com; and this continues through the whole descent to Petra, and in Petra itself. The next peculiarity was when, after liaving left the summit of the pass, or after descending from Mount Hor, we found ourselves insensi- bly encircled with rocks of deepening and deepening red. Red, indeed, even from a distance, the mountains of 'red' Edom appear, but not more so than the granite of Sinai ; and it is not till one is actually in the midst of them that this red becomes crimson, and that the wonder of the Petra colors fully displays itself" {Sin. and Pal. p. 88). The ravines which intersect these sand- stone mountains are very remarkable. Take them as a whole, there is nothing like them in the world, especial- ly those near Petra. " You descend from wide downs . . . and before you opens a deep cleft between rocks of
Kaviue in Idumrea. red sandstone rising perpendicularly to the height of
one, two, or three hundred feet. This is the Si/:
Follow me, then, down this magnificent gorge — the most magnificent, beyond all doubt, which I have ever beheld. The rocks are almost precipitous, or rather tliey would be if they cUd not, like their brethren in all this region, overlap, and crumble, and crack, as if they would crash over you" {ib. p. 90). Such are the ravines of Idumasa, and the dark openings of the numerous tombs and grot- toes which dot their sides; and the sculptured facades here and there hewn out in their gorgeously colored cUffs add vastly to their picturesque grandeiu-. The average elevation of the sandstone range is about 2000 feet. Immediately on its eastern side, and indeed so close to it as to make up part of one great range, is a parallel ridge of limestone, attaining a somewhat high- er elevation, and extending unbroken far to the north and south. The latter sinks with a gentle slope into the desert of Arabia. The deep valleys and the little terraces along the mountain sides, and the broad downs upon their summits, are covered with rich soil, in wliich trees, shrubs, and flowers grow luxuriantly. "While Edom is thus wild, rugged, and almost inaccessible, the deep glens and flat terraces along the mountain sides are covered with rich soil, from which trees, shrubs, and flowers now spring up luxiuiantly. No contrast could be greater than that between the bare, parched plains on the east and west, and the ruddy cliffs, and verdant, flower-spangled glens and terraces of Edom. This il- lustrates Bible topography, and reconciles seemingly discordant statements in the sacred volume. While the posterity of Esau dwelt amid rocky fastnesses and on mountain heights, making their houses like the ejTies of eagles, and living by their sword (Jer. xlix,
IDUM^A
490
IGNATIUS
16 : Gen. xxvii, 40), yet Isaac, in his prophetic blessing, promised his disappo"inted son tliat liis dwelling should be '• of the fatness of the eartli, and of the dew of heav- en from above" (Gen. xxvii, 39). But many critics are of opinion (e. g. Vater, De Wette, Geddes, Yon Bohlen) that iS'Sd^ shoidd there be rendered /row, i. e. "far away from', or destitute of," the fatness of the earth, etc. ; and'it is immediately added, " for thou shalt live by thy sword ;" and it does not appear that Iduraaja was ever particularly noted for its fertility. Some other passages of Scripture are also illustrated by a glance at the tow- ering precipices and peaks of Edom. The border of the Amorites was from " the ascent of scorpions (.4 krahUni), from the rock" — that is, from the rockj^ boundary of Edom (Judg. i, 36). We read that Amaziah, after the conquest of Seir, took ten thousand of the captives to the '• top of the cliff," and thence cast them down, dash- ing them all to pieces (2 Chron. xxv, 11, 12).
5. Present State of the Country. — Idumtea, once so rich in its flocks, so strong in its fortresses and rock-hewn cities, so extensive in its commercial relations, so re- nowned for the architectural splendor of its temples and palaces — is now a deserted and desolate wilderness. Its whole population is contained in some three or four mis- erable villages; no merchant would now dare to enter its borders: its highways are untrodden, its cities are all in ruins. The predictions of God's Word have been fulfilled to the very letter (see Estlander, Vaticinia Jesakc in Jdumeeos. AhoiB, 1825). "Thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof. . . . When the whole earth rejoiceth I wiU make thee
desolate Thou shalt be desolate, O Mount Seir,
and all Idumaea, even aUof it. . . . Edom shall be a des- olation ; everj^ one that goeth by it shall be astonished" (Isa. xxxiv, 13 ; Ezek. xxxv, 14 ; Jer. xlix, 17). Idumaa is now divided into two districts, Jebdl, includuig the northern section as far as wady el-Ghuweir, and Esk- Sheruh, embracing the southern part (Burckhardt, Truv. in Syria, p. 410; Kobinson, Bib. Res. ii, 154). Burck- hardt mentions a third district, Jcbul Uesma ; but Kob- inson says that though there is a sandy tract, el-Hismah, •with mountains around it, on the east of Akabah, it does not constitute a separate division. The site of the an- cient capital Bozrah is now marked by the small village of Busaireh, and Petra, the Nabathcean capital, is well known as wady Musa.