were held here in honour of the goddess, and her oracle, which was connected with the temple, acquired for it considerable reputation. A few miles to the Northward of this lay New Paphos Buffa, or Paphos properly so called; it was said to have been founded by the Arcadian Agapenor, shortly after the destruction of Troy, when his fleet was driven upon the island by a storm: it was formerly called Erythræ, and possessed several beautiful temples of Venus. It suffered much from earthquakes, and was nearly destroyed by one, during the reign of Augustus, who rebuilt the city and commanded it to be called Augusta. 27. In the interior of the country was Tamasea, or Tamassus, Piscopio, of very ancient foundation, and famous for its extensive mines of copper, the situation of which, however, is a point of some uncertainty, many referring them to the country of the Bruttii in Southern Italy 68: it was on the banks of the Pedæus, near Leucosia or Nicosia, the modern capital of the island. Hard by were Idalium 69 Dalin, with a grove sacred to Venus, who is hence surnamed Idalie 70; and Cythræ, or Cythera, Citria, which was also a favourite residence of the goddess, but must not be confounded with the island of that name, off the Southern extremity of the Peloponnesus. 68 Νῦν δ ̓ ὧδε ξὺν νηϊ κατήλυθον ἠδ ̓ ἑτάροισι, Est ager, indigenæ Tamasenum nomine dicunt; See also p. 288, sect. 17, Note 57, supra. Hom. Od. A. 184. Ovid. Met. X. 644. Theocr. Idyl. XV. 101. CHAPTER XXI. PALESTINA VEL JUDEA. 1. Palæstina was washed on the W. by the Mediterranean, or Great Sea as it is called in the Bible': to the N. it touched upon Phoenice and Syria, to the E. and S. upon the latter country and Arabia Petræa. It was separated from Egypt by a little river called the Torrent of Egypt. It was about half as large again as the principality of Wales, and contained 7,900 square miles, or 300 more than Sicily. 2. Upon the dispersion of mankind, the country lying at the South Eastern extremity of the Mediterranean, from Sidon to Gaza, fell to the lot of Canaan, and is therefore in Scripture called The Land of Canaan; it is also called The Land of Promise, and The Land of Israel, from Almighty God having given it as an inheritance to the Children of Israel. The name of Palæstina was derived from the Philistines, who dwelled in a part of it bordering upon Egypt; and who, though they were subjected by David, and kept in obedience by some of his successors, became afterwards so powerful as to furnish the Greek and Latin writers, as well as the neighbouring 1 Numb. xxxiv. 6.-Joshua, i. 4; ix. 1; xv. 12.-Ezek. xlvii. 20. It is also occasionally called "The Uttermost Sea:" Deut. xi. 4.—Joel, ii. 20. Many of the profane writers likewise allude to it under the name of " Magnum Mare." Thus Pliny [IX. 15.], speaking of the Tunny-fish, says, "Intrant e Magno Mari Pontum verno tempore gregatim." Orosius [I. 2.] mentions it under the same appellation: "Mare Nostrum, quod Magnum generaliter dicimus." As does Isidorus [XIII. 16.]: "Mare magnum est, quod ab occasu ex oceano influit, et in meridiem vergit, deinde ad septentrionem tendit. Quod inde Magnum appellatur, quia cætera maria in comparatione ejus minora sunt. Istud est Mediterraneum," people, with a general appellation for the whole country. The name of Judah, or Judæa, was first applied to the Southern part of Palestine when ten of the twelve tribes revolted from the house of David, and erected themselves into a distinct kingdom under the title of the Kingdom of Israel; the two remaining tribes, viz. Judah and Benjamin, being then comprehended under the title of the Kingdom of Judah: after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, the name of Judæa was extended to the whole country, or at least to all parts of it inhabited by the Jews. The name of the Holy Land is applied to it by us Christians in nearly all the languages of Europe, chiefly and eminently from its having been the residence of our Blessed Saviour, and the scene of His sufferings. 3. The nation of Canaan was divided into several families; viz. the Sidonians, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgasites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites, the respective situations of which it may not be uninteresting to point out. The Sidonians have been already described: the Hittites, or children of Heth, dwelled in the Southern part of the country about Hebron, where Abraham bought of them a piece of ground as a burying-place: the Jebusites were cantoned round Jebus, or Jerusalem: the Amorites inhabited the mountains towards the Jordan, and on the borders of the Moabites, whom they subsequently dispossessed of their country. The Girgasites appear to have been seated on the upper course of the river, round Gergesa; and the Hivites near them, in Mt. Lebanon: the Arkites dwelled round Arca; and the Sinites near them, where was once a city called Sin, which must not be confounded with the Sin, or Pelusium, of Egypt. The Arvadites inhabited the little island Aradus; the Zemarites are placed about Simyra; and the Hamathites round Hamath'. These were the families of Canaan, whom Abraham found in the land, when he left his own country, B.C. 1927, to come and sojourn here; and here his descendants remained for more than 200 years, till Jacob went down with his sons into Egypt. 4. The Israelites left Egypt B. c. 1497, and after wandering for forty years in the wilderness, two tribes and a half of them were settled E. of the Jordan by Moses, who died shortly afterwards: the remaining nine tribes and a half crossed over the river under the conduct of Joshua, and, after six years of successful fighting against the Canaanites, divided their land amongst them. The two tribes and a half, who settled E. of Jordan between the R. Arnon and Mt. Hermon, were Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Reuben touched to the E. on Arabia Petræa, to the S. on the Moabites, and to the N. on Gad: the latter tribe bordered to the E. on the Ammonites, and to the N. upon the half-tribe of Manasseh, which again extended to Mt. Hermon and the source of the Jordan. The Southern part of the country between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean, from the Torrent of Egypt to Jabneel, was at first allotted to the tribe of Judah: but as it was subsequently found that this was too much for them, the Western part of it was given to the tribes of Simeon and Dan: Judah therefore bordered to the S. upon Edom, to the W. upon Simeon and Dan, and to the N. upon Benjamin. The last mentioned tribe, which contained within its limits the city of Jerusalem, touched to the E. on a small part of the Jordan, and to the W. upon Dan. To the N. of these, extending from the Jordan to the Sea, was the inheritance of the Tribe of Ephraim; and beyond it, between the same limits, was the half-tribe of Manasseh. Issachar lay to the N. of the latter, between the Jordan and the Kison; and above it, touching upon the sea of Gennesareth, lay the inheritance of Zebulun. The tribe of Asher inhabited part of Phoenice from Zidon to Mt. Carmel, and touched to the E. upon Naphtali; 4 The five last families are sometimes mentioned separately as the Canaanites, from their having once dwelled by the Sea and the Jordan, whence they were driven out by the Philistines. the latter tribe extended as far as the springs of the Jordan on the E., and to the limits of Zebulun on the South. 5. Upon the death of Joshua, the Israelites were governed by Elders and Judges, the last of whom was Samuel, when the people becoming clamorous for a king, Samuel anointed Saul king over them, B. c. 1102. Previous to this, they had become subject to several of the nations near whom they had settled; but under Saul, and his successors David and Solomon, they regained their independence, and reduced most of the surrounding people under their dominion. Upon the death of Solomon, B. C. 982, the kingdom was divided: Rehoboam his son, being chosen by the tribes Judah and Benjamin, and Jeroboam by the remaining ten tribes: the former was henceforward called The Kingdom of Judah, the latter, The Kingdom of Israel. The two kingdoms maintained their freedom for many years amidst the continual wars by which they were harassed; but Hazael, king of Syria, at last subdued Israel, and for a long time kept it in subjection. The king of Assyria next invaded them, and having besieged their city Samaria for three years, reduced it to ashes; such of the inhabitants as survived the dreadful carnage which ensued, were carried away captive into Assyria, B.C. 729, and the Kingdom of Israel, which had stood divided from that of Judali for more than 250 years, was now at an end. After this, Judah also was attacked by the Babylonians, and subsequently by the Egyptians, the latter of whom reduced it to subjection; but upon the defeat of the Egyptians by the Babylonians, Nebuchadnezzar seized upon Jerusalem, and after having tyrannized over the people for some years, at last levelled the city with the ground, carried away the inhabitants to Babylon, and thus put an end to the kingdom of Judah, 596 years B. C., or 468 years from the time that David began to reign over it. After this, it followed the revolutions of the Babylonian empire, till the latter was subverted by the Persians. When Cyrus became king of Persia, he permitted all the Jews to return to their own land, and to rebuild their temple at Jerusalem: allowing them at the same time to be governed by their own priests, subject, however, to the Persian will. But from the length of their captivity, and from their having been so dispersed in the land of their enemies, only a few, comparatively speaking, returned to their own land: these were principally from the tribes of Judah and Levi, and having settled in the country round Jerusalem, the Southern part of Palestine was from them henceforth called Judæa. To the N. of them, in the former inheritance of Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh, sate a mixed race of people, the descendants of those who had been casually left behind in the great captivity, and had been joined by the idolatrous natives of the surrounding districts, as well as by colonies from the Assyrian monarchy: thus forming a nation half Jewish and half heathen. They were called Samaritans, from their dwelling round the old capital of the Kingdom of Israel; and were looked upon by the Jews as so impure, that they had no dealings with each other. 6. When Alexander the Great invaded Asia, Palestine submitted to him; but at his death it became subject to the hostilities, which arose amongst his ambitious successors: its possession was disputed by Antigonus and the Egyptians, until Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, united it to his dominions. The kings of Syria exercised such tyranny over the Jews, that they revolted, and succeeded under their general, Judas Maccabæus, in establishing their freedom. They recovered Samaria, and planted colonies in the Northern part of the country, which assumed henceforward the name of Galilæa, or Galilee. The Jews now raised themselves up a king, B.C. 107, the first who reigned in Palestine since the fatal era of the Babylonian captivity: his successors, however, having quarrelled amongst themselves, called in the Romans to settle the dispute, and referred the matter to Pompey, who was then in Asia. The Roman gencral being irritated by the disrespect which was shown him, resolved on the conquest of Judæa: he accordingly marched to Jerusalem, and reduced it, B. c. 63, an event which was soon followed by the subjugation of the whole country. In the time of Marc Antony, Herod was made king of Judæa, and it was during his reign that our Saviour was born. Judæa remained subject to the Romans till A. D. 66, when a contest arose between the Jews and Syrians respecting the possession of Cæsarea; the case being referred to Nero, he decided in favour of the latter, upon which the Jews took up arms, and after having committed some dreadful massacres, succeeded in driving all the Romans and Syrians from Judæa. Vespasian was sent against them with a powerful army, and would soon have brought them to obedience, but on his march to Jerusalem, he received the intelligence of his having been chosen emperor; he accordingly left the command of the array to his son Titus, who, A. D. 70, reduced the city to ashes, and put an end to the Jewish nation, as had been prophesied for ages beforehand. 7. Palæstina was divided under Constantine into Prima, Secunda, and Tertia. Palæstina Prima included the country of the Philistines, Samaria, and the Northern part of Judæa; its capital was Cæsarea: Palæstina Secunda contained Galilee, and part of the country lying East of the Jordan; its capital was Scythopolis: Palæstina Tertia, or Salutaris as it was also called, included the Southern part of Judæa, with the whole of Idumæa, and extended to the head of the Arabian Gulf: its metropolis was Petra. 8. The profane authors have advanced very extravagant and absurd things concerning the Jews and their religion: it may not, however, he unprofitable briefly to allude to what they deemed the origin of this extraordinary people. Some assert that they were Cretans, who dwelled round Mt. Ida, and were called Idæi till their name was corrupted to Judæi; and that when Saturn was driven from his throne by the violence of Jupiter, they abandoned their habitations, and settled in the extreme parts of Libya. Other traditions make them descendants of Homer's Solymi, whence their chief city was named Hierosolyma. A third hypothesis makes them originally Ethiopians, compelled to quit their country in consequence of the tyranny of Cepheus, the reigning monarch: whilst a fourth asserts that they were a tribe of Assyrians, who for some time occupied a portion of Egypt till they migrated into Syria, where they acquired in their own right a number of cities, together with the territory of the Hebrews. Other authors again say they were Egyptians, who settled in Palestine under the conduct of Hierosolymus and Juda. Their historians, however, seem to have universally admitted that they came originally from Egypt, upon a pestilential disease having spread all over the country; that the king consulted the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, and was informed the infected multitude must be exterminated. They were accordingly collected together, driven into a wild and barren desert, and there abandoned to their misery. Whilst the vulgar herd was sunk in despair, Moses, one of their number, reminded them that they had been rescued from imminent danger by his wisdom, and that except they followed his councils they had no hope left. They accordingly began their march they knew not whither; but being soon worn out with fatigue, and about to perish with thirst, they lay stretched on the bare earth ready to expire. On a sudden, a troop of wild asses returning from pasture ran by them up the steep ascent of a rock; the verdure and herbage round the spot suggested to Moses the idea of springs being near at hand, and having traced the steps of the animals, he discovered a plentiful vein of water. The fainting multitude now recovered from their despair, and pursued their journey for six days without intermission: they halted at last on the seventh, and having expelled the natives of the country in which they found themselves, took possession of it, built their city, and dedicated their temple. 9. In the time of the events recorded in the history of the New Testament, Palæstina was divided into five principal parts. These were Galilæa, Samaria, Judæa properly so Tacit. Hist. V. 2-5.-Dion Cass. XXXVII. 17, et seq.-Justin. XXXVI. 2.— Notwithstanding the unfavourable picture, which Tacitus has drawn of the Jews, he has recorded some interesting particulars concerning them [Hist. V. 4, et seq.]: "Moses quo sibi in posterum gentem firmaret; novos ritus, contrariosque cæteris mortalibus, indidit. Profana illic omnia, quæ apud nos sacra.-Longam olim famem, crebris adhuc jejuniis fatentur. Et raptarum frugum argumentum, panis Judaicus nullo fermento, retinet. Septimo die otium placuisse ferunt: quia is finem laborum tulerit, dein blandiente inertia, septimum quoque annum ignaviæ datum. -Judæi mente sola, unumque numen intelligunt. Profanos, qui deum imagines, mortalibus materiis, in species hominum effingant. Summum illud et æternum, neque mutabile, neque interiturum. Igitur nulla simulacra urbibus suis, nedum templis sunt. Non regibus hæc adulatio, non Cæsaribus honor." |