Pictorial geography of the Holy land

Front matter

Google books

SS Ce”

Ne

Introduction

It is desolate, without man or beast; it iy given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” (ch. xxxii.) To the restoration and conversion of his chosen people, Jehovah has pledged himself in the most solemn manner, and ina covenant which cannot be broken. “Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the Lord: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Isracl for all that they have done, saith the Lord.” (Jer. xxxi. 35—37.)

Sufficient attention has not always been paid to the marked and proper distinction between the Jews and the Ten Tribes, called in Scripture, Judah and Israel, or Judah and Ephraim. The kingdom of Judah, comprising the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, was invaded, and the people carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babyion; from which, seventy years afterwards, they returned to the land of their fathers. They were subsequently dispersed and driven from their paternal inheritance by the Romans under Titus, and still remain scattered among the nations.

The kingdom of Israel—that is, the Ten Tribes who revolted under Jeroboam—was conquered and led into captivity by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; nor are we anywhere informed that they ever returned from this captivity, although the return of the Jews from Babylon is described in its minutest details. The entire absence of such testimony warrants us in concluding that they did not return. If, therefore, (as will be shown iu the following volume,) there are any passages

TOF ai f ¥ KG

LL at Ve cm we i ion Js u be y)

© ay ©

Lc ry Ae aT} Aj

Ts a

—

\ SS = CONS in the writings of the prophets, which clearly intimate the return of the whole nation, the Teu Tribes as well as the Two Tribes, or any which announce the restoration and prosperity of the kingdom of Judah subsequent to its dispersion by the Romans, then the fulfilment of those prophecies must yet be future. The land that now lieth desolate shall again rejoice and blossom like the rose. ‘ Jerusalem shall be trodden under foot of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled;” bué no longer. The Ten Tribes will yet be found; whether among the aborigines of North America, or the Affghans in Persia, or the Nestorians, or the tribes inhabiting the interior of Africa, or the Anglo-Saxons, whom Sharon Turner traces to Media, where the Scriptures leave the Ten Tribes, or, (which is most probable,) dispersed among them all, according to the prophetic intimation given to Ephraim—* His seed shall become a multitude of nations;” wherever they are, if there be any truth or meaning in the announcements of the prophetic page, they will yet be recovered, gathered to their own land, and réunited to Judah, the twelve tribes no longer forming two distinct and rival kingdoms, but dwelling together in amity and love. In that day, “the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off ; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” (Isa. xi. 13.)

Every work whose design and tendency is to increase our knowledge of Palestine—its Geography, its History, and its Destiny, must be deemed an acquisition to the sacred literature of the age. Every acre of Palestine is hallowed ground; hallowed by the memorials of events the most important and pathetic in human history. Palestine was given by covenant to the seed of Jacob when the Most High divided unto the nations their inheritance. Palestme was the land ae Be 7 ne aves x ff Lae)

e : ‘4 {> 44> SE SPAS HH MP HO HD HE

7 f aanns ti e ce as

<2 es eehets ; PAR Ea a fee no aE

Poe fe > ID HE APD a of Prophecies and of Miracles. Palestine gave birth to the Saviour of the world, was the scene of his ministry, and the theatre of his passion and crucifixion. From Palestine, as from the centre, rays of light have diverged and gone forth to illumine the “dark places of the earth, which were full of the babitations of cruelty.” It is, emphatically, “Immanuel’s Land,” (Isa. viii. 8,) where he once suffered, and where he shall hereafter reign in majesty and glory, as “King over all the carth.” (Zech. xiv. 9.) “And his fect shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the cast, and toward the west, and there shall be avery great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” (ver. 4,5.) Then shall Messiah’s

‘throne be planted in Jerusalem. “They shall call Jerusalem tne throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.”” (Jer. iii. 17.) “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”’ (Isa. ii. 3.)

It is obvious from these and many other parts of the Inspired Word, that Palestine is destined again to be the theatre of great events, and that the Jewish nation will occupy a prominent position in the future history of our world. No duty, therefore, can be plainer or more imperative than obedience to the voice of the prophet :—“ Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the peonle ; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh ; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed ios uk Lain ae a a oe a x amen iain case ee Fa

. ra a sR... 2 FA ae | J J a 1 Bah SETS i et aii on tna sds red re a * aan e r =

‘e aa ' gS e ‘ oe

INTRODUCTION.

of the Lord: and thou shalt be cailed, ‘Sought out,’ A city not forsaken.” (Isa. Ixii. 1O—12.) The nations that have not come in contact with the Jews in the way of persecution, will find that day to be a day of gladness ; but woe unto them who have lifted up their hand against them, and have not repented of their deeds. The malediction of the dying patriarch has never been abrogated : “Cursed be he that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.” (Gen. xxvii. 29.)

I trust the following pages will be instrumental, under the Divine blessing, in awakening a deep and holy interest in the destinies of a Land and a People which the great Creator of Heaven and Earth has specially marked out for his own, and stimulating the Church of Christ to more vigorous efforts for the conversion of the “sced of Abraham.”

Apart from the sacred reminiscences and prospects that cluster around it, the land of Canaan presents many physical features and geographical phenomena, which entitle it to a minute and critical investigation, and the more so on account of the sublime and beautiful allusions to them with which the Sacred Writings abound. There are many passages in the Bible, containing references to the country and climate of Judza—to the manners and customs of the Jews—and to the domestic and political usages of other Oriental nations, the beauty and appropriateness of which cannot be appreciated without some knowledge of the Geography and History of Palestine. An acquaintance with this important branch of Biblical knowledge, will not only render the contents of the Inspired Volume more intelligible and striking, but will also give to its narrations a more intense and hallowed interest. And the attractions held out by the Geography and Natural History of the East, may possibly direct the attention of some to the wonderful events involved in its future destiny, and awaken an intcrest on behalf of the eats aN :

§ INTRODUCTION.

most remarkable and anomalous people that ever inhabited our world. Great results sometimes proceed from small beginnings, and mighty causes are put into operation by trivial incidents. This was exemplified in the case of that great and good man, the late Rev. Lewis Way. THe was one day riding by the walls of a garden belonging to a certain lady in the county of Devon, when some one said to him, “That must have been a very peculiar character; for she left a request in her will, that some of the trees in her garden might not be cut down till the Jews were restored to their own land.” This circumstance led the excellent man to reflect upon the subject, and to read the Scriptures with reference to the Jews ; and as he read, his mind became deeply impressed with the thought, that they were emphatically the people of God, that they were a people beloved for their fathers’ sake, and that in the Divine purposes they were destined to exhibit the unchangeable faithfulness of Jehovah, in their future restoration to their own land, and in their conversion to their own Messiah. Thus was the seed lodged in that good man’s mind, which took deep root, and which has already produced abundant fruit. He became the warm and devoted friend of the “seed of Abraham,” and by his noble contribution of £10,000, was instrumental in the hands of Divine Providence, in preserving from ruin, and placing on a stable foundation, that excellent institution, “ The London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews.’

I trust the following pages will be extensively and carefully read, and that, under the Divine blessing, they may prove subservient to the glory of the Great Redemer, and the edification of his people, both Jews and Gentiles.

W. MARSH.

Leamington, June 6th.

eee ee SP BARES Ry tO a gn gk Ey VoD Aer SOU Biol MSc Dod ties S a Pink Ey Mee ZAC ASE TES, Y ak See Steg Ea oe tse seuph? baa. 2 , cae hte. rae :

‘i Joe) EE fe

=

A Surbeyn of the Moly Dank.

Part I. Thk Ghography Of Canaan

aS « i ' a ae al \ |) CHAPTER T.

7A ISTORMICAL GEOGRAPHY

ld V 4 \ Various Names given to the Country—Geographical Boundaries — ale Tribal Allotments by Joshua—Accessions by the Conquests of David AV and Solomon—Territories of Judah and Israel—Provincial Divisions. by

’ 616 ue the Romans—Modern Division under the Turkish Government.

ALESTINE—the “ gar-

4 \v)~ den of the Lord” — the ow \( 2) “glory of all lands ”—the as theatre on which have been YS enacted many of the most

Cy ~ momentous events record- ANA y ed in the chronicles of the » 0% r) world—is a small section of Syria, NWS 2)\\\\~© J, F situated on the eastern coast of the

V- ke + Mediterranen. It was, for many ages, 79 : the seat of the Jewish empire, but is ele. (| ACE wow under the dominion of the Turks, in we X ~// Narious names have been given to this coun-

NG try at different periods, derived, either from the nations occupying it for the time being, or from some remarkable incident connected with its history. The first name assigned to it was— 1. THE LAND OF CANAAN, (Lev. xxv. 38. Ps. ev.

11,) from Canaan, the youngest son of Ham and grandson fea ape" igs

Sern tO a y

De ee 7 WE ete LD he Cate bal et ON NE at Sra ae : {orale arias ee ee ie ee ee es ee oe BG SnGae be? tage dadred ta : eee HO Le ees ae bt eer aC ‘ &a: eb eS cae oe ee 10 NAMES GIVEN TO THE COUNTRY. BS :

<t (heae e - of Noah, who settled here shortly after the dispersion of ‘ roe . ACS Babel, and divided the country between his eleven sons, cea a Ee cach of whom was the head of a numerous tribe or clan, i oe 7 ne & and these clans, in the course of time, became powerful is Cae : %, and warlike nations. (Gen. x. 15—19.) It bore this ‘. e.. a : title up to the time of its occupation by the Israclites ; : bE 5

Nes ae : after which it was called— : a a

ae. 2. THE LAND OF ISRAEL—which comprehended ee ae -. S : all that tract of country, on both sides the Jordan, which : ee.

ey oe ee God gave for an inheritance to the children of Israel, tg he

. aes and which included all the provinces, except Egypt, 2 Zz : We Se that were visited by our Saviour, and, consequently, ee se most of the places mentioned in the Gospel narratives. ; oe .

i This term frequently occurs in the Old Testament, and gk oY Agee occasionally in the New. (Matt. ii. 20, 21.) a ee

‘he . 38. THE LAND OF PROMISE, (Heb. xi. 9,) from : he ee a the promise made to Abraham, that his posterity should b RES E =

; ig & - possess it. (Gen. xii. 7, and xiii. 15.) .. SE pias 4. THE LAND OF THE HEBREWS, (Gen. xl. ek

& ¥ 15,) because for many ages they were the occupicrs and ap ae

: f3 Se possessors of it. It was, emphatically, “their own land,” cy & Se given to them by an irreversible covenant : and, although ee VEE at present exiled from it —“ cut off through unbelief ”’— ae!

‘$ +. : they still retain a reversionary right in it, and have the . .

e3 ‘fe promise of retaining and recovering possession of it, : & & Ge when “the time of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled,” and - Seas

: ‘e 7 the term of the curse expire. - ae : ae 5. THE LAND OF JUDAH. Under this designa- SS et S&S tion was at first comprised only that tract of country a & ce

ees hich was allotted by Joshua to the single tribe of ee os wes w . g Bue eomens

: \e %. = Judah. (Deut. xxxiv. 2.) It was subsequently applied oe %.

: oa to tne whole of Palestine. (Isa. xix. 17; Ruth i. 7.) : t . 7 ae After the secession of the Ten Tribes, that portion of oe Ne

ss a s the land which belonged to the tribes of Benjamin and 7 a a :

pee a Judah, or which constituted the kingdom of Judah, was as a ke ‘i ae aaa: : ‘hy (Se: ae re ee ; eek aig igh iwoaw : eos S 22 : set 8h oe et te set TT aria aera mori Bia eetl ELS

De oy . - oe 1 a = FO te a Pas a Aeeesse , PALS: -OMC)-.. OY ‘ i 5 oO. es ba Nad ~S_ we SAE) EAT oe

ESTERS = =

NAMES GIVEN TO THE COUNTRY. ‘ a Es distinguished from the territory of Israel, that is, of the ten revolted tribes, by the appellation—the land of Judah, or Judea. (Ps. Ixxvi. 1; Jer. xxxix. 10; and xliv.9.) After the Babylonian captivity, the term again recovered its extended application, denoting the whole of the land of Canaan ; and this sense it retained during the existence of the second temple and under the dominion of the Romans.

There is another very significant and appropriate name, which, from the time of Zechariah to the present day, has been given to it by common consent—

6. THE HOLY LAND. (Zech. ii. 12.) It was probably so termed on account of the high and holy associations connected with its history; as having been the residence of the holy patriarchs and prophets, and the seat of the true spiritual worship of Jehovah; and as having been hallowed by the presence, miracles, and ministry of the Son of God. But, more especially, the term was used in contradistinction from the lands of the Gentiles. The ancient Jews divided the whole world into two general parts—the “land of Israel,” and the land out of Israel, that is, all the countries inhabited by the Gentiles, or nations of the world. To this distinction there seems to be an allusion in Matt. vi. 32. All the rest of the world and its inhabitants were accounted by the Jews profane, polluted, or unclean;* but theirs was the Holy Land, and they were “a holy nation, a peculiar people.” The very dust of Judzea was supposed by them to possess a superior sanctity ; and to such an absurd extent was this notion carried, that when returning from a heathen country, they stopped at the borders of Palestine, and carefully wiped from their feet every particle of the unconsecrated dust, lest the Holy Land should be polluted by it; nor

, would they suffer even herbs or plants to be brought from

* Compare Isa. xxxv. 8: Vii, 1s Socl iii 175 Amos vin. 17. ee a =

.-

| ra ea: <a @ “es 6 = e oe A

12 NAMES GIVEN TO THE COUNTRY.

a \ aK the grounds of their Gentile neighbours, lest, from the heathen mould attaching to them, their land should be defiled. To this notion our Lord evidently alluded (Matt. x. 14) when he commanded his disciples to “ shake off the dust from their feet,” on returning from any house or city that would not receive them ; thereby intimating, that when the Jews had rejected the Gospel, they were no longer to be regarded as the people of God, but were on a level with heathens and idolaters. It is styled by Hosca—

7. THE LORD’S LAND, OR THE LAND OF JEHOVAH, (Hos. ix. 3,) and in other places, the land of God; intimating, probably, that God was in a special manner, the proprietor and ruler of it, and that it was a land which above all others he delighted to honour.*

8. PALESTINE, OR PALESTINA, was a name given to this country so early as the time of Moses.t It was derived from the Philistines, a warlike people who migrated from Egypt, and having expelled the aboriginal inhabitants, settled themselves in the south-west part of the country, on the borders of the Mediterranean. Although they only occupied a narrow slip of country on the sea-coast, in the course of time they became of sufficient magnitude and importance to give their name to the whole of the land of Canaan. Palestina signifies the land of the Philistines ; and both Josephus and Jerome call the Philistines— Palestini.

But of all the names given to this country, none is so acceptable and endearing to the devout Christian as that employed by the prophet Isaiah :—

9. IMMANUEL’S LAND—(Isa. viii. 8)--the land of his birth—the land of his death—the scene of his labours and sorrows, of his shame and triumphs—and where he will again plant his kingdom, and reign with accumulated glory.

* See Levit. xxv. 23; 2 Chron, vii. 20; Isa. xiv. 25, + Exod. xv. 14; Isa. xiv. 29-31.

2% \ at IK oR

PE MM RCN WO WE UW he te w ae

S » : rae Shee es 2 ®@ 2 @ ata ws ew: ro

GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES,

BOUNDARIES.

The ancient geographers placed the Holy Land in the centre of the then known world. It is a small canton in the south-west part of Syria, lying between 31° and 33° 30: N. latitude, and 35° and 37° E. longitude. In the map it presents the appearance of a narrow slip of country, stretching itself along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, between that sea and the river Jordan. It is about 160 miles in length from Dan to Beersheba, and 50 in width, from the Levant to the Jordan. The Jordan formed originally and properly the eastern boundary of Canaan; though to three of the tribes, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, portions of territory were assigned beyond that river, and these were afterwards very considerably extended by conquest. These added territories are, however, to be considered rather as accidental and temporary appendages to the Holy Land than as integral and essential parts of it. The position and boundaries of the Promised Land are very correctly and graphically delineated by Moses in the 34th chapter of the Book of Numbers.

“When ye come into the land of Canaan, (this ts the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan, with the coasts thereof,) your South QuaRTER shall be from the wilderness of Zin, along by the coast of Edom,” or Idumea. This was its general description. The boundary itself is then more definitely traced: “ And your Sours Borper shall be the utmost coast of the Salt Sea eastward ;” or, as described by Joshua, (ch. xv. 2,) “ the south border of the tribe of Judah,” (which was at the same time the south border of the land of Canaan,) “ was from the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looketh southward ;”’ or, by combining both, from the south-east corner of the Salt Sea, or Asphaltic Lake. “ And your wee os serie oh ‘ 3 ene ue (apes + Keir - ge Be 14 GEOGRAPINICAL BOUNDARIES.

ae, - border shall turn from the south to the ascent of .dkrabbim,” (or mountains of Accaba, situated in or near the desert of Zin, between the south-west extremity of the Dead Sea and Kadesh-barnea.) ‘‘ Thence tt shall pass on to Zin;” (a place so called, which must have been near the ascent of Akrabbim, and from which, probably, the desert derived its name ;) “and the going forth thereof shall be to Kadesh-barnea southward, and it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon. And the border shall fetch a compass (form an angle) from Azmon to the river (ov torrent) of Egypt, (the river Sihor,) and the guings vut uf tt shall be at the Sea”’—(the Mediterranean.) This was the southern

3%

~ ae ( BAP RE a a OE Hae we ae} se eeagen t Shah Roe ote oes Ly > a he Tea 4 oS ¥ border of the land. ‘‘ And as for the WesteERN Borper, . 46 oe = ye shall have the Great Sea for a border’’—(i. c. the Medi- > a a terranean, called the Great Sea by way of contrast with the ke we. lesser seas, the Red Sea, the Salt Sea, and the Sea of

ae Galilee.) ‘ This shall be your west border. And this shall ke be your NortH Boxrver; from the Great Sea, you shall point out Mount Hor,” (more correctly Hor-ha-hor, that is, the mountain of the mountain, or double mountain, meaning the double range of Lebanon, which formed the northern frontier of Palestine, and in which was the opening or pass called the “ entrance of Hamath,” under Mount Hermon. Josh. xiii. 5; 1 Kings vin. 65.) “ From Mount Hor, ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath ; and the goings forth of tne border shall be to Zedad. And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out (or termination) of it shall be at Huzar-enan,” near Damascus. (Ezek. xlviii. 1.) “This shall be your north border.” “ And ye shall point out your East Borver from Hazarenan to Shephan. And the coast shall go down from Shephan to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; (the “ fountain,” or springs of the Jordan ;) and the border shall descend and shall reach unto the (east) side of the sea of Chinnereth (Sea of Galilee). And the border shall go down to Jordan, ad eS ee tt te pay ATE Maks wT See: a els: oer ere : we Rs ‘ poorer sat be oem facie:

gee at fap ee Rie eas e Pa r + ng ORY: ceed)

x A é

Pony ania the:

*

Fer o obh Hero SiR Hee at a a ae}

Ul Se “FH fi bet

C9

BE bh &

Poe me BH pa eo ie e

‘ a

Bah

HE EL Hea BL, OS Haig eth

Hees ms hoe ei

&g nae He

Wis cme

[Peed oe oth) poe ate ots He a bd ped okt. bee a 0d

Ce ee te ao eae Se Be Te ae,

Fee SRS OE PRs a ee - a (hes <0 + 0B4 | Pes a etd | Paes 0 & 8d pSe- O -eBL pte am + odd, a faa

AP

-

S42) Se

“S47 ww ba" ed SS ak Sa”

“ GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARLES, 15 Nas “on its eastern side,) and the guings out of it shall be at the. NN Salt Sea. This shall be your land, with the coasts thereof round about.”

In this graphic and admirable chart of the Promised Land, the western, eastern, and northern boundarics may be traced without difficulty. On the west was the Mediterranean, or Great Sea; the northern border, passed along the base of Mount Hermon; the eastern border, leaving the springs of Jordan to the west, passed along the eastern shore of the sea of Galilee, the entire length of the river Jordan, and traversed the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, until i¢ met the angle of the southern border at the extremity of that sea. The southern border has been much perplexed by commentators, and, as clearly shown by Mr. Mansford, strangely diverted from its true course. It has been carried, by Mr. Horne* and several other writers, from the southern shore of the Dead Sea to Accaba, or Ezion-geber on the Red Sea; and from thence, across the deserts of Paran and Shur, to the Pelusiac branch of the Nile: thus including the whole of the land of Edom, a great part of that of Midian, with the countries of the Amalekites, Geshurites, &c. This prodigious extension of the frontier, embracing a line above 500 miles in length, has arisen from the misplacing of Accaba, and the confounding the river, here called “the river of Egypt,” with the Nile.

“ With respect to Accaba,” says Mr. Mansford, “ it appears from Buckhardt that there are other places so called in Arabia Petrea and Syria; Accaba, or Akabe (signifying in Arabic ascent) being a general term for such situations; consequently, no inference can be drawn in favour of the ascent of Akrabbim being situated at this Accaba in particular. But if it were otherwise, all con- ‘clusions derived from etymology, or similitude of terms,, /->.

* See Horne's Introduction, vol. iii. pp. 4, 6. Cos

OM ON) CME Ss} tes Se ev, ev Y ee ev A ies : 7

= ae Oe oe eles DUAR BN RN BON HAW HN q . Rg wr) y ~ Q ‘ LIQ

i , , COKE 6. ott a Koa ‘a3 ae i a il 7 ‘ ¥% ( 16 GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES. ~ a must fall before the arguments to be adduced on the other iy r je side. The Israelites had left this Accaba (where they vs 4 trl were so long entangled before they effected their passage i 4 to the east of Edom) far behind them; and it is to be ye ee remarked that, in this passage, no mention is made of " Ne: anv ascent of Akrabbim ; the only places named are Elath ae r w and Ezion-geber; and the whole district by which the e : ip Israelites had to pass round the southern foot of Mount a! $e Seir, is described in the route, as “the plain of Elath and OT yao Ezion-geber,” and the “way of the Red Sea;” no other ie t name occurring in this neighbourhood but Zalmonah, the ie m. next to which, high up towards the north, is Punon, And ® ‘ as 1s if it be admitted as probable, that the sacred historian, in ww, . NG his very particular description of this region, should omit yo a.) to mention this remarkable ascent of Akrabbim, it would ts % iS ® be strange indeed if, in the subsequent delineation of the ad : fans boundary of the land, where precision was so requisite, fe! AeA and where the most intelligible marks would be selected ~. ° ; wR by which to trace its course, the well-known places Elath x ma) and Ezion-geber should be omitted, and this ascent of 3 bye Akrabbim be all at once introduced. we But further: Joshua (xv.) gives precisely the same * Re boundaries, which Moses assigns to the entire land of : ae. Israel, to the tribe of Judah, which never possessed a 2 Pie single village, or a foot of ground, in either Edom or : ar Midian. On the contrary, their whole history declares southern end of the Salt Sea to Gaza, making a bend in the middle, towards the south-west, to reach Kadesh-barnea. The ascent of Akrabbim is, therefore, to be ee sought in that part of its course where the land rises ae from the low country of the desert of Zin to the higher level on the west. Precisely in this situation, in the route from Hebron to Kerek, Mr. Legh descended a stcep and ee dangcrous path of two hours into the salt plain on the