The history of Palestine from the patriarchal age to the present time

Book I. From the Deluge till the Death of Joseph, - - 1

II. From the Birth till the Death of Moses, 23

III. From the Death of Moses, till the Accession of Saul, - 49

IV. From the Reign of Saul till the Death of Solomon, - 73

V. From the Revolt of the Ten Tribes, till the Captivity

of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar, - - - 105

VI. From the Captivity till the Rise of the Maccabees, - 140

VII. From the Rise of the Maccabees till the End of the Asa-

monean Dynasty, ------- 165

VIII. From the Reign of Herod the Great till the Restoration

of Syria to the Dominion of the Porte, - - - 187

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THE

HISTORY OF PALESTINE

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I. B. C. 234S To 1909, PUBuPPp’O,' e

PATRIARCHS.

The Deluge, . . 2348 Confusion of Tongues, . . . 2230 Birth of Terah, .2126 Birth of Abraham, 1996 First Call ot Abraham, .... 1937 Second Call, and arrival in Canaan, 1921 Defeat of Chedorlaomer, .... 1912

ASSYRIA.

B. C.

Empire founded by Nimrod or Ashur, 2204

EGYPT.

B. C.

Moscheris, or Moncheris, . . . 2043

1. Early after the Flood, the country which we now call Palestine became the habitation of a portion of the tribes descended from Canaan, the youngest son of Ham. Hence the country acquired its earliest name, the Land of Canaan ; and the inhabitants were, collectively, called Canaanites. At the time of Abraham the country was but thinly peopled, and the inhabitants were separated into the various nations, enumerated in the first section of the Introduction. These several nations were not united under a common head ; but each was kept together by a common name and parentage, and by local connection. In all these nations, every town with its vicinage appears to have formed a separate commonwealth under its own Melek or “ king.” These kings appear to have been no other than the chief magistrates of the place, who were also leaders in war, and sometimes priests. Their authority was small, and they seem to have been unable to transact any important matter without the direct consent of their citizens. As there was abundant room, the vacant pasturages were abandoned to the pastoral chiefs of other tribes or nations, with whom the Canaanites ex-

THE DELUGE.

changed their goods and the produce of their fields, for the produce of the flocks and herds. Their language, with probably some difference of dialect, was the same with that which Abraham brought from Mesopotamia. Their moral practices had bew come very offensive, and their notions of God and his government were wild and uncertain ; but there is no evidence that .yx^-they we;re idolaters in the time of the Patriarchs.

Our only knowledge of the social condition of the Canaanites is to be gathered from the few intimations contained in the Book of Genesis. They lived in walled towns, at the gates of which public business was transacted ; they cultivated the ground, and raised corn and wine. Silver by weight was their medium of exchange, and it. would seem that every adult male was acquainted with the use of arms. Such were the people of Canaan, when their country was visited by the illustrious stranger whose descendants were to become its most celebrated inhabitants. The circumstances of that visit must now be explained.

3. One thousand six hundred and fifty-six years after the Creation, th^race of Man had become so guilty before God, that he swept them from the earth by a flood of waters. Only one family, of which Noah was the father, was saved. Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, through whom the vacant world was again .replenished with inhabitants. In nearly 400 years after the flood, the new races of mankind had also forgotten God, and had onlv some vague remembrance of that ancient promise of a Deliverer, who should crush the head of the Serpent, by whose seducernents sin and sorrow were brought into the world (Gen. iii). The world then seemed fast ripening for a new desolation ; but God had sworn not again to destroy the earth for man’s iniquities (Gen. viii. 21. 22). He chose rather to take one of the numerous tribes of men, and commit to its keeping the great truths which it was needful to keep alive in the world, until the time should come in which He purposed to make his will more fully known. These truths were, the knowledge of Himself as the Creator and Ruler of the Universe, and of his promise to provide a Redeemer for the world.

4. The founder of this favoured tribe was Abraham (at first called Abram), a descendant of Shem, the son of Noah, in the line of Heber. He belonged to a wealthy pastoral family dwelling beyond the Euphrates, in that district in which the town of Ur (now Urfah) was situated. This family was not free from the general taint of idol worship ; for we are told tha£ Terah, the father of Abraham, and probably also his sons, served other gods” beyond the Euphrates. Nevertheless, the God of Noah does not appear to have been altogether unknown ; and while the world at large lay in darkness, the last rays of departing truth still lingered upon the tents of Terah. Abraham was the youngest of three sons, the others being Haran and Na-

FIRST CALL OF ABRAHAM.

a hor. Haran, the eldest, died early, leaving one son called Lot, and two daughters, Milcah and Sarah (at first called Sarai). Milcah became the wife of Nahor, and Sarah of Abraham. Nahor had children, hut Abraham had none.

5 . Before the flood, the life of man had been very long ; after the flood, it gradually shortened ; but in the times of which we write, it was not yet reduced to its present limit of three score and ten years. Abraham, therefore, although sixty years of age, was still in the prime of life when God made himself known to him in a vision, and required him to leave his own country for another which should be made known to him (Acts, vii. 2 — 4). He must have communicated this mandate to his family; for they all went with him from the land of their birth. But they proceeded no further than Charan, in another part of Mesopotamia. The cause we know not; but in that neighbourhood they remained sixteen years, when Terah died, at the age of 205 years. (Gen. xi. 27 — 32 ).

6. When Terah was dead, a second and more special call was received by Abraham, requiring him not only to- quit his country, but his kindred, for a strange land. But this more strict requirement was accompanied with encouraging promises of blessedness and renown; and with the obscure intimation of some great distant blessing which the families of men should receive through him. With that undoubting faith and prompt and unquestioning obedience which he always exhibited, and for which he is much commended in the sacred books, Abraham separated himself from his brother Nahor, and departed. He was accompanied by his nephew Lot ; and as both had large possessions of flocks, and herds, and slaves, a large caravan was doubtless formed by their union. They crossed the great river Euphrates ; and, traversing the deserts to the west, at length entered the land of Canaan, and first pitched their tents in the beautiful valley of Moreh, which lies between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, in which the city of Shechem was afterwards built. ,

7. In this early age there were no temples. Men worshipped their gods at altars erected in the open air, sometimes amid the shade of umbrageous groves. Their more solemn acts of worship consisted in the sacrifice of victims from their flocks or herds, or oblations of the fruits of the ground — corn, w r ine, and oil. So did the patriarchs worship God ; and many were the monuments of their piety, in the form of altars, which they erected in the land of their sojourning.

8. The year after Abraham’s entrance into Canaan, a great scarcity arose in that land. This was no doubt occasioned by the absence of the customary rains. But Egypt, whose fertility depends upon the overflowing of the Nile,- was not affected by this drought, and continued to afford its usual abundance of* corn. To Egypt, therefore, the patriarch repaired. Fearing to

4 / SECOND CALL OF ABRAHAM. [b. C. 19 & 1 .

be slain for the sake of his wife Sarah, who was very beautiful, Abraham desired her to say that she was his sister. The consequence was, that the king, hearing of her great beauty, sent and took her to his own palace ; in return loading her alleged “brother” with valuable gifts, such as befitted his condition — camels, asses, sheep and oxen, and men and women slaves. But the truth was soon made known, through the grievous disorders with which the Lord afflicted the king and his household as soon as Sarah came under his roof. He therefore sent her back ; and after reproving Abraham for his conduct, desired him to withdraw from the country, probably fearing what might happen through the presence of a man who so manifestly enjoyed the special protection of God.

9. So Abraham returned to Canaan very rich, not only in cattle, but in silver and gold. Proceeding northward, he came to "his former station near Bethel, and encamped there. The increased substance of Abraham and Lot, made it difficult to find sqfficient pastures for the flocks of both in the same neighbourhood, and this led to frequent contentions between their shepherds. They therefore separated ; and Lot removed to the fertile and well-watered plain at the south end of the Dead Sea, part of which is now covered by the waters of that lake. Here were the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela (afterwards Zoar). This enforced separation from the last of his kin, was doubtless*a great grief to Abraham. But he was comforted by the renewed promises of God, who again assured him of a numerous posterity, and directed him to go forth and survey more largely the fine country which was to become their heritage. He went first southward, and pitched his tent under the shade of a terebinth tree, in the pleasant valley of Mamre, near Hebron, where he remained a considerable time.

10. The Assyrian empire, beyond the Euphrates, appears already to have risen to some importance, by reducing many petty kings to the condition of tributaries. The strength of these inferior chiefs appears to have been then employed in distinct and foreign expeditions, for the further aggrandisement of the empire to which they were subject. About four years before Abraham entered the land of Canaan, of these princes, Chedorlaomer, whose own kingdom was Elam (probably Elymais, a district of south-western Persia), was intrusted with a command to extend the empire in the country west of the Euphrates. This he executed by rendering several nations tributary ; and he appears to have remained on this side the great river to keep his conquests in obedience. After twelve years of subjection, and about eight years after the first arrival of Abraham in Canaan, some of the conquered nations revolted, and refused any longer to send their tribute. Among these were the petty “ kings,” or chiefs, in the five cities of the plain to which Lot had withdrawn. This brought upon them the vengeance of Chedorlao-

DEFEAT OF CHEDORLAOMER.

mer, who, with his former confederates, invaded and ravaged all the country east of the Jordan, defeated the five kings in a pitched battle, and retired with numerous captives and abundant spoil. Lot was among the captives. No sooner was the news of this brought to Abraham, who was still in the valley of Mamre, than he called out all his servants who were able to bear arms, in number 318, and being joined by a few friendly native chiefs, set forth in pursuit. The invaders were overtaken near the source of the Jordan ; and Abraham falling upon them suddenly by night, put them to utter rout, and pursued them to the neighbourhood of Damascus. Thus was Lot delivered, and with him were recovered all the captives and spoil which had been taken. According to the war laws of the east, all this prey had, by the act of recovery, become his own. This right was cordially recognised by the king of Sodom ; but with a generous pride the patriarch declined to appropriate the smallest portion of the spoil, lest it should be in the power of the native princes to say that they had made him rich.

11. His whole conduct on this occasion won the patriarch the esteem of the well-disposed native princes. One of them, Melchisedek {the just king), of whom we know nothing but t'hat he also was one of the remaining worshippers of the true God, came forth from his town to meet the returning patriarch, blessed him, and supplied his people with victuals; and as the priestly functions were then exercised by kings and chiefs, he offered sacrifices for himself and Abraham to “ the most high God, the maker of heaven and earth.” After this the patriarch returned to his encampment at Mamre.

CHAPTER II. B. C. 1909 to 1893. PATRIARCHS

Birth of Ishmael, . .

. Circumcision instituted, £ Sodom destroyed, $

Isaac born,

Hagar dismissed, . . .

EGYPT.

B. C.

1. Abraham had been promised a numerous posterity : the promise was of some standing, and as yet there were no signs of its fulfilment : he had no child, nor seemed likely to have any. When he thought of this he was sometimes discouraged ; but the Lord condescended to enter into a formal covenant with him,

BIRTH OF ISHMAEL.

not only to assure him that a son of his own should inherit his substance, but that the posterity of that son should become a nation, which, after being afflicted many years in a strange land, should return to take possession of the beautiful country in which he was himself a stranger. But although Abraham was to be the father of this promised son, Sarah had not at any time been named as its mother. She had always been reputed barren ; and now that she was advanced in years, had given over all hope of children. She therefore recommended a course which was sanctioned by the ideas and usages of these times. She proposed that the patriarch should receive her own handmaid, Hagar, as a secondary and inferior wife, and that any child which this bond- woman might have, should he counted as the child of the mistress. Abraham did not object to this course ; and it soon became plain that Hagar would have a child. This consideration appears to have made her behave unbecomingly towards Sarah; who, in return, treated her so harshly, that she fled, and wandered in the southern desert. But an angel met her and encouraged her to return to the tents of Abraham, where, in due season, she gave birth to a son, who was called Ishmael, and who became the founder of a large portion of the Arabian bribes.

2. Thirteen years after the birth of Ismael, when Sarah was ninety years old, and Abraham ninety and nine, the Lord again appeared to the patriarch, and solemnly renewed his covenant to be, in an especial manner, The God of him and of his numerous race. And as a ratification of this covenant on their part, the ceremony of circumcision was instituted, that every male in that race should bear upon him a token of this covenant with God. And further, when Abraham so spoke as to shew that his hope of a posterity was resting on Ishmael, he was assured that the heir of the covenant was not yet born, and that Sarah herself was his destined mother. Even the name (Isaac), by which he should be called, was given ; and it was on this occasion that the patriarch himself had his name changed from Abram to Abraham, and his wife’s name was altered from Sarai to Sarah.

3. It was not long after this that three heavenly beings, in the l guise of travellers, accepted’ the hospitality of Abraham. When they arose to depart, the patriarch went with them a little way. They directed their course towards Sodom ; and as they proceeded, the Chief Person, as a mark of his confidence and favour, opened to Abraham the design of his present appearance in these parts. He declared that the iniquity of Sodom, and the other cities of the Plain, was very great ; and that such enormous wickedness could be no longer allowed to pollute the earth, if their present conduct answered to the grievous cry which had come before His throne. The two avenging angels then went on, and Abfttham, remaining alone with the Lord,

DESTRUCTION OF SODOM.

and touchingly describing himself as “ but dust and ashes,” deprecated his anger, while he took upon him to intercede for the devoted cities. This he did with reverential earnestness, until the Lord said, that if but ten upright men were found in Sodom, it should be saved for their sake. The same evening the two angels came to Sodom, and were invited by Lot to spend the night under his roof. They yielded to his hospitable importunity ; and before the night was over, they had full reason to be satisfied that the wickedness of the inhabitants was fully answerable to the cry which had ascended unto God. The doom of these cities was therefore sealed ; yet that the innocent might not perish with the guilty, the angels warned Lot of the impending destruction, and urged his immediate departure from the place. Pressed and led by them, he left the town, with his wife and two daughters ; and at his intercession, the small city of Bela, thenceforth called Zoar, was spared, that it might be a place of refuge to him. As they sped over the plain, Sodom and the other cities received their doom — “ The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah, brimstone and fire,” whereby the cities, and all their inhabitants, were utterly consumed, and the waters of the Dead Sea came over the ground on which they had stood. The family of Lot did not wholly escape; for as his wife lingered regretfully behind the rest, she was overwhelmed ty the destroying shower, which encrusting her body, left it standing like “ a pillar of salt.” Lot went to Zoar, hut withdrew to a cave in the neighbouring mountains, where he became the father of two sons, Moab and Ammon.

4. Very soon after the destruction of Sodom, Abraham removed his encampment to the south-west, into that part of the country where the Philistines had already established themselves. Here an adventure happened very similar to that which had occurred in Egypt. Uninstructed by experience, Abraham pretended that Sarah was his sister. As such sh.e was seen and admired by Abimelech, king of Gerar, who sent and took her to his own house ; but being warned by God in a dream that she was another man’s wife, he restored her to Abraham with valuable gifts, but not without a keen rebuke.

5. The time at length arrived when Sarah g4vp to her husband the long-promised blessing of a son. On the eighth day he was circumcised, and the name of Isaac was given to him. About three years the mother nourished him at her own breast, and then a great feast marked the day in which the child was weaned (B. C. 1893). The birth of Isaac, the great attention which was paid to him, and the consciousness that by him Ishmael was cut off from the heritage of Abraham, were very distasteful to Hagar and her son, and at this great feast they took no pains to hide their feelings. At this Sarah was highly provoked, and insisted with Abraham that they should be sent away from the camp. The patriarch was very reluctant to take

BIRTH OF ISAAC.

so harsh a course ; but on receiving an intimation from Heaven that this was in accordance with the Divine intentions, and that the Lord would care for the posterity of Ishmael, he resisted no longer, but sent both the mother and son away, with suitable provisions for the journey.

6. They had not, however, travelled farther than the wilderness of Beersheba when their supply of water failed, and Ishmael, overcome with heat, thirst, and weariness, declared himself unable to proceed any further. Hagar assisted him to reach some shrubs, under the shade of which he lay down ; and his mother, not being able to endure the anguish of seeing him die, withdrew to a distance. In her grief, an angel of God called to her with words of comfort ; he made known to her that there was a well of fresh water not far off, and encouraged her by renewed predictions of the prosperity of Ishmael. Thus relieved, they remained among the tribes of the desert ; and, in due time, Ishmael was married to a woman of Egypt, became a person of note, and was the father of several sons, the founders of families and tribes, which formed, and no doubt still form, a large portion of the Arabian people,

CHAPTER III. B. C. 1893 to 1796. PATRIARCHS

Isaac offered, ,

B. C.

Sarah dies, . .

Isaac marries, .

Jacob and Esau born, . .

Abraham dies, ,

Esau marries, .

EGYPT.

B. c.

Myrtaeus ? . .

Thyosimares ? .

Thinillus ? . •

Semphucrates, •

Menmoph ? .

ISsO

The names and

e- ras of the kings that followed to OsistasenL, B.C. 1740, are uncertain.

GREECE.

B. C.

Kingdom of Argos founded, . . 1856

Deluge of Ogyges, in Attica, . . 1848

1. Abraham still remained in the south country, near to Gerar, where his power and pastoral wealth had much increased ; and, as he seemed to manifest no intention of removing, the king Abimelech thought it right to court a treaty of alliance with him, being the first which history records. To this he was probably the more induced, as some anxiety had been experien-

SACRIFICE ‘OF ISAAC.

ced on account of the wells which Abraham had digged, — an act which, as we have already explained, gave to the party by whom such wells were made, a kind of appropriate right in lands not previously occupied. This matter being adjusted, and the rights of the patriarch being recognised by the king, the desired covenant was formed between them, and confirmed by an oath. It amounted to little more than that the contracting parties, and their heirs after them, should act with truth towards each other. In memory of this transaction, Abraham gave the name of Beersheba ( oath of the well ) to the well in question ; and, the situation being agreeable and convenient, he remained there many years, and planted a grove of trees round the altar at which he worshipped God.

2. When Isaac had attained the age of twenty-five years, it pleased God to prove Abraham by one great trial of his faith and obedience. He was commanded to journey to a mountain in Canaan, and there to offer up his son Isaac in sacrifice to God. Firmly persuaded that since God had promised him a posterity through Isaac, we would even raise him again from the dead, rather than allow his promise to fail (Heb. xi. 17-19), the “father of the faithful” prepared to render full, however heartrending, obedience to this extraordinary mandate. He travelled to the appointed place ; he built an altar, and laid thereon the wood for the fire ; he bound his beloved son with cords ; and his hand was uplifted to give him the death-wound, when he was arrested by a voice from heaven with words of encouragement and praise, and by a more than ever solemn confirmation to him and to his race of all the blessings that had before been promised. A ram, which was found entangled by the horns in a thicket, was substituted for Isaac upon the altar, and the father returned rejoicing to Beersheba with his son.

3. Twelve years after this Sarah died, in the 127th year of her age. Abraham had before this removed his camp from Beersheba to his old station at Mamre, near Hebron, or to some other spot in that neighbourhood ; and as it now had become necessary that he should have a family sepulchre in which to lay his dead, he purchased for 400 shekels of silver the field and cave of Machpelah, near Hebron. Here Sarah was buried ; and thus a sepulchre became to the patriarchs the earnest of their reversionary heritage.

4. Three years after this, when Isaac had reached the age of forty years, Abraham besought himself of seeking a wife for his son. The state of religion and morals in Canaan, and the special nature of the promises made to his race, condhrred with the usual habits and notions of a pastoral chief, in leading his attention to his own family, which he had left in Mesopotamia, of whose welfare he had a few years before received intelligence. He therefore gave it in solemn charge to his old and confidential servant Eltezer to travel thither, and, if possible, to

MARRIAGE OF ISAAC.

obtain thence a wife for Isaac. Eliezer sped well on his journey. On his first arrival at Charan, he fell in with Rebekah, the grandaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor, and received kind attentions from her, and from the family when he arrived at the house. When he made known the object of his journey, the proposed alliance was accepted without hesitation. Rebekah herself, on whom the choice fell, made no objections ; and she therefore, accompanied by her nurse Deborah, was soon on the way to Canaan with Eliezer and his men. They arrived safely there ; all parties were well pleased ; and Rebekah became the wife of Isaac.

5. Not long after, Abraham took to himself a second wife, named Keturah, by whom he had six sons, named Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah, all of whom were provided for by their father during his lifetime, and sent to settle in Arabia Petrsea, lest at his death they should interfere with his heir Isaac. They became the founders of Arabian tribes and nations, — one of which, Midian, makes some figure in the early history of Isaac’s descendants. Nothing more is recorded of Abraham until his death, which occurred at what was even then considered the advanced age of 175 years — just 100 years after his arrival in Canaan. His body was laid beside that of Sarah, in the sepulchral cave of Machpelah.

6. Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, presented her husband with two sons, twins, of whom the first-born was named Esau, and the other Jacob (B. C. 1836.) They were fifteen years of age when their grandfather Abraham died. As they grew up, the brothers manifested very different dispositions ; Esau was a rude and boisterous man, devoted to the sports of the field ; while Jacob was of a sedate and quiet disposition, much employed in the cares and duties of pastoral life. Before their birth, it had been intimated to the mother, that the younger of the two was the destined heir of the promises ; and this, together with his gentle disposition, rendered Jacob very dear to Rebekah ; but the love of Isaac, although himself a quiet man, was more engaged by the first-born, Esau. Not knowing, or not rightly understanding, or not having much confidence in, the intimation which had been given to his wife, Isaac was still disposed to consider Esau as the heir of the promises, knowing which, Rebekah was always contriving to bring about by craft and management the designs which the Lord would have accomplished without her aid. Jacob, in his early life, much resembled his mother in these respects ; but time, trouble, and experience, made him a much better man in his later years.

7. The first object was to get from Esau a formal renunciation of his birth-right; on which, in truth, Esau himself set so little value, that he readily agreed to barter it for a mess of savoury pottage, which, one day, when he came home faint and hungry from hard hunting, he found Jacob preparing. It does

ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT, not appear to us that he renounced, or that Jacob sought, the ordinary secular right of the first-born to a double portion of the father’s goods ; but the peculiar blessing and promises of the Abrahamic covenant, which all parties supposed must henceforth descend in the line of progeniture, unless God otherwise specially determined, or unless the party interested abandoned his claim. All the parties seemed to have laboured under some mistake in this matter ; and Esau’s light estimation of his supposed privilege, was no less reprehensible than Jacob’s over anxiety to secure what he believed to be intended for him.

8. After this there was a famine in the land of Canaan, and Isaac would probably have withdrawn into Egypt, had he not been commanded by the Lord to remain in the land which was the destined inheritance of his race. On this occasion, the promise of that heritage, and of all the other blessings of the covenant with Abraham, was repeated to Isaac, who then removed into the territories of the Philistines, where another Abimelech than he who had entered into covenant with Abraham, reigned. During his residence in Gerar, Isaac denied his wife, as his father Abraham had done in the same country, and for the same reason; for which he also incurred the just rebuke of the reigning king. While in this quarter, Isaac paid some attention to the culture of the soil, which repaid him a hundred fold; and in this and other ways, his wealth and power so rapidly increased, as to excite the alarm and jealousy of the Philistines, who filled up the wells which gave him a right to the soil, and whose king at length desired him to withdraw to a greater distance. The patriarch accordingly proceeded to the more open pastures, which his father had occupied, and there digged again, without opposition, the wells of Abraham. But his attempts to dig new wells were vehemently resisted by the Philistine shepherds, until hedid so at such a distance, that they no longer interfered. In this situation, his still growing prosperity suggested to Abimelech the propriety of renewing with the powerful nomad chief the convention which his own predecessor made with Abraham. The king, therefore, went from Gerar to the camp of Isaac, whom he treated in all respects as an equal. He and his attendants were properly feasted by the patriarch, who, after a becoming remonstrance as to the treatment he had received, consented to renew the covenant of peace. — At the age of forty, Esau married two women of Canaan, and thereby gave much pain to his parents, whose views in such matters were the same as those which Abraham had entertained.