round Jerusalem. After his death the surviving
a Θ “ Ἕἕἵ)ὕὈΐὕὍὌΡΪΡ͵Κ͵Ὸ͵ῬΘ.͵΄΄΄ἷὖἷἧ΄ἷἝἷἝἷΠἷΠΡΠΡρὅρὅρρὅτ΄ἽἿἽἝΓ ρ΄... τ’ --““΄ ᾿λὨΙῸᾷΩΧΣΙτ͵ “«εο͵ τ πΛΑΣ,
652 PALESTINE
brothers found refuge in the desert of Judah and in the Jordan jungle before establishing them- selves at Michmash. Under Jonathan the Jewish boundaries extended over all Western Palestine and Syria, even to the river Eleutherus north of Tripoli (Nahr el-Kebir), the port of Joppa and the cities of Philistia having been also won. Gerasa (Jerash) in Gilead is first noticed in the time of Alexander Jannus.
The NT topography is mainly confined to Lower Galilee, but the works of Josephus, the Mishna, and other early Talmudic tracts enable us to trace the boundaries of Samaria, while the village names of Lower Galilee are noticed in great numbers in the Life of Josephus,-including many places not other- wise mentioned, but which retain their ancient names. The most important ae Saray ques- tionsin the Gospels, from a critical point of view, are those concerning the sites of Bethabara, Emmaus, and Sychar. Christian tradition from the fourth century has placed Bethabara (on the reading in Jn 1% see article BETHABARA) at the Jericho ford, because John preached in the wilderness of Judea (Mt 3!); but this does not accord with the distance from Cana of Galilee, a day’s journey (Jn 1* 2), and the Baptist preached in all parts of the Jordan Valley (Lk 3°), The name of Bethabara (‘house of the ferry’) survives at only one of the Jordan fords, Makhddet ‘Abdrah, ‘the ford of the ferry,’ and this is on the confines of Galilee (Mt 315), and a day’s sans from Cana. The site of Emmaus is not known (possibly Khamasa south-west of Jerusalem); the emendation of the Sinaitic MS (Lk 24° reading 160 for 60 furlongs), clearly in- tended to point to Emmaus Nicopolis (“Amwds), gives too great a distance from Jerusalem to agree with the context (vv. *), Sychar (Sam. Jschar, translated in the Arabic of the Sam. Chronicle Askar) is clearly the village ‘Askar close to Jacob’s Well (Jn 45:5). Anon near Salim (Jn 3%), where there was ‘much water,’ is probably to be found at the perennial stream north-east of Shechem, between the sites of ‘Aintin and Sédlim, where alone in Palestine the two names occur near each other. The site of Chorazin (Mt 11”) is fixed at Kerdzeh, north of the Sea of Galilee, but that of Capernaum (Capharasam in the earlier MSS) is disputed. Christian tradition from the 4th cent. has placed it at Yell Him, but the fountain of Capernaum watered the plain of Gennesaret (Jos. BJ wt x. 8), and Isaac Chelo (14th cent. A.D.) identifies the town with a city of the Minim, who, according to the Rabbis, were heretics of Capernaum; Jewish tradition seems thus to point to the ruin of Minieh in the small plain of Gennesaret. Bethsaida Julias (Jos. BJ 1. x. 7) was at the mouth of the Jordan, east of the river, where it entered the Sea of Galilee. It is usually placed at e¢-Tel/, a ruin now a mile from the mouth. The swampy delta between this site and the lake has probably been formed during the last nineteen centuries. This city appears to be the Bethsaida of the Gospels (Mk 8”) on the way to Cesarea Philippi under Hermon (v.”), and apparently east of Jordan (cf. Mt 1413-223 Jj 9”), although two of the oldest MSS omit the name in the last cited passage. This view is not contradicted by the other passages in which Bethsaida is noticed (Jn 1%, Me 113). Magdala (Mt 1539), called Magadan in some early MSS, and
ossibly identical with Dalmanutha (Mic 8°), is the ittle hamlet Mejdel north of Tiberias. Gerasa (Mk δὲ, Lk 8*=Gadara of Mt 8%) or Gergesa is usually placed at the ruin Khersa, under the cliffs east of the Sea of Galilee, a site which answers to the notice of a ‘steep place’(Mt 833). See, further, under the articles GADARA, GADARENES, and GERASENES.
PALESTINE
was near Bethany (el-Azeriyeh) on Olivet. Geth- semane is only traditionally indicated, but it was clearly at the foot of Olivet, east of the Kidron Valley. Ephraim (Jn_11%) is traditionally the village Zaiyibeh near Baal-hazor (cf. 2 Ch 13% and 2 5 13%). Sg ee (Ac 23%), at Rds el- ‘Ain, on the old road from Jerusalem to Ceesarea, was a city built by Herod the Great. |
The boundaries of Samaria coincided roughly with those of the old territory of Manasseh west of Jordan, and extended to the Jordan Valley (cf. Mk 10") as well as to the sea—Czsarea Palestina and Capharsaba (Kefr Sdba) being Sam. towns according to the Rabbis. Samaritans also lived in Bethshean and on Carmel, where Kefr es-Samir represents the older Castrum Samaritorum. The south boundary followed a great ravine eastwards from Antipatris, having Beth Rima (Beit Rima) and Beth Laban (Lubben) on the south, and pass- ing by Anuath and Borceos (Berkit). Acrabbi (Aierabel and Sartaba (Kurn Sartabah) were in
udea; and the boundary, leaving Shechem on its west, thus seems to have followed the valley of Anon. En-gannim (Jenin) was the border town of Galilee in the plain of Esdraelon; but Carmel, Gilboa, and all Sharon north of Antipatris appear to have been in Samaria. Galilee was bounded on the north (see Tosephta, Siphri, and Talm. Jerus.) by Achzib north of Accho (ez-Zib), Gatin (Ja'thin), Beth Zanita (Zuweinita), Melloth (Malia), Gelil (Jilil), and Kanah (Kanah), and thence on the north the line ran along the Leontes, and to Cesarea Philippi (Banids) under Hermon. The ‘coasts of Tyre and Sidon’ (Mt 15%) were thus beyond the Holy Land. On the east, Bashan was divided into the districts of Gaulanitis (Jauldn), Trachonitis (the Lejja or ‘ basalt’ region), Iturzea,—usually supposed to be the Jedir region under Hermon,—Batanza and Auranitis (Haurdn). See BAsHan. Decapolis (Mt 4%, Mk 5”, Pliny, ΗΝ vy. 18) was a confederation of ten cities in Bashan, including Gadara (Umm Keis), Gerasa (Jerdsh), Canatha (Kanawiét), Abila (Adi/), Susitha (Sisieh), Dion (Adin), Capitolias (probably Bett er- Ras), Pella (Fahil), and Raphana, with Bethshean (Beisdn) west of the Jordan.