Jericho does not seem to have ever been restored as a town by the Crusaders ; but its plains had not ceased to be prolific, and were extensively cultivated and laid out in vineyards and gardens by the monks (Phocas ap. Leon. Allat. Sn/j/iiif-. [c. 20], p. 31). They seem to have been included in the domains of the patriarchate of Jerusalem, and, as such, were bestowed by Arnulf upon his niece as a dowry (William of Tyre, Hist, xi, 15). Twenty-five years afterwards we find IMeUscndis, wife of king Fidco, assigning them to the convent of Bethanv, which she had founded A.D. 1137.
The site of ancient (the first) Jericho is with reason placed by Dr. Robinson {Bibl. Res. i, 552-568) in the im- meiUate neighborhood of the fountain of Elisha ; and that of the second (the city of the New Test, and of Joseplius) at the opening of the wady Kelt (Cherith), half an hour from the fountain. The ancient, and, indeed, the onlj- practicable road from Jerusalem zigzags down the rug- ged and bare mountain side, close to the south bank of wady el-Kelt, one of the most sublime ravines in Pales- tine. In the plain, half a mile from the foot of the pass, and a short distance south of the present road, is an im- mense reservoir, now dry, and romid it are extensive nuns, consisting of mounds of rubbish and ancient foun- dations. Riding northward, similar remains were seen on both sides of wady el- Kelt. Half a mile farther north we enter cultivated ground, interspersed with clumps of thorny nubk (" lote-tree") and other shrubs ; another half mile brings us to Ain es-Sultan, a large fountain burst- ing forth from the foot of a mound. The water, though warm, is sweet, and is extensively used in the irrigation of the surrounding plain. The whole plain immediately around the fountain is strewn with ancient ruins and heaps of rubbish.
The village traditionally identified with Jericho now bears the name of Rika (in Arabic er-Riku) and is situ- ated about the middle of the plain, six miles west from the Jordan, in N. lat. 34^ 57', and E. long. 35^ 33'. Dr. Olin describes the jiresent village as " the meanest and foulest of Palestine." It may perhaps contain forty dwellings, with some t\vo hundred inhabitants. The houses consist of rough walls of old building - stones, roofed with straw and brushwood. Each has in front of it an inclosure for cattle, fenced with branches of the thorny nubk ; and a stronger fence of the same materi- al surrounds the whole village, forming a rutle barrier against the raids of the Bedawin. Not far from the vil- lage is a little square castle or tower, evidently of Sara- cenic origin, but now dignified by the title of" the house of Zacchffius." This village, though it bears the name of Jericho, is about a mile and a half distant bith from the Jericho of the prophets and that of the evangelists. Verj^ probably it may occupy the site of GUgal (q. v.). The ruinous state of the modem houses is in part owing to a comparatively recent event. Il)rahim Pasha, on his retreat from Damascus, near the close of 1840, having
JERIEL
828
JEROBOAM
been attacked hv the Arabs in crossiiiff the Jordan, sent a detachment of his army and razed Jericho to the ground.
The soil of the plain is unsurpassed m fertility ; there is abundance of water for irrigation, and many of the old aqueducts are almost perfect; yet nearly the whole plain is waste and desolate. The grove supjilied by the foun- tain is in the distance. The few fields of wheat and In- dian corn, and the few orchards of figs, are enough to show what the place might become under proper culti- vation. But the people are now few in number, indolent, and licentious. The palms which gave the ancient city a distinctive appellation are gone : even that " single solitarj' palm" which Dr. Robinson saw exists no more. The chmate of Jericho is exceedingly hot and unhealthj'. This is accounted for by the depression of the plain,which is about 1200 feet below the level of the sea. The reflec- tion of the sun's rays from the bare white cliffs and moun- tain ranges which shut in the plain, and the noisome ex- halations from the lake, and from the numerous salt- springs around it, are enough to poison the atmosphere. — Smith; Kitto.
For further details respecting Jericho, see Reland's Pci- te^ p. 383, 829 sq. ; Lightfoot, //or.//e6.p.85 sq.; Otho's Lex. Rahb. p. 298 sq. ; Bachiene, ii, 3, § 224 sq. ; Hames- veld, ii, 291 sq. ; Cellar. Notit. ii, 552 sq. ; Robinson's ^e- se«?-c^es,ii,267sq.; Olin's 7'rafe;s,ii,195 sq.; Thomson, Land mid Booh, ii, 439 sq.
Jeri'el (Heb. YerUl', h'S.'^^'}, fearer of God, or i. q. Jcruel; Sept. IfpiZ/X), one of the sons of Tola, the son of Issachar, mentioned as a vahant chief of his tribe, which were enrolled m the time of David (1 Chron. vii, 2). B.C. post 1856.
Jeri'jah (1 Chron. xxvi, 31). See Jeriaii.
Jer'imoth (Heb, Yerimoth', ri^'''1\ heights, i. q. Jcremoth), the name of several men. See also Jere-
MOTH.
1. (Sept. 'lipifiov^.') One of the five sons of Bela, son of Benjamin, a valiant chief of his tribe (1 Chron. vii, 7). B.C. post 1856.