Reference: Palestine
American
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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Peoples have heard they tremble, - A pang, hath seized the dwellers of Philistia:
Do not rejoice, Philistia, any of thee, In that the rod of him that smote thee, is broken, - For, out of the root of the serpent, shall come forth, a viper, And his fruit be a fiery dragon that flieth.
Howl - O gate, Make outcry - O city, Dispersed art thou Philistia, all of thee, - For out of the north, a smoke cometh in, With no straggler in his ranks.
Moreover also, what have, ye, to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the circuit of Palestine? A recompense, are ye paying back unto me? But, though ye should make a recompense unto me, swiftly, speedily, would I return your recompense 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, with all the goods that they bad gathered and the souls that they had gained in Haran, - and they came forth to go towards the land of Canaan, and came in to the land of Canaan.
And Yahweh appeared unto Abram, and said: To thy seed, will I give this land, - And he built there an altar, unto Yahweh who appeared unto him.
In that day, did Yahweh solemnise with Abram a covenant, saying, - To thy seed, have I given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river - the river Euphrates: the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite; read more. and the Hittite and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim; and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
Yahweh, God of the heavens, and God of the earth, who took me out of the house of my father, and out of the land of my kindred, and, who spake to me, and who sware to me, saying, To thy seed, will I give this land, he, will send his messenger before thee, so shalt then take a wife for my son from thence.
For I was, stolen, out of the land of the Hebrews, - and, even here, had I done nothing, that they should have put me in the dungeon,
Peoples have heard they tremble, - A pang, hath seized the dwellers of Philistia:
So then Moses and Aaron took these men, who were distinguished by name; all the assembly also, called they together on the first of the second month, - and they declared their pedigree according to their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards by their polls. read more. As Yahweh commanded Moses, so he mustered them in the desert of Sinai. And they were as followeth - The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, in their pedigrees - by their families, by their ancestral houses, in the counting of names, by their polls, every male, from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Reuben, forty-six thousand and five hundred. Of the sons of Simeon, in their pedigree by their families by their ancestral houses, - such as were numbered of him, in the counting of names by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Simeon, fifty-nine thousand and three hundred. Of the sons of Gad, in their pedigree - by their families by their ancestral houses, in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war: such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Gad, forty-five thousand and six hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Judah, in the r pedigrees by their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names, from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Judah, seventy-four thousand and six hundred. Of the sons of Issachar, in their pedigrees - by their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names, from twenty year old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Issachar, fifty-four thousand and four hundred. Of the sons of Zebulun, in their pedigrees - by their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names from twenty years rid and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Zebulun, fifty-seven thousand and four hundred. Of the sons of Joseph - Of the sons of Ephraim, in their pedigrees - by their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them, as belonging to the tribe of Ephraim, forty thousand and five hundred. Of the sons of Manasseh, in their pedigrees - by their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Manasseh, thirty-two thousand, and two hundred. Of the sons of Benjamin, in their pedigrees by their families, by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, thirty-five thousand and four hundred. Of the sons of Dan, in their pedigrees by their families by their ancestral houses, in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Dan, sixty-two thousand, and seven hundred. Of the sons of Asher, in their pedigrees - by their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Asher, forty-one thousand, and five hundred. The sons of Naphtali, in their pedigrees by their families by their ancestral houses, - in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war; such as were numbered of them, as belonging to the tribe of Naphtali, fifty-three thousand, and four hundred. These, are they who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the twelve princes of Israel did number, the princes acting each one for his ancestral house. So then all they who were numbered of the sons of Israel by their ancestral houses, from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war in Israel; so then all they who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
Command the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say unto them, When, ye, are coming into the land of Canaan, this is the land which shall fall unto you, as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan, by the boundaries thereof. Ye shall therefore have a south corner, from the desert of Zin, on the side of Edom, - so shall ye have a south boundary, from the end of the salt sea, eastward: read more. and the boundary shall go round for you from the south towards the cliffs of Akrabbim, then cross over towards Zin, and the extension thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, then shall it reach out to Hazar-addar, and cross over towards Azmon; then shall the boundary turn round from Azmon towards the ravine of Egypt, - and the extension thereof shall be towards the sea. And, for a west boundary, - ye shall have the great sea, even a boundary, this, shall serve you as west boundary. And, this, shall serve you as a north boundary, - From the great sea, ye shall draw a line for you to Mount Hor: From Mount Hor, ye shall draw a line to the entering in of Hamath, - and the extension of the boundary shall be towards Zedad: then shall the boundary reach out towards Ziphron, and the extension thereof, be to Hazar-enan. This, shall serve you as a north, boundary. Then shall ye draw for yourselves a line, for an east boundary, - from Hazar-enan towards Shepham; and the boundary shall go down from Shepham towards Riblah, on the east of Ain - then shall the boundary go down and strike on the side of the Sea of Chinnereth, eastward: then shall the boundary go down towards the Jordan, and the extension thereof be to the salt sea. This shall be your land by the boundaries thereof round about.
And this land, took we in possession at that time, - from Aroer which is by the ravine of Arnon, and half the hill-country of Gilead and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites; but the remainder of Gilead, and all Bashan the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh, - all the region of the Argob with all Bashan. The same, is called, A land of giants. read more. Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the region of Argob, as far as the boundary of the Geshurites, and the Maachathites, - and called them after his own name The Bashan of Havvoth-jair unto this day. And, unto Machir, gave I Gilead; And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites, gave I - from Gilead even as far as the ravine of Arnon, the middle of the ravine and boundary, - even as far as the Jabbok ravine, the boundary of the sons Ammon; the Waste Plain also and the Jordan and boundary, - from Chinnereth, even as far as the sea of the Waste Plain the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah, on the east. So I commanded you, at that time saying, - Yahweh your God hath given unto you this land to possess it, armed, shall ye pass over before your brethren the sons of Israel all the sons of valour, 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 unto you; until that Yahweh shall give rest unto your brethren, as well as you, so shall, they too, possess the land which, Yahweh your God, is giving unto them, over the Jordan, - then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given unto you.
For, Yahweh thy God, is bringing thee into a good land; a land of ravines of water, of fountains and depths, coming forth in valley, and in mountain: a land of wheat and barley, and vine and fig-tree, and pomegranate, - a land of olive oil, and honey: read more. a land wherein not in scarcity, shalt thou eat food, thou shalt lack nothing therein, - a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest hew copper.
Also the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the hall tribe of Manasseh, passed over, armed, before the sons of Israel, - as Moses had spoken unto them: about forty thousand, equipped for the war, passed over before Yahweh, to battle, into the waste plains of Jericho.
Now, a smith, could not be found, throughout all the land of Israel - for the Philistines had said, Lest the Hebrews make sword or spear.
And, Solomon, became ruler over all the kingdoms, from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and as far as the boundary of Egypt, - and these were bringing presents, and serving Solomon, all the days of his life.
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avvah, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and caused them to dwell in the cities of Samaria, instead of the sons of Israel, - so they took possession of Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was, that, when they first dwelt there, they revered not Yahweh, - therefore Yahweh sent among them, lions, which were slaying them. read more. Therefore spake they unto the king of Assyria, saying, The nations whom thou hast removed and settled in the cities of Samaria, know not the custom of the God of the land, - and he hath sent among them lions, and lo! they are slaying them, because they know not the custom of the God of the land. So the king of Assyria commanded, saying - Carry thither, one of the priests, whom ye brought away captive from thence, that they may go, and dwell there, - and teach them the custom of the God of the land. Then came one of the priests whom they had carried away captive from Samaria, and dwelt in Bethel, - and he began teaching them how they should do reverence unto Yahweh. Howbeit the nations severally were making their own gods, - and did put them in the houses of the high places, which, the Samaritans, had made, each several nation, in their cities wherein, they, were dwelling.
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, to fulfil the word of Yahweh from the mouth of Jeremiah, Yahweh aroused the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, moreover also in writing, saying: Thus, saith Cyrus, king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth, hath Yahweh God of the heavens, given to me, - and, he himself, hath laid charge upon me, to build for him a house, in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. read more. Who is there 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 Yahweh God of Israel, (he, is God!) which is in Jerusalem; And, whosoever is left, of all the places where he doth sojourn, let the men of his place uphold him, with silver and with gold, and with goods and with beasts, - along with a voluntary offering for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem.
Moab, is my wash-bowl, Upon Edom, will I throw my shoe, Over Philistia! raise shout of triumph.
Thou hast accepted, O Yahweh, thy land, Thou hast brought back the captives of Jacob;
I will mention Rahab and Babylon, to them who know me - Lo! Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia, This one was born there.
Moab, is my wash-bowl, Upon Edom, will I throw my shoe, Over Philistia, raise a shout of triumph.
Do not rejoice, Philistia, any of thee, In that the rod of him that smote thee, is broken, - For, out of the root of the serpent, shall come forth, a viper, And his fruit be a fiery dragon that flieth.
Howl - O gate, Make outcry - O city, Dispersed art thou Philistia, all of thee, - For out of the north, a smoke cometh in, With no straggler in his ranks.
Then shall the soil of Judah become, to Egypt, a terror; Every one to whom it is mentioned, will tremble, - Because of the purpose of Yahweh of hosts, which he is purposing against it.
Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, This, is Jerusalem, In the midst of the nations, I placed her, - and of the countries round about her;
They shall not dwell in the land of Yahweh, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and, in Assyria - that which is unclean, shall they eat.
Moreover also, what have, ye, to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the circuit of Palestine? A recompense, are ye paying back unto me? But, though ye should make a recompense unto me, swiftly, speedily, would I return your recompense upon your own head.
Thus will Yahweh inherit Judah, his portion, on the soil of the sanctuary, - and make choice, yet again, of Jerusalem.
The Jews, therefore, said - In forty and six years, was this shrine built. And, thou, in three days, wilt raise it!
By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as a foreign land, in tents, dwelling, along with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs 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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So Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the circuit of the Jordan, that the whole of it, was well-watered, - before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the Garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as thou enterest into Zoar.
And Yahweh appeared unto him among the oaks of Mamre, - as, he, was sitting at the opening of the tent in the heat of the day.
For I was, stolen, out of the land of the Hebrews, - and, even here, had I done nothing, that they should have put me in the dungeon,
Then came they in to Elim, and there, were twelve fountains of water and seventy palm-trees, - so they encamped there, by the waters.
The land moreover shall not be sold beyond recovery, for, mine, is the land, - for, sojourners and settlers, ye are with me.
Anak, saw we there. Amalek, dwelleth in the land of the South; And, the Hittite, and the Jebusite and the Amorite, dwell in the mountain And the Canaanite, dwelleth by the sea, and by the side of the Jordan.
For, Yahweh thy God, is bringing thee into a good land; a land of ravines of water, of fountains and depths, coming forth in valley, and in mountain: a land of wheat and barley, and vine and fig-tree, and pomegranate, - a land of olive oil, and honey: read more. a land wherein not in scarcity, shalt thou eat food, thou shalt lack nothing therein, - a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest hew copper.
From the desert and this Lebanon, even unto the great river - the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea, toward the going in of the sun, shall be your boundary.
Thus then the sons of Israel encamped in Gilgal, - and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, in the waste plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the corn of the land, on the morrow of the passover, unleavened cakes and parched ears of corn, - on this selfsame day.
So Joshua took all this land - the hill country, and all the south, and all the land of Goshen, and the lowland, and the waste plain, - and the hill country of Israel, and the lowland thereof:
in the hill country and in the lowland, and in the waste plain, and in the slopes, and in the desert, and in the south, - the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: -
from the Shihor which faceth Egypt, even as far as the boundary of Ekron, northward, to the Canaanites, is it counted, - five princes of Philistines, the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites, also the Avvim on the south: all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah which belongeth to the Zidonians, as far as Aphek, - as far as the boundary of the Amorites; read more. and the land of the Gebalites, and all the Lebanon, to the rising of the sun, from Baal-gad, under Mount Hermon, - as far as the entering in of Hamath: all the inhabitants of the hill country, from the Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim - all the Zidonians, I myself, will dispossess them from before the sons of Israel, - nevertheless, assign thou it by lot unto Israel, for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
And she said - Give me a present, for, dry land, hast thou given me, therefore must thou give me, pools of water. So he gave her upper pools and lower pools.
Ekron with her towns, and her villages. From Ekron, even unto the sea, - all that were by the side of Ashdod with their villages. read more. Ashdod, her towns and her villages. Gaza, her towns and her villages, as far as the ravine of Egypt, - and the great sea and coast.
and descendeth westward, unto the boundary of the Japhletites, as far as the boundary of Bethhoron the nether, and as far as Gezer, - and the extensions thereof are to the sea.
And Manasseh had - in Issachar and in Asher - Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo, and her towns - the three heights,
And she said unto him - Give me a present; for, south land, hast thou given me, give me therefore pools of water. So Caleb gave her Upper-pools, and Lower-pools.
And it same to pass that Yahweh was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, - but did not dispossess the inhabitants of the vale, because they had, chariots of iron. So they gave unto Caleb Hebron, as spake Moses, - and he drave out from thence the three sons of Anak. read more. But, the Jebusites dwelling in Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin did not drive out, - but the Jebusites have dwelt with the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, unto this day. Then went up the house of Joseph - they also, - unto Bethel, - and, Yahweh, was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel, - now, the name of the city, formerly, was, Luz. So the watchers saw a man, coming forth from the city, - and they said unto him - Shew us, we pray thee, the way to get into the city, and we will deal with thee, in lovingkindness. And he shewed them the way to get into the city, and they smote the city, with the edge of the sword, - but, the man and all his family, they let go. And the man went into the land of the Hittites, - and built a city, and called the name thereof, Luz, that, is the name thereof, unto this day. But Manasseh took not possession of Beth-shean and her towns, nor of Taanach and her towns, nor dispossessed the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam, and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo, and her towns, - but the Canaanites were determined to remain in this land;
But Manasseh took not possession of Beth-shean and her towns, nor of Taanach and her towns, nor dispossessed the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam, and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo, and her towns, - but the Canaanites were determined to remain in this land; when Israel, however, had waxed strong, they put the Canaanites under tribute, - though they, dispossessed, them not. read more. And, Ephraim, dispossessed not the Canaanites who were dwelling in Gezer, - so the Canaanites remained in their midst, in Gezer. Zebulun, dispossessed not the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, - but the Canaanites remained in their midst, and came under tribute. Asher, dispossessed not the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, - nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob; but the Asherites dwelt in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, - for they dispossessed them not. Naphtali, dispossessed not the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but they dwelt in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, - and, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, and of Beth-anath, became theirs, under tribute. And the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, - for they suffered them not to come down into the vale; and, though the Amorites were determined to remain in the hill country of Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, yet was the hand of the house of Joseph heavy, so that they came under tribute.
Now, a smith, could not be found, throughout all the land of Israel - for the Philistines had said, Lest the Hebrews make sword or spear.
Then arose David, and fled, that day, from the face of Saul, - and came in unto Achish, king of Gath.
Shall I, then, take my bread, and my wine, and my slain beasts, that I have slaughtered for my shearers, - and give unto men of whom I know not whence they are?
And David arose, and he and the six hundred men that were with him passed over, unto Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath.
Now, in that place, there happened to be an abandoned man, whose name, was Sheba son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin, - so he blew a horn, and said - We have no share in David, Nor inheritance have we in the son of Jesse, Every man to his home, O Israel!
Pharaoh king of Egypt, had gone up and captured Gezer, and burned it with fire, the Canaanites also who were dwelling in the city, had he slain, - and had given it as a dowry, to his daughter, wife of Solomon.
And, over the herds that pastured in Sharon, was Shitrai, the Sharonite. And, over the herds in the vales, Shaphat, son of Adlai.
And it came to pass, after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, and, with them, some of the Meunim, came against Jehoshaphat, to battle. And there came some and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There is coming against thee, a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Syria, - and lo! they are in Hazazon-tamar, the same, is Engedi.
To-morrow, go ye down against them, for lo! there they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, - and ye shall find them at the end of the ravine, facing the wilderness of Jeruel.
So all the convocation of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and all the convocation that came in out of Israel, rejoiced, - also the sojourners who were coming in out of the land of Israel, and the dwellers in Judah.
And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until, hot, be the sun, and, while they are standing by, let them close the doors, and make them fast, - setting watches, of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one over against his own house.
Mine own brethren, have proved treacherous like a torrent, like a channel of torrents which disappear: Which darken by reason of the cold, over them, is a covering made by the snow: read more. By the time they begin to thaw, they are dried up, as soon as it is warm, they have vanished out of their place.
From one end of the heavens, is his going forth, and, his circuit, to the other end thereof - and, nothing, is hid from his glowing heat.
For, day and night, heavy upon me, was thy hand, - Changed was my life-sap into the drought of summer. Selah.
God - for us, is a refuge and strength, A help in distresses, soon found. For this cause, will we not fear, Though the earth showeth change, Or the mountains slip into the heart of the seas:
Moab, is my wash-bowl, Upon Edom, will I throw my shoe, Over Philistia! raise shout of triumph.
May the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills be laden with righteousness;
May there be an abundance of corn in the earth, in the top of the mountains, - Let the fruit thereof, wave like Lebanon, And they of the city bloom like the fresh shoots of the earth.
So he drave out, before them, whole nations, And allotted them, by line, an inheritance, And caused to dwell, in their own homes, the tribes of Israel.
How lovely are thy habitations, O Yahweh of hosts!
I will mention Rahab and Babylon, to them who know me - Lo! Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia, This one was born there.
This sea here, is great and broad on both hands, - Wherein are creeping things, even without number, Living things, small with great; There, ships, sail along, This sea-monster, thou hast formed to sport therein;
Men who go down to the sea, in ships, doing business through mighty waters; They, see the works of Yahweh, and his wonders in the deep; read more. And he speaketh, and there ariseth a tempestuous wind, which lifteth on high its rolling waves; They mount the heavens, they descend the roaring deeps, their soul, by trouble, dissolveth; They reel and stagger, like a drunken man, and, all their wisdom, is engulfed, Then make they outcry to Yahweh in their peril, and, out of their distresses, he bringeth them forth, He calmeth the storm to a whisper, and silent are their rolling waves: Then are they glad, because they are hushed, And he guideth them unto their desired haven.
For Yahweh hath chosen Zion, - He hath desired it as a dwelling for himself:
Who giveth snow like wool, Hoar-frost - like ashes, he scattereth: Casting forth his ice like crumbs, Before his cold, who can stand? read more. He sendeth forth his word and melteth them, He causeth his wind to blow, the waters, stream along:
But it shall come to pass, in the afterpart of the days, That the mountain of the house of Yahweh Shall be, set up, as the head of the mountains, And be exalted above the hills, - And all the nations, shall stream thereunto;
And a pavilion, shall there be For a shade by day, from the heat, - and For a refuge and for a shelter, from storm and from rain.
Do not rejoice, Philistia, any of thee, In that the rod of him that smote thee, is broken, - For, out of the root of the serpent, shall come forth, a viper, And his fruit be a fiery dragon that flieth.
Howl - O gate, Make outcry - O city, Dispersed art thou Philistia, all of thee, - For out of the north, a smoke cometh in, With no straggler in his ranks.
So shall be established, in lovingkindness, a throne, And one shall sit thereon, in truth, in the home of David, - Judging - and seeking justice and speeding righteousness.
As heat in a desert, the pomp of foreigners, wilt thou subdue, - Heat - with the shade of a cloud, The song of tyrants! become low.
Thou shalt he termed no longer - Forsaken Nor shall thy land be termed any longer A desolation, But, thou, shalt be called Hephzibah, And, thy land, Beulah, - For Yahweh hath found delight in thee, And thy land, shall be married.
Though, I myself, had said, - How can I put thee among the sons, And give thee a land to be coveted, An inheritance of beauty, of the hosts of nations? Yet I said, My father, shalt thou call me, And away from me, shalt thou not turn.
Thus, saith Yahweh - Behold me! bringing back the captivity of the tents of Jacob, And on his habitations, will I have compassion, - So shall the city be built, upon her own mound, And the citadel, upon its own site, shall remain:
Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, - He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David, - And, his dead body, shall be cast out - to the heat by day, and to the frost by night;
In that day, lifted I up my hand to them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt, - into a land that I had looked out for them flowing with milk and honey, The beauty, it was of all lands,
Yet even l lifted up my hand to them. in the desert, - That I would not b1ing them into the land which I had given to them flowing with milk and honey, The beauty, it was. of all lands:
Thou therefore. Son of man, Prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, - and thou shalt say, Ye mountains of Israel Hear ye the word of Yahweh.
and, out of the first of them, came forth a little horn, - which became exceedingly great, against the south and against the east, and against the beautiful land ;
So shall he that cometh against him do according to his own pleasure, and, none, shall stand before him, - therefore will he take his stand in the beautiful land, and it will languish and be exhausted in his hand.
yea he will enter the beautiful land, and, many lands , shall be laid low, - but, these, shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom and Moab, and the first portion of the sons of Ammon;
They shall not dwell in the land of Yahweh, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and, in Assyria - that which is unclean, shall they eat.
Moreover also, what have, ye, to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the circuit of Palestine? A recompense, are ye paying back unto me? But, though ye should make a recompense unto me, swiftly, speedily, would I return your recompense upon your own head.
And it was, I, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, - and led you in the desert, forty years, to take possession of the land of the Amorites;
I have made an overthrew among you, like the divine overthrow of Sodom arid Gomorrah, and ye have become like a brand snatched out of the burning, - Yet hate ye not returned unto me, Declareth Yahweh.
Thus will Yahweh inherit Judah, his portion, on the soil of the sanctuary, - and make choice, yet again, of Jerusalem.
But I whirled them over all the nations whom they had not known, and, the land, was made desolate after them, that none passed through and returned, - Yea they made of a delightful land - a desolation.
But Yahweh will save the tents of Judah first, - lest the honour of the house of David, and the honour of the inhabitant of Jerusalem, should be magnified over Judah.
Then shall ye flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains, shall reach, very near, Yea, ye shall flee, just as ye fled from before the earthquake, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, - Then, shall arrive, Yahweh my God, All thy holy ones, with thee!
Then, were going forth unto him - Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the country round about the Jordan:
Every one, therefore, who heareth thesemy words, and doeth them, shall be likened to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock; And the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and rushed against that house, and it fell not; for it had been founded upon the rock. read more. And every one who heareth these my words, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; And the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and dashed against that house, and it fell; and, the fall thereof, was, great.
And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these words, he removed from Galilee and came into the bounds of Judaea beyond the Jordan.
And lo! the veil of the Temple, was rent, from top to bottom, into two; and, the earth, was shaken, and, the rocks, were rent;
By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as a foreign land, in tents, dwelling, along with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the same promise;
Hastings
PALESTINE
1. Situation and name.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Peoples have heard they tremble, - A pang, hath seized the dwellers of Philistia:
And the princes said unto them - Let them live. So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the assembly, as the princes spake unto them.
Then said Judah, unto Simeon his brother - Come up with me into the territory allotted me, and let us make war on the Canaanites, then will, I also, go with thee, into thy territory. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up, and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, - and they smote them in Bezek, ten thousand men. read more. And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, and fought with him, - and smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adoni-bezek fled, and they pursued him, - and took him, and cut off his thumbs, and his great toes. Then said Adoni-bezek - Seventy kings, with their thumbs and great toes cut off, have been picking up crumbs under my table, as I have done, so, hath God requited me. And they brought him into Jerusalem, and he died there. And the sons of Judah made war upon Jerusalem, and captured it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, - and, the city, they set on fire. And, afterwards, the sons of Judah went down to make war upon the Canaanites, - dwelling in the hill country, and in the south, and in the lowland. And Judah went against the Canaanites who were dwelling in Hebron, now, the name of Hebron, formerly, was Kiriath-arba, - and they smote Sheshai and Ahiman, and Talmai. And he went from thence, against the inhabitants of Debir, - now, the name of Debir, formerly, was Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and captureth it, I will give unto him Achsah my daughter, to wife. Then Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it, - and he gave him Achsah his daughter, to wife. And it came pass, when she came, that she moved him to ask of her father a field, and, when she alighted from off the ass, Caleb said unto her - What aileth thee? And she said unto him - Give me a present; for, south land, hast thou given me, give me therefore pools of water. So Caleb gave her Upper-pools, and Lower-pools. Now, the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, had come up from the city of palm-trees, with the sons of Judah, into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad, - so they went and dwelt with the people. Then went Judah, with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites dwelling in Zephath, - and devoted it to destruction, and the name of the city was called Hormah. And Judah captured Gaza with the boundaries thereof, and Ashkelon, with the boundaries thereof, - and Ekron, with the boundaries thereof. And it same to pass that Yahweh was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, - but did not dispossess the inhabitants of the vale, because they had, chariots of iron. So they gave unto Caleb Hebron, as spake Moses, - and he drave out from thence the three sons of Anak. But, the Jebusites dwelling in Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin did not drive out, - but the Jebusites have dwelt with the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, unto this day. Then went up the house of Joseph - they also, - unto Bethel, - and, Yahweh, was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel, - now, the name of the city, formerly, was, Luz. So the watchers saw a man, coming forth from the city, - and they said unto him - Shew us, we pray thee, the way to get into the city, and we will deal with thee, in lovingkindness. And he shewed them the way to get into the city, and they smote the city, with the edge of the sword, - but, the man and all his family, they let go. And the man went into the land of the Hittites, - and built a city, and called the name thereof, Luz, that, is the name thereof, unto this day. But Manasseh took not possession of Beth-shean and her towns, nor of Taanach and her towns, nor dispossessed the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam, and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo, and her towns, - but the Canaanites were determined to remain in this land; when Israel, however, had waxed strong, they put the Canaanites under tribute, - though they, dispossessed, them not.
Then went forth all the sons of Israel, and the assembly came together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba with the land of Gilead, - unto Yahweh at Mizpah.
Then said David unto Saul, Thy servant used to tend his father's sheep, - and there would come a lion, or a bear, and carry off a lamb out of the flock;
His men also who were with him, did David bring up, every man with his household, - and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
Now, Saul, had a concubine, whose name, was Rizpah daughter of Aiah, - and Ish-bosheth said unto Abner, Why, wentest thou in, unto my father's concubine?
And it came to pass, meanwhile, that, the heavens, had enshrouded themselves with clouds and wind, and there came a great rain, and Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel;
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avvah, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and caused them to dwell in the cities of Samaria, instead of the sons of Israel, - so they took possession of Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was, that, when they first dwelt there, they revered not Yahweh, - therefore Yahweh sent among them, lions, which were slaying them. read more. Therefore spake they unto the king of Assyria, saying, The nations whom thou hast removed and settled in the cities of Samaria, know not the custom of the God of the land, - and he hath sent among them lions, and lo! they are slaying them, because they know not the custom of the God of the land. So the king of Assyria commanded, saying - Carry thither, one of the priests, whom ye brought away captive from thence, that they may go, and dwell there, - and teach them the custom of the God of the land. Then came one of the priests whom they had carried away captive from Samaria, and dwelt in Bethel, - and he began teaching them how they should do reverence unto Yahweh. Howbeit the nations severally were making their own gods, - and did put them in the houses of the high places, which, the Samaritans, had made, each several nation, in their cities wherein, they, were dwelling. So then, the men of Babylon, made Succoth-benoth, and, the men of Cuth, made Nergal, and, the men of Hamath, made Ashima: and, the Avvites, made Nibhaz and Tartak, and, the Sepharvites, did consume their sons in the fire, to Adrammelech and Anammelech gods of Sepharvaim. Thus became they reverers of Yahweh, - and yet made for themselves, from the whole compass of them, priests of high places, who became offerers for them in the house of the high places. Yahweh, were they revering, - and yet, their own gods, were they serving, according to the custom of the nations from whence they had brought them away captive. Unto this day, are they offering according to the former customs, - they are not revering Yahweh, neither are they offering after their own statutes, or their own custom, nor yet after the law and the commandment which Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, whose name he made to be Israel: With, whom, Yahweh solemnised a covenant, and commanded them saying - Ye shall not revere other gods, - nor bow down to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them; But, Yahweh - who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, with great might, and with arm outstretched, him, shall ye revere, - and to him, shall ye bow down, and to him, shall ye sacrifice; And, the statutes and the regulations, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, shall ye surely observe to do, continually, - So shall ye not revere other gods; But, the covenant which I have solemnised with you, shall ye not forget, - So shall ye not revere other gods; But, Yahweh your God, shall ye revere, - then will, he, deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Howbeit they hearkened not, - but, according to their own former custom, were they offering. Thus were these nations doing reverence unto Yahweh, and yet, unto their own carved images, were they rendering service, - yea, their sons and their son's sons, as the fathers offered, so are, they, offering until this day.
Do not rejoice, Philistia, any of thee, In that the rod of him that smote thee, is broken, - For, out of the root of the serpent, shall come forth, a viper, And his fruit be a fiery dragon that flieth.
Howl - O gate, Make outcry - O city, Dispersed art thou Philistia, all of thee, - For out of the north, a smoke cometh in, With no straggler in his ranks.
Ye sons of Zion, then, exult and be glad in Yahweh your God, for he hath given you the seed-rain, in right manner, - Yea he hath caused to descend for you a down-pour, of seed-rain and of the harvest-rain in the first month;
Moreover also, what have, ye, to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the circuit of Palestine? A recompense, are ye paying back unto me? But, though ye should make a recompense unto me, swiftly, speedily, would I return your recompense upon your own head.
And he went on to say, even unto the multitudes, - Whensoever ye see a cloud springing up from the west, straightway, ye are saying - A thunderstorm is coming! and it happeneth thus.
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.