was previously. Shechem was also the residence at one period of the patriarch Jacob, whose well was there, and the burial-place of his son Joseph. It lay between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, from the former of which the cursings, and from the latter the blessings, of the law were read to the assembled tribes, on their taking possession of the promised land. Below this was Shiloh, where the tabernacle was set up, and remained from the time of Joshua to that of Samuel. East of Shiloh is the brook of Cherith, where Elijah was concealed and fed by Ravens; and south of Shiloh, Ephraim. Below Ephraim was Bethel, the southern limit of the kingdom of Israel, as distinguished from that of Judah. Here, and at Dan, Jeroboam set up the idolatrous worship of the golden calves, with the view of preventing the Israelites from resorting to Jerusalem. South-east of Bethel was Ai, near which was once the encampment of Abraham. The city was subsequently taken by Joshua, who previously suffered a defeat from its inhabitants, through God's judgment on the sacrilege of Achan. South-east of Ai is Jericho, whose walls fell down before the people of Israel. It was rebuilt by Hiel in the days of Ahab, and became a place of importance. Near it was the fountain of Elisha. Nearer the Jordan was Gilgal, the first encampment of the Israelites, and west of Jericho was Gibeah, the residence of Saul. West of Gibeah was Gibeon, whose inhabitants, by false representations, made a peace with Joshua; and above it Ramah, the residence of Samuel. Still west was Beth-horon, the scene of the overthrow of the five kings by hailstones, in the days of Joshua. South-west of Gibeon was Kirjath-jearim, where the ark remained, after its restoration by the Philistines in the days of Samuel, until the time of David. The city of Jerusalem itself was on the confines of Judah and Benjamin. It is mentioned as Salem, of which Melchizedek was king in the days of Abraham, and was called also Jebus

from the Jebusites, who held it until the seventh year of the reign of David. Below Jerusalem was Bethlehem, the city of David; and below it Hebron, the burial-place of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the royal city of David until Jerusalem was taken. In this neighbourhood were Ziph, Carmel, Maon and Keilah, memorable in the account of the flight of David from Saul, and on the coast of the Dead Sea, the cliff Ziz and Engedi. Westward from Hebron were Libnah, Lachish and Eglon, destroyed in the first campaign of Joshua. Among the Philistines were Ekron, Ashdod, Gath, Ascalon and Gaza, the chief cities of their five princes. Above Gaza is the brook Eshcol, whence the spies brought grapes of extraordinary luxuriance to the tribes in the wilderness. South-eastward is Gerar, and still south-east Beersheba, the encampment of Isaac, and the southern extremity of the land, whence "from Dan even to Beersheba" is put for the whole land of Israel.

On the east of Jordan, it will be sufficient to mention. Mizpeh of Gilead, where Laban overtook Jacob on his return from Paran. South-west of this was Mahanaim, where Jacob saw a vision of angels. Mount Gilead itself was famous for its forests and balsams, as well as for its rich pastures. On the north-eastern side of the mountain was Ramoth Gilead, a frequent subject of contention between the Israelites and Syrians. Nearly at the head of the Dead Sea was Mount Nebo, the chief summit of Mount Abarim, whence Moses beheld the land of promise, and where he died. It need scarcely be added that the Dead Sea covers the plain of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were perhaps near its southern end. The northern part of the

depth of two or three

lake suddenly passes from the fathoms to that of near 1300 feet. It is of intense saltness, and is 1200 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. At the commencement of the Christian era the

upper

part of Palestine (Pl. XVIII.), west of the Jordan, was occupied by Galilee, divided into Upper Galilee, or Galilee of the Gentiles, adjacent to Cœle-Syria, and Lower Galilee, which was chiefly inhabited by Jews. Below Galilee was Samaria, and in the south Judæa. On the eastern side of the Jordan, in the north, was the tetrarchy of Abilene, in the neighbourhood of Damascus, with Abila, its capital. Below it were the tetrarchies of Ituræa and Trachonitis. The strongly fortified city of Gaulon gave the name of Gaulonitis to the antient Golan, and east of it Batanæa preserves traces of the old name Bashan. East of Batanæa was Auranitis, about Mons Alsadamus, the antient Mount Hauran. Its chief city was Bostra, Bozra, or Bezer in the Wilderness, subsequently the capital of a Roman province formed under the name of Arabia. Below these was Peræa, perhaps derived from πépav, as being beyond the Jordan. It extended to the river Arnon.

Near the sources of the Jordan was Paneas, about four miles eastward of the site of Laish. It was called also Cæsarea Philippi, from Herod's son Philip, whose name was added to distinguish it from another Cæsarea, to be mentioned below. The sea of Chinnereth now becomes the lake of Tiberias, or the sea of Galilee. A little above its northern end was Jotapata, a strong fortress, where the Jewish historian Josephus was besieged by Vespasian: it has been considered identical with Bethulia. Upon the coast was Ptolemais, which derived its name from the Ptolemies, kings of Egypt, but was antiently called Aco, and is memorable, under the name of Acre, for the exploits of Richard I. in the time of the Crusades; and, more recently, for the defeat of Napoleon by Sir Sydney Smith. East of this was Cana of Galilee, the scene of our Lord's first miracle; and below it Sepphoris, a strong fortress, afterwards called Dio Cæsarea, now Sefoureh. Returning to the sea of Tiberias were Capernaum, Chorazin and

Bethsaida, along its north-western margin, the scenes of the frequent teaching and miracles of our Lord; and below them Magdala. Still south was Tiberias, so named by Herod Antipas, in honour of Tiberius Cæsar; it is now Tabarieh. South-westward was Nazareth; and southeastward of this Mount Tabor, or Itabyrius, supposed by some to have been the scene of the Transfiguration. Still south-eastward Bethshan of the Old Testament becomes Scythopolis, the chief of the cities of Decapolis, or the ten cities, which, not being inhabited by Jews, formed a confederation for mutual protection against the Asmonean princes of Judæa. West of this, the name of Jezreel was preserved in Esdraelon: still west the head quarters of a Roman legion gave the name of Legio to Megiddo. Upon the coast was Cæsarea, the principal city of Samaria in the time of the Roman dominion. It was the residence of the governors Festus and Felix, and was antiently called Turris Stratonis, but was made a magnificent city and port by Herod, who called it Cæsarea, in honour of Augustus. South-eastward was Samaria. This city was taken and utterly destroyed by John Hyrcanus in his contentions with Antiochus, B. C. 109, but was rebuilt and fortified by Herod, who called it Sebaste, in honour of Augustus. The city of Shechem, below it, was now called Sichem or Sychar, and afterwards took the name of Neapolis or Nablous. Here our Lord's conversation with the woman of Samaria took place; and at the foot of Mount Gerizim was the temple of the Samaritans. South-westward was Antipatris, mentioned Acts, xxiii.; and south-west of it, Joppa, memorable for the miracle and vision of St. Peter, and known in profane history or fable as the spot where Andromeda is said to have been chained to a rock to be devoured by a sea monster, from which she was rescued by Perseus. East of Joppa was Sharon, and south of Sharon Lydda, now Lod, called by the Greeks Diospolis;

and still south Arimathea, now Ramleh. East of Arimathea was Emmaus or Nicopolis, recorded in sacred history, as the place, to which the two disciples were going to whom our Saviour showed himself after his resurrection, and in profane, as that where Vespasian defeated the revolted Jews.

East of this was the sacred city of Jerusalem, or Hierosolyma; it was built on several hills (Pl. XVIII. E), the principal and southernmost of which was Mount Zion, or the city of David: here was the palace of Herod. valley northward separated this from Acra, the second or lower city; on the south-east of which was Mount Moriah, the site of the temple of Solomon. North of Mount Moriah was Bethesda, where was the pool at which the eripple was healed by our Saviour, as related in the fifth chapter of St. John's gospel. West of it was Antonia, a strong fortress built by Herod, and named by him in honour of Mark Antony: it was from hence that St. Paul was rescued, when the Jews would have killed him in the courts of the temple. Zion itself was strongly fortified; Mount Moriah and the lower city were included in a second wall, and a third, built by Herod Agrippa, embraced the suburb of Bezetha. Without the walls, on the east side, the brook Cedron ran through the valley of Jehoshaphat, and separated the city from the Mount of Olives, where was the garden of Gethsemane, the frequent resort of our Lord and his disciples. The brook Cedron, at the south of Jerusalem, is joined by a tributary streamlet from the pool of Siloam, and by another from the valley and pools of Gihon. This was the side of the city approached by the generals of Sennacherib, before his army was miraculously destroyed. Here was the valley of Hinnom and Tophet, infamous for the sacrifice of children to Moloch in the days of the idolatrous kings.

East of Jerusalem, beyond the Mount of Olives, was