Two things are worthy of special notice in the plain of Esdraelon : 'i. Its ironder/ul richness.— Its unbroken expanse of verdure contrasts strangelj' with the gray, bleak crowns of Gilboa, and the rugged ranges on the
north and south. The gigantic thistles, the luxuriant grass, and the exuberance of the crops on the few cul- tivated spots, show the fertility of the soil. It was the frontier of Zebulon — " Kejoice, Zebulon, in thy^o- inff out'' (Dent, xxxiii, 18).' But it was the special por- tion of Issachar — " And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute" (Gen. xlix, 15). 2. Its desolation. — If we except the eastern branches, there is not a single inhabited village on its whole surface, and not more than one sixth of its soil is cultivated. It is the home of the wild, wandering Bedouin, who scour its smooth turf on their fleet horses in search of plunder ; and when hard pressed can speedily remove their tents and flocks beyond the Jor- dan, and beyond the reach of a weak government. It has always been insecure since historj^ began. The old Canaanitish tribes drove victoriously through it in their iron chariots (Judg. iv, 3, 7) ; the nomad Blidian- ites and Amalekites — those "children of the East," who were "as grasshoppers for multitude," whose "cam- els were without number" — devoured its rich pastures (Judg. vi, 1-6 ; vii, 1) ; the Philistines long held it, es- tablishing a stronghold at Betlishean (1 Sam. xxix, 1 ; xxxi, 10) ; and the Syrians frequently swept over it with their armies (1 Kings xx, 26 ; 2 Kings xiii, 17). In its condition, thus exposed to every hastj' incur- sion and to every shock of war, we read the fortune*! of that tribe which for the sake of its richness consent- ed to sink into a half-nomadic state — " Eejoice, O Issa- char, in thy /e??^s . . . Issachar is a strong ass, crouch- ing down between two burdens ; and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto trib- ute" (Gen. xlix, 14, 15 ; Deut. xxxiii, 18). Once only did this tribe shake off the yoke — when under the heavy pressure of Sisera, " the chiefs of Issachar Avere with Deborah" (Judg. v, 15). Their exposed position and valuable possessions in this open plain made them anxious for the succession of David to the throne, as one under whose powerful protection thej' would enjoy that peace and rest which they loved ; and they joined with their neighbors of Zelnilun and Naphtali in send- ing to David presents of the richest productions of their rich country (1 Chron. xii, 32, 40). See Issachar.
The whole borders of the plain of Esdraelon are dot- ted with places of high historic and sacred interest. Here we group them together, Avhile referring the reader for details to the separate articles. On the east we have Endor, Nain, and Shunem, ranged round the base of the "hill of Moreh;" then Betlishean in the centre of the plain where the "valley of Jezreel" opens towards the Jordan ; then Gilboa, with the "well of Harod," and the ruins of Jezreel at its west- ern base. On the south are Engannim, Taanach, and Megiddo. At the western apex, on the overhanging brow of Carmel, is the scene of Elijah's sacrilice; and close bj' the foot of the mountain below runs the Ki- shon, on whose banks the false prophets of Baal were slain. On the north, among places of less note, are Nazareth and Tabor. The modern Syrians have for- gotten the ancient name as thev' have forgotten the ancient history of Esdraelon, and it is now known among them onlj' as Jferj ibn-'Amcr, "the Plain of the Son of 'Amer." A graphic sketch of Esdraelon is given in Stanlej-'s Syr. avd Pales, p. 327 sq. ; see also Porter, Ilandhook for Syria and Palestine, p. 351 sq. ; Jowett, Christian Researches, p. 146, 2"22 ; Kobin- son. Researches, new edit, ii, 315-30, 366; iii, 113 sq. ; Thomson, Land and Booh, ii, 216 sq. ; Walther, De Mt- ■yaXMTr{ci<i) Palri'stinw (Lips. 1792). — Smith, s. v. See Jezkekl.
Es'dras {"Encpac ; Vulg. Esdras), the Grsecized form, used throughout the Apocrypha (1 Esd. viii, 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 19, 23, 25J 91, 92, 96 ; ix, 1, 7, 16, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 49; 2 Esd. i, 1; ii, 10, 33, 42; vi, 10; vii, 2, 25; viii, 2, 19 ; xiv, 1, 38), of the name of the scribe Ezra
ESDRAS
291
ESDRAS
(q. v.). In several manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate, as well as in all the printed editions anterior to the decree of the Council of Trent, and in many since that period, there will be found four books following each other, entitled the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th books of Ezra. The first two are the canonical books of Ezra and Ne- hemiah, the 3d and 4th form the subject of the articles below. Thsj' are the same which are called 1st and 2d Esdras in the English Authorized Version. For their use and relation to the canonical boolcs see Josip- pon ben-Gorion (ed. Breitliaupt, 1710), p. 47 sq. ; Tren- delenburg, in Eichhorn's Biblioth. i, 180 sq. ; Eichhorn, Einleit. in d. Apocr. p. 335 sq. ; Herzfeld, Gesck. d. Israel, p. 320 sq. ; Evvald, Gesch. Is7\ iv, 131 sq. ; Keil, Einleit. in d. A. T. (ed. 1859), p. 677 sq. ; Davidson, Text of 0. T. p. 937 sq. See Apockypha.