a

of Tiberias, and a tract of land called Genefareth. It is reckoned to be about twelve or fifteen miles in length, and five or fix in breadth ", Jofephus writes, "the breadth thereof is forty furlongs, and befides those a hundred more for a hundred and forty) in length; and that it has in it great variety of fish, which, for tafte and shape, are not to be found any where elfe." Beyond this the river grows narrow, and runs along to the very fouth-end of the country, falling at laft into the Dead Sea, where, of old, was Sodom and Gomorrah, which were confumed by fire and brimftone thrown down from heaven.

Sometimes there is mention made in fcripture of a wilderness, or defart. But the defarts among the Jews were not places altogether uninhabited, but, as with us, the country is in refpect to cities or principal towns, fo were the defarts in the Jews land, namely, places more open and common, where were hills and woods, and fome towns here and there: Such was the wildernefs of Judea, and the wilderness of Paran, where Nabal dwelt o. A judicious modern author fays of the wilderness of St. John Baptift, "a wilderness it is called, as being very rocky and mountainous, but it is well cultivated, and produces plenty of corn, and vines, and Olive trees .

Again, we often read in fcripture of caves and dens in the mountains and rocks; fome of which were large; fuch as thofe f, in which Obadiah hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets, by fifty in a cave. The five kings difcomfited by Jofhua

y Thevenot's Travels, Part I. B. ii. Ch. 55. W. B. iii. Ch. 9. Hudfon's Edit. Sect. vii. .Ch. 18. b Lightfoot, Hore in Matth. iii. 1. di Sam. xxv. 1, 2. e

and Luke i. 8o.

Kings xviii. 13.

I

Jofephus,

a Ibid. B. iii.

© Mat. iii. I. Maundrell's Travels.

h

hid themselves in a cave in Makkedah %, and David efcaped to the cave Adullam 1. Thefe caves and dens feem to have been cut out of the rocks and mountains, for a fhelter and refuge in time of war; and it is probable the Canaanites, a warlike and gigantick people, might have digged many of them, and that the ifraelites increafed the number. Thus we find, that when the hand of Midian prevailed againft Ifrael, the children of Ifrael made them dens that are in the mountains, and caves and strong holds . And the people in diftress did hide themfelves in caves and rocks, and in pits.

Concerning the fruitfulness of this country; God himself promifed the Ifraelites, that it was a good land, a land of brooks of waters, and fountains, a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, a land of oil, olive, and honey, Jofephus fays of it, "In both the Galilees there "are fat and fruitful paftures, and they are plant"ed with all forts of trees, fo as to entice even "those who are no great lovers of husbandry: "There are cities and villages in abundance, by "reafon of the fruitfulness of the foil, &c. The

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country of Samaria is wonderfully fruitful: "There is great plenty of grafs, and it yields a large increase of milk. Judea, like Samaria, is "mountainous and rich, fit for husbandry, and "well ftored with trees.'

As to the condition of it now, the foremen tioned late ingenious and judicious traveller gives the following account; viz. that he has travelled

Joshua x. 16.

m

from

1 Judges vi. 2.

1 Maundrell's m Ibid. Theve

j

I Sam. xiii. 6.

I Sam. xxii.
Deut viii. 7, &.

pot. Travels, part I.

book ii,

ch. 54. and 55. Mr. Sandys

Travels, book iii. ch. 2. Gr. ch. 3.

from Acra, or Accha, called anciently Accho and in after-times Ptolemais, through part of the tribes of Afhur, Zebulon, Manaffeh, and Ephraim, for about twenty-one hours journey, that is, fixtythree miles, at three miles by the hour: It was for the most part very fertile, but uncultivated, only ferving the Arabs, who are the chief poffeffors of the country, for pafturage; but that "all

66

along one day's journey, before he came to "Jerufalem, and alfo as far as he could fee round, "instead of delicious plains he had before paffed "through, he difcovered a quite different face "from what it had before, prefenting nothing to

the view in most places, but naked rocks, "mountains and precipices ; at the fight of "which pilgrims are apt to be aftonifhed, finding "the country in such an inhofpitable condition, "concerning whofe pleafantnefs and plenty they

had before formed in their minds fuch high ideas, "from the defcription given of it in the word of God: But it is obvious for any one to obferve, that thofe rocks and hills muft have been anci"ently covered with earth, and cultivated, and "made to contribute to the maintainance of the "inhabitants. For the hufbanding of thofe moun"tains, their manner was to gather up ftones, and

place them in feveral lines along the fides of "the hill, in form of a wall. By fuch borders "they fupported the mould from tumbling, or

being washed down, and formed many beds "of excellent foil, rifing gradually one above an"other from the bottom to the top of the mountains.

Sandys fays of the country near Hebron, "We pafed through "the most pregnant and plealant valley that ever eye be "held." See his travels, book iii. p. 150. Jud. i. 35.

• Maundrell, March 25,

n

66

tains. Of this form of culture you fee evident footsteps, where ever you go, in all the moun"tains of Palestine. Than the plain country no"thing can be more fruitful, whether for the pro"duction of corn or cattle, and confequently of

milk. The hills, though improper for all cattle "except goats, yet being difpofed into fuch beds, "as before defcribed, ferved very well to bear corn, melons, gourds and cucumbers, and fuch "like garden-ftuff, which makes the principal food. "of thofe countries for feveral months in the year. "The great plain joining to the Dead Sea, which, "by reafon of its faltnefs, might be thought un"ferviceable both for cattle, corn, olives, and "vines, had yet its' ufefulness for the nouproper "rishment of bees, and for the fabric of honey; "of which Jofephus gives us his testimony P. And "I have reafon to believe it, becaufe when I was "there, I perceived, in many places, a fmell of honey and wax as ftrong as if one had been in an apiary: Why then might not this country main"tain the vaft number of its inhabitants, being

66

every part fo productive, either of milk, corn, "wine, oil, or honey, which are the principal "food of eastern nations; the constitution of their bodies, and the nature of their clime, inclining

to a more abstemious diet than we use in Eng"land, and other colder regions "". Such like was the provifion of Judith, wine, oil, parched corn, figs, and fine bread '.

The temper and employment of the Jews, when in their own land, is thus fet forth by their VOL. I. country

D

P In his wars of the Jews, book v. Ch. 4. ¶ Maundrel. To the fame purpofe Morrifon's Itiner. part I. book iii. ch. 1. near the end thereof. I Judith x. 5.

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countryman Jofephus ; "We live, fays he, in "a midland country, and for the matter of trade "and ramble, we never trouble our heads upon "either of thefe accounts: Our cities lie remote "from the fea, the foil fruitful, and well dreffed "and cultivated: Our greatest care is for the "maintenance and education of our children, "and to have them trained up to piety, and in "obedience to the laws of our country: And "this we reckon the main bufinefs of our lives. "We have a peculiar way of living to ourfelves, "which gives us to understand, that, in time paft, "we had no communication with the Greeks, as "the Egyptians and Phoenicians had; neither did our predeceffors make inroads upon their neigh"bours, for the enlarging their eftates."

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SECTION III.

A Defcription of the City of Jerufalem, and the adjacent Places.

THE

HE city a was not built on a plain, but there were two principal mounts or hills in it, and valleys between them; as, Firft, Mount Zion, which was the higheft, and took up moit of the fouth part of the city: This was fecured by nature with deep vallies, and high and steep

* Contra Appion, Book 1. not far from the beginning. a Of Jerufalem, probably fo called from Salem, Jofephus W. Book vii. Ch. 18. (of which Melchifedek was king, Gen. xiv. 18.) and Jebus from the Jebufites, who poffeffed it afterwards, Jofh. xv. 63. Hence named Jebufalem, and for the eafier found's fake, Jerufalem. Adricomii Defcript. Num. 1. Dr. Wells' Hiftor. Geograph. of the Old Teftament, Vol. III. Chap. 2. b Jofephus W. Book vi. Ch. 6.