Land of the Philistines.—?Its Limits.—?Fell to the Lot of Simeon and Dan.—?Origin of the Philistines.—?The meaning of the Name.—?Their royal Cities.—?Their God and Goddess.—?Journey thither.—?Valley of Roses.—?Baptism of the Eunuch.—?Home of John the Baptist.—?Slaughter of the Jews in the City of Bether.—?Site of Bethshemesh.—?Home of Samson.—?Village of Zorah.—?Field where the Angel appeared.—?Town of Timnath.—?Lair of the Lion.—?Home of Delilah.—?Oriental Weddings.—?Valley of Shochoh.—?Scene of the Conflict between David and Goliath.—?Correspondence between Scripture and the natural Features of the Place.—?The Valley.—?The Brook.—?The smooth Stones.—?The Sling.—?The Mountains.—?The Champions.—?The Victory.—?Home of Goliath.—?Gath.—?David’s feigned Insanity.—?Road to Eleutheropolis.—?Its Location.—?Great Caves.—?Site of Lachish.—?Its great Battle-field.—?Sennacherib and Hezekiah.—?Byron’s Hebrew Melody.—?Gaza.—?Palm-groves.—?Direction of the Road.—?Site of the City.—?Modern City.—?Ancient Ruins.—?Christian Church.—?Home of Giants.—?Gates that Samson carried away.—?His Prison.—?The great Feast.—?Samson called.—?His Presence alarms the Multitude.—?Feats of Strength.—?Death Scene.—?He is a Failure.—?Alexander the Great wounded at Gaza.—?AMoslem City.—?Ascalon.—?Route thither.—?Stood near the Sea.—?Ruins.—?Desolation.—?History.—?Adorned by Herod.—?Captured by the Crusaders.—?Road to Ashdod.—?Beautiful Gardens.—?No Ruins.—?Dagon and the Ark.—?Road to Joppa.—?Villages.—?Joppa on the Sea.—?Its Antiquity.—?Floats of Pine and Cedar.—?House of Simon.—?Substantial Structure.—?Peter’s Vision.—?Appearance of the Town.—?Gate of the City.—?Population.—?Jews.—?Nubian Magician.—?Magnificent Orange-groves.—?Ramleh.—?Franciscans.—?Traditions.—?Antiquities.—?Tower.—?View.—?Ludd.—?Eneas cured of Palsy.—?Church of St.George.—?Beautiful Ruin.—?Nether Bethhoron.—?Wretchedness.—?Upper Bethhoron.—?Battle-field of Gibeon.—?The Battle.—?Wonderful Correspondence.—?Testimony of the Rocks.—?Ajalon.—?Sun and Moon stand still.—?City of Gibeon.—?Modern Town.—?Gibeonites.—?History.—?Death of the Gladiators.—?Pool of Gibeon.—?Murder of Amasa.—?Solomon’s Dream.—?“The Look-out.”—?Mizpeh.—?National Rendezvous.—?Ebenezer Stone.—?Saul chosen King.—?Minaret.—?Vast and magnificent Prospect.

Philistia is among the richest sections of Palestine, and is scarcely surpassed in fertility by any other portion of land upon the globe. Consisting of that vast maritime plain extending from Joppa on the north to Gerar on the south, it is washed by the Mediterranean on the west, and is bounded on the east by the Mountains of Judea. Originally occupied by the Avims, the descendants of Cush,375 it subsequently became the possession of the Philistines. In the division of the land it fell to the tribes of Simeon and Dan, who, however, were never fully able to subdue their allotted provinces. At present it is inhabited by Moslem Arabs, whose humble towns occupy the sites of more renowned cities. On the origin of the Philistines the learned are not agreed. In the absence of authentic records and of distinctive customs, it is difficult to decide whether they came from the hills of Cappadocia, the islands of Cyprus and Crete, or from Lower Egypt. Their national name, signifying “strangers,” implies their foreign birth. Nor is it definitely known whether they came in possession of their new territory by conquest, or by alliances formed with the aborigines of Canaan, who, in process of time, were absorbed by the more rapid increase and superior strength of their allies. Rising to greatness from an humble beginning, their history forms part of the inspired narrative, and the whole country now bears the name of Palestine, or “the Land of the Philistines.” Dividing their possession into five lordships, they founded as many royal cities, which are known in Scripture by the names of Gaza, Ashdod, Askelon, Gath, and Ekron. Idolaters in faith and practice, their chief divinity was Dagon, the “Fish-god,” whose dominion over men, beasts, and fowls was represented by the triple formation of his body. He had a human head, a horse’s neck, and trunk and limbs covered with the feathers of different birds. His wife Derceto, “the Fish-goddess,” or Syrian Venus, had the form of a beauteous maid from her waist up, and thence downward resembled a fish.

As the home of Samson, and the scene of many a romantic story, Philistia has a history of thrilling interest. It was therefore with no ordinary delight that we left the Holy City to explore a region where have occurred so many grand historic events. Skirting the northern border of the Plain of Rephaim, we were soon under the shadow of the Convent of the Cross. Turning to the right, we entered the Valley of Roses, called by the Arabs Wady el-Werd. For more than half a mile the bottom of the glen is covered with rose-bushes, cultivated for the manufacture of rose-water, which is used in the East in large quantities. Descending Wady el-Werd, we soon reached Philip’s Fountain, where, according to a recent tradition, the Evangelist baptized the Ethiopian eunuch.376 ’Ain HanÎyeh is a pretty fountain gushing out from a semicircular apse, ornamented with pilasters, and is situated in a wild glen by the wayside, on the ancient road to Gaza. On the summit of a neighboring hill to the north stands the quiet hamlet of ’Ain KÂrim, the birthplace of John the Baptist. It is in the “hill country of Judea,” and is the scene of the meeting of those pious cousins, the destined mothers of the Messiah and his harbinger.377 High up on a wild ridge to the south is the city of Bether, where the pretended Christ, called Bar-cochba, the “Son of a Star,” made his last and fatal stand against the Romans under Adrian. It was then a Jewish city of wealth and learning, and, after a siege of three and a half years, was forced to surrender. Eighty thousand of its unfortunate citizens fell beneath the conqueror’s sword; and such was the dreadful slaughter, that, according to the historian, the horses waded in blood up to their bridles.

Following the SultÂny, or “Queen’s Highway,” our path lay among the “hills of Judea,” clad with vines and covered with corn. Approaching the large town of Beit ’Abab, we turned to the west, and at high noon reached the ancient city of Bethshemesh. Thistles and marigolds now cover the ruins of the Philistine village, to which the Ark of the Lord was brought from Ekron, and where fifty thousand people were slain for their temerity in looking into the ark, contrary to the Lord’s express command.378 We were now in the country of Samson. Around us rose his native hills, and beneath us stretched the valleys of his childhood, while here and there appeared the scenes of many memorable deeds of his riper years. On the summit of a neighboring hill to the right, which rises steeply from the Valley of SÛr’ah, is the village of Zorah, where he was born,379 and adjoining it is the field where the angel of the Lord appeared unto Manoah and his wife. Beyond an intervening ridge, and less than two miles to the westward, is Timnath, situated on a plain, the place where Samson married his Philistine wife.380 It was in one of the vineyards in the adjacent glen that, as he hastened to his betrothed, he turned aside to slay the lion of Timnath who roared against him,381 and from whose dead carcass, on a subsequent occasion, he took the honey which, on his wedding-day, was the subject of that perplexing riddle, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.”382 It was there the wife of his bosom was afterward given to another, and, to avenge himself, he went forth to destroy the corn-fields of his enemies, which dotted the Plain of Philistia.383 From the base of his native hill extends the Valley of Sorek, the home of Delilah,384 and where the man with a divine secret, yielding to the entreaties of a woman, fell asleep in the lap of false affection, to awake to weakness and to shame. Along this same vale the road leads to Gaza, whither the blind captive was led, bound with fetters of brass, to grind in the prison-house of the Philistines.385 And now, after the lapse of so many centuries, all the incidents of his wedding are illustrated by existing customs and confirmed by facts. Wives are procured now, as then, by the intervention of parents; marriages are attended by the same display; and on such occasions riddles are propounded by the bridegroom, and other sports practiced. In the wild glens of this region, and on the rugged hills, are foxes or jackals, and through the corn-fields on the rich plains below another Samson might send them on their burning mission.

Passing on toward the scene of his death, we turned to the southeast in search of the Valley of Shochoh, where David slew Goliath. Aride of six miles brought us to Beit NettÎf, a small village crowning a lofty cliff. Impelled by curiosity, the people gathered around us in crowds to examine our garments and riding equipage. Compelled to take a guide to the romantic valley, we secured the services of a white-turbaned Arab, who, after tenderly kissing his child and bidding his wife adieu, led us through the town, and, to save a detour, up the roughest, steepest mountain in the Holy Land. Skirting the verge of a dangerous precipice on the north, we turned southward, and in less than an hour entered one of the most picturesque ravines in Southern Palestine. Rising grandly on either side, the rocks were festooned with delicate shrubs, and from a thousand rills the water glided, forming a brooklet below. Midway the ravine there is a fountain gushing out of the mountain’s side, around which are a few Arab huts. The glen contracted as we ascended, and at its terminus the country opened and declined toward the south. Rapidly descending a mountain path, we were soon in the Valley of Elah, where David achieved his celebrated victory. Here, as elsewhere in our travels, we had proof of the harmony existing between the inspired narrative of the event and the topography of the scene of its occurrence.

Running north and south, the bed of the valley measures a mile in width, and was covered with grain and flowers. Through its centre extends a torrent bed, lined with smooth pebbles, and fringed with acacia-trees. Though not high, the mountains on either side are bold and well defined. On their summits the contending armies were drawn up in battle array, watching each other’s movements. To make an assault, the intervening valley must first be crossed, which would give to the defense an immense advantage. Unwilling to lose a good position and invite such a fearful slaughter, the armies were disinclined to make an attack. Impatient at the delay, there was one brave spirit among the Philistines who offered to stake the issues of the war upon a single-handed combat. Descending, day after day, for forty days, the left bank of the valley, Goliath of Gath threw down the gauntlet and cried out, “Idefy the armies of Israel; send me a man, that we may fight together.” His giant form, his proud, defiant tone, his powerful weapons, sent dismay to the heart of Israel, and neither the once heroic Saul, nor any of his warriors, had the courage to accept the challenge. With all the appearance of an accidental event, David that day reached the camp with provision for his three brethren who were in Saul’s army. Rising above the contempt of Eliab, rejecting the king’s armor, but trusting in that higher power which had led him to the scene and ordained him for the fight, David went forth to retrieve the honor of his country, and vindicate the supremacy of Jehovah over the idol Dagon. Like Syrian shepherds of to-day, he carried a staff, a scrip, and sling, for the defense of his fold. Confident of his ability to employ with success the instruments which he had been accustomed to all his life, David descended, in the presence of the embattled hosts, and from the flowing brook he stooped to gather five smooth stones for the conflict. The apparent advantages were with the Philistine; but the Unseen, who was with David, was more than he who was against him. Goliath had size, strength, experience, armor, and weapons. David was young, small, and armed only with a sling; but he had spirit, courage, and faith. What to him would forever have remained the romantic stories of a shepherd’s life, now suddenly becomes the source of inspiration and the ground of hope. Among his native mountains a lion and a bear had attacked his fold, and when, in attempting to rescue the lamb, the wild beasts rose up against him, he smote the one and the other, “and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Those champions met, one in the pride of his strength and military prowess, the other in the name of the Lord of hosts; one full of contempt for his antagonist, the other conscious of a just cause. The polished armor, the brazen shield, the burnished helmet, and immense spear of Goliath, glittered in the sunlight; the ruddy cheeks of the shepherd boy glowed with a heroic spirit, which was his only helmet, and a brave heart within him, beating calmly, was his only shield. Swung by unerring skill, and guided by an invisible hand, the smooth stone from the Brook Elah penetrated the brain of the giant, and David stood in triumph upon his fallen body, amid the shouts of victory and the benedictions of his countrymen.386

Seven miles to the northwest, on the same road over which the routed Philistines fled, is Gath, the native city of Goliath. The conspicuous hill on which it stood rises 200 feet above the Plain of Philistia, and is now crowned with an old castle, a Mohammedan tomb, and a few huts, which compose the modern town. Besides being the birthplace of the famous warrior, it is also the scene of a singular episode in the life of David. Compelled to fly from the presence of Saul, he stopped at Nob, where, having obtained from Abimelech a supply of food and the sword of Goliath, he came to Gath, either in the hope of not being recognized, or, as a fugitive from Saul’s court, of receiving a welcome from the Philistines, with whom the king was then at war. Disappointed in both, and discovering that his fate was sealed, “he feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall upon his beard.” Madmen being privileged characters then, as they are now in the East, he was permitted to roam at large; and, embracing a favorable moment, he fled to the cave of Adullam, where he gathered a small army around him, and resisted the repeated attempts of Saul to take his life.387

From Gath the road runs toward the southeast, and the next important place is Eleutheropolis, six miles distant. The path is rugged, and alternately crosses stony ridges and small valleys. The village occupies a nook in a green valley, and is surrounded by low hills. Though the ancient city is destitute of special Biblical interest, yet its ruins are extensive and unique. Within an inclosure 600 feet square are the remains of a castle, filling one third of the entire space. The interior contains arches, vaults, and marble shafts. Two hundred yards up a ravine, extending eastward, are massive foundations, and a fine well, more than seventy feet deep; but the chief attraction is the great caves, unequaled in extent by any in Syria. The largest of these caverns is 100 feet high and sixty-five in diameter. Lateral galleries connect it with adjoining caves, which are surmounted with domes, and ornamented with cornices. In another portion of the town is a vast range of bell-shaped chambers, connected by arched doorways and subterranean passages. While a few of them are entirely dark, most of them are lighted by a circular aperture in the top. Some regard these caverns as the work of Idumean Troglodytes, while others suppose them to have been excavated for cisterns; the former is the more probable theory.388

Thirteen miles to the southwest is the site of Lachish, called by the Arabs Um LÂkis. The intervening country is rocky and undulating, and occasionally dotted with deserted villages. The hill on which the city stood is low and flat, and is strewn with fragments of marble columns and blocks of hewn stones. Lachish was among the cities of Judah captured by Joshua,389 but derives its chief significance from having been fortified by Rehoboam,390 and afterward besieged by Sennacherib. It was while the latter was encamped here that King Hezekiah sent unto him, saying, “Ihave offended; return from me; that which thou puttest on me Iwill bear.” To meet the demand for 300 talents of silver and thirty talents of gold, Hezekiah emptied his own treasure and that of the house of the Lord; and, to supply a deficiency that remained, “he cut off the gold from the doors and pillars of the Temple.” But, not satisfied with a sum so large, Sennacherib sent three of his generals to Jerusalem to demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of the city. One of the three was Rabshakeh, whose blasphemous speech offended Heaven, as his proud and defiant words had overwhelmed the king with consternation and fear. That night God heard Hezekiah’s prayer, and vindicated his own insulted majesty. From his throne “the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand.” The next morning Sennacherib departed for Nineveh, where he was assassinated by two of his sons while worshiping in the temple of Nisroch, his god.

In one of his noblest odes, Byron has described the destruction of the Assyrian host:

The bleakness of the scenery from Lachish to Gaza is relieved by groves of palms, olives, and willows, together with the gardens which surround the half dozen intervening villages. The peasants of these towns are industrious, and the glee of the children indicated their happiness, notwithstanding their nudity. The road crosses diagonally several deep torrent beds, which drain the upland country, and which continue their courses through the white sand downs to the sea. The approach to Gaza is among sand-hills and through olive-groves, and, after a ride of twelve miles from Lachish, the traveler finds himself in this renowned Philistine city. Situated three miles from the sea, Gaza is a city of 15,000 inhabitants, 300 of whom are Christians and the rest Moslems. Around it, like a green belt, are gardens of apricots, mulberries, and palms. On its western side runs the same road which was trodden by the Pharaohs thousands of years ago, and which leads to the pasture-fields of Gerar. Between the town and the sea is a range of hills, of drifting sand, two miles wide. On the east of the city are barren hills, the highest of which is crowned with a Mohammedan wely, and is probably the hill to the top of which Samson carried the gates of Gaza.

Rising from amid the rude buildings of the town is the great mosque, which was once a Christian church, and dedicated to John the Baptist. It has a peaked roof and an octagonal minaret. The interior is 130 feet long, and is divided into a nave and two aisles by rows of Corinthian columns. Modern Gaza has neither walls, gates, nor fortifications of any kind. Though thus exposed to the attacks of the predatory bands of Bedouins, yet the inhabitants are seldom molested, for no other reason, perhaps, than the fact that they themselves in part are freebooters.

With an antiquity that ranks it among the oldest cities in the world,391 Gaza was originally inhabited by the Hivites, the descendants of Canaan,392 who in the lapse of time were dispossessed by the Philistines, who elevated it to the dignity of a royal city. In the days of Moses it was the home of those giants known as the Anakims, whose formidable stature and warlike character alarmed the Hebrew spies, and, though subsequently captured by the tribe of Judah, it was repossessed by the sons of Anak, who enslaved the Israelites.393 But Gaza appears most prominent in sacred history as the scene of many remarkable events in the life of Samson, and from him it has derived an imperishable name. In his happier days he here performed one of the most astonishing feats of his supernatural strength. Besieged by his enemies, he arose at midnight and carried the gates of the city upon his shoulders to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.394 It was prior to his alliance with Delilah, and when in full possession of his marvelous strength, that he thus bade defiance to a whole race of giants. But, deceived by the duplicity of an unworthy wife, he afterward became, in the very city of his triumph, a blind, fettered, imprisoned captive, the sport of woman, and the ridicule of man.

Dreading him more than an army with banners, the Philistines had taken every precaution to secure their powerful and determined foe. Having consigned him to eternal darkness by the destruction of his eyes, they fastened his limbs with fetters of brass, and, thrusting him into a loathsome dungeon, appointed him to the menial work of an Eastern woman.395 But He who had chosen him to be the champion and avenger of his people restored his strength, and with its restoration the day of vengeance returned. Deeming his capture a public good, the Philistines assembled to offer thanksgiving to their god Dagon. The day dawned without a cloud, and the sun rose in beauty upon the Plains of Philistia. At an early hour the streets of ancient Gaza were thronged with an excited multitude, who were hastening to the great sacrifice, and rejoicing in the capture of the giant of Zorah. The grand temple of their idol crowned the loftiest of their hills. Its broad flat roof was supported by arches resting on pillars. Two central columns, massive and strong, and standing near each other, were the key to the whole support. On the roof of the spacious temple, and also within the sacred fane, the lords of the Philistines, with their wives, had assembled to honor their god and enjoy the sports of the occasion. Though it was no part of their original purpose that Samson should add to the joy of the day by exhibitions of his strength, yet, as one pleasure never fails to excite a desire for another, and as a succession of pleasures demands the most extravagant delights, so, in the delirious excitement of the moment, the blind captive is called to make them sport. They had heard of the return of his strength, and he being now sightless, they could witness exhibitions of his power without fear of injury to themselves, as in former days, so long as they remained beyond his reach. Josephus supposes they made him a laughing-stock, and insulted him in their cups; but, rather, they forced him to perform prodigious exploits of physical strength, which accounts for his weariness, and his excuse to lean against the pillars. Led by a little Philistine boy, he came from his gloomy dungeon. The transition from darkness to light had no effect upon his sightless eyeballs. Recalling the havoc he had made among their countrymen at Lehi, and not knowing what plans of revenge were then the subject of his thoughts, many ran at his approach, while all sought to avoid his grasp. As he advanced he was greeted with shouts of ridicule and peals of laughter. Removing the brazen fetters to give full play to his mighty limbs in the contemplated performance, a guard of Philistine giants encircle him, to pierce him with spear and javelin should he attempt to avenge his misfortune. Without knowing the manner in which he acted, we are left to imagine how he made sport for his enemies. What massive block of marble did he lift? what new lion of Timnath did he grapple with? what gate with posts and bar did he carry on his shoulders? what new cord or green withes did he snap asunder, as “tow is broken when it toucheth the fire?” what new Delilah wove his fresh-grown “locks with the web, and fastened them with a pin to a beam,” that he might bear away web, pin, and beam?

Deceived by the docility of his spirit and the obedience of his behavior, he is called within the temple itself. At length, wearied with the great exertions he had been required to make, he unsuspectedly requested of the lad that led him, “Suffer me that Imay feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that Imay lean upon them.” Sweating, panting, weary, the captive leans for rest against the marble columns, while, in fancied security, the people shout, joke, laugh, rending his very soul. Ablind man’s eye reveals no heart-secret. Samson repents a misspent life, and, conscious that his strength was Heaven’s gift, he prays, “OLord God, remember me, Ipray thee, and strengthen me, Ipray thee, only this once, OGod, that Imay be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then, seizing the two pillars, “he bowed himself with all his might,” and in a moment the roof fell in, precipitating those on the top into one broken, dying mass with those within, and, slaying more in his death than in his life, the victor and the vanquished slept the sleep that knows no waking.

I wept when I remembered the son of Manoah. He was a child of Providence. His was a miraculous birth. Chosen to punish idolatry, to deliver his country, and judge a nation, Samson was an army of one. God had purposed to accomplish through him what he had done by the mighty forces of Joshua, Deborah, Gideon, and Jephthah, and to illustrate his own divine power in subduing the enemies of his church by the arm of a single man. It was a thought worthy of a God. As in other ways of the Almighty, the secret of Samson’s power was hidden. Unlike Goliath, he was an ordinary man in stature: there was nothing in his physique that indicated his wondrous strength. It was this that confounded his foes, and impelled them to solicit Delilah with a bribe to ascertain the secret of his power. As his strength was not in his muscles, so it was not in the seven locks of his hair. When asleep and at ordinary duties he was as other men, but when the Philistines were to be punished, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. So long as he retained the solitary virtue of secrecy, and allowed his beard and hair to grow untrimmed, it pleased the Lord to use him as he did Jephthah and Cyrus, and as he does a thunderbolt or a volcano, to punish the wicked; but when he preferred the smiles of a woman to the benedictions of heaven, he became as other men. Though a failure in life, he was faithful in death; and for the faith of his dying act, St.Paul records the name of Samson among the illustrious believers.396

The subsequent history of Gaza is replete with memorable events. Being the key to Palestine to those on the south, and the key to Egypt to those on the north, it has been frequently subjected to the calamities of war. Besieged by Alexander the Great, its defenders surrendered their city with their lives; and in the fearful conflict the great warrior received a wound in the shoulder, which threatened to terminate his eventful career. In the first century of our own era it was twice destroyed, and, though subsequently rebuilt, it never attained its ancient splendor. Though early visited by the teachers of Christianity, yet in the fifth century it contained eight temples dedicated to the worship of heathen gods. In 634A.D. it yielded to the conquering arms of Mohammed, and afterward became the birthplace of Esh-ShÂfa’y, the founder of one of the largest of the Mohammedan sects. In 1152A.D. the Crusaders found the city deserted, and, erecting a strong fortress on the highest hill, intrusted its defense to the Knights Templars.397 Captured and sacked by Saladin in 1170A.D., with the exception of a brief interval, it has remained, as it is now, a Moslem city.

Askelon is on the sea, twelve miles to the north from Gaza. The great route thither runs along the eastern side of the sand downs which separate it from the shore, and, continuing northward, passes through several Arab towns, surrounded with orchards of figs and groves of palms. Despite the incessant efforts of the villagers, the drifting sand is annually approaching their homes, and, if not resisted by a more formidable barrier, will completely destroy their gardens and overwhelm their dwellings. It is not uncommon to see trees so buried that only a green twig is visible, indicating the position of the tree, while the branches of those not yet entombed are dusted with the flying sand.

As one of the five royal cities of the Philistines, Askelon was celebrated for the grandeur of its architecture. It occupied an area not unlike in form an amphitheatre. Along the shore extend a series of bold cliffs, a mile in length and eighty feet high. From the northern end of this range a lofty ridge sweeps round like a semicircle, first to the eastward, then to the southward, and finally, bending westward, runs to the sea. Within this space are the ruins of the city, and on the top of this curving ridge the wall was built, defended by strong towers, the immense fragments of which, thrown together in confused heaps, suggest a destroying angel more powerful than the hand of man. On the east are the remains of a large castle, and near it is the chief entrance to the city. Not far from a ruinous wely are the traces of a noble avenue, which was once lined with columns, and within 200 yards of it is a low excavated area, on which are thirty large granite and marble shafts. Beneath mounds of sand there must be other remains, perhaps of temples and palaces, but at present not even the outlines of a building can be traced. Whether viewed in its ruins, or as defenseless against the encroaching waves of sand, Askelon wears an air of dreariness as indescribable as it is sad. On her rests the burden of prophecy: “Askelon shall be a desolation.398 Askelon shall not be inhabited.”399

Though it was allotted to the tribe of Judah, the Philistines held possession of their city throughout the whole period of the Jewish monarchy. Its significance in sacred history is derived from its gross idolatry, and the fearful judgments denounced against it by the prophets, rather than from any great events having occurred within its limits. But, beyond the inspired record, it has a history in which figure many illustrious characters. Regarding its maritime location as invaluable, Herod the Great adorned the city with baths, porticoes, and fountains, and after his death his sister Salome resided there in a palace which her brother had built. Suffering greatly in the wars between the Jews and the Romans, the original citizens became the allies of the latter, and Askelon was the scene of a horrid massacre, in which 2500 Jews were put to death. In after years the Christians and the Moslems lost and won in turns this important sea-port town. Captured by BaldwinIII. in 1152A.D., it subsequently reverted to the Moslems, but yielded again to the Crusaders, under Richard Coeur de Lion, in 1191A.D., who compelled Saladin to abandon this stronghold; and when, in turn, the Christians were expelled, Askelon began to wane, and to-day it is an uninhabited town.

Less than 100 yards to the northeast stands the wretched village of El-JÛrah, the modern representative of the royal city. Through its gardens the road leads to Ashdod, eight miles to the north. Two miles on the way is the town of Mejdel, the largest and most flourishing of all the villages on the Plain of Philistia. The buildings are large and well constructed, the streets are wide and clean, and the scenery and gardens around it are exceedingly beautiful. Passing through the village of HamÂmeh, the path runs along the sandy downs, and after ascending a low ridge, enters Ashdod on the south. Its mud houses are located on the declivity of a hill, and near it is a lake 500 yards in circumference. Though once the capital of a lordship, yet Ashdod is without antique ruins, and the traveler is left to record its history amid the beautiful gardens, without the remains of temples and palaces to aid his recollection. It was here the Ark of the Lord was brought after the battle of Aphek, and the Philistines, deeming it a religious trophy, placed it in the temple of their idol, “And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the earth before the Ark of the Lord.” Elevating their deity to his place, the Philistines found him in the dust again on the second night. Smitten by the Lord with pestilence for their impiety, in their distress they sent the Ark to Gath.400 Three centuries later Ashdod was dismantled by King Uzziah;401 and it is afterward mentioned by Nehemiah, who reproaches the Jews for having there married heathen wives after their return from captivity.402 Called by the Greeks Azotus, it was here that Philip the Evangelist was found after the baptism of the eunuch.403 But Ashdod is conspicuous in profane history for having withstood a siege of twenty-nine years, when invested by Psammetichus, king of Egypt, which is the longest siege on record.

Twenty miles to the north, situated on the coast, is ancient Joppa. From Ashdod thither the route lies through one of the richest sections of the Plain of Philistia. It is a gentle depression coming down from the east, three miles wide, through the centre of which runs a deep, winding torrent bed. The soil is loamy, and yields the finest grain raised in Syria. Among the large and prosperous villages that dot its fertile sides are BatÂneah and El-Burka; but beyond this oasis the land is stony and barren, and the wretched hovels of which the towns are composed, together with the squalidity of the peasants, recall the prophetic denunciation, “Abastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and Iwill cut off the pride of the Philistines.”404 Passing through Yebna, the Jabneh of the Bible,405 and leaving Ekron,406 five miles to the east the road crosses diagonally the great Wady SurÂr, which drains the western section of the Judean Hills from Hebron to Bethel. Less than two miles from the sea are the remains of a Roman bridge which once spanned the torrent, and from this ruin the path declines westward to the coast, when, turning northward, it follows the beach to YÂfa.

Standing upon a rock whose western base is washed by the Mediterranean, Joppa is one of the oldest cities in the world. Though its authentic history begins with the partitioning of Palestine into tribal possessions, yet, according to Pliny, it existed prior to the Flood. Called by Joshua Japho,407 by Luke Joppa,408 by the Arabs YÂfa, and by the Franks Jaffa, it was originally allotted to the tribe of Dan,409 but remained in comparative obscurity till the reign of Solomon, when it became the chief maritime city of his kingdom. Being the nearest harbor to Jerusalem, the floats of pine and cedar from Lebanon for the building of the first and second temples were landed here,410 and hence transported to the Holy City on the back of camels. Centuries later, Jonah here embarked for Tarshish,411 and in our own era here lived the benevolent Tabitha, whom Peter restored to life,412 and here was the home of Simon, with whom the apostle lodged.413

The only antiquity to detain the traveler a single hour is the traditional house of Simon. Like all Eastern dwellings, it is constructed of stone, square in form, with a flat roof, and may have stood for centuries, as, without violence, it will endure for hundreds of years to come. Standing near the seaside, both the location and structure of the building are in harmony with the inspired narrative, and a venerable tradition points to it as once the residence of a tanner. The entrance is through a low gallery, before which the servants of Cornelius stood inquiring for Peter. Within is a small court-yard, containing a well of excellent water, and from the court a stone staircase leads to the roof, from which Ienjoyed a commanding view of the sea, over whose blue waters had glanced the apostolic eye as Peter sat beneath those clear expanded heavens from which descended the symbolic sheet, opening to his Jewish understanding the purposes of the divine mind. Plucking a leaf from the solitary tree adorning the court, Ientered the interior, which is now occupied by the Moslems as a place of prayer, and by whom it is revered no less for its antiquity than for its traditional sacredness. Excepting its gardens, Joppa is neither clean nor beautiful. The streets are narrow and irregular, and the best buildings have no claim to architectural elegance. Inclosed by a stone wall, the city has a single gate, opening toward the east. Near it, and around a pretty Saracenic fountain, are the famous fruit-bazars of Jaffa, where are sold the finest oranges and lemons in the world. Here also is the seat of justice, where the cadi414 tries all civil and criminal suits, sitting, as in Bible times,415 in the gate of the city. As of old, Joppa is a sea-port town of considerable trade, and, if possessed of a good harbor, would be the most flourishing maritime city of Palestine. The products of its immense fruit-orchards, together with the silk and soap here manufactured, are exported in large quantities to the cities on the Mediterranean coast.

Possessing a population of 5000 souls, a fifth of whom are Christians, 200 Jews, and the rest Moslems, the basis of social and political distinction is religion rather than nationality. The Mohammedans have several mosques, the Jews a synagogue, the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians have each a convent, for the entertainment of pilgrims en route for the Holy City.

Under the direction of Dr.Barclay, who combines the two professions of physician and missionary, a society has here been formed called the “Abrahamic Coalition,” the object of which is the gathering together in one large community all the indigent Jews in the East, and locate them on the Plain of Sharon, securing to each a small piece of land, and otherwise aiding the colonists in practical agriculture.

As illustrating the changeless character of Eastern customs, before the door of our inn stood a magician performing astonishing feats with serpents. ANubian by birth, his face was black and glossy, his eyes small and snakish, and his countenance expressive of great cunning. With a smile, he drew from the ample folds of his bosom three large black serpents, which had been nestling next his naked breast; and caressing them in the fondest manner, he lifted them up to his neck, and allowed them to entwine themselves about his head. Subject to the will of their charmer, they obeyed his magical words, and the magician of Joppa vividly recalled the magicians of Egypt.416

Once more our faces were turned toward the Holy City. On leaving Joppa, our path for half an hour lay between enormous hedges of the cactus plant, inclosing orange and lemon groves, which cover an area of many miles in extent. The air was surcharged with the fragrance of those delicious fruits, and beneath the ladened trees lay heaps of lemons and oranges, like apples in an American orchard. Charmed with a ride so delightful, we were soon upon the Plain of Sharon, stretching far to the northeastward, to the white and purple Hills of Benjamin. Passing the hamlet of YasÛr on our left, in thirty minutes we entered the pine-groves of Beit DejÂn. The declining sun forewarning us of approaching night, we gave loose rein to our horses, and bounded over that glorious plain. As far as the eye could reach, crimson anemones, tufts of lily leaves, and white and yellow daisies covered the ground like a carpet of many colors, while here and there stood the shepherd’s black tent, with herds and flocks around it, and on the evening air came the soft notes of his flute. In the starlight away to the east, like a dark column standing out against the sky of night, appeared the solitary tower of Ramleh. At sevenP.M. we were knocking at the iron gate of the Latin Monastery, and, with a courtesy for which others have not given them credit, the Franciscan brothers received us to their retreat, while their tall and graceful superior entertained us with an ease and dignity worthy a Christian gentleman. After an excellent dinner in the refectory, a quiet-looking friar led us, by the light of a single wax taper, across a dark court-yard to a small chamber containing four beds, neat and clean, as if the work of a woman’s hand.

Ramleh is nine miles to the southeast from Joppa, and is one of the best-built towns on the Plain of Sharon. It is environed for miles with fig-orchards and orange-groves. Containing a population of 3000 inhabitants, the majority of whom are Greek Christians, tradition identities Ramleh with the Ramah of Samuel, the birthplace of Nicodemus, and the native city of Joseph of Arimathea. Chosen by the Crusaders to be their southern rendezvous, it became the head-quarters of Richard of England in 1191A.D. Its chief architectural attraction is a noble square tower 120 feet high, built of hewn stone, and standing a mile to the west from the town, amid the ruins of a large quadrangular inclosure. There is nothing, either in its construction or in history, to indicate whether it it is the campanile of a Christian church or the minaret of a mosque. Aflight of stone steps, narrow and spiral, leads to the top, from which is obtained a view of surpassing beauty. In all its amplitude and richness, the Plain of Sharon spreads out before the eye, extending from the roots of Carmel on the north, to the promontory of Joppa on the south, and from the hills of Samaria and Judea on the east, to the Mediterranean on the west; while on every hand appear fields of grain, groves of fruit-trees, and towns, whose white domes shine in the sunlight like diamonds in a circlet of emeralds.

A ride of forty minutes through an embowered avenue brought us to Ludd, the Lod of the Old Testament,417 and the Lydda of the New.418 It is an Arab town of 2000 inhabitants, and, though unsurpassed by the beauty of its environs, it is neither remarkable for the elegance of its buildings nor the regularity of its streets. To the Christian, Lydda is interesting as the place where Peter cured Eneas of palsy, and where he was stopping when he was informed of Tabitha’s death. To Englishmen it is memorable as the birthplace of St.George, England’s patron saint, and as containing his tomb, in which he was interred near the close of the third century, after his martyrdom in Nicomedia, under the relentless Diocletian. According to William of Tyre, the Emperor Justinian reared a noble church over the ashes of the saint and martyr, which, at a later period, was destroyed by the revengeful Moslems. Rebuilt by Richard Coeur de Lion, it was partially destroyed again by the troops of Saladin. The walls and a part of the vault of the eastern niche of this monumental structure remain, adorned with pilasters, capitals, and cornice. On the south side of the grand aisle is a pointed arch of great elegance, supported by massive clustered columns with marble Corinthian capitals, forming one of the most picturesque ruins in Palestine.

Forty minutes from Ludd we passed the town of Jimzu,419 and just beyond the road branched, one path diverging to the right, running through Wady SuleimÂn, and the other ascending the steep acclivities of Bethhoron the Nether. Though it is exceedingly rugged, yet, as it passes over one of the grandest battle-fields in sacred history, we chose the latter. Now began the toil of the journey. The verdure had disappeared, and the white limestone rocks protruded above the scanty soil, leaving only intervening patches of tillable land, which was being plowed as we passed. Disobeying the divine command, and disregarding the fitness of nature, a peasant was plowing with an ox and an ass,420 and another with an ass and a camel. Passing Um Rush in two hours from Jimzu, we toiled up a mountain path, and at noon reached Lower Bethhoron. Memorable in Bible history as the second stage of the flight of the five kings of the Amorites, the roughness of the scene is in harmony with the horrors of war. The surface of the land is broken into circular rocky hills, around the base of which equally stony valleys wind. From the hill-sides the rocks protrude like terraces, rising with much regularity one above the other. The modern town is perched on a rocky ridge, and called by the Arabs Beit ’Ur et-Tahta. Amid its sterility a few half-naked peasants lay basking in the genial sunshine of spring, who greeted us as we passed with a lazy smile. Though located on the northwest border of Benjamin, the city belonged to Ephraim, and from that tribe it was taken and allotted to the Levites.421 Passing over the roughest tract of land above the sea, in less than an hour we reached Upper Bethhoron. Bearing the Arabic name of Beit Ur el-FÔka, it is a small village, the huts of which are composed of large hewn stones once belonging to more pretentious buildings. Sturdy men sat smoking on the rocks, and near them women were playing with their children. Among the maidens were the sheikh’s daughters, who wore about the head a circlet of silver coins. These ornaments are a maiden’s dowry.

Surveying the surrounding country from the roof of the sheikh’s house, the famous battle-field of Gibeon lay before me. Seven miles to the southeast is Gibeon, whose conical summit is just hidden by the loftier peaks of Benjamin. Less than three miles to the northwest is Lower Bethhoron, and five miles to the south, on the summit of a long, low ridge, is the small hamlet of YÂlo, the traditional site of Ajalon. Between the two hills is the green valley of Ajalon, now called Merj Ibn ’Omeir, expanding, as it opens, into the Plain of Philistia. Having formed a powerful coalition, the chiefs of the Amorites, with the King of Jerusalem at their head, had besieged the city of Gibeon. On the eve of the battle the Gibeonites sent to Joshua for relief, whom they had previously deceived into an alliance, and found him on the Plain of Jericho. Though despising a treaty founded in craft, yet appreciating the obligations of an oath above a temporary inconvenience, and guided by the faint light of the stars, the Israelitish chieftain passed up the Plain of Jericho to Wady FÂrah, and, turning westward, he reached the scene of the conflict, after a forced march by night, in the early dawn of the next morning. Falling with irresistible surprise and power upon the confederate kings, “he slew them with great slaughter at Gibeon.” Flying before his victorious arms, the remnant went “along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron.” Outstripping their pursuers, the Amorites continued their flight “in the going down to Bethhoron.” Reaching the ridge on which we stand with all his “mighty men” around him, Joshua beheld the valley through which the fugitives were escaping, and, despairing of overtaking them if the day was not prolonged, he invoked the divine interposition in his behalf. Moved by a sublime faith, he stretched forth the arm that bore the conqueror’s spear, and, in the presence of all Israel, said, “Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” Respecting the faith of his servant and answering his prayer, Jehovah interposed; “and the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies; and there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.” Receiving more than he had asked for, a hail-storm came to his assistance, and after it had accomplished its terrible work, killing foes but sparing friends, Joshua and his warriors descended the declivities of Bethlehem, and pressed the remnant of a once proud foe so hard as to compel the five kings to take refuge in the great cave of Makkedah, around which he encamped for the night, and on the morrow hung the royal fugitives.422

“God’s testimony is in the rocks.” The correspondence between the inspired account and the facts as they now appear, after the lapse of twenty-three centuries, illustrates the accuracy of sacred history. The night’s march from Gilgal to Gibeon, a distance of less than twenty-five miles, was not only possible, but can now be accomplished by any ordinary pedestrian. The going up to Bethhoron the Upper, and the going down to Bethhoron the Nether, correspond with the altitude of the former from Gibeon, and the depression of the latter from Beit el-FÔka. The relative locations of Gibeon and Ajalon to Upper Bethhoron, and the probable position of the sun and moon in the heavens at that time, agree with the statement as to where Joshua was when he invoked the prolongation of the day; and his subsequent pursuit of the foe in the direction of Azekah, Makkedah, and Jarmuth is confirmed by the identification of those places.

There is nothing in the text indicating that the prayer of Joshua was offered late in the afternoon, and that, as Gibeon is on the east of Upper Bethhoron and Ajalon on the west, therefore the sun could not have stood still on the former nor the moon on the latter. It was probably not noon when he invoked the lengthening of the day. The sun had not yet passed the meridian of Gibeon, while over the western vale of Ajalon the faint crescent of an old moon still lingered, just as it appeared to me. Hence, standing between the two planets as they rode high in the heavens above him, and between the two cities on the earth, he gave forth his miraculous command with the utmost accuracy; while from the western sea came that fearful hail-storm driving up the valleys below, killing more than had been slain by the sword, and from the eastern border of the otherwise dark storm-cloud was reflected the light of the motionless sun and moon.

Leaving Upper Bethhoron, our path lay for some time along the old Roman road, sections of which remain as perfect as when the chariot of the proud Cestius was driven over it. Turning to the southeast, in two hours we reached the celebrated city of Gibeon. Like most Oriental towns, it crowns the summit of a conspicuous hill, which, being separated from the surrounding hills, rises in isolation from a noble plain. The encircling plains are unsurpassed in Southern Palestine for the richness of their soil, and their meadow-like smoothness and verdure. Covering many acres are vineyards, olive-groves, and almond orchards. Such is the peculiar formation of the hill on which the town is built, that the rocks protruding from the sides serve the double purpose of steps and terraces. Over the summit are scattered the small stone buildings of El-Jib, which in part are composed of materials of great antiquity. Without walls and gates, the city is destitute of fortifications, and the crooked, unpaved streets are accessible to all. The present inhabitants are an illustration that character, like names, is transmitted from one generation to another. In their address and shrewdness they resemble their ancestors. The Sheikh of Gibeon is a man of medium height, and, unlike his countrymen, is emotional, communicative, and exceedingly gracious. Pressing us to enter his khan,423 he refreshed us with coffee, and, failing to persuade us to remain during the night, he accompanied us through the village, and received our gifts with flowing eyes and many bows. Nor are the children less crafty. Boys kissed our hand for paras, and for a piastre the maidens at the fountains let down their pitchers from their heads that we might drink. Reading the story of their ancestral cunning on the spot, we could easily fancy their fathers gathering together the emblems of deception to decoy the Israelites into an alliance that brought protection to themselves, but war to their allies; and with less difficulty their descendants could collect tattered garments, clouted shoes, rent wine-skin bottles, musty bread, and jaded asses, and with equal confidence declare themselves to be “embassadors from a far country.”

Falling to the tribe of Benjamin in the division of the land,424 Gibeon afterward became a Levitical city.425 Subsequently to the destruction of Nob by Saul, it was the seat of the tabernacle till the completion of the Temple.426 On the eastern side of the hill is a large well of delicious water. Springing up in a cave excavated in the solid rock, the water was originally conducted to a reservoir below, which measures 120 feet in length and 100 in breadth. Formerly it was called the “Pool of Gibeon,” and around its peaceful waters the rival armies of Israel and Judah met in battle. It was here that Abner challenged Joab to terminate the strife by a gladiatorial fight between twenty-four chosen men—twelve representing David, and twelve representing Ishbosheth. But so equal were the champions in skill and power, “that they caught every man his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side, so they fell down together.”427 The death of all the combatants leaving the issue of the contest undecided, the two armies sprang to the fight on the adjoining plain, and, after a sore battle, Abner was defeated, and the claims of David to the kingdom of all Israel were confirmed by a decisive victory.428 Thirty-three years after, by the “great stone which is in Gibeon,” in the same highway now trodden by the feet of careless pilgrims, “Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him,” and, with a sword in the other, treacherously slew his cousin.429

But the glory of Gibeon is the dream and prayer of Solomon. Sanctifying the morning of a long and eventful reign by acts of devotion, he came from Jerusalem to worship the Lord. Upon a great altar which he had reared he offered a thousand burnt sacrifices, and that night in a dream he communed with the God of his fathers, and asking wisdom to govern his kingdom rather than wealth and honor, he received a wise and understanding heart.430

A mile to the south, beyond a green and lovely plain, is Mizpeh—“The Look-out”—one of the oldest watch-towers in Southern Palestine. With it stand connected many of the most thrilling events in Jewish history. Chosen in the infancy of the nation for the advantages it afforded as a point of observation in times of war, it subsequently became the national rendezvous, where the tribes were accustomed to meet to worship Jehovah, to make war, to conclude peace, and elect a king. Justly aggrieved at the insult offered the whole country by the citizens of Gibeah in refusing to surrender the young men who had committed the horrid crime on the person of the Levite’s concubine, the eleven tribes here assembled, and, having vowed never to return to their homes till the inhabitants of Gibeah were punished, they marched forth to that series of battles in which thousands fell, and in which the tribe of Benjamin was well-nigh exterminated.431 Two hundred and eighty-six years later, Samuel gathered the armies of Israel at Mizpeh to fight against the Philistines, and after their return from the slaughter of the foe he set up a memorial-stone and called it Ebenezer.432 A quarter of a century thereafter the nation reassembled to choose a king; and here, for the first time in Israel, when the people beheld the majestic form of Saul, the son of Kish, on whom the lot had fallen, their loyal exclamations awakened the echoes of the surrounding hills—“God save the king!”433 Fortifying it for the protection of his frontier, King Asa removed from Rama the materials with which Baasha had constructed his battlements, and with them built a strong fort. Five centuries after the coronation of Saul, Ishmael, of the royal family of Judah, here surprised and assassinated Gedaliah, the Chaldean governor, who, during the Jewish captivity, resided at Mizpeh.434

Called by the natives Neby SamwÎl, after the honored son of Hannah, the hill has an altitude of 600 feet above the surrounding plain. On its evenly-terraced sides the fig and vine grow luxuriantly. The summit is dotted with a few rude dwellings, composed of the remains of nobler edifices. The ruins of departed greatness are every where visible, and in the wall of a caravansary are imbedded shattered capitals and broken columns. In rude mimicry of happier days, the peasants have excavated small courts to the depth of several feet in the native rock in front of their unpretending homes. Rising, as if by way of contrast, from amid these hovels is a large but deserted mosque. Erected by the Crusaders, it was originally a Christian church. Constructed in the form of a Latin cross, the interior is ornamented with Saracenic arches. Within is the traditional tomb of Samuel, which, unlike the sepulchres of other prophets, has neither altar nor ornaments. Attached to the mosque is a graceful minaret, which rises 100 feet above the summit of the hill, from the balcony of which Iobtained an extraordinary view of Southern Palestine. As far as the eye could reach, the land of Judea was spread out before me, broken by deep ravines and dotted with conical hills. To the north was Gibeon, and beyond appeared Alaroth, Beeroth, the dark peak of Ophrah, and the famous rock of Rimmon; lining the distant horizon to the northeast were Gibeah of Saul, Michmash of Jonathan, and the Hills of Gilead; over a forest of summits to the east were the Mountains of Moab—that ever-visible wall of limestone; beyond, the small hamlet of HanÎna; to the southeast rose the domes and minarets of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and the tomb-like form of Herodium; to the south were the vine-clad hills of Hebron and the home of Samson; while due west, and as far as the eye could penetrate north and south, was the white shore of the Mediterranean, with the blue waters of the sea mingling with the mists of the western sky. Such was the prospect from Mizpeh, which, in the mighty past, often met the eye of Samuel, Saul, and Solomon; and, though he occupied a stand-point a few miles to the eastward, but of greater altitude, such must have been the vision of Moses from the summit of Pisgah ere he entered into glory.