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 people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
Rejoice not, all of Philistia, because the rod of him that struck you is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Wail, O gate; cry, O city; you, all of Philistia, are dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
Yea, and what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coasts of Phlistia? will you render me a recompense? and if you recompense me, swiftly and speedily will 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, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto your descendants will I give this land: and there built he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto 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.
The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, Unto your descendants will I give this land; he shall send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife unto my son from there.
For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
And Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned by name: And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their ancestry by their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, individually. read more. As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. And the children of Reuben, Israel's eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty. Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred. Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred. Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. These are those that were numbered, who Moses and Aaron numbered, and the leaders of Israel, being twelve men: each one representing the house of his fathers. So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When you come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan to the extent of its boundaries:) read more. Then your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the border of Edom, and your south border shall be to the edge of the salt sea on the east: And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon: And the border shall turn from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the end of it shall be at the sea. And as for the western border, you shall even have the Great Sea for a border: this shall be your west border. And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea you shall mark out for you mount Hor: From mount Hor you shall mark out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the end of the border shall be at Zedad: And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the end of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border. And you shall mark out your east border from Hazarenan 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 reach unto the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth: And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and the end of it shall be at the Salt Sea: this shall be your land with boundaries all around.
And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites. And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants. read more. Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites; and called them after his own name, Bashanhavothjair, unto this day. And I gave Gilead unto Machir. And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; The plain also, with the Jordan as the border thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east. And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it: you shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are fit for war. But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that you have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you; Until the LORD has given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the LORD your God has given them beyond the Jordan: and then shall you return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.
For the LORD your God brings you into 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 olive oil, and honey; read more. A land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.
And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke unto them: About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them 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 the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them. read more. Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have removed, and placed 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. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell 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 dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they dwelt.
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has charged me to build him a house at 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 the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in 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 animals, besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
Moab is my washpot; upon Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph you because of me.
[To the Chief Musician upon gittith. A Psalm for the Sons of Korah.] LORD, you have been favorable unto your land: you have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.
Rejoice not, all of Philistia, because the rod of him that struck you is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Wail, O gate; cry, O city; you, all of Philistia, are dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, everyone that makes mention of it shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he has determined against it.
Thus says the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.
They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.
Yea, and what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coasts of Phlistia? will you render me a recompense? and if you recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head;
And the LORD shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you raise it up in three days?
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling 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 Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as you came unto Zoar.
And the LORD appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
For indeed I was stolen away 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, where there were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.
For the LORD your God brings you into 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 olive oil, and honey; read more. A land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.
From the wilderness 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 down of the sun, shall be your territory.
And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old grain of the land the next day after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched grain on the very same day.
So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the lowland, and the plain, and the mountains of Israel, its lowlands;
In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the lowland, and in the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
From Sihor, which is east of Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ekronites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites: From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites: read more. And the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sun rising, from Baalgad below mount Hermon unto the entrance into Hamath. All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.
She answered, Give me a blessing; for you have given me the South land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the lower springs.
Ekron, with its towns and its villages: From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages: read more. Ashdod with its towns and its villages, Gaza with its towns and its villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and its coastline:
Then goes down westward to the border of the Japhletites, unto the border of lower Bethhoron, to Gezer: and it ends at the sea.
And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of Endor and its villages, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, even three regions.
And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for you have given me the south land; 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 drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak. read more. And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day. And the house of Joseph, they 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 before was Luz.) And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy. And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is its name until this day. Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out. read more. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became forced laborers. Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out. Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became forced laborers unto them. And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not allow them to come down to the valley: But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became forced laborers.
Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not from where they be?
And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto 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 Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
For 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 for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.
And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them others besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against you from beyond the sea on this side of Edom; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.
Tomorrow go you down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and you shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the sojourners that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.
And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one at his station, and every one to be opposite his house.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks that pass away; Which are black by reason of the ice, and in which the snow is hid: read more. At what time they become warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they vanish out of their place.
Its going forth is from the end of the heaven, and its circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me: my strength is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
[To the Chief Musician for the sons of Korah. A song upon alamoth.] God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Beautiful for 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 washpot; upon Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph you because of me.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
There shall be a handful of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.
He cast out the nations also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
[To the Chief Musician upon gittith. A Psalm for the Sons of Korah.] How lovely are your tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
So is this great and wide sea, which teems with things innumerable, both small and great. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, which you have made to play therein.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business on great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. read more. For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, who lifts up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distresses. He makes the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they are quiet; so he brings them unto their desired haven.
For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation.
He gives snow like wool: he scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? read more. He sends out his word, and melts them: he causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and from rain.
Rejoice not, all of Philistia, because the rod of him that struck you is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Wail, O gate; cry, O city; you, all of Philistia, are dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking justice, and hastening righteousness.
You shall bring down the noise of aliens, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the song of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall your land any more be termed Desolate: but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah: for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.
But I said, How shall I put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, You shall call me, My father; and shall not turn away from me.
Thus says the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be built upon its own mound, and the palace shall stand in its proper place.
Therefore thus says the LORD of 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 the day that I lifted up my hand unto them, to bring them forth from the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
Also, you son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
But he that comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and most of the children of Ammon.
They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.
Yea, and what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coasts of Phlistia? will you render me a recompense? and if you recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head;
Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have you not returned unto me, says the LORD.
And the LORD shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land became desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant land desolate.
The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with him.
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan,
Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. read more. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the region of Judea beyond Jordan;
And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks were split;
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling 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 people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
And the leaders said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the leaders had promised them.
And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my allotted portion, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your allotted portion. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. read more. And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered scraps under my table: as I have done, so God has requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kiriatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kiriathsepher: And Caleb said, He that strikes Kiriathsepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she got down from her donkey; and Caleb said unto her, What do you want? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for you have given me the south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lies to the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah. Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Askelon with its border, and Ekron with its border. And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak. And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day. And the house of Joseph, they 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 before was Luz.) And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy. And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is its name until this day. Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.
Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpah.
And David said unto Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and 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 Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Why have you gone in unto my father's concubine?
And it came to pass in a little while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them 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 the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them. read more. Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have removed, and placed 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. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell 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 dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they dwelt. And 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 burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from there. Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they follow their statutes, or their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, him shall you fear, and him shall you worship, and to him shall you do sacrifice. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do forevermore; and you shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you you shall not forget; neither shall you fear other gods. But the LORD your God you shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. However they did not hearken, but they did according to their former manner. So these nations feared the LORD, 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, all of Philistia, because the rod of him that struck you is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Wail, O gate; cry, O city; you, all of Philistia, are dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he has given you the former rain faithfully, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
Yea, and what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coasts of Phlistia? will you render me a recompense? and if you recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head;
And he said also to the people, When you see a cloud rise out of the west, immediately you say, There comes a shower; and so it is.
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.