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, being afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the people of Philistia.
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod of your striking is broken. For a viper comes forth from the root of a snake, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! O Philistia, all of you, are melted away; for from the north a smoke comes, and no straggler in his ranks.
Yea, and what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Philistia? Will you give Me a reward? And if you reward Me, swiftly and speedily I will turn your reward on 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 substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gained in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. And they came into the land of Canaan.
And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your seed. And he built an altar there to Jehovah who appeared to him.
In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, I have given this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, read more. and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the giants, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Jehovah, the God of Heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land: He shall send His Angel before you. And you shall take a wife to 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, being afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the people of Philistia.
And Moses and Aaron took these men who are called by name. And they gathered all the congregation on the first day of the second month. And they declared their pedigrees according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their heads. read more. As Jehovah commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. And the sons of Reuben, Israel's first-born son, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, by their heads, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand, five hundred. Of the sons of Simeon, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their heads, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty-nine thousand, three hundred. Of the sons of Gad, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of the tribe of Gad, were forty-five thousand, six hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Judah, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand, six hundred. Of the sons of Issachar, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand, four hundred. Of the sons of Zebulun, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand, four hundred. Of the sons of Joseph, of the sons of Ephraim, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand, five hundred. Of the sons of Manasseh, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand, two hundred. Of the sons of Benjamin, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand, four hundred. Of the sons of Dan, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand, seven hundred. Of the sons of Asher, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those numbered of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand, five hundred. Of the sons of Naphtali, by their generations, according to their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war: those were numbered of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand, four hundred. These are those who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, and the rulers of Israel being twelve men. Each one was for the house of his fathers. And all those that were numbered of the sons of Israel, by their fathers' house, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel: even all those who were numbered were six hundred three thousand, five hundred and fifty.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses saying, Command the sons of Israel and say to them: When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan with its borders. read more. And your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the border of Edom, and your south border shall be the furthest coast of the Salt Sea eastward. And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim and pass on to Zin. And its limit shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon. And the border shall turn from Azmon to the torrent of Egypt, and the end of it shall be at the sea. And 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 northern border. From the Great Sea you shall point out for you Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall point your border to 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 Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border. And you shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the Sea of Chinnereth eastward. And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the end of it shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with the borders of it all around.
And this is the land which we possessed at that time, from Aroer by the river Arnon, and half of Mount Gilead, and its cities, I gave to the men of Reuben and of Gad. And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to 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, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites. And he called them after his own name, Bashan (Towns of Jair) to this day. And I gave Gilead to Machir. And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the river Arnon, half the valley, and the border even to the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon, the plain also, and Jordan, and its border, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, under The Slopes of Pisgah eastward. And I commanded you at that time saying, Jehovah your God has given you this land to possess it. You shall pass over armed before your brothers the sons of Israel, all the sons of might. But your wives and your little ones, and your cattle, (I know that you have much cattle), shall stay in your cities which I have given you until Jehovah has given rest to your brothers, as well as to you, and they also possess the land which Jehovah your God has given them beyond Jordan. And then you shall each one return to his possessions which I have given you.
For Jehovah 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 want. You shall not lack any thing in it. It is a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.
And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed in front of the sons of Israel, as Moses spoke to them; about forty thousand armed men of the army passed over before Jehovah to battle, to the plains of Jericho.
And there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel. For the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.
And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. They brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life.
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. And it happened at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear Jehovah. And Jehovah sent lions among them, who killed them. read more. And they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the manner of the God of the land. And He has sent lions among them, and, behold, they kill them because they do not know the way of the God of the land. And the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Cause one of the priests whom you removed from there to go there. And they shall go and live there, and he shall teach them the way of the God of the land. And one of the priests whom they had removed from Samaria came and lived in Bethel. And he taught them how they should fear Jehovah. And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.
And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, so that the Word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, So says Cyrus king of Persia, Jehovah, the God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. read more. Who is there among you of all His people? Let his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel (He is God) which is in Jerusalem. And whoever remains in any place where he resides, 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; over Edom I will cast out My shoe; over Philistia I cry in triumph.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O Jehovah, You have been gracious to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
I will mention Rahab and Babylon to those who know me; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
Moab is My washpot; I will cast out My shoe over Edom; I will triumph over Philistia.
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod of your striking is broken. For a viper comes forth from the root of a snake, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! O Philistia, all of you, are melted away; for from the north a smoke comes, and no straggler in his ranks.
And the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt; everyone who mentions it shall be afraid toward it, because of the purpose of Jehovah of Hosts, which He has purposed against it.
So says the Lord Jehovah: This is Jerusalem. I have set it in the middle of the nations, and all around her are the lands.
They shall not dwell in Jehovah'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 borders of Philistia? Will you give Me a reward? And if you reward Me, swiftly and speedily I will turn your reward on your own head,
And Jehovah shall possess Judah, His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Then the Jews said, This temple was forty-six years building, and will you rear it up in three days?
By faith he lived in the land of promise as a stranger, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the same promise with him.
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 saw all the circuit of Jordan, that it was all well watered (before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,) like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar.
And Jehovah appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, and he sat at 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 seventy palm trees. And they camped there by the waters.
The land shall not be sold forever; for the land is Mine. For you are strangers and pilgrims 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 by the coast of Jordan.
For Jehovah 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 want. You shall not lack any thing in it. It is a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
And the sons of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the old grain of the land on the next day after the Passover, unleavened cakes and roasted grain in the same day.
So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountains of Israel, and its lowlands,
in the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
from Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite, five lords of the Philistines: of Gaza, of Ashdod, of Ashkelon, of Gath, and of Ekron; also the Avim. From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah which belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites. read more. And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal-gad under Mount Hermon to the border of Hamath, all the inhabitants from the hills; from Lebanon to the Burning Waters, and all the Sidonians; I will expel them before the sons of Israel. Only you divide it by lot to the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.
She answered, Give me a blessing, for you have given me a south land. Give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
Ekron with its town and its villages; from Ekron even to the Sea, all that were at hand by Ashdod, and their villages; read more. Ashdod with its towns and its villages; Gaza with its towns and its villages, to the river of Egypt, and the Great Sea, and its coast.
and it goes down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth-horon the lower, and to Gezer. And its boundary was at the sea.
And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and those who lived in Dor and its towns, and those who lived in Endor and its towns, and those who lived in Taanach and its towns, and those who lived in Megiddo and its towns, even three regions.
And she said to him, Give me a blessing. For you have given me a south land. Give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
And Jehovah was with Judah. And he took possession of the mountain. But he could not drive out those who lived in the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said. And he expelled the three sons of Anak from there. read more. And the sons of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. But the Jebusites live with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and Jehovah was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. And the name of the city before was Luz. And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, Please show us the gate into the city, and we will show you mercy. And when he showed them the gate into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But they let the man and all his family go. And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called the name of it Luz, which is the name of it to this day. And Manasseh had not taken possession of Beth-shean and its daughter-villages, nor Taanach and its daughter-villages, nor struck the inhabitants of Dor and its daughter-villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its daughter-villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its daughter-villages. For the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.
And Manasseh had not taken possession of Beth-shean and its daughter-villages, nor Taanach and its daughter-villages, nor struck the inhabitants of Dor and its daughter-villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its daughter-villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its daughter-villages. For the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. And it happened, when Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not completely expel them. read more. And Ephraim did not expel the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. And Zebulun did not expel those who lived in Kitron, nor those who lived in Nahalol. But the Canaanites lived among them and became tributaries. And Asher did not expel those who lived in Accho, and the inhabitants of Sidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob. But the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, those who lived in the land, for they did not expel them. And Naphtali did not expel those who lived in Beth-shemesh, and the inhabitants of Beth-anath, and they lived among the Canaanites, those who lived in the land. But those who lived in Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became tributaries to them. And the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the mountain. For they would not allow them to come down to the valley. But the Amorites desired to stay in Mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. Yet the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy so that they became tributaries.
And there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel. For the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make 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 to men about whom I know not where they come from?
And David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
And there happened to be there a man of Belial named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a ram's horn and said, We have no part in David, neither do we have any inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O, Israel!
For Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had gone up and had taken Gezer and had burned it with fire, and had slain the Canaanites who lived in the city. And he had given it for a present to his daughter, Solomon's wife.
And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai of Sharon. And over the herds in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai.
And it happened after this the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon came in, and with them others besides the Ammonites, to battle against Jehoshaphat. And they came in and spoke to Jehoshaphat, saying, A great multitude has come against you from beyond the sea on this side of Syria. And behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.
Tomorrow go 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 strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and who lived in Judah, rejoiced.
And I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they stand by, let them shut and bar the doors. And set guards from the people of Jerusalem, each one in his watch, and each one to be across from his house.
My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a torrent; they pass away as the streams of torrents, torrents black from ice, in which the snow hides itself. read more. When they become warm, they go away; when it is hot, they vanish out of their place.
going forth from the end of the heavens, and its course is to their ends. And there is nothing hid from its heat.
For by day and by night Your hand was heavy on me; my sap is turned into the droughts of summer. Selah.
To the Chief Musician. For the sons of Korah. A Song "For the Virgins". God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear when the earth changes, and when mountains are slipping into the heart of the seas.
Beautiful on high, 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; over Edom I will cast out My shoe; over Philistia I cry in triumph.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness.
There shall be a fullness of grain in the earth on the top of the mountains; its fruit shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
He also cast out the nations before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
To the Chief Musician. On Gittith. A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How lovely are Your tabernacles, O Jehovah of Hosts!
I will mention Rahab and Babylon to those who know me; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
This is the great and wide sea, in which are creeping things without number, both small and great animals. There the ships go; You made this great sea animal to play in it.
They who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters; these see the works of Jehovah and His wonders in the deep. read more. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves. They mount up to the heavens, 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 all their wisdom is swallowed up. And they cry to Jehovah in their trouble, and He brings them out of their troubles. He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. And they are glad because they are quiet; so He brings them to their desired haven.
Jehovah has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling-place.
He gives snow like wool; He scatters the hoarfrost like ashes. He casts forth His ice like crumbs; 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 be, in the last days the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it.
And there shall be a booth for a shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge, and for a hiding place from storm and rain.
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod of your striking is broken. For a viper comes forth from the root of a snake, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! O Philistia, all of you, are melted away; for from the north a smoke comes, and no straggler in his ranks.
And in mercy the throne shall be established; and he shall sit on it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment, and speeding righteousness.
You shall bring down the noise of foreigners, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of cloud. The shouting of the terrifying ones shall be brought low.
You will no more be called Forsaken; nor will your land any more be called Desolate; but you will be called My Delight is in her, and your land, Married; for Jehovah delights in you, and your land is married.
But I said, How shall I put you among the sons, and give you a pleasant land, a beautiful inheritance among the hosts of nations? And I said, You shall call Me, My Father, and shall not turn away from Me.
So says Jehovah: Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and will have mercy on his dwelling places. And the city shall be built on her own hill, and the palace shall remain in its own place.
Therefore so says Jehovah of Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have no one to sit on 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 to them, to bring them out 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;
And also I lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey; it is the glory of all lands;
Also, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, Mountains of Israel, hear the Word of Jehovah.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became very great, toward the south and toward the east and toward the bountiful land.
But he who 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 shall be destroyed by his hand.
And he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass over. He shall also enter into the glorious land, and many shall be stumbled. But these shall escape out of his hand: Edom and Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon.
They shall not dwell in Jehovah'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 borders of Philistia? Will you give Me a reward? And if you reward Me, swiftly and speedily I will turn your reward on 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 among you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked out of the burning; yet you have not returned to Me, says Jehovah.
And Jehovah shall possess Judah, His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
But I stormed them away on all the nations whom they did not know. And the land has been wasted behind them, from passing and from returning; for they made the land of desire a waste.
Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the people of Jerusalem may not be magnified above Judah.
And you shall flee to the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the saints with you.
Then Jerusalem and all Judea went out to him, and all the region round about Jordan.
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock. read more. And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them shall be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house. And it fell, and great was its fall.
And it happened, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came into the borders of Judea beyond Jordan.
And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared,
By faith he lived in the land of promise as a stranger, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the same promise with him.
Hastings
PALESTINE
1. Situation and name.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as the oak of Paran, which is by the wilderness.
The people shall hear, being afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the people of Philistia.
And the rulers said to them, Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and drawers of water to all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them.
And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot so that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into your lot. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up. And Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. And they killed ten thousand men of them in Bezek. read more. And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek. And, they fought against him, and they killed the Canaanites and the Perizzites. And Adoni-bezek fled. And they ran after him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. And Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered under my table. As I have done, so God has requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. And the sons of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and had struck it with the edge of the sword, and had set the city on fire. And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (and the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba). And they killed Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. And from there he went against those who lived in Debir. And the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher. And Caleb said, He who strikes Kirjath-sepher and takes it, I will give Achsah my daughter to him for a wife. And Othniel, the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, took it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. And it happened when she came, she moved him to ask for a field from her father. And she dismounted from the ass. And Caleb said to her, What do you desire? And she said to him, Give me a blessing. For you have given me a south land. Give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. And the sons of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the sons of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad. And they went and lived among the people. And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they killed the Canaanites who lived in Zephath and 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 Jehovah was with Judah. And he took possession of the mountain. But he could not drive out those who lived in the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said. And he expelled the three sons of Anak from there. And the sons of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. But the Jebusites live with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and Jehovah was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. And the name of the city before was Luz. And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, Please show us the gate into the city, and we will show you mercy. And when he showed them the gate into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But they let the man and all his family go. And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called the name of it Luz, which is the name of it to this day. And Manasseh had not taken possession of Beth-shean and its daughter-villages, nor Taanach and its daughter-villages, nor struck the inhabitants of Dor and its daughter-villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its daughter-villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its daughter-villages. For the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. And it happened, when Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not completely expel them.
Then all the sons of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, to Jehovah in Mizpeh.
And David said to 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 David brought up his men with him, each man with his household. And they lived in the cities of Hebron.
And Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbosheth said to Abner, Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?
And it happened in the meantime the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rose and went to Jezreel.
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. And it happened at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear Jehovah. And Jehovah sent lions among them, who killed them. read more. And they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the manner of the God of the land. And He has sent lions among them, and, behold, they kill them because they do not know the way of the God of the land. And the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Cause one of the priests whom you removed from there to go there. And they shall go and live there, and he shall teach them the way of the God of the land. And one of the priests whom they had removed from Samaria came and lived in Bethel. And he taught them how they should fear Jehovah. And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their sons with fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared Jehovah, and made to themselves, of the lowest of them, priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared Jehovah and served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations whom they removed from there. Until this day they do according to their former ways. They do not fear Jehovah, neither do they do according to their statutes, or according to their ordinances, or according to the Law and commandment which Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel. And Jehovah 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 Jehovah, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm, you shall fear Him, and you shall worship Him, and you shall do sacrifice to Him. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the Law, and the commandment, which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to do forever. And you shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, and you shall not fear other gods. And you shall fear Jehovah your God. And He shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. But they did not listen, but they followed after their former way. And it happened, these nations feared Jehovah, and they served their graven images, both their sons and their sons' sons, as their fathers did, they do until this day.
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod of your striking is broken. For a viper comes forth from the root of a snake, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! O Philistia, all of you, are melted away; for from the north a smoke comes, and no straggler in his ranks.
Be glad then, sons of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God. For He has given you the former rain according to righteousness, and He will cause the rain to come down for you, 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 borders of Philistia? Will you give Me a reward? And if you reward Me, swiftly and speedily I will turn your reward on your own head,
And He also said to the crowd, When you see a cloud rise out of the west, immediately you say, There is a shower coming. 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.