from the former. It was near the Mediterranean sea, between Ashdod and Jamnia. It was the first to propose sending back the ark of the Lord, to avoid the calamities it occasioned. 1 Sam v. 10, 11; 2 K. i. 2.

Ashdod, in Greek Azotos, was the place where the ark was first conveyed by the Philistines, when it was captured. Here was a temple of Dagon. It experienced many vicissitudes. In one instance it is said to have endured a siege of twenty-seven years! It is now a wretched village called Esdud. 1 Sam. v. 1; vi. 17.

Gaza or Azzah. It was the limit of Joshua's conquests, but afterwards appears to have been brought under the power of the Israelites, for a time, though of this there is doubt. It was at Gaza that Samson carried off the door of the gate. Gaza was near the southern border of Canaan towards Egypt. Its location made it a city of importance. It was subject, at different times, to the Hebrews, Chaldeans, Egyptians and Phoenicians. was destroyed in the year 98; but a new town was afterwards built, not far from the site of the old. The new town still exists. The place is pointed out where the temple was pulled down by Samson! Jos. x. 41; xi. 22; Jud. i. 18; vi. 4; xvi. 1. It is now called Ghuzzeh.

Ashkelon was in the tribe of Judah, and is representted as being conquered by that tribe; but it is not on the foregoing list. It was situated on the sea, but had no harbor. It was surrounded at one time by a high, strong wall, both ends of which terminated in the sea In the Samaritan copy, Ashkelon stands for Gerar, in Gen. xx. 1, 2. Ashkelon was the birth place of Herod the Great. Jud. i. 18.

Gerar is another Philistine city, mentioned once or twice in these books. It was an ancient city, mentioned as far back as the time of Abraham. It was in the territory assigned to Judah. 2 Chron. xiv. 13.

Gath is another Philistine city that may be reckoned to Judah, though it was not conquered till the time of

David. It was near the northern border, and appears to have been claimed by Benjamin. 1 Chron. viii. 13. It is often alluded to in the ancient sacred history. The inhabitants were called Gittites. Goliath the giant was a Gittite. There were many giants in Gath. Goliath had a brother that is mentioned. After the Philistines were conquered, and made subject to David, the latter had a company of six hundred men as a part of his body-guard. The captain was Ittai, who insisted upon accompanying the king into exile, when he left the city on the approach of Absalom. The following references will exhibit many other circumstances that relate to Gath. Jos. xi. 22; 1 Sam. vii. 14; xxi. 10; xxvii. 2, 4; xvii. 23; 2 Sam. xv. 18; 1 K. ii. 39, 40,

Metheg-ammah, the same as Gath. 2 Sam. viii. 1.

6. Places in the mountains. Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kirjath-sannah or Debir, Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon and Giloh. xv. 48-51.

Socoh was fortified by Rehoboam. 2 Chron. xi. 7. Debir was one of the cities given to Caleb. To any one who should get possession of it for him, he promised his daughter in marriage. The daughter fell to Othniel, his nephew. Jos. xv. 15, 16. The place had three names. Besides the two above given, it had Kirjath-sepher. Jos. xv. 15, 49. Eshtemoh was a city of the priests. Eusebius says it was near Eleutheropolis, but a little north of it. David sent presents to Eshtemoh or Eshtemoa. Jos. xxi. 14; 1 Sam. xxx. 28. Goshen may

have been named from the residence of the Hebrews in Egypt. It was destroyed by Joshua. Jos. x. 41; xi. 16. Holon was a city of the priests. It is probably the same as Hilen in the parallel passage. Jos. xxi. 15; 1 Chron. vi. 58. Giloh is distinguished as the residence of Ahithophel, counselor of David. 2 Sam. xv. 12.

7. Additional places in the mountains. Arab, Dumah, Eshean, Janum, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kirjath-arba or Hebron, Zior. xv. 52-54.

Of these the only city of importance is Hebron. It

was an ancient city, once the residence of Abraham. Here the burial place, Machpelah, is shown to travelers at the present day. It was called Kirjath-arba, or city of Arba, because it was built by one Arba, the father of Anak. Before the time of Abram, it was called Mamre. Arba was the father of Anak; and from Anak comes the plural form Anakim, the name of a race of giants. Hebron took an active part in opposing Joshua, and was one of the first places that fell by his hands. It became the inheritance of Caleb, according to the promise of Moses. It was nearly central between the north and south boundary of Judah, and was, for over seven years, the royal seat of David. Joab slew Abner at Hebron, to the great grief of David. It was here that David was first anointed king. It was still a large town in 1823, with a mosque over the tomb of Abraham. Jos. x. 3, 5; xx. 7; xxi. 11, 13; 2 Sam. ii. 1; iii. 22–27; v. 1, 3, 5.

8. Additional towns in the mountains. Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah. xv. 55-57.

There was a town of Maon, and a wilderness of the same name. Probably they were near together. The wilderness where David was concealed, was south of Jeshimon. It was there that Nabal resided, who had flocks in Carmel, whose wife became the wife of David. 1 Sam. xxiii. 24, 25; xxv. 2, 3. It is seven miles from Hebron, and now called Main. A place in the wilderness of Maon, received from Saul the name of Selahammah-lekoth, to indicate the necessity he was under of giving up the pursuit of David. 1 Sam. xxiii. 28.

Carmel was the name of the district where Nabal kept his flocks. The town or city Carmel was probably in the district. Uzziah king of Judah, who gave much attention to the cultivation of the soil, had vineyards in Carmel. Here Saul erected a monument, after his return from destroying the Amalekites. 2 Chron. xxvi. 1 Sam. xv. 12. It was ten miles east of Hebron.

10;

Jezreel was where David obtained one of his wives. Her name was Ahinoam.

Timnah is probably where Judah, in olden times, before the descent to Egypt, kept his sheep. Gen. xxxviii. It was afterwards given to Dan, and called Thimnathah.

9. Another list. Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon. xv. 58, 59. Beth-zur was fortified by Rehoboam. It was an important place in the time of the Maccabees. 1 Mac. iv. 7; 2 Mac. xi. 5.

The Gedor here mentioned is not the one alluded to in 1 Chron. iv. 39, as belonging to Simeon; for the portion of Simeon, though taken from Judah, was not in this part of the tribe.

10. The next list has but two towns, though one of them is an important one. They are Rabbah and Kirjath-baal, which is the same as Kirjath-jearim. The former we know nothing about; but the other was the abode of the ark, for about twenty years, after its return by the Philistines. xv 60.

Beside the two names given above, the place was called Baalah, probably from baal, the last half of Kirjathbaal. This part of the name would indicate that it was once a sacred place, in the hands of the Canaanites, as it was a city of the priests, in the hands of the Israelites. It was on the border of Benjamin; and the other cities, associated with it as belonging to the Gibeonites, were allotted to that tribe. Jos. ix. 17; xviii. 14, 15; Jud. xviii. 12; 1 Sam. vi. 21; vii. 1, 2; 1 Chron. xiii. 6; 2 Chron. i. 4.

In this town of Kirjath-jearim, is a locality mentioned elsewhere, called Mahaneh-dan, or camp of Dan. It was a temporary camp of 600 Danites, while on an excursion in pursuit of a new settlement. Expounders are greatly perplexed, in respect to this camp, and another that was located between Zoreah and Eshtaol, in the tribe of Dan. Regarding these two camps as one, when one was a permanent camp that had existed in the youth of Samson, near the residence of his father, and the place

of his burial; and the other had no existence before or after the night it was occupied by the 600 free-booters, it is not surprising that it should be difficult to make them identical. Jud. xiii. 25; xviii. 12.

11. Localities in the wilderness. That part of Judah called the "wilderness" was situated in the north-east part of the territory belonging to that tribe. This is evident from the mention of Beth-arabah, as one. of its towns; for this we found on the border of the tribe near the Jordan. Besides Beth-arabah, there were Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the city of Salt and En-gedi. xv. 61, 62.

Beth-arabah, also claimed by Benjamin, may be the same as Beth-barah; and the latter is no doubt the Bethabara of the New Testament. It would then follow that the place was on the Jordan, and near the spot at which the Israelites crossed. The name is supposed to be derived from this circumstance. It means house of the passage. Jos. xv. 5; xviii. 18; Jud. vii. 24; John i. 28.

The city of Salt, one might suppose, would be located near the valley of Salt, and yet the meaning of Salt may be wholly an accidental circumstance. It is generally supposed, however, that the name was given with reference to the valley of Salt, which took its name, probably, from the abundance of salt in the region where it was located, namely, near the southern point of the Dead Sea, called by the Hebrews the Salt Sea. It is well known that the Dead Sea is abundantly impregnated with salt; and vast quantities of that article are found in the soil, and on the surface of the ground, near the southern point of that sea.

En-gedi. David spent a portion of his exile in the strong-holds of En-gedi. In more ancient times the place was called Hazezon-tamar, and is so named in Genesis. The place has been identified; and is located about midway between the two extremities of the Dead Sea, on the western shore. The name remains nearly the same i. e. Ain-Jidy. The En, in the common version, should have been Ain. 1 Sam. xxiii. 29; xxiv. 1; 2 Chron. xx. 2.