Reference: Palestine
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Denotes, in the Old Testament, the country of the Philistines, which was that part of the land of promise extending along the Mediterranean Sea on the varying western border of Simeon, Judah, and Dan, Ex 15:14; Isa 14:29,31; Joe 3:4. Palestine, taken in later usage in a more general sense, signifies the whole country of Canaan, as well beyond as on this side of the Jordan; though frequently it is restricted to the country on this side that river; so that in later times the words Judea and Palestine were synonymous. We find also the name of Syria-Palestina given to the land of promise, and even sometimes this province is comprehended in Coele-Syria, or the Lower Syria. Herodotus is the most ancient writer known who speaks of Syria-Palestina. He places it between Phoenicia and Egypt. See CANAAN.
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The peoples heard it, they were afraid: A thrill seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a viper, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings of troops.
Yea also, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the districts of Philistia? Will ye render me a recompence? But if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompence upon your own head;
Easton
Illustration: Physical Map of Palestine Illustration: Palestine, Illustrating the New Testament
Originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan inhabited by the Philistines (Ex 15:14; Isa 14:29,31; Joe 3:4), and in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered "Philistia" in Ps 60:8; 83:7; 87:4; 108:9) occurs in the Old Testament.
Not till a late period in Jewish history was this name used to denote "the land of the Hebrews" in general (Ge 40:15). It is also called "the holy land" (Zec 2:12), the "land of Jehovah" (Ho 9:3; Ps 85:1), the "land of promise" (Heb 11:9), because promised to Abraham (Ge 12:7; 24:7), the "land of Canaan" (Ge 12:5), the "land of Israel" (1Sa 13:19), and the "land of Judah" (Isa 19:17).
The territory promised as an inheritance to the seed of Abraham (Ge 15:18-21; Nu 34:1-12) was bounded on the east by the river Euphrates, on the west by the Mediterranean, on the north by the "entrance of Hamath," and on the south by the "river of Egypt." This extent of territory, about 60,000 square miles, was at length conquered by David, and was ruled over also by his son Solomon (2Sa 8; 1Ch 18; 1Ki 4:1,21). This vast empire was the Promised Land; but Palestine was only a part of it, terminating in the north at the southern extremity of the Lebanon range, and in the south in the wilderness of Paran, thus extending in all to about 144 miles in length. Its average breadth was about 60 miles from the Mediterranean on the west to beyond the Jordan. It has fittingly been designated "the least of all lands." Western Palestine, on the south of Gaza, is only about 40 miles in breadth from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, narrowing gradually toward the north, where it is only 20 miles from the sea-coast to the Jordan.
Palestine, "set in the midst" (Eze 5:5) of all other lands, is the most remarkable country on the face of the earth. No single country of such an extent has so great a variety of climate, and hence also of plant and animal life. Moses describes it as "a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt not eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass" (De 8:7-9).
In the time of Christ the country looked, in all probability, much as now. The whole land consists of rounded limestone hills, fretted into countless stony valleys, offering but rarely level tracts, of which Esdraelon alone, below Nazareth, is large enough to be seen on the map. The original woods had for ages disappeared, though the slopes were dotted, as now, with figs, olives, and other fruit-trees where there was any soil. Permanent streams were even then unknown, the passing rush of winter torrents being all that was seen among the hills. The autumn and spring rains, caught in deep cisterns hewn out like huge underground jars in the soft limestone, with artificial mud-banked ponds still found near all villages, furnished water. Hills now bare, or at best rough with stunted growth, were then terraced, so as to grow vines, olives, and grain. To-day almost desolate, the country then teemed with population. Wine-presses cut in the rocks, endless terraces, and the ruins of old vineyard towers are now found amidst solitudes overgrown for ages with thorns and thistles, or with wild shrubs and poor gnarled scrub (Geikie's Life of Christ).
From an early period the land was inhabited by the descendants of Canaan, who retained possession of the whole land "from Sidon to Gaza" till the time of the conquest by Joshua, when it was occupied by the twelve tribes. Two tribes and a half had their allotments given them by Moses on the east of the Jordan (De 3:12-20; comp. Nu 1:17-46; Jos 4:12-13). The remaining tribes had their portion on the west of Jordan.
From the conquest till the time of Saul, about four hundred years, the people were governed by judges. For a period of one hundred and twenty years the kingdom retained its unity while it was ruled by Saul and David and Solomon. On the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam ascended the throne; but his conduct was such that ten of the tribes revolted, and formed an independent monarchy, called the kingdom of Israel, or the northern kingdom, the capital of which was first Shechem and afterwards Samaria. This kingdom was destroyed. The Israelites were carried captive by Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, B.C. 722, after an independent existence of two hundred and fifty-three years. The place of the captives carried away was supplied by tribes brought from the east, and thus was formed the Samaritan nation (2Ki 17:24-29).
Nebuchadnezzar came up against the kingdom of the two tribes, the kingdom of Judah, the capital of which was Jerusalem, one hundred and thirty-four years after the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel. He overthrew the city, plundered the temple, and carried the people into captivity to Babylon (B.C. 587), where they remained seventy years. At the close of the period of the Captivity, they returned to their own land, under the edict of Cyrus (Ezr 1:1-4). They rebuilt the city and temple, and restored the old Jewish commonwealth.
For a while after the Restoration the Jews were ruled by Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and afterwards by the high priests, assisted by the Sanhedrin. After the death of Alexander the Great at Babylon (B.C. 323), his vast empire was divided between his four generals. Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and Coele-Syria fell to the lot of Ptolemy Lagus. Ptolemy took possession of Palestine in B.C. 320, and carried nearly one hundred thousand of the inhabitants of Jerusalem into Egypt. He made Alexandria the capital of his kingdom, and treated the Jews with consideration, confirming them in the enjoyment of many privileges.
After suffering persecution at the hands of Ptolemy's successors, the Jews threw off the Egyptian yoke, and became subject to Antiochus the Great, the king of Syria. The cruelty and opression of the successors of Antiochus at length led to the revolt under the Maccabees (B.C. 163), when they threw off the Syrian yoke.
In the year B.C. 68, Palestine was reduced by Pompey the Great to a Roman province. He laid the walls of the city in ruins, and massacred some twelve thousand of the inhabitants. He left the temple, however, unijured. About twenty-five years after this the Jews revolted and cast off the Roman yoke. They were however, subdued by Herod the Great (q.v.). The city and the temple were destroyed, and many of the inhabitants were put to death. About B.C. 20, Herod proceeded to rebuild the city and restore the ruined temple, which in about nine years and a half was so far completed that the sacred services could be resumed in it (comp. Joh 2:20). He was succeeded by his son Archelaus, who was deprived of his power, however, by Augustus, A.D. 6, when Palestine became a Roman province, ruled by Roman governors or procurators. Pontius Pilate was the fifth of these procurators. He was appointed to his office A.D. 25.
Exclusive of Idumea, the kingdom of Herod the Great comprehended the whole of the country originally divided among the twelve tribes, which he divided into four provinces or districts. This division was recognized so long as Palestine was under the Roman dominion. These four provinces were, (1) Judea, the southern portion of the country; (2) Samaria, the middle province, the northern boundary of which ran along the hills to the south of the plain of Esdraelon; (3) Galilee, the northern province; and (4) Peraea (a Greek name meaning the "opposite country"), the country lying east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. This province was subdivided into these districts, (1) Peraea proper, lying between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok; (2) Galaaditis (Gilead); (3) Batanaea; (4) Gaulonitis (Jaulan); (5) Ituraea or Auranitis, the ancient Bashan; (6) Trachonitis; (7) Abilene; (8) Decapolis, i.e., the region of the ten cities. The whole territory of Palestine, including the portions alloted to the trans-Jord
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And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the souls that they had obtained in Haran, and they went out to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him.
On the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates; the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, read more. and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Jehovah the God of the heavens, who took me out of my father's house, and out of the land of my nativity, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land he will send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife for my son thence.
for indeed I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
The peoples heard it, they were afraid: A thrill seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
And Moses and Aaron took these men who are expressed by their names, and gathered the whole assembly together on the first of the second month. And they declared their pedigrees after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, according to their polls. read more. As Jehovah had commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. And the sons of Reuben, Israel's eldest son, their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, according to their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were forty-six thousand five hundred. Of the sons of Simeon: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, those that were numbered of them, by the number of the names, according to their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred. Of the sons of Gad: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Gad, were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Judah: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred. Of the sons of Issachar: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred. Of the sons of Zebulun: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred. Of the sons of Joseph: of the children of Ephraim: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred. Of the children of Manasseh: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand two hundred. Of the sons of Benjamin: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand four hundred. Of the sons of Dan: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred. Of the sons of Asher: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand five hundred. Of the sons of Naphtali: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand four hundred. These are those that were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, the twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers. And all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service in Israel, all they that were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan, this shall be the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to the borders thereof. read more. Then your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside of Edom, and your southern border shall be from the end of the salt sea eastward; and your border shall turn from the south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin, and shall end southward at Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-Addar, and pass on to Azmon. And the border shall turn from Azmon unto the torrent of Egypt, and shall end at the sea. And as west border ye shall have the great sea, and its coast. This shall be your west border. And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall mark out for you mount Hor; from mount Hor ye shall mark out the entrance to Hamath, and the end of the border shall be toward Zedad; and the border shall go to Ziphron, and shall end at Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border. And ye shall mark out for you as eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall strike upon the extremity of the sea of Chinnereth eastward; and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and shall end at the salt sea. This shall be your land according to the borders thereof round about.
And this land we took in possession at that time. From Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and the half of mount Gilead, and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites; and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (The whole region of Argob, even all Bashan, is called a land of giants. read more. Jair the son of Manasseh took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and called Bashan after his own name, Havoth-Jair, to this day.) And I gave Gilead to Machir. And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the river Arnon, the middle of the ravine and its border, as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon; the plain also, and the Jordan, and its border from Chinnereth as far as the sea of the plain, the salt sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward. And I commanded you at that time, saying, Jehovah your God hath given you this land to take possession of it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all who are combatants. Only your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, I know that ye have much cattle, shall abide in your cities which I have given you, until Jehovah give rest to your brethren, as well as to you, and they also take possession of the land that Jehovah your God giveth them beyond the Jordan; then shall ye return, each man to his possession, which I have given you.
For Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of water-brooks, of springs, and of deep waters, that gush forth in the valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; read more. a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, where thou shalt lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains thou wilt dig copper.
And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, went over in array before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. About forty thousand armed for military service passed over before Jehovah to the war, unto the plains of Jericho.
Now there was no smith found throughout the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears.
And Solomon ruled over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and made them dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in its cities. And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Jehovah; and Jehovah sent lions among them, which killed some of them. read more. And they spoke to the king of Assyria saying, The nations that thou hast removed and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria know not the manner of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the god of the land. And the king of Assyria commanded saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye have brought away from thence; and let them go and abide there, and let him teach them the manner of the god of the land. Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and abode in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear Jehovah. And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they dwelt.
And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he made a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has Jehovah the God of the heavens given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. read more. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel he is God which is at Jerusalem. And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the voluntary offering for the house of God which is at Jerusalem.
Moab is my wash-pot; upon Edom will I cast my sandal; Philistia, shout aloud because of me.
{To the chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.} Thou hast been favourable, Jehovah, unto thy land; thou hast turned the captivity of Jacob:
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon among them thatknow me; behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: this man was born there.
Moab is my wash-pot; upon Edom will I cast my sandal; over Philistia will I shout aloud.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a viper, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings of troops.
And the land of Judah shall be a dismay unto Egypt: every one that thinketh of it shall be afraid for himself, because of the counsel of Jehovah of hosts, which he hath purposed against it.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This is Jerusalem: I have set her in the midst of the nations, and the countries are round about her.
They shall not dwell in Jehovah's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria shall they eat that which is unclean.
Yea also, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the districts of Philistia? Will ye render me a recompence? But if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompence upon your own head;
And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple building, and thou wilt raise it up in three days?
By faith he sojourned as a stranger in the land of promise as a foreign country, having dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
Fausets
Peleshet. Four times in KJV, found always in poetry (Ex 15:27; Isa 14:29,31; Joe 3:4); same as Philistia (Ps 60:8; 87:4; 83:7 "the Philistines".) The long strip of seacoast plain held by the Philistines. The Assyrian king Ivalush's inscription distinguishes "Palaztu on the western sea" from Tyre, Samaria, etc. (Rawlinson, Herodotus 1:467.) So in the Egyptian Karnak inscriptions Pulusata is deciphered. The Scriptures never use it as we do, of the whole Holy Land. (See CANAAN for the physical divisions, etc.) "The land of the Hebrew" Joseph calls it, because of Abraham's, Isaac's, and Jacob's settlements at Mamre, Hebron, and Shechem (Ge 40:15). "the land of the Hittites" (Jos 1:4); so Chita or Cheta means the whole of lower and middle Syria in the Egyptian records of Rameses II. In his inscriptions, and those of Thothmes III, Tu-netz, "Holy Land," occurs, whether meaning "Phoenicia" or "Palestine". In Ho 9:3 "land of Jehovah," compare Le 25:23; Isa 62:4.
The holy land, Zec 2:12; 7:14, "land of desire"; Da 8:9. "the pleasant land"; Da 11:16,41, "the glorious (or goodly) land"; Eze 20:6,15, "a land that I had espied for them flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands." God's choice of it as peculiarly His own was its special glory (Ps 132:13; 48:2; Jer 3:19 margin "a good land, a land of brooks of water (wadies often now dry, but a few perennial), of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills (the deep blue pools, the sources of streams), a land of wheat, barley, vines, figtrees, pomegranates, oil olive, honey (dibs, the syrup prepared from the grape lees, a common food now) ... wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass" (De 8:7-9). "The land of the Amorite" (Am 2:10).
The land of Israel in the larger sense (1Sa 13:19); in the narrower sense of the northern kingdom it occurs 2Ch 30:25. After the return from Babylon "Judaea" was applied to the whole country S. and N., and E. beyond Jordan (Mt 19:1). "The land of promise" (Heb 11:9). "Judaea" in the Roman sense was part of the province "Syria," which comprised the seaboard from the bay of Issus to Egypt, and meant the country from Idumea on the S. to the territories of the free cities on the N. and W., Scythopolis, Sebaste, Joppa, Azotus, etc. The land E. of Jordan between it and the desert, except the territory of the free cities Poilu, Gadara, Philadelphia, was "Perea." From Dan (Banias) in the far N. to Beersheba on the S. is 139 English miles, two degrees or 120 geographical miles. The breadth at Gaza from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea is 48 geographical miles; at the Litany, from the coast to Jordan is 20 miles; the average is 34 geographical or 40 English miles. About the size of Wales. The length of country under dominion in Solomon's days was probably 170 miles, the breadth 90, the area 12,000 or 13,000 square miles.
The population, anciently from three to six millions, is now under one million. The Jordan valley with its deep depression separates it from the Moab and Gilead highlands. Lebanon, Antilebanon, and the Litany ravine at their feet form the northern bound. On the S. the dry desert of Paran and "the river of Egypt" bound it. On the western verge of Asia, and severed from the main body of Asia by the desert between Palestine and the regions of Mesopotamia and Arabia, it looks on the other side to the Mediterranean and western world, which it was destined by Providence so powerfully to affect; oriental and reflective, yet free from the stagnant and retrogressive tendencies of Asia, it bore the precious spiritual treasure of which it was the repository to the energetic and progressive W. It consists mainly of undulating highlands, bordered E. and W. by a broad belt of deep sunk lowland.
The three main features, plains, hills, and torrent beds, are specified (Nu 13:29; Jos 11:16; 12:8). Mount Carmel, rising to the height of above 1,700 ft., crosses the maritime plain half way up the coast with a long ridge from the central chain, and juts out into the Mediterranean as a bold headland. The plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon on its northern side, separating the Ephraim mountains from those of Galilee, and stretching across from the Mediterranean to the Jordan valley, was the great battlefield of Palestine. Galilee is the northern portion, Samaria the middle, Judaea the southern. The long purple wall of Gilead and Moab's hills on the eastern side is everywhere to be seen. The bright light and transparent air enable one from the top of Tabor, Gerizim or Bethel at once to see Moab on the E. and the Mediterranean on the W. On a line E. of the axis of the country and running N. and S. lie certain elevations: Hebron 3,029 ft. above the sea; Jerusalem, 2,610; Olivet, 2,724; Neby Samwil on the N., 2,650; Bethel, 2,400; Ebal and Gerizim, 2,700; Little Hermon and Tabor, N. of the Esdraelon plain, 1,900.
The watershed sends off the drainage of the country in streams running W. to the Mediterranean and E. to the Jordan, except at the Esdraelon plain and the far N. where the drainage is to the Litany. Had the Jews been military in character, they would easily have prevented their conquerors from advancing up the precipitous defiles from the E., the only entrances to the central highlands of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, from the Jordan valley; as Engedi (2Ch 20:1-2,16) and Adummim, the route between Jericho and Jerusalem by which Pompey advanced when he took the capital. The slope from the western valleys is more gradual, as the level of the plain is higher, and the distance up the hills longer, than from the eastern Jordan depression; still the passes would be formidable for any army with baggage to pass. From Jaffa up to Jerusalem there are two roads: the one to the right by Ramleh and the wady Aly; the other the historic one by Lydda and the Bethorons, or the wady Suleiman, and Gibeon.
By this Joshua drove the Canaanites to the plains; the Philistines went up to Michmash, and fled back past Ajalon. The rival empires, Egypt and Babylon-Assyria, could march against one another only along the maritime western plain of Palestine and the Lebanon plain leading toward and from the Euphrates. Thus Rameses II marched against the Chitti or Hittites in northern Syria, and Pharaoh Necho fought at Mefiddo in the Esdraelon plain, the battlefield of Palestine; they did not meddle with the central highlands, "The S. country" being near the desert, destitute of trees, and away from the mountain streams, is drier than the N., where springs abound. (See PHARAOH NECHO; MEGIDDO.) The region below Hebron between the hills and the desert is called the Negeb (the later Daroma) from its dryness. Hence Caleb's daughter, having her portion in it, begged from him springs, i.e. land having springs (Jg 1:15). The "upper and lower springs" spring from the hard formation in the N.W. corner of the Negeb (Jos 15:19); here too Nabal lived, so reluctant to give "his water" (1Sa 25:11).
The verdure and blaze of scarlet flowers which cover the highlands of Judah and Benjamin in spring, while streams pour down the ravines, give place to dreary barrenness in the summit. Rounded low hills, with coarse gray stone, clumps of oak bushes, and the remains of ancient terraces running round them, meet one on each side, or else the terraces are reconstructed and bear olives and figs, and vineyards are surrounded by rough walls with watchtowers. Large oak roots are all that attest the former existence of trees along the road between Bethlehem and Hebron. Corn or dourra fills many of the valleys, and the stalks left until the ensuing seedtime give a dry neglected look to the scene. More vegetation appears in the W. and N.W. The wady es Sumt is named from its acacias. Olives, terebinths, pines, and laurels here and ten miles to the N. at Kirjath Jearim ("city of forests") give a wooded aspect to the scenery.
The tract, nine miles wide and 35 long, between the center and the sudden descent to the Dead Sea, is desolate at all seasons, a series of hills without vegetation, water, and almost life, with no ruins save Masada a
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And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan that it was thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar.
And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he sat at the tent-door in the heat of the day.
for indeed I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
And they came to Elim; and twelve springs of water were there, and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters.
And the land shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Amalek dwells in the land of the south; and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill-country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the side of the Jordan.
For Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of water-brooks, of springs, and of deep waters, that gush forth in the valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; read more. a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, where thou shalt lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains thou wilt dig copper.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon to the great river, the river Euphrates, the whole land of the Hittites, to the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and held the passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at even, in the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened loaves, and roasted corn on that same day.
And Joshua took all that land, the mountain and all the south, and all the land of Goshen, and the lowland, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and its lowland;
in the mountain, and in the lowland, and in the plain, and on the hill-slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the south: the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites:
from the Shihor, which floweth before Egypt, as far as the borders of Ekron northward, and which is counted to the Canaanite; five lordships of the Philistines: of Gazah, and of Ashdod, of Eshkalon, of Gath, and of Ekron; also the Avvites; in the south, the whole land of the Canaanites, and Mearah which belongeth to the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the border of the Amorites; read more. and the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sun-rising, from Baal-Gad at the foot of mount Hermon to the entrance into Hamath; all the inhabitants of the hill-country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians; I will dispossess them from before the children of Israel. Only, partition it by lot to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
And she said, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a southern land; give me also springs of water. Then he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
Ekron and its dependent villages and its hamlets. From Ekron and westward all that are by the side of Ashdod, and their hamlets. read more. Ashdod, its dependent villages and its hamlets; Gazah, its dependent villages and its hamlets, as far as the torrent of Egypt, and the great sea and its coast.
and went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, as far as the border of the lower Beth-horon, and to Gezer; and ended at the sea.
And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-shean and its dependent villages, and Ibleam and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages, the three hilly regions.
She said to him, "Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron. And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. read more. But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jeb'usites who dwelt in Jerusalem; so the Jeb'usites have dwelt with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, "Pray, show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you." And he showed them the way into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called its name Luz; that is its name to this day. Manas'seh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-she'an and its villages, or Ta'a-nach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megid'do and its villages; but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land.
Manas'seh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-she'an and its villages, or Ta'a-nach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megid'do and its villages; but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. read more. And E'phraim did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Zeb'ulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Na'halol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became subject to forced labor. Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob; but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. Naph'tali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-she'mesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-she'mesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. The Amorites pressed the Danites back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain; the Amorites persisted in dwelling in Har-heres, in Ai'jalon, and in Sha-al'bim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily upon them, and they became subject to forced labor.
Now there was no smith found throughout the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears.
And David arose, and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
And shall I take my bread, and my water, and my flesh which I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men whom I know not whence they are?
And David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite; and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, Israel.
Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.
And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite; and over the herds in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai.
And it came to pass after this that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them certain of the Maonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. And they came and told Jehoshaphat saying, A great multitude is come against thee from beyond the sea, from Syria; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.
To-morrow go down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
And the whole congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.
And I said to them that the gates of Jerusalem should not be opened until the sun was hot, and that they should shut the doors and bar them while they stood by; and that there should be appointed watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one over against his house.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away, Which are turbid by reason of the ice, in which the snow hideth itself: read more. At the time they diminish, they are dried up; when heat affecteth them, they vanish from their place:
His going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
{To the chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. On Alamoth. A song.} God is our refuge and strength, a help in distresses, very readily found. Therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the heart of the seas;
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Moab is my wash-pot; upon Edom will I cast my sandal; Philistia, shout aloud because of me.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the hills, by righteousness.
There shall be abundance of corn in the earth, upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon; and they of the city shall bloom like the herb of the earth.
And he drove out the nations before them, and allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
{To the chief Musician. Upon the Gittith. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.} How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of hosts!
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon among them thatknow me; behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: this man was born there.
Yonder is the great and wide sea: therein are moving things innumerable, living creatures small and great. There go the ships; there that leviathan, which thou hast formed to play therein.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, These see the works of Jehovah, and his wonders in the deep. read more. For he speaketh, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof: They mount up to the heavens, they go down to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble; They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and they are at their wits' end: Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses; He maketh the storm a calm, and the waves thereof are still: And they rejoice because they are quiet; and he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
For Jehovah hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his dwelling:
He giveth snow like wool, scattereth the hoar frost like ashes; He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? read more. He sendeth his word, and melteth them; he causeth his wind to blow the waters flow.
And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow unto it.
And there shall be a tabernacle for shade by day from the heat, and for a shelter and for a covert from storm and from rain.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a viper, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings of troops.
And a throne shall be established in mercy: and in the tent of David there shall sit upon it, in truth, one judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.
Thou hast subdued the tumult of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; as the heat, by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the terrible ones is brought low.
Thou shalt no more be termed, Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed, Desolate: but thou shalt be called, My delight is in her, and thy land, Married; for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.
Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his habitations; and the city shall be built upon her own heap; and the palace shall be inhabited after the manner thereof.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
in that day I lifted up my hand unto them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the ornament of all lands;
And I also lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the ornament of all lands;
And thou, son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Jehovah.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauty of the earth.
And he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and destruction shall be in his hand.
And he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
They shall not dwell in Jehovah's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria shall they eat that which is unclean.
Yea also, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the districts of Philistia? Will ye render me a recompence? But if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompence upon your own head;
And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
I have overthrown among you, like God's overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not, and the land was desolate after them, so that no one passed through nor returned; and they laid the pleasant land desolate.
And Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified over Judah.
And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: ye shall even flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the holy ones with thee.
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the country round the Jordan,
Whoever therefore hears these my words and does them, I will liken him to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and fell upon that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. read more. And every one who hears these my words and does not do them, he shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, he withdrew from Galilee, and came to the coasts of Judaea beyond the Jordan;
And lo, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom, and the earth was shaken, and the rocks were rent,
By faith he sojourned as a stranger in the land of promise as a foreign country, having dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
Hastings
PALESTINE
1. Situation and name.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The peoples heard it, they were afraid: A thrill seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
And the princes said to them, Let them live. And they were hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the assembly; as the princes had said to them.
And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you." So Simeon went with him. Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Per'izzites into their hand; and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek. read more. They came upon Ado'ni-be'zek at Bezek, and fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Per'izzites. Ado'ni-be'zek fled; but they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Ado'ni-be'zek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and their great toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kir'iath-ar'ba); and they defeated She'shai and Ahi'man and Talmai. From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kir'iath-se'pher. And Caleb said, "He who attacks Kir'iath-se'pher and takes it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as wife." And Oth'ni-el the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field; and she alighted from her ass, and Caleb said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to him, "Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. And the descendants of the Ken'ite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad; and they went and settled with the people. And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah. Judah also took Gaza with its territory, and Ash'kelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron. And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jeb'usites who dwelt in Jerusalem; so the Jeb'usites have dwelt with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, "Pray, show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you." And he showed them the way into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called its name Luz; that is its name to this day. Manas'seh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-she'an and its villages, or Ta'a-nach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megid'do and its villages; but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah.
And David said to Saul, Thy servant fed his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and also a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.
And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
And Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbosheth said to Abner, Why hast thou gone in to my father's concubine?
And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heavens became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great pour of rain. And Ahab got on the chariot, and went to Jizreel.
And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and made them dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in its cities. And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Jehovah; and Jehovah sent lions among them, which killed some of them. read more. And they spoke to the king of Assyria saying, The nations that thou hast removed and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria know not the manner of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the god of the land. And the king of Assyria commanded saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye have brought away from thence; and let them go and abide there, and let him teach them the manner of the god of the land. Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and abode in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear Jehovah. And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they dwelt. And the people of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the people of Cuth made Nergal, and the people of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared Jehovah, and made to themselves from all classes of them priests of the high places, who offered sacrifices for them in the houses of the high places. They feared Jehovah, and served their own gods after the manner of the nations, whence they had been carried away. To this day they do after their former customs: they fear not Jehovah, neither do they after their statutes or after their ordinances, nor after the law and commandment that Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob, whom he named Israel. And Jehovah had made a covenant with them, and charged them saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow down yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them; but Jehovah alone, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. And the statutes and the ordinances and the law, and the commandment which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. And ye shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you, neither shall ye fear other gods; but ye shall fear Jehovah your God, and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. And they did not hearken, but did after their former customs. And these nations feared Jehovah, and served their graven images, both their children and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they, unto this day.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a viper, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings of troops.
And ye, children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he giveth you the early rain in due measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the early rain, and the latter rain at the beginning of the season.
Yea also, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the districts of Philistia? Will ye render me a recompence? But if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompence upon your own head;
And he said also to the crowds, When ye see a cloud rising out of the west, straightway ye say, A shower is coming; and so it happens.
Watsons
PALESTINE, taken in a limited sense, denotes the country of the Philistines or Palestines, including that part of the land of promise which extended along the Mediterranean Sea, from Gaza south to Lydda north. The LXX were of opinion that the word Philistiim, which they generally translate Allophyli, signified "strangers," or men of another tribe. Palestine, taken in a more general sense, signifies the whole country of Canaan, the whole land of promise, as well beyond as on this side Jordan, though pretty frequently it is restrained to the country on this side that river; so that in later times the words Judea and Palestine were synonymous. We find, also, the name of Syria Palestine given to the land of promise, and even sometimes this province is comprehended in Coelo-Syria, or the Lower Syria. Herodotus is the most ancient writer we know that speaks of Syria Palestine. He places it between Phenicia and Egypt. See Canaan.