ably at the site now shown at ‘Awertah east of Gerizim. The bones of Joseph were buried at Shechem, where his tomb is shown near Jacob’s Well; and the altar on Ebal (Jos 8%) and stone monument in the plain of Shechem (Jos 24%) seemed to make this central city the capital of Israel. There were, however, several successive sanctuaries which were recognized before the building of the temple, namely at Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, and Gibeon. The ark rested in Kiriath- jearim, and an altar of Jehovah was built on Carmel before Elijah’s famous visit (1 K 18%), We have no notice, however, of contemporary local sanctuaries till after the division of the kingdom. The six cities of refuge were placed equidistant, three on eitherside of the river, at Hebron,Shechem, and Kedesh-naphtali, at Bezer(Busetrah in Moab), Ramoth-gilead (Reimin), and Golan (Sahem el- Jauldn), in the south, the centre, and the north of the soaniy (Jos 207-8),
A careful consideration of the geography of the Pent. and Bk. of Joshua, by the aid of modern ex- ploration, shows that the whole is easily under- stood, and that in no case does there appear to be any element suggesting that the descriptions were
enned after the Captivity. Towns appear in the later books, such as Samaria, Zereda (Surdah), Lod (Lydda), Ananiah (Beit Hanina), ete. ae 11%-8>), not noticed in Joshua, just as the later Heb. differs in the use of Persian and Gr. words, and in syntax and vocabulary, from the older Heb. of the Pentateuch. The geography of the Bk. of Joshua is, however, so exhaustive, that little is added to it in the OT books that follow. In Judges, Bezek (12) may be the southern Bezkah rather than the Bezek of Saul (1 8 118), now Jéztk north-east of Shechem. Conquests were pushed farther south than Debir to Zephath (es-Sufa) in the Beersheba plateau ; but Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron were not taken (LXX Jg 118), or any chariot city in the plains. Bethel fell, and its inhabitants migrated to Luz (Luweizeh) under Hermon (v.*) ; but inter- marriage with Canaanites (3°) eM the power of the conquering race, and the king of Mesopotamia is said (310) to have overrun Palestine (ef. the wordsof Burnaburias to Amenophis IV. in the Tel el-Amarna Collection). The episode of Sisera (Jg 45) is elu- cidated by its geography. His chariot city was Harosheth (‘the woods’), now el-Harathiyeh by the oak wood near the Kishon. The Kishon under Mount Tabor (ν.7) is treacherous and swampy, and after the battle near Endor (Ps 8310) the chariots were engulfed in the stream (Jg 5%), while Sisera fled east to Bezaanannim (Bessim), near the Kedesh (Kadish) of the Sea of Galilee. The episode of Gideon’s victory is equally clear topographically. He lived at Ophrah (probably Fer'ata) in Samaria (Jg 64), but encountered his eastern foes near the spring of Harod (Jg 71), and pursued them down the valley of Jezreel to Beth-shittah (Shutta), and te Abel-meholah (‘Ain Helweh) in the Jordan Valley, and by Succoth (Tell Der'ala) to Jogbehah (84), now Jubeihah on the hills north of Rabbath- ammon. The story of Jephthah belongs to Mount Gilead, Tob (Jg 118) being the present Zaiyibeh south-east of the Sea of Galilee, and Mizpeh, probably, Saf, farther south on the Gilead upland.
he pursuit of the Ammonites extended to Aroer on Arnon. The exploits of Samson were confined to Philistia and the Shephélah near Zorah—the valley of Sorek (Jg 164) retaining its name at Surik close to his home, while the ‘cleft’ of the rock Etam (158: 8) may be the curious cavern in the cliff at Beit ‘Atdb rather farther east. The rock Rimmon (Jg 2118) was not far south of Shiloh at Rummén, and vine cultivation (v.”) still continues south of Shiloh (Seién), the position of which is specially described as east of the road te
PALESTINE
Shechem, and south of Lebonah (Lubben) on that road (ν.}5).
The first capital of the Heb. kingdom was at Gibeah (Jeé/'a) in Benjamin (18 13%), near Mich- mash (Mukhmds), where the two great precipices divide these villages (14°) in the valley of Suweinit —‘the little thorn trees’ — which perhaps pre- serves the name of Seneh, ‘the thorn.’ The valley of Elah (Wédy es-Swnt) is still remarkable for the large terebinths whence its Heb. name was de- rived, and its site is fixed by the notice of Socoh (1S 17), now Shuweikeh, and of Gath (v.%) and Ekron. Gath (Giti Rimuna) is ai clearly fixed by a notice in the Tel el-Amarna letters at the site usually accepted—the cliff of Tedd es-SAfi —at the mouth of the valley of Elah. David's wanderings from this Philistine fortress extended up the valley of Elah to Adullam (‘Aid el-Mia) on its western side; to Hareth (Khards), in the hills above it on the east; and to Keilah (Ki/ah) farther up its course towards Hebron (1S 211" δ 23); and thence to Ziph (Tell Zif) south-east of Hebron, and Maon (Teli Main) farther south. He was finally driven to the deserts of En-gedi (‘Ain Jidy), but returned to Maon (LXX 158 25!) immediately south of Carmel (Kurmul)—a region still rich in sheep (1 S 23% 38 941 952), Ζὶ (27) was south of Beersheba not far from Arad (Zell ‘Ardd), where the Kenites lived (cf. Jg 1156 and 1S 27"), but not more than three days’ journey from Jezreel {30') for men mounted on riding camels. The Philistines, driven from the mountains, encamped by a ‘stream’ (Aphek) in Shunem (29), ef. 28°), which still runs from the spring at Siéilem. Saul’s army being to the south, on the rugged and barren slopes of Gilboa near Jezreel, his night journey to Endor, north of the Philistine camp, was especi- ally dangerous.