topoqraphischer Reisebericht; I, Moab; II, Edom (Vienna, 1907). 7. PALMER, The Desert of the Exodus (Cambridge, 1871); DE LABORDE, Commentaire géographique sur l'Exode et les Nombres (Paris, 1841); LAGRANGE, Le Sinai biblique, in Revue Biblique (1889), 369-92; ID., L'Itinéraire des Israélites du pays de Gessen aux bords du Jourdain in Revue Biblique (l900), 63-86; 273-87; 443-49; SZCZEPANSKI, Nach Petra und zum Sinai (Innsbruck, 1908).
Charles L. Souvay.
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